Fair warning: this is going to be a really looong post. However, a lot of work went into it so that's only fitting. It seems like New Beginnings comes right on the heels of Young Women in Excellence. I felt the need to simplify and so our theme was simply the youth theme for the year:
Our decorations were the colors of the Young Women values. Food was a fruit and veggie with dip. There were also the most fabulous sugar cookies with colored icing. I need to get that recipe...
We had a laptop near the entrance so as people came into the cultural hall, we registered the girls for camp. I wanted people to be able to nosh during the program... kind of like the Golden Globes or the White House Correspondent's Dinner. It kept the evening from being drawn out by doing a program then refreshments. It was about an hour- easy peasy.
Each of the 8 tables had a color with tulle tied around the back and mason jars painted to match. Pretty flowers made it cheery. The best part? The ward that shares our building had their New Beginnings the next evening and so we were able to leave it set up for them which means we didn't have to worry about tearing down. Our Relief Society ended up using the tulle for one of their activities a few weeks later. It makes my heart sing when we can make decorations cost-effective and multi-functional!
The stage had Christmas lights and different pictures and statuettes of Christ. It was breathtaking when we lowered the lights for the video. The whole stage just glowed.
Speaking of the video, here it is:
Can I brag about my presidency for a moment? Every single task was taken up by someone who followed it through perfectly. No one had to be reminded, no one shirked or forgot. Everything came together like clockwork. I'm so blessed to work alongside these women who have such a sense of duty and commitment to their callings. The give-aways were these little charms which could be used as a zipper pull:
I spoke about the value of the YW program (get the play on words?). I had an idea of what I wanted to talk about a few weeks before the program, but honed and refined it right up until the end. Many thanks to family and friends who let me practice my delivery over and over. Here it is in full:
In the summer of 1942, a young girl spied a book in an Amsterdam shop window. It was covered in a pretty red, green and white plaid, and it even had a lock. The book was meant to be used for collecting autographs, but when it was gifted to this particular girl on the occasion of her 13th birthday, she resolved to use it as a diary and dubbed it “Kitty”. Just a few weeks later, Anne Frank and her family went into hiding in a secret annex above her father’s company. One week later, they were joined by the van Daans, with their teenage son, Peter. In the fall, a friend of the family also sought refuge in that space behind the swinging bookcase. For two years they were completely confined to the secret annex, with just a few helpers as their only connection to the outside world.
During these years, Anne wrote. She wrote about the restrictions that had been imposed on Jews at that time. She wrote about her struggles with her family- her mother and sister in particular. She wrote about the challenges of living in such close quarters with so many people. She wrote about the budding romance between herself and Peter. She wrote about her feelings and ambitions- initially to be a movie star but ultimately she settled on a journalist. She wrote about God and human nature.
In her entry dated 5 April 1944 she wrote: I want to go on living even after my death! And that's why I'm so grateful to God for having given me this gift, which I can use to develop myself and to express all that's inside me! When I write I can shake off all my cares. My sorrow disappears, my spirits are revived! But, and that's a big question, will I ever be able to write something great, will I ever become a journalist or a writer?
From an outside perspective, it may seem the many, many facets of the YW program are a bit much: we have our Sunday lessons (which are in addition to Sunday School and for the older girls, Seminary), we have Mutual activities during the week, Temple trips, volleyball tournaments, summer Girl’s Camp and then events like this New Beginnings and YWIE. Why do we do it? Why so many activities for girls who are already over-scheduled and over-tired? It’s because at its core, the Young Women organization is about a girl, and her diary.
Personal Progress breaks down the 8 YW values into required value experiences, additional value experiences and a value project. A key part of each of those components is for the YW to record their experiences, thoughts, feelings, and testimony. We do not want your daughters simply to pass off requirements and go along their merry way. Rather, we hope these values will become very personal to them, as they progress in their learning of the gospel. Hence, Personal Progress. As leaders, we strive to make every lesson, and every activity something that leads your daughter closer to the Savior. We strive to make everything we do worthy of a diary entry.
Given the buffetings of Satan these girls face every day, a diary entry may not seem like much. Similarly, faced with the oppression of the Nazi regime- the single most powerful entity on earth at the time, Anne and her little diary didn’t seem like much of a force. She herself wrote, nobody will be interested in the outpourings of a thirteen-year-old schoolgirl. Time and the hard lessons of history have proven that sentiment to be quite false, as the Diary of Anne Frank is one of the most well-known books world-wide, and is even required reading in many school curriculums today. Anne has gone on living after her death, and she is now a critically acclaimed, famous writer. The pen is mightier than the sword. Anne Frank taught us that.
In 1975 during the October General Conference, the prophet Spencer W. Kimball said, Get a notebook, a journal that will last through all time, and maybe the angels may quote from it for eternity. Begin today and write in it your goings and comings, your deepest thoughts, your achievements and your failures, your associations and your triumphs, your impressions and your testimonies. In terms of your daughter’s YW experience, there is no better way to “accept and act upon these principles” than to make a record of it.
One of the great questions of history is how the Nazi party could have gained so much popularity, recruited such a powerful army, and murdered so many people. We may never know the true answer, but I’d like to mention one that was suggested to me by Dr. Victor Ludlow, a religion professor at BYU. The prophets have written that one of the signs of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ is that the Jews would return to Jerusalem. Dr. Ludlow postulated that Satan made a concerted effort to prevent that from happening by attempting to annihilate that race of people so there would be no Jews. After all, if there were no Jews to return to Jerusalem, there could be no Second Coming.
As you are driving your daughters to Mutual during a busy school week, as you are packing them and all their gear for Girl’s Camp, and as you encourage them to work on their Personal Progress, you are laying the groundwork for them to meet their Savior. He has come, and he will come again. The best preparation we, as leaders and parents, can give these girls for that miraculous event, is a diary.
Just a couple of weeks before Anne and all those hiding in the secret annex were betrayed and arrested, she wrote the following entry: It’s a wonder I haven’t abandoned all my ideals, they seem so absurd and impractical. Yet I cling to them because I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart. It’s utterly impossible for me to build my life on a foundation of chaos, suffering and death. I see the world being slowly transformed into a wilderness, I hear the approaching thunder that, one day, will destroy us too, I feel the suffering of millions. And yet, when I look up at the sky, I somehow feel that everything will change for the better, that this cruelty too shall end, that peace and tranquility will return once more.
Is your daughter a bad person if she doesn’t complete her Personal Progress? Certainly not. In my completely unbiased opinion, we have the best youth right here in this room. I am privileged to observe these YW who are who are naturally endowed with a graciousness, a kindness, an enthusiasm, and a unique spirituality. But will completing Personal Progress help your daughter to become better? Absolutely. I testify that this program will bring peace and tranquility amidst the chaos. This is the value of the YW program.
It wasn't until I finished speaking that I realized my subject matter was a bit heavy, and most of the YW are the sweet, innocent little Beehives. Luckily, the value presentation was fun and lighthearted. The girls were superheros. We had Fantastic Faith:
Divine Nature Diva:
Individual Worth Woman:
Lady of Knowledge:
Captain Choice & Accountability:
Good Works Girl:
Commander Integrity:
Victorious Virtue:
In lieu of a closing hymn, the girls voted on a song from the 2016 Youth Album to learn and perform. The only glitch is I was playing the music off of my iPhone and through a speaker which connects via bluetooth. The wireless connection in our ward building leaves a lot to be desired so while I was up front figuring that out with my back turned, the girls had kind of cornered me in. Once the music was playing and I had turned around, I realized I'd either have to make a really embarrassing exit mid-song, or I could just stay put and go with it. Since this calling is all about rolling with the punches, I stayed and sang along.
In the end, it felt right to be up there with my girls. They sounded amazing and many parents teared up. Ours may not be the most Pinterest-worthy New Beginnings, but it had the right focus, and the right Spirit so I'm putting this one down in the books as a win.
1 comment:
Your talk is amazing. Loved the examples. The thought on the Holocaust really struck me. Thanks for sharing.
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