Presidency Message - June

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Wherever you live,

nature has surprises in store

for those who let go

of their daily distractions and worries

and open themselves to the sights,

sounds,

and smells

of their surroundings.

The surprise may be a sudden rainstorm

that sends you scurrying for shelter.

It may be the thrill of approaching an animal

to watch it feeding

or standing quietly to hear the sound

of a bird's wings.

It may be seeing millions of stars on a clear night.

Somewhere in nature

you will find a surprise,

and it will lift and inspire you

for days to come." -- Young Women Camp Manual, p.1, 2002

 

As I marvel every day at the unfolding beauty of nature all around me this spring in New England, I am in awe of the Master Creator and His loving care that is evident in the bright green of new leaves, the incredible blue of the sky, and the sweet smell of honeysuckle in the air.  They lift and inspire me and I am filled with gratitude to my Heavenly Father for the world in which I live.  And when I think of Girls Camp, I am excited to think of a week in the woods, unplugged from the man-made world of traffic, television, and internet and connected instead to the sights, sounds, and smells of the outdoors.  For the last couple of years I have emphasized the spiritual blessings available to everyone who comes to Camp, but let us not forget that the beauty of nature creates the perfect environment in which to feel the spirit.  Moroni writes in Mormon 9:16, "Behold, are not the things that God hath wrought marvelous in our eyes?  Yea, and who can comprehend the marvelous works of God?"  Many people find peace and inspiration in natural surroundings, as witnessed by Joseph Smith, who prayed in a grove of trees, Enos, who also prayed while out in the wilderness, and Moses, who received the Ten Commandments while on a high mountain.  In Moses 6:63 it says, "And behold, all things have their likeness, and all things are created and made to bear record of me, both things which are temporal and things which are spiritual; things which are in the heavens above, and things which are on the earth ... all things bear record of me."

As Young Women leaders, I encourage all of us to appreciate the natural beauty abundant at Zion's Camp, and encourage our girls to do the same.  When I was a young girl, my mother often pointed out to me a beautiful sky or flower that she observed.  She hoped by sharing her observations with me that my eyes might be opened and that I would become more aware of beauty and develop gratitude for my Father in Heaven.  Likewise,   I encourage you to set the example for your girls and enjoy your time in the outdoors while at camp; find a beautiful spot in which to spend some quiet time and contemplate.  As you do so, I know you will be filled with a heart of thanksgiving, and "he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea, more."  (D&C 78:19) 

~ Sister Verlie Grotehuis

Exeter Stake Young Women – Camp Director

What is Real Growth?

From the video:

"When we speak of real growth, we speak of ________________."
(see also Moroni 6:4-9)

"_________________ is the great final measurement of real growth"
(see also Isaiah 6:1; then look up the word "train").



Why:  Moses 1:39 & John 14:15

What do I need to do differently to grow?
What do we need to do differently to help others grow?

• James 1:12?
• Proverbs 17:9 (see footnotes) and 10:12 ?
• John 5:2-3?
• Others ideas?

How can I grow?
How can we help others grow?

• Mosiah 5:13
• Moroni 7:47-4

EFY Dress and Appearance Standards.

Isn’t this so cute and so useful? What a great way to let youth and parents know what the dress standards are in order to attend Especially For Youth.

It might also be a really fun weekly activity to have the Young Women in your wards dress in their favorite “For the Strength of Youth – Dress and Appearance” outfit, take pictures of them and then create a poster like this with Photoshop or any other graphic design software.  If you do, let us know. We would LOVE to use them. (Sunday Dress shots are useful too, by the way.)

The original image can be found at ce.byu.edu

Presidency Message – May

What a tremendous spiritual feast the last several weeks have been. Between our Young Women Broadcast, General Conference and Stake Conference I hope each of us has felt a renewal and recharging of the Spirit and that we are acting on the impressions and revelation we received during those times.

One of the impressions I felt is to ramp up a team effort with my son, Chase, as we both strive to complete our respective Personal Progress and Duty to God requirements.  In doing so, we’ve had some tender experiences and I want to share just one that happened a few weeks back.

It was on a Sunday. Chase and I sat on my bed combing through his Duty to God booklet to determine what he would be interested in accomplishing that afternoon.  He chose "Invite All to Come to Christ" (pg 76) and "Administer Priesthood Ordinances" (pg 72).  During the suggested discussion about ways to improve his home-teaching, our conversation naturally turned to the subject of how we can feel and express love for those who are hard to love. In that turning, I learned something about Chase I didn't know before.

He told me that when he feels he can't do something, or that he doesn't even know where to begin to do something, he thinks of Nephi building the ship. He said he draws strength from the idea that it wasn't as if Nephi had a garage to go grab a hammer and nails and get going on the commandment. He had to dig up ore, melt it, shape it, wait for it to cool and then form the tools before the actual building of the ship even began.  “If God can show Nephi how to build tools and a ship,” Chase said, “I believe He will show me how to do things I don’t think I can do.”

Then Chase said something that deeply enriched my application of Nephi’s experience. He said, "Mom, I wonder if there are any words out there with 'ship' already in them - you know, things that the Lord can help us build…like…relation-ships or friend-ships or our wor-ship”. I sat in amazement as I watched the Holy Ghost distill upon the soul of this bearer of the Aaronic Priesthood.   There was a feeling that I can only describe as a “Godly Enthusiasm” that swept over us as he spoke and I listened. He asked if it would be alright if he taught this “ship building” idea in Family Home Evening the next night.  You can only imagine my response.

At that lesson, our family added more “ship words” to the ones Chase shared. We came up with a total of 20, but here are a few of our favorites:

apostle-ship

apprentice-ship

citizen-ship

companion-ship

disciple-ship

fellow-ship

hard-ship

leader-ship

scholar-ship

steward-ship

Chase closed out Family Home Evening by testifying that when we feel we don't even have the tools to build these kinds of ships, the Lord will instruct us and show us His pattern of building them so we can cross the waters of this mortality and return as families to our Heavenly Father.

And all of this because we spent less than 20 minutes in the inspired Duty to God booklet.

Sisters, may the Lord bless us and unite us as we exercise faith in Jesus Christ in building ships in our families, communities and callings. I testify He will as we turn our hearts toward Him.

With Love and Gratitude,

Sister Shannon Gish

Exeter Stake Young Women President

image above used by permission here

Young Women Calendar Idea

Be sure to take a look at the “Your Ideas” page from the tab above. Sister Krista Day, Young Women President from the Methuen Ward opened a wonderful dialog for the leaders to share ideas. (Thank you, Sister Day.) We look forward to gleaning from everyone’s experiences.

Here is an idea from Sister Natalie Garcia, Young Women President of the Lawrence Ward:  

“We utilized the Personal Progress values each month. With each value each month, we did activities that related to that value, and had activities that allowed the girls to accomplish some of the assignments in their personal progress. I feel with the calendar, we have a purpose every Thursday, and have enabled the girls to stay on track with their personal progress, without feeling overwhelmed with it.”

{ You might notice in the calendar header that the Lawrence Ward Young Women also focus on a topic from For the Strength of Youth each month.  In April, they have been learning about Honesty. }

 

Note: There were some “technical difficulties” in re-creating the Lawrence Ward Young Women Calendar above to a jpg (picture) format. For a much better copy, please contact Sister Garcia. Her original is much better.

“At the end of March the youth completed a community project which the YW used towards a project under Individual Worth. The girls loved it, and they felt as though they were truly making a difference.”

 
Muchas Gracias, Hermana Garcia, for all you and your Presidency are doing.   Nos encantan las mujeres jóvenes y líderes de la sala de Lawrence!