[Jenny SmithParticipant]

When my son was ordained a deacon, he personally telephoned and invited several men who were special to him to come and stand in the circle when he was ordained. It was a very good experience for him, and the men he called were very touched. We don't have any member family nearby, and so it was a relief for me to know that these good men would be watching out for my son as he grew up, especially because they know that he loves and admires them, too.

Also, if your son completes the Faith in God booklet, he will speak with some leaders in the Deacon's Quorum about the priesthood. Hearing about the priesthood from peers or near-peers has a big effect on these young 'uns.

My husband also pulled my son aside and spent a lot of time talking to him about how important receiving the priesthood was during several one on one outings before his birthday. Worthiness was of special concern.

Also, leaving Primary behind (Yay!!!) will be very exciting for your son, and he'll start attending Mutual and "real" Scouts. All of these things will be big milestones, and he'll appreciate them.

YW are typically more ritualized about these transitions than YM, but I don't know if that's a bad thing. Speak with your Young Men's president, mentioning any specific concerns about your son's readiness, to see if he has any advice on making this transition significant for your young man. You can also ask your son what he thinks would help.

 

[Jenny SmithParticipant]

I collect bulletins whenever I visit a new unit, but they are so full of personal data that I've never posted them online.  I have a couple of friends who do the bulletins in their units, and I can ask for copies of their templates.

[Jenny SmithParticipant]

This is a very short version of what you’re looking for:

The pearl develops when a foreign substance invades the oyster. This uninvited guest works its way into the muscle and irritates the oyster. In response, the irritation is covered with secretion. The longer the irritation is there, the more the oyster coats it. Once the oyster accepts the irritation as part of itself, the pearl begins to develop. Harsh conditions surrounding the oyster such as storms and hurricanes will not dislodge the pearl. As time goes by and the oyster is finally pulled up from the bed, where it has been for many years, it is opened to reveal a beautiful pearl. The once uninvited guest has now produced a hidden jewel of beauty. Each oyster’s irritation produces a different variations of pearls, which shows how each of our own irritations produce different results in our own lives.

As we each go through our journey, there will be different times that an “irritation” comes into our life. May we allow the Lord to turn irritations into a pearl that can be used by Him.

(See http://janettessage.blogspot.com/2009/09/story-of-pearl.html)

[Jenny SmithParticipant]

I did a little hunting for the story of the pearl but couldn’t find it. Anyone else heard of this story?

[Jenny SmithParticipant]

The 100 day Book of Mormon chart uses a spreadsheet document format. If you’re getting an error about it being “view only” or uneditable, you may need to save the file before working on it. You may need to alter your print orientation (to landscape or portrait) to make the file print out.

Also, ensure that you are using Open Office or a similar package to open and print the file.

[Jenny SmithParticipant]

Wow. That was rude. Perhaps some helpful critique or a feature request instead of bratty whining next time, eh?

The search box has been broken for some time, but you can find it at http://mormonshare.com/search

And there’s always google. Search “site:http://mormonshare.com/ your search term”

[Jenny SmithParticipant]

For The Navity: A piece at a time, check out YW Connection:
http://www.ywconnection.com/Holiday/pageHchristmasthenativity.html

[Jenny SmithParticipant]

Thanks, Annie6! Here are a few more that I follow on my RSS feeds:

http://backontheflooragain.blogspot.com/

http://brosimonsays.wordpress.com/

http://shauna-naner.blogspot.com/

http://seminarymoments.blogspot.com/

I do have a page that aggregates the feeds of some LDS Seminary blogs that I follow. You can find it here:
http://www.mormonshare.com/aggregator/categories/13

If you have a blog about Seminary, please post a link here, and I’ll add you to the RSS feed aggregation.

[Jenny SmithParticipant]

The easiest place to start is the hymnbook, but you can also look at Sally DeFord’s site for more creative arrangements:

http://www.defordmusic.com/

Good luck!

[Jenny SmithParticipant]

I think I would start with the images from the Gospel Art site:
http://www.lds.org/media-library/images/gospel-art/book-of-mormon?lang=eng

All of the images there will be free for use on this type of item. You could crop the heads of some heroes and put them on a bookmark along with a short blurb about them.

Alternately, you could just type the names of the heroes and put them beside a short descriptor or scripture reference. I personally would write the names vertically and have the text overlap a bit. This will require software with strong text editing capabilities.

[Jenny SmithParticipant]

Ardeth G Kapp, who was YW General President when the “new” values and colors were introduced, gave the following information on the meaning of the colors selected for the young women values:

“Ardeth Kapp, a former general Young Women president, says that the colors used to represent the values have no significant religious meaning. They are meant as reminders.

• “White is symbolic of purity and Faith.
• Divine Nature seems to suggest creation, the big blue sky, and all that is divine.
• Individual Worth should be bold and confident. Red fit that feeling.
• Knowledge is symbolic of green and growing.
• Choice and Accountability, two values together, is represented by putting two colors together; red and yellow make orange.
• Good Works brings sunshine, happiness, and light. Yellow seemed to fit.
• And Integrity is purple, royal and righteous.”

Caroline H. Benzley, “134 Years Young!,” New Era, Nov 2003, 24, http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=024644f8f206c010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=b04351e4b66fb010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1

Here’s what Sister Dalton said about gold for virtue:

“Never before has there been a greater need for virtue and purity in the world.

“The value of virtue has been given a symbolic color, like the other values. The color of virtue is gold because gold is pure. It shines. It is soft, not harsh or brash. It is precious. Gold must be refined. As you live a pure and virtuous life, you will be refined by your life’s experiences, and as you ‘trust in the Lord’ (Proverbs 3:5) and draw closer to Him, He will ‘make [your] hearts as gold’ (Roger Hoffman, “Consider the Lilies”).”

Elaine S. Dalton, “Come Let Us Go Up to the Mountain of the Lord,” Ensign, May 2009, 120

[Jenny SmithParticipant]

There is a form available from the church at
http://store.lds.org/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product3_715839595_10557_21053_-1__195648

It’s called the Talent and Interest survey. You can download and print it at the link above or order it for free for your unit.

I don’t mean to be rude or ugly, and so please don’t be upset at what follows….. Weekday activities, which used to be a part of the Enrichment program, are no longer listed as an activity format in the new Church Handbook of Activities:
https://www.lds.org/handbook/handbook-2-administering-the-church/relief-society?lang=eng#9.4.2

The new program, “Additional Relief Society Activities,” are held at least quarterly and generally monthly. Any change in frequency beyond this should be made under the direct instruction of the bishop or branch president.

I will be honest here — in my experience, using an assessment form like the one above is not an effective way to plan activities. I’m speaking here as a former Relief Society president during the days of Enrichment quarterly/weekly activities. People express “interest” in a class or topic, but don’t attend. Having an interest in a topic and being willing/able to attend is not the same thing. Weekday activities, in my opinion, should not be organized by the Relief Society presidency or RS committee. Activities of the kind typically created for women on weekdays are generally the type of activity already being provided by your local extension office, library, community center, or women’s organization (like playgroups, service clubs, gardening classes, book club, exercise classes, sewing club, etc). Again, it is my opinion that it does not make sense for the Relief Society to duplicate efforts that already exist in the community, and it is better for us to get out in the community where we can expand and develop friendships and talents. Further, if a weekday activity is going to be run by the Relief Society, a member of the Relief Society presidency (president or a counselor) must be present. Again, this is expecting a great deal of time from leaders that, in my opinion, is not needful.

I hope that I’m not hurting any feelings here. The thing you should know is that weekday activities are no longer an explicit part of the Additional Relief Society Meetings schedule as found in the new handbook.

If you’re looking for an assessment form for doing monthly or quarterly activities, again, it is my opinion that assessment forms are ineffective. It’s better for the presidency to work with the bishop to prayerfully assess needs and choose activities based on inspiration rather than “by vote”, if you see what I mean.

[Jenny SmithParticipant]

Public showing of a movie is not allowed because of copyright law; however, you can pay a fee to the copyright owner of most movies to show it in a group setting. This license is called a Public Performance License Last I heard, the fee was $50-75.00.

See
http://www.mpaa.org/contentprotection/public-performance-law

http://library.lafayette.edu/collections/filmlicenses

[Jenny SmithParticipant]

These items are exclusive products that are only available online.

[Jenny SmithParticipant]

Try this Christmas script:
http://www.mormonshare.com/lds-activity/jennys-super-simple-lds-chistmas-script

[Author]

Posts