Book Details Mormon Teens' Sacrifice, Discipline and Energy

In Kenda Creasy Dean's new book, Almost Christian: What the Faith of Our Teenagers Is Telling the American Church, one chapter focuses on the religious dedication of teenagers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Throughout the book, Dean references survey results from the National...

YW President Dalton: Anxiously engaged in a good cause

During the past months, leaders of young women have used the 2010 Mutual Theme from Joshua 1:9, "Be strong and of a good courage," to focus and give emphasis to youth activities including camps, Mutual events, pioneer treks, youth conferences and firesides. This Mutual theme has been a blessing to...

YW Lesson 2-32 "The Importance of Life"

We've been around long enough to know that this unit, the "Living a Virtuous Life" unit each year, poses some of the greatest teaching challenges to you and usually includes lessons that many of you find to be poorly written, or which contain troubling weird stories, or which need so much...

To the YW, Love Joan of Arc

This letter was received and transcribed by Carol Lynn Wright Pearson in Walnut Creek, California, a close friend of Joan, the Maid of Orleans. The Month of June in the Year of our Lord, 2010 Dear Young Women of Payson, Utah, United States of America, I was deeply honored to be informed that...

YW Lesson 2 - 30 "Strengthening Testimony Through Service"

You guys aren't going to believe this. I love this lesson. From the beginning section immersed in the scriptures to the wonderful story by one of my favorites - Ardeth G. Kapp, to the great talks included in the resource materials (bonus points for one being by a woman!). Little Miss Nitpicker...

Girls really do have more fun

At least at Girls Camp, they do. This is one of the first things I learned as a priesthood observer at our ward’s Girls Camp this week. Scout Camp: fun, not very organized. Girls Camp: organized and a lot more fun with some amazing spiritual moments. I’d like to address one of those spiritual...

Weathering life

A youth leader walked across her ward's Young Women campsite, located high in the mountains. The rain and wind had made most of the activities planned for camp that day impossible. Everything was muddy. She thought of "Campalot," the camp's theme drawn from Camelot. During the weeklong activity,...

YW President Elaine S. Dalton: Ribbons, recognition and relationships

Mormon Life says: Love the story of this great bishop. On a recent auxiliary training assignment to Africa, I met a new young bishop who shared his enthusiasm for the Personal Progress and Duty to God programs for the youth. He felt that since he was...

YW Lesson 2-29 "Exaltation"

This lesson has a lot of rich doctrine: the plan of salvation, the difference between immortality and exaltation, how to gain exaltation, the necessity of covenants and ordinances. Depending on your young women, you can spend varying amounts of time introducing and reviewing those concepts . To...

Youth in Action (Mormon Messages for Youth)

YW Lesson 2-28 "Agency"

This lesson is pretty heavily reliant on role playing and discussions, so I know I'm going to have to come up with something else to fill the time. I have never once had a group that would go for role playing, and I currently have one Laurel, so that's not going to go over well. As luck or...

YW Lesson 2-27 "Strengthening Testimony through Obedience"

Hi, I’m Annie. Jeans is enjoying some time away with her family so I’m honored to jump in for a couple of weeks to chat about the upcoming YW lessons. I have loved using her posts as a jumping off point in my own YW lessons—and I won’t even try to fill her great shoes here—but I am thrilled to...

Young Women Advice - Am I Doing it Right?

Q: I am feeling a little frustrated, a little sad, a little guilty, a little confused. I've been YW president in my ward for two years now, and was recently told that I probably wouldn't be in my calling much longer. Of course I will be sad to be released. I really have nothing but LOVE for all...

YW Lesson 2-26 "The Sacrament"

I really like the objective of this lesson: "Each young woman will participate with deeper understanding in the ordinance of the sacrament." It's so easy to let it go by taking it entirely for granted week after week - but if you really consider what the sacrament is for and what it's doing, it's...

My ward is going to be translated for this…

Mormon Life says: The way all Young Women should "graduate." This week our Relief Society lesson was combined with the Young Women in the ward. On the table stood three large, framed photographs of our three recently graduated Laurels. Next to those were...