Help for those who love and serve

Saturday, March 26, 2011

It was a great meeting!



The General Young Women Meeting ended a few hours ago and already there are video excerpts available on the LDS youth website here.

Here's the video shown at the meeting, "I'm a Young Woman, and I Believe."



Youth Website link here.

What fun - to have the resources so quickly! Wouldn't it be wonderful to talk about the meeting and review the highlights with your young women?

If you missed the meeting it will be rebroadcast on BYUtv Sunday at 5 pm MT - read more

Here is news coverage on the meeting:

 KSL article and video

Salt Lake Tribune article

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Praise for the Youth Website

The Deseret News calls the new Youth Website a wonder!

You can read about it here

Vote for your favorite video!

Visitor's choice voting for the church's International Video Contest began yesterday.

You can view videos in professional, amateur, and youth categories.

VOTE HERE

Be sure to share this fun project with your young women.

Read more

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

More on the General Young Women Meeting



From Church News article: "YW meeting an opportunity to say thanks:
Young women around the world making a difference"
(March 19, 2011)

"For members of the Young Women general presidency, the 2011 General Young Women Meeting will be almost celebratory.

"It will be our way of saying, 'Thank you, young women,'" said Sister Elaine S. Dalton, Young Women general president. " 'You are making a difference; every single one of you all over the world is a glowing light to the world because you are reflecting the Savior's light'...


"Our messages will create a platform that will open up conversations between mothers and daughters," she said. "We hope mothers will take advantage of this opportunity to talk about gospel principles and standards with their daughters."

Read more

Details on the satellite feed

Monday, March 21, 2011

General Young Women Meeting

It's coming up this Saturday!

Here are highlights from last year's meeting:



Send a link to your young women to help them get ready for the broadcast - https://lds.org/youth/video/general-yw-meeting-highlights?lang=eng

(or link them to this blog post :)

When to watch:

LIVE BROADCASTREBROADCAST
8 p.m. Eastern time10 p.m. Eastern time
7 p.m. Central time9 p.m. Central time
6 p.m. Mountain time8 p.m. Mountain time
5 p.m. Pacific time7 p.m. Pacific time
Broadcast information here

Read more

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Kyiv Ukraine Temple Celebration Video

This video is a little longer than normal (6:13) and it may not seem like a topic that will rivet the youth, but be sure to give it a try. It's the second most viewed Mormon Messages for Youth video right now. There's something powerful about hearing youth around the world share their experiences with the Gospel.



How to use this video?

Looking forward in Young Women Manual 3: Lessons 15-19 are about family history and temple work. This video might be a good resource to prepare young women for the unit. You could send them this link:

http://www.youtube.com/user/MormonMessagesYouth#p/c/E395F43BA88AEEB6/1/6WQA2Mc7qqU

Questions to consider:

What experiences did the youth in this video have with the temple?
What experiences have you had with the temple?
What do you think their challenges might be?
What challenges do youth in your community face?
How do you stay strong?

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

RSS Feeds and Podcasts

Did you know that finding this blog and reading it is the old fashioned way to use the internet?

When you do that, you are "pulling" content by working to find it.

Instead, most youth live in a "push" internet environment.

They sign up or indicate what kind of content they want and then it's delivered or "pushed" to them. Facebook is an example. Friends, photos, "liked" pages, are all pushed onto their wall. The new Youth iPhone app pushes the latest youth content to phones.  This is a good thing!

The LDS Church has embraced "push" technology. To learn more, read this post from LDS Media Talk (an excellent blog I follow): RSS Feeds from the LDS Church. You will learn all the ways you can have Church content pushed to you. The post includes a list of podcasts, but here are two that weren't included. They are particularly useful for youth and their leaders:

These podcasts are the simplest way to get good youth videos onto your computer, iPad, iPhone, iPod so that you can share them.

And guess what?

You can have content from this blog "pushed" to you.  Read about RSS feeds from the blog post I shared and then sign up for the RSS feed from Blessing Young Women (scroll down a little ways on the right sidebar).



Or you can "like" the Blessing Young Women facebook page and updates will appear on your wall.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Auxiliary Training - Spring 2011

Auxiliary training workshops are held for Young Women, Primary, Relief Society, Sunday School, and Young Men each spring, between the General Young Women Meeting and General Conference.

Click here to see this year's complete schedule.

Young Women leadership training will be held:

Tuesday, March 29 
10:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Assembly Hall
6:30–9:00 p.m. Assembly Hall

Thursday, March 31 
10:00 a.m.12:30 p.m. Conference Center Theater
6:30–9:00 p.m.* Conference Center Theater
(Spanish translation will be provided during the Thursday sessions)

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Personal Progress Resources




Personal Progress is a self directed, goal setting, spiritual achievement program program for young women ages 12 to 18. Its purpose is to help each young woman draw closer to Jesus Christ and prepare to make and keep sacred temple covenants.

I thought it might be helpful to search for and share some of the current LDS.org resources on the Young Women Personal Progress program. (sorry about the crazy spacing - Blogger is being difficult today)


Official LDS.org Personal Progress websites:

Handbook 2: Administering the Church - 10.7 Personal Progress

Personal Progress information for leaders

Personal Progress online

Personal Progress Book (full text)

Implementation instructions and materials list (pdf)

Frequently asked questions (pdf)

Young Women Manual 3 - suggestions for personal progress integration into Sunday instruction is included in some of the lessons. For example see Lessons 12 (scroll to bottom of the right sidebar)

The Honor Bee




"Bee a Mentor - Righteous influence," Elaine S. Dalton, Church News, June 19, 2010
Earning the Honor Bee in Young Women encourages every young woman to become a mentor. After a young woman finishes her Personal Progress and receives her Young Womanhood award and medallion, she can become a mentor to another young woman and, in the process, she can earn an Honor Bee. The Honor Bee is a symbol of someone who has gone the extra mile and beyond the requirements. read more


"Idea List: After Personal Progress," New Era, Oct 2010
If you’ve already received your Young Womanhood Recognition, one way to keep progressing is by helping other young women with their Personal Progress. This is called mentoring, and it’s easy. First, be a friend. Second, show and teach. Remember to work under the direction of your leaders, and you can be eligible to earn an Honor Bee. read more

Personal Progress Messages in General Conference

"Help Them on Their Way Home," Henry B. Eyring, Apri 2010 General Conference
Personal Progress helps young women prepare to receive the ordinances of the temple. They are helped by the examples of mothers, grandmothers, and every righteous woman around them in the Church. I have seen how parents helped a daughter achieve her goals and dreams by noticing and appreciating all the good things she does. read more

"Our Duty to God: The Mission of Parents and Leaders to the Rising Generation," Robert D. Hales, April 2010 General Conference
Fathers, mothers, and leaders of youth, we urge you to participate in Personal Progress and Duty to God with your children and with the youth. Not only will they grow; you will grow too. And just as importantly, you will grow together in a bond of faith and friendship that will allow you to strengthen each other and stay on the gospel path forever, to indeed be an eternal family. read more

Articles on Personal Progress

"Helping Youth Track Their Progress or Their Duty—Online," Ensign, March 2011
As parents, leaders, or teachers, we can help teens use the interactive, online versions of Duty to God and Personal Progress. read more

"Ribbons, recognition and relationships," Elaine S. Dalton, Church News, July 17, 2030
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 asking the youth to participate in these programs, he needed to become familiar with them as their bishop. Consequently, he started to work on both his Personal Progress and his Duty to God. read more

"What's New in Personal Progress," Elaine S. Dalton, New Era, Jan 2010
Personal Progress is not a program that is separate and apart from your life. It is a tool that you can use to draw closer to the Savior, serve others, be anxiously engaged in good works, learn leadership skills, develop relationships with others, and prepare for temple covenants. Personal Progress helps each young woman who participates develop daily righteous routines. When you do small things consistently, they become part of who you are and they change you. It really is “by small and simple things” that “great things [are] brought to pass” read more

"Young Women: Personal Progress," Church News, Dec 26, 2009
As part of the revised Personal Progress program, Latter-day Saint young women worldwide will receive specific items. Following is a list of the new items and their purpose: read more


"Fostering Spiritual Growth among Latter-day Saint Young Women," Church News, Dec 26, 2009
The Church's Personal Progress program — which now includes a revised booklet, a redesigned Young Women medallion, and other tools — will help young women in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints grow in faith and testimony of their Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ, said Sister Elaine S. Dalton. read more

"Five Reasons to Love Personal Progress: Why Personal Progress just might be one of the most important things you choose to do as a teenager," New Era, Nov 2006
You’re sitting in your bishop’s office for your birthday interview, and you’ve already talked about how things are at home and in school. Now your bishop asks how your Personal Progress is going. Are you (a) excited to tell him about the experiences and projects you’ve worked on this year, (b) embarrassed because you haven’t worked on it that much lately, or (c) blushing because you don’t even know where your Personal Progress book is? read more

Young Women's Stories about Personal Progress

"The Challenge That Changed My Life: I thought I was up to the task, but I found there was more to it than memorization," New Era, Nov 2010
The lump in my throat continued to grow as I slowly walked to the front of the room. I was a senior in high school, and this was my last Young Women in Excellence presentation. As I faced the audience of young women, parents, and leaders, I realized that my years of theater and speech experience were not going to help that night. read more


"Learning from Personal Progress: One little book helped lead me to joy and guide me through trials," New Era, Jan 2010
I remember my first Mutual activity. I went as a guest or investigator a couple of days after my 12th birthday, before I was even a member.


To be honest, I really didn’t want to be there. My excuse was that I didn’t know anyone who claimed they went to this Church. At the time, I was attending a different Christian program that was just mainly fun. I really liked my friends there and the competitive games provided by the youth directors. So technically I was comparing the two church programs to see which one I liked best, and I was sure that I already knew which one I preferred and didn’t need to prove it by going to Mutual.  Or so I thought. read more

"Prayerful Personal Progress," Liahona, March 2009
One day while I was working on Personal Progress, I started to work on an experience that included praying regularly for two weeks. One of the things I decided to pray for was that my friend would respect me and understand that the Church was very important to me. Two weeks later, when the experience was completed, I kept praying for the same thing. read more

"The Point," New Era, March 2008
What’s the reason for Personal Progress? These young women in North and South Carolina know it’s to help both you and those around you. “Make it work for you.” That’s how Mia Maid Megan Ross sums up her advice about participating in Personal Progress. But her mother, Deborah, the Young Women president of the Colfax Ward, Greensboro North Carolina Stake, adds this additional suggestion, which makes Personal Progress even more meaningful: “Use it to help those around you.”
read more

"Making Progress Personal in Panama," Liahona, Aug 2006
“I always thought the worst of myself,” says Melissa, 17, who is about to complete the Young Women program in the Cincuentenario Ward, Panama City Panama Stake. “But the Personal Progress program has helped me realize that I am worth something.” read more


Special Needs Personal Progress


"Personal Progress by Proxy:The service was sweet as these Young Women did something for their friend that she couldn’t do for herself," New Era, August 2009
A group of young women came to the Jordan River Utah Temple to do baptisms for the dead. As they were waiting, their leader started thinking. That day they were doing baptisms by proxy for people who could not do them for themselves. She starting thinking about a Laurel in her ward who, because of a terrible traffic accident, was not able to earn her Young Womanhood medallion for herself.
Could they all help? Could they do something like Personal Progress by proxy?
read more

"Skating with Jennifer: Young women in California find that it’s easy to adapt when you care enough to make progress personal," New Era, May 2008
It’s not unusual to see two girls giggling as they try to stay up on ice skates. But how often do they do it while working on Personal Progress? In this case, it’s one of many things young women in the Centerville Ward of the Fremont Stake in northern California have done to help one of their own. The skating activity was tailor-made to fit the needs of Jennifer Beck, who has Down syndrome. read more

Friday, March 11, 2011

LDS Youth App is available!



This is exciting news for those of you with iPhones, iPods, or iPads!

Youth.lds.org content is now available through a new iPhone app - and It's free.

To download it, click here or go to your iTunes store (download iTunes if you don't have it) search "LDS youth" and click on the blue "Youth" icon.

More information about the youth website.

If you have no idea what an app is - that's OK - just to be sure to tell your young women about this.



You can read more at Church News and Events and on LDS Media Talk.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

YW Manual 3: Lessons 12-14

Young Women will soon be learning about the priesthood in their Sunday lessons.

Lessons 12-14 are now updated in the online manual

Lesson 12 -  The Blessings of the Priesthood

Lesson 13 - The Priesthood Can Bless Families

Lesson 14 - We Have a Wonderful Legacy

Each of these lessons has suggested discussion questions, current words from the prophets, conference talks to study, scripture resources, videos, lesson application ideas, and suggestions for Personal Progress. All if these resources are linked right from the online lesson.

Aren't these extra resources fabulous?!?

Here are the videos suggested for YW Manual lessons 12-14. Remember, these are supplementary resources. They don't necessarily need to be shown Sunday in class. You could email or text a link to a video and ask the young women to watch the video before or as a follow up after class.  You could also use videos in Mutual or firesides. I will include textable, emailable links that go to  the church's YouTube channels for each of the videos below. I like the idea of sharing these links because it will introduce this rich video resource to the youth.


Lesson 12 video - "Blessings of the Priesthood"
Shareable link:  http://www.youtube.com/user/MormonMessagesYouth#p/u/10/cI5FiXO0bAo





Lesson 13 video - "Becoming a Priesthood Man: Priesthood Duty" from 2011 Strength of Youth Media
Shareable link:  http://www.youtube.com/user/MormonMessagesYouth#p/u/10/cI5FiXO0bAo 





Lesson 14 video - "The Message of the Restoration"
Shareable link: http://www.youtube.com/user/MormonMessages#p/search/0/ySyv1I2e9RE





"Reviewing the Lessons of the Past"
Shareable link:  http://www.youtube.com/user/MormonMessages#p/c/AF19F9A40E87ED75/6/ELIa7f3QcaA





Other videos on the priesthood

"Elder Perry on the Priesthood Part One: The Oath and Covenant"
Shareable link:  http://www.youtube.com/user/MormonMessages#p/c/D7FB5EC9689A2F7C/1/R2wMnmwiIIQ





"Elder Perry on the Priesthood Part Two: The Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods"
Shareable link:  http://www.youtube.com/user/MormonMessages#p/c/D7FB5EC9689A2F7C/0/9SV8JpwDfUI





"Directing the Lord's Work" Elder Bednar explains the role of an Apostle
Shareable link:  http://www.youtube.com/user/MormonMessages#p/c/D7FB5EC9689A2F7C/2/yBtE5QbcDbU

Monday, March 7, 2011

CES Fireside with Elder L. Tom Perry

Video of yesterday's Church Education System fireside by Elder L. Tom Perry was just posted on lds.org.

Here's a link. I don't have any details - yet.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Run for Virtue



Elaine S. Dalton, Young Women General President, visited a youth conference in Los Angeles last month. Part of the conference was a three mile "run for virtue."

You can read all about it in the March 5, 2011 Church News.

Friday, March 4, 2011

Preparing for Trek?

If your youth are going on trek this summer, here's a video to help them get ready.

Reviewing the Lessons of the Past, Elder L Tom Perry




What is trek?

Trek is a reenactment of Mormon pioneer handcart journeys that took place in the mid 1800s.  This experience helps youth understand the sacrifice and determination of the early pioneers. Testimonies deepen and unity grows as youth and leaders work together to overcome obstacles and complete their journey.


Here are some resources I found online:

Ensign Magazine on the real trek -  The Pioneer Trek: Nauvoo to Winter Quarters

lds.org safety guidelines

How to prepare for trek pdf

Handcart Trek reservations website

handcart-trek.org website

Ideas and resources for a successful trek

Pioneer trek clothing pdf

there's lots more - just search pioneer trek in google

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Newest Mormon Messages Video: "Unselfish Service"

Elder Dallen H Oaks, shares insights on service. This video will work well with Young Women Manual 3, lessons 31 and 32.



Suggestions for using this video:
Before viewing, ask the young women to listen carefully to Elder Oaks' words and identify at least one principle about service.

Questions:
What did Elder Oaks teach about service?
What experiences have you had with serving others? How do you feel when you serve?
How have your parents served you? What can you do to thank them?
How is happiness related to service?

Activity Ideas:
Have the young women plan a service project.