y s a   l e a d e r s

Many of us have read and re-read article "My Ways are Not Your Ways," found in the February 2007 Ensign.  There, and in recent communications, we have been encouraged to give youth meaningful opportunities to serve.  The article stresses the importance of causing our youth to "lose their lives in the service of the Lord", that they might "save their lives" and "strengthen their testimonies" for the approaching period when they will have to stand as Young Single Adults with little "parental supervision", and even less imposed structure.

These ideas have been well-received, and many of our wards and branches are striving to incorporate meaningful opportunities to serve in the lives of our Young Women.  Some concern has been raised as to whether the General Handbook of Instructions restricts young women from serving on occasion as substitute teachers, or Achievement Day Assistants in Primary.  There has been some expressed concern that these callings or assignments may detract from the Young Women's program as a whole. 

  We feel to provide the following encouragement and direction regarding creating opportunities for our youth to serve, as drawn from the Handbook. In training given to the Stake Presidencies by members of the Quorum of the Twelve on "How to Use the New Handbook", we were encouraged to identify  

•   Doctrines
•   Principles
•   Procedures

As to Doctrines, there is no area for flexibility.  Principles, in comparison, provide for little flexibility at the unit level.  As to Procedures there is room made out in the Handbook for significant flexibility as we focus on the overall Doctrine and Mission specified in the Handbook of "bringing [individual] souls unto Christ".

The Doctrine governing the section in the Handbook re Young Women is stated in the first paragraph on Page 211 - "By following the Savior's example and teachings, [the Young Woman] can fulfill her mortal mission and return to live with her Heavenly Father."

The Basic Principles stemming from that Doctrine are laid out beautifully in the third, fourth and fifth paragraphs on the same page.  Interestingly, these can be summarized using the same language President Hinckley has used in describing the needs of the New Member (who in sense of spiritual development, is very similar to a member of the youth organization) - Leaders for Young Women should:

 
•   Foster Friendships ("A Friend")
•   Provide meaningful opportunities for service ("A calling")
•   Provide nourishment with the Good Word of God, with a goal to help her learn and live the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and prepare to receive Temple Covenants, becoming an eternal wife and mother.

The pages, programs and paragraphs that follow upon this Doctrine and these Principles illustrate the Policies and Procedures that are recommended and supported by the 1st Presidency as being most likely to help us with the fulfillment of the challenge imposed upon leaders in the body of the Doctrine and Principles.  

We do very well in the Church generally with our youth when it comes to providing activities that will foster friendships.  We also provide a good level of nourishment with the Good Word of God, and a solid emphasis on temple covenants (though issues relative to courtship, dating and relationships could use increased focus currently).  These things provide a high level of structure for our youth while they are youth, but in and of themselves fail to provide the depth of Gospel-character necessary to allow the seeds that have been planted any real opportunity to take deep root.

The provision of "Meaningful" opportunities for service is what has been lacking.

"Meaningful Service" can be provided through monthly service projects that seek to benefit disadvantaged members of the Community, the Young Women's Organization, or the Church.  It can also be done by implementing the calls and training outlined on pages 218-19 of the Handbook re "Responsibilities of Class Officers". 

One Young Women's President further helped her Young Women "lose themselves in service, that they might find themselves" by implementing a program similar to the Relief Society's Visiting Teaching Program, requiring the young women to have monthly personal contact, and weekly phone contact with other young women, active and less active, in the unit.  The Class Officers had meaningful opportunities to serve by their calls, correlation with YW's and unit leaders, and the other YW each played a role that was followed up on by regular stewardship interviews from the YW's presidency.

Other units have considered teaching the youth (at ages when they have a solid grasp of the doctrine) a three-month session in Sunday School drawing on lessons from the "Teaching- No Greater Call Manual", and then taking those youth and using them as substitute teachers in Primary, working closely with the regular teacher to follow up weekly with the primary students, giving thereby the YW an opportunity to feel a sense of ownership and connection with the children they teach on a periodic basis, all while allowing them to stay in regular contact with the Young Women's classes during third hour.  This has allowed the Primary Teacher the respite of enjoying an adult Sunday School class as well.

Still others have set up monthly, as opposed to weekly rotations, with several young women being trained and prepared to teach a Primary Sunday School class on one given Sunday in a particular month.  

Still others have noted that Young Women may also provide lessons over the course of YW's classes on Sunday.  Though the Young Women should not teach the class every Sunday, the Handbook specifically says that, under the direction and supervision of the Presidency or an Advisor, "Young Women also may assist in teaching."

All such activities, and many others not mentioned, are wonderful ways to ensure that each Young Woman has a meaningful opportunity to serve by virtue of a calling or assignment. 

We understand that one of our wards has a practice of calling each young man to serve as a ward missionary when he is ordained to the office of priest. They are not treated as “junior” missionaries, but as full-fledged ones. They dedicate one evening per week to this service, doing exchanges with the missionaries to find and teach investigators. In addition, they often are assigned to teach new member lessons to newly baptized members. The bishop of that ward reported that in the past five years, 24 of 25 young men that turned 19 in that ward chose to serve a mission.

When extending a calling to a young woman or man, the following principles, as drawn from the Handbook, should be discussed prior to making the assignment or placing the call:

 
• The call or assignment should not detract from the need to ensure that the YW still benefits from the program's ability to foster friendships.  One would reference the last paragraph of page 216 of the Handbook "Members of the bishopric promote a spirit of love and unity among class members".  
•   Prior to placing a call or assignment, support from parents and YW's leaders should be received.  Their counsel should be sought as to specific YW, their needs, and how the call can be presented, and magnified, so as to be mindful of the importance of all 3 of the Basic Principles noted above.  Once again, one would reference page 216 of the Handbook, as well as the 8th paragraph on page 211 ("Leaders... seek her parents' help and counsel").  
• The same considerations that govern the presentation of calls to adults, as found in Book 1 of the Handbook should be applied, to make sure that the call will be a blessing, and not a burden, to the one receiving the call or assignment.

  We encourage periodic review of how each Young Woman is doing as a result of the call or assignment.  The Correlation meeting is a good venue to hear from the auxiliary benefited, from the YW's President, the Seminary Teacher, and the Bishop, as the council reviews the Young Woman's post-call/assignment progress in:

 
•   Fostering and maintaining friendships with the Young Women.
•   Benefitting from the deepening of her character and spirituality as a result of the call/assignment 
•   Her on-going ability and need to receive nourishment in the good word of God, in light of the call.

We express great love, confidence and appreciation to all of our unit leaders for the work that they are doing in ensuring that all three policies are implemented in a balanced fashion for each of the Young Women under their stewardship.