Hello again, everyone! I had the opportunity yesterday (Sunday September 29), as did many of you, to watch the video detailing the new Children and Youth initiative that was the focus of the Fifth Sunday lesson. For those who still need to see that, or who are interested in the official summaries thereof which have been provided, you can find those here and here. As I watched the broadcast, several thoughts came to mind which I wanted to share. First, the program will be home-centered and Church-supported to match what is already in place for congregations, families, and individuals, including seminary students.
And there will be no hard-and-fast rules or a lengthy list of required objectives. Rather, the program, as implemented worldwide, will look different in different areas of the Church. The premise upon which this initiative is based appears to be a solid one. Some doctrinal background may be illustrative. When the Prophet Joseph Smith was asked about how he managed to govern such a large body of congregants, he responded, "We teach them correct principles, and they govern themselves."
Other things that came to mind were these verses, and also the preamble to the Word of Wisdom. The doctrines taught in these scriptures provide valuable insight into the reasoning behind the determinations made on how the new initiative will work for the children and youth in the Church. In short, the intent of Church leaders in the workings of the new initiative to provide general guidelines rather than a specific spectrum, and to allow for individual, familial, quorum, group, and congregational flexibility based on needs and inspiraition received.
And during a period of time when the Church is moving towards a home-centered Church-supported system for gospel study and seminary, doing the same for children and youth ages 8 and up makes a lot of sense. One comment my wife made is that things seemed to be a little vague in terms of what was expected and planned. But I think that's the key: it will be something that looks different for everyone everywhere based on the circumstances, goals, deliberations, and received inspiration for individuals, families, and congegations, but the endgame goal will be to achieve the very same objectives and growth.
As the general leaders expressed their excitement for this new program, I could see their faith that the youth and children of the Church, together with parents, siblings, teachers, and leaders will rise to this opportunity to ensure that the program is bringing effective change and generating growth in the four specified general areas of focus (physical, spiritual, social, and intellectual). I was similarly grateful to hear these leaders testify that these new efforts have been inspired and directed by the Lord through his prophet, President Russell M. Nelson.
I was particularly touched to hear President Ballard and one or two others specifically say that they wished something like that had been available when they were ages 8-18. Our prophet has clearly felt impressed by the Lord that the children and youth will measure up to this new opportunity to take responsibility for their own ability to develop skills and progress. And that, to me, is an indication that this new initiative will be a huge blessing to the lives of those involved therewith as individuals, families, congregations, and the Church as a whole.
I am grateful for this opportunity to share some of my thoughts on the new initiative That does it for now. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such comments are made in accordance with the established guidelines. Thank you for the privilege of your time. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly added content, please feel free to subscribe. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.
Monday, September 30, 2019
Details Shared for New Children and Youth Initiative That Will Launch in 2020
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
6 comments:
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I heard a lot about it being more individualized. This call work better depending upon a variety of factors such as abilities, disabilities, and other factors such as culture and ethnicity. it is not a one size fits all approach. I like it and that it still uses some existing programs such as service and camp. I see that it will be more Christ centered and will expand opportunities for all youth 8 and older.
ReplyDeleteChris, thanks for stopping by to share your thoughts. I may not have bewen clear enough about what I meant above. When I made the "one size fits all" statement, I was referring to the 3-verse preamble to the Word of Wisdom that to me describes what the program is. With my apologies to the Lord and Brother Joseph, let me share those words with paraphrases that will better fit my purposes:
Delete"A Word of Wisdom, for the benefit of the youth and children [of the Church], assembled in [congregations throughout the world]—
"To be sent greeting; not by commandment or constraint, but by revelation and the word of wisdom, showing forth the order and bwill of God in the [physical, spiritual, intellectual, and] temporal salvation of all [children and youth] in the last days—
"Given for a principle with promise, adapted to the capacity of the weak and the weakest of all [children and youth], who are or can be called [children and youth]." With this revised wording in mind, what I meant and wasn't nearly clear enough about is that the way this program qualifies as "one size fits all" is that the general parameters are able to be individually applied and tailored perfectly to all children and youth, even if it will look different. I should have been more clear about that, and I was not. But I am satisfied with the new program, and grateful to the Church for making these adjustments based on the period of time in which we live. I believe it will be a benefit to children and youth everywhere, and while I have no regrets about what I was able to do as a child and youth in the outgoing programs, I think Church leaders have been wise in establishing these new efforts, and I cannot wait to see how the new program impacts the global Church. It is clear from all that has been done in relation to the children and youth that the Lord has great confidence in them, and that they are fully up to the challenge that this program will offer them. Thank you, as always, for taking time to comment, Chris!
Hello again, everyone! The following additional Church news stories have been reported:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2019-09-29/byu-exhibit-first-vision-bicentennial-joseph-smith-161635
https://www.thechurchnews.com/history-revisited/2019-09-30/joseph-smith-papers-masonry-nauvoo-161739
https://www.thechurchnews.com/history-revisited/2019-09-26/efy-brad-wilcox-john-bytheway-byu-professors-161230
And an update has also been reported on the Arequipa Peru Temple, where the remainder of the work on its' interior is now being completed. I continue to monitor all Church news and temple updates and will do my level best to bring word of those to you all here as I receive it. In the meantime, my thanks once again to you all.
Hello again, everyone! A couple more Church news developments have been reported, along with another update on the Pocatello Idaho Temple. First, the Church news.
ReplyDeleteAnyone who would like to do so can review Church News summaries of the April 2019 General Conference before this weekend when the October General Conference will convene:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2019-09-30/general-conference-april-2019-october-president-nelson-161988shi
And the Church News and Newsroom have provided overlapping coverage on the partnership between the World Food Program and Latter-day Saint Charities:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2019-09-30/a-look-at-how-the-partnership-between-the-world-food-progam-and-latter-day-saint-charities-is-helping-solve-world-hunger-162087
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/church-meets-un-world-food-programme
Aside from these Church news updates, there has also been yet another update reported on the Pocatello Idaho Temple, at which asphalt has been paved for driveways and parking lots, while the work of backfilling the foundation also continues, and structural steel is now also on-site. Again, it may be too early at this point to tell for sure, but I reiterate my opinion that, if the current rate of progress on this temple continues to be the status quo, then its' dedication could easily occur prior to that of the Quito Ecuador Temple. But I will be continuing to monitor all Church news and temple updates and pass along any updates to previously-offered thoughts as I make such adjustments. In the meantime, at some point within the next 7 hours or so, I will also be publishing my comparative analysis and report on temple construction progress during this third quarter of 2019. In the meantime, my thanks once again to you all.
Random question and thought. Have you, James, (or anyone who receives a physical of the Ensign each month) gotten their issue for the October 2019 Ensign yet? I talked with a family member today and neither of us have received our physical copy in the mail yet. Normally (at least where I live) they come about a week or so before the new month begins. The online edition is up on the church's website.
ReplyDeleteOn a potentially interesting side note, for the past three issues "The Church is Here" section that is usually found on the front inside cover of the Ensign featured cities that recently had temples announced for them (Praia, Salta, and Bengaluru). The featured city for the October issue is Antananarivo, Madagascar. Given that Madagascar has been a popular pick in recent years for a temple, I wonder if this could be a potential hint that a temple will be announced there? Or maybe it is just a coincidence that the city was chosen? Just a fun thought as we head into Conference Weekend. :)
Eric, thank you for stopping by to ask about this. Beginning in August of this year, each month's edition of the Church magazines has been slightly delayed. During the first week in August, when our monthly magazine had not arrived, I sent an inquiry about it to the Church's Distribution Store homepage. They responded that there was an error in the mailing system, and that as a result, the mailing out of the magazines had been delayed. Based on a very cursory and preliminary knowledge of the printing industry, I'd imagine that once the regular delivery of a magazine is delayed, that in turn results in a slight (but substantially less significant) delay in the distribution of the editions for future months. So my recommendation based on that is to wait and see. If you do not have your October magazines by or before October 7 or so, I am sure you can contact Distribution Services about this issue. But my guess is that, since none of us have that yet, it could just be that the delay in August impacted September and October. Hopefully at some point, the distribution queue will be back on its' normal schedule. Hope this information is helpful.
DeleteAs for the profile of Madagascar, it may be coincidence, but it may not be. Either way, I anticipate a temple will be announced for Antananarivo either next weekend or (at latest) during the April 2020 General Conference. We will find out soon enough in any case. In the meantime, thanks for taking time to ask about this, and hope the information is helpful. Always a pleasure to hear from you.