Primary reaches 125th milestone
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On Aug. 25, 1878, at a meetinghouse in Farmington, Utah, 224 boys and girls gathered for the first meeting of the newly created Primary Association. The children were counseled by founder Aurelia Spencer Rogers to be obedient and kind to one another.
On Feb. 8, 2003 — nearly 125 years later — tens of thousands of Primary children will meet together in stake centers throughout the world to receive spiritual counsel, this time during a special First Presidency satellite broadcast originating from the Conference Center in Salt Lake City.
With its theme, "I'll Follow Him in Faith," the broadcast will mark the 125th year of the Primary Association with addresses from a member of the First Presidency and members of the Primary general presidency.
An Aug. 19, 2002, letter to priesthood leaders from President Boyd K. Packer, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve, states: "Primary children ages 7-11, their parents, and Primary leaders are invited to attend this broadcast in their stake centers at 2 p.m. Mountain Standard Time. . . . The meeting will be under direction of the stake or district presidency. The stake or district Primary presidency should be invited to sit on the stand.
"Please ensure that no other meetings are held that would interfere with this significant event."
This "significant event" will be the first time a Churchwide satellite broadcast is directed at children. And Primary General President Coleen K. Menlove and her counselors, Sydney S. Reynolds and Gayle M. Clegg, are thrilled.
"We hope that this broadcast will carry a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ through the Spirit to the hearts of the children, and it will help them remember and follow the Savior with faith and courage each day of their lives," said Sister Menlove during a telephone conference interview between her, the Church News and her counselors.
"We hope the central message for each child is 'I know Heavenly Father loves me and I love Him, and I can pray to Heavenly Father anytime and anywhere. I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ, and I will follow Him in faith.' "
And by listening to the words of a prophet, Sister Menlove and her counselors surmise, children can learn how to follow the Savior.
"How can a child follow the Savior? There are some obvious things that come to mind that have to do with love and kindness and prayer. Those are all important things," Sister Reynolds said. "It's especially important in these troubling times that children's faith in the Savior is increased. Ultimately, He is the source of comfort and peace in their lives."
Sister Clegg added, speaking of the broadcast: "What a joyous time to be in a large setting with other children and their parents. It will be a memory they can look back on and anchor them."
And, the Primary general presidency hopes, an impetus for local Primary leaders to plan an activity on or around the August anniversary in celebration of 125 years of Primary. Sister Menlove hopes Primary leaders "use the messages and music given during this meeting to help the children develop faith in Jesus Christ and to plan a local event that would perhaps focus on service to their families and in their neighborhoods."
She urges ward and stake Primary leaders to consider the ages and needs of the children in planning this activity. In the meantime, she emphasized, Primary leaders can focus during weekly Sharing Time on the theme of the broadcast, "I'll Follow Him in Faith," which she said "folds right into the yearly theme" for the 2003 Children's Sacrament Meeting Presentation: "I Belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."
In fact, the seventh principle in the outline for this year's presentation is "I'll Follow Him in Faith," which includes Sharing Time ideas on teaching about faith and receiving answers to prayer. In the outline's foreword from the Primary general presidency, Primary leaders are counseled: "Help [children] increase their faith in Jesus Christ by teaching them to follow Him, to keep His commandments, and to heed the voice of His prophets."
Sister Menlove and her counselors hope children of the Church will listen to the counsel of Church leaders during the upcoming First Presidency broadcast and will come away with a desire to "follow Him" in word and deed.
New music to be performed by a choir of children from the Granger, Utah, stakes and by the congregation is designed to support the broadcast's theme, including "I'll Follow Him in Faith" (first published in the January 2003 The Friend) and "Holding Hands Around the World" (July 2002 Friend).
The meeting will be broadcast in 22 languages to the United States, Canada and the Caribbean, and to Mexico, Central America and South America. It will also be available on the internet at www.lds.org.
In Utah, it will be rebroadcast Feb. 8 at 4 p.m. on KBYU-TV (Channel 11) and over KBYU-FM Radio (89.1 frequency). The program will also be rebroadcast via satellite Feb. 15 to Brazil and parts of Uruguay and to Europe and South Africa.
E-mail: julied@desnews.com
