Rewards of work
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LAYTON, Utah — A lab for learning the law of the harvest was readily available to the youth of the Layton 37th Ward, Layton Utah South Stake, and they took advantage of it. The harvest has been bountiful, yielding watermelons, cantaloupe, potatoes, corn and pumpkins, shared with people living in the ward.
The ward is situated within a traditional farming area of west Layton. Some youth in the ward had been growing up in the area, but many had moved with their families into new residential developments and knew little or nothing about farming, or even gardening, said Bishop Philip K. Chandler.
So, as the youth and their leaders were contemplating a service project for 2007, Marty Brockman, who has since been released as Young Men president, suggested a youth farm, supported by Young Women President Tana Homer.
The family of Young Men secretary Tyson Roberts owns farmland within the ward and donated about an acre for the project. Brother Roberts said the family matriarch, his grandmother Mary Roberts, who readily tells people she is a month older than President Gordon B. Hinckley, was proud to say "yes" to the request for land for a youth farm.
So with Brother Roberts' help — and that of his tractor — the land was prepared in the spring for the young men and young women to plant. The priests quorum went to the extra effort of cutting up the seed potatoes donated by their supportive stake president, Cleve M. Dibble. Brother Roberts said it was anticipated it would take two hours on Mutual night to plant, but because of the number of youth who showed up, it took only 45 minutes.
The planting was followed by a long, hot summer of weeding. (Brother Roberts took care of the irrigation.) The youth usually labored at their "farm" on Mutual night, coming all together or as smaller combinations of quorums and classes. Bishop Chandler said there were times the weeds thrived to the point the entire ward was invited to take back control. The harvest was the measure of success.
After a recent September evening gathering watermelons and potatoes at their farm, some of the youth shared their feelings about the project.
Deborah McBride, a Laurel, said, "We actually got to learn how to plant a garden, take care of it and harvest it. We had to learn responsibility because it was hard to come every Wednesday to weed, and it was hot a lot." She added that it was valuable for the Young Women as a Personal Progress project.
They also enjoyed the gratifying feeling of serving others by delivering good food to their neighbors, including those of other faiths.
Carter Flint, a priest, said the youth learned first-hand valuable lessons about farming; things they previously only heard others talking about. He said the only profit from their labors was "just to help us learn to serve others and to learn the value of hard work."
The young men responded well, showing up regularly to "pull up the weeds — the big ones that the young women seemed to somehow miss," Carter said with a smile. "We just got to come out here and get dirty and have a really good time."
Bishop Chandler said, "It's been a good experience for the kids to be out here in the soil." He explained that the project's purpose was to teach lessons to the youth, so it was decided not to complicate distribution of the crops. Families living within the ward boundaries appreciated the deliveries of fresh produce from the youth. He noted that the pumpkins will be given away at the ward's popular Halloween Festival in October.
"In the grand scheme, this gave the kids an idea of what hard work is," Bishop Chandler said. Another benefit, he added, was the youth being able to do something that can be a challenge — starting a project and seeing it through to completion.
E-mail to: ghill@desnews.com
