Choice and Accountability #2 and Integrity #1

OK, our group of young women only has one Laurel right now.  We have been helping her finish the 6 experiences that she has left.  One of the was C&A #2 (Read the pamphlet For the Strength of Youth. List in your journal each standard of righteous behavior the pamphlet outlines, and record why it is important to choose to live those standards. Practice living righteous standards by choosing three standards in which you need to improve. You might choose to be more selective about television, music, books, or other media, or you might improve your modesty, language, or honesty. After three weeks share your progress with your family, your class, or a leader.)  After working on reading the For the Strength of Youth pamphlet for 2 Sunday lesson times I was reading through the PP book to see if our time capsule activity could be used to complete a PP experience I accidentally found Integrity #1 (Integrity is the willingness and desire to live by our beliefs and standards. Read Moroni 10:30–33 and think about what it means to “deny yourselves of all ungodliness.” Read the pamphlet For the Strength of Youth. Reflect on how the Lord’s standards differ from the world’s standards. Record in your journal appropriate standards for behavior, dress, and conversation, as well as literature, movies, television, Internet, music, cell phones, and other media. Also write your plan to stay morally clean and worthy to attend the temple. After keeping your standards for at least one month, record your feelings in your journal and continue to keep your commitment.) and realized that it was stupid not to do them at the same time!!  I wish that I would have originally been working on both of them because it is going to be a little difficult to add the extra interpretations of the For the Strength of Youth information when we are 2/3 of the way through the book but it is worth the effort I will have to make in order to pull it off.  

I have to admit that I didn't want to read the ENTIRE For the Strength of Youth with the girls, but the experience has been amazing.  We have had the girls take turns reading out loud and after we get done we discuss the section and they can take notes (that our girls will glue in their journals) on their handout.  Our discussions have been a great opportunity for us as leaders to share experiences for our lives on how we have been blessed by following that standard and the girls have also born testimonies of the ways they have been blessed too.  I never imagined that we would have such a positive, spiritual experience with the girls by doing something I deemed as "boring".  It is a true testimony to Personal Progress.  The more we can do to help the girls complete their PP the better. 

I love to have take homes for the girls to stick to their mirror or bulletin boards in their bedrooms so they have something to remind them of what they are working on.  My dad used to always say (I think he was quoting someone) "a goal not written down is merely a wish"  I think for my girls to actually work on their goals they need them written down, visible and they also need to be able to mark them off as they work on it.  Here is the hand out I made for this time.  I usually print multiple (like 4) handouts per sheet of paper.

Family Home Evening

Do you ever have you kids teach FHE?  When your daughters who are in Young Women teach FHE they should probably chooses a Personal Progress experience to base it on.  That way their planning can be doubly valuable to them and their family.  Some experiences require that they teach a FHE lesson but there are many more that could be easily adapted to the purpose.   Here is my list of ideas for young women trying to decide if they can kill two birds with one stone (I hope that didn't offend President Kimball).

Here is the link to the talk President Kimball gave about not killing little birdies.  https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1978/10/fundamental-principles-to-ponder-and-live?lang=eng

Personal Progress you are ALREADY doing!

As part of your daily life you are accomplishing things that are in your Personal Progress book.  Take some time to read through it and see what you are already doing that qualifies.  These are the 6 that my daughters were already doing and didn't realize that they had almost completed just by doing the things that teenage girls do in their everyday lives.

Mother/Daughter Personal Progress

The church has encouraged the mothers to do the Personal Progress program with their daughters.  As a mother of a couple Young Women I know it is a big commitment as a busy mother but here is a list of PP experiences that your daughter and you should do together.  She is supposed to discuss these things with you (or some sort of proxy like a grandmother or woman who is a good example).  As a mother I think these are great times to be able to teach and bond with our daughters.  Please don't let these opportunities slip through your fingers.

Personal Progress Recording Chart (more than one young woman)

New Beginnings Invite

Here is the invitation I did for our New Beginnings this year.  

I also added an invitation that has the Date, Time and Location blank so You can add your own info there.  Most computers have a simple paint program that can be used to add text to any jpeg file so you should be able to find a way to add text once you have downloaded it!

Divine Nature #7 and Individual Worth #3

I love to make little handouts to go with the personal progress experiences.  Here are 2 I made last year.

With Divine Nature #7 We read the definition of the word peacemaker, and read five scriptures that teach about peacemakers.  Then the girls took the hand out home and hung it in their rooms.  We reminded them each time we saw them (Wednesday nights and Sundays) that they were supposed to be working on being peacemakers.  When the end of the 2 weeks came we reminded them that they should write in their journals to complete their goal.

This one only took like 3 minutes to start on Wednesday night,  we read Doctrine and Covenants 18:10 and 121:45.  Then I gave them this hand out to take home and did the persistent nagging for the next two weeks so they wouldn't forget that they were supposed to be "building others" 

I use Heritage Makers http://www.heritagemakers.com/  to create most of my things since I have a membership there already and they have cool digital scrap booking options but just a simple black and white worksheet with no graphics can remind the girls what they are doing.  I like a chart to check off the days they were successful on my worksheet too.  

Personal Progress Integrity #3

I am helping the girls cover Integrity #3 by teaching a lesson covering most of these scripture heroes.  You can find Integrity #3 here:  https://www.lds.org/young-women/personal-progress/integrity?lang=eng)  I don't have to cover Esther because the other councilor is doing a Wednesday night activity where she will cover the story of Esther and we are also celebrating Purim.  It was her genius idea and I will try to share our experience after we have completed the activity in February.  I am teaching the lesson the week before our Esther activity.  I have a list of scriptures for the girls to read which cover the highlights in the scriptures.  I found a conference talk on Hyrum Smith that I am using parts of to compete his story (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1995/10/hyrum-smith-firm-as-the-pillars-of-heaven?lang=eng).  I am going to have the girls read parts of it so it is numbered with the numbers that are missing on the scripture list.

Young Women Theme Printable

Young Women in Excellence (2014)

For YWIE we went with a super hero theme.  We helped the girls make capes using this website we found on Pinterest (http://www.stuffandymakes.com/blog/2012/11/01/making-mad-props-for-meltmedias-interactive-superhero-marketing-launch-the-rest-of-the-props/)  We put gold or silver on the inside and metallic value colors on the other side.  We hope that the girls use them for many years to help complete Halloween costumes!! We were inspired but some awesome blogs, http://www.kandykreations.net/2014/06/superhero-rules-printable-and-dare-to.html My main assignment was to take a basic script we found on a blog (http://www.alittletipsy.com/2010/10/yw-in-excellence.html) and spice it up.  My Young Women's President actually requested that I make it more cheesy.  I hope that you enjoy what I ended up with.

Sunday

Narrator: (girls slumped in chair looking sad) This is Katie. A girl like you who is going through some hard times.

Katie (girl kneels and prays in a teary voice):

Please help my parents stop fighting,

Please help me not get bullied at school,

Please help my grades improve, Amen.

Monday Morning

(Katie wakes up to 8 Value Heroes, shocked)

Faith: (jumps forward, throwing arms in the air) Don't you fear the 8 super value heros are here!

Katie: What are you doing here?

All values together: Value Heroes Assemble! We're here to help!

Individual Worth: We know what you are going through. And we are here to teach you what you can do to activate your Value Powers!

Faith: I'm faith here to teach you that when you have faith in Heavenly Father and pray for help that Heavenly Father listens and answers you prayers. Bazinga!

Divine Nature: My Divine nature senses are tingling, you are kind, tender, refined, faithful, good, virtuous and pure. You are a daughter of God and you have been given these abilities in this life for a reason. Don't be afraid to use them.

Individual Worth: Shazam! I am individual worth, I am here to remind you that you are a daughter of Heavenly Father, he loves you and has a plan for you. Your patriarchal blessing will remind you that he has a plan for you.

Knowledge: I am knowledge, here I am to save the day! When you attend Young Womens and Seminary you gain knowledge and recharge you spiritual energy. Study hard, knowledge you learn in this life will help you now and in the next life too. No matter how busy you are make time to learn about God.

Choice and Accountability: I am choice and accountability, I want to remind you that as you read your scriptures... Value Twin Powers activate ...( some awesome fist bump with Faith) and pray then making good choices will be easier for you. The Holy Ghost will be your companion and help guide you. You are accountable for you choices, good or bad, and will be judged according to them. Never forget that you can repent when you make a bad choice.

Good works: Reach out to others, there is a jewel inside of everyone. Bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light; (Mosiah 18:8) Serving other distracts you from your on sorrows and remind you that we all go through trials in this life. So your spirit can soar...up, up and away!

Integrity: I am here to fight for truth justice and the Lord's way! remember to follow the Lord's standards and not the world's. Reading For the Strength of Youth will remind you of the Lord's standards.

Virtue: Remain clean and pure basing your actions on what Christ would do and visit the temple often. Flame on!

Narrator: Throughout the day Katie chooses to have a positive attitude and finds ways to help others. She sits by a girl at lunch who was alone and finds out that a little kindness goes a long way.

Monday Night

Katie: (kneeling) Thank you for helping me with the struggles I face by sending me the Super Value Heroes. Amen.

All cast: Remember the values and be strong!

Moroni 10:4-5

This is probably the most famous LDS scripture.

Integrity #2

Integrity #2 is pretty easy to get the young women started on.  Like most personal progress experiences the hard part is the follow through the girls have to have.  I recently read and idea that I think should help the girls with that.  The article suggested using a dry erase marker to write what you are working on on the mirror in your bedroom so you see it regularly.

I made a worksheet to have the girls complete:

The survey covers the questions involved in the experience.  The goal on some of the questions should be always and some never but I figured my girls were smart enough to know which ones should be which way. (And that they would pay more attention to the questions if it was a little tricky!)

Integrity Experience #2:

 Conduct a self-assessment of your personal integrity. Ask yourself the following questions: Do I avoid gossip, inappropriate jokes, swearing and profanity, and being light-minded about sacred subjects? Am I completely truthful, morally clean, honest, dependable, and trustworthy in my schoolwork and other activities? Pray daily for strength and for the guidance of the Holy Ghost to help you live with integrity. Write in your journal the things you can do to improve your personal integrity and at least one new habit you want to develop.

I made a handout of them to write their new habit on and keep track of the days they work on that new habit.  

I asked the girls to work on this for 3 weeks before considering it complete hoping that that would be long enough to form their "new habit".  

2 Nephi 2:27

This is just a poster I made to teach 2 Nephi 2:27.  I think I used it in Sharing Time, I thought I would share it so others could use it.  

Personal Progress: Choice and Accountability #6

I recently did a young women's activity where we worked on C&A #6.  Which reads:  Study the Young Women theme and what it teaches you about who you are, what you are to do, and why you are to do it. List in your journal what you will do each day with regard to modesty, dating, and the media to be morally clean and worthy to enter the temple. Record in your journal how these choices will help you remain free and happy. (https://www.lds.org/young-women/personal-progress/choice-and-accountability?lang=eng)   So I started by studying the theme.  I searched lds.org and found some good information about the topics that the theme covers.  

I included enough info that you should be able to find the complete talks if you search on https://www.lds.org/?lang=eng.  I also took some scriptures and info straight from the Personal Progress book.  The gem I stumbled upon and was so excited to share with my girls is this BYU devotional (http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=1886), it is written so well and is so inspiring.  With this we decided that we should make YW themes for the girls to display in their bedrooms.  I bought a 1x6 and cut it every 7 1/4".  Then a lightly sanded all of the edges (especially those that were cut).  We used Pinterest and found this awesome theme..http://www.amouseinmykitchen.com/2013/03/young-women-general-conference.html ...then we printed 4x6 photos of it.  We had the girls paint their blocks while I read and we discussed the theme.  While their paint was drying I had them journal.  Then we just had to decoupage the photos on the painted wood blocks.  

Here is one of the finished theme blocks.