YW Theme Activites
January-We are daughters of Our Heavenly Father
Have each parent write a letter to their daughter expressing their love for her and telling her of good qualities she possesses. Give each girl her letter(s) and give them time to read. Encourage the girls to keep the letter(s) close to them. When they are far away: at school, on a trip, or when they have moved away, they can have that letter to reassure them and remind them of who they are and that they are loved. Heavenly Father has also given them an opportunity to have the same kind of loving, reassuring, and direction-giving letter nearby. Discuss how to get and use a Patriarchal Blessing. See "Letter" from Heavenly Father. (Other comparisons besides a letter are a map, or a page of a wonderful story)
Read the Princess Bedtime Story and emphasize our potential and the special relationship we can have with Heavenly Father.
February-We will stand as witnesses of God
Learn about the lives of the Prophets and Apostles who are special witnesses of Jesus Christ. Learn about the three and eight witnesses and how they acted as witnesses. Watch the movie about the three witnesses. Then discuss or role play ways the young women can also serve as examples and witnesses of God.
Have a Missionary Night.
Sing "Faith" (Primary SB p. 96) Plant seeds in cups or pots. Label the cup or pot "testimony" or "faith." Read Alma 32 together, particularly v. 26-43. Decorate a small watering can or jar with scriptures on faith and testimony and pictures of scriptures, Jesus, flowers, and other reminders of how our faith and testimonies grow. As each girl waters her seed, she will be reminded of how to nourish her seed of faith.
Have a Pathway of Faith activity. Offer several scenarios which would demonstrate acting on faith. Also sing faith related songs, quote faith related scriptures, or read faith-promoting stories.
Go on a walk blindfolded, listening to a quiet musical instrument (guitar, violin, flute) to guide where you should walk. You may try this in a line facing forward, hooked together by hands holding onto the shoulders ahead of them, and switch who gets to be in front so everyone can have a chance to lead the line.
See Faith under Idea Index.
April-Divine Nature
Part of God's Nature is His ability to create. Have each girl paint a picture, take pictures, write a poem, practice and perform a dance, sing or write a song, or use another creative talent to show wonder, admiration, or gratitude for the wonderful world God created for us. This will also develop part of their own divine nature. Have a talent show to show what was already done or use the activity time to do one or more of the things listed above.
Learn more about our divine roles as wives and mothers and cultivate the traits that will help us in these roles. Have a Homemaking Night or other night focused on Womanhood.
May-Individual Worth
Make a craft, wall hanging, or poster that can be hung in a visible place that reminds the girls of their infinite worth.
Because everyone is of infinite worth, go out in search of the lost sheep in your classes. Learn about them, friendship them, and help reactivate them by inviting them to your activities. Make a dessert. Each girl brings one ingredient. Without all of the girls, the dessert is just not the same. Each girl is needed to create a sweet experience in the class for all.
Learn to show your understanding of everyone's individual worth by learning to be a better conversationalist--especially a better listener. Learn how to draw shy people into your circle of friends. Learn how to show sympathy and gentleness to those who need special love and concern. Role play situations which these skills would be especially helpful, both now and in the future.
June-Knowledge
Learn how to conduct music for church. Practice by offering to be the chorister for young women meetings, baptisms, or substituting for the sacrament meeting chorister.
Learn about Homemaking. Learn how to uplift others in the home. Learn about taking care of babies and children. Learn about decorating a home.
Learn about Housekeeping. Learn to clean a kitchen from top to bottom. Learn to prepare a nutritious, well-balanced, and economical meal for a family in a timely fashion.
Have a Physical Preparedness Night.
Learn how to make corsages and boutonieres.
Have a Doctrine and Covenants Night
Have a Book of Mormon Night
Have a Bible Night
July-Choice and Accountability
Make sure that the girls are very involved in planning this activity! This activity will show that we can have fun while maintaining our standards. Bring friends and play uplifting music, watch an appropriate movie, play appropriate games, and have good refreshments. Compare this activity to parties that we have been counseled not to attend. Give each of the girls the ideas that were thought up while brainstorming for the activity so they can have plenty of ideas for good parties of their own. (See Good Clean Fun and Games)
Modify the Pathway of Faith activity to focus more on choices and our accountability for them
August-Good Works
Help in the nursery for the Relief Society's Homemaking Night.
Take some of the ideas from the Service-related Dates page and turn them into Young Women activities. Perform Random Acts of Kindness.
Have a service road rally. See Service List for ideas.
September-Integrity
Have a Conference Night. After you know what you should do, Do it! Follow up in two weeks.
Do you do what you should on Sundays? Do you follow the dating standards? Are you honest with your parents about your activities? Discuss what the girls should be doing in these areas and discuss ways to behave with integrity. Suggest ways that the young women could support each other in good decisions.
Share stories about Integrity, including Horton Hatches The Egg by Dr. Suess.
October-As We Accept and Act Upon These Values
I was contemplating the yw theme and I suddenly made a connection I hadn't before. Accepting and acting upon each individual value will prepare us to make and keep sacred covenants, receive the ordinances of the temple, and receive the blessings of exaltation. These values have a much deeper application than we suspect!
A major question we should ask (and which each young woman should be able to answer before she graduates) is how each value does these three things. How does each contribute to our preparation to make and keep covenants with God? How does each contribute to our preparation to receive temple ordinances? How does each contribute to our preparation to receive exaltation?
So for an activity, let each girl answer these questions for each value. Let them share their answers and their experiences and testimonies.Discuss how Faith in Jesus Christ: his perfect life, atoning sacrifice, resurrection, and role as Mediator helps us better prepare to make gospel covenants and keep them. Discuss preparation for the temple as it relates to developing a stronger faith and relationship in Jesus Christ. Share your feelings about the temple and Jesus Christ. Read portions of Jesus the Christ by James E. Talmage together. Sing hymns of Jesus' sacrifice together.
Contemplate how the knowledge that each person is of eternal worth relates to temple work, gospel covenants, missionary work, perfecting the saints. Learn how to do genealogy, start your own personal history, share your testimony in a letter to someone, start reactivation efforts for a girl in your class.
Think about how knowing about and developing your Divine Nature will help you make sacred covenants and prepare for exaltation. Learn good parenting techniques, pick a trait and find 20 scriptures or quotes about it for your file, share what you learned.
November-Prepare to Make and Keep Sacred Covenants-The Temple
Have a Bride's Night.
Have a LDS Marriage counselor or the Bishop come and talk about preparing for marriage and resolving conflicts within marriage so it can last for eternity
Make a reminder of the temple for your bedroom--a picture, glass etching, framed poem, temple hanger or bag or handkerchief.
Have a Dating Night using the information under the Dating Section. Discuss standards, creative dating, fun double and group dating.
See Dating at Idea Index.
December-Exaltation
Learn about God's life and qualities. Look in the Topical Guide under Man, Potential to Become like Heavenly Father; Eternal Life; Exaltation; Family, Eternal; Marriage, Celestial; Jesus Christ, Mission of; Share favorite scriptures and testimonies about eternal life and eternal families.
See Family under Idea Index.
Have a Special Temple Night
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