Stand As A Witness At All Times

Thanks to Kathy H. for sharing this great idea!

I thought I would share what we did for New beginnings this week. Our theme was “Stand As A Witness At All Times”. We were in the Relief
Society room. We decorated the R.S. table with different clocks and greenery off to the side. We put a Seminary (skinny long table) in
front with 2 bouquets we have of mixed flowers in value colors with greenery around them. The YW torch poster was hanging up front as
well. The program went as follows:

Welcome
Opening Hymn-“True to the Faith”
Opening Prayer
Recitation of YW Theme
Introduction of New Beehives-Our 2nd Counselor spotlighted each beehive and then gave each a handout of “Bit-O-Honey” and a Beehive Bookmark -she got the bookmark from a yahoo group she is on.
Introduction of Theme and Motto
Introduction of Values-I’m the 1st Counselor and gave a talk on how the current Personal Progress program started and how the values were chosen and why they were put in that order etc.
Value Mottos-We had 8 girls dress in each of the value colors and then each gave a sentence or two about the value. They held a 8X8 poster of Jill’s value signs . When they each had given there quote they placed the value poster on a stand. (8 little stands were in front of the flower bouquets)
Musical Number by the YW-“Walk Tall Your a daughter of God”
Recognition of YW awards-we acknowledged all who had earned their YW award, girls past and present and leaders.
Remarks from our Personal Progress leader-She talked about time and using our time wisely. She handed out clock stickers and magnets and told the girls to put the clocks where they waste time so that maybe they would think of this time as an opportunity to work on Personal Progress etc. (she also handed a bookmark and a letter from her to them)
Remarks from 1st Counselor-I talked about the parents making time to help their daughters with Personal Progress. Each parent got a booklet with a current record of their girls Personal progress, a letter from our Presidency on how their daily activities can go toward Personal Progress etc. and a handout on “10 ways to Help Your Daughter With Personal Progress”
Remarks from The YW President-She spoke about being a witness of Christ, about how the Personal Progress program helps all YW come unto Christ. How spending time on Personal progress would help you do that.
Remarks from Bishop-He gave a story about how in a recent ice storm his car doors were frozen shut. Try as he might he could not get them open so he thought he would get hot water and pour it on the frame of the drivers side door.-to no avail it would not open. So he tried the passenger door and it wouldn’t open either. But the hot water let him see in the windows and he realized the doors were locked!! He never used his key to unlock the doors so they wouldn’t open!! He related that the YW had the keys to progress and listed the 8 values. That by spending time in each area their lives would be blessed.
Closing Song by the YW-“I Will Stand as a Witness of Christ”
Closing PrayerWe then moved into the YW room for refreshments. The room was decorated with 8 small tables around the outside of the room covered in white table cloths with a smaller value colored table cloth on top of that. A few helium balloons in that color, a frame with a quote in the color and a bouquet of flowers in that color were at each table. (We already had all that because we spotlight a value each month) Chairs were in a circle around the room so people could sit and mingle. We served this yummy dessert from a Pampered Chef recipe. (warm nutty caramel brownies-you use Rolo candy and served it with ice cream)
It was a simple night but very spiritual and the parents commented how much they gained from it. The girls seemed pleased. They went away with a YW calendar for the year (our secretary does a fantastic job), The Personal Progress items, new theme cards we made up and a Jenny Phillips CD (Be Thou an Example)