Temple activities:
We spent a few weeks collecting letters from family and friends of the girls(the parents obviously did this for us) and we got the #10 cans from the cannery. The girls decorated the cans and we sealed the letters in them. The girls place the can on their bookshelves as a visual reminder of their choice go to Temple. Some of the girls’ parents or grandparents might not be alive/available/worthy (whatever) when the girls go to the Temple for the first time and so we hoped that can would be special. We had most of the letters focus on a girl receiving her Endowments since who knows when/why a girl would be going through the temple. So many of our girls only focus on marriage and forget the importance of the Endowment. One note: we sent a letter to the parents about a two months before the can sealing and then again one month before to warn them. We had to call about two weeks before and also do some driving to pick up stuff at the last minute. They received their cans at WYLE. We had a speaker come and talk about preparing
to go to the Temple, etc. and then we had the girls sign a future temple recommend holder card with an embroidered holder. We had B&W pictures taken of the Mesa Temple (where welive) and the girls colored them with the special markers that you can buy. You can buy them at scrapbooking or arts and crafts stores. We had a photographer take the pictures and show the girls how to use the markers. They framed and matted the pictures and took them home.
Temple Worthiness Prophet: Howard W. Hunter Purpose: Learn how to live worthily to enter the temple, prepare for temple covenants, make temple the symbol of our religion
Decorate a picture frame for a picture of a temple, make a glass etching of a favorite temple.
Have a Special Temple Night Modesty Night–design modest clothing that can be worn with garments, learn to sew or choose modest clothing and discuss benefits of modesty, learn how modesty relates to thoughts, media choices, etc.
Develop a game to learn about covenants and the importance of keeping them.
Turning Hearts of the Children to the Fathers Prophet: Joseph F. Smith
Purpose: Learn more about generations ahead of us–both living and dead Do genealogy work, go to the temple and perform baptisms for the dead for the names you submit. Learn more about the older members of your ward. Interview them, make books about them, put on “Here’s Your Life” skits about them, plan a dance for them based on what you learned about them. Put together family history books, learn interviewing techniques for collecting family stories from older relatives, share stories from your family history. Have each youth research and make a presentation about an ancestor. Learn about
the blessings and promises associated with genealogy (there are several conference talks about it)
Make a reminder of the temple for your bedroom–a picture, glass etching, framed poem, temple hanger or bag or handkerchief.
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.
Discuss the temple recommend questions and what actually must be done to truthfully answer the questions correctly.
Make the Temple the Symbol of Your Membership Read President Hunter’s talk about the temple or read the magazine Temples. Learn about the Temple and Temple-worthiness. Design temple-appropriate temple dresses. Make a decoration that reminds you of the temple. Make padded hangers for your temple dress. Write in your journal of a time that you went to the temple
Start or continue working on your own journal
Do You Have My Name? fireside
Gain the Constant Companionship of the Holy Ghost Learn more about the Holy Ghost–how his influence is felt, what his purpose is, what we must do to have his constant companionship Learn how to make your room, your home, your young women’s classroom, etc. a place where the Spirit can be felt. Learn about how your words, actions, music, and thoughts can either invite him in or chase him out.
Have each girl prepare for a testimony night by praying every day for a week at least twice, by reading the Book of Mormon daily, and by asking if the Book of Mormon is true. Have each girl spend several minutes on her knees thanking Heavenly Father, asking for blessings, and especially listening. Then have a testimony night. Start with a song (“I Know That My Redeemer Lives” –#136, “I Believe in Christ”;–#134).Have each leader and girl bear her testimony. Close with a song (“Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee”;–#141, “Testimony”–#137). Read or watch some of the Conference talks about the Holy Ghost. “Listen by the Power of the Spirit”–Pres. Gordon BE. Hinckley(Nov. ’96 Ensign p. 4)” Always Have His Spirit”;–Dallin H. Oaks (Nov. ’96 Ensign p. 59)
The Mountain of the Lord Get physically fit by hiking or mountain biking, prepare to go the the temple (The Mountain of the Lord), learn about wildlife in your area, compare life to a hike and make a game about it, learn how to survive in the wilderness, watch the “The Mountain of the Lord” about building the Salt Lake temple, collect a mountain of food, clothing, and other supplies for the needy, clean up a neighborhood nature area or
park, learn about astronomy and go up to an area without many city lights to look at the stars and talk about the Book of Abraham, learn about different mountains in the scriptures, talk about faith and how to develop the kind of faith that moves mountains, learn to paint mountains or other nature scenes, write poetry or songs about mountains, write and perform a play or read fables or stories that have to do with mountains, learn to overcome the obstacles that get in the way of sharing the gospel with others.
Special Temple Nights Young Women Recognition Night–Contributed by Susan Greer For a YW Recognition dinner and program, we decided to use the Temple as the basis of our theme. This is because these young women are going onto another step in their life ~ receiving their endowments and beginning to understand their eternal relationship with
Heavenly Father. We have asked our speaker to talk on “Looking Toward the Temple” (this topic comes from the book by Linda Dastrup ~”Young Women – Preparing YW for the Temple”). The basic themes are: The Temple is a house or home of the Lord, The Temple is a place of instruction, The Temple is a place of peace, The Temple is a place of covenants and blessings, The Temple is a place where ceremonies pertaining to godliness are presented, The Temple is a place of revelation. We are having a dinner with the YW and her parents, ward and stake leaders. We’ve received letters from the YW General Board, the Stake President, the Bishop, the Ward YW President and the Parents to
present to each YW (much like the YM receive letters from the President of the US on down for their Eagle Project). We also have a long old-fashioned mirror that we are going to have the YW look into with her parents and then take pictures of the family together as an eternal unit. We are also presenting each Laurel with a lace temple bag.
We are making 8 1/2 x 11 framed pictures using a transparency of the temple with the words, Stand In Holy Places. The transparency is placed over a mirror and then framed.