He Is Risen

I shared this video with my family this morning, and wanted to share it with you, too.
Take a moment to set aside the jelly beans and Reese's eggs to remember why we celebrate Easter.

 



I know that my Redeemer lives.

What comfort this sweet sentence gives!

He lives, he lives, who once was dead.

He lives, my ever-living Head.

 

 

He lives! All glory to his name!

He lives, my Savior still the same.

Oh, sweet the joy this sentence gives:

"I know that my Redeemer lives!"

 

-I Know that My Redeemer Lives
Hymn 136, LDS Hymn Book

Text: Samuel Medley 1738-1799

Music: Lewis D. Edwards, 1858-1921



 

More videos like this one are available at lds.org/bible-videos



Giant Chutes and Ladders

It all started as an activity for our Young Women. I am a counselor in the Young Women presidency of our congregation. We have weekly activities with the youth and the youth presidency is involved with the adult presidency as we come up with ideas and planning. One girl suggested we do a life size board game. We decided that Chutes and Ladders would be fun, and so it was put on the calendar. I was the most enthusiastic about it, and since we take turns organizing each week, I was selected to oversee the Giant Chutes and Ladders game.

I pulled out our board game and made my own smaller grid for the girls to play on. I have played Chutes and Ladders with my children MANY times, and I know that it can take the better part of an hour to get to the final square, marked 100. This is playing with only 2 or 3 players. I figured we'd have around 8-10 girls, and we only have 90 minutes for our activities, including opening exercises. SO, I came up with an 8x8 grid, leaving 64 playing spaces. I thought this seemed like plenty. I then modeled my chutes and ladders after those laid out on the real game board, with 7 of each. It looked like fun.

We decided that masking tape on the gym floor would be the easiest way to set up a game of such proportions, and I figured two-foot squares would be just about right (They actually turned out to be too small. A two-foot square is great for one person to stand in, but I didn't take into consideration the fact that multiple people share spaces sometimes, and it got a little crowded. I suggest three- or even four-foot squares). I used plain masking tape for the grid. I then bought green and blue painters tape to mark the chutes (green) and ladders (blue). I figured different colors would help ease any confusion as to whether you were going up or down. I also printed out the numbers 1-64, printing four to a page and taped the numbers in each square.

I typed up different choices the girls can make, both good and bad. "I helped my brother with his homework," "I finished my Personal Progress" and "I brought a cheat sheet to my math test," "I skipped Seminary to go out to lunch." I placed a cup containing 3 choices at the top of each chute (bad choices) and at the bottom of each ladder (good choices). If they ended in a square at the top of the chute or bottom of the ladder, they pulled a choice out of the cup and read it to the group and then followed their consequence, either up or down. If they went up the ladder, they were rewarded with a small prize (I bought party prizes at the dollar store--bouncy balls, bracelets, candy jewelry, etc).

The final square, number 64, was their goal, and I had used masking tape to create an outline of the Salt Lake Temple. We discussed how life is full of ups and downs, choices and consequences. The chute was like repentance. It may set you back, but our Heavenly Father never kicks you out of the game. You may have to work a little harder, but it is still possible to make it to the top. The ladders illustrated that sometimes good choices put you ahead in life.  We played until every girl made it to the finish. We clapped and cheered each girl and gave her a crown (Daughters of a Heavenly King) when she reached the "temple."  They had a lot of fun and we applied a Spiritual note to it as well.

My kids came with me to help set up, and they tried out the board for me. They really enjoyed it and I promised that they could have their own board in chalk in the back yard. Last Friday when I got home from walking them to school, the morning weather was just right, and their sister was sleeping in the stroller. So I swept the patio, and drew the grid in chalk. I used my tape measure as a straight edge. I drew two sides creating a corner first, and marked every two feet as I went. I drew in a third side and then as I drew the horizontal lines across the board, I marked in the vertical lines, making the squares within each row as I went.

It only took me an hour total (including sweeping) to draw it out, mark the numbers, and draw in the chutes and ladders. It took me nearly 3 hours to do the tape on the gym floor. So, if you'd like to make your own, find multiple uses for it. Or do it outside with chalk. Our girls pulled the tape up as soon as we were done, and I forgot my camera. The Primary or the other Young Women who share our building might have liked to use it, but there was not that much planning ahead. So there was 3 hours of work destroyed in a matter of 10 minutes. But we had fun. I saved my blueprint drawing and my kids are enjoying it in the backyard. (I'm not sure why they're wearing helmets, but hey, safety first!)

An Easter Declaration

Oh, the Places You'll Stand

"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes.

You can steer yourself any direction you choose.

You're on your own. And you know what you know.

And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go."

--Oh, the Places You'll Go!, By Dr. Seuss

Every year in our LDS youth group for girls ages 12-17, Young Women, we put together an evening we call New Beginnings. This is a chance for the 12 year old girls (and their parents) who will be joining us to see what we are all about. It's a celebration and an evening of fun. This year, the Church-wide theme for all youth is
Stand Ye in Holy Places and Be Not Moved.

We like to take the theme and work it into the New Beginnings. Our secretary was doing some online research, trying to find some ideas for our night. She happened to stumble upon a website (hatchpatch.com) that detailed one woman's ideas for New Beginnings in her ward. She was doing a Dr. Seuss theme, which she called "Oh, the Places You'll Stand!" With only a month to plan, create, and execute our New Beginnings, we discussed the idea and decided that we would love to take this idea and make it work for us, too. We selected guest speakers, located the books, put out invitations, and rounded up the girls to help us create some awesome decorations.

In the Young Women program, there are 8 Values that the girls learn about and apply in their own lives. For New Beginnings, a book written by Dr. Seuss was selected for each Value, and a specific quote that related to that Value was pulled from each book. Our Presidency and a few invited guests dressed in Seuss-inspired attire and presented the Values.

Faith Horton Hears a Who
"Don't give up. I believe in  you all.
A person's a person, no matter how small."

Divine Nature The Sneetches

"That day, they decided that Sneetches are Sneetches.

And no kind of Sneetch is the best on the beaches.

That day, all the Sneetches forgot about stars and whether

They had one, or not, upon thars."

Individual Worth
I Wish that I had Duck Feet
"AND SO...I think there are some things I do not wish to be.
And that is why I think that I just wish to be like ME."

Knowledge I can Read with My Eyes Shut

"The more that you read, the more things you will know.

The more that you learn, the more places you'll go."

Choice and Accountability Yertle the Turtle
"That plain little turtle below in the stack,
That plain little turtle whose name was just Mack,
Decided he'd taken enough. And he had.
And that plain little lad got a little bit mad
And that plain little Mack did a plain little thing.
He burped!
And his burp shook the throne of the king!"

Good Works The Lorax

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,

Nothing is going to get better. It's not."

Integrity Horton Hatches the Egg
"I meant what I said and I said what I meant.
An elephant's faithful - one hundred percent."

 

Virtue I had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew

"I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind.

Some come from ahead and some come from behind.

But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready, you see.

Now my troubles are going to have trouble with me!"

Our President finished up the night by presenting this poem. (written by another Jill, not me)

We gave the girls a copy of the poem with a magnet on the back so they can hang it in their lockers. At the conclusion of our evening, everyone was delighted to eat Thing 1 and Thing 2 cupcakes (they took me all day to make!) and Beezlenut Splash to drink (two flavors of cubed jell-o in 7-Up). Everyone had a great evening, and it was a neat way to start off another year. It was a fun idea, and we were thrilled to find it.

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss! And thank you for the lessons you left behind.

Girl's Camp & Nature People

Camping and summer are two things that seem to go hand in hand. Some people are not very enthusiastic about camping. Some people head out as soon as the weather hints at warmer temperatures. As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, we understand that there is something special about getting out into nature and away from our regular lives. It can be a time for reflection. It is a time to appreciate and enjoy the beauty that our Father in Heaven has created for us.

Because of this belief, every summer, the Young Women (girls, ages 12-17) and their adult leaders (whether or not they actually like camping) pack their stuff and spend a few days camping. I am a Counselor in our Young Women Presidency, and so, I had the opportunity to go camping this week with our girls. Our ward (congregation) was joined by the Young Women from the 5 other wards in our stake (neighborhood), and while we had time with just our girls, we also combined for a few things with the entire group.

It's funny, as a youth you don't realize the amount of time and stress and sometimes frustration that actually goes into preparing for this camping trip. How hard could it be? You sing annoying/pointless songs, you eat, you sleep in tents on air mattresses that don't stay fully inflated, you make crafts, you wear serious amounts of sunblock and bug spray; add in a hike, a Snipe Hunt, and a few Spiritual moments around the camp fire, and you are good, right?

Sun Jar

Ha, ha. Sounds so easy. But there is so much work and craziness that it just isn't terribly simple. The sweet girls who come don't have any idea the weeks and weeks of preparation that goes into it. Then you are running behind on your schedule, this craft has to move to a different day, you may have to put the "Thought of the Day" on the back burner for a while, and hopefully the food is cooked all the way (don't worry--it was). The time seems to fly by (where did our block of free time go?), the sun jars (which are beautiful despite their flaws) won't cooperate, clean up takes longer than anticipated, and it seems as though an entire day has disappeared completely. And then, before you know it, camp is over.

Our ward's Camp Director and I looked back over the last few days to give out "Camp Awards." We gave out things like "Extra Miler," "Camp Cheerleader," and "Compassionate Camper." As we were looking at what each girl should receive, we realized that despite all of the stress and frustrations, it was all worth it. The girls in our ward got along so well together. There were no petty fights or bickering between any of our girls. Looking back at my experiences camping as a Young Woman, the fights and tears were ALWAYS part of Girl's Camp. It seemed we could never have a camp without it. But these girls are stellar! We had a relatively small group of girls and one really huge tent, so they shared it. Sounds like asking for fighting, right? But there wasn't any. We, as leaders, slept in a smaller tent together, and we let the girls bond. But it spread from our girls to the rest of the camp. They befriended girls from many of the other wards, and left secret notes of encouragement in the mail boxes of several girls who were not their assigned "Secret Sister." They tried to include as many girls as possible in anything we were doing. And really, we had a marvelous time.

One thing that I enjoyed was a little craft we did on the last day. We made little "Nature People" out of stuff we found while hiking and in our camp ground. I first thought it was kind of a silly idea, but decided my boys might enjoy them. So I made two. They turned out so cute and ugly, and my boys played with them all day today. They are sitting proudly on their dressers now. I am glad I chose to make some and bring them home as a token of camp. I now have one Girl's Camp under my belt as an adult leader, and I think I'm a bit better prepared for next year. And it's going to be a blast.

Conference Coloring

For LDS General Conference, we sit for four 2-hour sessions (over 2 days) to hear the General Authourities of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints speak to us. For two young children to sit quietly, is sometimes difficult. So, I prepare them with things like "Conference Squares"-- a bingo type game where they listen for different words or topics and cover the squares on their game boards. (lds.org/friend has seven different game boards for Conference Squares to print out!) I also print out a few coloring pages, some with color by number and some just coloring pages (also available at lds.org/friend).

My oldest son finished his coloring pages at the end of the 3rd session. So, instead of asking for more coloring pages, he found some blank paper, and drew pictures of his own, like he does during our weekly Sunday Sacrament Meeting. But this time, instead of just drawing whatever comes to him, he decided to draw the speakers. He didn't get all of them, but the few he did were pretty neat. He studied the speaker and then carefully drew what he saw. I thought I'd share 3 of his drawings.


Elder Russell M. Nelson

Sister Julie B. Beck

President Thomas S. Monson


While there is always a moment when you need to remind them to quiet down, my kids did pretty good this General Conference. And I was grateful to hear the Prophet and the Apostles speak.