When You Save a Girl, You Save Generations...

“It is so tremendously important that the women of the Church stand strong and immovable for that which is correct and proper under the plan of the Lord.... When you save a girl, you save generations. She will grow in strength and righteousness. She will marry in the house of the Lord. She will teach her children the ways of truth. They will walk in her paths and will similarly teach their children.... I see this as the one bright shining hope in a world that is marching toward self-destruction.... We frequently speak of the strength of the priesthood, and properly so. But we must never lose sight of the strength of the women. It is mothers who teach infants to pray, who read to them choice and beautiful literature from the scriptures and other sources. It is mothers who nurture them and bring them up in the ways of the Lord. Their influence is paramount. President Heber J. Grant went so far as to say, 'Without the devotion and absolute testimony of the living God in the hearts of our mothers this Church would die.' "

Gordon B. Hinckley "Standing Strong and Immovable" Worldwide Leadership Training Meeting January 10, 2004

The Nature of Women

“If you live up to your privileges, the angels cannot be restrained from being your associates.”

Joseph Smith

Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, comp. Joseph Fielding Smith (1977), 226.

quoted by James E. Faust

YW message

This was my message to the YW in my ward in March of 2011

"For nearly six thousand years, God has held you in reserve to make you appearance in the final days before the Second Coming of the Lord. Every precious gospel dispensation has drifted into apostasy, but ours will not. True, there will be some individuals who will fall away; but the kingdom of God will remain intact to welcome the return of Jesus Christ. While our generation will be comparable in wickedness to the days of Noah, this time it's different. God has saved for the final inning some of his strongest children to bear the kingdom triumphantly. And that is where you come in, for you are the generation that must be prepared to meet your God. "

Ezra Taft Benson "In His Steps" BYU devotional March 4, 1979

You are spiritually awesome! But like all other gifts and talents you are awesome at--it takes practice and work to strengthen your spirit. It is my prayer that you will develop those Spiritual Skills that will help you defend your standards and understand the promptings of the spirit. I have confidence in you!

Sunflowers

Sunflowers always face the sun. In the morning, they face east. By evening, they have turned west. They follow the sun as it crosses each day's sky, so they can gather in as much light as possible. We can be like sunflowers, and turn to the sun, Jesus Christ, and gather spiritual light from him.

A sunflower seed will grow almost anywhere. You, too, can bloom and grow where you are planted. By desiring to believe and by studying the scriptures prayerfully, you will nurture your personal gospel seed.

As the sunflower grows, small buds soon appear, surrounded by protecting leaves. Like those leaves, your parents, leaders, and teachers surround you, and love you, and protect you, and help your budding testimony grow.

As a sunflower grows taller, its stalk grows thicker, for it must support the large flower that will soon be full of seeds. So your spiritual stalk must grow, and your testimony will grow stronger as you prayerfully read the scriptures that teach of Jesus Christ.

When the sunflower bud opens, bright yellow petals form, and it's head becomes a golden crown. The blessings of its growth at last begin to show. And having been born of a seed, it now produces seeds of its own that nourish people, animals, and birds. Your testimony will likewise produce its own new seeds, and you will nourish family, friends, and others who will see the Son reflected, like a golden crown, in you.

So turn to the Son. Open your heart to His light. Seek it first thing each morning, follow it's warmth across each day's sky, and let its comfort be the last thing you feel each night. Then, when the evening of your life's last setting comes, you will arise to a glorious new morning, and turn again to Him.

1916 Beehive Requirements

In 1916, every female over fourteen was a Beehive girl until she entered the Relief Society. There were no Mia Maids, Gleaners, or Laurels. The following are 20 out of 373 requirements possible for a Beehive girl to earn her awards:

1. Care successfully for a hive of bees for one season and know their habits. 2. Give the distinguishing characteristics of six varieties of hen and cattle and tell the good and weak points of each. 3. Exterminate the mosquitoes over an area of = mile square by pouring a little kerosene on the surface of all standing pools of water twice each month during April, May, and June.

4. Make two articles of underwear by hand.

5. Cover 25 miles on snowshoes in any six days.

6. Learn to float in Great Salt Lake and propel yourself 50 feet.

7. During three consecutive months, abstain from candy, ice cream, commercially manufactures beverages, and chewing gum

8. For one month, masticate your food so thoroughly that it slips down without any visible effort at swallowing it.

9. Successfully put a new washer on a faucet.

10. Care for at least two kerosene lamps daily.

11. For three month, take care of milk and cream from at least one cow and see that the pails, pans, strainer, and separator are thoroughly cleansed.

12. During two weeks, keep the house free from flies or destroy at least 25 flies daily.

13. Have your toilet moved to an isolated place in the garden. Have a frame of chicken wire built about three feet away and plant quick-growing vines such as cucumber or morning glories to screen it from observation.

14. Whitewash your toilet inside and out.

15. Know and describe three cries of a baby.

16. Without help or advice, care for and harness a team at least five times; drive them 50 miles during one season.

17. During two summer months, clean ice chest thoroughly twice a week.

18. Discover ten reasons why the Columbine should be the national flower.

19. Clear sagebrush off of = acre of land.

20. Know six blazes used by the Indians.

--June Conference; Beehive Dept., 1969