Just wanted to pass along something great...
This is something we have done in our Young Womens that has had a powerful effect on our young women and our whole ward.
It is similar to a Primary program where you have music with speaking in between. Having done both Primary Programs and Young Women programs. I have found the YW programs to be much easier to put together. Because the YW are older, everything is easier. You basically have to learn the songs which we practiced each Sunday starting in the fall with the program in the Spring.
Should we do a YW Program?
*I would say yes! It will be worth it and the YW will remember the songs and the spirit they felt participating for a long time afterward.
* The Young Women can pass of a project in various areas
*Young Women who play musical instruments such as the piano, flute, violin, harp, or voice can share their talents. (check the church handbook for musical instruments in Sacrament meeting)
* It is a great way to focus on the Mutual theme for the year
*There is nothing more angelic than hearing YW sing
*You can incorporate The Living Christ and/or The Family and Proclamation to the World into your program. The YW can work on memorizing it through the year, then stand and quote it for part of the program (very powerful). This accomplishes a lot of purposes of the YW program in bringing the YW to Christ.
*As the YW learn the songs, the words are internalized and touch them in a way that nothing else can
*Your entire ward will be touched by the spirit as you share your testimonies with them
* It is a great way to involve EVERYONE
Where do you find a script and songs?
For the script-we base our programs off of the mutual theme each year. We also use quotes and ideas from the General YW Conference each year. This is extremely valuable as you hear the talks from our General Yw leaders based on the year's theme. We use conference talks, personal testimonies, The Living Christ, The Family Proclamation, YW theme, etc. We have also used Jenny Phillips.com where she has some excellent ideas for various YW programs. Each year it has been a powerful experience for our YW program and our whole ward.
For the songs-we use several of Jenny Phillips songs, Hymns, old YW songs, and primary songs...just depending on the song and what the program needs. We are very careful to keep the songs in reverence of the chapel and the meeting.
How do you get the YW to participate?
Generally, how you introduce and approach it as a leader will reflect their attitude. This is something GREAT, and most youth want to be a part of something great.
The first year we did a sacrament meeting program the young women were good sports and went along with our idea of a program. It was AFTER the program was over, they KNEW they had just participated in something great that touched many lives. Now each year, they look forward to it and are anxious to be apart of it again.
We also let them choose what they wanted to participate in. We sent around sign-up sheets for speaking parts, playing the piano, or being a part of a special song group.
For a program script example from 2011 We Believe {go here}:
