YW in Excellence 2010

Last night was the Lindsay 2nd Ward YW in Excellence. We based our evening on Pres. Uchtdorf’s talk, “Your Happily Ever After” from the YW General Board Mtg back in March 2010. It’s a GREAT talk!

It was such a great night! My presidency went to a lot of work over the past few months to make this night perfect. I would flounder without them. They’re FABULOUS! (Sorry the pictures aren’t that great. My camera died as I went to take the first pic, so I had to use my cell phone. Our colors were black and white with hot pink accents. SO CUTE!!!)

We gave the girls a picture frame that had a picture of the new Gilbert Temple that’s being built just a few miles away…

I was SO proud of all the Young Women. They displayed projects they’ve been working on all year. Their displays were so awesome! But I’m not surprised, because THEY are all so awesome!

Each YW, leader, and a couple moms who’ve been doing the program with their daughters presented projects. The YW told what they learned from doing that project. Next, one of the YW spoke about how her testimony is strengthened by personal progress, and did a GREAT job! Then, all the YW and leaders sang the song, “I Will” by Hillary Weeks, sounding BEAUTIFUL!

Next, I spoke, using Pres. Uchtdorf’s talk, with a little help from Grandpa Bird. Strange combination, right? As I prepared my talk, one of Grandpa’s famous phrases came back to me… Growing up, Grandpa would punch us in the arm or kick us in the rear end and say, “That's what you get for nothing! Think what you’d get if you did something!” As I continued to prepare my message, I realized that that phrase was applicable here, too. How? Our mere existence here and ability to return to His presence after this life is a gift from a loving Heavenly Father… “That’s what you get for nothing!” If we participate in the personal progress program, attend our meetings and mutual, read our scriptures, say our prayers, strive to be worthy to enter the temple and prepare to make temple covenants, the eternal rewards are endless… “Think what you’d get if you did something!” I also quoted Pres. Uchtdorf a lot; too many times to put them all here. But one of the best was, “Stand in holy places and BE NOT MOVED, regardless of temptation or trial!” Such a great talk!

Lastly, our Bishop spoke using Pres. Uchtdorf’s talk as well. He told them that their “Happily Ever After” starts today, but isn’t complete until they reach the presence of their Heavenly Father after this life. Then, he talked to the parents about how, in fairy tales, there’s always trials that the Princess must overcome. Often times, the antagonist in the story is the wicked parental figure. He urged the parents to be careful that they don’t create an environment where they become that antagonist. The YW will struggle, and the parents have a responsibility to create an environment where their daughters can spiritually progress, including encouraging them to attend all their meetings and mutual activities. 

We have GREAT YW, and they’re doing a GREAT job of remaining faithful. This night was a great opportunity for them to show just how faithful they are. I love them all and feel inadequate as their YW President. I learn more from them than they will ever learn from me. Hopefully, when I am a mother of teenage daughters, I will have a little insight into how I can help them to remain faithful, too.