A Blast From the Past

1915 Beehive Handbook

Note: This is an essay I wrote recently entitled "Young Women Resources and Activities: Then and Now".

        Have you ever wondered about the beginnings of our modern-day Young Women organization? The roots of Personal Progress, Young Women’s camp, how it all came to be? Here are the answers and a few interesting facts.
In late 1869, Brigham Young established the original core and purpose of the Young Women program when he asked the girls and women of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to “reform from extravagance and live more simply” (Timeline). Just six and a half months later, the Young Ladies’ Department of the Ladies’ Cooperative Retrenchment Association was formally organized for the teenaged girls in the Church. The girls involved with this association committed to dress and live modestly and set an example of “gospel living worthy of imitation” (Timeline). They later changed the name of this organization to the Young Ladies' Mutual Improvement Association, or the YLMIA, and gained their first president in 1880, Sister Elmina S. Taylor. 
Today, our version of the YLMIA is the Young Women program. We still believe in setting a good, modest example for the rest of the world. This is exemplified by our modern motto and logo—a torch symbolizing that we ‘stand for truth and righteousness’. The teenage girls of the Church continue to set an ideal of a modest, gospel lifestyle through our current Young Women organization. 
Young Women Camp, or Girls’ Camp, has also changed since it first began in 1912. Actually, the purpose hasn’t changed, but specifics of things such as the certification requirements and money-raising have. 
In 1912, the first stake to participate in a Church summer camp for girls was the Liberty Stake in Salt Lake City, Utah. They built their own camp, called Liberty Glen. The construction cost was a whopping $365.27—and they had to earn it all. The YLMIA participated in multiple fundraisers, from fireside entertainment to activities in the Deseret Gymnasium, so they could earn money for this new idea. Most stakes now take part in fundraisers as well. Some of the modern fundraisers commonly used for Girls’ camp include yard sales/garage sales, bake sales, talent shows, car washes, etc., etc. 
Another similarity between camp back then and camp now is camp certification. An article on lds.org has a list of some of the camp requirements that were in the 1915 Beehive Handbook:

>Identify 15 trees and describe them.
>Describe 10 butterflies; identify them.
>Build a tree house for 2 girls to sleep in.
>Start a fire without matches or fire.
>Describe the seagulls and their habits; tell of their historical importance                           in Utah. 
>Know what to do for a person whose clothing is on fire; for someone who is in                   deep water and cannot swim, either in summer or through ice in winter; for                     an open cut; for a frosted foot; for fainting.
>Select a location and erect a tent.
>During the week, keep your tent in order. (Camp Skills)

Some of the present first year requirements include things like studying the scriptures daily for fifteen minutes while at camp, learning to extinguish fires, and cooking at least two things over a fire. 
Many of these current requirements aren’t too different from what they were in 1912 or 1915. Even though modern Young Women camps have things like plumbing and electricity, the goal of camp is still to use God’s creation as the classroom for learning useful skills and building strong testimonies while still young. Girls Camp is a wonderful tradition of Young Women that has endured for over a century and hopefully will continue for many more years.
Personal Progress is a staple of the Young Women organization today and provides a recognition system for teenage girls. It has eight values, with experiences and a project for each. Its predecessor, The Beehive Handbook, had seven fields of personal achievement, much like our values.  However, instead of Faith, Divine Nature, Individual Worth, Knowledge, Choice and Accountability, Good Works, Integrity, and Virtue, The Beehive Handbook contained requirements in the categories of Religion, Home, Health, Domestic Arts, Out of Doors, Business, and Public Service. Some of the requirements in the 1915 booklet included things such as:

>Care successfully for a hive of bees for one season and know their habits.
>During two weeks, keep the house free from flies, or destroy at least 25 flies daily.
>Mend six pairs of stockings, two knitted undergarments, and hem six dish- towels.
>Without help or advice, care for and harness a team at least five times [and] drive 50 miles during one season. (History)

Not quite the same as the experiences or projects in the current Personal Progress book, but it was perfectly suited to the girls of the early 20th century. They needed to know things such as harnessing and driving a team of horses, whereas 21st century young women benefit from experiences like Faith Experience # 2, which talks about the importance of motherhood and womanhood. These are principles that are often misunderstood by teenage girls in our day, though in the early 1900s were obvious and easy to take in. 

Many resources and activities for the Young Women of the Church today have evolved from those of the early YLMIA. While the world has changed, and with it, a few specifics from these resources, the purpose remains the same for each: To grow in understanding of the gospel and build strong testimonies that will stand forever in the hearts of faithful women. 

Works Cited

Timeline of Young Women History, LDS.org (https://www.lds.org/callings/young-women/leader-resources/history/timeline-of-young-women-history?lang=eng)

Celebrate by Learning Camp Skills, LDS.org (https://www.lds.org/youth/article/celebrate-by-learning-camp-skills?lang=eng)

History of Young Women Recognition, LDS.org (https://www.lds.org/callings/young-women/leader-resources/history/history-of-young-women-recognition?lang=eng)

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For Who Can Find a Virtuous Woman? For Her Price is Far Above Rubies

Yesterday was a gorgeous, sunny, spring day here in the Southeast! We were all so excited, especially since we've been having odd weather here lately--one day it's 80 degrees and the next it's literally back to 45 or 50. So we're happy whenever there's a halfway nice day out. 

Well, yesterday it was 80 or so degrees and we were all settling into our seats for our Beehive lesson when someone said, "Why don't we go sit outside and have class on the steps?" It was a novel idea and everyone happily agreed. So we headed out into the sun and started our lesson. 

Once every month or two, my Beehive teachers will look for a Personal Progress experience that correlates directly with their topic and use it as their lesson. Yesterday was one of those days. Our lesson was on repentance and was taken entirely from Virtue Experience #4:

Because the Savior loves you and has given His life for you, you can repent. Repentance is an act of faith in Jesus Christ. Read Moroni 10:32–33, the book of Enos, and the section on repentance in For the Strength of Youth. The Savior’s atoning sacrifice has made it possible for you to be forgiven of your sins. Read the sacrament prayers in Doctrine and Covenants 20:77, 79. Determine to partake worthily of the sacrament each week and fill your life with virtuous activities that will bring spiritual power. As you do this, you will grow stronger in your ability to resist temptation, keep the commandments, and become more like Jesus Christ. Determine what you can do daily to remain pure and worthy, and write your plan in your journal.

We read the scriptures in Moroni and Enos together and discussed what they meant to us. Then we read the Repentance section in the For the Strength of Youth to ourselves. In my pamphlet, I underlined some things that stood out to me:

Repentance is more than simply acknowledging wrongdoings. It is a change of mind and heart. It includes turning away from sin and turning to God for forgiveness. It is motivated by love for God and the sincere desire to obey His commandments. This kind of came as a slap in the face, to be honest. Up to that point, I hadn't really thought about this. I had only been acknowledging my wrongdoings and apologizing...but then the same thing would often repeat itself later and I would again apologize. This is NOT a true change of heart! I wasn't truly changed if I was still doing the same thing over and over. This is something I am going to work on in my life.

Then it continues: If you have sinned, the sooner you repent, the sooner you begin to make your way back and find the peace and joy that come with forgiveness. If you delay repentance, you may lose blessings, opportunities, and spiritual guidance. Again, I am guilty. Sometimes I feel like, 'Oh, I can repent of this when I say my prayers tonight. It'll be fine. I mean, it's not like I'm gonna die or anything between here and then.' Do you see the problem? Rationalization and delaying are not part of the repentance process! Who knows? Maybe I will die before the day is over!

When we finished reading, we had a nice discussion about what we learned, and others pointed out what I had noticed. 

We were going to read the sacrament prayers, but somebody suggested that we try and recite them from memory. We didn't think we'd make it all the way through, but guess what? We did it! It was kind of cool to note the differences between them that you wouldn't normally notice if you were just listening to the priests as they blessed the bread and water. I won't tell them to you here, but you can read them yourself and let me know in the comments what you notice. 

Blessing on the Bread | Blessing on the Water

Finally, we wrote in our journals our plans to remain pure and worthy. Mine was heavily based on the eye-openers I received as I read about repentance. This was the first experience I've done in Virtue, but it was a good introduction and a perfect lesson on repenting!

See you later! (Or in the comments☺)

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Good Works Rock!

Hey everyone! Last night at my Beehive class activity, my Beehive adviser signed off Good Works Required Experience #1. I actually did this one with my whole Beehive class as part of a Personal Progress activity we did two weeks ago. 

This is the experience:

Learn why service is a fundamental principle of the gospel. Read Matthew 5:13–16; 25:34–40; Galatians 6:9–10; James 1:22–27; Mosiah 2:17; 4:26; and 3 Nephi 13:1–4. Others often give service you may not notice, such as preparing meals, reading to or listening to younger children, repairing clothing, or helping a brother or sister. For two weeks record in your journal the quiet acts of service your family members and others perform. Acknowledge their service in some meaningful way.

We read these scriptures as a class and discussed them, then went home and individually recorded the acts of service we saw others doing, around our home and elsewhere. The acts of service could be as small as picking up a crying sibling and comforting her, to making a full-fledged pancake dinner!! I noticed so many diverse acts of service I otherwise probably would have overlooked. Another reason I love Personal Progress--it keeps me on track and helps me see so much good!

'Acknowledging' the service sounded a little daunting, but when it says 'meaningful', it just means that you shouldn't just be like, "Oh, by the way, thanks for doing [fill in the blank]." Actually, it just needs to be simple and sincere, like this: "Hey, I really appreciate your going out of your way to do service. It didn't go unnoticed." If they don't believe you, you could flash your Personal Progress journal and say, "Look, I even wrote it down!" 

See? Personal Progress experiences, when you break them down, are really not as hard as they seem. Just take them at your own pace and you'll do great!

Have a great Thursday!

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