look to the temple: young womens in excellence

we had our ward young womens in excellence this evening. we organised it to have a "look to the temple theme and i think it went really well.

we set up with all white, with our three temple dresses on display, books about the temple and statues of christ - along with a photograph each from our temple weddings, from each member of our young womens presidency.

at the end of the evening, we gave each of the girls a gift, a white wooden hanger, engraved with their name and this poem attached

 (file is at the bottom if you ever want to use it for an activity of your own!)

hang onto your values

hang on to your testimony

hang on to your goals

so that someday, you can hang your temple dress on me. 

along with one of these gorgeous cookies of the temple that my friend did up. i love that she got the moroni's perfect, they are incredible. i almost didn't want to give them away.

our presidency members temple wedding pictures. i loved seeing them all on display together - such a wonderful example for the girls to be reaching towards the goal of a temple marriage.

we had simple refreshments afterwards, just enough for some nibbles... i really tried to make most of it white as well but its a bit hard!

egg sandwiches

white tim-tams

white chocolate dipped strawberries

vanilla cupcakes with white icing

watermelon pieces

white chocolate rocky road

spinach and ricotta puffs

and water and lemonade to drink

and our evening went a little something like this:

opening song: i love to see the temple

opening prayer

opening and welcome to yw and special guests 

(we asked for a few helpers to make the evening just right)

tonight is about learning about the importance of making and keeping sacred covenants to receive the ordinances and blessings of the holy temple as mentioned in the young women’s theme

recitation of the new yw theme

speakers:

-a sister in our ward who is a temple worker

-a recent convert who had just gone through the temple weeks before

-the oldest of our young women, who spoke about preparing to enter the temple

video - the blessings of the temple

speakers:

-our first counsellor (preparing for a temple marriage)

-second counsellor (me!) (temple blessings in motherhood)

-our president (blessings of the temple on your mission)

-our stake young womens president 

-our bishop

closing remarks: our young womens president

closing hymn: families can be together forever 

closing prayer

************************

it went off without a hitch other than our crack up of a bishop. he had prepared some words, unrelated to the temple and said he had no idea it was about the temple, even after being handed an invite and being asked to speak in a message with a specified subject. he and his wife do share their messenger account though, so we think she must have been the one who read that. we had a good laugh about it though.

everyone that spoke said such wonderful words and i was so glad that we felt inspired to ask each one. it was a perfect night - the perfect end to our year with the girls.

bloom into beauty

my friend melinda is the young womens president in their ward and last week she called and asked if i had any flowers that they could use to decorate for their young womens in excellence evening. we had a good laugh (i have more than just flowers and she knew it) then made a list of things that we could use to pretty up the place. 

earlier this evening we decorated to make their room look like they were having a garden party... and then as an added bonus, i got to stay and enjoy the evening! all of the young women got up one by one and briefly shared what they had worked on for their personal progress throughout the year. it was so fun to watch them speak of their achievements and i really enjoyed being there.

plus they received a little pot of flowers with this gorgeous handout attached to take home. so cute! (i am totally filing these ideas away for future reference, just in case i ever end up in young womens again one day...)

mel spoke last and amongst her comments directed at the girls she read this beautiful quote from jeffrey r. holland:
 "I want you to be proud you are a woman. I want you to feel the reality of what that means, to know who you truly are. You are literally a spirit daughter of heavenly parents with a divine nature and an eternal destiny. That surpassing truth should be fixed deep in your soul and be fundamental to every decision you make as you grow into mature womanhood. There could never be a greater authentication of your dignity, your worth, your privileges, and your promise. Your Father in Heaven knows your name and knows your circumstance. He hears your prayers. He knows your hopes and dreams, including your fears and frustrations. And He knows what you can become through faith in Him. Because of this divine heritage you, along with all of your spiritual sisters and brothers, have full equality in His sight and are empowered through obedience to become a rightful heir in His eternal kingdom, an “[heir] of God, and joint-[heir] with Christ.” Seek to comprehend the significance of these doctrines. Everything Christ taught He taught to women as well as men. Indeed, in the restored light of the gospel of Jesus Christ, a woman, including a young woman, occupies a majesty all her own in the divine design of the Creator."

it is the most wonderful talk, if you have a chance to read the whole thing, please do! you can find it here. 

♥♥♥