Thank
you for participating in the camp theme process this year. We felt like
it went very well and appreciate the thought and time given to this
important decision.
The
purposes
of camp are varied and are outlined in the camp manual and in the the
camp guide. There are about
170 YW who attend camp and they are all at different levels of maturity
and
testimony. We take the purposes of camp and the needs of the YW and
choose a theme to provide a focus and then make a plan. Our theme this
year
will be Search and Rescue. We know
you will think of creative ways to make this memorable for the girls.
Here
are a few ideas to get you thinking about the spiritual focus of camp:
When
we first talked about Search and Rescue
we thought camp would be just about the girls reaching out and rescuing others. We
read President Monson’s words:
“The world is in need of your help.
There are feet to steady, hands to grasp, minds to encourage, hearts to
inspire, and souls to save.” President Monson, April 2001
But as we continued
talking, we realized that what President Harold B. Lee said is also true:
“You cannot lift another soul until you
are standing on higher ground than he is. You must be sure, if you would rescue
the man, that you yourself are setting the example of what you would have him
be. You cannot light a fire in another soul unless it is burning in your own
soul.” Harold B. Lee, April 1973
We
talked about the airplane safety video, which teaches us to put the mask over our
own face before helping others.
I
remembered hearing Elder Holland tell the missionaries at the MTC many times, "Preach
My Gospel was written because President Hinckley didn’t understand how so many
returned missionaries who converted many other people while serving could come
home and not remain faithful. Preach My Gospel was written for you, the missionary—you
are your first investigator."
In October
General Conference we heard:
The Lord has commanded that before we
seek to declare His word, we must seek to obtain it. You must become
men and women of sound understanding by diligently searching the scriptures and
by treasuring them up in your hearts. Then as you ask for the Lord’s help, He
will bless you with His Spirit and His word. You will have the power of God
unto the convincing of men. Elder McConkie, October 2013
Those living in sorrow, despairing at
the possibility of children being rescued from where the world has taken them,
must never give up. . . . Children taught an understanding of the scriptures
early in life . . . who stray will have the ability to return and, with help,
can find their way back. President
Packer, October 2013
Search and Rescue fits well with Hastening the Work. There is a page on the church's website about the role of youth in the work of salvation.
An important part of their work is their own personal rescue through preparation and conversion.
Another
important focus of camp will be learning about the rescuing we all need from the Savior and
His Atonement. He
rescues us from sin,
heals our
broken hearts, strengthens us to endure and changes our natures.
Personal experience with the Atonement of Jesus Christ is essential to
leading others to Him.
Sister
Linda Burton, General RS President, shared this example:
“A
[woman] walking along a road fell into a pit
so deep [she] could not climb out. No matter what [she] did, [she] could not
get out by [herself]. Jesus Christ’s atonement could be compared to lowering a
ladder into the pit; it gives us the
means to climb out.” But the Savior does more than lower the ladder, He “comes
down into the pit and makes it possible
for us to use the ladder to escape.”
Another
focus of camp will be sharing what we know with others. Week after week
I heard a conversion spotlight at Relief Society at the MTC. One sister
missionary was invited to share her conversion story with the sisters
and leaders each week. So many stories were about one young woman simply
being a friend to another young woman, sharing the happiness of the
gospel of Jesus Christ.
Read the words of Enos and see how his experience fits with Search and Rescue:
“I will tell you of the wrestle which I had
before God, . . . I went to hunt beasts in the forests; and the words which I
had often heard my father speak concerning eternal life, and the joy of the saints, sunk deep into my
heart. . . . And my soul hungered; and I kneeled down before my
Maker, and I cried unto him in mighty
prayer and supplication
for mine own soul; . . . And there came a voice unto me, saying:
Enos, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou
shalt be blessed. . . . Now, it came to pass that when I had heard these words
I began to feel a desire for the welfare of my brethren,
the Nephites; wherefore, I did pour out my whole soul unto
God for them.” Enos 1:3-9
We hope the YW will, like Enos, seek the Savior every day
and treasure up His words so that when they need rescuing, they will draw upon
those words; we hope they will, like Enos, gain a personal understanding of
what it means to be rescued by the Savior and His Atonement; and then we hope
they will, like Enos, have a desire to rescue someone else by sharing what they
know.
