Changes to the Church's Young Women camp program,
included in a new camp guide to be released this spring, include
eliminating certification and emphasizing youth leaders.
Meant
to be “globally applicable” for young women living in all different
areas of the world, the new Young Women Camp Guide will soon be
available as a resource for Young Women presidencies, camp specialists
and youth camp leaders.
Young Women general board members from around the world
provided input for the new guide. It replaces the former camp manual
which has been "a valued and treasured resource" for many years, but is
not as applicable to today’s worldwide Church, said members of the Young
Women general presidency.
“What we hope will be one
of the major changes with using the Young Women Camp Guide is the
involvement of the youth camp leaders," Sister Bonnie L. Oscarson, Young
Women general president, told the
Church News. "We want to see them take a major role in both determining what needs to happen at camp and in leading camp activities.”
Although
a specific release date has not been set, the new guide will eventually
be available through Church distribution and digitally online in 23
languages.
“It is based on the leadership principles from
Handbook 2,
which are: prepare spiritually, participate in councils, minister to
others, and teach the gospel,” said Sister Carol F. McConkie, first
counselor in the Young Women general presidency.
The
objective of the new guide, the leaders said, is to help local leaders
seek and receive inspiration for what is most needed in their area.
“You
will see on the first page under the introduction that one of the
purposes of camp is that young women need a place they can ‘gather
together, separate from worldly influences, feel the Spirit of the Lord,
grow in unity and love and strengthen their faith and testimonies of
Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ,’” said Sister Oscarson.
Sister
Neill F. Marriott, second counselor in the Young Women general
presidency, added, “Because the new guide is principle based, it allows
the youth camp leaders space to receive personal revelation for their
own camp. They aren’t just told what to do. They are practicing the
leadership principle of counseling together and learning to seek
direction from the Spirit to meet their needs. These skills will bless
the young women, their families, and the Church for years to come.”
Sister Oscarson spoke of how, while visiting cities
around the globe that “go on for miles and miles with no parks or green
spaces,” she has often asked herself the question, “Where are they going
to find a place set apart from the world?”
"The whole
idea of camp is to provide a fun experience that is different from
their everyday lives, ideally out in nature,” Sister Oscarson said.
“That is a traditional camp experience, but not all parts of the world
have places like that available.”
For some, it may be
in the mountains or on a beach, for others it may be held in the
cultural hall of their Church building, while others may hold camp in
the backyard of a Church member or leader. Wherever the locale of camp,
the new resource will be applicable to all circumstances.
The
small booklet — that is approximately 40 pages and is only 5-by-7
inches in size — includes scriptures, outlines the principles of camp
leadership, offers help in planning camp, encourages evaluation and
lists suggestions for camp activities that are linked to online
resources.
“I think this is a fresh new look at camp,”
Sister Marriott said. “We are also extending the invitation through
this guide to consider traditions that have been long-held in camps,
especially those that may not help accomplish the goals of camp or that
may involve pranking or unkindness and don’t engender a spirit of truth
and love at camp.”
Some of the biggest changes, the
leaders said, are that the new guide does not include certification and
will not be given to every young woman. Only leaders and youth leaders
will have a copy of the guide.
“The requirement to
complete certification by learning specifically assigned skills has gone
away, but we hope that as adult and youth camp leaders look at needs
and seek inspiration they will recognize that these skills are still
important for young women to learn," Sister Oscarson said. "Camp is a
great opportunity to develop skills in outdoor survival, self-reliance,
emergency preparedness, first aid, and environmental protection and
care. We hope those skills will still be a part of camp.”
Rather than a checklist of topics to cover, the new guide
offers suggestions of activities — including many of the activities
from the former guide — that focus on spiritual, social, physical and
intellectual activities. Youth leaders should be involved in all aspects
of camp, working with their adult leaders to decide what is important
for their group.
The presidency encouraged leaders to
shy away from experiences that rely on emotion or that try to force a
spiritual experience through drama.
“Sometimes young
women — especially those who are just learning to respond to the Spirit —
might think, ‘everybody else is crying, why am I not crying? I must not
be feeling the Spirit,’” Sister Oscarson said. “People can feel the
Spirit working in their lives and everybody reacts differently to it.
Stick with the scriptures, the basic doctrines of Christ and of the
gospel, and choose appropriate activities that invite the Spirit, but
which don’t try to manipulate emotions.”
Sister
McConkie added that the new guide emphasizes safety. “Safety in every
aspect — spiritually, morally, emotionally, and physically safe. We want
all young women to feel safe and secure wherever their camp setting
might be.”
Important to planning camp "is taking into
consideration the needs of the girls that will be attending," she said.
"We can make accommodations for girls with disabilities, allergies or
special circumstances so all can feel included.”
Most
important, the presidency said, is for leaders to “keep it simple” and
let the young women help plan and execute the details. They encourage
leaders to “reduce and simplify” activities, decorations and even food.
“Youth
camp leaders should have the primary responsibility for planning,
directing and evaluating camp,” the guide says. “They counsel with the
Young Women presidency, ward and stake camp leaders, and priesthood
leaders.”
Stepping back from all of the planning and letting the
youth play a bigger role will take “a lot of faith and humility on our
leaders' parts,” Sister Oscarson said. She also encouraged young women
to make camp a priority amid their busy schedules.
Sister
Marriott added, “We want to make it understood that this is not a
manual, it is a guide. There is no list of specifics that must happen to
create a perfect camp, this new guide emphasizes the youth camp leader.
They are not just involved, they are actually leading and planning.”
Although the new guide gives suggestions, they are just that — guidelines.
“After
the experience is over, we want these young women to leave camp having
had a joyous experience and with a deeper testimony and greater faith in
the Savior and their Heavenly Father. We hope they will leave with an
increased understanding of who they are and how they connect to this
beautiful earth created for them. We want it to be something that truly
elevates them.”
More information will be available on
the Young Women website www.youngwomen.lds.org as well as in the Gospel
Library in the upcoming weeks.
The LDS Church News is an
official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The publication's content supports the doctrines, principles and
practices of the Church.
