Primary (LDS Church)

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Primary
Motto "Faith and Service."
Formation 11 August 1878
Type Non-profit
Purpose/focus religious instruction; personal standards and development; child/family support
Headquarters Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
Membership 1 million children aged 3–11[1]
General President Cheryl C. Lant
Main organ General presidency and general board
Parent organization The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Affiliations Members join the Young Men or Young Women at age 12
Website lds.org

The Primary (formerly the Primary Association) is a children's organization and an official auxiliary within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It acts as a Sunday school organization for the church's children under the age of 12.

Contents

[edit] Purpose, objectives, theme, motto and colors

The official purpose of Primary is to help parents in teaching their children to learn and live the gospel of Jesus Christ.[2] The official objectives of Primary are to:

The Primary theme is "All thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children".[4]

The Primary motto is "Faith and Service". Its official colors are red, yellow and blue—the subtractive primary colors.

[edit] History

Primary was first organized in 1878 by Aurelia Spencer Rogers in Farmington, Utah, and adopted churchwide in 1880 under the direction of Louie B. Felt who served as the president of the organization through 1925. Rogers was concerned because younger Latter-day Saint children had too much unsupervised time due to the long hours that fathers and older sons kept on the farms and mothers and older daughters in the home. In particular, Rogers felt that the younger boys in the community were becoming unruly and mischievous. With permission from church leaders and under the initial direction of General Relief Society President Eliza R. Snow, Rogers organized a Primary Association for her local Farmington congregation on August 11, 1878. Two weeks later, the first meeting was held on August 28, with 215 children in attendance. That day, boys were specifically taught not to steal fruit from orchards and girls were taught not to hang on wagons. In addition, they were given lessons on faith, manners, obedience, and other worthy principles.

May Anderson, the second general president of the Primary Association from 1925 to 1939, initiated what became Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City (now part of Intermountain Healthcare). Anderson also helped establish kindergartens in Utah. In the 1970s as a result of the Priesthood Correlation Program, the Primary Association was renamed Primary.

Since 2005, the general presidency of the Primary has been composed of Cheryl C. Lant, President; Margaret S. Lifferth, Second Counselor; and Vicki F. Matsumori, Second Counselor.

[edit] Chronology of the general presidency of the Primary

No. Dates General President First Counselor Second Counselor
1 18801925 Louie B. Felt Matilda W. Barratt (18801888)
Lillie T. Freeze (18881905)
May Anderson (19051925)
Clare C. M. Cannon (18801895)
Josephine R. West (18961905)
Clara W. Beebe (19061925)
2 19251939 May Anderson Sadie Grant Pack (19251929)
Isabelle S. Ross (19291939)
Isabelle S. Ross (19251929)
Edna H. Thomas (19291933)
Edith H. Lambert (19331939)
3 19401943 May Green Hinckley Adele C. Howells Janet M. Thompson (19401942)
LaVern W. Parmley (19421943)
4 19431951 Adele C. Howells LaVern W. Parmley Dessie G. Boyle
5 19511974 LaVern W. Parmley Arta M. Hale (19511962)
Leone W. Doxey (19621969)
Lucile C. Reading (1970)
Naomi W. Randall (19701974)
Florence H. Richards (19511953)
Leone W. Doxey (19531962)
Eileen R. Dunyon (19621963)
Lucile C. Reading (19631970)
Florence R. Lane (19701974
6 19741980 Naomi M. Shumway Sara B. Paulsen (19741977
Colleen B. Lemmon (19771980)
Colleen B. Lemmon (19741977
Dorthea C. Murdock (19771980)
7 19801988 Dwan J. Young Virginia B. Cannon Michaelene P. Grassli
8 19881994 Michaelene P. Grassli Betty Jo N. Jepsen Ruth B. Wright
9 19941999 Patricia P. Pinegar Anne G. Wirthlin Susan L. Warner
10 19992005 Coleen K. Menlove Sydney S. Reynolds Gayle M. Clegg
11 2005 Cheryl C. Lant Margaret S. Lifferth Vicki F. Matsumori

[edit] Class names

The names of the classes in Primary have varied over time. The following is a partial list of names that have been applied to different age groups in Primary:

Age (on January 1) Present Class Name Past Class Names Used
18 mos. Nursery Rainbows
3-year-olds Sunbeam 4 Moonbeams
4-year-olds CTR 5 Sunbeams
Stars
5-year-olds CTR 6 Stars
6-year-olds CTR 7 Rainbows
7-year-olds CTR 8 Zion’s Boys
Zion’s Girls
CTR Pilots
Co-Pilots
Top Pilots
Targeteers
CTRs
8-year-olds Valiant 9 Zion’s Boys
Zion’s Girls
CTR Pilots
Co-Pilots
Beacons
Top Pilots
Targeteers
CTRs
9-year-old girls Valiant 10 Larks
Gaynotes
Home Builders
Lihomas
Merry Miss
9-year-old boys Valiant 10 Hatchets
Trail Builders
Blazers
10-year-old girls Valiant 11 Bluebirds
Firelights
Hearths
Home Builders
Lihomas
Merry Miss
10-year-old boys Valiant 11 Wagon Wheels
Trail Builders
Trekkers
11-year-old girls Valiant 12 Bluebirds
Merrihands
Home Builders
Lihomas
Merry Miss
11-year-old boys Valiant 12 Arrows
Guides
Trail Builders
Blazers
12-year-old girls no Primary class Seagulls
Home Builders
Lihomas
Mi-kan-wees
13-year-old girls no Primary class Seagulls
Home Builders
Lihomas
Mi-kan-wees

[edit] Primary in the church today

Presently, the world-wide Primary provides Sunday school and church-related activities to approximately one million Latter-day Saint children.[5] In most congregations, optional nursery care and supervision is available for children from age 18 months to age 3. Classroom instruction begins for three-year-olds and continues to age 12, with classes grouped by age. At age 12, the child begins to attend Sunday School and the Young Men or Young Women programs. The Primary has its own songbook, made up of original songs and hymns modified for children.

Where participants, classrooms or teachers are limited, multiple age-grouped classes may be taught together. In most congregations, all Primary classes are co-ed. However, it is not uncommon to have separate classes for boys and girls in Valiant 12.

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Gordon B. Hinckley, “You Are a Child of God,” Liahona, May 2003, pp. 117–19.
  2. ^ Church Handbook of Instructions Books 2: Priesthood and Auxiliary Leaders The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: Salt Lake City, 1998, at 229.
  3. ^ Purpose and Objectives of Primary; Church Handbook of Instructions Books 2: Priesthood and Auxiliary Leaders The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: Salt Lake City, 1998, at 229.
  4. ^ 3 Nephi 22:13; Isaiah 54:13.
  5. ^ History of Primary.

[edit] External links

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