| Primary | |
|---|---|
The official seal of the Primary adopted in 1940. |
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| 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, United States |
| Membership | 1 million children aged 3–11[1] |
| General President | Rosemary M. Wixom |
| 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.
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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.
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 2010, the general presidency of the Primary has been composed of Rosemary M. Wixom, President; Jean A. Stevens, First Counselor; and Cheryl A. Esplin, Second Counselor.[5]
| No. | Dates | General President | First Counselor | Second Counselor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1880—1925 | Louie B. Felt | Matilda M. Barratt (1880—1888) Lillie T. Freeze (1888—1905) May Anderson (1905—1925) |
Clara C. M. Cannon (1880—1895) Josephine R. West (1896—1905) Clara W. Beebe (1906—1925) |
| 2 | 1925—1939 | May Anderson | Sadie Grant Pack (1925—1929) Isabelle S. Ross (1929—1939) |
Isabelle S. Ross (1925—1929) Edna H. Thomas (1929—1933) Edith H. Lambert (1933—1939) |
| 3 | 1940—1943 | May Green Hinckley | Adele C. Howells | Janet M. Thompson (1940—1942) LaVern W. Parmley (1942—1943) |
| 4 | 1943—1951 | Adele C. Howells | LaVern W. Parmley | Dessie G. Boyle |
| 5 | 1951—1974 | LaVern W. Parmley | Arta M. Hale (1951—1962) Leone W. Doxey (1962—1969) Lucile C. Reading (1970) Naomi W. Randall (1970—1974) |
Florence H. Richards (1951—1953) Leone W. Doxey (1953—1962) Eileen R. Dunyon (1962—1963) Lucile C. Reading (1963—1970) Florence R. Lane (1970—1974) |
| 6 | 1974—1980 | Naomi M. Shumway | Sara B. Paulsen (1974—1977) Colleen B. Lemmon (1977—1980) |
Colleen B. Lemmon (1974—1977) Dorthea C. Murdock (1977—1980) |
| 7 | 1980—1988 | Dwan J. Young | Virginia B. Cannon | Michaelene P. Grassli |
| 8 | 1988—1994 | Michaelene P. Grassli | Betty Jo N. Jepsen | Ruth B. Wright |
| 9 | 1994—1999 | Patricia P. Pinegar | Anne G. Wirthlin | Susan L. Warner |
| 10 | 1999—2005 | Coleen K. Menlove | Sydney S. Reynolds | Gayle M. Clegg |
| 11 | 2005—2010 | Cheryl C. Lant | Margaret S. Lifferth | Vicki F. Matsumori |
| 12 | 2010— | Rosemary M. Wixom | Jean A. Stevens | Cheryl A. Esplin |
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, as of January 2010, the names of the classes were changed to the age of children entering the class, i.e., 4 year olds are in the class CTR 4. Previously, names were indicative of the age children would turn the coming year, (4-year-olds in CTR 5)
| Age (on January 1) | Present Class Name | Past Class Names Used |
|---|---|---|
| 18 mos. | Nursery | Rainbows |
| 3-year-olds | Sunbeams | Moonbeams |
| 4-year-olds | CTR 4 | Sunbeams Stars CTR 5 |
| 5-year-olds | CTR 5 | Stars CTR 6 |
| 6-year-olds | CTR 6 | Rainbows CTR 7 |
| 7-year-olds | CTR 7 | Zion’s Boys Zion’s Girls CTR Pilots Co-Pilots Top Pilots Targeteers CTRs CTR 8 |
| 8-year-olds | Valiant 8 | Zion’s Boys Zion’s Girls CTR Pilots Co-Pilots Beacons Top Pilots Targeteers CTRs Valiant 9 |
| 9-year-old girls | Valiant 9 | Larks Gaynotes Home Builders Lihomas Merry Miss Valiant 10 |
| 9-year-old boys | Valiant 9 | Hatchets Trail Builders Blazers Valiant 10 |
| 10-year-old girls | Valiant 10 | Bluebirds Firelights Hearths Home Builders Lihomas Merry Miss Valiant 11 |
| 10-year-old boys | Valiant 10 | Wagon Wheels Trail Builders Trekkers Valiant 11 |
| 11-year-old girls | Valiant 11 | Bluebirds Merrihands Home Builders Lihomas Merry Miss Valiant 12 |
| 11-year-old boys | Valiant 11 | Arrows Guides Trail Builders Blazers Valiant 12 |
| 12-year-old girls | See Young Women | Seagulls Home Builders Lihomas Mi-kan-wees |
| 13-year-old girls | See Young Women | Seagulls Home Builders Lihomas Mi-kan-wees |
Presently, the worldwide Primary provides Sunday school and church-related activities to approximately one million Latter-day Saint children.[6] 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 11.
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