Primary meeting is a first

Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Feb 7, 2003 by Carrie A. MooreDeseret News religion editor

LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley will speak directly to children Saturday in the church's first satellite broadcast geared specifically to those 11 and younger.

For today's children, who will come of age in a world that is out of their control, life can be frightening. Now the nation stands at the brink of war, and some of America's real heroes were killed last weekend returning from space.

President Hinckley is expected to address concerns and provide reassurance when he speaks to children at 2 p.m. from the Conference Center. The address to the church's youngest members celebrates the 125th anniversary of the Primary, which was organized Aug. 25, 1878, in Farmington.

Because they hold within them a spark of the divine, children can readily understand a God who loves them and knows them personally, according to Sister Coleen K. Menlove, president of the Primary organization for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And that kind of faith gives them a sense of security, she says.

When children are taught "that they are children of God, that they are loved, that Jesus Christ is their Savior . . . and that they can pray to him any time, anywhere," their faith can provide peace, not only through life's greatest challenges, but on the playground or among their peers.

"Children are so attuned to the words of the prophet, and they have a desire to follow him."

They do so, she and her counselors agree, because he represents a growing knowledge within them that a Heavenly Father watches over the world, and that he directs his prophet to teach truths they don't learn in school or hear about at soccer practice.

"Children live in the here and now. It's challenging for them to look to the future, to see themselves in five or 10 years," Sister Menlove says. "But when they can start to look to the future and see the things they do now will either open or close doors" for their future happiness, they begin to understand that "the little things they do daily make a difference."

That's where Primary steps in, says Sister Sydney S. Reynolds, first counselor in the Primary general presidency. While they don't participate in organized political activism for children, Primary leaders say the Sunday lessons and occasional activities taught by church volunteers around the globe reinforce principles taught in the home, or in some cases, present them for the first time in a setting "where children feel loved and accepted no matter who they are or where they come from."

Faith is a concept that comes naturally for children, but is more difficult for adults, says Sister Gayle M. Clegg, second counselor in the Primary. "If you ask a child when his prayer was last answered, they remember the mint that was lost and then found an hour ago. Adults have to stop and think about that question."

These women, all educators with long experience teaching children, have seen both the joy in small eyes at the wonder of new life, and the fear born of feeling that their challenges are too large to handle. "We can't drive down the street and see a group of children without having them catch our eye, and wondering whether they are loved," says Sister Clegg.

Sister Menlove, in particular, understands the power that faith can bring to a child who is searching for something beyond herself. She suffered through and recovered from a bout with childhood polio. And she came from a family who loved and cared for her, but they didn't have family home evening or family prayer when she was small.

"I went to Primary by myself, and felt the love of teachers that nurtured me. I felt that in Primary and wanted it to increase in my own home." And it did.

Sister Reynolds attributes some of her colleagues' strength of character today to the fact that she was both willing and able to learn about spiritual things as a child. Too often, adults don't give children enough credit when it comes to spiritual sensitivity -- whether they have special needs or not. "We believe all children can learn, and that they have great potential."

Those who have special needs or come from a challenging home environment are no less able to understand that "they are a child of God, and that gives them great respect for themselves and others," says Sister Menlove.

The three agree that music is one of the greatest tools Primary employs to teach spirituality. Principles like faith, prayer, peace and love are reinforced over and over again through songs whose words often remain with them throughout their adult lives.

As they travel the globe, visiting groups that represent nearly 1 million LDS children in 160 nations, they often hear stories about how the words of a Primary song will come to their minds in a difficult situation, says Sister Clegg, "and they're able to make a better decision because of it. There is comfort and peace when you've been taught" what is right.

Tickets are required to attend the Primary broadcast at the Conference Center, and have already been distributed. But local Primary children, their parents and leaders without tickets are encouraged to view the broadcast live at their stake center, or on KBYU-TV Saturday at 4 p.m., or Sunday at 6 p.m. The meeting will also be broadcast live on BYU-TV at 2 p.m., Sunday at 6 p.m. and Feb. 19 at 5 p.m.