I Will Stand

 

"Wherefore, stand ye in holy places, 

and be not moved, until the day of 

the Lord come; for behold, it cometh 

quickly, saith the Lord.  Amen."

(D&C 87:8)

I have loved the youth theme this year!  At the beginning of the year we as a stake were able to go into all of the wards and talk with the youth about what this theme means to them.  Then this summer we really focused on it a ton as we prepared and went to girls camp.  It always amazes me at how strong these youth are.  They live in this world surrounded by people and groups that "call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness".  But they are strong and immovable.  They know the scriptures!  They go to the temple!  They choose and love to be happy! I LOVE being around them and their beautiful examples!

Along with the scripture in Doctrine and Covenants we also used this song by Hilary Weeks called, "I Will". 

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXp09aid-Qo

I will stand
I will not fall
In a world that's weak
I will be strong

I'll be true
I will choose His way
Yeah, I know what's right
And I will not change
In a world where so many will not
I will

As part of some of the pre-camp activities, in June we took the 4th year girls rappelling!  It was fun to see the girls, and leaders, do this...some of them overcoming a lot of fear!  It was a perfect day!  Tons of fun!

I don't have a lot of pictures this year!  I wish I had taken more!  A lot of pictures I had to steal from friends.  But the 4th year activity was a huge hit and we had some great activities with our YCLs as well as we prepared to go to camp.

My house turns into a staging area for girls camp...or the "show before the show"!  :)  My kitchen table housed the t-shirt orders:

My kids helped make the treats:

And my garage is the prep area for the certification relay!!

That was actually about it though!  It is amazing what many hands can do!  We each had our part and it all came together so perfectly!

Even with the rain!

We had rainbows!

Again...we had a blast with the YCLs on the very first day! 

This is always such a fun day to get to know them and see their leadership skills come to life! 

We shared stories and testimonies a little bit that first night and the spirit was so strong!  These girls are beautiful inside and out!  They know who they are and who they want to become!

I stole some of these from a friend of mine!  I wish I had pulled my camera out more, but I definitely did just enjoy taking in every moment! 

I LOVE this mountain and I LOVE being surrounded by all of these amazing girls!

Our stake had just split a few months before camp.  Before the split we kinda wondered what might happen with girls camp, but right away the stake presidencies said we would keep it all combined.  That is a lot of wards and a lot of girls in a place that says "capacity of approximately 300" on their website!  But it happened and it was amazing!  15 wards, 10 stake leaders and about 400-450 beautiful spirits up on that mountain together!  Unforgettable!

 

I LOVE these 10 women more than words can say!  I wish we could've had so much more time with the Jordan Willows stake!  I will miss those wards sooo much!

As I think of that scripture "Stand in Holy Places" I thought a lot about how I could pertain that to my life!  Really....I only stand in one place most of the time!  I don't leave the walls of my own home as often as these girls that are at school or work or with friends.  I am here with the same 7 people every day.  So what am I doing to make sure that this place that I stand in is a holy place.  What can I do to make sure that I don't falter and that I am strong and not moved, because as the scripture says, the Lord will come again and that day "cometh quickly".  Will I be prepared and standing in a holy place with my loved ones by my side when that day comes?  

I learned a lot about myself during this week of girls camp!  I always do!  Am I filling my lamp everyday so that I will be ready to see my Savior again and to be in His presence?!  

I LOVE the scriptures!  I am thankful EVERY day for these opportunities to serve...especially in the Young Women program!  I know that the scriptures are true and that we do have living prophets on the earth today to lead and guide us as if the Savior was still walking the earth with us!  "In a world where so many will not", I am thankful that our prophets and our leaders "WILL" stand in holy places and be not moved.  Following them and their council gives me hope and happiness and so much joy!