It’s that time of year again. No- I’m not talking about the time of year when every girl, including myself, goes crazy over all things pumpkin. And no, not the time of year where football fans are at their happiest. I’m talking about the time of year Mormon parents of young children either helicopter over their kids or are indifferent. The time of year that bring us the “Primary Chorister’s SuperBowl Sunday.” The time of year older church members cup their ears and say, “What did that 4 year old say?” The time of year the Primary Presidency prays, plans, and preps for all year long…
The blandly named Sacrament Meeting we all wait for:
The Children’s Sacrament Meeting Presentation
If you’re unfamiliar with such a sacrament meeting, here’s the main points:
- Children ages 3-11 (or 12 if the 12 year olds are not too cool to participate) share the songs and testimonies they’ve gained throughout the year during the ward congregation’s main worship service.
- The actual words/format of the program is written out by a member of the Primary Presidency and approved by the Bishop or Branch President.
- The songs are set by the General Primary Presidency, with local congregations picking a few songs of their choosing.
- The main theme of the program is based on that year’s Primary Theme, selected by the General Primary Presidency.
Now, if you’ve had the pleasure of participating in said program (as I have for the last 9 years- ever since I returned from my mission) you know the joys, pains, and spiritualism that these meeting can hold.
Last Sunday was my ward’s primary program. While I am in the Primary Presidency, I did not plan this year’s program. In fact, I haven’t done much to prep for it besides scheduling it and buying snacks for the practices- because I was 36 weeks pregnant and because I wrote and directed last year’s program.
So this year I reflected a lot on the program itself, and past programs that I’ve participated in. Here are the top three funny ones that I’ve either seen, done, or heard about:
1. The Unwilling Sunbeam. When we moved into the ward there was the cutest little red-head you ever did see that would glare at us throughout sacrament meeting for an unknown reason. He was adorable. His staring eyes were concerning. But we always smiled and waved.. and once he did his part in the program, we high-fived him every time we saw him.This little sunbeam was the first speaker for the program. As he huffed and glared at his mom whispering in his ear, he hollered into the microphone, “I don’t want to do this anymore!” Mom whispers something in his ear. “yes, I want a toy but I don’t want to say anything” Mom tries to lead him away from the pulpit. “No! I don’t want to sit down, I want a toy!” Mom gives him the look. He huffs and says, “Jesus loves me and I can show my love to him by helping other people.
2. The Hollering Hymn. One friend told me about a time when the children in her ward sang “The Spirit of God” and actually shouted the word “SHOUT” as in “we’ll sing and we’ll SHOUT…”. Window shaking goodness. Which reminds me- there are some song actions you can’t tame out of the children for the primary program… stomping in “Follow the Prophet”, holding up scriptures in “Scripture Power”, or those few kiddos who sing the line of lyrics just a moment too late from the rest of the group. Echo, echo, echo…
3. The Mischievous Brother. For the past few years of the program, I’ve been the adult who sits next to the mic and helps the kids with their lines. The first year this was my assignment, we had 3 brothers participating in the program and we sat the youngest one right next to the podium controls. Anytime his brothers were at the mic the podium level went up and down and on and off… in hindsight it was a funny, learning experience. In the moment it was a teeth grinding smile and a harsh whisper of “stop that. right now.”
Aside from the funny ones, there are very spiritual ones too. Here are the top three spiritual ones that I have heard about or will experience myself:
1. The Tender Moment that Welcomes the Spirit. Much like the heartwarming story of brothers singing together in General Conference, this one gives you “all the feels”:
We had our program last week and these 2 brothers were singing a song at the pulpit, 6ish and 8ish. The 8yo sang a verse then the 6yo, wearing his suit with a future missionary badge, sang his verse. Mid verse a terrified look came across his face. He stopped singing. Then he started crying. Hard. But all the while still standing there, just looking at his parents (who were sitting right behind us). You couldn’t help but want to run up and hug the kid. The pianist kept playing and the 8yo just stood there with a blank face, like nothing was going on. But it turned into this very intense, very emotionally raw moment. I felt, as probably most there felt, an immense feeling of warmth, love and compassion for this kid, who was standing there, in front of hundreds of people, most strangers to him, fixated directly on him while he felt and showed emotion in such an incredibly vulnerable way. It was actually quite a beautiful moment.
After what felt like minutes, and was actually 10 seconds, the 8yo started singing the chorus and both brothers eventually finished out the song.
By the amount of people who came up to th boy after (including a member of the Seventy who was there) it just confirmed to me how uniquely tender of a moment it was.
-Luis M.
2. But some of the best moments in the Primary Program comes from being a parent. For me, this happened today when my daughter, 3 and the youngest participant in the program, stood up there and shared with our ward a scripture she memorized. She was nervous and breathed a big sigh into the mic. She then shared her scripture and rushed to give her teacher a hug. It was a proud parent moment- she chose to do it, and did it all by herself!
3. Here’s this memory from another parent, which hit home for what these programs are really about:
One of the proudest moments in my life as a father was when my son, who has autism, sat at the front of the chapel and said his part for the primary program.
His leaders adjusted rehearsals so that he could participate. His part was tailored for him too. It was a special moment for me as a father. He made me really proud and brought on a lot of happy tears.
-Tyler H.
The primary program is an opportunity to see a simple and pure testimony through the eyes of a child. There is no sweeter witness of the Gospel than when shared by a child. And yes, sometimes it’s funny too. It’s genuine.
~Chow Wilde
What are some of your favorite Primary Program memories?