Brightening My Light

Primary means "1. first or highest in rank or importance; chief; principal ; 2. first in order in any series, sequence, etc; 3. first in time; earliest; primitive." When we think of the Church Primary program, we think it so named because of definitions 2 and 3. But I believe the first definition is most accurate of the Primary program. Primary children, including those in Nursery, are building the foundation of their testimonies now . The experiences they have at church while young will affect their attitude toward church when they are older. The Nursery manual states , The purpose of the nursery class is to help children learn the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and live it. The nursery class should help the children increase their understanding of and love for Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, have positive experiences in a Church setting, and grow in feelings of self-worth. This statement applies to all ages of Primary. The other Primary ...

Adapted from President Monson's talk "Charity Never Faileth " given in the Relief Society broadcast for General Conference October 2010. I begin with a short anecdote which illustrates a point I should like to make. A young couple, Lisa and John, moved into a new neighborhood. One morning while they were eating breakfast, Lisa looked out the window and watched her next-door neighbor hanging out her wash. “That laundry’s not clean!” Lisa exclaimed. “Our neighbor doesn’t know how to get clothes clean!” John looked on but remained silent. Every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry, Lisa would make the same comments. A few weeks later Lisa was surprised to glance out her window and see a nice, clean wash hanging in her neighbor’s yard. She said to her husband, “Look, John—she’s finally learned how to wash correctly! I wonder how she did it.” John replied, “Well, dear, I have the answer for you. You’ll be interested to know that I got up ear...