Primary (LDS Church)
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| File:Primary seal.jpg
The official seal of the Primary adopted in 1940.
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| Formation | 11 August 1878 |
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| Type | Non-profit |
| Purpose | religious instruction; personal standards and development; child/family support |
| Headquarters | Salt Lake City, Utah, United States |
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Membership
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1.1 million children aged 3–11[1] |
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General President
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Rosemary M. Wixom |
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Main organ
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General presidency and general board |
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Parent organization
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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.
Contents
Purpose, objectives, and theme
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:
- Teach children that they are children of God and that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love them;
- help children learn to love Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ;
- help children prepare to be baptized, to receive the Holy Ghost, and to keep their baptismal covenants;
- help children grow in their understanding of the gospel plan and provide opportunities for them to live gospel principles;
- help boys prepare to receive the priesthood and be worthy to use this power to bless and serve others; and
- help girls prepare to be righteous young women, understand the blessings of the priesthood and the temple, and serve others.[2]
The Primary theme is "All thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children".[2][3]
History
Primary was first organized in 1878 by Aurelia Spencer Rogers in Farmington, Utah, and adopted church-wide 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 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, Rosemary M. Wixom has been the Primary General President. Wixom initially called Jean A. Stevens as her First Counselor, with Cheryl A. Esplin serving as Second Counselor.[4] In April 2015, Stevens was released due to her husband's call as president of the church's London England Mission.[5] Stevens was succeeded as first counselor by Esplin, who in turn was succeeded by Mary R. Durham, who had been serving on the Primary General Board.[6]
Chronology of the general presidency of the Primary
Class names
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. In 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 |
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| 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 |
Primary in the church today
Presently, the worldwide Primary provides Sunday school and church-related activities to approximately 1.1 million Latter-day Saint children.[1] In most congregations, optional nursery care and supervision is available for children from 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, children begin 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 Primary classes are co-ed.
See also
- Children's Songbook
- CTR ring
- I Am a Child of God
- Priesthood Correlation Program
- Relief Society
- The Friend (LDS magazine)
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Tad Walsh, "Preparing to split up, LDS General Primary Presidency looks back on 5 years of service together", Deseret News, March 27, 2015.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Primary", Handbook 2: Administering the Church (Salt Lake City, Utah: LDS Church, 2010) § 11.1.
- ↑ 3 Nephi 22:13; see also Isaiah 54:13.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ New Mission Presidents, Church News, 28 February 2015.
- ↑ "New General Authorities, Young Men Presidency and Primary Presidency Changes Announced", Mormon Newsroom, April 4, 2015.
