A Primary President's Work Is Never Done

Today is probably going to be a super-short blog post, since we have a busy weekend coming up and we'll be busy painting the downstairs much of the night. In fact, we'll have to unplug the computer to do so! But I want to blog every day, as I mentioned yesterday, so here goes.

Last Sunday, after all the other Halloween/birthday-related craziness, our ward held its annual Primary sacrament meeting program. Once a year in the LDS church, the kids are put in charge of the meeting! It's essentially a series of musical numbers interspersed with speaking parts from ALL the kids in Primary. Generally, a member of the primary presidency writes the program (by arranging the song order and writing the parts for all the kids). This year, our brand-new first counselor Sister Singleton (my third first counselor since becoming Primary president) rose to the challenge of writing the program, and she did a wonderful job! In addition, the entire presidency directs the rehearsals, which usually take a few Sundays to perfect.

As you can guess, there is a fairly large spectrum of talent and skill in a Primary program with close to 100 kids. But that's part of the fun!! Even the really little 3-year-old kids (most of whom can barely say their name and have to have their part whispered to them) are a delight to watch. The Primary sacrament meeting Sundays tend to be many people's favorite Sunday of the year. For lack of a better word, it's so cute to see everyone's children up on the stand, singing and speaking and giving it their all to show their mom and dad what they've learned during the year. It's especially fun to watch the parents' faces as their kid is speaking. They always look so proud and happy, and it's a great feeling to know that the sacrament program is helping them feel that way.

As a Primary leader, it is very gratifying to see the kids do well; it makes me feel as if I've managed to teach them something! I admit, much of the program was spent nervously looking around for troublemakers (we have no bad kids in Primary, but we have many very wiggly ones!). However, after sacrament meeting ended, I received many compliments from many different families about how well everything turned out. It is a relief when the program is done, but it is also exciting to see that it has touched people.

But even though the program is done, there's no time to rest! Our Primary presidency had a meeting this week, in preparation for the remainder of the year. We've still got a lot of work ahead: we have to move all our stuff into the soon-to-be-dedicated new stake center; we have to plan out the class rolls for 2013, and figure out which of our teachers will be teaching which class; and of course, we have several new callings to give out.

I think the biggest aspect of a Primary president's job is logistics. The president is responsible for so many people (teachers, music leaders, kids, midweek activity leaders, etc.), and you have to keep many balls in the air at the same time. Not only that, but the staff in Primary is almost constantly in flux. There are so many people serving in Primary that at some point, the staff of another church organization will need to "borrow" one or more of them. Plus, Sahuarita is a rapidly growing area, which means lots of people are moving in and out of the ward, and there are frequent ward boundary shifts to cope with. As a result, I'm dealing with a constant "revolving door" of staff.

However, despite the stress this sometimes brings, I have learned so much about following the promptings of the Spirit (and trusting my own intuition) when doing my job. There have been many times when I've been pondering names of people to recommend for primary callings, and names have popped into my head completely unbidden. And then the names don't go away, and the more I think about that person, the better the idea sounds! I have also experienced the opposite feeling too. Sometimes, a certain person looks completely right for a certain Primary calling, but no matter how hard I try to justify it to myself, a small nagging doubt keeps holding me back. It's the classic "stupor of thought" (referenced in the Doctrine & Covenants) at work!

These are some extreme examples, of course...at other times, I've been easily persuaded by my counselors that one name is better than another for a certain calling. And at still other times (including twice when picking out a new counselor!), I have relied more on the wisdom and recommendations of others than my own. I have learned to trust those around me, and to believe that they know what they're talking about. Even more important than that, though, has been the knowledge that the Lord has been gently helping me the whole time I've been president, and that he sends me spiritual "signals" when I need them.

Testimony time: I am so grateful to be in Primary! It is great to be with the kids, feel their enthusiasm and their trusting spirits, and to feel the Lord's love through them. I also know (without a doubt) that the Lord guides leaders in His church. I know He can help us make wise choices by sending us the influence of the Holy Spirit. I've personally felt it in many small but important ways since becoming Primary president. And I am so grateful for the Lord's help in the rest of my life, too!

Halloween wrap-up coming soon!