The Primary Program

We had my favorite sacrament meeting of the year this week--the Primary program.  As the Primary president, I get somewhat anxious about how everything will turn out, while at the same time knowing it all will be okay.  We have had a huge influx of children into our ward this year; our Primary has doubled in size.  It has brought challenges, but more blessings, and I really have enjoyed the new children who have moved in.  They have meshed so nicely with those who were already here.

My anxiety this year has stemmed from our increased numbers.  How do you fit 90 people on the stand and manage to keep all the little bodies under control?  Should everyone have a part?  How far over time will we go?  These were my worries, but, as usual, I worried needlessly.  Heidi and I managed to squish everyone onto the stand, lining small chairs along the front and placing folding chairs wherever they would fit.  Three of our girls sat at the sacrament table and three at the clerk's table.  We interspersed teachers and put potentially problematic children next to them, and decided in the end to have each child do a part.  We used our two oldest classes (eight children) as our narrators and had them ask questions of the younger classes.

It was all beautiful.  The flow was perfect, everyone said their part well, and the singing was glorious.  Apart from one of the Sunbeams nearly falling over and taking out the whole row of children next to her, everyone was particularly well behaved.  We had requested comments from the congregation that we then read to the children during sharing time, and everyone expressed how well the children performed.

I was especially moved by the music, as I always am.  I am always brought to tears by the children singing their testimonies.  There is something powerful in hearing children express their desire to be like Jesus, or the power of the scriptures, or about hearing the Savior's voice as they listen with their hearts that touches my soul.  During sharing time in senior Primary, as I expressed how beautifully they had done and how moved I was, many of them said, "Faint! Faint!" which I used to do when I was the music leader.  So I fainted.  One doesn't like to disappoint.

Brandt did his part very well.  In response to the question, "Who is your favorite prophet and what have you learned from him?" Brandt said, "I like Nephi.  He cut off Laban's head and shocked his brothers.  He was obedient."  How is that for a part?  While other children talked about President Monson who taught them kindness, or Joseph Smith who taught them to pray, Brandt was all about the murder and mayhem.