XVII
PRIMARY
1.
The Primary association, or "Primary" as it is more familiarly known, occupies a place in the lives of Mormon children that usually is not filled for the youngsters of most other churches in America.
It is an organization that provides weekday religious and moral training for children in the age group from four to eleven years, inclusive. It is not to be confused with the Sunday school. On the other hand, it does not supplant the public school system, nor seek to pervert or distort the general view of knowledge and history common to the nation's schools.
The church presidency has specifically charged the Primary association with three main responsibilities to the children of Mormondom. These are 1. The carrying on of a weekday religious program; 2. Directing of the leisure and recreational activities of children; 3. The teaching of right habits of health by means of the Word of Wisdom, and in the direction of recreation.
This interesting phase of L.D.S. church work began August 11, 1878, at Farmington, Utah, a rural Mormon town located about fifteen miles north of Salt Lake City. That first group consisted of 215 children. By August of 1945, membership in the Primary group had grown to 130,675.
Mrs. Aurelia Spencer Rogers of Farmington was the organizing president of Primary. She saw the need of some organization that could fill the spare time of youngsters, give wholesome direction to their energies, and prevent their tendency toward becoming "hoodlums" when left without guidance or group purpose.
After the trial run at Farmington, at Salt Lake City, and a few other places as well, Primary associations were recognized on a churchwide basis with the appointment, in 1880, of Mrs. Louie B. Felt of Salt Lake City as general president of all such groups. She held this position for forty-five years, and saw the Primary grow into an important Mormon institution. Miss May Anderson succeeded to the presidency in 1925 and served until 1939. Mrs. May Green Hinckley became president with the beginning of 1940 and served until her death in 1943. She was succeeded by the incumbent, Mrs. Adele Cannon Howells.
Primary is organized in typical L.D.S. manner, with president, first counselor, second counselor, secretary-treasurer, chorister, organist, historian, and a board of directors. There is a general board for the entire church, as well as boards on the stake and ward levels of administration, so that a perfect chain of leadership exists from the individual Primary member on up through the entire church to the general authorities. The Primary boards have priesthood advisers through all levels. Two of the general authorities serve in this capacity for the general board.
It is an organization that provides weekday religious and moral training for children in the age group from four to eleven years, inclusive. It is not to be confused with the Sunday school. On the other hand, it does not supplant the public school system, nor seek to pervert or distort the general view of knowledge and history common to the nation's schools.
The church presidency has specifically charged the Primary association with three main responsibilities to the children of Mormondom. These are 1. The carrying on of a weekday religious program; 2. Directing of the leisure and recreational activities of children; 3. The teaching of right habits of health by means of the Word of Wisdom, and in the direction of recreation.
This interesting phase of L.D.S. church work began August 11, 1878, at Farmington, Utah, a rural Mormon town located about fifteen miles north of Salt Lake City. That first group consisted of 215 children. By August of 1945, membership in the Primary group had grown to 130,675.
Mrs. Aurelia Spencer Rogers of Farmington was the organizing president of Primary. She saw the need of some organization that could fill the spare time of youngsters, give wholesome direction to their energies, and prevent their tendency toward becoming "hoodlums" when left without guidance or group purpose.
After the trial run at Farmington, at Salt Lake City, and a few other places as well, Primary associations were recognized on a churchwide basis with the appointment, in 1880, of Mrs. Louie B. Felt of Salt Lake City as general president of all such groups. She held this position for forty-five years, and saw the Primary grow into an important Mormon institution. Miss May Anderson succeeded to the presidency in 1925 and served until 1939. Mrs. May Green Hinckley became president with the beginning of 1940 and served until her death in 1943. She was succeeded by the incumbent, Mrs. Adele Cannon Howells.
Primary is organized in typical L.D.S. manner, with president, first counselor, second counselor, secretary-treasurer, chorister, organist, historian, and a board of directors. There is a general board for the entire church, as well as boards on the stake and ward levels of administration, so that a perfect chain of leadership exists from the individual Primary member on up through the entire church to the general authorities. The Primary boards have priesthood advisers through all levels. Two of the general authorities serve in this capacity for the general board.
2.
The church has developed three types of Primary to fit varying needs of L.D.S. communities.
The smallest unit is the Home Primary, which often consists of only one family group of children that meets in the home of the parents or teachers. It functions in scattered communities where children can attend neither Neighborhood nor Ward Primaries. The person in charge of this unit is called the primary mother. She sometimes has an assistant if the group is big enough. Records are kept as accurately and lessons followed as conscientiously as in the bigger groups. The primary mother has her hands full, and often her task is a difficult one because of the varying ages of the children and the necessity for adjusting teaching methods to fit each age group.
Quite often, the Neighborhood Primary is an outgrowth of a Home Primary. It usually serves a locality where a few Latter-day Saints families live too far away from an organized ward to take part in its regular life. One of the mothers of children in attendance or another woman of the church who lives nearby, is assigned as Primary mother. She has as many teachers and assistants as may be necessary. Much ingenuity is demanded of her and her staff, as they must adapt the primary program to reach its expected goals in a widely varying set of housing conditions, available leadership, and ages or backgrounds of children in attendance. The Neighborhood Primary receives its direction from either a ward or a stake primary board, as may be determined by the interested stake officials.
A fully officered Primary unit has a president, first counselor, second counselor, secretary-treasurer, librarian-historian, chorister, organist, teacher-trainer, a Children's Friend representative, and as many class leaders as the work may require.
It can easily be seen that children of even the most remotely situated Mormon families are given a definite feeling of identity with and kinship to the church organization in their very earliest years.
Mormon women usually seek chances for leadership in Primary work. This is a natural corollary to their basic philosophy of woman's place and opportuity in life. It is fully in keeping with their high value of the responsibility that rests in their hands for training the children of the nation, whether their own or somebody else's. Leadership in Primary work opens the way for many women who have been denied the right of motherhod in their own identity, to express their natural yearnings in this direction by mothering the children of other women who are more fortunate.
Primary is a powerful proselyting influence for the L.D.S. church. Many children who regularly attend Primary meetings and take part in Primary social affairs come from families where the parents are not Mormons. This is a natural state of affairs. There is no means of socialization anywhere that is more effective upon children under twelve years of age than is the Primary program of the L.D.S. church. Many churchless or religiously indifferent parents, while not themselves sufficiently moved to give religious and organized moral instruction to their children, nevertheless are glad to have their youngsters receive such guidance. The Mormon church is happy to provide such instruction wherever it is able to do so. The non-Mormon children who thus come under the influence of the Primary system may or may not later become Mormons. Usually they do, because they gradually come to see the social and philosophical advantages which the L.D.S. system offers as compared to those of a weak church, or of churchlessness. Even the parents of non-Mormon children often are drawn into the church through the interest of their offspring. The entire ward turns out to "support" the Primary members when they stage their own program. A parent who attends to see his own child assume a place of community leadership finds himself attracted by a way of life that provides even the youngest members of the community with a means of self-expression.
The Primary unit usually meets one day a week for a couple of hours after school. The youngsters, thus, are able to get home before dark. During the winter season, Primary members have their own round of parties, entertainments and formal public programs. There is no age in a Mormon's life when he does not consciously feel that he is an integral part of the community in which he lives and moves. There is no time in his life when he does not experience the opportunity and necessity for getting onto his two feet and explaining the way he thinks and feels about life and religion, and a host of other things.
The smallest unit is the Home Primary, which often consists of only one family group of children that meets in the home of the parents or teachers. It functions in scattered communities where children can attend neither Neighborhood nor Ward Primaries. The person in charge of this unit is called the primary mother. She sometimes has an assistant if the group is big enough. Records are kept as accurately and lessons followed as conscientiously as in the bigger groups. The primary mother has her hands full, and often her task is a difficult one because of the varying ages of the children and the necessity for adjusting teaching methods to fit each age group.
Quite often, the Neighborhood Primary is an outgrowth of a Home Primary. It usually serves a locality where a few Latter-day Saints families live too far away from an organized ward to take part in its regular life. One of the mothers of children in attendance or another woman of the church who lives nearby, is assigned as Primary mother. She has as many teachers and assistants as may be necessary. Much ingenuity is demanded of her and her staff, as they must adapt the primary program to reach its expected goals in a widely varying set of housing conditions, available leadership, and ages or backgrounds of children in attendance. The Neighborhood Primary receives its direction from either a ward or a stake primary board, as may be determined by the interested stake officials.
A fully officered Primary unit has a president, first counselor, second counselor, secretary-treasurer, librarian-historian, chorister, organist, teacher-trainer, a Children's Friend representative, and as many class leaders as the work may require.
It can easily be seen that children of even the most remotely situated Mormon families are given a definite feeling of identity with and kinship to the church organization in their very earliest years.
Mormon women usually seek chances for leadership in Primary work. This is a natural corollary to their basic philosophy of woman's place and opportuity in life. It is fully in keeping with their high value of the responsibility that rests in their hands for training the children of the nation, whether their own or somebody else's. Leadership in Primary work opens the way for many women who have been denied the right of motherhod in their own identity, to express their natural yearnings in this direction by mothering the children of other women who are more fortunate.
Primary is a powerful proselyting influence for the L.D.S. church. Many children who regularly attend Primary meetings and take part in Primary social affairs come from families where the parents are not Mormons. This is a natural state of affairs. There is no means of socialization anywhere that is more effective upon children under twelve years of age than is the Primary program of the L.D.S. church. Many churchless or religiously indifferent parents, while not themselves sufficiently moved to give religious and organized moral instruction to their children, nevertheless are glad to have their youngsters receive such guidance. The Mormon church is happy to provide such instruction wherever it is able to do so. The non-Mormon children who thus come under the influence of the Primary system may or may not later become Mormons. Usually they do, because they gradually come to see the social and philosophical advantages which the L.D.S. system offers as compared to those of a weak church, or of churchlessness. Even the parents of non-Mormon children often are drawn into the church through the interest of their offspring. The entire ward turns out to "support" the Primary members when they stage their own program. A parent who attends to see his own child assume a place of community leadership finds himself attracted by a way of life that provides even the youngest members of the community with a means of self-expression.
The Primary unit usually meets one day a week for a couple of hours after school. The youngsters, thus, are able to get home before dark. During the winter season, Primary members have their own round of parties, entertainments and formal public programs. There is no age in a Mormon's life when he does not consciously feel that he is an integral part of the community in which he lives and moves. There is no time in his life when he does not experience the opportunity and necessity for getting onto his two feet and explaining the way he thinks and feels about life and religion, and a host of other things.
3.
The Primary association program has a two-fold effect upon children who take part in it. First, the child at a very early age secures a sound basic conception of religion and personal philosophy, and begins life with his feet on the ground, spiritually speaking. Secondly, he is enabled to formulate a clear picture of his relationship to society, and of the things that modern life demands of him in his association with others.
Primary children are divided into age-groups, each of which has a definite training schedule that possesses its own literature and leadership. Some of the nation's best psychologists and teachers lay out this work, and as in other phases of L.D.S. activity, they are not afraid to draw upon even the most modern and most thorough methods of pedagogy.
Group one of Primary children has for its membership those who are four and five years of age. From this age until they have finished their eighth year, both boys and girls share the same activities and are members of the same classes.
In thei rninth, tenth and eleventh years, Primary boys have their own interests that tend toward developing them apart from the girls. As in nearly all Mormon gatherings, the two sexes hold the opening and closing parts of their meetings together, but divide during class periods to follow separate interests. Thus, from the very beginning of their formal association with the church and Latter-day Saints culture, they get a basic idea of the division of duties and rights between men and women. Primary serves only to cultivate this idea more deeply, because the child already has obtained it much earlier, at home.
The general objective of Primary instruction for Group One is to awaken within the child a faith in God, and to teach the child to pray. The teaching tools that are used are Bible stories and incidents with a modern life setting that serve to illustrate gospel principles. Fundamental character traits developed in this group are: friendliness, kindness, reverence, gratitude for family and Heavenly Father.
In Group Two, lessons are planned with a tie-in to the seasons of the year, with a view to cultivating an appreciation of the heavenly power that motivates the universe. Emphasis is placed upon interests that change with the progression of the year. The child is furnished with opportunities to express himself and to tell what he knows of God and the universe.
There are two intermediate groups in which boys and girls study together. These are called Zion's Boys and Girls, First Year, and Zion's Boys and Girls, Second Year. The first of these units has members who are seven years of age and the other has those who are eight. The first of these classes is the equivalent of confirmation instruction in such churches as the Jewish, Roman Catholic and Anglican. The Mormon child spends the religious instruction time of his seventh year in preparing to assume the duties and privileges of membership in the L.D.S. church. The second year of study by this group is devoted to showing how the teachings of Christ may be applied to the life of the child, and to awakening within him a realization of the value of his membership in the church. A Mormon child is considered fully prepared to assume church membership when he reaches his eighth birthday.
Girls in their ninth, tenth and eleventh years are called Home Builders, and this grouping is further organized into Larks, aged nine; Bluebirds, aged ten; and Seagulls, aged eleven. The program of the Home Builders is rather advanced, and is laid out somewhat along the lines of girl scouting. Four quests are set up to direct the efforts of the girls toward self-improvement. Faith in God and church is developed in the Spirituality Quest. The girl learns how to take care of her body and keep well and grow strong in the Health Quest. In the Service Quest, the girl finds an opportunity to help in her home, church and community. The Knowledge Quest offers an organized method for the girl to increase her understanding by observation, study, and the use of her hands.
The general objectives of the Lark's group are to develop a faith in God and a wholesome attitude toward a home-making goal in life.
Bluebirds study fundamental principles of the gospel and seek to firmly establish their own personal identities and personalities.
By the time a girl enters the Seagull class, at eleven years, she is prepared to look upon life in a manner rather well matured, compared to the outlook of average non-Mormon girls of that age. She is more thoroughly socialized and fitted to adjust her life to the community in which she lives than the girl who is the product of most other cultural groups of today.
When she leaves the Primary association behind her, the Mormon girl enters another field of closely supervised training and leadership, the Beehive Girls in which she remains until, at the age of fifteen, she becomes a Junior Girl. There she participates for two years, becoming eligible for Gleaner Girl membership at seventeen, when she makes her debut as a Mormon young woman.
Boys in the ages of nine, ten and eleven years are called Trail Builders. Those in their ninth year are Blazers; in their tenth year, Trekkers; and boys who have reached their eleventh year are called Guides. Trail Blazers, in their own organization that parallels the girls' program, follow four trails in their personal growth. These are the Spirituality Trail, Health Trail, Service Trail and Knowledge Trail.
Boys who graduate from the Primary association move on into Boy Scout work, which the L.D.S. church strongly supports, and to the lower orders of the priesthood, as well.
Teachers and leaders of the Primary association have full advantage of the best teaching aids and lesson material available anywhere. The Primary assocition [sic] handbook clearly and concisely sets forth the entire Primary program, as well as the part to be played by each group and every official.
The child of the non-Mormon family is not embarrassed by graduation requirements of Primary, which are modified for this very purpose. There are, as a matter of fact, two sets of requirements for graduation, one for Mormon children, and the other for those who do not belong to the church. Non-Mormon children are not required to become members of the church in the course of their studies, nor are they asked in any other way to compromise their own religious beliefs, or those of their family, if any. L.D.S. leaders appear to freely furnish the moral guidance and leadership of the Primary association to all children whose parents care to avail themselves of it, for the wholesome benefit that it has to the community. In fact, if a Primary child from a non-Mormon family desired to go into church membership with his classmates, he would be forbidden by the bishop to do so unless he had the full concurrence of his parents.
Next: Young People
Primary children are divided into age-groups, each of which has a definite training schedule that possesses its own literature and leadership. Some of the nation's best psychologists and teachers lay out this work, and as in other phases of L.D.S. activity, they are not afraid to draw upon even the most modern and most thorough methods of pedagogy.
Group one of Primary children has for its membership those who are four and five years of age. From this age until they have finished their eighth year, both boys and girls share the same activities and are members of the same classes.
In thei rninth, tenth and eleventh years, Primary boys have their own interests that tend toward developing them apart from the girls. As in nearly all Mormon gatherings, the two sexes hold the opening and closing parts of their meetings together, but divide during class periods to follow separate interests. Thus, from the very beginning of their formal association with the church and Latter-day Saints culture, they get a basic idea of the division of duties and rights between men and women. Primary serves only to cultivate this idea more deeply, because the child already has obtained it much earlier, at home.
The general objective of Primary instruction for Group One is to awaken within the child a faith in God, and to teach the child to pray. The teaching tools that are used are Bible stories and incidents with a modern life setting that serve to illustrate gospel principles. Fundamental character traits developed in this group are: friendliness, kindness, reverence, gratitude for family and Heavenly Father.
In Group Two, lessons are planned with a tie-in to the seasons of the year, with a view to cultivating an appreciation of the heavenly power that motivates the universe. Emphasis is placed upon interests that change with the progression of the year. The child is furnished with opportunities to express himself and to tell what he knows of God and the universe.
There are two intermediate groups in which boys and girls study together. These are called Zion's Boys and Girls, First Year, and Zion's Boys and Girls, Second Year. The first of these units has members who are seven years of age and the other has those who are eight. The first of these classes is the equivalent of confirmation instruction in such churches as the Jewish, Roman Catholic and Anglican. The Mormon child spends the religious instruction time of his seventh year in preparing to assume the duties and privileges of membership in the L.D.S. church. The second year of study by this group is devoted to showing how the teachings of Christ may be applied to the life of the child, and to awakening within him a realization of the value of his membership in the church. A Mormon child is considered fully prepared to assume church membership when he reaches his eighth birthday.
Girls in their ninth, tenth and eleventh years are called Home Builders, and this grouping is further organized into Larks, aged nine; Bluebirds, aged ten; and Seagulls, aged eleven. The program of the Home Builders is rather advanced, and is laid out somewhat along the lines of girl scouting. Four quests are set up to direct the efforts of the girls toward self-improvement. Faith in God and church is developed in the Spirituality Quest. The girl learns how to take care of her body and keep well and grow strong in the Health Quest. In the Service Quest, the girl finds an opportunity to help in her home, church and community. The Knowledge Quest offers an organized method for the girl to increase her understanding by observation, study, and the use of her hands.
The general objectives of the Lark's group are to develop a faith in God and a wholesome attitude toward a home-making goal in life.
Bluebirds study fundamental principles of the gospel and seek to firmly establish their own personal identities and personalities.
By the time a girl enters the Seagull class, at eleven years, she is prepared to look upon life in a manner rather well matured, compared to the outlook of average non-Mormon girls of that age. She is more thoroughly socialized and fitted to adjust her life to the community in which she lives than the girl who is the product of most other cultural groups of today.
When she leaves the Primary association behind her, the Mormon girl enters another field of closely supervised training and leadership, the Beehive Girls in which she remains until, at the age of fifteen, she becomes a Junior Girl. There she participates for two years, becoming eligible for Gleaner Girl membership at seventeen, when she makes her debut as a Mormon young woman.
Boys in the ages of nine, ten and eleven years are called Trail Builders. Those in their ninth year are Blazers; in their tenth year, Trekkers; and boys who have reached their eleventh year are called Guides. Trail Blazers, in their own organization that parallels the girls' program, follow four trails in their personal growth. These are the Spirituality Trail, Health Trail, Service Trail and Knowledge Trail.
Boys who graduate from the Primary association move on into Boy Scout work, which the L.D.S. church strongly supports, and to the lower orders of the priesthood, as well.
Teachers and leaders of the Primary association have full advantage of the best teaching aids and lesson material available anywhere. The Primary assocition [sic] handbook clearly and concisely sets forth the entire Primary program, as well as the part to be played by each group and every official.
The child of the non-Mormon family is not embarrassed by graduation requirements of Primary, which are modified for this very purpose. There are, as a matter of fact, two sets of requirements for graduation, one for Mormon children, and the other for those who do not belong to the church. Non-Mormon children are not required to become members of the church in the course of their studies, nor are they asked in any other way to compromise their own religious beliefs, or those of their family, if any. L.D.S. leaders appear to freely furnish the moral guidance and leadership of the Primary association to all children whose parents care to avail themselves of it, for the wholesome benefit that it has to the community. In fact, if a Primary child from a non-Mormon family desired to go into church membership with his classmates, he would be forbidden by the bishop to do so unless he had the full concurrence of his parents.
Next: Young People
