By Leisa Parsons, Area Media Specialist
“When is the virus going to be done?” asked four year-old William Hepworth. Many of us feel just like William. We are ready to get back to life before the virus, and feel the connection with our Ward families once again. We hear a lot about the resiliency of children, but as the months of quarantine have drug on and new routines have replaced old ones, how are the youngest among us faring? “Children are very resilient and they go with the flow,” said Emily Hepworth, a former educator and mother of two young boys. She continued, “We are seeing some reverence issues with home Church that we hadn’t seen before… a little more redirection is needed as the quarantine has progressed.”
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints puts great emphasis on the youth and children of the Church. In the Church’s newest update to the Gospel Library, there is now an “Audiences” tab with wonderful content for everyone, children included. There are wonderful resources, and videos now all brought together in one convenient place for parents teaching young children at home.
Several wards have held drive-by activities this summer to let their Primary age children feel a connection and let them know they are loved and prayed over. To help cool off the summer, two wards held a drive-by ice cream “social-distancing” to connect with their Primary children. Laura McBride, Primary President in the Church’s San Pedro Ward said: “I was definitely worried they wouldn’t really be excited to see us since they’re young and it has been so long. So when they came up in their cars with big smiles on their faces, it gave us a lot of joy in return.” She added, “Their smiles were contagious!”
The children from both wards were able to connect with their Primary leaders and some of their teachers. Becky Boekweg, Sonterra Ward’s Primary President said, “They were so happy to see each other. Those of us that were handing out the ice cream were the lucky ones because we got to see everyone that came! We realized how much we missed each other during the shut down and how much we rely on each other for strength and support.”
Children get used to the routine of reverence because it is done weekly, and they learn line upon line how to behave. When asked, what do you think it will be like when we get to attend Church together after this long break from weekly Sacrament Meetings in the Chapel, Hepworth said, “I think I’m going to spend more time in the hall than I ever had.” She said “…for William, he won’t understand why we aren’t initially holding Primary.” Primary is Church when you are that age!
