On the Stand

This past Sunday was our annual Primary Program, always a highlight and always exciting. The kids wrote their parts this year after being given a sentence limit and the prompt "What did I learn from Come Follow Me this year?" Here's what they chose to share.

Cooper: 

Something I learned in Come, Follow Me this year is to not judge others. In Romans chapter 14 verse 13 it says: “Let us not therefore judge one another any more...” This teaches us to not judge others, not to tell them that they’re wrong or are doing something wrong. Instead of judging, the Savior told us in John chapter 13 verse 34, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.”

Phoebe:

One thing I learned in Come Follow Me this year was that a lot of the books in the New Testament were epistles or letters. Romans is a collection of letters written by Paul to church members in Rome and delivered by Phebe, a good church member who took care of the people around her. Romans chapter 16 verses 1 and 2 say, “I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea: That ye receive her in the Lord, as becometh saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you: for she hath been a succourer of many, and of myself also.”

Sophie:

My favorite thing was when we did the shipwreck; I was Paul, Phoebe was the captain. The best part was when I got to be in a big box and my Mom moved it back and forth a lot and then tipped it over onto the carpet to teach about Paul being shipwrecked and being protected as a missionary.

The kids all did a great job singing and delivering their lines. Phoebe sang a short transition between two songs with a handful of other girls. Cooper has a natural gift for engaging inflection and tone and he used it well for his final Primary Program. And Miss Sophie definitely drew out the most snickers and giggles when she told the ward that I had knocked her around in a box and then dumped her onto the carpet.

And I sat in the congregation grinning at my kids and asking Topher to point out each of them on the stand over and over since he hadn't gotten a nap before church and really needed one at that point. Bryan and Peter especially loved Sophie's part.

I asked Cooper if he was sad at all that this was his last Primary Program. His answer? "Nope." Well, I guess he's ready to move on.