Plain and Simple

I am a convert to the Church and I love the Gospel.  It has always amazed me how a testimony or song can speak right to your soul and testify of the Divinity of God, of his Son, Jesus Christ, and the truthfulness of the doctrine.  I remember, as a young adult, the first time I heard "The Spirit of God."  I walked into a room filled with other young adults who were in the midst of singing just prior to a fireside.  I cannot describe the overwhelming feeling of the Spirit that I felt and now, many years later, I still remember that evening. 

Nephi stated "For my soul delighteth in plainness; for after this manner doth the Lord God work among the children of men.  For the Lord God giveth light unto the understanding; for he speaketh unto men according to their language, unto their understanding." (3 Ne 31:3)  

Sometimes I think, as leaders, we want so much for our YW to "get it" that we can go a little overboard.  It's not hard to do.  We want them to feel the Spirit, to be touched, to leave us with a testimony that will take them to the Temple and throughout their lives.  However, I am of the belief that simplicity is elegance.  Although I like to have an attention-getting idea, handout or object lesson, I do not believe in doing too much.  Sometimes, in our zeal to have a super activity or lesson, we can lose site of the principle we teach.  We want to magnify our calling, to go the extra mile but we should ask ourselves:  Can our youth hear the Still Small Voice or is it lost in the cacophony of extras?  Helaman stated:   "It was not a voice of thunder, neither was it a voice of a great tumultuous noise, but behold, it was a still voice of perfect mildness, as if it had been a whisper.” (Helaman 5:30)

I enjoyed Elder Uchtdorf's counsel in General Conference when he stated,  "Dedicating some of our time...preparing to teach a lesson is a good sacrifice.  Spending many hours stitching the title of the lesson into homemade potholders for each member of your class may not be."  (Don't you love how the Brethren are so in tune?)

Whereas, I believe it is appropriate to have a few special activities, we are called to invite the girls to come unto Christ, to help them find their way to the Temple, and to give them a safe place to be with friends.  We are not there to entertain them or spoil them.  We are there to love them.  We are there to bear witness of Jesus Christ.  That is often all we need to do.