Come Up To The Mountain Of The Lord

{Hair & Make-Up}

Below are three hairstyle options for the Young Women...for BOTH the Dress Rehearsal this Thursday & Performance on Saturday. Each Young Woman will be given a Flower to clip in her hair. Please keep this in mind when choosing your hair style. Young Men asked to please make sure hair is styled and groomed - Sunday Standard - for BOTH the Dress Rehearsal this Thursday & Performance on Saturday.

 

Below, are some helpful hints for Stage Make-Up for BOTH Young Women AND Young Men. Please contact Judy Sorenson with any questions.

STAGE MAKE-UP: The Process - GALS

    * Make sure your face is clean.

    * Start by putting on your Foundation. You should choose a color just a shade darker than your natural skin color. To apply, start at your forehead and blend up into your hairline. Next, apply to your entire face. Don't neglect your neck, ears, earlobes and back of neck if they are not covered up by your attire on stage. You do not want to give yourself a mask-like appearance by covering only your face. Please don't worry if the makeup looks dark while you are working with the foundation. The purpose is to not be washed out by the stage lighting.

    * Blush or Rouge comes next. Smile...and apply the blush from the middle of your smiling cheeks back towards your ears. Color choice for woman should be a rosy color that compliments your skin tone. Make sure to blend the rouge in well.

    * Next accent your eyes. Apply the eyeshadow first. Use a light neutral shade to highlight the brow bone. Use a little darker neutral shade to cover your eyelid. Blend the two shades where they meet. You can now use the eyeliner to line the top of your eyelid along the lash line. You can use brown or black, however, black will give a more dramatic look. The line should be even, but not too thick. Avoid doing liner on the bottom eyelid as that will make your eyes look smaller and closed. Last add your mascara. Again, brown or black depending on the look you are going for.

    * Lip liner is next applied in your Stage Makeup regimen. Choose a clear color lip liner or one that is the same shade as the lipstick you will be using. This is an important step as the lip liner keeps the lipstick from bleeding on to your face should you become heated and sweaty. If will help you maintain well defined lips throughout your performance. Once the liner is applied (on the outer edge of the lips...but not outside), you can fill in with your choice of lip color. Make sure that the lipstick is dark enough, so that it is quite visible to the audience sitting at a distance from you.
It is a great idea to check with your Director or Costumer as to what color you should be wearing.

    * To set the Stage Makeup, apply your translucent powder by using a brush that you have dipped into a container of the powder. Remove any excess powder by tamping on a paper towel before applying to your face and neck. When you set your makeup in this way, it is less likely to get ruined if you sweat during your performance. Don’t make your face white with powder, but trust me, you don’t want to be shiny on stage!

Finally, step back from the mirror a bit and look at yourself. You should have a slightly exaggerated look to combat the bright stage lighting. You should not look ghoulish. Keep in mind that your audience will be seeing you at different distances and from different angles. The people in the front of the audience will see you just fine, but, you want to appear natural to them. The people who see you from a distance must be able to see your expressions and the Stage Makeup will help you to accomplish this.

STAGE MAKE-UP: The Process - GUYS

Ok guys, I know you are not used to the make-up thing, but the lights will wash you out too, so you do need a little. But you only want to enhance your features for the lights and the viewing from afar. You're not trying to look like you are made up. If you don’t know what these items are, ask a parent, sibling, friend, etc. There are many people who would be more than happy to help!

* Make sure your face is clean

* Foundation – Guys can skip this step if you would like. If you do choose to wear it, you should choose a color just a shade darker than your natural skin color. To apply, start at your forehead and blend up into your hairline. Next, apply to your entire face. Don't neglect your neck, ears, earlobes and back of neck if they are not covered up by your attire on stage. You do not want to give yourself a mask-like appearance by covering only your face. Please don't worry if the makeup looks dark while you are working with the foundation. The purpose is to not be washed out by the stage lighting.

* Blush comes next. Smile...and apply the blush from the middle of your smiling cheeks back towards your ears. Apply blush lightly. You only want to add a little color, not a lot. Chose a very light color, like a soft pink.

* For lipstick, choose a matte color that is slightly darker than your natural lip color. If you really don’t want to wear lipstick, CHAPSTICK, CHAPSTICK, CHAPSTICK! The chapstick will help enhance the natural color of your lips, but you will have to frequently be putting it on…preferably NOT while you are on stage.  

* Loose Powder - Powder is one of the most important things for the guys. Those lights will be hot, and you don’t want to look shiny under the lights. Powder your whole face…especially your forehead and nose.

Why the Make-Up??

With a stage production, you run into a couple factors that are unique: intense lighting and distance of the audience. The lighting used for stage tends to wash all the color from your face and make you look like a ghost. Even a girl wearing everyday make-up will look washed out and featureless. That is why guys need to wear a little, and girls need to wear a little more. Intense makeup is necessary to fight the washing out effects of lighting and distance Strong eye makeup, darker lipstick colors and vibrant cheeks are key to producing the perfect effect. While a clean look is crucial, a clown is usually not what the director is looking for.

The basic materials needed are as follows:

1) A Mirror – chose a place with as much natural light as possible

2) Makeup Sponges & Makeup Brushes

3) Foundation - cake type is the easiest to apply and comes in the most shades

4) Translucent Powder - which is used to set the makeup

5) Eyeshadow - a lighter and darker shade (for blending if needed)

6) Blush or Rouge

7) Lip Liner

8) Lipstick

9) Eyeliner - pencil or liquid

10) Mascara

COLORS
Typically, theatre lights produce cold tones, effectively bleaching the makeup colors. White looks blue, so use a cream color instead of white. Blue looks brown, thus brown is more common in stage makeup then blue. Yellow washes out completely, so reds, oranges and pinks replace the yellow tones

***NOTE TO ALL: If you share make-up, PLEASE be sure (for sanitary reasons) to use your own application brushes. Especially eye shadow and mascara brushes.

{Captains Meeting}

 

With 300 youth now performing from our stake  (After starting with only 140....YAY!!!), in the Latin America dance number for the Youth Temple Celebration coming up in only 2 1/2 weeks now, it would be impossible to maintain order and teach the dance to all of the kids without the help of these INCREDIBLE "Captains of 10" from our stake. We are so blessed to have these wonderful leaders, some officially called by their bishops and others volunteers, who have literally become the backbone of our Celebration preparations. For every 10 youth, we have 1 leader assigned to them...to arrange transportation to all rehearsals, help maintain order, discipline and also help teach dance steps as needed. And the list goes on and on. We love these brothers and sisters so much!!

As we have been given so much information in such a small amount of time, we decided it would be wise to have a Captains Meeting a few weeks ago. I spent the beginning of the meeting going over our rehearsal schedule and other logistics information that I received at a Safety & Logistics Meeting at the Conference Center a few weeks ago. At the start of that Safety & Logistics meeting, Elder Rasband addressed all of us and I shared a few thoughts from his talk with our captains at the Captains Meeting and then forwarded his entire talk to them after our meeting. It was a wonderful talk about the purpose of temples. There were so many incredible quotes in his talk that I wanted to share, that I decided to just post a link so you would be able to download his entire talk. I encourage you to download it from the link below so that you can read and feel the spirit of his wonderful message.

Download Elder_Rasband_Talk

 
 

However, the best part of the meeting came AFTER all of the "business".....when we cleared away all of the chairs and our fabulous Dance Coordinator, Kristie Miller, taught all of our captains the entire dance to make sure that they were completely familiar with it so that they could better assist in helping the YOUTH pick up the steps.

 
 

This was definitely one of the highlights of our Youth Temple Celebration prep....to see the YOUTH LEADERS learning the dance as well....from the samba, to the weave......and EVEN THE LIFTS!!! :-) They were such good sports and actually had a GREAT time learning and dancing together! What incredible and AWESOME leaders we have!!!!!

 
 

What a fun meeting and a great opportunity to get to know our captains better, spend time becoming familiar with the dance our youth are going to be performing and also take time to make sure that everyone is informed and on the same page. Overall, our meeting was a great success!!

 

Our dear Captains....Thank you, Thank you and a THOUSAND TIMES Thank you for all of you do - for your support and willingness to serve, your cheerful flexibility, your love for and firm hands (when needed) with our youth, for seeing where help is needed and rushing to assist without being asked, for your patience and understanding and your EXCITEMENT about this once-in-a-lifetime Celebration. YOUR enthusiasm can be felt by all of our youth and even cycles back to me as well and I LOVE YOU FOR IT! Your lives, our lives and the lives of all of our youth WILL be blessed because of your willingness to serve!!

{Fireside Review: President & Sister Dahlquist}

What a great opportunity it was for the youth of our stake and the Captains & Co-Captains of 10 for the Youth Temple Celebration to hear from President Charles W. Dahlquist II, the former Young Men General President (just released at this past April 2009 Conference) and his wife, Sister Zella Dahlquist, this past Sunday evening at a Youth Fireside.

 

As the chapel burst at the seams and then completely filled the overflow with a total of over 300 in attendance, my heart was full of gratitude for the wonderful youth of our stake who chose to spend their Sunday evening being uplifted by these wonderful speakers. I am pretty sure I was glowing like a proud parent, watching all of "my" youth enter the chapel. It was such a happy feeling...I love the youth of our stake so much. I am also so grateful for our Captains, Co-Captains and Youth Leaders that encouraged the youth to be there and arranged for transportation. What a wonderful group of youth and leaders we have in this stake.

Prior to the fireside, I was able to come early to listen to a special youth chorus from our stake, directed by our Stake Music Coordinator, Sister Adriane Watson, practice their special musical number for the Fireside. They sang a beautiful arrangement of "We Love Thy House O God." As they sang in between President & Sister Dahlquist, I turned to watch them with tears in my eyes. I couldn't stop smiling after they finished singing. What a wonderful group of youth. The song was BEAUTIFUL and they all looked so sharp!!

 
 

Our wonderful Stake President, President Nielsen, asked me to introduce our speakers for the Fireside. I thought I would share my introduction and highlights from both Sister Dahlquist's talk & President Dahlquist's talk here on this blog for those that may not have been able to attend.

INTRODUCTION OF SPEAKERS:
Sister Heather D. White, Stake Event Coordinator

When I asked President Dahlquist what he would like to be covered in his introduction, I assumed that he would have a brief paragraph for me to read. However, he asked me to do something a little different this time - to focus on a calling that he has had for 39 years and what he considers the most important & rewarding.

In 1970, President Dahlquist became a father  - and by 1980, he was the father of 5 little girls, who are still affectionately referred to as “Charlie’s Angels.” I count myself richly blessed to be the 4th of his “angels.”

What a blessing it was to be raised in a home with a Dad who honored his Priesthood and set a wonderful example of Christ-like love and service.

Side by side with my Mom,  he raised us with love and the ever-apparent companionship of our Heavenly Father. We never wondered for even a moment if our parents loved us – we knew. And we knew that they loved us unconditionally.

I have often thought about the way that my Dad approached situations where we had made unwise choices.  As an adult, it is easier for me to look back and see that his approach is similar to what I feel our Savior would have done. I can’t remember a single instance when I saw my Dad react with anger to something I had done. Instead, it was a look of love, concern and maybe even a little disappointment in his eyes, because he knew the potential I had and that I deserved to be the recipient of the blessings received from making wise choices.

Looking back, even many of Dad’s “punishments” were spiritually uplifting & character building. I remember many times being asked to research and prepare sacrament meeting talks on topics that were related to certain areas of concern in my life. Not only was the research and reflection on topics such as contention & honesty beneficial at the time, but by high school graduation, I was fully equipped with an overflowing file of talks on a variety of Gospel topics.

In addition to being a source of great spiritual strength in my life, I have many fun memories of my Dad…too many to list in mere minutes. One of my favorite memories, is a tradition that Dad started over 20 years ago. Ever New Year’s Eve for as long as I can remember, Dad has made his famous waffles for all of his angels and ALL of their friends. In high school, The Dahlquist Home became the COOL PLACE to be on New Years’ Eve. All of our friends thought our Dad was THE COOLEST. It wasn’t until years later that I realized our Dad was also THE SMARTEST! Through this tradition that had become the COOL thing, President Dahlquist ALWAYS knew that his little girls were home and safe on New Years’ Eve. And when any of the Dahlquist girls WEREN’T home, the Christmas lights stayed on at night until the very last daughter was home….ALL YEAR ROUND. Everyone in the neighborhood knew when one of us was out on a date.

My love of good literature also stems from my Dad, who read to me and my little sister almost every night until I was 16 years old. I would probably STILL curl up on the bed and listen to him read if he offered.

Music was and still is a big part of our lives in the Dahlquist family. I remember, long before DVD players were in cars, singing songs as a family on long road trips and never tiring of it. We sang in the car, we sang around the piano, played duets on the piano and “Charlie’s Angels” even officially sang and entertained together for years.

Dad always encouraged us to memorize good poetry and would put the words to music if they were too long for his little ones to remember. I remember Family Home Evening every Monday night, Family Prayer, early morning scripture study, father’s interviews and blessings and white paper bags filled with temple cookies. Now that I am older, I realize the great significance of the cookies we received on a very regular basis and how it showed us from an early age, that our parents attended the temple regularly. The Dahlquist girls still had their issues, believe me, almost all 5 of us were teenagers at the same time. However, most of those “issues” have taken a backseat now to the unforgettable memories we made as a family.

President Dahlquist has a way of making everyone he meets feel like they are the most important person in the world. I have heard that from so many and know it to be true. I have enjoyed attending Conference in the Conference Center for many reasons, but one of the greatest has been to just sit back and watch my Dad on the stand. While the other church leaders are sitting in their seats, President Dahlquist is shaking hands and talking to everyone, kneeling down to speak to those that are already seated so that he can look them in the eye, and even venturing up to the choir seats before Conference to encourage them and again after Conference to let them know how much he loves and appreciates them.

This has been the same for each of his little girls. To this day, I believe that all 5 of us are convinced we are his favorite.

It has been said that BESIDE every great man is a great woman and my Mom is no exception. She is such a great example to me.

One year, when I was at Oakcrest Girls Camp, I found a love note in my suitcase that said, “I’m Thinking of You. Don’t Forget The Way Back.” I still have that love note in my scriptures, 17 years later – but it now carries new meaning for me.

I am thankful for righteous parents who love me and still teach me that I am never alone and that Someone is always thinking of me, and who still pray that I will not forget the way back to my Heavenly Home.

I am so happy to have this great opportunity to share both of them with you today.

 

SISTER ZELLA DAHLQUIST

“Stand Ye In Holy Places”
• HOLY PLACES – Can, but does not always refer to a “location”
o Temple
o Home – start with the very room you live in.
o Have the courage to walk out of an inappropriate movie or change the topic when conversation is negative.
o Show respect to others.
o Stand up for your standards.
o When faced with adversity, having the courage to say “GET THEE BEHIND ME SATAN.”

 
PAINTING OF STRIPLING WARRIORS by CLARK KELLEY PRICE:
• Title of Painting: “It’s True Sir – All Present And Accounted For”
o Painting shows Stripling Warriors – exhausted and wounded, but ALL PRESENT & ACCOUNTED FOR!
o Will we endure to the end – endure the fight and stand up for what we believe in, so that in the end, though we may be exhausted and even a little battered from the “fight” we are “ALL PRESENT & ACCOUNTED FOR?”

DO NOT BE AFRAID TO “STAND UP and STAND OUT!!”
• Movie Quote: “Don’t try so hard to fit in, when you were born to STAND OUT!!!”

PRESIDENT CHARLES W. DAHLQUIST II
Young Men General President
2004-2009

"Flags do not wave themselves. Someone or something has to hold them up and wave them."

“ In order for a temple to fulfill its purpose, we must do OUR part. Our contributions (tithes) helped to build our temple and our attendance will help make it what it is.”

President Dahlquist told a story about his oldest daughter who got upset once as a teenager and stormed out of the room and downstairs, slamming her bedroom door and turning her radio up to a million decibels.  After giving her time to cool down, he headed downstairs to ask her to please turn her music down a little bit. However, as he neared her bedroom door, the words to the loud music became more clear…”You’re Not Alone, even though right now, you’re on your own; You are loved in ways that can’t be shown, your needs are known…You’re Not Alone."

The one message he would like to give to the youth of our stake and all over the world is…"YOU’RE NOT ALONE!”
• He has traveled to many countries and has seen youth ALL OVER THE WORLD striving to be temple worthy.

• FOR THE STRENGTH OF THE YOUTH
o President Dahlquist asked all youth who had their “For The Strength Of The Youth” pamphlets WITH THEM to please stand up. He asked those who stood up to see him afterwards so that he could get their addresses to mail them a McDonalds Gift Certificate.

 When President Dahlquist was serving as the Mission President in the Hamburg Germany Mission from 1992-1995, he would give a McDonalds Gift Certificate to any Young Man or Young Woman who CAUGHT HIM without his “For The Strength of the Youth” Pamphlet. He was only caught without his once….as he was coming out of the baptismal font after baptizing a new member in Germany, one of the Young Men smiled, took out his “For The Strength of the Youth” pamphlet and said, “President…I have it. Do YOU have it?” President Dahlquist hadn’t realized until that moment, that he would ever have to have a LAMINATED copy of his “For The Strength of the Youth” pamphlet.

 President Dahlquist had the opportunity to visit Germany again while serving as the Young Men General President and decided to offer ALL YOUTH who had their pamphlet with them a $1 McDonalds Gift Certificate. When he asked the youth to stand up if they had their “For The Strength of the Youth” pamphlets in the first city he visited, only a handful stood up. However, when he went back to Hamburg and spoke to the youth who had been in Primary when he was serving as the Mission President, he ended up having to pay $300 to the 300 youth that had come prepared. Although these youth were mere little ones when he started this tradition, the importance of carrying the standards was passed down to them by their parents and youth leaders.

o However, it is not enough to just CARRY the standards, but to take them out and read them on a regular basis.
 These are the standards that will get you to the temple.
 We covenant each week when we take the sacrament to ALWAYS REMEMBER HIM!!!

• ***All of the most important decisions you will have to make, will be made when you are alone – BUT REMEMBER, YOU ARE NOT ALONE!!!! Over  1.2 million youth all over the world are doing their best to live the standards, and strive towards temple worthiness.

When President Dahlquist’s daughters were little, he and Sister Dahlquist encouraged them to memorize poetry together as a family. (He then asked Sister Dahlquist and Sister Heather D. White to come stand next to him and recite the very first poem they memorized as a family: THE POEM, by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers – Keep a poem in your pocket, and a picture in your head. And you’ll never feel lonely, at night when you’re in bed.”)

• What is the value of memorization?  TO HELP US REMEMBER. To put the knowledge down in to the recesses of our souls, so that we can draw on it when we need it! PREPARE NOW, MEMORIZE NOW, STRENGTHEN NOW so that you are prepared when difficult situations arise.



o President Dahlquist invited three young men to come up and share something they had memorized. Dan Buhler recited the Sacrament Prayer and Nik Mitchell and Austin Sisneros recited D&C 4.

• Whenever a longer poem was chosen by President Dahlquist for his family to memorize, he would put it to music to make it easier to learn. An example of this, was one of their favorites that they still sing together today: “Be The Best of Whatever You Are”:

Be The Best Of Whatever You Are

If you can't be a pine on the top of a hill
Be a scrub in the valley, but be the best little scrub on the side of the hill
Be a bush if you can't be a tree,
If you can't be a bush be a bit of the grass
And some highway happier make.
If you can't be a muskie, then just be a bass,
But the liveliest bass in the lake.
We can't all be captains, we've got to be crew,
There's something for all of us here.
There's big work to do and there's lesser work, too,
And the thing we must do is the near
If you can't be a highway, then just be a trail.
If you can't be the sun, be a star.
It isn't by size that you win or you fail.
Be the best of whatever you are.

By Douglas Maloch

o What a great message – “BE THE BEST OF WHATEVER YOU ARE!”

 You are NOT in competition with anyone, in the things that matter the MOST!

 

PREPARATION NOW, WILL BRING BLESSINGS LATER

• President Dahlquist told a story about a church meeting that he attended with President Monson. As soon as the Sister who was playing prelude for the meeting finished playing, President Monson (to the surprise of everyone in the congregation..and while they were all still standing) sat down at the piano and proceeded to play the first song he ever learned on the piano. After that, he started playing chopsticks. After he finished, he looked up at my Dad and said, “Charlie, do you know this?” At that moment, President Dahlquist was so grateful that while the rest of his friends had been out doing other things, he was at home preparing – learning to play the piano – so that on THIS particular day, he was able to look at President Monson and say, “Yes President. Top hand or bottom hand.”

• Prepare NOW for difficult situations that WILL come!!!

• President Dahlquist told another story about a young woman who was out on a date. Nearing the end of the date, the young man drove her out to a deserted country road, parked, took off his glasses and slid next to her on the front seat. This young woman immediately turned to him and said, “Stop. I am not that kind of girl. Take me home or I will walk.” This young lady had already decided, prior to this date, what her standards were. President Dahlquist has always been grateful for this Young Woman’s decision to guard her virtue, since she ended up being his bride.

• NOW IS THE TIME FOR MAN TO PREPARE TO MEET GOD

o “YOU ARE A TEMPLE PEOPLE!!!!”

 Share the light in your eyes with all those you come in contact with and they will WANT to come to the temple because of that light.

 

At the close of the fireside, President & Sister Dahlquist shook hands with all of the youth and visited with them over refreshments. President Dean Ellis of our Stake Presidency took down the names of those youth in our stake that had been prepared with their "For The Strength of the Youth" pamphlets so that President Dahlquist could send them a McDonalds gift certificate. ;-)

 

Overall, it was such a wonderful evening. All in attendance were greatly uplifted and inspired by both President & Sister Dahlquist and the messages they shared with us. What a wonderful blessing to have them visit with the youth of our stake in conjunction with this wonderful Youth Temple Celebration! 

For another inspirational talk aimed towards the Youth, please read President Charles W. Dahlquist II's talk given at  General Conference, April 2007 - "Who's On The Lord's Side, Who?"

{Youth Fireside: President Charles W. Dahlquist II}

MULTI-STAKE
YOUTH FIRESIDE

Sunday, April 19th
7:00 PM

at the old Fort Herriman Stake Center
4051 W. 11800 S.

 

Special Speaker:

PRESIDENT CHARLES W. DAHLQUIST II
Young Men General President
April 2004-April 2009

At this Multi-Stake Youth Fireside hosted by our stake, we will have the great opportunity to hear from President Charles W. Dahlquist II, who was just released as the Young Men General President this April General Conference 2009.  President Dahlquist is a wonderful and inspired man and a dynamic speaker with a precious and unique ability to reach out and touch the hearts of the youth. Youth all over the world have had the opportunity to feel of his Spirit and great love for them and do not soon forget their time spent with him. What a wonderful blessing it will be to have him here in our stake, speaking to our youth. We need to do whatever possible to make sure that ALL of our youth are in attendance for this wonderful night. Following the Fireside, President Dahlquist will be pleased to shake hands and mingle with our youth. This will be a great and memorable evening for all in attendance.

All youth, ages 12-18, and ALL CAPTAINS and CO-CAPTAINS of 10 are invited.

***CAPTAINS, we appreciate your help contacting each of our youth in the stake to remind them of the fireside and arrange for transportation, if necessary, to make sure that not one of our youth misses out on this inspirational evening. Also, it has been requested that the chapel and as many rows as needed close to the chapel be reserved for our youth and that all Captains of 10 and Co-Captains of 10 sit closer to the back so that as many youth as possible can be close to President Dahlquist. We appreciate your help with this.

 

We are so excited about this great fireside and want to thank Sister Adriane Watson, our Stake Music Coordinator, for putting together a musical number with a wonderful youth chorus from our stake, for this special evening. We look forward to hearing from them on Sunday as well.

 
 

P.S. It might not be a bad idea to be carrying a copy of the FOR THE STRENGTH OF THE YOUTH MINI PAMPHLET in your pocket....just in case. :-)

P.S. Are you wearing your wristband??

{Youth Costume Checklist}

The Stake Wardrobe Committee will be providing many pieces of the costumes for each of our youth in this Celebration. However, there are a few items that each Young Man and Young Woman will need to come up with to go along with their costumes. Below is the YOUTH COSTUME CHECKLIST file that you can download for your information. We encourage everyone to borrow items from friends and family so that the costuming does not become a financial burden for the members of our stake.

Download YOUTH_COSTUME_CHECKLIST

If you have any questions about the costumes, please feel free to contact our Stake Wardrobe Coordinator, Judy Sorenson, at 1-801-254-3025.

{Seek Out The One}

 

Rehearsals are going SO WELL and we had yet another fabulously successful one this past week. We have upped the number of youth by almost 150 since switching our rehearsals to Tuesday nights for a total of over 280 kids this past week! That is....AWESOME!!!!!

 
 
 

There are still almost 200 youth in the stake that are not participating and we really need to turn our focus to them and make sure that we get them involved. I don't want ANY of the youth in our stake to miss out on this opportunity. But to DOUBLE our numbers from our first rehearsal....SERIOUSLY GREAT!!! Happy day!

 
 

It is such an overwhelming task to teach this many youth all at one time.Our dance instructor, Sister Kristie Miller is...IN-CRED-IBLE!!!!! She is so talented and organized and is able accomplish so much in such a SHORT time with these great kids. And the kids are AWESOME! On the whole, they are respectful and attentive and are HAVING A BLAST!!!!!! But in addition, this blog entry would not be complete, nor would this entire dance number be possible without the help of our AWESOME CAPTAINS and CO-CAPTAINS of 10!!!!!! Our Captains and Youth Leaders are the VERY BEST AROUND!!!!

 

We are so blessed to have a group of leaders that step in and help wherever they are needed. Without their help, handling a group of youth this large would be so difficult, if not impossible. Part of the fun at rehearsals is watching OUR LEADERSand CAPTAINS learning the dance steps, practicing together and then helping where needed to assist the youth in learning the steps, turns, etc. CAPTAINS and LEADERS...WE LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 
 

These kids are AWESOME!!!! I don't know they each by name....but I look at each one of them every week and feel SUCH INCREDIBLE LOVE for every single one of them. Not only are they learning so fantastic choreography for this dance number, but they are learning so many other things in the process....discipline, social skills, dedication, coordination, cooperation, rhythm, etc. etc. etc. And they...are...having...a....BLAST!!!! It is so much fun watching them laugh and dance and also really focus at times to perfect the steps and turns they have been taught.

 
 

One of the greatest observations I have made at our rehearsals is that new friendships are being made. These great youth are meeting and getting know other kids in the stake better and are also becoming closer to the youth in their own wards. There is such an awesome feeling of love and unity among them. SUCH an awesome thing to witness. I seriously feel so much love for these great kids, that I feel like my heart will very literally explode!!!

 

I now know from first-hand experience what I believed would be true before we started with our rehearsals - this experience will change the lives of our youth forever. It makes me so happy to see that we have SO many involved. But on the flipside, it also makes my heart ache for the 200 that are missing. We need them here with us!!! I ask you and encourage you as youth, as friends, as parents, as leaders...to PLEASE reach out to the youth that are not participating. Please make that extra effort to call them, visit them and even SHOW UP to give them a ride on Tuesday nights! If I could visit each and every youth PERSONALLY, I would do it. We need them and want them there. Please consider the following (one of my favorite scriptures):

MATTHEW 18:12-13

"How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?....And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray."

Now is the time for us all to seek out "the one." I continue to keep our stake youth in my prayers and encourage all to do so. I will be attending the temple next week with the Stake Event Coordinators for the 5 stakes in our Temple Celebration District along with our Multi-Stake Coordinators, to ask a special blessing on the youth in our area. We have 10,000 youth in our temple district and as of this past week, only 5,000 are participating in the Celebration. That is half of our "fold" that are missing (200 just from our stake). We continue to pray and fast for them, but also need to make sure that we are all actively reaching out to these youth. If we continue to pray and fast and PHYSICALLY do all that is in our power, to literally EXHAUST ourselves doing the service of the Lord to get these wonderful youth involved, then the Lord will help us reach them. I promise you that the blessings will far exceed the effort on our part. I cannot do this alone and ask each of you to reach out to those youth in your wards so that we can make sure that NONE of the sheep in our fold are lost.

 

A heartfelt thank you to our wonderful Bishops, ward leaders, stake leaders, captains, temple celebration leadership, and all others that are giving their all to this great production that will, without a doubt, strengthen, lift and inspire the great youth of our stake....and each of us as well.

P.S. Are you wearing your wristband??

{NEW Rehearsal Schedule}

This past week, those of us in the Stake Leadership for this great Celebration have spent a lot of time on our knees and in quiet reflection, trying to think of a way to involve more youth in our stake. Today, our youth are pulled in so many directions and their schedules are full to the brim. However, we do not want a single youth to miss out on this great opportunity. So, after great consideration and discussion with the Stake and Ward leadership, we decided to move our rehearsals to Tuesday nights, to replace Mutual Night for the next 2 months. We feel that by doing this, it will be possible for a great number of our youth to participate who otherwise couldn't when our rehearsals were on the weekend. ALL REHEARSALS (other than special rehearsals AT the Conference Center) will be at the old Stake Center at 4501 West 11800 South. So, with this change, here is our new revised Rehearsal Schedule:

Tues. March 31st - 7:00 – 9:00 PM
Tues. April 7th - 7:00 – 9:00 PM
Tues. April 14th - 7:00 – 9:00 PM
Tues. April 21st - 7:00 – 9:00 PM
Tues. April 28th - 7:00 – 9:00 PM
Tues. May 5th - 7:00 – 9:00 PM
Sat. May 9th - DANCE REHEARSAL at the Conference Center - IN SEATS by 7:00 PM
Tues. May 12th - 7:00 – 9:00 PM
Tues. May 19th - 7:00 – 9:00 PM
Tues. May 26th - 7:00 – 9:00 PM
Thurs. May 28th - DRESS REHEARSAL at the Conference Center
Sat. May 30th - YOUTH TEMPLE CELEBRATION!!! at the Conference Center

Rehearsals are scheduled until 9:00 PM, but we will end shortly BEFORE then each Tuesday evening, to make sure that youth are home by 9:00 PM, unless there are special circumstances that require we use the full time. A reminder to our great youth to please keep iPods at home and if cell phones ARE necessary, to please keep them on silent mode and refrain from texting while at rehearsal.

P.S. Are you wearing your wristband??

{Second Rehearsal}

 

This past Saturday, we had our second rehearsal for the Youth Temple Celebration and it went extremely well. We had approx. 150 youth in attendance and were able to cover a lot of ground. I was so impressed with how attentive and respectful our youth were and how quickly they picked up the dance steps they were taught.

   
   
   

The main focus for this rehearsal, was teaching the youth a "follow the leader" line formation. This is not a simple formation, but the youth paid such close attention, that within no time, they had learned the it and were performing it with ease. 

   

From the "follow the leader" formation, the youth were instructed on how to then circle up into a number of different circles (each line created their own circle), spaced out across the entire gym. Within their circle groups, they practiced rotating their circles using the Volta movements (from a Brazilian Samba) that they learned last week. SO FUN to watch!!  Even some of our adult Captains of 10 couldn't help but join in on the fun and joined the circles to Volta right along with our youth!! :-)

 
   

One of the greatest parts of rehearsal is the celebration after these great kids have mastered each new dance step and each new formation. The leaders and Captains of 10 are AWESOME cheerleaders spread out all over the dance floor and on the sidelines, and the youth also recognize and celebrate their achievements! There is such a fun level of excitement after conquering each new section of our dance! This is such a great thing...these kids are doing something that many of them have never done before, and something that is very likely out of their comfort zone and they are NAILING IT!!! THEY ARE AWESOME!!!!!

   
  

Close to the end of the rehearsal, the Young Men were lined up and taught to march in sync and perform a few masculine rotations that will be used at the very beginning of the dance. They looked so great standing tall with their hands behind their backs - marching together in time to the music. The marching is strong and loud and masculine and, in time, I have no doubts that they will be able to do this in unison and perform it at the very fast pace that it needs to be. It is a difficult task, but they did a fantastic job on their first run thoughs and will only improve in time! They are SO GREAT! 

While the Young Men were mastering their marching, the Youth Women were taken aside and measured for their costumes - a variety of bright colored dresses and skirts!

 

During the devotional at the beginning of our rehearsal, the thought that was shared, was an excerpt from a talk given by President Charles W. Dahlquist, II - the Young Men General President, at the 10th Session of the Draper Temple Dedication (the talk, in its entirety, can be found HERE):

    "I can promise each of you young men and young women that the Lord has sent you here to perform a wonderful mission – and has given you the talents and opportunities to do just that – including your attendance here today.  Now is the time to prepare – and to serve while you are preparing.  Sometimes, as youth, we forget that the small things we do can have a profound impact in the lives of those around us. Let me give you just one example.

     Early in the Savior’s ministry, he crossed the Sea of Galilee and went over into a city called Tiberius. There he climbed a hill and sat with his apostles. It was not long before he saw a large crowd of people who had come a long distance to hear him. Knowing that they must be hungry, he suggested that the disciples buy food for the people – more than 5,000 of them.  One of them replied that he did not have enough money to even buy bread for that many people. At that point Peter suggested: “There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?” --And you know the rest of the story. Jesus had the men sit down on a grassy place and took the bread and the fishes. He blessed them and then gave them to His disciples to distribute to the people that they might eat. When they were finished eating and were filled, Jesus said, “Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.” The record tells us that they gathered the bread that was left over and it filled twelve baskets. And, having just witnessed this miracle, the men that were there, without even hearing from Jesus, said, “This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.”

     Just think what came out of the small, seemingly insignificant act of one young lad who was prepared: 5,000 were fed that they might not faint; and, more importantly, it was done by the miraculous actions of the Savior – through which those in attendance witnessed of His divine mission. As I have pondered this simple story, I have a feeling that that young lad came to hear Jesus and brought the food, without even knowing of the significance the 5 loaves and 2 small fishes would have in the lives of those in attendance. And yet, because he was prepared, 5,000 were fed – both physically and spiritually.

     And it is the same with you and me. As we move through mortality, trying each day to do our best, if we are diligent in desiring to do what our Heavenly Father wants us to do, our actions will have profound effects on those around us and we will become tools in the hands of a kind Heavenly Father."

These great kids are strong and prepared and can have this same impact on thousands as they participate in this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, strengthen their testimonies, share the Gospel with others and continue on the path towards becoming more like our Savior. Our youth will have the great opportunity to hear President Dahlquist speak at a Youth Temple Celebration Fireside here in our stake on Sunday, April 19th at 7:00 pm. More details to come.

Overall, the rehearsal was incredible...yet again! Our youth exuded such great strength, respect, willingness to learn and GREAT EXCITEMENT for this wonderful opportunity. We love them so much and can't WAIT for our next rehearsal! 

P.S. Are you wearing your wristband??

{Our First Rehearsal}

This past Saturday, March 21st was our VERY FIRST rehearsal for the Celebration. It..was...AWESOME! Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of our fabulous youth that were there! You are so great! I know how difficult it is to get up early on a Saturday, and in addition to that, not only did you all show such great respect for your peers (during our devotional), for me and for the other leaders assisting in teaching the choreography for our dance, but you also seriously ROCKED at the dance steps as well....I am so proud of you!!!! If we accomplished that much in just a few hours, THINK of what we will be able to do in the next few weeks!!

   
   
   

We ended up having approximately 144 youth at our first rehearsal! That is FANTASTIC!!! There were a few of you that were concerned about the lack of a choir practice on Saturday, since you had originally signed up to sing in the choir and not to participate in the dance. Allow me to explain. Each dance number in this program must have at LEAST 250 dancers - no more than 300. The majority of the other dance numbers are being performed by youth from TWO stakes that have combined to perform that number together. That is NOT the case with our dance number. We are the ONLY ones performing this number...which means, we have to have at LEAST 250 youth to perform our dance. Whether or not we have a choir group from our stake will depend entirely on whether or not we have at least the 250 dancers needed for our dance number. Originally, there were 298 youth signed up to participate...so we know you are there...and we need you!!!! If we are able to get all of those who signed up to come to rehearsals and participate in this great Celebration, we will have at least 48 over the minimum number of dancers needed....which would mean we would be able to have a choir of 48. I hope that helps to clear things up a little bit. We are so excited about the dance number we have been given and I know that it will be such a FUN experience for everyone involved. And perhaps, if dancing isn't something that some of you normally would be interested in, this might be the perfect opportunity to step out of your comfort zone and try something new. I am convinced that if you open your heart to the purpose of this great Celebration and come excited with a positive attitude, you will have a blast!!!! I have faith in you!!

   

A very special THANK YOU to members of our wonderful Youth Council for helping with our morning devotional! You guys are SO GREAT! Thank you for your thoughts and inspiration. And an overwhelming expression of gratitude for our Captains of 10 that were there on Saturday. I was so grateful for you just by you being there....but then you went above and beyond in your participation and assistance on Saturday! What would we do without you....getting kids to and from the rehearsal, making SURE they were there, helping with 'crowd control', making sure the dance lines were straight, working one on one with some of the youth on the dance steps and even dancing IN THE MIDST of them to help them learn the steps!!! And not only were you taking the initiative to help without even being asked, it was so great to see you LEARNING the dance as well so that you can be of even MORE assistance!!! You are AWESOME and we love and appreciate you so much!

   
  

Not only are the Captains of 10 necessary in order for us to be able to accomplish what we have been asked in performing this great dance number with this large number of youth, but the Brethren have required that we take this seriously and make SURE to have a Captain for every 10 youth. We realize that it is a major time commitment when our lives are already so hectic. But this will not just be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for our youth...it will be unforgettable for ALL involved. Our Captains of 10 are some of the VERY FEW that will even be able to WATCH the performance on May 30th from the Conference Center. All others will only be able to watch via satellite! That, in and of itself, will be incredible. All Captains of 10....please start calling the kids in your group NOW to remind them about Saturday. We need your help so much to make sure that EVERY youth in our stake doesn't miss out on this experience! Thank you so much for sharing your excitement for this great Celebration with our youth. They will FEEL your excitement and WANT to be there too! YAY!

In order to attempt to accomodate the majority of our youth so that they are ALL able to participate, and also make it possible to HAVE a choir group as well, we are in the process of revamping our rehearsal schedule. As soon as that has been finalized, it will be posted here on this blog and sent to each Bishop and ward youth leadership. However, for now....

Our next rehearsal is STILL scheduled for THIS SATURDAY, MARCH 28TH from 9-10:30 AM at the Old Herriman Building on the corner of 12600 South and 6000 West (change in location ONLY this coming week. All other rehearsals will be in the 11800 South Bldg).

A few reminders:

* If at all possible, please leave cell phones at home. If you need to have it with you, please keep it on vibrate or silent.
* Please bring a water bottle with your name written on it, to limit traffic in and out of rehearsal to visit the drinking fountain.
* If you preferred to sing in the choir, STILL COME on Saturday. Remember....until we have the numbers we need for the dance, we can't split the group to provide a choir. I hope that we will be able to have a choir, but again, it depends on the numbers we have. As soon as we reach 250, we will be excited to start a choir group with the number of youth OVER 250!!
* PLEASE BRING YOUR FRIENDS WITHIN OUR STAKE!!!!!! WE NEED THEM AND WANT THEM TO BE A PART OF THIS ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME EXPERIENCE!!

A little sneak peek to give you an idea of what the youth will be wearing for this dance number....

Thank you again for such an AWESOME AWESOME first rehearsal!!!! We can't WAIT to see you Saturday!!!!

P.S.....are you wearing your wristband? ;-)

{Sister Judy Sorenson, Stake Wardrobe Coordinator}

 

"I have lived in Herriman since I was 18 months old! (and I won't tell you how long ago that was). I was the first daughter after 3 older brothers - and I have two younger sisters.  I have known Harold (my husband of 33 years) most of my life - as he was raised here also, and we started dating in High School. I wrote to him while he served his mission, and we were married shortly after he returned home. We have Four great children - two daughters, and two sons. Three of them are married and we have two grandchildren and are looking forward to many more!!!  I have many hobbies - one of which is "SEWING" and  I have loved sewing since I learned how in 7th grade. I made a lot of my kids clothes when they were young - and many many Flannel shirts for Hunting for my husband and boys. My real love is in quilting these days - both piecing and machine quilting! That is where you will find me most of the time - behind on of my 5 or 6 machines or in a sewing class of some kind! I Love Life  - and I Love the Lord and all that that intells! My testimony of the church grows stronger every day, and I strive to serve the Lord in all I do because I am so grateful for all that he has given me!"