Personal Progress
**This page shows the new 2010 changes to the LDS Young Women Personal Progress program, including the Honor Bee charm**
The Personal Progress program is for young women between the ages of 12 and 18. Requirements to earn the Young Womanhood Recognition are:
• Attend sacrament meeting regularly (where possible).
• Live the standards in For the Strength of Youth.
• Complete the value experiences and value project for each of the eight values:
• Keep a personal journal.
After finishing these requirements, you will be eligible to receive the Young Womanhood Recognition following a worthiness interview with your bishop or branch president.
Please note this excerpt from the Personal Progress book:
"Invite your parents to help you in planning and completing the Personal Progress program. Sharing these experiences can strengthen your relationship with them. Your mother or another exemplary woman may work on Personal Progress with you, and you may earn your Young Womanhood Recognition together. You may adapt experiences and projects according to your personal circumstances, interests, and needs and with the prior approval of a parent, a Young Women leader, or another adult."
After earning her Young Womanhood Recognition, a young woman can earn an Honor Bee charm.
Complete the following three required Value Experiences. It is recommended that young women complete their required experiences before working on their three elective experiences.
1. The first principle of the gospel is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Learn about faith from the scriptures and living prophets. Read Hebrews 11, Alma 32:17–43, Ether 12:6–22, and Joseph Smith—History 1:11–20. Read two general conference talks on faith. Exercise your own faith by establishing a habit of prayer in your life. Begin by saying your morning and evening prayers regularly. After three weeks of following this pattern, discuss with a parent or leader what you have learned about faith and how daily personal prayer has strengthened your faith. In your journal express your feelings about faith and prayer.
2. Discover the principles of faith taught by the mothers of Helaman’s stripling warriors. Read Alma 56:45–48 and Alma 57:21. Review what “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” says about a mother’s role. With a mother, grandmother, or leader, discuss the qualities a woman needs to teach children to have faith and to base their decisions on gospel truths. How can these principles help you in your life today and help you prepare to be a faithful woman, wife, and mother? Record your thoughts and feelings in your journal.
3. Living gospel principles requires faith. Read about faith in the Bible Dictionary or True to the Faith. Faith in the Savior Jesus Christ leads to action. Choose a principle such as prayer, tithing, fasting, repentance, or keeping the Sabbath day holy. In your own home or another setting, plan and present a family home evening lesson about how faith helps you live that gospel principle. If possible, ask a family member to share an experience that has strengthened his or her faith. Share your own experiences as well. In your journal write down one of those experiences and describe your feelings about faith.
Complete three additional "elective" Value Experiences. Young women may select from the following options or write up to two of their own. A parent or Young Women leader must approve those they write themselves before they begin.
4. Learn more about the sacrament. Read about the Last Supper in Matthew 26:26–28, Mark 14:22–24, and Luke 22:17–20. Establish a pattern of pondering during the sacrament by listening carefully to the sacrament hymn and prayers. Think about why we partake of the bread and water. After three weeks of following this pattern, write in your journal some of the promises you make as you partake of the sacrament and remember your baptismal covenants and what you do to keep those promises. Record in your journal how your understanding of these promises has strengthened your faith in the Savior.
5. Increase your understanding of the Atonement of Jesus Christ by reading Isaiah 53:3–12; John 3:16–17; Romans 5; 2 Nephi 9:6–7, 21–26; Alma 7:11–13; 34:8–17; and Doctrine and Covenants 19:15–20. In your journal write your feelings about the Savior and what He has done for you. You may want to share your feelings in a testimony meeting.
6. Increase your understanding of the plan of salvation. Resources for study include 1 Corinthians 15:22; Revelation 12:7–9; 2 Nephi 9:1–28; 11:4–7; Doctrine and Covenants 76:50–113; 93:33–34, Moses 4:1–4; and Abraham 3:24–27. Draw or obtain a picture that depicts the plan of salvation, including the premortal existence, birth, mortal life, death, judgment, and life after judgment. Using this picture, explain the plan of salvation to your class, your family, or a friend. Discuss how knowledge of the plan affects your actions, helps you understand your identity, and has strengthened your faith.
7. The Lord has commanded us to pay tithing. Read Doctrine and Covenants 119 and Malachi 3:8–12. Since obedience to the law of tithing is an evidence of your faith, pay a full tithe. After three months, record in your journal how paying tithing has helped your faith grow. List blessings in your life, both large and small, that have come because of your faith in the principle of tithing.
FAITH VALUE PROJECT
After completing six Faith Value Experiences, young women will create a project that will help them practice what they have learned. This should be a significant effort that will take at least ten hours to complete. (Note: Young women may include others in their Value Projects, but each project must take a minimum of ten hours of their own time.) Young women should prayerfully seek the guidance of the Holy Ghost to select a meaningful project.
A parent or Young Women leader must approve the project before they begin. Young women will also need to write an evaluation after they finish. Below are some ideas for a Value Project.
• Memorize “The Living Christ”. As you do, consider the Savior’s influence in your life and how your faith in Him has increased. Practice following the Savior's example.
• Read Alma 32:28-43. Think of faith as a seed as you help plant, care for, and harvest a vegetable garden. Record in your journal how you can nourish, care for, and strengthen your family.
• Take a family history class through your ward or branch. Collect existing stories of your relatives or others who have demonstrated faith, or interview family members or others and record their stories.
• Describe the blessing of faith by writing an original story, poem, or song, or by completing a visual arts project that illustrates your faith in Jesus Christ.
Complete the following three required Value Experiences. It is recommended that young women complete their required experiences before working on their three elective experiences.
1. What are some of the divine qualities of a daughter of God? Read “The Family: A Proclamation to the World”, 2 Peter 1, Alma 7:23–24, and Doctrine and Covenants 121:45. In your own words, list the divine qualities discussed in your reading. Think about how you can discover and develop each of these qualities. Record your ideas in your journal.
2. As a young woman you are blessed with divine feminine qualities. Increase your understanding of and appreciation for womanhood. Read Proverbs 31:10–31 and two talks on womanhood from a conference issue of the Church magazines. Review what “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” says about being a wife and a mother. Then ask your mother or another mother you admire what she thinks are important attributes for being a mother. List the attributes in your journal. Then choose one of those attributes and strive to develop it. After two weeks report your success to a parent or leader.
3. Make your home life better. For two weeks make a special effort to strengthen your relationship with a family member by showing love through your actions. Refrain from judging, criticizing or speaking unkindly, and watch for positive qualities in that family member. Write notes of encouragement, pray for this family member, find ways to be helpful, and verbally express your love. Share your experiences and the divine qualities you've discovered with that family member or with a parent or leader.
Complete three additional "elective" Value Experiences. Young women may select from the following options or write up to two of their own. A parent or Young Women leader must approve those they write themselves before they begin.
4. Memorize the sacrament prayers in Doctrine and Covenants 20:77, 79. During the sacrament, listen carefully to the prayers and think about what it means to take upon yourself the name of Jesus Christ and how doing this should affect your actions and decisions. Practice keeping your baptismal covenants. Begin by doing something each day to recognize and further develop your divine qualities and to help you always remember the Lord Jesus Christ. After two weeks record your experience in your journal.5. Obedience is an attribute of the Savior. Strive to be more obedient to your parents. Read Luke 2:40–51 and John 6:38. Develop a pattern of obedience as you make a special effort to treat your parents with respect and kindness and do what your parents ask you to do without having to be reminded. After two weeks record in your journal how being more obedient motivated you to want to continue doing so and how it has helped you understand your divine nature and the divine roles of mothers and fathers.
6. Develop your divine qualities. Read Matthew 5:9, John 15:12, Galatians 5:22–23, Colossians 3:12–17, 1 John 4:21, and Moroni 7:44–48. Memorize your favorite verse from one of these passages. Identify the divine qualities mentioned in all these scriptures and list them in your journal. Select one quality, and for two weeks strive to make it a part of your daily life. Record your progress and experiences in your journal.
7. Learn the definition of the word peacemaker. Then find and read five scriptures that teach about peacemakers. Become an example of a peacemaker in your home and at school as you refrain from criticizing, complaining, or speaking unkindly to or about others. Pray each morning and evening to Heavenly Father for help to do this. After two weeks write in your journal what new habits you want to develop, how being a peacemaker is part of your divine nature, and how you will continue to be a peacemaker.
After completing six Faith Value Experiences, young women will create a project that will help them practice what they have learned. This should be a significant effort that will take at least ten hours to complete. (Note: Young women may include others in their Value Projects, but each project must take a minimum of ten hours of their own time.) Young women should prayerfully seek the guidance of the Holy Ghost to select a meaningful project.
A parent or Young Women leader must approve the project before they begin. Young women will also need to write an evaluation after they finish. Below are some ideas for a Value Project.
• Develop a skill you could use in your future home, such as cooking, sewing, making repairs, organizing, or designing. Teach that skill to someone and explain how establishing a house of order (see D&C 109:8) is one of your divine roles.
• For an extended period of time, serve someone in need, such as a young mother, a person with disabilities, or an elderly person. Record in your journal how your service has helped you recognize the divine nature in yourself and in others.
• List the divine attributes and roles of women as taught in “The Family: A Proclamation to the World”, and carry out a project that helps you learn more about one of those roles.
• Using an artistic skill or handicraft you have learned, make something for your current or future home. Record in your journal how being creative is part of your divine nature and how sharing your creativity has blessed others.
• Working in harmony with others is a divine attribute (see D&C 38:27). Carry out a project that will promote unity in your extended family, your school, or your community. Record in your journal how you can make a difference when you work in unity with others.
Complete the following three required Value Experiences. It is recommended that young women complete their required experiences before working on their three elective experiences.
1. You are a daughter of Heavenly Father, who knows you and loves you. Read Psalm 8:4–6, Jeremiah 1:5, John 13:34, Doctrine and Covenants 18:10, Abraham 3:22–23 and Joseph Smith-History 1:1-20. Write in your journal how these scriptures teach you that Heavenly Father knows you, loves you, and is mindful of you.
2. Learn about the importance of patriarchal blessings by studying about them in True to the Faith and recent conference talks. Find out why they are given and who can give them. Discuss with a parent or Church leader how to prepare to receive a patriarchal blessing and how it can teach you of your worth and identity and be a guide throughout your life. If you have not received your blessing, prepare to receive it.
3. Read Doctrine and Covenants 18:10 and 121:45. Do all you can to build others and make them feel of worth. Every day for two weeks notice the worthwhile qualities and attributes of others. Acknowledge them verbally or in writing. In your journal write what you have learned about the worth of individuals and how your own confidence grows when you build others.
Complete three additional "elective" Value Experiences. Young women may select from the following options or write up to two of their own. A parent or Young Women leader must approve those they write themselves before they begin.
4. You are preparing to fulfill a unique mission on the earth. Read Doctrine and Covenants 88:119. In your journal make a list of your hopes and dreams for your future home, family, and education and some important things you would like to accomplish in your life, including becoming a wife and mother. Then write a plan that will help you achieve your goals. Share this plan with a family member, leader, or friend.
5. Participate in a dance, speech, music, or drama performance at school, in your community, or at church. How did your participation in this activity strengthen your feelings of individual worth and self-confidence? Record your thoughts in your journal.
6. When you participate in family history, you come to understand your identity and individual worth. Visit with your living relatives to learn as much information about your family history as possible. Then complete a pedigree chart of your family and list the temple ordinances that have been completed for each person.
7. Heavenly Father has given you special gifts. Read 1 Corinthians 12:4–12; 1 Corinthians 13; Moroni 7:12–13; 10:8–18; and Doctrine and Covenants 46:11–26. Ask a family member, a Young Women leader, and a friend to write down positive qualities the Lord has given you. List your gifts in your journal, and write how you can continue to develop these gifts and use them to serve your family and others.
After completing six Faith Value Experiences, young women will create a project that will help them practice what they have learned. This should be a significant effort that will take at least ten hours to complete. (Note: Young women may include others in their Value Projects, but each project must take a minimum of ten hours of their own time.) Young women should prayerfully seek the guidance of the Holy Ghost to select a meaningful project.
A parent or Young Women leader must approve the project before they begin. Young women will also need to write an evaluation after they finish. Below are some ideas for a Value Project.
• Compile your personal or family history using journal entries, pictures, and important papers.
• Share one of your gifts by instructing or tutoring someone in an academic subject, music, a sport, or an artistic skill.
• Carry out a project to improve the living situation of someone in need.
• Direct or participate in a youth choir, a play, a talent show, or an art exhibit.
• Learn a marketable skill that could help you in a current or future occupation.
Complete the following three required Value Experiences. It is recommended that young women complete their required experiences before working on their three elective experiences.
1. Learn about the importance of gaining knowledge by reading Proverbs 1:5; 4:7; 2 Nephi 28:30; and Doctrine and Covenants 88:78–80, 118; 90:15; 130:18–19; 131:6. Think about why you need to gain knowledge and understanding about how to apply gospel principles to your present and future home and family life. Write in your journal what you have learned about knowledge, and discuss it with a family member or Young Women leader.
2. In your journal list talents you have and others you would like to develop. Read Matthew 25:14–30. Learn a new skill or talent that will help you care for your own future family or home (for example, playing the piano, singing, budgeting, time management, cooking, sewing, or child care). Share with your family, class, or Young Women leader what you have learned.
3. Memorize Article of Faith number thirteen and recite it to a parent, a leader, or another adult. Then visit a museum or exhibit or attend a performance that involves dance, music, speech, or drama. Using this article of faith as a guide, evaluate what you saw and heard. In your journal write your thoughts about how you can use this article of faith as a guide for all you do so the Holy Ghost will be your constant companion. Share those thoughts with a parent or leader.
Complete three additional "elective" Value Experiences. Young women may select from the following options or write up to two of their own. A parent or Young Women leader must approve those they write themselves before they begin.
4. Select a gospel principle you would like to understand better (for example, faith, repentance, charity, eternal families, or baptismal covenants). Read scriptures and the words of latter-day prophets that relate to the principle. Prepare a five-minute talk on the subject, and give the talk in a sacrament meeting, in a Young Women meeting, to your family, or to your class. Record in your journal how you can apply this gospel principle in your life.
5. Learn about an area of work or service that interests you. Talk to someone who works in that field and find out what that person’s job responsibilities are, what training or education the person obtained to do the job, and what contributions this person’s job makes to society. Record your findings in your journal.
6. Memorize two of your favorite hymns from the hymnbook. Learn the correct conducting pattern for the hymns (see Hymns, 383-85) and then conduct them at least two times at a family home evening, in a Young Women or other Church meeting, or at seminary. Read the scriptures listed at the bottom of each hymn.
7. At Young Women camp you learn skills in first aid, safety, sanitation, and survival. Review these teachings in your Young Women Camp Manual [link downloads PDF file] and note in your journal how you could apply them in your home to keep your family safe. Develop a list of basic supplies your family will need in case of an emergency. Teach a family home evening lesson or share with a Young Women leader what you have learned and what additional skills you would like to learn to be prepared for emergencies.
After completing six Faith Value Experiences, young women will create a project that will help them practice what they have learned. This should be a significant effort that will take at least ten hours to complete. (Note: Young women may include others in their Value Projects, but each project must take a minimum of ten hours of their own time.) Young women should prayerfully seek the guidance of the Holy Ghost to select a meaningful project.
A parent or Young Women leader must approve the project before they begin. Young women will also need to write an evaluation after they finish. Below are some ideas for a Value Project.
• Learn how to organize, clean, and maintain a home from your mother, grandmother, or another woman you admire. Then apply what you have learned in your home.
• Prepare for higher education and obtaining marketable skills by learning about college or trade school entrance requirements, scholarships, tuition, and other expenses. Apply for entrance when appropriate.
• Read Doctrine and Covenants 89. Consider what you can do to be more physically fit. Improve your health by developing and implementing a regular fitness program and learning to cook and eat food that is part of a healthful diet.
• Learn about the proper care of clothing, including how to wash, iron, and make basic repairs and alterations. Apply the skills you learned by taking care of your clothing.
• Working with your mother, grandmother, or a sister in your ward or branch, master a homemaking skill she teaches you.
Complete the following three required Value Experiences. It is recommended that young women complete their required experiences before working on their three elective experiences.
1. A daughter of God can make wise decisions and solve problems. Read 1 Nephi 15:8, 2 Nephi 32:3, Alma 34:19–27, Ether 2–3, and Doctrine and Covenants 9:7–9. Follow a pattern of regular scripture study and prayer to receive help in making personal decisions such as choosing good friends, being kind to others, getting up on time, or other decisions. Discuss with a parent or leader how regular scripture study and prayer helped you make correct decisions.
2. Read the pamphlet For the Strength of Youth. List in your journal each standard of righteous behavior the pamphlet outlines, and record why it is important to choose to live those standards. Practice living righteous standards by choosing three standards in which you need to improve. You might choose to be more selective about television, music, books, or other media, or you might improve your modesty, language, or honesty. After three weeks share with your family, your class, or a leader.
3. Agency, or the ability to choose, is one of God's greatest gifts to His children. Read about agency in Joshua 24:25, 2 Nephi 2, and Doctrine and Covenants 82:2–10. With a parent or Young Women leader, discuss the blessings and responsibilities of agency. Record in your journal your understanding of agency and the consequences of choices and actions.
Complete three additional "elective" Value Experiences. Young women may select from the following options or write up to two of their own. A parent or Young Women leader must approve those they write themselves before they begin.
4. Read about repentance in Isaiah 1:18; Alma 26:22; 34:30–35; Moroni 8:25–26; and Doctrine and Covenants 19:15–20; 58:42–43. Record in your journal what repentance means to you. Study the process of repentance, pray for guidance, and apply the principles of repentance in your life.5. The Holy Ghost will help you make correct choices. With a parent, leader, or friend, learn more about the Holy Ghost by reading and discussing Ezekiel 36:26–27; John 14:26; 16:13; Galatians 5:22–25; 2 Nephi 32:5; Moroni 10:4–5; and Doctrine and Covenants 11:12–14. Then record in your journal how the Holy Ghost can help you make good decisions in your daily life. Pray for and live worthy of the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost.
6. Study the Young Women theme and what it teaches you about who you are, what you are to do, and why you are to do it. List in your journal what you will do each day with regard to modesty, dating, and the media to be morally clean and worthy to enter the temple. Record in your journal how these choices will help you remain free and happy.
7. Making choices is part of Heavenly Father’s plan for us. Read Moses 4:1–4, 7:32, and 2 Nephi 9:51. Establish a pattern of wise money management by making a budget for saving and spending your money, including the payment of tithing. Live within your budget for at least three months. Set priorities that allow you to meet your most important needs before satisfying your wants. Record in your journal what you have learned and how following these patterns will continue to bless your life.
After completing six Faith Value Experiences, young women will create a project that will help them practice what they have learned. This should be a significant effort that will take at least ten hours to complete. (Note: Young women may include others in their Value Projects, but each project must take a minimum of ten hours of their own time.) Young women should prayerfully seek the guidance of the Holy Ghost to select a meaningful project.
A parent or Young Women leader must approve the project before they begin. Young women will also need to write an evaluation after they finish. Below are some ideas for a Value Project.
• Using For the Strength of Youth as your guide and under the direction of your leaders, organize or participate in a discussion group, fashion show, or other event to help you and other youth choose to live the Lord’s standards.
• Under the direction of your parents or leaders, help plan and direct a youth dance or other activity that features appropriate dancing instruction and wholesome music, lighting, and atmosphere.
• Evaluate your use of media and technology. Create and implement a plan to keep improper media from entering your home. Ensure that your plan encourages the wholesome use of television, movies, music, computers, Internet, cell phones, and other media forms in the home. Share your idea with your family and others.
• Learn basic clothing alteration and repair techniques as you adapt your wardrobe to standards of modest dress.
• Learn to be more orderly in your home by completing a cleaning or organizing project. Record in your journal how doing this helped you in other areas of your life.
Complete the following three required Value Experiences. It is recommended that young women complete their required experiences before working on their three elective experiences.
1. Learn why service is a fundamental principle of the gospel. Read Matthew 5:13–16; 25:34–40; Galatians 6:9–10; James 1:22–27; Mosiah 2:17; 4:26; and 3 Nephi 13:1–4. Others often give service you may not notice, such as preparing meals, reading or listening to younger children, repairing clothing, or helping a brother or sister. For two weeks record in your journal the quiet acts of service your family members and others perform. Acknowledge their service in some meaningful way.
2. Service is an essential principle of family living. Help plan your family’s menus, obtain the food, and prepare part of the meals for two weeks. During that time help your family gather to share mealtimes. Report to your class what you have learned.
3. Read Mosiah 18:7–10, and in your journal list three ways you can comfort others or help them bear their burdens. Do the things on your list, and tell a family member or leader about the experience and how your attitude and understanding have changed.
Complete three additional "elective" Value Experiences. Young women may select from the following options or write up to two of their own. A parent or Young Women leader must approve those they write themselves before they begin.
4. Teach a lesson about service in family home evening or in another setting. Use pictures, music, examples, or demonstrations in your lesson. You may want to use the manual Teaching, No Greater Call as a resource.
5. Read Doctrine and Covenants 58:26–28. Think of ways a young woman, as well as a wife and mother, could apply this scripture in her family. Develop a pattern of service in your life by choosing a family member you can help. Serve that person for at least a month. Record in your journal your actions and feelings about how this improved your relationship with that person.
6. Spend at least three hours giving service outside your family. Ask your ward or branch Relief Society president or a community leader for suggestions for service. For example, you might take care of children while parents attend the temple; collect, make, or recondition toys or games for a nursery; accept an assignment to clean the meetinghouse; or perform errands for or read to a homebound person or others in need. Record in your journal the reactions of the person you served and possible goals for future service opportunities.
7. Through your good works, others will see your example and may want to know more about the gospel. Pray for a missionary experience. Read Matthew 24:14; 28:19; and Doctrine and Covenants 88:81. Invite a friend who is not a member or one who is less active to go with you to a Church meeting or activity. Introduce your friend to others, and make sure he or she is involved in the activity. Share your testimony of the gospel, and invite him or her to come again.
After completing six Faith Value Experiences, young women will create a project that will help them practice what they have learned. This should be a significant effort that will take at least ten hours to complete. (Note: Young women may include others in their Value Projects, but each project must take a minimum of ten hours of their own time.) Young women should prayerfully seek the guidance of the Holy Ghost to select a meaningful project.
A parent or Young Women leader must approve the project before they begin. Young women will also need to write an evaluation after they finish. Below are some ideas for a Value Project.
• Help plan and participate in a project to clean or beautify your community.
• Prepare to be a homemaker by collecting recipes, shopping for food, and preparing meals for your family.
• Work with a family member to gather the names of some deceased relatives who were not members of the Church. Identify their birth and death dates and prepare their names to be taken to the temple. Help plan a temple trip and do baptisms for those relatives.
• Prepare to serve others by receiving training for a skill to use in emergency situations, such as first aid, resuscitation, or life-saving skills.
• Serve others. Volunteer in the community, gather items to meet humanitarian needs, spend extended time assisting with child or elderly care, or tutor in school or in your community.
Complete the following three required Value Experiences. It is recommended that young women complete their required experiences before working on their three elective experiences.
1. Integrity is the willingness and desire to live by our beliefs and standards. Read Moroni 10:30–33 and think about what it means to “deny yourselves of all ungodliness.” Read the pamphlet For the Strength of Youth. Reflect on how the Lord’s standards differ from the world’s standards. Record in your journal appropriate standards for behavior, dress, and conversation, as well as literature, movies, television, Internet, music, cell phones and other media. Also write your plan to stay morally clean and worthy to attend the temple. After keeping your standards for at least one month, record your feelings in your journal and continue to keep your commitment.
2. Conduct a self-assessment of your personal integrity. Ask yourself the following questions: Do I avoid gossip, inappropriate jokes, swearing and profanity, and being light-minded about sacred subjects? Am I completely truthful, morally clean, honest, dependable, and trustworthy in my schoolwork and other activities? Pray daily for strength and for the guidance of the Holy Ghost to help you live with integrity. Write in your journal the things you can do to improve your personal integrity and at least one new habit you want to develop.
3. The Savior is the perfect example of integrity; He did what He promised the Father He would do. Read 3 Nephi 11:10-11. Study the lives of other individuals in the scriptures who lived with integrity. Read Genesis 39; the book of Esther; Job 2:3; 27:3-6; Daniel 3 and 6; Acts 26; Doctrine and Covenants 124:15; and Joseph Smith—History 1:21–25. In your journal identify the ways these people demonstrated integrity. Think of a time when you had the courage to show integrity, especially when it was not easy or popular. Share your experience and your feelings about it in a testimony meeting or lesson or with a parent or Young Women leader.
Complete three additional "elective" Value Experiences. Young women may select from the following options or write up to two of their own. A parent or Young Women leader must approve those they write themselves before they begin.
4. Look up the word integrity in a dictionary. Interview your mother, grandmother, or another woman you respect about her understanding and application of the word. Make a list of ways you can make your actions consistent with your knowledge of right and wrong, and record in your journal what it means to you to have integrity.5. Learn about standing as a witness. Read Mosiah 18:9. Then record in your journal how you can personally “stand as [a witness] of God at all times and in all things, and in all places.” Choose a personal behavior that you need to improve so you can be a better example. Develop integrity in your life as you practice your new behavior for three weeks. Record your progress in your journal.
6. Living the law of the fast is an opportunity to practice integrity. On a designated fast Sunday, abstain from food and drink for two consecutive meals and contribute to your family’s fast offering. Have a specific purpose in mind as you fast. You might fast for a sick friend, to overcome a bad habit, to obtain a special blessing for yourself or someone else, or to give thanks. Begin and close your fast with a prayer.
7. List the issues, trends, and problems that weaken the family. Read the First Presidency message on page 1 of this book, "The Family: A Proclamation to the World", and the section on family in For the Strength of Youth. Then research in the Church magazines the counsel of those whom we sustain as prophets, seers, and revelators. Write in your journal your plan to strengthen your present family and the values and traditions you want to establish with your future family.
After completing six Faith Value Experiences, young women will create a project that will help them practice what they have learned. This should be a significant effort that will take at least ten hours to complete. (Note: Young women may include others in their Value Projects, but each project must take a minimum of ten hours of their own time.) Young women should prayerfully seek the guidance of the Holy Ghost to select a meaningful project.
A parent or Young Women leader must approve the project before they begin. Young women will also need to write an evaluation after they finish. Below are some ideas for a Value Project.
• Record examples of ways family members have demonstrated the quality of integrity in their lives.
• Having integrity means keeping your commitments. Identify and keep your commitments to others as you participate as a member of a team or organization or in a leadership position in your school or community.
• Using 1 Timothy 4:12 as your guide, organize and carry out an activity that will help you practice being “an example of the believers.”
• Making and keeping temple covenants requires integrity. Prepare to make temple covenants by making and wearing an item of clothing that conforms with standards of modest dress as explained in the pamphlet For the Strength of Youth and in the words of living prophets.
• In talks given by General Authorities, research the topics of integrity and honesty. Learn why these principles are critical to your happiness and temple preparation. Create an object (such as a picture, a book of quotations, or a hand-stitched item) that will remind you each day of your commitment to be honest and true at all times and known for your personal integrity.
Young women may begin this required value project at any time.
The Savior chose to live a virtuous life. Follow His admonition to "learn of me" (D&C 19:23) by reading the entire Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. [To obtain a free copy, click here.] Liken the scriptures to your life and circumstances. As you read, record your thoughts regularly in your journal. Note the example of the Savior. What did He and those who followed Him do to live virtuous lives? At the completion of your reading, record your testimony in your journal.
Completing the Personal Progress program is a significant step in strengthening a young woman's faith and testimony and preparing for temple covenants. Young Women may continue their progress by earning an Honor Bee (or by beginning Personal Progress again and earning a second medallion).
The Honor Bee charm was historically given to young women who were willing to do more than was required. Young women may earn an Honor Bee charm to accompany their Young Womanhood Recognition medallion by completing both of the following requirements:
1. Read the Book of Mormon again. [To obtain a free copy, click here.] A daily habit of scripture study will strengthen your faith and help you receive personal inspiration and guidance throughout your life. If you read just five minutes a day, you can complete the entire Book of Mormon in one year.
2. Serve others for a total of 40 hours. Where possible, some of these hours should include mentoring another young woman with her Personal Progress. This should be done under the direction of the ward or branch Young Women presidency. As you help another young woman you may want to:
• Be her friend.
• Be an example of a righteous daughter of God.
• Encourage her to work with her parents in selecting appropriate value experiences and projects.
• Help her follow through with value experiences and projects.
• Help her keep records of value experiences and projects.
• Help her understand the gospel principles that the value experiences and projects teach.
• Encourage her to read the Book of Mormon, and discuss with her what she is reading.
• Encourage her to share value experiences and projects with her family.