Latest from Mormon Land: It’s time to fun up LDS Primary for kids; a talk about women causes a stir

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Is fun too secondary in Primary?

All too often, there’s something missing from the children’s Primary: fun.

So argues Exponent II blogger Mindy May Farmer.

“With the emphasis on learning reverence and respect for speakers and teachers, kids are … shushed and quieted down throughout Sunday services,” Farmer writes. “... While learning gospel principles is certainly important, learning to live them through genuine friendships and social interactions is also important.”

So, in the spirit of sharing time, here are some of her ideas for allowing the little ones to have a little levity:

• Set aside time for kids to “catch up” with their Primary pals. (Think of it as foyer time and talk for tots.)

• Randomly play “get the wiggles out” games.

• Start classes by letting the children share something special about their week.

What ideas do you have for Primary to blend more social with the spiritual?

The latest ‘Mormon Land’ podcast: One temple, two faiths

In back-to-back special podcasts, we focus on the church’s recent purchase of the Kirtland Temple in Ohio and historic Nauvoo properties in Illinois — first with a Community of Christ historian and then with two Latter-day Saint historians (the latter also discuss the recently reopened and renovated Manti Temple).

Listen to the dual podcasts here and here.

‘Sisters’ act

Newly published digital diaries offer a look at what life was like for two of the church’s earliest female missionaries, Eliza Chipman and Josephine Booth.

The pioneering pair served in Scotland in the late 1890s, according to a news release, encountering frequent rejection, tensions between each other, anxiety about public speaking and joy in service (does this all sound familiar?) while helping to pave the way for a full-time proselytizing force of Latter-day Saint women that now tops 10,000.

South Pacific tour

Apostle Ronald Rasband and Presiding Bishop Gérald Caussé launched a 10-day, four-nation trip to the South Pacific by meeting with leaders of UNICEF Australia.

The church — whose reported charitable contributions have drawn scrutiny Down Under — noted in a news release this week that it kicked in nearly $3.5 million last year toward UNICEF projects in the region.

Native perspective

The church’s former Indian Student Placement Program — an ambitious effort to promote education of Native Americans and, at the same time, immerse them in Latter-day Saint culture — has drawn sharp criticism.

Scholar Farina King, author of “Diné dóó Gáamalii: Navajo Latter-day Saint Experiences in the Twentieth Century,” notes in a recent “From the Desk” interview that the initiative should not be seen as all bad or all good.

The same goes, King says, with the life of former general authority George P. Lee, a Diné leader who eventually was excommunicated from the faith.

From The Tribune

• An introductory BYU class is getting low marks from an LGBTQ support group for requiring incoming students to read apostle Jeffrey R. Holland’s controversial 2021 “musket fire” speech.

• A top Relief Society leader causes a stir by proclaiming the church gives power more widely to Latter-day Saint women than any other religious organization. Thousands of women respond to that statement on Instagram. Meanwhile, a planned boycott of services by women took place Sunday, though it was unclear how many participated.

• Overwhelming support of nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ individuals, a new survey shows, has grown even more among Latter-day Saints.

• A former Latter-day Saint bishop, who was at the center of a headline-grabbing Associated Press investigation, has been arrested on felony child sex abuse charges.

• Native American students share what it’s like being the “minorities of the minorities” at BYU in Provo. Meanwhile, a new tangle over hairstyles breaks out at BYU-Hawaii.