Great Activities Ahead!!

The Quad Stake Service Project & Youth Conference is this Saturday!  There will be up to 1200 youth attending from various churches to support the Fresno Food Bank and the Fresno community.  The Fresno Food Bank is calling the event "Youth Impact Day" as last year the youth brought in more donations than any other event that year.  Our youth can truly have an IMPACT for good!  The conference portion of the day for approximately 700 of our YM/YW starts promptly at 2pm and youth tell us it is one of the highlight events of the year!  Games, friends, speakers, dinner, dance, and much more.  Pick up for 12 & 13 year olds will be 7:30pm and everyone else is 10pm.  (See the Quad Stake page for detailed information on the event)

ONLY 8 MORE PRACTICES before the Musical performance! Youth and Leaders have been working hard and putting in many hours to present a testimony strengthening performance worthy to invite your neighbors and friends.  They sound amazing!!! Pass along cards have been made available to your wards... let's all set a goal to invite... invite... invite and pack the house!

The last 8 practices include:
October 20     - Whole group practice (stay together)
October 23     - Sectional practices
October 27     - Whole group practice
October 30     - Whole group practice & Halloween Dance!!!
November   3 - Practice on risers & stage
November   6 - Practice on risers & stage
November 10 - Complete run through
November 13 - Dress rehearsal

Performances will be November 16 & 17... mark your calendars to attend and bring a friend!

The Musical

The Fresno Stake Musical is fast approaching! Kick off will be Sunday, September 15th. Be sure to check out the "Musical" page with updated dance practices, music practices, and dates for ward responsibilities to provide additional chaperones, treats, and clean up. THIS IS GOING TO BE GREAT!!!

Girls Camp Info

Click on the YW CAMP tab and scroll down for a copy of the Camp Flyer containing packing and other important info.

You Are Not Alone On This Journey

What a blessing it is to have heard from our Prophet and Apostles during General Conference! 

During the General YW Broadcast President Uchtdorf encouraged young women to find their way on their journey home back to their Heavenly Father.  First he shared a story of a journey that he took as a young boy, and then shared, "I can now look back on my life and recognize a number of such 'journeys' I have taken over time.  Not all of them involved crossing mountain ranges or political boundaries; some had more to do with overcoming trials or growing in spirituality.  But they were all journeys.  I believe that every life is a collection of individual 'journey stories.' "

President Uchtdorf continues, "There will always be things to complain about-- things that don't seem to go quite right.  You can spend your days feeling sad, alone, misunderstood or unwanted.  But that isn't the journey you had hoped for, and it's not the journey Heavenly Father sent you to take.  Remember, you are truly a daughter of God."

We want all of our YW to know and remember President Uchtdorf's message that "You are not alone on this journey.  Your Heavenly Father knows you.  Even when no one else hears you, He hears you.  When you rejoice in righteousness, He rejoices with you.  When you are beset with trial, He grieves with you.... Seek Him earnestly, and you will find Him. I promise you, you are not alone."

Click on the following link to hear this wonderful talk in its entirety.  http://www.lds.org/general-conference/sessions/2013/04?cid=HP000032&lang=eng

We are daughters of our Heavenly Father

"We are daughters of our Heavenly Father, who loves us, and we love Him."

You Are a Daughter of Your Heavenly Father.   He knows you.  He knows of your personal struggles and heartbreaks.  He knows of your personal victories and successes.  He loves you.  He has loved you since before the world was. 

      In the pre-mortal existence you chose to follow His plan.  Because you chose Heavenly Father’s plan,  you were given the opportunity to come to earth and gain a body. You knew that this earth life would not always be easy.  You knew that Satan and his followers would not receive bodies but they would be here to tempt you and to try you, all the while attempting to get in the way of your happiness. 

      But Heavenly Father sent you here with great power.  You have the power to overcome Satan’s influences.  “The Prophet Joseph Smith taught, “All beings who have bodies have power over those who have not.”  So every living soul who has a physical body ultimately has power over the adversary.  You suffer temptations because of your physical nature, but you also have power over him and his angels.”  (Boyd K. Packer.  Counsel to Youth, General Conference, Oct 2011.)   

      We know the outcome of this struggle on earth.  We are on the winning side.  Do not be discouraged.  You are never alone.  Always remember,   “They that be with Us  are more than they that be with him.”    You are a daughter of your Heavenly Father,   Who Loves You. 

Special Fireside Announcement!!

"On Saturday, March 9^th, Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Presidency of the Seventy would like to meet with all youth, ages 12-18, their parents, and youth leaders in a special youth fireside from 6:00 – 7:30 p.m at the Fresno North Stake Center.  We look forward to receiving direction and encouragement from the Lord’s anointed. Please do all you can to encourage the saints to attend... and to feel the Holy Spirit." 

                          Paul Watkins, Executive Secretary to Elder W. Mark Bassett of the Seventy

L.O.V.E.

This month as we think about LOVE, remember this little acronym:

L i v i n g   O u r   V a l u e s   E v e r y d a y

Faith
(white): I am a daughter of Heavenly Father, who loves me. I have faith in His

eternal plan, which centers in Jesus Christ, my Savior (see Alma 32:21).

Divine Nature

(blue): I have inherited divine qualities, which I will strive to

develop (see 2 Peter 1:4–7).

Individual Worth

(red): I am of infinite worth with my own divine mission, which I

will strive to fulfill (see D&C 18:10).

Knowledge

(green): I will continually seek opportunities for learning and growth

(see D&C 88:118).

Choice and Accountability

(orange): I will choose good over evil and will

accept responsibility for my decisions (see Joshua 24:15).

Good Works

(yellow): I will help others and build the kingdom through righteous

service (see 3 Nephi 12:16).

Integrity

(purple): I will have the moral courage to make my actions consistent with

my knowledge of right and wrong (see Job 27:5).

Virtue

(gold): I will prepare to enter the temple and remain pure and worthy. My

thoughts and actions will be based on high moral standards (see Proverbs 31:10).

If you strive to L.O.V.E you will come closer to reaching your goal to enter the temple someday with the man you LOVE. Don’t ever forget that you are a daughter of God and he LOVES you!

New Year & New Theme

As a Stake YW Presidency, we are excited about the new year and our theme for 2013, “Stand ye in holy places and be not moved.”  There are so many resources available to help us share this theme with the YW.  The following link contains theme related music, talks, posters, graphics, videos, articles, etc. 

https://www.lds.org/youth/theme/2013?lang=eng

There is even a place for the youth to share their experiences, for example: 

Rachel Karen C. - United States

“As this theme was introduced in a lesson in combined young women and young men, we talked about how you don't always have to be in a temple. You can make the place you are in a holy place. This made me think of the 2012 theme Arise and Shine forth. I thought that by doing this, we can make where we are a holy place, and that it is almost like the first step. If we shine forth with our knowledge of the gospel, and our standards, we will always be in a holy place.”

We encourage you all to take advantage of these great resources.  We are especially excited about the 2013 Strength of Youth album available for free download that has 13 songs written entirely by youth.  This is going to be a great year J