All Hands on Deck: Embark in Personal Progress
How does the personal progress program help us to embark in the service of God?
Personal Progress
Personal Progress uses YW values to help you understand WHO you are, WHY you are here on earth, WHAT you should be doing as a daughter of God to prepare you to make temple covenants.
It teaches you to make commitments, strengthens your testimony, and helps you learn and improve. And it gives you many opportunities to serve others.
From Personal Progress Booklet
Personal Progress in the Past
Personal Progress didn’t always look like our cute pink book. I want to share with you how it has evolved through the years.
If we were living in the 1920s all you young women would belonged to the Young Ladies Mutual Improvement Association, and we would call you Beehive girls, regardless of your age. You would be arranged in groups called “swarms,” and we leaders would be called your Bee Keepers.
The Beehive program included three ranks: Builders in the Hive, Gatherers of Honey, and Keepers of the Bees. To achieve each rank, you would need to fulfill requirements such as
Beehive Girl Requirements:
- Care successfully for a hive of bees for one season and know their habits.
- Sleep out-of-doors or with wide-open windows.
- During three consecutive months, abstain from candy, ice cream, commercially manufactured beverages, and chewing gum.
- Clear sagebrush, etc. off of a half acre of land.
- Care for at least two kerosene lamps daily.
- Without help or advice, care for and harness a team of horses at least five times; drive 50 miles in one season.
- Identify 12 kinds of lace and tell the reasonable price and appropriate use of each.
- During two weeks, keep the house free from flies or destroy at least 25 flies daily.
I don’t think anyone of us would be able to achieve these requirements today! I know I would have a hard time abstaining from ice cream for three months.
Later in the 1960’s during my mother’s years in YW MIA girls made a Treasures of Truth booklet, which was like an early form of a scrapbook recording different aspects of their lives. And they wore sashes with patches they earned by doing different requirements.
In the 1970’s Young Women completed a more scripted Progress Journal that included personal information, interests, as well as goals and progress charts.
When I was in Young Women’s we had our big, beautiful white Personal Progress books, which were similar in content to today’s books. Every year we completed 2 goals for each value, and as Laurels we had to complete 4 big projects that took at least 20 hours.
Today’s Personal Progress program is a compact, succinct guide to experiences that are challenging but attainable.
Just think when you are Young Women leaders you’ll be showing off your book and your girls will be amazed at how different it was “way back then”.
Embarking in Personal Progress
I want to share my own example of Embarking. In American Samoa I used to paddle outrigger canoes. There are a lot of great lessons to be learned from that experience.
Working Together
The canoes we used were built for 6 people, and we’d take out 2 canoes at a time. They were heavy and were stored on the shore. To get the canoes into the water we needed at least 12 people each lifting and carrying a part of the canoe from the storage area, across the beach and into the water.
In the canoe each position had a different job, so we worked as a team. Position 1 set the pace, position 2 called changes, positions 3, 4, & 5 were the power and motivators, position 6 was the captain steering and navigating keeping everyone safe.
When we were paddling we had to be unified. We moved in a rhythm. If our strokes weren’t synchronized, we went slowly, crookedly, jerky and it was more work for everyone. Unified movement equals speed.
How personal is your personal progress? Who embarks with you in your progress? Embarking in Personal Progress is a personal journey because you have to give it your might, mind, and strength. But you’re not alone. Those you see around you here are here to help. And I believe even spirits of past and future family members give aid in whatever way they can. We are your team, your crew, to get you where you want to go. We are paddling right along with you.
Set Goals & Mark Progress
Our team would have a goal in mind: go to the green buoy or to the mouth of the bay or to a certain point along the mountains. Sometimes I would think we’d never make it there because it seemed so far in the distance, and I was so tired.
It’s hard to measure short-term progress when you’re in the ocean. You usually measure distances by your relation to some stable point on the land, a beach or a mountain peak.
I related it to my life and the struggles I was going through. It seemed they would never end and it was hard to see my progress when I looked out into the distance at my goal. Don’t we all put off those month-long experiences because the end seems too distant? Or we feel like a 10 hours is a long time to spend on one project. But if we focus on our relationship to something stable, like our Savior, we will see progress and it will motivate us to keep going.
Embark & Endure
We used to go out for an hour every Saturday. You may think it was fun, but it was actually really serious. We only talked during our few breaks. Our captains didn’t seem to believe in breaks. My arms would ache, but I had to keep going. We would go for miles through choppy water, against currents, and over waves. Sometimes it would rain or the sun would be blazing. Sometimes I’d get seasick. And it’s not like you can jump out and go home. Once you embark, you’re committed.
In the canoe I just couldn’t give up. I didn’t want to be the wimp, and I didn’t give in to the quitter inside my head telling me I’m too far and too tired. So I kept paddling. And it reminded me of scriptures about enduring to the end (2 Nephi 31:20).
20 Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastnessin Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a loveof God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.
To distract myself, I would focus on my technique. Was I holding the paddle right, was I switching it in my hands fast enough, was I stroking deep enough, was my timing right? Eventually we would make it to our goal, and it felt so good. We’d take a break and rest, drink, sometimes jump out of the canoe for a swim.
With your personal progress, you have embarked in a great journey of self-discovery. You must be committed to it and ignore the voices that tell you to procrastinate, to make excuses, or to be distracted with less important things. As you focus on your actions, your daily habits, and listen to the Spirit, he will teach you as you go along. Eventually all the hard work will pay off and you will look back at all you’ve accomplished and it will feel so good!
My Personal Progress
In October I made a goal to get the Personal Progress medallion before the end of the school year. I have been working like a busy “bee keeper” to relate Personal Progress to my daily life with my family, my calling, my service to others, and my personal studies.
I began waking up a half hour earlier to work on personal progress, and sometimes I found that the topic I was working on applied exactly to what I was going through at that time. The projects have given me a good excuse to accomplish things I’ve been putting off for some time, or things I’ve thought, “You know, I’d really like to do this.” For example, I had to redo my kids’ baby books because they got damaged in Samoan humidity, I’ve started a running program after my ankle surgery last year, and I’ve been spending time with my mom volunteering with her Special Ed class.
It has been such a blessing for me to be productive during this time in my life. I’ve especially loved sharing experiences with my Beehive friends, and my family.
Testimony
I know that Personal Progress gives us opportunities to embark in the service of God. I know that as you serve in your personal progress requirements, your heart will be filled with love, your capacities will increase, and you will enjoy happiness. I know our Father in Heaven will guide us as we set goals, work together, and endure to the end. I know that He loves us and is the captain of our canoes, sitting behind us steering us away from danger and towards our dreams.
