Lord I will plant the seed, I'll plant it in my heart. I'll take this desire to believe, and that is where I'll start. And if it be a seed that's good, Yea, if that seed be true, and if my heart is ready I know what it will do - that seed will grow, that seed will swell. It will enlarge my soul. It will enlighten my mind. Yea, it will be delicious unto me. (From the song, "Lord, I Will Plant the Seed," punctuation added.)
Earlier this year, Joy Erekson wrote the words to this song while pondering the promises in Alma 32 concerning planting the seed - or having the faith to apply the words of God found in the scriptures - in one's heart.
Sister Erekson, Young Women president in the Crescent 8th Ward, Sandy Utah Crescent Stake, wanted to put the words to music for her stake's observance of the 1995 Young Women Worldwide Celebration Nov. 18. In her mind, she could hear the melody for the song. Inexperienced in writing music, she sought the help of a friend, Sandra K. Ruconich of the Greeley 2nd Ward, Greeley Colorado Stake, for whom music is a talent and hobby.
The two women colloborated their efforts.
After the song's completion, the young women in Sister Erekson's ward sang the song in a sacrament meeting, and stake young women sang it for their worldwide celebration. In addition, the song has been sung on several other occasions. Sister Erekson said she hopes the song will always be a reminder to the young women of Alma's promises.
The words of "Lord, I'll Plant the Seed" and the experiences of those who sang this song are reflective of the experiences of LDS young women throughout the Church who have been observing the yearlong 1995 Young Women Worldwide Celebration. Since January, young women have been striving to individually study and apply the scriptures in their lives and have been holding group activities to facilitate understanding the scriptures. Such activities have included planting trees, bushes, flowers, or anything indigenous to the region to symbolize "planting and nourishing the seed" - or the word of God - in their hearts. Even the Young Women general presidency planted a tree on Temple Square in observance of the celebration. (Please see Church News Jan. 21 and March 25, 1995, for articles on the worldwide celebration.)
The yearlong celebration culminated Nov. 18 with ward and stake activities, held under the direction of priesthood leaders. Local Young Women leaders based the commemorations on the celebration's theme, "Experiment Upon the Word," but the types of activities varied.
"Whatever they did, they decided locally," Young Women Gen. Pres. Janette Hales Beckham explained. "The celebration has been ongoing, and it's been personal, and so each ward's young women and their leaders have adapted the celebration's guidelines in their own way.
"We hope this particular worldwide celebration will be ongoing; it won't be just one year," Pres. Beckham added. "It will be forever."
To discuss the 1995 Young Women Worldwide Celebration and its desired effects in the lives of young people throughout the Church, Pres. Beckham and her counselors, Virginia H. Pearce and Bonnie D. Parkin, spoke with the Church News.
"Young people often approach this kind of an event mechanically at first," Pres. Beckham explained. "It's something an adult or a parent suggests to them, but as they mature we hope that they will start having their own experiences and that they will be drawn to the scriptures when they have needs. If they could see the scriptures as the source of finding solutions to their daily problems, then they can create for themselves a spiritual foundation."
Referring to this "spiritual foundation," Sister Pearce added: "Scripture reading is valuable because it is such a natural way for Heavenly Father to bless us with personal revelation. As we read scriptures, we discover that the Holy Ghost gives us specific direction, instruction and encouragement through the words of the scriptures."
The general presidency is pleased with the types of group activities that have been related to them in correspondence or that they have observed in their travels. For example, young women in the Ivory Coast planted a tomato plant on Church property for their representation of "planting a seed," and a young woman in the Uyo District of the Nigeria Port Harcourt Mission planted maize in a Church plot.
Young women in the Moses Lake Washington Stake created a butterfly and hummingbird refuge in a nearby state park, under the direction of a park ranger. The girls planted 50 plants native to the area and to which butterflies and hummingbirds are attracted.
Regardless of the activity, the Young Women general presidency hope that the 1995 celebration will not only help young women "in this time of transition into adulthood," but also teach them that the scriptures can be a resource.
The Young Women general president referred to research that indicates "that one of the best deterrents to bad behavior is having a young person have her own spiritual experience.
"Spiritual experiences," she explained, "can strengthen young people later in their lives if they're having a hard time. The scriptures will come to their minds when they're having difficulty. Scriptures give encouragement and direction to resist the things that might be a temptation."
Sister Parkin added that a youth may not always remember the words of scriptures as much as the feeling the words created. "In the future, they may recognize that feeling; they'll want to create that again. There are feelings from the scriptures that connect to your heart and soul."
In speaking of studying the scriptures as an ongoing process, Pres. Beckham emphasized that young people should exercise patience. "Growth comes in spurts. Gradually, as you mature, you're not only reading the scriptures, but also you're living them."
