Since the Primary organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized in August 1878, Primary children have served other children. Now the Primary general presidency is inviting wards and branches worldwide to organize annual service activities for children beginning in 2025.
Church News reporter Mary Richards hosts this episode featuring Primary General President Susan H. Porter; Sister Amy A. Wright, first counselor; and Sister Tracy Y. Browning, second counselor. The presidency discusses this sacred responsibility and previews a Friend to Friend broadcast on the topic airing Feb. 15, 2025.
Through this worldwide effort, children can realize they are an important part of the Church and can contribute in meaningful ways.
Listen to this episode of the Church News podcast on Apple Podcasts, Amazon, Spotify, bookshelf PLUS, YouTube or wherever you get podcasts.
Transcript:
President Susan H. Porter: It’s so interesting with the Savior, because He has told us to “behold your little ones.” He’s told us unless we become like they are, we cannot inherit His kingdom. He’s also given us the mandate to teach them and to prepare them. And so, both of these come together in this beautiful Primary service initiative, where we’re building on their natural, God-given tenderness to those who are suffering. And then we’re helping expand their vision in the community, helping them with counseling together and serving together and becoming leaders. We’re helping them identify that it’s the Spirit, because they are involved in the sacred work of Christ, which is blessing all of His sons and daughters.
1:04
Jon Ryan Jensen: This is Jon Ryan Jensen, editor of the Church News. Welcome to the Church News podcast. Today, we are taking you on a journey of connection as we discuss news and events of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
1:18
Mary Richards: Since the Primary organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized in August 1878, Primary children have served other children. Now the Primary general presidency is inviting all Primaries around the world to organize an annual service project, beginning in 2025. Through this worldwide effort, children can realize they are an important part of the Church and can contribute in meaningful ways.
I’m Mary Richards, a reporter for the Church News, and I’m pleased to welcome to this episode of the Church News podcast Primary General President Susan H. Porter.
President Susan H. Porter: Glad to be here.
Mary Richards: Thank you for being here. And we have Sister Amy A. Wright, first counselor.
Sister Amy A. Wright: Thank you. It’s a privilege.
Mary Richards: Thank you. And Sister Tracy Y. Browning, second counselor.
Sister Tracy Y. Browning: Hello.
2:05
Mary Richards: Thank you so much for being here, all of you, and welcome to the Church News podcast. President Porter, tell me more about the Primary service initiative, and where did this inspiration come from?
President Susan H. Porter: This is a fun story. As you know, all of the organizations of the Church are helping all of us of all ages to become lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ. But recently, you may know that the Church history is writing the first official history of Primary in preparation for the 150th anniversary, which will be in 2028. And so, as these chapters are being written, they’re often sent over to the Primary office. Our council members are reading them. And so, recently, as we were looking through some of these preliminary chapters, we were so amazed to learn about some of the efforts of Primary children to serve other children that we had not been aware of.
I think many of us are aware, either through our parents or grandparents, of Primary “Penny Parades” over the years, money being raised to support Primary children whose parents did not have funding to pay for their care. And so, there were many efforts, starting in 1911, clear through 1975, when the Church donated all hospitals, to collect money. And I remember as a child in New York being so proud, even though I had no hope of ever even seeing this hospital, that I could contribute to the care of others.
But what really caught our attention was some efforts we had never heard of before, and one was an effort of Primary children after World War II to collect items of clothing and toys for children in Europe. And we were stunned knowing in 1946 — this would have been an effort mainly in the United States, even in the Western United States — those children collected over 120,000 articles of clothing and toys. And it was so wonderful to see there was a picture in the Deseret News of Primary children carrying boxes of these donated supplies to the train. And then, stunningly, several months later, was an article and another picture in the Deseret News showing Primary children in front of a meetinghouse in Holland wearing the clothing that had been donated, with the subtitle “Thank you so much.”
And as we talked about this and shared these articles, we just were overcome with the power of children to do good. I think we’ve in the past few years in our presidency have really helped increase understanding that once children are baptized members of the Church, they are members. And so we’ve seen the capacity of the children offering prayers in sacrament meetings, giving talks, offering service in Primary meetings. And so, this is really an expansion of that, the capacity of children to make a difference.
So these initial efforts were, “How can they serve in their families and in the Church setting?” Now, this idea that children can be invited to look to their communities and to needs.
5:36
Mary Richards: And so our children, then, in this idea of this Primary service initiative, our baptized children can lead out in that effort and be connected to the Church and their families and communities in new ways?
Sister Amy A. Wright: Yes. This is a wonderful opportunity for the children to plan, invite and serve. So we want them fully engaged in this process. And it’s important to note, especially when it pertains to our older children, that we want them to be involved at the very beginning. We want them to be part of the revelatory experience, the revelatory process. As children are invited to counsel with their leaders, with their teachers, about meaningful ways in which they can serve other children in their communities, it is really significant because there becomes a sense of ownership and responsibility. They’re all in with what they’re doing. And we see that with children.
And as far as adults are concerned, this is a sacred opportunity for them to lead them, guide them, walk beside them, help them find the way. This is part of their ministering role and responsibility, as far as children are concerned. And so as children seek and act upon personal revelation, they also learn organization skills. They learn about councils. Their hearts are more tender, more receptive to the Spirit, as they’re looking outward instead of inward.
And in relation to what Sister Porter talked about as far as connecting this responsibility to their covenants, this isn’t simply an invitation to be good, but also an invitation to do good. And so they’re putting those covenantal responsibilities to work in the community. And it really is extraordinary to see what can come of that.
7:33
Mary Richards: I love that. I want to make note of what you said: plan, invite and serve. And the children are involved in each of those steps with their leaders walking beside them and guiding them.
Sister Amy A. Wright: Yes. And this isn’t just inviting the children to participate. We hope the children invite their friends and that they invite their families and that they include entire branches and wards and stakes to participate as well.
7:56
Mary Richards: And Sister Browning, let’s talk a little bit about the timing and planning and coordination; who are we talking about and when, and those kinds of questions people might have.
Sister Tracy Y. Browning: I think that’s a great question. I think there is a lot of opportunity here for this to be flexible. The opportunity is for us to consider during that year: What is the best time for Primaries and stakes, wards and local levels to do this in a way that is meaningful, certainly, where there’s adequate time to go through the exercise that we’ve heard that involves planning with the children, coming up with those ideas, helping them kind of execute on those ideas, and making sure that that can be a meaningful experience? And then also remembering that we look to invite others to join, so: What is the scale of that invitation, and what are the ways that we’re going to make sure that invitation has the broadest and best reach in that opportunity?
So, there’s flexibility. And as Sister Wright mentioned, we do want the children to lead out, but we want our adults, those whose responsibility it is to minister to them and teach them, especially in Primary, to help them understand how to do that. So, sitting down and teaching counseling and counseling with them, and parents certainly involved in helping their children answer questions like, “What needs do we see in the community?” “What needs do we see within our neighborhoods?” “What needs do we see within the membership of our ward?” “What can we do to serve?” And especially serve in ways that might be meaningful to other children and be flexible in that opportunity.
9:31
Mary Richards: Yeah. Those who might wonder, “Well, where do we even begin?” Can we point them to, “You might already be doing some of these service activities in your wards and stakes,” but if you also need ideas, we always love to point people at the Church News to JustServe, the app and website. That’s a good one.
9:47
Sister Tracy Y. Browning: JustServe is a great resource. I think you mentioned ward council is another great place to consider where opportunities are for service that the children may be able to expand on. But JustServe is a fabulous site that allows a lot of us to go in and really hone in on opportunities. If you go to the JustServe website, you can narrow your scope of what it is you’re trying to accomplish.
For instance, you can look for service opportunities that specifically benefit children, which is one of the objectives of the annual service project. You can also look for group activities. You can focus that on areas by location. So there really is a lot of opportunity to scale your service suitable for all ages and identify audiences that might be meaningful as a resource.
10:31
Mary Richards: Yeah. We can point out, too, that in our Church News article from January announcing this initiative — this invitation, really, from the presidency — that there’s a lot of questions and answers there, frequently asked questions. People can refer to those. And also, we should maybe also, President Porter, point people to the General Handbook, too, and some thoughts in there for them?
10:51
President Susan H. Porter: Absolutely. And I wanted to respond when you said the invitation’s coming from the Primary general presidency. It might be interesting for people to know: How do these thoughts and ideas come to fruition? Because we as a presidency, in reading these articles, just felt the Spirit flood over us that this is something our Primary children could do in our day.
And so what happens, then, is we take these thoughts and ideas and feelings to the councils of the Church. And so we made a series of proposals at the councils of the Church up through the Quorum of the Twelve, this went to the First Presidency. We as a Church, it’s a special blessing that we all bring our inspiration to the table in councils, and we are led by priesthood keys, prophets, seers and revelators. And so, as this announcement came out, certainly we are kind of the voice, but we are not speaking by ourselves. It’s a united effort.
And so, as the announcements go out, they’re going out to all of the Church leaders throughout the world, and so we hope then that means that our Primary presidencies at the stake and ward level will feel the full support of their ward and stake councils and that this will be a really focused and elevated effort to help our children, as Sister Wright said, learn counseling skills, learn to seek inspiration.
And as Sister Browning mentioned, children are just the most natural at sharing the gospel, but what an incredible opportunity to invite friends at school or in the neighborhood to join in cleaning up the local playground or providing materials for children in the hospital. Whatever it is, it’s a normal and natural invitation to invite those not of our faith to join in these wonderful causes.
12:54
Mary Richards: When people serve together, they grow closer to each other and to their communities and their families. But I’ve also heard so many times our Relief Society General President Camille N. Johnson speak about how when we are serving as the Savior would, we draw closer to Him ourselves. Sister Wright, you’re nodding too, yes.
13:13
Sister Amy A. Wright: I love that. It really is a strange paradox, when you think about it, that the more we give, the more we receive. And that’s because at the very foundation of what we’re doing is our Savior, Jesus Christ.
When Sister Porter was talking about this process, the revelatory process as a presidency but also the council process in the Church, it was a unanimous, resounding, wholehearted “Yes.” And I think the reason why is because children are altruistic by nature. They tend to see the world through the eyes of our Savior, Jesus Christ. They love as He loves, they forgive as He forgives, and they strive every day to serve as He serves.
And I love when Sister Browning was talking about how the depth and breadth and the scope of this can vary. And the powerful thing about that is, because we are following in the footsteps of our Savior when we lift those hands that hang low, is that there is no such thing as a small act of kindness. And when we extend an arm of love or friendship or help, the ripple effect and the impact is endless.
14:24
Mary Richards: I just had this thought that when we might feel overwhelmed or a little bit daunted by these things, we can remember our covenants. We are promised, and we hear this every Sunday, that His Spirit will be with us. And this can be something we teach our children. I’m thinking of my own children — I’m being selfish as I talk to you, because I have Primary-aged children — and I think maybe this can be an opportunity to teach them about that.
What do you think, Sister Browning?
14:45
Sister Tracy Y. Browning: One of my favorite scriptures is in Acts 10:38, that talks about how “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power,” and then it says that Jesus “went about doing good.” And I think about this opportunity for our Valiant-aged children to plan this activity, and we’re specifically talking about children who are 8 to 11, so we are within our age range of children who have been baptized, who have been confirmed members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and who have received the gift of the Holy Ghost in their lives; and helping them use that gift to follow their example of the Savior and go about doing good.
This is a wonderful experience for them to center their service on being like Jesus Christ, following His example, because they, too, are also anointed by the Holy Ghost and also have power in their lives to serve, to be a part of God’s work, even the work of salvation and exaltation. This is about caring for those in need, and this will be their opportunity to be a part of that magnificent and miraculous opportunity in God’s work.
15:53
Mary Richards: You’ve taught this, President Porter, that our baptized children, they’re members of the Church. We don’t have to wait for a certain time and “OK, now let’s have them be involved.”
President Susan H. Porter: Yes. I love that this is also another opportunity. We’ve also taught and encouraged our, for instance, our singing time leaders in Primary. When you are singing a special song in Primary, there are so many beautiful ones now, and you feel the Spirit in the room, stop and ask the children how they’re feeling.
Don’t tell them what; “I’m feeling goosebumps” or “I’m feeling this or that” — “What are you feeling?” Help them identify that feeling as coming from the Spirit. We hope the same thing happens with this service activity, that the adults take regular opportunities during the planning, maybe right after a prayer to be led in the planning, or as they gather together after the activity is over, to ask the children, “How did you feel when you were gathering together, when you invited your friend to join?”
And help them connect that to the feeling of the Spirit, and then also that they will then understand the counsel given by King Benjamin to his people: “When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God” (Mosiah 2:17). And it will help them connect those two as they identify, “Oh, that was the Spirit. I felt grumpy that morning, but when I got out of bed and gathered with friends and neighbors to serve, I felt warm. I felt peaceful.” They will connect that to the Savior, to serving God and to the Spirit.
17:32
Sister Amy A. Wright: I was just thinking, as Sister Porter was talking, that we live in a troubling world. These children are growing up in some unique times, and there’s a lot to be anxious about, to be concerned about, maybe even be afraid of. And as we turn inward with those thoughts — I know we’ve all experienced this, that we’ve had trials and challenges in our lives — the world can become a really dark and scary place.
But when we turn outward and when we seek to help one another, to lift those hands that hang low, as was mentioned earlier, to strengthen those feeble knees, to wipe away one another’s precious tears, to go about doing good, as Sister Browning referenced, we find joy and light, and it can help with that anxiousness. Some of these children have lost someone they love, and it gives them a place to put their grief. And so, when we go about doing good, we also heal, and that healing comes from our Heavenly Father and our Savior, Jesus Christ.
18:36
Mary Richards: We talked about councils, and you each serve on our executive councils in the Church. And I just remembered, Sister Wright, something you told me earlier about your experience on the Missionary Executive Council. And that idea of service made me think, too, that this can be a missionary opportunity for our Primary children as they invite their friends, Sister Wright.
Sister Amy A. Wright: That’s right. And the unique thing about children inviting their friends is they also end up, those friends, end up bringing their families, their entire families; their parents, their siblings. And so this absolutely is a wonderful opportunity to help gather others unto Jesus Christ.
19:17
Sister Tracy Y. Browning: I think their invitations are always so natural. For me, I’ve always said that we as a community, we tend to still be cheerleaders of children, so their invitations are really meaningful and special. And I can consider, if I live in a community where a local ward has determined to do a service project, and somehow that invitation extends not just to the meetinghouse, but it goes into the broader communities, and someone knocks on my door from the Primary and hands me an invitation saying, “We’re planning this good thing. Would you like to come and join us?” I know for sure that face that comes with that invitation is coming with purity and sincerity and a desire to do good.
Their invitations are so genuine that I really think that they’re an easy yes. They’re the best missionaries because their intentions are so pure, and they’re just really willing to show love and to invite in such a sincere way that I think people will be pricked and touched by their efforts. So, I love that this is a missionary opportunity for our Primary friends, because they’re the best missionaries. They’re the beginning stages of inviting others to come to know Jesus Christ.
Sister Amy A. Wright: And children serving children; who wouldn’t want your children to be part of that?
20:27
Mary Richards: We see that history, like you talked about, throughout the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, children serving other children. We’ve shared examples in the Church News of different service activities that we’ve seen take place. Stakes send us some of those ideas, you’ve sent me some of those ideas as well.
Talk about, then, maybe this invitation that we could tell some of these stories of these service projects this year.
20:49
President Susan H. Porter: We are encouraging every ward and stake to send pictures and stories from their children planning, inviting and serving. And we’ve focused in on our Valiant-aged children; that simply means we want them involved in the planning, in the inviting. This is for all ages of Primary children — we want to make sure that’s understood — and for all ward members and neighbors and friends.
I love thinking as we’ve been talking about the work of salvation and exaltation. It really shows in this one activity it’s all actually one, because it’s helping children live the gospel of Jesus Christ, following His example. It’s caring for those in need, looking outside yourself. It’s inviting others to learn of the gospel as we invite them to participate in our Savior’s service, and uniting families. As Sister Wright said, children are going to come with their parents, their grandparents, their neighbors, and standing side by side. It’s a beautiful way for all of those to come together.
21:58
Mary Richards: Oh, yes. I’d love to also talk, then, along these same lines, about the next Friend to Friend broadcast, coming on Feb. 15. And then the next after that is in September.
Can you share more about the Friend to Friend broadcasts and why these are so important, and what they’ll talk about this year?
22:16
President Susan H. Porter: This is so exciting. We hope all of our Primary children, leaders and parents watch this episode, because it will show in a beautiful way one way and many of these principles for planning and holding a service activity. In the past, some of our Friend to Friends have focused on sharing the love of Jesus Christ one by one, and we certainly want all of our Primary children to be watching out for the child who’s sitting alone. This is focusing on: Some needs need all of us to come together to contribute, to make a difference.
So, this one goes through a process. It features Elder David A. Bednar and his wife, Sister Susan K. Bednar, meeting with a real Valiant 10 Primary class here in Salt Lake City and talking to them about service and about needs in their community. Then you’re going to see them going out and planning and performing their activity. Then at the end, they’re going to come back and have another discussion with Elder and Sister Bednar about what they felt and what they learned. So, Sister Browning, Sister Wright, each of us, we just had little glimpses into that special opportunity.
23:34
Sister Tracy Y. Browning: I had the privilege of watching these Valiant-aged children organize at a park and invite so many others within the community, as well as other children in the Primary, to help clean up the park. And it was really special to watch the children take lead and really say, “OK, here are the rakes; let’s make sure those get handed out. Here are the bags; let’s make sure we have them ready to collect all of the debris and things that we need to clean up at the park.
I watched the smallest in Primary, some who might be right at the beginning ages of our nursery experience or at the top age of our nursery experience, with small rakes raking up leaves. And I watched some of our Valiant-aged children leading the effort and really being thoughtful about, “Oh, there’s some opportunities over here to clean up,” and I love that we got to see community members and parents and friends come and support them in this effort. And the result at the end of it was that we have this beautiful space for people to come to.
And it was something the children thought of on their own. They thought, “Here’s an opportunity in our community, a place where we know could need this help,” and they really wanted to find ways to invite others to make this space more beautiful. And it was captured on film, and they were able to really make a difference for neighbors who lived around that community, so much so that one of the neighbors whose property abuts the park came out and was wondering, “What are you all doing?” And we had a great opportunity to explain to her how the children wanted to come and clean up this park, and that neighbor was grateful for their efforts.
25:10
President Susan H. Porter: I had the opportunity to come with that Primary class on the day that they made the invitations. And so, when I came on a Sunday, the Primary children took invitations into the young men and young women. And, boy, when they walked out of that Primary room were they standing up straight and proud, because they were going to invite the young women and the young men to come and join the activity they had planned. They were going to explain it. It was a really powerful moment.
We were involved in the filming at the end and with our hosts, and it was so amazing to hear their thoughts about service.
25:51
Sister Amy A. Wright: Yes, it was really fun. As you see the common thread of children leading out as they planned, as they invited and as they served. But they also had an opportunity to lead out a little bit with the general Primary presidency. And this is a little teaser, but we had our hosts teach us how to make a craft that was very symbolic and significant to what we’re asking children to do all over the world. And it’s something you just need a piece of paper for and some scissors, and maybe some colored pencils or some crayons.
And it was wonderful, because it’s something we had never done before, and they did a wonderful job, step by step, teaching us to do something that was meaningful. And it brightened all of our days. So, you see children leading in various capacities, and something as simple as teaching someone to do something they didn’t know how to do is also a form of service.
26:49
Mary Richards: I love that you’re giving me little spoiler alerts for the next Friend to Friend. But this is also an invitation, as you mentioned, to not just turn it on for your children; “Here’s the Friend to Friend. You should watch it.” Let’s watch it with them as parents and leaders, Primary teachers, and learn from these patterns that are being taught.
Well, we always love to give our guests the last word on the Church News podcast And so, our last question is always: “What do you know now?” And so I’ll start with Sister Browning and then Sister Wright, and we’ll end with President Porter.
And I’d like to ask each of you: What do you know now about children in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and about their capacity and potential to serve? Sister Browning?
27:28
Sister Tracy Y. Browning: Thank you, Mary. It’s been a wonderful privilege to be with you today and to have this conversation. I can say that what I know now about the children of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is that they are disciples of Jesus Christ. And as we invite their discipleship into His kingdom and into His work, we increase their capacity to do exactly what the Savior did, which was to go about doing good.
And our efforts to help magnify that discipleship can have ripples well beyond their time in Primary. They can establish a foundation of love and of service and of care that propels their spiritual momentum into their youth and into their adult years, because they’re centering their relationship and their discipleship in the Savior, Jesus Christ.
And I think that’s a really important aspect of being a member of the Church, is focusing our efforts on the Savior and also having opportunity to invite our efforts in His kingdom. And we hope that this opportunity with the annual service project gives a place for that for children in God’s kingdom.
28:37
Mary Richards: Thank you. Sister Wright?
Sister Amy A. Wright: I’m reminded of a scripture in the Book of Mormon in Alma 37:6: “By small and simple things are great things brought to pass.” And we have seen the manifestation of this regarding children in the past, and we will continue to do so in the future.
I was also reminded of Nehemiah in the Old Testament and how he was given the sacred commission to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, and also to rebuild the spiritual life of his people. Now, when we’re rebuilding or building a fortress or a wall, every single stone, every single rock, is absolutely essential to fortify it and make it strong.
And I think we can see that same connection when we’re building the kingdom of God, that we need to engage and enlist and invite every single one of our baptized and confirmed members to help prepare for the Savior’s Second Coming. And our beloved Prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, recently said, “The best is yet to come ... because the Savior is coming again.” And our precious children are an essential and vital part in preparing for the Savior’s return.
Our Heavenly Father and Savior, Jesus Christ, love them, need them, and most importantly, They trust them. And so should we.
29:58
Mary Richards: Thank you, Sister Wright. President Porter?
President Susan H. Porter: Thank you so much for this opportunity, Mary, to share with you this Primary service initiative. And to invite this final question, what do we know now, it’s so interesting with the Savior, because He has told us to “behold your little ones” (3 Nephi 17:23). He’s told us unless we become like they are, we cannot inherit His kingdom. He’s also given us the mandate to teach them and to prepare them. And so, both of these come together in this beautiful Primary service initiative, where we’re building on their natural, God-given tenderness to those who are suffering.
How often have we taken a walk with a child or been with them and they see another child crying or sad, and they just want to stop, and they feel so tender toward them. So, we’re building on their natural, God-given tenderness. And then we’re helping expand their vision in the community, helping them with counseling together and serving together and becoming leaders. We’re helping them identify that it’s the Spirit, because they are involved in the sacred work of Christ, which is blessing all of His sons and daughters.
It’s such a humbling experience to serve in Primary. I think every parent, every neighbor, every aunt and uncle, everyone in Primary who spends time with children considers it a sacred opportunity and what we learn from their tender spirits. So, we hope and pray that parents and leaders will consider this a very important invitation, as it can help children in a very troubled world realize what they can offer.
We think so much about the feeding of the 5,000, and in John chapter 6, he mentions that a young lad is the one who brought forth the loaves and the fishes. And the question was, “Well, what are these among so many?” But the Savior took that offering. It said, “Jesus took the loaves” (John 6:11). And I think as our children gather and bring their little loaves and fishes and bring them all together, we can say, “Well, what are they among all the needs across the world?” But I testify and know that as these children each bring what they have to offer to this effort and many other efforts, that the Savior will magnify it to lift hearts and to meet needs.
And we collectively believe our witness and testimony of the reality of the Savior, of our Heavenly Father and of our dear Prophet, who is encouraging us to act on the covenants we have made. And we do this humbly in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
33:21
Jon Ryan Jensen: Thank you for listening to the Church News podcast. I’m your host, Church News editor Jon Ryan Jensen. I hope you learned something today about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and had your faith in the Savior increase by looking through the Church News window as a living record of the Restoration. Please subscribe, rate and review this podcast so it can be accessible to more people. And if you enjoyed the messages we shared today, please share the podcast with others. Thanks to our guests; to my producer, KellieAnn Halvorsen; and to others who make this podcast possible. Join us every week for a new episode. Find us on your favorite podcasting channels or with other news and updates about the Church on TheChurchNews.com or on the Church News app.
