The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced a change in the young women theme during General Conference this past weekend. I must admit that when Bonnie H. Cordon, the Young Women General President, recited the new theme, I was excited and loved the changes. I immediately recognized some differences and made a mental note to go back and do a side-by-side comparison studying the differences between the old and new themes.
Although I grew up saying the old theme and loved it at the time, I am confident that the new young women theme is more in-line with what is right at this time. I think the changes signified a shift in focus or an emphasis in what is most important for the young women of the church to know and internalize today.
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The Old Young Women Theme
The old young women theme went as follows:
WE ARE DAUGHTERS of our Heavenly Father, who loves us, and we love Him. WE WILL “STAND as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places” (Mosiah 18:9) as we strive to live the Young Women values, which are:
Faith • Divine Nature • Individual Worth • Knowledge • Choice and Accountability • Good Works • Integrity • and Virtue
WE BELIEVE as we come to accept and act upon these values, WE WILL BE PREPARED to strengthen home and family, make and keep sacred covenants, receive the ordinances of the temple, and enjoy the blessings of exaltation.
The New Young Women Theme
The new young women theme goes:
I am a beloved daughter of heavenly parents, with a divine nature and eternal destiny.
As a disciple of Jesus Christ, I strive to become like Him. I seek and act upon personal revelation and minister to others in His holy name.
I will stand as a witness of God at all times and in all things and in all places.
As I strive to qualify for exaltation, I cherish the gift of repentance and seek to improve each day. With faith, I will strengthen my home and family, make and keep sacred covenants, and receive the ordinances and blessings of the holy temple.
The Young Women Theme Changes
So what are the differences between the two? Here are ten changes I discovered after an analysis:
#1: Plural “We” to Singular “I”
The pronoun shift from plural to singular was a big change between the two themes.
Sister Cordon specifically called out this change. She said, “Notice the shift from ‘we’ to ‘I.’ These truths apply to you individually. You are a beloved daughter of Heavenly Parents. You are a covenant disciple of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I invite you to study and ponder these words. I know as you do, you will gain a testimony of their truthfulness. Understanding these truths will change the way you face challenges. Knowing your identity and purpose will help you align your will with the Savior’s.”
#2: Change to “Beloved Daughter”
What was once “We are daughters of our Heavenly Father, who loves us, and we love Him.” is changed to “I am a beloved daughter…” This change simultaneously simplifies and strengthens the message. Not only are we loved, but we are dearly loved!
#3: “Heavenly Father” to “Heavenly Parents”
I immediately noticed this word swap and was filled with joy when hearing it. We are not only daughters of a Heavenly Father, but we are also daughters of a Heavenly Mother! I personally am very grateful that the new theme recognizes our relation to a Heavenly Mother as part of our divine identity.
#4: Mention of “Divine Nature” and “Eternal Destiny”
In the first paragraph, the new young women theme mentions that we are each daughters “with a divine nature and eternal destiny.” This highlights our pre-mortal and post-mortal existence. We existed before we came to earth, and we will exist after we die. Not only that, but our existence is godly and eternal in nature.
#5: Retiring of the Young Women values
The official young women values (faith, divine nature, individual worth, knowledge, choice and accountability, good works, integrity, and virtue), which were supported by the Personal Progress program, have been retired. Instead, there is a new focus on young women each choosing the own areas they individually want to strengthen.
In the video that was released explaining this new youth program, President Nelson said, “Instead of giving you many specific assignments, we are inviting you to counsel with the Lord about how you can grow in a balanced way. It will be rewarding and fun. But it will also take some effort on your part. You will need to seek personal revelation. You will need to choose for yourself how to act on it. Sometimes the Spirit may prompt you to do things that are difficult. I think you are up to the challenge. You can do hard things.”
As President Nelson explained, this change gives more responsibility to young women and lets the Spirit guide them in their personal development.
#6: Calling Out Our Relationships with Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost
The new young women theme says, “As a disciple of Jesus Christ, I strive to become like Him. I seek and act upon personal revelation and minister to others in His holy name.” This addition is wonderful, as it highlights the need for us to follow and emulate our Savior. It also highlights our need to maintain a relationship with the Holy Ghost by receiving personal revelation.
I love how intertwined these two relationships are to us. As disciples of Christ, we seek to have the Holy Ghost guiding us on how to minister to others as Jesus would. We cannot be true disciples of Christ without the Holy Ghost’s help!
As the cherry on top of this section, it mentions how we do things in the name of Jesus Christ. This is beautiful! By doing things in Christ’s holy name, we are 1) obeying the commandment to do all things in His name, 2) acknowledging Him as our Savior and that His atonement and resurrection is essential to our lives and eternal progression, and 3) stating that we are representing Him and choosing to be His disciples. (This article is fantastic and explains the concept of doing things in Jesus Christ’s name in more detail.)
#7: A Shift in the Mention of Exaltation
The new phrase, “As I strive to qualify for exaltation…” is an interesting shift from the old “…and enjoy the blessings of exaltation.” The old phrase seems to mention the blessings of exaltation as the result of accepting and acting upon the young women values mentioned above. Yes, it is a result of action; however, the new phrase seems to highlight that exaltation is something that requires hard work. It requires striving and qualifying for.
#8: Mention of Repentance and Development
I absolutely love the new phrase, “As I strive to qualify for exaltation, I cherish the gift of repentance and seek to improve each day.” We are not perfect! What a relief it must be for young women who recite this new theme to be reminded that they can repent!
Working toward exaltation is a process. Perfection is not something that we master in this lifetime. Much is expected of us in order to qualify for exaltation, but if we cherish (hold dear to us) the gift of repentance and seek to improve each day, step by step, then we are progressing!
#9: Change from “We Will Be Prepared to…” to “With Faith, I Will…”
Between the old and new young women themes, much of the last stanzas are the same. Both include “strengthen home and family,” “make and keep sacred covenants,” and receive the ordinances of the temple. The difference is found mostly in what proceeds this string of phrases.
The old theme begins this section with, “We believe as we come to accept and act upon these values, we will be prepared to…” and the new theme leads with, “With faith, I will….”
Again, the retiring of the young women values comes into play here. Instead of relying upon the outlined values to make them prepared, young women must utilize faith. “Faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true” (Alma 32:21). As young women exercise their faith, their faith will be strengthened. (This is a great article on faith by Gordon B. Hinckley.)
#10: Addition of “Blessings” Regarding of the Holy Temple
The final difference I noticed was adding “and blessings” to the old phrase, “receive the ordinances of the temple.” It now reads: “receive the ordinances and blessings of the holy temple.” This subtle, yet nice change in the young women theme emphasizes to me how wonderful the blessings are that we receive from entering the temple, participating in the temple, and honoring our temple covenants. These beautiful blessings are lasting and eternal!
The Young Women Theme Change Highlights
With ten main differences found between the old and new young women themes, what stands out to me are these three overarching changes:
#1: The Theme Now is More Personalized
The shift to “I” instead of “we” and the retiring of the young women values means that young women reciting this theme should feel more individual ownership in the words.
#2: The Theme Now Includes Jesus Christ & the Holy Ghost
Two out of the three members of the Godhead were not mentioned in the old young women theme. Now, all three members of the Godhead and their role in our eternal nature and progression is evident.
#3: The Theme Now Emphasizes Repentance and Humility
With the new mention of the need to repent and improve each day, seek out promptings from the Holy Ghost, and live with faith, the new young women theme acknowledges weakness. We are not perfect people, we need the Holy Ghost to guide us, and we certainly do not have a perfect knowledge of things.
We are imperfect, mortal beings. That said, we are also each beloved daughters of heavenly parents, each with a divine nature and eternal destiny. So yes, we are weak, but through Christ we can be made strong, qualify for exaltation, and become goddesses.
What is your favorite part of the young women theme change? Please leave a comment below!
Pin it for Later – Young Women Theme Changes
