We have had our blog for about a year and a half now and I have had nothing but good feedback. I have been nothing but careful to be private about our blog so I won't share our blog address with you but I will share some of the things I have found to be helpful to the girls. I always try to announce what's happening at mutual. I typically have one post after the mutual of pictures of what actually happened while at the activity. The girls love to see the pictures. Plus I think it is something that keeps our group united. My hope is the girls who aren't able to come to Church or mutual still feel like they know what is going on. Also that parents will be able to be informed on what is going on with their daughters.
One of my new weekly blog posts is a way the girls can study for the coming lesson. As adults they ask us to study and be prepared for our lessons so why not start early with the YW?
So for example I would post something like this for the YW to study for the lesson...Growing and Maturing in Self-reliance....Part 2
"All families need strengthening , from the ideal to the most troubled. That strengthening can come from you"
OBJECTIVE: Seek to strengthen your relationship with your family as you become more self-reliant.
SCRIPTURES: Ephesians 6: 1-4, Doctrine and Covenants 93:40-43, Doctrine and Covenants 68:25, Doctrine and Covenants 42:88, Doctrine and Covenants 64:9-10
MAGAZINES: Strengthen Home and Family (The title of this article is a link. Click on it to read it. I make things easy!)
DISCUSSION: How can I improve my relationship with my parents? How can I gain and keep my parents' trust?
DEFINITION: self–re·li·ant : having confidence in and exercising one's own powers or judgment .
PERSONAL PROGRESS: Divine Nature value experience 5.
With our changing word I think it's important to keep up with our youth. Some of my best discussions have happened online, through e-mail or texting. I think blogging is like keeping a online scrapbook for all our YW to enjoy. Good luck!
After reading my comments about the YW blog I wanted to mention a few things.... First we got our bishop's approval for our blog. We then came up with a letter that he signed and we as a YW presidency also signed. Each parent and YW were given one. Here is a picture of that letter and then I have typed out what is written just in case you can't see my scanned image clearly...
Dear Young Women & Parents,
After much careful consideration we have decided that our Young Women could benefit from a blog. For various reasons we have girls that are unable to make it to mutual & to church. The blog will give ALL the girls the opportunity to keep in touch with what’s going on in our busy young women’s program. This is very exciting but for many may cause some concern. Education is the key! According to the Online Merriam-Webster Dictionary a blog is, “A website that contains an online personal journal with reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks provided by the writer.” Our YW blog will mainly be informative about what is going on in our program such as mutual activities, temple trips & information about personal progress. The writers of the blog will be YW leaders. The girls will be able to leave comments but these comments won’t be posted until they have been approved by a YW leader.
We want to assure you that this will be a safe online site to visit. The internet is a wonderful resource but also can be very dangerous. We suggest that parents take this opportunity to talk to your YW and educate them on safe internet behavior. Knowledge is power! In a talk given at BYU Hawaii Elder M. Russell Ballard said, “The Lord over centuries has had a hand in inspiring people to invent tools that facilitate the spreading of the gospel. The Church has adopted and embraced those tools, including print, broadcast media, and the internet. While the internet is often misunderstood and incomprehensible to many of my generation, it is second-nature to yours. Almost every career you are entering will require you to utilize the internet effectively.” Make sure the choices you are making on the internet are consistent with standing for truth & righteousness.
To read the blog you will need to go to_________________ . We invite both YW and parents to come see what’s going on in our program.
This is an additional resource for YW & parents to know what is going on at church. It will be up to each family if they would like to utilize the blog. Each YW class presidency will still be doing reminder phone calls & our newsletter will be mailed out monthly.
Sincerely,
Battle Ground Young Women Presidency
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Bishop
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Bishop
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I hope this is helpful for those thinking about starting a blog. I'm off to do my visit teaching....which is just like going and hanging out with my friend! Love it!
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