Hosai Mojaddidi – Rite of Passage for Muslim & Mormon Youth Interfaith Chat & Renee Andrus
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AI: Transcript ©
In Islam, children are seen as being in a state of purity. So
they're free of sin. And this is what we refer to as fitrah. And so
they're in a stage of wonder, and they incline of course, to
exploration and play. So there is a great emphasis on allowing them
to be children, but also to nurture them with love and gently
guide them towards good behavior, virtuous behavior, proper
etiquette, which is defined in the Arabic term here as adults. And
children should also be introduced to the six articles of faith in
Islam, which are really make up the creed of what a Muslim
believes in which entail the belief in the oneness of God. The
angels, Muslims believe in a presence of the angelic realm, in
messengers that were sent by God to convey the message of truth,
the holy books, which include the gospel, as well as the torah, the
Psalms of David, and then of course, the Koran, and then the
Day of Judgment, that there will be ultimately a reality where we
will stand before God and account for ourselves, and divine decree.
And obviously, this would all be done in age appropriate ways. And
we really try to stay away from concepts like punishment, and how
and the demonic realm although these are certainly part of the
creative, a believer in those early stages, we try to emphasize
more things that a young child because of their imagination, that
it could align with that and not induce any type of fear. So and
then later, as they mature, we can introduce those those elements.
And then, of course, virtuous behavior, through storytelling. So
there's a great emphasis on telling stories from previous
prophets from saintly people, as well as role modeling. So adults
are also responsible to make sure that they possess those same
virtues, and allow children to, to really mature gradually and
organically in that way. So that's the first stage of childhood and
then we move into the second stage, which is that pre
adolescent stage, and this is now the stage of instruction. And this
is where children are to be taught. And the emphasis is on
learning the fundamentals of practical faith, right how faith
moves beyond belief, but into action. So in this stage, youth
are understood to have reached the age of what we call discernment,
and they are they know right from wrong. So they should be taught
self discipline through proper behavior, right morality,
chastity, PT, proper speech, so truthfulness, avoiding idle talk,
speaking about things that are of no benefit, foul language, they
should not speak in foul language, they should also dress properly,
which would be modest and loose fitting clothing. So this would be
all the things that in this stage of pre adolescence a child would
be instructed with, and then also the importance of time management
and structure. So in Islam, as we'll get to in a moment, there
are many components of the ritual faith that actually have to do
with schedule, and time and structure. And so children are
introduced to these ideas early. And that includes, you know, the
requisites of worship, which would have to do with lustration, or
ablution. And this is the ritual wash that Muslims do before
prayer, and also the ritual bath that we do to purify oneself out
of certain states like menstruation, for example. And
then also being taught the five pillars in a more detailed way. So
in this stage, that pre adolescent stage children should would
typically receive this instruction. And just for those
who are not familiar with the five pillars of Islam, the five pillars
are basically the the aspects of the faith that really support the
faith of a Muslim believer.
First would be the declaration of faith, which is just testifying in
the oneness of God, and the prophethood of Muhammad. And once
a person does that in with witnesses, they would be
considered a Muslim. And at that point, they would then be taught
to how to pray five times a day or more, there are optional
supererogatory prayers that one can do, but there are prescribed
prayers every single day, from the dawn prayer noon, prayer,
afternoon, evening, and then late to evening, for I'm sorry, dusk,
Night, night prayer, and then the late evening or night prayer. So
those are spread out throughout the day. And so these are the this
is the type of instruction that a young adolescent would receive to
understand the meanings of the prayer and the times of the prayer
the way to prepare for the prayer. And also what to say during the
prayer. And then there's a cat is just something that they would
know but not necessarily it
spected to pay which would be a tithing, or 2%, two and a half
percent of one's savings that they would give to the needy, the poor,
usually through a mosque or an organization. The fasting, which
we just had the month of Ramadan, is also the fourth pillar of
Islam. And this is to really practice restraint, abstinence, to
feel for the needy and the hungry and the poor, to feel empathy
towards them. And then the Hyde, which is the once in a lifetime
pilgrimage to Mecca, so a pre adolescent would, would receive
all of this instruction and understand that these are aspects
of their faith that eventually as they reach adulthood and maturity,
they would be responsible for. And then the last stage of that
adolescence period is the stage of accountability. And this is when
they are really taught to establish a strong faith identity,
and to have consistent practice. So here, you know, they're they
are seen as spiritually, adults. And so understanding that they are
accountable for themselves and that they are now you know, that
their deeds are being recorded. Right. So in Islam, there is an
idea, the idea that our deeds are being recorded that there are
scribes in the form of angels, with every individual writing
their good and their bad deeds. And at the age of this period,
where a child reaches the stage of, you know, adolescence fully,
again, the onset of the period or other physiological changes, then
they would be responsible for themselves and now they would be
taught about the importance of rectifying oneself and, and coming
to terms with one's own, you know, spiritual challenges. So we have
an entire body of study in Islam, that helps individuals to
understand what we've coined maybe today as spiritual psychology, the
diseases of the heart and spiritual diseases, right. You
know, anger, rancor, envy, all of these are similar to the seven
deadly sins, really helping youth to come to grips with how they can
overcome those and what is required to overcome those types
of diseases. We would also define for them the four evils of the
world which which start with the ego, though that one's own lower
base self is actually considered an impediment to God, right that
it would it would challenge one spiritually, and then desires
right vacillating desires and whims, that are, you know, that
change and fluctuate that those are also evils, the temptations of
the material world and the devil. So defining these four, upstream,
you know, obstructions or evils that come between one and God for
the youth is important. And then to practice self restraint,
abstinence, spiritual discipline, this, this comes through
consistent worship those five daily prayers that are spread out,
it comes through fasting through being more charitable, through
serving other people, especially the needy and the poor. So this
stage of adolescence is really where we see a growth and
maturation again, because of the combination of all of these
different stages. So when we move from that now we can explore the
rites of passage that are commonly practiced in many Muslim cultures.
So first,
the first thing would be the introduction to and the emphasis
on purification and hygiene. There are many quotes from the Prophet
Muhammad, peace be upon him and other passages of the Quran that
talk about purity and cleanliness, as being very essential to the
practice of a Muslim. So ritual cleanliness is is is early
introduced early to young children, boys are circumcised in
Islam generally at birth, or before the age of seven. Children
are also washed regularly even after using the restroom, they are
taught to wash and not just, you know, clean, I mean, there's a
specific way of cleanly cleaning themselves, but water is
definitely used. And then also, they're taught the steps of
lustration, which is in Arabic will do and this is what one does
to prepare for the prayer or preparing for the recitation of
the Quran. There are certain ritual acts that are required one,
require one to be in a state of ritual cleanliness. And so the
child would be instructed on how to do that. And then young, the
pre adolescent girls are also taught about menarik or
menstruation and how to purify themselves for prayer and ritual
worship after that. So this would be one of the ways that um,
younger children are introduced to again, this aspect of God
Have have the faith. And then the components of prayer, introducing
children to components of prayer is also something that happens
generally around the age of seven to 10. So children, for example,
would would always, even younger children, be encouraged to pray
alongside their parents, just in congregation standing next to the
prayer parents or the adults, even older siblings and learning the
motions of the prayer. And at that point, if they, you know, if the
parents wish to, they could certainly teach them some of the
the passages of the Quran or the supplications that they would
recite, but it would not be required of them to pray five
times a day, or to do any of that it would be more just practice,
practice. And then they could certainly do that at the mosque as
well. And then when a child does reach the age of 10, oftentimes
after that, those few years of practice and kind of getting into
the habit of prayer, they would then have what is typically called
a prayer party.
And this would be again, when a child is now ready to commit to
praying regularly with the family or independently completely on
their own because they have all of the prayers memorized. So then
there will be a party, some ceremonial party with friends and
family to inaugurate this new phase of the child's prayer
relationship with prayer. And so that would be around the age of
10. Typically, then we also have other customs for when a child is
introduced to memorizing or reading the Quran in Arabic. As
you may know, the Quran is recited in Arabic, from Muslims of all
backgrounds and all different languages. They are taught in the
Arabic language, how to pray and how to read the Quran. So many
families will actually from a very young age, teach some of those
fundamental chapters of the Quran. For example, the very first
chapter of the Quran is called Al Fatiha, which means the opening,
and that is the main chapter that is read in every single unit of
prayer multiple times a day. So oftentimes, parents will introduce
that for young children, as well as some of the other publications
and then also the Arabic language itself, learning phonics, the
recognition of the letters, learning how to read, so a lot of
young children actually do oftentimes know how to read
Arabic, even if they are not fluent in Arabic, they will know
that Arabic letters, there are songs and a lot of videos and
other, you know, children have made for children, you know, ways
for for children to learn. And then once a child in some
cultures, once a child is ready to actually begin to read the Quran
for the very first time that some cultures will have what they call
a Bismillah ceremony or party, which this one means in the name
of God. And that is the very first thing that one reads when they
read the Quran. So that's why it's called Bismillah. And it's just
symbolizes that this is the onset of a child's relationship with
reading the Quran for the first time. So some parents will hold a
ceremony with their family and friends sometimes at a mosque in a
larger setting and invite community members to honor the
child's, you know, intention to read the Quran. And then at the
end of that, when the child actually completes the entire
reading cover to cover, they will have an mean or Amen, which is how
prayers are concluded, of course, party and that, again symbolizes
that the child has completed an entire reading of the Quran cover
to cover. So these are ways that many children find again, ways to
celebrate their own unique relationship in the faith. We also
have
other ways that some cultures like to address aspects again of the
faith I mentioned before the encouraging encouragement of
modest dress and it's really important that young children from
an early age are encouraged to dress modestly so you will find
sometimes if you see pictures of Muslim children at Islamic schools
or even in the mosque, you may find them modeling after their
mothers or other figures in their family the dress so they may wear
the hijab, as I am wearing right now young girls or what we call a
Koofi, which is similar to the the Jewish skullcap that Jews were but
a little bit larger. So you may find children dressing like that
at an early age they're not required to to dress that way. But
it's more just, again encouraging them so that when they reach that
age of maturity, maturation and what we would refer to as
adulthood in a
Islam, that they are now responsible and really do see
themselves to or take on the practice of modest dress. And then
in other cultures, young girls specifically when they are ready
and it is their decision to wear the hijab, so when they decide for
themselves that they want to commit to wearing full time, the
head dress or the hijab, they will in some cultures have a crowning
ceremony or party to again and celebrate the young girl's
intention because she wants to commit to a life of wearing the
hijab. So, these are all very commonly practiced customs to
again introduce young children to these concepts. And then lastly,
here we have the introduction to what we refer to as sunnah sports.
And this just sunnah is the way in practice of the Prophet Muhammad,
peace be upon him. So he encouraged active lifestyles,
healthy lifestyles, through eating and, and exercise. And there were
specific exercises that he also encouraged. So both young girls
and boys are, of course, encouraged to maintain their
health and well being through exercise, fasting, eating well,
but also through those three specific sports, which are
swimming, archery and horseback riding. So you will find that many
Muslim families will have classes for their young children, they
will either enroll them in swimming, or maybe personally in
their own homes or spaces will offer swimming lessons for them.
Also, archery is very common, you'll find many Muslim children
in archery or horseback riding. And this is all to fulfill this.
So in a sport that is highly encouraged. And in addition,
martial arts is also really important, just to protect oneself
and to learn mastery and discipline and maintain health. So
these are all ways that a lot of young Muslim children will, again
take on these practices to align themselves spiritually. Now, just
briefly, I don't want to go over too much, but the youth have a
very high status in Islam. There are many passages in the Quran and
stories that actually have to do specifically with noble youth. And
I'll share some passages in a moment. But also many iconic
figures, some shared with our Christian brothers and sisters,
like Prophet Ismail, who was, of course, the son of Prophet
Abraham, we know the sacrifice story, we believe that he, you
know, was very young teenage boy, when he submitted fully and
willfully to the Gods command of the sacrifice. And so he's hailed
as being again very virtuous in his own faith in his own right,
aside from being the son of a prophet, he went on, of course, to
also be a prophet in Islam. And then we have Maryam or Mary, the
mother of Jesus peace be upon them both. We also believe that she was
a young adolescent girl, and she is considered one of four perfect
women. And in some cases, you know, she because she received
that direct revelation from Angel Gabriel, some consider her also to
be a prophet. So there are those opinions. And then we have Ali ibn
Abi talab, who is the son in law and cousin of the Prophet Muhammad
peace be upon him, who later would go on to become the fourth Caleb
in Islam, he actually embraced the faith of Islam at the age of 11,
and was considered a very, you know,
his his youth was, was symbolic for many reasons, because he came
into the faith so early, but he's also hailed as being an icon of
the faith because of his, you know, just the intensity and the
strength of his faith in the commitment of his faith. So, all
of these are, and many more there are other examples as well of
youth that are well known, but in the Quran specifically, and this
will be, I'll end after this. These are just some passages where
youth are hailed or lauded or just, you know, there's stories
referenced about specific youth, that, that were very strong in
their conviction and faith. And so we have in chapter 18, verse 10,
years of quote, and other quotes as well about specific youth in
the time of Prophet Musa chapter 10, verse 83, Musa or Moses, as we
say, in English,
and then also some other passages. So there's, there's more, I just
got a handful here, but just to make the point that youth have
always been, had a very special or have a very special place in a
slum and are treated, depending on the different ages, with utmost
care and respect. And, and, and really, you know,
couraged to embrace their identity at each level. So that was the
presentation that I had. And I'm here for any questions. I hope I
didn't rush too much. And or, and I hope I didn't go over either. So
I'll go ahead and stop my my screen here. And I'm happy to
answer any questions in the time that I have left.
So, if people have questions, let's start with our in person
people. Can we take one question to start with from here? And does
anyone have a question for Hassan?
Yes.
So if advancement is is
determined by their physical maturity, so there's no age
specific, so everyone in bands is at a different age when it's
appropriate for them? Yes, absolutely. Thank you for asking
that. Because it's a, it's really important to clarify, yes, because
there's no specific number and each child matures at their own
pace, then it would be up to the families to discern, you know,
when a child would then be responsible for themselves. Some
as we know, we have early bloomers, we have late bloomers.
And so it really look at specific signs. So oftentimes, those that
that period of adolescence is signal or is, is marked by very
specific changes, the period of the onset of the menstruation for
girls, is typically when a girl would then be expected to conduct
herself as an adult that she has now left childhood, and so she
would be responsible for herself. And then for boys, there would be
changes like physical, bodily hair, or, you know, other
experiences, you know, physical, physiological changes that would
onset or that would, you know, indicate that the child has now
left that, you know, childhood period and is maturing into an
adult state.
There's no set number.
How about a question from someone in the zoo? Participants?
Any
sorry.
Well, people can just raise their hand and
I'll see if
someone have a question for the Zoom audience.
See, everybody?
You want to say?
I don't see anyone does anyone have a hand up or want to ask a
question? You can wave your hand if you need to?
I see Audrey, I think has unmuted. I don't know if if that was on our
end.
Oh, I had a note that said the host would like you to unmute.
Okay, you fell in direction. I thought.
I think we could take one more question before we invite our
second speaker up. So if there was no one in the Zoom audience with a
question, how about somebody here, Chris? Yes.
So I felt like a little bit of a negative question. I apologize.
But I'm curious. Three children before the age of accountability
should should a child die
in childhood? What happens to the child into judgment? Oh, that's a
wonderful question. Thank you. I mentioned earlier that children
are considered in an age of purity and that would apply to all
children of all backgrounds, that any child before they reach the
age of accountability would be considered in that state of
sinlessness and purity and therefore they would be there's a
lot of actual Islamic eschatology more detail about what happens to
children, but we believe that children are not questioned that
die in childhood or, or before that age, and there is no
accountability on them that they would be immediately you know, in
heaven, and we actually have very descriptive
passages or quotes that indicate that they would be with Prophet
Ibrahim peace be upon him and all of the children that die in this
earthly realm are gathered by Him. And He is the caretaker of all
children in heaven, awaiting the Judgment Day. So they have no no
issue. They're just in heaven, enjoying heaven and waiting for
for them
For the next world, oh no Muslim children that are just Muslim
children, this will be all children, any child, any child of
any background, it doesn't matter that we consider all children to
be pure and sinless.
Okay, thank you so much. Let's all give a big round of applause
Thank you all so much it really an
honor to speak with all of you. Thank you. Excellent. Excellent.
Such a clear speakers. Yes. Okay. And now, our next speaker
from church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, I wonder if you
want to recap because I recorded late you might want to just talk
to Hosni or or mentioned her background and so on introduced
Oh, yeah. Okay, we didn't turn the recording on right at the very
beginning. So you would have missed anyone who's watching out
later watches the recording would have missed that say is from
Muslim community center, Pleasanton.
Okay, and the topic I guess I'll read that again. How does your
community welcome children or youth into the faith? What Rites
of Passage Ceremonies are traditional in your culture? Okay,
thanks, Ellen. All right, Rene, welcome your day.
So thank you very much, I just want to quickly say to her sigh
That was so beautiful, and well spoken. And it also made me
realize, maybe how much I forgot and left out of what I wanted to
say.
It's good thing we do have quite a bit in common. And I love that we
have these interfaith connections, to learn about each other. And to
see, we really do have a lot more in common I think, then, or at
least, that I think I can only speak from my personal experience.
Now, in the New Testament books of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, there's a
story that is toes very short one. But in the three books that Scott
the same from obviously, the different authors, Jesus's
disciples were debating among themselves, who was the most
important. And so they asked him,
which of them should be the greatest. And I'm sure they were
expecting him to say, well, you are, of course, but instead, he
brought over a child that was nearby. And he set them he set the
child in the middle of the disciples. And He further
explained how important it is to be humble and teachable, and
loving, just like a child.
Now, because children are very impressionable, and they will grow
to be the next generation and our future leaders. It's in the
interest of our worldwide family, to teach and nurture these
children, not only in our homes, but in our communities of faith as
well, which often act as extended family. So as a member of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, I would like to share
and like Marsha has already talked about how we welcome children into
our faith, as well as some of our rites of passages and our cultural
experiences. But I like to kind of do it in a more of a first person
setting. And so when I was one and a half year old, years old, my
parents divorced. And knowing that my mother would be taking care of
my brother and I, for most of the time,
by order of the judge, I mean, because of the order of the judge,
like we would be in my mother's custody most of the time. My dad,
oddly enough, recommended that
she look into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints,
because my dad knew someone from his work. And he knew he was a
good family man. And for some reason that made an impression on
him. And so reluctantly, my mom agreed to do so. And to make a
long story short, she ended up learning more of the doctrine, and
over the course of a couple of months, was baptized and confirmed
in a church. And
on the following Sunday, our names were read aloud from the pulpit.
And people in the congregation, they raised their right arm, and
they welcomed us in. And that's kind of a more formal ritual,
welcoming people into the church. Now, generally, when a baby is
born to parents who are already members of our faith,
and is anywhere from maybe a few weeks to a few months old. She is
brought in front of the congregation to receive a blessing
from her father.
odor, and to have her name recorded on the records of the
church. I say herb, it could be a boy or girl.
The family of the baby chooses male relatives, such as uncles or
grandfathers,
as well as close friends to participate in the blessing
circle. So the dad will cradle the baby in his arms, while the others
in the circle, put their right hand under the baby, and their
left hand on the shoulder of the person in front of them.
And the blessing is actually like a prayer that is not scripted, and
is generally no longer than two to three minutes in length. And the
reason for that blessing is just that to bless the child, and then
also officially record the names upon the records of the church.
But what about cases like mine, where they're the father is
unavailable for various reasons. And that is where a ministering
brother or sister will come into the picture. Now in the case of
actual blessings that haven't just to be done by a male who is a
priesthood holder, but every member of the church is assigned
another brother or sister to minister to that family, no matter
how big or small.
And at the time, when I was a young girl, Stan Cochran was
assigned to our family, to make sure our needs were being met. And
teach us from the scriptures to make sure our spiritual needs are
being met as well. Now, there were I do remember many other brothers
and sisters talking by, and I don't remember all their names,
but Stan was the coolest. That's why I remember him.
He used to sometimes bring us little candy here or there. But my
mom, it was, it was pretty hard. I remember she did, she did work as
a bookkeeper and stuff. But we lived out in the country. And she
was barely making ends meet.
There were times I remember she would he organized members of the
congregation to come and help put a new roof on our house. One time,
my mother for Christmas time, she told us, you know, she had tears
in her eyes, she told us we wouldn't be having presents that
year. And of course, a couple days later, there was a anonymous
basket left at our, at our front porch, and I got a little stuffed
puppy. And I remember that too.
So it's very thankful for these other brothers and sisters who
would come and help look after us. Now,
throughout my childhood, on Sundays, at least. Well, let me
back up just a little bit more the church. And what we teach really
is our should be homeless centered. And church supported,
meaning that the majority of what we learn as children should be
taught in our homes. And then in a riched by the meetings we have
either on Sundays or the occasional meetings during the
week.
And that
in fact, I don't know how long ago but many, many years ago before I
was born, there was even set aside Monday nights, and we turned it
family home evening. Still call that today. We you have a little
lesson and an activity. Because it's also important to have fun.
It's not all about cracking the books, but it is about that family
wholesome together time.
I so back to my childhood. I did attend church for three hours.
And for the first hour,
the whole congregation needs together, everyone everyone is
together. And then the second and third hour, the was adult Sunday
School for the second hour. And then after that the women would
meet together or the men would be separate. Well for the children.
The second hour we would have
well, I guess depending on age group, you would have a time where
you would sing together and have more of a group lesson and the
songs are absolutely beautiful. They are all well we do have some
get the wiggles out songs but we also have songs that are teach
children the doctrine most simple often in a very
simple way. For example, there are songs to talk about. We came
before we came to earth we lived there
Your spirits were born here. And then after we die, life does not
end it continues on. But there's these beautiful songs. And luckily
2018
The Prophet announced that church would no longer be three hours,
but two hours. So that's been consolidated. And so now when the
children, in fact, I paid attention to this last Sunday,
it's very sweet after the congregation that for the
sacrament meeting,
not very reverent or dignified, but many of the children didn't
run to the corner, where were the room is for them to meet. So that
was good, because it showed me that they were excited to go see
their teachers and to meet with them and to sing and to have their
lessons.
Now, when I turned eight years old, I was able to be baptized in
our church, at the age of eight is what we termed to be the age of
accountability. And it's not because we're always making the
best choices. But it is about the age of eight, that we really do
have the concept between right and wrong.
And a baptism in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints,
the child put on a white suit, or dress. That's just a personal
preference. The father, or in my case, I chose Stan, brother,
Cochran, of course, because he was amazing, and I trusted him. And
you go down into a baptismal font. And there is the same prayer this
time, that is said, every time for a baptism. And we believe in
baptism by immersion. And so the child in this case, will be
immersed under underwater and brought back up after that, is the
opportunity for the child to receive the gift of the Holy
Ghost. And the actual small ceremony is looks a lot like the
baby blessing, where the men in the circle will put a hand on the
head of the child, and then the left arm on the shoulder of the
person in front of them,
and is pronounced, will then receive the gift of the Holy Ghost
to be able to be guided in
a more conscious way, throughout life totally make better
decisions. We believe that the Holy Ghost as a teacher may
testify as of the truth, and helps us to make good decisions that
also will bring things to our numbers that we that we need to
remember.
Now,
when I turned 12, for when children turns 12, that's when we
can enter into the either the young men or the young woman
program. And it used to be that the boys would be involved in the
scouting. But that is no longer
how they do it in churches, just just young men through through the
church. And then young women. Now I was so excited to go into the
young women because I really looked up to the older girls, and
I could then be just like them and be one of them.
At the age of 12, was have the opportunity to receive the Aaronic
priesthood, which gives them them the authority to pass the
sacrament or in other churches might be called the Lord's Supper.
And to to bless the sacrament as well.
And girls, we welcome each other
can be like a formal,
more of a formal ceremony. As the parents would be invited, the
families would be invited and there might be a musical
presentation. And we're each of the girls have been introduced.
And then maybe a fun activity or a treat planned. But often these
days when, when the girls turn 12 They are welcomed by the older
girls and maybe with like a pancake breakfast or whatever the
older girls plan on doing something fun for the girls to
make them feel special.
Now there's the Sunday meetings, but
an each Sunday meeting, and I forgot to print this out. But the
girls recite a theme and so do the young men these days.
And it's the same thing, theme and
maybe I could look that up later, you could just type in young men's
theme or young woman's theme for the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter Day Saints, and it's online. I do apologize
Do we have youth activity nights during the week, some are more
spiritual in nature, some are more service oriented in nature could
be maybe tying quilts or building things for families in need. It
just depends. Some are almost just pure game nights, there's a
variety of things that they do, it's generally on Tuesday or
Wednesday nights,
then the youth have the opportunity to also be a part of
their class presidency. For example, right now, my daughter is
part of the 12 to 13 year old class presidency, and they're not
many of those girls, in our specific congregation, I think
there's six girls, but that gives them a chance to learn some
leadership position to care for the other girls to pray for them
by name, to,
to take responsibility.
They also have a chance to speak in front of the whole
congregation, it's generally a five minute four minute speaking
assignment that maybe the bishop will call and ask them, and they
might have to do this once every year or two years. And it gives
them a public speaking, as well as a chance to
study up on on a specific topic.
And camp is the one that that I really, really loved. And if you
ask the youth, that's one of the things that they really look
forward to is once a year, they have a summer camp, and it's about
a week long. And they learn all sorts of things, it's just a time
to be away from technology, it's a time to
commune with God in a different way in nature, lots of fun
activities planned about a lot of togetherness, and that were just
so important. And the the leaders that I remember, it made such a
big difference in my youth. Such a difference.
I know we don't always I did not always appreciate the advice that
my parents gave me. But I will certainly listen to the advice
that the other good leaders gave me very grateful for that. Now,
also, when I entered high school, and when youth enter high school,
most most of the youth go to an early morning seminary class. I
wasn't always excited to wake up at 545. But I did it. And
it was worth the extra mornings and efforts. In fact, I had come
across some of my journals that I had written like I didn't even
remember writing a journal that much when I was in high school,
but I was going through some boxes during during quarantine. And I
came across some of my journals. And I often mentioned how grateful
It was to be able to go to seminary in the early mornings.
And I think it was because well I know it was because High School is
a hard time of life, you've got a lot of things done barding you
with people trying to pull you in different directions. And it was
nice to be able to go to seminary, every school morning. And how I
think at the time was like a 45 minute instruction time. And every
high school year, with the four years, we studied a different
scripts set of Scripture. So for example, one year in fact, I think
I happen to be in that order. It was Old Testament my freshman
year, that New Testament than the Book of Mormon, and then the
Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price.
And I'm just I'm just very grateful. It seriously does take a
village to raise a child and I'm grateful for the village that I
have and for all the people involved in my kid's life as well.
And so thank you for this opportunity.
Okay, so, relay. How about a question from the Harrison people?
Anyone have one ready right now who hasn't asked a question yet?
Okay, questions? Okay, hold on for just a moment, Chris, but you can
do more.
And let's look online and see Ali.
Have a question. Is there a concept of original sin in the LDS
church? No, there is not in that instance, I'd say we are
very close to the Muslim community that we believe that Jesus Christ
well, okay, so we back that up a little bit. So we do believe that
children are innocent. Okay. And then from there, we do believe
that they're innocent because Jesus Christ, a ton.
only for our sins and children. And if you want to ask the same
Christian question, Chris, that was asked earlier about if what
happens if a child dies before the age of accountability, they would
receive, like the highest order of having to be exaltation are not
really capable of committing sin, or that at least has already been
paid for.
By by Christ.
Um, hello. Back to the room
was another question doesn't Does anyone else have a question? No,
let's go. Let's have another chairman. Post news. But the
importance of
bringing out very thinking, okay, yes, it is.
So I suppose you could say it's a commandment that
for the young men anyway to serve a mission, and it is
encouraged or
very welcome for the young women to do so as well. The age changes
have changes have what I'm trying to say is the ages have changed. I
believe it's 18. Now for, for both men and women, it used to be a
little older, I think men were at 19 Women 21.
Before they could go on a mission. And now it's 18 across the board
for for anyone male or female to go. One year, one year, two years,
or a year and a half for for women. That kind of practical
question in terms of the morning seminary, not sure. How did you
actually get to that did your parents as well at the time. So
what I didn't tell you is my mom got remarried at the age of 10.
And then we had eight children in our family at the house.
So I personally got to say, because that was my ride, also to
school. We lived out in the country. But there was that was
more we all just got in the car and went
then I could drive after a while. And so I drove and I drove my
younger siblings as well then
was it at the school or was at the church is that the church now,
there was a church close enough to my high school, I grew up in
Clovis in the Fresno area. And there's kind of a large, larger
population of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter
Day Saints down there. And so at our particular billion at the
time, this is what
91 To 95 There are over 100 students in the morning attending
that same building, General.
A lot of times the LDS churches or near schools are the reason why I
know in Utah, where more members of the church are per capita, they
actually have a release time from school where they could go back
across the street and do that that's part of their allowed
curriculum.
Lm is there another question on the chat? No, I don't suggest a
lot of the thank yous for the talk. Okay. No other questions I
can see. See any hands on the screen?
Okay, well, let's get Renee.
All right. So we're
here, okay, looks like we're ready to move on to the next
portion.
We will break into small groups for anyone who would like to do
that. And we may have a little, I'm not sure exactly how to work
this out. But if people, people on Zoom, if you want to hold on just
for a minute, I'll make some announcements. And then what we
usually don't presume is anyone after the announcements who wants
to say for breakout group, they stay and other people sign off. So
we know how many people that we have to figure out the sound so
that we're not hearing anyone tell you that here. Maybe we can do
that, but not do that. Okay, so we might so if, if you're on Zoom
today, yes.
Sorry. You can just mute the TV, and they can get asleep to the TV
and everyone can talk here. If there's a discussion that we want
to have that certain we could do that but if people really want to
break into small groups, or we could just leave it if people want
to discuss. Sometimes it's nice to be able to speak in small groups
looks like there are but about six, seven people left
Okay, so if we assign people into the small groups, they they won't
be heard I don't hurt
themselves, right? Yeah. ourselves. Yeah. Okay, so I think
we can do that. And then from here, we can just break into
little clusters that let's see.
So for the next few minutes in chat, Junaid, zoom and in person,
and we will be meeting at Muslim community center in Pleasanton. We
have that we're going to be doing the same topic, and our speakers
who are already committed they are Trish Monroe, from congregation,
Beth EMIC. And representing the Sikh religion, Karen. Sandy, not
sure I'm pronouncing that correctly, he is just completing
high school. So apparently he's going to speak from his personal
experience. So that should be very interesting. Again, I'm going to
be speaking about how does your community welcome children youth
into the faith? What Rite of Passage Ceremonies are traditional
in your culture.
So I'm going to thank our presenters again. And thank you
everyone for coming. Whether you came on Zoom or in person, I think
if I may say so, considering it's our first I've led things went
pretty well. I thank everyone again for coming.