Youth Conference Day 1 Part 2

Right when we got to camp, the kids found their cabins and we met up for these Book of Mormon rotations. Each prophet had 45 minutes to tell their story and do an activity. For some it was a little too long and others, it was perfect timing for them..

This was Lehi. He dwelt in a tent-hence the tent in the background. After telling his story, he talked specifically about the Iron Rod.  

The kids held on to the iron rod as long as they could-hanging from a tree. Then he gave them a harness and had them hang from the iron rod. He talked about how much easier it is to hold to the rod with help. 

With Nephi, he talked about building a boat and the trials that came with that. He then gave the group 20 minutes to put together a boat using rope, bungee chords, some wood and some pipes. Once they built itm they had the rest of the time to get as many kids across as they could. They lose a point if they fall in the water and they gain points for convincing leaders to go across. 

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This was one was a highlight. The kids loved and it really engaged them. 

Another one of the rotations was Nephi and the bow. At the camp, there was an archery range which worked out great. He gave them a target with a buffalo on it and if they hit it, they got some beef jerky. He then pulled out a Liahona and talked about how the Liahona works and what happened to him when his bow broke. The kids really loved this one. 

This was the Anti-Nephi-Lehi. The idea was to give each kid a Popsicle stick and have them sand it down into a  sword. They were then going to write down their "favorite sin"on it, the group would dig a hole and throw the swords into the hole. He took a different approach of just writing on paper which I don't think was a crowd favorite, but I heard his conversation was good. 

This was Enos. Our plan was to have Enos share his story and then give the kids an opportunity to go find a spot in nature and pray and read to give them a more spiritual rotation. Instead, Enos decided to just talk to them for 45 minutes. That was a little disappointing to me, but oh well. 

 The one rotation that I don't have a picture of was Moroni. He talked about the importance of keeping a journal and then had the kids write their testimonies on gold plates. He found some really thick Gold paper online and he wrapped it around a piece of cardboard. It was really cool and I think the kids will love having that later in their lives.

Before each meal, the Stake 1st counselor asked a youth to share what they had learned so far. 

We made sure to get group shots of each group. Some stakes that have done this, had the youth dress up as well. Our stake leaders didn't think they would do it, so they decided to not do it. It would have looked really neat though. 

Of course, the end of the night ended with a dance in the parking lot. It worked out great and the kids were really into it. 

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This isn't the best picture, but they got a throne and some dress up clothes for that era for the kids to take pictures at and they loved it. 

After the dance and some brownies, we headed to the amphitheater where a member of the stake presidency did some star gazing with them and talked to them about some Heroes. It was a beautiful night.