Primary (LDS Church)

The Primary (formerly the Primary Association) is a children's organization and an official organization within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It acts as a Sunday school organization for the church's children (ages 3–11).[2]

Primary

The official seal of the Primary adopted in 1940
Formation	11 August 1878
Type	Non-profit
Purpose	Religious instruction; personal standards and development; child/family support
Headquarters	Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
Membership	1.1 million children aged 3–11[1]
General President	Joy D. Jones
Main organ	General presidency and general board
Parent organization	The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Affiliations	Members join the Young Men or Young Women at age 12
Website	Primary

Purpose, objectives, and theme

The official purpose of Primary is to help parents in teaching their children to learn and live the gospel of Jesus Christ.[3] The official objectives of Primary are to:

• Teach children that they are children of God and that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love them;
• help children learn to love Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ;
• help children prepare to be baptized, to receive the Holy Ghost, and to keep their baptismal covenants;
• help children grow in their understanding of the gospel plan and provide opportunities for them to live gospel principles;
• help boys prepare to receive the priesthood and be worthy to use this power to bless and serve others; and
• help girls prepare to be righteous young women, understand the blessings of the priesthood and the temple, and serve others.[3]

The Primary theme is "All thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children".[3][4]

History

Primary was first organized in 1878 by Aurelia Spencer Rogers in Farmington, Utah, and adopted church-wide in 1880 under the direction of Louie B. Felt, who served as the president of the organization through 1925. Rogers was concerned because younger Latter-day Saint children had too much unsupervised time due to the long hours that fathers and older sons kept on the farms and mothers and older daughters in the home. In particular, Rogers felt that the younger boys in the community were becoming unruly and mischievous. With permission from church leaders and under the initial direction of General Relief Society President Eliza R. Snow, Rogers organized a Primary Association for her local Farmington congregation on August 11, 1878. Two weeks later, the first meeting was held on August 28, with 215 children in attendance. That day, boys were specifically taught not to steal fruit from orchards and girls were taught not to hang on wagons. In addition, they were given lessons on faith, manners, obedience, and other principles.

May Anderson, the second general president of the Primary Association from 1925 to 1939, initiated what became Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City (now part of Intermountain Healthcare). Anderson also helped establish kindergartens in Utah. In the 1970s, as a result of the Priesthood Correlation Program, the Primary Association was renamed "Primary".

Since 2018, Joy D. Jones has been the Primary General President, with Lisa L. Harkness as First Counselor and Cristina B. Franco as Second Counselor.[5][6]

Chronology of the general presidency of the Primary

No.	Dates	General President		First Counselor		Second Counselor
1	1880–1925	Louie B. Felt		Matilda M. Barratt (1880–88) Lillie T. Freeze (1888–1905) May Anderson (1905–25)	Barratt Freeze Anderson	Clara C. M. Cannon (1880–95) Josephine R. West (1896–1905) Clara W. Beebe (1906–25)	Cannon West Beebe
2	1925–39	May Anderson		Sadie Grant Pack (1925–29) Isabelle S. Ross (1929–39)	Pack Ross	Isabelle S. Ross (1925–29) Edna Harker Thomas (1929–33) Edith E. H. Lambert (1933–39)	Ross Thomas Lambert
3	1940–43	May Green Hinckley		Adele C. Howells		Janet M. Thompson (1940–42) LaVern W. Parmley (1942–43)	Parmley
4	1943–51	Adele C. Howells		LaVern W. Parmley		Dessie G. Boyle
5	1951–74	LaVern W. Parmley		Arta M. Hale (1951–62) Leone W. Doxey (1962–69) Lucile C. Reading (1970) Naomi W. Randall (1970–74)		Florence H. Richards (1951–53) Leone W. Doxey (1953–62) Eileen R. Dunyon (1962–63) Lucile C. Reading (1963–70) Florence R. Lane (1970–74)
6	1974–80	Naomi M. Shumway		Sara B. Paulsen (1974–77) Colleen B. Lemmon (1977–80)		Colleen B. Lemmon (1974–77) Dorthea C. Murdock (1977–80)
7	1980–88	Dwan J. Young		Virginia B. Cannon		Michaelene P. Grassli
8	1988—94	Michaelene P. Grassli		Betty Jo N. Jepsen		Ruth B. Wright
9	1994–99	Patricia P. Pinegar		Anne G. Wirthlin		Susan L. Warner
10	1999–2005	Coleen K. Menlove		Sydney S. Reynolds		Gayle M. Clegg
11	2005–10	Cheryl C. Lant		Margaret S. Lifferth		Vicki F. Matsumori
12	2010–16	Rosemary M. Wixom		Jean A. Stevens (2010–15) Cheryl A. Esplin (2015–16)		Cheryl A. Esplin (2010–15) Mary R. Durham (2015–16)
13	2016–present	Joy D. Jones		Jean B. Bingham (2016–17) Bonnie H. Cordon (2017–18) Lisa L. Harkness		Bonnie H. Cordon (2016–17) Cristina B. Franco

Class names

The names of the classes in Primary have varied over time. The following is a partial list of names that have been applied to different age groups in Primary. In January 2010, the names of the classes were changed to the age of children entering the class, i.e., 4-year olds are in the class CTR 4. Previously, names were indicative of the age children would turn the coming year, (4-year olds in CTR 5)

Age (on January 1)	Present Class Name	Past Class Names Used
18 mos.	Nursery	Rainbows
3-year-olds	Sunbeams	Moonbeams
4-year-olds	CTR 4	Sunbeams Stars CTR 5
5-year-olds	CTR 5	Stars CTR 6
6-year-olds	CTR 6	Rainbows CTR 7
7-year-olds	CTR 7	Zion’s Boys Zion’s Girls CTR Pilots Co-Pilots Top Pilots Targeteers CTRs CTR 8
8-year-olds	Valiant 8	Zion’s Boys Zion’s Girls CTR Pilots Co-Pilots Beacons Top Pilots Targeteers CTRs Valiant 9
9-year-old girls	Valiant 9	Larks Gaynotes Home Builders Lihomas Merry Miss Valiant 10
9-year-old boys	Valiant 9	Hatchets Trail Builders Blazers Valiant 10
10-year-old girls	Valiant 10	Bluebirds Firelights Hearths Home Builders Lihomas Merry Miss Valiant 11
10-year-old boys	Valiant 10	Wagon Wheels Trail Builders Trekkers Valiant 11
11-year-old girls	Valiant 11	Bluebirds Merrihands Home Builders Lihomas Merry Miss Valiant 12
11-year-old boys	Valiant 11	Arrows Guides Trail Builders Blazers Valiant 12
12-year-old girls	See Young Women	Seagulls Home Builders Lihomas Mi-kan-wees
13-year-old girls	See Young Women	Seagulls Home Builders Lihomas Mi-kan-wees

Primary in the church today

Presently, the worldwide Primary provides Sunday school and church-related activities to approximately 1.1 million Latter-day Saint children.[1] In most congregations, optional nursery care and supervision is available for children from 18 months to age 3. Classroom instruction begins for three-year-olds and continues to age 12, with classes grouped by age. At age 12, children begin to attend Sunday School and the Young Men or Young Women programs. The Primary has its own songbook, made up of original songs and hymns modified for children.

Where participants, classrooms or teachers are limited, multiple age-grouped classes may be taught together. In most congregations Primary classes are co-ed.

See also

• Children's Songbook
• CTR ring
• I Am a Child of God
• Priesthood Correlation Program
• Relief Society
• The Friend (LDS magazine)

Notes

1. Tad Walsh, "Preparing to split up, LDS General Primary Presidency looks back on 5 years of service together", Deseret News, March 27, 2015.
2. Although children had, by long-standing practice, participated in Primary until their 12th birthdays, on December 14, 2018, the First Presidency announced that children would advance from Primary as a group in January of the year in which they would turn 12.
3. "Primary", Handbook 2: Administering the Church (Salt Lake City, Utah: LDS Church, 2010) § 11.1.
4. 3 Nephi 22:13; see also Isaiah 54:13.
5. "First Presidency Announces New Relief Society General Presidency: New member of Primary General Presidency also called", Newsroom, LDS Church, 2017-04-01
6. First Presidency Announces New Primary General Presidency, mormonnewsroom.org, 2 April 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2016.

External links

• Primary: Official site