Young Women in Excellence or New Beginnings

This is simply a theme/talk idea for any youth activity, especially new beginnings or young women in excellence. We decorated in water lilies and had a speaker talk based on the following quote. Water lilies make a great theme for our youth this year (2007) because of the symbolism described below:

tThe water lily is a unique, aquatic flowering plant which lends a serene beauty and sweet fragrance to otherwise squalid, stagnant ponds. Water lilies grow in quiet waters covering deep, saturated, oxygen-poor soils. The leaves often float on the water’s surface, maintaining their position, even if the water rises, by continuing stalk growth. Sister Virginia U. Jensen in an address entitled “He Knows Your Name” shared the following:

t”In the Hong Kong Temple are three exquisite sofas upholstered in a fabric of intricate Chinese design, fashioned by a local textile artist, Cheng Hwa Seng. Cheng Hwa was born and reared in Taiwan, where she joined the Church…
tWhen the Church announced its plans to build a temple in Hong Kong, Cheng Hwa expressed to the Church’s interior design department her desire to contribute to the Hong Kong Temple. Cheng Hwa’s fabrics… contain symbols important to the Chinese people. One of her weavings is a white piece of fabric with a water lily design, which has been placed on the sofas in the celestial room of the Hong Kong Temple.

tWater lilies are very common in China. Their beauty graces ponds surrounding traditional Chinese buildings. Ironically, the beautiful water lily grows in dirty water. For the Chinese, the water lily represents our ability to rise above the temptations of the world and grow into a pure and righteous person…
… As we do (attend the temple), we will be able to lend a serene beauty to our surroundings and maintain our righteous position in the world . . . even if the water rises.

ttttttttMary N. Cook
ttttttttWife of Counselor in Asia Area Presidency
ttttttttMission Presidents’ Seminar in Hong Kong
ttttttttSeptember 2000
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