by Pepper Adams, Akron Ward
The theme for Girls Camp this year was “Fear not: Believe Only.” The name comes from a talk given by Elder Holland in the April 2022 General Conference. This year I was in the second years, but it was my first year because I wasn’t able to make it last year, so I did have a lot of fears and worries going into it. I had a great experience making bracelets, trying archery, and meeting with all the young women from other wards, but I also really enjoyed the spiritual aspects. Each day for about an hour, we had scripture study at our campsites. We would all sit in a big circle in the shade at the center of our campsite and do our personal study. I could really feel the spirit, surrounded by all the young women who believe the same things I do, and the devotionals were really awesome.
To guide us through our personal studies, they gave us these little booklets to break down and analyze the talk, and I really liked this because sometimes the scriptures can seem a little daunting, and this really helped me. It gave us part of Elder Holland’s talk and then some questions; here was one of my favorite pages. From the talk, it says: “begin your search for happiness by embracing the bounty we have already received from the giver of every good gift.” The guided question then talked about those spiritual gifts and then had us read in Doctrine & Covenants. One scripture, in particular, was D&C 46:26 – “And of all these gifts come from God for the benefit of the children of God.” These scriptures really allow me to feel God’s love. It shows how much He truly wants to help us through our trials, big and small.
One of my other favorite experiences from camp was the Faith Walk. It was set up down in a big field past the third-year campsite. Along the path were five pairs of young women, each with one dressed up as a bible woman. There was Esther, Eve, Ruth, Rebekah, and Mother Mary. Each of them would tell us their story, explaining their trials and how they overcame them, and then the other YCL beside them would talk about how the Bible women’s story touched them personally. It was a really cool experience, especially to learn more about each of the women, focusing on the faith and perseverance they showed even in their hardest times by just believing in Him.
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