Primary (LDS Church)

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" (Isaiah 54:13).^[3][4]

While Primary classes will differ slightly in different regions, most meetings are standardized. For the second half of primary, children are separated into age groups with names for each group (see below).

Where participants, classrooms or teachers are limited, multiple age-grouped classes may be taught together. In most congregations, Primary classes are co-ed.^[5]

Primary begins with a prayer, scripture (or Article of Faith), and a short talk, all of these given by primary children. About 20 minutes are then spent on music, primarily from the Children's Songbook. After music time, children are then sent to their individual classes where they are taught lessons from Come, Follow Me - For Primary.

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).^[5]

A separate class, known as nursery, is held for children ages 18 months to 3. It is led under the direction of the Primary presidency by at least two people, a nursery leader and assistant nursery leader(s). Nursery leaders are required to be the same gender unless they are married.

Nursery classes have a lesson, free play time, snack time, and music time primarily using the Children's Songbook. Additionally, two prayers are given by children with help from the adult leaders. While no particular order is required, it is recommended that the order be the same every week.

Teachers use the "Behold Your Little Ones: Nursery Manual" for lesson plans and other resources.^[6]

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".

Beginning in April 2021, Camille N. Johnson was the Primary General President, with Susan H. Porter as First Counselor and Amy Wright as Second Counselor.^[7]

In the church's April 2022 general conference, it was announced that Johnson would become the new Relief Society General President on August 1, 2022. As a result, on that date, Porter became the new Primary General President, with Wright serving as First Counselor and Tracy Y. Browning as Second Counselor.^[8][9]

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		Sarah 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	2016–2021	Joy D. Jones		Jean B. Bingham (2016–17) Bonnie H. Cordon (2017–18) Lisa L. Harkness (2018-21)		Bonnie H. Cordon (2016–17) Cristina B. Franco (2017-21)
14	2021–2022[10]	Camille N. Johnson		Susan H. Porter		Amy A. Wright
15	2022-	Susan H. Porter[11]		Amy A. Wright		Tracy Y. Browning

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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 the beginning of the year they turn 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.

All members called to serve in a position that deals with youth or children are required to take the Church's "Protecting Children and Youth" training module which is available on the Church's website for free.^[12]

Nursery and Primary leaders are required to release children only to members of their immediate families unless permission has been granted for someone else to pick the child up.^[6]

• Children's Songbook
• CTR ring
• I Am a Child of God
• The Friend (LDS magazine)

• Primary: Official site