When singer-songwriter Emily Susan Pack saw the Church’s announcement about the new Young Women age-group names, she says she felt “relieved and grateful and joyous.” But this reaction wasn’t what her online followers expected.
Emily is known for her comedic takes on Church culture, including her viral Instagram songs “Nativity Chicken” and “Shut Your Mouth.” So, when the new group names were announced, several people messaged her online, saying they couldn’t wait to hear what humorous song she’d come up with in response.
“I [was] expecting everyone to be excited [about the names],” Emily tells Morgan Pearson on the All In podcast. “But then I [went] online, and everyone [was] not excited. … I was like, ‘Am I on an island?’”
Emily believes it’s OK for people to be critical of things. But for her, Young Women classes were a space where she experienced “magical feelings of belonging,” and she wants to share that possibility with others, too.
Ultimately, Emily did end up writing a song and posting it to Instagram. But instead of a comedic bit, it was an honest reflection of the beauty she sees in the updates to the Young Women class names.
The Unexpected Response to Emily’s Song
Before posting her video, Emily expected it to flop.
“I thought it was going to tank, because I have songs that tank,” she says. “But it didn’t tank. It took off.” The video received over 700 comments, with most of them expressing appreciation for Emily’s perspective.
One user wrote, “Beautiful! I had mixed feelings on the new names and age classifications, but you’ve sold me on them. Suddenly, I love them!”
Emily told Morgan that she has witnessed the way social media can become a negative echo chamber, causing people to doubt their opinions or feel silly for seeing things differently.
“I’m OK being the one person to disagree,” she says. However, she’s found that many of the youth she’s spoken to actually like the new names or feel neutral about them. She noted how much influence adult women can have, observing that youth often look to their moms or older sisters to see how they should feel about the changes.
Despite any initial hesitation surrounding the announcement, Emily believes the new names can facilitate a special sense of belonging for young women today. She served as a Young Women adult leader after the Beehive, Mia Maid, and Laurel group names were retired, and she says she sensed that something was missing.
“I felt this gap [in] the identity that the girls would have,” she recalls. So, when she woke up to the Church’s recent announcement, she says she felt “relief and joy.”
“I wonder how many people clicked through and read the statement behind the names, describing these different age groups,” Emily says. “I was just so struck by how beautiful they were. My brain was [thinking] of all these different things that these girls could be assigned to do under their names.”
These Identifiers Are “Names for Their Time”
When she herself was in Young Women, Emily went through various phases, but she says the love and sense of belonging she received never wavered. This personal experience is why she’s passionate about creating enthusiasm for the Young Women program; she’s seen the good it can do.
“I was kind of an emo-y, goth kid,” she recalls. “I had a few friends, but all of us kind of felt like outcasts. And the Young Women leaders were always just so encouraging. … They really laid that foundation of ‘You’re always welcome here.’”
Emily says that in high school, she dated outside of the Church and attended a Catholic church and Protestant churches with friends. Instead of discouraging this, her adult leaders were supportive, at one point even asking her to share what she’d learned about the other faiths for a Young Women activity. Later, as an adult, Emily spent some time away from the Church, and she says her previous leaders continued to honor her journey.
“Anytime I would bring up something that was bothering me, they would usually [say], ‘You’ll figure it out,’ or, ‘Tell me more about that.’ [They were] just curious.”
And when she experienced mental health challenges, Emily says she found herself turning to memories from her time in Young Women and at girls camp. “I felt like I could reach out to some of my Young Women leaders. And I did. I texted them a few times, like, ‘Hey, just wanted to say thank you for being so nice to me.’”
Emily is now married and has children of her own. But her feelings about her leaders haven’t changed. She readily admits that they have always been her heroes.
“I know how beautiful the Young Women program is,” she says. “I know how beautiful these years are. … I think women should feel however they feel [about the new names]. But … let’s make sure we don’t interrupt something beautiful that might be happening for these girls. Those weren’t the names we needed, but these are the names they need.
“These are the names for their time.”
Hear more from Emily on the full All In episode.
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