One of the chief responsibilities of Primary leaders is to help parents prepare their children to enter and progress along the covenant path. President M. Russell Ballard has said, “Clearly, those of us who have been entrusted with precious children have been given a sacred, noble stewardship, for we are the ones God has appointed to encircle today’s children with love and the fire of faith and an understanding of who they are.” And one of the best ways to teach children who they are and help them progress along the covenant path is to prepare them to make sacred covenants in the waters of baptism and in the temple.
The new update to section 12.3.2 of the General Handbook states: “The Primary president may assign a member of the presidency to help parents prepare their children to be baptized and confirmed. The Primary president may assign another presidency member to help parents with temple and priesthood preparation for their children.”
This update to the Handbook was made in December 2021, but Primary General President Camille N. Johnson and her counselors, Sister Susan H. Porter and Sister Amy A. Wright, shared a video on social media last week explaining the Handbook update and the responsibilities of Primary presidencies.
President Johnson wrote in her Instagram post: “We hope and trust that your presidency will apply these changes as inspired by the Spirit. We are not just preparing our children for events; we are preparing them for a lifetime of covenant keeping.”
President Johnson also told Church News, “With one counselor putting their emphasis on baptism and preparation for confirmation and the gift of the Holy Ghost, and the other on priesthood and temple preparation, we’re just going to have our eyes, our minds, our hearts turned in a more focused way to the needs of those children.”
You can watch the full video in the player below:
