Sharing Time:

Happy Birthday Primary—Worldwide!

By Pat Graham

And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children (Isa. 54:13).

On an August day in 1878, 224 children gathered in a rock chapel in Farmington, Utah, to attend the first Primary and be taught “everything good and how to behave.” Today, more than 825,000 children all over the world attend Primary and learn that they are children of God. Primary is growing in numbers, and more children are growing in the gospel.

Because the Church has grown so rapidly, Church leaders have divided the world into fourteen geographical areas to better serve the needs of its members. Look at the costumed children on these pages carefully, then color them and draw a line from each child to the area/country that he seems to represent. It is exciting to belong to a growing organization with members all over the world!

Sharing Time Ideas

1. Research history of Primary in your area. Tell how Church has grown there. Make display of local Primary memorabilia.

2. Locate stories in Friend of children in other countries, and emphasize how children all over the world are the same in many ways.

3. Write letter to Primary children in another area.

4. Plan Happy Birthday to the Primary celebration. You could:

   1. Invite someone to portray Aurelia Spencer Rogers and tell about first Primary. (See “Primary Presidents,” Friend, August, 1978, pages 14, 24; “100 Years of Primary,” Ensign, April 1978, page 32.)

   2. Cut out children on this page and use on cupcakes to celebrate Primary birthday.

   3. Sing “A Happy Birthday to the Primary” (Friend, February 1978, page 34).

Illustrated by Beverly Glazier