“Meeting the Primary General President,” Friend, Mar. 2010, 6–7
A Year on Temple Square
Meeting the Primary General President
Come with us this month to visit the Relief Society Building.
Emma K. came from Midvale, Utah, to interview Sister Cheryl C. Lant, Primary general president. Emma and Sister Lant talked about the purpose of Primary while they toured the Relief Society Building. The Relief Society Building is where the offices of the general presidencies of the Primary, Young Women, and Relief Society are. It has beautiful displays about the purpose and history of these organizations.
Emma: “What good things are the children of the Church doing?”
Sister Lant: “One of the best things they are doing is learning from their scriptures. Every Sunday, we see children bring their scriptures to Primary. They open them, they read them, and they’re learning directly from the words of the Lord about what He wants them to do.”
Emma: “What do you hope they can learn to do more often?”
Sister Lant: “We need to be more kind to our brothers and sisters, to our parents, to our friends, and to everybody around the world.”
Sister Lant had a question for Emma. She showed Emma a painting of Jesus with children. “Can you think why that’s my favorite thing to look at every day when I come into my office?”
Emma: “Maybe because it shows the love Jesus has for children.”
Sister Lant: “That’s right. In Primary, the most important thing that we want to teach the children is that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love them. All the children in this picture come from different places, so they represent all the children around the world. Heavenly Father and Jesus love all of us, no matter where we live. We’re all His children.”
Sister Lant shows Emma four pictures of the Savior blessing and praying for the Nephite children after His Crucifixion. Angels came from heaven and surrounded the children. “When children learn about Jesus Christ, they will know what they need to do to be close to Him and have peace,” Sister Lant said.
Sister Lant told Emma that the first Primary in 1878 had more than 200 children. Today, there are more than one million Primary children all over the world!
When Sister Lant was a child in Primary, she wore a bandolo like the one displayed here. When she completed goals, she earned emblems for her bandolo. Today, Primary children participate in the Faith in God program.
Portrait of Primary General Presidency © Busath.com
The painting Christ with Children from around the World by Del Parson hangs in Sister Lant’s office. Sister Lant and her counselors, Sister Margaret S. Lifferth and Sister Vicki F. Matsumori, like to look at the painting.
Photographs by Welden C. Andersen, except as noted; photograph of exterior of Relief Society Building by John Luke; photograph of bandolo by Craig Dimond; illustrations of map and icons by Dilleen Marsh; The First Meeting of the Primary Association, by Lynn Fausett and Gordon Cope, © IRI