Stake and Multistake Activities
Aaronic Priesthood encampment
Purpose
Build relationships, strengthen testimony, and have fun in an outdoor setting.
Description
Plan a stake camp for the young men from each ward (these are sometimes called Helaman’s Camp, Alma’s Camp, Zion’s Camp, and so forth). This could be a day camp or one that spans several days. Stake Aaronic Priesthood encampments are planned under the direction of the stake president and carried out by the stake Young Men presidency or others called to assist. Stakes can also combine together for such activities. These encampments should include a balance of recreational, spiritual, and service-based activities. For example:
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Recreational activities could include swimming, sports, climbing, archery, or other things the young men like to do. Encourage wards to take advantage of the skills and talents of ward members as they plan these activities.
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Spiritual activities could include individual scripture study, scripture memorization, small-group discussions led by young men, firesides, testimony meetings, teaching opportunities for the young men, and so on.
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Service-based activities could include beautifying the campsite or facility, assembling humanitarian kits, learning skills to use in the service of others, and so on.
Each ward could be assigned to plan and oversee a certain number of activities. Choose a campsite or facility that can accommodate the types of activities you want to have.
Christmas giving
Purpose
Help families in need at Christmastime.
Description
Provide Christmas gifts and food for a family or families in need (this can be done anonymously). Coordinate with the bishops or branch presidents in your stake to determine needs, and use ward-provided funds or donations from ward members to provide the gifts. After the activity, invite the youth to share how they felt as they provided this service. Discuss ways they can have the spirit of Christmas throughout the year as they serve and bless the lives of others.
Clean a Church building
Purpose
Show respect and reverence for dedicated buildings.
Description
Discuss the needs and conditions of the different Church buildings in the area. Plan what the youth could do to improve or clean them. If you live near a temple, coordinate with those in charge of the temple grounds to see if service is needed. After the service is completed, consider having the youth play games and have a good time together.
Drama night
Purpose
Improve talents and grow together in unity.
Description
Invite the youth to prepare short plays or skits to perform on a drama night for stake members. The youth could be divided into ward groups or other groups. Youth could write their own scripts or perform scripture stories. Have the youth work together in teams to plan, practice, and perform their plays for the entire group. Youth could also help with props, costumes, scenery, and so on. After the event, discuss why Heavenly Father gives us talents and what He wants us to do with them.
Food drive
Purpose
Provide food for the hungry.
Description
Organize a food drive and collect nonperishable food to give to a food bank or other organization that assists the hungry. Consider contacting these organizations to find out what types of food are particularly needed. Before or after the activity, review and discuss the story from Matthew 25:31–45 with the youth. What does this teach us about why we serve? Invite the youth to share how they feel when they serve others and why they feel that way.
For the Strength of Youth (FSY) conferences
Purpose
Gather in a large group and strengthen one another in living the gospel.
Description
To learn about and register for an FSY conference, visit lds.org/youth/fsy.
FSY conferences are multistake youth activities held under the direction of Area Presidencies. Area Seventies oversee the planning and implementation of the events. When youth in your stake have been invited to an upcoming FSY conference, consider planning devotionals or other activities to help them prepare for the conference. You might also want to plan activities after the event so they can share their experiences and follow up on goals they have set.
Humanitarian service
Purpose
Serve those in need.
Description
Find a group that assists those in need. This could be a local church or community organization that provides relief or help to the poor and needy (such as a bishops’ storehouse, a homeless shelter, or an orphanage), or it could be an organization that gives help throughout the world. If it is a local group, ask those in charge to give you a tour and explain what they do to help people in need. Find out what projects the youth can help with, and organize a service project. Consider how each ward or unit could be invited to help in a specific way. At the end of the project, hold a testimony meeting for youth to share their feelings about the experience and how we can be more like Christ in our service.
Improv night
Purpose
Gain confidence in performing in front of peers and an audience.
Description
Gather the youth in your stake together and divide them into small groups. Give each group a bag full of randomly selected props and a set amount of time to create a skit using each of their props. Have them either perform their skits live or record their skits and then watch them with their peers. Consider giving awards to each group, such as funniest skit, best use of props, most creative, and so on.
Learn a new sport
Purpose
Strengthen relationships and exercise while participating in friendly competition.
Description
Invite a youth to teach the others about a sport that is new to the youth in your stake or teach skills for improvement in a familiar sport. Consider inviting less-active youth and friends who are not members of our faith to participate. Use some of the ideas below, or come up with your own. If necessary, adapt the games so that youth of all skill levels can participate. Consider how you can relate teamwork and having fun to maintaining balance in life (see Luke 2:52). Consider ways to keep a spirit of friendship even in a competitive scenario.
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Divide the youth into teams of three and hold a sprint distance triathlon, with different youth participating in each leg of the race.
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Play soccer while crawling on hands and feet (with the chest facing upward).
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Play volleyball with water balloons. Youth divide into pairs, and each pair holds a towel by the corners to throw a water balloon over the net, where another pair tries to catch it in their towel.
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Have a relay race, and think of creative ways to make the race more challenging. For example, the youth could race with a balloon between their knees, balancing an egg on a spoon, crawling backwards, and so on.
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Play a tug-of-war. Divide into two teams. Each team holds one end of a long rope and tries to pull the other team past a designated point.
Learn skills, then serve
Purpose
Learn a useful skill and use it to serve someone in need.
Description
Find several projects in your stake or community the youth could help with. Many of these projects may require the youth to learn a specific skill in order to complete the task. In addition to serving their community, the youth will be better equipped to serve throughout their lives when they acquire new skills.
After the projects are organized, divide the youth into groups and have someone teach each group a skill needed to complete the projects. For example, if there is a restoration project, some youth could learn how to paint, while others learn how to repair a fence or build a brick wall. Other projects could include beautifying parks or public places, reading to schoolchildren, visiting patients in a hospital, organizing a food drive or blood drive, and so on.
If stake leaders find several projects in your area, the youth could be divided into groups and sent to different locations to perform different service projects. Consider concluding the activity with a dance or game for the youth.
Music and dance from the past
Purpose
Learn about ancestors by learning dances and music from before the youth were born.
Description
Help the youth choose a historical era (for example, the 20s, 40s, or 70s) that they are interested in. Have each quorum, class, or group learn a popular song or dance from that era and present it to the members of your ward or branch or to a community senior citizen group. You may want to consider adding simple costumes, décor, and props from that era. Discuss how the world’s styles and interests may change, but the Lord’s standards always apply. Invite the youth to share how they can have fun dancing in today’s world while still maintaining the Lord’s standards (see For the Strength of Youth, “Music and Dancing”).
Noncompetitive physical activities
Purpose
Get exercise and build friendships in a noncompetitive atmosphere.
Description
Plan an event that is physical but casual and noncompetitive. Encourage the youth to suggest activities based on their interests, or use the ideas below. Consider how this activity could be tied to a large service project. For example, before going on a hike, the youth could clean up the grounds close to where the hike will take place. At the conclusion of the activity, invite the youth to share any spiritual lessons they learned from participating in the activity (for example, if you go on a hike, they might share their feelings about the beauties of God’s creations and our responsibility to take care of them).
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Hold a 5K fun run.
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Go swimming.
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Go on a bike ride.
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Go on a hike.
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Go roller-skating or skateboarding.
Photo contest
Purpose
Increase familiarity with the art of photography.
Description
Invite someone to teach the youth in each ward or branch the basic principles of photography, such as composition, lighting, and so on. Assign each ward a topic (or topics), and have them take photos that fit their topics in preparation for a stake event where they will be displayed.
Consider awarding prizes in a variety of categories. This activity could be adapted to focus on a gospel theme. Examples could include the youth theme for the year, a topic in For the Strength of Youth, a scriptural theme, and so on.
Pioneer Treks
Purpose
Experience firsthand the faith and determination of the pioneers.
Description
Plan an activity in which the youth reenact some of the faith-building experiences of the pioneers who journeyed to the Salt Lake Valley in the mid-1800s. Youth could be organized into groups or “families,” wear pioneer-era clothing, pull handcarts, and discuss the faith of those who made courageous sacrifices to gather to Zion.
For detailed information about organizing and carrying out a handcart trek, see Handcart Trek Reenactments: Guidelines for Leaders.
Service scavenger hunt
Purpose
Serve others while having fun.
Description
Provide groups of youth with a list of possible service projects, and assign point values to each one. Assign each group (accompanied by an adult leader) to visit nearby homes, streets, or neighborhoods to see how many service projects they can accomplish in that area in a set amount of time. For example, they could clean up litter on a street or offer to pull someone’s weeds. Have all the groups return at the end to add up their points and share their experiences. You could also award extra points for youth who perform service that is not on the list.
After the activity, consider having a short discussion led by youth who are leaders in their quorums or classes. Consider discussing questions like: How did you feel while serving? How were others affected through your service? What is our responsibility to others in our community? Why do we serve? (See Mosiah 2:17.)
Sports tournament
Purpose
Build relationships through athletic events.
Description
Host a tournament in which youth participate in small teams or as individuals. Games could include things such as soccer, basketball, volleyball, table tennis, dodgeball, or another sport. Each ward could come to the tournament as a team, or the youth could be split into teams on the day of the event. Consider inviting members of the community to form a team and participate in the tournament. Using trained officials in your sporting events will help ensure a good experience for all involved.
Stake dance
Purpose
Build relationships through socializing and dancing.
Description
With your stake or in conjunction with other stakes in your area, plan and carry out a youth dance. Specific guidelines on dancing can be found in Handbook 2; 13.6.6. As a part of the dance, consider inviting people to teach the youth a variety of dances (including traditional, cultural, and historical dances). Share and discuss the section “Music and Dancing” in For the Strength of Youth (2011) as part of the activity.
Talent show
Purpose
Celebrate the talents of youth.
Description
Plan a stake youth talent show. Have the youth participate in planning and organizing the event. Include a variety of talents, and invite people to participate individually or in groups. The stake talent show could be preceded by each ward holding a similar event to prepare their entries.
Young Women camp
Purpose
Strengthen testimonies, feel the Spirit, make friendships, serve, and develop leadership and other skills.
Description
Plan a stake Young Women camp for the young women from each ward. In counsel with priesthood leaders, Young Women leaders use the Young Women Camp Manual and Young Women Camp: A Guide for Priesthood and Young Women Leaders to plan a camp experience that will be meaningful and memorable. Priesthood leaders may call stake and ward Young Women specialists to be camp leaders. Camp leaders organize and conduct the camp program under the direction of the stake Young Women presidency. They may work with ward leaders and the stake activities committee to arrange for equipment, transportation, and other assistance.
For information about financing camp, see Handbook 2: Administering the Church (2010), 10.8.9. For information about safety at camp, see Handbook 2,13.6.20 and the Young Women Camp Manual.
Youth choir
Purpose
Feel the Spirit and come together in unity through sacred hymns.
Description
Form a youth choir, and spend time practicing several hymns or other appropriate songs. Work with the stake presidency to arrange a time for the youth to perform for others, such as in a Church meeting or devotional. Consider other places you could share sacred music, such as a community event.
Youth conference
Purpose
Build faith in Jesus Christ, strengthen testimonies, develop talents, make new friends, and have fun with youth who share similar beliefs and standards.
Description
Young men and young women ages 14 to 18 are invited to participate together in an activity or series of activities called youth conference. Youth conferences are usually held once each year on a ward or stake level. They may also be held on a multistake or area level. Stake youth conferences are planned and carried out by the stake Aaronic Priesthood–Young Women committee under the direction of the stake presidency. Youth should be invited to assist the committee as much as possible in planning stake youth conferences. The stake presidency may invite youth to attend the committee’s meetings as needed.
Select a gospel theme for the conference. It could be a scripture, the Mutual theme for the year, or a quotation from a living prophet. The stake presidency should approve the theme. Plan activities such as devotionals, group meetings, learning experiences, and service projects that are consistent with the theme.
Members of the bishopric or stake presidency are invited to attend as much of the conference as possible. Young Men and Young Women presidencies are encouraged to attend the entire conference.
For policies related to youth conferences, see Handbook 2: Administering the Church (2010), 13.4.