Young Women General Advisory Council gets more youthful with new members
History, of a sort, was made this past August when five young adult women 31 years of age or younger were called to be on the Young Women General Advisory Council of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
In 1890, President John Taylor called four young women as “leading missionaries” and in April of that year they were added to the then-Young Ladies Mutual Improvement Association Board. That was the last time so many young women were added to the body.
Sister Emily Belle Freeman, sustained in April as the new Young Women general president, said the first thing she thought of was who should be on the council.
“Young adults,” Freeman said. “Because at their age, they just barely were out of Young Women. They know to look back and say, ‘This is what I needed.'”
She approached Elder Dieter Uchtdorf about the possibilities and said it took several months for the “yes” answer to come back. Five sisters from Young Single Adults were called and now share the same responsibilities as other sisters on the advisory council, formerly known as the general board.
“They will train with the newly called presidency,” Freeman said. “They will be called to projects and initiatives and their voice will be relevant.”
All of the five young adults are returned missionaries, and among them they speak English, French, Portuguese and Spanish.
On Wednesday, the Daily Herald spoke with Freeman and newly called sisters Lia Alejandra Baez Vidal and Jordan Murray.
Vidal, 24, of the Pioneer YSA Spanish Ward, Salt Lake Pioneer YSA Stake, served a full-time mission in the Puerto Rico San Juan Mission. Murray, 31, of the Emigration YSA Ward, Salt Lake Bonneville YSA Stake, was also a full-time missionary in the Missouri Independence and Kansas Wichita missions.
Other young newcomers are Camille Buckley, 25, Orem Utah YSA 13th Ward, Orem Utah YSA 1st Stake, who was a full-time missionary in the Argentina Bahía Blanca Mission; Haylie Chase, 22, Provo 19th Ward, Provo Utah YSA 2nd Stake, who served in the Brazil Londrina and Florida Orlando missions; and Rachel Rose Larsen, 24, Orem Utah YSA 30th Ward, Orem Utah YSA 3rd Stake, a former full-time missionary in the Brazil Sao Paulo South Mission.
The oldest member is Sister Ruth Todd, 62, of the Parleys 3rd Ward, Salt Lake Parleys Stake, who is serving a second time. Todd has served in a number of church callings including serving as a “Music & the Spoken Word” host. She also served as a Young Women General Advisory Council member, stake Young Women president, stake Young Women camp director, ward Relief Society, Primary and Young Women presidency counselor and Gospel Doctrine teacher.
“It’s a wonderful addition to have these YSAs and to hear their experiences and help us. It’s always helpful to see where you come from,” Todd said. “I see the Lord’s hand from presidency to presidency and I feel (with these young adult sisters) the decades fade away.”
The idea of having young single adults in advisory positions also strengthens the notion of the chosen generation and the current rising generation.
Those in their 40s, 50s 60s and 70s were considered a chosen generation saved from the beginning of the world to come at this time. They are the parents and grandparents of the rising generation.
“We grew up with ‘the chosen generation’ as our anthem,” Freeman said. “The rising generation is to gather. They are unique and gifted and inclusive.”
When asked how their missionary service has prepared them for this new calling in the higher counsels of the church, Murray said, “The biggest thing I have thought about is interacting with the Young Women.”
“I served in Kansas. I knew what Young Women was like in my ward,” she added. “I lived with a family with one daughter. She was the only (church) member in her school. I think about those girls and their activities and how they connected to the missionaries.”
Freeman noted that mentoring is one of the things they are doing with young women around the world.
Murray works with a nonprofit that brings youth together around the world. “That is a totally different relationship than being a YSA leader, being able to mentor in that space,” she said.
Asked what her parents thought when they heard the news, Murray said they were confused at first. “I called my dad at work. He was confused and didn’t understand what I said. He asked if I had called my mother. Both of them were very excited.”
The biggest takeaway from Vidal’s mission was learning about discipleship and how you never stop testifying of Christ.
“I served in Puerto Rico,” Vidal said, explaining that she arrived two years after a hurricane destroyed a good portion of the island. “I learned how to live day to day.”
“Preparedness was not so much about the second coming of Christ,” she said. Rather, it was about living in the here and now.
Freeman noted that Vidal and the other young women were instrumental in setting up a new Instagram account: @youngwomenworldwide.
Freeman said the account “is a resource, a gathering place and a great resource for young women,” and she invites young women to take a look and add it to their groups.
As they continue to serve, Freeman reiterated, “The voices of these five are relevant.”
While you may not hear these sisters speak during general conference, they at times are asked to offer the prayers. They are assigned to the United States, while the General Presidency travels the globe. When they aren’t working in their daily jobs or visiting, they are busy serving on the council.
General conference began Thursday and Friday with leadership and training meetings. General sessions will be held Saturday at 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.; and Sunday at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
The sessions can be viewed online at http://churchofjesuschrist.org, on YouTube and on a variety of television and radio stations.
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- The 14 women called to the Young Women General Advisory Council, as announced Sept. 5, 2023.
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- The Young Women General Presidency, effective Aug. 1, 2023. From left to right: First Counselor Sister Tamara W. Runia, President Emily Belle Freeman and Second Counselor Sister Andrea Muñoz Spannaus.
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- Sister Jordan Murray of the Young Women General Advisory Council.
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- Sister Lía Baez of the Young Women General Advisory Council.
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- Ruth Todd, called to the Young Women Advisory Council. Courtesy Intellectual Reserve.
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- Sister Camille Buckley of the Young Women General Advisory Council.
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- Sister Haley Chase of the Young Women General Advisory Council.
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- Sister Rachel Larsen of the Young Women General Advisory Council.
