Tonight, we held our yearly Young Men and Young Women “Standards Night” at the church.  It turned out very well.  The other counselor in the Bishopric and I split up the youth based on age, and I had all the 12 & 13 year-old youth.  We had a great discussion (along with a little video clip).  It is so important that we teach high standards, especially when the kids are young, as it’s getting harder and harder for them out in the world today.  I have even a higher vested interest in this since we have 3 young women right now.  Just seeing what they have to deal with on a daily basis makes you sick.  As a father who wants what’s best for my daughters at this age (and sons when they get there), it’s hard to not jump in and “take over” or “ruin” their lives as all teenagers tell their parents often.  🙂

The Bishop took the parents and had a great discussion with them as well.  I hope that the parents took away a great deal from this as well!

We all emphasized the importance of the “For the Strength of Youth” pamphlet and that the kids AND parents read it often.  Here it is for those who don’t have it…

https://lds.org/youth/for-the-strength-of-youth?lang=eng

If you want a .PDF of it, you can download it here…  For the Strength of Youth Pamphlet