Especially for Youth

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Especially for Youth
Efy.PNG
Frequency Weekly during summer months
Inaugurated 1976
Participants 50,000+ yearly
Patron(s) The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Especially For Youth (often abbreviated as EFY) is a week-long youth-oriented seminar focused on fellowship and teaching the principles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Although not officially sponsored by the Church,[1][better source needed] the seminar is run by Brigham Young University's (BYU) Division of Continuing Education, and EFY is the largest Church-oriented summer camp, attracting over 50,000 attendees every year at locations around the world.[2][3]

Structure

Attendance is open to all youth aged 14 to 18. Sessions, which are primarily held in the United States, follow a common curriculum created by members of the LDS Church. Sessions take place during the summer months in order to coincide with the summer break practiced by many schools. The program is led by Latter-day Saint young adults who serve as counselors for the youth during the sessions. Many of the speakers are selected from the LDS Church's Seminary and Institute program or from the faculty of BYU and its sister institutions in Idaho and Hawaii. All sessions in the United States and Canada are organized and managed by the EFY office on the BYU campus in Provo, Utah, where it is part of the Division of Continuing Education, with sessions elsewhere organized by local organizing committees and area authorities.

EFY states that its mission is to help participants "come unto Christ".[3]

History of EFY

The program was created by Ronald C. Hills in 1976 when 172 youth and 15 counselors met for the first session of the summer program.[clarification needed] Then-Commissioner of Church Education Jeffrey R. Holland, now of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, was one of the banquet speakers at the founding session. The next year, attendance rose to 863 youth. As of 2005, the total number of participants who had attended EFY over the years was 409,484.[4] John Bytheway wrote his Masters Thesis at BYU on the early years of EFY.[5] In 1999, Michael R. Hicks composed The EFY Medley, which up to 2012 become one of the main songs sung at every session of EFY.[6][7] As of August 2012, JD Hucks was the current program director.

Global expansion

Home Evening Games the first day of EFY México-León 2011

Between 2006 and 2011, the EFY program expanded to more parts of the world. In 2006, EFY expanded outside of the United States and Canada for the first time, with sessions in England, Germany, Mexico and Sweden.[8][9] Further expansion followed in 2009, with EFY sessions held for the first time in Spain, Italy, France and Guatemala. In 2010, the first EFY sessions were held in Australia, New Zealand, Portugal, Cape Verde, Norway, Netherlands, Tahiti,[10] El Salvador, and Honduras. Puerto Rico hosted an EFY session in 2011. However, beginning in 2012 most international locations began holding For the Strength of Youth (FSY) conferences, which are organized through local area presidencies rather than through BYU.[citation needed]

Locations of EFY

The traditional overnight-stay EFY programs are normally held on college campuses. Although the first were held at BYU and other Church-owned institutions, more recently many have been held at various public university campuses. There are some sessions held at non-Church private universities such as Southern Virginia University (although not affiliated with the Church, it is owned and operated primarily by Church members), the University of Redlands and other private universities chosen for good location and/or other factors that facilitate the program. In some limited situations EFY has been held in a hotel rather than on a university campus. The stay-at-home programs which do not involve overnight accommodations are often held at local Church stake centers.

Sessions of the Especially for Youth program have been held in the following nations:

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There are also a number of nations that haven't hosted a session of the Especially for Youth program, but have been invited to participate in sessions in other nations. These nations include:

  •  Ireland: As of 2009, officially participated within sessions held in the United Kingdom.
  •  Austria/  Switzerland: Officially participate within the session held in Germany in 2010.
  •  Iceland/ Denmark/ Sweden: Officially participate within the session held in Norway in 2010.
  •  Belgium: (Dutch speaking) Officially participate with the session held in the Netherlands in 2010 and 2012.

EFY sessions in Latin America began in Guatemala in 2009 and are now running as FSY (For the Strength of Youth) in the Central America region, Mexico and other South American countries. FSY conferences are officially sanctioned and run by the LDS Church.[citation needed]

EFY yearly themes

In 1982, EFY introduced its first annual theme. Since then, a theme and a scripture have set the tone for each EFY Session.

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  • 1982: The Time Has Come
  • 1983: Ascending Together
  • 1984: Discovering New Horizons
  • 1985: Let Your Light Shine
  • 1986: Lovin' Life
  • 1987: Sailin' Home
  • 1988: Win the Race
  • 1989: Forever, My Friend
  • 1990: Learning For Myself
  • 1991: Walk With Me
  • 1992: Of One Heart
  • 1993: Sharing the Light
  • 1994: Serving With Strength
  • 1995: Return With Honor
  • 1996: Living the Legacy
  • 1997: Treasure the Truth
  • 1998: Joy in the Journey
  • 1999: A Season for Courage
  • 2000: Forward With Faith
  • 2001: Remember the Promise
  • 2002: We Believe
  • 2003: Look and Live
  • 2004: Stand in the Light
  • 2005: A More Excellent Way
  • 2006: The Greatest Gift
  • 2007: Power In Purity
  • 2008: Steady and Sure
  • 2009: Be Thou An Example
  • 2010: Courage to Stand Strong
  • 2011: Believe. Hope. Endure.
  • 2012: Arise and Shine Forth
  • 2013: Firm in the Faith[21]
  • 2014: Anxiously Engaged[citation needed]
  • 2015: Here Am I[citation needed]
  • 2016: What Matters Most[citation needed]

EFY schedule

Each day follows a schedule of devotionals, gospel study, session director morningsides, journal time, and personal scripture study. There are little if any changes between each of the nations who hold sessions of EFY, mostly in the schedule of the Overnight and Stay-at-Home program.[22][23]

Schedule changes have been made over the years. In the late 1990s the schedule involved three dances (on Monday, Wednesday and Friday) and it also involved scheduled exercise time each morning. There have also been various shortened versions offered, at times involving a three-day schedule and currently there is the EFY Express which involves a one-day program. Since the EFY Express one-day programs all occur within a day they can be held during the school year.[24]

Overnight Program - Overview of Week
Time Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
Morning

Counselor/Coordinators Preparations

Classes

Classes

Young Men/Young Women Activity

For the Strength of Youth Activity

Checkout
Afternoon

Registration
Meet Your Counselor
Meet Your Company
Orientation

Classes
Variety Show Tryouts/Musical Rehearsal/Free Time

Classes
Variety Show Tryouts/Musical Rehearsal/Free Time

Variety Show
Musical Dress Rehearsal/Free Time

Service Activity
Free Time
Evening

Session Director Devotional
FHE Games and Goal Setting

Dance Etiquette and Instruction
Dance

Banner and Cheer Preparations
Games and Cheer-Off
Pizza Night

Testimony Tips
Fireside/Musical Program
Testimony Meeting

Picture/Address Exchange
Dance
Slide Show
"Taking it Home"

Adventure-based sister programs

Brigham Young University–Idaho hosts three EFY-like programs that encompass a significant outdoors component. These programs include Adventure for Youth, Outdoor Youth Adventures, and Youth for Excellence.[25]

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[dead link]
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 2005 Participant Journal, pp. 72 - 73[clarification needed]
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ 2006 Participant Journal, pp. iv - v[clarification needed]
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 EFY Tahiti 2010 Training Notice (French)
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6 11.7 See the Official Websites list
  12. ↑ EFY Cape Verde (Portuguese) Retrieved on January 29, 2010.
  13. ↑ EFY Finland (Finnish) Retrieved on December 11, 2009.
  14. ↑ EFY France (French) Retrieved on December 11, 2009.
  15. ↑ EFY Guatemala (Spanish) Retrieved on December 11, 2009.
  16. ↑ EFY Germany (German) Retrieved on December 11, 2009.
  17. ↑ EFY Italy (Italian) Retrieved on December 11, 2009.
  18. ↑ EFY Portugal (Portuguese) Retrieved on January 29, 2010.
  19. ↑ EFY Spain (Spanish) Retrieved on April 20, 2010
  20. ↑ EFY Spain 2009 Registration Closing Date Official LDS Spain Website (Spanish) Retrieved on December 11, 2009 Archived October 7, 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  21. ↑ http://efymusic.com/[unreliable source?]
  22. ↑ Overnight Agenda, Especially for Youth. Retrieved October 16, 2009 Archived June 15, 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  23. ↑ Stay-at-Home Agenda, Especially for Youth. Retrieved October 16, 2009[dead link]
  24. ↑ EFY Express page
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Official websites by location. (Many of the following have switched over to the officially sanctioned "FSY" conferences).

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