BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — Bible camp is nothing new for those living in the South. It's common for children to attend summer programs, often hosted by churches, where they learn more about the scriptures. So when LDS friends Jill Norris and Jennifer Wright had the idea of creating a Book of Mormon camp, they found immediate success.
For the past two years, these women, along with many others, have volunteered their time to run a one-week camp for children 18 months to 11 years old. Although the 9 a.m.-noon schedule was sometimes hectic, each agreed the spiritual strength they gained along with the children was worth the effort.
"It’s kind of a rare thing to spend time with other members of the church, so just to spend time together and to build their testimonies in Christ and have a good time, I think it was worth all that work we put into it," Norris said.
As preparations were made for the camp this year, children from several wards across the stake began to sign up and Wright, the primary president, realized they would have to move the camp from their homes to the church.
Forty children registered and on the day of the event 70 children attended. Wright had bought bright-colored T-shirts for the 40 registered, and that Monday morning she bought 30 more for the rest of the children.
"It was insane, but it was really great," Wright said.
Parents volunteered for different shifts throughout the week, and the young women volunteered their time watching the nursery children.
Each day had a different theme, from missionary work to Samuel the Lamanite and the brother of Jared. The day would begin with a lesson and practicing Primary songs, after which they broke off into four groups to rotate through the activities.
Activities included "Samuel: The ultimate dodgeball champion," a missionary course that included doing laundry and riding a bike, and floating origami boats down a rain gutter. Special guest speakers made appearances dressed as Nephites or missionaries.
"If you can make Book of Mormon stories approachable, which they are, it’s just giving them a challenge to participate and learn about them in a different way than on Sunday," Wright said.
The casual atmosphere brought a different feeling each day as the children learned about scripture stories.
"Honestly, I just loved that kind of feel about it, where it was just fun, spiritual, uplifting," Norris said. "It was something you could enjoy and my kids weren’t just sitting in church in church clothes, but they could be at church having a lot of fun with their friends."
Although the weeklong camp worked for Wright and Norris in their area, Wright was quick to suggest that similar camps could be done in different ways, such as on Saturdays or Monday nights for family home evening.
"Just the idea of taking time out to let your kids know you enjoy learning about the Book of Mormon and that it’s fun and doing it in an engaging way, this is just how it worked for us in our area," Wright said.
The decision had been made early in the week to schedule a baptism for a 10-year-old boy in the ward to take place on the last day of camp. All the children at the camp attended the baptism and a testimony meeting.
"It was seriously amazing," Norris said. "I just felt like they walked away with a deeper testimony. ... The stars aligned, it was really unbelievable, what a crazy fun week."
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