250 Young Women find "Time to Blossom" this Summer


By: Cecily Markland


At "Time to Blossom," a Young Women's Conference held in Mesa in June, 250 young women learned to become beautiful inside and out, as they participated in workshops, activities and a service project to make small dolls for African orphans. Photo by Cecily Markland.




During the week, they watched as a huge bouquet of tight, pink rose buds gradually opened and bloomed. And, even as the flowers bloomed, so 250 young women discovered how to blossom, learning about how to grow in inner and outer beauty as well.

At "Time to Blossom," a Young Women's Conference created by two women from Mesa, Debbie Forrest and Carla Jorgensen, girls experienced a week filled with fun activities, testimony-building experiences and presentations by some of the most popular youth speakers in the Church.

"I really like the theme-Time to Blossom-my dad told me about this conference and I just decided it was my time to blossom," says Alyson Richardson, 16, of the 61st Ward in the Mesa East Stake.

Maghan Allred, 17, of the Val Vista Ward in the Queen Creek South Stake, says she attended "Time to Blossom" to meet other people and mostly, "because I wanted to build my testimony."

Others, like Aurelia Noble, 14, of Mesa East Stake's 46th Ward, and Colleen Russell, 15, of the Thayer Park Ward in the Mountain View Stake, say they thought it would be "fun" and that the conference would offer them a "good bonding experience."

As the week progressed, the young women were able to put what they were learning into practice, with a dress-up party, a fashion show and opportunities to serve one another with kind deeds as well as participating in a service project to help orphans in Africa.

For that project, girls gathered around tables to fashion small, blanket-wrapped dolls, 500 of them, that were to go to young children in Africa who have lost both of their parents to AIDS.

The presentations and workshops were highly interactive as well, with instructors like Lacey Nymeyer, Michele Baer and Heather Sandstrom teaching lessons in becoming better inside and out. They were treated to a presentation about body image by sisters April Price and Rachel Stewart and Vivian Cline taught lessons in proper posture, wardrobe selection and poise.

Early in the week, in a presentation by well-known author and motivational speaker. John Bytheway, young women heard messages about modesty and morality, delivered in the popular speaker's frank, but fun, approach.

He talked about obedience to the things the scriptures and modern day prophets have asked, saying that it comes down to "willingness. It's not about ears, it's about attitude. It's not about hemlines, it's about your heart, it's not about dress, it's about disposition," he said.

The bestselling author of A Crash Course in Teenage Survival and several other books, Brother Bytheway also shared his love for the scriptures.

He told the young women, "Satan is the enemy of romance;" and encouraged them to choose their friends wisely.

"A friend is someone who makes it easer to live the gospel of Jesus Christ," he said.

The cofounders said, from the conference, they wanted the girls "to realize that each one of them is unique and each one of them has their own mission and path in life and their inner beauty comes as they live into that mission and as they live true to who they are and develop the spirit from within."

"Time to Blossom" is already being planned for another session and for other locations next year. For updates about next year's events, visit www.timetoblossom.com.