EFY: The paid youth clergy that is killing youth conference? - cougarguard.com — unofficial BYU Cougars / LDS sports, football, basketball forum and message board

UtahDan · 01-12-2008, 12:53 PM

http://beginningsnew.blogspot.com/2008/01/ef-why.html

Very interesting entry. Much on this site that is well worth reading. The author is an acquaintance who is a well respected historian and teaches at an Ivy league school.

myboynoah · 01-13-2008, 03:31 AM

We've done it twice and it was a godsend for our daughters. French LDS guys were real, well, French. It restored hope that there were some "cool" Mormon guys out there. It also let them know that they were not alone in holding to their LDS values. We're debating whether or not we'll do it this summer. The ward and stake youth programs are very strong here, so that need isn't there. Also, we have no planned trip to Utah, so probably not.

EFY isn't killing local stake youth conferences. I think they started scaling those back a while ago.

YOhio · 01-13-2008, 04:31 AM

It doesn't bother me that EFY counselors and speakers are paid. I'd be surprised if the counselor's hourly rate were above minimum wage. The speakers make their real money from the books purchased by former EFY/YC attendees (think John Bytheway).

My biggest concern with EFY are the emotionally manipulative tactics used by the counselors and teachers. Perhaps I'm still annoyed that I was sent back to the dorm after mocking my counselor's object lesson that taught the atonement by making some sorry kid do a ton of pushups so everybody could get a jawbreaker.

UtahDan · 01-13-2008, 06:21 PM

The part that resonated the most with me was the idea that where we used to have youth conferences on a larger scale that financially could be made to work for all the kids, that these are really dying out and that EFY participation has replaced much of this, but only for those who can afford it.

Wouldn't it be better for Stakes to be having bigger, better, youth conferences that all can participate in?

By the way, I did EFY when I was a teenager and really enjoyed it. My perspective has changed a lot since then though.

Jeff Lebowski · 01-13-2008, 07:39 PM

My two older boys went to EFY a few times. I think they viewed it primarily as an opportunity to meet cute girls from all over the country. We figured if any deeper learning took place, that would be a nice bonus.

Mrs. Funk · 01-13-2008, 07:40 PM

I went to EFY when I was 15 and it was a remarkably spiritual experience. However, exhaustion was seemingly used as a "tactic" to get people to feel the Spirit. On nights we had dances, we'd get back to the dorms near midnight, and the next morning we'd have small group devotional at 6 AM. We were herded around in July heat, participated in team-building exercises, were told to read our scriptures at least an hour a day, etc. etc. By the time we had the testimony meeting on Thursday night after 4 days of running on 3 hours of sleep in 98 degree weather, I was so exhausted that I completely lost control of myself and bawled through the whole meeting. At the time, I attributed it to feeling the Spirit so strongly (which I'm sure I did), but largely my defenses were totally worn down that I was bordering on delusion.

Maybe my experience is an extreme one. And maybe part of the point is to keep kids so busy at these things that they can't get in trouble with the cute girl in the dorm next door. I don't think EFY was a bad experience or that kids shouldn't go to it. At least to me, it seemed emotionally manipulative to get me to the point that I was crying hysterically and attribute it to the Spirit.

MikeWaters · 01-13-2008, 09:22 PM

None of the kids from my ward have gone.

creekster · 01-14-2008, 01:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by myboynoah

EFY isn't killing local stake youth conferences. I think they started scaling those back a while ago.

This was my impression as well. I thought that EFY was filling a gap resulting from the retrenchment of stake youth conferences.

01-12-2008, 12:53 PM	#1
UtahDan Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: The Bluth Home Posts: 3,877	EFY: The paid youth clergy that is killing youth conference? http://beginningsnew.blogspot.com/2008/01/ef-why.html Very interesting entry. Much on this site that is well worth reading. The author is an acquaintance who is a well respected historian and teaches at an Ivy league school. __________________ The Bible tells us how to go to heaven, not how the heavens go. -Galileo

01-13-2008, 03:31 AM	#2
myboynoah Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Memphis freakin' Tennessee!!!!! Posts: 4,530	We've done it twice and it was a godsend for our daughters. French LDS guys were real, well, French. It restored hope that there were some "cool" Mormon guys out there. It also let them know that they were not alone in holding to their LDS values. We're debating whether or not we'll do it this summer. The ward and stake youth programs are very strong here, so that need isn't there. Also, we have no planned trip to Utah, so probably not. EFY isn't killing local stake youth conferences. I think they started scaling those back a while ago. __________________ Give 'em Hell, Cougars!!! Religion rises inevitably from our apprehension of our own death. To give meaning to meaninglessness is the endless quest of all religion. When death becomes the center of our consciousness, then religion authentically begins. Of all religions that I know, the one that most vehemently and persuasively defies and denies the reality of death is the original Mormonism of the Prophet, Seer and Revelator, Joseph Smith.

01-13-2008, 06:21 PM	#4
UtahDan Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: The Bluth Home Posts: 3,877	The part that resonated the most with me was the idea that where we used to have youth conferences on a larger scale that financially could be made to work for all the kids, that these are really dying out and that EFY participation has replaced much of this, but only for those who can afford it. Wouldn't it be better for Stakes to be having bigger, better, youth conferences that all can participate in? By the way, I did EFY when I was a teenager and really enjoyed it. My perspective has changed a lot since then though. __________________ The Bible tells us how to go to heaven, not how the heavens go. -Galileo

01-13-2008, 07:39 PM	#5
Jeff Lebowski Charon Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: In the heart of darkness (Provo) Posts: 9,564	My two older boys went to EFY a few times. I think they viewed it primarily as an opportunity to meet cute girls from all over the country. We figured if any deeper learning took place, that would be a nice bonus. __________________ "... the arc of the universe is long but it bends toward justice." Martin Luther King, Jr.

01-13-2008, 04:31 AM	#3
YOhio AKA SeattleNewt Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 7,055	It doesn't bother me that EFY counselors and speakers are paid. I'd be surprised if the counselor's hourly rate were above minimum wage. The speakers make their real money from the books purchased by former EFY/YC attendees (think John Bytheway). My biggest concern with EFY are the emotionally manipulative tactics used by the counselors and teachers. Perhaps I'm still annoyed that I was sent back to the dorm after mocking my counselor's object lesson that taught the atonement by making some sorry kid do a ton of pushups so everybody could get a jawbreaker.

01-13-2008, 07:40 PM	#6
Mrs. Funk Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 367	I went to EFY when I was 15 and it was a remarkably spiritual experience. However, exhaustion was seemingly used as a "tactic" to get people to feel the Spirit. On nights we had dances, we'd get back to the dorms near midnight, and the next morning we'd have small group devotional at 6 AM. We were herded around in July heat, participated in team-building exercises, were told to read our scriptures at least an hour a day, etc. etc. By the time we had the testimony meeting on Thursday night after 4 days of running on 3 hours of sleep in 98 degree weather, I was so exhausted that I completely lost control of myself and bawled through the whole meeting. At the time, I attributed it to feeling the Spirit so strongly (which I'm sure I did), but largely my defenses were totally worn down that I was bordering on delusion. Maybe my experience is an extreme one. And maybe part of the point is to keep kids so busy at these things that they can't get in trouble with the cute girl in the dorm next door. I don't think EFY was a bad experience or that kids shouldn't go to it. At least to me, it seemed emotionally manipulative to get me to the point that I was crying hysterically and attribute it to the Spirit.

01-13-2008, 09:22 PM	#7
MikeWaters Demiurge Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 36,365	None of the kids from my ward have gone.