Yesterday, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced significant refinements to its Children and Youth program. These changes will go into effect in January 2027.
The announcement follows the introduction of the new youth curriculum based on the “For the Strength of Youth” guide and the addition of topic-based fast Sunday lessons in Primary. It is the third and final phase of a coordinated, three-stage rollout.
Here are 10 things parents and leaders should know.
1. The program centers on three outcomes: Believe, Belong, Become.
The program’s previous focus on four areas of growth—spiritual, social, physical, and intellectual—is being replaced with three Christ-centered outcomes:
-
- Believe in Jesus Christ through gospel learning.
- Belong to Jesus Christ and His Church through service and activities.
- Become more like Jesus Christ through personal development.
2. Primary children will set gospel-centered goals.
Beginning in January, Primary children will participate in special fast Sunday lessons found at the end of the Come, Follow Me manual. Beginning the year they turn 8, children will have the opportunity to set goals based on these lessons, with support from their parents. Materials for each month’s topic will be included in the Friend magazine.
Valiant activities can help support Primary children in their goals. Children will no longer track progress across categories but will instead focus on applying gospel principles in their daily lives. They can record goals in a journal or on the Friend’s workpages, but the emphasis will be on growth rather than documentation.
3. Youth will respond to invitations instead of setting traditional goals.
Goal setting in the four previous categories will be discontinued. Instead, each month youth will study a chapter of the updated “For the Strength of Youth: A Guide for Making Choices” and act on an invitation from that chapter—or create their own invitation based on the month’s topic.
These invitations are meant to encourage meaningful engagement with gospel principles rather than the completion of assignments. They are modeled after the invitations missionaries make to those they are teaching, and they are designed to promote accountability at the end of each month. The lesson questions are designed to be intentionally challenging, encouraging youth to jump into the scriptures and other gospel materials rather than just providing easy answers.
4. Sunday youth lessons will follow a monthly pattern.
The new curriculum, which was introduced in September, follows a specific monthly rhythm.
-
- Fast Sunday: Introduce a new gospel topic from the For the Strength of Youth guide and select an invitation to accept.
- Middle Sunday(s): Explore the topic by delving into the scriptures and materials from the For the Strength of Youth magazine.
- “Last Sunday” (the final youth meeting of the month): Reflect on personal growth and how the invitations have helped the youth become more like Jesus Christ, and discuss men and women from the scriptures who exemplify that month’s topic of discussion.
Note that rather than using “first Sunday, second Sunday, etc.,” the lessons are specifically assigned to the fast Sunday, the last Sunday, and the middle Sundays. That means, for example, if a ward has fast Sunday on the second Sunday of April or October because of general conference, that second Sunday would be the day the fast Sunday lesson is taught. If a month has only two youth lessons (for example, when general conference and stake conference are held in the same month), the “Fast Sunday” and “Last Sunday” lessons should be taught, and the middle Sunday lessons should be skipped.
5. Young Women and Young Men programs will have new emphases for each age group.
Young women will learn about their roles as Builders of Faith, Messengers of Hope, Gatherers of Light, and future members of Relief Society. Young men will focus on their development and responsibilities as deacons, teachers, priests, and elders.
As the youth progress to the next age group, they will have additional opportunities and responsibilities. Older youth will also be encouraged to mentor younger youth with their invitations and in other areas as needed.
These refinements do not change priesthood offices or ordination responsibilities.
6. Most existing emblems are being retired, with new recognition introduced gradually.
Youth entering elders quorum or Relief Society in or around May 2027 may complete the previous program and receive recognition. All other youth will transition to the new program in January 2027.
Youth entering the new program will receive a small crystal Christus statue. These are expected to become available in mid-2027 due to production timelines. Local leaders will be notified when the statues are ready to order. Beginning in January 2028, youth will receive these emblems upon entering the youth program at a special beginning-of-year program called Brand New Year.
Also beginning in 2028, the year they turn 16, eligible priests will receive an oil vial, which represents preparation for ordination to the Melchizedek Priesthood, missionary service, and temple covenants. This emblem should not be read as indicating a change in priesthood office responsibilities. Young men may share their vial of oil with a Melchizedek Priesthood holder giving a blessing, but they are not authorized to give blessings yet.
In 2028, eligible Gatherers of Light will receive a locket to remind them of their future temple covenants the year that they turn 16. The locket has a floral motif design patterned after early temples, a temple engraving, and a place to put pictures of Jesus Christ. These pictures can be found monthly in the For the Strength of Youth magazine.
For both the young men and young women, receiving these items will require acting on invitations from the “For the Strength of Youth” guide over time and reading or listening to the Book of Mormon.
Primary children will receive an image of Jesus Christ and a Book of Mormon when they are baptized or when they turn 8. They may also receive a temple ring as they learn the Articles of Faith.
7. Year-end celebrations will recognize growth instead of checklist completion.
Primary children will participate in a year-end Celebration of Growth, while youth will have a Celebration of Lifelong Discipleship.
Participants will not have to demonstrate they have achieved particular milestones; rather, these gatherings will provide opportunities to share experiences and recognize spiritual development. These celebrations may be organized at the ward or stake level, depending on local circumstances.
8. Midweek activities, camps, and conferences are staying.
The refinements do not change or eliminate the program’s recreational elements. Wards and branches will continue to hold valiant activities, midweek youth activities, service projects, camps, conferences, and other gatherings. Each month, new youth activity ideas will be added to the Youth section of the Gospel Library app. These activity ideas are just ideas, and local leaders are welcome to use them or come up with their own.
At a Nov. 3, 2026, media event, President Emily Belle Freeman, the Young Women General President, emphasized that these activities should be fun—the kind of activities that youth and Valiant Primary children will want to participate in and tell their friends about. Older youth will be encouraged to help plan activities and support younger participants, strengthening relationships across age groups.
9. New resources will be available, including print options.
The January 2027 issues of the Friend and For the Strength of Youth magazines, now available digitally in 86 languages in the Gospel Library app, will include implementation information for leaders on the new programs, including a toolkit for the youth program and a parent and leader guide for Primary. The Children and Youth sections in the Gospel Library app contain implementation videos for leaders and the children and youth.
Children and youth who have their own devices may choose to use the Gospel Library app for their notes and for setting goals or respond to invitations. However, for those who do not have their own devices, or for wards and parents who are trying to reduce device use, the core program resources will be available in the monthly magazines. Families with multiple children may print additional copies of these materials at home, or youth leaders may print them each month.
Families are encouraged to make sure they are subscribed to their free copy of these magazines each month. Households that do not have youth or Primary children at home can also still subscribe to these magazines and share their copies with families who have multiple children in each program. Parents can also purchase additional copies of the magazines at Deseret Book or at store.churchofjesuschrist.org.
10. The biggest change is philosophical: discipleship is not just rules, nor is it a checklist.
Instead of emphasizing goals, earned emblems, or progress across specific categories, the program is designed to help young people focus more on building a relationship with Jesus Christ and becoming more like Him.
The program is more structured than before the refinements, but it also avoids the trap of becoming another gospel “to-do” list. Every lesson and activity points back to those desired outcomes of believing, belonging, and becoming. Parents will be central to the program, creating room for meaningful conversations at home and individualized goals.
Leaders across all three programs expressed excitement that children and youth will have opportunities to experience gospel principles in action and deepen conversion as they act on invitations extended in the lessons.
Additional information about the programs can be found at churchofjesuschrist.org, in the January issues of the Friend and For the Strength of Youth magazines, in several podcast discussions with general leaders, and in the Youth and Children sections of the Gospel Library app.
