Youth Turning 18 progression to YSA Sunday School

[Leesat]

With the changes to advancement to their next class happening in a group and at the beginning of the year, what happens to youth turning 18 in that year?

Do they stay in their youth Sunday school class until they turn 18, then individually go to their next Sunday school class, either adult Sunday School or YSA Sunday School.

Or, do all youth turning 18 this year go up as a group to their respective adult/YSA class this week?

I have not seen any clarification on those turning 18, only youth turning 12, 14, 16 during the year are specifically mentioned.

[jdlessley]

There has been no change in the direction for youth turning 18. The handbook instructions still apply. For young women see Handbook 2, 10.1.5, Eighteen-Year-Old Young Women. For the Aaronic Priesthood see Handbook 2, 8.8.

[jewoolley]

I'm not trying to be difficult, but I'm not sure those handbook sections apply to the original question. The question was about the 18-year-old youth moving up to Adult or YSA Sunday School. The sections referenced have to do with Relief Society and receiving Melchizedek Priesthood. Neither specifically deals with Sunday School Advancement.

[russellhltn]

From the December 14th letter:

Each Sunday School presidency organizes youth ages 11 to 18 into classes according to age. Classes could be organized for each age-group, or they could be combined for more than one age-group.

From Handbook 2: 12.4.1 - Sunday School/Classes for Youth

The Sunday School presidency generally organizes youth ages 12 to 18 into classes according to their age on January 1. For example, the presidency may organize a class for all young men and women who are 14 or 15 years old on January 1. The youth stay in that same class until the next year.

Which leads to some head scratching on my part, but the text seems quite clear. I would have expected something closer to advancement based on high school graduation.

[scgallafent]

I'm not trying to be difficult, but I'm not sure those handbook sections apply to the original question. The question was about the 18-year-old youth moving up to Adult or YSA Sunday School. The sections referenced have to do with Relief Society and receiving Melchizedek Priesthood. Neither specifically deals with Sunday School Advancement.

Although they specifically talk about Relief Society and elders quorum, the principles in those sections provide some guidance that can be help you determine the best answer to the question.

Based on the letter russellhltn quoted, "Each Sunday School presidency organizes youth ages 11 to 18 into classes according to age." The default answer would be to create Course 18 and put the eighteen-year-olds in that class.

There are six eighteen-year-old members in my ward.

• Two of those are on missions. Problem solved.
• One has graduated from high school and is in the process of completing mission papers.
• Another sister has graduated and is going to college.
• The two remaining members are still high school seniors and will graduate in May.

Does it make sense to create Course 18 and put the two seniors in with the soon-to-leave missionary and the college student? Probably not.

Does it make sense to move the two high school seniors into Gospel Doctrine when the rest of their peer group is in Course 17? Probably not.

Our decision will likely be to have the graduated sister attend Gospel Doctrine and put the two high school seniors with the members in Course 17 ("[classes] could be combined for more than one age-group").

The instructions for young women say:

A young woman normally advances into Relief Society on her 18th birthday or in the coming year. By age 19, each young woman should be fully participating in Relief Society. Because of individual circumstances, such as personal testimony, maturity, school graduation, desire to continue with peers, and college attendance, a young woman may advance into Relief Society earlier than her 18th birthday or remain in Young Women longer. Each young woman counsels with her parents and the bishop to decide what will best help her remain an active participant in the Church.

The suggested principles for young women are that:

• A young woman normally advances into Relief Society on her 18th birthday or in the coming year. By age 19, each young woman should be fully participating in Relief Society. -- If we try to apply that principle to progression to Gospel Doctrine, this decision seems to conform to the Handbook guidance, with the eighteen-year-olds fully integrated into Gospel Doctrine by their 19th birthday.
• ... school graduation, desire to continue with peers, and college attendance ... -- The two seniors would probably be more comfortable with the Course 17 students than in Gospel Doctrine, so we can accommodate their desire to stay with their peers until graduation without putting them in a tiny Sunday School class. The graduated sister is at a point where transitioning to Gospel Doctrine makes sense. Graduation is a natural time for the two eighteen-year-old seniors to make the shift to Gospel Doctrine.
• Each young woman counsels with her parents and the bishop to decide what will best help her remain an active participant in the Church. -- The parents and affected youth should be involved in the decision. Check.

Based on our ward's circumstances, this seems like a reasonable implementation that meets the intent of (1) the attachment to the December 14 First Presidency letter, (2) the guidelines in Handbook 2, and (3) the First Presidency's stated desire to strengthen youth by having them progress as age groups.

What we decide for our ward may not make sense for another ward based on its circumstances. You will need to study the instructions and get your own revelation on the best approach for your individual ward.

[russellhltn]

Although they specifically talk about Relief Society and elders quorum, the principles in those sections provide some guidance that can be help you determine the best answer to the question.

While I agree with the idea, a strict reading of the Handbook suggests that advancement in Sunday School is different than advancing to EQ/RS. Sunday School doesn't seem to have the same flexibility that advancement to EQ/RS has. That's the part that left me scratching my head. I'm not sure if it's intentional to provide a "phased in" approach to "adulthood" or not.

[lajackson]

In the past, it sometimes did not make sense to transition between youth and adult Sunday School classes during the year because they were often teaching different subjects. I do not believe that will be a problem with the new curriculum.

This area has always been a challenge for bishops and leaders because everyone is different. But sometime between the age of 18 and 19, often but not always around the time of high school graduation or during the summer months afterward, a Young Man or Woman leaves YM/YW and youth SS, and becomes involved with EQ/RS, Young Single Adults, and adult SS.

Most bishops, counseling with the member, the parents, and other leaders, are able to find the right time for this to happen, but it is a very individual thing, and it takes a lot of effort and listening to the Spirit among the adults and all others involved for the transition, at any age, to be successful.

[scgallafent]

What lajackson said.

I spent this morning with my ward Sunday School president helping him clean up his Sunday School rolls for tomorrow. During the process, I realized that we had not implemented Course 18, which prompted a few phones call and text messages this morning to determine whether what we did with the software correctly matched what the brethren intended.

The software systems do NOT generate a Course 18 class for Sunday School. The abbreviated version of our discussion this morning is that 18-year-old members will be assigned to Gospel Doctrine by default. The bishop and parents should work together with the Sunday School president to determine which class will best meet the needs of each of the individual youth and help them to remain active participants and be strengthened by their attendance. That may mean that some of those youth attend Course 17 and others attend Gospel Doctrine.

[russellhltn]

Yes, the Handbooks give latitude to hold back an 18 yo. The fun one is a 17 yo that just graduated high school. But in most cases, a 17 year old graduate will be 18 before year's end making them a "turn 18 this (the year they graduate) year".

[scgallafent]

The fun one is a 17 yo that just graduated high school.

Don't forget the 17-year-olds who go to college before they turn 18. The computers want to put them in Course 17 and the laurel class or priests quorum.