.:Released:.

Today I was officially released as Young Women's President in our ward. I've known it was coming for about a month, and I knew exactly who was going to be replacing me. (She's going to be AMAZING!) I have to admit that I thought I would feel relieved to be released, and have more of a celebratory attitude about it. Being YW president has required a lot of my time, and I thought I would be so happy to have that time back! But I surprised myself when I had my meeting with our Bishop and first counselor by tearing up and feeling so sad about being released. I'm sure it will be nice to have some of that time back, but at the same time, I'm going to miss my girls so much. I have seen many girls graudate and off to college, and have also seen girls come in as eager Beehives that are now Mia Maids. I've seen them through so much, and it kind of makes me sad that I won't be there for the rest!

Our Bishop and first counselor were so complimentary, which I'm sure I didn't even deserve half of it. But it was validating to have them share their feelings with me, and feel that hopefully I did make a little bit of a difference in some of these girls' lives. I've been so impressed with these girls, and hope that I am able to raise Reece and any future daughters that we have to be as strong and incredible as they are. I know that they have probably all taught me far more than I have taught them, and I'm so grateful for that.

As of now, I don't have a new calling yet, but I'm sure it is in my near future with the size of our ward! I'm kind of nervous to see where I get put, but kind of excited, too. It will be interesting to serve in a new capacity. We moved into this ward almost exactly three years ago. I was immediately put in as first counselor in YW, and about five months after that started serving as president. All I've lived and breathed for the past three years is young women's! I can hardly imagine going to Relief Society!

I just want to put down some of my favorite memories that I've had from serving in young women's with these wonderful girls. We've had some neat experiences together, and I know they've made a huge impact on my life.

- Seven in '07: This was right after I got put in as president. My presidency and I decided that we wanted to take the girls to seven different temples in Utah. This was a ward effort as we had to bring our own names to all of the temples that weren't our temple district (so six of the seven) and had to bring our own priesthood to each of those temples as well. It was so unifying to have so many different ward members involved with what we were doing. Some of my girls got to do their own family names. We got to visit seven beautiful temples in Utah. A lot our trips were on Saturdays, or other days that weren't our regularly scheduled mutual nights. It was a real testament to me of these girls' testimonies that they were willing to give up their Saturdays and Friday nites to attend the temple and serve the Lord. It was an awesome experience, and I hope it made a lasting impression on the girls.

- Eight in '08: It's hard to follow up after visiting seven different temples, but we tried to take the girls to eight different church history sites during 2008. I'm not sure if we really ended up hitting eight, but I know that we had some incredible times visiting the humanitarian center, finding prophet's headstones in the cemetary, the church history museum, doing a scavenger hunt at the family history library, and hiking Ensign Peak. I think it is so important for our youth to know the history of our church, and hear of the sacrifices that the pioneers made. It really makes you reflect on your own willingness to serve and sacrifice!

- Youth Temple Celebration: This was this year, and it was such an incredible experience! We were working in correlation with a few thousand other youth to prepare a cultural event to perform for President Monson. We learned Polynesian dances and sang beautiful songs. It was A LOT of time practicing, driving to the conference center, and learning new things. While the main purpose of this was to put on a performance for the prophet, I really had a testimony of it being for the youth and their families. We had youth coming every single week that rarely, if ever, come to our normal activities. We had parents attending the performace in the Conference Center that don't even come to church. I think this was meant to serve the youth and help them feel the Spirit, but also to help their families feel that Spirit. When we did our performance for the prophet that nite, it was the most incredible feeling. You could just feel everyone buzzing - the energy was incredible! The Spirit was so strong, and I can't even describe how amazing it was to have thousands of people singing "We Thank Thee Oh God for a Prophet" when President Monson walked in. Definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity!

- Draper Temple Open House: We were able to take some of our girls to the Draper Temple Open House. It was pretty amazing to be there with the girls, and have them asking questions about the different rooms. It was such a neat experience for them to be able to see all of the temple now, and to get that desire to return. We didn't go as a group for the Oquirrh Mountain Temple because that is our new temple, and most of the girls attended with their families.

I'm sure I could go on and on, but I'll stop for now. It's been an incredible three years, and it is bittersweet for it to be over. I'm so grateful for all of the opportunities I've had, and all of the lessons I've learned! We'll see what's in store for me next!