New names for Young Women’s age groups.

[The Nehor]

3 hours ago, Rain said:

Does "deacon" have a meaning? Or "priest"?  Teacher does.  I go back and forth of whether priest does, mostly because the meaning I have in my mind seems to fit better outside the church than in. But then very little of what teachers in the church do today is teach. So it kind of feels like the YW titles are reminders of how they should act, but AP are job titles.

Deacon comes from the Greek diakonos which roughly translated mean servant. Its biblical foundation is the seven men in Acts assigned to take care of funds and feed the hungry so the apostles/disciples would have time to focus on other things. In the Catholic Church after around the 6th century the office of deacon was mostly just a minor stepping stone on the way to being a priest until a few decades back there was an attempt to revitalize the office. There are women who are deacons in the New Testament as well. One use of the term was “Deacons of Defense” which in the 1960s functioned as armed bodyguards for prominent civil rights activists and stood as a check against activities of the Klan.

The term we translate as priest comes from the idea of someone who mediates between God (or the gods) and humanity usually through performing rites to placate or intercede with the divine. This sort of fits with the sacrament which is the Church’s form of a sacred rite that mediates between God and humanity. It “absolves” people of sin through the intercession of the priest who is standing in for Jesus who intercedes. Basically a lesser or representative priest.

Teacher is kind of a clunky name for an office because it doesn’t match with what most people think of as a teacher. The office fit slightly better into the mold in the earliest days of the Church when Aaronic Priesthood offices were more often held by adult men but it is now kind of awkward to have Teachers who rarely formally teach. Teachers have always been a bit of an awkward office. Preparing the sacrament isn’t in their list of duties in any formal sense but it fit well as a stepping stone.

[longview]

3 hours ago, The Nehor said:

I would have thought she had aged out of being a Messenger of Hope but:

 

I have always wondered about Leia's hairstyle (donuts over both ears). Is she emulating the design of tie fighters?

http://finescale.com/~/media/images/workbench-reviews/2022/12-december/wba-amt-tie-fighter/_dsc0669cropped.jpg

Edited April 21 by longview

[Buckeye]

Hopefully the church survives the eventual trademark suits. I’ll be quite jealous if the new curriculum for MiaMaids, I mean 14-15 Class, comes to resemble the OG Messengers of Hope 
https://messengersofhope.com

In seriousness, though, I think the biggest challenge with another name change will be convincing members that the change will actually stick. Anything is better than the prior names. I appreciate the effort here and think the names are positive. Time will tell if they stick. My preference still remains a rename to Deacon, Teacher, and Priest. 

[Calm]

53 minutes ago, Buckeye said:

. My preference still remains a rename to Deacon, Teacher, and Priest. 

Yeah, I think our greater culture is such now that these terms are generic enough that it wouldn’t take that long to get used to using them for both males and females.

But then you have to explain why the young women are called priests and deacons, but hold no priesthood authority (unless that change also occurred). I think too many would think it’s political correctness trying to appear like equality…either from one side thinking the Church is giving into social pressure or the other thinking it’s the Church trying to look like they are changing things without actually changing anything.

It’s logical choice to me given how priesthood is now taught from the pulpit, teaching those labels are indicative of both a greater role shared by both male and females, but that also includes a subset of those who ordained to perform certain services.  Kind of like how Levities had priests and nonpriests.

[Nofear]

Deseret News's ChurchBeat by Tad Walch had some nice historical context. Couldn't find a web version of the email.

ChurchBeat April 22, 2026

Once I was a Beehive: The interesting history behind the latest change in the Church of Jesus Christ A century ago, Americans loved clubs, organizations and associations. They loved them even more when they were saturated with symbolism. “Symbolism was a big deal in the early 20th century, peaking in the 1920s and 1930s,” says Lisa Olsen Tait, a Latter-day Saint historian. “They put on a lot of drama productions and pageants. On the Fourth of July, every Utah town had a Lady Liberty, a girl draped in white with a torch.” That era of elaborate symbolic systems and activities gave rise to the original Bee-Hive Girl program, an intricate summer program for girls in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It’s a history that Tait says adds richness and meaning to the new Young Women class names the church announced this week. The original Bee-Hive Girls were like Girl Scouts or Camp Fire Girls or Boy Scouts, earning achievements in three ranks, acquiring knowledge and skills until they became a leader capable of directing the work of others: Builder of the Hive. Gatherer of Honey. Keeper of the Bees. “You can see right there where some of the inspiration for these new names came from,” says Tait, co-author of “Carry On: A History of Young Women, 1870-2024." The new class names are: Builders of Faith (young women turning 12-13). Messengers of Hope (those turning 14-15). Gatherers of Light (16 or older). (See a through-the-years list of Young Women class names below.) Young Women General President Emily Belle Freeman read the manuscript of Tait’s book before it was published, soon after she was received her calling from church leaders. She told the co-authors at the time about the parts of the history that resonated with her. President Emily Belle Freeman, Young Women general president for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, speaks about the new displays as she and President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, give media members a tour of the new Visitors Center on Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Monday, April 13, 2026. (Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)   Church leaders retired the Beehive name in 2019, but Tait says the obvious through-line to the new class names adds depth to their meaning. That original Bee-Hive program was drenched in the symbolism of how a beehive worked. “They talked about what was called the spirit of the hive,” Tait says. It was a broad, symbolic conception of spirituality — have faith, seek knowledge, safeguard help, honor womanhood, understand beauty, know work, love truth, taste the sweetness of service, and feel joy. “They were helping girls to become full, whole persons, well developed and well balanced,” Tait says. Americans today don’t resonate in the same way with symbolism, she says. “To us, it feels a little bit cheesy. It feels kind of artificial, I guess, and just not something that we’re as comfortable with,” Tait says. It’s impossible to go back and replicate the Bee-Hive Girls program because too much has changed, she says. By 2019, when Beehive, Mia Maid and Laurel were retired as class names, few people understood their past. “They had lost their cultural cachet or symbolism,” she says, “and the idea of symbolism was less resonant for us by then.” Tait says the story of the class names is great way to think about the contributions history can make. “History is a very rich reservoir of ideas and inspiration and things that have resonated in the past,” she says. “I think this is a really lovely example of drawing on that reservoir of history in a way that can be applied and meaningful in the present.” The new class names solve another problem, as two Deseret News contributors wrote this week: They are easier to translate into dozens of languages than, say, Mia Maid. From her historian’s perspective, Tait likes the new class names. “I find it really delightful to be bringing back some of these elements from the past,” she says. “The context is totally different, and the way that they’ve been formulated, you don’t have to know the history. They can stand on their own and still convey something valuable.” There is one other way the history of the names can enrich the present, Tait says. “I think knowing the history can help us feel connected to the people of the past, to the young women and their experiences in the past,” she says. The following chart captures some of the names and age ranges of Young Women classes over the past 123 years. For more details, see the “Carry On: A History of Young Women” and ChurchofJesusChrist.org. Years Class Names 1903-21 Junior (14-16) Senior (17+) 1915-50 Bee-Hive Girls (12-16) Gleaners (17-30) 1950-59 Bee-Hive Girls (12-13) Mia Maids (14-15) Junior Gleaners (16-18) Gleaners (19-29) 1959-1972 Beehives (12-13) Mia Maids (14-15) Laurels (16-18) Gleaners (19-29) 1972-2019 Beehives (12-13) Mia Maids (14-15) Laurels (16-18) 2019-26 Young Women (No. of classes and age groups flexible) 2026-present Builders of Faith Messengers of Hope Gatherers of Light Historical meaning of retired names Beehive: Symbolized the importance of harmony, cooperation and work to Latter-day Saint pioneers. Mia Maid: The programs for Young Women and Young Men were under the umbrella term Mutual Improvement Association, or M.I.A. The rose was the class symbol, representing love, faith and purity. Laurel: Derived from the laurel wreath, a traditional symbol of honor and finishing a significant achievement. Gleaner: Based on the biblical story of Ruth, signifying gathering and leadership.

[Calm]

21 minutes ago, Nofear said:

They are easier to translate into dozens of languages than, say, Mia Maid.

This would be a problem with anything that wasn’t a common concrete word or it’s the connotation that matters, like Laurels (though laurel wreaths are originally Greek iirc, would this be associated with honor in Asian and other areas that don’t draw much of their heritage from the Greek civilization even if familiar with the tree because of cooking as Asian cooking at least includes the laurel version of bay leaves as well as others?).  Builders, Messengers, Gatherers are as concrete roles as Priests and Teachers.  Deacons take a little religious info to understand probably.  I have seen Deacon used with non Christian faiths when translating, I haven’t paid close enough attention to what is said rather than the subtitles to hear if “deacon” was actually used or if it’s the translation only. 

[JAHS]

On 4/20/2026 at 12:13 PM, Que said:

Gleaners. It's... Gleaners. You are obviously too young.

The corresponding men's name was M-Men. But I can't remember what that meant.

[Calm]

https://www.thechurchnews.com/1992/1/25/23259884/some-things-uniquely-lds/

Quote

But what does M Men stand for? At a June conference in 1922, John A. Widtsoe was introduced as chairman of the newly created M Man Department. He asked those assembled at the conference to guess what the "M" stood for. Many said Mutual Men, Manly Men and Mormon Men. Showing great diplomacy, Elder Widtsoe announced that it stood for all good things that started with the letter M and was not limited to any one meaning.

 

Take your pick

[Calm]

On 4/20/2026 at 7:00 PM, The Nehor said:

Ruth goes out to glean and luckily ends up with Naomi’s close relative

Came across this and immediately thought of your comment.  Strategic gleaning…

Quote

"Gleaners . . . could do no better than to follow in her [Ruth's] footsteps and glean in the various fields of life, choosing only the best in their gleaning," according to the History of the YWMIA by Marba C. Josephson.

https://www.thechurchnews.com/1992/1/25/23259884/some-things-uniquely-lds/

[Rain]

You may only be able to see this on Instagram. Sorry, I tried finding it elsewhere.

"The Young Men General Presidency trying to come up with equally whimsical names."

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DXYc7A6gRtA/?igsh=MWdqdTltZHZkcDh5Yg==

[bluebell]

29 minutes ago, Rain said:

You may only be able to see this on Instagram. Sorry, I tried finding it elsewhere.

"The Young Men General Presidency trying to come up with equally whimsical names."

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DXYc7A6gRtA/?igsh=MWdqdTltZHZkcDh5Yg==

I saw that last week and sent it to so many people, I thought it was hilarious and adorable!

[The Nehor]

2 hours ago, Rain said:

You may only be able to see this on Instagram. Sorry, I tried finding it elsewhere.

"The Young Men General Presidency trying to come up with equally whimsical names."

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DXYc7A6gRtA/?igsh=MWdqdTltZHZkcDh5Yg==

 

[The Nehor]

2 hours ago, Rain said:

You may only be able to see this on Instagram. Sorry, I tried finding it elsewhere.

"The Young Men General Presidency trying to come up with equally whimsical names."

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DXYc7A6gRtA/?igsh=MWdqdTltZHZkcDh5Yg==

Cute, not sure why “Federation” would be a starting point but I guess they are in the “no bad ideas” stage of brainstorming. Also the obsession with swords is pretty typical. When Nephi finds Laban drunk in the street the first thing he mentions is how neat and amazing the sword is. Typical teenage behavior.

 

[bluebell]

39 minutes ago, The Nehor said:

Cute, not sure why “Federation” would be a starting point but I guess they are in the “no bad ideas” stage of brainstorming. Also the obsession with swords is pretty typical. When Nephi finds Laban drunk in the street the first thing he mentions is how neat and amazing the sword is. Typical teenage behavior.

 

It’s playing on both pro stereotype and anti stereotype ideas. So you get stuff like  The Harmonites and then the Swords of Justice.  A large part of me wishes it wasn’t a spoof because calling the deacons the Federation of Joy would be the best part of church.  😂

[longview]

Knights of Chivalry . . . Sons of Light . . . Adherents to Truth . . . Scouts for the One Way . . . Covenant Seekers . . .

[The Nehor]

Warlords of Order, Hellknights of Heaven, Slaves of the Most High, Masters of the Universe, Lords of Light, The Iron Pathfinders.

[Okrahomer]

21 hours ago, The Nehor said:

Warlords of Order, Hellknights of Heaven, Slaves of the Most High, Masters of the Universe, Lords of Light, The Iron Pathfinders.

Passers of Gas

Defenders of the Folding Chairs

Perpetuators of Mild Chaos

 

 

[Rain]

53 minutes ago, Okrahomer said:

Passers of Gas

Defenders of the Folding Chairs

Perpetuators of Mild Chaos

 

 

I'm curious about the defenders. Those chairs sound rather dangerous folding all over the place. Are you sure they need defending?

[Calm]

1 hour ago, Okrahomer said:

Passers of Gas

You were in Scouts, weren’t you…

Edited April 30 by Calm

[Okrahomer]

16 hours ago, Rain said:

I'm curious about the defenders. Those chairs sound rather dangerous folding all over the place. Are you sure they need defending?

Oh you’re right! The preposition matters when the enemy is furniture:  Defenders From the Folding Chairs!

[Okrahomer]

16 hours ago, Calm said:

You were in Scouts, weren’t you…

In my scouting experience, “Leave no trace” was more of a guideline than a rule.