How I Lead as Primary President | Interviews with Lynzi Clyde and Marcie Bayles

Sister Lynzi Clyde Lynzi Clyde was born and raised in Mesa, Arizona as a member of the church. She attended Arizona State University for one year and then transferred to Brigham Young University in Utah. She and her husband have been married eight years and have three children. They currently live in Boston, Massachusetts and previously lived in a Utah ward where Kurt was their bishop. Highlights 7:00 Lynzi was called as a Primary president at age 23, with a brand new baby, in a highly transient ward of primarily Harvard Business School students 9:45 The ward youth and primary are combined with a Spanish branch and a Mandarin branch 11:25 Biggest blessing was amazing alignment of counselors: two from the English ward, one from the Spanish branch, one from the Mandarin branch, and a secretary from the English ward 12:35 Creating unity in this primary started by building unity in the presidency. She started with “highs and lows”: what is going well and what do you need prayers for? This allowed them to feel more comfortable and also willing to share ideas with each other. We need to be vulnerable if we are going to touch people 14:35 How to lead with non-English speaking parents: two experiences, one good and one not as good. * A child with learning disabilities – spent lots of time trying to engage him, but in the two years saw little progress. She told the mom to just keep bringing him back and let him be with them. Three years later, saw him in the hallway preparing for baptism. It could have gone a different way if they hadn’t included him in the primary. We need to work with the parents and communicate the love that we have for their children so they can leave them with us. * A child from a non-English-speaking family – as it was time to move to Sunbeam class, her mother didn’t want her to move out of nursery. The “rules” say to move the child, and the nursery leaders wanted her to be moved but the mother didn’t want it to happen. Kept pushing the mom and she did take her to Sunbeams, but the girl ran away and got lost in the building. It ended badly and she knew she didn’t follow the spirit like she could have. They later left the branch and she felt she didn’t do what she needed to do to express love. * How do we support the family and the parents in these decisions? 25:00 We need to stand up for our own revelation. She knows she can be straightforward and demanding when asking for what she needs. She tried to understand the difficulty of the bishopric in this ward as well, but just kept pushing and providing the reasoning. Every chance she got, I would send emails, talk to them in the hall, just a reminder constantly. There's a balance between advocating for what you need but also stepping back and just take care of the Sunday meeting time. 29:15 Don’t be afraid to have the discussion or push the discussion. What is the worst that can happen? Reference to Barbara Morgan Gardner’s book “Women and the Priesthood”. 30:10 The bishops and counselors always asked “what is your biggest need” – both in the callings, but also spiritually. Get yourself past that barrier of needing to sugar-coat everything. Be willing to speak up. You will feel a closer bond with those that you struggle with in the end. 32:20 Lynzi's “Learn, Live, Love Yourself” podcast for Latter-day Saint women who are passionate about progress, who like to challenge themselves and learn things. She provides “POP” (power of practice) challenges with every episode. 34:50 How has leading made you a better follower of Jesus Christ? “It has put me on a faster track to spiritual maturity.” Sister Marcie Bayles Marcie Bayles lives in Bentonville, Arkansas. Originally from Colleyville, Texas, she has also lived in Southern California and Shenzhen, China. She previously taught high school Computer Science and Math and is currently a Li...