What we did for mutual... "Let the Holy Spirit Guide"

It's been SO HARD to find ideas for youth activities for my teeny tiny branch! Now that I feel like I'm starting to get into the swing of things, I decided to start sharing what we've done each time to help out anyone else planning mutual activities for small groups.

When I'm planning an activity, I try to guess how many people will be there, but the truth is that we could have just one youth or ten. Luckily, our wonderful missionaries and branch presidency are willing to join in on the fun!

Last week, our activity was a classic blindfolded obstacle course. The branch president's wife helped set up chairs in our "multipurpose room" and the youth took turns wearing a blindfold and walking through the course. I tried not to give too many instructions because I like to see what happens naturally in this game.

The rules: 

• One person acts as the "Holy Ghost" and stands behind the ribbon, giving verbal instructions only 
• For an extra challenge, specify that they can only say the words "left," "right," "backwards," and "forwards" 
• Those who know those words in another language can easily differentiate who their "Holy Ghost" is among all the voices in the room because that's the only person speaking Spanish or Chinese 
• The person walking through the course must be blindfolded before entering the room 
• Others are told that they're "allowed" to create distractions (they get really into it) 
• For added intensity, assign one person to be the "adversary" actively trying to discourage those walking through 
• Warning: This can get really intense, so be prepared to step in if it becomes too overwhelming 
• Challenge mode: If the person walking through the course bumps into anything, he or she has to start over 
• Challenge mode: Have multiple people go through the course at once (with or without a separate "Holy Ghost" for each) 

One of my favorite things about this activity is that the spiritual lessons to go along with it are created naturally, as the youth (or YSAs, or even missionaries) interact with one another. You'll notice principles you can point out on your own, but here are two things that I've used when leading the game with different groups.

FIRST: The "Holy Ghost" has to stay behind the ribbon, but the person going through the course can go as close to it or as far from it as they want, even crossing under the line to stand right beside it. All of the distractions and the "adversary" can move around the room however they want, standing right in front of the "Holy Ghost" and trying to mimic its voice or climbing on chairs to whisper in the person's ear.

This is symbolic of how we have to be receptive to the spirit, and how the more we listen and act on its promptings, the easier it is for us to receive additional guidance and filter out negative voices. When we're far from the spirit, it can be hard to tell whether the promptings we receive are of the spirit, but as we draw closer to it and become experienced in obeying, it's easier to discern.

SECOND: Never before have I seen the people doing this actually band together to help each other. Sure, most of the time they were creepily whispering in each other's ears about how they couldn't possibly succeed and the "Holy Ghost" was going to lead them astray, but there was a cool moment where they helped each other too.

Heavenly Father didn't send us to go through the trials of mortality alone - he gave us each other. Sometimes we fall into unexpected traps and get boxed in by the negative distractions in life, and even with the Holy Ghost guiding us, it can be tough to get out. That's why it's important to have friends and family to help us find our way back to the path - or even move a few obstacles if needed.

I love this activity because it's easy, spiritual, and can be adjusted to fit a group of any size, and the youth love it because it's active and fun. Throw in some brownies afterwards, and it's always a winner.