I am a member of the Provo Utah Grandview Stake and attended our regional conference today. There were over 135 stakes from Wasatch and Utah counties that attended the broadcast transmitted via satellite from the Marriott Center on BYU campus. In attendance was Ann Dibb, member of the Young Women General Board and daughter of President Monson, President Packer, President Utchdorf, and stake presidents from the BYU and Student stakes in the Provo and Orem areas.

The setting of the conference was a little less formal than a General Conference of the church, which made it fun to hear the general authorities of the church cracking more jokes than typical as they addressed thousands of members.

President Jensen, a stake president of the area gave a touching talk about being kind and caring to others. Sister Dibb talked about finding the “real” things in life; including finding real relationships, and real happiness. President Packer talked about missionary work, missionaries, and how we can help those that are of age and have not yet decided to serve, make that important decision to serve. He also stated that there were over 4400 missionaries serving from our region, and that there are enough missionaries currently serving to fill the Marriott Center two and a half times! That was awesome to hear!

Ever since Elder Utchdorf has been serving as a General Authority of the church, I always try to pay special attention to his talks. He has quickly become one of my favorites to listen to and learn from; his talk today was equally as inspiring to me. He gave the members of the church 3 “Tips to succeed in the lifelong conversion process”. They were: study the word of God daily, carry a current temple recommend, and speak with your Father in heaven daily.

One thing he said that I particularly enjoyed was the analogy he made with the meaning of the letters CTR. He acknowledged that CTR means “Choose the Right” but also mentioned that it can have another meaning, “Current Temple Recommend”. What a great reminder to have on my finger everyday! Whenever I put on my CTR ring, I am going to make sure that it becomes my reminder to always CTR and also live worthy to carry a CTR.

I hope that we, as members of the Lord’s true church, can always have the goal to CTR, whatever it may mean to you in your personal life. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Tags: Elder Utchdorf Ctr Means Provo Regional Conference Current Temple Recommend

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The CTR ring has been a religious symbol of faith for the Mormon religion for nearly 50 years. The three letters meaning “Choose The Right”, inset on a green shield, have a rich history, and a profound, deeper meaning for many of the church’s members. Since it’s inception in the 1960s by the church’s Primary General Board member Hellen Alldredge, it has grown to become a fashion fad amongst the LDS people.

Creation

The creation of the ring was headed by a committee of eight women of the LDS church: Noami W. Randall, Norma Nichols, Virginia Cannon, Vauna Jacobsen, Ruth Clinger, Virginia Bryner, Jean Hughes and Helen Evans. Head of the committee, Noami W. Randall was the first to recommend that the symbol be officially incorporated into the church’s teaching material for the youth. The church wanted a “badge of belief” for both boys and girls.

Norma Nichols recalled, "Back then boys didn't wear necklaces and earrings, so a ring seemed like a good idea." The committee thought a shield would be appropriate as to “shield” the youth from temptation. A green background for the shield was recommended in relation to the evergreen tree – a tree that remains constant as seasons change. The committee contracted Coy Miles, president of a Salt Lake-based jewelry company to design the ring, and Joel Izatt created the artwork for the teaching materials.

In 1970, then apostle of the church Gordon B. Hinckley, officially announced the new “CTR” material in a church-wide conference as part of a program for six and seven-year-old children. In conjunction with the new program, each child was to be issued a new, CTR ring and also be taught its symbolic meaning. At the time of its release, the adjustable CTR ring made of a combination of nickel and platinum was sold for only 35 cents. Since then, the symbol and its meaning have been taught to the LDS primary-aged youth of the worldwide church.

CTR Today

Since the creation of the CTR ring, the symbol of the shield and letters have been put on t-shirts, earrings, bracelets, bookmarks, stationary, ties and hundreds of different ring designs in over 30 languages. Manufacturers pay royalties to the LDS church in order to put the shield on their own products. Thousands of CTR rings are sold each year through online retailers and brick and mortar stores, including Walmart. It has become popular for the members of the church, especially the youth, to outwardly express their devotion and commitment to doing what is right by wearing their CTR rings and other memorabilia.

Tags: CTR Ring Rings Jewelry Shield Primary Talk History Meaning

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