What shall we give?

Announcements

**We are looking for the sheet music for "Women of the Well" by Kenneth Cope. If someone has a copy that we can borrow for our RS birthday celebration, please let Jenny Venegas know.**

Through Dec. 11 - Savior of the World on Tues, Wed., Fri., and Sat.

4 - Brunch Bunch - 9am IHOP. No Brunch Bunch in January

5 - First Presidency Christmas Message

9 - Craft and Hooks 'n Needles Group - 6:30. We will be making Orangettes.

11 - Ward Christmas Party, 9am, breakfast served
11 - Stake Conference - 4pm. Priesthood Leadership and adult members 7pm

12 - Stake Conference - 9am

18 - Ward temple session, 9am

28 - Winter Quarterly Activity - 6:30pm in the gym. Child care provided. Hot Cocoa and Cider bar. Bring leftover Christmas treats to share. We will be making quilts and blankets to donate to the YCC.

31 - Youth New Year's Eve social & dinner - ages 12-18

*no book club this month, next meeting January 19th 6pm at the church

Upcoming:
*for 2011 all quarterly activites and most focus groups will be held on the 2nd Thursday of each month.

Jan.
1 - 9pm, Youth New Year's Eve dance - ages 16-18

Volleyball for 31+ single adults every Tues. at 8:30 - Stake Center
Young Adult temple night every Wed. at 7pm

Happy Birthday!

1 - Arlene Green
3 - Marie Balderas and Mary Lyon
4 - Vicky Humphrey and Holly Talbot
9 - Jessica Miller
13 - Kathleen Cooley and Len Nae Warnes
14 - Judy Lee and Emily Burcham
15 - Marilyn Buehler
17 - Julie Sandberg
19 - Teresa Ipson
20 - Marni Stuart
22 - Linda Beach and Jeanne Kurtz
23 - Corrie Hout
24 - Natalie Garcia and Jennifer Kammeyer
26 - Kaelee Crosby
28 - Cora Hudson, Trinedy Young and Mary Johnson

Our Responsibility to Participate in Temple and Family History Work

Over the centuries many people have died without knowledge of the gospel. Some of those people are your near and distant relatives. They are waiting for you to do the necessary research to link your families together and perform saving ordinances on their behalf.

Most of the temples of the world are not busy enough. The Lord has promised that your hearts would be turned to the fathers so that the earth would not be utterly wasted at His coming (see D&C 2:2-3).

There are personal blessings you receive as a result of participation in temple and family history work. One of these is the joy that you feel as you serve your ancestors. Another is that you are able to qualify for a temple recommend, which signifies your worthiness before the Lord. Those who are not worthy today of the privilege of having a recommend should be working with a bishop or branch president to qualify as soon as possible. Please don't be without this vital qualification. I testify that the Atonement is real and that sins can be forgiven upon proper repentance.

As we participate in temple and family history work, we are certain to have the Spirit to comfort us in our challenges and to guide us in important decisions. Temple and family history work is part of our work of providing relief, or service, to our own ancestors.

Julie B. Beck, Relief Society general president.


From the Scriptures

Malachi 4:5-6; 1 Corinthians 15:29; 1 Peter 3:18-19; D&C 110:13-16; 128:24


From Our History

"The Prophet Joseph Smith said, 'The greatest responsibility in this world that God has laid upon us is to seek after our dead' (History of the Church, 6:313). From the beginning, Relief Society sisters have supported this great work. In Nauvoo in 1842, Sarah M. Kimball's desire to help the temple construction workers prompted a group of sisters to organize themselves so that they could serve more effectively. As they began to meet, the Prophet . . . organized the first Relief Society after the pattern of the priesthood. From that time on, the Relief Society sisters helped further the work on the Nauvoo Temple. . . .

"In 1855, eight years after the Saints first arrived in Utah, the Endowment House was established. Eliza R. Snow, who had been one of the original members of the first Relief Society and had preserved the records of that organization, was called by President Brigham Young in 1866 to be the general Relief Society president. She and other sisters were faithful workers in the Endowment House. Then, as the St. George, Logan, and Manti Temples were completed, these sisters traveled to each temple so they could do work for the dead there."1


What Can I Do?

How can I help my sisters search out their ancestors and perform temple ordinances for them? Consider the circumstances of each sister as you ponder how to meet her needs. You might consider that family history work can often strengthen new, returning, and less-active members.


When has temple and family history work comforted me in my challenges or guided me in important decisions?
For more information, go to www.reliefsociety.lds.org.


Note
1. Mary Ellen Smoot, "Family History: A Work of Love," Ensign, Mar. 1999, 15.

Thanksgiving Blessing Mix

A few years ago a good friend gave me the cutest Blessing Mix just before Thanksgiving. Each year since, we have been giving these blessings to our family and friends. We do it as a FHE and let the kids fill the cellophane bags as we talk about each item…


Bugles: Shaped like a cornucopia or Horn of Plenty, a symbol of our nation's abundance.
Pretzels: Arms folded in prayer, a freedom sought by those who founded our country.
Candy corn: Sacrifices of the Pilgrims' first winter. Food was so scarce that settlers survived on just a few kernels of corn a day.
Nuts or seeds: Promise of a a future harvest, one we will reap only if seeds are planted and tended with diligence.
Dried fruits: Harvest gifts of our bountiful land.
M&Ms: Memories of those who came before us to guide us to a blessed future.
Hershey's Kiss: The love of family and friends that sweetens our lives.

We type up the description above on a cute tag, closing with…

At this time of year as we count our blessings,
we would like you to know that WE COUNT YOU!
Thank you for blessing our lives.

I found a great website here that has a tag ready to be printed. So cute!

Happy Birthday!

1 - Janice Jessop and Marilyn Smith
2 - Michele Sargent and Norma Dimond
3 - Lois Kunz
4 - Karma Spaniol
5 - Helen Badger
6 - Michele Johnson and Laura Owen
7 - Mary Stogden-Ruiz
10 - Sue Wood
19 - Julie Branz, Merisa Carter and Beverley Nelson
22 - Stacey Keyes
23 - Yvonda Benson
24 - Sharon Lundell
25 - Sarah Jackson and Victoria Young
26 - Carol Hale
28 - June Allen
29 - Verna Price and Teresa Hanson

General Conference Message

The Divine Gift of Gratitude
President Thomas S. Monson


A grateful heart . . . comes through expressing gratitude to our Heavenly Father for His blessings and to those around us for all that they bring into our lives.

This has been a marvelous session. When I was appointed President of the Church, I said, “I’ll take one assignment for myself. I’ll be the adviser for the Tabernacle Choir.” I’m very proud of my choir!

My mother once said of me, “Tommy, I’m very proud of all that you’ve done. But I have one comment to make to you. You should have stayed with the piano.”

So I went to the piano and played a number for her: “Here we go, [here we go] to a birthday party.”1 Then I gave her a kiss on the forehead, and she embraced me.

I think of her. I think of my father. I think of all those General Authorities who’ve influenced me, and others, including the widows whom I visited—85 of them—with a chicken for the oven, sometimes a little money for their pocket.

I visited one late one night. It was midnight, and I went to the nursing home, and the receptionist said, “I’m sure she’s asleep, but she told me to be sure to awaken her, for she said, ‘I know he’ll come.’”

I held her hand; she called my name. She was wide awake. She pressed my hand to her lips and said, “I knew you’d come.” How could I not have come?

Beautiful music touches me that way.

My beloved brothers and sisters, we have heard inspired messages of truth, of hope, and of love. Our thoughts have turned to Him who atoned for our sins, who showed us the way to live and how to pray, and who demonstrated by His own actions the blessings of service—even our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

In the book of Luke, chapter 17, we read of Him:

“And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.

“And as he entered into a certain village, there [he met] ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:

“And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.

“And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.

“And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,

“And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.

“And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?

“There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.

“And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.”2

Through divine intervention those who were lepers were spared from a cruel, lingering death and given a new lease on life. The expressed gratitude by one merited the Master’s blessing; the ingratitude shown by the nine, His disappointment.

My brothers and sisters, do we remember to give thanks for the blessings we receive? Sincerely giving thanks not only helps us recognize our blessings, but it also unlocks the doors of heaven and helps us feel God’s love.

My beloved friend President Gordon B. Hinckley said, “When you walk with gratitude, you do not walk with arrogance and conceit and egotism, you walk with a spirit of thanksgiving that is becoming to you and will bless your lives.”3

In the book of Matthew in the Bible, we have another account of gratitude, this time as an expression from the Savior. As He traveled in the wilderness for three days, more than 4,000 people followed and traveled with Him. He took compassion on them, for they may not have eaten during the entire three days. His disciples, however, questioned, “Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?” Like many of us, the disciples saw only what was lacking.

“And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And [the disciples] said, Seven, and a few little fishes.

“And [Jesus] commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.

“And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.”

Notice that the Savior gave thanks for what they had—and a miracle followed: “And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full.”4

We have all experienced times when our focus is on what we lack rather than on our blessings. Said the Greek philosopher Epictetus, “He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.”5

Gratitude is a divine principle. The Lord declared through a revelation given to the Prophet Joseph Smith:

“Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things. . . .

“And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things.”6

In the Book of Mormon we are told to “live in thanksgiving daily, for the many mercies and blessings which [God] doth bestow upon you.”7

Regardless of our circumstances, each of us has much for which to be grateful if we will but pause and contemplate our blessings.

This is a wonderful time to be on earth. While there is much that is wrong in the world today, there are many things that are right and good. There are marriages that make it, parents who love their children and sacrifice for them, friends who care about us and help us, teachers who teach. Our lives are blessed in countless ways.

We can lift ourselves and others as well when we refuse to remain in the realm of negative thought and cultivate within our hearts an attitude of gratitude. If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the noblest of virtues. Someone has said that “gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.”8

How can we cultivate within our hearts an attitude of gratitude? President Joseph F. Smith, sixth President of the Church, provided an answer. Said he: “The grateful man sees so much in the world to be thankful for, and with him the good outweighs the evil. Love overpowers jealousy, and light drives darkness out of his life.” He continued: “Pride destroys our gratitude and sets up selfishness in its place. How much happier we are in the presence of a grateful and loving soul, and how careful we should be to cultivate, through the medium of a prayerful life, a thankful attitude toward God and man!”9

President Smith is telling us that a prayerful life is the key to possessing gratitude.

Do material possessions make us happy and grateful? Perhaps momentarily. However, those things which provide deep and lasting happiness and gratitude are the things which money cannot buy: our families, the gospel, good friends, our health, our abilities, the love we receive from those around us. Unfortunately, these are some of the things we allow ourselves to take for granted.

The English author Aldous Huxley wrote, “Most human beings have an almost infinite capacity for taking things for granted.”10

We often take for granted the very people who most deserve our gratitude. Let us not wait until it is too late for us to express that gratitude. Speaking of loved ones he had lost, one man declared his regret this way: “I remember those happy days, and often wish I could speak into the ears of the dead the gratitude which was due them in life, and so ill returned.”11

The loss of loved ones almost inevitably brings some regrets to our hearts. Let’s minimize such feelings as much as humanly possible by frequently expressing our love and gratitude to them. We never know how soon it will be too late.

A grateful heart, then, comes through expressing gratitude to our Heavenly Father for His blessings and to those around us for all that they bring into our lives. This requires conscious effort—at least until we have truly learned and cultivated an attitude of gratitude. Often we feel grateful and intend to express our thanks but forget to do so or just don’t get around to it. Someone has said that “feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.”12

When we encounter challenges and problems in our lives, it is often difficult for us to focus on our blessings. However, if we reach deep enough and look hard enough, we will be able to feel and recognize just how much we have been given.

I share with you an account of one family which was able to find blessings in the midst of serious challenges. This is an account I read many years ago and have kept because of the message it conveys. It was written by Gordon Green and appeared in an American magazine over 50 years ago.

Gordon tells how he grew up on a farm in Canada, where he and his siblings had to hurry home from school while the other children played ball and went swimming. Their father, however, had the capacity to help them understand that their work amounted to something. This was especially true after harvesttime when the family celebrated Thanksgiving, for on that day their father gave them a great gift. He took an inventory of everything they had.

On Thanksgiving morning he would take them to the cellar with its barrels of apples, bins of beets, carrots packed in sand, and mountains of sacked potatoes as well as peas, corn, string beans, jellies, strawberries, and other preserves which filled their shelves. He had the children count everything carefully. Then they went out to the barn and figured how many tons of hay there were and how many bushels of grain in the granary. They counted the cows, pigs, chickens, turkeys, and geese. Their father said he wanted to see how they stood, but they knew he really wanted them to realize on that feast day how richly God had blessed them and had smiled upon all their hours of work. Finally, when they sat down to the feast their mother had prepared, the blessings were something they felt.

Gordon indicated, however, that the Thanksgiving he remembered most thankfully was the year they seemed to have nothing for which to be grateful.

The year started off well: they had leftover hay, lots of seed, four litters of pigs, and their father had a little money set aside so that someday he could afford to buy a hay loader—a wonderful machine most farmers just dreamed of owning. It was also the year that electricity came to their town—although not to them because they couldn’t afford it.

One night when Gordon’s mother was doing her big wash, his father stepped in and took his turn over the washboard and asked his wife to rest and do her knitting. He said, “You spend more time doing the wash than sleeping. Do you think we should break down and get electricity?” Although elated at the prospect, she shed a tear or two as she thought of the hay loader that wouldn’t be bought.

So the electrical line went up their lane that year. Although it was nothing fancy, they acquired a washing machine that worked all day by itself and brilliant lightbulbs that dangled from each ceiling. There were no more lamps to fill with oil, no more wicks to cut, no more sooty chimneys to wash. The lamps went quietly off to the attic.

The coming of electricity to their farm was almost the last good thing that happened to them that year. Just as their crops were starting to come through the ground, the rains started. When the water finally receded, there wasn’t a plant left anywhere. They planted again, but more rains beat the crops into the earth. Their potatoes rotted in the mud. They sold a couple of cows and all the pigs and other livestock they had intended to keep, getting very low prices for them because everybody else had to do the same thing. All they harvested that year was a patch of turnips which had somehow weathered the storms.

Then it was Thanksgiving again. Their mother said, “Maybe we’d better forget it this year. We haven’t even got a goose left.”

On Thanksgiving morning, however, Gordon’s father showed up with a jackrabbit and asked his wife to cook it. Grudgingly she started the job, indicating it would take a long time to cook that tough old thing. When it was finally on the table with some of the turnips that had survived, the children refused to eat. Gordon’s mother cried, and then his father did a strange thing. He went up to the attic, got an oil lamp, took it back to the table, and lighted it. He told the children to turn out the electric lights. When there was only the lamp again, they could hardly believe that it had been that dark before. They wondered how they had ever seen anything without the bright lights made possible by electricity.

The food was blessed, and everyone ate. When dinner was over, they all sat quietly. Wrote Gordon:

“In the humble dimness of the old lamp we were beginning to see clearly again. . . .

“It [was] a lovely meal. The jack rabbit tasted like turkey and the turnips were the mildest we could recall. . . .

“ . . . [Our] home . . . , for all its want, was so rich [to] us.”13

My brothers and sisters, to express gratitude is gracious and honorable, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live with gratitude ever in our hearts is to touch heaven.

As I close this morning, it is my prayer that in addition to all else for which we are grateful, we may ever reflect our gratitude for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. His glorious gospel provides answers to life’s greatest questions: Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where do our spirits go when we die? That gospel brings to those who live in darkness the light of divine truth.

He taught us how to pray. He taught us how to live. He taught us how to die. His life is a legacy of love. The sick He healed; the downtrodden He lifted; the sinner He saved.

Ultimately, He stood alone. Some Apostles doubted; one betrayed Him. The Roman soldiers pierced His side. The angry mob took His life. There yet rings from Golgotha’s hill His compassionate words: “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”14

Who was this “man of sorrows, . . . acquainted with grief”?15 “Who is this King of glory,”16 this Lord of lords? He is our Master. He is our Savior. He is the Son of God. He is the Author of Our Salvation. He beckons, “Follow me.”17 He instructs, “Go, and do thou likewise.”18 He pleads, “Keep my commandments.”19

Let us follow Him. Let us emulate His example. Let us obey His words. By so doing, we give to Him the divine gift of gratitude.

My sincere, heartfelt prayer is that we may in our individual lives reflect that marvelous virtue of gratitude. May it permeate our very souls, now and evermore. In the sacred name of Jesus Christ, our Savior, amen.


Notes

John Thompson, “Birthday Party,” Teaching Little Fingers to Play (1936), 8.
Luke 17:11–19.
Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley (1997), 250.
See Matthew 15:32–38; emphasis added.
The Discourses of Epictetus; with the Encheiridion and Fragments, trans. George Long (1888), 429.
Doctrine and Covenants 59:7, 21.
Alma 34:38.
Cicero, in A New Dictionary of Quotations on Historical Principles, sel. H. L. Mencken (1942), 491.
Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctrine, 5th ed. (1939), 263.
Aldous Huxley, Themes and Variations (1954), 66.
William H. Davies, The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp (1908), 4.
William Arthur Ward, in Allen Klein, comp., Change Your Life! (2010), 15.
Adapted from H. Gordon Green, “The Thanksgiving I Don’t Forget,” Reader’s Digest, Nov. 1956, 69–71.
Luke 23:34.
Isaiah 53:3.
Psalm 24:8.
Matthew 4:19.
Luke 10:37.
John 14:15.

Announcements

9 - Volleyball for single adults 31+ - Every Tuesday

10-13 - Savior of the World (Spanish)

11 - Craft/Sewing Group - 6:30

16 - Book Club - short stories: The Fir Tree, The Mansion (copies available from Shannon or Erin Jeffords)

19 - Savior of the World (English) - performed on Tues, Wed, Fri, and Sat. through Dec. 11

13 - Worldwide Leadership Training Meeting

20 - Stake Temple Session - 8am

26 - Christmas lights turned on at Temple Square

Sundaes on Saturday!!!

Ward Activity this Saturday, Oct 9 at 6:30PM...
No dinner just sundaes. YUM!!

See you there!!

Happy Birthday!

3 - Raylene Western
4 - Kim Warren
5 - Erin Woodfield & Kierstin Raught
6 - Michele Johnson
10 - Leanne Morley
11 - Laurie Allen
12 - LaDell Larken
14 - Kari Storey & Carla Nielsen
16 - Margie frazer
17 - Jessie Swenson, Hether Tezak, Jacey Hulsey, Judith Kay Olsen & Polly Arey
24 - Sherry Fronk & Sandra Durrant
25 - Lee Hulsey
26 - Delta Spendlove
27 - Danna Walling
30 - Marsha Stanford & Patricia Fillmore
31 - Teresa Born, Elena Christensen & Sharon Piz

Nov.
1 - Janice Leone Jessop & Marilyn Smith
2 - Michele Sargent & Norma Dimond
3 - Lois Kunz & Alyx Calvin
5 - Helen Badger
6 - Shirley Fronk & Laura Owen

Announcements

10 ~ Arise Culminating Actitity, 7pm at the Stake Center

14 ~ Fall Quarterly Activity with the 3rd ward at 6:30. HEALTH FAIR; dinner served; child care provided

16 ~ Ward Temple Session, 4pm

17 ~ Single Adult Fireside (+31), 7:30pm, 1350 S 1800W, Syracuse. Gary and Joy Lundbertg speakers.

19 ~ Book Club, 6pm. We are reading 3 short stories from Edgar Allen Poe. The Jeffords have printed them out and anyone can get a copy for $2--the price of the printing.

21 ~ Art & Crafts with the Needles 'n Hooks Groups, 6pm. We are making Gourmet Carmel Apples, FABULOUS Corn Husk Wreathes and working on our Christmas sewing projects.

28 ~ Young Single Adult Activity, Rock Cliff Stake (no time or activity or place was given)

30 ~ Trunk or Treat at 5pm in the church parking lot!

**Stake Volleyball every Thursday (Oct-Nov and Dec) at 7pm at the Stake Center. The teams are co-ed non-competitive and are made up as people arrive.**

Oct. Visiting Teaching Message

**The October 2010 Liahona and Ensign will be a special issue focusing entirely on temples. The issue will not contain a specific First Presidency Message or Visiting Teaching Message. Home and visiting teachers are encouraged to prayerfully select their message from the contents of this special issue.**

A Temple-Motivated People
By President Howard W. Hunter (1907–95)
Fourteenth President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The temple is the great symbol of our membership

What a glorious thing it is for us to
have the privilege of going to the
temple for our own blessings. Then
after going to the temple for our own
blessings, what a glorious privilege to
do the work for those who have gone
on before us. This aspect of temple
work is an unselfish work. Yet whenever
we do temple work for other people,
there is a blessing that comes back
to us. Thus it should be no surprise to
us that the Lord does desire that His
people be a temple-motivated people.
It is the Lord Himself who, in His
revelations to us, has made the temple
the great symbol for members of the
Church. Think of the attitudes and
righteous behaviors that the Lord
pointed us toward in the counsel He
gave to the Kirtland Saints through the
Prophet Joseph Smith as they were preparing
to build a temple. This counsel
is still applicable:
“Organize yourselves; prepare
every needful thing; and establish a
house, even a house of prayer, a house
of fasting, a house of faith, a house of
learning, a house of glory, a house of
order, a house of God” (Doctrine and
Covenants 88:119). Are these attitudes
and behaviors indeed reflective of what
each of us desires and seeks to be?

All of our efforts in the Church lead to
the holy temple

All of our efforts in proclaiming the
gospel, perfecting the Saints, and
redeeming the dead lead to the holy
temple. This is because the temple
ordinances are absolutely crucial;
we cannot return to God’s presence
without them. Truly, the Lord desires
that His people be a temple-motivated people.
It would be the deepest desire of my
heart to have every member of the
Church be temple worthy. I would
hope that every adult member would
be worthy of—and carry—a current
temple recommend, even if proximity
to a temple does not allow immediate
or frequent use of it.

The temple is holy unto the Lord;
it should be holy unto us

Let us be a temple-attending and a
temple-loving people. Let us hasten to
the temple as frequently as time and
means and personal circumstances allow.
Let us go not only for our kindred
dead, but let us also go for the personal
blessing of temple worship, for the
sanctity and safety which is provided
within those hallowed and consecrated
walls. The temple is a place of beauty,
it is a place of revelation, it is a place of
peace. It is the house of the Lord.
It is holy unto the Lord.
It should be holy unto us.
Let us share with our children
the spiritual feelings we have in the
temple. And let us teach them more
earnestly and more comfortably the
things we can appropriately say about
the purposes of the house of the Lord.
Keep a picture of a temple in your
home that your children may see it.
Teach them about the purposes of the
house of the Lord. Have them plan
from their earliest years to go there and
to remain worthy of that blessing.

It is pleasing to the Lord when we go
worthily to the temple

It is pleasing to the Lord for our youth
to worthily go to the temple and
perform vicarious baptisms for those
who did not have the opportunity
to be baptized in life. It is pleasing
to the Lord when we worthily go to
the temple to personally make our
own covenants with Him and to be
sealed as couples and as families. And
it is pleasing to the Lord when we
worthily go to the temple to perform
these same saving ordinances for
those who have died, many of whom
eagerly await the completion of these
ordinances in their behalf.
To have the temple indeed be a
symbol unto us, we must desire it
to be so. We must live worthy to
enter the temple. We must keep the
commandments of our Lord. If we can
pattern our life after the Master, and
take His teaching and example as the
supreme pattern for our own, we will
not find it difficult to be temple worthy,
to be consistent and loyal in every walk
of life, for we will be committed to a
single, sacred standard of conduct and
belief. Whether at home or in the marketplace,
whether at school or long after
school is behind us, whether we are
acting totally alone or in concert with a
host of other people, our course will be
clear and our standards will be obvious.
The ability to stand by one’s principles,
to live with integrity and faith
according to one’s belief—that is what
matters. That devotion to true principle—
in our individual lives, in our
homes and families, and in all places
that we meet and influence other
people—that devotion is what God is
ultimately requesting of us. It requires
commitment—whole-souled, deeply
held, eternally cherished commitment
to the principles we know to be true
in the commandments God has given.
If we will be true and faithful to the
Lord’s principles, then we will always
be temple worthy, and the Lord and
His holy temples will be the great symbols
of our discipleship with Him.

Adapted from Ensign,
Oct. 1994, 2–5; Feb. 1995, 2–5

General Conference Helps

Sugardoodle posted some great packet ideas
to keep kids of all ages entertained.

Nursery

Junior Primary

Senior Primary

Youth

For other great ideas check out SugarDoodle.net.

Happy Birthday!

1 - Jenny Venegas
2 - Helen Wight
3 - Staci Branch
4 - Marcie Gilgen, Kathryn Horrocks
8 - Mollie Swenson
9 - Cindy Iman, Frances Marions Hunter
13 - Lee Ann Premo
15 - Margaret Parry, Mary Beth Hutchens, Karie Odell
16 - Hollie Orgon
19 - Charlene Russell
21 - Georgia Warren, Louise DeMoux
25 - Kathleen Cook, Barbara Hales
29 - Valerie Simonich
30 - Loraine Garvey, Teresa Jenkins, LaRena Eldredge

Oct.
3 - Raylene Western
4 - Kim Warren
5 - Erin Woodfield, Kierstin Raught
6 - Michele Johnson

Our Responsibility to Nurture the Rising Generation

From the Scriptures: Proverbs 22:6; Ephesians 6:4; Enos 1:1; Alma 53:20–21; 56:47; 57:27

Without nurturing, our rising generation could be in danger of becoming like the one described in Mosiah 26. Many youth didn't believe the traditions of their fathers and became a separate people as to their faith, remaining so ever after. Our rising generation could likewise be led away if they don't understand their part in Heavenly Father's plan.

So what is it that will keep the rising generation safe? In the Church, we teach saving principles, and those principles are family principles, the principles that will help the rising generation to form a family, teach that family, and prepare that family for ordinances and covenants—and then the next generation will teach the next and so on.

As parents, leaders, and Church members, we are preparing this generation for the blessings of Abraham, for the temple. We have the responsibility to be very clear on key points of doctrine found in the proclamation on the family. Motherhood and fatherhood are eternal roles and responsibilities. Each of us carries the responsibility for either the male or the female half of the plan.

We can teach this doctrine in any setting. We must speak respectfully of marriage and family. And from our example, the rising generation can gain great hope and understanding—not just from the words we speak but from the way we feel and emanate the spirit of family.

Julie B. Beck, Relief Society general president.


From Our History

Addressing the sisters at the general Relief Society meeting on September 23, 1995, President Gordon B. Hinckley said: "The world we are in is a world of turmoil, of shifting values. Shrill voices call out for one thing or another in betrayal of time-tested standards of behavior." President Hinckley then went on to introduce to the sisters, the Church, and ultimately people everywhere "The Family: A Proclamation to the World."

In subsequent years this prophetic document has been translated into many languages and distributed to world leaders. It asks citizens and government leaders "to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society."

The proclamation has become the foundation for Latter-day Saint beliefs about the family, a statement to which we can hold fast and know that by living its precepts, we are strengthening our families and homes.


What Can I Do?

How can I help my sisters use "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" to nurture the rising generation? You might consider sharing a copy of the proclamation and helping your sisters identify and mark those passages that would best teach key doctrines.


How can I nurture the rising generation? You might consider reaching out to members of your ward, branch, family, or community who could benefit from your attention and love.

For more information, go to www.reliefsociety.lds.org.

Announcements

7 - Brunch Bunch @ 10:00am at IHOP (off 12th and Washington)

12 - R.S. Quarterly Dinner and Activity @ 6:30."A Night of Service.” We will be mending hymn books, quilting and writing testimonies in Books of Mormon. Dinner will be served. Childcare will be provided.

17 - Book Club @ 6:00 ~ We will be reading “The Lady in the Tower” by Alison Weir

18 - Picnic in the Park. Listen for announcements for the location. I don't know if we were able to get Camp Atoka for the picnic. I will update the blog as soon as I find out.

21 - Ward Temple day. Meet in chapel at 4pm.

26 - Needle and Hook Group @ 6:30. Carol Hale has agreed to help teach needle quilting, so we will be setting up the service quilt that when finished will be donated to the humanitarian service center. (This same quilt will be set up at our next big R.S. Meeting as well.)

Our Responsibility to Be Worthy of Temple Worship

From the Scriptures

Isaiah 2:2–3; D&C 109:22–23; 110:8–10

"The covenants we make with the associated ordinances we receive in the temple become our credentials for admission into God's presence. These covenants elevate us beyond the limits of our own power and perspective. We make covenants to show our devotion to build up the kingdom. We become covenant people as we are placed under covenant to God. All the promised blessings are ours through our faithfulness to these covenants. . . .

"What can the women of the Church do to claim the blessings of the temple?

"Through His prophets, the Lord invites those who have not yet received the blessings of the temple to do whatever may be necessary to qualify to receive them. He invites those who have already received these blessings to return as often as possible to enjoy again the experience, to increase their vision and understanding of His eternal plan.

"Let us be worthy to have a current temple recommend. Let us go to the temple to seal our families eternally. Let us return to the temple as often as our circumstances will permit. Let us give our kindred dead the opportunity to receive the ordinances of exaltation. Let us enjoy the spiritual strength and the revelation we receive as we attend the temple regularly. Let us be faithful and make and keep temple covenants to receive the full blessings of the Atonement."1

Silvia H. Allred, first counselor in the Relief Society general presidency.


From Our History

President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008) taught that Relief Society grew out of sisters' desire to worship in temples:

"During the construction of the Kirtland Temple the women were called upon to grind their china into small particles to be mixed with the plaster used on the walls of the temple, which would catch the light of the sun and the moon and reflect that light to beautify the appearance of the building.

"In those times, when there was very little of money but an abundance of faith, the workmen gave of their strength and resources to the construction of the Lord's house. The women supplied them with food, the best they could prepare. Edward W. Tullidge reported that while the women were sewing the temple veils, Joseph Smith, observing them, said, 'Well, sisters, you are always on hand. The sisters are always first and foremost in all good works. Mary was first at the resurrection; and the sisters now are the first to work on the inside of the temple.' . . .

"Again in Nauvoo, when the temple was under construction, a few women joined together to make shirts for the workmen. It was out of these circumstances that twenty of them gathered on Thursday, 17 March 1842, in the upper room of the Prophet's store."2


What Can I Do?

What support can I offer to help my sisters prepare for and attend the temple?
How can I exemplify the heritage of the early sisters who sacrificed to receive temple blessings?
How can I claim the blessings of the temple?
For more information, go to www.reliefsociety.lds.org.


Notes
1. Silvia H. Allred, "Holy Temples, Sacred Covenants," Liahona and Ensign, Nov. 2008, 113, 114.
2. Gordon B. Hinckley, " 'Ambitious to Do Good'," Ensign, Mar. 1992, 2.

Happy Birthday!

1 - Iris McCrary
3 - Alisa Valletta
4 - Betty Adams
6 - Shaelynn Barnett, Marcie Moore, Lydia Chatelain
7 - Rachel Budge, Fawn Etta Bennett
12 - Maria Epperson
13 - Melanie Corbin
16 - Monica Jenkins
18 - Michelle Wilkinson
19 - Emily Anderson
20 - Brandy Tucker
21 - Lynette Marsee
22 - Jordan Mercier
23 - Julie Brewer, Jennifer Keys, Tanya Platt
25 - Megan Brey
28 - Jeanette Pope
30 - Daniela Quintana
31 - Donna Kearney

Looking ahead ~
Sept.
1 - Jenny Venegas
2 - Helen Wight
3 - Staci Branch
4 - Marcie Gilgen, Kathryn Horrocks

Happy Birthday!

1 - Marcy Hooper
2 - Bonnie Burnett
4 - Liberty Minor
7 - Jamee Thompson and Katherine Jeanne Welch
11 - Barbara Kirchmann and Traci Brown
12 - Jennifer Sandberg and Donna White
15 - Christina Sartor
18 - Patricia Smith
19 - Lesly Rollins
22 - Jamie Dickamore and Patricia Van Drimmelen
23 - Glenda Fay Winters and Kristalynn Gilgert
25 - Brandi Hurst
27 - Shauna Maylin
29 - Stephani Petersen, Carol Brown and Rose Elaine Sutphen
31 - Roberta Moon

Strengthening Families and Homes

Strengthening at Every Opportunity

"Each of us is in a different family situation. Some families have a mother and father with children at home. Some couples no longer have children at home. Many members of the Church are single, and some are single parents. Others are widows or widowers living alone.

"No matter what our family looks like, each of us can work to strengthen our own families or help in strengthening others.

"[Once] I stayed in the home of my niece and her family. That evening before the children went to bed, we had a short family home evening and a scripture story. Their father told about the family of Lehi and how he taught his children that they must hold fast to the iron rod, which is the word of God. Holding fast to the iron rod would keep them safe and lead them to joy and happiness. If they should let go of the iron rod, there was danger of drowning in the river of dirty water.

"To demonstrate this to the children, their mother became the 'iron rod' that they must cling to, and their father played the role of the devil, trying to pull the children away from safety and happiness. The children loved the story and learned how important it is to hold fast to the iron rod. After the scripture story it was time for family prayer. . . .

"Scriptures, family home evening, and family prayer will strengthen families. We need to take every opportunity to strengthen families and support one another to stay on the right path." ~Barbara Thompson, second counselor in the Relief Society general presidency.


From the Scriptures

Genesis 18:19; Mosiah 4:15; D&C 93:40; Moses 6:55–58


From Our History

From the beginning Relief Society has had a charge to strengthen families and homes. The Prophet Joseph taught sisters at an early Relief Society meeting, "When you go home, never give a cross or unkind word to your husbands, but let kindness, charity and love crown your works henceforward."

In 1914 President Joseph F. Smith told Relief Society sisters, "Wherever there is ignorance or at least a lack of understanding in regard to the family, . . . there this organization exists or is near at hand, and by the natural endowments and inspiration that belongs to the organization they are prepared and ready to impart instruction with reference to those important duties."

What Can We Do?

*What ideas for strengthening families and homes will you share with your sisters? As you ponder their individual circumstances, the Spirit can bring ideas to your mind.

*What priorities can you change this month to better strengthen your own family and home?

For more information, go to www.reliefsociety.lds.org.

Announcements

Scripture Study every Wednesday at 6pm in the overflow at the church. We combine with the 3rd ward for this.

7 – Young Adult Temple Session – 7pm
17 – Pioneer Day Commemoration Concert Broadcast – Check TV schedule for time
17 – Area Youth Spectacular – WSU Stadium – Get free tickets from YM or YW leaders
17 - Stake Temple Session – 8am
21 – Picnic in the Park – 6:30
22 - Craft and Hooks 'n Needles - 6:30

No brunch in July (enjoy your 4th weekend). Next will be Aug 7th.

No book club. Next one will be Aug 17th.

The R.S. Quarterly Dinner and Activity has been postponed again. It will be August 10th at 6:30pm at the church. A Night of Service. We will be mending hymn books, quilting and writing testimonies in Books of Mormon. Dinner will be served. Childcare will be provided.

4th of July FHE lesson ideas

I did a quick search for some 4th of July themed Family Home Evening lessons. I thought I should share them...

I loved this idea from The Family Home Evening Spot.

I found a fun lesson plan at Bellaonline.

lds.families also has a good one on patroitism.

Happy Birthday!

2 - Kathryn Landon
3 - Vivian Urbick
7 - Laurie Kurtz
8 - Tori Jensen, Francella Harding, Stacey Lance
9 - Angela Keyes, Amy Levy
10 - Jeane Taylor
12 - Lindsay Cain
13 - Carol McKinley, Kay Fakhraie
14 - Sherri Gambino, Lyndee Bent
15 - Renee Keeney
16 - Brenda Dussol, Lenore Minton
18 - Breanne Carter
19 - Lace Gordon, Bonny Owen
22 - Jaycee Tilby
24 - Rachelle Miller, June Singletary
25 - Shelley child, Susan Burleson, Becky Mercier
30 - Shelley Thomas

Renewing Covenants through the Sacrament

Jesus Christ Instituted the Sacrament

"Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to his Apostles, saying, 'Take, eat' (Matt. 26:26). 'This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me' (Luke 22:19). In a similar manner he took the cup of wine, traditionally diluted with water, said a blessing of thanks for it, and passed it to those gathered about him, saying: 'This cup is the new testament in my blood,' 'which is shed . . . for the remission of sins.' 'This do in remembrance of me.' . . .

"Since that upper room experience on the eve of Gethsemane and Golgotha, children of the promise have been under covenant to remember Christ's sacrifice in this newer, higher, more holy and personal way."1

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.


We Renew Our Baptismal Covenants through the Sacrament

"When we are baptized, we take upon ourselves the sacred name of Jesus Christ. Taking upon us His name is one of the most significant experiences we have in life. . . .

"Each week in sacrament meeting we promise to remember the atoning sacrifice of our Savior as we renew our baptismal covenant. We promise to do as the Savior did—to be obedient to the Father and always keep His commandments. The blessing we receive in return is to always have His Spirit to be with us."2

Elder Robert D. Hales of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.


"I was with an eight-year-old girl on the day of her baptism. At the end of the day she said with all confidence, 'I have been baptized for a whole day, and I haven't sinned once!' But her perfect day did not last forever, and I am sure she is learning by now, like we all learn, that as hard as we try, we do not always avoid every bad situation, every wrong choice. . . .

" . . . It is not possible to make real change all by ourselves. Our own willpower and our own good intentions are not enough. When we make mistakes or choose poorly, we must have the help of our Savior to get back on track. We partake of the sacrament week after week to show our faith in His power to change us. We confess our sins and promise to forsake them."3

Julie B. Beck, Relief Society general president.


Notes
1. Jeffrey R. Holland, "This Do in Remembrance of Me," Ensign, Nov. 1995, 67.
2. Robert D. Hales, "The Covenant of Baptism: To Be in the Kingdom and of the Kingdom," Liahona, Jan. 2001, 8; Ensign, Nov. 2000, 8.
3. Julie B. Beck, "Remembering, Repenting, and Changing," Liahona and Ensign, May 2007, 110–11.


Helps for Visiting Teaching
As you come to know a sister and her family, look for ways you might help her renew her covenants through the sacrament. If she does not attend sacrament meeting, could you invite her to attend or offer help for her to do so (transportation, assistance with children, a friend to sit by, and so on)?


Personal Preparation
Luke 22:19–20
1 Corinthians 11:23–28
3 Nephi 18:1–12

June Announcements

Scripture Study every Wednesday at 6pm in the overflow at the church. We combine with the 3rd ward for this.

5 - Brunch Bunch ~ 10am at IHOP on 12th Street. Call Jenny Venegas if you need a ride. No brunch in July (enjoy your 4th weekend). Next will be Aug 7th.

10 - Stake Lagoon Day

16 – Ward Picnic in the Park ~ 6:30pm at the park above church

17 – Stake Single Adult Activity – Pineview Reservoir

19 – Ward Temple day

20 - Father’s Day

22 - Book Club ~ 6pm at the church. No book club in July. Next will be Aug 17th.

24 – R.S. Quarterly Dinner and Activity ~ 6:30pm at the church. A Night of Service. We will be mending hymn books, quilting and writing testimonies in Books of Mormon. Dinner will be served. Childcare will be provided.

Young Single Adult Social ~ Pleasant View Stake

27 - Single Adult (+31) Firewide ~ 6pm - Old Post Chapel - Speaker Meg Johnson

30 - Craft Group ~ 6:30pm in the overflow at the church.
Hooks `n Needles Group: 6:30pm in the overflow at the church.
Next Craft and Hooks 'n Needles: July 22

FREE Summer Activities

The Weber County RAMP Committee has teamed up with local cities and non-profit organizations to provide free entrance to many of our local attractions throughout the summer. Click RAMP to check out the schedule.

Ogden School District will also have a free lunch program. Lunches will be served June 7 - Aug 6 from 11:30AM - 12:15PM Monday-Friday.

Bonneville Elementary... 490 Gramercy
Heritage Elementary... 373 S 150 W
Highland Jr. High... 325 Gramercy
Lincoln Elementary... 1235 N Canfield
Madison Elementary... 2563 Monroe
Mound Fort Jr. High... 1396 Liberty Ave
Odyssey Elementary... 375 Goddard Street

Jaycee Park... 25th and Fillmore
Liberty Park... 21st and Monroe
Lorin Farr Park... 17th and Gramercy
Marshall White Center... 30th and Monroe
West Ogden Park... 24th and E Ave


Thanks Jenny!

May Announcements

Scripture Study every Wednesday at 6pm in the overflow at the church. We combine with the 3rh ward for this.

1 - Brunch Bunch: 10am at IHOP on 12th Street. Call Jenny Venegas if you need a ride.
Young Single Adult Fireside : 6pm at the Stake Center.

14 - Blood Drive: 3pm to 8pm at our building.

15 - Stake Temple Session: meet at 8am or 2pm in chapel for next available session.
Ward Dinner: 6:30 at the church. Come and have Breakfast for Dinner!!

18 - Book Club: 6pm at the church. We are reading "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle" by David Wroblewski.

22 - Stake Conference: 7pm at the Stake Center.

23 - Stake Conference: 12pm at the Ogden Tabernacle.
Seminary Graduation: 6pm at the Stake Center.

25 - Ben Lomond Graduation: 7pm at the Dee Event Center.

27 - Craft Group: 6:30pm in the overflow at the church. We will be learning to make paper flowers.
Hooks `n Needles Group: 6:30pm in the overflow at the church.
Young Single Adult Activity: 7pm at the Ben Lomond Stake Center

There will be a new Cooking Group meeting for the first time in May. We will be learning how to cook and making dinner in the process. Contact Marcell Kearney for more information.

Coming up: Quarterly Dinner and Activity Thursday, June 10th. Mark your calendars and more information will be coming later.

Happy Birthday!

1 - Denece Egbert
4 - Kathy Mason
5 - Venice Turner
6 - Laura Shaw, Linda Noorda & Monica Robinson
7 - Kristine Hansen
8 - Lisa Erickson
9 - Gayla Pengelly
10 - Erika Sickles
11 - Renae Angeloff
14 - Diane Craghead & Ethel Puhl
15 - Melissa Mayberry & Carol Mortensen
16 - Heather Garcia
17 - Judy Hultgren & Joann Cates
18 - Sara Bills & Cassadie Lee
19 - Mary Craig & Claudette Nielsen
20 - Laraine Gardiner & Francie Widdison
21 - Wanda Mills
22 - Leann Jackson
24 - Rebecca Morgan
29 - Janis Mathews
30 - Kari Dejuncker
31 - Dione Jones

General Conference Message

“And upon the Handmaids in Those Days Will I Pour Out My Spirit”Julie B. Beck, Relief Society General President

We know we are successful if we live so that we qualify for, receive, and know how to follow the Spirit.

In the past year I have met thousands of Latter-day Saint women in many countries. The list of challenges these sisters face is lengthy and sobering. There are family troubles, economic tests, calamities, accidents, and illnesses. There is much distraction and not enough peace and joy. Despite popular media messages to the contrary, no one is rich enough, beautiful enough, or clever enough to avoid a mortal experience.

The questions sisters ask are serious and insightful. They articulate uneasiness about the future, sorrow for unrealized expectations, some indecision, and diminished feelings of self-worth. They also reflect a deep desire to do what is right.

There has grown in me an overwhelming testimony of the value of daughters of God. So much depends on them. In my visits with the sisters, I have felt that there has never been a greater need for increased faith and personal righteousness. There has never been a greater need for strong families and homes. There has never been more that could be done to help others who are in need. How does one increase faith, strengthen families, and provide relief? How does a woman in our day find answers to her own questions and stand strong and immovable against incredible opposition and difficulty?

Personal Revelation

A good woman knows that she does not have enough time, energy, or opportunity to take care of all of the people or do all of the worthy things her heart yearns to do. Life is not calm for most women, and each day seems to require the accomplishment of a million things, most of which are important. A good woman must constantly resist alluring and deceptive messages from many sources telling her that she is entitled to more time away from her responsibilities and that she deserves a life of greater ease and independence. But with personal revelation, she can prioritize correctly and navigate this life confidently.

The ability to qualify for, receive, and act on personal revelation is the single most important skill that can be acquired in this life. Qualifying for the Lord’s Spirit begins with a desire for that Spirit and implies a certain degree of worthiness. Keeping the commandments, repenting, and renewing covenants made at baptism lead to the blessing of always having the Lord’s Spirit with us. Making and keeping temple covenants also adds spiritual strength and power to a woman’s life. Many answers to difficult questions are found by reading the scriptures because the scriptures are an aid to revelation. Insight found in scripture accumulates over time, so it is important to spend some time in the scriptures every day. Daily prayer is also essential to having the Lord’s Spirit with us. Those who earnestly seek help through prayer and scripture study often have a paper and pencil nearby to write questions and record impressions and ideas.

Revelation can come hour by hour and moment by moment as we do the right things. When women nurture as Christ nurtured, a power and peace can descend to guide when help is needed. For instance, mothers can feel help from the Spirit even when tired, noisy children are clamoring for attention, but they can be distanced from the Spirit if they lose their temper with children. Being in the right places allows us to receive guidance. It requires a conscious effort to diminish distractions, but having the Spirit of revelation makes it possible to prevail over opposition and persist in faith through difficult days and essential routine tasks. Personal revelation gives us the understanding of what to do every day to increase faith and personal righteousness, strengthen families and homes, and seek those who need our help. Because personal revelation is a constantly renewable source of strength, it is possible to feel bathed in help even during turbulent times.

We are told to put our trust in that Spirit which leads us “to do justly, to walk humbly, to judge righteously.” We are also told that this Spirit will enlighten our minds, fill our souls with joy, and help us know all things we should do. Promised personal revelation comes when we ask for it, prepare for it, and go forward in faith, trusting that it will be poured out upon us.

Relief Society—Teaching, Inspiring, and Strengthening

Additionally, the Lord in His wisdom has provided a Relief Society to help His daughters in these latter days. When Relief Society functions in an inspired way, it lifts women up and out of a troubled world and into a way of living that prepares them for the blessings of eternal life. This society has at its very core the responsibility to help sisters increase faith and personal righteousness, strengthen families and homes, and seek out and help others who are in need. Through Relief Society, sisters can receive answers to their questions and be blessed by the combined spiritual power of all the sisters. Relief Society validates the true and eternal nature of daughters of God. It is a sacred trust, a guiding light, and a system of watchcare that teaches and inspires women to be strong and immovable. Its motto, “Charity never faileth,” is embodied in all good women.

When a girl advances into Relief Society or when a woman is baptized into the Church, she becomes part of a sisterhood that strengthens her in her preparation for eternal life. Entrance into Relief Society signifies that a woman can be trusted and relied upon to make a significant contribution in the Church. She continues to progress as an individual without receiving much outward credit or praise.

The second general Relief Society president, Eliza R. Snow, said this to the sisters: “We want to be ladies in very deed, not according to the term of the word as the world judges, but fit companions of the Gods and Holy Ones. In an organized capacity we can assist each other in not only doing good but in refining ourselves, and whether few or many come forward and help to prosecute this great work, they will be those that will fill honorable positions in the Kingdom of God. . . . Women should be women and not babies that need petting and correction all the time. I know we like to be appreciated but if we do not get all the appreciation which we think is our due, what matters? We know the Lord has laid high responsibility upon us, and there is not a wish or desire that the Lord has implanted in our hearts in righteousness but will be realized, and the greatest good we can do to ourselves and each other is to refine and cultivate ourselves in everything that is good and ennobling to qualify us for those responsibilities.”

Measuring Success

Good women always have a desire to know if they are succeeding. In a world where the measures of success are often distorted, it is important to seek appreciation and affirmation from proper sources. To paraphrase a list found in Preach My Gospel, we are doing well when we develop attributes of Christ and strive to obey His gospel with exactness. We are doing well when we seek to improve ourselves and do our best. We are doing well when we increase faith and personal righteousness, strengthen families and homes, and seek out and help others who are in need. We know we are successful if we live so that we qualify for, receive, and know how to follow the Spirit. When we have done our very best, we may still experience disappointments, but we will not be disappointed in ourselves. We can feel certain that the Lord is pleased when we feel the Spirit working through us. Peace, joy, and hope are available to those who measure success properly.

A revelation in the book of Joel states that in the last days, sons and daughters of God will prophesy and the Lord will pour out His Spirit upon His servants and His handmaids.

President Spencer W. Kimball echoed this prophecy when he said: “Much of the major growth that is coming to the Church in the last days will come because many of the good women of the world (in whom there is often such an inner sense of spirituality) will be drawn to the Church in large numbers. This will happen to the degree that the women of the Church reflect righteousness and articulateness in their lives and to the degree that the women of the Church are seen as distinct and different—in happy ways—from the women of the world. . . .

“Thus it will be that female exemplars of the Church will be a significant force in both the numerical and spiritual growth of the Church in the last days.”

I bear my witness that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true. The Lord depends on His daughters to do their part to strengthen the homes of Zion and build His kingdom on the earth. As they seek and qualify for personal revelation, the Lord will pour out His Spirit upon His handmaids in these latter days. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Earth Day!

THINGS TO DO:

*go see the new Disney movie Oceans
*color a picture of the earth
*go for a walk and pick up garbage in the neighborhood
*plant a garden
*read The Lorax by Dr. Seuss
*recycle crayons
* make Dirt Pudding

What are your plans??

Books for FREE!

As a part of his doctoral studies, John Hilton III is "studying what happens when books are made available for free." He worked with "Deseret Book and they have made 8 of their books available for free." They can all be downloaded at deseretbook.com/free. Several of the books are ones you might be interested in. The books are:

1. Please Pass the Scripture (by John Hilton III).
2. What I Wish I Would Have Known When I Was Single (by John Bytheway).
3. Women at the Well (by Richard and Jeni Holzapfel).
4. Digging Deeper (by Robert Eaton).
5. 10 Secrets Wise Parents Know (by Brent Top and Bruce Chadwick).
6. Growing Up: Gospel Answers About Maturation and Sex (by Brad Wilcox).
7. Saving Kristen (by Jack Weyland). (fiction)
8. The Hidden Path (by C.B. Andersen). (fiction).

I recommend that you go download them all and save them for future reference as they will only be available online for free for a short time.

They've also made available several great books you can read online. No signing up, no obligation, just absolutely 100% FREE! We all need a little free here and there. Each book will be available on a timed basis. Every week they'll release a new chapter until the whole book will be available for a limited time period. Find out what books are currently available to read.

Feel free to forward this information on to others who might be interested.

Announcement Update

The Crafts, Hooks and Needles groups have changed the meeting date to April 28th.

General Conference Easter Activities

While searching for some quiet activity ideas I came across a great website. A Little Tipsy has wonderful ideas for Easter and Conference.

Like an Egg Hunt. The site has a cute basket to print out as well...


Or a coloring page



Such fun ideas!! Does anyone have any others??

Hope you all enjoy General Conference and have a wonderful Easter!!

April Announcements

There is also a ward dinner April 2nd. Not sure of the time.

Brunch Bunch: There will be no Brunch Bunch April 3. Enjoy Conference. See you at IHOP on 12th Street May 1st at 10am.

The Ward Big Community Gardening Kick-Off. Lots of land is available for you to join a community garden for our ward. If you are interested in having a garden but do not have the space for it, this is for you! Please contact Kit Garcia for more information. Meet at the Venegas' House at 1087 12th Street, Saturday, April 10th.

Yoga: There is no more yoga.

Scripture Study: Every Wednesday at 6:30 in the overflow at the church; combined with the 3rd ward.

Book Club: Tuesday, April 13th at 6pm at the church. We will be discussing, "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns.

Craft Group: Thursday, April 22nd 6pm at the church. We wil be doing jewelry making or bring your unfinished projects to work on. (Also meets with Needle 'n Hooks group). Contact Raylene Western for more information.

Needle 'n Hooks Group: Thursday, April 22nd 6pm at the church. Bring your hooks, needles and project you are working on. If you want to learn how to crochet, knit or cross stitch, supplies are available to use and teachers are available to teach you. Contact Kit Garcia for more information.

Seeking and Receiving Personal Revelation

How Can I Seek Personal Revelation?

"We prepare to receive personal revelation as the prophets do, by studying the scriptures, fasting, praying, and building faith. Faith is the key. Remember Joseph's preparation for the First Vision:

" 'If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God. . . .

" 'But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.' "1

Elder Robert D. Hales of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.


"Prayer is your personal key to heaven. The lock is on your side of the veil.

"But that is not all. To one who thought that revelation would flow without effort, the Lord said:

" 'You have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me.

" 'But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.' "2

President Boyd K. Packer, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.


How Can I Receive Personal Revelation?

"In its more familiar forms, revelation or inspiration comes by means of words or thoughts communicated to the mind (see Enos 1:10; D&C 8:2–3), by sudden enlightenment (see D&C 6:14–15), by positive or negative feelings about proposed courses of action, or even by inspiring performances, as in the performing arts. As President Boyd K. Packer, . . . President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, has stated, 'Inspiration comes more as a feeling than as a sound.' "3

Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.


"The temple is a house of learning. Much of the instruction imparted in the temple is symbolic and learned by the Spirit. This means we are taught from on high. . . . Our understanding of the meaning of the ordinances and covenants will increase as we return to the temple often with the attitude of learning and contemplating the eternal truths taught. . . . Let us enjoy the spiritual strength and the revelation we receive as we attend the temple regularly."4

Silvia H. Allred, first counselor in the Relief Society general presidency.


Notes
1. "Personal Revelation: The Teachings and Examples of the Prophets," Liahona and Ensign, Nov. 2007, 88.
2. "Personal Revelation: The Gift, the Test, and the Promise," Ensign, Nov. 1994, 59–60.
3. "Eight Reasons for Revelation," Liahona, Sept. 2004, 8; "Eight Ways God Can Speak to You," New Era, Sept. 2004, 4.
4. "Holy Temples, Sacred Covenants," Liahona and Ensign, Nov. 2008, 113, 114.


Helps for Visiting Teaching
As a visiting teacher, you can receive impressions of the Spirit as to the needs of your sisters and how to meet those needs. As you teach this message, share, as appropriate, any inspiration or help you have received regarding visiting teaching.


Personal Preparation

1 Samuel 3:10
1 Kings 19:11–12
Alma 5:46; 26:22
3 Nephi 19:19–23
D&C 8:2–3; 9:8–9; 88:63–64

Happy Birthday!

1 - Kayleen Letcher
2 - Susan Wilson
3 - Jennifer Kekacs
5 - Janeal Packard
8 - Gayle Nath, Karen Driscoll & Shaylee Stevenson
11 - Lou Ann Blotter
12 - Valarie Blamires
13 - Lisa Fowers
15 - Cami Olsen
19 - Donna Haws
20 - Sarah Okelberry
22 - Sadie Smith
23 - Stefanie Jenkins, Ritta Manfull, Carly Judd & Julie Ann Mills
24 - Darlene Hamblin
26 - Jodi Lynn King & Joyce Lundell
27 - Robyn Scott & Andrea Hyatt
28 - Doris Stephens
30 - Brittany Bracey

St. Pat's Potato Candy

Yes, there really is potato in this classic Irish treat, though you'd never know by tasting. Rolled in coconut, these mini spud-shaped sweets make a perfect St. Patrick's Day dessert.

Ingredients
1 large potato
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 to 5 cups confectioners' sugar
5 cups sweetened coconut flakes (can use food coloring to make it green)

Instructions
Peel the potato and boil it in water until soft. In a mixing bowl, mash the cooked potato with the salt and butter. Then -- this is key -- let it cool completely, or else it will melt the sugar when you add it.

Mix in the vanilla extract and 4 cups of sugar. At this point, the mixture should be stiff. If it isn't, add more sugar.

Sprinkle half of the coconut onto a waxed-paper-covered surface and turn the potato mixture onto it. Roll the batter until all of the coconut has been mixed in, then shape teaspoonfuls into small balls.

Roll the balls individually in the remaining coconut. Chill the finished candies until you're ready to serve them. Makes about 4 dozen.

(Thanks FamilyFun)

GREEN Green Salad

Absolutely everything on this salad is GREEN!

Ingredients
Lettuce
Spinach
Cucumbers
Peppers
Snow peas
Avocados
Sprouts
Ranch Dressing
Green Food Coloring

Instructions
The fun of making this salad begins at the grocery store selecting the fixings. Anything green, such as lettuce, cucumbers, peppers, snow peas, avocados and sprouts, is fit for the mix. Add a few drops of green food coloring to Ranch dressing and serve.

Pesto Pasta

What could be better for a St. Patrick's Day dinner than green pasta?

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups tightly packed, washed and dried basil leaves
1/2 cup walnuts
2 chopped garlic cloves
2/3 cup olive oil
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 lb. spinach linguine or fettuccine

Instructions
Chop basil leaves in a food processor or blender. Add walnuts and garlic. Process until finely ground. With the machine running, slowly add oil. Next, pour in grated Parmesan cheese, salt, and black pepper. Mix and then set aside.

Cook linguine or fettuccine according to package instructions. Drain and toss with the pesto in a serving bowl. Top with more Parmesan cheese. Serves 4 to 6

March Announcements

Yoga: Every Wednesday at 4pm at Ogden City School District Offices, Building 8 in the shiny gym.

Scripture Study: Every Wednesday at 6:30 in the overflow at the church; combined with the 3rd ward.

Single Adult Temple Session: Wednesday, March 3 at 7pm

Breakfast Bunch: Saturday, March 6 at 10am. Meet at IHOP on 12th street for some yummy grub and socializing.

CES Fireside for Young Adults: Sunday, March 7, at 6pm - Ogden Institute of Religion

RS Birthday Social: Thursday, March 11, 6:30pm at the church. Dinner and Program. Babysitting provided. Trash-to-treasure tables available.

Four Stake Youth Fireside: Sunday, March 14. Mount Lewis Stake Center.

1st Annual Mega-Clothing Swap: Saturday March 20, 9am -- 12 pm at the church. Please drop off cleaned, gently used clothes and accessories to Jenny Venegas' house any time OR bring clothes to church Friday, March 19th from 2:30 until 6pm. Then come "shop" for "new" clothes Saturday morning. Please invite friends, neighbors, co-workers and family. The more the merrier.

Book Club: Tuesday, March 23, 6pm at church. We are reading "The Scarlet Pimpernel". April's book will be "Cold Sassy Tree".

Craft Group: Thursday, March 25 6:pm at the church. We will be making wallets. A pattern and material will be available. Or bring your unfinished projects to work on. (Also meets with Needle 'n Hooks group). Contact Raylene Western for more information.

Needle 'n Hooks Group: Thursday, March 25 6:pm at the church. Bring your hooks, needles and project you are working on. If you want to learn how to crochet, knit or cross stitch, supplies are available to use and teachers are available to teach you.

31+ Singles Fireside: Sunday, March 28 at 6pm. Old Post Road Chapel - Speaker Yea Smake, Mayor of Ouelessegougou, Mali

Coming up: April Big Gardening Kick-Off. Lots of land is available for you to join a community garden for our ward. If you are interested in having a garden but do not have the space for it, this is for you! Please contact Kit Garcia for more information.

Strengthening Faith in God the Father and Jesus Christ through Personal Scripture Study

"When I was a new bride, . . . I was invited to a lunch for all of the Relief Society sisters in my ward who had read either the Book of Mormon or a short Church history book. I had become casual in my scripture reading, so I qualified to attend the luncheon by reading the short book because it was easier and took less time. As I was eating my lunch, I had a powerful feeling that though the history book was a good one, I should have read the Book of Mormon. The Holy Ghost was prompting me to change my scripture reading habits. That very day I began to read the Book of Mormon, and I have never stopped. . . . Because I started reading the scriptures daily, I have learned about my Heavenly Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and what I need to do to be like Them. . . .

" . . . Every woman can be a gospel doctrine instructor in her home, and every sister in the Church needs gospel knowledge as a leader and teacher. If you have not already developed the habit of daily scripture study, start now and keep studying in order to be prepared for your responsibilities in this life and in the eternities."
~Julie B. Beck, Relief Society general president.


"A study of the scriptures will help our testimonies and the testimonies of our family members. Our children today are growing up surrounded by voices urging them to abandon that which is right and to pursue, instead, the pleasures of the world. Unless they have a firm foundation in the gospel of Jesus Christ, a testimony of the truth, and a determination to live righteously, they are susceptible to these influences. It is our responsibility to fortify and protect them."
~President Thomas S. Monson.


"We want our sisters to be scholars of the scriptures. . . . You need an acquaintanceship with his eternal truths for your own well being, and for the purposes of teaching your own children and all others who come within your influence."

"We want our homes to be blessed with sister scriptorians—whether you are single or married, young or old, widowed or living in a family. . . . Become scholars of the scriptures—not to put others down, but to lift them up!"
~President Spencer W. Kimball (1895–1985)

Personal Preparation
John 5:39
2 Timothy 3:14–17
2 Nephi 9:50–51; 31:20; 32:3–5
D&C 138:1–11

Happy Birthday!

3 - Jo Dee Keyes
4 - Lorraine Vause & Candice Kunz
5 - Charlene Christensen, Kim Joy Thorpe & Angela Wheelwright
7 - Jeanette Stones & Jennifer Keener
13 - Janet Hansen
16 - Carlene Lindquist
19 - Lorrie Goldsberry
23 - Kya Hadley
24 - Marcell Kearney, Jo Ann Cordova
25 - Catherine Anderson
28 - Victoria Bickley
29 - Joyce Boyce & Lori Lucero
31 - Lynette Love

Shaun Ford

We are deeply saddened by the passing of Shaun Ford. He brought such a strong spirit with him where ever he went. We are so grateful to have had to opportunity to know him. He will be missed.

Shaun Walton Ford passed away Saturday, February 20, 2010 at Ogden Regional Medical Center of complications due to Neonatal - Adrenaleukodystrophy. Shaun was born to Walton and Cynthia Ford on June 30, 1986. Shaun attended and graduated from Ben Lomond High School in 2004. Shaun was a very happy, people loving young man. Those who reached out to Shaun were truly touched by him and were able to communicate with him on a spiritual level leaving both uplifted. Shaun is survived by his parents, grandparents: Duane & Lora Ford, Bountiful, UT., Ronald Reely, Denver, CO., Coreen Reely, SLC, UT., Brother: Sheridan Ford, who is serving an LDS mission in the Washington, DC South Mission. He is preceded in death by his younger sister Shannon.

Services will be held Friday, February 26, 2010 at 11:00am at Lorin Farr 5th Ward, 1608 E. 13th St. Ogden, UT. A viewing will be held on Thursday, February 25, 2010 from 6~8pm at Leavitt’s Mortuary, 836 36th St. Ogden and one hour prior to services at the church.

Managing Resources Wisely and Staying Out of Debt

Managing Resources

"'Provident living' . . . implies the [conserving] of our resources, the wise planning of financial matters, full provision for personal health, and adequate preparation for education and career development, giving appropriate attention to home production and storage as well as the development of emotional resiliency. . . . If we live wisely and providently, we will be as safe as in the palm of His hand."1
President Spencer W. Kimball (1895–1985).

"What skills do we need to help us become self-reliant? . . . In the early days of the Church, Brigham Young pled with the sisters to learn to prevent illness in families, establish home industries, and learn accounting and bookkeeping and other practical skills. Those principles still apply today. Education continues to be vitally important. . . .

"I asked several bishops what self-reliance skills the sisters in their wards needed most, and they said budgeting. Women need to understand the implications of buying on credit and not living within a budget. The second skill bishops listed was cooking. Meals prepared and eaten at home generally cost less, are healthier, and contribute to stronger family relationships."2
Julie B. Beck, Relief Society general president.


Avoiding Debt

"May I suggest five key steps to financial freedom. . . .
"First, pay your tithing. . . .
"Second, spend less than you earn. . . .
"Third, learn to save. . . .
"Fourth, honor your financial obligations. . . .
"Fifth, teach your children to follow your example."3
Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin (1917–2008) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

"When we go into debt, we give away some of our precious, priceless agency and place ourselves in self-imposed servitude. We obligate our time, energy, and means to repay what we have borrowed—resources that could have been used to help ourselves, our families, and others. . . .

"To pay our debts now and to avoid future debt require us to exercise faith in the Savior—not just to do better but to be better. It takes great faith to utter those simple words, 'We can't afford it.' It takes faith to trust that life will be better as we sacrifice our wants in order to meet our own and others' needs."4
Elder Robert D. Hales of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.


Notes
1. "Welfare Services: The Gospel in Action," Ensign, Nov. 1977, 78.
2. "The Welfare Responsibilities of the Relief Society President," Basic Principles of Welfare and Self-Reliance (2009), 5.
3. "Earthly Debts, Heavenly Debts," Liahona and Ensign, May 2004, 41, 42.
4. "A Gospel Vision of Welfare: Faith in Action," Basic Principles of Welfare and Self-Reliance (2009), 1.


Helps for Visiting Teachers

Counsel with your companion about how to sensitively adapt this message to each sister's circumstances. What self-reliance skills can you share with her?


Personal Preparation

Malachi 3:10
Matthew 6:19–21
Luke 12:15
D&C 38:30; 88:119
For more information, see All Is Safely Gathered In: Family Finances (item no. 04007).

Happy Birthday!

1 - Mary Ann Peterson
4 - Cynthia Ford, Carol Fuhriman
5 - Jessica Anderson
6 - Shannon Jeffords, Jann Keefer, Lisa Johnson
8 - Jeanette Sandstrom
9 - Kit Garcia
10 - Jenifer Argyle
11 - Marla Mortensen, Julie Fisher
12 - Erin Jeffords, Dawn Workman
14 - Ruth Fishburn
15 - Clela Jan Madson, Jamie Waite
19 - Elaine Barton
20 - Linsey Kunzler
24 - Pam Thompson

February Announcements

Brunch Bunch Saturday, Feb. 6th 10am IHOP on 12th Street (We will also be meeting the first Saturday of each month)

Book Club: Feb 16th 6pm Discussing Austinland by Shannon Hale (We will be meeting the 3rd Tues of each month)For March we will be reading The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy

Yoga FREE every Wednesday 4pm at Ogden City School District, 1950 Monroe, Building 8in the shiny gym.

Scripture Study with the 3rd ward every Wednesday 6:30pm in the overflow at the church

Craft group: Feb 25 6:30pm in the overflow of the church. Come to learn how to do little girls' hair. Bring your daughters or other little girls to practice on. (craft group will meet on the 4th Thursday of each month with the Hooks 'n Needles group)

Hooks 'n Needles group: Feb 25th 6:30 in the overflow of the church. Bring your crossstitch, crochet, knitting or any other project that requires hooks or needles. Also come if you want to learn. There will be instructors and supplies to help get people started.

Family Canning: Feb 2, 3, 4 – pork chunks - call cannery

Family Canning: Feb 9, 10, 11, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25 – Beef Stew – call cannery

Ward Conference: Feb 21

31+ Singles Symposium: Feb 27, 2am-12:30pm – Stake Center

Ward Temple Day: Feb 20, 4:00 session.