Teacher's Corner

Our lesson was taught by Nancy Giles. Nancy is a new member of our ward and it was great to get to know her better. She taught a wonderful lesson from the conference talk by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland from Oct. Conference. The lesson was " The Ministry of Angels".

Elder Holland asked, "Has the day of miracles ceased?" “Or have angels ceased to appear unto the children of men? Or has he withheld the power of the Holy Ghost from them? Or will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man upon the face thereof to be saved?
Behold I say unto you, Nay; for … it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men. …" Moroni 7:35

I ask everyone within the sound of my voice to take heart, be filled with faith, and remember the Lord has said He “would fight [our] battles, [our] children’s battles, and [the battles of our] children’s children.” And what do we do to merit such a defense? We are to “search diligently, pray always, and be believing. Then all things shall work together for our good, if we walk uprightly and remember the covenant wherewith we have covenanted.” The latter days are not a time to fear and tremble. They are a time to be believing and remember our covenants.

I testify of angels, both the heavenly and the mortal kind. In doing so I am testifying that God never leaves us alone, never leaves us unaided in the challenges that we face. “Nor will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man [or woman or child] upon the face thereof to be saved.” Moroni 7:36

Sister Giles reminded us that sometimes angels are sent to us and sometimes we are another's angel. It is usually through others that the Lord answers our prayers.

Leading in the Lord's Way

"I teach them correct principles and they govern themselves." Joseph Smith. Kristi Krueger taught our lesson sunday about leadership and tied it into our role as mothers, teachers and leaders at home as well as in the school and community. Some of the key points of the lesson was:
1. Leaders teach correct principles and help those they lead learn to govern themselves. This is such an important point especially with our children. When they are given responsibility they will respond with responsibility and love.
2. Leaders receive wisdom from the Spirit and acknowledge the Lord's blessings to them.
3. Leaders in the Lord's kingdom love those they serve.
4. Leaders in the Lord's kingdom teach through their service and example.

We have wonderful examples in our bishop and stake president that we can all follow.

Winner!

We had our first drawing and the winner was, drum roll please, Jodi Sadleir! Congratulations to Jodi. Our next drawing will be at the end of January. To be elgible you must read 4 articles from the Conference Ensign. You can leave a comment about your thoughts on what you read if you would like, but it is not required.

Sharing Stories

This is a message from Lee Baker. She received it from Marv Mills.

I thought you all might be interested in an experience that happened recently at the Washington DC temple. As many of you know, my sister Jan and her husband work in the temple where they saw and heard this incident first hand. Recently they had protesters who got through the gate and into where the visitor center is located on the Washington DC temple grounds. This was of some concern to the missionary couples and sister missionaries serving inside - especially after the protests at the LA temple. As the protesters were protesting, a big rain storm came out of no where. As protesters got caught in the down pour of rain, the sister missionaries inside the visitor center began taking umbrellas out to all of the protesters along with several chairs for those who looked like they were having a difficult time standing in the cold and rain. This act of kindness totally surprised the protesters who expressed appreciation and soon, peacefully left the temple grounds. Three of the protesters paused long enough to tell the missionaries that because of the missionaries kindness they would come back on another day ... hopefully to learn about the church and the people who would treat others with such respect and kindness. I thought that was really a wonderful example of how we all should treat others - especially those who are unkind to us and oppose our beliefs ... a good thing to remember as the future becomes more difficult and our beliefs become more and more under attack.

Is Christ In You?

"To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory" COLOSSIANS 1:27


Thanks to Cathy Nielsen for sharing

United We Stand

I've been told that I am in charge of this "post" now that Marilee is moving on to a new adventure in Arizona.

Sunday's lesson was on unity. In case the object of my object lesson wasn't understood, I started out imagining Lynn Rothey was dangling from a cliff. I came to rescue her with one strand of yarn. As Lynn feared, my one strand of yarn wasn't strong enough to do the job and it broke easily. I handed out more strands of yarn to the sisters behind her with the hope they would work together and essentially weave a rope. The more strands, the stronger the rope, the more likely it would save Lynn from her precarious situation.

"A long pull, a strong pull, and a pull all together" was a quote from Joseph Smith during the time the Saints were commanded to build the first temple. The early Saints' enthusiasm for the project and determination to obey, helped them unify in ways they never had before. Learning from this account, we understand that "unity is strength", "unity is power" and amazing things can be accomplished when "we all pull together".

We also discussed what thwarts unity. Elder Eyring said that "pride is the great enemy of unity". Along with pride is selfishness and Joseph Smith said that selfishness was to not just be buried "but annihilated". Joseph Smith reminded those early Saints that "great things depend on their individual exertion" and to "let love to God and man predominate and reign triumphant in every mind" so that hearts can be knit together.

Bringing this concept home, we reflected on the events of the past three years that brought about unity. In the Fall of 2006, our Stake came together to work on Stake President Haynie's inspired "Nauvoo Project". We witnessed first hand the miracle of accomplishing what seemed like an impossible task. The burden becomes light when many hands join the effort. In the Fall of 2007, we came together once again as a Stake but this time to reach out to our community as we helped provide food, shelter and clean up aid during and after the devastating wild fires. The Fall of 2008 will forever be in our minds as the time we had an unprecedented unity with members of other faiths, especially those that haven't been particularly friendly to us in the past. We knit our hearts together, setting aside doctrinal differences, and presented a united front against the assault on the traditional family.

Yes, there is great power in unity. Truly miraculous things come to pass when we are united in a good cause. May we all work to overcome our individual weaknesses that inhibit us from becoming a united people.

Christmas at St. Claires

I think this was probably one of our most outstanding Enrichments. That says quite a bit considering some of our past Enrichments. We met a St. Claires shelter for abused women and children. We started the night off with a wonderful potluck dinner, visiting, and getting to know one another, followed by caroling and a Christmas story. The night ended with an appearance by Santa, who, with his helpers, passed out presents to all. The joy in the faces of the children when Santa walked in the room pulled at your heart strings. It was touching to see the children's excitement and hope in their eyes. One cute memory of the evening was when one child asked her mother if she could walk Santa outside because she wanted to see his sleigh. She kept insisting and it took Santa changing behind the building and walking to his car in street clothes to keep the magic alive for one little girl. Everyone felt the spirit as we realized how much our Heavenly Father loves these little ones. It was such a humbling experience for the sisters who attended. It made us so grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ and it also reminded all of us that we are all daughters of Heavenly Father and He loves all of His children no matter what our circumstances. These sisters may be forgotten by society at large, but they are not forgotten by Him. It was a remarkable evening and a perfect way to begin our celebration of our Saviors birth. We are the Relief Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and it was nice to provide relief for sisters who could really use us.

Thanks to our remarkable Enrichment Committee for making this possible.

Teacher's corner

Lin Muir was our guest teacher today for the lesson "The Infinite Power of Hope" given by President Uchtdorf in conference. We listened while she played the tender and terrifying story of Pres Uchtdorf's mother losing and then finding her children in a refugee train heading out of Czechoslovakia. He wondered how she was able to have hope. Since she was not a woman to "sit and bemoan tragedy" we began the discussion by noting that hope is an action and not just a wish.

Lin directed us to the visual of a 3-legged stool comprised of faith, hope, and charity. These elements offer stability and optimism. Hope is a gift of the spirit and can be prayed for when we don't have the "oomph" to think positively. We can hope for things, and hope in things - but these desires must be founded on Christ, who is the object of our greatest hope for eternal life and salvation.

President Uchtdorf's talk ended with advice for those who are discouraged - "never give in. Never surrender. Never allow despair to overcome your spirit. Embrace and rely upon the Hope of Israel, for the love of the Son of God pierces all darkness, softens all sorrow, and gladdens every heart. Of this I testify and leave you my blessings in the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

Pursuit Of Excellence Reading Challenge

During his October 08 closing remarks President Thomas S. Monson urged us to study and ponder the teachings from General Conference that will be published in the November Ensign and Liahona magazines (the transcripts will also be available online at lds.org ). Lets study together and help encourage each other in this study.

Here is how the Pursuit of Excellence Challenge will work:

1. To be entered into the monthly drawing: Read a minimum of 4 talks each month.

2. To be entered in the Grand Prize Drawing and to complete the Pursuit of Excellence Challenge: Read all the talks from the April 09 Conference. And......

3. Write at least one post or email (or as many as you feel inspired to do) about a favorite talk or talks, your general impressions, what you learned etc.

4. Once you have read all the talks for the month you can leave a comment or send me an e-mail and you will be entered to win some great prizes. Then we will have a monthly drawing for all who read at least 4 talks. Then we will have a Grand Prize for all who left a post or email and completed the challenge by reading ALL of the talks.

Do you accept our challenge? If yes, click on the list of participants at the right and leave your name.

Deadlines: To be entered into the grand prize drawing you must have all the talks read and leave a comment letting me know you read them all by October 1, 2009. I am really excited about this and hope you will all join me in this Pursuit of Excellence.

Joy

Take a moment to reflect. Click on the link below.

http://thejoymovie.com/

Food Storage Group

Take a look at Laura Legner's work for the day!

We had great success as the sisters spent 4 days canning their food storage items. Each sister purchased her own items; flour, sugar, wheat, rice, beans, macaroni, etc. and then took them to Cynthia Israelsen's to put in cans and seal them with the canner.

It was surprisingly easy to do. Just pour into the can, pop in an oxygen packet, put on the machine and seal. Of course, what made it easy was that Cynthia did all the work getting it set up for us. She also gave up a lot of time to help and instruct each of us. We really couldn't ask for a better person to head this committee. It was so successful, we will be doing it again!

The results? 800 cans of food= 4 TONS of food!! Wow!

Missionary Moments

From Sister Deborah Romney:

The week at the MTC is wonderful. The senior missionaries (50) of us, are great people. They come from all over, and are heading out to Nigeria, Slovenia, Australia, Texas, SLC Temple Square, El Salvador, Equador, The Baltic States, and the Navajo reservation in northern Arizona, and a variety of multiple other places. 8 of us heading to Nauvoo, All are excited and eager to serve the Lord any way they can. This is the 2nd or 3rd mission for about 1/4 of the group. The Church would love to have at least two thousand more adults NOW. All of the mission presidents are begging for them. There are a total of 8 single senior sisters here. All of us are widows, but, mine was the best way to lose a husband. The others lost theirs after years of Alzheimers, Parkinsons, cancer, or brain tumors. Clyde and I had it better than all of them.

The young Elders and Sisters are instructed to help us in any way that they can, so they hold doors, allow us to precede them in the cafeteria, carry anything for us that looks the least bit heavy, and greet us whenever they see us. They are outstanding. It's uplifting just to be around them. I was assigned to attend the Sacrament meeting today with the foreign Elders and Sisters who have been assigned to an English speaking mission. They are from France, Hong Kong, Philippines, Mexico, and several other areas.

This morning as we viewed the Tabernacle Choir Broadcast prior to our MTC-wide Relief Society, with about 300 Lady Missionaries, the song you and I have talked about so often, Hymn #109 about the "sultry glebe" was sung. I thought it might be a "sign" as several other things that have happened to me have been. (I'm trying to find meaning wherever I can.) Then a story that was told in our Sacrament meeting was about an event that occured this past week with a young sister who was caught stealing her companion's money. In our Branch President's five years here, this is the first time anything like this had ever happened. He taught a wonderfully important lesson about the way the other missionaries reacted, from "why is she even here?", to "how awful", and "she shouldn't even be serving a mission", to "I'll pray for her, and hug her and tell her 'I love her' when I next see her." --- the last being the correct response. She wasn't sent home, but did not attend the Sacrament meeting with her Branch. I would love to find out how it was all handled. Anyway, I learned an important lesson about judging. It's not my place. I will learn to "forgive all offenses". I will, I will.

Teacher's corner

Angela Lee - Gaining Knowledge of Eternal Truths - Nov 16
Angela may have thought her hair looked crazy, but it looked good and her lesson went well! We were asked what "hidden treasures" were. These are spiritual truths that are hidden from the world and are only made known to those who work for heavenly understanding and can spiritually discern greater things. The best way to receive "hidden" knowlege is to ask of God and accept what He sends.
Many learned people have intellectually separated themselves from God and are not receptive or desiring of spiritual truths that may conflict with their lifestyle or inconvenience their beliefs. As the manual stated, "mankind..sets bounds to the works and ways of the Almighty." We become truly free when we accept the truths of His gospel and seek for more truth. Immersion in the teachings of Jesus will keep us spiritually sensitive, strong and open. May we always be humble to the promptings and direction that comes so fully from our Heavenly Father.

Help for your gas and electric bill.

San Diego Gas and Electric company has 2 programs to help lower income families with their utility bills. CARE and FERA. Not only do they offer a discount on your bill but their energy team can provide such help as: weatherstripping, insulation, energy efficient appliances and more. You can be either a renter or a homeowner, mobile homes qualify. Take a minute to visit their website. See if you qualify (the income levels are surprisingly high) or if this might be a benefit for the sisters you visit teach. This is an ideal program for seniors and young marrieds. Just click on this link to be connected. http://www.sdge.com/careonline

Teacher's corner

Kristy brought 2 backpacks to her lesson on the 2nd coming and Millennium. One was a gnarly 72-hr kit that you could use for a few weeks. The other was empty. She talked of physical preparation but showed us that spiritual preparation is very important. Like the 10 virgins, who were all members of the church, we need to fill our spiritual backpack with those things that will admit us to the presence of the Savior. These things included:

• obedience
• temple recommend
• scripture study
• good works
• Family Home Evening and related family righteousness
• the commandments

These posessions take up very little physical room, but they are very "fat" spiritually. They are so important that they must be worked on continually.

As members of the church, we hope that obedience will keep us physically and spiritually safe. We know, however, that we cannot escape all tribulation in these last days. But we obey the prophet and keep doing our spiritual exercises with an optimistic eye toward embracing and shaping the future. It is possible and even expected that we can live joyously as we rise above the evil which sinks below us.

Protests aganist the Church

Sisters,
I know it is hard to watch the news reports of demonstrations at the temple. However, this will all work out for our benefit. Remember we are lead by a Prophet and we are following his direction. On a postitive note: We do have some supporters.

I found this article on the Newsroom Web site of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I thought you might find it interesting. Click on the link below to view:

http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/news-releases-stories/catholic-bishop-decries-religious-bigotry-against-mormons

We Love Our Sisters

We have the best Relief Society ever!

From Our Stake Relief Society President

Dear Family,

I have started this message, “Dear Family,” because it is how I feel at the core of my heart. This experience we have shared together will be recorded in that special place of my heart where we store those life experiences that our Savior speaks of when he promises…”All these things shall be for thy good.” I would have been writing this email regardless of last night’s outcome of this hard fought battle. The fact that the majority of California citizens have taken a stand with us is icing on the cake for me. What has been the personal blessing for me is the time, energy, work, effort, and devotion to this cause that we have lived together for what seems like forever! Because of this call to serve by our dear Prophet, we not only can now “return and report,” and answer Our Savior in the affirmative, but we have grown closer as a family of saints; we have strengthened our might, our spirits, and our brotherhood and sisterhood. We have, as well, strengthened our friendship with those of other faiths within our community.

Today I had an assignment to feed 42 Elders for a zone conference. As my presidency and I finished our preparations for the lunch, I took a few minutes to walk around the halls of our stake center. Other than the elders in their meetings, the building was quiet. I looked at the beautiful artwork on the walls, glanced at the photos of full time missionaries serving from our stake, and heard the quiet murmurs down the hall in the Family History Library. An overwhelming surge of love filled me as my gratitude for the Lords’ church brought tears. If I could have, I would have wrapped my arms around the building and squeezed it with love and gratitude. Instead, I whispered to myself, “I am proud to member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”

I am deeply grateful for my association with the saints. I am proud to stand with you whether it be in our chapels each Sunday or standing on a corner of a busy intersection waving a sign.

With love and respect,
Sister Berry

Teacher's corner

Did you hear about President Haynie's test? He gave us a pop quiz in the Sunday Adult Session. It can be taken any number of times, but must be passed if we are to enjoy the greatest blessings after this life. These are the questions:

• What did the Prophet say at the last General Conference and how am I changing my life to obey him?
• How am I helping my family and extended family obey the living prophet?
• How have I responded to Thomas Monson's request to do all I can to help Prop 8 pass?

Bottom line is - Follow the Prophet. You cannot help but be blessed - even the desire to obey assures that you will have power given to do better. And you know what the coolest thing is? You can start fresh right now to sincerely obey and you will be blessed without any penalty. Whoa!

The countdown is on!

Only a few days left to make a difference! We are doing our part. Each night this week we have been standing at street corners waving 'Yes on 8' signs. Saturday is the big push! We need people to walk and put door hangers on houses and also to do phoning. Be sure to make your voice heard.

Participants.

Yes! I am willing to accept the Challenge and commit to reading at least 4 talks a month, scroll down and click on the post a comment button below and leave your name; leave a comment if you want, comments are always loved. We think this is a great way to grow together and purify our lives.

Thoughts for Today

*Accept that some days you're the pigeon, And some days you're the statue.
*Always keep your words soft and sweet, Just in case you have to eat them.
*Always read stuff that will make you look good If you die in the middle of it.
*Drive carefully. It's not only cars that can be Recalled by their maker.
*If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.
*It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply be kind to others.
*Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time. Because then you won't have a leg to stand on.
*Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.
*When everything's coming your way, You're in the wrong lane.
*Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.
*You may be only one person in the world, But you may also be the world to one person.
*Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.
*We could learn a lot from crayons... Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names, and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.
*A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

Teacher's corner

"Righteous Traditions" - Anne Steenblik - October 26
From the looks of this lesson's title, one would think we would have concentrated on family traditions we enjoy. Although we were able to share some ideas, the main idea of this lesson was what is behind the expected things we do as families. What is our motivation for continuing to look forward to events which have become a part of our lives?? Are they material or eternal? Are they just happening or are we consciously creating righteous traditions? Are they in response to the world's loud voices or the still small voice? These are good and important questions which were posed by Cheryl Lant, General Primary President and presenter of this talk in April's conference.
We discovered that there are right and wrong traditions we can perpetrate. Wrong traditions cause our children to be close-minded to the truth - an example was the Lamanites keeping the gospel from their offspring and continuing to blame the Nephites for taking over their right to government. Right traditions allow our children to be teachable. Always following the prophet and honestly trying to do what's right shows an open-minded and willing attitude toward those whose lives we effect.
An excellent question to ask ourselves is this: Are the traditions that we are creating in our families going to make it easier for our chldren to follow the living prophets? If not, they should be changed to answer in the positive. If so, great job!

Super Saturday

Super Saturday is November 15 from 8:30 to 1 p.m. We need all sign-ups and money to us by this Sunday, October 26. Please make all check payable to Aundrea Ristine and give them to Penny or Aundrea on Sunday. Penny will be sending each sister individually an amount for their order. Several items have gone down in price, so please wait for the e-mail from Penny so we don't have to refund anyone money. If your friends are interested you need to get those orders to Aundrea as well. For all you sisters who don't want to make crafts on November 15, please join us for a yummy breakfast at 8:30 a.m.

Here are some of the Super Saturday Crafts. Watch for the display outside the Relief Society Room. They include:Coasters (Christmas/Everyday)
Plates (Santa/Celebrate)
Book of Mormon
Stars (Christmas/Everyday)
Noel
Peek A Boo/Find Books
Center piece--picture will be displayed soon

Super Saturday Prices.

Here are the prices for Super Saturday. See the other pictures in the earlier post. We will have a table set up with sign-up outside the Relief Society Room on Sunday. It looks like it is going to be a fun morning. Remember breakfast is going to be at 8:30.

Floral Arrangement is $50.00
Celebrate Plates $13.25
Santa Plates $15.50
Peek A Boo Bags $10
Noel $16
Book of Mormons $7 each
Coasters set of four (including ribbon to tie together for gift $4.80 for tumbled tiles w/stamps and $3.50 white tiles w/paper
Metal Stars $14 for everything / $10 star only

Teacher's corner

Angela Lee - Lesson 20 "The Prophet's Letters to His Family"

Angela brought to mind the special possession some of us have today - a treasured letter from someone special. Cathy Nielsen had a good point - these letters (even from an old boyfriend!) make us feel special or that we were valuable to someone. Tender letters from Joseph Smith to his dear wife, Emma, and family were the subject of today's lesson, and they truly show how special Joseph's beloved Emma and children were to him.

Joseph Smith traveled extensively over the 1831-1838 time period. He wrote letters of encouragement and love to his little family during his absences. These separations were a trial to all of them and the longing in his letters shows clearly how much he missed their association. He advised them as only a father trying to help raise his children could. He asked about their health and mentioned each by name. He bore testimony that although he couldn't be with them as much as he wanted, he knew that he was doing God's will and that He would watch over them.

Angela persuaded Nathan to record the letters for us to hear, and added music to the spoken word to give a nice dimension to the lesson. It was a great opportunity to see Joseph Smith, the prophet, as a loving, encouraging, tender husband and father in the midst of the whirlwind of organization which he had to accomplish.

Teacher's corner

I missed Kristi's lesson last Sunday (Oct 12) but here is a summary of some wonderful ideas about facing and even growing from adversity.

· How can adversity be for our good?
Ezra Taft Benson said, "It is not on the pinnacle of success and ease where men and women grow most, it is often down in the valley of heartache and disappointment … where men and women grow into strong characters. Every reversal can be turned to our benefit and blessing and can make us stronger, more courageous, more godlike."


· We will be supported and blessed in our times of trial.The Book of Mormon has many examples of how whole groups of people were blessed through their common adversities.

· Large scale adversities such as natural disasters and wars are part of the mortal experience. We cannot entirely prevent them. But, we can determine how we will react to them.

· Neal A. Maxwell said, "murmuring can be noisy enough that it drowns out the various spiritual signals to us, signals which tell us in some cases to quit soaking ourselves indulgently in the hot tubs of self-pity!" He said, "be of good cheer is what is needed”

· In her book called Adversity, Elaine Cannon shares this valuable example:
"An old cowboy said he had learned life's most important lessons from Hereford cows. All his life he had worked cattle ranches where winter storms took a heavy toll among the herds. In this maelstrom of nature's violence most cattle would turn their backs to the ice blasts and slowly drift downwind, mile upon mile. Finally, intercepted by a boundary fence, they would pile up against the barrier and die by the scores.
"But the Herefords acted differently. Cattle of this breed would instinctively head into the windward end of the range. There they would stand shoulder-to-shoulder facing the storm's blast, heads down against its onslaught.
" 'You always found the Herefords alive and well,' said the cowboy. 'I guess it's the greatest lesson I ever learned on the prairies—just face life's storms' " (Adversity [1987], 133–34).

Finished Craft Night Pumpkins

I know everyone has been waiting to see the final product from our craft night. Here it is!

To My Sisters

There was a party at my house yesterday. It started with Jennifer and Moira coming at 9:15, and ended with Richard mowing my lawn at 6:00. Sandwiched in those nearly 9 hours were amazing sisters, a plumber, and a plumber's helper. A shining and classy dream house now stands where my common one used to be. May I also thank Peggy, Pam, Janice, Annette, Cathy, Cathy, Margaret, Lea, Paige, Teresa, Judith, Helene, Jane, Billye, Ginger, Aundrea, Arline, Chuck, Sean, and Eldon (if I forgot you it's just brain damage!). I'm especially glad that Pam and Janice alerted me to the river of water flowing from the toilet. This church not only allows, but expects us to love each other and serve in times of need. But how incredible that you not only came, but you happily worked very hard to lend a hand. May God bless you in special ways for treating me so dearly. Much love and a few tears, Marilee

Does it matter?

As we rush from one thing to another, transferring kids, busy jobs, house stuff and families we often ask, 'Does it matter?'.
It seems like there is always someone needing help. It is sometimes just a meal or maybe it will take a major time commitment. We are already overbooked and when we hear about the need we wonder if we will be missed if we skip this time.

I just had a phone call from a sister from another state. Today is her moving day. She has small children. The ward was going to help her move. Unfortunately the sister that was going to watch her kids had to cancel. No problem, she will work around them. Surely it won't take too long, she has been working for weeks to get everything organized. She waits for the ward to show up to help. It gets there - well, her home teacher gets there. He is in his 70's. No one else comes. She calls me crying, asking, "What is wrong with me?"

Nothing. It is just a ward that doesn't get it. I think back to the day one of our sisters moved. We had three moves that day. Every one was helped. The priesthood brothers even took time to help her neighbor unload his car. What makes the difference? I think we grow in our ability to love and follow the Savior through our service to others. It is inevitable that the more we serve, the more we love, and the more we love the more we want to serve. It is this pattern that makes the difference between a good ward and a great ward. I am reminded of the Emily Dickinson Poem,

They might not need me; but they might.
I'll let my head be just in sight;
A smile as small as mine might be
Precisely their necessity.

Craft Night

We had a fun craft night thanks to the enrichment committee. The night was spent making outdoor pumpkins

Moms rule

General Conference Schedule

The 178th Semiannual General Conference of the Church will be held on Saturday and Sunday, October 4-5, 2008. Speakers will include the First Presidency and other General Authorities and general officers of the Church.

General Conference may be viewed in three ways. At the chapel; At home if you get the BYU channel; On the internet. The times are all the same

Chapel: Saturday and Sunday: 9-11:00am 1st session
1-3:00pm 2nd session
Priesthood is Saturday only 5-7:00pm at the chapel.

BYU Channel 435 Same time as above. No Priesthood

www.lds.org. Same time as above.

Craft Night

Craft Night - Make this fantastic pumpkin for your front porch.

Tuesday, October 7 th at 7:00 p.m. at Anne Steenblik's home. Bring two round fence posts ($4 each at Home Depot in the garden section). Bring either orange paint or $2 for paint already purchased. Bring your own brush (not foam brushes). Bring any greenery and ribbon you would like on the top around the stem.

Teacher's corner

Anne Steenblik "Looking Back and Moving Forward"
Sep 28
One of the first General Conference talks given by President Thomas Monson was the focus of our lesson today. Anne had the talk on DVD to show us and we gained some insight into the succession of the presidents in our church. There is a pattern given - when the president dies, the counselors shift back into their respective positions of seniority in the Quorum of the 12 (now 14) apostles, and this becomes the presiding authority of the church. The senior apostle becomes the next president within a few days and new counselors are chosen. Any vacancies in the 12 are filled and the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve are complete again. Never at any time is church leadership absent.

Anne next gave us a wonderful list of ways to prepare for conference - which happens to be next Sunday!

• Write a list of specific questions, concerns, or problems you need spiritual directions on.
• Pray often about these items and help in finding answers.
• Arrange your schedule to watch, listen to or read conference without distractions - good luck mothers of young children. God will bless you with what you need to hear!!
• Listen for answers - interestingly, these answers may come in the talks, music, or even prayers of conference. Be open to the promptings of the spirit!

Don't we have the best teachers!!

Relief Society Broadcast

Saturday provided an outstanding evening for all who attended the Relief Society General Board Broadcast. The General Relief Society President Julie Beck started off the evening. Some of her comments are: "The purpose of Relief Society as stated by the Lord, is to organize, teach and inspire his daughters to prepare them for the blessings of Eternal Life. We can do this by:
1. Increasing faith and personal righteous.
2. Strengthen families and homes.
3. Serve the Lord and His children.

She reminded us we have duty to defend and proclaim the gospel. Our homes should be a refuge from evil. They need to be sacred sanctuaries from the world.

The first counselor in the Relief Society Presidency, Silvia Allred spoke about the importance of temple worship in our lives and how to utilize the blessings of the temple. Barbara Thompson, the second counselor called for a righteous army of women. She stated, "Relief Society is not just a class or a place to go if you are not in the Primary or Young Women. It is the Lord's glorious organization for women."

Dieter Uchtdorf, the second counselor of the First Presidency was the concluding speaker. He said, " To me it appears our splendid sisters sometimes under value their abilities and focus on what is lacking, or imperfect rather than that which has been accomplished and who they really are. The good news is that this points to a marvelous quality - the innate desire to please the Lord to the best of your ability. Unfortunately, this can lead to frustration, exhaustion and unhappiness." He then said, "Today, I would like to speak to those who have felt inadequate, discouraged or weary."

To enjoy the remainder of their talks go to http://www.lds.org/broadcast/grsm/0,6220,285,00.html

We concluded the evening with soup and salad and good conversation among one another.

Enrichment Group - Food Storage

Who would have thought you could have so much fun at a food storage meeting? Well, we did. We also got a lot of work done. Each sister brought food storage items for her family, beans, rice, sugar, oatmeal, pasta, even baking soda! We then worked together to pouch them in special airtight bags. Thanks to Cynthia Israelson we had the pouches and the pouch sealer from the Bishops Storehouse. Everyone went home with their cars full of bagged food to their now filled pantry. It was so successful we will have to do it again.

Too bad we didn't get pictures of the ladies hauling in 100 lb bags of rice, beans, etc. But here are photos of a few of sisters (some missed the camera). Earthquake, we are ready! Almost.

Don't Miss This!

The General Relief Society Broadcast is this Saturday at 5:00 pm at the Stake Center. Chapel dress is appropriate. The food should be taken to the kitchen before the broadcast starts. Dinner will be in the cultural hall immediately following the broadcast. Please bring and invite friends.

Teacher's Corner

Lesson 18 - Angela Lee - Sep 21

Angela Lee taught an energetic lesson entitled "Beyond the Veil: Life in the Eternities", which was a continuation of Kristi's lesson last week on the plan of salvation. We learned that Joseph Smith was translating the New Testament in 1832, and came upon some references for heaven. Logic dictated that there must be levels in heaven, so he and Sidney Rigdon prayed for an answer. They were given a vision recorded as Section 76 in the Doctrine and Covenants, known as the Vision of the Three Degrees of Glory.

These degrees of heaven are labeled as the Telestial Kingdom, symbolized with a star; the Terrestrial Kingdom, symbolized with a moon; and the Celestial Kingdom, symbolized with the sun. There is an extensive list of requirements for each kingdom in section 76, but the following is a brief list. Those who receive the glory of the Telestial, or lowest kingdom, are those who reject Christ both here on earth and in the post-mortal life. The heirs of the Terrestrial kingdom do not accept Christ here, but do in the post-mortal life. Those worthy of Celestial glory are valiant in their testimony of Jesus Christ, and have the opportunity to live in eternal family units if they reach exaltation, which is the highest level of the Celestial kingdom.

This life is so important! How we decide to live in this brief experience will dictate where we will live and who with for all eternity. Sisters, we are on the right track!

Where's A Shirt?

Jennifer Larson is looking for a cub scout shirt size 8 preferably, but a little larger would be OK. If you can locate one - a huge thanks - click on the comment button below and leave a message or just give her a call!

Nauvoo Temple

Audrey Wells received this from her cousin:

A good friend of mine, who is also our former stake president, as well as the chief temple architect for more than half of our current temples, told me an interesting story about the Nauvoo Temple. His name is Keith Stepan. He was the managing director for the Temple Construction Department for the church.

When the Nauvoo Temple was being built, for various reasons, they had some challenges and delays in getting the statue of Moroni mounted on top of the temple. It was September of 2001 and one such delay was due to the 9/11 attacks, but there were other problems as well.

They started having some concern over exactly when they could mount the statue. As they looked over the construction plans, they decided that a particular day would be the last chance they would have to mount the statue without too much trouble. Anything beyond that would present big challenges.

That day came and the weather was not cooperating. It was stormy and very windy. The crane operator felt that it was unsafe to attempt to mount the statue with the wind blowing as strong as it was. Keith Stepan and some of the others on the project went off to a private spot and prayed for the Lord to temper the elements so that they could put Moroni in place that day.

Soon afterwards, the wind died down and the clouds opened up just above the temple. They decided to go ahead. Just as the crane began lifting up Moroni, a column of light shot straight down from the sky directly onto Moroni. The statue was successfully installed. The date was September 21st, just in time for a significant anniversary. It was September 22nd, 1827 that Joseph Smith received the golden plates from the Angel Moroni. Here is a photograph of the statue of Moroni being mounted on the temple in Nauvoo. Keith told me this story personally and gave me this picture.

Thanks for sharing, Audrey.

The Plan of Salvation - Kristy Krueger, Sept. 14

Sister Krueger taught a well-known and doctrinally important lesson yesterday on the plan of salvation. As she explained, "The plan stays the same, but we are different." It is refreshing to ponder again on the meaning of "The Plan of Happiness" as experiences change our outlook.

Important universal questions and their answers were addressed. Namely:

1. Where did I come from?
2. Why am I here?
3. Where do I go when I die?

The answers were simple and direct:

1. We came from the pre-earth life where we lived with our Heavenly Father as spirits, associating with our spirit brothers and sisters. We chose to follow Christ as he followed our Father, and thus gained a mortal body at birth.
2. On Earth, we 1) learn, 2) develop faith, 3) test our moral agency, 4) receive a body, 5)work on repentance, and 6) have fun!!
3. When we die, our spirit separates from our body and returns to the Spirit World. The righteous, who followed Christ, reside in "Paradise". Those who did not follow Christ valiantly, or who never heard the gospel, will go to "Prison" and be allowed to accept the gospel. The reuniting of our spirits and bodies into a perfect unit (Resurection) is followed by the Judgment, where we will be judged by Christ on the basis of our works and thoughts.

Both Ginger and Kristy gave examples of something which we need to learn while on this Earth - the Lord should be our first resort of help, not what we use when every other avenue has been exhausted!

Kristy began the lesson with a powerful story. She and Doug were awakened by the Northridge earthquake and ran down the hall to check on Lindsay, who was their only child at the time. Doug instinctively scooped her up in his arms in a protective gesture which startled her awake. Later, Lindsay told them that she had been having a nightmare. In the dream, she was falling down a deep well and was very frightened. Just at that moment, she felt Doug's arms embrace her and pull her to safety. What a wonderful analogy of our Savior's love and committment to us!!

Girl Talk

From Angela Lee......
I woke up in the middle of the night thinking about my niece's hair. I couldn't go back to sleep for a good 15 minutes, during which time I had an epiphany....Here it is..

Megan Sok has the most gloriously thick and brilliantly blonde hair. During their two week visit in August, she was a fish, always in the pool. About half way through their visit, my sister, Alison, and I noticed that Megan's hair was turning bright green. We asked a hair dresser what to do and in addition to using the suggested product, she said it was important for Megan to saturate her hair with regular tap water before going swimming. Obviously if something is at it's saturation point, nothing more can be added. Why on earth was I thinking about this in the middle of the night? Then it hit me, at FHE that night I talked to the kids about what is going on in California right now with this controversial "Harvey Milk Day" legislation and this whole effort we are engaged in to fight for traditional marriage. We had a great discussion and I feel confident that my kids have a solid belief in what is right. Here's the epiphany that came - we have to saturate our kids minds with the truth so when they go to school, there isn't room for caustic teachings to penetrate their brilliant spirits and turn them green.

Do you have a thought to share? Just email it to the Presidency and we'll post it.

Welcome!

Welcome Sisters to the new Felicita Relief Society Blog. We have been looking for a way to keep you up to date on all the activities in Relief Society. The light went on when our Stake Relief Society President shared the new stake blog, "Sunday Thoughts" with us. (You can click on it at the side under 'Favorite Places', there's a mention of Aundrea.) Yes, that was the answer to our search....a ward blog.

We will give you a preview of the last RS lesson. You can click and find the latest visiting teaching message. Also calendar, birthday's and enrichment activities will be listed. There will be some fun stuff too.

You can also leave a comment. Just click at the bottom of the post; where it says comments, to leave your comment. A new window will pop up. After you leave your comments go to the bottom and sign in, either use your google account or mark the box: name/url and leave your name. Last names are optional. It is fun to read everyone's comments. We love comments.

Hope you enjoy!

Ginger Proffitt
Marilee Weston
Aundrea Ristine
Billye Alires

Presidency Message - September 08

Our lesson Sunday was taught by Aundrea Ristine. She shared the talk by Julie B. Beck from the Ensign, Nov 2007, pages 109–12. The following is a synopsis.

President Hinckley stated, "I am convinced there is no other organization anywhere to match the Relief Society of this Church. It has a membership of more than five million women across the earth. If they will be united and speak with one voice, their strength will be incalculable. It is so tremendously important that the women of the Church stand strong and immovable for that which is correct and proper under the plan of the Lord."

Latter-day Saint women must Stand Strong and Immovable in Faith

We need to:
1. Make and keep covenants with Him.
2. Are worthy and worship in His temples.
3. Study His doctrine in the scriptures and the words of prophets.
4. Qualify for, recognize, and follow the Holy Ghost.
5. Share and defend His gospel.
6. Participate in sincere personal and family prayer.
7. Have family home evening.
8. Live principles of self-reliance and provident living.

We must Stand Strong and Immovable in Family

We need to:
1. Understand and defend the divine roles of women.
2. Embrace the blessings of the priesthood.
3. Form eternal families.
4. Maintain strong marriages.
5. Bear and rear children.
6. Express love for and nurture family members.
7. Accept responsibility to prepare a righteous rising generation.
8. Know, live, and defend the doctrine of the family.
9. Search out and perform temple ordinances for extended family members.
Latter-day Saint women must be Stand Strong and Immovable in Relief

We are a Relief Society, and we should be the best women in the world at providing relief.

President Hinckley said that there is a better way than the way of the world. He called upon the women of the Church to stand together for righteousness. He said that if we are united and speak with one voice, our strength will be incalculable.

We must stand strong and immovable in our faith in Jesus Christ and His restored gospel; strong and immovable in upholding, nourishing, and protecting our families; and strong and immovable in providing relief.

Visiting Teaching

This is the video Nicole Dunn shared during 'Visiting Teaching Moments'. Turn your speakers up and enjoy. :-D