The Key to Avoiding Apostasy

Kristy Krueger taught the lesson last Sunday on Apostasy.

Around the time the Kirtland temple was completed in 1836, the Saints experienced remarkable peace, harmony and a "rich outpouring of the gifts of the Spirit". The devil seemed to be bound and some even thought the millennium had begun. Joseph Smith warned the Saints that opposition was sure to come and if they did not draw and stay near the Lord, they would be overcome and even apostatize.

Sure enough, by the end of the year, some of the members had become "proud, greedy, and disobedient" to the commandments. In 1837, "a banking panic swept across the United States" (whoa does that sound familiar?) and some blamed Church leadership for their economic problems. Joseph Smith said "as the Saints drank in the love and spirit of the world, the Spirit of the Lord withdrew from their hearts". More than two hundred members fell away from the church in Kirtland, some even joining the forces who had persecuted them. "The knees of many of the strongest men in the Church faltered."

Members who apostatize "lose the Spirit of God, break their covenants, and often persecute members of the Church". Joseph Smith said, "when once that light which was in them is taken from them they become as much darkened as they were previously enlightened".

In Kristy's lesson she cautioned us about criticizing our leaders or thinking we are exempt from certain council. We are encouraged to take council we've been given, pray about it and find out for ourselves if it is true. If someone is in disagreement with council they have been given, they have a responsibility to further search, ponder and pray about that council. "Losing confidence in Church leaders, criticizing them, and neglecting any duty required by God lead to apostasy".

Here's the good news! Joseph Smith said, "The Lord would never suffer a majority of this people to be led away or deceived by imposters, nor would He allow the records of this Church to fall into the hands of the enemy". If we want to insure ourselves against apostasy, we only need to follow the prophet and apostles and heed their council. Joseph Smith called this a "key that will never rust" - that is to stay in line with the majority of church.

Family Home Evening

This week's Family Home Evening lesson is on covenants. To see the entire lesson go to: http://societystuff-fhe.blogspot.com/search/label/Covenants There are also additional lessons to choose from, just click on the Family Home Evening icon at the right sidebar.

Stake Relief Society Service Project on February 28

Schedule:
10:00-10:30 Collection & set up of donated items, break-up of glass/dish sets, remove packaging
10:30-10:45 Opening prayer and instructions
10:45-11:30 Making recipe books, pot scrubbers, bows and tags, tying bows/tags on baskets
11:30-12:00 Lunch/Speaker from Child Welfare Services; Temporary foster-case licensing
12:00-1:00 Assembly of baskets
1:00-2:00 Load trucks and clean up

Faith Unwavering

Exercising Faith amidst the storms of life is not always easy - nor was it intended to be. Peter's attempt to walk on water provides insight to this truth. When Peter saw Jesus walking toward him on the water he asked Christ if he could come to Him, and Christ told him come. So Peter, without hesitation, climbed out of the boat and "walked on the water, to go to Jesus".

Then Peter becomes fearful when he sees the "boisterous wind". Peter realizes walking on water is much harder and scarier than he first imagined. Taking his focus off the Savior immediately brought the difficulties of the situation and his own weaknesses into clear view, which resulted his faltering.

So we, too, can momentarily lose our focus, forgetting it is our partnership with Christ that makes "all things possible". No matter the obstacle or the severity of the storm raging around us, He provides the miracle. We do our part by keeping our eyes on Him and putting one foot in front of the other. He is ever ready to rescue, we may falter, but the Lord never does. There is no need to doubt.
Kathy Griffiths- Church News.

Do you have sons?

You may find out interesting things when you have sons, like...
1.) A king size waterbed holds enough water to fill a 2000 sq. ft. house 4 inches deep.
2 .) If you spray hair spray on dust bunnies and run over them with roller blades, they can ignite.
3.) A 3-year old Boy's voice is louder than 200 adults in a crowded restaurant.
4.) If you hook a dog leash over a ceiling fan, the motor is not strong enough to rotate a 42 pound Boy wearing Batman underwear and a Superman cape. It is strong enough, however, if tied to a paint can, to spread paint on all four walls of a 20x20 ft. room.
5.) You should not throw baseballs up when the ceiling fan is on. When using a ceiling fan as a bat, you have to throw the ball up a few times before you get a hit. A ceiling fan can hit a baseball a long way.
6.) The glass in windows (even double-pane) doesn't stop a baseball hit by a ceiling fan.
7.) When you hear the toilet flush and the words 'uh oh', it's already too late.
8.) Brake fluid mixed with Clorox makes smoke, and lots of it.
9.) A six-year old Boy can start a fire with a flint rock even though a 36- year old Man says they can only do it in the movies.
10.) Certain Lego's will pass through the digestive tract of a 4-year old Boy.
11.) Play dough and microwave should not be used in the same sentence.
12.) Super glue is forever.
13.) No matter how much Jell-O you put in a swimming pool you still can't walk on water.
14.) Pool filters do not like Jell-O.
15.) VCR's do not eject 'PB & J' sandwiches even though TV commercials show they do.
16.) Garbage bags do not make good parachutes.
17.) Marbles in gas tanks make lots of noise when driving.
18.) You probably DO NOT want to know what that odor is.
19.) Always look in the oven before you turn it on; plastic toys do not like ovens.
20.) The spin cycle on the washing machine does not make earthworms dizzy.
21.) It will, however, make cats dizzy.
22.) Cats throw up twice their body weight when dizzy.
23.) 80% of Women will share this with their friends, with or without kids.
24.) 80% of Men who read this will try mixing the Clorox and brake fluid.

Fun For Kids

The Friend is now available online. Go to http://www.friend.lds.org/ and you will find fun things for children up to 12 to do and read.

How can you change the way you feel?

According to legend, a young man while roaming the desert came across a spring of delicious crystal-clear water. The water was so sweet he filled his leather canteen so he could bring some back to a tribal elder who had been his teacher. After a four-day journey he presented the water to the old man who took a deep drink, smiled warmly and thanked his student lavishly for the sweet water. The young man returned to his village with a happy heart.

Later, the teacher let another student taste the water. He spat it out, saying it was awful. It apparently had become stale because of the old leather container. The student challenged his teacher: "Master, the water was foul. Why did you pretend to like it?"

The teacher replied, "You only tasted the water. I tasted the gift. The water was simply the container for an act of living-kindness and nothing could be sweeter."

Self-motivation without gratitude is impossible. Our energy is "sapped" when our entire focus is on what's wrong instead of what is right with our lives. One of our greatest challenges is to live and love in spite of pain and disappointment...to find gratitude in the midst of it all.

Reflect for a moment on this beautiful quote from Melody Beattie:

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."
Thanks to Mr. Positive

Happy Valentine Day!

Happy Valentine Day

The Winner Is!

We had our second drawing and the winner was, drum roll please, Judith Tearnan! Congratulations to Judith. Maybe you will be our next winner! Our next drawing will be at the end of February. To be eligible you must read 4 articles from the November Conference Ensign. We have a spot where you can leave a comment on the sidebar under Your Thoughts! Just click and you will be taken to a place so you can leave a comment about your thoughts on what you read if you would like, but it is not required.

Family Home Evening Flare

Last Sunday, Aundrea Ristine gave an energetic and information packed lesson on Family Home Evening.

She asked us what kind of message we are sending our children when we don't take the time to hold FHE. Are we sending the message that our outside work, or house chores or even hobbies are more important than our families?

We are to allocate our time according to what is most important in life. We need to make every minute count. One evening a week we are to turn off the TV, computer and phones (and even set aside homework for a moment if necessary) and gather as a family, a couple or with other singles if possible to put family first.

Whether we have small children, older children, grown and gone children or no children, we still have an assignment to set aside one night a week to strengthen our family and bring them closer to the Lord. For those who are single, this time could be spent strengthening their own testimonies, strengthening bonds with extended family members or members of their ward family.

Aundrea had a great display with several ideas. She advised us to Think fun, Plan Ahead, and Cherish the moment. We should be prayerful, patient and positive.

There are many resources available. FHE lessons can be derived from any church magazine or even The Strength of Youth pamphlet. For toddlers, something as simple as showing a picture of Jesus and Heavenly Father and pointing out that they have a body like we do. Aundrea suggested that for "Empty Nestors", they could spend their FHE time working on their personal history. Sister Giles' parents make DVDs of themselves putting on FHE to send to their grandchildren who live far away. There are countless ideas. (Click on the "Family Home Evening" on this blog for some ideas.)

When we make an effort and actively participate in Family Home Evening, we are not just strengthening our earthly families but also strengthening our relationship with Heavenly Father.

You are invited!

Family Home Evening

Here is the Family Home Evening Lessons that Aundrea talked about on Sunday. Additional lessons will be added. To see them better, just click on the middle of the page and they will enlarge. You can print them for your personal use if you would like. To find the remaining lesson you can also go to the sidebar; scroll down and find the Family Home Evening icon and click on the square and you will find more lessons. There are also some good ideas in the box below, it connects you to a family home evening blog. Thanks, Aundrea for finding these for us.

Sunbeams

This is a true story. Dr KC Tubbs is the Dr and he later joined the church. When he told us this story over a staff lunch, I thought that we would die laughing. Dr Armstrong is from Manti and comes up about once a week to work in the clinic. By: Robert Armstrong, M.D.

I work part-time as a teacher of family doctors. The program provides training on psychiatric disorders and emphasizes the importance of emotional support. The new doctors are given plenty of time in clinic to visit with their patients and learn about their challenges. One of our interns who has never lived in Utah and knew nothing about Mormons is still struggling to understand the cultural climate here. Last week he was interviewing a new patient and stumbled on what he thought was a raging psychosis.

Doctor: "Well, Mrs. Olsen, we've talked about your high blood pressure and your medications.. Are you experiencing any particular stress in your life?"
Patient: "Oh, yes! It's the Sunbeams. They're driving me crazy."
Doctor: (very surprised) "The sun beams?"
Patient: "Yes. I've never had trouble with them before, but this group won't sit still. They bounce all over the room, and run out the door and down the hall."
Doctor: (reaching for a pen) "Have you told anyone about this?"
Patient: "Of course, I told the president."
Doctor: "Really! What did the president tell you?"
Patient: "She said Sunbeams are like that. I'm just going to have to learn to deal with them."
Doctor: (concerned that he may be missing something) "I know people who are sensitive to sun beams. Do they cause you a rash or anything?"
Patient: (confused) " A rash? No."
Doctor: "What's the biggest problem they're creating?"
Patient: "It's the noise. They just won't quit talking."
Doctor: (astonished) "The sun beams are talking to you?"
Patient: "Well, yes. But mostly they talk to each other."
Doctor: (scribbling furiously in the chart) "I see. Can anyone else hear them talking?"
Patient: (after a moment of stunned silence) "You're not LDS, are you?"

Thanks to Beki Turner for sharing