The Grand Destiny of the Faithful

I am a beloved spirit daughter of god.
My life has meaning.
My life has purpose.
My life has direction.
I am devoted to Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ is my Savior.
Jesus Christ is my Exemplar.
I am a woman of faith.
I am a virtuous woman.
I am a woman with vision.
I am a charitable woman.
I increase my testimony of Jesus Christ through prayer.
I increase my testimony of Jesus Christ through scripture study.
I seek spiritual strength by following promptings of the Holy Ghost.
I dedicate myself to strengthening marriages.
I dedicate myself to strengthening homes.
I find nobility in motherhood.
I find joy in womanhood.
I delight in service.
I delight in good works.
I love life.
I love learning.
I stand for truth.
I stand for righteousness.
I sustain the priesthood as the authority of God on earth.
I rejoice in the blessings of the temple.
I understand my divine destiny.
I strive for exaltation.

(The Relief Society proclamation altered by Sister Cheryl Demke)

She challenged us to note the statements that remind us of our origins – that we are divine daughters of God.

“As man now is, God once was:  As God now is, man may be”

(President Lorenzo Snow, Lesson #5)

Service Project: Rising Star Outreach

Kim Porter made a connection with the woman who started this organization after visiting India and seeing a great need to help improve the lives and situations of those with leprosy (known as undesirables).

You can see a great video about their purpose and needs here.  They are doing amazing things.

Several of us are helping by putting together non-denominational “family home evening” packets which they use at their school for evening discussions and lessons about different morals and virtues.

They are also in need of chewable vitamins and children’s books which also teach virtues.  You can find a suggested list here.  Please bring anything you gather, to our Relief Society Birthday Dinner on Thursday, March 14th.

Kim’s son is living in India, not far from this organization and Kim will be traveling in August so there will be many opportunities to take these supplies in person.

Strengthened by the Power of the Holy Ghost

 

“There [is] a certain blessing connected only with obedience to
the gospel, that [is] the gift of the Holy Ghost. . . . The Savior, who undoubtedly knew best about the nature and character of this gift, said it should lead those who received it into all truth and show them things to come [see John 16:13]. It should be more than that spirit which proceeds from God, filling the immensity of space and enlightening every man that comes into the world [see D&C 84:46];
the gift of the Holy Ghost should lead into all truth, and show them
things to come.”

“There is a way by which persons can keep their consciences clear before God and man, and that is to preserve within them the Spirit of God, which is the spirit of revelation to every man and woman. It will reveal to them, even in the simplest of matters, what “It is our right to have the manifestations of the Spirit every day of our lives.” they shall do, by making suggestions to them. We should try to learn the nature of this Spirit, that we may understand its suggestions, and then we will always be able to do right. This is the grand privilege of every Latter-day Saint. We know that it is our right to have the manifestations of the Spirit every day of our lives.”

(From the Life of Lorenzo Snow, Lesson #4.  Lesson taught by Kristy Bateman)

The Honeybee and Being Anxiously Engaged

We read of the service Church members provide around the world and especially the humanitarian service given in times of crisis—fires and floods and hurricanes and tornadoes. These much-needed and much-appreciated emergency responses should certainly continue as a way of bearing one another’s burdens. But what about our everyday lives? What would be the cumulative effect of millions of small, compassionate acts performed daily by us because of our heartfelt Christian love for others? Over time this would have a transformative effect upon all of our Heavenly Father’s children through the extension of His love to them through us. Our troubled world needs this love of Christ today more than ever, and it will need it even more in the years ahead.

These simple, daily acts of service may not seem like much in and of themselves, but when considered collectively they become just like the one-twelfth teaspoon of honey contributed by a single bee to the hive. There is power in our love for God and for His children, and when that love is tangibly manifest in millions of acts of Christian kindness, it will sweeten and nourish the world with the life-sustaining nectar of faith, hope, and charity.

What do we need to do to become like the dedicated honeybees and have that dedication become part of our nature? Many of us are dutiful in attending our Church meetings. We work hard in our callings and especially on Sundays. That is surely to be commended. But are our minds and our hearts just as anxiously engaged in good things during the rest of the week? Do we just go through the motions, or are we truly converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ? How do we take the seed of faith that has been nurtured in our minds and plant it deep in the fertile soil of our souls? How do we make the mighty change of heart that Alma says is essential for our eternal happiness and peace? (see Alma 5:12–21).

Remember, honey contains all of the substances necessary to sustain mortal life. And the doctrine and gospel of Christ is the only way to obtain eternal life. Only when our testimony transcends what is in our mind and burrows deep into our heart will our motivation to love and to serve become like unto the Savior’s. It is then, and only then, that we become deeply converted disciples of Christ empowered by the Spirit to reach the hearts of our fellowmen. (M. Russell Ballard, Be Anxiously Engaged, October 2012 General Conference.  Lesson given by Suzanne Wright)

Annual Relief Society Birthday Dinner Invite

 

Bingo Prize Guidelines:
1. Bring something you have made.
2. Play Bingo.
3. Win a prize: something someone else has made
4. Each person who donates a prize will go home with a prize.

Some suggestions:
Homemade bread and jam
Fresh-baked goodies
Handmade jewelry
Cross-stitch or Embroidered picture
Busy Sunday Bag for kids
Scrapbooking Kit
Sewing Project/Kit
Handmade notecards, stationary, and/or tags
Gift Baskets containing homemade items
Something you have canned
Crocheted or knitted item
Homemade Candy
Homemade bath salts/scrubs
Candles you have made
Favorite Recipes compiled in a creative way.

Be Creative! Come up with something that you enjoy and reflects your talents! Make it fun.  See you there . . . . .

Becoming Pickled

“I will [present a] figure in regard to bringing about and getting this spirit in us, and digging deep that we in the time of storm, may not be driven off. Place a cucumber in a barrel of vinegar and there is but little effect produced upon it the first hour, nor in the first 12 hours. Examine it and you will find that the effect produced is merely upon the rind, for it requires a longer time to pickle it. A person’s being baptized into this church has an effect upon him, but not the effect to pickle him immediately. It does not establish the law of right and of duty in him during the first 12 or 24 hours; he must remain in the church, like the cucumber in the vinegar, until he becomes saturated with the right spirit, until he becomes pickled in ‘Mormonism,’ in the law of God; we have got to have those things incorporated in our systems.” (Lesson #3 from Teachings of Presidents of the Church:  Lorenzo Snow)

20 Snowshoes, 1 Park Ranger, and a Little Sunshine

Gorgeous!

Special thanks to Br. Steve Christensen for being our guide and support and encouragement . . . You were much appreciated today.