RS Summary August 24th 2014

Sister Tealen Hansen gave a wonderful lesson on August 24th 2014. Thanks to Sister Welsh who took notes in my absence. You can read the full lesson here.
The Keys and Authority of the Priesthood  By Elder Dallin H. Oaks  (April 5, 2014)

Relief Society general president Linda K. Burton said, “We hope to instill within each of us a greater desire to better understand the priesthood.” We must exercise that desire.  Many times we have an understanding of the desire, but don’t know how to exercise it.  This is something each of us must learn to address individually.

Why do we need a better understanding of the priesthood?  This subject is of equal concern to men and women. We can’t be complacent.  The nature of the priesthood is not to bless ourselves, but to bless others. 

Elder Oaks broke down the priesthood into three separate areas:

1 1)     Power – Blesses everyone.

How has priesthood power influenced your life?  The scriptures teach that “this same Priesthood, which was in the beginning, shall be in the end of the world also” (Moses 6:7).  Thus, the priesthood is the power by which we will be resurrected and proceed to eternal life.

2 2)   Keys – Authority given to priesthood holders to direct, control and govern the use of the priesthood on earth.

All keys of the priesthood are held by the Lord Jesus Christ, whose priesthood it is.  He is the one who determines what keys are delegated and how those keys will be used.  President Spencer W. Kimball reminded us that there are other priesthood keys that have not been given to man on the earth, including the keys of creation and resurrection.

3 3)  Authority – Pertains to all of us. 

A) Priesthood is the power of God delegated to man to act for the salvation of the human family.

B) Priesthood authority is governed by priesthood holders who hold priesthood keys.

C) Since the scriptures state that “all other authorities and offices in the church are appendages to this [Melchizedek] priesthood (D&C 107:5), all that is done under the direction of those priesthood keys is done with priesthood authority.

How does this apply to women?

In an address to the Relief Society, President Joseph Fielding Smith, then President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, said this: “While the sisters have not been given the Priesthood, it has not been conferred upon them, that does not mean that the Lord has not given unto them authority. … A person may have authority given to him, or a sister to her, to do certain things in the Church that are binding and absolutely necessary for our salvation, such as the work that our sisters do in the House of the Lord. They have authority given unto them to do some great and wonderful things, sacred unto the Lord, and binding just as thoroughly as are the blessings that are given by the men who hold the Priesthood.”

Whoever exercises priesthood authority should forget about their rights and concentrate on their responsibilities. Men are not “the priesthood”.  Men hold the priesthood, with a sacred duty to use it for the blessing of all of the children of God. 

RS Monthly Mtg-Christmas in August!

We had a super fun time at our monthly meeting on August 17th. Christmas in August! Three fun crafts and lots of good snacks. The sisters made a vintage winter sign, handmade Christmas cards, and clothespin ornaments.We had a wonderful group of sisters come out for the fun. Thanks to the committee and all the crafty ladies who donated their time to make this night so successful!

RS Lesson Summary- August 17th 2014

Great lesson today from Sister DeFreitas, #17 Sealing Power and Temple Blessings from teachings of the presidents of the church: Joseph Fielding Smith. You can read the lesson here.

Sister DeFreitas opened with an interesting thought: a temple dedication on earth is a wonderful opportunity to rededicate ourselves to the Lord's work for those who have died. She then paraphrased the story at the beginning of the lesson about a Mr. Purley who had a great passion for family history work. When asked why he did this work, he didn't know why, but he felt he couldn't stop. President Smith shared with him the reason behind his urgency to which the man replied:  
“ he laughed and said, ‘It is a very pretty story, but I do not believe it.’ Yet he admitted that there was something compelling him to carry on this research, and he could not stop. I have met a great many others who also started and could not stop, men and women who are not members of the Church. So we find today thousands of men and women searching out the records of the dead. They do not know why, but it is so that we can obtain these compiled records and go into our temples and do the work for our dead."

Why do we do this work? Why do we go to the temple? This man did not believe and yet he could not stop his research. Family history is more than gathering info and stories about our ancestors, it is about the saving ordinances, about the ties between heaven and earth.

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord:

“And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” (Mal. 4:5–6.)

We have a much clearer interpretation of the words of Malachi given by the Nephite prophet Moroni, who appeared to Joseph Smith September 21, 1823. This is the way the angel quoted them:

“Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.

“And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers.

“If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming.” (D&C 2:1–3.)

Moroni informed Joseph Smith that this prediction was about to be fulfilled. The fulfillment came some twelve years later, on April 3, 1836. On this day Elijah appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland Temple and there conferred upon them … the power to bind, or seal, on earth and in heaven. The keys of this priesthood were held by Elijah, to whom the Lord gave power over the elements as well as over men, with the authority to seal for time and eternity on the righteous all the ordinances pertaining to the fullness of salvation.⁴

Some members of the Church have been confused in thinking that Elijah came with the keys of baptism for the dead or of salvation for the dead. Elijah’s keys were greater than that. They were the keys of sealing, and those keys of sealing pertain to the living and embrace the dead who are willing to repent.'

We can all have personal experiences when we do this saving work. Several sisters shared their intimate stories of doing work for their ancestors. Small discoveries in our research can lead to big miracles. Our work can help others in their work as well. We are all connected to this work. Temple work blesses the living and those who have died.

'Why would the earth be wasted? Simply because if there is not a welding link between the fathers and the children—which is the work for the dead—then we will all stand rejected; the whole work of God will fail and be utterly wasted. Such a condition, of course, shall not be.⁸

The restoration of this [sealing] authority is the leaven that saves the earth from being utterly wasted at the coming of Jesus Christ. When we get this truth firmly and clearly fixed in our minds, it is easy to see that there would be only confusion and disaster should Christ come and the power of sealing not be here.'

Temple work+ the plan of salvation= is all connected, it is the gospel plan in full force. Reciveing your own ordinances is the key to the work, it then opens up your ability to do the work for others, you are their link to salvation. 

'Temple work is so interwoven with the plan of salvation, that one cannot exist without the other. In other words, there can be no salvation where there [are] no temple ordinances peculiarly belonging to the temple.

There are thousands of Latter-day Saints who … are willing to go to meeting, willing to pay their tithing and attend to the regular duties of the Church, but they do not seem to feel or understand the importance of receiving the blessings in the temple of the Lord which will bring them into exaltation. It is a strange thing. People seem to be content just to slide along without taking advantage of the opportunities presented to them and without receiving these necessary covenants that will bring them back into the presence of God as sons and daughters.'

'It is obvious that only a small portion of mankind has so far heard the word of revealed truth from the voice of one of the Lord’s true servants. In the wisdom and justice of the Lord, all must do so. As Peter said:

“For this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.” (1 Peter 4:6.)

The turning of the hearts of fathers to children and of children to fathers, is the power of salvation for the dead, by means of the vicarious work which the children may perform for their fathers, and is in every sense reasonable and consistent. I have heard it said many times by those who oppose this work that it is impossible for one person to stand vicariously for another. Those who express themselves in this way overlook the fact that the entire work of salvation is a vicarious work, Jesus Christ standing as the propitiator, redeeming us from death, for which we were not responsible, and also redeeming us from the responsibility of our own sins, on condition of our repentance and acceptance of the gospel. He has done this on a grand infinite scale and by the same principle he has delegated authority to the members of his Church to act for the dead who are helpless to perform the saving ordinances for themselves.'

The whole work of salvation is vicarious work, we need to remember the great work of our Savior for us was also a vicarious work, working out the salvation for each of our souls, a massive and holy task. A great way to help us in our efforts to do family history work is to stop thinking about doing work for 'the dead' but as living spirits waiting for us to connect with them on the other side. 

'I think sometimes we look at this work for the salvation of the dead rather narrowly. It is a wrong conception to think of the people for whom we are doing work in the temple of the Lord as being dead. We should think of them as living; and the living proxy but represents them in receiving the blessings which they should have received and would have received in this life had they been living in a gospel dispensation. Therefore every dead person for whom work is done in the temple is considered to be living at the time the ordinance is given.'

Even if all the 'work' for your particular family may be finished all the way down to Adam, there are ways you can serve. You can index and help connect other church members to their families. You can teach your children the importance of the work, and help others in their research. You can keep your own histories and journals as a part of the legacy of your family. Temple work is a continuance of the family unit.

'All contracts, bonds, obligations and agreements made by men shall come to an end, but the obligations and agreements entered into in the house of the Lord, if faithfully kept, will last forever [see D&C 132:7]. This doctrine gives us a clearer concept of the purposes of the Lord toward his children. It shows his abundant and unlimited mercy and love to all who obey him, aye, even to those who are rebellious, for in his goodness he will grant great blessings even unto them.'

As we serve in the temple in the labor of love, we will draw closer to the spirit and have wonderful experiences. As we heard today in sacrament meeting we will be entitled to inspiration and revelation and guidance as we see the Lord's help. We will be greatly blessed for our efforts. We also need to make more of an effort to attend the temple more regularly. Instead of complaining about the distance or traffic, feel gratitude that is it close by and doesn't require great financial and other sacrifices to attend. 

'There must be a welding, a joining together of the generations from the days of Adam to the end of time. Families will be joined and linked together, parents to children, children to parents, one generation to another, until we shall be joined together in one great grand family with our father Adam at the head, where the Lord placed him. So we cannot be saved and exalted in the kingdom of God unless we have within our hearts the desire to do this work and perform it so far as it is within our power on behalf of our dead. '

Sign up for Micah's Backpack: Food Donations

We are starting the Micah's Backpack food donations. Donations will be taken until September 27th, at the RS General Women's Broadcast. Our goal is to collect 15 bags of food. 1 bag = 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 2 dinners and 2 snacks. You can also sign up in the binders at church. Please sign up for the meals first, we have a harder time filling those slots. Thank you for your contribution!

Click on this link to go directly to an online sign up page.

RS Lesson Summary- August 10th 2014

On Sunday Sister Walter gave us a wonderful lesson on teaching our children. The lesson is from Joseph Fielding Smith's Teachings of the Presidents of the church, #16: Bringing up our Children in Light and Truth. The lesson can be found here.
Sister Walter opened the lesson with this quote from President Faust: (October 1990 General Conference) "I feel moved upon to discuss a subject which I have chosen to call the greatest challenge in the world.  It has to do with the privilege and responsibility of being good parents.  In my opinion, the teaching , rearing, and training of children requires more intelligence, intuitive understanding, humility, strength, wisdom, spirituality, perseverance, and hard work than any other challenge w might have in life".  ( "The Greatest Challenge in the World- Good Parenting,")

What is the greatest challenge in the world? Parenting. Why? It requires the very best of what we have to give. What help does the Lord offer? Scriptures, Revelation, Prayer, the Spirit. 

We watched a video from Elder Hales entitled: Touching the Hearts of our Youth. You can view the video 

here.  

We need to truly understand the hearts and minds of our children. We need to put aside quality time to spend with them free of distractions and interference. We need to let our children talk, and we simply listen.

Sister Walter asked us, how do we organize ourselves better so that we can spend more time with our children?

Some answers from the RS: Use scripture study and prayer time to manage our day. If we start off with the scriptures and prayer on a personal level, we will be better prepared and more organized. Other sisters mentioned that the 'schedule' is not what is important. Taking the time to fill a need with our children is the priority. Children will grow up, take the time now to play and engage with them, the chores and other things can wait. Build relationships while they are young, so they will continue to talk to you and trust you when they are older.

Another sister mentioned that you can share the housework with your kids, teaches them to work, and allows them time to talk to you while you complete tasks. WIN WIN!

Page 209 in the lesson: There are eight things that President Joseph Fielding Smith felt were important to focus on with our children. We talked about 5 of these topics: Scripture Study, Prayer, FHE, Teaching them when young, and Teaching chastity. 

Scripture Study. Sister Walter mentioned that in her home growing up the scriptures and other materials were always readily available. We shouldn't hide our scriptures on a shelf. She said in her home her mother had a basket on the table with the scriptures and a new era or other magazine. (Brilliant way to get kids to pick them up when they are at the table)

In the lesson it talks about bringing the scriptures to life, creating interest with our children so they personally connect with the stories in the scriptures and apply them to their lives. How do you engage your children in scripture study? Several sisters shared their experiences working scripture study into their daily routines. Some mentioned they made an effort to study briefly with their children morning and night. 

Next we discussed FHE. Sister Walter gave this quote: President Faust said, "I wonder if having casual and infrequent family home evening will be enough in the future to fortify our children with sufficient moral strength.  Where in the world will the children learn chastity, integrity, honesty, and basic human decency if not at home?"  ("The Greatest Challenge in the World- Good Parenting,")

Some planning of FHE is important! It's okay to have an activity planned, but the heart and soul of FHE is the teaching of church doctrine. President Kimball said, 'there must be a spiritual element to family home evening.'

A great way to have successful FHE is to have your children be involved in some way. Sister Walter mentioned that for older children the New Era has fun object lessons they can use to help teach principles of the gospel. 

Prayer.  Teach Children to Pray:  President Faust said, "A few years ago, Bishop Stanley Smoot was interviewed by President Spencer W. Kimball.  President Kimball asked, "How often do you have family prayer?" Bishop Smoot answered, "We try to have family prayer twice a day, but we average about once."

President Kimball answered, "In the past, having family prayer once a day may have been all right.  But in the future it will not be enough if we are goin to save our families".

Family prayer is vital. Make a habit of praying with your families twice a day.

How do we teach age appropriate topics? (Teaching them young) As a parent you teach them in phases and topics that work with their ages, and add on more as their understanding grows.

Teaching Chastity.  Sister Walter referenced an old study by BYU entitled 'Protecting Purity'. 

Teach Virtue, Chastity, and Morality  http://magazine.byu.edu/?act=view&a=1289

 Brief summary of the study:  Study of 5000 LDS youth found that attending church (and activities) surfaced as the most important influence in helping youth stay morally strong.  Private religious behavior (personal prayer, scripture reading, testimony) was also important.

They studied lots of family factors.  The only one to emerge as significant in the study was a mother's regulation (setting curfews, agreeing on rules, etc.)

"Three foundational directives for parents and youth leaders:

1)increase the spirituality of the youth 2)fortify young women  3) strengthen family ties.

"These 3 things may seem overly simplistic, yet they have proven again and again to be powerful tools in helping youth remain morally clean in a morally corrupt world".

We are greatly blessed to be parents. It is important that we fortify ourselves in these last days against the world. Luckily there are lots of things we can do to strengthen our children and homes.

Monthly RS Mtg. Christmas in August!

Our monthly meeting is one week from tonight. If you are interested in signing up, you can also sign up online here. One of the crafts is free, but you must sign up in advance.

Come get crafty with your fellow sisters!

RS Lesson Summary- Aug. 3rd 2014

Today we had a very interesting and inspiring lesson from Sister Ericson. She wanted to instill upon us the importance of community within our RS. After talking about the basic truths that geese follow, we had an activity which gave every sister in the room an opportunity to know each other. It was brilliant. At the end of the lesson we had learned everyone's name and something unique about each sister. She encouraged us to take the principles of this lesson and extend them to all women in the ward. 

Don't know someone? Introduce yourself. Say hello, go outside yourself a little. We all need each other. We are all here to 'uplift and inspire' one another. We can't do it alone. 

" DO WE HAVE AS MUCH SENSE AS A GOOSE?"

 This fall when you see geese heading back south for the winter ,flying along in a “V’ formation, you might be interested in what scientists have discovered about why they fly that way.  It has been learned that as each bird flaps its wings, it creates an uplift for the bird immediately following.  By flying in “V” formation, the whole flock adds at least 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own.

Basic Truth #1  People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going quicker and easier because they are traveling on the thrust of one another.

     Whenever a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go it alone and quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird immediately in front.

Basic Truth #2 – It we had as much sense as a goose, we will stay in formation with those headed in the same way we are going.  When the lead goose gets tired, he rotates back into the wing and another goose flys the point.

Basic Truth #3 – It pays to take turns doing hard jobs – with people or with flying geese.  The geese honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.

   Finally, when a goose gets sick or is wounded by gunshot and falls out, two geese drop out of formation and follow it down and help protect it. They stay with it until it is either able to fly or is dead and then they launch out on their own or with another formation to catch up with their group.

Final Truth – If we have the sense of a goose, we will stand by each other like they do.

Moral:  We all need each other, be supportive, helping, involved.  Remember “Together we stand, divided we fall.”