RS Lesson Summary- Sept 7 2014

On Sunday Sister Welsh gave a wonderful lesson on the importance of healthy communication. Communication is something each of us can improve, whether it be with our families, friends or those we work with. 
Sister Welsh opened her lesson with the following quote by George Bernard Shaw:
'The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.' The talk that Sister Welsh chose to use Christlike Communications by Elder Kendrick for the basis of her remarks. 

"Heavenly Father has given us a priceless gift in our capacity to communicate with each other. Our communications are at the core of our relationships with others. If we are to return home safely to Heavenly Father, we must develop righteous relationships with His children here in mortality."

What and how we communicate is extremely important. Words have a deep affect on people in ways we may not understand or see. We need to choose our words carefully and consider the spirit in which they are delivered. Sister Welsh brought up the point that we teach communication through example, and we need to put our fears aside. 

"Our communications reflect in our countenance. Therefore, we must be careful not only what we communicate, but also how we do so. Souls can be strengthened or shattered by the message and the manner in which we communicate."

Sarcasm replaces good communication. Many years ago whit and a good vocabulary were prized in conversation, now sarcasm is used in everyday speech. 

"May we be found communicating with each other in a manner in which the Savior would communicate. Christlike communications are expressed in tones of love rather than loudness. They are intended to be helpful rather than hurtful. They tend to bind us together rather than to drive us apart. They tend to build rather than to belittle.

Christlike communications are expressions of affection and not anger, truth and not fabrication, compassion and not contention, respect and not ridicule, counsel and not criticism, correction and not condemnation. They are spoken with clarity and not with confusion. They may be tender or they may be tough, but they must always be tempered."

Emailing, social media and texting should not be our primary means of communication. We need to practice our one on one communication skills. One of the most important things we can do in communication is listening to the other person- listening without interjecting our opinions shows the other person we truly care about what they are saying. 

Also we have been asked to limit our electronic usage in church, to limit it only to church related issues, and not abuse the technology during church. 

Don't allow social media to run your life. Don't focus on what everyone else is doing online, go out and live your life. Don't allow your phone to ruin your day. Enjoy your family and friends. Social media brings us together but it can be counterproductive. Instead of focusing on real people and real relationships we foster those online.

Technology has it's place, but let's do a better job picking up the phone, talking face to face and fostering our relationships in person. 

"The real challenge that we face in our communications with others is to condition our hearts to have Christlike feelings for all of Heavenly Father’s children. When we develop this concern for the condition of others, we then will communicate with them as the Savior would. We will then warm the hearts of those who may be suffering in silence. As we meet people with special needs along life’s way, we can then make their journey brighter by the things that we say.

Christlike communications will help us to develop righteous relationships and ultimately to return to our heavenly home safely. May we treasure the divine gift of communication, and may we use it wisely to build and to assist others on this marvelous journey through mortality."

Sister Welsh closed with the scripture in Proverbs 16:24, Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.

September 2014 Newsletter

RS Lesson Summary- August 31st 2014

Brother and Sister Kyle from the Stake came and presented a very informative lesson on the addiction recovery program. This is a wonderful program that can be found all over, and it is important to realize that addictions are not limited to substances such as alcohol, drugs and pornography. Co dependency, and other physical addictions can be debilitating. An addiction is anything that has 'taken control of your life'. We realize there is an underlying pathology to addiction, i.e. depression or other psychological ailments that contribute to addictions.
It is important to have contact with the bishop of the ward where the person is attending meetings. It adds to the support and healing process. Sponsors are assigned after a few meetings, and they are those that are familiar with the program and have been approved by priesthood leadership. You don't need approval to attend meetings, anyone living within the ward boundaries can attend meetings, but again, it is important to have priesthood support if a person is struggling with addiction. The Church's site has a wonderful information about the entire program, as well as the description of each of the steps online. You can view them all here.

Brother Kyle read a quote by President Packer: 'Addiction has the capacity to disconnect the human will and nullify moral agency. It can rob one of the power to decide.'

Sister Kyle brought up the point that these addictions should not be reduced to 'simply bad habits' or by will power alone can someone overcome their addictions. It is not possible to recover from an addiction without the help of the Savior. People lose perspective inside their addictions, they are unable to see the truth of the illness that they have, the addiction has taken over their life. When people simply 'abstain' from the thing they are addicted to, it can create emotional, physical and spiritual pain. Addicts need spiritual help to fight their battles.

'People, places and things' contribute to addictions. We must remove the 'triggers' if the person addicted is to be successful in their pursuit of peace and healing.

The Addiction Recovery Program takes the addict through 12 steps, very similar to the steps taken in the Alcoholics Anonymous program. The gospel is central to these steps.

THE 12 STEPS

• Step 1: Admit that you, of yourself, are powerless to overcome your addictions and that your life has become unmanageable.
• Step 2: Come to believe that the power of God can restore you to complete spiritual health.
• Step 3: Decide to turn your will and your life over to the care of God the Eternal Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.
• Step 4: Make a searching and fearless written moral inventory of yourself.
• Step 5: Admit to yourself, to your Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus Christ, to proper priesthood authority, and to another person the exact nature of your wrongs.
• Step 6: Become entirely ready to have God remove all your character weaknesses.
• Step 7: Humbly ask Heavenly Father to remove your shortcomings.
• Step 8: Make a written list of all persons you have harmed and become willing to make restitution to them.
• Step 9: Wherever possible, make direct restitution to all persons you have harmed.
• Step 10: Continue to take personal inventory, and when you are wrong promptly admit it.
• Step 11: Seek through prayer and meditation to know the Lord’s will and to have the power to carry it out.
• Step 12: Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, share this message with others and practice these principles in all you do.

There is a family support group that meets to help the family members of those who have been affected by the choices of people with addictions. They are taught how to forgive, cope, and support the person who is recovering. The program focuses on hope through the atonement of Christ. Family members can attend even if their family member who is has the addiction is attending meetings in another location. There are helpful videos on lds.org that offer support and education for those wanting help. If you or a loved one is in need of help, please seek the guidance of the bishop.

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.