March Presidency Message

Press Forward and Hold Fast: Celebrate Relief Society!

March of 2017 commemorates the 175^th birthday of the organization of the Relief Society.  That’s a lot of years!  How blessed we are to be members of this great organization just by virtue of our membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Did you know that there was a time when not all women were members of Relief Society?

We have a proud history.  It is worth studying and becoming more aware of.  This year, the General Relief Society presidency has asked that we celebrate in unique ways:

“…we hope that each individual sister will reflect upon and prayerfully seek ways to honor and remember this special milestone, keeping the following principles in mind:

·       Our eternal identity, roles, and responsibilities as beloved spirit daughters of our Heavenly Parents.

·       The purpose and work of Relief Society in the work of salvation, which is: “Relief Society helps prepare women for the blessings of eternal life as they increase faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and His Atonement; strengthen individuals, families, and homes through ordinances and covenants; and work in unity to help those in need.”

·       The great history of female discipleship.

·       All sisters belong to and are valued members of Relief Society—no matter what their current calling.”

What an inspired way to celebrate!  I hope we do take time to realize how blessed we are to be a part of Relief society.

I decided to research the Relief Society seal, and found these interesting items that describe the symbolism:

May we each find joy in our service, and belonging to each other through the membership we have in this inspired program,

Tracy

Pressing Forward and Holding Fast/ Presidency Message-

Having a Love of God and All Men   
By Jennifer Denison

Someone once asked Jesus, “Master, which is the great commandment in the law?”

Jesus answered:

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

“This is the first and great commandment.

“And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” (Matthew 22:36–39).

We can show our love in many ways: a smile, a wave, a kind comment, or a compliment. We can be kind, patient, understanding, and forgiving. This will show others the love in our hearts.

We are surrounded by those in need of our attention, our encouragement, our support, our comfort, our kindness.

May we begin now, this very day, to show love to all of God’s children. As we get up each morning, let us determine to show love and kindness to everyone.

As we come to understand how much God loves us, our hearts will be filled with love for Him, for our Savior, and for all mankind. (Thomas S. Monson)      

Presidency Message-

By Jackie Fischvogt

Every family is unique, but every family needs love, fun, opportunities to work or serve, and a spot to call home.  A ward family is no different.  We have been sent from our Heavenly Father to this earth with the shared goal of becoming like the Savior.  To help us meet this goal, Heavenly Father has organized the church into “families” called wards where we learn to put Christ at the heart of everything we do.  As we serve one another physically and spiritually, work to serve in our community, and take time for fun together, we begin to love one another and see each other as children of our Heavenly Father. (What Makes a Family?, Carol Lynn Pearson) Additional articles which inspire our mission as a ward family can be found at  LDS.org  Talks titled:  Creating Places of Security, Sisterhood, and First Observe, Then Serve.

Presidency Message-

    More than 700 years before his birth, Isaiah gave us a beautiful prophecy of Christ in one sentence.

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. [Isaiah 9:6]

        On New Year’s Day 2000, the Twelve Apostles came out with a document called The Living Christ. I have posted a copy on our Relief Society blog. It is a reminder of who he is and the role he will still play in the future.  It begins like this. “As we commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ two millennia ago, we offer our testimony of the reality of His matchless life and the infinite virtue of His great atoning sacrifice. None other has had so profound an influence upon all who have lived and will yet live upon the earth.” Several years ago, the Young Women made a little flip chart of The Living Christ that had pictures and a phrase on each page. I kept that in my purse and while I was waiting in the car sometimes I would look at it and try to memorize it as some of the Young Women were doing that for their Faith project.  Reading that all of the time ,I developed such a feeling of awe and gratitude for the Savior and role that he chose to play in the Plan.  

            This season we are reminded of his humble beginning as a baby in Bethlehem. The ending words to the song,   Oh Come All Ye Faithful  come to my mind as I  think of that scene.

“Oh Come Let Us Adore Him, Christ, the Lord.”

-Teresa Vincent

Presidency Message

November 2016

As each day passes, we witness untold conflicts and perils all around us.   These distracting and offensive things are a prophesied part of the times we live in.  We have been warned about these times through the scriptures and our prophets, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that terrible things are happening, but it is still very disconcerting to live through so much evil all around us.  And to top it off, we have also been warned that in the last days even the “very elect … according to the covenant” will be deceived. Those of the covenant include the sisters of this Church who have been baptized and made covenants with their Heavenly Father. Even we are at risk of being deceived by false teachings.

The good news is that even though there is so much evil, there is also increased light and truth.  It also encircles us, and it is there for the choosing and grasping.

It is becoming a necessity that we live in such a way to have the Holy Ghost as our constant companion.  The Sacrament becomes ever more important, as we recommit each week to DO certain things, so that we can HAVE certain things, i.e., keep the commandments so we can have His spirit always.  We need to be praying for the gift of discernment so we can navigate the upside down world of good being called evil, and evil, good.  We need to stand in holy places so we can tell the difference when we’re not.  We need to acknowledge that we will not always, every single day, be strong.  We need to lean on others we trust during those times, and then when we are strong, lift those around us who weakened.  We need to find joy each day, because it is there!  But if we don’t look for it we can get overwhelmed by negativity and not realize the joyful moments.  We also need to realize that we need to set examples for those coming behind us.  They need us to teach by our actions, not just our words.  They need to know we have struggled, but we have also found our answers.

I know that we can overcome anything when we put our trust in God.  We are the elect, according to the covenant, and with that comes great promises!  We can be armed with God’s power, and His name can be upon us, His glory round about us, and His angels can have charge over us. Draw upon those promises!  Ask for them in your life. 

With love, and trust and faith in each one of you,

Tracy

July Presidency Message

A.   Light of Christ

The Light of Christ is the divine energy, power, or influence that proceeds from God through Christ and gives life and light to all things. The Light of Christ influences people for good and prepares them to receive the Holy Ghost. One manifestation of the Light of Christ is what we call a conscience.

Additional Information

The Light of Christ “proceedeth forth from the presence of God to fill the immensity of space.” It is “the light which is in all things, which giveth life to all things, which is the law by which all things are governed” (D&C 88:12-13; see also D&C 88:6-11). This power is an influence for good in the lives of all people (see John 1:9; D&C 93:2). In the scriptures, the Light of Christ is sometimes called the Spirit of the Lord, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, or the Light of Life.

B.   Conscience

All people are born with the capacity to distinguish between right and wrong. This ability, called conscience, is a manifestation of the Light of Christ (see Moroni 7:15–19). A person's conscience is a defense against situations that are spiritually harmful.

Additional Information

Righteous decisions and obedience to the commandments bring peace of conscience.

When we sin, we feel remorse or guilt, just as we feel physical pain when we are wounded. This is the natural response of our conscience to sin, and it can lead us to repent.

Repentance and forgiveness renew our peace of conscience. On the other hand, if we ignore our conscience and do not repent, our conscience will be impaired as if it has been “seared with a hot iron” (1 Timothy 4:2).

We are to learn to follow our conscience. This is an important part of exercising our agency. The more we follow our conscience, the stronger it will become. A sensitive conscience is a sign of a healthy spirit.

C.  The Light of Christ

The Light of Christ should not be confused with the Holy Ghost. It is not a personage, as the Holy Ghost is. Its influence leads people to find the true gospel, be baptized, and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (seeJohn 12:46; Alma 26:14-15)