Thanks to all who came out for the Mormon Helping Hands. It was a fun day and we got a lot done for our community.
Dates to Remember:
May 10: Stake Women's Conference Plan Your Life Around the Temple. 6:30 p.m. at the stake center. Light dinner will be served.
May 13: Mother's Day
Monthly Demo Class:
* NOTE: A couple of our April demos have been cancelled. The schedule below is our latest update.
We will be offering demos monthly that can help strengthen our families and homes. Here is the schedule for the next few months. The times and dates change depending on the teacher, so take note of when demos are offered.
May 3- California Rolls- with Jane Boihem- 11am at Geralene Beckett’s home
May- Food Dehydration with Elaine Gold- date and time TBA
May 18 - Ebelskiver (Danish pancakes) with Brittany Larsen - 10 a.m.
June - Making wheat bread with Eileen Stidham - time and date TBD
If you have a skill you would like to learn or a skill you would be willing to offer, please contact Katie Anderson or Geralene Beckett and we will get it on the schedule for the second half of the year.
Visiting Teaching:
Here is a link for this month's visiting teaching message. You still have a few days left in April to get it done. Remember to prayerfully consider the message your sisters need to hear. Also, here is a link to a cute handouts to take with you if you like.
Missionary News:
If you would like to feed the missionaries, please contact Lauri Rex at laurirex@yahoo.com or 589-2929.
Don't forget to keep not only the elders serving in our ward in your prayers, but also the elders serving from our ward. Patrick Carlisle is in the Berlin, Germany mission and Landon Gold is serving in Durban, South Africa.
Don't forget to keep not only the elders serving in our ward in your prayers, but also the elders serving from our ward. Patrick Carlisle is in the Berlin, Germany mission and Landon Gold is serving in Durban, South Africa.
Lesson Schedule:
May 6: Presidency Message
May 13: George Albert Smith chapter 9 Open Your Soul to the Lord in Prayer
May 20: George Albert Smith chapter 10 The Scriptures
May 27: TFOT The Laborers in the Vineyard Elder Holland
May 20: George Albert Smith chapter 10 The Scriptures
May 27: TFOT The Laborers in the Vineyard Elder Holland
Lesson Recap: Combined Lesson
Bishop Hess taught our combined Relief Society/Priesthood lesson today and gave us some important things to think about and do.
He started by telling us what makes this dispensation we live in different from any other. In our dispensation, for the first time, the gospel will be preached in every corner of the world. There are members of the church living in every country on the earth.
But what is the purpose of this dispensation? There are two:
1. Missionary work.
The gospel must be spread and Israel gathered. 1 Ne 15:18 speaks of this covenant to be fulfilled in latter days. These are the latter days, Israel is being gathered and we are part of that gathering.
The pronouncement of our lineage that we receive in patriarchal blessings is important because it gives us our connection to house of Israel and the blessings that are connected to those different lines.
How does Book of Mormon help in the gathering of Israel? In Moses 7:62 we read that the Lord sends righteousness down from heaven (prophets, apostles, and the Savior), truth is sent forth out of the earth (plates Joseph Smith translated), testimony is born of the only begotten (read the title page of the Book of Mormon), righteousness and truth will sweep the earth (Lord's endorsement that this book is true) to gather mine elect (Book of Mormon gathers people up and provides safety and security).
The Book of Mormon is such an essential tool for our salvation that Bishop Hess asked us to ask ourselves if we are treating this book too lightly.
2. Christ will come again.
Temple work and all that we do is to prepare for His coming. It is coming sooner than we realize and each day that passes puts us a day closer to Christ's return.
The thing the brethren are most concerned with is the next generation. Why? That generation is one generation closer than we are to the Second Coming. They will be a generation closer than we are to usher in the Savior's return.
In the early days of he church, Lucifer began his attack on the prophets, then moved to the Book of Mormon and now has moved onto families. D&C 38:13 reads, And now I show unto you a mystery, a thing which is had in secret chambers, to bring to pass even your destruction in process of time, and ye knew it not.
Could this refer to the technology that provides pornography or time wasting activities that take us away from our families? In Elder Bednar's talk Things As They Really Are he warns about the dangers that we can encounter if we don't use technology wisely.
This is the last dispensation and there is much to be done. We need to keep our homes wholesome. We need to make sure we are rooted in the gospel and that our youth are too.
There are two important ways we can do this:
1) Read and study the For The Strength of Youth
Youth should not see a double standard. We, as adults are the pattern. If we are truly serious about becoming a holy people, our own spirit should witness to us as adults, that living a life contrary to what is found in The Strength of Youth booklet is clearly a lying vanity.
2)Encourage all youth to qualify for their own personal Temple Recommends. As a family go and do baptisms for dead together.
I fear we have not done all that we could have to bind our children to the Temple. This is the era that must make that connection. Why would I say that?
In the year 1900, there were just four operating temples—all of them in the state of Utah.
In the next 50 years, from 1900 to 1950, four more temples were dedicated, for a total of eight. So in the first century, the Church built about one temple per decade.
In the 30 years between 1951 and 1980, another 11 temples were built, bringing the total to 19.
In the 1980s, the Church began a more intensive temple building effort; by 1997, 32 more temples had been dedicated or about two per year.
The Church has now entered the most committed era of temple building in its history. Since 1998 to present, 85 temples have been dedicated, with 14 more under construction and an additional 16 temple sites being prepared for groundbreaking, with 3 being renovated. Averaging 7 temples a year! 169 in the works and more to come.
During the October general conference in 1902, Church President Joseph F. Smith expressed in his opening address the hope that one day we would “have temples built in the various parts of the [world] where they are needed for the convenience of the people.” We are seeing the fulfillment of this hope.
The temple is not just for doing work for the dead. It is also a place of peace and personal revelation. In 1 Ne 14:11-12 Nephi talks of small dominions. These are the small temples that now dot the earth.
In verse 14 the saints Nephi sees are those who have made temple covenants and the blessings they receive are spiritual strength. We can't receive this kind of spiritual strength anywhere else. This is why our youth need to connect to the temple. They need to understand their spiritual heritage
In the temple the word joy is used often an in the scriptures we learn the meaning of joy is to become like god. The Book of Mormon is rich with overtones of the temple. 2 Ne 9:41-42 is one example that tells us when we go to the temple now there are servants there but one day it will be the Lord.
There are so many blessings that can be had if we prepare ourselves in the temple and encourage our youth to do the same.
Let's help our youth be active and set the pattern for them. If we are serious about being holy we need to be abiding and set the proper patterns. The church is preparing for the Second Coming. Are we? We can do this by being in His holy house with our children.
Thank you Bishop Hess for that powerful message. I hope we can all do better and rise to the standards the Lord as set for us so that we can be worthy of receiving the blessings he has in store for us.
Have a great week!
Brittany Larsen
Presidency members:
Geralene Beckett - Presidentbeckettbunch@cox.net
Diane Smith - 1st Counselordianebsmith.smith5@gmail.com
Katie Anderson - 2nd Counselorkatiewoodanderson@gmail.com
Shannon Lo - Secretaryfoxymomsml@cox.net
