We are half way through April already. You've got one more day to get your taxes done, but fifteen more to do your visiting teaching. Which is so much more fun than taxes!
Dates to Remember:
April 17: Relief Society Night 6:30 p.m.
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
Relief Society Night:
Come join us for an "Up-lifting" night! For our monthly mid-week meeting in April our topic will be Finding Joy in Everyday Life. Dan Fuller from the Mission Lake Ward, a former member of our stake presidency, will be speaking to us. If you have kids in seminary or have heard him speak before, you know what an incredible teacher he is. Dinner will be served and babysitting will be provided. April 17, 6:30 p.m.
Monthly Demo Class:
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.
April 24th- Food Nanny- 7:30pm with Geralene Beckett (at her home)
May 3- California Rolls- with Jane Boihem- 11am at Geralene Beckett’s home
May- Food Dehydration with Elaine Gold- Date and Time 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. If you would like a copy of these dates to print out, you can find it here.
Visiting Teaching:
Here is a link for this month's visiting teaching message. Remember to get it done early and 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 contace 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.
And welcome home to Ashley Coleman! We can't wait to hear her report her mission to the New York, New York mission next week.
If you would like to feed the missionaries, please contace 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.
And welcome home to Ashley Coleman! We can't wait to hear her report her mission to the New York, New York mission next week.
Preparedness:
Our ward still is in need of ham radio operators. If you are interested in learning, or have a son who'd like to earn a merit badge, classes are being offered at the Mission Viejo Stake Center at 7 p.m. on these dates: April 26, May 3, and May 10. The class is free, but you should try to attend all three in order to pass the exam. There is a $15 fee for the exam. To register contact Ken Campbell at KE6AVE@ocpreparedness.com.
Mormon Helping Hands:
April 28 8 a.m. - 12 p.m. - Come participate in a day of service by helping to clean up our community. This is a great way for people to see what we are all about. If you'd like to help, but can't make it that day, we're looking for donations of snacks like granola bars, cheese and crackers, etc. Contact Elaine Gold for more info: gearedforgold@gmail.com.
Lesson Schedule:
April 22: Teachings for our Times, Elder Hales Waiting Upon the Lord, Oct. 2011 conference
April 29: Combined w/ priesthood, TBA
Lesson Recap: Temple Blessings for Ourselves and Our Ancestors
Lesson Recap: Temple Blessings for Ourselves and Our Ancestors
Sister Marroquin taught our lesson today aobut the blessings of the temple. We had a great discussion and I so enjoyed hearing Tracine's testimony of the temple. Here are a few of the points from the manual she shared with us.
From the Life of George Albert Smith
In 1905, as a new Apostle, George Albert Smith toured several important Church history sites with President Joseph F. Smith and other members of the Quorum of the Twelve. One place they visited was Kirtland, Ohio, where the early Saints had built the first temple in this dispensation. “Coming in sight of the town,” Elder Smith recalled, “the first thing that greeted our vision was the beautiful temple of Kirtland. … It was there that the Prophet Joseph Smith and [Oliver Cowdery] saw the Savior upon the breastwork of the pulpit. It was there that Moses committed to them the keys of the gathering of Israel; and that Elias and Elijah came in the power and majesty of their great callings, and delivered the keys that had been committed to their care in the days of their ministry on the earth.”
Tracine encouraged us to think about the sacrifices made to build the temples across the world, especially in the time of the pioneers. Our sacrifice of a few hours to attend the temple is much smaller than the sacrifice of time, money and possessions that they gave up.
Each [temple] has been built to one great eternal purpose: to serve as a House of the Lord, to provide a place sacred and suitable for the performing of holy ordinances that bind on earth as in heaven—ordinances for the dead and for the living that assure those who receive them and who are faithful to their covenants, the possession and association of their families, worlds without end, and exaltation with them in the celestial kingdom of our Father.5
In addition to binding our families together, the temple can also help us be prepared to receive blessings Heavenly Father has in store for us.
In the temple we receive sacred ordinances, including ordinances that bind families for eternity.
In order that we might be prepared for [the celestial] kingdom, the Lord, in his mercy, in this latter day restored the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and placed in it divine authority, and then gave understanding to His children that certain ordinances may be received and performed. For this purpose temples were built and into those temples those who desire a place in the Celestial Kingdom have the opportunity to go and receive their blessings, to enrich their lives and prepare them for that kingdom.3
Each [temple] has been built to one great eternal purpose: to serve as a House of the Lord, to provide a place sacred and suitable for the performing of holy ordinances that bind on earth as in heaven—ordinances for the dead and for the living that assure those who receive them and who are faithful to their covenants, the possession and association of their families, worlds without end, and exaltation with them in the celestial kingdom of our Father.5
We have a natural yearning to connect with our ancestors and we should do their work for them. The fulfillment of Elijah's prophecy that the "hearts of the children will be turned to their fathers" is evidenced not only by the fact that temples now dot the earth, but also by the fact that TV shows and websites devoted to geneology are increasingly popular. If we who know the eternal importance of geneology don't do temple work for our ancestors, we will lose the blessings that come from that service.
In addition to binding our families together, the temple can also help us be prepared to receive blessings Heavenly Father has in store for us.
Tracine left us not only with her beautiful testimony, but also with a homework assignment. She asked us to read the Conference talk President Eyring delivered during the Priesthood session, Families Under Covenant.
The part she encouraged us to focus on are these words:
Enlist the entire family to love each other. President Ezra Taft Benson taught:
“In an eternal sense, salvation is a family affair. …
“Above all else, children need to know and feel they are loved, wanted, and appreciated. They need to be assured of that often. Obviously, this is a role parents should fill, and most often the mother can do it best.”
But another crucial source for that feeling of being loved is love from other children in the family. Consistent care of brothers and sisters for each other will come only with persistent effort by parents and the help of God. You know that is true from experience in your own families. And it is confirmed each time you read of the family conflicts faced by righteous Lehi and his wife, Sariah, in the Book of Mormon record.
So our assingment this week is to make our families fun so that our kids will want to spend eternity with us!
Thank you Tracine!
See you Tuesday night Ladies!
Brittany Larsen
brittanylarsen73@hotmail.com
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
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
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