Hi Sisters,

With only a few weeks left of summer vacation, the Relief Society Blog is back!

Dates to Remember:

Aug. 21 - Our theme for this month's Relief Society Get Together is Summer Salads & Service. Join us this Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at Pittsford Park (21701 Pittsford Drive, Lake Forest). Bring a hearty salad or dessert to share and a service to auction. This is always a fun way to end the summer, so don't miss it!

Book of Mormon Challenge:

Our annual summer Book of Mormon reading ends on Sept. 14, but, if you're behind (like me) it doesn't have to. Read til you finish or spend a weekend catching up! This is a great opportunity to encourage your children to read the entire book when they don't have homework or other school activities to distract them. It's also a great time to read it yourself! Reading it in a short amount of time gives you a whole new perspective on scriptures that may already be familiar. Look for bookmarks outside of Relief Society that have the scheduled reading.

Visiting Teaching:

The month's almost over, so get your visiting teaching done now. Here is this month's visiting teaching message and a cute handout to go with it.

Summer Humanitarian Mission:

Our Humanitarian mission for this summer is to raise enough money to build six wells for people who don't have access to fresh, clean water. Find out more about it here

Missionary News:

If you would like to feed the missionaries, please contact Lauri Rex at laurirex@yahoo.com or 589-2929.

If you'd like to write to any of the missionaries, here are there addresses:

Elder Patrick Carlile                                      Hermana Danielle Anderton

Germany Berlin Mission                                Chile Concepcion South Mission

Zerbster Straffe 42                                        O'Higgins 940, Oficina 503

12209 Berlin                                                  Concepcion Bio-Bio

Germany                                                       Chile

Elder Landon Gold                                        Elder Brendan Hong

South Africa, Durban Mission                        Bacolod Philippies Mission

Suite 4, 2 Derby Place                                   P.O. Box 660

Derby Downs Office Park                              Bacolod City

Westville 3630, South Africa                         Philippines

Whether you know them or not, they would love to hear from you!

Members in the Military:

In addition to our missionaries, we have two young adult members of our ward currently serving in the military who could also use your letters and support. Here are there addresses:

LCPL, Ryan, Sean, M.                            RCT Joyce, Jessica, M

P.O. Box 349000 #696                           4th RTBN, PLT 4027 Co, O

Kailua, HI 96734                                     P.O. Box 16435

                                                                Parris Island, SC 29905-6445

Temple Theme:

One of our goals as a Relief Society Presidency and the focus of our Stake Relief Society Presidency is to get sisters to the temple, so when I found this video of President Monson talking about the purpose and importance of temples, I had to share it. Please watch it when you have a chance!

Summer Fun Days:
School is out, so let's get ready for some fun! Here are some of the fun things a lot of local moms will be doing:
Mondays - Swim at Altisima Pool
Tuesdays - Head to the beach (changes from week to week, but usually San Clemente area)
Wednesdays - Free movie www.regmovies.com/summermovieexpress
Thursdays - Mission Viejo Lake (contact a MV resident to get on the list to get in)
Fridays- RSM beach club (contact RSM resident to get on the list to get in)

Lesson Schedule:

Aug. 19: George A. Smith The Strengthening Power of Faith

Aug. 26: TFOT: Elder Dallin H. Oaks Sacrifice

Sept. 2: Relief Society Presidency Message

Sept. 9: Stake Conference

Sept. 16: George A. Smith, Stay on the Lord's Side of the Line

Sept. 23: TFOT: Elder Neil L. Anderson What Thinks Christ of Me?

Lesson Recap: The Strengthening Power of Faith

Stacy Hughes taught our lesson today for Sister Marroquin who is out of town. She started by giving us some background about President Smith's time as the president of the European Mission. He began his service in 1919, just after World War I had ended and much of the continent was recovering from the devastation caused by the war. One of his most pressing duties was to increase the number of missionaries in Europe, but with food shortages and other economic problems most governments were unwilling to grant visas to foreigners.

In a letter to his daughter, President Smith recounted how faith played an important role in convincing England's government to grant visas to missionaries. He wrote: 

“Our American Ambassador has been very kind and succeeded in securing an interview for us with Sir Robert Horne, the Minister of Labour for Great Britain. When we presented ourselves at his office, we handed our letter from the Ambassador to Sir Robert’s secretary, who asked us if our business would hold over as his chief was leaving in a few minutes for Scotland to be gone three weeks. I assured him that we would greatly appreciate five minutes of his time now as we did not live in London and our business was urgent. The secretary went in to Sir Robert and soon returned with the information that he would postpone his trip and meet us at four o’clock that day. I had prayed most fervently that morning that our way might be opened and when we were invited to return I felt most grateful to our Heavenly Father.”

“When I had finished he again asked what we wanted of him and when we told him we wanted the privilege of recruiting our missionary forces up to two hundred and fifty, the same as before the war, he said it would afford him pleasure to issue instructions to his department to allow that number to land as fast as they should arrive. Of course we were much pleased and left him with the assurance that he had lifted quite a burden from our minds.

“I feel sure we made a friend of one of England’s most influential men and I would not hesitate to go to him at any time if necessity required.”

One of President Smith's missionaries at the time, James Gunn McKay, who was present at that meeting said, “Look at the wonderful work he accomplished. There were only a few elders there [in the mission]. The way seemed to be hedged up, and yet he came imbued with the inspiration of the Lord, and was able to knock at the doors of the officials, to gain their confidence; and eventually we obtained the privileges we wanted, that elders might come to take up their work and fulfil their missions in furthering the cause of God and accomplishing his work, and in that way he secured to us a testimony that God directs that work.”³ Elder McKay attributed President Smith’s success to his “faith and devotion and charity toward all those with whom he associated.” “I labored with him,” he said. “I counseled with him; I prayed with him, and I know that his faith and loyalty are as deep as life itself.” 

Hebrews 11:6 reads "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."

There are many stories in the scriptures and in our own history of people relying on faith in order to accomplish what the Lord has asked us to do. Among them are Noah, Nephi, Esther, Mary, Joseph Smith, and Brigham Young. All of these men and women can serve as examples to us of the power of faith.

In speaking about how faith played an important role in increasing missionary work in the European mission, President Smith recounted the following experience:

I remember one day I was impressed to say to a missionary who was going to a certain town where they would not let us hold street meetings:

“Now remember, give the Lord a chance. You are going to ask a favor. Give the Lord a chance. Ask him to open the way.”

The young man went to that city, went into the office of the mayor, and asked if he could see him. He was going to ask if they might change the rule.

When he got there, he found that the mayor was out of town. The young man came out of the office, looked down the hall and saw on a door at the end of the hall, “Chief Constable’s Office.” He hesitated a moment, and something said to him: “Give the Lord a chance.” He walked into the chief constable’s office and told him what he had come for. When he finished the man said:

“Well, what street corner would you like?”

He said: “I don’t know this city as well as you do. I would not ask for a corner that would be undesirable, or where we would block the traffic. Would you mind going with me to select a corner?”

Just think of a missionary asking the chief constable to pick a corner on which to preach the gospel!

The constable said:

“Surely, I will go with you.”

In fifteen minutes they had one of the best corners in town, with permission to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ where it had not been preached on the streets since before the war [World War I]. …

The Lord will not ask us to do anything without making it possible for us to accomplish it. We learn this in 1 Nephi 3:7 which states, “And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.”

In President Smith's words, If you have something that the Lord asks or expects you to do and you don’t know just how to proceed, do your best. Move in the direction that you ought to go; trust the Lord, give him a chance, and he will never fail you.

We know that faith is a gift of God; it is the fruitage of righteous living. It does not come to us by our command, but is the result of doing the will of our Heavenly Father. If we lack faith let us examine ourselves to see if we have been keeping His commandments, and repent without delay if we have not. … May the Lord increase our faith, and may we live to be worthy of it.

 Thanks, Stacy for a great lesson! Enjoy your last weeks of summer, sisters!

Brittany Larsen

brittanylarsen73@hotmail.com

Presidency members:

Judie Clark - President judieclark@cox.net

Jalane Hong - 1st Counselor john_jalane@msn.com

Melanie Jacobson - 2nd Counselor melanie53@hotmail.com

Shannon Lo - Secretaryfoxymomsml@cox.net

Relief Society E-news July 15 - 21

Hi Sisters,

I hope you're all enjoying your summer! I'll be on vacation for a few weeks, so this will be the last blog post until I get back. Until then, here are some things to know:

Dates to Remember:

July 17th: Relief Society Meeting Night. Retro Homemaking: How to Live Like Your Grandmother in a Modern World. Join as at 7 p.m. for a fun night of cooking, cleaning, and crafting. Really, it will be fun. Don't let those three c-words scare you.
July 21st: Pioneer Day 4-6 p.m. at Altisma Park. Go here for more information.
July 24th: Stake Humanitarian Day 7 - 9 p.m. at the Stake Center. Bring the whole family! It's for everyone!

Book of Mormon Challenge:

Our annual summer Book of Mormon reading started on June 17, but it's not too late to start if you haven't! This is a great opportunity to encourage your children to read the entire book when they don't have homework or other school activities to distract them. It's also a great time to read it yourself! Reading it in a short amount of time gives you a whole new perspective on scriptures that may already be familiar. Look for bookmarks outside of Relief Society that have the scheduled reading.

Visiting Teaching:

Summer is crazy with people coming and going on vacation, so schedule your appointments early. Here is this month's visiting teaching message.

Summer Humanitarian Mission:

Our Humanitarian mission for this summer is to raise enough money to build six wells for people who don't have access to fresh, clean water. Find out more about it here

YW Summer Humanitarian Fundraiser

Gather your gently used children's items and donate them to the Young Women who will be selling them at a Kids Consignment Event. All the funds raised will go to help meet the ward goal of raising funds to build six fresh water wells for people in developing nations.

Give the items to anyone in the Young Woman Program or bring your items to one of these events:

Relief Society Night - Tuesday, July 17

YM and YW's - Wed, July 18 or 25 7 - 8:30 p.m.

Bring to church - Sunday, July 22

OR drop off at the Griffith's home before July 28 (25111 Pizarro Road, Lake Forest). Leave them on the porch if no one is home!

Items needed: gently used clothing (size newborn to size 14), kids hsoes, toys, ride ontoys, bikes, play kitchen, play houise, trollers, high chairs, kid's furniture, baby books, baby blankets, bedding sets, boppies. No cribs or stuffed animals please.

Missionary News:

If you would like to feed the missionaries, please contact Lauri Rex at laurirex@yahoo.com or 589-2929.

If you'd like to write to any of the missionaries, here are there addresses:

Elder Patrick Carlile                                       Hermana Danielle Anderton

Germany Berlin Mission                                Chile Concepcion South Mission

Zerbster Straffe 42                                        O'Higgins 940, Oficina 503

12209 Berlin                                                 Concepcion Bio-Bio

Germany                                                       Chile

Elder Landon Gold                                          Elder Brendan Hong

South Africa, Durban Mission                          Bacolod Philippies Mission

Suite 4, 2 Derby Place                                     P.O. Box 660

Derby Downs Office Park                                Bacolod City

Westville 3630, South Africa                           Philippines

Whether you know them or not, they would love to hear from you!

Members in the Military:

In addition to our missionaries, we have two young adult members of our ward currently serving in the military who could also use your letters and support. Here are there addresses:

LCPL, Ryan, Sean, M.                                            RCT Joyce, Jessica, M

P.O. Box 349000 #696                                            4th RTBN, PLT 4027 Co, O

Kailua, HI 96734                                                     P.O. Box 16435

                                                                                Parris Island, SC 29905-6445

Temple Theme:

One of our goals as a Relief Society Presidency and the focus of our Stake Relief Society Presidency is to get sisters to the temple, so when I found this video of President Monson talking about the purpose and importance of temples, I had to share it. Please watch it when you have a chance!

Summer Fun Days:
School is out, so let's get ready for some fun! Here are some of the fun things a lot of local moms will be doing:
Mondays - Swim at Altisima Pool
Tuesdays - Head to the beach (changes from week to week, but usually San Clemente area)
Wednesdays - Free movie www.regmovies.com/summermovieexpress
Thursdays - Mission Viejo Lake (contact a MV resident to get on the list to get in)
Fridays- RSM beach club (contact RSM resident to get on the list to get in)

For Our Singles:

Aug. 2 - 6: Orange County Singles Conference: Pursue Your Path to Happiness. Contact ocbconference@gmail.com with questions or talk to sister Cassandra Leonard.

Lesson Schedule:

July 15: George Albert Smith ch. 15 Advancing the Work

July 22: TFOT The Race of Life, President Thomas S. Monson

July 29: Bishopric Message

Lesson Recap: Advancing the Work of the Lord

Tracine Marroquin taught our lesson from the manual today and began with the following quote and scripture that summed the importance of the message she was teaching.

"A correct and consistent life is the strongest testimony that we will bear of the truth of this work." George Albert Smith

1 Peter 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready to always give an answer to every man that asks you a reason for the hope that is in you.

Largly because of missionary work, the church has had consistent growth decade over decade since its beginning. During President Smith's time as prophet the church experienced considerable growth. Advances in technology were one reason the church was able to grow. In the manaul we read,

While the first half of the 20th century saw significant challenges, it also brought new technologies that President Smith believed would further the Lord’s work. He was a strong proponent of the aviation industry and saw it as a way to fulfill his travel assignments as a General Authority more efficiently. He also supported the Church’s use of radio and television to take the word of the Lord to a broader audience. “We ought to regard these [inventions] as blessings from the Lord,” he said. “They greatly enlarge our abilities. They can indeed become blessings if we utilize them in righteousness for the dissemination of truth and the furtherance of the work of the Lord among men. The great challenge facing the world today lies in the use we make of many of these inventions. We can use them to destroy, as we have sometimes done in the past, or we can utilize them to enlighten and bless mankind, as our Heavenly Father would have us do.

The inventions since the time of George Albert Smith have continued to help the growth of the church. We see this in the church's use of the internet, cell phone apps, satellites and other technological advances. President Smith prophesied that technology would continue to aid in spreading the gospel when he said in a 1946 general conference address,

It will not be long until, from this pulpit and other places that will be provided, the servants of the Lord will be able to deliver messages to isolated groups who are so far away they cannot be reached. In that way and other ways, the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord, the only power of God unto salvation in preparation for the celestial kingdom, will be heard in all parts of the world, and many of you who are here will live to see that day.”
We're seeing that day with conference broadcasts being translated to many different languages.
Pres Monson said the same type of thing in our last general conference when he stated:

How blessed we are to have come to earth at such a time as this—a marvelous time in the long history of the world. We can’t all be together under one roof, but we now have the ability to partake of the proceedings of this conference through the wonders of television, radio, cable, satellite transmission, and the Internet—even on mobile devices. We come together as one, speaking many languages, living in many lands, but all of one faith and one doctrine and one purpose.

From a small beginning 182 years ago, our presence is now felt throughout the world. This great cause in which we are engaged will continue to go forth, changing and blessing lives as it does so. No cause, no force in the entire world can stop the work of God. Despite what comes, this great cause will go forward. You recall the prophetic words of the Prophet Joseph Smith: “No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done."
When George Albert Smith was called to be prophet he recognized that one of his greatest duties was that of missionary. He stated:“I realize the great responsibility that is upon my shoulders. I know that without the help of our Heavenly Father, the organization with which we are identified cannot be successful. No man or group of men can make it successful, but if the members of this Church will continue to keep the commandments of God, live their religion, set an example to the world, [and] love their neighbor as themselves, we will go forward, and increasing happiness will flow to us.”

But it is not just the responsibility of the prophet or missionaries to carry out the work of bringing people to the gospel. As President Smith said,
The responsibility for the conduct of this work does not devolve alone upon [the President of the Church], nor upon his counselors, nor upon the quorum of the Apostles; but it devolves also upon every man and woman who has been baptized by the servants of God and become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. … We cannot shift the responsibility if we would; our Father has placed it upon our shoulders, and we must round them up and help to carry it off triumphant.

How can we "round up our shoulders," as President Smith, and fulfill our responsibility to share the gospel? Some of the answers we discussed were:

Be prepared to answer questions
Read the Book Of Mormon in public
If you don't have an answer, ask a question
Memorize Articles of Faith

Sharing the gospel is not only about increasing converts or numbers, it's about increasing blessings for ourselves and those around us. It will go forward with or without us, so it's our choice whether we reap the blessings that come with sharing our beliefs.

This is God’s work. It is not the work of any man. No man or set of men could have carried it forward and made it successful in the face of the opposition of the world. Many times they [who oppose the work] have felt that the end of the Church had come, and each time by the majesty of his power, the Lord has lifted it up, and it has gone forward from city to city, from village to village, from nation to nation.
His work is progressive, we must be active if we would keep pace with it. Every passing year, since the organization of the Church, has seen it grow stronger than the year before. Today the prospect of continual success is better than ever before. More people are learning the truth about us, and our attitude towards them. The prejudice due to ignorance is being overcome, as the light is disseminated among the masses. …

Our own behavior has an effect on people's perceptions of the church so we need to be careful in our actions and step up our efforts to live and share the gospel. 

Thanks Tracine for a great lesson!

Brittany Larsen

brittanylarsen73@hotmail.com

Presidency members:

Judie Clark - President judieclark@cox.net

Jalane Hong - 1st Counselor john_jalane@msn.com

Melanie Jacobson - 2nd Counselor melanie53@hotmail.com

Shannon Lo - Secretaryfoxymomsml@cox.net

Relief Society E-news July 8 - 14

Hi Sisters,

We've got a lot of fun things going on this summer. Read on to find out more!

Dates to Remember:

July 17th: Relief Society Meeting Night. Retro Homemaking: How to Live Like Your Grandmother in a Modern World. Join as at 7 p.m. for a fun night of cooking, cleaning, and crafting. Really, it will be fun. Don't let those three c-words scare you.
July 21st: Pioneer Day 4-6 p.m. at Altisma Park. Go here for more information.
July 24th: Stake Humanitarian Day 7 - 9 p.m. at the Stake Center.

Book of Mormon Challenge:

Our annual summer Book of Mormon reading started on June 17, but it's not too late to start if you haven't! This is a great opportunity to encourage your children to read the entire book when they don't have homework or other school activities to distract them. It's also a great time to read it yourself! Reading it in a short amount of time gives you a whole new perspective on scriptures that may already be familiar. Look for bookmarks outside of Relief Society that have the scheduled reading.

Visiting Teaching:

Summer is crazy with people coming and going on vacation, so schedule your appointments early. Here is this month's visiting teaching message.

Summer Humanitarian Mission:

Our Humanitarian mission for this summer is to raise enough money to build six wells for people who don't have access to fresh, clean water. Find out more about it here

Activity Days Bake Sale:

The 8 - 12 year old girls will be having a bake sale this Wednesday, July 11 at the church from 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. to raise money for our Summer Humanitarian Mission. They will have a variety of goods to buy including baked goods and some fun crafts the girls have made. Please feel free to bring young children with their change!

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 Carlile is in the Berlin, Germany mission and Landon Gold is serving in Durban, South Africa.

Temple Theme:

One of our goals as a Relief Society Presidency and the focus of our Stake Relief Society Presidency is to get sisters to the temple, so when I found this video of President Monson talking about the purpose and importance of temples, I had to share it. Please watch it when you have a chance!

Summer Fun Days:
School is out, so let's get ready for some fun! Here are some of the fun things a lot of local moms will be doing:
Mondays - Swim at Altisima Pool
Tuesdays - Head to the beach (changes from week to week, but usually San Clemente area)
Wednesdays - Free movie www.regmovies.com/summermovieexpress
Thursdays - Mission Viejo Lake (contact a MV resident to get on the list to get in)
Fridays- RSM beach club (contact RSM resident to get on the list to get in)

For Our Singles:

Aug. 2 - 6: Orange County Singles Conference: Pursue Your Path to Happiness. Contact ocbconference@gmail.com with questions or talk to sister Cassandra Leonard.

Lesson Schedule:

July 8: George Albert Smith ch. 13/14 Doing Our Part to Effectively Share the Gospel.

July 15: George Albert Smith ch. 15 Advancing the Work

July 22: TFOT The Race of Life, President Thomas S. Monson

July 29: Bishopric Message

Lesson Recap: Doing Our Part to Share the Gospel and How to Share the Gospel Effectively

Annette Flint gave our lesson this week which included two chapters from the George Albert Smith manual. She did a great job combining these two chapters about missionary work into one lesson.

President George Albert Smith served three full-time missions during his life. In the manual we read,  Because of the war, the number of missionaries in the mission had been drastically reduced, and efforts to increase that number were hindered because missionaries were being denied visas. In addition, enemies of the Church were spreading false stories about Latter-day Saints, creating prejudices that were difficult to overcome. Notwithstanding these limitations, President Smith was confident that the work would move forward because of the examples set by faithful Latter-day Saints. He noted that as the Church becomes more well known, “its members are esteemed for their virtues,” and critics “are quickly divested of their unjustified prejudices, by coming in direct contact with the Latter-day Saints in their daily lives. … They then judge us by our fruits, from personal observation, and such information, as they impart it, can have but one effect, and that most favorable to us.”

Sister Flint pointed out we are in a similar position now with all the opportunities to correct misperceptions in news and other places that we see every day because of the spotlight on Mitt Romney. Not only that, but we all have responsibility to share gospel. As President Smith said,

The adversary has used his strongest efforts to prevent the spread of the truths of the gospel. And it is your duty and mine, by tact and brotherly love and faith, to overcome the prejudice that the adversary has sown in the hearts of our Father’s children, to break down the false impressions that exist in some cases even in the minds of good men and good women, and to teach them the gospel of our Lord, that it is the power of God unto salvation unto all those who believe and obey it.

We send missionaries to the nations of the earth to proclaim the Gospel as revealed in this latter day. But that is not all our duty. Right at our doors, by the hundreds and thousands, are choice sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. They live among us, we become friends, but we fail to teach them to the extent we should, concerning the Gospel that we know is the power of God unto salvation. The Presidency of the Church are doing all that lies in their power; they devote their time during the day, and often into the late hours of the night, in the interest of the Church. The brethren who are associated with them give liberally of their time, traveling and teaching the Latter-day Saints and carrying the Gospel to our Father’s children. The presidents of stakes, high councilors, bishops of wards, and their assistants, labor unceasingly to bless the people, and their reward is sure. But are we doing all we ought, so that when we stand before the bar of our Heavenly Father He will say we have done our full duty by our fellows, His children?⁶

One of the very first revelations … in the Doctrine and Covenants, reads as follows:

“Now behold, a marvelous work is about to come forth among the children of men; …

“Therefore, if ye have desires to serve God, ye are called to the work.” [D&C 4:1, 3.]

It is not necessary for you to be called to go into the mission field in order to proclaim the truth. Begin on the man who lives next door by inspiring confidence in him, by inspiring love in him for you because of your righteousness, and your missionary work has already begun,

“For behold the field is white already to harvest.” [D&C 4:4.]⁷

Disseminating the truth is not the responsibility of someone else, but it is your responsibility and mine to see that the gospel of Jesus Christ in its purity is taught to the children of men. Doesn’t it make you feel grateful?

We work best as missionaries when we teach by example rather than just preaching what we believe. This was true in President Smith's time too. He recounted the following story:

Only a few days ago, one of our sisters, visiting in the east, in a conversation with an educated man, was told by him, “I cannot believe as you do but I wish that I could. It is beautiful.” And so it is with many of our Father’s children, who, observing the character of this work, watching the actions of the men and women who have embraced the truth, they are filled with amazement at what has been accomplished, and the peace and happiness that follows the sincere believer, and wish that they too might have part in it; and they could if they had faith.¹²

We need to prepare our children early to teach the gospel whether they go on missions or not. President Smith said,  

Don’t let your children grow up without teaching them the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Don’t wait to send them into the mission field to learn what the gospel means. I remember when I was in the South [as a missionary] fifty-five or sixty years ago, a man who came from a large family said, “I don’t know what to say. I don’t know what to tell these people.”

“Why,” one of the brethren said, “teach them the Bible. Go and get your Bible and read Genesis.” He said, “I don’t know where Genesis is in the Bible,” and yet he had gone from a … Latter-day Saint home to carry the message of life and salvation to those people in the South. However, it was not very long after that until his mind was changed. He had received a testimony of the truth through study and prayer, and he knew that the gospel was here, and he was able to stand on his feet and freely bear testimony that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the truth.¹⁸

I am impressed with the importance of preparing for the work. It is not sufficient merely that a boy signify his desire, because of his confidence in his parents, to do what they would have him do, go into the world and preach the gospel; it is not sufficient that he answer the calls that our Heavenly Father makes from time to time through his servants for mission service; but it is also necessary that he qualify for the work, search the scriptures, and learn what the Lord would have him know. It is important that our sons and daughters become established in their faith and know as their parents know, that this is our Father’s work. …

A dozen men qualified for the work are worth more in the mission field than a hundred who are ignorant of the truth and who themselves have to be taught before they are capable of explaining it to others.

We participate in missionary work by preparing to serve missions ourselves. It's not only young people who should be preparing to go, but all of us who may someday be able to go as senior missionaries. President Smith recounted the following story:

Only a few years ago many of my friends were well-to-do, they had the necessities of life, and many of the luxuries, and when it was intimated that they might go into the mission field some of them would say: “I can not leave my business, I can not get along if I go off and leave what I have.” But their business has gone off and left them. The things that they thought they could not get along without have disappeared from their control, and many of these very men today would be happy if they could go back ten years, and if they were then called to go into the service of the Lord, they could say: “I will adjust my affairs, I am happy at the opportunity that is offered me to be a minister of life and salvation.”

I feel that some of us are selfish. We are so glad to enjoy our blessings, we are so happy to be surrounded by the comforts of life and to have the association of the best men and women that can be found in the world, that we forget our duty to others. How happy we could be if we would strive to be more potent for good in the world by ministering to those who have not yet understood the Gospel of our Lord.

How can we share gospel effectively? The first thing we can do is have the courage to open our mouths. President Smith shared this story:

I was riding on the train one day. My companion in the compartment was a Presbyterian minister, a very pleasant, fine gentleman, and when he gave me the opportunity to do so, I told him I was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was amazed and he looked at me with astonishment. He said, ‘Aren’t you ashamed of yourself to belong to such a group?’

“I smiled at him and said, ‘My brother, I would be ashamed of myself not to belong to that group, knowing what I know.’ Then that gave me the opportunity I desired to talk to him and explain to him some of the things we believe. …

“There was a good man who had no conception of what we were trying to do. We were not there to give him sorrow nor distress; we were trying to help him. And as we talked the situation through I said to him: ‘You have a misconception of the purpose of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in this land. I am here as one of its representatives, and if you will just let me tell you a few things, I think you will feel better towards us.’ I said, ‘First of all, we are asking all you fine people over here to keep all the glorious truths that you have acquired in your churches, that you have absorbed from your scriptures, keep all that, keep all the fine training that you have received in your educational institutions, all the knowledge and truth that you have gained from every source, keep … everything that is good in your character that has come to you as a result of your lovely home; keep all the love and the beauty that is in your heart from having lived in so beautiful and wonderful a land. … That is all a part of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Then let us sit down and share with you some of the things that have not yet come into your lives that have enriched our lives and made us happy. We offer it to you without money and without price. All we ask you to do is hear what we have to say, and if it appeals to you, accept it freely. …’

“That is the attitude of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Loving our fellowman is the best way to share our beliefs with him. President Smith said, We cannot drive these young people, and our neighbors and friends into the kingdom of heaven by scolding them and finding fault with them, but I want to tell you that we can love them into the direction of our Father in heaven, and by and by, perhaps, lead them there too.

That is our privilege. Love is the great power to influence this world.⁷

Let us who know, those of us who have a testimony, go forth day by day and with love and kindness unfeigned go among these men and women, whether they be in the Church or out of the Church, and find a way to touch their hearts and lead them into that pathway that will insure them a knowledge of the truth.

Thanks, Annette, for a great lesson.

Brittany Larsen

brittanylarsen73@hotmail.com

Presidency members:

Judie Clark - President judieclark@cox.net

Jalane Hong - 1st Counselor john_jalane@msn.com

Melanie Jacobson - 2nd Counselor melanie53@hotmail.com

Shannon Lo - Secretaryfoxymomsml@cox.net

Relief Society E-news July 1 - July 7

Hi Sisters,

We've got a lot of fun things going on this summer. Read on to find out more!

Dates to Remember:

July 4th: Ward party at Melinda Park (at the corner of Santa Margarita Pkwy and Melinda) 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. Relief Society is in charge of desserts, so look for the sign up sheet in Relief Society or just bring one. You can never have too many desserts!
July 6th: Ward temple night. Make your appointment early for the 6:30 p.m. session. Call 949-644-1820
July 17th: Relief Society Meeting Night. Retro Homemaking: How to Live Like Your Grandmother in a Modern World. Join as at 7 p.m. for a fun night of cooking, cleaning, and crafting. Really, it will be fun. Don't let those three c-words scare you.
July 21st: Pioneer Day 4-6 p.m. at Altisma Park. Go here for more information.
July 24th: Stake Humanitarian Day 7 - 9 p.m. at the Stake Center.

Book of Mormon Challenge:

Our annual summer Book of Mormon reading started on June 17, but it's not too late to start if you haven't! This is a great opportunity to encourage your children to read the entire book when they don't have homework or other school activities to distract them. It's also a great time to read it yourself! Reading it in a short amount of time gives you a whole new perspective on scriptures that may already be familiar. Look for bookmarks outside of Relief Society that have the scheduled reading.

Visiting Teaching:

Summer is crazy with people coming and going on vacation, so schedule your appointments early. Here is this month's visiting teaching message.

Summer Humanitarian Mission:

Our Humanitarian mission for this summer is to raise enough money to build six wells for people who don't have access to fresh, clean water. Find out more about it here

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 Carlile is in the Berlin, Germany mission and Landon Gold is serving in Durban, South Africa.

Temple Theme:

One of our goals as a Relief Society Presidency and the focus of our Stake Relief Society Presidency is to get sisters to the temple, so when I found this video of President Monson talking about the purpose and importance of temples, I had to share it. Please watch it when you have a chance!

Summer Fun Days:
School is out, so let's get ready for some fun! Here are some of the fun things a lot of local moms will be doing:
Mondays - Swim at Altisima Pool
Tuesdays - Head to the beach (changes from week to week, but usually San Clemente area)
Wednesdays - Free movie www.regmovies.com/summermovieexpress
Thursdays - Mission Viejo Lake (contact a MV resident to get on the list to get in)
Fridays- RSM beach club (contact RSM resident to get on the list to get in)

For Our Singles:

Aug. 2 - 6: Orange County Singles Conference: Pursue Your Path to Happiness. Contact ocbconference@gmail.com with questions or talk to sister Cassandra Leonard.

Lesson Schedule:

July 1: Presidency Message

July 8: George Albert Smith ch. 13/14 Doing Our Part to Effectively Share the Gospel.

July 15: George Albert Smith ch. 15 Advancing the Work

July 22: TFOT The Race of Life, President Thomas S. Monson

July 29: Bishopric Message

Lesson Recap: Preparing Our Vessels

Our new second counselor, Melanie Jacobson, taught us today from the Parable of the Ten Virgins found in Matthew 25: 3-10. Usually when reading this parable we focus on how we can prepare ourselves for the Second Coming, but Sister Jacobson asked us to think about how we can prepare ourselves for the trials and unexpected things that may come our way.

We know there will be a Second Coming and we've been told how to prepare for it, and though we don't know the time of it, when it comes it shouldn't be unexpected. But we all will have unexpected trials in our lives that we can also prepare spiritually for.

Sister Jacobson quoted from Jesus the Christ and explained that it was the custom at the time of Christ for a Bridegroom to go the home of his bride and then escort her to their new home where the wedding ceremony would take place. As the couple proceeded with their attendants to the ceremony, smaller groups would join them along the way. Since the weddings customarily took place at night, lamps were necessary to light the way. The parties waiting to join them could approximate when the wedding party would appear, there was not an exact time. In the parable told by Jesus, five of the virgins took enough oil for the time they thought it would take the Bridegroom to appear. Unfortunately for them, he tarried and since they had not brought extra oil, they had to purchase more.

We read about these five virgins in verses 3-10. The five who had planned for just enough are not prepared for he unexpected. Those five have to buy more oil. They have to pay the price for not being prepared.

In this parable the following objects represent the following things:

Vessels - represent being spiritually prepared
Lamps - represent the light of the gospel we carry with us
Oil - represents our faith and testimonies

How do we apply this scripture to the unexpected challenges that come in life?
We can't coast in preparing ourselves spiritually. When things get easy, if we think we know what's going to happen we sometimes get complacent.

Elder Quentin L. Cook said in his October 2008 General Conference address, Hope Ya Know, We Had a Hard Time, ... many of the trials and hardships we encounter in life are severe and appear to have lasting consequences. Each of us will experience some of these during the vicissitudes of life...One of the essential doctrines illuminated by the Restoration is that there must be opposition in all things for righteousness to be brought to pass.² This life is not always easy, nor was it meant to be; it is a time of testing and proving.

Elder Cook goes on to say, One of the great blessings of the scriptures is that they warn us of challenges that are unexpected but often occur. We would do well to be prepared for them. One form of preparation is to keep the commandments.

In numerous places in the Book of Mormon, the people were promised that they would prosper in the land if they would keep the commandments.²² This promise is often accompanied by the warning that if they do not keep the commandments of God, they shall be cut off from His presence.²³ Clearly, having the blessings of the Spirit—the ministration of the Holy Ghost—is an essential element to truly prosper in the land and to be prepared.

Sister Jacobson also shared a story from Elder Walter F. Gonzales's October 2007 Conference address Today is the Time.

When President James E. Faust informed my wife and me that we would be transferred to Lima, Peru, we had no clue that on August 15, 2007, only a few days after our arrival, we would witness a devastating earthquake. More than 52,000 houses were destroyed by its sheer strength. Worse yet, it left more than 500 dead. Nine of them were members of the Church. Members in the Ica and Pisco stakes and the Cañete and Chincha districts suffered the brunt of the tremor’s aftermath.

The Church provided immediate relief to its members and those of other faiths. The morning after the quake, our members in the disaster area were receiving food and clothing, and before noon the Church was donating humanitarian aid to the nation’s civil defense. Many members who were left homeless were sheltered in our meetinghouses. Despite how unexpected the catastrophe was, the priesthood organization functioned very well to bring relief to those less fortunate.

Stake and district presidents along with bishops went out to help their members only minutes after the earthquake. The terrible situation in which these priesthood leaders went out is worth highlighting: it was nighttime; the lights were out; destruction abounded; and the earth would not stop shaking. These magnificent priesthood leaders left their families secured and walked out into the darkness, among people who wept, surrounded by destroyed houses. Thus our leaders went out during the night and the following days, facing frequent, strong aftershocks and a tsunami warning. They searched among the rubble, in the midst of commotion, risking their own lives to get to all the members. A bishop declared, “Without as much as a second thought, I ran in search of my Church brothers and sisters and leaders.” He found them. That’s how he spent most of the night.

What motivated these leaders to go out and help others, even to the risking of their own lives? Certainly it was their great faith in the Savior and His Church. It was their understanding of their calling as leaders in the priesthood. It was gospel principles engraved in their lives before the earthquake, not during the crisis—engraved not with ink but with fire by the Spirit in the fleshy tablets of their hearts (see 2 Corinthians 3:3).

The possibility of an earthquake was always there. When or how it would hit no one knew. When it came, it was devastating. But under the direction of the priesthood, the moment’s challenge was faced. In many cases, when members were unable, the Lord made up the difference. Some members tell of seeing men in white helping to save their lives. Others heard guiding voices. Years of Church service were a preparatory school to becoming organized and helping one another.

The same happens in our lives. We don’t know when or how earthquakes will hit us. They likely won’t be literal shakings of the earth, as happened in Peru, but rather quakes of temptations, sin, or trials, such as unemployment or serious sickness. Today is the time to prepare for when that type of quake comes. Today is the time to prepare—not during the crisis. What are we doing today to engraven in our souls the gospel principles that will uphold us in times of adversity?

So what do we do to prepare ourselves? The following are suggestions from some of the sisters:

Ask the lord to prepare us
Attend the temple
Do the part of the gospel that scares us
Pay tithing
Read scriptures

Melanie left us with the final thought that we can do hard things. When trials come, look for the tender mercies in your life and know that our Heavenly Father is watching over you and reaching out to help you.

Thanks you for a great lesson, Melanie. We're so glad to have you as part of our Relief Society Presidency.

Brittany Larsen

brittanylarsen73@hotmail.com

Presidency members:

Judie Clark - President judieclark@cox.net

Jalane Hong - 1st Counselor john_jalane@msn.com

Melanie Jacobson - 2nd Counselor melanie53@hotmail.com

Shannon Lo - Secretaryfoxymomsml@cox.net