Good morning sisters. Sorry this is late, but I
had company from out of town and wanted to spend my time with them. What a
wonderful spirit from Testimony meeting and our Relief Society.
“...You are going to save souls, and who can
tell but that many of the fine active people in the Church today are active
because you were in their homes and gave them a new outlook, a new vision. You
pulled back the curtain. You extended their horizons...
“You see, you are not only saving these
sisters, but perhaps also their husbands and their homes.”
President Spencer W. Kimball
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
- Cannery Assignment:
Contact Brother Moon
- Donna Larsen: If you
would like to be on the list to sit with Donna between the time that her
assistant leaves and the family gets there, contact Christy Smith or Amy
Waldron. She also would appreciate visits.
- Exercise Classes:
Sisters, did you know that every Monday, Wed., and Friday, there is an
exercise class for you? You can even bring your children. It is at 9:15 am
at the Stake Center. On Mon., Turbo Kick, Wed;, Yoga and Fri., Boot Camp.
- Sister Ramona Backman
will be having knee surgery this week. Please keep her in your prayers.
- Stake Employment Net
Working Meeting, Nov. 7th at 8:00 pm at the Stake Center
- Circled I His Footsteps
– Thurs., Nov. 29th, 6:30 pm at the A-Frame church across the
street. Mark your calendars for an amazing dinner & photo presentation
of the Holy Land by Amy Nelson.
BIRTHDAYS: Nov., 4th – Jenny Holman and Janet
Mora; Nov., Robby Bottom and Nov., 10th McKenna McCracken Happy
Birthday Sisters.
Our lesson today was presented by Megan
Duckworth, our RS President. “We Can Achieve the Miraculous...”
(on the board) We Can Achieve the Miraculous
- What
is the real need?
- What
will bring the most relief?
a. advanced planning
b. Communication
c. “natural' service
WORK SMARTER, NOT HARDER!
It's not a good sign that I already getting
emotional. It actually started with Brother Jorgensen's opening prayer in
Sacrament Meeting. I am grateful for the opportunity to teach and it's a lesson
that actually has been in the making for a year. I have been praying to be able
to say what I needed to say for two months. I prayed to Heavenly Father for
guidance and then the ideas just come and I am able to prepare the needful
things.
I would like to share a story with you again,
especially for those new sisters in the ward.
“Early on the morning that I was to be sustained
as the Relief Society president in the Manila 12th Ward, I woke up
with a distinct and vivid picture in my mind. In my mind I saw a company of
pioneer wagons circling at the close of day to provide safety, protection, and
comfort for the weary travelers. I then realized that is what Heavenly Father
wanted the sisters of the 12th Ward to do—to circle in the strength
of Relief Society, to circle in the great strength of the sisterhood that we
share.”
In Daughters in My Kingdom, and I love this
book, Boyd K. Packer described our sisterhood perfectly:
“This great circle of sisters will be a
protection for each of you and for your families. The Relief Society might be
likened to a refuge—the place of safety and protection—the sanctuary of ancient
times. You will be safe within it. It encircles each sister like a protecting
wall.” (page 81)
Bishop Edman recently spoke about the scripture that he chose
for our ward theme when the ward was formed in 2007. I feel that this ward
theme nicely compliments the theme that we have in our Relief Society. Turn
with me to the 18th chapter of Mosiah, verses 8-10. Here, Alma had
recently escaped from King Noah's servants. Alma talks about the baptismal
covenant:
Micheale C: “And it came to pass that he said unto them:
Behold, here are the waters of Mormon (for thus were they called) and now, as
ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and
are willing to bear one another's burdens, that they may be light:
“Yea, and are willing to mourn with those
that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand
as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, (Doesn't this sound
like what Relief Society sisters do?) and in all places that ye may be in,
even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of
the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life--
“Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of
your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a
witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will
serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more
abundantly upon you?
I love verse 9: Stand as witnesses of God at all
times and in all things. I am so blessed to see that every day. To see you
serve the sisters because you love the Lord. That is why you serve.
In verse 21 of the same chapter, the Ward theme
that the Bishop chose it says:
“And he commanded them that there should
be no contention one with another, but that they should look forward with one
eye, having one faith and one baptism, having their hearts knit together in
unity and in love one towards another.”
Love this scripture, very powerful. Truly loving
and serving one another with no contention.
Back to our baptismal covenant. In the August
Ensign 2012 President Monson states: “I wold hope that we would not
lose the real objective of our cherished opportunities to serve. That
objective, that eternal goal, is the same spoken of by the Lord and found in
the Pearl of Great Price: “For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to
pass the immortality and eternal life of man.”
May we ever remember that the mantle of
membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in not a cloak of
comfort but rather a robe of responsibility. Our duty, in addition to saving
ourselves, is to guide others to the celestial kingdom of God.”
When we are wearing that robe, we are making a
declaration.
We made covenants at baptism to lift and love
others. Like Bishop Edman taught, as we serve one another and minister to each
other, our hearts become knit together in unity and love.
The greatest example of compassion is the
Savior. Think back to the Book of Mormon, in 3rd Nephi when
the Savior appeared to the Nephites, teaching them, loving them. I had a vivid
picture of Christ feeling what they felt.
3 Nephi 17: 21-22
“And when he had said these words, he wept,
and the multitude bare record of it, and he took their little children, one by
one, and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them.
And when he had done this he wept again.”
Each one of us has the opportunity to follow in
the Savior's footsteps and to keep our baptismal covenants as we serve as a
visiting teacher.
In Daughters in My Kingdom, President Monson teaches
us: “We are surrounded by those in need of our attention, our
encouragement, our support, our comfort, our kindness....We are the Lord's
hands here upon the earth, with the mandate to serve and to lift His children.
He is dependent upon each of us.” (page 103)
We are dependent not only on the Relief Society
President or the Bishop, but on all of us to love and serve each other.
President Uchtdorf lovingly spoke to
the women of the church in 2008. He said: You wonderful sisters render
compassionate service to others for reasons that supersede desires for personal
benefits. In this you emulate the Savior, who, though a king, did not seek
position, nor was He concerned about whether others notice Him. He did not
bother to compete with others. His thoughts were always tuned to help others.
He taught, healed, conversed [with], and listened to others. He knew that
greatness had little to do with outward signs of prosperity or position. He
taught and lived by this doctrine: 'He that is greatest among you shall be your
servant.'” (Daughters in My Kingdom, p. 112)
It is so true. It is absolutely incredible in
the ministry that you do. I know some of you don't think that you do enough.
This entire year, the visiting teaching messages in the Ensign have been
focused on visiting teaching. The articles have focused on ways that we can
improve and deepen our understanding of our own personal ministry.
I want each one of you to ask yourself these two
questions. 1.) Have I stopped to wonder why there have been so many
articles, month after month, on the same topic? 2.) Have I stopped to
evaluate how I'm progressing and growing in my own personal ministry?
I have pondered quite a bit about these
questions this year. And, I have come to the realization that I have so much to
learn and to improve upon. I have decided that I can be better. I can pray to
know HOW to be better.
Sister Mary Ellen Smoot, the thirteenth
Relief Society general president, declared: “My desire is to plead with our
sisters to stop worrying about a phone call or a quarterly or monthly visit,
and whether that will do, and concentrate instead on nurturing tender souls.
Our responsibility is to see that the gospel flame continues to burn brightly.
Our charge is to find the lost sheep and help them feel our Savior's love.” (Daughters
in My Kingdom, p. 117).
The October Visiting Teaching message had to do
with honoring our covenants and helping our sisters keep covenants. It is a
powerful calling. You can see the past Ensigns Visiting Teaching can never be
done. The sisters need you, need your care, support, and love.
The Church Handbook of Instruction invites each
visiting teaching companionship to report special needs (temporal or spiritual)
and any service rendered to their visiting teaching supervisor. “Count the
caring instead of just counting visits.” Any confidential needs or
concerns should be directly reported to the Relief Society President.
I want to ask you, sisters, you valiant visiting
teachers, to contact your supervisor each month. Share how your sister is
doing. It is critical for us to know how each sister is doing, spiritually and
temporally. Let your supervisor know of any service you render to a sister.
That will help us to know how to effectively minister to their needs.
The Bishop cannot do it alone, I have a
responsibility to him, and I can't do it alone. With your help and
communicating with us, we can get help the Bishop.. You are wonderful, faithful
visiting teachers. You are already immersed in the Lord's work. Will you please
share the fruits of your labors with your supervisors? As a good friend of mine
recently explained: We can more fully utilize the blessings that come from the
inspired visiting teaching program by “working smarter and not harder.” Doing
so will help our hearts be knit in unity and love.
Ashley P: I am not able to go to the Temple with my
husband because of our little ones. Last night Shanel watched my kids so we
could do that. It was such a blessing for us. I realize that I needed to do
better as a visiting teacher.
Thanks for sharing. That is a good example of
how to minister. The inspiration and guidance can come.
Karen M: It is important to open up and share feelings.
We need to be less protective of our inner feeling so that visiting teachers
can really know how you feel.
Relationships requires communications both way.
It is hard for me to open up.
In September, our Relief Society presidency met
together with the wonderful compassionate service leaders in our ward. As we
talked, we were in agreement that one of the greatest strengths of our
sisterhood in the 12th Ward was the fact that there are so many, so
many, sisters who are willing and able to serve. Your countless acts of
selfless service inspire us. I appreciate your ministering, as does the bishop.
And, without a doubt, our Heavenly Father appreciates your efforts as well.
Pray to know how to minister to the sisters we visit, to all the sisters.
What is the real need and what will give the
most relief? I want to share with you what I call the Biamonte spaghetti
story. We lived in a 4-plex and there was a sister who lived in the basement
and was expecting her third child. For me the best way to help anyone was to
feed them. Many of us are like that. In this instance however, it was not the
best way. They were an Italian family so I decided to make a Spaghetti
Casserole. She was very appreciative. Later I realized that probably the best
thing was for me to say, let me watch your child, Looking back now, I could
have done better by encouraging her. A meal is helpful, but sometimes a sister
needs to vent, cry, have someone to talk to, someone to help with household
duties. The spirit can let you know her need.
Plan in advance for urgent needs. Visiting
teachers will be the first ones called to help fill immediate needs, if
possible. Our compassionate service leaders have worked to compile lists of
sisters that are willing and able to assist at short notice in the event that
visiting teachers can't. Changes to our blog are in the works to help facilitate
this. The immediate needs can be picking kids up from schools, putting a meal
together and it doesn't have to be a gourmet meal.
Encourage communication: Frequent
communication between visiting teachers and the sisters they visit is crucial.
We hope to have increased dialogue between visiting teachers and their
supervisors. It is also important for the visiting teachers to notify the
compassionate service leasers if there are any needs that require additional
support. Just this past week, I received a forwarded email from a sister in our
ward who had been in need of ministering. She wrote and described how her
visiting teacher helped her:
I just wanted to let you know, in case you
weren't aware, that Sister So and So brought us dinner Monday night (The sister
then described the difficulty that she experienced). It wasn't anything
serious, but it does leave me with discomfort. It (the dinner/kindness) was
greatly appreciated. I don't know how, or if, you try to keep track of service
provided within the ward. However, I didn't want her precious service to go
unnoticed. Thanks.
Yes, we want to know about service provided. This is an
example of the gospel in action. This is ministering.
Look for ways to offer service that are natural. We can look to
find ways to express our love and the love of the Savior to all of our ward
members. We have neighbors and friends in the ward that we care about and
associate with. I encourage each one of us to act on the promptings that we may
receive to serve these brothers and sisters. Sometimes we must act without
assignment or delay,. Continue to act on your promptings. Great evidence of
that is the help and care given to the Hawley family; the calls to help. Your
neighbors know you better as to what the needs are.
There is a story in the New Testament about the man who
was suffering from Palsy Word got out that Christ was in Capernaum. The home
where Christ was teaching became very crowded. The 4 men carried the sick man,
along with his bed, to the place where Christ was. Then the 5 men arrived, the
home was so full that they couldn't enter. These 4 men no doubt had a great
love for the sick man and knew Christ could heal him. I imagine that the 4 men
prayed to know what to do. The idea quickly came to them to remove the roof
from the home and lower the sick man, bed and all, to be near Christ. They
didn't wait for an assignment. They didn't wait for someone else to come p with
an idea. They saw a need and came up with a solution. They didn't hesitate to
act once the idea came. The one who had palsy had to have faith to be healed,
but the 4 who carried him also helped him to heal by exercising their
remarkable faith, I have no doubt that our untied faith can help physical and
spiritual healing to come to those we love.
A concerned neighbor recently called me when one
sister in our ward was experiencing a challenge. This neighbor isn't an
assigned visiting teacher to the sister that was in need, but she wanted to
know how she could help. I asked her to check in with her neighbor and report
to me any needs that she became aware of, It turns out that the extended family
of the sister in need was able to provide the support that was needed. But the
sister in need was greatly comforted by the fact that her neighbor and her ward
family was there to offer any back-up support that might be needed.
I want to echo President Eyring's comments at the
Relief Society general broadcast. He said that the Lord's plan involves TEAMS.
We are all members of the Manila 12th Ward TEAM. Caring for those in
need takes a TEAM. One person can't do it all. President Eyring assured us that
“The Lord loves you for any part that you play” in providing relief to those in
need.
I love the Savior and know his gospel is true.
It is His Church. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Next week's lesson is from GAS manual, #21 “The
Power of Kindness”
Have a great week and vote.
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