NOVEMBER 2012 PRESIDENCY MESSAGE

Dear Sisters: Time. We all have the same amount. Three hundred sixty-five days each year, twenty-four hours each day. Sounds like a lot, but what are we doing with all that time? The hymn "Improve the Shining Moments" has the words "Time flies on wings of lightning. We cannot call it back.. .life is quick in passing. ..."tis as a single day." We have all thought to ourselves that we can't believe that November is here already. What happened? There were so many things that we were going to do this year and it's almost too late. Perhaps your goal was to become immersed in family history research, or maybe this was the year you were really going to catch up on your life's story. Maybe back in the beginning of the year, you felt that you had plenty of time to accomplish what you felt you should. Even during the summer, there was still lots of time. But here you are in the latter months of 2012, and, if you're like me, you have procrastinated your goals away. President Joseph Fielding Smith has stated that "procrastination as applied to gospel principles is the thief of eternal life." We cannot put off until tomorrow what we should be doing today. We will be judged after this life on not only the sins we've committed and not repented of, but also for the things that we should have done and neglected to do. D&C 60:13 says, "Thou shalt not idle idle away thy time." Sisters, please take an inventory of your activities and make sure that you are spending your precious time doing needful things. "Today while the sun shines, work with a will. Today while the sun shines, your duty fulfill..." "Time, literally, is running out--for each of us. We have less remaining today than we had yesterday, and we have no idea how much of it we have left in our mortal sojourn. Let us make the most of our time." (Church News 6/7/08) “For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors." Alma 34:32 Let's all strive to do our very best to use our time wisely so that we won't have any regrets in the years to come.  We love you all and hope that you have a wonderful holiday season. The Relief Society Presidency

A few things I missed......

Well, as you know I have been wayyyy behind on the blog since I had the baby, but today I tried to take a few minutes to catch up--who needs clean clothes or dishes, right? ;)  Anyway, I had found these pictures I took at the Relief Society Birthday Celebration in March and wanted to add them--it was a great night and a great thing to be celebrating.  We just learned that next March we will be having a Stake RS Birthday, so we are looking forward to that!

July 2012 PRESIDENCY MESSAGE

July 2012 PRESIDENCY MESSAGE 

Dear Sisters,
It's hard to believe that 2012 is half over. Have you achieved the goals that you set for yourselves on January 1st? Are you still working on them? I know of one young lady who made it her resolution to refrain from drinking soda pop throughout the entire year. She has been able to keep that goal. For a teenager, that is an remarkable achievement. Are you able to show that kind of resolve? Hopefully we all are working to better ourselves, both physically and spiritually.
Since it's July, we will be celebrating the birth of our country (July 4th) and the anniversary of the Saints' entry into the Salt Lake Valley (July 24). We should always remember and acknowledge the sacrifices that the patriots and pioneers made for us. The patriots ensured that we could live in a country with unprecedented freedoms. The pioneers made it possible for the gospel to flourish and "bloom like a rose". Many brave men and women from both groups gave up family and possessions so that we could be so blessed. 
When times are hard, and they will be, reflect on these words from the favorite pioneer hymn by William Clayton, "Why should we mourn or think our lot is hard? 'Tis not so, all is right...Gird up your loins; fresh courage take; Our God will never us forsake...All is well! All is well!" 
Just as with the pioneers and the founding fathers, God is with us and will never forsake us. We know this to be true.

Love,
Jamie, Cindy, Loree, & Kathy

Appetizer Night Recipes

Sorry everyone! I'm not sure why I never posted these, I have had them saved on my computer for months. I am going to blame it on pregnancy flakiness! Anyway, here are the recipes from the appetizer recipe night we had. Enjoy!

(Just click on the recipe you want to and it will bring it up larger so you can actually read it)

July Update

Just a correction on the 4th Sunday lesson--I had put down August's instead of July's, so for this month it is Elder Hollands Conference talk, The Laborers in the Vineyard. NOT Pres Uchtodrf's.

Also, if you want to create a family history fan chart to display for Pioneer day in the Relief Society Room, you can do so at www.createfan.com  using your familysearch password if you have one--you might have to start an account to do so.

There are plenty of jobs available to help get ready for Pioneer Day if you are interested please contact Brother Anderson!!

June 2012 PRESIDENCY MESSAGE

Dear Sisters,

In the month of June, a special day is set aside to honor our Fathers. As we think about our father, we can probably recognize that we have inherited some of his looks. We may have the same color eyes or the same shape of nose. As we’ve watched our father throughout the years perhaps there are qualities that we admire and strive to emulate. Our father’s counsel may be the very thing we need in moments of decision.

The parallels are the same with our Heavenly Father. We are created in his image, and we strive to emulate his divine qualities, such as charity. Daily we seek his counsel in prayer as we manage the choices of our lives.
In a righteous setting, our earthly father helps us to comprehend what our Heavenly Father is like.
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland shared the following: “One new father wrote: ‘Often as I watch my son watch me, I am taken back to moments with my own dad, remembering how vividly I wanted to be just like him. I remember having a plastic razor and my own can of foaming cream, and each morning I would shave when he shaved. I remember following his footsteps back and forth across the grass as he mowed the lawn in summer.

Now I want my son to follow my lead, and yet it terrifies me to know he probably will. Holding this little boy in my arms, I feel a ‘heavenly homesickness,’ a longing to love the way God loves, to comfort the way He comforts, to protect the way He protects. The answer to all the fears of my youth was always ‘What would Dad do?’ Now that I have a child to raise I am counting on a Heavenly Father to tell me exactly that.” (May 1999, The Hands of the Fathers)
Happy Fathers Day to all the great fathers in our lives.

Love,
Jamie, Cindy, Loree, & Kathy

May 2012 PRESIDENCY MESSAGE

 (Our Focus this month in Relief Society is: Only by Charity can the power of the priesthood be maintained.)

Dear Sisters,

Welcome to May! What a wonderful month it is, still spring, hopefully the cold is mostly over and the hot is yet to come. It is a month of beauty and awakening to the world around us. What a perfect time for the Priesthood to have been restored to the earth. On May 15, we celebrate the restoration of the Priesthood after centuries of time without the Power of God available to man on the earth. What an incredible thing that is to celebrate.

Yet, I sometimes think that as Women we may not focus on what a blessing it is, or we may feel that it is something for the men to celebrate more than us. If so, we are sorely wrong, for without the glorious blessings of the Priesthood man nor woman could attain eternal glory, without the Priesthood we would not have the Relief Society, organized by the Priesthood and after the Priesthood Pattern. We would not have the sealing power here on earth, nor any of the other covenants from baptism on, that require righteous Priesthood Power in order for them to be approved by the Lord.

It is up to us as Women to teach of the power of the Priesthood to our families, to support our husbands, sons, fathers and all men who hold it, that they may feel of our support and be strengthened in their duties to honor their Priesthood. It is up to us to be worthy of the blessings of the Priesthood, and once again, this comes through charity:

“ Only by Charity can the power of the priesthood be maintained; No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned; By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile— Reprovingbetimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy; That he may know that thy faithfulness is stronger than the cords of death.” (see D&C 121:41–45);

How grateful I am for that beautiful May day when John appeared to restore the Priesthood to the earth again.

Love,

Jamie, Cindy, Loree, & Kathy