Thursday, March 29, 2012
*182nd General Conference - THIS weekend!*
Just a reminder that General Conference is this weekend! (3/31-4/1) The four general sessions will be held on Saturday and Sunday at 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. mountain time. (That's 9am and 1pm for us in GP.) You can watch/listen to the conference sessions online at lds.org or on BYU TV.
Saturday, March 17, 2012
*Easter Breakfast & Egg Hunt Fundraiser*
The Young Women are hosting an Easter Breakfast and Egg Hunt Fundraiser on Saturday, April 7th, at the Stake Center. The raised funds will go towards the fees for Young Women's girls camp. The breakfast will start at 9am and the egg hunt will begin at 10am. The Easter Bunny will be making an appearance, so remember to bring your cameras! Young and old are invited to attend. Please bring your friends and neighbors. Hope to see you all there!
Sunday, March 11, 2012
3/4 RS Lesson: "Strengthening Families through Temporal Self-Reliance" - June 2011 Visiting Teaching Message
Here are the highlights from the RS lesson on March 4, 2012, taught by Sister Allen, RS President Riverside Ward. The full article can be found at lds.org through the following link: "Strengthening Families through Temporal Self-Reliance." Through the link, you can read it, listen to it, print it, and share it through social media sources.
From the June 2011 Visiting teaching message: “Developing self-reliance – the ability to care for ourselves and our families – is the responsibility
of every sister. When we are self-reliant, we use our blessing, and resources to prepare for and avoid problems. Self- reliance is enhanced as
we pray for the courage to meet with faith the challenges that will surely come. Self- reliance also enables us to keep our covenant to care for
others.” ( see Mosiah 18:8-10)
Our ward RS goal for the year says that we have decided to expand on the Stake Goal of “Come unto Christ” by focusing on helping our sisters
become more self-reliant, which includes accepting personal responsibility for spiritual strength, for health, education, employment, families,
finances, food and other life sustaining necessities. We acknowledge that each circumstance is different, and in some areas and times of our
lives we do need to rely on others, but with prayer and the guidance by the Spirit we can do more to increase our faith and with it, the courage
to meet life’s challenges and serve and strengthen those around us.
The Church Handbook of instructions says: The Savior has commanded the Church and its members to be self-reliance and independent…. To
become self reliant, a person must work. (James 2:18-20) It is a basic source of happiness, self-worth and prosperity. President Marion G.
Romney taught: “Without self-reliance one cannot exercise these innate desires to serve. How can we give if there is nothing there? Food for
the hungry cannot come from empty shelves. Money to assist the needy cannot come from an empty purse. Support and understanding cannot
come from the emotionally starved. Teaching cannot come from the unlearned. And most important of all, spiritual guidance cannot come
from the spiritually weak.” (D & C 58:26-28)
He further stated that “Service is not something we endure on this earth so we can earn the right to live in the celestial kingdom. Service is
the very fiber of which an exalted life in the celestial kingdom is made.” (Mosiah 2:17) The very nature of Relief Society speaks of service. Our
Father in Heaven has said that we are to have Joy in this life, and the greatest Joys are to be found in service to other. May we each resolve
to seek the Spirit through prayer to know how best we can prepare ourselves to become more self-reliant that we may be able to reach out to
others and experience the Joy of service. ( 2 Nephi 2:25, Matthew 25:21)
Thank you Sister Allen for a terrific lesson!
we pray for the courage to meet with faith the challenges that will surely come. Self- reliance also enables us to keep our covenant to care for
others.” ( see Mosiah 18:8-10)
Our ward RS goal for the year says that we have decided to expand on the Stake Goal of “Come unto Christ” by focusing on helping our sisters
become more self-reliant, which includes accepting personal responsibility for spiritual strength, for health, education, employment, families,
finances, food and other life sustaining necessities. We acknowledge that each circumstance is different, and in some areas and times of our
lives we do need to rely on others, but with prayer and the guidance by the Spirit we can do more to increase our faith and with it, the courage
to meet life’s challenges and serve and strengthen those around us.
The Church Handbook of instructions says: The Savior has commanded the Church and its members to be self-reliance and independent…. To
become self reliant, a person must work. (James 2:18-20) It is a basic source of happiness, self-worth and prosperity. President Marion G.
Romney taught: “Without self-reliance one cannot exercise these innate desires to serve. How can we give if there is nothing there? Food for
the hungry cannot come from empty shelves. Money to assist the needy cannot come from an empty purse. Support and understanding cannot
come from the emotionally starved. Teaching cannot come from the unlearned. And most important of all, spiritual guidance cannot come
from the spiritually weak.” (D & C 58:26-28)
He further stated that “Service is not something we endure on this earth so we can earn the right to live in the celestial kingdom. Service is
the very fiber of which an exalted life in the celestial kingdom is made.” (Mosiah 2:17) The very nature of Relief Society speaks of service. Our
Father in Heaven has said that we are to have Joy in this life, and the greatest Joys are to be found in service to other. May we each resolve
to seek the Spirit through prayer to know how best we can prepare ourselves to become more self-reliant that we may be able to reach out to
others and experience the Joy of service. ( 2 Nephi 2:25, Matthew 25:21)
Thank you Sister Allen for a terrific lesson!
Sunday, March 4, 2012
2/26 RS Lesson: "It Is Better to Look Up" - Carl B. Cook
This past Sunday, Sister Goff presented a wonderful lesson based on a talk taken from the November 2011 Ensign that was given by Carl B. Cook of the Seventy at the October 2011 General Conference. The complete talk can be accessed online through the lds.org link: "It Is Better to Look Up," where you can read, print out, share, and listen to Carl B. Cook's message.
Sister Goff began by reading a story from the talk about an encounter that Carl B. Cook had with President Monson in the elevator of the Church Administration Building. Upon seeing Elder Cook looking somewhat overwhelmed and discouraged, President Monson advised him that, "It is better to look up!" President Monson was referring to looking toward Heaven and Heavenly Father to seek out direction in life. As we look upward, we are looking toward immortal answers as opposed to downward which is limited to mortal results.
Sister Goff then asked the RS sisters what generally keeps us from looking upward during difficult times. Some of the answers included: fear, sin, and emotional/physical pain. It was said in the talk that we must build our spiritual muscles by looking up. At first, it may be difficult, but over time our muscles will strength and it will get easier to look toward Heavenly Father for answers.
The discussion then went on to define what it means to look different directions. When we look along the same level, it indicates that we may not see change. If we look up, however, it will lead us to progress and hope. A sister added that another direction that we look may be to the side. (i.e. Comparing ourselves to others.) The ultimate judge of our actions is God, so if we want to seek approval or criticism, it is best to look up to see how we are doing as we face life's trials. Sister Goff reminded us that we are not called to serve on Earth to master the tasks presented to us, but instead to simply do our best and we shall be blessed. Another sister reminded us that is also important to never look back at the past. The sins and poor choices from before could be holding you down from looking upward.
Overall, it is important to focus and hear what is important. Don't let the distractions of life keep you from losing focus on the eternal perspective. Ways we can look up include: prayer, reading scriptures, acts of service, listening to and following the guidance from church leaders, and doing temple work. If we continue to look up as President Monson and Elder Cook advise, we can be healed from the experiences that weigh us down.
Thank you to Sister Goff for presenting such a great lesson and for all the sisters who brought the spirit to our meeting through sharing their personal insights, which made the lesson even better! We pray that the sisters who were not able to be in attendance this Sunday will make it to our future meetings.
Sister Goff began by reading a story from the talk about an encounter that Carl B. Cook had with President Monson in the elevator of the Church Administration Building. Upon seeing Elder Cook looking somewhat overwhelmed and discouraged, President Monson advised him that, "It is better to look up!" President Monson was referring to looking toward Heaven and Heavenly Father to seek out direction in life. As we look upward, we are looking toward immortal answers as opposed to downward which is limited to mortal results.
Sister Goff then asked the RS sisters what generally keeps us from looking upward during difficult times. Some of the answers included: fear, sin, and emotional/physical pain. It was said in the talk that we must build our spiritual muscles by looking up. At first, it may be difficult, but over time our muscles will strength and it will get easier to look toward Heavenly Father for answers.
The discussion then went on to define what it means to look different directions. When we look along the same level, it indicates that we may not see change. If we look up, however, it will lead us to progress and hope. A sister added that another direction that we look may be to the side. (i.e. Comparing ourselves to others.) The ultimate judge of our actions is God, so if we want to seek approval or criticism, it is best to look up to see how we are doing as we face life's trials. Sister Goff reminded us that we are not called to serve on Earth to master the tasks presented to us, but instead to simply do our best and we shall be blessed. Another sister reminded us that is also important to never look back at the past. The sins and poor choices from before could be holding you down from looking upward.
Overall, it is important to focus and hear what is important. Don't let the distractions of life keep you from losing focus on the eternal perspective. Ways we can look up include: prayer, reading scriptures, acts of service, listening to and following the guidance from church leaders, and doing temple work. If we continue to look up as President Monson and Elder Cook advise, we can be healed from the experiences that weigh us down.
Thank you to Sister Goff for presenting such a great lesson and for all the sisters who brought the spirit to our meeting through sharing their personal insights, which made the lesson even better! We pray that the sisters who were not able to be in attendance this Sunday will make it to our future meetings.
March 2012 Riverside Ward RS Newsletter
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