Happy 170th Birthday, Relief Society! On March 17, 1842, the Relief Society was organized in Nauvoo. Now, 170 years later to the day, the Stake Relief Society will join together to celebrate with a musical program. Choruses, Cupcakes, and Charity will be held at the Grants Pass Stake Center cultural hall at 7pm on March 17th. Relief Society Singing Sisters CHORUSES from each ward will perform, CUPCAKES will be served, and CHARITY will be done through donations of protein foods to be brought by attendees and then donated to the Josephine County Food Bank.
Everyone in the Stake (12 and up) is invited to attend. Sisters are encouraged to invite friends to this exciting event!
Friday, February 24, 2012
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
*Mark your Calendars*
There are two important events coming up for Riverside Ward RS sisters to attend:
- February 25th (Saturday) @ 11am -- Visiting Teaching Celebration! A light lunch will be provided as we join together to celebrate all that is great about Visiting Teaching.
- March 17th (Saturday) @ 7pm -- Choruses, Cupcakes, and Charity! All sisters (12 and up) are invited to attend the celebration for 170 years of Relief Society! Come listen to beautiful music from sisters throughout the Grants Pass Stake and delicious desserts as we remember the many years of service and contributions from generations of Relief Society sisters.
2/5 RS Lesson: "Why We Are Organized into Quorums and Relief Societies" - Julie B. Beck
The lesson for this Sunday was presented by Sister Jentzsch and the topic of her lesson was taken from a BYU devotional talk given by general RS president Julie B. Beck. The complete talk can be accessed online through the byu.edu link: "Why We Are Organized into Quorums and Relief Societies," where you can read, print out, share, and listen to Sister Beck's message.
Sister Jentzsch began her discussion with an emphasis on the fact that the Relief Society is organized under the pattern of the Priesthood. (The word society holds a similar meaning to the word quorum.) Sister Beck observed that some people have mistakenly believed that Relief Society is just another class that meets during the third hour of church, but the truth is that the RS is a holy and choice grouping of women. President Joseph F. Smith taught that Relief Society has its own unique identity and that it was "divinely made, divinely authorized, divinely instituted, divinely ordained of God to minister for the salvation of the souls of women and men."
Sister Beck lists the main purposes of RS as a bridge to, "increase faith and personal righteousness, strengthen families and homes, and seek out and provide relief for those who are in need." From this Sister Jentzsch reminded us that being a member of the Relief Society is a lifetime membership.
In her talk, Sister Beck outlines five specific purposes for being organized into Relief Societies (and quorums):
Sister Jentzsch began her discussion with an emphasis on the fact that the Relief Society is organized under the pattern of the Priesthood. (The word society holds a similar meaning to the word quorum.) Sister Beck observed that some people have mistakenly believed that Relief Society is just another class that meets during the third hour of church, but the truth is that the RS is a holy and choice grouping of women. President Joseph F. Smith taught that Relief Society has its own unique identity and that it was "divinely made, divinely authorized, divinely instituted, divinely ordained of God to minister for the salvation of the souls of women and men."
Sister Beck lists the main purposes of RS as a bridge to, "increase faith and personal righteousness, strengthen families and homes, and seek out and provide relief for those who are in need." From this Sister Jentzsch reminded us that being a member of the Relief Society is a lifetime membership.
In her talk, Sister Beck outlines five specific purposes for being organized into Relief Societies (and quorums):
- To organize us under the priesthood and after the pattern of the priesthood.
- To focus Heavenly Father's sons and daughters on the work of salvation and to engage them in it.
- To help bishops wisely manage the Lord's storehouse.
- To provide a defense and refuge for Heavenly Father's children and their families in the latter days.
- To strengthen and support us in our family roles and responsibilities as sons and daughters of God.
Thank you to Sister Jentzsch for presenting this discussion. There is so much to learn from RS President Julie B. Beck's message!
Sunday, January 29, 2012
1/22 RS Lesson: "Forget Me Not" -President Uchtdorf
This Sunday's lesson was from a talk given by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf at the September 2011 general Relief Society meeting. The complete talk can be accessed online through the lds.org, "Forget Me Not," where you can read, print out, share, and listen to President Uchtdorf's message to the women of the church.
As President Uchtdorf reflects over a walk with his wife and daughter through a beautiful garden, he is reminded of the simple beauty of the forget-me-not flower that grows among all the other "glorious blooms." Though he realizes that it could be easy to overlook such a small flower, he finds that "it is just as beautiful, with its rich color that mirrors that of the bluest skies."
It was the five pedals of the forget-me-not flower that "prompted [him] to consider five things we would be wise never to forget."
As President Uchtdorf reflects over a walk with his wife and daughter through a beautiful garden, he is reminded of the simple beauty of the forget-me-not flower that grows among all the other "glorious blooms." Though he realizes that it could be easy to overlook such a small flower, he finds that "it is just as beautiful, with its rich color that mirrors that of the bluest skies."
It was the five pedals of the forget-me-not flower that "prompted [him] to consider five things we would be wise never to forget."
- Forget not to be patient with yourself: God is aware that His children are not perfect. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Even the smallest of successes are noticed by Him. We must not take these personal improvements for granted, for they will strengthen us to become the great spirits God knows we are capable of being in the long-run.
- Forget not the difference between a good sacrifice and a foolish sacrifice: We need to ask ourselves, "Am I committing my time and energies to the things that matter most?" "There are so many good things to do, but we can't do all of them." "Heavenly Father is most pleased when we sacrifice something good for something far greater with an eternal perspective."
- Forget not to be happy now: It is okay (and good) to work toward higher goals and achievements, but it is important not to overlook the simple things we experience and obtain as we strive for something better. "The happiest people...are those who, while in pursuit of worthy goals, discover and treasure the beauty and sweetness of the everyday moments."
- Forget not the "why" of the gospel: We sometimes focus too much on the "what" and "how" of the gospel. (How we are supposed to live, what guidelines we must follow, etc...) It is important to be aware of why we are doing what we're doing. Keeping the eternal perspective in mind is important in becoming Christ-like. When we do this, "the gospel ceases to become a burden and, instead, becomes a joy and delight."
- Forget not that the Lord loves you: "You are not forgotten." Each and every one of us is "known and remembered by the most majestic, powerful, and glorious Being in the universe! You are loved by the King of infinite space and everlasting time!"
1/15 RS Lesson: Chapter #2 "Love Thy Neighbour as Thyself"
This past Sunday, Sister Lathen presented a thoughtful lesson on Ch. 2 "Love Thy Neighbour as Thyself," which was taken from The Teachings of Presidents of the Church: George Albert Smith. (You can listen, print, download, and share this lesson by clicking on the chapter title, which links directly to the church's official website.)
From President Smith's personal life, many remember him frequently "demonstrating his love for others through countless acts of compassion." Through his service to others, President Smith led by example and showed people that the smallest acts of kindness can make a big difference. Sister Stanger pointed out that it is good to teach our children this lesson because through service opportunities we can make truly memorable moments with our families.
From President Smith's teachings, we are reminded that, "All people are our brothers and sisters, children of our Heavenly Father." As we go about our day it is important to remember this and take the time to remind others that they are loved. Sister J. Lathen added to this by saying we need to "Remember who [everyone we meet] is and act accordingly." The lesson goes on to instruct us that in the next life we will not have eternal happiness unless we work to bring happiness to others in this life first.
We know that loving thy neighbor is a very important teaching of Christ, because it is emphasized in the gospel through the second commandment: "And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law of the prophets." [Matthew 22:37-40.] As members of the Church of Christ, we should follow His commandments, thus becoming less selfish and more caring of others, we in turn become more Christ-like.
President Smith re-emphasizes that personal happiness comes from serving others and the amount of charity and service we exude is directly proportional to our happiness.
A few additional thoughts from our ward sisters:
From President Smith's personal life, many remember him frequently "demonstrating his love for others through countless acts of compassion." Through his service to others, President Smith led by example and showed people that the smallest acts of kindness can make a big difference. Sister Stanger pointed out that it is good to teach our children this lesson because through service opportunities we can make truly memorable moments with our families.
From President Smith's teachings, we are reminded that, "All people are our brothers and sisters, children of our Heavenly Father." As we go about our day it is important to remember this and take the time to remind others that they are loved. Sister J. Lathen added to this by saying we need to "Remember who [everyone we meet] is and act accordingly." The lesson goes on to instruct us that in the next life we will not have eternal happiness unless we work to bring happiness to others in this life first.
We know that loving thy neighbor is a very important teaching of Christ, because it is emphasized in the gospel through the second commandment: "And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law of the prophets." [Matthew 22:37-40.] As members of the Church of Christ, we should follow His commandments, thus becoming less selfish and more caring of others, we in turn become more Christ-like.
President Smith re-emphasizes that personal happiness comes from serving others and the amount of charity and service we exude is directly proportional to our happiness.
A few additional thoughts from our ward sisters:
- We should do acts of service with joyous intent, not dread.
- Even the smallest acts can make a big impact.
- As we become more like God, we change from being served to serving others.
- Good intentions count because it shows what is truly in our hearts even when we can't always serve others as often as we'd like.
- Love the person, hate the sin.
As always, thank you to our teacher and the contributions of the ward sisters for this wonderful (and very important) lesson!
Riverside RS Scripture Reflection Book
Just a reminder that we are still asking the sisters in our ward to submit favorite scriptures and quotes for an insightful book we're making that will be handed out to everyone upon completion. If you'd like to be involved, please e-mail RiversidewardRS@gmail.com with your favorite scripture/quote and what it means to you. Or you can write it down on paper and turn it in to a member of the RS presidency or Sister Jones or Sister Griffith. Thanks!
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Facebook Page Update
We finally acquired an official link to Facebook! From now on, to direct any interested sisters to our Facebook page, just have them go to: www.facebook.com/RiversideWardRS
This should make connecting to sisters even easier! So get the word out and be thankful that technology allows us to stay updated on all that is happening in our ward Relief Society :)
This should make connecting to sisters even easier! So get the word out and be thankful that technology allows us to stay updated on all that is happening in our ward Relief Society :)
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