Sisters at the temple Oct. 20

Join with the sisters of the ward going to the temple on October 20.

Lesson for September 27, 2015

Lesson for September 27, 2015 Today our lesson is about the Sabbath Day by Dorothy Davis and a talk by Elder Nelson called The Sabbath is a Delight. Why is the Church focusing so much on the Sabbath Day lately? There have been meetings outside of Conference on the need for greater Sabbath Day observance. Dorothy says it is for the whole world, not just the Church. The first law is to love the Lord our God. We’re forgetting the first law and focusing on the second law to love our neighbor. Do we have a sense of worship on Sunday? Why do we go to church? To strengthen others and contribute to the Spirit. To show God we love Him and to worship Him. How can He trust us if we can’t do as He asked? To repent of the wrongs we have done by taking the sacrament. To fill our lives with light. What are some delightful things about the Sabbath? We can see those who delight us and support us and give us a sense of community. Elder Nelson said as the Savior said, the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath? God gave us this special day as a gift of respite from the rigors of daily life and duties. Respite means that we take a break from regular life. One of the promises we have is the gift of the Holy Ghost and we can renew that gift on the Sabbath to sustain us through the rest of the week. It is a covenant and reminder that the Lord will sanctify His people. When we take the sacrament we covenant that we will take on us His name. How do we hallow the Sabbath Day? Our conduct on the Sabbath indicates our commitment to God. Many people think of Sunday as just another day of the week. What blessings do we get from the Sabbath? Dorothy told a story about her brother-in-law who is a potato farmers. Farmers, like potato farmers, make a success if they don’t farm seven days a week, or that is the common wisdom? How do the Mormons all have new trucks? How come their farms are so successful? D&C 59 says the Sabbath should be kept to keep us unspotted from the world. We get blessings, such as the fullness of the earth will be ours with all its goodness and all things will be for the benefit of man and our happiness and health. Worship with a full heart and cheerfulness. Leviticus 26 says the blessings from keeping the Sabbath will be not worshipping idols of any kind, the Lord will be our God, then we will have rain in the season and enough food and eat to the full, we will have peace and safety in our lands, and our enemies will be put to flight, both physical and emotional, and God will be among us and be our God and we will be His people. What are some positive things we can do on the Sabbath? Prepare food ahead of time. Write our life stories. Make contact with our family. Family history. Naps are good. Find things to do together, instead of just our own things. Prepare for the next Sunday. Good music, such as the Tabernacle Choir channel. The Lord has provided nearly everything we need on lds.org or Mormon.org to take care of the Sabbath. The bottom line is what happens to us. He wants us to have the Spirit so we can become like Him. If we love Him wholeheartedly, then we will become sanctified in Christ.

Lesson for September 20, 2015

Lesson for September 20, 2015 Today our lesson was given by Megan Miller about President Benson’s chapter 17, “Keeping the Law of Chastity.” On page 220 in section 2, President Benson said, “In the category of crime, only murder and denying the Holy Ghost are greater than breaking the law of chastity.” In the world, we agree that murder is bad, but most people don’t see that breaking the law of chastity is bad. Our body is a temple and we should not violate the temple that actually belongs to God. The family is the essential unit of the gospel and God’s plan. Murder is taking someone’s life, and breaking the law of chastity is creating a life and both are God’s prerogative to give and take life. These are powers that will eventually be ours and if we can’t use them appropriately, we won’t be able to progress in the next life. Having that relationship with another person, it is meant to be a permanent thing and continue into the eternities. A study of people engaged in intimacy before marriage and commitment found that it leads to a separation in that relationship. President Benson said that it may be fun and exciting, but there is a day of reckoning and it will lead to sadness. Having sexual relationships early in their lives, girls tend to be focused on their bodies. President Benson said people cannot do wrong and feel right, but may make people depressed and unworthy. How do we fall into sexual sin? In section three, it says many engage in sexual sin through a misguided effort to find basic human needs. People who are unhappy sometimes go looking rather than trying to strengthen their own marriages. Physical intimacy does not equate with love, although it does have a unifying function in marriage. Being unfaithful stems from proximity and being attracted to someone else. You need to lock up your heart. Attraction may happen, but you don’t have to do anything about it. Bad friends can influence us to do bad things. We need to be honest and up front with our children. We should fill up our lives with wholesome activities. You avoid anything that could be in any way improper, including pornography. We should view the lds.org video on how to avoid pornography. Elder Holland said, “The only real control is self-control.” Teach your kids to have self-control and avoid all bad things. Talk about pornography with your spouse. It’s not something private, but it is something we should all be careful and open about. Relationships are about trust. Even reading material is influential. A good motto is to say, Just don’t do it now. Pornography completely drives the Spirit away to the point you can’t reason with people. Talk to your children and say, “You’re not a bad person. Just turn it off and come talk to me and I will help you.” A picture book called “Good picture. Bad Pictures.” Tells children about using a thinking brain, instead of a feeling brain and how it becomes addictive. It helps facilitate conversation with parents and children. Sometimes people feel too ashamed to look for help, but the Atonement is real and Christ suffered for us. D&C 58 says that the Lord will remember our sins no more. Jacob 2:28 says “I, the Lord, delight in chastity." Physical intimacy is a good thing and part of God’s plan if used correctly. Children must be inspired by precepts and example.

Lesson for September 20, 2015 Today our lesson was given by Megan Miller about President Benson’s chapter 17, “Keeping the Law of Chastity.” On page 220 in section 2, President Benson said, “In the category of crime, only murder and denying the Holy Ghost are greater than breaking the law of chastity.” In the world, we agree that murder is bad, but most people don’t see that breaking the law of chastity is bad. Our body is a temple and we should not violate the temple that actually belongs to God. The family is the essential unit of the gospel and God’s plan. Murder is taking someone’s life, and breaking the law of chastity is creating a life and both are God’s prerogative to give and take life. These are powers that will eventually be ours and if we can’t use them appropriately, we won’t be able to progress in the next life. Having that relationship with another person, it is meant to be a permanent thing and continue into the eternities. A study of people engaged in intimacy before marriage and commitment found that it leads to a separation in that relationship. President Benson said that it may be fun and exciting, but there is a day of reckoning and it will lead to sadness. Having sexual relationships early in their lives, girls tend to be focused on their bodies. President Benson said people cannot do wrong and feel right, but may make people depressed and unworthy. How do we fall into sexual sin? In section three, it says many engage in sexual sin through a misguided effort to find basic human needs. People who are unhappy sometimes go looking rather than trying to strengthen their own marriages. Physical intimacy does not equate with love, although it does have a unifying function in marriage. Being unfaithful stems from proximity and being attracted to someone else. You need to lock up your heart. Attraction may happen, but you don’t have to do anything about it. Bad friends can influence us to do bad things. We need to be honest and up front with our children. We should fill up our lives with wholesome activities. You avoid anything that could be in any way improper, including pornography. We should view the lds.org video on how to avoid pornography. Elder Holland said, “The only real control is self-control.” Teach your kids to have self-control and avoid all bad things. Talk about pornography with your spouse. It’s not something private, but it is something we should all be careful and open about. Relationships are about trust. Even reading material is influential. A good motto is to say, Just don’t do it now. Pornography completely drives the Spirit away to the point you can’t reason with people. Talk to your children and say, “You’re not a bad person. Just turn it off and come talk to me and I will help you.” A picture book called “Good picture. Bad Pictures.” Tells children about using a thinking brain, instead of a feeling brain and how it becomes addictive. It helps facilitate conversation with parents and children. Sometimes people feel too ashamed to look for help, but the Atonement is real and Christ suffered for us. D&C 58 says that the Lord will remember our sins no more. Jacob 2:28 says “I, the Lord, delight in chastity. Physical intimacy is a good thing and part of God’s plan if used correctly. Children must be inspired by precepts and example.

Lesson for August 16, 2015

Today our lesson was given by Maggie Kopp on “The Elderly in the Church.” Maggie said she works in Special collections at BYU and she has a colleague who works with the older people who want to donate their books or journals to the library. If you have older relatives or friends, there are certain joys, such as grandchildren, more wisdom from experiences, more time, better perspective on what is good or bad, patience, experience. Some challenges include health issues, loneliness, dependency, loss of independence, loss of context, loss of memory, finances, lack of respect. Many of those with great responsibilities in the Church are elderly or more experienced. Maggie asked how others we know have served. Megan Miller said her Young Women’s leader was older were great. Often older people have wonderful things to offer. One sister said she makes the effort to have lunch with her grandfather on Fridays. Another sister said an older man in her ward terrified her until he directed a choir she was in and he helped her grow and because a grandfather to her. Heidi said her first job out of high school was to take care of an older woman who taught her a great deal, especially patience and budgeting money. Linda Campbell ‘s mother became incapacitated and so family members had to help take care of her. Her son, Spencer, especially learned from his grandmother. How do we honor those older family members. We can listen to their stories. Jessica Lewis’s daughter Ashton interviewed people who lived through World War II. Lana Horrocks said that helping her mother with her family history gave them a bond together. Megan Curran said her aunt passed away, but her father kept the stories and her cousins are coming to him for the stories. Megan’s sister is posting some of them on Facebook so many people can learn more about her father’s family. Another sister said that she helped some of the older people in their family keep up on their hobbies that they loved doing before. She also read to her great-grandmother as well. Sister Gibbons said her children have helped her mother, including reading the entire Work and the Glory series on tape for her. Sometimes they really need transportation help, because their independence is gone when they stop driving. If they don’t have family nearby, they’re stuck. So we need to take care of the people in the ward who have needs like that. Maggie asked what about spiritual needs? What about transportation to the temple? Service could be wonderful, to help people. Taking the sacrament to someone’s home is important. Those who don’t have the Church also need our help. Letting them share their experiences and advice helps them to feel validated. Suzie Sullivan said she visited her grandmother and heard her conversion story and testimony and it was a blessing to Suzie. President Benson said our later years can be our best years. He gave eight reasons and so Maggie asked how we can apply each of these areas to our lives? Collecting family histories, missionary service and letting them share their experiences with us, keep busy and keep active physically, helping them cook, planning for the future and finding out about government services. President Benson said there are many wonderful things about this time of life to share with each other.

Lesson for August 9, 2015

Today our lesson was given by Megan Miller on Chapter 15 “The Sacred Callings of Fathers and Mothers.” She started with “A Father’s Calling is Eternal.” Our pattern for fatherhood is our Heavenly Father. We watched the video from Mormon Message, “Heavenly Father, Earthly Father.” The video tells one father’s perspective of what he works for to provide for his family and how they trust him to provide for them. Even though he’s not there all the time, everything they have comes because of his efforts. Comments from the sisters equated what an earthly father does with what Heavenly Father provided us, his children, with. Heavenly Father provides us with this earth and all that is on it, but he also provides us with opportunities and he provides us with unconditional love. Heavenly Father does not expect us to fail. He always wants us to succeed. So as we watch our children we need to expect us to succeed even though it takes a long time. Megan said that as a teacher she sees parents who do not expect their children to succeed and she feels like that is wrong. How can we support our husbands and the men in the ward? We need to be the women who do not hold back our men. They need to know that everything at home is taken care of. We need to give our husbands the opportunity to exercise their priesthood. Lisa Anderson said that as a single sister, she tries to work with her home teachers to make their jobs work. Megan said that right after her bishop was called when she was a teenager, her bishop’s wife had triplets in addition to their other three children. She said the whole ward rallied around and helped take care of the children. Lisa says that she sees co-workers who get tons of phone calls about mundane stuff from home that interferes with their work. Jill Judd said the positive things we say are like little raindrops that water and nourish. It is important to value them and tell the men in our lives how much we value them. President Benson said his home was a refuge for their family with mother and father who protected and nurtured them. What can we do to provide a refuge for children? We can God will never leave us alone. God has promised he will take care of us.

Ward Humanitarian Project August 18

Come and help our humanitarian effort to put together food and pillowcases and other projects to help out. We will come to the stake center at 6:00 on August 18, Tuesday. Collecting things, too. Call Emily Campbell if you want to participate. It is for the whole family and there will be activities for everyone. Emily says, Jesus wants you to.