Sunday Happenings

Lesson: Watching With All Perseverance, Elder Bednar, May 2010 Ensign
Instructor: We want to thank Sister Geist for filling in this week, she did a great job!

"Recently I was driving my car as drops of rain from a thunderstorm began to fall on the windshield. On the side of the road, an electronic sign displayed a timely warning: “Standing Water Ahead.” The surface on which I was driving appeared to be quite safe. But this vital information enabled me to prepare for a potential hazard I had not expected and could not yet see. As I continued toward my destination, I slowed down and watched carefully for additional signs of danger.
Early warning signals are evident in many aspects of our lives. For example, a fever can be a first symptom of sickness or disease. Various financial and labor market indicators are used to forecast future trends in local and national economies. And depending upon the area of the world in which we live, we may receive flood, avalanche, hurricane, tsunami, tornado, or winter storm warnings."

Elder Bednar taught about "Three Components of a Spiritual Early Warning System" that will help parents strengthen the testimonies of their children and bring the closer to the Savior.

1. Reading and Talking about the Book of Mormon:

• Contains the fullness of the Gospel
• 2 Ne. 25:4- "My soul delighteth in the plainness unto my people, that they may learn"....plain means instruction that is clear and easily understood
• The Book of Mormon is the most correct book on earth because it centers on the truth
• The unique combination of the two factors-- a focus on the Savior and the plainness of the teachings -- powerfully invites the confirming witness of the third member of the Godhead, even the Holy Ghost.
• The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that by abiding by the precepts found in The Book of Mormon would help us "get nearer to God" than any other book.
• Helps us resist temptation
• Children and Youth may not fully understand all of the words and stories..."but they certainly can feel the "familiar spirit"!
• Have you had experiences with the Book of Mormon that have brought you closer to the Savior? What about your children?

2. Bearing Testimony Spontaneously:

• Be aware of opportunities where you could bear testimony to your children
• Naturally occurring family conversations at dinner
• Testimonies do not always need to begin with "I'd bear you my testimony."
• Could be as simple as, "I know I was blessed with inspiration at work today" or "The truth in this scripture always has been a powerful source of direction for me"
• Traveling in a car or bus
• While answering questions chidren my have...during discussions
• When have you been able to bear your testimony to your children?

3. Inviting Children to Act:

• James 1:22: We should be, "doers of the word, and not hearers only."
• Parents have the sacred responsibility to help children to act and to seek learning by faith.
• Giving a man a fish feeds him for one meal. Teaching a man to fish feeds him for a lifetime.
• What are some times you have been able to help your children choose to act in righteous decisions?

Elder Bednar concluded by saying, "I bear witness that parents who consistently read and talk about the Book of Mormon with their children, who share testimony spontaneously with their children, and who invite children as gospel learners to act and not merely be acted upon will be blessed with eyes that can see afar off (see Moses 6:27) and with ears that can hear the sound of the trumpet (see Ezekiel 33:2–16). The spiritual discernment and inspiration you will receive from the combination of these three holy habits will enable you to stand as watchmen on the tower for your families—”watching … with all perseverance” (Ephesians 6:18)—to the blessing of your immediate family and your future posterity. I so promise and testify in the sacred name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen."

Family Home Evening Ideas:

Sharing Time: I Feel Reverent When I Read the Scriptures

Sharing Time: Study the Book of Mormon

LDS Living FHE Lesson: Choose the Right

LDS Living FHE Lesson: The Book of Mormon

Prepared not Scared Blog: Jesus Christ is the Son of God and he is a God of Miracles, P.S. she has some fun Halloween Ideas she posts during the week!

Service Auction Recap

Our Service Auction was a lot of fun. There were so many fun items donated! It was nice having time to talk, relax, eat, and bid on so many incredible things! Here are some of the things that were donated:

Thanks so much for everything you donated, and for bringing all of the delicious soups & salads. Those who won your items will give you a call!

Service Auction Activity on Tuesday

When: Tuesday, Sept. 21 @ 6:30 p.m.

Where: The church



How it works:

1. Everyone brings an item, usually something they have made (i.e. crafts, treats, or an offer of service) for others to bid on.

2.Upon arrival, you will fill out a service survey. This survey will ask you questions such as How many loads of laundry you did this week, How often you read your scriptures, or If you have read to a child this week. For each answer there is a point value. (For example: If I did 5 loads of wash this week I might get 25 points.)

3. The points earned are used to bid on the items others brought. We have some amazing items sisters have signed up to donate. Baked goods, blankets, cute crafts, a photo session, and tons of other things!If you haven't ever been to a service auctions, you are in for a treat tonight! Please join us for a fun-filled night of bidding and bonding! Hope to see you all there!

Sunday Happenings

Lesson: Ch. 18 Faith in Jesus Christ
Instructor: Sister Hansen

Sister Hansen started out with the question: How would you describe the concept of faith to someone who doesn't have English as their primary language?

• Trust
• Something that gets you through the hard times
• Like the wind- something you can't see but can feel
• Element of truth
• Principle of action (DO)

What are things you act upon each day that you cannot see the end results of? How does fiath move you to action?

• FHE
• Raising Children
• Hope
• Teaching children the right way to live and hoping they will make the correct choices as they get older
• Having faith to accept the answers when they come: "Thy will be done!"

How can we increase our faith?

• We have to know him- Scripture Study, attending church meetings
• Communication- daily prayer
• Action: Put his words into action
• Make the Savior and our Father in Heaven the center of your life
• Have the desire: “But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words."
• Sister Miles shared an example of keeping a journal of experiences when she has known that Heavenly Father was aware of her life. This journal has been a place she could go to, to remember these experiences and help her through hard times.

Family Home Evening Ideas:

Joseph Smith Restored the Church of Jesus Christ: http://preparednotscared.blogspot.com/2010/04/primary-theme-scripture-fhe-jesus.html

LDS Living FHE on Faith: http://www.ldsliving.com/story/4358-fhe-faith

Back to School Relief Society Activity

We want to thank all of you who came to our Back to School Activity on Tuesday night. We hope you enjoyed getting to know one another better, we learned that many of us are night owls and a few of us have tried some very interesting foods! We have so many incredible sisters in our ward....it was fun learning something new about them. Here are some of the questions we asked below:
Assignment #1: Getting to Know You in a Minute
-What was the best day of the past week for you - why?
- Choose a unique item from your wallet and explain why you carry it around.
-If you were given a million dollars and 24 hours to spend it in, (no depositing it in the bank or investing it) what would you buy?
-If you could have an endless supply of any food, what would you get?
-If you were an animal, what would you be and why?
-What’s your favorite thing to do in the summer?
-If you were an ice cream flavor, which one would you be and why?
-If you could visit any place in the world, where would you choose to go and why
-Are you a morning or night person?
-What are your favorite hobbies?
-What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?
-Name one of your favorite things about someone in your family.
-Tell us about a unique or quirky habit of yours.
-If you had to describe yourself using three words, it would be…
-If someone made a movie of your life would it be a drama, a comedy, a romantic-comedy, action film, or science fiction?


Sister Williams kept some of the kids entertained with some children's books. Do you have a favorite book?

Assignment #2: ABCD’s of Money Management

This site has great organizational ideas. She did a section on Money Management for kids, go here to find out more. http://www.simpleorganizedliving.com/category/time-money/
Allowance:
Important for children of all ages to have some of their own money.
Take the time to inform your children what they can do to earn an allowance and then give them a few simple ideas on how to save/spend their allowance.
Try to let them make some of their own financial decisions first!
Beyond Saving:
Teach your children to save some {or most} their money.
Open some type of savings account for kids
Teach your children that it’s OK to spend their money as long as it’s a thought-out decision and not an impulse purchase.
Encourage kids to donate to a charity or sponsor a child from another country
Calculate Costs:
Do your children know how much you spend on groceries, gas, utilities bills, etc? Probably not…and that’s OK.
Try a fun project to put them “in charge” of their back-to-school shopping. Ask them to estimate how much their supplies might cost. Then help them shop (keeping track of prices) and see if they can stay under budget.
Often kids completely underestimate how much everything costs…this might be a fun and education learning experience for them.
Discipline:
Pay Tithing
Teach children to keep track of all their income, spending, saving, giving etc.
Help children set specific goals and then make plans to reach these goals.
Practicing disciplined spending and delayed gratification NOW, will benefit your children later in life.

School Lunch Ideas:

Simple Organized Living Blog: Simple Sack Lunches

Studio 5- Sack Lunch Notes

Studio 5: In the Bag- School lunches made simple & sleek

Good Things Utah: Save on Snack Foods

Sunday Happenings

Lesson: Chapter 16- The Church of Jesus Christ in Former Times
Instructor: Sister Hansen

Article of Faith #6: "We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth."

There are six features covered in this lesson that identify the Church of Jesus Christ:

1. Revelation: "When Jesus Christ established His Church, He personally instructed and directed its leaders." This revelation has not stopped today. What are some of the ways we receive continued revelation?

• General Conference
• Ensign, other Church Magazines
• Proclamation to the Family
• Each of us can receive revelation pertaining to our lives through prayer

2. Authority from God: "The Father gave this authority to Jesus Christ (see Hebrews 5:4-6), who in turn ordained His Apostles and gave them the power and authority of the priesthood (see Luke 9:1-2; Mark 3:14). What blessings come to us because of the priesthood?

• Temple Ordinances, Eternal Families
• Blessings of Healing
• Father's Blessings
• Sacrament
• Restoration of the Church

3. The Church Organization: "The Church of Jesus Christ was a carefully organized unit." What stands out about the way the church is organized?

• Leaders are not paid
• Organized by the Lord
• We are called to serve in callings that bless members of the church
• It is the same no matter where you go around the world

"The New Testament shows that this Church organization was intended to continue. For example, the death of Judas left only eleven Apostles. Soon after Jesus had ascended into heaven, the eleven Apostles met together to choose someone to take the place of Judas. Through revelation from the Holy Ghost, they chose Matthias. (See Acts 1:23–26.) Jesus had set a pattern for twelve Apostles to govern the Church. It seemed clear that the organization was to continue as He had established it."

4. First Principles and Ordinances: Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Gift of the Holy Ghost. Faith is always a principle that is needed, even those that saw the Savior perform miracles needed Faith to know that he was who he said....he wasn't just a man or a prophet....he is the Son of God.

5. Ordinances Performed for the Dead: Why is it important for us to attend the temple?

• To help those who have died receive their Temple Ordinances
• It helps us understand the covenants we have made each time we go

6. Spiritual Gifts: "All faithful members of the Church were entitled to receive gifts of the Spirit. Some of these gifts were faith, including the power to heal and to be healed; prophecy; and visions." What are some of the gifts that people have that have blessed your life?

• Visiting Teachers- knowing when to call or what questions to ask
• Scriptural Understanding
• Missionaries learning a new language
• Service- recognize or be prompted how we can help others in need

Apostasy from the True Church: "This happened while the Apostles were still alive and supervising the young, growing Church. Some members taught ideas from their old pagan or Jewish beliefs instead of the simple truths taught by Jesus." Satan is still trying to make this happen again today in very subtle ways. Sister Hansen shared a quote, "I want to live my life in a way so that when I wake up, Satan says, "Oh no! She's awake!" I hope we can all live our lives in that way.

Family Home Evening Ideas:

LDS Living Magazine: Priesthood Blessings

Sharing Time: Jesus Organized His Church

Sharing Time: I Belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

Sunday Happenings

Lesson: Chapter 15- The Lord's Covenant People
Instructor: Sister Ashby

What is a covenant? "Within the gospel, a covenant means a sacred agreement or mutual promise between God and a person or a group of people. In making a covenant, God promises a blessing for obedience to particular commandments. He sets the terms of His covenants, and He reveals these terms to His prophets. If we choose to obey the terms of the covenant, we receive promised blessings. If we choose not to obey, He withholds the blessings, and in some instances a penalty also is given."

What blessings and responsibilities come to God's covenant people today?

"Along with the blessings we receive as the Lord’s covenant people, we have great responsibilities. The Lord promised Abraham that through his descendants the gospel would be taken to all the earth. We are fulfilling this responsibility through the full-time missionary program of the Church and the missionary work done by the members. This opportunity to preach the gospel to all the world belongs only to the Lord’s Church and His covenant people."

Scriptures to consider:

1 Peter 2: 9-10 "I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise."

Let's review the covenants we've made and strive to fulfill them to the best of our ability so that we may recieve the blessings of Heaven.

Family Home Evening Ideas:

• Sharing Time: I Can Keep My Covenant
• Sharing Time: Clean Again!
• Sharing Time: Baptism, My First Covenant
• Sharing Time: Keeping Promises