General Women's Meeting

Last Saturday evening leaders in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints addressed the women in the church ages eight and up. Their messages, which were broadcast to church buildings across the globe, gave direction, encouragement, and hope to those watching the meeting. For today's post, we asked two women--a mother with some kids still at home and some living on their own, and a teenager still in high school--to share the thoughts they had while watching the meeting. 

Janet Tavernier

Everything about the General Women’s Conference is wonderful, but once in a while, I feel an equal

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measure of excitement and melancholy when I watch broadcasts pertaining to General Conference. I have fond memories of the road trips that my family would make together to watch General Conference at our stake center, that was an hour and a half from our home, when I was growing up. Those were very fun times, when my family was all on the same path back to our Heavenly Father. Naturally, now that I am raising a family of my own, I am always excited to hear uplifting messages about Jesus Christ’s love for us, especially when I get to experience it all with my children beside me. However, along with that excitement, there is sadness in knowing that my own mother has chosen to no longer follow the path that she taught me to follow. When the General Young Women’s President, Bonnie Oscarson, talked about a sister in her ward that was called at the age of 81 to be the Mia Maid advisor in the Young Women’s organization, it made me think of my mother, who is not yet even 70 and still has so much to give, if she could just realize how true that is! Sometimes when sisters get older, they begin to feel that they no longer have an important role to perform in the church. This feeling of not being needed can happen at any stage of life, but it is my solemn testimony that every saint can make a great difference, no matter their age! President Henry B. Eyring stated it perfectly when he said, “As daughters of God, you are more alike than you are different”. President Eyring’s words are true no matter how young or old we are. As sisters in Zion, we all have something unique and extraordinary to give throughout every season of our lives; we have only to rely on our Savior, Jesus Christ, to discover our divine gifts and share them with love and happiness. It is my testimony that when we truly understand that we are God’s hands upon the earth, no matter our time of life, our purpose becomes clear and our lives are filled with unmeasurable joy.

Abby Rogers

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Contempt: the feeling that a person or thing is beneath consideration, worthless, or deserving scorn.  Sarcasm: The use of irony to mock or convey contempt or an ironic or satirical remark that seems to be praising someone or something but is really taunting or cutting.  Sarcasm can be used to hurt or offend or can be used for comic effect.  In our time everyone is sarcastic.  Nobody gives sarcasm a second thought.  I have a friend who is a very sarcastic person—she makes sarcastic comments without a second thought.  In the first few months of knowing her, the comments that she made really affected me.  They hurt me even though I knew she was just joking.  I never let her know how much her sarcasm hurt me.  Her comments made me very self-conscious and I began comparing myself with others.  I have four sisters.  All of them are great artist and singers.  They are all really beautiful.  All of my friends are really popular and funny.  And then, there’s me.  I can’t draw or sing.  I’m not very stylish.  I’m really shy and really awkward when it comes to social interaction.  My friend was unaware of how I felt when she would say things like, “Wow Abby, I can’t believe you could be that stupid!” or “Abby you’re such a loner.” or “Abby you’re so pathetic.”  The more I hang out with sarcastic people, the more I compare myself with others.  In the general women’s meeting, Sister Oscarson talked about how as sisters we are hard on ourselves.  As she was talking about how Satan wants us to compare ourselves with each other, I couldn't help but think about what it says in True to the Faith under language:  “Speak kindly and positively about others.  Choose not to insult others or put them down, even in joking.”  Whenever people talk about this part of the booklet, everyone shrugs it off.  They say, “Well if that’s true, then I won’t say anything at all.”  Sitting in the general women’s meeting, hearing all the speakers talk about how we should cleave unto the commandments, I realized that if the prophets have told us to stop, we should not simply shrug it off.  You never know how a much a comment can hurt another.    

Here are some of the highlights from the conference:

How I Got My Testimony

BY: Stephanie Anne Morrison 

Growing up my parents always worked really hard to make our home one that was Christ centered. I will never forget the big framing of Christ that hangs in their entry way, it stood as a reminder to me of what was truly valued in our home. Because of this environment, and because I was blessed to be born into the covenant I think in a lot of ways it is harder to pin point exactly when it was that I got my testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

When I had just turned twelve, my oldest brother called home from his mission in Louisville, KY during Christmas time. He told us all that he was learning so much from the scriptures and challenged us as a family to each individually read the Book of Mormon on our own. Shortly after that President Gordon B. Hinckley issued his own challenge: “I offer a challenge to members of the Church throughout the world and to our friends everywhere to read or reread the Book of Mormon.”

With all of these incentives, I started to personally read from the Book of Mormon each night. Even though I had listened to Sunday school lessons, and heard the stories, much of what I read I was understanding for the first time.

I cannot explain the impact that this new habit of daily personal study brought into my life. I felt more joy in my life and I found myself caught up in the stories of the Lamanites and the Nephites. In December, at the end of that year, I finished reading the Book of Mormon for my first time.

I wanted to follow Moroni’s promise; “…that [if] ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.” I found somewhere quiet and I got down on my knees and prayed to know if the book was true. In those moments I got my answer.

I know without a shadow of a doubt that the Book of Mormon is true. I know that Joseph Smith really did see God and that he helped bring forth the Book of Mormon. I know that Christ is my Savior and that He loves me. I know that I have a Heavenly Father who loves me and who listens to my prayers.

I may not know everything, and I definitely struggle with many things, but this testimony of the gospel has been my rock countless times. I know that if I rely on the Lord, I will never be lead astray. 

I Choose the Eternal

BY: Ashley Kloos

As of October 11, 2013 I have been a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for 3 ½ years. I was baptized April 11, 2010 right after I turned 18. 

The story behind my conversion is an interesting one and I’ll try to keep it short.

Like a lot of converts, I knew people who were members of the church. In middle school I had a few close friends who were Mormon. One friend in particular was very open about being a member. I remember he did his 8th grade history day paper on Joseph Smith. I didn’t know who he was at the time but I thought it was very cool of him to write on someone from his church and I’ll admit I was a little curious although I never did anything about it then.

The first church event that I was invited to and actually went was a chili cook off. I don’t remember much about it but I remember it wasn’t for another two years before I actually read it. I just saw it as a special gift from a good friend.

But when I was a junior in High School my grandma Thomas passed away on Christmas from cancer. Five months later my uncle Mike passed away unexpectedly from a heart attack. From that point on I began doubting what I knew about God and myself. It didn’t hit me until months later that my grandma was really gone but when it did it hurt. A lot. The same friend who gave me my first book of Mormon also continuously invited me to church with him and to meet with the missionaries. For a while things didn’t work out. I avoided meeting with the missionaries and going to church and when I made an appointment I got really sick.

Finally, another close friend convinced me to go to church with her.

Now, I have to admit that my first day in church was the epitome of AWKWARD but I was lucky enough to have some good friends with me and the people in the ward (what we call our local congregation) were friendly. The style of hymns we sing took some getting used to and so did the quietness in which the meetings are held. When I went to Sunday school things changed. I didn’t feel awkward there. I knew some people from school and the teacher was hilarious.

Needless to say I kept going back to church and started taking the missionary discussions. When the missionaries asked me if I wanted to be baptized I was hesitant at first for a few reasons. First of all I would be the only member in my family. I also wasn’t sure if it would really make me happier than I already was. Finally, the biggest thing was I couldn’t get passed the fact that all my life I had been taught that the Bible was the only word of God.

I told my friend this and he spent an entire lunch period with me outside on his car comparing book of Mormon passages with cross references to the Bible. I then went home and really prayed and studied about it and a couple weeks later I got my answer.

Yes there could be more than one true book. I also knew it would make me happier than I had been because I was already happier just learning about it. Lastly, whether or not I was the only member in my family was not important. My love for Christ was. The church also answered questions for me that I had always had but that no one else could give me an answer that made sense. For example, I never understood why churches didn’t have the same literal organization that Christ did in his day. With Christ as the head and then prophets and apostles (the idea that God didn’t need to speak to us the same way in our day didn’t work for me). It also made more sense to me that there isn’t just a heaven and a hell. There are varying degrees of good and evil in the world so why shouldn’t there be in the next life too?

There are so many things I love about this church but the biggest thing by far is that families CAN be eternal. I say can because there are things we have to do to in order to get there and we have to make good choices. This eternal nature of things is what gives me the chance to have children that can grow up with a mother AND a father who love each other (something I didn’t have) and know that they are loved. My mother did the best she could for me and my sisters but I know it would have been easier for her if she had be a man who loved her and helped her.

I have now been blessed with the opportunity to start my own eternal family. I met my husband at a single adults New Year’s dance in January 2012 and he asked me to marry him 6 months later on the Cliffside of a waterfall on Hamilton Mountain.

We got married September 14, 2013 in the Portland, OR temple. We are both converts AND the only members in our families. But now we have a family where EVERYONE is a member and someday our children will be blessed because they know their mom and dad love each other and Heavenly Father.

I’d like to close with the chorus from a simple yet very powerful hymn called Families Can Be together Forever:

Fam'lies can be together forever

Through Heav'nly Father's plan.

I always want to be with my own family,

And the Lord has shown me how I can.

The Lord has shown me how I can.

Spiritual Gifts

BY: Kristyn Morgan

Lists. Christmas is full of lists. Guest lists, grocery lists, cleaning lists, to do lists, and the ever favorite, gift lists. Currently on my fridge are the wish lists for 4 children and it caused me to reflect about what gifts are the most meaningful to me. I have many gifts: a great husband, six wonderful kids, good parents, a calling I enjoy, good friends, my membership in this church and a thousand more things. Yet as I was preparing for a young womenʼs lesson this week I realized the importance of gifts that I tend to over look--spiritual gifts.

In Doctrine and Covenants 46:11-12 it states: 

"...and to every man is given a gift by the Spirit of God. 

To some is given another, that all may be profited thereby."

In True to the Faith we learn the following:

“ Spiritual gifts are blessings or abilities that are given by the power of the Holy Ghost. God gives at least one of these gifts to every faithful member of the church.” 

I would also argue that everyone can be blessed with spiritual gifts at one time or another in their lives. These gifts are plentiful and can include things such as the gift of wisdom, of testimony, of language, the ability to teach, to be taught, healing, faith, the ability to work miracles and on and on. So as I pondered this I thought back to an instance where I have been blessed with a spiritual gift in my own life.

Several years ago I was privileged to serve on a committee that was responsible for organizing a 7 stake youth dance festival. This was an enormous undertaking that required me to plan and organize the dance practices, costuming, housing and more for the youth in our stake. It involved lots of lists--an insane amount of lists and to be quite honest I did not really consider myself a super organized person. One of my biggest struggles had been computer skills, particularly using Microsoft EXCEL. It just literally made no sense to me. Iʼd tried before and just ended up frustrated to no end. But the Lord really does work in mysterious ways and he cares about us and whatʼs important to us even when it seems as inconsequential as spreadsheets. I donʼt know how else to describe it except to say that one day after being set apart and praying to the Lord about my needs I sat down at the computer and it all made perfect sense. I knew not only how to create the necessary lists but how to sort them, color code them, email them and print them--all things which had previously eluded me. Now, some would say that was a coincidence but I know better. I can say without question that the Lord granted me with that spiritual gift at a time when He knew that I needed it.

I have found that this spiritual gift continues to grow and improve as I use it to bless the lives of others--in my church, my family and my community and itʼs opened my eyes to the spiritual gifts bestowed on my family and friends. I have a friend who always seems to know when someone needs a meal. There is another who has the ability to see the good in anyone. One of my sons shows great compassion for those who have less than us. I know of a young woman who always seems cheerful and makes any other young woman feel like a friend. My grandparents were blessed with the gift of charity and took meals for years to widows in their small town. The list goes on and on and yet, I find that at times I forget to recognize and thank my Heavenly Father for these most important gifts and so, at this Christmas season as I labor over all of my to do lists, Iʼm going to take a minute to reflect on the greatest gifts He gives us. May we all be blessed with the clarity to see our spiritual gifts and use them to serve Him.

The Spirit of Christmas

Designed and Created by: Corina Sorensen

Sorry to be MIA this past week (tis the season to be busy!) But we're back now, and to celebrate the Christmas season, we have this beautiful graphic to share with you! How do you plan to keep the spirit of Christmas in your life this season?  

Stay tuned for more great things to come!

Strengthening Our Forever Families

BY: Calorine Faulkner

According to the Bible Dictionary, the home is the second most sacred type of building on Earth. It is the only type of building that compares to the temple in sacredness. The two most sacred types of buildings on this Earth are temples and homes. Why is that? What makes them similar?

Well. They are both places of learning and refuge. We go to the temple and to our homes for peace. The ideal home is a place where we can feel the spirit, where we can feel the love of our Father in Heaven and where we can gain strength to fight in the battle against Satan going on outside. We try to make our homes places where we are less vulnerable to temptation. We try to keep Satan's influence from coming in.

How can we make our homes the sacred places that they are designed to be? What does that environment look like? I think of my favorite primary song “Love is Spoken Here” and the lyrics “I can often feel the Savior near when love is spoken here.”

When we truly love like Christ does, we have charity. Moroni 7:45 and 48 read

“ And charity suffereth long, and is kind, envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Wherefore, my beloved brethren pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen.”

  

Charity is hard. It takes a lifetime to develop, and of course we should have charity for all people. Still, I think that our homes are the most important places to show charity. Because our homes and the relationships that we develop in them are so sacred, we need to take great care to respect and protect them.

The Family: A Proclamation to the World states:

“Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities.”

This is not to say that homes that are not centered on Christ experience no happiness and are not sacred places. But the happiness that we find in our homes comes only through the influence of Christ and His atonement. We feel it when we yield to the light of Christ and make sacrifices for others, forgive others, and emulate Him through righteous behavior. We can increase it by centering our lives on faith in Christ and following correct principles. By making covenants and living in such a way that we are entitled to the peace and security that the spirit brings all the time.

The Power of Prayer

BY: Anonymous

I love to pray.  Ever since I was little, I have enjoyed the act of communicating with my Heavenly Father.  I have a firm belief and understanding that prayers are truly answered.  When you pray with faith (believing that your prayer will be answered) it will be answered.  I have had many experiences in my life where my prayers have been answered.  For example, when I was in high school, my father lost his job.  Shortly after my father lost employment one of my sibling’s was having a lot of medical problems.  This was a very difficult time in my life.  Every night I would pray to my Heavenly Father that everything would work out, and that we would be able to afford the necessary things in our lives.  After months of prayer, I received an answer that things were going to work out.  My prayers were answered, not at first, but eventually my father was able to find some employment and my sibling’s medical condition became much better.  I share with you this story, because I want you to know that prayers truly are answered.  It may take some time, but Heavenly Father loves you and will answer your righteous desires and yearnings.  Please, try and spend some time communicating with Heavenly Father and I know that you will be blessed and that you will be happier.