Simple ways to Strengthen Home & Family...

Christmas gifts as Simple Reminders -

“The best gift I have ever received came from my grandmother and consists of two items: a pillowcase and a necklace with a locket. Although they are simple items, they mean a lot to me. My name is written on the pillowcase with glow-in-the-dark letters, and below my name it reads, “Did you think to pray?” Whenever I have jumped into bed without praying, the glow-in-the-dark words remind me to kneel and pray.

The locket holds two pictures: one of me and one of the Savior. While the pillowcase reminds me to pray at home, the locket reminds me to be like the Savior at school and other places I go.”

From, “The Best Christmas Gifts,” New Era, December 2007

Well, today is December 1, 2011…

                Yesterday I was thinking about what the best gifts of Christmas are, and so I thought that each day during the month of December I would think about and try to give in some small way…a Christmas gift of my heart…gifts meant to honor our Savior, Jesus Christ.

                A few years ago, I came across an idea that caught my attention, and so I will share this idea with each of you…

It is called, “The Five Gifts of Christmas.”

During the month of December, give a gift from your heart, to five different people: a friend, a stranger, a person in need, the Savior, and an enemy. This last gift is a difficult one, because it requires us to think about someone who may have hurt us, and it requires us to open up our hearts to forgive.  In Matthew 5:44 it says, “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” (from a 2003 BYU Women’s Conference talk entitled “Seeking to Forgive,” by Heidi S. Jones)

I know we honor our Savior and show our love for Him as we learn to walk the path he has walked.  We can do this as we rely on Him and His loving Atonement. His way is the only way to peace and happiness.

As a stake Relief Society, we had the privilege of visiting the 10^th ward RS meeting yesterday and had the opportunity to listen to and feel the spirit from their teacher and all the sisters who were there. Thank you for a wonderful Teaching for our Times lesson centered on President Monson’s talk, “Stand in Holy Places.”

vvvvvvvvvvv

We ‘Stand in Holy Places’ when we “communicate with our Father in Heaven – including our prayers to Him and His inspiration to us – (which) is necessary in order for us to weather the storms and trials of life.”

In his talk, President Monson Also said:

“We must be vigilant in a world which has moved so far from that which is spiritual. It is essential that we reject anything that does not conform to our standards, refusing in the process to surrender that which we desire most: eternal life in the kingdom of God. The storms will still beat at our doors from time to time, for they are an inescapable part of our existence in mortality. We, however, will be far better equipped to deal with them, to learn from them, and to overcome them if we have the gospel at our core and the love of the Savior in our hearts…(and so,) as a means of being in the world but not being of the world, it is necessary that we communicate with our Heavenly Father through prayer…”

Blessing Basket

From – “Gratitude: A Path to Happiness,” Bonnie D. Parkin

Let me share a sweet story with you. A family was going through a difficult time. It was hard for them not to focus on their challenges. The mother wrote: “Our world had completely crumpled, so we turned to Heavenly Father for guidance. Almost immediately we realized that we were surrounded by goodness and were being cheered on from every side. We began as a family to express our gratitude to each other as well as to the Lord daily. A close friend pointed out to me that our family’s ‘blessing basket’ was overflowing. From that conversation came a sort of game, which my children and I grew to love. Before family prayer each night we would talk about how our day had gone and then share with each other all of the many blessings that had been added to our ‘blessing basket.’ The more we expressed gratitude, the more there was to be grateful for. We felt the love of the Lord in a significant way as opportunities for growth presented themselves.”

What would a “blessing basket” add to your family?

“It is as obligatory upon a woman to draw into her life the virtues that are fostered by the Relief Society as it is an obligation for the men to build into their lives the patterns of character fostered by the Priesthood.” 

- President Boyd K. Packer

November Relief Society Newsletter

A couple of weeks ago, when my children were out of school for Fall Break, my daughters and I decided to make a trip to Salt Lake City. Our plans included watching the newly re-made Joseph Smith movie, touring the Beehive house, going to lunch, of course…J and visiting the Relief Society Building. We were in for a real treat!  I thought I would share with you our experience at the Relief Society Building…

As we entered the building, we were met by a sweet sister who became our guide.  She encouraged us to go downstairs to the Resource Room, where we were able to learn more about the women’s auxiliaries of the church… my daughters enjoyed seeing all the things pertaining to Primary and Young Women’s.  The spirit in the room was inspiring, and incredible. As we walked through the Relief Society area and looked at the beautiful pictures and quotes from our church leaders, I felt humbled and blessed.

We finished our tour of the Resource Room and headed upstairs to once again meet our guide. She gave us a quick history of the Relief Society building, telling us that in 1947, Sister Belle S. Spafford, ninth Relief Society general president, had asked each member of the Relief Society, (which at that time numbered 100,000 women) to donate five dollars to build the Relief Society building. She told us how women all over the world had sent in their donations.  She told us that some of the sister’s who could not send money from their country, instead sent beautiful pieces of art to decorate the interior of the building. She took us into a room and showed us many of these works of art and talked about the sacrifices the sisters made to do this.  She then led us into a room which had a long table, with many large binders.  She told us how the names of every Relief Society sister who donated to the building were in those binders! She then encouraged us to look through the binders to see if we could find any of our relatives who may have donated.  Needless to say, we were excited to see if we could find any!  What fun it was, when together with my daughters, we came across the names of some of our grandmothers and great grandmothers!

This experience was an unexpected, sweet, faith – filled moment in time! Immediately I felt gratitude, admiration, and love for my relatives, and all of those sisters who had faith and sacrificed in a time when five dollars probably meant a week’s worth of groceries!  These women and this story are examples to us all. These sisters understood the purposes of Relief Society and new this building was needed in furthering the work of our Heavenly Father.

In reference to this building, Sister Spafford declared: “This achievement represents great monetary value, but not monetary value alone. Herein are represented many intangible values-values of supreme worth-appreciation for the honored position accorded women in the gospel plan; testimony of the divinity of the work of the society; and gratitude for the opportunity given the sisters of the Church to serve…; loyalty to leadership; unselfish devotion to a great cause. It is a reflection of the greatness that is inherent within the society.” (Daughters in My Kingdom, pg.88)

 As I have come to know this part of the history of our organization, I feel a deep appreciation for the sisters of our past.  I feel a greater responsibility and loyalty to this incredible organization of Relief Society… We are truly blessed!

With much love,
Sister Jocelyn Walker

Relief Society Extravaganza -- handouts etc.

I want to get these up as soon as possible because I know you sisters are very excited to have access to these materials. I plan to organize them better and make them easier to print, but I will upload all of them for now so you can access them.


The majority of the handouts are here
The two extra pages for the three month supply class are here
A helpful list of Web sites plus a few recipes for beans are here

The 1st ward's recipe is here:
1 c sour cream
2/3 c mayo
2 t dill weed
2 t parsley
1 t minced dry onion
1 t seasoned salt

There will be one more collection of handouts posted tomorrow morning. Please be patient with me!