Clothing Exchange will be held at the Lehi Stake Center

Church Blessings of Living in the Computer Age

Have you noticed lately how “hastening the work” has been encouraged by the use of computers? It is amazing to watch. I can think of several big things that the average member does differently now than we did even two or three years ago.

1. We read our church magazines on line. It is amazing how much we can read during moments of down–time. We have more freedom to partake wherever we are, whenever we have a few minutes to spare. Conference talks from years ago are stored in memory on the church web site, so we can refer to earlier discourses that we particularly enjoyed in the past. We have more resources to study and they are so easily accessed at home on our laptops or iPads or smart phones. Entire libraries are at our fingertips, literally!
2. And not just church magazines—ditto for our standard works! So much easier to pack our tote bags for meetings with one computer device! They follow us around all day long. Hurray!
3. The worldwide training is now online. Last year when we were first called to the stake Relief Society presidency we enjoyed going to the tabernacle to watch our general leadership present training in person. It was a great experience to sit in that historic balcony and simmer in the spirit of shared testimonies from such outstanding leaders. This March there were no live meetings but we were directed to our computers and can watch and re–watch Sister Burton, Elder Ballard, and all the auxiliary presidents as they teach us how to teach and how to learn. It is nice to hit the replay button if we miss a word or two or if we need to copy the interesting material, thought and questions for later pondering. We are directed to share this information and discuss it in our councils and presidency meetings. That way we still feel the shared spirit from others. We no longer have travel time to worry about or traffic jams and road stress! And this training is open for everyone in the church—we are all leaders.
4. Family history has never been easier. Do you remember the days of submitting names through the mail for temple work? It took months to research even one name, waiting patiently for vital records to arrive back from court houses and relatives. Now there are lots of computer sites you can use to get the information you need for submissions. The newest and best is www.puzilla.org. Not very many people are aware of it, and we would encourage you to “fiddle around” there (as President Bruce Webb used to say). This site is a church site with lots of bonuses! It is connected to Family Tree, and as you enter your own name in the site and sign on, it calculates your descendants for as many generations as you desire, filling the screen with a growing “flower” with the blossoms becoming each ancestor in your tree. As you click on any ancestor, then you have the choice to see that ancestor “in the tree” (their personal data), the descendants of that person, or their ancestors. By clicking on the descendants of your great–great–great grandfather, for example, it shows not only YOU but all of your cousins—the children, grandchildren, great–greats, etc of that ancestor. It also reveals the gaps in your work and leads you to do the temple work where it is needed. It even has a link for research helps that will allow you to view birth certificates, military records, death and marriage records, census records, etc. This website has saved innumerable hours in names submission, because at this site (linked to Family Tree) you submit and then print off the paperwork to take directly to the temple to do the saving ordinances for your relatives. There is even a great tutorial here! 

It is true that we live in an incredible age and we are so grateful for the way our leaders have embraced the technology of the computer to help us. Let us all abandon our fears when dealing with this new world and freely participate with joy!

With great love from,

your Stake Relief Society Presidency

Happy Pioneer Day!

My Heart Sings

  In response to the advise of doctors and health experts, I spend hours training and exercising to keep my heart healthy and strong. And as expected, my heart has strengthened over the years and my efforts seem to have paid off. It is a great feeling to be able to run up a flight of stairs without standing there drooling and panting like an overheated sheepdog. Fitness helps me to lessen the stress and strife that life chucks at me.

 But, you know, I have found there are many challenges, which cannot be fixed with a few barbell lifts. There are those unseen struggles and questions that lurk like thieves in the chilly caverns of my soul and they insist on popping up like weeds on a sunny day. How do I rip those up and build spiritual strength to block their effect? Ah, there’s the rub.

 It must be something both effective and quick. The answer was easy. Hymns. Their message is scripture carried effortlessly into the soul with soothing sounds. Music speaks gently and opens the heart to the spirit. Sing at church, sing in your car, sing at home. You will be amazed at the change in your heart and mind. Think that you cannot sing. Think again. No one says you have to be Whitney Houston to obtain every benefit the hymns offer. If nothing else, try singing in the shower. It will lift up your day. And, if your kids think you have lost your mind, maybe just maybe, they will make you a chocolate cake. Worth it, no?

with love,

The Stake Relief Society Presidency

"Through Relief Society [and Visiting Teaching], we practice being disciples of Christ. We learn what He would have us learn, we do what He would have us do, and we become what He would have us become."   

— Sister Julie B. Beck

Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day, a day filled with mixed emotions by those whom the day is supposed to honor and celebrate. The subject of motherhood is a very tender one and may evoke a large range of feelings from joy (for those first time mothers), gratefulness (for all that our mothers have done for us), guilt (for those with older children because we don’t think we have done enough or done it right), or heartache (for those who may not have yet had the opportunity to have a child.)

Instead, let us as woman toss the emotions listed above aside and instead look at the doctrine of motherhood as has been taught by the Prophets.

In her booklet, Are We Not All Mothers?, Sister Sheri Dew she reminds us that “When we understand the magnitude of motherhood, it becomes clear why prophets have been so protective of woman’s most sacred and divinely appointed role. While we tend to equate motherhood solely with maternity and to, in effect, limit it to that definition, in the Lord’s language the word mother has layers of meaning. Of all the words or titles they could have chosen to define her role and her essence, both God the Father and Adam called Eve “the mother of all living” (Moses 4:26) – and they did so  before she ever bore a child. “And Adam called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living; for thus have I, the Lord God, called the first of all women, which are many” (Moses 4:26).

“Motherhood is more than bearing children, though it is certainly and definitely that. It is the essence of who we are as women. Motherhood defines our very identity, our divine stature and nature, and the unique traits, talents, and tendencies with which our Father endowed us.” (Dew, 5)

President Gordon B. Hinckley stated that “God planted within women something divine” (Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley, 387). That something is the gift of and the gifts associated with motherhood. Elder Matthew Cowley of the Quorum of the Twelve taught that “men have to have something given to them [in mortality] to make them saviors of men, but not mother’s, not women. [They] are born with an inherent right, an inherent authority, to be the saviors of human souls…and the regenerating force in the lives of God’s children.” (Matthew Cowley Speaks, 109)

“Motherhood is not what was left over after our Father blessed His sons with the privilege of priesthood ordination. It was the most ennobling endowment He could give His daughters, a sacred trust that gave woman an unparalleled role in helping His children keep their second estate.” (Dew, 6) As President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., declared, motherhood is “as divinely called, as eternally important in its place as the Priesthood itself.” (Our Wives and Our Mothers in the Eternal Plan, 801)

Sisters, our Father-in-Heaven and His Only Begotten Son have given us a sacred stewardship. Let us rejoice in our divine role of motherhood. May I invite you to look around to see who may need your nurturing touch, your loving support, and your gospel centered influence. In the process we will find joy for as Elder John A. Widtsoe declared, “Where women choose to magnify their motherhood, either direct or vicarious, progress and happiness is the sure result.” (Priesthood and Church Government, 90)

Love,

The Stake Relief Society Presidency

Mother's Day