Things As They Really Are

Happy Sabbath Sisters!!

Can you believe that the summer is coming to a close?! Next week for most the school year will be starting! One of the great things that comes with a new School Year is new goals. Both individually and as family members. That is why I LOVED the topic that Ashlee prayerfully selected to teach on this month. It is a CES talk that was put in the July Ensign called, “Things as they really are” by Elder David Bednar.

This article focuses a lot on the internet and how it has potential to “lull us into carnal security” as is talked about in 2 Nephi 28:21 or basically Satan tactics work in such a clever way that before we even know it, we are wasting away our time on things that appear to be good, but are taking away the BEST parts of our lives; family time, teaching time, listening time, pondering time.

Some of the examples that we gave that are things that aren’t real (not necessarily are they bad, but if used out of balance, they can take away the BEST parts of our life that we mentioned above.)
• Blogging or Blog Stocking  Blogging is used for so many things and in my family I have seen our relationships grow stronger because people are better able to candidly speak their mind in a safe place. But this can also consume A LOT of your time. You could be so addicted to see what your friends are posting about their kids and “perfect lil families” that you are neglecting important things with you own.
• Games could also fall into this category. If you are constantly playing solitaire, bejeweled, Farmville, family feud or other games that you can play mindlessly by yourself, are you taking away from better things?
• Shopping could fall into this category. Are you going shopping cause your bored, or to fill a need fro retail therapy?
• Grooming. So you go to get a pedicure to ESCAPE a day of badly behaved kids or to get away with a best girlfriend or are you going to keep yourself in order?
• Movies, TV, Video game systems- are they the babysitters of your kids or are you? Do they take away quality CAR TALKING TIME from your kids cause it is just easier to have them on? Are you missing opportunities to teach, talk or giggle with your kids because these have become big distractions in your homes?
There are so many more things we could add to the list of things that have the potential to get us distracted from the real picture! From the REAL things that lead us back to our Father in Heaven, the eternal things. We all know what those are… prayer, family time, scripture study, teaching gospel principles through life experiences, bearing testimony through life experiences.

It all comes down to this. We are all susceptible to the cunning deceiving ways of Lucifer. He can slowly and creatively use GOOD things and make them things that distract us from being who we really are or seeing things and they REALLY are. Something that Elder Bednar said struck me:

 "The Lord KNOWS who WE really are, what WE really think, what WE really do, and who WE really are becoming”

 Because Satan was there with us in the war in Heaven, he too knows who we are, and what we are to become and that is why he tries his HARDEST to make GOOD things to become distractions and wedges in our family relationships and our relationships with our Father in Heaven!

One of the parts to this talk that REALLY stood out to me personally was this.

“Obedience opens the door to the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. And the spiritual gifts and abilities activated by the power of the Holy Ghost enable us to avoid deception—and to see, to feel, to know, to understand, and to remember things as they really are. You and I have been endowed with a greater capacity for obedience precisely for these reasons. Moroni declared:

“Hearken unto the words of the Lord, and ask the Father in the name of Jesus for what things soever ye shall stand in need. Doubt not, but be believing, and begin as in times of old, and come unto the Lord with all your heart, and work out your own salvation with fear and trembling before him.

“Be wise in the days of your probation; strip yourselves of all uncleanness; ask not, that ye may consume it on your lusts, but ask with a firmness unshaken, that ye will yield to no temptation, but that ye will serve the true and living God” (Mormon 9:27–28).

As we heed that inspired counsel, we can and will be blessed to recognize and repel the attacks of the adversary—today and in the days that lie ahead. We can and will fulfill our foreordained responsibilities and contribute to the work of the Lord in all the world.”

We all have weaknesses. We all have things that keep us just a little farther away from God. Things that we are constantly struggling on overcoming. We all have to take these times of the year to RE-EVALUATE where we stand in relationship to our journey home. Where we can make a small change or a course correction that will steer us closer to our eternal home and realign our compass yet again. It’s not hard to do, many of the things we need to change are there right within the walls of our OWN homes. Just small course corrections that can make HUGE differences on the lives of our family members.

“When a man makes war on his own weaknesses he engages in the holiest war that mortals ever wage. The reward that comes from victory in this struggle is the most enduring, most satisfying, and the most exquisite that man ever experiences…The power to do what we ought to so is the greatest freedom” – Bryant Hinckley , father of Gordon B. Hinckley ( That Ye Might Have Joy, p. 83)

Sisters, may we have the courage to evaluate how we are spending our “free time” both in our families and our individual lives and make sure we have the balance that we need to spiritually safeguard ourselves from the threatening of Satan. I am so thankful that we have Prophets, Seers and Revelators in our midst and that they know OUR day and know the things that we need to make it back to our eternal home. May we help, encourage and love each other through our journey home.

WATCHING WITH ALL PERSERVERANCE

Hello Dear Ladies!!

How has your week been?  Are you enduring the heat?!  I have been thinking about you all this week and I am so thankful being surrounded by all the wonderful examples and the  “builders” of people that you all are.  Thank you for showing me how  real woman of God really act.  I love being with and around you woman!

Our lesson today was taught by the ever talented Suzann Garner.  She taught using the talk in this last conference by Elder Bednar called, "Watching with All Perseverance" In this lesson Suzann did a beautiful job talking about spiritual warnings.  She played different earthly warning systems for us and asked us to identify what they were.  Then talked about the warnings that we may feel or see that aren’t necessarily obvious at first. We talked about safeguards that keep us from missing these warnings, such as, our scriptures, prayer, spiritual family conversations etc. 

I have told you all before about my experiences from EFY (since I don’t have kids of my own yet) and one thing they stress to us as counselors is when youth ask questions, take them to the “SOURCE”.  Have them open the source, read what you are teaching, and so that when they are alone, or when they are in need of an IMMEDIATE answers, comfort etc they on their own will seek the RIGHT source.  Of course for sources we have the Book of Mormon and other scripture, Conference talks, For the Strength of Youth, and one of my all time favorite is True to the Faith. These are the things that will help us to:

1.       Talk to our Children

2.       Bear Testimony to them

3.       And invite them to ACT

My mom shared with me the sweetest story that she read out of the friend magazine and I loved how this young 11 yr old KNEW what she believed and how she could gain the spirit to testify about her beliefs.

Courage to Testify

Sophie E., age 11, Utah

Sophie E., “Courage to Testify,” Friend, Mar. 2010, 30

“I visited my grandpa and grandma who are not members of the LDS Church. On Sunday we went to the church where my grandpa preaches. A girl invited me to go to Sunday School with her. The teacher was teaching about “Mormonism.” I knew that what she was teaching was not the truth, and I felt angry. I excused myself from class. Once I was alone I said a prayer to ask Heavenly Father for courage to bear my testimony. When I got back to class, I raised my hand and said, “I am a Mormon.” Suddenly I felt the Spirit really strong and my fear went away completely.

The teacher asked me if I could tell the class why we are called Mormons. I said, “We are called Mormons because we believe in the Book of Mormon.” A girl said that she had started to read the Book of the Mormon but she laughed at it. She asked me how I could believe such a story. Her question hurt my feelings, but I said what was in my heart: “I know it is true because I prayed to Heavenly Father and He told me it was so.” Before this happened I did not think I could share my testimony with so many people who didn’t believe in our Church, but now I know that the Spirit will always give me courage.”

We will all at times in our lives need the “Courage to Testify”.  We will be given those spiritual promptings that tell us we need to open our mouths and share a gospel principle or use an everyday conversation to teach. It  may be with a child, a family member , neighbor, co-worker or someone we barely know.  If we put our life in harmony with receiving those promptings we will be able to turn those around us to the “source” and help them to understand something a little more.  I am so thankful for the blessings that we receive when heed the promptings of the spirit and we add more and more spiritual things into our life! As we do those spiritual things the promptings become richer and we are able to share more of ourselves and our testimonies with others!

Have an amazing week, full of good things my dear sisters!

The Power of the Priesthood

Happy July Sisters!!
I am so sorry that I missed you last week. I actually got sick on the fourth from too much partying with the Layton Bunch (HAHAHA). I went to bed at 8pm and just blanked getting you emailed. I am glad to be back this week with you. What a great month to remember our freedoms and the things that we get to experience as members of the church in this country! We don’t have to hide behind who we are or what we stand for. We don’t have to keep our beliefs in members homes and be silent in public. We don’t have to live in fear that our very lives are in jeopardy because of our beliefs. We just basically have to live them! What an amazing feeling that is for us as Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints.

Today we were taught well by our lovely Michelle Hansen about The Priesthood and the blessings we receive in our life from this worthy holders of God’s power. Many Sister’s shared such touching stories about how it has blessed their lives or the lives of family members directly and I was so filled with gratitude from the things that they shared.

I wanted to share part of my life with you today about how the priesthood has blessed my life and I hope that through writing this will make sense because I have never recorded this is writing.

Many of you know that I was raised by a single Mom alone. My Dad wasn’t in the picture until my adult years. I never had the priesthood in my home and from an early age I recognized the difference of feeling that was from visiting other homes with worthy priesthood holders. It was something that I thought about often but not so sure I expressed it as much through prayer, although I definitely discussed it within my being a lot. I had to come to terms with this emptiness I thought I had as a youth. I longed to be able to KNOW what it felt like to have a Father’s Blessing, what it felt like to wake up sick in the night and have the Priesthood there to administer to you without having to call an uncle, grandpa or ward member out of their homes to do so. I think the Lord knew that this was something that tormented my little soul and he started sending me very SACRED experiences with the Priesthood which helped me understand that this was HIS Priesthood and no matter who the messenger was, HE was the source. I have several experience with this power that I could talk to you about today, very spiritual to me, but the one that came to my mind as you were all sharing today was when my cousin was in need of healing and I was able to witness the true Priesthood at work.

My Mother comes from a family of 11 children in which she is the oldest and the only single one. Growing up “Aunt Kim’s” house was the house to be at! Mom always made it fun and let us destroy, play, create, and eat so we all loved to be there! Mom and I were also the babysitters of the many nieces and nephews she had. At one time in my life my Uncle had just gone through a bad divorce and was working a lot and so Mom and I helped to care for his daughter, who he had full custody of, from when she was still using a bottle. We had been doing this for many years. At one point the courts allowed her mother weekend visitations. She was to get Jessica for a day and had to return her to us at a certain time at night.

On a particular weekend Mom and I were at home (I was about 19) waiting for Jes to arrive home and there was no sign of her. We started getting nervous as to why she wasn’t there. We were watching the news when a breaking story came on that there was a 5 year old girl in ICU at Primary Children’s due to a drug overdose from her Mother. We just had that feeling that it was her and called and confirmed it with the hospital. Another Aunt and I rushed to Salt Lake while Mom stayed home and tried to contact her Father and other family members.

When we got to the hospital and explained who we were, they sat down and talked to us about what had happened to her. They told us that she was with her Mother (who told them she had full custody) and had been put in a bedroom for a nap. On the dresser there were 5 LSD laced candy conversation hearts. This 5 yr old saw them and OF COURSE wanted them. So she ate all 5 (enough to kill an adult). When her Mom came in she found her foaming at the mouth and called 911. They placed Mother in jail and brought Jessica back to life on route to the hospital. They explained that when we went into her room it will be dark and that we needed to talk in the quietest whispers because the drug makes everything so much louder and she is very scared. He also told us that with the amount of LSD she consumed she would most likely experience symptoms her whole life in some form.

As we went entered that dark, cold room my heart was broke. This poor girl was so scared, hiding under her blanket and having horrible hallucinations. When I lifted the blanket she just clung on to me and was crying asking me to help her. I have never seen such heart break in my life to that point. The only thing I could think of is getting her the help I knew ONLY Heavenly Father had to give. My Aunt stayed with her in the room and I went out in search of the Priesthood.

One nice thing about living in Utah is they will page over the loud speaker to have Priesthood holders come to room such and such and people will show up, which was the case this time. We had 2 men show up. One that only spoke Spanish as well as an English speaking man. In my haste and anxiety I just showed them into the room and told them they had to whisper, without giving ANY explanation of what had happened to our sweet Jes. They asked for her full named and the Spanish speaking brother anointed her for her healing and the other was voice. The most overwhelming feeling of peace and comfort came into the room the second he spoke her full name. In the blessing she was told that in her short years of life she had already been given many trials that people don’t go through in a lifetime and that her Heavenly Father wanted her to know that it was not her fault. He told her that she would be blessed because of these trials and that she would be “successful and live a healthy, normal life and would experience no side effects from these drugs.” By the time he closed this priesthood blessing both strangers in the gospel were in tears and kissed her forehead and left the room. They motioned for me to follow them and with tear stained face the English speaking brother said, “what happened to her?” That was the moment that I realized I had never even explained to them why she was even in the hospital. Here this stranger, through the power of the priesthood, granted her to have “no side effects from these drugs” yet he himself had no idea what he ailment was.

I explained to them a little of what had gone on, hugged them and thanked them for being worthy holders that day and went back to attend to my cousin, who by this time had visitors beginning to file in. I want you to know that Jessica miraculously went home the next day, she has never suffered the consequences of those damaging drugs, she graduated from high school with honors and has a full ride scholarship at UVU.

I understand that not all Priesthood blessings end with the result being what all the family hoped for. But for Jessica that is what was supposed to happen as part of Heavenly Father’s plan in her life and she has been blessed even though she was suffering because of someone else’s negligence.

Experiences like this, the ones I have witnessed first hand, have strengthened and developed my unwavering testimony of the power of the Priesthood, God’s power. I KNOW that God has restored his power to the earth through the prophet Joseph Smith. I KNOW that the same power is on the earth today. I know it because I have felt it. I know it because I have seen mighty miracles come as a result of the priesthood. I saw a very sick 5 year old be released from the hospital the day after she was brought back to life. I have seen health restored, faith restored, ordinances restored, all through this same power. It is real. It is available to all of us!

Whether we currently have it in our homes or not, we all have rights to receive the blessings and can do so just by asking a worthy Priesthood holder. As someone who is in that situation still to this day where I have to go out of my home to ask someone to bless me, I will tell you that it is an honor to these holders to bless you. They receive such peace and comfort from blessing you. I have been told thank you by people I have asked for a blessing stating that they love to serve their Heavenly Father in that way.

The only person that you are hurting by not asking for a blessing, regardless of circumstance, is yourself. Such peace and comfort can be felt through this holy power given to worthy men on Earth.

Thank you Michelle for setting such a great atmosphere for sharing today. I loved to hear the blessings that those among us have experienced and it brought in the spirit so strong. I love you all. Enjoy your week and stay as cool as you can!

Meg

The Infinite Atonement

Sisters!

What a great day today was!  We were blessed with awesome talks and stories in Sacrament and then fed and taught well as always in Relief Society!

This month has been so great with all the talking of Christ.  It reminds me of the Scripture, “And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins” 2 Nephi 25:26

Suzann gave us such a visual and heart felt lesson that really turned our thoughts to why WE NEED the Savior and His Atonement. She taught us from the talk by Elder Oaks, “He Lives All Glory to His Name”

“There is an imperative need for each of us to strengthen our understanding of the significance of the Atonement of Jesus Christ so that it will become an unshakable foundation upon which to build our lives. As the world becomes more devoid of foundational standards and as honor, virtue, and purity are increasingly cast aside in the pursuit of appetite, our understanding of and faith in the Atonement of Jesus Christ will provide strength and capacity needed for a successful life. It will also bring confidence in times of trial and peace in moments of turmoil.”

I am so thankful to be reminded of my need for the Atonement.  I use it every day, sometimes without even realizing it.  I use it to NOT get offended, I use it to DO HARD THINGS, I use it to make it through dark hours, I use it to repent of my short comings.  It is all encompassing.  I have felt the strength that Jesus Christ provides at the very moment when I thought I might be able to make anymore, he comes through.  At times when I had so much heartbreak, he has brought peace.  At times when I felt like a no good person, a sinner, he has brought forgiveness.  At times when I have felt no one cared the heavy burden I was carrying, He has brought comfort and relief.

One of the quotes that I turn to and think about a lot when I have NEED of the Savior is by Sheri Dew.  She taught, “Jesus Christ is not our last chance, He is our ONLY chance.  He will show us the way because He IS the way!”

Wow, do we EVER need the Savior.  Every hour, every minute, every second!  I am thankful for his Atonement.  I know that he lives and loves us all.  I know that through him and his part of the plan that I can be forgiven, healed and strengthened through this mortal life.  What a blessing that we know this!  I enclosed the song that Suzann shared with us so you can feel that spirit again.  How I love music in lessons, it brings EVERYTHING home!

Love you all!  See you at finish it night on Tuesday!

Meg

Come To Jesus

This week I thought I would share with you a POWERFUL video that helps us keep the thoughts of the Savior more close in our minds this week. I am so thankful for the Atonement which I lean on daily for peace and reassurance in my life.  We are blessed that not only does it cover our OWN sins that it also covers the times we have been sinned against.   May you be able to forgive or make something right in your lives this week.

I would ALSO feel horrible if I didn't give a shout out to all the "FATHER'S" out there who have children of their own, but also those who may help raise those that come in different ways into their lives.  I am the recipient of MUCH love by many Father's in my life!  I have been blessed by their love and their support of me!

Stay cool in this heat!  Love Meg 

Jesus Christ

Sisters,

What a great fast Sunday we had today.  I was touched by testimony and the teachings of the Savior.  It put me in such a great restful mood for my Sunday nap! Hahaha

Today we had an awesome lesson by our darling Michelle Hansen on The Life of the Savior.  It is always so hard to fit so much into such little time and she did it so well. Some of the highlights that we talked about today

· ·         Jesus is the ONLY on earth to be born of a mortal Mother and an immortal Father. This is why he is called The Only Begotten Son. From His Father he inherited divine powers and from His Mother he inherited mortality and was subject to hunger, thirst, fatigue, pain and death.

·         NO ONE could take the Savior’s life from Him unless HE willed it.  He had power to lay it down and power to take up His body again after dying.

·         Jesus taught people much older than them truths and they were astonished at his teachings for he was only a child of 12yrs of age.  When Mary and Joseph questioned him he answered, “Wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business” (Luke 2:48-49)

·         If we love God, we will trust and obey Him, as Jesus did.  If we love others, we will help them meet their physical and spiritual needs. Jesus spent his life in the service of others.

As I have mentioned before I love that this year is about going back to the basics.  I think it is so important to remember the simple truths of the gospel so that when we are called upon by naysayers we can answer with our testimonies in such a way that they too will be astonished. 

I served my mission in Columbus Ohio.  It is as close to a bible belt as I have ever experienced in my lifetime. 

I was there during the whole process of the temple being built .  Because of the temple coming to Ohio there was A LOT of opposition.  The thing that interested me about the opposition was that many claimed we didn’t believe in the very person our church was named after.  On numerous occasions we were given media referrals (when someone orders the Lamb Of God off a commercial) to which when we arrived to deliver the video we were verbally abused and attacked by an Anti Mormon (who ordered it just to bash with us) on the other side of the door.

One given day we had a referral that we were coming to deliver and were welcomed into the house of what seemed to be a very nice couple’s home.  They opened their door to us and welcomed us in.  Of course as missionaries we were thrilled about this kind of reception.  I was training a new missionary and thought this is a great opportunity to let her take the lead.  I gave her the look and she pulled the video out of her bag and asked them if they had time in which we could watch the video together.  At this time the seemingly kind couple snapped into action and informed us of how wrong we were, how we worshiped Joseph Smith and we weren’t Christian.  They identified themselves as Pastor of the local congregation and wanted to know how we felt good about ourselves to go around LYING to everyone each day.  I could feel the spirit of contention mounting and my companion started to cry.  I rose to my feet and started to excuse ourselves from the home, knowing that no teaching could be done in that kind of hostile environment.

As we approached the patio stairs to leave I had a distinct impression that I needed to ask them if we could leave them with a song.  I walked down another stair and it came to me again.  I was so shocked by this impression cause it was never something I had done before in all 14 months of my mission thus far.    I forced the words out of my mouth and said, “Pastor before we leave could we please leave you with a song?”  He was shocked by my question and said something along the lines like “okay?!”

I looked at my companion and the shocked look in her eyes and opened my mouth and began…

I believe in Christ; he is my King!
With all my heart to him I’ll sing;
I’ll raise my voice in praise and joy,
In grand amens my tongue employ.
I believe in Christ; he is God’s Son.
On earth to dwell his soul did come.
He healed the sick; the dead he raised.
Good works were his; his name be praised.

My companion Sister Miller joined me for the rest of the song.

 I believe in Christ; oh blessed name!
As Mary’s Son he came to reign
’Mid mortal men, his earthly kin,
To save them from the woes of sin.
I believe in Christ, who marked the path,
Who did gain all his Father hath,
Who said to men: “Come, follow me,
That ye, my friends, with God may be.”

I believe in Christ—my Lord, my God!
My feet he plants on gospel sod.
I’ll worship him with all my might;
He is the source of truth and light.
I believe in Christ; he ransoms me.
From Satan’s grasp he sets me free,
And I shall live with joy and love
In his eternal courts above.

I believe in Christ; he stands supreme!
From him I’ll gain my fondest dream;
And while I strive through grief and pain,
His voice is heard: “Ye shall obtain.”
I believe in Christ; so come what may,
With him I’ll stand in that great day
When on this earth he comes again
To rule among the sons of men.

At the conclusion of the song both my companion and I, Pastor and his wife had tears rolling down our faces. The Pastor than asked if we would pray with them and he offered it.  In that prayer I don’t remember every word but I do remember him thanking God that we corrected his impression of us and that we really were who we claimed to be as his representatives and blessed us to have success at proclaiming his word.

I wish I could report that we ever saw him again, or that he wanted to learn more about what he felt that day, but I can’t.  What I can report is that I knew that HE KNEW that WE BELIEVED in Christ and his ministry and that WE BELIEVED that His loved conquered any bad feelings or contentions that were felt that day.  And regardless of our different denominations and backgrounds we were both able to worship through song together.

Sisters, the love of the Lord does conquer any challenge, any task, any obstacles that we may be facing.  It can be the VERY THING that heals wounds that have been created in family relationships, mends the broken hearts that are caused through sin, and even understand depths of sorrow that no other person in our lives can comprehend. I know that when we turn to the scriptures, the temple, prayer and fasting that WE WILL FIND HIM THERE to comfort and guide us.

“But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”

–John 4:14-

On a Spiritual High from Stake Conference? I am!

Dearest Sisters,

I have SOO much on my mind after our AWESOME Stake Conference I don’t know how to put the thoughts into words!  We were WELL FED!  The first thing I want to express is my LOVE for the Stake RS Sisters that were released today.  I have only been here 6 short months, but in that time I have learned to love Sister Briggs and her presidency.  They are a delight and a BRIGHT shinning example as the beacon of light to the world we all should be!  We love them because they first loved us.  They are surely going to missed.

We learned such great things today from Gong back to the Basics for protection from the Satan, to being a member missionary.  Temples and missionary work being preached on fertile land to the paths that we chose and how they color our existence. And then our dear Stake President taught us that sometimes we need to get off the FAST TRACK and stop and smell the roses, before me miss out on things in life that could teach simple lessons or be memory building moments for our families.

I am going to give you some bullets of the notes I got to take.  Unfortunately by the end of Brother Chapman’s thoughts I was fully immersed in kids and wasn’t able to note take anymore.. but for those of you that weren’t able to make it.. you will get the just of what I learned..

President Bean: Would I do this if the Savior stood beside me?

• ·         Daily Prayer will provide us with protection
• ·         Don’t do things that will cause you to JAM THE CHANNELS of communication (BOYD K PACKER TALK)
• ·         An easy way to protect our family and homes from things of the world is to ask our selves: “Would I be doing this if the Savior stood beside me?
• ·         Go back to the BASICS… when we do even just the basics he PROMISED that we will be protected in our lives.

This video goes PERFECTLY with all the talks today but especially this one.. It would be AWESOME to show your family for FHE.. one of my ALL TIME favorite songs!

Brother Wade Whiting: That’s what I LOVE about my church!

• ·         Be a voice of  WARNING to those around you… EXAMPLE is the most powerful voice!
• ·         “Let your life be the lesson that teaches all others” Elder Ballard
• ·         Most converts don’t join because of what the know.  They join because of what they feel, see or like in it’s members- Elder Holland
• ·         If they TRUST the messenger, they TRUST the message!

·         1 NEPHI 8:10 “And it came to pass that I beheld a tree, whose fruit was desirable to make one happy.” If they are attracted to the FRUITS then they will want to see the ROOTS from which the fruit came.

·         That’s what I love about my church! (Talked about a sister in the stake that brought bread to her co workers.  They asked, “how did you learn to bake such AMAZING bread!  She used the token phrase, That’s what I love about my church, it teaches us how to do many things like baking bread!)

·         Let the SPIRIT fill in the blanks!

Sister Briggs: Sister’s you are a powerful source

 Sister Briggs in her farewell testimony wanted all the sisters to know that you ARE A POWERFUL SOURCE!  She talked about how she is living PROOG of the missionary program as a teen all her family converted.  She wanted parents to know that MIRACLES happen with wayward children.

President Chapman:

• ·         What path would you have chosen? (He gave specific examples from his life and others… a choice between BETTER and BEST!)
• ·         Acts: The Savior went about doing good.
• ·         Press Forward with steadfastness in Christ.
• ·         We were sent here not ONLY to do the small things!
• ·         The stakes are TOO high to take the path of least resistance.

·         Mosiah 24:14 Doctrine of Burdens:

“And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions.”

• ·         We are never alone.  When we call out to the Lord in prayer, he will come and help us get through those afflictions!

Oh Sisters!  How we need each other in this life!  How we need to learn, comfort and be there to help each other through these times of much heart break and trial.  Please remember the main lessons we learned today

1. 1.       If the Savior stood beside me, how would I act in this situation.
2. 2.       That’s what I love about my church…
3. 3.       What path would you have chosen

I know when we slow down, and think of all the PEOPLE instead of the TASKS in our life, that we will receive direction and inspiration to bless the lives of others.  One of my investigators on my mission gave me 2 poems that I keep tucked in my scriptures and refer to quite often. They really help me remember the BASICS and thought I would share them with you all tonight! 

Have a GREAT WEEK!  I miss seeing all your gorgeous, radiant and loving faces!  It has been 3 weeks for me since I have been with you!  Can’t wait till next Sunday! 

Wish me luck, I start with my new family of NEWBORN TWINS at 7am!  Thank you Vaughan’s for the referral!

Love, Meg

No Time, Too Much To Do

I knelt to pray but not for long,

I had too much to do.

I had to hurry and get to work

For bills would soon be due.

So I knelt and said a hurried prayer,

And jumped up off my knees.

My Christian duty was now done

My soul could rest at ease.....

All day long I had no time

To spread a word of cheer.

No time to speak of Christ to friends,

They'd laugh at me I'd fear.

No time, no time, too much to do,

That was my constant cry,

No time to give to souls in need

But at last twas time to die.

Then before the Lord was I

I came and stood with downcast eyes.

For in His hands GOD held a book;

It was the "Book Of Life"

GOD looked into His book and said

"Your name I cannot find.

I once was going to write it down...

But never found the time"

Little things in Life that mean a lot

Too often we don't realize
What we have, until it is gone.
Too often we wait too late to say,
"I'm sorry - I was wrong."

Sometimes it seems we hurt the ones
Who're dearest to our hearts,
And allow the little foolish things
To tear our lives apart.

We let the unimportant things
Clutter up our minds,
And then it's often far too late
To see what made us blind.

So be sure that you let people know
How much they mean to you,
Take time to say those special words
Before your time is through.

Be sure that you appreciate
Everything you've got,
And be thankful for the little things
In life that mean a lot!