TAKING HIS NAME UPON US

As I have been thinking of the great blessing of General Conference, the thought that keeps coming to me is what a magnificent blessing it is to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!  We each had the AWESOME opportunity to be baptized as members and take upon us His name.  While watching Toy Story the other day with young children, I couldn’t help but notice a parallel.  Andy, the little character in the show would engrave “ANDY” on the bottom of each of his toys to show that these were now his.  A similar thing takes place at baptism.  We choose to take upon us the name of Christ.  We literally take on his name.  Therefore we become the body of Christ.  Our eyes become the eyes of Christ.  Our ears become the ears of Christ and our Mouth’s the mouth of Christ.  What are we allowing to enter this holy body?  What are we allowing the body of Christ to see, hear, or say?  Are we forgetting this sacred covenant that we took upon ourselves? In October Conference of 2000 Elder Hales gave a wonderful talk about this very thing.  He reminded us of what we covenanted to at baptism.

 ” When we are baptized, we take upon ourselves the sacred name of Jesus Christ. Taking upon us His name is one of the most significant experiences we have in life. Yet sometimes we pass through that experience without having a full understanding.

How many of our children—how many of us—really understand that when we were baptized we took upon us not only the name of Christ but also the law of obedience?

Each week in sacrament meeting we promise to remember the atoning sacrifice of our Savior as we renew our baptismal covenant. We promise to do as the Savior did—to be obedient to the Father and always keep His commandments. The blessing we receive in return is to always have His Spirit to be with us.”

Unlike Andy in Toy Story we don’t have to write the name on ourselves and it won’t rub off.  We have covenanted to take His name upon us everywhere and in whatever thing we may be part of.  May this knowledge help us to Stand in Holy Places, speak holy words, and to walk in obedience to the commandments of the Lord. May the words of the prophets resonate with us as we watch conference this Month.  May we commit to live up to the name we have taken upon us and may the Spirit of the Lord continue to be with you today and always.

 Much Love, Meg

Broken Things

Greetings from Windy Iowa!!

Hello Sisters!

Just wanted to send you a quick email and let you know that I am thinking of you as I am away at my Grandmother’s funeral events.  This time for me has been a time of much reflection and healing broken relationships.  I am so thankful that God loves broken things and sent his Son, our Savior to atone for all those things both in and out of our control that hurt us and need mending.  I have been listening and singing in my head this song that I thought my touch someone out there tonight!!  

May you be comforted in any trials you might be enduring!!  I love you all and I am so excited to be back with you soon! 

With Love,

Meg

Prayer

Sisters,

Today is a beautiful  Sabbath day.  It was great to go to church and be taught about testimony and then end in Relief Society being taught about prayer which is the means to us gaining a testimony and knowing  it is true.  Sister Heidi Peterson helped facilitate a great discussion on why we pray, where we pray and why we need prayer.  The spirit was there and I was reminded of my testimony of prayer today.

While I was sitting there listening to all you Sister’s sharing such great thoughts I was brought back to remembering the last time I REALLY felt the spirit through prayer.  And even though this is a very personal and sacred experience I want to share it with you as an example that sometimes even when we want something so desperately, and we PLEAD and PRAY for that very thing, even when we think it is our time to receive the answer to that desperate prayer, we need to remember that ‘Faith in God, includes faith in his timing!”  When we keep that perspective in sight, the wait isn’t nearly as grueling as we thought.

I know I share a lot of stories about my dear friend Verna.  But this one is particularly poignant and taught me great perspective. One night she was feeling really sick and she was scared because she didn't understand what was happening to her and her mind. Around 3 am after I got her calmed down she looked at me with those innocent eyes and said, "Will you say a prayer for me?" I said, "I would love to say a prayer with you Verna. But I need to know what it is that you want me to pray for?" at that question Verna grabbed a hold of me and started to offer one of the most humble, faithful, tender and pleading prayers I have EVER been a part of.

I don't remember all the words that she said, but I do remember the words that touched my heart completely. " Heavenly Father, I have been praying to you every day since I was 10 years old. I have been righteous.... I have done everything that I was supposed to do and I am ready to come home..... I am asking you to please take me home." Both of us were crying and I held her in my arms for a few minutes and told her that I loved her. I thought she would go home that night after that heartfelt and humble prayer. It touched me so much. I felt like I was in heaven that night... the veil was so close. I tearfully related that story to her daughter Sherry a few days later and found out that when she was 10 yrs old her Mother died. Of course that is when she started to really pray to her Father in Heaven and have a personal relationship with him.. she needed that comfort and she knew where to go even at 99 for that comfort. Well even after that prayer she still remained for another 3 weeks on this earth. As I said before, I thought there was no way that Heavenly Father couldn’t answer the pleading of his faithful daughter.  But it was not time yet.  Did he eventually come to her rescue?  Yes!  In his time she was relieved of her suffering and was brought home as she requested. 

How many times have each of us felt desperate for that answer that we PLEADED for?  How many times was that answer given to us but it wasn’t in the instant… we may have had to wait awhile?!  I too testify to you Sisters that just as Verna prayed to her Father that early morn with such faith and humility, we too can have that personal relationship with our Father.  We too can plead for him to come to our rescue.  We are all worthy of that rescue.  But if that rescue doesn’t come right away, please don’t think he isn’t listening.. he is.  He is right there with us but sometimes he knows a better way, a better time, a better purpose for our struggling.  Keep the faith!  Be Believing!  Keep those prayers coming.

I will be forever thankful for that early morning example of dear Verna.  It awakened me to the sense of how much WE need our Heavenly Father.  We CAN’T do it alone!  We need his guidance! We need his rescue!

May the Lord be with you this week Sisters.   May you find the comfort you need through your own prayers to deal with the challenges that face you!  The Relief Society Presidency LOVES YOU so much!  Thanks for being you and being the answer to many of the prayers being offered.. you come in form of the answer many times!

Pray Always!

Meg

Good Morning Sisters!!

 I decided that I am going to post the message that I put on the RS newsletter this month for those of you who didn’t get it or didn’t get the chance to read it!!  Please make sure to read through the announcements none the less so that you know all that is going on!  Have a wonderful week!  Much Love, Meg

As I have been thinking of the great blessing of General Conference, the thought that keeps coming to me is what a magnificent blessing it is to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!  We each had the AWESOME opportunity to be baptized as members and take upon us His name.  While watching Toy Story the other day with young children, I couldn’t help but notice a parallel.  Andy, the little character in the show would engrave “ANDY” on the bottom of each of his toys to show that these were now his.  A similar thing takes place at baptism.  We choose to take upon us the name of Christ.  We literally take on his name.  Therefore we become the body of Christ.  Our eyes become the eyes of Christ.  Our ears become the ears of Christ and our Mouth’s the mouth of Christ.  What are we allowing to enter this holy body?  What are we allowing the body of Christ to see, hear, or say?  Are we forgetting this sacred covenant that we took upon ourselves? In October Conference of 2000 Elder Hales gave a wonderful talk about this very thing.  He reminded us of what we covenanted to at baptism.

 ” When we are baptized, we take upon ourselves the sacred name of Jesus Christ. Taking upon us His name is one of the most significant experiences we have in life. Yet sometimes we pass through that experience without having a full understanding.

How many of our children—how many of us—really understand that when we were baptized we took upon us not only the name of Christ but also the law of obedience?

Each week in sacrament meeting we promise to remember the atoning sacrifice of our Savior as we renew our baptismal covenant. We promise to do as the Savior did—to be obedient to the Father and always keep His commandments. The blessing we receive in return is to always have His Spirit to be with us.”

Unlike Andy in Toy Story we don’t have to write the name on ourselves and it won’t rub off.  We have covenanted to take His name upon us everywhere and in whatever thing we may be part of.  May this knowledge help us to Stand in holy places, speak holy words, and to walk in obedience to the commandments of the Lord. May the words of the prophets resonate with us as we watch conference this Month.  May we commit to live up to the name we have taken upon us and may the Spirit of the Lord continue to be with you today and always. (This was written prior to conference but President Uchtdorf talked about similar principles in Sunday morning of Conference.  To read his talk go here: “You are my hands” http://www.lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-1207-23,00.html 

That's what I LOVE about my church!

Sisters,

What a great day we had to learn, worship and feel the spirit together.  I absolutely loved the testimonies that were born and for the spirit that I felt exude from each of you.  Both those who shared experiences of Woman’s Conference and other’s who bore testimony of Sisterhood and the gospel of Jesus Christ, THANK YOU!

This week in Relief Society we had the privilege to have a combined meeting with the Priesthod as we were reminded how to be a member missionary’s . Sometimes we make it seem so much harder than it actually is.  Wade Whiting taught with such zeal for the gospel and the work that you couldn’t help but catch the fire! (Of course I am partial because he has been like family to me for 20 years now and I have always loved his contagious testimony!)

He gave us tools on how to open our mouths and just be us, not try to set up the situation perfectly. His teachings reminded me of lessons I learned as a missionary in Columbus Ohio.  They were so poignant to me that I still think about it with EVERY missionary type experience I have to this day!

Elder Kikuchi of the 70 came through my mission and met with us as missionaries to do some training and introduce a new tracking approach to us.  While he spoke he shared recent (as of 2000) statistics of the church with us.  He said that the church has found that on average it takes a non- member 7 experiences with hearing about our church to let the missionaries in their door.  Hearing about the church could be through just hearing about “mormons”, hearing a commercial or radio spot, seeing a pamphlet or book, having neighbors who are, having a friend who may be, being invited to an activity or class at church or in a members home etc. 

He challenged us that every time that we open our mouths and even just mention who we are, or what church we belong, we are puling off a number!  It might be that as missionaries we would knock on a door and Sally behind the door has heard about our church in 3 different ways and you might pull off that #4.  Or you may meet someone in the grocery store and get into a casual conversation with them and they have never seen nor heard about anything to do about our church and so #1 peels off.  But what about that time that you open your mouth to a neighbor and it is lucky #7 and they inquire and want to know more!

When he taught this to us it was an Ah ha moment for me!  I totally got it!  Why is it that we are so afraid to share something that we are so much apart of?!  Something that has blessed our lives and made us better people?! 

If we remember it as simple as “I will help get them one step closer to letting those missionaries in their door and pull off a number” how much easier than is it for us to share tidbits about the church. 

Wade offered us a great way to start into those conversations and I have personally used this time and time again and it works! It is not offensive and is a subtle way to share your feelings about the church with anyone from stranger to family. 

When having a conversation with someone about a particular topic, work in the words, “That is what I love about my church” as you talk about things that would relate to why we do what we do!  I promise you that it works!  It gets easier and easier the more you practice and you have more and more opportunities open up to you as you put it into practice.  It is as simple as that!

One thing that I like about my church is the close association that I have with all you women.  How great is it that we get to meet together often, that we have support in ways of visiting teachers, activities and great neighbors!  Thank you for being apart of my life.  I am a better person for knowing and associating with each of you, if only everyone in Gilbert was so blessed!

Have a great week!  Keep those lights shining before men!  I am going to Utah to surprise my Mom for Mother’s Day, but I will send you the announcements from Utah next week!  You are wonderful and are loved so much, don’t forget it!

Broken Things

Greetings from Windy Iowa!!

Hello Sisters!

Just wanted to send you a quick email and let you know that I am thinking of you as I am away at my Grandmother’s funeral events.  This time for me has been a time of much reflection and healing broken relationships.  I am so thankful that God loves broken things and sent his Son, our Savior to atone for all those things both in and out of our control that hurt us and need mending.  I have been listening and singing in my head this song that I thought my touch someone out there tonight!!  

May you be comforted in any trials you might be enduring!!  I love you all and I am so excited to be back with you soon! 

With Love,

Meg

Fall of Adam

Happy Spring!

What a beautiful day to be taught the truths about the Fall of Adam.  I never grow weary of being reminded of the Garden of Eden and the necessary actions that took place there.  I am so thankful  for the focus this year going back to the basics. We all have things that we can learn even in the basics of the gospel.  Thank you teachers for turning your lesson’s into discussions which create different learning atmospheres where through the spirit you can be taught even things that aren’t being spoken.

I was reminded of an awesome talk today that I used while in leadership at the EFY program (Especially for Youth).  Every Wednesday night we taught the youth about the Fall.  It was always so surprising what some of the Youth of the church believed happened with the Fall and how confused they were about this principal.  I use the following quote to emphasize that the Fall was a very necessary and good thing and not something that tainted us. We ALL needed the Fall as much as we needed the Atonement to return home to our Father in Heaven.

“The Fall was not a disaster. It wasn’t a mistake or an accident. It was a deliberate part of the plan of salvation. We are God’s spirit “offspring,” sent to earth “innocent” of Adam’s transgression. Yet our Father’s plan subjects us to temptation and misery in this fallen world as the price to comprehend authentic joy. Without tasting the bitter, we actually cannot understand the sweet.  We require mortality’s discipline and refinement as the “next step in [our] development” toward becoming like our Father. But growth means growing pains. It also means learning from our mistakes in a continual process made possible by the Savior’s grace, which He extends both during and “after all we can do.”

Adam and Eve learned constantly from their often harsh experience. They knew how a troubled family feels. Think of Cain and Abel. Yet because of the Atonement, they could learn from their experience without being condemned by it. Christ’s sacrifice didn’t just erase their choices and return them to an Eden of innocence. That would be a story with no plot and no character growth. His plan is developmental—line upon line, step by step, grace for grace.

So if you have problems in your life, don’t assume there is something wrong with you. Struggling with those problems is at the very core of life’s purpose. As we draw close to God, He will show us our weaknesses and through them make us wiser, stronger. If you’re seeing more of your weaknesses, that just might mean you’re moving nearer to God, not farther away.”

Bruce C. Hafen, “The Atonement: All for All,” Ensign, May 2004, 97

We all have problems in our lives.  Times of extreme difficulty where we wonder why things have to be so hard.  If we could only remind ourselves  of the true principle that is taught, “without the bitter we could not experience the sweet… and the Lord’s grace will attend us after all we can do!”

 I am personally experiencing a bitter point with the passing of my OWN Grandma this week and getting ready to go to the funeral in Iowa with not the best situations there to face.  I will be thinking about this and reminding myself to look for the sweetness in this time and to allow learning and growth to come into my life through some of the harsh things going on around me.

I want you to know that I am so thankful that because of the Fall I too am able to fall and be healed through the Atonement of Christ.  He knows all our pains and the aches of our hearts that may not necessarily be our fault. With Faith in Him we will be made whole.

Thank you for the strength that I see in your eyes.  Thank you for enduring hard things so that we can all be taught by one another. Thank you for your unconditional love and charity.

With Admiration!

Meg