December Presidency Message

Nineteen years ago I was 8 months pregnant at this time of year with my third child. Uncomfortable and ready to deliver, I was asked to participate in the sacrament meeting Christmas program.  My part was simple.  I was to read a portion of the script that depicted Mary, the earthly mother of the Savior.  I accepted this assignment and didn't think too much about it until a few days before the program when I started reading through my script to prepare.  A new understanding of this sweet woman swept over me as I read through the lines.  As a very pregnant woman, I tried to envision myself on a long journey on the back of a donkey.  An uncomfortable propsition at best.  As a mother who had been through child birth previously, I was aprehensive and at times fearful of the impending painful delivery I would soon experience.  My delivery would be in a clean, warm hospital room surrounded with every help I could possibly need, not in a stable surrounded by live stock and hay and far away from the people I knew and loved and found comfort in.  I felt a great love for Mary as I began to relate to her experience and desired to find ways to have an attitude in keeping with hers.  She allowed the quickening of the spirit to begin her on a jouney that had no prior rules or examples for her to look to.  She knew her child would face a life of hardship and sacrifice that she could not comfort or take away.  She must have been very close to the spirit, humble of heart and full of a unique love of God to have been chosen to be the earthly mother of the only Begotten Son of God. There are so many times since that sacrament meeting Christmas program that I have been frustrated, scared or sad and have turned to my thoughts of who Mary really was and the testimony that she had and I have found such comfort from her life and her experiences. So as we begin this holiday season, it is my hope that the burdens you find in your way may be lightened by the simple thought of a young woman, great with child, on a donkey who knew all things were in God's hands and that even though she didn't know how things were going to turn out or how on earth she was going to make it through these impossible and undefined circumstances ahead of her, she went forward and she trusted God.  I hope you find yourself at the beginning of each day with a desire to make a memory.  I love you, your Relief Society presidency  loves you and we appreciate all you do because it is working and helping! We have the greatest Relief Society on the earth and I am grateful for your contribution to it!

May your December be as awesome as you are!

Bunches of Love

Noelle and the RS presidency.

LS: "Come Join with Us" -Stacy Gurel (11/24/13)

There is no middle ground with the church. It's like the beach. Either you are on the sand, or you are getting wet in the ocean water. Either you are living the gospel principles, or you are not.

What are some of the benefits of being all in and swimming in the church?

• Strength and the Spirit
• Love, belonging, support
• Blessings: "you can't be active and not blessed"
• Priesthood
• Skills from callings
• Structure to children and youth
• Purpose and Family wherever we go

What stops us from inviting everyone around us to enjoy all of these blessings?

• We are not perfect, we may look like hypocrites. =But this only makes us relatable! And the church is not for perfect saints, it is for the perfecting of the saints.
• Questions and wrong information. =But we live by doctrine. We can find the answer with help from missionaries, ward members, etc.
• Afraid of interrupting someone's life. =But the Gospel is life! Jesus is the way of life eternal!
• Time commitment. =But time spent answering questions and serving others can only bless our life.
• Sometimes we need to be patient, we can't expect someone to join the church right after we meet them!

What are some opportunities we can take this time of year. Big or small. How can we stand up and let people know who we are?

• Invite others for family events! Baptisms, missionary farewells, etc.
• Start with our own small circle. Neighbors, co-workers, etc.
• Invite friends over when you have the missionaries over for dinner. Have a barbecue!
• Don't be afraid to mention what you are doing, going to church, having Family Home Evening, etc.
• Make an extra plate of treats to share with neighbors for Family Home Evening
• Invite families to the Mormon Choral and see the beautiful Nativities. 
• Help neighbors and friends with family history
• Have pizza parties with games before youth dances, then they can all go to the dance together
• Invite them to do something with you that you enjoy! Crafting! Photography! Gardening!
• Christmas Cards are a perfect time to share testimony of Christ! Include a scripture or a nice Christmas letter.
• Think of less actives as well as those who are not of our faith
• Make sure you visit teach this month and share some light with your sisters!

"Everyone doesn't need to do EVERYTHING. Everyone just needs to do SOMETHING." -Melisa Wells

Food for School Children!

Our next food item to collect for the Lincoln Junior High School snack packs is the chicken or tuna salad kits. 

 They are a small box on the top shelf in the tuna and canned chicken aisle.  It contains a can of chicken salad or tuna salad and crackers.  Also, if anyone would like to donate candy or a holiday treat since this is for December - we can do candy this month.  The only thing with the candy is we need 40 pieces of it - so please keep that in mind.  All items need to be to Dixie by December 15th.

Lesson Summary - "The Kingdom of God Moves Forward" -Ronny Cerniga (11/17/2013)

1) In fulfillment of prophecy, the Lord has restored His Church on the earth.
-Everyone will know the gospel of Jesus Christ
- The Lord is all powerful

2) The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is built on a sure foundation, and it will continue to move forward in spite of opposition.
- The Lord protects us. Several sisters suggested reading the church article on the missionaries and the typhoon in the Philippines. Here is the link if you would like to read it: 

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865590735/Surviving-the-typhoon-A-story-of-fear-faith-and-what-it-means-to-be-prepared.html 

All 204 Tacloban missionaries together with Elder and Sister Nielson, Elder and Sister Ardern and President and Sister Andaya. (Mormon Pinoy Newsroom)

3) It is time for us to humble ourselves before God and accomplish the work He has entrusted to us.

Ronny did not want to take away from the powerful statements of President Snow, so she had us close our eyes and focus as she read the following:

It is the business of those who profess to be engaged in His work to move on, to go forward, … without murmuring or having to be urged; so long as there remains a step forward to be taken, that step should be taken.¹⁶

It is now time for the Latter-day Saints to humble themselves before the Almighty. … It is time now for the Latter-day Saints to find out wherein they have committed themselves; it is time for the Latter-day Saints to repent of their sins and follies and call upon the Almighty, that His aid may be given; … that we may go forward and accomplish the great work entrusted to our care.¹⁷

We are engaged in the work of God. The prospects before us are glorious, but let us be impressed, in every work of our hands, that we are the servants of God and doing His will. Let not our integrity be impaired, but our faith be continually increased as we proceed through life. I would be satisfied to act where Providence has placed me, and ask the Lord what I can do to aid in building up the kingdom of God in that place, and to assist me to obtain a subsistence for my family.¹⁸

We may increase in knowledge and power, and in our ability to build up the kingdom of God upon the earth, and that, too, by our diligence, our humility and faithfulness to the covenants we have made.¹⁹

It may appear through our ignorance in not understanding fully the ways of the Lord and His purposes, that in our onward march in carrying out the programme before us, we sometimes come to a stopping place for the time being, but the fact is, there is no such thing in the programme, and there cannot be, providing the people continue their labors putting their trust in the promises of God. …

… Let every man be faithful and very diligent in keeping the commandments of God, and cultivate the desire to do good to those around him; and if, in reflecting on the past, we find we have not acted strictly in accordance with the dictates of our consciences and duty, let us make ourselves right before God and man, that we may be prepared for every event that may transpire. Let the work of building temples and houses of worship go on; let [us] continue to educate [our] children and bring them up in the fear of the Lord, and let the Gospel still be carried to the nations afar. …

This is the work of God, and He is directing its course and progress in the earth, and this work should ever be uppermost in our mind; and so long as we are found in the path of duty we can surely remain fixed and unmoved and determined in our purpose, and thus exhibit to the world our faith and devotion to the principles of truth which God has revealed. …

The Lord very possibly may cause a heavy pressure to bear upon us, such as will require great sacrifice at the hands of his people. The question with us is, will we make that sacrifice? This work is the work of the Almighty and the blessings we look for which have been promised, will come after we have proven ourselves and passed through the ordeal. I have no special word to this people that there is, or that there is not, before them a fiery ordeal through which they will be called to pass; the question with me is, am I prepared to receive and put to a right and proper use any blessing the Lord has in store for me in common with His people; or, on the other hand, am I prepared to make any sacrifice that He may require at my hands? I would not give the ashes of a rye straw for any religion that was not worth living for and that was not worth dying for; and I would not give much for the man that was not willing to sacrifice his all for the sake of his religion.

Well, I [say] to one and all, Move on! move on, and see the salvation of the Lord, and not stand still.²⁰ [See suggestion 5 on page 246.]

Blankets!!!

Ladies, I just wanted to let you know that the blankets were received by Sister Ruby Wells in Utah.  She sent a sweet thank you note that I wanted to share with you:
 
Thank you and your sisters so much for the beautiful blankets!  The nurse manager was so excited to receive them. There are many patients on the unit right now and each will be comforted by a soft warm blanket.  Thank you so much for your support and your prayers!
                                                                                     
Love you,                                                                                    
Ruby Wells and Family

 I add my thanks to Sister Well's. 
Thank you for making this night possible for our sisters. 
Thank you for helping us be on the Lord's errand. 

With love and gratitude,
Chris M.

Lesson Summary "Missionary Work" - Lisa Hill (11/10/2013)

Lorenzo Snow- “The Lord had given me a knowledge that He was coming upon the earth, and that there was a preparation necessary to be made: He had given me all that I had asked for, and more; for the baptism which I received of the Holy Ghost and the perfect knowledge then given to me was more real and convincing than my immersion in the cold water; and I felt that there was a responsibility resting upon me. So I shut up my books [and] laid my Latin and Greek aside.”

After making this decision, Lorenzo Snow served a mission in the state of Ohio in 1837. He later served other missions—first in the states of Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, and Ohio, and then in England, Italy, the Hawaiian Islands, the northwestern United States    

1.7 Ways to Share the Gospel

     LIVE YOUR RELIGION. A Latter-day Saint’s life is his or her best sermon. Our conversations ought to be open, genuine, and engaged in with a spirit of kindness. As followers of Jesus Christ, we are most believable when our actions are in harmony with our beliefs. Family praying

2.   ESTABLISH A FOUNDATION. Rather than responding to random questions, it might be helpful to establish a foundation—explain that we embrace Jesus Christ as our Savior and accept the Bible’s teachings, but believe that the Christian world departed from basic truths, and so Christ needed to restore His Church. Chris and Mom

3.   CONNECT THE DOTS. Try to discern the gospel principle at the heart of a question, and connect the answer back to the Savior. We do not need complicated, sophisticated arguments when the principles we try to live by come from the Son of God. Savior

4.   SHARE EXPERIENCES. Answering questions is not about reciting memorized answers. Sharing genuine, personal experiences can invite the Spirit to bear witness and carry the message into the listener’s heart. Sincere prayer will help spiritual experiences to come.   

5.   UNDERSTAND YOUR AUDIENCE. The same conversation isn’t going to work for everyone—we all have different backgrounds. And remember that a casual question doesn’t require a half-hour lecture as a reply. Be sensitive to interest, comfort, and level of understanding. Signal that sensitivity so that those who are curious can feel at ease. Lori

“Ideal Mormons” and “Deep Friendships”

We simply cannot know in advance who will and will not be interested in learning about the Church. We thought we could judge and therefore excluded from our list many people whose lifestyle, habits, or appearance made them seem unlikely candidates. As we reflect upon those who have joined the Church, however, it is clear that few of them would have been on our list of “likely members” when they first encountered the Church.

Many who accept the gospel are troubled or needy (see Alma 32:2–3). Living the gospel transforms them. The only way all people can have the opportunity to choose or reject the gospel of Jesus Christ is for us, without judgment, to invite them to follow the Savior.

This experience also taught us that in most cases we don’t need to transform our relationships into deeper friendships as a prerequisite to inviting others to learn about the gospel. For most of our neighbors, classmates, work associates, store clerks, and those riding on the same bus, this was not necessary.

Full-time missionaries, for example, don’t wait to become friends with their contacts. They talk with everyone. A relationship of trust is built when they have the chance to teach. Over the past 20 years, we have observed no correlation between the depth of a relationship and the probability that a person will be interested in learning about the gospel. But the reverse is almost always true: Everyone who accepts an invitation becomes a closer friend, regardless of whether or not he or she ultimately accepts baptism. We have also learned that even when people decline our invitations, they are not offended if they can feel our love and God’s love when we invite them to learn about Christ’s gospel. They typically have expressed gratitude that we cared enough about them to want to share something so personal and important.

6.   USE RESOURCES. The Church has created online resources that can be helpful for members to share with those who have questions. Church magazines are available online and in print, and items available at distribution centers may be helpful. Sharing a copy of the Book of Mormon may also be appropriate. You can also create an online profile on Mormon.org.  Ensign

 

7.   BE A FORCE FOR GOOD. Members of the Church can help clear up misconceptions and increase understanding of who we are and what we believe. People may see differences between what they believe and what Latter-day Saints believe, but they may also find common ground on which to build better relationships. 

Don't forget the missionaries!

 Just a reminder that there will be holiday boxes for the eight Elders serving from our ward at the ward social this Friday.  We will mail these in time for Christmas delivery.  If you would like, please bring a small treat or gift for each missionary.  There will also be note cards available to write a message that evening. 

Here are some ideas from my Return Missionary Brother:
- Candy they may not be able to afford with a missionary budget
- Pens!
- Conference talks on CD
- Ties!
- LDS Music
-Scarfs or Beanies for cold weather
-Flashlights

The following is a list of our missionaries:

Elder Colin Black 

(departing Dec. 4th)

Columbia 

Elder Connor Cude

California, Santa Rosa 

Elder Connor Hatch

California, Roseville

Elder Kylan Larsen

Dominican Republic

Elder Darian Lupton

Texas, Houston

Elder Riley Miller

Utah, St. George

Elder Darrick Monson

Germany

Elder Aaron Woodcock

Uruguay