Watchmen in the Tower

My Stake will have a new Stake Presidency announced in a few weeks when we have our Stake Conference. Our present Presidency will be given a vote of thanks for their service and have the mantle of this calling removed from them. These good men have devoted untold hours of service and ten years of their lives to this calling.  As watchmen in the tower over this small corner of the world they have guided us around and warned us of the temptations and enticing of the adversary. For those of us who have heeded their teachings we are better people with stronger testimonies.

Richard G. Scott of the Quorom of the Twelve Apostles will be here to attend to this change. He will interview good men in the search for the next leader the Lord will call to shepherd us. One has been prepared through service, testimony and honoring the priesthood. Soon he and his wife and family will face the challenge of accepting this demanding calling. He will call counsellors and they too will start a future as watchmen over this Stake.

I await their guidance and pray that they will be supported and sustained as they accept these callings.

Finding Joy

I have another blog that I write on chronic illness and finding joy in the journey.  http://www.yourchronicle.blogspot.com/  So I have been studying and pondering on ways to find joy in my life. As I've read and put into practice the joy starters that I've found I came across a beautiful talk that gives an eternal perspective on the search for joy.

The following link connects to a talk by Richard G. Scott on finding joy in life.
http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=d5f27cf34f40c010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD

“Now, what do we hear in the gospel which we have received? A voice of gladness! A voice of mercy from heaven; … a voice of gladness for the living and the dead; glad tidings of great joy … Let your hearts rejoice, and be exceedingly glad” (D&C 128:19, 22).

Thanksgiving

Most of All
Thanksgiving Day brings to mind
the blessings in our lives
that usually go unnoticed:
a home that surrounds us
with comfort and protection;
delicious food, for pleasure
in both eating and sharing;
clothes to snuggle up in,
books and good entertainment
to expand our minds;
and freedom to worship our God.
Most of all we are thankful
for our family and friends,
those treasured people
who make our lives extra special.
You are part of that cherished group.
On Thanksgiving, (and every day)
we appreciate you.
Happy Thanksgiving!
By Joanna Fuchs

The Temple

Cardston, Alberta Temple

I was able to visit the Temple today. Some friends gave me a drive there and home. It was so peaceful to spend time there. I love the quiet reverent spirit that abounds in the Temple.

The Temple architecture, decorations, murals and furnishings are all highly symbolic and beautiful. I feel that there is so much more to learn by studying these as well as participating in ordinance work. each time I return I feel I have more knowledge of Heavenly Father and His plan for us.

The following link opens to a page with a video link on the Temple Between Heaven and Earth and also an easy play audio file of the beautiful song What is This Thing That Men Call Death from a poem written by President Hinckley and recorded as a song by Janice Kapp Perry:

http://www.templestudy.com/2008/02/21/what-is-this-thing-that-men-call-death-new-recording-by-janice-kapp-perry/

The Living Christ

Christ lives as a resurrected being. He is my elder brother and my strongest advocate with Heavenly Father. As he suffered in Gethsemane he took upon himself my sins and my infirmities so he knows me intimately. He loves me and wishes only for me to follow after him in righteousness. Through obedience to the commandments I can become worthy to live again with him someday.

Following is a link to a document from The Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints called The Living Christ, the Testimony of the Apostles:
 http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=735b862384d20110VgnVCM100000176f620a____&vgnextoid=e1fa5f74db46c010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD

Here is a link to beautiful paintings of the Savior and his life, ministry and resurrection. Contemplate his many names and roles as you view these. Is he not wonderful?
http://www.dst-corp.com/james/PaintingsOfJesus/NoJS.htm

General Relief Society Meeting

 What a blessing it is to have access to broadcasts such as the General Relief Society Meeting available online. This afternoon I sat and watched this meeting online after I came home from church since I was too tired to go to the broadcast last night. For those of you who have yet to see this message or those who'd like to review what was taught it is available at the following link.http://www.lds.org/broadcast/grsm/0,6220,285-1-41-1741,00.html

The decision to simply call all Relief Society Meetings just "Relief Society Meeting" instead of a complex name describing the content of the meeting was inspired. I love how the sisters and brethren in leadership positions are striving to simplify our programs. It is wonderful how local Relief Society Presidency are allowed to exercise their guidance and inspiration in choosing evening meeting content that meets the needs of the sisters in their ward.

The whole meeting was focused on how to minister to the one.

Review: On the Lord's Errand DVD

On the Lord's Errand is a biographical DVD compilation of the life events and inspiration of President Thomas S. Monson, the Prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I signed this DVD out of the meeting house library and thoroughly enjoyed learning more about this inspired man. His life has been one of service and following the promptings of the Holy Spirit while maintaining a loving family life. Interviews with family and church members highlight this heart warming biography. Archival photographs document the stages of his life's service to the Lord.

I look forward to the upcoming General Conference of the church to hear him speak as directed by the Lord.

An online video preview of the DVD is available at he following link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BISiZEnGQ6Q

The DVD is available from the Church Distribution Center for $4.50 at the following link.
http://www.ldscatalog.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10151&storeId=10151&productId=13855&langId=-1&sortId=3&sortOr=1&sTerm=on+the+lord%27s+erran+&sNVPs=%26beginIndex%3D0%26pageSize%3D200%26searchTerm%3Don%2Bthe%2Blord%2527s%2Berran%2B%26searchType%3DALL%26sType%3DSimple%26pageId%3D1%26pageCt%3D15&retURLtext=Back to%20'on the lord's erran '%20Search&retURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ldscatalog.com%2Fwebapp%2Fwcs%2Fstores%2Fservlet%2FCatalogSearchResultView%3FcatalogId%3D10151%26amp%3BstoreId%3D10151%26amp%3BlangId%3D-1%26beginIndex%3D0%26pageSize%3D200%26searchTerm%3Don%2Bthe%2Blord%2527s%2Berran%2B%26searchType%3DALL%26sType%3DSimple%26pageId%3D1%26pageCt%3D15%26sortId%3D3%26sortOr%3D1

Answering: What are you doing this weekend?

How do you answer when someone ask what you'll be doing on the weekend?  Do you mention church activities like Women's Conference or Sacrament Meeting in your replies? Or do you skip any mention of church?

A simple way to share the gospel is to let our friends and coworkers know about our church activities including service projects.   When we openly share what we are doing at church as well as in our personal lives we open opportunities for conversation and sharing.

My ward recently completed a food drive for the local food bank. Bags were dropped at every house in town and picked up 3 days later. Several nonmember friends and aquaintances happily shared their joy in contributing to this worthy cause by placing a bag of food on their doorstep for pick up. Some members from other churches even helped in the pick up efforts. Food enough to last through Christmas was gathered from the community.

Finding Good Sources for Media

With the beginning of a new season on network TV many of the shows do not meet church standards. Featuring gratuitous sex, bad language, alternative sexual lifestyles these shows are not a good source of clean entertainment. So where can you find better choices for you viewing pleasure? I have found BYU TV a good source of clean shows. Their listings range from Mormon Tabernacle Choir, scrap booking, cooking to football programs.http://www.byu.tv/

A good source for movie and DVD reviews is Movie Guide. http://www.movieguide.org/box-office.html?start=10 They even offer a free e-mail review service. Watch the scores though you really don't want to view anything scoring under a 1. A - sign means leave this DVD on the shelf.

A good source for LDS music is http://www.ldsmusicworld.com/ .

Upcoming General Conference Oct. 3-4, 2009

I am looking forward to the upcoming General Conference. Every six months the leaders of the church speak to us of issues that are important for us at this time. Some of the talks seem repetitive when they reiterate the gospel basics but we need those reminders and reinforcements to remain on or regain the path to righteousness.

Always there is a talk or two that seem to be aimed directly at me and my own concerns and needs. I need to listen again to these talks online http://www.lds.org/broadcast/gc/0,5161,8870,00.html and read them carefully in the Ensign. I then develop a very personal To Do list for the following six months.

Hearing President Monson speak will be the highlight of the weekend. I have a deep affection for this prophet with the soul of a poet. I love his abiding concern for the widowed, poor and lonely. We are so fortunate to be able to benefit from his counsel.

Please join me in watching conference.

Ensign Articles On Blogging

The October 2009 Ensign Magazine includes an article on Finding and Sharing the Gospel Online. Also included are two sidebars on how to Be a Blogging Missionary and Better Blogging: Tips for Safety and Courtesy. What a great new way to reach out to the world and share what we believe. See the following link for access to PDF files of the Ensign. http://www.lds.org/gospellibrary/pdfmagazine/0,7779,592-6-1,00.html

Why should it surprise me that the church chooses to discuss this exciting new medium just as I am exploring it myself? I have chosen to start this blog as part of my own Personal Member Missionary Plan. The pamphlet at the following link explains what a plan consists of and gives a ton of examples of how to start. http://www.sugardoodle.net/Missionary%20Work/Member_Missionary_Handbook.pdf

I thought this blog was a simple way I could reach out to others and share the gospel while living with a chronic illness that often limits my ability to be out in the community. www.yourchronicle.blogspot.com Is my blog on living with a chronic illness and finding joy in the journey.

It's Family Home Evening And I Don't Have a Lesson

 The church Family Home Evening Manual is an excellent resource for planning lessons but after years of FHE they might become repetitive. Starting a lesson from scratch may seem overwhelming and time may be of the essence.

Here is a quick list of 101 Things You Can Do On Family Home Evening. You could even have a FHE  on choosing the upcoming weeks' FHE activities from the list.http://lds.about.com/library/bl/fhe/blfheactivities.htm

With just a piece of poster board and a marker or a white board and marker you can have a fun lesson on Stairways and Superheroes. This lesson is a high interest lesson that is easy to use. Download the pdf file at http://lds.about.com/library/bl/fhe/stairways_and_superheroes.pdf

LDS Living Magazine has a great site for complete lessons including yummy snack recipes. One click and all the planning is done for you. Shopping for the snack ingredients and making the snack could even be part of the lesson.http://www.ldsliving.com/magazine/cat/3/FHE

Of course if the lesson is coming together at the last minute perhaps you may need some lesson planning help with a FHE assignment wheel chart. http://lds.about.com/od/familynight/a/fhe_wheel_chart.htm Making the chart could be tonight's lesson and make next weeks lesson easier to plan.

Keeping Up With the Gospel Doctrine Class

When you are serving in a calling that does not allow you to attend Gospel Doctrine Class it can be difficult to keep current in your study. Even if you make the effort to read it feels like you are missing the real meat of the lessons in not being able to take part in class discussions or receive the teacher's input.

I have found that studying the Gospel Doctrine lessons online have been a big help in me staying current and involved. Bro. Bill Beardall offers online lessons which are more like a Fireside Chat than a bare bones reading assignment. These easy to follow lessons include links to scriptural references. Bro. Beardall is the first to tell you that his lessons are not church approved but he does make all efforts to be sure they are spiritual sound. Check out this site http://beardall2000.com/gospdoct.shtml and I'm sure you will bookmark it for future reference.