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I am putting together an activity days lesson on emergency preparedness and am in need of good activity ideas. Can anyone point me in the right direction? I want to make it a fun lesson but also want them to learn how to make emergency plans with thier families. Please help.
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If your ward is splitting it means the gosple is spreading and the church is growing. Be a “unitor” and not a “divider”. Welcome everyone. There should be no clicks. There isn’t room for them in the gosple of Jesus Christ. I’ve been through many branch and ward changes. It will give opprotunities for those that haven’t had a chance to serve or those who get lost in the shuffle of larger wards. As with anything, it’s what you choose to make of it. Your attitude will determine your latitude.
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Been there, done that. It was a mixture of fun and not-so-fun, but it all worked out. The not-so-fun part is losing contact with your old friends. The fun part is making new friends.
People change wards frequently, so it’s no new thing to be in a ward where you don’t know people.
The key is to be outgoing. Take the initiative and introduce yourself. Participate in classes. Attend as many activities as you can. Volunteer at every opportunity.
We tend to be clannish because we like our comfort zone. But when a new person shows interest in what we’re doing, we tend to like them and include them in our activities.
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Girls Camp was amazing this year!!! Our stake theme was “Becoming One” and each ward was to choose a ‘becoming’ theme. We chose “Becoming His” and our symbol was a garden. One leader made darling journals for each girl with quotes, pictures, scriptures, and thoughts for each day of camp as each day had it’s own flower, garden, and purpose. The daily tivodevo (devotional- stop what you are doing- like tivo) followed the daily theme. For example, Tuesday’s flower was a daisy and the theme was purity. There was a matching flower arrangement for each day and flower everything for the week- aprons, tablecloths, hairpins, pens, bags, treats, cooking/ cleaning teams names, cabin names, decorations, and pockets for tree mail. Our faith walk turned out especially good and the girls all referred to it in their testimonies at the end of the week. With all the fun we had, I hope the Spirit they felt during the faith walk is something they always remember.
Here is the original outline for the faith walk- some of it I took from the book “Finding God in the Garden” by Brent and Wendy Top. Sarah modified her part to include how much she loves to sing to her garden and how once she saw her young daughter outside singing her heart out to the garden. One young woman who claims to be atheist was really touched at this part as her grandpa had loved to sing to his garden as well and she really felt that she could feel him there at that time- it was the 2 year anniversary of his death. The girls took their individual walks to the picture of Christ very seriously and reverently- which was only about 10 yards away and our camp scripture was there (Moroni 7:19) with a flashlight on it and of course flowers around. The names are for each leader doing a part. Jackie and Cindy were each leading a group and the other leaders were each at a station just off a dirt road. The setting was beautiful and we used flashlights to mark the path as well as each person had a flashlight- it wasn’t quite dark but we used the flashlights as signals so that we didn’t have to speak unnecessarily.
Faith Walk- Becoming His
Cindy/Jackie
Being in the garden teaches us many lessons that we can relate to the gospel and how pruning, weeding, and care helps us to bloom and grow spiritually. Every day we are cultivating the garden of our souls. This evening you will hear messages learned from the garden from some of your leaders. Please follow me- your guide- and be absolutely quiet as you walk from each garden plot.
Brittany-
When the snow melts each spring, I get out in my garden to do some spring cleaning- get out the decomposing leaves, broken branches, and dead plants. The old and ugly parts must be removed before seeds and plants can be planted. I love to see how much better my garden looks even after just my first spring cleaning of the year. Similarly, our lives can start to collect habits, actions, or thoughts that detract from our beauty and hinder our growth. We can experience spiritual spring cleaning every Sunday as we have an opportunity to carefully examine ourselves, and through the power of the Atonement, clean out the corruption and decay in our lives- whether big and unsightly or small and hidden from view. This kind of spiritual spring cleaning should not happen just in the spring, but it must be perpetual. Repenting and improving each day through the grace and mercy of Christ makes us more pure and spiritually beautiful to the Master Gardener and more capable of bearing the kinds of blooms and fruits that glorify Him. Our lives are like a garden to be presented to the King of Kings as a gift of love and ultimate tribute. The Book of Mormon teaches us to “Offer your whole souls as an offering unto him”. To have our garden prepared to be an offering to our Savior, it requires spring cleaning, summer cleaning, fall cleaning, winter cleaning- in short, continual cleaning. Then we can feel confident that our offering is acceptable. The garden of our souls, humbly presented to the Master Gardener is then prepared for the seeds of faith He desires to sow within us.
Sing- ‘I feel my Savior’s love’
I feel my Savior’s love, in all the world around me
His Spirit warms my soul, through everything I see
He knows I will follow him, give all my life to him.
I feel my Savior’s love, the love He freely gives meChele-
Sunlight is always required for photosynthesis, which is a process that cannot be duplicated by man. This life giving process changes energy from the sun into energy for the plant to grow, produce oxygen, and even bear fruit. The same sunlight shines on rocks with no change or production at all. Like photosynthesis, there is a process in which we are sustained, strengthened, and transformed. The Atonement allows us to experience spiritual photosynthesis- a very real transformation in which the natural man becomes a “new creature in Christ” (2Corinth 5:17). Eyes that have been opened by the Light of the World see the world around them in a new light. Just as plant life cannot be sustained without light and water, our lives cannot be sustained, in the truest sense of the word, without Him. We can no more become what we are intended to become without His grace than grape branches can produce fruit without the vine and sunlight. Truly, He is the Light of Life. Our job is to allow that miracle process to happen- over and over again. As we receive the light of the Son, we can literally change and grow and convert that energy into energy to bless others. As we continue this process, we taste the fruits of the gospel and we are transformed slowly but surely into new creatures in Christ with even greater faith and strength.
Sarah-
I love to spend just a little extra time with my plants to talk to them and really notice the beautiful and uniqueness of each variety of plants. We all know that plants need the light and the warmth of the sun to grow. People are like plants in this way. We all do better in the warmth of an environment filled with love and affection, kindness and consideration, appreciation and respect. The ultimate source of warmth is the Savior himself. The scriptures describe Him as “the light which is in all things, which giveth life to all things”. The more we feel that warmth in our personal lives, the more we will grow spiritually, the deeper the roots of our conversion will be, and the more productive our service to God and our fellowmen will be. As much as I love creating a beautiful garden, I know that the greatest and most long-lasting creations happen daily, hourly, and even moment by moment. With every righteous choice we make, we sow seeds of eternal life. You’ve heard this said another way- Everyday choices that have eternal consequences. When we think uplifting thoughts, our spirits blossom. When we choose to exercise faith, repent, and keep a commandment, we are cultivating something that did not exist before. If we seek to plant and nourish Christ in our hearts, His Spirit will radiate from us. We cultivate light or darkness, loveliness or ugliness within ourselves by the thoughts we develop and the influences we choose. Sow a thought, reap an action; Sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap an eternal destiny. Our everyday choices are a continual process of creating the world we and others inhabit.
Sing- ‘Teach me to walk in the light of His love’- first verse
Teach me to walk in the light of his love, Teach me to pray to my Father above;
Teach me to know of the things that are right; Teach me, teach me to walk in the light.Kellie-
You’ve heard the phrase “ Bloom where you are planted”. Master gardeners know just how and where to plant each tree, flower, and shrub and how to help each grow. How we need to trust our Heavenly Father, who know us so perfectly, that He plants us in places and circumstances that can bring about our greatest growth and result in our greatest good. We can’t control where we are planted, how we are planted, or what the garden down the street looks like, but we can continue to bloom in our own flower bed of life without “murmur, complaint, or unreasonable demands” as President Kimball taught. We can bloom by repenting, loving, serving, and seeking to bring blooms into the lives of others whose allotment in life may be less than our own. Roses, Daffodils, Tulips, Lilacs, and Orchids are each so different, yet still so beautiful. I love that our scripture teaches this message as well. “Wherefore, I beseech of you, sisters, that ye should search that ye may know good from evil and if ye will lay hold upon every good thing, and condemn it not, ye certainly will be a child of Christ.” Moroni 7:19 We must search out the good in our situations and then choose the good without condemning it. Then we can be called the children of Christ!
Megan-
Weeds! Since the days of Adam and Eve weeds have been around to ‘afflict and torment man’! People as well as gardens become better with more effective weed control. Our lives, like our flower beds and vegetable gardens, need to be consistently weeded of those things that not only are unsightly but can also choke out the good by robbing the needed nutrients. Two important principles of weed control are eradication and prevention. Eradication, or getting rid of, weeds is easiest when the weeds are small. Just like sins, as weeds grow, they become harder to pull out. Sometimes a weed looks much like a pretty flower at first. If not nipped in the bud and eradicated while small through repentance and increased obedience to the principles of the gospel, they will become larger and larger. Procrastinating repentance allows the roots to grow deeper and deeper. Fortunately, the Lord has given us the sacrament to help us eliminate the spiritual weeds in our lives while they are yet small. Equally important to weed eradication is weed prevention. President Boyd K. Packer taught “Do not try merely to discard a bad habit or a bad thought, Replace it. When you try to eliminate a bad habit, replace the spot where it used to be with something good. Then if the bad habit tries to return, it will have to fight for attention. I repeat, it is very, very difficult to replace a bad habit just by trying to discard it. Replace it” Keeping our souls healthy and vigorous through daily scripture study and prayer, by consistently keeping the commandments and serving God and our fellowmen prevents a multitude of sins. Repentance is the best spiritual weed whacker and good spiritual health is the best weed preventer.
Sing – ‘If the Savior Stood Beside Me” first verse
If the Savior stood beside me, would I do the things I do?
Would I think of His commandments and try harder to be true?
Would I follow His example? Would I live more righteously
If I could see the Savior standing nigh, watching over me.Jackie/Cindy- (at spot not too far from picture of Christ)
As Alma taught, we plant the seed of faith after hearing the word of God and choosing to act upon it. We cultivate it with prayer, scripture study, service, attendance at our church meetings, and keeping the commandments. We weed it by repentance. We protect it by seeking the guidance of the Spirit. As we do so, our faith grows and our bosom swells, as Alma describes it. Our personal spirituality and capacity increase. President Harold B. Lee once said that a testimony is “as fragile as an orchid”. It must be guarded and watched over. We need to diligently look at how we are either nourishing or destroying our faith every day.
Remind the girls to take the time to record their feelings in their journals. Send them one by one to see the picture of Christ while the rest of the group sings hymns and Primary songs about our Savior together. Then reverently return to our camp. The girls had put their journals in their camp chairs around the fire and wrote before forgetting their feelings and before we did anything else. -
I hope it’s okay if I post this. I found this great talk (link below) on Baptism today. Hope it helps!
http://strongarmor.blogspot.com/2008/07/talk-baptism-for-8-year-olds.html
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I’m looking for Visting Teaching Conference ideas and came across this page. the “Egg” workshop sounds intriguing to me also. Did anyone ever find a copy of this? If so, please e-mail it to me or post it here.
Will be looking forward to hearing from someone! -
I was a first year and this will be a year to remember it all started on monday where the 3 and 4 years and the ycls went up and the u haul carrying all there stuff up caught on fire it was a very interesting and wierd thing. tuesday everyone came up and some with brand new stuff we all got everything pumped and ready I had to bring up my gluten free stuff because of my gluten allergy . wensday was fun and perfect and happy but thursday here comes the rain we had flash floods and golfball sized hail everything is soaked but we walked into the lodge and everyone was singing spiritual songs and you felt the spirit so strongly and I was still in my swimsuit and I was freezing but even cold we got spiritually strengthened then friday the wards campsite next to us the septic tank leaked and it stunk and at night there was supposed to be lightning and thunder storms with golfball sized hail and we had to fit everyone in the platform tents we were sleeping in not fun but it was a very spiritual time and so happy and strengthening so I cant wait fo next years and Im in Vancouver Washingtons West stake so that everyone knows who survived the most spiuritual interesting girls camp ever
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OK so this was my first year and it was OK…..i got to know my big sister and most of all we got secret sister gifts soooo cool. Then we had lots of free time and that was my fave. i went swimming…..walking…..lounging and more…and i especially loved the cabins …was so cozy like a dorm of friends that you feel like your sisters with and ….u got to do whatever u wanted and that was cool….i hated the walking cuz we had the toppp cabin.
But the food was great…..and so were the classes and our little snacks we got in the cabins. We had or i had a terrific time and i cannot wait till next year …also i really loved staying up and our beds and buddies soooo cool!!!!!!!!! And at testimony meeting we were all crying cause we did not want to leave and i understood….IT WAS GR8T!!!– Conyers girl
tajheeta!! -
Do we know President Monson’s favorite food? I do favorite foods of the prophets during the seminary year of D & C and I can’t find a specific food President Monson.
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The first night when me and the girl’s i shared a tent with were really scared, we said a prayer as a whole group to have courage to get through the night and afterwards we decided to read scriptures with each other. I flipped straight to Helamen 5:24 and it says: “And when they saw that they were encircled about with a pillar of fire, and that it burned them not, their hearts did take courage.” After I read this scripture we felt the spirit very strongly and we felt better. This experience helped me to grow stronger spiritually and it will be something that I will treasure for the rest of my life.
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WE JUST RECIEVED OUR BOOKLETS IN PRIMARY TODAY. BELOW IS A BASIC BREAKDOWN FOR ANYONE WHO DOES NOT KNOW YET:
YEARLY THEME: I KNOW THE SCRIPTURES ARE TRUE
YEARLY SCRIPTURE: “FOR MY SOUL DELIGHTETH IN THE SCRIPTURES, AND MY HEART PONDERETH THEM” (2 NEPHI 4:15)JANUARY
THEME: THE SCRIPTURES ARE THE WORD OF GOD
SCRIPTURE: “FEAST UPON THE WORDS OF CHRIST: FOR BEHOLD, THE WORDS OF CHRIST WILL TELL YOU ALL THINGS WHAT YE SHOULD DO” (2 NEPHI 32:3)
SONG: “IF I LISTEN WITH MY HEART”– LISTED ABOVEFEBRUARY
THEME: THE SCRIPTURES TEACH OF HEAVENLY FATHER’S PLAN
SCRIPTURE: “FOR BEHOLD, THIS IS MY WORK AND MY GLORY—TO BRING TO PASS THE IMMORTALITY AND ETERNAL LIFE OF MAN” (MOSES 1:39)
SONG: “I WILL FOLLOW GOD’S PLAN” (CS, 164-165)MARCH
THEME: HEAVENLY FATHER SPEAKS TO US THROUGH HIS PROPHETS
SCRIPTURE: “WHAT I THE LORD HAVE SPOKEN, I HAVE SPOKEN…WHETHER BY MINE OWN VOICE OR BY THE VOICE OF MY SERVANTS, IT IS THE SAME” (D&C 1:38)
SONG: “STAND FOR THE RIGHT (CS, 159)APRIL
THEME: JESUS IS MY SAVIOR AND REDEEMER
SCRIPTURE: “WE BELIEVE THAT THROUGH THE ATONEMENT OF CHRIST, ALL MANKIND MAY BE SAVED, BY OBEDIENCE TO THE LAWS AND ORDINANCES OF THE GOSPEL” (ARTICLES OF FAITH 1:3)
SONG: YOUR CHOICE FROM THE CHILDREN’S SONGBOOKMAY
THEME: THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST HAS BEEN RESTORED
SCRIPTURE: “I SAW TWO PERSONAGES, WHOSE BRIGHTNESS AND GLORY DEFY ALL DESCRIPTION, STANDING ABOVE ME IN THE AIR. ONE OF THEM SPAKE TO UNTO ME, CALLING ME BY NAME AND SAID, POINTING TO THE OTHER—THIS IS MY BELOVED SON. HEAR HIM!” (JOSEPH SMITH—HISTORY 1:17)
SONG: “PRAISE TO THE MAN” VERSES 1 AND 3 (HYMNS, NO. 27)JUNE
THEME: THE FIRST PRINCIPLES AND ORDINANCES OF THE GOSPEL MAKE IT POSSIBLE FOR ME TO LIVE WITH GOD AGAIN.
SCRIPTURE: “WE BELIEVE THAT THE FIRST PRINCIPLES AND ORDINANCES OF THE GOSPEL ARE: FIRST, FAITH IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST; SECOND, REPENTANCE; THIRD, BAPTISM BY IMMERSION FOR THE REMISSION OF SINS; FORTH, LAYING ON OF HANDS FOR THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST” (ARTICLES OF FAITH 1:4)
SONG: YOUR CHOICE FROM TEH CHILDREN’S SONGBOOKJULY
THEME: THE TEMPLE IS A HOUSE OF GOD
SCRIPTURE: “SACRED ORDINANCES AND COVENANTS AVAILABLE IN HOLY TEMPLES MAKE IT POSSIBLE FOR INDIVIDUALS TO RETURN TO THE PRESENCE OF GOD AND FOR FAMILIES TO BE UNITED ETERNALLY.” (“THE FAMILY: A PROCLAMATION TO THE WORD,” PARAGRAPH 3)
SONG: I LOVE TO SEE THE TEMPLE (CS, 95)AUGUST
THEME: MY BODY IS A TEMPLE OF GOD
SCRIPTURE: “KNOW YE KNOT THAT YE ARE THE TEMPLE OF GOD, AND THAT THE SPIRIT OF GOD DWELLETH IN YOU?…THE TEMPLE OF GOD IS HOLY, WHICH TEMPLE YE ARE” (1 CORINTHIANS 3: 16-17)
SONG: THE LORD GAVE ME A TEMPLE (CS, 153)SEPTEMBER
THEME: THE GOSPEL WILL BE PREACHED IN ALL THE WORLD
SCRIPTURE: “THIS GOSPEL SHALL BE PREACHED UNTO EVERY NATION, AND KINDRED, AND TONGUE, AND PEOPLE” (D&C 133:37)OCTOBER
THEME: PRAYER IS REVERENT COMMUNICATION BETWEEN GOD AND ME
SCRIPTURE: “IF ANY OF YOU LACK WISDOM, LET HIM ASK OF GOD, THAT GIVETH TO ALL MEN LIBERALLY, AND UPBRAIDETH NOT; AND IT SHALL BE GIVEN HIM” (JAMES 1:5)NOVEMBER
THEME: REVERENCE IS LOVE AND RESPECT FOR GOD
SCRIPTURE: THOU SHALT LOVE THE LORD THY GOD WITH ALL THY HEART, AND WITH ALL THY SOUL, AND WITH ALL THY MIND” (MATTHEW 22: 37)DECEMBER
THEME: SCRIPTURES TEACH ME ABOUT THE SAVIOR’S BIRTH AND SECOND COMING
SCRIPTURE: “FOR THE SON OF MAN SHALL COME IN THE GLORY OF HIS FATHER WITH HIS ANGELS; AND THEN EH SHALL REWARD EVERY MA ACCORDING TO HIS WORKS” (MATTHEW 16:27) -
WE JUST RECIEVED OUR BOOKLETS IN PRIMARY TODAY. BELOW IS A BASIC BREAKDOWN FOR ANYONE WHO DOES NOT KNOW YET:
YEARLY THEME: I KNOW THE SCRIPTURES ARE TRUE
YEARLY SCRIPTURE: “FOR MY SOUL DELIGHTETH IN THE SCRIPTURES, AND MY HEART PONDERETH THEM” (2 NEPHI 4:15)JANUARY
THEME: THE SCRIPTURES ARE THE WORD OF GOD
SCRIPTURE: “FEAST UPON THE WORDS OF CHRIST: FOR BEHOLD, THE WORDS OF CHRIST WILL TELL YOU ALL THINGS WHAT YE SHOULD DO” (2 NEPHI 32:3)
SONG: “IF I LISTEN WITH MY HEART”– LISTED ABOVEFEBRUARY
THEME: THE SCRIPTURES TEACH OF HEAVENLY FATHER’S PLAN
SCRIPTURE: “FOR BEHOLD, THIS IS MY WORK AND MY GLORY—TO BRING TO PASS THE IMMORTALITY AND ETERNAL LIFE OF MAN” (MOSES 1:39)
SONG: “I WILL FOLLOW GOD’S PLAN” (CS, 164-165)MARCH
THEME: HEAVENLY FATHER SPEAKS TO US THROUGH HIS PROPHETS
SCRIPTURE: “WHAT I THE LORD HAVE SPOKEN, I HAVE SPOKEN…WHETHER BY MINE OWN VOICE OR BY THE VOICE OF MY SERVANTS, IT IS THE SAME” (D&C 1:38)
SONG: “STAND FOR THE RIGHT (CS, 159)APRIL
THEME: JESUS IS MY SAVIOR AND REDEEMER
SCRIPTURE: “WE BELIEVE THAT THROUGH THE ATONEMENT OF CHRIST, ALL MANKIND MAY BE SAVED, BY OBEDIENCE TO THE LAWS AND ORDINANCES OF THE GOSPEL” (ARTICLES OF FAITH 1:3)
SONG: YOUR CHOICE FROM THE CHILDREN’S SONGBOOKMAY
THEME: THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST HAS BEEN RESTORED
SCRIPTURE: “I SAW TWO PERSONAGES, WHOSE BRIGHTNESS AND GLORY DEFY ALL DESCRIPTION, STANDING ABOVE ME IN THE AIR. ONE OF THEM SPAKE TO UNTO ME, CALLING ME BY NAME AND SAID, POINTING TO THE OTHER—THIS IS MY BELOVED SON. HEAR HIM!” (JOSEPH SMITH—HISTORY 1:17)
SONG: “PRAISE TO THE MAN” VERSES 1 AND 3 (HYMNS, NO. 27)JUNE
THEME: THE FIRST PRINCIPLES AND ORDINANCES OF THE GOSPEL MAKE IT POSSIBLE FOR ME TO LIVE WITH GOD AGAIN.
SCRIPTURE: “WE BELIEVE THAT THE FIRST PRINCIPLES AND ORDINANCES OF THE GOSPEL ARE: FIRST, FAITH IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST; SECOND, REPENTANCE; THIRD, BAPTISM BY IMMERSION FOR THE REMISSION OF SINS; FORTH, LAYING ON OF HANDS FOR THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST” (ARTICLES OF FAITH 1:4)
SONG: YOUR CHOICE FROM TEH CHILDREN’S SONGBOOKJULY
THEME: THE TEMPLE IS A HOUSE OF GOD
SCRIPTURE: “SACRED ORDINANCES AND COVENANTS AVAILABLE IN HOLY TEMPLES MAKE IT POSSIBLE FOR INDIVIDUALS TO RETURN TO THE PRESENCE OF GOD AND FOR FAMILIES TO BE UNITED ETERNALLY.” (“THE FAMILY: A PROCLAMATION TO THE WORD,” PARAGRAPH 3)
SONG: I LOVE TO SEE THE TEMPLE (CS, 95)AUGUST
THEME: MY BODY IS A TEMPLE OF GOD
SCRIPTURE: “KNOW YE KNOT THAT YE ARE THE TEMPLE OF GOD, AND THAT THE SPIRIT OF GOD DWELLETH IN YOU?…THE TEMPLE OF GOD IS HOLY, WHICH TEMPLE YE ARE” (1 CORINTHIANS 3: 16-17)
SONG: THE LORD GAVE ME A TEMPLE (CS, 153)SEPTEMBER
THEME: THE GOSPEL WILL BE PREACHED IN ALL THE WORLD
SCRIPTURE: “THIS GOSPEL SHALL BE PREACHED UNTO EVERY NATION, AND KINDRED, AND TONGUE, AND PEOPLE” (D&C 133:37)OCTOBER
THEME: PRAYER IS REVERENT COMMUNICATION BETWEEN GOD AND ME
SCRIPTURE: “IF ANY OF YOU LACK WISDOM, LET HIM ASK OF GOD, THAT GIVETH TO ALL MEN LIBERALLY, AND UPBRAIDETH NOT; AND IT SHALL BE GIVEN HIM” (JAMES 1:5)NOVEMBER
THEME: REVERENCE IS LOVE AND RESPECT FOR GOD
SCRIPTURE: THOU SHALT LOVE THE LORD THY GOD WITH ALL THY HEART, AND WITH ALL THY SOUL, AND WITH ALL THY MIND” (MATTHEW 22: 37)DECEMBER
THEME: SCRIPTURES TEACH ME ABOUT THE SAVIOR’S BIRTH AND SECOND COMING
SCRIPTURE: “FOR THE SON OF MAN SHALL COME IN THE GLORY OF HIS FATHER WITH HIS ANGELS; AND THEN EH SHALL REWARD EVERY MA ACCORDING TO HIS WORKS” (MATTHEW 16:27) -
When I was single and 25, I thought I was the only one who didn’t fit into Relief Society. I was sure I would be fine once I ‘belonged’ among the married sisters. Then I was married and childless for a few years…and thought I would fit in better if I could just have children. Then I was an older first-time mom; later I could have dwelt on being one of the few with several small children at once…but I finally realized every sister has some situation in her life which she can focus on as ‘the reason’ she is different than everyone else. The fact is, we ARE different than each other — and that’s a blessing! If we can just realize every sister sitting there can feel estranged if she focuses on the differences as negatives. If each sister can say, then we can see the thread of opportunity hidden in the unique fabrics of our lives…and Relief Society is a joy.
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This was my fourth year, and my stake went to the Heber Valley Camp. Well, as fourth years we are supposed to go on our fourth year hike, (which always happens to end up being longer than it’s supposed to with our hiking leader), but not just hike, hike with a pack that is 25% of our weight the WHOLE time, sleep overnight in a tent instead of our cabins, and eat food that we had to make or bring instead of the delicious food prepared for us by one of the wards. Also, there were some girls that I didn’t think I would really enjoy hiking with. I was pretty bummed, and wasn’t exactly excited to go on this pilgrimage. But, as we got going I found out it really didn’t feel like anything was on my back really. We started singing and telling stories on the trail. We got to camp, set up, and had a devotional. After that, we played a game with everyone, and that’s when everyone started getting to be more comfortable around each other, and the girl’s that I didn’t really care for and thought were going to be bums about the trip were the ones doing great and having fun the most. That night 6 friends and I slept in a tent together. The night was cold and rainy. None of us actually slept, and everytime someone shifted we could hear it. I was on the edge and was FREEZING. The girl next to me was BURNING she said in the morning, and the girl on her other side was also very cold, and the next was really HOT! We laughed so hard in the morning about that night.
The next morning we packed up and headed back to camp. We were 1 hour or so ahead of schedule so we took a longer route back. One of my friends had been carrying the most weight. She started to struggle very much, and was very tired when we were SO CLOSE! So, one of the leaders took her tent for her. The other leader with us saw what she had done and said, “You can’t take that for her!”. I don’t think anyone else heard but me. And then the leader, Karen, who had taken the bag replied,”No, she’s done.”. As she said, and did these things, it reminded me of our savior. Just when we think we’re done and can’t go on, he comes and lightens our burdens for us. This is probably my favorite story!
Anyways, how this whole story ends is us being really close (let’s say 100 yeards), all of us got the idea to rat our hair, and put mud all over our faces, even the leaders did it! Some of us even decided to put dead leaves, and twigs in our hair. It was the funnest year I’ve had just from this experience! All the girls back at camp looked at us like we were crazy. We even made stories to try to make the beehives think it was really hard! Like I said, it was GREAT fun! I’m very glad I went! :) -
I am doing a cool activity for youngwomen and i need a short talk adout baptism… I’ve been looking around but it’s like i can’t find a realy realy good short but meaning full talk about baptism. Do you think you have something I could use?
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