Events

Picnic at the Park: Come for a picnic at the Rigby city park on Wednesday, June 18 from 11 a.m to 2 p.m. Bring your own lunch, chairs, shade, or whatever you want to enjoy an afternoon in the park. Children are welcome to come.

Trek is coming soon!

Chapter 10, Our Search for Truth

Opening Song: page 272 Oh Say, What is Truth?
Lesson from the Teachings of the President: Our Search for Truth

President Smith was THIRSTY for gospel knowledge. By the time he was ten years old, he had read the Book of Mormon twice. He read anything he could get his hands on such as the standard works and all the church manuals. He had a gift of comprehension, analyzing, and comprehending. He also received great blessings from studying the scriptures such as: strength, love of God and his work, love of all mankind, and knowledge.

Sister Bosh then split us up in groups by the questions that she gave us. Then we discussed the questions. I will be putting some of the questions next and then adding some of her notes from the lesson plus some wise words from President Smith.

1. What blessings have you noticed as you have studied the gospel?

President Smith said, "So far as the philosophy and wisdom of the world are concerned, they mean nothing unless they conform to the revealed word of God. Any doctrine, whether it comes in the name of religion, science, philosophy, or whatever it may be, if it is in conflict with the revealed word of the Lord, will fail. It may appear plausible. It may be put before you in language that appeals and which you may not be able to answer. It may appear to be established by evidence that you cannot controvert, but all you need to do is to abide your time. Time will level all things. You will find that every doctrine, every principle, no matter how universally believed, if it is not in accord with the divine word of the Lord to his servants, will perish. Nor is it necessary for us to try to stretch the word of the Lord in a vain attempt to make it conform to these theories and teachings. The word of the Lord shall not pass away unfulfilled, but these false doctrines and theories will all fail. Truth, and only truth, will remain when all else has perished. "


2. What can we learn about the balance between secular and spiritual learning?

We should learn something new everyday. The Lord created us with inquiring minds and we should seek the truth. President Smith said,   "You all have inquiring minds and are seeking truth in many fields. I sincerely hope your greatest search is in the realm of spiritual things, because it is there that we are able to gain salvation and make the progress that leads to eternal life in our Father’s kingdom."

3. How can we help family members and others give priority to spiritual knowledge so they can pursue educational goals?

President Smith said, "We have been commanded to study the commandments he has given us in the Doctrine and Covenants, in the Book of Mormon and in all the scriptures, with the promise that “Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection. And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come.” [D&C 130:18–19.]^"

4. What can you do to improve your study of the scriptures?

Six Tips for Successful Scripture Study by Afton Nelson
1. Pray and seek the spirit
2. Look at the maps
3. Look for lists
4. Look for patterns and repititions
5. Look for commandments and promised blessings
6. Look for personal application

5. How can we share the teachings of living prophets with our families and others?

President Smith said, "We sometimes hear the complaint, “I haven’t time.” But we all have time to read and study which is our solemn duty. Can we not arrange to find at least fifteen minutes in each day to devote to systematic reading and reflection? This would be but a trifling amount of time, yet it would be one hour and forty-five minutes in a week; seven and one-half hours in a month of thirty days, and ninety-one hours and a quarter in the year. …"

6. What does it mean to "treasure" up the word of the Lord?

President Smith said, "Treasuring up his word is far more than merely reading it. To treasure it one must not only read and study, but seek in humility and obedience to do the commandments given, and gain the inspiration which the Holy Spirit will impart."

Closing Song: As I Search the Holy Scriptures

Events

Thursday June 5th Relief Society temple trip. Meet at the church at 5:15 to car pool or be at the temple for the 6pm session. Idaho Falls.

Brittney Williams is looking for a steady babysitting job for the summer. Contact her if you need one.

Food Storage - Grains.

Get A Grip

Good evening sisters! I so wish I had a video camera in Relief Society to capture the terrific role play that was performed. I know you are not supposed to take video/pictures in the chapel, but it's ok in the relief society room right? Anyhow, sadly I don't.

Sister Holly Beck gave a fabulous lesson she titled Get A Grip. A grip on the iron rod that is. She started by having someone holding to the rod despite the mists of darkness, devil, and other worldly distractions.

What is the iron rod? In this lesson, it was the scriptures. She referenced 2 talks:

Hold-on by Ann M. Dibb from October 2009 conference

My-soul-delighteth-in-the-scriptures by Julie B. Beck from April 2004 conference

She related the story Ann Dibb started her talk with:

A number of years ago, a one-inch article in my local newspaper caught my attention, and I have remembered it ever since: “Four people were killed and seven workers were rescued after clinging for more than an hour to the underside of a 125-foot-high [38-m] bridge in St. Catharines, Ontario, [Canada,] after the scaffolding they were working on collapsed” (“News Capsules,” Deseret News, June 9, 1993, A2).
I was, and I continue to be, fascinated by this brief story. Shortly after reading this account, I called a family friend who lived in St. Catharines. She explained that the workers had been painting the Garden City Skyway bridge for about a year and were two weeks short of completing the project when the accident happened. After the accident, officials were asked why these men did not have any safety equipment. The answer was simple: they had the equipment; they just chose not to wear it. After the scaffolding gave way, the survivors held on to a one-inch (2.5-cm) lip of steel girder and stood on an eight-inch (20-cm) ledge of steel for over an hour until rescue teams could reach them. One survivor related that as he clung to the bridge, he thought a lot about his family. He said, “I just thank the Lord for me being here today. … It was pretty scary, I tell you” (in Rick Bogacz, “Skyway Horror,” Standard, June 9, 1993).

We have the safety equipment (scriptures) but are we using them? The scriptures are there for us and will help us draw strength. We must actively study the scriptures. It is not enough to just have them in our home or to skim them. We must hold fast to them and study them, making them apart of our everyday life.

These are ways our fellow sisters in relief society study their scriptures.

1. Prayer, pray to find the answers you are searching for
2. Journals and thoughts, keep track of your insights and feelings
3. Read it as a story
4. Study/read by subject. Use the topical guide
5. Figure out who is writing/speaking and familiarize your self with the people
6. Mark for different members of the Godhead
7. Study personally for you. Cross reference. Look up definitions of words
8. Schedule/set a time to read. Make it a priority
9. Mark every reference in the Book of Mormon to Christ
10. Color code your markings. ei - pink = love, green = facts/history
11. Study the scriptures along with the Preach my Gospel manual

Make the resolve to study the scriptures! Do so today, this week. Strengthen your desire to study them.

4th Sunday--conference talks

Hymn 6: Redeemer of Israel

FHE Idea OR could use for YW or YM lesson: The Priesthood Umbrella

Talks: Do We Know What We Have? by Carole Stephens and Power in the Priesthood by Neil L. Anderson

Her lesson came from the talks above. Sister Neilson put two columns on the board to discuss the priesthood. Sisters were able to contribute to the lesson by offering their comments on the information below.

We need (1st Column)
Baptism --it's a new beginning to be clean
Gift of the Holy Ghost -- will attend when we are righteous.
Receive the temple endowment
The sealing ordinances -- can receive the highest degree of glory
Renew covenants each week--taking the sacrament

Priesthood was not given to men to bless their lives but to bless others. She quoted from Anderson, "A man may open the drapes so the warm sunlight comes into the room, but the man does not own the sun or the light or the warmth it brings. The blessings of the priesthood are infinitely greater than the one who is asked to administer the gift."

Priesthood Blessings are for All (2nd Column)
1, What we know about the priesthood

2. We are are alike and can share the same blessings if we are obedient.

3. From the beginning -- the priesthood was known how to be administered.
Then Sister Neilson referenced from the footnotes from Elder Ballard. He stated: “Why are men ordained to priesthood offices and not women? President Gordon B. Hinckley explained that it was the Lord, not man, ‘who designated that men in His Church should hold the priesthood’ and that it was also the Lord who endowed women with ‘capabilities to round out this great and marvelous organization, which is the Church and kingdom of God’ (“Women of the Church,” Ensign, Nov. 1996, 70). When all is said and done, the Lord has not revealed why He has organized His Church as He has.”

(click the picture to take you to a link from a talk from Sheri Dew about the priesthood)

4. Many gifts from God--We know that the power of the holy priesthood does not work independently of faith, the Holy Ghost, and spiritual gifts.

5. Worthiness--We know that worthiness is central to performing and receiving priesthood ordinances.

6. Humility --man must be humble to give blessings

7. The keys of the priesthood--Here's a short story from the talk:

We do not determine the callings we receive.²⁴ I learned this lesson early in my marriage. As a young couple, my wife, Kathy, and I lived in Florida. One Sunday a counselor in the stake presidency explained to me that they felt impressed to call Kathy as an early-morning seminary teacher.

“How will we do it?” I asked. “We have small children, seminary begins at 5:00 a.m., and I am the ward Young Men president.”

The counselor smiled and said, “It will be OK, Brother Andersen. We will call her, and we will release you.”

And that is what happened.

8. The contribution of women --Sister Neilson related this story about the change of the missionary age. Not surprisingly, before President Monson’s prayerful decision about the age change for missionary service, there were many discussions with the general Relief Society, Young Women, and Primary presidencies.

She ran out of time for the rest. Great lesson! 

Hymn 264: Hark, All Ye Nations!

Three Witnesses

Opening Song: Hold to the Rod
Lesson: Witnesses of the Book of Mormon

Sister Bosh presented the lesson with these two quotes.

Quoted from Joseph Fielding Smith: “It seems to me that any member of this Church would never be satisfied until he or she had read the Book of Mormon time and time again and thoroughly considered it so that he or she could bear witness that it is in very deed a record with the inspiration of the Almighty upon it.”

“I started to read the Book of Mormon before I was old enough to be a deacon, and I have been reading it ever since, and I know that it is true.”¹ “I have read it many, many times,” he told the Latter-day Saints. “I have not read it enough. It still contains truths that I still may seek and find, for I have not mastered it, but I know it is true.”

Then she asked what is the purpose of the Book of Mormon? The following are some answers that were given by the sisters:

• Convince the world that Jesus is the Christ
• Show patterns of righteousness
• History of fallen people
• Witness of Christ and the Bible
• Bear testimony
• Bring men to repentance
• Warn people of our day. 

When you read the Book of Mormon, you know that you are reading truth. God directed men to write events as they occurred and He gave them the wisdom and inspiration to do this. The records were written by men who believed in God. These records never fell into the hands of apostates. It is great to know that it is the American volume of scripture, and is just as sacred and inspired as is the Bible, which contains the sacred records of the Hebrew race on the eastern hemisphere.
Their testimony is that they received a visitation of an angel from the presence of the Lord, who laid before them the golden record from whence the Book of Mormon was translated and instructed them. They beheld the engravings upon the plates as the leaves were turned one by one before them, and the voice of God was heard by them declaring from the heavens that the translation was by the gift and power of God, and commanding them to bear record of it to all the world. These three witnesses, through adversity, persecution, and all the vicissitudes of life, always remained true to their testimony that they beheld the plates in the presence of an angel and heard the voice of God speaking to them from the heavens.

Joseph Smith … was alone in the first vision, alone when Moroni brought the message to him, alone when he received the plates; but after that he was not alone. The Lord called other witnesses. Grandmother Smith [Joseph Smith’s mother, Lucy Mack Smith] in her history says that the Prophet came home weeping for joy after the witnesses had beheld the plates under the direction of an angel of God, because, he said, “The load has been lifted and I am no longer alone.”


Here are brief descriptions of these witnesses.

All three [special] witnesses became estranged and left the Church. Oliver Cowdery and Martin Harris came back humbly seeking membership in the Church and both died in full fellowship. David Whitmer remained out of the Church; however, all three of these men remained faithful to the testimony they gave to the world which is found in each copy of the Book of Mormon.

Now let me say something about Martin Harris. … While continuing true to his testimony of the Book of Mormon he was for many years disgruntled with the Church. But some time after the saints came to Utah some of our good brethren went after him, found him and warmed him up, and brought him back. He came out here [to Utah], was re-baptized, and lived here for a number of years, bearing witness of his testimony among the settlements. He died here and was buried [in Clarkston, Utah].

Now we come to Oliver Cowdery. What about Oliver Cowdery, the most important of the three, who was with Joseph Smith so many times at the appearing of angels and the restoration of keys? What about him? He left the Church and became extremely bitter, but never denied the testimony. Some people have said he did, but he did not. Always he was true to that testimony. …

… After the saints were driven from Nauvoo and were out on the plains and everything looked the darkest (Sidney Rigdon said they had gone to their destruction and there was no hope for them, and the newspapers said they could not survive!), under those conditions, Oliver Cowdery … asked to come back to the Church. … He was received back, and was preparing to take a mission to Great Britain when he was taken ill and died. He died at the home of David Whitmer, bearing testimony to the truth.

In closing: All who have sincerely read the Book of Mormon have been impressed with the inspired contents of its pages. … There is an inspiration and feeling of peaceful joy and satisfaction which accompany the sincere and prayerful reading of this book

Closing Song: As I Search the Holy Scriptures

Genealogy, I am doing it!

This week we were able to hear from Sister Shirley Piquet about Genealogy and the importance of doing the work for our dead.

This is a hard lesson to sum up in a simple blog post. But that doesn't mean it isn't important. She shared a poem with us that I thought was powerful.

 

I am just a card in a pile of cards

You may think of me just as a name,

But I have lived on earth the same as you

But my chances were not just the same.

 

I cannot do my own work on earth

How can you mortals be so at ease?

Please drop your work for half a day

And get me those precious keys.

 

That treasured card there in that pile

Should move you mortals to tears,

I have waited and longed for this day to come

For more than a hundred years.

 

If you take my name through the Temple today

Pay strict attention, please.

I have waited so long, so don't fail to get

A single one of my keys.

 

We are blessed to have the gospel in our lives at this time and to be able to attend the Temple for ourselves. Now it is our duty and honor to be able to go to the temple for those who could not go themselves and to do their work.

 

Many years ago I was able to go to the Logan Temple and be proxy for my Great Grandma Catherine to have her sealed to her husband. I was honored to do this, not only because she is my relative, but because I bear her name. I hope that I have done her name and her proud by this act of joining her and her spouse for eternity!

 

There are many resources available to us for family history. Starting June 1st, My Heritage and Ancestory.com will be free to all members. (they are making it easier and easier for us! No excuses ladies!)

 

You can go to Rootsmagic and put in your own record that is private and only you can access.

Kathy Register passed out these booklets to us all, so we can get started on our personal history for our children.

After our lesson a friend posted this and I applied it to genealogy. They will help us with our/their work. We are not doing this alone and our ancestors want these promises, they are going to do all they can to get them, even if it means bopping us on our heads to get us moving and to get it done.

As a final and fun note, Trisha Martin posted this website that will tell you people you are related too. It may be distant, but they are our kin folk! Use your LDS.org sign in to access it. I did it and was amazed. I am related to not only David Bednar but Boyd K. Packer and Joseph Smith. Who'dathunk it!
http://roots-fb.cs.byu.edu/index.html

For any questions, contact Shirley Piquet and or Kathy Register. Both would be more than  happy to get you started on your family history!