First Presidency Message
Love at Home—Counsel from Our Prophet
Love at Home
Blessed Family Life
“When
we have sampled much and have wandered far and have seen how fleeting
and sometimes superficial a lot of the world is, our gratitude
grows for the privilege of being part of something we can count on—home
and family and the loyalty of loved ones. We come to know what it means
to be bound together by duty, by respect, by belonging. We learn that
nothing can fully take the place of the blessed relationship of family
life.”1
Sharing Our Love
“Give
your child a compliment and a hug; say, ‘I love you’ more; always
express your thanks. Never let a problem to be solved become more
important than a person to be loved. Friends move away, children grow
up, loved ones pass on. It’s so easy to take others for granted, until
that day when they’re gone from our lives and we are left with feelings
of ‘what if’ and ‘if only.’ …
“Let
us relish life as we live it, find joy in the journey and share our
love with friends and family. One day, each of us will run out of
tomorrows. Let us not put off what is most important.”2
Showing Our Love
“Brethren,
let’s treat our wives with dignity and with respect. They’re our
eternal companions. Sisters, honor your husbands. They need to hear a
good word. They need a friendly smile. They need a warm expression of
true love. …
“To
you who are parents, I say, show love to your children. You know you
love them, but make certain they know it as well. They are so precious.
Let them know. Call upon our Heavenly Father for help as you care for
their needs each day and as you deal with the challenges which
inevitably come with parenthood. You need more than your own wisdom in
rearing them.”3
Expressing Our Love
“To
you parents, express your love to your children. Pray for them that
they may be able to withstand the evils of the world. Pray that they may
grow in faith and testimony. Pray that they may pursue lives of
goodness and of service to others.
“Children,
let your parents know you love them. Let them know how much you
appreciate all they have done and continue to do for you.”4
What Is Most Important
“What is most important almost always involves the people around us. Often we assume that they must
know how much we love them. But we should never assume; we should let
them know. Wrote William Shakespeare, ‘They do not love that do not show
their love.’ We will never regret the kind words spoken or the
affection shown. Rather, our regrets will come if such things are
omitted from our relationships with those who mean the most to us.”5
Bringing Heaven Closer
“May
our families and homes be filled with love: love of each other, love of
the gospel, love of our fellowman, and love of our Savior. As a result,
heaven will be a little closer here on earth.
“May we make of our homes sanctuaries to which our family members will ever want to return.”6
A Prayer for Families
“Inasmuch
as the family unit is under attack in the world today, and many things
long held sacred are ridiculed, we ask Thee, our Father, to make us
equal to the challenges we face, that we may stand strong for truth and
righteousness. May our homes be havens of peace, of love and of
spirituality.”7
Teaching from This Message
In
one type of learning activity, “the teacher presents a question or
situation and gives learners a short amount of time to freely suggest
solutions or ideas” (Teaching, No Greater Call
[1999], 160). As you read this article with the family, ask them to
listen for counsel or ideas that impress them. Family members could then
suggest ways to increase love in their home. Consider inviting the
family to review these ideas in an upcoming family home evening.
Youth
Mother Rescued Us
When
I was six, my little sister and I were watching our older sister’s
basketball game. My dad left, and then we decided that we wanted to go
home with him, so we ran after him in the rain. When we couldn’t find
him, we went back to the gym to go home with our mom, but by the time we
entered the gym, everyone in the building was gone.
I
remember huddling in a doorframe, trying to get my little sister and me
out of the rain, praying that someone would come. Then I remember
hearing the door to our red van slam shut, and we went running toward
the sound. Then came one of the most vivid childhood memories I have:
our mother enfolding us in her arms “as a hen gathereth her chickens
under her wings” (3 Nephi 10:4). My mother had rescued us, and I never felt more secure than I did at that moment.
As
I think of her influence on me, I see that my mother’s life has pointed
me toward the Savior and has shown me what it means to “lift up the
hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees” (D&C 81:5). She relied on Jesus Christ, who gave her strength “beyond [her] own” (“Lord, I Would Follow Thee,” Hymns, no. 220).
I never felt more secure than I did at the moment my mother enfolded us in her arms.
Children
Building a Happy Home
President
Monson suggests ways we can build a happy home. Look through the
article to find things you and your family can do to make a happy home.
Each
time you find something you can do, write it in one of the spaces
provided. After you have found your first item, draw the part of the
home listed next to the line. Find at least five ways you can build a
happy home and draw the whole house and your family in it.
-
1.
Walls ______________________________________
-
2.
Roof ______________________________________
-
3.
Door ______________________________________
-
4.
Windows ______________________________________
-
5.
Family ______________________________________
***********************************************
Visiting Teaching Message
A Society of Holy Women
Study this material and, as appropriate, discuss it with the sisters you visit. Use the questions to help you strengthen your sisters and to make Relief Society an active part of your own life.
A Society of Holy Women
Faith • Family • Relief
Eliza R.
Snow, second Relief Society general president, taught: “Paul the
Apostle anciently spoke of holy women. It is the duty of each one of us
to be a holy woman. We shall have elevated aims, if we are holy women.
We shall feel that we are called to perform important duties. No one is
exempt from them. There is no sister so isolated, and her sphere so
narrow but what she can do a great deal towards establishing the Kingdom
of God upon the earth.”1
Sisters,
we are not isolated nor is our sphere narrow. By accepting the gift of
activity in Relief Society, we become part of what the Prophet Joseph
described as a society “separate from all the evils of the world—choice,
virtuous, and holy.”2
This
society helps us strengthen our faith and grow spiritually by giving us
leadership, service, and teaching opportunities. In our service a new
dimension is added to our lives. We progress spiritually, and our sense
of belonging, identity, and self-worth increases. We realize that the
whole intent of the gospel plan is to provide an opportunity for us to
reach our fullest potential.
Relief
Society helps prepare us to receive the blessings of the temple, to
honor the covenants we make, and to be engaged in the cause of Zion.
Relief Society helps us increase our faith and personal righteousness,
strengthen families, and seek out and help those in need.
The work of Relief Society is holy, and doing holy work creates holiness in us.
Silvia H. Allred, first counselor in the Relief Society general presidency.
From the Scriptures
From Our History
Speaking
to the Female Relief Society of Nauvoo, the Prophet Joseph emphasized
holiness, explaining that as sisters became pure and holy, they would
have a marked influence upon the world. He explained: “Meekness, love,
purity—these are the things that should magnify you. … This Society …
shall have power to command queens in their midst. … The kings and
queens of the earth will come unto Zion, and pay their respects.” Relief
Society sisters living their covenants command the respect not only of
noble people, but “if you live up to your privileges,” Joseph promised
the sisters, “the angels cannot be restrained from being your
associates.”3
As the
sisters participated in the work of serving and saving others, they
became personally sanctified. Lucy Mack Smith, the Prophet’s mother,
shared the good Relief Society could accomplish: “We must cherish one
another, watch over one another, comfort one another and gain
instruction, that we may all sit down in heaven together.”4
What Can I Do?
-
1.
How am I helping the sisters I watch over to cultivate and achieve “elevated aims”?
-
2.
What am I doing to make my life “choice, virtuous, and holy”?
For more information, go to www.reliefsociety.lds.org.
The Shumway Sequence
1.ALWAYS STRIVING TO INCREASE TIME SPENT AROUND THE SPIRIT
“…Humble yourselves before the Lord…call upon His holy name…watch and pray continually… and thus be led by the Holy Spirit, becoming humble, meek, submissive, patient, full of love and all longsuffering.” (Alma 13:28)
2.ALL THINGS ACCOMPLISHED ACCORDING TO THE LORD’S TIMING
“Let not your minds turn back; and when ye are worthy, in mine own due time, ye shall see and know that which was conferred upon you.” (Doctrine & Covenants Section 67:14)
3.THERE IS SPECIAL SIGNIFICANCE IN THE SERVICE YOU ARE GIVING
“And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.” (Mosiah 2:17)
4.INCREASE OUR DESIRE TO HAVE A DEEPER LEVEL OF TRUST AND FAITH
“…exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words.” (Alma 32:27 –Faith) “I say unto thee, put your trust in that Spirit which leadeth to do good- yea, to do justly, to walk humbly, to judge righteously ; and this is my Spirit.” (Doctrine & Covenants Section 11:12 – Trust)
5.IF YOU ARE HERE NOW, YOU ARE FOREORDAINED TO BE HERE.
“And this is the manner after which [we] were ordained – being called and prepared from the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works; …therefore they having chosen good, and exercising exceedingly great faith, are called with a holy calling…which was prepared with, and according to, a preparatory redemption for such.” (Alma 13:3)
No comments:
Post a Comment