Ward Conference

Hey everyone! I hope you had a great time at Church today. Right now I can only get the announcements up. I'll try to post my notes from sacrament and Relief Society later this week. I'm just a little busy. So here's the announcements to keep you up to speed with this week:

1. FHE tomorrow night @7pm
2. Institute @7pm on Wednesday in B092 JFSB
3. Thursday, ward Halloween party out front of FDL @6:30pm. Wear your costumes!
4. Sunday, Nov 3, CES Fireside @6pm in the Marriott Center
5. Wednesday, Nov 6, RS Auxiliary Training @7pm, at the Costco West Chapel (RS Presidency & secretary)
6. Also Wed, Nov 6, Prospective Missionary Fireside @7:30pm - Elder Richard G. Hinckley in the Wilk Ballroom.
7. Thursday, Nov 7, Sunday School Auxiliary Training @7pm @ 945 E 700 N Chapel
8. Stake Conference Saturday, Nov 9, @7pm at the Costco North Bldg, East Chapel, then Sunday @10am in the Wilk Ballroom
9. Also, Sunday, Nov 10, @7pm is our ward musical fireside. Get in touch with Cassandra if you want to participate.

I think that's enough for this week. There's a few more announcements in the bulletin, but those are the soonest, which I think you should be aware of now. Thanks for your support, I hope y'all have a wonderful week. I promise I'll get my notes typed up later this week.

What a wonderful Sabbath!

Hello my dear friends!

I have had a really great weekend. I hope you all have too. :)

Announcements for this week:
1. FHE tomorrow @7pm for everyone! We will be going to our Bishopric members' homes. Get in touch with your group leaders for details.
2. Institute on Wednesday @7pm in B092 JFSB. Good times await!
3. This Saturday, the 26th we will have a ward temple trip @11am. Details are to be announced on the ward Facebook page. Please join that page so you can be up-to-date on need-to-know stuff.
4. Next Sunday, the 27th is Ward Conference. We will have an hour and a half sacrament meeting, then a combined hour and a half of Relief Society while the brethren have Priesthood. Please study Moroni 10:32 in preparation for what we will be taught.
5. Also next Sunday, but in the evening, is the Stake Musical Fireside at the Costco North Chapel. Presumably at 7pm, further details are coming.
6. If you need to renew your temple recommend, please contact the Ward Executive Secretary a.k.a. Austin Huntsman (512) 818-9685. Everyone should have a current temple recommend. Even if you can't attend the temple often, I promise there are many blessings that come from being worthy of and maintaining a current recommend.

Now here's the lesson recap: (Don't forget that all my "quotes" are paraphrases for those who spoke up in our RS. I try to put the exact quotes the teacher used, but don't count on it for general comments.)

The fabulous Rachel McCracken was our teacher today. It was a riveting lesson where we were all touched by the Spirit and edified together. It was truly wonderful. She based her lesson off Elder Neil L. Andersen's General Conference talk from April.
http://www.lds.org/ensign/2013/05/its-a-miracle?lang=eng

Rachel started the lesson by asking what miracles we see everyday because our God is a God of miracles, and we're members of His Church. Well, Mackenzie hit the nail on the head and stated how amazing it is that the gospel is being preached throughout the world and being widely accepted. The Church was restored only 183 years ago. Another 17 and we'll reach the 200th anniversary of the Church. In those 183 years the Church has grown from 6 members to 15 million as was announced just this last General Conference. Out of the 6.7 billion people on earth, 15 million are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In addition, just last October there were 58,500 missionaries serving worldwide (I was one of them :D). As of three weeks ago, it was announced that there are currently 80,333 missionaries serving around the world! Isn't that amazing? Kiersten pointed out that that number is increasing despite the number of missionaries that have finished their missions and returned home. (I think that's truly miraculous. I love it so much.)

It really is a miracle to know the gospel is going to all the world. Pray for all people to open their hearts.

Ryan then referred to Doctrine & Covenants 45:15-16 and commented: we're endowed with power to share. Go out and teach!
Mackenzie said: Doctrine & Covenants 138 is about missionary work in the Spirit world. Christ didn't go preach to the unrighteous but rather gathers the righteous to preach to them. If we don't get the missionary bug now, we'll get it later. We might as well get it now.

Rachel then shared a personal experience of when she received an internship in Georgia. She was living with four other interns: two Baptists, a Lutheran, and a Catholic. She was scared to go and be by herself, so she contacted the ward she would be attending before she arrived and was taken care of the members in that area. Her roommates teased her a bit, but eventually came to respect that she was taken care of so well by the members of her ward. She was able to be a light to them and the kids she worked with. It was difficult to see their trials and not be able to share the gospel with them, but she knows she was a light to them.

Ryan shared an experience too. She said she was praying last year to know if she should serve a mission and the answer she received was "no." As hard as that was, she felt that she had missionary opportunities where she was, and that was why she needed to stay home. So she created a blog and would share her testimony on that blog with her family and friends. "Missionaries are just as important as the missionaries. Members are the ones who need to go out and find people, and the missionaries are a great resource for the members."

From that example, how good/great is technology? Yeah it can be used for a lot of bad things, but it really is a powerful and wonderful tool for spreading the gospel too!

Mackenzie shared an experience that happened before her mission: A friend from high school that she lost contact with called her one day with religious questions. She called Mackenzie because even though she didn't know Mackenzie's religion, she knew Mackenzie was devout and would be able to help. They talked about simple things like the fact that God is our Heavenly Father and why Jesus is the Savior. At first Mackenzie was scared that she wouldn't say the right thing, but it was really quite simple for her. "It's so easy. You are a great missionary if you're an active member of the Church and love God. You don't have to quote apostles and scripture. Just share what you know."

We might have doubts, but have the faith to overcome those doubts. "The desire to share the gospel takes us to our knees."

Evie shared an experience too: She did a study abroad in Spain around Easter and really wanted to experience as many religions as she could. She had a friend who is a refugee from Nigeria that invited her to attend Easter services with him. The congregation was excited because they invited a pastor from Florida to preach to them. That pastor bore testimony that there was more truth out there that they couldn't receive yet because they weren't ready for it. They had to give up their addictions and bad habits. She found herself bearing testimony afterwards to those who were prepared by their pastor.

There are people all around us and their hearts are being prepared.
Kiersten commented: we can look out to members also and help them. Taking care of those who are struggling or less-active is also missionary work.

How can we be a member missionary in Provo?
Marren said: She went to a different ward one Sunday for a baby blessing, and the night before she felt like she needed to bear her testimony in Church. She did and afterwards a member of the ward approached her to thank her for sharing because they have a family member that heard her testimony and was touched by it. "Go with the Spirit. Don't think about it too much."
Evie then stated: there's a deeper level of conversion. We all need the testimonies of others.
Mackenzie said, it's good to be in a place where there are so many members because we become so comfortable talking about the gospel that when we graduate and leave we can have that habit and share the gospel with everyone else more easily.
Kelsey commented that the friends she visited last week are very open about their Church activities with their neighbors in the Bible Belt and always invite others to come along. They're not ashamed of what they're doing and their friends are more receptive to them.
Ky said, it's as easy as praying for missionary experiences. She then invited us all to pray for (and act on) a missionary experience this week and report back on it next week.
Megan shared that her mom always tells her to pay attention when she flies. One time in particular Megan was sitting on a plane with two Baptists. One of them made it really easy because she started talking about religion and asked Megan questions. "Opportunities will pop up. Just share your basic beliefs."

Rachel shared another beautiful experience: Everyone is born with the light of Christ. When she was in high school she was a bagger at the grocery store. One time her seminary teacher came through her line and bought some cigarettes for the man he was with. She walked them out to the car. The next time she saw her seminary teacher, he thanked her for her light. The man he was with was his brother, and his brother could see the light of her testimony in her eyes and was touched by that. He wanted that. Hope to always have that light throughout your life.

Reach out to others. Are all our roommates and neighbors here (meaning attending all Church meetings)?
It's a miracle that the gospel can be taught to the whole world through us.



Wasn't that an amazing lesson? I felt the Spirit so strongly! Just like Evie had commented, I love to see and hear everyone's testimonies. It strengthens me. I know the gospel of Jesus Christ is true. I know we are so blessed to be members of the Church. One thing that I gained a deeper testimony of on my mission is the power of the priesthood. I know it is a real power. I know it's for our benefit and a precious gift from our loving Heavenly Father. I hope and pray that everyone can strengthen their testimonies and understand their worth. I love you sisters. You are amazing. The gospel is true. We renew all our covenants at Church and are blessed with an added measure of the Spirit. Stay strong and close to the Lord.

Have a great week!

¡Adiós Otoño!

Can you believe it's already been a week since we watched General Conference? Man, time flies by so fast! All right, here's what's up this week.

Announcements:
1. Institute on Wednesday, and every Wednesday, at 7:00 pm in B092 JFSB.
2. Thursday, Oct. 17th is the Stake Quick Connect a.k.a Speed dating. Try it out if you're not busy.
3. Friday, Oct. 18th is the Stake Fall Social. More details to come, keep in touch with the ward Facebook page.
4. Relief Society Activity! Bring some treats and crafts to share so we can have fun getting to know each other's talents. :) Also, please email your recipes to Ashley so they can be share and enjoyed by all later. agengler@me.com.
5. Ward Conference is on Oct. 27th, the theme is Moroni 10:32. Please study that scripture to be spiritually prepared. Sacrament meeting will run for an hour and a half, then RS will be combined for the remaining hour and a half.
6. Following Ward Conference, there will be a stake musical fireside that evening at the Costco North Chapel.
7. Jackie Crane needs to sell her contract in Fleur-de-Lis, so please help advertise! It's a great place to live and she has wonderful roomies.
8. The Happiness Project will get going now and will be headed by Megan Burrell. She's pretty fantastic. It's a project to work on improving in a way that's fun and not daunting. We can work together, strengthen each other, and come closer to Christ.

Well that's all super exciting. This is a busy month, but it'll be fun. I hope everyone is doing well and keeping up. If y'all ever want any other announcements, or repeats, in the newsletter, just let me know. Y'all are great.


Now for the lesson recap. However, like always I don't take down exact quotes, so feel free to comment and help us all learn.
Kylee Jacobsen gave a beautiful lesson on the doctrine and importance of visiting teaching.

President David O. McKay in 1937 said:

I pray that [a] spirit of oneness may spread throughout all the Church, that it may be characteristic of Presidencies of Stakes and High Councils, Bishoprics, [Home Teachers], and particularly of the quorums and auxiliaries of the Church, that they may all be one, to quote the Savior, as he and his Father are one.

With that in mind, what is Relief Society? What are the 3 purposes of Relief Society?
1. Increase faith and righteousness
2. Strengthen families and homes
3. Seek out and help those in need

During Christ's earthly ministry he invited women to be his disciples. In the ancient Church, sisters served others, increased in holiness, and participated in the saving of souls. President Joseph Smith said that Relief Society is "not only to relieve the poor, but to save souls."

Mosiah 18:8-11

8 And it came to pass that he said unto them: Behold, here are the waters of Mormon (for thus were they called) and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light;

9 Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life—

10 Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?

11 And now when the people had heard these words, they clapped their hands for joy, and exclaimed: This is the desire of our hearts.

The baptismal covenant we make encompasses the responsibilities of visiting teaching.
Kiersten Favero commented that the word desire really stood out to her. She said, "our desires will lead us to what we need to do."
As you live your baptismal covenant, your will and Heavenly Father's will align.

Elder Robert D. Hales said

When we make and keep covenants, we are coming out of the world and into the kingdom of God.
We are changed. We look different, and we act different. The things we listen to and read and say are different, and what we wear is different because we become daughters of God bound to Him by covenant.
When we are confirmed, we receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, the right to have the constant influence of a member of the Godhead to guide us, to comfort us, and to protect us. He warns us when we are tempted to walk away from our covenants and back into the world.

Brittany Bailey commented, "When I was baptized, I immediately signed up for the 'I'll be what you want me to be' assignment, like we sang in sacrament meeting. Give Him your all. B, say, go. Visiting teaching is one way to do that. It's a way to serve Heavenly Father in an unnatural way to us, but it's a good habit."
Jackie Crane said, "It shows a lot of importance that the entire RS broadcast was to keep covenants. At least that's what stood out to me. It's exceedingly important that we do."
Ashley Gengler followed by saying, "I don't think I viewed it as a covenant until recently. I was thinking about how much we have to do in one of our presidency meetings and I thought, 'that's it! We need help as a presidency and that's visiting teaching! We're trying to take care of everyone. That one person is super important to God. If you don't go visit them, who will?"
Visiting teachers minister to others by increasing their faith, strengthening homes, and providing relief.

Women fulfill these purposes as they seek, receive, and and act on personal revelation in their callings and in their personal lives (DMK pg. xi).

Sister Julie B. Beck has repeatedly taught (DMK pg. 158):

The ability to qualify for, receive, and act on personal revelation is the single most important skill that can be acquired in this life.... It requires a conscious effort to diminish distractions, but having the spirit of revelation makes it possible to prevail over opposition and persist in faith through difficult days and essential routine tasks.... When we have done our very best, we may still experience disappointments, but we will not be disappointed in ourselves. We can feel certain that the Lord is pleased when we feel the Spirit working through us.

When you give your report be sure to not just say that you visited your sisters. Answer the question: What service was rendered? Also, don't wait to report until the end of the month. When you finish with a visit, report it so that if the sister has a need, that information can be communicated correctly and efficiently to help and support her.

President Spencer W. Kimball taught (DMK pg. 117):

There are many sisters who are living in rags -- spiritual rags. They are entitled to gorgeous robes, spiritual robes.... It is your privilege to go into homes and exchange robes for rags....
... You are going to save souls, and who can tell but that many of the fine active people in the Church today are active because you were in their homes and gave them a new outlook, a new vision. You pulled back the curtain. You extended their horizons....
You see, you are not only saving these sisters, but perhaps also their husbands and their homes.

You never know what your impact will be. Pray before you go and visit your sisters individually and as a companionship, and you will receive revelation for them.

President Gordon B. Hinckley (DMK pg. 113):

Who, even in the wildest stretch of imagination, can fathom the uncountable acts of charity that have been performed, the food that has been put on barren tables, the faith that has been nurtured in desperate hours of illness, the wounds that have been bound up, the pains that have been ameliorated by loving hands and quiet and reassuring words, the comfort that has been extended in times of death and consequent loneliness?

What a lesson! Thanks Ky.

Dear sisters, I know this is the gospel of Jesus Christ. He wants to comfort us and be there for us. And He is, but many times He answers our cries for help through the acts of others. I know we can be ministering angels as we follow the guidance of the Spirit and do as our Father in Heaven and Savior would have us do. The blessings are innumerable. I love visiting teaching. You will build friendships that are stronger than most others as you serve in love and faith. -Emilie

General Conference Notes

Hey friends.
I just thought I'd share something with you. In my Doctrine and Covenants class my professor asked us to write down doctrines/principles, invitations, and blessings that the Apostles and Prophet spoke about in Conference. I thought it was a really neat exercise, so here are my notes. Well, they're not notes, but they've helped me pick out some critical information aside from the spiritual lessons I learned. Let me know what you think or anything else you may have learned. I hope you enjoy it. :)

Elder Robert D. Hales
Doctrine/Principle: Listen to/ follow the counsel of the Lord’s anointed.
Invitation: Ponder and pray to understand what’s been taught, then go and do.
Blessings: Strength, protection, recognition that Heavenly Father has spoken to you.

Elder David A. Bednar
Doctrine/Principle: Tithing
Invitation(s): Pay an honest, full tithe.
Blessings: Significant, but subtle blessings; simplicity of the Lord’s way.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Doctrine/Principle: Perfect Gospel of Christ, imperfect people.
Invitation(s): Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith; strive to keep the commandments.
Blessings: Comfort, peace, stronger testimony.

President Boyd K. Packer
Doctrine/Principle: Daily scripture study.
Invitation(s): Make scripture reading a part of your regular routine; repentance.
Blessings: Healing power of the Atonement.

Elder D. Todd Christofferson
Doctrine/Principle: Divine nature of women.
Invitation(s): Protect and cultivate the moral force within you.
Blessings: Your influence will never falter.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
Doctrine/Principles: Charity and Love
Invitation(s): Ask for blessings; partake of the sacrament weekly; show compassion to one another.
Blessings: Broken minds can be healed just as broken bones can be healed.

Elder M. Russell Ballard
Doctrine/Principle: Preach the Gospel.
Invitation(s): Reach out in love to neighbors and friends; kneel in prayer and ask for missionary opportunities, then look for them.
Blessings: *If every member of the Church will reach out to just one person by Christmas, millions will feel the love of the Lord Jesus Christ.

President Henry B. Eyring
Doctrine/Principle: Plan of Happiness
Invitation(s): Lover the Lord, love your neighbor, magnify every calling.
Blessings: Ministering of angels; equally yoked in marriage without discord.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks
Doctrine/Principle: No other Gods before me.
Invitation(s): Make God the center of your universe.
Blessings: Family on earth and in heaven.

Elder Richard G. Scott
Doctrine/Principle: Recognizing the power of the Atonement in your life.
Invitation(s): Fortify the weak areas; follow the prophet; fill your life with service.
Blessings: Spiritual fortifications between self and any past mistakes; protection.

President Thomas S. Monson
Doctrine/Principle: Steadfast in the faith.
Invitation(s): Remember patience.
Blessings: Ability to face challenges head on; constant companionship of the Savior.

Elder Quentin L. Cook
Doctrine/Principle: Get out of bondage.
Invitation(s): Avoid sin and rebellion; be an advocate for family time.
Blessings: Strong family, peace in the home.

Elder Neil L. Andersen
Doctrine/Principle: Priesthood Power
Invitation(s): Worthily participate in ordinances.
Blessings: Peace, strength, comfort, power.

Elder Russell M. Nelson
Doctrine/Principle: Children of God
Invitation(s): Master apatite.
Blessings: True and permanent change comes through the cleansing and healing power of the Atonement of Christ.

General Conference Weekend!

I hope everyone is excited! Invite all your friends to watch!