Happy Sabbath!
There were many releases and sustainings today, here is the list:
Released: Bob B from Fitness Committee, LaRee A as Family History Leader, Maureen C as Home Evening Leader, John W & Martine J as Ward Missionaries.
Sustained: Chris H as Ward Missionary, Cindy W as Family History Leader, Patricia M as Home Evening Leader, Carrie F as Emergency Prep Leader. Bill K will be in charge of our Ward hikes.
We had the new Relief Society speak in sacrament meeting today. When the meeting started, only Lisa P was sitting on the stand - the other 2 speakers weren't in the chapel. Donna H came in just before the sacrament and CIndy H just after the sacrament. When Lisa P got up to speak she said that she had leaned over to President Rasmussen and told him that he might need to be prepared to speak if the other 2 speakers didn't show up!
Lisa P started by telling us that she had taken a public speaking class in college and she had learned there that you never tell the audience you are not prepared. You just speak with confidence and your audience will never know. Lisa broke the cardinal rule of speaking and let us know that she had forgotten that she was scheduled to speak today. She bore a beautiful testimony, in part saying that she had no one, big reason why she believed, she just does - the gospel makes sense to her and has a balance.
Cindy H led off by saying that she was part of the OCBC council and that it was directed by President Peterson, who she has known since they were both in their late teens, and he challenged the council to talk to the singles about marriage. We need to be striving for eternal goals and marriage should be one of them. We need to be married, not just for pleasure, but because it is a commandment of God, a pattern set by God.
In John 5:1-9 it speaks of a man who had been sick for 38 years who sat by a pool waiting for an angel to ripple the water and then the first person into the water after that would be healed - but someone always beat him into the water, but he always kept coming backing hoping for a miracle. Jesus saw him and cured him by the tender mercy of the Lord.
Cindy pointed out that we are all suffering, either physically or emotionally. We build up walls, invisible but strong as bricks, around ourselves. The walls we built keep us trapped inside and keep us from growing. We must have the faith to break ourselves free. We must ask for help from above. He knows us and wants us to succeed.
We must be available for the opportunity for marriage. During a blessing about one year after her divorce, Cindy was told to pray daily to find a worthy partner. She felt like a hypocrite praying for that because she felt unworthy. So she prayed for the DESIRE to be married again. That desire came again during a baby's funeral when the mother and father clung to each other, and supported each other in their grief over the death of their child.
Striving for marriage is a hard thing. We need to step out of our comfort zones, even if it seems pointless and hopeless. The Lord knows the intent of our hearts and He will grant these things for us.
Donna H was the last speaker and expressed her gratitude for the wonderful women that she serves with in the new Relief Society presidency. She also expressed her feelings of inadequacy, but she knows that the Lord will help us when we feel that way.
Donna spoke on hope. She related a story about Elder Eyring's father, who in his later years of life held the calling of being in charge of service projects for his ward. He had bone cancer and just getting out of bed caused a lot of pain. The service project that time was weeding an onion patch and he wasn't able to kneel because of the pain, so he laid and weeded that garden, pulling himself forward by his elbows. He enjoyed the company of those around him, making jokes and laughing with them. When he got to the end of the row, he looked back with satisfaction at a job well done. That is when he was told that all of the weeds that they had just pulled up had been sprayed with weed killer and would have died within a few days anyway. They should have been pulling weeds a few rows over instead. Well, Br. Eyring just busted up laughing and said, "I didn't come for the weeds." He came because he was called to be there.
We all hope for many things in our lives, we have goals we would like to achieve. We all suffer in different ways and struggle over different challenges. But we often suffer by ourselves because our trials aren't visible.
The Lord has given us hope. A life without purpose is a life without meaning and a life without meaning is life without hope. Hope is a struggle for many of us, but it doesn't have to last long because of the gospel. Donna quoted a few scriptures: Ether 12:4, D&C 59:23 and Moroni 7:41, saying that hope comes through the atonement of Jesus Christ.
We have great potential. We need to lean on Christ, call upon Him. Life will still be a struggle, but we need to overcome them. He loves us enough to stand with us. We need to give our struggles to Him. We all have our 'onions' to deal with and maybe we are focused in the wrong area.
Donna asked us to think about what our purpose in life is. We each have a gift to give to each other - to see what magnificent spirits we are in the eyes of God. We need to embrace and help each other on this path we call life.
All of the speakers were wonderful and I really felt the spirit at church today. I always love attending church with all of you, feeling of your spirit and learning and growing together. Make the coming week a great one!
With much love,
Debbie
