December Presidency Message

Dear Sisters,

As we come to the end of another year we commend you on all the progress made over the year 2014.  We have seen many sisters embrace the gospel by entering it through the waters of baptism; others have taken their endowments making further covenants with God in the temple of the Lord; others have renewed their worthiness to obtain the blessings of the temple. We as a Relief Society Presidency rejoice with you in the steps we have seen each of you take to increase your personal development over this year.

We know we all face many challenges each unique to our individual needs for our own personal growth.  We have looked at the challenges from the women in the scriptures over the year and have found they had similar challenges; we have found strength in how they dealt with their challenges. We have so enjoyed the knowledge we have learned from these examples that we want to continue to examine other examples from women in the scriptures and also from the early leaders in the restored gospel. I feel we will benefit greatly from the further study of these great women.

At this time of the year as we reflect on the birth of the Savior and think of Him and the mission He was given, to make possible the redemption of all mankind, let us take time to rejoice in Him by being more obedient to His teachings. As Eve said in Moses 5:11: Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient. As we continue to work through our trials may we keep in sight that anything is possible if we will lean upon the Rock, which is Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

All our Love,

Your Relief Society Presidency

Linda Rogers, 2nd Counselor

November Presidency Message

Dear Sisters

  It is hard to believe that it is already November and that the time is going by so quickly. Thanksgiving is quickly approaching us, a time for reflections on this past year and a time to be grateful for everything in our lives, including trials and challenges that come to each of us as we continue on our life’s journey. As we try to deal with the struggles we face I challenge you to ponder the following questions as you look for answers to what you may be facing. Are everyday challenges such as times constraints, demands from work or home or feelings of inadequacy or fear holding you back from developing a relationship with Christ? By partaking of the sacrament we covenant that we are willing to take upon us the name of His Son and always remember Him especially in our daily walk and conversation. Think of some situations you encountered this past week. Were your actions consistent with the covenant you made? Do you have a written testimony of Jesus Christ and the tender mercies He attends you with that you may read in times of great stress? Next never underestimate the purpose of a trial. What are some things that have happened in your life from enduring one of life’s struggles? And finally, have we learned to recognize the voice of our Savior in our own lives. How and when has the Good Shepherd’s voice come to you?
    I am grateful for the opportunity I have had to serve in this capacity.  I have learned a lot and I love and respect all of you and appreciate all that you do on a daily basis to help each other, and to love each other.
    May we reflect on our lives and be grateful for the relationship we have with our Savior. If we don't have a relationship with Him that we're satisfied with, let's start today to change that.             

 
Love, Lorraine Anderson
Relief Society President              

October Presidency Message

Dear Sisters,

The kids are back in school and fall is in the air!  I love this time of the year, when the air is cooler and the nights get crisper.

 

We just had wonderful talks given at the General Women’s Conference.  So many sweet messages given to us by such inspired women.  President Uchtdorf said “Heavenly Father is constantly raining blessings upon us, but it is our fear, doubt, and sin that, like an umbrella, block these blessings from reaching us.”  Such a great message of our Heavenly Father’s love for each of us. I especially loved the picture of the umbrellas.  I will always think of that picture when it rains.  It will be a reminder of his message of always making sure that we are open to the blessings our Heavenly Father wants to give us. I loved the way he made me feel uplifted, inspired and motivated.  I hope that all of us women heard his words and felt the love that I felt.  That each of us are unique and different, but the love our Savior has for us is the same.  I loved Linda K. Burton’s talk about preparing our homes.  “As we prepare our homes to be places where the Spirit is welcome, we will be prepared to feel more at home when we enter the house of the Lord.”  Sisters, lets all work together to prepare ourselves and our homes so we will be better prepared to meet the Savior.

 

I am grateful for these inspired messages given to us by those who are called upon by our Heavenly Father.  I know what they say are true, and if we ponder and reflect on what we have heard, we will be able to implement these into our lives and become closer to him. 

 

We love you and pray for you often.

Janet Sims

September Presidency Message

Dear Sisters,

It's that time of year

when our children

young and older return to school!

What is important to note is that those of us not returning to school need to be on a constant quest for "Knowledge".   What is your “plan B”? I know for myself that I have an unquenchable desire to study and learn. Knowledge both spiritual and secular elevates us, but its acquisition requires effort on our part in study and faith. Study of things sacred enables us to learn God’s will and faith enables us to understand God’s will. In D&C 88:118 it reads, "And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one and other words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith." Another scripture in D&C 96:36 says, "The glory of God is intelligence.”...A wise woman never stops learning, even if you think you will never work outside of the house, life has a way of throwing us an unexpected curve ball. Unforeseen unemployment, divorce, illness and death to name a just a few reasons to have your mitt on to catch that curve ball! Again, I ask you what is your “plan B”? Finally, we have the Lord's promise that as we study and learn and teach one and another, He will enrich our knowledge and wisdom by the gift of the Holy Ghost.

I see so many families struggling today that I felt impressed to ask you all how will you live if something happens in your family? Do you have the knowledge and the training to take over if you need to? I will be forever grateful that I had the skill and a “plan B” to take over when I needed to. Continue learning: you will be blessed in many ways.

With Love,
Lorraine Anderson
Relief Society President       

August Presidency Message

There are three women in the scriptures that I will focus on in my August lesson:  Abish from the Book of Mormon, Anna from the New Testament and Rebekah from the Old Testament.  These three all had several things in common:  They were valiant women in the right places at the right time.  They lived by revelation and they worked to build the kingdom.  These examples of righteousness are all things we can emulate as we work to build the kingdom of God on the earth today.

 

~Sister Dumas

RS Asst Sec

July Presidency Message

Dear Sisters,

          Happy Summer! 

I love the month of

July and all of the great celebrations we enjoy. Time for picnics, family reunions and fun!  It is definitely time to reflect on all of our blessings and think of all those that came before us that sacrificed so much in our behalf.  The 4th of July and Pioneer Day are two of the most important historical events that occurred to make sure that we have the freedoms we enjoy.  I feel so blessed to be able to live free and also have the true gospel in my life.

This month I will be teaching our lesson on Esther.  She was a very courageous woman who was guided by the Holy Spirit to make a very courageous decision to help free her people.  I hope you have the chance to read about her and the wonderful example she is.  We will be talking about her and discussing how we can apply what she did into our own lives today.  Romans 15:4  reads, “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” 

Thanks for all you do!  We love each of you and pray for you daily.

             ~Janet Sims, RS 1^st Counselor

May Presidency Message

Dear Sisters,

 Mother’s day is this month and I’m so thankful for a special day set aside to celebrate my mother and the wonderful person she is, and reflect on the things that she has taught me.

Like my mother, there are many women in the scriptures that I can come to know and by their example become a better person.  Rebekah is one of these women.  She was a woman of faith, a follower of Christ, a giver of service, hard worker and obedient.  She helped ensure that the Lord’s prophesy came to pass by taking action, even though the circumstances were difficult. She was a woman of strength, one who was willing to say “I Will Go” and follow the will of the Lord. 

It is my hope that we will strive to be women who “Will Go”, trust in the Lord, place him at the forefront and fulfill our responsibilities as daughters of God; women entrusted during our mortal lives with sweet spirits in whom we teach gospel truths, whether they are biological children, adopted children, students, nieces and nephews or simply friends. 

 We are on the Lords’ errand.

 Much love,

Shelly Ward

April Presidency Message

Dear Sisters,
         On March 17 we celebrated with over 6 million other women around the world the Birthday of Relief Society. Sister Julie Beck a previous Relief Society general president said, "the glorious heritage of Relief Society has ties back to the ancient Church during the time of Jesus Christ." This year marked over 172 years since the Relief Society was established in this dispensation. The Sisters were given the authority to preside over the unique work that would help build the kingdom of God and would make a significant contribution to the Lords work of salvation. The purposes of Relief Society have remained constant through all time.
         The purposes- to increase faith and personal righteousness, to strengthen families and homes, and seek out and help those who are in need- still guide this organization today.
         I am so proud of all of the women in this ward. You are constantly doing small and simple things that touch all of us, from hugs, to an unexpected phone call, to providing meals to someone and other small anonymous things that often touch all of us and extend into the community.
         Even though we as Relief Society members are doing well in our callings we must not be complacent about anything when it comes to the Gospel if Jesus Christ. We cannot be indifferent to our need to do a bit of spiritual "spring cleaning"-- to dust and scrub and shake our souls to let in the pure love of Christ. The cleansing will help us be better women, wives, mothers, grandmothers, visiting teachers, missionaries and friends.

Love and thanks to all of you
Lorraine Anderson
Relief Society President

March Presidency Message

Dear Sisters,

I hope you are all well and I give you lots of love from our Relief Society Presidency.  This year has been a focus on the Old Testament.  I have personally challenged myself to read the Old Testament this year.  I have enjoyed this challenge even though I don’t fully understand what I am reading a lot of the time.  To be in Sunday School with our wonderful teachers has helped me to understand more of what I have read.   We as a Presidency also decided to focus our year on the Women of the Old Testament.  I have decided to choose Ruth.  I chose her because she also has the same name as my grandmother, my father’s mother.  She was the sweetest person I know.  She definitely reminded me of Ruth in the Old Testament.  Ruth was an example of fidelity, and loyalty, love, generosity, humility and gentleness.  I loved the story of Ruth and Naomi.  Naomi was unselfish after the deaths of her husband and two sons and was willing to let her two daughters-in-law go back to their own people and customs.  She demonstrated great strength during this adversity in her life.  It was during this adversity and sacrifice that Ruth told Naomi that she wanted to go with her.  Ruth was a great example of love and devotion to Naomi in a time of great sadness for them both.

We too live in an age of conflict and adversity.  The relationship that Ruth and Naomi have is a great example to us about unity and devotion in community and family relationships.  We can learn so much from these two daughters of our Heavenly Father.  We too can strive to cultivate loyalty, devotion, humility and gratitude in our own families.  We can listen to the whisperings of the Spirit; reach out to someone who seems to need encouragement in his or her life through our friendship and support.    We can ask in prayer for guidance in improving our lives and then listen for answers.  I hope that all of us understand the spirit of eternal womanhood.  I know that our Father in Heaven blesses us who live by hope and faith.

May each of us use that spirit to spread the gospel in our homes and lift up those with whom we come into contact.  

Thanks to all of you for your continued service and love.

Janet Sims

February Presidency Message

Dear Sisters,

It's good to finally be back with you for a time.  I've had quite a month and I'm sure your January was busy as well.

As we take time to discuss Women from the Scriptures this year in our Presidency lessons; I hope we will take time to emulate the lessons we can learn from these women. Perhaps we can take time to reflect how to improve our lives and seek to make our lives more in keeping with the gospel and find peace amid all the busy of our lives.

This month I would like us to reflect upon the first woman in the scriptures; "Eve the Mother of all Living." I began thinking of Eve as my mother was going through the dying process; passing away on Jan. 12. I reflected on what a wonderful mother I had been blessed with and it made me think of the first mother in this mortal journey we are all on. There is much we can learn from Eve. She was willing to take the harder road in life when she accepted partaking of the forbidden fruit; as she came to realize the need for the fall to open the door for the rest of us to come and gain the experience necessary to obtain eternal life.

President Russell M. Nelson in a Conference talk entitled "Lessons from Eve" points to 5 fundamental lessons of everlasting importance we can learn from Eve. 

1. She labored beside her companion (see Moses 5:1)

2. She and Adam bore the responsibilities of parenthood. (see Moses 5:2)
3. She and her partner worshipped the Lord in prayer (see Moses 5:4)
4. She and Adam heeded divine commandments of obedience and sacrifice (Moses:5-6)
5. She and her husband taught the gospel to their children (see Moses 5:12)

I hope we will focus on one of these aspects each month for the next 5 months to create our legacy we will leave to our posterity as daughters of Eve and spirit daughters of our Heavenly Father.

Love,

Linda Rogers, RS 2nd Counselor

 

January Presidency Message

Sisters,

   It’s been wonderful to celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ and bring in the New Year with a renewed hope in the gospel and in ourselves.  I’m sure many of you, after having the opportunity to reflect upon the Saviors birth and his life, brought with you new commitments coming into the New Year to be more like him, to emulate him and to have your actions reflect your beliefs.

   The topic of discussion for Presidency lessons this year will be focused on women in the scriptures.  It will be a great opportunity to learn of these women, their strengths, and their weakness and find ways to emulate their examples in righteous living.  It’s my hope that this year we will be able to strengthen, even more so, our relationships within our Ward sisterhood by finding joy in our individuality, personalities and talents, and strive to lift one another through encouragement and positive interaction.

   I have a scripture taped to my cupboard (along with several others) to remind me of what my actions should reflect daily.   Philippians 1:27 “Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel”.

   I hope we all can add this to our resolutions this year, to become more united in our Sisterhood and that our actions will reflect our beliefs.

   May the Light of Christ radiate through all that you do.

Love,

Shelly Ward,  Secretary

December Presidency Message

Dear Sisters,

It’s that special time of year again; time to celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. Let’s leave the busyness and commercialism that often overshadow our celebrations out, and I would ask you to give your gifts to the Savior first. What gifts can we give the Savior? Every kind word, every gentle deed given to a neighbor, every kindness to the poor and suffering is a gift to God.  Do we look at others through the eyes of love? Do we look deep into their souls, do we forget their imperfections and not find fault? I think if all the members would choose one inactive family to anonymously remember this Holiday Season; it would make the Joy of the Season more special for you. For a lot of the inactives the voice of the Savior is but a distant memory and they need to be reminded that even though their spiritual eyes have dimmed, the Hand of the Lord is beckoning them to return to Him. Prayerfully consider what family to remember and what the Lord wants you to do.  Maybe the 12 days of Christmas with an emphasis on the Church and how they’re missed by their Father will be the invitation needed to return, maybe planting their garden filling it with flowers can make a widow smile, maybe it’s a bag of groceries, whatever you’re inspired to do that can touch their hearts will be a special gift to your Savior. Let’s take this one step further and do this all year. May God bless you and your family, thank you for all that you do.

Love, Lorraine Anderson

Relief Society President

Presidency Message - November

Last month I received a letter from my cousin’s son, Ben. Elder Fisher is serving a mission in Croatia.  His message has been on my mind.  He wrote, “I have been thinking a lot about charity, and the other gifts of the spirit. I have come to the conclusion that it is the greatest gift of the spirit. It is better than healings, visions, tongues, and protection. In fact, this gift of the spirit will endure into the eternities. Eventually our bodies will become perfected, we will all learn and speak the celestial language, and death, injury, and sickness will no longer have sway upon humanity. The gifts of healings, tongues, and others will largely become obsolete. But charity will endure. The gift of loving another is the greatest of the spiritual gifts. Charity never faileth. -Staresina Fisher” 

     I had always wondered why the Apostle Paul mentioned “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.” (1Cor13:13)  Now I understand that faith will be done away by pure knowledge and hope will be healed by the resurrection, but charity will be present with us forever and ever.  We can ask Heavenly Father to be filled with this great gift.

~Jennie Dumas RS Assistant Secretary

Presidency Message - October

Dear Sisters,

September is over, the kids are back in school and the nights are getting cooler.  This is my favorite time of the year!  I love the change of the seasons and the time of the year when we are focusing on being thankful and our Savior.  When we are thinking of families, friends and neighbors.  Giving service to those in need, magnifying our callings, trying to be better missionaries, and doing all we can to help others.
Next week we will have the privilege to watch General Conference and listen to our beloved Prophet and other leaders of our church.  Let us gather with our families and listen to those messages that will lift us up and bring us closer to our Heavenly Father.  To find those talks that we feel are given to us personally to help us be better sisters and to help us teach our children  important gospel principles.
President Uchtdorf in the October issue of the Ensign magazine gave three basic concepts to help us better receive and remember the words spoken at conference.
1. Members of the church are entitled to personal revelation as they listen to and study the words spoken at general conference.
2.  Don't discount a message merely because it sounds familiar.
3.  The words spoken at general conference should be a compass that points the way for us during the coming months.
He continues to say "What a privilege it is to hear God's messages for each of us during general conference!" I believe what he says is true and I have a testimony that it is true.
I am grateful for all of your examples, for your service in our ward and the love each one of you has for the Savior.  Let us continue to strive to always have the spirit in our lives, to be good to one another and always remember who we are and where we want our destination to be.

Love to you all,
Janet Sims

Presidency Message - September 2013

Dear Sisters,

As we come to the the winding up of our time with the Parables of Christ; I hope you have felt as richly rewarded as I have as we have come to know and understand the teachings of Jesus more fully.

I would like to discuss the parable Jesus used as he ended the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew 7:24-27 Jesus said ,"...whosoever heareth these sayings of mine , and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which buildeth his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upn that house; and it fell not: for it was founded on the rock. And everyone that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it."

The Rock of course is the Atonement and teachings of Jesus Christ. To get through the spiritual storms that fell on both the wise and the foolish; we must be firmly planted on the Rock though our faith, pondering on the teachings of Christ through scripture study; prayer. rendering service to those in need; teaching our families how to build their lives on the rock; and participating in the blessings of priesthood ordinances for ourselves or those who are waiting for those ordinances on the other side of the veil.

You are wonderful sisters  and you do so much; we appreciate all that you do. Keep up your good works and you will be blessed and find that you are building your house on the firm foundation that is the Rock, our Savior; even Jesus Christ.

I would hope that we harken to Jesus Christ and are doers of the work and not hearers only.

Hugs,

Linda Rogers, RS Assistant Secretary

Presidency Message - August 2013

Dear Sisters,
 

The presidency lesson for the month of August is on the Parable of the Prodigal Son.  There is so much to this parable; the son asks for his inheritance, is given it and then wastes it away on riotous living.  Reaching despair and becoming humble in his realization of his choices he returns home to his father.  The Father greets him with joy, forgives and rejoices in his return with no harbor of ill feelings.  The older brother is dismayed, selfish and burdened by the seemly unjust of it all.

I would think that we all have probably been at one time or another the prodigal son (daughter), possibly the loving father, or even the selfish son, lacking in love and compassion and struggling with how unfair the situation may seem.  I would pray that we could realize as daughters of our Heavenly Father, that he too would rejoice when we Arise and go to Father, putting aside our sins and our worldliness and return to him humble and repentant.  No matter what we have done, we will be received by Him with great joy and able to inherit all that is His.   This is truly a great blessing.

Much Love,

Shelly Ward

Secretary 

Presidency Message - July 2013

Dear Sisters,

Can you believe that summer is already here?  Time for vacations, beach, and spending lots of family time together! 

During this summer time with our families it is also a great time to try to fit in those activities where we can teach our children some important gospel principles.  Even if we don’t have children at home anymore, with the longer warmer days of summer it gives each of us the opportunity to think of others.

In the parable of the Good Samaritan, it starts out with the question a man asked Jesus.  “Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”  Jesus responded by asking, “What is written in the law?”  The man answered, referring to Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18, “Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart…and thy neighbor as thyself.”  The man challengingly replied, “And who is my neighbor?”  In answer to this man’s questions, Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan.  (See Luke 10:25-35).

Sisters please read this parable so we can all discover who our neighbor is.  We will all have experiences in our lives where we are like the people in this parable.  Will we be like the thieves or robbers?  Will we be the Levite who came and saw but did not help?  Will we be the Samaritan who stopped and went out of his way to help?

In His parables, Jesus taught the essentials of the Father’s plan of salvation.  Let us each remember these principles that were taught and bring them into our lives.  Take the time to teach them to our children and grandchildren. 

This summer as we go about building wonderful memories with our families, let’s look around for those opportunities to help and think of others.  “And that is done by going and doing as the Savior did, in loving our fellow beings, for when we serve them we are only in the service of our God (Mosiah 2:17).

We love each and every one of you!  Thank you for your continued friendship and service.  I look forward to teaching the lesson in July on the parable the Good Samaritan.

Love,  Janet Sims

June Presidency Message        

Dear Sisters:

This week begins the summer season for most people. Whether you are a young mother of children, a grandmother or even a great-grandmother, summer is kind of a time to let everything go – schedules go out the window! It’s good to take time to relax, but there is one thing we must never relax on, and that’s our diligence to serve others and serve the Lord. President Thomas S. Monson said: “My dear sisters: Do not pray for tasks equal to your abilities, but pray for abilities equal to your tasks. Then the performance of your tasks will be no miracle, but you will be the miracle.” Let us all make a goal to become a “miracle” in our families and in the lives of those we serve. Be diligent in seeking for those tasks that will bring joy and peace to you and to those around you.

Love, Carol Rhodes

Presidency Message  May 2013

           

Dear Sisters,

We are quickly moving toward the middle of Spring. Spring is such a beautiful time of year. New life burst forth in the form of new flowers and the Light of a beautiful spring day can bring us a feeling of warmth, and peace tingling with anticipation for what tomorrow will bring. The Gospel of Jesus Christ can bring forth the same feeling. Unfortunately there are many of our sisters who can’t feel or can’t see the Light of the Gospel in their lives. For whatever reason we need to be a Good Shepherd and help them to find that Light of Christ again. Virtually everyone in our circle of responsibility has become lost in one way or another. A lost sheep can be a young person, far away from home faced with loneliness and temptation, a single mom who lost a critically needed job, a grandmother whose children and grandchildren don’t have time for her, a man just called to be a new bishop, a mother whose child is again making choices that are wrong for them. In Isaiah 53:6 I am the lost sheep, You are the lost sheep, All we like sheep have gone astray…

It is my prayer the LIGHT of the Gospel will lead us and guide us to help those who are LOST, and if we are in a place where we are LOST I hope that we can brush the cobwebs of doubt and despair away from our eyes so we follow his LIGHT back to Him.

Lorraine Anderson

Relief Society President

Presidency Message - April 

Dear Sisters:

It's now Spring and we celebrate the rebirth of the earth and Easter. It is a time when we contemplate with more earnestness our Savior's atonement and resurrection. We are here today because of that great gift. We will return to our Heavenly Father because of the resurrection. I encourage you to take the time in your busy lives to ponder upon the richness of this gift and what it means to you personally. In focusing on the Savior and his great gift, I'd like to share a small quote from Sister Marjorie Pay Hinckley's book, By Small and Simple Things.

"The gospel of Jesus Christ is the greatest force for peace and unity on the face of the earth and, when every knee shall bend and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ, there will be no divisions among us."  By him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God. D&C 76:24

Let us use this time of rebirth to remember that even though the world may seem in turmoil, we are all children of our Heavenly Father. He gave us this probationary time on earth so we could grow spiritually and show our love for him by being obedient and by serving others. We are his hands, we are capable of great things. The challenges of this world are all overcome by the gifts bestowed by our Savior Jesus Christ. If we start and end each day with prayer, thanking our Heavenly Father for that great gift, we will find more joy, more peace, a greater desire to give and share, and in so doing, strengthen ourselves and those around us. It is my hope that we can all be empowered to do good by living the gospel of Jesus Christ each and every day.

Love,

Carol Rhodes, 1st Counselor