Had to add this one too...

Quote for the day...

"If God had wanted you otherwise, He would have created you otherwise!!"

Be who you are 

and develop the talents He has given you!!!

HAPPINESS? Want some?

There is a great article in this month's Ensign on---What we can learn about happiness from the

 Book of Mormon.  

Brother Smith lists 7 things we learn...and they are all great.  I just wanted to add one quote from President Monson about Accomplishing Hard Work..

"God left the world unfinished for man to work his skill upon.  He left the electricity in the cloud, the oil in the earth.  He left the rivers unbridged and the forests unfelled and the cities unbuilt.  God gives to man the challenge of raw materials, not the ease of finished things.  He leaves the pictures unpainted and the music unsung and the problems unsolved, that man might know the joys and glories of creation."  

Simply put...the exhilaration of being creative and the feeling of accomplishment that often accompany hard work bring happiness.  

Read it, you'll love it!!!

Great lesson on Sunday...

It Works Wonderfully!!!

By President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

"I pray that we will focus on "the simplicity that is in Christ" and allow His grace to lift and carry us."

Teacher:  Mandy LaMarca

We had a great discussion in class and if you couldn't be there, here are some of the highlights:

Not long ago--I saw a quote that made me stop and think.  It went like this:  

Tell a man there are trillions of stars in the universe, and he'll believe you.  

Tell him there's wet paint on the wall, and he'll touch it just to be sure...

Sometimes the truth may just seem too straightforward, too plain, and too simple for us to fully appreciate tits great value,  So we set aside what we have experienced and know to be true in pursuit of more mysterious or complicated information.

When it comes to spiritual truth, how can we know that we are on the right path?

Questions:

Does my life have meaning?

Do I believe in God?

Do I believe that God hears and answers my prayers?

Am I truly happy?

Are my efforts leading me to the highest spiritual goals and values in life?

Why does the church seem to work better for some than for others?  What is the difference between those whose experience in the Church fills their souls with songs of redeeming love and those who feel that something is lacking?

Here are two answers that President Uchtdorf comes up with.

SIMPLIFY!!!

The beautiful gospel is so simple a child can grasp it, yet so profound and complex that it will take a lifetime--even an eternity--of study and discovery to fully understand it.

BUT, sometimes we take the beautiful lily of God's truth and gild it with layer upon layer of man-made good ideas, programs, and expectations.  Each one, by itself, might be helpful and appropriate for a certain time and circumstance, but when they are laid on top of each other, they can create a mountain of sediment that becomes so think and heavy that we risk losing sight of that precious flower we once loved so dearly.  

(I love this statement!!!)

START WHERE YOU ARE!!!

"I have learned in my life that we don't need to be "more" of anything to start to become the person God intended us to become.  God will take you as you are at this very moment and begin to work with you.  All you need is a willing heart, a desire to believe, and trust in the Lord."

(I LOVE THIS)

Read the article---pg. 20 in the November, 2015 Ensign

It's the recipe that everyone wanted--Peanut Butter Squares!!

Peanut Butter Squares

1/2 cup Butter (melted)

1/2 Cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

Cream together, then add

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/8 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

3/4 cup flour

3/4 cup oatmeal

Blend altogether.  Then spread on a cookie sheet.  Make sure you spread it evenly.  It seems pretty thin but that's how it's supposed to be.  Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.  Don't over bake.  My oven bakes hot so I cook it for 9 minutes.  Just watch it.
Right after you take it out of the oven, you drop spoonfuls of peanut butter on top.  I do 5.  One in each corner and one in the middle.  Let it sit for a few minutes so the peanut butter will melt.  After it cools, spread the peanut butter evenly over the top of the cookie.  SO EASY!!!

Chocolate Frosting

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

2 Tbsp. butter

1 tsp cocoa

2-3 Tbsp. milk

(instead of using cocoa, I just melt chocolate chips.  About a hand full)

Just combined butter, chocolate chips and milk and melt in microwave

Drizzle over the cookie

You'll love this recipe.  No tending cookies forever!!  One time shot!!

Amazing Service!! Thanks to ALL!!!

Service with a smile and with many hands makes for a great time!! Thanks to all that came and participated. We have a great Relief Society and Young Women's.  I can't thank all of you enough for your time and willingness to help with our "Great Beginnings" program.  The new mom's and dad's at Cedar City Hospital (new title of the hospital now) will benefit from your dedication.  And most of all it helps the children of our community.  Reading is one of the most important things we can do with any child!!  

THANKS AGAIN!!!

 Look at the FUN!!!

 I think the girls were having bag sticker wars!!!

Thanks to ALL!!!  We had a great time.  And the treats weren't bad either!!!

The Traveler's Gift--An amazing read!!

I have been reading a book that has given me some new perspectives on many things.  I just wanted to share a couple that I have enjoyed learning about.  I would recommend this book to anyone.  It gives seven decisions that determine personal success.

Just a little bit of the story line--David comes into some hard times and decides that his family is better off without him.  He drives his car out of control and finds himself going back in time and is lucky enough to meet some very important people that give him some great advice about life and how to live.  Just a few of the people he meets are:  Harry S. Truman, King Solomon, Christopher Columbus, Anne Frank, Abraham Lincoln, etc...

Abraham Lincoln--

The Sixth Decision for Success--

I will greet this day with a forgiving spirit...

Here is his advice...

For too long, every once of forgiveness I owned was locked away, hidden from view, waiting for me to bestow its precious presence upon some worthy person.  Alas, I found most people to be singularly unworthy of my valuable forgiveness, and since they never asked for any, I kept it all for myself.  Now, the forgiveness that I hoarded has sprouted inside my heart like a crippled seed yielding better fruit.
No more!  At this moment, my life has taken on new hope and assurance.  Of all the world's population, I am one of the few possessors of the secret to dissipating anger and resentment.  I now understand that forgiveness has value only when it is given away.  By the simple act of granting forgiveness, I release the demons of the past about which I can do nothing, and I create in myself a new heart, a new beginning.
I will greet this day with a forgiving spirit.  I will forgive even those who do not ask for forgiveness.
Many are the times when I have seethed in anger at a word or deed thrown into my life by an unthinking or uncaring person.  I have wasted valuable hours imagining revenge or confrontation.  Now I see the truth revealed about this psychological rock inside my shoe.  The rage I nurture is often one-sided, for my offender seldom gives thought to his offence!
I will now and forevermore silently offer my forgiveness even to those who do not see that they need it.  By the act of forgiving, I am no longer consumed by unproductive thoughts.  I give up my bitterness.  I am content in my soul and effective again with my fellowman.
I will greet this day with a forgiving spirit.  I will forgive those who criticize me unjustly.
I will greet this day with a forgiving spirit.  I will forgive myself.
For many years, my greatest enemy has been myself.  Every mistake, every miscalculation, every stumble I made has been replayed again and again in my mind.  Every broken promise, every day wasted, every goal not reached has compounded the disgust I feel for the lack of achievement in my life.  My dismay has developed a paralyzing grip.  When I disappoint myself, I respond with inaction and become more disappointed.
I realize today that it is impossible to fight an enemy living in my head.  By forgiving myself, I erase the doubts, fears, and frustrations that have kept my past in the present.  From this day forward, my history will cease to control my destiny.  I have forgiven myself.  My life has just begun.
I will forgive even those who do not ask for forgiveness.  I will forgive those who criticize me unjustly.  I will forgive myself.
I will greet this day with a forgiving spirit!!!

I don't know if Abraham Lincoln every said this...but it sure makes sense!!   

Great advice for anyone!!!

Have a great day..

 Great article on eating disorders this month in the Ensign. It shares great information that may be helpful to you if you think there may be a problem with someone you know and love. 

Here are some warning signs to watch for in yourself or loved ones:

A change in weight not related to a medical condition

Severe dieting, binge eating or preoccupation with food

Intense fear of being "fat"

Evidence of forced vomiting

Abuse of laxatives, diuretics, enemas, diet pills, or other related medication

Distorted body image; preoccupation with body shape and size

Obsessive or excessive exercise

Depressed mood or anxiety...

Help for Friends and Family of those who struggle:

Eating disorders affect both men and women of various age-groups.
Eating disorders are typically based on feeling such as powerlessness, anxiety, and shame.
Don't be afraid to discuss worries early on, but realize that a loved one may display warning signs such as preoccupation with body image and yet not be developing an eating disorder.
Try using "I" statements instead of "you" statements that may reinforce feelings of shame.  For example, instead of saying "You can't keep forcing yourself to vomit after meals," say, "I am concerned that you are forcing yourself to vomit after meals."
Be caring but firm.  For example, don't promise never to tell anyone.
Encourage your loved one to seek help, including from therapists and doctors.
Let the person see that although at times you may feel frustration, anger, fear, or helplessness, these feelings don't stop you from loving that person.
Remember that recovery takes time and that the decision to heal ultimately has to come from the one with the disorder.

"Fully accepting our Savior's Atonement can increase our faith and give us courage to let go of constraining expectations that we are somehow required to be or to make things perfect.  We can gratefully accept, as God's sons and daughters, that we are His greatest handiwork!!  Gerrit W. Gong of the Presidency of the Seventy.  Ensign, July 2014, pp. 17

Activity for January---remember our goal for Service!!

Wednesday, January 20th

6:30

Meet at the Church

The young women are going to be joining us!!!  YEA!!

Dress warm!!

By the way..the 3rd Wednesday will be our night so you can plan on it!!

Jesus Christ--Our Only Way to Hope and Joy

How often do we think of the Savior?  

How deeply and how gratefully and how adoringly do we reflect on his life?  

How central to our lives do we know him to be?

Rochelle gave such a great lesson.  The teaching of Howard W. Hunter are going to be amazing this year.  Rochelle got a new calling on Sunday and so we bid farewell to her teaching but are so excited to have her as our new Night Relief Society leader.  Ladies...it's going to be so fun.  She has some awesome ideas so please come and support her and our R.S.!!

I just wanted to give you some of my favorite quotes from the lesson!!

We must know Christ better than we know him; we must remember him more often than we remember him; we must serve him more valiantly than we serve him.  Then we will drink water springing up unto eternal life and will eat the bread of life!!!

To have a broken heart and a contrite spirit will cost you...it costs us our pride and our insensitivity, but it especially costs us our sins.

And what of the meek?  In a world too preoccupied with winning through intimidation and seeking to be number one, no large crowd of folk is standing in line to buy books that call for mere meekness...But the meek shall inherit the earth, a pretty impressive corporate takeover---and done without intimidation!!!

How are we supposed to act when we are offended, misunderstood, unfairly or unkindly treated, or sinned against?  What are we supposed to do if we are hunt by those we love, or passed over for promotion, or are falsely accused, or have our motives unfairly assailed??  Do we fight back?  Do we send in an ever-larger battalion?  Do we revert to an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, or...do we come to the realization that this finally leaves us blind and toothless????  (LOVE THIS ONE!)

My message to you today is to "fear not, little flock."  It is to encourage you to rejoice in the great blessings of life.  It is to invite you to feel the great thrill of gospel living and our Father in Heaven's love.  Life is wonderful, even in the hard times, and there is happiness, joy, and peace at stops all along the way, and endless portions of them at the end of the road!!

Please remember this one thing.  If our lives and our faith are centered upon Jesus Christ and his restored gospel, nothing can ever go permanently wrong.  On the other hand, if our lives are not centered on the Savior and his teachings, no other success can ever be permanently right!!  (LOVE THIS ONE TOO!!)

We missed you if you weren't there.  Please come and join us!!  We have a great bunch of ladies!!

Goal for the weekend!!

I don't know about you but after the holidays, I have to agree 100%...

Never judge the Church by it's people!!

This, to me, is a great example of never letting what other's do influence your faith in Jesus Christ and the Church.
Elder Boyd K. Packer...

"One young man was being constantly ridiculed by his co-workers for his activity in the Church.  They claimed to know of a bishop who had cheated someone in business, or a stake president who had misrepresented something on a contract, or a mission president who had borrowed money, giving false information.

Or, they told of a bishop who had discriminated against one member, refusing to give a temple recommend, but had shown favoritism by signing a recommend for another whose unworthiness was widely known.

Such incidents as these, which supposedly involve Church leaders, are described as evidence that the gospel is not true, that the Church is not divinely inspired, or that it is being misled.

He had no satisfactory answer to their charges.  He felt defenseless and foolish and was being drawn to join them in their criticism of the Church.

Did he believe all of these stories?  Well, he could not be sure.  There must be something to some of them.

If you also face such a test of faith, consider the questions he was asked:

Have you ever, in your life, attended any Church meeting---priesthood meeting, sacrament meeting, Relief Society, Sunday School, a conference or fireside, a seminary class, a temple session, or any meeting sponsored by the Church---where any encouragement or authorization was given to be dishonest, to cheat in business, or take advantage of anyone?

He answered that he had not.

The next question:

Have you read, or do you know of anything in the literature of the Church, in the scriptures themselves, in lesson manuals, in Church magazines or books, in Church publications of any kind, which contains any consent to lie, or to steal, to misrepresent, to defraud, to be immoral or vulgar, to profane, to be brutal, or to abuse any living soul?

Again he said, after thoughtful consideration, that he had not.

Have you ever been encouraged in a training session, a leadership meeting, or an interview to transgress or misbehave in any way?  Have you ever been encouraged to be extreme or unreasonable or intemperate?

He had not.

You are inside the Church where you can see at close hand the conduct of bishops or Relief Society presidents, of high councilors, stake presidents, or General Authorities.  Could such conduct be described as being typical of them?

He thought it could not.

You are active and have held positions in the Church.  Surely, you would have noticed if the Church promoted any of these things in any way.

Yes, he thought he would have noticed.

Why then, I asked him, when you hear reports of this kind, should you feel that the Church is to blame?

There is no provision in the teachings or doctrines of the Church for any member to be dishonest, or immoral, or irresponsible, or even careless.

Have you not been taught all of your life, that if a member of the Church, particularly in high position, is unworthy in any way, he acts against the standards of the Church?  He is not in harmony with the teachings, the doctrines, or with the leadership of the Church.

Why, then, should your faith be shaken by this account, or that, of some alleged misconduct--most of them misrepresented or untrue?...

Now, does anyone holding a responsible position in the Church ever act unworthily?

The answer: of course, it happens.  It is an exception, but it happens.

When we call a man to be a stake president or a bishop, for instance, we say, in effect:

Here is a congregation.  You are to preside over them.  They are under constant temptation, and you are to see that they win that battle.  Govern them in such a way that they can succeed.  Devote yourself unselfishly to this cause.

And , incidentally, while you preside, you are not excused from your own trials and temptations.  They will, in fact, be increased because you are a leader.  Win your own battle as best you can.

If a leader does conduct himself unworthily, his actions fly against everything the Church stands for, and he is subject to release.

It has been our sad responsibility, on some few occasions, to excommunicate leaders from the Church who have been guilty of very serious illegal or immoral conduct.  

THAT SHOULD INCREASE , NOT SHAKE, 

your faith in the Church, or of a nonmember toward it.

(Conference Report, March-April. 1979, pp 109-11 or Ensign, May 1979, pp. 79-80)

A few things I've discovered!!

Whoever invented or came up with the idea for these great study guides for scripture study, I thank them tremendously!!  This is one of my most favorite things ever!!  I love to be able to grasp the concepts, teachings, and principles that are taught in the scriptures as I read them.  For some reason I was not blessed with the ability to understand and comprehend these great books without help.  I just wanted to share a few things that I think are very important to know as we read.  These are principles that we can apply in our lives everyday!!

If you want an answer to a pray, or if you want a specific blessing, it has to be a principle of action.  

"If you want the blessing, don't just kneel down and pray about it.  Prepare yourselves in EVERY conceivable way you can in order to make yourselves worthy to receive the blessing you seek."  

(Improvement Era, Oct.. 1966..How to receive a blessing from God) 

LOVE THIS!!

Howard W. Hunter

Howard W. Hunter, My father, the Prophet...By Richard A. Hunter

Friends often ask me two questions:  "What was it like to be the son of a prophet and grow up with such a remarkable man?" and"Do you really think your father was a prophet of God?"

Read the article in the Ensign this month.  Page 41.  It's fun to find out about our prophets lives.  

"I have come to believe that men and women are measured by what they value and by what they are willing to do about those values.  Great people seem to consistently do whatever is required to live by their values, even at great sacrifice.  My father was one of these great people.  I had the privilege of learning remarkable things from him about the true meaning of greatness.  The lessons did not come from what he told me but from what he did and who he was.  

President Hunter was in a band--who knew?

He played a clarinet, a saxophone, a violin and a trumpet.  He had a band when he was in high school in Boise, Idaho, USA.  He was a very talented musician who deeply loved music and making music.  His band played at mahor social events in Boise and even on a cruise ship that sailed to Asia.  After he moved to Southern California, in 1928, the band reorganized and became very popular.

In 1931 he married Clara Jeffs.  They wanted to have children.  He felt that for him the demands of the entertainment world were inconsistent with the meaningful family he wanted.  So one day he put all the instruments in their cases and carried them to the attic.  Save for rare family events, he never played them again!!!

Stressed???

I have to agree!!

Sunday's lesson.."Arrows"

Our lesson on Sunday was titled 

"Striving to be better when we're already pretty good!!!"

It came from this book by this cute lady.  It's a great read!!

She relates this story--Years ago I was asked to speak at a fireside, and the only person I really knew was the one who had invited me.  So I sat quietly and reverently at the back while I waited for her to arrive.  I was sitting behind two older women, and one turned to the other with a question.  "Who did they say was speaking tonight?"  Her companion responded, "It's Mary Ellen Edmunds, and I hear she's very religious."  I almost laughed out loud.  But then I began thinking about what that might mean--to be "VERY RELIGIOUS!"   I sat wondering about what would qualify me as a religious person.  

Her chapter called "Arrows" is where I took most of my information.

Let me explain...

Here is a homework assignment...

On the flat line you write all the things you are doing that you feel is good in your life.  This is the ACTIVE part of being a member of the church.  Example--attending meetings, pay tithing, do visiting teaching, read scriptures, pray, make good use of time, etc...

Downward line...Write all the things you are doing that we know are wrong, but we do them anyway.

Skip meetings, choose not to honor the Sabbath, maybe lie a little, take something that isn't yours, etc...

Our goal is to get to the upward line.  

Great quote...What's the least I can do and still get into the celestial kingdom?

The flat line is not a bad place to be but we can't camp there.  It's just the doing.  We want to get to the upward line because that's where we do the things we're doing for the right reasons.  

We do great things everyday and maybe you're already on the upward line in many things you're doing. 

But I know I lack the true motivation for some of the things I do.

Fasting---It is likely skipped altogether on the downward line.  One the flat line, fasting may mean just going without food and paying a little money.  But on the upward line, keeping the law of the fast could be something more meaningful and rewarding.

Scripture Study--Downward line--We read not at all.  Flat line--We read to just cover verses.  Upward line--There is a lot of feasting, searching, prayerful pondering and heading to the counsel there.

Visiting Teaching--Downward line--we may refuse to be a visiting teacher, or even choose not to be visited.  Flat line--Let's get it done and mark it off.  Upward line--We focus more on people and on watch-care, which can change the whole feeling and outcome of such important relationships.

Now you can see what we talked about.

Three things we discussed were:  Having real intent, having a Broken Heart and Contrite Spirit, and appreciating and using the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Great discussion!!!  If we focus on these three things and apply them in our lives, it can get us on the right path to being better and doing better.  There are many other principles that can help us along the way, but these were the three we discussed.

Hope you take the time to do the exercise and then evaluate yourself. 

Challenge yourself to do just a little better in at least one area of your life.

Remember, Good, Better, BEST!!