And the Feud Begins!!! So FUN!!

It was an action packed night with games to be played!!  We had such a fun time.  Thanks so much to our hard-working committee that put a lot of time in preparing and carrying this great night off!!  Thanks to those who came.  We really had a great time!!  Look to see just how fun...

 We had several visitors and this was one of the cutest!!

 Had great refreshments...

 Go Sandy!!

 Our lovely hosts for the evening!!

 Our own Vanna White!!  Notice the lovely girl in the orange too...

 Team 1, or 2, can't remember

 The other team!!

 Our new Maurine Openshaw!!

 Committee hard at work!!

 So cute!!

 So cute!!

 So cute too!!

 And cute too!!

 Another new sister, Shauna Wickes--Mandy and Sandy's mom, Daisy and Carma Lee

 Our lovely committee

JayLynn????

 Here's Vanna again!

 Our lovely committee chair!

 Stress, competition, nerves, not really!!

Cheering them on..

 I don't know how to spell the buzzer noise.. 2 strikes against the other team..aaaat!!

 Brittney and her lovely sister, visiting!!

Yes, I know all the answers!!  

 A winning round!!

Look at that hair!! Beautiful...

Thanks everyone for coming and for our great committee!!

Fun night!!

Billings Montana Temple

Worth braving a blizzard...

A hearty storm blew in for the March 1998 groundbreaking of the Billings Montana Temple, taking Church members and visiting dignitaries by surprise.  The 4,800 people in attendance, including guests from 12 states and two Canadian provinces, braved freezing temperatures, fog, and snow to be there for the occasion.  Teeth chattered as a 700-member youth choir sang... 

"Now Let Us Rejoice."  

The spring snowstorm had caught the majority of attendees off guard, and, lacking a sufficient number of shovels, many used inverted music stands to push away the snow and ice.

The weather worsened as each hour passed.  One loyal sister in her 60's had arrived two hours early to ensure she would have a front-row seat.  Swathed in a blanket under an umbrella, she sat on a lawn chair for more than four hours.  When she rose, the perfectly dry ground beneath her chair was ringed by snow five inches deep!!

Later, Church members learned that a large anti-Mormon organization from northern Wyoming had planned to disrupt the groundbreaking ceremonies.  Not one protester was able to reach the temple site because of the hazardous weather and traveling conditions.

Thought for the day...

Activity this Wednesday!!! April 20th--Friendly Feud

You are not going to want to miss this one!!  We are going to play Friendly Feud.  If you don't want to play, you don't have to.  If you do, you can.  We have surveyed each auxiliary in our ward with different questions and we will have the top 5 answers on the board!!!

We will be eating fruit and dip and laughing a lot!!

Please come...

7:00 p.m.

At the Church!

But it's Friendly....

Taking the gospel to all the world!!

We had such a great lesson on Sunday.  Lisa Jones brought a chocolate chip cookie for each one of us and explained that she is a huge chocolate lover!!  She loves it so much that she wanted to share it with us.  Great analogy for the importance of us loving the gospel so much that we can't wait to share it with others!!!

We had a great discussion on how we can spread the gospel to our neighbors, friends, and loved ones.  Strangers too.  

Being good mom's and teaching your children the principles and teachings of the gospel is one way you can be successful in spreading the gospel.  They need to have firm testimonies so they can grow and have families of their own.  That's how the chain stays connected.  No generation gaps.  

I thought this comment from the lesson was amazing:

"I fully believe that in the near future we will see some of the greatest advancements in spreading the gospel to all nations that have ever taken place in this dispensation or any previous dispensation.  I am sure that we will be able to look back in retrospect...and record as Luke did, 'And the word of God increased'"  

Howard W. Hunter, 1979

I'm sure he had no idea what is taking place today with technology.  But the Lord did!!

Another quote:  Based upon ancient and modern revelation, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gladly teaches and declares the Christian doctrine that all en and women are brothers and sisters, not only by blood relationship from common mortal progenitors but also as literal spirit children of an Eternal Father...

We are all brothers and sisters!!! 

We must love all people!!

Imagine a father with many sons, each having different temperaments, aptitudes, and spiritual traits.  Does he love one son less than another?  Perhaps the son who is least spiritually inclined has the father's attention, prayers, and pleadings more than the others.  Does that mean he loves the others less?  Do you imagine our Heavenly Father loving one nationality of his offspring more exclusively than others? 

We are in the work of saving souls, of inviting people to come unto Christ!!

President Hunter brings up such a great point...

We can overcome all obstacles to share the gospel!!

As the walls in Eastern Europe and many other parts of the world come tumbling down, the corresponding need for more missionaries to fulfill the divine commission to take the gospel to all the earth will certainly go up!!  Are we ready to meet that contingency?

Perhaps some of us need to take stock to determine whether "wall" that we have built in our own minds need to come down.

How about the "comfort wall" that seems to prevent many couples and singles from going on a mission?  

How about the "financial wall" of debt?

How about the "grandchildren wall", or the "health wall," 

or the "lack of self-confidence wall," or the "self-satisfied wall," or the "transgressions wall."

or the walls of fear, doubt, or complacency?

Does anyone really doubt for a minute that with the help of the Lord he or she could bring those walls crashing down?

There is NO GREATER CALLING in this life!!

Heavenly Father can and will reassures us that we can overcome all obstacles if we will but ask!!!

GREAT LESSON!!!

SHARE THE GOSPEL!!!

Thanks Lisa...

Cleaning the Building...Yea!!

Us as Relief Sisters get the opportunity to clean the building on May 7th.  8:00 a.m. is the time!!  And if lots show up we can be out of there in no time.  Please come support your fellow sisters and know that you are being of great service to the Lord too.  Please come!!!  We need our service hours, ladies!!!  And we can count these!!

Thought for the day...

Hee, hee!!!

The temple that would sail the world...

One proposal for a temple was unprecedented, both geographically and architecturally.  In early 1967, President David O. McKay charged Mark Garff, chairman of the Church's building committee, to find a solution that would accommodate Church members who wished to attend a temple but lived too far away to get to one easily.
After visiting with members throughout the Pacific, Brother Garff made an unusual proposal to President McKay.  He said, I am proposing to you now, that the Church obtain or build a ship sufficient tin size to run the oceans and we equip this ship as a temple ship; that we take the ship into the parts and harbors where our people live.  We could do this around the entire continent of South American, Europe, along the coasts of China, Japan, Australia, and even Africa."  The ship was planned to make a "continuous tour of where there are people needing the blessing of the temple and the holy endowment."
The ship would have been designed to successfully sail the high seas and the large rivers, including the Mississippi and Missouri.  Although President McKay responded favorably to the idea, full support was never achieved and the project was never finalized.

I would have definitely volunteered for this assignment!!

Great wisdom...great advice!!

Sunday Lesson...Kathy Ward--Prophets and Apostles

Kathy did such a great job.  We had such a great discussion on the living prophets and their council.  We are so blessed to have such great men to lead us in these last days.  Amazing to hear their words and just how in tune they are for us in our day.  

For more than 53 Years President Thomas S. Monson has prepared General Conference addresses to inspire and uplift members around the world.

We love President Monson...

General Conference gives us an opportunity to learn from living prophets, listen to the Spirit, and receive answers to personal questions.  Below are some questions with inspired answers given during the April 2016 General Conference.

How can I prevent trials from overcoming my faith?

Is there any hope left for me?

ow can I make my prayers more meaningful?

Why is there so much persecution today?

How can I stay motivated to live the gospel when I keep falling short?

How can I always retain a remission of my sins?

What can I better fulfill my role as a father?

What can I do to help refugees?

If I forgive someone, won't that mean that justice is not served?

What is the greatest challenge our youth face today?

How can we better remember the Savior?

Now...who doesn't want answers to these questions???

We are soooo blessed to have brethren who love us and who are looking out for us.  

Can't wait for the Conference Ensign to come out!!

Thanks Kathy for a wonderful lesson!!

Math...not my best subject!!!

Mormon Missionary - Hello Song--It's so cute..Take the time to watch it!!

https://youtu.be/ckLqfX62u_I

Manhattan New York Temple--a building within a building..

This temple was created within the existing shell of the New York, New York Sake Center.  The stake center was renovated to occupy the third and fourth floors with the temple located on the first, second, fifth, and sixth.  Converting  a meetinghouse into a temple provided members with many unique opportunities to serve.  Prior to demolition, members removed light fixtures, sinks, blackboards, tables, and chairs to use in other Church locations.  As the extensive remodeling progressed, members frequently cleaned the building to keep the construction dirt and debris to a minimum.  Extra cleaning efforts were made each Saturday in preparation for Sunday worship. 

Most temple visitors nowadays expect to drive to a temple, park their cars, and take a leisurely walk past beautiful landscaping and fountains as they approach the front doors, allowing themselves a few moments to redirect their thoughts and prepare to enter the House of the Lord.  The Manhattan Temple, however, is a complete contrast to the traditional temple setting.  The doors of the temple open almost directly onto busy and noisy Columbus Avenue, just a few feet from Broadway.  Mere inches separate the spirit of the temple from the world outside.  Walking from crowded streets and immediately seeing the temple recommend desk can be a pleasantly shocking experience for guest of the temple.  

Temple missionary Brent M. Cederlof observed, "As people enter the temple, they are frequently astounded at the difference they see and feel.  Many people are so overwhelmed they shed tears upon entering.  The sharp contrast emphasizes the difference between the temple and the world."

The temple has a special feature that helps maintain its spirit.  Although city noise never stops, it cannot be heard within the walls of the building.  Extensive design and construction techniques were implemented to create a building within a building.  The soundproofed inner shell creates a quiet, serene, atmosphere where members can enjoy peaceful reflection--a unique opportunity in the heart of New York City.

Amazing!!

Hee, hee...thought this was rather funny..

Do you believe?

I don't know about you, but General Conference is always one of my favorite times.  I really hate to see it come to an end.  But one of my favorite talks was by Bonnie L. Oscarson.  Her message was so powerful and I am going to present it to our Relief Society the first of May in my lesson.  What a great reminder for us all.  DO YOU BELIEVE!!

  

Vernal Utah Temple--Built with rare brick

While converting the Uintah Stake Tabernacle into the Vernal Utah Temple, builders needed to get a bulldozer inside the  building to demolish its interior.  But they did not know how they were going to get the tractor inside the fragile walls without damaging the structure.  Miraculously, however, an archway was discovered in the building's foundation.  It was wide enough to allow the tractor to enter--with just inches to spare.

As construction began in the summer of 1995, many other small coincidences and miracles helped in the creation of this holy house.  A search was conducted throughout the area for high-quality period brick to match the brick on the tabernacle walls.  This brick would be used to replace damaged bricks and to construct a gateway. Satisfactory brick was found on only one house, owned by a man named Nick J. Meagher.  He had planned to raze (demolish, destroy) the home but instead agreed to donate it to the Church.  The bricks on the old home had the same markings as those used in the tabernacle, suggesting that they came from the same clay pit and kiln as the tabernacle bricks.  More than 1,000 volunteers helped dismantle the home, brick by brick.  The job took nearly two months to complete, with members of all ages throughout the temple district donating their time and labor.  Small children stacked bricks while adults removed and cleaned them.  Even a 90-year-old man in a wheelchair helped.  When the project was over, about 16,000 bricks had been salvaged and prepared to become a part of the temple.

Miracles...big and small!!!