Presidency Message May, 2013

This month we celebrate motherhood-those who love and nurture and sacrifice, whether or not they have been blessed with children of their own. A day to honor mothers is well-deserved and important. Some women have mixed feelings about all the attention. They are not used to spending much time thinking about themselves. Most feel they fall short of the ideal. Some, though skilled nurturers, know a deep longing for motherhood that does not seem to go away.

If motherhood did not matter so much, it would not merit such feelings of the heart. Because motherhood is a sacred responsibility of boundless importance, it induces these deep feelings.

Motherhood is a description of a person who loves another more than life itself. No two mothers are alike, but they share common purpose, whether they are mothering their own or stepping in with just the right touch or attending someone they love. Mothers are not perfect; they readily admit they are learning on the job-one that calls for wisdom, sacrifice, patience, love, and the willingness to lift others' burdens as well as their own. Regarding those who feel overwhelmed in their motherhood duties, Sister Majorie Pay Hinckley stated, "Relax! We just do the best we can with the help of the Lord."

A mother is the one who encourages us to believe that dreams can come true and who inspires us, in spite of our doubts and fears, to believe in ourselves and do our best. When we succeed, she is the first to say, "I knew you could do it." She is a teammate, coach, and cheerleader . Mothers nurture and love, create homes of warmth and safety, cultivate strengths and see potential.

Hers is the comforting hand that caresses our fevered brows. It is in her arms that we seek consolation when our hearts are breaking. Her tender eyes brim with tears when we suffer; and when we are lost, she fills the heavens with prayers, pleading that we may be found.

In the third verse of the LDS hymn "O My Father" (Hymn # 292) are the words: "...In the heav'ns are parents single? No, the thought makes reason stare! Truth is reason; truth eternal tells me I've a mother there." Since families ,, with a father  and  a mother, are so important in this mortal life, it is only sensible that we have a Heavenly Mother as well as Our Heavenly Father. She is the only woman who would be the PERFECT mother. Here on earth, not a single one is expected to be perfect-or close to it.

Mother Teresa, known the world over for her great compassion, was once asked what she considered the most significant honor she had ever received. There were many to choose from, including the Nobel Peace Prize. But she surprised her questioner when she replied, "The title Mother." She had not birthed children of her own, but was known as "Mother" to thousands-teaching, listening, comforting, encouraging, serving, loving.

This month, and always, we thank the Lord for mothers-ALL those who provide "mothering" whether they have given birth or not-each playing such an important role in the lives of children.

Happy Mother's Day!
Sister Val Walsh
Centralia Stake Relief Society Secretary

April Stake Relief Society Presidency Message

I love Springtime. The sunshine is out in all its glory, the birds are twitterpated, newborn lambs are frolicking around. It brings out the reality of the resurrection. Going from the cold, darkness and deadness of the winter to warmth, sunlight and new life. 

 

I was awake early Easter morning and pondered upon how excited Jesus must have felt on that glorious morning, when He would soon show himself to those he loved and prove that He had overcome all, that He WAS resurrected and had fulfilled his earthly mission. What a glorious day... what a glorious message. Because of the Atonement and Resurrection we can all live with our Heavenly Father forever.

 

I am now excited about General Conference this coming weekend. I testify that our leaders are inspired. Heavenly Father loves each one of us and wants us to complete the mission that we came to earth to fulfill. General Conference is personal. If we listen closely we hear Heavenly Father speaking personally to us. I love what President Uchtdorf said in April 2010. 

 

- Members of the Church are entitled to personal revelation as they listen to and study the inspired words spoken at general conference.

―As you prepare for general conference, I invite you to ponder questions you need to have answered. For example, you might yearn for direction and guidance by the Lord regarding challenges you are facing.
―Answers to your specific prayers may come directly from a particular talk or from a specific phrase. At other times answers may come in a seemingly unrelated word, phrase, or song. A heart filled with gratitude for the blessings of life and an earnest desire to hear and follow the words of counsel will prepare the way for personal revelation -―No Ordinary Blessing - Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Ensign, April 2010 
 

I love this message from President Henry B. Eyring.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=xdN8rfwW3SI

Sisters, be the Saviors hands. Encourage, love and uplift one another the way he does. Keep the Faith and Endure to the End.
Love,
Sister Best 2nd Counselor in the Centralia Stake Relief Society.

March Stake Relief Society Presidency Message

NEW RELIEF SOCIETY SEAL, SIMPLIFIED


In the early days of the formation of the Relief Society, Lucy Mack Smith, described this sisterhood in these words: "We must cherish one another, watch over one another, comfort one another and gain instruction, that we may all sit down in heaven together."

At our February 9th Stake Women's conference, "Temple & Home, Our Refuge From the World", we felt the spirit of what Sister Smith was describing. Sisters (and a few brethren) came from all over Lewis County to renew friendships, learn and share, strengthen and enjoy one another ! We witnessed the cherishing, watch care, comforting and instruction you all shared in that day !

It was such a fun and spirit filled event and we want to thank you all who presented as well as those who attended and partook of what was offered. Thank you for your support and enthusiasm, your contributions and feedback !

2013 Centralia Stake RS Women's conference - slideshow

Then seeing many of you and your families at Stake Conference the next week was a bonus !

this month of March we celebrate the founding and organizing of this great society of women that now spans the earth ! As a Stake Relief society presidency, we look forward to visiting as many of these as we can. We would love to be at every one of your celebrations but have to "divide and conquer" to be represented at those that are held on the same night. We love rubbing shoulders with you and feeling that sisterhood !

On the LDS.ORG website there are so many new resources weekly ! Be sure to check it out frequently...In conjunction with the April 2013 general conference, the Relief society general presidency will be providing training for stake and ward Relief Society leaders.

Love,
Sister Chris Jackson 1st Counselor

Stake Relief Society Women's Conference

Presidency Message January, 2013

At the beginning of each new year we feel a sense of renewal and a chance to start over. New beginnings are all around us. They can be invigorating. something about starting over generates energy and commitment. Blank pages of a new calendar can give us a sense of opportunity, possibility, and even resolve. We work a little harder, reach a little farther, and somehow do a little more. What may have seemed out of reach just days before suddenly eenters the realm of possibility when a new year comes.

We all have successes in our past, just as we remember things we wish we had done a little better. But we need not become discouraged about our past mistakes any more than we should become too comfortable with our past accomplishments. Many mistakes can be corrected, just as many successes can be improved. Now might be a good time to reevaluate our goals and aspirations,, rethink our direction and purpose in life, and refocus our efforts and energy on worthwhile endeavors.

There is nothing in life quite like the feeling of cleanliness: clean clothes, clean house, clean hands, clean thoughts, clean hearts. A sense of cleanliness come with clearing out anything that is unworthy of us, putting out prejudice and pettiness, and repenting of the past. A new year invites us to wash away the negatives and take a fresh, clean look at ourselves and our surroundings. It brings an opportunity of clearing away the "litter": cleaning out old errors, false attitudes, gossip and grudges, envy, indolence, thoughtless acts and utterances. We should endeavor to practice less cynicism, less frustration, less despair, and more keeping the Lord's commandments, along with more repentance.

If you are one who makes "resolutions" as a new year opens, here are a few suggestions to include in your listing: study the scriptures every day, go to the Temple more often, spend more time with family, give more service to others,, and prayerfully consider choices.

Stake Relief Society Presidency Message

Dear Sisters,

     Each year at Christmastime our minds go to a pilgrimage back to the little town of Bethlehem, which has nestled among the Judean hills for so many centuries. It is wondefully rich in its long and interesting history. It is here that Jacob buried his wife Rachel. Bethlehem is where Ruth gleaned in the wheat fields of Boaz. It was also here that Ruth's great grandson David was born and where he tended the sheep of his father, Jesse. It was here that he was annointed by Samuel to be the king of Israel. This little town finally called itself by the name of its most famous son and was thereafter known as the City of David.
     The Old Testament prophet Micah had foretold that one greater than David should also be born in Bethlehem and that the most important event in the history of the world should here take place to distinguish little Bethlehem above all of the great cities of the world. Since the meridian of time, Bethlehem has been remembered primarily as the birthplace of the Savior of all mankind.
     For that first Christmas, Mary and Joseph had come some 65 miles from Nazareth in Galilee to Bethlehem in Judea in response to the decree of Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed, each in his own city. They arrived in Bethlehem at about the time that Jesus was to be born. And Luke says of Mary, "And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. (Luke 2:7)
     As we think back to the birth of Jesus, we feel a certain sense of shame and regret that there was no room in the inn for the Savior of the world to be born. It is also a very interesting thought  that the King of kings and Lord of lords should be born in a stable. With his Heavenly Father, he had created the earth in the first place, and yet there was no room in it for him to be born. But this fact is something more than an isolated event of interesting significance; it indicates what almost amounts to a theme song for his life. "No room" was one of the chief characteristics of his entire mortal existence. He himself summed up his experiences by saying, "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head." (Matthew 8:20)
     The birth and death of Jesus are now both ancient history. The great Roman Empire has long since become more than a memory. The problems of the religious leaders who brought about his death have long been buried. But Jesus did not give his life for his contemporaries alone; his mission applied with equal significance to us. It was our sins as well as theirs that made him volunteer his own death. What is our attitude about his life?
     Many of the doors with which Jesus was familar had the latch only on the inside and could not be opened from without. The door to the heart is still opened from within. The invitation for Jesus to enter our lives must still come from the inside. The door to the heart is not easily broken down by anyone beating upon it from without; the release must be operated from within.
     At Christmas time we sing the most beautiful songs and even though he stands at the door of our lives and knocks, not many doors are being opened. Too frequently we merely send back the ancient reply, "No room, no room."
     As the spirit of Christmas fills our lives and as we are haunted by the embarrassment of centuries past, we should consider the advisability of making room for him in our own present. If we are too busy to serve God, we are much too busy. If our lives are so filled as to crowd him out, then we should empty our lives and relieve the congestion that threatens to overtake us.
     Dear sisters, my Christmas wish is that we may change that ancient Christmas pageant of Bethlehem so that we may really hear the angels' song and make room for the Redeemer of the world in our personal lives. We will be blessed and our families will be blessed beyond measure if we do this. May you be blessed in all of your efforts to serve Him, our Lord and Master, our Savior, the Son of God.
Love,
Sister Sallye Johnston
Stake Relief Society President
    

November Message

November is here! Time to Celebrate! I love this month. First, we commemorate Armistice day and our Veterans, then we celebrate again on Thanksgiving Day.

Personally my body is grateful that it only has to undergo "Thanksgiving Day" once a year. My spirit and soul on the other hand rejoices and thrives when I recognize and give thanks many times every day of the year.

Recently I saw a video called Clicking Can Change Your Life" by Hilary Weeks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9PHrtc2EA8&feature=related

I love this video!!! It is soooo true. We could also give it the title "Gratitude can Change Your Life." A short synopsis of the video is that Sis Weeks decided that she could get rid of her negative thoughts and negativity in her life when she realized what they were. So she bought a mechanical counter clicker. She clicked many times a day. One day she had already clicked 8 times while driving the kids to school. She clicked while out on date night as she remembered and recited to her husband the problems that she had been dealing with throughout the week. After a week of this she realized that she was feeling depressed and down.

This was the opposite of what she had planned. By giving attention to the negative, she realized that she had not got rid of it, instead she had given power to it.

So she switched and gave power to positive thoughts. It was so much more fun to chase away or block negative thoughts by filling her mind with positive. One day she looked at her counter and saw 1,262 clicks. She wondered if a family member had been playing with it, but no-one had. Her outlook and spirit changed. She felt like she could accomplish ANYTHING. She set goals that she would never have thought of setting. That week while on the treadmill she ran further and longer than she had in 20 years by filling her mind, spirit and soul with everything that was positive.

She ends with Philippians 4:8 where Paul tells us "whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure,whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

I understand Paul's message better and I am so glad Sis Weeks shared this story. I know some people who are giving their family members clickers for Christmas.

I often think about Joseph B. Wirthlin's final talk in conference "Come What May and Love it." What a wonderful man and what a wonderful message to leave us with. Even the title alone has great counsel. I will end with a quote from his talk

"How can we love days that are filled with sorrow? We can’t—at least not in the moment. I don’t think my mother was suggesting that we suppress discouragement or deny the reality of pain. I don’t think she was suggesting that we smother unpleasant truths beneath a cloak of pretended happiness. But I do believe that the way we react to adversity can be a major factor in how happy and successful we can be in life.
If we approach adversities wisely, our hardest times can be times of greatest growth, which in turn can lead toward times of greatest happiness."
I am so grateful for all you sisters who love and uplift one another, and for the veterans who have rescued and preserved freedoms world wide and wish you all a very wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving Day.
Love,
Sister Best - 2nd Counselor in Centralia Stake RS