PRESIDENCY MESSAGE

PRESIDENCY MESSAGE

CENTRALIA STAKE RELIEF SOCIETY BLOG

January, 2015

It is a time for remembering; a time for re-evaluation; a time for recalling accomplishments (and failures); a time for renewal.  The moment we close one year, we open another.  Newness:  new day, new year, new plans, new goals, new attitude.  No matter how good (or bad) last year was, there is this newness to consider.  Each new day is a fresh start, a clean slate, a new chance to change, improve, or try again.

Within our scriptures, there are a multitude of references using to words “new”, “newness”, “new covenant”, “new commandment”, etc.  Here are a few for you to review and to ponder:

“…Behold, I make all things new. …”  (Revelations 21:5)

“…walk in newness…” (Romans 6:4)

“...new and everlasting covenant…” (D&C 131:2)

“old things are done away, and all things have become new.”  (3 Nephi 12:47)

“…newness of spirit and not in the oldest…” (Romans 7:6)

“…a new heart…new spirit”  (Ezekiel 36:26)

“…a new name written…the new name is the key word.” (D&C 130:11)

IDEA:  Make a Family Home Evening project with family members searching for other scriptures which refer to “new” or “newness”.  Maybe choose one to become your personal or family motto for the year.  This is also an opportunity to teach your children to use the Topical Guide to find these. 

I wish you a happy, successful, and healthy new year with a close relationship to our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Sister Val Walsh

Secretary, Centralia Stake Relief Society


Welcome to 2015! 
Our course of study for the year will be from "Teachings Of Presidents Of The Church: Ezra Taft Benson." Take the time to read the introduction of him and his wife Flora in the January Ensign “Flora and I: Equal Partners in the Work of the Lord”.
You can access this article  from the Ensign online as well as the manual for the year. Enjoy learning from this great prophet-leader!
If you have not received a copy of the lesson schedule for the year please check with your ward Relief Society Presidency as they were sent to them in November 2014.

Love,
Sister Chris Jackson

Presidency Message

Thank you Morton Ward Relief Society for posting this message. http://youtu.be/cOX5z5QJ_dY
I watched it and absolutely love it and want to share it for our December Stake Relief Society blog.

    I love tying it together with our December Visiting Teaching message which is "The Divine Mission of Jesus Christ: Prince of Peace." “The Savior is the source of true peace,” said Elder Quentin L. Cook . “Even with the trials of life, because of the Savior’s Atonement and His grace, righteous living will be rewarded with personal peace.” Understanding that Jesus Christ  is the Prince of Peace can help us find inner peace and increase our faith in Him.

    When we truly have Christ (The Prince of Peace) in our hearts, we truly have Peace in our Hearts.
    It is my prayer that we all have a joyous CHRISTmas season by making sure we have room for "The Prince of Peace" in our Hearts.

Wishing you all a blessed peaceful Christmas and a Healthy and Prosperous 2015.
Love,
Sister Susan Best - Second Counselor Centralia Stake Relief Society

Presidency Message : I want each of you to know of the love we as a stake RS presidency have for each and everyone of you sisters. Each of you sisters are important and your individual life has a strong influence for good as you strengthen and provide for so many. Your hands are His hands ! Love, Sister Sallye Johnston, Centralia Stake Relief Society President

PRESIDENCY MESSAGE

CENTRALIA STAKE RELIEF SOCIETY BLOG

October, 2014

All of us need to be very careful about the paths we choose and the directions in which we set our lives.  What seem to be only small deviations in direction or small detours from the straight and narrow path can result in huge differences in position down the road of life.

We are taught as children by our parents and leaders, or by missionaries as adults.  We accept and believe the Word of God, and enter the waters of baptism.  We clutch the Iron Rod.  We may journey for miles and years with it in a firm hand-hold.

However, daily and worldly challenges and demands touch our lives and possibly cause us to unleash the white knuckle grip, yet still holding to the rod.  A variety of hurts, doubts, weaknesses, or temptations may cause a release of the grasping hand, but we still touch the rod with our fingertips and continue on our way.

We give way to other incidents or enticements and then eventually turn loose of the rod.  It is okay—we rationalize—I am still walking near enough to reach out and take hold again if I wish.

More worldly tugs and pulls may cause us to drift a bit further from the Iron Rod; but—again—we feel some security in that we still have it in sight.  We continue on a path that we see as running parallel to the rod.  I still see it over there.  I am moving in the same direction as it runs.

Without much realization, we keep moving small degrees away until we no longer have it in sight.  We are lost.  The Iron Rod has not been relocated!  WE strayed from it.

But, thankfully, through our Older Brother, Jesus Christ, we have repentance that allows us to halt, ask for forgiveness and guidance, reverse our direction, and return to where we can once again grab  hold of the rod—the original Global Positioning System which never breaks down, never needs replacement parts, and never gives us false direction.

Hold to the rod!

Sister Val Walsh

Centralia Stake Relief Society Secretary

Women's Dinner and General Broadcast

August Presidency Message

Sisters I am so excited to hear that L. Tom Perry is presiding at our Stake Conference on August 9th - 10th.

My husband and I were visiting an inactive sister last week and as he shared the home teaching message about Family History her face lit up. She said that she loved Family History and excitedly told us that her cousin in Idaho had just been sharing stories with her and she especially loved hearing ones about her mother as she had only been 9 when her mother passed away. Scott informed her that there was a Family History Center at the Stake Center. I felt prompted at that time to mention that church meetings start at 1:00 pm each Sunday if she had been thinking about wanting to attend. She nodded that she had been thinking about it. Then worried that she might show up to an empty building on the second Sunday in August  I quickly told her that it would be at the Stake Center at 10:00 am that day as it was Stake Conference.  When I told her that one of the apostles would be attending her face lit up once again and she responded that she would call her ex mother-in-law to see if they could go together. We said that they were announcing the apostles name on Sunday and would be sure to let her know who it was. 
On my way home that night I realized how much that information meant to that sister and vowed then that I would go out visiting teaching early in August so that my sisters know they have the opportunity to be in the same room as an apostle of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Tonight while looking up information about L. Tom Perry I feel inspired to print and share some of the following along with the Visiting Teaching Message in August.

https://www.lds.org/prophets-and-apostles/what-are-prophets/bio/l-tom-perry?lang=eng

May we be the best visiting teachers that we can be.
Love,
Sister Best 
Second Counselor Centralia Stake Relief Society.

Stake Relief Society Message July

As we celebrate our National Independence this month as well as the advent of Latter-day Saints into the Utah Valley, we might also consider what we personally have done with our freedom, abilities and opportunities. 

We read in the scriptures that the glory of God is intelligence, to seek learning and wisdom, to teach one another and to become all that we can.

On the LDS.org website it explains, “Although “education” often suggests formal schooling, Latter-day Saints recognize that it should involve far more than that. They are encouraged to regard education as an individual responsibility,[18] and they are taught that each person ought to pursue education independently in the context of their own lives, learning in the ways and to the extent that their circumstances allow.[19] While they view formal educational programs as indispensible, Mormons also value individual reading, study, thought and observation of many kinds. They affirm that a wealth of knowledge is available to all those who will engage it. Finally, to Latter-day Saints, education is a principle that spans eternity. Mormon scripture teaches that “whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life” will follow us in the hereafter (Doctrine and Covenants 130:18). Latter-day Saints also see in education a perpetual enterprise; they anticipate and hope for a long course of learning that extends indefinitely into the future.”

A new opportunity is being presented in our area to further our knowledge and learning. The BYUIdaho Pathway program is being introduce to our area this Fall. This low-cost educational program is designed to give students the confidence, skills, and hope they need to succeed in college by completing degrees and professional certificates. Students attend local gatherings and institute instruction at nearly 200 sites across the world. The classes in our area will be held on Thursday nights at the Overhulse building in Olympia. Two groups will meet weekly ages 18-32 and 33 and up. If you are looking to go back to College or start College - look into the BYU Pathway program Visit : http://www.byui.edu/about/defining-aspects/pathway You can apply now.

When I read the accounts of women in the early days of the church, I marvel at their intellect, ambition and Faith! We are equally capable.

“Women: We women need to do a better job of claiming the power and direct access that comes from being a child of God and realizing that power in the choices we make in our own lives. Ours is not a gospel of limitation; it is a gospel of empowerment to get the education we want, pursue our dreams, work in partnerships with spouses and friends to raise families, contribute to our communities as our talents dictate, and seek out answers to our deepest questions without intermediaries.”—“To Do the Business of the Church: A Cooperative Paradigm for Examining Gendered Participation Within Church Organizational Structure” by Neylan McBaine  Aug 2, 2012 Fair Mormon

It is my hope that we appreciate our independence and opportunities. That we will make choices and pursue knowledge that will help us realize our divine potential and go with us into eternity.

Love,

Sister Chris Jackson

First Counselor Centralia Stake Relief Society