lupe's notes April 14th

Good afternoon sisters. What a beautiful day. The white capped mountains against the blue sky.


THOUGHT: “Every man and woman who serves the Lord, no matter how faithful they may be, have their dark hours; but if they have lived faithfully, light will burst upon them and relief will be furnished.” Lorenzo Snow


ANNOUNCEMENTS:

1. A new Emergency Service list for Compassionate Service is being created. Sign up if you wish to be on that list.
2. Reminder: STAKE PREPAREDNESS FAIR, April 27^th Open House 1 – 4 pm. Families are invited and will be held in our building.
3. All youth who have not turned in their Trek registration forms, please do so by 7 pm tonight to Heather F.
4. HUMANITARIAN SERVICE NIGHT: Wednesday in the Culture Hall. All RS sisters, YW and Activity Day girls are invited. There will be 7 different activities and some new ones. Sisters please bring scissors and sewing machines if you have one.
5. MOMMY MINGLE: April 24^th at 10:30 am at Melissa B's back yard. Bring your preschoolers, let them play while you visit with the moms. If you don't have little ones but just want to visit, you are welcome.
6. STAKE NEWSLETTER: The Stake presidency invites you to read their monthly message using the Newsletter link on LDS.org. After logging in, the Newsletter link allows you to see both ward and stake message. Members of the presidency will post a new monthly message at the beginning of each month for you to read.
7. Sisters, we have new sisters in the ward that we may not have met yet. Check the RS blog where we will spot lighting the sisters. It's a good way to know who they are. The RS blog address is: m12rs.blogspot.com

BIRTHDAYS: April 3^rd – Dia B; April 17^th – Julie W; April 18^th – Lupe L; April 18^th – Megan S. Happy Birthday. Enjoy your day.

Our lesson today was presented by Nichole L who subbed for Tiffany. Lesson # 7 Faithfulness in times of trial: “From the Shadows into the Glorious Sunshine” Lorenzo Snow manual.

Sisters, I feel completely inadequate. Our Relief Society teachers are fantastic. If you have read this lesson and if there are parts of it that touched your hearts, please raise your hand to share. If you have not read it, I encourage you to read it.

As in all the lessons, there are personal experiences from the life of Lorenzo Snow that I wish to share with you.

In February 1846 the Latter-day Saints were forced to leave their homes in Nauvoo, Illinois. As they prepared to make the trek west to their new promised land, they followed President Brigham Young’s counsel to establish settlements along the way. They lived in temporary shelters and planted crops for the Saints who would follow them. After spending a short time in the state of Iowa at a settlement called Garden Grove, Lorenzo Snow and his family moved to a place the Saints called Mount Pisgah, also in Iowa. This settlement was named after the mountain where the prophet Moses had seen his people’s promised land.

Several months after arriving in Mount Pisgah, Lorenzo was called to preside over the settlement. “By this time,” he later recorded, “the Saints in Pisgah were in a very destitute condition, not only for food and clothing, but also for teams and wagons to proceed on their journey. Several families were entirely out of provision, and dependent on the charity of their neighbors, who, in most cases, were illy prepared to exercise that virtue. But, above all this, a sweeping sickness had visited the settlement, when there were not sufficient well ones to nurse the sick; and death followed in the wake, and fathers, mothers, children, brothers, sisters and dearest friends fell victims to the destroyer, and were buried with little ceremony, and some destitute of proper burial clothes. Thus were sorrow and mourning added to destitution.”



Lorenzo knew these trials firsthand. He and his family experienced sickness, disappointments, and heartache, including the death of his newborn daughter Leonora. He wrote, “Little Leonora was taken sick and died, and with deep sorrow we bore her remains to their silent resting place, to be left alone, far from her father and the mother who gave her birth.”

Under these circumstances, Lorenzo helped the Saints face their trials with faith. His sister Eliza wrote, “With an indomitable energy—a mind fruitful in expedients, and a firmness of purpose that never yielded to discouragement, he proved himself equal to an emergency which would have terrified men of ordinary abilities.” She recalled, “In the first place he moved to arouse and combine the energies of the people.” He organized the men into work groups. Some went to nearby towns to earn money for provisions and clothing. Others stayed at the camp, where they looked after the families there, planted crops, and produced and repaired goods that could be used in neighboring settlements.

In addition to helping the Saints work together, Lorenzo encouraged them to nourish themselves spiritually and to enjoy wholesome entertainment. “During the long winter months,” he said, “I sought to keep up the spirits and courage of the Saints in Pisgah, not only by inaugurating meetings for religious worship and exercises, in different parts of the settlement, but also by making provisions for, and encouraging proper amusements of various kinds. …

“As a sample, I will attempt a description of one, which I improvised for the entertainment of as many as I could reasonably crowd together in my humble family mansion, which was a one-story edifice, about fifteen by thirty [about four and one-half meters by nine meters], constructed of logs, with a dirt roof and ground floor, displaying at one end a chimney of modest height, made of turf cut from the bosom of Mother Earth. Expressly for the occasion we carpeted the floor with a thin coating of clean straw, and draped the walls with white sheets drawn from our featherless beds.



“How to light our hall suitably for the coming event was a consideration of no small moment, and one which levied a generous contribution on our ingenuity. But we succeeded. From the pit where they were buried, we selected the largest and fairest turnips—scooped out the interior, and fixed short candles in them, placing them at intervals around the walls, suspending others to the ceiling above, which was formed of earth and cane. Those lights imparted a very peaceable, quiet … influence, and the light reflected through those turnip rinds imparted a very picturesque appearance.

“During the evening exercises, several of my friends, in the warmest expressions possible, complimented me and my family for the peculiar taste and ingenuity displayed in those unique and inexpensive arrangements.”

Lorenzo recalled that “the hours were enlivened, and happily passed.” He and his guests entertained one another with speeches, songs, and recitations. He said, “At the close, all seemed perfectly satisfied, and withdrew, feeling as happy as though they were not homeless.

When I first read the lesson, I thought it was going to be about trials and how serving others can help lesson those trials. However, the lesson is about being faithful in times of trials and tribulation. We all go through different experiences and may even have difficult feelings dealing with them. It is OK to have those feelings; sometimes that is the only way we can cope, by expressing those feelings. It does not mean that you are not faithful. We live in a world that is very materialistic. Long ago people turned to the Lord more easily and depended on Him to help. Now, with this materialistic world, we sometimes wonder, does He hear me, is He there? But trials give us an opportunity to turn trials into growth.

Martha: During Easter I had company. One of them was my friend Micheal, whose mother died when she was 16. She is now married, expecting her first child and who graduated on Friday. She came to Church with us and of course, the Atonement was mentioned a lot that day. I asked her how she felt and as she talked about it, she beamed. Joyfully, she explain that she couldn't want it any other way. That she felt her mom close. That she had grown so much through her trials. “I feel her near.” What an example of a young girl who makes it sweet. Has it been easy for her? No, but the sorrow and grieving is made easier through the Atonement.

Sometimes watching others deal with their trials can help us.

Gloria L: I have seen the results of others acknowledging their trials. OK, this is how it is. They are optimistic. I learn from seeing those situations. My grandmother who had physical issues. She was who she is and did not knowingly know that I learned by her example.

Penny: I allow myself to get on higher ground. I know that God creates a tapestry of my life. There is a purpose to all things. That through Him, I can deal with pain, trials, tribulations.

That is a great way to explain it. Sometimes when we are in the thick of things, we can't see the value, but later we see that the Weaver had taken that thread and added it to the tapestry of our life.

Gayla: I love reading about Jacob in the Book of Mormon where he is told that that God would consecrate rate thine afflictions for thy gain. Whether it is self imposed or caused by other, it can be for your gain. All is not lost if we grow from it.

The atonement really heals those wounds whether caused by our own choice or the choices of other. The atonement makes things right.

Marlene L: In the pre-earth life, we recognize it would be hard, but knew the cost was worth it.

Read quote: “ Trials and tribulations have been the experience of the Latter-day Saints. God so designed that it should be. I daresay that in the [premortal] spirit world, when it was proposed to us to come into this probation, and pass through the experience that we are now receiving, it was not altogether pleasant and agreeable; the prospects were not so delightful in all respects as might have been desired. Yet there is no doubt that we saw and understood clearly there that, in order to accomplish our exaltation and glory, this was a necessary experience; and however disagreeable it might have appeared to us, we were willing to conform to the will of God, and consequently we are here. “

When I read that I thought about how sometimes reading and knowing what the prophets say makes a different. In order to be exalted, we had to be tried.

Quote read by Ramona: “It is impossible for us to work out our salvation and accomplish the purposes of God without trials or without sacrifices.

Marlene L: I am grateful I don't have to choose the trials. Like where my sons were to serve their missions, etc. I am grateful that Heavenly Father gives me those and then stands by me.

That is a wonderful perspective. If we could look, we could see that Heavenly Father knows us best.

Pat H: Spencer W. Kimball said that he was so grateful to have a God who is Omniscient, who loves us. I would have protected the Savior to the determine of the world. I would have protected the prophet Joseph and would have ruin His plan. We need to trust and leave it up to the Lord.

As a mother I don't know how Heavenly Father can see his children go through their trials.

Alisa: I want to protect my children. One of my family members made a comment that it was not fair; that she didn't know how it would be. I think that with our own faith in Christ, Heavenly Father and his plan, it didn't matter. It was for our best. That's why we chose it. I hope that someday she understands that. With faith, we don't have to take it by ourselves.

We can lay the burden on His feet. It is beautiful that we have that knowledge. We are empowered. It's a hugh blessing.

Robby: Years ago when I was Stake YW President, we had a stake fireside and a member of the Stake Presidency talked to us. He said that as parents we want to protect our children, to shelter them. In fact he said that hard things will make the youth become strong leaders of tomorrow. The hared things in life will do that. He helps us, like the poem “Footsteps in the Sand. Sometimes we feel so alone, but He is always there.

That is the beauty of faith. We knew we could trust him. Love that He does that. In 2 Nephi 2:11 we are told that there is an opposition in all things. Righteousness and wickedness, holiness and misery, good and bad. Happiness and misery. The bitter and the sweet.

Kathleen S: The Savior suffered for our trials, our pains. I got insight as to how he is there. He gave us our trials and then turned around and suffered the trial.

We can take comfort in that.

Karalee M: I have been thinking about trials lately because of thing that my family has gone through. My grandma passed away 3 days ago and than my dad was hit by a hugh Sea Clam. It was a freak accident. I thought, he just lost his mom and look at what happened. I watch last night as my sister got on her knees praying as to where to take him. There was also a ward member three, a nose, ear and throat specialist. We went to the right hospital and had the right person look at him. Little tender mercies. The Lord never deserts us. We need to focus, to look at how the Lord protect us. It's about the way we look at trials. Those tender mercies.We can focus on that and then go forward.

If we focus on the blessings along the way, our trials will seem little because Heavenly Father is there. We have all been very close to what President Snow tells us:

Penny read Quote: The Lord has strengthened us and increased us in our growth. Like the infant, when it grows up it knows not how it received gradual strength and the manner in which it increased in statue. It is larger this year than last. So in regard to our spiritual advancement. We feel stronger today than we did a year ago.”

If we look back, we can see the growth, the faith, the strengthening of our testimony.

Penny: He has great charity for us and trials can help us to be like Him. It is a process. Any gift he gives us can help us be like him.

It helps us in other ways.

Amy W: Elder Holland's talk starts with being able to focus on what faith we do have and then we can admit our struggles, our doubts. To fan the flames of your faith. Focus on what you have, what you know to be true, the rest will come. Hold to things you know. Start with faith.

Ashley P: My heart is full. I think the Lord struggles with the trials he gives us as much as we do. My mom has had health problems. Three years ago one of my brothers made some bad choices and it affected my family. There was discord. The one thing that my mother has wanted was for the family to be back together. She doesn't want to die until the family was back together. We moved here into a house with lots of space. Than the doctor told my mom she can't have any added stress. My brother would go visit her and stay there but now she couldn't. So she asked me to call him and open my home to him. That took a lot of faith on my part. But I did call him and told him they could stay with me. It has been the biggest blessing. He stayed with us for two weeks along with his family. Our relationship changed. I was talking to him again and we became close again. My mom feels that it happened because of her situation. I am so grateful for the outcome. It is interested how it all happened The move, the space, the softening of hearts. He apologized to the family. It is interesting how the Lord gives us trials, but all the dots are connected. Look beyond the trials and see the blessing

It will be OK. There is a reason. We will see how we got from point A to point B. Sorry we have run out of time for testimonies, but I feel that our comments are testimonies being shared. It is a very personal lesson when we go through trials that are very hard for our hearts.

I want to close with President Snow words : “You will soon emerge from the shadows into the glorious sunshine of the celestial world.”I know that if we remain faithful, if we stay close to Heavenly Father, He will help fill that gap that we are missing. He will provide the way to be where he wants us to be.

Next week's lesson is Lesson 8 Search Me, O God, and know My Heart”.

Have a great week.