Week of Sept. 29

Relief Society Purposes:

*Increase faith and personal righteousness

*Strengthen families and homes

*Seek out and help those in need

FAITH

Lesson Review: For Peace at Home by Elder Richard G. Scott

Key Doctrine:

"Regardless of your circumstances, you can center your home and your life on the Lord Jesus Christ, for He is the source of true peace in this life."

"When He is the center of your home, there is peace and serenity."

Invitation to Action:

What can you do to become more consistent with one of the following:  personal prayer, family prayer, personal scripture study, family scripture study, weekly family home evening?

Are there any moments during the day that you could replace face booking, texting, etc. with reading scriptures or general conference addresses?

Promised Blessings:

"Simple, consistent, good habits lead to a life full of bountiful blessings."

"As you center your home on the Savior, it will naturally become a refuge not only to your own family but also to friends who live in more difficult circumstances"

"When He is the center of your home...there is a spirit of assurance that pervades the home, and it is felt by all who dwell there." 

"Greater peace will come as you couple your efforts to be obedient with serving those around you."

FAMILY

 

There is still one more week before General Conference - that means one more Family Home Evening to get our families prepared to get the most out of Conference, and five more weekdays to get some activities ready for little ones in the family that have a hard time listening!

I have learned, through the years, that conference can either be one of the two greatest weekends of my year or two of the most frustrating.  It all depends on how much advance preparation that I do!  If I prepare well, then the whole family learns and benefits, but if  I don't do some advance preparation, I don't get to hear a whole lot, and neither does the rest of the family!  Luckily, there are some great resources out there with a whole slew of activities to keep our children busy while listening and learning and feeling the spirit.  In fact, there are so many resources and ideas out there that it's important to pick a few activities that seem like a good fit for your own children and family and disregard the rest.  (If you try to do to much, you will end up feeling stressed out and even more frustrated when things don't go as planned.)

Here are some links to some sites with great ideas for activities- First of all, the church has a really great site with all sorts of conference activities for kids:


https://www.lds.org/general-conference/children?lang=eng

And here are a couple more:
diapersanddivinity.com/2013/04/02/33-general-conference-activities-for-children/
https://www.somewhatsimple.com/general-conference-activity-for-kids/

RELIEF

Visiting Teaching Message by Sister Grethe P.:

During a recent lesson in Relief Society, I had the impression that Burthon 4th ward sisters have been taught, and, I believe, nearly all have received a witness by the power of the Holy Ghost that Visiting Teaching is our work to assist in bringing others to Christ and strengthening testimonies.  I felt impressed that the question we should address is, "How can we do it better?" This is the question we will explore together at our Visiting Teaching Conference October 13 during Relief Society.  Sisters serving in Primary and Young Women's organizations will be able to attend with us, thanks to service by the Young Women and Priesthood Quorums.  Here are a few scriptures I ask you to read and ponder as they may relate to Visiting Teaching in preparation for the Visiting Teaching Conference: Doctrine and Covenants 4, and Isaiah 55:8-11. Next week while listening to General Conference, it would be interesting to ponder this question to see how the Spirit directs us to answer this question.  I am looking  forward to discussing together, "How can we do it better?"

 Announcements:

* The date for the Visiting Teaching Conference has been changed.  The new date is October 13th and it will be held during the Relief Society meeting block.  That changes the lessons schedule for the rest of the month, so the new schedule is as follows:

October 20th - Lorenzo Snow Lesson 19 - "Missionary Work:  To Reach Every Human Heart"

October 27th - Lorenzo Snow Lesson 20 - "The Kingdom of God Moves Forward"

* The Rexburg FamilySearch Center is sponsoring a Family History Celebration-Open House on Saturday, October 19th, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. They are inviting all individuals and families to come by the Madison Junior High School (one block East of Smith Park) to take part in the activities. The theme is 'A Culture of Remembering." Visitiors can brouwse through 100 table displays, and there will be an exciting Children's Activity Area and a motivating Teenager's Activity Area.  Vendors will be set up to show the newest and best products and services in Family History.  There will also be an Ancestors' Recipe Tasting Table and a Video Room where short movie segments will be shown - miracle stories how hearts were turned to the fathers.  Everyone will have a wonderful experience.

They would like help with a few things in preparation for this event:

* Table Display: Individuals or families are invited to volunteer a table display that shows how they have created a "culture of remembering" in their home.  It could be through a heritage of quilts, journals, life histories, a blog spot, picture books, heirlooms, or any other medium that shows how they "remember their ancestors or want to be remembered by their descendants."  If you would like to volunteer a table display, please contact Rhonda Seamons at 496-4398, or seamonsr@byui.edu.

* Ancestor's Recipe:  Sisters are invited to share an ancestor's recipe and make a sample of this special food item for the Ancestors' Recipe Tasting Table.  They would love to share the recipe on their web page and offer a sample of your ancestor's treat at their booth.  If you would like to volunteer a recipe and a sample, please contact Carol Ladle at 403-7346 and send your recipe to momladle@gmail.com.

* Homemade Bread and Jam: Finally, they would like to serve homemade bread and jam for refreshments.  If any sisters would like to contribute a loaf or two, they would really appreciate the help.  They are requesting four loaves from each ward relief society, in the six stakes that they serve in the Rexburg Area, plus one pound of butter and two pints of homemade jam.  If any of you are willing to contribute, please let Holly Kauer know, at 356-3820 or holly.fh8@fmail.com.  Bring the loaves, butter, or jam to the Commons Area in the Madison Jr. High School between 8:00-9:30 a.m. on Saturday, October 19th, the day of the event.

Calendaring:

October 6th - General Conference

October 13 - Visiting Teaching Conference (please note that the date for this has been changed!)

October 24th - Relief Society Activity