Sunday, March 2, 2014

The Relief Society Birthday Month!

Purposes of Relief Society: 
Increase faith and personal righteousness
Seek out and help those in need
Strengthen families and homes

From Our History:

This month in commemoration of the 172nd anniversary of the organization of Relief Society, we would like to share some highlights from the history of Relief Society.
"In one of the first meetings of the Female Relief Society of Nauvoo, Joseph Smith  admonished the sisters to "live up to their privilege."  With that encouragement as a foundation, sisters in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have been taught to live up to their divine potential by fulfilling God's purposes for them.  As they come to understand who they really are--God's daughters, with an innate capacity to love and nurture--they reach their potential as holy women.  With charity in their hearts, they fulfill the purposes pf Releif Society to increase faith and personal righteousness, strengthen families and homes, and seek out and help those in need."  
"Established as an integral part of the Restoration, the Relief Society helps Latter-day Saint women live up to their privilege.  Through this organization, sisters receive opportunities to serve and the direction and authority they need to fulfill those responsibilities." 
(Taken from pg. 171 in "Daughters in My Kingdom")
FAITH
Lesson Review: Joseph Fielding Smith lesson 5 - Faith and Repentance
Doctrine:
"Repentance is the second principle of the gospel and is essential to our salvation and exaltation."
Invitation to Action: 
"God is not going to save every man and woman in the celestial kingdom.  If you want to get there, and you have failings, if your are committing sins, if you are breaking commandments of the Lord and you know it, it is a good time right now to repent and reform."
Promised Blessings: 
"For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." [John 3:16-17]

 "If the Father had not sent Jesus Christ into the world, then there could have been no remission of sins and there could have been no relief from sin through repentence."

Updated Lesson Schedule:

March 9th - President's Instruction
March 16th - Joseph Fielding Smith lesson 6 - The Significance of the Sacrament
March 23rd - Teachings For Our Time - The Moral Force of Women by Elder Todd D. Christofferson

FAMILY
March Youth Curriculum: The Atonement of Jesus Christ

Primary Curriculum: Jesus Christ is Our Savior

RELIEF
Last week Sister Powell gave a lesson on Visiting Teaching.  I will be drawing from that lesson as I write for this section of the blog for a while:

"Ask helpful questions.  Questions can lead to opportunities to give comfort, share relevant gospel principles, and provide meaningful service.  You might ask: "What worries or concerns you?"  "What questions do you have about the gospel?" Or you could be specific; "Could we help you with a household task?"  "Would you like a ride to the store or a doctor's appointment?"  Questions will often bring better results than simply saying, "Call us if you need anything."


MARCH BIRTHDAYS
March 10 - S. Robison
March 11 - C. Briggs
March 22 - W. Bressler
March 22 - E. Manning
March 22 - J. Powell
March 23 - S. Haslem
March 24 - B. Eissler
March 26 - L. Bair
March 26 - S. Bland
March 31 - J. Hill

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ALL OF YOU!!!

Calendar:
March 20 - Relief Society Activity - dinner and a speaker
March 23 - Relief Society sings in sacrament meeting
March 29 - General Women's Broadcast

Noteworthy:

We wanted to make you aware of an inspirational art exhibit at BYU's Museum of Art.  The exhibit is entitled, "Sacred Gifts," and features paintings of the life of Jesus Christ by three European master painters - Carl Bloch, Heinrich Hofmann, and Frans Schwartz.  According to the museum, most of these works have never before been on view in the United States, and are being loaned to the BYU Museum of Art under extraordinary circumstances from churches and museums in Germany, Sweden, Denmark, and New York.  

The exhibit is free of charge, although you do need to reserve tickets for entry into the museum.

There is an iPad app that can be downloaded before you get to the Museum, or for $3.00 you can rent an iPad at the Museum.  The iPad features descriptions of the paintings, information about the artists, panoramic views of the interior and exterior of the Churches that have loaned the artwork to BYU, excerpts of talks about the Savior from General Authorities, and sacred music.  

It is a great opportunity to feel the Spirit through art, music, and the spoken word.  We have included photos of some of the paintings that are featured at the exhibit, and included an article giving additional information.  Following the article, we have also included a link to the BYU Museum of Art.






     




  



For more information on this art exhibit please visit BYU Museum of Art's website at:

http://sacredgifts.byu.edu/

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