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Dear Sisters,

I hope that you and your families are all doing well. I want you to know that we as your Relief Society Presidency pray for you and love you. We are here for you. I am grateful for the opportunity to share a message with you today. 

Recently, I have been thinking a lot about light. Specifically the light of the gospel and the light of Jesus Christ. The chaos and uncertainty that we are seeing in the world today is overwhelming. I know we have all felt worried, unsure of what is next, things even may have felt  heavy and dark sometimes. 

Elder Cook said “As Latter Day Saints, we need to do our best to preserve light and protect our families and communities from this assault on morality and religious freedom.” He talked about our responsibility to be “in the world but not of the world.”  I would like to focus on what Elder Cook shared about protecting our families and our communities. It’s funny to me how important it is that we should always just stick to the basic principles of the Gospel when life gets crazy. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is our foundation and keeps us on the right path as we navigate life’s challenges. As families we can seek for light and truth, blocking out what destroys our spiritual development and growth. We have many distractions. If we can simply make time for the things that matter most, we can make our homes holy places that shelter us from evil. Family prayer, scripture study, family history, service, spending time together through FHE and other activities can be powerful sources of strength and protection.

In Matthew 5:16 it reads, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven”. We can be a source of light for those around us every day. Elder Cook illustrates how we can protect our communities through two basic principles… Honesty and treating all of God’s children as brothers and sisters. 

Being honest plays a significant role in establishing light and truth and improving our society. He shared how important it is for all voices to be heard. The moral foundation of our doctrine can be a beacon of light to the world and can be a unifying force for both morality and faith in Jesus Christ. Working together with all people of goodwill will help us to preserve light, hope, and morality in our communities.

When we do these simple things, we will be strengthened and be able to face the difficulties that come our way. I’m so grateful for the Savior and the light that He is to the world. I’m thankful for you sisters for sharing your light and love to those around you. It is so important. I pray that you and your families will be blessed as you continue to follow the Savior. May you have peace and comfort in your hearts and in your homes. You are loved! We are always here for you. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if there is anything that we might be able to do to support you. 

Love, 

Suzy West

Good Morning Sisters,

I am grateful I had the opportunity to ponder and pray about a message for the Relief Society Sisters this week.  I want each of you sisters to know that the Relief Society Presidency loves you and we think of you and pray for you often. 

The message I would like to share today comes from the April 2020 General Conference address by Douglas D. Holmes ‘Deep in our hearts’.  The Lord is trying to help us get His gospel deeper in our hearts in order to prepare us to receive Him.  I would like to highlight two principles that Brother Holmes shared that each of us can work on to help us become closer to our Heavenly Father and be ready to receive Him. 

The first principle is relationships.  Brother Holmes reminded us that we are not expected to walk the covenant path alone.  Developing relationships with family, friends and leaders etc. will help us along the path.  Elder Renlund discussed how we can develop relationships with others: “To effectively serve others, we must see them through Heavenly Father’s eyes.  Only then can we begin to comprehend the true worth of a soul.  Only then can we sense the love that Heavenly Father has for all His children”. 

What a wonderful gift it is to be able to see others as God does.  If each of us were striving to do this, how would it impact our families, our ward and our communities?  There are so many things in the world now that divide us but if we are working on strengthening or building relationships with others through service and seeing them as God does, we can make an impact for good in our world. 

Second principle:  Connecting hearts with Heaven through revelation, agency and repentance.  Brother Holmes said, “in order to connect our hearts with heaven, we need individual experiences.  Those experiences come as the Holy Ghost carries the word and love of God to our mind and heart”.  In the same conference session, Elder Neil L. Anderson spoke about spiritually defining memories that help us along life’s journey.  Our Heavenly Father gives us experiences in this life to remind and assure us that He knows us and He loves us and that he is openly blessing us.  Elder Anderson said that when we are having difficulties in our life, the Savior reminds us of these experiences. 

What spiritual experiences have you had in your life that reminded you of God’s love for you? 

I would like to share one of my own spiritual experiences.  This is what I wrote immediately after I had the experience which occurred during our last general conference:

                I was sitting here thinking about how imperfect the scene at my home is during conference- occasional fighting, 5-year-old jumping on the couches, teenagers occasionally watching videos on their phones.  When President Nelson began talking, and without prompting from me, all of the kids were attentive and listening to him speak.  I know that He is called of God and is the prophet for our day.  Despite the challenges we are facing in our home and in our world, I am grateful for the experience of participating in the Hosanna Shout in our home with my children.  The Spirit felt was undeniable.  It was warm, it was comforting and it was real!  I know that God lives, I know that Jesus is the Christ.  I know that they know and love us individually.  I know that God has prepared us for this time in our lives.  I am so thankful for the knowledge I have of these things and I know that they are true. 

This experience helped strengthen my testimony and through the experience I knew that Heavenly Father was mindful of what I needed at the time.

Elder Anderson said, “Remembering these spiritually defining experiences takes us to our knees, declaring as did the Prophet Joseph, “What I received was from Heaven.  I know it, and I know that God knows that I know it”. 

I was once given advice to have a journal or notebook to use only for recording spiritual thoughts, experiences or impressions.  I am so grateful I took that advice as I am sure I would not be able to remember each experience that I have written thus far.  Being able to go back and read them has often brought peace and comfort to my heart. 

Finally, from Elder Anderson, “When personal difficulties or world conditions beyond our control darken our path, the spiritually defining memories from our book of life are like luminous stones that help brighten the road ahead”. 

I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who knows each of us.  I know that He gives us experiences and people in our lives to help lift us up when we are in need.  I invite you to think about how you can build stronger relationships with others by seeing them as God does.  I also invite you to write down your own spiritually defining moments so that those moments can give you a lift during times of trouble.  I know that our Heavenly Father gave us these messages during a time in our world that He knew we would need them. 

-Sister Matagi-

Sisters, we look forward to seeing you at the Stake Center on Wednesday!