Category Relief Society

Friday, April 8 6:30p to 8:30p

Message from Sister Luciana Paz:

Hi sisters! I hope you are all doing well. I want you to know that the Relief Society Presidency loves you and we are thinking of and praying for you often.
I want to share a little message about Family History. We all know how important it is to help those that are on the other side of the veil. I want share part of Elder Bednar’s talk with you.

He said, “The Prophet Joseph Smith declared: ‘The greatest responsibility in this world that God has laid upon us is to seek after our dead. … For it is necessary that the sealing power should be in our hands to seal our children and our dead for the fullness of the dispensation of times—a dispensation to meet the promises made by Jesus Christ before the foundation of the world for the salvation of man. … Hence, God said, ‘I will send you Elijah the prophet’” (Teachings: Joseph Smith, 475).

Joseph further explained:
‘But what is the object of [the coming of Elijah]? or how is it to be fulfilled? The keys are to be delivered, the spirit of Elijah is to come, the Gospel to be established, the Saints of God gathered, Zion built up, and the Saints to come up as saviors on Mount Zion [see Obadiah 1:21].’
‘But how are they to become saviors on Mount Zion? By building their temples … and going forth and receiving all the ordinances … in behalf of all their progenitors who are dead …; and herein is the chain that binds the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, which fulfills the mission of Elijah.’ (Teachings: Joseph Smith, 472–73).

Elder Russell M. Nelson has taught that the Spirit of Elijah is ‘a manifestation of the Holy Ghost bearing witness of the divine nature of the family’ (“A New Harvest Time,” Ensign, May 1998, 34). This distinctive influence of the Holy Ghost draws people to identify, document, and cherish their ancestors and family members—both past and present.

The Spirit of Elijah affects people inside and outside of the Church. However, as members of Christ’s restored Church, we have the covenant responsibility to search out our ancestors and provide for them the saving ordinances of the gospel. ‘They without us should not be made perfect’ (Hebrews 11:40; see also Teachings: Joseph Smith, 475). And ‘neither can we without our dead be made perfect’ (D&C 128:15).

For these reasons we do family history research, build temples, and perform vicarious ordinances. For these reasons Elijah was sent to restore the sealing authority that binds on earth and in heaven. We are the Lord’s agents in the work of salvation and exaltation that will prevent ‘the whole earth [from being] smitten with a curse’ (D&C 110:15) when He returns again. This is our duty and great blessing.”

“The Hearts of the Children Shall Turn” by David A. Bednar Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2011/10/the-hearts-of-the-children-shall-turn?lang=eng
 (You can read the whole talk if you click on the link)

I love this talk given by Elder David A. Bednar. I know that we need to be part of this work. Our Heavenly Father wants us to seek after our dead as Joseph Smith taught. I know that we have the covenant responsibility to search out our ancestors and help them by providing them with their saving ordinances. We can even help by indexing. If we do this, those that are searching for family documents will have the opportunity to find those documents easily because of our participation with indexing.
We as a Relief Society want to start working on family history step by step. We all know that temples are closed, but we can prepare and be ready for when they reopen. First, we want to invite all of you to create an account on FamilySearch.org. If you have an account in the church, you can sign in with the same account. We have a ward group called “Sunset Ridge 2nd ward”. We have 56 members in this group, but want to see all of you there. Please join us in this work.
We love you sisters and we miss you all.

PS: If you need help creating an account or signing in, contact me at #8018673144. I’ll be happy to help you.
Steps for joining the indexing ward group:
1.      Sign into your account.
2.      Click on indexing.
3.      Click on web indexing and scroll down.
4.      Click on Sunset Ridge 2nd ward group and scroll down.
5.      You can choose a beginner project or an intermediate project to work on.

Please help us finish the project!

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