Brothers and Sisters, I hope you have had a good week this past week and that you and your family are feeling well and staying safe! The Come Follow Me Lesson for this Sunday is Mosiah 18-24. This lesson is about the importance of us honoring and keeping sacred covenants with our Heavenly Father. Our beloved Prophet Russell M. Nelson has focused his ministry on helping the Saints understand the importance of making and keeping sacred covenants and keeping on the covenant path. We have been taught that we make sacred covenants when we are baptized, when we partake of the Sacrament and when are endowed with Priesthood power in the Holy Temple and are sealed to our families as part of the New and Everlasting Covenant.

In Mosiah 18, we learn of the account of Alma the Elder and his people. As discussed in a previous lesson, Alma was one of the priests of Noah who was converted unto the Lord by the preachings of the Prophet Abinadi and was subsequently forced to flee for his life after he begged King Noah to spare Abinadi’s life before he began converting others. One wonders whether Abinadi knew that his labors in the vineyard of the Lord would bear fruit and result in the conversion of a future Prophet of the Lord and the restoration of the full organization of the Lord’s Church to the Nephites or whether he died wondering if his labors had been in vain. I believe as a prophet of the Lord, he was shown before he died that his labors would bear great fruit even though like some missionaries who have served, he did not live to see any of those he taught baptized to the Lord.

It appears that Alma the Elder was chosen by the Lord to restore the full organization of His Church in the promised land of the Americas even though the plain and precious truths of the Gospel continued to be taught by King Benjamin and other Nephite leaders who continued to possess the Melchizedek Priesthood in an unbroken line from the time of Nephi. While we are told that Alma was appointed by the wicked King Noah because he was lifted up in the pride of his heart, we have no reason to believe he partook in the same serious sins as did the other priests of Noah as had he done so the Lord would not likely have entrusted him with so great a task as to fully restore and lead His Church on the Earth. On this matter, the Prophet Joseph Fielding Smith taught, “We should take into consideration in the study of the Book of Mormon the fact that it is an abridgment taken from the records or history that had been kept by the prophets among the Nephites. Therefore, many of the details are lacking. While the detail is lacking, the evidence is very clear that the Melchizedek Priesthood was possessed by the Nephites. In the case of Alma and his priesthood, we are left to surmise that he legally and divinely received it before the days of King Noah. We read that Zeniff, the father of Noah, was a righteous man. Alma evidently received the priesthood in the days of Zeniff, and at no time did he fully accept the teachings nor with full purpose follow the counsels and procedure of Noah and his wicked priests…Just at what time Alma received the priesthood is not clearly stated, but we may presume that it occurred before Noah came to the throne. Moreover, we must also conclude that Alma at no time truly entered into the wickedness of this wicked king.” It appears that there were a couple of decades between Alma having to flee into the wilderness when he was still a fairly young man and the time that his people were led back to the land of Zarahemla. It was likely during this period that Alma was fully converted to the Lord and prepared to serve as the first High Priest over the Church in the land of Helam and later over the Church in Zarahemla.

In Mosiah 18:8-10, it says when the people of Alma were baptized unto the Lord, they made a covenant with God to “serve Him and keep his commandments” just as all of us did when we were baptized into the Church. As members of the Lord’s Church we also covenant to stand as witnesses of God. This means that we covenant to live righteously, share the Gospel with others and defend and uphold the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ to those who attempt to disparage the Lord’s Church, His anointed leaders including both general officers and local leaders and Church doctrine and policies as revealed to us by Church leaders. The Lord Jesus Christ taught us that one of the best ways we can serve God is by helping and serving others and thereby blessing their lives and serving as instruments of God in helping to answer their prayers. We can also comfort others help bear and lighten one another’s burdens, trials and tribulations. If we do so and endure to the end in righteousness, the Lord promises us in verse 9 that we will be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection and that we will have eternal life, which is the greatest of all gifts that can be bestowed upon His children. He also promises that He will pour out His Spirit more abundantly upon us in verse 10.

I am sure that during your lives and perhaps even during the past two months of the pandemic we can all think of experiences where the Lord has answered our prayers through others or helped them bear our burdens as we have strived to keep the Lord’s commandments and kept our sacred covenants. I have been humbled and amazed at how frequently and how quickly the Lord has answered my prayers to bless members of my family over the past several weeks as we have been in need of His blessings and I am so grateful for those blessings as I know the Savior is the author of all good and that no blessing comes to us save by Him. Every time the Lord answers our prayers and we grow stronger in righteousness, the Lord increases our faith in Him, which is a gift to the faithful, and thereby increases our ability to have our prayers answered in the future. In Doctrine and Covenants 20:37, it says that we make ourselves worthy to be baptized by humbling ourselves before god and demonstrating that we have broken hearts and contrite spirits, repented of all our sins, with a willingness to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ having a determination to serve him until the end of our lives. Once baptized and becoming members of the Lord’s Church, we renew our sacred covenants of baptism by partaking worthily of the Sacrament and thereby receiving a new a remission of our sins.

In Mosiah 18:17-31, it describes the commandments the Lord gave His people through the Prophet Alma to help them become united as members of His Church. We are taught that Heavenly Father, His Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are united and one in purpose and the Lord has commanded us to be united as one in purpose as well. One of the best ways we can be united is to avoid contention especially in our families and in our homes. My daughter Kathryn who returned from serving her mission in Santiago Chile recently told me that she has been amazed by the spirit of peace and complete lack of contention which she has observed in her homes since she returned from her mission. This has been one of the great blessings which our family has enjoyed since the pandemic began as have turned to the Lord for comfort and relief and sought to more fully yield ourselves unto Him and His holy will. In addition to ministering spiritually to those in need, we can also bless others by striving to be more generous in our fast offerings which ward leaders used to provide assistance to ward members in need.

In Mosiah 21 it talks about the people of King Limhi and, later in Mosiah 23 the people of Alma, being in bondage to the Lamanites and how they knew there was no way they could be delivered except by divine intervention. As they humbled themselves before the Lord in prayer, the Lord made their burdens light until He eventually, in Mosiah Chapters 22 and 24, delivered both peoples from bondage and led them to reunite with their brethren in the land of Zarahemla. In like fashion, many of us have been in spiritual bondage to sin and have been unable to break our chains of sin without sincere repentance which is only possible through the Atonement of Jesus Christ forgiving us and though the Savior strengthening us to overcome our sins. Here we learn that often, the Lord often blesses us on His own timetable and not on our own as a test of our faith and to enable us to expend more effort to grow spiritually.

In these chapters, we learn about how God can help and bless us in the midst of our trials and deliver us from tribulation. Please think of ways the Lord has eased your burdens in your lives and helped you overcome afflictions and share them and your testimonies with your family members along with the gratitude you have felt to God during Home Church this Sunday. We have been taught that that Lord Jesus Christ not only bore all of our sins but had all of our tribulations that we have experienced in our lives heaped upon his shoulders that He would better know how to succor us in our tribulations. I testify that I know through personal experience that the Lord will lighten our burdens and answer our prayers in this time of trouble if we but ask our Heavenly Father and exercise our faith that He will answer our prayers.

In preparation for next week’s lesson as you read Mosiah 25-28, I urge you to think about family members or those close to you who may have strayed from the Gospel and then pray for insights how you might help those friends and family members to return to full fellowship in the Church. Many claim they are “spiritual, but not religious” and reject the need for participation in the Church claiming that they have a personal relationship with God and do not need to attend Church. Yet as Elder Christofferson has taught the Lord Jesus Christ founded His Church on Earth and has taught us the need for the Church and Priesthood Authority to provide us with the saving ordinances without which we would be unable to return to live with our Heavenly Parents.

As we continue to struggle with being unable to gather and attend Church or attend the Temple regularly, I am so very grateful for the privilege and opportunity to share my testimony and spiritual insights with you as a Gospel Doctrine teacher and pray that the Lord will continue to bless you and your families in all that you do and answer your prayers for relief.

Brother Pyne

Good Morning Brothers and Sisters!  I hope that you have enjoyed your readings this week.   

As I thought of what to write this morning, I couldn’t help but draw a correlation between Mothers (Yes, it is Mother’s Day, even in Quarantine) and Abinadi.  Prophets are sent to warn people of their sins.  Mothers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Sisters, Aunts, Grandmas, Neighbors, all women) are sent to help nurture their children and guide them to the correct paths of life.   Abinadi and Mothers have to say harsh things to their audience at times and it is often not well received.  Abinadi and Mothers teach of Jesus Christ.  Abinadi and Mothers know the scriptures and have the doctrine written in their hearts.  We should all be grateful for the “Mothers” that have been a part of our lives, who have helped, and are continuing to help us become who we should be.  

I wish that we could discuss these scripture passages together.  I would love to hear the insight that you have gained from your life experience.  I have listed some of my favorite topics and my notes from this week’s lesson.  I hope that you had some great discussions in your families this week.  

Mosiah 12:19-37. Mosiah 13:11 – Practice what you Preach.  Why is it so hard for us as mortals to do what we know and have been taught?  As a child and a parent, this is one of the hardest, most gut wrenching, soul searching, joyful topics that I have ever experienced.  I know that as a child of a wonderful mother, it has been hard for my mom to watch me make choices that she knew were against what I knew to be right.  I know that as a parent, I have spent many tearful hours, days, months, years praying for my children to have a change of heart.  We teach the doctrine in our homes but how do we make sure that we follow the doctrine ourselves and subsequently get our children to follow the doctrine?  Mosiah 12:27 teaches, “Ye have not applied your hearts to understanding; therefore, ye have not been wise.”  Mosiah 13:11, “And now I read unto you the remainder of the commandments of God, for I perceive that they are not written in your hearts”. 

Mosiah 14 – Jesus Christ – Characteristics.  Abinadi uses references found in Isaiah to teach about Jesus Christ.  The priests should have been familiar with these scriptures.  Verse 3, “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”  Verse 5, “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” Verse 12, “Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death; and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bore the sins of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”   

Mosiah 15:8-9, Mosiah 16:6-15 – Intercession – Justice – Mercy.  Intercession means the action of intervening on behalf of another.  The lesson recommended this video from a talk from Elder Holland and it makes me cry every time I watch it.  “Where Justice Love and Mercy Meet”   

https://mediasrv.churchofjesuschrist.org/media-services/GA/size/5279626962001/720/404/997181

I cannot tell you how many times I have jumped from my figurative mountain ledges only to find the Savior there, holding me and keeping me from falling.  “We may not know we cannot tell what pains he had to bear, but we believe it was for us he hung and suffered there.”  There is a Green Hill Far Away, 194 

Mosiah 17: 2,4 – Alma was a descendant of Nephi.  Alma wrote the words of Abinadi.  “Abinadi’s willingness to die for his testimony of the Savior was a result of his willingness to live for it.”  The story of Abinadi is sung in Primary and is highlighted by Abinadi’s death for the cause of righteousness.  However, my favorite part of this story is Alma.  Alma should have been taught the words of Nephi.  Somewhere down the family line or maybe it was in Alma’s own life choices, Alma strayed from correct teachings.  However, God knew Alma.  God knew where Alma was.  God placed people in Alma’s life that would help him remember the truth.  I look at the things that Alma had to overcome and change in his life, the strength of his own personal testimony, the lessons of his past, the unique gifts he had in education and writing, the contacts that he had acquired, and marvel that God took all of these things and used it for a great good.  Alma became a strong spiritual leader who was perfectly suited for his time and his family.   

There is also a great lesson in journal keeping found in the story of Abinadi.  If it were not for Alma writing down the words of Abinadi, we would have never known of this great prophet. 

Sister Melissa Rooley

Our ward has created over 300 masks!!

Thank you for everyone’s support in creating masks for those in need.

DO YOU NEED A MASK?
Sister Herzog made 100 masks available to any ward members that would like one. Please contact Luciana Paz if you’d like some.

Brothers and Sisters, the Come Follow Me Lesson for this Sunday is Mosiah 7-10. I hope you have enjoyed reading these Book of Mormon chapters as much as I have. These chapters tell the story of how King Mosiah asked Ammon to lead a search party to find the Nephites led by King Zeniff who had left to try to return to inhabit the land of their first inheritance, the land of Nephi. This city had served as the Capitol of the Nephite nation until the greater number of the Nephites who were wicked in the land of Nephi were destroyed by the Lamanites around 279 BC as noted in the Book of Omni 5-7 after Mosiah was warned by the Lord to flee in Omni 12-13 with as many righteous Nephites as would come with him. They were led to find the Mulekites in Zarahemla whether they united with the Mulekites. Ammon was successful in finding the people of Limhi after being lost in the wilderness for forty days. Subsequently, after the people of Limhi were led by the Lord to flee from captivity, Nephi became the capitol city of the Lamanites.

I loved this lesson because as it states in Mosiah 7:14-33, if we turn to the Lord, trust him and serve Him, He will deliver us. This lesson applies to our day and time when many of us are praying for deliverance from the harmful effects of the pandemic with our Churches and Temples closed, the missionaries restricted from proselyting with some of our family members sickened and suffering from the virus and many jobs lost, making it more difficult for us to provide for our families. When I heard that the chapels and Temples were being closed my heart sank, but I knew it was the Lord’s will at this time. During General Conference, the Prophet and other Apostles provided us with a message of hope promising that this pandemic will prove temporary and that someday in the not so distant future the Temples will be re-opened and the work of the Lord in saving the dead will recommence. How I have missed going to the Lord’s House and look forward to that day!

When I was a thirteen year old boy I attended a Regional Conference in southern California presided over by President Hinckley whose talk was entitled “Look to God and Live.”(Alma 37:47). This counsel seems even more important to me today. Throughout scriptural history, the Lord has sent pestilences to chasten His children and encourage them to return to Him. In this way, we can see the Lord’s love and tender mercies for the people of our nation and the world in this pandemic as he is giving His children another opportunity to repent and turn back to Him before He pours out His righteous judgments upon them. When this pandemic began, I sought diligently to receive the peace of the Spirit and have since received it by being more diligent in my scripture studies and other commandments of the Lord. Just as in Mosiah 9-10, when King Zeniff prayed for strength to defend themselves against Lamanite aggression, so can we be strengthened to face the trials and tribulations we face today and once strengthened we can strengthen, minister and uplift one another. Just as the people of Zeniff were physically and spiritually prepared to defend themselves against Lamanite attacks so we as members of the Lord’s Restored Church on Earth have been taught to physically and spiritually prepare ourselves for the coming trials including by having a one-year supply of food to safeguard us against future famine and economic distress.

President Nelson saw that the time would soon come when our Churches would be closed and so he instructed us to hold home Church as individuals and families to prepare us for this difficult time. Over the last several weeks as we have convened home Church meetings with our family members, I have felt the influence of the Holy Ghost even stronger than I have when I attended ward and stake meetings in the Chapel. I am guessing that many of you have had spiritual reawakenings since this pandemic began two months ago as I have and that your testimonies have been strengthened thereby.

In Mosiah 8:5-12, it states that while a small group of Limhi’s people were searching for the land of Zarahemla they found the plates containing a record of the Jaredites which we now know as the Book of Ether. The Jaredites had been led away from the Tower of Babel before the Lord confounded their languages. The Book of Ether gave a history of the Prophets of their time and the destructions that came upon their people because they apostatized and were disobedient to God’s promise which he gave them in Ether 2:12 which says “Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, who hath been manifested by the things which we have written.” Similarly, there has been a curse proclaimed upon the Lord that if the inhabitants of the America’s reject the God of this land and do wickedly they will be destroyed, as were the Jaredites and Nephites, in the Lord’s due time after the righteous have been gathered from among them.

As it says in Mosiah 8:12-19, one of the greatest ways the Lord has shown His perfect love for us in our time is by giving us modern-day prophets, Seers and revelators. He has told us that the Prophet will never lead us astray and if we but heed the counsel of the Prophet in all things and live righteously and virtuously, we will find greater protection for ourselves and our families in this troubling time. The job of a Prophet is to testify of the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ, to exhort us to keep the Lord’s commandments and to warn us of the Lord’s righteous judgments if we do not repent of our sins. The Prophet holds all the keys not only for the governance of the Church and its members but for the Kingdom of God on Earth which we have been promised will gradually be restored and which will grow to encompass all the world after the Lord’s Second Coming, which will bring an end to all nations and usher in the Glorious Day of the Millennium. I testify that President Russell M. Nelson is the Lord’s living Prophet on the Earth today and that he leads and guides the Lord’s Church in furtherance of the Savior’s Heavenly direction.

In a talk entitled “Revelation for the Church, Revelation for our Lives,” our beloved Prophet, President Russell M, Nelson proclaimed, “The time is coming when those who do not obey the Lord will be separated from those who do (see Doctrine and Covenants 86:1–7). Our safest insurance is to continue to be worthy of admission to His holy house. The greatest gift you could give to the Lord is to keep yourself unspotted from the world, worthy to attend His holy house. His gift to you will be the peace and security of knowing that you are worthy to meet Him, whenever that time comes. Even at a time when the Temples are closed, there is great protection, safety and peace in righteous living and obedience to the Lord’s commandments.

In D&C 86:1-7, the Lord explains the parable of the wheat and the tares. We are told that the field is the world ripe for harvest. The tares symbolize the wicked and the wheat symbolizes the righteous. The Lord commands that the field not be burned until the wheat (righteous) has been gathered among them. This is the doctrine of the gathering. Many times in the Scriptures, the righteous have been physically gathered and physically separated from the wicked prior to His righteous judgments being poured out upon them. Some examples of this were Lot and his family being led out of Sodom and Gomorrah, Lehi and his family and the Mulekites being led away from Jerusalem before it was destroyed around 600 BC, and Mosiah and the righteous Nephites being led away from the wicked Nephites around 279 BC. In His talk, the Prophet also underscored the importance of having a strong testimony and staying close to the Spirit in order to ensure we are spiritually prepared to survive what’s coming. He stated: “If we are to have any hope of sifting through the myriad of voices and the philosophies of men that attack truth, we must learn to receive revelation…In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.”

Brothers and sisters, if the Prophet were to ask us tomorrow to quit our jobs and leave our homes and flee to the mountains or rural areas to flee for safety from the coming storm as he has in times past, would we react as the Prophets Lehi and Nephi did and be obedient without hesitation or would we be like Laman and Lemuel and mock the Prophet for being a visionary man and say the Lord cannot destroy this great nation because we are too strong and therefore refuse the Prophetic call to gather. I pray that we would all be willing to sacrifice our earthly possessions to prove ourselves obedient to the Prophet no matter how hard it might be. Now is the time for us to learn to be obedient to the Prophet when it is easy so that when it is hard we will be able to protect and safeguard our families against the destructions which have been prophesied in the Holy Scriptures before the Lord’s Second Coming which Church leaders have suggested will occur in our lifetimes in the not so distant future.

As it says in Mosiah 10:11-17, our choices truly influence generations. If we remain strong in our testimony of the Gospel, then our children and Grandchildren will likely follow our righteous examples. Similarly, if we fall away from the Church or try to pick and choose which commandments and which Prophetic counsels to obey and which to ignore, our children and their children will likely do likewise as it was with the descendants of Laman and Lemuel. The choice is ours. As President Monson taught, “decisions determine destiny.” May God bless you all during this trying time! I look forward to teaching Gospel Doctrine again when our chapels re-open again.

Brother Pyne

Brothers and Sisters, to help help enhance our weekly study of the Come Follow Me lesson, our wonderful Gospel Doctrine Instructors are providing us with their thoughts and insights gained during their study. The excerpt below is from Melissa Rooley.

—————————————————————————————————————

Good Morning
Brothers and Sisters!  I sure miss seeing
all of you and hope that you are all well enough. 

I say this
every lesson, but we have started studying one of my favorite sections in the
Book of Mormon.  Who doesn’t love reading
about King Benjamin?  I am sure that we
all wish that we could have brought our families and our tents and listened to
King Benjamin speak to us in person. 

This week, I
had a tender experience as I listened to Elder Bednar relate how he hears the
voice of the Lord.  #Hear Him   https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/blog/hearing-him-with-our-minds-and-our-hearts

The Spirit
spoke to my heart as I watched / listened to Elder Bednar and I knew that what
he was saying was true for me also.  The
spirit helped me want to be better at receiving revelation.  My heart was changed.  The video is about 1 minute and 30 seconds
long and I had tears in my eyes.  The
spirit helped me to see some things in my life that I could change and I
realized my own carnal state and how I have fallen short of my potential.  I have been blessed to have had the gospel in
my life since I was a small child.  I can
only imagine how it must have felt to have heard the joyful message of the
gospel for the first time, as the people of King Benjamin’s day did.  I am so grateful for the message of hope,
love and forgiveness that is found in learning about how to become more like
our Savior. 

I hope that
you enjoyed your readings this week.  I
hope that you let your study be guided by the spirit.  I often start looking at footnotes, then
other scriptures, then talks and then before I know it, I am not even in the
chapter that I started reading.  This is
all good!  Go with what the spirit is
trying to teach you.

I thought
that I would share some of my favorite scripture passages from this week’s
readings.  There are so many things that
I could say about why I love each scripture but I will be brief.  I wish that I could hear what your favorite
scriptures are and why they are special to you. 
Feel free to send me a message if you would like to share your thoughts
with someone. 

(Text:  510-857-7755.  Email:  Bobmelrooley@gmail.com)

Take Care and Be Safe! 

Sister Melissa Rooley

• Mosiah
  4:3  “And it came to pass that after they
  had spoken these words the Spirit of the Lord came upon them, and they were
  filled with joy, having received a remission of their sins, and having peace of
  conscience, because of the exceeding faith which they had in Jesus Christ who
  should come, according to the words which king Benjamin had spoken unto
  them.” 

How sweet and merciful it is to be
granted a “Peace of Conscience”.  As we
exercise faith in Jesus Christ and sincerely repent, we receive a remission of
our sins.  Here is a great talk by Neil L
Anderson, “That I May Heal You”

• Mosiah
  4:9-10 “Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things,
  both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power,
  both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the
  things which the Lord can comprehend. And again, believe that ye must repent of
  your sins and forsake them, and humble yourselves before God; and ask in
  sincerity of heart that he would forgive you; and now, if you believe all these
  things see that ye do them.”

Belief is one thing but action on our
belief is a sign of true conversion and discipleship. 

• Mosiah
  4:11 “And again I say unto you as I have said before, that as ye have come to
  the knowledge of the glory of God, or if ye have known of his goodness and have
  tasted of his love, and have received a remission of your sins, which causeth
  such exceedingly great joy in your souls, even so I would that ye should
  remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own
  nothingness, and his goodness and long-suffering towards you, unworthy
  creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths of humility, calling on the
  name of the Lord daily, and standing steadfastly in the faith of that which is
  to come, which was spoken by the mouth of the angel.

I found it interesting that we often
speak of retaining “a” remembrance but this scripture talks about “always
retain IN remembrance”.  This means to me
that there is more action required.

• Mosiah
  5:7-9 “And now, because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called
  the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he
  hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say that your hearts are changed through
  faith on his name; therefore, ye are born of him and have become his sons and
  his daughters. And under this head ye are made free, and there is no other head
  whereby ye can be made free. There is no other name given whereby salvation
  cometh; therefore, I would that ye should take upon you the name of Christ, all
  you that have entered into the covenant with God that ye should be obedient
  unto the end of your lives.  And it shall
  come to pass that whosoever doeth this shall be found at the right hand of God,
  for he shall know the name by which he is called; for he shall be called by the
  name of Christ.”

Ye are made free…these words leave me
speechless.  Covenants with God.  Obedience unto the end of your lives.  Taking upon us the name of Jesus Christ.  There is a full lesson on just this
scripture. 

Dallin H Oaks gave this talk about
the ways we take upon us the name of Jesus Christ and it is wonderful.  I learned a lot reading this talk. 

• Mosiah
  5:13 “For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a
  stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?”

I couldn’t help but think of the
perfect example of service that King Benjamin rendered to his people.  He served his people and in turn taught them
Christlike charity and love.  I thought
about the service that we give to our children. 
Are we showing them Christlike Charity and love?

• Mosiah
  5:15 “Therefore, I would that ye should be steadfast and immovable, always
  abounding in good works, that Christ, the Lord God Omnipotent, may seal you
  his, that you may be brought to heaven, that ye may have everlasting salvation
  and eternal life, through the wisdom, and power, and justice, and mercy of him
  who created all things, in heaven and in earth, who is God above all.”

…that Christ, the Lord God
Omnipotent, may seal you his.  Is there
anything that we want more than this?

The Church has reached out to our Stake for there is an URGENT need to fill some assignments at the Bishop’s Storehouse.

This is a great opportunity to get out of the HOUSE! 🙂

If anyone is willing and able please see the link below to find a time slot!

Please note the General Requirements below.

Due to the many recent events, many Senior Church Service Missionaries at the Welfare Square Bishop’s Storehouse and Home Storage have selected to stay home.  However, the Magna Bishop’s Storehouse and Home Storage needs to continue to operate and meet a very high volume of patrons with anticipation of growing needs.  This creates an URGENT need for volunteers to help supplement the existing staff to assist patrons in filling food orders, stocking shelves, and packing goods.  Approximately 6 additional individuals per shift are needed (two shifts per day).  If you have been trained to help patrons previously, you are in high demand. Certified forklift drivers are needed.  Ages 16 and older are welcome.  Volunteers over the age of 60 and not immune-compromised are welcome to volunteer.  Missionaries returning from the field that have the time and are cleared medically to serve would be very welcome.

Each day typically has two shifts of between 3-4.5 hours.  You may sign up for one or multiple shifts.  We are looking for a number of volunteers who could serve on multiple days and provide some consistency to the staffing.  We expect the need for additional volunteers to extend between 1-3 months depending on conditions.  Please use good judgment and follow guidelines as outlined by local health officials and recent Church updates.  Individuals who feel ill in any way are asked not to fill their assignments or come to the facility.

Sunset Ridge Ward and Stake buildings are CLOSED until further notice.

Church buildings should not be used for gatherings — even if the only gatherers are from the same household or for a family activity.  We want to stay within the guidelines established by our state and county governments.

Stake Presidency:
With the current changes from the CDC dropping the number of people gathering at one time and knowing that the Coronavirus can live up to three days on a surface, there was some concern from members about cleaning the building after an event/gathering with the possibility of having it been contaminated with COVID-19.

We are closing the building down immediately for any personal use such as parties, family gatherings/events, reunions, and sporting events, etc. We will keep the building open for ward and stake leadership meetings and interviews if needed. This means that those who have the building scheduled will need to relocate or postpone their event. I feel we need to take greater precaution and wisdom to keep our members as safe as possible. We can’t control everything, but the little we can we hope to minimize the spread of COVID-19 in our little part of the vineyard.

I understand the inconvenience placed on families that have already scheduled the building and for those that are looking to schedule it in the near future, but our members safety is our number one concern. A school district Superintendent put it this way, “In the end, it will be impossible to know if we overreacted or did too much, but it will be quite apparent if we underreacted or did too little.” Our scheduler will notify any who currently have the building reserved.

For those of you who were able to watch or listen to President Nelson, he announced that after the morning session of Conference tomorrow morning there will be a Solemn Assembly and Hosanna Shout.

Some may be wondering what this is, as it is not something that occurs very often. The Church News sent out a wonderful article on what this is that you can read here. This is a great resource for those who might not know what this is, as well as others that may need a refresher.

President Nelson instructed that a white handkerchief would be used during the Hosanna Shout. This does not have to be any special handkerchief, it just has to be white. If you do not have one, that is okay. You do not need to go and try and find one or buy one. He said that we can wave our hand instead and it will be just fine. -Bishop Harwood