Nov 6, 2011

Just as a reminder, this is a post based on the notes I take during the church meetings I'm able to attend.  They are just my scribbled notes, so I tend to leave out quite a bit of info which means that I am entirely fallible.  So please be sure to read through the scripture references, quoted talks, and lessons in their entirety yourselves so you will know by the gift of the Holy Spirit the things which your Father in Heaven wants you to understand to better your understanding and lives (as well as those around you).  And if you find discrepancies from something that you have commented on which I misquote...please forgive and just leave a comment to correct?  Thanks, sisters!

Relief Society (sorry everyone, this turned out to be the only meeting I was successful at attending so I could take notes)

Opening Hymn "Because I Have Been Given Much"

Lesson: Gratitude

Gratitude: an action word, not simply a noun or adjective.  if you don't act on it, what meaning does "Thank you" really have?

What are you grateful for?

*health, food/chocolate, family, scriptures, body, repentance, liberty, testimony, family, the Savior, challenges

How do you show gratitude?

*Use the things you are grateful for.

*Actively do: vote, pray, repent, help/serve each other, share, etc.

*Say "Thank you."

*Show kindness.

*Go to the temple/babysit so others can attend the temple.

*Explore and learn about what you are grateful for.

Who is the best example?  the Savior

Bro. Lewis (from the ward...I think this was during the Gospel Doctrine Sunday School lesson today?) said that to strengthen our testimony in and love for the Savior, we need to share that with others.

What is Charity?  "The pure love of Christ"

Elder Alonzo, in his conference talk "Doing the Right Thing at the Right Time Without Delay", said, "The Savior … gave us a great example about not waiting to administer relief to those who have lost a sense of happiness and joy....He is our Savior, He is our teacher, and He is the perfect example...When we serve our neighbor, we help those who are in need. In the process we may find solutions to our own difficulties." (Again, please read through the talk yourself...this is just my shortened version of what was being quoted in jumps and starts so I could attempt to keep up).

Gratitude leads to service-as Christ did.  (How hard is it to receive service from others with a truly grateful heart without wanting to immediately go out and give service to another?...personal thought)

Sis. Allred said in her conference talk "Charity Never Faileth"...."The prophet Mormon defines charity as “the pure love of Christ,”⁵ while Paul teaches that “charity … is the bond of perfectness,”⁶ and Nephi reminds us that “the Lord God hath given a commandment that all men should have charity, which charity is love.”⁷In reviewing Paul’s previous description of charity, we learn that charity is not a single act or something we give away but a state of being, a state of the heart, kind feelings that engender loving actions." (Italicized emphasis added by me, personally)

Note how, again, it is not just words being said but actions stated and then lead to becoming.

Comment given about how hard it is to resist sharing something once given such as a recipe for an amazing chocolate cake which you then give to a neighbor in need of dinner, or a great joke from someone that you just have to share to make another smile.

Comment given how saying or showing gratitude should also be remembered as a physical experience, not just a spiritual....like how we came to earth to have temporal/physical experiences so the new blessings we are grateful for are often shared with others through temporal or physical means.  (like sharing a chocolate cake)

When do we express gratitude?  ALWAYS

How it really becomes a lifestyle change, a kind of new attitude.

(Personally, it also struck me how difficult it becomes to be truly grateful over time without also being very meek at heart because otherwise pride will rear it's ugly head and begin to destroy those actions and feelings of true gratitude.)

Moroni 7:45-47...."And ^acharity suffereth long, and is ^bkind, and ^cenvieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily ^dprovoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

 46 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail—

 47 But ^acharity is the pure ^blove of Christ, and it endureth ^cforever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him."

How when the Relief Society (you'll often see me shorten this to R.S. for time's sake) was organized, the prophet Joseph Smith stated that it was "established to receive the poor and save souls".  How great is it to belong to an organization such as the R.S. where we are directed to action and giving, not just attend meetings?

What are your favorite examples of such service?

(Sorry everyone, sometimes either I can't see who is speaking or I can't write fast enough to record names though I'm working on it?)

*example given of her sister who tries to help her mother (who is struggling with cancer and needs to mash her food to eat it, but is also feeding her boyfriend who doesn't mash his food) by preparing ahead several days or even weeks' worth of meals, freezes them, and delivers them so the mother/boyfriend don't have to cook or worry about food sources.

*example given of how when this sister lost her mother (which was very unexpected and an incredible shock to everyone), her father called to tell her about her mother passing away.  How immediately after he shared the sad news his first question was "what can I do to help you with this?" rather than strictly mourning for his own loss as well as several other things he had done with his life to help and support those around him who would be struggling with the same problems he himself had rather than focusing on just his own problems.

*example I gave of how when I was growing up we learned to take advantage of the opportunities to serve others so that we could learn to recognize others' needs by working together and thereby learning to recognize each others' needs as well....which served to bind us even further together as a family as well as teaching us the importance of serving others especially when we were feeling a little picked on ourselves.

Elder Hale, in his conference talk "Waiting upon the Lord" said, "Tests and trials are given to all of us. These mortal challenges allow us and our Heavenly Father to see whether we will exercise our agency to follow His Son.  He already knows..."  (Please, go read this entire talk it is extremely powerful in addressing our perspective on our personal challenges and how we will deal with them.)

The teacher pointed out (also from further along in the talk just quoted) our Heavenly Father already knows us and knows the things we will choose, but this is our opportunity to learn for ourselves so we know without question.

Sis. Allred also said (I think in the same talk I shared the link to above?) how important charity is to us, and how the most important and simplest calling to acquire this attribute is through Visiting Teaching.  How by helping each other and in particular our sisters, we become more like our Savior.

Also it was noted how visiting teaching is a great way to change your attitude and perspective.

Example given of the awesome example of charity that we have in our ward of Bishop and his family.  (She sees this personally because they are neighbors, so their comings and goings are observable by she and her family)  How Bishop is constantly, in his free time, running somewhere in his Sunday suit to help someone and while he is gone his family keeps on going and filling in the things that he would otherwise do without fighting over it.

D&C 59:7 - "Thou shalt ^athank the Lord thy God in all things."  How it is important it is not just in successes and blessings, but in challenges and frustrations too!

*example I gave of how afraid our kids have been of the dark.  During one period of time, it got so severe that they would fight driving anywhere in the dark without turning on one of the passenger lights so my husband finally pulled over somewhere that we could all get out and see the sky clearly.  He pointed out the stars to them and how beautiful they are, and taught the kids how the only way we can see the beauty of the stars and other things that are only there in the dark is because of the thing they feared so much.  Since then, there have been times when the kids will find ways to see the best aspects of that which otherwise drives them nuts like cleaning the house (my oldest once popped up and said "well, at least I have a bedroom to clean and brothers to make a mess while playing"). 

*example given by the teacher who shared about how during a Primary lesson one little girl, in her prayer, gave thanks for the beautiful mountains.  The other kids in the class all kind of snickered over that, but after the teacher spoke in his lesson about how lucky everyone was to have the earth she gave the closing prayer and included thanks for the beautiful mountains.  How ever since then she has always found the mountains to be so incredibly beautiful and comforting.

D&C 88:63 - "Draw ^bnear unto me and I will draw near unto you; ^cseek me diligently and ye shall ^dfind me; ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you."

Teacher ended with her own testimony and closed.

The opportunity was then given for others to share their testimonies (this being Fast and Testimony Sunday):

*Sis. shared how while they are still fairly new to the ward (only been here a few months), and she has been in Primary until this new calling to the R.S. presidency, she has enjoyed getting to know the sisters in our ward.  And how grateful she is for prayer and being able to receive answers directly.

*Sis. shared how she and her husband have begun reading scriptures again, and how they offer sacrifice for everything (like offering sacrifice for things they are grateful for).  The had talked about how we don't have to offer ritual sacrifice but should be 'giving until it hurts a little' when we do receive and wish to show our gratitude.  How grateful she is for the gospel, its guidance for her as a mother and also what the gospel does for her family.

Closing Hymn: 309 "As Sisters in Zion"