"The Seed of Faith, The Joy of Hope, You, the Daughter of a King" by Sister Bugby

To those in a dark place, to those who are struggling to carry the weight of trials, to those who feel burdened and are tired and weary, to those who feel alone…there is hope. The Lord knows you. The Lord hears you. The Lord is here to carry you, if you but come unto him. Let his light fill you. Let his love lift you. Let his hope fill the dark corners of your life. The Lord knows us better than we know ourselves. The blessings of God’s word in our lives can come in plenty and in ways we’ve never expected if we are faithful, diligent and patient! Remember, you are the Daughter of a King! A King…You may think…I am not perfect, or I am not worthy.  That is a lie told to you by Satan.  He does love you, He has not abandoned you, He will never leave you.

 What Alma promised works in planting the seeds of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in your life. He extends the invitation to plant those Gospel seeds in our life (Alma 32: 28-43):

28 Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves—It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.

29 Now behold, would not this increase your faith? I say unto you, Yea; nevertheless it hath not grown up to a perfect knowledge.

30 But behold, as the seed swelleth, and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow, then you must needs say that the seed is good; for behold it swelleth, and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow. And now, behold, will not this strengthen your faith? Yea, it will strengthen your faith: for ye will say I know that this is a good seed; for behold it sprouteth and beginneth to grow. 

31 And now, behold, are ye sure that this is a good seed? I say unto you, Yea; for every seed bringeth forth unto its own likeness. 

32 Therefore, if a seed groweth it is good, but if it groweth not, behold it is not good, therefore it is cast away. 

33 And now, behold, because ye have tried the experiment, and planted the seed, and it swelleth and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow, ye must needs know that the seed is good. 

34 And now, behold, is your knowledge perfect? Yea, your knowledge is perfect in that thing, and your faith is dormant; and this because you know, for ye know that the word hath swelled your souls, and ye also know that it hath sprouted up, that your understanding doth begin to be enlightened, and your mind doth begin to expand. 

35 O then, is not this real? I say unto you, Yea, because it is light; and whatsoever is light, is good, because it is discernible, therefore ye must know that it is good; and now behold, after ye have tasted this light is your knowledge perfect? 

36 Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither must ye lay aside your faith, for ye have only exercised your faith to plant the seed that ye might try the experiment to know if the seed was good. 

37 And behold, as the tree beginneth to grow, ye will say: Let us nourish it with great care, that it may get root, that it may grow up, and bring forth fruit unto us. And now behold, if ye nourish it with much care it will get root, and grow up, and bring forth fruit. 

38 But if ye neglect the tree, and take no thought for its nourishment, behold it will not get any root; and when the heat of the sun cometh and scorcheth it, because it hath no root it withers away, and ye pluck it up and cast it out. 

39 Now, this is not because the seed was not good, neither is it because the fruit thereof would not be desirable; but it is because your ground is barren, and ye will not nourish the tree, therefore ye cannot have the fruit thereof. 

40 And thus, if ye will not nourish the word, looking forward with an eye of faith to the fruit thereof, ye can never pluck of the fruit of the tree of life. 

41 But if ye will nourish the word, yea, nourish the tree as it beginneth to grow, by your faith with great diligence, and with patience, looking forward to the fruit thereof, it shall take root; and behold it shall be a tree springing up unto everlasting life. 

42 And because of your diligence and your faith and your patience with the word in nourishing it, that it may take root in you, behold, by and by ye shall pluck the fruit thereof, which is most precious, which is sweet above all that is sweet, and which is white above all that is white, yea, and pure above all that is pure; and ye shall feast upon this fruit even until ye are filled, that ye hunger not, neither shall ye thirst. 

43 Then, my brethren, ye shall reap the rewards of your faith, and your diligence, and patience, and long-suffering, waiting for the tree to bring forth fruit unto you.

Sisters, I beg you to plant your seed in the soil of the gospel. Faithfully care for your seed and watch it bloom into the plant (you) are meant to be.

Sister Bugby

September Activity - Diva on a Dime

The activity for September was combined with the Young Women. We took turns showing off our great thrifty finds! Check out some of these awesome thrift stores (click here) where you can shop for more great items at a discount!

Also, thanks for all who participated in the clothing swap. We had a LOT of success!

August Activity - Canning 101: Preserving the produce from our bounteous harvests

This month we learned the basics of canning. Sister Arline Law presented on water bath canning, and Sister Shelley Hughes talked about pressure canning. Here are some of their top tips!

General Tips:

--You can purchase all you need online, or at Walmart, True Value, and other grocery stores. You can  often find supplies at thrift stores.
--Never use old lids (the flat part) as they may not seal properly. You can reuse the rings and jars, just make sure they are in good condition.
--It is important to process ALL canned foods.
--Use the "Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving." It is available at almost any grocery store or online. --Always follow a recipe. The pH (acidity level) is very important to preventing spoilage. The Ball book has done a lot of experimenting to get the pH right, and we don't want to poison our families by not processing the food correctly.

Water Bath Canning:
--Water bath canning is for high acid foods like fruits and tomatoes.
--You will need to add time to adjust for our altitude--usually 5 minutes for water bath canning but check the recipe or canning resource to be sure.

Pressure Canning:
--Pressure canning is for vegetables and meats, soups, and stews.
--You will need to adjust the pressure for altitudes above 1000ft.
--You should have your pressure canner checked each year to make sure it will maintain pressure accurately. If it doesn't, the food you preserve may be unsafe to eat.


Click here for places to get your pressure cooker checked, more canning info, and books, and recipes.
This PDF has some quick tips from Ball on canning as well. See the Ball website for more.
Here is a helpful document with info about pressure canners, gauges, and the like.

"Self Reliance" by Sister Miller

In Doctrine and Covenants 43:25 we read:

"How oft have I called upon you by the mouth of my servants, and by the ministering of angels, and by mine own voice, and by the voice of thunderings, and by the voice of lightnings, and by the voice of tempests, and by the voice of earthquakes, and great hailstorms and by the voice of famines and pestilences of every kind, and by the great sound of a trump, and by the voice of judgment, and by voice of mercy all the day long, and by the voice of glory and honor and the riches of eternal life, and would have saved you with an everlasting salvation, but ye would not!"

We have been warned for many years by prophets to be prepared and to be self-reliant. Our Stake President and our Bishop are concerned that we heed these warnings. On the Church website it gives us principles for self-reliance.

"The Lord has declared, “It is my purpose to provide for my saints” (D&C 104:15). This revelation is a promise that the Lord will provide temporal blessings and open the door of self-reliance. He has also declared that “it must needs be done in [His] way” (D&C 104:16). To receive the blessings of self-reliance, we must accept and live the principles of self-reliance, which include the following:

1. Exercise Faith in Jesus Christ (D&C 104:15)
2. Use Time Wisely (Alma 34:32)
3. Be Obedient (D&C 130:20–21)
4. Manage Money (D&C 104:78)
5. Work: Take Responsibility (D&C 42:42; 2 Nephi 2:16, 26)
6. Solve Problems (Ether 2:18–19, 23; 3:1, 4)
7. Become One, Work Together (Moses 7:18; D&C 104:15–17)
8. Communicate: Petition and Listen (D&C 8:2)
9. Persevere (Hebrews 12:1; D&C 58:4)
10. Show Integrity (Mosiah 4:28; Job 27:5; Articles of Faith 1:13)
11. Seek Learning and Education (D&C 88:118–119)"

I pray that we may all follow these principles and listen to a Prophets voice.  It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark.

"Our arks will float on a sea of faith if our works have been steadily and surely preparing for the future."  --Elder W. Don Ladd

Message on Visiting Teaching from Sister Adamson

Sisters,

President Asay asked us to include messages about Sabbath Day worship and the Sacrament along with the visiting teaching messages this year.  When you teach the commandment to keep the Sabbath Day Holy, teach both the principle and the promise.

When Joyce Haverfield gave a talk on this very subject she quoted Leviticus 26:2-12 .  That scripture promises many blessings and protections when we obey God's command to keep His Sabbath day sacred. Isaiah 58:13-14, together with D&C 59, are powerful scriptures that teach the principle with a promise. If you keep the Sabbath day holy you will be bless with temporal blessings.  D&C 59:9-15 give the principle; 16-19 give the Lord's promise.

This year our visiting teaching message have been explaining the attributes of Christ.  When we partake of the sacrament worthily, we receive forgiveness for our sins and we become fertile, fallow ground for the blessings of change.  We begin acquiring the attributes of the Savior.

By keeping the Sabbath Day holy and partaking ofthe Sacrament worthily we are bless temporally and spiritually.  I promise if you will sincerely make the effort to teach the principles of keeping the Sabbath Day holy and partaking the Sacrament worthily as directed by President Asay, blessings will distill upon the lives of the sisters you teach.

-Sister Adamson

July Activity: Fun ideas for bringing families together and sharing family history

We hope you enjoyed the activity, and for those of you who were unable to attend, we hope to see you next time.

Sister McMahon spoke to us about how to make family history coloring books. They were really cute! If you have questions about it, I'm sure she would LOVE to help you.

Sister Perry talked to us about the family history center (which is right next to the church building, folks!). They have a LOT of resources. Her biggest point was that there is NO good reason not to be doing family history work if you have the time. All you need to know is what you need to know--the family history center can help you with the rest! They can teach you how to search for names, how to use several different software programs, and everything else you might need to know. Check the "resources" tab to see the days/time the family history center is open.

Sister Norton showed us a new part of FamilySearch, which is the "descendency" view of your family tree. This allows you to work back down through your family tree so you can see cousins and what work they may need done. Cool! She (or Sister Haverfield, or anyone at the family history center) would be more than happy to help you with this great new tool.

We had a beautiful display of items from personal family histories, and several sisters brought family recipes to sample. See below for links to the recipes.

Shelley Hughes - Pineapple Cookies
Jordyn Whiting - Elephant Foot Pudding
Effie Dickerson - Pinwheels
Joyce Haverfield - Homemade Bread
Ariel Weaver - Spicy Chicken Dip

"Self-Reliance" by Sister Adamson

In our ward councils we have been asked by our First Presidency to discuss and implement two principles that are needed and very important to our spiritual and temporal welfare.  The first is keeping the Sabbath Day holy.  The second is self-reliance.

I loved the talk Joyce Haverfield face in Sacrament meeting on the subject of keeping the Sabbath day holy.  She quoted Leviticus 26:2-12.  That scripture promises many blessings and protections when we obey God’s command to keep His Sabbath day sacred.  Isaiah 58:13-14 together with D&C 59, are powerful scriptures that teach a principle with a promise. If you keep the Sabbath day holy you will be blessed with temporal blessings.  D&C 59:9-15 gives the principle; 16-19 gives the Lord’s promise.

The reason I bring up the principle of keeping the Sabbath day holy first, is because it contains the Lord’s promises for temporal blessings.  The only other commandment that contains the same promises is the command to pay an honest tithe.  Temporal blessings are important if we want to be self-reliant.

But self-reliance is much more than having monies or temporal blessings.  It’s an attitude of independence that helps build self-esteem and self-respect. Elder L. Tom Perry gave a talk entitled, “Becoming Self-Reliant” in which he makes the point that after the Lord gave Nephi the commandment to construct a ship, Nephi’s first question was, “Whither shall I go that I may find ore to molten, that I may make tools to construct the ship after the manner which thou hast shown unto me?” 

Elder Perry says, “This is one of the more interesting stories we have in the scriptures because it tells of an instance in which the Lord provided help but then stepped aside to allow one of His sons to exercise his own initiative. I have sometimes wondered what would have happened if Nephi had asked the Lord for tools instead of a place to find the ore to make the tools.  I doubt the Lord would have honored Nephi’s request.”

From the beginning of time, the Lord counseled Adam that he would eat his bread by the sweat of his brow and cursed the ground for his sake.  It’s interesting to me that Adam’s need for self-reliance was one of the first directives given to him.

Elder Marion G. Romney said, “The practice of coveting and receiving unearned benefits has now become…fixed in our society…  Elections often turn on what the candidates promise to do for voters from government funds.  This practice, if universally accepted and implemented in any society, will make slaves of its citizens.”

President Henry D. Moyle spoke of those who through no reason of their own cannot be self-reliant; “This great principle does not deny to the needy nor to the poor the assistance they should have.  The wholly incapacitated, the aged, the sickly are cared for with all tenderness, but every able-bodied person is enjoined to do his utmost for himself to avoid dependence, if his own efforts can make such a course possible.”

The Lord tells us in D&C 29:34-35 that he gives no commandment to man that is temporal.  He also says man is to be “an agent unto himself.”  Man cannot be an agent unto himself if he is not self-reliant. Elder Marion G. Romney said, “Both independence and self-reliance are critical keys to our spiritual growth.  Whenever we get into a situation which threatens our self-reliance our freedom is threatened as well.  If we increase our dependence, we will find an immediate decrease in our freedom to act.”

I found a great link on the LDS website (click here) that illustrates the freedom that comes from self-reliance.  I hope you enjoy the stories of the saints learning this principle, as much as I did.  It’s amazing and inspiring.