August Newsletter

Dear Sisters,

            Robert Lee Frost wrote the following poem:

           

When a friend call to me from the road

And slows his horse to a meaning walk,

I don’t stand still and look around

On all the hills I haven’t hoed,

And shout from where I am , ‘What is it?’

No, not as there is a time talk.

I thrust my hoe in the mellow ground,

Blade-end up and five feet tall,

And plod:  I go up to the stone wall

For a friendly visit.

“For us this is a great poem about the importance of friendship and relationships in our lives.  Sometimes we are the ones that need to put down something to go and strengthen that relationship (i.e. stop doing the dishes for a few minutes, close the computer, etc.), and sometimes we are the one that needs to wander till we can find a friend to talk to.  The Lord has given us relationships in life to help and strengthen us when we are strong, but especially when we are weak.  If you are feeling weak, look around for that friend who will put down their hoe for you.  If you are feeling strong, look around today for those that need your love and support.”

This month there are several opportunities to be able to seek out friendships and to uplift one another.  We hope you will do this through your visiting teaching and by attending church and seeking out others who need you or who you may need.  We will also be having the ice cream social later in the month where we can visit and enjoy each other.  We love each and every one of you and are so grateful to have you in our Relief Society with us.

Love, Sue, Amy, Lisa, Jenn and Jenny

Lesson Schedule

Aug 4               Fast Sunday- Lisa Larson

Aug 11             Ch. 15: Faithful, Energetic Service in the                     Kingdom of God -Kristen Tanner

Aug 18             Ch. 16: That We May Become One

                        -Kay Bashford

Aug 25             The Home: School of Life

                        Enrique R. Falabella,- Jacque Garner

August Birthdays!

1         Kay Bashford

3        Aimee McMurtry

6        Jennefer Haymond

          Lucille Echohawk

          Tammy Sanders

19       Susan Schexnayder

24       Kathy McMilian

25       Julie Rabideau

          Jessee Libby

27       Kristie Straughn

28       Ashley Kunish

30      Julie Jentzsch

          Dana Mulberry

          Victoria Nelson

          Sandra Toone.

August 2013 Visiting Teaching Message

Welfare

Prayerfully study this material and, as appropriate, discuss it with the sisters you visit. Use the questions to help you strengthen your sisters and to make Relief Society an active part of your own life. For more information, go to reliefsociety.lds.org.

Welfare

The purposes of Church welfare are to help members become self-reliant, to care for the poor and needy, and to give service. Welfare is central to the work of Relief Society. President Henry B. Eyring, First Counselor in the First Presidency, has taught:

“[The Lord] has from the beginning of time provided ways for His disciples to help. He has invited His children to consecrate their time, their means, and themselves to join with Him in serving others. …

“He has invited and commanded us to participate in His work to lift up those in need. We make a covenant to do that in the waters of baptism and in the holy temples of God. We renew the covenant on Sundays when we partake of the sacrament.”1

Under the direction of the bishop or branch president, local leaders assist with spiritual and temporal welfare. Opportunities to serve often begin with visiting teachers who seek inspiration to know how to respond to the needs of each sister they visit.

From the Scriptures

Luke 10:25–37; James 1:27; Mosiah 4:26; 18:8–11; Doctrine and Covenants 104:18

From Our History

On June 9, 1842, the Prophet Joseph Smith charged the sisters in Relief Society to “relieve the poor” and to “save souls.”2 These goals are still at the heart of Relief Society and are expressed in our motto, “Charity never faileth” (1 Corinthians 13:8).

Our fifth Relief Society general president, Emmeline B. Wells, and her counselors launched this motto in 1913 as a reminder of our founding principles: “We do declare it our purpose to … [hold] fast to the inspired teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith when he revealed the plan by which women were to be empowered through the calling of the priesthood to be grouped into suitable organizations for the purpose of ministering to the sick, assisting the needy, comforting the aged, warning the unwary, and succoring the orphans.”3

Today the Relief Society has a worldwide reach as sisters extend charity, the pure love of Christ, to their neighbors (see Moroni 7:46–47).

What Can I Do?

1. How am I preparing to care for myself and for my family spiritually and temporally?

2. How can I follow the Savior’s example as I help meet the needs of the sisters I watch over?

Notes

  1. Henry B. Eyring, “Opportunities to Do Good,” Liahona and Ensign, May 2011, 22.

  2. Joseph Smith, in Daughters in My Kingdom: The History and Work of Relief Society (2011), 63.

  3. Daughters in My Kingdom, 63.