Sunday Lesson: July 31st

Even thought it was 5th Sunday today, we had the marvelous opportunity to hear from a guest teacher, Sue Thompson. She taught from our Howard W. Hunter manual Chp. 20, Walking the Savior's Path of Charity. Pres. Hunter taught, "the Savior gave us His love, His service, and His life . . . We should strive to give as He gave."

The two great commandments are the Lord's touchstone for our discipleship. What is a touchstone? In ancient days a touchstone helped a goldsmith know the purity of the gold he was working with. It was a standard for quality for the gold. Pres. Hunter says, "I suggest to you that the Lord has prepared a touchstone for you and me, and outward measurement of inward discipleship that marks our faithfulness and will survice the fires yet to come." Luke 10:25-28 teaches us about the two great commandments: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all they heart, and with all thy soul, and with all they strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself." Pres. Hunter asks us, "What kind of mark are we leaving on the Lord's touchstone? Are we struly good neighbors? Does the test show us to be 24-karat gold, or can the trace of fool's gold be detected?"

The Savior taught us to love everyone, including those who may be difficult to love. We all know the parable of the Good Samaritan. The priest and the Levite passed by the injured man and would not help him. But the Samaritan had compassion on the man and cleaned his wounds, took him to an inn, cared for him and even paid his expenses. "This is a story of the love of a neighbor for his neighbor." "Love should have no boundary; we shold have no narrow loyalties."

We should love and serve others in their affliction. The Prophet Joseph Smith said in a letter to the Saints, "It is a duty which every Saint ought to render to his brethren freely - to always love them, and even succor them. To be justified before God we must love one another; we must overcome evil; we must visit the fatherless and the widow in their affliction, and we must keep ourselves unspotted from the world: for such virtues flow from the great fountain of pure religion." Pres. Hunter also talks about loving and serving: "These two virtues, love and service, are required of us if we are to be good neighbors and find peace in our lives." Peace is something we all yearn for, and we are promised it will come if we love and serve those around us.

We need to walk more resolutely the path of charity that Jesus has shown. The Prophet Joseph Smith said just one year before his martyrdom, "If we would secure and cultivate the love of others, we must love others, even our enemies as well as friends . . . . Christians should cease wrangling and contending with each other, and cultivate the principles of union and friendship in their midst." On commenting on Joseph Smith's words, Pres. Hunter says, "That is magnificent counsel today, even as it was [then]. The world in which we live, whether close to home or far away, needs ever know peace. We need to be kinder with one another, more gentle and forgiving. We need to be slower to anger and more prompt to help. We need to extend the hand of friendship and resist the hand of retribution. In short, we need to love one another with the pure love of Christ, with genuine charity and compassion and, if necessary, shared suffering, for that is they way God loves us."

Charity is the pure love of Christ and will not fail. "The world in which we live would benefit greatly if men and women everywhere would excercise the pure love of Christ which is kind, meek, and lowly. It is without envy or pride. It is selfless because it seeks nothing in return. It does not countenance evil or ill will, nor rejoice in iniquity; it has no place for bigotry, hatred, or violence. It refuses to condone ridicule, vulgarity, abuse, or ostracism. It encourages diverse people to live together in Christian love regardless of regardless of religious belief, race, nationality, financial standing, education, or culture." Wouldn't it be wonderful to live in a world like that? Pres. Hunter teaches, "Charity encompasses all other godly virtures. It distinguishes both the beginning and the end of the plan of salvation When all else fails, charity - Christ's love - will not fail. It is the greatest of all divine attributes." 

Loving others is "a more excellent way." "Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world . . . In the gift of his Son hath God prepared a more excellent way. " (Ether 12:4 and 11)

Sunday Lesson: July 24th

The lesson for Sunday, July 24th was from Elder Kevin R. Duncan's conference address, The Healing Ointment of Forgiveness. Our teacher did a wonderful job teaching us this important principle from Elder Duncan's talk. The talk starts out this way: "All that is of God ecompasses love, light, and truth. Yet as human beings we live in a fallen world, sometimes full of darkness and confusion. It comes as no surprise that mistakes will be made, injustices will occur, and sins will be committed. As a result, there is not a soul alive who will not, at one time or another, be the victim to someone else's carless actions, hurtful conduct, or even sinful behavior. That is one thing we all have in common." This is all too true in the world we live in and the relationships we have with others. However, God is so wise that he has prepared a way for us to escape the misdeeds we receive and put onto others. That miracle is forgiveness. Elder Duncan says,"Even though we may be a victim once, we need not be a victim twice by carrying the burden of hate, bitterness, pain, resentment, or even revenge. We can forgive, and we can be free!"

It can be so hard to forgive others. We may sometimes think that the other person needs to be punished for their wrong. 'Where is the justice?' we ask. We need not worry about that part, mercy cannot rob justice (Alma 42:25). Our teacher shared with us a quote by Buddah: "Holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die." God tells us, "Leave judgment alone with me, for it is mine and I will repay, [But let] peace be with you" (D&C 82:23). That peace can only be found by truly forgiving others. Elder Duncan teaches us,"One key to forgiving others is to try to see them as God sees them...This insight may even lead to an overwhelming love for that person." God knows the potential for good of all of His children

Our teacher reminded us of our Savior, in the last moments of His life, when he asked the Father to "forgive them; for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34). After all that had been injustly done to him, Christ had a greater understanding and peace about those who had done wrong to him. Elder Duncan says, "Just as we are all victims to the misdeeds of others at one time or another, we are also sometimes the offender. We all fall short and have need of grace, mercy, and forgiveness. . . . Forgiveness is the very reason God sent His Son, so let us rejoice in His offering to heal us all. The Savior's atonement is not just for those who need to repent; it is also for those who need to forgive."

Looking Through Windows

MATTHEW 7:3

And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thing own eye?

Upcoming Activities

WARD TEMPLE DAY – JULY 20^TH

BOOK GROUP

WEDNESDAY, JULY 20^TH AT 7:00 PM – PAT’S HOME

We will be discussing “Interpreter of Maladies” by Jhumpa Lahiri

You can come even if you haven’t read it.

PROJECT NIGHT

THURSDAY, AUGUST 11^th AT 7:00 PM – QUAIL BLDG

Heather Allison will be teaching. More details here.

Sunday Lesson: Aug 17th

Our lesson on July 17th was from our Howard W. Hunter manual, Chapter 14, Hastening Family History and Temple Work. Pres. Hunter was an avid family history researcher. He presided over the Genealogical Society of Utah from 1964 to 1972. He said, "We are observing something glorious occurring throughout the world. The gospel is moving forward to encompass every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. Temples are located throughout the earth, and the spirit of Elijah is touching the hearts of many members, who are doing family history and temple ordinance work at an unprecedented pace."

Temples are built for performing ordinances that are essential for the salvation and exaltation of God's children. To understand the importance of family history work, we need to understand the importance of the temple. Pres. Hunter teaches us, "It is in the temple that things of the earth are joined with the things of heaven..." Most people want to know what is it that happens in the temple. First, baptisms for the dead are performed. "Does is seem reasonable that persons who have lived upon the earth and died without the opportunity of baptism should be deprived throughout eternity?...we can perform ordinances for those who did not have the opportunity to do them in [their] lifetime." Second, the endowment is another ordinance performed in temples, for both the living and the dead. It consists of two parts, a series of instructions, and then promises or covenants that the person receiving the endowment makes. The third ordinance performed in temples is that of celestial marriage. Eternal marriages performed in the temple may exist forever. Children born to those parents are sealed to them for eternity. Children can also be sealed to parents in the temple if their parents are sealed after children are born. These same ordinances exist for families who have passes away without being sealing to each other. "All of these priesthood ordinances are essential for the salvation and exaltation of our Father in Heaven's children."

The objective of family history work is to make the blessings of the temple available to all people. There are two parts to this work; doing family history research to find our ancestors, and second by performing the temple ordinances for them to give them the same opportunity as we have. "As we attend the temple and perform work for the dead, we accomplish a deep sense of alliance with God and a better understanding of his plan for the salvation of the human race. We learn to love our neighbors as ourselves. Truly there is no work equal to that done in the temple."

May we be valiant in hastening our family history work. We each need to find a way to do our part to contribute to the important work of family history. Prophets before Pres. Hunter have made it clear the importance of this great work. Pres. Joseph F. Smith declared, "Through our efforts in their behalf, their chains of bondage will fall from them, and the darkness surrounding them will clear away, that light may shine upon them; and they shall hear in the spirit world of the work that has been done for them by their children here, and will rejoice."

The Prophet Joseph Smith stated, "The greatest responsibility in this world that God has laid upon us is to seek after our dead." He went on to say, "Those saints who neglect it in behalf of their deceased relatives, do it at the peril of their own salvation." Doctrine and Covenants 127:4 tells us, "Let the work of my temple, and all the works which I have appointed unto you, be continued on and not cease; and let your diligence, and your perseverance, and patience, and your works be redoubled, and you shall in nowise lose your reward, saith the Lord of Hosts."

Worldwide Indexing Event

Fort Collins Temple Open House

Tomorrow you can reserve your tickets for the ‪#‎fortcollinstemple‬ open house! Tickets are FREE and reservations help accommodate the crowds. 
Click on https://templeopenhouse.lds.org/ tomorrow to find the Ft. Collins temple and click on the "reserve now" button for you or any of your guests. Open house tours are Aug. 19 - Sept. 10.

Sunday Lesson: Aug 10th

Service to our Fellow Men 

Taught by Lisa Lara

As I pondered and thought about what to teach on these past few weeks, my mind kept going back to service. I know I have been heavily influenced by my experiences with girls’ camp, and I really felt like a discussion about sacrifice and service needed to happen.

I was amazed to see at least 9 people from our ward at our recent Stake Girls Camp. It wasn’t only 9 people that made a sacrifice to be there, but many more spouses, children, work associates, and many more that made a sacrifice so we could be there. Girls Camp wasn’t easy for any of those involved (I don’t think I had any idea what I was getting myself into). There was much planning, preparing, praying and fasting that happened before any of us loaded our vehicles to drive up the mountain. When we were there our assignments at camp were physically demanding and all the days were long. I personally was looking forward to a week in the mountains were I expected to have some downtime to catch up on my scripture reading, have some time to meditate, read a book maybe, and enjoy Heavenly Father’s creations. Some of those things happened, but in a very minute version of what I expected. I think I averaged 5 verses of scriptures everyday! Certainly no catching up here! I know all the leaders at camp, and the girls too, were busy learning and doing every second we were there.

Some might think we as members of the church are a little crazy for volunteering time and efforts like that so a group of teenage girls can go to camp. Why do we do it? Not just girls camp, but why do we spend countless hours giving of our time and efforts to others? So that they can feel the love of their Savior, help their testimony’s to grow, and hopefully at some point because we have charity for our fellow men.

Elder Oaks gave a talk about Sacrifice in the April 2012 General Conference. He said, “I am grateful for the marvelous examples of Christian love, service, and sacrifice I have seen among the Latter-day Saints. I see you performing your Church callings, often at great sacrifice of time and means. I see you serving missions at your own expense. I see you cheerfully donating your professional skills in service to your fellowmen. I see you caring for the poor through personal efforts and through supporting the Church welfare and humanitarian contributions.

All of this is affirmed in a nationwide study which concluded that active members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ‘volunteer and donate significantly more than the average American and are even more generous in time and money than the upper 20 percent of religious people in America.”

I could list so many people in our ward that do so many things for others. Whether it be taking a meal into a family, giving someone a ride to a doctor’s appointment, babysitting children or doing yard work the members in our ward give unselfishly of their time and efforts. I am sure all of you could share of a time when you either gave or received service. How did the experience affect you?
In a Conference talk in April 2012 Elder Hales taught that there are stepping stones in order to have the desire to serve others. He tells us that first we need to be worthy and prepared to partake of the sacrament each week. We need to prepare before we come to sacrament meeting and allow ourselves to experience a ‘mighty change of heart’. This way we remember who we are and what we most desire. We renew the covenant to keep the commandments and we obtain the companionship of the Holy Ghost to lead us back to our Heavenly Father’s presence.

Elder Hales says that our desires to return to our Heavenly Father increase as we not only partake of the sacrament, but as we become worthy to hold a temple recommend. We become worthy by steadily and steadfastly obeying the commandments. As we are worthy to hold a temple recommend, that worthiness gives us strength to keep our temple covenants. And how do we personally gain that strength? Elder Hales gives us the formula: “We strive to obtain a testimony of Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, the Holy Ghost, the reality of the Atonement, and the truthfulness of the Prophet Joseph Smith and the Restoration. We sustain our leaders, treat our families with kindness, stand as a witness of the Lord’s true Church, attend our Church meetings, honor our covenants, fulfill parental obligations, and live a virtuous life.”

As we do all these things and are worthy to hold a temple recommend, we establish patterns of Christlike living. By following basic patterns of faithfulness we receive “power from on high” to face the challenges of life. Elder Hales teaches us, “We need this divine power today more than ever. It is power we receive only through temple ordinances.”
Through partaking of the sacrament worthily and by being worthy to enter the temple our desires to learn and live the gospel increase. In turn we naturally seek to serve one another. We are allowing the Atonement, the sacrifice of our Savior, work in us so that we can serve Him better. Luke 22:32 says, “When though art converted, strengthen thy brethren.” No wonder we have deep desires to serve and
bless others, to make a difference in the world. As Latter-day Saints we crave the joy that service brings.

In Elder Oaks’ first conference talk after being called as an apostle in 1984, he spoke on 6 reasons why we serve others. These reasons are listed in order from the lesser to the greater reasons for service. 1) Hope of an earthly reward. 2) Service that is motivated by a personal desire to obtain good companionship. 3) Serving out of fear of punishment. 4) Service out of a sense of duty or out of loyalty to friends or family or traditions. Elder Oaks teaches that these first four reasons do qualify us for the blessings of heaven, but there are still higher reasons for service. 5) The hope of an eternal reward; the expectation of enjoying the fruits of our labors. The highest reason of all is what the scriptures call a more excellent way. “Charity is the pure love of Christ.” Our service may profit us nothing unless we are motivated by the pure love of Christ.

D&C 4:2 says, “Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day.” We need to not only serve with our might and strength, but somehow make sure our heart and mind are committed as well. “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” (Matthew 25:40)

I know that the principles that Elder Hales and Elder Oaks teach are true. That as we live the gospel the best we can, as we partake of the sacrament worthily and being prepared, and as we live in a way that we can enter the temple and receive the blessings and power that are promised us, our desires to love and serve one other increase. We become more like our Savior and we are blessed for it. Our Savior loves each of us and desires that we become like Him and return to Him and our Heavenly Father. The true key to happiness is to labor for the happiness of others.

July Newsletter

Presidency Message by Jan Welling
Have you ever looked up at the sky and caught a glimpse of sun-rays coming through the clouds? They seem to be reaching out. Every time I see them I think of Christ, reaching out. He is the light in our lives and is there for us in every circumstance. Even during our personally cloudy days he is reaching out to give us light and help. We can have His light within us. This happens by the way we live the gospel, by being true followers of Christ. When we have the light of Christ in us our lives are more meaningful and fulfilling. We have a sense of purpose. We are able to be a light to others.
President Monson said, “Life is perfect for none of us, and at times the challenges and difficulties we face may become overwhelming, causing our light to dim. However, with help from our Heavenly Father, coupled with support from others, we can regain that light which will illuminate our own path once again and provide the light others may need.

“To each of you, I say that you are a son or daughter of our Heavenly Father. You have come from His presence to live on this earth for a season, to reflect the Savior’s love and teachings, and to bravely let your light shine for all to see. When that season on earth has ended, if you have done your part, yours will be the glorious blessing of returning to live with Him forever.
“How reassuring are the Savior’s words: “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” Of Him I testify. He is our Savior and Redeemer, our Advocate with the Father. He is our Exemplar and our strength. He is “the light which shineth in darkness.” That each of us within the sound of my voice may pledge to follow Him, thus becoming a shining light to the world, is my prayer in His holy name, even Jesus Christ the Lord, amen.”

I am grateful for the Plan of Salvation. Grateful to know my purpose on earth. I love my Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ and feel of their love for me. Life is good – let us live to have the light of Christ so we can help bless the lives of others.

Birthdays
1 Lisa Lara
5 Brandy Gaule
7 Tyfani Krings
12 Mary Lou Mooring
16 Audrey Farnsworth
18 Alice Dewitt
20 Apollo Garcia
21 Joree Hoycott
25 Victoria Peters
29 Leslie Nelson
31 Michele Azar

Lesson Schedule – (Howard W Hunter)
July 3 #13 “The Temple – The Great symbol of Our Membership”
July 10 Presidency message by Lisa Lara
July 17 #14 “Hastening Family History and Temple Work”
July 24 “Healing anointment of Forgiveness” by Kevin Duncan
July 31 Bishop’s Instructions

Upcoming Events
July 3-18 Temple closed
July 20 Ward Temple Day

Other Opportunities
June 12 Lunch Bunch at Popeyes
Saturdays 8 am basketball Stake Center
Mon & Wed 9 am Aerobics

Spiritual Thought
"God will take you as you are at this very moment and begin to work with you. All you need is a willing heart, a desire to believe, and trust in the Lord."
—Dieter F. Uchtdorf