Announcements: Enrichment Night will be July 3rd @ 6 pm at Sherrie Troseth's home. It is for Mother's and Daughters. Come and enjoy a peaceful evening in Sister Troseth's yard.
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Today's discussion was led by Maddison Jones. She is a new sister in the ward. She and her husband are living with Sister Jones' parents. They have two daughters and are enjoying our ward.
Before the discussion began, Sister Kathy Pinborough asked all of the sisters to please read and pray about President Nelson's Youth Devotional that he and Sister Nelson had with the youth. This will be what the next RS Council meeting will be about.
Maddi Jones introduced herself and told a little bit about her family.
She then began Elder Holland's talk by asking, "Who has been invited to minister?" Then she said, "We were all given this invitation from President Nelson. But then asked, "Who prompted President Nelson to change the way we were doing our visiting teaching to the new way we will minister?" The answer is Jesus Christ. This inspiration was given to the First Presidency from our Savior.
She then asked, "What is ministering?" Sister Bonnie Clark answered by saying that true ministering is putting the needs of others above our own needs. Joan Richards said it is the pure love of Christ. Joann Allen said when she thinks of ministering, she thinks about a time of peace. Where we would be able to walk around in a peaceful atmosphere, and if you came into contact with someone with a need, we would automatically be able to serve them just as it was with Jesus.
Sister Jones then talked about how when Jesus was on the earth going from place to place, He didn't have an agenda. He just ministered to those who were in need. Sister Phipps then told of the Savior and how even when He was on the cross, He was worried about taking care of others.
To answer the question of what is ministering, the quote was then read from Elder Holland's talk. "... to demonstrate "pure religion" ..... undefiled before God" - "to bear one another's burdens, that they may be light" and to "comfort those that stand in need of comfort," - to minister to the widows and the fatherless, the married and the single, the strong and the distraught, the downtrodden and the robust, the happy and the sad - in short, all of us, every one of us"...
Sister Jones then said that Pure Religion is the Pure Love of Christ. It is to be a true friend.
Elder Holland said, "As He (the Savior) prepared to leave His still-innocent and somewhat-confused little band of followers, He did not list a dozen administrative steps they had to take or hand them a fistful of reports to be filled out in triplicate. No, He summarized their task in one fundamental commandment: 'Love one another; as I have loved you ... By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."
Sister Jones then posed the question, "How is the Relief Society presidency to know the needs of those in our ward if we aren't doing our ministering?" If we do not go out and visit our neighbors and friends, how can their needs be made known to those in leadership positions that are in authority to help?
Sister Jones then asked, "When should we begin to minister?" Several sisters stated at the same time, "Yesterday!"
Sister Jones then talked about when they lived in their old ward they were a part of the pilot program for ministering. She said that at the time they didn't know that the new program we are now all taking part in was what they had been asked to do. Since it was announced she and her husband recognized it as what they had been asked to do. She said that looking back on what they did as a ward, she sees that it increased the unity in their ward and had begun to be a blessing to everyone that had been involved.
The question was then asked,"Where should we minister?" Sister Bonnie Clark answered everywhere. Sister Jones agreed and explained that we need to serve wherever we are at. We can serve anyplace and at anytime. She told of how one family home evening just after they had moved into our ward, they were out driving getting to know the Tremonton area. While they were driving, they saw an elderly lady in her yard. They decided to stop and ask her if they could help, because it looked like she needed help in doing the work. The sister declined saying her children were coming the next day to help her. But they had a good visit with her and this sweet sister offered the Jones to come back anytime and partake of her garden. Sister Jones then said, "We need to get into the habit of getting out of ourselves and get into the habit of thinking of others."
The next question was, "How do we minister?" Elder Holland said, "In addition to whatever schedule you establish for actual visits, that calendar can be supplemented with telephone calls, written notes, texts, emails, video chats, conversations at Church meetings, shared service projects, social activities, and a host of possibilities in the world of social media..." Sister Jones said, it can be random.
Then Sister Jones referred to the following story told by Elder Holland:
Last January 14, a Sunday, just a little after 5:00 p.m., my young friends Brett and Kristin Hamblin were chatting at their home in Tempe, Arizona, after Brett’s day serving in the bishopric and Kristin’s busy day caring for their five children. Suddenly Kristin, a seemingly successful survivor of breast cancer the previous year, fell unresponsive. A call to 911 brought an emergency team trying desperately to revive her. As Brett prayed and pleaded, he quickly placed just two other telephone calls: one to his mother requesting her help with the children, the other to Edwin Potter, his home teacher. The latter conversation in its entirety went as follows:
Edwin, noting caller ID, said, “Hey, Brett, what’s up?”Brett’s near-shouted response was “I need you here—now!”
In fewer minutes than Brett could count, his priesthood colleague was standing at his side, helping with the children and then driving Brother Hamblin to the hospital behind the ambulance carrying his wife. There, less than 40 minutes after she had first closed her eyes, the physicians pronounced Kristin dead.
As Brett sobbed, Edwin simply held him in his arms and cried with him—for a long, long time. Then, leaving Brett to grieve with other family members who had gathered, Edwin drove to the bishop’s home to tell him what had just transpired. A marvelous bishop started immediately for the hospital while Edwin drove on to the Hamblins’ home. There he and his wife, Charlotte, who had also come running, played with the five now-motherless Hamblin children, ages 12 down to 3. They fed them an evening meal, held an impromptu musical recital, and helped get them ready for bed.
Brett told me later, “The amazing part of this story isn’t that Edwin came when I called. In an emergency, there are always people willing to help. No, the amazing part of this story is that he was the one I thought of. There were other people around. Kristin has a brother and sister less than three miles away. We have a great bishop, the greatest. But the relationship between Edwin and me is such that I felt instinctively to call him when I needed help. The Church provides us a structured way to live the second commandment better—to love, serve, and develop relationships with our brothers and sisters that help us move closer to God.”11
Edwin said about the experience, “Elder Holland, the irony in all of this is that Brett has been our family’s home teacher for longer than I have been theirs. Over that time, he has visited us more as a friend than by assignment. He has been a great example, the epitome of what an active and involved priesthood bearer should be. My wife, our boys—we don’t see him as one obligated to bring us a message at the end of each month; we think of him as a friend who lives just down the street and around the corner, who would do anything in this world to bless us. I am glad I could repay just a little bit of the debt I owe him.”
We need to build our relationships. We need to have friendships and not be just someone that visits once a month. We need to be the kind of people that others can turn to in times of need or in times of joy.
Sister Kathy Pinborough told of how when she was 19 her father got cancer. They had to go to Ogden to a doctor there for her father. She said that it was a lot of time on the road for her family. She said she really didn't think about it, but that while her family was going through this trial, their yard was always taken care of by people in her ward. She said that often when they would return from their trips to Ogden, there would be food ready and warm for them to eat. She said she remembers once that someone left a large bowl of fresh strawberries there for them and someone else brought a large pot of soup. It was truly a blessing. They were people she didn't really know, but they were in their ward and they had ministered to her family.
Sister Ashby talked about how she was coming home from Tremonton the other day and she saw a sister in a wheelchair going down the road. She thought to herself, I need to visit her one day. Then the prompting came that she should turn around and go back. She followed the prompting and turned her car around. She rolled down her window and asked the sister if she needed any help. The sister said she was doing okay. They had a good visit right there next to the road and both were uplifted because she chose to follow the Spirit.
Sister Jones then told of a time when a sister had moved out of their ward and then returned back into their ward. She was prompted to take this sister a loaf of bread. When she took it to her, the sister gave her a strange look, but Sister Jones had followed the prompting and left the bread. Sometimes we don't know why we are prompted to do things, but we still need to do them.
Sister Joann Allen then talked of the story given in a conference talk of a sister that kept telling her husband that their neighbor's laundry was dirty when she would look out the window. It was the woman's own windows that were dirty and after her husband washed the windows she could see clearly. She said how now not only are to wash our windows so that we can see clearly, but we are being asked to go and wash our neighbor's windows as well to serve them.
Jenni Knight talked about a concept that she heard of, where it takes 5 seconds for our brain to talk ourselves out of doing something. Instead of waiting when prompted and second guessing ourselves, she said we need to just go and do it.
Celeste Miller said that she tends to question whether it is the Spirit speaking to her, or if it is her own thoughts. She has decided that if it is a good thought, whether it is the Spirit or not she is going to do it because it won't hurt anyone if it is a good thought.
Sister Jones then asked, "Why are we asked to minister?" The quote was then given, "In the spirit of President Nelson's marvelous declarations and testimonies last night and this morning, I bear my own witness that these adjustments are examples of the revelation that has guided this Church from its beginning. They are yet more evidence that the Lord is hastening His work in its time."
Sister Jones then went on to quote Brother Tibbets from sacrament meeting. Brother Tibbets said, "The work is going forward and if we're not doing the work, it will go forward without us."
Celeste Miller told of a talk that Sister Tammy Jensen gave in Stake Conference. In her talk she said that BUSY is an acronym for Being Under Satan's Yoke. We need to not be so busy that we put off serving those around us.
Sister Anne Welling read a part of the lesson, "as the work of quorums and auxiliaries matures institutionally, it follows that we should mature personally as well—individually rising above any mechanical, function-without-feeling routine to the heartfelt discipleship articulated by the Savior at the conclusion of His earthly ministry." She said, we need to really truly learn to love those we serve.
Sister Jones then talked about how the Israelites asked to be told what to do and how to do what they were instructed to do. It lead to the Jews holding fast to the law, as in how many steps you could take on Sunday, etc. Today we are being shown a higher law, where we need to not only know the law, but adhere to the Spirit of the law. It was talked about how if our neighbor needs to be served on Sunday, then go and serve. We need to go forward and do it no matter when the need is. Brigham Young closed a conference so that the people could serve their brothers and sisters who were out on the plains freezing. We need to serve our neighbors in that same way.
Sister Jenni Knight said, this is teaching us to listen to the Spirit. The more that we act on the promptings that we are given, the more we will be given. She then referred to the talk in conference given by Larry Wilson regarding a young man who served on a transport ship. The ship was in the middle of a hurricane and this young man helped save the ship and it's crew. He listened and heard the Spirit, but not only did he do that, but he acted on those promptings. So we need to not only pray, but we too need to act.
Sister Glori Alsop told of a time this past year when she was in Hurricane. She was driving around trying to find a house address of an acquaintance, when out of the corner of her eye she saw what she thought was someone falling. She backed her car up and there on the ground was an older sister. Glori rolled down her window and asked if the sister needed help. The sister responded that she did and was Sister Alsop going to come and help her. Sister Alsop promptly pulled into the driveway and went over and helped the sister up. The sister she was helping was kind of cranky and cross until Sister Alsop was done helping her.
Sister Alsop pointed out that sometimes Heavenly Father puts us in a place to help even when others don't appreciate it or it seems like they don't. But she said that had she not stopped, that little sister who Glori found out was 90, could have laid on the ground for a long time without anyone seeing her. It was December and the sister had been out putting up her Christmas lights.
Again, it was stated that the more we learn to act on promptings from the Spirit, the more we will be given.
Sister Kim Miller told of a woman that had passed her home that was looking for an address in Fielding. This woman couldn't seem to find it even after directions from Kim. Finally, Kim got into her own car and lead the lady to the home she was trying to find. The woman offered Kim money for her troubles, but Kim declined. She was just happy to help. Kim said, "sometimes we don't think about the little things and how sometimes they are the greatest help."
Sister Marie Bywater told of how she and Milt have been blessed by their good neighbors. She said that their sprinkler system has not been working and that a few of their neighbors have worked on it to help them. She feels so blessed to have good neighbors.
Kathy Pinborough said, "We need to keep it simple." Just be good neighbors.
Sister Tammy Jensen told of how she and her daughter had been at a leadership camp recently. There was a man there that brought back a wonderful memory of service for her. She said that this man, whose name was also Peter Jensen, like her husband. Anyway, he had been their home teacher before cell phones were around. Tammy had been threatening to miscarry and a neighbor took Tammy to the hospital. The neighbor couldn't stay with Tammy and she didn't know how to get ahold of her husband. When she finally came out of the doctor's office, not knowing how she was going to get back home there was her home teacher waiting to take her home. She was blessed by home teacher that was willing to serve. Seeing this man at the leadership conference brought tears to her eyes because he had been a blessing to them in a time of need.
The Lord knows the key moments when we are in need and He will provide for those needs. We need to ask ourselves, "Will we be in tune to help serve and bless those that are in need; so we can be His hands on the earth?"
