*Remember the Ward Party this Tuesday at Fielding Park @ 6 pm. For those bringing food please be there at 5:45. There will be games and prizes. Please bring lawn chairs and blankets.
*Ward Temple Night: August 24, either the 5 or 7 pm session.
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Today's lesson was given by Sister Jamie Johnson and was based on Sister Aburto's conference talk.
To begin today's lesson, Sister Jamie began by telling the sisters how Sister Jensen touched her heart last week as she held the RS Council and talked about how Heavenly Father wanted us to know that the Lord loves each of us. Sister Jamie said she had been praying for the past two weeks and she too felt that this is what Heavenly Father wanted us to know.
Then Sister Johnson handed out thread and asked each of us to cut a piece off the spool. We could choose whatever color we wanted. Then we were to hold on to that piece until later in the lesson.
Sister Johnson then read a part from Sister Aburto's talk. It said, "One of the most remarkable creatures on earth is the monarch butterfly. On a trip to Mexico to spend Christmas with my husband's family, we visited a butterfly sanctuary, where millions of monarch butterflies spend the winter. It was fascinating to see such an impressive sight and for us to reflect on the example of unity and obedience to divine laws that God's creations demonstrate.
Monarch butterflies are master navigators. They use the sun's position to find the direction they need to go. Every Spring, they travel thousands of miles from Mexico to Canada, and every Fall, they return to the same sacred fir forests in Mexico. They do this year after year, one tiny wing flap at a time.
Sister Johnson then explained that like the monarch butterflies, we are on a journey back to our heavenly home, where we will reunite with our Heavenly Parents.
She then asked the question, "Why is unity so important?" She then said she wanted to talk about three key that would help us to become united.
The first key is GATHERING:
Sister Aburto said, "Our Lord Jesus Christ has promised us that when we are gathered together in His name, He is in the midst of us."
President Eyering has said, "He cannot grant [unity] to us as individuals. The joy of unity He wants so much to give us is not solitary. We must seek it and qualify for it with others. It is not surprising then that God urges us to gather so that He can bless us. He wants us to gather into families. He has established classes, wards, and branches and commanded us to meet together often. In those gatherings, which God has designed for us, lies our great opportunity. We can pray and work for the unity that will bring us joy and multiply our power to serve."
Sister Aburto explained in her talk that during their journey, the butterflies cluster together at night on trees to protect themselves from the cold and from predators.
Sister Johnson said that this reminded her of a documentary that she had watched where elephants did this. At night the elephants would place their young in the middle of the circle and then the older elephants would surround them. This would protect them from lions and other predators. She explained that the predators try to pick off their prey by separating them from the group because once they are separated it is much easier for the predator to make its kill.
She explained how the adversary tries to do the same in our lives.
Satan tries to separate us through contention like happened to the people in the Book of Mormon.
She then asked the question, "How does separation cause us to feel? and What are some ways we can become united?"
- Annette Ellis said, "Being alone leads to depression.
- Lauralee Hansen said, "In the Temple before their shift begins, they always meet together so they know what is going on and they can focus better on what they need to be doing."
- Sister Phipps said that her family gets together at reunions and they are able to make a lot of quilts that bless the lives of others.
- Pat Allison said that she and her sisters get together also to make quilts for refugees.
- Anne Welling told of a time on their mission when they were the only members of the church in an area. So there was no one else to meet with on Sundays. Their mission president had them fly to another city once a quarter to meet with other saints, because they needed to have that unity in their lives.
- Sister Johnson's mother (who was visiting) told of how when her husband was the mission president in Portugal, she didn't really know the language at first. This was very hard for her because at church no one wanted to sit by her because of her lack of communication skills. She was blessed to have the bishop's wife befriend her. She also said that, Satan wants us to feel isolated and alone.
Sister Jamie then went on to say, "Like the butterflies and the elephants, we must gather together to strengthen and protect ourselves from the adversary. There is great strength in gathering.
The second key is OPEN HEARTS:
Elder Holland said, "Love comes with open hands and open hearts."
The problem with this is that we sometimes build up walls around our hearts and then it is harder to achieve unity in our Relief Society. Sometimes we've been hurt or offended or wounded in the past, so to avoid future hurt, we build walls around our hearts to protect them. By doing so, we don't fully let others into our hearts.
Sister Johnson then posed the questions, "What are some of the walls we build around ourselves? and What do some of these walls look like?"
- Sometimes we smile and pretend we're fine even when we're not.
- Sister Phipps said when we are fearful we build walls.
- Bonnie Clark said when we are hurt we build walls.
- Pat Allison said that when we are afraid of being different we build walls to protect ourselves.
- Sister Allison's granddaughter-in-law said that a lot of people disconnect by using their devices. She also said that to correct this we need to find a friend that we can open up to.
Jamie then asked, "How do we get through the walls that others have built around their hearts?"
Sister Johnson told the story of a family. The father had been very ill and they were being picked up from the airport by their children. When the children saw them one of the daughters asked her father how he was doing. He looked at her and said fine. The mother and another daughter began walking away and this daughter stayed by her father. She then looked him in the eye and asked "How are you really doing?" The father then told her he was not doing fine and was able to open up to her.
Sister Johnson then said, "We need to connect with people and look them in the eye and ask, how are you really doing?" Be sincere and open so that they can open up to you.
- Sister Clark said that we need to have empathy and sympathy for others.
- Sister Ashby suggested that we not be judgmental. She said that we need to let them know that they are important.
- Sister Annalee Ashby said that we need to be aware of our surroundings. She said that if we are greeting someone in a grocery story with a lot of people around, it is not the time for someone to open up. But if you feel that the person you are talking too needs to open up, find a place and a time and go visit them, or invite them to walk to a more secluded area to talk so that they can open up.
- Sister Merlynn said, "As we strive to minister we will be lead by the Holy Ghost."
- Sister Tonya Hess said that when something is shared with us, it is usually personal and we shouldn't share it with others. We need to keep the confidences shared with us.
Sister Johnson said we need to pray to know the needs and feelings of the sisters in our ward, then act on those promptings, even if it is for sisters that we are not assigned to.
She then asked the question, "How do we break down our own walls so we can have an open heart?"
Sister Noreen Rawlins then told a story of a gentleman that she knew who when he was young, he was the only active member of his family. He felt like no one really care if he went to church or not and so he decided to not go anymore. After a time went by, he decided that it was up to him if he wanted to remain active or not, so he decided to return to church.
This young man expected everyone to be so ecstatic when he returned. However, when he returned, no one said anything to him. He was sorely disappointed, but he knew that it was his decision to take responsibility to remain active and gain a strong testimony. He wouldn't let others not befriending him turn him away.
Later this young man learned that many were glad to see him return, they just hadn't known what to say to him when they first saw him. He stayed active and is now the one that is first to show friendship to others.
Sister Johnson said, "The more we are grounded in His love, the opinion of others will not matter."
She also said that if we pray for the Lord's help, he will protect our hearts. We will be able to open up to others without being hurt if they are not sincere.
The third key is HEARTS KNIT TOGETHER IN CHRISTLIKE LOVE:
In Mosiah 18:21 it says, "And he commanded them that there should be no contention one with another, but that they should look forward with one eye, having one faith and one baptism, having their hearts knit together in unity and in love one towards another."
Sister Johnson then asked the sisters to look at the piece of string that they had cut earlier in the lesson. She said that if you were to, you could break that piece of string in half easily. However, she asked us to all put our pieces together. She talked about how each color was different. There were different lengths. But together they were beautiful. And together they were strong enough that they couldn't be broken.
She talked about how if she asked all of us to sing the first verse of our favorite hymn how there would be a cacophony of sound. It would be chaos. However, if we were to all sing the same verse of the same song, we would have harmony and it would sound beautiful.
Sister Aburto talked bout the early saints on the earth during the ministry of Jesus Christ. She says how in Acts it says several times that they were of one accord. They were unified. Then Sister Aburto says, "We can suppose that the reason why they were so united is because they knew the Lord personally. They had been close to Him, and they had been witnesses of His divine mission, of the miracles that He performed, and of His resurrection. They saw and touched the marks in His hands and feet. They knew with certainty that He was the promised Messiah, the Redeemer of the world. They knew that He is the source of all healing, peace and eternal progress."
Even though we may not have seen our Savior with our physical eyes, we can know that He lives. As we draw closer to Him, as we seek to receive a personal witness through the Holy Ghost of His divine mission, we will have a better understanding of our purpose; the love of God will dwell in our heart; we will have the determination to be one in the kaleidoscopes of our family, wards, and communities; and we will minister to each other "in newer, better ways."
"Like the monarch butterflies, let us continue on our journey together in purpose, each of us with our own attributes and contributions, working to make this a more beautiful and fruitful world - one small step at a time and in harmony with God's commandments.
We need every person. We need every part. We need every instrument in the Lord's orchestra. Every part is important and so is every instrument. Together we can blend our voices to make one great symphony as we harmonize our voices and instruments to testify of Christ and minister together in His cause.
We can be a beautiful kaleidoscope of butterflies gathered together in strength and harmony as we journey home together to our Father in Heaven.
