Relief Society Lesson 3/28/10

What Have I Done For Someone Today?
President Thomas S. Monson
October 2009 General Conference

President Monson said he had felt prompted to share this message with us.

President Monson spoke about a doctor, Jack McConnell, who was one of the seven children of a Methodist minister and a stay-at-home mom. He said that at the dinner table, his father would ask each of the children, "And what did you do for someone today?" The children wanted to have something to report, so would try each day to serve someone else. Dr. McConnell called this exercise his father's most valuable legacy because it inspired the children to serve throughout their lives. Dr. McConnell went on to help in the medical field by helping with the development of Tylenol and the MRI, among other things. After he retired, he volunteered 60 hours a week and found a satisfaction that he had never before found in his life.

President David O. McKay made this statement in the Octiber 1963 general conference: "Man's greatest happiness comes from losing himself for the good of others."

Often we live side by side but do not communicate heart to heart. There are those within the sphere of our own influence who, with outstretched hands, cry out, "Is there no balm in Gilead?"

I am confident it is the intention of each member of the Church to serve and to help those in need. At baptism we covenanted to "bear one another's burdens, that they may be light." How many times has your heart been touched as you have witnessed the need of another? How often have you intended to be the one to help? And yet how often has day-to-day living interfered and you've left it for others to help, feeling that "oh, surely someone will take care of that need."

Too often we spend most of our time taking care of the things which do not really matter much at all in the grand scheme of things, neglecting those more important causes.

President Monson shared this poem:

I have wept in the night
For the shortness of sight
That to somebody's need made me blin;
But I never have yet
Felt a tinge of regreat
For being a little too kind.

President Monson spoke about how for he told a reporter that the ideal birthday gift for him would be to "Find someone who is having a hard time or is ill or lonely, and do something for him or her."

He was overwhelmed by the letters he received from members of the Church telling him the service they had done as a birthday gift to him.

*Sister Dunford gave this beautiful lesson. We had a beautiful discussion on service. We talked about how the giver and the receiver are both blessed and that sometimes we are on the giving end and sometimes we are on the receiving end. No matter what side we are on, we should allow the service to be done so blessings can be received. Sometimes we don't have the health or strength to serve like others may be able to, but we can all serve in one way or another. Our service may be a kind word or sharing words of wisdom with another. It may be as simple as pulling a neighbor's weed or making a phone call. When we serve others, we are really serving God. President Monson has been such a wonderful example of giving service. May we be more mindful of others and serve each other daily.

Relief Society Lesson for 3/21/10- The Fall of Adam and Eve

God prepared this earth as a home for His children. Adam and Eve
were chosen to be the first people to live on the earth (see Moses
1:34; 4:26). Their part in our Father’s plan was to bring mortality into
the world. They were to be the first parents. (See D&C 107:54–56 .)
Adam and Eve were among our Father’s noblest children . In the
spirit world Adam was called Michael the archangel (see D&C
27:11; Jude 1:9). He was chosen by our Heavenly Father to lead the
righteous in the battle against Satan (see Revelation 12:7–9). Adam
and Eve were foreordained to become our first parents. The Lord
promised Adam great blessings: “I have set thee to be at the head; a
multitude of nations shall come of thee, and thou art a prince over
them forever” (D&C 107:55).

Eve was “the mother of all living” (Moses 4:26). God brought Adam
and Eve together in marriage because “it was not good that the man
should be alone” (Moses 3:18; see also 1 Corinthians 11:11). She
shared Adam’s responsibility and will also share his eternal blessings.

When Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden of Eden, they were
not yet mortal. In this state, “they would have had no children”
(2 Nephi 2:23). There was no death. They had physical life because
their spirits were housed in physical bodies made from the dust
of the earth (see Moses 6:59; Abraham 5:7). They had spiritual life
because they were in the presence of God. They had not yet made
a choice between good and evil.

God commanded them to have children. He said, “Be fruitful, and
multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it, and have domin-
ion over . . . every living thing that moveth upon the earth” (Moses
2:28). God told them they could freely eat of every tree in the
garden except one, the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Of that
tree God said, “In the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die”
(Moses 3:17).

Satan, not knowing the mind of God but seeking to destroy God’s
plan, came to Eve in the Garden of Eden. He tempted her to eat of
the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. He assured her
that she and Adam would not die, but that they would “be as gods,
knowing good and evil” (Moses 4:11) . Eve yielded to the tempta-
tion and ate the fruit. When Adam learned what had happened, he
chose to partake also. The changes that came upon Adam and Eve
because they ate the fruit are called the Fall.

Because Adam and Eve had eaten the fruit of the tree of knowledge
of good and evil, the Lord sent them out of the Garden of Eden into
the world. Their physical condition changed as a result of their eat-
ing the forbidden fruit. As God had promised, they became mor-
tal. They and their children would experience sickness, pain, and
physical death. Because of their transgression, Adam and Eve also
suffered spiritual death. This meant they and their children could
not walk and talk face to face with God . Adam and Eve and their children
were separated from God both physically and spiritually .

Some people believe Adam and Eve committed a serious sin when
they ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. However, latter-
day scriptures help us understand that their Fall was a necessary
step in the plan of life and a great blessing to all of us. Because of
the Fall, we are blessed with physical bodies, the right to choose
between good and evil, and the opportunity to gain eternal life.
None of these privileges would have been ours had Adam and Eve
remained in the garden.

After the Fall, Eve said, “Were it not for our transgression we never
should have had seed [children], and never should have known
good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life
which God giveth unto all the obedient” (Moses 5:11).

The prophet Lehi explained:
“And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed he would not have
fallen [been cut off from the presence of God], but he would have
remained in the Garden of Eden . And all things which were created
must have remained in the same state in which they were after they
were created . . . .

“And they would have had no children; wherefore they would have
remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no
misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin."

“But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who
knoweth all things.

“Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have
joy” (2 Nephi 2:22–25) .

Relief Society Lesson for 3/14/10- The Creation

When we lived as spirit children with our heavenly parents, our
Heavenly Father told us about His plan for us to become more like
Him. We shouted for joy when we heard His plan (see Job 38:7).
We were eager for new experiences. In order for these things to
happen, we needed to leave our Father’s presence and receive
mortal bodies. We needed another place to live where we could
prepare to become like Him. Our new home was called earth.

Jesus Christ created this world and everything in it. He also created
many other worlds. He did so through the power of the priesthood,
under the direction of our Heavenly Father. God the Father said,
“Worlds without number have I created; . . . and by the Son I created
them, which is mine Only Begotten” (Moses 1:33). We have other
testimonies of this truth. Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon saw Jesus
Christ in a vision. They testified “that by him, and through him, and
of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof
are begotten sons and daughters unto God” (D&C 76:24).

The earth and everything on it were created spiritually before they
were created physically (see Moses 3:5). In planning to create the
physical earth, Christ said to those who were with Him, “We will
go down, for there is space there, . . . and we will make an earth
whereon these [the spirit children of our Father in Heaven] may
dwell” (Abraham 3:24) .

Under the direction of the Father, Christ formed and organized the
earth. He divided light from darkness to make day and night . He
formed the sun, moon, and stars. He divided the waters from the
dry land to make seas, rivers, and lakes. He made the earth beautiful
and productive. He made grass, trees, flowers, and other plants of all
kinds. These plants contained seeds from which new plants could
grow. Then He created the animals—fish, cattle, insects, and birds of
all kinds. These animals had the ability to reproduce their own kind.
Now the earth was ready for the greatest creation of all—mankind.
Our spirits would be given bodies of flesh and blood so they could
live on earth. “And I, God, said unto mine Only Begotten, which
was with me from the beginning: Let us make man in our image,
after our likeness; and it was so” (Moses 2:26) . And so the first man,
Adam, and the first woman, Eve, were formed and given bodies
that resembled those of our heavenly parents. “In the image of God
created he him; male and female created he them” (Genesis 1:27).
When the Lord finished His creations, He was pleased and knew
that His work was good, and He rested for a time.

God’s Creations Show His Love

We are now living in this beautiful world. Think of the sun,
which gives us warmth and light. Think of the rain, which makes
plants grow and makes the world feel clean and fresh. Think of
how good it is to hear a bird singing or a friend laughing. Think
of how wonderful our bodies are—how we can work and play
and rest. When we consider all of these creations, we begin to
understand what wise, powerful, and loving beings Jesus Christ
and our Heavenly Father are. They have shown great love for us
by providing for all of our needs.

Plant life and animal life were also made to give us joy. The
Lord said, “Yea, all things which come of the earth, in the sea-
son thereof, are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to
please the eye and to gladden the heart; yea, for food and for rai-
ment, for taste and for smell, to strengthen the body and to enliven
the soul” (D&C 59:18–19). Even though God’s creations are many,
He knows and loves them all. He said, “All things are numbered
unto me, for they are mine and I know them” (Moses 1:35).

Recipe Swap-Pasta

We had a fun recipe swap this past Tuesday, March 16th. Everyone brought such different pastas. It was fun to try all of them. Thanks to everyone who came. Remember to email me your recipe this week at katiecupcake1@gmail.com

Relief Society Lesson 3/7/10

Provident Living: Self-Reliance

Boni Peterson gave our Presidency message today. It was on provident living and self-reliance. Self-reliant means to be able to take care of yourself and serve others. We can be self-reliant in a number of areas in our life, such as: spiritual, education, food storage, and physcial. We had a great discussion on being self-reliant. As we are more self-reliant, we can better give of ourselves to serve others. It was a great lesson. Boni challenged us to pick an area in our life where we could become more self-reliant.