Wheatgrass 101

Growing wheatgrass is super easy. Here's how:
1. Procure wheat.
2. Make sure you check to see if you already have wheat. Especially be sure to check that food storage starter kit your mom gave you for Christmas a few years ago. Look thoroughly. There's a can of wheat in there. This especially a good idea before packing up three boys and driving to Riverdale to the whole foods store for overpriced tiny bags of wheat and then driving all over Ogden looking for Kitchen Kneads to buy better-priced wheat and chocolate-covered cinnamon bears and price the wheat grinders ($269 I think they were) Karen Gilmore told us about at her bread-making class a while back. Don't leave the cinnamon bears at the store. Forgetting children is optional.
3. Soak wheat 10-12 hours. You'll want to soak enough wheat to cover your entire planting surface.
4. Procure potting soil and a container. I don't necessarily recommend canning jars (unless you're going for a specific look) because it's hard to pull out the root-bound dirt when you're through with the wheatgrass. Also, I used Miracle Grow potting soil that may have made my grass grow faster. Once I planted my wheat, it was tall enough to look good in a week.
5. Fill the container until the soil is about 3/4 to 1/2 inch from the top. Dump the soaked wheat in (and the water too--why not?) and spread until it's even. Cover with more soil to the top of the container.
6. Water the whole thing until all of the dirt is moist.
7. Loosely cover with plastic wrap. Place in a spot where you'll get indirect sunlight. Keep it there with the plastic on until it sprouts. Move it wherever you want it to be as long as it gets some sun at some point in the day--it's not picky. Have fun watching it grow.
8. The directions I read said that if you want to trim it to eat, trim it down to one inch. Once you trim it, it doesn't look as good as it did when it was first growing, so if using it for decoration, let it grow until it's too bushy or drives you nuts then pull it out and replant it. You can probably even reuse the soil a couple of times if you want to be really frugal, or provident. Just do it joyfully (like when the kids are in bed).

Relief Society Lesson 4/25/10

---And upon the Handmaids in Those Days Will I Pour Out My Spirit---

Today's Fast Sunday lesson was given by Sister Steele. The lesson was based on Sister Beck's Conference talk from the Saturday morning session of this past General Conference.

You can read Sister Beck's talk by going HERE.

Hooded Towels

A while back, we made hooded towels for our craft night in Relief Society. I thought someone out there would want the directions on how to make them. Find the directions HERE.

Oreo Suckers

If you were at Provident Living Night we had a couple of weeks ago, you were given a very yummy treat... a chocolate covered Oreo sucker. I have had a few requests on how to make these. If you click HERE, you will be taken to the website that inspired me. She has the steps along with pictures on her blog.

A few tips: Hobby Lobby had the best deal on the little baggies, melting chocolate and sticks. Also, use Double Stuf Oreo's... You'll be glad you did.

Good Luck!

-Jessica

Relief Society Lesson-4/18/10-Praying to Our Heavenly Father

Praying to Our Heavenly Father
(Excerpts from Chapter 8 in Gospel Principles)

Prayer is one of the greatest blessings we have while we are here on earth. Through prayer we can communicate with our Heavenly Father and seek His guidance daily.

Prayer is a sincere, heartfelt talk with our heavenly Father. We should pray to God and to no one else....We should pray for strength to resist the temptations of Satan and his followers (see 3 Nephi 18:15; D&C 10:5). We should pray to confess our sins to God and ask Him to forgive us (see Alma 38:14). We should pray for the Lord's guidance and help in our daily lives. We need to pray for our families and friends, our neighbors, our crops and our animals, our daily work, and our other activities. We should pray for protection from our enemies (see Alma 34:17-27).

We should pray to express love to our Heavenly Father and to feel closer to Him. We should pray to our Father to thank Him for our welfare and comfort and for all things He gives us each day (see Thessalonians 5:18). We need to pray to ask our Heavenly Father for strength to live the gospel.

We can pray whenever we feel the need to communicate with our Heavenly Father, whether silently or vocally.

At times we may not feel like praying. We may be angry or discouraged or upset. At these times we should make a special effort to pray (see 2 Nephi 32:8-9).

We should each pray privately at least every night and every morning...We are commanded to have family prayers so that our families may be blessed (see 3 Nephi 18:21). Our Church leaders have counseled us to pray as families each morning and night. We also have the privilege of praying to give thanks and ask a blessing on the food before each meal.

...We should always pray in faith, "with a sincere heart, with real intent" (Moroni 10:4).

As we pray to our Heavenly Father, we should tell Him what we really feel in our hearts, confide in Him, ask Him for forgiveness, plead with Him, thank Him, express our love for Him. We should not repeat meaningless words and phrases (see Matthew 6:7-8). We should always ask that His will be done, remembering that what we desire may not be best for us (see 3 Nephi 18:20). At the end of our prayer, we close in the name of Jesus Christ (see 3 Nephi 18:19).

Our sincere prayers are always answered...Sometimes the Lord answers our prayers through other people.

As we live the gospel of Jesus Christ and pray always, we will have joy and happiness.

*Nicole Coles gave a beautiful lesson on prayer. So many great comments were shared by the sisters, too. It is so wonderful to know that we can talk to our Father in Heaven. Even when we don't feel worthy to pray, we always can. If we're having a hard time prayer, we should pray until we feel like praying. Someone said, "If you want to talk to God, pray. If you want God to talk to you, read the scriptures." I know prayer works and that we do have a Father in Heaven who listens to our prayers. He is more involved with our lives than I think we sometimes realize. Don't forget to pray and thank Him for his many blessings and to ask Him for help. He is always there.

Relief Society Lesson for 4/11/10- The Holy Ghost

The Holy Ghost Came to Adam and Eve

• Why did Adam and Eve need the guidance of the Holy Ghost?

After Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden, they began to till the earth and work at other tasks for their living. They had many children, and their sons and daughters also married and had children (see Moses 5:1–3). Thus, spirit children of our Heavenly Father began leaving His presence to come to the earth as they had been promised (see Abraham 3:24–25). As they came to earth, the memory of their heavenly home was taken from them. But our Father did not shut them away from His influence. He sent the Holy Ghost to comfort and help and guide all of His spirit children.

Adam and Eve called upon Heavenly Father in prayer. He spoke to them and gave them commandments, which they obeyed. An angel of the Lord came and taught Adam and Eve the plan of salvation. The Lord sent the Holy Ghost to testify of the Father and of the Son and to teach Adam and Eve the gospel. (See Moses 5:4–9.) Through the power of the Holy Ghost, Adam “began to prophesy concerning all the families of the earth, saying: Blessed be the name of God, for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God” (Moses 5:10). Because of the witness of the Holy Ghost to Eve, she said, “Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, 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).

• How is our need for guidance from the Holy Ghost similar to that of Adam and Eve?
Attributes of the Holy Ghost
• How does the Holy Ghost differ from the Father and the Son? Why is that difference important to us?

The Holy Ghost is a member of the Godhead (see 1 John 5:7; D&C 20:28). He is a “personage of Spirit” (D&C 130:22). He can be in only one place at a time, but His influence can be everywhere at the same time. Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are called the Godhead. They are unified in purpose. Each has an important assignment in the plan of salvation. Our Heavenly Father is our Father and ruler. Jesus Christ is our Savior. The Holy Ghost is the revealer and testifier of all truth. The Holy Ghost is our Heavenly Father’s messenger and is a special gift to us.

The Mission of the Holy Ghost

• What are some of the truths that the Holy Ghost reveals to us?

The mission of the Holy Ghost is to bear witness of the Father and the Son and of the truth of all things. The Holy Ghost will witness to us that Jesus is our Savior and Redeemer (see 3 Nephi 28:11; D&C 20:27). He will reveal to us that our Heavenly Father is the Father of our spirits. He will help us understand that we can become exalted like our Heavenly Father. (See Romans 8:16–17.) The prophets of the Lord have promised, “By the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things” (Moroni 10:5). Without the Holy Ghost, we could not know that Jesus is the Christ. The Apostle Paul wrote, “No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost” (1 Corinthians 12:3). The Savior Himself said, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John
17:3). It is by the power of the Holy Ghost that we are led to understand and live the gospel of Jesus Christ. The convincing power of the Holy Ghost is so great that there can be no doubt that what He reveals to us is true.

President Joseph Fielding Smith said:
“When a man has the manifestation from the Holy Ghost, it leaves an indelible impression on his soul, one that is not easily erased. It is Spirit speaking to spirit, and it comes with convincing force. A manifestation of an angel, or even of the Son of God himself, would impress the eye and mind, and eventually become dimmed, but the impressions of the Holy Ghost sink deeper into the soul and are more difficult to erase”

President Smith also said, “Through the Holy Ghost the truth is woven into the very fibre and sinews of the body so that it cannot be forgotten”

As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we should make ourselves worthy to receive this special messenger and witness of our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

• Think about times when the Holy Ghost has helped you grow in your testimony.

**A talk by Henry B. Eyring was also referenced during the lesson. You can read that HERE.