Joy & Spiritual Survival and Am I Good Enough?

In 1996, President Hinckley said, “...in all of living have much of fun and laughter. Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured.” That quickly became my life’s mantra. That was 20 years ago - before a mortgage and kids and before life got too serious! It was so much easier to have fun and to laugh and to enjoy life. But as the years have progressed, my fun level and laughter have definitely decreased.

I like to listen to general conference talks with the intent of finding ways to help me get back to enjoying my life and not just enduring it. I find that I’m barely able to keep my head above the water and I know there’s more to this life than laundry and grocery shopping and teaching my children (I’m a homeschool mom so I do this last one a lot!). There were two conference talks that really stood out to me from October’s general conference. The first one was “Joy and Spiritual Survival” by President Russell M. Nelson and the other was “Am I Good Enough? Will I Make It” by Elder J. Devn Cornish.

President Nelson talks of Lehi and his circumstances. Lehi was persecuted for preaching of Christ, commanded to leave his possessions and travel in the wilderness not knowing where they were going and then watched two of his sons rebel and attack their brothers. And then Lehi tells us, “Men are, that they might have joy (2 Nephi 2:25).” In order to spiritually survive these last days, we need to have joy. According to Lehi, we were created to have joy.

So, how do I go about doing that? I’ve learned over the years that the times I truly feel joy are when I’m doing those simple things that the Savior has asked me to do - read my scriptures, pray, attend the temple, etc. Sometimes when I’m struggling the most, it’s usually because I’ve stopped doing these simple things. But one idea that I hadn’t really thought of that President Nelson suggested was to pray for joy. If I was created to have joy, then who better to ask for help finding joy then the Creator Himself.  

Another thing that hinders my enjoying life are my feelings of doubt. This is why Elder Cornish’s talk stood out to me. I question whether I am good enough and often feel discouraged as I go through my mental list of what I should be doing and realizing that I’m not doing as much as I think I should. Elder Cornish reminds me that,  Yes! I am good enough! He reminds us that the Lord is not a “heartless referee looking for any excuse to throw us out of the game” but is “our perfectly loving Father, who yearns more than anything else to have all his children come back home and live with him”. And that’s what I yearn for too, to someday go back home.

Elder Hinckley said in the October 1989 conference, “Please don’t nag yourself with thoughts of failure. Do not set goals far beyond your capacity to achieve. Simply do what you can do, in the best way you know, and the Lord will accept of your effort.”

I am good enough - we all are! And the Lord will accept our efforts. I know that as I come to stop comparing myself with those around me and stop beating myself up for not doing everything on my list and really focus on my Savior and walking with Him on this journey of life, I will be able to do more than just endure this life but learn to actually enjoy it too!

- Lisa Larson
Stake Relief Society 1st Counselor

No Greater Joy Than To Know That They Know

Dear Sisters,

Wasn’t General Conference wonderful!   Unfortunately,  I got to see very little of this conference ‘live’, so instead of waiting for my Ensign to arrive, I have spent the past few weeks watching the sessions I missed and reading the talks on-line. What a blessing it is to have ready access to the words of our beloved leaders! I truly felt their love and the love of our Savior wash over me as I listened to their words.

            Since I have been asked to share my thoughts on one of the talks that especially touched me, I would like to remind us of the words of Elder K. Brett Nattress of the Seventy, in his talk entitled No Greater JoyThan to Know That They Know. This talk refers to our own children, but I also feel it refers to all those whom we have stewardship over and those we teach or visit teach.

First, our children:  Elder Nattress begins by asking “if all that your children knew of the gospel came from you – as their only source – how much would they know?” … “Is there any greater gift that we can impart to our children than a memory burned deep into their hearts that we know that our Redeemer lives? Do they know that we know? And more important, have they come to know for themselves that He lives?” 

I am sure the story of his mother reading the Book of Mormon to him each day, though he insisted he wasn’t listening, struck a chord with most of you as it did me.  How many days did we rush through scripture reading just to ‘get it done’? How many times did my kids curl up in a blanket on the floor during Family Home Evening, sleeping while they ‘pretended’ to be listening? How many times have I wondered if anything was getting in at all! Her response to him was priceless and brought tears to my eyes. “I will not lose you!”

He goes on to say: “Her words pierced my heart. Notwithstanding my imperfections, I was worth saving! She taught me the eternal truth that I am a son of a loving Heavenly Father. I learned that no matter what the circumstance, I was worth it. This was a perfect moment for an imperfect little boy.”

 Isn’t that why we do what we do? Isn’t that why we drag our kids off to church each week and struggle with them all through Sacrament meeting? Isn’t that why we strive to follow the counsel of our leaders, even when it is difficult? Isn’t that why we don’t give up when they start to stray? We DO NOT want to lose our children.  We want them with us through all eternity because we love them, and we know what joy that will bring to all of us.            

Let me now go back to his first question,-and I hope Elder Nattress won’t mind if I change the wording a little…”If all your Sisters knew of the gospel came from you – as their only source- how much would they know?  Is there any greater gift that we can impart to those whom we serve than a memory burned deep into their hearts that we know that our Redeemer lives? Do they know that we know? Can we help them come to know for themselves that He lives?”  Do our Sisters know that they are worth saving – no matter what their circumstances?

 Elder Nattress quoted President Packer: “Save for the exception of the very few who defect to perdition, there is no habit, no addiction, no rebellion, no transgression, no apostasy, no crime exempted from the promise of complete forgiveness. That is the promise of the atonement of Christ.”²

He then goes on to say: “I don’t know if anything in this world could bring more happiness and joy than to know that our children know the Savior, to know that they know “to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.” That is why, as members of the Church, “we preach of Christ” and we testify of Christ”

 Preparing and teaching lessons, visiting teaching, and serving others in any capacity can be challenging, tiring and unrewarding, if we allow ourselves to forget that our service is helping to bring others to Christ. If we can take this one step further and let those whom we serve and teach know that we do this because of our love for our Savior, if we can testify truly of Him, then our efforts will not be in vain.  Our time will be well spent, and the Spirit of the Lord will shine through us as we preach and testify of Him.

Of this I testify in the name of our loving Savior, Jesus Christ.  

       

Cindy Erekson

Stake Relief Society President

Gathering As Sisters - Ellicott City

In October the Ellicott City Relief Society sisters gathered for a "getting to know you" activity.  It was a relaxed, casual and comfortable evening.  The sisters came together and shared things about themselves.  What amazing diversity and talents and interests I discovered as I listened.

painting - graphic design - wood furniture building - quilting - Korean HipHop - gardens - dancing - travel - children - temple service - missionary moms - young moms - homeschool moms - new converts - life long members - grandmas - vegetable eaters - chocolate eaters - crafters - noncrafters

What they all had in common was their love of the Lord and their families.  I truly enjoyed my opportunity to be there and feel of their sisterhood.

-Lorie Pierce

Sending Christmas Wishes to Our Missionaries!

We had such a great response last year from across our Stake to this...Time to do it again!

There are currently 27 missionaries serving from the Columbia Maryland Stake in 9 States and 11 Countries.  They are scattered all over the country & the world.  We have 4 in Utah (all different missions) and 2 in Argentina, 3 in Peru (2 of them being President & Sister McGinn) and even 2 in the exact same mission in Benin/Togos Africa!  (so when you look at the list of addresses...no I didn't make a mistake both Elder Mahaffey and Elder Mitchell are in the same mission)

Missions are great & wonderful AND hard & discouraging.  Let's flood our Columbia Maryland Stake missionaries' mailboxes with Christmas wishes this season and let them know they are not forgotten - that they are loved - that we appreciate their service!

When addressing the envelopes in most cases you will start with the missionary's name (Elder or Sister First Last Name) and then the next line would be the name of the mission - followed by the rest of the address.  Any exceptions to that are noted in the address list.  If you have trouble opening the address list Google Doc link, please email me (loriepierce.rs@gmail.com) and I will send it to you as a file.  If you want to send a package rather than a letter - you will need to contact the missionary's parents for instructions.

Columbia Maryland Stake Missionary Addresses 2016

I've enjoyed seeing all these happy missionary faces - I'm sure you will too!