Let The Holy Spirit Guide

In preparation to listen to Conference this weekend, I've spent the past several weeks listening the talks from the April 2018 General Conference again.  As I've pondered over the past six months of my life and how the inspiration I received during that last Conference has help guide me these past months, I have felt an anticipation for hearing the messages of this weekend's Conference.  One of the messages that sunk deep into my heart was President Nelson's talk Revelation for the Church, Revelation for our Lives.  This sentence from that talk grabbed my attention - as I'm sure it did for many others - "In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost."

I am grateful to know how to recognize the influence of and impressions from the Holy Ghost in my life.  But how did I come to this point and how would I help others who aren't sure if they know how to recognize that influence?  That is harder for me to answer because it is such a personal feeling - a feeling that is difficult to describe and a feeling that I know is not exactly replicated between people.  We each have the ability to recognize when we are feeling the Holy Ghost speak to our minds and our hearts, but because we are each unique that experience will be similar but not exactly the same for each individual.

I also loved the talk by President Eyring His Spirit to Be with You from the April 2018 Conference.  He helps us see the pattern to follow that will allow us to receive the Holy Ghost and recognize that influence in our lives.  "More precious than a memory of events is the memory of the Holy Ghost touching our hearts and His continuing affirmation of truth. More precious than seeing with our eyes or remembering words spoken and read is recalling the feelings that accompanied the quiet voice of the Spirit. Rarely I have felt it exactly as the travelers on the road to Emmaus did—as a soft but unmistakable burning in the heart. More often it is a feeling of light and quiet assurance.  We have the priceless promise of the Holy Ghost as a companion, and we also have true directions on how to claim that gift. These words are said by the Lord’s authorized servant with his hands on our head: “Receive the Holy Ghost.” At that moment you and I have the assurance He will be sent. But our obligation is to choose to open our hearts to receive the ministration of the Spirit over a lifetime."  He continues on from there to lay out the pattern for us to follow.

I actually wasn't planning to publish a post this weekend, but a feeling today of needing to share - an impression of what to share - kept approaching my mind and so I began to write.  There in itself is an example of the influence of the Spirit.  I could have dismissed the thought, but over my years in trying to invite the Holy Ghost to be my companion, I have found that when I simply follow the impressions - impressions that maybe I don't understand the why of, but that the motivation is good and is accompanied by the gentle persistence of a sometimes urgent but often just insistent feeling - then the action is always accompanied by a feeling of approval.  It's Difficult to put into words.  I have tried to take as a guide the verses in Moroni 7:13 But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God. 24 And behold, there were divers ways that he did manifest things unto the children of men, which were good; and all things which are good cometh of Christ;  And I always recall the words of Sister Camilla E. Kimball “Never suppress a generous thought.” (as quoted by Sister Julie B. Beck, "Relief Society: A Sacred Work" Oct 2009 General Conference)

The two experiences that I felt impressed to share are these:

As I have pondered about Ministering and looked for ways to develop my personal ministry as a disciple of Christ, I have noticed something.  I do get impressions regarding those that I have a specific assignment for, but often I have impressions for others within my sphere of influence.  I have a young friend who has moved away from the area, but with whom I have kept in touch through messaging apps and social media.  On occasion these past few months, I have come across uplifting messages, quotes etc. and have felt a very direct impression to share these with my young friend and I have done so.  I don't know much about this friend's day to day life - what struggles they may be having, but I know the Lord does.  I will likely never know why I have felt it important to send these messages along, but I trust the Lord to know and I trust that as I continue to follow this pattern that this friend will be blessed. I believe that this trust is at the core of Ministering.  We ask the Lord to help us know what He needs us to do and He provides us direction through feelings and thoughts that we receive regarding His children.

I love family history and temple work!  I have felt that my involvement in this work is truly part of my personal ministry.  I have recently been correcting the way I have attached sources from my research on a Scottish website to FamilySearch.  In that process, I have been reviewing families that I worked on a few years ago.  Last week as I worked, a Hint for my 1st Cousin 3x Removed, Mary Ross, came up.  I opened that Hint and dismissed it rather quickly.  But within minutes the insistent thought came to my mind "look at that again".  I did and again my response was "there's just not enough here to make the connection.", so I moved on.  Again within minutes that insistent thought "look at that again" came back.  This time I said "okay if this is her - how would I prove it?"  As I began the process of deductive reasoning and mapping things out, I began to find the records that helped me prove she wasn't the mother listed on the record -- BUT -- she was the grandmother!  I had no information on her daughter who was listed in the record - didn't even know she existed.  In the end of the research process, I had found 6 cousins - NONE of which have had temple ordinances completed for them.  I went to bed that night with gratitude in my heart for the insistence of the Spirit, for my own willingness to pay attention and with a definite sense of relief and gratitude from those 6 cousins beyond the veil.  They knew I had found them and they know I will see their ordinances are completed.

Going back to President Nelson's statement: "In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost."   We live at an amazing time and yet a time when fear, anxiety, doubt and confusion can sweep us along in a fast and unfriendly flood.  I think about my children, my grandchildren, all my family and friends and you my sisters in the Stake and I want for them, for you to know that: I know that what President Nelson says is true.  I know because in my own hardest days, it has been and always will be the tether to the Holy Ghost that brings me peace, calms my fears, guides me to answers and gives me hope.  I offer my testimony that as we seek to do those things which invite the Holy Ghost to be our companion, we will gain confidence in recognizing His influence, in following the impressions we receive and we will be able to understand for ourselves how He speaks to us individually.  I chose the picture for this post because it reminds me in a personal way that when we stop to look, we can see the tender mercies of the Lord in the details of our lives and it is through the Holy Ghost that we recognize the Lord's tender mercies and His love.

- Lorie Pierce (Stake RS Secretary)

Written Friday, 5 October 2018 - Published Sunday, 7 October 2018

Women's General Session of Conference

This coming weekend (Oct 6 & 7) is General Conference and with it comes a significant change to the women's general session.  It was announced in October 2017 that beginning in 2018 the Priesthood general session and the women's general session would be held alternating between Spring and Fall on the Saturday evening of General Conference weekend.  The women's general session will be on Saturday, Oct 6.  It begins at 8pm Eastern Standard Time.

Previously, we as sisters had gathered on the Saturday evening of the weekend prior to General Conference.  This change is part of an effort "to reduce and simplify the work of the Church and the demands made upon leaders and members". (See 27 October 2017 announcement)  While it was always a pleasure and a blessing to gather as sisters from around the Stake to socialize and view the broadcast together, this change will also bless us in ways we maybe don't yet understand.  The updated instruction to us as Stake leaders is that we should not plan activities/events "in conjunction with the women’s session of general conference".  We had already felt that there was insufficient time between the sessions of Conference to continue holding events such as we have in the past and so this Handbook instruction verified our thoughts.  In the spirit of simplification, we have suggested to ward/branch Relief Society presidencies to encourage their sisters to reach out and invite those they Minister with to view this session of Conference with them in their homes or to join them at the Stake Center.

For sisters who may not be able to watch or listen from their homes - or who prefer to view it away from the distractions of home, the Stake Center will be open and viewing of the women's general session will be available there, both in English and in Spanish. Our Stake Relief Society president, Cindy Erekson and I will both be there.

If you want to watch or listen from home you can access it via the BYU Channel or on lds.org or even in multiple digital options. This link provides a list of all the viewing options for General Conference: Viewing Times and Options.  AND at the bottom of that page there are links to Additional Resources - such as ideas to prepare, activities for children, conference notebook for youth, ideas for studying.

We would love to connect with our sisters as part of the women's general session.  If you would like to send pictures or comments from your gathering to listen that evening they will be welcomed and used as a follow up blog post.  Post them to our Stake Relief Society Facebook group or send them to me at loriepierce.rs@gmail.com.

- Lorie Pierce (Stake RS Secretary)

Personal Progress - I stuck it out and did it.

With the upcoming 2020 changes to the programs and resources for girls, boys, young women and young men there is much that is unknown and anticipation for the potential for growth and good that will come from the new initiative for youth ages 8-18.  One of the unknowns is how or if the current Personal Progress program for Young Women will look or exist.  Our Stake Young Women President, Jennifer Ipsen, is encouraging young women and sisters who are currently engaged in the Personal Progress program to stay engaged and complete the requirements for earning the Young Womanhood Recognition before January 2020 arrives.

Sister Ipsen recently shared with me a note that one of our stake sisters, Debra Burt, shared about her experiences in completing her Personal Progress.  Sister Ipsen sent it to me with this preface:

Debra Burt recently sent me the following note about her journey to finish her Personal Progress.  As I read it, I thought it might be able to help inspire some of the sisters in our Stake to help their daughters finish Personal Progress before the changes occur.  I also think it’s a great lesson on setting a goal and striving to finish it no matter how long it takes.  Debbie is a great example to me and as a side note - her persistence and experience helped inspire me to recently finish Personal Progress for a second time too. She would check in with me every once in a while to report her progress and so I thought to myself, I want to finish mine too! And I did!

With Sister Burt's permission, I am sharing her experience here:

It took me six years to complete my Personal Progress a second time around.  It feels good to say that I've completed it.  A lot of good things have come into my life because of pursuing this goal.  One of my best experiences was reading and studying PREACH MY GOSPEL while Claralyn and Ben were serving their missions. It really connected me to their mission experiences. The hardest goal to accomplish was memorizing the sacrament prayers. I really found it a challenge to do in my busy life as a teacher.  But I figured out a mental game to help me get it down perfectly.  Don't ask me now, though, to say them again perfectly without giving me time to practice!  

Because of taking so long to complete the value experiences and projects, I felt like a failure, like a person who can never complete anything I start.  It just hung over my head saying "You can't finish!"  I fought that feeling by continuing to work at it in concentrated chunks.  Even though there would be months of nothing done, I would pick it up and work on my goals some more. Once, I lost my Personal Progress book for three months and thought I would have to give up, it being my only record.  Then I found it in the church lost and found and started again. This time I used the online app as well as a written record.  I'd think I'd finish each summer when I wasn't teaching. I wouldn't finish, but then I would be back at it the following summer. Though it took awhile, I feel so much better about myself to know that I stuck it out and did it.  

Last, the value of pursuing this goal was making a record of many spiritual experiences over the years it took to complete.  I am grateful to have that, as my journal writing was practically non-existent.  Lots happened over the six years including the death of my mother, the two children serving missions, different callings and family history work I was able to do besides some career experiences.  So many good reasons for me to have done this.

I asked Sister Ipsen if she had any specifics regarding Personal Progress and the new initiative and what she considered the best resource for young women and sisters completing their Personal Progress.  Here is her response:

The best reference for resources is online Personal Progress. You can keep your own journal and no one can see if but you. It links you to all the scriptures mentioned and helps keep track of completed experiences and projects. It’s a great resource!  Here’s the link: https://www.lds.org/young-women/personal-progress?lang=eng  There is a deadline for when “changes” will take place in the Personal Progress program. It is Jan 1, 2020. They haven’t announced what the changes will be yet. So we are encouraging all our young women to stay actively engaged in Personal Progress in the meantime.

Thank you to both these sisters for sharing their experiences with us.  Progress is progress regardless how slowly we are moving.  I am reminded of a talk by Elder Larry R. Lawrence "What Lack I Yet?" from October 2015 General Conference.  He said, "To Him our direction is more important than our speed."  What a very hopeful thought!

For more information on the upcoming changes and the new initiative for youth you can follow these links:
https://www.lds.org/youth/childrenandyouth?lang=eng
https://www.lds.org/church/news/church-announces-plan-for-worldwide-initiative-for-children-and-youth?lang=eng
https://www.lds.org/ensign/2018/06/initiative-will-bless-children-youth?lang=eng
https://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/new-program-children-youth
https://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/faith-christ-strengthened-new-children-youth-outdoor-activities

-Lorie Pierce

Finding my Family

Guest Post by Mary Jean Sokolowsky
edited by Tamela Terry

Like some of you, I didn't start out loving family history. In the ward where I grew up, there was an older woman who would get up every Fast Sunday and bear her testimony on family history. She encouraged people to come to the family history center, but I just thought it was boring and something for older people. As a child, I thought the family history center was a boring place where we had to be quiet and not touch anything. Sometimes on Sundays we had lessons on family history. Teachers would hand out a family tree and tell us to go home and fill it out. I thought to myself, “Why? I already have a family tree. What's the point of filling it out again?” The first time I did baptisms in the Chicago Illinois Temple and we did baptisms for people from Mexico. They were all named Maria. I wondered why I should care about them; I didn't know them. After I moved to Utah to go to college, I went to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City a few times to try and learn about my family. I was afraid to ask for help and so I spent my time looking in the Census Index books, but I did not find my ancestors. I don't even think I was looking for the right people in the right location or time period, because I didn't know what I was doing and I was too shy to ask for help.

I did have some good childhood experiences with family history that helped me to love it. My dad's side of the family is well documented. In fact many of the families have books written about them. I would sit and read family history details to my dad while he typed the information into the computer. In a desk drawer, my parents also had file folders where they stored documents and letters for each ancestral couple. I didn't know at the time what they were, but I remember them being there and that they were important to my parents. I also remember family reunions, meeting family members for the first time, who knew me, even though I didn't know them. Then, as a Laurel in Young Women's, I chose to organize a family reunion for my dad's family. I felt I didn't know his side very well and wanted to learn more about them. All these experiences prepared me for the next stage in my family history journey.

I attended Brigham Young University for college and it took me three times to get into the very competitive nursing program. While waiting, I had two extra semesters in which to take general education classes and some electives like organ, music conducting, extra religion classes. My dad suggested that I take family history so we could find out more about my mom's family who came from Michigan, Missouri, Indiana. In the late 70's and early 80's my mom had written letters to various organizations and archives requesting vital records about her family. She had gone back a few generations, but not much more.

In my class, I learned how to search the US Federal Census with the old index books and Soundex. I learned how to focus on a specific research question and how to identify what records might give me the answer. I learned how to keep a research log. I learned how to use the Family History Library catalog, the old International Genealogical Index (IGI), Personal Ancestral File (PAF), and Temple Ready. This made my subsequent trips to the Family History Library much more successful.

During my time at BYU, I made so much more family history progress! I found my ancestors listed on census records. I found family marriage certificates. I learned that one of my ancestors was the clerk of his church, so all of the church records were in his handwriting! I even made my first leap “across the pond” into England and found my family there. To this day, I remember the first time finding my family in an 1850 US Federal Census book for Indiana. I realized that I could be successful in finding my family and that it was fun. Most importantly, I began realizing that these were real people whose lives and stories mattered. The work had take hold of me.

By the end of that family history class, I had my own family names ready for temple work. Instead of doing temple for strangers, I was doing temple work for relatives whose names and vital information I had found myself. I knew who they were, they were my family members, and I could remember which records I found them on. My temple experiences became much more meaningful and purposeful.

 After graduating and moving to Maryland in 1999, my family history work came to a standstill for awhile. The Internet was in its infancy and not really useful yet. Going to the Family History Centers to order films was tedious and very time-consuming. I would wait for weeks to get the film I wanted and by the time it showed up, I had forgotten why I ordered it! So I didn't do a lot of research during this time. However, I loved serving in the temple as an ordinance worker for several years. By this time, the Internet was actually useful and FamilySearch was up and running.

I was home taking care young children by then and I needed something to do besides clean. So I took up my research again and started cleaning up my family and the new.familysearch.org website. This was FamilySearch's first attempt at creating the online family tree. The records weren't even out yet, but bit by bit, people started indexing and now we have a treasure trove of records we don't even have to search for. They automatically come to us.

One of those automatic record hints showed on my second great-grandfather. It suggested he had a second marriage in Iowa, which was strange since his family was in New York. His son had written a book about the family and there was no mention of his father remarrying or having another family. After further digging, I found my second great grandfather did marry a second time, and had children. On findagrave.com, I found a picture of his daughter from that second marriage and I was stunned-she looked just like my grandmother. I also discovered his granddaughter was buried in Bladensburg, Maryland. I recently visited her grave site. She was only four when she died and her parents moved away after she died. All of a sudden my far-away family seemed to be closer.

Now that FamilySearch.org is now an integrated website with Memories, the Family Tree, the Records and Indexing, it's so much easier to find the family history experience you need. You can choose how you want to be involved in your own family and in helping others. You can post pictures and documents to share with others, you can index and make records available to others, you can even do old-fashioned research.

 For the last several years, my focus has been in descendancy research for my own and others' families. That means that instead of working back further and further into history, I've begun researching forward from various points on my family tree, investigating the descendants of my ancestors. By finding all the descendants (children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and so on) of one of your ancestral couples, you can identify and connect with distant cousins, locate family documents and photos, share stories, and collaborate on research projects.

Descendancy is a great option for those who feel like all of their main genealogy lines have been found. Unless you are a convert, come from outside the United States, or brand new to family history, most of us have established family trees. This can make it difficult to find family members who still need temple work. I'm here to tell you, it can be done. Descendancy research can help you identify opportunities for temple work. Ask me or your ward family history consultant for help. We can look at your tree before we meet with you and find the areas to work that will give you the experience you want. Family history research can be a rewarding work, no matter what stage of like you're in or how much research is already done on your family.

Church records in the handwriting of my ancestor Joseph Sweetman Wagoner

My grandmother Jean Waterbury

My great great grandfather's daughter Ruth Annabelle Waterbury

Me at Ruth's daughter's Evelyn's gravesite

Ministering - Simple Acts of Service

As much as I would love to have one really beautiful, life-changing experience to share about ministering, what keeps coming to mind are the dozens of quiet acts of kindness that I see all the time…usually done without an assignment, just loving responses of those who observed a need.  As Jean Bingham observed, “Sometimes we think we have to do something grand and heroic to ‘count’ as serving our neighbors. Yet simple acts of service can have profound effects on others—as well as on ourselves.”

As a new Relief Society President, I often feel overwhelmed by the burden of attempting to keep track of all the needs of the sisters in the ward.  I am constantly making phone calls and visits, trying to meet with the sisters and better understand their struggles. I should know better by now than to feel like I am alone in these efforts; I have lost track of the number of times when I have reached out to a sister because I was concerned about her, and the response is, “Oh! Sister So-and-so was just here!” or “Sister So-and-so just called me!”  This touches me every time.  This is real ministering: going about behind the scenes, watching out for each other.

This recent chain of events is very typical of the type of ministering I see all the time in our ward:

About a month ago, Sister Rita had hip surgery.  I was not able to visit her in the hospital; however, Sister Della took it upon herself to make sure her friend was not alone in this ordeal.  Della accompanied Rita to the hospital, stayed long enough to make sure she was okay, visited her frequently throughout the following days, and accompanied her home.  And, without being asked to, Della called me every day to tell me how Rita was doing.

Meanwhile, Sister Della was preparing to move to a new apartment.  About a week before her move, Sister Jonica texted me to ask if anyone was taking food to Della to help her out with the transition while her kitchen belongings were in boxes. I confess that the thought never even occurred to me!  Jonica (who is herself unable to eat solid foods because of her own recent surgery) fixed up 4 meals and took them over to Della.

Of course, our wonderful brethren moved Sister Della into her new apartment—also a typical (and often thankless) example of selfless ministering.  Twenty sets of strong and willing hands made light work of Della’s household full of possessions!

When the brethren were finishing up, I received a phone call from our Elder’s Quorum President expressing concern that Della was not feeling well and had a mountain of stuff to deal with in her new apartment, and perhaps the sisters could step in and give her a hand? At the time, I was out running errands and taking care of my own business, so I put in a quick phone call to Della’s ministering sister to see if she could at least call around to find someone to help. Sister Charlotte, in her typical way, answered, “Oh, yes, I was already planning on going over after her stuff was moved, I was just waiting to hear that they were done!”  I also learned that dear Charlotte had spent most of the previous day helping Della prepare for the move, clean the old apartment, and take care of last-minute red tape.

If you asked any one of these sisters or brothers about their selfless acts of service, they would reply, “Oh, it’s not a big deal! I just wanted to help out.”  To me, that is ministering in its purest, simplest, and most beautiful form.

- Helen Stanger, Eldersburg Ward

That He May Know How to Succor His People

Recently I read an article that I felt impressed to share it with my Stake sisters.  It is in the March 2017 Ensign, entitled "Anxiety and Anxiety Disorders".  We live in an increasingly stressful world and as sisters we feel the impact of that stress in many ways.  Anxiety and depression are magnified by the stresses of life and by the social media culture.  I'm pretty sure that all of us have seen the affects of anxiety and/or depression, whether in our own lives or in the lives of family members and/or friends.  It doesn't need to be clinical - even periodic or episodic issues with anxiety and/or depression are difficult trials to deal with.

I liked this article because it was straightforward and helpful to both those who might be experiencing these things and to those who are watching from the side.  It can be hard for those in the middle and those on the outside to understand and know where to seek help or how to help.

Several years ago, I served as a ward Relief Society president.  Many of my sisters were struggling with anxiety and/or depression on varying levels.  The bishop and I counseled together often to know how to support these sisters and their families as they worked through the issues and situations.  I realized during that time a gratitude for my own personal experiences with depression and anxiety, because those experiences gave me empathy and understanding for my sisters that I would not have otherwise had.  Decades before I was ever called as Relief Society president my personal challenges and the challenges of close family members taught me the value of seeking help and the need for taking ownership of our challenges.  During that time as Relief Society president I came across a small, simple book that I felt provided hope and help.  I gave away many, many copies of that little book over those five years.  I don't know if it's still in print, but it was from a series of books written by Randy L. Bott (a BYU Professor).  The series was called "Comfort My Soul in Christ" and the book I gave so many copies away of was titled, "Depression: Finding His Light Amid the Storm".  Someone I gave a copy to all those years ago, commented to me just a few days ago that they had been re-reading it and found it once again helpful and hopeful.

A few years back, our younger son returned home early from his mission.  He was broken by overwhelming anxiety.  It shocked my husband and I to the core.  We knew that anxiety had been a problem for him in middle school and we had found help for him.  High school and first year of college hadn't caused any alarms.  It never occurred to us that it would become a problem on his mission.  As he came home and we slowly walked through the process of finding him help, I was again grateful for my previous experiences with anxiety and depression because it gave me a greater ability to cope with the difficult situation.  It was emotionally hard for him, for his younger sister still at home and for us as parents.  My oldest son texted me the day his brother came home.  All it said was Romans 8:28 "all things work together for good to them that love God".  That has become a favorite scripture.  I have come to see the hand of the Lord in my life during the good and the difficult times.  My younger son has come to see that although it was an awful time for him, he can (and has) let the Lord turn it for good in his own life and in the lives of others.

We usually only see a portion of the people around us - the part they let us see.  We quite often have no idea what personal difficulties they may be struggling with.  But no one goes through life without pain, without suffering, without struggles.  We can't take away the pain of others and we can't (and shouldn't try) to solve their problems.  But we can offer support, compassion, understanding and guidance. We can minister to them in genuine ways.  We can reflect the love of their Savior for them and in doing that we truly offer hope.  I chose the picture for this post from my collection of skyscapes.  It is a sunrise photo taken one morning after driving the Seminary kids to school.  I love to see the sun rising to bring light to the day - to dispel the dark hours of the night.  It is a hopeful moment of the day.  We all need to feel that kind of hope in our lives.

We are never alone - even when we feel loneliness and isolation.  We are never without help and support - even when we feel helpless and lost.  We are all daughters of a Heavenly Father who loves us and we all have access to Him through prayer.  We are all offered peace through the Atonement of our Savior.  "...and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities." (Alma 7:12)  I know from my own struggles that peace and comfort can be found through the succor of Christ our Savior. To any of my sisters who may be struggling, I would say: Reach out to your family, your Ministering Sisters, your Relief Society presidency, your Bishop - get the help you may need.

With love,
Lorie Pierce

We Follow Christ

Planting Seeds
Sharing the gospel is a fundamental part of our beliefs. As members of the church, we lovingly seek to plant seeds of faith in the hearts of our friends and family, and hope those seeds might grow into a living and vibrant testimony of our Savior. As you have considered how and with whom to share the gospel, you may have wondered if your friend has ever heard of the church. If so, what have they heard? What perceptions do they have, both of the church as an institution and of the individual members? This is where a sometimes little-known organization in the church comes into the picture: Public Affairs.

The church has a large and busy Public Affairs department that makes sure we have resources such as Mormon Messages, mormonnewsroom.org, and mormon.org to help the world know about the worldwide church. Our stake has a Public Affairs committee dedicated to helping everyone in our area to know about the church in our part of Maryland. Right now our committee is Cari Larkins (CL), Teresa Cochran (C1), Kellie Nuss (YSA), Patti Gardner (EC), Jeff Link (EL) and President Steve Peterson (EC). We are glad for this chance to introduce the work of Public Affairs in this stake and how it relates to you.

Preparing the Soil
In the context of a gardening metaphor, if missionary work or sharing the gospel is indeed planting seeds, then the work of Public Affairs is preparing the soil. We seek to remove rocks and weeds, and nourish the soil so that it is ready to receive those seeds. In other words, we want to influence your friend’s perception of the church so that when you are ready to talk about your faith, they might be more prepared. We sum up our efforts as follows:

The MESSAGE of Public Affairs is:  We follow Christ

The EVIDENCE of that message to those not of our faith is:
• We love our neighbors so we participate in interfaith and community activities.
• We care for the poor and needy so we serve in our community and encourage self- reliance.
• We believe that families last forever so we enable the work for the dead in our temples.

The TASK of Public Affairs is to get that core declaration of our discipleship out to the wider community in a context they can understand.

The EVIDENCE teaches the MESSAGE. If that message is spread in clear and undeniable ways through evidence, then the soil is better prepared for the work of salvation in this area.

•We can only spread that message through contact and interaction.

•Contact and interaction take place in three primary ways—community service, social media, and church leaders meeting and developing relationships with other leaders in the community.

What can you do?
As members of the church, you make a difference as you serve in your community and let people know you are a member of the church. This simple connection does amazing things for the perception of the church in this area. Don’t underestimate your influence. As you serve in the church, you can help organizations pivot their efforts and be more outward facing. Plan the same activities you are already planning, but prayerfully seek to involve the community in some way. We are here to offer you ideas, contacts and resources for pivoting activities, plus the spirit will teach you as you seek guidance.

In 2013, Elder Bednar counseled us that “a technology known as social media is evolving in our day and playing an increasingly important role in hastening the work of salvation.” You can be involved in our social media efforts as follows:
• Like our Facebook page @ColumbiaMarylandMormons and our Instagram feed @columbiamdmormons
• Share your personal involvement in church activities on social media, such as the fun you had at an activity, or your trips to visit temples while the DC Temple is closed.
• Hashtag these posts with #columbiamarylandmormons and tag our pages, and others will know that the church exists in our area.
• Let us know if an activity would be good to share with the larger community and send us some photos, or invite us to attend and report on the activity.

Many of these efforts are subtle, take place over a long period of time, and may not seem like they have any immediate result. Elder Bednar asked us to use social media to “sweep the earth as with a flood” with news of the gospel,  but he reassured us that this only needs to happen drop by drop. As more and more of us share just a few things, our influence will grow.

Preparation for the rededication of the Washington D.C. Temple
We would like every person living within the boundaries of our stake to receive a personal invitation to the Washington DC Temple open house that will happen in 2020. Part of preparing to invite is letting people know we are here. Believe it or not, there are many who are not aware that LDS congregations are functioning right here in their neighborhood.

As you seek to learn more about Public Affairs and participate in sharing the evidence that we follow Christ, you will be blessed to know what to do and say, and you will have influence. Your light matters, so share it, as Sharon Eubank counsels: “Each of us needs to be better at articulating the reasons for our faith. . . . Use your voice and your power to articulate what you know and feel—on social media, in quiet conversations with your friends, when you’re chatting with your grandchildren. Tell them why you believe, what it feels like, if you ever doubted, how you got through it, and what Jesus Christ means to you. As the Apostle Peter said, “Be not afraid … ; but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you.”

-Kellie Nuss
Stake Public Affairs Committee