A Legacy of Faith and Service - Post Three

In 1999, Sister Valerie Sucher was called as the third president for the Columbia Maryland Stake Relief Society.  She had been serving as a counselor to the previous president, Sister Maureen Johnston.

Sister Sucher had attended a BYU Women's Conference a few months earlier and had been impressed with the scope of the humanitarian service projects.  She had a vision of the sisters of our stake coming together to accomplish something of a similar kind.  This idea came to fruition in the form of the 2000 Women's Conference held at the Columbia Stake Center.

The following is from a news clipping saved in the Relief Society history papers:

This humanitarian service project set the tone for future Stake Women's Conferences and ward level activities.  Our wards/branches have found ways to continue involvement with organizations such as Project Linus, The House of Ruth, Walter Reed Hospital, Grass Roots as well as other shelters and food banks.

The 2001 Stake Women's Conference theme was "Beloved Daughters of God" and Sister Sucher's presidency took on more challenging topics that they could see were of real concern for the sisters in our Stake.  Subjects of depression, abuse, stress, forgiveness, women's health and diversity were addressed.  But the new expectation was the humanitarian project and that year the sisters participated in efforts to bless the lives of children in the Johns Hopkins Children's Center.

"Let Your Light So Shine" was the theme for the 2002 Stake Women's Conference.  Again Sister Sucher and her presidency broadened our horizons, as they invited Sister Chieko N. Okazaki, former counselor in the General Relief Society Presidency (1990-1997), to come speak to the sisters in our stake.  Sister Donna Schott of the Hampstead Ward recalled her visit, "I remember her as a vivacious, happy lady.  I think her husband had died recently before her visit, but her talk was uplifting and filled with encouragement."

Another significant part of the 2002 Women's Conference was the inclusion of the newly formed Columbia 3 Spanish Branch.  The sisters of the branch presented a class entitled "Sharing the Latin Heritage".  They shared about their cultural diversity within their common Latin heritage.  

Sister Sucher was released later in 2002 as she and her family moved out of the area.  In the short time, she served as president, many of us were able to realize the ability to reach beyond our small sphere of influence and see a way to help others in a way that would truly matter.  She and her presidency set the bar high as they challenged us to live more fully lives of faith and service within our homes, our ward/branches, our communities and the world.

-Lorie Pierce

Patriarchs and Patriarchal Blessings

With the passing of Patriarch Everard Cox this past week, my thoughts have turned to the role of a Patriarch as an office in the Priesthood and the gift of a Patriarchal Blessing.

Below are links to two incredible General Conference talks about Patriarchs and Patriarchal Blessings.  After re-reading them this morning, I feel that anything I might say would pale in comparison to what they taught.  So I will instead simply share a personal story and bear my testimony.

My father was called as a Stake Patriarch as I was entering High School.  There were five of us children still living at home and things were not always peaceful and happy there.  The evening that Dad and Mom returned from their appointment with Elder Boyd K. Packer, my parents invited us into the living room and told us where they had been and why.  Then Dad said to us that he could not accept the call to serve unless we as his children could remove the contention from our home.  He explained that in order for him to have the Spirit with him as he would need, we must do our part to not only Not drive the Spirit away with our arguing, but that we must also Do those things that would invite the Spirit to be in our home.  I don't think my youngest two siblings really comprehended what the significance of the request or his new call was, but me and my older sisters certainly did.  There was a change in our home from that point on.

My oldest sister became Dad's first scribe.  He would record his blessings on a pocket tape recorder and then with a headset and typewriter, she would transcribe the words.  Dad would then laboriously listen to the tape and compare it to what my sister had typed.  He would then make any corrections and she would type the final copy.  As my typing skills improved and my older sisters married and moved away, I became his scribe.  It was a very unique and precious assignment - one that I cherish.  I was always amazed at how powerfully I could feel the Spirit each time I sat and transcribed a blessing.  I knew without a doubt that it wasn't my father who was guiding those statements, but rather it was the Lord guiding my father to say the words for each individual person.

My own Patriarchal Blessing is a precious gift to me from not only my Father in Heaven, but also my Dad as he place his hands on my head and pronounced that blessing.  That was 36 years ago and still I am seeing the fulfillment of those blessings in my life.  How grateful I am for a loving Heavenly Father, who has provided me with my personal guide, my personal scripture, and as President Monson taught, my personal Liahona.

Sisters, if you have yet to receive your Patriarchal Blessing, I would encourage you to speak with your Bishop/Branch President and learn what you need to do to prepare for that event.  It is a gift worth seeking.

You Have a Noble Birthright, Julie B. Beck, April 2006

Your Patriarchal Blessing: A Liahona of Light, Thomas S. Monson, October 1986

-Lorie Pierce

Teachers and Learners

In the Church, we are all both teachers and learners.  Some of us are better at one or the other of those categories and undoubtedly we all have room for improvement in both areas.

In the past few years, the Church has made great efforts to improve our opportunities within our Church based classrooms.  The Come Follow Me youth curriculum is just one example.  The Church website at lds.org provides a wonderful resource for both teachers and learners.

There is currently a post on the homepage of lds.org announcing the 2016 Churchwide Curriculum.  This statement caught my attention:

"Where possible, students and teachers are encouraged to use digital versions of 2016 curriculum materials, which can be found online and in the LDS Gospel Library mobile app. If you haven't tried the app, now is a good time to experience the ease of preparing, teaching, and learning from a library of gospel resources that fits in your pocket."

Sister Bonnie L. Oscarson, Young Women General President stated the following:

“An ordinary teacher prepares to teach a lesson. An extraordinary teacher prepares to ignite a spark which kindles a testimony and changes lives.” 

In thinking about that statement and in thinking about what I 'get out of' my Sunday meetings - it occurs to me that the same principle applies to the learner as much as to the teacher.  So my flipside would read:

An ordinary learner prepares to hear a lesson.  An extraordinary learner prepares to allow a spark to ignite which kindles their testimony and changes their life.

In the course of 2016, we will have approximately 156 hours of Sunday teaching and learning opportunities (give or take for Conference weekends).  How will we approach those opportunities?  Will we reach then end of 2016 having grown both as teachers and learners?  I know for myself - I am going to ponder and decide a course to improve my own preparation and participation, so that those 156 hours will be for my benefit rather than passive meetings I sit through.

-Lorie Pierce

Save The Date! General Women's Meeting

What a great opportunity we have coming up to be taught and uplifted as women in the Church.  Please join us at the Stake Center for a Pre-Broadcast Social including a Taco Salad Bar beginning at 6:45pm - followed by the Broadcast at 8pm.  Publicity postcards are being distributed to the wards/branches this week.  Please be sure to pass them onto less-active sisters you visit teach and feel free to invite non-member friends to join us as well.  We are looking forward to being with our sisters and our future sisters on this evening.

Did You Know? LDS Social Media and Tech Resources

Terms we all most likely recognize or at least associate with social media and the Internet, but that a generation ago, even less, would for the most part sound like a foreign language.  I can remember being students at BYU when the Internet was new.  How awed we were when our friends bought a modem - the original kind with the cradle for the phone to sit on.  It was a novelty and we had no concept of where that technology would lead.  Today all over the world people are linked together by this electronic thread and that link is providing the Lord and His work an ever increasing avenue to move forward.

"We are blessed to live, learn, and serve in this most remarkable dispensation. An important aspect of the fulness that is available to us in this special season is a miraculous progression of innovations and inventions that have enabled and accelerated the work of salvation: from trains to telegraphs to radios to automobiles to airplanes to telephones to transistors to televisions to computers to satellite transmissions to the Internet—and to an almost endless list of technologies and tools that bless our lives. All of these advancements are part of the Lord hastening His work in the latter days."  (Elder David A. Bednar, "To Sweep the Earth as With a Flood", August 19, 2014)

The questions for us are "What are the resources I should use?" and "How can I best use them to bless my life and serve the Lord?".

It is important in our fast moving world to stay abreast of changes and topics that affect us.  Just this week was a great example of how social media is playing an increasing role in that information network.  There was a significant change in the structure of three general councils of the Church.  The first most of us heard of it came as a result of Sister Bonnie L. Oscarson, General Young Women President, posting and tweeting about her invitation to serve on one of those councils.  Think about it - how did you hear of the passing of Elder Perry or Elder Packer? - most likely it was through a social media source.  If you don't already follow the Church through social media sources, it would be a good thing to do.  Not only will you hear of important events, but you will find your "newsfeed" may become more uplifting.

Here are some useful links:

LDS Social Media Index Page  

Share The Goodness

The Church is using technology ever more frequently in the administration of callings and in the simple ward/stake level interactions.  Do you recall when we all had printed ward/branch directories and calendars and how quickly those became outdated?  It wasn't that long ago!  Now we have access to current directories and calendars at the click of a mouse or tap of a screen.  Through the new Leader Clerk Resources platform leaders can access information on their personal computers and devices which previously could only be used on the computer at the church building.  The Church is working to use technology to help us save time and accomplish our assignments more effectively.

Through your LDS Account you have access to a variety of tools and applications.  You can subscribe to Church newsletters, use the meetinghouse locator, access your "notes" linked to your Gospel Library app, view lesson schedules and much more.  On your mobile device you can use the LDS Tools app to access directories and calendars.

Our time is precious and we are accountable for how we use it.  Technology can help us use that precious resource of time more effectively or it can help us waste it quickly.  My daughter recently shared with me a bit from a missionary email she follows - the missionary posed the question 'do you spend more time with your phone than your family?'  A simple question, but it speaks to where our priorities rest and to using technology wisely.  As we seek to have the Spirit in our daily lives, we will find the guidance we need to know the answers to the "what" and the "how".

-Lorie Pierce

A Legacy of Faith and Service - Post Two

Sister Maureen Johnston served as our second Stake Relief Society President from 1995-1999.  She like several of the previous presidents has since moved out of our Stake.  She was and still is a woman of quiet strength and dedication to her assignments.  When she was called to serve as Stake Relief Society President, she brought with her a desire to serve and a desire to bless the lives of the sisters.  What impresses me the most though is her continued example of quiet dedicated service.  Almost every time I go to the Washington DC Temple, I am greeted by Maureen with a hello and a smile.  She serves there as a coordinator.  Just a few weeks back, I was again witness to her gentle leadership style.  There was quite a large group of sisters desiring to participate and there was a lack of temple workers.  Maureen's assistance was requested and I just smiled inside as I saw the demeanor of the temple workers shift from a bit frazzled to calm as soon as she arrived.  That is how she always has served - without fanfare and yet accomplishing much good.  How grateful I am for that example.

During the years Sister Johnston served as president, Women's Conferences continued to be a large part of the means whereby her presidency could reach out to the sisters in their care.  The conferences they planned were always founded on scriptures and the need for strengthening their sisters.  I can recall attending those conferences with sisters from my ward.  As I've read through the saved conference programs, I have seen the many names of sisters who planned, prepared, taught, cooked, served and simply shared of their time and talents to help lift their sisters in our Stake.  It is a witness to the legacy of faith and service the sisters in our Stake share.

-Lorie Pierce

How Has Relief Society Blessed Your Life?

I must be truthful and admit that I didn't always understand or appreciate the blessings of being part of Relief Society.  From the time I married and began participating in a family ward, I served in callings that were rarely within the Relief Society organization and usually I was not in the Sunday Relief Society meeting.  I was a visiting teacher and because of my own mother's faithful example, I knew that I needed to be a faithful visiting teacher myself.  But I just didn't really "get it" - being a part of Relief Society didn't really mean much to me.

Then during a difficult time of my life, I heard a talk that softened my heart and changed my perspective.  It was entitled "How Has Relief Society Blessed Your Life?", given by Bonnie D. Parkin, General Relief Society President (2002-2007).

As I asked myself that question, I began to recognize the many ways I had been personally touched by Relief Society.  The women who helped me at the death of my mother and then of my father.  The visiting teachers who drove me to doctor appointments during my difficult pregnancies and more recently the sisters who drove me to physical therapy after shoulder surgery.  The women who served with me (and put up with me) in callings and assignments.  The women who became dear and life long friends, who without Relief Society I would never have known.  The uplifting lessons that touch my heart at needed moments.  The examples of goodness, faithfulness, compassion and perseverance that impact my life.

I have felt impressed to start a new post series asking sisters around the stake that simple question, "How has Relief Society blessed your life?".  I hope that these posts will help us all remember (or come to understand) what our membership in Relief Society means to us - what it is really all about.  Thanks in advance to all who have and will contribute!

- Lorie Pierce (Eldersburg Ward)
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Colleen Mitchell - Columbia 2nd Ward

I feel like I've been in Relief Society my whole life, because my mom took me on visits and service projects all of the time as a youth. She was a great example of service and sacrifice and lived by the motto Charity Never Faileth. 

Relief Society has blessed my life in so many ways.  I love having a group of women to associate with who have similar goals and beliefs.  I have learned so much from the women, classes, teachings, and the courses of study.   Relief Society gives me a chance to learn, grow, teach, serve and be served.  For example, when I was a young mother, we lived in Utah far away from my family.  I went into preterm labor with Alissa when Becca was just 15 months old.   I was put on bedrest and was completely overwhelmed with trying to manage on my own while Jim was in school and working.  My sister in New York called her old Relief Society President who had recently moved to Utah.  This sister came and took Rebecca for the day plus 5 loads of my laundry so I could rest.

Isn't it wonderful to have an organization that works like this to meet the needs of women and their families?  I love Relief Society and feel inspired by the wonderful women I associate with there.  Women who though not perfect, strive to live with the light of the Savior as their guide.
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June Crue - Eldersburg Ward

How has Relief Society blessed my life?  I couldn’t possibly count the many ways or the many women who have touched my life since I’ve been a member of the Church. The weekly lessons that spiritually lifted me, also helped me give better direction to my children. 

Being a member of Relief Society requires effort and a willingness to learn, and make changes in your life.  The lessons are a constant reminder of Gospel Principles that the Lord has given for our benefit.  The skills from more experienced women brought a new perspective and direction into my life. Callings in Relief Society helped me gain confidence as well as experience; when a lesson wasn’t as good as I’d hoped, the sisters were there to encourage. They still do that!

The service projects that I’ve participated in over the years were very rewarding and oftentimes exhausting, but working at the cannery or painting my classroom, sewing and making quilts, and of course, family history have all been part of the experience.  I’m glad I didn’t miss these opportunities or the people with whom I shared them.  Relief Society has been a very rewarding experience for me, and reminds me that I am a beloved daughter of God.  I feel very blessed to be part of the sisterhood.