The Women in Our Lives

I was moved to tears as I listened to how lovingly President Hinckley described us, the daughters of our Heavenly Father. We indeed have so much potential.

Sisters, watch this video over and over and let the Holy Ghost manifest to us what we must do and how we ought to be.

Charity in Action - Sister Susie How

Many years ago, when I was staying in Taman Supreme, Cheras, I seldom had visiting teachers who would come to my house to visit me. My house was up on a hill with a long and very steep slope. The angle of the slope was more than forty-five degrees and the distance more than one kilometer. Of course, there was no bus service and unscrupulous taxi drivers charged extra to go up the hill. As I lived there, I constantly walked up and down the hill but for others, it was quite a trek uphill to visit me unless they had a car. My own brothers complained that going uphill there daily would put a toll on their cars!

Later, I had a set of visiting teachers who made no excuses when visiting teaching and no hill was going to deter them. Sister Lillian Lim and Sister Annie Teh were the two faithful sisters who were obedient and diligent to their callings as visiting teachers and who loved me enough to visit me faithfully every month. They would come together after work by bus to the foot of the hill, then walked up. After a whole day of sunny weather, the road up the hill would usually be hot and the soles of their feet would also be heated up. Naturally, the first word they would utter when they saw me was always, "Water!" After drinking, then only would the greetings and message given. Theirs were the visits I've always treasured!

Mormons Aren't Exempt from Adversity

Alex Boye's mother sent him to a boarding school north of London when he was 11 years old and told him she'd visit in three weeks. Instead, she moved to Nigeria and stayed for eight years. He never stopped looking for her on Parents Day.

Boye thought the sad, lonely feelings that peppered his adolescence were gone for good when at his baptism into the Mormon faith about five years later, he felt joy and happiness like he'd never known.

But within days he felt abandoned yet again, this time by his God, when he was kicked out of his uncle's house in London, where he stayed during summer vacation, just one week after joining the church.

"A week after I joined the church, I was homeless," Boye said. With all those good feeling replaced by bad ones, he said he thought "'What have I done? Life is worse,'" that first night in 1986 when he slept in an abandoned, white van.

(For the full story, click here)

Charity, the Pure Love of Christ

Lucy Mack Smith, the Prophet Joseph Smith’s mother, said of the time when the Saints were first settling in Commerce, Illinois, later called Nauvoo: “As the season advanced, the brethren who had settled here began to feel the effects of their hardships, which, joined to the unhealthiness of the climate, brought them down with agues and bilious fevers to such an extent that there were some whole families in which there was not one who was able to give another a drink of cold water or even to help themselves. Hyrum’s family were mostly sick. My youngest daughter, Lucy, was also very sick, and there were, in fact, but few of the inhabitants of the place who were well.

“Joseph and Emma had the sick brought to their house and took care of them there. And they continued to have them brought as fast as they were taken down until their house, which consisted of four rooms, was so crowded that they were under the necessity of spreading a tent in the yard for the reception of that part of the family who were still on their feet. Joseph and Emma devoted their whole time and attention to the care of the sick during this time of distress.”

(For the full lesson, click here)

Quote - Defeating the Enemy of Achievement

"At times many of us let that enemy of achievement--even the culprit 'self-defeat'--dwarf our aspirations, smother our dreams, cloud our vision, and impair our lives. The enemy's voice whispers in our ears, 'You can't do it.' 'You're too young.' 'You're too old.' 'You're nobody.' This is when we remember that we are created in the image of God. Reflection on this truth provides a profound sense of strength and power."

--Thomas S Monson, "Choose You This Day," Ensign, November 2004, 68

Poem - Be Thankful

Be thankful that you don't

already have everything you desire.
If you did,

what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don't know something,
for it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.
During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations,
because they give you

opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge,
because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes.

They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you're tired and weary,
because it means you've made a difference.

It's easy to be thankful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those

who are also thankful for the setbacks.

Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful for your troubles,

and they can become your blessings.

--Author Unknown

Adversity

There is yet another trial which, when endured well, can bring blessings in this life and blessings forever. Age and illness can test the best of us. My friend served as our bishop when my daughters were still at home. They speak of what they felt when he bore his simple testimony around campfires in the mountains. He loved them, and they knew it. He was released as our bishop. He had served as a bishop before in another state. Those I have met who were from his earlier ward remember him as my daughters do.

I visited him in his home from time to time to thank him and to give him priesthood blessings. His health began a slow decline. I can’t remember all the ailments he suffered. He needed surgery. He was in constant pain. Yet every time I visited him to give him comfort, he turned the tables; I always was the one comforted. His back and legs forced him to use a cane to walk. Yet there he was in church, always sitting near the door, where he could greet those arriving early, with a smile.

I will never forget the feeling of wonder and admiration which came over me when I opened the back door at home and saw him coming up our driveway. It was the day we put out our garbage cans to be picked up by city workers. I had put the can out in the morning. But there he was dragging my garbage can up the hill with one hand while he balanced himself with a cane in his other hand. He was giving me the help he thought I needed when he needed it far more than I did. And he was helping with a smile and without being asked.

I visited him when he finally had to be cared for by nurses and doctors. He was lying in a hospital bed, still in pain and still smiling. His wife had called me to say that he was getting weaker. My son and I gave him a priesthood blessing as he lay in the bed with tubes and bottles connected to him. I sealed the blessing with a promise that he would have time and the strength to do all that God had for him to do in this life, to pass every test. He stretched out his hand to grasp mine as I stepped away from his bed to leave. I was surprised at the strength of his grip and the firmness in his voice when he said, “I’m going to make it.”

I left thinking that I would see him again soon. But the phone call came within a day. He was gone to the glorious place where he will see the Savior, who is his perfect judge and will be ours. As I spoke at his funeral, I thought of the words of Paul when he knew that he would go to that place where my neighbor and friend has gone:

“But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.

“For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.

“I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:

“Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”

I have confidence that my neighbor made it through his trial and will face his judge with a joyous smile.

(For the full talk, click here)

Who is Michael Kennedy?

As a boy living in Nevada, Michael Kennedy had never heard of Joseph Smith. But after a high school history teacher assigned him to write about an ancestor who had an impact on American history, he asked his father for a suggestion.

Told he had an ancestor "who founded the state of Utah," Kennedy said his father pulled out a box of old photos and documents the teenager had never seen. As he laid them out, the doorbell rang. "Two young men were standing there with name tags and the first name 'Elder,'" he recalled.

When they were invited inside, "The first thing they saw was a picture of Lucy (Mack Smith) and Emma (Smith). They asked me what I was doing," and when he told them, "they just went nuts," he said, grinning. Meanwhile, missionaries taught a girl named Darcy Dodge, who eventually became Kennedy's wife after both joined the church. At the time, they were the only Latter-day Saints in tiny Tonapah, Nev.

Shortly after high school graduation in 1973, Kennedy was baptized — not because he fully understood or believed what he had been taught, he said, but "so (the missionaries) could feel successful, and so I could go on my way and be happy."

Unbeknownst to him, information about Kennedy's family tree made its way to Salt Lake City. He was summoned by then-LDS Church President Harold B. Lee. "I was pretty scared. I'd only been baptized for 30 days, and the president of the church wanted to see me," he said. Asked what he knew about Joseph Smith, he replied he only knew what was in his history report.

"I told him how Joseph Smith discovered the state of Utah. He excused himself and came back a few minutes later with a new apostle named Bruce R. McConkie," who tutored Kennedy in LDS history. Soon Elder McConkie gave permission for Kennedy to be ordained an elder in the church — something that usually takes at least a year following baptism. During his ordination, "I was told I was the first in Joseph Smith's line to receive the Melchizedek priesthood in fulfillment of prophecy."

After he and Darcy married in the Provo Temple in 1974, Kennedy said he learned quickly to keep the story of his lineage to himself, and he also swore his wife to secrecy. As part of learning about LDS history, the Smiths and Joseph's vision of restoring Christ's original church, the couple spent a semester in Israel with BYU Study Abroad in 1976, taking their young son along. Though he maintained a low public profile, church leaders interacted with and kept track of Kennedy.

During a 1984 interview with President Gordon B. Hinckley, then a counselor in the church's First Presidency, Kennedy was charged with building a family organization for the descendants of Joseph and Emma Smith. By 1985, he had the organization in place and was working with church officials, archivists and another Smith descendant — Gracia Jones — to find and document the Smith family tree.

To date, he said they have documented roughly 1,900 descendants — far fewer than they had expected to find, based on the number of children born to Joseph and Emma's surviving children. (Several had died as infants.)

"Their descendants had an extremely high mortality rate," Kennedy said, with deaths attributed to "everything from suicides to broken marriages to people who just didn't want to have children."

After more than two decades of contacting family members — about one-third of them live in Australia — Kennedy said he believes that after Joseph Smith was martyred by a mob in 1844, "Satan turned the revenge (for Joseph Smith's founding of the LDS Church) on his family. We ended up with much more than just two religious groups (the LDS Church and the Reorganized Church, started by Joseph and Emma Smith's sons) disagreeing here."

Even so, a 17-foot-long family tree detailing the couple's progeny now adorns a wall in the church's Family History Library. It shows Kennedy's family as descendants of the Smiths' son Alexander. Kennedy said he and Jones have found almost 1,500 living descendants. Of those, 130 to 140 are Latter-day Saints with various degrees of church activity.

Baptisms, endowments and sealing ordinances were performed by proxy in LDS temples for the documented descendants who are deceased, he said.

Kennedy recently returned from Independence, Mo., where he visited the family of Joseph Smith III, who founded the Reorganized Church after his father's death. He, his mother, Emma, and the Smiths' other children remained in Nauvoo, Ill., following the exodus of Latter-day Saints, led by Brigham Young, to the Salt Lake Valley.

Kennedy said he and a descendant of Joseph Smith III plan a yearlong project to identify the descendants in that line and invite them to join the Joseph Smith Jr. Family Organization. The group — many of whom gathered in Nauvoo this summer for a second non-denominational family reunion — continues to grow, Kennedy said, providing information and outreach to family members who have never heard of Smith or the faith traditions that ultimately grew out of his experience.

A Web site — www.josephsmithjr.com — explains the history to those interested and seeks their participation. Another Web site — www.josephsmithjr.org — will be established in mid-November as the home page for the Joseph Smith Jr. and Emma Hale Smith Historical Society. Images of Smith family documents and artifacts will be made available to the public on the Web site, Kennedy said.

While the LDS Church and the Community of Christ archives house documents about Joseph Smith and the early years of LDS history, many descendants also have original copies unavailable elsewhere, he said. An effort is under way to obtain copies of those documents for Brigham Young University's Lee Library collection.

Kennedy recently learned of one document, in Smith's handwriting, that explains the "celestial marriage covenant," and is now held by a woman living in the Midwest. Another person in Utah has documents relating to a story Emma Smith told her son David, who became an artist, about temple ordinances first performed in Nauvoo in the red brick store.

While neither the LDS Church nor the Community of Christ are formally involved in the Smith family organization, both have provided assistance with research and resources, and advised Kennedy on where to find information. While some Smith descendants are still part of the Community of Christ, those numbers are shrinking, he said, estimating that "less than 5 percent" of descendants are now part of that faith.

First and foremost, Kennedy wants all descendants to have the chance to connect with family — and that's how he approaches those he has the chance to contact. Though both churches have their histories and the documentation to support them, "We're painting a larger picture of what happened to the family itself."

BYU professor Margaret Young brings to light untold stories of black pioneers

In 1844 Sam Chambers was a 13-year-old slave living in Mississippi, and upon hearing the message of the Mormon missionaries, he was baptized late one night in secrecy.

Unable to move West with the first migrations of saints, Sam was forced to wait until 1870 when, as a free man, he and his wife Amanda began their journey towards the Salt Lake Valley.

Upon arrival in Utah, Sam quickly became a wealthy farmer of currant berries, and as a member of the Eighth Ward, was an example of service and testimony.

A New Era article by Bill Hartley, a BYU history professor who Young relied on for research, included a piece of Sam’s recorded testimony.

“[The gospel] is not only to the Gentiles but also to the Africans, for I am one of that race. The knowledge I received is from my God. It is a high and holy calling. Without the testimony of God we are nothing,” said Sam, in his testimony.

(For the full article, click here)

Conversion Story - Sister Vanitha James

When I was asked by the missionaries to read the Book of Mormon and pray for guidance of the Holy Spirit, I was reluctant because I did not believe in it. Our whole family and I were angry with my husband because he continued going to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We thought we had convinced him to leave the church and believed that he had really left. But after some time, we saw him still going there and this time, he was very strong in the church. So, we decided to give up on him, ignore him, maintain our distance and keep away from him.

During this period of time, our family and I were very against any teachings by the church members including the missionaries. But the elders continued to come and visit us. This made me listen to what they had to say and they showed me how to read the Book of Mormon.

Our son, Vasanthan was very angry at first but I told him that the elders were referring to the bible to explain the words from the Book of Mormon. Vasanthan then came and joined me to listen to what the elders were teaching. It made us feel peace in our hearts.

Two months later, I decided to be baptized and our son, Vasanthan was baptized just last month, in June. I did not tell the rest of the family that Vasanthan and I are baptized. I want them to see the changes in us.

Now, the Holy Spirit guides me and there is peace in my heart, which leads me to study the Book of Mormon every day.

I still have challenges especially during this period of time but I pray to God daily and submit myself to Him. Now, I feel light in my heart and I hope that God will deliver our family soon. I know that one day my prayer will be answered and our whole family will come to know about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The Wentworth Letter

In the Times and Seasons issue dated March 1, 1842, the Prophet published what has come to be known as the Wentworth Letter. Describing his reasons for producing this document, the Prophet explained: “At the request of Mr. John Wentworth, Editor and Proprietor of the Chicago Democrat, I have written the following sketch of the rise, progress, persecution, and faith of the Latter-day Saints, of which I have the honor, under God, of being the founder. Mr. Wentworth says that he wishes to furnish Mr. [George] Barstow, a friend of his, who is writing the history of New Hampshire, with this document. As Mr. Barstow has taken the proper steps to obtain correct information, all that I shall ask at his hands, is, that he publish the account entire, ungarnished, and without misrepresentation.”

George Barstow ultimately did not include the Prophet’s account in his history because he decided to cover events only through the year 1819 in his book. But the Wentworth Letter has immense value to Latter-day Saints. It is an original account by Joseph Smith testifying of his sacred call from God, his visions, and his ministry and teachings. It recounts the rise and growth of the Church and the persecutions of the Saints. It contains a prophetic declaration of the Church’s future success in the earth under the protective hand of the Great Jehovah. It also contains several important details not found elsewhere in the Prophet’s teachings, including a description of the gold plates and a sketch of the contents of the Book of Mormon. Significantly, it is the first time that Joseph Smith himself published an account of his First Vision.

Concluding with the 13 declarations of Church doctrine now called the Articles of Faith, it stands as a powerful witness of the divine calling of the Prophet Joseph Smith.

(For the full lesson, click here)

E-mail from Sister Tracy Friend

How’s the branch? We miss it, but are enjoying visiting in my sister’s ward. The first Sunday I got to substitute for the Sunbeams! (Their teacher had to take a sick child home). We are so close to the chapel that we can walk to church!

Mark went to choir practice last Sunday (our 2^nd Sunday). It’s a nice ward. I do hope Mark can find a job so we can stay here.

Tell everyone I said, hello, especially my visiting teaching sisters. Tell Elejer keep up the great work – she’s a GREAT visiting teacher!

Here’s our family blog: http://thejungletimes.blogspot.com so if people want to see what we’re up to.

Tracy

Our Refined Heavenly Home

Many years ago an associate of mine decided he would please his wife by sharing with her a specific compliment each night as he arrived home. One night he praised her cooking. A second night he thanked her for excellence in housekeeping. A third night he acknowledged her fine influence on the children. The fourth night, before he could speak, she said, “I know what you are doing. I thank you for it. But don’t say any of those things. Just tell me you think I am beautiful.”

--Douglas L Callister

(For the full article, click here)

Conversion Story - Sister Claire Lim

My parents are Catholic, thus I was born a Catholic. So, I went to Catechism (Catholic Sunday School) all throughout my primary school years. However, I grew up with my grandpa in Melaka and not my parents, who were working in KL. I remember when I was 8 or 9 years old, I would ask questions like, “Why are we here on earth? What is the purpose of life?” Well, I asked those questions, because I hated doing homework ALL the time! ^_^

Nonetheless, my questions were answered when I was 16 years old. The answers came through a series of events. I didn’t know then, that they would lead to my baptism in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Looking back, I never regretted the path I chose.

My baptism was a member missionary effort. My aunt Lillian shared the gospel with her sister, Susan and Susan’s husband, Michael. During that time, Michael and Susan were also living under the same roof as my grandpa and I. The missionaries started coming over to teach the discussions to Michael and Susan. Subsequently, they would also go to the missionary couple’s home for the new member discussions, watch church videos and also hold family home evenings. Of course, I would always tag along.

In the beginning, I would just tag along for fun. When new missionaries came, I would be the “investigator” for them to practice teaching the discussions. All these happened around the time when I was 15 and 16 years old. Not long after that, I started skipping Catechism to go to “their” Sacrament meetings. My parents were not happy about it. However, I felt that the Plan of Salvation the missionaries had been sharing made sense. It’s very logical. So, I wanted to learn more. I also started praying to know the truthfulness of the gospel.

Wanting to learn more meant spending more time in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints with the Saints and mostly missionaries at that time (as it was still a very small branch). Thus, I gradually removed myself from the Catholic Church. There was one particular Sunday (I don’t remember the date) I went to my usual Catholic Mass in the morning. I sat on the aisle seat looking at the people seated in the cathedral. During that time, females were assigned to sit on the left side of the cathedral and the males were on the right side. I remembered thinking to myself, “What if ALL the males in this cathedral hold the priesthood of God?” That would be A LOT of members in Melaka!

I sat there weighing heavily on the pros and cons of staying until the Mass was over and most importantly if I should leave the Catholic Church for good. I believe I was only about 16 going on 17 at that time, nonetheless I decided there and then to get up and leave the Cathedral and subsequently the Catholic faith. I still remember vividly the moment I walked out of the Cathedral, telling myself, “There’s nothing here for me anymore.” I didn’t feel a loss, I felt at peace.

This bold decision that I made was aided by a few incidences which happened as answers to my prayers. I shall share one. As I’ve mentioned before, I’d already been praying to find out whether the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true. There was one time I had a religious discussion with my English teacher in school. I brought up the topic of ‘Mormonism’ and my teacher went on to share what she knew about the ‘Mormons”. I started to correct her and defending the church. The moment I realized what I was doing, it dawned on me that I already knew this church to be true.

As a Catholic, I’d already been taught to pray to our Heavenly Father. However, the most crucial part of prayer that I’ve learned in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is that He answers our prayers. He truly does! I found out for myself through prayer that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true and that the prophet Joseph Smith Jr. was called to restore the gospel of Jesus Christ here on earth. I also know the Book of Mormon is written by ancient prophets for the people in our day.

I was finally baptized when I was 18 against my parents’ wishes. Nonetheless, I had support from my aunts and uncle. My grandpa also joined the church after I did. He was 71 when he joined. ^_^ I was privileged to be able to serve a mission in the Kaohsiung, Taiwan mission. After that, I was blessed to attend BYU Hawaii and the University of Hawaii. All these came to pass, because of the gospel in my life.

I testify that when we stay faithful, doing and giving our best to build His kingdom here on earth, we will be guided by the Spirit to do whatever that is right and necessary for us to go back to our Heavenly Father. Through that, we are able to help our brothers and sisters as well.

Heavenly Father has been very kind and generous to me. The atonement of Jesus Christ has enabled me to repent of my sins and get back on track every time I fall short. I truly am an unprofitable servant. That’s when I learned that when much is given, much is required. This life is for us to prepare to meet God. We will have to learn to endure to the end and endure it well, work together with our families and our loved ones and bring them to the knowledge of the gospel. With Christ as our Savior, we can and will make it when we do our part.

Poem - Don't Quit

When things go wrong as they sometimes will;

When the road you're trudging seems all uphill;

When the funds are low, and the debts are high

And you want to smile, but have to sigh;

When care is pressing you down a bit-

Rest if you must, but do not quit.

Success is failure turned inside out;

The silver tint of the clouds of doubt;

And you can never tell how close you are

It may be near when it seems so far;

So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit-

It's when things go wrong that you must not quit.

--Author Unknown