Self-reliance

Sisters, here's an example of a family in Kansas City, whom we can all really emulate.  Take a look at the pictures and see how organized they are.

This also gives us an idea of how to go about doing our own home storage, garden, etc.  I hope all of us will read this article before the Enrichment Activity on the 27th of this month.

(For the full article, click here, and for the photos, click here)

Be an Example, Kind in Word and Conversation

It's not just the big, public events where people are examples of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It's in the smaller things, too, said Sister Bonnie D. Parkin, former general president of the Relief Society.

"We're not required to do what Moroni did and ride through the town with the title of liberty, but we do need to be kind in word and conversation and speak with kindness and respect," Sister Parkin said during the Mothers' Week fireside at Brigham Young University-Idaho on Sunday, May 31.

(For the full talk, click here)

O Remember, Remember

I was amazed at how strongly I felt the Spirit even though this video is less than 2 minutes long!  There is power when the Holy Ghost speaks to us.

Find ways to recognize and remember God's kindness. You will be blessed as you remember what the Lord has done.

The Adversary's Attacks

Today I raise an apostolic voice of warning about the potentially stifling, suffocating, suppressing, and constraining impact of some kinds of cyberspace interactions and experiences upon our souls. The concerns I raise are not new; they apply equally to other types of media, such as television, movies, and music. But in a cyber world, these challenges are more pervasive and intense. I plead with you to beware of the sense-dulling and spiritually destructive influence of cyberspace technologies that are used to produce high fidelity and that promote degrading and evil purposes.

If the adversary cannot entice us to misuse our physical bodies, then one of his most potent tactics is to beguile you and me as embodied spirits to disconnect gradually and physically from things as they really are. In essence, he encourages us to think and act as if we were in our premortal, unembodied state. And, if we let him, he can cunningly employ some aspects of modern technology to accomplish his purposes. Please be careful of becoming so immersed and engrossed in pixels, texting, ear buds, twittering, online social networking, and potentially addictive uses of media and the Internet that you fail to recognize the importance of your physical body and miss the richness of person-to-person communication. Beware of digital displays and data in many forms of computer-mediated interaction that can displace the full range of physical capacity and experience.

--David A Bednar, "Things as They Really Are", CES Fireside for Young Adults, May 3, 2009, Brigham Young University - Idaho

(For the full talk, click here)

(Thanks Sister Tracy for sharing this talk with us)

Perspective

Now, think about how big you are!

(Thanks Sister Claire, for this reminder)

Quote - Spiritual Preparedness: Start Early and Be Steady

"Most of us have thought about how to prepare for storms. We have seen and felt the suffering of women, men, and children, and of the aged and the weak, caught in hurricanes, tsunamis, wars, and droughts. One reaction is to ask, “How can I be prepared?” And there is a rush to buy and put away whatever people think they might need for the day they might face such calamities.

But there is another even more important preparation we must make for tests that are certain to come to each of us. That preparation must be started far in advance because it takes time. What we will need then can’t be bought. It can’t be borrowed. It doesn’t store well. And it has to have been used regularly and recently.

What we will need in our day of testing is a spiritual preparation. It is to have developed faith in Jesus Christ so powerful that we can pass the test of life upon which everything for us in eternity depends. That test is part of the purpose God had for us in the Creation."

--Henry B Eyring, "Spiritual Preparedness: Start Early and Be Steady", Ensign, November 2005

(For the full article, click here)

Quote - Spiritual Gifts

"In our own day, we have been promised that the Lord has many gifts in store for 'those who love [Him] and keep all [His] commandments' and also those 'that seeketh so to do' (D&C 46:9). While not every gift of God is pledged to every person, we have been assured that 'to every [person] is given a gift by the Spirit of God' (D&C 46:11)."

--Cecil O Samuelson Jr, "Perilous Times," Ensign, November 2004, 51

Sister Jassy

We want to extend a warm welcome to Sister Jassy who was baptized on 16 May.  We are so happy to have her amongst us.  We hope all the sisters will get to know her and help her to feel loved.

Welcome to our Kuala Lumpur Relief Society, Sister Jassy!  Please let us know if there's anything at all that we can do for you. 

Mormon Radio Launches

Thanks Sister Merritt and Sister Cathy for this piece of news!



SALT LAKE CITY 18 May 2009
Mormon Channel, a new radio service of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, launches 18 May and can be accessed via the Internet or HD radio affiliates. The newly created 24-hour, 7-days a-week format is available live online at http://radio.lds.org, but content may also be downloaded.

(For the full article, click here)

We Are Doing a Great Work and Cannot Come Down

Pause for a moment and check where your own heart and thoughts are. Are you focused on the things that matter most? How you spend your quiet time may provide a valuable clue. Where do your thoughts go when the pressure of deadlines is gone? Are your thoughts and heart focused on those short-lived fleeting things that matter only in the moment, or on things that matter most?

Sometimes the things that distract us are not bad, in and of themselves; often they even make us feel good.

Even some programs of the Church can become a distraction if we take them to extremes and allow them to dominate our time and our attention at the expense of things that matter most. We need balance in life.

When we truly love our Heavenly Father and His children, we demonstrate that love through our actions. We forgive one another and seek to do good, for "our old [self] is crucified with [Christ]." We "visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction," and we keep ourselves "unspotted from the vices of the world."

These are the things that matter most. These are the things of eternal value that deserve our attention.

We cannot and we must not allow ourselves to get distracted from our sacred duty. We cannot and we must not lose focus on the things that matter most.

(For the full talk, click here)

Small and Simple Souls

Thanks Sister Cathy for e-mailing me this beautiful clip.  It helps to remind us that even the least of Heavenly Father's children have the potential to be somebody and make a difference in the lives of others!

Family Nights for Harmony

This was e-mailed to me by Sister Cathy:

"You remember Elder & Sister Merritt who were working very closely with The Women, Family and Community Development Ministry? Well, their work bore fruit as the ministry has declared Monday nights as Family Night!

I managed to locate the articles about Family Night from the Star Online. It appeared on both 21st March & 22nd March."

Here's an excerpt from the article on 22nd March. The one on the 21st is essentially the same.

Sunday March 22, 2009

PETALING JAYA: The Women, Family and Community Development Ministry is encouraging families to spend more time together to form a strong, safe and harmonious unit.

“Each family should set one night a week as family night, to talk and share their views and problems with each other. Everyone should be treated equally and even the little ones can contribute,” Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said.

As an example, she said she had made Monday nights her ministry’s family enrichment night, to encourage her officers to spend more time with their families.

“There will be no meetings on Monday nights,” she said.

(For the full article, click here)

Sister Liew

How wonderful it was to see Sister Liew again after 18 months!  We are so proud of her for her honorable return from a fruitful mission in California.  

We hope she will be greatly blessed in whatever she plans to do next.  I for one, am really happy she's back amongst us again.  I have truly missed her presence.

WELCOME BACK!

Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ

Elder Bruce R. McConkie taught: “Faith is a gift of God bestowed as a reward for personal righteousness. It is always given when righteousness is present, and the greater the measure of obedience to God’s laws the greater will be the endowment of faith” (Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed. [1966], 264). If we desire more faith, we must be more obedient. When we teach our children by example or precept to be casual or situational in obeying God’s commandments, we prevent them from receiving this vital spiritual gift. Faith requires an attitude of exact obedience, even in the small, simple things.

Desire is a particle of faith that develops within us as we experience divine truth. It is like spiritual photosynthesis. The influence of the Holy Ghost, acting on the Light of Christ within every human being, produces the spiritual equivalent of a chemical reaction—a stirring, a change of heart, or a desire to know. Hope develops as particles of faith become molecules and as simple efforts to live true principles occur.

As patterns of obedience develop, the specific blessings associated with obedience are realized and belief emerges. Desire, hope, and belief are forms of faith, but faith as a principle of power comes from a consistent pattern of obedient behavior and attitudes. Personal righteousness is a choice. Faith is a gift from God, and one possessed of it can receive enormous spiritual power.

--Kevin W Pearson

(For the full talk, click here)

Sister Yar Lee's a New Mom

We are delighted to hear that Sister Yar Lee has safely delivered her baby girl.  Congratulations to her and her husband, also to Sister Fang Mei for being a grandmother and Sister Yar Chin, a new aunt!