How Glorious Are Faithful, Just, and True friends

One such friend was Willard Richards, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, who was jailed with Joseph and Hyrum Smith and John Taylor in Carthage, Illinois. While being held in the jail, the men were allowed to move from a cell on the first floor to a more comfortable bedroom on the second floor of the jailhouse. Then, shortly before the martyrdom, the jailer suggested that the prisoners would be safer in an iron-barred cell next to the bedroom. Joseph asked Elder Richards, who was called "doctor" by his friends because he had practiced medicine: " 'If we go into the cell, will you go in with us?' The doctor answered, 'Brother Joseph, you did not ask me to cross the river with you -- you did not ask me to come to Carthage -- you did not ask me to come to jail with you -- and do you think I would forsake you now? But I will tell you what I will do; if you are condemned to be hung for treason, I will be hung in your stead, and you shall go free.' Joseph said, 'You cannot.' The doctor replied, 'I will.'

• True friends ease one another's sorrows and remain faithful even in times of adversity.

"...I hope I shall see [my friends] again, that I may toil for them, and administer to their comfort also. They shall not want a friend while I live; my heart shall love those, and my hands shall toil for those, who love and toil for me, and shall ever be found faithful to my friends. Shall I be ungrateful? Verily no! God forbid!"

• Friendship unites the human family, dispelling hatred and misunderstanding.

"...Friendship is like Brother [Theodore] Turley in his blacksmith shop welding iron to iron; it unites the human family with its happy influence."

• Saints of God are true friends to one another.

"I would esteem it one of the greatest blessings, if I am to be afflicted in this world, to have my lot cast where I can find brothers and friends all around me."

(For the full lesson, click here)

Charity in Action - Sister Cathy

Being with the sisterhood of Relief Society has been a wonderful blessing in my life. When I was expecting my first child 19 years ago (and a new convert then), the sisters willingly shared with me their experiences and pregnancy tips.

I'm especially thankful to Sister Susie How, who constantly called me up to check on my progress when she found out that my baby was due. As a first time 'mature' mother-to-be (and being far away from my own sisters), the thought of going through the birth process was rather worrying and Sister Susie's calls had certainly been reassuring and comforting to me! And especially so when I went beyond the due date and she kept up with me every day till my baby was born. After the birth of Johann, she shared with me parenting tips and gave me a book that I still treasure till today!

Sister Joyce Yong's help for the first year of Johann's life will always be remembered with much fondness as I've learnt so much from her in the area of child discipline for her children are a great reflection of her mothering skills!

By the time Eriene, my second child came along, I no longer needed the services of a confinement lady as Sister Jenny Han was around to take my maid to the market every morning and taught her the dishes to cook for me to help me recover fast from the rigours of child-birth! Sister Jenny is one sister who is ever ready to give her time and energy at a moment's notice and I will always be appreciative of her.

I have always enjoyed Sister Geok Lee's sharing of her children's milestones with me and from her, I learnt about academic excellence and multiple talents. When my children excel, she deserves the credit too for she showed me the way!

Of course, there are many other sisters (too many to name them all but they know who they are :-)) who came bearing gifts for my babies and generously shared with me their experiences about children in particular, and life in general. To all these sisters who have touched my life with charity, kindness, generosity, and patience, I will be eternally grateful to you :-).

I know that I have not been able to return the favour to them; so to show my appreciation and gratitude, I'll make myself available to other sisters who are in need of my listening ears and companionship.

So Sisters, just remember that I'm on call for you. This will help me return the favour to all the wonderful sisters who have done much for me :-)

Julia and Emily: Sisters in Zion

Ever wondered who wrote the hymn "As Sisters in Zion"? Read the story below to find out.

My second great-grandmother Julia Hill and her sister Emily were baptized as teens in England, and then their parents, Thomas and Elizabeth Hill, disowned them. Nevertheless, Julia and Emily earned their own passage to America and sailed from Liverpool on the ship Thornton. Also on board this ship was Captain James G. Willie, who led the fourth handcart company west.

Once 23-year-old Julia and 20-year-old Emily arrived in Iowa, they joined the Willie handcart company. Early winter snowstorms caused everyone to suffer from hunger and exposure. On Rocky Ridge in Wyoming, many starved or froze to death. Those who survived were comforted in their suffering by their testimonies of Jesus Christ. But I believe what saved Julia and Emily, in addition to their testimonies, was their love for each other as sisters.

--Debbie J Christensen

(For the full article, click here)

Charity in Action - Sister Hui-Lian Liew

My mission has been one of the best things I have ever done, I think for my life. I learnt a lot and grew to love everyone I was able to meet, teach and associate with.

One of the highlights of my mission is definitely the companions that I had. Companions are definitely a God-sent because there's no way we can be as effective being solo missionaries. We are with them 24/7 and we have to do almost everything together. So of course, it's not all great. There are times when we have to work out our differences since we are all different and we each came from different backgrounds.

One companion I had was very strong-willed and having two strong-willed missionaries together, we were bound to head butt. She wanted a lot of control and so did I. But being the newer one in the mission at that time, I figured I'll back down and let her "run the show." It was frustrating and I found it difficult to enjoy our missionary work. Yet, we were taught that having the Spirit is important in every aspect of our work and I badly wanted it to work between us.

My companion had a scripture quote on charity, found in Moroni 7:47 which says, "But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him." She stuck it on her bedside and said she reads it every day to help remind her.

I thought a lot about it and thought to myself, I surely needed it, badly. I made a point in every personal prayer throughout the day, to pray for charity. To have the pure love of Christ so I could rid of this discontentment filling up inside. Things slowly turned out better. I began to see qualities in her that I never noticed before. I learnt to see her, as one specially chosen by Heavenly Father to be my companion and to be in this mission, the lives that she touched, the amazing teaching skills that she had, all the things that I wanted to have in my own self.

By the end of the transfer (6 weeks), she got ready to go home and I felt like the time we had was not enough. It was not fair. We have grown to love each other and worked really well together.

But life is such, that Heavenly Father shuffles things around a lot so we get to grow even more with different events in our lives. In this case, I had the opportunity to serve with more amazing sisters and meet so many wonderful people that touched my life even more.

Charity not only brings about the pure love of Christ, but also opens up to more opportunities to catch a glimpse of what the Lord feels for each of us. I love it! :)

Relief Society: Divine Organization of Women

• The Relief Society, organized under the priesthood and after its pattern, is an essential part of the Church.
• The Relief Society enables women to act according to their benevolent natures, giving care to those in need.

Willard Richards reported: "The [Female Relief Society] meeting was addressed by President Joseph Smith, to illustrate the object of the Society--that the Society of Sisters might provoke the brethren to good works in looking to the wants of the poor--searching after objects of charity, and in administering to their wants--to assist by correcting the morals and strengthening the virtues of the community."

• The Relief Society encourages women to practice holiness and to instruct one another.

"You must put down iniquity, and by your good examples, stimulate the Elders to good works."

"If you live up to these principles, how great and glorious will be your reward in the celestial kingdom! If you live up to your privileges, the angels cannot be restrained from being your associates. Females, if they are pure and innocent, can come in the presence of God; for what is more pleasing to God than innocence; you must be innocent, or you cannot come up before God: if we would come before God, we must keep ourselves pure, as He is pure.

• The Relief Society encourages women to follow the example of the Savior in showing mercy and avoiding strife.

"If you would have God have mercy on you, have mercy on one another....We are full of selfishness; the devil flatters us that we are very righteous, when we are feeding on the faults of others. We can only live by worshipping our God; all must do it for themselves; none can do it for another. How mild the Savior dealt with Peter, saying, 'When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.' [Luke 22:32.] At another time, He said to him, 'Lovest thou me?' and having received Peter's reply, He said, 'Feed my sheep.' [John 21:15-17.] If the sisters [love] the Lord, let them feed the sheep, and not destroy them....

"Sisters of the society, shall there be strife among you? I will not have it. You must repent, and get the love of God. Away with self-righteousness. The best measure or principle to bring the poor to repentance is to administer to their wants."

Eliza R. Snow reported the following words of the Prophet: "notwithstanding the unworthy are among us, the virtuous should not, from self importance, grieve and oppress needlessly, those unfortunate ones--even these should be encouraged to hereafter live to be honored by this society, who are the best portions of the community. Said he had two things to recommend to the members of this society, to put a double watch over the tongue: no organized body can exist without this at all....The object is to make those not so good reform and return to the path of virtue that they may be numbered with the good....

"...Search yourselves--the tongue is an unruly member--hold your tongues about things of no moment--a little tale will set the world on fire.

"The little foxes spoil the vines--little evils do the most injury to the Church. If you have evil feelings, and speak of them to one another, it has a tendency to do mischief."

"Do not injure the character of anyone. If members of the Society shall conduct themselves improperly, deal with them, and keep all your doings within your own bosoms, and hold all characters sacred."

(For the full lesson, click here)

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.