Announcements & Lesson - 28 December 2014

Announcements:

- Happy New Year -

 

We have our Ward New Years Eve party this week on Wednesday starting from 9pm.  This has a 1920's theme with optional fancy dress.

We have been asked to bring sweet and savoury refreshments.  There will also be a great range of music and a photo booth.

On Tuesday 30th December we have a Youth Temple Trip - please ensure if your youth are attending that their youth leaders / Bishopric are aware of this.  Any queries please speak to Ros Lafevre or Rui Sousa.


Lesson:

Sisters we didn't have any notes taken from todays lesson in Ipswich Ward however the same lesson was taught throughout the Stake so for today please refer to the Stake Relief Society blog (link below) for the lesson notes:

Ipswich Stake RS Blog

Announcements & Lesson - 21 December 2014

Announcements:

This evening we have our Ward 'Music and the Spoken Word' from 6.30pm - 8.00pm.  Please have your Primary children there on time as they are singing at the start of the service.

Our Christmas Day Service will be held from 10.00am - 11.00am, all are welcome to attend.

On Boxing Day we have the baptism of Ana Fila at 6.30pm.  Please come along and support this family, the service will be in Portuguese.

Tuesday 30th December, our youth have a Temple Trip.  If your youth are planning to attend please ensure the Bishop / Youth leaders are made aware as soon as possible.

We are sad to announce the death of Brother Brian Clarke, one of the pioneer members of the Cambridge Ward this week.  His funeral will be held at the Cambridge Chapel on Christmas Eve at 11am.  All who would like to pay their respects to Bro Clarke are welcomed to attend.

Lesson:

Cristina Torres gave our lesson today based on Chapter 26 of Teachings of Joseph Fielding Smith - 'Preparing for the Coming of our Lord'.

She began by asking us how we felt about the 'end of the world'...it was a general consensus that although the events that need to happen before the Lord can come again may cause fear, we can look forward to His return.  President Smith once told a group of Latter-day Saints that he was praying for the end of the world...he taught: "Do you not want the end of the world to come?...When Christ comes there will be an end to the world...There will be no war, any turmoil, envying, lying, there will be no wickedness.  Men will learn to love the Lord and keep His commandments and if they don't they will not stay there...That's what I am praying for."

But it very much becomes OUR duty to make sure both ourselves and our familes are ready for that day.

We watched the following video clip: Be Not Troubled

The Saviour taught the parable of the Wheat and the Tares which teaches us of the Last Days in which we live.  "According to the story a sower planted good seed in his field but while he slept the enemy came and sowed tares in the field.  When the blades began to show, the servants desired to go and pluck up the tares but the Lord commanded them to let both grow together until the harvest was ripe...At the end of the harvest they were to go forth and gather the wheat and bind the tares to be burned." Sisters - the tares and wheat as they grew looked alike, the servants would not have been able to see the difference but the Lord can.  The Lord knows our hearts, He knows how we live in our homes and in our personal lives, and it is our duty to ensure we are living righteous lives in preparation to once meet Him again.

We too must ensure our families are living righteous lives so they too will be ready to meet Him when He comes again.  We do this by our example.  By teaching them very clearly what is right and what is wrong, and by living that way ourselves.

As we listened to President Smith's account of how the Millennium will be at the end of the lesson, our hearts were touched by his words - what would we not do to ensure both us and our families and friends can be a part of this:

"The righteous will rejoice when he comes, because then peace will come to the earth, righteousness to the people and that same spirit of peace and joy and happiness...shall again be established among the people...and Christ shall reign as Lord of lords and King of kings for a thousand years.  We are looking forward to that time.

"For one thousand years shall this happy time of peace prevail and in due time all the inhabitants of the earth shall be brought into the fold of the church.

"The gospel will be taught far more intensely and with greater power during the Millennium until all inhabitants of the earth shall embrace it.

"Instead of being a time of rest, the Millennium is to be a time for all to labour.  Idleness will not be found, better methods will be employed, not so much time will be consumed in the daily pursuits and more time will be given to the things of the Kingdom.  The saints will be kept busy in the temples which shall be built in all parts of the land.  In fact, so busy will they be that the temples will be occupied most of the time."

What a wonderful time we have to look forward to.  May we decide now to make the changes we need to ensure we are a part of that day.

Announcements and Lesson - 14 December 2014

Announcements:

Sunday 21st December 6.30pm - 8.00pm we have our Ward Music and the Spoken Word (with carols and readings) and is a great opportunity to bring along friends and family to celebrate the Christmas season together.

Christmas Day - we have a Christmas service from 10-11am.  All are welcome to attend.

Tuesday 30th December - the Youth are having a temple trip to perform baptisms - more details to follow.

Also sisters, the Stake Relief Society have now started a blog for all Sisters in the Stake.  This is a chance for us to unite as a Stake and to learn and love one another. It will over the coming months include messages from the Stake RS Presidency, news of events and service projects we can work on together.   The web address is as follows, if you wish to receive an email each time an update is added please go to the blog and add your email address:

http://ipswichstakereliefsociety.blogspot.co.uk/


Lesson:

Today's lesson was given by Sister Graca Serra, Chapter 25 of The Teachings of President Smith 'The Birth of Jesus Christ: Good Tidings of Great Joy.

President Smith said 'Christmas is a time for families...I now pray that as this Christmas season, we may centre our faith in the Son of God and gain for ourselves that peace which passeth understanding.'

Graca asked what Christmas traditions we have as families?  One many of us have done is to dress up and perform the nativity.  President Smith stated that our Christmas traditions should centre on the story of the Saviour's birth as there is no story quite so beautiful.

A discussion was held about the challenges that Christ had to face growing up on the earth and how He chose to deal with these.  Jesus although born the Son of God, like us had to learn line upon line - he chose to study and learn, and he chose to do those things that brought him closer to His Father.  Could this be a lesson in how we handle the challenges in our own lives and how we progress to be more like Him?

The question was posed: what was the main reason Christ came to the earth?   President Smith explained it this way 'the true reason for the coming of Jesus Christ into the world...was first to redeem all men from the physical or mortal death, which Adam brought into the world, and second, to redeem all men from spiritual death or banishment from the presence of the Lord on conditions of their repentance and remission of sins and endurance to the end of the mortal probation.'

When the Saviour has given so much to us Sisters, what are we doing in our lives to show our heartfelt gratitude to Him?  Are we attending church devotedly each week?  Are we willing to spread the joy of this wonderful message?  Are we willing to do the difficult things He asks of us?

Think about these questions as you watch this short video clip 'Good tidings of Great Joy'  HERE

President Smith asked of us: 'How can anyone read this touching story of the

birth of Jesus Christ without wishing to forsake his sins?  At this season of the year it is well for one and all - the king in his palace, the peasant in his humble cottage, the rich and the poor alike - to bow the knee and pay honour to Him who was without sin, whose like was spent in sacrifice and sorrow for the benefits of his fellow man, whose blood was shed as a sacrifice for sin...

'...What of this wonderful story?  Have we permitted it to permeate and influence our lives?  Have we accepted it in its full meaning without reservations?  Do we believe that this babe was in very deed the only begotten Son of God in the flesh?  Do we have abiding faith in His mission and are we willing to obediently follow Him?'

Sisters, this Christmas season, how will you celebrate the birth of Christ?  How will you show the Saviour your gratitude for all He has done?  May we all lay before Him the gift of a broken heart and contrite spirit.

Announcements and Lesson - 7 December 2014

Announcements:

There will be no sports evening this Friday.

Our Ward Christmas Party is this coming Saturday starting at 6pm.  It will include lots of stalls where children can come and along and get creative so a great time to invite friends.  Each family has been asked to bring along a small gift (costing no more than £5) which will be given to FIND who distribute presents and food parcels to those in the area most in need.  Please do not wrap them up and if possible bring them in a gift bag. We have also been asked to bring food for the party.  All families with surnames A - L have been asked to bring a plate of sweet foods and surnames M - Z to bring a plate of savoury foods (please bring finger food only).

FIND have asked if any members would be willing to go to the food bank this week and help with wrapping the presents which have so far been donated.  The times they are open for wrapping are:

Monday 8 Dec - 1.15pm to 4pm
Tuesday 9 Dec - 10.30am to 4pm
Wednesday 10 Dec - 10.30am to 3pm
Thursday 11 Dec - 10am to 2pm
Friday 12 Dec - 10.30am - 4pm

If you would like to go along for an hour or so and need details of where to go etc please speak to Sara McCullum or Gloria Watson.  Please wrap up warm as it can get a bit chilly in the food bank.

18th December we have our Stake Temple Evening.

21st December is our Ward Christmas Music and the Spoken Word- again a great example to share the Christmas spirit with our friends and families.

Also this is a great time to remember the missionaries serving from our ward. Elder Donker is not in need of anything yet but we are asked to please prepare a letter which will be collected together and sent to him.  Also please write letters ready to be sent to the Bob & Margaret Benmore - if you would like to include a small gift for them they would love Cadbury's or Galaxy chocolate!!

Lesson:

Hans Donker gave a presentation to the RS and P'hood today as directed by the Area Presidency:

He is the Gift - Christmas Initiative 2014

The Christmas season brings a variety of thoughts and emotions to God's children throughout the world.  People grow increasingly weary of the stress and commercialization associated with Christmas.  Many sense the true meaning of the Christmas season has been lost.  Around the world, the Christmas season causes the honest in heart to reflect on the birth of Jesus Christ.

Under the direction of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the He is the Gift initiative focuses on the love of God for His children made manifest in the first gift of Christmas - the Lord Jesus Christ.

"Christmas is a time of reflection on what we can become because of God's sacred gift.  As we discover the gift, we learn of the immeasurable love of God and our absolute need for a Saviour.  As we embrace the gift, we strengthen our faith in Jesus Christ, and desire to become more like Him.  As we share the gift we follow in the Master's footsteps who invited all to hear his message."  Elder Russell M Nelson.

As members of the Lord's Church, we can share the gift inviting family and friends to learn more of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

The initiative launched on 28th November and will include:

• He is the Gift video
• Extensive internet and social media messaging and advertising throughout the world.
• Promotion at the Hyde Park visitor's centre
• Christmas pass a long cards
• Christmas.mormon.org website

HERE IS THE LINK TO WATCH THE VIDEO

Please take time to ponder and act on this invitation from Elder David A Bednar:

"I invite each of us to flood the earth with the messages of righteousness and truth found in the He is the Gift initiative.  Visit Christmas.mormon.org to find inspiring content to help discover, embrace and share the gift of God's love for us, made manifest in His Only Begotten Son. By using the hashtag #Sharethegift, we can sweep the earth with timeless - and timely - messages of the Saviour Jesus Christ."  Elder David A Bednar.





We spent a few moments in Relief Society afterwards considering the gifts we could offer the Saviour.  Cristina shared with her the following ideas:

Gift One - We can give Him the gift of doing for others what He would do for them. (Matthew 25:37-40)

Gift Two - We can give Him the gift of praying always, thereby remembering him in all things. (3rd Nephi 18:19-20)

Gift Three - We can give Him the gift of sharing the gospel and be a good example to help bring others to Him. (John 21:15-17 / Matthew 5: 14-16)

Gift Four - When we make mistakes, repent quickly and improve! (Alma 34:32-33)

Gift Five - We can give Him the gift of keeping His commandments. (John 14:15, 21)

Gift Six - Let Christ lift you up when the world weighs you down. (Moroni 9:25 / John 14:27)

Announcements & Lesson - 30 November 2014

Announcements:

Over the next few weeks we have some wonderful Christmas events which will offer some lovely opportunities to invite friends and family to enjoy the season with us.  Next Sunday there will be some flyers available to share with friends.

This Saturday evening we have a Stake Christmas Festival which will include a presentation that is being travelling around the LDS chapels in England.  It is called 'The Christmas Truce' and a trailer can be viewed HERE    We are all asked to bring a cake / cookies and also an empty jar.

Saturday 13th December will be our Ward Christmas Party - more details to follow.

Sunday 21st December will be the Ward 'Music and the Spoken Word' with readings and carols.  Again more details will follow.

We have received a special request this month from our Stake Presidency with regards to Fast Sunday next week, as below:

"We invite all members of the Ipswich Stake to dedicate next week's fast to Esther Greene of the Witham Ward.  Esther is a 15 year old woman who has recently been diagnosed with a cancerous tumour.  This is the third time that she has had cancer and this rare tumour occurred as a result of the radiotherapy she had during previous treatment.  It is a Spindle Cell Sarcoma and the proposed treatment is surgery.  The Greene family have asked us to pray that the treatment plan devised by the clinicians will be inspired and ultimately be successful.  Esther is a very special young woman who is full of faith: as we unify our prayers and fasting we know the Lord will bless the Greene family."

Also we have heard that Sister Lisa Stopcyznski recently passed away - Many of you may remember Lisa who lived in the Woodbridge area and was only in her early 40's.  We ask for prayers for her children.

The RS activity that was planned for Wednesday December 10th has been postponed due to the various Christmas activities and will be rescheduled in the New Year.

Lesson:

Today's Joint RS / P'Hood lesson was given by Bishop Pentreath and Sister Sara McCullum.  At the Saturday evening session of Stake Conference Elder Leimer informed us a new initiative was being introduced with regards to Self Reliance and more information would follow shortly. Today's presentation was the beginning of this.

President Monson said: "Self reliance is an essential element in our spiritual as well as our temporal wellbeing...Salvation can be obtained on no other principle".

With this in mind the First Presidency have introduced 12 new Principles of Self Reliance as follows:

1. Exercise Faith in Jesus Christ
2. Use Time Wisely
3. Be Obedient
4. Manage Money
5. Work: Take responsibility
6. Solve Problems
7. Become One, Work Together
8. Communicate: Petition and Listen
9. Perservere
10. Show Integrity
11. Seek Learning and Education
12. Stay on Task, Receive Ordinances

Bishop and Sara facilitated a presentation on Principle 6 as follows:

Ponder - Why do you feel Heavenly Father allows us to face problems and challenges?

Video Presentation - 'Sheep & Pig' which can be viewed HERE followed by a discussion on what Sheep did to help Pig solve his problem.

Read - Ether 2:18-19, 23, 3:1, 4 and discussed what the Brother of Jared did to solve his problem.

We discussed that we all have problems but the Lord has provided a way for us to face these challenges:

Step One - IDENTIFY - What is the real problem?
Step Two - STUDY OPTIONS - What are possible solutions?  Which one is best?
Step Three - DECIDE AND ACT - Pray for guidance.  Then act with faith.  Good results?  If not, try steps 1-3 again.

We then discussed with our neighbours a problem we may face ourselves and how this process might work. 

The challenge was to identify a problem within our families and over the next week begin working on the Lords process of solving problems.

We then split into 11 groups and each had a chance to work through another of the 12 Principles of Self Reliance.

Throughout 2015 the Ward will be working more with these 12 principles and other parts of the Self Reliance Initiative led by The First Presidency by concentrating on one of these each month. 

The question was posed - Do you believe in the Prophet of God?  And that he informs us of what the Lord needs us to hear and do?  We thought about this as this letter was read from the First Presidency to us:

Dear Brothers & Sisters,

The Lord has declared. 'It is my purpose to provide for my saints' (D&C 104:15).  This revelation is a promise from the Lord that He will provide temporal blessings and open the door of self-reliance, which is the ability for us to provide the necessities of life for ourselves and our family members.

This booklet, My Foundation, has been prepared to help members of the Church learn and put into practice principles of faith, education, hard work and trust in the Lord.  Accepting and living these principles will better enable you to receive the temporal blessings promised by the Lord.

We invite you to diligently study and apply these principles and teach them to your family members.  As you do so, your life will be blessed.  You will learn how to act on your path towards greater self-reliance.  You will be blessed with greater hope, peace and progress.

Please be assured that you are a child of our Father in Heaven.  He loves you and will never forsake you.  He knows you and is ready to extend to you the spiritual and temporal blessings of self-reliance.

Sincerely
The First Presidency

Both Sara (as a member of the Stake Self Reliance Committee) and Bishop have attended training meetings on this new initiative and bore testimony of the truth of these principles and the importance of making these part of our lives and teaching them to our children.

We were invited to review the booklet which can be found in the first link on THIS LINK on LDS.org or within the Self Reliance tab in Gospel Library on  devices (Booklet entitled: My Foundation).

Annoucements & Lesson - 23 November 2014

Announcements:

A reminder that next Sunday is the Primary Sacrament Presentation which is a wonderful time to invite friends and family.  Those with children involved please take some time this week to help them with their assignments.

Next Sunday at 6pm there is a Youth fireside with a guest speaker

On 6th December we have a very special Christmas presentation coming to the Ipswich chapel called The Christmas Truce.  This is being shown in chapels around the country throughout December - a trailer of the event can be seen HERE

Our next RS Activity will be on the 10th December and will be replacing the Cream Tea activity which was cancelled in September. 

The Ward Christmas Party is on 13th December - more details to follow.

FIND the charity who run the towns Food Bank are in need of some help this December in delivering Christmas parcels to some of the neediest families in the town.  We have had a long history now of assisting this charity and if anyone can assist for a couple of hours, please let Sara McCullum know who can put you in touch with them.

Jo Stockill has been assigned to aid the sisters in their trips to the temple.  If any sister is driving to the temple and has spaces, or has no transport but would like to go, please speak with Jo and she will attempt to co-ordinate the two.

Kim Spencer who is the food storage specialist for the Ipswich RS let us know today that next year we will be working on preparing for small emergencies each month, so in a practical way we will be able to build up our storage and also evaluate just what stage we are at and how we can improve. As the state in Buffalo, New York has shown this week, emergencies can come with very little notice - how long would we be able to survive?

Lesson:

Today the lesson was given by Sister Annie Green based on the talk from General Conference by President Henry B Eyring: Continuing Revelation.

The full talk can be viewed / read HERE

Annie started by reminding us how important revelation is for every one of us - indeed the restoration of the church relied on revelation, as the Lord and His Son appeared to Joseph Smith.  

In our lives we all have people we love and care about who we see struggle and we desperately want to assist.  But often we just do not know what we can possibly do to lift those burdens. As President Eyring said 'We all know that human judgement and logical thinking will not be enough to get answers that matter most in life.  We need revelation from God.'  Revelation is so very important, it enables us to hear the voice of the Lord through His Spirit, prompting us, comforting us, directing us, and enabling us to serve one another and begin to lift each other's burdens.  It teaches us truth and allows us to move forward confident in following the Lords words.

President Eyring shared 'Revelations continues in the Church. The prophet receiving it for the Church, the president for his stake, his mission or his quorum, the bishop for his ward, the father for his family, the individual for himself.'

He went on to share a wonderful influence a parent can be when following revelation for their children.  When he would come home late his mother would always be awake, and call gently to him as he passed her door:

'I would go in and sit on the edge of the bed.  The room would be dark.  If you had listened you would have thought it was only friendly talk about life.  But to this day, what she said comes back to my mind with the same power I feel when I read the transcript of my patriarchal blessing.  I don't know what she was asking for in prayer as she waited for me those nights.  I suppose it would have been in part for my safety.  But i am sure that she prayed as a patriarch does before he gives a blessing.  He prays that his words will come to the recipient as the words of God, not his.  My mother's prayers for that blessing were answered on my head.  She is in the spirit world and has been for more than 40 years.  I am sure that she has been exceedingly glad that i was blessed, as she asked, to hear in her counsel the commands of God,  And i have tried to go and do as she hoped I would.'

Do you know the influence YOU can have on those around us as we pray for and follow that revelation?

We then split into four groups where we discussed our own experiences with revelation - what kinds of revelation have we experienced?  Where did those moments happen?  When did they happen?  And what can we do to keep the conduit with the Lord clear so we can more easily receive those promptings? 

It soon became clear, revelation comes to us all.  Often in very small ways, but times where we can see the answers came from the Lord.  What a blessing that is.

What can you do to make sure you are always ready and waiting to hear those promptings? 

Announcements & Lesson - 16 Novemer 2014

Announcements:

We had to announce some sad news this week, Sister Pat Bines, who many of you will know lost her battle with cancer on Wednesday.  If you would like to assist with providing food for the funeral please speak with Sister Lesley Southgate.

This Wednesday evening we have our RS Music Appreciation Activity which will be led by Sister Ashlea Sousa - this will begin at 7.30pm.  It would be lovely to see you all there to support Ashlea.

On Saturday this week we have our Stake Auxiliary Training which is for all Relief Society, Young Women, Primary and Sunday School Presidencies.  This begins at 6.30pm at the chapel.

Lesson:

Sister Beth Baxter was called today as a RS teacher and gave a wonderful lesson today based on Chapter 22 of the Joseph Fielding Smith manual on 'Prayer - a Commandment and a Blessing'.

She began by sharing a story:  Around the year 610 a creative Alpine monk decided to make use of the dough left over from baking bread.  The monk formed them into thin strips folded into a looped twist to represent the folded arms of children in prayer.  This yummy treat was given to the children as they learned their prayers.  The began calling the treat 'Pretiloa' which was Latin for little reward, soon it became known the world over as a pretzel.  The simple shape of the pretzel, arms folded in prayer, remind us to pray each day.

Beth took us through the journey of prayer sharing the message of President Smith:

1. What is our duty regarding prayer?  Obviously for ourselves we learn from the scriptures (2 Nephi 32:8-9) that we should be praying always.  But our duty doesn't end there, it is vital we share this with our children, teaching them not only to pray but why! 

2. When do we pray? President Smith shared numerous times when pray is vital, before we tackle tasks (and after to say thank you!), when we travel, when we have meals, at the start and end of the day, when challenges and temptations strike, when we find time alone, with our families - we decided as we learn to involve the Lord in our lives it really does become a continual conversation with the Lord, we can truly learn to pray always.

3. What / who do we pray for?  The lesson shared the best scripture example of this as we read through Alma 34: 18-28 which was quoted in our manuals.  We talked about remembering to look outside ourselves in prayer as at times they can become a little selfish.



4. Why do we pray?  Obviously it is a commandment and we follow the Saviours amazing example as he continually spoke to His Father.  It allows us to seek Him.  President Smith shared 'One of the chief purposes of our mortal probation is to see if we can learn with the spirit of prayer always in our hearts so that when the Lord chooses to speak, we shall hear His voice in our hearts.'  He also went onto teach us:

'I wonder if we ever stop to think why the Lord has asked us to pray?  Did he ask us to pray because he wants us to bow down and worship him?  Is that the main reason?  I don't think it is.  He is our Heavenly Father and we have been commanded to worship Him and pray to Him in the name of his Beloved Son, Jesus Christ.  His work will go on just the same, whether we pray or whether we do not...Prayer is something that WE need, not that the Lord needs.'

5. How do we pray?  President Smith counselled 'In our prayers we should pour out our souls in thanksgiving...we should acknowledge the hand of the Lord in all things and thank him for all things both temporal and spiritual.'    We also discussed the need to ensure prayers are sincere, that we are willing to follow through with the efforts we need to make to enable our prayers and desires to be realised, and that we must always be willing to accept the Lords will.

Beth spoke of how she likes to have to-do lists and then challenged us - what needs to be on OUR to-do lists when it comes to prayer?  Is there something we could do better on?  Do we need to improve our prayers?  Or maybe start having them on a daily basis?  Whatever the spirit whispers to us to do, maybe we need to ensure it is at the very top of our to-do list and give it urgent action.

We finished the lesson by watching the following Mormon Message - you can see it HERE

Announcements & Lesson - 26 October 2014

Sisters - we are sorry that the blog has not been updated for a few weeks. With the change in presidency and the recent Conferences it has taken a few weeks for us to find our feet, but thank you for your patience and we plan to keep this blog updated regularly as before.

Announcements:

The ward Trunk or Treat activity will be held this Friday, the YM who have organized this have asked for a few sisters to help with the clean up at the end. Please let Ana know if you can help.  This has become an annual activity which proves incredibly popular and is a great opportunity to invite friends.

We have a RS activity on 12 November at 7.30pm.  This will be an evening based on music and led by Sister Ashlea Sousa.

We will be putting up a new notice board each week to help share any RS information to all sisters, especially those who are not able to access the blog.  As part of this we would love to share any feelings / promptings / experiences that you have as you each work on your BOM challenge.  If you would like to share please let a member of the presidency know and if possible write it on an A5 sheet of paper.

We know that many sisters have trouble getting to the temple whilst other sisters visit but have spaces in their cars.  We will also have space on our noticeboard where we can more easily co-ordinate between us so more sisters can travel to the temple.  We would ask those who are given lifts to the temple to please be aware of petrol costs and ensure they contribute accordingly.

As we approach the end of the month, please be aware of your Visiting Teaching sisters and ensure you are in touch and caring for them.  Please ensure you report back to your supervisors.

Lesson:

Sister Annie Green taught a wonderful lesson today based on a talk given by Sister Linda S Reeves (2nd counsellor in the General RS Presidency) in the April 2014 General Conference - Protection from Pornography, a Christ Focused Home.   You can read the entire talk HERE

Bishop also asked teachers to refer to an article from the September 2014 Ensign called Healing Hidden Wounds which can be found HERE.

We began by discussing the very real dangers in the world around us and particularly how Satan is attacking families through the use of technology leading to an unprecedented level of pornography being accessed.   

Annie said it reminded her of an old seminary video which many of you will remember - Spiritual Crocodiles - which you can watch HERE.  A very accurate portrayal of the dangers of such addictions.

Listen to some of the statistics quoted in the Ensign article:

• Close to 100% of todays teenagers are exposed to pornography by the time they graduate high school
• In 2008, 9 out of 10 teenage boys and 33% of teenage girls reported using pornography.
• The average age they are first exposed to pornography is 11 years old!
• The time most teenagers are exposed to pornography is whilst doing homework and includes use of computers in public libraries!

With such dangers lurking in the world around us, we discussed the very real need of parents to have open and frank conversations with their children, to put filters on our technology at home and protect our families as best we can.  But of course this is not just a temptation to our youth.  

Sister Reeves said : Many children, youth and adults are innocently exposed to pornography, but a growing number of both men and women are choosing to view it and are drawn back repeatedly until it becomes an addiction.  These individuals may desire with all their hearts to get out of this trap but often cannot overcome it on their own.  How grateful we are when these loved ones choose to confide in us as parents or a church leader.  We would be wise not to react with shock, anger or rejection, which may cause them to be silent again.

Indeed this is a time to act with kindness and charity.

Sister Reeves pointed out that there are very serious consequences from such addictions including "loss of the Spirit, distorted feelings, deceit, damaged relationships, loss of self-control, and nearly total consumption of time, thought and energy."

So how do we stop this temptation reaching into our families and homes?  Sister Reeves shared two very important pieces of counsel:

1. Build testimony - "Filters are useful tools, but the greatest filter in the world, the only one that will ultimately work, is the personal internal filter that comes from a deep and abiding testimony of our Heavenly Father's love and our Saviour's atoning sacrifice for each of us."

2. Ensure the basics are done - Sister Reeves shared of a time when her children were young and she was overwhelmed by all the tasks that were needing to be done.  The direction that the Spirit gave to her are essential for us all - "The only things that really need to be accomplished in the home are daily scripture study and prayer and weekly family home evening."  Whilst this may not save all, as our children will still have their free agency to act, we will know we have done all within our power. 

Sisters - this is a topic we cannot remain ignorant of.  It is a temptation that becomes more and more a reality in the societies we live.  Now is the time to make the changes we need to protect ourselves, our families and our homes.  Remember those spiritual crocodiles!  Let us petition the Lord and do all we can and let us be kind to those who come to us for help.

Announcements & Lesson - 21 September 2014

Announcements:

For those of you not at church today, there was a change in the RS Presidency.  Louise, Sara and Fatima were released and the new Presidency are as follows:

President -          Ana Nunes
1st Counsellor -   Miriam Wedderburn
2nd Counsellor -  Cristina Torres

We very much appreciate all the support and love that has been given to us as a Presidency and love the Sisters of this ward dearly.

Due to the change in Presidency please note the Cream Tea activity scheduled for this Wednesday has been postponed.

The first weekend in October will be our General Conference.  The sisters session will be shown at 3pm at the Chapel - please come along and join together to watch this special meeting.

Fast Sunday will therefore be brought forward to Sunday 28th September.

The cleaning team this week will be both Garnham families and David Myers.

Lesson:

We had a wonderful lesson today from Sister Beth Baxter on Chapter 18, Living by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

The lesson focused on Obedience and the need for us to be fully obedient to the Lord.    As President Smith said 'There is nothing more important to any individual than keeping the Lord's commandments.  He expects us to cleave unto every principle, to put first in our lives the things of His kingdom"

Beth shared a lovely poem that shows us how vital these commandments are:

The Parable of the Kite:

 

 

 

There once lived a girl, so faithful and true, With so much potential, so much she could do.
Her favorite past time was spent in the park- Flying her kite, from dusk until dark.
Her father had built it, a bright, sturdy frame, It seemed to hold up when the strong whirlwinds came.
It had a long tail, and what joy it could bring, As it flew through the air, tightly held by the string.
Her father had warned her, to hold on quite tight, The trial of the wind could put up a big fight.
This daughter grew restless, just watching it fly, She wanted to see it soar deep in the sky.
One day she decided that it wasn't fair, To punish this kite, and to hold back the air.
This kite deserved more than the same point of view, If she just let it go,it could fly away too.
Because she was struggling- life was so hard, She longed for the freedom to let down her guard.
Rules and commandments were causing such strife, They just held her back, there was much more to life!
In just a brief instant, she cut off the string, She took a deep breath as the air caught the wing.
It spiraled, it turned, and quite soon she had found Her precious kite mangled and crushed on the ground.
She then heard her father, his voice calm and true, My child, these commandments are given FOR you
To help you and guide you and keep you in flight, Just as the string has preserved your invaluable kite.
I love you. I need you. You're precious to me. If you keep my commandments, They help make you free!
Free to fly high, free from the sorrow, Free to awake without guilt for tomorrow.
My daughter, please know that I'm sending my love,  I'll guide you; I'll hold you with strength from above.
As I hold your string, I won't let you down, I promise, in heaven, that you'll get your crown!

We discussed what the Lord is asking of us in Matthew 5:48 and that the Lord really does want us to be perfect - but that we need to understand that it is a long term goal that we can reach step by step.  President Smith shared that perfectly when he said 'It is my duty, it is yours, to be better today that I was yesterday, and for you to be better today than you were yesterday and better tomorrow than you were today.'  This then becomes more manageable - we can all try to do that!

We spent a few moments considering our own lives - what is the one commandment we struggle with most?  And what are we going to do about it?  President Smith asked us to each work on that one principle, live it, again and again, until not only are we DOING it but we are LOVING it.

We discussed the blessings from obedience - some mentioned by President Smith were - exaltation / protection / more blessings that we ever thought possible / knowledge / greater faith / a quickened mind / conversion and testimony / immortality / all the Father has / a place in the Kingdom of God, with the Lord Himself.

As we looked through the list Beth pointed out - why when this is what is on offer, do we ever choose instead to disobey, to not do as the Lord asks.

So far what we had studied looked very black and white, we obey the Lord because we know we should.  Beth then took us back to the most vital and amazing reason we obey... "if ye love me, keep the commandments" (John 14:15).

We watched this beautiful Mormon Message which reminded us of what living the Gospel obediently is all about...it is taken from a talk by Elder Holland where he spoke of the Lord ever being true to us and the need to equally be to Him...

None were with Him - VIDEO

Beth finished by posing the question of President Smith:

"Can I help loving Him?  No I cannot.  Do you love Him?  Then keep His commandments!"

Announcements & Lesson - 14 September 2014

Announcements:

We are sad to announce the death of Sister Djamilia Riberio this week who many of the Portuguese sisters will know well.  She was not active at church but has been fighting a long battle with cancer.  She leaves three little children so please remember her family in your prayers.  We will let you know the funeral details once we have them.

We have a very special RS Activity planned for this month - Wednesday 24th September at 7.30pm - where we will be enjoying each others company and having a cream tea (without the tea!!!).  Due to catering, we do need a good idea of numbers.  If you have not already let us know, please email Sara and let her know you are coming ASAP.

We hope you all enjoyed the wonderful inspiring counsel from our Church Leaders at our Sisters Conference on Tuesday.  We were able to distribute Book of Mormons to some of you sisters today to begin your study as per Elder Bednar's challenge - as soon as the delivery of the remainder arrives we will get these out to you.  We hope to start up a Facebook Group for those of you who would like to share your thoughts and what you are learning as we progress through this challenge.  It is going to be an exciting journey.

The cleaning team for this week: Adcock Family, Albright Family and Jim Boon.

A reminder that the first weekend in October will be General Conference.  We will be showing the General RS Session on Saturday, we will let you know timings shortly.  This will mean that Fast Sunday will be on 28th September instead.

Lesson:

Todays lesson was based on Joseph Fielding Smith Lesson 17: Sealing Power & Temple Blessings.

President Smith shared a story about a man he met in 1902 in Massachusetts who had taken on the grand task of searching the records of every individual who had come to Essex County before the year 1700.  When asked why, he said "I do not know why, but I got started and I cannot stop."  Pres Smith said to him "I can tell you why you are doing this and why you cannot stop" and proceeded to explain to him about the prophecy concerning Elijah  and the fulfilment of that promise.  And so it continues today...as many men and women, both within and outside of the church, gather their families together further fulfilling the Lord's prophecy:

Behold I will send you Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smith the earth with a curse. - Malachi 4:5-6

How blessed we are that Elijah did come and the sealing power, the power to make families eternal was returned to the earth.  How much do we value that power of the temples and sealing power in our own families?

President Smith said "There are thousands of Latter-day Saints who...are willing to go to meeting, willing to pay their tithing and attend to the regular duties of the church, but they do not seem to feel or understand the importance of receiving the blessings in the temple of the Lord which will bring them into exaltation.  It is a strange thing.  People seem to be content just to slide along without taking advantage of the opportunities presented to them and without receiving these necessary covenants that will bring them back into the presence of God as sons and daughters."

We further discussed the need to continue to go to the temple and considered that maybe we take it for granted that it is so easily accessible to us?  Alice Sousa shared with us how just a few years ago the Portuguese Saints had to travel to Switzerland for the nearest temple - a 2 day, 2 night bus journey each way.  They would visit once a year and stay a week and that time was very precious to them.  Is the temple as precious to us?  Do our actions show that to be the case?

We watched a beautiful video which can be viewed HERE

Then had a wonderful opportunity to think about our own ancestors and the experiences we have shared with them in the temple - it was lovely to hear Marian, Bernice and Pam share special moments of feeling close to their ancestors within the temple walls.

Announcements - 7 September 2014

Announcements:

This Tuesday evening from 6pm-8pm we have our Sisters Conference for all sisters aged 8+ at the Chapel.  This will be a live broadcast from Germany.  It will be followed by refreshments and a chance to socialise with one another.

The YW will obviously be with us on Tuesday evening.  The YM will be having their activity at Bro Rui Sousa's home, from 6-8pm. 

We have our next RS activity on Wed 24th September at 7.30pm.  This will be an evening where you will be spoilt and served cream tea :)  Hopefully you will have received your invitation today but if not we will catch you next week.  We do need an idea on numbers so please RSVP to saramccullum1@gmail.com as soon as possible to confirm.  We have a number of older sisters who would like to join us on that evening but who do not have transport.  PLEASE if you are able, have a think about the sisters on your VT list and help them sort a ride so they can be with us.

Visiting Teaching - please note we have had to make some minor changes to include sisters who have recently moved in or been baptized or have moved home.  Your VT supervisors will be in touch if this involves you or your list.

Family History - the Family History Centre will be open next Sunday for any members that would like to go in and receive some help from the FH Consultants.  Please let Alison Pentreath know if you would like to go.

The Cleaning team for the chapel this week is:  Americo and Ana Nunes, Jose & Eva Vinas, Maria Castanheda and Jose Vinas, and Jo Stockill.


Lesson:

Today was the Presidency message and after prayer we felt that we needed to have a Sunday where we were able to share testimony and feelings of the Saviour. 

The youth came in and began our message by singing Come Unto Him - which was just beautiful and evoked a wonderful spirit.  This was followed by Bishop and then the Presidency sharing testimonies, and then some of our sisters shared feelings of Christ. 

This is the song the youth sang:  COME UNTO HIM

We hope you are able to feel the wonderful spirit this song brought to us today.

Announcements & Lesson - 31 August 2014

Announcements:

Next Sunday is our Presidency message and we will be concentrating on the Saviour and our relationship with Him.  Sisters, over this coming week we would ask you to take some time to consider your own relationship with Christ. Think about what ties you to Him and what have been those precious moments in your life.  There will be some time in our lesson to share your testimony of Him if you would like to.

Tuesday 9th September is our Europe Area Sisters Conference which will be transmitted from Germany. It will be shown between 6pm-8pm followed by refreshments.  This is for all sisters 8+.

Cleaning team this week is:  Pentreaths, Ros Lafevre, Rumbolds and Jason Sycamore.

Lesson:

We had a wonderful Sunday where we were able to hear from our Mission President Jordan and his wife both in Sacrament and again in our Joint RS/PH lesson as well as hearing beautiful testimonies from some of our new members.

In the lesson President & Sister Jordan expanded on the message with specific emphasis on retaining our new converts.

We began by watching a section of the following talk from President Gordon B Hinckley:

CLICK HERE  (We watched from 7:41 on the video where he began to talk about the new converts to the end of the mans letter)

Many of us will have heard before the three things President Hinckley said each and every new convert needs and President Jordan challenged each of us to think what can I do to help this happen?

The thoughts shared were as follows:

1. A FRIEND - Introduce yourself / Attend each baptism / Sit next to converts at church and help explain things that arise in class / Be aware of who the missionaries are teaching / Invite them into our homes / Connect with them / Show an interest in them.

2. A RESPONSIBILITY - Take them VT or HT with you / Give assignments to them within a lesson / Assign them prayers / Take them to the temple grounds / Help them prepare names to take to the temple / Teach them about preparing FHE / Assign them to bless and pass the sacrament / Serve them and invite them to serve with you / Teach them how to get involved / Say thank you for what they do.

3. NOURISHING WITH THE GOOD WORD OF GOD - Share quotes and interact over Social Media / Invite them to our FHE / Help them start new traditions / Be a good VT/HT to them / Help them find scriptures during lessons / Fulfill our callings / Help with after baptism lessons.

Sister Jordan said we as ward members can truly stop the sadness of these new converts drifting away.

Then President Jordan posed an interesting question - if we so clearly know the answers, then why don't we always do it !!!???  It is time every one of us assumed this responsibility and stopped assuming someone else will.  It needs every one of us.

There was a lovely spirit as President Jordan called Fernando, and then Liam and Lois up to the front where they shared how they had felt the wonderful hand of friendship within the ward family.  Lois specifically spoke of the wonderful help Gloria Watson has been to her, the welcome she received, the explanations given when she didn't understand, and the arm around her on a Sunday.  This is something every one of us can do!

President Jordan planned on showing the following video but it wouldn't work - but here we go:

New and Returning Members Progress

Brothers & Sisters each Sunday we have the opportunity to keep our covenants to be fellow citizens with the Saints.  And President Jordan promised us that as we continue to do that, our wonderful new converts will stay and not wander away.  What a blessing. 

What do YOU intend to do about it?

Announcements & Lesson - 24 August 2014

Announcements:

Tomorrow we have our ward fun day activity.  This will begin at the Chapel at 10.30am, please bring a picnic for your family.  Ice cream will be provided :)

On Tuesday September 9th from 6-8pm there will a Europe Area sisters meeting to which all sisters 12+ are invited.  There will be refreshments afterwards.  Please invite the sisters you visit teach.  This will take the place of the YW activity that evening.

Kim Spencer has a friend who has a single divan bed with mattress, free to anyone who would like it.  Please speak to Kim if this is of use to you.

Lesson:

What a wonderful lesson we had today with Sister Ashlea Sousa, who taught from Elder Nelson's April Conference talk - Let Your Faith Show. 

The talk can be seen HERE.

Elder Nelson shared the following story:  "On a recent flight, our pilot announced that we would encounter turbulence during our descent and that all passengers must fasten their seat belts securely.  Sure enough, turbulence came.  It was really rough.  Across the aisle and a couple of rows behind me, a terrified woman panicked.  With each frightening drop and jarring bump, she screamed loudly.  Her husband tried to comfort her but to no avail.  Her hysterical shouts persisted until we passed through that zone of turbulence to a safe landing.  During her period of anxiety, I felt sorry for her.  Because faith is the antidote for fear, I silently wished that I could have strengthened her faith.  Later as passengers were leaving the aircraft this woman's husband spoke to me.  He said 'I'm sorry my wife was so terrified.  The only way I could comfort her was to tell her that Elder Nelson is on this flight, so you don't need to worry.

"I'm not sure my presence on the flight should have given her any comfort, but I will say that one of the realities of mortal life is that our faith will be tested and challenged."

And that is one thing we can all be sure of - our faith will be tried whilst here on earth.  It may not happen in a life and death situation but the world we live in can threaten all we hold dear and believe if we do not consistently live our lives with faith.  We discussed it being an action word, that the Lord requires to do something, to faithfully act out our lives.

Ashlea shared that the word religion means 'to tie back' to God and posed the question we could all consider 'Are we securely tied to God?' or in life do we become tempted to tie ourselves to something else more worldly, money, power, popularity.

We looked at how we do live with faith in our lives, and Ashlea had each sister share one thing they had done that week which showed their faith....these were the responses:

* Remembering I am a Latter Day Saint and choosing to pray and read the scriptures.
* Helped a friend by giving hope
* I told the exercise class that I would be away for two weeks, they assumed it was a holiday but I told them I would be serving in the temple.
* Missionary Work - Trying to help people that want to know about the gospel.  And praying to the Lord for help with my finances
* Every day I pray for faith to cope with the days events - and it works!
* I had some spare money left this week and felt it would be well spent buying things from the LDS site to help my children learn and understand the Lord's way. I have faith in these things and in the lord to show me how to teach them.
* Visit to hospital and faith to follow their counsel
* Showing patience in the Lord's timing
* Having family scripture time even when the children were pushing each and every button!
* Gospel conversations at work
* Faith shown by asking the Lord for help in the daily life activities, and believed to receive help.
* Standing up for my standards regarding the Word of Wisdom and telling others why I live those standards
* Faith that God would answer my prayers to help me have strength for the day and to help me at work through the spirit to make the right decisions and say the right things.

We then reviewed Isaiah 5:20 and discussed how the world can confuse us if we are not truly tied to the Lord, it can give very convincing arguments about what is right and wrong...Just as Ashlea did as she said we could have grapes and then produced a tub of strawberries, trying to convince us to believe her they really were grapes!  We talked about the dangers of allowing our faith to lessen and what we can do to try and keep strong and close to the Lord. 

We ended the lesson by watching a beautiful video...Faith to move mountains.

As you watch this Sisters, think about your own faith, what will you do to strengthen it?  How will you build on the faith you now have to help protect not only yourselves but your families also?

Faith to Move Mountains

As Elder Nelson stated: "I please with you my brothers and sisters, Day after day, on your path toward your eternal destiny, increase your faith. Proclaim your faith!  Let your faith show."

Exciting Invitation

Sisters, we have just heard that there is to be a special Sisters' meeting for all Young Women and Relief Society members in the Europe area.  It will be on Tuesday 9th September at 6-8pm.

This will be streamed live from Germany and will be shown in Ipswich, Cambridge and Chelmsford chapels.

Please come along and join us.  We will be hearing from Elder M Russell Ballard, Elder David A Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve and Elder Donald L Hallstrom from the Presidency of the Seventy.

This will take the place of the Young Women activity that evening.

 

 

Also sisters, a huge thank you for all those who came to our annual fish and chip evening last night.  What fun we had :)  It was a beautiful late summer evening.