Relief Society Meeting - October 4th - 6:30 p.m.

Want to learn a little self-reliance?  How about some car basics?  Wouldn't it be great to know how to change your own tire?  (Say YES).  Come join us at 6:30 p.m. for instructions on how to change a tire, put oil in your car, check your tire pressure (better gas mileage) and even some details on car safety and what to do in case of an accident.  We have Ward experts coming to instruct us, so come join in the fun.  Yes, there will be dessert to follow.  With any luck you will need a sweater!

Please join us.  Childcare will be provided at the church.

Five Things to "Forget Not" and more...

See here for the link to watch/listen/download the General Relief Society Meeting.                                    

October Visiting Teaching Interviews...

We will be holding Visiting Teaching Interviews on Sunday, October 16th and Wednesday, October 19th.  We've made your appointment . . . look for that piece of paper letting you know the date and time.  If you need to make a change to the scheduled time see Naoma S. and we'll make the change.  Please come spend a few minutes with us to discuss your visiting teaching dreams and aspirations!  Let's share the love...

Autumn news...

• This Saturday is the General Relief Society Broadcast at our Stake Center.  The live Broadcast begins at 5 p.m. and a light supper will follow.  Please join us for what promises to be a very uplifting evening.
• The September visiting teaching message is Strengthening Families by Increasing Spirituality.  Please let your sisters know of your love and concern for them and share this message. 
• Our lesson this Sunday will be based on the talk given by Paul V. Johnson entitled More Than Conquerors Through Him That Loved Us.
• A broken record here, sisters . . . but have you moved?  Has your phone number changed?  Maybe you no longer have your land line?  Please help us get our records up to date before we print our new and updated Relief Society Directory.  If you have changes to make please stop into the Clerk's office on Sunday and let them know what has changed, or just send an email to Patti L. and she will forward the information.
• Did you receive a new book last week, Daughters in My Kingdom?  If you have not received this book please see a member of the Relief Society Presidency.  This is a beautiful book created especially for us.  We have one especially for you.
• See our "Calendar of Events (to the right) for other important dates to remember.  Also see http://www.lds.org

September halfway...

• The September visiting teaching message is Strengthening Families by Increasing Spirituality.  Please let your sisters know of your love and concern for them and share this message. 
• Our lesson this Sunday will be based on Chapter 42, the Gathering of the House of Israel.
• Sisters, have you moved?  Has your phone number changed?  Maybe you no longer have your land line?  We're not too proud to beg!  We want a new and updated Relief Society Directory but we know some of the information we have is not accurate.  If you have changes to make please stop into the Clerk's office on Sunday and let them know what has changed, or just send an email to Patti L. and she will forward the information.
• We will be passing out a new book, Daughters in My Kingdom,  to every sister in our Ward on Sunday.  Sisters teaching in Primary and Young Women will receive theirs during the second and third hour respectively.  Sisters, this is a beautiful book created especially for us.  Enjoy.
• Have you marked your calendars for the General Relief Society Broadcast?  Saturday, September 24th at our Stake Center at 5 p.m. The Broadcast is live . . . a light supper will follow.  Join us.
• DeStress is next Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Monta's.
• Have you shared the information from our Stake General Priesthood Meeting with your family?  See here for some reminders about the topics we've been asked to review.
• See our "Calendar of Events (to the right) for other important dates to remember.  Also see http://www.lds.org

President Monson in the Washington Post

9/11 destruction allowed us to spiritually rebuild

By Thomas S. Monson

The calamity of September 11th, 2001 has cast a long shadow. Ten years later, many of us are still haunted by its terrible tragedy of lost lives and broken hearts. It is an episode of anguish that has become a defining moment in the history of the American nation and the world. This week, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, along with Tom Brokaw, will pay its own homage to the unforgettable events of September 11, 2001.

There was, as many have noted, a remarkable surge of faith following the tragedy. People across the United States rediscovered the need for God and turned to Him for solace and understanding. Comfortable times were shattered. We felt the great unsteadiness of life and reached for the great steadiness of our Father in Heaven. And, as ever, we found it. Americans of all faiths came together in a remarkable way.

Sadly, it seems that much of that renewal of faith has waned in the years that have followed. Healing has come with time, but so has indifference. We forget how vulnerable and sorrowful we felt. Our sorrow moved us to remember the deep purposes of our lives. The darkness of our despair brought us a moment of enlightenment. But we are forgetful. When the depth of grief has passed, its lessons often pass from our minds and hearts as well.

Our Father’s commitment to us, His children, is unwavering. Indeed He softens the winters of our lives, but He also brightens our summers. Whether it is the best of times or the worst, He is with us. He has promised us that this will never change.

But we are less faithful than He is. By nature we are vain, frail, and foolish. We sometimes neglect God. Sometimes we fail to keep the commandments that He gives us to make us happy. Sometimes we fail to commune with Him in prayer. Sometimes we forget to succor the poor and the downtrodden who are also His children. And our forgetfulness is very much to our detriment.

If there is a spiritual lesson to be learned from our experience of that fateful day, it may be that we owe to God the same faithfulness that He gives to us. We should strive for steadiness, and for a commitment to God that does not ebb and flow with the years or the crises of our lives. It should not require tragedy for us to remember Him, and we should not be compelled to humility before giving Him our faith and trust. We too should be with Him in every season.

The way to be with God in every season is to strive to be near Him every week and each day. We truly “need Him every hour,” not just in hours of devastation. We must speak to Him, listen to Him, and serve Him. If we wish to serve Him, we should serve our fellow men. We will mourn the lives we lose, but we should also fix the lives that can be mended and heal the hearts that may yet be healed.

It is constancy that God would have from us. Tragedies are not merely opportunities to give Him a fleeting thought, or for momentary insight to His plan for our happiness. Destruction allows us to rebuild our lives in the way He teaches us, and to become something different than we were. We can make Him the center of our thoughts and His Son, Jesus Christ, the pattern for our behavior. We may not only find faith in God in our sorrow. We may also become faithful to Him in times of calm.

Thomas S. Monson is president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Stake General Priesthood Meeting Information

To read Julie B. Beck's talk entitled Teaching the Doctrine of the Family see here.

For materials related to Duty to God, see here

Some interactive tools related to Duty of God are here

And more here.

The Watch Your Step video here.

Watch Your Step

September Announcements...

• The September visiting teaching message is Strengthening Families by Increasing Spirituality.  Please let your sisters know of your love and concern for them and share this message. 
• Our lesson this Sunday will be based on Chapter 41, The Post Mortal Spirit World.
• The Vegas Valley Ward has been assigned to provide two couples for Wednesday morning Temple Sealings from 7 a.m. until 8:30 a.m. on September 21st.  Please look for sign ups and help us fulfill this assignment from the Stake.
• Sisters, have you moved?  Has your phone number changed?  Maybe you no longer have your land line?  We want a new and updated Relief Society Directory but we know some of the information we have is not accurate.  If you have changes to make please stop into the Clerk's office on Sunday and let them know what has changed.
• Thanks for your attendance (and support) at this week's Relief Society Meeting.  You are loved and appreciated so much.
• There is a Stake General Priesthood Meeting this Sunday from 7 a.m. until 8:15.  At 6:30 a.m. there will be breakfast refreshments served just prior to the 7 a.m. meeting.  Please spread the word.
• See our "Calendar of Events (to the right) for other important dates to remember.  Also see http://www.lds.org

Finding Hope - 10th Anniversary of 9/11

Mormon Messages: What Matters Most