"A Woman's Heart"

I had my Thanksgiving feast early this year - today Sister Julie B. Beck, General Relief Society President came and spoke to the four stakes in our region. It was a feast I must say. I would like to share some of her wisdom here. She spoke about the Relief Society for just a few moments and then asked for questions. As sisters asked questions, she then delivered a marvelous sermon on the subject. I just loved it!

Balancing Life

When asked, how you keep a "balance" in your life she said we must discipline ourselves to take care of the essentials first. She quoted Elder Holland's advice. "If you are sealed to it or if you have made a covenant with it - it had better be your priority."

She also said women are multi-taskers and nearly always take on too much. She said our day has three shifts, the "Day shift," "Swing shift," and "Graveyard." If you work three shifts you will wear yourself out and not give adequate attention to any shift. A woman can only work 2 shifts. She must get sleep, exercise, and healthy nourishment in the other shift. She then quoted a scripture I love so much, "It is not meet that a man should run faster than he has strength."

Helping Out in a World Wide Church

One sister asked, as we sit here in the many comfort we have, how can we help the Church members in foreign countries? She gave 4 wonderful steps.

Pay a full tithing

Pay a generous fast offering

Contribute to the Humanitarian Fund

Contribute to the Perpetual Education Fund

She went on to explain the perfect organization of the Church and how the needs of the members are monitored and considered by the first presidency. She talked about members of the Church in ShriLanka. Due to their humble circumstances and the Hong Kong Temple being the closest temple, members who are temple worthy, can have their air fare paid for by the Church in order to obtain their endowments and be sealed as families. Thus paying a full tithing, contributing generously to the fast offering help those less fortunate a half a world away.

Dealing with Wayward Children

"Successful leadership is the ability to get "volunteers" to set and keep worthy goals." Her advice was to continually pray for these children always remembering "We voted for the plan!" "The plan includes us being "volunteers" i.e. free to choose for ourselves.

"Sleeping single in a double bed"

"We all signed up for the family plan. Waking up and finding ourselves single is very difficult place to find ourselves. It is the responsibility of men to pass on the ordinances and covenants from one generation to another generation. Women are to influence children to accept and keep the ordinances and covenants which have been passed down by the priesthood. In these separate roles as men and women, we can make this influence felt whether or not we are married and have children."

Pornography - a Voice of Warning

Quoting Pres. Monson, Sister Beck stated, "I issue a voice of warning to ALL concerning pornography!" She said, most forcefully, "Each of you have the responsibility to ask the men in your lives, When was the last time you saw any pornography?" We must ask our husbands and our children - This is War and we must be prepared to fight it. The blame goes on the Adversary! Pornography is a storm of the latter days. In fighting this war she referred to Alma 48. This is a time when the Nephites are engaged in war with the Lamanites. The strategies in fighting that war are applicable to us today. Vs. 7: ". . . (he) prepared the minds of the people to be faithful to the Lord their God." It is our responsibility to strengthen our families, discuss the evils of our time and prepare them to be faithful to the Lord. Vs. 8: (they) erected small places of refuge." Our homes are these small places of refuge. We are NEGLECTING OUR DUTY if we do NOT have filters on our TVs and COMPUTERS! Vs 9: (they) placed their greatest number of men at our weakest points." Identify our weakness and and determine as families how we can fortify ourselves against these weaknesses. And even though they were in these extreme times of war, in Alma 50 it says, "There never was a happier people." We can be the happiest people even though we are living in the dangerous times.

Can We Do It?

One tearful young mother said, "I have one 2 year old and I'm expecting another, I see how wicked the world is and I wonder, can I do it?" Sister Beck gave some beautiful counsel. She said, " We are not asking you to be perfect in this life, we are asking you to be precise! Teach your children the doctrine of Christ. Be "intentional " in your teachings. Nobody owes you anything - you asked for this life and for these responsibilities. Rather you owe the Savior, you asked him to atone for you, we owe the Savior everything. Thank the Lord for the adversity that comes your way and then beg for his help. Her younger sister was the mother of 5 children, the youngest a newborn when her husband left her. She had nothing, she had no money, she had no house, she had nothing. When she asked her sister in later years how she had raised this successful family she had her sister remarked, "I did everything I could with exactness recognizing I totally depended on the Lord. I was not perfect, I was precise. " She stated she did not dare miss a single prayer, a family home evening, a day of scriptures with her children. She could not take care of her family alone, but she could fulfill these acts of faith with exactness and leave the rest to the Lord."

Take Heed of the Promptings of the Spirit

This rather surprised me. Sister Beck said, "When you kneel down to pray, have a pencil and paper near by. Let the Lord know that you are prepared to listen. Write down what he tells you and do it."

It was a spiritual feast indeed. Hopefully there is something here that touches your heart! I'm grateful for the opportunities to learn and to grow that the Lord has given me. I'm so grateful for the teachings and examples I learned in my youth. I'm grateful for the things I did right with my children and hopeful my children will do better and be more precise than I.