Watch This!

Sister Pat Thomas in the 1st Ward has made us aware of a beautiful film which will be aired on Sunday, October 2nd at 4:00 p.m. - immediately following General Conference. The film is the result of a 5000 hour project by a non-LDS filmmaker and his subject for this film is two LDS brothers. The filming took place over 10-years of the boys' life. As Pat says, "It's wonderful, touching, inspiring, candid and definitely family-friendly. Gather your family around for a really sweet experience."

It will be presented on BYU-TV (not to be confused with KBYU)  [Channel 21 on Comcast/Xfinity] and is available on all subscription cable services. It can also be viewed over the internet.

For more information on how to see this go to:
http://byutv.org
OR to check cable providers...

http://byutv.org/getBYUtv

OR to watch it live (requires a brief registration)

http://byutv.org/watch/livetv

The brothers were also featured in a recent Mormon Messages: (click on this link)
Mormon Messages - Two Brothers

Click on this link to view the movie trailer:
Two Brothers Trailer

We hope to see ALL of you on Saturday! It will be a great day...

Making our Own History

As my own children are getting married, having children of their own, and building their own families; I have been reflecting on my own history. As a child growing up in Parley's Stake, I had the opportunity to be taught by so many great men and women. So many of those childhood reflections have been pivotal in my own choices and direction. I am amazed at how many times I hear the voices of my Primary, Sunday School, and Young Women's leaders warning me of pitfalls I might face and how to avoid them. I can still hear Brother Lambert teaching about respect, Sister Parker bearing witness of the importance of temple marriage, and Bishop Pulsipher's testimony. I can so clearly see Brother Hans Hubert explaining the plan of salvation to our Primary as he had just lost his dear Pam (and my friend at 7 years old) to a brain tumor. These voices shaped my present and who I am today more than I ever could have dreamed. Our past shapes our present, our present truly shapes our future.

The beautiful new history of the Releif Society, Daughters In My Kingdom, has been given to each sister of our stake. "The history of the relief society teaches the divine identity and infinite worth of daughters of God. Through the study of this history, Latter-Day Saints can see that our Heavenly Father knows his daughters, that He loves them, that He trusts them with sacred responsibilities." (pg xxii, Daughters in my Kingdom) This gift is to remind us where we as women in this church have come from and our potential to move forward.

As we embark on this great adventure in reading Jesus The Christ or The Book of Mormon together, we have great opportunity to shape our present and future testimonies. I certainly need all the help I can get! I am looking so forward to your insights and thoughts as we face this fun challenge together.

Teri Lyn Baucom
Stake Transition

Brother Poll is famous!

We thought you would enjoy this article from the Church News about our CES class instructor, Brother Poll and the talk he gave at Education week in August. He's famous! We'd love to have more of you come and join us on Wednesday afternoons at the 3rd/5th Ward at 1:00 to enjoy the New Testament discussions.

Gary L. Poll said the Book of Revelation is "a love letter from the Lord."

Speaking at BYU Campus Education Week, he talked on the writing of the apostle John and told members of the Church of the importance of understanding the true message of the book.

Brother Poll, a retired seminary and institute instructor, said that as he has studied Revelation he has felt Jesus Christ bear testimony to John as He tells the apostle to send that message to other leaders of the Church.

"The message is that the Lord knows what is going on in your life and there is a way provided for you," Brother Poll told the audience Aug. 15.

He recalled the special relationship between John and the Savior when on the cross the Lord spoke to the "Son of Thunder" and told him to "behold thy mother," and then Jesus spoke to Mary and said "behold thy son."

Brother Poll noted that John was there through the ancient and modern Church's establishment. He was present on the Mount of Transfiguration with others who became the First Presidency and John was also present when the priesthood was restored in these latter days.

The Book of Revelation is also called "the apocalypse," said Brother Poll and that name can be broken down to mean revealing or bringing together the hidden.

"The message is not so much so you will know what is going to happen but you know that He knows what will happen so don't worry," Brother Poll said.

He reminded the class that Doctrine and Covenants Section 77 was given as a key for understanding the Book of Revelation. John is also referred to in 1 Nephi 14 and Ether 4. Brother Poll said Joseph Smith is needed to understand the Bible.

"When Joseph Smith gives commentary on Revelations, we ought to pay attention to that," Brother Poll advised. He said there are many changes that Joseph Smith made that are in the footnotes and that his translation is indispensable in understanding the book.

"Don't get bogged down trying to interpret every single little symbol," Brother Poll counseled. "Sometimes we get so bogged down trying to figure out what the beast is. The message is not about the beast, it is about the Savior. The message is about Jesus Christ and His Father working together to bring salvation to mankind."

Brother Poll said the year the book was written was probably around A.D. 95 and the Church had spread to the Holy Land, Turkey and Europe. Romans were persecuting Church members, as were members of the Jewish faith. Even some members of the Church were rebelling and apostatizing. John is in exile on the isle of Patmos because of his testimony. It is while on that island that the Savior asked John to write a letter to be read to the elders of the Church.

One reason, Brother Poll gives, that the book contains symbols is because it is not a product of the Western or Occidental world. It is more from the Oriental world that describes words as colors. He said John was a product of the Oriental not Occidental world.

Brother Poll said that when God speaks in symbolism, He is able to tell stories that can be applied to different people in different times in their lives.

"Don't think that you have to go through the Book of Revelation and understand every word the first time," he said. He recommended that class members look for Jesus as they search the Book of Revelation.

"I think that it is a wonderful reminder to us of who or what needs to be first in our life," said Brother Poll. "I know that when we go to God first, He can help us in every area of our life."

Just a thought...

"If you have not yet been to the temple or if you have been but currently do not qualify for a recommend, there is no more important goal for you to work toward than being worthy to go to the temple. Your sacrifice may be bringing your life into compliance with what is required to receive a recommend, perhaps by forsaking long-held habits which disqualify you. It may be having the faith and the discipline to pay your tithing. Whatever it is, qualify to enter the temple of God. Secure a temple recommend and regard it as a precious possession, for such it is.


Until you have entered the house of the Lord and have received all the blessings which await you there, you have not obtained everything the Church has to offer. The all-important and crowning blessings of membership in the Church are those blessings which we receive in the temples of God." President Thomas S. Monson, "The Holy Temple—a Beacon to the World", October 2011

We have about six months until our "Day of Covenants". I hope we are all doing what we can to be ready to go together.

Janice Rampton
Parleys Stake Relief Society President

Liz Niederhauser

What an exciting time for the women of Parley's Stake. I believe this assignment will bring us closer as women, friends, and sisters in the Gospel. Thank you to the Stake Relief Society for the time and effort you've put into creating this blog and the challenge of reading "Jesus the Christ" or the "Book of Mormon". I look forward to sharing my thoughts and insights and especially reading and learning from the other comments. This is something worthwhile and challenging. I intend to make it a priority in my life, and I hope others will feel the same. Good Luck everyone!

We Follow The Son

Dear Friends of the Parleys Stake,

I have loved this blog and reading all your wonderful comments. What a great neighborhood we live in. I love being associated with each one of you. Thank you for your powerful influence in my life. I just wanted to give you a little more information about our September meeting. . .

In conjunction with and prior to the General Relief Society Broadcast on September 24, 2011, the Parleys Stake Relief Society will be participating in a service project and dinner.

We have chosen to support The Friends of the Library’s Best Beginnings Begin with Books program again this year.

Since 2009, the Friends have maintained two early literacy programs: Best Beginnings Begin with Books and Buddies of The City Library. Implemented at all three hospitals in Salt Lake City, (LDS Hospital, Salt Lake Regional Hospital and the University of Utah Hospital), the Best Beginnings program is designed to give new parents information about the importance of reading to newborns, guidance on raising a reader, and a free board book for our newest residents.

Last year this service project was a huge success. We were able to assemble 1500 bags for the library. We appreciate all who came out to help. It was wonderful to see sisters from our Stake serving together side by side. All the supplies are provided by the library and it is a simple project with lasting effects.

“You may have tangible wealth untold;
Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.
Richer than I you will never be-
I had a mother who read to me.”

~Strickland W. Gillilan

This year the library has given us all 2000 kits to assemble. We hope you will join us for this fun and valuable project to promote early literacy in our community!

We Follow The Son

Saturday, September 24th
Parleys Stake Center

4:00 p.m. - Service Project
5:00 p.m. - Dinner
6:00 p.m. - General Relief Society Broadcast
Chapel

Girls 10 and up invited

We hope to see you on the 24th. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.



Liz Bradley
Parleys Stake Relief Society
Literacy

Standing for Something

Hello Dear Sisters:

Happy September. What a beautiful day. I love Fall--I could smell it in the air this morning. There is nothing like cool crisp mornings, warm afternoons, and perfect evening sunsets.

As a gentle reminder to please sign your comments (Name and ward) so that we can know who submitted them. Thank you.

I've been contemplating this "blog" for weeks. What could I say, what topic to address that would help someone (even if that someone was me). I've had several random thoughts but none seemed to gel until last Saturday.

I was sitting at lunch with three colleagues while attending a business meeting. I'm not quite sure how the topic came around to religion, but suddenly that's where we were. Invariably the question came up "Are you a Mormon?" after they remembered I was from Utah. I answered, "Yes." I found out that two were Jewish and the other Hindi. The questions started coming about Christianity, "Joe Smith, " (I corrected it to Joseph), polygamy, prophets..... One of them mentioned that she didn't have much purpose for religion; she didn't really believe in God but being "part of the universe" was all she needed; religion didn't add anything to life. I respectfully disagreed and bore a brief testimony about God and what religion can do for someone. I happened to use the phrase "I know." She wanted to know how I could know something that couldn't be proven, in her view. My heart paused. How could I explain faith in God and personal revelation to these good people who really didn't believe in God, who didn't know Christ, to whom religion was more a bother than a benefit. I did my best to answer but I wasn't satisfied with what I said. I felt wholly inadequate.

I have spent hours since pondering how I could have done better, been a better representative of Christ. How could I put into words what I hold so dear? Two thought came to mind (1) read and study Preach My Gospel, and (2) study Jesus the Christ.

As I've thought more about this experience, I've come to see how vital it is that we KNOW the doctrines and principles of the gospel and KEEP the covenants we've made. Satan is waiting ever so patiently to prod, poke, and push us at our weak points. So how do we defend those weak points?

In Ephesians 6:11-18, Paul gives us the perfect answer. We must put on the whole armor of God. No solider goes to battle partly dressed when the enemy is as deadly as the devil. Each day we must:

• Put on the Breastplate of Righteousness--protect our hearts, the place where we've made covenants and commitments to God and our families.
• Gird our loins with Truth--set what our standard will be, and keep it.
• Have our feet shod with the Preparation of the Gospel of Peace--practice those gospel doctrines we've been taught that will protect our course.
• Put on the Helmet of Salvation--protect our thoughts, base our decisions on gospel standards and principles.
• Take up the Shield of Faith and the Sword of the Spirit--the most powerful weapons we have to "quench the fiery darts of the wicked."

Paul states by donning our armor each day we will be able to "withstand in the evil day and having done all, to stand." I thought about the places we've been asked to stand. The phrase that came to mind was "stand ye in holy places and be not moved." The most holy place we can stand in this earth-life is in the temple. The temple is also the only place where we can receive the full armor of God thru the covenants that we make.

I am looking forward to this fabulous opportunity we have to learn more of our Savior and to move closer to being the Women of Faith and Covenant that He needs us to be. May we STAND for truth and righteousness, STAND sure and immovable, STAND on the right hand of God.

I KNOW that He lives.

Karri Lynn Hoyt
Parleys Stake Relief Society, secretary.

Dear Parley’s Stake sisters,

I’m looking forward to our Stake’s Continuing Education (CES) class through BYU. Our instructor, Gary Poll, taught the Four Gospels from the New Testament during the last Spring semester. He will cover Acts - Jude during this semester. (He covered the Book of Revelation during a summer class.) It begins Wednesday, August 24 from 1:00-2:30 PM in the 3rd/5th Ward Building and costs $24.00. You may pay for the entire semester or pay $2.50/class. Hope you can find time in your week to join us for this spiritual class!


I’m also excited to read and discuss either The Book of Mormon or Jesus the Christ by James Talmage with you in the next several months! I was recently re-reading Jesus the Christ and was again impressed with its depth and knowledge. It is a book, like the Book of Mormon, that can be inspiring as one reads it quickly or when one reads it with deliberation and contemplation. I feel connected to our Savior through Talmage’s imagery and explanations.

I became more intrigued with James Talmage when my father and mother-in-law, George I. and Isabel Cannon, served as President and Matron of the Salt Lake Temple from 1993-96. They took us on a tour through some of the remote areas of the temple—one of which was an open room with the desk where James Talmage wrote his book. It was marvelous to see this preserved space and be able to visualize where he worked and sometimes lived. When he was heavily involved with writing this book, his wife would sometimes come and stay there with him in the temple.

I found the following story about James Talmage from his earlier years in an article by Kathy Troxler in 1974. It describes his baptism in Eddington, England in June, 1873. It was a time of persecution and he and his sister, Ellen, were to be baptized at night.

“The water made loud splashing noises as it passed over the old mill wheel, but further down where the four finally stopped [it] was much calmer. James’ father looked slowly in every direction, but there was no one in sight. None of the townspeople had … seen the eleven-year-old boy leave the village with his father and friends. It was safe to go ahead with the baptism.
Earlier that year, James had become seriously ill. The Talmage family grew concerned about the life of their oldest son. Three years had passed since the time he should have been baptized, and his father thought that perhaps this [the fact he hadn’t been baptized] was the reason for his boy’s sickness. He made a covenant with our Heavenly Father to baptize James as soon as possible if only he could be well again. James recovered, and his father was keeping his promise. Brother Talmage stepped into the water and firmly braced his feet so that the current could not upset his balance. Just as he offered a hand to his son, a horrible noise more powerful than a scream broke the calmness of the night. It was a combination of a shriek and a howl and sounded as loud as a thunderclap.
James froze on the bank and … Father Talmage was also frightened by the sound and understood his son’s trembling as he stood alone in the dark.
‘James, are you too frightened to be baptized tonight?’ his father asked. James answered by stepping boldly into the deep canal.
The cold water soaked his thin clothing, but the young boy was unaware of the shivers running down his back. The noise stopped as mysteriously as it began the instant James entered the water…[and] Brother Talmage said the sacred words of the baptism. Then his strong arm lowered his son into the water.
When they returned home, Brother Talmage told the rest of the family about the strange happening. Surely, he thought, the loud noise reached the house, yet no one heard anything unusual. Questioning the townspeople the next day provided no answers either, for it seemed only the baptismal party shared the experience.
James E. Talmage never understood what caused the strange sound on the night he was baptized. But through his trust in the Lord he had had the courage to be baptized and to obey our Heavenly Father’s commandment. Later in his life he became a great leader and an apostle in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”

We will gain additional insight and inspiration from the life of Christ as we read either Jesus the Christ or The Book of Mormon and look forward to reading your comments on our blog.

Your sister in the gospel,
Corinne Cannon, Counselor in the Parley’s Stake Relief Society Presidency

This is so exciting!!

I'm blogging out of turn, but for a couple of years now, we have been hearing that there was going to be a Relief Society history written that would be accessible to all the women of the Church. Sister Beck and her presidency have been very committed to the idea that we learn and gain strength from our history. Well….here it comes! Sister Susan W. Tanner, former General Young Women's President was the one who authored the book and we will all be receiving copies to study and learn from. Read more about it at this link...

Diversity and Strength of Mormon Women Highlighted in New Relief Society Book

I'm looking forward to this…aren't you?

August afternoon

Hello sisters, on this August day! I'll take one more lovely summer day, won't you?

American writer, Henry James said

"Summer afternoon -- summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language."

August is the bridge between a summer afternoon and a day in school. Late August represents the beginning of a new school year. Just like the start of a new year, or a new week or even a new day, August is perfect for refreshing our goals. The cricket's chirp is amplified, thoughts of sharpened pencils and fresh lined paper inspire me to explore new areas of learning.

“The glory of God is intelligence” D&C 93:36

I love the birdsong in the early morning, and seeing neighbors out on walks and runs in the cool 6 am, children on bikes and warm summer evenings, the smell of BBQ as much as I love a new friend, a new teacher, a new place to sit and a new book. Though no longer a formal student, I am more thirsty to learn now than I have ever been. I love the thought of studying together with sisters of the Parleys stake, especially something that matters, like Talmage's Jesus the Christ,

I have visions of the book, Jesus the Christ, in the hand of sisters on the bus, on front porches, in the waiting room of the dentist's office, on lunch hours, under a tree, in an armchair by firelight. Not unlike when we read the Book of Mormon together as a worldwide church under the direction of President Hinckley. How wonderful to teach one another in the grocery store aisle by discussing an insight about Christ's sacred title, or a parable. How edifying to talk over the back fence about a personal glimpse into the atonement or an increased illumination of a clouded passage of scripture.
Dr. Talmage first presented his study on the Savior as a series of lectures delivered under the auspices of the Deseret Sunday School Union Board at the LDS University in Salt Lake City from September 1904 to April 1906. He was subsequently asked by the First Presidency of the Church to publish the lectures in book form. Because of other commitments, he was unable to complete this assignment for several years.
On December 8, 1911, Dr. Talmage was ordained a member of the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Less than three years later he was able at last to continue his work on the manuscript, writing in longhand in a council room on the fourth floor of the Salt Lake Temple. As chapters were completed, he presented them to the First Presidency, members of the Twelve, and Sunday School board members.
In his journal under date of April 19, 1915, Elder Talmage wrote: “Finished the actual writing on the book ‘Jesus the Christ,’ to which I have devoted every spare hour since settling down to the work of composition on September 14th last. Had it not been that I was privileged to do this work in the Temple it would be at present far from completion. I have felt the inspiration of the place and have appreciated the privacy and quietness incident thereto.” (from the Forward to Jesus the Christ.)

I think I can't wait until the 24th of September to begin reading with you. . . and knowing my Savior more intimately. Then to contemplate increased knowledge, in white, within the walls of the Holy Temple where the sacred book was penned.

wishing lovely summer afternoons to all of you wonderful women of covenant,

Shawn Morgan
(counselor in the Parleys Stake Relief Society)

Welcome to our blog!

We are looking forward to this experiment and we hope that you will all be willing to help this grow.

As a presidency we have been looking for ways to draw the sisters of our Stake closer together. At our Spring meeting in 2010 we celebrated "Who We Are" by celebrating the unique women that we are - so many different abilities, challenges, circumstances, struggles and joys! How fortunate we are to be able to learn from so many sisters! In our Spring meeting this year we looked in on and shared the wonderful ways that sisters serve and build and teach and nurture and love one another. It gave us ideas to find small and simple ways to share of ourselves and to serve, that can be truly significant without being overwhelming.

For this coming Spring we have prayerfully sought ways in which we can sustain our Stake Presidency in their desire that we strive to become truly Covenant members in the gospel. By the very nature of our Baptism, we ARE Covenant Women in Parleys Stake! We want to encourage all of us to strive for increased emphasis on our covenants. The culmination of our efforts will be at a Temple Day in March or April at the Salt Lake Temple - A Day of Covenants! We would like to challenge every sister in our Stake to prepare now to enter the Temple together in the Spring! Whether you come to do baptisms, confirmations, initiatory, endowments or sealings, we hope to see you there. If you haven't been before, work to come with us then. All of the wards will be teaching Temple Preparation classes between now and then. Many of the wards have Family History classes - if you have already been to the Temple yourself, perhaps you could work toward "taking" an ancestor with you that day. If you are already endowed, let's try to go "one time more" than is usual for us.

As another step in our preparation for this coming Spring, we invite all of the sisters to read with us beginning in September. As you can see to the side of this post, we have prepared two reading schedules - one for Jesus the Christ and one for the Book of Mormon. At the Fall General Relief Society Meeting (in addition to service and food and a wonderful meeting!) we will kick off our 20-week reading program. You may choose to read either or both of the books (and we won't even complain if you want to get a head start now!) Each week a member of the Stake Relief Society Presidency or one of the Ward Presidents will "blog" on the reading assignment for that week. As it says in the blog header, we encourage all of the sisters in our Stake to comment on those posts so that we can share insights and lift and sustain one another. The comments will be monitored so that only sisters in the Stake will be allowed to comment. We also reserve the right to strive for an uplifting and positive experience. Please be kind and thoughtful.

Sisters, we hope that these next few months will be a time for us to come together and help one another draw closer to our Heavenly Father and our Savior. May you truly feel of the love of the Lord daily in your lives.

"In the things that really matter--our covenants, the commandments, and following the prophet--we need to be completely united. In the non-essentials, we have our agency to handle things as we see fit. But, in all things, regardless of whether we make the same choices or not, we are to treat each other with dignity and respect, both of which are evidences of charity in our hearts and lives." 
— Sheri L. Dew (If Life Were Easy, It Wouldn't Be Hard: And Other Reassuring Truths)