Message from Sister Luciana Paz:

Hi sisters! I hope you are all doing well. I want you to know that the Relief Society Presidency loves you and we are thinking of and praying for you often.
I want to share a little message about Family History. We all know how important it is to help those that are on the other side of the veil. I want share part of Elder Bednar’s talk with you.

He said, “The Prophet Joseph Smith declared: ‘The greatest responsibility in this world that God has laid upon us is to seek after our dead. … For it is necessary that the sealing power should be in our hands to seal our children and our dead for the fullness of the dispensation of times—a dispensation to meet the promises made by Jesus Christ before the foundation of the world for the salvation of man. … Hence, God said, ‘I will send you Elijah the prophet’” (Teachings: Joseph Smith, 475).

Joseph further explained:
‘But what is the object of [the coming of Elijah]? or how is it to be fulfilled? The keys are to be delivered, the spirit of Elijah is to come, the Gospel to be established, the Saints of God gathered, Zion built up, and the Saints to come up as saviors on Mount Zion [see Obadiah 1:21].’
‘But how are they to become saviors on Mount Zion? By building their temples … and going forth and receiving all the ordinances … in behalf of all their progenitors who are dead …; and herein is the chain that binds the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, which fulfills the mission of Elijah.’ (Teachings: Joseph Smith, 472–73).

Elder Russell M. Nelson has taught that the Spirit of Elijah is ‘a manifestation of the Holy Ghost bearing witness of the divine nature of the family’ (“A New Harvest Time,” Ensign, May 1998, 34). This distinctive influence of the Holy Ghost draws people to identify, document, and cherish their ancestors and family members—both past and present.

The Spirit of Elijah … Read the rest

Dear Sisters,

I hope that you and your families are all doing well. I want you to know that we as your Relief Society Presidency pray for you and love you. We are here for you. I am grateful for the opportunity to share a message with you today. 

Recently, I have been thinking a lot about light. Specifically the light of the gospel and the light of Jesus Christ. The chaos and uncertainty that we are seeing in the world today is overwhelming. I know we have all felt worried, unsure of what is next, things even may have felt  heavy and dark sometimes. 

Elder Cook said “As Latter Day Saints, we need to do our best to preserve light and protect our families and communities from this assault on morality and religious freedom.” He talked about our responsibility to be “in the world but not of the world.”  I would like to focus on what Elder Cook shared about protecting our families and our communities. It’s funny to me how important it is that we should always just stick to the basic principles of the Gospel when life gets crazy. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is our foundation and keeps us on the right path as we navigate life’s challenges. As families we can seek for light and truth, blocking out what destroys our spiritual development and growth. We have many distractions. If we can simply make time for the things that matter most, we can make our homes holy places that shelter us from evil. Family prayer, scripture study, family history, service, spending time together through FHE and other activities can be powerful sources of strength and protection.

In Matthew 5:16 it reads, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven”. We can be a source of light for those around us every day. Elder Cook illustrates how we can protect our communities through two basic principles… Honesty and treating all of God’s children as brothers and sisters. 

Being honest plays a significant … Read the rest

Good Morning Sisters,

I am grateful I had the opportunity to ponder and pray about a message for the Relief Society Sisters this week.  I want each of you sisters to know that the Relief Society Presidency loves you and we think of you and pray for you often. 

The message I would like to share today comes from the April 2020 General Conference address by Douglas D. Holmes ‘Deep in our hearts’.  The Lord is trying to help us get His gospel deeper in our hearts in order to prepare us to receive Him.  I would like to highlight two principles that Brother Holmes shared that each of us can work on to help us become closer to our Heavenly Father and be ready to receive Him. 

The first principle is relationships.  Brother Holmes reminded us that we are not expected to walk the covenant path alone.  Developing relationships with family, friends and leaders etc. will help us along the path.  Elder Renlund discussed how we can develop relationships with others: “To effectively serve others, we must see them through Heavenly Father’s eyes.  Only then can we begin to comprehend the true worth of a soul.  Only then can we sense the love that Heavenly Father has for all His children”. 

What a wonderful gift it is to be able to see others as God does.  If each of us were striving to do this, how would it impact our families, our ward and our communities?  There are so many things in the world now that divide us but if we are working on strengthening or building relationships with others through service and seeing them as God does, we can make an impact for good in our world. 

Second principle:  Connecting hearts with Heaven through revelation, agency and repentance.  Brother Holmes said, “in order to connect our hearts with heaven, we need individual experiences.  Those experiences come as the Holy Ghost carries the word and love of God to our mind and heart”.  In the same conference session, Elder Neil L. Anderson spoke about spiritually defining memories that help … Read the rest