What a great Christmas program. Thanks to everyone for their work in both the Sacrament and Primary programs today. It always sets the spirit of the holidays.
We have several new sisters in the ward and we'd like to send out a big WELCOME to them:
Patty Gilbert, Amy Slaughter, Suzanne Stagg, Angie Harris, Jamie Hayden, and Janna Dennison.

Start recycling your dryer lint in your used cardboard egg cartons, also check the table outside the relief society room each week for emergency preparedness and canning items to order.

Good News Minute
Emily Branelly's husband Patrick got a role in the Hale Center Theatre's production of HairSpray

Our lesson today was Chapter 24 The Sabbath Day given by Heather Keele. We are grateful to Heather for teaching again even though she has been released. We will really miss her lessons!
The word Sabbath comes from the Hebrew word rest. The sabbath is a holy day ordained by God for us to rest from our daily labors and worship Him. In Mark 2:27 Jesus taught that the sabbath was made for our benefit. When we direct our thoughts and actions toward God we are nourished and refreshed and richly blessed! Some of the sisters shared their ideas on what they do to make the sabbath holy: listen to good music, make it a day unlike the other days of the week, visit family or just spend time with your immediate family, attend church, family history, write letters and personal journal entries.

Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and you find the opportunity to bless someones life this week. We love you all and see you next week!

Thanks to everyone for a great Cowboy Christmas. It was a wonderful night and we couldn't have done it without the help of the couples and sisters that signed up to host tables. The food, entertainment and tables were all beautiful, it really set me in the right mood for Christmas.
I hope to have pictures of the evening posted soon!

First of all Thank You to everyone that helped with the funeral yesterday. We have such a great ward! Next money is due today for canning rice. We will be canning on Thursday at 7:00 in the kitchen. We are really excited about our Cowboy Christmas, please mark your dates for Nov. 30th at 6:30. A nursery will be provided, please sign up or call Andrea Ashley to let us know if you'll be attending.
Good News Minute
*Alli Houghton made All State Keeper in soccer!
*Laura Ashley was named Westlake High Sterling Scholar in Trade&Technology
*Evelyn Humphrerys is looking forward to a new grandchild and great grand
child coming in the next few months
*Dixie Webb just got a new grandson
*Carol Ellis got to go the the Philippines to help Sara with her new baby. This
makes 18 grandchildren for the Ellis'
*LeeAnn Jett has found a job working with disabled children
*Mary Kay Streadbeck's son was married on Friday
*Cindy Bailey's mom staying with her and will be moving in to her new home
next month.

Big Welcome to Jamie Haban and her son. They moved into the Tahbo's basement.

Today's lesson was on the Holy Ghost given by Chris Houghton. Chris started by asking "How important is the Holy Ghost?" some points were brought up that:
*the Holy Ghost is a member of the Godhead
*Receiving the Holy Ghost is one of the 4 principle ordinances of the gospel
*the power of the Holy Ghost was one of the three things that was left on earth
during the dark ages.
We spent much time talking about how the Holy Ghost sanctifies individuals as they are called to church positions. Read Alma 5:54. It is our responsibility to support and sustain those called to lead us.
Moroni 9:4 offers some parenting tips. and Moroni 8:28 calls us to repents so that we can receive the Holy Ghost.

Time was given to President Bailey at the end of class today. He was blessed to attend a training with other stake presidents and bishops. He wanted to share with us some points that the prophets and apostles gave to them.

Prophetic Principles

1. Build Faith in Jesus Christ
2. Strengthen Families!!!!
3. Rescue individuals that are lost
4. Priesthood power in the home
5. More missionary work
6. Study the handbook and put its principles into action

Thank you sisters and make it a great week!

Happy Halloween!
This week: Women At The Well Nov. 4th and 5th at 7pm

Good News Minute
*Angela Cox's daughter won her first cheer leading competition. Way to go Aubrie!
*Lisa Jone's 4th grade sons football team won their game, despite being ruled as the
"underdogs" Good job Hunter!
*Diane Tenney had a great get away in St George with a group of "old" friends.
*Karren Fairbanks' son is leaving for Japan to teach English there. She's not sure when
she'll see him again so thinking maybe a trip to Japan is in her future.
*Michelle Reeves, Christy Reutzel, Samantha Long, Tina Gast, and Ashlee Rees all ran a
half marathon in Provo this weekend. Way to GO and hope your calves are better soon!

We were blessed to hear from our new RS teacher this week, Karen Wilcken. She was given the not so easy task of teaching about the dangers of pornography. Way to jump right in with both feet Karen! The lesson was from the conference talk "Place No More for the Enemy of My Soul" given by Elder Jeffrey Holland. Self deception is something that we need to be very aware of . It leads us to believe that infrequent bits of inappropriate behavior will not lead to addiction. As women and mothers, and wives we must be ever diligent and mindful of the items and programs that are being brought into our homes. Be careful with magazines, newspaper ads and TV programs. What may seem totally innocent to us, could be very arousing to the men/boys in our home.
While men are addicted through visual pornography, as women we are more verbal. We must be very cautious in the books we read. Romance novels can also be very addictive and inappropriate.
Pornography is damaging to relationships because it brings in the element of lust into something that was once a very sacred and spiritual relationship. Lust is shame, an open appetite and shakes trust and faith. Pornography exaggerates every negative part of our persona.
The church has a website to help us combat pornography that is available if needed.
Some suggestion from the lesson today are:
*Run! Run as far away from it as you can.
*Acknowledge that you need help
*Exercise self-control, even over the most minor details. A journey of a thousand miles starts with just one step. Don't take that first step!
*Quickly banish unwelcome thoughts
*Cultivate the spirit and be where the spirit is.

We'd also like to thank Adrienne Morris for all her great lessons!
Have a great week sisters!

Watch Faces

There are several watch faces that were ordered for our Fabulous Friday that are 

Out Of Stock 

I will continue to check daily, until they are available for order.

I have several similar faces on hand if you don't want to wait until yours is available.

Please contact Chelsi Wood 208-339-0576 for more details.

Fabulous Fall To Ya All-
Good News Minute- LeeAnn Jett climbed up to the "Y" this week to celebrate her sisters 50th Birthday. Good Job LeeAnn. Kelsey Streadbeck is excited about her soon to be sister in law, who we were able to meet today, Nate is getting married Nov. 12th.
Announcements: Sisters we are passing around sign ups to host a table at the Relief Society Couples Christmas Dinner on Nov. 30th. Look for the sign up in the binder next week or call Andrea Ashley if you'd like to host a table. Also we will be canning rice on Nov. 18th. Sign ups in the binder also.
We had a great lesson on baptism today, given by Heather Keele, she reminded us that even though we have all been baptized its important to remember why we made this covenant and remind us of the promises that we made at baptism. Several points were discussed some being; why we are baptized, how, when and who should.
Why are we baptized? become a member of the church, wash away our sins, receive the Holy Ghost, first covenant we make with the Lord and because it is a commandment.
How are we baptized? by immersion. It symbolizes a rebirth and a newness of life. Romans 6:3-5
Who and When? All should be baptized and at the age of eight. Also those that are responsible for their actions only need to be baptized.
We talked about the covenants we made at baptism:
We Promise to: Bear one another burdens, morn with those who morn, comfort, take His name upon us, stand as a witness, serve, and keep the commandments.
God Promises to: Forgive our sins, pour out His spirit upon us, offer daily guidance, give us eternal life, bless us with the Holy Ghost, and we will come forth in the 1st resurrection.
Jesus said that unless we are born of the water and of the Spirit, we cannot enter the kingdom of God. John 3:3-5
Remembering the importance of that first covenant really make me want to live my life better, and reminds me of the other covenants I have made with the Lord. May we all try to live a pure life and have the spirit of Christ with us always.
Make it a good week sisters. We love you!!!

Good News Minute- Kim Adams celebrated her 10th wedding anniversary. Sharon Eyre celebrated her 48th wedding anniversary. Karlene Karper bottled her tomatoes that miraculously grew from the seeds that where left over from last year! Rebecca Erickson's salon will be on TV Sunday Night. Chelsi Wood was able to go to an orphanage in Mexico last week with her family to provide service to the children living there.
A big Thank You to Ashlee Rees for giving the lesson this week! Her lesson was on Repentance, and started with defining what is sin. It is things that are contrary to the will of God. In Moses 6:57 the Lord says, "All men, everywhere, must repent". Except for Jesus Christ, everyone who lived on earth has sinned, so all of us must repent. What is Repentance? to become free from sins. Some words the sisters used were; erased, sorrow, humility, weight lifted, awareness of wrongdoing, guilt, forsake, mercy and faith. Ashlee went on to lead a great discussion on the Principles of Repentance. They are 1-Recognize our sins 2-Feel sorrow 3-Forsake our sins 4-Confess our sins 5- Make restitution 6- Forgive others 7-Keep the commandments. In closing she reminded us that repentance frees us from bondage and we find joy.
We love you all and have a great week!

Fabulous Friday

We are super excited about our Fabulous Friday coming up!!

Mark your calendars... Oct 22nd from 6-10pm @ the Stake Center

We will start the evening with a yummy dinner and then we'll spend the rest of the night crafting and getting to know the sisters in our ward better.

We have several great options this year!!

{Easy and Cheap gift ideas}

Please have all of your $$ to Andrea Ashley by Oct 10th.

You can pick up an order form at church on Oct 10th or print one off from the e-mail sent to you.

Click HERE to see the list of crafts with prices or click on the Fabulous Friday Crafts tab above.

Good Afternoon Sisters! I hope you all had a great week. I can't believe that we are already approaching the end of September. Boy time flies!!
A few announcements:

• Apples are available for purchase. They are $10 for a half bushel and Gala and Jonagold are available.
• Food drive will be on the 25th. The Elders will be around between 9-10am to pick up food
• General Relief Society broadcast 25th. 5:00 dinner 6:00 broadcast

• Tuesday canning sugar and bring your oats if they need to be resealed
• Be sure to check out the table outside the RS room for our Fabulous Friday crafts!
  

Good News Minute:
Amy Bush's Grandpa turned 105 this last week!!! wow we want his secrets.

This weeks lesson was Chapter 18 "Faith in Jesus Christ"
Heather led a great discussion how we build faith, what is faith?, and what does it mean to have faith in Christ as opposed to just having faith. Hebrews 11:1 says faith is "hope for things which are not seen, which are true. The comment was made that faith is a principle of action. We must study, learn and act for us to increase our faith.
Why is it so important to have faith is Christ? without faith in Christ all other things we do are useless. The atonement would have no meaning for us. Ask yourself how having faith in Christ influences how we perform in our church callings, jobs, daily actions and our hope for eternal life. Matthew 17:20 is the blessing that we can do anything if we only have the faith of a mustard seed. Just like planting a garden, we plant the seeds and have faith that they will grow, but faith alone won't do anything. The ground needs to be worked, nourished and cultivated to grow. Once we see the fruits of our faith we are more willing to take more leaps of faith and then our faith becomes knowledge, something that we know!
I'd like to thank Elaine for her music that she provides, it really sets the spirit for the lesson!
We have lots of activities this week, look forward to seeing you all throughout the week.
Make it a great one!

Hello Sisters! I hope you all enjoyed Stake Conference, and especially enjoyed a little break from your weekly Sunday callings. haha. I just wanted to send out a quick reminder that orders for sugar are due this Thursday. Chelsi is out of town as of Wednesday so bring orders over to Andrea. Also, even if your not canning sugar and need to fix your oat cans you can do that on Tuesday the 21st. And last but not least stop by the Relief Society hall this Sunday we will have the projects for our 2nd Annual Fabulous Friday on display!!! We have some great ideas for yourself and for gifts for the holidays.
Make it a great week and we'll see you all Sunday!

Sister that need to fix your can of oats, we will do this on September 21st when we have the canner and doing sugar.

Thanks for you understanding as we learn along with you!

Happy Labor Day weekend Sisters! We may have been few in numbers today, but always strong in Spirit! Karen Fairbanks gave the Visiting Teaching message for this month and shared with us the great examples of her mother and grandmother were in her raising, and giving her a strong foundation in the church. As you prepare to go visiting this month think of people that have nurtured you that you may be able to share with the sisters you teach.
Adrianne Morris gave a great lesson today from the talk given by Elder Bednar "Watching With All Perseverance" this is a great talk that is well worth reading again! He talks of early warning systems that are in place in society and in our bodies to warn us of danger. Adrianne shared an experience she had with her son having a fever, that warned her of pneumonia. The Lord has given us a spiritual warning system that contains three components: read and discuss the Book of Mormon, bearing testimony and inviting children to act not merely to be acted upon. Several sisters shared ideas for having spontaneous discussions on gospel principles and sharing your testimony and being an example of doing what you teach. The most important aspect for us to learn is to listen to the promptings of the Holy Ghost and act upon those promptings.

Hello Sisters- I wanted to send out a quick update about the can of oats that were done on Thursday. It has been brought to my attention that some of the cans didn't get sealed properly. Check your cans to be sure that they are tight and that they got reversed sealed. Not being reversed will leave a lip on the sealing lid. We will be getting the canner again so we can fix this problem. Be patient with us as we get this figured out. Look for info on sugar for September.

Remember today is the last day to order oats. Chelsi is out of town but Andrea can take your order and checks. Also bring childrens clothing for the clothing exchange.
We were blessed today to have Cindy Kemp and her sister Rebecca play a beautiful flute and piano number for us. Music invites the Spirit and really sets the tone for a great lesson. Which today was given by Karen Wilkins. It was from the conference talk given by Elder Christofferson, "The Blessing of Scripture". Karen asked, "with all the distractions in the world, how are we to make time for scripture study?" The sisters suggested; setting aside a specific time, listen to them on CD while commuting and to also let your children see you read your scriptures so that they learn how important they are to you. Karen asked a few sisters to share their testimony and favorite scripture from the four standard works:

• Niki Brady choose the Bible. She loves the examples of strong, valiant women that are found in the Old Testament. She shared a funny story about Lee making her recite this scripture during the delivery of their first child, look it up and you can get a good laugh also; it's Romans 8:18
• Rita Biggers shared her testimony of the Book of Mormon and how after just reading a bit of it knew of it's truth and committed to being baptized. She also reminded us that;You talk to God through prayer and He talks to us through the scriptures.
• Jan Thacker loves the Docterine and Covenants because it is modern day revelation. The words found in the D&C prepares us for the second coming. She finds comfort in hard times by reading D&C 122. What a great man the Prophet Joseph Smith was!
• Cindy Bailey shared with us the loves of the Pearl of Great Price that her mother passed on to her. She finds it remarkable how the scrolls that were written in Egypt from Abraham and found their way into the hands of Joseph Smith. She loves Abraham 1:16 because its message is repeated throughout the scriptures. She also reminded us that the Articles of Faith are found in The Pearl of Great Price.

Karen reminded us how blessed we are to have the modern scriptures and how richly they bless our lives. But reminded us that "where much is given, much is required"
Thanks to all sisters that serves throughout the ward. We love you and are always in our prayers! We look forward to seeing you Thursday for the canning and clothing exchange and Saturday at the Ward BBQ!

Relief Society Good News Minute:

• Sheramy Tahbo's daughter Tara made the SLCC competition softball team. Congrats!!!!
  
• Heather Keele was thrilled to hear that her son did not need to have surgery, the antibiotics were able to clear up his problem.
• Carol Ellis' daughter Sara (who is living in the Phillipines with her husband) has been really sick, but is doing much better. She is able to eat and is gaining weight. This is a good thing as she is expecting her first baby the end of October. Carol will be flying out there to be with her, our prayers go out to both of them.

• Joyce Tulley's daughter got a job that she has been pursuing for a long time and is very happy.

Make it a great week and we look forward to more great news next week!

Sisters I hope you are all having a great day!
First of all I want to say thank you to Brother Rochette for all he has done for our ward while he has served in the bishopric. It was with a sad but grateful heart that I raised my hand to thank you for your service. You and your family are such a great blessing to our ward. Your testimony has touched so many.
The time spent in Relief Society seems to just fly by, I believe it is due to the great teachers and lessons that they prepare for us each week. We are so grateful to have such strong sisters in our ward! Sister Houghton brought up such an important point in her lesson today that really touched me and I'm sure the other sisters as well. She taught about the organization of the latter day church and compared it to the church that Christ established in the former days. She compared the two through verses in the Bible and Book of Mormon. The point that really touched me is found in 4 Nephi chapter 1. It talks of how strong the members of the church were and the complete righteousness that they lived their lives. Then within 200 years they began to harden their hearts, become prideful and fall away this eventually led to the apostasy. Chris pointed out that we are quickly approaching that 200 year mark in our latter-day church, and questioned, "where is our heart" and devotion. Do we have the Faith to endure? This really gave some food for thought that it is sooo important to stay strong, keep Christ as our rock and foundation, and stay centered in Christ. Thank you so much for this great lesson.

Good Afternoon Sisters
I really enjoyed The Brady family talks today. Forgiveness is such an important attribute to have and I loved the message on motherhood. We have such an important responsibility in raising our children to follow the Lord. Niki's comment on trusting in the Lord that he knows what is best for us and to look forward and not dwell on the past, it is great advice one that I am really going to focus on. And what better timing to talk about being prepared then we are focusing on building our food storage!
Our Relief Society lesson was given by Heather Keele today and was "The Lord's Covenant People". Heather reminded us how sacred covenants are because it is a promise made between God and man. God sets the terms and man agrees to accept. We made covenants at baptism, in the temple and when we take the sacrament, but Sister Keele also reminded us that there are other covenants, such as; tithing, fast offering, priesthood and home and visiting teaching. Let's try this week to think more about the covenants we have made and what they mean to us as the Lord's covenant people. Our actions are a way to show that we are keeping our covenants.
Have a great week sisters and know that you a loved and appreciated for all you do.

Sunday August 1st

Hope you all are having a very good Fast Sunday. I always look forward to the testimonies that are shared and the spirit that is so strong on fast Sundays. Fasting really brings you closer to the spirit.
Sister Jolene Sherwood shared a wonderful testimony of Christ through her lesson today. Christ established his church on two great principles: Love of the Lord thy God and Love of neighbor. His forgiveness is for everyone; the righteous and the wicked. Sister Sherwood concluded her lesson with a beautiful video set to the song "His Hands" with pictures that artists have painted that depict the life of Christ. Thanks to Jolene and to the sisters that shared their testimonies of Christ and the love that they have for Him and the gospel.
In Sunday School class we learned about the passing of Elijah's mantle to Elisha. I am so grateful for the orderly procedure that Christ himself established that occurs when a new prophet is called in the church today. There is no other organization that the leader is sustained by every member and that its unanimous. The prophets are truly called of God. Sister Bush also taught about the story of Naaman. He was the King of Syria and suffered from leprosy. His servant told him that there was a man in Israel that could heal him. Naaman traveled to Israel with his servants to ask Elisha to heal him. Elisha's servant met Naaman and told him that the prophet said to go to the River Jordan and was himself seven times. Naaman was angry that Elisha didn't met him himself and that he was asked to something as simple as wash in the river. Naaman's servants ask him "if the prophet wouldest had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thoe not have done it?" Naaman agrees to do as the prophet Elisha said and washes himself seven times and is healed. He teaches us how important it is to follow the simple things.
Thanks for all you do sisters and make it a great week!

Welcome

Welcome sisters to our Relief Society Blog!
Our hope is that you will find this new blog helpful. It's our goal to keep ALL sisters up to date on the activities and happenings of the sisters in our ward. We will update it weekly with an overview of lessons, the GOOD NEWS MINUTE, and anything else that may help us all feel more connected. So check in weekly and feel free to give suggestions or ideas on things that you would like to see posted.
Hope you visit often!