Listen, Write it down, Make a change

I have been Relief Society President for about a month or two now. It has been great. I love feeling the love of the sisters for me and I for them.

One of the things that has bothered me for a while, even while I was in Young Women's was how commitments were given at the end of a lesson. Typically, the teacher will come up with a commitment, ask the learners to commit to that goal (regardless of whether they have felt moved to do so or not) and then when it comes to follow up time, no-one has done it. This is not effective. I have felt to change how we are doing the commitments in our RS lessons.

I feel that if we are going to change or improve ourselves, we need to be prompted individually. The Spirit needs to move us to action. So I felt guided to do this: We will have sticky notes at all the RS Meetings. Everyone will get one. Then, as they are moved by the Spirit to make a change or prompted into action, they can make note of this prompting. Then at the end of the meeting, we will leave a minute or two write down (if they haven't already) a commitment they will do this week. This is personal revelation. This is how we need to live our lives. We need to hone into that Spirit that moves us to do better, to be better. It isn't some arbitrary commitment, rather, it is PERSONAL REVELATION. I feel that if we all make this little change, the effects could be life changing. LIFE CHANGING!!

President Nelson recently said,

“I urge you to stretch beyond your current spiritual ability to receive personal revelation, for the Lord has promised that ‘if thou shalt [seek], thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things—that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal.’”

“What will your seeking open for you? What wisdom do you lack? What do you feel an urgent need to know or understand? Follow the example of the Prophet Joseph. Find a quiet place where you can regularly go. Humble yourself before God. Pour out your heart to your Heavenly Father. Turn to Him for answers and for comfort.

“Pray in the name of Jesus Christ about your concerns, your fears, your weaknesses—yes, the very longings of your heart. And then listen! Write the thoughts that come to your mind. Record your feelings and follow through with actions that you are prompted to take. As you repeat this process day after day, month after month, year after year, you will ‘grow into the principle of revelation’ (emphasis added).

I love this. This is how we learn how the Spirit works in our lives. It starts small and grows as we learn to listen to the Lord in our own lives. This is what is needed to make it through this life, which is becoming increasingly more confusing and uncertain. Only when we focus in on HIS voice, HIS guidance, HIS truths will we be able to make back to the presence of our loving Father in Heaven.

“Does God really want to speak to you? Yes!”

1 Nephi 18:1-4 How's my ship building?

Oct 8, 2019

"...And the Lord did show me from time to time after what manner I should work the timbres of the ship.

"Now I, Nephi, did not work the timbers after the manner which was learned by men, neither did I build the ship after the manner of men; but I did build it after the manner which the Lord had shown unto me; wherefore, it was not after the manner of men. 

"And I, Nephi, did go into the mount oft, and I did pray oft unto the Lord wherefore the Lord showed unto me great things.

"And it came to pass that after I had finished the ship, according to the word of the Lord, my brethren beheld that it was good and that the workmanship thereof was exceedingly fine; wherefore they did humble themselves before the Lord."

I have been recently called to be the Relief Society President in my ward. To say I was overwhelmed when I learned of this calling is an understatement. I felt that I was highly unqualified, unskilled and wasn't sure I was trustworthy of such a big responsibility. The Spirit has since born witness that I am indeed the woman for the job at this time. There is comfort in this. 

As I was reading my scriptures the other day, this scripture hit me pretty hard. Instead of reading the word "ship" I substituted the word Relief Society- but you could also put family, life, mission, etc and it would be just as impactful. And where it says "work the timbers" or "build" I substituted these words with "lead." Go ahead and try that. 

"...And the Lord did show me from time to time after what manner I should [LEAD] the [Relief Society].
"Now I, Nephi, did not [LEAD] after the manner which was learned by men, neither did I [LEAD] the [Relief Society] after the manner of men; but I did [LEAD] it after the manner which the Lord had shown unto me; wherefore, it was not after the manner of men. 
"And I, Nephi, did go into the mount oft, and I did pray oft unto the Lord wherefore the Lord showed unto me great things.
"And it came to pass that after I had [LEAD] the [Relief Society], according to the word of the Lord, my brethren beheld that it was good and that the workmanship thereof was exceedingly fine; wherefore they did humble themselves before the Lord."

This has brought me a lot of peace, in that if I will turn to the Lord OFT, then He will help me know how He wants me to lead his daughters. And the result will be good. It has also lead me to do some searching in myself to help me have a desire to improve my prayers and temple attendance.