Yesterday's Relief Society lesson was based on Elder Quentin L. Cook and Richard J. Maynes's talk from April 2011 General Conference.
Elder Cook talked about how we as Relief Society sisters are incredible. He explained how we are incredible because we have certain attributes that make us incredible. We are divine by nature because we have Heavenly Parents. We are daughters of a loving Heavenly Father and Mother and we are blessed with their wonderful qualities.
We are incredible because we have faith and not just faith but UNWAVERING faith. We have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and his infinite Atonement and our loving Heavenly Father.
We are strong and valiant and are willing to engage in selfless service. With a motto of "Charity never Faileth" the Relief Society strives on serving each other, our ward family, the community, and more importantly our own families.
As Relief Society sisters we do not hold the priesthood as our male counterparts do but we can and do uphold the priesthood. The Relief Society was organized under the direction of the priesthood and after the pattern of the priesthood. We are so blessed to have access of the priesthood even though we cannot hold the priesthood we have just as much access to it and its power as the men of the church do.
We are incredible because of the way we face trials in this life and are able to over come them. We have knowledge of the Savior and His Atonement and we know that if we but cast our burdens upon Him he will direct our paths. We know that trails are something that we have to go through but with our unwavering faith we can overcome them victoriously!
As women of the church we have the responsibility to raise the future generations of the church. As mothers, primary leaders/teachers, young women leaders/teachers, etc, we all have opportunities to work with the youth and children of the church even if one does not have children themselves.
I know that as women and sisters of this church we can do SO much for those we come in contact with because of these qualities we have been blessed with. To read the whole talk here is a link...
http://lds.org/general-conference/2011/04/lds-women-are-incredible?lang=eng&query=LDS+women+incredible
Elder Maynes gave council of how to establish a Christ-Centered home. First off we must all follow the council of our church leaders and make sure to always home weekly Family Home Evening and daily prayer and scripture study with our families and on our own. What is most important is the consistency of holding these two things. It may not be perfect and you may experience opposition from family members but they will always remember the consistency.
We must make sure to learn, practice, and teach principles of the church and be examples to our family members. Those of us who are parents have the responsibility to preside with love and righteousness. We need to be examples to our children. Children have the responsibility to learn and practice the principles from our parents.
During the lesson many sisters gave some ideas and examples that have helped them to create a Christ-Centered home. Bellow is a list of them:
-Unconditional Love
-The open acknowledgment when you make a mistake
-Kind words; NO ugly words
-Know how to handle failure
-Gospel Oriented pictures, music, and literature
-Turn off the TV and computer once in awhile and enjoy peace and quiet
-CONSISTENCY!
May we all continue to uphold the divine attributes we have been blessed with and make sure to always create a Christ-Centered Home so that the Spirit of the Lord can preside there.
Next week we will be having combined Relief Society, Priesthood, and the Young Men and Women will be joining us as well with a lesson taught by a member of the Bishopric. From my understanding it will be about Service. I would suggest possibly reading President Henry B. Eyring's talk "Opportunities to Do Good." Link provided below:
http://lds.org/general-conference/2011/04/opportunities-to-do-good?lang=eng
