Relief Society Lesson -- The Windows of Heaven

The Windows of Heaven

Elder David A. Bednar

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

October 2013 General Conference

Lesson # 1—Significant but Subtle Blessings

Often as we teach and testify about the law of tithing, we emphasize the immediate, dramatic, and readily recognizable temporal blessings that we receive. And surely such blessings do occur.

Yet some of the diverse blessings we obtain as we are obedient to this commandment are significant but subtle. Such blessings can be discerned only if we are both spiritually attentive and observant.

For example, a subtle but significant blessing we receive is the spiritual gift of gratitude that enables our appreciation for what we have to constrain desires for what we want. A grateful person is rich in contentment. An ungrateful person suffers in the poverty of endless discontentment.

I promise that as you and I observe and keep the law of tithing, indeed the windows of heaven will be opened and spiritual and temporal blessings will be poured out such that there shall not be room enough to receive them.

I testify that as we are spiritually attentive and observant, we will be blessed with eyes that see more clearly, ears that hear more consistently, and hearts that understand more fully the significance and subtlety of His ways, His thoughts, and His blessings in our lives.

Lesson #2— The Simplicity of the Lord’s Way

“shall pay one-tenth of all their interest annually; and this shall be a standing law unto them forever,…saith the Lord”-- Doctrine and Covenants 119:4

These sacred funds are used in a rapidly growing church to spiritually bless individuals and families by constructing and maintaining temples and houses of worship, supporting missionary work, translating and publishing scriptures, fostering family history research, funding schools and religious education, and accomplishing many other Church purposes as directed by the Lord’s ordained servants.

First, the Church lives within its means and does not spend more than it receives.

 Second, a portion of the annual income is set aside as a reserve for contingencies and unanticipated needs.

For decades the Church has taught its membership the principle of setting aside additional food, fuel, and money to take care of emergencies that might arise. The Church as an institution simply follows the same principles that are taught repeatedly to the members. The honest payment of tithing is much more than a duty; it is an important step in the process of personal sanctification.

I testify spiritual and temporal blessings come into our lives as we live the law of tithing.

here is the link to the talk:

The Windows of Heaven

Relief Society Lesson -- Come, Join with Us

This was my lesson given January 2014.  I delayed posting it until now.  So as not to interrupt my mission memories :-)


Come, Join with Us

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Second Counselor, First Presidency

October 2013 General Conference

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of the fastest growing churches in the world.

The Church has more than 15 million members around the world.

There are many reasons for this, but may I offer a few?

1. This Church was restored in our day by Jesus Christ Himself.

Here you will find the authority to act in His name—to baptize for the remission of sins, to confer the gift of the Holy Ghost and to seal on earth and in heaven.

2. The Church provides opportunities for doing good.

Believing in God is commendable, but most people want to do more than listen to inspirational sermons or dream of their mansions above. They want to put their faith into practice. They want to roll up their sleeves and become engaged in this great cause.

3. Walking the path of discipleship leads to precious blessings.

We see baptism as the starting point in our journey of discipleship. Our daily walk with Jesus Christ leads to peace and purpose in this life and profound joy and eternal salvation in the world to come.

The search for truth has led millions of people to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

However, there are some who leave the Church they once loved.

Sometimes we assume it is because they have been offended or lazy or sinful. Actually, it is not that simple. In fact, there is not just one reason that applies to the variety of situations.

Some struggle with unanswered questions about things that have been done or said in the past.

Sometimes questions arise because we simply don’t have all the information and we just need a bit more patience.

And, there have been times when members or leaders in the Church have simply made mistakes.

I suppose the Church would be perfect only if it were run by perfect beings. God is perfect, and His doctrine is pure. But He works through us—His imperfect children—and imperfect people make mistakes.

It is unfortunate that some have stumbled because of mistakes made by men.

But in spite of this, the eternal truth of the restored gospel found in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not tarnished, diminished, or destroyed.

Come and add your talents, gifts, and energies to ours. We will all become better as a result.

Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith.

If you could see into our hearts, you would probably find that you fit in better than you suppose. You might be surprised to find that we have yearnings and struggles and hopes similar to yours. Your background or upbringing might seem different from what you perceive in many Latter-day Saints, but that could be a blessing. …we need your unique talents and perspectives.

The Church is designed to nourish the imperfect, the struggling, and the exhausted.

None of us is quite as Christlike as we know we should be. But we earnestly desire to overcome our faults and the tendency to sin.

With our heart and soul we yearn to become better with the help of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

If these are your desires, then regardless of your circumstances, your personal history, or the strength of your testimony, there is room for you in this Church. Come, join with us!

In spite of our human imperfections, I am confident that you will find among the members of this Church many of the finest souls this world has to offer. The Church of  Jesus Christ seems to attract the kind and the caring, the honest and the industrious.

If you expect to find perfect people here, you will be disappointed. But if you seek the pure doctrine of Christ, the word of God “which healeth the wounded soul,” and the sanctifying influence of the Holy Ghost, then here you will find them.

If you seek truth, meaning, and a way to transform faith into action; if you are looking for a place of belonging: Come, join with us!

If you have left the faith you once embraced: Come back again. Join with us!

If you are tempted to give up: Stay yet a little longer. There is room for you here. Come,  

join with us.

Sister Wilson's Wedding

The odd thing about this post is that Sister Wilson and Rob are not pictured in any of the photographs.  :-(

I'm not sure why.

But there are several pictures of Sister Vega and I :-)

I didn't even remember this, but apparently Sister Vega and I stopped in Las Vegas, on our way to Los Angeles to Sister Wilson's wedding.

This is at the Luxor hotel.

how did I get up there?

this is a picture of Sister Vega and I -- I would use her first name, but I'm trying to protect the innocent :-) I actually did not call her Sister Vega after our missions.

This picture is probably taken inside my 1982 Honda Accord hatchback :-) that is the car we took down to Los Angeles for Sister Wilson's wedding.

Obviously we're having a great time singing along to the radio :-)

the funny thing I remember about this is that Sister Vega forgot her temple recommend and it was a fiasco.  Having to get the people at the front desk of the Temple to call her bishop so that she could get in.

We both did eventually make it to the sealing :-)

Sister Wilson asked me to be a bridesmaid at her wedding.  I was honored.  This is a picture of me in my bridesmaid dress in front of the cake.

Sister Wilson actually sent me the fabric and pattern, and I made my own bridesmaids dress.

Yes, I'm very talented :-) I can do pretty much anything I set my mind to :-)

I think this might be in Las Vegas somewhere.

I'm not sure where this is either except that it is somewhere on the coast in Los Angeles.

Sister Vega, being from Apple Valley, was my tour guide.  While we were down there.  She knew the Los Angeles area better than I did.  This is probably the first time I had ever been to Los Angeles.

do any of you who are familiar with Los Angeles recognize this?

you're probably wondering why I'm being heathen in these pictures.  It is because we had been swimming/playing in the ocean earlier in the day.

You can see by my hair that it was wet.

I don't remember which beach we were swimming at but I remember turning my back on the waves and getting slammed into the ocean floor.

I didn't make that mistake again :-)

yeah, it was really bright :-)

my hair looks great :-)

There's nothing like salt water and sand -- it does wonders for your hair :-)

okay, I do remember this.  Sister Vega tried to get me to eat oysters.  Which is what she is doing in this picture.  I wouldn't do it.  Why would anyone want to swallow, slimy uncooked shellfish?  Yuck!

I'm not a big fan of seafood, except for fish, which has been cooked.  :-)

And that's actually one of my favorite foods.  I love fish!

This will be a random story, but speaking of fish, the best fish I've ever had was when I lived in San Francisco.  I used to run in the afternoons when I had a chance.  And I always took the same route.  Probably not the smartest thing for a young single woman to do, especially in the neighborhood I lived in :-)

but I digress.  Anyway, one day during my run, a man came out of his house and called out to me.  So I stopped and he asked me if I liked fish.  I said yes.  He told me he was a commercial fisherman, and was going out fishing the next day.  He asked me if I wanted some fresh halibut.  I said, "I would love some, thank you."  So the next day during my run, sure enough, he met me outside his house and gave me a plastic bag full of fresh halibut. that was caught that day.  I went home and fried it in butter.  It was the best fish I've ever had!  Yum!

Anyway back to the story at hand.  Sister Vega and I had a great time during our weekend trip to Los Angeles.  It was a little bit strange to not be missionaries and be listening to music and stuff.  I do remember that I wanted to listen to country, and she wanted to listen to rock.  :-) so we had to compromise.  I think she got her way more than I did :-( because she knew all the radio stations in LA.  Oh well.

But the wedding was lovely and one thing I remember about the wedding is Sister Wilson doing the hula on the stage at the church cultural hall where the reception was held.

As I recall, Sister Vega stayed in California and I drove back by myself to Utah. Which was a little bit scary because I was driving an old 1982 Honda Accord hatchback that tended to break down every once in a while.  And these were the days before cell phones.  But thankfully, I made it home safely.  As I recall, I didn't tell Mom and Dad that I was coming home alone.  They would have just been worried :-)

This concludes all of my pictures associated with my mission.  :-(

I hope you enjoyed the journey, I certainly did :-)

Sister Erickson's Wedding

Lisa and I drove down to Las Vegas to attend Sister Erickson's wedding.

I don't remember when it was but it was during the time Lisa was home from her mission getting surgery before she got reassigned to Arizona.

Okay, I'm going to amend this because I asked Lisa this morning, when it was and she said, March 1994.

I'm thinking it might have been during my spring break at Utah State.

For some reason I thought that Sister Wilson's wedding was first so it's a good thing these haven't posted yet, because I am going to have to rearrange them. Sister Wilson's wedding was in August 1994.

me sitting in front of the Las Vegas Temple

me, Sister Erickson, and her new husband

it seems like I should be wearing a black name tag :-)

I'm not sure where this is, it looks like it might be in a seminary building or something.

This is probably where the reception was held.  The one thing I remember about -- that Lisa and I laugh about -- is the dance floor.  It was hilarious to watch the people dancing.

It seems like somebody fell down -- is that right Lisa?

Another amendment: I asked Lisa, and sure enough I think it was an older lady that fell down on the dance floor :-) we were busting a gut.  The dance floor was more entertaining than any Las Vegas show in town :-)

The Luxor Hotel.

I think these were all taken at the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas.

on the Las Vegas strip -- in front of the MGM Grand Hotel.

Sister Wilson's wedding is next!

Mission Memories -- Random Pictures

okay here are just a few pictures that were not scanned until after the place where they belong was already posted.  So I'm just going to tack them on here at the end.

This is a picture of an alligator.  Can you spot him?

I think this was in Zephyrhills.

this is the Dade City (Zephyrhills), Ward building.

another view from the Dade City church.

shopping center in Zephyrhills.

same shopping center. I don't know why this picture was taken.

I was looking at this picture trying to remember what it was and then it came to me.

This is one of our investigators houses that Sister Beck and I taught.

I remember this was a very fancy house and property.  I think her husband was a doctor.  He was never there.  I actually felt kind of bad for her.  She didn't seem very happy.  She had a young son maybe four or five years old.

Going to this house reminded me of the fancy southern plantations that you see on television.

I don't remember what happened to her, but she wasn't baptized.  I don't even know if we finished teaching her all the discussions or not.

another picture from the MTC of my companionship there.

a lovely picture of Sister Beck and myself.  We were ambitious, carrying four Books of Mormon with us.

We did give away a lot of copies of the Book of Mormon.  Probably 1-3 per tracting session.

I hope a few of them did some good.

I don't know why this pictures out of place, but this is when Sister Beck and I dressed up as Elders for our ZDM -- my first.

think this picture might already be on here, but I'm not sure.  I don't know if this is a Zephyrhills or Brooksville.

and then we will conclude with a lovely picture of me in front of the Dade City Chapel.

Mission Memories -- Seminole -- Sister Erickson: Part Four

okay this will be the last post with Sister Erickson, and thus my mission.  :-( Although I do have a few random pictures that we found after I already posted that section.  So I will do one last post after this.

One thing I failed to mention about Sister Erickson is that she would wake up with me at 5:30 AM -- one hour before we were supposed to wake up -- to come outside with me while I ran.  She wouldn't run but she sat on the curb and read her scriptures while I ran.

That was nice of her.

okay here are some more silly pictures.

Sister Erickson posing on her bed.

me doing the same pose as Sister Erickson above. :-) crazy sisters!

I think I put a couple of these pictures in a previous post -- but this is where they belong.  It was not with Sister Collett, they were taken by Sister Erickson.

me posing again on my awesome missionary bed :-)

Sister Erickson doing a lovely pose sitting on her chair :-)

me posing in the doorway -- notice how crooked my tag is-- I always had trouble keeping my name tag straight on this dress for some reason. 

okay this is my last P-day.

I don't know why we didn't dress in our whites and name tags -- except maybe because of the place we went.  :-)

Keep in mind that I had already been to Disney World, Epcot Center, and Disney MGM Studios.

So for my last P- day I chose Busch Gardens in Tampa.  Tampa was a lot closer to Seminole/Largo than Orlando/Kissimmee was.

And of course I got permission from President Brimhall to go to a theme park on my last P- day. I'm not sure whether he told us we didn't have to wear whites or not.

The above picture is me standing by one of the Budweiser Clydesdales.

me standing by a replica of a Clydesdale.

I'm not sure this was the best choice of theme parks to attend on my last P- day.  Notice I'm still carrying the mission pager.  I sure didn't miss carrying that thing around after I went home.

I know this picture is hard to see, but this is a picture of the Budweiser bottling plant at Busch Gardens.

another picture of the bottling plant.  Can you see the bottles on the conveyor?

I know that wasn't the best environment for missionaries to be in :-(

It was interesting though.

apparently Amanda came up from Port Charlotte to go with us to Busch Gardens.

I think I'm standing by, some chimpanzees.  -- Replica of course.  :-)

me with my favorite animal.  

For those of you who don't know, the gorilla is my favorite animal :-)

Sister Erickson looks a lot happier than I do in this picture.

It looks like I got wet by the looks of my hair.

This will be the last picture of Sister Erickson and I together.  So I wanted to add one more story.

I need to add a spiritual story to all of these heathenic pictures :-)

I'm not sure why I don't have a picture of this baptism, but let me tell you about one investigator that we baptized.

We were out tracting in a retirement neighborhood.  And usually when an older retired person would open the door they were generally cordial, but said they had their own religion and weren't interested.

So this older 80 something-year-old woman answered the door, and I expected her to tell us she was not interested, but instead she said that she wanted to hear the discussions.

So then I immediately thought that she's just lonely and wants to have some visitors.  But, since we were missionaries and that was our job to teach people about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we made the appointment to teach her.

Surprisingly, she was very receptive to the Gospel and wanted to be baptized.

One thing I remember about Mary, is that she drove a Chevy Nova. Very similar to your 1969 Chevy Nova, Michael.  It was even the same color -- pale yellow.  Except Mary's car was in mint condition.  She probably bought it new off the showroom floor and kept it garaged. I think I might have a picture of it sitting in the church parking lot, I don't know where it is. :-(

Mary was definitely the oldest investigator that I had that was baptized.  I'm not even sure if it was Sister Collett or Sister Erickson who was my companion when we taught Mary.

One interesting thing about Mary that came out during her baptismal interview -- which I had no idea about -- is that she had an abortion when she was younger and had to talk to President Brimhall, the mission president, to get approved for baptism.

Mary was baptized and I left my mission shortly thereafter.  But I did keep in contact with her for a little while after my mission.  

Apparently this is in a restaurant.  Amanda and me :-)

One last story that I would like to share from my mission:

This story also took place in my last area, Seminole.  I'm not sure which companion I was with but it was probably Sister Erickson.  Because I know it was at the tail end of my mission.

Anyway, we were out tracting, again :-).  It was in a mobile home park.  We actually did tract quite a few mobile home parks during my mission.  Anyway, not surprisingly, after we knocked on the door, an older retired lady opened the door.  We did our door approach and she was surprisingly very friendly and invited us in.

As we were BRTing with her, we came to find out that she was actually a member.  We were a bit taken aback by this because we knew all the members in the ward.  Even a lot of the inactive members or I should say less active members.  So we were surprised that a member was living in our area that we didn't know about. She mentioned that she and her husband had retired a few years ago and moved to Florida from somewhere up north, I'm thinking Michigan or something like that.  Anyway, she told us that she had served as Relief Society President, amongst a myriad of other callings and I believe she said that her husband had served in the bishopric back in Michigan or whatever they were from.  Needless to say, they had served well in the church for many years.

I asked why their membership records had not been transferred to the Seminole ward.  Or why we had not seen them at church before.

She casually told me that when they retired, and moved to Florida, that she and her husband had decided to retire from the church also!

I was flabbergasted!  I didn't understand how anyone who had served so faithfully in the church for so many years could just leave it and walk away.  

That story has stuck with me my entire life.  There is no retirement from the church.  Does the phrase "Endure to the End" sound familiar?  

Anyway, I'm not sure whatever happened to that couple.  I left my mission shortly thereafter, but I hope that the missionaries continued to visit them and hopefully helped to reactivate them back into full fellowship in the church. 

Although it does seem to me like she mentioned that they did not want people from the church to contact them.  :-( I hope they finally came to their senses eventually.  

I hate to end this post on a bad note.  I should have put that story in one of the earlier posts.

Let me just mention that I left my mission on July 23, 1993.  That is the day that I flew home from Tampa.

I served 18 months and one week :-).

I was happy to be going home after serving an honorable mission.

I'm so happy that I had the opportunity to serve a full-time mission.  As you can see, I created many wonderful memories during my time as a full-time missionary.  And I had many experiences that help to shape me into the person I am today.  I would not trade that experience for anything.  I know that I learned more about life and the Gospel during that short time than I could have learned during four years of college or any amount of time, really.

Serving a mission is a unique learning and growing experience and there is nothing comparable to it. It truly is a precious gift and privilege to be called on and serve a full-time mission. I'm so thankful that I took the opportunity to serve a full-time mission.  I know that I benefited much more from that experience than any of the people that we taught or baptized.

Sister Erickson, and I kept in contact, and I went to her wedding in the Las Vegas Temple.

I've got pictures of attending Sister Wilson's and Sister Erickson's weddings.  So I will post those after the random mission pictures I'll post tomorrow.

And that will conclude my Mission Memories.

Mission Memories -- Seminole -- Sister Erickson: Part Three

As promised, here are some baptism pictures.

this is me with Shannon.  And yes she was wearing my dress :-) 

Shannon was a 14-year-old girl that Sister Collett and  I tracted out.  She was home alone at the time but said that she was interested in learning the Gospel.  In fact, I think we taught her the first discussion right then.

Now, I'm a little vague on the details, but it seems like she said her mom was at work.  Anyway, we scheduled a time to go back to teach her the second discussion.  And to hopefully meet her mom.

Again, I'm a little vague on the details, but Shannon had a brother, who happened to be there one time when we were teaching her.  And, of course, after meeting us, decided that he wanted to also take the discussions :-)

But strangely enough, it seems like we taught them both separately, for whatever reason.  Probably scheduling conflicts.  I think her brother's name was Dennis.  That's what I'll call him.

Anyway, Dennis is the guy who bought the clown fish and named them after us. Stone and Collett.

Sister Collett was transferred before we finished teaching Dennis and Shannon.  So Sister Erickson, and I finished teaching them.

I don't think we ever did meet their mother. and I'm wondering if maybe Dennis was not Shannon's Guardian. I don't really remember but, Shannon and Dennis both decided to be baptized.

So the picture above was taken at their baptism. 

I don't think Shannon had a dress that she could wear to the baptism so I offered to let her wear one of mine.  Hey, that's not bad when a 14-year-old girl can fit your dress :-)

this picture was taken at Dennis and Shannon's baptism.

Our zone leader -- on the left apparently baptized them. next is Dennis and Shannon and me and Sister Erickson.  Elder Mickelson is standing in the back behind Shannon and myself.

our zone, leader, Sister Erickson, Elder Mickelson, and me.

I don't know why I can remember, Elder Mickelson's name, but not our zone leader.

zone leader, Elder Mickelson

okay, this was at Dennis and Shannon's house.  Notice the fish tank that I'm leaning on.  Stone and Collett are in that fish tank :-)

This must've been the day that our district leader did baptismal interviews.  That is our district leader laying on the floor.  And his companion, next to me, leaning on the fish tank.

I somewhat recall our district leader, playing guitar.  That was Dennis' guitar.

District leaders companion, district leader, Dennis, ?  - Dennis'  friend

Dennis, me, Sister Erickson, unknown guy

I think Dennis might have had a little crush on me :-)--but who didn't really?  :-) you can't blame the guy :-)

at the baptism.  Probably setting up.  I don't know why this picture is cut. you can see my handwriting on the back of the picture below it when we scanned the picture in.

Shannon, Dennis, Sister Stone, Sister Erickson

Shannon and Dennis' baptism.  -- I'm not sure why Shannon was not dressed in whites.  This must've been before she changed.  Or after.

Sister Erickson laughing at one of the elders, I think it was our district leader. noticed the elder taking a picture of me taking a picture?  :-) This was at a DA at our investigators house.  More details below.

the lady on the left in pink, is Kate.  She is the investigator that we taught and baptized.  I'm not sure why the elders were here.  Perhaps this was after the baptism.  Next to Kate in the white shirt, her husband.  The lady in the foreground in the red was a member in the Seminole ward who actually knew Kate from the years before.  I think they went to school together or something.  So she is there to fellowship.

One thing I actually remember about this DA is that we had spaghetti and Kate told us that they made the spaghetti sauce from scratch and cooked it all day.  Apparently it was very labor intensive.  I think her husband was Italian.

me with Kate and her husband and their son

I'm not sure if we taught her husband, I think he might have sat in on a few discussions.  But he did not get baptized.

Of course the little boy loved me, as usual :-)

proof of purchase that I was there at the DA.  :-)

Left to right:

District leader, member friend, me, Kate, Sister Erickson, Kate's husband, district leaders companion

my and Kate at a ward picnic.

I remember that Kate was on some sort of diet and would not eat all of the good food.  :-(

In fact, I think she may have brought her own food.  I thought that was really strange. I mean, who goes to ward picnic and doesn't eat the food?

As you can see by the empty plate in front of me, I must have enjoyed the food. :-)

Another thing I remember about Kate is that she had her own delivery service.  I remember her giving us a business card said Kate's Delivery Service.

at Kate's baptism

Kate, Sister Erickson, Sister Stone, Kate's son

Kate was a very outgoing, happy, joking kind of person.  she was a fun lady.

I don't know who the man on the left is that baptized Kate.  Probably just a member of the Seminole ward.

Notice that the kid is always next to me :-)

Okay, I think I'm almost done with my mission pictures and stories. :-( I think I only have one or two more posts left to do.  :-(