In the very first verse in the very first chapter of the very first book…Genesis, we read: In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.  It continues to explain the six creative periods:  the earth was given form, light and darkness; dry land appeared and great waters; grass, herbs, trees, all yielding seeds after their own kind; a sun, moon and stars to give us light by day and by night; living creatures, both on the land, in the waters and in the sky that were then commanded to multiply; next came man and woman, created in His image, and they were given dominion over all the earth and commanded to be fruitful. These scriptures give very little description of the actual process, but we only have to look around us to see the glorious design that is the result of the original Creation. A year ago, in the Relief Society session of General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, President Dieter F. Uchtodorf gave a talk that hit home in such a powerful way that I immediately identified with it.  It is called "Happiness, Your Heritage".  Please take the time to read it…again, if you already have, or for the first time if you haven't.  I am adding a little short from Mormon Messages.  The visual, along with the audio, has a great impact. I think the reason that this hit

In Relief Society this year, we have embraced the 9 virtues that President Gordon B. Hinckley wrote about in his book "Way to Be!" -  9 WAYS TO BE HAPPY AND MAKE SOMETHING OF YOUR LIFE as our theme for the year.  We rearranged them slightly, and for the month of November we chose "Be Grateful".  Although we traditionally have the official day of Thanksgiving toward the end of November, when families and friends gather to share time together, there is never an inappropriate time to be grateful.  In Mosiah 2:19 – 24, King Benjamin's wise council puts things into an eternal perspective: 19. And behold also, if I, whom ye call your king, who has spent his days in your service, and yet has been in the service of God, do merit any thanks from you, O how you ought to thank your heavenly King!   20. I say unto you, my brethren, that if you should render all the thanks and praise which your whole soul has power to possess, to that God who has created you, and has kept and preserved you, and has caused that ye should rejoice, and has granted that ye should live in peace one with another –   21. I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day,

We had an amazing lesson in Relief Society today.  It was based on the talk given by Elder Dallan H. Oaks in April General Conference 2009, titled Unselfish Service.  He said: Our Savior teaches us to follow Him by making the sacrifices necessary to lose ourselves in unselfish service to others.  In Matthew 16:24-25 Jesus said to his disciples: "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it”. What an amazing truth this is!  It is in our service to our families, our neighbors, members in the community and strangers that we find ourselves.  I am constantly amazed by the service I witness from the ladies in our ward.  They seem never to be weary of well-doing.  But at the same time, I am not surprised by their service.  They truly embrace the doctrine of our Savior.  When He says, "Come follow me," they heed the call and follow His example in the gentle and tender mercies that He shows each of us. The Savior not only fed 5,000 that had tarried with Him to hear His words, but he healed the sick, one at a time.  He knows each of His sheep by name, and that includes me!  How grateful I am for that knowledge.&#

  This week I was reading in the Book of Mormon and this particular passage really stood out to me.  In 2 Nephi 2:17-18 it reads: 17 And I, Lehi, according to the things which I have read, must needs suppose that an angel of God, according to that which is written, had fallen from heaven; wherefore, he became a devil, having sought that which was evil before God. 18 And because he had fallen from heaven, and had become miserable forever, he sought also the misery of all mankind…  It dawned on me – that old adage…Misery loves company!  Isn't that the truth!  When you meet up with someone and ask them how they are doing and they start down the laundry list of how bad life is, their rotten situation and how they would probably be better off killing themselves.  I always struggle with this one.  My immediate internal response is "How can I help rescue this person?"  Sometimes rescue is needed, but I think that more than them crying out for help is that they want someone else to save them.  That kind of rescue is generally short-lived and they find themselves back in a similar situation.  Successful change comes when they figure out how to rely on Heavenly Father for the help rather than leaning on the arm of man.  That is the expert help we should all learn