Called to Serve

I've been feeling a little (ok, maybe a lot) sorry for myself over the past week. I won't go into detail except to say that this talk from Elder Holland came to mind as I lay in bed tonight, unable to sleep: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2002/10/called-to-serve?lang=eng. I remember hearing this talk as a sophomore at BYU and being really impacted by it. It made me think of Dad and all of the time he devoted to his callings with the Young Men. Now I continue to be inspired by it as I support Scott in his Young Men calling. I give it two thumbs up! :)

A few of my other favorite talks on the subject of Church service:

• President Eyring, "Bind Up Their Wounds" (Oct 2013)
• Elder Ballard, "O Be Wise" (Oct 2006)
• Elder Oaks, "Why Do We Serve?"(Nov 1984)
• President Eyring, "Education for Real Life" (May 2001)

Anybody else have any faves to recommend?

Indexing

Just a friendly reminder that there are only a few hours left in the worldwide indexing event!  I wanted to share my excitement on indexing and this seemed like a good place to do it.  Go indexing!!

Perfectionism

I read this article in the Ensign earlier this month: "Becoming Perfect in Christ." It reminded me of a conversation that I had with someone somewhere recently. (I thought it was on this blog, but I couldn't find it, so I guess not.) Anyway, I came across another good talk on perfectionism--given by a math professor at BYU last July: "That's How the Light Gets In." I don't know if this topic is relevant to anyone, but I thought I'd share just in case. :)

FHE

Hi,

I was recently called to be the FHE Co-Chair of my YSA ward and I need some ideas for FHE activities. Just some background, there are no "families" my co-chair, committee and I plan weekly activities for 30-50 people. I have been looking into service opportunities which have been harder than they should be to find. Please just throw out any and all FHE activities that you have participated in on a ward level- good, bad, or ugly.  

Many thanks!

Home and Visiting Teaching

Howdy! It was good to see some of you who I don't often get to see at Rachel's wedding! I hope all is going well in your part of the vineyard.

Here's the topic for my talk on Sunday, The Ideal Visit for Home/Visiting Teaching. I had this great talk outlined until I invited two friends from work to come and listen, and then the missionaries said that they would have quite a few investigators there on Sunday. Now I am really struggling with what to say about home/visiting teaching that would be well catered to someone who is just hearing about it.

I am considering explaining what it is, using some paragraphs from Handbook 2, and then discussing times when the Savior visited people in their homes. Any thoughts? I would appreciate any and all input.

Much love,
Shannon

Moral Courage

Kinda last minute... But I'm teaching the Relief Society presidency lesson tomorrow. Months ago, I chose to base my lesson on this much-loved CES Fireside by President Packer: http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=1673. The talk really impacted me when he gave it seven-plus years ago at BYU. I was fresh off my mission, and wrestling with how to maintain high standards without coming across as self-righteous.

Does anyone have any insights or connections to share?

(Really cool note... Elder Bednar also gave a talk on Lehi's dream one month later, and Elder Anderson gave a talk on Lehi's dream the month after that. See http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=1684 and http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=1686.)

Lessons from Eve

I really enjoyed this talk "Lessons from Eve," by Elder Nelson for my personal study.  I needed a good talk on motherhood after a long day of chasing Jimmy around.  Anyway, there are a lot of great lessons and stories.  I thought this one was pretty funny.

"For a short time during the first year of our marriage, Sister Nelson maintained two jobs while I was in medical school. Before her paychecks had arrived, we found ourselves owing more than our funds could defray. So we took advantage of an option then available to sell blood at $25 a pint. In an interval between her daytime job as a schoolteacher and her evening work as a clerk in a music store, we went to the hospital and each sold a pint of blood. As the needle was withdrawn from her arm, she said to me, “Don’t forget to pay tithing on my blood money.” (When her mother learned I was bleeding her daughter between two jobs, I sensed at that time she may not have been too pleased with her new son-in-law.) Such obedience was a tremendous lesson to me. Sister Nelson’s commitment to tithe became my commitment, too."

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1987/10/lessons-from-eve?lang=eng&query=motherhood