Helpful Reminders

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Through the years, we members of the LDS Church have received plenty of reminders about preparedness. There have been enough General Authorities, including prophets, giving us advice and reminding us of what's expected of us.

We'd like to share a few thoughts given by members of the Church in Joplin, Missouri, after the May tornado. Read the full account in the Newsroom.

"Our emergency plan, while there is a lot of detail to it, is quite simple: account, assess, report promptly,” said President Jones. “You need to account for your people. Everybody goes out to find out how the missionaries are, how the members are, and if everyone is accounted for. Then they assess. Who is missing? Who has injuries? Who is without a home? Who is without power? What are their physical situations, family needs, and so forth? And then you report promptly, communicating that information back through the priesthood line.”

"As members of the stake followed the emergency plan, they saw miracles happen every day. Bishop Chris Hoffman of the Joplin First Ward, one of two wards where members were deeply affected by the damage, reported that people in the ward told him about times they needed some particular kind of help, only to have a fellow ward member arrive with exactly what they needed when they needed it."

So, do you think that reminders work? Please share your thoughts with us.

 

To see the Neighborhood News for Wednesday, 13 July, please click here.

We welcome your comments. Post by clicking the link below.

Unearthing Treasures

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We have been counseled to grow gardens by one of our prophets. Life started in the garden of Eden. Jesus shed blood through His pores in the garden of Gethsemane. Gardens appear to be important.

In the April 1978 Ensign, Richard M. Romney published his article ‘Grow YourOwn Soup.’ In it he says:

"In a Bohemian folk tale, a vagrant soldier surprises an entire town when he plunks two polished rocks into a caldron and says he’s going to make “stone soup.” The curious villagers are eager to have a taste, so they gladly bring a few carrots, onions, turnips, and other vegetables to spice up the broth, and everyone ends up with a good meal, even the soldier.

Church members, heeding President Spencer W. Kimball’s call to plant gardens, won’t likely be contributing their vegetables to someone’s stone soup. But they may, in cultivating their gardens, discover a delightful secret—they can grow many of the ingredients of a hearty soup, including spices, right in their own backyards." 

We welcome your comments, wish you a great weekend, and remind you to take advantage of our Free Download Friday. 

 To view a copy of the Neighborhood News for Friday 29 April, click here.

About Mothers

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We’re coming up on that all important day of the year: Mother’s Day. The day that if you don’t remember, you’re certainly in big trouble.

I’d like to share something that President Thomas S. Monson (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint) said in his talk Behold Thy Mother. He mentioned four different mothers:

1-      “‘Mother forgotten’ is observed all too frequently. The nursing homes are crowded, the hospital beds are full, the days come and go—often the weeks and months pass—but mother is not visited. Can we not appreciate the pangs of loneliness, the yearnings of mother’s heart when hour after hour, alone in her age, she gazes out the window for the loved one who does not visit, the letter the postman does not bring?

2-  Men turn from evil and yield to their better natures when mother is remembered. A famed officer from the Civil War period, Colonel Higginson, when asked to name an incident that he considered remarkable, said that there was ... a man whom everybody like, ... absolutely free of dissipations. One night at a champagne supper, when many were becoming intoxicated, someone in jest called for a toast from this young man. The man arose and declared: 'Gentlemen, I will give you a toast which you may drink as you will, but which I will drink in water. The toast is 'Our Mothers.' Instantly a strange spell seemed to come over all the tipsy men. They drank the toast in silence. The lamp of memory had begun to burn, and the name of Mother touched every man's heart.

3-  Let us turn to 'mother blessed.' For one of the most beautiful and reverent examples, I refer to the Holy Scriptures. In the New Testament of our Lord, perhaps we have no more moving account than the tender regard of the Master for the grieving widow at Nain.

4-  Finally, let us contemplate 'mother loved.' One certain way each can demostrate genuine love for mother is to live the truths mother so patiently taught. Such a lofty goal is not new to our present generation. In the times described in the Book of Mormon, we read of a brave leader named Helaman who did march in righteous battle at the head of 2,000 young men." 

I've been taken by the story of the stripling warrior mothers for a very long time. I remember reading it again and again, thinking that I wanted them to be a model to me. In fact, my son knows that if someone were to ask me what my favorite scripture in the Book of Mormon is, there's no doubt which one I'd choose.

Of course we all want to be in the last group. Do you think the Lamanite mothers just sat around and waited for their sons to grow up to be righteous men, or maybe they taught them from the time they were very young?

As always we welcome your comments.

To view a copy of the Neighborhood News for Monday 2 May, click here.

Personal Touch

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If tears could build a stairway,

And memories a lane,

I'd walk right up to Heaven

And bring you home again.

~Author Unknown (from quotegarden.com)

In our Personal Touch with Rebecca Cressman segment, she interviews Lori Paulsen. Lori is raising four beautiful children. But it is the son she didn't get to raise that changed the way she sees life and death. In 2004, Lori and her husband, Lars, were expecting a son, but an ultrasound revealed that their unborn child had a heart and brain growing outside of his body. Doctors informed the couple that the child they named "Lars" would not survive. The Paulsen’s decided to continue with the pregnancy and to celebrate each day of his unborn life by sharing special moments and experiences with him. Their unique plan was so inspiring that it influenced the way a family bereavement support program called Angel Watch counsels parents who receive the heartbreaking diagnosis that their child will most likely not survive outside the womb. Lori has written two yet unpublished books, Chapsticks in Heaven, and Catching a Fallen Star, that share her families journey celebrating life in the face of death.

It has been my experience that ‘getting over’ a miscarriage is a very hard thing to do. Sometimes people don’t know what to say, so they end up saying the wrong thing and the hurt is compounded on the receiver’s end, when they probably didn’t mean to offend. Our contributor today is Rachelle Christensen, who’s written a book entitled “Lost Children: Coping with Miscarriage.” She’s also written her article “Words Won't Make it All Better,” where she comments on these difficult times some of us have gone through. She tells us: “The one blessing we all have is our fading memory. For some, that causes fear and anxiety because you think, No, I don't want to forget my baby.

“You won't forget your baby, but hopefully you'll forget the raw edges of pain cutting into your heart when you lost your baby.” We go through so much sadness, and sometimes there are no words to console someone who's going through a hard time. If you have a friend that is suffering alone, go hug her, tell her that you love her, and let her mourn. Just be there for her. She will appreciate it.

From ‘The Millenial Star’, we have J A Benson’s article “Tears in Heaven: A LDS Perspective on Stillborn and Miscarried Babies.” In it, the writer expresses her deep sorrow at the loss of her stillborn baby, thus: “Only the parents of a miscarried or stillborn child understand the magnitude of the bonding, which occurs in the womb and the loss felt at the death of a fetus. I was surprised at the magnitude of loss for a child I had never seen with earthly eyes.” Please, read through her account. If you are one who’s gone through this pain, please know that my heart goes out to you, as one that knows.

We also wanted to recognize the quiet mothers out there, who are steadily, strongly and silently raising their children, doing what they believe is right; to them, our appreciation and gratitude. C. S. Bezas from Bella Online contributed this article to the website, mentioning these two moms that she happened to meet recently. She says: “I met two mothers just yesterday alone who are quietly toiling alongside their children, raising them in gentle patience and love, who for right now are seriously content in that experience.” I know it’s not an easy job, but the blessings are there. Just today in Relief Society we talked about patience, and the topic was President Uchtdorf’s talk from April 2010 conference (priesthood session) “Continue in Patience.” I just got reminded of how arduous, challenging and difficult that road was for me (I’m still not perfect, however, I’m being perfected in Christ, every day). I’ve had a few miscarriages and I thought I’d never have children. It took a long time to have the one and we adopted the other. We made the choices that were the best for our family, and we’re happy with them. We love our children (tender mercies of a loving Father) and I think if given the chance to do a do-over, we’d do it all over again.



To view a copy of the Neighborhood News for Monday, 26 July, please click here.

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Personal Touch-Saren Eyre Loosli, The Power of Moms

In today's issue of Neighborhood News, Rebecca Cressman presents our Personal Touch guest interview with Saren Eyre Loosli. Saren, a mother of five, is the mom behind the growing online community for mothers, The Power of Moms. Learn what contributions Saren and other remarkable mothers made to The Power of Moms that have enriched this site to become an incredible and continually growing resource for mothers.

Lori Conger, author, educator, and mother of four, inspires mothers in her article, "If I Had My Life to Live Over..." to make the most of each moment Read and find out what Lori's biggest goal is that drives her to make each day of motherhood memorable.

Stephanie, author of Diapers and Divinity, writes in her post about her "light bulb moment" that helped her to better recognize the majesty in motherhood. Enjoy her down-to-earth account of how she is able to better recognize Jesus Christ in her life, even her laundry.

Mona, from Mona's Musings, reflects on past journal entries from the month of January. Hear from this dear mother as she expresses the bitter sweet of motherhood's changing seasons.

To view Wednesday, January 27th's Neighbohood News in its entirety, click here.

Read and comment on this Conference address given by Elder M. Russell Ballard, "Daughters of God," Ensign, May 2008.

"There is no one perfect way to be a good mother. Each situation is unique. Each mother has different challenges, different skills and abilities, and certainly different children. The choice is different for each mother and each family. Many are able to be "full-time moms," at least during the most formative years of their children's lives, and many others would like to be. Some may have to work part-or full-time; some may work at home; some may divide their lives into periods of home and family and work. What matters is that a mother loves her children deeply and, in keeping with the devotions she has for God and her husband, prioritizes them above all else."