Get Creative

Welcome to the Neighborhood News

“Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun.”

~ Mary Lou Cook

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I’ve heard ‘she’s so creative’ many times. Other times someone would say ‘I don’t have a creative bone in my body.’ Creativity is a driving force in some of us. Why more people aren’t creative is a mystery.

“Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will.” ~George Bernard Shaw

Elder Robert D. Hales said the following in his article Every Good Gift, published in an August 1983 New Era:

“To many, the word creativity simply refers to the cultural, performing, or visual arts. This is a very limiting definition. There are endless ways of applying creative reasoning. …

Too often, however, those who possess great talents are selfish and do not use their gifts for the benefit of others. And more importantly, they do not acknowledge that these gifts are God-given. If we properly understood the source of our creative talents, there would be no application of writing, dancing, music, or photography for Satan’s purposes. The prophet Moroni wisely counsels us about using our talents for evil. He exhorts us to “come unto Christ, and lay hold upon every good gift, and touch not the evil gift, nor the unclean thing” (Moroni 10:30).”

We’re all children of a loving Heavenly Father. We have purpose and talents. I believe that we all came with our own box of individual talents. We should invest time in finding out which ones we have hidden.

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 20 May, click here.

Offering Comfort

Welcome to the Neighborhood News

“For when a man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth it unto the hearts of the children of men”

2 Nephi 33:1

We sometimes wonder how it feels to really ‘hear’ the voice of the Holy Ghost. President Boyd K. Packer of the Quorum of the Twelve gave us an ideal understanding of that moment in his 1991 talk ‘How Does the Spirit Speak to Us? He said:

“We do not have the words—even the scriptures do not have the words—which perfectly describe the Spirit. The scriptures usually use the word voice. That does not exactly fit—it does, but it doesn’t. These very delicate, fine spiritual communications are not seen with our eyes nor heard with our ears; it is a voice that one feels more than hears.

When we experience a spiritual communication, we are wont to say within ourselves, “This is it. Now I understand.” That is what is meant by those words in the revelations. Nephi explained it this way:

“Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do” (2 Nephi 32:3)"

A spiritual communication should be a very important part of our day. It should be something we actively pursue. We came from Heavenly parents, it’s in us to be able to find that communication that saves spiritually.

As always we welcome your comments.

To view a copy of the Neighborhood News for Monday 9 May, click here.

Battling Depression

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I didn't know my mother had it. I think a lot of women don't know their mothers had it; that's the sad thing about depression. You know, you don't function anymore. You shut down.

You feel like you are in a void.

~Marie Osmond

Sometimes we may be depressed, and we don't even know it. I feel it in the winter months, it's known as SAD (seasonal affective disorder). I think I have it because I was born in a temperate climate and was transplanted to an area that has cold and snow six months out of the year. I feel the sadness settling in, and there's nothing I can do about it, until spring comes. Exercise helps a lot and I'm thankful for a modern luxury like a treadmill.

In the April 2002 Ensign, Shanna Ghaznavi wrote the article "Rising Above the Blues." The following is a short excerpt from it:

"Some of the symptoms of depression are persistent sadness, lack of energy, and suicidal thoughts. You might not enjoy many of the things you used to, and daily tasks might seem overwhelming. Although the same factors cause depression in both sexes, boys and girls tend to react differently to the same problems. Boys often act out in many cases, through violence, substance abuse, or getting into other kinds of trouble. Girls tend to become sad and withdraw socially, emotionally, or both. Each person will have a different combination of symptoms."

We see people who are depressed and have no actual skills to help them. Anybody can be depressed: children (it's so sad to see them like that-no pun intended), teenagers, new moms, adults and the aging.

Another excerpt from the same article:

"When people told Melissa to snap out of it, it only made her feel worse. She would try but would still wake up the next day feeling awful. ‘I didn’t even realize I was depressed,’ she says, ‘I didn’t even think to turn to my Heavenly Father for help.’ She also didn’t want to talk to her mom about what she was feeling. ‘But once I talked to her she was really supportive, and I needed that.’

 When Melissa was 14, her mom took her to a doctor. ‘At first I thought, No way! I don’t need a counselor. I’m fine! But I guess I wasn’t fine. When you’re depressed you don’t really realize there’s something wrong with you. And when you finally do recognize it, you’re so immune to it that it’s hard to deal with.’

Melissa has been in counseling for more than a year, and she looks forward to her once-a-week therapy sessions now. She’s glad she decided to get help. ‘I didn’t think I would ever need help. After a while I finally realized I needed to get down on my knees and ask for help. And that help came. I turned to my scriptures more often, and there would always be something there I needed to hear.”

With charity in our hearts and actions, even if we’re not qualified to aid someone with depression, we should still be able to be of help.

As always we welcome your comments.

To view a copy of the Neighborhood News for Monday 25 April, click here

Creative Answers

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The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this: a human creature born abnormally, inhumanly sensitive. To him, a touch is a blow, a sound is a noise, a misfortune is a tragedy, a joy is an ecstasy, a friend is a lover, a lover is a god, and failure is death. Add to this cruelly delicate organism the overpowering necessity to create, create, create - so that without the creating of music or poetry or books or buildings or something of meaning, his very breath is cut off from him. He must create, must pour out creation. By some strange, unknown, inward urgency he is not really alive unless he is creating. -Pearl Buck

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I believe that we came to this earth with many gifts. It’s up to us to find them, increase them and use them to the best of our abilities.

Creativity is something that puts us, especially women, at par with God. I’ve heard women say that they have no talent whatsoever, that they’re a complete zero. That’s not true.

Sister Mary Ellen Smoot, former Relief Society general president said:

“You might say, “I’m not creative.” I’m here to tell you, you are. You are creators. Have you ever coaxed a smile from a baby? Have you ever taught someone to forgive? Have you helped someone learn to read? Prepared a family home evening? Organized a family reunion? Possibly you were prompted to do something for a person you go visiting teaching or home teaching to that made a great difference in their lives. If you have done some of these things, you have been creative.”

We all have something of the divine that comes from our Heavenly Father. Today’s newsletter is a great example of what women can do when they choose to be creative. We all have something to share with others, we just need to find the right outlet.

“Do we recognize in our own lives the opportunities for creation that are there? Do we prize the gifts, talent, and choice spirits that God has given us? Do we share the creations of our hearts, minds, and hands with others?” (Same)

What are your thoughts?

To view a copy of the Neighborhood News for Wednesday, 2 February, please click  here.