Teaching Children the Gospel.

Here are links to two of the sources that the Stake Primary Presidency used in their Teaching Children the Gospel class at our Stake Relief Society Conference last month.

*Improving Teaching Methods

*Love Those You Teach

RS Presidency Message: November 2015

When I think of November, the first thing I think of is Thanksgiving.  For may people, Thanksgiving has become a day devoted to eating a lot of food, watching the parade and some football before falling asleep on the couch.  But, what we typically think of as the first Thanksgiving was quite different.  After an extremely difficult sea voyage and a disastrous first winter in America, the settlers eventually prospered and celebrated their first successful harvest with a community feast of thanksgiving.

In the succeeding years, days of thanksgiving were proclaimed, but it wasn't until 1863 that Thanksgiving became a national holiday.  In a proclamation given in October of that year, President Abraham Lincoln said, "The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fiends and healthful skies.  To these bounties, which as so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added... It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged... by the whole American People.  I do therefore invite my fellow citizens... to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens."

Gratitude is a valuable enough virtue to receive its own nation holiday.  Even more notably, we get an idea of how important it is to the Lord that we give thanks, when He said, "Wherefore, I give unto them a commandment, saying thus:  Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy might, mind, and strength; and in the name of Jesus Christ thou shalt serve him.  Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.  Thou shalt not steal; neither commit adultery, nor kill, nor do anything like unto it.  Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things" (D&C 59:5-7)

Here, gratitude or giving thanks is grouped with some other pretty major commandments.  Of this scripture, President James E. Faust said, "It it clear to me... that to 'thank the Lord thy God in all things' i more than a social courtesy; it is a binding commandment."  The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines gratitude as 'a feeling of appreciation or thanks.'  To me, this definition, while accurate, seems inadequate in capturing the emotion of the gratitude we should feel toward our Heavenly Father and our Savior, Jesus Christ for everything they have done for us and for all that they have given to us.  President Uctdorf said that "true gratitude is an expression of hope and testimony.  It comes from acknowledging that we do not always understand the trials of life but trusting that one day we will."

It can be very challenging to be grateful when we are going through these trials in our lives.  President Uctdorf share a different way of looking at being grateful.  He said, "Could I suggest that we see gratitude as a disposition, a way of life that stand independent of our current situation?  In other words, I'm suggesting that instead of being thankful for things, we focus on being thankful in our circumstances--whatever they may be.  We sometimes think that being grateful is what we do after our problems are solved, but how terribly shortsighted that is.  How much of life do we miss by waiting to see the rainbow before thanking God that there is rain?"

As with all the commandments, there are great blessings associated with gratitude.  In D&C 78:19, we read "And he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea, more."  In the end, gratitude is a choice, so as we begin this Holiday season, I hope we will all think a little more deeply about what and who we are truly grateful for and never take anything good in our lives for granted.

-Sister Amanda Warner

1st Counselor, Kirtland Stake Relief Society

November 2015 Visiting Teaching Message.

For the month of November, please select one of your favorite talks given in the October General Conference to share a visiting teaching message.  Use inspiring messages from our leaders to teach and uplift.

Click here to access the October 2015 General Conference