October Ward Goal: Gratitude

As I thought about this months ward goal I thought back to the lesson I recently taught about recognizing Our Heavenly Father’s hand in our lives.
To confess the hand of the Lord in all things, to me, means to recognize His doings and be grateful. Even in adversity, He is there, helping us to learn and to grow. He intervenes more than we recognize. He helps more than we acknowledge. We must learn to walk closer to Him and as we look for His doings and thank Him, I suspect that He will bless us and guide us even more.
How grateful I am to live in a time when the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ is on the earth.

How grateful I am for the scriptures that have blessed my life and given me hope and guidance in so many ways.
How grateful I am to know that God lives and that Jesus is the Christ, and that God will have all men come unto Him and be saved, if only we will let Him rescue us.

There is much evil that we must work to oppose, and much suffering that we must work to relieve. But wherever we are in our lives, there are great blessings from God available to us for which we can thank Him. May we always recognize and confess His hand in all things.

I am Thankful for you all and know that the Lord loves each of us and will continue to bless us as we live righteously and for this we can be grateful!
Love,
Sister Bruntz

Relief Society Meetings

On September 26th, General Relief Society President Julie B. Beck announced that going forward "Home, Family and Personal Enrichment" will be dropped when any additional Relief Society meetings are held. Other than the Sunday Relief Society meetings, additional meetings will simply be called "Relief Society Meeting." Sister Beck re-emphasized the purpose of the Relief Society Organization by stating the following:"We know that the purpose of Relief Society as established by the Lord is to prepare women for the blessings of eternal life by helping them1. Increase their faith and personal righteousness.2. Strengthen their families and homes.3. Serve the Lord and His children. The following is posted on the Relief Society web page:"The purpose for additional Relief Society meetings is to give sisters opportunities to learn and apply principles and skills that will help them increase faith and personal righteousness, strengthen families and homes, and seek out and help those in need." If you would like to read Sister's Beck talk click on the following link:http://www.lds.org/library/display/0,4945,285-1-54-32,00.html

Creations of Women

Mark your calendars and start creating today, the Stake Enrichment Activity will be on Saturday, September 26th from 2 - 6 pm.  The Stake is looking for all sisters to take time to exhibit their creations.  We have MANY talented sisters in our North Pole ward and it would be a blessing to share your talents with others.  

During this activity, the Stake Relief Society is also participating in a service project...donations of winter accessories - like hats, scarves, and gloves, preferably home made - are being accepted at the local ward levels.  Look for our collection boxes coming soon to a Relief Society room near you.  

If you have any questions, please call Sister Karen Fell.

Temples

Again, we had another wonderful Relief Society lesson, Thanks Devra!

For those of you who have not been to the Temple or who know people who are unsure about what we do in the temple (there were a few comments about non-believers thinking we are strange) here is a wonderful message from the church that you will enjoy and can share with others!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-x_-TQivCx8

Forgiveness

"One of the most pleasing scenes that can occur on earth, when a sin has been committed by one person against another, is, to forgive that sin; and then according to the sublime and perfect pattern of the Savior, pray to our Father in heaven to forgive [the sinner] also.”

What a wonderful lesson we were blessed with on Sunday!

I strongly encourage those of you who are not able to attend Relief Society to read it.

It was lesson number 34 from Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith.

There was a brilliant discussion on how to forgive and the burden that is lifted when we can forgive those who have hurt us.

Sisters, with Heavenly Father's help we can forgive, even those who may have caused enormous grief.

Ten years ago my family received devastating news that my 19 year old brother had been in a bad car accident. He was taken to an hospital about an hour away from home, I was fortunate enough to have been home visiting from Germany at this time and was able to make the painfully long drive with my parents to go see my brother. We were told on the phone that it was very serious and to come right away. The entire way there we talked about how we could all pitch in and help with whatever needs my brother would have after he returned home to recover. Unfortunately my brother would never return home. We were told when we got to the hospital that he didn't make it. He had a severed aorta and spinal injuries and didn't make it through surgery. We were crushed! Words can't describe the feeling of losing someone so suddenly. I had just spent time with him before leaving for work and he asked me to make sure to save him some of the peanut butter balls I was making.

Our grief was elevated when we found out that it was a young drunk driver who had taken the lives of my young innocent brother and his co-worker, a husband and father of 2.

Our grief for the loss of my brother turned into hatred for this irresponsible driver who was not even of legal drinking age.

My family attended the court hearings for the accused, and witnessed the lack of remorse the defendant had. He was young and wanted to get on with his life without paying for what he did. In fact he was caught trying to leave the country when he was pulled over for driving while intoxicated AGAIN!

My Mom who was serving as Relief Society president at the time, talked to our family about the need to forgive the teenager who took these lives. She got a bad response from her 6 children, was she CRAZY? We were supposed to be able to forgive the person who took our dearly loved brother and didn't even seem to care?

My Parents asked us to pray to our Father in Heaven for help and he would help heal our hearts.

They shared with us the wonderful feeling they received and the sense of calmness when they were truly able to forgive this boy.

After a long process with help from my Heavenly Father I was able to forgive, which in turn brought me closer to my Father in Heaven and my savior and I knew my brother wanted us to forgive this young man, who was the same age as him.

Our Savior, Jesus Christ set a wonderful example for us while he was on this Earth.

In the everyday circumstances of life, we will surely be wronged by other people—sometimes innocently and sometimes intentionally. It is easy to become bitter or angry or vengeful in such situations, but this is not the Lord's way. The Savior counseled, "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you" (Matthew 5:44). He set the perfect example of forgiveness when He was on the cross. Referring to the Roman soldiers who had crucified Him, He prayed, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34).

Let us forgive the way Christ did, when we can forgive even the smallest of things our minds and hearts are freed of burden and we can have his spirit to dwell with us and become closer to thee and be happier people : )

-Sister Bruntz

A Worthwhile Read..

Sisters,
I just came across this conference talk from Thomas S. Monson, what a wonderful organization we have the opportunity to be a part of! How grateful I am to be part of the pure and god-fearing women!
http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=b08357b60090c010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1

New Relief Society Presidency

President: Sister Rebecca Bruntz
1st Counselor: Sister Sunni Putnam
2nd Counselor: Sister Karen Fell
Secretary: Sister Terry Miller

We look forward to serving the wonderful Sisters of the North Pole Ward Relief Society!

Purpose of Relief Society: The purpose of Relief Society, as established by the Lord, is to organize, teach, and inspire His daughters to prepare them for the blessings of eternal life.
Increase faith and personal righteousness.
Strengthen families and homes.
Serve the Lord and His children.

We must stand strong and immovable in faith, strong and immovable in family, and strong and immovable in relief. Sis. Julie B. Beck Ensign Nov. 2007

We love you all,
Your North Pole Relief Society Presidency