Comments on: Creation and Compassion

By: Donald

Donald — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 00:59:14 +0000

Thank all of you for your words of heartfelt compassion. On this night great joy has returned on to me. It may only be short lived, but some times that is all one may have. I lost my son 21 months ago. I prey always for compassion for all of God’s children. Joy now only come and go and days and nights are long and lonely. You all are very likly to have one another!
I joined the church in oct 2007 after many months of asking God for direction. Two missionary had been sent in june 2007 to try to teach me. I live on a small farm in NW PA After moving here from Texas after my son was killed in Houston. I had meet one sister also who was suffering w/depression that is 1 out of 4 that had came. Not good odds. All I could do and still do is ask God to be compassionate toward her. I myself can only look forward to planting season. Hard work is good. I work in a steel foundry at night so I always are w/in myself asking for God’s freedom from this bondage. Hot, dust fills the air and the only sound is the pounding of Iron! Sometime the cost of hold on to the end is not a cake walk. But only real life. The church here has 2 wards under one roof but devided in some ways The well off VS the poor ect.. so I don’t much fit in. I only ride the fence between both wards. I would guess thing would be different depending where one went in the country / world. I had been born and raised her in NW PA but also live in Seattle, LA and Houston. Communities are different in many ways. I use the fact that England Spain and France ruled the world. England The USA east coast, France from About S. Caralina to east Texas and Spain from Texas to Seattle. Each brought his or hers cognitive past( religion, beliefs, ect… with them through time. So all I can do is be compassionate toward all people (riding the fence) get it? Thank all of you for what you do. and for your suffering in the The name of Christ.

By: Chelsea

Chelsea — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:45:52 +0000

I’m late in commenting but just wanted to add that I also loved Elder Uchtdorf’s talk.

And I agree with Jennie that it would be really cool to see non-US native general authorities speak in their native tongues. And I think it would go a long way in emphasizing the fact that we aren’t just a North American church anymore.

By: Tiffany

Tiffany — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 15:53:03 +0000

M&M, I don’t mind it repeated occasionally, but I feel like it takes up valuable talk time when it is repeated in EVERY conference by nearly all of the presidency.

By: m&m

m&m — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 07:41:34 +0000

but those talks are translated and broadcast in the various languages.

And if leaders can speak another language, they will sometimes translate their own. I have heard Elder Scott speak in Portuguese and Spanish, for example, and of course, Pres. Uchtdorf in German.

I actually like hearing about the history. I think knowing their beginnings and legacy can be very important in understanding our purpose now.

There are many women who don’t really understand the place of RS in the big scheme of things – that is a parallel to the quorums of the priesthood, of similar importance and potential for impact. we have a power all our own as women, and some women don’t see that. We don’t need a new organization or anything else to be able to fulfill our roles as women in God’s plan. We have what we need, and it’s been there since the beginnings. So I think reiterating that can be very valuable for a lot of women. Just my opinion.

By: Tiffany

Tiffany — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 23:47:33 +0000

And I do have to add a comment about the language issue. English is literally for most of the world the international language. It made seem biased to some, but the reality of the matter is that it is utilized throughout the business world and academic world. I don’t know that that is the reason for the church’s use of English, but it is certainly a common language throughout the world. Most academic conferences are held in English, regardless of the participants’ native languages. Most scientific journals are published in English and proficiency in English greatly adds to a potential scientist’s chances of success. Friends of mine from South America tell me that knowing English is a tremendous blessing to the people there.

It would be one thing if the talks weren’t translated and all members were expected to listen in English, but those talks are translated and broadcast in the various languages. I think the church works very hard to provide materials in the various languages of the members.

By: Tiffany

Tiffany — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 23:40:44 +0000

Okay, maybe this is controversial, but I am so tired of the leaders constantly telling us in every Relief Society General meeting about the origins of Relief Society. We get it, Relief Society is divinely inspired, now please proceed with the message. I don’t want a history lesson. I know the origins and I’m grateful for what happened but now I want to get to things that actually make a difference in my life in 2008.
I guess that sometimes it is a thing that bothers me. When I lived in Sweden, the members got really tired of hearing about some General Authorities Swedish ancestory. They appreciated the stories, but for most of them, they wanted to hear substancial and concrete counsel about how to face the challenges in their lives. In fact,a large majortity of them were 1st or 2nd generation members and didn’t have ancestors who joined the church.

On the other hand, I appreciated Sister Beck’s call to improve and do much better than we have. And President Uchdorft’s talk was very inspiring.

And one comment to add to Wendy’s earlier comment about service. I agree with her. This past summer, I suffered with a very intense bout of depression because of medicine that I was not taking. Anyhow, I was giving everything I could to serve my family, serve in the church and outside of the church. I felt like an empty shell and was horribly miserable. I had a chemical imbalance that needed to be treated. I’m in the process of getting treatment and my outlook on life has changed a great deal. And the service that i continue to render does bring me joy now. But it didn’t cure my depression.

By: m&m

m&m — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 05:33:30 +0000

Thanks for these thoughts. I know it probably sounded like a dumb question, but it’s something that has been on my mind. I agree with what you have said, and appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts. You articulated well what I have felt, but it helps to have someone else say it, too.

By: kjco

kjco — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 16:22:57 +0000

m&m,
We have so very many talented & creative women who share what they have w/everyone at school, at other churches, in their neighborhoods or at work. It is amazing to me the difference that even one woman makes when her arms are outstretched to do whatever she can AS A REPRESENTATIVE OF RELIEF SOCIETY. You don’t have to have a name tag to be a missionary & you don’t have to be a RS Pres. or Visiting Teacher to give relief.

However, if you understand the guiding principles of RS (they discussed them in the meeting–I DVR’d it but don’t have time to rewind & write them down) and get in a mindset of doing things as your own one woman/group RS representative, you will do things differently, more effectively than you would if you were doing them for yourself. God will magnify you. That is all there is to it.

Pray before you go out to work, or a PTA mtg. or a little league game that you can be an instrument in the Lord’s hands to give relief. You can even make your ward RS involved in a community project. We are not just there to be invisible cookie fairies. We can & must elevate the profile of the church & RS through our service, too, as well as the anonymous acts of kindness.

One example is, we have one sister who is our Enrichment leader and on my son’s middle school PTO Board. She has used her talents (which she learned as a missionary & in RS) to turn around that PTO board, they were seriously floundering before! It may not make converts to RS, but RS is there to make the world a better place & she did it! They will know that an LDS sister (they may not know she is a Relief Society sister but we are one & the same) came to their rescue. She helped rescue the best that was in them.

Just don’t be prideful or selfish by acknowledging that w/o God you wouldn’t have those talents. You owe His daughters in RS your time/creativity, too. So often I have seen sisters say that they don’t have time for RS/VT,callings, etc. because they are giving their all to serving their families, communities, etc. This is often true of those who have visible/audible talents who get a big ego boost or money from doing things for others outside the church. Unfortunately, work in the church is much like work in our families–thankless.

If you give the RS your equal time and thought and devotion, you will be blessed w/ increased understanding and creativity and you will learn from others and thus have more to give. The Lord will bless you to know who needs you in your little world and give you more to bless them with.

I don’t have a RS calling & I’m not a VT until they reassign me (recovering from cancer)but I feel like anything I can do (fulfilling compassionate service or cannery assignments, reminding sis. about registering to vote & lending my sealer for home storage) is as formal as it needs to get.

Go to providentliving.org and all the aspects they list from Employment to Physical Health used to be on a little wheel diagram long ago as the “mission of RS”. Helping people do any/all of those things is formally fulfilling the mission of the church.

Becoming immersed & versed in the scriptures is also a mandate of RS, as an individual or getting a RS interest group involved in studying scriptures would be doing more for the “organization” of RS as well. Everything we can do to strengthen ourselves & our sisters we VT to fight the good fight is strengthening the organization.

I know from where my strength comes & try to give the Lord (thru my sisters) His due on both the right hand and the left i.e. in the church or outside the church.

By: Kathryn Soper

Kathryn Soper — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 13:40:14 +0000

p.s. Wendy, the signing went well…and stay tuned for the UT county date!

By: m&m

m&m — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 19:29:56 +0000

So here’s a question that has been brewing in my mind….

And here’s a genuine question that has been in my mind. I don’t feel that all my talents, interests, and creative energies can be channeled well through RS in a formal way. I guess my question is, isn’t part of being a woman of RS being anxiously engaged in good that may not directly, formally associate with RS? I felt a lot of focus on Relief Society specifically in the meeting, but I don’t sense, esp. with Pres. Uchtdorf’s talk, that that means we should all be able to feel that RS as a formal structure is the only way for us to contribute through creation and compassion, service and sacrifice.

Then again, I am also feeling that I need to consider more what to do within the structure and function of RS as an organization, and I’m not sure how to do that. For me, it may just be more the little things…praying to know who needs me in my little world.

Don’t know if my question makes sense, but wondered if anyone else wondered about this. There was a lot of focus on Relief Society as an organization, and I get the sense that our leaders feel that we need to do more as an organization, so that has left me wondering a bit.