“If it is the Lord’s plan, it should also be our plan!”
Print off your October Visiting Teaching Message Here
and your pumpkin envelope HERE
Monday, October 10, 2016
October 2016 Visiting Teaching Message Freebie
“If it is the Lord’s plan, it should also be our plan!”
Print off your October Visiting Teaching Message Here
and your pumpkin envelope HERE
Wednesday, October 5, 2016
General Conference Breakfast
This year we tried Liege Waffles and they were a huge hit!
The recipes I used are found HERE.
They're so worth a try!
Sunday, August 14, 2016
24 Days of Christmas Day 24
24 December
John 8:12 12 ¶Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am
the light of the world: he that followeth me shall
not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
Carol: Silent Night Hymn #204
Tonight is
Christmas Eve Read the real story of the Savior’s Birth
Luke 1:26-38,
46-47
Luke 2:1-20
Matthew
2:1-14
24 Days of Christmas Day 23
23 December
Firstborn
D&C
93:21 21 And now, verily I say unto you, I was in
the beginning with the Father, and am the Firstborn;
Carol: The First
Noel Hymn #213
An adapted version can be found here
24 Days of Christmas Day 22
Acts 10:38,
42 38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth
with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and
healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with
him.
42 And
he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is
he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of
quick and dead.
Carol: With Wondering Awe Hymn #210
Lesson: The
Gifts of the Wise men
Have Gold
coins (Chocolate gold coins will work nicely), myrrh and frankincense (Found at
a health food store) ready to show as
needed.
The Gifts of the Wise men
Matthew
2-11
...And
when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his
mother, and fell down, and worshipped him; and when they opened their treasures,
they presented unto him gifts: Gold, and frankincense, and Myrrh.
Isn’t it interesting that Matthew, the tax collector, (who
knows the value of things) is the one to record the gifts that were brought to
the Savior?
Gold
. Gold has been used for Centuries by numerous cultures;
even mentioned in the account of the Garden of Eden, (Genesis 2:11) Gold is
a symbol of royalty, kingship, and power. It was imported to Ancient Israel and was held in high esteem for its
great beauty, rarity, and resistance to corrosion. It symbolizes
"A Priestly King" Representing
the celestial or godly nature of Christ, including His incorruptibility,
purity, and wisdom and was a worthy
gift for the Son of God.
Frankincense
came from Oman and was considered so valuable that it was worth more than its
weight in gold. Frankincense is the
resin from the Boswellia tree. Small slits are made in the bark and the sap
slowly bleeds out and dries into the white "tears". Thus its white color represents purity. It symbolizes sacrifice,
communion with God, and resurrection.
The ancient Israelites used
frankincense only in offerings of purity to their God and never associated with
any sin or wrongdoing; thus making frankincense a pure offering literally to
the living King.
Myrrh
was worth seven times its weight in gold and also is the natural sap from the
Cammiphora tree. It is a balm related to
suffering, healing, anointing, and atonement.
It is very
significant because it was one of the first gifts to Jesus and the final
offering to him as he was on Golgotha as a deadening agent to relieve his
suffering. He refused the wine and Myrrh mixture because he had "already
drank the bitter cup". Myrrh has a bitter taste and thus represents
mortality and sacrifice.
“That there were three gifts has
provoked the tradition that there were three wise men. The number three, however,
represents that which is godly or divine in nature and origin, and it is likely
for this reason that there were three gifts—that is, Jesus was godly/divine in
His nature and origin and the wise men were sent of God.” -Alonzo Gaskill
What could
be a more fitting gift for the Savior than
gold symbolic that He is King, Frankincense representing pure worship, and
Myrrh to acknowledge His sacrifice? These costly gifts to the Holy family are
believed to have provided the means to travel to Egypt. These three gifts listed by
Matthew symbolize Christ, His nature, and the gifts He would bring to the
world.
Wednesday, August 10, 2016
24 Days of Christmas Day 21
Matt 9:6, heading 6 But that ye may know that the Son of
man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith
he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.
Carol: When Joseph Went to Bethlehem - #38
Words of the
Prophets
There are men who object to Santa Claus, because he does not
exist! Such men need spectacles to see that Santa Claus is a symbol; a symbol
of the love and joy of Christmas and the Christmas spirit. In the land of my
birth there was no Santa Claus, but a little goat was shoved into the room,
carrying with it a basket of Christmas toys and gifts. The goal of itself
counted for nothing; but the Christmas spirit, which it symbolized, counted for
a tremendous lot.
As a boy, I loved going to the canyon to cut our Christmas
tree, and I always tried to get one that reached to the ceiling. Though we
received only a few gifts, our stockings were filled with fruit, nuts, and
candy, and Santa always left something. Like all children, we suffered terrible
anticipation at Christmastime--until, that is, we happened onto the Santa Claus
costume in the bottom of an old trunk. Suddenly the secret was out. So that was
why Father was always out doing chores when Santa came on Christmas
morning.
From The Joys of Christmas, a booklet of President Benson's
testimony on the true meaning of the season.
How is Christmas regarded today? The legend of Santa Claus,
the Christmas tree, the decorations of tinsel and mistletoe, and the giving of
gifts all express to us the spirit of the day we celebrate; but the true
spirit of Christmas lies much deeper than these. It is found in the life of the
Savior, in the principles He taught, in His atoning sacrifice—which become our
great heritage.
Emphasis added. From "The
Real Christmas," a 1972 BYU Devotional.
24 Days of Christmas Day 20
1 Pet. 2:21 21 For even hereunto were ye called:
because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye
should follow his steps:
A Shining Star in the Heavens Family Home Evening
Song Suggestions: “Stars
were Gleaming” Children's Songbook p 37
“With
Wondering Awe” hymn p 210
“He
Sent His Son” Children's Songbook p 34
Scripture: Mark 4:22 “For
there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept
secret, but that it should come abroad.”
Opening Prayer: Assigned
Lesson: Frontiers of Science: A Star Is Born
Closing Prayer: Assigned
Treat: Shining Star Cookies
Frontiers of Science: A Star Is Born
By Dr. Sherwood B. Idso
In a revelation given to Moses the
Lord says that there is no end to His works, and that “as one earth shall pass
away, and the heavens thereof even so shall another come. …” (Moses 1:38.) So
it is that as astronomers press forward in their quest to probe ever deeper
into the vast reaches and mysteries of space, many evidences of this continuing
process of creation are brought to light.
Consider the stars. Perhaps the most
well-known case of a new star appearing in the heavens is that of the star of
Bethlehem heralding the birth of Christ. What exactly was it? Although there
are many possibilities—a new star, a comet, or a great stellar explosion—we
really do not know its true nature. We do know, however, that stars are
continually going through a process similar to that described by the Lord in
conversing with Moses.
Indeed, even now astronomers are
observing and studying objects in the heavens that could well have been created
since the time of Christ’s earthly mission.
A prime example is the exciting
discovery this past year of a newborn star in the center of the Orion Nebula,
the great cloud of unorganized dust and gas in the constellation Orion.
Although it is difficult to see through very dense nebulae to their centers,
new instruments at the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona allowed
scientists there to detect the new star, as well as several other objects that
may well be protostars or clumps of matter that are still in the formative
stage and have not yet reached true stardom. The new star that has been
identified is estimated to have “turned on” within only the past few thousand
years, which is a very short time after the manner of the Lord’s reckoning.
But exactly how is a new star formed?
And how is the birth of a star and its companion planets related to the
“passing away” of another solar system?
One current theory is that as a great
cloud of interstellar material swirls through space, portions of it become more
dense than others and begin to draw together.
Coincidentally, a nearby star may
explode in a supernova. Some astronomers believe that when this happens, an
expanding shock wave from the supernova may wrap itself around some of these
localized dense pockets of dust and compress them even more. Once these
compressed dust clouds become so packed together that they exceed a certain
critical density, their own gravity then causes them to contract into compact
spheres. At this point temperatures and pressures at their centers rise
dramatically, and the spheres ignite—that is, they begin to produce energy by
nuclear fusion and take their places among the shining lights of the universe.
Thus, the explosive death of one star
can lead to the creation of several new stars and planets as the Lord presides
over the continuing process of creation.
We must consider ourselves fortunate
indeed to be able to behold and to comprehend in some small degree the enormity
and grandeur of the work of our Heavenly Father, wherein He prepares worlds
without number for the habitation of His children. It is no exaggeration to say
that when we contemplate the heavens with their suns, moons, and planets, we
contemplate God. For as the Lord has said, “… any man who hath seen any or the
least of these hath seen God moving in his majesty and power.” (D&C 88:47.)
What greater reason can we have to cast our eyes heavenward?
Let us all look up and marvel at the
work and glory of our Creator.
Friend, Dec. 1979, 32
Shining Star
Cookies
1 cup
softened butter
1 cup brown
sugar
2 eggs
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
3 ¼ cups sifted flour
colored hard candy broken into small pieces, jolly ranchers, lifesavers etc.
Mix butter, sugar, and eggs together in
bowl. Combine salt, baking soda, and flour, and add to sugar mixture a little
at a time. Knead dough, then chill several hours. Pinch off small ball of dough
and place on parchment paper. Roll dough with hands into long strips. Repeat
several times, storing remaining dough in refrigerator. Cover cookie sheet with parchment paper. Place a strip of dough on the cookie sheet and cut out
a star shape or other shape, gently pulling away the extra dough. Using a smaller cookie cutter cut out a
window in the middle. Bake at 325ºF (160ºC) for 5–8 minutes. Remove
cookies from oven. Fill “windows” in middle with thin, even layer of candy
pieces. Return to oven and bake about 8–10 minutes more. Watch closely to make
sure cookies don’t burn. After cookies cool and harden, peel off any parchment that sticks to them.
Another festive recipe can be found HERE
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