Thoughts on the General Relief Society Meeting

While I didn't actually attend (sorry Trish) the broadcast, you can get the transcript from the Church Website. No matter how terrible of a job I'm doing as a sister or mother or daughter of God, I'm always inspired and energized by the words of the leaders. 

From Julie Beck, the Relief Society General President:

To fulfill the purpose of Relief Society, the Lord has commissioned each Relief Society sister and the organization as a whole to:

1. Increase in faith and personal righteousness.
2. Strengthen families and homes.
3. Serve the Lord and His children.

From Barbara Thompson, the Second Counselor:

Sisters, now more than ever, we need women to step up and be strong. We need women who declare the truth with strength, faith, and boldness. We need women to set an example of righteousness. We need women to be “anxiously engaged in a good cause.” We need to live so that our lives bear witness that we love our Heavenly Father and the Savior Jesus Christ and that we will do what They have asked us to do. We need to rescue “all that is finest down deep inside of [us]” so that as daughters of God we can do our part to build the kingdom of God. We will have help to do this. As Joseph declared, “If you live up to your privileges, the angels cannot be restrained from being your associates.”

^{From Me: (because I'm such an authority and expert :) yeah right!}

^{Today as I was teaching the beehives about sacrifice and consecration, we talked about being true disciples of Jesus Christ. We talked about the fact that if we truly are and act as representatives of Christ, others will know it just by watching/interacting with us.} 

^{I've had this scripture on my mind a lot lately. It's one of my favorites:}

"I say unto you, can ye look up to God at that day with a pure heart and clean hands? I say unto you, can you look up, having the image of God engraven upon your countenances?" Alma 5:19

I am writing this post because it helps me get motivated, not to preach to others.  If a blog is like a journal, then this is exactly what I would put in my journal to inspire me to be a better person and take a step closer to "having His image engraven upon my countenance." I need all the help I can get. I want to get a nice, framed painting of Mary and Martha like the one above to help me keep my priorities in the right place.  Far too often, I'm like Martha and forget to choose "the good part". Here's how the story goes, as retold by Bonnie Parkin, a former Relief Society Pres:

Martha lived in the small village of Bethany, where she “received [Jesus] into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard his word.”  Both women loved the Lord. And “Jesus loved Martha, and [Mary].”  In fact, their relationship breached convention, for at that time women were not usually able to discuss the gospel with men.

On one occasion Martha was making dinner and, as the scripture says, “was cumbered about much serving.”  In other words, she was stressed out!

Mary, on the other hand, “sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word,”  while Martha became increasingly upset that no one was helping her. Does that sound familiar? Do you think she was thinking, “Why is Mary sitting there while I’m sweating over this stove?” So Martha turned to Jesus and said, “Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.”

The Lord’s gentle invitation to Martha may have surprised her. “Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

This story is such a good lesson to me.