Strength From Stories-Week of February 25 2017

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Read: 3 Nephi 27-30 and Our Heritage pages 120-124 (also attached as a PDF)

Write: Write about your experience as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Seattle, WA

Explore: Read from the history of visiting teaching here: https://history.lds.org/chdaily/8122015?lang=eng

This week as I read in 3 Nephi, I was struck for the first time by the words of the Savior about the importance of recording our spiritual histories.  In chapter 23, he asks to see the record that the Nephites have kept, and he notices that they have not recorded the miracles that took place as prophesied by Samuel the Lamanite:

9 Verily I say unto you, I commanded my servant Samuel, the Lamanite, that he should testify unto this people, that at the day that the Father should glorify his name in me that there were many saints who should arise from the dead, and should appear unto many, and should minister unto them. And he said unto them: Was it not so?

10 And his disciples answered him and said: Yea, Lord, Samuel did prophesy according to thy words, and they were all fulfilled.

11 And Jesus said unto them: How be it that ye have not written this thing, that many saints did arise and appear unto many and did minister unto them?

12 And it came to pass that Nephi remembered that this thing had not been written.

13 And it came to pass that Jesus commanded that it should be written; therefore it was written according as he commanded.

Sisters, I felt prompted as we contemplated this reading and writing journey many months ago that we as sisters of the Seattle North Stake should be doing as the Lord commands the Nephites: we should be recording the important events of our spiritual personal histories.  If you have not done so yet, please take a chance and follow the writing prompts in the coming weeks.  I promise that you will be blessed as you document your personal stories.

Again, I invite you to consider sharing your writing with us.  Let me know if you are interested in sharing by emailing me at marni.campbell@gmail.com.

Love and joy to you in the coming week,

Marni Campbell, Theresa Roth, Michelle Quinn, and Jenni Currit

Your Stake Relief Society Presidency  

Week of February 12 2017: Greater Things Be Made Manifest Unto Them

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This week's journey:

Read: 3 Nephi 21-26 and Our Heritage, pages 132-139, "The Present-Day Church"

Write: Write about your calling as a visiting teacher.  What is an important experience you have had recently?  

Dear sisters,

This week's reading continues with the account of Christ's miraculous visit to the Nephites, and shows us again how important the prophesies of Isaiah are to our Savior.  Take the time to linger in the language!  

If you would like to share your personal history writing, please let us know.  We would love to have you hear each other's voices in the coming weeks.  Email Marni Campbell at marni.campbell@gmail.com if you are interested.  The reading schedule should have been sent out to you again this week by your Relief Society presidency. If not, please email Marni and she will send it to you!  Remember that we are only going until our April general conference.  It's not too late to start reading and writing with us!

With love,

Marni Campbell, Michelle Quinn, Theresa Roth, and Jenni Currit

Your Seattle North Stake Relief Society Presidency

Week of January 12 2017: Always Remember Him

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Just six weeks left! Join us now and feel the joy of reading the Book of Mormon and writing your personal history!

Dear Sisters,

We hope that you had an uplifting week pondering the words, images, and doctrine so abundant in 3 Nephi 17, and that you took the time to write about a time when someone prayed for you or you prayed for a specific person, and/or a modern day prophet whose message has had an impact on you.  

And now on to this week's journey!

Read: 3 Nephi 18-20 and Our Heritage pages 111-115 (attached as a PDF!)

Write: This week as you take the sacrament, reflect on the words of the Savior in 3 Nephi 18.  Write your thoughts and feelings.  

This week I would like to share my own journal entry with you.  Many of you have told me that you have appreciated the prompting to do some reflection and recording of your personal history.  This week was particularly powerful for me.

Growing up we didn't have family prayer every day, but we did have a formal prayer every Sunday, before dinner.  We always kneeled by the dining room chairs, the smell of the roast beef hovering over us, but I remember most vividly my dad praying, with great detail and thoroughness, for each one of us kids.  He would voice his thoughts and feelings and hopes and concerns for us individually, and I will never forget feeling suddenly the significance of my life, my choices, my problems as I heard them voiced by my father.  3 Nephi 17 always reminds me of this feeling:  "no one can conceive of the joy which filled our souls at the time we heard him pray for us unto the Father."  Greg and I always prayed out loud for our kids by name and now they do it too for each other and for us when we say family prayer.  Last night on a video call with Eliza, me in bed at midnight and her in Amman 10 hours ahead, Greg and Thomas sitting beside me, we prayed.  Thomas prayed, out loud, and prayed for each one of us, and I felt that same majesty and joy.  

Sisters, we have just six weeks left in our reading and writing journey.  Please join us!  I promise that you will be blessed with joy, insight, comfort, and guidance.

With love,

Marni Campbell and the Stake Relief Society Presidency

Week of February 5 2017: Behold Your Little Ones

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Dear Sisters,

We hope that you are savoring the opportunity to read the words of the Savior in 3 Nephi.  We continue this week with more tender, powerful scriptures.  

Week of February 5 2017:

Read 3 Nephi 17 and Our Heritage, pages 105-110

Write Write about a time when someone prayed for you or you prayed specifically for someone you love,

or,

Write about a modern-day prophet whose message has had an impact on you.

This week's personal history was written by Sarah Kunz from the Discovery Park Ward.  Thank you Sarah!

Writing prompt: Interview an older family member and ask him/her what advice he/she would give to you. Record that advice.

I pondered for a while about who I should ask to share advice with me, and finally settled on my dad. We had the following text exchange:

Me: “I am wondering if you’d be willing to share some advice with me. Any type of advice about whatever you think would be helpful for me now and/or in the future. It can be general life advice or very specific – basically just things you think you would like to share with me.”

Dad: “Better call me. Just what is it I am supposed to tell you?”

Me: “Any advice you’d like to share. Your wisdom. Whatever you have learned in life that you think would benefit me. Anything you think is important or maybe that you wished you’d have known sooner. Really anything! Your chance to pass on whatever advice you feel led to share. I will call you tomorrow.”

Dad: “Ok til tomorrow”

With anticipation I called the next afternoon curious and a bit anxious to hear what advice my 83 year old father would bestow upon me. He told me he’d come up with only one thing – retirement. He advised me to make sure we were saving and planning for retirement. I admit I was a bit let down by that advice. While it is certainly sound advice, I had been hoping for something a bit more personal or insightful. I thought surely after living 83 years, married 55 years, and raising 4 children my father would have a lot of wisdom to pass on. When I pressed him he finally responded, “It’s hard to give you advice. You’re an adult now, and I don’t know that you need it.” That statement really made me pause. Does it appear as if I don’t need advice? Maybe he thinks I don’t value what he might have to teach me? He finally said, “Things I think of you’re already doing.” He first said attend church and be involved. Also be involved in community activities (“It’s character building!”) Stay healthy. Have family dinner. This led to a really great conversation about the importance of families.

I am the only member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in my family, but I was raised with a religious upbringing by parents who instilled in me that family comes first and that they are the people on whom we can most rely. Even today, though I live far away from my family and I have a couple of sisters with whom I am not particularly close, I know without hesitation I could pick up the phone and reach out to any one of them for anything I might need, and they would be there for me. I love the doctrine of eternal families and I love “The Family: A Proclamation to the World.” That inspired document was issued when I was 7 months pregnant with my first child, and it has been a guide as I have raised my children.

My dad’s advice to me is exactly the counsel given by living prophets, even though he doesn’t know that! And although he thinks I don’t need advice, it was gratifying to hear that he thinks I am trying to do the right things, the most important things. At the end of our conversation he left me with his final advice, “Carry on!”