Week of March 5 2017--just four weeks left! Join us now for the conclusion of the Book of Mormon!
Read:
Write:
Write about 4 Nephi 1:17. What can you do to reduce the "ites" in your life?
Dear sisters,
We look forward to seeing you in a few weeks on March 25 at 5 pm to share the first session of General Conference together, the women's session. Following the live broadcast we will celebrate our reading and writing journey together, share sisterhood, and enjoy light refreshments. Hope to see you there!
We also invite you to join the Book of Mormon journey this week. It is never too late to feel the joy, blessings, and illumination that come from reading the Book of Mormon.
This week's personal history reflection was written by Michelle Quinn of the Elliott Bay Ward, and counselor in the Stake RS Presidency. Thank you Michelle for your eloquent thoughts!
PROMPT: Write about your experience as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Seattle, WA.
Sometimes we view life as a bunch of puzzle pieces. We may think we are building a lake, as many of the pieces we have are blue, then we are handed a hot pink piece. Where does it fit? It’s only later on, when we see that the blue is the sky not the sea, and the hot pink becomes the vivid clouds at sunset, do we understand that these two contrasting colors do actually fit together.
There is bound to be some puzzling over the puzzle pieces in our lives. However, when the Lord sees us struggling to making sense of the pieces, he does not gently re-direct us to the playdough table, glitter-glue and scissors, or any other task then figuring out and solving the problem that we are so desperately struggling with.
The Lord is with us through our struggles. He does not come after, or simple relieve us from the burden. However, we can show him the pieces we are struggling with, and ask His knowledge for where they fit.
My grandmother loves doing puzzles. I remember as a child she would sit at a card table sorting pieces. I remember being so amazed when she taught me that there was a method to the madness of a 5000 piece jigsaw puzzle. She would explain how you set the piece out on cookie sheets, so they’re all upright and you can see them. Then, she explained that you start by looking for the edge pieces, which are identified by their characteristic straight lines. It was strangely reassuring to know there was a starting place and strategy for tackling that big box of bits of colored cardboard.
Life and the gospel can be the same way. There is a method to the “madness” of mortality. So often we are amazed at the Lord’s power to be reassuring. Just like my grandmother taught me how to approach the chaos of a box full of thousands of puzzle pieces; the Lord can teach us how to approach the thousands of situations we will find ourselves in during this life here on Earth.
Sometimes we may feel like the puzzle pieces. In fitting in (or not fitting in) at church we may feel like that hot pink puzzle piece in a ocean of blue. That does not mean that we do not belong! Being a different sort of puzzle piece is not bad, it’s just different. Again, trust the Master puzzle builder. He knows all the pieces, and how they all fit together. You may be surprised that you are meant as that hot pink piece to be amongst a sky of blue, but then you might just also find that you feel like you do belong there.
Seattle is such a wonderful and diverse area to attend church. There is no question that we enjoy a wide breadth of individuals in our Stake. While struggles come up from time to time that threaten our unity and harm the harmony of our spiritual community; it is reassuring to know that there is much more that unites then divides us. It's reassuring to know that we can understand how we fit in at church. It is fulfilling to see all of us come together each Sunday and worship under a common roof. That is what being a Latter-Day Saint in Seattle is all about. -mq
Thank you sisters for all that you do and are!
Marni Campbell, Michelle Quinn, Theresa Roth, and Jenni Currit, your Stake RS Presidency
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