This is a play about the Women of Nauvoo! The First Relief Society Meeting where Joseph pronounced the blessing on the women. Rooted in Nauvoo is a Readers Theater. We had a dinner for the birthday and spread the characters amongst the sisters eating dinner. It was incredible night.
We may not have known them in Nauvoo, but they are our Religious Roots.
From the blessing from Joseph through the Martyrdom all the way to the trek to Salt Lake City, they were more like us than we could have ever thought. You may even hear your own voice in the voice of these women.
This is about a convert living in Utah and experiencing "Pioneer Day" where just about everyone is a Daughter of the Pioneers. I had no connection with the Pioneers. I wasn't a Young, or a Monson, or a Smith. How could I celebrate and relate...especially since I had no friends. I went to the Relief Society event, but I just came for CAKE! I just couldn't relate to Emma and Eliza.
So getting the assignment to write a play for the 170th Birthday of the Relief Society based on the Daughters in my Kingdom book, was just the blessing I needed.
My Relief Society President sent this to Salt Lake Resource Room
and I received this...
The is the first quote I read in DIMK,
"We must Cherish one another, Watch over one another, Comfort one another and Gain Instruction that we may all sit down in heaven together.
Lucy Mack
It made me cry. I wanted to feel that way. But Utah was lonely for me. So I decided to research the women of the Female Relief Society of Nauvoo and see if they were friends...I needed them to be friends....that is what I was going to write this play on...the Women.
Well, they did not disappoint. These women were incredible. I didn't have any live friends, but through my research I had 10 dead friends. Truly I dreamt about them. The Lord helped me to write this. I knew when to write and when to research. Meet the Women of Nauvoo. They are incredible.
Please enjoy, use, pass around. The first few pages are the process I went through before and during the writing of the play. It too is worth reading. They want to be remembered! Comment, send me a note if you use it...I would love to know what you think!
There was an assignment....Make your Home an MTC teach them all the things they will need to know to be confident, effective Missionaries.....
Why? What is new, why the push for this MTC at home. The only change I knew of was the age change. The new lower age limits for young men and for young women to enter the mission field. But truthfully aren't we already preparing our kids for missions?...
Ok...well to be perfectly honest. Most of my friends are and have sent missionaries out with success. I am not going to sit here and tell you about all of my successes because I truly have ZERO - a big goose egg. I have 3 kids, I am a convert, my husband is essentially a convert (born in church - reactivated!) ... 2 boys and 1 girl...none, zero, including my husband, went to go on a mission. I am not complaining or asking for your forgiveness or excusing myself. I am simply stating that fact. Some would say, who are you to write a MTC manual - you have had no success. I would say, I am the right person to write this. Even more with the Lord's help, which I had much, I would say I am the perfect person to listen, to hear, and to collaborate with the Lord. Nothing to cloud my judgement - the Lord wants to Hasten the Work, to do that he wants better prepared missionaries! I only had to ask - where do we start? (start-over) what are we missing?
Truly, what I found was MTC can be many things...for me it was, Mothers Teach Children - maybe for you it is Missionary Training Manual or Mothers Training Manual- either way it can help you handle areas in your home that might need a tune up!
Last year, Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shared this story as an introduction to the vital role that mothers play in preparing their sons and daughters to be missionaries: “I was in charge, chairman of the Priesthood Executive Council. We’re together and talking about how we can get more young men on missions. And Elaine Jack raised her hand. She was then Relief Society president. She said, ‘Elder Ballard, why don’t you ask the women? Perhaps we could help; after all, we are their mothers’ ” (A Conversation on Counseling Together in the Workplace, June 9, 2010).
My Relief Society President received this assignment from the Stake and came back to the ward with a heart of fire. I was the Committee Leader so I was the receiver of her fire. We/she didn't have a plan, just the feeling that this was significant. Somehow we needed this to be significant. We started with the talk by Julie Beck, " Mothers Who Know" -
6 months, several failed attempts, 443 pages, 12 sections later...It is significant!
I can testify that I had Heavenly Help in creating this binder. Here is why this is so needed!
MTC Binder, we went looking for the holes in the boat, we have identified them via, Prophet, Apostles, Former Mission Presidents, Former Missionaries, Family Health doctors, etc...they say identify the problem is half the battle....YOU are the other half needed to make this all come to pass.
The Announcement
“I am pleased to announce that effective immediately all
worthy and able young men who have graduated from high school
or its equivalent, regardless of where they live, will have the option
of being recommended for missionary service beginning at the age
of 18, instead of age 19. I am not suggesting that all young men
will—or should—serve at this earlier age. Rather, based on individual
circumstances as well as upon a determination by priesthood leaders,
this option is now available.
“As we have prayerfully pondered the age at which young
men may begin their missionary service, we have also given
consideration to the age at which a young woman might serve. Today
I am pleased to announce that able, worthy young women who
have the desire to serve may be recommended for missionary
service beginning at age 19, instead of age 21.
(President Thomas S. Monson, Ensign,
November 2012, 4-5).
The Explanation - to the Future Missionaries
Elder Holland stated,
“Perspective missionaries will be asked to enhance and improve
and take more seriously their pre-mission preparation….
“Let me say something to the young missionary: “What does this
mean for you? First of all, it means that God is hastening His work. And he
needs more and more willing and worthy missionaries to spread the light and
the truth and the hope and the salvation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to an
often dark and fearful world.
The Explanation - to the Parents of Future Missionaries
“We ask parents to take a strong hand in this
preparation and not expect that it is somehow the
responsibility of local church leaders, or the missionary
department of the church or MTC’s to provide and direct all
of that” (Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, LDS News Release,
So like I said in the beginning.....
Before our young men and young women enter the MTC, they should be
able to:
1. Study the scriptures
2. Teach the gospel
3. Pray and receive answers
4. Get along with others
5. Being worthy
6. Be physically prepared
7. Be mentally prepared
8. Be financially prepared
9. Recognize the Holy Spirit in their lives
10. Talk with adults and have meaningful conversations
11. Have control over their emotions
12. Have a desire to be obedient
13. Be emotionally stable
Conference, 6 October 2012,
Become a mother who knew more than she thought she knew!
Truth be told...The Benefit of Having a Living Prophet is that he knows what the Lord wants and needs...He is Hastening his work and we are in important part of the plan!
What a great website...they have done the Emergency Challenge for years.
Their's is much harder. They are a wealth of information regarding Food Storage and Emergency Preparedness.
The helpful hints, tools, and articles were researched and posted by the above committee. Thank you again for all your hard work! I know that in the very near future, someone, will benefit from all the information.
Thank you Sisters of the 5th Ward for your participation! We had more "views" each Challenge day than ever before!
I hope you learned something and had fun in the process!
Your family and friends are starting to figure out that you have
a great food storage. Your mother-in-law (or friend, or grandma, or
fill-in-the-blank) just called you this morning and asked if she could come by
later today and check out your preps. She is interested to learn how much you
have, and how you rotate it all. She even hints that she might want to purchase
some food for you for a gift.
Today’s
Tasks:
·Organize your kitchen pantry and any food storage areas in your
home
·Evaluate where your appliances are in your home to make cooking
with food storage easier
·Move some of your long term food storage up to your kitchen area
to encourage you to use it more
·Check your water supplies, refill any empty containers
·Inventory your long term food storage items
·Inventory your three month supply items
·Look at your Disaster Kits, do you need to swap clothes out?
Rotate food? Do what you can now and make a list of anything you may need to
buy
Today’s
Limitations:
·For this day, and ALL days of the challenge: no spending money,
no going to stores, and no restaurants … UNTIL YOU ARE FINISHED!
Helpful Hints! We can help and will help at our next meeting - Family Binders..emergency preparedness and food storage made easy!! 30 days to a family binder printables
Dont' worry we will work on it together!! information to follow
7 Mistakes of food storage
By Vicki Tate
Issue #55 • January/February, 1999
If you are going to store food, make sure that the food you store is adequate for the need you and your family anticipate. This may not be as easy as to achieve as many people think, because the facts are that most people make serious errors when storing food—errors that will come back to haunt them when the food they've stored is the only thing that stands between them and their empty, dissatisfied, bellies.
There are seven common mistakes people make when storing food. They are:
1. Variety
Most people don't have enough variety in their storage. 95% of the people I've worked with have only stored four basic items: wheat, milk, honey, and salt. Statistics show most of us won't survive on such a diet for several reasons. a) Many people are allergic to wheat and may not be aware of it until they are eating it meal after meal. b) Wheat is too harsh for young children. They can tolerate it in small amounts but not as their main staple. c) We get tired of eating the same foods over and over and many times prefer to not eat, then to sample that particular food again. This is called appetite fatigue. Young children and older people are particularly susceptible to it. Store less wheat than is generally suggested and put the difference into a variety of other grains, particularly ones your family likes to eat. Also store a variety of beans, as this will add color, texture, and flavor. Variety is the key to a successful storage program. It is essential that you store flavorings such as tomato, bouillon, cheese, and onion.
Also, include a good supply of the spices you like to cook with. These flavorings and spices allow you to do many creative things with your grains and beans. Without them you are severely limited. One of the best suggestions I can give you is buy a good food storage cookbook, go through it, and see what your family would really eat. Notice the ingredients as you do it. This will help you more than anything else to know what items to store.
2. Extended staples
Food storage isn't just for catastrophe, but you need regular items on hand in case someone losses their job or is disabled. Short term and Longterm food storage is a must!
Never put all your eggs in one basket. Store dehydrated and/or freeze dried foods as well as home canned and "store bought" canned goods. Make sure you add cooking oil, shortening, baking powder, soda, yeast, and powdered eggs. You can't cook even the most basic recipes without these items.
3. Vitamins
Vitamins are important, especially if you have children, since children do not store body reserves of nutrients as adults do. A good quality multi-vitamin and vitamin C are the most vital. Others might be added as your budget permits.
4. Quick and easy and "psychological foods"
Quick and easy foods help you through times when you are psychologically or physically unable to prepare your basic storage items. "No cook" foods such as freeze-dried are wonderful since they require little preparation, MREs (Meal Ready to Eat), such as many preparedness outlets carry, canned goods, etc. are also very good. "Psychological foods" are the goodies—Jello, pudding, candy, etc.—you should add to your storage. These may sound frivolous, but through the years I've talked with many people who have lived entirely on their storage for extended periods of time. Nearly all of them say these were the most helpful items in their storage to "normalize" their situations and make it more bearable. These are especially important if you have children.
5. Balance
Time and time again I've seen families buy all of their wheat, then buy all of another item and so on. Don't do that. It's important to keep well-balanced as you build your storage. Buy several items, rather than a large quantity of one item. If something happens and you have to live on your present storage, you'll fare much better having a one month supply of a variety of items than a year's supply of two or three items.
6. Containers
Always store your bulk foods in food storage containers. I have seen literally tons and tons of food thrown away because they were left in sacks, where they became highly susceptible to moisture, insects, and rodents. If you are using plastic buckets make sure they are lined with a food grade plastic liner available from companies that carry packaging supplies. Never use trash can liners as these are treated with pesticides. Don't stack them too high. In an earthquake they may topple, the lids pop open, or they may crack. A better container is the #10 tin can which most preparedness companies use when they package their foods.
7. Use your storage - shop here first!
In all the years I've worked with preparedness one of the biggest problems I've seen is people storing food and not knowing what to do with it. It's vital that you and your family become familiar with the things you are storing. You need to know how to prepare these foods. This is not something you want to have to learn under stress. Your family needs to be used to eating these foods. A stressful period is not a good time to totally change your diet. Get a good food storage cookbook and learn to use these foods! It's better to find out the mistakes you'll make now while there's still time to make corrections.
It's easy to take basic food storage and add the essentials that make it tasty, and it needs to be done. As I did the research for my cookbook, Cooking with Home Storage, I wanted to include recipes that gave help to families no matter what they had stored. As I put the material together it was fascinating to discover what the pioneers ate compared to the types of things we store. If you have stored only the basics, there's very little you can do with it. By adding even just a few things, it greatly increases your options, and the prospect of your family surviving on it. As I studied how the pioneers lived and ate, my whole feeling for food storage changed. I realized our storage is what most of the world has always lived on. If it's put together the right way we are returning to good basic food with a few goodies thrown in.
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