Trust in the Lord

On my trip home from Bear Lake I was able to listen to a good book entitled, Kisses from Katie.  It is a true story about a young woman that goes to Uganda to teach Kindergarten, but finds a life of service.  At age 22 she has adopted 14 children and will spend the rest of her life in Africa.  She is close to her Heavenly Father as she serves Him and His children.  As I listened something huge stood out to me.  You know the saying that says God will not give you more than you can handle, well she says that just isn't true.  He gives us more than we can handle on purpose so we can exercise our faith in Him.  So we have to ask for his help, so we trust that when we can do no more, that he will step in and do the rest.  

I ask that as you serve His children in primary that you remember to seek His guidance.  He knows each child in your Primary by name.  He knows every hair on their little heads and He knows exactly what they need.  You can teach them by yourself, but with His help it will be way more effective.  Trust Him and He will help you make the impossible, possible.  Reach out to those that are lost and you will see miracles happen.  

Autumn McClellan

2nd Counselor

Arlington Stake Primary

Dare to Do

"President Monson taught that we should love everyone and learn to see how we can help them." (The Savior's Call to Serve)

I was reminded of an experience this morning.  On the Sunday of our ward conference my boys decided it would be funny to sit in the very front row of the chapel.  Normally, we sit on the very back row because well, my kids can be a little noisy.  They ran in first and I came in and sat on our row.  Pretty soon I am thinking, where are my kids, and there they were front and center.  I tried to talk them into sitting in the back, but they were not budging.  My husband and I caved to their will and sat in the front row.  I thought this would be sheer torture, but guess what it wasn't that bad.  I made it through one Sunday sitting in the front row.  I ventured out of my comfort zone.  The next Sunday we were back in our comfort zone, but I learned it is okay to step out once in awhile.  

I would encourage you to step out of your comfort zone on occasion.  Say Hello to someone new.  Send a note to a child you have not seen in awhile.  If you feel the spirit prompting you, go and bring them some cookies and let them know you miss their family at church.  Talk to the parents and find out if there is anything you can do for them.  What is the worst thing that can happen?  All they can say is "No".  Love that family until they come back and keep loving them so they want to stay.  Be bold, and be brave, the Lord will help you.  

"The Lord will not permit us to fail if we do our part.  He will magnify us even beyond our own talents and abilities...It is one of the sweetest experiences that can come to a human being."  Ezra Taft Benson

Autumn McClellan

Second Counselor

Arlington Stake Primary

Our opportunity to serve

"Are you ever guilty of murmuring when a calling comes to you? Or do you accept with thanksgiving each opportunity to serve your brothers and sisters, knowing that our Heavenly Father will bless those whom He calls?  May we ever remember that the mantle of membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not a cloak of comfort but rather a robe of responsibility. Our duty, in addition to saving ourselves, is to guide others to the celestial kingdom of God."  Thomas S.  Monson (The Saviors Call to Serve)

What a wonderful opportunity you have to serve in primary.  Jesus loved the little children and you have been called to teach them and love them as He did.  

Elder M.  Russel Ballard (Teaching No Greater Call) said, "Clearly, those of us who have been entrusted with precious children have been given a sacred, noble stewardship, for we are the ones God has appointed to encircle today's children with love and the fire of faith and an understanding of who they are."  

*  Teach them correct doctrine simply and clearly

*  Teach them that the peace , love, and warmth they feel at primary come from the Holy Ghost and are the beginnings of their testimony.  

*  Help them understand the gospel and how it applies in their world, home, and family.  

*  Teach with variety and ask, what will the children do to learn and how can I help them feel the Spirit?  

Cherish your calling in primary.  You receive special blessings as you teach children.  You have an opportunity to learn the gospel in its simplicity when you give lessons and the spirit will testify to you and the children that these simple principles are true.  Remember when you study and pray about each lesson you will be  prepared and the Spirit will be with you.  When you teach with the Spirit you guide others to the Celestial Kingdom.  I know I feel the Spirit each time I come to your primary.  I know you love the Lord.  

Autumn McClellan

Arlington Stake Primary

2nd Counselor

Pioneer Heritage

I found this little article on lds.org and thought it fitting for this week.

More than a century has passed since tens of thousands of pioneers sailed across oceans to heed a prophet’s call to gather to Zion. They left family and friends; they pulled handcarts across the plains; they grew a city out of a desert. Most important, the pioneers left a legacy of perseverance, faith, and sacrifice.

Today most members are not asked to make the same physical sacrifices as the pioneers, but Saints in every nation can be “pioneers all,” President Thomas S. Monson has said, as they meet suffering with courage, inspire faith in others, and do hard things that are necessary to gain eternal salvation and build the kingdom of God on earth (“Pioneers All,” Ensign, May 1997, 93).

In a conference address titled “Modern Pioneers,” Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles paid tribute to the “rank and file” members of the Church who “face hardships, overcome obstacles, and follow the servants of the Lord Jesus Christ as valiantly as the pioneers of any age.”

Thank you Sisters for being pioneers and teaching the sweet children of our Stake, they will learn to be pioneers through your example.

Happy Pioneer Day!

Michelle Nieman

1st Counselor

Arlington Stake Primary

Weekly Teaching Moment: Selfless Service

I found this profound quote this week in my studies.  It helps me focus on what is most important.  “You wonderful sisters render compassionate service to others for reasons that supersede desires for personal benefits.  In this you emulate the Savior, who, though a king, did not seek position, nor was he concerned about whether others noticed Him.  He did not bother to compete with others.  His thoughts were always tuned to help others.  He taught, healed, conversed with, and listened to others.  He knew that greatness had little to do with outward signs of prosperity or position.  He taught and lived by this doctrine. ‘He that is greatest among you shall be your servant.’”  Dieter F. Utchdorf (Daughters In My Kingdom)

“The mediocre teacher tells.  The good teacher explains.  The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.”  William Arthur Ward.  The Savior, our greatest teacher, inspires us with His selfless example of love and service.

Thank you! You wonderful sisters for your examples of selfless service-

Love, Tanya  Yancey

Arlington Stake Primary President

Simplify

“We human beings have a strange tendency to complicate simple things. We set up rules, laws, bylaws, processes, and subprocesses. Eventually, we pile up load after load until we end up under a huge weight of expectations that are so complicated it is difficult to keep track of them, let alone meet them.” -Pres. Uchtdorf (Acting on the Truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Worldwide Leadership Training, February 2012) 

Do you ever get so caught up in the details of your calling that you neglect or put important family matters on hold? Sisters, this is not the Lord’s plan. There is one calling in life from which we will never be released. That is the calling of wife and mother. But neither does this mean that our responsibilities in our callings must suffer. The Lord will provide a way for us to do all that He asks (see 1 Nephi 3:5-7), and he does not wish for us to neglect our families as we serve. 

May I suggest that there are a few principles we would do well to follow as we seek to fulfill our responsibilities in our families and in our callings? 
* Slow down while still being diligent. (Mosiah 4:27)
 * Simplify. (Alma 37:6) 
* Invite the Spirit. (Alma 17:3 and D&C 50:13-14) 

In the Worldwide Leadership Training from February 2011, there is a wonderful example which I would like to draw your attention to. In the following link at about 2 minutes 30 seconds in, there is a video which talks about spiritual preparation. http://www.lds.org/broadcasts/watch/worldwide-leadership-training/2011/02?lang=eng&vid=779971295001&pkey=AQ%2E%2E,AAAAD5C7cik%2E,NkEKrBzbuXJBcGJrgsDFjLEiJ-nXhUBl&pid=610705729001 

What I loved about this video is how it showed that this sister fulfilled her responsibilities for her calling “while continuing to put the needs of her own family first” and “while applying the things she was learning in her own life”. Sisters we can serve and receive inspiration for our callings while taking care of our families and while fulfilling our own personal spiritual needs. Sisters, let us slow down and simplify our lives. And then let us be sure that we are doing those things which invite the spirit into our lives. We all know what those things are. I know that as we do this and seek to care for our families’ needs and especially our own spiritual needs first--even as we are pondering on how to best meet the needs of those we serve in our callings--we will be blessed with inspiration throughout our day and the Lord will give us direction and answers line up line as we need them. 
Thank you for your diligence, your care and concern for the children and families in your wards, and for your carefulness in living close to the spirit. These things bless the lives of us all. May the Lord continue to bless us each in our efforts, and may our families also be blessed as we serve. 

My love to you all. 
-Sister Colburn 

Serving Families

In our latest Worldwide Leadership training, we were given counsel concerning families. Consider these words from President Nelson’s talk.

“Our task to defend the family is not an easy one. Trends in the world diminish the significance of the family.”

“In reality, we are raising our children in enemy-occupied territory. The homes of our members must become the primary sanctuaries of our faith, where each can be safe from the sins of the world.”

“Three times in sacred scripture the warning is made that “the whole earth would be utterly wasted” at the Lord’s return if certain conditions were not in place (see D&C 2:3; 138:48; Joseph Smith—History 1:39). In each instance, that warning relates to the condition of the human family without the sealing ordinances of the temple. Without these ordinances of exaltation, the purposes of creation would not be realized.”

Those are pretty powerful words on the importance of families. As we serve the children in our Primaries, we must always keep in mind that we are serving families. In line with counsel from this same meeting, we must seek first to understand (see Elder Uchtdorf’s talk). Consider, what are you doing to understand the needs of the families in your ward? What are you doing to “turn the hearts of the children to their fathers” (Malachi 4:5-6)? What are you doing to support families, to help the children to feel supported within their families? We must be careful that we do not attempt to reach past or supplant the parent in order to reach the child. This may sometimes be difficult with some families, but I know that as we seek the Lord’s help we can find ways to strengthen the families of all children in our Primaries...remembering that the child’s family is and needs to be their primary sanctuary from the “enemy-occupied territory” of the world and that “no other instrumentality can take its place.” (see The Family: A Proclamation To The World).

Thank you for all of your tireless effort in serving the children and their families. Often it is through the child that the parent will be reached and brought into activity. This was so in the case of my own husband, and it has been an immense blessing in the lives of my children and in my own life. I am ever thankful for it.

My love to you.

-Sister Colburn

Preparing Spiritually and Teaching by the Spirit

The following video teaches us about the importance of preparing spiritually in our callings and in our families. http://www.lds.org/service/leadership/prepare-spiritually?lang=eng
I love the scripture which was used to begin the video.
“And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.” Matthew 14:23

It brings to mind another scriptural account which is similar.

“And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray.” Luke 9:28

The first scripture is a great reminder and example to us to take time out for spiritual communion and feasting so that we can be better prepared to teach with the spirit. The second is similar, only this time Jesus takes his disciples with him. We too can bring those we teach with us to as we “go up into a mountain to pray”. We can help those whom we teach to feel the spirit so that they also say as Peter did “it is good for us to be here”. (Luke 9:33)

Consider these words from ‘Teaching, No Greater Call concerning the importance of the Spirit in our teaching.

“The spirit of God speaking to the spirit of man has power to impart truth with greater effect and understanding than the truth can be imparted by personal contact even with heavenly beings. Through the Holy Ghost the truth is woven into the very fibre and sinews of the body so that it cannot be forgotten.”
– Joseph Fielding Smith (Teaching, No Greater Call, p. 41)

“If you accomplish nothing else in your relationship with your students than to help them recognize and follow the promptings of the Spirit, you will bless their lives immeasurably and eternally.”
–Elder Richard G. Scott (Teaching, No Greater Call, p. 48)

“Parents and teachers, our efforts to help our children establish a heritage of rich spiritual memories are never wasted...They will remember what they know and what they have felt. They will remember their identity as children of Heavenly Father, who sent them here with a divine purpose.”
–Sister Susan L. Warner, former counselor in Primary general presidency (Teaching, No Greater Call, p. 6)

I know that as you prepare yourselves spiritually, you will have the ability to bring a feast to those whom you teach so that they will desire to know what you know, and to feel what you feel...and you will aid them in knowing and feeling of the spirit in their own lives. This is the essence of all good teaching.

My love to you.
-Sister Colburn

Make the choice

Weekly Teaching Moment  2/19/2012

I would like to share one of my favorite quotes with you.

"Live your life so that those who don't know Him, but know you, will want to know Him because they know you."

One of my favorite scriptures also happens to be this years theme. 

“Choose you this day whom ye will serve; . . . but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).

My challenge for us all this week is to commit to choosing the right even when it is hard. Loving those around us even though at times that is not easy. May each of us Serve the Lord with our whole hearts.

Michelle Nieman

1st Counselor in the Stake Primary Presidency