Sisters In Zion

Mother’s Who Know Have Great Power

Melissa — Fri, 08 May 2009 23:11:59 +0000

When I listened to Julie B. Beck give the talk “Mother’s Who Know” during General Conference In October of 2007 I cried. Being a mother was always my greatest desire. In school when the teacher would go around the classroom and have all of us say what career we wanted to have I would say Mother. Some of the students would laugh but I knew it was the most important job a woman could have.

Now as a mother of two little girls I know even more now how important being a mother really is. Especially a ‘Mother Who Knows’ I know that I have great power in teaching my children not just ABC’s and counting but also teaching them that they are children of God and to follow our Saviour, Jesus Christ. I know that I have great power in bringing the spirit into my home by keeping a clean home and being happy myself.

Here is a video of this wonderful talk - I thought it would be appropriate to post right before Mothers Day.

Melissa Lee

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Stocking Up On Food Storage Wisely

Melissa — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 20:22:33 +0000

During these tough times of economic trouble and a possible flu pandemic having a food storage and 72 hour kits are now more important than ever.

Many of us do not have the money to buy an instant food storage. By practicing smart shopping techniques you can spend $5 a week and obtain the food storage you need to survive an emergency in just one year.

My favorite website for finding the best deals is pinchingyourpennies.com they have forums for every state where administrators and users post the best deals. Many of these deals come from combining sunday paper coupons with sales. When you find a great deal and buy in bulk, put some of the items in your pantry for upcoming meals for your family and put some into your food storage. Be sure to date your purchase with a permanent marker and research how long that item will hold its nutritional value for. Look through your food storage at least twice a year (during conference weekends!) and rotate items often. Have your family help.

Here are some examples of how long certain food storage items will last for:

Wheat - 20 years
White Flour - 5 years
Rice - 4 years
Oats - 5 years
Beans - 8 years
Pasta - 8 years
Sugar - 20 years
Powdered Milk - 3 years
Canned Goods - 2 years
Juice in Plastic containers - 1 year

One resource to find a comprehensive list of what you need for your 72 hour kit can be found at LDS.About.com

Feel free to share any tips and links that could help us with food storage and 72 hour kit needs.

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An Apostle’s Easter Thoughts

Melissa — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 02:12:44 +0000

I missed most of the conference talks as I started conference weekend with taking my one year old daughter to two different doctors and then to the hospital for and X-ray, ultrasound then CT scan after which she was diagnosed with Appendicitis. She was then admitted to the Children’s Hospital where we stayed until Tuesday evening. We never got to sleep that night until 7 am on Sunday!

We also missed church on Easter as we had to return to the hospital. I was sad about missing church on Easter as it is the most holy day of the year. The resurrection is the reason why we even have the sabbath on Sunday instead of the seventh day - Saturday. I still wanted to share this beautiful message by Elder Holland - An Apostle’s Easter Thoughts. Many of you have probably already seen this but I feel it is worthy of reposting.

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I need to go catch up on all the conference talks!

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Sign Up For An LDS Account

Melissa — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:15:42 +0000

If you haven’t logged into stake and website account recently you may not be aware that the account will no longer be available is a couple of months. If you still want to access your stake and ward homepage you will need to sign up for an LDS Account. The LDS Account will enable you to access various church websites using the same user name and password.

If you are switching to the LDS Account from the previous log in account you will not need to resubmit your membership number and confirmation date however if you have not previously had a stake and ward website log in account you will need to supply this information which can be obtained from your Bishop or your Temple Recommend card.

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Relief Society Turns 167

Melissa — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 21:57:09 +0000

I love being a part of Relief Society. It is such a noble feeling to be a part of one of the worlds oldest and largest women’s organization. Even more special is that fact that it is such a wonderful institution that seeks to lift one another up and involve ourselves in acts of charity all around the world!

I know that I can go to Zimbabwe or Mongolia or Scotland and feel a connection with LDS women there because we are all a part of Relief Society.

Relief Society also teaches us that was great as daughters of a loving Heavenly Father. I wanted to share this video that reminds us of this truth. The song is called ‘Daughter Of A King’ and it is sung by Jenny Phillips. Enjoy and happy RS anniversary to everyone!

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The ‘Big Love’ Controversy

Melissa — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 23:49:47 +0000

By now many of you have probably heard that HBO’s ‘Big Love’ which is produced by Tom Hanks plans to replicate rooms in the Temple as well as the Temple Ceremony. Many members of the church have written to HBO expressing their disgust as well as cancelling their HBO subscriptions. I think cancelling HBO subscriptions is a good idea, less TV is always a good thing.

I just love the Official Church Statement on this issue. You can truely feel the Christlike love from our church leaders and know that while others are mocking our sacredness we can stand tall and not make a big deal about this.

The church recently uploaded this video on why we have temples on Youtube.

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‘Heavenly Father Loves Me’ Activity For Children

Melissa — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 20:43:13 +0000

Here is a fun activity that encourages children to think things that Heavenly gives us that show his love for us. Play it during Family Home Evening or with your primary class.

The activity was taken from the I Am A Child Of God Manual:

Bring an object, such as an empty beverage bottle that can spin like a pointer. Seat the children in a circle on the floor and place the bottle in the middle of the circle. Spin the bottle on the floor. When it points to a child, that child should name something that Heavenly Father and Jesus have given us that shows their love for us. If you are doing this activity with very young children help each child think of an answer when it is their turn. After a child responds let them spin the bottle so it points to another child.

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Mormons Made Simple

Melissa — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 23:22:40 +0000

If someone has never been to a sunday service at the Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-day Saints they may not know to expect and this can make them feel a little uncomfortable. Even if they belong to another Christian church somethings might be a little different than what they are used to.

Doug and Laurel want to help people out who don’t know much about the LDS church but would like to attend a church meeting. They created a website - Mormons Made Simple - and made a cute and easy to understand videos to help people learn about what to expect during church.

Another video that is also a great tool to teach your children is an introduction to the Book Of Mormon:

Videos on The Restoration And The Plan Of Salvation will be on the website soon.

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In Dreams/Prayer Of The Children Arrangement

Melissa — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 17:00:13 +0000

When my husband and I were dating I was attending LDS Business College and he was attending BYU-Idaho. He would come down most weekends to visit me. I lived just up the street from Temple Square. Since church didn’t start until 1pm we would go to ‘Music and the spoken word’ we even went to the last one that was held in the Tabernacle!

I miss going to the Music and The Spoken word sometimes I watch them online. Here is one segment from a couple of years ago. It is a beautiful arrangement of ‘In Dreams’ from ‘Lord Of The Rings’ and ‘The Prayer Of The Children’. The arrangement is by Kurt Bestor.

Doesn’t the little boy have an amazing voice?!

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Mormons On Season 8 Of American Idol

Melissa — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 23:43:17 +0000

It seems like Mormons being on reality shows is quite popular. I don’t have cable but the only show I watch episodes of is American Idol. I guess I like to choose favourites and then see how far they go. I admit my favourites usually involve Mormons. I thought Brooke White and David Archuleta did great last year, even if Brooke White was not LDS I still think she would have been my favourite.

This year my early favourite is Anoop Desai but I still think it will be fun to figure out who all the Mormons are this season.

I am pretty much 100% sure that Taylor Vaifanua is LDS. She is a polynesian 17 year old from Utah who always dresses modestly and she even recorded a CD with Deseret Books a few years ago.

It sounds like that Kai Kalama, another polynesian may also be LDS. I have read a few LDS bloggers say that they grew up with him and that his family went to church with them. He seems like a wonderful man, at only 26 he takes care of his Mom who is quite Ill.

Another possible LDS member is Megan Corkrey I guess because I say that because she is from Utah, got married very young and had a child at 21. Besides the tattoos she looks very fresh faced. Sadly at 23 she is going through a Divorce. I hope everything works out for her little family she seems like a sweet girl.

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