Sunday Report: Our Relief Society Goals

Sunday, Jan 3, 2010, Ward RS Presidency Message: Taught by: Sister Kimball
At the beginning of a New Year, we often make  resolutions or goals to make the new year better than the last!  The question was posed to our ward Relief Society “What are our Goals for Our Relief Society in this upcoming year?” “What kind of Relief Society do we want to be?”  Given the objectives of Relief Society:  http://www.lds.org/pa/display/0,17884,4747-1,00.html
- Build faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and teach the doctrines of the kingdom
- Emphasize the divine worth of each sister
- Exercise charity and nurture those in need
- Strengthen and protect families
- Serve and support each sister
- Help sisters become full participants in the blessings of the priesthood
We added how we can fulfill those objectives:

• Talk with one another – really communicate
• Follow through with our commitments
• Introduce ourselves to one another
• Be Friendly
• Ask for help when needed (be humble & let other’s in)
• Be Positive
• Build each other up
• Smile
• Have Gratitude
• Read and Study the Scriptures
• Read and Study the Lessons
• Share our Talents and Abilities with others
• Develop our lesser seen talents
• Listen to the Spirit
• Follow the Spirit
• Always Remember our Savior, Jesus Christ
• Keep the Commandments

As we strive to  become more unified in our purpose and as we implement our goals, we need to be personally prepared with the strength to go about the Lord’s errand.  President Monson shares with us a reminder of  the kind of personal goals we need to set:
“As I contemplate the Relief Society of today, humbled by my privilege to speak to you, I turn to our Heavenly Father for His divine guidance. In this spirit, I have felt to provide each member of the Relief Society throughout the world three goals to meet:

1. Study diligently.
2. Pray earnestly.
3. Serve willingly.

Let us consider each of these goals. First, study diligently.  The Savior of the world instructed: “Seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith.” He added: “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” A study of the scriptures will help our testimonies and the testimonies of our family members. 2 Timothy 1:7-8 “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord.”
Beyond our study of spiritual matters, secular learning is also essential. Often the future is unknown; therefore, it behooves us to prepare for uncertainties. I urge you to pursue your education. Your talents will expand as you study and learn. You will be able to better assist your families in their learning, and you will have peace of mind in knowing that you have prepared yourself for the eventualities that you may encounter in life. I reiterate: Study diligently.
Pray earnestly. The Lord directed, “Pray always, and I will pour out my Spirit upon you, and great shall be your blessing.” Perhaps there has never been a time when we had greater need to pray and to teach our family members to pray. Prayer is a defense against temptation. It is through earnest and heartfelt prayer that we can receive the needed blessings and the support required to make our way in this sometimes difficult and challenging journey we call mortality.
My dear sisters, do not pray for tasks equal to your abilities, but pray for abilities equal to your tasks. Then the performance of your tasks will be no miracle, but you will be the miracle. Pray earnestly.
Finally, serve willingly. You are a mighty force for good, one of the most powerful in the entire world. Your influence ranges far beyond yourself and your home and touches others all around the globe. You have reached out to your brothers and sisters across streets, across cities, across nations, across continents, across oceans. You personify the Relief Society motto: “Charity never faileth.”
You are, of course, surrounded by opportunities for service. No doubt at times you recognize so many such opportunities that you may feel somewhat overwhelmed. Where do you begin? How can you do it all? How do you choose, from all the needs you observe, where and how to serve?
Often small acts of service are all that is required to lift and bless another: a question concerning a person’s family, quick words of encouragement, a sincere compliment, a small note of thanks, a brief telephone call. If we are observant and aware, and if we act on the promptings which come to us, we can accomplish much good. Sometimes, of course, more is needed.
Such acts of love and compassion are repeated again and again by the wonderful visiting teachers of this Church—not always in such dramatic situations but just as genuinely, nevertheless.
I extol you who, with loving care and compassionate concern, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and house the homeless. He who notes the sparrow’s fall will not be unmindful of such service. The desire to lift, the willingness to help, and the graciousness to give come from a heart filled with love. Serve willingly.
Our beloved prophet, even President Gordon B. Hinckley, said of you, “God planted within women something divine that expresses itself in quiet strength, in refinement, in peace, in goodness, in virtue, in truth, in love.”
My dear sisters, may our Heavenly Father bless each of you, married or single, in your homes, in your families, in your very lives—that you may merit the glorious salutation of the Savior of the World: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant” … in the name of Jesus Christ, amen." Thomas S. Monson, “Three Goals to Guide You,” Ensign, Nov 2007, 118–21
For other exceptional Church Talks on Resolutions and Goals:  (which could make for a great Family Home Evening Lesson)
Joseph B. Wirthlin, “Life’s Lessons Learned,” Ensign, May 2007, 45–47
Donald L. Staheli, “Achieving Your Full Potential,” Ensign, Feb 2009, 57–61
M. Russell Ballard, “Go for It!,” New Era, Mar 2004, 4
Joe J. Christensen, “Resolutions,” Ensign, Dec 1994, 62–67
Diana Logue, “New Year’s Resolutions,” Friend, Jan 1996, 36
Afton Day, “The New Me Has Been Cancelled,” Ensign, Jan 1981, 58