Presidency Message - "Changing Times" - Kathleen Walker - Dec. 6, 2009

Excerpts from a delightful and inspired lesson:

I have been at this assignment 3 months now. I came to it with some trepidation - at the completion of our Temple Assignment, I was fatigued. And that experience had been so glorious, so heavenly, that I was sure anything else would be a let down. I didn't really know you and you didn't know me. But I know I had two things going for me. 1) I loved Relief Society. 2) I love the Lord and whatever he requires of me will be mere minutia compared with what he has given me.

And 3 months later, I can say, I am finding joy in this service. I love this work. And I love you. There are mornings when I can hardly wait to get to the phone and start dialing some of you. I love to talk with you and share with you and learn and grow because of you.

As I have pondered on what I would talk about today, I thought I would just share 3 months of musings. Thoughts that have rumbled in my head.

I begin with this: We know that the principles and ordinances of the gospel will never change. they do not sway with the times, they do not follow social trends. They are constant and will remain so, because they are true. But the process by which those principles and ordinances are taught do change.

Pres. Eyring, in this last General RS Meeting, spoke of this - of the evolution of RS and its enduring legacy. When you look at the history of the church and specifically of RS we find a kind of "growing up." The Primary Organization, LDS Family Services, The Humanitarian Program, the church magazines, the hospital system in the valley, all found their beginnings in the RS.
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There was a time when temple attendance was tracked. The Handbook of Instructions used to be very thick, now it is thin. The Missionary lessons were once memorized, now we have Preach my Gospel which outlines the topics but encourages teaching by the spirit. The RS Manual for next year, the average length of lesson instruction is about 2 1/2 pages compared with 7 - 12 pages.

Why?
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The more we have to rely on the spirit for guidance, the more we bless the lives of those we serve.

We know that with Visiting Teaching, the more we practice the spirit of the law the less important the letter of the law becomes. We begin to simply love and care for the sisters and think less of rushing to their homes the last week of the month to get the visiting done.

We know that when we have an opportunity to fulfill a welfare assignment, or help at a funeral or take a meal in, that the spirit with which it is done, makes the difference between an act of charity and an imposition.

All of this brings me to the new instructions regarding the once called (Home Family and Personal Enrichment) Enrichment Program and now called Relief Society Meetings.
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This program is pushing us to live by the promptings of the spirit.

1. To offer things that will meet the spiritual, temporal, emotional and physical needs of the sisters in our ward.
2. These new RS Meetings will be held during the week (for us it will be on the 3rd Tuesday). They will generally be held monthly.
3. The bishop oversees the program, but under the direction of the RS Pres, in the same way priesthood quorums function.
4. The once Enrichment leader is now called "The RS Meeting Coordinator". In our ward it is Jenna Pratt, with 2 assistant coordinators, Coco Peterson and Jan Ingebretson. She also has a committee of helpers and has access to anyone on the RS Board (or in the RS).

We will begin this new program in January and will meet on January 19 for our first meeting. We have identified, with the Bishop's help, some of the needs that we feel the sisters of this ward have. If there is something you would like this program to cover, something that you need help in, something you are interested in, are capable of teaching or that you think would benefit others of this ward, please step forward and share with us. This program is for you. It is a supplementary program to the Sunday RS. it is not mandatory for entrance into the Celestial Kingdom, but can greatly enhance our knowledge, our skills and our interests and build a sense of camaraderie and sisterhood in this ward.
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I believe it is one more evidence that the Lord is hastening his work. We are being prepared to stand on our own feet and be accountable for our own lives! The spoon feeding is diminishing and the spirit of the law, as opposed to the letter of the law becomes the empowering principle. In the end we will each be accountable for our own salvation We will not slide in on the coattails of our parents, our husbands, our children or our best friends.

The result of this self empowerment will be that we will move UP. As you know, MOVIN UP is our theme this year . . . taken from the movie UP. We hope to have a ward movie night in Jan, in which we see that movie.
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One final plea: Please connect with those you visit teach. The Christmas season can be one of loneliness. Get on your knees and pray for guidance and then get on your feet and become the Savior's hands. Reach out in love.