Volleyball!

YW Volleyball starts today! Sat. October 23. If you want to play, it starts at 1 pm at the Northfield Stake Center, we need you there twenty min. early. Please come if you can make it!

The Divine Gift of Gratitude

This is one of the many talks that touched me. It is also our Evening of Excellence theme! Just for fun it is here as a reference. It was really powerful and touching to me.

President Thomas S. Monson

A grateful heart . . . comes through expressing gratitude to our Heavenly Father for His blessings and to those around us for all that they bring into our lives.

This has been a marvelous session. When I was appointed President of the Church, I said, “I’ll take one assignment for myself. I’ll be the adviser for the Tabernacle Choir.” I’m very proud of my choir!

My mother once said of me, “Tommy, I’m very proud of all that you’ve done. But I have one comment to make to you. You should have stayed with the piano.”

So I went to the piano and played a number for her: “Here we go, [here we go] to a birthday party.”¹ Then I gave her a kiss on the forehead, and she embraced me.

I think of her. I think of my father. I think of all those General Authorities who’ve influenced me, and others, including the widows whom I visited—85 of them—with a chicken for the oven, sometimes a little money for their pocket.

I visited one late one night. It was midnight, and I went to the nursing home, and the receptionist said, “I’m sure she’s asleep, but she told me to be sure to awaken her, for she said, ‘I know he’ll come.’”

I held her hand; she called my name. She was wide awake. She pressed my hand to her lips and said, “I knew you’d come.” How could I not have come?

Beautiful music touches me that way.

My beloved brothers and sisters, we have heard inspired messages of truth, of hope, and of love. Our thoughts have turned to Him who atoned for our sins, who showed us the way to live and how to pray, and who demonstrated by His own actions the blessings of service—even our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

In the book of Luke, chapter 17, we read of Him:

“And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.

“And as he entered into a certain village, there [he met] ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:

“And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.

“And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.

“And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,

“And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.

“And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?

“There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.

“And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.”²

Through divine intervention those who were lepers were spared from a cruel, lingering death and given a new lease on life. The expressed gratitude by one merited the Master’s blessing; the ingratitude shown by the nine, His disappointment.

My brothers and sisters, do we remember to give thanks for the blessings we receive? Sincerely giving thanks not only helps us recognize our blessings, but it also unlocks the doors of heaven and helps us feel God’s love.

My beloved friend President Gordon B. Hinckley said, “When you walk with gratitude, you do not walk with arrogance and conceit and egotism, you walk with a spirit of thanksgiving that is becoming to you and will bless your lives.”³

In the book of Matthew in the Bible, we have another account of gratitude, this time as an expression from the Savior. As He traveled in the wilderness for three days, more than 4,000 people followed and traveled with Him. He took compassion on them, for they may not have eaten during the entire three days. His disciples, however, questioned, “Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?” Like many of us, the disciples saw only what was lacking.

“And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And [the disciples] said, Seven, and a few little fishes.

“And [Jesus] commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.

“And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.”

Notice that the Savior gave thanks for what they had—and a miracle followed: “And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full.”⁴

We have all experienced times when our focus is on what we lack rather than on our blessings. Said the Greek philosopher Epictetus, “He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.”⁵

Gratitude is a divine principle. The Lord declared through a revelation given to the Prophet Joseph Smith:

“Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things. . . .

“And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things.”⁶

In the Book of Mormon we are told to “live in thanksgiving daily, for the many mercies and blessings which [God] doth bestow upon you.”⁷

Regardless of our circumstances, each of us has much for which to be grateful if we will but pause and contemplate our blessings.

This is a wonderful time to be on earth. While there is much that is wrong in the world today, there are many things that are right and good. There are marriages that make it, parents who love their children and sacrifice for them, friends who care about us and help us, teachers who teach. Our lives are blessed in countless ways.

We can lift ourselves and others as well when we refuse to remain in the realm of negative thought and cultivate within our hearts an attitude of gratitude. If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the noblest of virtues. Someone has said that “gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.”⁸

How can we cultivate within our hearts an attitude of gratitude? President Joseph F. Smith, sixth President of the Church, provided an answer. Said he: “The grateful man sees so much in the world to be thankful for, and with him the good outweighs the evil. Love overpowers jealousy, and light drives darkness out of his life.” He continued: “Pride destroys our gratitude and sets up selfishness in its place. How much happier we are in the presence of a grateful and loving soul, and how careful we should be to cultivate, through the medium of a prayerful life, a thankful attitude toward God and man!”⁹

President Smith is telling us that a prayerful life is the key to possessing gratitude.

Do material possessions make us happy and grateful? Perhaps momentarily. However, those things which provide deep and lasting happiness and gratitude are the things which money cannot buy: our families, the gospel, good friends, our health, our abilities, the love we receive from those around us. Unfortunately, these are some of the things we allow ourselves to take for granted.

The English author Aldous Huxley wrote, “Most human beings have an almost infinite capacity for taking things for granted.”¹⁰

We often take for granted the very people who most deserve our gratitude. Let us not wait until it is too late for us to express that gratitude. Speaking of loved ones he had lost, one man declared his regret this way: “I remember those happy days, and often wish I could speak into the ears of the dead the gratitude which was due them in life, and so ill returned.”¹¹

The loss of loved ones almost inevitably brings some regrets to our hearts. Let’s minimize such feelings as much as humanly possible by frequently expressing our love and gratitude to them. We never know how soon it will be too late.

A grateful heart, then, comes through expressing gratitude to our Heavenly Father for His blessings and to those around us for all that they bring into our lives. This requires conscious effort—at least until we have truly learned and cultivated an attitude of gratitude. Often we feel grateful and intend to express our thanks but forget to do so or just don’t get around to it. Someone has said that “feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.”¹²

When we encounter challenges and problems in our lives, it is often difficult for us to focus on our blessings. However, if we reach deep enough and look hard enough, we will be able to feel and recognize just how much we have been given.

I share with you an account of one family which was able to find blessings in the midst of serious challenges. This is an account I read many years ago and have kept because of the message it conveys. It was written by Gordon Green and appeared in an American magazine over 50 years ago.

Gordon tells how he grew up on a farm in Canada, where he and his siblings had to hurry home from school while the other children played ball and went swimming. Their father, however, had the capacity to help them understand that their work amounted to something. This was especially true after harvesttime when the family celebrated Thanksgiving, for on that day their father gave them a great gift. He took an inventory of everything they had.

On Thanksgiving morning he would take them to the cellar with its barrels of apples, bins of beets, carrots packed in sand, and mountains of sacked potatoes as well as peas, corn, string beans, jellies, strawberries, and other preserves which filled their shelves. He had the children count everything carefully. Then they went out to the barn and figured how many tons of hay there were and how many bushels of grain in the granary. They counted the cows, pigs, chickens, turkeys, and geese. Their father said he wanted to see how they stood, but they knew he really wanted them to realize on that feast day how richly God had blessed them and had smiled upon all their hours of work. Finally, when they sat down to the feast their mother had prepared, the blessings were something they felt.

Gordon indicated, however, that the Thanksgiving he remembered most thankfully was the year they seemed to have nothing for which to be grateful.

The year started off well: they had leftover hay, lots of seed, four litters of pigs, and their father had a little money set aside so that someday he could afford to buy a hay loader—a wonderful machine most farmers just dreamed of owning. It was also the year that electricity came to their town—although not to them because they couldn’t afford it.

One night when Gordon’s mother was doing her big wash, his father stepped in and took his turn over the washboard and asked his wife to rest and do her knitting. He said, “You spend more time doing the wash than sleeping. Do you think we should break down and get electricity?” Although elated at the prospect, she shed a tear or two as she thought of the hay loader that wouldn’t be bought.

So the electrical line went up their lane that year. Although it was nothing fancy, they acquired a washing machine that worked all day by itself and brilliant lightbulbs that dangled from each ceiling. There were no more lamps to fill with oil, no more wicks to cut, no more sooty chimneys to wash. The lamps went quietly off to the attic.

The coming of electricity to their farm was almost the last good thing that happened to them that year. Just as their crops were starting to come through the ground, the rains started. When the water finally receded, there wasn’t a plant left anywhere. They planted again, but more rains beat the crops into the earth. Their potatoes rotted in the mud. They sold a couple of cows and all the pigs and other livestock they had intended to keep, getting very low prices for them because everybody else had to do the same thing. All they harvested that year was a patch of turnips which had somehow weathered the storms.

Then it was Thanksgiving again. Their mother said, “Maybe we’d better forget it this year. We haven’t even got a goose left.”

On Thanksgiving morning, however, Gordon’s father showed up with a jackrabbit and asked his wife to cook it. Grudgingly she started the job, indicating it would take a long time to cook that tough old thing. When it was finally on the table with some of the turnips that had survived, the children refused to eat. Gordon’s mother cried, and then his father did a strange thing. He went up to the attic, got an oil lamp, took it back to the table, and lighted it. He told the children to turn out the electric lights. When there was only the lamp again, they could hardly believe that it had been that dark before. They wondered how they had ever seen anything without the bright lights made possible by electricity.

The food was blessed, and everyone ate. When dinner was over, they all sat quietly. Wrote Gordon:

“In the humble dimness of the old lamp we were beginning to see clearly again. . . .

“It [was] a lovely meal. The jack rabbit tasted like turkey and the turnips were the mildest we could recall. . . .

“ . . . [Our] home . . . , for all its want, was so rich [to] us.”¹³

My brothers and sisters, to express gratitude is gracious and honorable, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live with gratitude ever in our hearts is to touch heaven.

As I close this morning, it is my prayer that in addition to all else for which we are grateful, we may ever reflect our gratitude for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. His glorious gospel provides answers to life’s greatest questions: Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where do our spirits go when we die? That gospel brings to those who live in darkness the light of divine truth.

He taught us how to pray. He taught us how to live. He taught us how to die. His life is a legacy of love. The sick He healed; the downtrodden He lifted; the sinner He saved.

Ultimately, He stood alone. Some Apostles doubted; one betrayed Him. The Roman soldiers pierced His side. The angry mob took His life. There yet rings from Golgotha’s hill His compassionate words: “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”¹⁴

Who was this “man of sorrows, . . . acquainted with grief”?¹⁵ “Who is this King of glory,”¹⁶ this Lord of lords? He is our Master. He is our Savior. He is the Son of God. He is the Author of Our Salvation. He beckons, “Follow me.”¹⁷ He instructs, “Go, and do thou likewise.”¹⁸ He pleads, “Keep my commandments.”¹⁹

Let us follow Him. Let us emulate His example. Let us obey His words. By so doing, we give to Him the divine gift of gratitude.

My sincere, heartfelt prayer is that we may in our individual lives reflect that marvelous virtue of gratitude. May it permeate our very souls, now and evermore. In the sacred name of Jesus Christ, our Savior, amen.

YW/YM Stake Activity

We are going up to Mutual Dell this Thursday- the 19- for a state YW/YM activity! It goes from 2:00- 8:30 pm, but we are meeting at the church at 1:15 pm to get rides. It is going to be a BLAST. We are having dinner there. Please come! We all want you to be there!

Baptisms For the Dead

Baptisms for the dead are this Tuesday! PLEASE BE THERE!! We are going to meet at the church at 6:15 AM We need start at 6:30.

THANK YOU!

We just cannot thank Robyn enough for all that she did to make Camp the best EVER! We appreciate all your time that you put into camp. It was absolutly amazing! You've done so much for our camp in the past two years! We love you! THANK YOU!!

We love our leaders. Thank you so much for infuecing our lives for the better and spending so much time helping us! Where would we be without you!? Thank you!

Girls Camp

Girls Camp was a BLAST!! It wouldn't have been possible with our amazing leaders! They made it the best it could be. THANK YOU!!! We all apreciate and love you! Thanks for always being there and always being amazing!

Good job!

Taylor got her Young Womenhood Recognition Award! Amazing job Taylor! You are an example to all of us!

New Bee!

We would like to welcome Aubrynn to Young Womens! We are so glad we can have her in our our Beehives class and cannot wait to get to know her!

Concert in the Park

Just a reminder, the activity this week is actually going to be on Tuesday instead. We are going to meet at the church at 6:30 and then going to the Concert in the Park. There's going to be free strawberries and cream! It is going to be a blast! Hope you can make it!

Activity Tonight

We are having an activity up at Mutual Dell tonight. Please meet at the church at 6 to drive up there. It's sure to be a blast!

Also, if you would like to help check the tents to make sure they are in top condition for Girl's Camp, please be there at five. We really don't want to get up there to find out the tents are broken. Thanks!

The Crash

We are very sorry for what happened to Brooke and Trisney and are relieved with a quick recovery! We all missed you on Sunday!

Camp Pre-Certifacation

Only one person came to the last precertifacation, and we really want you to come! Here are the dates for each one and the fourth year overnighter:

• 2nd years- April 24 at 12:00 at Robyns' house
• 3rd years- May 1st at 10:00 at Robyns' house
• 4th years campout on Friday, June 11
• Another 1st years- TBA

Remember- If you don't come to the pre-certifacation you won't be able to understand some of the activities, and you won't get as many tokens. Please be there!

Lisa! Lisa!

Lisa has been doing an AMAZING job with her softball team. She is very dedicated and does well at what she does. We're proud of you Lisa!

Tracking Hunter and Brooke

Hunter and Brooke joined the jonior high's track team and are doing really well! They work hard, and represent the school well. Great job Brooke and Hunter!

NEW Camp Kickoff date!

Girls camp is going to be SO MUCH FUN!! We've had so many good campouts, and this is definitly not an exception. There are so many fun experiences planned, and it will start at the Camp Kickoff. Notice that the date has been changed to April 1st. Please be there, it will be a B-L-A-S-T!

Good job to our basketball team!

From your YW Sports Director: Congrats to our YW Basketball Team!!!

We did so well this season that we are the #1 team going into regionals. Everyone scored at our game on Saturday and had a great workout. Special recognition goes to Sydnee, Lisa, Hunter, Brooke, Paige, Amy, Maranda, Priscilla, Mireya, Shelbie, and Lexi for their fabulous team efforts and good sportsmanship this season. I am very impressed with all of you and love being there to help however I can.

The following is the playoff schedule, please mark it on your calendar. We need a full team for our regional games so that we can substitute. If you aren't on the roster, come support the girls. Parents too - we had great support from some of your parents but we would love more.

Our first game is a NIGHT game: Friday, March 12th at 6:00 pm in American Fork (church is AF Hillcrest Stake Center, 165 North 350 West). If we win, we would play the next morning the 13th at 10:00 am in the same building. The championship game would then be the same morning at 11:30, in a nearby AF church (690 West 500 North).

I need pictures

Hi! I was hoping to get some more pictures from the retreat. I have some, but not very many. If you could email them that would be great!

Lea won!

Lea has won the second attendant of Miss Drill Utah! Great job Lea!

Basketball Times

Here are the dates and times for the upcoming basketball games:

• Feb. 6 (no games due to Stake Conference, moved to 27)
• Feb. 13 at 10:00 am 1st vs. 3rd
• Feb. 20 at 10:00 am 1st vs. 2nd
• Feb. 27 at 10:00 am 1st vs. 4th

We are very blessed with athletic ability in our young women. Our team did really well, once again, in their game on Saturday. As one parent who watched you put it, You Rock! So keep it up- I am fortunate to have the oppritunity to be your sports director and I am loving every minute of it. I hope to see another great turnout this Saturday. Thanks to those parents who came- we appreciate your support!

-Sis Amy

Haley's piano lead for 'Les Miserables!'

Haley is playing the piano for the high school's upcoming musical! Here's some information I got:

- Performances run Jan 21st, 22nd, and 25-30th, Tickets on sale now at the Finance Office
-The ticket you purchase is for a specific night and can only be redeemed on that night.
-Tickets are non-refundable.
-House opens at 6:00 PM each evening and seating is general admission.
-There are no assigned seats, and seats may not be saved.
-The performances on the 25th - 30th will begin promptly at 7:00pm.
-The performances on the 21st - 22nd will begin promptly at 7:30pm in order to facilitate the UTA conference.

I'll get the price and post it later.

Come and support Haley! It'll be fun!

New Personal Progress (Jan. New Era)

Now is the time to prepare for the wonderful future that awaits you. Personal Progress will help you prepare and will help you understand your identity as a daughter of God.
Personal Progress is not a program that is separate and apart from your life. It is a tool that you can use to draw closer to the Savior, serve others, be anxiously engaged in good works, learn leadership skills, develop relationships with others, and prepare for temple covenants. Personal Progress helps each young woman who participates develop daily righteous routines. When you do small things consistently, they become part of who you are and they change you. It really is “by small and simple things” that “great things [are] brought to pass” (Alma 37:6).
The new revised Personal Progress booklet has the temple on the cover. The temple is the symbol for the youth of the Church. The temple is the reason for all that we do in the Young Women program. We hope as you look at the temple on the cover, you will always remember that participating in Personal Progress helps you prepare to make and keep covenants in the temple someday.
The new Personal Progress book is pink! It is a reminder that you are a daughter of our Heavenly Father and have unique feminine characteristics, gifts, and roles. The book contains instructions on how you are to proceed, as well as the age-group symbols for the years of participation in the Young Women Program. Most of the value experiences and projects are the same, but some have changed just slightly to be more current and more focused on the temple covenants you will one day make and keep. Any questions?
How do I begin Personal Progress? Beginning is easy! Just open the book and start on any one of the values that interests you. You don’t have to do the values in order. Doing the required experiences will help you gain a knowledge of what the value is and why it is important for you in your life.
Who can participate? Anyone who desires to participate is welcome. You can invite your nonmember friends to do Personal Progress with you. Your mothers or other exemplary women may also participate. We are all progressing and trying to grow and develop and become all that our Heavenly Father intended we should become.
How quickly should I proceed? Usually when you open the Personal Progress book, you can find some things you are already doing at school or in your home. Be sure to give yourself credit for these things and plan ahead so that you can do them with purpose. Each Sunday, you might evaluate what you have accomplished in your Personal Progress and write in your journal. Then you will be able to really give yourself credit for all the good that you are doing. You can go at your own pace. If you do one experience each month and two projects each year, you will be finished by the time you are a Laurel. Then you will have the privilege and opportunity to mentor other young women who are working on their Personal Progress. When you do this, you may earn an Honor Bee, which symbolizes going the extra distance in serving others. The honor bee can be worn with your Young Women medallion.
Can I do Personal Progress at Mutual? You can do some of your Personal Progress at Mutual. A project could become your Mutual activity. You may also work on Personal Progress on Sunday as you learn about the values and study the scriptures in your Young Women class. Ask your adviser to read or explain any scriptures you do not understand. Remember that although Personal Progress is “personal,” you may do some parts of it with others.
What kinds of leadership opportunities does it give me? As you organize and prepare to accomplish a 10-hour project, you may invite other young women in your class or ward to help you. They will benefit from their service and participation, and when they need you, you can help them. Doing this will help you learn the leadership skills for your future roles as a wife, mother, and homemaker. It will also help you learn how to organize, communicate, and complete a difficult task.
Should I do Personal Progress with my mother? You are invited to participate in Personal Progress with your mother. Both of you are constantly doing so many good things. You can encourage each other and recognize the good things you are doing and you can even approve each other’s projects and sign each other’s books! Have fun together, and if your mother does not desire to participate, you may also do Personal Progress with an older young woman or another righteous woman who is working on her Personal Progress. You can also ask for the help of your leaders when you need it.
Why am I asked to keep a journal? For many of the value experiences and projects, you will be asked to write in your journal your thoughts and feelings, as well as the things you are learning. This journal will become a precious record for you of your days in the Young Women organization and the commitments you have made. Writing in your journal will also invite the companionship of the Holy Ghost.
The blessings of participating in Personal Progress extend far beyond the Young Women years. You will draw closer to the Savior. Your faith and testimony of Him and of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ will increase. You will be prepared for your divine mission and roles on the earth. You will taste the sweetness of service and experience the joys of righteous accomplishments. You will feel the promptings of the Holy Ghost, which will guide and teach you. You will develop a pattern that will bless your life, now and throughout all eternity. It is a pattern of progress and of making and keeping temple covenants. May you each be blessed as you begin with us this pattern of progression. We love you! The Lord loves you! You are His precious daughters.

*The Beehive symbol is the beehive, which is a reminder of harmony, cooperation, and work.
*The Mia Maid symbol is the rose, which is a reminder of love, faith, and purity.
*The Laurel symbol is the laurel wreath, which stands for honor and accomplishment.

When you complete Personal Progress, you will record your testimony in your journal and arrange to have an interview with the bishop. You will then be eligible to receive your Young Womanhood medallion. The medallion has been changed to include the age-group symbols as well as the temple. It also has a small ruby in the center of the Mia Maid rose. This ruby symbolizes that you have completed your Personal Progress and the new value of Virtue. The ruby will remind you that a virtuous young woman is precious and that “her price is far above rubies” (Proverbs 31:10).
Young women who have earned their medallion may go on to earn an Honor Bee by reading the Book of Mormon again and doing additional service, including helping another young woman with Personal Progress.
When you complete a value experience and project, you will receive a gold sticker to go in the back of your Personal Progress book. Add the date on which you completed this value. Your book will become your personal record of all the good things you are accomplishing.
We have also provided a new theme poster, which contains the new eighth value of Virtue. You will probably see one of these in the Young Women room where you meet each week. We have also provided a smaller version—a theme card—for your room or your locker at school. It has the theme on the front and an explanation of the age-group names of Beehive, Mia Maid, and Laurel on the back.
When you enter the Young Women organization, your leaders will present you with a “torch” necklace. This necklace symbolizes your commitment to stand for truth and righteousness at all times and in all things and in all places. The symbol of the flame will also remind you to “arise and shine forth, that thy light may be a standard for the nations” (D&C 115:5). Wear this necklace proudly, and remember your commitment.
As you advance from one age group to another, you will be recognized by your bishop with a certificate of recognition and completion. This may be kept in a special place to remind you of the things you have learned and done in your Beehive, Mia Maid, and Laurel years.
As you complete each value experience and project, you will receive a ribbon for your scriptures. You may use this ribbon to mark your favorite scriptures on the values. The ribbons will be the color of the values: white for faith, gold for virtue, and so forth. Your leader will present this ribbon to you in a Young Women meeting when you have completed all the requirements.
If your mother or leader is interested, an optional ribbon organizer is available, which you can slide down the spine of your scriptures to keep from losing the value ribbons you have worked so hard to earn.