Pandemic Calls for More ZOOM Meetings!!

Picture here are three of the speakers via Zoom.  President Means is in his office at the Stake Center, top right is Lisa Clegg, bottom right is Ruth Anderson.  Other speakers were Brenda Crosier and Laura Cragun.

   On June 16 the Mokelumne Ward Relief Society sisters were treated to a 30 minute spiritual meeting put on by the stake RS presidency and President Means.  This came about through President Means who wanted to express his appreciation and love for everyone in the stake. He is aware of them and how challenging this time had been.  The meeting was previously preceded by a similar meeting held for the Priesthood.
    Other speakers were the stake RS presidency Ruth Anderson, Brenda Crosier, and Laura Cragun.     They covered three topics:
   1.  Ministering equals LOVE. We should pray for our sisters and get revelation to help them.
   2.  We will change during the pandemic and will come back as new members
   3.  Life doesn't play out as we planned, but we can still enjoy it and relish the Gospel
Our RS President Lisa Clegg also spoke and expressed her love for all the sisters in the ward.
  Fifteen ward members tuned in to the meeting.  One of them commented, "I was surprised how engaged I felt and how I was able to feel the spirit as I listened to each of our presidency."
Similar meetings were held in each of the other wards in the stake.

Young Women Lesson Taught by a "Young Woman"

Happy Sunday!

This is a Sunday lesson for YW written by Gillian VerSteeg:

Gillian VerSteeg

This week’s lesson topic is: “How Do I Know If I Am Becoming Converted?” Conversion to the gospel is a lifelong process that creates a change in our desires, attitudes, and behaviors as we try to become more Christlike. To become converted, one must prepare themselves spiritually, learn with others about the gospel, and act in faith. Some examples of preparing yourself spiritually include: participating in both individual and family study, attending church, praying, and working to notice the hand of the Lord in your life. Learning with others about the gospel can be beneficial, as it gives everyone a chance to strengthen their testimony with help from others’ faith and ideas. Lastly, acting in faith is necessary to become converted because having faith in the Lord can help a person reap the benefits and blessings that people gain when they follow the commandments. Acting in faith can lead to an increase in testimony as a person realizes the blessings that come from Heavenly Father because of their faith in Him.

In his General Conference talk, “Converted unto the Lord,” Elder David A. Bednar said:
Conversion is an enlarging, a deepening, and a broadening of the undergirding base of testimony. It is the result of revelation from God, accompanied by individual repentance, obedience, and diligence. Any honest seeker of truth can become converted by experiencing the mighty change of heart and being spiritually born of God (see Alma 5:12–14).
I liked how Elder Bednar used the phrase “honest seeker of truth.” This means that we must truly want to become more like Christ and to become converted. It also means that, although we may be guided by the Holy Ghost during our conversions, we must also put forth the effort as we “seek truth.” I believe that true conversion takes time and effort, but the result will be worth more to us than all the worldly desires we may give up to be “spiritually born of God.”

Teachings of Our Times Lesson--Pandemic Style

     Here is is June, and we still have to stay home from a physical meeting.  Once again, teacher Cori Daley provided us the a lesson that turned out to be very timely. It was "A Good Foundation for the Time to Come" by Elder Gary E. Stevenson.
“What might spiritual cornerstones of our personal and family lives be? They may be the
simple, plain, and precious principles of gospel living—family prayer; scripture study, including
the Book of Mormon; temple attendance; and gospel learning through Come, Follow Me and
home evening. Other helpful resources to strengthen your spiritual foundation may include the
Articles of Faith, the family proclamation, and ‘The Living Christ’.”
For Elder Stevenson, he feels the principles included in the first four questions of the temple
recommend serve as a strong basis for a spiritual foundation:
• Do you have faith in and a testimony of God, the Eternal Father; His Son, Jesus Christ;
and the Holy Ghost?
• Do you have a testimony of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and of His role as your Savior
and Redeemer?
• Do you have a testimony of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ?
• Do you sustain the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the
prophet, seer, and revelator and as the only person on the earth authorized to exercise
all priesthood keys?"   Cori ended her lesson on a personal note:
   "Full-disclosure, I may have shared with a friend that I was feeling like planning these lessons in
this Covid-19 world felt redundant. I may have even used the phrase “spoon-feeding the talk to
the ladies”, when we can just read the words of the general authorities straight from the talk
that was given without any inference from the likes of me. I’m sitting here now, wishing I could
eat these words. I know it is cliché to say that I needed this lesson more than anyone else.
However, in this case I have to say, I believe it is true. The truth is, the concerns of the world
have been weighing on my heart and mind maybe more than I should admit. I have taken part
in many uncomfortable discussions in my effort to understand the who, what, when, where and
why’s of our country’s current trials. I have suffered real disappointments, anxieties and
depressions over the last few months that I feel have tarnished my spirit. Y’all are thinking
“Join the club”, right? Our world has been thrown into turmoil by a worldwide pandemic,
unemployment, economic instability, political unrest, riots, looting, natural disasters and
personal trials. Stability seems like a far off dream, can you believe we are not even half way
through 2020?! While many of these things are effectively out of our jurisdiction, there is one
thing that we can control, this is the building-up of our foundation in Jesus Christ. It is the
timeliness of this talk that has reminded me that we do have control over what is really
important, the most important. It is my hope that when we are asked the question, “How do
you still have faith with all the heartache that surrounds you?”  We can look to the foundation
that we have cultivated in our Savior for the answer.

Seminary Graduation

Sister Teresa Sroufe stands with her senior class for seminary graduation. This group of students is unique in what has happened to them this year. They left our early morning seminary class for spring break at the beginning of March. Little did they know that that was our last time they would met in person. These seniors have persevered through at home school learning and online seminary. They completed all the requirements for both their academic world and their seminary requirements which are exemplary. They have read all four books of scripture, attended at least 75% of the time and completed assessments. This is the one and only time they were able to wear their caps and gowns. Congratulations Class of 2020!!