Invitations from a prophet: Deanna Ross

Deanna Ross

I have a deep love and testimony of our Savior. I had a stroke about five years ago and it took my short term memory. I serve in the Relief Society presidency at the Parkway Branch. I was overwhelmed with this calling. But, in the last seven months I have grown to love the sweet brothers and sisters we serve. I still can't remember their names. All I can do is love them unconditionally. I always have a prayer in my heart that I will make a difference to them, because they have for me. I feel like we were called to this calling, because I NEEDED THEM!! Everyday I am blessed by serving them. 

By Deanna Ross, Parkway Branch

Thanks for an Amazing Service Day!

Layton South Stake Service Day was a success! This is due to the wonderful Sisters of the Layton Utah South Stake. We are so thankful for all of you.

Total service completed included the following:

• 1,250 pantry packs for Bountiful Pantry as well as food donations to Layton High Pantry and local individuals/families 
• Kindness cards for pantry packs 
• 100 monster craft bags for Layton Hospital 
• 75 worry dolls for assisted living and Layton Hospital 
• 42 letters to missionaries 
• Around 300 reusable t-shirt bags made for Bountiful Pantry

We also completed many projects for the Festival of Trees:

• 720 crafts, including dog bones, nativity, chocolate candy bars, etc. 
• 12 quilts
• 100 table runners
• 40 gnomes

Below are just a few images from the day of service. Click here to see more!

Service Opportunities at Parkway Branch

There are many service opportunities at the Sunridge Assisted Living Center. If you want to serve individually, just step in and ask the receptionist if there are any specific needs that day. If you want to bring a group (YW/YM or families), please call Laura Whitesides to set up a day/time at 801-786-9946 and leave a message; she will get back to you.

​Here are some service suggestions:

• companionship/visits
• reading
• crafts/scrapbook
• family history
• writing letters
• walks
• light housekeeping
• ironing (they have an ironing board and iron at the center) 
• playing games, share a talent by either performing (they LOVE music!) or demonstrating a talent (woodworking, painting, cooking, etc.) 

They are also looking for donations of muslin or plain broadcloth to make hospital dolls to donate to the hospitals.

The spirit of love resonates with these great folks! You will feel of their love as you find ways to serve them! Thank YOU! Our stake has been a shining example of service for our Parkway Branch!

The Pure Love of Christ Changed My Life

by Karen Jensen

Take a look at Moroni 7:46-48. As Moroni was hiding from the Lamanites at the end of the Book of Mormon, having watched his entire nation, along with his own family and loved ones, be destroyed, and as he was utterly alone and unsure if he’d be caught and killed for believing in Christ, these are the words of his father’s that he felt were important enough to add to the end of the Book of Mormon.

As we partake of the sacrament, we symbolically make our Savior and His strength a part of us as we eat the bread. What a beautiful symbol that this bread is nourishing us and literally becoming our own muscles and bones and energy. What a beautiful symbol that we drink the water that is now inside of us, washing and healing our body, and giving it life! All of this is a symbol of what the Savior is for us on that altar. 

And as we do this, we made a solemn covenant with our Father in Heaven to take upon us the name of the One whose body and spirit was torn and broken for us and which now gives us this healing, strength, and hope. Which means we have promised to represent him, and in the process, become like him as we act in his name.

I have been, for many years, in a position where my kids and I have been the recipients of so many beautiful, simple, and profound acts of Christlike love in the middle of what has seemed like constant intense health and family challenges. These Christlike acts have truly changed my life. I was hesitant initially to share some of these experiences, for fear it may look as if I’m asking for pity or attention. But I have realized that my testimony in this topic comes from these very experiences, and the Spirit I hope to invite may need to come straight from this testimony I have gained.

Something I want to preface this with is the fact that it can easily feel like such an impossible goal to consider how we can and need to try to become like our Savior. But I think everyone here can probably stand here just as well as I can to say that some of the most meaningful and most Christlike acts we’ve individually been the recipients of can be incredibly simple.

For instance, when my Ashley was four years old, after collapsing in her tumbling class and not being able to use her legs for a few moments, she was diagnosed with a malformation in her brain which had caused pressure and fluid to build on her brain and spinal cord. This fluid was threatening to break it entirely.

Becoming True Disciples

This talk was given at the 2019 stake women's conference.
By Shelly Harrison

The other day, I was out doing my morning exercise route when I saw a huge backup of cars on a busy road. I thought to myself, "Oh no, an accident!" As I got closer, I saw a lot of people getting out of their cars and heading to the first car.

It looked like the driver was having car trouble in the middle of the intersection. Some people pulled over, got out of their cars, and jumped in to help this lady in her minivan, by pushing it to a safe place. Then there were a few extra men who stayed with her to see what they could do to help get her van working.

Photo from LDS.org. Used with permission

My thoughts were, "This is so heartwarming and amazing to see all the people jumping in to minister to her in a time of need."  I think many of us are always willing to help, especially in a crisis. But sometimes ministering may be easier when they are people we don’t know. Putting ourselves out there to minister to people we know can create some uncomfortable feelings inside us.

Let me explain… Anxiety, uncertainty, lack of confidence, feeling threated. feeling unprotected. This is the definition of INSECURITY. Is this how you feel when it comes to ministering? Maybe not for all of you, but for some, like me, it is.

As We Submit Our Time to the Lord, He Showers Us with Blessings

This talk was given at the 2019 stake women's conference.
by Bethany Bown, a Laurel

Hello. My name is Bethany Bown. I’m a senior class officer at Davis High, a ballerina at Clytie Adams school of ballet, and a shopaholic. This may give you the impression that I am a busy girl, which I am, but I know it doesn’t even compare to being close to busy as all of you women, mothers, and friends.

The past 21 days I’ve taken part in an amazing opportunity that has brought blessings and great peace into my busy days. This is an opportunity I’d like to extend to each of you today. It’s called the 21-day sacrifice. You focus on keeping your covenants for 21 days and sacrifice something in order to do so. It’s as simple as that.

Wendy Watson Nelson was the one to initiate it in her address at the BYU Women’s Conference in 2015. She promised this along with her challenge: “When covenant women keep their covenants, they have greater access to the power of God. The power of God flows into them, and that power, His power, generates a decrease in stress, an increase in energy, more and clearer revelation for their lives, renewed focus, courage to make needed changes, an increase in patience, and more time for what matters.”

I can testify that she meant what she promised. The past couple weeks as I’ve taken part in this challenge, I’ve been more relaxed and focused on what really matters. One Saturday afternoon, my mom and I decided to go to the temple. It was about an hour wait. Instead of leaving because we had other things to do that day, we decided to stay. This was so worth it.

JustServe: Find Meaningful Service Opportunities

Are you looking for ways to serve in your community? Don't forget the wonderful resource:

www.JustServe.org

You can also download the smartphone app for Apple and Google Play Stores to serve on the go.

JustServe is a great resource for finding opportunities to serve in our area. See this report for examples of the good this program does. Happy serving!

2019 Women's Conference Breakout Sessions

We were so inspired at our recent women's conference by our wonderful guest speaker Sister Reeves and by our other speakers as well.

There were five speakers in each breakout room. The first four spoke on a part of our scripture theme of D&C 90:24. The fifth was a Laurel bearing testimony of and inviting Relief Society sisters and Laurels to participate in the 21-Day Sacrifice Challenge.

Enjoy the videos of these breakout room talks!


Tiffany Smith, Stone Creek Ward
"Seek Christ Diligently"


Janelle LaFontaine, Weaver Lane Ward
"Prayer"


Heather Hughes, Swan Lakes Ward
"Be Believing, Doubt Your Doubts"



Lynnae Bitter, Evergreen Ward
"Ministering"



Brynn Meredith (a Laurel), Roberts Farms Ward
"21-Day Sacrifice Challenge"

The Miracle of the Christmas Yard Inflatables

by Deija Peterson

Our family will never forget the Christmas of 2017. It was the "miracle of the yard decoration blowups," all because one inspired sister ministered to our daughter.

Our daughter Charlie was diagnosed with epilepsy at 18 months. Hundreds of seizures a day caused her to be severely developmentally delayed. Last year, just after Thanksgiving, we put an inflatable snowman in our yard, and to say Charlie loved it would be an understatement.

I shared a video on Instagram of Charlie singing and dancing as she watched the snowman fill with air and come to life. A sister in our ward saw the video and had an idea. She talked to neighbors, and soon her idea spread. During an already busy holiday season, with budgets tight, neighbors went out and bought Christmas inflatable yard decorations. On a planned night, many earthly ministering angels all went outside in the cold and plugged in the decorations, for the love of one little girl.

As we drove into the neighborhood that night, Charlie saw the street full of inflatables.

What Ministering Looks Like

We invite you to think about what ministering like the Savior would look like in your life. Has someone ministered to you in an especially meaningful way? Do you have a story of a time you were inspired to serve someone? Let us know! We'll share your stories in the coming weeks. Submit a story by clicking on the "Send Us Your Story" tab above, or email daughtersinhiskingdom@live.com. (Names can be withheld on request.)

Light the World This Christmas

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is encouraging members to #LightTheWorld again with simple acts of service and Christlike love during the 2018 Christmas season.

The 2018 theme, “Light the World, Give as He Gave,” is influenced by President Russell M. Nelson’s call to minister in “new, holier ways” (“Let Us All Press On,” Apr. 2018 general conference).

This year’s campaign, detailed at LightTheWorld.org, encourages people to find ways to share their time, love, and resources with those in need. Beginning with a worldwide day of service on December 1, 2018, the campaign features four weekly themes and videos—encouraging you to light the world, your community, your family, and your faith.

For service ideas, see the downloadable advent calendar.

Ministering in the Savior's Way

From LDS.org, used with permission

Serving Like the Savior

Families and individuals in our stake are jumping in to #LightThe World with acts of service.

Miriam Franson:

Used by permission.

I can hardly believe it's December 1st!! We've been excited to start the #LightTheWorld month of service...doing what we can to serve like the Savior. In my ideal world (and a different season of life) I'd have printed out super cute printables, and have a great plan for what we'd do already outlined. But we hit this morning with none of that in queue! But as we read about "freely giving" like Christ did, I remembered we had some candy canes in the trunk left from something else and the kids are headed off to school ready to "give" to someone they thought could use it. One thing I'm learning more and more is that if we wait to serve until it can be in a perfectly cleaned house, or a perfectly planned moment, or a perfectly created package it will rarely (for me anyway) happen. But the Savior just asks us to give with our heart from whatever we have and wherever we are. And like with the loaves and the fishes, He will multiply our efforts.

Women Who Know

"Ye shall meet together oft." (3 Nephi 18:22) What a blessing it is to meet together each Sunday to partake of the sacrament and strengthen our testimonies of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

 As a stake relief society presidency, we attend the meetings where the young sister missionaries in our stake speak before they leave and when they return from their missions. Today we were uplifted by the testimony of a beautiful daughter of God who will leave her family in three days, five days before Christmas, to serve the Lord in Atlanta, Georgia. We were touched by how articulate she was and her beautiful testimony of Jesus Christ.

President Russell M. Nelson said, "We need women who know how to make important things happen by their faith and who are courageous defenders of morality and families in a sin-sick world. We need women who are devoted to shepherding God’s children along the covenant path toward exaltation; women who know how to receive personal revelation, who understand the power and peace of the temple endowment; women who know how to call upon the powers of heaven to protect and strengthen children and families; women who teach fearlessly."

Time after time we witness young women who are strong and are fulfilling this call from a prophet of God. They choose to venture far from the comforts of home and carry the light of Jesus Christ to the world. It is truly inspiring and a blessing to get to know and listen to these young sister missionaries from our stake. #LightTheWorld

Light the World: Scripture Calendar

Each Christmas, we celebrate the life of Jesus Christ, the Light of the World. By following His teachings, we let his light shine—in our lives and in the lives of others. This year, use this calendar for inspiration as you plan your Christmas activities to help #LightTheWorld by serving those in need.

• Click here to see and download the full scripture calendar (image thumbnail below).
• Click here to see a different version of the calendar with specific service ideas, created for youth and published in the December 2017 New Era magazine.
• Click here to get more service ideas from—and be inspired by—daily videos.

Light the World with Acts of Service This Christmas

This Christmas season, how will you #LightTheWorld? Start today at mormon.org to learn how you can be like the Savior, Jesus Christ. Serve as He did helping light the way for others. And share your experiences to inspire other sisters in the stake! Email us at DaughtersInHisKingdom@live.com.

The Purpose of Relief Society

On May 9, Sister Linda K. Burton, Relief Society General President, announced that she and her counselors have updated the Relief Society purpose.

Photo from LDS.org. Used with permission.

She said in a post on Facebook:
"When we were newly called as the Relief Society General Presidency, we sought the Lord earnestly to know what essential things He would have us focus on to continue moving His work forward. We were impressed that He would first have us help His beloved daughters understand the doctrine of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, that their faith and righteousness might increase. Second, we considered the critical need to strengthen families and homes and felt that the Lord would have us encourage His beloved daughters to cheerfully cleave to their covenants. When covenants are kept, families are strengthened. Finally, we felt He would have us work in unity with the other auxiliaries and with our priesthood leaders, striving to seek out and help those in need to progress along the path. Focusing on these things helps prepare us for the blessings of eternal life.

"Recently, we have updated the Relief Society purpose wording to reflect the additional insights the Lord blessed us with.

"'Relief Society helps prepare women for the blessings of eternal life (see Moses 1:39) as they increase faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and His Atonement; strengthen individuals, families, and homes through ordinances and covenants; and work in unity to help those in need.'"

"We hope you will study and focus on the purpose of Relief Society and come to understand the divine identity and eternal work and purpose that each sister in Relief Society has. How does understanding this purpose bring hope and meaning into your daily life and actions?

"The updated Relief Society purpose poster and bookmark are now available online and through Distribution." Sister Burton noted that further information and resources can be found in Handbook 2, the talk "Is Faith in the Atonement of Jesus Christ Written in Our Hearts?" and the updated materials.

My Best Christmas Gift Was Love

by Marci Hall

It was  Christmas  Eve, and I was not feeling the  Christmas  spirit.  This particular year,  the holiday  fell on a Tuesday, putting  Christmas  Eve on Monday.  As a mother of five young children, my Mondays were generally exhausting.  Having the sabbath on the day before meant the next day was spent making up for missed naps, meals out of order or skipped, and sickness picked up from church. 

Image from LDS.org. Used by permission.

Our extended family party and present-opening at my parents' house had been on Sunday night as well.  And to top it all off, my husband and I celebrated our wedding anniversary and his birthday all within the last week.  We were all worn out, and it showed.

On  Christmas  Eve, after all the children were in bed, I pondered about what had gone on that evening.  Not only did I feel exhausted physically and emotionally, but I felt like the magic of  Christmas  got sucked out of our family.

The usual nativity reenactment was interrupted by one child wailing and running to her room because things weren't just right, while another was upset with her costume that kept falling off her head. My six-year-old was acting silly and crazy because of strange schedules and  Christmas  excitement. And my oldest child (seven years old) had an earache.

There were a few moments that evening that I felt the peace of the Holy Ghost, like when we sang "Joy to the World" together as I played the piano, and when my four-year-old was playing the part of the angel and recited her whole part from the scriptures, almost without help. But the moments were fleeting.

As I was finishing helping one child calm down to go to sleep, I realized we had never set out stockings.  When I asked her if she wanted to, she said no. What happened to the magic and excitement?  I just felt deflated.

My husband and I set out the stockings anyway, and then he put on a light-hearted  Christmas  show for us. I watched it with him but was not in the mood. I felt like I should have been watching something that would remind me about the Savior, not something silly.

Local Refugee Service Opportunities

At this time of year especially, many people are looking for opportunities to serve, so we came up with this list of some local service opportunities and organizations aimed at assisting refugees. There are so many ways to help refugees locally, from one-time events, to donating handcrafted items, to just being a friend or helping a family learn their way around their new town. The easiest way to start is by downloading the apps Just Serve or Serve Refugees or visiting the websites in the top left box below. If you have any questions about how you can help refugees in the area, feel free to email daughtersinhiskingdom(at)live(dot)com and we'll do our best to find an answer!

An Unshakable Testimony of the Prophet Joseph

by Heather Hughes 
From a talk given to the Stone Creek Ward on June 12, 2016

Seven and a half years ago, my youngest son and I flew to California in October. We were flying out to attend the birthday and baptism of my nephew Tyler. It didn't hurt that we discovered that if we went to California for Tyler's birthday, we could trick or treat in shorts instead of coats. I was looking forward to relaxing from teaching school and from the preparations of getting our oldest daughter ready to serve a mission. She would leave about two weeks after our visit.

The morning after our arrival, Stacy, my sister-in-law, said that we would need to mix in some church service with our play time. I thought, "Even better, I can feel good about my getaway."  That weekend was the week prior to the voting in California on Prop 8, a controversial law that would decide whether or not same-sex marriage would be allowed in California, and local church leaders had asked the members to help support efforts to maintain marriage between a man and a woman. When I found out what we were doing, I was a little anxious. I hate confrontation. I don't like people to be upset with me, even strangers, but I knew that if the local leaders had asked for these activities to be done, it was what needed doing.

Saturday morning, we left bright and early to hang pamphlets supporting marriage between a man and a woman on doors. We had two people ask us to remove them and get off their driveways, but no truly angry experiences. As we reported our section back to the elders quorum president in my sister's ward, I felt like all was well. We left and attended a soccer game for me nephew. As we returned, Mark and Stacy said, "Now for the fun part!" Their tone left no doubt that fun was not coming.

Each family had been asked to have an adult hold signs on different corners around town. The signs simply said: "Vote Against Prop 8, Vote for Families." As we stood on our corner, I quickly discovered that their beautiful little community had a lot of people with different views than mine. For two hours I was repeatedly called names, honked at, and had a few more choice experiences.