I spoke in church today

I spoke in church today. The following is a copy of my talk. Dad & Andy wanted a copy so I figured I'd just post it here.

I have been asked to speak on Alma 34:27-30.

It is not enough just to pray for the welfare of those in need. Whether it is for ourselves, our family, or those who are around us, we must be active participants in serving those in need. The Lord needs us to do our part here on earth. We are the Lord’s instrument and we must be willing and ready to do as he needs us to do. In order to be prepared for when this time comes we need to be in tune with him. We can achieve this through daily prayer and scripture study. If we are diligent in this, the Lord will be able to guide us, and if we listen we will be able to touch the lives of those around us.

Service is an amazing blessing that the Lord gives us. At times it may seem inconvenient or unnecessary. Often, it is times like these when we are the beneficiary of the quiet feelings of the spirit that comes from serving those around us. As we serve others we can forget about ourselves and all the goings on in our lives for that moment. It’s a bit like clearing away all the clutter of day to day life and letting the spirit sit and visit with you for a while. It is through serving our fellowmen that we come to know the Lord

Service makes us strong in our faith and useful in His kingdom. Service gives us purpose and courage in life. It brings us closer to God and helps us refine our divine nature. It teaches us to love and understand our fellowmen, and it helps us forget about our personal desires, eliminating selfishness, pride, and ingratitude. It teaches us to think of the needs of others, which allows us to develop the virtues that the Savior possesses.

Kindness, love, patience, understanding, and unity will increase as we serve, while intolerance, jealousy, envy, greed, and selfishness decrease or disappear. The more we give of ourselves, the more our capacity to serve, understand, and love will grow.

President Gordon B. Hinckley has said: “No man can be a true Latter-day Saint who is unneighborly, who does not reach out to assist and help others. It is inherent in the very nature of the gospel that we do so. My brothers and sisters, we cannot live unto ourselves

“God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs. Therefore, it is vital that we serve each other in the kingdom. The people of the Church need each other’s strength, support, and leadership. … So often, our acts of service consist of simple encouragement or of giving mundane [ordinary] help with mundane tasks, but what glorious consequences can flow from mundane acts and from small but deliberate deeds!”

We can begin by teaching our little ones the satisfaction and joy that comes from serving others. A great family home evening idea I came across was to give each child several paper hands. Invite them to look for opportunities to help their family members anonymously, leaving behind a helping hand when they have performed an act of service. They may be surprised at how quickly this activity catches on among family members. Imagine the consequences of learning how to serve others at such a young age. Our children would be less concerned with themselves and more in tune with the needs of those around them, and they would take these qualities with them through their lives. They could learn to think of chores or tasks around the house as a service to their family instead of a dreaded Saturday morning ritual, or something a parent is making them do. Working always feels better in the perspective of a service rather than a job or task.

My Grandmothers were very skilled at teaching me how to serve. I say skilled because at the time I didn’t think of taking soup to one of her friends, or bread to a neighbor, or raking leaves for her as a service. She always made it fun. When I think of both of my grandmothers the first word that comes to mind, after cookies of course, is service. My grandma Holdaway was either making a quilt for someone or taking soup and homemade bread and jam to someone. To this day I can’t make the Lion House Canadian Cheese soup without thinking of my grandma. I’m sure this is why it is my favorite. My grandma Lewis is always entertaining someone, or doing something for someone else. As a little girl I used to enjoy hearing stories of her dinners. My grandfather is Ben Lewis. He was the VP of BYU many years ago. My grandma spent much of her time serving him and those he worked with. As long as I can remember she was making Sunday dinner for someone, whether it was the missionaries, someone in need, or a general authority. She was constantly busy doing things for others. Let’s just say that there was never a dull moment at either grandma’s house.

As I have gotten older, and the value of true friendship has become more important to me I look back on them and the friends they have made and the people dearest to them are those they served. Service gives us as the server and as the recipient the opportunity to let our guard down for a bit and get to know something about each other that otherwise we wouldn’t have. If you are bored or lonely, I have a cure for that. Get out and serve someone. Trust me there is someone that needs you. Go to the Lord in prayer and he will guide you. I tell my kids, if you’re bored you can go clean my toilet or think of something you would like to do for someone else. Without fail they come up with something to do for someone else.

I must commend the youth of our ward and their inspired leaders. They have spent many of their recent activities in the service of others. This is not only due to a very small budget, but more in part to the wisdom of their leaders. As the compassionate service leader, I was a recipient of one of the many service activities. For two activities the young women and their leaders got together and made freezer meals for me to have on hand in case someone needed a meal brought into their home. This has not only been a service to me, but each recipient of one of these meals will be able to feel of the love and care of the young women.

After some labor intensive demolition of Brother Dhom’s shed, one of the young men, who is newer to our ward, said to Tim that it was one of the best activities he had been to. I know for a fact that the activities that include service are the ones that they will remember for a long time to come. I think it may be because of the feelings that they have. The spirit touches them and it makes an impression. There is a certain gratification in service. Perhaps it is because as King Benjamin said in Mosiah 2:17 “when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.”

Recently I was asked to join some of the sisters in our ward, and the carriage hills ward to help clean a home for a family before they moved into it. I was not thrilled at the prospective of spending my day cleaning someone else’s house when mine so desperately needed some attention. Begrudgingly I went, knowing full well that my feelings were being driven by the adversary. As I drove up, I was humbled because of the number of cars that were there. All this time I was having a personal pitty party because I thought I was going to spend all day cleaning with only one or two sisters. As I walked into the home my attitude changed and immediately the spirit confirmed that I was in the right place doing the right thing. It was so refreshing to be able to work and visit with some of my dear friends and sisters that I miss, from the Carriage Hills ward. We laughed, and caught up on the goings on of our lives and families. I was humbled and blessed that day.

Through my calling, I have been able to see first hand the blessings of the services that continually flow through our ward. We have only been a ward just shy of a year, yet the unity among us is strong. The love and concern for each other is evident.

Along your pathway of life you will observe that you are not the only traveler. There are others who need your help. There are feet to steady, hands to grasp, minds to encourage, hearts to inspire, and souls to save.

President Spencer W. Kimball, a great example of service, said: “God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another mortal that he meets our needs. Therefore, it is vital that we serve each other in the kingdom.

If we fail to serve, we fail to receive the fullness of the privileges and blessings of the restored gospel.

As He enlists us to His cause, He invites us to draw close to Him, and we feel His spirit in our lives.

It is my prayer that we can continue on the path of service to each other. Continually growing closer to each other and to our Heavenly Father along the way.

Amen

Grandma Lewis

My mother wanted me to write about some of the memories that I have of my Grandma Lewis, and I thought I would just post this on my blog too.

From the time I was a little girl Grandma Lewis has shared with me her love of books. As a little girl I would go into the room where she kept the books and spend hours picking out the ones I would ask if I could take home. When we visited I would return and take home at least one book. I still look forward to getting a book each year at Christmas time. She has in turn shared this passion with my children who also look forward to getting a "Grandma Lewis book". Many a time she would take me to the BYU bookstore to get a new book for me. One of my favorite book memories was when I took a children's literature class in college. We would talk about the books I was reading and how much we both loved them.

Growing up I thought is was so neat that my grandparents lived in a "Pink Palace". Pink being my favorite color this was especially cool. I have many fond memories of parties at their home. Christmas and the 4th of July being two of my favorites. Christmas was always filled with the anticipation of "When are we going to open the presents?", and singing "The smoke goes up the chimney". It was such a treat to see what Grandma brought home from her latest travels for our gifts. I still have the dresses she brought back from Austria for me. It's been fun seeing Brooke wear them. I'll never forget going caroling with the family when I was younger. If memory serves me right we had to go sing to all of Gram & Gramps friends before we could come back to open the presents. My favorite house to visit was the Schwendemins. They always had Cracker Jacks under the tree for us. The molasses cookies Grandma made were always my favorite treat at Christmas.

The 4th of July always began with the Provo Freedom Festival Parade, followed by a great lunch back at the "Palace". The Pinata was the highlight of the day, with Jim or John in the tree making it swing. We would end the day with fireworks a plenty.

Birthday parties with Grandma were coveted. The spinner candy cake was the prize. She and Aunt Cecille would put bubble gum tacos, mini milk cartons filled with candy, gummy sandwiches, etc on top with a spinner. Wherever your spinner landed, you got that piece of cake. It was awesome. And then there was the freezer always filled with BYU Creamery ice cream. I think this must have been the beginnings of a long passionate relationship with ice cream. It's still my favorite treat.

I have learned many wonderful things from my grandma. She is an incredible woman who I have always admired. She lives her life in the service of others. She has shared with me the importance of literature, kindness, service, gratitude, love, and most importantly, our Saviour and brother Jesus Christ, and his gospel. Her testimony has strenghtened me, and her example has taught me how to be more like him and how to live how he would have me live.

Grandma, I love you so much. I wish I was closer and could be with you on this special day to honor you in person. You are a wonderful example to me and my children. Thank you for all you have taught me, and shared with me. You have enriched my life, and made me a better person.
Hilary

Hurricane Ike

We are patiently awaiting evacuees from the coast. The hurricane is headed our way and is predicted to arrive in Austin Saturday afternoon. By the time it reaches us it will be lots of rain and approximately 27 mph winds. I went to Costco and HEB today and everyone was buying water and batteries. Costco was slammed!!! The stake has plans in the works to care for many of the missionaries from Houston. They will stay in the stake center ( for the boys) and with members (the girls). This same plan was very crazy, but went well when hurricane Rita hit a few years ago. We were prepared to have them when Gustav was threatening, but alas it was not necessary. My, my, my those Mormons are prepared. The state has offered our schools as shelters. Earlier the high school was supposed to be closed tomorrow, but they are trying to make things as normal as possible for the students and not many, if any, people have come, so they are still having school. The kids will get out 2 hours early however. I don't think the storm will be as bad as they had originally anticipated. The kids are funny to watch. They are quite nervous. Brooke seems to think that because it's going to rain so much that Berkeley's friend Caleb won't be able to play on Saturday. Typical "bossy" Brooke.

Well, with that much said about the crazy weekend ahead, here's a funny video. It reminds me of the times when Brooke does this with Berkeley. She's 8 and she still volunteers her fingers for the biting. I think she just wants to get Berkeley in trouble.