I am very happy to share that I have been called to serve in the Relief Society as a teacher, again.

I am not sure yet what Sundays I will be teaching. It is important to know because that will determine what lessons I will be preparing, learning, and sharing. I will find out soon enough though. In the meantime, I am grateful for this opportunity. I have figured out that the best way to learn is to teach.

When you teach, you have to prepare the lesson first. This means reading the lesson from the manual, or the talk from the Ensign  and even research the topic farther using multiple Church resources.

Something else I would like to share about today. Being the first Sunday of the month, our Sacrament Meeting was a Fast and Testimony meeting. This means that members have the opportunity to share their testimonies about the Gospel.
It was a great meeting. Members, and even nonmembers, shared their belief about the Gospel, about the Savior, about their growth in the Church.

One thing that stood out to me the most, because it has been heavy on my heart, was the answer on how to find peace in a world that has totally gone mad.
And the answer is that I need to rely on Christ and Heavenly Father. They will bring peace as I study the scriptures, pray, serve others, and attend my  meetings.
As I fortify my family and myself by doing those things, I can trust in Them and the promises They made of comfort, peace, guidance, and eternal life.

I am still here! I know I have not posted in a while, but I am still here :)

So, in the last post I mentioned how I was going to talk about teaching Relief Society. Well, it just so happened that today I had the privilege of teaching the sisters about the "Parable of the Sower."

This Sunday, I was just subbing... yes, we have "substitute teachers" even in the church. If a teacher is not there that day, someone else steps in and teaches the lesson. It happens in every single organization within the church. However, in years past, I actually was called to teach the sisters. And I loved it!

It is always a great experience when I teach because I learn new things. I get to really study a lesson, share it, and learn from my study as well as from the comments the sisters make during the lesson.

As with lessons in the past, today's lesson was eye opening for me. It gave me the opportunity to analyze where I stand. Of the four types of soils (hearts) mentioned in the parable, which one is mine?

I have realized that in our lifetime, we all experience at least three of the four. We all may go from a rich soil to a soil overcome by thorns and then back to a rich soil. We all have times we struggle and the seed (the Word) either shrivels under the hot sun (shallow roots), it's suffocated by thorns (cares of this world and deceitfulness of riches), or is able to produce a bountiful harvest in spite of the struggles.

The most important thing to remember is that wherever we are in our life, we can always do better. Thanks to the Atonement, we can all leave behind our shallow roots and thorns and become the rich, fertile soil that brings forth good fruits.

Another thing I was reminded of today was that we all shake during an earthquake (events within the Church that make waves in the world, such as the last statement that was released about ordinances for children of same sex couples) but that the depth of our foundation is what will either keep us standing after the shaking is over or will allow us to topple over.

How strong is my foundation? How strong is my faith? Do I look at the big, eternal picture? I am glad I can answer that, so far, although I have shaken, I am still standing tall with no cracks on the walls or foundation.

I look to my Heavenly Father and my Savior for guidance, support, and answers. And the Holy Ghost bears witness to me of their teachings.
One never goes wrong when turning to Them.

As I read my previous posts, I realized that, when I talked about the Relief Society organization, I left out that I was also called to serve as a teacher to the sisters. That was a fun time as well, and I may talk about it at a later time.

Today, instead, I would like to talk about something I started doing on my own and I have been doing for a few years. I was really never called to it but I have enjoyed and still enjoy doing it: family history consultant!

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, we believe that families can be together forever. When married by the proper Priesthood authority in the Temple, the bond is sealed on earth and in heaven, thus making families eternal units.

Because of that, we eagerly try to find our ancestors so that connections can be made through all generations and families can be sealed for all eternity.
We find our ancestors by doing Family History. Most church buildings have a Family History Center staffed with knowledgeable volunteers. Through the Family History Center, all members and non members alike have access to researching tools and websites that might not be otherwise available outside of the center, or might require a subscription fee.

I really love working in the Family History Center. When I am not helping a patron researching his/her family, I research my own.

I will always remember when I requested microfilms from my area and was able to locate my great grand father on my mother's side. I ran out of the center and to the gym where my son was playing basketball. I was so excited that everyone who saw me running in the hallway just stopped and looked at me wondering what was going on as I loudly started saying in Italian to my son, "ho trovato il tuo trisnonno, ho trovato il tuo trisnonno!" (I found your great great grandfather, I found your great great grandfather!)... that was a fabulous experience!

I do love doing genealogy. Although it is hard to find names, the farther back you go, it is always a great joy finding out someone who belongs to your family! And the knowledge I have that I will see them again one day and will be able to be together forever with them makes all the work worth while.

If you are interested in researching your ancestors, find a family history center near you and contact them. They will be more than happy to assist you!

It is time to talk about the Young Women organization.
The Young Women organization includes girls ages 12 to 18.

The following is what the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints says to the Young Women:

"You are a beloved daughter of Heavenly Father, prepared to come to the earth at this particular time for a sacred and glorious purpose. You have a noble responsibility to use your strength and influence for good. Your loving Heavenly Father has blessed you with talents and abilities that will help you fulfill your divine mission. As you learn to accept and act upon the Young Women values in your life, you will form personal habits of prayer, scripture study, obedience to the commandments, and service to others. These daily personal habits will strengthen your faith in and testimony of Jesus Christ. They will also allow you to recognize and develop your unique gifts."

Through my 30+ years in the Church, I have had the privilege of serving the Young Women multiple times. As I taught them Gospel principles, I learned right along with them. I was able to learn from their example, their faith, their love for one another. I learned life's lessons as well as those same Gospel principles I shared with them.

As we participated in service projects, I was privileged to see them grow and glow with the light of Christ. 

It was not always perfect. There were struggles; there were times that we did not see eye to eye; however, we never lost track of what we knew to be true: we were all daughters of a Father in Heaven who loved us very much and through Jesus Christ our Savior we could become better individuals and make a difference by following His example.

And this is my testimony today: ALL of us are children of a loving God who sent His only begotten Son to be our Savior, Redeemer, and Example. By accepting Him and following in His footsteps, we can return to our celestial home.

Last time I wrote, it was 6 months ago and I talked about one of the callings I was given in Relief Society.

I am going to pick up right from where I left off. Today, I will talk about another one of those assignments I was given: teacher in the Primary organization.

As I did for the Relief Society, let me use the definition of Primary (its purpose and theme) from the Church's handbook:

Primary is for children ages 18 months through 11 years. The Primary theme is “All thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children” (3 Nephi 22:13). The purposes of Primary are to help children:

1. Feel Heavenly Father’s love for them.

1. 2. Learn and understand the gospel of Jesus Christ.
2. 
   
3. 3. Feel and recognize the influence of the Holy Ghost.
4. 
   
5. 4. Prepare to make and keep sacred covenants.
6. 
   

Parents have the first responsibility for the spiritual and physical welfare of their children (see D&C 68:25–28). The bishopric, Primary leaders, and Primary teachers support but do not replace parents in this responsibility.

There are several jobs in the Primary, but I was assigned that of teacher.

I taught pretty much all age groups included in the organization.

• When I worked in the nursery (18 months to 2 years), I taught music. I had the pleasure to work along side a wonderful woman who never uttered a mean word about or to someone. She was a shining example of how to be like our Savior.
• When I was in Italy, I taught the Sunbeams (3 years old). It was fun, but I was also young so I had a lot of patience back then :)
• I have taught the Valiant class (8 to 11 years) for almost two years. This year we are studying the Old Testament.

And now, I have just been moved to the 4 to 5 class, the CTR - Choose the Right. Today, actually, was my first lesson with them. We talked about the Good Shepherd and how each of us is His sheep. I had fun but I had the hardest time understanding what they were saying. I am so not used to work with children that young!

However, I feel blessed to be working with them as they are still so innocent and so close to our Father in Heaven. They can be a handful, just like all 4 and 5 years old can be, but they are also very sweet.

I am looking forward to many Sundays together learning about our Savior, His love for us, and how we can be more like Him.

One of the assignments I was given was that of music director in the Relief Society.

Now, Relief Society prepares women for the blessings of eternal life by helping them increase their faith and personal righteousness, strengthen families and homes, and help those in need. Relief Society accomplishes these purposes through Sunday gospel instruction, other Relief Society meetings, visiting teaching, and welfare and compassionate service (the information is from the Church's website, I figured they could do a better job at explaining that I would).

I do believe this is the oldest women's organization and, most likely, the one with the greatest number of participants.

Anyway, we always open and close the meeting with a hymn. I was called to be the music director. My job was to choose the hymns to be sung during our meetings and, generally, these hymns would go hand in hand with the lesson of the day.

I have always loved music. This calling was a great blessing to me as through those hymns the Spirit testified to me of the divinity of our Savior, the love our Heavenly Father has for each of us, the restoration of the Gospel, and other important truths.

Since the time I have served as music director, I have used the hymns to bring me comfort and peace when comfort and peace were needed, or to strengthen my testimony about specific church principles. 
Heavenly Father has truly blessed me through music.

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, church members are given the opportunity to participate in various assignments (callings).
Some may be called to serve as teachers in the various classes, some to lead or play music, others to lead a specific group of people. These assignments are temporary, their duration varying from a few months to a couple of years. When one assignment ends, another one is given.
One time, an individual may be called to work with young children as a teacher, and another time to lead music during Sacrament meeting.

I do not remember all of the assignments I was given through the years nor the order in which they were given; however, I do know that with each and every position I was called to serve in, I grew in knowledge of the Gospel, in love for those I served, and in the desire to be more like our Savior.

Next time, I will start talking about some of those assignments I was given and how they allowed me to grow closer to Him, Jesus the Christ.