Learn More About Church Leaders

I just found this link on lds.org.  You can see pictures of all of the General Authorities and General Auxiliaries and if you click on them you can read their biography and have access to some of their most recent articles, addresses, and speeches.  What a great way to get to know our leaders.

The Same Church that Jesus Christ Organized

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (aka - the LDS Church or the Mormon Church) is the same church that Jesus Christ organized while he was on the earth.

Elder Haight said, "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints proclaims to the world that this church is a restoration of Christ’s church…. It is therefore not a reformation, a revision, a reorganization, or a mere sect. It is the Church of Jesus Christ restored in these latter days."

Watch this video of Wilford Woodruff's search for the truth as he sets out on a search to find the church of Christ on the earth. He later became the 4th Prophet of the Church.



To read about The Church of Jesus Christ in Former Times click HERE
(all of the features discussed exist in the church today).

To read about The Church of Jesus Chirst Today
(including how the Church was restored) click HERE.

To download this video for yourself click HERE.

New Updated Apostle Printables

I have posted these printables (found at sugardoodle.net) before but I was asked for updated versions including Elder Andersen. Enjoy!


Apostle Memory Cards by Kerri Madura (Matching Game)


Apostle Cards by Melanie Day (Include Fun and Informative Facts About the Prophets/Apostles)

First Presidency Puzzle

I came across this puzzle of the First Presidency (created by Regan Ashford) on Sugardoodle.net and thought it looked simple and fun. Enjoy!

First Presidency Easter Message

Yesterday the First Presidency issued this Easter message:

"At this Easter season of hope and renewal we testify of the glorious reality of the atonement and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. The empty tomb brought comforting assurance and provided the answer to the question of Job, “If a man die, shall he live again?” (Job 14:14).

Because of the Savior’s resurrection we will overcome death and become the beneficiaries of His mercy and grace. In a world of trouble and uncertainty, His peace fills our hearts and eases our minds. Jesus is in very deed “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).

We give our sure witness that Jesus is the Christ. Though He was crucified, He rose triumphant from the tomb to our everlasting blessing and benefit. To each member of the human family He stands as our Advocate, our Savior, and our Friend.

Picture courtesy of LDS.org

A New Apostle and A New Apostle Song

"Elder Neil Linden Andersen was named an apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on 4 April 2009."



Here are a few highlights from his biography:

• He was named a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy in April 1993, at age 41.


• He speaks French, Portuguese and Spanish in addition to his native English.


• Elder Andersen served as a mission president in the France Bordeaux Mission and as president of the Tampa Florida Stake.


• Elder Andersen was born in Logan, Utah, and raised in Pocatello, Idaho, on a dairy farm where he remembers doing "typical Idaho farm work, from morning to night.”


• In high school, he excelled in student government, serving as governor of Idaho Boys State.


• He graduated from Brigham Young University, where he was a presidential scholar, and earned a masters of business administration from Harvard University.


• Elder Andersen and his wife, Kathy Williams Andersen, are the parents of four children and 12 grandchildren.
  
  To learn more about Elder Neil L. Andersen you can read his entire Biography in the LDS Newsroom.
  

Now enjoy the new version of the Apostle Song with Elder Andersen officially added.

The Apostle Cards by Melanie Day have also been updated to include Elder Andersen.

New Apostle Song

The Official NEW Apostle video is out with Elder Andersen added. To read more about Elder Neil L. Andersen and to see the Apostle video with him added click HERE. If you would like to see the old versions with Elder Wirthlin and the other with a surprise ending continue on with this post. Thanks! I hope this helps.

I am sure many of you have seen and enjoyed the old version of the apostle song:

Since the passing of Elder Wirthlin a new version of the video and song has come out with an interesting ending. We will have to wait for a more complete version in April or May. I will be sure to post it when it comes out. Enjoy!!!:

Apostle Printables

New updated apostle games and cards (including Elder Andersen) can be found HERE.

Apostle Cards and Apostle Cards 2 by Melanie Day

These cards are great. There is a picture of each member of the First Presidency and the Twelve Apostles (I am sure that they will be updated when the new apostle is called and I will post them again then) along with a few interesting facts about each of them.

Memory Game by Anonymous

You match their picture with their name and symbol. Each Apostle has a symbol to help remember their name. For example, President Packer has a Back-"Pack" and Elder Oaks has a oak leaf.

Apostles Coloring Page from LDS.org

Apostles Crossword Puzzle by Rachel Woods on lds.about.com

I hope you find some of these fun or helpful!

Elder Wirthlin Will Be Missed

Here is the article that is found in the LDS Newsroom:

SALT LAKE CITY 2 December 2008 Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, the oldest living apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, died last night, age 91.

Elder Wirthlin had gone to bed at his Salt Lake City home, and died peacefully at about 11:30 pm of causes incident to age. His oldest daughter, Jane Wirthlin Parker, was present. A member of the family had been staying and caring for Elder Wirthlin, whose wife, Elisa Young Rogers Wirthlin, died in 2006.

He had continued to work at his office right up until the Thanksgiving holiday.Funeral arrangements will be announced.

To read his biography click on this link---> Elder Wirthlin's Biography.

This is great video of Elder Wirthlin's Testimony,

especially during this Christmas Season.

I am so glad we all had the opportunity to hear Elder Wirthlin speak in this last General Conference in such an uplifting, happy, encouraging, and funny way. It was a wonderful talk.

I couldn't resist posting an entire section (Learn to Laugh) of his talk below because it will forever be one of my last great memories of Elder Wirthlin. I had the opportunity of attending that session and I remember having a great laugh during his talk and now I am reminded of the determination I had to laugh more and to groan less. That is definitely something I can work on. I am grateful for his great counsel.

I will miss Elder Wirthlin a lot. I will miss his great attitude. I will miss his stories that showed his unwavering spirit of obedience. What a great man and what a great Apostle of the Lord.

Come What May, and Love It

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

If we approach adversities wisely, our hardest times can be times of greatest growth, which in turn can lead toward times of greatest happiness.

Over the years I have learned a few things that have helped me through times of testing and trial. I would like to share them with you.

Learn to Laugh

The first thing we can do is learn to laugh. Have you ever seen an angry driver who, when someone else makes a mistake, reacts as though that person has insulted his honor, his family, his dog, and his ancestors all the way back to Adam? Or have you had an encounter with an overhanging cupboard door left open at the wrong place and the wrong time which has been cursed, condemned, and avenged by a sore-headed victim?

There is an antidote for times such as these: learn to laugh.

I remember loading up our children in a station wagon and driving to Los Angeles. There were at least nine of us in the car, and we would invariably get lost. Instead of getting angry, we laughed. Every time we made a wrong turn, we laughed harder.

Getting lost was not an unusual occurrence for us. Once while heading south to Cedar City, Utah, we took a wrong turn and didn’t realize it until two hours later when we saw the “Welcome to Nevada” signs. We didn’t get angry. We laughed, and as a result, anger and resentment rarely resulted. Our laughter created cherished memories for us.

I remember when one of our daughters went on a blind date. She was all dressed up and waiting for her date to arrive when the doorbell rang. In walked a man who seemed a little old, but she tried to be polite. She introduced him to me and my wife and the other children; then she put on her coat and went out the door. We watched as she got into the car, but the car didn’t move. Eventually our daughter got out of the car and, red faced, ran back into the house. The man that she thought was her blind date had actually come to pick up another of our daughters who had agreed to be a babysitter for him and his wife.

We all had a good laugh over that. In fact, we couldn’t stop laughing. Later, when our daughter’s real blind date showed up, I couldn’t come out to meet him because I was still in the kitchen laughing. Now I realize that our daughter could have felt humiliated and embarrassed. But she laughed with us, and as a result, we still laugh about it today.

The next time you’re tempted to groan, you might try to laugh instead. It will extend your life and make the lives of all those around you more enjoyable.

He then went on to share three more things that can help through times of trial:

Seek for the Eternal

The Principle of Compensation

Trust in the Father and the Son

To read the entire talk click on the title above.

I hope we all will strive to follow the counsel of Elder Wirthlin.

FHE: A Stars Guiding Light

A few weeks ago for Family Home Evening we had a lesson using stars. While I was preparing I came across a more full text to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. I've never heard these verses before but they teach something great. We sang this song, then read President Hinckley's experience with the North Star. It was a Conference lesson so we talked about how the Prophets and Apostles and their counsel can be our guiding stars and we talked about what we are going to do to follow their counsel.

There are so many ways you could look at the words in this song and experience though. Instead of the Prophets and Apostles being the guiding stars to us travelers, we could be the little star shining for those around us and when President Hinckley continued in his talk he spoke of love being the North Star.

For our activity we went outside and cuddled up on a blanket and looked at the stars. For our treat we had brownies cut in the shape of stars, yum-yum. It went well and we had fun.

I've had my mind on FHE lately since I came across this FHE Planning Blog - Check it out HERE!

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky!

When the blazing sun is gone,
When he nothing shines upon,
Then you show your little light,
Twinkle, twinkle, all the night.

Then the traveller in the dark,
Thanks you for your tiny spark,
He could not see which way to go,
If you did not twinkle so.

In the dark blue sky you keep,
And often through my curtains peep,
For you never shut your eye,
Till the sun is in the sky.

As your bright and tiny spark,
Lights the traveller in the dark,—
Though I know not what you are,
Twinkle, twinkle, little star.

President Hinckley
When I was a boy, we lived on a farm in the summer. It was in the country, where the nights were dark. There were no streetlights or anything of the kind. My brother and I slept out-of-doors. On clear nights—and most of those nights were clear and the air was clean—we would lie on our backs and look at the myriads of stars in the heavens. We could identify some of the constellations and other stars as they were illustrated in our encyclopedia. Each night we would trace the Big Dipper, the handle and the cup, to find the North Star.

We came to know of the constancy of that star. As the earth turned, the others appeared to move through the night. But the North Star held its position in line with the axis of the earth. And so it had come to be known as the Polar Star, or the Polestar, or the Lodestar. Through centuries of time, mariners had used it to guide them in their journeys. They had reckoned their bearings by its constancy, thereby avoiding traveling in circles or in the wrong direction, as they moved across the wide, unmarked seas.

Because of those boyhood musings, the Polar Star came to mean something to me. I recognized it as a constant in the midst of change. It was something that could always be counted on, something that was dependable, an anchor in what otherwise appeared to be a moving and unstable firmament.

President] Harold B. Lee said, we should let these conference addresses ‘be the guide to [our] walk and talk during the next six months. These are the important matters the Lord sees fit to reveal to this people in this day.’ ” (Ensign, May 1988, p. 84.)

Conference: It's for the Whole Family

It is time to get ready for General Conference and so with it approaching quickly I thought I would post a few links to some wonderful Conference packets/games and a few Apostle get to know you activities that others have created to keep their children both entertained and participating in conference. Most of the links I found on one of my favorite sites - sugardoodle.net. You can find so many ideas and printables on this site. I just had to put a little plug in.

“Conference: It’s for the Whole Family,” Ensign, Mar. 1985, 41

"Helping general conference become a meaningful experience for children is often a challenge. But it is important for children as well as adults to listen to and appreciate the words of our General Authorities." This article has many suggestions from other parents on how to help the whole family get something out of conference.

I hope that some of these activities help both you and your children get something out of this General Conference.

GENERAL CONFERENCE PACKETS

Deseret Book came out with this Packet

October Conference Packet

Conference Coloring Book - by Debbie Loveland

General Conference Ties - by Lee

General Conference Booklet - by Melanie Day

General Conference Folder - by Melanie Day

Activity Packets for Older and Younger Children by Tasha Reeves

GETTING TO KNOW THE APOSTLES AND PROPHETS

First Presidency and Apostles Matching Game - A great way to help your children know who is who. This might be a lot of fun to play before conference.

Apostle Cards - by Melanie Day (Picture and Basic Info about each Apostle/Prophet)

Apostle Song - A video to help get to know the Apostles.

GENERAL CONFERENCE GAMES

Conference Chase - by Ondrea Slade - A fun game to play with your kids while watching conference.

Conference ABC's - 2005 Friend

Bingo Cards

Apostle Song

Here is a video of the First Presidency and the Apostles.

Our little boy just loves this video.

It is a great way to help children and/or adults

learn who the Apostles and Prophets are. Enjoy!