Dearest Sisters of the Arlington Stake,

Thank you for your participation in our Women's Conference, Something Extraordinary - Becoming Holy Women. We were all lifted as we came together as sisters.

Here is a blog with notes from some of the presenters. We pray this blog can be a resource for all of us as we continue to walk the path of discipleship.
We love you and pray for you.

Sincerely,

The Arlington Stake Relief Society Presidency

Something Extraordinary - Becoming Holy Women
Women's Conference 2012
http://womensconference2012.blogspot.com/


Women of Light
Women's Conference 2011
http://womenoflight2011.blogspot.com/

Daughters in My Kingdom/June Quotes

For an uplifting summer book to read, go to the Daughters in My Kingdom page at lds.org:

http://www.lds.org/relief-society/daughters-in-my-kingdom?lang=eng

 

To learn about how Daughters in My Kingdom came about and hear inspiring conversations about it go to mormonchannel.org and look for Daughters in My Kingdom episodes 1 thru 8. Here is a link to Daughters in My Kingdom episode 1.

http://mormonchannel.org/relief-society/daughters-in-my-kingdom/1

If you click on the pull down menu on the page above you can find the rest of the Daughters in My Kingdom episodes, along with Visiting Teaching conversations 1 thru 18 and question and answer conversations 1 thru 18. There are literally hours and hours of great gospel discussions for those who are interested.

 

June Quotes:

  

From Daughters in My Kingdom pg. 159

A newspaper reporter summarized Sister Smith’s repeated message: “‘Hold your heads high, you wives, mothers, homemakers. You engender life and enrich it. Don’t trade that pervasive force for fleeting, surface trinkets. Cherish it, enlarge it, magnify it. You hold a mighty office.’ That’s the message of the leader of Mormon women, Barbara B. Smith.”³⁴

From Daughters in My Kingdom pg. 161

“Mothers in Zion, your God-given roles are so vital to your own exaltation and to the salvation and exaltation of your family. A child needs a mother more than all the things money can buy. Spending time with your children is the greatest gift of all.”

Ezra Taft Benson

The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson (1988), 515

From Daughters in My Kingdom pg. xiii

Sister Belle S. Spafford, the ninth Relief Society general president, said: “The average woman today, I believe, would do well to appraise her interests, evaluate the activities in which she is engaged, and then take steps to simplify her life, putting things of first importance first, placing emphasis where the rewards will be greatest and most enduring, and ridding herself of the less rewarding activities.”³

 

From Daughters in My Kingdom pg. 51

The Latter-day Saints gathered in the Salt Lake Valley after having been persecuted and forced from their homes and communities multiple times. Now that they had migrated to a faraway and isolated desert, President Brigham Young wanted them to flourish and establish a permanent home for themselves. He wanted them to be safe from physical harm, and he also wanted them to keep themselves safe from worldly influences that could harm their faith and their testimonies. He wanted them to be independent from worldly influences, both temporally and spiritually.

 

March Quote

“The future of the [Relief] Society is full of promise. As the Church grows, its field of usefulness will be correspondingly enlarged, and it will be even more potent for good than it has been in the past. If all the sisters will rally to the support of the society, it will accomplish a mighty work and be a continued blessing unto the Church.”

-Lorenzo Snow

pg. 19 Daughters in My Kingdom

February Quote

Mothers who know do less. They permit less of what will not bear good fruit eternally. They allow less media in their homes, less distraction, less activity that draws their children away from their home. Mothers who know are willing to live on less and consume less of the world’s goods in order to spend more time with their children—more time eating together, more time working together, more time reading together, more time talking, laughing, singing, and exemplifying. These mothers choose carefully and do not try to choose it all.

- Julie B. Beck

Link to Mothers Who Know by Julie B. Beck:

http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2007/10/mothers-who-know?lang=eng&query=mothers+know+do+less.+they+permit+less+will+bear+good+fruit+eternally.

January Quote

Sister Belle S. Spafford, the ninth Relief Society general president, said: “The average woman today, I believe, would do well to appraise her interests, evaluate the activities in which she is engaged, and then take steps to simplify her life, putting things of first importance first, placing emphasis where the rewards will be greatest and most enduring, and ridding herself of the less rewarding activities.”

***A great talk on simplifying our lives and putting first things first is Good, Better, Best by Dallin H. Oaks. Whether this is your first introduction to this talk or you have heard it before, it is well worth another look.

http://lds.org/general-conference/2007/10/good-better-best?lang=eng&query=good,+better,+best

Quotes for 2011

Quotes for 2011

January Quote:

Ours is a work of salvation, service, and becoming a holy people.
--Sis. Julie B. Beck

“Much of the major growth that is coming to the Church in the last days will come because many of the good women of the world (in whom there is often such an inner sense of spirituality) will be drawn to the Church in large numbers. This will happen to the degree that the women of the Church reflect righteousness and articulateness in their lives and to the degree that the women of the Church are seen as distinct and different—in happy ways—from the women of the world.

“Thus it will be that female exemplars of the Church will be a significant force in both the numerical and spiritual growth of the Church in the last days.”
--Spencer W. Kimball

February Quote:

"There has grown in me an overwhelming testimony of the value of daughters of God. So much depends on them."
-Julie B Beck General Relief Society President

" We know the Lord has laid high responsibility upon us, and there is not a wish or desire that the Lord has implanted in our hearts in righteousness but will be realized, and the greatest good we can do to ourselves and each other is to refine and cultivate ourselves in everything that is good and ennobling to qualify us for those responsibilities.”

-          Eliza R. Snow, Second General Relief Society President

April Quote:

When a woman chooses to have Christ at the center of her heart, at the nucleus of her personal world, she brings the Lord into her home and family, be it a family of one or a family of many wherever she lives and whatever her circumstances, as the heart of the home and the family, what is in each woman's heart is reflected in the environment and the spirit of her home.

Sister Ann C. Pingree

May Quote:

“My dear sisters, I have a simple faith. I believe that as you are faithful and diligent in keeping the commandments of God, as you draw closer to Him in faith, hope, and charity, things will work together for your good. I believe that as you immerse yourselves in the work of our Father—as you create beauty and as you are compassionate to others—God will encircle you in the arms of His love. Discouragement, inadequacy, and weariness will give way to a life of meaning, grace, and fulfillment.

As spirit daughters of our Heavenly Father, happiness is your heritage.

You are choice daughters of our Heavenly Father, and through the things you create and by your compassionate service, you are a great power for good. You will make the world a better place. Lift up your chin; walk tall. God loves you. We love and admire you.

Of this I testify, and leave you my blessing as an Apostle of the Lord, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.”

General Women’s Conference 2008 President Dieter F. Uchtdorf’s talk, Happiness is Your Heritage

June Quote:

“As members of the Church of Jesus Christ, we seek to bring all truth together. We seek to enlarge the circle of love and understanding among all the people of the earth. Thus we strive to establish peace and happiness, not only within Christianity but among all mankind.”

 - That We Might Have Joy by Howard W. Hunter, page, 59

July Quote:

"My beloved sisters, fear not. Be of good cheer. The future is as bright as your faith."
President Thomas S. Monson

August Quote:

  "A tranquil conscience invites freedom from anguish, sorrow, guilt, shame, and self-condemnation. It provides a foundation for happiness. It is a condition of immense worth..."
 - Elder Richard G. Scott - Peace of Conscience and Peace of Mind - Oct. 2004 -
http://lds.org/general-conference/2004/10/peace-of-conscience-and-peace-of-mind?lang=eng&query=tranquil+conscience+Richard+G.+Scott

September Quote:

From Lloyd Newell’s book “Let Him Ask of God” life and teachings of Joseph Smith:

July 24
It was on this day in 1847 that Brigham Young entered the Salt Lake Valley and began to build Zion in the west.  Having been led and tutored by the Prophet Joseph for so many years, he understood that, as Joseph taught, “the building up of Zion is a cause that has interested the people of God in every age; it is the theme upon which prophets, priests, and kings have dwelt with peculiar delight; they have looked forward with joyful anticipation to the day in which we live” (history of the church).  The Saints of God gather to Zion – wherever they live – as they join the Church, as they become pure in heart, as they work diligently with one heart and mind to build up the cause of Zion.  Zion is more than a place – it is a process, a condition, a cause, a desire, and an attitude.  Let us do our part to gather to Zion and build it up for a place of peace, a sanctuary of safety, and a haven of joy.

October Quote:

“The ability to qualify for, receive, and act on personal revelation is the single most important skill that can be acquired in this life,...”
- Sister Beck

November Quote:

Sister Eliza R. Snow taught taught that individual women could receive inspiration to guide them in their personal lives, their families, and their Church responsibilities. She said: "Tell the sisters to go forth and discharge their duties, in humility and faithfulness and the Spirit of God will rest upon them and they will be blest in their labors. Let them seek for wisdom instead of power and they will have all the power they have wisdom to exercise."

Her inspired instruction helped Relief Society sisters face the trials of their day. She taught that if they would continually seek guidance and comfort from the Holy Ghost, they could enjoy peace even in the midst of adversity. She said that the Holy Ghost "satisfies and fills up every longing of the human heart, and fills up every vacuum. When I am filled with that Spirit, my soul is satisfied, and I can say in good earnest, that the trifling things of the day do not seem to stand in my way at all. But just let me lose my hold of that spirit and power of the Gospel, and partake of the spirit of the world, in the slightest degree, and trouble comes; there is something wrong. I am tried, and what will comfort me? You cannot impart comfort to me that will satisfy the immortal mind, but that which comes from the Fountain above. And is it not our privilege to so live that we can have this constantly flowing into our souls?"

December Quote:

Open the Gift: Daughters in My Kingdom

Women's Conference Handouts and Notes

Announcing our new Women of Light Women's Conference Blogspot. Just click on the link below:

http://womenoflight2011.blogspot.com/

This new blog was specially created for handouts and notes from our Women's Conference presenters that you are welcome to have for your own personal use. Please share this blog with the sisters in your wards and with your member and non-member friends.

Sincerely,
Jeanie, Christy, Suzanne and Tonya

As sisters in Zion we all work together!

Brunch 2012

We love our dear Presidents! Thank you for all you do! It was so wonderful meeting with each of you. We look forward to more opportunities to serve you and work with you in the future.

Brunch 2011