Elder Koichi Aoyagi: Helping Hands, Saving Hands

Elder Aoyagi shared some experiences from his life when he joined the church and later became reactivated. The main focus of his talk was a “focus on hands that help and save spiritually.”

Elder Aoyagi also gave examples of members around the world who were “hands that help”.  He concluded with a quote from President Monson: “My brothers and sisters, we are surrounded by those in need of our attention, our encouragement, our support, our comfort, our kindness – be they family members, friends, acquaintances, or strangers. We are the Lord’s hands here upon the earth, with the mandate to serve and to lift his children. He is dependent upon each of us.”

President Thomas S. Monson: Preparation Brings Blessings

President Monson gave excellent counsel on a variety of topics during this priesthood session talk. I am choosing to record them in bullet format so I can more easily refer back to them.

• One of my most vivid memories is attending priesthood meeting as a newly ordained deacon and singing the opening hymn "Come, All Ye Sons of God." Tonight I echo the spirit of that special hymn and say to you, "Come, all ye sons of God who have received the priesthood." Let us consider our callings, let us reflect on our responsibilities, and let us follow Jesus Christ, our Lord. 
• You men, I admonish you to prepare for service as a missionary. One . . . tool is the booklet entitled "For the Strength of Youth". It features standards from the writings and teachings of Church leaders and from scripture, adherence to which will bring the blessings of our Heavenly Father and the guidance of His Son to each of us.
• Begin to prepare for a temple marriage as well as for a mission.  Proper dating is a part of that preparation. In cultures where dating is appropriate, do not date until you are 16 years old. "Not all teenagers need to date or even want to . . . When you begin dating, go in groups or on double dates. . . .  Make sure your parents meet [and become acquainted with] those you date." Because dating is a preparation for marriage, "date only those who have high standards." (For the Strength of Youth, 2001, p. 24-25)
• Servants of the Lord have always counseled us to dress appropriately to show respect for our Heavenly Father and for ourselves. The way you dress sends messages about yourself to others and often influences the way you and others act. Dress in such a way as to bring out the best in yourself and those around you.
• Everyone needs good friends. Your circle of friends will greatly influence your thinking and behavior, just as you will theirs. When you share common values with your friends, you can strengthen and encourage each other. Treat everyone with kindness and dignity. Many nonmembers have come into the Church through friends who have involved them in Church activities.
• Honesty [is] the best policy." A Latter-day Saint young man lives as he teaches and as he believes. He is honest with others. He is honest with himself. He is honest with God. He is honest by habit and as a matter of course. When a difficult decision must be made, he never asks himself, "What will others think?" but rather, "What will I think of myself?"
• How you speak and the words you use tell much about the image you choose to portray. Use language to build and uplift those around you. Profane, vulgar, or crude language and inappropriate or off-color jokes are offensive to the Lord. Never misuse the name of God or Jesus Christ.
• Our Heavenly Father has counseled us to seek after "anything virtuous, lovely or of good report or praiseworthy." Whatever you read, listen to, or watch makes an impression on you.
• Pornography is especially dangerous and addictive. Curious exploration of pornography can become a controlling habit, leading to coarser material and to sexual transgression. Avoid pornography at all costs.
• If you have any question about whether a particular movie, book, or other form of entertainment is appropriate, don't see it, don't read it, don't participate.
• Hard drugs, wrongful use of prescription drugs, alcohol, coffee, tea, and tobacco products destroy your physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. Any form of alcohol is harmful to your spirit and your body. Tobacco can enslave you, weaken your lungs, and shorten your life.
• Music can help you draw closer to your Heavenly Father. It can be used to educate, edify, inspire, and unite. However, music can, by its tempo, beat, intensity, and lyrics, dull your spiritual sensitivity. You cannot afford to fill your minds with unworthy music.
• Because sexual intimacy is so sacred, the Lord requires self-control and purity before marriage as well as full fidelity after marriage. In dating, treat your date with respect and expect your date to show that same respect for you. Tears inevitably follow transgression.
• President David O. McKay advised, "Every action is preceded by a thought. If we want to control our actions, we must control our thinking."
• Whenever temptation comes, remember the wise counsel of the Apostle Paul, who declared, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." (1 Corinthians 10:13) 
• When challenged or tempted, you do not need to feel alone. Remember that prayer is the passport to spiritual power.
• Don't put your eternal life at risk. Keep the commandments of God. If you have sinned, the sooner you begin to make your way back, the sooner you will find the sweet peace and joy that come with the miracle of forgiveness. Happiness comes from living the way the Lord wants you to live and from service to God and others.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf: "You Are My Hands"

This is a great talk about service and how we should act as followers of Christ.

President Uchtdorf started off with a story from World War II. This is one of the topics that he frequently uses to illustrate points. It is interesting to me to hear his stories because he seems so young to be a survivor (even as a child) of the war. After the story (about a statue of Christ being damaged in the war and not having the hands replaced) he said:

There is a profound lesson in this story. When I think of the Savior, I often picture Him with hands outstretched, reaching out to comfort, heal, bless, and love. And He always talked with, never down to, people. He loved the humble and the meek and walked among them, ministering to them and offering hope and salvation.  That is what He did during his mortal life; it is what He would be doing if He were living among us today; and it is what we should be doing as His disciples and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.


As we emulate His perfect example, our hands can become His hands; our eyes, His eyes; our heart, His heart.


I hope that we welcome and love all of God's children, including those who might dress, look, speak, or just do things differently. It is not good to make others feel as though they are deficient. Let us lift those around us. Let us extend a welcoming hand. Let us bestow upon our brothers and sisters in the Church a special measure of humanity, compassion, and charity so that they feel, at long last, they have finally found home. I feel that this is one area I really need to work on both at church and at school.

When we are tempted to judge, let us think of the Savior, who "loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him . . . 
"[And] he saith: Come unto me all ye ends of the earth, . . . [for] all men are privileged the one like unto the other, and none are forbidden." (2 Nephi 26:24-25, 28)


It seems only right and proper that we extend to others that which we so earnestly desire for ourselves. I am not suggesting that we accept sin or overlook evil, in our personal life or in the world. Nevertheless, in our zeal, we sometimes confuse sin with sinner, and we condemn too quickly and with too little compassion. Every person we meet is a VIP to our Heavenly Father. Once we understand that, we can begin to understand how we should treat our fellowmen.


That was some excellent counsel about how we should treat others. President Uchtdorf then adds counsel on how we can serve others.

As disciples of Jesus Christ, our Master, we are called to support and heal rather than condemn. We are commanded "to mourn with those who mourn" and "comfort those that stand in need of comfort." (Mosiah 18:9)


It is unworthy of us as Christians to think that those who suffer deserve their suffering.


True love requires action. We can speak of love all day long - we can write notes or poems that proclaim it, sing songs that praise it, and preach sermons that encourage it - but until we manifest that love in action, our words are nothing but "sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal." (1 Corinthians 13:1)


Christ did not just speak about love; He showed it each day of His life. He did not remove Himself from the crowd. Being amidst the people, Jesus reached out to the one. He rescued the lost. He didn't just teach a class about reaching out in love and then delegate the actual work to others. He not only taught but also showed us how to "succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees." (D&C 81:5)


If we are His hands, should we not do the same?


The Savior revealed the perfect priorities for our lives, our homes, our wards, our communities, and our nations when he spoke of love as the great commandment upon which "hang all the law and the prophets." (Matthew 22:40)  We can spend our days obsessing about the finest details of life, the law, long lists of things to do; but should we neglect the great commandments, we are missing the point and we are clouds without water, drifting in the winds, and trees without fruit. (see Jude 1:12)


Without this love for God the Father and our fellowmen we are only the form of His Church - without the substance. What good is our teachings without love? What good is missionary, temple, or welfare work without love?


As we extend our hands and hearts toward others in Christlike love, something wonderful happens to us. Our own spirits become healed, more refined, and stronger. We become happier, more peaceful, and more receptive to the whisperings of the Holy Spirit. That is a great promise.

This entire talk, and especially the last part, is good counsel for leaders.

Relief Society President Julie B. Beck: Relief Society-A Sacred Work

Tonight I hope to enlarge our testimony and understanding of Relief Society as a faith-based work.

We know that the purpose of Relief Society as established by the Lord is to prepare women for the blessings of eternal life by helping them:

1.  Increase their faith and personal righteousness.
2.  Strengthen their families and homes.
3.  Serve the Lord and His children.

Relief society is a faith-based work and has a three-fold mission. Next, Sister Beck talked about the role of Relief Society in relation to the Priesthood. This was the first time I've had the relationship between the two explained.


Relief Society is unique because it was organized after the “pattern of the priesthood”³ and we operate on a general and local level under the direction of priesthood leaders. We work in partnership with priesthood leaders, who hold keys which give them authority to preside in the name of the Lord. We operate in the manner of the priesthood—which means that we seek, receive, and act on revelation; make decisions in councils; and concern ourselves with caring for individuals one by one. Ours is the priesthood purpose to prepare ourselves for the blessings of eternal life by making and keeping covenants. Therefore, like our brethren who hold the priesthood, ours is a work of salvation, service, and becoming a holy people.


She then quoted Elder Boyd K. Parker who gave some interesting insights as to how seriously the sisters should take Relief Society - As seriously as men take the priesthood. That tells me two things: Men need to take the priesthood seriously and women need to approach Relief Society with a new found (for most) respect.

“Attendance at the Sunday meeting is but a small part of your duty. Some of you have not understood this and have set aside much of what Relief Society has meant over the years—the sisterhood, the charitable and practical parts of it.”

“The Relief Society, the Prophet [Joseph] told us, is organized after the pattern of the priesthood. When a man holds the priesthood, . . . it requires full dedication and loyalty. . . .   

“If you sisters follow after that pattern, . . . you will serve your organization, your cause—the Relief Society. . . . 

“Service in the Relief Society magnifies and sanctifies each individual sister. Your membership in Relief Society should be ever with you.”

Under the heading "Working in the Lord's Way, Sister Beck discusses a key issue for women AND for men - time. She also models a great method for understanding what we are doing: understand the group's purpose; and, find the appropriate way to carry out individual responsibilities. And then says that we are respecting the Lord other sisters when you use Relief Society in the appropriate way. Then comes a great quote and some thoughts from President Uchtdorf about getting rid of "non-essential" things.

When our purpose is clear, it naturally follows that there is an appropriate way to carry out our responsibilities. One of the most precious commodities we all have is time. Most women have many responsibilities and never have sufficient time to do everything their hearts and minds want to do. We show respect for the Lord and the sisters when we use Relief Society time in an inspired way.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf taught: “A wise man once distinguished between ‘the noble art of getting things done’ and ‘a nobler art of leaving things undone.’ True ‘wisdom in life,’ he taught, consists of ‘the elimination of non-essentials.’ ” President Uchtdorf then asked: “What are the nonessential things that clutter your days and steal your time? What are the habits you may have developed that do not serve a useful purpose? What are the unfinished or unstarted things that could add vigor, meaning, and joy to your life?”⁵ We can apply his questions to all Relief Society meetings and work. 

She talked about the different types of Relief Society meetings. This entire section should serve as a training manual for Relief Society Presidencies and Bishops. I started copying points down and found myself copying most of this long section! If you need to, review the actual talk and what it had to say about the role of the Sunday meeting and the weekday meetings.


Then Sister Beck talked about Visiting Teaching. She talks about how it is important and how it is set up. I like this quote about Visiting Teaching because it applies very nicely to Home Teaching:


Visiting teaching becomes the Lord’s work when our focus is on people rather than percentages. In reality, visiting teaching is never finished. It is more a way of life than a task.


Great talk for both the sisters AND the brothers!

SIster Silvia H Allred: Every Woman Needs Relief Society

I will speak today about why every woman needs Relief Society in her life. Sister Allred's thesis statement.


The deepest desire of our presidency is to help each woman in the Church prepare to receive the blessings of the temple, to honor the covenants she makes, and to be engaged in the cause of Zion. The Relief Society inspires and teaches women to help them increase their faith and personal righteousness, strengthen families, and seek out and help those in need.


I wonder if this should also be the goal of the Priesthood and if every bishop, high priest group leader, and elder's quorum president has the same desire.


But we are also aware of the many women in the Church who are not fully enjoying the blessings of activity in the Church and in Relief Society. To those of you who already attend Relief Society, we extend a call. We ask you to go to the women who are not engaged in Relief Society work in your wards and branches to teach them with love what Relief Society will do for them. Testify to them that Relief Society will enrich their homes and personal lives. Offer your friendship and sisterhood. Watch over and strengthen them. Help us reverse society’s trend of disintegrating families. Help your sisters turn to the Lord and His plan of happiness for His children. They will find guidance, comfort, peace, understanding, and inspiration. They will know Heavenly Father loves them and cares for them in ways beyond measure.


This is quite a charge to the active women of the church. I should say, active women who attend Relief Society. What can Relief Society do for you? That is probably a question we should ask about every organization in the church. And every activity.

RS President Henry B. Eyring: The Enduring Legacy of Relief Society

The history of Relief Society is recorded in words and numbers, but the heritage is passed heart to heart.

This is a great sub-title for President Eyring talk. It says a lot just by itself. He said he is going to talk about charity and the role it has played in the history of the Relief Society. I like the following description of the early sisters in the church as they moved and moved, having very little for themselves, they still gave:

The history of the Relief Society is filled with accounts of such remarkable selfless service. In the terrible days of persecution and deprivation as the faithful moved from Ohio to Missouri to Illinois and then across the deserts going west, the sisters in their poverty and sorrows cared for others

He then relates, through the circumstances and desires of those sisters, what we could (and should) be:

They were from many lands and peoples, as you are today. But they were of one heart, one mind, and with one intention. They were determined to help the Lord build His Zion, where there could be the happy existence the Book of Mormon had described so vividly for them. You remember some of the scenes from 4 Nephi which they carried in their hearts wherever the Lord led them on the journey to Zion:

He also talked about Visiting Teaching and how it provides the localized support for members.

This next section is a good description of the relationship between the bishop and the relief society president:

The members of Relief Society have always been trusted by local priesthood shepherds. Every bishop and every branch president has a Relief Society president to depend upon. She has visiting teachers, who know the trials and the needs of every sister. She can, through them, know the hearts of individuals and families. She can meet needs and help the bishop in his call to nurture individuals and families.

This was a very good talk that home teachers should read and apply as they feel impressed.