Welcome to 2013

Lots of changes in store for our ward this year.  First thing is that our Sunday meetings now begin at 11 am instead of 9 am.  You can sleep in a little bit more, but the kids (and husbands) are going to be getting hungry because we won't be done with church until 2 pm.  We suggest you make good use of your Crock-Pots so that as soon as you get home you can feed your starving family.

That brings me to the next topic, this Sunday is Fast Sunday.

Our youth have a new Sunday School and Young Women/Aaronic Priesthood curriculum this year.  It is called Come, Follow Me.  They will be focusing on 9 Basic Doctrinal Principles this year, both in their Sunday school lessons and in their youth meetings.  The topic for January is The Godhead.  By the end of this month, they should have a better understanding of the doctrine of The Godhead.  Ask them about it.

Our focus in Relief Society this year will be a Pursuit of Excellence.  This week's lesson will introduce you to this goal setting program as well as reemphasize that as sisters in the gospel we truly are Daughters of God.  Knowing that helps us make better decisions in our lives and helps us in our mortal journey.

We have some monthly goals that you can make as well as some bonus challenges.  One challenge will be to read the Book of Mormon this year and another one is a simple program to encourage physical activity, even for the most challenged sisters in this area.  We will be providing you with a little booklet for your Pursuit of Excellence this year.  Stay tuned for regular updates and encouragement.

Lastly, our Relief Society and Melchizedek Priesthood lessons on the 2nd and 3rd Sundays will be from the Teachings of the Presidents of the Church - Lorenzo Snow.  You can purchase your own copy of the manual at store.lds.org as well as read it online for free, or download a copy to your computer.