Charity giving where 100% goes to cause

There are many charities that do good work and that are prudent with your donations, however, very few use 100% of your donation for giving aid to others.  For many organizations, there are overhead and personnel costs so what ends up as charity work for your cause is usually less than 100%.  All US charities must publish how much of your donation actually goes to the cause and how much is used for other things.

LDS Philanthropies uses 100% of your donation for the cause that you designate. This is a very rare thing indeed.  All of your donations are also tax deductible.  You can also make recurring donations, in memoriam donations, one time donations, and many other plans and charities are available and waiting for your gift.

You can find out more here:  http://www.ldsphilanthropies.org/

Temple Terrace RS Sister is Now an Author

Did you know that Emily Mitchell (the sister that plays the organ in sacrament meeting) is now an author and her book is available on Amazon for Kindle?  The book is called The Acquisition.  

Take a minute and read the reviews by people who have already read the book; they can't wait for more.  Congratulations Emily.

Here is a brief synopsis of the book:
Today, Emma Bauer could lose everything.  
All fifteen-year-olds must attend the Acquisition, the event that determines whether a person is good enough to live in the Harvest as one of the elite Endorsed. If not, they are condemned to live in the Barren as a servant of the Assembly. All servants of the Assembly are sterilized on their eighteenth birthday to prevent their compromising genes from being reproduced. Upon her day of reckoning, Emma knows there is a chance of becoming Sterile because of something tragic in her past. She also believes the past is the past. When the decision is made, lives change forever.  
The life Emma tried so desperately to leave behind still haunts her, a life that is soon to be ripped apart by hate, jealousy, lies, and murder. If something doesn't change, it won't only be Emma's life hanging in the balance.

Are you a straight 'A' Sunday School Student?

How well do you prepare before arriving to Sunday School class?  Have you read the lesson, pondered on insights and questions that arose while reading the scriptures that will be covered in class that day?  Do you bring your scriptures with you and are in other ways prepared for class?

This is a question asked on LDSLiving.com and has a poll for you to answer for yourself and see how others answer these things as well.  Go here and see what you might be able to do to improve your experience and to be responsible for your own learning of the gospel rather than relying on the teacher to do all of the work.

12 Days of Christmas to Christ

This was a nice post that I found on LDS Living.  It has a way of teaching about Christ by using the song 12 Days of Christmas and what each symbol can mean in relationship to Christ and the Gospel.  You can find the story here. 12 Days of Christmas to Christ

Studying Your Patriarchal Blessing

I thought this was a great article about how you can study your patriarchal blessing just like you would study the scriptures.  After all, your patriarchal blessing is personal scripture written just for you.

A patriarchal blessing is our own personal scriptures from the Lord and is a priceless tool that we should not hide away and never use. Here are some excellent tips on how to use our blessing:

1. Make a copy of your patriarchal blessing
2. Get three colored pens/pencils for marking
3. Underline any words or phrases using the following key:

• Color 1: Counsel and Warnings
• Color 2: Descriptions about You
• Color 3: Your Gifts and Talents

1. On a separate piece of paper make a list for each color group of all the words/phrases you underlined
2. Look up the words in the scriptures to understand how the Lord uses them
3. Use the list of warnings to create goals to do what you've been counseled
4. Put your lists and goals in your scriptures
5. Read them every night and then "return and report" to the Lord in prayer at the end of your day

As you do this, two things will happen:

1. You will come to know how much the Lord loves you.
2. You will know where to go for help, and what to do each day.

Our Father loves us. He wants us to have joy and to be saved from our sins. To help us have joy and be saved He has given us the individual guidance we need through our patriarchal blessing. As we turn to the Lord, humble ourselves, and ask for His help we will be greatly blessed.

Original article on about.com

October 2012 General Conference Summaries

Here is a document that has quick summaries of each October General Conference talk in summary format.  Click on this link to get a copy (you can enlarge it with the magnifying glass or choose to download it and print a copy).

Below is an example of what just one talk summary looks like.  It gives you a chance to quickly review all of the talks before you get your hands on the November 2012 Ensign.

Teaching the Gospel: The Lord's Way

Aren't we all teachers even if that is not our current calling?  We teach our children, we teach our friends, we teach our co-workers, we even teach ourselves many things.  When we are teaching the gospel, we need to be aware of teaching in The Lord's way.

Teachers of the gospel of Jesus Christ have been given a sacred trust. Their purpose goes beyond simply teaching lessons. Elder Dallin H. Oaks said, “A gospel teacher will never be satisfied with just delivering a message or preaching a sermon. A superior gospel teacher wants to assist in the Lord’s work to bring eternal life to His children” (“Gospel Teaching,” Ensign, Nov. 1999, 80).


Resources to help you become a better gospel teacher:

Teaching the Gospel - Leadership Library on LDS.org
Principles and Methods of Teaching the Gospel from LDS.org
Teaching Children, Youth, and Young Adults from LDS.org
Improving Your Teaching from LDS.org
Teaching, No Greater Call: A Resource Guide for Gospel Teaching
The Charted Course of the Church in Education - A must read for all gospel teachers

Ward Vision

Bishop Knight gave a talk on Sunday, June 24, 2012 and gave an outline for the Temple Terrace Ward Vision.

Why we need a vision?  Proverbs 29:18  In order to set a proper vision we need revelation from God.  The Lord has already told us his vision, everything he works toward and glories in; and our ward must adopt this vision which is; "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man."  Moses 1:39

Everybody in the ward has a responsibility to fulfill this vision.  To accomplish this we must set goals as stepping stones and markers along the path toward immortality and eternal life.



Areas to set goals to accomplish this vision:

• Improve Family Relationships
• Daily Scripture Study
• Monthly Temple Attendance
• Actively Participate in Missionary Work
• Pursue Education Goals
• Foster Career Growth
• Be involved in worthwhile Hobbies

"When we deal in generalities, we shall never succeed.  When we deal in specifics, we shall rarely have a failure.  When performance is measured, performance improves.  When performance is measured and reported, the rate of performance accelerates."  Thomas S. Monson