He is Risen

Matthew 28:5-7

5  And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.
6  He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
7  And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.

April Calendar

Here is our calendar for the month of April. Welcome Spring!!

Converted unto the Lord

Dear Sisters,

On Sunday March 24th our lesson is "Converted unto the Lord" by Elder David A. Bednar. I want to express my gratitude for the calling to teach this lesson. It has increased my knowledge and allowed me to grow spiritually. Elder Bednar states "My message focuses upon the relationship between receiving a testimony that Jesus is the Christ and becoming converted to Him and his gospel." In my mind we have already started this lesson with Alison Thorsen's excellent talk on conversion the previous Sunday in Sacrament Meeting. Please come to Relief Society on Sunday so we can share our thoughts and feelings about testimony and conversion.

Love,
Shirlee

Celebrating Our Roots...Something Extraordinary!

We loved seeing so many of you at our garden party earlier this month and we missed those of you who weren't able to come! It was a wonderful evening to spend time together and celebrate our roots as sisters in Relief Society. This is the video we had prepared and planned to share, before running into technical difficulties. We hope as we all find time to watch this video and we will all be reminded of our roots and all that we are capable of accomplishing together!

Garden Party Recipes

Here are some of the recipes for the delicious food we ate at our garden party earlier this month. Thanks to everyone who helped in the kitchen!

Wild Rice - Spinach Salad
1 package (10 oz) frozen spinach
3 cups cooked wild rice
1 1/4 cups cooked regular rice
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup sliced green onions with tops
4 slices bacon, cooked crispy and crumbled
Soy Sauce Dressing (see recipe below)

Rinse frozen spinach and drain. Mix spinach and remaining ingredients except dressing. Pour Soy Sauce Dressing over rice mixture and toss. Chill. Makes 8 servings, 265 calories.

Soy Sauce Dressing
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 Tablespoons vinegar
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Shake all ingredients in a tightly sealed container.

Chicken Salad
4 cups chicken, shredded or canned
3/4 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
2 cups celery, diced
3 green onions, diced
3/4 cup apple, diced
1 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup toasted pecans
Salt and pepper to taste.

Mix and enjoy!

Pasta Salad
12 oz bow tie pasta
12 oz rotini pasta

Cook, drain and rinse with cold water until cool.

Then, add:
2 20oz cans of pineapple tidbits
2 bunches green onions, sliced
1 package of grapes, cut in halves
6 stocks celery (chopped)
1 cup of dried cranberries

Mix all ingredients together.

Dressing
Mix 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, 3/4 cup of mayonnaise and 24 oz coleslaw dressing. Add this mixture to pasta mixture and combine.

Optional: add 1 cup of cashews before serving.

Keep refrigerated.

Come Celebrate Our Roots Tonight!!

Tonight is our garden party, "Celebrating Our Roots" and also celebrating the birthday of the Relief Society. Please join us at the church at 7:00 p.m. to spend a lovely evening together. We can't wait to see you there!!

Lifelong Conversion: Continuing to Advance in the Principles of Truth

Lorenzo Snow was baptized and confirmed in June 1836. Recalling his developing testimony, he later said, "I believed they [the Latter-day Saints] had the true religion, and I joined the Church. So far my conversion was merely a matter of reason." He remembered, "I was perfectly satisfied that I had done what was wisdom for me to do under the circumstances." Although he was content for a time with this understanding, he soon yearned for a special manifestation of the Holy Ghost. He said, "I had had no manifestation, but I expected one."

Are you like President Snow? Do you expect manifestations of the Holy Ghost in times of either joy or sorrow? Do you remember when you were baptized and if you felt the Holy Ghost? Gaining a testimony of the church and building upon that foundation is a good starting point. We are going to share our experiences with our testimonies and help "build" a foundation this Sunday.

Janine Hughes

Van Cliburn 1934-2013

Normally I wouldn't have been interested in a hard copy of a newspaper, but a homeschool project necessitated a trip to the corner grocery store. Time seemed to stop as I stared in disbelief at the headline that read, "Pianist Touched a World". There below was Van Cliburn's picture and the dates 1934-2013. My heart sank as I realized that my piano teacher Judy Beall probably didn't know about this yet. My voice cracked a bit as I picked up the phone and let her know of Van Cliburn's death. Although he is not a direct link in our chain of "piano ancestors", it felt like we had somehow lost a great grandpa. Our piano genealogy is as follows: Ludwig van Beethoven taught Carl Czerny who taught Franz Liszt who taught Arthur Friedheim who taught Rildia Bee O'Bryan Cliburn who taught Barbara Bowling Drill who taught Judy Beall who taught me. Rildia was Van Cliburn's mother who taught him piano at an early age. Judy loves to tell me stories about all of the piano ancestors and I love hearing them. Just two hours earlier in the day I had sat in the temple trying to figure out why I just don't care that much about my own genealogy and family history. Why did I lack an interest in finding out about my own ancestors? One of the answers to this question has to do with my lack of knowledge about my ancestors. How can I care about them if I don't know who they are and what they accomplished. My piano ancestors are near and dear to my heart only because I've read and heard about them for years. My temple prayer had been answered as I made the commitment to learn about my ancestors in order to develop a love for them.

By Rachel Roark