Bishopric message

Good afternoon friends in the Parley’s 3rd Ward,

We are so encouraged by all of the many wonderful things happening in our community at this time. There is progress with vaccinations, our children are back in school (sort of), we are receiving needed moisture and many are engaged in serving others.

“The enduring joy of the gospel” is a phrase from the new Aaronic Priesthood Quorum Theme. But why is joy described as enduring? And as something rooted in the gospel?

Well, joy in the gospel sense is different from mere pleasure or contentment. President Russell M. Nelson taught that joy comes not from our circumstances but from our focus. “When the focus of our lives is on God’s plan of salvation, … and Jesus Christ and His gospel, we can feel joy regardless of what is happening—or not happening—in our lives.”

But wait, does that mean that someone can experience joy even when life is hard and our trials are coming hard and fast?

Yes. That isn’t to say, of course, that we won’t experience sadness or grief. But as President Nelson promised: “Saints can be happy under every circumstance. We can feel joy even while having a bad day, a bad week, or even a bad year!”

Tomorrow is the 4th Sunday; in-person meeting group A-K. Brother Ryan Creamer of our Ward and currently serving as the 1st Counselor in the Stake Young Men’s Presidency will be speaking. He will be joined by some of our great Priests, Jed Smith, James Berg, and Sam Munns. The meeting will commence at 9:00am. Please click here to participate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l43d4QgMlBk&feature=youtu.be

Mary and Brent Mabey are teaching an emotional resilience class as part of the Church’s Self-reliance Program. We would suggest reaching out to them and joining their small group meetings if you have interest.

Our Ward and Stake Missionaries have another missionary spotlight to share with us. Click here to check it out.

https://www.facebook.com/FriendsofJesusonCentralWasatch/photos/a.107949600875043/247586746911327/

We invite you to participate in two upcoming welfare assignments:

3rd Ward Welfare Assignment: March 11, 2021 SPOTS NOT FILLED

Mar 11, Thursday, 7:30 – 11:30am, Deseret Dairy, in the cheese department

Here is a sign-up URL link to assist in your signing up –

https://volunteersignup.org/JBWPJ

3rd Ward Welfare Assignment: April 1, 2021

Apr 1, Thursday, 7:30 – 11:30am, Deseret Dairy, in the cheese department

Here is a sign-up URL link to assist in your signing up –

https://volunteersignup.org/YCHXA

For questions about our welfare assignments, call Andrew Smith at 1-801-718-1509 or email to [email protected] Thanks for your service!

Recently our Young Women and Young Men were given permission to meet in-person in their classes/quorums once month. We are planning to meet in-person at 10:00am tomorrow and going forward on every 4th Sunday. Our youth and their leaders have been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to meet together on Sundays. The classes/quorums will be meeting in the largest classrooms to allow for adequate distancing. Youth and leaders are required to wear masks in their meetings. The following classroom assignments have been made: Tenderhearts- YW room, Sweethearts- Relief Society room, Bravehearts- Primary room, Deacons- Nursery rooms, Teachers- Elders Quorum room, and Priests- Cultural hall near font.

We recognize that meeting at 10:00am at the church may be a little bit of a rush after a family’s in-home sacrament meeting. The youth should just come when they can. Adult presidency members and advisors will plan to give rides home after the meetings.

You may have heard we are really encouraging our youth and their parents to use the Gospel Living app. The app is loaded with inspirational videos, music, micro articles, images, memes and social media posts selected to motivate youth to do something in their life that will bring them closer to Jesus Christ. The Gospel Living app could be an alternative to the mainstream social media experience. It is safe, inspiring, and inclusive. Our youth are able to record impressions, set goals, and be reminded of things of real importance. In Parley’s 3rd Ward, we are using the “Circles” part of the app to communicate between class/quorum members, adult leaders and parents. Please make certain that you and your youth have the app downloaded and are familiar with its features. We realize that not all of our youth have smart phones or other devices to access the app, and we ask that parents assist in bridging that gap by allowing their child to use their device to access the app at times. Today our youth are bombarded with media that tells them that they are not good enough. The opposite is true with The Gospel Living app. When a young woman or young man opens the app, they will be touched by the spirit and reminded that they are a daughter or son of a heavenly father that loves them exactly the way they are! Thank you so much for your support.

We have some amazing full-time missionaries from our ward, serving and gathering all over the world. They would love to hear from their friends in Parley’s 3rd Ward. Please see their email addresses below:

· Sister Libby Dallimore: [email protected]

· Elder Jacob Jepsen: [email protected]

· Sister Annie Lewis: [email protected]

· Sister Anna Munns: [email protected]

· Elder Will Poulson: [email protected]

· Elder Andrew Thomas: [email protected]

Please remember to take part in the Family History assignment given to us by the McCullough’s.

Calendar Notes:

April 3-4 – General Conference

April 18 – Parley’s 3rd Ward Conference

May you continue to receive peace and comfort at the hand of our Lord.

Love,

The Bishopric