General Relief Society Dinner & Broadcast

Concerning conference, President Thomas S. Monson has said: “Those who will address us have sought heaven’s help and direction as they have prepared their messages. They have been impressed concerning that which they will share with us. . . . Our Heavenly Father loves each of us and is mindful of our needs” (“Welcome to Conference,” Ensign, May 2009, 6).

Stake Blood Drive

Please join us for our

Stake Blood Drive

September 18, 2010

9:00a.m. to 2:00p.m

at the Fontana Stake Center

A Fresh Look to the Los Angeles Temple Visitors’ Center

LOS ANGELES, California 13 August 2010 For decades visitors to the Los Angeles Temple have learned about the Mormon faith through a series of displays and exhibits. The center has now been updated with a full renovation two years in the making. The renovation of the Los Angeles Temple Visitors’ Center brings together bright, vibrant colors appropriate for the Southern California location, with the latest technology in interactive multimedia.

The center was expanded by about 20 percent to 12,817 square feet. The renovation includes a 180-seat theater, complete with a multipurpose space for films, cultural performances and traveling exhibits.

“Several new exhibits highlight simple principles and doctrines in practical ways for us to follow Jesus Christ,” said Mark Lusvardi, director of Church exhibits. “The key component with all our visitors’ centers is the focus on the Savior.”

A new entrance to the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Visitors’ Center in Los Angeles has an all-glass front highlighting the centerpiece, an 11-foot Christus marble statue.

The center, which reopened to the public on 7 August, is located on Santa Monica Boulevard adjacent to the Los Angeles Temple.

“A spectacular new exhibit entitled Savior of the World takes visitors to an Old World setting as unique 3D-like images transport them to the Holy Land,” said Lusvardi. “Visitors will see where Jesus walked, what He taught and who He was.”

Adults can hear messages about the sacred nature of families while children draw digital pictures of their favorite family moments. This unique digital drawing area, designed exclusively for children, is a new visitors’ center feature. Children’s drawings can be emailed so they are available when they arrive home.

Outside, a new garden area features cleaned and restored statues depicting the family. The surrounding grounds are filled with palm trees and foliage native to Southern California. While much is new, much has been preserved, including the outdoor statue garden.

“The missionaries are really the number one exhibit,” said Lusvardi, “their smiles, their warmth and spirit.”

The visitors’ center includes a history of the Los Angeles Temple, including previously unseen video, interviews from President David O. McKay and a “testimonial from the first June bride,” as well as artifacts from the 1956 dedication.

There are 23 individual visitors’ centers nationwide, including many in close proximity to historic Church sites.

Motherhood: An Eternal Partnership with God

A great video to remind us of our divine role as mothers.

September Visiting Teaching Message

Our Responsibility to Nurture the Rising Generation

From the Scriptures: Proverbs 22:6; Ephesians 6:4; Enos 1:1; Alma 53:20–21; 56:47; 57:27

Without nurturing, our rising generation could be in danger of becoming like the one described in Mosiah 26. Many youth didn't believe the traditions of their fathers and became a separate people as to their faith, remaining so ever after. Our rising generation could likewise be led away if they don't understand their part in Heavenly Father's plan.

So what is it that will keep the rising generation safe? In the Church, we teach saving principles, and those principles are family principles, the principles that will help the rising generation to form a family, teach that family, and prepare that family for ordinances and covenants—and then the next generation will teach the next and so on.

As parents, leaders, and Church members, we are preparing this generation for the blessings of Abraham, for the temple. We have the responsibility to be very clear on key points of doctrine found in the proclamation on the family. Motherhood and fatherhood are eternal roles and responsibilities. Each of us carries the responsibility for either the male or the female half of the plan.

We can teach this doctrine in any setting. We must speak respectfully of marriage and family. And from our example, the rising generation can gain great hope and understanding—not just from the words we speak but from the way we feel and emanate the spirit of family.

Julie B. Beck, Relief Society general president.

From Our History

Addressing the sisters at the general Relief Society meeting on September 23, 1995, President Gordon B. Hinckley said: "The world we are in is a world of turmoil, of shifting values. Shrill voices call out for one thing or another in betrayal of time-tested standards of behavior."¹ President Hinckley then went on to introduce to the sisters, the Church, and ultimately people everywhere "The Family: A Proclamation to the World."

In subsequent years this prophetic document has been translated into many languages and distributed to world leaders. It asks citizens and government leaders "to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society."²

The proclamation has become the foundation for Latter-day Saint beliefs about the family, a statement to which we can hold fast and know that by living its precepts, we are strengthening our families and homes.

What Can I Do?

1. How can I help my sisters use "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" to nurture the rising generation? You might consider sharing a copy of the proclamation and helping your sisters identify and mark those passages that would best teach key doctrines.
   
   
2. How can I nurture the rising generation? You might consider reaching out to members of your ward, branch, family, or community who could benefit from your attention and love.

For more information, go to www.reliefsociety.lds.org.