Brothers and Sisters:
Elder Bednar recently said, “I can’t think of anything more important for any of us in this day than to have the promise that we can hear Him, that we can receive His guidance, His reassurance, His protection in our lives.” I love this reminder from Elder Bednar about the Savior’s promise to us all, and his invitation to hear Him.
I recently had the opportunity to go backpacking in the Wind River mountain range and enjoy majestic and rugged granite mountains and alpine lakes at over 11,000 feet. It was a soul-filling and spiritual (albeit physically demanding) experience to be in the mountains and enjoy God’s creations without all of the noise and chaos of our time clamoring for my attention. It was an opportunity to hear Him while being close (spiritually and I suppose physically) to the heavens. In fact, Alma taught that these wonderful creations “denote there is a God.” (Alma 30:44.) That said, during a discussion about the beauty of the earth and particularly the mountains, it was mentioned that while many people may tend to worship the mountains or the beauty of nature (or any other of God’s creations—whatever they may be), such worship is misplaced and misses the mark. Instead, it is imperative that we remember it is only God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ, whom we worship. God’s creations, while wonderful and for our enjoyment and benefit, denote there is a God and can help turn us to Him; but, they are not what we worship. As Alma taught (and as we recently studied in Come, Follow Me), it is only in the Savior that we must put our faith—not in the results or blessings we seek or may receive. We must exercise our faith in Jesus Christ, and “then … [we] shall reap the rewards of [our] faith [in Him].” (Alma 32:43.) Remember, “it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that [we] must build [our] foundation … which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if [we] build, [we] cannot fall.” (Helaman 5:12.)
I promise as we remember to turn to and place our faith in Him, and build our foundations upon Him, we will better hear Him, and be entitled to His guidance, reassurance and protection, and all of His promised blessings to us will come according to His will, “even peace in this life, and eternal life in the world to come.” (D&C 59:23).
Other Items of Note
Weekly Zoom Meetings. We will continue to have weekly Zoom meetings in our ward on Sundays at 10:00am. Please remember these meetings are optional and supplemental to your home-centered studies. The monthly schedules will be as follows:
· 1st Sunday: Under Direction of Bishopric
· 2nd Sunday: Relief Society
· 3rd Sunday: Sunday School
· 4th Sunday: Relief Society (10:00am) with Elders (9:00am or 11:00am)
· 5th Sunday: Under Direction of Bishopric
The Relief Society will email a Zoom invite/link before Sunday for this week’s Relief Society Zoom meeting.
Youth Activities. Our ward continues to meet in person for youth activities. These activities will be held outside and will have fewer than 20 people present for each activity. When physical distancing is not possible, we ask and encourage that masks be used. Please note that holding in-person activities will be frequently revisited as the climate of COVID changes.
In-Person Sacrament Meeting. Consistent w/the Stake Presidency’s email on July 27, 2020, the Elk Ridge ward will begin meeting for one (1) hour in-person sacrament meetings on September 6, 2020 and continue to thereafter meet for one (1) hour in-person sacrament meetings on the first Sunday of each month. We will have two (2) sacrament meetings on our designated Sunday each month.
The times and groupings for our Ward’s sacrament meetings are as follows:
9:00 a.m. – Members are invited to attend with the last names starting with letters “A-K”
10:30 a.m. – Members are invited to attend with the last names starting with letters “L-Z”
As a reminder, no one should attend who: (a) is not comfortable coming for any reason; (b) is sick or anyone in their family is sick, or has the potential of having been exposed to the virus in the last 14 day; and (c) anyone who had a COVID-19 test pending.
For those who attend:
- We highlight the recent council from our area presidency asking us to be good citizens and wear masks in public. This includes sacrament meeting. Masks are suggested for all who attend. Families are encouraged to come with their own mask.
- Ward leadership is required to wear a mask to set the example.
- Physical distancing should be observed before, during and after the meetings and in all places including the foyers of the building.
In advance of meeting, we will determine safe places for you to sit in the congregation and will block off selected rows (including those nearest the pulpit). We will also adhere to all other guidelines recommended and imposed in the Stake’s July 27 email.
Please also note that we will be training our young men in advance of meeting so that the sacrament is administered in a sanitary and appropriate manner.
Finally, please remember that attendance is open to those who are comfortable under the circumstances while others should continue meeting at home even on the week of their assigned ward. In particular, we encourage members who are in high-risk categories to consider continuing to meet at home.
For those who stay home during our in-person meeting weeks and for all of you during the weeks when we do not hold in-person meetings, you may continue to administer the sacrament in your homes each week. The Bishop has asked President Hanks to direct the work of administration of the sacrament in our homes.