The Friendship-er April 2012
Dear Sisters,
I hope you were all able to watch Conference last week end. For those who didn't, it is all posted online at LDS.org. As I was watching this year, I knew that I wanted to share a small bit of Elder Holland's Saturday morning talk with you. He is speaking about the parable where a householder hires workers for his vineyard throughout the day. At the end of the day, all are paid the same, no matter the length of labor each contributed. Elder Holland says "It is with that reading of the story that I feel the grumbling of the first laborers must be seen. As the householder in the parable tells them (and I paraphrase only slightly): "My friends, I am not being unfair to you. You agreed on the wage for the day, a good wage. You were very happy to get the work, and I am very happy with the way you served. You are paid in full. Take your pay and enjoy the blessing. As for the others, surely I am free to do what I like with my own money." Then this piercing question to anyone then or now who needs to hear it: "Why should you be jealous because I choose to be kind?"
Brothers and sisters, there are going to be times in our lives when someone else gets an unexpected blessing or receives some special recognition. May I plead with us not to be hurt—and certainly not to feel envious—when good fortune comes to another person? We are not diminished when someone else is added upon. We are not in a race against each other to see who is the wealthiest or the most talented or the most beautiful or even the most blessed. The race we are really in is the race against sin, and surely envy is one of the most universal of those.
Furthermore, envy is a mistake that just keeps on giving. Obviously we suffer a little when some misfortune befalls us, but envy requires us to suffer all good fortune that befalls everyone we know! What a bright prospect that is—downing another quart of pickle juice every time anyone around you has a happy moment! . . . . So lesson number one from the Lord's vineyard: coveting, pouting, or tearing others down does not elevate your standing, nor does demeaning someone else improve your self-image. So be kind, and be grateful that God is kind. It is a happy way to live.
A second point I wish to take from this parable is the sorrowful mistake some could make if they were to forgo the receipt of their wages at the end of the day because they were preoccupied with perceived problems earlier in the day. . . .
My beloved brothers and sisters, what happened in this story at 9:00 or noon or 3:00 is swept up in the grandeur of the universally generous payment at the end of the day. The formula of faith is to hold on, work on, see it through, and let the distress of earlier hours—real or imagined—fall away in the abundance of the final reward. Don't dwell on old issues or grievances—not toward yourself nor your neighbor nor even, I might add, toward this true and living Church. . . .So don't hyperventilate about something that happened at 9:00 in the morning when the grace of God is trying to reward you at 6:00 in the evening—whatever your labor arrangements have been through the day.
We consume such precious emotional and spiritual capital clinging tenaciously to the memory of a discordant note we struck in a childhood piano recital, or something a spouse said or did 20 years ago that we are determined to hold over his or her head for another 20, or an incident in Church history . . . . Even if one of those grievances did not originate with you, it can end with you. And what a reward there will be for that contribution when the Lord of the vineyard looks you in the eye and accounts are settled at the end of our earthly day."
With Love, Sister Maggie Hodacsek
Important Dates:
1 General Conference
6 Good Friday
8 Easter Sunday
April Lessons:
1 General Conference
8 Gospel Principles- Lesson #30 Charity
15 Gospel Principles- Lesson #31 Honesty
22 TFOT- "The Power of Scripture" - Pg 6 Nov. Ensign
29 Bishopric Lesson
Service Projects:
Campbell soup labels for Puntledge Park School;
Non-perishable food/personal hygiene items for Lilli House
Postage Stamps for the Order of the Eastern Star (see Diane N. for more information)
April Birthdays:
2 Malinda Q.
6 Lisa V.
14 Ilona D.
18 Lucy S.
20 Denise B.
21 Donna D.
22 Joan B.
24 Donna G.
28 Marilyn S.
28 Laurie A.
Groceries for our Missionaries:
There is a basket in the kitchen – the elders appreciate your help. Frozen food or perishables should be left in the frig/freezer.
April Visiting Teaching Message: Love, Watch Over, and Strengthen.
Scripture Study:
Wednesday at Sister Tyskerud's from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. (Call to confirm)
If you require baptismal clothing, please contact Sister Britton
