Stand tall, Stand together

"The time has come for the [young women] to stand with and for the prophet in helping build the kingdom.  The time has come for us each to stand tall and to stand together."

- Sheri Dew

You know who I like to be united with?  People I like.  But guess what, UNITY means being united with MORE than just those people who are already our friends or who are easy to get along with.  There are two ways you can be when it comes to uniting.  You can sit in the corner and wait for someone to include you, or you can get up and start including others.  So what are you going to do?  GOD’S ARMY…UNITE!  JUST DO IT!  Go out today and start strengthening yourself by uniting with others, even those who you don’t know or get along with already.  

I love you!  I want to unite with you!!!  Together we can build God’s Kingdom and conquer Satan!  

Love,

Sister Rhinehart

United as Honey Bees

Honeybees are driven to pollinate, gather nectar, and condense the nectar into honey. It is their magnificent obsession imprinted into their genetic makeup by our Creator. It is estimated that to produce just one pound (0.45 kg) of honey, the average hive of 20,000 to 60,000 bees must collectively visit millions of flowers and travel the equivalent of two times around the world. Over its short lifetime of just a few weeks to four months, a single honeybee’s contribution of honey to its hive is a mere one-twelfth of one teaspoon.

Though seemingly insignificant when compared to the total, each bee’s one-twelfth of a teaspoon of honey is vital to the life of the hive. The bees depend on each other. Work that would be overwhelming for a few bees to do becomes lighter because all of the bees faithfully do their part.

- M. Russell Ballard

Heavenly Father has created this earth for us to live in.  It is part of His grand plan for us to become like Him.  Our time here is a test.  Sometimes as we strive to live the gospel and do the many things that we have been asked to do in order to return to our Heavenly Father, we can get overwhelmed.  

A few months ago my mother decided to move here to Idaho Falls from Oregon.  All of my siblings decided to take time to go to Oregon and help our mom pack up the home that we had all grown up in.  We worked hard, taking apart beds, packing boxes and filling the moving truck.  When the job was complete the time came to say goodbye to our home.  It seemed appropriate to kneel in prayer for the last time in our childhood home and thank our Heavenly Father for the memories that we created there.  It was a bittersweet moment.  But as we knelt in our childhood home in a circle, we all felt a bond.  As a family, we had accomplished so much.  We had grown up together there in that home, stayed close as siblings once we moved away, and now had completed the task of moving my mother to another state.  We not only were united as siblings at that moment, but we each felt united in purpose as well.  

As sisters in an army, we need to unite together like the bees in a hive.  We need to work together to complete the work we have been placed here to do.  We can help each other.  By doing our part while all striving for the same goal, our task becomes less daunting and our burden becomes lighter.

- Sister Landers

Don't forget your Wingman

"I spent the majority of my life as a fighter jet pilot in the United Stated Air Force. The men in my squadron remain to this day, a tight knit group, keeping in close touch after 40 years.

In our training as fighter pilots, one of the first and most basic rules was, Take care of your wing man. Constantly check your six o'clock to make certain no enemy is sneaking up behind him.

It is good advice to protect comrades in a fighter squadron, it is great advice to stay close and protect our (Young Women) as we strive to stand firm on the Lord's side."
Robert C. Oaks

As we prepare for Girls Camp, let us prepare by becoming more united. We need to watch out for each other as Robert C. Oaks teachs. How great would it be if you knew someone had your back....always.  How helpful would it be if someone was always making sure that you were safe from our enemies and keeping us out of danger.  We can have this if we strive to be united. As we become united, we become a force. And a force that is powerful. Strive to be a wing man for each other as we unite to be become God's Army.

-Love, Sister Landers

United or Disorganized?

When my kids were little I had a really hard time keeping the house clean.  I would walk into the kitchen to do the dishes I would come back into the living room and it would look like a tornado had just ripped through it!  One day, when talking to my boys, I had him pick up a blanket.  They were on one side of the blanket and I was on the other.  I told them to try and move the blanket over to the couch.  They started walking over to the couch, but they didn't get very far before they were stuck because I was pulling on the other side of that blanket.  I kept encouraging them to take the blanket over to the couch and they kept pulling and pulling but pitted against me, it was not happening.  Finally, in frustration, they gave up and said, "We can't!  You're pulling against us."  I explained to them that this was how I felt with the housework.  I kept trying to clean up, and they kept trying to mess up!  We were not getting anywhere because we were pulling on opposite sides.  I asked them if they would pull with me.  Then we all took the blanket to the couch.  After that, I began using the phrase, "pull with me" in a lot of situations, and I still use it today.

When we pull together, we are able to do amazing things.  Because we are united!  When we pull against each other, or try to thwart somebody else's progress, it stops, not only them, but also us, in our progress.  We must be united with God, and his son Jesus Christ, in moving the world towards Him.  If we are not, then we are pulling against Him.  Unity is key in the army of God!  Join up!  With all of your heart, might, mind, and strength!  United we stand!

-Love, Sister Rhinehart

"We…..are all part of the Army of the Lord.  We must be united.  An army that is disorganized will not be united.  An army that is disorganized will not be victorious.  It is imperative that we close ranks, that we march together as one.  We cannot have division among us and expect victory.  We cannot have disloyalty and expect unity.  We cannot be unclean and expect the help of the Almighty."

- Gordon B. Hinckley