Recognizing the Spirit

Before I get to the very moving and inspirational lesson we had today from Sis. Schiess, let me first go over the announcements and good news minute. First, we had a very successful Visiting Teaching Brunch saturday. I hope that for those who were in attendance you enjoyed yourselves, as well as, caught the "bug" of visiting teaching. Thank you to all who came and to those who participated in the skit. If you did not get your new VT assignment, please contact a member of the presidency and we will get it to you. Thanks Sally for all of your hard work in helping us to put that together. Thank you Sis. Allison in getting the assignments ready. Mark on your calendars the RS Birthday Retreat. It's a two day party and we hope that you will all be able to attend if not all, part of what we have planned. March 26 and 27. More to come on that. Book club is Feb. 10 and we are reading C.S. Lewis' Screwtape Letters. Stake blood drive Feb. 17-sign-ups to come soon. Good News Minute: Jean Wallin proudly announced the arrival of her 27th grandchild! Wow! Peggy Bishop's grandson was ordained an Elder. Can't wait to hear about where he goes on his mission! Robyn Peterson couldn't remember the exact name but her nephew won the "Gatorade of the Year" award for all of the state of Utah. Way to go! Karen McCandless had a "proud mother moment" and announced that her son Matthew(?) is getting married to a very nice girl and will be married in the temple. Congrats to you Karen for raising a fine young man! After getting the "stink eye" from Sis. Makin, Sister Miranda Proctor announced that she also recently became engaged. Congratulations and we look forward to the happy occassion!
Now, onto the wonderful lesson that we had today. Sis. Schiess began her lesson with a quick review on what the Holy Ghost is. We discussed the difference between just feeling the spirit and having the gift of the spirit. Then she asked us to think for a whole 30 seconds about when was the first time we had felt the spirit and recognized that it was the Holy Ghost. For most, myself included, it was very hard to pinpoint the actual time but a few times stood out to me in particular. Many shared their experiences and it was wonderful to regain a testimony of the Holy Ghost by listening to those. In fact, most of the lesson was people sharing different experiences that they had. We learned that there are different ways to feel the spirit and that we need to ask for it sometimes. We talked about having quiet moments where we can feel the spirit and how to teach our children about when they feel the spirit. It was a very moving lesson and I know that all who were there felt the spirit and that we now all have a better understanding and appreciation of that feeling. Most importantly we need to share those experiences and help others recognize the feelings and promptings of the spirit. Thank you Sis. Schiess for that wonderful lesson!