Church guide

Reminder that our stake service project and picnic is this Saturday. Everyone is welcome to attend!

“We are all connected, and we have a God-given responsibility to help make life better for those around us,” President Russell M. Nelson said during a nine-minute evening speech. “We don’t have to be alike or look alike to have love for each other. We don’t even have to agree with each other to love each other. If we have any hope of reclaiming the goodwill and sense of humanity for which we yearn, it must begin with each of us, one person at a time.”

Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has said that “the diversity we find now in the Church may be just the beginning.” He continued: “It’s not just diversity for diversity’s sake, but … people can bring different gifts and perspectives. And the wide range of experience and backgrounds and challenges that people face will show us what really is essential in the gospel of Christ. And much of the rest that’s been, perhaps, acquired over time and is more cultural than doctrinal can slip away, and we can really learn to be disciples.” Our differences, in other words, should help us better understand and live the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2019/07/the-blessings-of-diversity?lang=eng

All are invited to attend our stake’s service project and picnic on July 27.

"When we read the news, we might feel that the world is sliding away. If each of us acts in ways big and small each day, we can change our own world and that of those around us. As you serve your neighbor and serve with your neighbor in your community, you will make friends who share your desire to help. These will become strong friendships, building bridges across cultures and belief. If you will respond to the invitation to minister as Jesus does, you will be transformed, becoming ever more selfless. You will discover the joy that comes from ministering in the Savior’s way, leaving behind your anxieties and uncertainties and the gloom that comes from your perceived inadequacies." --Patrick Kearon, "A Holier Pattern of Service", July 2019 Ensign

We may ask ourselves whether or not there can be peace between those who hold differing opinions and practices. Many say that it requires tolerance, a friendly and fair attitude toward unfamiliar opinions and practices or toward the persons who hold or practice them. While this is essential, we must go beyond tolerance if we are to achieve harmony in our world. It also requires mutual respect. “We call upon all people everywhere to recommit themselves to the time-honored ideals of tolerance and mutual respect. We sincerely believe that as we acknowledge one another with consideration and compassion we will discover that we can all peacefully coexist despite our deepest differences.” Statement of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Oct. 18, 1992 We should be alert to honor the good we should see in all people and in many opinions and practices that differ from our own. As the Book of Mormon teaches: “All things which are good cometh of God. … … Wherefore, everything which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God. Wherefore, take heed … that ye do not judge … that which is good and of God to be of the devil” (Moroni 7:12–14). “That approach to differences will yield tolerance and also respect.” Dallin H. Oaks Our tolerance and respect for others and their beliefs does not cause us to abandon our commitment to the truths we understand and the covenants we have made. It is important to acknowledge, accept, and love people who are of a different opinion or with practices different from ours. As disciples of Jesus Christ, we look to Him as an example of what we are to become. May we “follow after the things which make for peace” (Romans 14:19) and, as much as possible, “live peaceably with all men” (Romans 12:18). --Fort Wayne Stake Presidency

Reminder that tonight is the open house for the Shumards! All are invited.

Happy Independence Day! ❤️💙🇺🇸🦅🎇🗽❤️💙 May we offer prayers of gratitude for the freedoms that we have, and discernment for the ways we can do better. “And thus, in their prosperous circumstances, they did not send away any who were naked, or that were hungry, or that were athirst, or that were sick, or that had not been nourished; and they did not set their hearts upon riches; therefore they were liberal to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, whether out of the church or in the church, having no respect to persons as to those who stood in need.” Alma 1:30

All YM/YW aged people and above are invited to play basketball, volleyball, or soccer every Friday at the Fort Wayne Stake Center. 6:30 pm-9:30 pm. Friends are welcome to join! 🏐🏀⚽️

📷: "Jesus Said Love Everyone" by J. Kirk Richards "Tom Christofferson provided a powerful example of how love created space for him in his lifelong wrestle with one of his own hard sayings. In his 2017 memoir 'That We May Be One: A Gay Mormon’s Perspective on Faith and Family', he recounted his own journey with homosexuality and the gospel. Although Brother Christofferson was careful to underscore that his experience was his alone and might not apply to all LGBTQ+ Latter-day Saints, his journey illustrated what a decisive role love can have as one makes hard decisions about his or her life. A few years after he came out to his family and after he had asked to be excommunicated, his mother explained to his brothers and their wives: 'The only thing we can really be perfect at is loving each other. . . . The most important lesson your children will learn from how our family treats their Uncle Tom is that nothing they can ever do will take them outside the circle of our family’s love.' . . . We should never fear that we are compromising when we make the choice to love. As Brother Christofferson noted: 'Accepting others does not mean that we condone, agree with, or conform to their beliefs or choices, but simply that we allow the realities of their lives to be different from our own.'" —“Hard Sayings and Safe Spaces: Making Room for Struggle as Well as Faith” Eric D. Huntsman https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/eric-d-huntsman_hard-sayings-and-safe-spaces-making-room-for-both-struggle-and-faith/

Today, some may think it strange that when Jesus first spoke to her, He called her “woman” instead of by her name, even though He clearly knew her well from their long association. But in Mary’s time, “woman,” as a form of address, was a term of great respect. The Lord used this form of address on various occasions in speaking to different women, and it was always with concern, kindness, respect, and tenderness.

Happy Earth Day! "All humankind are stewards over the earth and should gratefully use what God has given, avoid wasting life and resources and use the bounty of the earth to care for the poor and the needy...The earth and all things on it should be used responsibly to sustain the human family. However, all are stewards — not owners — over this earth and its bounty and will be accountable before God for what they do with His creations." https://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/environmental-stewardship-conservation

Happy Easter! He is risen.

"One of the great consolations of this Easter season is that because Jesus walked such a long, lonely path utterly alone, we do not have to do so." --Jeffrey R Holland

Why does The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have temples? What do they look like? What goes on inside? Watch this video tour with apostles David A Bednar and Ronald A. Rasband of the recently dedicated Rome Italy temple to find out. Latter-day Saints in the Fort Wayne area typically attend the Indianapolis Indiana temple located in Carmel, Indiana. To those who have been to the temple, what does the temple mean to you?

Happy Valentine's Day! "Love is the very essence of the gospel, the noblest attribute of the human soul. Love is the remedy for ailing families, ill communities, and sick nations." —Thomas S. Monson

Self-Reliance Devotional is tomorrow night! Sunday February 10 6:00 pm Fort Wayne Stake Center Come learn about the four groups that will be meeting and how the program works. The groups that meet are: Education for Better Work, Personal & Family Finances, Getting a Job or Better Employment, and Starting a Business. Event link in comments.

Jesus Christ taught, “Ye are the light of the world.” We can share that light to all of God’s children when we give as He gave to people near and far. #LightTheWorld

Start the season doing the things Jesus did. Join us December 1 for a worldwide day of service as we #LightTheWorld together. What will you do to Light the World? https://www.mormon.org/christmas

Members of the Decatur Branch volunteered at Forgotten Children Worldwide every four months this year. They sorted clothing and other items that will be sent to orphans and other vulnerable children across the globe. Forgotten Children Worldwide strives "to safeguard orphans and vulnerable, forgotten children from poverty, abandonment, and the evils of human trafficking as clearly directed in the Bible." Video by: Julia Marie Monterroso

What a wonderful Women's Conference! Thank you to everyone who helped make this day so special and for all the sisters who took the time to come participate.