"My Family" Activity Sheet for Temple and Family History

This link will take you to the Activity Sheet where you can download and print it if you want.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KISwMiqKmEkZYCoEWsCAEM0NkFv7SV6k/view?usp=sharing

Covid procedures update from Bishop Johnson

 Dear 5th Ward, 

Earlier this evening I spoke with President Ferguson with regard to the rising number of covid cases in our community and in the West Stake. For the safety of the members of our Stake, and in an effort to help prevent further covid spread in our community, the second hour of our Sunday meetings is cancelled until further notice. Beginning Sunday August 29, all wards in Cardston West Stake will only have sacrament meeting. As of now, the timeline is 2 weeks. Much like before, changes moving forward will simply depend on the ever changing covid-19 pandemic and the situation in our own community and province. Please check your email and the ward blog for updates on this. We have a wonderful 5th Sunday planned and we are sad that this will not happen in person this week. Our plan for this presentation has not yet been determined. Please again check your email and the ward blog for what these changes will be. Finally, our ward corn bust on September 8th will be postponed until further notice. We hope that this step back is temporary and that we can safely gather for a ward dinner later in the fall.

For sacrament meeting, we are urging members to wear a mask prior to entering the building. Please sanitize your hands when you enter the building and continue wearing your mask until you are seated in a socially distanced manner. Once you are seated, we invite you to remove your mask if you feel comfortable doing so. When sacrament meeting comes to a close, we ask that you put your mask on until you have exited the building. Also, again we ask that if you have covid symptoms that you join our meetings virtually. We will continue to broadcast sacrament meeting over zoom, and we continue to have permission to administer the sacrament ordinance in our homes should you choose to not attend in person.

Brothers and Sisters, I know that many of us may find these things frustrating and that we are tired of hearing about covid. I am with you. I have greatly enjoyed the opportunity we've had to participate in our church meetings in a "mostly" normal manner over this summer. Like you, I wish this would all just go away. It will. Much like other trials in life, we do not often get to choose the when or the how. However, we always possess the ability to choose how we respond in the face of difficult circumstances. May we not forget that so long as we follow our Savior, we "shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." No amount of covid or covid restrictions can take away our ability to follow Jesus Christ and invite his light into our lives and our homes. I urge you to not let covid and its related frustrations distract you from this focus. 

Hopefully that gives you the information you need to know at this time. Please, if you have any questions, concerns, or need clarification, contact me through email or by phone. I'm happy to help in any way that I can. 

With love,

Bishop Johnson

5th Sunday Meeting August 29th

 Good evening members of the 5th ward, 

I am sending out an email this evening to invite you all to prepare to participate in our 5th Sunday activities on August 29th. As a Ward Council, we have been engaged in discussions related to our ward Temple and Family History plan. We have chosen this to be the topic for this coming Sunday. We will receive some excellent instruction on this topic in sacrament meeting, and hope that this spirit can be carried into our joint lessons which will involve adults, as well as our youth. As a ward council, we are inviting you all to think of a story (or stories) of an ancestor that is significant to you and has special meaning. Additionally, you may want to think of an experience you have had finding a name or doing family history work. Our purpose is to have a discussion that is led by the members of our ward specific to the topic of Temples and family history work. We know that there are many stories in our ward that can work to teach, motivate, and uplift us. Here is what we need you to do. 

1) Discuss this topic in your homes over the next few days. Read, share, research, and pray about why this is important, and what you can share with our ward that will help to encourage and motivate us all to take next steps in this great work. 

2) Write me back by emailing me at  johnsojeff@gmail.com if you feel that you have something to share that can inspire our ward. This may only need to be 3-5 minutes. I would like to assign at least 6 people to prepare something to share, but we certainly don't have to limit it to that number. We want to hear from as many people as our time allows. I will respond to those who email me and make some specific assignments as we get closer to Sunday. However, we encourage all to have something on their mind to share. 

3) Come to our meetings on Sunday prepared to share, or simply listen, to inspirational stories from your ancestry and your work in family history. 

Please also note that we will need to break into two separate meetings for this. We will simply use the alphabet to divide us. Last names A-J will please meet in the Relief Society Room, and K-Z will please meet in the multi-purpose room next to the Chapel. A member from our RS and EQ presidencies will begin each of these meetings with an introduction and explanation of our Temple and Family history plan. Following this introduction, the time will be turned over to members of our ward to share the thoughts they have prepared. 

I hope and pray that this email finds you well. I look forward to learning from you and with you this coming Sunday. 

Bishop Johnson

US Border extends closure

U.S. Extends Land Border Closure With Canada, Mexico Until Sept. 21

https://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-news/us-canada-mexico-border-closed-until-sept-21

The land border has been closed to non-essential travel since March 2020.

BY ALISON FOX

AUGUST 20, 2021

CREDIT: MARK SPOWART/GETTY IMAGES

The Department of Homeland Security extended the land border closure with Canada and Mexico on Friday until September even as both countries have opened to the United States.

"To minimize the spread of #COVID19, including the Delta variant, the United States is extending restrictions on non-essential travel at our land and ferry crossings with Canada and Mexico through September 21, while continuing to ensure the flow of essential trade and travel," DHS tweeted. "In coordination with public health and medical experts, DHS continues working closely with its partners across the United States and internationally to determine how to safely and sustainably resume normal travel."

The land border has been closed to non-essential travel since March 2020 and has been extended on a monthly basis since. The closure does not apply to U.S. citizens coming back into the country after traveling abroad to Mexico or Canada, both of which welcome American tourists.

Canada, which plans to require air and cruise passengers to be vaccinated in order to travel by the fall, opened its borders to fully-vaccinated U.S. tourists on Aug. 9, allowing them to arrive by both land and air. Travelers must be vaccinated at least two weeks before their trip, get tested before going, and upload their documents to the ArriveCAN app or website.

Similarly, Mexico welcomes U.S. tourists who fly there.

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While DHS extended the land border closure, the Department of State and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have each lowered their travel advisories for Canada to a "Level 2," indicating a "moderate" level of COVID-19 in the country. The CDC classifies Mexico as a "Level 3," indicating a "high" incidence of COVID-19.

Canada has so far outpaced the U.S. when it comes to vaccinations. In Canada, 71.95% of residents have received at least one dose of a vaccine, and 63.86% are fully vaccinated, according to the government. In the U.S., 60.2% of people have received at least one dose and 51.1% are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.

While the Biden administration is currently looking into a way to potentially welcome fully-vaccinated foreign travelers, it's not immediately clear when that would happen. Tori Emerson Barnes, the executive vice president of public affairs and policy for the U.S. Travel Association, told Travel + Leisure she believed vaccines were the way to protect Americans from the coronavirus, not border restrictions.

"Every day that our land borders remain closed delays America's economic and jobs recovery, causing greater damage to the millions of people whose livelihoods depend on travel and tourism," she said in a statement shared with T + L.

Alison Fox is a contributing writer for Travel + Leisure. When she's not in New York City, she likes to spend her time at the beach or exploring new destinations and hopes to visit every country in the world. Follow her adventures on Instagram.