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
