Pathway
My message to the Saints is
short and simple.
We have been given an
opportunity to have the Pathway program in our stake - beginning in January if
we get enough people to sign up!! This is amazing since we were not supposed to
be able to get this until next August.
What's Pathway? -
It’s a program designed to
give students the confidence and skills needed to succeed in college, Pathway
is a low-cost educational opportunity that combines online courses with local
gatherings. Students earn college credit that is eligible for transfer
to BYU-Idaho and other universities. The program takes three semesters, or one
year, to complete and can lead to professional certificates and degrees.
So, if you are interested in
pursuing your education, please sign up now. Also, if you know a member of the
Church that might want to get a college degree and never had the money to do
so, or maybe you didn't do very well in High School and now you want to go back
to school, let them know about this and help them get signed up.
Here are the steps to sign up for the Pathway
program:
2. Click on Join Pathway
3. Click on Find A Location
4. Select Ohio in the State box
5. Click on the Ohio Akron location for
Pathway - note that we will have our own location at the Youngstown Stake
Center. Akron will just be the main site that we are grouped with.
6. Click on Apply
7. Sign in to your LDS.org account ... if you
don't have one you can register for one by clicking on the link at the bottom
of the screen.
8. Click "Continue" to fill in your
personal information
9. Keep
going till you are completely signed up. It will only take a few minutes.
We need
people signed up by the middle of November in order to get the approval to hold
Pathway meetings at the Youngstown Stake Center.
Eric and
Stacey Clark have been called to serve as Pathway Coordinators for our stake
and they will help you with whatever questions you might have. If you are
interested in signing up for Pathway, please contact Eric and Stacey Clark by
email: Eric And Stacey Clark <ericandstaceyclark@gmail.com>
Your Bishop
can also help you.
Doctrine and
Covenants 130:18-19
18 Whatever principle
of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in
the resurrection.
19 And if a person gains
more knowledge and intelligence in this life through
his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much
the advantage in the world to come.
Getting a
college education just got a whole lot easier for the members of the Youngstown
Ohio Stake. Please help us find people who are interested in this wonderful
opportunity and get them registered. It doesn't matter if they are an active or
inactive member. No ecclesiastical endorsement is required. So let's get
going!!
Much love,
Sid Connor
President,
Youngstown Ohio Stake
Sharing the Light
My name is HelenRae Tarantino, from the Alliance Ward, and I have been called to serve as 2nd Counselor in The Stake Relief Society.
In 1978 I was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints with my dear husband and shortly after, our 3 children were also baptized. In 1981, we were sealed as a family in the Washington, DC Temple.
A very special family sent the missionaries to our home to share “The Light” of the gospel. I have very fond memories of many services and activities while I was involved in the Kirtland Stake. I have a testimony strengthened by many experiences in the Kirtland Temple, Historic Kirtland, the Johnson Farm and Palmyra. Everywhere I went “The Light “shone brightly. My testimony was inspired by those who spoke in Sacrament meetings, those who taught lessons, the youth and their sweet spirits, leaders in our church both locally and from across the U.S., and all those I came in contact with who shared with me “The Light.”
My Relief Society leaders and companions taught me to be a visiting teacher so I could share “The Light” and to do service. It brightened my way through many tough times and strengthened me when I was learning to teach others and as my testimony began to grow.
In the May, 1999, Ensign, Pres. Monson said,” If you want to give light to others you have to glow yourselves.”
Remember what Joseph Smith said, “I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head about the brightness of the sun which descended gradually until it fell upon me…When ‘The Light’ rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air, one of them spoke to me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other…This is my Beloved Son, hear Him..
In John 8:11 it says: Then said Jesus again unto them saying, I am “The Light” of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have “The Light” of life.
In General Conference, April 2015, Sister Julie B. Beck talked to us about Relief Society: “A Sacred Work”. “Ours is a work of Salvation, service and becoming a holy people.” She also said, “We know that the purpose of Relief Society as established by the Lord is to prepare women for the Blessings of Eternal life by helping them:
Increase their faith and personal righteousness
Strengthen their families and homes
Serve the Lord and His children.
”
We need “The Light” to guide us and we need to be “The Light” for everyone to see. It might be a small glimmer such as a hello as you pass someone while shopping, or maybe helping someone pay for their groceries if you see the need. I know The Holy Ghost whispers to me sometimes and I can’t deny what he tells me to do. Listening to General Conference and hearing from our Prophet will be so wonderful. Remember what I mentioned earlier…”If you want to give light to others you have to glow yourself.” Pres. Monson Conference will strengthen our glow.
To the women and girls...I ask you to begin today to brighten your “Light.” With all the things we are facing in the world today we need each other. I need to look at each one of you and feel your “Light” to strengthen me. Relief Society is the largest Women’s Organization in the world. Each one of us, 18 years and up are part of this special organization and need to do what the Lord has asked us to do. Those of you sisters serving in Primary and Young women have a greater responsibility to let your “light shine”. You are preparing them to fill our shoes. The transition into Relief Society is very important.
And of course, we need to bring others to …”The Light of Christ.” I write this message to share my love and “Light.” I have a testimony of the Restored Gospel. I love Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for those who shared their testimony with me and gave me the opportunity to be sealed together with my family for Eternity. I encourage you to strengthen your “Light.”…
Sister HelenRae Tarantino
Let Your Light Shine
Women’s
Conference
An
enjoyable conference was put together for the women of the Youngstown Ohio
Stake. We were taught about different ways to help our light shine for others
to see. This emphasized what the Relief Society has been teaching this year
about letting our light shine, and one of those ways is through service to
others. Helping others shows them the light of Christ and fills their lamps as
well as our own.
The culmination
of the conference was in presenting the efforts of the stake’s service project
to the Beds For Little Heads Organization. The stage and floor were covered in
the bed kits that each ward worked on.
The charity
had this to say afterward, “This Saturday we had the pleasure of meeting and
being blessed by this special group of women who have a heart to serve. The
Relief Society women's organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints Youngstown Ohio Stake, BEDS FOR LITTLE HEADS Thanks you for blessing us
and the children we serve!! ♡♡♡♡”
A Return Home
Four members of the Youngstown Ohio Stake recently returned from full-time missions -- Adam Headrick of the Warren Ward, Rebecca Williams of New Castle, Austin Wagley of Alliance and Nicole Connor of the Lisbon Ward.
Adam
Headrick
Adam Headrick served his mission
in Indonesia. Adam said the primary religion in Indonesia is Islam. Indonesia
has many different groups of islands and every tribe has its own beliefs and
traditions, its own dialect.
“I mostly saw the Javanese culture,” Adam
said. His assigned areas were all on the island of Java. “The people were very
friendly and very kind, but religion is a sensitive topic there.”
He said the missionaries also
taught free classes in English. “Our classes were very well attended, sometimes
20 to 30 people. We always opened with prayer and shared a spiritual thought.
They love to learn English. It is rough for them because the English in their school
books is wrong.”
One young Muslim, Rudy, came to
English class and saw a Book of Mormon. “He started to read a little bit. He
didn’t have a concept of what God is and we taught him how to pray,” said Adam.
While some Muslims were open to
learning more about the gospel of Jesus Christ, Adam said most of the people he
taught were friends of church members or children of members.
Adam said he also had the
opportunity to help bring relief supplies to the people in need when the
volcano Mount Kelud erupted last year.
“Before I went to Indonesia I had
never been outside the United States, so it was a big culture shock for me. The
impact that the last two years has had on me is too tremendous to explain,”
Headrick said. “I’ve learned many life lessons and seen many people grow and
become successful because of their faith in Jesus Christ. I am eternally
grateful for the blessings God has given me in my life.”
Austin
Wagley
Austin Wagley served his mission
in Brazil and studied Portuguese at the Missionary Training Center in Sao
Paulo. He said the German he learned in high school also came in handy.
“In one area the people speak German,” said
Austin. “It’s a dialect of German and Portuguese. The people are descendants of
the people who fled from Germany during World War II and went to the south in
Brazil.”
He said he saw a lot of homeless
in Brazil, a lot of needy people. He and the other missionaries he worked with
helped to repair homes and volunteered to clean up public area such as the
parks.
“I learned to love the Brazilian
people,” said Austin. “They are really loving people. It’s super awesome to see
the Lord in another country, see how
much God loves all people. God loves us all because we’re all his children and
that’s a super picture.”
Austin said he met a woman, Maria
Tereza, who had faced many tragedies in her life. She was caring for her
bedridden husband and was depressed because her daughter had died at a young
age. He and the other missionaries taught her about Jesus Christ and God’s plan
for his children.
“Maria said if it weren’t for the
gospel she would probably be dead,” said Austin. “It was awesome to see
people’s lives changed like that.”
Nicole
Connor
Nicole Connor served in the
Washington Everett Mission. “I really loved my mission,” Nicole said. “There
were so many great people I met and that I love now.”
Nicole said one thing they tried
to teach everyone they met was that God is a loving Heavenly Father. She also
saw how lives can change when we read the Scriptures.
Nicole said there was a young
woman she met whose family had joined the church but she didn’t. This young woman, Korena, didn’t feel she had
time for church because she was going to school and her mother was sick. Korena
had to take care of her mother and her siblings. The missionaries continued to
visit her and challenged her to read the scriptures. When Korena’s mother was
in the hospital and very ill, the missionaries came to visit and again told
Korena that she could find comfort if she would read the scriptures.
“She is happier now,” Nicole
said. “It was when she started reading the Book of Mormon that she started to
change her life. It gave her a coping mechanism that she didn’t have before.”
Nicole said Korena was the first
person she taught who was then baptized.
“I worked really hard,” Nicole
said. “Richard G. Scott in a talk said that God views our weaknesses different
than he does rebellion. The perfect missionary is the missionary who is
trying.”
Nicole plans to leave for BYU in
January and pursue a pre-med major.
Rebecca Williams served in the Salt Lake City South Mission where the
mission goal is 150 per month. And most months they were able to accomplish
that goal or come close to it, she said. Besides teaching the gospel, Rebecca
worked with people who are struggling with alcohol or drug addictions and that
has made a huge impact on her life.
“It was a big eye-opener,” said
Rebecca. “A lot of people don’t show they’re struggling spiritually. In every
area I served in, there was an addict that we worked with.” She said in one area there is a “sober living
house,” like a halfway house, where members who are released from jail can go
and get help.
Rebecca said because of the work
she did she is now planning to go into substance abuse and disorder counseling
as a career. And it has strengthened her testimony.
“I think when you are out there all day
serving people and giving your all to God, studying the Scriptures and praying
every day, you see miracles and blessings in your life, you recognize that you
have a loving Heavenly Father and this has to be the true Church,” Rebecca
said.
When the Church first announced
the younger age for sisters to serve a mission, Rebecca was excited but a
little scared. She said she hesitated but then her patriarchal blessing talked
about her serving a mission. “I guess it was a second witness, and I knew that
was what I was supposed to do,” she said.
Primary Information
Stake Primary Leadership Training
November 7, 2015 at the Youngstown Stake Building
from 9am—12 noon
Bishops, Primary Presidencies, including
Secretaries and Music Leaders
We are looking forward to this training session to
introduce some new and exciting programs for 2016.
A calling is a sacred opportunity to serve. It carries with it an accountability to the
Lord. It should influence the way you live,
governing your decisions, and motivating you to be a faithful and wise servant.
Addiction
Recovery Program
Although
it is very important for recovering addicts to attend the closest Addiction
Recovery Program Group in person, we understand that sometimes this is not
possible. Therefore, I am giving you a call-in number for them to
use. The call-in number is 888-740-4219 with passcode number
946692#.
The meetings are held every Sunday at 6:00 PM and they should call in by this
time.
The -3- groups meet at: The Rootstown Ward building; the Ashtabula Ward
building and The Youngstown Stake OFFICES located at: 130 Westchester Dr.
Austintown, Ohio (suite #4)
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me.
The first annual Roots
Tech Family Discovery Day took place on the 10th of October. Along
with a class on indexing there was a presentation by Jay Fisher on Family
History and the “My Family” booklet.
And if you needed one
on one help, the Family History Center was open. Along with a light breakfast
and lunch, childcare was available. It was well attended.
INDEXING
IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER BEFORE
Indexing makes
records searchable. You already know
that, and untold thousands of people are benefitting from what your good work
is making possible. As one grateful
family researcher put it, “An unindexed record is an unfindable record.” Thanks
to you and hundreds of thousands of volunteers like you, the days of unindexed
records are numbered.
Indexing is
vital to family history and temple work.
Like seeds planted in good soil, your indexing efforts are multiplying,
and the work is hastening as a result.
Thank you for being one who is making such a huge difference to Heavenly
Father’s children on both sides of the veil.
Youngstown
Stake has 292 registered indexers. Not
all of these indexers are indexing though.
If you are among them, here are a few suggestions.
1. Designate a certain time of the day or week to
index.
2. Set a goal
for the week or month.
3. Read the
project instructions and the field helps as you index. They are important and a great help!
Indexing can be
a bit confusing when you first start.
It’s important to understand the instructions. But the more you index, the more you’ll
understand, and the more fun it will become.
Year-to-date
Stake Indexing Statistics
Records indexed
41,083
Records
Arbitrated 5,039
