Relief Society

Lakewood Sisters,

Message from President Nichol Dowell

Dearest Lakewood sisters, 

My love for you has grown so much in the knowing you! Your smiles and bright lights, but also, your struggles and challenges. I’m at Women’s Conferece as I write this… and experienced something remarkable. A presenter, Jane Clayton Johnson, was asked to do a presentation about hope. As a journalist and newscaster who lives in Boston, she has seen her share of experiences that taught her about hope. She accepted the assignment and the very next day lost the life of  her 21 year old daughter to mental health struggles. 3 months later, she struggles to talk about HOPE.  Her grief is a long valley. She is looking at a new landscape. As she testified of her understanding of trying to find hope, the entire conference center found us weeping with her, feeling her profound loss, truly grieving with her. It was such an honor to be part of mourning with her. 

I have watched you all mourn with one another. You have run to help children when their mother passed away, you have cut the hair of a whole family, ongoing,  as they grieved the loss of a beloved father… even flying to them to help care for their immediate needs, you have made and delivered hundreds of meals, given rides, sat in hospital rooms, held the hand of a dying sister with no family, visited and colored with a lonely sister, thrown baby showers, taught children, sat and cried with a friends, attended ball games and matches of the children of those you minister to, thrown birthday celebrations, and shown love to new sisters. You have daily shown up to tend to a beloved friend whose mind was stolen with dementia. You held her and kept her heart till the moment she was gone. 

Collective hope is transformative. The sisters in Jane’s ward started a list of someone to go outside and walk with her in frigid Boston in the last 3 months. They have been her legs when her legs didn’t have the hope to stand…helping her take a step, or a breath… just showing up. 

“Grief is an unassailable drawbridge.” We’re  keeping vigil outside your fortress. The beauty of the Savior is His example of true friendship, and YOU have been learning and doing His tender ministry here in the Lakewood Ward. Thank you.. for the opportunity to witness his living miracles through you. 

All the love, 

Sister Dowell

Announcements At A Glance

• Weekly Join President Nichol Dowell in the temple.  Updates for day and time are posted by Nichol in the Facebook group each week plus a few listed here below

• Tuesdays weekly 7pm  Scripture class  in the Relief Society room with the missionaries

• Thursday self reilance class will resume June 4th Healing thru the savior Self Reliance 

• June 15, 10am Pot Luck Pool Party with kids at Spackmans

• June 19, 7/7:30pm Temple initiatory invitation with foothills (they are going 6:30/7:00 )

• June 23, 7pm Craft  Club with Lisa Taylor

Service Opportunities 

Missionary Meals Signup

Please sign up to feed our hungry missionaries here:

Missionaries serving from our ward

Sister  Maisie Bingham

Comodoro Rivadavia Argentina Mission

maisie.bingham@missionary.org

Sister  Kennedy Hunsaker

Argentina Buenos Aires East Mission

Kennedy.hunsaker@missionary.org

Elder Nathan Spackman

Tempe Service Mission

Nathan.spackman@missionary.org

Don Fletcher
Philippines Area Legal Counsel

Sister Chris Fletcher
Implementing "Children's Human Rights Program" in local schools

Brother Rick and Sister Melinda Thomas

Africa South Area Mission

richard.thomas@missionary.org and melinda.thomas@missionary.org