WILL OW CREST WARD JUNE 2020
We may not be meeting together but we can still support and encourage one another!
This month’s newsletter has more messages from the Church and our ward family.
Also look for weekly emails and/or texts from ward organizations.
The following is from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland’s April
2020 General Conference talk, “A Perfect Brightness of
W
Hope.”
e still have hopes that have not yet been
fulfilled. Even as we speak, we are waging
an “all hands on deck” war with COVID-
19, a solemn reminder that a virus 1,000 times
smaller than a grain of sand can bring entire pop-
ulations and global economies to their knees. We
pray for those who have lost loved ones in this mod-
ern plague, as well as for those who are currently
infected or at risk. We certainly pray for those who
are giving such magnificent health care. When
we have conquered this—and we will—may we be
equally committed to freeing the world from the
virus of hunger, freeing neighborhoods and nations
from the virus of poverty. May we hope for schools
where students are taught—not terrified they will
be shot—and for the gift of personal dignity for
every child of God, unmarred by any form of racial,
ethnic, or religious prejudice. Undergirding all of
this is our relentless hope for greater devotion to
the two greatest of all commandments: to love God
by keeping His counsel and to love our neighbors
by showing kindness and compassion, patience and
forgiveness. These two divine directives are still—
and forever will be—the only real hope we have
for giving our children a better world than the one
they now know.
In addition to having these global desires, many
in this audience today have deeply personal hopes:
hope for a marriage to improve, or sometimes just
hope for a marriage; hope for an addiction to be
conquered; hope for a wayward child to come back;
hope for physical and emotional pain of a hundred
kinds to cease. Because the Restoration reaffirmed
the foundational truth that God does work in this
world, we can hope, we should hope, even when
facing the most insurmountable odds. That is what
the scripture meant when Abraham was able to
hope against hope—that is, he was able to believe
in spite of every reason not to believe—that he and
Sarah could conceive a child when that seemed
utterly impossible. So, I ask, “If so many of our
1820 hopes could begin to be fulfilled with a flash
of divine light to a mere boy kneeling in a patch of
trees in upstate New York, why should we not hope
that righteous desires and Christlike yearnings can
still be marvelously, miraculously answered by the
God of all hope?” We all need to believe that what
we desire in righteousness can someday, someway,
somehow yet be ours.
Brothers and sisters, we know what some of
the religious deficiencies in the early 19th century
were. Furthermore, we know something of today’s
religious shortcomings that still leave the hunger
and hope of some unfulfilled. We know a variety of
those dissatisfactions are leading some away from
traditional ecclesiastical institutions. We also know,
as one frustrated writer wrote, that “many religious
leaders [of the day] seem clueless” in addressing
this kind of decline, offering in response “a thin
gruel of therapeutic deism, cheap symbolic activ-
ism, carefully couched heresy, [or sometimes just]
uninspiring nonsense”—and all at a time when the
world needs so much more, when the rising gener-
ation deserves so much more, and when in Jesus’s
day He offered so much more. As disciples of
Christ, we can in our day rise above those ancient
Israelites who moaned, “Our bones are dried, and
our hope is lost.” Indeed, if we finally lose hope,
we lose our last sustaining possession. It was over
the very gate of hell that Dante wrote a warning to
all those traveling through his Divina Commedia:
“Abandon all hope,” he said, “ye who enter here.”
Truly when hope is gone, what we have left is the
flame of the inferno raging on every side.
So, when our backs are to the wall and, as the
hymn says, “other helpers fail and comforts flee,”
among our most indispensable virtues will be this
precious gift of hope linked inextricably to our
faith in God and our charity to others.
In this bicentennial year, when we look back to see
all we have been given and rejoice in the realization
of so many hopes fulfilled, I echo the sentiment of a
beautiful young returned sister missionary who said
to us in Johannesburg just a few months ago, “[We]
did not come this far only to come this far.”
 Elders Quorum
Message from President Horton
Crazy to think we’ve gone another month with-
out seeing each other. I sure pray that everyone
is safe, healthy and doing ok. I know that this
too shall pass and we will look back at this time
as a great learning experience. I hope that we are
being kind and loving to one another. I know I
see more and more unkindness and hope that we
can be better than the world. We can be that light
to people in a time of turmoil and darkness. We
can do this and we’ll be better for it!
Love, President Horton
Please note if you have questions or need
help receiving the sacrament you can contact
our Elders Quorum President, Matt Horton
(801-510-2288) or our Relief Society President,
Vikki Winks (801-652-6516).
Relief Society
The Gospel Living mobile app is designed to be
inspiring, engaging, fun, and relevant to everyday
life. It supports a Christian life through:
• Inspiring content
• Reminders
• Activity ideas
• Communication
• Journaling
• Personal goals
Discover
The Discover feed is updated regularly with
inspiring articles, videos, audio, and images. It
will include links to current Come, Follow Me
lessons to support your gospel study. And you can
explore ideas for service and activities as well as
personal development.
Today
The Today feature shows what you would like
to work on as well as your upcoming activities.
You can create new activities, see your reminders,
and check your progress on your goals.
New Entry
Write your thoughts and impressions, save your
photos, and create and set reminders for your
goals.
My Life
The My Life feature is a dashboard for your
content within the app. You can see and organize
your thoughts and impressions, photos, and goals
all in one place.
Circles
The Circles feature connects you with family,
classes, quorums, and others who serve with you
in the Church. You can have conversations about
what you’re learning, share progress, and encour-
age and support each other. Plus, you can share
inspirational articles, images, videos, and service
and activity ideas. For now, this feature is only for
members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-
day Saints.
With love, the Relief Society Presidency
Youth
WARD FLAGS: As the YM have not been able
to meet due to the pandemic, and we are uncertain
of the level of activities the youth can participate
in for 2020, we have decided the YM will not be
using flags as a fund raiser this year. However; in
lieu of this change, if you would like to rent a flag
for the remainder of the year, there are 6 more
holidays (Flag Day, Independence Day, Pioneer
Day, Labor Day, Election Day, Veterans Day) we
invite you to RENT a flag from the ward for $20
and place it in your yard on holidays. Monies col-
lected will be donated to the youth program for
next year.Please contact a youth advisor if you are
interested.
Thank you!
Bishop
Our Ward Missionaries
Our ward missionaries are still serving! Sister Abbi
Graham is in the Oregon Portland mission. You can
email her at abbigail.graham@missionary.org. Elder
Cole Christensen is serving in the California Ventura
Mission. His email is christensencm@missionary.
org. Elder Shayne Zullo has been reassigned to the
Maryland Baltinore Mission. He left on June 2. You
can email him at shayne.zullo@missionary.org.
The full-time Elders currently serving in our stake are:
Elder Sean Knight
Elder Sione ‘Auka Latu
Elder Jaxon Wynder
They can be reached at 801-651-4734
2020 High School Graduates
Karli Graham: Karli’s favorite Murray High
School memory is going to Bear Lake with her
friends. Her plans are to finish her associates
degree at Salt Lake Community College and then
serve a mission.
Jarrod Chase: Jarrod graduated from Murray
High School this year. He made the school soc-
cer team as goalie and was able to play 2 games
before the quarantine. He has been heavily
involved in band classes and marching band
throughout high school. This year he was made
percussion president as well as president of the
school music counsel. Jarrod recently tried out
for and made the drumline for the University of
Utah’s marching band and will start classes at the
U in the Fall. We’re so proud of Jarrod’s accom-
plishments and look forward to seeing what new
experiences are in store for him.
Ally Vuyk: Ally graduated with honors in
Career Pathways and Teaching as a Professsion,
Murray Medallion, and Mayor’s scholarship. She
will be attending Utah State University to study
Early Childhood and Elementary Education.
Good-byes
Levi and Madi Jorgensen purchased a home
and spent some time refurbishing it. They have
now moved, celebrated Levi’s Univeristy of Utah
graduation, and got a new puppy!

Primary
Three things to remember during unsettling times
1. Christ can give peace.
“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto
you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you.
Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be
afraid” ( John 14:27).
2. Prophets can help us feel peace.
President Russell M. Nelson said, “Our
Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, know
us, love us, and are watching over us.”
3. We can help others feel peace.
Even from a physical distance, we can be
helpful to others. Sister Bonnie Cordon, Young
Women General President, said, “The Savior tes-
tified, ‘I am the light which ye shall hold up’ (see
3 Nephi 18:24). He reminds us that He will bring
the light if we will just point others to Him.”
From this weeks lesson from Come Follow Me:
We invite you to look in the mirror and think
about how you can “recieve his image in your
countenance “(Alma 5:14).
As a Primary presidency we want to tell you
how much we love you and pray for you.
Love, the Primary Presidency
Primary Songs for June:
“We’ll Bring the World His Truth,” Children’s
Songbook, 172–73
“Follow the Prophet,” Children’s Songbook,
110–11
“I Want to Be a Missionary Now,” Children’s
Songbook, 168
If you have questions, contact Sister Amy Zullo
or Sister Lori Pond.
Sunday School
Since this COVID-19 pandemic has taken place,
Sister Stephanie Proud, on the Sundays that she has
been assigned to teach us, has been diligently put-
ting together Zoom meetings for Sunday School.
She has been extending invitations through
our “Willow Crest Ward Family & Neighbors”
Facebook page. If anyone has not joined this
Facebook group, I would encourage you to do so.
To me personally, I am appreciative of this. This
is a great way to not only help keep the sabbath
day holy, but to also meet together as a ward in
this particular setting, especially when we have
not been able to meet together in person. I would
like to extend an invitation to those who have a
desire to attend these Zoom meetings each month.
If you would like to attend, you may give Sister Proud a
call or send her a text at (801) 694-2497. And she will
happily send you an email with an attached Zoom
invite. We would hope that many of you will take
this opportunity to do so.
It was announced this week from the Brethren
that this October General Conference will once
again be in the same setting as the conference
that took place this April. With that being said, I
will just come to the conclusion that the month to
hold Teacher Council Meeting is yet to be deter-
mined, especially where we have not been able
to teach in quite some time. We hope everyone is
doing well. I personally have missed seeing all of
you at church. I will just take comfort knowing
and hearing from President Nelson that there are
better days ahead of us. I hope that everyone will
continue to take care of themselves and stay safe.
Brother Matt Pond
Come Follow Me Lessons:
June 1–7: Alma 5-7; “Have Ye Experienced this
Mighty Change in Your Hearts?”
June 8–14: Alma 8-12; Jesus Christ Will Come to
Redeem His People
June 15–21: Alma 13-16; “Enter Into the Rest of the
Lord”
June 22–28: Alma 17-22; “I Will Make an Instrument
of Thee”
June 29–July 5: Alma 23–29; They “Never Did Fall
Away”
The following is a message by President Jean B. Bingham
from the Church blog on May 14, 2020
The More I “Hear Him,”
the More I Understand Him
W
hile everyone receives revelation in differ-
ent ways, I would like to share some of the
ways that I “hear Him.”
It took me a while to understand how I hear Him.
I remember the first time I shared my testimony
in church when I was 12 years old. My heart started
to pound, and I knew I had to stand up. I was
petrified; my knees were just shaking. I stumbled
through a very simple testimony, but I felt so warm
and so affirmed that Heavenly Father loved me. That
was one of the first times I realized that one of the
ways that I feel the Spirit and I hear the Savior’s
voice is that warm assurance that I am doing the
right thing.
With so many challenging things happening in
the world and so many voices telling us different
things, God’s invitation to hear the voice of His Son
is extremely relevant today. I need that direction and
focus to help drown out all those other voices and
remove the distractions. While everyone receives rev-
elation in different ways, I would like to share some
of the ways that I “hear Him.”
I Hear Him through the Scriptures
One of the first things I do in the morning in
order to have the Spirit is read the scriptures. It
helps me have the right frame of mind so that I can
receive revelation.
I find that when I read the scriptures, I hear the
Savior’s voice and listen to the Spirit. I read what
the Savior has said about Himself and about us.
Things like “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and
his righteousness, and all these things shall be added
unto you.” And “Come, follow me.” And “If ye love
me, keep my commandments.” Those simple state-
ments of the Savior remind me of what I want to be,
where I want to be, and who I want to follow.
When I was about 14, I started to wonder, “Is
there really a God? Is this all just make-believe?” I
grew up surrounded by the Spirit in my home and
had not really experienced doubts until then. One
day I was reading the Book of Mormon and I read
the scripture in Mosiah 4:9 that says, “Believe in
God; believe that he is,” and I got that same warm,
assuring feeling that spread throughout my body
as a child when I shared my testimony for the first
time. I knew that what I had been taught about the
gospel was really true.
I Hear Him in Times of Desperation or Trials
Sometimes, during a time of desperation or trial,
I become humble enough to listen and really seek,
and that is when I often hear Him the best. Just as
I had trials and questions in my youth, my children
have gone through trials of their own.
When my daughter was going through a difficult
time in her life, I prayed about it and had it all set
in my mind what I was going to say to help her. We
set up a time to talk on the phone. Before the phone
call, I prayed to know how to best communicate
with her. During the call, I did not say one thing
that I had planned to say. I felt words being given
to me that were just what she needed, and we ended
that conversation with such a feeling of love.
I knew that it was not me—it was the Spirit that
gave me those words and that feeling of assurance. I
am so grateful for that instruction and direction and
that I was open to it. The conversation deepened our
relationship, and later she felt comfortable sharing
other things because of it.
I Hear Him through Temple Worship
Another marvelous way to be able to Hear the
Savior’s voice more clearly is attending the temple.
Sometimes when I am sitting in the temple, I will
receive an answer to a prayer or something will
come to mind while I am still enough to listen to
the Spirit. I have also had experiences where I have
gone to the temple just feeling very distraught and
had a hard time feeling at peace. It reminds me to let
the worldly things go. It is easy to get distracted and
get caught up in those really challenging problems.
But when you get to the temple, you reflect: “What
is my purpose here? What do I really want? Where
do I really want to go?” One of the real benefits of
going to the temple is getting that feeling of eternal
perspective back.
I Hear Him through Music
Music also helps me hear the voice of the Savior.
I love hearing the hymns, even if I just hear instru-
mental music without the words. I know those
words because I have sung them for so long, so they
come to my mind. When I am having a difficult time
or a joyful time, I will sit down at the piano—and I
do not play very well, but I can play through several
hymns, and those words just feed my spirit and help
me feel closer to the Savior.
I Hear Him by Using the Full Name of the Church
As I strive to hear the voice of the Lord, using
the full, sacred name of The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints helps me do that. If you think
about it, every single word is significant. A church is
a gathering of believers. The Church of Jesus Christ:
He is the focus. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-
day—not previous, not primitive, but very current, for
our day. And who are saints? They are people who are
striving to be better. To me, using the full name of the
Church really describes who I am as a member of that
Church. And it is much more uplifting and elevating
than saying “I am a Mormon” or “I am LDS.” Being a
member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints—that is significant. That is who I am and where
my focus is: on becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ.
Heavenly Father loves you—
each of you.
That love never changes.
President Thomas S. Monson
The More I Hear Him, the More I Understand Him
I am beyond grateful for the Savior, for His gift
of the Atonement, for His perfect life and His exam-
ple. Whenever I have a question about how I should
conduct myself, I can ask myself what I know about
the Savior. How did He respond? How would He
respond in this situation today? And every time that
is the right answer. He is the way, the truth, and the
life!
The more I can hear Him, the more I understand
and appreciate what He has done for me. The more
I can hear Him, the more of an effective instrument
I will be to bring others to that same love that I feel.
If I can learn to hear Him, to hear His voice, to hear
His Spirit, then I can handle the challenges that
come my way.