Val Vista Stake

09/02/2023

📢Hey there, awesome friends!🌟Our September Newsletter is hot off the press!🗞 Dont miss out on the exciting events we've got lines up! 🎉 Check it out!

06/05/2023

03/17/2023

I would like to express my sincerest gratitude for your invaluable contribution to the Community-Wide Food Drive, which proved to be a resounding success. Your generosity and willingness to help have made an immense difference, and I cannot thank you enough. Through your efforts, we were able to collect an astounding 30,537 pounds of food and $20,424 in cash donations, which translates into 127,568 meals for those in need. Your impact on the Gilbert community is immeasurable, and I am humbled by your selflessness and kindness. Once again, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

10/07/2022

For the past several years, my daughter Kristen has prepared this game that centers on important messages from the most recent general conference.

I have shared it on Facebook several times, and now many of you look forward to receiving it. It’s a wonderful way to reflect on the lessons learned from conference and to help each of us come closer to the Savior.

If you would like to play the October 2022 version of the game, you can download it here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/fil4jq9sn2c00cb/October%202022%20General%20Conference%20Challenge.pptx?dl=0

Here are the instructions for this game:

Download the file to your own computer.

1. Click on “Play Slideshow.” This will take you to the home page.

2. Divide into teams.

3. The first team chooses a session and point amount. Click on the chosen question and answer.

4. If the team answers correctly, they get the points; if not, the other team is allowed a chance to answer the question.

5. Click on the question again for the answer. (On a few of the questions, you will need to click more than once for the multiple answers or pictures that go with the response).

6. Click on the “Home” button (at the bottom right corner of the question) to return to the main page. (The question will darken so you know it has already been chosen.)

7. The other team now gets the chance to choose and answer a question. Note: On a few questions, there is something that says “CHOOSE YOUR POINTS!” Before looking at the question, decide how many points you want the question to be worth (the maximum amount is how many points you have). If you get the answer correct, you get that many points. If you get it incorrect, you lose that many points.

8. When all the questions are answered (or you’ve run out of time), have each team decide how many points they want to use for the final question and have them write it down.

9. Click on “FINAL QUESTION” at the bottom of the main page. Have the teams write their answers down and then share them with the group.

10. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins. (Although, really everyone is a winner for reviewing what they learned at general conference!)

Throughout the game, let people talk about what was meaningful to them. Share your thoughts and testimony. Encourage your group to discuss specific things you will do to follow the counsel that was given.

08/08/2020

This is a wonderful recent post from our Prophet, Russell M. Nelson. Enjoy.

As we are now many months into the COVID-19 pandemic, I thought I might share some of what I have learned. I have felt great sorrow about this pandemic. I have mourned with families who have lost loved ones. Many have lost jobs. Some have struggled to find adequate food and supplies. Graduation ceremonies, marriages, and funerals have been canceled or postponed or altered in some way. I feel great compassion for all who have suffered.

At the same time, Wendy and I have learned so much. Even through clouds of sorrow, we have found some silver linings. Many families have re-enthroned their homes as sanctuaries of faith. Many better understand how important the family is and that it really is ordained of God, with an eternal destiny.

We’ve also learned fear, isolation, and loss can be mitigated by immersing oneself in caring for other people. Countless healthcare professionals have risked their own lives to care for others. Farmers, pharmacists, truckers, grocers, and others have risked their own health to serve the urgent needs of others.

Dear friends, the road ahead may be bumpy, but our destination is serene and secure. So, fasten your seatbelt, hang on through the bumps, and do what's right. Your reward will be eternal. In 1831 the Lord made a promise to his Saints. It still applies to each of us today:

“Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you; and ye shall bear record of me, even Jesus Christ, that I am the Son of the living God, that I was, that I am, and that I am to come” (Doctrine and Covenants 68:6).