Banbury Ward of
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Message from the Bishopric

Dear Banbury Ward,

First off, I’m not sure who is truly reading these letters, but wanted to confirm that Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny are indeed still real.

We have been invited this Sunday to fast in gratitude for our religious liberties and to pray for it to be strengthened throughout the world. What a wonderful opportunity for us to unite in prayer and in fasting for something so precious to us. I am so grateful to celebrate 250 years of independence and freedom this year.

I long for the Second Coming when Christ will govern this Earth and we will all be able to truly worship in peace and safety. I think many of us may have thought the Second Coming was close this past Friday with the crazy storm that hit our area. Thanks again to all those who served our ward and neighbors. We have such great people who are willing to give of their time to be so charitable. The storm reminded me of important gospel messages regarding the Second Coming so wanted to share a few thoughts.

When Jesus Christ comes again to the earth, He will do the following things:

1. He will cleanse the earth. When Jesus comes again, He will come in power and great glory. At that time the wicked will be destroyed. All things that are corrupt will be burned, and the earth will be cleansed by fire (see D&C 101:24–25).

2. He will judge His people. When Jesus comes again, He will judge the nations and will divide the righteous from the wicked (see Matthew 25:31–46). John the Revelator wrote about this judgment: “I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, … and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” The wicked he saw “lived not again until the thousand years were finished” (Revelation 20:4–5; see also D&C 88:95–98).

3. He will usher in the Millennium. The Millennium is the thousand-year period when Jesus will reign on the earth. The righteous will be caught up to meet Jesus at His coming (see D&C 88:96). His coming will begin the millennial reign.

4. He will complete the First Resurrection. Those who have obtained the privilege of coming forth in the resurrection of the just will rise from their graves. They will be caught up to meet the Savior as He comes down from heaven. (See D&C 88:97–98).

5. He will take His rightful place as King of heaven and earth. When Jesus comes, He will establish His government on the earth. The Church will become part of that kingdom. He will rule all the people of the earth in peace for 1,000 years.

When Jesus Christ first came to the earth, He did not come in glory. He was born in a lowly stable and laid in a manger of hay. He did not come with great armies as the Jews had expected of their Savior. Instead, He came saying, “Love your enemies, … do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you” (Matthew 5:44). He was rejected and crucified. But He will not be rejected at His Second Coming, “for every ear shall hear it, and every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess” that Jesus is the Christ (D&C 88:104). He will be greeted as “Lord of lords, and King of kings” (Revelation 17:14). He will be called “Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).

I testify that all of this is true and look forward to that day He comes again. If we follow our Savior and use his Atonement to help us, we can always weather any storm that comes our way.

Love,

Bro. Ron Thomas

p.s. We have amazing Youth in our ward. They will be the ones leading us through these upcoming trying times. Please continue to pray for them to build them up for this challenge. They are a mighty army of greatness!

• Sunday Youth Assignments

  • • July Chair Set-Up - Priest Quorum.  Please come at 8:30 a.m. to help set up chairs. 

    • July Greeters – Messengers of Hope class.

• July Building Cleaning assignments

  • • July 11: Holland, Hope, Jackson, Jetsel, Johnson, Kohlwey, Laird, Leach, Lewis, Lish, Marlatt

    • July 18: Meck, Michalsky, Miller, Moss, Mower, Muir, Nate, Nelson, Nelson, Nielson, Oleson, Patton

    • July 25: Peterson, Poole, Poole, Price, Price, Ragsdale, Ranstrom, Roth, Sasser, Schlosser, Schrum, Shreeve

• We are creating a Ward Mission Plan video!  Bro. and Sis. Nelson (Larry and Sharon) are organizing this, and we are looking for about 70 ward members, adults, youth and children, to say a sentence each on camera, to help teach about our Ward Mission Plan and the simple ways to Love, Share and Invite all to come unto Christ.  Please accept their invitation to participate.

• July 5 - Unified Fast - On Sunday, July 5, all are invited to participate in a unified fast to express gratitude for religious liberty and to pray that it be strengthened throughout the world. Please consider prayerfully the focus of your fast.

• July 23 - Stake Humanitarian Workday - 10am-1pm at the Stake center. Child care provided. Projects for every age and skill!

• The Remember Him Area Initiative, which invites us all to focus on Becoming Lifelong Disciples of Jesus Christ, is featured on the Area website. All members are invited to:

  • • Share the Remember Him Video featured on the Area Website.

    • Invite families and individuals to visit the site and discuss the video message at home.

• Missionary Meals - We can invite the missionaries to dinner any day or night of the week; there is no longer the requirement to have a non-member present. Please reach out to our Ward Missionary Leader, Larry Nelson, if interested, and for further details and options. The missionaries will not be passing a calendar around, you will need to schedule directly with the missionaries. 

• Are you interested in being called as a Temple and Family History Worker with the assignment to work in the Family Search Center? Like a temple worker, this would be a weekly commitment, however each shift is only 2.5 hours. This is an extremely fulfilling calling and an opportunity for anyone to serve the Lord in a meaningful way.  Those who work at the center are witnesses to the miracles that happen there and the joy that the work brings into their lives.  Please reach out to a member of the bishopric if this is something you would like to discuss.

• "To allow for greater access to the words of the living prophets, printed copies of Church magazines are now available at no cost. These magazines include the Liahona, For the Strength of Youth, and Friend. This policy will eventually apply to every area of the Church.

  • • • Members can use their Church account to choose their preferred subscription(s) on a yearly basis at MagazineSubscriptions.ChurchofJesusChrist.org"

      • Please contact a member of the Bishopric, Relief Society Presidency, Elders Quorum Presidency, or your ministering sisters/brothers if you have any questions about this change or if you need assistance with subscribing for no-cost print magazines.

• For temple recommend interviews with the Bishopric and other meetings with the Bishop, please call or text David Swenson at (208) 447-8903.

• All temple recommend interviews with the Stake Presidency must be scheduled ahead of time. There are no walk-in appointments at this time.  For recommend renewal interviews, please visit https://calendly .com/minorth/temple to see available times and schedule an interview with the stake presidency.

Worldwide Church Events

The following link will take you to the church website with a list of all the upcoming and recent church events

https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/events/