Bishopric Message 

I hope everyone enjoyed the wonderful conference last month! The Lord is truly hastening His work as we draw closer to His glorious return. With the passing of our beloved prophet, President Nelson, and the sustaining of our new prophet, President Oaks, I feel it is a perfect time to testify of the need for living prophets.

Throughout the scriptures, we find many examples of the Lord directing His people through His chosen servants. As stated in the Old Testament, “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.” (Amos 3:7)

President Ezra Taft Benson taught: “The most important prophet, so far as we are concerned, is the one who is living in our day and age. This is the prophet who has today’s instructions from God to us. God’s revelation to Adam did not instruct Noah how to build the ark.”

This month, as we celebrate Thanksgiving, I invite each of us to reflect on the blessings we are grateful for. I am deeply thankful for all of you, for the gospel in my life, and for a loving Heavenly Father and Savior who lead and guide this Church through a living prophet.

I challenge everyone who reads this message to study the words of the living prophet and to pray for the Holy Ghost to guide you in how to apply those teachings in your life.

With love,

Bishop Finlinson

We are the Brooks family: Maddie, Elden, and 14 month Makaia (baby boy number 2 will be joining us in February). We recently moved from Spanish Fork and are excited to make friends here in Mapleton. 

Maddie works at UVU with graduate students in the School of Education. She has always loved theater (watching, not performing 🙂 and is especially fond of Shakespeare. Her family runs a youth theatre in Payson and Elden gets roped into helping with sets, marketing, photography and whatever else they need. Makaia is a very active toddler who loves being outside and making new friends. He is not shy, so you will probably meet him running around the halls at church. 

Elden is a half-Asian, ADHD nerd who loves everything creative. Whether that’s piano, guitar, drawing, painting, writing, woodworking, photography, videography, leatherworking, 3D design, comedy…you get the idea. By night he can sometimes be found playing piano for Improv Broadway in Provo, and by day he works at the Spanish Fork Costco. In between, he loves playing pickleball, building and playing crokinole, and trying even more new hobbies to procrastinate the projects he’s already started but probably won’t finish. 

We’re so excited to be in the ward and are ready to teach the game of crokinole to anyone who loves games, woodworking, or both!

Presiding: Bishop Finlinson

Conducting: Bishop Finlinson

Music Director: Collin Chournos

Organist: Don Blackburn 

Announcements

Opening Hymn: #92 "For the Beauty of the Earth"

Opening Prayer: Marianne McKnight

Ward Business

Sacrament Hymn: #175 "O God, the Eternal Father"

Administration of the Sacrament

Fast & Testimony Meeting

Closing Hymn: #300 "Families Can Be Together Forever"

Closing Prayer: Ralph McKnight