June Newsletter
By: Nikki Ormond and The Family Staff

Have you noticed the changes on TheFamily.com web sites recently?  Yes, we are trying to have all of our web sites work together “as one” and function as  a family should, to Strengthen Families!  Thank you for you patience as we continue to make changes and updates.  Jim Baird, our web designer, has just informed us that we will now be sending our newsletters internationally in English, Spanish, and Chinese!

Here are some things to think about this month!

Mentally
It is important to strengthen our minds.  We need to be prepared against all the filth that tries to penetrate into our minds.  It is amazing what our brain can see.

For example:
fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid too!

Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55% plepoe can.

 i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae  The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

Physically
This past month, Suzanne and I (Alan Osmond) went to the Goodwill Industries in Sioux City, Iowa, to be a guest speaker and to shared our feelings and experiences about how we dealt with the disabling disease I have called M.S.  We were wonderfully greeted and got to meet many of the staff and their workers.  We were amazed with how many good people with disabilities were being helped and shown patience and love.  I could really tell by the way they cared for others and desired to help "Strengthen Families", that I was going to enjoy our time with them.

There were about a thousand visitors, neighbors, and sponsors who wanted to help Goodwill Industries and their purposes that came to a big formal dinner.  We had a great meal and then they introduced me to speak.

I reflected back on when I first learned that I had M.S. and how supportive my wife Suzanne had always been, "In Sickness and Health".  In fact, I knew they would enjoy hearing from her perspective so I surprised Suzanne and asked her to share a few words.  She gave them the "caregivers" side of things and made everyone cry.  She was great!

I finished up my comments, invited a few questions, and reminded them that "Nature Plays NO Favorites"!  We never know when something like this may come our way.  We need to be prepared and be positive to survive!  I told them that religion was good for their health and that they needed to have Hope and to Keep the Faith in their God!  We are all God's Kids!  We are all FAMILY!

Overall, it was a very good trip.  Suzanne and I like to get out and speak at various occasions.  They made a nice donation to One Heart Foundation to help us "Strengthen Families".

Spiritually
It is important to never underestimate the affect you can have on others.  Volunteering is a great way to strengthen your spiritual talents while helping others feel loved.  Here is just one of many ways to share your strengths in an effort to help others:

Providing Warmth for Families One Stitch at a Time
(“Hooked on Crochet” June 2006, Vol. 20, No. 3)
By Kristin Kiral

In times of need, there are always those individuals and organizations who do their best to give of themselves and their talents to bring a ray of hope into a bleak situation. Warming Families does just that as they strive to help to make life better for disadvantaged people worldwide.

Sponsored by the One Heart Foundation and co-founded by Alan and Suzanne Osmond, Warming Families is a volunteer project that brings warm items to homeless and displaced individuals. Kaye Rogers, project leader for Warming Families, encourages groups and individuals to become involved in this worthy cause. Donations of blankets, scarves, hats, gloves, mittens, slippers, socks and sweaters are welcomed, along with materials such as yarn and cloth. Warming Families distributes the donated items to homeless shelters, domestic violence homes and orphanages around the globe.

If you would like to assist in the Warming Families effort, contact Kaye Rogers by phone at (352) 473-4800 or e-mail at mine1616@yahoo.com. For further information, visit the Warming Families Web site at
www.warmingfamilies.org.
You may also contact the One Heart Foundation at

One Heart Foundation, P.O. Box 400, Orem, Utah, 84059
or visit them online at

www.oneheart.org.

Financially
In April Elder Robert D. Hales, a member of the church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, told the crowd in the Marriott Center for commencement rites they should perform "plastic surgery" on their credit cards.

   Unless you can pay off the balance every month, he told graduates, the plastic cards should be cut up and discarded.
     "If you had to go into debt to obtain your education, I encourage you to repay your debts as soon as possible," he said. "Then go forward with commitment not to finance on credit any item of any kind, except perhaps a house and vehicle that are well within your means."
     Debt also inhibits a person's ability to give "both temporal and spiritual service," the theme of Elder Hales' commencement address.
     Service has most influence in the home, said Elder Hales, who saluted women graduates.
     "The world will try to convince you that the most important success is achieved in the workplace," he said. "I salute all who will focus their efforts on the family. I especially salute you sisters who will train up our Heavenly Father's children in the way they should go."
     While in college, students engage in endeavors that are focused on the self: They concentrate on personal growth and study to earn good grades.
     After graduation, however, we must "lose our lives in service to others," Hales said.
     Graduates can no longer act like students who memorize and repeat class lessons to "look good and impress others," Hales said.
     "I've seen this with many MBA students who accept their first job thinking that what they know and say is more important than who they are and how they relate to others," the former businessman said. "They fail miserably in their jobs because it is obvious to nearly everyone that they are repeating what they've learned in order to be at the top of their class."
     Hales told the graduates to use lessons learned at college to help others be successful.
     "In other words, you must use your education not to distinguish yourself from others, but to devote yourself to them to helping them grow and flourish, even if it seems at the expense of your own prominence and glory."

Make sure your friends sign up for the newsletters and visit our various web sites at: http://www.thefamily.com !