This lesson was taught on Sunday, March 23, 2008 by Michelle Rackley.
Click here to see the full text of Elder Uchtdorf's October 2007 General Conference address "Have We Not Reason To Rejoice?"
We started with a brief summary of Elder Uchtdorf's address. The world focuses on the bad. But even amid trials we have reason to rejoice. Read Elder Uchtdorf's description of his experience as a boy in Germany during World War II.
Michelle read us the account of another woman who survived World War II. Ask her for a copy.
We read the account of the Brother of Jared and his people crossing the ocean in barges (Ether 6: 4-12), thinking of it as a metaphor for our own lives, with the wind and water representing our trials. Here are some of the phrases/ ideas Michelle highlighted as she read to us:
-They commended themselves to God
-The Lord caused a furious wind to blow them. What are our trials meant for, and what are they pushing us toward?
-When the waves are upon you, what do you resort to?
-What makes us tight and strong like the Jaredite vessels?
-The wind was constant, continual
-They prayed all day and night in praise and thanks. What do I do all day long? Sister Beck's talk in October ("Mothers Who Know") counsels us on how to best use our time. There are so many good things to do with our time, but are we doing the best things (Elder Oaks "Good Better Best")?
-How can we become so strong that nothing could break us (like the barges)?
-They could see the glowing stone in each barge. It acted as a physical manifestation of God's presence. What physical manifestations of God's love do you have in your life?
-What do you do to endure your trials? Do you sleep, eat, yell, spend time on the computer, watch t.v., go shopping, get angry? Are there better things you could do?
-We can endure our trials with cheer by recognizing God in our lives and by living with faith in the atonement of Jesus Christ.
Some points made by various sisters during our discussion:
-I don't think we know what our blessings are. I have had so many health problems which have been a trial to me, but I can also see that they have blessed my life so much by forcing me to move slowly.
-Trials were pushing the Brother of Jared toward the Promised Land and he was praising God for it.
-Remember that you're a child of God. Be grateful. Are you feeling sorry for yourself that you have to walk 6 miles to work and back every day? Be grateful that you have strong legs. Look for God's hand. Appreciate the times when your bread lands with the butter side up. Don't waste energy asking "Why me?" Why not you?
-The Jaredite barges, like Noah's ark, were sealed with pitch. The hebrew word used for pitch is the same word used for Atonement. It is Christ's atonement that makes us water tight against the floods of life.
-People all around us are going through worse trials than we are and they are still making it. Remember that there is a reason for this and remember how good you have it.
-Asking for help or accepting help does not mean that you are not handling your trials well. It does not mean that you have failed. When people offer help it does not mean that they think you're doing a bad job. Let them love and serve you.
-Put yourself in a peaceful mode so you can think. Take yourself away from negative things, like the television, and immerse yourself in something like the scriptures. That is how you can find answers.
-Not only does the wind bring changes, but it moves things, it comes from different directions, you don't always know where it will come from or what it will bring. "The Basics" will cover you now matter what comes, so take care of those things and be prepared spiritually.
Potato Girl note: Michelle, you did a great job today. The Spirit was with us and we appreciated your preparation, humility, and sincerity. Thanks for helping us learn!
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Saturday Evening Session of Stake Conference
This is my report of the Adult Session of Stake Conference, held Saturday, March 15, 2008 from 7 to 9 p.m. I wrote a lot of notes, and it is late so this will not be perfect, but I hope it will strengthen you in some way to have this to read.
First Speaker: Cynthia Christensen, Stake RS President
Assigned Topic: Family Home Storage
Food storage has been important to Cynthia because it was one of the first things she heard the prophet counsel the church to day after she was baptized almost 30 years ago. She watched her sister-in-law carefully add to the family's food storage each week, and then she saw how it sustained her family for several months when her husband lost his job.
Look at the new pamphlet the church has put out: "All is Safely Gathered In: Family Home Storage." The first presidency message in the front of the pamphlet says, in part: "
The greatest resource the pamphlet identifies is the website for provident living, which is full of important information.
There is a new Family Home Starter kit that you can order from the distribution center.
The church is trying to make food storage simpler now than it was 30 years ago.
This stake has its own "Home Storage Center" (formerly known as "the Cannery") in Farmington Hills. Its website is www.homestoragecenter.net
30 years ago people living in the United States didn't have to worry too much about disaster striking us, but times have changed. In a geography class Cynthia took at Eastern last semester, the teacher gave a lecture on sustainability. She told the members of the class that the safest thing for them to do would be to grow a garden and store their own food. Cynthia was touched because that was a message she's heard from the prophet for many years, but to the members of her class it was new and strange counsel. It is wonderful to have a living prophet. Let's listen to and act on his words.
Second Speaker: President Mallory
Assigned Topic: Family Finances
Look at the new church pamphlet "All is Safely Gathered In: Family Finances". It covers five key principles of financial management. The Mallorys have a number of grown, married children who have added to their understanding of financial principles. President Mallory read us letters written by several of the children and their spouses about finances in their new families.
His daughter-in-law Emily wrote that she was raised to believe that you should always spend less than you save (not less than you make), and that you don't buy what you don't need. She admits that as an adult it is not always practical to spend less than you save, but you can come close. Her father would give the children a list of work that needed to be done each morning at breakfast. For some tasks they could earn "a return on their investment of time." Their dad kept all of their money recorded on a spreadsheet in three categories. 10% of their earnings went to tithing, 10% to spending, and the other 80% to savings. The only cash they saw was the money he gave them to pay tithing, which was turned over directly to the bishop. If they wanted money from spending, he would ask them if they were sure they wanted to spend their money on that, and they usually wouldn't. He helped them open savings accounts, and then money market accounts at a brokerage house. By the time of her marriage at age 24, she had a significant portfolio built up, as well as a powerful sense of thrift.
President Mallory's son-in-law, Adrian, wrote about how he and his wife have had to establish a budget, and that it has been a great blessing to them. They married in their late 20s/ early 30s, and were accustomed to having a lot of disposable income. Now they feel that they are protecting themselves from the financial difficulties and fighting that hurts so many couples in and out of the church. They discuss their finances daily. They allocate all of their money at the beginning of each month. They give themselves a small allowance for personal spending each month. They have decided to avoid debt. The temptation to go into debt is always present. It has helped them to cut up their credit cards and know they must save cash before they can buy anything. The Lord has blessed them greatly for putting their financial house in order. President Mallory shared several specific financial blessings they've received, such as a much smaller tax bill than they had expected, a tuition reimbursement they had not expected, a much lower student loan interest payment than they had expected. They see each of these instances as small miracles from God. His daughter said that working with a small allowance each month has been liberating compared to the unlimited spending she was used to before marriage. Now she is more careful in her choices and appreciates the things she does buy much more. A financial planner said that when people set their minds to becoming debt-free, amazing things happen to them. It is like building a testimony...faith precedes the miracle.
Another one of President Mallory's daughters-in-law wrote of following the counsel of two different bishops. The first was the bishop of her ward where a lot of members, including her husband, worked for the auto industry. He told his ward several years ago that they would have much less to fear from the job cuts at Ford, etc., if they would listen to and follow President Hinckley's counsel about saving money and storing food. She did this, and when her husband lost his job, they were greatly comforted by the preparations they had made. Her current bishop has counseled the ward that too many people assume that the Lord will provide for them in their time of need when they don't take the steps to prepare themselves for that time. One way the Lord provides for us is by giving us commandments to follow. Often he strengthens us instead of delivering us from our trials.
Many of us can find ways to bring ourselves into greater alignment with the counsel of our leaders in this area.
Third Speaker: Elder Temple
If we wish to truly follow the Savior, we should be loving other people and developing charity. When we get our finances in order, not only can we take care of ourselves, we can take care of others. Alma 34: 27-28. We need to do our best to be able to help others. Elder Temple's great grandfather, Arthur Winter, was able to join the saints in Utah with the help of the perpetual emigration fund. He paid it back when he could. Brother Temple went from modest circumstances as a child to comfortable ones as an adult. Now he must ask himself what more he can do with the blessings he has received. He feels compelled to be more generous in his fast offerings, and in other donations to the church, such as the perpetual education fund, the humanitarian aid fund, the missionary fund, etc. Galatians 6:10 God asks us to help each other. In his later years, after Beethoven lost his hearing, he wrote his 9th symphony. He was afraid to perform it because he could not hear it, but friends convinced him to do so. After the symphony the audience rose to their feet applauding him, but he could not hear them, and could not see them because he was facing the orchestra. One of the soloists noticed this, came to Beethoven, and turned him around to face the audience and see their approval. Each of us sometimes needs someone to turn us in the right direction. And we can be the person that can notice and turn another.
Fourth Speaker: Elder Costa
One of the hardest things for me to do is to speak English. I am from Brazil, and grew up speaking Portuguese. When I was a mission president in Brazil, I received a new batch of missionaries straight from the Provo MTC. I realized that I would never be able to have intimate conversations with them in Portuguese because their command of the language was so limited. So I decided to study English to better serve my missionaries. I started the next morning at 4:30 a.m., reading the Book of Mormon in English and memorizing 5 new words a day. I did this for three years. Later I learned Spanish in the same way when I was asked to serve as a general authority over the South America South area, which was all Spanish-speaking. I wanted to serve the people there better, and realized I needed to learn Spanish to do so.
I would like to talk about the process of replacing a prophet. I have seen this happen three times since I became a general authority. president Hinckley was buried on a Saturday and the next morning President Monson was ordained and set apart as the president of the church. Replacing a prophet is not like getting a new president or leader of a country. It is not like getting a new CEO for a corporation. It is a very tender process. It shows us that the Lord is a god of peace, of unity, not division. President Monson, like President Hinckley, looks ten years younger now that he is the prophet than he did before. The Lord gives strength to his prophets. I don't know who will become the next Apostle, but I can sustain him already because I know he is the man the lord has prepared to be an apostle. I will raise my hand and sustain him with all my heart.
A member of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles will never retire. His work will continue on the other side of the veil...have you ever heard us release with a vote of thanks an apostle who has passed away? You would see, if you could observe the parking lot where the general authorities park, that they arrive a bit before 7 a.m. and put in a 10 hour day, even the ones in their 90s. In the future it will become rare to have a general authority attend your stake conference. The church is getting so big, and more and more technology will be used in order to give you contact with the brethren. The quorum of the first presidency and the quorum of the 12 apostles have no room for expansion. The expansion in leadership for the church as it continues to grow takes place in the quorums of the 70s. The first quorum of 70 is called for life. The second quorum usually serves for aobut 5 years. The area seventies keep their regular jobs and also do a great work for the church. A seventy is set apart to first testify of the Savior, to study and try to know him. Second a 70 is given apostolic authority, the right to officiate in any assignment they receive from the 12 apostles. Read D&C 107 to find our more about the 70s. The 8 quorums of the 70 are led by the 7 presidents of the 70, of which Elder Costa is a member. He was called at the age of 45 to be a general authority. He needed to learn fast how to do that, but the Lord can teach us and help us learn fast. The Brethren love you and you are in their conversations every day. They are always asking what can we do to bless the lives of our brothers and sisters? We pray in the temple for the members of the church. The Lord is ready to bless each of you. I had a talk prepared, but when I heard the musical number, "O Divine Redeemer" I changed that topic. I want to talk to you about our divine redeemer.
He talked to us about Christ's role in our pre-mortal life. He spoke of his birth and childhood. He told us that like the Savior as a 12 year old boy teaching in the temple, any good deacon in our ward, our own children, know more about the Savior than the ministers of other churches. Before Christ began his ministry he fasted and prayed for 40 days. He refused all the temptations. He won, he conquered. He was not weak and skinny as some artists portray him. He was strong, physically. He could attack his aggressors, he could defend himself, but he did not. Elder Costa read us many passages about the cruel things that were done to him before he was crucified. "In about the 9th hour Jesus cried..." Elder Costa told us to try to meditate upon this verse for an hour. You will have many thoughts. You will cry, too, and you will suffer as you think about the suffering he experienced for each of us. When Jesus asked that the cup could pass from him, one of the things he was most wishing to avoid was the necessary separation from his Father's presence that he would have to experience in order to suffer all things. He would have to experience spiritual death, the separation of our spirits from God's spirit because of sin. Although he did not sin, he still need to suffer and experience this kind of death. He did not want to be apart from his father, he wanted him to be with him, close by during his suffering. According to Elder costa, Christ suffered that separation in the Garden and again on the cross...two times, the worst kind of suffering for him. He gave all of the water and blood in his body, the essence of his life, for us. But nobody could take his spirit from him. He gave his spirit freely into the hands of his father when his work was done. Jesus defined eternal life for us in John 17:3 to know our Father and his son. 1 Nephi 3:7 tells us that god prepares a way for us to do all that is required of us. That way is the church. We need to come to church, be part of the church in order to return to his presence. We also need to have a family. If you will review Lesson 20 in the Spencer W. Kimball manual, you will see that faithful women who are not given the opportunity for marriage in this life will not be denied any blessings. President Kimball was not talking about men. Men need to get married.
Our homes need to have the same spirit as the temple. The temple is a model god has given us on earth for our homes. Think about the kind of voices we use in the temple. Think about the reading material in the temple. Think about the movies we watch in the temple. We need to have the same kind of pure, high quality things in our homes.
When the leaders of the church plan, they are often looking 100 years ahead of our time. Can you imagine what would happen in this city if trucks couldn't enter from one week? There would be no food left in the stores. Look at the price of grain now, and the price 10 years ago. It has gone up dramatically. We don't pay a lot of attention to these things. As the people of the world rise from poverty, they begin to eat different things. They eat more meat. That requires more grain to feed the animals. That leaves less grain for us to eat. Stable economies are going down. Great companies are broken. The world is changing. This is not to say that we need to fear. The future will be glorious for us, if we obey the Lord.
The prophets talk a lot about family. At the beginning of Elder Costa's marriage, he and his wife decided that they would eat together from 7 to 8:30. They would talk. They determined topics for their conversation. We need to learn to say no to our children to keep them from having too many activities. We need to protect sacred family time. Some fathers come home from work and say they are tired and need some time to themselves. When you are a father, there is no time for yourself. All of your time away from work is devoted to your wife and children. You can have time to yourself when you are sleeping. Fathers need to spend time at home with their families. They need to leave work at work and devote themselves fully to their families when they are at home. Home is not an extension of the office.
You are the people the Lord trusts and counts on. I invoke a blessing upon you, the blessing of memory and knowledge of his atonement.
First Speaker: Cynthia Christensen, Stake RS President
Assigned Topic: Family Home Storage
Food storage has been important to Cynthia because it was one of the first things she heard the prophet counsel the church to day after she was baptized almost 30 years ago. She watched her sister-in-law carefully add to the family's food storage each week, and then she saw how it sustained her family for several months when her husband lost his job.
Look at the new pamphlet the church has put out: "All is Safely Gathered In: Family Home Storage." The first presidency message in the front of the pamphlet says, in part: "
The greatest resource the pamphlet identifies is the website for provident living, which is full of important information.
There is a new Family Home Starter kit that you can order from the distribution center.
The church is trying to make food storage simpler now than it was 30 years ago.
This stake has its own "Home Storage Center" (formerly known as "the Cannery") in Farmington Hills. Its website is www.homestoragecenter.net
30 years ago people living in the United States didn't have to worry too much about disaster striking us, but times have changed. In a geography class Cynthia took at Eastern last semester, the teacher gave a lecture on sustainability. She told the members of the class that the safest thing for them to do would be to grow a garden and store their own food. Cynthia was touched because that was a message she's heard from the prophet for many years, but to the members of her class it was new and strange counsel. It is wonderful to have a living prophet. Let's listen to and act on his words.
Second Speaker: President Mallory
Assigned Topic: Family Finances
Look at the new church pamphlet "All is Safely Gathered In: Family Finances". It covers five key principles of financial management. The Mallorys have a number of grown, married children who have added to their understanding of financial principles. President Mallory read us letters written by several of the children and their spouses about finances in their new families.
His daughter-in-law Emily wrote that she was raised to believe that you should always spend less than you save (not less than you make), and that you don't buy what you don't need. She admits that as an adult it is not always practical to spend less than you save, but you can come close. Her father would give the children a list of work that needed to be done each morning at breakfast. For some tasks they could earn "a return on their investment of time." Their dad kept all of their money recorded on a spreadsheet in three categories. 10% of their earnings went to tithing, 10% to spending, and the other 80% to savings. The only cash they saw was the money he gave them to pay tithing, which was turned over directly to the bishop. If they wanted money from spending, he would ask them if they were sure they wanted to spend their money on that, and they usually wouldn't. He helped them open savings accounts, and then money market accounts at a brokerage house. By the time of her marriage at age 24, she had a significant portfolio built up, as well as a powerful sense of thrift.
President Mallory's son-in-law, Adrian, wrote about how he and his wife have had to establish a budget, and that it has been a great blessing to them. They married in their late 20s/ early 30s, and were accustomed to having a lot of disposable income. Now they feel that they are protecting themselves from the financial difficulties and fighting that hurts so many couples in and out of the church. They discuss their finances daily. They allocate all of their money at the beginning of each month. They give themselves a small allowance for personal spending each month. They have decided to avoid debt. The temptation to go into debt is always present. It has helped them to cut up their credit cards and know they must save cash before they can buy anything. The Lord has blessed them greatly for putting their financial house in order. President Mallory shared several specific financial blessings they've received, such as a much smaller tax bill than they had expected, a tuition reimbursement they had not expected, a much lower student loan interest payment than they had expected. They see each of these instances as small miracles from God. His daughter said that working with a small allowance each month has been liberating compared to the unlimited spending she was used to before marriage. Now she is more careful in her choices and appreciates the things she does buy much more. A financial planner said that when people set their minds to becoming debt-free, amazing things happen to them. It is like building a testimony...faith precedes the miracle.
Another one of President Mallory's daughters-in-law wrote of following the counsel of two different bishops. The first was the bishop of her ward where a lot of members, including her husband, worked for the auto industry. He told his ward several years ago that they would have much less to fear from the job cuts at Ford, etc., if they would listen to and follow President Hinckley's counsel about saving money and storing food. She did this, and when her husband lost his job, they were greatly comforted by the preparations they had made. Her current bishop has counseled the ward that too many people assume that the Lord will provide for them in their time of need when they don't take the steps to prepare themselves for that time. One way the Lord provides for us is by giving us commandments to follow. Often he strengthens us instead of delivering us from our trials.
Many of us can find ways to bring ourselves into greater alignment with the counsel of our leaders in this area.
Third Speaker: Elder Temple
If we wish to truly follow the Savior, we should be loving other people and developing charity. When we get our finances in order, not only can we take care of ourselves, we can take care of others. Alma 34: 27-28. We need to do our best to be able to help others. Elder Temple's great grandfather, Arthur Winter, was able to join the saints in Utah with the help of the perpetual emigration fund. He paid it back when he could. Brother Temple went from modest circumstances as a child to comfortable ones as an adult. Now he must ask himself what more he can do with the blessings he has received. He feels compelled to be more generous in his fast offerings, and in other donations to the church, such as the perpetual education fund, the humanitarian aid fund, the missionary fund, etc. Galatians 6:10 God asks us to help each other. In his later years, after Beethoven lost his hearing, he wrote his 9th symphony. He was afraid to perform it because he could not hear it, but friends convinced him to do so. After the symphony the audience rose to their feet applauding him, but he could not hear them, and could not see them because he was facing the orchestra. One of the soloists noticed this, came to Beethoven, and turned him around to face the audience and see their approval. Each of us sometimes needs someone to turn us in the right direction. And we can be the person that can notice and turn another.
Fourth Speaker: Elder Costa
One of the hardest things for me to do is to speak English. I am from Brazil, and grew up speaking Portuguese. When I was a mission president in Brazil, I received a new batch of missionaries straight from the Provo MTC. I realized that I would never be able to have intimate conversations with them in Portuguese because their command of the language was so limited. So I decided to study English to better serve my missionaries. I started the next morning at 4:30 a.m., reading the Book of Mormon in English and memorizing 5 new words a day. I did this for three years. Later I learned Spanish in the same way when I was asked to serve as a general authority over the South America South area, which was all Spanish-speaking. I wanted to serve the people there better, and realized I needed to learn Spanish to do so.
I would like to talk about the process of replacing a prophet. I have seen this happen three times since I became a general authority. president Hinckley was buried on a Saturday and the next morning President Monson was ordained and set apart as the president of the church. Replacing a prophet is not like getting a new president or leader of a country. It is not like getting a new CEO for a corporation. It is a very tender process. It shows us that the Lord is a god of peace, of unity, not division. President Monson, like President Hinckley, looks ten years younger now that he is the prophet than he did before. The Lord gives strength to his prophets. I don't know who will become the next Apostle, but I can sustain him already because I know he is the man the lord has prepared to be an apostle. I will raise my hand and sustain him with all my heart.
A member of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles will never retire. His work will continue on the other side of the veil...have you ever heard us release with a vote of thanks an apostle who has passed away? You would see, if you could observe the parking lot where the general authorities park, that they arrive a bit before 7 a.m. and put in a 10 hour day, even the ones in their 90s. In the future it will become rare to have a general authority attend your stake conference. The church is getting so big, and more and more technology will be used in order to give you contact with the brethren. The quorum of the first presidency and the quorum of the 12 apostles have no room for expansion. The expansion in leadership for the church as it continues to grow takes place in the quorums of the 70s. The first quorum of 70 is called for life. The second quorum usually serves for aobut 5 years. The area seventies keep their regular jobs and also do a great work for the church. A seventy is set apart to first testify of the Savior, to study and try to know him. Second a 70 is given apostolic authority, the right to officiate in any assignment they receive from the 12 apostles. Read D&C 107 to find our more about the 70s. The 8 quorums of the 70 are led by the 7 presidents of the 70, of which Elder Costa is a member. He was called at the age of 45 to be a general authority. He needed to learn fast how to do that, but the Lord can teach us and help us learn fast. The Brethren love you and you are in their conversations every day. They are always asking what can we do to bless the lives of our brothers and sisters? We pray in the temple for the members of the church. The Lord is ready to bless each of you. I had a talk prepared, but when I heard the musical number, "O Divine Redeemer" I changed that topic. I want to talk to you about our divine redeemer.
He talked to us about Christ's role in our pre-mortal life. He spoke of his birth and childhood. He told us that like the Savior as a 12 year old boy teaching in the temple, any good deacon in our ward, our own children, know more about the Savior than the ministers of other churches. Before Christ began his ministry he fasted and prayed for 40 days. He refused all the temptations. He won, he conquered. He was not weak and skinny as some artists portray him. He was strong, physically. He could attack his aggressors, he could defend himself, but he did not. Elder Costa read us many passages about the cruel things that were done to him before he was crucified. "In about the 9th hour Jesus cried..." Elder Costa told us to try to meditate upon this verse for an hour. You will have many thoughts. You will cry, too, and you will suffer as you think about the suffering he experienced for each of us. When Jesus asked that the cup could pass from him, one of the things he was most wishing to avoid was the necessary separation from his Father's presence that he would have to experience in order to suffer all things. He would have to experience spiritual death, the separation of our spirits from God's spirit because of sin. Although he did not sin, he still need to suffer and experience this kind of death. He did not want to be apart from his father, he wanted him to be with him, close by during his suffering. According to Elder costa, Christ suffered that separation in the Garden and again on the cross...two times, the worst kind of suffering for him. He gave all of the water and blood in his body, the essence of his life, for us. But nobody could take his spirit from him. He gave his spirit freely into the hands of his father when his work was done. Jesus defined eternal life for us in John 17:3 to know our Father and his son. 1 Nephi 3:7 tells us that god prepares a way for us to do all that is required of us. That way is the church. We need to come to church, be part of the church in order to return to his presence. We also need to have a family. If you will review Lesson 20 in the Spencer W. Kimball manual, you will see that faithful women who are not given the opportunity for marriage in this life will not be denied any blessings. President Kimball was not talking about men. Men need to get married.
Our homes need to have the same spirit as the temple. The temple is a model god has given us on earth for our homes. Think about the kind of voices we use in the temple. Think about the reading material in the temple. Think about the movies we watch in the temple. We need to have the same kind of pure, high quality things in our homes.
When the leaders of the church plan, they are often looking 100 years ahead of our time. Can you imagine what would happen in this city if trucks couldn't enter from one week? There would be no food left in the stores. Look at the price of grain now, and the price 10 years ago. It has gone up dramatically. We don't pay a lot of attention to these things. As the people of the world rise from poverty, they begin to eat different things. They eat more meat. That requires more grain to feed the animals. That leaves less grain for us to eat. Stable economies are going down. Great companies are broken. The world is changing. This is not to say that we need to fear. The future will be glorious for us, if we obey the Lord.
The prophets talk a lot about family. At the beginning of Elder Costa's marriage, he and his wife decided that they would eat together from 7 to 8:30. They would talk. They determined topics for their conversation. We need to learn to say no to our children to keep them from having too many activities. We need to protect sacred family time. Some fathers come home from work and say they are tired and need some time to themselves. When you are a father, there is no time for yourself. All of your time away from work is devoted to your wife and children. You can have time to yourself when you are sleeping. Fathers need to spend time at home with their families. They need to leave work at work and devote themselves fully to their families when they are at home. Home is not an extension of the office.
You are the people the Lord trusts and counts on. I invoke a blessing upon you, the blessing of memory and knowledge of his atonement.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Joseph Smith Lesson #4: The Book of Mormon: Keystone of Our Religion
This lesson was taught on Sunday, March 9, 2008, by Sondra Soderborg.
We began the lesson by reading Joseph Smith History 1: 28, 29 & 34. Joseph was 17 years old. Think about the 17 year old boys that you know in our ward. Think of how lonely he was. Think of what great faith he had. The angel Moroni repeated his message exactly three times in a row. Sondra said: "I appreciate the repetition." God gives us many opportunities to understand and learn.
The two events (the First Vision and the appearance of the angel Moroni) that happened over this three year period set the course for and defined Joseph's life.
"I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book" (64). The keystone is the stone at the top of an arch upon which everything else balances.
The Book of Mormon, like the two pivotal experiences in Joseph Smith's life, has the power to shape and define us. It was after reading the Book of Mormon that Sondra decided to commit herself to becoming a Mormon. The discussion was opened up for others to share experiences with the Book of Mormon shaping their testimonies.
Andrea: at age nine my dad read the Book of Mormon with me. Later when my seminary teacher challenged each of us to read and pray to know if it was true, I found myself praying and asking God to tell me if the Book of Mormon was true. I felt so silly. I could hardly bear to ask him such a question, for I had known it was true since I was 9 years old. It was like asking him if my name was Andrea, or if I was alive, or if the sun was real. I realized then that I didn't need to ask for a confirmation because I already knew that it was true. Later in my life when I ran into things that upset me, or questions, or aspects of the church that bothered me or confused me, I could always return to my sure knowledge of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon.
Alane: I joined the church in my early 20s. I loved hearing all of the weird things the missionaries had to say. I kept inviting them back to hear more of their strange stories. They asked me to read the Book of Mormon and I agreed. I loved to read, I read cereal boxes, so why not the Book of Mormon? I can still remember the chair I was sitting in, the exact position in which I was sitting when I had a very clear sense that all of the people I was reading about in the Book of Mormon were real people. Joseph Smith didn't make this up. Once I knew that there was no going back.
Sondra: Once that Book of Mormon has got a hold of you, what do you do? What can you do but follow? I had a friend once who started to read the Book of Mormon. She told me that she knew there was something to it, but she did not want to be a Mormon, so she made herself stop reading it.
Ollie: The fact that Joseph Smith prayed to God and received the answer he did means that all of us have that same opportunity to go to God.
Michelle E.: I love this passage from the lesson: "He that can mark the power of Omnipotence, inscribed upon the heavens, can also see God's own handwriting in the sacred volume: and he who reads it oftenest will like it best, and he who is acquainted with it, will know the hand wherever he can see it; and when once discovered, it will not only receive an acknowledgment, but an obedience to all its heavenly precepts" (66).
The statement Michelle read was also written on the board by Sondra before class started. When you do read it often, you do like it. It gets into the way you think and do things.
Sondra: I am so grateful for Joseph Smith's integrity in insisting that what was real was real in spite of the cost. Read Joseph Smith History 1:25. I am grateful for his courage, for the choice he made not to try and withstand God. He chose to submit to the will of God. And having gained my own testimony of the Book of Mormon, I ask myself the same question: "Who am I to withstand God?"
Sunday, March 2, 2008
The Temple
Today's lesson, taught Sunday, March 2, 2008, was given by Janie Ward. The topic was the temple. The objective of the lesson was to help get us excited about attending the temple, especially our RS temple trip on Saturday, April 19, at 4 p.m.
In the early history of the church, the Lord was constantly revealing temple plans to his Saints.
Read D&C 124: 39-41
Temple ordinances are crucial to us. The blessings promised us for attending the temple affect every aspect of our lives.
Quote #1: "Many parents, in and out of the Church, are concerned about protection against a cascading avalanche of wickedness which threatens to engulf [the world]...There is a power associated with ordinances of heaven--even the power of godliness--which can and will thwart the forces of evil if we will but be worthy of those sacred [covenants made in the temple of the Lord]...Our families will be protected, our children will be safeguarded as we live the gospel, visit the temple, and live close to the Lord." (President Ezra Taft Benson)
Quote #2: "Our labors in the temple cover us with a shield and a protection, both individually and as a people." "The Lord will bless us as we attend to the sacred ordinance work of the temples. Blessings there will not be limited to our temple service. We will be blessed in all of our affairs. We will be eligible to have the Lord take an interest in our affairs both spiritual and temporal." (Elder Boyd K. Packer)
Quote #3: "I am satisfied that if our people would attend the temple more, there would be less of selfishness in their lives. There would be less of absence of love in their relationships. There would be more of fidelity on the part of husbands and wives. There would be more of love and peace and happiness in the homes of our people." (President Gordon B. Hinckley)
Making it to the temple can be hard. What are some of the challenges that face us?
-finding a babysitter
-not feeling like we're in the right mood or state of mind
-the need to prioritize and make time for it
-we don't always have an amazing spiritual experience when we're there, which can cause us to think maybe it is a waste of our 5 hours
There is opposition whenever we try to go to the temple. Regarding this, George Q. Cannon (I think) said:
"Temples are the very center of the spiritual strength of the Church. We should expect that the adversary will try to interfere with us as a Church and with us individually as we seek to participate in this sacred and inspired work. The interference can vary from the terrible persecutions of the earlier days to apathy toward the work. The latter is perhaps the most dangerous and debilitating form of resistance to temple work."
He also said: "Every foundation stone that is laid for a temple, and every temple completed according to the order the Lord has revealed for his holy Priesthood, lessens the power of Satan on the earth, and increases the power of God and Godliness, moves the heavens in mighty power in our behalf, invokes and calls down upon us the blessings of the Eternal Gods, and those who reside in their presence."
Janie had asked 5 sisters ahead of time to share some of their thoughts about the temple:
1) Michelle Garn: While she was serving as YW president in another word, she found out that both of her counselors would have to be released to serve in other callings. After a week of praying about who her new counselors should be, she could not get any answers. She and Byron went to the temple at the end of that week, and she determined that she would not leave that sacred building until she had the names of her new counselors. Finally, one of the workers told her that the temple was closing. She still did not have the answers she had been seeking. As the worker opened the double doors leading out of the celestial room, Michelle saw a large beautiful painting of the Savior directly in front of her. She was overwhelmed at that moment with a sense of his love for her. She knew that he had accepted and was pleased with the work she had done as the YW's president, and that it was time for her to move on to a new calling. Throughout the previous week as she had sought the names of her new counselors, the only recurring thought she'd had was that her time as YW's president might be over, but she kept pushing it out of her mind b/c it didn't seem right to go to the bishop and ask to be released. But this ended up being the answer all along. She believes that being in the temple made it possible for her to feel more clearly that outpouring of love from god.
2) Julie Kincaid: has been studying some academic writings by a British scholar who is not of our faith, but researches the ancient temples of the Jews. This scholar notes that the two main purposes of those temples was to teach about the creation and the atonement. The people went to the temple to get the knowledge of God, and there he teaches us the most important things he knows, just as we try to pass on to our children the most important truths that we know.
3) Sharon Thacker: as a youth, attending the temple to do baptisms for the dead was an important, regular activity for her. She believes that regular temple attendance with her friends is one of the main ways that she "survived" a very difficult teenage-hood. On days that school started late due to teacher inservice meetings, etc., she and her friends would often go to the temple together to do baptisms.
4) Lisa Jibson: After spending this past week in San Diego with her children, she was surprised by their desire to spend time on the temple grounds there. They chose to go there three times over the week, instead of activities like going to the beach, etc. Take children to the temple grounds, have a picnic there, let them feel the safety and peace that surrounds the temple long before they are old enough to enter themselves.
The temple ceremony has been hard for Lisa to enjoy. After years of difficult struggle asking herself "what is wrong with me?" she has finally made peace with her mixed feelings about the temple. She loves the covenants and the truths that are taught there, and believes them with all her heart. It is the presentation that she struggles with, the physical way in which those covenants and truths are represented that doesn't really click with her. But she's decided to let that go and not worry about it so much. She has tried to stop thinking about herself and to stop feeling bad for not loving her experience in the temple. She reminds herself that attending the temple after the first time isn't really about us, anyway. We only make those covenants one time for ourselves, and the rest of the time we are extending god's blessings to his other daughters. He wants those covenants brought to each one of his children, and each time we choose to not go to the temple, we are making one of his children wait that much longer to receive her blessings and make her covenants. These are some of the thoughts and attitudes that have been helpful to her.
5) Jill Mitchell: Likes to read her scriptures in the celestial room as she asks the question "what does God want me to learn?" She feels his love there.
We ran out of time for others to share their thoughts. Janie closed by telling us about the time last year when she went to the temple hoping for help in preparing her RS lesson on temple attendance. She left the session feeling uninspired and mildly disappointed. But several hours later her mind was filled with ideas of things to do in her own life to help herself and her family. She felt that God had given her the most important information, even though she had been seeking something else. She told us that when we choose to attend the temple, we are showing god a willingness to take a further step. He is asking us, "will you make this step so that I can shower more blessings on you?"
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