Sunday, September 7, 2008

RS Lesson by Kathy Diehl based on Elder Scott's October 2004 Conference address "Peace of Conscience and Peace of Mind."

The RS theme for our ward this year is D&C 19:23. How do we get peace in our life? When have you felt peace, and where have you been? When you felt peace, were you problem free? Is it easy to feel or find peace? We are fortunate to have people to guide us to the source of peace.

Elder Scott says that a tranquil conscience is rare on earth. 2 Nephi 2:27. The adversary works to take peace from us. External forces affect our peace of mind, worry us. This kind of unsettled mind can be resolved, often by the passage of time. What worries are affecting your mind right now?

This type of worry is very different from peace of conscience, which is controlled by what you do. What does a conscience do for us, why have we been given one? To guide us. To help us distinguish right from wrong.

Moroni 7:15-19. What is the connection between the light of Christ and conscience? Every person has the light of Christ, and conscience is a manifestation of that light. Conscience is a defense against that which is spiritually harmful. Elder Scott says that the ability to have an unsettled conscience is a gift of god to help you succeed in this life. The light of Christ activates our conscience.

1 Timothy 4:2. The phrase that struck Kathy in this scripture is "conscience seared with a hot iron." What is the difference between good guilt and bad guilt? What it motivates you to do. Bad guilt is a feeling you have about things your shouldn't feel bad about.

Conscience permits the Lord to be there. Conscience can be a flash of insight, a twinge to do good. When we go against light we attempt to justify ourselves. Any time we know "to do good and do it not" is sin. Elder Packer says in his talk "The Light of Christ" that we can be directed to moderate our actions. We must maintain our sensitivity to conscience.

Kathy closed by reading this poem by Myra Brooks Welch, quoted by Elder Packer in his April 2001 conference address:

Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer
Thought it scarcely worth his while
To waste much time on the old violin,
But held it up with a smile: "What am I bidden, good folks," he cried,
"Who'll start the bidding for me?"
"A dollar, a dollar"; then, "Two!" "Only two?
Two dollars, and who'll make it three?
Three dollars, once; three dollars, twice;
Going for three—" But no,
From the room, far back, a gray-haired man
Came forward and picked up the bow;
Then, wiping the dust from the old violin,
And tightening the loose strings,
He played a melody pure and sweet
As a caroling angel sings.
The music ceased, and the auctioneer,
With a voice that was quiet and low,
Said, "What am I bid for the old violin?"
And he held it up with the bow.
"A thousand dollars, and who'll make it two?
Two thousand! And who'll make it three?
Three thousand, once, three thousand, twice,
And going, and gone!" said he.
The people cheered, but some of them cried,
"We do not quite understand
What changed its worth." Swift came the reply:
"The touch of a master's hand."
And many a man with life out of tune,
And battered and scarred with sin,
Is auctioned cheap to the thoughtless crowd,
Much like the old violin.
A "mess of pottage," a glass of wine,
A game—and he travels on.
He's "going" once, and "going" twice,
He's "going" and almost "gone."
But the Master comes, and the foolish crowd
Never can quite understand
The worth of a soul and the change that's wrought
By the touch of the Master's hand.