December Visiting Teaching Message

President Thomas S. Monson said, "We are surrounded by those in need of our attention, our encouragement, our support, our comfort, our kindness." "We are the Lord's hands here upon the earth, with the mandate to serve and to lift His children. He is dependent upon each of us."

President Henry B. Eyring, said: "A great change began in your heart when you came into the Church. You made a covenant and received a promise that began changing your very nature." "You promised that you would help the Lord make [other's] burdens light and be comforted. You were given the power to help lighten those loads when you received the gift of the Holy Ghost."

"We want to use the light of the gospel to see others the way the Savior does- with compassion, hope, charity." Per Jean B. Bingham, Relief Society General President. "The day will come when we will have a complete understanding of others' hearts and will be grateful to have mercy extended to us- just as we extend charitable thoughts and words to others... Our obligation and privilege is to embrace  improvement in everyone as we strike to become more like our Savior."

As we bear one another's burdens and keep our covenants, we are more aware of Jesus Christ's healing power. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland has said, "Considering the incomprehensible cost of the Crucifixion and Atonement, I promise you, He is not going to turn his back on us now. When He says to the poor in spirit, 'Come unto me,' He means He knows the way out and He knows the way up. He knows that because He has walked it. He knows the way because HE is the way."

Let us embrace the example of Christ, and help bear each other's burdens and lighten their loads, just as the Savior does for us.

There Are Exciting New Changes For Relief Society in January of 2018!

The Church Announces a new theme/program for Relief Society and Melchizedek Priesthood starting in January of 2018

https://www.lds.org/church/news/church-announces-come-follow-me-for-melchizedek-priesthood-and-relief-society?lang=eng

The Church will be implementing changes to the Relief Society and Melchizedek Priesthood quorum meetings as of January 2018. Portions of the October issue of the Ensign and Liahona magazines offer more information regarding the changes. 

According to the magazines, the Teachings of the Presidents of the Church will be replaced with a "greater emphasis on learning from general conference messages, counseling together, and studying special topics selected by general leaders." These changes will also address local needs and involve more collaboration among its members. 

"God has organized his covenant sons and daughters into Priesthood quorums and Relief Societies to help accomplish his work... So while gospel instruction is important, Sunday Priesthood and Relief Society meetings are MORE than just classes. They are also working meetings where we learn together from general conference messages, counsel about the work of salvation, and organize to accomplish the work."

Here's What To Expect:

• First Sunday: Meeting to discuss local needs
• Second and Third Sundays: Sunday priesthood and Relief Society to study and apply recent general conference messages
• Fourth Sunday: Specific topic of study chosen by general LDS Church Leaders
• Fifth Sunday: Bishopric chooses topic for priesthood and Relief Society to study

President Grasteit addressed the Stake Auxiliaries and implored us to focus more of our attention on "ministering" to each other and to others in the community. He remarked that the Savior administered to the people and that we are to follow his example, but instead of focusing on the "admin" part of our callings, he wants us to focus on "ministering." These new changes will allow us as sisters to come closer, learn from one another, and serve one another in a more personal and meaningful way. 

Visiting Teaching is also changing. Our Stake Relief Society Presidency emphasized that the purpose of Visiting Teaching is meeting the needs of the sisters that you assigned to. Instead of operating in the formal way of sharing a message with the sisters once a month, we are being asked to pray, prepare, and recognize the real needs of the sisters we are visiting and do what we can to meet those needs, and help each other in meaningful and personal ways. It can be a text, an email, a lunch or a "pop-in." It can be anything that the sisters need at that time that will make a difference. 

We are so excited for the new changes that the upcoming year has for Relief Society. And we are certain that with time and cooperation, we will grow stronger in friendship and sisterhood. 

November Visiting Teaching Message

This month we are encouraged to choose a talk from the October 2017 General Conference to share as our visiting teaching message. Such as President Uchdorf's talk "Three Sisters." He told us about three sisters; one who was sad, one who was mad, and one who was glad. Of course, we want to be like the "glad" sister. 

"The third sister represents the authentic disciple of Jesus Christ. She did something that can be extremely hard to do; she trusted God even int he face of ridicule and hardship. Somehow she maintained her faith and hope, despite the scorn and cynicism around her. She lived joyfully not because her circumstances were joyful but because she was joyful."

None of us makes it through life's journey unopposed. But let us seek to be joyful despite our circumstances and put Christ first. 

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2017/10/three-sisters?lang=eng

October Visiting Teaching Message

Enfolding with Love Those 

Who Stray

"The reality is that there is no perfect families...," said President Uchtdorf. "Whatever problems your family is facing, whatever you must do to solve them, the beginning and the end of solution is charity, the pure love of Christ."

Of those who are not participating fully in the gospel, Linda K. Burton, former General President of the Relief Society, said, "Heavenly Father loves all of His children... No matter where they are, on or off the path, He wants them back home."

President Joseph F. Smith taught, "However wayward [your children] might be, ... when you speak or talk to them, do it not in anger, do it not harshly, in a condemning spirit...Speak to them kindly."

May you and I receive revelation to know how to best approach those in our lives who are lost, and when necessary, to have the patience and love of our Father in Heaven and his Son Jesus Christ, as we love, watch, and wait for the prodigal.

President Eyring said, "I have prayed with faith that someone I loved would seek and feel the power of the Atonement. I have prayed with faith that human angels would come to their aid, and they came. God has devised means to save each of His children. 

Lesson Recap: September 17, 2017

Virtue- A Cornerstone on Which to Build our Lives.

Chapter 19 in Teachings of the Presidents of the Church; Gordon B. Hinckley

"You are, each one of you, children of a divine Father in Heaven. 

You were created after His design in the image of your Creator. Your body is sacred. 

It is the temple of your spirit. Do not defile it with sin."

Virtuos living brings marvelous and wonderful blessings.

There is nothing in all this world as magnificent as virtue. It glows without tarnish. It is precious and beautiful. It is above price. It cannot be bought or sold. It is the fruit of self-mastery. The Lord has given a wonderful mandate, he has said, "Let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly." (D&C 121:45). This becomes a commandment to be observed with diligence and discipline. And there is attached to it the promise of marvelous and wonderful blessings. The Lord has said to those who live with virtue: "Then shall they confidence wax strong in the presence of God...," "The Holy Ghost shall be they constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means, it shall flow unto thee forever and ever." (D&C 121:45-46).

When we rise above the filth and immorality of the world, we enjoy greater happiness, security and peace of mind. 

As we look out over the world, it seems that morality has been cast aside. The violation of old standards has become common. We cannot accept that which has become common in the world. We as members of the Church, are held to a higher standard. Paul's counsel to Timothy was, "Keep thyself pure." (1 Tim. 5:22). These are simple words but are ever so important. Paul is saying in effect, stay away from those things which will tear you down and destroy you spiritually. Stay away from anything that would lead to unclean thought and unclean language. 

Lesson Recap: September 10, 2017

Continue in the Process of Learning

Chapter 17 in Teachings of the Presidents of the Church; Gordon B. Hinckley

"We must go on growing. We must continually learn. It is a divinely 

given mandate that we go on adding to our knowledge."

The Lord wants us to educate ourselves so we can progress individually and contribute to society:

We belong to a church that emphasizes the importance of education. We have a mandate from the Lord to educate our minds and our hearts and hands. The Lord said, "Teach ye diligently...of things both in heaven and on the earth, and under the earth; things which have been, things which are, things which must shortly come to pass; things which are at home, things which are abroad; the wars and perplexities of the nations, and the judgments which are on the land; and a knowledge also of countries and of kingdoms that ye may be prepared in all things." (D&C 88:78-80).

We of this Church have been given a marvelous promise by the Lord. He said: "That which is of God is light, and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receieveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day." (D&C 50:24). These scriptures speak of growth and development, on the march that leads toward godhood. It goes hand in hand with these great declarations; "The glory of God is intelligence..." (D&C 93:36). "If a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come." (D&C 130:19).

With planning and self-discipline, parents can create an atmosphere of learning in their homes.

Emphasizing the importance of reading and providing books and a quiet place to read can encourage our children to engage in love of learning. The prophet has counseled us mothers to expose our children to books early, and to read to them daily. He has promised that, "Good reading can become a love affair, far more fruitful in long term effect than many other activities in which children use their time." He counseled parents to let our children be exposed to great minds, great ideas, everlasting truths, and those things which will building and motivate for good. He has told, "try to create within our homes an atmosphere of learning and the growth that will come of it."

The schooling of the spirit is as important, if not more so, than the schooling of the mind.

The glory of God is intelligence, but we should never let our secular education become more important than our spiritual education. Understanding of ourselves, of the purpose of life, of our relationship with God, who is our Father, of the great divinely given principles that for centuries have provided the sinew of man's real progress. As we pursue our secular studies, let us also add to our lives the cultivation of the Spirit. If we do so, God will bless us with that peace and those blessings which come from Him alone. Jesus said, "Learn of me. . . For my Yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matt. 11:29-30). 

September 3, 2017: Lesson Recap

The Savior

By Britton Gordon

Lesson Recap: July 23, 2017

Trust in the Lord and Lean Not

We can center our lives on the Savior 

by coming to know Him, and He will direct our paths.

By Bonnie H. Cordon

Second Counselor in the Primary General Presidency

Women's Conference, April 2017

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2017/04/trust-in-the-lord-and-lean-not?lang=eng

In Proverbs 3:5-6 we read this counsel: "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding." "In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct they paths." This scripture comes with two admonitions, a warning and a glorious promise. 

Two Admonitions:

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart...In all thy ways acknowledge Him. 

The Warning:

The warning comes into the words, "lean not unto thine own understanding." In English the word lean has a connotation of physically listing of moving to one side or another, we move off center when we lean, we are out of balance, and we tip. When we "spiritually lean" to our own understanding we lean away from our Savior. If we lean we are not centered, we are not balanced, we are not focused on Christ. 

Remember that in our premortal life we stood with the Savior. We trusted Him, and supported Him, and followed him in the plan of happiness set forth by our Heavenly Father. We leaned not. We fought with our testimonies and aligned ourselves with the forces of God and those forces were victorious. This battle between goof and evil has moved to earth. Once again we have the sacred responsibility to stand as a witness and put our trust in the Lord. 

How do we keep centered and lean not unto our own understanding? How do we recognize and follow the Savior's voice when the voices of the world are so compelling? How do I cultivate trust in the Savior? We can come to know the Lord and and cultivate trust in the Savior by:

1) Scripture Study

       - "Feast upon the words of Christ, for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye      

           should do." (2Nephi 32:3)

       - The Scriptures enlighten our minds, nourish our spirits, answers our questions, increased our 

           trust in the Lord, and helps us center our lives on him.

       - "Remember to search them diligently, that ye may profit thereby." (Mosiah 1:7) 

2) Prayer 

       - What a blessing it is to be able to pray to our God.

       - "Pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart." (Moroni 7:48)

       - The Peace that comes from prayer gave Sister Cordon the courage to trust in the Lord and lean  

          not on her own understanding. The Lord directed her path in many decisions she has made. 

       - As we make a habit of approaching Heavenly Father in prayer, we will come to know the 

         Savior. We will come to trust Him. Our desires will become more like His. We will be able to 

         secure for ourselves and for others blessings that Heavenly Father is ready to give if we will but 

         ask in faith. 

3) Service

       - The Story of Any Wright:

               - In 2015 Amy was diagnosed with cancer. Her cancer had a 17% survival rate. She was in the fight of her life and the odds were not in her favor. After undergoing many chemotherapy treatments Amy was on deaths door. She did not know how it was possible for someone to be so sick and still be alive. Amy declared chemo to be a human rights violation, and she told her husband that she was done with the treatments. Amy quit. She decided not to go back to the hospital. Amy's husband responded to her decision with a declaration that they needed to find someone to serve. Amy thought her husband was crazy, she was literally dying and so sick she could barely function as a human being and her husband was suggesting finding someone to serve. Amy's symptoms gradually worsened, to where she only had about two days a month where she was able to function. It was on those couple days a month that Amy and her family would serve others. On one of those days Amy and her family distributed "Chemo Comfort Kits" to other patients in the hospital. When Amy couldn't sleep because the pain was too great, she would think of ways to brighten someone else's day, by writing notes and sending texts to friends and family, or do family history searches to find relatives to do temple work for. Amy testifies that "Service saved my life." She ultimately found the strength to keep moving forward in the happiness she found while trying to relieve the suffering of others. Her own pain took a "back seat" to the pain and needs of others. She looked forward to service projects with great joy and anticipation. Amy recounts, "You would think someone who was bald, poisoned, and fighting for her life was justified in thinking the 'right now its all about me.' However, when I thought about myself, my situation, my suffering and pain, the world became very dark and depressing. When my focus turned to others, there was light, hope, strength, courage, and joy. I know this is possible because of the sustaining, healing,nad enabling power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ."

The Glorious Promise:

"He shall direct they paths."

Jesus Christ has overcome the world. Because of Him and because of his infinite Atonement, we all have great cause to trust, knowing that ultimately all will be well. We can center our lives on the Savior by coming to know Him, and He will direct our paths. We are on earth to demonstrate the same trust in Him that allowed us to stand with Jesus Christ when He declared. "Here am I, send me."

President Thomas S. Monson testified that "our promised blessings are beyond measure. Though the storm clouds may gather, though the rains may pour down upon us, our knowledge of the gospel and our love of our Heavenly Father and of our Savior will comfort and sustain us... as we walk uprightly... There will be nothing in this world that can defeat us."

Lesson Recap: July 16, 2017

Peace and Contentment Through Temporal Self-Reliance

We teach self-reliance as a principle of life, that we ought to provide for 

ourselves and take care of our own needs. 

- President Hinckley

President Hinckley was no stranger to hard work. In addition to regular household chores, President Hinckley detailed how his family owned a five-acre farm. He recounts how his whole family lived on the farm in the summer then returned to the city once school began. During his summers on the farm he pruned the trees in the orchard, and learned a great truth- that you determine what kind of fruit you pick in September by the way you pruned in February. This truth is part of President Hinckley's personal foundation, he often taught practical lessons of gospel living. He testified of the blessings that come through hard work, and he encouraged Latter-Day Saints to live within their means and prepare themselves for calamities that could come in the future.

I believe in the gospel of work. There is no other substitute under the heavens for productive labor. It is the process by which dreams become realities. It is the process by which idle visions become dynamic achievements.

It is work that provides the food we eat, the clothing we wear, the homes in which we live. We cannot deny the need for work with skilled hands and educated minds if we to grow and prosper individually and collectively. President Hinckley wrote; 

I have observed that life is not a series of great heroic acts. Life at best is a matter of consistent goodness and decency, doing without fanfare that which needed to be done when it needed to be done. I observed that it is not the geniuses that make the difference in the world. I have observed that the work of the world is done largely by men and women of ordinary talents who have worked in extraordinary manner.

The great genius of this Church is work. Everybody works. You do not grow unless you work. Faith, testimony of the truth, is just like the muscle of my arm. If you use it, it grows strong. If you put it in a sling, it grows weak. We put people to work. We expect great things of them, and the marvelous and wonderful thing as they come through. They produce. 

We have a responsibility to help others lift themselves and become self reliant. 

There is widespread poverty among our people, we must do all we can to help them to lift themselves, to establish their lives upon a foundation of self reliance that can come of training. Education is the key and opportunity. It is our solemn obligation to "succor the weak and lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees." (D&C 81:5).

The Lord does not wish to see His people condemned to live in poverty. I believe He would have the faithful enjoy the good things of the earth. The individuals we teach ought to do for himself all that he can. When he has exhausted his resources, he ought to turn to his family to assist him. When the family can't do it, the Church takes over. And when the Church takes over, our great desire is to first take care of his immediate needs and then help him in securing employment and finding ways to help him get back on his feet again. The Church has many programs to help those members in need

• The Bishop's Storehouse
• The Church Welfare System/LDS Services
• Counseling
• Career Development
• Life Skills Training
• Desert Industries
• Thrift Store Employment
• Employment Resources
• The Pathways Program
• Self Reliance Learning Modules

The Spirit of the Lord guides us in helping others become self sufficient. 

Prophets have encouraged us to prepare ourselves spiritually and temporally for catastrophes to come.

We need to plan ahead, keep food on hand, have a savings account, to see you through a rainy day. The Church encourages us to have an adequate Emergency Food Storage to provide for our family, and for neighbors. We should always have a savings to keep us sustained if we ever lose employment, or become ill, or cannot earn. We need to prepare ourselves and our family these possible calamities. President Hinckley suggested to start preparing in a small way, and gradually build toward a responsible objective. Save a little money regularly and you will be surprised how it accumulates. Save one can at a time and be cognizant of expiration dates. 

We can enjoy interdependence and freedom as we avoid debt to the extent possible and set aside money for times of need.

President Hinckley counseled that it was acceptable to go into debt to purchase a house and to pay for an education but that it was not prudent to go into debt for another reason. Since the beginning of the Church, the Lord has spoken on this matter of debt. To Martin Harris through revelation He said: "Pay the debt thou hast contracted with the printer. Release thyself from bondage." (D&C 19:35)

President Heber J. Grant spoke repeatedly on this matter, he said "If there is any one thing that will bring peace and contentment into the human heart, and into the family is to live within our means. And if there is anyone thing that is grinding and discouraging and disheartening, it is to have debts and obligations that one cannot meet."

The Church is carrying a message of self reliance to its members. Self-reliance cannot obtain when there is serious debt handing over a household. One has neither independence not freedom from bondage when he is obligated to others. What a wonderful thing it is to be free of debt, to have a little money against a day of emergency put away where it can be retrieved when necessary. 

Lesson Recap: July 9, 2017

Losing Ourselves in the Service of Others

May the real meaning of the gospel distill into our hearts that we may realize that our lives, given us by God our Father, are to be used in the service of others.

When President Gordon B. Hinckley was struggling through he first few months of his mission in England, he wrote to his father feeling discouraged and confused, he expressed that he felt he was wasting his time and his money on his mission because he did not feel he was successful in sharing the gospel. President Hinckley's father wrote back, "...Forget yourself and go to work." Shortly after reading the letter President Hinckley engaged in scripture study with his companion and he read in Mark 8:35, "Whosoever will safe his life shall lose it, but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel, the same shall save it." After that day President Hinckley wrote "I covenanted that I would try to forget myself and lose myself in His service." He recounted that a new light came into my life and new joy into his heart. 

Our Lives are gifts from God and are to be used in the service of others:

"There is much poverty and stark want across the world, so much of rebellion and meanness, so much of sleaze and filth, so many broken homes and destroyed families, so many lonely people living colorless lives without hope, so much distress everywhere." President Hinckley asked all members of the church to give of ourselves to make the world a little better. If the world is to be improved, the process of love must make a change in the hearts of men. It can do so when we look beyond ourselves to give our love to God and others, and do so with all our hearts, with all our soul and all our minds. The Lord has declared in modern revelation, "If your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you." (D&C 88:67)

The best antidote for worry is work. The best medicine for despair is service. The best cure for weariness is the challenge of helming someone who is even more tired. 

Give expression to the noble desires that lie within your hearts to reach out comfort, sustained build others. As you do so the cankering poison of selfishness will leave you, and it will be replaced by a sweet and wonderful feeling that seems to come in no other way. 

When we reach out to help others, we find our true selves.

We will never be happy if you go through life thinking only of yourself. Get lost in the best cause in the world, the work of the Lord. You will bless your own life as you bless the lives of others. 

Lesson Recap: June 25, 2017

The Sacrament Can Help Us Become Holy

By Elder Peter F. Meurs

Elder Meur's 2016 Conference Talk

The Savior taught: “This shall ye always do to those who repent and are baptized in my name; and ye shall do it in remembrance of my blood, which I have shed for you, that ye may witness unto the Father that ye do always remember me. And if ye do always remember me ye shall have my Spirit to be with you” (3 Nephi 18:11).

I invite all of us to consider five ways to increase the impact and power of our regular participation in the sacred ordinance of the sacrament, an ordinance that can help us become holy.

1. Prepare in Advance

We can begin our preparation for the sacrament well before our sacrament meeting begins. We can prepare for our "check in" or "meet up" with our Savior, during the moments that the sacrament is being administered. In our preparation our hearts become broken as we express gratitude for Christ's Atonement, repent of our mistakes and shortcomings, and ask forte Father's help in our continuing journey to become more like him. 

2. Arrive Early

Our sacrament experience can be enhanced when we arrive well before the meeting and ponder as the prelude music is being played. Being early invites inspiration. The time before sacrament is not only a time for conversation but a period of prayerful meditation as leaders and members prepare spiritually for the sacrament. 

3. Sing and Learn from the Words of the Sacrament Hymn

The sacrament hymn is an especially important part of our sacrament experience. Music elevates our thoughts and feelings. The sacrament hymn has even greater influence when we focus on the words and the powerful doctrine taught. 

4. Spiritually Participate in the Sacrament Prayers (Moroni 4-5)

Participate spiritually in the sacrament prayer by considering the commitments and associated blessings included in these sacred prayers. The bead and water are blessed and sanctified to our souls. They remind us of the sacrifice of the Savior and that he can help us become holy. The prayers introduce the covenants with the phrase "that they are willing." This phrase has so much power for us. Are we willing to serve and participate? Are we willing to change? Are we willing to address our weaknesses? Are we willing to reach out and bless others? Are we willing to trust the Savior?

As the promises are states and as we partake we confirm in our hears that we are willing to:1) take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ, 2) Strive to keep all of his commandments, 3) Always remembers him. The prayer concludes with a sublime invitation and promise: "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance." (Galatians 5:22-23)

5. Ponder and Remember Him as the Sacrament Emblems are Passed

The reverent moments as priesthood holders pass the sacrament can become sacred to us. We may contemplate that in the ultimate act of love for us, the Savior took "upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people." (Alma 7:12) We can remember that God has "Suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent."

As we consider our sacrament experience we may consider:

1. What will I do this week to better prepare for the sacrament?

2. Could I contribute more to the reverence and revelation that can accompany the beginning of sacrament meeting?

3. What doctrine was taught in the sacrament hymn?

4. What did I hear and feel as I listened to the sacrament prayers?

5. What did I think about as the sacrament was passed?

Elder David A. Bednar taught: “The ordinance of the sacrament is a holy and repeated invitation to repent sincerely and to be renewed spiritually. The act of partaking of the sacrament, in and of itself, does not remit sins. But as we prepare conscientiously and participate in this holy ordinance with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, then the promise is that we may always have the Spirit of the Lord to be with us. And by the sanctifying power of the Holy Ghost as our constant companion, we can always retain a remission of our sins.”7

Lesson Recap: June 4, 2017

Grace, It's More Than Just a Pretty Middle Name

• Grace is the help or strength given through the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ.
• Through grace, the Lord enables those who lives His gospel to repent and be forgiven.
• Grace is a "gift" from Heavenly Father given through His Son. The word grace in the scriptures primarily refers to enabling power and spiritual healing offered through the mercy and live of Jesus Christ. 
• It is through grace that individuals through faith in the atonement of Jesus Christ and repentance of their since, receive strength and assistance to do good works that they otherwise would not be able to maintain if left to their own means. 
• It is the enabling power that allows men and women to lay hold on eternal life and exaltation after they have expended their own best efforts. 
• Mercy is not the same as grace.
• Mercy is the compassionate treatment of a person greater than what is deserved, and it is made possible through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. It is forgiveness of sin. It is every blessing we receive. We gain forgiveness through mercy. 

"His Grace is Sufficient" By Brad Wilcox

"In the Strength of the Lord" By Elder David A. Bednar

• Sheri Dew in her book Amazed by Grace writes that, "Grace is the divine power that enables us to handle things we can't figure out, can't do, can't overcome, or can't manage on our own. We have access to this power because of Jesus Christ."

Lesson Recap: May 28, 2017

Fourth Floor, Last Door

By President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2016/10/fourth-floor-last-door?lang=eng

• God "rewards those who earnestly seek him," so we need to keep knocking. Sisters, don't give up. Seek God with all your heart.
• What Faith Is:
• Faith is a strong conviction about something we believe- a conviction so strong that it moves us to do things that we others might not do. 
• "Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."
• Faith is more what we feel in our hearts than what we see with our eyes or hear with our ears.
• For anyone that wants to increate their faith they should try and listen differently.

What Faith Is Not:

Faith is powerful and often it does result in miracles. But no matter how much faith we have, there are two things faith is NOT.

Faith cannot violate another person's agency.

Faith cannot force our will upon God. 

• The purpose of faith is not to change God's will but to empower us to act on God's will.

April 23, 2017: Lesson Recap

"Sharing the Restored Gospel" 

By Dallin H. Oaks

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2016/10/sharing-the-restored-gospel?lang=eng

What we call “member missionary work” is not a program but an attitude of love and outreach to help those around us.

Nearing the end of His earthly ministry, our Savior, Jesus Christ, commanded His disciples: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations” (Matthew 28:19) and “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). All Christians are under these commands to share the gospel with everyone. Many call this the “great commission.”

We all know that member participation in missionary work is vital to achieving both conversion and retention. President Thomas S. Monson has said: “Now is the time for members and missionaries to come together … [and] labor in the Lord’s vineyard to bring souls unto Him. He has prepared the means for us to share the gospel in a multitude of ways, and He will assist us in our labors if we will act in faith to fulfill His work.”1

Things we should all be doing as "member missionaries":

1. Pray for the desire to help with missionary work. All efforts begin w/ desire
2. Keep the commandments
3. Pray for the inspiration on what we can to in our individual circumstances to share the gospel with others

The principles are pretty simple—pray, personally and in your family, for missionary opportunities.”3 As we demonstrate our faith, these opportunities will come without any “forced or … contrived response. They will flow as a natural result of our love for our brothers and sisters.”4

April 16, 2017: Lesson Recap

Chapter 8: The Teachings of Presidents of the Church, Gordon B. Hinckley

We Look To Christ

https://www.lds.org/manual/teachings-of-presidents-of-the-church-gordon-b-hinckley/chapter-8-we-look-to-christ?lang=eng

“We believe in Christ. We teach of Christ. We look to Christ. He is our Redeemer, our Lord, and our Savior.”

President Hinckley spoke of an experience he had at the open house of the Mesa Arizona Temple, where clergymen from various religious groups were invited to attend. Once such clergyman asked President Hinckley why there were no representations of the cross which is a predominate symbol in most Christian faiths. President Hinckley replied that the cross to members of our faith represents "the symbol of the dying Christ, while our message is a declaration of the living Christ."

When asked what was the symbol of our religion, President Hinckley replied, "the lives of our people must become the only meaningful expression of our faith and, in fact, therefore, the symbol of our worship… No sign, no work of art, no representation of form is adequate to express the glory and the wonder of the Living Christ. He told us what that symbol should be when he said, ‘If ye love me, keep my commandments.’ (John 14:15.)

“As his followers, we cannot do a mean or shoddy or ungracious thing without tarnishing his image. Nor can we do a good and gracious and generous act without burnishing more brightly the symbol of him whose name we have taken upon ourselves.“

And so our lives must become a meaningful expression, the symbol of our declaration of our testimony of the Living Christ, the Eternal Son of the Living God.

Absolutely basic to our faith is our testimony of Jesus Christ as the Son of God. … He is the chief cornerstone of the church which bears His name.² We believe in Christ. We teach of Christ. We look to Christ. He is our Redeemer, our Lord, and our Savior.³

We believe in Christ's earthly ministry, in his arrest and crucifixion and death, and in his resurrection. 

To all who may have doubts, I repeat the words given Thomas as he felt the wounded hands of the Lord: “Be not faithless, but believing” [John 20:27]. Believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the greatest figure of time and eternity. Believe that his matchless life reached back before the world was formed. Believe that he was the Creator of the earth on which we live. Believe that he was Jehovah of the Old Testament, that he was the Messiah of the New Testament, that he died and was resurrected, that he visited the western continents and taught the people here, that he ushered in this final gospel dispensation, and that he lives, the living Son of the living God, our Savior and our Redeemer.⁷

Each of us can know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Redeemer of the world, resurrected from the grave.

In order to obtain knowledge and gain a testimony of Christ's resurrection and of the truth that He is our redeemer we can:

1. Read the Word of the Lord

2. Serve in the Work of the Lord

3. Pray- Speak with your Eternal Father in the name of his Beloved Son. “Behold,” he says, “I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” (Rev. 3:20.)

This is his invitation, and the promise is sure. It is unlikely that you will hear voices from heaven, but there will come a heaven-sent assurance, peaceful and certain.

 

March 26, 2017: Lesson Recap

 "Emissaries to the Church," By Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, (October 2016) 

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2016/10/emissaries-to-the-church?lang=eng

February 26: Lesson Recap

Conference Address

Joy and Spiritual Survival, Russell M. Nelson (Oct. 2016)

www.lds.org/general-conference/2016/10/joy-and-spiritual-survival?lang=eng

When the focus of our lives is on Jesus Christ and His gospel, we can feel joy regardless of what is happening, or no happening in our lives.

These are the latter days, a host of prophets including Isaiah, Paul, Nephi, and Mormon foresaw that perilous times would come, that in our day the whole world would be in commotion, that men would be "lovers of their own selves... without natural affection... lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God," and that many would become servants of Satan. Indeed you and I "wrestle against the rulers of the darkness of this world, [and] against spiritual wickedness in high places."

As commotion in the latter days continues, what can help us? What can help each of us with our personal struggles and with the rigorous challenge of living today? The prophet Lehi clearly knew opposition, anxiety, heartache, disappointment and sorrow, yet he declared "Men are, that they might have joy," (2 Nephi 2:25). Of all the words he could have used to describe the nature and purpose of our lives here in mortality he chose the word joy!

Life is filled with detours and dead ends, trials and challenges of every kind. Each of us has likely had times when distress, anguish and despair almost consumed us. Yet we are here to have joy? The answer is a resounding yes! But how is this possible? And what must we do to claim the joy that Heavenly Father has in store for us? We can choose not to complain. We can be happy under every circumstance. We can feel hoy even while having a bad day, a bad week, or even a bad year!

The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives. When the focus of our lives is on God's plan of salvation, and on Jesus Christ and His gospel, we can feel joy regardless of what is happening, or not happening in our lives. Joy comes from and because of Him. He is the source of all joy. Just as the Savior offers peace that "passeth all understanding," He also offers an intensity, depth, and breadth of joy that defy human logic or mortal comprehension. It doesn't seem possible to feel joy when we are in the midst of our toughest trials, or when brought low by horrible circumstances. Yet that is precisely the joy the Savior offers. His joy is constant, assuring us that our "afflictions shall be but a small moment" and be consecrated to our gain.

How do we claim this joy? We can start by "looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith" "in every thought." We can give thanks for Him in our prayers and by keeping covenants we've made with Him and our Heavenly Father. As our Savior becomes more and more real to us and as we plead for His joy to given to us, our joy will increase. Joy is powerful, and focusing on joy brings God's power into our lives. In all things Christ is our ultimate exemplar. In order for Christ to endure the most excruciating experience ever endured on the earth, our Savior focused on joy. Anything that opposes Christ or His doctrine will interrupt our joy. We learn to "suffer with joy," for suffering can be swallowed up in the joy of Christ.

If we look to the world and its formulas for happiness, we will never know joy. The unrighteous may experience any number of emotions and sensations, but hey will never experience joy. Joy is a gift for the faithful. It is the gift that comes from intentionally trying to live a righteous life, as taught by Jesus Christ.

February 19, 2017: Lesson Recap

Teachings of Presidents of The Church, Gordon B. Hinckley

Chapter 4: The Pioneer Heritage of Faith and Sacrifice

https://www.lds.org/manual/teachings-of-presidents-of-the-church-gordon-b-hinckley/chapter-4-the-pioneer-heritage-of-faith-and-sacrifice?lang=eng

"Whether you have pioneer ancestry or came into the Church only yesterday, you are a part of this whole grand picture of which those men and women dreamed... They laid the foundation. Ours is the duty to build on it."

President Hinckley's great-grandfather, [Ira Hinckley] was baptized in Nauvoo and subsequently crossed the plains in the migration of the pioneers. During that journey Ira's young wife and his brother died. Ira Hinckley made rough coffins and buried them, then picked up his infant child and carried her to the Salt Lake Valley. President Hinckley's own father became president of the largest stake in the Church with more than 15,000 members. President Hinckley came from faithful "pioneers" that crossed the plains, and help build the Church in its early years. Although proud of his instrumental ancestors, President Hinckley emphasized that "pioneering" continues around the word to the present day. There are saints all over the world that are carrying forward the work of the Lord in all nations and lands. While showing gratitude and pride in his pioneering ancestors, President Hinckley also reflected upon his own posterity, and the "tremendous obligation" that was his to pass on all that he had received as an inheritance from his forebears to the generations who came after him.

When President Hinckley spoke of the early pioneers, his purpose was much bigger than focusing on those who lived in the past. He looked to the future, hoping that the faith and sacrifices of those Saints would "become a compelling motivation for us all, for each of us is a pioneer in his own life and family."

With vision, labor, and confidence in the power of God working through them, the early Latter-Day Saint pioneers brought their faith to reality.

Faith is what kept the pioneers pressing forward. It was by faith that a small band of early converts to the Church moved from New York to Ohio, from Ohio to Missouri, from Missouri to Illinois, and eventually to west, in search for peace and the freedom to worship God according to the dictates of conscience.

These early Saints moved forward amid vicious persecution and physical deprivation and hardship. Many lost loved ones along the dangerous trek. Many lost loved ones from being disowned and cut off from their families due to their decision to join the Church. These Saints pressed forward with faith not knowing their immediate fate or future, but trusted that the Lord would guide and bless them. With faith in their hearts and the dream of Zion in their minds the Saints pressed forward.
Faith in God was not exclusive to the early Saints of the Church. Paul wrote to the Hebrews "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (Heb. 11:1.) With great vision, with labor, and with confidence in the power of God working through them, [the early Saints] bought their faith into reality. This was the same great faith and power that made possible the exodus from Egypt, the passage through the Red Sea, the love journey through the wilderness, and the establishment of Israel in the promised land.

The early Saints moved west with a personal and individual recognition of God their Eternal Father. They could look in faith upon him, this was the very essence of their strength. They believed in that great scriptural mandate: "Look to God and live." (Alma 37:47.) With faith they sought to do his will. With faith they labored until they dropped, always with a conviction that there would be an accounting to him who was their Father and their God. Behind us is a glorious history. It is the product of faith. Before us is a great future. It begins today. We cannot pause. We cannot slow down. We cannot slacken our pace or shorten our stride.

Each of us is a pioneer.

It is good to look to the past to gain appreciation for the present and perspective for the future. It is good to reflect upon the work of those who labored before us. Their tremendous example can become a compelling motivation for us all, for each of us s a pioneer in his/her own life, often in his/her own family, and many of us pioneer daily in trying to establish a gospel foothold in distant parts of the world. We are still pioneering. We have never ceased pioneering. We are reaching out all over the world to spread the gospel to all nations, kindreds, and tongues, and that takes pioneering. The early Saints of the Church marked the path and led the way, but it is OUR obligation to enlarge and broaden and strengthen that path until it encompasses the whole earth... Faith was the guiding principle in those difficult days. Faith is the guiding principle we must follow today.

Ours is a great and solemn duty to reach out and help them, to lift them, to feed them if they are hungry, to nurture their spirits if they thirst for truth and righteousness. Our forebears laid a solid and marvelous foundation. Now ours is the great opportunity to build a superstructure, all fitly framed together with Christ as the chief cornerstone. With so great an inheritance, we must go forward. We must never let down. We must hold our heads high. We must walk with integrity. We must "do what is right [and] let the consequences follow."

February 5, 2017: Lesson Recap

Premortality, a Glorious Reality, By Elder Neal A. Maxwell

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1985/10/premortality-a-glorious-reality?lang=eng

One’s life, therefore, is brevity compared to eternity—like being dropped off by a parent for a day at school. But what a day!

Consider how long the Earth existed before you, and how long the Earth will exist after you leave it. If you life is but one day, then all your pain and suffering is but one hour.

If our time on this Earth is like "One day at school," then how will we use our time here? Will be take advantage of all the classes available to us? Will we study diligently and learn as much as we can? Will we help others during the day? How will we spend "our lunch hour"? Will we waste time worrying what others think of us? 

Our "one day of school" is short. We must use the precious seconds, minutes, and hours we have on the Earth to learn as much as we can, help others and do the Lord's will.  We must remember that we are literal sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father and Mother, who brought unique talents with us on Earth that need to be developed. Let us use our time wisely to enhance these talents and abilities and not waste time worrying about the past and fretting about the future. 

Thomas H. Morris, a professor at BYU gave a devotional titled, Time: A Precious Commodity; a finite resource.

https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/thomas-h-morris_time-a-precious-commodity-a-finite-resource/

Carl Sagan, the author and great spokesman for the television series Cosmos, used to browbeat us by telling us that we as humankind are arrogant to assume that there is not life beyond our planet, given the immensity of space and the universe. Sagan found no solid evidence for extraterrestrial life. In fact, in viewing our tiny blue planet from space, he said, “It underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another and to preserve and cherish the only home we’ve ever known: the pale blue dot.”2

Let us be mindful of our short time on Earth, and learn as much as we can and help as many people as we can during our "one day at school."

January 22, 2017: Lesson Recap

Conference Address:

·      

There is Power in the Book” by LeGrand R. Curtis, (October 2016). 

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2016/10/there-is-power-in-the-book?lang=eng

How were you introduced to the Book of Mormon, and how did you gain a testimony regarding its power and truth?

We are so blessed to be living in a time and in a country that allows us the religious freedoms to read the Book of Mormon and worship freely. Elder Curtis told of the "Freeze" in Ghana in the 1990s, when the government in Ghana banned the Church, restricted all religious meetings, and seized all Church property. Elder Curtis told of a young policeman who had been given the task of guarding a Church meetinghouse at night. Nicolas Ofonsu-Hene said that the building was in disarray, with papers and furniture scattered everywhere. In the midst of the disorder he found a Book of Mormon. He tried to ignore it because he was told that it was "evil." Ofonsu-Hene had been strangely attracted to it, when he finally picked the book up he was compelled to read it. He read through the night and with tears running down his cheek he read: 2 Nephi 25:26, " And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophets, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins."

      After reading this verse Nicholas Ofonsu-Hene felt the spirit so strongly that he started to sob. He realized that in the course of reading the Book of Mormon he received several spiritual promptings that this book was scripture, and was the most correct book he had ever read. Nicholas and his family joined the Church after the "Freeze" had ended, he was later promoted to Police Commander and was made President of the Tamale Ghana District of the Church. He later said that "The Church has transformed my life...I think the Almighty God for leading me into this gospel." And it all started with a book. 

In Elder Jeffrey R. Hollands General Conference Talk, "Safety for the Soul," he testified that, "The Book of Mormon is one of the Lord's powerful keystones in this counteroffensive against latter-day ills, [it] begins with a great parable of life, an extended allegory of hope versus fear, of light versus darkness, of salvation versus destruction... Love. Healing. Help. Hope. The powers of Christ to counter all troubles in all times- including the end of times. That is the safe harbor God wants for us in personal or public days of despair. That is the message with which the Book of Mormon begins, and that is the message with which it ends, calling all to "come unto Christ, and be perfected in him."

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2009/10/safety-for-the-soul?lang=eng

Bishop Green has asked each of us to read the Book of Mormon as a Ward within the next 70 days. He reminded us this morning in Sacrement Meeting that there is indeed "Power in the Book," and that reading it and abiding by its precepts are life changing.