HIGHLIGHTS OF SUNDAY'S LESSON -
R.S. Lesson Notes from Teaching for Our Times, May Ensign
July 27th - A Priceless Heritage of Hope by Pres. Henry B. Eyring, taught by Liz Walbom
Who were the pioneers in your life? You have the power to affect so many people! Whoever you are and wherever you may be, you hold in your hands the happiness of more people than you can now imagine. .. You have the opportunity to show many people the way to greater happiness. When you choose whether to make or keep a covenant with God, you choose whether you will leave an inheritance of hope to those who might follow your example.
Story of Heinrich Eyring – his ancestor. Like Heinrich Eyring, my ancestor, you may be the first in your family to lead the way to eternal life along the path of sacred covenants made and kept with diligence and faith.
The greatest of all the blessings of God, eternal life, will come to us only as we make covenants offered in the true Church of Jesus Christ by His authorized servants. Because of the Fall, we all need the cleansing effects of baptism and the laying on of hands to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Parents whose children have gone astray – the Lord has given us a source of hope…He has made promises to us as we keep trying to gather people to Him, even when they resist His invitation to do so. Their resistance saddens Him, but He does not quit, not should we. No one is lost until we stop looking or give up!
We can depend on that unfailing desire of the Savior to bring all of Heavenly Father’s spirit children back to their home with Him. Blessings are promised IF we chose righteousness.
Every person born into the world receives the Light of Christ, which helps us see and feel what is right and what is wrong. We are given the opportunity to choose here on earth. We feel the effect of our choices. If we choose the right, we will find happiness – in time. If we choose evil, there comes sorrow and regret – in time. Those effects are sure. Yet they are often delayed for a purpose. If the blessings were immediate, choosing the right would not build faith. And since sorrow s also sometimes great delayed, it takes faith to feel the need to seek forgiveness for sin early rather than after we feel its sorrowful and painful effects.
Family member must make their own choices – we can’t force them! What can we do for family members who have strayed? We can pray, invite them, love unconditionally, share experiences, live your life as an example, keep open the lines of communication, put their name in the Temple.
When your children are young – pray, read Scriptures, sharing testimonies – these are things that they will remember and may bring them back. In Time – may be beyond the veil. We must pay attention!
Quotes were read from Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, Lorenzo Snow and Boyd K. Packard about our children and Temple marriages and how things will work out.
Challenge: Keep our covenants but also pray and fast or someone who has wandered in our family. Ask what to do to help them and then DO IT!
HIGHLIGHTS OF SUNDAY'S LESSON -
R.S. Lesson Notes from Teachings of Pres. of the Church, Joseph Fielding Smith
Chapter 15 – Bringing up Children in Light and Truth, taught by Natasha Vinzant
The gray areas are expanding in these times. Teach children to learn to recognize the Spirit at an early age.
Speaking of his father, Joseph Fielding Smith said, “He taught us at the breakfast table as he told us stories from the scriptures, and had the ability to make each one sound new and exciting though we had heard it many times before. …If Father had time to walk to school with us, the stories continued…He taught us by the things he prayed for in our family prayers when we knelt by our chairs before breakfast and again at dinner time…”
Heavenly Father asks us to teach all the time like Joseph Fielding Smith did. If you have a passion for Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ then your children will!
“The importance of family unity – love and consideration for one another in the family – cannot be overemphasized. Spiritual solidarity in family relationships is the sure foundation upon which the Church and society itself will flourish. This fact is well known and appreciated by the adversary, and as never before, he is using every clever device, influence, and power within his control to undermine and destroy this eternal institution. Only the gospel of Jesus Christ applied in family relationships will thwart his devilish destructiveness.”
“Our children will have to be taught to discern between good and evil, otherwise in many respects they will not be able to understand why they are not permitted to indulge in practices that are common with their neighbors.”
“The Lord has commanded us, one and all, to bring our children up in light and truth. Where this spirit exists, disharmony, disobedience, and neglect of sacred duties will not, cannot, succeed.”
“If parents have done all in their power to teach their children correctly by example and precept and the children then go astray, the parents will not be held responsible and the sin will be upon the children.”
“Individual, personal testimony is and always will be the strength of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A testimony is best nurtured in the family setting…The gaining and the keeping of testimonies should be a family project.”
The following topics were read aloud and each person with that topic shared examples in their own life:
· Set a righteous example
· Begin teaching children when they are young
· Teach children to pray
· Introduce children to the scriptures
· Hold family home evening
· Teach virtue, chastity, and morality
· Prepare children to be witnesses of the truth and to serve missions
· Help children prepare to have eternal families of their own
HIGHLIGHTS OF SUNDAY'S LESSON -
R.S. Lesson Notes from Teachings of Pres. of the Church, Joseph Fielding Smith
Chapter 13 – Baptism, taught by Elisa Limon
Joseph Fielding Smith recounted remembering his own baptism and caution from his sister to “keep myself unspotted from the world”.
“There is no more important counsel that can be given to any member of the Church than to keep the commandments after baptism.”
1. Baptism by immersion A) Is a similitude of death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ B) Is a similitude of birth of a child. Comparison of being born into the world and born into the Kingdom of God from Moses 6: 58-60 :
Born Into the World Born into the Kingdom of God
Carried and born in water Baptized in water
Born of blood Blood/Atonement of Christ
Spirit is born Gift of the Holy Spirit
C) Is a similitude of a transplanting or resurrection from one life to another – the life of sin to the life of spiritual life. “…All men and women…need repentance…They are in spiritual death.”
2. Little children who have not reached the years of accountability do not need baptism because they are redeemed through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. “How could you teach a little child to repent? It has not anything to repent of.”
3. Every person baptized into the “Church has made a covenant with the Lord. In the waters of baptism we covenanted that we would keep these commandments; that we would serve the Lord; …that we would be obedient and humble, diligent in His service, willing to obey, to hearken to the counsels of those who preside over us and do all things with an eye single to the glory of God.
4. To gain the full blessing of the gospel, we must continue to be humble, repentant, and obedient after we are baptized. “…No. It is just as necessary that he have that contrite spirit, that broken heart, after he is baptized as it is before.”
Baptism is a of two-fold nature; primarily for the remission of sins, and then, entrance into the kingdom of God, not the telestial kingdom, not into the terrestrial kingdom, but entrance into the celestial kingdom, where God dwells.
Challenge for this week: Get rid of or add something to help us keep our baptismal covenants.
HIGHLIGHTS OF SUNDAY'S LESSON -
Combined Priesthood and Relief Society – Lesson taught by Bro. Greenwood
Bro. Greenwood began by saying that a positive impact on his life has been setting LDS.org as his home page on his web browser.
He showed the video – “True Christianity” (this can be found on the Mormon Channel). The video is about older men who go on a motorcycle trip each year. There used to be three and now there are only two men because Walter had passed away. One day Walter, Jerry, and Mitchell were talking. Jerry said to Walter, “You know I haven’t missed church in 30 years.” Walter said: “What were you doing with all that time when you weren’t in church. I hope you were being a true Christian then too.” Jerry and Mitchell take a picture of Walter with them on their road trips and they try to do what Walter would do if he were with them.
Random acts of kindness – what they can do for you when you least expect it. Both the giver and the receiver benefit. What are we doing on a daily basis to show we are true disciples of Jesus Christ?
*The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a lifestyle – it is not just a Sunday thing.
*We don’t have to do it all at once, but we can do it. (serving)
*Let your light shine so others can see the example of Christ in our actions.
*Going to church each week is one more thing that strengthens our personal conversion.
*People are watching us – what kind of example are we setting?
*Attending church each week is a blessing. It inspires us - it puts fuel in our tanks – it strengthens us to want to serve during the week.
*Attending our church meetings in less than 3% of our week.
What you do when you don’t have to think shows who you really are.
What you do talks so loud I can’t hear what you are saying.
*One brother shared the impressions he felt during sacrament meeting. He said worry not what is on your right or left, worry not what is in front of you or behind you. Worry about what is in your heart and the desire you have to love others.
D&C 84:88 “And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angles round about you, to bear you up.”
We have such good examples of Christ-like service in our ward and around us. I have seen this service in action as many served my family while my wife and children were ill. Seeing acts of service inspires us to serve more.
*Renewing our covenants each week, going to the temple and renewing our covenants there, doing our visiting and home teaching – all of these things keep us grounded and helps us to not give into our weaknesses. These things help move us toward what we truly desire – Eternal life.
If we can picture everyone we meet in their temple whites, how differently we would treat them and serve them.
We are blessed with time – we have a stewardship to use our time wisely and serve others. We feel the most joy when we serve others. Look for evidences of the Lord in all things. Keep a record of where you see the spirit of the Lord each day. Offering service is character building and brings happiness. We can be as happy as we desire.
Bro. Greenwood shared what he learned in the leadership training meeting on Saturday. He was in his scout clothes so he sat in the foyer. One of the missionaries said that we are in the same church as Christ established. We take the same sacrament and we should expect miracles. As Bro. Greenwood heard this he looked at the picture of Christ depicting the last supper. We need to use the time during the sacrament to have a spiritual event as if Christ were present. We need to find the time during the sacrament as we renew our covenants to strengthen our personal relationship with the Savior.
In preparation for the lesson Bro. Greenwood used the devotional talk by Elder Ballard – “Be Still and Know That I am God.” Elder Ballard spoke about our need for quiet time to feel the spirit and have the spirit speak to us. When do you find your quiet time? We all need time each day to feel the presence of the spirit. We all need a time and place to stop and think. Technology is a distraction. Many are using their phones or tablets to check their email or search the internet during church. We all need time for the Holy Ghost to touch us. The temple is a place to connect with the spirit. The spirit speaks to us in a still small voice. 1 Kings 19:11-12. Are we acting upon the promptings of the spirit? The Holy Ghost is real. It will prompt us to do things that if we act upon them they will make us happy.
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