Lesson August 11, 2013

Relief Society, August 11, 2013 Sister Amy Fehlberg gave the lesson on Chapter 15: Faithful, Energetic Service in the Kingdom of God. She read to us a picture book called the Selfish Crocodile. She said the opposite of service is selfishness. The story is about the selfish crocodile who kept everyone away until he got sick. A little mouse saved the crocodile by pulling its tooth. The crocodile gave the mouse a nut and the mouse and the crocodile became friends and the rest of the animals, too. We need to give others acts of love. Sisters said that service is giving of your time, giving smiles, compliments, and building the kingdom of God. If we serve others, we serve God. A loving attitude helps. If you are serving just to be seen to serve, it means nothing. D&C 4:2-3 tells us to embark in the service of God to be blameless and blessed. Psalms 100:2 says to serve the Lord with gladness. Amy said we will enjoy it more if we serve with gladness. Sometimes little things make big differences. We provide service by helping those around us keep up standards. We provide service by talking on the telephone and listening. Sister Laycock said that every calling we have is a service to someone. Not every calling will be our favorite, but it’s what the Lord needs at that time. It’s like the body and how every part of the body is needed for the body to work well. President Snow said for everyone to serve diligently. Elder Holland said every calling is important. She said that her mother gave everyone who came into their home a gospel message and ended up having three of her children’s friends join the Church, including her daughter’s boyfriend who was super excited to be called as a home teacher—he felt it was the best calling in the world. We need to have that kind of excitement about our callings. We need to be humble enough to get the service. We can put people’s names in the temple, because sometimes it’s the only thing we can do. Going to the temple is something we can do without thinking or asking others if we can do it. They’re always happy to have us. For a lot of us, we do service selfishly because it brings so much joy to us. Sometimes we have to allow others to help us with the type of service they can give. These instances of service—whether we give or receive—makes us teary eyed, because it means so much to both the giver and the receiver. Looking for ways to serve others is the way we find ways to serve. President Snow said that knowing what we should do means we need to be energetic and diligent in serving others, not lukewarm, because of the nature of our gospel and because we know it is true. Another reason we give service is that it is a commandment, so if we love God we should serve Him.