Lesson for January 26, 2014

Lesson for January 26, 2014 Today our lesson was given by Kristine Hanson. It is about a talk by President Uchtdorf, “Come Join with Us.” She said she has been in stake Primary and has not learned the names, so please be patient with her. She loves to watch General Conference and read the conference issue of the Ensign. She asked Claudia Laycock to read the story about a man who dreamed about being in a great hall with all the religions. The LDS couple said that the church did not require anything, but the Lord requires everything. After he heard all the things the Lord required, he said, “Why would anyone want to be a part of such a church?” The couple said, “We thought you’d never ask.” So why would anyone want to be a member of our Church? Because it is the Lord’s Church and run by God. Some said that they have tried the other ways and only find happiness in the Church. Because once you have felt the Spirit, you find that you have the responsibility to be true to the testimony and the Spirit. Linda Campbell said it is worth the work. Heather Cantrell said it is because she believes in a living Christ and not someone you worship on the cross. The Atonement comes through a living Christ. Judith Baker said that only God can bless us, only He can sustain us and give us strength, power, knowledge, forgiveness, and forge a Godly soul and bring us back to him if we keep his commandments—from Elder Corbridge. So it is the way of redemption. Jessica Bauer is in the Church as a loving God. He is not just a clock maker who set everything in motion, He takes a personal interest. Another sister said being in the Church helps her realize just how valuable we each are to Heavenly Father. After all, Christ died for each of us. A sister said she had the opportunity to testify of eternal families and that she can be with her family forever. A sister felt like she came home when she joined the Church and she felt she had made the greater choice, so greater sacrifices bring greater blessings and strength comes from doing our duty. We become better people and less selfish and “larger” people as we take care of our families and serving others. We lose ourselves and find ourselves, because there is more of us to find. Sister Campbell said she has never had a question she has not been able to find an answer to in our family. Sister Everett thinks that the word charity encompasses all the blessings and duties in the gospel and it grows as we accomplish what we do in this Church. We also have the priesthood keys and living prophets and covenants with power and the temple. We avoid the pitfalls and sorrows that come from sin. We find blessings that come from obedience. Reasons why people leave the Church. Pride, misunderstandings, hurt feelings, loss of the Spirit, questions without answers, having joined for the wrong reasons, peer pressure, lack of fellowship, laziness selfishness. Modern moral relativism skews what is right and what is wrong. Historical events, falling out of the habit, and even the Super Bowl take people away, and also because of the strictness, which is our safety. Judging wrongly can drive someone away. President Uchtdorf said in another talk to doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith. Jill said, she looks at these things and tries to see what she can do to love people back into the Church. President Uchtdorf addressed the problem of when church leaders have made mistakes and we don’t realize that we are people who make mistakes. It is unfortunate that some people fall away because of people who make mistakes. We need to seek the inspiration to have the Spirit with us and know that as a group, the leaders of the Church do try to seek the Spirit and they sincerely want to do what the Lord wants. President Uchtdorf invites everyone to join with the Church and share their love and talents. We need to help others to rekindle their testimonies.