Lesson for July 12, 2015

Lesson for July 12, 2015 Today our lesson from Chapter 13 in the manual was given by Maggie Kopp on “Priceless Blessings of the House of the Lord.” Maggie asked us what the temple symbolizes. Some of the answers included heaven on earth, eternal families, personal covenants, increased knowledge and teachings, the gateway to heaven for us and our ancestors, comfort, clarity of thought, personal revelation, place of peace, a place of service, and dwelling in the house of the Lord. President Benson said the temple is a visible symbol that God has not abandoned us. It is a holy place set aside and consecrated. D&C 109:12-13 says temples have the purpose of a place where the glory of the Lord and the presence of the Lord can be with us. Maggie said many religions have sacred spaces where people can worship and the temple is a sacred space where we can experience the presence of the Lord. We also do work in the temple. Preparing to go to the temple allows us to experience the clarity and revelation. It doesn’t matter what is going on in our lives, we can experience the presence of the Spirit when we go to the temple. We can make our homes sacred places. Lisa Anderson mentioned that inside the temple, the temple workers go to great efforts to make each visit to the temple worthwhile through cleanliness and decorations and personnel. To prepare for the temple, we need to have the proper ordinances and worthiness to qualify for the recommend. The covenants we make in the temple have their own power. We make them to show our devotion and partake of the blessings, such as protection and family relationships. Our covenants help us become who we should be. They help us recognize that the things that are valued by the world are the froth of the world and will not last. Temple blessings give us the greatest blessings of the atonement. President Benson said the temple helps us be more Christlike. If you have the temple as a goal, you live your life better and in consequence you become more Christlike and therefore worthy to enter the temple. Vira Bahr said that she goes to the temple to listen to the words of the ordinances. The words give her many things she can do for her personal relations and her relationship with God. He gives us constant messages on how we should handle our lives. Heather Cantrell reminded us that we need to wear our garments with respect as symbols of our temple covenants. Amy Young said that after she goes to the temple she feels more loving and patient and knows she’s a better person. That by going over and over again, we become better. Linda Campbell said that before her granddaughter died, she went to the temple to do confirmations for the dead. The thought at Tori’s death is that she could meet the people she did the work for. What a blessing to have that knowledge. Personal revelation comes with answers to our personal problems with clear and unmistakable ways. We need to make the time to go to the temple and do our scripture study and writing down our impressions and we’ll find the answers to our questions and know what we have already learned. The other side is that if we don’t pay attention to our temple covenants, we lose the memory of what we can have. We live far below the blessings the Lord is waiting to give to us. The temple symbolizes many things to many people and we should seek out the sacred in our lives and keep our covenants.

July 21 Canyon Barbecue

Our traditional canyon BBQ will be on July 21. We will meet at the church at 6:00 p.m. to carpool up. Yummy food. Good companionship.

Lesson for July 5, 2015

Lesson for July 5, 2015 Today our lesson was given by one of our new Relief Society presidency, Suzy Sullivan, on faith in Jesus Christ. Faith is a principle that causes us to do, rather than just believe. True faith must be centered in Jesus Christ. Faith is a spiritual gift from God. It requires a correct understanding of Jesus Christ. Obedience to the principles of the Gospel develops faith. Joseph Smith said the most important thing we can do is learn who Jesus Christ is. How do we develop a correct understanding of Jesus Christ. By reading his scripture, conference talks about Him, doing what He would do and live how He would live, loving ourselves and others, being unselfish and compassionate, following the prophet who also tries to be like Jesus Christ. Once we know who He is then we have the capacity to be like Him. Suzy said when she was in the MTC, she struggled with the concept of faith and wondered was concrete in her life that embodied faith. A speaker came and said that true faith was in the Savior, so she decided to just trust in the Savior. The Savior is really the only guarantee in our life. Joan Jensen said she likes the scripture that says cursed is he that trusts in the arm of flesh, so only trust in the Savior is paramount. Even trusting in our selves isn’t enough. We need to trust in Christ. Elder Bednar said that even when the Israelites carrying the ark were promised they would pass through the river Jordan on dry land, it wasn’t until their feet were wet that the river parted. It is wise to pray about family members’ opinions diverge from our own. We need reassurance that our source is the Lord. No matter what we hear or see, we need to set them against the pattern the Lord has given us. If we have faith, we are moved to action. We act because we have faith in Jesus Christ and his promises to us. It’s a huge blessing to repent and acknowledge it and feel His love. Even if you have a tiny little bit of faith and do a little bit, that little bit can grow until greater faith is gifted to us and we get the desire to do more. Elder McConkie taught that faith is a gift of God fueled by righteousness and the more we keep the commandments of God, the more righteous we are. Suzy said she was struck by the need to be more righteous so her faith could be increased. Heidi said we’re all going to come to points in our lives when hardship comes and we can either turn to the Lord or we can turn away. They point to their trials as reasons why the Church isn’t true when they should turn to the Lord at these times. The Savior said if you believe then all things are possible, but some in the scriptures said help thou my unbelief. Sometimes if our attitude is not quite right, we need to focus on the little things, such as prayers and scripture study so God will help us develop more faith. Vira Bahr said if we choose to believe in Christ, then faith becomes a spiritual gift. As we are obedient to the commandments and understand them better we have to recognize that because of the trials in our lives we will not always be what we want to be, but we can cling to our faith and trust that Christ will guide us how it is supposed to be fixed. The Lord knows us personally and what we need. Heather Cantrell said we must not talk against the Lord’s anointed, but must do what He wants us to do. The Spirit can help us to feel the Savior’s love and want to be obedient. Desire, hope, and belief are levels of faith, but one possessed of the power of faith through the pattern of obedience can do amazing things. By dedicating our lives to the Savior, we can have His power in our lives. Vira said that on her mission they set a goal to be obedient and work really hard so everything would work out and it happened in amazing ways. She found she was empowered. Suzy said that if you want your faith strengthened, we should evaluate our lives and see what we can do better.