Lesson for March 6, 2016

Lesson for March 6, 2016 Today our lesson was given by Andrea Gerber of the Relief Society presidency. She taught us about understanding our eternal worth and living consistent with our divine heritage. We need to find our worth in eternal things and not just worldly things. She said as a teenager, she did not understand how to feel self-confident, especially as a daughter of God. She said she finally realized that she was very self-absorbed and worried about how other people thought of her. She said it was not an enjoyable way to live. She had to constantly be aware of threats or seeking for approval. It was an impediment to her spiritual connection to God and her ability to help others. There is a difference between humility and lack of confidence. If we know that God can use our weaknesses to bless others and our own good. Lack of confidence means you reject God’s ability to work with us. We’re not always aware of how we are denying our divine nature. Every time we’re sinning, we are not being close to God. If we compare ourselves to others, we do not have a good foundation. When we see others as competitors, we live small. When we aren’t willing to ask others to teach us, we live small. Neglecting self-care can also be detrimental. Calling yourself bad names blocks the Spirit. Then judging others indicates lack of the Spirit. Three benefits of being aware are knowledge, preparing our minds, and one more way we can overcome. The big picture is that there was a time when we were with Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father and we have their attributes in ourselves, even if some are dormant. If we recognize our divine nature, we can face down Satan and temptations, because we know who we are a children of God. Then every time we fail, and we will, we will believe we do not measure up and that we never will, or that we’re not worthy. Sometimes we resent that God knows all about us. Then our foundation is shaky. If we accept that God and Jesus Christ love us, then we can build and look upward and hopeful for where it can lead us. That critical inner voice is not God’s. The difference between God and Satan is an interesting one Satan, in the pre-earth life, was a leader and said he would do everything for us. God, on the other hand, knew we could do these things ourselves and that we could grow. Heather Cantrell always felt less than she was. She found that reading the scriptures and focusing on the Lord and His love for her, she felt like she had self-worth. We not only need to realize what we need to work on, we need to acknowledge our strengths. One sister said she started saying two nice things about herself whenever she said something negative about herself and her whole family picked up the habit, too. Looking at a patriarchal blessing is like seeing a love letter from God. Reading is important, especially patriarchal blessings, scriptures, and conference talks. It is good motivation to realize that the negatives are what Satan would like us to think. Elder Cook said it is hard to feel gratitude and envy at the same time. There is a difference between how God tells us what we’ve done wrong and how Satan tells us. God is kind and gentle and answers our prayers. Being familiar with the hymns and Primary songs can be good to use as response to negative feelings. Guilt is often overdone. The worth of souls is great in the sight of God. We may not remember the pre-earth life, but we can know that we were important in the sight of God and we chose Him. By being modest, we can show our own worth. Our Heavenly Father knows our struggles and wants to bless us. He says to us that we are good enough, but He can make us so much better.