Lesson for November 27, 2016

Today our lesson was given by Kristine Hansen about Teachings for Our Times, “Come Follow Me by Practising Christian Love and Service,” a talk given by Elder Robert D Hales. Kristine said Elder Hales said to practice service in our families. He talked about Eli Wezel, a holocaust survivor who had his little grandson visit him in the hospital and said, “Grandpa, would you hurt less if I loved you more?” Elder Hales said that if we love more, especially if we love our Heavenly Father more, we would hurt less. We were divided into 6 groups to discuss Elder Hales’s talk and each group talked about one idea from the talk. 1. Support each other on our mortal journey. 2. Teach each other the doctrine of the gospel. We can share the gospel by being who we are and find the teachable moment just through living the gospel. You don’t have to be a professional teacher or a scriptorian. Just be an example. Although if you don’t know the doctrine, it would be hard to be that example. 3. Always hold scripture study, family prayer, and family council. Cover your family with a spiritual blanket to comfort and protect them. Involve the children and let them help with the planning and help them understand the opportunities and limitations for the family. Involve the children with family fasts. Elder Brett ?? told about how his mother read the Book of Mormon to the family each morning and he acknowledged he did not listen. His mother told him that she was promised that if she would read the Book of Mormon to her family every morning, she would not lose them. She looked her son in the eyes and said, “And I will not lose you.” 4. Remember and follow the Holy Ghost. Pray to know how to deal with our family members. Sometimes it is through their own experiences that they will come to know what is true. If you want the Holy Ghost, you need to keep the Holy Ghost with you. 5. Caregivers for family are blessed. Sarah has been taken care of by her sister, who is a Saint. Adele Hickman said her husband broke his leg and she did everything for him. It brought them closer together. Virginia Roundy took care of her mother and do all the things for her that her parents did for her as a baby and as a child. She was not close to her father, but caring for him helped her to love him. Her children came to know her parents and when her son Loren went on his mission, he was able to get ready by giving the lesson to his grandfather. 6. Show forgiveness, kindness and love. One sister had a hard time with her mother-in-law and learned to love her. Claudia Laycock (a judge) said a young man who was under the influence of drugs tried to rape a girl. He was being sentenced and the girl wrote a letter forgiving him and her mother came to Claudia and said they could make a difference in this young man’s life, so don’t send him to prison. Claudia put him on probation and he got help and is doing better.

Lesson for November 20, 2016

Lesson for November 20, 2016 Our lesson today was given by Camille Maynard about “Teaching the Gospel.” Teaching is really about changing the hearts of people. Camille said she usually doesn’t post on social media about political or other things that people feel strongly about, but teaching the gospel is different because we have the testifying influence of the Spirit that can change people’s hearts. In this lesson it seems to be for teachers who teach the youth, but Camille wants us to apply it to ourselves. If you work with children and youth, think about what areas of your life you have influence with these people. Also, when have you been the learner and been influenced by others? Joyce Garner read from the manual about President Hunter. He was one of the last speakers in a conference session. He didn’t have enough time, so he told about when he was a young boy and he was able to see a big bird and a little bird. The big bird thumped its feet on the lawn and pulled out a big worm. Then the big bird got a bug from a tree. The big bird swallowed the bug and flew away to the squawks of the little bird. After a while the little bird tried what the big bird had done. That is what we must do to influence others. We can’t do the learning for them, but we can model things for them. Claudia Laycock said her mother had her children learn how to clean, but a neighbor kicked the kids out and cleaned herself. Claudia’s mother was teaching her children. So now, Claudia knows how to clean. Kristine Hansen remembers hearing President Hunter give this story and it has stuck with her because it is a great way to make a point like the Savior would. Kristine remembers President Hunter changed his speech in stake conference to meet a question by someone. President Hunter said he can visualize the choice spirits of the earth and wonders what the fruit will be from our teaching these choice spirits. Outside of church there are choice spirits and we must gain their confidence and gain their hearts so we can lead them to change and enjoy the gospel. A key point is the difference between changing a mind and changing a heart. The best way to influence someone’s heart is to get into their heart and then you can share what is meaningful to them. So, we need to find what is meaningful to them. There is a more loving way to do things without continually correcting people. President Hunter said how thoughtful, tender, and unselfish is the love our Savior demonstrates. There are ways to be more effective. We can help others feel more confidence in the scriptures. Use the scriptures in your teaching and help our young people have confidence in the truths of the scriptures, that God is interested in them, that you trust in the scriptures to hold the answers to most of life’s problems and be familiar with them so they have confidence in their knowledge. Certain scriptures have helped our sisters, such as seek and ye shall find. We can find comfort in the scriptures. Teach with the Spirit. We can find our own confidence by searching the scriptures and like the big bird, we can show others how. We are not always going to be there for people so they need to know how to learn things from the scriptures themselves. If we are not living righteously, if we are not living with the Spirit, we cannot teach. We need the Spirit in order to teach. Joseph Smith said that we should teach the gospel with the Spirit of the Holy Ghost. If we teach with honest and pure conviction. When strong emotion or free flowing tears is not always associated with the Spirit. Such sacred moments may or may not be accompanied by tears. It may be joy or silence. Let it come naturally and honestly so our students can tell when they are feeling the spirit. Always pray so you will have the spirit to teach. Have the students pray that they will have the Spirit and they may get a totally different message, but one they need. The Holy Ghost does the teaching. Sometimes we are only the facilitators. Encourage others seek to find God themselves. They need their own relationship with the Lord. Your students need to have an alliance to the Lord, not a teacher. We will not always be available to these students, so they need their own foundation in Christ and the gospel. When we do this, the Church will be strengthened for generations. We can show that we value our students’ insights. There is a power that comes from showing our own initiative and valuing our students’ initiatives. Like the big bird, it showed the little bird and then took off. We need to let them do it themselves, even if they fail. They will learn how to do it better with experience. Strive to reach individuals—which is a big focus of the Church with so many things, such as ordinances. The Savior did the same with the Nephites as he let each one come to him so they could have their own personal witness. Teaching by example—an example carries such a powerful influence. Being an instrument in the Lord’s hands to help change hearts. President Hunter said that when a teacher performs how the Lord would have them, there is a transformation of the human soul because someone has taught the principles of truth.

Lesson for November 13, 2016

Lesson for November 13, 2016 Today our lesson was given by Maggie Kopp on Chapter #21 on “Faith and Testimony.” Maggie reminded us that we discussed this lesson a couple of weeks ago and President Uchtdorf’s talk about “Fourth Floor, Last Door.” Sister Francis said her parents were stake missionaries and her mother practiced the story of the First Vision in flannel board and Dorothy asked her mother if it was real and she said it was. Sister Hickman’s friend was killed when they were eight. She went to the funeral and was confused when they said they didn’t know where he was, but she did. Maggie said at her grandmother’s house for Fourth of July and Maggie prayed about the gospel and had a peaceful feeling all day. President Hunter said we obtain our testimony in different ways. Alma the Younger got his testimony differently from his father. Paul got his differently from the other apostles. President Hunter said when he took seminar and studied, he said his testimony grew—the one he gained at his mother’s knee. In Alma 32:26-30 is the story about faith and it not being a perfect knowledge. If you will experiment on his words and let the desire work in you. Compare the word as a seed that is a good seed that swells within your breast and as you feel the swelling motions and it sprouts and begins to grow, you will say it is a good seed. This is something we learn from the time we are children. This scripture means that if you give a place for the seed to grow and don’t let our unbelief make us keep digging up the seed to see if it is growing, then it will die. Also, remember it is not a perfect knowledge, you can have faith before that stage of growth—even a small seed can grow. You start out with something and experiment in your life. In missionary work we plant seeds in other people and some of those seeds will grow. Maggie’s grandmother had a banana tree behind her little apartment. Her grandmother worked hard on that banana tree. Zina Diantha Huntington Young said that if you knew there was a diamond buried in a spot, do you not think you would dig in that spot? How would you not dig to know the gospel? If you put the time in for prayer, scripture reading, going to church, feeling promptings and acting on them. It is important to write these things down so it is reinforced in your heart and the Lord knows you are the type of person who will act on the promptings He sends us. Other things that help us develop our faith are keeping up with those we have known and being sensitive to what is happening in their lives. Maggie says that working in the BYU library with people who collect things that have to do with Mormonism. A researcher came to look over the collection of one staff member. He gave a lecture about times people had listened to the spirit and times they hadn’t and, even though he wasn’t a Mormon, it was very spiritual experience to listen to him. Maggie was also a Girl Scout, she made a bottle green house and planted a marigold and she was very proud of it. She planted it outside and it died. She didn’t know about hardening greenhouse plants and how they need to be acclimated before being permanently planted outside. Sometimes our testimony needs to struggle a little so it can grow. We need to write about these experiences so we can remember and have our testimonies strengthened. With that struggle we can grow and if there is no struggle, we grow dormant. As children grow older they ask questions about things that have no tangible truth. They need to know they can develop testimonies through effort and struggle. Our faith looks very different from what it was before the things we have gone through. We cannot be too complacent and think we have no more seeds to plant. One of Maggie’s roommates had a brother who became a missionary and who was certain he was going to be perfect and have lots of converts. He had to deal with people’s agency and it hurt his own testimony. Thinking that you already know everything can be damaging. Sister Jolley said they have lost three family members in a year. Her faith is not altered, but her fear of losing someone else has grown. She’s afraid that the next one she will not be able to handle. She has to decipher her feelings and let that feeling be OK, but she can build on her faith, rather than being paralyzed by fear. She started reading the Book of Mormon again and read about tender mercies and looking for what tender mercies happened in each chapter. She hopes she can find those tender mercies in her own life. Even though she is facing the holidays, she is fearful, but she is trying to see the help while handling the fear. There are always times when things are hard and tough, but we need to keep working on our testimonies so we can nurture our faith. Time is a healer. We can look back and see that we are functioning and have in the past, so that gives us confidence we can do it again. We must follow the course that Heavenly Father has measured out. We must seek to find and ask to receive. Even though it’s hard to persevere. By the little things we can do we can find ways. Sister Hickman had a tender mercy when her granddaughter wanted to listen to a CD of Sister Hickman’s father playing Primary songs. It made Sister Hickman cry and her granddaughter said why are you crying? Sister Hickman said she missed her father. The granddaughter said he was alive in Sister Hickman’s heart and when she dies she will be with him. We have to let each other grow. If we can’t let each other grow and change we can’t survive. Everything changes and we have to let them. Think about the seeds you have planted in your life. Remember that the Lord is there for us as we change and grow.

Lesson for November 6, 2016

Lesson for November 6, 2016 Today our lesson was given by Adele Hickman on “Believing Christ” with quotes from Stephen E. Robinson, Elder J. Devin Cornish of the Seventy, and Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Seventy, and C.S. Lewis. Adele started by saying, “Be ye therefore perfect” and pausing. She asked if that made us feel hopeless. Much of this lesson is from the talk by Stephen E. Robinson. He told the story of his daughter Sarah who wanted to buy a bicycle and saved, but did not have enough. If as sinful beings, we might feel hopeless. The amazing thing is that the Atonement works in amazing ways. Brother Robinson told his son to go to his room until he felt like he could do better. Then Brother Robinson forgot him. Michael came out of his room in tears some time later and asked if they could ever be friends again. The answer with Christ and us is “Yes!” He says that though our sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow. We have to be willing to admit that we can sin, but we need to believe that Christ’s Atonement can make us enough to reach the celestial kingdom. If we can teach our children that Heavenly Father always wants us back. Brother Robinson said his wife Janet was called to be Relief Society president after having their fourth child, graduated from college and passed the CPA. She started feeling inadequate and overwhelmed and discouraged about doing it all all the time. She was trying to save herself. She knew that Jesus is an advisor, teacher, and head of the Church, but she was forgetting His role as the Savior. She finally realized that He could save her from herself. Adele said she was living in New York and overwhelmed by everything including when her husband called her to be Young Women’s president. We have to know we can say no. We have to realize we have seasons and when would be an appropriate time to do the things we need to do. Why do we compare ourselves with others? Why is that such a natural instinct? We’re looking for a yardstick to judge our progress, but we need a better yardstick. Elder Cornish said we torture ourselves needlessly by competing and comparing. We falsely judge our self-worth by the things we do or don’t have and by the opinions of others. If we must compare, let us compare how we were in the past to how we are today. He said we are going to make it. The only opinion of us that matters is what our Heavenly Father thinks of us. Our Heavenly Father intends that we should make it. That’s His plan, His work, and His glory. Elder Gong said this plan was prepared from the foundation of the world. He said that if we don’t deny the power of God, we can be sanctified. We need to become one with Him, like a small bankrupt bank that is merged with a huge successful bank and becomes solvent. As it says in John 3:17 “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” Sometimes we are so petrified by our fear, we can feel our Savior’s arms around us and we can trust Him and let him support us, like when Brother Robinson’s daughter was learning to swim and panicked until he told her to trust her. Adele asked us if we can be perfect in some things, such as paying tithing, or never taking a drink. We add those perfections to others as we work on them and know that we can reach perfection.