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.