Lesson for December 11, 2016

Lesson for December 11, 2016 Today our lesson was given by Maggie Kopp about Howard W. Hunter’s “No Less Serviceable” in ch. 23 and “Following the Example of Jesus Christ” in ch. 24. Maggie went to a leadership seminar at her work and had to read a biography about someone and some chose President Hinckley and about Winston Churchill. Dorothy Francis chose John Adams. Others read about the Wright Brothers, and other leaders and innovators. President Hunter liked to read about Moroni. Then Helaman and his brothers were no less serviceable to the Church than Moroni. Not all of us are going to be like Moroni, but we will be no less serviceable as members of God’s army. Some people may not be talked about as much in the scriptures, like Gideon and Abish, but they did great service. At Christmas time, Joseph is mentioned more than he usually was, but he would have been a wonderful man to be the father figure to Jesus. Zeezrom repented and taught the Nephites to be righteous. When Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the temple at eight days, there were two older people who had been promised they would see Him. President Hunter also mentioned Sariah and others in Church history that many do not remember. Maybe a teacher or a visiting teacher or someone who was kind to you. How do we honor the small acts of service that are done for us? We can do for others what others have done for us. Follow the promptings of the Spirit. Adele Hickman said the Spirit told her to say thank you to the cleaning lady cleaning a bathroom and the woman was shocked, but looked grateful. Sometimes we feel our service is not the most important, but when we understand what it means to serve, we don’t have to worry about where we serve. It is important for us to thank others and help them feel appreciated and needed. In ch. 24 we can focus on how Jesus Christ is a great example for us as we go about our daily lives. The Church initiative to light up the world, there are so many stories of how to do service and teach and love the children. Each particular attribute of Christ gives us opportunities to serve. For example, when Christ spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well, He showed us how to speak to someone outside our comfort zone. Dorothy Francis said she is motivated by the scripture about doing good to the least of these and it is like serving Jesus. President Hunter said we should follow what Jesus would do to the extent that our mortal powers exist. We would ask ourselves what Jesus would do and then have courage. One sister said she comforted a girl in her class who got a phone call saying that her grandfather had died and it turned out to be a good thing. Maggie said she has been doing some research for an exhibit. Jeannie Hughes was the example for the character in Middlemarch by George Eliot. She had an unhappy marriage, but decided to use her faith and be like her Savior and do good to others and do fundraising for orphaned young women. She was asked by the government to do a report of young women and their conditions. She had to take care of invalid parents, opposition, and she had cancer, but she tried to be of service to others in spite of those obstacles. Emily Campbell said she feels like she is not so special that hard things can’t happen to her. We all get trials and even if we’re busy, we can focus on our Savior and His example, we can find those people who need our help. We also need confidence to know we can follow the Spirit and know we can overcome rejection or awkwardness to reach out to help someone. And if it doesn’t work, we have a funny story to tell. Maggie has a high school friend whose family does a huge service project every Christmas and it’s become a lovely tradition. The Savior isn’t here and we are His hands on earth. If we don’t take advantage of the promptings we get, we may lose out on other promptings. If you really believe the Lord will help you do it, He will help you and you can accomplish hard things. Remember that the Spirit is with you had will help to guide you, like Captain Moroni was. We may have opportunities that you were not aware of before.