Lesson for 26 March 2017

Today our lesson was given by Kristine Hansen on “Am I Good Enough?” by Elder Cornish. Kristine asked all of us to visualize a place we want to visit and a benefactor would pay for the trip. This is analogous to the Atonement because Christ wants to offer us a free trip to the celestial kingdom. We can go there to live forever. You don’t earn the celestial kingdom. We go there by the grace of Jesus Christ and we have to do our part so we can qualify. Elder Cornish has a formula we can follow--formula R: Don’t rationalize. Don’t rebel. Do repent. Do rely on the grace of Christ. Do really try. We need to understand that the Atonement is for sinners. It is also for saints. It is through the grace of the Lord that individuals gain the strength to do the good to qualify for the celestial kingdom. All we have to do is ask for it and do what we are supposed to do. Grace can help us do righteous things. Emily Campbell said through the death of her daughter, her divorce, and all her troubles, she feels she is strengthened. Dorothy Francis said we all notice that Emily has come to church throughout her troubles and told the Lord that she is ready and worthy. Suzy Sullivan said she feels strengthened to serve the sisters of our ward. Andrea Gerber said she sees people in her family who claim to be too broken to go to church, but others who allow the grace of the Lord to lift them and heal. Kristine said she was called to serve in a young married ward to be the wise older person. When she was set apart, the man said she needed to move out of her comfort zone and make herself available to those people. She said it became a wonderful calling. We can remain in our victim status or we can access the atonement and triumph through gratitude. We might also think we’re not good enough or too good and those judgments prevent us to be humble and victorious. Sometimes we are lazy. Sometimes we feel like we have such big goals we may be discouraged, or too comfortable to try to improve. Sometimes we are distracted or too busy to think of formula R. Our faith gets weak or we don’t have the knowledge of the gospel we should. Camille read a piece that said we can always repent no matter how many chances we have thrown away before. There is no sin that is worse than what Christ atoned for. Kristine has been a teacher of college-aged students for 41 years. In the last few years, she’s seen more students debilitated by depression and anxiety. It is a real handicap. More and more she sees students using this as excuses for not performing. A psychologist came to the English Department about what is being seen for serious distress, suicidal thoughts, psychotic episodes and worse is rising so high that students have to wait 3-4 weeks for counseling. The top reasons are depression, relationships, suicide, perfectionism, and alcoholism. One thing that struck her is that students are constantly comparing themselves to others and keep their cell phones with them at all times. They will spend hours crafting a Facebook image of themselves. People just need to unplug. We need to enjoy the process. We need to rely on the grace of Christ. Have the right foundation for your life like sleeping, eating right, trusting in the Lord. There is a life clinic in Provo. They say you should not sleep with electronics within 3 feet of your body. The electronic fields can affect our bodies. The internet is a good tool, but it can be used incorrectly. Elder Cornish said “We must stop comparing ourselves to others 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--and even to how we want to be in the future. The only opinion of us that matters is what our Heavenly Father thinks of us. Please sincerely ask Him what He thinks of you. He will love and correct but never discourage us; that is Satan’s trick.” Emma Campbell said she actually downloaded and app that encourages her to stay off her phone and it helps her. We need to put our relationship with Christ first, repent, and we will eventually be good enough to return to the celestial kingdom. Heavenly Father wants to work with us to help us qualify.

Lesson for March 19, 2017

Today our lesson was given by Maggie Kopp on chapter 5 of the Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley, “Daughters of God.” Yesterday, Maggie went to a funeral of a family friend--in-laws--she always made the family feel welcome and stepped in to help. It was fun to see how big an impact she made. Maggie asked about women we admire. Some of them we can be like and some not, but we can always try to be like them Some sisters talked about a mother or grandmother who had positive attributes that we can look up to. This week is the 175th anniversary of the Relief Society. The General Presidency invited us to think of our eternal role as a daughter of God, to know we are valued, and that we are sisters. So, our identity, our purpose, our examples of other female disciples, and our value. The women in our lives who inspire us. How have they helped us to become a better disciple. Diana Barker said that as she grew up she knew a woman who went on a mission and it inspired her to go on a mission. Lisa Anderson said she had a missionary companion who always believed Lisa was the best she could be and it inspired her to be better. Our identity as a daughter of God is basic. We sing I am a Child of God and it is explained in Church, but how does it give us strength. Emily Campbell said that she knows that if she is here and has things to do, so she will be able to do them. Another sister said it makes her feel special that she has qualities from someone who is so great. There is so much more to us than people think We have a spark of divinity. It helps us to treat others different from how we would otherwise. We should remember who we are at all times and who others are. It helps us not beat them up. If Heavenly Father loves them, too, then maybe we can, too. We can reflect on being patient, agreeable. We can know that Heavenly Father can take care of our loved ones, so we don’t need to be as worried about them. Joseph Smith said that if we live up to our promises, we can expect blessings The Relief Society reflects the relief we can receive if we are ill or need help. We are all each others’ blankets and the sisters wrap you up. It is the place where you can learn life skills. The community we have that enfold us. We can move anywhere in the world and go to Church and have friends and even babysitters. In our history, we learned that Godhood also meant womanhood, so our history is that we can do great things. We can take care of others, get an education, teach others, build cities, take care of our families, and a knowledge of people on the other side who are interested in us. In this life, we are the ministering angels in our spheres. President Hinckley said tremendous is our faith and great is our work. Rise to the great potential in us and don’t nag ourselves or beat ourselves up with our failures. How does that help us become more like our Savior? As we serve others and do our visiting teaching, we become more Christlike. The Relief Society is there to assist us, teach us, love us.

Lesson for March 5, 2017

Today our lesson was given by Andrea Gerber on Fasting. It has always seemed archaic and to indicate sorrow associated with sackcloth and ashes. But the fasting part is one of the most important principles to commit to. Andrea said that she had not done it well before because of blood sugar issues. But she decided to try it and found that after 18 hours, she really felt inspired and chastised herself for missing out. Trying to set up the fast so that the sacrament meeting is in the final hour of the fast, was an important part of her fast. When one sister was on her mission, she learned the value of fasting. She remembers a moment of truth in her mission when she needed to fast. She could feel more of the Spirit that very day and she was able to share referrals and share her testimony. She found benefits and miracles happened when she fasted. Heather Cantrell told about a military travel trip that they fasted and prayed for and got bumped, but were able to go the next day. It turned out that there was very bad weather. Miracles are brought about by fasting and sincere prayer. Lorenzo Snow on his mission in Italy stayed with a family who had an ill three year old. He fasted and prayed to be able to bless the child. A few hours later, the child was much better. He told the parents that the God of Heaven had done that for them. A family had a child who had fits and Joseph Smith said that if a head of the house would fast three days, the child would be healed. The father fasted and the child was healed. Sometimes, though God has a different plan and we need to recognize that God has His own plans. Perhaps praying to know what the plan is. Remember that those who are appointed to death are not to be healed. We do have a great power of faith and blessings. Andrea said that she prayed to know if she should marry her husband. Her mother told her that marriage is hard and life is hard so getting that answer is what can carry her through the hard times. So Andrea decided to fast and pray and the next day she would eat and then do it again. On the very first day with the very first prayer, she got a burning unmistakable answer She felt that the answer came with fasting and prayer combined. Other comments came about times when putting off the natural man and rising above the physical body would help. However much we can do to fast, God notices. We have to be willing to accept how God works and make the sacrifice of our wills. Andrea feels like fasting is a secret weapon. Prophets have mentioned the when and the why we should fast. For example, blessings of health, answers to prayers, inspiration, finding jobs or on a job, gaining confidence, for gratitude. One sister remembers her ward fasting for rain during fires and it rained the next day. Scientists are now recognizing the benefits for our bodies in fasting. If we are humble, God gives us the confidence we need to do hard things or guide our families. Fasting gives us the courage to do something hard so we know we can do something else that is hard. Fasting also gives us clarity of mind. Fasting can help us know the lord is on our side. In Isaiah 58:6-11 has many promises that come from fasting. It can do many wonderful things for us. In our homes,it can strengthen marriage bonds, lessen conflict between siblings, and strengthen our character and control of our appetites. The greatest promise is that then the Lord shall come when we call and comfort us. She challenges us to experiment with fasting and its blessings.