Lesson for July 23, 2017

Today our lesson was given by Kristine Hansen about a talk by Elder D. Todd Christofferson, "A Voice of Warning." She wanted to approach this lesson by asking the journalism questions who, what, why, when, who, how? What is the voice of warning? In the D&C it says it behoves every man to warn his neighborhood. Sister Horrocks said she felt like with her children, she was a steward and was suppose to warn them. Are we supposed to put on sackcloth and stand on a soapbox and warn people about their spiritual danger. Elder Christofferson said that the warning voice is supposed to be one of love. It needs to be firm and clear and rooted in love, such as the sacrifices made by our missionaries. To warn is to care. If we're going to warn neighbors about spiritual dangers, we do it by love, persuasion, and caring. Linda Campbell told of a story Elder Holland told at the missionary conference about a young man who left his family to join a motorcycle gang. Two missionaries stopped by his house and were not put off by his Doberman Pinschers and asked him where he came from. The man said he was from Pocatello and he admitted the family he came from and their name. One of the elders said, "That's my family, too, and God sent me to invite you to come home. Our parents have been praying for you every morning and every night." The man did come back and was eventually sealed in the temple. Lisa Merrill read some of her daughter's mission letter telling about a man's conversion and the change that has come over him as he has learned. She said she has been compared to Jesus and talking to them feels good. Love is reflected in kindness and ways we approach people. Heather Cantrell told of her cousins who showed up at her house yesterday to mend the rift in their family. Her cousin had been warned by her stake president that she needed to visit Heather. What a great surprise. We need to think of the parable of the Good Samaritan. Our neighbor is really anyone we come into contact with. Teaching and testifying of the gospel truth is important and especially the joys that can be had with faithfulness. Staying in touch with relatives and friends and showing them a way and a pattern to behave can benefit. It could be a stranger. Lisa Anderson had an experience with a home health care person who came to help take care of Lisa's unle and was very interested in a church magazine with President Hinckley on the cover. So you never know when you will have an opportunity. Heather Cantrell said she gave a Book of Mormon to several people who have joined the Church. Kristine told about going to Jerusalem and went to the Garden Tomb. It was shady and green and birds singing. The tour leader said they would now have a testimony meeting. One member of the group was Elder Martinez of the Seventy. He said it is our privilege to bear testimony. His son said, Whenever I think of Jesus, it just makes me smile." Then people felt comfortable bearing their testimony. Kristine said we need to be loving and kind and willing to be bold in sharing good news.

Lesson for July 16, 2017

Today our lesson was given by Maggie Kopp about Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley chapter 13 on "Peace and Contentment through Temporal Self-Reliance." Maggie asked us to write on temporal self-reliance--free association--what do we think about it. We talked about the things we wrote down. She asked us to talk about emotional and spiritual self-reliance. Lots of things are thrown at us by life. Being able to handle stress is important Having a good self-image and having resources that can help us. Having a support group. Spiritual self-reliance is being able to pray and get inspiration for themselves is important. We have to walk that fine line between being self-reliant and being willing to accept help. If we have our own self-reliance, we can help others. Having a relationship with the Lord and understanding the language of the Holy Ghost is something to develop that can be a resource. We'll be better equipped to handle adversity and life in general. When we think of when we are trying to seek answers or get guidance, if we have an understanding of what our own goals and strengths are, we can handle our problems better. Things that may be viewed as negative about can be obstacles. Sometimes when we feel judgmental if we think others ought to be more self-reliant. Sometimes were afraid of being taken advantage of. It's a good thing to help others, so we feel reluctant. Work can be a blessing or a curse. The world teaches us self-reliance differently by saying we should be proud of what we can do ourselves. We know we can't do anything without Christ. We're so dependent on Him for everything. Planning ahead is a service to your family, especially with wills and property allocation and everything else. Having things planned also means that we can serve others. Getting and education and knowing how to work can help us weather storms. People taking care of other people is paramount. You can help people become self-sufficient through serving them and teaching them. Being able to manage our responsibilities is helpful to us as well. The church has a new web site on self-reliance that has aids to building your own business to learning certain skills at https://www.lds.org/topics/per-self-reliance/live. Having a testimony of the gospel and reading the scriptures can help with emotional and temporal self-reliance as well. Having peace in our lives is related to having good personal resources and that is related to our relationship with God. Our self-reliance is related to our choice to be self-reliant. Knowledge we can gain, talents we have, Church resources, family resources, are all important to face life's challenges and receive the answers we need.

Lesson for July 9, 2017

Today our lesson was given by Camille Maynard on Chapter 12 of the Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley, "Obedience: Simply Live the Gospel." Camille started by saying that simple doesn't necessarily mean easy. President Hinckley said when he was fourteen, he heard President Heber j. Grant who quoted that great scripture by Nephi about whatever the Lord commands, He gives a way. In his first talk in Church when he was called to be a General Authority, he talked about the necessity to understand the purpose of the Churhc and to be obedient to the commandments, be courteous, and be more Christlike. It's a season to reach out with love and acceptance. We shouldn't judge others or their actions. Chelsea Jolley said, Let those with the right authority do what they need to do and the rest of us should just be nice. President Hinckley also talked about being a covenant people. The Restoration was to bring back that covenant with God and His people. "We are a covenant people, and great are the obligations which go with that covenant. We cannot be ordinary people. We must rise above the crowd. We must stand a little taller. We must be a little better, a little kinder, a little more generous, a little more courteous, a little more thoughtful, a little more outreaching to others." We have to put off the natural man and not be swayed by what is popular. We are suppose to be steady, which makes us not ordinary. One sister said that if she were not a member of this Church, life is much different from her siblings. Camille said her friend has left the Church and how different her life is now. Her day-to-day life is different without the gospel. Jayne Galloway said that once we make those covenants and make the decision to honor them, it makes life a whole lot easier. Seeing the way people dressed just gong into the mall or going into the distribution center gives us an idea of how peculiar we are. We have to make the choice to stick with our convictions. Virginia Roundy said that when we only see the world as it is we lose the bigger picture. We have to put off carnal pleasures and wait for eternal rewards. Understanding that you are a child of God and who you are helps you make decisions that you should. You can get really lost by thinking things are important that are valued by the world, but it might not be part of the gospel at all. The way of the gospel is really quite simple, even though it might not seem to be. One sister said she went with a friend who asked her to come into a bar with her and she wouldn't have to do anything, but sit there. She did and she met a man who asked her out and she ended up marrying him. For example, the type of entertainment we watch or where we like to be. Really small decisions in your life can have big consequences. Elijah went and did according to the word of the Lord. There was no arguing or waffling. He simply did what the Lord wanted. There are strict rules for every mission and some differences, but what a time in their lives is it that they learn how to be strictly obedient. Heavenly Father is so smart to ask young men to go on missions at that age. We should all try a little harder to the divinity in is and be better than what we are. We are religious 24 hours a day, not just on Sunday. We should be living our beliefs all the time. The whole story of the Book of Mormon is a story of how when people are righteous, they are blessed. When they are not righteous, there is war, famine, and sin. The Church will not dictate the way someone should go, but it will point out the way and leave it up to them. When President Hinckley was a college student, he thought the president of the church had overstepped his bounds. His father said the president always sought the guidance of the Lord and has no personal agenda, but only want the Lord's agenda. There is no selfish desire no matter what the issue. There is no desire to teach anything other than what the Lord would teach in the same circumstances. We need to sustain him. He is not perfect, but he is who the Lord has chosen, so our job is to sustain him. There is a principle we should follow: Keep the faith. A promise is that if you keep the faith, you will receive happiness. He told of a train with a baggage car that got lost because a switch point had been moved 3", making the baggage car move from SLC to New Orleans. A small movement may create a great gap. Actions may be magnified over time, so make the actions good actions. If we simply live the gospel as it has been laid out for us, we will receive blessings.

Lesson for July 2, 2017

Today our lesson was given by our president, Suzy Sullivan. She taught us about talks, one by Elder Simmons "Let Us Not" and Elder Bednar and how we should say Thy Will Be Done. We need to trust that God loves us and has the big picture in mind. You have to let go of trying to counsel the Lord. You have to keep doing what you can, but even if you don't know what is next in store for you, you need to trust that God knows best and has the big picture in mind. You do know that Heavenly Father can give us extra grace and strength to handle what we have to go through. If we dont get what we want, we can still trust in our Heavenly Father and have peace that His will happens. You try to understand what is happening and why it is His will. What should be learn from the situation and not become bitter or angry. Suzy played part of Elder Bednar's talk about a couple who went through adversity. The husband was diagnosed with bone cancer with nodules in his lungs. He felt he had failed as a husband. His wife said it changed her perspective. She said it was the worst day of her life, but she was grateful for their temple marriage. Chemotherapy affected his health and psychology. They would sometimes wonder what Heavenly Father had in store for them. They found that prayer was their savior. The husband had surgery on one of the tumors. They found that the eternal principles they learned were invaluable. They had to find the faith to not be healed. They had to accept that the blessing they needed was contingent on not being healed. They recognized a principle that strong faith in the Savior must take into account the timing and purpose of Jesus Christ as a child submits to its father. What seemed to be perplexing questions, came to be seen as major principles to learn, such as "He that shall find his life shall lose it. Lots of paradoxes seemed to present themselves to the couple. They submitted their will to the will of the Father. True faith is to trust the Lord. The important thing is that they exhibit that true faith. None of us are going to escape challenges, so we'd better be strong. The time we have together with our families is a blessing, even if there are problems. Those who are made stronger can help others. Suzy told of how her husband wanted to go get a PhD and did not get accepted. They were puzzled, but then they started their own business and they got what they wanted, but a different way from what they thought they would get. Fear not, but believe. See what you do have as a gift. Sometimes we are blessed by some of our most painful experience. Sometimes when you plan things out, they do not turn out as great. We do our best with what we know and then accept what God gives to us. Elder Bednar said that if all maladies were removed, the plan of the Lord would be frustrated. He loves us and we are in his hands.