Lesson for December 10, 2017

Today our lesson was given by Maggie Kopp about Lesson 25 “Move Forward with Faith.” Maggie began the lesson by reading a quote from the first section: the one thing needed to succeed is faith, a practical pragmatic faith. Get on your knees and pray and go forth and make it happen. President Hinckley said it is action. It isn’t abstract, but follows principles. It is a living vital force that motivates us to action. Faith includes works. It takes faith to keep the commandments. President Hinckley said he worked for the railroad and found that a railroad journey is a series of short journeys Illuminated by light, so we can apply this to our lives by taking one step at a time. Do you have the faith to do the little everyday things. The manual tells a story of President Hinckley who was asked by the mission president to go to a publisher and lodge a complaint about a book being published that contained false information about the church. President Hinckley went to the publisher and had a civil conversation with the publisher who then recalled all the copies of the book and inserted a page that said the book was a work of fiction and not meant to offend anyone. Maggie gave three principles: (1) Accept the challenge with faith; (2) call on the Lord; (3) go to work. We all face circumstances that cause fear. fear is the antithesis of faith. Dealer can make us frozen. It consumes us and stops us from moving forward. Satan tries to keep us from making good choices that help us move forward. Fear doesn’t come from the Lord. It helps to see other people who have faced the situation successfully. Sometimes we need to plan differently so we have our lives in balance. We feel joy by focusing on Jesus rather than on ourselves. The scriptures say not to run faster than we have strength. We can only do so much. We should not over schedule ourselves. Sometimes everyday life can be what we fear. There are ways to overcome our fears. We can compare our trials with people who have overcome more than we have had to or remind ourselves what we have accomplished in the past. It helps to look upwards, have conviction, confidence, courage. Identify the next action steps and take it so you know what to do next. Maggie said there was a time when she was very anxious and found that she had to focus on one problem at a time. Just because we’re some way, we don’t need to stay that way. We can learn how to cope. We can focus on something peaceful and realize that most things pass. The things in our lives that are hard right now won’t be the same in five years. Sometimes we have to learn the hard way. Start with one thing and take into consideration the well being of the family or yourself. That way you will be strong. Having a different perspective can help. Relying on the Lord can help us, especially if we make the decision to follow the Lord before we are confronted with any situations. Imagine the Savior beside you cheering you on what would you do? Would you feel braver and more able to are things on? President Hinckley was an optimist and knew that everything will work out. He said the testimony of Jesus will light a lamp that lights the way to the celestial kingdom.