Lesson for May 7, 2017

Lesson for May y, 2017 We had a spotlight on Jennifer Atwood. Then there was a visiting teaching spotlight by Lisa Merrill with a video from lds.org. . Today our lesson was given by Charlene Farnwortrh as a member of the Relief Society presidency. It was on visiting teaching messages we are asked to take to our sisters. One of her favorite parts of visiting teaching is the discussion part. She wonders why we are asked to take specific messages. The reason we go visiting teaching is to become closer to Christ. She went through the messages we had so far this year. How does Relief Society prepare women for their divine roles?--January. She asked how does Relief Society help women fulfill Heavenly Father’s divine role for women? Inspiration. Strength. Knowing who we are. Purpose. Influence. Worth. Covenants. Connection. Unity. Then we had a discussion. Claudia Laycock said she’s glad she’s a woman. She has worked in a man’s world all her career and did a lot of firsts. Charlene handed out a sentence with blanks: “I will organize the women after the order of the priesthood” by Joseph Smith. She also used videos from mormon.org to illustrate certain points. How can we express our love for Jesus Christ’s Atonement? We know that all shall be made alive through Christ’s Atonement. Discussion came up with the message, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Charlene called on sisters. One said we could focus on the Savior during the sacrament Barbara Aldredge said at Women’s Conference at BYU they talked about accepting callings and asking for help from Christ to do those callings. Others mentioned serving. Others said to share what we know. March was about the enabling power of Jesus Christ to help our weaknesses become strong. We can help to lift the burdens of others. Christ can heal us. He sees us as glorious beings who can achieve great things. For the gospel to be effective in our lives, we need to be firmly attached to Christ. Christ invites us to come unto him and be transformed. Our faith can make us whole. Jesus said, I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left. Chelsey Jolley said that Greg made a commitment before he went to graduate school he said he wouldn’t do homework on Sunday. He kept his callings. He often woke up early to do his homework, but he did not break his commitments to the gospel and he was blessed to become good at his academic work. In April the message was about the Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood. We need to know what it is. In D&C 84:33-44 is the oath. It is about the priesthood power used by Christ to create the worlds. Those who hold the priesthood become the sons of Abraham. He that receives Christ receives his father and receive the benefits of everything our Heavenly Father has. The love of Jesus Christ is our guide, if we are to become aware of those in need we can help.

Lesson for April 16, 2017

Lesson for April 16, 2017 Today our lesson was given by Maggie Kopp about chapter 6 in the manual about “How Great is a Thing of Prayer?” Maggie asked us if there is a person in our lives who is easy to communicate with. Why is that person that easy to communicate with? They assume the best about us. They listen without judging. They are interested in what we say and in us. They are good listeners. They are trustworthy. Not only are they good listeners, they have good things to say. Related to prayer, we need to think of what we need to do. We need to draw near to God and maintain a close relationship. We need to be grateful. We need answers and comfort. President Hinckley mentioned praying for protection, for help for our loved ones, for strength to do what we need to do. It is personal and individual. Ask for what you need and the important things we need in our lives. How do we prepare ourselves to pray? Have enough time to pray and receive an answers. Don’t be so worried about finishing quickly, for example, to go to bed. Think beforehand about what there is to pray about to avoid those vain repetitions. Getting rid of distractions so we can pray—leave the phone in another room, turn off the television, and make sure kids are in a state where they are calm. Pretend that when we kneel down, that we are held by our Heavenly Father. Mary Jane Woodger said her prayers are more meaningful by remembering the attributes of Heavenly Father and who he is. During family prayer we have to remember that the blessings may not be readily apparent. It is a time to be loving and not require that we or our children need to be perfect. We need to be flexible and change according to the age of our family. Small children are not the same as teenagers. We may have to change the time when family prayer takes place, even having it in shifts. The scriptures say that fervent prayer avails us much. A fervent prayer is a passionate prayer and can be work. We can combine meditation and prayer so we can focus on what is covered in a prayer. One thing that can make our prayers more fervent is to really ask that the Lord will forgive our sins, and that opens us up to the Spirit. A barrier could be being embarrassed to admit failures to Heavenly Father, rather than treating Him like our closest friend. We can admit how we’re feeling, because isn’t that what Jesus did in His prayers. Humility, and sincerity could be admitting that we cannot do some things on our own without His help. Sometimes it’s hard to figure out if what we want is just what we want but is not what our Heavenly Father wants for us. It is a wrestle to know what His will is. We are not informing God, but we are figuring things out for ourselves and hoping for inspiration. Sometimes the changes it makes in ourselves can make us more open to becoming better and making our prayers more meaningful. As we listen to the Spirit, we can be more open to our Heavenly Father and the influence of the Spirit. Prayer can help us and change our hearts. Lesson

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.

Lesson for February 26, 2017

Today’s lesson was given by Kristine Hansen on Teachings for our Time and a talk by Carol F. McConkie on “The Soul’s Sincere Desire.” It is about prayer and was given last October. When Kristine was 8 years old her Primary teacher had her class learn the words for the song, “Prayer is the Soul’s Sincere Desire.” She says that prayer is one thing that unifies us and Christ also unifies us. He taught us to pray. In prayer, we engage all three members of the Godhead. We pray to God the Father, through Jesus Christ, His Son, with the help of the Holy Ghost. We pray to God the Father and Him Only. He is the only living and true God. Kristine handed out a passage by Elder Talmage on prayer and Christ, said that a person should pray in private when none may intrude. Using wordy passages that are likely to impress are useless. Even the poor in spirit may pray. One who is uplifted can pray. God without our prayers would be God; but we without prayer cannot be admitted to the kingdom of God. So did Christ instruct: “Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask him.” Sister McConkie said we pray through Christ as the Mediator, Advocate, and someone who speaks for you. He is there pleading for you. Kristine also quoted Paradise Lost by Milton and the part when Adam and Eve prayed to God after being cast out of Eden. He tells about when Christ intercedes for Adam and Eve pray and carries their prayers to God and tells about how His death will pay for man’s sins. Kristine says she imagines Christ takes her prayers to God the Father and says, “She is asking for forgiveness and I’ve already paid for her sins, so will you please forgive her?” Sister McConkie said Christ wants us to turn to him so we can be purified and comforted by Him as we pray in His name and try to become like He did. Yesterday we had a Relief Society conference when several sisters told of their many trials and how they have been lifted up through the power of prayer. Their trials were terrible, but they got through them by trusting in the Lord. The Holy Ghost will prompt us to pray for what we need. When we get answers to our prayers, we get help through the power of the Holy Ghost who will prompt us to pray for the right things. We have to tap in the right way. D&C 46:30 says if you are in the Spirit you will align your will with the will of God. 3 Nephi 19: 34 tells of the disciples who were given what to pray for and they didn’t multiply many words. Sister McConkie said President Eyring said he knew best when his desire was to have what God wanted him to desire. When we live in perilous times we should be still and know what God wants for us. Kristine handed out questions for seven different groups and had them discuss prayer. The sisters talked about having humility and realizing that God can help can help us to want to pray. Having a habit of prayer can help us want to pray. Reading our scriptures can help us want to pray. Sometimes knowing what the question is that we need to pray for can help us know what the focus should be and maybe a different way of looking at an issue. We also discussed getting an answer to prayer that we did not want. Sometimes when we get a dead end answer, the question then changes to what it should be if we are open to listening to the Holy Ghost. To pray always is to have a prayer in our heart always, and then we can be in a position to get the answer we should. One sister said she got a prompting to put two pairs of glasses in her temple bag and one pair broke. Her second pair also broke. Then her husband was able to fix them, but she felt blessed that the Holy Ghost had taken care of her that day. The question came up is there a balance between praying always and doing what is needed. The answer was to keep a prayer in the heart If you are in a spiritual desert, then prayer can help you return to a bounty, especially if you ask to know how you got there. Also persevering is important. Sometimes the Savior is standing next to us and praying for us while we go through trials.

Lesson for February 5, 2017

Lesson for February 5, 2017 Today our lesson was given by Megan Miller about Elder Eyring’s talk about the Sabbath. Megan asked us what we are grateful for. Some answers included sunshine, indoor plumbing, family, health, gospel, clean water, mobility, retirement, eyesight, medical care, professionals, a home, heat, glasses, food, temple, cars, music, the Savior, the Holy Ghost, the Prophet, mothers, babies, children, the Atonement, the bishop and the bishop’s wife, transportation, appliances, missionaries, and temples. Elder Eyring said what matters most is our feelings for the giver of our gifts. In D&C 78:19, it says those who are grateful will be made glorious. It is the opposite of entitlement because if you feel you are owed something, you don’t have gratitude. What can we feel gratitude for the Sabbath? It’s a break, it gives us time for family and doing the things of the Lord. If we know our family is doing the same, then we know it is a time when we can meet with family and study the gospel or put it into practice. We can visit with friends and families. Going to the meetings on Sunday is a blessing by being strengthened by the people you love is a way to share each other’s strength and testimony. Even if our Sunday is busy, it is a time that is different from the rest of the week. We can be united with others in the Church. We can get answers for our prayers through other people’s comments, talks, and lessons. It can draw our families together. Elder Eyring said the most important blessing from observing the Sabbath is forgiveness through the sacrament and the feelings we get through the Atonement. How does gratitude help us overcome trouble. Megan read to us the verses of Count Your Many Blessings. Chelsea Jolley’s father got a brain tumor and he was worried that he faced years of dementia and it would be hard on his family, but he went quickly and it was over in two months. Megan said her father-in-law had heart problems over Christmas, the whole family was there and could help. They learned they could be sad and grateful at the same time. We all have moments of feeling low and depressed, but we can change our mood by counting our blessings. We can stay in the moment and we can say we have things to be grateful for and we can see the progress we have made, even if it is small. You can realize that the Lord has always taken care of us and will continue to take care of us. In Mosiah 24:13-15 the righteous people were taken over by the wicked priests of King Noah. The voice of the Lord said to them that their burdens were made light as they submitted their will to him. The Lord can make us cheerful and strong. Both assets are important. One sister said when her husband had to go on a business trip and he gave her a blessing and she was able to see many blessings. Sometimes we get things that happen to us as distractions to help us not dwell on the problems. Emily Campbell said she was told that when she had problems there would be sweet times. She has found this to be true and knowing it is true helps her see the sweet times. Another sister said when she met her husband, he was a very timid person, but he reads his scriptures constantly and it is helping him have confidence. Being willing to take the Lord’s counsel can help us through the tough times even when we can’t see the reason the Lord tells us to do things. In the darkest of times, the Lord will help us. In D&C 78:17-18 it says we are like little children and the Lord will help us see the good.