Relief Society Lesson Aug. 25, 2013

 LESSON:   Loye gave her lesson on Marriage: Watch and Lean by Elder L. Whitney Clayton  (May 2013 Ensign)    

                                          

                                         The promises of the Lord are extended to all those who follow

                            the pattern of life that builds happy, holy marriage relationships.

 

We can learn so much by watching and then considering what we have seen and felt. In that spirit, let me share with you a few principles I have observed by watching and learning from wonderful, faithful marriages. These principles build strong, satisfying marriages that are compatible with heavenly principles. I invite you to watch and learn with me.

First, I have observed that in the happiest marriages both the husband and wife consider their relationship to be a pearl beyond price, a treasure of infinite worth. They both leave their fathers and mothers and set out together to build a marriage that will prosper for eternity. They understand that they walk a divinely ordained path. They know that no other relationship of any kind can bring as much joy, generate as much good, or produce as much personal refinement. Watch and learn: the best marriage partners regard their marriages as priceless.

Next, faith. Successful eternal marriages are built on the foundation of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and adherence to His teachings. I have observed that couples who have made their marriages priceless practice the patterns of faith: they attend sacrament and other meetings every week, hold family home evening, pray and study the scriptures together and as individuals, and pay an honest tithing.  Faith is the foundation of every virtue that strengthens marriage. Strengthening faith strengthens marriage. Watch and learn: faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the foundation of happy eternal marriages.

Third, repentance. I have learned that happy marriages rely on the gift of repentance. It is an essential element in every good marital relationship. Repentance helps restore and maintain harmony and peace. Humility is the essence of repentance. Humility is selfless, not selfish. It doesn’t demand its own way or speak with moral superiority. Instead, humility answers softly and listens kindly for understanding, not vindication. Humility recognizes that no one can change someone else, but with faith, effort, and the help of God, we can undergo our ownmighty change of heart. Experiencing the mighty change of heart causes us to treat others, especially our spouses, with meekness. Humility means that both husbands and wives seek to bless, help, and lift each other, putting the other first in every decision. Watch and learn: repentance and humility build happy marriages.

Fourth, respect. I have observed that in wonderful, happy marriages, husbands and wives treat each other as equal partners. Husbands and wives in great marriages make decisions unanimously, with each of them acting as a full participant and entitled to an equal voice and vote. They focus first on the home and on helping each other with their shared responsibilities. As their duties and circumstances permit, husbands and wives work side by side in doing the most important work there is—the work we do in our own homes. They do not look at the virtual profiles of anyone in any way that might betray the sacred trust of their spouse. They never do or say anything that approaches the appearance of impropriety, either virtually or physically. Watch and learn: terrific marriages are completely respectful, transparent, and loyal.

Fifth, love. The happiest marriages I have seen radiate obedience to one of the happiest commandments—that we “live together in love.” Speaking to husbands, the Lord commanded, “Thou shalt love thy wife with all thy heart, and shalt cleave unto her and none else. Married couples cleave to God and one another by serving and loving each other and by keeping covenants in complete fidelity to one another and to God.” Both the husband and wife “leave behind their single life and establish their marriage as [their] first priority. …Watch and learn: successful couples love each other with complete devotion.

There are those whose marriages are not as happy as they would wish, as well as those who have never married, are divorced, are single parents, or for various reasons are not in a position to marry. These circumstances can be full of challenge and heartbreak, but they need not be eternal. Keep the commandments, and trust the Lord and His perfect love for you. One day every promised blessing concerning marriage will be yours.

The promises of the Lord are extended to all those who follow the pattern of life that builds happy, holy marriage relationships. Such blessings come as the delightful, predictable consequences of faithfully living the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Marriage is a gift from God to us; the quality of our marriages is a gift from us to Him. I bear testimony of the marvelous plan of our loving Heavenly Father, which provides for eternal, wondrous marriage.

 

Thanks Loye you gave wonderful lesson

Announcements for September 2013

Announcements:  August 25, 2013

                 

September 12th - Ward Temple Day

September 19th - R.S. Night Activity - Provident Living

September 21st - Family History Classes 9:00am to 5:00pm at B.A.T.C.

September 22nd - Youth Fireside 6:00pm 15th/16th ward

September 28th (Saturday) - General Relief Society meeting 6pm. Broadcast in 15/16 ward.

 

Our Stake will be given enough tickets that any sister who wishes to attend the meeting in Salt Lake, may do so. I will be getting more information from Sister Jaggi shortly and will pass it onto you. Please make your plans to carpool and have an enjoyable day.

October 19th - Ward Service Day - more information is coming.

November  (Saturday)  Super Saturday - If you have something you could demonstrated for us, or have suggestions,                                              please call Lael Gilbert 435-764-6571

Photo Directories - If your photo is not in the directory, please contact a member of the the presidency and Kim will take your picture and add it. 

Lesson Summary

Lesson Summary: From the Life of Lorenzo Snow Chapter #15  

Faithful, Energetic Service in the Kingdom of God

"Knowing our religion to be true we ought to be the most devoted people on the face of the earth to the cause we have embraced.”

 

Because we have received the fullness of the gospel, we serve as ambassadors of Christ.

We testify to the whole world that we know, by divine revelation, even through the manifestations of the Holy Ghost, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and that he revealed himself toJoseph Smith as personally as he did to his apostles anciently, after he arose from the tomb, and that he made known unto him [the] heavenly truths by which alone mankind can be saved. This … is assuming a very important and responsible position, knowing, as we do, that God will hold us accountable for the disposition we make of this sacred trust which he has committed to us.

Then, having assumed this position, we assume all the responsibilities of ambassadors of Christ, we become answerable for our individual acts and for the manner in which we use the talents and ability the Lord has given us.

Membership in the Church is a call to help others receive salvation.

When the Lord calls an individual or a class of individuals out from the world, it is not always with an object to benefit that particular individual or individuals. The Lord has not in view merely the salvation of a few people called Latter-day Saints â€¦ , but the salvation of all men, the living and the dead. When the Lord called Abraham He made him certain promises concerning the glory that should come upon him and his posterity, and in these promises we find this remarkable saying: that in him and in his seed all the nations of the earth should be blessed [see Genesis 22:15–18; Abraham 2:9–11]. … The design of the Lord was to bless not only him and his posterity, but all the families of the earth. â€¦

Every calling and responsibility is important in the Lord’s work.

Now the question is, do we sense our position, do we comprehend fully the nature of the work we have undertaken to consummate? I am sometimes led to believe that some of our brethren, Elders in Israel, are too ready and willing to shirk the obligations they are under by reason of their covenants, the faith they once possessed seems to be almost exhausted, and they appear to settle down into the quiet satisfaction of a mere nominal membership in the Church.

There are others who think because their names are not very widely known, because they are perhaps … occupying narrow spheres, that it does not matter much what habits they contract, or what kind of examples they set before their brethren. But then, if they held responsible positions, such as a Church leadership position, then they would consider it important how they conducted themselves. Herein they manifest great weakness or gross ignorance, their lamp is either growing dim or they never sensed the position they assumed in taking upon themselves the responsibilities of the gospel.

When we serve God with faith, energy, and cheerfulness, He strengthens us and helps us succeed.

I say, let men serve God faithfully and energetically, and be cheerful. … There are times when persons are brought into conditions where it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to assume a cheerful aspect. But such times are very few.⁹

Knowing our religion to be true we ought to be the most devoted people on the face of the earth to the cause we have embraced. Knowing as we do, or should know, that the gospel we have received promises all our hearts can wish or desire, if we are faithful, we ought to be very faithful, devoted, energetic and ambitious in carrying out the designs and wishes of the Lord as He reveals them from time to time through His servants. We ought not to be lukewarm or negligent in attending to our duties, but with all our might, strength and souls we should try to understand the spirit of our calling and the nature of the work in which we are engaged.

… Had the apostles or seventies in the days of Jesus imagined that they could have fulfilled the missions given them by building an ark as Noah did, or building granaries and storing grain as Joseph did they would have been grandly mistaken.

Joseph in the land of Egypt was called upon to perform a certain class of duties, which were made incumbent upon him. He was not called to preach the gospel without purse or scrip; but to build granaries, and to use all his influence with the King, nobles and people of Egypt to store their grain against a day of famine. … Now supposing that Joseph had gone to work and built an ark, he would not have been accepted of the Lord, neither could he have saved the people of Egypt nor his father’s house. When Noah was commanded to build an ark, supposing he had established granaries, he and his house could not have been saved. So in regard to ourselves, when duties are required at our hands, … whatever we may be required to do within the pale of the kingdom of the Almighty, we have to walk in the spirit of these requirements and perform them if we would gain power and influence with our God.

The work of the Lord is sometimes difficult, but it brings great joy.

We meet many things associated with this labor that are not pleasant, but there is a great pleasure connected with it. When we look back upon our determinations to devote ourselves to the cause of truth and keep our covenants, we have great joy, because the spirit of our callings rests mightily upon us, without which spirit we cannot keep pace with the kingdom of God.¹¹

Lesson

Lesson Summary: From the Life of Lorenzo Snow Chapter #14   "With God All Things Are Possible."
Laura Mast did an excellent job of presenting this lesson. However, as usual, the lesson contained so much good information and we had so many insightful comments that we were not able to discuss the full lesson. 

 

In reading the lesson, I was strongly impressed with the last two pages.  Below is part of what we were not able to cover. 

Please read and ponder this information from President Lorenzo Snow, it puts things in proper perspective.   

God has promised to help us in our personal efforts to live the gospel.

    In and of ourselves we cannot possibly comply with all the commandments that God has given unto us. Jesus himself could not without divine aid from His Father accomplish His work. He said on one occasion, “I can of mine own self do nothing, as I hear I judge and my judgment is just because I seek not my own will but the will of the Father who sent me.” [John 5:30.]

 

    And we, if it was necessary for Him, our Lord, to have divine assistance, will find it all the more important to receive His assistance. And in every circumstance and condition surrounding the Latter-day Saints, while in the performance of our duties, we are entitled to supernatural aid from the Holy Spirit, to help in the various conditions surrounding us, and in the duties that we are required to perform.

 

    â€¦ I cannot imagine anything that is so vastly important as to work for and obtain one’s own individual exaltation and glory. That undoubtedly is one great purpose for which we came into the world. … No man or woman should be discouraged when they feel that they cannot complete what they would like to perform, but we all should do what we can toward carrying out the grand work for which we are here.⁹

 

    The character of the religion that we have espoused demands a certain course of conduct that no other religion that we know of requires of its adherents; and the nature of those demands upon us [is] such that no person can comply with them, unless by assistance from the Almighty. It is necessary that we comprehend, at least in part, the great and important blessings that we are to derive, eventually, by complying with the requirements of the religion or gospel that we have received.

 

    The sacrifices that are required of us are of that nature that no man or woman could make them, unless aided by a supernatural power; and the Lord, in proposing these conditions, never intended that his people should ever be required to comply with them unless by supernatural aid, and of that kind that is not professed by any other class of religious people. He has promised [us] this aid. â€¦

 

    These demands … were required in every age and period when God called a people to serve him, and to receive his laws.

 

    They were required in the days of Israel, in the beginning of that people. They were required of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They were required of Moses, and of the people that he led from Egyptian bondage. They were required by all the prophets that existed from the days of Adam to the present period of time. They were required by the apostles that received their commission by the laying on of hands of Jesus Christ, and by the people the apostles proclaimed the gospel and taught.  No man, or set of men, or class of people from the day of Adam to the present time, could comply with these requirements, except the people of God, as they were endowed with power from on high, which could proceed only from the Lord our God.¹⁰

 

When we participate in God’s work, we need God’s help.

    Whatever you may undertake for the furtherance of the interests of Zion, you must depend upon the Lord for its success.¹¹

 

    A man’s mind should be single to the glory of God in everything that he starts to accomplish. We should consider that of ourselves we can do nothing. We are the children of God. We are in darkness, [unless] God enlightens our understanding. We are powerless, [unless] God helps us. The work that we have to do here is of that nature that we cannot do it unless we have the assistance of the Almighty. …

 

    Here is the great trouble with men of the world, and too much so with the Elders of Israel; we forget that we are working for God; we forget that we are here in order to carry out certain purposes that we have promised the Lord that we would carry out. It is a glorious work that we are engaged in. It is the work of the Almighty; and He has selected the men and the women whom He knows from past experience will carry out His purposes.¹²

 

    This work in which you and I are engaged can only prosper and be forwarded through the blessings of God upon our faithful and honest exertions and our determination to accomplish the labors for which we have come into this existence. When we look back upon the experiences through which we have passed, we easily understand that our prosperity has been dependent upon our honest endeavors to accomplish the work of God, to labor in the interest of the people, and to rid ourselves as far as possible of selfishness. This having been so in the past, we can well believe that our future progress will depend upon our determination to do the will of God under all circumstances and the aid which He shall give to us.¹³

 

Thank you Laura, for this wonderful lesson!

 

Lesson

First, “My soul delighteth.” I love this phrase! I have thought about hungering and thirsting after knowledge as I read the scriptures, but delighting in them is something else. I find that what I take away from the scriptures is determined by what I bring. Each time I read them, I am, in a sense, bringing a new person with new eyes to the experience. Where I am in my life, the experiences I am having, and my attitude all affect how much I will gain. I love the scriptures. I treasure the truths I find as I read them. Joy fills my heart as I receive encouragement, direction, comfort, strength, and answers to my needs. Life looks brighter, and the way opens before me. I am reassured of my Heavenly Father’s love and concern for me every time I read. Surely this is a delight to me. As one little boy in a Sunbeam class put it, “I feel happy about the scriptures!”

 

Second, “My heart pondereth them.” How I love to carry the scriptures with me in my heart! The spirit of what I have read rests there to bring me peace and comfort. The knowledge I have gained gives me guidance and direction. I have the confidence born out of obedience 

When we read the scriptures we are hearing the voice of the Savior. He is not absent from our lives. He is actively positioned in the verses of these holy books. Our prophet has asked us to draw closer to the Savior by reading the Book of Mormon.

And what of our children? How blessed is the child whose parents base their lives on the teachings in the scriptures! There is absolutely nothing more important we can do for our families than to strengthen them in the scriptures. Parents, call your families together to read the scriptures, and work to make it possible in your busy family schedules. 


                                                Book of Books by Marcus B. Nash 


We had seminary early in the mornings before school. I did not know that our upcoming course of study that year was to be the Book of Mormon, but by the time seminary started, I was well into my reading of the book. While some may say it was a happy coincidence, I believe it was more than that. I would read one chapter a night before I went to bed.

 

As I read the Book of Mormon day by day, I felt goodness, substance, and light grow within me—and it was a good feeling, even delicious. I felt more complete. Despite being a very busy teenager involved in many and varied activities (which means I was pretty tired at night), I looked forward to those quiet minutes before going to bed when I would read a chapter. In fact, there were a few times when, after reading the book and praying, I would hold it to me as I fell asleep—I loved what I was feeling from reading the book.

 

I remember well the realization that came to me one day. Early one gray, drizzly Seattle morning, our seminary teacher led us in a discussion based on Alma 32:28, “Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves—It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, itbeginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me” (Alma 32:28). As we read this passage in class, I leaned back and thought, “This is the perfect description of what I’m experiencing with the Book of Mormon itself.

 

"As I read, the spirit of the Lord was upon me, and I knew and comprehended that the book was true, as plainly and manifestly as a man comprehends and knows that he exists” (Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt, ed. Parley P. Pratt Jr. [1938], 37).“For the first time, my eyes beheld the ‘BOOK OF MORMON’—that book of books. â€¦

I echo that feeling. It is the “book of books” because of its unique ability to bring us to the King of Kings. Reading and abiding by the truth and precepts it contains will draw us closer to God than any other book, just as the Prophet Joseph Smith testified. I too know it is true as I know I exist—as you will know as well. Such is the promise to each who reads, ponders, asks God sincerely, and lives the truths it contains.

Thanks to all the sisters that helped me out by reading one of your favorite.