Sunday March 19, 2006

Sacrament Meeting

The theme today was on prayer. The following points were brought out:

1. We have to want to talk to him if we want him to talk to us.
2. Prayer is the way that the will of the child is brought to the will of the Father.
3. We should not ask for anything that we are not willing to help accomplish.

My thoughts

• Point 1 - Is it sometimes difficult to feel like praying? Maybe we don't feel like talking to anyone. If we want to have personal revelation we have to be in the get ourselves in the mood to have a conversation.
• Point 2 - Prayer teaches us to want what Father wants.
• Point 3 - To get an answer we need to do something.
• I got to thinking about the Lord's prayer. Many use this as a prayer they can recite to give them power or bring about what they need without asking for it. I'm speaking from what I have observed. I recognize that I may be over simplifying this.
• The Lord's prayer is not something to recite, but a pattern to follow to learn to pray.

Sunday School
Joseph given the birthright when he was the eleventh. As I looked into this after church I found the following in Ellis T. Rasmussen, “I Have a Question,” Ensign, Sept. 1980, 51.

"Jacob, also known as Israel, married at least four wives in the following order: Leah, Rachel, Bilhah, and Zilpah. From these wives Jacob had twelve sons (listed in the order of their birth, with the name of the mother in parentheses): (1) Reuben (Leah), (2) Simeon (Leah), (3) Levi (Leah), (4) Judah (Leah), (5) Dan (Bilhah), (6) Naphtali (Bilhah), (7) Gad (Zilpah), (8) Asher (Zilpah), (9) Issachar (Leah), (10) Zebulun (Leah), (11) Joseph (Rachel), and (12) Benjamin (Rachel)."
"As the firstborn son of the first wife, Reuben was the birthright son. When Reuben proved to be unworthy by committing adultery with Bilhah (see Gen. 35:21–22; Gen. 49:3–4), the birthright went to the firstborn son of the second wife—Joseph, the son of Rachel (see 1 Chr. 5:1). Although Joseph was the eleventh-born son in order of birth, he was second in line for the birthright because he was the firstborn son of the second wife. Jacob had a special coat made for Joseph so that the other brothers would recognize Joseph’s right to preside over the family upon his father’s death."

In commenting about the unfairness of the situations that Joseph was placed in and how they eventually worked out for his good some one quoted someone I can not remember right now. "Irony is the hard crust on the bread of adversity."

Priesthood
If we do not have the Holy Ghost, we have no business teaching.

I am not capable, nor is any man capable of teaching the children of men and edifying them in the Gospel of Jesus Christ without the Holy Spirit, without revelation, without the inspiration of Almighty God. (Teachings of Wilford Woodruff p.59)

Some get into speculating and expressing opinions rather than teaching by the spirit. Speculating is a source false doctrine comes from. It can get passed down as fact. Many of the traditions religion have today are not founded on anything more than someone speculating and it getting picked up as doctrine.

When we teach we need to prepare. Students must prepare too. Someone today pointed out that lessons are caught not taught. The teacher prepares something by the spirit and throws it out. It can be a perfect throw, but if the student is not prepared to catch it then it is gone. Only the student can prepare themselves.