The lesson was based on President Monson’s conference talk, Stand in Holy Places
Personal revelation prayer, and living righteously.
1 Corinthians 2:14
14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
You never know how or when or where your preparation daily to have the spirit is going impact another person's life and/or testimony.
Sunday School
"great and abominable church" - the churches that remained after the
apostasy happened.
1 Nephi 13:12 - Christohper Columbus
12 And I looked and beheld a man among the Gentiles, who was separated from the seed of my brethren by the many waters; and I beheld the Spirit of God, that it came down and wrought upon the man; and he went forth upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who were in the promised land.
1 Nephi 13:13 - Columbus, the pilgrims, and many who were subject to kings
13 And it came to pass that I beheld the Spirit of God, that it wrought upon other Gentiles; and they went forth out of captivity, upon the many waters.
The Americas were hidden from other peoples. At the time of Columbus they had no concept that it was there. Once they hypothesized the earth was round, they figured they would get to India, not find a new
land there. The Atlantic and Pacific oceans are so huge that if you didn't know the America were here, you would never guess it.
1 Nephi 13:20-29
20 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that they did prosper in the land; and I beheld a book, and it was carried forth among them.
21 And the angel said unto me: Knowest thou the meaning of the book?
22 And I said unto him: I know not.
23 And he said: Behold it proceedeth out of the mouth of a Jew. And I, Nephi, beheld it; and he said unto me: The book that thou beholdest is a record of the Jews, which contains the covenants of the Lord, which he hath made unto the house of Israel; and it also containeth many of the prophecies of the holy prophets; and it is a record like unto the engravings which are upon the plates of brass, save there are not so many; nevertheless, they contain the covenants of the Lord, which he hath made unto the house of Israel; wherefore, they are of great worth unto the Gentiles.
24 And the angel of the Lord said unto me: Thou hast beheld that the book proceeded forth from the mouth of a Jew; and when it proceeded forth from the mouth of a Jew it contained the fulness of the gospel of the Lord, of whom the twelve apostles bear record; and they bear record according to the truth which is in the Lamb of God.
25 Wherefore, these things go forth from the Jews in purity unto the Gentiles, according to the truth which is in God.
26 And after they go forth by the hand of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, from the Jews unto the Gentiles, thou seest the formation of that great and abominable church, which is most abominable above all other churches; for behold, they have taken away from the gospel of the Lamb many parts which are plain and most precious; and also many covenants of the Lord have they taken away.
27 And all this have they done that they might pervert the right ways of the Lord, that they might blind the eyes and harden the hearts of the children of men.
28 Wherefore, thou seest that after the book hath gone forth through the hands of the great and abominable church, that there are many plain and precious things taken away from the book, which is the book of the Lamb of God.
29 And after these plain and precious things were taken away it goeth forth unto all the nations of the Gentiles; and after it goeth forth unto all the nations of the Gentiles, yea, even across the many waters which thou hast seen with the Gentiles which have gone forth out of captivity, thou seest—because of the many plain and precious things which have been taken out of the book, which were plain unto the understanding of the children of men, according to the plainness which is in the Lamb of God—because of these things which are taken away out of the gospel of the Lamb, an exceedingly great many do stumble, yea, insomuch that Satan hath great power over them.
The bible is of great worth because it contains the covenants of the Lord.
The true church has more covenants of the Lord.
The true church tells us of reality and not man’s best educated guess.
Sacrament Service
The speaker proposed that any doctrine worth teaching has been set to music and included in the Church's children's songbook. He quoted the song “Search, Ponder, and Pray”.
The speaker said that Hugh Nibley said something like, "to say you have read the book of Mormon doesn't mean a thing". I could not find the quote on the Internet, but I think the point was that just going through the motions and reading just to check off that you read can leave you getting very little out of it.
As we read the scriptures we need to be continually asking questions. One good question is, out of everything that could've been included in the scriptures, why was what I am reading included?
Moroni 10:3
3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.
“It is not just that the Book of Mormon teaches us truth, though it indeed does that. It is not just that the Book of Mormon bears testimony of Christ, though it indeed does that, too. But there is something more. There is a power in the book which will begin to flow into your lives the moment you begin a serious study of the book. You will find greater power to resist temptation. You will find the power to avoid deception. You will find the power to stay on the strait and narrow path. The scriptures are called ‘the words of life’ ( D&C 84:85 ), and nowhere is that more true than it is of the Book of Mormon. When you begin to hunger and thirst after those words, you will find life in greater and greater abundance” (President Ezra Taft Benson, in Conference Report, Oct. 1986, 6; or Ensign, Nov. 1986, 7)
Seminary Broadcast
100 Years of Seminary
President Eyring's mother was a student in the first seminary class in 1912.
President Boyd K Packer, “How to Survive in Enemy Territory”,Seminary Centennial Broadcast
"I was trained by President Marion G. Romney, Counselor in the First Presidency. He once told me, ‘Do not just tell them so that they understand; teach them so that they cannot misunderstand!’ ”
“Most of the time your prayers will be silent. You can think a prayer.”
"The Word of Wisdom does not promise perfect health but that the spiritual receptors within you might be strengthened."
“"The certainty is that your body will, in due time, grow old and eventually become uninhabitable, and the spirit will be forced to leave.”
“A few of you may have felt or been told that you were born with troubling feelings and that you are not guilty if you act on those temptations. Doctrinally we know that if that were true your agency would have been erased, and that cannot happen. You always have a choice to follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost and live a morally pure and chaste life, one filled with virtue.”
“The first gift that Adam and Eve received was agency: ‘Thou mayest choose for thyself, for it is given unto thee.’ (Genesis 2:17)“
“It is natural to resist restraints of any kind.”
“Guilt is spiritual pain. Do not suffer from chronic pain. Get rid of it. Be done with it. Repent, and, if necessary, repent again and again and again and again until you—not the enemy—are in charge of you.”
“If you are associating with others who drag you down instead of building you up, stop and change company. You may be alone and lonely at times. The important question may be asked then, ‘When you are alone, are you in good company?’ If you are doing something that you know is wrong, stop it. Stop it now.”
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