Bulletin
Alma 37:37
37 Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day.
Sacrament Service
First Speaker
One of the young men reported on scout camp from last week.
Next Speaker
A young man that is leaving for a mission to Madrid, Spain.
He spoke of Christopher Columbus coming from Spain to America. He talked of how Columbus prepared the way for the restoration.
Next Speaker
A stake high councilman spoke to us.
Ether 1
42 And when thou hast done this thou shalt go at the head of them down into the valley which is northward. And there will I meet thee, and I will go before thee into a land which is choice above all the lands of the earth.
1 Nephi 13
16 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles who had gone forth out of captivity did humble themselves before the Lord; and the power of the Lord was with them.
Sunday School
Matthew 28:19
19 ¶ Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Dnc 88:81
81 Behold, I sent you out to testify and warn the people, and it becometh every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor.
Elders Quorum
My Lesson
Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Gordon B Hinckley, Chapter 14 Losing Ourselves in the Service of Others
The First 4 Paragraphs under “From the Life of Gordon B Hinckley” - P201
“Young Elder Gordon B. Hinckley struggled through his first few weeks as a full-time missionary in England. He was sick when he arrived, and his attempts to preach the gospel were repeatedly rejected. During that difficult time, he was blessed with what he later called his ‘day of decision’—an experience that influenced his service for the rest of his life.
“ ‘I was discouraged,’ he recalled. ‘I wrote a letter home to my good father and said that I felt I was wasting my time and his money. He was my father and my stake president, and he was a wise and inspired man. He wrote a very short letter to me which said, “Dear Gordon, I have your recent letter. I have only one suggestion: forget yourself and go to work.” Earlier that morning in our scripture class my companion and I had read these words of the Lord: “Whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.” (Mark 8:35.)
“ ‘Those words of the Master, followed by my father’s letter with his counsel to forget myself and go to work, went into my very being. With my father’s letter in hand, I went into our bedroom in the house at 15 Wadham Road, where we lived, and got on my knees and made a pledge with the Lord. I covenanted that I would try to forget myself and lose myself in His service.
“ ‘That July day in 1933 was my day of decision. A new light came into my life and a new joy into my heart.’ ”
This story reminds me of something I often say, “Never pass up an opportunity to get over yourself”.
What has been your experience with forgetting yourself and getting to work? Or the opposite, getting stuck on yourself and not getting to work?
P202 - Last Paragraph before Teachings of Gordon B Hinckley
“I wish to be up and doing,” President Hinckley said. “I wish to face each day with resolution and purpose. I wish to use every waking hour to give encouragement, to bless those whose burdens are heavy, to build faith and strength of testimony.”
How does this compare to our goals when we face each day? Do we desire to face each day with resolution and purpose? Some days my resolution and purpose is just to make myself zombie walk it across the room in the morning.
How do we get to the point of desiring to be men of resolution and purpose so strongly? To desire to be a man of strong character and set aside pride and selfishness?
P203, Top of the Page all the way to the start of section 2 on page 204
“The Lord has declared in modern revelation, ‘If your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you.’ (D&C 88:67.)
“As we look with love and gratitude to God, as we serve him with an eye single to his glory, there goes from us the darkness of sin, the darkness of selfishness, the darkness of pride. There will come an increased love for our Eternal Father and for his Beloved Son, our Savior and our Redeemer. There will come a greater sense of service toward our fellowmen, less of thinking of self and more of reaching out to others.
“This principle of love is the basic essence of the gospel of Jesus Christ.5
“If we would claim to worship and follow the Master, must we not strive to emulate his life of service? None of us may rightly say that his life is his own. Our lives are gifts of God. We come into the world not of our own volition. We leave not according to our wish. Our days are numbered not by ourselves, but according to the will of God.
“So many of us use our lives as if they were entirely our own. Ours is the choice to waste them if we wish. But that becomes a betrayal of a great and sacred trust. As the Master made so abundantly clear, ‘For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.’ (Mark 8:35.)6
“My beloved brethren and sisters, the challenge is great. The opportunities are all about us. God would have us do His work—and do it with energy and cheerfulness. That work, as He has defined it, is to ‘succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees.’ (D&C 81:5.)
“It is to minister to those in need. It is to comfort the bereaved. It is to visit the widow and the fatherless in their affliction. It is to feed the needy, to clothe the naked, to shelter those who have not a roof over their heads. It is to do as the Master did, who ‘went about doing good.’ (Acts 10:38.)7
“My message to you today . . . is that you resolve to dedicate a part of your time, as you map out your life’s work, to those in distress and need, with no consideration of recompense. Your skills are needed, whatever they may be. Your helping hands will lift someone out of the mire of distress. Your steady voice will give encouragement to some who might otherwise simply give up. Your skills can change the lives, in a remarkable and wonderful way, of those who walk in need. If not now, when? If not you, who?8
“May the real meaning of the gospel distill into our hearts that we may realize that our lives, given us by God our Father, are to be used in the service of others.
“If we will give such service, our days will be filled with joy and gladness. More important, they will be consecrated to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and to the blessing of all whose lives we touch.9”
Why do we call callings opportunities? Most of us have consecrated our time and talents and everything the Lord has given us to the work. A calling is the Lord choosing how our consecrated resources will be used. Have you ever thought about that?
They say that service helps us overcome self-pity, selfishness, and loneliness. Or on a day like today, for me, grief and sadness. Do you have any experience with serving and it pulling you out of dark feeling?
No comments:
Post a Comment