Mosiah 2:23
23 And now, in the first place, he hath created you, and granted unto you your lives, for which ye are indebted unto him.
The bishop shared an experience of sharing the gospel with someone while he was in a cab to the airport or he was giving someone a ride to the airport or they were giving him a ride to the airport. I was not clear on that. There was he and another person in a vehicle and they were going to the airport, of that much I am certain.
He said that it was a ten minute trip and he was able to start a conversation with them. He wasn't sure if it would go anywhere or not, but now they have been in contact with him and they want to take the missionary discussions. The want him to be involved. They live some place else, so they are going to do the discussions over Skype, which the bishop explained to those who didn't know was a way to do voice and video over the internet for free in many cases.
Elders' Quorum
Chapter 18: Beyond the Veil: Life in the Eternities 217–26
We talked of our eternity being dependent on the type of life we lead and three heavens.
John 5:29
29 And shall acome forth; they that have done good, unto the bresurrection of life; and they that have done cevil, unto the resurrection of ddamnation.
John 14:2–3
2 In my Father’s ahouse are many bmansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
1 Corinthians 15:40–42
40 aThere are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the bcelestial is one, and the glory of the cterrestrial is another.
42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in acorruption; it is raised in incorruption:
-Gaining a testimony of Jesus is the first step to being saved, not the only step. Our faith in Jesus is the foundation that we use to do everything else. We can use our faith to overcome our weaknesses.
Sunday School
Book of Mormon Lesson 38: “Old Things Are Done Away, and All Things Have Become New” 168
Elder Carlos E. Asay: "A world-renowned chemist told me that salt will not lose its savor with age. Savor is lost through mixture and contamination." (in Conference Report, Apr. 1980, 60; or Ensign, May 1980, 42)
We talked about the characteristics of Christ. The instructor listed many on the board as the class suggested them.
We talked of the beatitudes and that Christ shared them with the ancient people of this continent since they would not have the record of the people in the Middle East.
The point was made that God gave us the beatitudes because His work or His mission statement is to bring to pass our eternal life as well as our immortality that we gain through no action of ours. (Moses 1:39)
The bishop talked about always having our figurative antennae up to receive messages from the Lord. This means living so that the spirit can dwell with us to speak to us and to quiet the evil forces that would work on us.
Even though Christ, as a man, was meek, humble, and so forth He also had boundaries.
The teacher suggested that your spirit hurts because it is hungry. He also suggested that that hunger could be satisfied by repentance, prayer, and scripture study.
To obtain the Lord's mercy be merciful.
Testimony Meeting
The bishop started the meeting by counseling us to not go into debt for Christmas. We should not by a bunch of Christmas presents that we can not afford, especially in the uncertain times we are living in now. I would add to that that debt is bondage that could turn on you no matter what general financial state we are in. I testify that the prophets and apostles are correct in advising us to have as little debt as possible. The principle of saving for things that you want and not buying them on credit is a true one.
From the Bulletin
In the May Ensign, President Uchtdorf said that "Individually, we need to first 'follow Him,' and as we do this, the Savior will bless us beyond our own capacity to become what He wants us to be ...
"The Savior invites us to learn His gospel by living His teachings. To follow Him is to apply correct principles and then witness for ourselves the blessings that follow. This process is very complex and very simple at the same time. Ancient and modern prophets described it with three words: 'Keep the commandments'-- nothing more, nothing less...
Developing Christlike attributes in our lives is not an easy task,especially when we move away from generalities and abstractions and begin to deal with real life. The test comes in practicing what we proclaim. The reality check comes when Christlike attributes need to become visible in our lives-- as husband or wife, as father or mother, as son or daughter,in our friendships, in our employment, in our business, and in our recreation. We can recognize our growth, as can those around us, as we gradually, increase our capacity to 'act in all holiness before Him' (D&C 43:9 ).
The Scriptures describe a number of Christlike attributes we developed during the course of our lives. They include knowledge and humility, charity and love, obedience and diligence, faith and hope (D&C 4: 5-6). These personal character qualities stand independent of... our economic circumstances, our family situation, culture, race, or language.Christlike attributes are gifts from God. They cannot be developed without his help."
When the profits ceased to preach the specifics about a topic that has long been preached, the Lord then begins to preach through other means -- destructions in all varieties such as global distress, calamities, hunger, drought, floods, war, etc. If we are hesitant to respond, we will find ourselves as the unwise servants found in the parable of the 10 virgins. The 5 who were PREPARED were happy. The 5 the delay were aghast at being left out. May we be wise and consistently choose to do all that we can to be spiritually, physically, emotionally and mentally prepared. -- The Bishop
