Sunday February 24, 2008 - Sunday Services Cumberland Ward

Sacrament Meeting
Youth Speaker
I was unable to capture any notes from this talk.

My wife spoke today. Below is her talk.

I was asked to speak today on a talk given by President Thomas S. Monson back in April of 2007. It is entitled I Know That My Redeemer Lives! I would like to start by reading a little piece of what he said in that talk. President Monson said, “My brothers and sisters, we laugh, we cry, we play, we love, we live; And then we die. Death is our universal heritage. All must pass its portals. Death claims the aged, the weary and worn. It visits the youth in the bloom of hope and the glory of expectation. Nor are little children kept beyond its grasp. In the words of the Apostle Paul, ‘It is appointed unto men once to die.’ End of quote.

Then we have Jesus of Nazareth. He provided the way that man might live again. That we might reunite with those that we have lost to death. It sounds so simple and so reassuring. Until tragedy hit me. I seemed to of lost all faith in my Redeemer.

We had just moved to Indianapolis. I found myself living in an apartment with two small children ages 3 1/2 and 1, two dogs, and a husband. Then I found out I was pregnant. Things seemed to be going fine. Until one day I got sick and came down with a really high fever. Things seemed to just go down from there. Then one day I found myself laying on the sofa in a lot of pain, with two little kids and two dogs staring at me. I remember calling the doctor and him saying, “It sounds like you’re loosing the baby.” I said, “Ok, what should I do?” He said, “There is nothing we can do, but wait it out.” A few hours later I found myself sitting on the bathroom floor holding this tiny little fetus in my hand. As I looked down and through the transparent skin of this tiny creation, I saw the organs, and the tiny blood vessels that ran through its head. I thought how could this babe not of had a spirit? Why didn’t God let me carry this baby full term, give it a name, and a proper burial? What happens to those we loose through miscarriages? There seemed to be no answers.

If only I could have had the words that President Monson said so nice in his talk. He said, “Through tears and trials, through fears and sorrows, through heartache and loneliness of loosing loved ones, is assurance that life is everlasting. Our Lord and Savior is the living witness of that. With all my heart and the fervency of my soul, I lift up my voice in testimony as a special witness and declare that God does live. Jesus is His Son, the Only Begotten of the father. He it was who died on the cross to atone for our sins. He became the first fruits of the Resurrection. Because He died, all shall live again. Oh, sweet the joy this sentence gives, I know that my redeemer lives. May the whole world know it and live by that knowledge.” End of quote.

Remembering my Redeemer was the first step I had to take. If we look in Doctrine and covenants 76:1-3 it reads…
1 ^aHear, O ye heavens, and give ear, O earth, and rejoice ye inhabitants thereof, for the Lord is ^bGod, and beside him there is ^cno ^dSavior.
2 ^aGreat is his wisdom, ^bmarvelous are his ways, and the extent of his doings none can find out.
3 His ^apurposes fail not….

Through I may not understand or have answers to all my questions I know His purposes fail not.

Some say that life is a race and to stay on course one has to stay focused, for a runner who looks backwards will lose the race. Too much comfort in life invites us to watch the race rather that to energetically participate in it. Focus is essential to a race. If a runner fails to focus the runner fails. But how do we keep focused? We must forget what lies behind in the past, and remember that our Redeemer, Jesus Christ. He pressed on until the end. He endured to the end. In Hebrews 12:2 it reads:
2 Looking unto Jesus the ^aauthor and ^bfinisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him ^cendured the cross, despising the ^dshame, and is set down at the right hand of the ^ethrone of God.

The other day I came across this recipe for a chocolate cake or you could say for every day life.

• first you begin with bitter chocolate
• stir in some dry, tasteless flour
• add several raw eggs and some milk
• mix these and several more ingredients thoroughly
• bake the batter in a hot over
• the end result a lovely chocolate cake
  

Now think about your life.

• the bitter
• the dry
• the raw
• the sour
• the mixing and
• the heat
  

Sounds bad, even feels bad, but in God’s hands these things will result into something lovely. As we see in Romans 8:28 and it reads. 28 And we know that all things work together for ^agood to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

If we can but remember some of the bitter and dry, raw and sour, mixing and heat our Redeemer went through for us. If we look in Matthew 27:27-31 starting in verse 27 it reads.
27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the ^acommon hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers.

28 And they stripped him, and put on him a ^ascarlet robe.

29 And when they had ^aplatted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a ^breed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!

30 And they ^aspit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head.

31 And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him.

President Monson said, “He was ridiculed, reviled, mocked, and nailed to a cross amidst shouts of, ‘Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe.’ ‘He saved others, himself he cannot save.’ His response, ‘Father forgive them for they know not what they do.’ ‘Into thy hands I commend my spirit,’ and having said thus, he gave up the ghost. His body was placed by loving hands in a sepulcher hewn of stone.” End of quote.

We know that our Redeemer over came death and three days later arose from the dead. As we read in Mark 16:1-8 starting at verse 1. 1 And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.

2 And very early in the morning the ^afirst day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the ^brising of the sun.
3 And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?
4 ^aAnd when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.
5 And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, ^aclothed in a long white garment; and they were ^baffrighted.
6 And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is ^arisen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.
7 But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you.
8 And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed:

I am so grateful to my Redeemer and for having the Atonement in my life. I got this statement given by Henry B. Eyring from the LDS gems. He said, “We are safe on the rock which is the Savior when we have yielded in faith in Him. Have responded to the Holy Spirit’s direction to keep the commandments long enough and faithfully enough that the power of the Atonement has changed our hearts. When we have by that experience, become as a child able to love and obey we are on the sure foundation.” End of quote.

I would like to share this story with you before I close. Once there was a young couple that had two boys. When their third son was born he had heart problems. He was in and out of the hospital all through infancy. At about 7 months of age he came down with ammonia, and died. After the death of their son the young couple felt they needed to find a church. Through a friend they were introduced to the missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. This young couple and their two boys where baptized. A few years later their oldest son met a cute little blond. He was able to share the gospel with her. She later decided to get baptized, and then they married, and had four beautiful children. Who are now being raised in the gospel. They will some day serve missions and share the gospel with others. They will later have children of their own and be able to raise them in the gospel. Because my brother-in-law chose to give up his experience of living here on earth I am standing here today. Through the hardship and loss that my-in-laws endured many have come to the knowledge of the gospel. We may not understand the hardship that comes our way, but we can be assured that God’s purpose fail not.

I know that my Redeemer lives. I know that He loves me, and that I to can become something lovely. May we put the past behind us and not look back. May we remember that the bitter and dry, the raw and sour, the mixing and heating in our lives is only there to make us into something lovely. May we remember the Atonement and keep the Holy Spirit with us always. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Third Speaker
Procrastination
He based his remarks on the April 2007 General Conference talk "This Day" by Elder Henry B. Eyring
The opposite of procrastination is action.

He gave the quote "Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift." I could not find who said it. It seemed to be attributed to many people, but there was nothing concrete I could find and I did not ask the person who spoke who they were quoting.

He said of over coming procrastination, "Take the first step."

Alma 34:33 - "And now, as I said unto you before, as ye have had so many ^awitnesses, therefore, I beseech of you that ye do not ^bprocrastinate the day of your ^crepentance until the end; for after this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the ^dnight of ^edarkness wherein there can be no labor performed."

We have to act today, even if there is time to wait, because we need to develop habits.

He related a story where he begrudgingly went to clean a cemetery for a service project. As he was raking he saw a family placing flowers on a grave and he understood a little more about why he needed to be there and why what he was doing was important.

He quoted Andy Andrews from his book The Traveler’s Gift.

THE ACTIVE DECISION

"I am a person of action.

Beginning today, I will create a new future by creating a new me. No longer will I dwell in a pit of despair, moaning over squandered time and lost opportunity. I can do nothing about the past. My future is immediate. I will grasp it in both hands and carry it with running feet. When I am faced with the choice of doing nothing or doing something, I will always choose to act! I seize this moment. I choose now.

I am a person of action. I am energetic. I move quickly.

Knowing that laziness is a sin, I will create a habit of lively behavior. I will walk with a spring in my step and a smile on my face. The lifeblood rushing through my veins is urging me upward and forward into activity and accomplishment. Wealth and prosperity hide from the sluggard, but rich rewards come to the person who moves quickly.

I am a person of action. I inspire others with my activity. I am a leader.

Leading is doing. To lead, I must move forward. Many people move out of the way for a person on the run; others are caught up in his wake. My activity will create a wave of success for the people who follow. My activity will be consistent. This will instill confidence in my leadership. As a leader, I have the ability to encourage and inspire others to greatness. It is true: An army of sheep led by a lion would defeat an army of lions led by a sheep!

I am a person of action. I can make a decision. I can make it now.

A person who moves neither left nor right is destined for mediocrity. When faced with a decision, many people say they are waiting for God. But I understand, in most cases, God is waiting for me! He has given me a healthy mind to gather and sort information and the courage to come to a conclusion. I am not a quivering dog, indecisive and fearful. My constitution is strong and my pathway clear. Successful people make their decisions quickly and change their mind slowly. Failures make their decisions slowly and change their mind quickly. My decisions come quickly, and they lead to victory.

I am a person of action. I am daring. I am courageous.

Fear no longer has a place in my life. For too long, fear has outweighed my desire to make things better for my family. Never again! I have exposed fear as a vapor, an impostor who never had any power over me in the first place! I do not fear opinion, gossip, or the idle chatter of monkeys for all are the same to me. I do not fear failure, for in my life, failure is a myth. Failure only exists for the person who quits. I do not quit.

I am courageous. I am a leader. I seize this moment. I choose now."

Sunday School
Book of Mormon Lesson 7: “I Know in Whom I Have Trusted”

a. Joseph, last-born son of Lehi and Sariah (2 Nephi 3:1-3)
b. Joseph of Egypt (2 Nephi 3:4-5)
c. Joseph Smith Jr. (2 Nephi 3:6-15)
d. Joseph Smith Sr. (2 Nephi 3:15)
2 Ne. 3: 7
"Yea, Joseph truly said: Thus saith the Lord unto me: A choice ^aseer will I ^braise up out of the fruit of thy loins; and he shall be esteemed highly among the fruit of thy loins. And unto him will I give commandment that he shall do a work for the fruit of thy loins, his brethren, which shall be of great worth unto them, even to the bringing of them to the ^cknowledge of the covenants which I have made with thy fathers."
Ezek. 37: 17, 19
" 17 And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become ^aone in thine hand. • • •
19 Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the stick of ^aJoseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand."

Here are some thoughts from the manual.
Nephi asked himself why he yielded to sorrow and sin in spite of the things that he had seen and the things that he knew (2 Nephi 4:26-27).

What does it mean to “shake at the appearance of sin”? (See 2 Nephi 4:31; Mosiah 5:2; Alma 13:12.)

Priesthood
The lesson was based on the talk The Atonement by Cleon Skousen cited in Gospel Diamond Dust - Inspirational Speeches of W. Cleon Skousen
Why do we need the atonement? Why all that pain and suffering that the savior had to go through?

In the talk Brother Skousen quoted President Kimball from a priesthood conference. "I want everyone to understand that in this life we only have a limited amount of priesthood authority with which to function. There are many ordinances that as yet must be given to us int he next world, and one of them will be the ordinance of resurrection. We are not allowed to perform that ordinance here. It is an ordinance of the priesthood."

2 Nephi 2:14 - "And now, my sons, I speak unto you these things for your profit and ^alearning; for there is a God, and he hath ^bcreated all things, both the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are, both things to act and things to be ^cacted upon."

DnC 93:29 - "Man was also in the ^abeginning with God. ^bIntelligence, or the ^clight of ^dtruth, was not ^ecreated or made, neither indeed can be. "
-The instructor said that intelligences are eternal. Even as intelligences we had agency.

Abraham 3:19-23 -

19 And the Lord said unto me: These two facts do exist, that there are two spirits, one being more intelligent than the other; there shall be another more intelligent than they; I am the Lord thy God, I am ^amore intelligent than they all.

20 The Lord thy God sent his angel to ^adeliver thee from the hands of the priest of Elkenah.

21 I dwell in the midst of them all; I now, therefore, have come down unto thee to declare unto thee the ^aworks which my hands have made, wherein my ^bwisdom excelleth them all, for I ^crule in the heavens above, and in the earth beneath, in all wisdom and prudence, over all the intelligences thine eyes have seen from the beginning; I came down in the beginning in the midst of all the intelligences thou hast seen.

22 Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the ^aintelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the ^bnoble and great ones;

23 And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast ^achosen before thou wast born.

-There are different degree of intelligences.

DnC 93:33 - "For man is ^aspirit. The elements are ^beternal, and ^cspirit and element, inseparably connected, receive a fulness of joy; "

The instructor quoted from the talk. "That which is acted upon is called “eternal element” (two blocks–act, acted upon)–element, matter. Joseph Smith said that matter exists on two dimensions– the very refined element is called spirit. And the more coarse element is called this temporal matter we’ve got here, physical (D&C 131:7-8). It’s all matter but it exists on two planes. Like ice and water. They’re the same thing but they’re on different dimensions. Everything is made up of a combination of intelligence and matter. They are the building blocks of the universe. (Abraham 4:10,12,18; Helaman 12:8-9)"

The instructor mentioned that science has recently begun to find that elements do not always act predictably as science would say they should. The instructor proposed that those elements could be operating on some level of intelligence.

DnC 29:36 - God's power is his honor or integrity. God will not tell a lie. He will not break the laws of physics. He will not break eternal laws or he would cease to be God.
" 36 And it came to pass that Adam, being tempted of the ^adevil—for, behold, the ^bdevil was before Adam, for he ^crebelled against me, saying, Give me thine ^dhonor, which is my ^epower; and also a ^fthird part of the ^ghosts of heaven turned he away from me because of their ^hagency; "

Alma 42 -
13 Therefore, according to justice, the ^aplan of ^bredemption could not be brought about, only on conditions of repentance of men in this probationary state, yea, this preparatory state; for except it were for these conditions, mercy could not take effect except it should destroy the work of justice. Now the work of justice could not be destroyed; if so, God would ^ccease to be God.
22 But there is a law given, and a ^apunishment affixed, and a ^brepentance granted; which repentance, mercy claimeth; otherwise, justice claimeth the creature and executeth the ^claw, and the law inflicteth the punishment; if not so, the works of justice would be destroyed, and God would cease to be God.
25 What, do ye suppose that ^amercy can rob ^bjustice? I say unto you, Nay; not one whit. If so, God would cease to be God.

Sunday February 17, 2008 - Sunday Services Cumberland Ward

Sacrament Meeting
7th Article of Faith -
"We believe in the ^agift of ^btongues, ^cprophecy, ^drevelation, ^evisions, ^fhealing, ^ginterpretation of tongues, and so forth."

Youth Speaker
Healing
Acts 19:11 - "And God wrought special ^amiracles by the hands of Paul:"

DnC 42:48 - "And again, it shall come to pass that he that hath ^afaith in me to be ^bhealed, and is not ^cappointed unto death, shall be ^dhealed."

He shared an experience about receiving blessing and healing his finger. He jammed it while swimming and the doctor said it would take weeks for the pain to go away and a year for the swelling to go down. When he went to practice it was very painful. He and his mom called upon some brothers in the ward to come give him a blessing. He said that when he went to practice the next time he forgot that it was injured because it didn't hurt.

2nd Speaker
Many times we are given gifts in order to share them with others. Many times we are given what we need and not what we want.

1 Cor. 12: 17 - "If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?"
People have different spiritual gifts and people different callings. All callings and gifts are necessary.

Gifts are not always obvious. Speaking in tongues and healing may be obvious, but others are more subtle.

Satan can imitate the gifts of God. How do we know?
Moroni 7:12-13 -

12 Wherefore, all things which are ^agood cometh of God; and that which is ^bevil cometh of the devil; for the devil is an enemy unto God, and fighteth against him continually, and inviteth and enticeth to ^csin, and to do that which is evil continually.

13 But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do ^agood continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and ^benticeth to do ^cgood, and to love God, and to serve him, is ^dinspired of God.

Third Speaker
2 Nephi 26:22 -

One does not gain a testimony all at once. there will be things that we don't entirely understand. Eventually we will understand them.

1 Corinthians 12:1
1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.

What things are we doing that keep us from having the gifts of God?

Sunday School
Book of Mormon Lesson 6: “Free to Choose Liberty and Eternal Life”
2 Nephi 1-2

Past nations have been smitten and destroyed. What things are happening to us because of this nation's disobedience. Someone pointed out that there are places in the city you can not go for fear of violence. Because of the choices of those that perform the violence, but also because of the choices we as a city or as a nation have made.

Symptoms of separation from the spirit (Anger, loneliness, pity (why me?))

Lehi councils his sons (2 Nephi 1:21) "arise from the dust and be men." What does it mean to be a man? What does the world think it means to be a man?

One sister brought up that it can be easier for a man to be a man if their woman expects that of them and supports them in their responsibilities. It is also about the fathers and mothers showing examples and being available to them and making it okay for them to come to them and talk about what is going on with them as they learn about life and about things there are thinking about.

One brother noted that he heard a speaker speak at an LDS scout camp. The leader said that we are always one generation from extinction as a church. If we do not teach our youth then we are done for.

Priesthood
Joseph Smith Manual Chapter 3: Jesus Christ, the Divine Redeemer of the World 45–56
Joseph was translating John 5:29 in the Bible.
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.
A vision of the Savior was opened up to him and Sidney Rigdon. They saw and conversed with the Savior. Again witnessing that the Savior was resurrected and clarifying for the world what it means to be resurrected. The Savior has a body of flesh and bone and not just of spirit. It is a resurrected and perfected body, but it is tangible, nonetheless.

We are all children of God. We are created in his image and can grow up to be like him.

When our family members die we may see them again if we obey Heavenly Father.

Sunday February 10, 2008 - Sunday Services Cumberland Ward

Testimony Meeting
Stake President spoke at the end of the meeting. He talked more about finding joy in our trials like he did at stake conference.

He shared with us some entries he found in the Bible Dictionary. One was the entry on the Apocrypha. The Bible Dictionary states, "The Song of the Three Children. Purports to be the song sung by Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego (they are called Ananias, Azarias, and Misael in v. 66) in the midst of the burning, fiery furnace. " He talked about them finding joy even when being put into such a situation. He also encouraged us to look at the entry for Miarcles in the Bible Dictionary. It lists several instances of miracles in the scriptures.

At least one other person had mentioned miracles in their testimony. They talked of how miracles are not always the parting of the red sea stuff, but sometimes are more subtle.

Sunday School
Book of Mormon Lesson 5
1 Nephi 16-22
Nephi went to his father to get guidance of where to look for food, even though his father had started to complain against the Lord some. He asked his guidance either because his father was the patriarch of the family or because he was the prophet. He could've inquired of the Lord himself, but he respected his father's authority and gave his father the opportunity to fulfill his responsibility before the Lord and bring his faith back.

One of the class members expressed this opinion: The wilderness that they are going through out there is not necessarily what we think of here. That wilderness of where they were, was mostly dessert. Finding wood was no small thing. A bow is the size of a man. The story states that he made only one arrow. Perhaps because that was all the more wood he could find.

I was thinking that this may have been one of the reasons why it was such a big deal that Nephi's bow had broken. It may have seemed impossible that they would have materials to make another bow.

1 Nephi 16:29
29 And there was also written upon them a new writing, which was plain to be read, which did give us ^aunderstanding concerning the ways of the Lord; and it was written and changed from time to time, according to the faith and diligence which we gave unto it. And thus we see that by ^bsmall means the Lord can bring about great things.

Our conscience might be considered our Liahona. If we do not pay it heed it may stop working and guiding us. If our conscience has started to fail us we should increase our efforts in seeking direction from the Lord.

Priesthood
The missionaries gave us the lesson today.
1 Ne Chapter 8 - Tree of Life
Lehi felt the love of God and wanted to share it with his family. The Preach My Gospel manual states that as our understanding of the atonement increases our desires to share the gospel will also increase.

James 5:20
20 Let him know, that he which ^aconverteth the sinner from the error of his way shall ^bsave a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

Sunday February 3, 2008 - Stake Conference Indianapolis, Indiana North Stake

This is the first time we have met as a stake since the stakes in the area were reorganized.

1st Councilor in the Stake Presidency
He listed what he called Prophetic Priorities. I believe he said one of President Hinckley's sons had called the list that.

1. Personal Testimony
- The speaker talked of when he was on his mission and President Hinckley spoke to his mission. He said that President Hinckley told them, "It doesn't matter if the pearly gates swing open or slide open as long as they open."
- The speaker also talked of when he and his family lived in New York. He said that at that time Elder Hinckley was a member of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles. During the Hill Cumorah Pageant week there was a special sacrament meeting at the foot of the hill. It was a very hot and humid. President Hinckley spoke at that meeting. He looked out on everyone and stated, "It looks hot out there, but not as hot as it is going to get if you don't straighten up and do your duty."

2. Avoid Debt
- The speaker related how there was a time in his marriage where he had lost his job, but his van was paid for and their food storage was well stocked.

3. Pay Tithing

4. Temple Work
- He discussed the expansion of temple under President Hinckley and the places his family has lived as temples were built near where they lived.

Second Speaker
She spoke of the 2000 stripling warriors. She talked of all of us being warriors for God. The 2000 fought physically, but more importantly spiritually.
Alma 56:47-48 -
47 Now they never had fought, yet they did not fear death; and they did think more upon the liberty of their fathers than they did upon their lives; yea, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them.
48 And they rehearsed unto me the words of their mothers, saying: We do not doubt our mothers knew it.
Do we have no doubt that when we go through trials that Heavenly Father that He will work it out for our good?

She quoted from Elder Eyring's October 2005 conference talk "Spiritual Preparedness:
Start Early and Be Steady".
"It will take unshakable faith in the Lord Jesus Christ to choose the way to eternal life. It is by using that faith we can know the will of God. It is by acting on that faith we build the strength to do the will of God. And it is by exercising that faith in Jesus Christ that we can resist temptation and gain forgiveness through the Atonement."
Faith is an action word and we must doing something with it.

She listed off things that she feels the youth need to learn to be effective warriors.
-Pay Tithing
-Attend Sacrament Meeting - Fight the battles of the week and come together on Sunday for strength.
-Attend Seminary - Many wish they had paid better attention in seminary as they take on future callings.
-Family Home Evening - This is where warriors get fortification and shelter from the battle - In our own home.
-Good Music - Invites the spirit as a shield.
-Scripture Study

3rd Speaker
We are to be mirrors reflecting the light into places that would otherwise not receive any light.

4th Speaker
What do we need to teach our children to prepare them for the 2nd coming of Christ?
-As we train the children, so will the world be in a few years.
-They cited President Hinckley's first presidency message in the Ensign, These Our Little Ones.
-“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6).
-Teach them, respect them, pray with them.

2nd Councilor in the Stake Presidently
-Mark 8:35 - "aFor whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall blose his clife for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it."
-He shared the story of President Hickely when he was on his mission and was discouraged. His father sent him a letter saying, "Forget yourself and go to work."
-Pray in faith - "Father, what would thou have me do."
-Seek the spirit - Seek, Invite, Be worthy of it.
-Labor in love - The savior saw sin and was able, because of that, to see the sinners underlying needs.
-Testify

Stake President
Finding Joy in Everything, Even Our Trials
-Jacob 5 - The allegory of the tame and wild olive trees. You work and work in a vineyard that give problem after problem. You're digging and you're dunging and in the end you will have joy.
-2 Nephi 31:20 - "Wherefore, ye must press forward with a asteadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of bhope, and a clove of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and dendure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eeternal life."
-He shared the story of Derek Redmon running the 400 meter and pulling a hamstring. He didn't quit. He hopped and limped and his dad came out on the track and helped him finish.
-Jesus' parables-
-Lost Sheep - Go after it until you find it.
-Lost Coin - Sweep the house until you find it.
-Prodigal Son - Fall upon him, kiss him, and welcome him back.
-They all had joy after laboring.
-We can not always see the designs of God in our lives. A lost job, an illness, or financial troubles may actually work out in the end for our good or at the very least be only a short while before God gives us great things.
-Give thanks in all circustances.
-He shared the story of a girl in a concentration camp that had to find joy in the hardships there. There were infested with fleas and at some point they prayed and thanked God for the fleas. It turned out that the fleas kept the guards away. they did not go in and harass them for fea of getting infested by fleas themselves.

Sunday January 27, 2008 - Sunday Services Cumberland Ward

Sacrament Meeting
Youth Speaker He quoted from 1 Corinthians. 15:58 - "58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye astedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord." He said that this is the Mutual theme. They recite part of this at mutual (youth group) meetings.
He listed some ways to stay stedfast and I was able to capture a couple of them.
-Good morals
-Be fed (attend church, read, and pray).

2nd Speaker
She quoted from The Family: A Proclamation to the World. “Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. ‘Children are an heritage of the Lord’ (Psalms 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, to teach them to love and serve one another, to observe the commandments of God and to be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations."

She spoke of the necessity to be engaged with our children and to be actively teaching them the gospel in our homes.

She quoted a letter that Elder Claudio R. M. Costa of the Presidency of the Seventy quoted in his October 2007 General Conference talk Don't Leave for Tomorrow What You Can Do Today. Permission was given to print in with his talk, so I will refer you to his talk to read it, but here is the introduction he gave to it: "I recently read a text which expresses the urgency of not leaving for tomorrow what you can do today. In July of this year Brazil witnessed the most devastating aircraft accident in its history. There were 199 people killed, including passengers, airline workers, crew members, and others who were at the site when the accident happened. The text I mentioned was said to have been posted on the airline communication board by the husband of one of the flight attendants who died in the accident. It is entitled "Tomorrow Never Comes" and is based upon a poem by Norma Cornett Marek."

3rd Speaker
The speaker gave me a copy of their talk and I have included it here below. Everything to Sunday school is their talk.

The need of personal revelation in our daily lives is overwhelming. The thought of going through one day without petitioning the Lord for guidance and direction scares me. Who am I to think I can raise my family, be in harmony with my wife, fulfill my duties in the church, be a good example at work, and keep the commandments of God without talking to Him and receiving revelation on how to do this?

This topic is one I have studied about for several years. You can easily apply the saying, “The more you learn the less you know.” So I will rely heavily on the scriptures and the words of the prophets, seers and revelators. We will be using the scriptures a great deal so instead of having you look up the scriptures to follow along I am going to try something I feel will be more beneficial to us all. If you have a writing instrument and a piece of paper you will be able to jot down the scriptures that will be used for this subject, for your own personal study further into the important subject of personal revelation.

After we experienced our spiritual birth, Heavenly Father counseled and corrected us, and we were instructed, enlightened and edified in his holy presence. Now that we have experienced our physical birth in mortality, He desires to continue to communicate with us and to give us counsel and direction. He does this through personal revelation, which involves PREPARARION, PRAYER, and PROMPTINGS. This is one of the greatest gifts and blessings we can receive.

To receive personal revelation we must prepare ourselves. President Spencer W Kimball told us that, “God reveals himself to people who are prepared for such manifestations.” A. The Savior taught us what we need to do to prepare in D&C 93:1

We must repent, ask though prayer, be obedient, search the scriptures, fast, think pure thoughts, and develop a spirit of reverence. B. Let’s start with, “We must repent.”

In Moroni 8:26 Mormon explains the fruits of repentance in receiving revelation, “And the remission of sins bringeth meekness, and lowliness of heart, and because of meekness and lowliness of heart cometh the visitation of the Holy Ghost”

Second we must ask through prayer.

In D&C 50:29 the Savior promised, “And if ye are purified and cleansed form all sin, ye shall ask whatsoever you will in the name of Jesus and it shall be done”

Third is to be obedient.

Again we receive council from the Savior in D&C 130:21, “When we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated” So we have to obey in order to be blessed.

He also promised in D&C 63:23, “But unto him that keepeth my commandments I will give the mysteries of my kingdom” E. Forth is to search the scriptures.

We must study our scriptures daily. That does not mean we read our scriptures daily. Nephi gave a great promise to all those who searched the scriptures in 2 NE 32:3, “Wherefore I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ, for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.”

What a great promise! In need of direction? Search the scriptures for you answer.

Fifth we must fast.

Alma 5:46 tells us that Alma had great desire to know of the truthfulness of the doctrines so he prepared himself through fasting and prayer.

Alma 17:3 the sons of Mosiah had given themselves too much prayer and fasting and as a result they had received the spirit of revelation. So how many times is “much prayer and fasting?” Once a month?

Sixth we must have pure thoughts.

If we desire our Heavenly Father to communicate to us we must remove our impure and worldly thoughts. Turn our minds to spiritual matters and fill it with uplifting thoughts. The Savior councils us again on the matter in D&C 121:45, “Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven.”

Seventh we must develop a spirit of reverence.

Elder Boyd K Packer counseled, “Inspiration comes more easily in peaceful setting.” He added, “Irreverence suits the purposes of the adversary by obstructing the delicate channels of revelation in both mind and spirit and reverence invites revelation.”

Irreverence makes it hard for the Spirit to teach us and it also shows disrespect to Deity. Receiving revelation is sacred. It is a divine discussion with Deity and must be reverenced if it is to work. The savior councils us on this in D&C 84:54 and D&C 6:12.

Now that we have discussed Preparation let’s talk about Prayer.

To pray is to have a conversation with Deity. This crucial communication should be conducted with great care and in compliance with sacred counsel.

First we must pray often.

We must commune with our Heavenly Father on a regular bases and this communication must not be come casual and repetitive. To do this is to ignore the council of the Savior found in D&C 6:12 “Trifle not with sacred things.”

It is not the amount of time we spend praying but the depth of our desire that results in revelation.

Second we must ponder before we pray.

The Savior counseled in D&C 9:8, “Study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right.”

We cannot expect the Lord to just give us all of the answers all the time. Part of our learning process is to figure out the correct answer on our own by pondering and meditation then to confirm that answer with the Lord.

Third we must ask for the right things.

We must be careful that we ask for that which is right. The Savior counsels in D&C 8:10 that we should, “Not ask for that which you ought not” and he then warns us in D&C 88:65, “And if ye ask anything that is not expedient for you, it shall turn unto your condemnation.”

Forth we must ask in faith.

Faith is the bottom line in the Gospel. One cannot do anything without faith. The Savior gave us a powerful promise concerning faith in our prayers. This is found in 3 NE 18:20, “And whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is right, believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto you.”

Fifth we must ask in humility.

Praying with great humility is essential if our prayers are to be heard and answered. In D&C 112:10 the Savior said, “Be thou humble and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand and give thee answer to thy prayers.”

The Savior also warns those who forget the importance of the principal of humility. D&C 3:4

Sixth we must ask in sincerity and with intensity.

If you really want to learn how to pray study the example of Enos. This is my all time favorite book in the book of Mormon. Every one of us can in some way relate to Enos. I will not dive into this book in this talk but I will leave it for you to study and feel the spirit yourselves.

Now that we have discussed preparation and prayer let us dive into the third topic Promptings.

The Father speaks to us through the promptings of the Spirit. If we have properly prepared we will become sensitive to these promptings. There are specific ways in which the mind and the heart are touched as we receive personal revelation.

First we can have promptings to the mind.

This can happen in a variety of ways. They come as enlightenment, in the form of instant recall, and audible voice, counsel from leaders, dreams. Visions and visitations.

Enlightenment comes as an increase in light, knowledge, and understanding. The Savior instructed Oliver Cowdery in D&C 6:15, “I did enlighten thy mind and now I tell thee these things that thou mayest know that thou hast been enlightened by the Spirit of truth”

The prophet Joseph Smith describes this process, “When you feel pure intelligence flowing into you it may give you sudden strokes of ideas, so that by noticing it you may find if fulfilled the same day or soon those things that were presented unto your minds by the Spirit of God, will come to pass and thus by learning the Spirit of God and understanding it you may grow into the principle of revelation until you become perfect in Christ Jesus.”

The scriptures play a big roll. There are times while searching, studying, and pondering the scriptures that we receive personal revelation as did Joseph Smith did when he read James 1:5

Personal Revelation may come in the form of an instant recall of things the Spirit once taught us that may apply to our present situation. In John 14:26 the Savior taught, “The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name he shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”

One can hear and audible voice as did Nephi and Lehi did when they were imprisoned.

The Lord speaks through His chosen leaders. The Savior taught this principal in D&C 1:38 when he said, “What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken…whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants it is the same.”

Several Prophets throughout the scriptures have received Personal Revelation through dreams, visions or visitations.

The Spirit also reveals the will of the Lord though our Heart. These feelings may be characterized as peaceful, warm. Compelling, or dark or confusing in nature.

The most frequent confirmation of the Spirit comes through peaceful feelings. Joseph Smith stated, “They can tell the Spirit of the Lord from all other spirits—it will whisper peace and joy to their souls.”

Second there are the warm and spiritual feelings. In D&C 9:8 we are giving instruction that if you ask if something is right and it is right He will cause that your bosom shall bun within you; therefore you shall feel that it is right.”

Third there is the compelling feeling. It is characterized by a sense of urgency, a sense of restlessness, and a sense of surety. It was the feeling Nephi experienced when he was commanded to slay Laban. The prophet Joseph Smith described this feeling as he spoke about the principle of baptism for the dead in D&C 128:1, “That subject seems to occupy my mind, and press itself upon my feelings the strongest.”

Fourth we have the dark and confused feeling. This is explained in D&C 9:9 when we are given a stupor of thought with will cause us to forget that thing which was wrong.

CONCLUSION
The Lord has given us powerful promises concerning personal revelation. These promises are given based upon certain conditions: “If thou shalt ask, thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things.”It is a tender experience to petition our Heavenly Father in sincere heartfelt prayer and know that He will respond with personal revelation. His promises are sure but we must properly prepare to be receptive to the promptings of the Spirit in receiving this guidance.

I have a strong testimony of the power of personal revelation. As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints we need this power in our everyday lives. The Lord will always keep his promises so it is up to us to keep ours.

Sunday School
Book of Mormon Lesson 4
1 Nephi 12-14
1. Nephi sees the future of his descendants and his brothers’ descendants.
2. Nephi sees the formation of the great and abominable church, the colonization of the Americas, the Apostasy, and the Restoration of the gospel.
3. Nephi sees the blessings promised to the faithful; he also sees the destruction of the great and abominable church.

Priesthood
Conference talk - Boyd K Packer - Nov 2007 - The Weak and the Simple of the Church
"We have sustained the general officers of the Church in a solemn, sacred procedure. This common procedure occurs whenever leaders or teachers are called or released from office or whenever there is reorganization in a stake or a ward or a quorum or in the auxiliaries (see D&C 124:123, 144; see also D&C 20:65–67; 26:2). It is unique to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." One must have the authority to serve in the Church by another in authority. DnC 42:11 - 11 Again I say unto you, that it shall not be given to any one to go forth to preach my gospel, or to build up my church, except he be ordained by some one who has authority, and it is known to the church that he has authority and has been regularly ordained by the heads of the church.

J Ruben Clark - It is not where you serve, but how.

"Years ago when I first received an appointment that resulted in my picture being in the newspapers, one of my high school teachers, evidently quite astonished, was heard to say, 'That just proves that you can’t tell by looking at a frog how high he is going to jump!'"

Service is an action word.

Sunday January 20, 2008 - Sunday Services Cumberland Ward

Sacrament Meeting
Youth Speaker
The speaker quoted Joseph F Smith. I did not get it word for word, so I paraphrase here. The more we choose good, the better we become at it and the better we are able to discern good from evil.

Moroni 7:14-16

14 Wherefore, take heed, my beloved brethren, that ye do not judge that which is ^aevil to be of God, or that which is good and of God to be of the devil.

15 For behold, my brethren, it is given unto you to ^ajudge, that ye may know good from evil; and the way to judge is as plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge, as the daylight is from the dark night.

16 For behold, the ^aSpirit of Christ is given to every ^bman, that he may ^cknow good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God.

2nd Speaker
She quoted from Cecil Samuelson. Again I paraphrase. Some people have intellect and and have no wisdom. Some are unschooled and yet are wise.

James 1:5
5 ^aIf any of you lack ^bwisdom, let him ask of God, that ^cgiveth to all men liberally, and ^dupbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

Third Speaker
Peculiar People
Exodus 19:5-6

5 Now therefore, if ye will ^aobey my voice indeed, and keep my ^bcovenant, then ye shall be a ^cpeculiar ^dtreasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:

6 And ye shall be unto me a ^akingdom of ^bpriests, and an ^choly ^dnation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.

Deuteronomy 14:2

2 For thou art an ^aholy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a ^bpeculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.

Deut 26:18-19

18 And the LORD hath avouched thee this day to be his ^apeculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments;

19 And to make thee ^ahigh above all nations which he hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honour; and that thou mayest be an ^bholy people unto the LORD thy God, as he hath spoken.

He pulled one of the definition of Peculiar from the dictionary. Along with being distinctive and all that he also found that peculiar had this definition which may be applicable in the context that we are discussing. "a property or privilege belonging exclusively or characteristically to a person." Most of his talk talked about our distinctiveness, but he gave us the aforementioned definition to let us ponder.

He quoted from the October 2007 General Conference talk by Elder M Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He quoted Elder Ballard's thoughts on the growing interest in the Church and sharing the gospel effectively.

He talked of the confusion that some have about the Church because all they know us as are Mormons. He tries to always state that he belongs to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and not just say that he is a Mormon. I think that being call Mormons many times has a feeling of mystery that can give impressions that are untrue.

In what ways are we peculiar - Continuing revelation, plan of salvation, dress standards.

Respect our bodies through dress and appearance. Recognize that they are gifts from God.

Sunday School
Book of Mormon Lesson 3
Vision of the tree of life
Fruit of the tree - Eternal life
-White
-Most sweet
-Desirable above all other fruit
-Joyous to the soul
-The greatest of all the gifts of God
The tree - Christ and the love of God
Rod of Iron - Word of God
-Back then iron was the strongest metal known.
-Even if we are holding the rod we could be holding in different ways. We could hold with both hands firmly. We could hold with one hand and be messing with oth things with our other hand. We could be distracted by things in the grass and just touching the rod with our finger tips.
Filthy water - Evil
-The fifth runs with you the entire length of the rod.
Mist of darkness - worldly ideas and temptations.
Spacious building - Imaginations and pride of man.

Nephi did not immediately understand the vision. He had to ask God and study it out.

Four categories of people Lehi and Nephi saw.
1. Reached tree and tasted fruit and fell away.
2. Partook and did not fall away.
3. Lost in midst of darkness.
4. People in the building that never tried.

There was some discussion as to whether the tree of life if the final destination of life or just baptism. Whether those who go inactive are those who have partaken and then were ashamed.

Priesthood
Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith - Chapter 2 - God the Eternal Father
Joseph's brother William related that his parents prayed with them as a family and were very serious about the children acting properly during prayer.

The lesson touched on characteristics of God. "When we comprehend the character of God, we comprehend ourselves and know how to approach Him."

The members of the Godhead are three distinct beings. Peter and Stephen both testified of having seen Jesus of the right hand of God.

Sunday January 13, 2008 - Sunday Services Cumberland Ward

Sacrament Meeting
One of the full time missionaries spoke on the plan of salvation.

He talked about the purpose of Adam and Eve in the plan. He quoted scriptures from 2 Nephi 2
11 For it must needs be, that there is an ^aopposition in all things. If not so, my first-born in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility.
25 ^aAdam ^bfell that men might be; and men ^care, that they might have ^djoy.

He talked of how after his resurrection that Christ preached to those in prison. He quoted 1 Peter 3:18-20

18 For Christ also hath once ^asuffered for sins, the just for the ^bunjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to ^cdeath in the flesh, but quickened by the ^dSpirit:

19 By which also he went and ^apreached unto the ^bspirits in ^cprison;

20 ^aWhich sometime were ^bdisobedient, when once the ^clongsuffering of God waited in the days of ^dNoah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were ^esaved by ^fwater.

He talked of where we go after death to wait for the resurrection. He then talked of the
1 Corinthians 15:39-42
39 All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.

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.

41 There is one glory of the ^asun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the ^bstars: for one star ^cdiffereth from another star in ^dglory.

42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in ^acorruption; it is raised in incorruption:
This scripture outlines that there are different types of flesh of animal. It then tells that there are different types of bodies after we are resurrected.

2 Corinthians 12:2 - references being caught up to the third heaven. Much like was talked about with having different levels we are resurrected to.
2 ^aI knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the ^bbody, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the ^cthird ^dheaven.

A stake high councilman spoke.

He cited DnC 58:26 - Showing that we should use our agency to chose good whether we have a specific commandment or not. We may not have been commanded to do some good thing or refrain from some bad thing, but we should learn to chose wisely.
26 For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is ^acompelled in all things, the same is a ^bslothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward.

He read “The Bridge Builder” poem by Will Allen Dromgoole, which President Monson quoted in the first presidency message in the Ensign this month.
An old man, going a lone highway,
Came at the evening, cold and gray,
To a chasm, vast and deep and wide,
Through which was flowing a sullen tide.
The old man crossed in the twilight dim;
The sullen stream had no fears for him;
But he turned when safe on the other side
And built a bridge to span the tide.
“Old man,” said a fellow pilgrim near,
“You are wasting strength with building here;
Your journey will end with the ending day;
You never again must pass this way;
You have crossed the chasm, deep and wide—
Why build you the bridge at the eventide?”
The builder lifted his old gray head:
“Good friend, in the path I have come,” he said,
“There followeth after me today
A youth whose feet must pass this way.
This chasm that has been naught to me
To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be.
He, too, must cross in the twilight dim;
Good friend, I am building the bridge for him.”

Are we building bridges or allowing those around us to fall in the pit.

In commenting on adversity the high councilman stated that the strongest timbers that grow through winds and storms.

In commenting on our free will he stated, we choose how we will respond to life. We choose to be in a good mood or bad. Be anxiously engaged in a good cause. We are not spectators in life.

Sunday School
Book of Mormon Lesson 2 - “All Things According to His Will”
Lehi prophesied of Jerusalem's destruction. The reception to his words was a lot more extreme, but similar to the responses one gets if they suggest that disasters or trials of our day could be a consequence of our wickedness.

Lehi was commanded to get the plates to preserve their literacy, genealogy, and religion.

1 Nephi 3:7 - And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I ^awill go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no ^bcommandments unto the children of men, save he shall ^cprepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.

Priesthood
Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith Chapter 1: The First Vision: The Father and the Son Appear to Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith is known as the prophet of the restoration. The instructor pointed out that the restoration is ongoing and that all the prophets of this dispensation are prophets of the restoration.

Sunday January 6, 2008 - Sunday Services Cumberland Ward

Testimony Meeting
This was our first week back on the 9am schedule. After being on the 1pm schedule all last year.

There were a lot of people that didn't make it. There were also several partial families there where children were allowed to make the choice to sleep in and not come to church.

Sunday School
Book of Mormon - Lesson 1 - "The Keystone of Our Religion"
We covered some of this in the introduction last week, but we continued on.

The Book of Mormon contains the fullness of the gospel. This does not mean that it contains every doctrine ever revealed, but contains everything necessary for our salvation.

Being saved is not an instantaneous thing, but is a process of us growing.

Just like the Book of Mormon had witnesses, all of our ordinances have witnesses. One can not just record a baptism on their own, even if they have the authority to baptize. Their must be witnesses to it.

Even though the Book of Mormon is an ancient book, it was written for our day.

Priesthood
We got our new manuals for the next two years. It is the Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith.

We went through some of the introductory material (time line (add hyperlinks), maps, highlights from Joseph's life.)

We talked briefly about the first 116 pages of the Book of Mormon that Martin Harris lost. Some expressed that we will have those pages again some day as well as other sealed portions that were not translated. Some of the contents of those pages (the book of Lehi) were included in Nephi's writings. There are places where he talks about not knowing why he is writing some of the things that he is writing since they are covered in his father's book.

Sunday December 30, 2007 - Sunday Services Cumberland Ward

Sacrament Meeting
I was the first speaker today. The youth speaker and first speaker did not make it to church today. After I finished the bishop shared a few thoughts with us.

My Talk
One of my favorite scriptures from the life of the Savior is a conversation Jesus had with Peter after many people were leaving the Savior because of being offended by the truths that he shared with them. It is found in John 6:67-68 and it reads - “Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.”

I again thought of this scripture when listening to the following story from a talk in General conference by Elder Douglas L. Callister Of the Seventy.

“Years ago I presided over a mission headquartered in the Midwest. One day, with a handful of our missionaries, I spoke with an esteemed representative of another Christian faith. This gentle soul spoke of his own religion's history and doctrine, eventually repeating the familiar words: 'By grace ye are saved. Every man and woman must exercise faith in Christ in order to become a saved being.'

“Among those present was a new missionary. He was altogether unfamiliar with other religions. He had to ask the question, "But, sir, what happens to the little baby who dies before he is old enough to understand and exercise faith in Christ?" The learned man bowed his head, looked at the floor, and said, 'There ought to be an exception. There ought to be a loophole. There ought to be a way, but there isn't.'

“The missionary looked at me and, with tears in his eyes, said, 'Goodness, President, we do have the truth, don't we!'”

After I listened to Elder Callister's story I thought to myself as I have many times before, “If I believe the critics of the Church or cave to my own weaknesses and I left the Church where else would I go? The Lord has already given me the words of eternal life.”

Purpose of the Life of the Savior
I would now like to talk about the purpose of the Savior's life. Two purposes of the life of the Savior that I would like to present are to be an example and to give us life.

The Savior Give Us Life
-Resurrection – He gives us life by His resurrection, which gives us redemption from physical death. This gift is free and we do not have to do anything to obtain it.
Acts 26:23 - “That Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should shew light unto the people, and to the Gentiles.” (See also Col 1:18 and Rev 1:5)
The resurrection comes to all, whether good or evil. There will however be a division between when we will be resurrected. The righteous will come forth in the first resurrection and the unrepentant sinners will come forth in the last resurrection.
I have heard some people question that the resurrection is a reuniting of the body and spirit. They propose that the body is changed into spirit or something like that. Luke 24:42-43 talks of Jesus eating fish and honeycomb after his resurrection. Luke 24:39 specifically says, “Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.” Other places in the scriptures tell that the people touched him and these are listed in the Bible Dictionary.

-Exaltation – Another way The Savior gives us life is through exaltation or the bestowing upon us of Eternal Life. This gift requires our effort to obtain it.
Hebrews 5:9 - “And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;”
Note: It says to all them that obey Him and not the ones that simply say a prayer and ask Him to save them. Although praying to Him and asking His forgiveness when we sin is one of the things He has asked us to do, it is not the only thing. We must obey Him.

Mark 16:16 - “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”
Note: Believing alone is not enough. One must also be baptized.

Matthew 6:14-15 - “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
We ourselves must do something, which is to forgive, in order to be forgiven or saved from our sins.

Revelation 22:14 - “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.”

Matthew 19:16-17 - “And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.”
Sometimes people miss this, so I want to say it one more time. “if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.”

Occasionally people present to me that I am not a Christian because I am a member of this church because we believe that we have to work to be saved. Ignoring the very clear scriptural evidence that keeping the commandments the way we give our heart to Jesus.

There is no question that we could give our all and still not have enough to gain salvation. That is where our faith in Christ comes in and He saves us. But without our effort that faith is dead and profits us nothing (See James 2:14-26).

I think Nephi explains what we are talking about the best in 2 Nephi 25:23 – “For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.”

Be an Example – Another purpose of Jesus's life was to be an example. Jesus taught us by his example in several areas.
-He showed us How to Love - “As I have loved you, love one another.” When I was in the Missionary Training Center this was one of our favorite hymns, because if you chose to sing that for the closing song you got to lunch a lot quicker than if you chose to sing, say, A Poor Wayfaring Man Of Grief.

But setting aside me always thinking with my stomach, the Savior is a great example of love. “By this shall men know, ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” The savior showed us “love your neighbor”, “love your enemies”, and as previously mentioned “love one another”.

-Baptism – Jesus taught us of the necessity of baptism in John 3:4-5 - “Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”

It could be interpreted by looking at this scripture that being born of water means being born of a woman based on the conversation he was having with Nicodemus. Yet, the example of Christ we see is that He sought out John who was baptizing with water.

-Prayer – One example He gave on praying was in the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 8 and Luke 11. The Lord's Prayer is not a prayer to be recited as many do. Wikipedia stated that, “On Easter Sunday 2007 it was estimated that 2 billion Protestant, Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox Christians read, recited, or sang the short prayer in hundreds of languages in houses of worship of all shapes and sizes.” I know the scholars out there are going to cringe at me siting Wikipedia as an authoritative source, but it looks like they got their information from the Los Angeles Times, which I am sure thoroughly researched and footnoted their article.

Nonetheless, He cautions us before showing us the example, about praying with vain repetitions. It is the Lord's prayer, not ours. So follow his example and then make your own.

-Truth by Example –

The Members of the Godhead being Separate beings - One of the truths that he taught us by example was that He and His Father are two separate beings. His Father was at his baptism and He frequently prayed to his Father.
-Elder Jefferey R. Holland in his conference talk sited several examples of Jesus teaching this principle

I will paraphrase a few of these, but refer you to the footnotes in his conference talk for the entire list.

John 17:3 – Tells us that we may know the only true God AND Jesus who He has sent.

John 12:26 – States that if any man serves Christ, then His Father will honor them.

Romans 8:34 – Makes reference to Jesus being on the right hand of God.

Elder Holland states, "...we believe [The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost] are one in every significant and eternal aspect imaginable except believing Them to be three persons combined in one substance..."
He Teaches Us the Truth that We Can Be Like Christ – Christ showed us how to live a perfect life. He even gave us the command to, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” in Matthew 5:48. Some say perfect means complete and united and that it is not possible for us to be completely obedient. Yet Matthew 19:26 states, “When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.” Luke 1:37 declares, “For with God nothing shall be impossible.” And Luke 18:27, “And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”

-The Savior also Showed us examples of Forgiveness/Compassion – The Savior was mocked, spat upon, beaten, and crucified and yet in Luke 23:34 we read that He plead with the Father on their behalf, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”

As He was betrayed He still had compassion and restored the ear of the servant of the high priest which Peter had smote off (See John 18:10).

-He Showed us Example of Obedience – Sensing the weight that was about to be placed upon him the Savior plead with His Father in Luke 22:42, “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me”. He then shows us how to be obedient and accept that the Father can see more perfectly than we can by saying, “nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.”

-He showed us how to Teach – The Savior was always teaching. He taught in parables using things that the people were already familiar with in order to teach truth.

My Testimony
I know that this is Christ's Church and that there is nowhere else that has all of the doctrine that completely works if we do it. This is the vehicle through which Christ is giving us the words of Eternal Life. I can't explain in words that make sense to everyone, but I when I ponder what I see everyday I know that Christ lives and that this is His Church?

I leave these thoughts and my testimony with you in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

The Bishop's Talk
He made a point that I hadn't thought of before. He stated that sometimes the spirit withdraws from us through no fault of our own to test us. To make us stretch ourselves. Making decisions in the dark without the Holy Ghost telling us to can help us to reinforce good habits or make right choices out of reflex and not just when we are prompted.

Sunday School
The instructor introduced what we are going to be studying this next year. This year we studied the New Testament. Next year we will be studying The Book of Mormon.

3 Groups
Jaredites - Came to America at the time of the Towel of Babel. They had destroyed themselves through wars by about the time the other peoples arrived.
Lehites - Descendants of the tribe of Joseph. They left Jerusalem around 600BC.
Mulakites - The descendants of the last son of King Zedekiah, the final King of Judah. Possibly arrived in the Americas around 586 BC.

In order to seriously study one must do more than just come to Sunday school each week. We should study the scriptures during the week on our own and thus resist temptation, avoid deception, and stay on straight and narrow path

We talked about hungering for the scriptures. I had trouble envisioning myself hungering, but I think I have had moments of feasting. I would've more described it as getting on a roll. Where things are flowing and finding more things to take notes on. Maybe there is a difference between hungering and being hungry.

Joint Priesthood and Relief Society
The bishop gave us an update on the status of the ward. He gave some statistics. He talked about our progress on getting everyone in the ward to pray every day. He asked us to imagine the progress we could make as a ward if we could get all of the inactive members to pray every day. He then asked us to imagine if we could get the active members to pray every day.

He said, "It is my view that the seriousness with which one takes their HT/VT assignments is a strong indicator of the seriousness with which one is pursuing the pathway to the Celestial Kingdom."