Sunday May 25, 2008 - Services Sullivan Hollow Second Ward

Priesthood Opening
Moroni 7:16-17

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.

17 But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do ^aevil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil; for after this manner doth the devil work, for he persuadeth no man to do good, no, not one; neither do his angels; neither do they who subject themselves unto him.

Elders' Quorum
The lesson was based on Elder Bednar's conference talk, Ask in Faith.
Bible Dictionary - Faith -

It was brought out that faith is as simple as having faith that you will receive a paycheck from your employer each week or that the sun is going to come up in the morning. Those things are rewarded a bit more obviously and immediately than a lot of things we have faith in. Faith is something that moves us to action, perhaps without first receiving results.

Elder Bednar said, "Missionaries are full-time teachers; you and I are full-time finders. And you and I as lifelong missionaries should not be praying for the full-time missionaries to do our work!"

Joseph Smith prayed with the intent to act. He also spent lots of effort prior to that to try to find out the answer for himself. Part of that was going to the scriptures, which is where he found James 1:5 instructing him that the Lord will give to those who ask for wisdom and not scold them.

The bishop related that exercising our faith to draw on the power of God is a little like having an electrical power outlet. It does us no good if we do not walk over and do something with it. In a standard power outlet, the power will not jump across the room into our device and be useful to us.

Sunday School
Book of Mormon Lesson 19: “None Could Deliver Them but the Lord” p84
Mosiah 18-24
We have the words of Abilindi because Alma heard them and wrote them down.

We covenant on a regular basis to help one another. We covenant at baptism, in the temple, and everytime we sustain a person in a calling. When they call for people to help in the nursery, we must remember that we raised our hand to help those leaders. We have also raised our hands to help our bishop, our stake president, and our prophet. The nursery leader and Primary president are called by them and if we do not help the nursery leader we are not helping the bishop and we are not helping the Lord.

Matt. 25: 40

40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have ^adone it unto one of the ^bleast of these my ^cbrethren, ye have done it unto me.

The bishop talked about receiving gift humbly. He said that any gift that is given to us is a gift to the Lord and we should not judge that gift. When giving we should not give begrudgingly. No matter what we are giving or who we are giving to we are giving to the Lord.

Sacrament Meeting
1st speaker
Memorial day was set up as a day to remember the fallen in the civil war.

2nd speaker
One of the young women spoke on honoring you parents.

3rd speaker
One of the young men spoke on what he learned from his ancestors.
1. Great uncle volunteered for war
2. Live life for lord
3. Hard work pays off
4. Prayer helps with anything

I have the speakers listed as 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 6th. So either I miss numbered them or I missed the 4th speaker.

5th speaker
He gave his memory of hearing in 1941 that pearl harbor had been attacked and his experiences in the military then. He said that he worked as a soda jerk when he was in the military.

6th speaker
She talked of the power she has received from going to the temple.

Sunday May 18, 2008 - Services Sullivan Hollow Second Ward

Priesthood
1 Nephi 1
1 I, NEPHI, having been ^aborn of ^bgoodly ^cparents, therefore I was ^dtaught somewhat in all the learning of my father; and having seen many ^eafflictions in the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days; yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a ^frecord of my proceedings in my days.

Elders' Quorum
Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith
Chapter 9: Gifts of the Spirit pp. 114–24

Articles of Faith 1:7: "We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth."

Gifts of the spirit are special skills.
Moroni 10 is a good place to look for information on this.
Purposes of the Gifts:
Testimony
Direction
Tongues - Speak and Interpret
Help
Teaching
Faith

"The human family are very apt to run to extremes, especially in religious matters, and hence people in general either want some miraculous display, or they will not believe in the gift of the Holy Ghost at all. If an Elder lays his hands upon a person, it is thought by many that the person must immediately rise and speak in tongues and prophesy; this idea is gathered from the circumstance of Paul laying his hands upon certain individuals who had been previously (as they stated) baptized unto John's baptism; which when he had done, they 'spake in tongues and prophesied.' [See Acts 19:1-6.] . . .

"We believe that the Holy Ghost is imparted by the laying on of hands of those in authority, and that the gift of tongues, and also the gift of prophecy are gifts of the Spirit, and are obtained through that medium; but then to say that men always prophesied and spoke in tongues when they had the imposition of hands, would be to state that which is untrue, contrary to the practice of the Apostles, and at variance with holy writ. . . .
(History of the Church, 5:26-31; punctuation and grammar modernized; paragraph divisions altered; from "Gift of the Holy Ghost," an editorial published in Times and Seasons, June 15, 1842, pp. 823-25; Joseph Smith was the editor of the periodical.)

Grand manifestations are not the foundation of a testimony.

There are manifestations going on constantly, but many are personal and many are subtle.

"The manifestations of the gift of the Holy Ghost, the ministering of angels, or the development of the power, majesty or glory of God were very seldom manifested publicly, and that generally to the people of God, as to the Israelites; but most generally when angels have come, or God has revealed Himself, it has been to individuals in private, in their chamber; in the wilderness or fields, and that generally without noise or tumult. The angel delivered Peter out of prison in the dead of night; came to Paul unobserved by the rest of the crew; appeared to Mary and Elizabeth without the knowledge of others; spoke to John the Baptist whilst the people around were ignorant of it.

"When Elisha saw the chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof, it was unknown to others. When the Lord appeared to Abraham it was at his tent door; when the angels went to Lot, no person knew them but himself, which was the case probably with Abraham and his wife; when the Lord appeared to Moses, it was in the burning bush, in the tabernacle, or in the mountain top; when Elijah was taken in a chariot of fire, it was unobserved by the world; and when he was in a cleft of a rock, there was loud thunder, but the Lord was not in the thunder; there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and then there was a still small voice, which was the voice of the Lord, saying, 'What doest thou here, Elijah?' [See 1 Kings 19:11-13.]"
(More from History of the Church, 5:26-31; punctuation and grammar modernized; paragraph divisions altered; from "Gift of the Holy Ghost," an editorial published in Times and Seasons, June 15, 1842, pp. 823-25; Joseph Smith was the editor of the periodical.)

Sunday School
Book of Mormon Lesson 18: “God Himself … Shall Redeem His People” p79
Mosiah 12-17
What is it about the gospel that makes the prophets willing to risk their lives to share it?

They ask Abinidi questions about the scriptures and he fires back to them that they are the teachers of the people and they do not know those things. He tells them that they have not applied their hearts to it. We can read the scriptures and still not have our lives changed or not understand what we have read.

Abinidi testifies of Christ and it would've appeared at that time that it came to nothing. But So much of the rest of the Book of Mormon are the results of Alma hearing Abinidi's words.

He talks about the law of Moses and its purpose. He talks of the law of Moses being types of things to come pointing to Christ.

Sacrament Meeting
Youth Speaker
Based his remarks on a talk by Henry B. Eyring.
4 Categeories Characteristics of the Book of Mormon (I missed the fourth one)
Powerful missionary tool
Testifies of Christ
Brings the spirit when reading

2nd Speaker
Luke 10 - Parable of the good Samaritan
"37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise."

Fast Offering
It is a free will offering. You decide how much is appropriate to pay. God does not specifically say how much to give. The guideline has been the cost of the two meals you were abstaining from, since in the early days of the church it was to actually bring the food of those meals. Now the prophets have counseled to give as much as you are able.

“It has been, and now is, the desire and the objective of the Church to obtain from fast offerings the necessary funds to meet the cash needs of the welfare program. … At the present time we are not meeting this objective. We can, we ought, and we must do better. If we will double our fast offerings, we shall increase our own prosperity, both spiritually and temporally. This the Lord has promised, and this has been the record.” (President Marion G. Romney - “Basics of Church Welfare,” talk given to the Priesthood Board, 6 Mar. 1974, p. 10.)

Mosiah 4: 26
"And now, for the sake of these things which I have spoken unto you—that is, for the sake of retaining a remission of your sins from day to day, that ye may ^awalk guiltless before God—I would that ye should ^bimpart of your substance to the ^cpoor, every man according to that which he hath, such as ^dfeeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and administering to their relief, both spiritually and temporally, according to their wants."

The speaker read a portion of a letter that was included as part of Victor L. Brown, “Fast Offerings: Fulfilling Our Responsibility to Others,” Ensign, May 1981, 37.

“Enclosed find a check for $1,000 for excess fast offerings from the Tongan Mission. Normally this letter would end here, but because of an experience I recently had I would like to add a little more.

“As you may or may not be aware, Tonga is one of the poorest countries financially in the world. The average wage rate is only around 12¢ per hour if you are lucky enough to have a job. …

“Recently, while visiting one of the far distant islands that is very difficult to get to, I went late in the day to the home of one of the good widow sisters there.

“When I first approached her hut the sun was still quite bright and I could not help but notice the stark poverty of her surroundings. It had been raining earlier. The mud and decay and the ever-present smell of drying fish were at first repulsive. But the warmth of meeting with a fellow Church member—especially after years of separation—together with tears of appreciation for the long-awaited visit, soon pushed the unpleasantness of the surroundings temporarily into the background.

“As we conversed in her fluid native tongue and she told of her love for and faith in the Church and of all the blessings she had received, I could not help but think about her apparently miserable circumstances. … All sorts of ideas went through my mind, and I must have let my thoughts wander as I suddenly became aware that somewhere between phrases about blessings and poverty and service she had gone to her hut and was now returning with a small knotted rag.

“Suddenly my mind seemed to fill with light, and the words ‘fast offerings’ flooded in. I was so excited with the idea that had come so suddenly and so clearly, that you can imagine my utter amazement and unpreparedness when she took a threepence (a coin worth about 3¢) from her rag and said softly, ‘Here is my fast offering … to help the poor.’

“I wanted to explain that fast offering was to help her, not for her to help others. The explanation never came, for as I looked through misty eyes, first at the threepence then back at the good sister, the whole scene changed.

“The hut was a glowing mansion and the mud was gold. … The world seemed to stand still for a moment. All of nature seemed to stop and listen as from the heavens the whole universe seemed filled with the reassuring words: ‘Blessed are the poor … for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’ (Matt. 5:3.)

“As the setting sun signaled the end of the day, so it also told of the approaching end of her beautiful life of service.

“I took the threepence, and as I write this check the whole experience once again fills my mind and I wonder, ‘How many threepences to make a thousand dollars?’ ”

3rd Speaker
Alma 50:20
20 Blessed art thou and thy children; and they shall be blessed, inasmuch as they shall keep my ^acommandments they shall prosper in the land. But remember, inasmuch as they will not keep my commandments they shall be ^bcut off from the presence of the Lord.

In science there are cause and effect relationships. If we do this then that will happen. Obedience is like that. If we are obedient we prosper.

He said that he recalled from high school French calls that the word for hope in French is Prosper or at least it and prosperity have the same root. I found the following to possibly back that up.
---
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
prosper

c.1460, from O.Fr. prosperer (14c.), from L. prosperare "cause to succeed, render happy," from prosperus "favorable, fortunate, prosperous," perhaps lit. "agreeable to one's wishes," from Old L. pro spere "according to expectation," from pro "for" + abl. of spes "hope," from PIE base *spei- "to flourish, succeed." Prosperous is first recorded 1445, originally "tending to bring success;" in the sense of "flourishing" it is first recorded 1472.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Misunderstanding what it means to prosper can mislead us. Prospering does not always mean financial wealth.

2 Ne. 2: 25
^aAdam ^bfell that men might be; and men ^care, that they might have ^djoy.

D&C 130: 20-21
20 There is a ^alaw, irrevocably decreed in ^bheaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all ^cblessings are predicated—
21 And when we obtain any ^ablessing from God, it is by ^bobedience to that law upon which it is predicated.

We will continue to have trials, because that is part of the learning process of this life.

Sunday May 11, 2008 - Services Sullivan Hollow Second Ward

Mother's Day
Priesthood Opening
Ether 3:25-26
25 And when the Lord had said these words, he ^ashowed unto the brother of Jared ^ball the inhabitants of the earth which had been, and also all that would be; and he ^cwithheld them not from his sight, even unto the ends of the earth.

26 For he had said unto him in times before, that ^aif he would ^bbelieve in him that he could show unto him ^call things—it should be shown unto him; therefore the Lord could not withhold anything from him, for he knew that the Lord could show him all things.

Elders' Quorum
Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith - Chapter 8: The Everlasting Priesthood pp. 101–13
Luke 9
28 And it came to pass about an ^aeight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a ^bmountain to ^cpray.

Moses and Elijah were conferring priesthood keys on Peter, James, and John.

The teacher quoted from an April 1983 Ensign article I Have a Question pp 21-23 - The question that was ask was "Who appeared to Peter, James, and John on the Mount of Transfiguration? What was the purpose of their appearance?"

On the mount Heavenly Father spoke out of a cloud “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.” We do not hear much from Heavenly Father in the scriptures. Mostly He just testifies of His Son and confirms that He is the one we are to listen to. In the Old Testament Jehovah did the speaking. Jehovah was the premortal Christ.

The Ensign article noted that John the Baptist was on the mount with them. No one seems to know why since Peter, James, and John already had the Melchizedek priesthood, which encompasses the Aaronic priesthood to which John held the keys.

They referred us to the Bible Dictionary entry on Elias that describes the different uses of the name/title.

Melchizedek Priesthood gives the ability to:
-Bestow the HG
-Baptize - because it encompasses the Aaronic priesthood
-Administer in the temple - sealings and so forth
-give blessings of healing and/or comfort
-Patriarical blessings - scripture specific to our individual life.

Sunday School
Book of Mormon - Lesson 17: “A Seer … Becometh a Great Benefit to His Fellow Beings” p.75

Zeniff - King Noah's Father
Limhi - King Noah's son and Zeniff's grandson

Sacrament Meeting
There were two youth speakers that talked about things their moms have taught them.

3rd Speaker
Mothers should show examples of Christ to their children. They will follow them and if they follow Christ, their children will follow Christ.
3 nephi 27
21 Verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my ^agospel; and ye know the things that ye must ^bdo in my church; for the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do; for that which ye have seen me do even that shall ye do;

If children see their moms read their scriptures the children will learn to go to the scriptures and learn a love for them.
D&C 88: 118
"And as all have not ^afaith, seek ye diligently and ^bteach one another words of ^cwisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best ^dbooks words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith."

They referenced some things from President Monson's talk “Behold Thy Mother” referenced in the April 1998 Ensign.

4th Speaker
Every mother who has a testimony can have a profound effect upon their children. He cited Julie Beck's conference talk "Mothers Who Know"

Eph. 5: 25
25 ^aHusbands, ^blove your ^cwives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

5th Speaker
The bishop spoke briefly. He spoke of the blessing of the restoration of the gospel and the inspiration of the holy ghost.

He also talked a bit about his mother. He said that she taught him everything he needed to know except the gospel. She taught him standards. She talked about their family good name because of their standards and how they were respected by everyone in the community.

Sunday May 4, 2008 - Services Cumberland Ward

Testimony Meeting

Sunday School
Book of Mormon Manual - Lesson 16: “Ye Shall Be Called the Children of Christ” p 71
Mosiah 4:9-12

9 Believe in ^aGod; believe that he is, and that he ^bcreated all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all ^cwisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not ^dcomprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend.

10 And again, believe that ye must ^arepent of your sins and forsake them, and humble yourselves before God; and ask in ^bsincerity of heart that he would ^cforgive you; and now, if you ^dbelieve all these things see that ye ^edo them.

11 And again I say unto you as I have said before, that as ye have come to the knowledge of the glory of God, or if ye have known of his goodness and have ^atasted of his love, and have received a ^bremission of your sins, which causeth such exceedingly great joy in your souls, even so I would that ye should remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own ^cnothingness, and his ^dgoodness and long-suffering towards you, unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths of ^ehumility, ^fcalling on the name of the Lord daily, and standing ^gsteadfastly in the faith of that which is to come, which was spoken by the mouth of the angel.

12 And behold, I say unto you that if ye do this ye shall always rejoice, and be filled with the ^alove of God, and always ^bretain a remission of your sins; and ye shall grow in the ^cknowledge of the glory of him that created you, or in the knowledge of that which is just and true.

Right/Left hand of God
What does it mean to sit on the right hand of God? (To receive exaltation and live with God again.)
Matthew 25:33–46

33 And he shall set the sheep on his ^aright hand, but the goats on the left.

34 Then shall the King say unto them on his ^aright hand, Come, ye ^bblessed of my Father, ^cinherit the ^dkingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

35 For I was an ^ahungred, and ye ^bgave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a ^cstranger, and ye took me in:

36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye ^avisited me: I was in ^bprison, and ye came unto me.

37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

39 Or when saw we thee ^asick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have ^adone it unto one of the ^bleast of these my ^cbrethren, ye have done it unto me.

41 Then shall he say also unto them on the ^aleft hand, ^bDepart from me, ye ^ccursed, into everlasting ^dfire, ^eprepared for the devil and his angels:

42 For I was an ^ahungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:

43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the ^aleast of these, ye did it not to me.

46 And these shall go away into ^aeverlasting ^bpunishment: but the ^crighteous into ^dlife ^eeternal.

Mosiah 4:13-15 (Teach the children.) - All children. Not just LDS children. Not just children in your own home. This is a command to all, not just those who have children.

Mosiah 4:16-26 (Share with the poor.)
We are to help all people, even those who have caused their own problems. Do we all not have some problems that we have brought on ourselves?

Mosiah 4:27-30 (Watch your thoughts, words, and deeds.)

Elders' Quorum
Children are innocent and redeemed by the atonement if they die before the age of accountability.

Also those children can be with us for eternity if we are obedient.