Sunday June 22, 2008 - Services Sullivan Hollow Second Ward

Priesthood Opening
2 Nephi 28:20-21

20 For behold, at that day shall he ^arage in the ^bhearts of the children of men, and stir them up to anger against that which is good.

21 And others will he ^apacify, and lull them away into carnal ^bsecurity, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well—and thus the ^cdevil ^dcheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell.

When we are slow to obey the prophets words because we think we have time or because they do not apply to us then we are being lulled into security.

July 13th 7:15am - general priesthood meeting at stake center.

Elders' Quorum
Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood
Doctrine and Covenants 84

35 And also all they who receive this priesthood ^areceive me, saith the Lord;

36 For he that receiveth my servants ^areceiveth me;

37 And he that ^areceiveth me receiveth my Father;

38 And he that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father’s ^akingdom; therefore ^ball that my Father hath shall be given unto him.

39 And this is according to the ^aoath and covenant which belongeth to the priesthood.

40 Therefore, all those who receive the ^apriesthood, receive this ^boath and covenant of my Father, which he cannot break, neither can it be moved.

-Priesthood - Power of God given to men to bless His children.
-Oath - Sacred promise with consequences. 100% guaranteed from God.
-Positive and negative consequences are possible.
-Covenant - Two party conditional oath. Action based contract.
-Receive - Not just take, but embrace.
-Magnify - Examine in great detail.

We can receive all the Father has. Many find this blasphemous. Many who spoke truth have been persecuted for speak that truth which others found blasphemous. Jesus was killed for saying He was the Son of God.

By ourselves we cannot succeed. this is the grace of God and also the atonement. His grace gives us strength. His atonement makes us clean to be able to return.

The bishop asked us to review a few resources on this subject. (Duties and Blessings of the Priesthood: Basic Manual for Priesthood Holders, Part B - Lesson 1: The Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood p2,

Faith and the Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood

by President Henry B. Eyring (April 2008),

The Key of the Knowledge of God

by President James E. Faust (October 2004))

Sunday School
Book of Mormon Lesson 23: “More Than One Witness” p. 102
Fish stories are hard to believe without more than one witness.
Missionaries go two by two. People are ordained and set apart by two or more people.
The Lord prepared Alma and also prepared Amulek to go with him as a second witness (Alma 8:8-10, 14-17, 10:1-5).

Sacrament Meeting
Youth including my daughter were asked to share experiences from youth conference last week. They went to the Manti Pagent on. They did baptisms for the dead in the Manti temple. They also stopped on the way to Manti in Salt Lake to go to temple square.

Several people shared their perspective on an experience that the bishop had with a guy that was riding his motorcycle from California back East. He had heard there was some Mormon mystery pagent going on, so he came to Manti on his way to see what it was all about. The bishop went up to him and started talking. He told him he should stop by temple square in Salt Lake City on his way. He said that he would and he gave the bishop his name and email address.

First Official Speaker
He just got back from his mission to New Mexico. He expressed that on his mission he heard from people that all churches were true and it didn't matter which one you went to. Yet some of these same people had left other churches because they did not baptize by immersion. As they taught them they expressed that if they were all true then it didn't matter how you were baptized. The point the missionaries were trying to make was that it was not institutions that were true, but the doctrine that they taught and if the doctrine was not true, then neither was the church teaching it.

The people in the early Church were disputing and changing the gospel even before the apostles died. The apostles spent a lot of time settling these disputations.

He quoted from Micah where he talks of priest teaching as an occupation and such and how Zion would be plowed under and started again.
Micah 3

11 The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the ^aprophets thereof divine for ^bmoney: yet will they lean upon the Lord, and say, Is not the Lord among us? none evil can come upon us.

12 Therefore shall Zion for your ^asake be ^bplowed as a field, and ^cJerusalem shall become ^dheaps, and the mountain of ^ethe house as the high places of the forest.

He noted that when crops get infested with bugs and go bad, sometimes all you can do to fix it is to plow under the field and start over.

Second Speaker
He shared an experience where he had talked to someone who believed that Heavenly Father, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost were the same being. He testified to the man that They were separate beings. He asked how he knew that. He said, "because Joseph Smith prayed and God and Jesus appeared to him together as separate beings.

Sunday June 15, 2008 - Services Sullivan Hollow Second Ward

Priesthood Opening
The scripture given today described the things that Amulek gave up in order to go with Alma.

Alma 15
16 And it came to pass that Alma and Amulek, Amulek having ^aforsaken all his gold, and silver, and his precious things, which were in the land of Ammonihah, for the word of God, he being ^brejected by those who were once his friends and also by his father and his kindred;

The bishop shared with us that "You just never know when." He was commenting on people receiving the gospel. Those who you thought would never accept the gospel and even said would accept the gospel, may someday accept. You also don't know when, where, or how missionary successes will be opened up to you.

Elders' Quorum

Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith
Chapter 11: The Organization and Destiny of the True and Living Church p.135–47

The instructor passed out a handout with various graphs illustrating the Church's growth.

Someone stated that the biggest adversary of the Church is the members complacency.

Helaman 5
12 And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the ^arock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your ^bfoundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty ^cstorm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.

The Church is the same no matter where you go. No matter the town. No matter the country. Many other churches have doctrine and ways of doing thing that varies depending on what is popular in those areas or in those cultures.

The instructor showed the video of number of stakes over time.

Sunday School
Book of Mormon Lesson 22: “Have Ye Received His Image in Your Countenances?” p98
The world works from the outside in. The Lord works from the inside out and changes hearts.

Conversion and baptism get used interchangeably, but baptism is just a step toward conversion. Sometimes we also talk as if a person who has been in the Church from birth and baptized when they are eight has not been converted.

Alma 5: 14

14 And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye ^aspiritually been ^bborn of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty ^cchange in your hearts?

Check your countenance before you leave your house. Your countenance is deeper than just your facial expression. It is our countenance that reveals who we are inside.

Sacrament Meeting
Girl reported on girl's camp.

First Speaker
Mosiah 17
2 But there was one among them whose name was ^aAlma, he also being a descendant of Nephi. And he was a young man, and he ^bbelieved the words which Abinadi had spoken, for he knew concerning the iniquity which Abinadi had testified against them; therefore he began to plead with the king that he would not be angry with Abinadi, but suffer that he might depart in peace.

Second Speaker
They spoke on the priesthood.
Because of transgressions and apostasy the priesthood was taken from the people.

The children of Israel were lead by the priesthood. Christ gave the apostles the priesthood and they set up the Church.

The primary children sang to the fathers for Father's Day.

Third Speaker
You should not feel you are imposing on your home teachers to have them come give you a blessing.

We should not solicit people to give them blessings. Blessings rely on the faith of the person receiving the blessing. Part of that faith is asking for it.

The bishop gave a few words.
He asked, what can I give Heavenly Father for Father's Day?

Sunday June 8, 2008 - Services Sullivan Hollow Second Ward

Announcements

-July 4, 2008 - Breakfast celebration for the entire community. At our chapel at 8am.

-Volleyball at the chapel Tuesdays at 9pm.

-July 11, 2008 - Children's Health - Doctors volunteer to give free exams for children whose families can not afford medical care. They will be at James Madison Elementary, which tehy say use to be a junior high school.

Priesthood Opening

Mormon 3:20-21

20 And these things doth the Spirit manifest unto me; therefore I write unto you all. And for this cause I write unto you, that ye may know that ye must all stand before the ajudgment-seat of Christ, yea, every soul who belongs to the whole human bfamily of Adam; and ye must stand to be judged of your works, whether they be good or evil;
21 And also that ye may abelieve the gospel of Jesus Christ, which ye shall bhave among you; and also that the cJews, the covenant people of the Lord, shall have other dwitness besides him whom they saw and heard, that Jesus, whom they slew, was the every Christ and the very God.

-The spirit speaks to us in the moment as well as in general guidance for our families and lives.

Elders' Quorum

Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith

Chapter 10: Prayer and Personal Revelation p. 125–34

God knows what we need and what we are thankful for, but prayer is about us, our hearts, and our character. What is a child's character and countenance like who says "please" and "thank you" and doesn't just expect to be served or taken care of.

The Church and priesthood were restored after Joseph prayer and asked about it, not by God just thrusting it upon him. It was necessary for him to exercise faith and grow within himself to receive the answer.

"If you don't feel like praying, pray until you do." Someone attributed this quote to Brigham Young. I did not actually look up the reference myself, but one talk I saw had a reference next to a similar quote as (Discourses, p. 46). I did find the quote in the book True to the Faith in the Personal Prayer section, but they did not attribute it to anyone.

It was suggested that we should pray for the companies that we work for to make correct decisions as they transact business. Someone added to that that we should "pray always" (3 Ne. 18: 15, 18-19, 21). We should pray in everything that we are doing whether it be work, entertainment, disciplining our children, reading, and so forth.

The manual stated “We believe that we have a right to revelations, visions, and dreams from God, our heavenly Father; and light and intelligence, through the gift of the Holy Ghost, in the name of Jesus Christ, on all subjects pertaining to our spiritual welfare; if it so be that we keep his commandments, so as to render ourselves worthy in his sight.” (Letter from Joseph Smith to Isaac Galland, Mar. 22, 1839, Liberty Jail, Liberty, Missouri, published in Times and Seasons, Feb. 1840, p. 54. )

Sunday School

Book of Mormon - Lesson 21: “Alma … Did Judge Righteous Judgments” p 94

Articles of Faith 1:12

12 We believe in being asubject to bkings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in cobeying, honoring, and sustaining the dlaw.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." - Declaration of Independence

The Nephites lived under kings until after Mosiah. Then they were lead by Alma and other judges, a sort of democratic republic. Under Mosiah and Alma the government was also established on a faith in God, just like the government of the United States was established that way, as seen above with the reference to the creator in the Declaration of Independence.

Sacrament Meeting
1st Speaker
Spoke on keeping a journal

2nd Speaker
Spoke on the first vision.
He used a talk by President Hickley (The Stone Cut Out of the Mountain) as part of the source of their talk.

We call it the first vision, but of the point of it is that it was not the first. It was the first in this dispensation, but it was a continuation of God's pattern of calling prophets.

There are miracles that have happened and are happening, but are they personally miracles to us? Do we recognize them as miracles? Do they have an impact on our testimonies?

3rd Speaker
Revelation is communication from God to man. It does not have to be foreseeing future events as some in the world might think.

We are all entitles to revelation of that which we have stewardship over.

Revelation can be our conscience and it can inspire us to action.

The speaker also spoke of why people have weaknesses and how those weaknesses can be strengthened through receiving revelation.

Ether 12: 27
27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their ^aweakness. I ^bgive unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my ^cgrace is sufficient for all men that ^dhumble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make ^eweak things become strong unto them.

Sunday June 1, 2008 - Services Sullivan Hollow Second Ward

Announcements
July 4, 2008 - Breakfast celebration for the entire community. I wasn't sure where it was being held. Sounded like maybe at our chapel. They weren't sure about the time. Someone thought maybe 8am. I will try to get more details next week.

July 13, 2008 - Pioneer Devotional at the Dee Center - Elder Jensen will be speaking.

Volleyball at the chapel Tuesday at 9pm

Priesthood Opening
2 Ne. 22: 2
Behold, God is my salvation; I will ^atrust, and not be afraid; for the Lord ^bJehovah is my ^cstrength and my ^dsong; he also has become my salvation.

Elders' Quorum/High Priest Group
Seeing with Spiritual Eyes
-Seeing Each other as brothers, not just seeing people as neighbors or extended family.
-Seeing people's potential

Called of God
-These are things we are called to do when we are baptized.
Mosiah 18:8-10

8 And it came to pass that he said unto them: Behold, here are the waters of Mormon (for thus were they called) and now, as ye are ^adesirous to come into the ^bfold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light;

9 Yea, and are ^awilling to mourn with those that ^bmourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as ^cwitnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the ^dfirst resurrection, that ye may have eternal life—

10 Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being ^abaptized in the ^bname of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a ^ccovenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?

-These are things we are called to do when we receive the priesthood.
Doctrine and Covenants 84:33-42

33 For whoso is ^afaithful unto the obtaining these two ^bpriesthoods of which I have spoken, and the ^cmagnifying their calling, are ^dsanctified by the Spirit unto the ^erenewing of their bodies.

34 They become the ^asons of Moses and of Aaron and the ^bseed of ^cAbraham, and the church and kingdom, and the ^delect of God.

35 And also all they who receive this priesthood ^areceive me, saith the Lord;

36 For he that receiveth my servants ^areceiveth me;

37 And he that ^areceiveth me receiveth my Father;

38 And he that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father’s ^akingdom; therefore ^ball that my Father hath shall be given unto him.

39 And this is according to the ^aoath and covenant which belongeth to the priesthood.

40 Therefore, all those who receive the ^apriesthood, receive this ^boath and covenant of my Father, which he cannot break, neither can it be moved.

41 But whoso breaketh this ^acovenant after he hath received it, and altogether turneth therefrom, shall ^bnot have forgiveness of sins in this world nor in the world to come.

42 And wo unto all those who come not unto this priesthood which ye have received, which I now confirm upon you who are present this day, by mine own voice out of the heavens; and even I have given the heavenly hosts and mine angels ^acharge concerning you.

Receiving Revelation
-It was brought out that we act according to our current knowledge. We should continue to seek more knowledge in order to act better and more completely.
-Things we need to do to better receive revelation and receive more of it.

• Ask
• Be clean
• Research
• Listen
• Be humble
• Be persistent
  
• Sacrifice
  

Retention
-Ephesians 2:19
Now therefore ye are no more ^astrangers and foreigners, but ^bfellowcitizens with the ^csaints, and of the ^dhousehold of God;

Sunday School
Book of Mormon - Lesson 20: “My Soul Is Pained No More” p89
At this time there werre four groups living in Zarahemla. They all united and called themselves Nephites.

• a. Limhi’s people, who were descended from Zeniff and the others who returned from Zarahemla to the land of Nephi.
  b. Alma’s people, who had broken away from the group descended from Zeniff during the reign of Noah.
  c. The Nephites who had remained in Zarahemla.
  d. The Mulekites, the original residents of Zarahemla.

Mosiah 25:7–11

7 And now, when Mosiah had made an end of reading the records, his people who tarried in the land were struck with wonder and amazement.

8 For they knew not what to think; for when they beheld those that had been delivered ^aout of bondage they were filled with exceedingly great joy.

9 And again, when they thought of their brethren who had been ^aslain by the Lamanites they were filled with sorrow, and even shed many tears of sorrow.

10 And again, when they thought of the immediate goodness of God, and his power in delivering Alma and his brethren out of the hands of the Lamanites and of ^abondage, they did raise their voices and give thanks to God.

11 And again, when they thought upon the Lamanites, who were their brethren, of their sinful and ^apolluted state, they were filled with ^bpain and anguish for the ^cwelfare of their souls.

Mosiah 26:1–4

1 Now it came to pass that there were many of the rising generation that could not understand the ^awords of king Benjamin, being little children at the time he spake unto his people; and they did ^bnot believe the tradition of their fathers.

2 They did not believe what had been said concerning the resurrection of the dead, neither did they believe concerning the coming of Christ.

3 And now because of their ^aunbelief they could not ^bunderstand the word of God; and their hearts were hardened.

4 And they would not be baptized; neither would they join the ^achurch. And they were a separate people as to their faith, and remained so ever after, even in their ^bcarnal and sinful state; for they would not call upon the Lord their God.

-We should not assume that just because our children are watching us that they are receiving our testimonies.
-Alma the younger and the sons of Mosiah were part of this rising generation that chose not to believe.
-How often do we forget the things that our fathers saw and heard and learned because we were not there or we were very young?

Testimony Meeting