Doctrine and Covenants 59:14-16
14 Verily, this is fasting and prayer, or in other words, rejoicing and prayer.
15 And inasmuch as ye do these things with athanksgiving, with bcheerful chearts and countenances, not with dmuch elaughter, for this is sin, but with a glad heart and a cheerful countenance—
16 Verily I say, that inasmuch as ye do this, the afulness of the earth is yours, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and that which climbeth upon the trees and walketh upon the earth;
stake fireside tonight. Mission president will be speaking.
One of the youth shared experience about giving out Book of Mormons in various languages to foreign exchange students that have been working with his mom.
Elders' Quorum
The Elders' quorum presidency reviewed the instructions for blessing babies per the Bishop's instruction last week to review the handbook. Baby blessings start by addressing Heavenly Father and then addressing the child.
Someone asked about dedicating a home. The consensus was that it is just a prayer and does not need to have priesthood authority in order to do it. Someone stated that the handbook says that any father can dedicate his home. No one asked, but I wonder if a single person male or female could also do it. Could a student dedicate a dorm room. Could a single mother dedicate her home. Someone also stated that the handbook said something about this sort of prayer in a home is not the same thing as what is done to dedicate a building like a chapel or a temple to the work of the Lord.
The lesson was based on Elder Bednar's talk Ask in Faith. He started his talk with, "I want to review three examples of asking in faith in meaningful prayer and discuss the lessons we can learn from each one of them. As we speak of prayer, I emphasize the word meaningful."
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.
Moroni 10:3-5
3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how amerciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and bponder it in your chearts.
4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would aask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not btrue; and if ye shall ask with a csincere heart, with dreal intent, having efaith in Christ, he will fmanifest the gtruth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
Prayer on the one hand is easy, but it is also hard work. It is easy to get on her knees and say the words. It is hard to work to accomplish what we ask for. It is hard to prepare to receive an answer and to listen.
Sunday School
Book of Mormon Lesson 32: “They Did Obey … Every Word of Command with Exactness” p142
Alma 53
Helman's 2060 had never gone to battle before. They were also put on the front lines and used as bait. Yet none of them perished. All of them received wands, at nine died.
The parents of the 2060, the Ammonites, wrote the covenant they made to bear their weapons and never shed blood. The covenants we make( baptism, temple covenants, and so forth) are written for us. The Ammonites made a covenant above and beyond what was required to show their commitment and repentance.
Someone gave this quote, but I was unable to capture who they attributed it to."small variations in parents can cause major oscillations in children"
Sacrament Meeting
Youth Speaker
Choice/Agency
Part of the purpose of this life is to learn to make good choices.
2 Nephi 2:27
For the strength of youth -- agency -- free to choose your actions. You are not free to choose the consequences of those actions.
The speaker stated "Consequences will roll around and bite you or give you a hug."
First Adult Speaker
The speaker talked about how Paul referenced sporting events. They also referenced a talk by Paul H Dunn, The Game of Life. Like Jesus, Paul was skilled in the use of vivid illustrations drawn from current events.
"Paul made this great admonition on which I would like to make a comment. An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. (See 2 Tim. 2:5.)"
They quoted from a talk by Elder Bednar Seek Learning by Faith “'When a man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth [the message] unto the hearts of the children of men' (2 Nephi 33:1). Please notice how the power of the Spirit carries the message unto but not necessarily into the heart. A teacher can explain, demonstrate, persuade, and testify, and do so with great spiritual power and effectiveness. Ultimately, however, the content of a message and the witness of the Holy Ghost penetrate into the heart only if a receiver allows them to enter. Learning by faith opens the pathway into the heart."
Second Adult Speaker
Witnesses of the Book of Mormon
The Bible witnesses of the Book of Mormon in Ezekiel 37:16-20
16 Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one astick, and bwrite upon it, For cJudah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and dwrite upon it, For eJoseph, the fstick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions:
17 And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become aone in thine hand.
18 ¶ And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us awhat thou meanest by these?
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.
The book of Mormon has witnesses but it is also a witness. "Wherefore, it is an abridgment of the record of the people of Nephi, and also of the Lamanites—Written to the Lamanites, who are a remnant of the house of Israel; and also to Jew and Gentile" Book of Mormon title page.
Moroni etched at great effort, by a dim fire, all alone, the pages of the book of Mormon. The least we can do is read what he wrote in our soft chairs by electric lights in our climate controlled homes with our families.
From the bulletin:
What if someone came back to teach us?
They did. It took visits by angels in our day in order to
instruct us anew regarding God's plan of salvation and
to reasssure us that mortality does not end with death
and that death is not extinction.
It is critical that we CLEARLY and fully understand ALL the elements of the Plan of Salvation/Mercy. A fluffy or shallow understanding in insufficient. We must know, feel, and yearn to understand the "plan" even better than we do now. Truly, of all the error that we, mortals, could make, God's plan of Salvation is the wrong thing to be wrong about.
A key part of the "plan" (His plan) is that we understand that we will be tutored in the life. That tutoring will often be painful. Individual development requires an "opposition in all things." (2 Nephi 2:11). Yet, as we "work out our salvation", we often find that our finest hours are sometime during or just following our darkest hours.
A key part of the "plan" (His plan) is that we understand that we will be tutored in the life. That tutoring will often be painful. Individual development requires an "opposition in all things." (2 Nephi 2:11). Yet, as we "work out our salvation", we often find that our finest hours are sometime during or just following our darkest hours.
It also is an incredible irony that some [people] complaining attempt to use the tutoring process of the Lord [in our lives] against him. Or resent the reality that we are to walk by faith during this mortal experience. Yet...there is no saving faith merely in acknowledging a fact here or there. We must consciously ACT on what we know for there to any form of "saving".
As we strive to ACT upon our knowledge with consistency and exactness, the Lord in His tender tutoring and mercies will keep His everlasting covenant with us. He will carry us. He will succor us. He will save us.
The Bishop
Insert in the bulletin:
5 Pillars of a Solid Marriage
- Daily Couple Prayer
- Daily Couple Scripture Study
- Daily Couple Talk/Listen Time
- Weekly Couple Planning Time
- Weekly Couple Engaged Date Time
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