Church Services This Week at Sullivan Hollow Second Ward Weber Heights Stake Ogden Utah 1-4-09

Announcements

• Wednesdays at 9pm - Basketball
• January 11, 2009 7:15am - Weber Heights Stake General Priesthood Meeting
  

Priesthood Opening
Alma 57:25-27

25 And it came to pass that there were two hundred, out of my two thousand and sixty, who had fainted because of the loss of blood; nevertheless, according to the goodness of God, and to our great astonishment, and also the joy of our whole army, there was ^anot one soul of them who did perish; yea, and neither was there one soul among them who had not received many wounds.

26 And now, their ^apreservation was astonishing to our whole army, yea, that they should be spared while there was a thousand of our brethren who were slain. And we do justly ascribe it to the miraculous ^bpower of God, because of their exceeding ^cfaith in that which they had been taught to believe—that there was a just God, and whosoever did not doubt, that they should be preserved by his marvelous power.

27 Now this was the ^afaith of these of whom I have spoken; they are young, and their minds are ^bfirm, and they do put their trust in God continually.

Elders' Quorum
Our lesson was to focus on the basics in our lives. What are the basics?

• Scripture Study
• Prayer
• Repentance/Atonement
• Family Home Evening
• Missionary Work
• Temple Attendance
• Home Teaching
• Attending Our Meetings (Sunday, General Conference, Priesthood, and So Forth)
• Service

These basics are simple and yet they get skipped. There are examples in scriptures of people being asked to do simple things and resisting them as well.

Alma 33:18-20

18 But behold, this is not all; these are not the only ones who have spoken concerning the Son of God.

19 Behold, he was spoken of by ^aMoses; yea, and behold a ^btype was ^craised up in the wilderness, that whosoever would look upon it might live. And many did look and live.

20 But few understood the meaning of those things, and this because of the hardness of their hearts. But there were many who were so hardened that they would not look, therefore they perished. Now the reason they would not look is because they did not believe that it would ^aheal them.

2 Kings 5:9-13

9 So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha.

10 And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and ^awash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be ^bclean.

11 But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.

12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.

13 And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some ^agreat thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?

If we could be involved in some great thing that would change the course of history, would we do it? We have those opportunities in our homes all the time and we neglect to do them.

Sunday School
We talked about the video The Mountain of the Lord which culminates in placing the cap stone on the Salt Lake temple.

"The Book of Mormon is the 'keystone' of our religion, and the Doctrine and Covenants is the capstone, with continuing latter-day revelation. The Lord has placed His stamp of approval on both the keystone and the capstone." (Ezra Taft Benson, "The Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants," Ensign, May 1987, 83)

"The keystone and the capstone teach us about the cornerstone of our religion, which is the Savior." (L. Tom Perry, "The Doctrine and Covenants-- The Capstone of Our Religion," Fireside at Brigham Young University on 4 March 2001)

Cornerstone - Can't build a building foundation without it.
Keystone - Can't have an opening in a building without it.
Capstone - A building is not complete without it.

"The book of Doctrine and Covenants is one of the standard works of the Church in company with the Holy Bible, the Book of Mormon, and the Pearl of Great Price. However, the Doctrine and Covenants is unique because it is not a translation of an ancient document, but is of modern origin and was given of God through his chosen prophets for the restoration of his holy work and the establishment of the kingdom of God on the earth in these days. In the revelations one hears the tender but firm voice of the Lord Jesus Christ, speaking anew in the dispensation of the fulness of times; and the work that is initiated herein is preparatory to his second coming, in fulfillment of and in concert with the words of all the holy prophets since the world began."

(Explanatory Introduction to the Doctrine and Covenants, third paragraph)

The Doctrine and Covenants is a unique book of scripture in that it was not translated, but the words of a prophet recorded in the language they were received.

The sections of the Doctrine and Covenants are answers to prayers...detailed answers to prayers. Revelation to the Church did not end with the last section of the Doctrine and Covenants. We have living prophets that speak to us every six months in general conference and each month in our magazines.

Who are the messages of the Doctrine and Covenants for? Everyone.
Doctrine and Covenants 1:1-4

1 ^aHearken, O ye people of my ^bchurch, saith the voice of him who dwells on high, and whose ^ceyes are upon all men; yea, verily I say: Hearken ye people from afar; and ye that are upon the islands of the sea, listen together.

2 For verily the ^avoice of the Lord is unto all men, and there is none to ^bescape; and there is no eye that shall not see, neither ^cear that shall not hear, neither ^dheart that shall not be penetrated.

3 And the ^arebellious shall be ^bpierced with much ^csorrow; for their iniquities shall be ^dspoken upon the housetops, and their secret acts shall be revealed.

4 And the ^avoice of warning shall be unto all people, by the mouths of my disciples, whom I have ^bchosen in these ^clast days.

Doctrine and Covenants 1:25
25 And inasmuch as they ^aerred it might be made known;

That we might know our errors. Some of those errors might be our misinterpretation of scripture.

Doctrine and Covenants 1:26
26 And inasmuch as they sought ^awisdom they might be ^binstructed;

That we might learn if we seek it.

Doctrine and Covenants 1:27
27 And inasmuch as they sinned they might be ^achastened, that they might ^brepent;

That we might be chastened and repent, not be chastened and be punished.

From the Bulletin

• The "8W" formula: Work Will Win When Wishy Washy Wishing Won't
• Ponder on this for a while. When we go to the temple, we trade in commandments for covenants.
• We must be very DELIBERATE about our lives and HONEST with God to have improvements and success in our lives. Plan. Do. Check. Adjust. Not just because this is a new year, but due to eternal principles, people who have specific goals based on righteous, daily-lived principles are happy, achieve many things, receive abundant blessings, and so forth.
• When we live in HIS commandments, we are blessed. When we choose not to live His commandments, we are not blessed. (Summary of D&C 82:10)
• When we want a specific blessing, we must live the laws that trigger the release of those blessings. (Summary of D&C 130:20,21)