Church Services This Week at Sullivan Hollow Second Ward Weber Heights Stake Ogden Utah 5-10-09

Priesthood Opening
Doctrine and Covenants 76:5-10

5 For thus saith the Lord—I, the Lord, am ^amerciful and gracious unto those who ^bfear me, and delight to honor those who ^cserve me in righteousness and in truth unto the end.

6 Great shall be their reward and eternal shall be their ^aglory.

7 And to them will I ^areveal all ^bmysteries, yea, all the hidden mysteries of my kingdom from days of old, and for ages to come, will I make known unto them the good pleasure of my will concerning all things pertaining to my kingdom.

8 Yea, even the wonders of ^aeternity shall they know, and things to come will I show them, even the things of many generations.

9 And their ^awisdom shall be great, and their ^bunderstanding reach to heaven; and before them the wisdom of the wise shall ^cperish, and the understanding of the ^dprudent shall come to naught.

10 For by my ^aSpirit will I ^benlighten them, and by my ^cpower will I make known unto them the ^dsecrets of my ^ewill—yea, even those things which ^feye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor yet entered into the heart of man.

We, the Latter-day Saints, are a very blessed people.

If we are strictly and consistently obedient to the principles of God then we will have all that God has.

Elders' Quorum
Chapter 31: “God Shall Be with You Forever and Ever”: The Prophet in Liberty Jail 358–68
Prophets throughout the scriptures have been brought to "law" (imprisoned, stoned, exiled, crucified, shot) (Stephen, Jesus, John the Baptist, John the Beloved, Joseph Smith, Abinidi).

Sunday School
Lesson 17: The Law of Tithing and the Law of the Fast 93
“During World War II, my widowed mother supported her three young children on a schoolteacher’s salary that was meager. When I became conscious that we went without some desirable things because we didn’t have enough money, I asked my mother why she paid so much of her salary as tithing. I have never forgotten her explanation: ‘Dallin, there might be some people who can get along without paying tithing, but we can’t. The Lord has chosen to take your father and leave me to raise you children. I cannot do that without the blessings of the Lord, and I obtain those blessings by paying an honest tithing. When I pay my tithing, I have the Lord’s promise that he will bless us, and we must have those blessings if we are to get along’ ” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1994, 43–44; or Ensign, May 1994, 33).

Doctrine and Covenants 119:4
4 And after that, those who have thus been ^atithed shall pay one-tenth of all their interest annually; and this shall be a standing law unto them forever, for my holy priesthood, saith the Lord.

Malachi 3:10-11
10 Bring ye all the ^atithes into the storehouse, that there may be ^bmeat in mine house, and ^cprove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not ^dopen you the ^ewindows of heaven, and pour you out a ^fblessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
11 And I will ^arebuke the ^bdevourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts.

If we are not a farmer do we still have "fruits of our ground"? What are our fruits? Our children, providing for our family, doing well in our profession (not necessarily climbing the corporate ladder, but being good at what we do), doing well in our schooling, food, shelter, clothing...

Doctrine and Covenants 120
1 Verily, thus saith the Lord, the time is now come, that ^ait shall be ^bdisposed of by a council, composed of the First Presidency of my Church, and of the bishop and his council, and by my high council; and by mine own voice unto them, saith the Lord. Even so. Amen.

Sacrament Service
Alma 56

47 Now they never had fought, yet they did not fear death; and they did think more upon the ^aliberty of their ^bfathers than they did upon their lives; yea, they had been taught by their ^cmothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them.

48 And they rehearsed unto me the words of their ^amothers, saying: We ^bdo not doubt our mothers knew it.

One of the speakers read this poem:
"I love you mother, said little Nell

I love you more than tongues can tell.
Then teased and pouted for half the day
Till her mother rejoiced when she went out to play.

I love you mother, said little John
Forgetting his work, his cap went on.
Then he was off to the garden swing
Leaving his mother the wood to bring

I love you mother, said little Ann
Today I'll help you all I can
Then stepping softly she took the broom
Swept the floor and tidied the room.

I love you mother, again they said
Three little children all going to bed.

Now which one do you suppose really loved Mother the most?"

It is a miracle and a privallege that we can ask and receive answers from God.

From the Bulletin
"Adam and Eve fell that they might have joy. But they didn’t skip merrily out of Eden singing and wishing everyone a nice day. They walked in sorrow into a lonely world, where they earned their bread by the sweat of their brows and learned about joy in the midst of misery and pain. Can you imagine how Eve felt when she learned that her son Cain had taken the life of her son Abel and that God had banished Cain?

How could Mother Eve possibly have found joy in the middle of such affliction? She found it by letting the atonement of Christ heal her pain and sanctify her experience. Indeed, her experience with sin and misery played a crucial role in preparing her for the joy she ultimately found. In Eve’s own words, 'Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient.' (Moses 5:11.)

Women in the modern world, like women in the ancient world, go forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. In such a world, we must be spiritually strong and wise as serpents, like Mother Eve, who 'ceased not to call upon God.' (Moses 5:16.)" (Sister Marie K. Hafen, "Celebrating Womanhood", Ensign, June 1992, 50)

"My dear brothers and sisters, I feel it both a privilege and a blessing to be present at this inspirational conference, and I know that the answers to many of today’s problems are to be found in the messages being given by our leaders.

Regardless of the difficulties existing in the world today, we as a people must recognize that we have been blessed abundantly with the resources of this world; yet we know that whatever we have is the Lord’s and that he has blessed us with these things to see how we will use them.

I think it might be said, Life is God’s greatest gift to man, and what we do with our life is our gift to God.

President Brigham Young, in referring to making our life a gift to God, had this to say: “Our religion is worth everything to us and for it we should be willing to employ our time, our talent, our means, our energies, our lives.” (Journal of Discourses, vol. 11, p. 119.)

And, “If we do right, there will be an eternal increase among this people in talent, strength and intellect, and earthly wealth, from this time, henceforth, and forever.” (JD, vol. 1, p. 110.)

“No blessing that is sealed upon us will do us any good unless we live for it.” (JD, vol. 11, p. 117.)

It is interesting to note that here, as elsewhere in the scriptures, promises of earthly wealth and increased talents are made to those who live the gospel principles, and counsel is given to use our talents and wealth for the building of the kingdom. Many scriptures, however, contain words of admonition regarding temptations brought about through the acquisition of wealth and its use for unrighteous purposes.

The great apostle Paul, in writing to his beloved associate Timothy, told him that “the love of money is the root of all evil,” and to “charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute. …” (1 Tim. 6:10, 17–18.)

Throughout the history of the Church its leaders have taught the value of the principles of work, industry, and thrift; and as they have been practiced, Church members have prospered in numerous ways. Likewise, members have been counseled to establish and maintain their economic independence, and employment-creating industries have been encouraged.

In furtherance of these teachings, every man who has property and means should live so as to obtain wisdom to know how to use them in the best possible way to produce the greatest amount of good for himself, for his family, for his fellowmen, and for the kingdom of God." (Elder Franklin D. Richards, Ensign June 1971, 45)