Church Services This Week at Sullivan Hollow Second Ward Weber Heights Stake Ogden Utah 7-12-09

Stake Priesthood Meeting
The Second Coming

• Doctrine and Covenants 45
• Matthew 24 and 25
• Joseph Smith Translation of Matthew 24 and 25

" Judah must return, Jerusalem must be rebuilt, and the temple, and water come out from under the temple, and the waters of the Dead Sea be healed. It will take some time to rebuild the walls of the city and the temple, &c.; and all this must be done before the Son of Man will make His appearance, There will be wars and rumors of wars, signs in the heavens above and on the earth beneath, the sun turned into darkness and the moon to blood, earthquakes in divers places, the seas heaving beyond their bounds; then will appear one grand sign of the Son of Man in heaven. But what will the world do? They will say it is a planet, a comet, &c. But the
Son of Man will come as the sign of the coming of the Son of Man, which will be as the light of the morning cometh out of the east." (History of the Church Volume 5)

Alma 12:9
9 And now Alma began to expound these things unto him, saying: It is given unto many to ^aknow the ^bmysteries of God; nevertheless they are laid under a strict command that they shall not impart ^conly according to the portion of his word which he doth grant unto the children of men, according to the heed and diligence which they give unto him.

Ward Priesthood Opening
Enos 1:2-10

2 And I will tell you of the ^awrestle which I had before God, before I received a ^bremission of my sins.

3 Behold, I went to hunt beasts in the forests; and the words which I had often heard my father speak concerning eternal life, and the ^ajoy of the saints, ^bsunk deep into my heart.

4 And my soul ^ahungered; and I ^bkneeled down before my Maker, and I ^ccried unto him in mighty ^dprayer and supplication for mine own soul; and all the day long did I cry unto him; yea, and when the night came I did still raise my voice high that it reached the heavens.

5 And there came a ^avoice unto me, saying: Enos, thy sins are ^bforgiven thee, and thou shalt be blessed.

6 And I, Enos, knew that God ^acould not lie; wherefore, my guilt was swept away.

7 And I said: Lord, how is it done?

8 And he said unto me: ^aBecause of thy ^bfaith in Christ, whom thou hast never before heard nor seen. And many years pass away before he shall manifest himself in the flesh; wherefore, go to, thy faith hath made thee ^cwhole.

9 Now, it came to pass that when I had heard these words I began to feel a ^adesire for the ^bwelfare of my brethren, the Nephites; wherefore, I did ^cpour out my whole soul unto God for them.

10 And while I was thus struggling in the spirit, behold, the voice of the Lord came into my ^amind again, saying: I will visit thy brethren according to their diligence in keeping my commandments. I have ^bgiven unto them this land, and it is a holy land; and I ^ccurse it not save it be for the cause of iniquity; wherefore, I will visit thy brethren according as I have said; and their ^dtransgressions will I bring down with sorrow upon their own heads.

Elders' Quorum
Chapter 36: Receiving the Ordinances and Blessings of the Temple 412–22
It was proposed by a class member today that the temple is a perfectly designed school. Everyone can learn at the level they are at.

“Could we read and comprehend all that has been written from the days of Adam, on the relation of man to God and angels in a future state, we should know very little about it. Reading the experience of others, or the revelation given to them, can never give us a comprehensive view of our condition and true relation to God. Knowledge of these things can only be obtained by experience through the ordinances of God set forth for that purpose. Could you gaze into heaven five minutes, you would know more than you would by reading all that ever was written on the subject. … I assure the Saints that truth … can and may be known through the revelations of God in the way of His ordinances, and in answer to prayer. (History of the Church, 6:50–51; paragraph divisions altered; from a discourse given by Joseph Smith on Oct. 9, 1843, in Nauvoo, Illinois; reported by Willard Richards and Times and Seasons, Sept. 15, 1843, p. 331; this issue of the Times and Seasons was published late.)

Sunday School
Lesson 26: “Go Ye into All the World, and Preach My Gospel” 145

“Discouraged at being unable to secure a place to preach, Parley decided to leave Toronto. Before going he stopped at the Taylors to get some of his luggage and to say goodbye. While he was there, Leonora Taylor told her friend Mrs. Isabella Walton about Parley’s problem and said she was sorry he was leaving. ‘He may be a man of God,’ she said. Mrs. Walton replied that she had been inspired by the Spirit to visit the Taylors that morning because she was willing to let Elder Pratt stay at her home and preach. He did so and was eventually invited to attend a meeting of John Taylor’s group, in which John read the New Testament account of Philip’s preaching in Samaria. ‘Now,’ said he, ‘where is our Philip? Where is our receiving the Word with joy, and being baptized when we believed? Where is our Peter and John? Our apostles? Where is our Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands? …’ When Parley was invited to speak, he declared that he had answers to John Taylor’s questions.

“For three weeks John Taylor attended Elder Pratt’s meetings, making detailed notes of his sermons and carefully comparing them with the scriptures. Gradually he became convinced that the true gospel of Jesus Christ was restored. He and his wife, Leonora, were baptized on 9 May 1836” (Church History in the Fulness of Times [Church Educational System manual, 1993], 157; see also Parley P. Pratt, Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt [1975], 134–40, 151).

Sacrament Service
Some of the youth and leaders reported on youth conference.

During part of youth conference they pulled handcarts to learn part of what it was like for the pioneers. They noted that their hands and feet were not frost bitten, it wasn't cold outside, and their bodies were not malnourished and fatigued, yet it was still hard. They imagined what it would be like to have a task so hard and have all of those other ailments as well.

At one point the women and girls took the carts alone while the men watched, since some of the pioneer women had to go it alone when their husbands and sons died.

Standards and Lifestyle
Do we find that many who state that the LDS lifestyle is too controlling and restrictive are ones that are bound by their own lifestyles and addictions and are generally not free to easily change the course they are on. Whether it be addictions they have bound themselves with or tattoos that they are not free to remove without great expense or single parenting or diseases or poverty. The last few things I listed can come upon a person just through life in general, but many times these trial happen through what we have chosen.

We are free to choose to do what we want, but are not free to choose the consequences of our choices.

From the Bulletin
Dear Brothers and Sisters,

As I think about his great country that we live in I am very grateful for all of the time and planning the Lord took in preparing this land for the restoration of His church in these latter days.

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord and the people whom He hath chosen for his own inheritance." (Psalms 33:12). As the Lord states in Psalms we are blessed individually and as a nation when we follow his commandments and remember him. It is my prayer that we remember this great land we live in and all of the people that have helped to prepare this land for us.