Church Services This Week at Sullivan Hollow Second Ward Weber Heights Stake Ogden Utah 2-28-10

Isaiah 41:13
  13 For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.

Safety for the Soul - Elder Jeffrey R. Holland's October 2009 General Conference talk
Matt 24:24
  24 For there shall arise ^afalse ^bChrists, and ^cfalse prophets, and shall shew great ^dsignsand wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall ^edeceive the very ^felect.

Luke 21:26

  26 Men’s hearts ^afailing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be ^bshaken.

Abraham was told to sacrafice his son after being promised that his son was meant for a posterity for abraham.  It was probably also difficult since he was put up for sacrifice himself as a young man. Isaacs's sacrafice is in similitude of the savior's sacrifice.  Abrham was giving his son just as god gave his son.  It was also a likeness in that there was an offering provided in the place of Issac just as Jesus was sacrificed in our place that we might not have to be.


The following is a list the teacher handed out:
Begin List

1. Abraham 1:1, 5-8
2. Abraham 1:7, 12
3. Abraham 1:15-16, 20
4. Genesis 15:1-6
5. Genesis 16:1-3
6. D&C 132:34-35
7. Genesis 16:10-11
8. Genesis 17:15-16, 19, 21
9. Genesis 17:17
10. Genesis 22:1
11. Genesis 17:19
12. Genesis 22:2-3
13. Elder Dallin H. Oaks explained: "When they came to the prescribed place, Abraham built an altar and laid wood upon it. Then, the Bible says, 'Abraham ... bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood' (Genesis 22:9). What did Isaac think when Abraham did such a strange thing? The Bible mentions no struggle or objection. Isaac's silence can be explained only in terms of his trust in and obedience to his father" (in Conference Report, Oct. 1992, 51; or Ensign, Nov. 1992, 37).
14. Genesis 22: 8, 13
15. Elder Dallin H. Oaks said: "This story ... shows the goodness of God in protecting Isaac and in providing a substitute so he would not have to die. Because of our sins and our mortality, we, like Isaac, are condemned to death. When all other hope is gone, our Father in Heaven provides the Lamb of God, and we are saved by his sacrifice" (in Conference Report, Oct. 1992, 51; or Ensign, Nov. 1992, 37).
16. Genesis 22:11-12
17. Genesis 22:16
End List

Doctrine and Covenants 38:30

  30 I tell you these things because of your prayers; wherefore, ^atreasure up ^bwisdom in your bosoms, lest the wickedness of men reveal these things unto you by their wickedness, in a manner which shall speak in your ears with a voice louder than that which shall shake the earth; but if ye are prepared ye shall not fear.

Magnifying callings
Magnifying starts with light.  Without light you can see nothing,  Magnified or not.

"Brethren, when we stand before the Lord to be judged, will He look upon the positions we have held in the world or even in the Church? Do you suppose that titles we have had other than 'husband,' 'father,' or 'priesthood holder' will mean much to Him? Do you think He will care how packed our schedule was or how many important meetings we attended? Do you suppose that our success in filling our days with appointments will serve as an excuse for failure to spend time with our wife and family?" (President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "Lift Where You Stand", General Conference October 2008)

From the Bulletin:

"Self-Control."

"When we think of self control, often we think of the thing the commandments "restrict" us from doing. This is true in a sense, because it does require self-control to not do things that are not allowed in the commandments, but it has a greater meaning in things we can do. For example it takes self control to finish goals that you have started. Take school for example, it requires little to start college, but it requires great self-control to finish college. Life is a test of not only what we will give up for the Lord and the gospel, but what we will do for Him. Every time we show self-control by doing and not just being. we become something more than we currently are, and we become a little more like our Heavenly Father."

"When we love the Lord, obedience ceases to be a burden. Obedience becomes a delight." Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin.

Church Services This Week at Sullivan Hollow Second Ward Weber Heights Stake Ogden Utah 2-21-10

Doctrine and Covenants 6:32-37

  32 Verily, verily, I say unto you, as I said unto my disciples, where two or three are gathered together in my name, as^atouching ^bone thing, behold, there will I be in the ^cmidst of them—even so am I in the ^dmidst of you.

  33 ^aFear not to do ^bgood, my sons, for whatsoever ye ^csow, that shall ye also reap; therefore, if ye sow ^dgood ye shall also reap good for your ^ereward.

  34 Therefore, fear not, little ^aflock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are ^bbuilt upon my rock, they cannot prevail.

  35 Behold, I do not condemn you; go your ways and ^asin no more; perform with soberness the work which I have commanded you.

  36 ^aLook unto me in every ^bthought; ^cdoubt not, fear not.

  37 ^aBehold the wounds which pierced my side, and also the prints of the ^bnails in my hands and feet; be faithful, keep my commandments, and ye shall ^cinherit the ^dkingdom of heaven. Amen.

2 Nephi 2:27

  27 Wherefore, men are ^afree according to the ^bflesh; and ^call things are ^dgiven them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to ^echoose ^fliberty and eternal ^glife, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be^hmiserable like unto himself.

We have the freedom to choose, if we choose poorly our freedom becomes more limited.

Moses 1:6

  6 And I have a work for thee, Moses, my son; and thou art in the ^asimilitude of mine ^bOnly ^cBegotten; and mine Only Begotten is and shall be the ^dSavior, for he is full of ^egrace and ^ftruth; but there is ^gno God beside me, and all things are present with me, for I ^hknow them all.

If you skip breakfast you lose access to energy later in the day.  When we skip scripture study we can lose access to revelation.  We are free to choose our behavior.  By what we choose we are choosing the potential consequences.

2 Peter 2:19
  19 While they promise them ^aliberty, they themselves are the ^bservants of ^ccorruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in ^dbondage.

Doctrine and Covenants 58:42
  42 Behold, he who has ^arepented of his ^bsins, the same is ^cforgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more.

Alma 26:22

  22 Yea, he that ^arepenteth and exerciseth faith, and bringeth forth good ^bworks, and prayeth continually without ceasing—unto such it is given to know the ^cmysteries of God; yea, unto such it shall be ^dgiven to ^ereveal things which never have been revealed; yea, and it shall be given unto such to bring thousands of souls to repentance, even as it has been given unto us to bring these our brethren to repentance.

Lot points the door of his tent toward Sodom.  Then he is in the gates.  Then his is living in Sodom and horrible things happen to his family.

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.

Beware of Pride - President Ezra Taft Benson, Ensign, May 1989

Alma 26:12

  12 Yea, I know that I am ^anothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will ^bnotboast of myself, but I will ^cboast of my God, for in his ^dstrength I can do all ^ethings; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.

From the Bulletin:

Integrity means always doing what is right, regardless of the immediate consequences. It means being righteous from the very depth of our soul, not only in our actions, but, more importantly, in our thoughts and in our heart. Personal integrity implies such trustworthiness that we are incapable of being false to a trust or covenant.

We all have within us the ability to know what is right and good. Having received the Spirit of Christ to know good from evil, we should always choose the good. We need not be misled, even though fraud, deception, deceit, and duplicity often seem to be acceptable in our world. Lying, stealing, and cheating are commonplace. Integrity, a firm adherence to the highest moral and ethical standards, is essential to the life of a true Latter-day Saint.

The consummate reward of integrity is the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost (see D&C 121:46). The Holy Ghost does not attend us when we do evil. But when we do what is right, he can dwell with us and guide us in all we do.

Let us strive for personal, practical integrity in every endeavor, regardless of how mundane or inconsequential it may seem. Te small matters accumulate to shape the direction of our lives.

Integrity, a firm adherence to the highest moral and ethical standards, is essential to the life of a true Latter-day Saint. Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, "Priceless Integrity"

Church Services This Week at Sullivan Hollow Second Ward Weber Heights Stake Ogden Utah 2-14-10

Doctrine and Covenants 33:12

  12 Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my ^agospel; and remember that they shall have faith in me or they can in nowise be saved;

Why did we come to earth?  To learn to be like God and thus be happy and have joy.

We were going to make mistakes and a way to fix those mistakes needed to be provided.

The first born knows us the best.  The only who knows us better are our parents.

The Abrahamic covenant

Earthly blessings of the Abrahamic covenant

1. A promised land to live in. (Abraham 2:6, 19; Genesis 12:7; 17:8)
2. A great posterity. Abraham 2:9–10; Genesis 12:2–3; 17:2, 4–6)
3. The gospel of Jesus Christ and the priesthood for Abraham and his posterity. (Abraham 2:9–11; Genesis 17:7)

Eternals parallels

1. The celestial kingdom. (D&C 88:17–20)
2. Eternal marriage and eternal increase. (D&C 132:19–22)
3. Exaltation and eternal life. (D&C 132:23–24)

Responsibilities

1. Help all of God's children receive the full blessings of the gospel. (Abraham 2:9, 11)
2. Obey God's commandments. (Genesis 18:19)

We are the hands of the Lord.

Mosiah 2:17

  17 And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn ^awisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the ^bservice of your ^cfellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.


From the Bulletin:

I have learned that it is by serving that we learn how to serve. When we are engaged in the service of our fellowmen, not only do our deeds assist them, but we put our own problems in a fresher perspective. When we concern ourselves more with others, there is less time to be concerned with ourselves. In the midst of the miracle of serving, there is the promise of Jesus, that by losing ourselves, we find ourselves. (See Matt. 10:39.)
Not only do we "find" ourselves in terms of acknowledging guidance in our lives, but the more we serve our fellowmen in appropriate ways, the more substance there is to our souls. We become more significant individuals as we serve others. We become more substantive as we serve others—indeed, it is easier to "find" ourselves because there is so much more of us to find!
George MacDonald observed that "it is by loving and not by being loved that one can come nearest to the soul of another." (George MacDonald Anthology, Geoffrey Bles, London, 1970.) Of course, we all need to be loved, but we must be giving and not always receiving if we want to have wholeness in our lives and a reinforced sense of purpose.
Spencer W. Kimball, "Small Acts of Service", Ensign, Dec 1974, 2

Church Services This Week at Sullivan Hollow Second Ward Weber Heights Stake Ogden Utah 2-7-10

John 3:16

  16 ¶ For ^aGod so ^bloved the ^cworld, that he ^dgave his ^eonly begotten ^fSon, that whosoever ^gbelieveth in him should not perish, but have^heverlasting ⁱlife.

Elders' Quorum
I gave a lesson today. It was based on Elder Dallin H Oaks' October 2009 conference talk, Love and Law.
"The love of God does not supersede His laws and His commandments, and the effect of God’s laws and commandments does not diminish the purpose and effect of His love."

Some feel that accepting Jesus by a single prayer or voice confession is enough to supersede God's law with God's love.

I was listening to a country song I hadn't heard in a while (A Father's Love by George Strait) the other day and it seemed to take the above notion a step farther.  The song tells about a boy doing something bad and waiting to get his punishment from his father.  The father then comes in and tells him that father's love their kids no mater what.  After the boy grows has a son, his boy gets in trouble too.  He then tells him that father's love their kids no matter what.  Later he has a dream that he was outside the pearly gates.  He is confused because he has done things he is not proud of.  He then hears a voice telling him that father love their children no matter what.  The implication being that no matter what he did God loved him and was going to let him into Heaven.

The sentiment that father's love their kids no matter what is sweet and true, but let's not get the idea that God's love let's us off when we are deliberately disobedient and unrepentant.  

Matthew 7:21

  21 ¶ Not every one that ^asaith unto me, ^bLord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that ^cdoeth the ^dwill of my Father which is in^eheaven.

"... the kingdom of glory to which the Final Judgment assigns us is not determined by love but by the law that God has invoked in His plan to qualify us for eternal life..." - Elder Oaks

Hebrew 12:6

6 For whom the Lord loveth he ^achasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

"Real love does not support self-destructing behavior" (Russell M. Nelson, “Teach Us Tolerance and Love,” Ensign, May 1994, 71)

Sunday School
One the teacher handed out a list of 15 scriptures and quotes.  I have included the list below.

1. Moses 8.20-22

2. Moses 8.23-24

3. Hebrew1 1:7

4. President Ezra Taft Benson said, "The revelation to produce and store food maybe as essential to our temporal welfare today as boarding the ark was to the people in the days of Noah"( in Conference Report, Oct.1987, 61; or Ensign, Nov.1987,49)

5. Elder W. Don Ladd taught: "When it starts raining it is too late to begin building the ark...We...need to listen to the Lord's spokesmen.  We need to calmly continue to move ahead and prepare for what will surely come.  We need not panic or fear, for if we are prepared, sp iritually and temporally, we and our families will survive any flood.  Our arks will float on a sea of faith if our works have been steadily and surely preparing for the future"( in Conference Report, Oct. 1994, 37; or Ensign, Nov.1 994, 29).

6. President Spencer W. Kimball explained  that when Noah built the ark, "there was no evidence of rain and flood...His warnings were considered irrational. .. How foolish to build an ark on dry ground with the sun shining and life moving forward as usual!  But time ran out. The ark was finished.  The floods came.  The disobedient and rebellious were drowned.  The miracle of the ark followed the faith manifested in its building"(Faith Precedes the Miracle [1972], 5-6).

7. Genesis7 .23

8. Genesis8 :8

9. Genesis8 :9-11

10. Genesis8 :12

11. Genesis8 .20

12. Joseph Smith Translation Genesis 9 :4

13. Genesis1 1.4

14. Mosiah1 8:8-10

15. Genesis1 1:5-9

We are sometimes considered foolish, paranoid, or weird for food storage much like people thought of Noah.

From the Bulletin:

Where there is no vision, the people perish; but he who keeps the law [of God, which includes that of manl-blessed (happy, fotunate, and enviable) is he. (Proverbs 29:18 )

We have chosen, as a ward, to seek and achieve lofty goals in 2010.  All goals are well within (!!) our reach as we:

• obey God with exactness and consistency;
• unswervingly "do the basics;"
• eagerly serve and forgive one another;
• think, talk and act as if Jesus were at our sides.

Nothing is impossible to God and us, His servants, as (1) we have a vision, (2) pray like everything rests on Him, and (3) work like everything rest on us. We SHALL succeed.

We each OWN a piece of the success process.

Let us press on in such a worthy cause.