Church Services This Week at Sullivan Hollow Second Ward Weber Heights Stake Ogden Utah December 12-4-2011

Elders Quorum

The lesson was based on “The Privilege of Prayer” by Elder J. Devn Cornish given in the Sunday Afternoon session of the October 2011 General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Why do we have to ask for the things we need or want?  Why do we need to exercise to be healthy?  That is how life works.  God knows what we need to grow.  Thinking and praying about our needs and wants and
keeping God in it is the way we grow.


"The object of prayer is not to change the will of God, but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that are made conditional on our asking for them." (“Prayer”, Bible Dictionary)


We can't always see through foresight.  We usually have to follow God's pattern and then view the results of our obedience to how things work with hindsight.


Do not pray like you are leaving a message.  Take time to pause and listen.


Prayers are not always answered the way we want.  Sometimes we are required to go through the trial as a part of our growth process. Sometimes the things we want will get in the way of better things God
has for us.  If we pray for a certain job maybe it will keep us from pursuing a better one He has for us

Sunday School
1, 2, and 3 John
This John is the one who wrote the book of Revelation.  He is also the one called beloved.  He was also in the first presidency after Christ died (Peter, James, and John).  He is also the John that never died and is
still ministering today.  He also wrote the gospel of John.

Doctrine and Covenants 7:1-3
1 And the Lord said unto me: John, my beloved, what desirest thou? For if you shall ask what you will, it shall be granted unto you.
2 And I said unto him: Lord, give unto me power over death, that I may live and bring souls unto thee.
3 And the Lord said unto me: Verily, verily, I say unto thee, because thou desirest this thou shalt tarry until I come in my glory, and shalt prophesy before nations, kindreds, tongues and people.


Luke wrote a missionary tract.  John wrote advanced stuff to the saints.  Matthew wrote a missionary tract, but specifically to the Jews.


John did not introduce himself in his epistles.  Paul generally introduced himself.


1 John 1:6-7
6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

If we walk in ignorance after receiving the holy ghost then we are foolish and need to change our lives.  If we stumble through our lives without feeling the guidance of the Holy Ghost, then we are lying to ourselves and pretending to be right with God.

Live the gospel as conspicuously as you can. Keep the covenants your children know you have made. Give priesthood blessings. And bear your testimony!  Don’t just assume your children will somehow get the drift of your beliefs on their own. (Elder Jeffrey R Holland, “A Prayer for the Children”, General Conference April 2003)




From the Bulletin

“Our personal testimony is a protective shield, and like an iron rod it is guiding us safely through darkness and confusion."

“A testimony motivates us to choose the right at all times and in ail circumstances. It motivates us to draw nearer to God, allowing Him to draw nearer to us (see James 4:8)".

“Just as the Lord knew Nephi, God knows us and loves us. This is our time; these are our days. We are where the action is. Our firm personal testimony will motivate us to change ourselves and then bless the world.” President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, The Power of a Personal Testimony, October 2006.

First Presidency Christmas Devotional

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Of Curtains, Contentment, and Christmas”

"Christmas and some of the cherished traditions of the season remind us that we, like the Wise Men of old, should seek the Christ and lay before Him the most precious of gifts: a broken heart and a contrite spirit."

"We cannot offer Him the gift of perfection in all things because this is a gift beyond our capacity to give—at least for now. The Lord does not expect that we commit to move mountains. But He does require that we bring as gifts our best efforts to move ourselves, one foot in front of the other, walking in the ways He has prepared and taught."

“[The Savior’s gifts to us] may be the most one-sided gift exchange in the history of the universe.”

My thoughts:  The best gift exchange are ones that are one sided.  The gifts I enjoy most are the ones that are given me with nothing expected in return. The giving I enjoy most are given without receiving anything in

return.

President Henry B. Eyring, “The Gifts of Christmas”

John 3:16-17

16 ¶For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Helaman 14:3-4

3 And behold, this will I give unto you for a sign at the time of his coming; for behold, there shall be great lights in heaven, insomuch that in the night before he cometh there shall be no darkness, insomuch that it shall appear unto man as if it was day.
4 Therefore, there shall be one day and a night and a day, as if it were one day and there were no night; and this shall be unto you for a sign; for ye shall know of the rising of the sun and also of its setting; therefore they shall know of a surety that there shall be two days and a night; nevertheless the night shall not be darkened; and it shall be the night before he is born.

President Thomas S Monson, “Because He Came”

"The spirit of Christmas is the spirit of love and of generosity and of goodness. It illuminates the picture window of the soul, and we look out upon the world’s busy life and become more interested in people than in things."

"...when we keep the spirit of Christmas, we keep the Spirit of Christ, for the Christmas spirit is the Christ Spirit. It will block out all the distractions around us which can diminish Christmas and swallow up its true meaning.."