Sunday School
Elders Quorum
This last general conference had a lot of focus on missionary work.
Heavenly Father knows us personally. He knows each of our family members personally. He know their needs and our needs before we do.
"We have all seen a toddler learn to walk. He takes a small step and totters. He falls. Do we scold such an attempt? Of course not. What father would punish a toddler for stumbling? We encourage, we applaud, and we praise because with every small step, the child is becoming more like his parents.
“Now, brethren, compared to the perfection of God, we mortals are scarcely more than awkward, faltering toddlers. But our loving Heavenly Father wants us to become more like Him, and, dear brethren, that should be our eternal goal too. God understands that we get there not in an instant but by taking one step at a time.
“I do not believe in a God who would set up rules and commandments only to wait for us to fail so He could punish us. I believe in a Heavenly Father who is loving and caring and who rejoices in our every effort to stand tall and walk toward Him. Even when we stumble, He urges us not to be discouraged—never to give up or flee our allotted field of service—but to take courage, find our faith, and keep trying."
By comparison we are much less than our Heavenly Father, yet he cherishes us, just as we cherish our toddling children.
"We who have been ordained to the priesthood of God are called to practice ‘the healer’s art.’"
An art is something that one practices and gets better at. Something we work to make more beautiful. When we give priesthood blessings we must constantly learn to do better at listening to the spirit and understanding the spirit.
We can also learn to listen to our home teaching families. Sometimes that is the biggest act of service that they need.
A healer is not just one that gives priesthood blessings. A healer is one the mourns with those who mourn.
Sunday School
Lesson 16 - Sacrament and Sabbath
Those in the stakes of Zion are under the same command as those in Zion.
All the sacrifices in the Old Testament were to teach about the sacrifice of the savior.
Today the sacrifice we are to offer is a broken heart and a contrite spirit. These are our sacrifices for sin and also to teach about the Savior..
"How can we have the Spirit of the Lord to guide our choices so that we will remain ‘unspotted from the world’ (D&C 59:9) and on the safe path through mortality? We need to qualify for the cleansing power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. We do this by keeping His commandment to come to Him with a broken heart and a contrite spirit and in that wonderful weekly meeting partake of the emblems of the sacrament and make the covenants that qualify us for the precious promise that we will always have His Spirit to be with us (see D&C 20:77)." (Elder Dallin H Oaks, Sacrament Meeting and the Sacrament, Ensign October 2008)
The most important meeting in the Church is sacrament meeting.
Doctrine and Covenants 59:10
10 For verily this is a day appointed unto you to rest from your labors, and to pay thy devotions unto the Most High;
To keep ourselves unspotted from the world is to limit how much of the world is in our homes.
Throughout the week we spend time pursuing means to gain security in the work. Throughout the week we pursue entertainment.
How holy do we keep sacrament meeting?
Testimony Meeting
When we pray for protection it does not always come without a trial. Just because we have a trial doesn't mean we weren't protected. Often our trials could be a lot worse.
Truth is independent of belief.
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