Church Services This Week at Ridge Crest Ward Northridge Stake Layton Utah 31 May 2015

Sacrament Service

Moses 1:39

39 For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.

“Opportunities come, and then they are gone. I believe that among the greatest lessons we are to learn in this short sojourn upon the earth are lessons that help us distinguish between what is important and what is not. I plead with you not to let those most important things pass you by as you plan for that illusive and nonexistent future when you will have time to do all that you want to do. Instead, find joy in the journey—now." (President Thomas S Monson, Finding Joy in the Journey, October 2008 General Conference)

Matthew 22:36-40

36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

38 This is the first and great commandment.

39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Small things in our lives can make big problems for us. We should never stop looking for ways we can improve our obedience to the commandments.

Helaman 5:12

12 And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.

"My beloved brothers and sisters, fear not. Be of good cheer. The future is as bright as your faith." (President Thomas S Monson, Be of Good Cheer, April 2009 General Conference)

Sunday School

My Lesson on reverence

{

What have you learned in your personal gospel study this week?

Have you had any gospel conversations with friends or family that you would like to share?

Did you all hear that Elder Perry died.  Any thoughts?

Did you all go to stake conference a couple weeks ago? What did they talk about in stake conference?

Here are a few things I heard:

They asked the question, "When was the last time you knelt in prayer and asked your father in heaven what he would like you to understand in your patriarchal blessing?"

Have any of you received your patriarchal blessings? What is a patriarchal blessing?

They quoted Bishop Gary E Stevenson, in his April 2014 talk Your Four Minutes

"I express my utmost confidence in your abilities. You have the Savior of the world on your side. If you seek His help and follow His directions, how can you fail?"

The Layton stakes are being shifted from the Ogden temple district to the Bountiful temple district. How do you guys feel about that.

We are going to talk about, "How does reverence help me receive revelation?"

What is reverence?

Psalms 46:10

10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

Part of reverence is being still. Is there more to being still than just folding your arms and keeping your mouth quiet?

With that in mind, think again about "be still... And know that I am God."

Does anyone have the Come Follow Me manual on your device? Have you been to the Come Follow Me web site to see all the things they have there on gospel topics to help youth figure out gospel stuff?

Could someone read the quote on reverence fun the manual?

"When we are reverent, we show our love for God and are better able to receive personal revelation. A reverent attitude helps make us more sensitive to the still, small voice of the Spirit. If we treat sacred things with reverence, Heavenly Father will trust us and reveal to us additional truths."

Why would Heavenly Father wait for us to show reverence for what he has given us before giving us more?

Let's say a parent gives a child a knife when they are old enough and the parent had explained what a knife is, what it does and the consequences of not being careful with it. What if that child starts swinging it around and not respecting that they are holding a knife? Will the parent trust the child with an ax or a gun or even a crystal vase?

These are all things one should be careful with. The parent will likely not only not trust them with other dangerous or fragile things, but the parent will likely take back the thing the kid was entrusted with in the first place.

When we are playing with toys we perhaps can be somewhat casual, but when we are given a knife things just got serious, right?

The same is true of the gospel. We can be joking about video games or movies, but when someone brings up Jesus, things just got serious.  We are much more reverent when the topic of Jesus or other sacred things are brought up.

Give reverence to sacred things

Reverence can mean to hold something sacred.  We give reverence to the temple, the sacrament, and the Savior because these are things that we hold sacred.  Do you have anything else that you hold sacred?

Dnc 63:64

64 Remember that that which cometh from above is sacred, and must be spoken with care, and by constraint of the Spirit; and in this there is no condemnation, and ye receive the Spirit through prayer; wherefore, without this there remaineth condemnation.

Things that come from above must be spoken with  care. What does that mean?

The scripture also says to speak of sacred things by constraint of the spirit. What does that mean?

Some things we only talk about when the spirit tells us to.   What are examples of some sacred things the Lord might ask you not to speak of except when told to by the Spirit.

Things like visions or words of blessings (like patriarchal blessings or guidance received when ordained to a calling).   What about our sins and our repentance process?  Is that sacred? Kind of weird to think of our sins as sacred isn't it?

Nephi was constrained not to write about John's revelation because it was John's calling.

So that is a little about what reverence is, but how can reverence help us receive revelation? What do you think?

Elder Oaks in last general conference had this to say about having reverence for the Sacrament :

"If the emblems of the sacrament are being passed and you are texting or whispering or playing video games or doing anything else to deny yourself essential spiritual food, you are severing your spiritual roots."

When we are irreverent when we ought to be paying close attention we are disconnecting from the spirit. What is critical to receiving revelation?... The spirit or the Holy Ghost, right?

So reverence helps us lock into the Holy Ghost and prepare to receive revelation.

Have any of you have experienced receiving inspiration from the Holy Ghost when you have been reverent that you would like to share?

Look up  reverence and revelation in true to the Faith and have class read.

}

Elders Quorum

The lesson was based on Elder David A Bednar, Therefore They Hushed Their Fears, April 2015 General Conference

Mosiah 23:27-28

27 But Alma went forth and stood among them, and exhorted them that they should not be frightened, but that they should remember the Lord their God and he would deliver them.

28 Therefore they hushed their fears, and began to cry unto the Lord that he would soften the hearts of the Lamanites, that they would spare them, and their wives, and their children.

What simple things in our lives are we refusing to do or give up and passing on a greater reward?

The wise man built his house upon a rock.   When we went to the beach we saw the water come in where we were standing and when it receded our feet started to slide and the water started to suck us out.

Endurance vs disciplined endurance. You can come to church and not do anything that would get you kicked out, but without engaging and magnifying or callings and stewardship then it is just endurance.

Church Services This Week at Ridge Crest Ward Northridge Stake Layton Utah 24 May 2015

Sacrament Service

One of the youth spoke about honoring your parents.

Mosiah 17 -  Alma the younger.

Had Alma honored his parents, he would not have had to go through such a hard thing.  Likely both of his parents were very concerned about his behavior.

Someone spoke about his wife, his mother and grandmother.

Sunday School

My teaching partner’s lesson on How Do I Improve My Scripture Study.

The scriptures can help us recognize the hand of God in our lives. When we read our scriptures we can read experiences of others that remind us of things that we have experienced personally that we may have missed.

Elders Quorum

Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Ezra Taft Benson Chapter 10

Flooding the Earth with the Book of Mormon

“I realized that I could give every individual on my street the opportunity to receive a copy of the Book of Mormon.

“But there was a problem—they knew me. They knew about my dog that barked too often—and too early in the morning. They knew that my yard was not the garden spot of the neighborhood. They knew my shortcomings as a neighbor; they would probably turn me away.

“I determined to have faith and go ahead anyway. I would offer them the book—even if they might throw it away, or let it collect dust on their shelves for years. Yet I found myself thinking negatively; I had almost convinced myself that nothing could come of my efforts.

“Then I remembered that I knew my neighbors at least as well as they knew me. A few had told questionable jokes at the last community development meeting, and a few had drunk too much at the last neighborhood barbecue. Some seemed to have little purpose in their lives. I wondered what I would have been like if I weren’t a member of the Church, or if I’d never heard of the Book of Mormon. Clearly, this book could help those who would give it a chance.

“So I contacted everyone on my street and offered them a copy of the Book of Mormon—and they all thanked me! It went so well that I went to the next street, completed my subdivision, and then went on to the next subdivision. When I was through, I had visited 104 houses and placed forty books.” (Howard J. McOmber II, in “Finding Truth in the Book of Mormon,” Ensign, Jan. 1996, 10–11.)

“While the Bible helped me know about what Jesus did for people in the Holy Land, the Book of Mormon gave me a deeper understanding of what He has done for me.”

This Week At Northridge Stake Conference Layton Utah 5-17-2015 and 5-18-2015

5-17-2015

General Session of Stake Conference

When was the last time you knelt in prayer and asked your Father in Heaven what he would like you to understand in your patriarchal blessing?

"I express my utmost confidence in your abilities. You have the Savior of the world on your side. If you seek His help and follow His directions, how can you fail?" (Bishop Gary E Stevenson, “Your Four Minutes”, April 2014 General Conference)

The Layton stakes are being shifted from the Ogden temple district to the Bountiful temple district.

5-16-2015

Adult session of Stake Conference

Couple and Family Councils - Schedule a time to talk rather than just jumping in and starting to talk. This respects each other's time and gives everyone time to prepare to have an intelligent discussion.

Develop a unity as parents before sitting down with the kids. Do not let the kids play one parent against each other.

When it is scheduled then there is less chance get an intense emotional response.

Perhaps give the topic you want to talk about in advance so family members have time to collect their thoughts and pray.

Doctrine and Covenants 50:10-12

10 And now come, saith the Lord, by the Spirit, unto the elders of his church, and let us reason together, that ye may understand;

11 Let us reason even as a man reasoneth one with another face to face.

12 Now, when a man reasoneth he is understood of man, because he reasoneth as a man; even so will I, the Lord, reason with you that you may understand.

How do we give the sabbath and our sacrament meetings back to the Savior?

How will you "always remember him"?

Isaiah 58:13-14

13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:

14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

What we do on the sabbath is a sign between each of us and God as to our commitment.

Church Services This Week at Sullivan Hollow 2nd Ward Weber Heights Stake Ogden Utah 10 May 2015

Sacrament Service

Alma 56:41-56

41 And it came to pass that again, when the light of the morning came we saw the Lamanites upon us, and we did flee before them.

42 But it came to pass that they did not pursue us far before they halted; and it was in the morning of the third day of the seventh month.

43 And now, whether they were overtaken by Antipus we knew not, but I said unto my men: Behold, we know not but they have halted for the purpose that we should come against them, that they might catch us in their snare;

44 Therefore what say ye, my sons, will ye go against them to battle?

45 And now I say unto you, my beloved brother Moroni, that never had I seen so great courage, nay, not amongst all the Nephites.

46 For as I had ever called them my sons (for they were all of them very young) even so they said unto me: Father, behold our God is with us, and he will not suffer that we should fall; then let us go forth; we would not slay our brethren if they would let us alone; therefore let us go, lest they should overpower the army of Antipus.

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

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

49 And it came to pass that I did return with my two thousand against these Lamanites who had pursued us. And now behold, the armies of Antipus had overtaken them, and a terrible battle had commenced.

50 The army of Antipus being weary, because of their long march in so short a space of time, were about to fall into the hands of the Lamanites; and had I not returned with my two thousand they would have obtained their purpose.

51 For Antipus had fallen by the sword, and many of his leaders, because of their weariness, which was occasioned by the speed of their march—therefore the men of Antipus, being confused because of the fall of their leaders, began to give way before the Lamanites.

52 And it came to pass that the Lamanites took courage, and began to pursue them; and thus were the Lamanites pursuing them with great vigor when Helaman came upon their rear with his two thousand, and began to slay them exceedingly, insomuch that the whole army of the Lamanites halted and turned upon Helaman.

53 Now when the people of Antipus saw that the Lamanites had turned them about, they gathered together their men and came again upon the rear of the Lamanites.

54 And now it came to pass that we, the people of Nephi, the people of Antipus, and I with my two thousand, did surround the Lamanites, and did slay them; yea, insomuch that they were compelled to deliver up their weapons of war and also themselves as prisoners of war.

55 And now it came to pass that when they had surrendered themselves up unto us, behold, I numbered those young men who had fought with me, fearing lest there were many of them slain.

56 But behold, to my great joy, there had not one soul of them fallen to the earth; yea, and they had fought as if with the strength of God; yea, never were men known to have fought with such miraculous strength; and with such mighty power did they fall upon the Lamanites, that they did frighten them; and for this cause did the Lamanites deliver themselves up as prisoners of war.

"...the joy of motherhood comes in moments."(Elder M Russell Ballard, “Daughters of God”, April 2008 General Conference)

"Families need unstructured time when relationships can deepen and real parenting can take place. Take time to listen, to laugh, and to play together." (Families need unstructured time when relationships can deepen and real parenting can take place. Take time to listen, to laugh, and to play together.)

Women are mothers to the whole world, not just to their children.  Motherhood does not start when a woman has a child and it does not end when they are grown.  Thus, the roles and responsibilities of motherhood do not start when a woman has a child and it does not end when they are grown.  Many let other distractions take them away from their primary calling.  One of men’s primary callings is to provide what is need for their wives to be able to perform their work as mothers and to remove any obstacles that they can that get in the way of their wives being able to perform their work as mothers.

“The world is full of foolish schemes. They contravene and hinder the purposes of the Lord. Some seek to change the God-given roles of the sexes. Some invite mothers to leave the home to work. Others entice fathers to find recreation away from their families. These questionable practices weaken the home!" (A Theodore Tuttle, The Things That Matter Most, Ensign December 1971)

“Do we embrace our roles and responsibilities to strengthen homes as mothers, grandmothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts?” (Sister Carole M Stephens, First Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency, Do We Know What We Have?, General Conference October 2013)

Now, let me say unequivocally that I am thrilled with the educational and other opportunities that are available to women. I treasure the fact that the backbreaking work and domestic drudgery required of women has been reduced in much of the world because of modern conveniences and that women are making such magnificent contributions in every field of endeavor. But if we allow our culture to reduce the special relationship that children have with mothers and grandmothers and others who nurture them, we will come to regret it. (Elder Quentin L Cook, Lamentations of Jeremiah: Beware of Bondage, General Conference October 2013)

"[Women, you] do not need some of the extravagances that working outside the home might bring."(President Gordon B Hinckley, "To the Women of the Church", October 2003 General Women's Conference)

"Sister Yazzie doesn’t limit her love and influence to her biological family. She understands what it means to expand her sphere of influence as she goes about doing good, blessing, nurturing, and defending the family of God."

...

"Sisters, we belong. We are loved. We are needed. We have a divine purpose, work, place, and role in the Church and kingdom of God and in His eternal family. " (Carole M. Stephens, The Family Is of God, April 2015 General Conference)

Sunday School

My teaching partner’s lesson on testimony

Elders Quorum

Teachings of Presidents of the Church:  Ezra Taft Benson Chapter 9

How does the Book of Mormon play a role in helping us make good decisions?

Apostasy is not about the other guy. We each need to look inside ourselves for where we are slipping.

Church Services This Week at Ridge Crest Ward Northridge Stake Layton Utah 3 May 2015

Sacrament Service

Stake Theme:

Being obedient to a commandment you are struggling with & choose to keep it more completely.

Reference Scripture: Joshua 24:15

Reference Talk: The Safety and Peace of Keeping the Commandments - Bishop Gary E. Stevenson – December 2012

Link to lds.org: https://www.lds.org/ensign/2012/12/the-safety-and-peace-of-keeping-the-

commandments?lang=eng

The Lord provides a way to have us keep any commandment he has given us.

Heavenly Father doesn't always answer prayers on our time, but he always answers them on time.

Sunday School

My lesson on modern apostles and prophets

{

What have you learned in your personal gospel study this week?

Have you had any gospel conversations with friends or family that you would like to share?

Today we are going to talk about:  What can I learn from living prophets and apostles?

Past prophets had specific instructions for the people in the times they lived in. The instructions and things they were asked to do were specific to their time but are things that we can learn from and much still applies to us, because they are key points of the gospel in all ages like the ten commandments and the beatitudes.

Some past prophets were specifically writing to our day that we might be prepared for things to come in our day. Some of the prophets that wrote to us or about us were Isaiah, John, and Moroni.

Can you think of scriptures that are specifically for our day? Use your topical guide and see what you can find.

The living prophets and apostles receive revelation to guide the Church, and their counsel reflects the will of the Lord, who knows us perfectly and understands our challenges. Their teachings can help us with the challenges we face today. We are blessed to be led by living prophets and apostles and to receive their counsel every six months during general conference.

What are some items of counsel or commandment that living prophets have given to the church in the last day?  (word of wisdom, FHE, food storage)

What are some things you remember from our current general conference that the prophet and apostles talked to us about that are very specific to what is going on in our world now.  (tolerance, freedom to choose,

DnC 1:38

38 What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.

Let’s look at some thoughts from our prophet from last general conference.

"let us consider our callings; let us reflect on our responsibilities; let us determine our duty; and let us follow Jesus Christ, our Lord."

...

"Let us take most seriously the callings, the responsibilities, and the duties... " - President Monson

What is a calling?

What is the difference between duty and responsibility?

I saw someone online describe the difference between duty and responsibility like this :

" Duty is that you ought to do. Duty is derived from certain rights. For instance, it is my duty as a father to feed my kids. Violation of duty is a serious offense. Whereas, responsibility can be any commitment towards anything where you are free to obey or not to obey.."

Go around the room and ask each of them what their calling is.  (church calling, daughter, sister,  mother, son, brother)

It is my belief that all women are called from birth to be mothers. Not in the sense to bear children, but to raise up everyone around them.

Go around the room and ask what are their responsibilities.

Go around the room and ask what is one of their duties.

What else did our prophet share with us during our last conference?

“This year we anticipate rededicating 2 temples and dedicating 5 new temples which are scheduled for completion.

“For the past two years, as we have concentrated our efforts on completing previously announced temples, we have held in abeyance plans for any additional temples. This morning, however, I am very pleased to announce three new temples which will be built in the following locations: Abidjan, Ivory Coast; Port-au-Prince, Haiti; and Bangkok, Thailand.“

The prophet is guiding the work of the Lord in this time of great expansion of the Church and the work of the Lord.  He is sharing with us and allowing us to share in the great joy of temple building.  What does it feel like when a temple is announced that is built in our town, or in a place that is significant to us, or in a place that has world significance?

When President Monson once announced the first temple in my home state of Indiana it was a great feeling for me, even though I am now far from there.  That temple is now getting ready to be dedicated.

When he announced the temple in Rome, Italy you could hear a reaction from the audience as it sunk into them what this could mean.  Rome is the headquarters to the Catholic church, which is likely the Christian church with the most members worldwide.  They consider their church to be descended directly from Peter while he was still alive.

The prophet also talked about our behavior in the temple and some of the purpose of temples.

“As we enter through the doors of the temple, we leave behind us the distractions and confusion of the world. Inside this sacred sanctuary, we find beauty and order. There is rest for our souls and a respite from the cares of our lives.

“As we attend the temple, there can come to us a dimension of spirituality and a feeling of peace which will transcend any other feeling which could come into the human heart. We will grasp the true meaning of the words of the Savior when He said: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. … Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”1

He tells us to leave behind distractions when we enter the temple.  He tells us that the temple is a sanctuary from things of the world.  He tells us that there is peace in the temple.  In that peace we can find clarity about things that are troubling us.

In his conference talk the prophet also talks about overcoming temptations as we visit the temple.

“My brothers and sisters, in our lives we will have temptations; we will have trials and challenges. As we go to the temple, as we remember the covenants we make there, we will be better able to overcome those temptations and to bear our trials. In the temple we can find peace.”

He tells us will have trials and challenges, but as we go to the temple and remember our covenants, we will better be able to fight temptation when we are outside the temple.

}

Elders Quorum

President Monson April 2015 ensign first presidency message.

Sacrificing my personal beliefs does not build trust with people.

You can be on the right side of an issue and still be the tool of Satan. If we are engaged in conversation about a social issue and don't approach it with love, then we can harm the cause and our character can be wounded.