Sacrament Service
Burdens and trials are training for the marathon of life. Just like when training for a race or other physical thing we must train frequently for the big events.
Matthew 11:28-30
28 ¶Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
If we train, then the burdens become lighter.
Doctrine and Covenants 1:31-32
31 For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance;
32 Nevertheless, he that repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven;
Doctrine and Covenants 64:10
10 I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men.
We need to let go of the burden of being offended.
We need to learn to see the blessings of our burdens.
“I have a dear friend who, in the early years of his marriage, was convinced he and his family needed a four-wheel-drive pickup truck. His wife was sure that he did not need but merely wanted the new vehicle. A playful conversation between this husband and wife initiated their consideration of the advantages and disadvantages of such a purchase.
…
“Over time they continued to counsel together and ultimately decided to acquire the truck. Shortly after taking possession of the new vehicle, my friend wanted to demonstrate the utility of the truck and validate his reasons for wanting to purchase it. So he decided he would cut and haul a supply of firewood for their home. It was in the autumn of the year, and snow already had fallen in the mountains where he intended to find wood. As he drove up the mountainside, the snow gradually became deeper and deeper. My friend recognized the slick road conditions presented a risk, but with great confidence in the new truck, he kept going.
“Sadly, my friend went too far along the snowy road. As he steered the truck off of the road at the place he had determined to cut wood, he got stuck. All four of the wheels on the new truck spun in the snow. He readily recognized that he did not know what to do to extricate himself from this dangerous situation. He was embarrassed and worried.
“My friend decided, ‘Well, I will not just sit here.’ He climbed out of the vehicle and started cutting wood. He completely filled the back of the truck with the heavy load. And then my friend determined he would try driving out of the snow one more time. As he put the pickup into gear and applied power, he started to inch forward. Slowly the truck moved out of the snow and back onto the road. He finally was free to go home, a happy and humbled man.” (Elder David A Bednar, April 2014 General Conference, Bear Up Their Burdens with Ease)
Our burdens can put weight on our spiritual wheels and give us spiritual traction.
1 Nephi 18:3
3 And I, Nephi, did go into the mount oft, and I did pray oft unto the Lord; wherefore the Lord showed unto me great things.
Nephi prayed often and the Lord showed him great things. He went to the mount, so it appears that he took time to be alone to pray to the Lord often and the Lord showed him great things. Mountains are often symbols of the temple. He perhaps went to a simplistic and place symbolic of the temple to be alone to pray to the Lord often and the Lord showed him great things.
Do we long for the Lord to show a us great things. Do we long for the Lord to show us how to remove some trial. Perhaps we should study what Nephi did that allowed the Lord to show him great things.
Doctrine and Covenants 42:61
61 If thou shalt ask, thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things—that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal.
We should get to know our home teaching and visiting teaching families to understand the burdens they have, partially to help them and partially to understand them as people. If we understand other people's struggles, it is easier to not be offended by things where we bump into each other as we go through life and as we work on our respective responsibilities in building the kingdom of God.
Doctrine and Covenants 122:7
7 And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into the deep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.
One of the Savior's names is the lion of Judah.
5 And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.
The image of a lion is used in the Chronicles of Narnia as a representation of the Savior.
Doctrine and Covenants 84:81
81 Therefore, take ye no thought for the morrow, for what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, or wherewithal ye shall be clothed.
This does not mean we do not prepared, but we should not obsess on it.
Sunday School
My lesson on How can I help others understand my standards?
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Is there anything from your personal study that you would like to share?
Today we are going to talk about, How can I help others understand my standards?
What questions have others asked you about your standards?
How have you helped them understand why you live according to those standards?
What situations do the people face in which they must explain their standards to others?
Why might this sometimes be difficult for them?
What can you do to help prepare for these situations?
The manual says:
"Others will often ask us about our standards. We can be prepared to answer their questions and testify of the blessings that come from obeying God’s commandments. In this way we can be a light unto the world."
How many of you get the New Era at home?
How many of you read it?
Did you know you can read it on your devices? Phones, tablets, home computers. There is some good stuff in the New Era that you might like.
Let’s read an article together from the August 2015 New Era called, "Just Be You". It is about sharing the gospel, but can also applied to sharing our standards with people.
Let’s read and talk about some scriptures that might help us tell people about our standards?
Be Not Ashamed
Romans 1:16
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
2 Timothy 1:7-8
7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;
2 Nephi 8:7
7 Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart I have written my law, fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings.
What are these scriptures talking about?
One of the first things we need to do if we are going to be able to explain our standards to others is to not be ashamed of our standards. We should not be embarrassed by our standards.
Just like being a boy or a girl. It is who we are. We do not have to be embarrassed that we are a boy or a girl or things that others might not understand about being a boy or a girl. We just have to honor Heavenly Father in the way that we behave as a boy or a girl.
The same is true for our standards. We should be determined that our standards do not change because someone doesn’t understand them or doesn’t agree with them.
We also don’t fight with people about our standards. If we are to fight with people about being a boy or a girl that does not bring understanding to the other person it just brings bad feelings about boys and girls.
The same is true for our standards. We don’t argue with people about our standards. If they want to know who we are and why we are like we are, then we can calmly explain it to them. If they just want to fight, then we can be pleasant and move on to something else and let our behavior be a witness of our standards. If we behave well, even when people are mean to us, it is a witness to others about our standards.
Let’s look at some scriptures that talk about these this.
1 Timothy 4:12
12 Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.
Someone break this scripture down for me and explain the things it is trying to teach us.
3 Nephi 11:29
29 For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another.
If we are angry with people and contentious, then the holy ghost leaves and we are left with the devil to teach with.
When we have trouble knowing what to say, here are some scriptures that talk about that.
Doctrine and Covenants 11:21
21 Seek not to declare my word, but first seek to obtain my word, and then shall your tongue be loosed; then, if you desire, you shall have my Spirit and my word, yea, the power of God unto the convincing of men.
Doctrine and Covenants 100:5-8
5 Therefore, verily I say unto you, lift up your voices unto this people; speak the thoughts that I shall put into your hearts, and you shall not be confounded before men;
6 For it shall be given you in the very hour, yea, in the very moment, what ye shall say.
7 But a commandment I give unto you, that ye shall declare whatsoever thing ye declare in my name, in solemnity of heart, in the spirit of meekness, in all things.
8 And I give unto you this promise, that inasmuch as ye do this the Holy Ghost shall be shed forth in bearing record unto all things whatsoever ye shall say.
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Elders Quorum
Teachings of Presidents of the Church, chapter 18 Ezra Taft Benson - Beware of Pride
“Pride does not look up to God and care about what is right. It looks sideways to man and argues who is right. …
“Pride is characterized by ‘What do I want out of life?’ rather than by ‘What would God have me do with my life?’ It is self-will as opposed to God’s will. It is the fear of man over the fear of God.
“Humility responds to God’s will—to the fear of His judgments and to the needs of those around us. To the proud, the applause of the world rings in their ears; to the humble, the applause of heaven warms their hearts.” (Ezra Taft Benson, “Cleansing the Inner Vessel,” Ensign, May 1986, 6–7)
“In the premortal council, it was pride that felled Lucifer, ‘a son of the morning.’ (2 Ne. 24:12–15; see also D&C 76:25–27; Moses 4:3.) At the end of this world, when God cleanses the earth by fire, the proud will be burned as stubble and the meek shall inherit the earth. (See 3 Ne. 12:5; 25:1; D&C 29:9; JS—H 1:37; Mal. 4:1.)
“Three times in the Doctrine and Covenants the Lord uses the phrase ‘beware of pride,’ including a warning to the second elder of the Church, Oliver Cowdery, and to Emma Smith, the wife of the Prophet. (D&C 23:1; see also 25:14; 38:39.)
“The central feature of pride is enmity toward God and our fellowmen.”
“The central feature of pride is enmity—enmity toward God and enmity toward our fellowmen. Enmity means “hatred toward, hostility to, or a state of opposition.” It is the power by which Satan wishes to reign over us.”
“Another major portion of this very prevalent sin of pride is enmity toward our fellowmen. We are tempted daily to elevate ourselves above others and diminish them. (See Hel. 6:17; D&C 58:41.)”
“Some prideful people are not so concerned as to whether their wages meet their needs as they are that their wages are more than someone else’s. Their reward is being a cut above the rest. This is the enmity of pride.”
“We can choose to humble ourselves by conquering enmity toward our brothers and sisters, esteeming them as ourselves, and lifting them as high or higher than we are. (See D&C 38:24; 81:5; 84:106.)”
What is our motivation for goals we pursue and the choices we make to spend our thoughts and time on?
“God will have a humble people. Either we can choose to be humble or we can be compelled to be humble. Alma said, “Blessed are they who humble themselves without being compelled to be humble.” (Alma 32:16.)”
Will we willingly taking our medicine and be humble on our own or will God have to hide our medicine in our pudding? Will he have to add humility to our trials at work or whatever else we are putting ahead of him?
“Pride is a sin that can readily be seen in others but is rarely admitted in ourselves. Most of us consider pride to be a sin of those on the top, such as the rich and the learned, looking down at the rest of us. (See 2 Ne. 9:42.) There is, however, a far more common ailment among us—and that is pride from the bottom looking up. It is manifest in so many ways, such as faultfinding, gossiping, backbiting, murmuring, living beyond our means, envying, coveting, withholding gratitude and praise that might lift another, and being unforgiving and jealous.“
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