Alma 34:38
38 That ye contend no more against the Holy Ghost, but that ye receive it, and take upon you the name of Christ; that ye humble yourselves even to the dust, and worship God, in whatsoever place ye may be in, in spirit and in truth; and that ye live in thanksgiving daily, for the many mercies and blessings which he doth bestow upon you.
Sacrament Service
First Speaker
A young man that recently returned from a mission to Tennessee spoke to us.
DnC 88
118 And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith.
2 Nephi 4
15 And upon these I write the things of my soul, and many of the scriptures which are engraven upon the plates of brass. For my soul delighteth in the scriptures, and my heart pondereth them, and writeth them for the learning and the profit of my children.
16 Behold, my soul delighteth in the things of the Lord; and my heart pondereth continually upon the things which I have seen and heard.
Second Speaker
DnC 59
21 And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things, and obey not his commandments.
“Let me recommend that periodically you and I offer a prayer in which we only give thanks and express gratitude. Ask for nothing; simply let our souls rejoice and strive to communicate appreciation with all the energy of our hearts.” (Elder David A Bednar, “Pray Always”, October 2008 General Conference)
"My earnest desire is that the Spirit of God may direct all my actions in life. It is highly necessary for us to set such an example before our youth that we will be pleased to see them follow our example." (All quotations from Andrew D. Olsen, The Price We Paid, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2006.)
1 Nephi 18
16 Nevertheless, I did look unto my God, and I did praise him all the day long; and I did not murmur against the Lord because of mine afflictions.
DnC 121
7 My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;
Should we always express gratitude or are we justified in our complaining about our trials?
Alma 37
37 Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day.
Ether 6
9 And they did sing praises unto the Lord; yea, the brother of Jared did sing praises unto the Lord, and he did thank and praise the Lord all the day long; and when the night came, they did not cease to praise the Lord.
1 Nephi 18
16 Nevertheless, I did look unto my God, and I did praise him all the day long; and I did not murmur against the Lord because of mine afflictions.
Job 1:
21 And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.
DnC 123
17 Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed.
“When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed,
“When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
“Count your many blessings; name them one by one,
“And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.” (“Count Your Blessings”, LDS Hymn 241)
“We can choose to be grateful, no matter what.” (President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Grateful in Any Circumstances”, April 2014 General Conference)
Sunday School
DnC 76
25 And this we saw also, and bear record, that an angel of God who was in authority in the presence of God, who rebelled against the Only Begotten Son whom the Father loved and who was in the bosom of the Father, was thrust down from the presence of God and the Son,
26 And was called Perdition, for the heavens wept over him—he was Lucifer, a son of the morning.
27 And we beheld, and lo, he is fallen! is fallen, even a son of the morning!
DnC 27
16 Stand, therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, having on the breastplate of righteousness, and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, which I have sent mine angels to commit unto you;
17 Taking the shield of faith wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked;
18 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of my Spirit, which I will pour out upon you, and my word which I reveal unto you, and be agreed as touching all things whatsoever ye ask of me, and be faithful until I come, and ye shall be caught up, that where I am ye shall be also. Amen.
“Now, what about the breastplate which will safeguard your heart or your conduct in life? The Apostle Paul says that breastplate shall be made of a stuff called righteousness.” (President Harold B. Lee, “Put on the Whole Armor of God”, Stand Ye in Holy Places: Selected Sermons and Writings of President Harold B. Lee, 330–39)
“If we persevere, then somewhere in eternity our refinement will be finished and complete—which is the New Testament meaning of perfection.” (Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, “Be Ye Therefore Perfect—Eventually”, October 2017 General Conference)
“But to continue with your coat of armor. Your feet, which are to represent your goals or objectives in life, are to be shod. Shod with what? ‘With the preparation of the gospel of peace.’” (President Harold B. Lee, “Put on the Whole Armor of God”, Stand Ye in Holy Places: Selected Sermons and Writings of President Harold B. Lee, 330–39)
“The purpose of the Church is to help us translate the principles of the gospel of Christ into constructive, meaningful human experience.” (Elder Sterling W. Sill, “Great Experiences”, April 1971 General Conference)
DnC 93
19 I give unto you these sayings that you may understand and know how to worship, and know what you worship, that you may come unto the Father in my name, and in due time receive of his fulness.
“Let me point out the need to differentiate between two critical words: worth and worthiness. They are not the same. Spiritual worth means to value ourselves the way Heavenly Father values us, not as the world values us. Our worth was determined before we ever came to this earth. ‘God’s love is infinite and it will endure forever.’
“On the other hand, worthiness is achieved through obedience. If we sin, we are less worthy, but we are never worth less! We continue to repent and strive to be like Jesus with our worth intact. As President Brigham Young taught: ‘The least, the most inferior spirit now upon the earth … is worth worlds.’ No matter what, we always have worth in the eyes of our Heavenly Father.”
Elders Quorum
The lesson was based on Chapter 21 of Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Gordon B Hinckley.
2 Timothy 1
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;
If we have something we love like a sports team, a hobby, or a job we would not be ashamed of it. We would tell others about it.
“When differences—either with our neighbors or in other cultures—seem to stand as hurdles as we seek to share the gospel, quiet courtesy usually removes these hurdles.” - From the manual.
Face to Face for Young Single Adults with Elder Dallin H Oaks and M Russell Ballard
“One of the things we want to do in the leadership of the church is to increase the enrollment and attendance at Institutes.” - Elder Oaks
“We patiently wait upon the Lord and don't get uptight because we haven't had our prayer answered the first time or the first year that we have asked it.” - Elder Oaks
“I find at times when I'm concerned about something that I have to find a quiet place where I can just be still.” - Elder Ballard
“In those quiet moments you don't hear voices and you're not going to have a vision. That's very unusual, but really the things you feel within your heart are the way Heavenly Father ultimately answers prayers. What your feelings are is the process of conversion.” - Elder Ballard
“You can talk about the gospel and be pleasant. This is a wonderful, glorious, happy message. Sometimes I think in the process of trying to explain the message of the restoration, if we're not careful, we can get maybe a little bit too stoic in how we're presenting it. This is a glorious message and just let yourself be yourself. People just want to know you. They want to know why you believe and what you believe about the restoration. As you share those feelings they just come independently through your own life. It makes a connection with others and over time they'll start asking you more and more questions. At least that's been my experience.” - Elder Ballard
“...just enjoy the gospel and share it with a smile on your face.” - Elder Ballard
“We don't pound the gospel into our friends or our family.” - Elder Ballard
“...be sure that you're living right. If there's anything going on in your lives that isn't quite what it ought to be and then at the same time you want to sort out…whether [you are] getting the proper promptings. My counsel to you would be that you be sure that your own lives are being lived in such a way that you can receive these promptings. That's a big job for all of us. We all work on that and that's why over and over…we ask you to be sure to say your prayers. We ask you to stay in the scriptures. We ask you to do these simple things…because that's what fortifies and gives a foundation to protect you to be able to know.” - Elder Ballard
“If we get an impression contrary to the scriptures, to the commandments of God, to the teachings of his leaders then we know that it can't be coming from the Holy Ghost. The Gospel is consistent throughout.” - Elder Oaks.
“...something that that was told to me by a a proud grandparent saying they had a grandson who was struggling with [same-sex attraction] and he said, ‘I'm satisfied that I can approach this problem in this way. I'm not going to let my sexuality interfere with my spirituality.’ I thought that was in a nutshell a an expression of of faith and determination not to get one thing confused with another.” - Elder Oaks
“...the covenant all of us have made is that we will be willing to bear one another's burdens.” - Elder Oaks
“...we need to be cautious not to label ourselves or to label one another. The most important [characteristic] any of us can carry throughout our life is I am a child of God.” - Elder Oaks
Alma 7:11-12
11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.
12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.
“The Lord gave us in the ten commandments a great commandment for balance. Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work but the seventh is the sabbath of the Lord thy God. That establishes a balance in the way we allocate our time and in my experience, personal and observing others, people who keep the sabbath day have a built-in, heavenly balance that helps them.” - Elder Oaks
DnC 6
36 Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.
“Questions, sincere desire to know, that aren’t accompanied with a presumption of rejection are something that we wish to encourage.” - Elder Oaks
“A new member of the church needs to make sure they have holy habits and righteous routines…Holy habits are the things that every member of the Church should have: personal prayer, scripture study, keeping the commandments, and attending church. Everybody should have holy habits to go ahead and mature in the church”
“The most important single thing that any Latter-day Saint ever does in this world is to marry the right person, in the right place, by the right authority.” (“Agency or Inspiration?” New Era, Jan. 1975, 38.)
Finding a spouse - “One is that we ought to be guided by the spirit of inspiration, the spirit of revelation. The other is that we're here under a heavenly direction to use our agency to determine what we ought to do on our own and we need to strike a fine balance between these two if we're going to pursue a course that will give us joy and satisfaction and peace in this life “ - Elder Oaks
“What i'm saying is is that don't overreact speak be loving kind gentle watchful helpful and prayerful.” - Elder Ballard
“Just realize that the most powerful influence in getting people into the church is the power of a righteous example not the power of preaching or pounding.” - Elder Oaks
“I found that I could do more in six days with the blessings of the Lord and keeping up my family and church obligations on the sabbath than I can do in seven days trying to balance studying and work and all of that.” - Elder Oaks
“...take and nourish this spiritual side of us to become be able to ultimately be in command and control of the of the physical.” - Elder Ballard
“If we approach that ordinance with a broken heart and a contrite spirit confessing our sins before the Lord the ordinance of the sacrament provides that that role repentance is possible and forgiveness is certain.” - Elder Oaks
