Church Services This Week at Oak Ridge Ward Layton North Stake Layton Utah 24 May 2020

Elders Quorum Online

The lesson was based on Sister Jean B. Bingham, ”United in Accomplishing God’s Work” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2020/04/34bingham?lang=eng ; and President Dallin H Oaks, “The Melchizedek Priesthood and the Keys.” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2020/04/36oaks?lang=eng 

D&C 121: 34 - 46

34 Behold, there are many called, but few are chosen. And why are they not chosen?

35 Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world, and aspire to the honors of men, that they do not learn this one lesson—

36 That the rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness.

37 That they may be conferred upon us, it is true; but when we undertake to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood or the authority of that man.

38 Behold, ere he is aware, he is left unto himself, to kick against the pricks, to persecute the saints, and to fight against God.

39 We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion.

40 Hence many are called, but few are chosen.

41 No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned;

42 By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile—

43 Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy;

44 That he may know that thy faithfulness is stronger than the cords of death.

45 Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven.

46 The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever.

Be careful of our opinions and remember the Lord is in charge.  Remember that even if we are sure of ourselves, it doesn’t mean we are right.

Relief Society Online

The lesson based on Elder James R. Rasband, “Ensuring a Righteous Judgment”, April 2020 General Conference.

“As President Nelson has taught, ‘The Book of Mormon provides the fullest and most authoritative understanding of the Atonement of Jesus Christ to be found anywhere.’ The more we understand about the Savior’s supernal gift, the more we will come to know, in our minds and in our hearts, the reality of President Nelson’s assurance that ‘the truths of the Book of Mormon have the power to heal, comfort, restore, succor, strengthen, console, and cheer our souls.’”

“I have seen something similar happen to people I have known. I have seen some who have spent a long winter of guilt and spiritual starvation emerge into the morning of forgiveness.

“When morning came, they learned this:

“‘Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more.’

“‘I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.’

“‘I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.’

“‘For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.’”

What are the demands of Justice?

What does justice require of you?  Can you pay it?

“The thought that rescued Alma, when he acted upon it, is this: Restoring what you cannot restore, healing the wound you cannot heal, fixing that which you broke and you cannot fix is the very purpose of the atonement of Christ.” (President Boyd K. Packer, “The Brilliant Morning of Forgiveness”, October 1995 General Conference)

“As natural men and women, we all bump, or sometimes crash, into each other and cause harm. As any parent can testify, the pain associated with our mistakes is not simply the fear of our own punishment but the fear that we may have limited our children’s joy or in some way hindered them from seeing and understanding the truth. The glorious promise of the Savior’s atoning sacrifice is that as far as our mistakes as parents are concerned, He holds our children blameless and promises healing for them.”

Mosiah 27:25-26

25 And the Lord said unto me: Marvel not that all mankind, yea, men and women, all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, must be born again; yea, born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters;

26 And thus they become new creatures; and unless they do this, they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God.

Church Services This Week at Oak Ridge Ward Layton North Stake Layton Utah 17 May 2020

Sunday School Online

Mosiah 18-24

The priests of Noah suggested things but had no responsibility.  King Noah had the responsibility, which is maybe why he waffled a little.  They were not responsible for what was decided.  How often do we run our mouths about decisions of leaders in the Church or in government or at work without looking at things from their perspective?

Mosiah 18:8-11

8 And it came to pass that he said unto them: Behold, here are the waters of Mormon (for thus were they called) and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light;

9 Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life—

10 Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?

11 And now when the people had heard these words, they clapped their hands for joy, and exclaimed: This is the desire of our hearts.

“Now, the first covenant we enter into here is the covenant of baptism. I know of no better explanation of the baptismal covenant than the one Alma gave [to his people].” (President Marion G. Romney, “According to the Covenants”, October 1975 General Conference)

President Joseph Fielding Smith taught: “A covenant is a contract and an agreement between at least two parties. In the case of gospel covenants, the parties are the Lord in heaven and men on earth. Men agree to keep the commandments and the Lord promises to reward them accordingly” (President Joseph Fielding Smith, in Conference Report, Oct. 1970, 91;).

BAPTISMAL COVENANTS, OUR PART

The covenants they (we) made at baptism:

• — "come into the fold of God"

• — be called the people of God

• — "bear one another's burdens"

• — "mourn with those that mourn"

• — comfort those who need comforting

• — stand as witnesses of God at all times, in all things, and in all places

• — be baptized in the name of the Lord as a witness that they have entered into a covenant with Him

• — serve the Lord and keep his commandments

If a business deal goes bad or someone treats us bad do we still have to be a witness of God at all times, in all things, and in all places?

Abinidi’s prophecy against the people was not conditional on them repenting like many prophecies are.  The people had to take a bit of a lashing, even if they repented to solidify their change of heart and to have them remember Abinidi’s words.

When someone walks into a room when a prayer is being given and they see you in the room with your head bowed and they say, “Oh they are praying.”  Were you or were you just being reverent until it was over?

Church Services This Week at Oak Ridge Ward Layton North Stake Layton Utah 3 May 2020

Sunday School Online

Mosiah 7-10

Mosiah 7:19-21

19 Therefore, lift up your heads, and rejoice, and put your trust in God, in that God who was the God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob; and also, that God who brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, and caused that they should walk through the Red Sea on dry ground, and fed them with manna that they might not perish in the wilderness; and many more things did he do for them.

20 And again, that same God has brought our fathers out of the land of Jerusalem, and has kept and preserved his people even until now; and behold, it is because of our iniquities and abominations that he has brought us into bondage.

21 And ye all are witnesses this day, that Zeniff, who was made king over this people, he being over-zealous to inherit the land of his fathers, therefore being deceived by the cunning and craftiness of king Laman, who having entered into a treaty with king Zeniff, and having yielded up into his hands the possessions of a part of the land, or even the city of Lehi-Nephi, and the city of Shilom; and the land round about

“Zeniff’s over-zealousness led him to make an unwise agreement with one whose ultimate purpose was to bring these Nephites into bondage.

“While we question the wisdom of Zeniff, we could ask if the same kind of zeal causes people today to make agreements or sign contracts that will ultimately place them in political or financial bondage. Individuals can be over-zealous for material possessions, or they can become so involved in a cause or in their work that they begin to neglect the weightier matters that are most important, such as family, church, and service to others.”

The teacher recommended:
Williams, Clyde J. •Deliverance from Bondage: Essay. In The Book ofMormon: Mosiah, Salvation Only through Christ, edited by Monte S. Nyman and Charles D. Tate, 263. Salt Lake City, UT: Greg Kofford Books, 1991.

Where we plant our seeds is where we reap our harvest.

“It apparently was not necessarily so that Zeniff was inherently wicked or intentionally unwise, but he was overzealous.It is also clear that his misplaced zeal led to other poor decisions that not only affected him personally in adverse ways but also caused tremendous difficulties for others under his influence. It didn’t help that he was also stiff-necked, which means that he was haughty and stubborn too. Can you see any potential dangers in a man who is strong, forceful, passionate, enthusiastic, stubborn, full of himself, and overzealous too? I know that all of you can perceive these interesting traits or character flaws in others, but do they ever creep into your own persona as well? I hope that is something we all try to consider at least a little, and correct if necessary, on a regular basis.

“Now let me be clear. We are in favor of correctly focused zeal. We admire courageous leaders and those who are willing to sacrifice or stand for what they know is right. The scriptures are replete with references to zeal, and the word is often attached to Deity. Without zeal and other associated virtues in courageous leaders and followers of previous days, we would not have this nation or this university, the gospel would not have been restored, and many other events of extreme importance would not have happened.

“Likewise, we abhor slothful behavior and thinking, which are antithetical to righteous and appropriate zeal. The Book of Mormon prophet Jacob described the failings of those he knew about who missed “the mark” or appropriate target of concern (Jacob 4:14).” (Cecil O Samuelson, “Appropriate Zeal”, BYU Speech Sept 7, 2010)

We need to be careful to not let our pride come into our righteous desires and make us overzealous even in good things.

“How could we believe it would be easy for us when it was never, ever easy for Him?” (Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, “Missionary Work and the Atonement”, March 2001 Ensign)

John 20:17

17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.

JST John 20:17 … Hold me not …

From Elder Bruce r. McConkie:

“Various translations from the Greek render the passage as 'Do not cling to me' or 'Do not hold me.' Some give the meaning as 'Do not cling to me any longer,' or 'Do not hold me any longer.'

“We also hear Him more clearly as we refine our ability to recognize the whisperings of the Holy Ghost. It has never been more imperative to know how the Spirit speaks to you than right now. In the Godhead, the Holy Ghost is the messenger. He will bring thoughts to your mind which the Father and Son want you to receive. He is the Comforter. He will bring a feeling of peace to your heart. He testifies of truth and will confirm what is true as you hear and read the word of the Lord.

“I renew my plea for you to do whatever it takes to increase your spiritual capacity to receive personal revelation.” (President Russell M. Nelson, “Hear Him”, April 2020 General Conference)