Sunday, July 25, 2021

Church Services This Week at Oak Ridge Ward Layton North Stake Layton Utah 25 July 2021

Sacrament Service

First Speaker

“We observe that in the scriptures, fasting almost always is linked with prayer. Without prayer, fasting is not complete fasting; it’s simply going hungry. If we want our fasting to be more than just going without eating, we must lift our hearts, our minds, and our voices in communion with our Heavenly Father. Fasting, coupled with mighty prayer, is powerful. It can fill our minds with the revelations of the Spirit. It can strengthen us against times of temptation.


“Fasting and prayer can help develop within us courage and confidence. It can strengthen our character and build self-restraint and discipline. Often when we fast, our righteous prayers and petitions have greater power. Testimonies grow. We mature spiritually and emotionally and sanctify our souls. Each time we fast, we gain a little more control over our worldly appetites and passions.” (Elder Joseph B Wirthlin, “The Law of the Fast”, April 2001 General Conference)


Next Speaker

Serve by just being good neighbors.


Next Speaker

“When I think of love, I remember the Lord’s two great commandments — to love God with all our heart, soul and mind and serve him, and to love our neighbor as ourselves,”

...

“Love ought to be the foundation and motivation for everything we do.”(Elder Dieter F Uchtdorf, Worldwide Broadcast on Sharing the Gospel)


“We learn in the scriptures that charity suffereth long and endureth all things. Charity has staying power. When you love someone, you do not give up on them.” (Elder David A Bednar, Worldwide Broadcast on Sharing the Gospel)


Sunday, July 18, 2021

Church Services This Week at Oak Ridge Ward Layton North Stake Layton Utah 18 July 2021

Sacrament Service 

First Speaker

Alma 36 - Remember is used a lot in this chapter.

Alma 36:17

17 And it came to pass that as I was thus racked with torment, while I was harrowed up by the memory of my many sins, behold, I remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world.


Next Speaker

Sacrifice is required in this life.  Trials are required in this life.  Heartache is required in this life.  All good things require sacrifice.


“The framers of the Constitution were men raised up by God to establish this foundation of our government, for so the Lord has declared by revelation in these words:


“I established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the shedding of blood.” (D&C 101:80; italics added.)” (Ezra Taft Benson, “The Constitution—

A Glorious Standard”, April 1976 General Conference)


Ether 1:38

38 And it came to pass that Jared spake again unto his brother, saying: Go and inquire of the Lord whether he will drive us out of the land, and if he will drive us out of the land, cry unto him whither we shall go. And who knoweth but the Lord will carry us forth into a land which is choice above all the earth? And if it so be, let us be faithful unto the Lord, that we may receive it for our inheritance.


Alma 7:12

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.

Sunday School 

Ground breaking doctrine in 76.

-He died for the worlds (plural) he created. 

-The Father and son are separate. 

“I will refer to the “Vision” [in section 76] alone, as a revelation which gives more light, more truth and more principle than any revelation contained in any other book we ever read. It makes plain to our understanding our present condition, where we came from, why we are here, and where we are going to. Any man may know through that revelation what his part and condition will be. (Wilford Woodruff, Deseret News: Semi-Weekly, July 26, 1881, 1.)


DnC 76:20-24

20 And we beheld the glory of the Son, on the right hand of the Father, and received of his fulness;

21 And saw the holy angels, and them who are sanctified before his throne, worshiping God, and the Lamb, who worship him forever and ever.

22 And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!

23 For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father—

24 That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God.


DnC 76:25-30

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!

28 And while we were yet in the Spirit, the Lord commanded us that we should write the vision; for we beheld Satan, that old serpent, even the devil, who rebelled against God, and sought to take the kingdom of our God and his Christ—

29 Wherefore, he maketh war with the saints of God, and encompasseth them round about.

30 And we saw a vision of the sufferings of those with whom he made war and overcame, for thus came the voice of the Lord unto us:


“President George Q. Cannon, commenting on Satan’s title as a son of the morning, said: “Some have called him the son of the morning, but here it is a son of the morning—one among many, doubtless. This angel was a mighty personage, without doubt. The record that is given to us concerning him clearly shows that he occupied a very high position; that he was thought a great deal of, and that he was mighty in his sphere, so much so that when the matter was debated concerning the earth and the plan of salvation, he was of sufficient importance to have a plan, which he proposed as the plan by which this earth should be peopled and the inhabitants thereof redeemed. His plan, however, was not accepted; but it was so plausible and so attractive that out of the whole hosts of heaven one-third accepted his plan and were willing to cast their lot with him. [Moses 4:1–4; D&C 29:36–37.] Now, the difference between Jesus and Lucifer was this: Jesus was willing to submit to the Father.” (In Millennial Star, 5 Sept. 1895, pp. 563–64.)”

“The Lord our God has sent us here to get experience in these things so that we may know the good from the evil and be able to close our hearts against the evil. . . . It is true that some have greater power of resistance than others, but everyone has the power to close his heart against doubt, against darkness, against unbelief, against depression, against anger, against hatred, against jealousy, against malice, against envy. God has given this power unto all of us, and we can gain still greater power by calling upon Him for that which we lack. If it were not so, how could we be condemned for giving way to wrong influences?


“There could be no condemnation for our doing what we could not help; but we can help yielding to wrong influences and being quarrelsome and selfish. We can help giving way to the spirit of theft, and we can resist the spirit of lust. God has given us power to resist these things, that our hearts may be kept free from them and also from doubt; and when Satan comes and assails us, it is our privilege to say, ‘Get thee behind me, Satan, for I have no lot nor portion in you, and you have no part in me. I am in the service of God, and I am going to serve Him, and you can do what you please. It is no use you presenting yourself with your blandishments to me. You come and try to insinuate into my heart evil thoughts about the servants of God or about the work of God, and I will not listen to you; I will close my heart against you. . . .’


“Whenever darkness fills our minds, we may know that we are not possessed of the Spirit of God, and we must get rid of it. When we are filled with the Spirit of God, we are filled with joy, with peace and with happiness no matter what our circumstances may be; for it is a spirit of cheerfulness and of happiness.” ( Gospel Truth, 1:19–20.)


DnC 76:50-58

50 And again we bear record—for we saw and heard, and this is the testimony of the gospel of Christ concerning them who shall come forth in the resurrection of the just—

51 They are they who received the testimony of Jesus, and believed on his name and were baptized after the manner of his burial, being buried in the water in his name, and this according to the commandment which he has given—

52 That by keeping the commandments they might be washed and cleansed from all their sins, and receive the Holy Spirit by the laying on of the hands of him who is ordained and sealed unto this power;

53 And who overcome by faith, and are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, which the Father sheds forth upon all those who are just and true.

54 They are they who are the church of the Firstborn.

55 They are they into whose hands the Father has given all things—

56 They are they who are priests and kings, who have received of his fulness, and of his glory;

57 And are priests of the Most High, after the order of Melchizedek, which was after the order of Enoch, which was after the order of the Only Begotten Son.

58 Wherefore, as it is written, they are gods, even the sons of God


Sunday, July 11, 2021

Church Services This Week at Oak Ridge Ward Layton North Stake Layton Utah 11 July 2021

Sacrament Service

First Speaker

Agency

2 Nephi 2:27

27 Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.


“Every day we choose where we want to live eternally by how we think, feel, speak, and act.” (President Russell M Nelson, Rootstech 2017)


Next Speaker

A missionary from Henderson, MT spoke to us.  He was originally assigned to Brazil, but had to come finish his mission here.


We are free to choose our actions, but not the consequences.


Article of Faith 2

We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.


Joshua 1:5

5 There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.


Next Speaker

A missionary that started his mission in Mexico City and is finishing his mission here due to Covid.


All of the commandments are given to us to keep us free and not to imprison us.


DnC 82:10

10 I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise.


Elders Quorum 

The lesson was based on the talk "Not as the World Giveth" By Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

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.


“Brothers and sisters, we do see too much conflict, anger, and general incivility around us. Fortunately, the current generation has not had a Third World War to fight, nor have we experienced a global economic crash like the one in 1929 leading to a Great Depression. We are, however, facing a kind of Third World War that is not a fight to crush our enemies but a conscription marshaling the children of God to care more about each other and to help heal the wounds we find in a conflicted world. The Great Depression we now face has less to do with the external loss of our savings and more to do with the internal loss of our self-confidence, with real deficits of faith and hope and charity all around us.”


We have to have conflict and struggles to figure out who we are. 


Dnc 76:22-24

22 And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!

23 For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father—

24 That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God.


Dnc 121:26

26 God shall give unto you knowledge by his Holy Spirit, yea, by the unspeakable gift of the Holy Ghost, that has not been revealed since the world was until now;


Dnc 121:35

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


Dnc 121:41-42

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


"Consider the coarse language that parallels sexual transgression, both of which are so omnipresent in movies or on television, or note the sexual harassment and other forms of impropriety in the workplace about which we read so much these days. In matters of covenantal purity, the sacred is too often being made common and the holy is too often being made profane. To any who are tempted to walk or talk or behave in these ways—“as the world giveth,” so to speak—don’t expect it to lead to peaceful experience; I promise you in the name of the Lord that it won’t. “Wickedness never was happiness,” an ancient prophet once said. When the dance is over, the piper must always be paid, and most often it is in a currency of tears and regret." 


Dnc 76:40-42
40 And this is the gospel, the glad tidings, which the voice out of the heavens bore record unto us—

41 That he came into the world, even Jesus, to be crucified for the world, and to bear the sins of the world, and to sanctify the world, and to cleanse it from all unrighteousness;

42 That through him all might be saved whom the Father had put into his power and made by him;


Sunday, July 04, 2021

Church Services This Week at Oak Ridge Ward Layton North Stake Layton Utah 4 July 2021

Sacrament Service 

President Oaks in his talk The Divinely Inspired Constitution list five great fundamentals of the US Constitution.

  1. Separation of powers.

  2. A written Bill of Rights

  3. Division of Powers

  4. Popular sovereignty.

  5. The rule of law and not of men.


Elder Oaks said, “Similarly, James Madison, who is known as the ‘Father of the Constitution,’ stated his assumption that there had to be ‘sufficient virtue among men for self-government.’ He argued in the Federalist Papers that ‘republican government presupposes the existence of these qualities in a higher degree than any other form.’”


Sunday School

Doctrine and Covenants 71 - Dealing with criticism


“Symonds Ryder (or Simonds Rider) learned about the restored gospel from Ezra Booth. Symonds became a member of the Church after witnessing what he considered to be a miracle. Shortly after his baptism he was ordained an elder of the Church. Later accounts suggest that when he received an official commission to preach the gospel, he found that his name was misspelled on the certificate. Supposing that a revealed call would have been free from even small errors, Symonds began to question the extent of Joseph Smith’s prophetic inspiration. Symonds was further influenced by the failing faith of his close friend Ezra Booth, who returned disappointed from his mission to Missouri. More than anything else, his concerns over the principle of consecration seem to have led to his disaffection.” (Doctrine and Covenants Institute Manual)


Isaiah 54:17

17 ¶ No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.


D&C 71:1

1 Behold, thus saith the Lord unto you my servants Joseph Smith, Jun., and Sidney Rigdon, that the time has verily come that it is necessary and expedient in me that you should open your mouths in proclaiming my gospel, the things of the kingdom, expounding the mysteries thereof out of the scriptures, according to that portion of Spirit and power which shall be given unto you, even as I will.


Alma 31:5

5 And now, as the preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead the people to do that which was just—yea, it had had more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else, which had happened unto them—therefore Alma thought it was expedient that they should try the virtue of the word of God.


D&C 71:7-9

7 Wherefore, confound your enemies; call upon them to meet you both in public and in private; and inasmuch as ye are faithful their shame shall be made manifest.

8 Wherefore, let them bring forth their strong reasons against the Lord.

9 Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you—there is no weapon that is formed against you shall prosper;


“We live and teach amid such a wide variety of individual personalities, experiences, cultures, languages, interests, and needs. Only the Spirit can compensate for such differences. The Lord has told us that ‘the sword of the Spirit … is the word of God’ (Ephesians 6:17); it can facilitate communication and penetrate as nothing else. Thus holy scripture and the words of living prophets occupy a privileged position; they are the key to teaching by the Spirit so that we communicate in what the Prophet Joseph Smith called ‘the language of inspiration’ (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1976], p. 56).” (Neal A Maxwell, Teaching by the Spirit—“The Language of Inspiration”, In Old Testament Symposium Speeches, 1991, 1–6)