Church Services This Week at Oak Ridge Ward Layton North Stake Layton Utah Feb 25, 2024

Sacrament Service 

First Speaker

Turn away from those things that tempt and distract us.

Next Speaker

Hymn 195 - How Great the Wisdom and the Love 

1. How great the wisdom and the love

That filled the courts on high

And sent the Savior from above

To suffer, bleed, and die!

6. How great, how glorious, how complete

Redemption’s grand design,

Where justice, love, and mercy meet

In harmony divine!

Moses 4:1-2

1 And it came to pass that after I, the Lord God, had driven them out, that Adam began to till the earth, and to have dominion over all the beasts of the field, and to eat his bread by the sweat of his brow, as I the Lord had commanded him. And Eve, also, his wife, did labor with him.

2 And Adam knew his wife, and she bare unto him sons and daughters, and they began to multiply and to replenish the earth.

Hymn 187 God Loved Us, So He Sent His Son

1.God loved us, so he sent his Son,

Christ Jesus, the atoning One,

To show us by the path he trod

The one and only way to God.

John 3:16-17

16 ¶ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

DnC 34:3

3 Who so loved the world that he gave his own life, that as many as would believe might become the sons of God. Wherefore you are my son;

Hymn 197 - O Savior, Thou Who Wearest a Crown

2 Nephi 2:6-9

6 Wherefore, redemption cometh in and through the Holy Messiah; for he is full of grace and truth.

7 Behold, he offereth himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law, unto all those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit; and unto none else can the ends of the law be answered.

8 Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah, who layeth down his life according to the flesh, and taketh it again by the power of the Spirit, that he may bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise.

9 Wherefore, he is the firstfruits unto God, inasmuch as he shall make intercession for all the children of men; and they that believe in him shall be saved.

Matthew 27:26-31,34-35

26 ¶ Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.

27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers.

28 And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe.

29 ¶ And when they had plaited a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!

30 And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head.

31 And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him.

34 ¶ They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink.

35 And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.

Hymn 172 - In Humility our Savior 

2 Nephi 2:7

7 Behold, he offereth himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law, unto all those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit; and unto none else can the ends of the law be answered.

DnC 59:9

9 And that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day;

Hymn 169 - As Now We Take the Sacrament

DnC 138:1-4

1 On the third of October, in the year nineteen hundred and eighteen, I sat in my room pondering over the scriptures;

2 And reflecting upon the great atoning sacrifice that was made by the Son of God, for the redemption of the world;

3 And the great and wonderful love made manifest by the Father and the Son in the coming of the Redeemer into the world;

4 That through his atonement, and by obedience to the principles of the gospel, mankind might be saved.

DnC 59:8-12

8 Thou shalt offer a sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in righteousness, even that of a broken heart and a contrite spirit.

9 And that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day;

10 For verily this is a day appointed unto you to rest from your labors, and to pay thy devotions unto the Most High;

11 Nevertheless thy vows shall be offered up in righteousness on all days and at all times;

12 But remember that on this, the Lord’s day, thou shalt offer thine oblations and thy sacraments unto the Most High, confessing thy sins unto thy brethren, and before the Lord.

Next Speaker

Repentance is running to our Savior knowing he can fix what we can’t.

“The pure in heart will see that God is the one who removes the guilt. No one has the ability to purge our souls of guilt except God Himself.”

(Neil L Andersen, from his book “The Divine Gift of Forgiveness”)

2 Nephi 9

3 Behold, my beloved brethren, I speak unto you these things that ye may rejoice, and lift up your heads forever, because of the blessings which the Lord God shall bestow upon your children.

2 Nephi 10

20 And now, my beloved brethren, seeing that our merciful God has given us so great knowledge concerning these things, let us remember him, and lay aside our sins, and not hang down our heads, for we are not cast off; nevertheless, we have been driven out of the land of our inheritance; but we have been led to a better land, for the Lord has made the sea our path, and we are upon an isle of the sea.

23 Therefore, cheer up your hearts, and remember that ye are free to act for yourselves—to choose the way of everlasting death or the way of eternal life.

Alma 36

12 But I was racked with eternal torment, for my soul was harrowed up to the greatest degree and racked with all my sins.

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.

18 Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me, who am in the gall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting chains of death.

19 And now, behold, when I thought this, I could remember my pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more.

20 And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!

Elders Quorum 

The lesson was based on Our Constant Companion, Eyring

The Savior went through temptation. He went through adversity. He went through being abused. He went through unfairness. It is an example of how life is for all of us to some degree.  His life was an example to us in all things. 

When we have the holy ghost with us, it enhances our natural abilities. 

"Our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, will perform some of His mightiest works between now and when He comes again. We will see miraculous indications that God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, preside over this Church in majesty and glory. But in coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.

“My beloved brothers and sisters, I plead with you to increase your spiritual capacity to receive revelation. Let this Easter Sunday be a defining moment in your life. Choose to do the spiritual work required to enjoy the gift of the Holy Ghost and hear the voice of the Spirit more frequently and more clearly." (President Russell M. Nelson, “Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives”, April 2018 General Conference)

Church Services This Week at Oak Ridge Ward Layton North Stake Layton Utah Feb 18, 2024

Sacrament Service 

First Speaker

Mosiah 3:19

19 For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.

When we receive criticism, resist the temptation to burr up against it.  Also, resist the temptation to get depressed by it.

John 8:30-31

30 As he spake these words, many believed on him.

31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;

“My dear brothers and sisters, the joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives.” (President Russell M. Nelson, “Joy and Spiritual Survival”, October 2016 General Conference)

“As humans, we have an earthbound point of view, but God sees the grand overview of the universe. He sees all creation, all of us, and is filled with hope.” 

...

“But my dad was more practiced at zooming out and taking the long view. He’d learned from experience that worry feels a lot like love, but it’s not the same. He used the eye of faith to see that everything would work out, and his hopeful approach changed me.”

(Sister Tamara W. Runia, “Seeing God’s Family through the Overview Lens”, October 2023 General Conference)

Next Speaker

“the adversary does not want us or our loved ones to return home together. And because we live on a planet that is bound by time and a finite number of years, he tries to perpetuate a very real sense of panic in us. It’s hard to see, when we’re zoomed in, that our direction matters more than our speed.” (Sister Tamara W. Runia, “Seeing God’s Family through the Overview Lens”, October 2023 General Conference)

3 Nephi 5:13

13 Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life.

1 Nephi 18:8

8 And it came to pass after we had all gone down into the ship, and had taken with us our provisions and things which had been commanded us, we did put forth into the sea and were driven forth before the wind towards the promised land.

“One Sunday, while I was preparing to partake of the sacrament after several weeks of stake conference assignments, an interesting and powerful thought passed through my mind.

“As the priest began offering the blessing on the bread, words I had heard so many times before pressed forcefully upon my mind and heart. “And witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him and keep his commandments which he has given them; that they may always have his Spirit to be with them.” How many times have we witnessed unto God that we are willing?” (Elder Kevin W. Pearson, “Are You Still Willing?”, October 2022 General Conference)

“The promptings for us to do good come from the Holy Ghost. These promptings nudge us farther along the straight and narrow path of discipleship. The natural man doesn’t automatically think of doing good. It isn’t natural. How many people worry about the car behind them or the person below them? The natural man just doesn’t do it. For us, however, these promptings enlarge our awareness of other people’s needs and then prod us to act accordingly. This is why, I believe, when the Lord speaks of enlarging the soul, he adds, in the Doctrine and Covenants, that it must be done ‘without hypocrisy’ (D&C 121:42). Our personal righteousness, more than we know, governs how much good we can do.” (Elder Neal A Maxwell, “The Pathway of Discipleship”, BYU Devotional January 4, 1998)

Mosiah 3

19 For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.

“God won’t force us to do good, and the devil can’t force us to do evil.3 Though some may think that mortality is a contest between God and the adversary, a word from the Savior ‘and Satan is silenced and banished. … It is [our] strength that is being tested—not God’s.’(Hugh Nibley, “Beyond Politics,” BYU Studies, vol. 15, no. 1 (1974), 8.)” (Elder Jörg Klebingat, “Valiant Discipleship in the Latter Days”, April 2022 General Conference)

“Jesus, whose work this is. He has shown the meaning of the mortal experience by the eloquence of his example and by his having shown the way to us in every particular, including his gallantry during the agonies of the Atonement, of which he declared, ‘And would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink’ (D&C 19:18). Not shrinking is more important than surviving, and Jesus is our exemplar in every way. I salute him for the eloquence of his example.” (Elder Neal A Maxwell, “The Pathway of Discipleship”, BYU Devotional January 4, 1998)

Sunday School 

Growth is going to hurt. You have to accept that in order to effectively grow.  If we can’t get past that some degree of discomfort, pain, adversity, sadness, and so on is part of this mortal journey, then we will be constantly confused, depressed, scared, and so on and probably not grow much and likely become bitter to some degree.

Writing in our journal can help us in our scripture study.

Church Services This Week at Oak Ridge Ward Layton North Stake Layton Utah Feb 11, 2024

Sacrament Service

First Speaker

He was grateful for having things in his life that help him grow that don’t involved being tied up on a boat in a storm for several days, like Nephi did.

Next Speaker

Often we make decisions that bruise us.  Often Heavenly Father sees us try that same thing over and over which gave us the bruises.

2 Nephi 2

26 And the Messiah cometh in the fulness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall. And because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day, according to the commandments which God hath given.

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.

“However, he says his entire life has turned out to be an unending stream of extenuating circumstances, and had he crossed the line just that once, then the next time something came up that was so demanding and critical, it would have been so much easier to cross the line again. The lesson he learned is that it is easier to keep the commandments 100 percent of the time than it is 98 percent of the time.” (President Thomas S. Monson, “The Three Rs of Choice”, October 2010 General Conference)

Next Speaker

Look for the light of the Savior in those around you.

Primary

I subbed in Primary today.

Church Services This Week at Oak Ridge Ward Layton North Stake Layton Utah Feb 4, 2024

Sacrament Service 

Testimonies

Do we have any experience with the spirit, with God, or with miracles that we could say are almost tangible?

Reflect on ways God has shown up in your life.  Shown up, in that you can see Him working or shown up to be there for you.

Someone used Hymn 240, “Know This, That Every Soul Is Free” as part of their testimony.

Sunday School 

1 Nephi 16-22

Doctrine tells us why we do something. A principle tells us what we do. The application of a principle tells how to do it. We often have to figure out the application ourselves. 

The children of Israel were sent into the wilderness to be prepared to establish his people. Moses was sent to the wilderness to be prepared for his calling. Lehi was sent to the wilderness to prepare his family to establish his people. The pioneer saints were sent to the wilderness to prepare them.