Sunday June 1, 2008 - Services Sullivan Hollow Second Ward

Announcements
July 4, 2008 - Breakfast celebration for the entire community. I wasn't sure where it was being held. Sounded like maybe at our chapel. They weren't sure about the time. Someone thought maybe 8am. I will try to get more details next week.

July 13, 2008 - Pioneer Devotional at the Dee Center - Elder Jensen will be speaking.

Volleyball at the chapel Tuesday at 9pm

Priesthood Opening
2 Ne. 22: 2
Behold, God is my salvation; I will ^atrust, and not be afraid; for the Lord ^bJehovah is my ^cstrength and my ^dsong; he also has become my salvation.

Elders' Quorum/High Priest Group
Seeing with Spiritual Eyes
-Seeing Each other as brothers, not just seeing people as neighbors or extended family.
-Seeing people's potential

Called of God
-These are things we are called to do when we are baptized.
Mosiah 18:8-10

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 ^adesirous to come into the ^bfold 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 ^awilling to mourn with those that ^bmourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as ^cwitnesses 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 ^dfirst 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 ^abaptized in the ^bname of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a ^ccovenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?

-These are things we are called to do when we receive the priesthood.
Doctrine and Covenants 84:33-42

33 For whoso is ^afaithful unto the obtaining these two ^bpriesthoods of which I have spoken, and the ^cmagnifying their calling, are ^dsanctified by the Spirit unto the ^erenewing of their bodies.

34 They become the ^asons of Moses and of Aaron and the ^bseed of ^cAbraham, and the church and kingdom, and the ^delect of God.

35 And also all they who receive this priesthood ^areceive me, saith the Lord;

36 For he that receiveth my servants ^areceiveth me;

37 And he that ^areceiveth me receiveth my Father;

38 And he that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father’s ^akingdom; therefore ^ball that my Father hath shall be given unto him.

39 And this is according to the ^aoath and covenant which belongeth to the priesthood.

40 Therefore, all those who receive the ^apriesthood, receive this ^boath and covenant of my Father, which he cannot break, neither can it be moved.

41 But whoso breaketh this ^acovenant after he hath received it, and altogether turneth therefrom, shall ^bnot have forgiveness of sins in this world nor in the world to come.

42 And wo unto all those who come not unto this priesthood which ye have received, which I now confirm upon you who are present this day, by mine own voice out of the heavens; and even I have given the heavenly hosts and mine angels ^acharge concerning you.

Receiving Revelation
-It was brought out that we act according to our current knowledge. We should continue to seek more knowledge in order to act better and more completely.
-Things we need to do to better receive revelation and receive more of it.

• Ask
• Be clean
• Research
• Listen
• Be humble
• Be persistent
  
• Sacrifice
  

Retention
-Ephesians 2:19
Now therefore ye are no more ^astrangers and foreigners, but ^bfellowcitizens with the ^csaints, and of the ^dhousehold of God;

Sunday School
Book of Mormon - Lesson 20: “My Soul Is Pained No More” p89
At this time there werre four groups living in Zarahemla. They all united and called themselves Nephites.

• a. Limhi’s people, who were descended from Zeniff and the others who returned from Zarahemla to the land of Nephi.
  b. Alma’s people, who had broken away from the group descended from Zeniff during the reign of Noah.
  c. The Nephites who had remained in Zarahemla.
  d. The Mulekites, the original residents of Zarahemla.

Mosiah 25:7–11

7 And now, when Mosiah had made an end of reading the records, his people who tarried in the land were struck with wonder and amazement.

8 For they knew not what to think; for when they beheld those that had been delivered ^aout of bondage they were filled with exceedingly great joy.

9 And again, when they thought of their brethren who had been ^aslain by the Lamanites they were filled with sorrow, and even shed many tears of sorrow.

10 And again, when they thought of the immediate goodness of God, and his power in delivering Alma and his brethren out of the hands of the Lamanites and of ^abondage, they did raise their voices and give thanks to God.

11 And again, when they thought upon the Lamanites, who were their brethren, of their sinful and ^apolluted state, they were filled with ^bpain and anguish for the ^cwelfare of their souls.

Mosiah 26:1–4

1 Now it came to pass that there were many of the rising generation that could not understand the ^awords of king Benjamin, being little children at the time he spake unto his people; and they did ^bnot believe the tradition of their fathers.

2 They did not believe what had been said concerning the resurrection of the dead, neither did they believe concerning the coming of Christ.

3 And now because of their ^aunbelief they could not ^bunderstand the word of God; and their hearts were hardened.

4 And they would not be baptized; neither would they join the ^achurch. And they were a separate people as to their faith, and remained so ever after, even in their ^bcarnal and sinful state; for they would not call upon the Lord their God.

-We should not assume that just because our children are watching us that they are receiving our testimonies.
-Alma the younger and the sons of Mosiah were part of this rising generation that chose not to believe.
-How often do we forget the things that our fathers saw and heard and learned because we were not there or we were very young?

Testimony Meeting

General Conference Sunday Morning Session April 6, 2008

President Dieter F. UchtDorf - Second Counselor in the First Presidency (Audio, Video)

Faith of Our Father

We do not seek nor do we decline callings from God.

He related a story of President Monson climbing the stairs to the fifth floor to visit an ailing member in Hamburg, Germany after having had foot surgery. Some things are worth the hardships we have to go through to have them. This experience I think was that to President Monson.

Elder Uchtdorf said that his ancestors were an ocean away when the pioneers crossed the plains. He said that his ancestors did not settle Nauvoo or cross the plains, but he claims the heritage of those great pioneers.

He stated that there are those that do not join the Church because they do not want to dishonor the heritage of their ancestors who were of another faith.

We should be concerned with what pleases God and not what pleases our ancestors.

Elder D. Todd Chistofferson - Apostle (Audio, Video)

Born Again

He is the newest called apostle. He gave some introduction and history of himself and his family.

He spoke of an instance where a recently retired minister of another faith, who he did not know came to his home, because he was concerned for the welfare of his soul. He was concerned about this since Brother Christofferson was a member of the LDS church.

This was of interest to me since this happens very frequently to me. We received a similar letter with a DVD enclosed from a friend of my wife's family just a short time ago. Much like what was expressed by Elder Christofferson this man was sincere and I too felt appreciative of the man's interest in me. I could understand how, if he truly believed I was being led astray and my soul was in danger it took great courage and concern to reach out.

He said that one thing that he recalls about their visit was a discussion they had on being born again. Elder Christofferson noted that being born again requires a change within us and not just a one time act.

He gave some scriptures related to being born agin:
born of water and of the Spirit (see John 3:3–5).

the change from natural man to saint (see Mosiah 3:19).

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

“no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually” (Mosiah 5:2).

“We are willing to enter into a covenant with our God to do his will, and to be obedient to his commandments . . . all the remainder of our days” (Mosiah 5:5; emphasis added).

“Because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say that your hearts are changed through faith on his name” (Mosiah 5:7; see also D&C 76:24).

“And thus they become new creatures” (Mosiah 27:24–26).

"...faith unto repentance” (Alma 34:15).

Elder Sheldon F. Child - Seventy (Audio, Video)

The Best Investment

Tithing
Malachi 3:8, 10
8 ¶ ^aWill a man ^brob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In ^ctithes and offerings.

10 Bring ye all the ^atithes into the storehouse, that there may be ^bmeat in mine house, and ^cprove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not ^dopen you the ^ewindows of heaven, and pour you out a ^fblessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

Elder Sheldon stated, "The Lord asked Israel to prove Him, to test Him, to have faith in Him so that He would be able to keep His promise to them."

His mother told him that her father always told them that tithing was the best investment that one could ever make.

President Heber J. Grant stated, “I want to say to you, if you will be honest with the Lord, paying your tithing and keeping His commandments, He will not only bless you with the light and inspiration of His Holy Spirit, but you will be blessed in dollars and cents; you will be enabled to pay your debts, and the Lord will pour out temporal blessings upon you in great abundance.” (In Conference Report, Apr. 1898, 16)

Susan W. Tanner - Just released as Young Woman General President (Audio, Video)

My Soul Delighteth in the Things of the Lord

2 Nephi 4:15–16

15 And upon ^athese I ^bwrite the things of my soul, and many of the scriptures which are engraven upon the plates of brass. For my soul ^cdelighteth in the scriptures, and my heart ^dpondereth them, and writeth them for the ^elearning and the profit of my children.

16 Behold, my ^asoul delighteth in the things of the Lord; and my ^bheart pondereth continually upon the things which I have seen and heard.

She listed things of the Lord that she delights in.

President Boyd K. Packer - President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (Audio, Video)

The Twelve

“He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.”(John 14:12)

When Jesus taught that he was the Son of God many were offended by it.
"Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?" John 6:60, 66–68.

"In 1976 an area general conference was held in Copenhagen, Denmark. Following the closing session, President Spencer W. Kimball desired to visit the Vor Frue Church, where the Thorvaldsen statues of the Christus and of the Twelve Apostles stand. He had visited there some years earlier and wanted all of us to see it, to go there.

"We walked to the back of the chapel where the rest of the group was standing. Pointing to the statues, President Kimball said to the kind custodian, 'These are the dead Apostles.' Pointing to me, he said, 'Here we have the living Apostles. Elder Packer is an Apostle. Elder Thomas S. Monson and Elder L. Tom Perry are Apostles, and I am an Apostle. We are the living Apostles.

'You read about the Seventies in the New Testament, and here are two of the living Seventies, Elder Rex D. Pinegar and Elder Robert D. Hales.'" (From this talk)

President Thomas S. Monson - Prophet (Audio, Video)

Looking Back and Moving Forward

He talked about President Hickleys passing and how the Church has and will move forward.

He also talked about enduring.
"We are waging a war with sin, my brothers and sisters, but we need not despair. It is a war we can and will win. Our Father in Heaven has given us the tools we need in order to do so. He is at the helm. We have nothing to fear. He is the God of light. He is the God of hope. I testify that He loves us—each one."

Saturday March 31, 2007 - Afternoon Session of General Conference

Elder Boyd K. Pack - Apostle (Audio, Text)
He commented on music not becoming a performance, like one of the morning speakers did. He said, "...the organist, who understood that excellence does not call attention to itself...". He talked about several places in the scriptures where they talk about the Lord speaks in a still small voice and not the whirl wind and such. He cautioned against aspiring for the praises of men.

He talked of the revelations that had been revealed to the church in the tabernacle that was rededicated this weekend.

Elder Earl C. Tingey - Seventy (Audio, Text)
Prophets—Pioneer and Modern Day
He talked of Brigham Young and Gordon B. Hinckley.

Brigham Young had the Salt Lake tabernacle built. He started 3 temples and dedicated 1 shortly before he died.

"One writer said of Brigham Young: 'He led a ragged and impoverished band, stripped of virtually all their earthly goods, into an unknown territory. His critics and biographers note that the man was unique among the leaders of modern history, for he alone, without any political and financial backing, established from scratch in the desert an ordered and industrious society, having no other authority than the priesthood and the spiritual strength with which he delivered his teachings. By constant exhortations and instructions, he drew his people together and inspired them in carrying out the divine mandate to build up the kingdom of God on earth.'"

President Hinckley
"He has traveled the world, meeting kings, queens, and presidents. He has been interviewed by the world's media. He continues to bring the Church 'out of obscurity.' 9 More than 75 temples have been built in the last 12 years.

H. David Burton - Presiding Bishop (Audio, Text)
Spoke of his assignment to have the tabernacle restored. He talked of what that tabernacle has seen. He talked of the various changes that had been made to it.

Bonnie D. Parkin - Recently Released Relief Society General President (Audio, Text)
Gratitude: A Path to Happiness
Murmuring, complaining, and criticizing are ungrateful acts and do not bring happiness. They also make it difficult for the spirit to work with us.

Luke chapter 17 - Only one of the ten lepers that were healed returned to give thanks. Do we recognize things we should be grateful for in our lives and give thanks?

Elder Marlin K. Jensen - Seventy (Audio, Text)
Remember and Perish Not
We need to always remember the Lord, so that we do not fall into temptation.

"And finally, I cannot tell you all the things whereby ye may commit sin; for there are divers ways and means, even so many that I cannot number them.

"But this much I can tell you, that if ye do not watch yourselves, and your thoughts, and your words, and your deeds, and observe the commandments of God, and continue in the faith of what ye have heard concerning the coming of our Lord, even unto the end of your lives, ye must perish. And now, O man, remember, and perish not." (Mosiah 4:29–30)

We should remember the history of the church, our personal history, and our family history. We also have made covenants to always remember Christ that he may have his spirit to be with us.

President James E. Faust - 2nd Counselor to the Prophet (Audio, Text)
Salt Lake Tabernacle Rededication
His father brought him to the tabernacle as a young boy to attend priesthood meeting. He also talked about how they started preparation for a tabernacle in Nauvoo to shelter the people as they listen to the Prophet. Because of the exodus they were not able to construct one, but they had acquired a large tarp to begin it.

President Thomas S. Monson - 1st Counselor to the Prophet (Audio, Text)
Tabernacle Memories
He talked about his call to the 12 and the day that he was sustained in the tabernacle. He has given 102 addresses in the tabernacle.

President Gordon B. Hinckley - Prophet (Audio, Text)
A Tabernacle in the Wilderness
He spoke about the tabernacle and then offered a dedicatory prayer to rededicate the building after the renovation.