Church Services This Week at Sullivan Hollow Second Ward Weber Heights Stake Ogden Utah January 1-1-2012

Elders Quorum

President Monson priesthood talk from October  2011, “Dare to Stand Alone”
Doctrine and Covenants 121:36
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.


“I recently read an article in the New York Times concerning a study which took place during the summer of 2008. A distinguished Notre Dame sociologist led a research team in conducting in-depth interviews with 230 young adults across America.”
...
“The interviewers asked open-ended questions about right and wrong, moral dilemmas and the meaning of life. In the rambling answers, … you see the young people groping to say anything sensible on these matters. But they just don’t have the categories or vocabulary to do so.”


“It is impossible to associate manhood with dishonesty. To be just with one’s self, one must be honest with one’s self and with others. This means honesty in speech as well as in actions. It means to avoid telling half-truths as well as untruths. It means that we are honest in our dealings—in our buying as well as in our selling. It means that an honest debt can never be outlawed, and that a man’s word is better than his bond. It means that we will be honest in our dealings with the Lord, for ‘true honesty takes into account the claims of God as well as those of man; it renders to God the things that are God’s, as well as to man the things that are man’s.’” (President David O McKay, Conference Report, April 1968, pp. 7–8.)


“Some time ago I had occasion to visit with a man from New York City. He has been in the field of finance for many years. His associates are nationwide. During the course of our conversation, he made a remark that has given me much food for thought. He said: ‘Over the years, I have had dealings with many Mormons. I have yet to run into a dishonest one.’
“I countered by saying, ‘If a Mormon truly lives his religion, he must be honest.’ However, I indicated that I was afraid there were some who did not live their religion fully, whereupon he replied, ‘I hope I never have the shattering experience of meeting a dishonest Mormon.’” (Victor L Brown, “The Meaning of Morality”, April 1971 General Conference)


“We may at times find ourselves surrounded by others and yet standing in the minority or even standing alone concerning what is acceptable and what is not. Do we have the moral courage to stand firm for our beliefs, even if by so doing we must stand alone? . . . It is essential that we are able to face—with courage—whatever challenges come our way.”


“Make no mistake about it—you are a marked generation. …
“For nearly six thousand years, God has held you in reserve to make your appearance in the final days before the second coming of the Lord. Some individuals will fall away, but the kingdom of God will remain intact to welcome the return of its Head—even Jesus Christ.
“While this generation will be comparable in wickedness to the days of Noah, when the Lord cleansed the earth by flood, there is a major difference this time: [it is that] God has saved for the final inning some of His strongest … children, who will help bear off the kingdom triumphantly.” (Ezra Taft Benson, “In His Steps” (Church Educational System fireside, Feb. 8, 1987); see also “In His Steps,” in 1979 Devotional Speeches of the Year: BYU Devotional and Fireside Addresses (1980), 59)


““You cannot afford to do anything that would place a curtain between you and the ministering of angels in your behalf.”


Mosiah 2:41
41 And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.


Sunday School
The instructor gave a course overview much like a college class.  He said that the student study guide works as the syllabus.  He said that the introduction of the student study guide does not mention using it for Sunday school, but mentions family home evening  and other home uses.

He introduced the book of Mormon as the textbook for the year.


He recommended the October 2011 Ensign from last year that was dedicated entirely to the Book of Mormon as a good resource for this year’s class.


Moroni 10:34
34 And now I bid unto all, farewell. I soon go to rest in the paradise of God, until my spirit and body shall again reunite, and I am brought forth triumphant through the air, to meet you before the pleasing bar of the great Jehovah, the Eternal Judge of both quick and dead. Amen.
This is the final exam, when we meet Moroni at the judgement bar of Christ.


The instructor said that President Benson’s talk on The Book of Mormon - Keystone of Our Religion, given October 1986 and referenced in the October 2011 Ensign was especially good.


Doctrine and Covenants 84::section heading, 54-57
Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet, at Kirtland, Ohio, 22 and 23 September 1832 (see History of the Church,1:286–95). During the month of September, elders had begun to return from their missions in the eastern states and to make reports of their labors. It was while they were together in this season of joy that the following communication was received. The Prophet designated it a revelation on priesthood.

54 And your minds in times past have been darkened because ofunbelief, and because you have treated lightly the things you have received—
55 Which vanity and unbelief have brought the whole church under condemnation.
56 And this condemnation resteth upon the children of Zion, even all.
57 And they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments which I have given them, not only to say, but to do according to that which I have written—

“Has the fact that we have had the Book of Mormon with us for over a century and a half made it seem less significant to us today? Do we remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon? In the Bible we have the Old Testament and the New Testament. The word testament is the English rendering of a Greek word that can also be translated as covenant. Is this what the Lord meant when He called the Book of Mormon the ‘new covenant’? It is indeed another testament or witness of Jesus. This is one of the reasons why we have recently added the words “Another Testament of Jesus Christ” to the title of the Book of Mormon.”
…
“...the Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion. This was the Prophet Joseph Smith’s statement. He testified that “the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion” (Introduction to the Book of Mormon). A keystone is the central stone in an arch. It holds all the other stones in place, and if removed, the arch crumbles.

“There are three ways in which the Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion. It is the keystone in our witness of Christ. It is the keystone of our doctrine. It is the keystone of testimony.” (President Ezra Taft Benson)


Reading is thinking guided by lines and squiggles.


We gain a testimony of Joseph Smith as a prophet by reading the Book of Mormon.  We gain a testimony of Christ by reading the Book of Mormon.  The Book of Mormon was written for our day.

“It is not just that the Book of Mormon teaches us truth, though it indeed does that. It is not just that the Book of Mormon bears testimony of Christ, though it indeed does that, too. But there is something more. There is a power in the book which will begin to flow into your lives the moment you begin a serious study of the book. You will find greater power to resist temptation. You will find the power to avoid deception. You will find the power to stay on the strait and narrow path. The scriptures are called ‘the words of life’ ( D&C 84:85 ), and nowhere is that more true than it is of the Book of Mormon. When you begin to hunger and thirst after those words, you will find life in greater and greater abundance” (President Ezra Taft Benson, in Conference Report, Oct. 1986, 6; or Ensign, Nov. 1986, 7 ).

Sacrament Service
As we set goals and work to fulfill those goals we grow closer to Christ's commandment of "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48)

Moses 1:39 - God has set forth what his goal is.
39 For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.

“I feel that goal-setting is absolutely necessary for happy living. But the goal is only part of the desired procedures. We need to know which roads to take to reach the goal. … [People] need to make commitments with themselves by writing down their goals and keeping a record of the fulfillment of their achievements” (Bishop John H. Vandenberg, in Conference Report, Apr. 1966, 94; or Improvement Era, June 1966, 534).

Goals give us purpose and direction in our life.


Changing the world happens one person at a time.

A smoker cannot quit smoking until he decides he is done smoking and then acts to stop.  The same is true for adding good habits.  We can not do some good habit until we decide that we are going to do it and take steps to do so.

Church Services This Week at Sullivan Hollow Second Ward Weber Heights Stake Ogden Utah December 12-18-2011

Elders Quorum
Elder oaks conference talk - Teachings of Jesus
“When you consider all of the things the Savior has done for us, don’t you have many reasons to come back to church to worship and serve Him?”

Ask yourself how the savior is the light and life of the world.

Sunday School
Revelation
We are in the sixth seal
Seal 1 - creation/fall
Seal 2 - Noah and the floor
Seal 3 - the reign of the judges/the time of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
Seal 4 - the reign of the kings/division of the land
Seal 5 - apostasy/dark ages
Seal 6 - the restoration/the last days
Seal 7 - the millennium


2 Timothy 3:1-4
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

In a perilous situation is it smart to go without the tools we need to survive?


The book of Revelation speaks of the beast with 12 horns.  It is the twelve tribes of Israel.

When the first seal is opened a white horse comes forth.  The earth was pure at the opening of the first seal.

At the opening of the second seal the red horse comes forward.  Satan was loosed on the earth after the fall At that time of the flood the world was very violent.  The flood was to cleanse it.

The third seal brings forth a black horse.  This was famine and hunger.  During this seal the law become pressing down on the people.

The fourth seal brought forth a pale horse.  The kingdoms become divided and there is death and war.


Speaking of the war in Heaven, ““That war, so bitter, so intense, has gone on, and it has never ceased. It is the war between truth and error, between agency and compulsion, between the followers of Christ and those who have denied Him.” (President Gordon B Hinckley, in Conference Report, Oct. 1986, 55)


“The elders of Israel are now issuing the invitations to the marriage supper of the Lord; those who believe and obey the gospel thereby accept the invitation and shall sit in due course … at the marriage feast” (Elder Bruce R McConkie, Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3 vols. [1966–73], 3:563–64).

The invitation is given to all men and accepted at baptism.


“Each day the forces of evil and the forces of good enlist new recruits. Each day we personally make many decisions showing the cause we support.” (President Ezra Taft Benson, “In His Steps,” Ensign, Sept. 1988, 2)


Sacrament Service
A couple that just returned from a mission to Nauvoo spoke to us.

One of the missionaries talked about a Jewish lady that came to visit Nauvoo.  The Jewish lady talked about how our two peoples shared some of the same persecutions.


In Jesus' day Herod built a temple for the Jews, but it was for a status symbol for Herod and not for the work of the Lord.

Church Services This Week at Sullivan Hollow Second Ward Weber Heights Stake Ogden Utah December 12-11-2011

Priesthood Opening
The Church has a mentoring program for assisting people with finding employment.  At first when I heard about this program I thought of a mentor as someone that has years and years of experience in something or a degree in something who would guide someone in doing what they do.

While being mentored by someone who does what you do or aspire to do is a good thing, I think there is another important definition that is important.

A mentor, I think, is someone that encourages us to pursue our goals and helps us find ways to accomplish them.  A mentor takes an interest in a person’s goals and helps them evaluate mold those goals.

As I have thought about mentoring I have thought about how we could be of more service to our families, extended families, home teaching families, our friends, and our neighbors by being a mentor to them.

Sometimes the encouragement is as a cheerleader and sometimes it is through researching their needs and giving them input.

Elders Quorum
Exhaltation
Degrees of glory that we can obtain based on how we want to live our lives:

• Celestial - Like the sun - Is hot and bright and gives light and warmth to millions of miles.
• Terrestrial - Like the moon - Gives some light on a dark night, but has some dark spots and is cold.
• Telestial - like the stars - one can see their light but they don't really light anything up and they give no warmth.

“In order to obtain the exaltation we must accept the gospel and all its covenants; and take upon us the obligations which the Lord has offered; and walk in the light and the understanding of the truth; and ‘live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God’” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 2:43).


Exhalation, being like god, happens not because we want God's power or comforts, but because we love like he does and are dedicated to duty as much as he is.


Moroni 7:6
 6 For behold, God hath said a man being evil cannot do that which is good; for if he offereth a gift, or prayeth unto God, except he shall do it with real intent it profiteth him nothing.

Sunday School
The book of Revelation
What does revelation mean?  Revealing something that was hidden.

It was given by revelation, so it can only be understood by revelation.


It is possible that at the time that the revelation was given to John, Peter was dead and John may be the chief apostle or president of the church.


Revelation 1:4
4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;

Joseph Smith’s translation of Revelation 1:4
4 Now this is the testimony of John to the seven servants who are over the seven churches in Asia. Grace unto you, and peace from him who is, and who was, and who is to come; who hath sent forth his angel from before his throne, to testify unto those who are the seven servants over the seven churches.

These are the bishops of those units of the church.


Jesus “I am alpha and omega” is similar to saying He is or covers everything
from a to z.


Revelation 2:1-2
1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;
2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:

The seven candle sticks are the churches or containers of the light.  When he refers to candle stick he likely means the holder of the candle and not the wax and wick.

The stars are the leaders or bishops of the churches.

Are we supposed to understand the book of revelation?  Yes, that is why the lord revealed it.


Revelation 4:4
4 And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.


Doctrine and Covenants 77:5
5
Q. What are we to understand by the four and twenty elders, spoken of by John?
A. We are to understand that these elders whom John saw, were elders who had been faithful in the work of the ministry and were dead; who belonged to the seven churches, and were then in the paradise of God.


The elders had belonged to the seven children and had died.  Perhaps former bishops or stake presidents or elders quorum presidents.


Revelation 5:Heading
“John sees the book sealed with seven seals”

These are dispensations of time - past, present, and future.

Sacrament Service
One of the women in the young women presidency that didn't speak last week
shared her scripture hero.  She chose Mary the mother of Jesus.

She talked of the strength of Mary's testimony and of her dedication to obedience.

"Everyone who has served a mission can testify of the tremendous happiness that comes of service to others.” (President Gordon B Hinckley, “I Believe”, Ensign August 1992)


Mosiah 2:17
 17 And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.
Service of your fellow beings - find scripture

The boy scout slogan is "do a good turn daily" It isn't the size of the good turn that matters.  It is the good and the daily that matters.


“Heaven knows there are so very, very, very many people in this world who need help. Oh, so very . . . many. Let's get the cankering, selfish attitude out of our lives, my brothers and sisters, and stand a little taller and reach a little higher in the service of others." (Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley (1997), 597)


From the Bulletin

“lt is not enough merely to speak of Jesus Christ or proclaim that we are His disciples. It is not enough to surround ourselves with symbols of our religion. Discipleship is not a spectator sport.

...We cannot receive the blessings of the gospel merely by observing the good that others do.” President Dieter F. Uchtciorf, The Way of the Disciple, Ensign, May 2009, 76 — 77.

Church Services This Week at Sullivan Hollow Second Ward Weber Heights Stake Ogden Utah December 12-4-2011

Elders Quorum

The lesson was based on “The Privilege of Prayer” by Elder J. Devn Cornish given in the Sunday Afternoon session of the October 2011 General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Why do we have to ask for the things we need or want?  Why do we need to exercise to be healthy?  That is how life works.  God knows what we need to grow.  Thinking and praying about our needs and wants and
keeping God in it is the way we grow.


"The object of prayer is not to change the will of God, but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that are made conditional on our asking for them." (“Prayer”, Bible Dictionary)


We can't always see through foresight.  We usually have to follow God's pattern and then view the results of our obedience to how things work with hindsight.


Do not pray like you are leaving a message.  Take time to pause and listen.


Prayers are not always answered the way we want.  Sometimes we are required to go through the trial as a part of our growth process. Sometimes the things we want will get in the way of better things God
has for us.  If we pray for a certain job maybe it will keep us from pursuing a better one He has for us

Sunday School
1, 2, and 3 John
This John is the one who wrote the book of Revelation.  He is also the one called beloved.  He was also in the first presidency after Christ died (Peter, James, and John).  He is also the John that never died and is
still ministering today.  He also wrote the gospel of John.

Doctrine and Covenants 7:1-3
1 And the Lord said unto me: John, my beloved, what desirest thou? For if you shall ask what you will, it shall be granted unto you.
2 And I said unto him: Lord, give unto me power over death, that I may live and bring souls unto thee.
3 And the Lord said unto me: Verily, verily, I say unto thee, because thou desirest this thou shalt tarry until I come in my glory, and shalt prophesy before nations, kindreds, tongues and people.


Luke wrote a missionary tract.  John wrote advanced stuff to the saints.  Matthew wrote a missionary tract, but specifically to the Jews.


John did not introduce himself in his epistles.  Paul generally introduced himself.


1 John 1:6-7
6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

If we walk in ignorance after receiving the holy ghost then we are foolish and need to change our lives.  If we stumble through our lives without feeling the guidance of the Holy Ghost, then we are lying to ourselves and pretending to be right with God.

Live the gospel as conspicuously as you can. Keep the covenants your children know you have made. Give priesthood blessings. And bear your testimony!  Don’t just assume your children will somehow get the drift of your beliefs on their own. (Elder Jeffrey R Holland, “A Prayer for the Children”, General Conference April 2003)




From the Bulletin

“Our personal testimony is a protective shield, and like an iron rod it is guiding us safely through darkness and confusion."

“A testimony motivates us to choose the right at all times and in ail circumstances. It motivates us to draw nearer to God, allowing Him to draw nearer to us (see James 4:8)".

“Just as the Lord knew Nephi, God knows us and loves us. This is our time; these are our days. We are where the action is. Our firm personal testimony will motivate us to change ourselves and then bless the world.” President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, The Power of a Personal Testimony, October 2006.

First Presidency Christmas Devotional

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Of Curtains, Contentment, and Christmas”

"Christmas and some of the cherished traditions of the season remind us that we, like the Wise Men of old, should seek the Christ and lay before Him the most precious of gifts: a broken heart and a contrite spirit."

"We cannot offer Him the gift of perfection in all things because this is a gift beyond our capacity to give—at least for now. The Lord does not expect that we commit to move mountains. But He does require that we bring as gifts our best efforts to move ourselves, one foot in front of the other, walking in the ways He has prepared and taught."

“[The Savior’s gifts to us] may be the most one-sided gift exchange in the history of the universe.”

My thoughts:  The best gift exchange are ones that are one sided.  The gifts I enjoy most are the ones that are given me with nothing expected in return. The giving I enjoy most are given without receiving anything in

return.

President Henry B. Eyring, “The Gifts of Christmas”

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.

Helaman 14:3-4

3 And behold, this will I give unto you for a sign at the time of his coming; for behold, there shall be great lights in heaven, insomuch that in the night before he cometh there shall be no darkness, insomuch that it shall appear unto man as if it was day.
4 Therefore, there shall be one day and a night and a day, as if it were one day and there were no night; and this shall be unto you for a sign; for ye shall know of the rising of the sun and also of its setting; therefore they shall know of a surety that there shall be two days and a night; nevertheless the night shall not be darkened; and it shall be the night before he is born.

President Thomas S Monson, “Because He Came”

"The spirit of Christmas is the spirit of love and of generosity and of goodness. It illuminates the picture window of the soul, and we look out upon the world’s busy life and become more interested in people than in things."

"...when we keep the spirit of Christmas, we keep the Spirit of Christ, for the Christmas spirit is the Christ Spirit. It will block out all the distractions around us which can diminish Christmas and swallow up its true meaning.."