Church Services This Week at Ridge Crest Ward Northridge Stake Layton Utah 30 August 2015

Sacrament Service

The theme of all meetings today was the sabbath day.

The high priest group leadership spoke to us.

The last general conference was ended by a talk on the sabbath by Elder Russell M Nelson.

“What did the Savior mean when He said that ‘the sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath’?2 I believe He wanted us to understand that the Sabbath was His gift to us, granting real respite from the rigors of daily life and an opportunity for spiritual and physical renewal. God gave us this special day, not for amusement or daily labor but for a rest from duty, with physical and spiritual relief.”

Ezekiel 20:12

12 Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them.

"Our observance or nonobservance of the Sabbath is an unerring measure of our attitude toward the Lord personally and toward his suffering in Gethsemane, his death on the cross, and his resurrection from the dead. It is a sign of whether we are Christians in very deed, or whether our conversion is so shallow that commemoration of his atoning sacrifice means little or nothing to us." (Mark E Peterson, The Sabbath Day, General Conference April 1975)

Exodus 20

8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:

10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God:in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

Exodus 31:12-17

 12 ¶ And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

 13 Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you.

 14 Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.

 15 Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.

 16 Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.

 17 It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.

“The Sabbath is a holy day in which to do worthy and holy things. Abstinence from work and recreation is important, but insufficient. The Sabbath calls for constructive thoughts and acts, and if one merely lounges about doing nothing on the Sabbath, he is breaking it.” (Spencer W Kimball, Ensign, Jan. 1978, 4)

Doctrine and Covenants 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;

The sacrament is the only ordinance we perform repeatedly for ourselves.

Sabbath day observance is critical to strengthen our families and our marriages.  If we have a child or a marriage that is struggling, one area we could look at helping with that is our sabbath observance.

We witness when we take the sacrament not that we do keep his commandments,  but that we are willing to. Thus we will keep trying and getting stronger.

Sunday School

My lesson on “How can I teach others how to do family history work?”

{

Invite the youth to share experiences they have had applying something they learned in a previous lesson.
Invite the youth to share experiences in which they have helped someone learn how to use technology (such as a computer, a cell phone, or a similar device).

Have one of the youth show the rest of the class how to use FamilySearch Tree.  Have one of the youth show the rest of the class how to use FamilySearch Indexing.  Show the youth how to use Puzzilla.

Show the youth the list of titles of the videos in the “Serve” section of the Youth and Family History website. Ask them to select one they would like to watch to learn how to help others do family history work. Watch the video as a class, and ask the youth to think of people they could help in the ways described in the video. Encourage them to make plans to help these people and discuss their plans as a class.

}

Joint Priesthood /Relief Society Meeting

Doctrine and Covenants 59:9-10

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;

In order to increase reverence in the chapel or in our home in Sunday we should look at how we conduct the rest of our week. Is reverence hard on Sunday because it was not enough a part of our life the rest of the week?

We watch several videos from the church's website about how to do the sabbath for different groups in the ward.

Church Services This Week at Sullivan Hollow 2nd Ward Weber Heights Stake Ogden Utah 23 August 2015

Sacrament Service

A brother shared a story about his family history and how his ancestors came to Ogden.

The mother of a missionary going on a mission to Saint Louis, Missouri spoke the to us.

She shared her testimony about all the temple work that has been done for her family since 2012 and all the temples she and her daughter have been to.

The sister going on a mission spoke to us.

What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up this morning?  Was it how hungry you were?  Was your first thought that your had to go to the bathroom? Was your thought about the weird dream you had? Did you think about the Lord?

Where are you putting your loyalty? Is your loyalty with the Lord or the world?

We need to be totally committed to the Lord, not just for three hours on Sunday.

Satan knows us very well and he will do what it takes to keep us from doing good.

Good habits put us on autopilot, so we don't have to decide each time and they lessen Satan's power.

“I wish that every Latter-day Saint could say and mean it with all his heart: ‘I’ll go where you want me to go. I’ll say what you want me to say. I’ll be what you want me to be’ [see Hymns, no. 270]. If we could all do that, we would be assured of the maximum of happiness here and exaltation in the celestial kingdom of God hereafter.” (The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson (1988), 344)

Sunday School

New Testament Lesson 33

What is a talent you have that you haven't used in a while?

While the spirit can move upon you add the Lord needs, generally having the spirit and gifts of the spirit are an active thing, just like keeping our talents sharp and alive.

Speaking in tongues is for edifying. (1 Corinthians 14)

We can dispute a point without being disagreeable. We can defend our position without acting in a way that chases away the spirit.

Elders Quorum

D Todd Christofferson April 2015 general conference talk, Why Marriage, Why Family

Love is when someone else's happiness is essential to your own.

Many more young people are delaying marriage. Why is that?

How do you define love to a six year old? How do you define marriage?

A worthy life goal is to live in such a way to greet Christ after this life without anxiety.

Church Services This Week at Ridge Crest Ward Northridge Stake Layton Utah 16 August 2015

Sacrament Service

A sister that just returned from a summer performing mission to Nauvoo, IL spoke to us.

Moses 7:69

69 And Enoch and all his people walked with God, and he dwelt in the midst of Zion; and it came to pass that Zion was not, for God received it up into his own bosom; and from thence went forth the saying, Zion is Fled.

The sister that served in Nauvoo expressed that she was concerned that she wasn't crying as she portrayed these characters from church history. She said these were such hard trials and she didn't know why it wasn't making her cry. She spoke to another missionary and was told that the missionary felt that the early Saints were not about tears. She said they were about strength and determination.

She said one of the lines from one of the shows was,  "west is a direction and not a destination." .They were told to travel west,  but did not know where they were going to stop.  We often have trials or inspiration which we do not know where or when it will end. We may not know where we will end up.

A high councilman spoke to us. His son was in a car crash this weekend and broke his neck and back and had a severe head injury. We prayed often at youth conference for him.

At first they thought they were going to have a funeral this weekend. Then he stabilized, but they thought he would be paralyzed.

The hospital called before our sacrament service and they said the son had woke up and finally knew where he was.  He was asking where his dad was.  They examined him again and said that his neck is still broken, but he is not paralyzed and should be fine.

Sunday School

My teaching partner gave a lesson on the importance of marriage.

He asked the question “How would you teach The Family.: A Proclamation to the World to a non member?”.

He split the class into two and had one talk about family and one talk about marriage.

Elders Quorum

Teachings of Presidents of the Church:  Ezra Taft Benson chapter 16

Pay attention when the elderly talk. We can learn from their triumphs as well as from their mistakes.

Stay active when you are young to enjoy a good level of mental and physical activity as we age.

Parents should find ways to connect their parents with their children. It is good for the grandparents, but also for the child.  If we wait for grandchildren to be engaged with being interested in their grandparents life and history the grandparents may be gone.

Church Services This Week at Ridge Crest Ward Northridge Stake Layton Utah 9 August 2015

Sacrament Service

One of the youth shared a list of ways to enhance your scripture study.  I was too slow to capture her suggestions in my notes.

A missionary that recently returned from the Anaheim California Mission spoke to us.

1 Nephi 6:4-6

4 For the fulness of mine intent is that I may persuade men to come unto the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, and be saved.

5 Wherefore, the things which are pleasing unto the world I do not write, but the things which are pleasing unto God and unto those who are not of the world.

6 Wherefore, I shall give commandment unto my seed, that they shall not occupy these plates with things which are not of worth unto the children of men.

2 Nephi 32:3-5

3 Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.

4 Wherefore, now after I have spoken these words, if ye cannot understand them it will be because ye ask not, neither do ye knock; wherefore, ye are not brought into the light, but must perish in the dark.

5 For behold, again I say unto you that if ye will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all things what ye should do.

Sunday School

My lesson on Why is it important to learn about my family history?

{

What did we talk about last week in class?  Or even something that stood out from some of the other lessons that you found useful.

Do you have any questions from your personal study or anything you would like to share?
 
Why is it important to learn about your family history?

Family History is so important that the Church puts a lot of time and money into family history research. It also puts a lot of focus on us doing our family history work.

For example:

There is a world wide indexing event going on right now that started Friday and goes all this week.

The Church would like to break the record for the number of indexers indexing in a week.  The previous record was 91,721.  They would like to get 100,000 volunteers this week. It's not about doing a ton of names or batches. This is about the number of people doing anything on indexing.

How many of you are doing indexing?

Another push the church is doing is Elder Anderson's temple challenge. Do you remember what he challenged the youth to do?

The challenge is to prepare as many names for the temple as baptisms you perform in the temple, and help someone else to do the same.

Accomplish the Challenge

FIND: Find a Name to Take to the Temple

TAKE: Complete Temple Ordinances for Your Ancestor

Share the Challenge

TEACH: Share your experience with friends and family.

So why is it so important to learn about your family history, your ancestors?

John 3:5

5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

If there was not a way prepared, then those that died without baptism would not be able to enter the kingdom of God.

1 Peter. 3:18-20

18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.

Those that don't have the gospel and have not been baptized by someone authorized by God are stuck and can't progress when they die, like being in prison. When Christ died he went and preached to those spirits that were stuck like that. We have the opportunity to be baptized for those spirits, so they can choose if they want to accept baptism and be prepared for the resurrection.

1 Peter 4:6

6 For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.

Everyone must be given the chance to choose to accept what Jesus has given them.

We've talked about before that everyone has certain apostles they really like to listen to. I like to listen to Elder Oaks because he is forceful and direct. Some like Elder Holland and president Uchtdorf for similar reasons and because he is funny.

Elder Scott is the exact opposite for me. It is really hard for me to listen to him speak. What I have found though is that he usually has very powerful and useful things to say.  So don't give up on speakers that are hard for you to listen to. Maybe they don't say it the way you like. Maybe their voice bugs you. Maybe they put you to sleep. Just know there are those whose style don't work for us, who have great things in their talks if we hang in there with them.

Elder Scott in October 2012 general conference said, "This glorious doctrine [of baptism for the dead] is another witness of the all-encompassing nature of the Atonement of Jesus Christ."

It is amazing to me as I study how much was done through the atonement. On the surface I think the atonement is he allowed for us to be resurrected and to repent, which is huge by itself. Then I remember that part of the atonement is opening spirit prison to allow for preaching the gospel to the dead. Additionally the atonement allows temple work to be done for those who accept the gospel there. The more you peel the layers of the atonement, there is so much more to it at every turn.

Elder Bednar said this "Many of you may think family history work is to be performed primarily by older people. But I know of no age limit described in the scriptures or guidelines announced by Church leaders restricting this important service to mature adults. You are sons and daughters of God, children of the covenant, and builders of the kingdom. You need not wait until you reach an arbitrary age to fulfill your responsibility to assist in the work of salvation for the human family."

We watched a couple of videos from the lesson.

When I was a youth they talked to us about us being a chosen generation and like the army of Helaman. Now today the Lord says the same to you as well, except that he is mobilizing your army in greater strength and with more powerful tools to fight adversary.

He had raised the bar on what is expected of young people. He has lowered the missionary age. He has brought forth amazing technologies in our homes and in our pockets. This truly is your day to do a marvelous work.

As Elder Bednar said that it use to be older people being experts on Genealogy. Today the tools are so advanced that many older people don't know how to do genealogy as well. You are the ones that know how to collaborate on social media and to use search engines like Google to find information about your and others ancestors. You know how to use computers to pull information out of documents and enter them to be searchable to the world through indexing.

Help the kids make pedigree charts.

}

Elders Quorum

Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Ezra Taft Benson chapter 15

Go on daddy daughter dates. They will see how a man should treat a woman and what they should expect from the guys they date.

Many women have bad male role models and so they expect bad things from men. We need them to expect good things and when they see bad things in the guys they date they know they need leave that relationship before it becomes a marriage.

Church Services This Week at Ridge Crest Ward Northridge Stake Layton Utah 2 August 2015

Sacrament Service

Stake Theme:

Paying a generous fast offering, evaluate your offerings and adjust if needed.

Reference Scripture: Isaiah 58

Reference Talk: Fast Offering: Fulfilling our Responsibilities to Others - Victor L. Brown - May 1981

Link to lds.org: https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2011-05-50-fast-offerings-the-jerry-foote-family?lang=eng

One of the speakers quoted from Ezra Taft Benson,The Power of the Word, April 1986 General Conference

Sunday School

Lesson on Journals

Nephi was commanded to keep two journals. One was scripture and one was history.

Nephi was commanded to go get the records that were kept by his people so the people would remember what happened. We keep journals so we and our descendants will remember.

Elders Quorum

Handout on Beacon of Light

Belief is an instigator to faith. Faith is the check on what we really believe. If we really believe we will act in faith. If we are not acting in faith then what do we really believe?

Obedience shows our faith.

Church Services This Week at Ridge Crest Ward Northridge Stake Layton Utah 26 July 2015

Sacrament Service

What are some ways we can show compassion?

“We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes.” (Charles R. Swindoll)

“But the pioneers did not work only because they had to, he said. “In the process, their labors enlarged their character and broadened their understanding. Work diminished their natural tendencies toward self-love and magnified their understanding of their divine nature. It heightened their compassion for others. In the labors of each day, they discovered and solidified an inner strength and profound spiritual depth.” (President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, All Is Well, July 13, 2014, Pioneer Days Celebration in Ogden, Utah)

"Work is a blessing from God. It is a fundamental principle of salvation, both spiritual and temporal." (J Richard Clarke, The Value of Work, April 1982 General Conference)

Moses 4:23

23 And unto Adam, I, the Lord God, said: Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the fruit of the tree of which I commanded thee, saying—Thou shalt not eat of it, cursed shall be the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life.

"1. As Latter-day Saints, if we would be true to our religion, we must perform high-quality work. It is a matter of integrity. Every piece of work we do is a portrait of the one who produced it. We are increasingly concerned with the diminishing quality of work in our society. On every hand we see shoddy workmanship for which full compensation is expected, whether the product meets acceptable standards or not. We must be motivated by a higher ideal than simply meeting the artificial standard of a society which has allowed inferior performance to be acceptable. That is not the Mormon ethic. In times of unemployment, Latter-day Saints who practice the work principles of our religion should be in great demand.

“Let us give full, honest effort to our jobs as though we owned the enterprise. In a very real sense, each of us is in business for ourselves, no matter who pays us. Be honest with your employer. Make sure that “the laborer is worthy of his hire.” (D&C 84:79.) Our employers should get the best we have in us, not just enough to get by or to meet common standards. Each of us should set a personal standard based upon our ability. Let us exemplify the old pioneer motto: A Full Day’s Work for a Full Day’s Pay."

…

“ Look to your present job as a stepping-stone along your career path. Take time to think. The dimensions of most jobs are constrained only by the mind of the uncreative worker. I like what one businessman counseled: ‘If at first you do succeed, try something harder!’”

…

“To teach our children to work is a primary duty of parenthood.”

…

“Fortunate is the young man or woman who has learned how to work. Wise is the parent who requires children to learn responsibility and to meet acceptable performance standards.” (J Richard Clarke, The Value of Work, April 1982 General Conference)

Sunday School

My teaching partner’s lesson on sacrament meeting.

“How we dress is an important indicator of our attitude and preparation for any activity in which we will engage. If we are going swimming or hiking or playing on the beach, our clothing, including our footwear, will indicate this. The same should be true of how we dress when we are to participate in the ordinance of the sacrament. It is like going to the temple. Our manner of dress indicates the degree to which we understand and honor the ordinance in which we will participate.

"During sacrament meeting—and especially during the sacrament service—we should concentrate on worship and refrain from all other activities, especially from behavior that could interfere with the worship of others. Even a person who slips into quiet slumber does not interfere with others. Sacrament meeting is not a time for reading books or magazines. Young people, it is not a time for whispered conversations on cell phones or for texting persons at other locations. When we partake of the sacrament, we make a sacred covenant that we will always remember the Savior. How sad to see persons obviously violating that covenant in the very meeting where they are making it.” (Elder Dallin H Oaks, Sacrament Meeting and the Sacrament, October 2008 General Conference)

Elders Quorum

The lesson was based on Elder Dallin H Oaks April 2015 General Conference talk,The Parable of the Sower

Church Services This Week at Ridge Crest Ward Northridge Stake Layton Utah 19 July 2015

Sacrament Service

A missionary that recently returned from the Texas McCallum mission spoke to us.

In Layton we have 8 temples within an hour of us. How often are we going to the temple?

Doctrine and Covenants 130:18

18 Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection.

19 And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come.

20 There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated—

21 And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.

Doctrine and Covenants 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;

Animals have spots to hide them or blend them in with their surroundings. We are asked to not blend in, but to stand out as different from the rest of the world.

“Because I love you, I am going to speak to you heart to heart, without mincing words. I have seen that many times individuals have made great sacrifices to go to a distant temple. But when a temple is built close by, within a short time, many do not visit it regularly. I have a suggestion: When a temple is conveniently nearby, small things may interrupt your plans to go to the temple. Set specific goals, considering your circumstances, of when you can and will participate in temple ordinances. Then do not allow anything to interfere with that plan."

...

• "Leave sufficient time to be unhurried within the temple walls.
• Rotate activities so that you can participate in all of the ordinances of the temple.
• Remove your watch when you enter a house of the Lord." (Elder Richard G Scott, Temple Worship: The Source of Strength and Power in Times of Need, April 2009 General Conference)

What am I going to learn in the temple today?

Pray for the individual you are doing work die in the temple.

Sunday School

My lesson on How can I prepare to receive temple ordinances?

{

What did we talk about last week?

Is there anything you would like to share from your gospel studies this week?

How can I prepare to receive temple ordinances?

Show the kids some temple cards and have them notice the ordinances.

Go through the ordinances as described in:

Preparing to Enter the House of the Lord, Ensign July 2015

The same article is in the New Era. Have the kids read from the New Era.

}

Elders Quorum

Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Ezra Taft Benson chapter 14

How can we make our families our top priority in our lives?

Plan for activities, otherwise there are plenty of other things that will fill our time.

"Marriage and family life are ordained of God."

Moses 5:1-2,4,12,16

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.

4 And Adam and Eve, his wife, called upon the name of the Lord, and they heard the voice of the Lord from the way toward the Garden of Eden, speaking unto them, and they saw him not; for they were shut out from his presence.

12 And Adam and Eve blessed the name of God, and they made all things known unto their sons and their daughters.

16 And Adam and Eve, his wife, ceased not to call upon God. And Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bare Cain, and said: I have gotten a man from the Lord; wherefore he may not reject his words. But behold, Cain hearkened not, saying: Who is the Lord that I should know him?