Come Unto Him

Today Sister Kate Livingstone blessed us with a wonderful lesson in Relief Society about President Eyring's talk"Come to Me."  This talk was given during April 2013 General Conference. Here we will share some quotes from the talk and an outline we made in class. 

"By His words and His example, Christ has shown us how to draw closer to Him"

Quotes from "Come Unto Me" President Eyring

HE INVITES US: This is His Church. We take His name upon us as we enter His kingdom. He is God, the Creator, and perfect. We are mortals subject to death and sin. Yet in His love for us and our families, He invites us to be close to Him. Here are His words: “Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you."

Class Notes

-we need to take a step in faith and Christ will reach out

-invite others to take a step

-if we need kindness show it first to others and we will feel the Saviors love

-leave the past in the past and move forward. The Savior will be there with open arms.

-have faith to put the Lord first

OBEDIENCE TO THE COMMANDMENTS: Attending a sacrament meeting: I experienced the joy of coming closer to the Savior and of His coming closer to me most often through simple acts of obedience to the commandments.

You have had such experiences. It may have been when you chose to attend a sacrament meeting. It was for me on a Sabbath when I was very young. In those days we received the sacrament during an evening meeting. The memory of one day more than 65 years ago, when I kept the commandment to gather with my family and with the Saints, still draws me closer to the Savior.

It was dark and cold outside. I remember feeling light and warmth in the chapel that evening with my parents. We partook of the sacrament, administered by Aaronic Priesthood holders, covenanting with our Heavenly Father to always remember His Son and keep His commandments.

At the end of the meeting we sang the hymn “Abide with Me; ’Tis Eventide,” with the words in it “O Savior, stay this night with me.”3

I felt the Savior’s love and closeness that evening. And I felt the comfort of the Holy Ghost.

Class Notes:

-keep the commandments

-attend sacrament meeting

-keep the word of wisdom

SEARCHING THE SCRIPTURES:I wanted to rekindle once again the feelings of the love of the Savior and His closeness I felt during that sacrament meeting in my youth. So recently I kept another commandment. I searched in the scriptures. In them, I knew I could go back again to have the Holy Ghost let me feel what two disciples of the risen Lord had felt when He accepted their invitation to come into their home and to abide with them.

I read of the third day after His Crucifixion and burial. Faithful women and others found the stone rolled away from the tomb and saw that His body was not there. They had come out of love for Him to anoint His body.

Two angels stood by and asked why they were afraid, saying:

“Why seek ye the living among the dead?

“He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee,

“Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.”4

The Gospel of Mark adds the direction from one of the angels: “But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you.

The Apostles and disciples had gathered in Jerusalem. As we might have been, they were afraid and wondered as they spoke together about what death and reports of His being resurrected meant for them.

Two of the disciples walked that afternoon from Jerusalem on the road to Emmaus. The resurrected Christ appeared on the road and walked with them. The Lord had come to them.

Class Notes

-search the scriptures

-music

SURRENDER & REPENT: “Indifference to the Savior or failure to keep the commandments of God brings about insecurity, inner turmoil, and contention. These are the opposite of peace. Peace can come to an individual only by an unconditional surrender—surrender to him who is the Prince of Peace, who has power to confer peace. One may live in beautiful and peaceful surroundings but, because of inner dissension and discord, be in a state of constant turmoil. On the other hand, one may be in the midst of utter destruction and the bloodshed of war and yet have the serenity of unspeakable peace. If we look to man and the ways of the world, we will find turmoil and confusion. If we will but turn to God, we will find peace for the restless soul."

When we face stormy seas and high winds, we may be tempted to ask, “Carest thou not that [I] perish?” (Mark 4:38). We know that the Savior has power to calm our storms, but sometimes He calms our souls instead. As the hymn says, “He answers privately.”

(Elder Paul V. Johnson)

BE WITNESSES: We are under covenant both to lift up those in need and to be witnesses of the Savior as long as we live.

We will be able to do it without fail only as we feel love for the Savior and His love for us. As we are faithful to the promises we have made, we will feel our love for Him. It will increase because we will feel His power and His drawing near to us in His service.

President Thomas S. Monson has reminded us often of the promise of the Lord to His faithful disciples: “And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.”

Class Note
-be worthy

DEVOTED SERVICE: 

There is another way you and I have felt Him grow closer to us. As we give devoted service to Him, He draws closer to those we love in our families. Every time I have been called in the Lord’s service to move or to leave my family, I have come to see that the Lord was blessing my wife and my children. He prepared loving servants of His and opportunities to draw my family closer to Him.

You have felt that same blessing in your lives. Many of you have loved ones who are wandering off the path to eternal life. You wonder what more you can do to bring them back. You can depend on the Lord to draw closer to them as you serve Him in faith.

There is a glorious homecoming prepared for us. We will then see fulfilled the promise of the Lord we have loved. It is He who welcomes us into eternal life with Him and our Heavenly Father. Jesus Christ described it this way:

“Seek to bring forth and establish my Zion. Keep my commandments in all things.

“And, if you keep my commandments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God.”

“For those that live shall inherit the earth, and those that die shall rest from all their labors, and their works shall follow them; and they shall receive a crown in the mansions of my Father, which I have prepared for them.”

I testify that we can by the Spirit follow the invitation of Heavenly Father: “This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!”

By His words and His example, Christ has shown us how to draw closer to Him. Every child of Heavenly Father who has chosen to enter through the gate of baptism into His Church will have the opportunity in this life to be taught His gospel and to hear from His called servants His invitation, “Come unto me.”
Class Notes

-accept your callings

-do what the Lord has asked and your family and loved ones will be watched over

The outline we created during the lesson:

WAYS TO DRAW CLOSER TO HIM

1. HE INVITES US- reach back, invite others

2. OBEDIENCE TO THE COMMANDMENTS- attend church meetings, keep word of wisdom, search the scriptures

3. INVITING THE SPIRIT- prayer, music

4. SURREND & REPENT

5. BE WITNESSES- be worthy

6. DEVOTED SERVICE- Lord will watch over our loved ones