Behold the Handmaid of the Lord

Lacee gave a wonderful lesson today on Mary, the mother of Jesus. A lot of the lesson was centered around the scripture found in Luke 1:38 "And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her."

Mary had just had an angel appear to her and tell her that she was going to have a baby, and that her baby would be the savior, Jesus. Instead of being troubled and wondering what her community would think of her (because she was only engaged but not yet married to Joseph), she simply asked "How?" and after the angel explained it, she relied on her faith in God and accepted what was going to happen.

This story is a good example to me of how I should be trusting what God has in store for me. I should do what I can to figure things out, and then have the faith that everything is going to be okay in the end. The "twenty-somethings" are difficult years of life. They're hard because we are figuring out what we want to study, where we want to work, when to start a family, and where to go after we graduate. I know that if we do everything in our power to figure things out, that the Lord will help us know what to do through promptings that come from the Holy Ghost. I have seen this happen many times in my own life, and I'm sure it will keep on happening as long as I remain worthy of the Spirit.  :)

At the end of the lesson we all wrote down a gift that we want to give to the Savior this Christmas season. It could be something like serving others, spending more time reading the scriptures, going to the temple more often, etc. Make sure you remember to give your own gift to the Savior if you weren't there to think about it in Relief Society today. It's a great way to focus more on the Savior during this holiday season.

Hope you all have a great Sunday!

-Lisa

Which Way Do You Face

This weeks lesson was given by the lovely Shelly Myers and was based on the talk "Which Way Do You Face," by Elder Lynn G. Robbins. Give it a read if you want a little extra spiritual boost sometime this week.

We talked about the questions asked for a temple recommend interview, and how one of those questions in particular (the one asking if you support any organizations that oppose the Church) has a more relevant meaning for most of us today.

When we were younger, that question was a breeze to answer but more and more we are seeing organizations, sometimes even from within the Church that oppose what we believe, yet make themselves look good in the eyes of lots of people. The peer pressure can be difficult, and we need to be constantly asking ourselves which way we face. Do we face towards the enticements and pressures of the world or are we facing towards our loving Heavenly Father?

I love this quote from the talk:

Trying to please others before pleasing God is inverting the first and second great commandments (see Matthew 22:37–39). It is forgetting which way we face. And yet, we have all made that mistake because of the fear of men.

It is possible to love others who oppose our views and value system, while still living what we know to be true in an unpretentious way. Jesus Christ did it all the time. He chastened the Pharisees and others, but he loved all men so much that he was willing to sacrifice his own life to save us all. He did not yield to the pressures and enticements of men, He didn't even yield to the temptations of the devil. He always did the will of the Father and consistently faced in the same direction.

I love our savior Jesus Christ and our Father in Heaven. I know that as we follow the commandments and love and serve each other, our lives will be guided and we will know what we should be doing and where we should be going. And we will feel more grounded as we consistently face in the right direction.

And here are some fun 5x7 printables if you would like to post a reminder somewhere in your house!

The Sealing Power

Today's lesson was on the sealing power and temple blessings. I loved the various discussions we had  during the lesson because hearing other's comments and experiences, and thinking about temple sealings made me extra grateful for the opportunity we have to be sealed to our families forever. It was just nice to take some time to think about it today.

My husband was actually the first person I was ever sealed to. I got sealed to my Dad and Step-mom about a year later, but the sealing power has made a special impact on me because I spent the first 20-something years of my life wondering if I would actually see my family in heaven or not. I always knew things would work out in the end, but the song "Families Can Be Together Forever" was actually kind of a sad song for me to sing back then.

It was a huuuge comfort to know, after my husband and I were sealed in the temple, that we would be together forever and I'm still so happy to know that no matter what changes happen in our lives, we can count on each other to always be there.

Here are some points I picked up from the discussion we had on how the sealing power affects us:

1. It is comforting
2. It allows/encourages us to see the big picture
3. It makes us want to work harder at our marriages
4. It makes us realize that God is an eternal part of our marriage relationships (we both are sealed through his power)

Another aspect of the lesson was how important it is to do family history work and to go to the temple, to do ordinances for our deceased relatives. You never know who might be waiting for you to find their name, and to perform temple work for them. I have seen tiny miracles happen as I have done my family history work, and it was great to hear all the other experiences people have had with family history work during the lesson today.

Anyways, thanks for the lesson Kim, and I hope you all have a great Sunday!

And don't forget, now that we have had this lesson, ask yourself "now what?" and change something in your life starting now.  :)

Found this over at McKenna Woolley