Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy

Today we watched some videos from what appeared to be a training meeting held by church leaders. It was very fascinating to hear from church leaders in a more relaxed environment than General Conference. Here are some of my notes from it:

Sabbath Day Observance 

• Elder Christofferson- Observing the Sabbath day helps us to become holier far better than any Church program could.
• Keeping the Sabbath day holy helps us to take the sacrament more seriously. 
• Elder Cook gave the advice to make Sunday traditions. 
• There aren't specific things to do; it's up to your family.
• Have a simple meal which everyone helps to prepare
• Discuss what happened at church
• Sing together
• Elder Bednar compared the Sabbath to the cool drink you have after working out in the hot sun. 
• Elder Christofferson reminded us that if we focus on Christ, our Sabbath day won't require a check list of things to do or not do-- we will be led to the things we should do. 
• Elder Ballard said that Christ did things on the sabbath that weren't traditionally done on that day. If we keep Him on our mind and thoughts, we will be led to do the right things. 
• Hold a family council to decide how to make the Sabbath more of a delight. 
• Alma 37:37

Reverence

• How can we improve reverence?
• Reverence is love. Have a vision of the future-- children should know and understand the meaning of the sacrament. 
• Come early enough to enjoy the music. 

Sacrament Meeting

• Elder Bednar said that the emblems of which we partake during the sacrament aren't just blessed, but sanctified. As we partake of them, they help to sanctify us. 
• Repentance doesn't usually happen during the sacrament-- we need to take full advantage of the whole week, the time before Sunday, to repent and get things right with the Lord. 
• The sacrament is like cleaning the temple; we don't clean the temple to get rid of the dirtiness, but rather to prevent it from ever getting dirty. 

Carrying the Gospel to the World

Kylee gave a great lesson yesterday from the Ezra Taft Benson manual.

Why do we need Heavenly Father as a partner in spreading the gospel?

"The world is hungry for true religion and we have it." - Ezra Taft Benson

We discussed the above question and decided that we are totally incapable of teaching others about the gospel without Heavenly Father's help! As we seek His help, we become capable of teaching others about the gospel.

We also discussed how knowing the gospel doesn't guarantee happiness-- it can give us, however, a sense of underlying peace that is the Holy Ghost.

How can we be missionaries to those around us?

• Example
• Service
• Genuinely caring
• Visiting teaching
• Sharing your testimony
• Home teaching
• Being genuine
• Including others in everything
• Talking about the gospel/mentioning church
• Social media
• Teaching your children

Feed My Sheep

This week, Jayme taught a great lesson on the "Feed My Sheep" chapter in the Ezra Taft Benson manual. 

What does it mean to "feed my sheep"? Service. Following promptings to serve others around us is feeding the Lord's sheep. 

We then read the following story: (long, but worth it, I promise!)

“At a stake presidency meeting in Boise, Idaho, years ago, we were trying to select a president for the weakest and smallest elders quorum in the stake. Our clerk had brought a list of all the elders of that quorum, and on the list was the name of a man whom I had known for some years. He came from a strong Latter-day Saint family, but he wasn’t doing much in the Church.
“If the bishop made a call to do some work on the chapel, he would usually respond, and if the elders wanted to play softball, you would sometimes find him out playing with them. He did have leadership ability; he was president of a service club and was doing a fine job.
“I said to the stake president, ‘Would you authorize me to go out and meet this man and challenge him to square his life with the standards of the Church and take the leadership of his quorum? I know there is some hazard in it, but he has the ability.’
“The stake president said, ‘You go ahead, and the Lord bless you.’
“… I went to this man’s home. I’ll never forget the look on his face as he opened the door and saw a member of his stake presidency standing there. He hesitantly invited me in; his wife was preparing dinner, and I could smell the aroma of coffee coming from the kitchen. I asked him to have his wife join us, and when we were seated, I told him why I had come. ‘I’m not going to askyou for your answer today,’ I told him. ‘All I want you to do is to promise me that you will think about it, pray about it, think about it in terms of what it will mean to your family, and then I’ll be back to see you next week. If you decide not to accept, we’ll go on loving you,’ I added.
“The next Sunday, as soon as he opened the door I saw there had been a change. He was glad to see me, and he quickly invited me in and called to his wife to join us. He said, ‘Brother Benson, we have done as you said. We’ve thought about it and we’ve prayed about it, and we’ve decided to accept the call. If you brethren have that much confidence in me, I’m willing to square my life with the standards of the Church, a thing I should have done long ago.’
“He also said, ‘I haven’t had any coffee since you were here last week, and I’m not going to have any more.’
“He was set apart as elders quorum president, and attendance in his quorum began going up—and it kept going up. He went out, put his arm around the less-active elders, and brought them in. A few months later I moved from the stake.
“Years passed, and one day on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, a man came up to me, extended his hand, and said, ‘Brother Benson, you don’t remember me, do you?’
“‘Yes, I do,’ I said, ‘but I don’t remember your name.’
“He said, ‘Do you remember coming to the home of a delinquent elder in Boise seven years ago?’ And then, of course, it all came back to me. Then he said, ‘Brother Benson, I’ll never live long enough to thank you for coming to my home that Sunday afternoon. I am now a bishop. I used to think I was happy, but I didn’t know what real happiness was.’"

How can we fulfill the mission of "perfecting the saints" when saints have gone less active?

Love them & serve them. Sometimes, all a person needs is to feel that they are cared for and loved. 

Christ is the shepherd, and we should strive to be like Him. We should feed His sheep. 

"Truly Good and Without Guile"

Today's lesson by Cassidy was focused on a talk by Elder Michael T. Ringwood called "Truly Good and Without Guile."

We started out by talking about what guile really means-- it's one of those words that comes up all the time in the scriptures, but do we know what it really means?

Guile (noun): sly or cunning intelligence, deceitfulness

We then brainstormed ideas of how to develop the characteristic of "being without guile":

• Overcome the natural man (easier said than done!)
• Make a conscious decision to be honest
• Act immediately when things go wrong-- make amends
• Have the best intentions you can muster
• Say what you mean-- be direct (but kind!)
• Be vulnerable and open

The final method we thought of to be without guile is to think of people you know who truly live without guile and try to emulate them. Sometimes, it helps to think of someone you know when making decisions (ex. think of the Lord of a trusted leader or family member when making decisions-- would they approve of this decision?)

"In a world where praise, position, power, accolades, and authority are sought on every side, I honor those wonderful and blessed souls who are truly good and without guile, those who are motivated by a love of God and their neighbors, those great women and men who are 'more anxious to serve than to have dominion.'" 

--Elder Ringwood

Christlike Leadership

Michelle gave a great lesson today on chapter 19, "Leadership," in the Ezra Taft Benson manual.

The first question we discussed was, "How can we be leaders?" 

We talked about how we can magnify our callings, show initiative in our lives, and serve those around us. 

We then discussed how the Lord was a leader and how learning about Him can make us better leaders. 

The ideal attributes of a leader are Christ-like attributes: 

• Humility
• Spiritual Strength
• Knowledge
• Loyalty
• Love & expressions of confidence
• Unity

Why is each important to Christlike leadership?

Why do people respond well to such leadership?

How can we develop this characteristic?

Each group got one of the attributes and discussed the three questions. 

Let's strive to be good leaders in our lives!

Receiving Personal Revelation

Lindsey taught a great lesson today on Elder Scott's talk from the October 2009 General Conference.

During the lesson, we focused on three questions:

• What can you do to enhance your capacity to be led to correct decisions in your life?
• What are the principles upon which spiritual communication depends?
• What are the potential barriers to such communication that you need to avoid?

We talked about how our spiritual communication depends on how well we can listen to the Spirit, and how willing we are to obey the things the Spirit tells us.

As we listen to the Spirit and obey what we learn from the Spirit, we will be more in-tune with the Spirit. We will then receive more and more personal revelation.

Lots of sisters shared personal experiences about things they learned from the Spirit.

We read the following quote: 

President John Taylor wrote: “Joseph Smith, upwards of forty years ago, said to me: ‘Brother Taylor, you have received the Holy Ghost. Now follow the influence of that Spirit, and it will lead you into all truth, until by and by, it will become in you a principle of revelation.’ Then he told me never to arise in the morning without bowing before the Lord, and dedicating myself to him during that day.”

We brainstormed ideas of how to dedicate ourselves to the Lord so we can receive more revelation. Simple things like reading our scriptures, doing our visiting teaching, praying regularly, serving others, and listening to the Lord are what bring us closer to Him.

We decided that one of the best ways to receive more revelation is to write down what we do receive to ponder and pray about it after we receive the revelation.

If you would like to watch or read the talk, click here.  

We'll Ascend Together

This week's lesson focused on marriage and family, specifically as discussed in Linda K. Burton's talk from the April 2015 General Conference. The lesson started out with a few quotes from general authorities about their spouses:

President Boyd K. Packer about his wife, Donna: "Because of the office I hold, I have a solemn obligation to tell the truth: She's perfect."

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf about his wife, Harriet: "She is the sunshine of my life."

President Henry B. Eyring about his wife, Kathleen: "She is a person who has always made my want to be the very best that I can be."

President Monson about his wife, Frances: "She was the love of my life, my trusted confidant, and my closest friend. To say that I miss her does not begin to convey the depth of my feelings."

We discussed ways that husbands and wives can help support and lift each other. Wives can encourage their husbands to exercise the priesthood, to be a spiritual leader in the home, to do their home teaching, to fulfill their calling, to attend the temple, and to set and keep individual and family goals. Kim emphasized that wives and husbands have complementary roles, that they COMPLETE each other rather than COMPETE with each other. Together as a unit, we can accomplish far more than as separate individuals.

We wrote down the answers to these five questions:

1. When was the last time I sincerely praised my companions, either alone or in the presence of our children?

2. When was the last time I thanked, expressed love for, or earnestly pleaded in faith for him or her in prayer?

3. When was the last time I stopped myself from saying something I knew could be hurtful?

4. When was the last time I apologized and humbly asked for forgiveness--without adding the words "but if only you had" or "but if only you hadn't?"

5. When was the last time I chose to happy rather than demanding to be right?

After some reflection, Kim had us write down five things we love about our spouse. Then we went around the room and shared one thing. That was a really tender moment, to hear everyone express what they love about their husbands. I am grateful for this lesson and the reflection time we had. It helped me realize what I can do better to lift my husband and be more united with him. I highly recommend reading the original talk if you haven't; it has some great counsel about how husbands and wives can help each other become the people that the Lord wants us to become.

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