The Power of Kindness

I read over the Relief Society lesson last night and it really got me to thinking. It was a good lesson for me.  I find myself being very judegemental at times. 
The Lord tries to help me understand this by often placing situations in my path so I can go through the same things that I find myself judging others about.

After my reading, I headed to bed  and I had a horrible dream.  I was with the people on the RS commitee and they were all confronting me about how I wasn't pulling my weight on the committee.  I tried to gain their sympathy telling them all the things that were going on in my life and they didn't care.
Finally I relented sobbing and telling them they were right, but still they were angry with me. There was nothing I could do to change their thoughts about me so I just sat their sobbing and sobbing.

I saw a quote today that said we judge others on their behaviors, but wish to be judge on our intent.

Some of my favorite quotes:

"we should meet our problems in the spirit of love and kindness to all."

"...you can find good in everyone if you will but look for it."
"...it is God's love that regenerates human sould and may, by that process, transform the sinner into a saint."

"The Spirit of the Lord is a spirit of kindness; it is a spirit of patience; it is a spirit of chairy and love and forebearance and long suffering' and there are none of us who do not need all these virtues that are the result of the possession of the Spirit of our Heavenly Father."

"Kindness is the power that God has given us to unlock hard hearts and subdue stubborn souls and bring them to an understanding of His purposes."

My favorite section in the Teaching of George A. Smith was titled Love and kindness in our homes can lead our children to listen to our counsel.

President Smith says it is our privilege as well as our duty to take suffiecient time to surround our children with safeguards and to so love them and earn their love that they will be glad to listen to our advice and council."

Lastly he says "let your homes be the abiding place of the Spirit of the Lord."

so much I need to work on.  It seems like a monumental taks to love evyerone unconditionally.  But I guess you start with your family, then friends, then all you meet.  One step and person at a time. 

Teaching Our Children to Understand

Our Relief Society Lesson was on April 2012 conference talk by Cheryl A. Esplin entitled Teaching Our Children to Understand.
Our teacher Angela shared some things she did with her family to build a foundation.  She mentioned using  The Book of Mormon for Families and teaching out of the book Teah My Gospel.  I thought those were both great ideas.
In the talk Sister Esplin  said the Lord instructs parents to teach their children to understand the doctorines of repentance, faith, baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost.
She said, "Teaching our children to understand is more than just imparting information.  It is heping our children get the doctrine into their hearts in a way that it becomes part of their very being and is reflected in tehri attitudes and behavior throughout their lives."
Love that statement but it is a little overwhelming...how do I do that?
Sister Explin goes onto explain  that we must create an atmosphere where our children can feel the influence of the Spirit and then help them recognize what they are feeling.
She says it is important to teach in the context of what they are experiencing at that moment.
To recognize these teachable moments we need to be alert when our child comes to us with a question or a worry.

A Talk on The Parable of the Sowers

When my husband Kody informed that we had been asked to speak in church on the Parable of the Sowers he also added that the bishopric wanted us to focus on doctrine.  When I logged on to the church’s website to find some information for my talk I saw a quote  from Russell T. Osguthorpe stating, “We teach key doctrine, invite learners to do the work God has for them, and then promise that blessings will surely come.”
And that’s what I pray for as I speak today that I may impart the key doctrine and that you and I may do the work God has for us so we may enjoy the blessings that will come.

The Parable of the sowers is found in Matthew 13.  The Savior  is sitting by the seaside and a great number of people gather. The crowd is so large that Jesus gets into a ship and speaks to the multitude on the shore.

He speaks of a sower who goes forth to sow seeds. Some fall by the wayside, some on stony ground and some on fertile ground.

James E. Talmage in Jesus the Christ explains:

“Though commonly known to us as the Parable of the Sower, the story could be expressively designated as the Parable of the Four Kinds of Soil. It is the ground upon which the seed is cast, to which the story most strongly directs our attention, and which so aptly is made to symbolize the softened or the hardened heart, the clean or the thorn-infested soil.

The first seeds fall by the wayside and fowls devour them. The Savior explains “When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and ^aunderstandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and ^bcatcheth away that which was sown in his heart.”

The first type of soil, that of the “way side,” represents those who hear the gospel but never give the truth a chance to take root.

Elder Marvin J. Ashton of the Council of the Twelve, in his October 1978 general conference address, spoke of the parable of the sower and gave prevalent conditions that cause people today to "lose the harvest.”

Elder Ashton said that some are “unwilling to accept human qualities.” He stated "Today some are sowing seeds on stony places because they, too, doubt the authority of those who give counsel and direction. We, too, should not be deceived by doubters who would use the same tactics by planting thorns to destroy the harvest. How can we avoid crop failure in this area of concern?

Mosiah 26:1-3 tells us what might prevent us from understanding God’s word?

 1 Now it came to pass that there were many of the rising generation that could not understand the ^awords of king Benjamin, being little children at the time he spake unto his people; and they did ^bnot believe the tradition of their fathers.

 2 They did not believe what had been said concerning the resurrection of the dead, neither did they believe concerning the coming of Christ.

 3 And now because of their ^aunbelief they could not ^bunderstand the word of God; and their hearts were hardened.

We also read in Alma 32:27 what we must do to be able to understand the word of God:

 27 But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than ^adesire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words.

The second set of seeds fell on stony places where they had not much earth and were eventually scorched by the sun. The savior explains he that received the seed into ^astony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;

 21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when ^atribulation or ^bpersecution ariseth because of the word, by and by ^che is offended.

The second type of soil, “stony ground,” represents those in the Church who, at the first sign of sacrifice or trial, run away offended, not willing to pay the price.

Elder David A. Bednar addressed this topic in his talk And Nothing Shall Offend

“When we believe or say we have been offended, we usually mean we feel insulted, mistreated, snubbed, or disrespected. And certainly clumsy, embarrassing, unprincipled, and mean-spirited things do occur in our interactions with other people that would allow us to take offense. However, it ultimately is impossible for another person to offend you or to offend me. Indeed, believing that another person offended us is fundamentally false. To be offended is a choice we make; it is not a condition inflicted or imposed upon us by someone or something else.

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin also gave us great insight in his talk Come What May and Love It
He stated: If we approach adversities wisely, our hardest times can be times of greatest growth, which in turn can lead toward times of greatest happiness.

Learning to endure times of disappointment, suffering, and sorrow is part of our on-the-job training. These experiences, while often difficult to bear at the time, are precisely the kinds of experiences that stretch our understanding, build our character, and increase our compassion for others.

"If our roots are deep, we will welcome continuing revelation, change and direction. We will develop the ability to accept releases, callings and new challenges with enthusiasm. We will be too busy to be offended . . . too big to be hurt. We will serve wherever we are called. . . . We will accept people for what they are and what they can and do become. Change will not only drive our roots deeper but cause them to grow into new and fertile soil."

How can we allow the word to establish deep roots in us? Alma 32:41–43 gives us the answer:

 41 But if ye will nourish the word, yea, nourish the tree as it beginneth to grow, by your faith with great diligence, and with ^apatience, looking forward to the fruit thereof, it shall take root; and behold it shall be a tree ^bspringing up unto everlasting life.

 42 And because of your ^adiligence and your faith and your patience with the word in nourishing it, that it may take root in you

Faith, Dilligence, and Patience.

The Third Group of Seed fell among ^athorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them.

I love Elder Talmage’s explanation of this, he wrote “even so with a human heart set on riches and the allurements of pleasure—though it receive the living seed of the gospel it will produce no harvest of good grain, but instead, a rank tangle of noxious weeds. The abundant yield of thorny thistles demonstrates the fitness of the soil for a better crop, were it only free from the cumbering weeds.”

Fertile soil is fertile soil but as sure as beautiful flowers can grow so can weeds.

The third type of soil, “sown among thorns,” represents some members of the Church who are distracted and obsessed by the cares, riches, and lusts of the world.

Elder Ashton explained  these are those who have shown an unwillingness to follow instructions. "These are they who may forfeit the harvest because they will not be obedient. `Hearing they hear not, neither do they understand' is the description the parable of the sower uses. . . . "

And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit ^aeternal life?

 19 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is ^agood, save one, that is, God.

 20 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit ^aadultery, Do not ^bkill, Do not steal, Do not bear ^cfalse witness, ^dHonour thy father and thy mother.

 21 And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.

 22 Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the ^apoor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.

President Spencer W. Kimball in a talk entitled The False Gods We Worship talks of these riches: “The Lord has blessed us as a people with a prosperity unequaled in times past. The resources that have been placed in our power are good, and necessary to do our work here on the earth. But I am afraid that many of us have been surfeited with flocks and herds and acres and barns and wealth and have begun to worship them as false gods, and they have power over us. Do we have more of these good things than our faith can stand? Many people spend most of their time working in the service of a self-image that includes sufficient money, stocks, bonds, investment portfolios, property, credit cards, furnishings, automobiles, and the like to guarantee carnal security throughout, they hope a long and happy life. Forgotten is the fact that our assignment is to use these many resources in our families and quorums to build up the kingdom of God—to further the missionary effort and the genealogical and temple work; to raise our children up as fruitful servants unto the Lord; to bless others in every way, that they may also be fruitful. Instead, we expend these blessings on our own desires, and as Moroni said, “Ye adorn yourselves with that which hath no life, and yet suffer the hungry, and the needy, and the naked, and the sick and the afflicted to pass by you, and notice them not.” (Morm. 8:39.)

His talk was given in 1976…how many more good things do we have today that take our time and attention. Are we allowing things to take priority over our families and our callings?

President Kimball goes on to talk about an article he read some years ago about a group of men who had gone to the jungles to capture monkeys. They tried a number of different things to catch the monkeys, including nets. But finding that the nets could injure such small creatures, they finally came upon an ingenious solution. They built a large number of small boxes, and in the top of each, they bored a hole just large enough for a monkey to get his hand into. They then set these boxes out under the trees and in each one they put a nut that the monkeys were particularly fond of.

When the men left, the monkeys began to come down from the trees and examine the boxes. Finding that there were nuts to be had, they reached into the boxes to get them. But when a monkey would try to withdraw his hand with the nut, he could not get his hand out of the box because his little fist, with the nut inside, was now too large.

At about this time, the men would come out of the underbrush and converge on the monkeys. And here is the curious thing: When the monkeys saw the men coming, they would shriek and scramble about with the thought of escaping; but as easy as it would have been, they would not let go of the nut so that they could withdraw their hands from the boxes and thus escape. The men captured them easily.

And so it often seems to be with people, having such a firm grasp on things of the world—that which is telestial—that no amount of urging and no degree of emergency can persuade them to let go in favor of that which is celestial. Satan gets them in his grip easily. If we insist on spending all our time and resources building up for ourselves a worldly kingdom, that is exactly what we will inherit.

The last set of seeds fell into good ground, and ^abrought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.

Finally, those on “good ground” are those members of the Church whose lives reflect their discipleship to the Master, whose roots go deep into gospel soil, and thereby produce abundant fruit.

A few weeks before President Heber J. Grant passed away, one of the Brethren went to visit him in his home. Before the man left, President Grant prayed, “O God, bless me that I shall not lose my testimony and keep faithful to the end!” ⁹ Can you imagine President Grant, one of the great prophets of the Restoration, the President of the Church for nearly 27 years, praying that he would keep faithful to the end?

When we moved into our house we discovered that our yard was in need of some… nurturing to put it lightly.  As we looked at the beautiful yards surrounding us in our neighborhood my husband and I joked that we better working our they might kick us out of the neighborhood.

We de-thatched the lawn, put on fertilizer and edged the overgrown boundaries.  We adjusted how long we watered and took care of some grubs. Just as we were beginning to feel good about our work the hot temperatures of June hit.  The days of constant and relentless sun that caused our weeds to multiply, conversely scorched our flowers and caused dead patches in our lawn. We drug hoses from one patch to the next for weeks and put in new mulch to keep the weeds down. The temperatures subsided and we were starting to feel good about our yard again.  We went on vacation and when we came back we saw crab grass starting to grow…time to pick that out of the flower beds and lawn. Our lawn seems to be a constant battle for us. Once we got one thing taken care of another thing needed our attention.

As I thought about our lawn and the story of President Grant I came to understand that our conversion to the gospel is a constant process.  Nourishment and weed prevention not only applies to yard work but our testimonies as well.

Joseph B. Wirthlin put it best “No one is immune from Satan’s influence and temptations. Do not be so proud to think that you are beyond the adversary’s influence. Be watchful that you do not fall prey to his deceptions. Stay close to the Lord through daily scripture study and daily prayer. We cannot afford to sit back and take our salvation for granted. We must be anxiously engaged our whole lives. ¹⁰These words of President Brigham Young motivate and remind us that we can never give up the fight to endure: “The men and women, who desire to obtain seats in the celestial kingdom, will find that they must battle every day [for this sacred goal].” ¹¹

In our stake conference Elder Holland spoke and admonished us to ask ourselves What actual change have I made in my life as a result of ANYTHING I heard or was asked to do in the General Conference held just a few weeks ago?”. He reitereated the words of the Savior himself in this very parable reminding us that we must not only be hearers of the words but doers of the word as well.

“Two men may hear the same words,” wrote Elder James E. Talmage (1862–1933). “One of them listens in indolence and indifference, the other with active mind intent on learning all that the words can possibly convey; and, having heard, the diligent man goes straightway to do the things commended to him, while the careless one neglects and forgets. The one is wise, the other foolish; the one has heard to his eternal profit, the other to his everlasting condemnation.” 6

Have I overwhelmed anyone yet? Well take heart.

Elder Wirthlin suggest three attributes to help foster fertile soil in our day.

First, testimony. Testimony gives us the eternal perspective necessary to see past the trials or challenges we will inevitably face. Remember what Heber C. Kimball prophesied:

“The time will come when no man nor woman will be able to endure on borrowed light. Each will have to be guided by the light within himself. …

“… If you don’t have it you will not stand; therefore seek for the testimony of Jesus and cleave to it, that when the trying time comes you may not stumble and fall.” ¹⁵

Second, humility. Humility is the recognition and attitude that one must rely on the Lord’s assistance to make it through this life. We cannot endure to the end on our own strength. Without Him, we are nothing. ¹⁶

^{Elder Scott stated} Humility is a fertile soil where spirituality grows and produces the fruit of inspiration to know what to do. It gives access to divine power to accomplish what must be done. An individual motivated by a desire for praise or recognition will not qualify to be taught by the Spirit. An individual who is arrogant or who lets his or her emotions influence decisions will not be powerfully led by the Spirit.

Third, repentance. The glorious gift of repentance allows us to return to the path with a new heart, giving us the strength to endure on the path leading to eternal life. The sacrament thus becomes a key component of our endurance in this life. The sacrament provides a precious weekly opportunity to renew our baptismal covenants and repent and evaluate our progress toward exaltation.

Elder Bruce R. McConkie said: “Parables are a call to investigate the truth; to learn more; to inquire into the spiritual realities, which, through them, are but dimly viewed. Parables start truth seekers out in the direction of further light and knowledge and understanding; they invite men to ponder such truths as they are able to bear in the hope of learning more. Parables are a call to come unto Christ, to believe his doctrines, to live his laws, and to be saved in his kingdom.”

I am so thankful for this opportunity to talk.  Not that I think I have anything grand or important to say or like public speaking.  But I am grateful for the opportunity to learn more about the gospel to re-evaluate my soil type so to speak and to make some goals and changes to my life.

I am grateful to my parents, family and leaders…those who nourished me from an early age and helped keep out the weeds.  Now it is up to me to sow the seeds of the gospel in my life and that of my family.  I pray that I might follow the Savior’s example.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

1 Nephi Chapter 12

Idleness-It is interesting to me that as Nephi describes the filthy state of those who have dwindle in unbelief he says they are full of idleness and all manner of abomination.  I think that is a great cause of dwindling unbelief in our day.  There are many who, as the word is defined pass time without working or avoid work...they are lazy and without purpose.
I think one of the biggest ways I am idle is in my TV viewing. I am trying harder to really limit my viewing and focusing on better pursuits of my time.

1 Nephi chapter 11

Pondering-I like that after Nephi hears his fathers words he ponders on them.  I don't think I do enough pondering in my life.  I hear something and then don;t take the time to give it adequate place in my mind and heart by pondering it.

Belief-the next thing that struck me was that Nephi didn't ponder on the things his father had said because he was unsure or didn't believe but he wanted to know of himself...he didn't want to live on borrowed testimony.

"Anchoring" and other lessons from Sunday

I am really enjoying our new ward and trying very hard to soak up all the doctorine and knowledge presented each sunday. Here are a few of the things that pricked my heart:

In fast meeting the father of a new baby girl that was blessed talked about some trial they had had in their family and he made the statement that sometimes even when you are trying to do good, like Nephi, the bow just breaks.
I like that statement.  It reminds us that life is hard and lots of times it has nothing to do with our choices but Elder Nelson got up later in the meeting and reminded us With God All Things are Possible.

I sat with Kody's nine year old primary class again.  That is a rambunctious age but they are all really good kids. His lesson was on prophets.  In looking at his lesson he realized it was very short and was looking for something else to fill the time.  I suggested the movie we had about President Monson called, On the Lord's Errand.  He showed parts of it to the class after his lesson and they were very attentive.  I had seen the video before but the last part of the video really spoke to me this time.  President Monson said something to the fact that there is no better feeling than having a prompting and acting on it.  He said it was something he had tried to do his whole life because he wanted the Lord to know if he had an errand to run Thomas Monson would do it. 

D&C 64:29

29 Wherefore, as ye are agents, ye are on the Lord's errand; and whatever ye do according to the will of the Lord is the Lord's business.

Our lesson in Relief Society was on anchoring. Sister Bennett gave a wonderful lesson. She started by talking about the process of anchoring a houseboat.  It was the perfect analogy.  We discussed different trials we might face and then made a list of things that help us build our testimony or be anchored.

Helaman and the Stripling Warriors

I sat in on Kody's primary class today because the other teacher was out of town.  The lesson was about the 2,000 Stripling Warriors.
On Friday in the local Bountiful Handcart Days Parade they had 2,000 young men dressed as these warriors.  It was a very cool sight.

As I sat listening to the lesson I thought about the commitment and integrity it must have taken for the Anti-Nephi Lehis to not break their oath to go to war.  While I feel that I try to keep my oaths (or the covenants I have made in the temple) there are so many things that I need to "bury in the earth" and let them stay buried.  I feel like I keep making the same mistakes and sins.  I need to be more valiant and bury these bad habits and practices.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P0_kWK_fXc

Meekness

In Gospel Doctrine class we were reading in Alma 32:12 where Alma teaches the poor who are not allowed to pray in the temples. And he tells them that is good that they were not allowed in the synagogues because it has made them humble and when one is humble they can learn wisdom.
And the he said something that caught my attention; "because of your exceeding poverty, that ye art brought to a lowliness of heart; for you are necessarily  brought to be humble."

So this statement brought lots of questions to my mind:
1)Are only the poor humble and teachable?
2) what does it mean to be "necessarily brought to be humble?"
3) Am I humble enough, if not will I necessarily be brought to be humble?
4) What is true humility, how does one know if one has it, if one doesn't have it how does one gain it?

Then the teacher read a quote by a general authority (I wish I knew which one) in which he stated that the meek (or humble) are "slow to judge."  Hmmm...something I definitely need to work on.

Then another quote was read that talked about how we need to overcome sin in the flesh or it "stays with the spirit" when we die and it is harder to change.  When the body and spirit are one we are more pliable like clay and have an easier time changing.

I had never thought of that.  I had always thought my physical body made me weak, but I didn't know that having a body was also helping me to change my errant ways.  I need to work on my weaknesses while I am still pliable.

I found a great talk  called Meekness—A Dimension of True Discipleship by Neal A. Maxwell that helped me really see what meekness entails and I have a lot of work to do.

Atonement

While in an institute class at USU our teacher read this quote and I was really struck by it.  I had been a member my whole life and had thought that while in the garden Jesus only suffered for our sins.  That thought was overwhelming enough considering all the evil we see and hear about around us.  This quote helped me see that because our Savior experienced every kind of pain he is the only one who understands and he should be the one that we go to when we need understanding and comfort.

"We know that Jesus experienced the totality of mortal existence in Gethsemane. It's our faith that he experienced everything- absolutely everything. Sometimes we don't think through the implications of that belief. We talk in great generalities about the sins of all humankind, about the suffering of the entire human family. But we don't experience pain in generalities. We experience it individually. That means he knows what it felt like when your mother died of cancer- how it was for your mother, how it still is for you. He knows what it felt like to lose the student body election. He knows that moment when the brakes locked and the car started to skid. He experienced the slave ship sailing from Ghana toward Virginia. He experienced the gas chambers at Dachau. He experienced Napalm in Vietnam. He knows about drug addiction and alcoholism..... He's been there. He's been lower than all that. He's not waiting for us to be perfect. Perfect people don't need a Savior. He came to save his people in their imperfections. He is the Lord of the living, and the living make mistakes. He's not embarrassed by us, angry at us, or shocked. He wants us in our brokenness, in our unhappiness, in our guilt and our grief."

~Chieko N. Okazaki

1 Nephi Chapter 10

The other day my 7 (almost) 8 year old asked me what the word "atonement" meant.  I hope I gave her an answer that came close to the excellent description of why we need the atonement in verse 6 "Wherefore all makind were in a lost and fallen state and ever would be save they should rely on this Redeemer."

The other thing that came to mind was what an excellent example Nephi was that after feeling the spirit that came from his father as he retold his dream he was desirious also that he might see and hear and know of these things by the power of the Holy Ghost. Wow!  Hoe many times do I listen to powerful messages and then actually act on them as Nephi did wanting to know for myself. I should...because as Nephi reminds me the Holy Ghost is "the gift of God unto all those who diligently seek Him."

And those who diligently seeketh shall find.

It is hard for me to comprehend that the mysteries of God could be unfolded to me, but I must exercise faith and try harder to diligently seek the answers to the questions I have and the problems I face!

1 Nephi Chapter 9

For a Wise Purpose
Although this is a short chapter I think this chapter teaches a very profound lesson about following the commandments and the counsel of prophets  for a "wise purpose" even when we know not the purpose.
May I respond like Nephi, " But the Lord knoweth all things  from the beginning; wherefore he prepareth a way to accomplish all his works among the children of men; for behold, he hath all power unto the fulfilling of all his words."

1 Nephi Chapter 8

I was in a 5th Sunday lesson where they referenced this chapter and pointed out the 4 C's of the Path to Eternal Life:
Commence
Catch Hold
Cling
Continually Holding Fast

1 Nephi Chapter 7

In verse 11 Nephi says "Yea and how is it that ye have forgotten what great things the Lord hath done for us."  How quick I am at times to forget all the grea things He has done for me.
Nephi says in verse 12 " Yea and how is it that ye have forgotten that the Lord is able to do all things according to his will, for the children of men, if it so be that they exercise faith in him? Wherefore, let us be faithful to him.
And you know that these are not words for Nephi but he truly believes because in verse 17 he calls upon the Lord to deliver him from the cords with which his brothers have bound him...and he asks the Lord to do it according to his faith. And minutes later the cords are loosed.

1 Nephi Chapter 6

I love that Nephi explains that he is not writing things that are pleasing unto the world but things that are pleasing unto God and those who are not of the world.  He goes ont to say that he shall give a commandment to only fill  these plates with things that are of worth.

I had two thoughts on this matter: (1) What am I filling my life with...things that are pleasing unto the world...vacations, amusement parks, movies, tv shows, etc. or things that are of worth...scripture study, FHE, family time. (2) I was humbled.  It has been hard for me to get through the whole Book Of Mormon.  I hope I can really focus on it this time and not be distracted by the things of the world and I pray that I may read understand it's great worth.

1 Nephi Chapter 5

I have to say that it actually makes me feel a little better to hear that Sariah complained against her husband the prophet. It shows me that we are humans and it is hard  to completely trust in the Lord. I can't imagine her worry as her sons returned to get the plates. 
It is a good reminder to me to get on my knees instead of complaining.

Converted to Christ

Another great Relief Society Lesson given by Sister Dew.  She told the story of a fireside given by a member of the seventy where he asked the people how you could tell when a person was converted to Christ.
The people in the audience threw out answers while the man wrote them on a whiteboard until the whole board was covered.
Then he erased them all and said while they were all good answers, in his experience you could tell a true follower of Christ by "How They Treat Other People."
We read several scriptures about loving people.  3 Nephi 12:22, 25, 44.  3 Nephi13:14-15 and Mosiah 7:32-33 .
I was very humbled by this lesson.  Just that morning I had been upset with Kylie for taking too long in the shower.  The way I treated her didn't show that I was a follower of Christ.
In general those that I love I tend to give the benefit of the doubt, easily forgive, and treat well...why not my family.
Sister Dew near the end of her lesson talked about how these lessons were all well and good but usually their effect wear off as we go about our daily lives. So we really need to find out how to change.
In Elder Uchtdorf's 2012 April Conference talk "The Merciful Obtain Mercy" he gives us the HOW.  He says "when our hearts are filled with the love of God, something good and pure happens to us."  "The more we allow the love of God to govern our minds and emotions-the more we allow our love for our Heavenly Father to swell within our hearts-the easier it is to love others with the pure love of Christ. As we open our hearts to the glwoing dawn of the love of God, the darkness and cold of animosity and envy will eventually fade."

1 Nephi Chapter 4

The Lord's Might-Sometimes I forget how mighty the Lord is.  If he can bring the children of Israel through the red sea, and other miraculous events couldn't he help me with my problems and trials.

Wherefore Can Ye Doubt-The Lord has never given us reason to doubt.

Led By the Spirit-We don't have to know beforehand what will happen or how things will work out if we let ourselves be led by the spirit.

1 Nephi Chapter 3

I Have Not Required It of You-I love this line.  So many time we think it is the bishop asking us to fill a calling or the Relief Society President imploring us to do our visiting teaching, but they have not required of us, but the Lord.

Refining

During Ward Conference at our WX 9th ward the gospel doctrine lesson was given by BJ Densley.  In it he told the following story that I just loved:

The Refiners Touch There was a group of women in a Bible study on the book of Malachi.  As they were studying chapter three they came across verse three which says, "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." This verse puzzled the women and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.

One of the women offered to find out about the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible study. That week the woman called up a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest in silver beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that, in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest so as to burn away all the impurities.

The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot - then she thought again about the verse, that He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver. She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. For if the silver was left even a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.

The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?"  He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's the easy part -- when I see my image reflected in it."

Mountains to Climb

I really enjoyed our Relief Society lesson today taught by Molly Richards.  Her lesson was based on Elder Eyering's Talk "Mountains to Climb."

Elder Eyering heard President Spencer W. Kimball, in a session of conference, ask that God would give him mountains to climb. He said: “There are great challenges ahead of us, giant opportunities to be met. I welcome that exciting prospect and feel to say to the Lord, humbly, ‘Give me this mountain,’ give me these challenges.”

Elder Eyring thought "My heart was stirred, knowing, as I did, some of the challenges and adversity he had already faced. I felt a desire to be more like him, a valiant servant of God. So one night I prayed for a test to prove my courage. I can remember it vividly. In the evening I knelt in my bedroom with a faith that seemed almost to fill my heart to bursting."

Within a day or two my prayer his prayer was answered with the hardest trial of my life.

WOW!  What faith!  I often feel myself praying that everything will just go right, and I know I haven't faced many "mountains."  Deep down I want those experiences and I want to be able to grow but I find it a little scary to ask for "mountains" because I know the Lord will answer.  I am at a crossroad wanting the comfort and stability of verything going right but also knowing as Elder Eyering " that great blessing could come from adversity to more than compensate for any cost."

In the lesson we also read the Old Testament account that this phrase "Mountains to Climb" comes from.  When Moses and the children of Israel come to the land of Canaan Moses sends 12 men to scout the land, and among them are Joshua and Caleb.  The land has been chosen by the Lord so all reports should come back positively but Caleb and joshua's good reports are drowned out by the other negative reports.  So the children of Israel wander for 40 more years.

In Joshua Chapter 14 Caleb is  once again ready to inhabit the land of Canaan.  At 85 years old his testimony was as strong and unshakable as 40 years earlier when he wanted to enter Canaan relying on the providence of the Lord:

11 As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in.

 12 Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the Lord spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims were there, and that the cities were great and ^afenced: if so be the Lord will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the Lord said.

I don't know if I am quite ready to pray for "mountains" but I pray that I can increase my faith and be ready for the trails that come my way.

"I cannot promise an end to your adversity in this life. I cannot assure you that your trials will seem to you to be only for a moment. One of the characteristics of trials in life is that they seem to make clocks slow down and then appear almost to stop.There are reasons for that. Knowing those reasons may not give much comfort, but it can give you a feeling of patience. Those reasons come from this one fact: in Their perfect love for you, Heavenly Father and the Savior want you fitted to be with Them to live in families forever. Only those washed perfectly clean through the Atonement of Jesus Christ can be there."

Ward Conference

It was  our ward conference a week or two ago and I am ashamed to admit it , but since we've had kids it has been a while since we attend our ward conference.  We often would go up to my parents or just see it as a free day from church.
We actually attended the morning temple session with our new neighbors the Pugsley's...I was really surprised Kody agreed to attend the 6:00 AM session.  There was a breakfast afterward at the Bennett's where we met a lot of new people in the ward.
We missed the adult session but I am hoping we can go next time.
Our girls behaved relatively well during the 2 hour meeting and I enjoyed the talks. 
One that stuck with me was Elder Holland's asking what was once thing we had done with the information we had received during General Conference.  It really struck a cord with me to not just " a hearer of the word,"  but also "a doer of the word."
I decided to re-read the talks in the May ensign and really focus on some areas of my life that I can change/improve.