May 29, 2009

This past week the lesson I taught was about the Temple. The temple is a sacred place and it is dear to my heart. As i continue to go and study and ponder the temple and the covenants I made within those walls I strengthened in my knowledge of my Heavenly Father and His Great Plan of Happiness. My understanding of the creation, the fall, the atonement and other facets of life becomes even greater. I love the books out there that help me to seek and find answers or clearer paths to the temple and the ordinances found within. A couple of books that I recommend are "The Savior and the Serpent," by Alonzo Gaskill "the temple - where heaven meets earth" by Truman Madsen and "house of glory" by S. Michael Wilcox. these are fantastic books that help you understand the temple by explaining more in depth about the Creation and the Fall and the atonement. Teaching this week I was able to bear my testimony about the importance of living our lives in such a way that we will be ready to enter the walls of the temple and be sheltered from the storms of the world. It is the only place on earth in which the Savior can reside- it is home on earth. His spirit can be felt there and that spirit testifies of truth. It will guide and direct our lives and give us the peace we need to make decisions that will effect us personally as well as family members and those we have stewardship over. By living the commandments set forth by our Heavenly Father and Savior, Jesus Christ and given through prophets past and present- we can find greater meaning in this world of those things that came before this life and what will be after this life. It really is amazing and I am constantly being fed and nourished in the gospel as i do those basic things that keep the spirit as my constant companion. i am not perfect and I make mistakes and the knowledge I have of the power of repentance and its ability to make me whole; as I come to the Lord and confess, as well as show in my thoughts and actions, that i am truly am penitant is truly edifying. I am thankful for the opportunity the Lord has given us to come unto him in a more exact manner by attending the temple. Living the basic principles taught to me as a child and to new members through the missionaries- scripture, study, prayer, church attendance, keep the commandments - we often hear those phrases so often they become complacent parts of our lives but as we make them priorities and things we think of and act upon minute by minute- the spirit will bear witness of the truth found in the gospel as well as in the temple. I truly have a testimony of my Savior and what he has done and continues to do for me. I have a testimony of the plan of salvation which brings salvation and redemption as we live its principles. I know that the priesthood was restored to this earth for the purpose of preparing all of us to make covenants and perform ordinances that will allow us to live in the presence of our Heavenly Father and Savior, Jesus Christ when we leave this earth. The priesthood is real and it is the power to act in the name of God- as we live worthy of it. I know we have a prophet today who acts in the name of God and guides and directs His Church under his authority. I am so grateful for that knowledge. it brings me peace that I could get nowhere else.

Week 18

This week's lesson was on the Law of tithing. I know this law, if observed, with bring you blessings beyond description. Most often, however, when we think of blessing we think of physical blessings. Not to say that the blessings we receive from tithing aren't physical because they absolutely are however we also get spiritual blessings that enhance the way we look at our physical blessings. We must admit when we pay tithing it is out of absolute faith when we first do it. Now as we continue in faith and begin to recognize those blessing that faith becomes knowledge. Over the years what started as faith for me has become a knowledge and i would never, not even for a moment, consider not paying tithing. I know that I could not do without those blessings. I have seen to many that I know have directly come from paying tithing. One of those is knowing that my Heavenly Father and Savior know me and know my needs; that they are watching over me and my family. This is not to say we don't struggle in the financial department yet those financial struggles are man made. When we don't live within our means that is our responsibility. Still with the knowledge I have I continue to know that the desires of my heart ( not necessarily the wants) will be acknowledged and if it is for the benefit of me and my family they will come to pass. I know this...as longs as I remain true and faithful to the covenants that I have made at baptism and in the temple i will continue to develop my relationship with my Savior. I continue to be blessed with knowledge that helps me to understand where I came from, why I am here and where I am going. I don't know all that I want or need to know but i have faith that as i study, ponder and pray and keep the commandments and follow the prophet those questions will be answered in their own due time as i am ready to hear them.
Tithing money is used to build the kingdom of God...it does not go to any specific individual, no one gets paid. it goes to building churches and upkeeping them around the world, it goes to sharing and spreading the gospel and everything that comes with doing that. It goes to anything that the Lord, through revelations, feels with build up His church and bring souls unto Him.
Now the other thing that we have been asked to do is pay Fast Offerings. This is to set aside one day, typically the first sunday of every month, and in fasting and prayer go to the Lord and ask for those things you or a friend or family members stand in need of. Fasting consists of giving up 2 meals and during those 2 meals use that time for meditation, study, pondering and prayer for those things. What you would have spent on those meals it is asked that you give to fast offerings. This money goes into a fund that is distributed to those in need within the ward and if there is excess to the needs of the stake and so on. In the scriptures it says "if you do it unto the least of these my brethren you do it unto me" by paying fast offerings we are taking care of God's children in a physical manner. I had an institute teacher that once said, "if you stand in need of physical blessings, (and I am not talking about needing a red ferrari) then double your fast offerings and watch what happens." When he said this my soul was struck with such force I have never for once doubted that statement and i know that we have been blessed by paying our fast offerings as much as we can and not being stingy with the Lord and his children. The Law of Tithing is a testimony builder, it is a faith strengthener, it is a knowledge builder. I must admit when I first started being faithful to this principle it was not easy, I had bills, i had things i wanted but i also had a seed of faith that said this principle was of God. I have remained faithful to this principle and as I said previously I no longer pay it out of faith but out of knowledge.

Week 17

I am behind on sharing my lesson thoughts. I always make my handout but then this last week I haven't made time to write down my thoughts. Anyway this weeks lesson was on keeping the sabbath day holy. Yikes! That is a tough topic because every family has a different idea of what that is and really it is something that is personal to every person. David and I were raised in families with very different ideas of what is acceptable for the sabbath and what is not. I must admit that as a youth I hated that we couldn't watch TV, that we never went out to eat, that there were no exceptions for spending the night, or going to baseball games...whatever the activity that I wanted to do at the time. I always, like any teenager, said I would do things differently and now as a parent find myself gravitating towards those ideas I was raised with. This is not to say that David's family failed in this area, again it is personal and every family must pray and follow the guidance of the spirit. What I am saying is that David and I have to come together, as our own family, and take those best qualities of both and find out what is right for our family. As I pondered this lesson I was reminded again of why we observe the sabbath. it is a day for us to do those things, think about those things, observe those things that build our relationship with our Heavenly Father and Savior. During the week we can get so caught up in the things of the world that we forget where our blessing come from. We forget that our relationship with our Savior should be our priority. Of course we should remember this throughout the week but the sabbath is set aside to allow us the meditation and solitude needed to be in tune with the spirit and His guidance for each of us as individuals as well as families. This of course doesn't mean we read scriptures all day long, get our knees in prayer all day long and do nothing else. We go to church to partake of the sacrament- to renew our covenants that we made at baptism. We evaluate where we are in life and the things we could be doing better, we commune with the Lord and all His spirit to whisper to our hearts and minds. We focus on our Savior and his atonement and what it means to us. We keep a prayer in hearts of those things we are in need of, whether spiritual or physical. We fill our day with things that remind us of the blessings we have recieved- I have come to think that we should focus on those things that are eternal in nature- we visit with family and friends, we serve others in a reverent manner that allows us to still be able to ponder and hear the promptings we are searching for. When we make the sabbath an ordinary day we tend to fill it up with noisy things, things that take our mind away from the reverence of the day and then it is harder for us to hear the things of the spirit. So, as I taught this lesson i made sure to emphasize that every person must decide for themselves, with prayer and pondering, what is considered keeping the sabbath. What David and I do and what someone else does is not to be judged. We are doing what we have prayerfully considered with strengthen our family and allow for the spirit to be present in our home. I know that by observing this principle it will only bring us closer as a family, by keeping us together at least one day a week, but also it will bring us closer to our Father in Heaven, through our Savior, by helping us to remember the eternal blessing we have and continue to receive as we are obedient to the commandments He has set forth.

Week 16

This week's lesson was on gifts of the spirit. i can't tell you how many times I have had this lesson and how many times I have given it and yet this time I got it. I truly understood the importance of the many gifts we are given and the gifts that others have been given. I have mentioned several times that truly one of the gifts of the spirit that I have been given is that of Faith in the Lord Jesus christ and knowledge that the gospel is true. Looking back, even when i wanted it not to be true, i always knew it was. With that gift i still had a choice and sometimes i wished that i could say it wasn't. This of course was when I was younger and had to choose whether i was going to live the gospel or not. It was not an easy choice- I must admit i had reason to want to live the way of the world. Not all of it but for loves sake i wanted to be with someone who didn't want to live the gospel. I teetered for awhile- but really looking back- i never teetered i always knew. i may have made some decisions that weren't in accordance with that knowledge but I always knew. Since making that decision- the decision that I was going to live the gospel the best i knew how- i have never looked back. And now as I think about it that is another gift I have been blessed with- the ability to make decisions and look forward and not back. I have been blessed by others gifts that maybe they didn't even realize they had. Anyway this week i realized that these gifts are just as important as the gift we were given at baptism. Of course without the gift of the holy ghost we would not have these other gifts. oftentimes we forget that we can ask for gifts as long as we are asking for the purpose of building up the kingdom of God and not for the purpose of looking better to the world. i want so much to have knowledge that i can share with others. I, however, must do my part to get that knowledge. My must be prayerfully seeking answers, studying the scriptures, attending my meetings and all the things i have already been asked to do. As I continue to do these things i will be blessed to be able to share my knowledge with others in a way that it will be beneficial to them. I feel as if I am rambling and so i will end with a link to what i believe is the most awesome talk given on the gifts of the spirit. It is found in the February, 2002 Ensign.
My mom gave me this talk and it change my whole outlook on gifts of the spirit. It should be studied and pondered. I am so grateful for the gospel and the blessing that come from living it fully. I am so grateful for the decision I made to follow the teaching of the prophets. To stop rationalizing and justifying those things i was doing at the time. I know I have a ways to go and that there are things that I can improve upon but i know that as I continue to allow the spirit to work in my life and follow the promptings i will be protected, guided, and blessed far beyond what I can imagine.

Week 15

This week the lesson was on the Law of Consecration. As I asked the kids- 13-14 year olds- what came to mind when I said the Law of Consecration I got blank stares! They had never heard of it before. Wow! I wonder if I had at their age- i don't remember. So then I believe the spirit guided me to teach them about what it is. I actually was very touched by the spirit as He testified to me of this eternal principle. In fact- Job- he understood this principle to the core. Really what it comes down to is recognizing that everything that we have has been given to us by our Heavenly Father- everything. Job had a testimony that was so strong and he had been blessed tremendously with a wife and children, material wealth and when it was all taken from him, even his health- he still remained true to the Lord. People, his friends, tried to convince him to denounce his testimony, to turn from the Lord, they even tried to convince him that he had done something very wrong in the sight of God to have all these bad things happen but Job did not listen- he continued to pray and stay close to what he knew and after his trial he was given everything back and then some. When it comes to living the Law of Consecration at the cruxt of it is the knowledge that everything we have comes from our Heavenly Father and he gives it to us so that we can build the kingdom of God and if he sees fit to take it away he is doing so to build our faith in Him- to see that we will remain true even in the hardest and most difficult of times. The Law of Consecration has been lived by the people of Enoch, it was lived by the saints after Jesus Christ left the earth and it was lived by the Nephites after Jesus Christ appeared unto them. To live this law we must have an eye single to the glory of God. we must have complete knowledge that the Lord knows what he is doing and whatever he gives or takes away is his to do so with. The early saints were asked to live this law and they did so for a brief period of time and then they began to bicker and argue about who had what and why. In so doing they were unable to continue to live this way and so were given the law of tithing. The law of tithing is giving 10% of what has been given to you, back to the Lord, for the building of His kingdom here on earth. the law of consecration is giving 100% back to He who has given it to you. Now we haven't been asked to live this Law but someday we will be asked and we can prepare now to live it. We can do this through prayer, scripture study, attending church meetings regularly, loving others, keeping the commandments....I know all primary answers but these things are what help us to come unto Him- to have a personal relationship with our Savior. If we don't know Him how can we live under his law. We must also come to love as he does. to realize that all of us, even our enemies, have talents and attributes that will contribute to building the kingdom of God. We must learn now to submit ourselves wholly to the Lord. We must be willing to give up things we think are "ok" because we have been asked to do so by our prophets. The only thing we truly can "give" to our Heavenly Father is our "will." We may be asked to do things that we think are "ok" but really we are being asked to choose god's will over our own. I obviously need help in this area just like everyone else but I must say after teaching this lesson I am one step closer.

Week 14

I must admit that i did not put the effort I normally do into this weeks lesson. I let life get in the way and did not make the time to study as I normally do. However I was very touched by the spirit and the power He has to make truth known to my heart and mind. This weeks lesson was in regards to the revelations and truths that have been restored to the latter days through the prophet Joseph Smith. There are so many things that I believe we as members take for granted and forget that others aren't taught or don't have the same understanding. For instance, we believe that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost are individual beings. Heavenly Father and jesus Christ having resurrected, physical bodies and that the Holy Ghost is a spirit, just like you and i were before being born into this world. Most other churches believe they are all spirits and they are all the same being. We also have the knowledge of the Plan of Salvation- the fact that we came from a world before- that we were created spiritually before physically and that we chose to come to this earth to follow our Heavenly Father's plan and gain a physical body. We chose this path because it was the only way we could become like Him which leads to another piece of knowledge that others don't teach- we believe we are son's and daughters of a Heavenly Father who loves us and knows us and that we have the potential to become like Him. Yes- we believe we can become Gods. What a beautiful concept. To have been created by a parent who loves me and is perfect and to know that I can become like Him. We can never be Him but we can be like Him. We also know that we can return to Him because of the sacrifice of our brother and Savior, Jesus Christ, who atoned for our sins, if we so choose, we can repent and follow His example and in doing so we can be saved from our sins and return to live again with them. We also know that because Jesus Christ gave up his life, willingly, he overcame the bonds of death and in so doing made it possible for each one of us to be resurrected- to be reunited with our physical bodies, made perfect- after we have gone from this earth. We also know that through the restoration of the priesthood we have the opportunity to make covenants with our Heavenly Father that will make it possible to be sealed to our families for eternity. That through these priesthood covenants and ordinances we can live with our Heavenly Father again. It is only through the priesthood that this is made possible and it for this purpose that we have temples on the earth today, to not only save ourselves but also to make it possible for others who have not had the opportunity to have those covenants and ordinances done for them. Because of Joseph Smith we have the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price. He is a Prophet of God and because he was humble enough to get on his knees and ask, believing he would recieve he made it possible for the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ to be restored. We know that God speaks to us today through apostles and prophets just as he did in times of old. We are so blessed to have this knowledge and it is our responsibility to study it, pray about it and be ready to share it with others who are searching for something more. Every one of us is a son or daughter of our Heavenly Father and our spirits are aware of this knowledge; it is not something new however when the veil was drawn it became necessary for us to need to be reminded of these truths which is why we have a member of the Godhead, the Holy Ghost to witness of these truths. He touches our hearts and minds. Truth is truth whether you want to believe it or not. All you need is a desire to believe and the willingness to "plant the seed" and let it take root. I do understand that in the world today it is not always easy to live the commandments- to not take things into our bodies and minds- to dress so that we respect the bodies we have been given- we want so much to blend in with the world; to not stand out- unless we are wanting to be noticed for the reason of the world but I can testify to you that I know by making ourselves known as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and staying true to those things the prophets have commanded we will be blessed and as we endure it becomes easier to be a "peculiar people" because you will find more strength in the knowledge you have and you will be more confident because you will be doing what you know is right instead of trying to justify those things which you know are not. I love this gospel. I am not perfect but I know that i can become perfect through repentance because of my Savior.

Week 13

With it being Easter Sunday I really wanted to tie in the lesson with why we celebrate Easter. I try to make sure to teach my kids this instead of just making the holiday about candy, easter eggs and the easter bunny. As I pondered the lesson and the reason for Easter I concluded that "the gathering of Israel" is all dependent upon what our Savior has done for us. There would be no reason for a "gathering" if our Savior did not give his life and atone for our sins. For our lesson I showed the movie "To this end was I born". I began the lesson by explaining the thoughts I have just shared with you. We then watched the 27 minute video. I have seen it before and yet i found again the spirit testifying to my heart and soul of the truthfulness of these events. As I continued to ponder these thoughts throughout the week it occurred to me that the gathering of Israel begins with me. It isn't an event that is going to take place all at one time. It goes along with the "worth of souls" when we share the gospel with ourselves we are gathering and when we gather ourselves unto the Lord or "come unto Him" by our examples we will bring others with us. In the lesson it teaches that the gathering of Israel is not just bring the lost 10 tribes out of obscurity but it is about strengthening through unification. It is about becoming perfected by receiving those ordinances necessary for us to return to live with our Heavenly Father in the Celestial Kingdom. Beginning with Baptism and following through with being sealed to our families. It is imperative for these ordinances to happen so that we can be exalted as we live eternally with our Heavenly Father. Baptism is the gate that leads to eternal life- without baptism we cannot be saved. It is an outward reflection of our inner commitment. Without the atonement and the resurrection eternal life would not be possible. it is our responsibility to strengthen and prepare ourselves so that we can do the same for others. These are the thoughts that occurred to me while preparing and giving the lesson this week.