R.S. Meeting: November 24, 2019

Today in Relief Society we talked about Elder Peter Johnson's talk from October's general conference: Power to Overcome the Adversary

Buckle up for a lot of quoting, because there's so much awesomeness in this talk.
 

"How do we find peace, remember who we are, and

overcome the three Ds of the adversary?"

Elder Johnson began his talk by saying, "...thank you for all you do to become, and to help others become, true followers of Jesus Christ and enjoy the blessings of the holy temple. Thank you for your goodness. You are wonderful; you are beautiful."

DECEPTION

After Moses' vision (Moses 1:4&6), Satan tried to deceive him. Elder Johnson said, "The adversary was relentless in his attempts to deceive Moses, but Moses resisted, saying, 'Depart from me, Satan, for this one God only will I worship, which is the God of glory.' Moses remembered who he was—a son of God.

The Lord’s words to Moses apply to you and to me. We are created in God’s own image, and He has a work for us to do. 

The adversary attempts to deceive by having us forget who we truly are. If we do not understand who we are, then it is difficult to recognize who we can become."

DISTRACTION

Elder Johnson warned that "the adversary also attempts to distract us away from Christ and His covenant path. ...technological advances are amazing, but if we are not careful, they can distract us from fulfilling our divine potential.

Let us be careful and not casual in our use of technology. Continually seek for ways that technology can draw us closer to the Savior and allow us to accomplish His work as we prepare for His Second Coming."

DISCOURAGEMENT

"Lastly, the adversary desires for us to become discouraged. We may get discouraged when we compare ourselves to others or feel we are not living up to expectations, including our own." 

In his talk, Elder Johnson related a personal experience when "feelings of discouragement and doubt began to take hold, almost overwhelming [him]."

He overcame this difficulty by regularly reading the Book of Mormon. He said, "It reaffirmed who I am as a son of God, reminded me not to compare myself with the others, and gave me the confidence in my divine role to succeed.

My dear friends, please do not let anyone steal your happiness. Do not compare yourself to others. Please remember the loving words of the Savior: 'Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.' 

Elder Johnson said the way to overcome "the three Ds of the adversary" is to...

First, remember that the first and great commandment is to love God with our heart, might, mind, and strength. All that we do should be motivated by our love for Him and for His Son. As we develop our love for Them by keeping Their commandments, our capacity to love ourselves and to love others will increase.

We will begin to serve family, friends, and neighbors because we will see them as the Savior sees them—as sons and daughters of God.

Second, pray unto the Father in the name of Jesus Christ every day, every day, every day. It is through prayer that we can feel the love of God and show our love for Him. Through prayer we express gratitude and ask for the strength and the courage to submit our will to God’s and be guided and directed in all things.

 I encourage you to “pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, … that ye may become the sons [and daughters] of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him.”

 Third, read and study the Book of Mormon every day, every day, every day. My Book of Mormon studies tend to go better when I read with a question in mind. As we read with a question, we can receive revelation and recognize that the Prophet Joseph Smith spoke truth when he declared, “The Book of Mormon [is] the most correct of any book on earth, … and a man [or a woman will] get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.” The Book of Mormon contains the words of Christ and helps us remember who we are.

Lastly, prayerfully partake of the sacrament every week, every week, every week. It is through covenants and priesthood ordinances, including the sacrament, that the power of godliness is manifest in our lives. Elder David A. Bednar taught: “The ordinance of the sacrament is a holy and repeated invitation to repent sincerely and to be renewed spiritually. The act of partaking of the sacrament, in and of itself, does not remit sins. But as we prepare conscientiously and participate in this holy ordinance with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, then the promise is that we may always have the Spirit of the Lord to be with us.”

As we humbly partake of the sacrament, we remember Jesus’s suffering in that sacred garden called Gethsemane and His sacrifice on the cross. We express gratitude to the Father for sending His Only Begotten Son, our Redeemer, and show our willingness to keep His commandments and to always remember Him. There is a spiritual enlightenment associated with the sacrament—it is personal, it is powerful, and it is needed.

Elder Johnson left us with a promise. He said, "My friends, I promise that as we strive to love God with all our heart, pray in the name of Jesus Christ, study the Book of Mormon, and prayerfully partake of the sacrament, we will have the ability, with the strength of the Lord, to overcome the deceptive practices of the adversary, to minimize distractions that limit our divine potential, and to resist the discouragement that diminishes our capacity to feel the love of our Heavenly Father and His Son. We will come to fully understand who we are as sons and daughters of God."

 

 

 

 

R.S. Meeting: January 27, 2019

Today in Relief Society, we talked about Elder Bednar's October 2018 Conference Talk: Gather Together in One All Things in Christ

In his talk, Elder Bednar said, "The power of the Savior’s gospel to transform and bless us flows from discerning and applying the interrelatedness of its doctrine, principles, and practices."

Elder Bednar talked about the strength of a rope and said, "Just as a rope obtains its strength from many intertwined individual strands, so the gospel of Jesus Christ provides the greatest perspective of truth and offers the richest blessings as we heed the admonition of Paul to 'gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him.'"

He said this gathering is a principle of the Savior's gospel, "centered in and focused upon the Lord Jesus Christ because He is 'the way, the truth, and the life.'"

Elder Bednar said that "the fourth article of faith is one of the greatest illustrations of gathering together in one all things in Christ." 

The specific part we focused on is below, but I highly recommend reading the whole thing:

1st: Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ 
- trust in Him
2nd: Repentance
- trust in, and rely upon Him
3rd: Baptism
- trust in, rely upon, and follow Him
4th: Gift of the Holy Ghost
- trust in, rely upon, follow, and press forward in Him

However we choose to practice this important principle, it's important to keep working to be blessed with this "precious perspective."

The thing I'm going to end with is a really awesome promise from the talk: 

"I promise that increased perspective, purpose, and power will be evident in our learning and living of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ as we strive to gather together in one all things in Christ--even in Him." 

Please note that Elder Bednar says, "as we strive," not "once we've succeeded." 

...because we only fail if we stop trying, right?

R.S. Meeting: January 13, 2019

 

Today in Relief Society, Sister Adams facilitated our discussion about President Nelson's talk from the General Women's Session of the October, 2018 General Conference: Sisters' Participation in the Gathering of Israel. 

This talk is about our role as sisters in helping the whole world come to a knowledge of Jesus Christ as our Savior and Redeemer. 

In his talk, President Nelson said:

"...whenever I have been asked why I chose to become a medical doctor, my answer has always been the same: 'Because I could not choose to be a mother.'

Please note that anytime I use the word mother, I am not talking only about women who have given birth or adopted children in this life. I am speaking about all of our Heavenly Parents’ adult daughters. Every woman is a mother by virtue of her eternal divine destiny." 

He said that the sisters of the church were key to the two of the major recent changes to the church - the standard for ministering, and the structure of the Melchizedek Priesthood quorums.

The leaders of the church are looking to the examples of women.  

We each have a unique and important role to fill. We are amazing daughters of our Heavenly Father, and will gain important knowledge about our divine strengths as we follow the prophet's guidance when he said, "My dear sisters, you have special spiritual gifts and propensities. Tonight I urge you, with all the hope of my heart, to pray to understand your spiritual gifts - to cultivate, use, and expand them, even more than you ever have. You will change the world as you do so."

R.S. Meeting: October 28, 2018

Ministering is Motivated by Christlike Love

Sister Lomat facilitated today’s Relief Society meeting. We talked a lot about the story of Jesus and the Samaritan Woman found in John 4.

Here's the story in video form:

Our progression in the gospel, from Moses’ time until now, line upon line, has brought us to this newest calling to minister to our sisters and those around us. 

The Savior taught the gospel to the Samaritan woman and showed us that her circumstance didn’t matter. She was worthy of respect and he loved her. Elder Russell M. Nelson said that “this was the first time the Lord acknowledged Himself to be the Christ.”  Just as the Samaritan woman, we are each loved and respected by the Savior. He knows us and all the details of our lives.

Christ’s whole ministry was love. His love is infinite, and we are all worthy of His love, regardless of where we are in our journey. Ministering gives us the opportunity to share a portion of that love with our sisters, and to figure out what our sisters need, and maybe what we need

It’s important to keep in touch with Heavenly Father and to follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost. As we follow the promptings we receive, our ability to hear them will become stronger and we’ll know how to best help those around us.