Announcements - July 27, 2014

This is the last week to donate toward cleaning supplies.  Money donations happily accepted.  Send to Pam G.  Thanks!  

Lesson Summary - July 27, 2014

“The Cost and Blessing of Discipleship”

conference talk by Jeffrey R. Holland

lesson by Chris C.

Chris displayed a picture from her garden showing masses of purple heather with one large yellow bloom conspicuously growing in the center and asked, “Who in this room has been the yellow flower?  Who has felt different from all around you?  Did you like the feeling or not?”  Then she quoted John 17:14:

14. The world hath hated my disciples because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.”

What does it mean to be a disciple?  What does it take?   Anyone who believes in Jesus Christ and seeks to follow Him, anyone who is willing to lay down his life is His disciple. 

Elder Holland speaks of the cost of discipleship: “You will one day find yourself called upon to defend your faith or perhaps even endure some personal abuse simply because you are a member of the church.”    

Perhaps we innately crave acceptance which means the action or process of being received as adequate or suitable, typically to be admitted into a group, welcomed, a favorable reception.  The opposite is rejection or worse. 

How are we challenged as members of the church?  We are the yellow flower that is different from the world.  Marion G. Romney said, “There is a cost to be paid in becoming a disciple of Christ, a very real cost.  But the cost is a performance cost, not a money price.”

My daughter feels friends have judgments that are incorrect even before they know you – particularly after the Book of Mormon musical has become so popular.   In that regard, seasons of negative publicity can help accomplish the Lord’s purposes.  Criticisms can create interest in the church and can provide members with an opportunity to present the truth to those whose attention is directed toward us.  Be ready to explain in simple terms and to testify when those opportunities present themselves.  Printed in the playbill for that musical is an invitation that invites people to the church and to find out more. 

How should we successfully defend our beliefs?  How does the Church defend itself?  David Hales says, “with compassion, but defend them.”

We are not to sit idly by without comment unless the spirit whispers to do so as it did when Jesus was questioned and accused before Pilate and He “answered them nothing.”   His reaction was entirely different as Jesus drove the moneychangers out of the temple.  Stay close and be prompted by the spirit with your response.   

If we are true disciples we will have concern for others welfare so our aim should be to help them understand the truth.  True disciples avoid being unduly judgmental of other’s views. 

Elder Holland said, “There is a crucial difference between the commandment to forgive sin (which Jesus had an infinite capacity to do) and the warning against condoning it (which He never ever did even once)”.

 

The key messages today are:

We are the yellow flower!

Be strong.  Live the gospel faithfully even if others around you don’t live it at all.

Answer our accusers the Savior’s way –sometimes that is saying nothing at all……listen to the promptings of the Holy Ghost for guidance and find the courage to follow through as directed by the Spirit....

Always defend your beliefs with courtesy and compassion.

 

Announcements - July 20, 2014

We are still collecting cleaning supplies for the Monument Crisis Center.  Much is still needed for that effort so please consider what you could contribute.  This drive will end in two weeks so please bring your cleaning supply items here on Sunday.

Lesson Summary - July 20, 2014

Teachings of the Presidents of the Church

Joseph Fielding Smith - Lesson 16 -"Bringing Up Children in Light and Truth"

taught by Marsha N.

 

 Marsh showed some wonderful drawings depicting two couples, each having a child who later married the other and started a new family unit, bringing all they had been taught by their respective parents about how to raise their own family.   According to the laws of our land, parents are supposed to provide food, clothing and shelter for their children, to love them and never abuse them.

 

“The Father has never relinquished His claim upon the children born into this world. They are still His children. He has placed them in the care of mortal parents with the admonition that they be brought up in light and truth. The primary responsibility, and fundamentally so, is upon the parents to teach their children in light and truth.”   JFS

 

While it is the primary responsibility of parents to bring up the children in light and truth, the church helps in those efforts.  As a practical matter, we are all a part of this endeavor, whether as a relative, neighbor, friend, or teacher to these children, to instruct and influence them on their way back to Heavenly Father.

 

Specifically, parents are admonished to set righteous examples, to begin teaching the children when they are young, to teach them to pray, to introduce them to the scriptures, to hold family home evening, to teach virtue, chastity and morality and finally, to prepare our children to be witnesses of the truth and to serve missions.

 

Marsha and Norm raised eight children, all of whom have married in the temple. She called each one of them to see how she and Norm had faired in their parental duties as outlined by Pres. Smith.   She got mixed reviews! The only thing they all agreed upon is that they consistently attended church every Sunday no matter what! Some recalled always having family home evening, others said they never had it. Some recall being taught gospel principles by example. All remember eating dinner together and some regarded the expanded meal prayer as being family prayer each night.    Six of the eight children served missions.

 

“Our children will have to be taught to discern between good and evil, otherwise in many respects they will not be able to understand why they are not permitted to indulge in practices that are common with their neighbors. Unless they are instructed in the doctrines of the church, they will not, perhaps, understand why there is any harm in the Sunday concert, a Sunday theater, picture show, ball game, or something of that kind, when their playmates, without restraint and with encouragement, indulge in these things forbidden of the Lord on His holy day. The parents are responsible for the proper teaching of their children, and the Lord will condemn the parents if their children grow up outside of the influence of the principles of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.”       JFS

 

Sometimes, despite our best efforts, our children, beguiled by the world, will chose to go astray and to reject the teachings of the gospel regardless of our efforts to hold them close.   To such a circumstance several prophets have expressed their promises:

 

Brigham Young taught, ”Let the father and mother, who are members of this Church and Kingdom, take a righteous course, and strive with all their might never to do a wrong, but to do good all their lives; if they have one child or one hundred children, if they conduct themselves towards them as they should, binding them to the Lord by their faith and prayers, I care not where those children go, they are bound up to their parents by an everlasting tie, and no power on earth or hell can separate them from their parents in eternity; they will return again to the fountain from whence they sprang”

 

Lorenzo Snow taught, “If you succeed in passing through these trials and afflictions and receive a resurrection, you will, by the power of the priesthood, work and labor, as the Son of God has, until you get all your sons and daughters in the path of exaltation and glory. This is just as sure as that the sun rose this morning over yonder mountains. Therefore, mourn not because all our sons and daughters do not follow in the path that you have marked out to them, or give heed to your counsels. Inasmuch as we succeed in securing eternal glory, and stand as saviors, and as kings and priests to our God, we will save our posterity.”

 

And finally, “The prophet Joseph Smith declared - and he never taught a more comforting doctrine - that the eternal sealings of faithful parents and the divine promises made to them for valiant service in the Cause of Truth, would save not only themselves, but likewise their posterity. Though some of the sheep may wander, the eye of the Shepherd is upon them, and sooner or later they will feel the tentacles of Divine Providence reaching out after them and drawing them back to the fold. Either in this life or the life to come, they will return. They will have to pay their debt to justice; they will suffer for their sins and may tread a thorny path; but if it leads them at last like the penitent Prodigal to a loving and forgiving father’s heart and home, the painful experience will not have been in vain. Pray for your careless and disobedient children; hold on to them with your faith. Hope on, trust on, till you see the salvation of God.”

Announcements - July 13, 2014

Monument Crisis Shelter can still use more cleaning supplies, especially gloves, mops and large buckets.

Pioneer Picnic will be on Monday, July 21 from 6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. at the Moraga Commons.

Lesson Summary - July 13, 2014

Teachings of the Presidents of the Church

Joseph Fielding Smith

Lesson 15

“Eternal Marriage”

Lesson by Kim

 

Kim began her lesson by giving some personal experiences about eternal marriage and said that eternal marriage is an ordinance.  We are responsible for our own salvation.  Joseph Fielding Smith said, “No one can be deprived of exaltation who remains faithful…An undeserving husband cannot prevent a faithful wife from an exaltation and vice versa.”

 

Kim gave a short background on Joseph Fielding Smith.  President Smith Married Louie Shurtliff in 1898.  She passed away in 1908 during her third pregnancy after giving President Smith two daughters.  Joseph Fielding Smith married Ethel Reynolds shortly after Louie’s death.  Joseph and Ethel had nine children and Ethel passed away after 29 years of marriage.  In 1938, President Smith married Jessie Evans.  They were married for 33 years until she died in 1971.

 

How can eternal marriage sustain us through happy and sad times in our lives?  Some responses were:

 

1-Common goals

2-It’s not just in this life.  God will work it out.

3-Have a mind set going into marriage that this is eternal

4-Commitment-going into marriage and ongoing

5-My trip to heaven is for me

6-Be honest with each other

7-Sealing power—more than just to you and your spouse.  It is sealing to the rest of the generations—it is greater than just to your spouse.

 

The sealing ordinance is a three-way covenant, between husband, wife, and God.

 

Joseph Fielding Smith said, “Celestial marriage is the crowning ordinance of the gospel of Jesus Christ.”  “There is no ordinance connected with the Gospel of Jesus Christ of greater importance, of more solemn and sacred nature, and more necessary to (our) eternal joy…than marriage.”

 

“The fullness and blessings of the Priesthood and Gospel grow out of Celestial marriage.  This is the crowning ordinance of the Gospel and crowning ordinance of the temple.”

 

“I want to plead to my good brethren and sisters, good members of the Church, to go to the temple to be married for time and all eternity.”

 

What is required to be sealed?

1-Be married

2-Fullfil requirements of a temple recommend

3-Be endowed first

4-Need to be sealed by one with that authority (temple sealer)

 

President Smith said, “In contrast to the practices of the world, marriage endures forever in the gospel plan.”  “...Marriage as understood by Latter-Day Saints is a covenant ordained to be everlasting.  It is the foundation for eternal exaltation, for without it there could be no eternal progress in the kingdom of God.” 

 

“The Lord has given us his everlasting gospel to be a light and a standard to us, and this gospel includes his holy order of matrimony, which is eternal in nature.  We should not and must not follow the marriage practices of the world.  We have greater light than the world has, and the Lord expects more of us than he does of them.”

 

“We know what the true order of marriage is.  We know the place of the family unit in the plan of salvation.  We know that we should be married in the temple, and that we must keep ourselves clean and pure so as to gain the approving seal of the Holy Spirit of Promise upon our marriage unions.”

 

In the Gospel Principles manual it says, “Many people in the world consider marriage to be only a social custom, a legal agreement between a man and a woman to live together. But to Latter-day Saints, marriage is much more. Our exaltation depends on marriage, along with other principles and ordinances, such as faith, repentance, baptism, and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. We believe that marriage is the most sacred relationship that can exist between a man and a woman. This sacred relationship affects our happiness now and in the eternities.”

 

Joseph Fielding Smith said, “Faithfulness to the marriage covenant brings happiness and leads to blessings of eternal glory.”  “What does marriage mean to members of the Church?  It means that they are receiving in that ordinance the greatest, the crowning blessing, the blessing of eternal lives.  Now that’s the way the Lord puts it, “eternal lives,” which means not only will the husband and the wife enter into eternal life, but their children who were born under the covenant likewise will be entitled through their faithfulness to eternal lives.  And further, that the husband and the wife after the resurrection of the dead will not come to an end.  By that the Lord means that they will have a continuation of the seeds forever, and the family organization does not come to an end.”

 

“In order to fulfill the purposes of our Eternal Father, there must be a union, husbands and wives receiving the blessings that are promised to those who are faithful and true that will exalt them to Godhood.  A man cannot receive the fullness of the blessings of the kingdom of God alone, nor can the woman, but the two together can receive all the blessings and privileges that pertain to the fullness of the Father’s kingdom.”

 

President Smith also said, “Every soul whose heart is right will have the opportunity to receive the blessings of eternal marriage, whether in this life or the next.” “No one can be deprived of exaltation who remains faithful…An undeserving husband cannot prevent a faithful wife from an exaltation and vice versa.”

 

“Children and youth prepare for eternal marriage as they learn about the marriage covenant, develop abiding faith, and keep themselves clean and pure.”  “This life is short, and eternity is long.  When we contemplate that the marriage covenant will endure forever, it is well that it should be given careful consideration…The proper advice to our youth is to consider carefully with the view of choosing well a companion with an abiding faith in the Gospel.  Such a person is more likely to prove true to every vow and covenant.  When the young man and the young woman are thoroughly grounded in the divine mission of our Lord and believe the Gospel as revealed through Joseph Smith, the Prophet, the chances are all in favor of a happy union that will endure forever.”

 

“I plead with you, the youth of Zion everywhere, to keep yourselves clean and pure so that you will be entitled to go to the house of the Lord and, together with the companions of your choice, enjoy all these great blessings the Lord offers to you.”

 

Kim asked what parents can do to teach their children the sacredness of the marriage covenant?

 

1-By example

2-Go to the temple often and talk about it to your children

3-Have pictures of the temple in your home

4-Do baptisms for the dead

5-Parents should talk to their children where they fit in the family structure and about ancestors and descendants.

 

Kim closed her lesson by reading a quote from Joseph Fielding Smith:  “As a husband and wife faithfully observe all the ordinances and principles of the gospel, their joy in marriage grows sweeter.”

 

 

 

           

 

 

 

Announcements - July 6, 2014

• We can still use more cleaning supplies, especially gloves, mops and large buckets for the Crisis Shelter.
   
• The Interfaith Community blood drive will next be held Saturday, July 12 from 8:00-2:00 at the Moraga Ward building. Also, July 11 and July 23 at the Interstake Center.
   
• The next Relief Society activity will be a movie night, “Sleepless in Seattle”, on Tuesday, July 15th at 7:30 at the home of Heather D.
   
• Pioneer Picnic will be on Monday, July 21 from 6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. at the Moraga Commons.
   
• Drivers are needed to bring kids home from Trek (Placerville area). If interested, contact David S.

Lesson Summary - July 6, 2014

Spiritual Spotlight

Jana R.

Jana and her family moved into the ward 22 years ago. Since 2008 she and Darryl have been in the Spanish ward. Most recently, Jana has been serving in the stake Primary presidency.

Jana was born in Salt Lake City. During her childhood her family moved back and forth between Salt Lake and the Bay Area. When she was 15, they moved permanently to Los Altos. She went to BYU where she met her husband. They moved to Manhattan so Darryl could attend law school. After law school they moved to San Francisco, then Piedmont, and finally Orinda. They have two children. Their daughter and family currently live with them while house hunting. Their son is in the foreign service, recently back from Yemen and currently living in Washington DC while preparing to go to Brazil. Jana has many hobbies: quilt making, making hats and boxes. She likes to read and write. Jana hates to clean. Jana considers herself an introvert but is getting braver as she meets with more and more people.

Jana loves the spiritual spotlight because it not only focuses on who we are but on our testimonies and our relationship with the Gospel. Although one is born into the Church, that doesn’t mean one is born with a testimony. Jana never had a problem with the Joseph Smith story and has always had a firm belief in God. Jana came of age during the late 60’s and early 70’s when there was a lot of social change. These times created questions about the world and the Church for Jana. There were four primary questions that Jana wrestled with:

1-Blacks and the Priesthood. The Church’s stand on this was impossible to defend to her friends. She had always been taught that at some point, blacks would be given the priesthood and when it happened, it would be seen as a sign of the times. She remembers weeping for joy when she heard the news that blacks had been given the priesthood. The members of the Church had been begging for this to happen and were overjoyed when it finally happened. They weren’t forced to accept it begrudgingly but the members were overjoyed!

2-Women and the Priesthood. What it meant to be a woman in the Church. Again, in the 1970’s, the Equal Rights Amendment was being debated across the country. The Church, at the time, was under great scrutiny for its position on the Equal Rights Amendment, women and their place in the home versus working outside the home. Jana’s thinking led her back to Eve. What was her link with Eve? She thought a lot about the story of Adam and Eve and how Adam and Eve are the focus of the temple ceremonies. This bible story deals with the Plan of Salvation, what is important to God and the nature of man, woman, and evil. As she studied more about this, a different kind of Eve took shape. God as a perfectly benevolent Father wouldn’t force us into an existence separate from Him. Eve chose this path for us and became a heroine to Jana. Eve had to choose and it was a gutsy, selfless, clear-sighted choice. She sacrificed for her children and she understood the consequences of her choice: joy, progression, uncertainty, pain. She was a zealot for Christ’s plan and she had the ultimate faith in that plan. God loves and trusts women because He entrusts them with his most precious possessions: his children. God loves the selflessness in women. Women are partners with God. Jana feels that her prayers are equally as powerful as priesthood prayers. We are both part of the team and both separate...a ying-yang...both have elements of each other. They need us and we need them. It’s a magnetic quality that both halves need each other and the two halves make a whole.

3-Why do horrible things happen to wonderful people? Jana, at one point, came to the conclusion that in many ways, life is unfair. Often really wicked people have healthy, happy lives and wonderful people have horrible things happen to them. In the world there is poverty, hunger, war, and sickness. Jana prayed to see life through God’s eyes so she might understand. Over time, she has come to see that life is staggeringly beautiful.   Our primary purpose is joy and sometimes joy comes in hard times. What is important to us may not be important to God. Suffering to God is a blink of an eye and suffering is the greatest teacher. He strives for divine growth in each of us. Divinity doesn’t come through ease but through hard work and is often brutal. If we look at the broader picture, we will see that life is beautiful.

4-Inequality. Why was I born in a free land and given so much, but others have been born into limiting circumstances where it doesn’t seem they have a chance? It doesn’t seem fair. Jana read in Ephesians that no matter whether you are a master or a servant, you are to behave the same. It is irrelevant what station you are born into or whether you are rich or poor. The test is the same for everyone. Act with a singleness of heart, doing the will of the Lord. Many years ago, Jana visited Equator. There she saw people who were extremely poor but they were also incredibly happy. Jana realized that sometimes what we think of as curses are actually blessings. Our blessings can be our stumbling blocks or we can use them as tools. Tolstoy pondered this question of inequality and ultimately said, “You do what you can.” He determined to make his circle of influence as wide as possible and who ever came into that circle would leave it feeling better, more blessed and more loved.

Jana closed by saying that she has faith in our sisterhood. With her new calling as Relief Society President, Jana’s challenge is making her circle larger and now includes all of us and it is her hope that all those who come into this circle will leave it being happier, more hopeful, not judged, and loved for who they are.