Announcements - Feb. 22, 2015

·         Relief Society Weekday Activity will be on Tuesday, February 24, 2015.  We will join with the Young Women to make super hero capes for children at Children’s Hospital.  We will also be collecting clothes to donate to families in Fiji. Also, pictures will be taken that will be part of the slide show at the stake women’s conference.

 

·         March 14, 2015 is the stake women’s conference.  Sheri Dew will be the speaker.

 

·         Ward Conference is Sunday, March 22, 2015.

 

·         The ward choir needs additional singers, especially sopranos.  Practices are for 45 minutes immediately after church each Sunday.

Lesson Summary - Feb. 22, 2015

“The Sacrament—a Renewal for the Soul”

Conference Talk by

Cheryl A. Esplin

October, 2014 General Conference, Saturday Morning Session

“The Sacrament and the Atonement”

Conference Talk by

Elder James J. Hamula

October, 2014 General Conference Sunday Morning Session

Lesson by Lauren

 

Lauren began her lesson by reading a quote from Elder James J. Hamula’s talk:  “The ordinance of the sacrament has been called “one of the most holy and sacred ordinances in the Church.”  It needs to become more holy and sacred to each of us.  Jesus Christ Himself instituted the ordinance to remind us what He did to redeem us and to teach us how we may avail ourselves of His Redemption and thereby live with God again.”

 

Lauren then showed us the bible video of “Last Supper” which showed Christ offering the sacrament to the Twelve Apostles. 

 

She then asked, “Do we recognize the Sacrament to be the most holy ordinance?  And:  How do you prepare for the Sacrament each week?”  Some responses were:  To repent; It keeps you humble; It is cleansing.

 

Elder Hamula said, “In this simple yet profound manner, Jesus instituted a new ordinance for God’s covenant people. No longer would animal blood be spilled or animal flesh be consumed in anticipation of a redeeming sacrifice of a Christ who was yet to come. Instead, emblems of the broken flesh and spilled blood of the Christ who had already come would be taken and eaten in remembrance of His redeeming sacrifice. Participation in this new ordinance would signify to all a solemn acceptance of Jesus as the promised Christ and wholehearted willingness to follow Him and keep His commandments. To those who would so signify and conduct their life, spiritual death would “pass over” them, and eternal life would be assured.

In the hours and days that followed, Jesus entered into Gethsemane, was taken to Calvary, and triumphantly departed the Arimathean’s tomb. After His departure from them, Jesus’s faithful disciples in and about Jerusalem came together on the first day of the week to “break bread,” and they did so “steadfastly.” Surely, they did so not only to remember their departed Lord but also to express gratitude for and faith in His marvelous Redemption of them.”

Lauren then read the Sacrament prayer:  O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it, that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him and keep his commandments which he has given them; that they may always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen.

What can we do to make the words of the Sacrament more meaningful?  Some responses were that it helps when the prayer is spoken slowly; re-read the prayer while the bread and water are being passed;  the bishopric helps set the tone when we begin the Sacrament portion of the meeting.

 

Elder Hamula said, “With torn and broken bread, we signify that we remember the physical body of Jesus Christ—a body that was buffeted with pains, afflictions, and temptations of every kind, a body that bore a burden of anguish sufficient to bleed at every pore, a body whose flesh was torn and whose heart was broken in crucifixion. We signify our belief that while that same body was laid to rest in death, it was raised again to life from the grave, never again to know disease, decay, or death. And in taking the bread to ourselves, we acknowledge that, like Christ’s mortal body, our bodies will be released from the bonds of death, rise triumphantly from the grave, and be restored to our eternal spirits.

With a small cup of water, we signify that we remember the blood Jesus spilled and the spiritual suffering He endured for all mankind. We remember the agony that caused great drops of blood to fall in Gethsemane. We remember the bruising and scourging He endured at the hands of His captors. We remember the blood He spilled from His hands, feet, and side while at Calvary. And we remember His personal reflection on His suffering: “How sore you know not, how exquisite you know not, yea, how hard to bear you know not.” In taking the water to ourselves, we acknowledge that His blood and suffering atoned for our sins and that He will remit our sins as we embrace and accept the principles and ordinances of His gospel.”

Lauren asked, “How do you feel during the Sacrament?”  Some responses were:  “Reading the words of the Sacrament hymns helps focus;  Engage kids by asking 10 things they are grateful for that Jesus had done for them;  Think about what you can work on during the week;  Take the promises literally…you can be as perfect as when you were baptized.”

Elder Hamula said, “The fundamental question facing all of us is not whether we will live but with whom we will live after we die. While every one of us will return to the presence of God, not every one of us will remain with Him. . . In partaking of the sacramental water, we are taught how we may be made clean from sin and transgression and thus stand in the presence of God. By the shedding of His innocent blood, Jesus Christ satisfied the demands of justice for every sin and transgression. He then offers to make us clean if we will have faith in Him sufficient to repent; accept all the ordinances and covenants of salvation, beginning with baptism; and receive the Holy Ghost. Upon our receipt of the Holy Ghost, we are cleansed and purified. Jesus made this doctrine very clear:  No unclean thing can enter into [God’s] kingdom; … nothing entereth into his rest save it be those who have washed their garments in my blood. …Now this is the commandment: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day.”  And: “Next, we declare that we “are willing to take upon [us] the name of [the] Son.” That is a solemn commitment to submit ourselves to His authority and to do His work, which includes receiving for ourselves every saving ordinance and covenant.  When we commit ourselves to these principles, we are promised in the sacramental prayers that we will “have his Spirit to be with [us].” Receiving anew the Spirit is a consummate blessing because the Spirit is the agent who cleanses and purifies us from sin and transgression.” 

Lauren read from Cheryl Esplin’s talk where she quoted President Henry B. Eyring:  “That means we must see ourselves as His. We will put Him first in our lives. We will want what He wants rather than what we want or what the world teaches us to want.”

Sister Esplin said, “Elder Melvin J. Ballard taught how the sacrament can be a healing and cleansing experience. He said: “Who is there among us that does not wound his spirit by word, thought, or deed, from Sabbath to Sabbath? We do things for which we are sorry and desire to be forgiven. … The method to obtain forgiveness is … to repent of our sins, to go to those against whom we have sinned or transgressed and obtain their forgiveness and then repair to the sacrament table where, if we have sincerely repented and put ourselves in proper condition, we shall be forgiven, and spiritual healing will come to our souls. …

“I am a witness,” Elder Ballard said, “that there is a spirit attending the administration of the sacrament that warms the soul from head to foot; you feel the wounds of the spirit being healed, and the load being lifted. Comfort and happiness come to the soul that is worthy and truly desirous of partaking of this spiritual food.”

Our wounded souls can be healed and renewed not only because the bread and water remind us of the Savior’s sacrifice of His flesh and blood but because the emblems also remind us that He will always be our “bread of life” and “living water.”

Sister Esplin expressed her feelings about the Sacrament, “When I partake of the sacrament, I sometimes picture in my mind a painting that depicts the resurrected Savior with His arms outstretched, as if He is ready to receive us into His loving embrace. I love this painting. When I think about it during the administration of the sacrament, my soul is lifted as I can almost hear the Savior’s words: “Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me.”

Lauren closed her lesson by bearing her testimony saying that by remembering this sacred ordinance that through Him we are able to be cleaned each week when we partake of the sanctified bread and water, to try harder to become better people and that Christ was willing to be sacrificed for us.

Announcements - February 8, 2015

·         Relief Society Weekday Activity will be on Tuesday, February 24, 2015.  We will join with the Young Women to make super hero capes for children at Children’s Hospital.

 

·         Stake Conference will be held the weekend of February 14-15, 2015.

 

·         March 15, 2015 is the stake women’s conference.  Shari Dew will be the speaker.

 

·         Ward Conference is Sunday, March 22, 2015.

Lesson Summary - February 8, 2015

Teachings of the Presidents of the Church

Ezra Taft Benson

Lessons 3

“Freedom of Choice, an Eternal Principle”

By Carly

 

Carly began her lesson by quoting President Ezra Taft Benson, “Agency has been given to all of us to make important decisions that will have bearing on our salvation.  Those decisions affect our happiness in eternity.”

 

Carly then told a little about President Benson’s life from the manual.  “He recalled: “I grew up believing that the willingness and ability to work is the basic ingredient of successful farming. Hard, intelligent work is the key. Use it, and your chances for success are good.” At a young age, Ezra learned that he and his family would have more to eat if they chose to take care of their garden. He learned that if he wanted the family to be successful in their dairy business, he had to decide to get out of bed early every day to milk the cows. He saw that when he made the choice to work hard, local farmers hired him to thin their beets and pitch their hay. He saw that trials come even to the faithful, but he also saw that individuals and families could decide to respond to trials in a way that would help them be happy and successful.  For young Ezra Taft Benson, some consequences of good decisions could be measured in buckets of milk, on trucks loaded with hay, and with generous pay for a day of hard work. Others were harder to measure but more lasting. For example, as he observed his parents, he saw the joy, peace, and strength that come when family members choose to be faithful to one another and the Lord. He learned that the law of the harvest—“whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6:7)—applies to spiritual pursuits as well as physical labor.”

 

Carly asked “What is agency?” Some responses were:  Choice, blessing and a burden.

 

President Benson said, “Agency is the freedom to choose the course you should follow.” He encouraged Latter-day Saints and others to use their agency to “act on their own,” without waiting to be commanded in all things. The principle of agency, he said, “runs like a golden thread throughout the gospel plan of the Lord for the blessing of his children.”

 

Bruce R. McConkie said, “Agency is the ability and freedom to choose good or evil.”

 

Ability means being able.  And to be able we need to have enough power and knowledge to do something.  Sometimes agency is described as a blessing and a burden.  Why is that?  We have the power to think, choose, and act for ourselves.  It comes with endless opportunities, along with responsibility and consequences.  That is why it is a blessing and a burden.

 

Everyone has agency and you can’t control others’ agency or acts.  You have to take responsibility for your own actions and can’t blame others.

 

When we use our agency for good, we become stronger.  When we use our agency for evil, we become weaker.

 

With free agency, you have the freedom to choose, but you also have the freedom to “screw up” and learn from your mistakes, recover and become stronger. Agency allows us to become stronger.  If we didn’t have agency, if someone made you do the right thing, then you would have Satan’s plan.  But with Heavenly Father’s plan we have agency and the Atonement to help us when we fall.  Agency was such an important principle to Heavenly Father that he was willing to risk losing a third of His children for this eternal plan.

 

Doctrine and Covenants 93:2 says” “And that I am the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world;” 

 

President Benson said, “Freedom of choice is a God-given eternal principle. The great plan of liberty is the plan of the gospel. There is no coercion about it; no force, no intimidation. A man is free to accept the gospel or reject it. He may accept it and then refuse to live it, or he may accept it and live it fully. But God will never force us to live the gospel. He will use persuasion through His servants. He will call us and He will direct us and He will persuade us and encourage us and He will bless us when we respond, but He will never force the human mind.  This life is a time of testing in which we are free to choose between good and evil.”

 

Abraham was shown the spirit children of our Heavenly Father before they came to earth. He, too, was shown the creation of the earth, and the Lord said to him: “And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them.” (Abraham 3:25.) In that divine statement is embodied also the right of choice.  This life is a probation: a probation in which you and I prove our mettle, a probation that has eternal consequences for each of us. And now is our time and season—as every generation has had theirs—to learn our duties and to do them.

 

C.S. Lewis said, “Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is…You find out the strength of a wind by trying to walk against it, not by lying down.  A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later.  Christ, because He was the only man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation means.”

 

President Benson also said, “God loves you as He loves each and every one of His children, and His desire and purpose and glory is to have you return to Him pure and undefiled, having proven yourselves worthy of an eternity of joy in His presence.”

 

“Your Father in heaven is mindful of you. He has given you commandments to guide you, to discipline you. He has also given you your agency—freedom of choice—“to see if [you] will do all things whatsoever [He] shall command.” (Abr. 3:25.) His kingdom here on earth is well organized, and your leaders are dedicated to helping you. May you know that you have our constant love, our concern, and prayers.”

 

“Satan is also mindful of you. He is committed to your destruction. He does not discipline you with commandments, but offers instead a freedom to “do your own thing.” … Satan’s program is “play now and pay later.” He seeks for all to be miserable like unto himself [see 2 Nephi 2:27]. The Lord’s program is happiness now and joy forever through gospel living. We are free to choose, but we are not free to alter the consequences of those choices.” 

 

William Law said, “If we have not chosen the Kimgdom of God first, it will make in the end no difference what we have chosen instead.”

 

Carly closed her lesson with her testimony of the principle of agency and with the following quote from James E. Talmage about Jesus, “He was all that a boy should be, for His development was unretarded by the dragging weight of sin; He loved and obeyed the truth and therefore was free.”

 

Making right choices frees us, it blesses us, even in choosing what may appear trivial in our lives.

 

 

Announcements - February 1, 2015

·         Relief Society Weekday Activity will be on Tuesday, February 24, 2015.  We will join with the Young Women to make super hero capes for children at Children’s Hospital.

 

·         Stake Conference will be held the weekend of February 14-15, 2015.

 

·         March 15, 2015 is the stake women’s conference.  Shari Dew will be the speaker.

 

·         Ward Conference is Sunday, March 22, 2015.

 

·         Visiting Teaching Supervisors should be thought of as an extra layer of shepherd.  They liaison with their district of visiting teachers and should be first in the first line of communications with regard to the sisters in their districts.

 

·         The baptism of Ed R. will take place next Sunday, February 8, 2015 at 5 p.m. at the Overlook Chapel.  If you are able to attend, please bring a snack to share.

Lesson Summary - February 1, 2015

Spiritual Spotlight

By Rachel K.

 

Rachel began her spotlight by talking about her grandparents.  Her ancestors on her father’s side came from a long line of Mormons and they migrated from Nauvoo to Utah.  Her grandfather was one of the kindest, most generous people that she has ever known.  There was once a homeless man who was living on his property.  Rachel’s grandfather gave him food and clothing for as long as he lived there.  There was also a man who stole coal from him.  When asked by a neighbor what he would do about it, Rachel’s grandfather said, “Nothing.  His family must be cold.”  Rachel’s father’s family ultimately settled in Preston, Idaho.  Rachel’s father went to medical school and became a doctor.

 

Rachel’s maternal grandfather although he grew up in Gilroy, but ran away to Alaska to become a gold miner.  Her grandmother was raised in Minnesota but weather was unhealthy for her so to improve her health, she moved to Alaska to be with her sister.  She went to work in a mining camp and met Rachel’s grandfather.  Rachel’s mother was raised as a non-denominational Christian but started going to the LDS church in high school with her best friend and joined the Church a couple of years later.  She attended BYU and met Rachel’s father there.  They were married in the Salt Lake temple. 

 

Rachel’s father was still in medical school when she was born.  Her family lived in Germany for three years on an Army base and eventually settled in Kansas City.  Her parents had five girls and one boy.  Her dad was a proponent of hard work and would make sure that his children always had lots of chores and projects to do around the house and yard. 

 

Growing up, Rachel was grateful for Primary lessons that taught her that families could be together forever.  Rachel loved to read and shortly after she was baptized when she was eight, she read the entire Book of Mormon.  She remembers reading “And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.”  Moroni 10:4.  Upon reading this, Rachel prayed if what she had just read was true, and she received the unmistakable answer that it was true accompanied by a feeling of such light and joy that she felt like she could fly.  This was one of the first answers to prayers that she remembers.

 

Rachel attended BYU and graduated with a degree in Nursing.  After graduating, she moved back to Kansas City but soon decided that she would move to Seattle.  She met Andrew a couple of weeks after arriving in Seattle and they were married about a year later in the St. Louis temple.  While looking for work as a nurse, she earned a living by painting murals in model homes.  Eventually she moved back to Kansas City to find a nursing job, but would often commute to Seattle to be with Andrew who asked her to marry him on one of these visits.  They have been married for 16 years and lived in Seattle for 17 years until they moved here.  They have four children, two boys and two girls.

 

Rachel’s life to this point has been filled with both many blessings and trials.  She has often pondered why it seems like some have an easy time and others have much adversity.  She has learned that adversity is not a punishment from God but a result of free agency or an opportunity to experience mortality.

In 2 Corinthians 12:8-10 Paul asked for adversity to be taken away:  “For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.  And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”

Rachel has been able to see that most trials have been blessings and that prosperity as a test rather than a reward.  It is important to recognize what we are becoming instead of getting caught up on what is happening to us on a daily basis.

One of Rachel’s favorite authors said, “There are only two or three human stories, and they go on repeating themselves as fiercely as if they had never happened before.”

 

C. S. Lewis said, “We're not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be.”

 

Rachel has found comfort in the scripture found in John 14:27, “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.”

 

Rachel closed by saying that her trials have humbled her like nothing else has and she can see the Lord’s love in this.  When we are humble, we are teachable and when we are teachable, the Spirit can communicate with us and lead us back to our Heavenly Father.  Rachel knows that the Lord loves us and knows what we need and how much we can handle.  She has seen how much easier it is to weather trials when living close to the Spirit and how much harder it is when we are not living close to the Spirit.