Snippets for Relief Society 2014 :) Use search term Joseph Fielding Smith to view more for this week or for other weeks.
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I fell off the blogger's turnip truck or whatever it is they cart around in the back of said truck.
It's been one of those oddly crunched-up phases in our lives.
My husband had major knee surgery four weeks back and our little family business just got a major website overhaul among other things and even though we hired an outside firm - how much of our own work it took to make this happen has been much more enormous than expected. The site still is not done.
And all of that on top of other rather significant projects for:
~home (pioneer trek, community college finals for three kids, major trip to Ohio, new drivers license, extended family coming to visit, new church welfare calling)
~the business (complete new ad campaigns, computer systems and data base overhaul and the steep learning curve of social media marketing)
~community organizations (school board, end-of-year projects and budgets).
They just all stacked themselves on at once.
This blog, even though it is one of my greatest and diligent loves, became discretionary time.
It happens.
If I had it to do over again I would NEVER schedule a major surgery and a major business overhaul at the same time. That was my biggest mistake.
The rest I could have handled. You and I balance amazing loads all the time!
Unforttunately, that's not the only truck I fell off of.
And this lesson fully touches on the second truck.
Ouch.
Our family goes through this every summer when school lets out and our routines disappear. We have three older children at home and they literally scatter in three different directions with different bedtimes, morning times and sometimes quite crazy schedules. Family prayer gets really sporadic, FHE languishes, and so on.
There were several JFS quotes that pierced my soul. Sometimes we need a wake-up call and this lesson was definitely it.
Here we go:
These verses from Doctrine & Covenants are sublime. They touch several aspects of our personal lives and our teaching assignment of this lesson even. It may not be obvious they apply to us when you first read this reference (originally to Oliver Cowdery) - but let's look at them.
7 Seek not for riches but for wisdom [hard to do - the world successfully teaches the exact opposite priorities], and behold, the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto you, and then shall you be made rich [you will feel a richness, money and objects can't touch]. Behold, he that hath eternal life is rich.
8 Verily, verily, I say unto you, even as you desire of me so it shall be unto you; and if you desire, you shall be the means of doing much good in this generation. [And in your Relief Society Class].
9 Say nothing but repentance unto this generation [through mostly gentle, loving, faith-inspiring reminders of what this gospel is about]; keep my commandments, and assist to bring forth my work, according to my commandments, and you shall be blessed.
10 Behold thou hast a gift [your teaching calling is a sublime means of doing good], and blessed art thou because of thy gift. Remember it is sacred and cometh from above (it's true)—
11 And if thou wilt inquire [research, seek it out], thou shalt know mysteries which are great and marvelous; therefore thou shalt exercise thy gift [teaching calling, parenthood, sisterhood], that thou mayest find out mysteries, that thou mayest bring many [in your class] to the knowledge of the truth, yea, convince them of the error of their ways [in a kind, loving, sisterly sort of a way]. (D&C 6:7-11)
We all have our gifts. One of mine is looking at gospel precepts and principles [which I have an absolute passion for] and translating them from an overall understanding into a series of connecting ideas which sometimes makes more sense to others. And it also seems ideal for blogging because most people are parts-to-whole learners.
Your gifts are many things, one of them must be a seeker of learning - because that's how you found this post. You were looking for resources and understanding to increase the effectiveness of your lesson. That's a gift, the fact you even had a notion to seek out and improve upon it. Trust me, it's not all that common.
Which brings us to another point...you must be a kindred spirit to be here. And I know when you teach your lesson - your particular gifts will come into play. I would LOVE to be there to watch you teach and watch your gifts show themselves. It would be awesome!
My daughter Heather mentioned something her Institute teacher said last night:
"We need to step up our learning and our teaching."
It really hit me how true that was! When we take in more, we have more to give out...
I have my own motto:
Inspiration in...inspiration out.
Unfortunately, what we see in society today is the opposite trend. A dumbing down and an aversion to study and contemplation. Someone posted this on my Facebook this morning. I find it to be a sublime commentary on the state of our society and the direction our cultures are heading.
Our families and especially our children need to be taught to seek, and inquire after real light and truth. That starts with us talking about it right to them and putting our own priorities there.
Revelation, understanding and inspiration come from seeking it, inquiring after it. So this next verse really hit home this morning:
14 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, blessed art thou for what thou hast done; for thou hast inquired of me, and behold, as often as thou hast inquired thou hast received instruction of my Spirit. If it had not been so, thou wouldst not have come to the place where thou art at this time. (D&C 6:14)
Christ loves us and the heavens bless us for simply the act of INQUIRING. And when we inquire, the answers eventually find their way to us.
And once we've inquired, we become a valuable resource and network for others in the gospel. Including our family and children.
My point today and how it relates to the lesson, is starting to take shape
Elder Uchtdorf said something in the last General Conference which keeps coming back to me over and over...and in different ways.
"When our time in mortality is complete, what experiences will we be able to share about our own contribution to this significant period of our lives and to the furthering of the Lord’s work? Will we be able to say that we rolled up our sleeves and labored with all our heart, might, mind, and strength? Or will we have to admit that our role was mostly that of an observer"? (Elder Uchtdorf - April 2014 - Priesthood session)
Big question for myself: Did we roll up our sleeves and teach the rising generation how to roll theirs up too?
"Those who wholeheartedly turn their lives over to our Savior and serve God and fellowman discover a richness and fulness to life that the selfish or egotistic will never experience."(Still Elder Uchtdorf)
Wouldn't showing our children and others we influence how to have this richness and fullness in their own lives one of the greatest gifts we could give them for their adulthood?
We need to be learning more, teaching more and modeling loyalty, love and sacrifice for the strength of God's Kingdom more.
We all need renewal, resolve and re-dedication from time to time, don't we?
Introspective questions: Do we bear our testimony at home to our families? Both formally and informally? Do we frequently bring up important gospel issues and discuss them and define them in our own words to our kids or other family members? Do we bring up the gospel very much at home (lecturing and reprimands don't count)?
Which brings us to President Smith:
"The first duty pertaining to the training of the children of the Church belongs in the home. It is the responsibility of the parents to bring up their children in light and truth, and the Lord has declared that wherein they fail to do it, they will stand before the judgment seat to give answer."
He asks some specific questions like:
"Are you training [your children] so that when they are married they will want to go to the house of the Lord? Are you teaching them so that they will want to receive the great endowment which the Lord has in store for them? Have you impressed upon them the fact that they can be sealed as husbands and wives and have bestowed upon them every gift and every blessing that pertains to the celestial kingdom?"
Sometimes we assume our children will pick up on this and many other gospel concepts and we don't bring them up specifically at home and intentionally discuss them.
Class Discussion What are some other gospel principles we could teach in the home? (word of wisdom, gaining a testimony, baptism, what does the Holy Ghost and personal revelation feel like, how do priesthood blessings work, repentance, a personal relationship with Christ, the absolute importance and priority of service, forgiveness, kindness, etc). What teaching methods have you used with your family which seemed effective?
Here is the lesson sub-title which really got me thinking:
Help children prepare to have eternal families of their own...
I instantly saw my own family and our summer habits. I then thought about how it's going to feel to watch my own children as parents become so casual with such things with their children...my grandchildren. Am I going to feel good about that? Do I want them to parent their children like I'm parenting them right now?
no...No...NO!
It's going to feel awful to have them copy me. Seriously. I completely cringed over this today.
So we're all climbing back on the "inspiration in....inspiration out" truck. We find a way to pray and read scriptures and hold FHE regularly despite our current irregularities.
Not only for them, but for my grandchildren down the road.
If I could narrow down a couple of the most important elements to instill in our homes they would be:
Testimonies
As much as we benefit from testimony meeting every fast Sunday - nothing will have greater impact than the experience of testimony bearing at home.
President Smith taught:
"Individual, personal testimony is and always will be the strength of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A testimony is best nurtured in the family setting. … The gaining and the keeping of testimonies should be a family project. Do not neglect anything that will help to strengthen the testimony of any member of your family."
Class Discussion: What are ways we can promote testimony sharing at home? (FHE, purposeful discussions, comments on scriptures read together...) Do testimonies have to end with "in the name of..."?
Prayer
Perhaps one of the most valuable things we could ever model or establish in our homes is prayer. It's the art of kneeling on our knees and feeling after Heavenly Father which will set more paths straight, lend more strength and give more direction than just about any other precept. Be prayerful for your own sake, and even more for your children's sake. Cultivate the art of prayer, if it is not in your life as much as it ought to be, re-establish it for your children's sake. It's one of the greatest gifts you could give them for all that they will face in this life.
"What is a home without the spirit of prayer? It is not a Latter-day Saint home. We should pray; we ought not to let a morning pass without thanking the Lord on our knees in the family circle, thanking Him for His blessings and asking for His guidance. We should not let the night pass away, should not retire until we have assembled the members of that family again and thanked the Lord for His protection, and asked for His guidance every day of our lives."
"I hope that you are teaching your children in your homes to pray. I hope that you are having family prayers, morning and evening, that your children are taught by example and by precept to observe the commandments that are so precious and so sacred and mean so much to our salvation in the kingdom of God."
Class Discussion: When do you have family prayer in your family? What ways have you found to get around scheduling challenges and the sometimes uncooperative attitudes we face from our children? What blessings have family prayers brought you? Have you ever had a family prayer which was memorable?
Scriptures
Even though there is not a lot said in this lesson - in another previous lesson JFS said find time for at least 15 mins of personal scripture study. Find a way to bring in a few quality minutes with the scriptures into your family and whenever you can turn it into a discussion or share your personal viewpoint about a verse...you win.
"We sometimes hear the complaint, “I haven’t time.” But we all have time to read and study which is our solemn duty. Can we not arrange to find at least fifteen minutes in each day to devote to systematic reading and reflection? This would be but a trifling amount of time, yet it would be one hour and forty-five minutes in a week; seven and one-half hours in a month of thirty days, and ninety-one hours and a quarter in the year."
"… Very few among us read too much; most of us read too little. The Lord has said: “And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom, seek learning even by study and also by faith.” (Joseph Fielding Smith Lesson #10)
One of the most valuable things we can share with our children are our insights about meaningful verses and how they impact us personally. How they apply to us, how our questions and prayers have been answered....even if they seem disinterested. Sublime words influenced by specific verses have a staying power - even when delivered by a parent who is unpopular at the moment.
FHE
Probably the one place we can regularly make our best triumphs when it comes to teaching the gospel to our children. Make it a fun, memorable time with treats and activities and slip in the truly important stuff along with it. There are so many great FHE ideas out there (easy, invaluable class discussion too) - and even though this is at the end, it may be one of the best tools to help the sisters accomplish so much of what JFS teaches in this lesson. Regular FHE is 50+ chances a year to make a meaningful, memorable moment with our children, and bring the gospel out in full view with our kids - in a way they're most likely to listen.
"Well-planned family home evenings can be a source of long-lasting joy and influence. These evenings are times for group activity, for organizing, for the expressions of love, for the bearing of testimony, for learning gospel principles, for family fun and recreation, and of all things, for family unity and solidarity."
I hope this lesson goes well for you - this is a great topic.
Possible Hymns: Teach Me To Walk In The Light #304
Help Me Teach With Inspiration #281
I fell off the blogger's turnip truck or whatever it is they cart around in the back of said truck.
It's been one of those oddly crunched-up phases in our lives.
My husband had major knee surgery four weeks back and our little family business just got a major website overhaul among other things and even though we hired an outside firm - how much of our own work it took to make this happen has been much more enormous than expected. The site still is not done.
And all of that on top of other rather significant projects for:
~home (pioneer trek, community college finals for three kids, major trip to Ohio, new drivers license, extended family coming to visit, new church welfare calling)
~the business (complete new ad campaigns, computer systems and data base overhaul and the steep learning curve of social media marketing)
~community organizations (school board, end-of-year projects and budgets).
They just all stacked themselves on at once.
This blog, even though it is one of my greatest and diligent loves, became discretionary time.
It happens.
If I had it to do over again I would NEVER schedule a major surgery and a major business overhaul at the same time. That was my biggest mistake.
The rest I could have handled. You and I balance amazing loads all the time!
Unforttunately, that's not the only truck I fell off of.
And this lesson fully touches on the second truck.
Ouch.
Our family goes through this every summer when school lets out and our routines disappear. We have three older children at home and they literally scatter in three different directions with different bedtimes, morning times and sometimes quite crazy schedules. Family prayer gets really sporadic, FHE languishes, and so on.
There were several JFS quotes that pierced my soul. Sometimes we need a wake-up call and this lesson was definitely it.
Here we go:
These verses from Doctrine & Covenants are sublime. They touch several aspects of our personal lives and our teaching assignment of this lesson even. It may not be obvious they apply to us when you first read this reference (originally to Oliver Cowdery) - but let's look at them.
7 Seek not for riches but for wisdom [hard to do - the world successfully teaches the exact opposite priorities], and behold, the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto you, and then shall you be made rich [you will feel a richness, money and objects can't touch]. Behold, he that hath eternal life is rich.
8 Verily, verily, I say unto you, even as you desire of me so it shall be unto you; and if you desire, you shall be the means of doing much good in this generation. [And in your Relief Society Class].
9 Say nothing but repentance unto this generation [through mostly gentle, loving, faith-inspiring reminders of what this gospel is about]; keep my commandments, and assist to bring forth my work, according to my commandments, and you shall be blessed.
10 Behold thou hast a gift [your teaching calling is a sublime means of doing good], and blessed art thou because of thy gift. Remember it is sacred and cometh from above (it's true)—
11 And if thou wilt inquire [research, seek it out], thou shalt know mysteries which are great and marvelous; therefore thou shalt exercise thy gift [teaching calling, parenthood, sisterhood], that thou mayest find out mysteries, that thou mayest bring many [in your class] to the knowledge of the truth, yea, convince them of the error of their ways [in a kind, loving, sisterly sort of a way]. (D&C 6:7-11)
We all have our gifts. One of mine is looking at gospel precepts and principles [which I have an absolute passion for] and translating them from an overall understanding into a series of connecting ideas which sometimes makes more sense to others. And it also seems ideal for blogging because most people are parts-to-whole learners.
Your gifts are many things, one of them must be a seeker of learning - because that's how you found this post. You were looking for resources and understanding to increase the effectiveness of your lesson. That's a gift, the fact you even had a notion to seek out and improve upon it. Trust me, it's not all that common.
Which brings us to another point...you must be a kindred spirit to be here. And I know when you teach your lesson - your particular gifts will come into play. I would LOVE to be there to watch you teach and watch your gifts show themselves. It would be awesome!
My daughter Heather mentioned something her Institute teacher said last night:
"We need to step up our learning and our teaching."
It really hit me how true that was! When we take in more, we have more to give out...
I have my own motto:
Inspiration in...inspiration out.
Unfortunately, what we see in society today is the opposite trend. A dumbing down and an aversion to study and contemplation. Someone posted this on my Facebook this morning. I find it to be a sublime commentary on the state of our society and the direction our cultures are heading.
 |
| So much given to us, and so much passed over! |
Our families and especially our children need to be taught to seek, and inquire after real light and truth. That starts with us talking about it right to them and putting our own priorities there.
Revelation, understanding and inspiration come from seeking it, inquiring after it. So this next verse really hit home this morning:
14 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, blessed art thou for what thou hast done; for thou hast inquired of me, and behold, as often as thou hast inquired thou hast received instruction of my Spirit. If it had not been so, thou wouldst not have come to the place where thou art at this time. (D&C 6:14)
Christ loves us and the heavens bless us for simply the act of INQUIRING. And when we inquire, the answers eventually find their way to us.
And once we've inquired, we become a valuable resource and network for others in the gospel. Including our family and children.
My point today and how it relates to the lesson, is starting to take shape
Elder Uchtdorf said something in the last General Conference which keeps coming back to me over and over...and in different ways.
"When our time in mortality is complete, what experiences will we be able to share about our own contribution to this significant period of our lives and to the furthering of the Lord’s work? Will we be able to say that we rolled up our sleeves and labored with all our heart, might, mind, and strength? Or will we have to admit that our role was mostly that of an observer"? (Elder Uchtdorf - April 2014 - Priesthood session)
Big question for myself: Did we roll up our sleeves and teach the rising generation how to roll theirs up too?
"Those who wholeheartedly turn their lives over to our Savior and serve God and fellowman discover a richness and fulness to life that the selfish or egotistic will never experience."(Still Elder Uchtdorf)
Wouldn't showing our children and others we influence how to have this richness and fullness in their own lives one of the greatest gifts we could give them for their adulthood?
We need to be learning more, teaching more and modeling loyalty, love and sacrifice for the strength of God's Kingdom more.
We all need renewal, resolve and re-dedication from time to time, don't we?
Introspective questions: Do we bear our testimony at home to our families? Both formally and informally? Do we frequently bring up important gospel issues and discuss them and define them in our own words to our kids or other family members? Do we bring up the gospel very much at home (lecturing and reprimands don't count)?
Which brings us to President Smith:
"The first duty pertaining to the training of the children of the Church belongs in the home. It is the responsibility of the parents to bring up their children in light and truth, and the Lord has declared that wherein they fail to do it, they will stand before the judgment seat to give answer."
He asks some specific questions like:
"Are you training [your children] so that when they are married they will want to go to the house of the Lord? Are you teaching them so that they will want to receive the great endowment which the Lord has in store for them? Have you impressed upon them the fact that they can be sealed as husbands and wives and have bestowed upon them every gift and every blessing that pertains to the celestial kingdom?"
Sometimes we assume our children will pick up on this and many other gospel concepts and we don't bring them up specifically at home and intentionally discuss them.
Class Discussion What are some other gospel principles we could teach in the home? (word of wisdom, gaining a testimony, baptism, what does the Holy Ghost and personal revelation feel like, how do priesthood blessings work, repentance, a personal relationship with Christ, the absolute importance and priority of service, forgiveness, kindness, etc). What teaching methods have you used with your family which seemed effective?
Here is the lesson sub-title which really got me thinking:
Help children prepare to have eternal families of their own...
I instantly saw my own family and our summer habits. I then thought about how it's going to feel to watch my own children as parents become so casual with such things with their children...my grandchildren. Am I going to feel good about that? Do I want them to parent their children like I'm parenting them right now?
no...No...NO!
It's going to feel awful to have them copy me. Seriously. I completely cringed over this today.
So we're all climbing back on the "inspiration in....inspiration out" truck. We find a way to pray and read scriptures and hold FHE regularly despite our current irregularities.
Not only for them, but for my grandchildren down the road.
If I could narrow down a couple of the most important elements to instill in our homes they would be:
Testimonies
As much as we benefit from testimony meeting every fast Sunday - nothing will have greater impact than the experience of testimony bearing at home.
President Smith taught:
"Individual, personal testimony is and always will be the strength of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A testimony is best nurtured in the family setting. … The gaining and the keeping of testimonies should be a family project. Do not neglect anything that will help to strengthen the testimony of any member of your family."
Class Discussion: What are ways we can promote testimony sharing at home? (FHE, purposeful discussions, comments on scriptures read together...) Do testimonies have to end with "in the name of..."?
Prayer
Perhaps one of the most valuable things we could ever model or establish in our homes is prayer. It's the art of kneeling on our knees and feeling after Heavenly Father which will set more paths straight, lend more strength and give more direction than just about any other precept. Be prayerful for your own sake, and even more for your children's sake. Cultivate the art of prayer, if it is not in your life as much as it ought to be, re-establish it for your children's sake. It's one of the greatest gifts you could give them for all that they will face in this life.
"What is a home without the spirit of prayer? It is not a Latter-day Saint home. We should pray; we ought not to let a morning pass without thanking the Lord on our knees in the family circle, thanking Him for His blessings and asking for His guidance. We should not let the night pass away, should not retire until we have assembled the members of that family again and thanked the Lord for His protection, and asked for His guidance every day of our lives."
"I hope that you are teaching your children in your homes to pray. I hope that you are having family prayers, morning and evening, that your children are taught by example and by precept to observe the commandments that are so precious and so sacred and mean so much to our salvation in the kingdom of God."
Class Discussion: When do you have family prayer in your family? What ways have you found to get around scheduling challenges and the sometimes uncooperative attitudes we face from our children? What blessings have family prayers brought you? Have you ever had a family prayer which was memorable?
Scriptures
Even though there is not a lot said in this lesson - in another previous lesson JFS said find time for at least 15 mins of personal scripture study. Find a way to bring in a few quality minutes with the scriptures into your family and whenever you can turn it into a discussion or share your personal viewpoint about a verse...you win.
"We sometimes hear the complaint, “I haven’t time.” But we all have time to read and study which is our solemn duty. Can we not arrange to find at least fifteen minutes in each day to devote to systematic reading and reflection? This would be but a trifling amount of time, yet it would be one hour and forty-five minutes in a week; seven and one-half hours in a month of thirty days, and ninety-one hours and a quarter in the year."
"… Very few among us read too much; most of us read too little. The Lord has said: “And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom, seek learning even by study and also by faith.” (Joseph Fielding Smith Lesson #10)
One of the most valuable things we can share with our children are our insights about meaningful verses and how they impact us personally. How they apply to us, how our questions and prayers have been answered....even if they seem disinterested. Sublime words influenced by specific verses have a staying power - even when delivered by a parent who is unpopular at the moment.
FHE
Probably the one place we can regularly make our best triumphs when it comes to teaching the gospel to our children. Make it a fun, memorable time with treats and activities and slip in the truly important stuff along with it. There are so many great FHE ideas out there (easy, invaluable class discussion too) - and even though this is at the end, it may be one of the best tools to help the sisters accomplish so much of what JFS teaches in this lesson. Regular FHE is 50+ chances a year to make a meaningful, memorable moment with our children, and bring the gospel out in full view with our kids - in a way they're most likely to listen.
"Well-planned family home evenings can be a source of long-lasting joy and influence. These evenings are times for group activity, for organizing, for the expressions of love, for the bearing of testimony, for learning gospel principles, for family fun and recreation, and of all things, for family unity and solidarity."
I hope this lesson goes well for you - this is a great topic.
Possible Hymns: Teach Me To Walk In The Light #304
Help Me Teach With Inspiration #281