Snippets for Relief Society 2015 :) Use search term Ezra Taft Benson to view more for this week or for other weeks.
![]()
Whether you're excited about teaching a lesson on missionary work this month or not, hopefully this blog post will contribute some positive ideas and send some encouraging vibes your way.
Almost every ETB lesson leaves me convinced President Benson is deeply extraordinary and a spiritual genius.
Let's skip right to the heart of the matter (intended pun to be explained in a bit).
We hesitate to do missionary work. We hold back. Most of us certainly don't actively seek out others to discuss the gospel with.
President Benson asks us an introspective question directly:
"How long has it been since you have invited a neighbor to sacrament meeting or to a stake conference, to come into your home for a home evening? How long has it been since you had a real gospel conversation? These are choice experiences."
One of the qualities I love about President Benson, is he is monstrously loving, attentive and accommodating with others, yet he wastes no time mincing words when the time comes:
"It is not enough just to be members in the Church and go to sacrament meeting, pay our tithing, support the welfare program. That is all good—but that is not enough. The Lord expects us to be missionaries, to live the gospel—yes, wholly, and to help to build up His kingdom."
Since we love having the joy and reassurance of the Gospel in our lives, why do we hold back sharing with others?
Some reasons I've experienced are fear of rejection, fear of awkwardness, fear of damaging social status, fear of not having the right answers or being stumped by critics of our faith...etc.
So these verses from Jeremiah are some of my favorites ~ I relate to them as a RS teacher, as an "any community" member and as a member missionary:
6 Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child. ["They'll think I'm an idiot."]
7 ¶But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.
8 Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord. [There will always be some who are not so friendly, or receptive ~ don't pay them any mind.]
17 ¶Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at their faces.. [Don't expect to derive your confidence and validation from others, the Lord is already behind you.] (Jeremiah 1:6-8,17)
President Benson lists some more ways we can get through those fear obstacles, but my favorite is number three.
"Third, love the people."
I fully get and have experienced the power of love.
Love makes us brave.
In fact, it can make us easily brave. For example, if a would-be mugger/attacker appeared on your path one night, our response generally includes all kinds of fear and fretting. Put our 2-yr old child or grandchild on the path between us and the thug...and what changes? All of the sudden this mama bear syndrome kicks into overdrive.
Maybe an adrenaline rush isn't the best analogy, but love conquers all kinds of difficult things.
Over the years, I've come to appreciate how profound this simple verse is:
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. (1 John 4:18)
Love has a way of drowning out other discomforts. So when we get to the place of love, we're capable of a lot.
"We will never be effective until we learn to have sympathy for all our Father’s children—until we learn to love them. People can feel when love is extended to them. Many yearn for it. When we sympathize with their feelings, they in turn will reciprocate good will to us. We will have made a friend."
"We must love all our Father’s children and associate with them."
"How I pray that we will be filled with the love of God for our fellowman!"
***
Another thought on the subject of sharing the gospel is...talk about what you know. There are parts of the gospel you love best, or which resonate with you and you have natural enthusiasm for. It could be music, it could be genealogy, it could be family life, it could be the plan of salvation, it could be Church ball, and the list is long.
One of my dear friends, Lois Maxwell, from a past ward shared how a simple phrase from a friend completely overwhelmed her and was the reason she took missionary discussions:
"What man is, God once was, and what God is, man may become." (Lorenzo Snow)
"Where did you get that??!! she asked her friend. "That is wonderful!"
This is the very doctrine that we get so many snarky criticisms over, and which some Christians even hate us for. This is the same idea sometimes we feel a bit sheepish for. The spin-off goes something like... Mormons believe they will become gods someday with their own planets - which can sound outrageous or fanatical.
Yet for this sister, the same doctrine was a shining beacon which made all the sense in the world to her. She has since sent grandchildren on missions.
And by the way, it's okay to say "I don't know" or "let me research that and get back to you."
Be yourself. If there is something you love about the gospel, have confidence in it.
Don't worry about what you don't know or don't have perfect answers for. What more, those who intentionally antagonize you or critique your faith, usually won't change their perspective for a great, perfect answer anyway.
Sometimes we're so stiff about trying to look all poised and well-versed in the gospel and present it in what we assume is the best light to others, we just kill it for them (and ourselves). Or we never get off the ground even because we're too afraid we won't be good enough.
Another brother, Kurt, whom I think the world of, was raised in a rough home. He became a teacher and a football coach for inner city ghetto schools. He was a rough-cut diamond himself back then who first learned about the church through Church ball. Once he was invited to referee Church basketball, which wasn't his best sport and he said he refereed just like he did inner city football...no blood, no foul.
It didn't go over very well and one brother was so angry over a lost game and so mad at the way Kurt refereed that he picked up the big electronic scoreboard and threw it on the gym floor and broke it. Kurt had been taking the missionary discussions and assumed Mormons were all really nice people, and a place he didn't belong.
As the scoreboard slammed into the floor Kurt thought, "oh, there are people just like me here...I can go to this Church!"
Of course this is a hilarious story and I'm certainly not recommending such things as a way to fellowship those of other faiths ~ just making the point we need to relax a bit and not be so uptight about the way we present the gospel to others.
Our imperfections can sometimes be as important as our strengths.
Kurt has since raised a family of 3 boys and a girl in the Church and just sent his first son on a mission to Las Vegas a couple of months ago. He laughs over his start as a Mormon ~ but what a great asset and Saint he turned out to be!
We need to pursue and capture love and we need to share our real selves, particularly in regards to the gospel.
I just got asked to last-minute teach a lesson I haven't studied so this post is short today.
Hopefully there are a couple of elements which might help pull your own thoughts together the way you would like.
Many blessings!
Whether you're excited about teaching a lesson on missionary work this month or not, hopefully this blog post will contribute some positive ideas and send some encouraging vibes your way.
Almost every ETB lesson leaves me convinced President Benson is deeply extraordinary and a spiritual genius.
Let's skip right to the heart of the matter (intended pun to be explained in a bit).
We hesitate to do missionary work. We hold back. Most of us certainly don't actively seek out others to discuss the gospel with.
President Benson asks us an introspective question directly:
"How long has it been since you have invited a neighbor to sacrament meeting or to a stake conference, to come into your home for a home evening? How long has it been since you had a real gospel conversation? These are choice experiences."
One of the qualities I love about President Benson, is he is monstrously loving, attentive and accommodating with others, yet he wastes no time mincing words when the time comes:
"It is not enough just to be members in the Church and go to sacrament meeting, pay our tithing, support the welfare program. That is all good—but that is not enough. The Lord expects us to be missionaries, to live the gospel—yes, wholly, and to help to build up His kingdom."
Since we love having the joy and reassurance of the Gospel in our lives, why do we hold back sharing with others?
Some reasons I've experienced are fear of rejection, fear of awkwardness, fear of damaging social status, fear of not having the right answers or being stumped by critics of our faith...etc.
So these verses from Jeremiah are some of my favorites ~ I relate to them as a RS teacher, as an "any community" member and as a member missionary:
6 Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child. ["They'll think I'm an idiot."]
7 ¶But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.
8 Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord. [There will always be some who are not so friendly, or receptive ~ don't pay them any mind.]
17 ¶Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at their faces.. [Don't expect to derive your confidence and validation from others, the Lord is already behind you.] (Jeremiah 1:6-8,17)
President Benson lists some more ways we can get through those fear obstacles, but my favorite is number three.
"Third, love the people."
I fully get and have experienced the power of love.
Love makes us brave.
In fact, it can make us easily brave. For example, if a would-be mugger/attacker appeared on your path one night, our response generally includes all kinds of fear and fretting. Put our 2-yr old child or grandchild on the path between us and the thug...and what changes? All of the sudden this mama bear syndrome kicks into overdrive.
Maybe an adrenaline rush isn't the best analogy, but love conquers all kinds of difficult things.
Over the years, I've come to appreciate how profound this simple verse is:
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. (1 John 4:18)
Love has a way of drowning out other discomforts. So when we get to the place of love, we're capable of a lot.
"We will never be effective until we learn to have sympathy for all our Father’s children—until we learn to love them. People can feel when love is extended to them. Many yearn for it. When we sympathize with their feelings, they in turn will reciprocate good will to us. We will have made a friend."
"We must love all our Father’s children and associate with them."
"How I pray that we will be filled with the love of God for our fellowman!"
***
Another thought on the subject of sharing the gospel is...talk about what you know. There are parts of the gospel you love best, or which resonate with you and you have natural enthusiasm for. It could be music, it could be genealogy, it could be family life, it could be the plan of salvation, it could be Church ball, and the list is long.
One of my dear friends, Lois Maxwell, from a past ward shared how a simple phrase from a friend completely overwhelmed her and was the reason she took missionary discussions:
"What man is, God once was, and what God is, man may become." (Lorenzo Snow)
"Where did you get that??!! she asked her friend. "That is wonderful!"
This is the very doctrine that we get so many snarky criticisms over, and which some Christians even hate us for. This is the same idea sometimes we feel a bit sheepish for. The spin-off goes something like... Mormons believe they will become gods someday with their own planets - which can sound outrageous or fanatical.
Yet for this sister, the same doctrine was a shining beacon which made all the sense in the world to her. She has since sent grandchildren on missions.
And by the way, it's okay to say "I don't know" or "let me research that and get back to you."
Be yourself. If there is something you love about the gospel, have confidence in it.
Don't worry about what you don't know or don't have perfect answers for. What more, those who intentionally antagonize you or critique your faith, usually won't change their perspective for a great, perfect answer anyway.
Sometimes we're so stiff about trying to look all poised and well-versed in the gospel and present it in what we assume is the best light to others, we just kill it for them (and ourselves). Or we never get off the ground even because we're too afraid we won't be good enough.
Another brother, Kurt, whom I think the world of, was raised in a rough home. He became a teacher and a football coach for inner city ghetto schools. He was a rough-cut diamond himself back then who first learned about the church through Church ball. Once he was invited to referee Church basketball, which wasn't his best sport and he said he refereed just like he did inner city football...no blood, no foul.
It didn't go over very well and one brother was so angry over a lost game and so mad at the way Kurt refereed that he picked up the big electronic scoreboard and threw it on the gym floor and broke it. Kurt had been taking the missionary discussions and assumed Mormons were all really nice people, and a place he didn't belong.
As the scoreboard slammed into the floor Kurt thought, "oh, there are people just like me here...I can go to this Church!"
Of course this is a hilarious story and I'm certainly not recommending such things as a way to fellowship those of other faiths ~ just making the point we need to relax a bit and not be so uptight about the way we present the gospel to others.
Our imperfections can sometimes be as important as our strengths.
Kurt has since raised a family of 3 boys and a girl in the Church and just sent his first son on a mission to Las Vegas a couple of months ago. He laughs over his start as a Mormon ~ but what a great asset and Saint he turned out to be!
We need to pursue and capture love and we need to share our real selves, particularly in regards to the gospel.
I just got asked to last-minute teach a lesson I haven't studied so this post is short today.
Hopefully there are a couple of elements which might help pull your own thoughts together the way you would like.
Many blessings!