Lesson Summary: March 30, 2014

Our combined meeting with the men was led by Marv. B. from the high council in a discussion of Elder David A. Bednar's talk "The Windows of Heaven" from last October's Conference.

Elder Bednar taught that tithing comes with blessings as outlined in the book of Malachi.

The imagery of the “windows” of heaven used by Malachi is most instructive. Windows allow natural light to enter into a building. (2013 October General Conference, The Windows of Heaven, By David A. Bednar)

These are not always financial blessings.

• What are the spiritual blessings from tithing?

Sometimes windows can be seen as a means of protection from the hazards outside.

The church handles the tithing it receives much as it has counseled us to maintain our finances. They do not spend more than they have and put some aside in case of need.

• How do you feel about tithing? How has it effected your family?

Challenge for General Conference: listen to all talks and find one that touches you that you can share.

Lesson Summary March 16, 2014

Natalie M. taught the lesson using the Joseph Fielding Smith manual, chapter 4: Strengthening and Preserving The Family. 

The family is the most important organization in time or in eternity.

Family unity and family commitment to the gospel are so important that the adversary has turned much of his attention to the destruction of families in our society. On every side there is an attack on the basic integrity of the family as the foundation of what is good and noble in life.  (Joseph Fielding Smith manual)

As the forces of evil attack the individual by tearing away at his family roots, it becomes critical for Latter-day Saint parents to maintain and strengthen the family. There may possibly be a few very strong individuals who can survive without the support of a family, but more of us need the love, teaching, and acceptance that come from those who care very deeply. (Joseph Fielding Smith manual)

The gospel is family centered; it must be lived in the family. It is here we receive our greatest and most important training as we seek to create for ourselves eternal family units patterned after the family of God our Father. (Joseph Fielding Smith manual)

The Lord instituted the family to endure eternally.

Marriage, we have learned, is an eternal principle ordained before the foundation of the world and instituted on this earth before death came into it. Our first parents were commanded to multiply and replenish the earth. It naturally follows that the family organization was also intended to be eternal. In the plan prepared for this earth the laws governing in the celestial world became the foundation. The great work and glory of the Lord is “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” [Moses 1:39.] The only way this can be done is through marriage and the family, in fact this is the eternal order among the exalted and has been worlds without end. (Joseph Fielding Smith manual)

The hope of eternal life, including the reuniting of the members of the family when the resurrection comes, brings to the heart greater love and affection for each member of the family. With this hope, husbands are inclined to love their wives with a stronger and more holy love; and wives in like manner love their husbands. The tender feeling and solicitude on the part of parents for their children is increased, for the children become endeared to them with bands of love and happiness which cannot be broken.(Joseph Fielding Smith manual)

We strengthen and preserve our families as we spend time together, love each other, and live the gospel together.

The primary function of a Latter-day Saint home is to insure that every member of the family works to create the climate and conditions in which all can grow toward perfection. For parents, this requires a dedication of time and energy far beyond the mere providing of their children’s physical needs. For children, this means controlling the natural tendency toward selfishness.(Joseph Fielding Smith manual)

To parents in the Church we say: Love each other with all your hearts. Keep the moral law and live the gospel. Bring up your children in light and truth; teach them the saving truths of the gospel; and make your home a heaven on earth, a place where the Spirit of the Lord may dwell and where righteousness may be enthroned in the heart of each member. (Joseph Fielding Smith manual)

The following questions were asked:

• 1. What are you doing to fortify your family against the negative influences of the world?
•  Being positive
•  Attending church
• Attending temple
• Reading scriptures
• Spend time
• Love
• Limit media time

• 2. How does a hope in eternal life influence the way you interact family members?

• 3. Are you devoting your best creative energy to the most important in society--the family?

D&C 88: 119
 119 ^aOrganize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a ^bhouse, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God;

Lesson Summary: March 9, 2014

Katie T. led us through a meaningful discussion on the Plan of Salvation and what impact it has had on our lives based on the text of Chapter 3 in the Joseph Fielding Smith manual.

"(in response to hearing of his sister's death) We shall all meet again on the other side to enjoy the pleasures and blessings of each other’s presence, where family ties will no more be broken, but where we shall all live to receive the blessings, and realize the tender mercies of our Father in heaven." (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Fielding Smith, Chapter 3: The Plan of Salvation)

• Think of a time when you found comfort in your testimony of the plan of salvation. How might you help a family member or friend receive such comfort?

We learn from the Pearl of Great Price, that there was a council held in heaven, when the Lord called before him the spirits of his children and presented to them a plan by which they should come down on this earth, partake of mortal life and physical bodies, pass through a probation of mortality and then go on to a higher exaltation through the resurrection which should be brought about through the atonement of his Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ [see Moses 4:1–2; Abraham 3:22–28]. The thought of passing through mortality and partaking of all the vicissitudes of earth life in which they would gain experiences through suffering, pain, sorrow, temptation and affliction, as well as the pleasures of life in this mundane existence, and then, if faithful, passing on through the resurrection to eternal life in the kingdom of God, to be like him [see 1 John 3:2], filled them with the spirit of rejoicing, and they “shouted for joy.” [See Job 38:4–7.] (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Fielding Smith, Chapter 3: The Plan of Salvation)

 

The Fall was an essential part of man’s mortal probation. … Had Adam and Eve not partaken, the great gift of mortality would not have come to them. Moreover, they would have had no posterity, and the great commandment given to them by the Lord would not have been fulfilled. (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Fielding Smith, Chapter 3: The Plan of Salvation)

• Why do you think it is important to remember this truth? What are some blessings you have received as a result of the Fall?

[Jesus Christ] died on the cross to bring us back again, to have our bodies and spirits reunited. He gave us that privilege. If we will only believe in him and keep his commandments, he died for us that we might receive a remission of our sins and not be called upon to pay penalty. (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Fielding Smith, Chapter 3: The Plan of Salvation)

And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.  Acts 24:15

• How might you help someone understand President Smith’s declaration that “death is just as essential as birth”? How has the doctrine of resurrection influenced your life?

First, we must have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; we must accept him as the Son of God; we must put our trust in him, rely upon his word, and desire to gain the blessings which come by obedience to his laws.
Second, we must repent of our sins; we must forsake the world; we must determine in our hearts, without reservation, that we will live godly and upright lives.
Third, we must be baptized in water, under the hands of a legal administrator, who has power to bind on earth and seal in heaven; we must, through this sacred ordinance, enter into a covenant to serve the Lord and keep his commandments.
Fourth, we must receive the gift of the Holy Ghost; we must be born again; we must have sin and iniquity burned out of our souls as though by fire; we must gain a new creation by the power of the Holy Ghost.
Fifth, we must endure to the end; we must keep the commandments after baptism; we must work out our salvation with fear and trembling before the Lord; we must so live as to acquire the attributes of godliness and become the kind of people who can enjoy the glory and wonders of the celestial kingdom. (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Fielding Smith, Chapter 3: The Plan of Salvation)

And, if you keep my commandments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God. Doctrine and Covenants 14:7

Moroni 7:48 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure.

LESSON SUMMARY: MARCH 2, 2014

The lesson this week was taught by Sue A. using the Joseph Fielding Smith manual #16 "Bringing Up Children in Light and Truth"

She began the lesson by telling stories of a couple youth that were raised by the "village of Palo Alto 2nd ward".

Sue explained how she was raised in a village. All of her friends were not LDS, but they all went to church somewhere. Single parents were rare. Families lived close and supported each other. She explained how this is no longer the norm.  We need to be aunts and sisters to those who don't have family near.

D&C 68: 25-26

• 25 And again, inasmuch as ^aparents have children in Zion, or in any of her ^bstakes which are organized, that ^cteach them not to understand the ^ddoctrine of repentance, faith in Christ the Son of the living God, and of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the hands, when ^eeight years old, the ^fsin be upon the heads of the parents.
•  26 For this shall be a law unto the ^ainhabitants of Zion, or in any of her stakes which are organized

We split up into 7 different groups, and asked to make 2 lists,  to discuss the following topics: 
 (1. For those who have children in their home  and 2.For those who do not have children in their home.  How can we support the children in learning these principles? ) 

• 1) Being a righteous example

We ask parents to set an example of righteousness in their own lives and to gather their children around them and teach them the gospel, in their home evenings and at other times.¹⁹

Parents must try to be, or at least put forth their best efforts to be, what they wish the children to be. It is impossible for you to be an example of what you are not.²⁰

You are to teach by example as well as precept. You are to kneel with your children in prayer. You are to teach them, in all humility, of the mission of our Savior, Jesus Christ. You have to show them the way, and the father who shows his son the way will not say to him: “Son, go to Sunday School, or go to Mutual, or go to the priesthood meeting,” but he will say: “Come and go with me.” He will teach by example. (Joseph Fielding Smith manual) 

• 2) Begin teaching children when they are young

No person can begin too early to serve the Lord. … Young people follow the teaching of their parents. The child who is taught in righteousness from birth will most likely follow righteousness always. Good habits are easily formed and easily followed.²²

There should be prayer and faith and love and obedience to God in the home. It is the duty of parents to teach their children these saving principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ, so that they will know why they are to be baptized and that they may be impressed in their hearts with a desire to continue to keep the commandments of God after they are baptized, that they may come back into his presence. Do you, my good brethren and sisters, want your families, your children; do you want to be sealed to your fathers and to your mothers before you, do you want to have this family unit perfect when you, if you are permitted, shall enter the celestial kingdom of God? If so, then you must begin by teaching at the cradle-side. (Joseph Fielding Smith Manual)

• 3) Teach children to pray

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.²⁴

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. (Joseph Fielding Smith Manual)

• 4) Introduce children to scriptures

There is not a home in any part of the world where the Bible should not be found. There is not a home in which the Book of Mormon should not be found. I am speaking of Latter-day Saint homes. There is no home where the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price should not be. Don’t keep them on the shelves or in the cupboard, but opened where they can easily be reached, that the members of the family might find access to them and sit down and read and study the principles of the gospel for themselves. (Joseph Fielding Smith Manual)

• 5) Hold family home evening

Children who grow up in homes where they have participated in family home evenings, where love and unity abound, build solid foundations for sound citizenship and for active Church participation. There is no greater legacy that parents can leave to their children than the memory and blessings of a happy, unified, and loving home.

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.

Fathers and mothers who faithfully hold family home evenings and who build family unity in every way possible, fulfill with honor the greatest of all responsibilities—that of parenthood.²⁷
Fathers can provide no greater leadership in the kingdom of God than to lead their families in holding family home evenings. When such experiences are a part of home life there builds up a unity and family respect which influence each person toward increased righteousness and happiness.²⁸
Parents who ignore the great help of this program [family home evening] are gambling with the future of their children. (Joseph Fielding Smith Manual) 

• 6) Teach virtue, chastity and morality

You should teach your children virtue, chastity, and they should be taught from their early childhood. And they should be made aware of the pitfalls and the dangers that are so prevalent throughout the world.³⁰

We have great concern for the spiritual and moral welfare of all youth everywhere. Morality, chastity, virtue, freedom from sin—these are and must be basic to our way of life, if we are to realize its full purpose.

We plead with fathers and mothers to teach personal purity by precept and example and to counsel with their children in all such things. …

We have confidence in the young and rising generation in the Church and plead with them not to follow the fashions and customs of the world, not to partake of a spirit of rebellion, not to forsake the paths of truth and virtue. We believe in their fundamental goodness and expect them to become pillars of righteousness and to carry on the work of the Church with increasing faith and effectiveness. (Joseph Fielding Smith Manual) 

• 7) Be examples of good faithful strong marriages

Thank you Sue for the wonderful lesson!