"Repentance- A Joyful Choice"- March 26, 2017

Hiker L. gave our lesson today based on the talk "Repentance: A Joyful Choice" given at October 2016 General Conference by Elder Renlund

"The fact that we can repent is the good news of the gospel" (Elder Renlund)

Elder Renlund shared this in his talk: "The Christian writer C. S. Lewis wrote about the need and the method for change. He noted that repentance involves “being put back on the right road. A wrong sum can be put right,” he said, “but only by going back till you find the error and working it afresh from that point, never by simply going on.”6 Changing our behavior and returning to the “right road” are part of repentance, but only part. Real repentance also includes a turning of our heart and will to God and a renunciation of sin" 

Little things can slowly lead us farther and farther away from where we need to be. If we do not correct our course and repent of even little things, we can soon become way off course. 

"Real repentance must involve faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, faith that He can change us, faith that He can forgive us, and faith that He will help us avoid more mistakes. This kind of faith makes His Atonement effective in our lives. When we “perceive afterwards” and “turn around” with the Savior’s help, we can feel hope in His promises and the joy of forgiveness. Without the Redeemer, the inherent hope and joy evaporate, and repentance becomes simply miserable behavior modification." (Elder Renlund)

Elder Renlund also quoted President Boyd K. Packer in his talk "The Atonement leaves no tracks, no traces. What it fixes is fixed. … It just heals, and what it heals stays healed.” (quote taken from Pres. Packers April 2015 conference talk)

To accept the atonement and repent is a choice. What keeps us from repenting? Some ideas:

-Distractions. Remember to try to turn away from the bad and towards God

-Pride, lack of humility

-Blaming others

-Excusing ourselves because we think it is "just part of our personality." We can change even things about ourselves that we think are part of our personality. 

-Lack of faith

Hikari challenged us to take some time to purposely be thankful for Christ and the atonement when we repent. 

"Learn from Alma and Amulek" - January 22, 2017

Hikari directed the discussion through the talk "Learn from Alma and Amulek" by President Uchtdorf from the October General Conference.

Every citizen of the Nephite nation must have known Alma’s story. The Twitters, Instagrams, and Facebooks of his day would have been filled with images and stories about him. He probably appeared regularly on the cover of the Zarahemla Weekly and was the subject of editorials and network specials. In short, he was perhaps the most well-known celebrity of his day.

But when Alma saw that his people were forgetting God and lifting themselves up in pride and contention, he chose to resign from public office and dedicate himself “wholly to the high priesthood of the holy order of God,”³ preaching repentance among the Nephites.

• What can I learn from Alma?

 Perhaps we think that we can do the work better by ourselves, or we are reluctant to inconvenience others, or we assume that others would not want to participate. Too often we hesitate to invite people to use their God-given talents and engage in the great work of salvation.

Think of the Savior—did He begin to establish His Church all alone?

No.

His message was not “Stand back. I’ll handle this.” Rather it was “Come, follow me.”⁹ He inspired, invited, instructed, and then trusted His followers “to do the things which ye have seen me do.”¹⁰ In this way, Jesus Christ built up not only His Church but also His servants.

In whatever position you currently serve... —to be successful, you must find your Amuleks.

It may be someone who is unassuming or even invisible within your congregations. It may be someone who seems unwilling or unable to serve. Your Amuleks may be young or old, men or women, inexperienced, tired, or not active in the Church. But what may not be seen at first sight is that they are hoping to hear from you the words “The Lord needs you! I need you!”

While some of us should be looking for an Amulek, for others the question might be “How am I like Amulek?”

• How am I like Amulek?

Perhaps you have, over the years, become less committed in your discipleship. Perhaps the fire of your testimony has dimmed. Perhaps you have distanced yourself from the body of Christ. Perhaps you have become disillusioned or even angry. Like some of the ancient Church of Ephesus, you may have left your “first love”¹²—the sublime, eternal truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Perhaps, like Amulek, you know in your heart that the Lord has “called [you] many times,” but you “would not hear.”

...my dear friends, let us seek out, find, inspire, and rely upon the Amuleks in our wards and stakes. There are many Amuleks in the Church today.

Perhaps you know one. Perhaps you are one.

Perhaps the Lord has been whispering to you, urging you to return to your first love, contribute your talents, worthily exercise the priesthood, and serve side by side with your fellow Saints in drawing closer to Jesus Christ and building the kingdom of God here on earth.

Our beloved Savior knows where you are. He knows your heart. He wants to rescue you. He will reach out to you. Just open your heart to Him. It is my hope that those who have strayed from the path of discipleship—even by only a few degrees—will contemplate the goodness and grace of God, see with their hearts, learn from Alma and Amulek, and hear the life-changing words of the Savior: “Come, follow me.”

 Hikari encouraged us to do something that pushes you out of your comfort zone that engages you more in the Gospel.

Am I Good Enough? Will I Make It? - December 18, 2016

Hikari presented thoughts from a General Conference talk given by Elder J. Devn Cornish in October 2016 entitled, "Am I Good Enough? Will I make it?"

Elder Cornish describes how inadequate and discouraged he often felt as a young medical student. A mentor reached out to him with encouragement during a particularly difficult time and believed in him when he did not even believe in himself.

Elder Cornish noted how many church members question if they are good enough as a person or wether they are worthy of the celestial kingdom. He says it is normal to "wonder if we are acceptable before the Lord." People may become discouraged and compare themselves to others feeling like they  might never measure up.  He encourages  us to "stop comparing ourselves to others. We torture ourselves needlessly by competing and comparing. We falsely judge our self-worth by the things we do or don't have and by the opinions of others."

Many sisters shared various ways that women in the church compare themselves to others. We then discussed what we can do with those "things" that make us feel "less". Some thoughts shared included:

-When we compare ourselves to others we are often looking at someone's biggest strengths, compared with our weaknesses

-Remember to look back at how far you have com

-Use the accomplishments of others to set your own goals

-Appreciate what you have and be gentle with yourself. Help your children see how splendid they are in their own right

-We can offer and consecrate all we can to Christ, and appreciate what others offer as well

-Be careful not to pass judgment on others

Elder Cornish's advice to combat this is that "if we must compare, let us compare how we were in the past to how we are today- and even to how we want to be in the future." We can ask God what He thinks of us, but be aware that "He will only love and correct but never discourage us; that is Satan's trick."

He continues with emphasis: "let me be direct and clear. The answers to the questions "Am I good enough?" and "Will I make it?" are "Yes!" You are going to make it as long as you keep repenting and do not rationalize or rebel"

We must always remember that we have a loving Heavenly Father "who gave His Only  Begotten Son that we might not perish but have everlasting life!"

Gordon B Hinckley taught: "All the Lord expects of us is to try, but you have to really try"

We must remember to apply the atonement both for our sins and for our weaknesses.  Grace is also another principle that we can remember which gives us "heavenly help each of us desperately needs to qualify for the celestial kingdom."

We can ask the Lord to help us develop Christ-like attributes.  Ideas were shared regarding things that can be done to draw closer to the Savior:

-Choose to trust in God and look to Him for the answer. When the waves come, don't let go of the rope that holds you to the rock.

-As we draw closer to God, we want to do what's right. We must rely on the atonement.

Elder Cornish reminds us that when we truly repent, we will really be forgiven. The consequences of our sins may remain for a long time but forgiveness is possible.

A challenge was given by our teacher to choose a couple things to do to help us draw closer to the Savior and help those around us.