Come Unto Christ

I have felt, since my call to teach Seminary, that no matter what the subject matter was that I was teaching, my greatest assignment was to help these youth learn and understand how to "Come Unto Christ". It weighs heavy on my mind as I prepare my lessons and try and relate what the subject matter is to coming unto Christ. I feel heavily the stewardship. My testimony of Jesus Christ and the principle of obedience and discipleship burns in my heart and my desire for these precious youth to feel the same is overwhelming. The desire for my own children and grandchildren to understand and embrace these principles is just as powerful.

The personal struggles I have had since moving to Montana have been great. But I have come to know that it is through these struggles, through the crucible of my life that I have come to know the Savior in a way that never would have happened if I had stayed in Idaho. I have come to understand more fully the principle of obedience to the commandments as taught in the scriptures. I have come to more fully understand the calling of a disciple of Christ. I am coming to an understanding of the principle of submitting my will to His will and letting Him make of me what He needs me to be. I have a long way to go with this submitting thing but I know of the patience of the Lord and His continual loving push to get me to submit.

I my studies this morning for Seminary next week – we will be talking about Alma and Amulek – I found this article. I was drawn to it because of the title ~ "Come Unto Christ". Then I read this…

"In our quiet moments of reflection, we can search our thoughts for the way to Christ. President James E. Faust, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, said: "Hold your soul very still, and listen to the whisperings of the Holy Spirit. Follow the noble, intuitive feelings planted deep within your souls by Deity." (go here to find the talk by President Faust)

I started to think about life in general and how I need the guidance of the Lord in all aspects of my life – not just in preparing a Seminary lesson.

I need that guidance as I…

• continue to mother children who are parents themselves
  
• am a wife and companion to a very busy husband and disciple
  
• am a friend and a visiting teacher
  
• have frequent times of loneliness
  
• have the desire to control aspects of the lives of my children and forget that they are having experiences that are helping them to grow and come to know the Savior
  
• am the daughter to a recently widowed mother
  
• and the list goes on an on…
  

What is it that touches my heart this morning as I read that article? The fact that I need to remember to "Hold my soul very still" so the Lord can speak to me. I must block out the things of this world that threaten to destroy my peaceful soul and listen to the noble, intuitive feelings planted deep within my soul by a loving Heavenly Father who knows me and knows my children and my Seminary kids.

I just need to listen to the whisperings of the Spirit as I am guided as to what to teach and how to guide "my flock" to Christ. I pray that I will always be worthy to be a disciple of Christ and to be an instrument in His hands here upon the earth.

Mosiah 24

A few years ago while still in Blackfoot, Elder Bednar attended our Stake Conference. At the time he was still an area authority and president of BYU-Idaho. He spoke in this stake conference about Mosiah 24:13-15 and gave a really powerful sermon on the enabling power of the Lord in our lives.

So when we came to this chapter in our lessons I felt so impressed to discuss these verses in more detail. I knew of some struggles going on with a couple of the kids in my class and felt so impressed that the Lord wanted them to know this principle. In this chapter Alma's people are in bondage and being persecuted but because of their faith, obedience and patience the Lord strengthens them so that they can "bear up their burdens with ease and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord."

We talked about how this strengthening happens and the "Enabling Power" that the Lord grants unto us as we are faithful, obedience and patient.

Then I read them this thought by Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as he encourages us to cheerfully rely on the Lord when we face the challenges of mortality:

"Problems or trials in our lives need to be viewed in the perspective of scriptural doctrine. Otherwise they can easily overtake our vision, absorb our energy, and deprive us of the joy and beauty the Lord intends us to receive here on earth. Some people are like rocks thrown into a sea of problems. They are drowned by them. Be a cork. When submerged in a problem, fight to be free to bob up to serve again with happiness...

"The Lord is intent on your personal growth and development. That progress is accelerated when you willingly allow Him to lead you through every growth experience you encounter, whether initially it be to your individual liking or not. When you trust in the Lord, when you are willing to let your heart and your mind be centered in His will, when you ask to be led by the Spirit to do His will, you are assured of the greatest happiness along the way and the most fulfilling attainment from this mortal experience. If you question everything you are asked to do, or dig in your heels at every unpleasant challenge, you make it harder for the Lord to bless you." (Ensign, May 1996, 24-25)

My object lesson was a jar of water. I first dropped a rock into it and of course it sunk. Then I dropped in a cork and of course it floated. We talked about the choice being ours whether we will be the rock or the cork. If we are the cork then the Lord can bless us and give us the enabling power spoken of in Mosiah 24. If we are the cork then we BECOME what the Lord needs us to become.

This poster hangs in our room...