Doctrine and Covenants 97

My studying this morning took me to Section 97 in the Doctrine and Covenants. Just a couple of thoughts to record as I was reading.

This comes from the Seminary lessons…

When the Prophet Joseph Smith received section 97, the Saints in Missouri were already suffering persecution. It seemed an unlikely time to build a temple there.

"God was, if we may say so reverently, anxious that His people should rear a Temple in which they could be endowed with power from on high before the conflict with the adversary. The history of Temples teaches us that the people of God have been strong, or weak, in proportion to the faithfulness with which they have attended to their sanctuaries. . . . Since the completion of the Salt Lake Temple, the adversary has had less power to injure the Church than he had before. If we remember that the Temples are the palaces of God, where His Presence is manifested, we can understand why, when the adversary was marshalling his forces against the Church [in Missouri], our Lord urged the Saints to build the Temple speedily. We can also understand why the evil one planned to have them scattered before they could rear that sacred edifice" (Hyrum M. Smith and Janne M. Sjodahl, The Doctrine and Covenants Commentary, rev. ed. [1972], 612).

Unfortunately, as Elder Parley P. Pratt, who was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, attested: "This revelation was not complied with by the leaders and Church in Missouri, as a whole; notwithstanding many were humble and faithful. Therefore, the threatened judgment was poured out to the uttermost, as the history of the five following years will show" (Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt [1985], 77)

My thoughts turned to the Temple and a couple of lines in that above quote really stood out to me.

• God is anxious that we be endowed with power from on high before the conflict with the adversary. There is power in the Temple covenant. Power that I know I have not even begun to tap in to. Power that enables us to win in the conflict with the adversary.
  
• People of God have been strong, or weak, in proportion to the faithfulness with which they have attended to their sanctuaries. As I look over my life can I see that correlation between my strength because I have attended the temple on a regular basis and those times when I have not? Lynn and I have always tried to be, at least, monthly temple attenders. I have come to notice when it has been a while since attending that I yearn for that. Some months we go at the beginning of the month and then the next month it is at the end ~ that time span is hard. I need the consistency if nothing more than to keep me grounded and keep my perspective in check. President Simpson (our Stake President and friend in Blackfoot) always taught us that THE BEST MARRIAGE THERAPY IS A MONTHLY TRIP TO THE TEMPLE WITH YOUR SPOUSE! More than once in my marriage I have been grateful for that counsel J
  

My heart aches for my friends who should be "endowed with power from on high" through the temple but are not. I wish for them the peace that comes in daily life through that blessing! And I pray that my children are using that blessing in their lives regularly. They each are within 30 minutes of a temple! They are days when my heart yearns to be within 30 minutes of the temple again! We travel 4 hours and I'm proud to say that we go every month! I'm grateful for my testimony of the temple.

Okay back to Section 97…The second part of that section "Doctrine and Covenants 97:18-26. The righteous will escape the Lord's vengeance if they keep the commandments."

Elder Neal A. Maxwell said this…

"Now we are entering times wherein there will be for all of us as Church members, in my judgment, some special challenges which will require of us that we follow the Brethren. All the easy things that the Church has had to do have been done. From now on, it's high adventure, and followership is going to be tested in some interesting ways" ("The Old Testament: Relevancy within Antiquity," in A Symposium on the Old Testament [1979], 12)

Wow, all the easy things that the Church has to do have been done. Now we are in times of "special challenges". I'm so grateful that Heavenly Father gave us a Prophet and Apostles to lead the way. All we have to do is follow! I do believe that they know the special challenges ~ and I do believe that they know the way THROUGH those challenges. President Monson is a pretty big guy physically. I don't have a problem standing behind him (figuratively speaking). I think he would protect me J

This quote was in the Institute Manual…

These same principles were taught in the October 1940 General Conference by Elder Joseph Fielding Smith:

"We have the means of escape through obedience to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Will we escape? When I see, even among the Latter-day Saints the violation of the laws of the Lord, I fear and I tremble. I have been crying repentance among the Stakes of Zion for thirty years, calling upon the people to turn to the Lord, keep His commandments, observe the Sabbath Day, pay their honest tithing, do everything the Lord has commanded them to do, to live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God.

"By doing this we shall escape the calamities.

"I am going to repeat what I have said before, for which I have been severely criticized from certain quarters, that even in [the United States] we have no grounds by which we may escape, no sure foundation upon which we can stand, and by which we may escape from the calamities and destruction and the plagues and the pestilences, and even the devouring fire by sword and by war, unless we repent and keep the commandments of the Lord, for it is written here in these revelations.

"So I cry repentance to the Latter-day Saints, and I cry repentance to the people of the United States, as well as to the people of all the earth. May we turn to live in accordance with divine law, and keep the commandments the Lord has given." (In Conference Report, Oct. 1940, p. 117)

President Wilford Woodruff said that those who honor the priesthood would be the only ones to have the right to the Lord's protection:

"Can you tell me where the people are who will be shielded and protected from these great calamities and judgments which are even now at our doors? I'll tell you. The priesthood of God who honor their priesthood, and who are worthy of their blessings are the only ones who shall have this safety and protection. They are the only mortal beings. No other people have a right to be shielded from these judgments. They are at our very doors; not even this people will escape them entirely. They will come down like the judgments of Sodom and Gomorrah. And none but the priesthood will be safe from their fury." (Young Women's Journal, Aug. 1894, p. 512)

I know that through my temple covenants I have the right to that Priesthood. I have a righteous Priesthood holder in my home. Through his priesthood and the right that I receive to it through the temple I can be shielded and protected from these great calamities and judgments. Will they touch my life? Probably. Will they bring me down? NO ~ unless I choose to be disobedient and turn from the commandments and follow a different path.

The plan is laid out so perfectly! It is there in black and white in the scriptures and in the Prophet. We don't have to come up with the plan ~ we simply have to follow the one that Heavenly Father devised. It is better than any I could come up with J Each day our goal is to REMEMBER TO BE OBEDIENT! Life is still gonna be hard, things worth having are always hard to obtain. But with obedience and remembering even the weakest of us can succeed. Oh and thank heaven for repentance so when we fall short we can start anew the next day! Life is just so much better when I obey the commandments.

So this was my "PACKET of SPIRITUAL SUNLIGHT" today!

 

 

Armor of God

Today's lesson was Doctrine and Covenants section 27 specifically verses 15-18.

We talked about war ~ what concerns the kids have about war, what weapons they would want to take with them into battle, what protective equipment they would like to have…

Then we talked about the spiritual war we are all fighting ~ the war that began in the pre-existence when Satan was cast out of heaven and into the earth (See Revelation 12:9). We talked about the weapons that Satan uses and what weapons we can use.

We read Doctrine and Covenants 27:15-18 and then talked about our armor – our WHOLE armor and how we were doing. Kiera was our warrior ~ she dressed up in the armor as we talked about it. President Harold B. Lee said, "We have the four parts of the body that…are the most vulnerable to the powers of darkness. The loins, typifying virtue, chastity. The heart typifying our conduct. Our feet, our goals or objectives in life and finally our head, our thoughts…

"We should have our loins girt about with truth…And the heart…a breastplate of righteousness. Well, having learned truth we have a measure by which we can judge between right and wrong and so our conduct will always be gauged by that thing which we know to be true…Our feet should be shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. (repentance, faith, Holy Ghost, prayer)…And then finally the helmet of salvation…Salvation is to be saved…saved from sin."

"Holding in our hand a shield and in our other hand a sword…the shield of faith and the sword of the word of God. I can't think of any more powerful weapons that faith and a knowledge of the scriptures in the which are contained the Word of God." (Feet Shod with the Preparation of the Gospel of Peace, Brigham Young University Speeches of the Year [Provo, 9 Nov. 1954], pp 3-7)

I gave the kids a piece of foil and they wrote on that foil a fiery dart that the adversary throws at them ~ something that they struggle with. They then made arrows out of the foil and threw them at Kiera. She did a great job at dodging them. Then she got to throw them back at the kids and they used their scriptures as their shields. It was a fun object lesson.

Our Armored Warrior

Then in closing I used another object lesson. Mary came to the front. I introduced a potato which the kids affectionately named Sam Spud. I asked them a couple of questions and they had to truthfully answer yes or no. If they answered NO to the question then Mary was to peel the Sam. One peel off for every no in the class. Question 1 – Did you say your personal prayers last night and this morning? Question 2 – Did you have personal scripture study? Question 3 – Did you have family scripture study? Question 4 – Did you have FHE this week? Question 5 – Did you strive all day yesterday to be obedient? By the time we got done with the last question Sam had lost his armor ~ (his skin). It was gone! We are going to watch Sam over the course of the next few months to see what happens to him without his armor. We talked about how not doing all those things leaves us without our armor – without our protection. I told them to put their armor on – don't take it off!

Sam Spud

Day one without armor

I hope it was effective – I hope every time they see a potato they will think of Sam Spud and what is happening to him because he has lost his armor. They are great kids! Together we are going to win this war! Their armor is strong ~ We all have to be reminded to put our armor on and to continually shine it through prayer, scripture study, family home evening, obedience, following the prophet and our other leaders. One step at a time!!!!

Thursday

Today we talked about this quote...

"Don't let the workings of adversity totally absorb your life" 

(Richard G. Scott)

I put a sponge in some water to see how much it could soak up.  It pretty much absorbed all of it.  Then we talked about being absorbed by something and what that means and how our trials sometimes totally absorb us.  We talked about some of the trials that Joseph Smith was facing during this period of time.  We talked about the trials that the Savior faced during His life.  I posed the question - Does the Savior understand adversity?

Then we talked about this scripture...

"Be patient in afflictions, for thou shalt have many; but endure them, for, lo, I am with thee, even unto the end of thy days." (D&C 24:8)

And we looked for the Lord's counsel and promises and how they can help us in our trials.  We substituted our names in the scripture ~ Rozla, be patient in affliction because you are going to have many; but endure them.  I am with you even until the end of your days.

Then I shared with them this quote by Elder Richard G. Scott...

"I testify that when the Lord closes one important door in your life, He shows His continuing love and compassion by opening many other compensating doors through your exercise of faith.  He will place in your path packets of spiritual sunlight to brighten your way.  They often come after the trial has been the greatest, as evidence of the compassion and love of an all-knowing Father.  They point the way to greater happiness and more understanding and strengthen your determination to accept and be obedient to His will." (Ensign Nov. 1995)

I love how he said that the Lord will send packets of spiritual sunlight to brighten our way.  I'm so grateful for the knowledge that I have that Heavenly Father loves me - little old me - just a humble seminary teacher in Helena Montana trying to do the best I can and praying to help these precious youth understand the same! 

Today I'm grateful for my packets of spiritual sunlight!

Gratitude

This week in Seminary we have been talking about General Conference this past weekend.  Particularly what the Prophet had to say.  Our scripture block for the week included Doctrine and Covenants Section 21 which is basically Joseph Smith's call as Prophet of the church.  We talked about what it means to be "a seer, a translator, a prophet, an apostle of Jesus Christ..." (D&C 21:1)  A seer is "one who sees with spiritual eyes...he is an interpreter and clarifier of eternal truth.  He foresees the future from the past and the present. This he does by the power of the Lord operating through him..." (John A. Widtsoe)  Elder Widtsoe also said that "a prophet is a teacher.  He is an expounder of truth. ...He shows the way to human happiness is through obedience to God's law...All this he does by close communion with the Lord..."

So we talked about GRATITUDE.  President Monson asked if we remember to give thanks for our blessings.  Do we walk with gratitude?  A couple of things that I shared with the kids that touched me from his talk...

HAVE AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE

Give THANKS and then WATCH MIRACLES HAPPEN

 To be grateful is to touch Heaven

By being OBEDIENT we give to God GRATITUDE

I made a GRATEFUL board in our room.  Every day the kids are to write one thing they are grateful for that day and it can't be repeated!  When the board is full then we will write it on pieces of paper and put them in a jar.  When the jar is full maybe we will do a chain around the room.  But everyday we will be grateful!  

On Monday two of the girls are going to come to class with a letter they have written to President Monson expressing gratitude to him.  We will all sign it and then I will send it to him so that he knows the freshman Seminary class in Helena are striving to be obedient and grateful :)

Thank you President Monson for the reminder to be more grateful! And for your clear view of the future.  Thank you for being the one person on the earth that we can follow with complete faith!

List the first 5 things that come to your mind that you are grateful for... Today mine are...

• Lynn
• being a grandma
• being a mom
• my home
• good friends

Doctrine and Covenants

It's almost time for another Seminary year.  We begin on August 31st at 6:55 am.  This year we will study the Doctrine and Covenants and Church History. 

I'm so grateful for the days Lynn and I took off to begin our vacation in Palmyra NY and journey with the saints to Salt Lake City.  I hope that I can share this year with the kids my testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith and the Savior and help them gain or strength their own testimony. 

The pioneers knew God ~ that is why they did what they did!  They knew God and they loved Him and they sacrificed everything for Him and the gospel. 

So I ask you and I ask myself ~ Do You know God?  Could you sacrifice everything you have for Him and the gospel? Would you sacrifice everything?  DO YOU SACRIFICE EVERYTHING?

It's going to be a great year!

3 Nephi 12 ~ Student Teachers

Seminary was great today!  I was a little apprehensive about today but the inspiration I received while preparing this lesson was just exactly what I needed to do. 

Spring break begins after school on Friday and so the kids are getting so restless.  It is a challenge to teach and keep them engaged in it.  So this is what we did today.

We are on 3 Nephi 12.  I divided the chapter up into three parts and then three groups of kids.  I gave each group a portion of the chapter.  They had 15 minutes to develop a 5 minute lesson around their assigned scritpures. 

Group 1 had the Sermon on the Mount from verses 1-12
Group 2 had the Salt and the Candle from verses 13-16
Group 3 had love thy neighbor and perfection from verses 37-48

They did an amazing job!  I became the student, they became the teachers.  I helped them very little!  I saw their perspective on these scriptures and it was really fun. 

One of the boys (Cooper L.)  in group 3 talked about perfection but then also brought in the scriptures about being a peacemaker.  He said that finally (he had been praying for an answer to this question) after reading this scripture (vs. 39) and doing this lesson he understood - received the answer to his prayers about fighting.  He has had many of his friends ask him if members of the church are allowed to fight.  He said now he understands!  I love it!  Now he understands!  Now his prayer is answered!  He seached the scriptures and found the answer!!!  Isn't that what it is all about.  Finding the answers ~ searching the scriptures ~ having the spirit tell you that you found the answer! 

These kids are amazing.  I am blessed to rub shoulders with them everyday.  They have insights into the scriptures that are exciting for me to hear about every morning.  They try so hard to do what is right and good and to be good examples. 

I said the closing prayer and asked Heavenly Father to bless them for their diligence and to protect them from the evil influences around them every day.  I know He will protect them today.  I am grateful!

3 Nephi

I love 3^rd Nephi. That's what we've been studying the last couple of days. Yesterday and today were good discussions.

Yesterday I darkened the room ~ black plastic on the windows and the doors ~ lights out ~ eyes closed ~ then I found a recording of a thunderstorm that I had playing in the background as I read 3 Nephi 8:1-23 which are the events surrounding the death of the Savior. Then we talked about what impressed them in those verses, and how they would have felt if they had actually been there. Some of them picked up on being able to feel the vapor of darkness. Some of them would have liked to have been there to experience the destruction.

Then we read Matthew 27:45-54 and talked about what happened at Jerusalem when Jesus was crucified. We found the similarities. We read John 8:12 to help us understand why darkness accompanied His death.
We compared 3 Nephi 8:1-23 with Joseph Smith-Matthew 1:28-33 finding the similarities between the coming of the Savior to the Nephites and what is prophesied to precede His Second Coming. We talked about what we can do to be safe and be prepared for the Second Coming.

Today we continued our discussion. We read D&C 1:14 and D&C 109:22-26 to discover how or where we can find protection in our day. This was a quote from the lesson that I shared with them… Elder Lance B. Wickman, a member of the Seventy:

"Climbing atop the Mount of Olives with his disciples, the Savior prophesied the cataclysmic events that would precede the destruction of Jerusalem and his second coming. He then issued this portentous admonition to his disciples, ancient and modern: 'Then you shall stand in the holy place; whoso readeth let him understand' (Joseph Smith—Matthew 1:12; italics added; see also Matthew 24:15). Latter-day revelations provide understanding. They teach that in our day, amidst strife and catastrophe and pestilence, there are two kingdoms locked in grim struggle for the souls of men—Zion and Babylon. More than once they repeat the injunction to 'stand in holy places' for a refuge from these storms of latter-day life (D&C 45:32; see also D&C 87:8; 101:16–23). Prominent among such holy places, and key to all the others, is the temple of the Lord." (Ensign, Nov. 1994, 82–83)

Then we talked about where else we can go ~ if we can't get to the temple ~ that is a place of safety ~ our homes! We talked about how to make our homes a place of refuge. They had some good thoughts and ideas ~ music ~ being a peacemaker ~ turning off the TV or computer when negative things are on them.

I read them this story "Storm Warning" by Elder Neil L. Andersen and we talked about the 4 powerful pillars to anchor us in our spiritual foundation so the tornadoes of the world will not dislodge us and carry us away.

1. We must pray
2. We must study the scriptures
3. We must worship
4. We must be willing to serve one another

I challenged them today to have an Eternal Perspective ~ make choices today based on the eternal consequences ~ how will this choice affect me eternally. I was a good story – lots of food for thought.  It was a good couple of days.

I've learned over the course of my adult life that the Second Coming is nothing to fear as long as I am grounded in the gospel, I am obedient, I follow the prophet, I love the Lord and I am striving diligently each day to do the very best that I can. The prophet says that life right now, in the latter-days, is not to be feared. And so I strive each day to live by the motto ~ Faith not Fear!

How grateful I am to have the gospel in my life. How thankful I am for my knowledge of a loving Heavenly Father. I'm grateful for the priesthood. I'm grateful for a strong, good family ~ children and siblings and parents ~ who help me when I feel like I'm falling. They always reach out to grab me. I'm so grateful for them. I'm grateful for a living prophet who talked with God and leads us into the paths of safety. I'm grateful for Seminary!!!