Transcript 1 Nephi 5-7
On August 27, 1831, the Prophet Joseph Smith was ready to dedicate the temple site in Independence, Missouri. During the journey, some of the elders had disagreements with each other and experienced contentious feelings. On September 11, the Prophet received Doctrine and Covenants 64. • In addition to feeling physical pain, what emotions do you think you would feel if you were bitten by a poisonous snake? Which is wiser? (1) pursue the snake and kill it (2) take immediate measures to get the poison out Doctrine and Covenants 64:3–7 Doctrine and Covenants 64:8-11 • How can a person be afflicted (or hurt) by not forgiving others? 1. A young woman is hurt and embarrassed after learning that some of her peers have been spreading gossip about her. Later, some of these peers apologize, but others do not. The young woman forgives those who have apologized but holds a grudge against the others. 2. A young man disobeys a commandment. He prays for forgiveness and discusses the problem with his bishop. However, even after the bishop has assured the young man that he has fully repented, the young man continues to feel unworthy because of his past sin. 3. A young woman is feeling sad and confused because of the actions of her father. He has abandoned his family. Before he left, he rarely showed love for the family and was often cruel. She does not understand why her father acted this way, and she carries feelings of anger toward him. She knows she should seek to forgive him but doesn’t think that she can. Stories about forgiveness? See Matt 18:15 . Look for the best way to resolve disputes. Matt 18:22 - how often should we forgive? How have you been blessed by forgiveness? Mormon Messages video “Forgiveness: My Burden Was Made Light” Mormon Messages video “Forgiveness: My Burden Was Made Light” Revelations to two Isaac Morley (D&C 64:20) farm owners… Commandment Response Result Frederick G. Williams (D&C 64:21) Frederick G. Williams (D&C 64:21) Revelations to two Isaac Morley (D&C 64:20) farm owners… PRINCIPLE: Doctrine and Covenants 64:22 Commandment Response Result “We cannot have true faith in the Lord without also having complete trust in the Lord’s will and in the Lord’s timing” (Ensign, October 2003) “Just when all seems to be going right, challenges often come in multiple doses applied simultaneously. When those trials are not consequences of your disobedience, they are evidence that the Lord feels you are prepared to grow more (see Prov. 3:11-12). He gives you experiences that stimulate growth, understanding, and compassion which polish you for your everlasting benefit. To get you from where you are to where He wants you to be requires a lot of stretching, and that generally entails discomfort and pain” (Ensign, November 1995). Can you think of examples of stretching and growth underscored by the omniscient timing of God? So what’s the best way to plan our lives? “Commit yourself to put the Lord first in your life, keep his commandments, and do what the Lord’s servants ask you to do. Then your feet are on the path to eternal life. Then it does not matter if you are called to be the [MiaMaid class president] or the [Teacher’s Quorum President], whether you are married or single, or whether you die tomorrow. You do not know what will happen; do your best on what is fundamental and personal and then trust in the Lord and in His timing.” (Elder Oaks, Oct 2003 Ensign) How does this doctrine of diving timing and putting the Lord first bless us? Marriage Missions Friends Your birthplace and time Death This lesson? “The same God that placed that star in a precise orbit millennia before it appeared over Bethlehem has given at least equal attention to placement of each of us in precise human orbits so that we may illuminate the landscape of our individual lives.” (Elder Maxwell, That My Family Should Partake, p. 86) “Do we appear on the scene on time, and "shine as lights in the world" as the Apostle Paul urged? (Philippians 2:15). YES, there is a personalized plan for each of us. Like the Christmas star, each of us, if faithful, has an ordained orbit, a prescribed path, as we pass through this second estate.” (Elder Maxwell, The Christmas Scene, Deseret Book, p.3) Another principle of putting the Lord first: D&C 64:23–24 What promise does the Lord make? Malachi 3:8–10 How is tithing money used? Who can bear a witness as to the power of paying tithing? 1. My Heav’nly Father gives me all good and lovely things: The sun that shines, the rain that falls, the meadowlark that sings. 2. I’m glad to pay a tithing, one-tenth of all I earn; It’s little when I think of all God gives me in return. Words and music: Ruth Benson Lehenbauer, b. 1933. © 1969 IRI Elder Dallin H. Oaks: “During World War II, my widowed mother supported her three young children on a schoolteacher’s salary that was meager. When I became conscious that we went without some desirable things because we didn’t have enough money, I asked my mother why she paid so much of her salary as tithing. “I have never forgotten her explanation: ‘Dallin, there might be some people who can get along without paying tithing, but we can’t. The Lord has chosen to take your father and leave me to raise you children. I cannot do that without the blessings of the Lord, and I obtain those blessings by paying an honest tithing. When I pay my tithing, I have the Lord’s promise that he will bless us, and we must have those blessings if we are to get along’ ” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1994, pp. 43–44; or Ensign, May 1994, p. 33). Mormon Messages video “Flecks of Gold”