FAITH
"Marriage and Family - Ordained of God"
Chapter 14 Ezra Taft Benson LessonDoctrine:
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints views the family as the most important organization in time and all eternity. The Church teaches that everything should center in and around the family. It stresses that the preservation of family life in time and eternity takes precedence above all other interests.
Invitation to Action:
Marriage itself must be regarded as a sacred covenant before God. A married couple have an obligation not only to each other, but to God. He has promised blessings to those who honor that covenant.
Fidelity to one’s marriage vows is absolutely essential for love, trust, and peace. Adultery is unequivocally condemned by the Lord. …
Prayer in the home and prayer with each other will strengthen [a couple’s] union. Gradually thoughts, aspirations, and ideas will merge into a oneness until you are seeking the same purposes and goals.
Rely on the Lord, the teachings of the prophets, and the scriptures for guidance and help, particularly when there may be disagreements and problems.
Spiritual growth comes by solving problem together—not by running from them. Today’s inordinate emphasis on individualism brings egotism and separation. Two individuals becoming “one flesh” is still the Lord’s standard. (See Gen. 2:24.)
The secret of a happy marriage is to serve God and each other. The goal of marriage is unity and oneness, as well as self-development. Paradoxically, the more we serve one another, the greater is our spiritual and emotional growth.
The family is one of God’s greatest fortresses against the evils of our day. Help keep your family strong and close and worthy of our Father in Heaven’s blessings. As you do, you will receive faith and strength which will bless your lives forever.
One great thing the Lord requires of each of us is to provide a home where a happy, positive influence for good exists. In future years the costliness of home furnishings or the number of bathrooms will not matter much, but what will matter significantly is whether our children felt love and acceptance in the home. It will greatly matter whether there was happiness and laughter, or bickering and contention.
The family is the most effective place to instill lasting values in its members. Where family life is strong and based on principles and practices of the gospel of Jesus Christ, … problems do not as readily appear.
Setting your home in order is keeping the commandments of God. This brings harmony and love. … It is daily family prayer. It is teaching your family to understand the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is each family member keeping the commandments of God. It is … being worthy to receive a temple recommend, all family members receiving the ordinances of exaltation, and your family being sealed together for eternity. It is being free from excessive debt, with family members paying honest tithes and offerings.
The love we know here is not a fleeting shadow, but the very substance that binds families together for time and eternity.
It was through Joseph Smith that the God of Heaven revealed the truth that the family may endure beyond the grave—that our sympathies, affections, and love for each other may exist forever.
Families Can Be Together FOREVER!
Read, study, or listen to the entire lesson here:
This lesson was highlighted in the LDS living magazine. You can read it here:
Another great conference talk by President Benson was, "Fundamentals of Enduring Family Relationships." You can listen or read it here:
"The secret of a happy marriage is to serve God and each other. The goal of marriage is unity and oneness, as well as self-development. Paradoxically, the more we serve one another, the greater is our spiritual and emotional growth."
FAMILY
We have been reminded several times lately about the importance of the Sabbath day. A talk by Sister Neill F Marriot is highlighted on LDS.org this month. She states that, "Love for the Sabbath begins at home" in her talk titled, "Are You Ready for What the Sabbath Offers?" It would make a great subject to discuss in Family Home Evenings.
In 3 Nephi 17, Jesus, knowing the people lacked understanding, told them to go home, ponder what He had taught, pray for understanding, and prepare their minds for the morrow when He would teach again. Studying and applying the Lord’s pattern of preparation as we ready ourselves for the Sabbath will greatly bless us.
The prophet Ezekiel counsels, “Hallow my Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God” (Ezekiel 20:20). How do we hallow the Sabbath?"
She reminds us that:
1. When we are prepared to worship, we bring increased reverence into the chapel.
2. The heart of the Sabbath is partaking of the sacrament. In this holy moment we acknowledge our constant need of the Redeemer.
3. Thoughtful preparation for and participation in the Lord's day will surely make the Sabbath a delight at church and at home.
"When we commence each Sunday prepared and reverent, our depth of Sabbath understanding will be as spiritual food to all members of our family. Faith in the Lord will grow in our homes as we bring our Sabbath day reverence into our living places."
Make sure to read the article here. She includes a cute story about shoes and there is a fun video to watch and share:
https://www.lds.org/church/news/are-you-ready-for-what-the-sabbath-offers?cid=HP_FR_7-17-2015_dOCS_fCNWS_xLIDyL1-A_&lang=eng
RELIEF
To serve God starts with serving in our families. Daily we work, clean, love, support, listen to, teach, and endlessly give of ourselves to the members of our family. We may often feel overwhelmed with all that we must do, but Elder M. Russell Ballard gave the following counsel:
"The key... is to know and understand your own capabilities and limitations and then to pace yourself, allocating and prioritizing your time, your attention, and your resources to wisely help others, including your family..." ("O Be Wise," Ensign, Nov 2006, 17–20).As we lovingly give of ourselves to our family, and serve them with hearts full of love, our acts will also be counted as service to God.
SWEEPING THE EARTH AS IF A FLOOD:
I found this object lesson on Pintrest. It is amazing how much work we still have to do.
1. Count 1,560 M&M's and put them in a jar.
{To save you time: A big bag at Costco has a little over 600 in each bag. About 610. So that means you need 2 Costco bags plus more. I also prefer the peanut M&M's. They stand out more.)
2. Ask your class how many people they estimate are in the world today?
Tell the class that this jar of M&M's represents THE WORLD.
Each M on 1 M&M represents 5 MILLION PEOPLE.
There are approximately 7.8 BILLION PEOPLE ON THE EARTH TODAY.
3. Next, ask how many people live in the United States?
Tell them that there are approximately 318 million people that live in the United States.
That is approximately 63 M&M's.
4. You can narrow it down even more by asking how many people live in Idaho?
There is approximately 1.6 million people living in Idaho.
That is approximately 1/4 of a M&M. (compared to the whole world)
Well, from here, it's your choice. You can use other statistics like these:
About 1/8 of the world have NO religion (780 million people; 156 M&Ms)
About 1/5 of the world are Muslim (1 billion 235 million; about 247 M&Ms)
About 1/8 of the world are Hindus (845 million; 169 M&Ms)
About 1/5 the world are made up of miscellaneous religions (1 billion 365 million; 273 M&Ms)
About 1/3 the world is Christian: Believe in a Jesus Christ (2 billion 125 million; 425 M&Ms)
So after all of those statistics, HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE MORMONS, MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS?
Well as of December 2014, there are 15,372,337 MILLION MEMBERS.
Which equals a little less than 3 M&M'S.
Relief Society Announcements:
Reminders:
*Please remember to pray for the Sisters you visit teach!
Announcements:
*A new Relief Society presidency was called Sunday. We appreciate Wendy, Lorraine, Cheri, and Shandell for the service they have given. We are excited for the new presidency and know they will be great!
President- Kera D., 1st Counselor- Sarah H., 2nd Counselor - Jolana G., Secretary - Sheila W.
*A new Relief Society presidency was called Sunday. We appreciate Wendy, Lorraine, Cheri, and Shandell for the service they have given. We are excited for the new presidency and know they will be great!
President- Kera D., 1st Counselor- Sarah H., 2nd Counselor - Jolana G., Secretary - Sheila W.
*For our Relief Society Activity in the month of July, we invite you to choose a day to invite someone to attend the Temple with you. That may be your spouse, or a friend, your visiting teaching companion, or the sisters you visit teach. You may want to attend a session, do sealings, initiatory work, or Temple baptisms. We just invite you to make an effort to go sometime in the next month and to invite someone to go with you!
*Ward Campout - August 14th - 15th
*Ward Campout - August 14th - 15th
Calendar:
July 21st - Ezra Taft Benson - "Marriage and Family - Ordained of God"
July 26th - Teachings For Our Time -
August 2nd - Presidency Lesson
August 2nd - Presidency Lesson
Recipes on the blog:
If you have a recipe you would like to share send them to: drbennett1@hotmail.com or call or text them to 208-351-7083. We would love to have your favorite holiday recipes!
Visit the ward recipe blog: www.burton4threcipes.blogspot.com
Visit the Relief Society blog: www.burton4thrs.blogspot.com
Visit the Relief Society blog: www.burton4thrs.blogspot.com
'
