Weekly Update April 17th - April 23rd

Taking the Gospel to All the World

Lesson 8 - Howard W Hunter

“We are in the work of saving souls, of inviting people to come unto Christ.”

Doctrine:

The gospel of Jesus Christ, which gospel we teach and the ordinances of which we perform, is a global faith with an all-embracing message. It is neither confined nor partial nor subject to history or fashion. Its essence is universally and eternally true. Its message is for all the world, restored in these latter days to meet the fundamental needs of every nation, kindred, tongue, and people on the earth. It has been established again as it was in the beginning—to build brotherhood, to preserve truth, and to save souls. …

As members of the Church of Jesus Christ, we seek to bring all truth together. We seek to enlarge the circle of love and understanding among all the people of the earth. Thus we strive to establish peace and happiness, not only within Christianity but among all mankind. 

Invitation to Action:

The Church, being the kingdom of God on earth, has a mission to all nations. “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

“Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:19–20). These words from the lips of the Master know no national boundaries; they are not limited to any race or culture. One nation is not favored above another. The admonition is clear—“teach all nations.” …

What does the Atonement have to do with missionary work? Any time we experience the blessings of the Atonement in our lives, we cannot help but have a concern for the welfare of [others].

A great indicator of one’s personal conversion is the desire to share the gospel with others. For this reason the Lord gave an obligation to every member of the Church to be missionaries.

Listen to the covenant one takes upon oneself when baptized into the Church:

“As ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light;

“Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life” (Mosiah 18:8–9).

We are to stand as witnesses of God at all times [and] in all places, even until death. We renew that covenant during the sacrament when we covenant to take the name of Christ upon us.

Missionary service is one important way we take upon ourselves his name. The Savior has said if we desire to take upon us his name, with full purpose of heart, we are called to go into all the world and preach his gospel to every creature (see D&C 18:28). …

Those of us who have partaken of the Atonement are under obligation to bear faithful testimony of our Lord and Savior. … The call to share the gospel with others represents our great love for our Heavenly Father’s children as well as for the Savior and what he did for us

Promised Blessings:

We have been privileged to be born in these last days, as opposed to some earlier dispensation, to help take the gospel to all the earth. There is no greater calling in this life. If we are content to hide behind self-made walls, we willingly forgo the blessings that are otherwise ours. The Lord in modern-day revelation explains the great need:

“For behold the field is white already to harvest; and lo, he that thrusteth in his sickle with his might, the same layeth up in store that he perisheth not, but bringeth salvation to his soul.” (D&C 4:4.)

The Lord goes on to explain in that same revelation the qualifications that we need to be good missionaries. Knowing full well of our weaknesses and of our reservations as we stand before the huge gate of our self-made wall, he reassures us that divine help to overcome all obstacles will be forthcoming if we will only do our part, with the simple promise: “Ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” (D&C 4:7.)

Read, study, or listen to the lesson here: 

 https://www.lds.org/manual/teachings-of-presidents-of-the-church-howard-w-hunter/chapter-8-taking-the-gospel-to-all-the-world?lang=eng

How Missionary Work Can Change Your Life:  

https://www.lds.org/topics/missionary-work/change?lang=eng

“Our work will be light and easy to bear if we will depend on the Lord and work.

“Don’t worry about being successful. We are going to be successful—there is no doubt about it. The Lord has sent us to earth at the time of harvest. He does not expect us to fail. He has called no one to this work to fail. He expects us to succeed.” - President Ezra Taft Benson

Missionary Opportunities:

https://www.lds.org/topics/service/family-history?lang=eng

Lesson Schedule:

In 2016 we will be studying the teachings of President Howard W. Hunter

April 24th - Stake Conference
May 1st - Presidents Instruction
May 8th - Howard W. Hunter lesson 9
May 15th - Howard W. Hunter lesson 10
May 22nd - Teaching for Our Time
May 29th - Bishops Choice

The new manual can be found here:

https://www.lds.org/manual/teachings-of-presidents-of-the-church-howard-w-hunter?lang=eng

May Relief Society Activity - “Who Am I - I Am A Woman"

“In our modern kingdom, it is no accident that women were, through the Relief Society, assigned compassionate service.  So often the service of women seems instinctive. . . .So often our sisters comfort others when their own needs are greater than those being comforted.”  (Elder Neil A. Maxwell)
For our May 5th Relief Society Activity we will be working on a relief effort at the Family Crisis Center.  We will meet on May 5that the Crisis Center from 7 - 8:30pm and will quilt, sort and organize donations for the women and children at the Women’s Shelter.  We invite mothers to bring their daughters 12 years and older.
0“For I was hungered, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; Naked, and ye clothed me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me.”  Mathew 25:35-36

Weekly Update - April 10th - April 16th

Continuous  Revelation through Living Prophets

Lesson 7 - Howard W Hunter

“We are guided by a living prophet of God—one who receives revelation from the Lord.”

Doctrine:

A prophet is one who has been called and raised up by the Lord to further God’s purposes among his children. He is one who has received the priesthood and speaks with authority. Prophets are teachers and defenders of the gospel. They bear witness of the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ. Prophets have foretold future happenings, but this is not the most important of their responsibilities, although it may be some evidence of prophetic power.

Righteous leadership has been needed in each dispensation of time, and God chose prophets for this purpose long before they came to this mortal existence [see Jeremiah 1:5; Abraham 3:23].

Down through its history, including this very day, the Church has had a prophet, seer, and revelator. At the head of the Church is Jesus Christ, who directs his prophet. … His counselors [and] the members of the Council of the Twelve … are also prophets, seers, and revelators. … Members of the Church do not have to listen to an uncertain trumpet. They can believe the voice of their leaders, knowing they are guided by the Lord.

Invitation to Action:

It is the present living prophet who is our leader, our teacher. It is from him we take direction in the modern world. From all corners of the earth, we who sustain him as a prophet of the Lord express our appreciation for this source of divine guidance. …

As the prophets from the beginning to the present day pass in review before our memory, we become aware of the great blessing which comes to us from the influence of a living prophet. History should teach us that unless we are willing to heed the warnings and follow the teachings of a prophet of the Lord, we will be subject to the judgments of God.

If we follow the advice, counsel, and teachings of the leaders of the Church in their instruction to us, we will not go amiss in that which is important for our own personal salvation and exaltation.

In general conference, we receive inspired counsel from prophets, seers, and revelators.

As I have pondered the messages of [general] conference, I have asked myself this question: How can I help others partake of the goodness and blessings of our Heavenly Father? The answer lies in following the direction received from those we sustain as prophets, seers, and revelators, and others of the General Authorities. Let us study their words, spoken under the Spirit of inspiration, and refer to them often. The Lord has revealed his will to the Saints in this conference.

Promised Blessings:

Conference time is a season of spiritual revival when knowledge and testimony are increased and solidified that God lives and blesses those who are faithful. It is a time when an understanding that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, is burned into the hearts of those who have the determination to serve him and keep his commandments. Conference is the time when our leaders give us inspired direction in the conduct of our lives—a time when souls are stirred and resolutions are made to be better husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, more obedient sons and daughters, better friends and neighbors. …

We who are met here today [in general conference] claim a special, unique knowledge of the Savior’s gospel. Most striking of all, to those who first became acquainted with us, is our declaration to the world that we are guided by a living prophet of God—one who communicates with, is inspired by, and receives revelation from the Lord.

Read, study, or listen to the lesson here: 

 https://www.lds.org/manual/teachings-of-presidents-of-the-church-howard-w-hunter/chapter-7-continuous-revelation-through-living-prophets?lang=eng

If you would like to watch President Hunter's first conference talk which was quoted in this lesson follow the link below:

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1994/10/follow-the-son-of-god?lang=eng

Lesson Schedule:

In 2016 we will be studying the teachings of President Howard W. Hunter

April 17th- Howard W. Hunter Lesson 8
April 24th - Stake Conference

The new manual can be found here:

https://www.lds.org/manual/teachings-of-presidents-of-the-church-howard-w-hunter?lang=eng

May Relief Society Activity - “Who Am I - I Am A Woman"

“In our modern kingdom, it is no accident that women were, through the Relief Society, assigned compassionate service.  So often the service of women seems instinctive. . . .So often our sisters comfort others when their own needs are greater than those being comforted.”  (Elder Neil A. Maxwell)
For our May 5th Relief Society Activity we will be working on a relief effort at the Family Crisis Center.  We will meet on May 5that the Crisis Center from 7 - 8:30pm and will quilt, sort and organize donations for the women and children at the Women’s Shelter.  We invite mothers to bring their daughters 12 years and older.
0“For I was hungered, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; Naked, and ye clothed me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me.”  Mathew 25:35-36

Weekly Update March - March 20th - March 26th

The Atonement and Resurrection of Jesus Christ

Lesson 6 - Howard W Hunter

“We shall rise from mortal death to have life everlasting, because of the atoning sacrifice and resurrection of the Savior.”

Doctrine:

The Atonement of Jesus Christ was a foreordained assignment by our Heavenly Father to redeem his children after their fallen state. It was an act of love by our Heavenly Father to permit his Only Begotten to make an atoning sacrifice. And it was a supreme act of love by his beloved Son to carry out the Atonement.

Without the Resurrection, the gospel of Jesus Christ becomes a litany of wise sayings and seemingly unexplainable miracles—but sayings and miracles with no ultimate triumph. No, the ultimate triumph is in the ultimate miracle: for the first time in the history of mankind, one who was dead raised himself into living immortality. He was the Son of God, the Son of our immortal Father in Heaven, and his triumph over physical and spiritual death is the good news every Christian tongue should speak.

Invitation to Action:

We may, in fact, make wrong choices, bad choices, hurtful choices. And sometimes we do just that, but that is where the mission and mercy of Jesus Christ comes into full force and glory. … He has provided a mediating atonement for the wrong choices we make. He is our advocate with the Father and has paid, in advance, for the faults and foolishness we often see in the exercise of our freedom. We must accept his gift, repent of those mistakes, and follow his commandments in order to take full advantage of this redemption. The offer is always there; the way is always open. We can always, even in our darkest hour and most disastrous errors, look to the Son of God and live.

Promised Blessings:

I have a conviction that God lives and that Jesus is the Christ. As Paul bore testimony to the saints of Corinth by his letter at that Easter season many years ago, I add my witness that we shall rise from mortal death to have life everlasting, because of the atoning sacrifice and resurrection of the Savior. In my mind I picture him with arms outstretched to all who will hear:

“… I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

“And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.” (John 11:25–26.)

Christ’s resurrection ushers in the blessing of immortality and the possibility of eternal life. His empty tomb proclaims to all the world, “He is not here, but is risen.” (Luke 24:6.) These words contain all the hope, assurance, and belief necessary to sustain us in our challenging and sometimes grief-filled lives.

Read, study, or listen to the lesson here: 

 https://www.lds.org/manual/teachings-of-presidents-of-the-church-howard-w-hunter/chapter-6-the-atonement-and-resurrection-of-jesus-christ?lang=eng

Lesson Schedule:

In 2016 we will be studying the teachings of President Howard W. Hunter

April 10th - Howard W. Hunter Lesson 7
April 17th- Howard W. Hunter Lesson 8
April 24th - Stake Conference

The new manual can be found here:

https://www.lds.org/manual/teachings-of-presidents-of-the-church-howard-w-hunter?lang=eng

I Was a Stranger - The Savior's Invitation to Make a Difference

In a world of constant change and commotion, we may often feel like strangers. All around us we hear of distress, tragedy, and hardship. We live in a time of uncertainty and unrest. Many around us live in fear of an unknown future. What can our role as women be in the last days to prepare the earth for the coming of Christ? What can we do to reach out, to love, to nurture, and to minister as He has invited us to do?

We each have the invitation as women and young women to open our eyes and our hearts to see those among us who may feel alone, afraid, or uncertain so that we are no longer strangers  (see Matthew 25:35–36; Ephesians 2:19). We are invited to share our love, our confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ, and our hands to strengthen others and love them as the Savior would have us do. This is not a program; it is who we are.

With our divine nature as women, we can be a light in a darkening world. We can give hope, love, and care to those around us. We are not asked to “run faster than [we have] strength” (Mosiah 4:27). Although we can work together, we are not asked to organize large efforts. Instead we are each asked to seek personal revelation about whom the Lord would have us strengthen and love as individuals and as families. The Savior invites us to participate in a personal ministry of love and to remember His words: “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these . . . , ye have done it unto me” (Matthew 25:40). 

The errand of angels is given to women;
And this is a gift that, as sisters, we claim:
To do whatsoever is gentle and human,
To cheer and to bless in humanity's name.
(“As Sisters in Zion,” Hymns, no. 309)

“. . . ‘I Was a Stranger’ gives sisters a way to serve as individuals, in families, and in organizations and to offer friendship, mentoring, and other Christlike service to the refugees in our midst. . . .

“Sisters may participate in this effort when time and circumstances allow, making sure that no one is expected to ‘run faster than [she] has strength’ and that all ‘things are done in wisdom and order’ (Mosiah 4:27).”

Read about the this effort here:

https://www.lds.org/refugees?cid=HP_SA_26-3-2016_dPFD_fCNWS_xLIDyL2-1_&lang=eng

Weekly Update - March 27th - April 2nd

"Faith is Not by Chance, but by Choice"

- Conference address given by Elder Neil L Anderson - October 2015

Faith in Jesus Christ is a gift from heaven that comes as we choose to believe and as we seek it and hold on to it.

Question to Ponder:  How does the Savior see your faith?

Doctrine:

"Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is not something ethereal, floating loosely in the air. Faith does not fall upon us by chance or stay with us by birthright. It is, as the scriptures say, “substance … , the evidence of things not seen.”  Faith emits a spiritual light, and that light is discernible.  Faith in Jesus Christ is a gift from heaven that comes as we choose to believe and as we seek it and hold on to it. Your faith is either growing stronger or becoming weaker. Faith is a principle of power, important not only in this life but also in our progression beyond the veil.  By the grace of Christ, we will one day be saved through faith on His name.  The future of your faith is not by chance, but by choice."

Invitation to Action:

Both the Bible and the Book of Mormon give us the beautiful assurance that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. When was the last time that you read the Book of Mormon from cover to cover? Read it again. It will increase your faith.

Another gift from God that enlarges our faith is the guidance of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve. The guidance of the First Presidency and the Twelve help protect our faith.

"Although your beginning fire of faith may be small, righteous choices bring greater confidence in God, and your faith grows. The difficulties of mortality blow against you, and evil forces lurk in the darkness, hoping to extinguish your faith. But as you continue to make good choices, trust in God, and follow His Son, the Lord sends increased light and knowledge, and your faith becomes settled and unwavering. President Thomas S. Monson said: “Fear not. … The future is as bright as your faith.”

Promised Blessings:

'My dear friends, your faith did not begin at birth, and it will not end at death. Faith is a choice. Strengthen your faith, and live to be deserving of the Savior’s approving words: “Great is thy faith.” As you do, I promise you that your faith, through the grace of Jesus Christ, will one day allow you to stand with those you love, clean and pure in the presence of God, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

Read, study, and /or listen to the lesson here:  

https://www.lds.org/ensign/2015/11/general-priesthood-session/faith-is-not-by-chance-but-by-choice?lang=eng

Lesson Schedule:

In 2016 we will be studying the teachings of President Howard W. Hunter

April 3rd - General Conference
April 10th - Howard W. Hunter Lesson 7
April 17th- Howard W. Hunter Lesson 8
April 24th - Stake Conference

The new manual can be found here:

https://www.lds.org/manual/teachings-of-presidents-of-the-church-howard-w-hunter?lang=eng

Your Invited! Relief Society Birthday Celebration - Thursday, April 7th - 7:00 p.m.

Who am I? – I am a member of the Relief Society – Thursday, April 7, 2016 @ 7:00 p.m.

This year for our Relief Society Activities, we are focusing on two questions:  “Who am I” and “What is my mission?”  For our February activity, we focused on our roles in the family.  Sister Julie B. Beck taught, “As guardians of hearth and home, women have responsibility for the hearts and souls of Heavenly Father’s children.  We are given this powerful and influential leadership role.  The female responsibility of being a wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, sister, aunt, and friend . . . is all about nurturing, teaching, and influencing.  These are non-negotiable responsibilities.  We can’t delegate them . . . . They are our sacred duties and we fulfill them under covenant.”

https://www.lds.org/church/news/sister-julie-b-beck-shares-lessons-from-relief-society-history?lang=eng

We encourage you to ponder your role in the family and to seek personal revelation and inspiration as you strive to more fully answer the question, “Who am I and what is my mission?”

For our upcoming April activity, we will celebrate the organization of Relief Society and focus on our roles and responsibilities as members of the Relief Society.  Joseph Fielding Smith taught, “You are members of the greatest women’s organization in the world, an organization which is a vital part of the kingdom of God on earth and which is so designed and operated that it helps its faithful members to gain eternal life in our Father’s kingdom.”  Sister Elaine L. Jack reminded us, “We are part of a grand whole.  We need each other to make our sisterhood complete.  When we reach out to clasp the hands of our sisters, we reach to every continent, for we are of every nation.  We are bonded as we try to understand what the Lord has to say to us, what He will make of us.”

We invite you to come enjoy the sisterhood of the Burton 4^th Ward Relief Society, as we share a meal together.  As part of our evening, we will have the opportunity to hear from a few of our past Relief Society presidents as they share their thoughts on what it means to them to be a member of Relief Society.