Weekly Update May 3rd - May 9th

FAITH

The Presidency Message was on the blessing of having the Book of Mormon.  Since I didn't have a copy of her lesson I have included some thoughts from Richard G Scott given in his Oct 2011 and Oct 2014 Conference talks.

Doctrine:

Scriptures are like packets of light that illuminate our minds and give place to guidance and inspiration from on high.

The scriptures provide the strength of authority to our declarations when they are cited correctly. They can become stalwart friends that are not limited by geography or calendar. They are always available when needed. Their use provides a foundation of truth that can be awakened by the Holy Ghost. Learning, pondering, searching, and memorizing scriptures is like filling a filing cabinet with friends, values, and truths that can be called upon anytime, anywhere in the world.

  

Invitation to Action: 

 

Don’t yield to Satan’s lie that you don’t have time to study the scriptures. Choose to take time to study them. Feasting on the word of God each day is more important than sleep, school, work, television shows, video games, or social media. You may need to reorganize your priorities to provide time for the study of the word of God. If so, do it!

  

Promised Blessings:

There are many prophetic promises of the blessings of daily studying the scriptures.

 

I add my voice with this promise: as you dedicate time every day, personally and with your family, to the study of God’s word, peace will prevail in your life. That peace won’t come from the outside world. It will come from within your home, from within your family, from within your own heart. It will be a gift of the Spirit. It will radiate out from you to influence others in the world around you. You will be doing something very significant to add to the cumulative peace in the world.

I do not declare that your life will cease to have challenges. Remember when Adam and Eve were in the garden, they were free from challenges, yet they were unable to experience happiness, joy, and peace.⁷ Challenges are an important part of mortality. Through daily, consistent scripture study, you will find peace in the turmoil around you and strength to resist temptations. You will develop strong faith in the grace of God and know that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ all will be made right according to God’s timing.

 

 Read, study, or listen to the entire talks here:  

 

 https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/make-the-exercise-of-faith-your-first-priority?lang=eng

 

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2011/10/the-power-of-scripture?lang=eng

 

 

 

FAMILY

 

  

Reading Scriptures with Children

Family Home Evening Resource Book, (1997), 167

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Because the scriptures are sometimes difficult to understand, we often avoid reading them with children, particularly younger children. But children need and can be helped to understand and love the word of God. Many Bible stories are exciting and have all the elements of stories that children love. However, you cannot just sit down and read long passages to young children and expect them to understand. They can benefit from reading the actual words, and this should be included when you teach your children about the scriptures, but you also need to adapt the scriptures to the level of your children’s understanding.

 

All of us benefit from a study of the scriptures, not just a reading of them. Questions and discussion will help both younger and older children to gain a better understanding of scriptures.

The following are some different ways to help your children understand the scriptures:

1.    Tell scripture stories to your children in simple terms. Use the names of people and places in the story. These may be written on small cards, posters, or prepared for a flannel board. Have your children repeat the names to help them remember them, and let them place the names on the flannel board. You should explain the meaning of the story to the children. For example: Noah tried to teach the people about Heavenly Father and about how they should live, but they did not listen to him. They were very bad and did not do what Heavenly Father wanted them to do, so he sent a flood, and all the people that were bad, the wicked people, died. After telling the story, read the actual scripture story to your children. You may need to stop and explain some of the words to help your children remember the easier version you have just told them. If necessary, skip some verses that do not add to the meaning of the story and read only the parts that tell the story. Your children will enjoy hearing verses read to them, and it is good for them to become familiar with the language used in the scriptures.
   
2.        Let children have their own scriptures. Get each child an inexpensive set of scriptures, even though they are too young to read. They will love to have their own books, and you can help them mark some of the stories you read. As they learn to read, help them ahead of time with scripture assignments so that they can read them during family home evening. Older children and teenagers often enjoy being able to explain terms or give background information for assigned scriptures. Be prepared to help with these assignments, to offer suggestions and sources of information.
   
3.        As a family, study the new LDS editions of the scriptures to learn what aids to scripture study these contain. For instance, help children understand what the footnotes mean and how the Topical Guide and Bible Dictionary can help them understand passages. Short assignments and exercises for family home evening can help each member gain a greater understanding of how he can be helped in his study of the scriptures.
   
4.        Use the Church’s excellent books: Book of Mormon Stories, Old Testament Stories, New Testament Stories, and Doctrine and Covenants and Church History Stories (each for beginning readers), as well as Scripture Stories. These have cassette tapes that children can listen to while looking at the pictures in the books. These teaching aids can help your children learn the stories from the scriptures. Be sure, however, that your children also hear the actual stories read from the standard works.
   
5.        Set up a regular time, in addition to family home evening, when you can read and study the scriptures together. This could perhaps be each Sunday or at bedtime. Make it a time your children will look forward to. 

 

 RELIEF 

 

 

SWEEPING THE EARTH AS IF A FLOOD:

 

 

 

“Missionary work isn’t the only thing we need to do in this big, wide, wonderful Church. But almost everything else we need to do depends on people first hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ and coming into the faith. … With all that there is to do along the path to eternal life, we need a lot more missionaries opening that gate and helping people through it.”

—Jeffrey R. Holland

“We Are All Enlisted,” Ensign, Nov. 2011, 46–47

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Relief Society Announcements: 

Calendar:

 

May 10^th – Ezra Taft Benson  #9 – The Book of Mormon – Keystone of Our Religion

May 17th – Ezra Taft Benson #10 – Flooding the Earth and Our Lives with the Book of Mormon

May 24^th – Teachings For Our Time

May 31^st – 5th Sunday

  

 

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

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Weekly Update - January 11th - January 17th

Faith

 

Lesson Review:

"The Great Commandment - Love the Lord" 

 

Ezra Taft Benson - Chapter 1

Doctrine:

The first and great commandment is to love the Lord.

The great test of life is obedience to God. “We will prove them herewith,” said the Lord, “to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them” (Abraham 3:25).

The great task of life is to learn the will of the Lord and then do it.

The great commandment of life is to love the Lord.

“Come unto Christ,” exhorts Moroni in his closing testimony, “… and love God with all your might, mind and strength” (Moroni 10:32).

This, then, is the first and great commandment: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength” (Mark 12:30; see also Matthew 22:37; Deuteronomy 6:5; Luke 10:27; Moroni 10:32; D&C 59:5).

It is the pure love of Christ, called charity, that the Book of Mormon testifies is the greatest of all—that never faileth, that endureth forever, that all men should have, and that without which they are nothing (see Moroni 7:44–47; 2 Nephi 26:30).

Invitation to Action: 

Why did God put the first commandment first? Because He knew that if we truly loved Him we would want to keep all of His other commandments. “For this is the love of God,” says John, “that we keep his commandments” (1 John 5:3; see also 2 John 1:6).

We must put God in the forefront of everything else in our lives. He must come first, just as He declares in the first of His Ten Commandments: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3).

When we put God first, all other things fall into their proper place or drop out of our lives. Our love of the Lord will govern the claims for our affection, the demands on our time, the interests we pursue, and the order of our priorities.

We should put God ahead of everyone else in our lives.

Promised Blessings:

When we choose to put God first in our lives, His blessing come in abundance.

Men and women who turn their lives over to God will discover that He can make a lot more out of their lives than they can. He will deepen their joys, expand their vision, quicken their minds, strengthen their muscles, lift their spirits, multiply their blessings, increase their opportunities, comfort their souls, raise up friends, and pour out peace. Whoever will lose his life in the service of God will find eternal life.

 

 Read or Listen to the entire lesson here:  

https://www.lds.org/manual/teachings-of-presidents-of-the-church-ezra-taft-benson/chapter-1-the-great-commandment-love-the-lord?lang=eng

 

FAMILY

 

We had a wonderful sacrament meeting program on Sunday!  We were taught about the importance of having regular family home evening and family scripture study.

Here is what President Monson say's about Family Home Evening-

"We cannot afford to neglect this heaven-inspired program. It can bring spiritual growth to each member of the family, helping him or her to withstand the temptations which are everywhere. The lessons learned in the home are those that last the longest."

As President Gordon B. Hinckley and his predecessors have stated, “The home is the basis of a righteous life, and no other instrumentality can take its place nor fulfill its essential functions.”

What makes family home evening successful?

• Start and end with prayer. This invites the Spirit, increases love, and teaches your family how to pray.
• Learn from the scriptures and the words of latter-day prophets to help your family live the gospel.
• Add music, such as hymns and Primary songs, to create an atmosphere of love, peace, and joy. 
• Make it fun by playing games, acting out scripture stories, and making treats. Keep the atmosphere light and loving.
• Be consistent. Monday nights are set aside by the Church for family home evening. If that doesn’t work, find a night that does.
• Add variety. Help a neighbor in need, hold a lesson at the park, or go for a walk as a family.

Lori Fuller had a great article in the April 2013 church magazine.  She teaches that we should, "Build a strong foundation for you and your family through more consistent and meaningful scripture study."

She gives the following suggestions to help your family in your study:
-Study with a question.
-Study by topic.
-Study for guidance.
-Study with a promise.

President Ezra Taft Benson said,
"“When individual members and families immerse themselves in the scriptures regularly and consistently, … other areas of activity will automatically come. Testimonies will increase. Commitment will be strengthened. Families will be fortified. Personal revelation will flow.”

RELIEF

 

 The teaching part of Visiting Teaching is taught in the, "Teaching No Greater Call" manual.  Here is what is what we learn:
 

When you are assigned to be a visiting teacher, an important part of your responsibility is to “learn of the spiritual and temporal needs of the sister and her family” and to “give spiritual instruction through a monthly message” (Church Handbook of Instructions, Book 2: Priesthood and Auxiliary Leaders [1998], 203). You are a teacher of the gospel.

In order to teach the sisters assigned to you, you need to prepare yourself spiritually and learn to apply the principles of gospel teaching discussed in this book. You should also strive continually to improve your teaching (see “Making a Plan to Improve Your Teaching,” pages 24–27).

 As you select a message to share, remember the following instruction: “Visiting teachers give spiritual instruction through a monthly message. Messages that are published in the Ensign or the International Magazines are to be used as a guide and adapted to the needs of each sister” 

Prepare each visiting teaching message as carefully as you would prepare a lesson for a Church class.

 

The following suggestions will help you as you teach the sisters you visit:

• •Pray and read the scriptures together whenever possible. Use the scriptures at every appropriate opportunity. Bring them for each visit. Use them to answer questions or give counsel.
• •Follow the promptings of the Spirit as you teach.
• •Be sensitive to the time constraints of the sisters you visit.
• •Find ways for the sisters you visit to participate in the lessons. Show keen interest in what they have to say.
• •Testify of the truths you teach. Share examples of how to apply those truths in everyday life.

To read the entire lesson click on this link:
 https://www.lds.org/manual/teaching-no-greater-call-a-resource-guide-for-gospel-teaching/lesson-10-the-teaching-part-of-visiting-teaching?lang=eng&query=blessing+of+visiting+teaching

Sweeping the Earth As If a Flood:

 

 

Have you been tempted to share the gospel with someone who is close to you?  I loved this talk by Dallin H Oaks titled, "Sharing the Gospel."  He says, "I have concluded that we need three things to fulfill our prophet’s challenge. First, we need a sincere desire to share the gospel. Second, we need divine assistance. Third, we need to know what to do.

 Desire: 

As with so many other things, sharing the gospel begins with desire. If we are to become more effective instruments in the hands of the Lord in sharing His gospel, we must sincerely desire to do so. I believe we acquire this desire in two steps.

First, we must have a firm testimony of the truth and importance of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. This includes the supreme value of God’s plan for His children, the essential position of the Atonement of Jesus Christ in it, and the role of The Church of Jesus Christ in carrying out that plan in mortality.

Second, we must have a love for God and for all of His children. In modern revelation we are told that “love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify [us] for the work” (D&C 4:5). The early Apostles of this dispensation were told that their love should “abound unto all men” (D&C 112:11).

Divine Assistance:

 We also need divine assistance to guide us in sharing the gospel. Just as our desires must be pure and rooted in testimony and love, our actions must be directed by the Lord. It is His work, not ours, and it must be done in His way and on His timing, not ours. Otherwise, our efforts may be fated to frustration and failure.

Know What to Do:

 When we have a sincere desire to share the gospel with others, and when we have sought divine assistance in our efforts, what should we do? How do we proceed? We begin by beginning. We should not wait for a further invitation from heaven. Revelation comes most often when we are on the move.

You can read the entire talk here:

 https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2001/10/sharing-the-gospel?lang=eng

He gives great perspective and wonderful ideas!

Relief Society Announcements:

 

Lesson manuals - If you or any of the ladies you visit teach have not received an Ezra Taft Benson lesson manual or the teaching schedule please get with a member of the presidency.  They would like to make sure everyone who wants one gets a copy.

 Lesson Schedule for January:

January 4th - President's Instruction

January 11th - Ezra Taft Benson #1 - "The Great Commandment" -  Love the Lord

January 18th - Ezra Taft Benson #2 - "Pray Always"

January 25th - Teachings For Our Time - "Joseph Smith" by Elder Neil L. Anderson - November General Conference

2015 Relief Society Curriculum:

Teachings of President's of the Church - Ezra Taft Benson

https://www.lds.org/manual/teachings-of-presidents-of-the-church-ezra-taft-benson?lang=eng

  

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