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Obedience

I have been thinking about this verse that I read in the Pearl of Great Price all week:

And after many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying: Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him:

I know not, save the Lord commanded me. (Moses 5:6)

This verse sums it up pretty nicely by taking a concept that we ourselves complicate and simplifying it to its most basic core meaning.

Obedience.

I can’t believe how I never actively realized until this week how obedience is shown and taught throughout the: Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price.

The message is pretty clear now and I see the path I need to take as clear day.

I feel the spirit stronger than I ever have, since being baptized.

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First Post of 2010 – An Update

It’s been a while since I’ve posted here.  A lot has been going on and I just haven’t had time.  Here is what has been going on since I’ve last posted:

  • Stake-wide Ward Boundary Reorganization
    Yes, we knew it was coming since the announcement in August but I feel that once the reorganization was approved, the split came about swiftly and with an extraordinary amount of organization.  The manner in how it was done bares witness to me of the divine inspiration of our church leaders have and how this church is the real deal.
  • New Calling
    I was happy to keep what was my current calling as a Webelos Den Leader for a whole 1 week into our newly organized ward.  I was sad to get a call right after our last meeting, knowing they were going to release me from it.  That feeling was quickly replaced with excitement when I learned I’d be an Assistant Scoutmaster and working with the 11 year old boys!I was pleasantly surprised to  find out that the brother who baptized me and was mission leader when I was an investigator was now my partner with the 11 year old scouts!  We also went to our trainings together and did a December Time camp out in below-freezing temperatures.  It was a fun experience and I learned a lot.

    Now every Wednesdays we have our meetings and I am excited to be helping the scouts pass off their requirements all the way up to First Class.

  • Getting To Know New People
    I am on my outside an introvert and I keep to myself.  And seeing how church beings at 9am in the morning, it doesn’t help one bit that I am NOT a morning person.  Besides the early time we have to be at church, this has given me and others a reason to throw ourselves out there.  I like to think that on my inside I have a person screaming to get to know everyone and be outgoing.  I was happy the other weekend when I realized that I actually knew at least half the people I pass by in the hallways now.
  • New Perspective
    It’s always interesting to me how differently things can be ran by the  Bishopric in a ward.  Whichever way they go about things, one thing is for certain.  They are absolutely called by God to their positions to minister and lead the ward.

So far it seems like 2010 is off to a great start!

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The 179th Semiannual General Conference: Priesthood Session Notes

Saturday Session 3 (Priesthood), Talk 1 – M. Russell Ballard, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

  • Priesthood is the divine power that seals
  • How to Talk between Father and Son:
  • Most Nurturing
  • Who Sons and Fathers Become
  • Applies to All Mentors
  • 3 Suggestions for the Son:
    • 1. Trust Your Father:
      • Not Perfect, but loves you and is looking out for your best interests.
      • Your Father will feel responsibility and will make him work harder.
    • 2. Take an interest in your father’s life.
      • Interests
      • Goals
      • Job
      • How he met your mother?
      • Watch your father, you’ll understand your father better.
    • 3. Ask for your father’s advice:
      • Ask on Church, Classes, School, Assignments, Missions, Callings.
      • Asking says to him: “I appreciate your knowledge and experience.”
  • 3 Suggestions for the Father:
    • 1. Listen to your sons. Ask the right questions and what to know.
      • Connect with your son: Driving, Fishing, Conversations before bed, working in the yard.
      • Have one deep conversation with your son at least once a month.
      • Where and when is not important. Just that it happens.
      • Ask how they “feel”
      • Just listen. You don’t have to fix everything.
    • 2. Pray with and for your sons.
      • Important events: New School Year, Birthday, One and One Prayer, Testimony Sharing.
      • Never give up. Even when you can’t do anything.
    • 3. Talk about and warn about bad things: Drugs, Pornography. Discuss the priesthood and moral cleanliness.
  • Trust will flourish. Be open about Sexual Behavior with open and frequent discussions. Be positive about sexual relations in the bounds of marriage.
  • Return Missionaries – All this advice applies to them as well.
  • Pray to Heavenly Father. Honor your Earthy Father.
  • Most important decision is to marry the right girl in the temple.
  • Fathers of return missionaries, this applies to them too.

Saturday Session 3 (Priesthood), Talk 2 – Walter F. Gonzalez, of the Seventy

  • USE the Book of Mormon
  • Take the Book of Mormon Test: Is it of man or of God?
  • 3 Activities to best read and apply:
    1. Feast Upon the Words of Christ. READ IT.
    2. Implement the Teachings
    3. Teach From the Book of Mormon

Saturday Session 3 (Priesthood), Talk 3 – Yoon Hwan Choi, of the Seventy

  • Story of 9 Rowdy Boys, Baptized and went on missions.
  • They went from 9 Boys to a family of 45 members.
  • The boys sang in a group.
  • Choi prayed about them and was inspired to teach them to be missionaries.
  • “Attend all church meetings” – Taft
  • Teach them to change their lives
  • Adam did not always have to know why, he just obeyed.

Saturday Session 3 (Priesthood), Talk 4 – President Deter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor, First Presidency

  • Must remain steadfast in faith.
  • Work Hard.
  • Trust in God.
  • Uchtdorf was teased as a young child. When he looks back, he sees that being teased gave him personal growth.
  • Adversity, when faced with faith, can be overcome.
  • Prinicples:
    • 1. WORK.
      • If you keep at it, steady and constant, things will improve.
      • In the sweat of thy face, thou shalt eat bread.
      • Lord doesn’t expect us to work harder than we are able. Don’t compare your performance to others, he does not.
      • When your wagon is stuck in the mude, God is more likely to help one who gets out to push, than those who pray.
      • Righteous work in the home is sacred and has eternal results. It cannot be delegated.
      • Spend your days growing.
      • Spiritual Wings – as sons of God, we should grow to the horizons.
      • Retirement is not part of God’s plan. You should always be doing something.
      • Excuses with age: Skateboarding, biking, spicy food at the buffet… should not keep you from working.
      • No retirement from priesthood.
      • Wanting to retire from work is not a thought of a disciple.
    • 2. LEARN.
      • Old saying: “Education is not so much a filling of a bucket as a lighting of a fire.”
      • Learning is a commandment.
      • Joseph Smith said as a mortal part of our journey that knowledge in this life crosses into the resurrection.
      • Knowledge takes away anxiety, doubt and darkness.

Saturday Session 3 (Priesthood), Talk 5 – President Henry B. Eyring, Second Counselor, First Presidency

  • Keeps olive oil on him at all times.
  • Keeps it in his desk (He has a desk!)
  • Keeps it on his nightstand.
  • The olive oil has a date on it: The day it has been concecrated.
  • Always ready.
  • Story: A father called him about his three year old daughter. She had been hit by a car. He plead for a priesthood blessing. He had to fight the doctors to place a drop of oil on her head amidst bandages. Doctors said she was dying. They were wrong. She lived and also learned to walk again.
  • Those prepared are ready to answer.
  • Preparation begins at home, quorums, etc.
  • Steady Obedient Service.
  • Need:
    • To have faith, authority to act in the name of God.
    • Nephi – Given the authority to do miracles. He brought drought/rain, god gave him power and trust.
    • D&C 121 – Moves are pure, Gentleness, Love, Not Selfish. D&C 121 contains a promise in there.
    • Prepare for days when heaven needs you. Service & Opportunity.

Saturday Session 3 (Priesthood), Talk 6 – President Thomas S. Monson, President and Prophet

  • Anger
  • Story of a couple fighting and a child who got hurt as a direct result.
  • Anger doesn’t solve anything.
  • Destroys everything.
  • Heber grant story about work.
  • “Man is a fool who takes insult that is not intended”
  • Anger is Satans tool.
  • Story about Brother Marsh, how a result of a quarrel over milk and cream lead to the extermination order.
  • Story about two brothers who shared a 1 room cabin in New York. They got into a fight and drew a line down the center of the room. They did not speak or cross the line for 62 years. This story was told at a funeral.
  • Reads “School Thy Feelings Poem”
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The 179th Semiannual General Conference: Thomas S. Monson Talk

Sunday Session 5, Talk 8 – Thomas S. Monson, President of the Church, Prophet

My Notes:

-Read and study the conference talks in the November Ensign. It will inspire us. Incorporate the truths into our daily lives.
-Book of Mormon, Book of Ether Quote: Ye cannot cross this great deep, save I prepare you against the waves of the sea and the winds which have gone forth and the floods which shall come.

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The 179th Semiannual General Conference: D. Todd Christofferson Talk

Sunday Session 5, Talk 7 – D. Todd Christofferson, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

My Notes:

  • Moral Agency, the right to make choices and account for those choices.
  • WW II – James E. Faust was in enlisted in the US Army.
    • Asked the question “In times of war, should not the morale code be relaxed? Does not the stress of battle justify men in doing things they would not do while at home under normal situations?”
    • Answered “I do not believe there is a double standard of morality.”
  • Moral Discipline is the practice of exercising agency to choose the right, just be cause it is right.
  • Discipline’s root word is Disciple.
  • The more of God’s laws we obey, the fewer laws we need on earth.
  • Morale Discipline is learned at home.
  • Teach your children while you have them and convert them while they are with you.
  • Book of Mormon quote: “Wickedness never was happiness”
  • His mother’s quick correction put an abrupt end to his life of crime! 🙂
  • Discipline needs to be founded on faith in Heavenly Father and the son and what we can achieve with atonement of Jesus Christ.
  • God is our Father, his son Jesus is our redeemer. Their law is immutable, truth everlasting and love is infinite.
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The 179th Semiannual General Conference: Michael T. Ringwood Talk

Sunday Session 5, Talk 5 – Michael T. Ringwood, of the Seventy

My Notes:

  • What causes mighty change? As in the Laminites?
  • Easiness and willingness to believe in god comes from the softness of heart that is: Sensitive to the Holy Ghost, can love, will make and keep sacred covenants, feel the power of the atonement of Christ.
  • The daily living of the gospel brings about a soft heart that brings an easiness and willingness to believe.
  • Periods with a soft heart: marriage, birth a child, intense service from a calling or mission, in our youth with leaders and bishop, trials, growth from learning for the first time of the Gospel.
  • Most significant period is childhood, easy to receive the world of god taught by parents and grand parents.
  • Obedience will bring soft hearts, scripture study and prayer will bring soft hearts.
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The 179th Semiannual General Conference: Dale G. Renlund Talk

Sunday Session 5, Talk 4 – Dale G. Renlund, of the Seventy

My Notes:

  • Heart Transplant, body will naturally (as the natural man) reject the new heart.
  • Medication must be taken daily and with exactness.
  • Heart Health must be monitored.
  • Patience Become casual with medicine and monitoring. – They feel good for all is well.
  • Consider the state of your changed heart.
  • If ye have experienced the change of heart…can you feel so now?
  • Are you humble? Free of pride and envy/ Kind to your fellow man?
  • Pray and read scriptures every day keep your changed heart.
  • Do not be casual about those small actions.
  • Partake of the Sacrament each week and have the Holy Ghost as your constant companion.
  • In homes, talk of, rejoice in and preach of Christ.
  • Frequently biopsy our changed heart. The tendencies of the natural man will reject a changed heart if not kept in check.
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The 179th Semiannual General Conference: Quentin L. Cook Talk

Sunday Session 5, Talk 2- Quentin L. Cook, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

My Notes:

  • Accountability/Stewardship
  • Rationalization will be seen in their true light.
  • Repentance means the Lord will forgive and FORGET your sins.
  • Stewardship:
    • Our Family/Children:
      • Remember that having religious observance at home is as important as providing food, clothing and shelter.
      • Children are accountable for time/talents are increasingling subject to foolishness and unrighteousness that are pervasive in the world.
      • Family Proclamation: “Individuals who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand responsible before God.”
    • Caring for the poor and those in need
      • We are Stewards of those in need. “If any man shall take of the abundance which I have made and impart not his portion of the poor and the needy, he shall with the wicked lift up his eyes in hell, being in torment.
      • Accountable as stewards of earthly blessings the Lord has provided.
  • Emulate Jesus
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The 179th Semiannual General Conference: Jeffery R. Holland Talk

Sunday Session 5, Talk 1 – Jeffery R. Holland, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

My Notes:

  • There is one kind of latter day destruction that has sounded more personal … spiritual destruction
  • Held in his hand the very Book of Mormon that Hyrum had read.
  • Direct Testimony and Quote:

    “One cannot come into full faith in this latter day work and thereby find the fullness measure of peace of comfort of these are times until he or she embraces the divinity of the book of Mormon and the Lord Jesus Christ of whom it testifies. If anyone is foolish enough or misled enough to reject 531 pages of a here before unknown text, teaming with literary and symbolic complexity without honestly attempting to account for the origin of those pages somehow. Especially, without accounting for their powerful witness of Jesus Christ and their profound spiritual impact, that witness has had on what is now tens of millions of readers…if that’s the case, then such persons, elect or otherwise have been deceived. And if they leave this church, they must do so by crawling over or under or around the book of Mormon to make their exit. In that sense, the book is what Christ himself was said to be a stone of stumbling and a rock of offensive, a barrier in a path of one who wishes not to believe in this work. Witnesses, even witnesses who for a time hostile to Joseph, testified to their death that they had seen an angel and had handled the plates…”