Sunday, April 19, 2009

The Lord's Prayer

Elder Russel M. Nelson - Lessons from the Lord’s Prayers
The Lord prefaced His prayer by first asking His followers to avoid 'vain repetitions'16 and to pray 'after this manner.'17 Thus, the Lord’s Prayer serves as a pattern to follow and not as a piece to memorize and recite repetitively."

Matthew 6:7
7 But when ye pray, use not vain arepetitions, as the bheathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Self-Reliance

The Teachings Spencer W. Kimball, 370
"Teach them truth and give them the gospel and ambition is born, pride is nurtured, independence replaces slothfulness and men learn how to build their own homes and to furnish them and paint them, and then to build for others."

2 Thessalonians 3:10
10 For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not awork, neither should he eat.

Dallin H. Oaks, The Lord's Way, 117
the doctrine of self-reliance, of course, imposes no obligation of work on the aged, incapacitated, sick, or others who are unable to work to support themselves.

Work and self-reliance have an obvious application to our relationship to civil governments. For example, work and self-reliance were inherent in the most important United States government distribution of the 19th century. Under the Homestead Act of 1862, the United States government offered a deed to 160 acres of public land to "the head of a family, or [other person] who has arrived at the age of 21 years," who improve the land by residing upon it and cultivating it for a term of five years. Settlers who obtain title to public lands by this means, including many Mormon pioneers, worked for what they received. The government gave them an opportunity, not a handout. They made the nation stronger by subduing its frontiers, settling its public lands, paying its taxes, and producing food for its people.

A more recent example is the G.I. Bill, by which a grateful government gave educational benefits to members of its armed forces who had interrupted their other activities to serve their country.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Debt


Elder Robert D Hales, Meeting the Challenges of Today’s World, October 2015 General Conference

"If you never choose to go into debt, you will avoid the possibility of bankruptcy!”
...
“Many of your generation are facing crushing debt. When I was a young adult, my stake president was an investment banker on Wall Street. He taught me, ‘You are rich if you can live happily within your means.’”
...
“Don’t buy what you can’t afford.”
...
“Many young adults in the world are going into debt to get an education, only to find the cost of school is greater than they can repay. Seek out scholarships and grants. Obtain part-time employment, if possible, to help pay your own way. This will require some sacrifice, but it will help you succeed.”

"We must learn to separate need from greed."

Bishop H. David Burton, The Sanctifying Work of Welfare, April 2011 General Conference
One of the distinguishing characteristics of this inspired gospel-centered endeavor is its emphasis on personal responsibility and self-reliance. President Marion G. Romney explained: ‘Many programs have been set up by well-meaning individuals to aid those who are in need. However, many of these programs are designed with the shortsighted objective of ‘helping people,’ as opposed to ‘helping people help themselves.’ ‘ 5
Self-reliance is a product of provident living and exercising economic self-discipline. From the beginning the Church has taught that families—to the extent they can—need to assume responsibility for their own temporal welfare. Each generation is required to learn anew the foundational principles of self-reliance: avoid debt, implement principles of thrift, prepare for times of distress, listen to and follow the words of the living oracles, develop the discipline to distinguish between needs and wants and then live accordingly.



"Seek and attain the spiritual high ground in life", Elder Robert D. Hales, CES Broadcast to Married and Single Young Adults, March 1, 2009
"Another element of provident living is the ability to live joyfully within our means, avoiding excessive debt and not coveting the temporal things of this world. There seems to be a sense of entitlement in today’s culture—a feeling that we should acquire right now everything that our parents have acquired over many years. Debt can enslave us. When we become burdened with excessive debt, we have given away our precious, priceless agency and placed ourselves in self-imposed servitude, spending all of our time, energy, and means to the repayment of our debts. A mounting feeling of hopelessness from this situation builds stress which depresses us mentally, affecting our self worth, our relationship with our companion, and ultimately our feelings toward the Lord."



"Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant", Chapter 13
“If the people known as Latter-day Saints had listened to the advice given from this stand by my predecessor, under the inspiration of the Lord, calling and urging upon the Latter-day Saints not to run in debt, this great depression would have hurt the Latter-day Saints very, very little. … To my mind, the main reason for the depression in the United States as a whole, is the bondage of debt and the spirit of speculation among the people.”



2 Ne. 9:51
“Wherefore, do not spend money for that which is of no worth, nor your labor for that which cannot satisfy”



President Thomas S. Monson, "That Noble Gift—Love at Home,” Church News, May 12, 2001, 7
"Many more people could ride out the storm-tossed waves in their economic lives if they had their year's supply of food and clothing and were debt-free. Today we find that many have followed this counsel in reverse: they have at least a year's supply of debt and are food-free."



Contention

3 Nephi 11:28-30
28 And according as I have commanded you thus shall ye baptize. And there shall be no disputations among you, as there have hitherto been; neither shall there be disputations among you concerning the points of my doctrine, as there have hitherto been.
29 For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another.
30 Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such things should be done away.

President Thomas S Monson, As We Close This Conference, General Conference April 2012
If there are disagreements or contentions among you, I urge you to settle them now.“

4 Nephi 1:15
 15 And it came to pass that there was no contention in the land, because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people.


Dean C. Jessee, comp-ed., The Personal Writings of Joseph Smith (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1984), 90.
Joseph Smith instructed some brethren that were debating a certain doctrine. He talked of them having "too much zeal for mastery" and that they should not focus on dominating each other, but "they should handle sacred things very sacredly, and with due deference to the opinions of others, and with an eye single to the glory of God."

President Henry B. Eyring, "Our Hearts Knit as One", October 2008 General Conference
"A second principle to guide our progress to become one is to be humble. Pride is the great enemy of unity. You have seen and felt its terrible effects. Just days ago I watched as two people—good people—began with a mild disagreement. It started as a discussion of what was true but became a contest about who was right. Voices become gradually louder. Faces became a little more flushed. Instead of talking about the issue, people began talking about themselves, giving evidence why their view, given their great ability and background, was more likely to be right."

Titus 3:9
9 But avoid afoolish questions, and genealogies, and bcontentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.

How often do we in our classes spin on things that don't matter or insert our own ideas as doctrine.

Mosiah 2:32
32 But, O my people, beware lest there shall arise acontentions among you, and ye blist to cobey the evil spirit, which was spoken of by my father Mosiah.

Mosiah 18:21
21 And he commanded them that there should be no acontention one with another, but that they should look forward with bone eye, having one faith and one baptism, having their hearts cknit together in unity and in love one towards another.

3 Nephi 18:34
34 And I give you these commandments because of the disputations which have been among you. And blessed are ye if ye have ano disputations among you.

Do we think when reading this scripture that it would be nice and we would be blessed if we did not have disputations among us, but it is too bad that people dispute with us? Or rather do we think of ways that we can dispute less in our lives?

2 Timothy 24-25
24 And the servant of the Lord must not astrive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to bteach, patient,

25 In ameekness binstructing those that oppose themselves; if God cperadventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;

There will be those that want to Bible bash or ask inflammatory questions, but we are to respond with peace, kindness, patience, and meekness.

James 1:19-20
19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to aspeak, bslow to cwrath:

20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

Our society has a culture of quick tongues, but James 1:19-20 tells us we should be different.

Doctrine and Covenants 31:9
9 Be apatient in bafflictions, crevile not against those that revile. Govern your dhouse in meekness, and be esteadfast.

Doctrine and Covenants 38:41
41 And let your apreaching be the bwarning voice, every man to his neighbor, in mildness and in cmeekness.

Doctrine and Covenants 60:14
14 And after thou hast come up unto the land of Zion, and hast proclaimed my word, thou shalt speedily return, proclaiming my word among the congregations of the wicked, not in ahaste, neither in bwrath nor with cstrife.