Sunday, November 4, 2018

Judging Others

16 ¶ Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.

Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith
"I advise all of you to be careful what you do, or you may by-and-by find out that you have been deceived.17Stay yourselves;18 do not give way;19 don’t make any hasty moves, you may be saved. If a spirit of bitterness20is in you, don’t be in haste.21 You may say, that man is a sinner.22 Well, if he repents, he shall be forgiven.23 Be cautious:24 await. When you find a spirit that wants bloodshed25—murder, the same is not of God,26 but is of the devil.27 Out of the abundance of the heart of man the mouth speaketh.28"

Tuesday, March 13, 2018

Gifts of the Spirit

Brother Douglas D Holmes, Deep in Our Heart, April 2020 General Conference
"Seeing others as God does is a gift. I invite all of us to seek for this gift."

Elder John C. Pingree Jr., “I Have a Work for Thee”, October 2017 General Conference
“Heavenly Father gave us these gifts to help us identify, perform, and enjoy the work He has for us.”

D&C 46:11–12
11 For all have not every gift given unto them; for there are many gifts, and to every man is given a gift by the Spirit of God.
12 To some is given one, and to some is given another, that all may be profited thereby.

Elder John C. Pingree Jr., “I Have a Work for Thee”, October 2017 General Conference

“So how do we come to know our gifts? We can reference our patriarchal blessing, ask those who know us best, and personally identify what we are naturally good at and enjoy. Most important, we can ask God (see James 1:5; D&C 112:10). He knows our gifts, since He gave them to us (see D&C 46:26).”

Faith

Elder Juan Pablo Villar, “Exercising Our Spiritual Muscles”, April 2019 General Conference
"The spiritual gift of faith, for example, is not just a feeling or a mood; it is a principle of action that frequently appears in the scriptures linked to the verb exercise."

Godly Sorrow
President Ezra Taft Benson, “A Mighty Change of Heart”, October 1989 Ensign
“Godly sorrow is a gift of the Spirit. It is a deep realization that our actions have offended our Father and our God. It is the sharp and keen awareness that our behavior caused the Savior, He who knew no sin, even the greatest of all, to endure agony and suffering. Our sins caused Him to bleed at every pore. This very real mental and spiritual anguish is what the scriptures refer to as having “a broken heart and a contrite spirit.” (See 3 Ne. 9:20; Moro. 6:2; D&C 20:37; 59:8; Ps. 34:18;Ps. 51:17; Isa. 57:15.) Such a spirit is the absolute prerequisite for true repentance.”

Sunday, March 11, 2018

Sabbath

The Sabbath Is a Delight, Elder Russell M Nelson, April 2015 General Conference
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2015/04/the-sabbath-is-a-delight?lang=eng

3 Nephi Chapter 18
The entire chapter is about the sacrament.

Spencer W Kimball, Miracle of Forgiveness, 96–97
“The Sabbath is a holy day in which to do worthy and holy things. Abstinence from work and recreation is important but insufficient. The Sabbath calls for constructive thoughts and acts, and if one merely lounges about doing nothing on the Sabbath, he is breaking it. To observe it, one will be on his knees in prayer, preparing lessons, studying the gospel, meditating, visiting the ill and distressed, sleeping, reading wholesome material, and attending all the meetings of that day to which he is expected. To fail to do these proper things is a transgression”

Elder David A Bednar, Exceeding Great and Precious Promises, October 2017 General Conference
"The Sabbath day and the holy temple are two specific sources of divine help instituted by God to assist us in rising above the level and corruption of the world."
...
"The Sabbath is God’s time, a sacred time specifically set apart for worshipping Him and for receiving and remembering His great and precious promises."
...
On His holy day, our thoughts, actions, and demeanor are signs we give to God and an indicator of our love for Him.”
...
"Please note that the Sabbath day and the temple, respectively, are a sacred time and a sacred space specifically set apart for worshipping God and for receiving and remembering His exceeding great and precious promises to His children."

Elder Valen V Cordo, The Language of the Gospel, April 2017 General Conference
Our love for the Sabbath day does not end when the chapel doors close behind us but instead opens the doors to a beautiful day of resting from routine tasks, studying, praying, and reaching out to family and others who need our attention. Instead of breathing a sigh of relief when church is over and frantically running in search of a television before the football game begins, let our focus remain on the Savior and upon His holy day.

President Russell M. Nelson, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “The Sabbath Is a Delight,” Ensign, May 2015, 132
“Not pursuing your ‘own pleasure’ on the Sabbath requires self-discipline. You may have to deny yourself of something you might like. If you choose to delight yourself in the Lord, you will not permit yourself to treat it as any other day. Routine and recreational activities can be done some other time.”

Francisco J Vinas, The Pleasing Word of God, October 2015 General Conference
"Some examples include arriving late for sacrament meeting without a valid reason; arriving, without previously having examined ourselves, to eat the bread and drink from the cup unworthily (see 1 Corinthians 11:28); and arriving without first having confessed our sins and having asked God for forgiveness for them.
“Other examples: being irreverent by exchanging messages on our electronic devices, leaving the meeting after partaking of the sacrament, and engaging in activities in our homes that are inappropriate for that sacred day."

Elder M Russell Ballard, God Is at the Helm, October 2015 General Conference

Harold B Lee, Decisions for Successful Living, pp. 147–48
“Whether at home or in church, your thoughts and your conduct should be always in harmony with the spirit and purpose of the Sabbath. Places of amusement and recreation, while at proper times may serve a needed end, are not conducive of spiritual growth and such places will not keep you ‘unspotted from the world’ but will rather deny you the ‘fullness of the earth’ promised to those who comply with the law of the Sabbath. You who make the violation of the Sabbath a habit, by your failure to ‘keep it holy,’ are losing a soul full of joy in return for a thimble full of pleasure.”

Isaiah 58:13-14
13 ¶ If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.  

My Thoughts
{
I have heard preachers tell their congregations to patronize their local business after the Sunday services to keep the women from working on Sunday by cooking. What about the guy behind the counter that would like to go to his services or at the very least stay home and keep the sabbath, but can't because his boss is making him come to work to cover the large church crowds? We have become a society of pleasure boats and football games on Sunday.
}

Exodus 20:8-11
8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

In Exodus 31:16 the Lord states that it is a "perpetual covenant". Dictionary.com define perpetual as "continuing or enduring forever; everlasting." Verse 17 reenforces this definition in this context: "It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever"
16 Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.
17 It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.

Verse 13 also states: 13 Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you. Verse 8 states to keep it holy. Is a football game a holy activity?

Verse 10 of chapter 20 states to do no work and neither your servants.  Do we have servants today?  What about the people at the grocery store or the restaurant or those that entertain us?

Mark 2: 27
27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:

This scripture is generally used to justify doing their pleasure on the sabbath. The sabbath being made for man does not mean that it is play time for man. It means it was made for man's good. Jesus never said that there weren't rules for the sabbath. He was simply saying that the Jews had altered it to the point that it was not beneficial to man any longer.

The sabbath is so man can regroup spiritually and have a different focus than other days.

Jesus changed the day the Sabbath was held on. He didn't change that it was a holy day. How is a day filled with sports and/or recreation holy?

The Savior was charging His accusers with changing God's law with their own philosophies. Our culture is doing the same thing just on the other side of the pendulum.

Genesis 2:2-3
2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had amade; and hebrested on the seventh day from all his cwork which he had made. 3 And God blessed the aseventh day, and bsanctified it: because that in it he had crested from all his work which God dcreated and made.
It doesn't say that he played. It doesn't say he had a feast. It says he rested.

Exodus 31:13-17
 13 Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths''' ye shall keep: for it '''''is' a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you.

 14 Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
 15 Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.

 16 Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant'.

 17 It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.

My Thoughts
{
In Exodus 31:16 the Lord states that it is a "perpetual covenant". Dictionary.com define perpetual as "continuing or enduring forever; everlasting." Verse 17 reenforces this definition in this context: "It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever"
16 Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.
17 It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.

Verse 13 also states: 13 Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you. Verse 8 states to keep it holy. Is a football game a holy activity?

Verse 10 states to do no work and neither your servants.  Do we have servants today?  What about the people at the grocery store or the restaurant or those that entertain us?
}

Appropriate Activities
President Spencer W. Kimball, The Sabbath—A Delight, Ensign January 1978
"The Sabbath is a holy day in which to do worthy and holy things. Abstinence from work and recreation is important, but insufficient. The Sabbath calls for constructive thoughts and acts, and if one merely lounges about doing nothing on the Sabbath, he is breaking it. To observe it, one will be on his knees in prayer, preparing lessons, studying the gospel, meditating, visiting the ill and distressed, writing letters to missionaries, taking a nap, reading wholesome material, and attending all the meetings of that day at which he is expected."

Doing Good
Luke 6:8-10
8 But he knew their thoughts, and said to the man which had the withered hand, Rise up, and stand forth in the midst. And he arose and stood forth.
9 Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it?

Doctrine and Covenants 59:9, 10, 13
9 And that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day;
10 For verily this is a day appointed unto you to rest from your labors, and to pay thy devotions unto the Most High;
13 And on this day thou shalt do none other thing, only let thy food be prepared with singleness of heart that thy fasting may be perfect, or, in other words, that thy joy may be full.

Take Inventory
“The Sabbath is a day on which to take inventory—to analyze our weaknesses, to confess our sins to our associates and our Lord. It is a day on which to fast. … It is a day on which to read good books, a day to contemplate and ponder, a day to study lessons for priesthood and auxiliary organizations, a day to study the scriptures and to prepare sermons, a day to nap and rest and relax, a day to visit the sick, a day to preach the gospel, a day to proselyte, a day to visit quietly with the family … , a day for proper courting, a day to do good, a day to drink at the fountain of knowledge and of instruction, a day to seek forgiveness of our sins, a day for the enrichment of our spirit and our soul, a day to restore us to our spiritual stature, a day to partake of the emblems of [Jesus’] sacrifice and atonement, a day to contemplate the glories of the gospel and of the eternal realms, a day to climb high on the upward path toward our Heavenly Father” (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, ed. Edward L. Kimball [1982], 216).'

Inappropriate Activities
Routine and Recreation
Elder Russell M Nelson, The Sabbath Is a Delight, General Conference April 2015

School Work
Elder Dallin H. Oaks, “The Blessing of Commandments,” in 'Speeches of the Year, 1974, 219
“When I left this campus [BYU] to study at the University of Chicago, my mother reminded me that my father had never studied on the Sabbath during his professional training. She said to me very casually, ‘Son, if you want to enjoy that blessing you should arrange your activities so that you never study, so that you never do anything on the Sabbath except partake of the spiritual food that is available to you on the Lord’s day.’
“I made up my mind at that time that I would observe the Sabbath faithfully so that I could qualify for the blessings of spiritual growth and the companionship of the Spirit that come from observing faithfully the Sabbath of our Lord. I testify to you that I realized those blessings in measurable ways on innumerable occasions”.


Labor for your Temporal Needs

Leviticus 25:4-5
 4 But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the Lord: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard.
 5 That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes aof thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest unto the land.

Elder L. Tom Perry, The Sabbath and the Sacrament
"To keep ourselves unspotted from the world, He expects us to avoid such worldly distractions of businesses and recreational facilities on the Sabbath day."

Appropriate Dress
David A. Bednar,  devotional address given at Brigham Young University on 10 May 2005, http://speeches.byu.edu/reader/reader.php?id=8883'
"I have a dear friend who served as a stake president. The patriarch in the stake over which he presided had experienced some health challenges and was unable to perform in his calling. The ailing patriarch had difficulty moving about and dressing and caring for himself, and his strength was limited. One Sabbath afternoon this good stake president visited the home of the patriarch to encourage him and check on his well-being. As the stake president entered the home, he found the patriarch dressed in his suit and white shirt and tie, sitting in a recliner in the front room. The stake president greeted the dear patriarch and, knowing how hard it must have been to dress himself, graciously suggested to the patriarch that it was not necessary for him to get dressed up on the Sabbath or to meet visitors. In a kind but firm voice, the patriarch reproved the stake president and said, 'Don’t you know that this is the only way I have left to show the Lord how much I love Him?'
"The stake president was quick to observe. He both heard and felt the lesson, and he applied it. Reverence for the Sabbath day and the importance of respect and appropriate demeanor and dress took on added importance in the ministry of the stake president. The spiritual ability to see, hear, remember, and act upon that lesson was a great blessing in his life—and in the lives of many others." Elder L. Tom Perry, The Sabbath and the Sacrament
"I believe He also desires us to dress appropriately. Our youth may think the old saying ‘Sunday best’ is outdated. Still, we know that when Sunday dress deteriorates to everyday attire, attitudes and actions follow. Of course, it may not be necessary for our children to wear formal Sunday attire until the sun goes down. However, by the clothing we encourage them to wear and the activities we plan, we help them prepare for the sacrament and enjoy its blessings throughout the day.”

My Thoughts
{
Elder Perry sates that it may not be necessary to wear "formal" Sunday clothes, but he does talk about the clothing we encourage them to wear on the Sabbath. To me formal is a suit coat and tie. Wearing a nice shirt and pants when not in a formal Sunday environment would still help us and our children remember the Sabbath throughout the day.
}