My Relief Society lesson yesterday ended up going really well—which I was grateful for. The Second Coming is a hard topic to talk about, but I really felt Heavenly Father blessing me and guiding me, and felt the spirit in great abundance as I talked. I’ve had a few people ask me to post what I talked about, so here are some of the points. It is kind of long, so feel free to skip this part if you would like.
· I talked about how I grew up being very scared of the Second Coming and afraid of all that was coming, but that by reading the scriptures and praying I have been able to see that there are so many promises made to the righteous.
· I read some of Joseph Smith’s prophecies about the destructions to proceed the Second Coming, but stressed that he kept saying, “be not discouraged when we tell you of perilous times” or “do not let our hearts faint.” I talked about how The Lord has prophesied these things beforehand so that when we see them coming, we will know that they are planned and that Heavenly Father has prepared a way for our escape.
· I read a list of scriptures that I found (and there are many more) that give me hope when I start getting discouraged or afraid:
D&C 68:6
“ Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you…”
Gen. 26: 24“…fear not, for
I am with thee, and will bless thee…”
Deut. 31: 6“Be strong and of a good
courage, … for the
Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not
fail thee, nor
forsake thee…”
D&C 93:53
“..you shall not be confounded.”
Isaiah 41:13
“For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.”
D&C 66:8
“…he that is faithful shall be made strong in every place, and I the Lord will go with thee.”
D&C 84:88
“…mine angels [shall be] round about you, to bear you up. “
Psalms 9:10
“And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee”.
Psalms 27:14
“…be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart:”
Ps. 147: 3“He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.”
Isa. 43: 5“
Fear not: for I am with thee:”
· Then I read this quote from the Joseph Smith manual: “When I contemplate the rapidity with which the great and glorious day of the coming of the Son of Man advances, when He shall come to receive His Saints unto Himself, where they shall dwell in His presence, and be crowned with glory and immortality; when I consider that soon the heavens are to be shaken, and the earth tremble and reel to and fro; and that the heavens are to be unfolded as a scroll when it is rolled up; and that every mountain and island are to flee away, I cry out in my heart, What manner of persons ought we to be in all holy conversation and godliness!”
· I talked about how now is the time for us to strive to sanctify ourselves and strive for more righteousness in our lives, so that we will not be deceived and so that we will be strengthened and helped in the times ahead.
· I talked about these two First Presidency letters, and how they call us to do more:
First Presidency letter: 11 Feb. 1999
We counsel parents and children to give highest priority to family prayer, family home evening, gospel study and instruction, and wholesome family activities. However worthy and appropriate other demands or activities may be, they must not be permitted to displace the divinely-appointed duties that only parents and families can adequately perform
First Presidency Letter: March 11 2003
We invite adult members to have a current temple recommend and visit the temple more often. Where time and circumstances permit, members are encouraged to replace some leisure activities with temple service.
· I talked about these two quotes, which I love:
Elder Henry B. Eyring “As the challenges around us increase, we must commit to do more to qualify for the companionship of the Holy Ghost. Casual prayer won’t be enough. Reading a few verses of the scripture won’t be enough. Doing the minimum of what the Lord asks of us won’t be enough. Hoping that we will have the Atonement work in our lives and that we will perhaps sometimes feel the influence of the Holy Ghost won’t be enough. And one great burst of effort won’t be enough. Only a steady, ever-increasing effort will allow the Lord to take us to higher ground.” (“Raise the Bar,”
http://byui.edu/presentations).
Elder Holland, October 2008 conference: “I ask everyone within the sound of my voice to take heart, be filled with faith, and remember the Lord has said He “would fight [our] battles, [our] children’s battles, and [the battles of our] children’s children.’ And what do we do to merit such a defense? We are to “search diligently, pray always, and be believing[. Then] all things shall work together for [our] good, if [we] walk uprightly and remember the covenant wherewith [we] have covenanted.” The latter days are not a time to fear and tremble. They are a time to be believing and remember our covenants.”
· I ended by talking about 3 Nephi 22, which says that though the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, that the Lord’s kindness will not be removed from us, neither will his covenant of peace be removed. I testified that I know we can have peace during troubled times, and that we just have to stir up our faith, trust in the Lord and make sure we are standing in holy places. Our church will never be taken from the earth, so we will always have leaders to guide us, to whom we can look to for guidance and comfort during troubled times. Our leaders are led by Jesus Christ, and He will help us to get through anything we are called to pass through.
So, that was my lesson. I'm grateful for the opportunity to teach--I always learn so much from preparing and studying. I still miss my Primary kids (I could hear them singing the Hello song next door when Relief Society started), but I am glad to be in Relief Society now, and glad that I am able to contribute.
Make sure to check out the video below if you haven't seen it!
For all of the non family readers of my blog (my family has all seen this), I thought I would put this picture up of Jan and I with all 19 of our nieces and nephews. We had family pictures recently, and since Jan and I don't have our own family, we got this picture with all of our sweet little kiddies, who bring us so much joy! The one in the middle is 10, but the rest are under 7 years old, and it has been so fun for us to have so many little ones to hug and cuddle and to be the "favorite aunts" (since we can spoil them. :) We love them so much!
