Sharon asked me to teach Sunday School. She has been having some health problems so she called Friday evening and asked if I could teach in her place. Due to stake conference, I won't get to teach in March (or again in April due to General Conference) and I love teaching...so I was happy to step in for her. As usual, there's SO much more that I want to cover than what we actually have time for. But we had a lot of participation and some really great comments today.
Matthew 5 and Luke 6
What stood out to you? What were your favorite parts or anything YOU want to discuss? Did you have any especially meaningful conversations in your home or family?
We had a brief discussion on divorce.
Someone brought up the healing of the man's hand on the Sabbath. We talked about that for a couple of minutes. Jackie sent this message after church: Also, I had this thought about the Savior healing on the Sabbath. I know that the mosiac law was such that the pharisees considered that a sin, but was it? Is that what the Savior was doing despite the law, OR was He correcting the law? The gospel according to Jackie: I think He was correcting that law, because He would and does expect us to heal each other on the sabbath. He invites us to mourn, comfort, and bless each other, and part of attending worship services is to be healed by Christ, but also with the help of those saints around us. Sunday is the best day to spend in healing our own and others hearts, minds, and spirits. I'm sure that if we had the power to do so, we would also heal each other physically. I think it was the ONLY thing "Christ like" that Christ could have done, especially on the Sabbath.
*I love this thought of Jackie's!
Names of Christ: Son of man (Luke 6: 5), Lord of the Sabbath (Luke 6:5), Highest (Luke 6:35 )--sometimes translated as Most High, Lord (Luke 6:46), great King (Matt. 5: 35)
Luke 6: 12-16
I love these words from Elder Holland in his book “Our Day Star Rising”:
Quote #1 I wish to discuss the apostleship and the importance of its perpetuation in the true Church of Jesus Christ. In so doing, I speak not of the men that hold that office but rather of the office itself, a calling in the holy Melchizedek Priesthood that the Savior Himself has designated for the watch care of His people and the witnessing of His name. In order to establish a church that would continue under His direction even after He was taken from the earth, Jesus “went ...into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles” (Luke 6:12-13) Why? Among other reasons, so ‘that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive” (Ephesians 4:14). Thus, the apostolic and prophetic foundation of the Church was to bless in all times, but especially in times of adversity or danger, times when we might feel like children, confused or disoriented, perhaps a little fearful, times in which the devious hand of men or the maliciousness of the devil would attempt to unsettle or mislead.”
Quote #2: President Boyd K. Packer of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles reminded Latter-day Saints that constancy and change in the Church are both dictated by revelation:
“There will be changes made in the future as in the past. Whether the Brethren [the prophet and apostles] make changes or resist them depends entirely upon the instructions they receive through the channels of revelation which were established in the beginning. The doctrines will remain fixed, eternal; the organization, programs, and procedures will be altered as directed by Him whose church this is” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1989, 19; or Ensign, Nov. 1989, 16).
Quote #3 President Spencer W. Kimball (1895–1985) testified that the flow of revelation is constant in our dispensation: “I say, in the deepest of humility, but also by the power and force of a burning testimony in my soul, that from the prophet of the Restoration to the prophet of our own year, the communication line is unbroken, the authority is continuous, a light, brilliant and penetrating, continues to shine. The sound of the voice of the Lord is a continuous melody and a thunderous appeal” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1977, 115; or Ensign, May 1977, 78; see also Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball [2006], 241).
Comments or thoughts on the importance of apostles and prophets in our day?
Brother Western shared that he had just spoken in another ward about the importance of prophets to help us in the midst of confusion and the war of words that surrounds us.
*As we were beginning the section on the Beatitudes, Brother Jensen spoke about how he realized a few years ago that this was more than a list of commandments that are hard for us to follow...that actually everything Jesus is teaching here in this Sermon is the way He lives. It is the way He always lives and so far more than being just a list of commandments that we should do (but will struggle with)...it is a guide to how to become like Christ. I know/knew this but something in the way he articulated it was really beautiful and touching.
Beatitudes: Blessed: blessings will come to, happy are they that
Notice that most of these aren’t what the world thinks will bring happiness.
Matthew 5: 1-6
Matthew 5:7-9
Vs. 5 Meek: Cognate: 4239 praýs (also listed as 4239a/praupathia in NAS dictionary) – meek. See 4236 (praótēs).
This difficult-to-translate root (pra-) means more than "meek." Biblical meekness is not weakness but rather refers to exercising God's strength under His control – i.e. demonstrating power without undue harshness.
[The English term "meek" often lacks this blend – i.e. of gentleness (reserve) and strength.]
Elder Bednar described meekness in this way: “Meekness is a defining attribute of the Redeemer and is distinguished by righteous responsiveness, willing submissiveness, and strong self-restraint.”
When I think of meekness, two people come to mind. My mom is one of them. She is gentle and kind, but she is also strong and forgiving. The other is Elder Neal A. Maxwell. He was an apostle when I was a teen/young adult and I admired him greatly. As you may remember, he had an eloquence and facility with the English language that has hardly been matched. But he suffered from cancer and faced incredible adversity with such faith and strength. He often spoke of meekness, and I think he is one who exemplifies it.
Let people share about someone they know that exemplifies one of these Beatitudes.
Becca talked about a dear friend whose daughter has been experiencing same gender attraction. And the friend explained that after thinking and praying, she felt that she just needed to love her daughter while still having rules about what behaviors would be allowed in their home. She has tried hard to follow the Spirit and to react lovingly and to pray that her daughter will recognize truth. And Becca shared how beautiful it is to see her friend following the spirit, demonstrating humility, and exhibiting love.
Adam talked about the meaning of being poor in spirit and especially the JST that adds "that come unto me" and how we should be humble and turn to the Savior, in good times and bad, and recognize that He knows and understands more than we do.
Lilia shared that it's hard for her to pick a person because so much of this is what is happening internally to a person and she can't know for sure where someone's heart is. But she shared that her father has been such a big role model for her. He is meek. He chooses to be humble and turn to the Lord for His help in good times and bad. He is constantly serving others. He is kind and patient and forgiving. He trusts the Lord.
Matthew 5: 10-12 I don't know about you but I definitely don't wake up in the morning and think "Wow! I hope someone reviles me and persecutes me today because of my beliefs!" But our prophets and apostles are often reviled and persecuted because they teach truth. About a year ago, I read President Oak's biography. And my love for and appreciation of him grew. I shared the following quotes from his biography...and saw tears in several eyes as I shared this:
When I first typed up my lesson on Friday, I hadn't been planning to share this. But I went to the temple yesterday (oh how I love the temple!!) and I was a little early for my initiatory session, so I sat and read Matthew 5. As I read these verses, I felt so strongly that I should share these in my Sunday School lesson. An IG friend, Lynette Sheppard had posted them a couple of weeks ago so I asked her if she could send me these screenshots and she did.
Matthew 5: 13
Salt: What does it mean to be salt? How can we be salt?
Salt: Major Uses: Food preservative, food seasoning.
Other Uses: Cleanser, ingredient in soap, aid in leavening, ice-melting agent, agent for tanning animal hides, color-fixing agent in dyeing of textiles, and many others.
How It Works: Salt preserves food by stopping the growth of bacteria and destructive enzymes. When salt comes in contact with the surface of food, the salt molecules try to achieve a balance between the number of salt molecules inside and outside the food. It does this by drawing water molecules out of the food and inserting salt molecules into the food through osmosis across semipermeable cell membranes. As a result, the number of free water molecules is reduced to a point where most bacteria cannot survive and most enzymes cannot operate because, basically, they get dehydrated.
Losing Savor
When the Savior talked about salt that has “lost his savour” (Matthew 5:13), He was talking about what happens when salt is mixed with other substances: it becomes corrupted and therefore cannot be used in the accustomed ways. So we must keep ourselves pure and unstained by sin and worldly things. The Lord has also said that when we disobey and do not fulfill our duty to be “saviors of men,” we “are as salt that has lost its savor” (D&C 103:10; see also verses 8–9).
Quote #4: “Those who are baptized in the Church of Jesus Christ make covenants. In modern revelation the Lord declared, ‘When men are called unto mine everlasting gospel, and covenant with an everlasting covenant, they are accounted as the salt of the earth and the savor of men’ (D&C 101:39). To perform our covenant duty as the salt of the earth, we must be different from those around us. …
“This requires us to make some changes from our family culture, our ethnic culture, or our national culture. We must change all elements of our behavior that are in conflict with gospel commandments, covenants, and culture.”
Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “Repentance and Change,” Ensign, Nov. 2003, 39.
I had Jackie read this Come Follow Me Daily post
There was a man who was asked why Christ said “ye are the salt of the earth.” (Matt 5:13)
Without missing a beat, he said “because salt makes you thirsty.”
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I love the idea of salt making people thirsty and leading them to living water.
I had a salt friend just yesterday, who made me thirsty for living water with a simple text.
A little background, this dear friend lives in California and loves storms. They are a way that she feels God’s love and presence in her life.
She was in the midst of a hard day that came to a crescendo when her water main broke.
She took a break from cleaning to care for her screaming newborn, who hadn’t been sleeping well the last few days.
My friend was weary and discouraged as she stepped outside, hoping to calm her baby down.
She watched a cloud move right over her house. Suddenly, it started to snow. Just that one little cloud, snowing on just her little house while the sun shinned on the rest of the sky. She had been praying for snow for months.
She said of the experience, “I wish I could accurately describe the beauty of it, but I loved it. I knew in my heart it was God’s Valentine gift just for me letting me know he loved me and to keep it up.”
She continued her text, “Life is hard sometimes, and we chose to come here to experience it! But I love that God cannot help but take the edge of sometimes. Because He is our dad and He loves to delight us.”
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And suddenly, after reading that text, I was thirsty.
Thirsty to know a little better our God as a dad who loves to delight us and takes the edge off for us.
She was my salt yesterday.
I especially love this application paired with Christ’s statement just before: “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” (Matt 5:6)
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May we know salty people.
May we be salty people.
And may we always come to the source of living water to be filled.
Jackie shared that often "salty" has a negative connotation, so she loved how this turned it into something positive. And she loved the idea of God being a dad that loves to delight us and to help us.
Matthew 5:14-16
Light. Jesus Christ is the Light of the World. But He calls US the light of the world...we share that name with Him!
I have actually been reading a book all about light. It’s called The Spiritual Physics of Light. The author is a scientist and explains some of the basics of how light works...how it is both a wave and a particle, how it travels, how all living things give off light, etc. I’m not a physicist and so even after reading, my ability to explain light and what I’ve learned is limited. But after going into the basics of light, he teaches how these principles apply to our spiritual light.
Quote #5 The author, Aaron Franklin, writes: "It's not just that we should recognize that we all radiate spiritual light, but we should learn to turn this radiation into a light-fountain of comfort, compassion, and charity to all around us." "It is our closeness to God, through obedience to the commandments and repentance from sin, that brings us the spiritual energy to fuel the radiation of spiritual light."
I love that thought! A lgiht-fountain of comfort, compassion and charity.
Quote #6: Elder Robert D. Hales said, “So it is with spiritual light. It must be renewed in us on a regular basis. We must generate it day by day, thought by thought, and with daily righteous action if we are to keep the darkness of the adversary away.
When I was a boy, I used to ride my bicycle home from basketball practice at night. I would connect a small pear-shaped generator to my bicycle tire. Then as I pedaled, the tire would turn a tiny rotor, which produced electricity and emitted a single, welcome beam of light. It was a simple but effective mechanism. But I had to pedal to make it work! I learned quickly that if I stopped pedaling my bicycle, the light would go out. I also learned that when I was “anxiously engaged”17 in pedaling, the light would become brighter and the darkness in front of me would be dispelled.
The generation of spiritual light comes from daily spiritual pedaling. It comes from praying, studying the scriptures, fasting, and serving—from living the gospel and obeying the commandments. “He that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light,”18 said the Lord, “and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day.”19 My brothers and sisters, that perfect day will be when we will stand in the presence of God the Father and Jesus Christ."
Quote #7: President David O. McKay: "Every person who lives in this world wields an influence, whether for good or for evil. It is not what he says alone, it is not alone what he does. It is what he is. Every man, every person radiates what he or she is. Every person is a recipient of radiation. The Savior was conscious of that. Whenever he came into the presence of an individual, he sensed that radiation.-whether it was the woman of Samaria with her past life; whether it was the woman who was to be stoned or the men who were to stone her; whether it was the statesman, Nicodemus, or one of the lepers. He was conscious of the radiation from the individual. And to a degree so are you, and so am I. It is what we are and what we radiate that affects the people around us. ...If we think noble thoughts, if we encourage and cherish noble aspirations, there will be that radiation when we meet people, especially when we associate with them. ...The Savior set us the example, always calm, always controlled, radiating something which poeple could feel as they passed....God help us to radiate strength, control, love, charity, which is another name for love, consideration, best wishes for all human beings. Every moment of life you are changing to a degree the lives of the whole world....the thing that will influence [others] in this world, are personalities. No matter what you are people will feel and recognize this. You radiate, you can't hide it. You may pretend something else, but that will not affect people."
Any thoughts or comments to add on being the light of the world or of not hiding our light under a bushel?
Christ then gives a higher law. And it is a Higher/Holier law indeed. It isn’t easy, and I’m certain that we will all fall short of mastering these commands and will need repentance. But it’s a beautiful law. I want to focus on just one part and then we’ll come back to some of the other parts if there is time.
Matthew 5: 44-45
Sister Neill F. Marriot said, “It is now, with our mortal limitations, that the Father asks us to love when loving is most difficult, to serve when serving is inconvenient, to forgive when forgiving is soul stretching. How? How will we do it? We earnestly reach for Heavenly Father’s help, in the name of His Son, and do things His way instead of pridefully asserting our own will.” (October 2017, Abiding in God and Repairing the Breach)
On the Follow Him podcast, Lincoln Blumell said, “You don’t fight fire with fire. You fight with water. You try to put it out. And in fact, you even go beyond that. YOu actually show them love. This can be a really challenging thing, but I think it’s again, the cost of discipleship.”
He tells a story of shortly after the Berlin Wall was built, trash was being thrown over the wall from East to West Germany. The people were upset and threw it back. Then a minister asked his congregation what Jesus would do. The people reluctantly responded that he wouldn’t return garbage for garbage. So they decide to haul the garbage away. Awhile later, the minister returned and asked again what Jesus would do. And the people decided that he would probably return love for the garbage. So he told the people that the stories they were hearing made it appear that things were hard for the East Germans. They were oppressed and suffering. There were shortages. SO they determined that the next time garbage was thrown over, they would respond by throwing over blankets, food, and letters. And after one night, the garbage throwing stopped. Completely stopped. But letters came over thanking htem and telling them that they were suffering and asking if they knew family members on the other side of the wall. A relationship was built up because they showed love. (Unfortunately, the Communist regime found out and put a station there and stopped this. But for a time, love existed. Brother Blumell said, “Your natural reaction is to return garbage for garbage, especially to an enemy. But if you take the time and show them love, sometimes profound things can happen. And I would even say, even if it didn’t make a change, we’re still commanded to do it.”
Joseph Smith spoke of Reynolds and Wilson, two men that had arrested him unfairly. He said, “I would be delivered by the power of God, and generalship; and I have brought these men to Nauvoo, and committed them to her from whom I was torn, not as prisoners in chains, but as prisoners of kindness.
I have treated them kindly, I have had the privilege of rewarding them good for evil. Luke 6:35 They took me unlawfully, treated me rigorously, strove to deprive me of my rights, and would have run with me into Missouri to have been murdered, if Providence had not interposed; but now they are in my hands, and I have taken them into my house, set them at the head of my table, and placed before them the best which my house afforded; and they were waited upon by my wife, whom they deprived of seeing me when I was taken.” (Journal of Discourses 2: 165a)
Jackie’s comment that Christ taught this sermon multiple times, sometimes in words but daily in His deeds.
If time, read vs. 48 and discuss. Elder Holland quotes "Be Ye Therefore Perfect, Eventually"
"What I now say in no way denies or diminishes any commandment God has ever given us. I believe in His perfection, and I know we are His spiritual sons and daughters with divine potential to become as He is. I also know that, as children of God, we should not demean or vilify ourselves, as if beating up on ourselves is somehow going to make us the person God wants us to become. No! With a willingness to repent and a desire for increased righteousness always in our hearts, I would hope we could pursue personal improvement in a way that doesn’t include getting ulcers or anorexia, feeling depressed or demolishing our self-esteem. That is not what the Lord wants for Primary children or anyone else who honestly sings, “I’m trying to be like Jesus.”4
"Brothers and sisters, every one of us aspires to a more Christlike life than we often succeed in living. If we admit that honestly and are trying to improve, we are not hypocrites; we are human. May we refuse to let our own mortal follies, and the inevitable shortcomings of even the best men and women around us, make us cynical about the truths of the gospel, the truthfulness of the Church, our hope for our future, or the possibility of godliness. If we persevere, then somewhere in eternity our refinement will be finished and complete—which is the New Testament meaning of perfection.14"
*We actually ended up talking about this at the beginning because someone brought it up right at the beginning.
