"And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up." Deuteronomy 6:7
We were blessed to have 2 of the GREATEST missionaries come and visit us on Tuesday, and today we had MY seminary teacher from when I was a sophomore in high school, my mom, and our wonderful high councilman come visit us and share such amazing testimonies.
(The power of the Joseph Smith account carries great power- never forget that!)
Remember the challenge I gave you all today.
*Share this account with your family this Thanksgiving.*
Doing so is a gift that will bless lives.
I feel blessed. It was a week of bounteous blessings and miracles.
This week we focused on the second coming.
We finished section 45 today.
What a great topic!
I enjoyed studying it and preparing a 32 page power point to teach it.
(Yikes, perhaps a little Power Point overload?)
Thankfully, there are so many great resources that pull scriptures
from all the books of doctrine together. That's so helpful.
I wonder if the second coming will be anything like I imagine.
There is a lot to consider when studying the second coming.
There are many questions I don't know how to answer.
For instance...
"What will doctors and attorneys do in the Millennium if there are no
legal disputes or health problems?" GREAT QUESTION!!
"What will happen to the babies and disabled people?
Will they return to the earth still as babies or disabled?"
You all are such great thinkers! Seriously, you really are.
Obviously I need to study some more this weekend.
How I would love to be the kind of scripture scholar that could
answer these cool questions easily.
One of the great things I came to understand this week is our responsibility,
as members of the restored gospel, to warn and prepare the world for the Savior's coming.
I also learned that signs of the last days are everywhere.
Remember that signs remind us that God fulfills all of his prophesies and promises.
I liked this week a lot.
I enjoyed what we were studying.
I hope you all enjoyed it as well.
The picture of the book at the top is one of the resources I used this week.
I really love this book!
It's a great book for teenagers, and teachers like me, who enjoy things taught simply,
and with some added humor. :) It makes learning fun and exciting.
Next week we will start section 46 and talk about Gifts of the Spirit.
Be thinking about what yours are. I bet you are becoming aware of some of them.
I know that I am! You guys are amazing! I learn so much from you!
I gotta admit that all of these LOOOONG weekends are making me feel...
well, a little bit like this word scramble.
We love long weekends, duh, of course we do!
But they mess with the energetic FLOOOOOW of things.
Which means that getting "On task" seemed a little "Off task---ish" this week.
No worries though because next week we have a full week.
(Then a half week again for MY favorite holiday, Thanksgiving!)
I think the thing I will remember the most about this week is
seeing Madi today before she moves to Texas.
This was a sad day, but I appreciated the big smile she put on her face for us.
She is one MIGHTY spirit.
She never ceases to amaze me.
Today I appreciated your open hearts as we talked about trials.
Remember that seminary is a "safe place" where we often share meaningful life-lessons.
It's very important to protect the purity of these stories by not sharing them with others inappropriately. Please never cast these pearls (of trust) before swine.
I love our class. I love the beautiful souls in it. I love the honesty.
Please be worthy of the trust we place in each other.
I thought I would share with you my favorite poem that my Sunday School
teacher shared with me when I was just about your age.
I was going through a particularly difficult time.
What the heck- I think I was just about in the 7th grade! LOL!!
(Thank heavens we all made it past that age!)
It's called "Good Timber"
The tree that never had to fight
Fun sun and sky and air and light,
But stood out in the open plain
And always got its share of rain,
Never became a forest king
But lived and died a scrubby thing.
The man who never had to toil
To gain and farm his patch of soil,
Who never had to win his share
Of sun and sky and light and air,
Never became a manly man
But lived and died as he began.
Good Timber does not grow with ease:
The stronger wind, the stronger trees;
The further sky, the greater length;
The more the storm, the more the strength.
But sun and cold, by rain and snow,
in trees and men good timbers grow.
Where thickest lies the forest growth,
We find the patriarchs of both.
And they hold counsel with the stars
Whose broken branches show the scars
Of many winds and much of strife,
This is the common life of life.
We will miss Madi.
Please keep her in your prayers.
Transition can be hard-
Hopefully she leaves us with more strength to conquer the winds
of life than she had before.
I know that I'm personally stronger because of her example to me.
I have been changed for good.
Your love and testimonies were felt today.
Thank you!
*If you're reading this from your phone you won't see the cool youtube video below.
"For Good"
