Post # 125 Come, Follow
Me -- Week # 23 -- “Not
as I Will, but as Thou Wilt”
Dear
Family and Friends
In
today’s post we will be learning about or reviewing what we know about the
Sacrament meetings that we attend weekly and the great importance of those
meetings. When you went to your sacrament meeting this week what did you do to
find more meaning in the sacrament? In doing this, how did it affect your
experience in partaking of the sacrament. If you did not do anything to help
yourself find more meaning in the sacrament – then I challenge you to seriously
think about what you can do to find more meaning in the sacrament😊
The sacrament is an
opportunity to always remember the Savior.
Why do you think that the Savior started the sacrament
anyway? Why do we partake of the sacrament each week? Let’s read together the
following verses to see what kind of answers are there for us: in Matthew 26:26–29; Luke 22:7–20; Doctrine and Covenants 20:75–79; and True to the Faith,147–49?
For example, True
to the Faith teaches that the
sacrament commemorates Christ’s sacrifice, which fulfilled the law of Moses. You
may also want to read the sacrament prayers through individually and/or with
your family members and friends to identify the covenants we make as part of
the ordinance. If you are a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints how might you help someone else to understand what these commitments
mean? How should our participation in the sacrament affect the choices we make
throughout the week?
When
we partake of the sacrament, we renew our covenants.
I hate to admit this, but I didn’t know
that I was renewing my baptismal covenants each time I took the sacrament☹ I
know—sad, but true! As I have mentioned before – I must be a terrible slow
learner, because I don’t think I had a clue about it☹ I
have always understood that the sacrament meeting is the most important of all
of our meetings. I have always tried to attend the sacrament meeting whenever I
have been able to do so.
I know when I had my first surgery I was
still in the hospital on Sunday and the priests brought the sacrament to me at
the hospital, which I was thoroughly grateful for. I have always been grateful
that we are able to partake of the sacrament each week. I understand that some
other churches do not hold their sacraments very often and in some you can’t
take it until a certain age. This may be due to the face that they actually use
wine, but I am not real sure.
You might want to talk with your family
and friends about ways that might help them to remember the Savior during thee
sacrament meeting as well as throughout the week😊
You might want to read together with them Doctrine and covenants 6:36 – 37.
36 Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.
37 Behold the wounds which pierced my side, and also the prints of the
nails in my hands and feet; be faithful, keep my commandments, and ye shall
inherit the kingdom of heaven. Amen.
You could share with them what has helped
you and invite each of them to share ways they think would help each of them to
remember the Savior during the sacrament meeting and throughout the week. 😊
Things that help me to think about Jesus Christ during the week are: listening
to spiritual or good uplifting music; reading from the church magazines;
studying for the Sunday lesson; telling Bible stories to my students; writing
scriptures; count my blessings; say my prayers – some days many prayers, just
to name few😊
As you were studying the scriptures for
this week’s lesson did you find any verses that deepened your reverence for the
sacrament? If you want to find more ways about how to remember the Savior you
can read this talk by Gerrit W. Gong, “Always Remember Him”
Ensign or Liahona, May 2016, 108–11. You can find this talk here: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2016/04/always-remember-him?lang=eng
After reading this talk you may want to
discuss it with your family members and friends about the symbolism of the sacrament
and ask them how do these symbol help us to focus on the Savior and what do
these symbols teach us about our Savior and our relationship with Him? When
your discussion about the sacrament is about done your might ask your family
members and friends to think about the sacrament. Then ask them what they feel
inspired to do to better prepare themselves for the upcoming sacrament next
week😊
it would probably be helpful to play some hymns in the background during this
time.
We become more
Christlike when we choose to submit our will to the Father’s.
All throughout the Saviors life – what of
His life and ministry has been shared with us through the writings in our
scriptures, He was all about doing the will of His Father. Jesus Christ set
this example for each of us to follow the will of the Father. In other words,
we need to want the will of our Heavenly Father over our own will in all things😊
Yes, most of the time it is not easy, but it has been said that it won’t be
easy, but it will be worth it!
This is a good discussion to have with
your family and friends to emphasize the importance of submitting out will to
the will of the Father. You may want to ask each of them if they would like to
tell of a time when they individually submitted themselves to something they
knew God wanted them to do – was it hard or easy for them to do this? Ask them
what is was that motivated them to want to do the will of their Heavenly
Father?
Now let’s read together Matthew 26:26- 42
– and think about why the Savior was so willing to give His will over to align
it with His Father’s will? You could read these verses with or to your family
and friends during a family home evening and have them think about why the
Savior was willing to submit His will to His Father’s? then you can ask them
how can submitting our will to God ultimately bless us?
26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and
brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.
27 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink
ye all of it;
28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many
for the remission of sins.
29 29 But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of
the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.
30 And when they had sung an hymn, they went into the mount of Olives.
31 Then saith Jesus unto them, all ye shall be offended because of me
this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the
flock shall be scattered abroad.
32But after I am risen again, I will go before you in Galilee.
33 Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended
because of thee, yet will I never never be offended.
34 Jesus said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, That this
night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.
35 Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee yet will I not
deny thee. Likewise also said all the diciples.
36 Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and
saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.
37 And he took with him Petr and two o f the sons of Zebedee, and
began to be sorrowful and very heavy.
38Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto
death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.
39 And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed,
saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless
not as I will, but as thou wilt.
40 And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and
saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?
41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit
indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
42 He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my
Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I will drink it, thy will
be done.
Next, let’s read together from the Book
of Mormon – first in Mosiah 3:19 and then in 3 Nephi 9:20 and we can explore
the principle of submitting to God.
3:19 For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the
fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticing’s
of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint
through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and become as a child, submissive,
meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the
Lord sees to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.
9:20 And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a
contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite
spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost, even as the
Lamanites, because of their faith in me at the time of their conversion, were
baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not.
Do each of you know how we submit out
will to that of our Heavenly Father? You could discuss this question with your
family members and friends and ask them to think about how they could each
submit their will to the will of God during this upcoming week! You could then
share the following statement from Elder Neal A. Maxwell:
Submitting
our will to the Father.
Elder Neal A. Maxwell taught: “As you submit your
wills to God, you are giving Him the only thing you can actually give
Him that is really yours to give. Don’t wait too long to find the altar or to
begin to place the gift of your wills upon it!” (“Remember How Merciful the Lord
Hath Been,” Ensign or Liahona, May
2004, 46). you can read or listen to his talk here: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2004/04/remember-how-merciful-the-lord-hath-been?lang=eng
We must examine our own
lives to determine how the Lord’s words apply to us.
·
you know sometimes when we hear a gospel lesson,
we may feel like it is mean for other people – not me! It seems that more often
than not I feel as if the lesson were designed just for me! Or maybe we might
get a little complacent and not pay as close attention to the lessons as we
should☹ I
think that is the right word to use here? What do you remember about your
reading and studying Matthew 26 that would lead to a good discussion here to
help each of us and each of your family members and friends to overcome this
tendency to assume that the gospel lessons we hear simply apply to other
people?
You can narrow your focus of the chapter
if you wanted to have a family member or friend read Matthew 26: 20-22 and
another family member or friend read Matthew 26: 31 – 35, then you could talk
about the contrasts that are found in these verses. Once the verses have been
read and pondered you could ask your family members and friends what lessons
they feel we can learn from the contrasts they found in how the disciples’
response in these two accounts?
20 Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve.
21 And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of
you shall betray me.
22 And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to
say unto him, Lord, is it I?
31 Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me
this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the
flock shall be scattered abroad.
32 But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee.
33 Peter answered and said unto him, though all men shall be offended
because of thee, yet I will never be offended.
34 Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, that this night before
the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice,
35 Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee yet will I not
deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples.
Another question you could ask is what
lessons can we learn from how the disciples applied the Savior’s words to
themselves individually? Then to learn more we can study President Dieter F.
Uchtdorf’s reference to Matthew 26: 21—22 in his message “Lord Is It I?”
(Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2014, 56–59). You
can find the message here: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2014/10/lord-is-it-i?lang=eng
Jesus Christ performed
an infinite Atonement for us.
What insights did you find about the
Atonement of Jesus Christ in your studies this week during your personal of
family study? Our instructor said to us: “Matthew 26 describes what happened in
the Garden of Gethsemane, but do you and your family members and friends truly
understand its significance in yours and their lives?
You could make up some signs/posters with
these questions on them to help your family members and friends understand the
significance it has in their lives and yours too! – What happened in
Gethsemane? Why is it important to me? To find the answers to these questions
you could read Matthew 26:36=46; Alma 7:11 –13; and Doctrine and Covenants
19:16 – 19. You can also find answers in a talk by Elder C. Scott Grow called
“The Miracle of the Atonement” found in the Ensign of Liahona, May 2011, 108 –
10. You can read this article or listen
to his talk here: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2011/04/the-miracle-of-the-atonement?lang=eng
Reading in the Book of Mormon in 2 Nephi
9:7 Jacob calls the Atonement of Jesus Christ “an infinite atonement”.
7 Wherefore,
it must needs be an infinite atonement—save
it should be an infinite atonement this corruption could not put on
incorruption. Wherefore, the first judgment
which came upon man must needs have remained to
an endless duration. And if so, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to
crumble to its mother earth, to rise no more.
To help each of us and our family members
and friends better understand what this means let’s look at President Nelson’s
teachings from his talk called “The Atonement.”
You will find the link to read or listen to his talk below😊
We might want to make a list of the ways
that the influence of the Savior’s sacrifice could be considered infinite?
Then we could study the following verses
to add to our list: Hebrews
10:10; Alma
34:10–14; Doctrine
and Covenants 76:24; and Moses
1:33. How can we show our appreciation for what the
Savior has done for us?
The
infinite Atonement.
President
Russell M. Nelson taught:
“[Jesus Christ’s]
Atonement is infinite—without an end. It was also infinite
in that all humankind would be saved from never-ending death. It was infinite
in terms of His immense suffering. It was infinite in time, putting an end to
the preceding prototype of animal sacrifice. It was infinite in scope—it
was to be done once for all. And the mercy of the Atonement extends not only to
an infinite number of people, but also to an infinite number of worlds created
by Him. It was infinite beyond any human scale of measurement or mortal
comprehension.
“Jesus was the only one who could offer such an infinite
atonement, since He was born of a mortal mother and an immortal Father. Because
of that unique birthright, Jesus was an infinite Being” (“The Atonement,” Ensign, Nov.
1996, 35).
You can read or listen to his talk here: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1996/10/the-atonement?lang=eng
President Heber J. Grant taught: “Not only did Jesus
come as a universal gift, He came as an individual offering. … For each one of
us He died on Calvary and His blood will conditionally save us. Not as nations,
communities or groups, but as individuals” (“A Marvelous Growth,” Juvenile Instructor, Dec. 1929, 697).
I could not find this talk anywhere, but I
did find the quote with other quotes.
You can find this and other quotes from
Latter-day prophets here: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/new-era/1992/04/latter-day-prophets-tell-us-they-know-him?lang=eng
To encourage your family members and
friends to continue reading and studying, you might ask them if they know what
seven things Jesus said while He was on the cross. Then tell them that they
will find out what the Savior said by reading Matthew 27; Mark 15; Luke 23;
and John 19
during the upcoming week to help them prepare for our next lesson😊
Well my dear Family and Friends, here we
are again at the end of our lesson for this week. I hope and pray that I have
shared something in this post that has uplifted you in some small way and maybe
has inspired you to want to make some changes in your life – no matter how
small those changes may be, as long as those changes help you to get on or get
back on the path that leads back to your heavenly home, then this is a good
thing. Small steps in the right direction are so much better that large steps
in the wrong direction – right? 😊
As always – please remember who you are,
you are each one a son or a daughter of a loving, merciful Heavenly Father, who
is ever reaching down for your hand to help lift you up above where you are
currently at – just reach up. Make the decision to invite Jesus Christ into or
back into your life😊 this will be the most important decision
you can or will ever make in your life! Be sure to continue studying the New
Testament with us😊
Always do your best to keep the
commandments, honor your covenants, remember the importance of the sacrament
and what the Savior’s sacrifice means in your individual life. Remember the
Savior, Jesus Christ during the sacrament and every day after. Remember that
when you partake of the sacrament you are each personally renewing your
baptismal covenants😊 We certainly do have an awesome God
don’t we? Until my next post, please remember to make it a spectacular week😊
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