Dear Family and
Friends
I hope this first week of December has
been good for you weather wise😊 I too hope that you were able to get
all of your Christmas decorations up already. I know with the weather it can
sometimes be awful tricky. My children begin putting their decorations up right
after Thanksgiving😊 oh, and I do hope that you had a wonderful
Thanksgiving as well😊it is so important to be giving thanks
daily to the people we know and in our prayers to our Heavenly Father for our every
breath
Since my diagnosis with stage four
breast cancer I have realized just how important this is. It is important to
realize that we are so dependent upon our Heavenly Father for everything that
we are, that we have, and what we could become. Without Him we are nothing! We are
ever indebted to Him for everything we have. It doesn’t matter how much we do,
we would still be indebted to Him and His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ.
It is also very important that we do
all we can to help one another and love one another as He loves and helps each one
of us individually😊 Our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ
know us individually! They know our thoughts, our dreams, our needs and our
wants. They want to help us. Heavenly Father loved us so much that He sent His
Only Begotten Son to come to earth in the lowliest of circumstances.
Jesus came to earth to grow and live
among man, to be tempted, to heal people. Even some He raised from the dead. He
turned water into wine for His earthly mother Mary. I believe this was the
first miracle He performed. He showed love and compassion throughout His
earthly ministry. I think the only time He showed His upset was when He came
into the temple and found that the people had defiled it. He taught us the
importance of the temple being a House of the Lord and how we should treat it as
just that, a place where our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ may come
to dwell😊
I guess I have been rambling on here, I
guess we should get to the lesson. Aer you ready? Okay, here we go! As you and
your family members and friends were reading and studying 1–3 John and
Jude together, did you notice certain themes and patterns there? What themes
and patterns or specific truths stood out to you and your family members and
friends as you read? How can you use the themes, patterns, and the specific
truths to help your family members and friends?
This first part comes directly from the
Come, Follow Me for Individuals and Families manual:
When John and Jude wrote
their epistles, the predicted Apostasy was underway, a result of both intense
persecution and corrupt doctrine. Some false teachers even questioned whether
Jesus Christ had actually appeared “in the flesh” (see, for example, 1 John 4:1–3; 2 John 1:7).
1 John
4:1-3
1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but
try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone
out into the world.
2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every
spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
3 And every spirit that confesseth not
that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit
of antichrist, whereof ye have heard tha it should come; and even now already
is it in the world.
2 John
1:7
7 For Many deceivers are entered into the
world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver
and an antichrist.
So the Apostle John began his
first epistle by giving his personal witness of the Savior: “This is the
testimony which we give of that which was from the beginning, which we have
heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our
hands have handled, of the Word of life” (Joseph Smith Translation,
1 John 1:1 [in 1 John 1:1, footnote a]).
JST
1John 1:1 In the beginning was to gospel preached
through the Son. And the gospel was the word, and the word was with the Son,
and the Son was with God, and the Son was of God.
1John 1:1 footnote a-- Brethren, this is the testimony which we
give of that which was from the beginning… verse 1 That
which was from the beginning, which we have heard, we have seen with our eyes,
which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;
But perhaps the strongest
message of John’s epistles is love: God’s love for us and the love we should
have for Him and all His children. After all, John had personally experienced
the Savior’s love (see John 13:23; 20:2), and he
wanted the Saints to feel that same love in the face of hardship and
opposition, for “there is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear” (1 John 4:18).
John
13:23
Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one
of his disciples, whom Jesus loved.
John
20:2
Then she runneth and cometh to Simon
Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They
have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have
laid him.
1
John 4:18
There is no fear in love; but perfect
love casteth out fear: because fear hath
torment. He that feareth is not mad perfect in love.
Now in this section it might be good to
share those themes, patterns or specific truths that stood out to you nd your
family members nd friends as you studied individually or together these
Epistles of John and Jude. You may want to turn this into a discussion with
your family members nd friends. Ask your family members and friends what messages
from these epistles were most important or more meaningful to each of them and
to your families?
Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are perfect examples of light
and love.
It is so important that each one of us individually are able to
feel and recognize Heavenly Father’s light and His light and
His love in our lives. How can you help or teach your family members and
friends to recognize Heavenly Father’s light and love in their lives? It may be
helpful to make a chart and write light on one side at the top and write love
on the other side at the top.
Now ask your family members and friends
to tell you the first words that come to their minds when they think of these two
words. Write their responses on your chart under the appropriate word.
The next part of this activity we were
divided up into a few groups and given one of the following scripture passages
to search:
You are searching these scripture
passages for evidence of God’s light and His love and for things that we can
each do to show our love for God and His children. If you do divide your family
members and friends into groups when they are finished searching their passage,
they could share with the whole group they have found, and you could add it to
your list under the appropriate heading.
Or you could take each scripture passage
and read it together and search for the evidence of God’s light and His love
and discuss each passage together. Then write what you have found on your chart
and move on to the next scripture passage and so forth, doing the same things
with each scripture passage in the list above. You could also share of a time
when you personally have felt Heavenly Father’s light and His love in our life.
😊
Okay, so, how do you help your family
members and friends to think about the spiritual light in their lives? Our instructor
had one group of us look at the light on the ceiling above us and other group to
look at the light that was coming through the window. Then he asked each group
to describe or tell what we know about the physical light that we were looking
at. 😊
Next, he asked us how is physical light
like spiritual light? He then had us get out our scriptures again and look up
the following scripture passages: Psalm 27:1; John 1:4–5; 1 John 1:5–7; 3 Nephi 11:11; Doctrine and Covenants 88:6–13. We were to search
through these verses to gain insights into how our Heavenly Father and His Son,
Jesus Christ provide light in our lives.
Psalm 27:1
Lord is my light and my salvation; whom
shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
John 1:4-5
4 In him was life; and the life was the
light of men.
5 And the light shineth in darkness; and
the darkness comprehended it not.
1 John 1:5-7
5 This then is the message which we have
heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness
at all.
6 If we say that we have fellowship with
him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth;
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is
in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus
Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
1 Nephi 11:11
And behold, I am the light and the life of
the world; and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given
me, and have glorified the Father taking upon me the sins of the world, in the which
I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning.
D&C 88:6-13
6 He that ascended up on high, as also he
descended blow all things, in tha he comprehended all things,, that he might be
in and through all things, the light of truth;
7 which truth hineth. This is the light
of Chist. As also he is in the sun, and the light of the sun, and the power
thereof by which it was made.
8 As also he is in the moon, and is the
light of the moon, and the power thereof by which it was made;
9 As also the light of the stars, and the
power thereof by which they were made;
10 And the earth also, and the power
thereof, even the earth upon which you stand.
11 And the light which shineth which
giveth you light, is through him who enlghteneth your eyes, which is the same
light that quickeneth your understandings;
12 Which light proceedeth forth from the
presence of God to fill the immensity of space –
13 The light which is in all things,
which giveth life to all things, which is the law by which all things are governed,
even the power of God who sitteth upon his throne, who is in the bosom of
eternity, who is in the midst of all things.
After we had finished with this part our instructor
asked if anyone wanted to share an experience of when we had sought and received
spiritual light in our lives. So, this too could be something that you might want
to do with your family members and friends as well. It could possibly be
beneficial for all of you😊 It is worth the effort to be sure that
your family members and friends are able to recognize Heavenly Father’s light
and His love in their individual lives and well as when they feel it in their
families.
You may also consider
singing together or listening together to a song about light. One of my
favorites is “The Lord Is My Light” (Hymns, no. 89).
What does the song teach about how the
Lord is like a light? There is also a video “Choose the Light” (LDS.org)
and the following statement by Elder
Robert D. Hales could offer further insights about how to gain greater
light in our lives.
Light
dispels darkness.
Elder
Robert D. Hales taught how we can dispel darkness from our lives and walk
in light:
“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’ [D&C
58:27] 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” (“Out
of Darkness into His Marvelous Light,” Ensign, May
2002, 71).
This section for
individual scripture study comes directly from the Come, Follow Me for
Individuals and Families manual:
God is light, and God is love.
If you were to choose one or
two words to describe God, what would they be? In his epistles, John used the
words “light” and “love” (1 John 1:5; 4:8, 16). As you
read 1 John, ponder John’s experiences as recorded in the Gospel of John,
and consider how these experiences may have taught John about the light and
love of God. What personal experiences have taught you that God is light and
love?
Has “no man … seen God at any time”?
Joseph Smith Translation,
1 John 4:12 clarifies that “no man hath seen God at any
time, except them who believe” (in 1 John 4:12,
footnote a; see also John 6:46; 3 John 1:11). The
scriptures record several instances when God the Father has manifested Himself
to faithful individuals, including John himself (see Revelation 4; see
also Acts 7:55–56; 1 Nephi 1:8; Doctrine and Covenants 76:23; Joseph Smith—History 1:16–17).
We must fortify ourselves against false teachings.
- Some of your class members or their loved ones may be struggling to confront false teachings that threaten their faith. It might help them to learn what John and Jude taught about apostasy. Consider inviting half of the class to search for descriptions of false teachings or apostasy in 1 John 2:18–23, 26–28; 4:3; 2 John 1:7–11; 3 John 1:9–11 and the other half to search for such descriptions in Jude.
- Or they could look for answers to questions like these: How do John and Jude define an antichrist? (see also Guide to the Scriptures, “Antichrist,” scriptures.lds.org). Is there anything in these verses that seems especially applicable to challenges we face today? How can we fortify ourselves against false teachings?
- Jude uses interesting imagery to describe false teachers, or those who “speak evil of those things which they know not” (Jude 1:10). You might invite a few class members to draw on the board some of the images described in Jude 1:12–13 while other class members guess which phrase the person is drawing. How do these images represent false teachers and antichrists?
- For example, how do corrupt practices create “spots in [our] feasts of charity”? What can we do to fortify ourselves against “mockers”? (see Jude 1:18–21). Why might Jude have suggested that we “have compassion” (Jude 1:22) on those who mock the gospel?
This section for individual
scripture study comes directly from the Come, Follow Me for Individuals and
Families manual:
I can become like Jesus Christ.
Does the goal of becoming
Christlike ever seem too lofty to you? Consider John’s encouraging counsel:
“Little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have
confidence … [and] we shall be like him” (1 John 2:28; 3:2). What do
you find in 1 John 2:24–3:3 that
gives you confidence and comfort as a disciple of Jesus Christ? As you study
John’s epistles, look for other principles or counsel that can help you in your
effort to become more Christlike.
See also Moroni 7:48; Doctrine and Covenants 88:67–68; “Becoming Like God,” Gospel Topics, topics.lds.org.
As we exercise faith in Christ and are born of God, we can
overcome the world.
One of this week’s activities in Come, Follow Me—For
Individuals and Families suggests searching 1 John 5 to
discover how we can overcome the world. If you have not done this before, this
may be something that you will want to consider doing with your family members and
friends as well😊 After you have read this chapter through
together, you could make another chart 0n poster board 😊 Sorry,
but I think that the visuals help me to learn better and then you can post it
during the week as a reminder and a review of your study during the week😊
After you have your poster ready for
writing on, you could read through the chapter again looking specifically for
how we can overcome the world and write your ideas on your poster board. Make sure
to give everyone of your family members and your friends a turn to say what
they are feeling. You may be very surprised by what your little ones teach you!
I know that they have always surprised me😊 children are quite amazing you know!
Another suggestion is for you and your
family members and friends to read parts of Elder Neil L. Andersen’s message: “Overcoming the World” (Ensign or Liahona, May 2017, 58–62) You can read through the
whole article here: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2017/05/saturday-afternoon-session/overcoming-the-world?lang=eng
Then you could share with one another what you have each learned
from your reading and share what you have each learned from this reading. For
example, what insights do you and your family members and friends gain from the
stories Elder Andersen shares about President David O. McKay and Elder
Bruce D. Porter? You and your family members and friends could share yours
/ their own examples of some people you / they know who you / they feel have
made efforts to overcome the world.
This section for
individual scripture study comes directly from the Come, Follow Me for
Individuals and Families manual:
As I exercise faith in Jesus Christ and am born again, I can
overcome the world.
The idea of overcoming the
world appears multiple times in John’s writings. John recorded Jesus saying,
“In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome
the world” (John 16:33). And
in Revelation 2–3, John
recorded the Lord’s promises to those who overcome the world. What did John say
about overcoming the world in 1 John 5:3–5? As you
read 1 John 5, look for
what we must do to overcome the world and gain eternal life. What might
overcoming the world look like in your life? You could also find answers and
insights in Elder Neil L. Andersen’s message “Overcoming the World” (Ensign or Liahona, May
2017, 58–62).
Joy comes as we help others “walk in truth.”
I am sure that there are probably people
in the midst of your family members and friends who can relate somewhat to what
John was feeling when he said that he had “no greater joy” than hearing that
Gaius (one of his “children”) was walking in truth. Your family members and
friends might benefit from hearing one another’s experiences. You might
consider starting by reading together 3 John 1:1–4 and
the scriptures in the following list:
Scriptures about helping others walk in truth.
-
- What do these scriptures teach us about the source of true joy? How have you felt as a parent, friend, teacher, or a family member when you knew that those you were teaching were walking in truth? These feelings are a good thing to share with your family members and friends😊
-
The following section for Family Scripture Study and Family Home Evening comes directly from the Come, Follow Me for Individuals and Families manual:Ideas for Family Scripture Study and Family Home EveningAs you read the scriptures with your family, the Spirit can help you know what principles to emphasize and discuss in order to meet the needs of your family. Here are some suggestions:To help your family ponder John’s teachings, gather in a dark room and let family members experience the difference between walking “in darkness” and walking “in the light.” How does hatred cause us to walk in darkness and stumble? How does loving each other bring light into our lives?
What in these verses
increases the “confidence” that we have in God and in our ability to receive
answers to our prayers? You could also search “Prayer” in the Bible Dictionary, Guide to the Scriptures (scriptures.lds.org), or Gospel Topics (topics.lds.org).
Are there any commandments that we consider “grievous” or difficult
to follow? How does our love for God change the way we feel about His commandments?
Keeping God’s commandments helps us
overcome the world.
Are there any spiritual
dangers that have “crept in” to our lives and family? (Jude 1:4). How can
we follow Jude’s admonition to “earnestly contend for the faith” and resist
these dangers? (Jude 1:3). What can
we do to ensure that “peace, and love, be multiplied” in our family? (Jude 1:2).
I want to invite you and your family
members and friends to think about the following question as you study together
Revelation over the next few weeks. How can symbols such as dragons, winged
beasts, and slain lambs teach us about God’s plan for His children?
I certainly hope and pray that
each one of you and your family members and friends have enjoyed studying this
lesson with me and all of our cyber study buddies as well😊 I have
learned quite a bit that I did not know or that I had totally forgotten☹ I sometimes
feel as if I have forgotten most of what I have learned over the years😊
I do know that I learn something
new each time I read in my scriptures – ‘line upon line, precept upon precept,
here a little and there a little…” The Lord knows when we are ready for
something new😊 this week I challenge each of you to work on a
goal with me – let’s each one individually and in our family look for how we
are overcoming the world. Also look for any spiritual darkness in your lives
and let’s see what we can do about letting in a little more light – spiritual light
into our lives😊
Then other times I feel as if I am
learning so much that I don’t have enough places in my brain for storage and retrieval😊 I am not
real sure if this forgetfulness has anything to do with my ‘Chemo brain’ or
not, but it’s always a possibility I guess😊 I don’t know if you have ever felt this way about
your learning, but it can be a bit frustrating sometimes☹ well,
until my next post, please remember to make it a spectacular week.
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