This week I focused on Our Father's Glorious Plan by Elder Weatherford T. Clayton. I hope many are following along and doing their own study of April's General Conference talks. I feel as if I started a new tradition which will help me while I wait for October's General Conference. And of course I had to create new printables for my readers to download for free HERE. So, be sure to check it out, use it for your lesson or pass out to a friend.
Elder Weatherford T. Clayton started by saying, "Because of God's holy plan, we know that birth and death are actually just milestones on our journey to eternal life with our Heavenly Father. I struggle with this because I have a daughter who won't live longer than me. So, I will have to deal with the pain of loosing her. However, I know that I'll be able to walk and talk with her after we die so that brings me a lot of comfort. It still is hard...we don't know how long she will live. She is the sweetest three year old, has beautiful brown curly hair and has long eye lashes. I feel closer to heaven when I hold her. She is my everything.
Story #1: Birth
Early in my training as a physician, I had the privilege of helping a young mother deliver her first child. She was calm, focused, and happy. When the baby was delivered, I handed the precious newborn to her. With tears of happiness streaming down her face, she took that brand-new baby into her arms and examined him from head to toe. She held him close and loved him as only a mother can. It was a privilege to be in that room with her.
Premortal Life: “Before we were born, we lived with God, the Father of our spirits. All [of us] on earth are literally brothers and sisters” in His family,2 and each of us is precious to Him. We lived with Him for eons of time before our mortal birth—learning, choosing, and preparing.
Gift of eternal life: He could not simply give us this gift; we had to receive it by choosing Him and His ways. This required that we leave His presence and begin a wonderful and challenging journey of faith, growth, and becoming. The journey our Father prepared for us is called the plan of salvation or the plan of happiness.
I wonder if it was hard for us to leave Heavenly Father's presence as it will be hard to say goodbye to our loved ones when they leave this earth. I wish we could remember. I bet it was similar. How do you feel about the plan of salvation?
That plan is built upon three grand pillars: the pillars of eternity.
Idea: You could draw a building with three pillars and have your class guess what the three pillars are.
1: Creation: setting of our mortal journey.
2: The Fall: fall of our first earthly parents, Adam and Eve. We get to be born and receive a physical body.
3: Savior Jesus Christ: Through His suffering, Christ paid the price for both physical death and sin.
Quotes from our Savior Jesus Christ
{Check out the FREE printable HERE}
How can we follow Christ? Jesus Christ lived a perfect life, always keeping His Father's commandments. He walked the roads of Palestine,” teaching the truths of eternity, “healing the sick, causing the blind to see, and raising the dead.”14 He “went about doing good”15 and “entreated all to follow His example.
What are some things we can do to live a Christ-like life?
-Keep the commandments
-Doing good
-Be an example
Clayton's Testimony #1:
I testify that Christ did indeed rise from the tomb. But to rise from that tomb, He first had to die. And so must we.
Story #2: Death
Another of the great blessings of my life has been to feel the closeness of heaven during those moments when I sit at the bedside of people as they pass away. Early one morning some years ago, I entered the hospital room of a faithful Latter-day Saint widow who had cancer. Two of her daughters were sitting with her. As I went to her bedside, I quickly discovered that she was no longer suffering, because she had just died.
In that moment of death, the room was filled with peace. Her daughters had a sweet sadness, but their hearts were filled with faith. They knew that their mother was not gone but had returned home. Even in our moments of deepest grief, in the moments when time stands still and life seems so unfair, we can find comfort in our Savior because He suffered as well. It was a privilege for me to be in that room.
Spirit World: A place of learning, repentance, forgiveness, and becoming where we await the Resurrection.
I wonder how long we will be in the Spirit World. Will we wait awhile? What else will we be doing?
Invitations: I invite you to come and follow Christ.
We are all invited to come unto Christ.
Members: I invite all members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to, each day, “come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness, … [that] through the shedding of the blood of Christ, … ye [may] become holy, without spot.”
Non-Members: I invite those who are not yet members of this Church to come and read the Book of Mormon and listen to the missionaries. Come and have faith and repent of your sins. Come and be baptized and receive the Holy Ghost. Come and live a happy, Christ-filled life. As you come to Him and keep His commandments, I promise that you can find peace and purpose in this often tumultuous mortal experience and “eternal life in the world to come.”
Inactive Members: I invite you to come back. Come back today. Our Father and the Savior love you. I testify that Christ has the power to answer your questions, heal your pains and sorrows, and forgive your sins.
I loved how the invitation was the same for everyone to come and follow Christ. We as members should be following and practicing everything that non-members are invited to do.
Clayton's Testimony #2:
I know this is true. I know that all these things are true. Christ lives! This is His Church.
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