This week I will be sharing two different talks titled, "Whatsoever He Saith unto You, Do it" and "The Godhead and the Plan of Salvation." I keep getting behind. Do you want to know why? My family has the opportunity of going to Disney world with Make a Wish soon and I'm so excited. I can't think straight. So...I'm trying to get a few of these General Conference talks done so I can prepare for our trip.
First, I'll share my thoughts on Elder L. Whitney Clayton's talk titled,
"Whatsoever He Saith unto You, Do It."
I loved this talk because I learned more about Mary and some of her characteristics. L. Whitney Clayton started his talk with this remarkable quote...
Quote #1 (pdf)
Question:
How can we align our everyday behavior with God's will?
Well, let's take a look at our perfect example, Jesus Christ. Jesus performed some pretty remarkable miracles and a lot of times I wish he were here to help those who are struggling. There is a lot of craziness in the world today and I hope that we can all be a little nicer to those around us. Elder Clayton pointed out one of Christ's miracles of transforming water to wine. Then he said that Mary was "a precious and chosen vessel." In his talk, he taught us about Mary. What did she know about Jesus? Of course, I had to create a pdf to share with all of you. That way, you can download and print.
Characteristics of mary (pdf)
Mary was humble, didn't demand to know the specifics, committed, acceptable and had simple trust in God.
Question:
How can we be more like Mary?
How can we earnestly commit to align our everyday behavior with God's will?
Commit to align (pdf)
It is actually quite simple. The answer is what we've learned in primary. Do the simple small things to become more like our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Do we often question the small things and turn away? Do we obediently follow the prophet's counsel? Clayton said, "Some rewards of obedience do come quickly; others come only after we are tested. Remember when the angel asked Adam why he was offering sacrifices, he answered, "I know not, save the Lord commanded me." The angel explained that his sacrifices were "a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father." God will always bless us for our steadfast obedience to His gospel and loyalty to His Church, but He rarely shows us His timetable for doing so in advance. He doesn’t show us the whole picture from the outset. That is where faith, hope, and trusting in the Lord come in.
God asks us...
1-Bear with Him
2-Trust Him
3-Follow Him
He pleads with us to "dispute not because ye see not."
He cautions us
Things work out when we stand firm during the "trial of our faith."
Every day, consciously or otherwise, we all choose “whom [we] will serve.”We demonstrate our determination to serve the Lord by faithfully engaging in daily acts of devotion. The Lord promises to direct our paths, but for Him to do that, we have to walk, trusting that He knows the way because He is “the way.” We must fill our own waterpots up to the brim. When we trust and follow Him, our lives, like water to wine, are transformed. We become something more and better than we ever otherwise could be. Trust in the Lord, and “whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.”
Second, Elder Dallin H. Oaks talk was titled, "The Godhead and the Plan of Salvation."
He started his talk with this wonderful quote...
Quote #3 (pdf)
What does our road map look like?
I.
This FREE Printable pretty much summarizes Oaks talk. We learn early on about how God is our Eternal Father. We also learn about Jesus Christ and how the Holy Ghost helps us follow the right path. We learn that they are three separate personages. God the first, the Creator; God the second, the Redeemer, and God the third, the Witness or Testator.
Isn't it neat and amazing that we have the whole truth to help guide us in these dangerous times? I think it is pretty amazing.
II. The Plan
We understand our relationship to the members of the Godhead from what is revealed about the plan of salvation.
Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where are we going? We know were were born and that we will die. What will happen? The plan of salvation explains and is a guide to follow back home to our Heavenly Father.
As spirit children of God, in an existence prior to mortality, we desired a destiny of eternal life but had progressed as far as we could without a mortal experience in a physical body. To provide that opportunity, our Heavenly Father presided over the Creation of this world, where, deprived of our memory of what preceded our mortal birth, we could prove our willingness to keep His commandments and experience and grow through the other challenges of mortal life. But in the course of that mortal experience, and as a result of the Fall of our first parents, we would suffer spiritual death by being cut off from the presence of God, be soiled by sin, and become subject to physical death. The Father’s plan anticipated and provided ways to overcome all of those barriers.
III. The Godhead
God the Father: Father, the Almighty, Elohim, The Supreme Being, the Creator and Ruler of the universe, God and Father of Jesus Christ, Father or our spirits. We are His children. He loves us and all that he does is for our eternal benefit. He is the author of the plan of salvation, and it is by His power that His plan achieves its purposes for the ultimate glory of His children.
The Son: was chosen by the Father to carry out the Father's plan, to exercise the Father's power to create worlds without number, to save the children of God from death by His Resurrection and from sin by His Atonement, Jehovah, the Lord God of Israel, who speaks to and through the prophets, the God of all the whole earth
The Holy Ghost: The third member of the Godhead is the Holy Ghost, also referred to as the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the Lord, and the Comforter. He is the member of the Godhead who is the agent of personal revelation. As a personage of spirit (see D&C 130:22), He can dwell in us and perform the essential role of communicator between the Father and the Son and the children of God on earth. Many scriptures teach that His mission is to testify of the Father and the Son (see John 15:26; 3 Nephi 28:11; D&C 42:17). The Savior promised that the Comforter will teach us all things, bring all things to our remembrance, and guide us into all truth (see John 14:26; 16:13). Thus, the Holy Ghost helps us discern between truth and falsehood, guides us in our major decisions, and helps us through the challenges of mortality. He is also the means by which we are sanctified, that is, cleansed and purified from sin.
IV.
How does understanding this heavenly revealed doctrine about the Godhead and the plan of salvation help us with our challenges today?
Because we have the truth about the Godhead and our relationship to Them, the purpose of life, and the nature of our eternal destiny, we have the ultimate road map and assurance for our journey through mortality. We know whom we worship and why we worship. We know who we are and what we can become (see D&C 93:19). We know who makes it all possible, and we know what we must do to enjoy the ultimate blessings that come through God’s plan of salvation. How do we know all of this? We know by the revelations of God to His prophets and to each of us individually.
Quote #4 (pdf)
Testimony:
I testify that we have a Heavenly Father, who loves us. I testify that we have a Holy Ghost, who guides us. And I testify of Jesus Christ, our Savior, who makes it all possible.
Next week: Perfect Love Casteth out Fear (HERE).
***The purpose of the 25 weeks of General Conference talks came from our ebook called, Growing up with Conference. In our book, we share an FHE lesson titled: Favorite talk. The purpose is to teach your family to use the general conference talks as part of their personal scripture study. This FHE lesson is found in our “Live it” section of our ebook. You can find our ebook HERE. ***
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