Our visitors today were a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law combo who were visiting Arizona from Utah and Vegas. I didn't catch their names though. Before we began our lesson, Sister LeAnn Risenhoover asked if anyone wanted to share about the media fast. Sister Downs has always had the rule of not engaging in social media until after she has read her scriptures but with the media fast she spent the time she would have spent on social media reading her scriptures and she's reading three more chapters a day. Sister Kathy Jones thought it was interesting that President Nelson's challenge to the women was mentioned on Fox News. Sister Alicia Petersen wondered if the social media noticed a decline in activity for those ten days? Sister Meg Flam found it liberating to not be caught up in who did what and feeling like she didn't measure up. Her husband didn't think he used social media very much but once he deleted the app he realized he would look at it more than he had thought. Sister Kim Eastman is not anti-social media but she recently deleted everyone off of her social media beyond family. She said the first month she felt she was missing out but after that she felt like a 20 lb backpack had been removed. She experienced a mind shift as her focus for taking pictures moved beyond thinking of what she could post. As she ate her breakfast she read more from her scriptures instead of flipping through social media. Sister Kori Burt also felt it was liberating from the expectations of others. Sometimes she feels pressure from others to comment on their posts. Sister LeAnn has been praying for an answer for some time and she wasn't receiving it. She was feeling a little downhearted about that. When she gave up social media she had time for other things. Listening to a podcast ended up being the exact answer she needed. We all need the gift of time in our lives. The opportunity to be without the influence of the world and time to hear the Spirit. This has been a big impact for her and one she wants to continue beyond the challenge. Hopefully each of us can evaluate the amount of time we spend with social media and be aware of the effects it has on us and incorporate a plan of action that will help us find the balance we need. Sister Chrystalyn Trimble reminded us later in the lesson that we have been directed to come up with an action plan. When we have a purpose our actions can be more purposeful!
Sister Megan Asper opened up our discussion today by asking us to list what a Christ-like person does. Comments included: serve, look for the good, loves, non-judgmental, forgiving, kind, the 8 attributes of Christ (the Preach My Gospel book identifies 9: Faith, Hope, Charity & Love, Virtue, Knowledge, Patience, Humility, Diligence, and Obedience)...
Our lesson today was taken from the Conference talk by Elder Robert C. Gay; Taking Upon Ourselves the Name of Jesus Christ. It follows if we take upon us His name we would also be like Him.
Sister Asper admitted that she was on vacation during Conference so she is still going through the talks. When she was asked to teach and to select a talk, she went through the titles not knowing what they were about and selected this talk. Then when she listened to this talk she was a bit disappointed feeling like it was a pretty simple talk and nothing profound. Last week she subbed in primary and the lesson was about Naaman being healed from his leprosy. He went to the prophet but also was looking for something profound. Sister Asper was reminded that a simple answer is all we need.
Elder Gay identified three "simple" (harder to do than say) things we would do if we truly are taking upon us the name of Christ.
#1. SEE as God sees.
#2. Do His work and SERVE as He served.
#3. TRUST Him.
1. SEE as God sees:
Sister Megan Asper deleted Facebook a year ago because she noticed it was affecting how she felt. She also noticed that the media has become the judge, jury and executioner. Seeing everyone as a spiritual child of God can be harder with such influences.
Sister LeAnn Risenhoover witnessed an example of this with a friend of hers. Her friend's mother was sick but this friend had a trip planned and saved and paid for that had been planned for some time. At the urging of her siblings AND her mother, she decided to still go. When she arrived in the other country, her mother suddenly took a turn for the worse and ended up dying and the friend missed the funeral. Sister Risenhoover knew how devastating this was for her friend and the turmoil this put her through. However, this friend was judged harshly by others from their small town because of the small part of the picture they saw.
Sister Rachel Thomas pointed out that we really only see a snapshot of people's lives. Even Elder Gay, who knew his sister well, realized as she was passing away that he had only seen a snapshot of her and he learned from God's gentle rebuke "Can't you see that everyone around you is a sacred being?"
Sister Megan Asper's sister was recounting how when they would play "Guess Who", Megan would set up the boards to mirror each other so when her sister put down her person Megan would know who it was. Her sister remarked that "You are such a cheater". Megan wondered if her sister knows that she is not a cheater now and she is trying to be a good person. We are all on a journey and we all make mistakes and we all learn from our mistakes and deserve to not be defined by our past.
Sister Vicki Ashton reminded us that we don't always understand another's intentions. Brother Boyes shared that when he was six years old he adored his grandmother. He would go over often to be with her. He always saw his grandpa hosing down the screen porch to clean it. One day when he went over, his grandma was gone. Wanting to help her out he decided to clean her living room so took the hose in to start cleaning it as he had seen his grandpa clean the porch. Thankfully grandma came home before much damage was done but she probably did not understand, immediately at least, that his intentions was to show how much he loved her.
Our responsibility is to give the benefit of doubt and to not take things personally.
Sister Kim Easton has realized that our thoughts create our emotions and our actions are driven by our emotions. If we want to change our actions we need to change our thoughts. She struggles with having the same viewpoint as her parents on their relationship but she tries to do what she feels a daughter should do. When she was on vacation this summer she decided her parents would enjoy seeing pictures of her kids in New York since she knows they love that city. She texted the pictures and then heard nothing. After three days of no response, she started to get angry. Her husband talked her through it and reminded her she had done something nice and to think of reasons why they may not have responded. For a little while she was okay and then her thoughts went down that well-worn path of resentment. However, in talking with a sibling, she discovered that her parents had been out of the country for two weeks and once they returned she did indeed receive a text from her mom.
Sister Meg Flam said that this conference talk was actually her favorite because she struggles with recognizing the faults in others without seeing her own. She said she noticed in this example of Elder Gay's sister, the sister didn't change but Elder Gay learned to see her for her potential. We need to strive to see others for not who they are currently but for what they have the ability to become.
2. SERVE as He served
Do our actions reflect our membership in Christ's church? Sister Megan Asper has been so focused on their new home (ready in two weeks!) that she knows she has struggled seeing the needs of others. At times this focus has resulted in a bad mood. She said she knows service is the best medicine to get out of a funk. She was involved with public relations for the church when they lived in Louisiana and she was able to help roll out "Just Serve". She was so impressed by the good it can do. She encouraged us to make service a part of our life on a regular basis and not just for the big service projects. When we get outside of our own little circle we can greatly influence others.
Alicia Peterson reminded us of the story of the person making a tie for the prophet and then feeling inadequate to give it to him and the prophet's wife saying "Never discount a good thought". We too can respond to thoughts to do something nice for someone. The more we act the more we will receive because God will know he can trust us.
3. TRUST Him. Sister Megan Asper has had several friends leave the church. Instead of making her doubt, she has felt her testimony strengthened. At some point she realized she was choosing the church and that has made all the difference.
These three things are not new. They are not earth-shattering. They are not profound or complicated. But can we be like Naaman and humble ourselves and accept these three simple steps and find our own miraculous results?
Sister Megan Asper opened up our discussion today by asking us to list what a Christ-like person does. Comments included: serve, look for the good, loves, non-judgmental, forgiving, kind, the 8 attributes of Christ (the Preach My Gospel book identifies 9: Faith, Hope, Charity & Love, Virtue, Knowledge, Patience, Humility, Diligence, and Obedience)...
Our lesson today was taken from the Conference talk by Elder Robert C. Gay; Taking Upon Ourselves the Name of Jesus Christ. It follows if we take upon us His name we would also be like Him.
Sister Asper admitted that she was on vacation during Conference so she is still going through the talks. When she was asked to teach and to select a talk, she went through the titles not knowing what they were about and selected this talk. Then when she listened to this talk she was a bit disappointed feeling like it was a pretty simple talk and nothing profound. Last week she subbed in primary and the lesson was about Naaman being healed from his leprosy. He went to the prophet but also was looking for something profound. Sister Asper was reminded that a simple answer is all we need.
Elder Gay identified three "simple" (harder to do than say) things we would do if we truly are taking upon us the name of Christ.
#1. SEE as God sees.
#2. Do His work and SERVE as He served.
#3. TRUST Him.
1. SEE as God sees:
Sister Megan Asper deleted Facebook a year ago because she noticed it was affecting how she felt. She also noticed that the media has become the judge, jury and executioner. Seeing everyone as a spiritual child of God can be harder with such influences.
Sister LeAnn Risenhoover witnessed an example of this with a friend of hers. Her friend's mother was sick but this friend had a trip planned and saved and paid for that had been planned for some time. At the urging of her siblings AND her mother, she decided to still go. When she arrived in the other country, her mother suddenly took a turn for the worse and ended up dying and the friend missed the funeral. Sister Risenhoover knew how devastating this was for her friend and the turmoil this put her through. However, this friend was judged harshly by others from their small town because of the small part of the picture they saw.
Sister Rachel Thomas pointed out that we really only see a snapshot of people's lives. Even Elder Gay, who knew his sister well, realized as she was passing away that he had only seen a snapshot of her and he learned from God's gentle rebuke "Can't you see that everyone around you is a sacred being?"
Sister Megan Asper's sister was recounting how when they would play "Guess Who", Megan would set up the boards to mirror each other so when her sister put down her person Megan would know who it was. Her sister remarked that "You are such a cheater". Megan wondered if her sister knows that she is not a cheater now and she is trying to be a good person. We are all on a journey and we all make mistakes and we all learn from our mistakes and deserve to not be defined by our past.
Sister Vicki Ashton reminded us that we don't always understand another's intentions. Brother Boyes shared that when he was six years old he adored his grandmother. He would go over often to be with her. He always saw his grandpa hosing down the screen porch to clean it. One day when he went over, his grandma was gone. Wanting to help her out he decided to clean her living room so took the hose in to start cleaning it as he had seen his grandpa clean the porch. Thankfully grandma came home before much damage was done but she probably did not understand, immediately at least, that his intentions was to show how much he loved her.
Our responsibility is to give the benefit of doubt and to not take things personally.
Sister Kim Easton has realized that our thoughts create our emotions and our actions are driven by our emotions. If we want to change our actions we need to change our thoughts. She struggles with having the same viewpoint as her parents on their relationship but she tries to do what she feels a daughter should do. When she was on vacation this summer she decided her parents would enjoy seeing pictures of her kids in New York since she knows they love that city. She texted the pictures and then heard nothing. After three days of no response, she started to get angry. Her husband talked her through it and reminded her she had done something nice and to think of reasons why they may not have responded. For a little while she was okay and then her thoughts went down that well-worn path of resentment. However, in talking with a sibling, she discovered that her parents had been out of the country for two weeks and once they returned she did indeed receive a text from her mom.
Sister Meg Flam said that this conference talk was actually her favorite because she struggles with recognizing the faults in others without seeing her own. She said she noticed in this example of Elder Gay's sister, the sister didn't change but Elder Gay learned to see her for her potential. We need to strive to see others for not who they are currently but for what they have the ability to become.
2. SERVE as He served
Do our actions reflect our membership in Christ's church? Sister Megan Asper has been so focused on their new home (ready in two weeks!) that she knows she has struggled seeing the needs of others. At times this focus has resulted in a bad mood. She said she knows service is the best medicine to get out of a funk. She was involved with public relations for the church when they lived in Louisiana and she was able to help roll out "Just Serve". She was so impressed by the good it can do. She encouraged us to make service a part of our life on a regular basis and not just for the big service projects. When we get outside of our own little circle we can greatly influence others.
Alicia Peterson reminded us of the story of the person making a tie for the prophet and then feeling inadequate to give it to him and the prophet's wife saying "Never discount a good thought". We too can respond to thoughts to do something nice for someone. The more we act the more we will receive because God will know he can trust us.
3. TRUST Him. Sister Megan Asper has had several friends leave the church. Instead of making her doubt, she has felt her testimony strengthened. At some point she realized she was choosing the church and that has made all the difference.
These three things are not new. They are not earth-shattering. They are not profound or complicated. But can we be like Naaman and humble ourselves and accept these three simple steps and find our own miraculous results?
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