Sunday School: Hebrews

I loved reading Hebrews, though it was also a struggle at times. With great effort comes great reward, right? Here are just a small sampling of the slides from my lesson on Hebrews last week, as well as a few comments I wanted to share about them. (Little does the class know I had a TON more slides we didn't touch, ha, and some more that I did share but these are the ones I want to share today.)

Image credit: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media-library/images/rane-christ-nephites-descending-1737019?lang=eng

I showed a picture of Enos who prayed all day and all night to ask forgiveness for his sins. He prayed boldly and with great faith. Someone in the class - "J"- made a comment about how at that time, coming boldly to the Savior was in direct contrast to how rulership worked back then. You did not approach rulers unless requested. I was immediately reminded of my namesake, Queen Esther in the Old Testament, who saved the lives of her fellow Jews by approaching her king, and risking death, to beg him to save her people. It seems odd that it was a big deal for her to go to her husband, unrequested, but that emphasizes the contrast of this scripture - that unlike the leaders of that day, the Lord encouraged us to go to him for his grace and his guidance. 

From the same talk, "Most of us find ourselves at this moment on a continuum between a socially motivated participation in gospel rituals on the one hand and a fully developed, Christlike commitment to the will of God on the other. Somewhere along that continuum, the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ enters into our heart and takes possession of our soul. It may not happen in an instant, but we should all be moving toward that blessed state."

Lastly, I love that Hebrews 11 talks about the "cloud of witnesses" that came before us, as it then directly relates to Jesus Christ having suffered so that he could experience all our sufferings. His understanding is/was so infinite that we discussed in class, that may have chosen to suffer not so that he could understand what it felt like, but because he knew we needed that witness of what it felt like. 

"1. Where seeing we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2. Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the thrown of God." - Hebrews 12: 1-2.

We had a great discussion in class about how genealogy work and how understanding our ancestors helps us. One sister "A" in class shared how learning about an ancestor with the same health problem as herself gave her a sense that things would be okay. (That is a very condensed summary of how it was explained to the class, partially for privacy reasons.) Another Brother, "A" shared Doctrine and Covenants 128:15 that was a powerful reminder of how our hearts turn to our fathers and our fathers to the children. We are so interconnected with those that have gone before us.

I end with this message from Jeffrey R. Holland given in October 1999 called, "An Hight Priest of Good Things to Come."

Excerpt from talk in this video:

Sunset by Esther Yu

The below poem was published in "New Era" magazine in February 2001. I wrote it when I was a teenager. To this date, when I watch the colors fade from the sky, observe clouds clinging to the tops of our local mountains, and walk through fallen leaves, I think about God's artistry. I think about how I could recreate that piece in another medium, whether photography, drawing, painting, a three-dimensional craft, or in words. There are so many opportunity to create beauty and give back to this beautiful world.

Sunset by Esther Yu

God painted me a sky today.

He used blues, whites, reds, and greens.

Yesterday He used purples too.

I guess

God is an artist

who likes to experiment with perfection.

Hebrews 1-7: Understanding Paul, Hebrews, and Grace

For those that have been studying the New Testament along with the companion manual, Come Follow Me for Individuals and Families, this week was Hebrews 1-7.

Hebrews is interesting because it's the only letter that is credited to Paul that is not placed in order from longest letter to shortest letters. That's because it's not entirely clear if Paul actually wrote this letter. However, whether he wrote it not, the messages he shares in Hebrews aligns with his teachings in his earlier letters.

My observations/reactions to Hebrews:

• It was a little jarring to get into Hebrews after reading the previous four books, because unlike Hebrews, they were short letters to friends and leaders of the church, and written near the end of his ministry when he may have refined his message, instead of to a group of people. Perhaps for this reason they were easier to read and follow. 
• Like with many of the letters that Paul wrote, something confusing, once unraveled, is actually quite clear, and quite exciting to understand and study.

I liken the experience to PJ in the Family Circus. He's "just a baby" so his valentine in "A Special Valentine with the Family Circus" (1978) looks like a jumbled mess, instead of the elaborate valentines that his older siblings have made. Like Paul, PJ's letter is hard to understand (see image on left, and click on the link to the five minute clip to watch the story). Despite PJ's valentine being "difficulty," his mother knows exactly what he drew. She says to her other children, "You can't see it because you are looking with your eyes. You have to look with your heart." They take her advice and begin to see that what looks like aimless strokes of the pen are elaborate drawings and a message of love. Feels like Paul at times, right? Watch the clip and see their excitement as the messy lines unravel. That's how I feel about reading Paul.

In "The Eye of Faith," talk by Neil L. Andersen, he shows a piece of art by Michael Murphy that at first glance, and from most angles, looks like what it is - 1,252 wooden balls suspended from the ceiling. However, when viewed from the correct angle, the seemingly random wooden balls form an eye. Says Andersen, 'However, as you look at the dots from a different perspective, you see the beauty of the artist's creation. Likewise, we see the spiritual truths of God through the perspective of an eye of faith.'"

Take faith in knowing that the scriptures, especially Isaiah, Paul, and a few others, will not always be easy to understand at first reading, but with even a little bit of pondering, becomes a beautiful, joyous things, and that experience will continue to grow. Says Jeffery R. Holland, "But as with all scripture, the more we read it, the more we find in it." ("The Message, the Meaning, and the Multitude.")

Before I was inspired to write this post, I had read Hebrews 1-6 and highlighted a number of scriptures. I went back, chose the scripture that was the most meaningful to me, and then began to ponder about it, and look up references to some of the lines in the scripture. The scripture I chose was Hebrews 4:16.

It says, "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." When we pray for help and act in faith, we "come boldly."

How are we bold? In April 1993, Gene R. Cook, of the First Quorum of the Seventy, said that we need to center our faith and hope upon Jesus Christ. We do this by being submissive and "seeking the intercession of the Lord more fully in our lives." We are bold by trusting in the Lord, boldly, as Enos did when he prayed all the day long. When we are bold, we open ourselves to the "throne of grace;" as the Bible dictionary defines grace, "divine means of help or strength from the Savior."

Application for children

Help the children to see that by studying further, they can find more in it. Another way to do this is to pick any church song, then look up the scripture on the same page as the song. See how knowing the song helps kids understand the scripture, or vice versa. 

"A Special Valentine with the Family Circus" is available on YouTube free in a four-part series. The climb I'm talking about is in Part 4, around the 3:33 minute mark. You can find it here. This is a great opportunity to talk about how just because we don't understanding something doesn't me we won't if we don't try a little harder. The kids were finally able to see PJ's art because:

a) They asked for help

b) They listened to the advice

c) They looked with their heart