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: