We can edify and rejoice together - that which is of God is light

One of the great beauties of the gospel of Jesus Christ is that because we are all equals, and we are all children of a loving father, we all have the opportunity to grow and enhance our spiritual gifts together.  He wants to give to us all generously and has given us ways to learn and improve and take full advantage of the gifts with which he has blessed us.

One of the blessings from the Lord is the opportunity to edify and help each other grow and learn. In Doctrine and Covenants 50:13-22, the Lord talks about the roles of the Spirit, teachers, and students. 

In verse 22 it says:

"Wherefore, he that preacheth and he that receiveth, understand one another and both are edified and rejoice together." 

In verse 24 it says:

"That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day." 

There is so much we can learn from these verses. When we work together to edify one another, we all benefit. It reminds me of one of my favorite sayings, "Rising tides raise all boats." In addition, when we bring light into our lives, it grows and grows. There is no limit to growing our light. What an amazing blessing! 

A couple of weeks ago in Sunday School I emphasized a scripture and talk from Jan E. Newman that I did not share on my blog. I want to share it now because it feels so relevant to  Doctrine and Covenants 49-50, and the Come Follow Me study emphasis: "That Which is of God is Light."

When we gather as a class, we shouldn't expect the teacher to talk at us. We should expect an open discussion where we can contribute not just what the Spirit whispers to us at that time, but what we learned in our homes and in our personal study. Some of the most edifying things I have learned in class were comments from parents that shared an experience about learning in their homes. For example, one sister shared that her child has anxiety. They had recently studied an ancestor of theirs together and learned that this ancestor also had anxiety. It gave the young girl a special connection with her ancestor that comforted her. It was a a powerful example to me during a lesson where we discussed family history work and learning as a family. I would not have that memorable story in my heart and mind had that young mother not decided to speak up and share her experience.

During General Conference in April, Jan E. Newman, the second counselor in the Sunday School General Presidency, talked about this:

Talk link here.

To me, this is why is significant in Matthew 18:20 that, "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." 

What a powerful thing! That we can pray to Heavenly Father in our minds and in our hearts but we can also gather together to have him in our midst. 

Blessings and gifts from God (Doctrine and Covenants 46-48)

The Come Follow Me study for Doctrine and Covenants 46-48 is called, "Seek Ye Earnestly the Best Gifts." This is because Doctrine and Covenants 46 talks about how everyone is given at least one gift, so that we can go out and do good in the world with our gift.

Doctrine and Covenants 46:11-12 says:

11 For all have not every ^agift given unto them; for there are many gifts, and to every man is given a gift by the Spirit of God.

12 To some is given one, and to some is given another, that all may be profited thereby.

It is an incredible thing that our Father in Heaven is blessing each one of us with at least one gift, and that we not take that gift for granted. I talked about Spiritual Gifts in December last year, here so I don't want to re-write all that I shared previously. Instead, I'll comment that the Come Follow Me for Sunday School manual asks:

The Lord declared that gifts of the Spirit benefit those who are faithful and are “not for a sign” (verse 9). Perhaps class members could discuss how spiritual gifts benefit the faithful. How can these gifts help those who want to gain or strengthen their testimony of the gospel?

This question made me think of an experience that I had over ten years ago. I was working for Hewlett-Packard, in a very busy and stressful role, when my bishop called me into his office and asked if I would be the new Girl's Camp director. He was not releasing me from my calling as Primary chorister, which was also a very busy calling that I put a lot of time into (as you know if you found this article through my original purpose of this blog, to share chorister activity ideas!). I thought, "How am I going to take a week off work at this time, and handle my workload and my other calling, too?" However, I accepted the calling and put my all into it, which for me meant that I was putting in hours of work every night for weeks and weeks to prepare for camp. 

However, the week of camp finally came around and when I got to camp, I realized that I did most of the prep work before camp and that while I was camp, I could mostly just relax. I unexpectedly realized I was on a week-long vacation that I would not have taken from work on my own. I did sacrifice some things of course. My birthday happened during camp and I couldn't celebrate it with my husband the way I prefer. However, while at camp, I had an opportunity to rest and rejuvenate. I love to be outside and I love to camp! Then, when I returned from camp, I suddenly had a couple of great job opportunities pop up, one of which I accepted. I truly feel that the Lord blessed me for my obedience. The Lord answers prayers in his own time and way for reasons that he can see that we cannot but at that time, it reminded me of the words, "Well done, thy good and faithful servant."

I share this as I look at the gifts described in Doctrine and Covenants 46, and this verse 26:

26 And all these gifts come from God, for the benefit of the children of God.

"You are not alone. Jesus is here."

 I felt this message from a newly divorced single mom really was a great example about some of the things we talked about in Sunday School on Sunday, as it touches on the discussion around turning to the Lord, and it'll all be okay, and how we can all teach each other, even the little ones.

@churchofjesuschrist

Verified

“This last year I became a single mom. While it has been the worst of times, it has also been the best as I have felt buoyed up and loved in so many other ways. I have two little boys. They are 15 months apart. They love me not because of what I do but because I am theirs. Their love is unconditional. That is now my job as a mom. It doesn’t matter what they do or what they don’t do. It is to help them know that I love them, their heavenly parents love them, and that that will never change. Going through hard times is part of this life, but I want them to know that I will always be here for them no matter what.

“I have always felt that motherhood is a partnership with fatherhood. Going through the divorce, I often felt so hurt and scared and alone and worried that I am going to have to do this alone. I remember feeling this way and asking my oldest son, ‘How do you feel now that Daddy lives in a different house and we are all alone?’ He simply and beautifully replied, ‘Mommy, we aren’t alone. Jesus is here.’ It made me realize that I co-parent with Him. I let Him take on part of that role that I felt was missing. This has been such a comfort to me. You aren’t alone in motherhood, even if you’re single like I am. You get to partner with our Savior. He knows our pain and what we are going through, and He is the perfect partner on this journey.” —Rachel

This week, may we give thanks to our mothers and all those who have filled that role in our lives. As you give thanks for mom, we invite you to tag @churchofjesuschrist or send us a direct message so we can share your post on Mother's Day.

Doctrine and Covenants 45 - Promises Shall Be Fulfilled

In Doctrine and Covenants 45:3-5 we read:

In Jeffrey R. Hollands's book, "Witness for His Names," he reminds us that the Savior is pleading our case for us, like a lawyer. In class today, we talked about how we can have the best lawyer in the world. but if we don't show up, there's only so much the lawyer can do for us. The Savior is our advocate, and that is a huge relief, but once we understand that we have him always on our side, we need to take his advice, too! 

In 1993, D. Todd Christofferson reflected on this, saying, 

"It is of great significance to me, that I may at any moment and in any circumstance approach through prayer the throne of grace, that my Heavenly Father will hear my petition, that my Advocate, him who did no sin, whose blood was shed, will plead my cause." (D. Todd Christfferson, "I Know in Whom I Have Trusted," April 1993 General Conference)

Much of Doctrine and Covenants 45 is about "wars and rumors of wars," the "the whole earth shall be in commotion, and men's hearts shall fail them," (Doctrine and Covenants 45:26) so it's a great reminder that yes, we will face troubling times, but, as Jesus reminded his twelve disciples shortly before his crucifixion: 

President Nelson recently reminded us, in the talk, "Embrace the Future with Faith:"

I also really loved Lisa L. Harkness talk, "Peace, Be Still," from the same conference. She said:

Sister Harkness drove this point home by reminding us that the disciples of the Lord were on the boat with him when it began to sink. These were extremely experienced fishermen, and for them to feel such fear, the situation was dire. Indeed, they were only human to have "waves of fear" distract them, but, Sister Harkness reminds us, "Regardless of our circumstances, we can intentionally make efforts to build and increase our faith in Jesus Christ."

Jeffrey R. Holland also puts the world we are dealing with in perspective for us:

I highly recommend watching this four-minute video from President Nelson in November 2011, called "Men's Haert Shall Fail Them." He talks about surviving an almost plane crash and why his heart did not fail him. 

Finally, I ran out of time in my lesson today because of the great discussion, so I did not get to encourage a discussion about what it means in Doctrine and Covenants 45:31-32 to "stand in holy places, and ... not be moved." I will cover this in a separate post later but for now leave you with this thought, that Zion is a holy place, and it's a place that we are all welcome to access, no matter where we live. 

In The Gathering of Scattered Israel, we learned: