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:

Teach Me to Walk

 This is such a beautiful video. 

"Teach Me to Walk in the Light," by Tadpole River
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImmRvNnF2ng

Doctrine and Covenants 41-44 - Assemble Yourselves Together

Sometimes when I teach adult Sunday School, we have a great conversation with a lot of participation. Sometimes, and I'm grateful to say this is more rare, very few people participate. I can talk for the entire length of the lesson, and I believe, people will walk away edified. Yet, if the collective group brings to the room their spirit, their thoughts, what inspired as they met and studied at home, we can all walk away that much more edified. 

Visually, I think of it as a rainbow. I can bring blue. And to most, the blue will be vibrant and beautiful, and fun to look at, so some will enjoy looking at that color of the rainbow. However, maybe someone's entire house is blue. So when they come, and stare at more blue, they don't really get much out of it. Now imagine someone brings with them the red. And someone else brings the orange. And someone else brings yellow, etc. Now everyone benefits, no matter what color is dominant in their home. 

Why do I share this analogy? By the time we reach Doctrine and Covenants 41, the church has many new members, and the Lord has given the guidance that they need to move to Ohio. There is now a great gathering of new members in Ohio that are trying to live the way Christ would have them live. However, at the heart of all this, is a group of religious God-loving people who came from a number of other religions, trying to find God, and trying to figure out their interpretations of the Bible and how best to follow His example. 

In Doctrine and Covenants 41:1-6, the Lord provides guidance around this. He says, 

"Hearken, O ye elders of my church whom I have called, behold I give unto you a commandment, that ye shall assemble yourselves together to agree upon my word; And by the prayer of your faith ye shall receive my law, that ye may know how to govern my church and have all things right before me. And I will be your ruler when I come; and behold, I come quickly." (Doctrine and Covenants 41:2-4).

One of the principles here is assembly.

Why do we assemble, and how does that help us? 

We are reminded in Matthew 18:20, "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."

We learned from last week's study that gathering today looks different than gathering back then. We can gather in our different countries, and in our homes. For families separated by distance and for other reasons, we can gather via Internet chat rooms or by telephone. The point is though, that we can bring our collective thoughts and inspirations and edify one another.

In General Conference, Jan E. Newman said, "I invite leaders and teachers in every organization of the Church to counsel together with parents and youth in order to dramatically improve teaching at every level—in stakes, in wards, and in homes. This will be achieved by teaching the doctrine and inviting Spirit-filled discussion about the truths the Holy Ghost has taught us in the quiet moments of our personal study." "Teaching in the Savior's Way," Jan E. Newman, April 2021 General Conference

There is a lot to "unpack" in that statement but one of the things I love is that we can dramatical improve teaching at every level. We do this as we teach and share what we learned in our own personal study. How powerful are those words! 

What it means to "be one" (Doctrine and Covenants 37-40)

In December 1830, the Lord asked the members of the church to move to Ohio. This was a big deal. They would be leaving behind their farms and all they had done to build up their livelihoods. It took a great act of faith to do this, and many suffered from significant financial loss for their great show of faith. Yet, they did it because they trusted the Lord and his greater knowledge. 

And, in fact, learn in "Gathered In Saints: The Story of The Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days, Volume 1, The Standard of Truth, 1815-1846," that “I hold forth and deign to give unto you greater riches, even a land of promise,” the Lord declared, “and I will give it unto you for the land of your inheritance, if you seek it with all your hearts.” 

The Lord was gathering his saints to protect them from the wicked, and as he did so, he asked them to "be one."

In Doctrine and Covenants 38:26, the Savior asks, "For what man among you having twelve sons, and is no respecter of them, and they serve him obediently, and he saith unto the one: Be thou clothed in robes and sit thou here; and to the other: Be though clothed in rags and sit thou there - and looketh upon his sons and saith I am just?" 

Or, in other words, what kind of father treats one son like a king and another so poorly, and can call himself a fair man?

He then says, in verse 27, "Behold, this I have given unto you as a parable, and it is even as I am. I say unto you, be one, and if ye are not one ye are not mine." 

We are all children of a loving Heavenly Father. That means we are all brothers are sisters. We are HIS. So if we are one, we are treating each other as if we are not HIS, and therefore, acting as though Jesus Christ is not our brother. 

I love the way that William K. Jackson says it, in his October 2020 talk, "The Culture of Christ:"

This culture is grounded in the testimony that our Heavenly Father exists, that He is real and loves each one of us individually. We are His “work and [His] glory.”¹ This culture espouses the concept of equal worth. There is no recognition of caste or class. We are, after all, brothers and sisters, spirit children of our heavenly parents—literally. There is no prejudice or “us versus them” mentality in the greatest of all cultures. We are all “us.” We are all “them.” We believe that we are responsible and accountable for ourselves, one another, the Church, and our world. Responsibility and accountability are important factors in our growth.

Charity, true Christlike caring, is the bedrock of this culture. We feel real concern for the needs of our fellowman, temporal and spiritual, and act on those feelings. This dispels prejudice and hatred.

President Russell N. Nelson said it very profoundly way back in 1978, in a talk called, "Building Bridges" that was re-shared in 2018 at the "Be One" celebration as shared here.

Ultimately, we realize that only the comprehension of the true Fatherhood of God can bring full appreciation of the true brotherhood of men and the true sisterhood of women. That understanding inspires us with passionate desire to build bridges of cooperation instead of walls of segregation.

It is my prayer and blessing that I leave upon all who are listening that we may overcome any burdens of prejudice and walk uprightly with God — and with one another — in perfect peace and harmony. In the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.

How do we live "in perfect peace and harmony?" In his talk, "All Nations, Kindreds, Tongues," from October 2020 General Conference, Gerrit W. Gong explains:

In the household of faith there are to be no strangers, no foreigners,⁷ no rich and poor,⁸ no outside “others.” As “fellowcitizens with the saints,”⁹ we are invited to change the world for the better, from the inside out, one person, one family, one neighborhood at a time.

We can do this as we support each other, learn about each other, show compassion and mercy for each other. In "By Union of Feeling We Obtain Power with God," Sharon Eubank says, 

Jacob 2:17 reads, “Think of your [brothers and sisters] like unto yourselves, and be familiar with all and free with your substance, that they may be rich like unto you.” Let’s replace the word substance with mercy—be free with your mercy that they may be rich like unto you.

We often think of substance in terms of food or money, but perhaps what we all need more of in our ministering is mercy.

And finally, in April 2021 General Conference, in the talk, "Hearts Knit Together," Gary E. Stevenson says, "

We have a primary responsibility to set a tone and be role models of kindness, inclusion, and civility—to teach Christlike behavior to the rising generation in what we say and how we act. It is especially important as we observe a marked societal shift toward division in politics, social class, and nearly every other man-made distinction.

... The Lord expects us to teach that inclusion is a positive means toward unity and that exclusion leads to division.

... As we look through a gospel lens, we recognize that we too are under the watchcare of a compassionate caregiver, who extends Himself in kindness and a nurturing spirit. 

The Good Shepherd knows each one of us by name and has a personal interest in us.¹⁹ The Lord Jesus Christ Himself said: “I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep. … And I [will] lay down my life for the sheep.”²⁰