Lesson April 2012 - Russell Nelson, Covenants

April 2012 - Elder Russell Nelson, Covenants

Learner Readiness


You Read: One of the most important concepts of revealed religion is that of a sacred covenant. In legal language, a covenant generally denotes an agreement between two or more parties. But in a religious context, a covenant is much more significant. It is a sacred promise with God. He fixes the terms. Each person may choose to accept those terms. If one accepts the terms of the covenant and obeys God’s law, he or she receives the blessings associated with the covenant. We know that “when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.”⁴

Q: What is a covenant?
Q: What is the relationship between being a believer and covenants?
Q: Do signs follow the believer?
Q: How do we know that the level at which we are keeping our covenants is acceptable to God? (Introspective)

Q: What are some of the covenants that we make or that we are a part of?

1. Abrahamic Covenant
2. Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood
3. Baptism and Sacrament
4. Temple Covenants

Q: What is a significant sign that the Lord has commenced to gather covenant Israel once again?

[if you have a chalk board, write the out line on the board]

Covenants> Abrahamic Covenant - write Nelson's introspective question>>>Oath and Covenant - write Nelson's introspective queston >>>> the Sign - Book of Mormon >>>>

ABRAHAMIC COVENANT (maybe)

You Read: The covenant God made with Abraham¹³ and later reaffirmed with Isaac¹⁴ and Jacob¹⁵ is of transcendent significance. It contained several promises, including:

• • Jesus the Christ would be born through Abraham’s lineage.
• • Abraham’s posterity would be numerous, entitled to an eternal increase, and also entitled to bear the priesthood.
• • Abraham would become a father of many nations.
• • Certain lands would be inherited by his posterity.
• • All nations of the earth would be blessed by his seed.¹⁶
• • And that covenant would be everlasting—even through “a thousand generations.”¹⁷

Read 


A - Some of these promises have been fulfilled; others are still pending. I quote from an early Book of Mormon prophecy: “Our father [Lehi] hath not spoken of our seed alone, but also of all the house of Israel, pointing to the covenant which should be fulfilled in the latter days; which covenant the Lord made to our father Abraham.”¹⁸ Isn’t that amazing? Some 600 years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem, prophets knew that the Abrahamic covenant would be finally fulfilled only in the latter days.


Q: Why is this amazing? [because everything is happening as prophecied and we are in the middle of it]


[ask multiple people why they think it is amazaing]

Say: [Elder Nelson then says]:  To facilitate that promise, the Lord appeared in these latter days to renew that Abrahamic covenant. To the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Master declared:

“Abraham received promises concerning his seed, and of the fruit of his loins—from whose loins ye are, … my servant Joseph. …

“This promise is yours also, because ye are of Abraham.”

Q: How did the Lord renew the Abrahamic Covenant in the latter days? [ask multiple brethren the same question to make sure everyone is following along]

OATH and COVENANT of the PRIESTHOOD

READ

B - With this renewal, we have received, as did they of old, the holy priesthood and the everlasting gospel. We have the right to receive the fulness of the gospel, enjoy the blessings of the priesthood, and qualify for God’s greatest blessing—that of eternal life.

READ

C - Ours is the responsibility to help fulfill the Abrahamic covenant. Ours is the seed foreordained and prepared to bless all people of the world.²⁹ That is why priesthood duty includes missionary work. After some 4,000 years of anticipation and preparation, this is the appointed day when the gospel is to be taken to the kindreds of the earth. This is the time of the promised gathering of Israel. And we get to participate! Isn’t that exciting? The Lord is counting on us and our sons—and He is profoundly grateful for our daughters—who worthily serve as missionaries in this great time of the gathering of Israel.

Q: Why is it exciting that we get to participate in the promised gathering of Israel? [again, ask multiple men when this should be exciting]  Or, perhaps it's not exciting, why isn't it exciting (we have fallen asleep?)

Learner Involvement

***** The Book of Mormon - A Tangible Sign

Say, I believe Elder Nelson is trying to get latter day Israel excited about our involvement in the latter day work!
Q: What is a tangible sign that the Lord has commenced to gather covenant Israel?

READ:

D - The Book of Mormon is a tangible sign that the Lord has commenced to gather His children of covenant Israel.³⁰ This book, written for our day, states as one of its purposes that “ye may know that the covenant which the Father hath made with the children of Israel … is already beginning to be fulfilled. … For behold, the Lord will remember his covenant which he hath made unto his people of the house of Israel.”³¹

Say: Elder Nelson goes on to say:

- That the Book of Mormon helps us to make covenants with God.  It convinces us the Jesus is the Christ.
- That we have claim on the blessings by making covenants.
- That we keep the covenant by obedience to God's commandments

READ :

E - At baptism we covenant to serve the Lord and keep His commandments.³⁴ When we partake of the sacrament, we renew that covenant and declare our willingness to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ. Thereby we are adopted as His sons and daughters and are known as brothers and sisters. He is the father of our new life.³⁵ Ultimately, in the holy temple, we may become joint heirs to the blessings of an eternal family, as once promised to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their posterity.³⁶ Thus, celestial marriage is the covenant of exaltation.

Q: What does, "He is the father of our new life" mean?
Q: Who is the 'Father' spoken of by Elder Nelson?
Q: What is the essence of having a new life in Christ?

Q: Are we all in this new life in Christ?  (introspective).  
Say:  I think Elder Nelson is saying once we have cleanse ourselves sufficiently and have caught the vision that we are children of the covenant, we start feeling God's power in our lives.

READ:

F - When we realize that we are children of the covenant, we know who we are and what God expects of us.³⁷ His law is written in our hearts.³⁸ He is our God and we are His people.³⁹Committed children of the covenant remain steadfast, even in the midst of adversity. When that doctrine is deeply implanted in our hearts, even the sting of death is soothed and our spiritual stamina is strengthened.

SAY: Elder Nelson said that when the covenant doctrine is deeply planted in our hearts....
Q: How do we get this doctrine deeply implanted in our hearts?

Learner Application


Q: How much should this idea or fact that we are the covenant people of the Lord in the last days, be a driving factor in our lives?


Q: How different from the world ought we be?


Q: How was Abraham different from Lot?  If we were to be more like Abraham than Lot, what would we change?

READ:

G - The greatest compliment that can be earned here in this life is to be known as a covenant keeper. The rewards for a covenant keeper will be realized both here and hereafter. Scripture declares that “ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, … and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven … [and] dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness.”⁴⁰

Q:  Who can tell me from their own experience some aspects of this blessed and happy state, being blessed in all things?  (is this the state that we are in or is there something more?)
Q:  What is the relationship between being in a blessed and happy state and covenant keeping?

God lives. Jesus is the Christ. His Church has been restored to bless all people. President Thomas S. Monson is His prophet today. And we, as faithful children of the covenant, will be blessed now and forever. I so testify in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

1. 
   

Meditation Exercise

Before you read the meditation, remember, that it will take three or four tries before you start feeling a good feeling.  It may seem corny at first and you may want to change some of the words.  But, the idea is get to a place where love fills your being and all stresses depart.  Once you get to this place, you pray for different things.

Here's the meditation:

1. Close our eyes and breathe deeply 3 or 4 times, while saying the following to yourself: I am the full expression of God's love, Just as God is love, so am I.  I am love.

2. Hold in your mind the image of someone you love.  Then imagine yourself putting your arms around that person in a loving embrace while simultaneously saying "I love you" in your mind.  Hold on to this feeling of love, allowing it to spread throughout your entire being.  [don't move too fast, take a minute or two just relaxing letting the feeling spread]

3. While holding  on to this feeling of love, silently say to yourself, "I feel love."  After a few moments mentally say, "I feel God."  Then finally, in your mind say, "Thank you," allowing the feeling of gratitude and appreciation to wash over you.

4. Remain in this state of being for a few minutes, imagining the love in you radiating outward in an egg-shaped sphere of vibratory energy that flows out unto all people encompassing the world and the universe. [sounds a little strange for us Mormons.  Change to oneness with God or something else if you like.]

This exercise is disarmingly simple.  If you want to have the love of God in your heart (the fruit of the tree of life in Lehi's dream), then practice placing yourself in state of feeling love.  Repeat the mediation exercise one time or multiple times.  After a few times doing it, it becomes easier and easier to put yourself in a loving, warm, happy state. Fear can't exist and faith and trust begin to grow.  

April 2012 General Conference - Final Session

L. Tom Perry

Book of Mormon has a theme of deliverance.

Mosiah 20 - Bondage of King Limhi.  Three times defeated.
v.15 slow to hear their cries.  Lamanite eased burdens, but the Lord did not see fit to deliver them out of bondage.  Lord was slow because of their iniquities.
Mosiah 24 - Alma and his people in the land of Helam.  v. 13 - voice of the Lord, lift up your hearts and be of good comfort.  I will deliver you out of bondage.

What is the difference.  People of Alma were peaceful and more righteous.  appropriate and fair to be delivered quickly.

We are promised deliverance.  His atonement and resurrection.  Escape from physical and spiritual death.

**** Read the Book of Mormon every day.

Secularism is overpowering religious people now today.

We need the BOM.  Both are necessary for the complete doctrine of Christ.  Both are neccsssary.  When used together the Bible and the BOM confound false doctrine.

Harmonious - Deliverance of Abraham from the Childeans.  Also, Lot, his nephew chose the plains of Jordan.  Most of the problems of his life came from positioned his tent toward Sodom.  Abraham dwelt in the plains of Mamran and built an alter.  He thinks Abraham's tent faced the Altar.  King Benjamin had everyone face their tent to the temple.

Elder Ballard

Liahona similar to a GPS.  Curious workmanship.  GPS is a blessing.  I can be right and say I don't need to ask anyone.

We have a tool more remarkable than a GPS.  It is through the pompting of the Holy Ghost.  And through the Atonement.  We and our society has lost its way.  Focus on the family.

**** Visit with Karen how to convert our home to a more divine institution.  It is our home and families that need reforming.  Growing disregard of marriage.  More than half of birth of women under 30 have children outside of marriage.

**** Ever growing gap between the rich and the poor.  Poor less likely to go to church.

Good is bad and bad is good.  Families that aren't broken up have children of hight economic status.


Elder 70

We must have a vision or we will perish.  Christ helps you catch a vision of yourself.  We act on  Christ's teachings.  Jesus made the 12 fishers of men instead of just fisherman.

Put into action the teachings of our leaders.  Catch a vision of these teachings.  Exercise your faith to take action.  Act on your inspiration.

*****Fasting and prayer -  This is an action.  We experience hard things in our life.  We get too busy.
*****Relook at responsibilities and time wasters.
You will bring a different order to your life as we gain a vision.  Our lives will be blessed in unexpected ways.

***** Believe that the Lord can bless you with vision in your life.  My yoke is easy and my burden is light.  Let us see ourselves as the Savior see us.

***** go to the temple in the morning once a week.  Fast and pray once a week.

Larry Wilson

Rights of the Priesthood (wife driving story)
We lose that power when we exercise compulsion on others.  We lose our right to the Lord's Spirit.  We think that controlling is good for people but its not.  We can't force others to do the right thing.  It builds mistrust.  Learning opportunities are lost.  Easy trap to fall into.  Withholding approval  or love is the way some do it.

Children need to make choices.  Sabbath day story.  Not let her team down.  Parents decide that their daughter was ready to make her own decision.  She carried out her choice.  She said that felt awful.

Help children establish their own connection to heaven.  They that are wise and have taken the Holy Spirit as their guide...

We must act only by persuasion.  Let them feel our confidence.

David Evans

Children - 2 Nephi 25:26

Children trust because they see the good modeling of the parents.
Our brethren need to feel the love.  People returning are the same as long time members.

It doesn't matter how matter when someone comes back.  The grace is the same for all.

***** Contact Bill Lebaron

Piper

Seek an answer to a sincere question.  All were change from the encounters with the divine.  Our experiences with the divine might not be as direct.  Still small voice guides and directs, lights our mind.  We feel it.  So natural and subtle.  individualized messages.

**** Daily reflecting and recording promptings. DC 59:21Llink When we record our promptings we are saying that this is important.

Give priority to the sacred.

**** spend more time each time to meditate and pray and read scriptures.

The world wants us to abandon beliefs.

Did I not speak peace in your heart concerning the matter.
**** Remember that you have received peace regarding your job issue.  Don't murmur anymore.  Don't tell people that you have problems.

Hold sacred what you have received.


Elder Neil Anderson

What thinks Christ of me?
These are days of destiny.  Badge of honor.
The Lord blesses us with customized direction - as we listen to and think about the General Conference.  Discipleship is not a competition.  It is life long migration to a more celestial life.

***** Take up your cross daily and follow me.  I will give you rest.  You are heavy laden.
***** Hershel Pederson's comment that I haven't figured out how to fast and pray because my weight was still high.

***** Contact Sid King in Logan

Haiti - family apt destroyed.  They believed.  three children in apt.  just one child alive.They were all discovered alive under the building.

be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.

as you trust him, you will feel his approval.  By his grace he will do for you what you cannot do for yourself.

What thinks Christ of me?  He lives.

Thomas S. Monson

Pray always.  I will pour out my spirit upon you....

**** Spend Dr Who time with Steve.  Stay close to him
**** Golf pass

Become even better than  you were.  He invoked a blessing upon all of us.