The Comforter
By President Henry B. Eyring First Counselor in the First Presidency
I give my witness that the living Christ sends the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, to those we are pledged to help Him comfort.
LEARNER READINESS (we can help bless the lives of others)
SAY: As we discuss President Eyring's talk on The Comforter, be thinking of times in your life where you have had the Comforter bless you or those you served.
READ A
A - Many are praying to Heavenly Father for relief, for help in carrying their burdens of grief, loneliness, and fear. Heavenly Father hears those prayers and understands their needs. He and His Beloved Son, the resurrected Jesus Christ, have promised help.
A - Many are praying to Heavenly Father for relief, for help in carrying their burdens of grief, loneliness, and fear. Heavenly Father hears those prayers and understands their needs. He and His Beloved Son, the resurrected Jesus Christ, have promised help.
READ B
B - Jesus Christ gave this sweet promise:
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
“Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
“For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
B - Jesus Christ gave this sweet promise:
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
“Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
“For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
Q: Why is our yoke easy as a humble follower of Christ?
Q: How does one come unto Christ? What are some ways that this is done?
READ C
C - You are a covenant member of the Church of Jesus Christ. A great change began in your heart when you came into the Church. You made a covenant, and you received a promise that began changing your very nature.
C - You are a covenant member of the Church of Jesus Christ. A great change began in your heart when you came into the Church. You made a covenant, and you received a promise that began changing your very nature.
READ D Mosiah 18:8-9
D - Mosiah 18:8 And it came to pass that he said unto them: Behold, here are the waters of Mormon (for thus were they called) and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light;
9 Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life—
READ E
E - That is why you have a feeling to want to help a person struggling to move forward under a load of grief and difficulty. You promised that you would help the Lord make their burdens light and be comforted. You were given the power to help lighten those loads when you received the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Q: Do we have those feelings?
READ F
F - When He was about to be crucified, the Savior described the way He helps lighten loads and gives strength to carry them. He knew that His disciples would grieve. He knew that they would fear for their future. He knew they would feel uncertain of their capacity to move forward.
So He gave them the promise that He makes to us and to all His true disciples:
“And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
“Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”
F - When He was about to be crucified, the Savior described the way He helps lighten loads and gives strength to carry them. He knew that His disciples would grieve. He knew that they would fear for their future. He knew they would feel uncertain of their capacity to move forward.
So He gave them the promise that He makes to us and to all His true disciples:
“And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
“Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”
Q: What is the promise that Lord make with all His true disciples?
READ G
G - Then He promised:
“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
G - Then He promised:
“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
Q: What is this peace that Lord promises to give us?
LEARNER INVOLVEMENT
SAY: P.E. talks about how the Lord works with us to lighten the loads of the people. He says, You remember in the Book of Mormon when His people were nearly crushed by the burdens placed upon their backs by fierce taskmasters. The people pleaded for relief, as many of those we love and serve do. Here is the record, which I know is true:
READ H Mosiah 24:14-15
H - Mosiah 24 14-15 “And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions.
“And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord.”
H - Mosiah 24 14-15 “And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions.
“And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord.”
SAY: P.E. than says that he has seen that miracle time and time again. He says that we lighten the loads of others best by helping the Lord strengthen them.
Q: Why do some submit cheerfully and with patience to the tasks place upon them while others don't? [there burdens were made light by the Comforter]
Q: Why did the Lord send the Comforter to the people of Helam, strengthening them, making their burdens light? [they had already been exercising faith, having entered into a covenant with the Lord, and demonstrated their faith by departing into the wilderness. They established a righteous community. They successfully went through the trial of their faith, always trusting in the Lord.]
SAY: Now think of your experiences with the Comforter.
Q: What were you doing, or what was happening in your life that brought the Comforter?
Q: What things must be place in order to have the Comforter?
Q: What experiences have you had when comforting those need of comfort?
SAY: P.E. reinforces the Lord's desire to comfort and bless us during and after we pass through the trials of our faith. He uses Job as an example"
READ I
I - It was true for Job. Blessings came to him in this life. The story of Job ends with this miracle:
“So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning. …
“And in all the land were no women found so fair as the daughters of Job: and their father gave them inheritance among their brethren.
“After this lived Job an hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons’ sons, even four generations.
“So Job died, being old and full of days."
SAY: Brethren, faith always precedes the miracle.
“So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning. …
“And in all the land were no women found so fair as the daughters of Job: and their father gave them inheritance among their brethren.
“After this lived Job an hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons’ sons, even four generations.
“So Job died, being old and full of days."
SAY: Brethren, faith always precedes the miracle.
Q: What was Job's faith?
SAY: Let's read JOB 42:12 and what P.E. has to say.
READ J
J - “For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:
“And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.”7
It was that witness of the Spirit that gave him strength to endure. He would pass through mourning and the lack of comfort from people around him to see the joy that would come to the faithful after passing faithfully through their trials.
READ J
J - “For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:
“And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.”7
It was that witness of the Spirit that gave him strength to endure. He would pass through mourning and the lack of comfort from people around him to see the joy that would come to the faithful after passing faithfully through their trials.
It was the witness of the Spirit of the coming Atonement which saw Job through the tests life is intended to include for all of us. That is part of the great plan of happiness the Father gave us. He allowed His Son to provide, by His atoning sacrifice, the hope that comforts us no matter how hard the way home to Him may be.
The Father and the Son send the Holy Ghost to comfort and strengthen disciples of the Master in their journey.
Q: Brethren, what gives us our resilience while going through our trials, troubles and afflictions?
APPLICATION
Q: How can we apply this lesson in our lives?
Q: If we don't have the Holy Ghost what can we do to regain having the Spirit?
CONCLUSION
SAY: P.E. says this: I can know only partially how much He feels joy each time you, as His disciple, help Him bring a moment of peace and joy to a child of our Heavenly Father.
His love never fails, and we never will cease to feel in our hearts the urge “to mourn with those that mourn … and comfort those that stand in need of comfort.”11 Nor will the peace He promises ever leave us as we serve others for Him.
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