Protect the Children, Oaks, June 2013 Teachings for Our Times

Protect the Children

By Elder Dallin H. Oaks

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Objective: To find ways that fathers and grandfathers can help in the protecting of children.

Intoduction:

Q: What comes to your mind when I say protect the children.  Give me one word only.  [write on board] (hot dogs?, cold cereal?)

Q: Can a child grow up disadvantaged if he or she has fallen victim to these evils?

Be thinking about way in which you, individually can do to help in the quest to protect the children.  Ask for the Holy Ghost to prompt you with ideas.

SAY, In his talk, Elder Oakes gives many examples of how children are victimized.  They include, abortion, serving a child soldiers, adult crimes, diminishing birth rates, inadequate nutrition during pregnancy, drug use during pregnancy, treatable diseases, inadequate nutrition, parents dying from aids leaving children to fend for themselves, inferior healthcare, inadequate education, parental neglect, pyschological abuse, physical abuse, divorce, being in the middle of a divorce, single parenthood, children out of wedlock and same gender adoptions.

LEARNER READINESS

Read Quotation A - Elder Oakes

A - None should resist the plea that we unite to increase our concern for the welfare and future of our children—the rising generation.

Q: How can we unite to increase our concern for welfare and future of our children? (rhetorical, just think about, it something comes to you as we move through the lesson, raise your hand.)

Read Quotation B - Elder Oakes

B - Children are highly vulnerable. They have little or no power to protect or provide for themselves and little influence on so much that is vital to their well-being. Children need others to speak for them, and they need decision makers who put their well-being ahead of selfish adult interests.

Q: What could it mean to put the child's well=being ahead of selfish adult interests?

Read Quotation C - Elder Oakes

C - We remember our Savior’s teaching as He placed a little child before His followers and declared:

“And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.

“But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matthew 18:5–6).

Q: Why is it such a serious matter to offend a little child?

Read Quotation D - Elder Oakes

D - We are speaking of the children of God, and with His powerful help, we can do more to help them. In this plea I address not only Latter-day Saints but also all persons of religious faith and others who have a value system that causes them to subordinate their own needs to those of others, especially to the welfare of children.

Q: What does it mean to subordinate our own needs to those of others?  What are some examples?

Story - broke my leg....

Read Quotation E - Elder Oakes

E - When we consider the dangers from which children should be protected, we should also include psychological abuse. Parents or other caregivers or teachers or peers who demean, bully, or humiliate children or youth can inflict harm more permanent than physical injury. Making a child or youth feel worthless, unloved, or unwanted can inflict serious and long-lasting injury on his or her emotional well-being and development. Young people struggling with any exceptional condition, including same-gender attraction, are particularly vulnerable and need loving understanding—not bullying or ostracism.

SAY, are their any comments?

LEARNER INVOLVEMENT

Q: What are the various forms child abuse (write on board)

- emotional

- sexual

- verbal

- neglect

- physical

- spiritual

Read Quotation F - Elder Oakes

F - With the help of the Lord, we can repent and change and be more loving and helpful to children—our own and those around us.

Q: What are some of the reasons why we sometimes act the way we do? (write on board)

- modeling from our own parents 

- cultural traditions that we still cling to

- unbelief that Christ's way will really work

- we like our wicked ways

READ D&C 121 :39-44 (G)

G - D&C 121:39 We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion.

Q: How might this apply to children?

Q: Why do we sometimes have a tendency to force children to do what we want them to?  [because they are disobedient and don't want to do it]

Q: Is it all right to get angry or impatient sometimes?

READ

41 No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned;

Q: What is persuasion?  Q:What is the opposite of persuasion?

Q: What would be an example of long-suffering?

READ

42 By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile—

43 Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy;

44 That he may know that thy faithfulness is stronger than the cords of death.

Q: When is reproving a child with sharpness, okay?

Q: How do we know if we have the Holy Ghost when we are about to reprove?

LEARNER APPLICATION

Q: How can we as fathers and grandfathers do to help in the cause of protecting children?
- Any child who appears to need a friend.
  Q: Who might this child be? [grandchild, a neighbor, someone in the ward].

Q: When we see something amiss, how do we correct it?

Q: What if we still use force and coercion as a tool to get what we want - how can we fix this?

CONCLUSION

Blessings of learning to be righteous:

45 Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven.

46 The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever.

I pray that we will humble ourselves as little children and reach out to protect our little children, for they are the future for us, for our Church, and for our nations. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Tolle Verse in the Book of Momon!

30 But this much I can tell you, that if ye do not watch yourselves, and your thoughts, and your words, and your deeds, and observe the commandments of God, and continue in the faith of what ye have heard concerning the coming of our Lord, even unto the end of your lives, ye must perish. And now, O man, remember, and perish not.

There it is!  The true self watching all the garbage your ego wants to think and do!

Love,

Scott

January 2014 Teach for Our Times Lesson

We Never Walk Alone BY PRESIDENT THOMAS S. MONSON

You will one day stand aside and look at your difficult times, and you will realize that He was always there beside you.

LEARNER READINESS

Say: The Stake Presidency's topic for the month of January is Pray and other basic gospel principles.

I was given three talks to study:

a. We Never Walk Alone by President Thomas S. Monson

b. The Doctrines and Principles Contained in the Articles of Faith by Elder L. Tom Perry

c. Power in the Priesthood by Elder Neil L. Anderson

But, I ended up using only President Monson's talk.

READ A

A - We were not placed on this earth to walk alone. What an amazing source of power, of strength, and of comfort is available to each of us. He who knows us better than we know ourselves, He who sees the larger picture and who knows the end from the beginning, has assured us that He will be there for us to provide help if we but ask. We have the promise: “Pray always, and be believing, and all things shall work together for your good.”4

Say: Be thinking about how prayer has blessed your life.

Say: To prepare our minds, let's listen to some of the words of President Monson.

READ B

B - Wherever we are in life, there are times when all of us have challenges and struggles. Although they are different for each, they are common to all.

[challenges common to all]

READ C

C - Many of the challenges we face exist because we live in this mortal world, populated by all manner of individuals. At times we ask in desperation, “How can I keep my sights firmly fixed on the celestial as I navigate through this telestial world?”

[How can we keep our sights on the Celestial?]

READ D

D - There will be times when you will walk a path strewn with thorns and marked by struggle. There may be times when you feel detached—even isolated—from the Giver of every good gift. You worry that you walk alone. Fear replaces faith.

[Do we ever feel detached from God?]

Say: President Monson provides us with a few suggestions to help us as we travel this wilderness of mortal life.

READ E

E - When you find yourself in such circumstances, I plead with you to remember prayer. I love the words of President Ezra Taft Benson concerning prayer. Said he:

“All through my life the counsel to depend on prayer has been prized above almost any other advice I have … received. It has become an integral part of me—an anchor, a constant source of strength, and the basis of my knowledge of things divine. …

“… Though reverses come, in prayer we can find reassurance, for God will speak peace to the soul. That peace, that spirit of serenity, is life’s greatest blessing.”2

LEARNER INVOLVEMENT

Q: Why can prayer bring peace the soul?
1. We leave things in God's hands
2. We receive peace from God

Q: When we ask for something that is out of our control, are we in effect leaving the matter in the hands of God? Are we to fret about the matter after we leave it in the hands of the Lord?

Q: What is the medium used by the Lord, to deliver peace to our souls?

SAY:  President Monson goes on to say that by coupling prayer with scripture study “we will experience the sweet whisperings of the Spirit to our souls.”

SAY: For the remainder of the time I would like to read a few quotes about trouble and peace from a talk on the Holy Ghost that President Eyring gave a few years ago at BYU - Idaho?

SAY:  I have asked Del Gardner to read to us a portion of President Eyrings’ talk.

READ (Del Gardner)

If you examine your own experience carefully and honestly, you will see that you tend to seek the Holy Ghost most fervently when you are humbled by difficult circumstances or life-changing decisions.

Remember the time you faced the prospect of teaching the gospel as a missionary perhaps in a new language where you couldn’t understand what people were saying and you couldn’t put a sentence together. Or, remember a time you had to make choices that might lead you toward, or away from, marrying someone. Those moments probably brought a great desire for the faith and the capacity to get the help of the Holy Ghost.

But if we have to be in trouble to want the Holy Ghost as a constant companion, then to have that steady desire we will have to be in steady trouble. There has to be a better way.
Happily, there is. Now you will have to find your own. I’ll tell you mine. There is one for me that works: I choose to remind myself about my experience with what prophets have said about the peace and happiness that comes with the visitation of the Holy Ghost. It has been true in my life. Wilford Woodruff described it this way:

You may surround any man or woman with all the wealth and glory that the imagination of man can grasp, and are they satisfied? No. There is still an aching void. On the other hand, show me a beggar upon the streets, who has the Holy Ghost, whose mind is filled with that Spirit and power, and I will show you a person who has peace of mind, who possesses true riches, and those enjoyments that no man can obtain from any other source (Journal of Discourses, Vo. 2, p. 199, Wilford Woodruff, February 25, 1855).

That has been true for me. One of the ways I know that I’m feeling the influence of the Holy Ghost is that I feel a light and I am happy. When the Holy Ghost seems far from me, I feel a darkness and I am not happy. I have felt that ebb and flow of light and happiness in my life and so have you.

I like to feel of that light and I like to be happy. I don’t have to wait for troubles and tests to make me want the help of the Holy Ghost. I can choose to remember what that companionship has been like, and whenever I do, I want that blessing again with my whole heart.

SAY: Thank you Del

LEARNER APPLICATION

Q: How does President Eyring know he has the companionship of the Holy Ghost?

Q: How does the companionship of the Holy Ghost help us as we travel on our journey in mortality?  With our challenges and our trouble?

Q: How do we get this companionship of the Holy Ghost?

[We plead for it, our deep repentance, we study the scriptures, and we continue to set higher and higher standards.

TELL:  President Webb thoughts: Why would God send to you a member of the Godhead to be your companion without effort on your part? When we plateau off or get complacent, we start feeling distant from God. The answer is constant and increase effort on our part.

SAY: President Eyring says this:

READ F

F - As the challenges around us increase, we must commit to do more to qualify for the companionship of the Holy Ghost. Casual prayer won’t be enough. Reading a few verses of the scripture won’t be enough. Doing the minimum of what the Lord asks of us won’t be enough. Hoping that we will have the Atonement work in our lives and that we will perhaps sometimes feel the influence of the Holy Ghost won’t be enough. And one great burst of effort won’t be enough. Only a steady, ever-increasing effort will allow the Lord to take us to higher ground.

Q: What does it mean to have ever- increasing effort?
Q: How do we know what our new efforts should be?

READ G

G - When we want the Holy Ghost and the peace of mind and enjoyment that comes with it, we know what to do. We plead with God for it in faith. It takes the prayer of faith to bring the companionship of the Holy Ghost. That faith has to be that God the Father, the Creator of all things, lives and wants us to have the Holy Ghost and wants to send us the Comforter. It takes faith that Jesus is the Christ and that He atoned for our sins and broke the bands of death. With that faith we approach our Father in reverence and with confidence that He will answer. With that faith we close our prayer in the name of Jesus Christ as His true disciples, confident that our deep repentance, our baptism by His servants, and our faithful service in His cause have purified us and made us clean and worthy of the blessing we seek, the companionship of the Holy Ghost.

CONCLUSION

President Benson “… Though reverses come, in prayer we can find reassurance, for God will speak peace to the soul. That peace, that spirit of serenity, is life’s greatest blessing.

Temple Session

The temple session was wonderful.  A brand new movie.  The effects were inspiring.  I felt a desire to keep each covenant more fully.  I truly felt like I was Adam.  I wanted to strong and stalwart like Adam was.  I cried many times.  I wanted to love God more.  What an experience.

I can now compare doctrines being put forth by people that seem good intentioned but don't seem to be defending the Kingdom of God, seem to be critical of Lord's Annointed and are not equating to Kingdom of God to the Church.

The Church seems to be trying get everyone to a certain level.  It is up to each Latter Day Saint to study how to get the next level.  It doesn't have to be taught.  The Saint most want it.  You can't demand consecration (or any other covenant for that matter).  The desire toward our God and our fellowman must come from within.  But, I think it can be taught more.  I think we can teach the need to be equal and abasing the rich and exalting the poor - in the current supply - demand system.  That is what the Book of  Mormon teaches. We don't have be in our own city (at least at first).

Duty - My Perspective

My response to the paragraph below:

I have read about this in my Team of Rivals book.  Stanton had to make the hard decisions.  Lincoln was more correct, that obvious, yet unintentional mistakes, should be pardoned.  Duty is a dangerous word in my humble opinion.  Stanton fell behind ‘duty’ as his alibi.  I read stuff on the internet and listen to Br. Roper.  There’s a lot of ‘duty’ related discourses.  Duty, I guess can be done out of love or at of failure to see the big picture.  Did Christ do his duty?  This sounds wrong to me.  Did the Jewish church leaders do their duty to eradicate the Christ for undermining their organization, determining that He had no authority?   Yes.  Duty alone has no Spirit.  Duty  alone is a closed, little box.  Duty is a very neutral word.  Duty to what?  To God, to the Fuhrer?  If, to God, then what kind of God?  Our Duty to our God requires each us to make hard decision as well.  Do we do our Duty to do the right thing as determined by Christ’s teaching at all times, regardless of the social, religious or political ramifications or do we capitulate?  Duty is governed by where your allegiance is.

I would agree that a person following the Savior, can ask the Savior to help him do his duty.  Some people (perhaps most of us) have distorted views of what the Savior would do in certain situations.  I just hope that our primary allegiance is doing what Jesus would do. If it is otherwise, all sorts of nasty things can be done.  Better to labor all our days to remove false traditions and notions.  False traditions distort our reactions and actions.

DUTY

Edwin Stanton was the Secretary of War during the Civil War.  He had been a brilliant attorney prior to his public service, and was known as a gruff but efficient administrator.  That Lincoln selected him for his cabinet position is a testament to Lincoln’s willingness to do what he thoughts was right for the country, under any terms.  Lincoln knew Stanton from one of the highest-profile legal cases of the 19^th century.  Stanton and a colleague had been hired to defend a patent infringement suit brought by Cyrus McCormick’s company for infringement of his famous “Reaper” machine.  Because the case was tried in a jurisdiction familiar to Lincoln, he was asked to participate on the defense team to give it a local presence.  However, when Stanton and Lincoln met for the first time, just before the trial began, Stanton asked his legal partner why that “ape” was there, indicating that Lincoln was not needed and would not be participating in the proceedings.  Though he could have been offended and returned home, Lincoln stayed to hear the brilliant Stanton argue the case.  Stanton must have been shocked when Lincoln selected him to be the War Secretary.

Despite their rocky beginning, the two men became close friends during the ordeal of the war.  Because the only telegraph was in the War Department, Lincoln spent many anxious hours with Stanton as the two men awaited news from the battlefield.  One area of tension between the two men, however, revolved around the issue of granting pardons.  As is true in all wars, the North had its share of soldiers who deserted, fell asleep on guard duty, or committed other crimes.  Many of these offenses were capital crimes that demanded the death penalty.  Lincoln tended toward mercy in these situations, especially when he received a petition for clemency from a pleading family member.  Stanton, on the other hand, had received many requests from his generals in the field to uphold the harsh rules of war, for fear that leniency would undermine army discipline.

On one occasion, Stanton’s aide observed the mother, wife, and children of a convicted deserter on their knees begging for the life of their loved one.  Coldly, Stanton told the little family that the decree could not be changed and that the man must die.  With that, Stanton turned and exited into his private office.  The family left, heartsick.  A few minutes later, when the aide cracked the office door, he observed Stanton bent over his desk, sobbing into his arms, his great frame heaving, as he repeated over and over again the phrase, “God help me to do my duty!”

Because of his abrasive nature, Stanton was occasionally criticized by those who petitioned for his removal from office.  In response, Lincoln once said, “He is the rock on the beach of our national ocean against which the breakers dash and roar, dash and roar without ceasing. He fights back the angry waters and prevents them from undermining and overwhelming the land. Gentlemen, I do not see how he survives, why he is not crushed and torn to pieces. Without him I should be destroyed.”

Hopefully, we will never face the terrible responsibility of duty that Stanton did.  Our burdens will surely be lighter.  If, however, that call of duty ever comes, I hope we can say, “God help me to do my duty!”

Obedience Brings Blessings - Dec 2013, Teachings for Our Times

Obedience Brings Blessings


BY PRESIDENT THOMAS S. MONSON

Introduction

A knowledge of truth and the answers to our greatest questions come to us as we are obedient to the commandments of God.

LEARNER READINESS

READ A

A - Throughout the ages, men and women have sought for knowledge and understanding concerning this mortal existence and their place and purpose in it, as well as for the way to peace and happiness. Such a search is undertaken by each of us.

READ B

B - This knowledge and understanding are available to all mankind. They are contained in truths which are eternal. In Doctrine and Covenants section 1, verse 39, we read, “Behold, and lo, the Lord is God, and the Spirit beareth record, and the record is true, and the truth abideth forever and ever.”

READ C

C - Some would ask, “Where is such truth to be found, and how are we to recognize it?” In a revelation given through the Prophet Joseph Smith at Kirtland, Ohio, in May of 1833, the Lord declared:

“Truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come. …

“The Spirit of truth is of God. …

“And no man receiveth a fulness unless he keepeth his commandments.

“He that keepeth [God’s] commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things.”

What a glorious promise! “He that keepeth [God’s] commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things.”

LEARNER INVOLVEMENT

Q: Why is keeping the commandments so important? [we will know all things]
Q: Will other people understand what you have learned through obedience?
Q: What does the natural man think about what we have learned through obedience?


READ D - Alma 12:10-11

READING 'D'

Alma 12:10-11

10 And therefore, he that will harden his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word; and he that will notharden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full.

11 And they that will harden their hearts, to them is given the lesser portion of the word until they know nothing concerning his mysteries; and then they are taken captive by the devil, and led by his will down to destruction. Now this is what is meant by the chains of hell.

Q: What does it mean "Now this is what is meant by the chains of hell"?  [they have lost their ability to see truth]

READ E  - D&C 93:1

READING  'E'

D&C 93 1 Verily, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am;

Q: Is there path that is taught to us in the scriptures?  What are the elements of the path back to to God?

READ 'F'

F - There is no need for you or for me, in this enlightened age when the fulness of the gospel has been restored, to sail uncharted seas or to travel unmarked roads in search of truth. A loving Heavenly Father has plotted our course and provided an unfailing guide—even obedience. A knowledge of truth and the answers to our greatest questions come to us as we are obedient to the commandments of God.

SAY : Many of us, however, learn through experience the wisdom of being obedient.

[Tell the Story of when P. Monson was a boy burning the weeds]

Danny and I learned several difficult but important lessons that day—not the least of which was the importance of obedience.

Q: Can you give me any examples of following incorrect principles leading to poor results?

LEARNER APPLICATION 

Q: Who is our greatest example of obedience?

READ G

Quotation from President Monson

G - The Savior demonstrated genuine love of God by living the perfect life, by honoring the sacred mission that was His. Never was He haughty. Never was He puffed up with pride. Never was He disloyal. Ever was He humble. Ever was He sincere. Ever was He obedient.

SAY: Many verses of scriptures indicate a step by step pattern to return to the presence of God.  We have quoted a few today.
Q: What is the first rung of the ladder?

READ H - 3 Nephi 9:20-23

READING 'H' 3 Nephi 9:20-23

20 And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost, ...
21 Behold, I have come unto the world to bring redemption unto the world, to save the world from sin.
22 Therefore, whoso repenteth and cometh unto me as a little child, him will I receive, for of such is the kingdom of God...

Q: If we are were to keep the commandments without first sacrificing a broken heart and contrite spirit, becoming meek and humble as a little child, what happens? [we think we are better than others for keeping the commandments that we do keep, we judge others that aren't doing as well as we are, we become self rightieous]

SAY: The Lord then declares his doctrine in 3 Nephi 11.  He then declares his commandments in chapters 12 through 15.  After declaring his commandment, the Lord says in chapter 15 verse 10.

Behold, I have given unto you the commandments; therefore keep my commandments. And this is the law and the prophets, for they truly testified of me.

Read Gal 5:14

14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Q: In what is Law fulfilled?

Q: How does this scripture relate to the keeping of the commandments?

CONCLUSION

SAY, At the end of the talk, President Monson state:

The knowledge which we seek, the answers for which we yearn, and the strength which we desire today to meet the challenges of a complex and changing world can be ours when we willingly obey the Lord’s commandments. I quote once again the words of the Lord: “He that keepeth [God’s] commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things.”

This progression upward, back to God is enduring to the end.  And it take heart rending effort.

Amen

December 5,2013 - Kim Nelson

Today is Craig's birthday.  I forgot to wish him a happy birthday until 11:30am.  He wrote me back asked me to call him.  I got busy and didn't call him.  At 5:15pm he send me an email announcing that he did our brother's initiatory work at the temple and wanted me to do his endowment.  I printed out the FOR and put it in my pocket.  By 5:45pm I was texting my RB friends that I would be there to play at 6:00.  I kept on feeling impressed to go to the temple tonight and do Kim's work.  I texted everyone at 6:00pm, telling them that I was off to the temple.  It was an emotional experience.  Everytime I said Kim's name I got choked up.  I like it when I do the right thing.