Sunday

Hello old friend. It is Sunday, January 30, 2022 and I have just come home from church. It is chilly outside but the sun is shining and there are beautiful blue skies. And currently no snow to shovel which is good and bad. Good, to not have to shovel, but bad because we need the moisture so badly. 

I have started counting down the days until I leave for Florida this week with my sister. My mom is already there and my other sister is unable to attend this trip. 

Yesterday I had a really wonderful day at the temple. For the first time I was able to assist personally with a special ordinance for a sweet sister that was for herself. Up until this point I have always helped with ordinances for people who were doing proxy work. (Work that is done in the temple for deceased persons). The feeling of the Spirit was so sweet and overwhelming during this beautiful ceremony. I will forever remember it. 

During prayer meeting the sister, assistant to the matron, shared with us pieces from the memorial address from Boyd K Packers funeral.

Link to Farewell Address

Excerpts below

"Throughout his life, President Packer was constantly striving to improve. He spoke of the living Apostles, including himself, as “ordinary people” who might wonder why they should be called to this holy office. “There are many qualifications that I lack. There is so much in my effort to serve that is wanting. There is only one single thing, one qualification that can explain it. Like Peter and all of those who have since been ordained, I have that witness.

“I know that God is our Father. He introduced His Son, Jesus Christ, to Joseph Smith. I declare to you that I know that Jesus is the Christ. I know that He lives. … He made His Atonement. Of Him I bear witness.”

Many years ago, after receiving a personal witness on that tiny island in the Pacific, he wanted to give something back. He wanted to formalize his commitment as a disciple of Jesus Christ.

“It had become critically important,” he remembered, “to establish this intention between me and the Lord so that I knew that He knew which way I had committed my agency. I went before Him and said, ‘I’m not neutral, and you can do with me what you want. If you need my vote, it’s there. I don’t care what you do with me and you don’t have to take anything from me because I give it to you—everything, all I own, all I am.’"

I loved these words from Elder Packer. I loved his words "You can do with me what you want." I have been trying more and more to feel the same way, to really allow the Lord to just "take the wheel" and trust that I can be more useful if I allow Him in the drivers seat.

Years ago, I don't even remember exactly what I was doing, but I do remember it was following doing service for someone, as I was driving home, these words came to my mind "Your life is not about you." "It is about what you can do for others." Even though I forget this personal revelation from time to time as I get caught up in my everyday life. Once in a while, different experiences, like the messages from this class today, bring back that memory to remind me that my life really isn't about me. My life is about how can the Lord use me to help his other children, to help his other sheep.

This sister shared a story about a grandson of hers that when it came to getting good grades he would always do the "bare minimum". She encouraged us to reflect on our own lives. 

How often are we just doing the bare minimum?

Of course that caused me to reflect on areas where I would be considered doing the bare minimum in my commitments and fulfilling of my gospel covenants. I'm sure in some areas I am succeeding and not doing just the bare minimum, but for some reason this phrase really stuck out to me and has made me continue to ponder on it today. 

Am I doing just the bare minimum when I say my prayers? When I read my scriptures? When I study Come Follow Me? When I serve in my callings? 

I would like to hope I am doing better in these areas then maybe I think I am. But also can honestly see where my efforts are lacking.

I am so grateful for this Sisters inspired words to help me reflect on where I can improve. And I hope that phrase "Bare Minimum" sticks with me going forward to help encourage me to do a little more.

What is equally interesting, and I believe not coincidental, was part of a lesson we had today in Sunday School. One of the bishopric members shared the below slide. 

He talked about how we represent the 1. If we do the same thing every day for 365 days, the result is 1. there is no improvement.

If we make the smallest change of .01 over the course of the year each day, we will get the result of almost 38.

If we include God in our efforts to help us to improve the number then becomes 2.01 and when multiplied over 365 days we are shown what an exponential affect on not only ourselves but on others we can have. 

These two ideas went so hand and hand to me. 

There was also a talk last general conference that goes perfectly with this concept.

Link to Slope Talk

It was titled "Becoming More In Christ: The Parable of the Slope"

"We all have different intercepts in life—we start in different places with different life endowments. Some are born with high intercepts, full of opportunity. Others face beginning circumstances that are challenging and seem unfair. We then progress along a slope of personal progress. Our future will be determined far less by our starting point and much more by our slope. Jesus Christ sees divine potential no matter where we start. He saw it in the beggar, the sinner, and the infirm. He saw it in the fisherman, the tax collector, and even the zealot. No matter where we start, Christ considers what we do with what we are given. While the world focuses on our intercept, God focuses on our slope. In the Lord’s calculus, He will do everything He can to help us turn our slopes toward heaven."

I love the concept and message behind this talk. I love that he reminds us that it doesn't matter where we are starting from, it only matters that we start and the slope by which we progress. 

From Sunday School a question that was posed "How has aligning with prophetic counsel blessed us and helped us draw closer to the Lord?"

Following Prophetic Counsel has changed my life. Over the course of the last few years, between reading my scriptures more regularly, focusing more on personal revelation, spending more time in the temple, being more careful about the things I watch and see and put into my mind, I feel like my slope in the gospel has changed more drastically in that short time that is has over my entire lifetime. Serving in the temple each week has alone done more for my Spiritual growth than anything else in my life. I feel like I am learning constantly. I feel like my eyes have been opened to so many more truths about my own purpose and our Father in Heaven's purposes. I am so beyond grateful to have a living Prophet on this Earth today that directs our church and counsels and blesses us with those things we are in need of in this day and time. I am grateful for my testimony of prophets. I have had the same burning in my bosom for each prophet of my lifetime. The earliest Prophet I can remember was Pres. Ezra Taft Benson. Following him was Gordon B. Hinckley, then Howard W Hunter, and then Thomas S. Monson and now finally Pres Russell M. Nelson. They all hold such a special place in my heart. I have always felt the Holy Ghost testify of the truthfulness of their words. I know that they are the messengers our Heavenly Father and Savior prepared specifically for their time and season to serve. 

As I typed up this journal entry, I reflected on my decision to go to church today. It would have been so much easier to stay home, in my jami's, let Hen do the Sacrament and just skip out on Sunday School all together. I could have zoomed Sacrament Meeting from home and likely been distracted by something going on there and not been able to feel the sweet Spirit from the beautiful testimonies born by being completely present and focused. I am grateful that I do sometimes make the right decisions that my Spirit needs in this life. My spirit needs the cleansing power of the Atonement each week by partaking of the Sacrament. My spirit needs to be spiritual fed by others testimonies, comments, messages, and insights. My spirit needs that wonderful feeling of belonging with the other Saints as we share and learn and love together. So while physical me would have loved to have not done my hair, put on makeup, and gotten dressed up a second day in a row, my mental, spiritual, and emotional part of me is so grateful that I did.

A few other things that stood out to me today that I want to remember. 

1-"don't sweat the small stuff" the next time you teach a lesson. Don't focus on your limits, your inadequacies, they don't matter. You were called to this position for a reason for not only you to learn but to help others to learn and to love this gospel.  Just like President Packers words above, I may just be ordinary and inadequate in many ways but I have a testimony of this gospel and that is all that matters.

2-remember the format of the Sunday school lesson. I wish I could rewind time and redo my first gospel doctrine lesson. I would have approached it completely different. Unfortunately Hindsight is 20/20 and I will just have to work on doing a better job in the future of first discussing the scriptural topic and second applying it into our own lives. I feel I had these elements in my last lesson but wasn't able to get to enough of them because I ran out of time. I also wish then when I got to the last ten minutes of my lesson, instead of scrambling through trying to figure out the last point to squeeze in, I should have just ended my thoughts and opened it up to the audience to share if there was anything anyone wanted to share about what they learned from their personal study over the last couple of weeks.

I am so grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ. I would truly be lost without it.

Aren't we all like this Sheep?

 

Are we not all like the state of this sheep when we are weighed down by sin? I have been this sheep in my life. I have been weighed down by my mistakes, and sins and have needed the cleansing power of my baptismal covenants by working towards being worthy to partake of the Sacrament after my transgressions left me unworthy to do so. Like this sheep and his heavy matted wool, while we may get "used" to carrying around the heavy burden of sin and transgression, it is just as painful to our spirits as this wool is to this poor sheep. Only through confessing our sins in prayer and, if need be, our Bishop, and forsaking our undesirable actions can we begin the steps of repentance that are made possible by the Atonement of our Savior, Jesus Christ. His sacrifice makes our ability to be cleansed possible. His sacrifice allows us to shed our matted, dirty, heavy wool and feel at peace and light again. In contrast, Satan only wants us to be miserable like himself, which is why his only goal is to leave us trapped in our misery with the lie that there is no way out and that we don't even deserve a way out if there was one. Let us not be like this sheep, let us take advantage of the beautiful and special gift of the Atonement of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who descended below all so that we could be able to repent and be happy.

A Sacred Place Like This

While I was in Deseret Book last week, I came across this beautiful book by President Eyring. Two of my nephews and one of my nieces are now old enough to be able to go to the temple and do baptisms for the dead when they are ready. My other niece will be getting baptized in a couple months which is the first step to being eligible to go one day. 

So last night I had wrapped the 4 books up after signing the inside cover and took them with me to my mom's for dinner. As I drove to my mom's house while listening to my Tabernacle Choir Pandora station, the song "I Will Go and Do" came on by David Archuleta. I felt the Spirit so strong after a long stressful day and tears streamed down my face. I could feel every word that was being sung and each resonated deeply in my heart of the choices I have been making to Go and Do in my own life.

Link to I will Go and Do Music Video

After dinner, I called the 4 together for an Aunt Kara Pow Wow. I told them, you know that Aunt Kara loves to play games, but do you know what she loves even more than playing games? I talked to them about how special the temple is and that they can go when they get their recommends and that they can ask me any questions they might have. They opened their books and immediately they were all drawn in to the beautiful pictures. I started to play song, "I will Go and Do" on my phone as they started to read through their books. I was originally just going to buy one book for each family, but now I am so glad that I bought them each their own. After all, the temple is personal for each person. At one moment my nephew thought that the song I was playing was Christian Rock, and my niece said, "I thought we were Mormons, not Christians." Immediately my nephew asked if I could pause the song so that he could explain to her that Mormons are Christians. It was such a beautiful moment to see this special interaction between the two of them. At night I texted my niece and nephew some of the recommend interview questions, a video about temples, and the music video above to help get them prepared. I was grateful that they let me have some of their time to share with them something so special and something that will be so meaningful in their lives one day.

The Big Day

It's the Big Day! The first time I will teach Gospel Doctrine. I got up and continued to finalize my preparation for my lesson and of course the anxiety started mounting. Anxiety for the unknown, would my tech work, would I be able to be articulate, would I sound intelligent or really dumb, would I be able to follow what the Spirit wants me to teach... and on and on and on. It got so bad that I was going to have Henry give me a Priesthood blessing of comfort but I ended up running out of time before I left. I could have just gone late, but I knew I needed the cleansing and healing power of the Sacrament before teaching my lesson and didn't want to miss it.

Instead, I got on my knees and asked my Father in Heaven for comfort and direction and help during my lesson. One of my dear friends sent me this text later that day that puts exactly into words how impactful that prayer was on me.

"... The moment I spoke the words  'Dear Heavenly Father, " peace enveloped me,  my pounding heart stilled,  my breathing calmed. In that instant,  I knew that Father in Heaven loved me.  On a lonely planet in a vast galaxy, a tiny, suffering voice was heard and solace was given. "

Anne Roquemore,  Ensign,  April  2006, 63

I left for church and got there just in time for the sacrament. I decided to just sit on the couch in the foyer and listen since I was going to be leaving early to setup for my lesson. The first sister speaking used to be one of my young women and she gave a beautiful talk on being knit in unity with the scriptures referenced below. How relevant these scriptures were to the class that I would be teaching. We are all striving to be of one heart and one mind in Jesus Christ. I was so grateful for her message.

Mosiah 18:21

And he commanded them that there should be no contention one with another, but that they should look forward with one eye, having one faith and one baptism, having their hearts knit together in unity and in love one towards another.

Moses 7:18

And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them.

The next sister was a returned missionary who shared an experience of being nervous talking to an investigator (someone who wants to learn about the Church) about the Word of Wisdom. This brother had been prepared for this moment and was willing to give up those substances. 

My mind was drawn to my lesson. There is a part where I wanted to discuss the influence of Satan and sin and what makes it so enticing and my follow up question was going to be and "what can we do to make sin not so enticing?" After hearing this returned missionaries story, this came to my mind as an answer to that question. "We all need a Reason". We all need a reason to want to not sin, that is what will motivate us and empower us to choose the Good over the Evil. There are so many reasons, but the best reason is because we can choose to love God and our Savior Jesus Christ, more than ourselves. Yes, this maybe easier said, than done, but not impossible. Because we are told "I can do all things through Christ which strengthened me." Philippians 4:13

I wasn't able to listen to the last talk as I wanted to make sure I got the tv setup and my other items in time for class to start. I wheeled the tv down to the room and started setting up. For about 1 minute I couldn't find my phone anywhere! I was like are you kidding!!! I needed it for my entire presentation to work. I was thinking I wonder if Hen could drop it off on the way to work, or do I have enough time to run home? As I frantically searched my three bags, I found it in a pocket I don't remember putting it in. Which isn't surprising since I forget so many things in my life. I was soooo grateful to have found it. I got everything hooked up and waited for the class to start. 

At first we only had about 10 individuals but by the end of the class we probably had at least 40 or more. I was surprised that we had so many, with it being a holiday weekend and all. There are many members in this class I didn't know so I tried to meet a few as they came in to sit down. 

At first I ended up starting my lesson at 1:05pm, so I thought, wow, I have a lot of a time, almost a full hour. I will be able to get through so much material, because frankly I had way too much material to begin with. My lessons were supposed to cover the Creation and the events of Adam and Eve which is actually a ton to tackle in an hour when you are trying to dig deeper into these subjects and have time for questions and discussion. 

I checked the time midway through the lesson and saw that it was 1:30pm. I thought great! I still have half an hour left, and then just like that 20 minutes disappeared, and I hadn't even gotten 2/3's of the way through my material. I had ten minutes left and now my mind panicked as I tried to thumb through the rest of the lesson to find some last ideas that I could speak on. And then just like that I was out of time. I definitely didn't want to go over the time. 

After the lesson ended several kind people said nice comments about enjoying the lesson. But this lesson just felt different from other lessons I had taught before. I think I have been used to teaching just women either in young women's or in relief society from the last few years so it was quite a different experience to have men, much more knowledgeable than me in the class on these deeper doctrine subjects. I so appreciated these Brethren sharing their thoughts and insights and those of the sisters. I did definitely walk out pondering on the many things that I want to work on for next time. 

The biggest being not trying so hard to cram two weeks of Come Follow Me lessons into 1 hour or less. So next time, like I was told previously, but clearly didn't listen, I need to pick 4-5 themes and Focus/Discuss them.

Other than that, I really don't know what I would do differently. My tech worked, and I got some really nice compliments later in the day and the next day. Initially, I actually thought my lesson hadn't gone so well because it felt almost void of emotion with the exception of a few beautiful comments shared in the class. I think that is what I am not used to. This class today became really more about learning scripture and factual things than about Spiritually emotionally impacting things. I think it was also a combination of the content and the fact that I didn't get to some of the questions that may have elicited more personal experience driven responses. So that is another item I can work on for next time. 

I am grateful for this calling and the opportunity I had to study these materials that truly opened my eyes to so much of the meaning derived from these scriptures. I have learned more about the Creation and Adam and Eve preparing for this one lesson, than I have in the last 10 years. It was also a humbling experience for me as I learned of all I can work on to try and do better next time. Rome wasn't built in a day after all.

Here were some of the kind comments some people shared with me after my lesson. I do not share these to brag, remember after all this is a personal journal of sorts. I more or less share them so that I can personally look back and reflect when I need encouragement in the future if I feel like I am falling short. 

From three of the Brethren:

"Thank you for such a wonderful Gospel lesson yesterday. Your preparation, personality & testimony were inspiring."

"I thoroughly enjoyed the lesson. Loved the video and your thoughts. You did an incredible job. I look forward to your next one!"

"You were AMAZING - I was sad I had to leave a bit early. Thank you for taking this calling on."

From the Bishop

"I heard you did well in SS today" (Sunday School)

From one of the sweet youthful sisters

"..Your lesson was beautiful yesterday, so thank you for everything you did to prepare."

Other sisters told me that they enjoyed my lesson at the end of class. And it was super fun to also have one of my former sweet young women in the class as well.

I will share the full lesson in another post.

Gospel Doctrine Lesson #1

Obviously I did not read this lesson like a talk- it was mostly all paraphrased and I had alot of class participation reading scriptures and quotes I had passed out.

 NOTES TO SELF:

·         HAVE COURAGE

·         LET GO AND LET GOD

 Housekeeping items- we need to put chairs up at the end of class, please be sure to pass around the caramel apple pops, I did want to bring real apples to go along with the Story of Adam and Eve, but thought with the germ situation, I better not.

Gospel Doctrine Lesson 1-16-21

Full disclosure. I have never taught gospel doctrine before. I am not a scriptorian by any stretch of the imagination. I have never served a mission,  and I can’t quote scripture or give a scripture reference off the top of my head to save my life.

I am actually very simple minded. My husband says I live in a world of rainbows and butterflies where things are very simple.

So because a lot of my knowledge of the gospel is more in the basic principles than in the deeper doctrine, I will be learning right along side you this year and in fact will likely have questions about the doctrine I am hoping you can answer for me.

Case in point- in preparing for this lesson I learned that the tree of life in the events of adam and eve is the same tree mentioned in lehi’s dream.

My mind basically blew open when those two connections were made. While I am sure that is something insanely obvious to the rest of the world. My mind never put those two together until I heard it on a come follow me youtube lesson this past week.

Also please know that with every statement I make or share you can just tag on in your minds “Correct me if I am wrong”. I do not want to share false doctrine, so please speak up if I ever get way off base.

But I will tell you this, even though I recognize my inadequate scriptoral knowledgebase, I do have one strength that I hope is equally important and will hopefully help this year. And that is my love for the gospel of Jesus Christ. I have a strong testimony of the truths found in this gospel and from my own learning and growth over the years. And I am going to do my best to teach by the Spirit and prepare thoughts, questions and messages to help us all to draw closer to our Savior, Jesus Christ each week.

Let’s explore a few questions regarding the Creation- First we will start with “When?”

The 1^st verse of the book of Genesis reads “In the Beginning”.

Do we believe this is the beginning of all existence, or the Universe, of life, of Spirits?

Think on this question as we watch this video. Link to Universe Video. Mute the sound on this video and play this song instead. "If You Could Hie to Kolob" by the Jenny Phillips Choir

So I would like to ask this question again: Do we believe this is the beginning of all existence, or the Universe, of life, of Spirits?

Next question is “How?”

A lot of references I will be using this year will come from a variety of sources, but I have a feeling a number of them will come from this book. Titled “Verse by Verse, The Old Testament.”

In it, it reads:

QUOTE 1

“The Lord has not revealed to humankind the detailed process by which this earth and the universe in which it is positioned were created”

“Our Spiritual capacities will not allow us to fully comprehend the divine powers and divine actions that brought those things about”

“The Lord has promised that the time will come, during the millennium, when all things will be revealed, D &C 101:33-“Hidden things which no man knew, things of the earth, by which it was made, and the purpose and the end thereof”

Next Question is “Where?” we only know that it was in the presence of God

Going back to the first verse of Genesis it reads, “In the Beginning God Created the Heaven and the Earth”

The term from the first verse “created” was used to translate a Hebrew word, that actually means organize. Which we read in Abraham.

This supports our belief that God at this point in time did not create the earth out of nothing, but that earth was organized from existing planets, matter, and elements.

Side note-this is why I personally believe there is a good chance that dinosaurs never actually roamed earth, I could be wrong, but it is possible they were from another place or planet and became part of this world during the organization of this planet.

“The pure principles of element are principles which can never be destroyed, they may be organized and reorganized, but not destroyed. They had not beginning and they had no end.”

“Scientists also concur that matter cannot be created or destroyed- only its form may be changed.”

Next question Who? Have someone read Genesis 1:1, have someone else read Moses 2:1 and someone else read Abraham 4:1, God’s could have been Noah and Enoch and why not other righteous spirits? Also Michael in addition to Jesus Christ.

What? 7 periods of the creation-Moses Chapter 2

1-separated the lightness from the darkness, calling one day and the other night

2-Creation/organization of Heaven(firmament) and Earth this was new to me

3-Separate Land from the Water- named earth and sea, Trees, shrubs- read Genesis 2:5-6. This is a reminder that the evaporation/condensation cycle was a phenomenon necessary to establish life on earth.

4-Made the sun and moon- greater light vs lesser light.  And the stars“The 4^th day describes the establishment of the earth in its orbital relationship to the other astronomical bodies of our system ie rotation upon its axis and revolutions in its orbit.” Created for the purpose of seasons, days, years

Show infinity symbol picture

 

Also think about how unhospitable space is for us human beings versus how hospitable earth is for our lives and the other life on this planet.

5- Fowl and Fishes moses 2:21-22

6- Genesis 1:26-27 have someone read, then discuss animals-What do we learn from these verses? what does dominion mean? What type of dominion must we have? Read D&C 59:20

 and then man and woman were made-whose image? Why is it important to  understand that we are created in the image of God? How does this truth affect the way we see ourselves, others, God?

“This is the Great Secret!” How many of God’s children do not know of this most important principle?

The breath of life refers to the spirit, for it is the spirit combined with the body that constitutes “a living soul”

What important responsibilities, privileges, and powers have been given to mankind in order that they might fulfill the purposes of creation as Sons and Daughters of God?

1-Procreation

2-to fill the earth, using its resources-obligation to manage the earth and enhance its life-giving ability. A way of defining “to till”

3-dominion but not unrighteous dominion

Who is Adam? Michael the archangel who was the leader of the forces of the Lord against the forces of Satan in the war in heaven before the world was. He is and ever shall be our patriarch and leader, even in the final battle against the forces of evil at the end of the millennium.

Quote 2:President Joseph Fielding Smith Stated that “Adam was not a ‘cave man’ but perhaps the most nearly perfect man in form and feature to our Father and Creator” He is the first priesthood and shall continue so in the end of the world also.

7-rested?

Why? Moses 1:39, and 2^nd Nephi 2:14-15

Quote 3-one thing the creation story

Quote 4-There is so much about the creative process

Quote-how cool is it

 

Any additional Thoughts on the creation?

In preparing for this lesson I was getting overwhelmed by all of the information and resources I was using, so I decided to draw a picture of everything I wanted to cover in class today. After finishing, the page was so filled up (front and back), and unreadable at this point, but I was contemplating doing something similar on the chalkboard. Then I had a flashback to a few years ago when I attended a gospel doctrine lesson my Dad was teaching. He was drawing on the chalkboard and I know that my handwriting is bad, but my Dad’s is definitely worse.

He was scribbling so fast and all over the blackboard and the two words that kept coming to my mind were “rabid squirrel”.

And as I looked at my piece of paper I realized the apple does not fall far from the tree. So I may draw a couple of items on the board but I will try to avoid “rabid squirrel”

Picking up where we left off, we are now in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve

Adam and Eve are not only vital parts of the Plan of Salvation, but they are also our example of how to overcome our sins in mortality.

What do we know about Adam and Eve at this point in time? What is their state of mind? What do they know?

They were mentally childlike and innocent. What were they commanded to do?

Take care of the Garden and not eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

This is the first we learn about our first earthly parents having agency.

Now who enters the picture?

Satan- What do we know about him from this interaction?

Father of all lies, tells half truths, and above all HE IS REAL.

Show quote- we are living in a time….

What happens next?

Eve partakes of the fruit-why? She has a childlike mind, she is convinced by Satan, which when we think about it, Satan also convinced 1/3 of the hosts of heaven, not to pick the saviors plan in the preexistence, so we can assume he is a very skilled negotiator. She was deceived/tricked by his lies

Then Adam partakes of the fruit-why? Also childlike state of mind, peer pressure, trusts eve, and also wanted to be able to have seed

How does this relate to us? How often do we partake of forbidden fruit in our lives?

When satan says “ ye shall not surely die; ye shall be as the gods”

“Is it not typical of the ways in which he still tries to stimulate us to satisfy our curiosity, our appetites and urges, while allaying our fears of the consequences?” Verse by Verse The Old Testament

What makes sin so enticing?

How can we make sin not so enticing? WE NEED A REASON-A great reason can be "because we love God more than we love ourselves.

“The actions of our first parents, which constitute the Fall, are greatly misunderstood among those who have not had the benefit of modern prophets or modern scripture. Sometimes great blame has been placed on Eve for the Fall, and her actions branded as a great sin, so much so that she has been regarded as evil, unworthy of, or of lesser value than Adam. All these notions are false. The Fall did have physical consequences, but it was a step forward in the great plan of God.” Verse By Verse The Old Testatment

Additionally this book talks about the distinction of sin vs transgression. Joseph Fielding Smith said “This was a transgression of the law, but not a sin, For it was something Adam and Even had to do!” This relates to the second article of faith, “we believe men with be punished for their own sins and not adams transgression”.

Sins-are acts that are inherently wrong while transgression is making a choice against something that is legally or formerly prohibited .

What happens next?

They ate of the tree and their eyes were opened and they sewed fig leaves and made aprons

Why did they do that?

After eating of the fruit they discovered their nakedeness/ guilt/shame. They felt that guilt we all feel after being disobedient.

It was the first time they were conscious of their wrongdoing.

Their sins exposed. And we know we cannot hide our sins from God. People think they can

Let’s read Genesis 3:7-13- and stop after every verse

Vs 7-8: Did God come at them angry? He came walking, in the evening breeze to just talk with him.

Vs 9-11

First question god asks Adam in genesis “where are thou” Moses “where goest?”- how does that relate to us? What if god were to ask us the same question how would we respond? Are we following him? Where are we on our covenant path? Are we off in the woods? Where are we headed? Where are we spiritually? Are we where we want to be? If not, what are we going to do to get there? Why are we running and hiding from the actual person who can solve this problem??

In my preparation I came across this question that really hit home

What did the serpent tell you about me that makes you think I am the kind of father you want to run from?

Vs12-13

We are just like them when we make a mistake, we try to run and hide from it and then blame other people and try to rationalize circumstances or others influences, or we compare ourselves to others or try to justify our actions, “it’s only a white lie”, “it’s only one drink”, “it’s not really gossiping” “well atleast I’m not doing this…” “ doing that doesn’t make me a bad person”….we tend to rationalize our behaviors before we take responsibility for our wrongdoings.

 

God does not want us to run and hide from him when we make a mistake, he wants us to lean on him to go to him to find strength to overcome. If we visit the bishops office will he yell fire and brimstone?

Show quote 5-He that covered his sins

 

Then we learn about Satan’s fate in verse 14 and then we learn about our relationship with satan in this life

Read vs 15

Old testament student manual reads “The promise concerning the bruising of the heel and head means that while Satan (as the serpent) will bruise the heel of the Savior by leading men to crucify Him and seemingly destroy Him, in actuality that very act of Atonement will give Christ the power to overcome the power that Satan has over men and undo the effects of the Fall. Thus, the seed of the woman (Christ) shall crush the head of the serpent (Satan and his kingdom) with the very heel that was bruised (the atoning sacrifice).”

Show lambert picture.

 

What happens next?

They are forbidden from eating of the fruit from the tree of life.

From Lehi’s and Nephi’s visions we learn about this from the tree of life.

Quote -6 Show tree of life picture

 

Why were they commanded not to partake of the tree of life?

 

Quote 7 The great plan quote

 

What happens next?

Then god covers them in animal skins to cover the guilt and shame after they have confessed just like the atonement covers us.

And they were made to leave the garden of eden.

One thought I came across in my studying for this lesson was the concept of leaving. They left not only the Garden of Eden which was their home, but they also left the presence of God. Leaving Home motivates us to return to home.

The Fall created what two types of death?- temporal/physical death and spiritual death. Physical death that our mortal bodies will all have to go through and Spiritual death that will happen when we sin and without the atonement would never be able to be reborn and brought back to the presence of our Savior and Father.

Once they left the garden of eden only then were they able to have children

Quote 8-adam fell that men might be quote

And they were given more commandments to follow. They could hear the voice of the Lord but no longer see him. And like Adam and Even We need to have open communication with God.

Quote 9-we need revelation from God

Read Moses 5:5-8

How does this apply to us?

In order to be forgiven for our sins there had to be a sacrifice

We learn that the only way to our father is through his son Jesus Christ. Which is why we pray in the name of Jesus Christ who is our advocate with the father because he has born our afflictions, pains, sorrows, infirmities

We also learn that Adam is obedient to the Lord even when he doesn’t understand why. Do we always understand why?

What did Adam and Eve learn from this experience?

Moses 5:10-11

Eve-“the joy of our redemption” another word could be used- “Rescued”

Our Savior can rescue us from the burden of our sins.

Quote 10-Icarus Bound Quote-What is that key?

Quote 11-Elder Renlund Quote

Quote the atonement is not just for us to make it home

 

Quote 12-The burden of the Responsible Man Quote

Quote 13-Alma 34:32-33

 

Read Moses 5:14-15

In Ether 12:27 we learn that we are going to make mistakes in this life but it is part of the plan.

Men are given weakness scripture…Ether 12:27

Quote 14-The great plan

Close with How Great Thou Art song and Testimony.

Armed with God's Power and with His Angels

I had such a wonderful time at the temple today. I have been stressing about my impending gospel doctrine lesson for weeks now and going to the temple let my mind take a bit of a vacation from all of my anxiety. Because of covid, more and more temple workers have been out sick and we were shorthanded. I was on the 2nd floor today and was moved around from place to place as I was needed to fill in for missing sisters. For two separate, half hours, I got to be at the recommend desk at the entrance. I saw a couple from our old ward in Woods Cross and a good friend and her husband from our current ward. They tell us not to get excited and make a scene when we see people we know, so I tried my best to hold my excitement in. It really is so rare that I see anyone at the Temple that I know.

 At one point in the evening, one of the sisters I have worked closely with since June told me that she loved me and that I was such a light. Then her and another sister were chatting about me just barely in ear shot and I could hear them saying how much they liked me and how cool I was. I was so grateful for their kind words. Most of my life I assume I am pretty unnoticed and that's ok, I have never been one that likes the spotlight, but it is nice to be noticed once in a while and always nice to feel loved. 

Then while I was working at the recommend desk I had answered some questions perfectly and even helped to train other sisters and brothers up there. I could hear the shift coordinator from the brothers practically singing my praises for all of my help and for knowing the correct answers to the patrons questions. 

While at the recommend desk, we switch off with chairs by the entrance/exit. There were two, half hours where I manned the chair by the exit. My job in that chair is to greet everyone that is exiting. I usually say "Thank you for coming", "Thank you for your service", or "Have a good night" as people are leaving. On several occasions I felt the Spirit so strongly. The temple was really busy today and I know a lot of service was performed by the individuals in attendance. When people attend and serve in the Temple they leave "armed with God's power and with His angels having "charge over" you". (Pres Nelson) (D&C 109:22). 

The number of Heavenly Spirits/Angels that passed by me, while unseen, were impossible not to feel of their presence. As a large group of patrons would exit, it literally felt like a wave of the Spirit washing over me. I could feel these Spirits gratitude and love for the those who had just performed these sacred ordinances for them.

I also noticed the pace of the workers who had ended their shifts. I pondered on the fact that all of us workers tend to leave a little slower than when we first walked in. Many workers are much much older than me with, I'm sure, a variety of health issues and ailments and yet they still come back, week after week, because they love the Lord and the work more than themselves. We may all be tired when we leave, but it is a good tired and a rewarding tired to know that we may have helped individuals on both sides of the veil that day. 

My heart felt so full of peace and joy as I sat in that chair. A couple times a few tears slipped from the corners of my eyes. I felt such a pure happiness and so much gratitude for the opportunity to get to have experienced those feelings and so much gratitude for getting to spend another day in the Lord's House.

After going home for the next several hours I continued to work on my lesson and then went to bed very tired.

I found this beautiful sculpture at Deseret Book today and it now lives on the shelf in our living room. Oh how the Master Potter has molded me over the years and continues to mold me as I learn to "Let go and Let God."

 

Got Questions About Me???

If you are reading this blog, all 2 of you, I thought you may have some questions I am going to attempt to answer.

Why is she soooo longwinded?

Why is she writing all of this down? Has she always kept a journal?

Why is she so convinced of what she is sharing as if it is fact, and not just belief?

First of all, I have no business working on this post right now, but it is likely another attempt at procrastinating my first Gospel Doctrine Lesson that will be a week from today. I have jotted down some thoughts and began preparing and studying for it, only problem at this point is that nothing is organized and is in a state of very rough draft. 

Also the problem that I am having is that I am finding so much good information so it is hard to pare down and figure out what it is the Lord wants me to share out of the gazillion resources and information I have come across.

So humor me for a few minutes while I attempt to answer some of these "assumed" questions. If there are additional questions you have for me, you are welcome to put them in the comments.

This blog is basically smaller than a needle in a haystack, if you have found it on the world wide web and happen to be reading it. As you know it is not password protected and it is me just basically dumping my thoughts, feelings, and experiences into a keyboard every so often. 

Why is she soooo longwinded?

I think this stems from my current life experiences and outcome. I have grown over the years to love the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to have a solid foundation of my Savior and his teachings found in Scripture (King James Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price) in addition to years of church attendance, service in callings, and conference talks. As my testimony has grown and grown over the years, it has always made me sad that I do not have children with whom I can share this knowledge with. My husband and I have accepted that we will not be having children in this life after 13 years of trying for biological children, and also going down roads of fostering children, and the opportunity lost on adoption of two very special boys. So I think part of it is, this is my way of letting out of my head, heart, and spirit those things that I would share with my children, if we had our own. 

I am also longwinded because my husband and I have two very opposite schedules for work. Generally when I am working he is either at school or other commitments, and whenever I am home he is at work. Most of the time we are two ships passing very tired in the night and a lot of my time is spent alone with our dogs. Don't get me wrong, I am really not complaining about it too much. I am a very independent person and after so many years of living this way, am quite used to much of my time away from work being just with the dogs. Not surprising, as I was typing that last sentence, my Saint Bernard Lucy came to me whining to give her some attention. 

Hen and I have had 7 dogs together in our 13 years together. 4 of which have crossed the rainbow bridge and we currently have 3. Charlie (Golden Retriever 7 1/2 years old, Oscar (Bloodhound 7 1/2 years old), and Lucy (Saint Bernard 2 1/2 years old). All of our dogs over the years have truly felt like children to us, each weighing in over 100 pounds and requiring so much care between food, grooming, vet bills, and personal training and attention. They have all been so different but each has been meant for our family. Sorry, I got off topic for a minute. Back to the question on hand.

Also I think I get some of my long-windedness from my Dad. Sorry Dad, you know I love ya! But I spent a significant amount of time editing a book he had published a few years ago, and let's just say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree....

Why is she writing all of this down? Has she always kept a journal?

When I was a child and started keeping a journal I would write things like what I ate that day and it was pretty boring, nothing really worth reading. As I got older I felt like the experiences I would have written would not have been anything I would have ever wanted anyone to read. My teenage years were filled with lots of mistakes and regrets, but there were some silver linings, and clearly some very special Spiritual experiences that left impressions on me that would help to shape me later in life. There is a post where I share many of those struggles in a video during a young women's lesson. The link can be found in the post titled "Catching Up" August 17th 2021 if you are really curious. Anyway, again I digress. 

When Henry and I were dating in the early part of 2008, at the age of 25, I started my first blog: http://aggiebear.blogspot.com/  This blog became a kind of journal of our memories together over the years, but I rarely share things of the Spirit on there and it is more or less a scrapbook of pictures and stories of our time together. It wasn't until I started working at the Bountiful Temple last June that I was inspired to keep a recording of my Spiritual experiences. I am so grateful for that prompting. I even go back and reread my own posts and am inspired by the things I have written down and quotes I have shared.

Another large reason for my writing this down is my memory. I have noticed a giant decline over the last ten years. Some could say it is age, but honestly at 38, I should not have this much memory loss. I frankly would not be surprised one bit if someone looked into a crystal ball and told me that I would have dementia or Alzheimer's as some point in my life. I can't remember what I wore yesterday, even if you paid me. Luckily for me, a lot of things in my job have been repetitious and my memory still remains strong in processes and things needed to do my job well, but pretty much most other information is slowly leaving me bit by bit with memories being the first to go. I am very grateful to have also been prompted to start my other blog when Hen and I were dating. That blog is my memory when Hen's isn't available. Luckily for me Hen's memory is better than an Elephant's and somehow as time passes seems to hold more and more information. It is also for this memory reason that there is a high likelihood I will repeat stories or favorite quotes and scriptures, simply for the fact that I do not remember I have already shared these things. So my apologies in advance.

Lastly, I think my hope is, that maybe some family member or friend can be inspired or touched in some way from my experiences, or be able to learn something from my experience to help them on their own path in life. Maybe when I am long graduated from this life, a niece or nephew will stumble upon this and be able to know that their Aunt Kara had a strong testimony of our Savior Jesus Christ and that helps them in some way to strengthen their own testimony. 

Why is she so convinced of what she is sharing as if it is fact, and not just belief?  In my 38 years of life I have learned a person can convince themselves of anything and yet, there are things that just can't be denied. Sure, could I convince myself that the things I learned as a member of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, are true with no Spiritual Witness, I guess, yes that would be possible. But why would I? Why would anyone? It has been the feelings the Holy Ghost has brought to my mind, my heart, and my Spirit that have cemented my testimony in our Savior. He is my friend, my Redeemer, my Advocate with the Father, and my Elder Brother. Without his help, I would never have made it this far in life. I have many friends who have left the church and I wish I could ask those that have chosen not to believe, but "What if it is all true? What then? Will you have regrets? I would love to help bring you back to find these feelings of peace and joy that can only be found when we understand that we are Children of God, and because of this we have priceless worth to our Savior and Heavenly Father. Our Saviors Atonement was not just a sacrifice for a few, but for all who chose his plan before coming to this earth and gained a body. The mere fact that we are here with a body proves that we all chose Him once before. If you are wondering what on earth I am talking about, you can read the first 4 chapters of this Gospel Principles Book. If I hadn't had the influence of the Holy Ghost on so many occasions that I can no longer deny his existence, I am sure this blog would not even exist and I would be a very different person.

Link to Gospel Principles Book 

Lastly,  I would like to acknowledge that I know that your time is very precious, thank you for sharing it with me and allowing me to be heard by more than just my puppy dogs.  I hope my words have been useful to you in some way now or will be in the future.

Sincerely, 

Me