My Testimony, Inspirations, and Personal Revelations: April 17th, 2022 Gospel Doctrine Lesson- Easter Sunday

April 17th, 2022 Gospel Doctrine Lesson- Easter Sunday

Obviously we did not cover everything, but hopefully covered what the Spirit wanted me to cover in the time we had.

The treat I prepared, thanks to my mom's idea, were the Lamb Lindt chocolates that I passed around in an Easter basket for everyone. This was during the section where we talk about our favorite names of Christ and one of mine being "The Lamb of God" because it reminds us of the love of our Heavenly Father that he gave his only begotten son so that we could return to live with him again.

Welcome to Gospel Doctrine

A little less than a month ago, I found out that some other wards had cancelled their second hour for today and were essentially treating today like Christmas, in only meeting for Sacrament.

The natural man in me got excited, maybe I won’t have to teach! Yeah!

So I texted Alan, and confirmed that we were in fact having a second hour today. Of course I was a bit deflated. Throwing a bit of a tantrum in my own mind. “But why do they get to not have a second hour and we don’t?”

Then as some time passed and my mind pondered on this lesson. This scripture was brought to the forefront of my mind over and over again.

2^nd Nephi 25:26

“And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.”

My heart was softened, and I started to get very excited about this lesson.

I became excited to get to talk of Christ, rejoice in Christ, and preach of Christ.

So I am grateful for the opportunity to be with you today and to talk of Christ.

By raise of hands, did anyone attend the Passover dinner on Thursday evening?

Would anyone like to share something that stood out to them or that they learned or enjoyed?

By raise of hands, has anyone had the opportunity to visit the bountiful tabernacle experience?

Would anyone be willing to share something they learned or enjoyed?

Where could we find Christ in this tabernacle experience?

One of the things that really stood out to me was when they talked about the animal sacrifices. How in order to repent someone would have to bring their beloved, unblemished lamb and take it’s life to be forgiven of their sins. Maybe it is because I love animals so much. And when I think about having to take an innocent life of one of my dogs all because of one of my sins, I can’t even fathom that. Through this imagery the true weight of the cost of repentance really impacted me. I have always been so grateful that we do not have to sacrifice animals because of our Saviors sacrifice. But I truly now feel a weight unlike before of our Saviors sacrifice because he is even more innocent then those animals and he bears the weight of my sins with every mistake that I make. It definitely motivates me even more to try and overcome my weaknesses so that I don’t add to his anguish.

How are we like the people of the old testament?

Now I would like everyone to close their eyes. I am going to time about 30 seconds. During this time, I would like for you each to let your mind wander to thoughts of how our Savior has touched your life, helped your faith grow or moments in your life that have shaped your testimony of him. It could be a trial, it could be a hymn, it could be a scripture, a picture or a conference talk. It will be different for everyone.

The 30 seconds starts now.

I would love it if anyone would share what came to their mind.

An experience that impacted me a great deal was probably 10 or so years ago I went to a Relief Society activity one night at our ward building.

It was held in the gym and rows of chairs had been set up. The lights were turned down as low as possible and we were asked to put blindfolds on.

A recording was played of the events of Christs life from the new testament. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Then as events moved forward and it was time for Jesus to carry his cross to Golgotha,

A voice of one of the volunteers whispered in my ear. “Will you help me?”. I whispered back. “Yes”

As I stood up, an extremely heavy piece of wood, which I can only guess was a railroad tie, was lifted on my shoulder. Blindfolded and with tears streaming down my checks, I carried that wood in what I would guess was a circle around the setup chairs back to my chair.

As we listened in the quiet to the rest of the scriptural account of the events following. Snifles around the room could be heard.

And from that day, I have never been the same.

Watch Jesus Once of Humble Birth Music Video

What are some of the names of the Savior that resonate with you when you hear them and why?

Show picture of Peter in sea and read scriptures

How can we accept the Lord’s will over our own? What decisions or choices in your life have helped you to build that level of trust?

Read # 15

Read the Living Christ

Could we sign our names to the bottom of this document? Are our testimonies strong enough?

How can we help others find peace and joy in Christ?

Last Tuesday night my mind wrestling with questions about the atonement that were confusing me and I couldn’t wrap my mind around.

So, I texted my Dad at almost 1am.

Hi Dad, I’m teaching Sunday and I have some questions about the atonement. Will you call me when you have a few minutes?

My Dad is my closest resource when it comes to scripture and church knowledge. He has read all of the scriptures more times than anyone I know and is constantly studying pretty much any church book he can get his hands on.

Of course I knew my almost 70 year old dad was sleeping at one am, so did not expect him to call me right away.

He called me the next day and we talked briefly about my questions surrounding the atonement. Except, he did not give me the answers I think I was expecting or looking for. So I felt a bit frustrated after the call because my mind was still in a bit of confusion.

But my dad say one sentence that made all the difference.

He said, you should read the book titled “The Infinite Atonement” by Tad Callister.

I asked him if he still had a copy and he said he would look for it.

Later that night he told me his copy was just on his phone.

So I did the same. Downloaded a copy from amazon to my kindle app.

That night I began to read and I literally couldn’t put it down. Every question I have ever had regarding the atonement was being answered. The scriptures and quotes from prophets and apostles are interwoven throughout to give context to each piece of the atonement in a way I had never understood or known before.

If I were a book peddler I would literally go door to door selling this book.

I did realize I made one mistake with this book. I should have bought a hard copy to mark up. I ended up taking screen shots of passages I liked, but it is definitely not ideal.

Some things I learned from The Infinite Atonement.

Read #3 and #4, possibly read 24 and 25