Gospel Principals - 6/17/12 - Bro. Lovell

Who has been on a date? Who has felt that giddy infatuation? Who has had a disagreement with that person? Entropy = things that move towards continuous disorder. Personal relationships. What happens to your house over time? Entropy is a real problem. How do you go from giddy to disagreement? Familiararity. We like to discover...we get bored over time when there's nothing else to discover. Don't need to try so hard. Why do we do that? Human nature. If you don't have the lows, you can't appreciate the highs. Relationships start out fun, then it ends up where it needs to be functional..and it's not always fun. Priorities. Shared values matter. Is marraige so much work? Be commited. The world says, "If it doesn't work...DIVORCE!"
We spend more time talking about how important it is that we're married "forever." we just talked about how much work it is. Why is it so imporant to be married for eternity? 1)God said so. 2)creation / create 3)Be like God. The point of the world is to become like Heavenly Father. Something we do here, always has a point. Life on this earth = college. Move away from family (home in Heaven) Move to college (earth). You will make decisions you will deal with forever. Here to figure it out on our own. There are things that have long term consequences. Marraige is one of them. How do you get married? out of the church - legal agreement - 2 ppl become one - AKA, ok for sex. What's the advantage of being married? (out of the gospel) Marriage is a commitment. We have a yearning to want to feel close to another person. God gave us that feeling, for marriages. We Want to feel loved! We want someone who will love us, for who we are.
Gestaldt (German)  = something that is more than the sum of it's parts. 1+1 = 3
In the Gospel, marriage = ordinance. Means much more than just through a contract. (D&C 132:15-16) You can't become like HF (Heavenly Father) without being married. (18) through one with authority. Right place, right person, right time. It's about you, your spouse and God. You become more than just a contract, you become more like God. (19-20) Shall be Gods because they eternally create. It's about making people. About becoming like God. Just because you get sealed in the temple...it's not perfect from then on out. Marriage is hard / difficult, but is easier through the gospel. Commit yourself for eternity. Recognize it for the blessing that it is.

~Bro. Lovell

Sacrament Meeting

Tassji's talk - Agency - Something we are endowed with. Your choice. An important gift. We are expected to use it, and ask God for help / inspiration. Gave three examples on how ppl used agency. (D&C 8:1-3) Oliver Cowdrey wanted to translate the book of mormon. Spirit of revelation. Pray and ask in faith. Don't ask for something you know you can't have. (D&C 9) You can't expect God to give you everything you ask for. Things to ask God for help with / inspiration - Who we date; music we listen to; movies we see, etc. Ask God for approval. Use your agency to make the right choices. Listen to the still small Voice.

Sis. Nikki Szarka's talk - Following the promptings of the Holy Ghost - Why is it important? (John 14:16) He can help us as a teacher. (2 Nephi 2:35) He can be our guide and lead us on a safe path. We are entitlted to personal revelation. Act on the promptings. It's a blessing to recieve daily inspiration. Do your part and be worthy. Just by doing or saying something wrong...he could leave us. You could save someone by following the promptings given by the Holy Ghost. The Lord speaks to you through the spirit. It's a thought or a feeling. You will not make a major mistake without first being warned by the spirit. (D&C 8:2-3) spirit of revelation. Don't be too busy to pay attention to the spirit. (Moroni 8:26) pray, study, live righteously, repent, serve = are the ways we can invite the holy ghost into our lives. The spirit testifies to us of Christ. The spirit can comfort us. (D&C 127:7-8) Will uplift us, inform us (D&C 100:6) Restrain us. Often comes by surprise in restraining. Confirms, impails. Rare to impail, yet significant when it does happen. When we follow that still small voice, we'll find answers, joy, and safety. Sometimes, it's hard to recognize if it's your thoughts, or the spirit.

Bishop Reading's talk - Talks about personal experience with his father. Everyone should have a childhood memory with their father. There are differences between fathers in and out of the gospel. It's the perspective. how do you teach? What about? Eternal perspective plays a big part in how a father teaches / guides his family. Fathers work hard on protecting their children. "Just Say No." Just as there are physical dangers out there, there are also spiritual dangers.

Jeremiah - Seminary - 3/27/12

(Jeremiah 4:1) return unto Christ (3) stay true to the word of God <-- Judah have your hearts in your work. Even if it's not, still go through the motions; but try to keep your heart in it. (4) It's not about the outward appearance, but wyhat's in your heart. Repent! (11-12) If you don't prepare, people from the North will wipe you out, and you'll be gone with the wind (14) wash (purification) your heart. (pre baptismal ordinance they do) Get your heart right with God. (27) what happens if you don't repent. Total anialation. It won't be the end of the world, but it will be the end of you. (30) even though you dress yourself up as pretty as you want, you're still unfaithful, and everyone will turn against you. (31) your sound will be like a woman in child birth - crying out in pain, begging for help and mercy. (5:1) I'm looking for one honest man (21)foolish people. Why can't you understand me? (23) revolting and rebellious heart. (24) They're not turning to God. The Old testament was about the heart and love...on turning your heart to God. (6:2) a woman of Zion is beautiful and delicate. (15) you are committing sins, and you're not even ashamed of them. EVen though I've warned you, you won't listen, so you'll be destroyed. (26) start crying now, as if you had an only child who died. This is how you'll be because you haven't turned back to the Lord. (7:3) God will still haev Mercy on you if you turn to him. (4) Just because you have a temple, doesn't mean you won't be destroyed. Reasoning, is because it's not in their hearts. You go to the temple to make covenants, and you go home to keep the covenants. You have to keep your covenants. Everything is dependable upon your faith, your righteousness, and your continual doing in keeping your covenants. Get your heart right! (11) The temple has become a den of robbers. (Matthew 21:13) Den of theives. Christ quoted Jeremiah. (Jeremiah 7:13) I cried out to you, but you aren't listening / paying attention. (14) the temple will be captured and destroyed. It didn't have anything special, because the people defialed it so it was just another building (23) If you repent and return to God, all will be fine. Listen to the prophet, his apostles and councilors! They speak the word of God. Think about where your heart is. Where's your relationship with God? Have you spiritually been born again? Get back to that feeling of love!

~Bro. Ben Warner

Sacrament Meeting - Repentance

Christ's resurrection and crucifiction. (Alma 11:43-44) <--Resurrection, all shall be restored to its perfect frame! This gives us hope that there's a life after. (Moroni 7:40-41) Hope through the atonement of Christ. (Mark 15:24-29) It's impossible to imagine what he truly went through! Even in your darkest times, we can have hope because of the atonement! The times that are hard, won't last forever! Death is not the end of existence!

~Sister Burmister

Divine Gift of Repentance and Eternal Life. (D&C 1:31) You shall be forgiven if you forgive! (D&C 1:33) Repentance opens the door. But if you don't repent, it closes on you. All mankind may be saved. There is ALWAYS a consequence. Suffering for our sin doesn't make anything better. Only repentance through the atonement of Christ makes things better. (Matthew 4:17) Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand. The savior is inviting us to come with him. Strive to change for the better. Strive to be like Christ. Don't pray for mercy, ask for more time to try to be like him. Be obedient. Be committed to the Lord. True repentance is a mighty change of heart. It's a lot more than just saying, "Sorry." (D&C 19) If you don't repent, you've wasted what Christ has done for you = atonement. If you repent, you will be filled with joy! Endure till the end!

~Brother Mayer

Gospel Principles- Why Adam?

Why was Adam Chosen to be Adam? Plan of Salvation - Pre existence, veil/birth, earth, death, spirit world of spirit paradise and prison, resurrection, judgment, three kingdoms placement. Who was in the pre existence? Heavenly Father and everyone else. We know what happens there through the scriptures, prophets and the holy Ghost. Heavenly Father says he has a plan. That involves us leaving him. We have to prove ourselves to come back to him. We all chose this way as the right thing to do. What is the advantage of this? We get a body just like Heavenly Father. We want to be like him. The downside is we could screw up. Pre existence = living with parents at home. Earth = going to college on your won. You get to make your own choices. Adam is the first person who came to earth. Why? He probably was willing, very righteous, maybe Adam had the right traits. Back in the pre mortal life, you were still you! You can do as much as you wanted to do. Adam means first. He also probably went first, because God asked him to. Obedience. God's plan was to send his son for all the rest of us. If God told us that if we left him, we could have the chance to never return to him. Then Satan took away agency in his plan, and have the Glory to himself. But we would all end up back in Heaven in the end. But what would you come back as? How much failure does it take to make one invention? We learn by trying, failing, then trying again. We could not progress unless we left. When you reach a goal, you set another one. God always and always will give us the choice. WE will always have our agency. He has patience and hope in us! God doesn't leave us alone! He's left us a lot of help! The commandments are there to help you! They're not there to burden you. They're they’re to guide and help you so you can be happy! If you stay obedient to what God tells and asks of you...you will be blessed, watched over and helped. The war in Heaven, doesn't include swords. It was more of "Reason with me!" Debates. You are who you are, because it's the right time, right place, and you made the right choice in choosing Heavenly Father's Plan. Heavenly Father knows our potential and knows what we need. Heavenly Father gave us what we have so we can learn the most we can! We knew and trusted each other! We WANTED to come to earth. You are picked individually by God himself. Christ is our advocate, brother and Savior. What would you do for your siblings? Christ is on our side! How grateful we out to be to know that this work is not the work of man, but its the work of the Lord; that this church bears the name of Jesus Christ, is directed by him, and he will permit no man or group of men to destroy it. Satan tried to persuade Christ that he didn't have to do the atonement...that we didn't care...that we're not good enough. But Christ did it anyways. What makes me better today than I was yesterday? Become the person Heavenly Father sees you as. Who am I? Look in the mirror and decide who you are. Remember you are a son/daughter of God! Name at least one thing you can do to fulfill your potential God sees in you. God loves you! He does everything for you!

~Brother Lovell- Mandarin First Ward