person0 Posted April 15, 2018 Report Posted April 15, 2018 (edited) Once again at our most recent Stake Conference we were blessed with a visit from General Authorities. Area 70, Elder Peter M. Johnson, and General Authority 70, Elder Claudio R.M. Costa instructed us during three meetings. I was able to attend two of the three meetings during which I took notes. Below are my notes, I hope they may be of some benefit to others. Elder Peter Johnson - Saturday Evening The woman who lost one of her pieces of silver (Luke 15:8-10) upon finding it, invited friends and neighbors to rejoice with her.There are many resources to help us find the one. When we do, we will rejoice, and heaven will rejoice with us. There will be times when we will have to be the parents of the prodigal son and sit and wait and hope and pray that those who are lost will 'come to themselves' (Luke 15:17). There will also be those who never leave us to whom we will have to minister. We are to remind all that we will inherit all the Father hath, that our faith may increase. We will need to make inspired decisions in our role as ministers. How do we do it? 4 things to be prepared to be effective ministers. 1) Pray always. There is power in prayer when we speak to our Father in heaven, out loud, on our knees. JS prayed out loud for the first time, this is when his prayer was answered. We need to pray like that daily. God will speak with us through the Holy Ghost and the scriptures. 2) Study the Book of Mormon with a question. 16 year old son at home with me, 'he is killing me.' He always wants to come on date night with me and wife. My wife says, 'let him come'. He's messing with my love life! (jovial yet sincere) When my son came home from school, I would ask him, 'what did you learn today?' He always answered 'nothing'. So I decided to change the question to, 'what did you ask today?' Still, he would answer, 'nothing.' Then I told my children that for every question they ask in school they would receive a quarter, all of a sudden they started thinking much harder about how they would respond so they could prove the questions they asked. If we study with a question, as long as it is sincere we will receive revelation. 3). Make the Sabbath day a delight by partaking of the Sacrament with a prayer. When we partake of these sacred ordinances the power of the atonement of Christ is made manifest in our lives. We will grow to have a deeper understanding of who we are and who he is. We will be ever grateful of the miracles manifested in our lives every day. 4) Live the Law of the Fast. We could discuss just the law of the fast as a gospel topic. Before the Savior started his ministry, he fasted 40 days and 40 nights. He did this to ensure He would have the spirit He needed to fulfil his ministry and the will of the Father. How do we become more effective ministers? Pray always, study the Book of Mormon with question, partake of the Sacrament with prayer, live Law of the Fast. All of these will enable us to grow spiritually stronger. Elder Claudio R. M. Costa - Saturday Evening The interesting thing about being the concluding speaker is that everything you will say has already been said by the speakers before you. [Laughter] I will speak about Ministering, but about ministering within our own families. This Church is the true Church of Jesus Christ. However, aside from the normal things we think of that define it, there is another definition, something more that makes up the Church. The Church is me, it is my family, it is each of us as individuals and especially families. We come to church to learn, and we leave to practice what we learn. We learn at church, we practice at home. Sometimes we do not understand why we hold the holy priesthood. It is to bless others using the power of God. I have seen many brothers who give a lot of blessings of health when called upon. But did he give a blessing to his own family? Did he bless his children to remember material for a test? Did he give his wife a blessing when she was not feeling well in the morning before he leaves for work instead of calling her during his lunch break to check on her? We need to be using the priesthood to bless our families. Some people have a strange idea that, 'I am a Christian, I have a relationship with Jesus Christ, I don't need an organized religion.' Our missionaries should teach to people who have this idea: They are right in one sense. When we pray that is between us and God. However we do need an organized religion. One of the things Christ said is that we must be born of the water and of the Spirit. Have you power to baptize yourself and give the holy ghost to yourself? You cannot. That is why we need the Divine organization. We each need the ordinances of salvation. All of us know that the family is under attack. Satan is trying to destroy the family. Why? He cannot have a family. He wants us to be miserable like him. It is mistaken to think that when God presented the Plan that there were 2 plans. This is wrong. There was only one plan, lucifer did not have a plan, his only plan was to destroy God's plan. We need to protect our families. What can we do? In a 2004 worldwide satellite broadcast, James E. Faust spoke about what will strengthen and protect our families. There are 3 things that are simple and not time consuming. 1) Family home evening, once/wk 30-40 min. It's okay if it can't be done on Monday, do it any day! But it is very important to do it every week! [Elder Costa] has called 216 Stake Presidents. He had to interview approximately 30 men every single time. He always asks them if they are doing FHE every week. A very common answer he hears is, 'my wife does it every week', or 'my wife is much better at that than I am'. It is a priesthood responsibility. It is not complicated. You may invite your wife to teach a lesson, or older child to teach the lesson from Sunday School, or even your 8 year old to teach the lesson learned in primary that week. You will sometimes have very 'interesting' classes. Story: A brother [Elder Costa] knows has a son who learned a primary lesson about the israelites slavery in Egypt. For his FHE lesson he taught how Pharaoh was a bad man, he was very tough with them. God told Moses to 'make my people free.' Moses said that God sent him to take people out of Egypt. Pharoah said no! Eventually pharoah allowed them. Then, he was upset about it so he sent his air Force to send bombs, and also some tanks to attack them. They were between the sea and pharaoh's army. Moses had an idea, he called the engineers from among the israelites to build a bridge across the sea. When all the israelites were on the other side, Moses pushed the button to blow up the whole bridge! The child's parents were surprised at his version of the story and told him that those were some very interesting details he explained in the story. The Son said, 'No, no, the way my teacher explained it was very interesting. I made some adaptations to make sure you would understand'. As parents we need to sometimes make 'adaptations' to help our children to understand. 2) Daily family prayer, both morning and night. 3 min in morning, and 3 in the afternoon. This will only take 6 min/day. Give all children an opportunity to pray. 3) Daily family scripture study. Could be 1 verse, 5 verses, 1 chapter. Even the illustrated stories are excellent. However, there is a big difference between reading vs studying. If I asked you 'How many days was Noah in ark', what would most of you say? Those who have only read the passages would say 40 days. Those who have studied them would know the answer is actually one year. (Gen. 7:11, 8:15-17) The Israelites walked in the desert for 40 years. We study about them while sitting in air conditioning, drinking lemonade, and most of us think we could do it without complaining. What scripture does almost everyone know from memory? 1 Nephi 3:7! Almost every member thinks they would be like Nephi and not like Laman and Lemuel. Example: Imagine tomorrow your dad wakes you at 5am and says let's go I had a dream. God told me we have to leave the house and never come back. Would you say, 'Dad, it's 5am, you were dreaming, you are a dreamer'? Perhaps [Laman and Lemuel] were not as 'bad' as we think of them in comparison to ourselves. Suppose you were like Nephi and said, 'Okay Dad, I'm gonna go'. 3 days you travel in the heat. There is no shower, etc. Eventually you come to oasis. You have water, animals, plants, etc. The next morning, your father wakes you up at 5am, he had another dream. Now you have to go back to your home, but he is going to stay. There is a man named Laban, he has 50 men ready to kill anyone who upsets or defies him. But you will be safe, don't worry. How many would say, 'Dad, you're a dreamer, you always dream and put us in a bad situation'. Who would start praying, 'Heavenly Father please let our dad not have anymore dreams'? Suppose you go and do it, like Nephi. You come back and the next day your dad wakes you up again to go see a man named Ishmael. You have to introduce yourselves and convince him to leave the to the desert with you, because your father had a dream. While conving Ishmael to come you will have to tell him, 'Oh and by the way, don't forget to bring your daughters so they can marry us!' Can you see how hard it would be to be like Nephi? When the bishop calls us, how often do we make excuses, 'oh bishop I can't accept a call for a while', or, 'I just retired and need to make some time for myself now.' When we make excuses, that is the kind of thing Laman and Lemuel did, not Nephi. When I realized how long Noah was on the ark I tried to imagine it. Imagine adding a bull and cow in your bedroom with you. My wife might not be able to handle it. She loves to make changes in the house. She would be crazy trying to switch the elephants place with other animals, etc. [Laughter] Ministering to our family is teaching them to be like Christ and to be more close to Him. I love to study the Book of Mormon with my family. Start, finish, start, finish. . . I have lost count how many times we have read it. I travel every weekend. Yesterday I got to the hotel, took out my tablet, did a video chat with my wife, and we studied our scriptures. I cannot sleep without studying the Book of Mormon with her. It is part of me now. Many challenges in my life I have solved with Christ, through the Book of Mormon. President Boyd K. Packer taught at a Mission President's conference, 'When you need to teach missionaries, open the Book of Mormon to teach them. It doesn't matter which scripture. The missionary will find an answer within the pages of the Book of Mormon.' It is the most powerful tool for us to use to teach investigators, this is why they must know it! We live in a different time now. When I arrived home we all sat down for dinner together. Now everyone does something different. Parents need to be there for children. A father who is sitting watching T.V. might tell his child to wait just a moment for a commercial. In today's society the child will go to their phone and say, 'Siri, how do I solve my problem?' The Lord trusts the missionaries to use their tablets and technology for the righteous purposes of God. It is just a tool, it will never replace their testimony. They will never ask Siri to give them 'her' testimony. After first obtaining a GPS I told my wife that the GPS directions are more kind than her directions. My wife would tell me to 'turn left now!' after I just passed the street! [Laughter] However, a GPS can also take you to a very dangerous place when giving directions. Once in another country, the GPS took me down a street where there were 3 guys with guns staring at me. Do not teach children that technology is bad, teach them to use it for the intended purpose, or a righteous purpose. One of the best things I have done in my life is to never take work home with me. If I had more to do I would stay late, but never take it home. In the house, I am the father. I have never felt bad about this decision. My children didn't know what I did for a long time until eventually I took them to work with me. I never have a bad day since becoming a member of the Church. People sometimes tell me I do not have challenges like they do. This is not true. I have had many challenges in my life. Even through challenges, nothing can take my joy from me. I am not perfect as my wife will testify. These 3 things are the way to teach and protect our families. Lehi did this, and yet his children still had their own choice. We pray for the wayward, and put their name in the temple. Our children may be as the prodigal son; prepare the party now, because they will be back! Minister to your own family. While bearing testimony Elder Costa said: 'I know with perfect knowledge what happened in the grove in 1820'. Elder Peter Johnson - Sunday Session Some of you have come because it is your duty. Some desiring and hoping to hear something that will touch your hearts and draw you closer to the savior. Some have come to seek to touch others. Some might not know why you have come. All of these reasons are good. Ministering stems from the first 2 great commandments. Love God. . . Love your neighbor. (Matt. 22:36-37) Love; Charity, the pure love of Christ (Moroni 7:47), is the defining principle. Two ways to help us develop love are: 1) Service. For if ye are in the service of your fellow man . . . (Mosiah 2:17) and 2). Obedience - If ye love me keep my commandments. (John 14:15) Mat 28:19-20 - full quote. Christ gave this commandment directly to his apostles. When we follow this counsel we are both serving God and obeying his commandments. As a Stake President, I would often interview young men who came home after completing their mission. Most would share powerful testimony of their experiences and how they had grown. One returned missionary didn't have stories of testimony as expected. Instead he spoke of struggles and of how difficult it was to serve and fulfill his mission the full two years. I asked him, 'Why did you stay?' He told me that 6 months before going home he spoke to his companion to complain. As he was complaining he heard voice that said, 'I understand'. He turned to his companion and said, 'You can't possibly understand'. After that he kept complaining, but after another while heard a voice again saying, 'I understand'. At that time it became clear to him that it wasn't his companion that was speaking those words. He realized it was the Lord speaking to him in tender mercy. This experience gave him the strength to finish serving his mission. Christ took pain and suffering upon himself. (Alma 7:11-13) I testify that He understands. As we serve others and keep his commandments we will grow closer to him and we will understand. We will be uplifted and strengthened as we share the gospel of Jesus Christ. Elder Claudio R. M. Costa - Sunday Session There are many important events in the history of the planet. However, 4 things are the most important events since the earth has existed. 1) The Creation, 2) The fall of Adam and Eve, 3) The Atonement of Jesus Christ, 4) The Restoration. Why did the Lord create the earth? Why was the fall necessary? Why did we need the atonement? Why was the restoration important? Elder Russell M. Nelson - The Atonement - Oct 1996. . . I invite you to read the whole message, I have done this over 30 times and every time find new things. QUOTE from "The Atonement": "The purposes of the Creation, the Fall, and the Atonement all converge on the sacred work done in temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The earth was created and the Church was restored to make possible the sealing of wife to husband, children to parents, families to progenitors, worlds without end. This is the great latter-day work of which we are a part. That is why we have missionaries; that is why we have temples—to bring the fullest blessings of the Atonement to faithful children of God. That is why we respond to our own calls from the Lord. When we comprehend His voluntary Atonement, any sense of sacrifice on our part becomes completely overshadowed by a profound sense of gratitude for the privilege of serving Him." Sealing of families, and ordinances of salvation for individuals, this is the 'why?'. To progress in every aspect until we are back in the presence of God. In 1990 I was called to work on a mission in Brazil. The Amazon jungle was inside mission. At that time, in 1990, there was only 1 Stake. Now there are 30. Most units were mission branches. Most people did not have means to go to temples. People had to travel via boats and bus, 7 and a half days total trip. 4 days by boat and 3+1/2 days by bus. It was in total a 15 day round trip. I and the Stake President helped make plans to help many members visit the temple. People saved every penny possible to be able to go. Many people sold their houses, furniture, vehicles and other personal property, all to realize the dream of making an eternal family in the House of the Lord. I was not able to go when they went because I had to stay with the missionaries. In total 90 people made the journey. Even after all they had saved, it was only enough to travel on the least expensive boat and least expensive bus. There was no AC. It was very hot, as if it were 120 degrees, and then 90% humidity on top of that. The bus was small, they were all close together. They slept in hammocks. After 7+1/2 days they arrived at temple, many had Charlie horses in their legs from the journey. They were blessed to be able to stop and take a shower before visiting the temple. All received temple ordinances and came back happy. They entered the temple at 6am and stayed until it closed at 9pm. 2 months later I was presiding in a Branch during Sunday services. The Branch President said he would like to have him over for lunch. I was very grateful, but I also knew that his was a family who had sold everything to go to the temple. During the lunch I noticed that he had been able to get some furniture and other things again. I commented that I understood that this was a great reason to be happy. 'You still have what you need.' They responded and said, 'We are very happy, because we have enough to be able to sell so we can go to the temple again next year.' There is a church history movie about the story of these faithful saints in Brazil. I cry every time I see it because I knew what they went through. It's only 30 min to go to the temple for you! Please go more often! Try to go once a month. If you are already going once try twice. If you are already going twice, try three times! I promise you will have special experiences by praying before going to the temple and asking the Lord to give you special experiences while there. I invite you to make a little more sacrifice to go more frequently. The house of the Lord is a model for our house. At the temple, what kind of books do we have to study and read? Good books! What kind of movie can we watch? A good movie! Not R, not PG-13. We feel peace. John 17:3 is the Lord's definition, 'And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.' The temple is the way to do it. Knowledge necessary to go back to presence of the Lord. Increase your temple attendance. I testify it is the house of the Lord. Creation, fall, atonement, restoration, all for us to receive sacred ordinances of salvation in His holy house. The Lord listens to our prayers and gives us what is best for us to receive. 'I took notes at this conference about many things I can do better that I learned from you.' 'I promise I will do my part and make more effort. I am grateful to be your servant.' Edited April 15, 2018 by person0 e-eye, zil and Vort 2 1 Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.