LOYALTY to the Lord

I had a some strong thoughts about our seminary lesson today.  I hope I conveyed them to my class. We've crept through Jacob 2 in the Book of Mormon for the last 3 days because I felt it was important to catch what was going on in this chapter. 

As Jacob continues to speak to the Nephites at the temple about pride, the love of riches, and unchastity, he  agonizes about having to speak to them boldly.   He spoke of the hurt feelings from family members that have arisen from their actions.  The men have neglected to take care in watching where their loyalties lie and seeing how those actions affect those they love. 
In verse 35 it reads: ".....Ye have broken the hearts of your tender wives, and lost the confidence of your children, because of your bad examples before them; and the sobbings of their hearts ascend up to God against you. And because of the strictness of the word of God, which cometh down against you, many hearts died, pierced with deep wounds."
As our lesson was centered on living the Law of Chastity, we talked about loyalty to a spouse, a loved one, and a family.   When we are committed to a spouse in marriage, we promise to stay loyal to them, and none other.  When we live the Law of Chastity within a marriage, we form a bond with them and there is a strength that forms between us in that commitment we've made to each other.  We compliment each other and become greater by sharing "assets" (talents, abilities, strengths, etc.).  His assets become hers, and hers become his.   Isn't this like what the Lord is asking of us by entering into sacred covenants with him?  When we enter into a covenant with the Lord, he is offering us his righteousness if we would be loyal to him.  Because he loves us, he's willing to take on our sins if we repent, and commit to honor and obey him, and "no other gods".  Perhaps those hurt feelings expressed in verse 35 above somewhat reflect the Lord's feelings when we are not loyal to him?  Living the Law of Chastity helps us to understand being loyal to the Lord, which is what he asks of his covenant people.
Jacob is the very one, who in 2 Nephi 9, gave a strong, stirring sermon on the power of the Savior's Atonement.   Everything brings us back to the Atonement.  All things testify of Christ.   We become "complete" through him.

I Don't Have PRIDE, Do I?

Well, studying the Book of Mormon is like looking in a mirror.  We see bits and pieces of ourselves.   I think that was the point of the book.  We don't always like what we see in the mirror, though, WHICH IS THE POINT OF THE BOOK!  We were meant to read about what were the causes of the downfall of the Nephite civilization, and see the correlation with ourselves, in hopes of avoiding it.  Jacob 2 left me with much to contemplate.

President Ezra Taft Benson gave a stirring talk in the April 1989 General Conference titled "Beware of Pride".  I was living in Fontana, CA at the time.  I don't recall hearing this talk in 1989.  This talk was the backbone and springboard for our lesson in seminary today. 

President Benson defines pride as ENMITY (hatred toward, hostility to, or a state of opposition) toward God and/or others.   It can be seen as rebellion, hard-heartedness, stiff-neckedness, unrepentant, puffed up, easily offended.  It is also faultfinding, gossiping, backbiting, murmuring, living beyond our means, envying, coveting, withholding gratitude and praise that might lift another, unforgiving, jealous, disobedience, and selfishness, just to name a few.  

We took a brief True/False quiz on PRIDE at the beginning of class:

1. If you don't like someone, then you have pride.
2. Arguing is a form of pride.
3. The way to overcome pride is by going to church.
4. There are some forms of pride that are good.
5. Disobedience to someone in authority over you is pride.
6. Gossiping is a form of pride.
7. If you have pride, you welcome input from others.
8. Poor people don't have pride because they don't have money.
9. Holding onto grudges is pride.
10. If someone offends you, then you have pride.

Going over the answers of this quiz made for a good discussion.  Our class was a bit surprised that some of these behaviors were forms of pride.  I brought a mirror to class to make the point that in order to overcome pride, we had to be able to identify it, then we had to be willing to look for the pride in ourselves before looking for it in others. We can't overcome what we don't acknowledge.  

What is beautiful about the Book of Mormon is that it not only identifies and defines pride in the Nephite people, but the solution to overcoming it is given as well.  1.The two groups in the Book of Mormon that seemed to have the greatest difficulty with PRIDE are "the learned, and the rich." (2 Ne. 28:15)   In several chapters previous to this, Jacob teaches that "...to be learned is good if they hearken unto the counsels of God." (2 Ne. 9:29).  2.  He addresses the rich by stating, "Think of your brethren like unto yourselves, and be familiar with all and free with your substance, that they may be rich like unto you.  But before ye seek for riches, seek ye for the kingdom of God." (Jacob 2:17-18)  

The application of this to ourselves is key!  The Book of Mormon was written for us to bring us closer to Jesus Christ through his teachings. We overcome the world by becoming like him.  The Book of Mormon also shows us how to overcome the struggles the Nephites/Lamanites had in common with us.   If we can implement the teachings of Jesus Christ in this book, we will be able to sidestep a similar destruction. 

President Benson concludes his talk by stating, "God will have a humble people. Either we can choose to be humble or we can be compelled to be humble. Alma said, “Blessed are they who humble themselves without being compelled to be humble.” (Alma 32:16.)

Let us choose to be humble.

Tender Hearts Discovered Through Tardy Make-ups

Students roll into seminary, and sometimes they're late. It's going to happen.  I've tried to come up with a fair way for them to do tardy make-ups.  So far, this has worked for me over the last several years.

1.  I collect each student's e-mail address at the beginning of the year. 

2. I send them each an e-mail to make sure I have the correct e-mail address.

3.  I put them in an e-mail group in my address book online.

4.  For every day that I have a lesson, I send them a group e-mail (BCC) with 3 questions from the lesson.   I call them my "3 Seminary Questions", followed by the date.

5.  In order to get credit for a tardy, they must answer at least one question correctly and send it back to me through e-mail.  Since I send 3 questions/day, they have an opportunity to get credit for 3 tardies at one time.   They cannot "bank" their tardies past a week, so whatever questions they answer correctly beyond what they need gets translated into Mormon Money (a money reward system we use in class).  

What's nice for me is that I can see, from their responses, who was listening and who wasn't.  Or even better, whether what I've taught was clear or unclear.  If I was unclear, then I know that I need to work harder as a teacher to articulate my thoughts and teach differently.  If I was clear, then I know how to continue.  Sometimes students answer the questions with simple answers, and others have been known to write paragraphs.  It's completely up to them. 

For those students who attend seminary on time, they can simply delete the e-mail when they receive it, or answer the questions to earn Mormon Money.

You can see that this takes some time to maintain and be consistent.  I haven't had a problem with maintenance, so far.  What I enjoy the most are reading the responses.  There are times when I can "see in their heart" with their honest answers.  I have found class comedians, poets, book-writers, and students with wild imaginations in reading these responses.  Some of their "talents" would never have been discovered had I not given them the chance to express themselves in this way.  So....................this is what works for me.

Here are my questions from today's lesson in 2 Nephi 28:

1. In 2 Nephi 28:4-9, there are several false teachings Nephi mentions would be present in the last days. Name two.

2. How could being aware of these false teachings be helpful to us? How do we know they're false?

3. In the short movie we watched today, President Boyd K. Packer compared the dangers of Satan to us, with the dangers of a crocodile to other animals in the wild. How were the other animals fooled (especially the young) to get close enough to the crocodile? ...And give me an example of how that could be us?

From a teacher of the RISING GENERATION...

Impressive.   My youth were very expressive about what they learned this past weekend while listening to General Conference.  I am happy to see that they have a passion about it.  Again, not my experience as a youth. I always find it so interesting to listen to them.  I don't think I'm that old, or that different from them.  But apparently I am.  They always have such an interesting perspective that I don't see until they share it with me.  That's part of the excitement of teaching youth.   This RISING GENERATION just knows so much more than my generation did when we were that age.  Progress; thank goodness. 

This is what they heard:

Elder Holland's talk made the biggest impression on them.  Read the Book of Mormon, treasure it to avoid being deceived by Satan. Read it, know it, testify of it.   Joseph Smith was a true prophet. Elder Holland's testimony was bold and amazing.  (This is one talk they'll never forget.)

Love Family - Need to be more loving to each other, tell your family you love them and show them, teach your family the doctrine, teach them good morals, talk to one another, be kinder.

Love God - Be loyal to him, know who he is, keep his commandments, pray often.

Love Others - Look for ways of serving, "warm fuzzies", take care of those who have less, lose yourself in serving others.

Anger - Anger doesn't solve anything, patience, can't feel the Spirit when you're angry.

Missionary work - Now is the time to prepare, be worthy, learn so we can teach, gospel must be spread throughout the rest of the world.

Heart - Need to soften our heart by reading the scriptures, praying, keeping the commandments, partaking of the sacrament every week.  Don't be casual.  Being casual turns your heart to stone.  Holy Ghost can't dwell in your heart if it's hard.

I have a great class.  I am happy they are willing to open their mouths and share their thoughts and what was important to them.  An experience like watching General Conference simultaneously brings us closer from hearing the messages at the same time.  The Spirit is able to touch us all in a given moment even if we are miles apart.

Getting Revvvvvvvvved up for General Conference!

When I was little, my father would pick me up out of bed, blankets and all, plop me on the couch, and turn on the t.v. at 6:00 a.m. on the Sunday of General Conference.   I grew up in Hawaii (Pacific Standard Time - 4 hours behind Utah) and there wasn't a way to record the sessions back then.  Darn.  I didn't see the point of me having to lie there on the couch on those mornings. General Conference just couldn't keep my attention longer than 15 seconds at a time.  The speakers all seemed the same.  All wearing suits and ties, elderly, and I remember them speaking VERY SLOWLY.   

At the time, I didn't appreciate my dad and what he was doing.   Well, my dad turned out to be my hero and example. I have tremendous gratitude for his stalwart testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  He taught me what I SHOULD be doing out of obedience even if it was hard for me.   The understanding and wisdom came later, as well as the testimony.   Today, I have come to crave General Conference.  I listen to every speaker and it's somewhat depressing at the end of the weekend to think I have to wait another 6 months before I can get my "spiritual bucket" filled again. 

As I spoke to my seminary class this morning about preparation for General Conference, I could tell that there were some who already had the excitement and positive anticipation for it.  I hoped to make it clear to them how important it was to me.  If they ever seek to know why I feel the way I do, then perhaps they will attempt to know for themselves through prayer.  

I asked each of them to sign up to report back to the class on 2 speakers over the whole conference.  Monday's lesson will be comprised of thoughts, impressions, information, and inspirational messages from them.  I appreciate the ability we have to access the talks online through http://www.lds.org/.   I shared that with the class so they could refer to this website if they wanted to review any of the talks.   I, of course, will watch ALL of the sessions (except the Priesthood session), and try to tie some messages together to share my testimony with them on Monday.    I'm looking forward to an amazing weekend.

Having a "Nerf" BLAST with Scripture Mastery

This Nerf gun is the funnest Scripture Mastery prop I have ever used.  I bought a few of these last year to play with my class and we never EVER got tired of using them to test ourselves on how well we knew our Scripture Mastery.  I laminated twenty-five 8-1/2" x 11" pictures on cardstock of each SM.  I also laminated twenty-five corresponding cards with only the references on them.  And I did the same for the key words.  So that is seventy-five cards total.    As we learned each SM, I'd use these flash cards to test them.   Then at the end of a day where we're concentrating on SM, I tape the cards to the chalk board and set up a few chairs facing the board.  Each shooter has a Nerf gun with several darts.  I bought darts of different colors so we could differentiate which shooter they came from.   The fun starts when I ask for something specific and they have to shoot at the correct card.  The first one whose suction dart sticks to the card, is the winner of that round.  I'll say: "I'm looking for the key words that go with the reference __________."  Then they know they're shooting at the cards with the key words.  Or I'll begin by saying, "I'm looking for the picture for this scripture." And I'll start reading the actual scripture.  The first one whose dart sticks on the correct card is the winner of that round.   They take turns and play as a devotional group or another organized group we've planned ahead of time.   

The fun comes when you see how aiming at the target isn't as easy as it looks.  Also, just because you know the answer doesn't mean you have the fastest gun.   And.......sometimes you'll  know the answer, you'll have the faster gun, but your dart doesn't stick like you wanted it to.   It's tons of fun.   At first I was wondering whether I was encouraging violence in seminary.  I've gotten over that thought a long time ago.  If this is how we bond as a class, then I'll get EVERYONE a Nerf gun!  'Going to play it tomorrow.  We know 8 SM very well at this point in the year.  I'll put up the 24 cards and we'll get to know them even better. 

Nephi: Too Much GOOD to keep up with!

Well, it's the beginning of the seminary year and I'm already behind in logging in my thoughts, impressions, and lessons.   I'm licking my wounds and moving on. 

My seminary class is at the end of 2 NEPHI and we're approaching Jacob quickly.  Here are some thoughts I have about NEPHI. 
Like Moses, I noticed NEPHI isn't too complimentary of himself (even though we're very aware of the incredible man he is).   His humility shows quite frequently as he writes about his weaknesses.  I've shared with my class that we all want to identify with NEPHI, but realistically, we're more like LAMAN & LEMUEL than we want to admit.  It is my impression that this is why he writes about them so much.  It is our challenge to overcome the faults of LAMAN & LEMUEL in ourselves.  Once we identify what those things are (pride, selfishness, physical comfort, lack of commitment to the Lord, love of the world, greed, etc.), and then admit that we have those things, then we can work on ridding ourselves of what will hold us back from receiving the promptings of the Holy Ghost.

NEPHI is very repetitious, THANK GOODNESS.   He speaks often of the condition of our hearts.   He tells us what will soften our hearts.  You can see a process occuring in NEPHI of gaining understanding from the Lord of the Lord's will.  As NEPHI is obedient, he begins to open himself to what the Lord wants and those turn into his own personal desires as well.  NEPHI begins to become as the Savior is.  NEPHI cannot NOT be obedient to the Lord.   In his very last words to us, he says: "For what I seal on earth, shall be brought against you at the judgment bar; for thus hath the Lord commanded me, and I must obey. Amen."   (2 Ne. 33:15) He MUST obey because he is in full acceptance of the Lord's way.  To do otherwise would to go against all he knows to be true.

There is a digression occurring with LAMAN & LEMUEL because of their complaining and insincere repentance.  They continue to harden their hearts to the point that only the power of God can soften them (1 Ne. 18:20). They are no longer sure of what they know (loss of their testimony), they are reluctant to listen to their younger brother NEPHI for direction because they don't believe he's being directed by the Lord.  There is also pride mixed up in their rejection of NEPHI.

The most noticeable difference in them was made apparent to me once NEPHI took the Lord's faithful followers away from LAMAN & LEMUEL.   In 2 Nephi 5, NEPHI takes his people (those who believe in the Lord and his revelations) and separates them from the influence of evil.  He builds a temple and teaches his people to be obedient to the commandments of God.  When they keep the Lord's commandments, they prosper in the land.  Those left behind with LAMAN & LEMUEL, then are left with a curse (being cut off from the presence of the Lord - 2 Ne. 5:20), a sign of that curse (a skin of blackness - 2 Ne. 5:21), and the result of that curse (became an idle people, full of mischief - 2 Ne. 5: 24).

NEPHI teaches us so much more.....I'll have to stop in later and share what else made an impression on me!