If you read my post over at Latter-day Homeschooling than you know that I am trying to revitalize our family scripture study. I've thought about why we struggle so much to make it happen and I've decided that I'm working against my basic personality in some ways. What usually happens when we read scriptures is that the kids fight over how many verses they get to read or where they sit or they start wrestling or in a dozen other ways the entire process becomes so unpleasant that I try to avoid it even when I'm trying to make it happen.
Although I am essentially a pretty lazy person, I am also type A. I can make things happen. However, I refuse to put any energy into things I don't feel are productive. Our scripture study is unproductive, therefore I don't put the time and effort in to make it happen.
I changed my goal from "have scripture study" to "have a productive scripture study." That is more motivating to me.
From there I just had to decide how to make scripture study productive. I've come up with a strategy. I realize it might not work, but it might and it has to be better than what we've been doing.
New Scripture Strategy!:
1) The kids and spouse will only be allowed to sit at the table in their assigned dinner seats--no more wrestling matches during scripture study.
2) Our study will revolve around General Conference talks. We'll read through a talk in pieces, adding scriptures and songs that I think will add to an understanding of the topic.
3) I won't set any unnecessary boundaries that will drive me crazy; i.e., we'll study each talk for one week.
4) Each nightly scripture study will take no more than 15 minutes.
The first talk we are studying (we are starting tonight) is Sister Burton's talk from the General Women's Meeting, "Wanted: Hands and Hearts to Hasten the Work." It took me about two hours to break down the talk and create reading assignments. I'll let you know how it goes at the end of the week.
The following is what I wrote up for myself.
Monday:
Miriam: Read definition of “disciple” in the
Bible Dictionary. In what ways are we disciples of Jesus?
Dad: Dear
sisters, how we love you! As we watched that beautiful video, did you see your
own hand reaching out to help someone along that covenant path? I was thinking
about a young Primary girl named Brynn who has only one hand, and yet she uses
that hand to reach out to bless her family
and her friends—Latter-day Saints and those of other faiths. Isn’t she
beautiful? And so are you! Sisters, we can offer hands to help and hearts to
hasten Heavenly Father’s wonderful work.
Just as
our faithful sisters in the scriptures, such as Eve, Sarah, Mary, and many
others, knew their identity and purpose, Brynn knows that she is a daughter of
God.1 We too can know of our own divine heritage as beloved daughters of God
and the vital work He has for us to do.
The Savior
taught, “If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine.”2 What do
we need to know and do “to live with him someday”?3 We can learn from the story
of the rich young man who asked Jesus what he needed to do in order to receive
eternal life.
Emeline:
Read Matthew 19: 16-19
Cowen: Read Matthew 19: 20-22
Miriam: We can
learn from the story of the rich young man who asked Jesus what he needed to do
in order to receive eternal life.
Jesus
answered him, “If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.”
The young
man asked Him which ones he should keep. Jesus then reminded him of several of
the Ten Commandments we are
all familiar with.
Eli: The young
man responded, “All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I
yet?”
Harriet: Jesus
said, “If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the
poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.”
Dad: Jesus called him to become a part of
His work—the work of a disciple. Our work is the same. We are to “lay aside the
things of [the] world, … cleave unto [our] covenants,” and come unto Christ and
follow Him. That’s what disciples do!
·
Discuss
following the Savior
·
Write
on our “What do disciples do?” chart
o
Lay
aside things of the world (talk about what that means)
o
Cleave
unto our covenants
o
Follow
Christ
o
Obey
commandments
·
Memorize
3 Nephi 5:13, “Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”
·
Practice
song, “Holding Hands Around the World,” verse about discipleship especially
Tuesday:
Cowen: Like the rich young man in Jesus’s day,
sometimes we are tempted to give up or turn back because maybe we think we
can’t do it alone. And we are right! We cannot do the difficult things we have
been asked to do without help. Help comes through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, the guidance of the Holy Ghost, and the
helping hands of others.
Dad: Read about “Grace” in Bible Dictionary.
·
God
gives us strength to do good works—His work
Emeline: A faithful single sister recently
testified that through the Atonement, she found strength to use her helping
hands and willing heart to raise the four children her sister had left behind
when she died of cancer. That reminded me of something Elder Neal A.
Maxwell said: “All the easy things that the Church has had to do have been
done. From now on, it’s high adventure, and followership is going to be tested
in some interesting ways.” You have been sent to earth in this dispensation of
time because of who you are and what you have been prepared to do! Regardless
of what Satan would try to persuade us to think about who we are, our true
identity is that of a disciple of Jesus Christ!
·
What
does Satan want us to think about ourselves?
·
How
do disciples feel about themselves/know about themselves?
Miriam: Mormon
was a true disciple who lived in a day when “every heart was hardened, … and
there never had been so great wickedness among all the children of Lehi.” How
would you like to have lived in that day? And yet Mormon boldly declared,
“Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”
Don’t you
love Mormon? He knew who he was and what his mission was and was not distracted
by the evil that surrounded him. In fact, he considered his calling to be a
gift.
Think what a
blessing it is to be called to give our gift of daily discipleship to the Lord,
declaring in word and deed, “Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ!”
·
Add
to chart “What do disciples do?”
o
Not
distracted by evil
o
Know
they are beloved children of God
o
Rely
on grace for help to accomplish God’s work
o
Are
grateful to be a disciple of Christ
·
Work
on memorizing scripture and learning song
Wednesday:
Cowen: I love the story President Boyd K.
Packer told of a dear sister who was ridiculed for following the prophet’s
counsel to store food. The one who criticized suggested that if times became
desperate, her leaders would ask her to share her food storage with others. Her
simple and resolute response as a true disciple was, “At least I will have
something to bring.”
·
Add
to list: Obey our prophets and leaders
Eli: I love the women of the Church, young
and old. I have seen your strength. I have seen your faith. You have something
to give and are willing to give it. You do this without fanfare or publicity,
drawing attention to the God we worship, not yourselves, and with no thought of
what you will receive. That’s what disciples do!
Miriam: 2 Nephi 26: 29 – 31
·
Add
to list: Serve God without expecting praise
Emeline: I
recently met a young woman in the Philippines whose family became less active
in the Church when she was only 7 years old, leaving her alone to walk a
dangerous road to church week after week. She told how at age 14 she decided
that she would stay true to her covenants so she would be worthy to raise her
future family in a home “blessed by the strength of priesthood pow’r.” The best
way to strengthen a home, current or future, is to keep covenants, promises
we’ve made to each other and to God.
That’s what
disciples do!
Harriet: D&C 25:13
·
Review
baptismal covenants
Dad: A faithful Japanese sister and her
husband visited our mission in Korea. She didn’t speak Korean and was limited
in her ability to speak English, but she had a willing heart to use her unique
gifts and helping hands to do the Lord’s work. That’s what disciples do! She
taught our missionaries how to do a simple piece of origami—a mouth that could
open and shut. She then used the few English words she knew to teach the
missionaries to “open their mouths” to share the gospel—a lesson they will
never forget, nor will I.
·
Add
to list: Use our unique talents to do God’s work
·
Practice
song/memorization
Thursday:
Dad: Visualize
for a minute you and me standing together with the other millions of sisters
and brothers in His Church, going forth boldly, doing what disciples do—serving
and loving like the Savior. What does it mean to you to be a disciple of Jesus
Christ?
Mormon Helping
Hands vests and shirts have been worn by hundreds of thousands of selfless
disciples of Jesus Christ who have embraced the opportunity to provide temporal
service. But there are other ways to serve as devoted disciples. Imagine with
me some of the possible spiritual “help wanted” signs related to the work of salvation:
Cowen:
Help wanted:
parents to bring up their children in light and truth
Help wanted:
daughters and sons, sisters and brothers, aunts and uncles, cousins,
grandparents, and true friends to serve as mentors and offer helping hands
along the covenant path
Miriam:
Help wanted:
those who listen to the promptings of the Holy Ghost and act on impressions
received
Help wanted:
those who live the gospel daily in small and simple ways
Emeline:
Help wanted:
family history and temple workers to link families eternally
Help wanted:
missionaries and members to spread the “good news”—the gospel of Jesus Christ
Harriet: Help
wanted: rescuers to find those who have lost their way
Eli: Help
wanted: covenant keepers to stand firm for truth and right
Mom: Help
wanted: true disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ
·
Add
to our “What do disciples do?” chart from the help wanted statements
·
Practice
memorization song/scripture
Friday:
Miriam: Years
ago, Elder M. Russell Ballard issued a clarion call to the sisters of the
Church when he said:
“Between now and
the day the Lord comes again, He needs women in every family, in every ward, in
every community, in every nation who will step forward in righteousness and say
by their words and their actions, ‘Here am I, send me.’
Emeline: “My
question is, ‘Will you be one of those women?’”13
I hope
each of us can answer with a resounding “Yes!” I close with the words of a
Primary song:
We are
cov’nant [daughters] with a gift to give.
We will teach
the gospel by the way we live.
With each word
and action, we will testify:
We believe, and
we serve Jesus Christ.14
Eli: As true disciples, may we offer our
willing hearts and our helping hands to hasten His work. It does not matter if,
like Brynn, we have only one hand. It does not matter if we are not yet perfect
and complete.
Harriet: We are devoted disciples who reach out
and help each other along the way.
Cowen: Our sisterhood reaches across the
generations to those faithful sisters who have walked before. Together, as
sisters and in unity with living prophets, seers, and revelators with restored
priesthood keys, we can walk as one, as disciples, as servants with willing
hearts and hands to hasten the work of salvation. As we do so, we will become
like the Savior. I so testify in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
·
Review
our chart
·
Make
a goal to act like a disciple—report on how you do at FHE on Sunday
·
Practice
memorization/song
Here is an example of what I am printing out, cutting into slips, and handing out.
Monday:
Miriam: Read definition of “disciple” in the
Bible Dictionary.
Dad: Dear
sisters, how we love you! As we watched that beautiful video, did you see your
own hand reaching out to help someone along that covenant path? I was thinking
about a young Primary girl named Brynn who has only one hand, and yet she uses
that hand to reach out to bless her family
and her friends—Latter-day Saints and those of other faiths. Isn’t she
beautiful? And so are you! Sisters, we can offer hands to help and hearts to
hasten Heavenly Father’s wonderful work.
Just as
our faithful sisters in the scriptures, such as Eve, Sarah, Mary, and many
others, knew their identity and purpose, Brynn knows that she is a daughter of
God.1 We too can know of our own divine heritage as beloved daughters of God
and the vital work He has for us to do.
The Savior
taught, “If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine.”2 What do
we need to know and do “to live with him someday”?3 We can learn from the story
of the rich young man who asked Jesus what he needed to do in order to receive
eternal life.
Emeline:
Read Matthew 19: 16-19
Cowen: Read Matthew 19: 20-22
Miriam: We can
learn from the story of the rich young man who asked Jesus what he needed to do
in order to receive eternal life.
Jesus
answered him, “If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.”
The young
man asked Him which ones he should keep. Jesus then reminded him of several of
the Ten Commandments we are
all familiar with.
Eli: The young
man responded, “All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I
yet?”
Harriet: Jesus
said, “If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the
poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.”
Dad: Jesus called him to become a part of
His work—the work of a disciple. Our work is the same. We are to “lay aside the
things of [the] world, … cleave unto [our] covenants,” and come unto Christ and
follow Him. That’s what disciples do!
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