I wasn't going to post any more of these since it isn't very helpful unless you have five children (or six like me wherein one is a baby and not represented in the reading assignments). Then my sister, who has six children all my children's ages, requested that I continue to post only insert her children's names instead of my children's names. Talk about lazy. :) Here you go, Kayli.
PS Whatever happened to search and replace???
PPS When my hubby isn't busy I'll try to get this to look normal. I just did a basic cut and paste! Why do computers act like they have a mind (subversive mind) of their own?
The Cost—and
Blessings—of Discipleship
By
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
Of
the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Be strong. Live the gospel faithfully even if
others around you don’t live it at all.
Day One:
Orrin: “President Monson, we love you. You have given
your heart and your health to every calling the Lord has ever given you,
especially the sacred office you now hold. This entire Church thanks you for
your steadfast service and for your unfailing devotion to duty.”
Talmage: “With
admiration and encouragement for everyone who will need to remain steadfast in
these latter days, I say to all and especially the youth of the Church that if
you haven’t already, you will one day find yourself called upon to defend your
faith or perhaps even endure some personal abuse simply because you are a
member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Such moments will require both
courage and courtesy on your part.”
Ethne: “For example, a sister missionary recently wrote to me: “My
companion and I saw a man sitting on a bench in the town square eating his
lunch. As we drew near, he looked up and saw our missionary name tags. With a
terrible look in his eye, he jumped up and raised his hand to hit me. I ducked
just in time, only to have him spit his food all over me and start swearing the
most horrible things at us. We walked away saying nothing. I tried to wipe the
food off of my face, only to feel a clump of mashed potato hit me in the back
of the head. Sometimes it is hard being a missionary because right then I
wanted to go back, grab that little man, and say, ‘EXCUSE ME!’ But I didn’t.””
Mom: As a
reminder—what is a disciple? What is a
disciple of Christ? How did that Sister
missionary follow the Savior’s example?
Hazel: “To this
devoted missionary I say, dear child, you have in your own humble way stepped
into a circle of very distinguished women and men who have, as the Book of
Mormon prophet Jacob said, “view[ed
Christ’s] death, and suffer[ed] his cross and [borne] the shame of the world.”
Jethro: Jacob
1:8
Mom: What is Jacob talking about in this
scripture? How do we view Christ’s death
or take upon us His cross? What does it
mean to bear the shame of the world? How
did the Sister missionary bear the shame of the world? How is this concept represented in Lehi’s
vision?
Dad: 1 Nephi 8: 24-28 and 1 Nephi 11: 35-36
Mom: Which
is truly important: what other people think of us or being a disciple of
Christ? “Indeed, of Jesus Himself,
Jacob’s brother Nephi wrote: “And the world, because of their iniquity, shall
judge him to be a thing of naught; wherefore they scourge him, and he suffereth
it; and they smite him, and he suffereth it. Yea, they spit upon him, and he
suffereth it, because of his loving kindness and his long-suffering towards the
children of men.” 1 Nephi 19: 9
Day Two
Orrin: “In keeping with the Savior’s own experience, there has been a
long history of rejection and a painfully high price paid by prophets and
apostles, missionaries and members in every generation—all those who have tried
to honor God’s call to lift the human family to ‘a more excellent way.’”
Talmage: “And what shall I more say [of them]?” the writer of the book of
Hebrews asks.
“[They] who … stopped the mouths of lions,
“Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the
sword, … waxed valiant in fight, turned [armies] to flight …
“[Saw] their dead raised to life [while] others were
tortured, …
“And … had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, … of
bonds and imprisonment:
“They were stoned, … were sawn asunder, were tempted, were
slain with the sword: … wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being
destitute, afflicted, [and] tormented;
“([They] of whom the world was not worthy:) … wandered in
deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.”
Mom: What are some other things
disciples sometimes encounter or endure?
What do disciples endure now?
Ethne: Surely the angels of heaven
wept as they recorded this cost of discipleship in a world that is often
hostile to the commandments of God. The Savior Himself shed His own tears over
those who for hundreds of years had been rejected and slain in His service. And
now He was being rejected and about to be slain.
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem,” Jesus cried, “thou that killest the
prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have
gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her
wings, and ye would not!
“Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.”
Hazel: And therein lies a message for every young man
and young woman in this Church. You may wonder if it is worth it to take a
courageous moral stand in high school or to go on a mission only to have your
most cherished beliefs reviled or to strive against much in society that
sometimes ridicules a life of religious devotion. Yes, it is worth it, because
the alternative is to have our “houses” left unto us “desolate”—desolate
individuals, desolate families, desolate neighborhoods, and desolate nations.
1. ravaged. 2. desert. 4. lonesome, lost; miserable, wretched, woebegone, woeful, inconsolable,cheerless, hopeless. Desolate, disconsolate, forlorn suggest one who is in a sad and wretched condition. Thedesolate person is deprived of human consolation, relationships, or presence: desolate and despairing. Thedisconsolate person is aware of the efforts of others to console and comfort, but is unable to be relieved orcheered by them: She remained disconsolate even in the midst of friends. The forlorn person is lost, deserted, orforsaken by friends: wretched and forlorn in a strange city. 6. ravage, ruin. 8. sadden, depress. 9. desert.
Hazel: con·done
[adj. des-uh-lit; v. des-uh-leyt] Show
IPA
adjective
1.
barren or laid waste; devastated: a treeless, desolate landscape.
2.
deprived or destitute of inhabitants; deserted; uninhabited.
3.
solitary; lonely: a desolate place.
4.
having the feeling of being abandoned by friends or by hope; forlorn.
Synonyms
Dad: Share
a time on your mission that you saw someone who was desolate, change and become
happier due to learning about the gospel.
Day Three
Orrin: So here we have the burden of those called to bear the
messianic message. In addition to teaching, encouraging, and cheering people on
(that is the pleasant part of discipleship), from time to time these same
messengers are called upon to worry, to warn, and sometimes just to weep (that
is the painful part of discipleship). They know full well that the road leading
to the promised land “flowing with milk and honey”6 of
necessity runs by way of Mount Sinai, flowing with “thou shalts” and “thou
shalt nots.”
Mom: What is
Elder Holland referring to when he says “thou shalts” and “thou shalt nots”?
Talmage: Unfortunately,
messengers of divinely mandated commandments are often no more popular today
than they were anciently, as at least two spit-upon, potato-spattered sister
missionaries can now attest.
Ethne: Hate is
an ugly word, yet there are those today who would say with the corrupt Ahab, “I
hate [the prophet Micaiah]; for he never prophesied good unto me, but always
[prophesied] evil.”8 That
kind of hate for a prophet’s honesty cost Abinadi his life. As he said to King
Noah: “Because I have told you the truth ye are angry with me. … Because I
have spoken the word of God ye have judged me that I am mad” or, we might
add, provincial, patriarchal, bigoted, unkind, narrow, outmoded, and elderly.
Mom:
Why don’t people want to hear about the commandments? What does Elder Holland mean by “bigoted”
“outmoded” and “elderly”? Does the
prophet’s age matter?
Hazel:
It is as the
Lord Himself lamented to the prophet Isaiah:
“[These] children … will not hear the law of the Lord:
“[They] say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy
not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:
“Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the
Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.”
Jethro:
Sadly
enough, my young friends, it is a characteristic of our age that if people want
any gods at all, they want them to be gods who do not demand much, comfortable
gods, smooth gods who not only don’t rock the boat but don’t even row it, gods
who pat us on the head, make us giggle, then tell us to run along and pick
marigolds.
Mom: What is Elder Holland talking
about when he says “comfortable gods”?
Dad: Talk about man creating God
in his own image! Sometimes—and this seems the greatest irony of all—these
folks invoke the name of Jesus as one who was this kind of “comfortable” God.
Really? He who said not only should we not break commandments, but we should
not even think about breaking them. And if we do think about
breaking them, we have already broken them in our heart. Does that sound like
“comfortable” doctrine, easy on the ear and popular down at the village
love-in?
And what of those who just want
to look at sin or touch it from a distance? Jesus said with a flash, if your
eye offends you, pluck it out. If your hand offends you, cut it off.12 “I
came not to [bring] peace, but a sword,”13 He
warned those who thought He spoke only soothing platitudes. No wonder that,
sermon after sermon, the local communities “pray[ed] him to depart out of their
coasts.”14 No
wonder, miracle after miracle, His power was attributed not to God but to the
devil.15 It
is obvious that the bumper sticker question “What would Jesus do?” will not
always bring a popular response.
Day
Four
Orrin: At the zenith of His mortal ministry, Jesus said,
“Love one another, as I have loved you.”
Talmage: To make certain they understood exactly what kind
of love that was, He said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” and
“whosoever … shall break one of [the] least commandments, and
shall teach men so, he shall be … the least in the kingdom of
heaven.”
Ethne: Christlike love is the greatest need we have on this planet
in part because righteousness was always supposed to accompany it. So if love
is to be our watchword, as it must be, then by the word of Him
who is love personified, we must forsake transgression and any hint of advocacy
for it in others. Jesus clearly understood what many in our modern culture seem
to forget: that there is a crucial difference between the commandment to
forgive sin (which He had an infinite capacity to do) and the warning against
condoning it (which He never ever did even once).
[kuh
n-dohn] Show IPA
n-dohn] Show IPA
verb (used with object), con·doned, con·don·ing.
1.
to disregard or overlook (something illegal, objectionable, or the like).
2.
to give tacit approval to: By his silence, he seemed to condone their behavior.
Mom: What is the difference between
forgiving sin and condoning sin? How do
we love others without condoning behaviors that we know are wrong?
Jethro: Friends, especially my young friends, take heart.
Pure Christlike love flowing from true righteousness can change the world. I
testify that the true and living gospel of Jesus Christ is on the earth and you
are members of His true and living Church, trying to share it. I bear witness
of that gospel and that Church, with a particular witness of restored
priesthood keys, which unlock the power and efficacy of saving ordinances. I am
more certain that those keys have been restored and that those ordinances are
once again available through The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
than I am certain I stand before you at this pulpit and you sit before me in
this conference.
Dad:
Be strong. Live the gospel
faithfully even if others around you don’t live it at all. Defend your beliefs
with courtesy and with compassion, but defend them. A long history of inspired
voices, including those you will hear in this conference and the voice you just
heard in the person of President Thomas S. Monson, point you toward the
path of Christian discipleship.
It is a strait path, and it is a narrow path without a great deal of latitude
at some points, but it can be thrillingly and successfully traveled, “with …
steadfastness in Christ, … a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of
all men.”19 In
courageously pursuing such a course, you will forge unshakable faith, you will
find safety against ill winds that blow, even shafts in the whirlwind, and you
will feel the rock-like strength of our Redeemer, upon whom if you build your
unflagging discipleship, you cannot fall.20 In
the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Mom:
Helaman 5:12
Why thank you. This is so ...easy for me. :)
ReplyDeleteI'll print it out and let you know how it goes. You're teh bomb.