Elder Ronald A. Rasband talks of the importance of serving. Just get in there!
Lesson 16: Ye Shall Be
Called the Children of Christ
Welcome to an experiment. I want to go a little further than the hour
we get to spend together every Sunday. I’ll recap some stuff from our lesson,
give some alternate things we probably didn’t get to and assign some “homework”
as well as preview next week’s lesson. Enjoy
and post! Feel free to share with your friends and neighbors who didn’t make it
to the awesome 26th Ward on Sunday! Let’s work together to get
the most out of the Book of Mormon!
- Bro. Ryan Hansen
Scriptures discussed in
this week’s class:
- Mosiah 4:1–12. King Benjamin’s
people respond to his words by humbly seeking and receiving a remission of
their sins.
- Mosiah 4:13–30. King Benjamin
exhorts his people to teach the gospel to their children, impart of their
substance to the poor, and obey the commandments of God.
- Mosiah 5–6. All King Benjamin’s people experience
a “mighty change” and enter into a covenant to keep the commandments of
God and do His will in all things. King Benjamin tells the people that
because of the covenant they have made they will be called the children of
Christ.
* If we don’t get to all
these (and I won’t), feel free to read them on your own.
Quote(s) of the week:
- President
Gordon B. Hinckley said,
“The health of any society, the happiness of its people, their prosperity,
and their peace all find their roots in the teaching of children by
fathers and mothers” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1993, 79; or Ensign, Nov.
1993, 60).
- Elder
Dallin H. Oaks explained: “Our willingness
to take upon us the name of Jesus Christ affirms our commitment to do all
that we can to be counted among those whom he will choose to stand at his
right hand and be called by his name at the last day. In this sacred
sense, our witness that we are willing to take upon us the name of Jesus
Christ constitutes our declaration of candidacy for exaltation in the
celestial kingdom. Exaltation is eternal life, ‘the greatest of all the
gifts of God’ (D&C
14:7)” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1985, 105; or Ensign,May
1985, 83).
Stuff from class:
Today we discussed selected
verses from Mosiah 4:13–30. We
split into three groups read the passages together. We then summarized our
verses to a single sentence. They are:
·
Mosiah 4:13–15: Teach the children.
o
Children are our future (see President Hinckley’s quote above).
The things we do really is how we teach them. We need to watch our thoughts,
words and deeds! (See below.) We also should teach our children to serve. I
mentioned the Primary Sharing Time in November 2010 had great ideas to help
kids learn the importance of service. We need to start in our homes! Here is the link to that article: http://www.lds.org/manual/2010-outline-for-sharing-time-and-the-childrens-sacrament-meeting-presentation/november-when-we-serve-others-we-serve-god?lang=eng&query=outline+sharing+time.
·
Mosiah 4:16–26: Share
with the poor.
o
There is no
single right approach to helping the needy. We should remember the principles
taught by King Benjamin and (as Sister Parsons said), seek the guidance of the Spirit in each situation. The Lord has
established ways in which we can help the needy. When we give fast offerings or
donate money, goods, time, or other service to the Church, we can be confident
that our contributions are being used wisely.
o
It’s not just the poor, but the poor in spirit, too. I spoke about
Elder Rasband’s talk in April Conference about just “jumping in and serving.”
You can watch that talk here: http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/04/special-lessons?lang=eng.
Click on the “Watch” link on the right-hand toolbar or you can just read it
online. Or you can watch it above.
·
Mosiah 4:27–30: Watch your thoughts, words, and deeds.
o
King Benjamin taught his people that to avoid
sin and maintain their commitment to God, they must watch their thoughts,
words, and deeds. How are our thoughts,
words, and deeds related? How will our words and deeds be affected when we
watch our thoughts? Post your response below.
What we didn’t get to:
1. “Under this head ye are made free”
(Mosiah 5:8)
·
In calling his
people the children of Christ, King Benjamin said, “Under this head ye are made
free” (Mosiah
5:8). How does obedience to the Lord bring freedom?
The
Prophet Joseph Smith taught that
“in obedience there is joy and peace unspotted, unalloyed; and as God has
designed our happiness, … He never has—He never will institute an ordinance or
give a commandment to His people that is not calculated in its nature to
promote that happiness” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel.
Joseph Fielding Smith [1976], 256–57).
HOMEWORK (RESPOND BELOW): How have you seen obedience to God’s commandments
bring happiness to your life and the lives of those around you?
2.
“How knoweth a man the master whom he has not served?” (Mosiah 5:13)
• King Benjamin asked, “How knoweth a man the
master whom he has not served?” (Mosiah 5:13).
HOMEWORK (RESPOND BELOW): How have you come to know Christ better through
serving Him?
Read Mosiah 5:15, the final words
of King Benjamin’s address. These blessings are available to each of us. I
encourage you to seek and maintain that “mighty change” of heart that will
enable them to be children of Christ.
Wanna get a jump on next week’s class? Read,
ponder and pray about the following scriptures:
1.
Mosiah 7–8. Ammon leads an expedition to learn of the people who years
earlier had left Zarahemla to return to the land of Nephi
2.
Mosiah 9–10. Part of the record
of Zeniff, Limhi’s grandfather, recounts a brief history of how Zeniff’s people
arrived in the land
of Nephi
3.
Mosiah 11. Zeniff’s son Noah
rules in wickedness. Despite the warnings of the prophet Abinadi, the people
are blind to the wickedness of Noah and his priests.
