I taught the fifth Sunday lesson in my ward yesterday. It turned out to be an unexpectedly powerful experience because of the subject matter. Just one of those days when the needs and experiences of the class, the Spirit, and the subject were all well-aligned.
We used a discussion format and based the lesson on Elder Joseph Wirthlin's las General Conference talk, "Come What May, And Love It."
I was reminded again that although Elder Wirthlin's age made his delivery a little hard to appreciate (sometimes), the content of his talks was always superb, and they were very well-written. We went through the four strategies for dealing with adversity that he suggests:
I won't re-hash the talk, but I had clipped out key statements from it and had given them to various members of the group whom I knew to be good readers and solid spiritual people with some serious life experience. I asked them not only to read the quote but to comment on it if they felt like doing so. We got some excellent and very spiritual observations from each of them.
Most of the lesson came from the Wirthlin talk, but we also discussed these quotations from a 2003 talk by Elder Oaks, "Give Thanks in All Things:"
The kicker was this quote from a piece by Elder Holland, "Come Unto Me." I actually carry this one around in my suit pocket because I find it so powerful:
Anyway, it was a terrific discussion and it helped me, along with several members of our ward who needed it. I came across my lesson notes and thought I'd pass them on here.
We used a discussion format and based the lesson on Elder Joseph Wirthlin's las General Conference talk, "Come What May, And Love It."
I was reminded again that although Elder Wirthlin's age made his delivery a little hard to appreciate (sometimes), the content of his talks was always superb, and they were very well-written. We went through the four strategies for dealing with adversity that he suggests:
- Learn to Laugh
- Seek for the Eternal
- The Principle of Compensation
- Trust in the Father and the Son
I won't re-hash the talk, but I had clipped out key statements from it and had given them to various members of the group whom I knew to be good readers and solid spiritual people with some serious life experience. I asked them not only to read the quote but to comment on it if they felt like doing so. We got some excellent and very spiritual observations from each of them.
Most of the lesson came from the Wirthlin talk, but we also discussed these quotations from a 2003 talk by Elder Oaks, "Give Thanks in All Things:"
Many of the inspired teachings of our modern prophets are compiled in Teachings of Presidents of the Church, our course of study for Melchizedek Priesthood and Relief Society. . . .
For example, in the current volume we read these words of President John Taylor on the subject of gratitude for suffering: “We have learned many things through suffering. We call it suffering. I call it a school of experience. . . . I have never looked at these things in any other light than trials for the purpose of purifying the Saints of God that they may be, as the scriptures say, as gold that has been seven times purified by the fire” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: John Taylor [2001], 203). Pioneers like President John Taylor, who witnessed the murder of their prophet and experienced prolonged persecution and incredible hardships for their faith, praised God and thanked Him. Through their challenges and the courageous and inspired actions they took to meet them, they grew in faith and in spiritual stature. Through their afflictions they became what God desired them to become, and they laid the foundation of the great work that blesses our lives today.
Like the pioneers, we should thank God for our adversities and pray for guidance in meeting them. Through that attitude and through our faith and obedience, we will realize the promises God has given us. It is all part of the plan.
I love the musical and motion picture Fiddler on the Roof. There a wonderful Jewish father sings “If I Were a Rich Man.” His memorable prayer concludes with this pleading question:
Yes, Tevye, it might. Let us give thanks for what we are and for the circumstances God has given us for our personal journey through mortality.
In ancient times the prophet Lehi taught this truth to his son Jacob:
“In thy childhood thou hast suffered afflictions and much sorrow, because of the rudeness of thy brethren.
“Nevertheless, Jacob, my first-born in the wilderness, thou knowest the greatness of God; and he shall consecrate thine afflictions for thy gain” (2 Nephi 2:1–2).
For example, in the current volume we read these words of President John Taylor on the subject of gratitude for suffering: “We have learned many things through suffering. We call it suffering. I call it a school of experience. . . . I have never looked at these things in any other light than trials for the purpose of purifying the Saints of God that they may be, as the scriptures say, as gold that has been seven times purified by the fire” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: John Taylor [2001], 203). Pioneers like President John Taylor, who witnessed the murder of their prophet and experienced prolonged persecution and incredible hardships for their faith, praised God and thanked Him. Through their challenges and the courageous and inspired actions they took to meet them, they grew in faith and in spiritual stature. Through their afflictions they became what God desired them to become, and they laid the foundation of the great work that blesses our lives today.
Like the pioneers, we should thank God for our adversities and pray for guidance in meeting them. Through that attitude and through our faith and obedience, we will realize the promises God has given us. It is all part of the plan.
I love the musical and motion picture Fiddler on the Roof. There a wonderful Jewish father sings “If I Were a Rich Man.” His memorable prayer concludes with this pleading question:
Lord, who made the lion and the lamb,
You decreed I should be what I am;
Would it spoil some vast eternal plan,
If I were a wealthy man?
(lyrics by Sheldon Harnick [1964])
You decreed I should be what I am;
Would it spoil some vast eternal plan,
If I were a wealthy man?
(lyrics by Sheldon Harnick [1964])
Yes, Tevye, it might. Let us give thanks for what we are and for the circumstances God has given us for our personal journey through mortality.
In ancient times the prophet Lehi taught this truth to his son Jacob:
“In thy childhood thou hast suffered afflictions and much sorrow, because of the rudeness of thy brethren.
“Nevertheless, Jacob, my first-born in the wilderness, thou knowest the greatness of God; and he shall consecrate thine afflictions for thy gain” (2 Nephi 2:1–2).
The kicker was this quote from a piece by Elder Holland, "Come Unto Me." I actually carry this one around in my suit pocket because I find it so powerful:
Consider, for example, the Savior’s benediction upon his disciples even as he moved toward the pain and agony of Gethsemane and Calvary. On that very night, the night of the greatest suffering that has ever taken place in the world or that ever will take place, the Savior said, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. … Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).
I submit to you, that may be one of the Savior’s commandments that is, even in the hearts of otherwise faithful Latter-day Saints, almost universally disobeyed; and yet I wonder whether our resistance to this invitation could be any more grievous to the Lord’s merciful heart. I can tell you this as a parent: as concerned as I would be if somewhere in their lives one of my children were seriously troubled or unhappy or disobedient, nevertheless I would be infinitely more devastated if I felt that at such a time that child could not trust me to help or thought his or her interest was unimportant to me or unsafe in my care. In that same spirit, I am convinced that none of us can appreciate how deeply it wounds the loving heart of the Savior of the world when he finds that his people do not feel confident in his care or secure in his hands or trust in his commandments.
I submit to you, that may be one of the Savior’s commandments that is, even in the hearts of otherwise faithful Latter-day Saints, almost universally disobeyed; and yet I wonder whether our resistance to this invitation could be any more grievous to the Lord’s merciful heart. I can tell you this as a parent: as concerned as I would be if somewhere in their lives one of my children were seriously troubled or unhappy or disobedient, nevertheless I would be infinitely more devastated if I felt that at such a time that child could not trust me to help or thought his or her interest was unimportant to me or unsafe in my care. In that same spirit, I am convinced that none of us can appreciate how deeply it wounds the loving heart of the Savior of the world when he finds that his people do not feel confident in his care or secure in his hands or trust in his commandments.
Anyway, it was a terrific discussion and it helped me, along with several members of our ward who needed it. I came across my lesson notes and thought I'd pass them on here.
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