Lesson 43 Quotes

Hello, dear readers. I've posted the quotes from today's lesson here in case you would like to reread. Put in any requests for anything else you would like to see on here.

QUOTE #1 First Presidency
“The Lord’s law of moral conduct is abstinence outside of lawful marriage and fidelity within marriage. Sexual relations are proper only between husband and wife appropriately expressed within the bonds of marriage. Any other sexual contact, including fornication, adultery, and homosexual and lesbian behavior, is sinful” (First Presidency letter, 14 Nov. 1991).

QUOTE #2 Elder Richard G. Scott
“Any sexual intimacy outside of the bonds of marriage—I mean any intentional contact with the sacred, private parts of another’s body, with or without clothing—is a sin and is forbidden by God. It is also a transgression to intentionally stimulate these emotions within your own body” (Ensign, Nov. 1994, 38).

QUOTE #3 President Gordon B. Hinckley
“You must not fool around with the Internet to find pornographic material. You must not dial a long-distance telephone number to listen to filth. You must not rent videos with pornography of any kind. This salacious stuff simply is not for you. Stay away from pornography as you would avoid a serious disease. It is destructive. It can become habitual, and those who indulge in it get so they cannot leave it alone. It is addictive” (Ensign, May 1998, 49).

QUOTE #4 Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin
“One of the most pervasive deceptions in recent years is the notion that immorality is normal and acceptable and has no negative consequences. In truth, immorality is the underlying cause of much suffering and many other problems that are prevalent today, including rampant disease, abortion, broken families, families without fathers, and mothers who themselves are children” (Ensign, Nov. 1994, 76).

QUOTE #5 President James E. Faust
“Honesty is more than not lying. It is truth telling, truth speaking, truth living, and truth loving” (Ensign, Nov. 1996, 41).

QUOTE #6 For The Strength of Youth: Honesty
Be honest with yourself, others, and the Lord. When you are honest in every way, you build strength of character that will allow you to be of great service to God and others. You will be blessed with peace of mind and self-respect. When you are honest, you will be trusted by the Lord and by those around you.
Dishonesty hurts you and usually hurts others as well. When you lie, steal, shoplift, or cheat, you damage your spirit and become less able to do good things. Be honest in your job, giving a full amount of work for your pay.
Don’t rationalize that wrong is right, even though many people around you may think there is no harm in being dishonest. Being honest requires courage and commitment to do what you know is right

QUOTE #7 For The Strength of Youth: Language
How you speak says much about who you are. Clean and intelligent language is evidence of a bright and wholesome mind. Use language that uplifts, encourages, and compliments others. Do not insult others or put them down, even in joking. Speak kindly and positively about others so you can fulfill the Lord’s commandment to love one another. When you use good language, you invite the Spirit to be with you.
Always use the names of God and Jesus Christ with reverence and respect. Misusing their names is a sin. Profane, vulgar, or crude language or gestures, as well as jokes about immoral actions, are offensive to the Lord and to others. Foul language harms your spirit and degrades you. Do not let others influence you to use it.
Choose friends who use good language. Help others around you use clean language by your example and by good-naturedly encouraging them to choose other words. Politely walk away or change the subject when others around you use bad language.
If you have developed the habit of swearing, you can break it. Begin by making a decision to change. Pray for help. If you start to use words you know are wrong, keep quiet or say what you have to say in a different way

QUOTE #8 Dallin H. Oaks
“Profanity and vulgarity … are sins that separate us from God and cripple our spiritual defenses by causing the Holy Ghost to withdraw from us” (Ensign, May 1986, 52).

QUOTE #9 Joseph B. Wirthlin
“[Satan] seeks to find any chink in the armor of each person. He knows our weaknesses and knows how to exploit them if we allow him to do so. We can defend ourselves against his attacks and deceptions only by understanding the commandments and by fortifying ourselves each day through praying, studying the scriptures, and following the counsel of the Lord’s anointed” (Ensign, Nov. 1988, 35).

Lesson 1: Introduction

Here are the notes from this week's lesson. It's primary purpose is to introduce the lesson materials, course subject and also to set the classes expectations with regard to participation.

I felt it was important to review the student guide with the class, as it has some really good stuff in it.

There is a "proper" lesson, albeit a shorter than usual one at the end.

I'd welcome your feedback in the comments section.

Well Adam, you have a new curriculum

It's the start of a new year and a new curriculum. We'll be studying the Doctrine and Covenants this year. I realise that I began slacking off with the blog posts, however all the lesson material for the Book of Mormon course is available here.

So we begin with the Introductory Course for the Doctrine and Covenants - I'm hoping for a good year, although if I'm honest - I'm a little overwhelmed by the sheer volume of material that is available to draw upon. I will try to follow the counsel given in a scripture (D&C 1:37) from this week's lesson in my preparation each week to "search these [words]".

The lesson material this week tries to focus the students minds on what they wish to get out of the year ahead, to familarise them with the material we're studying and to cram in a bit of a lesson, as I wouldn't have wanted to miss out on D&C 1 - which is probably one of my favourite sections.

I'll conclude this post with the conclusion from the lesson, as I found it quite inspiring:

The Lord needs more than onlookers who cheer from the sidelines; we must ask ourselves if we are keeping pace and doing our part as families and as individuals.

President Gordon B. Hinckley said: “This is a season of a thousand opportunities. It is ours to grasp and move forward. What a wonderful time it is for each of us to do his or her small part in moving the work of the Lord on to its magnificent destiny”

Lesson 30: Notes and Thoughts

I was still finishing this week's lesson off this morning as I had been away until late on Friday up in Scotland. I'd struggled to find a thread I wanted to explore in today's lesson. I finally went with looking at the answers to Corianton's "struggles" that Alma gave.

I wanted also just to thank everyone that shared their thoughts on the reading this week - it was great to see that so many of the comments were thoughts I either was going to touch upon, or had wanted to.

I'm not sure if we really did get to the bottom of whether progression continues in the Spirit world - this seems a good forum to share articles or further scriptures which might expound that a little better.

It was a shame that we didn't quite get on to the meat of Alma 42. I've posted the quote I wished to use and given a link to the original Ensign article by Boyd K. Packer entitled "The Mediator". I love the simple principles that he illustrates in the parable.

One of the things I'm most aware of during the lesson is that I don't always give you the opportunity to answer the question. You may also feel that you can't quite answer it straight away. Please feel free to answer any of the questions from the lessons in the comments section, or to add your own questions for others.

The Mediator

As told by Elder Boyd K. Packer, Apostle:

Let me tell you a story—a parable.

There once was a man who wanted something very much. It seemed more important than anything else in his life. In order for him to have his desire, he incurred a great debt.

He had been warned about going into that much debt, and particularly about his creditor. But it seemed so important for him to do what he wanted to and to have what he wanted right now. He was sure he could pay for it later.

So he signed a contract. He would pay it off some time along the way. He didn’t worry too much about it, for the due date seemed such a long time away. He had what he wanted now, and that was what seemed important.

The creditor was always somewhere in the back of his mind, and he made token payments now and again, thinking somehow that the day of reckoning really would never come.

But as it always does, the day came, and the contract fell due. The debt had not been fully paid. His creditor appeared and demanded payment in full.

Only then did he realize that his creditor not only had the power to repossess all that he owned, but the power to cast him into prison as well.

‘I cannot pay you, for I have not the power to do so,’ he confessed.

‘Then,’ said the creditor, ‘we will exercise the contract, take your possessions and you shall go to prison. You agreed to that. It was your choice. You signed the contract, and now it must be enforced.’

‘Can you not extend the time or forgive the debt?’ the debtor begged. ‘Arrange some way for me to keep what I have and not go to prison. Surely you believe in mercy? Will you not show mercy?’

“The creditor replied, ‘Mercy is always so one-sided. It would serve only you. If I show mercy to you, it will leave me unpaid. It is justice I demand. Do you believe in justice?’

‘I believed in justice when I signed the contract,’ the debtor said. ‘It was on my side then, for I thought it would protect me. I did not need mercy then, nor think I should need it ever. Justice, I thought, would serve both of us equally as well.’

‘It is justice that demands that you pay the contract or suffer the penalty,’ the creditor replied. ‘That is the law. You have agreed to it and that is the way it must be. Mercy cannot rob justice.’

There they were: One meting out justice, the other pleading for mercy. Neither could prevail except at the expense of the other.

‘If you do not forgive the debt there will be no mercy,’ the debtor pleaded.

‘If I do, there will be no justice,’ was the reply.

Both laws, it seemed, could not be served. They are two eternal ideals that appear to contradict one another. Is there no way for justice to be fully served, and mercy also?

There is a way! The law of justice can be fully satisfied and mercy can be fully extended—but it takes someone else. And so it happened this time.

The debtor had a friend. He came to help. He knew the debtor well. He knew him to be shortsighted. He thought him foolish to have gotten himself into such a predicament. Nevertheless, he wanted to help because he loved him. He stepped between them, faced the creditor, and made this offer.

‘I will pay the debt if you will free the debtor from his contract so that he may keep his possessions and not go to prison.’

As the creditor was pondering the offer, the mediator added, ‘You demanded justice. Though he cannot pay you, I will do so. You will have been justly dealt with and can ask no more. It would not be just.’

And so the creditor agreed.

The mediator turned then to the debtor. ‘If I pay your debt, will you accept me as your creditor?’

‘Oh yes, yes,’ cried the debtor. ‘You saved me from prison and show mercy to me.’

‘Then,’ said the benefactor, ‘you will pay the debt to me and I will set the terms. It will not be easy, but it will be possible. I will provide a way. You need not go to prison.’

And so it was that the creditor was paid in full. He had been justly dealt with. No contract had been broken.

The debtor, in turn, had been extended mercy. Both laws stood fulfilled. Because there was a mediator, justice had claimed its full share, and mercy was satisfied” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1977, pp. 79–80; or Ensign, May 1977, pp. 54–55).

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Lesson 29: Notes and Thoughts

This week we get to share the counsel given from Alma to his three sons. There are lots of discussion points, but I've chosen to focus on some of the lessons Alma can give to parents. The start of all of the lesson was really Alma 35:16.

This scripture was an interesting lesson to me, I think I frequently try to be fair to my children by treating them equally, but I wonder whether this is in fact the best policy. The quote I used in my lesson is a good one to ponder on:

"If you want to treat your children fairly, you must treat them differently"