The sacrament talk was by our bishopric member Landon Dickson. He talked on priesthood and families. He pointed out that every home needs the priesthood, that is why we have hometeachers, bishoprics, husbands, etc.
Matthew 5:13 Ye are the a of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
He went on to say the only way that salt can lose its flavor is by mixing it with something and it depends on how much you mix it with, how much it loses its flavor. He compared this to the priesthood how if you mix it with worldly things you can lose the flavor of the priesthood. Its still there but you can no longer taste or use it. Don't you love it.
He went on to quote DC 81:5 Wherefore, be faithful; stand in the office which I have appointed unto you; a the b, lift up the hands which hang down, and c the d knees.
It is our responsibility as priesthood holders to do this but just as equally important it is our responsibility as members of the church to do this!!
We must set our houses in order: scripture study, prayters FHE regularly, Husbands love your wives, wives love your husbands. Our partners should be our "Field Trip Buddies"
DC121:36,37
That the a of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be b nor handled only upon the c of righteousness.
37 That they may be conferred upon us, it is true; but when we undertake to
a our
b, or to gratify our
c, our vain ambition, or to exercise control or
d or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens
e themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood or the authority of that man.
Only when there is righteousness is there the full power of the priesthood being used. I loved this!!
"NO ONE EVER ABUSED ANYONE IF THEY HAVE THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD"
Think about this..if you have the spirit then it would be impossible to abuse anyone or anything. We would be filled with goodness and righteousness. I love this.
Then he ended with Ether 12:27
And if men come unto me I will show unto them their a. I b unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my c is sufficient for all men that d themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make e things become strong unto them.
I feel as if this is my life motto. I love this scripture and try to remember it when ever I am struggling with things and especially my past. I love the fact that Heavenly Father promises us if we allow him to make our weaknesses our strengths then he will.But we have to work hard to do that. We have to become humble and then we have to personally believe that his Grace is for each of us, including ourselves. The he tells us that we have to have faith that he knows each of us personally and he is capable of turning our weakness into our strength.
His talked ended soon after this but I want to share a couple more things about this set of scriptures that has helped thorough some really tough things in my life. If you continue to read the next scripture
28 Behold, I will show unto the Gentiles their weakness, and I will show unto them that a, hope and charity bringeth unto me—the fountain of all b.
Heavenly Father makes another promise if we give all we have to him: then he will give us righteousness. Not just a little bit but a fountain of it. If you think about a fountain it flows continuously. The righteousness or desires will be there always.
Any one who knows me know that I live the 12 steps of recovery. I believe that you can apply the 12 steps to anything in your life. So here is the scripture and how the 12 steps applies to it in Ether.
So after we have worked really hard on turning our weakness into a strength, or otherwise turning our weakness over to him (which is step 1: admitting we have a problem) Then after we have a change of heart (step 3) we turn humble, and we recognized that we need grace (step 2), we are believing that it is possible. We are ready to admit our weaknesses (step 4 and 5) and now we are ready to ask Heavenly Father to make them a strength (step 6 and 7) then step 12 is we have to share our strength so that is shown to us in the following verse:
34 And now I know that this
a which thou hast had for the children of men is charity; wherefore, except men shall have charity they cannot inherit that place which thou hast prepared in the mansions of thy Father.
I love the gospel. I have seen both sides of living it and not living it. I know and can testify to you that living the Gospel is so much easier. I love that Heavenly Father loves me so much he knows me by name and that he take each of our weaknesses (no matter what it is) and make it a strength. I love the fact that I am made promises if I live up to the deal I will dwell in my Mansion beside by Elder Brother and my family and have eternal life. I love that 1938 a man who struggled with addiction sat and wrote the 12 steps, I know that if you apply these steps to your life it is possible to turn all weaknesses to strengths. I am so grateful for Bro. Dickson's talk today it made me think. I love Heavenly Father and I love knowing I am his child. I have earthly parents who love me. I have friends who I love and am blessed to have. I have a family here on earth that I love and adore. Thanks for letting me share this talk and how much it touched me. I am grateful for a good bishopric who are called by God to be our leaders. I am grateful for Eagle creek Ward. Jesus name amen.
Love to all joyce
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3. Give up on blame. Give up on your need to blame others for what you have or don’t have, for what you feel or don’t feel. Stop giving your powers away and start taking responsibility for your life.
4. Give up your self-defeating self-talk. Oh my. How many people are hurting themselves because of their negative, polluted and repetitive self-defeating mindset? Don’t believe everything that your mind is telling you – especially if it’s negative and self-defeating. You are better than that.
“The mind is a superb instrument if used rightly. Used wrongly, however, it becomes very destructive.” Eckhart Tolle
5. Give up your limiting beliefs about what you can or cannot do, about what is possible or impossible. From now on, you are no longer going to allow your limiting beliefs to keep you stuck in the wrong place. Spread your wings and fly!
“A belief is not an idea held by the mind, it is an idea that holds the mind” Elly Roselle
6. Give up complaining. Give up your constant need to complain about those many, many, maaany things – people, situations, events that make you unhappy, sad and depressed. Nobody can make you unhappy, no situation can make you sad or miserable unless you allow it to. It’s not the situation that triggers those feelings in you, but how you choose to look at it. Never underestimate the power of positive thinking.
7. Give up the luxury of criticism. Give up your need to criticize things, events or people that are different than you. We are all different, yet we are all the same. We all want to be happy, we all want to love and be loved and we all want to be understood. We all want something, and something is wished by us all.
8. Give up your need to impress others. Stop trying so hard to be something that you’re not just to make others like you. It doesn’t work this way. The moment you stop trying so hard to be something that you’re not, the moment you take of all your masks, the moment you accept and embrace the real you, you will find people will be drawn to you, effortlessly.
9. Give up your resistance to change. Change is good. Change will help you move from A to B. Change will help you make improvements in your life and also the lives of those around you. Follow your bliss, embrace change – don’t resist it.
“Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls” Joseph Campbell
10. Give up labels. Stop labeling those things, people or events that you don’t understand as being weird or different and try opening your mind, little by little. Minds only work when open. “The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don’t know anything about.” Wayne Dyer
11. Give up on your fears. Fear is just an illusion, it doesn’t exist – you created it. It’s all in your mind. Correct the inside and the outside will fall into place.
“The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself.” Franklin D. Roosevelt
12. Give up your excuses. Send them packing and tell them they’re fired. You no longer need them. A lot of times we limit ourselves because of the many excuses we use. Instead of growing and working on improving ourselves and our lives, we get stuck, lying to ourselves, using all kind of excuses – excuses that 99.9% of the time are not even real.
13. Give up the past. I know, I know. It’s hard. Especially when the past looks so much better than the present and the future looks so frightening, but you have to take into consideration the fact that the present moment is all you have and all you will ever have. The past you are now longing for – the past that you are now dreaming about – was ignored by you when it was present. Stop deluding yourself. Be present in everything you do and enjoy life. After all life is a journey not a destination. Have a clear vision for the future, prepare yourself, but always be present in the now.
14. Give up attachment. This is a concept that, for most of us is so hard to grasp and I have to tell you that it was for me too, (it still is) but it’s not something impossible. You get better and better at with time and practice. The moment you detach yourself from all things, (and that doesn’t mean you give up your love for them – because love and attachment have nothing to do with one another, attachment comes from a place of fear, while love… well, real love is pure, kind, and self less, where there is love there can’t be fear, and because of that, attachment and love cannot coexist) you become so peaceful, so tolerant, so kind, and so serene. You will get to a place where you will be able to understand all things without even trying. A state beyond words.
15. Give up living your life to other people’s expectations. Way too many people are living a life that is not theirs to live. They live their lives according to what others think is best for them, they live their lives according to what their parents think is best for them, to what their friends, their enemies and their teachers, their government and the media think is best for them. They ignore their inner voice, that inner calling. They are so busy with pleasing everybody, with living up to other people’s expectations, that they lose control over their lives. They forget what makes them happy, what they want, what they need….and eventually they forget about themselves. You have one life – this one right now – you must live it, own it, and especially don’t let other people’s opinions distract you from your path.