Thanks to the Ward Relief Society Presidency and Activity Committee for the RS birthday party and dinner earlier tonight. It was fun. Look at the homemade strawberry jam that I won in the drawing!!!!
I attended the Saturday night session of Stake Conference this year. I enjoyed the meeting. Each speaker had a special message for us all. Curtis Miles, your remarks touched my heart and I appreciated your thoughts.
Even more today and this seems to be laying down.
Thank you again for cleaning up the snow!!!! What would I do without your help - the Sorensen boys?!
It was good to see and hear from Kinly Panas at church today. She has just returned from her 18 month mission.
“I Will Give You Rest”
Matthew 11
28 ¶ aCome unto me, all ye that blabour and are heavy laden, and I will give you crest.
29 Take my ayoke upon you, and blearn of me; for I am cmeek and dlowly in eheart: and ye shall find frest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is aeasy, and my burden is light.
The Savior taught that He will help us carry our heavy burdens if we accept His invitation “Take my yoke upon you.”
Show a picture of a yoke and facts:
A yoke is:
· Designed to carry burdens. Why drag the heavy weight of sin around? When we repent and come unto the Savior, He takes that burden away and gives us peace and healing.
· Intended to help get work done. With the Lord’s yoke, we can help do His work and He will work with us. It’s still work, but in it we find rest to our souls.
· Custom fitted. It’s His yoke we take upon us—the one best suited for us, because His ways hel
p us live in harmony with our true nature, “the nature of happiness”, and because the Savior knows us and can succor us individually.
A yoke of oxen was used in times past to pull a large plow or a heavy load. Two oxen can pull more than one, thereby making the plow or the load easier to move. But also, when they are yoked together, they will pull together. The yoke keeps them in sync with each other so that one does not pull faster than the other. If they do not pull at the same pace, the load will become off balance and it will not be able to be effectively moved. So the yoke serves the purpose of providing balance.
*What do we need to do according to these verses 11:28-30?
Come unto Him, Take His yoke, Learn of Him
*What blessings are we promised?
Find rest, burden will be light
Additional Resource 1:
Yoked with Jesus Christ: President Russell M. Nelson taught: “You come unto Christ to be yoked with Him and with His power, so that you’re not pulling life’s load alone. You’re pulling life’s load yoked with the Savior and Redeemer of the world, and suddenly your problems, no matter how serious they are, become lighter” (“The Mission and Ministry of the Savior: A Discussion with Elder Russell M. Nelson,” Ensign, June 2005, 18).
We all have burdens that can be made lighter through Jesus Christ’s power. Elder Dallin H Oaks in October, 2006 gave some examples of burdens a person might carry. “Many carry heavy burdens. Some have lost a loved one to death or care for one who is disabled. Some have been wounded by divorce. Others yearn for an eternal marriage. Some are caught in the grip of addictive substances or practices like alcohol, tobacco, drugs, or pornography. Others have crippling physical or mental impairments. Some are challenged by same-gender attraction. Some have terrible feelings of depression or inadequacy. In one way or another, many are heavy laden.”
* Have you felt your burdens lifted or lightened because you turned to Jesus Christ?
Elder David A Bednar gave a talk in April of 2014 entitled “Bear Up Their Burdens with Ease” (Ensign or Liahona, May 2014, 87–90). They made a video that I love from the message in his talk.
Show video: Bearing Our Burdens with Hope (8:46). (Based on a talk by Elder David A Bednar from April 2014)
David A. Bednar also said : “Consider the Lord’s uniquely individual invitation to “take my yoke upon you.” Making and keeping sacred covenants yokes us to and with the Lord Jesus Christ. In essence, the Savior is beckoning us to rely upon and pull together with Him, even though our best efforts are not equal to and cannot be compared with His. As we trust in and pull our load with Him during the journey of mortality, truly His yoke is easy and His burden is light.”
Christ in us will be pulling in a positive spiritual direction rather than a negative worldly direction. In other words, Christ living in us as our partner, is Him being “in the yoke” with us, pulling with us, toward the Father and His Kingdom. If we are in sync with Him by being bound together with Him, pulling in the yoke together with Him, we will find rest, our burden will become easier, and our load lighter.
Jesus Christ Perfectly Knows Our Burdens (David A Bednar) 1:15 mins
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XWs7MMPDrA
Choosing to live as a disciple of Jesus Christ is easier, lighter, and more restful than anything the world has to offer.
*How does being a member of Christ’s Church make life easier and more restful than those who choose not to be in that yoke?
The example in my life that came to my mind is the Knowledge of the Plan of Salvation. I don’t know how people face losing their loved ones without that knowledge. Sometimes you can see their anguish when you look at them. It makes dealing with death so much easier.
The Sabbath is a day to do good. Matthew 12:1–13.
Who were the Pharisees? They showed strict observance of the law– oral tradition equal with written law.
In their zeal to keep the Sabbath day holy, the Pharisees had implemented strict rules and man-made traditions, which eventually clouded their understanding of the true purpose of the Sabbath, and they accused and questioned Christ.
In Matthew 12:1-13 we read about where the disciples walked through a wheat field on the Sabbath and plucked and ate. We read of the healing of a withered hand. The Pharisees saw all this as breaking the Sabbath.
*Why did the Lord give us the Sabbath day?
27 And he said unto them, The asabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:
28 aTherefore the bSon of man is Lord also of the sabbath.
26 Wherefore the Sabbath was given unto man for a day of rest; and also that man should glorify God, and not that man should not eat;
27 For the Son of man made the Sabbath day, therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath.
While the Pharisees emphasized numerous detailed rules regarding the Sabbath, the Savior taught a simple principle: “It is lawful to do well on the sabbath” (Matthew 12:12).
*Do we need a list of dos and don’ts for the Sabbath?
Additional Resources 2: President Russell M. Nelson taught: I studied the work of others who had compiled lists of things to do and things not to do on the Sabbath. It wasn’t until later that I learned from the scriptures that my conduct and my attitude on the Sabbath constituted a sign between me and my Heavenly Father. With that understanding, I no longer needed lists of dos and don’ts. When I had to make a decision whether or not an activity was appropriate for the Sabbath, I simply asked myself, “What sign do I want to give to God?” That question made my choices about the Sabbath day crystal clear. (“The Sabbath Is a Delight,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2015, 130).
On lds.org it says that We should consider righteous things we can do on the Sabbath. For example, we can keep the Sabbath day holy by attending Church meetings; reading the scriptures and the words of our Church leaders; visiting the sick, the aged, and our loved ones; listening to uplifting music and singing hymns; praying to our Heavenly Father with praise and thanksgiving; performing Church service; preparing family history records and personal histories; telling faith-promoting stories and bearing our testimony to family members and sharing spiritual experiences with them; writing letters to missionaries and loved ones; fasting with a purpose; and sharing time with children and others in the home. In deciding what other activities we could properly engage in on the Sabbath, we could ask ourselves: Will it uplift and inspire me? Does it show respect for the Lord? Does it direct my thoughts to Him?
*What are some of your favorite ways to come closer to Jesus Christ on Sunday?
The blessings of Sabbath day observance.
In a series of three videos, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland taught about the blessings of observing the Sabbath day: “Upon My Holy Day—Getting Closer to God,” 1:31 min
“Upon My Holy Day—Honoring the Sabbath,” 1:30 min. and
“Upon My Holy Day—Rest and Renewal” 1:26 min. (ChurchofJesusChrist.org).
“God gave us this special day, not for amusement or daily labor but for a rest from duty, with physical and spiritual relief,” said Russell M. Nelson. “I believe He wanted us to understand that the Sabbath was His gift to us, granting real respite from the rigors of daily life and an opportunity for spiritual and physical renewal.”
Elder L. Whitney Clayton of the Presidency of the Seventies said “What we hope is that the Sabbath will become a delight for people at home, that they’ll love what happens in their homes on Sunday. It will be a time to draw apart from the world, to just give ourselves some rest from the things that are always before our eyes the other days of the week, with the work week, all the things we worry about. And then on the Sabbath we could think about the Savior.”
I learned in some podcasts this week that In Israel the people love and look forward to the Sabbath, much like we see people at Christmas time. Throughout the Sabbath day anytime anyone meets another, they greet them by saying “Shabbat Shalom.” They are wishing you peace, harmony and wholeness.
Doesn’t that sound wonderful/
Challenge: Think about something you can do to improve in your efforts to keep the Sabbath day holy. If you are a parent or grandparent, think about something you can do to help your children or grandchildren understand the meaning of the Sabbath.
If needed: *If someone asked you what it means to come unto Christ, what would you tell them?
Elder Richard G. Scott (1928–2015) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles identified several ways we can come unto Christ. When we are consistently praying morning and night, studying our scriptures daily, having weekly family home evening, and attending the temple regularly, we are actively responding to His invitation to “come unto Him.” (Richard G. Scott, “Make the Exercise of Faith Your First Priority,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2014, 94)
Watch “Come unto Christ: 2014 Theme Song” (4:48) to see examples of how someone can come unto the Savior.
*What are some things you help you and your family to come closer to Jesus Christ?
Elder John A. McCune of the Seventies taught in May 2020: “As we accept the Savior’s invitation to “come unto me,” He will provide the support, comfort, and peace that are necessary, just as He did for Nephi and Joseph. Even in our deepest trials, we can feel the warm embrace of His love as we trust Him and accept His will.” (Come Unto Christ – Living as Latter-day Saints)
In the last conference our prophet said. “When you yoke yourself to Jesus Christ and do the spiritual work required to overcome the world, He, and He alone, does have the power to lift you above the pull of this world.
Now, how does overcoming the world bless our lives? The answer is clear: entering into a covenant relationship with God binds us to Him in a way that makes everything about life easier. Please do not misunderstand me: I did not say that making covenants makes life easy. In fact, expect opposition, because the adversary does not want you to discover the power of Jesus Christ. But yoking yourself with the Savior means you have access to His strength and redeeming power.
I reaffirm a profound teaching of President Ezra Taft Benson: “Men and women who turn their lives over to God will discover that He can make a lot more out of their lives than they can. He will deepen their joys, expand their vision, quicken their minds, … lift their spirits, multiply their blessings, increase their opportunities, comfort their souls, raise up friends, and pour out peace.”
Testimony
I think the moon looks awesome tonight, even though the pictures don’t show it as well.
