3 Nephi 27:19 And no unclean thing can enter into his kingdom; therefore nothing entereth into his rest save it be those who have washed their garments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end.
20 Now this is the commandment: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day.
21 Verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel; and ye know the things that ye must do in my church; for the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do; for that which ye have seen me do even that shall ye do;
Pres. Heaton read this scripture in stake council a couple of months ago. It was very profound to me and I realized, that we truly are doing the Lord’s work. THIS IS HIS GOSPEL! Let’s look at this scripture:
We are here to perfect ourselves and to try to enter into God’s kingdom and to bring as many souls as we can with us. We are in the business of SAVING SOULS. That is your responsibility as RS Presidencies. You do that through Faith in Jesus Christ and submitting your whole heart to Him. We must Repent of ALL of our sins and Be Faithful in keeping His commandments.
Our baptism makes it possible for us to be sanctified. When you look up sanctification in the Topical Guide it lists such synonyms as holy and pure and sacred and spiritually reborn. So through our baptism we can become pure and holy and spiritually reborn with the help of the Holy Ghost. And then we will be spotless at the last day—pure and ready to meet God. THAT is what the gospel is. And THAT is what your purpose is as a Relief Society Presidency. To help the sisters in your wards become spotless before God. To help them COME UNTO CHRIST.
SO how do we do that? BY doing the things that Jesus did.
Our objective today is to:
1. Help you serve as Jesus Christ served
2. Help you seek the inspiration of the Holy Ghost
So that you can build the faith and spirituality in those that you serve.
Before Christ descended to his father after his resurrection, he left the Holy Ghost to be in our presence because He could no longer be here.
John 14:16-18
16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
Each of us was given that gift after we were baptized. Elder Scott gave a fabulous talk (Oct. 2009 General Conference) on how to feel the Holy Ghost in our lives. Please read it!! And then read it again and again.
I learned from his talk that it takes a lifetime to recognize the promptings of the Holy Ghost. There have been times in my life when I have received promptings and knew immediately where it had come from. There have also been times when I have questioned, is that what I am suppose to do? Is that what the Lord wants or is that what I want? It is all very complicated. So one thing I have learned through life is if it is a good thing that I feel compelled to do, then I should do it.
Elder Scott said:
“I am convinced that there is no simple formula or technique that would immediately allow you to master the ability to be guided by the voice of the Spirit. Our Father expects you to learn how to obtain that divine help by exercising faith in Him and His Holy Son, Jesus Christ. Were you to receive inspired guidance just for the asking, you would become weak and ever more dependent on Them. They know that essential personal growth will come as you struggle to learn how to be led by the Spirit.
“What may appear initially to be a daunting task will be much easier to manage over time as you consistently strive to recognize and follow feelings prompted by the Spirit. Your confidence in the direction you receive from the Holy Ghost will also become stronger. I witness that as you gain experience and success in being guided by the Spirit, your confidence in the impressions you feel can become more certain than your dependence on what you see or hear.”
This is what we must do. It is continual effort on each of our parts. He continues to give examples of when he has received divine intervention. They have come after prolonged, prayerful efforts. He told of a time when he was in a Sunday School Class and during a lesson had received some impressions that he immediately wrote down.
“I sought a more private location, where I continued to write the feelings that flooded into my mind and heart as faithfully as possible. After each powerful impression was recorded, I pondered the feelings I had received to determine if I had accurately expressed them in writing. As a result, I made a few minor changes to what had been written. Then I studied their meaning and application in my own life.
“Subsequently I prayed, reviewing with the Lord what I thought I had been taught by the Spirit. When a feeling of peace came, I thanked Him for the guidance given. I was then impressed to ask, “Was there yet more to be given?” I received further impressions, and the process of writing down the impressions, pondering, and praying for confirmation was repeated. Again I was prompted to ask, “Is there more I should know?” And there was. When that last, most sacred experience was concluded, I had received some of the most precious, specific, personal direction one could hope to obtain in this life. Had I not responded to the first impressions and recorded them, I would not have received the last, most precious guidance.”
From this experience of Elder Scott’s we learn that in order to receive the direction you need for our callings you need to:
1. Pray fervently and consistently
2. Write down impressions that you receive
3. Ponder and study
4. Act on or apply those promptings
Hence the notepads and pens you received at the door. Please carry them with you everywhere you go, for you never know when you will receive inspiration.
I remember attending a general YW open house session and Sister Dalton was talking about a time when a ward president had called her with a concern. She had prayed as to how she should help and one night she awoke in the middle of the night with impressions as to what they should do. She immediately got out of bed and wrote down the thoughts that came to her.
Promptings may not always come at a most convenient time. BUT it is very important that we immediately write down the promptings when they do come. If we put it off, we will most likely forget some of them. And most likely the feelings will not come back. We don’t always get a second chance. That is a hard lesson that I am still trying to perfect.
Jesus Christ gave His whole life—every day of his life—for our benefit. He served others, never thinking of himself. He lifted others and taught them how to live their lives. That is what we have to do.
Elder Eyring said in his talk entitled: Rise to Your Call from October 2002 General Conference: “It is by giving our whole hearts to the Master and keeping His commandments that we come to know Him.”
IF we can teach the sisters to have Faith in Jesus Christ and to be obedient then they can have the blessings of our Heavenly Father with them at all times.
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