Scripture Memorization

Early in January, I was listening to the talk  by Elder Richard G. Scott from last October Conference.  He was talking about scriptures and kind of gave a challenge to memorize scriptures and the good that it would do. "Learning, pondering, searching, and memorizing scriptures is like filling a filing cabinet with friends, values, and truths that can be called upon anytime, anywhere in the world.  Great power can come from memorizing scriptures. To memorize a scripture is to forge a new friendship. It is like discovering a new individual who can help in time of need, give inspiration and comfort, and be a source of motivation for needed change."  You may want to look up his talk and read through it.The Power of Scripture   So I decided (even though I have never been good at memorizing scriptures and haven't really felt like it was necessary) to memorize one scripture a month.  That's pretty small and should be attainable right?  But I wasn't sure how you go about choosing which scripture to memorize and decided to choose a topic and go to the topical guide and look up scriptures on that topic and decide from there which one to memorize for the month.  I chose the word "believe" since that seems to be my word lately.  There are a lot of scriptures with that word so I chose the ones I liked and pasted them into a word doc.  I now have 2 pages of scriptures!!!   Then I went through each one, and chose one that I wanted to memorize.    I challenge each of you to do the same--or something similar according to how you feel prompted.  The challenge is on.   I decided to print off the scripture and post it in 3 places where I would see it often..inside my kindle fire which I read my scriptures from daily; on the refrigerator door, which is obvious why I will see that one; and on the mirror where I put my makeup on and do my hair every day.  This has proved to be very helpful.  I see it often, and I read through just a line or 2 each time I see it until I've got that part memorized and then I go to the next line.  I'm happy to say, it is working!! 

My January scripture: 
Alma 24:19  And thus we see that when these Lamanites had learned to believe and know the truth, they were firm and would suffer even unto death rather than commit sin.  And thus we see that they buried their weapons of peace, or they buried their weapons of war for peace.

I love this scripture.  I love the thought that these people were so committed to the Lord.  They symbolically buried all the things in their lives that would destroy them.  We, as people of God, can and should do the same thing.  We can bury our pride, our impatience, our worldliness, our criticism of others, or whatever it is that keeps us from progressing, so that we can have peace in our lives.

I was able to memorize that scripture within the first 2 weeks of January so I decided to choose another one that I had for the theme of "believe".  This is the one I went with:

Mosiah 4:9  Believe in God, believe that He is and that He created all things both in heaven and in earth.  Believe that He has all wisdom and all power, both in heaven and in earth.  Believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend.

I love this one too.  It has given me so much strength as I try to go through every day trials and I don't quite understand why some things happen the way they are.  And then I believe in God and I know that He has all wisdom and I know that I can't comprehend everything that He does comprehend.  I know I have to TRUST Him.  It has given me strength and courage and faith to continue on!

For February, I went with a scripture that is a bit harder, but as the month has gone on, I have learned to love this scripture so much.  I am amazed at how much the Lord has helped me to memorize these scriptures and how much strength I have felt from them.

2 Nephi 2: 26-27  And the Messiah cometh in the fullness of times that He might redeem the children of God from the fall.  And because that they are redeemed from the fall, man has become free forever, knowing good from evil, to act for themselves and not to be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day, according to the commandments which God hath given.

Wherefore man is free according to the flesh, and all things are given them which are expedient unto man, and they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.

I've got verse 26 memorized and part of verse 27.  I've got just over a week to get it finished.  Again. . .   The Challenge is ON!!  Please join me.  I'd love to hear of your experiences with memorizing scriptures.

Our Divine Purpose and Roles as Women in the Church

Before I was released I got to participate in many of the Ward Conferences in the Provo YSA 17th Stake. I love Ward Conferences.  They just seem to have such a strong spirit and you just feel motivated to do more and be better.  My presidency and I put together a lesson for each ward Relief Society.

One of my counselor's gave an introduction:  (at this point I don't have a copy of their intro.  I'm trying to get it.  check back because I will post it when I can.)

Then I concluded the lesson:

Challenge:  Make a goal of how you will take this lesson to be better than you are today.

Read pg. 3 1^st column 2^nd & 3^rd paragraph—(Daughters of my Kingdom)

 The Savior taught women in multitudes and as individuals, on the street and by the seashore, at the well and in their homes. He showed loving-kindness toward them and healed them and their family members. In many parables, He told stories of women engaged in ordinary activities. He demonstrated deep familiarity with women’s lives and drew timeless gospel lessons from their everyday experiences. He forgave them. He wept with them. He had compassion on them in their specific circumstances as daughters, wives, homemakers, mothers, and widows. He appreciated them and ennobled them.

Even in excruciating pain on the cross, the Savior expressed concern for His mother, who by then was very likely a widow in need of watchcare. And the first person to whom He appeared after His Resurrection was a woman.

I love this!  It makes me feel loved and special and important in the eyes of Jesus Christ, that I have a role and a purpose here on the earth.  I feel like Jesus Christ knows me.

Read (Daughters of my Kingdom) Pg. 7 1^st paragraph—

    

The women in the ancient Church were dignified and noble, needed and valued. They served others, increased in personal holiness, and participated in the great work of saving souls.

DIGNIFIED AND NOBLE -- NEEDED AND VALUED

You have a purpose here just as women in the past.  I believe you are dignified and noble.  You are needed and valued!  Esther understood her role and had the courage she needed to fulfill that purpose.  We need to find our own purpose. Just as the women in the ancient church we need to:

SERVE OTHERS

INCREASE IN PERSONAL HOLINESS

PARTICIPATE IN SAVING SOULS

Read (Daughters of my Kingdom) pg. 7 last paragraph:  As women participate in Relief Society, (we) serve as valiant disciples of Jesus Christ in the work of salvation. Like the women in the ancient Church, (we) work alongside men who hold the priesthood to increase faith and personal righteousness, strengthen families and homes, and seek out and help those in need. Sister Julie B. Beck, the fifteenth Relief Society general president, taught: “Through Relief Society we practice being disciples of Christ. We learn what He would have us learn, we do what He would have us do, and we become what He would have us become.”

Write on Board: 

LEARN

DO

BECOME

The women of the ancient church are no different than today:  (as it says in this paragraph)  

We work alongside men, increase in faith and personal righteousness, strengthen families and homes, and seek out and help those in need.

LEARN    (increase in personal righteousness) (work alongside men)

DO            (serve—seek out needy)        (participate in work of saving souls) (strengthen our families)

BECOME

        

You are on the playing field.  This is what you should be doing right now!!  The sign as you enter BYU says:                             Enter to Learn—Go forth to Serve

You are choice women, placed here on this earth “For such a time as this” just as Esther had a purpose and was placed “in the kingdom for such a times as hers.”

As members of the Church, as daughters of God, as women in the world, I’ve come up with 4 things that define your role:

1.  SERVE OTHERS: To seek out those in need--To be charitable—to serve and bless others—to help in bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of man!!!

One of the purposes of Relief Society: seek out and helping those in need!

By serving others we learn to be charitable.  We learn the pure love of Christ.

Sister Beck said, “Charity is more than a feeling of benevolence, and it’s more than virtuous living.  It is more than niceness.  It is living as Christ lived, and it is what we are to become.” 

I believe we start with these things and after a lifetime of practice we develop true charity.

The Prophet Joseph Smith said: “Don’t be limited in your views with regard to your neighbors’ virtues. … You must enlarge your souls toward others if you [would] do like Jesus. … As you increase in innocence and virtue, as you increase in goodness, let your hearts expand—let them be enlarged towards others—you must be longsuffering and bear with the faults and errors of mankind. How precious are the souls of men!”

President Monson teaches: “Charity is having patience with someone who has let us down. It is resisting the impulse to become offended easily. It is accepting weaknesses and shortcomings. It is accepting people as they truly are. It is looking beyond physical appearances to attributes that will not dim through time. It is resisting the impulse to categorize others."1

With that said, I think it takes a lifetime to become truly charitable.

what can you do RIGHT NOW to serve and bless others?

            Example: Annie has been so kind to my daughter Abbie-invites her to activities—Abbie says no one talks to each other in her ward.  She asked me, "why is she so nice to me?"     

            Make cookies and share them with another apartment.

            Don’t judge others—accept them for who they are.

            Talk to others that you see outside of your apartment.

            Do your visiting teaching

            Fulfill your callings to the best you can

            Keep your eyes and ears and hearts always open to the needs of others

If you have a hard time being charitable, then I encourage you to pray for charity.  Like anything else, we have to have a desire.  Reading and studying your scriptures will soften your hearts and help you to have the desire to be charitable and help you to have charity—to be kind, caring, generous, patient, accepting, forgiving, inclusive, and selfless.

2. PARTICIPATE IN THE WORK OF SAVING SOULS: To be mothers—to nurture and teach God’s children

 Sister Beck said at the Women’s Conference @ BYU in May 2011, “The identity of a daughter of God is precious beyond compare and rich and full.  As guardians of hearth and home, women have responsibility for the hearts and souls of Heavenly Father’s children.  They are given this powerful and influential leadership role.  The female responsibility of being a wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt, and friend … is all about nurturing, teaching, and influencing. These are non-negotiable responsibilities. We can’t delegate them. We can accept them and live them. These are things we understood before we were born, and we can’t negotiate with the Lord whether they’re part of His plan. These are our responsibilities.”

           

Even though, you are not mothers, you can still nurture and teach and influence God’s children.  You teach me and influence me in ways that you have no idea—and I am one of God’s children.

Now is the time to prepare to be a mother:

            Gain confidence in yourself

            Find out your strengths and your weaknesses—your likes and dislikes

            Strengthen your testimony-get in the habit of doing the 5 things that Pres. Mullen asks

            Be obedient & virtuous

            Take advantage of every opportunity to teach

            Visit Teach—be nurturing

As a mother, it is the greatest blessing that I have!!  It has brought me an indescribable amount of joy.

           

4.  To walk side by side with the Priesthood—receive gifts of the Spirit -- attributes of Jesus Christ

Read (Daughters in my Kingdoma) Lorenzo Snow said, pg. 7 bottom of 1^st column, To a group of Relief Society sisters, President Lorenzo Snow, the fifth President of the Church, said: “You have ever been found at the side of the Priesthood, ready to strengthen their hands and to do your part in helping to advance the interests of the kingdom of God; and as you have shared in these labors, so you will most certainly share in the triumph of the work and in the exaltation and glory which the Lord will give to His faithful children.”¹⁸

Just as Mary and Martha were vital participants in the Savior’s ministry and were chosen disciples in the church, you women are essential in helping fulfill the roles of the Priesthood today.

Sister Beck from the May 2011 Women's Conference: “I’ve learned through studying the history of Relief Society that we have and live with inseparable connection to the priesthood.  No one need confuse the idea of those who hold the priesthood with the gifts, blessings, and privileges associated with the priesthood.  The priesthood is God’s power.  It is His power to create, to bless, to lead, to serve as He does. The priesthood duty of every righteous man is to qualify to hold the priesthood so he can bless his family, while the priesthood duty of sisters is to create life, nurture God’s children, and prepare them to make covenants with the Lord.  Don’t confuse the power of the priesthood with the keys and offices of the priesthood.  The power is limitless and is shared with those who make and keep covenants. Too much is said and misunderstood about what brothers have and sister’s don’t. This is Satan’s way of confusing men and women so that neither understands what they really have.”

To that I have to say, the same gifts and blessings that are available for men holding the priesthood, are available for us as well.  We don’t have priesthood keys, but we have priesthood duties.  We have different roles and responsibilities and abilities from men but we are equal partners. 

As single sisters with single priesthood brethren, how do we walk side by side?

How you treat each other—respect—the way you want to be treated

Help them keep the commandments when you are with them

Don’t be afraid to discuss religious topics

As single sisters, you can be and MUST be a strength to the Priesthood holders around you in how you dress and act and live your life—don’t be a temptation—Let them know that you have high standards and expect them to have the same.

Abide by the principles in the For Strength of Youth Pamphletb

Chelsea/Cherie/Caitlin talked about several women who learned, listened and walked beside Jesus Christ when he was here on the earth.  These women were essential in His ministry.  We as women are essential in the work of salvation today.

3.  TO INCREASE IN PERSONAL HOLINESS: To be examples of righteousness and faith and strength

Esther is a perfect example of a woman who was an example of righteousness and strength and faith.  To be an example to the world, we can’t be afraid.  We have to know and understand our roles as women and act on them.   1 Timothy 4:12 . . . be thou an ^bexample of the believers, in word, in ^{cconversation}, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in ^dpurity.

What specifically can you do to be an example to others and to the world?

Live the gospel—keep the commandments—be charitable—have faith

*(Daughters in My Kingdom) Pg. 179-180  President Joseph F. Smith, the sixth President of the Church, urged Latter-day Saint women to “lead the world and to lead especially the women of the world, in everything that is praise-worthy, everything that is God-like, everything that is uplifting and that is purifying.” He said, “You are called by the voice of the Prophet of God to do it, to be uppermost, to be the greatest and the best, the purest and the most devoted to the right.”2

“You can recognize women who are grateful to be a daughter of God by their outward appearance. These women understand their stewardship over their bodies and treat them with dignity. They care for their bodies as they would a holy temple, for they understand the Lord’s teaching: “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” (1 Cor. 3:16). Women who love God would never abuse or deface a temple with graffiti. Nor would they throw open the doors of that holy, dedicated edifice and invite the world to look on. How even more sacred is the body, for it was not made by man. It was formed by God. We are the stewards, the keepers of the cleanliness and purity with which it came from heaven. “If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are” (1 Cor. 3:17). Grateful daughters of God guard their bodies carefully, for they know they are the wellspring of life and they reverence life. They don’t uncover their bodies to find favor with the world. They walk in modesty to be in favor with their Father in Heaven. For they know He loves them dearly.”  MARGARET D. NADAULD,  Young Women General President, The Joy of Womanhood - Ensign Nov. 2000/3

We stand for something entirely different than how the world views us.  It should be apparent by how we dress and act and present ourselves.

Women of God can never be like women of the world. The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined. We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith. We have enough greed; we need more goodness. We have enough vanity; we need more virtue. We have enough popularity; we need more purity. MARGARET D. NADAULD,Young Women General President, The Joy of Womanhood - Ensign Nov. 2000

Each of you have beautiful characteristics differing as greatly as your looks.  I see them as I visit your wards each Sunday and hear many of your comments in your relief society lessons.  You are amazing women with fabulous abilities.  Never compare yourself to others.  Don’t put yourself down because you are not the same as other women you know.  We weren’t made to all be the same.  We help each other by having different talents.

The strength of women is needed in the Church as well as in the world.  We have to be the example for all the world to see. 

We can be stylish but modest. 

We can laugh and have fun without being crude.

We can be pure and virtuous and still be exciting. 

We can serve and be kind to others. 

We can be educated without being prideful. 

We can be mothers and leaders in our homes. 

We can have faith and be righteous.

Julie B. Beck talked about the role of women in the church

“Female identity in that plan as understood in the gospel of Jesus Christ is interesting and exciting and unique and is one of greatness and richness, choice beyond comparison.  This is also in direct contrast with the debased and devalued identity of women often portrayed in the world today, including identities based on sensuality, prestige, power, money, and leisure.  The identity we have from Heavenly Father can be fully understood only through spiritual confirmation.  An intellectual study can be made, but a spiritual confirmation teaches us who we are and what we are to do.…”

(Daughters in my Kingdom) Elder M. Russell Ballard, pg. 172 middle of 2^nd column.  Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the TwelveApostles said: “We believe in and are counting on your goodness and yourstrength, your propensity for virtue and valor, your kindness and courage,your strength and resilience. We believe in your mission as women of God. …We believe that the Church simply will not accomplish what it must withoutyour faith and faithfulness, your innate tendency to put the well-being ofothers ahead of your own, and your spiritual strength and tenacity. And webelieve that God’s plan is for you to become queens and to receive the highestblessings any woman can receive in time or eternity.”c

*Pg. 181  bottom of 2^nd column: The Lord’s promises are sure as sisters follow the counsel He gave to the firstRelief Society president: “Verily I say unto you, all those who receive mygospel are sons and daughters in my kingdom. … Lay aside the things of thisworld, and seek for the things of a better. … Cleave unto the covenants whichthou hast made.”¹⁷ When the Prophet Joseph Smith told Relief Society sistersto “live up to [their] privilege,” he combined that exhortation with a promise:“The angels cannot be restrained from being your associates. … If you will be pure, nothing can hinder.”

Give you 30 seconds to write down a specific goal that you are going to work on this semester—if you want to be more charitable, than what are you going to do?

If you want to be a better example—then what exactly will you do to show your strength?

If you want to understand your role—how are you going to accomplish that?

What do you need to do to better support the Priesthood?

Isn't awesome that our Heavenly Father loves us so much that He helps us and shows us how to become the person He knows we can become.  I love this gospel.  We are a blessed people!