I missed the last two days and am ready to get back on track.
Friday Becky and I went on a special date since Becky’s mom is in town. We stayed over night, had a great dinner, and were going to go to a movie but there was nothing worth watching it seemed.
Instead, we walked around, talked, and watched the end of the Yankees came, which they came back to win after being down 5-0. In the 8th they scored 5 runs and went ahead 6-5. Rivera came in in the 9th to close it all out.
It’s been nice to have Mom here with us. We had a fun night tonight with Andy and Steph and Reagan. It was our annual Halloween party: we bobbed for apples, did pumpkin bowling, painted pumpkins, and played musical chairs. It’s a fun tradition that I hope we continue.
I had a pretty good experience today at Church. It was my turn to teach the lesson to the 10-12 year olds in primary. Here are some of my notes:
The History of King Josiah – 2 Kings 22, 23, 24, 25
1. What kind of person was King Josiah? (2 Kings 22:2, 23:25) – Josiah was a great person who submitted his will to God.
2 Kings 23:25 And like unto him was there no aking before him, that bturned to the Lord with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him.
2. In the 18th year of King Josiah’s reign, what was done to the temple? (2 Chronicles 34:8-11) It was repaired.
3. What did Hilkiah find in the temple when it was being repaired? (2 Kings 22:8) The book of the law, the scriptures which had been lost.
4. After King Josiah had the scriptures read to him, what did he do to show his sorrow? (2 Kings 22:11-13) He “rent his clothes” to show his willingness to do the will of the Father.
13 Go ye, enquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that is found: for great is the awrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book, to bdo according unto all that which is written concerning us.
I really like this scripture: it reminds me of a few of the boys in my class who have parents who are either divorced or who are not always the best examples of coming to church on a consistent basis. To me, it seems as if the boys are more than willing to come, to participate and to be active members of the Church, but their parents are doing just as the parents in this scripture – they are not “…harkening unto the words of [the scriptures], to do according unto all that which is written…”
5. How had the people shown they had forgotten the Lord’s law? (2 Kings 22:16-17) They were worshiping idols and not keeping the commandments, mainly because they weren’t aware of them due to the fact that they hadn’t had the scriptures.
6. How did King Josiah abolish idol worship and the other evil practices of his people? (2 Kings 23:4, 24-25) He called all the people to repentance and had them get rid of all the idols by burning them.
7. How did King Josiah help his people repent of their sins? (2 Kings 23:2-3) He encouraged them all to read the scriptures on a consistent basis.
8. What righteous practice did King Josiah reestablish? (2 Kings 23:21-23)
They held passover again.
Caleb got to share this scripture in primary opening exercises today, so I took all my boys in to listen to him since it went right along with our lesson. We had helped Caleb memorize the scripture during the week:
2 Nephi 25:26
And we atalk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we bprophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our cchildren may know to what source they may look for a dremission of their sins.
Why are the scriptures so important to YOU?
The scriptures are important to me because they show Heavenly Father that I’m willing to put Him first in my life, that I see value in “re-charging” my spiritual batteries.
I shared part of my journal writing in my class today and mentioned how one of the main reasons I feel I had the patience to wait for Becky when we were dating was because I was diligently studying the scriptures and I was finding answers all over the place about being patient, about enduring, and about being obedient. I told the boys that if I hadn’t been doing those “little things”, I probably wouldn’t be married to my best friend today.
I know the scriptures are one of the main ways I can truly “submit my will to God” and put my trust in Him. They are a way to show my humility and need for the Savior every day of my life.
It’s 11:01 p.m. One of my goals this week will be to go to bed early, no later than 11:30 p.m.
I gave my boys this Assignment:
– Read the scriptures every day this week.
– Keep track of what scriptures you read:
- Sunday- Reviewed the scriptures from our lesson today. Read D&C 64:9–10
- Monday_______
- Tuesday________
- Wednesday_______
- Thursday _______
- Friday _______
- Saturday_______
I plan to do the same and keep track!
“I say unto you, that ye ought to forgive one another; for he that forgiveth not his brother his trespasses standeth condemned before the Lord; for there remaineth in him the greater sin.
“I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men” (D&C 64:9–10).
Jesus taught that to fail to forgive others is a greater sin than the original trespass or offense. How is refusing to forgive yourself or someone else the equivalent of denying the Savior’s Atonement for sin?
Refusing to forgive, both others and myself, seems to be a way of saying, “I don’t really believe that the Atonement works for me…” or something like that. If I really believe in the Atonement of Jesus Christ, it should be something I use every day, every hour of my life. It’s the ONLY way back to the Father. It reminds me of this scripture in John 14:
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the away, the btruth, and the life: no man ccometh unto the Father, but by me.
As I read on in that chapter, I found this:
26 But the aComforter, which is the bHoly Ghost, whom the Father will send in my cname, he shall dteach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
This scripture reminds me of the lesson today too – really the scriptures are go be studied consistently to help me REMEMBER, and always retain in remembrance, my own nothingness.
11 And again I say unto you as I have said before, that as ye have come to the knowledge of the glory of God, or if ye have known of his goodness and have atasted of his love, and have received a bremission of your sins, which causeth such exceedingly great joy in your souls, even so I would that ye should remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own cnothingness, and his dgoodness and long-suffering towards you, unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths of ehumility, fcalling on the name of the Lord daily, and standing gsteadfastly in the faith of that which is to come, which was spoken by the mouth of the angel. (Mosiah 4: 11)
I feel I have come more to a knowledge of the glory of God. I feel I have tasted more of his love and have received a remission of my sins over and over again. I feel these experiences have and continue to cause exceedingly great joy in my soul.
I feel I do need to “remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and my own nothingness, and his goodness and long-suffering towards me..”
I feel reading, studying, and pondering the scriptures is one of the ways I can truly HUMBLE myself and submit my will over to God.
I’m grateful to get back to studying today. I’m grateful to spend quality time with family.
I love my children and have felt really good about the relationship I’m working hard on with them. It was really fun to play with the three of them today, to give them the attention they look for, and to control my emotions when they slip up.
I know that’s what being a parent it all about: to learn what it’s like to be like God, to love your children so much, but to also have the patience to still love them when they continue to make similar mistakes over and over again. Love is what it’s all about. Charity is the answer to all disciplinary actions!
Hasta manana!
Nate
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