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RS/EQ: Prayer and Personal Revelation

Lesson #10 in the Joseph Smith manual for this year’s course of study is entitled, “Prayer and Personal Revelation.” Joseph Smith restored many things when he restored the gospel to the earth. He demonstrated ways in which we could address our Heavenly Father, as a close personal friend and indeed, a father, and he taught the young Church the power of prayer and the very real concept of personal revelation. He pointed out that the Lord had never said He would stop speaking to His children in the latter days, so we should not be so surprised that He speaks … Continue reading →

Gospel Doctrine: Deathbed Repentance

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Perhaps one of the most misunderstood quotes in scripture comes in Luke 23:43. As Jesus hangs on the cross, a thief also hangs to his side, acknowledging that his punishment is just while the Savior has done no wrong. Jesus then answers, “To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” So many have taken to heart the possibility that a deathbed repentance will lead to eternal glory, but this is not so. According to the Prophet Joseph Smith, the aforementioned phrase meant that the Savior and the thief would be in the world of spirits that very day. At … Continue reading →

Gospel Doctrine: Release Barabbas

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When Pontius told the Jews that he found no fault in Jesus, he sought to release the Savior as a free man. Instead, the angry mob insisted that the murderer, Barabbas, be instead released. When asked what to do with the Lord and Savior, the crowd cried out that He should be crucified. The Jewish people chose a man of the world over a man of God. When Pontius gave them a second chance, they cried out again for the convicted criminal rather than the man free of all sin. They embraced the world rather than the Lord. Repeatedly through … Continue reading →

Gospel Doctrine: The Flesh is Weak

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When Jesus spent the night in Gethsemane, bearing upon Himself the sins of the world, He asked only one thing of His disciples: that they stay awake. He woke them twice, and found them asleep. As He pled for their support, He acknowledge that “the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:41) Isn’t that the way it is with all of us? As we struggle with our daily trials, we truly long to be more Christlike. We strive to make the changes that are needed for us to be closer to Him. We try to repent … Continue reading →

General Conference From the Past: “The Importance of Prayer”

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In April of 1974, President N. Eldon Tanner, First Counselor in the First Presidency, gave a talk entitled “The Importance of Prayer.” He discussed the Lord’s prayer and the pattern presented. He elaborates on the various aspects of that great prayer, and how we need to not only apply prayer in our daily lives but live the very things we are praying for. President Tanner starts off by bearing his testimony of the newly called prophet, President Spencer W. Kimball. This alone makes it an interesting and uplifting talk to read, especially since we are studying President Kimball’s teachings this … Continue reading →

LDS Family Week in Review: May 20th – 26th

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We had another great week in the LDS Families blog. We took a look at our Gospel Doctrine lesson and expanded our horizons a bit. Gospel Doctrine: This week’s Sunday School lesson is entitled “Thy Faith Hath Saved Thee.” It covered a variety of ways that people expressed their faith in the Lord and were spiritually saved because of it. In Cry Day and Night, we discussed how prayer affects us. In Men Ought Always to Pray, we talked about how to pray without fainting. In They…Rebuked Him, we talked about how other people might affect our relationship with God … Continue reading →

Gospel Doctrine: “They…Rebuked Him”

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The parable found in Luke 18:35-43 bears striking similarity to the parable we studied for the last two days. While many things stood out to me, I was most intrigued by the difference between the two. The reasons required for each participant to continue pleading in faith were intriguingly different. In the parable of the widow and the judge, the judge simply ignored her. The account of the blind man, however, is no parable; it actually occurred. As the Savior walked past, the man heard the crowd and inquired as to the reason. When told that it was Jesus of … Continue reading →

Gospel Doctrine: Men Ought Always to Pray

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Yesterday, we talked about the parable of the wicked judge. Today, I’d like to take a look at why that parable was told. Christ provides the reason in the first verse of Luke 18: “that men ought always to pray, and not to faint.” We need to make sure that our physical bodies do not keep us from spiritual experiences. As a new mother, I’ve struggled with this greatly over the last six weeks. My schedule has been somewhat disrupted, and I have let my prayers and scripture study slide. Things have been on the “when you think of it” … Continue reading →

Gospel Doctrine: Brought Back Into the Fold

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Every time I read the parable of the lost sheep, it makes me scratch my head. It always seems unfair to me that there is more joy over the return of one who wandered than there is over the 99 who had the sense to stay together. Maybe it is my oldest child mentality coming out; like the brother in the prodigal son, I get a little resentful. However, today I took a different (and more accurate) view of the parable. I thought about Sunday Sacrament meetings. When I attend church (as I do every Sunday), no one gets really … Continue reading →

RS/EQ: For Christ’s Sake

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In February, we talked about the miracle of forgiveness. One requirement for obtaining forgiveness from God for our sins is that we must forgive those who wrong us. There are times that this can be difficult or challenging; however, it is something we must do. As we begin reading this week’s lesson, we learn about an incident in President Kimball’s life where he sought to defuse a ward-wide fuse. After much counsel, prayer, and study with the two opponents, he read to them from Doctrine & Covenants 64. The verse which most touched them was verse 9, when they learned … Continue reading →