I gave the FHE lesson for the YSA ward this past Monday. Here are my notes, though I tried to eliminate the discussion questions for the sake of this post. Despite my nerves, I think the lesson went well and there were a lot of great and isighful comments shared! I love how much you learn when you're the "teacher." I also shared some gems from one of the most amazing people I know, Scott, and it was great to be able to share the words of wisdom with my Alaskan "friends." Hope life is finding you all well.
Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread (FHE)
By Elder D. Todd Chistofferson (YSA CES 09 January 2011)
As a child growing up, perspective was something I knew very little about. The adage “can’t see past the end of his nose” is really quite literal when you consider one’s youth.
I know as a young child all I thought about was the next opportunity I was going to get to play basketball, or jump on a skateboard. I never considered the consequences from deciding to enjoy those activities. Sprained ankles, jammed fingers, cuts and bruises, a sore backside, or breaking my mother’s picture frame or even ending up on crutches for a week. On occasion, those injuries, sometimes groundings, or an increased chore load, had a great affect on my happiness, comfort and play time.
Something I have learned as an adult and since converting and choosing to live a life in accordance with the gospel of Jesus Christ, is the great freedom we enjoy when applying the “little things” the gospel encourage us to do. It widens our perspectives and provides great insight on decisions we make. Elder Christofferson says:
“[we] often admonish you to plan for the future. We encourage you to pursue education and vocational training as preparation for life in the years ahead. We urge you to lay a foundation for marriage and family and to act on those plans. We caution you to think of possible consequences down the road when making decisions about what you do down the road when making decisions about what you do today.”
I underlined some key words to rephrase his statement and make it a little more concise, which in this case, will hopefully be the jumping off point for this evening’s thoughts.
First thing: Look to God for What is Needed Each Day
Matthew 6:9-13
9 aAfter this manner therefore bpray ye: Our cFather which art in heaven, dHallowed be thy ename. 10 Thy akingdom come. Thy bwill be done cin earth, as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily abread. 12 And forgive us our adebts, as we bforgive our debtors. 13 aAnd blead us not into ctemptation, dbut deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the eglory, for ever. Amen.
As His Disciples, we are encouraged to look to Him for temporal and spiritual sustenance.
2 Nephi 32:9
9 But behold, I say unto you that ye must apray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall bpray unto the Father in the cname of Christ, that he will dconsecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the ewelfare of thy soul.
As we look to God for what we need daily in some of the ways discussed already today, this creates a bit of a cause and effect reaction to take place in our lives. Elder Chistofferson shares the story about Moses and his charge to feed over a million mouths as they were in the wilderness. They looked to God to have their needs met, but chose not to follow his counsel. When they heeded the words of the Lord by way of Moses, they were blessed. When they did not as Moses counseled, they had no Manna.
D&C 82:10
10 I, the Lord, am abound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no bpromise.
When we are seeking to do as the Lord asks, he will always provide.
Elder Christofferson also shares some gems on how we can persevere and stay commited to our effort to seek Him daily.
1. Trust in the Lord – Solutions May Come Over Time
a. It is in the Lord’s time
b. Remain humble
c. Miraculous comes in different sizes
d. We learn from our Journey not necessarily when we arrive at our destination.
2. Work Through Large Problems in Small, Daily Bites
a. We had saying in Massage College “you can eat an elephant, one bite at a time.”
b. Navy SEAL“First of all,” he said, “I do not want you to give in to the pressure of the moment. Whenever you’re hurting bad, just hang in there. Finish the day. Then, if you’re still feeling bad, think about it long and hard before you decide to quit. Second, take it one day at a time. One [phase] at a time. Don’t let your thoughts run away with you, don’t start planning to bail out because you’re worried about the future and how much you can take. Don’t look ahead to the pain. Just get through the day, and there’s a wonderful career ahead of you.”
c. “To worry about what is or may be coming can be debilitating. It can paralyze us and make us quit.” Reminds me of one of my favorite quotes: “Perhaps fear held them back when they should have gone forward.” Lancelot to King Arthur. Or, “Not Scared.”
3. God’s “Daily Bread” is Needed in Reaching our Potential
We need God to be a part of our lives daily. Several years ago while living in the South Bay, we had a Stake President establish a stake mission statement and goals. It may still used to this day in that stake and I continue keep a few of them on my own personal list. The main one is PROs. Personal Religious Observances.
4. Seek the Lord’s Help in Serving Others
5. Daily Choices Have Eternal Consequences
a. The choices we make today, can and do affect our future families.
6. Jesus Christ is the Bread of Life
“And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. …
“I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (John 6:35, 47–51).
ej
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