Wrapping up the Godhead

Dear Class,

I sure hope your week is going well. Thank you all for another great class on Sunday. You really made my day! Were you being extra good for some reason? (Just kidding.) Just to recap, we talked about our experiences with completing Andrew's challenge the previous week, which was to talk to a friend about the Church and then find a scripture that describes your discussion. Continuing on our theme of the godhead, we also talked about how we see the gospel in our everyday lives, connections we are making between what we learn in church and what we do outside of church, and just about life in general. Several of you shared what you had talked about with your friends, and I'm so proud that so many of you were able to do the challenge!

Keep looking for opportunities to talk to your friends, family, and pets (he he) about the gospel. Those are the conversations that invite the Holy Ghost into your life and the lives of others, and will strengthen our testimonies! I know that to be true. 

Here are the scriptures that were shared relating to Andrew's challenge:

John 13:35
By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

D&C 42:17
For, behold, the Comforter knoweth all things, and beareth record of the Father and of the Son.

Luke 22:32
But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not; and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.


On Sunday we will be talking about the role of agency in learning the gospel. I'm excited to hear your ideas about how we, as a class and individually, can actively participate in learning the gospel and building our testimonies. 

Love,
Sister Lewis

This one is from Jeremy:
Challenge: Look for the blessings in your life and think of any spiritual experiences you've had throughout the week and share them in class.

The Holy Ghost

Hello friends!

Thank you to everyone who helped us make our class on Sunday a good one! For those of you who weren't there, we talked about the Holy Ghost, and how He helps us learn. Here is a summary of what we talked about:

• The Holy Ghost is a personage of spirit (D&C 130:22), meaning he does not have a body of flesh and bones. This allows him to dwell within us.
• When we preach, we preach in the name of the Father, Christ, and the Holy Ghost. (Matthew 28:19)
• The Holy Ghost is a teacher. He brings all things to our remembrance. (John 14:26) As a side note, we made a connection here to another lesson earlier this month. In order to recognize God's hand in our lives, we need to be mindful of him on a regular basis. We need to take time to ponder and remember what He has done for us and our families. We cannot do that without the Holy Ghost because it is His Spirit which brings all things to our remembrance!
• The Holy Ghost can and will lead us where we ought to go. (1 Nephi 4:6)
• We receive the gift of the Holy Ghost after baptism. (2 Nephi 31:12)
• The Holy Ghost is a vessel, which can carry truth to our hearts. (2 Nephi 33:1)
• All things are manifest by the Holy Ghost. (D&C 18:18) Think about that! There is not anything that the Holy Ghost doesn't teach; all truth that anyone can know is taught by the Spirit to our hearts and minds. In the same verse, it says that we must pray if we want the Holy Ghost to influence us. We need to ask.
• The Holy Ghost testifies of God and Christ; He is the Comforter, and the Spirit of truth. (John 15:26)

We also talked about ways to improve our class, based on your input. We'll discuss this further next week too, since we ran out of time. I want each of you to feel like you have a voice in class, that you can determine how and what we learn. The ideas you came up with so far are:

• The youth will pick the challenge each week (instead of me choosing it)
• Would like to build our testimonies
• Want more opportunities to share personal experiences or what is happening in our lives

See you all on Sunday, I hope!

Love,

Sister Lewis

Andrew has chosen the challenge for this week, and he called me to let me know. Here is what he came up with... 

Challenge:

1. Find an opportunity to talk to a friend about church through the guidance of the Spirit. Then, find a scripture that best describes your discussion.

I would also like to know if you guys are able to leave comments on the blog. Will each of you just try it out, and leave your name as a comment, so I know who has been able to do it? Thanks!

Recognizing Blessings

Hi guys!

This past Sunday we talked about recognizing God's hand in our lives, and also that Heavenly Father's influence can be found in all things around us. We also talked about adding a "Connections" discussion to each class, during which we will spend the first five minutes or so talking about how what we are learning in class connects with things happening in our everyday lives, school, work, personal study, family life, etc.

Here are some ideas we came up with about our Heavenly Father's influence in our lives:

Alma 30:44 tells us that "all things denote [show/witness] there is a God." There are many people today that don't believe God exists, or that He cares about us as individuals. We are so blessed to know that we ARE loved by our Heavenly Father, and He has given us many examples that He indeed cares.

Things that show evidence of God's hand/power/love:

• all the worlds He has created
• the stars / the infinite Universe
• thunder
• order
• animals / birds (singing sweetly in the trees) :)
• mountains
• fish / water
• the Sun
• rain
• our homes
• complexity of the human body

We also talked about the importance of REMEMBERING. Remember what God has done for you. How do you do this? Take time to ponder it, pray for help to recognize His hand in your life, keep a journal, or bear your testimony. All of these things can bring us to a remembrance of the great things God has done for us and our ancestors. 

D&C 59:21 says that God is offended and his wrath is kindled when we do not confess His hand in all things. Let's remember to THANK Heavenly Father for the blessings He gives us so his anger doesn't burst into flame (yikes)!

And NOW..............

This upcoming Sunday we will be discussing the topic: How does the Holy Ghost help me learn? Think about times that you have felt the Spirit, or the influence of the Holy Ghost. Contrast that feeling with another time when you did not have the Holy Ghost with you. What was the difference? What did you gain when you were learning/listening/speaking WITH the Spirit? Those are just some ideas to consider this week.

In order to contribute to our class discussion on Sunday, I would like each of you to find a scripture about the Holy Ghost, and how he helps us learn. Mark the scripture and bring it with you to share with the class. If you would like, you can leave the scripture reference in the comment section of this post. We will look at the references together in class and talk about them. I hope you all have a great week, and I look forward to hearing your ideas this Sunday!

Love,
Sister Lewis

Challenge: Find a scripture about how the Holy Ghost helps us learn. Leave the reference as a comment on this post and/or bring it to class on Sunday.

Welcome to the Blog!

Hi everyone!

We had a HUGE turnout in class this Sunday, and I want to thank all of you again for your comments and ideas in our discussion! I think the first class of the new year went very well. This blog will be where you can come anytime to see what's going on, and what challenges we are trying to complete as a class. You can also leave comments or questions on any of the posts.

Today we talked about qualities and characteristics of Heavenly Father, and we found scriptures that tell us about each of those qualities. Here is the list we came up with:

Things we know about God  >  Scripture references

• Forgiving/Merciful  >  Genesis 50:17, Deuteronomy 4:31
• Just  >  Job 4:17
• Peace  >  1 Nephi 13:37, Jacob 7:23, Numbers 6:26, John 14:27
• Loves all  >  Jeremiah 31:3, John 3:16
• Not a respecter of persons  >  D&C 38:16
• Powerful  >  Isaiah 40:29
• Knowledgeable/All-knowing  >  Hosea 4:6, 1st Samuel 2:3, Exodus 31:3
• Omnipotent  >  Revelation 19:6
• God of miracles  >  2nd Nephi 26:13, Numbers 14:21,22
• Supreme Governor of the Universe  >  Alma 30:44

We also wrote our testimonies in class, so if you didn't get to do that yet, just write your testimony or print it on paper, seal it in an envelope with your name on it and give it to me the next time you see me. I'm going to keep them with me and you will get to open them at the end of the year and see how much your testimony has grown. (I'm doing it too. It'll be great.)

Next week's lesson is about recognizing Heavenly Father's hand in all things. Think about ways that you see Heavenly Father's influence in your life this week, so we can discuss it on Sunday. Have a great week!

Love, 

Sister Lewis

Challenges:

1. (If you haven't done it:) Write your testimony and seal it in an envelope with your name on it. Give it to me when you see me next.
2. Focus on seeing God's influence in your life this week. Come prepared to share one or more ways you observed on Sunday.