D&C 11

Section 11 is written to Hyrum Smith, the brother of Joseph Smith. This is a very powerful revelation and if we "liken the scriptures unto ourselves" it should be influential to our testimony and way of life.

In particular, verse 5 shows that if we pray, we will receive answers. This should be such an important part of our daily lives. Prayers is THE most important act of faith we can exercise to become closer to our Heavenly Father. There are many other things we can do, scripture study, church, fasting, etc. But I feel that prayer will help us become more in tune with the gospel than any other tool in our possession.

Verse 7 shows us the true meaning of being rich. Money is not something we should strive for. Money is not something that should dictate how we live our lives. We should look for wisdom and the mysteries of God will be unfolded. Here is wisdom: I had an epitome the other day. Call me slow :) but I always wanted to know the mysteries of God. I studied the scriptures, prayed, went to the temple, but to no avail. I was still left in the dark as to the mysteries of God, or so I thought. When Mitt Romney was running for the Republican nomination for president ( I would have voted for him, by the way) it became clear to me that I had already received many mysteries of God, but just didn't know it. Mysteries like the true nature of God, Heaven, Other Sheep and so forth. Just by being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we are entitled to many mysteries that the world has yet to learn.

Verse 12 a very clear definition of how we should live our lives.

Verses 13-14 : This is the way we can know when our prayers have been answered.

D&C 10

I cannot imagine what Joseph Smith was going through when he initially received the revelation now known as Doctrine and Covenants Section 10. This is the section where he is told what to do after losing the 116 pages given to Martin Harris.

Can you imagine being chastised by the Lord in such a direct manner. It must have been devastating. In fact, I get the feeling that even the Lord may have realized he was coming on a bit strong, at first, then seemed to fall into more of a "supportive/I understand" role.

I find it very interesting the way the Lord planned ahead for this debacle? We read in 1 Nephi 9:4-6 that the Lord asked Nephi to make a second set of plates. Nephi didn't know why he was to do this, but indicated that the "Lord knoweth all things from the beginning; wherefore, he prepareth a way to accomplish all his works among the children of men;" The whole idea of trying to stop the publishing of the Book of Mormon by changing a previously translated section just doesn't make sense to me. In verses 14-19 the Lord indicates that these wicked men have a great plan. A plan that, with their cunningness, will stop the work in this generation. Here is what I don't understand. In verse 17 they say that if Joseph was given the gift to re-translate the lost section again, they will produce the original (altered) manuscript and show that they do not agree, thus proving to the world he does not have the gift of revelation. But wouldn't it show the wicked men, just how true the work is? Wouldn't they be convinced that Joseph Smith did actually translate the Book of Mormon? I guess once you get this entangled in Satan's web, even common sense is lost.

"Other Sheep"
In verses D&C 10:57-60, I love the way the Lord describes, in clearer terms, what he meant in John 10:16.

Jeffrey R Holland

On Saturday, February 7^th of 2009, I had the wonderful privilege of being invited to a multi-stake meeting between Bishops/Stake Presidents and Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. It was a magnificent meeting. Here are some notes:

Elder Jeffery R Holland: Welcome

Elder Holland spent about 35 minutes thanking us for all the work that we do. He expresses his love and appreciation. He asked us to make sure we show our appreciation to “your people”, the members of the ward, which is where most of the work gets done.

He asked us to tell our wife and family “thanks, from Elder Holland, for letting us get together on a Saturday.” He expressed the need for letting our families get some return on their investment. The time taken away from the family due to the responsibilities of our callings can be difficult. But he indicated that our families are being blessed because of our sacrifice.

With respect to all the callings, responsibilities and hardships we go through to be in the church and with our callings, he said: “However tough it is to be in this church, it’s a lot harder to be out of it.”

We are not CEOs! Our job is to plant the gospel in the hearts of the people! We are disciples of the Lord!

What do we do to build some bodies faith? Everything we do should be to build faith. Jeremiah Chapter 20:1 -

The fire of the spirit has got to burn, in all of our meetings. He asked us to think about how much time we devote to teaching the gospel and building faith. This made me think about the time I spend and how I spend it. Much of my time is spent in administration of the ward. I decided to make a goal to quantify my time and spend more of it teaching, not pushing papers. Much of the paper pushing can be delegated.

Never give a talk without referring to the scriptures!

Elder Claudio R. M. Costa: Economy

Save for the future : A family united can be self reliant. Families are and should be the first level of defense against economic problems.

He quoted President Kimball : “The difference between a wise and a foolish man. A wise man makes $100 a month and spends $99. A foolish man makes $100 a month and spends $101.” A difference of $2 separates a wise man from a foolish man.

The Book of Mormon promises over 200 times: “If you keep my commandments, you shall prosper in the land.”

Today’s big problem is that we need to have everything we see. No self restraint. Products purchased don’t change our lives. Only the gospel can.

Continue to preach the gospel principles. Be positive. The future is bright and it depends on us. A positive person is one who can see the light at the end of the tunnel. No matter how dim it is, they can still see it and work towards it. A negative person is one who switches the light off!

Hard work! Don’t expect to receive a gift… work for what you need.

He discussed his childhood and who he started working 40 hours a week when he was 8 years old. He lived though the time when Brazil was going through 3 digit inflation for many years in a row, up to 417% inflation one year alone. It was difficult, but they managed by staying together as a family and working hard to make ends meet.

Elder Nattress : Patterns

Section 52 : patterns in all things

1: If we read to our children every day from the Book of Mormon, we won’t lose them.

2: we need to realize that our family is the most important thing in our lives, our children and grandchildren. He talked about Elder Faust and how, not too long before he passed away, mentioned that he just held his newest grandchild. He broke down multiple times because he knew his time on this earth was short. He said that he would not have a chance to teach that you child the gospel, but he could teach his mother.

3: When Christ came to the Americas, he blessed the children. We need to pray in our families that our wives and children will be blessed.

4: Liken the scriptures unto ourselves. Never rise above the relationship with our wives.

D&C 133:1-4

Elder Jeffrey R Holland: Open Format

“Perfecting the saints” is the one mission of the church that is hard to get a handle on. It is so vast and covers a very big area of doctrine. Elder Holland indicated that if we focus on “Preaching the Gospel” and “Redeeming the Dead” we will be well on our way to perfecting the saints.

Church Discipline:

We have the responsibility to protect the integrity of the church.

President Kimball said: “Cut the bandage to cover the wound.” The level of discipline should be appropriate for the sin.

Start the process early – don’t wait too long. If we let it go, we lose our options, until the only option left is to bring down the guillotine.

1 out of every 5 people excommunicated from the Church actually return to the church. Excommunication should be last resort.

STP – Same Ten People!

Reach out to others. Elder Holland’s father was called from inactivity to teach a Sunday school class. His father was not living the word of wisdom, he was not active, but the Bishop called him to teach. Elder Holland indicated that he was who he was today, because someone took a chance on his dad and called him as a teacher. Great Story!

It takes a very good meeting to be better than not having any meeting at all.

The only organization that we know of that exists in heaven is the family. Our wards and stakes won’t, as far as we know now, exist in heaven.

To make a difference in people’s lives, we need to create spiritual experiences. If they are not coming to the church, then we need to go to their homes.

The spirit needs to be present to have someone overcome an addiction. We should not focus on the behavior. Focusing on doctrine will change behavior faster and more lasting than focusing on the behavior will change the behavior. I believe this was originally from Elder Packard.

Exodus 18:13-19 – Turn the people God-ward.

Missionary work is done in the 1^st person, present tense. “I do”

If we make a covenant with the Lord to talk to people about the gospel, He will put them in our way!

A good way to start a conversion about the gospel/church is to use the phrase, “I love the way my church…”

If your children (grandchildren) could only learn about the gospel from you, how much would they learn? This really made me to start thinking about how I am doing in my home. The priesthood holders should be the ones leading the spiritual progress and setting the spiritual tone in the home.

To solve the perspective elders problem, ordain on time!

Elders Quorum Presidents and High Priest group leaders are responsible to interview every member of the quorum. This will reduce the chances of them becoming inactive. Why do return missionaries become inactive, one reason is because on their missions, they have regular PPIs. When they get home, this doesn’t continue and they lose the accountability they had on their missions.