Sis. Suzy Erekson was a guest teacher for our Teaching for Our Times (TFOT) lesson this month. The conference talks that were referenced in this lesson were from President Thomas S. Monson Be Strong and of Good Courage and from Elder Russell M. Nelson Let Your Faith Show.
Elder Nelson teaches, "When we speak of faith - the faith that can move mountains - we are not speaking of faith in general but of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ can be bolstered as we learn about Him and live our religion. The doctrine of Jesus Christ was designed by the Lord to help us increase our faith. In today's vernacular, however the word religion can mean different things to different people. The word religion literally means "to ligate again" or "to tie back" to God. The question we might ask ourselves is, are we securely tied to God so that our faith shows, or are we actually tied to something else?"
Sis. Erekson asked each of us to write down on a card how we had shown our faith during the past week. She then collected the cards and read some of them to the class. There were some really great examples of faith from our RS Sisters! Things like 'stood up for my beliefs in a group of people even though it was not accepted'. Another way that a sister showed faith was being patient with an anxious dog that she was watching.
Elder Nelson shares a story of a time when he was chastised by a medical colleague because he did not separate his professional knowledge from his religious convictions. "He demanded that I not combine the two. How could I do that? Truth is truth! It is not divisible, and any part of it cannot be set aside....Whether truth emerges from a scientific laboratory or through revelation, all truth emanates from God. All truth is part of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Yet I was being asked to hide my faith. I did not comply with my colleague's request. I let my faith show!"
Elder Nelson later says that, "Spiritual truth cannot be ignored - especially divine commandments. Keeping divine commandments brings blessings, every time! Breaking divine commandments brings a loss of blessings, every time!"
President Monson tells us that, "We live in a world where moral values have, in great measure, been tossed aside, where sin is flagrantly on display, and where temptations to stray from the strait and narrow path surround us. We are faced with persistent pressures and insidious influences tearing down what is decent and attempting to substitute the shallow philosophies and practices of a secular society....Because of these and other challenges, decisions are constantly before us which can determine our destiny. In order for us to make the correct decisions, courage is needed - the courage to say no when we should, the courage to say yes when that is appropriate, the courage to do the right thing because it is right."
Sis. Erekson started talking to us about how nice it would be to go to the store and pick out a bunch of crisp, juicy apples. What a great snack that would be! Red, ripe, and delicious. As she was talking to us about the apples, she was holding an orange. She had many confused stares while she was holding an orange and talking about apples. She pointed out that no matter how many people say that something is right, even though it is not, it still doesn't make it right. Even if 50 million people vote that her orange is an apple, it doesn't make it an apple. We need to do the same. President Monson teaches us that, "The call for courage comes constantly to each of us. Every day of our lives courage is needed - not just for the momentous events but more often as we make decisions or respond to circumstances around us."
Read or listen to the conference talk HERE.
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