October 30th - 5th Sunday Recap

Today the Relief Society was combined with the men for a fifth Sunday lesson taught by Bishop Larson regarding the Law of the Fast.

Isaiah 58:6-10 gives lots of spiritual and physical blessings of the fast. We will have our burdens lifted even as we are able to lift some of the burdens of others by giving fast offerings to relieve the suffering of the poor. Perhaps one of the greatest blessings is in verse 9 of the same chapter, "Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am." The fast, simply put, it going 24 hours without food or drink, then giving a fast offering to help the poor and needy.

Spiritual Blessings of the Fast
Bishop Larson discussed that as a young missionary he learned that fasting is a way to overcome the natural man and prove we have the strength to overcome our weakness and addictions. He also learned that through fasting and prayer we can be filled with the Spirit and be a light to others.
Bishop Larson saw a great miracle come to pass while he was serving as a missionary in Italy. The area he was serving in needed more priesthood brethren to have a branch of their own. They met together at the start of a fast, united in prayer that they might find others to join with them to make this possible. Bishop Larson shared that work was often slow on his mission; he spent much of his time tracting and contacting on the street without much success. But the week following the special fast was different. On two different occasions, he and his companion were approached by a lady and asked to come give their respective families a lesson about Jesus Christ.Within a month, both of these two families were baptized into the Church and the Branch was able to be organized soon afterwards according to the prayers and faith of the members in the area. It was a miracle! Our Father hears and answers when we faithfully fast and pray.When we fast, we should be spiritually more in tune with the Spirit, this is why we have testimony Sunday associated with Fast Sunday.

Caring for the Needy
The Bishop had two members of the congregation share their experiences with receiving food and other help through the fast offerings of members of the church. One member said that they felt like they were part of a family beyond their own and that the ward loved them. He felt blessed through the sacrifices of others. The other member said that their family was usually such a mess but when their home teachers came she felt so much love and peace. She said the service of the home teachers and other ward members meet their spiritual and physical needs. It changed the course of generations through giving in this way and not giving up on her family. She said that because of the examples of those who served them she wanted to live the Gospel and always have the peace and love she felt because of interactions with ward members. We find out the needs in the ward through faithful home and visiting teachers who know the circumstances of those they look over. The welfare system is there to help in times of need and to lead to self-sufficiency. When we give more in fast offerings, we are proportionally strengthened spiritually.

The Bishop promised us that our lives will be blessed as we live the law of the fast. We will receive more blessings in return than those we have provided for others. Our Savior loves all of us and wants us to help each other physically and spiritually.

 - Karen