Sunday, July 9th

Click link to read lesson from manual - Lesson 12

Our teacher started with a simple quote by President Hinckley, “The way of the gospel is a simple way…Humble yourselves and walk in obedience.” The teacher asked us to think about why we must be humble to walk in obedience. We must come to trust and understand God’s will, and align our will with His so we can reap the blessings that can come only through obedience to the commandments. Throughout President Hinckley’s time as President of the Church, he encouraged members to try harder to live the Gospel.

As we obey God’s commandments we can’t remain ordinary people. Our teacher reminded us that we are covenant people of the Lord, which should set us apart from the world. President Hinckley taught that beginning when we were baptized, we took upon ourselves the name of Christ and started a special relationship with God. Because of the covenants we made, it is our duty to, “stand a little taller…be a little better, a little kinder, a little more generous, a little more courteous, a little more thoughtful, a little more outreaching to others.”

President Hinckley stated that we all compromise our standards at times, but we need to work to grow stronger and live according to our beliefs. Some ideas that we discussed in class for developing this strength was to pray, study the Gospel, make the decision beforehand what we will and won’t do, attend church, keep the Holy Ghost always with us, let the Gospel change us so we desire to do good continually, and let people know that we are members of the church so they don’t ask us to do things that are against our beliefs. President Hinckley reminded us that, “The Lord expects that we will keep our lives in order, that we will live the gospel in every aspect.”

We then discussed the blessings that come to those who are faithful to the Gospel. The blessings of safety and happiness are unmeasurable. No matter what trials we face, we will feel peace as we are obedient to God’s commandments. President Hinckley also taught that church leaders will never make decisions for us, but will invite us to live God’s commandments so we can receive the promised blessings.

The tiny choices in our lives can sometimes have huge impacts, affecting us for years to come. As we choose to be obedient, our choices will lead the direction that will lead to happiness and fulfillment. We need to use the Spirit so we can recognize when we are making small deviations and correct them before they become a big problem. We need to be sure we are also being prayerful about important decisions in our lives so that God can help direct our path.
President Hinckley promised all the members of the Church that as we move forward, striving to keep God’s commandments, we will have the strength of the Lord to assist us in carrying out His work.