Great Sunday Lessons

It has been a very tiring week.  School started on a Tuesday, which made it seem extra long because we usually start on a Wednesday.  That one extra day made me tired!  One good thing did happen because of that.  We had Back-To-School night on Thursday, so with school starting on Tuesday, that meant we had an extra day in-between to get ready for the night.  That helped a lot!  We again had a family night with hot dogs, chips, and drinks.  We were hoping it would bring out more people, but it didn't seem like it.  However, when I counted the parents of my students I was surprised to have so many between the two different sessions.  I can't remember exactly right now, but I had more than half of the parents of my students there.  It was great.  I always wonder if I am able to give them information that will be helpful to them as they begin their journey as third grade parents.

We went to pick out things for our bathroom (that is a story in itself.  Suffice it to say our bathroom is broken and we need to fix it. Not something we wanted to do right now, but can't help it.) I hate spending money so it was a very difficult thing for me to do.  I hate spending, and I had making decisions because I'm not sure of my decisions and then get frustrated with myself.  It just wasn't a pleasant experience.

The one good thing was our visit with Nicky.  She has gone through some tough times this past summer, and along with the tough comes some good.  We love her and pray for her each day.  Some of our prayers on her behalf are being answered and more will be, we are sure.  We want her to be happy, to find those things that will bring her TRUE happiness.  That means hard choices need to be made, but we are sure she will be able to make the choices that will bring her the blessings she has been promised.  We also want her to know that we love her, and believe in her.  We are there to support her in the good things she does.

As we have gone through so many experiences this summer I am learning more and more about our responsibility to ourselves and others as far as support and love.  Today's sacrament meeting, Sunday School, and Relief Society lessons were all about love, support, contention,  and judging (and not judging others).  Contention is Satan's way of getting between people.  He is so smart about using it.  He knows that he can cause people to judge others as being 'not worthy' and thereby cause contention.  And when there is contention there is a lose of understanding, causing a lot of love, and in the end, destroying a family which is the basic unit of heaven.  And Satan wins.  At every point along the way things can change.  People may do wrong, make poor choices, do things that go against the word of the Lord.  This would bring the Lord's judgement upon only them.  But when others exercise their own judgment again that person, the 'wrong' grows to include the judge-er as well. If the judging is spread to others, contention can arise, which will spread the 'wrong' to even more people.  Notice all those "IFS" .  Things do not have to grow like this.  The original person will always be accountable for their choices, as will everyone else.  But, if we choose to judge, cause contention, spread words that discourage love and acceptance, we are also in the wrong.  We will receive the consequences for our actions.  Satan knows this.  What side do we want to be on?  The Lord would like the first person to accept their choices, and the rest of the people to show love, acceptance, support, and encouragement, so the contention does not grow and spread.

Then, in Relief Society, Shirley Van Ziverdan gave the lesson from the Ensign, which was President Uchtdorf's lesson about STOP IT!  She did a great job and pointing out the contention, judging, and forgiving that he stressed. It just went right along with the Sunday School lesson.  I guess I needed this lesson.   Here are some of my notes from her lesson:

Contention never was an allie to Christ.
Choose to either be right or want the relationship.
Strive to be compassionate.
Martha judged Mary, but Jesus' rebuke came when Martha complained.  If she had not complained Jesus would have noticed BOTH women's contribution to the feast.  It's OK to choose to do different things, but if we complain about another person, we might not receive the notice we desire.
Jesus walked among those who needed His love.  We should do the same.

 King Benjamin taught:

“Perhaps thou shalt say: The man has brought upon himself his misery; therefore I will stay my hand, and will not give unto him of my food, nor impart unto him of my substance that he may not suffer, for his punishments are just—

“But I say unto you, O man, whosoever doeth this the same hath great cause to repent; and except he repenteth of that which he hath done he perisheth forever, and hath no interest in the kingdom of God. …

“And if ye judge the man who putteth up his petition to you for your substance that he perish not, and condemn him, how much more just will be your condemnation for withholding your substance” (Mosiah 4:17–18, 22).

And this:

My disciples, in days of old, sought ^aoccasion against one another and forgave not one another in their hearts; and for this ^bevil they were ^cafflicted and sorely ^dchastened.

 9 Wherefore, I say unto you, that ye ought to ^aforgive one another; for he that ^bforgiveth not his brother his trespasses standeth condemned before the Lord; for there remaineth in him the greater sin.

 10 I, the Lord, will ^aforgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to ^bforgive all men.

In all, I learned a lot today.  But I didn't learn now to keep my fonts the same.  I'll experiment on that later.  I'm going to watch the special about Romney right now.