Sunday Lesson Recap

For any of you who were not able to make it to church on Sunday, we had a great lesson with Hailey Clark on the prophet Joseph Smith out of our George Albert Smith lesson manual. Here's a summary of what we talked about:

Many of the blessings we have in our lives through the Gospel, we owe to Joseph Smith. Much of what happened through his life, and what he did can be broken down into what Hailey described as "PIE" or "Problem, Intervention, and Evaluation".

P - Problems:

1. He didn't know what church to join, 

2. The Heavens were sealed 

3. He was faced with daunting tasks

I- Intervention (what action was taken?):

1. He prayed and pondered upon the scriptures 

2. He sought counsel with loved ones and ministers 

3. He listened and obeyed the voice of the Spirit and of the Lord.

THEN, With the help of the Lord he: 

1. Established the church 

2. Restored the Priesthood (and other things as well!)

Finally, when faced with daunting tasks, he 

1. Trusted in the Lord and 

2. Went forward with faith

We too sometimes are faced with these same kinds of problems - especially when being faced with difficulties in life.  We also can apply the same intervention as Joseph Smith did in his life to our own lives. For example - what kind of "daunting tasks" are we asked to face?

-Stretching ourselves in difficult callings

-Difficulties with family, marriage and children

-Emotional and physical trials -

and more!

The "intervention" we can apply, as Joseph Smith did in all of these kinds of situations include:

-Go forward with faith, knowing that the Lord will help us

-know that this is for our growth here on earth and He will provide needed support - even in the most unexpected ways

-Remain faithful and obedient - pray and ponder upon the scriptures

Now - let's make and Evaluation of the effect of Joseph Smith's life and example:

-What blessings have come to us through Joseph Smith?:

-We have the Truth! and we know that we have it because we know that personal revelation is real and we can go to the Father for answers in our own lives

-We have hope - and Eternal Perspective - that everything will work out in the end.

-We have knowledge of Eternal families

-We know that our actions do matter, and choosing the right can bring us lasting joy

-We know God loves us

-We know that there is Salvation for those that have passed on

In the end, is there an aspect of our lives that isn't blessed through the Gospel???

Overall, these things bring us peace - we need not fear.  We can hope that at the time that our lives come to an end, our testimonies will be strong enough and we will trust the Lord enough to not fear, and find peace in the Gospel