RS Lesson 1 Aug 2010

Our lesson was taught by Sis. Sue Brown, and was based on the article "Those Who Are Different" By Elder Marlin K. Jensen Of the Seventy from the current issue of the Ensign.

Sis. Brown started with this parable; You look out across your big yard and decide you would like to have some fresh eggs. You build a coop, you purchase some chickens, you wait. When the eggs come, they are all different sizes and colors. You see the differences on the outside, but when you start cracking them you notice something. They are all basically the same inside.
Sis. Brown asked us to look at the people on each side of us. Can we find similarities between them and ourselves? We can obviously see differences.

Matthew 18:12 speaks of the Savior's teaching about the shepherd who had one sheep go astray. The Savior asks “Doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?” Elder Jensen says "As a priesthood leader, I had always thought of myself for many years as the shepherd—the one out searching for the lost sheep. But in a moment of reflection, it came to me that in some way or another we are all that one lost sheep. We all have our failings, and our lives vary in some ways from the ideal. We are all different! This is a humbling but helpful recognition." Have you ever felt like a lost sheep?

Sis. Brown said that there are several reasons we might feel like a lost sheep, or even a black sheep. She discussed a few of those with us.
1. Unfulfilled expectations my exist.
We are private about those things we struggle with. We might think that everyone else can see these things, or that everyone knows our shortcomings, but in truth, we generally look for the good in each other and what you might consider your shortcoming may be what endears you to me, or I might not have even noticed it at all! Sharing these things might help others to grow. We all have that in common- we can learn from each other and buoy each other up. Also, if we turn our trials over to the Savior, he can turn them into a lesson. Matthew 5:48 says "Be ye therefore perfect," not "go and try to have a good day." The Savior doesn't lower his expectations based on our personal struggles and challenges. He orders us to be as perfect as we can.
2. Having to keep all the commandments in order to receive spiritual gifts seems impossible. D&C 46:9 says
"For verily I say unto you, they are given for the benefit of those who love me and keep all my commandments, and him that seeketh so to do; that all may be benefited that seek or that ask of me..."
Elder Jensen says; "It is also helpful to remember that in teaching the ideal, the Savior recognized that the ideal isn’t always immediately attainable. In speaking of spiritual gifts—those wonderful endowments of the Holy Ghost—the Savior said, “They are given for the benefit of those who love me and keep all my commandments.” Having to keep all the commandments in order to enjoy spiritual gifts seems an impossibly high standard, but thankfully the Savior adds that spiritual gifts are also given for the benefit of “him that seeketh so to do” (D&C 46:9; emphasis added). Seeking to keep all the commandments—even if we sometimes fall short of the ideal—is something within the power of each of us and is acceptable to our Heavenly Father."
Our spiritual gifts may be identical to those around us, but they manifest differently because WE are different.

It is not WHAT you do when you interact with those that are different from you that matters. It is what you are willing to do. It is that you are willing to act as a steward for our Heavenly Father. The person you are interacting with may or may not remember the act, but they will remember what they were loved by God's servant.

It is ok to ask for help. People need to be needed. We all need the opportunities to grow that are given through service. Especially in service to those who may be difficult to serve because of their differences. We need to follow the example of service of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who "... doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw call men unto him. Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation." (2 Nephi 26:24) The atonement was voluntary, so that He could know our infirmities and overcome each of our challenges.

He knows our "yolks." He knows us and strengthens us in the ways we need strengthening. He also challenges us in the ways we need challenging.

If we help each other and not only accept each other's differences, but celebrate and rejoice in them, we will become a stronger ward family, a stronger Church, and stronger as individuals.

What challenges have you overcome or helped another to overcome today? Dede B.