Continually Holding Fast

Polly Astorga taught today's Relief Society lesson. It was based on Elder Kevin S. Hamilton of the Seventy's talk from the October 2013 General Conference. You can read, watch, or listen to his talk in full by clicking HERE.

Elder Hamilton said his father could remember the very day that his family left the church. It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon, and Elder Hamilton's grandmother suggested that the family might enjoy a drive in the countryside rather than returning to church for sacrament meeting. Fortunately, Elder Hamilton's father returned to church activity as an adult (after marrying a woman who encouraged him to return). However, several family members never returned to church activity, and consequently many blessings of the gospel were lost in their lives.

In the Book of Mormon, we learn of Lehi's vision and what it means for us today. In the vision, only the people who held fast continually to the rod of iron--or the word of God--we able to stay on course. Others were tempted or shamed away into paths of sin. Elder Hamilton said, "The rod of iron represented for this group of people the only safety and security that they could find, and they held fast continually; they refused to let go, even for something as simple as a Sunday afternoon ride in the country."

Sister Astorga listed several ways Elder Hamilton said that we can hold fast to the word of God:

• Attend our Sunday meetings--all three, not just sacrament meeting.
• Strive to keep all of God's commandments.
• Pray daily--personal and family prayer.
• Study the scriptures daily.
• Exercise faith, leading to a change of heart. Be baptized, receive the Holy Ghost, and follow its promptings as we endure to the end.

Today, we focused on attending Sunday meetings, since that was the main focus of Elder Hamilton's talk. 

Why is it important to be in church every week?

• One of our guests (or a new member of our Relief Society?) said that little decisions matter! Being there at church is important, even if you're in the foyer for sacrament meeting every week with small children.
• It's how we show God that we worship Him. -Sayra
• It's our opportunity to take the sacrament. -Paula
• It's spiritually uplifting to hear the talks and lessons. -Nancy
• We strengthen each other by sharing our testimonies and build important bonds. -Teresa
• We show our love for the Savior and Heavenly Father by worshipping. - Julie
• We learn doctrine and are in an environment where we can feel the spirit. We're around positive role models for ourselves and our children. -Polly
• We're commanded to meet together often. -Annette
• We build the kingdom of God on earth by sharing our talents. - Jorji

Betsy's daughter and son-in-law went on a trip with some members of their new ward. On Sunday, they got up and dressed for church, which was an hour away. They were the only ones who were planning to include church. It was important to them and their children that they not take a "vacation" from church.

Sayra said so many of her friends seem leery of "forcing church down their kids' throats," and instead give them an option to attend. Sayra said it seems mixed up to her that church meetings are sometimes treated as less important than school, sports, or cheerleading. She tries to make church special and something to look forward to rather than something "forced" on her children. One thing she does is make a special breakfast on Sunday mornings--even if sometimes it's just an Eggo waffle with strawberries, it's something that they don't do on other days and something her children look forward to.

Elder Hamilton said, "We each have many choices to make as to how we observe the Sabbath day. There will always be some “good” activity that can and should be sacrificed for the better choice of Church meeting attendance. This is in fact one of the ways that the adversary “cheateth [our] souls, and leadeth [us carefully] away.” He uses “good” activities as substitutes for “better”or even “best” activities.

Sister Astorga said it's important that we not be naive about the temptations of the devil. She shared a Chinese fable told by George A. Smith in 1957. In it, a man observed only one devil in a large, wealthy city. He assumed that city was very righteous. Later, he saw an elderly man struggling forward with seven devils trying to hold him back. He assumed that man was wicked. In fact, the city was wicked and didn't require much more work on Satan's part, while the one elderly man was the only righteous person around and even seven devils couldn't pull him off the strait and narrow course. (You can click HERE to read the full General Conference talk that includes this fable.) Elder Smith said that "the devil has the world so perfectly at his disposal that it requires few devils to keep it in subjection," while legions of devils are at work on those who are trying to do that which is right.

Polly shared four things that can help us hold onto the word of God:

• Understand who you are. Some people don't want to go to church because they feel like they don't fit in. Polly struggled with this herself years ago as a divorced mom. She prayed to understand who she was, to feel the spirit, and understand her purpose in life. Her prayers were answered, and she was able to stay close to the gospel. Bohdana shared that she feels days of light and days of fog and darkness. Those moments of light help her make right choices and "hold to the rod" when she faces trials and it's hard to do so. We'll never be given more than we can handle, but we need to rely on the Lord to handle the hard things.
• Recognize the spirit. Learn to recognize when you feel the spirit and what it teaches you. Later, when things are hard, remember how you felt and hold fast to your testimony. When Janice was a newlywed, she was also a recent convert to the church, and her husband was a Lutheran. They had determined to alternate their two churches each Sunday. Their LDS ward was warm and friendly. They were encouraged to enroll in Institute, and Janice proposed that they do so. Her husband countered that he'd take the missionary discussions instead. He was baptized. The church and gospel bolsters them.
• Understand & honor your covenants. Elder Bednar said our covenants are like the lamb's blood that the early disciples of Christ painted on their doorposts. We show that we accept the Atonement by making covenants. Alison once had the wife of a former boyfriend get very angry with her; the woman thought Alison was seeking to destroy her marriage. Alison shared that when she and her husband married in the temple, they made a covenant to remain faithful to each other--and that was an important commitment that she held dear. The angry lady felt the spirit in what Alison was saying as she shared her testimony of covenants and was no longer angry with Alison.
• Serve others. As we serve each other, we strengthen the sisterhood we feel in the Relief Society. We appreciate the similarities we share with other sisters.

Elder Hamilton said, "As we continually hold fast to the rod by keeping our covenants, we will be strengthened to resist the temptations and perils of the world. We will be able to navigate this mortal life with all of its challenges until we actually reach the tree with the fruit 'most precious and most desirable above all other.'"

P.S. This has nothing to do with the Relief Society lesson, but I think we need a shout out to Tara Smith and our wonderful ward choir for their performance of "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" today in sacrament meeting. Wow! They were amazing.