Taught by Sue Chappell
Sister Chappell started her lesson by talking about an article on this subject she had read in the church news. She posed the question, "We've heard the term 'hastening the work' but what does this mean?"
After receiving answers she summed up a few ideas--selfless acts, missionary work, urgency.
She then talked about the need to hasten our own hearts and souls. For her lesson she pulled from an article from Robert Millet that she had found in the church news called, "Hastening the Lord's Work Within our own Souls." Millet is a professor at BYU whose words can be found on LDS.org.
Sister Chappell talked about the metaphor that we can find in flower bulbs. She talked about the bulbs she had received as a gift from Sherri Haab. She talked about how to have blooms now, bulbs must be planted in the fall--you cannot hurry the process. She posed the question, "How can this apply to our own personal growth?" Her answer was one of needing patience--line upon line. She talked about how with both our personal growth, as with flowers, it takes planning to produce the results that you want.
She shared Alma 26:27:
Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about toturn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thineafflictions, and I will give unto you success.
She stressed just as bulbs need light and nourishment--so do we.
She also talked about how if bulbs are kept in the fridge they need to be kept away from certain fruits that can release gases that would be dangerous for the bulbs--much like we need to stay away bad influences. She asked "How can we protect our testimonies?"
She talked about the many distractions that we face, even in our own homes and how we can keep our relationship strong with our Father in Heaven.
From Brother Millet article she pulled seven ways we will know we are becoming more deeply converted:
1. There begins to develop within our hearts a desire to do more to further the work of the Lord and to be better people than we are. This seems to be what Abraham felt when he wrote of how he had previously been a follower of righteousness but had felt the need “to be one who possessed great knowledge, and to be a greater follower of righteousness, and to possess a greater knowledge” (Abraham 1:2). That is, Abraham wanted to do more and be more.
2. We gradually begin to view commandments, laws, and Church directives differently, to no longer see them as guard rails, barricades, or hindrances to life’s enjoyments, but instead as helps, guides, and kind gestures of a benevolent Father in Heaven. To those Saints who had begun to gather to the land of Missouri, those who had come out of the world and chosen the gospel path, the Savior promised that they would be “crowned with blessings from above, and with commandments not a few, and with revelations in their time” (D&C 59:4). We certainly cannot enjoy the blessings of living a law we do not keep or one of which we are ignorant. John the Beloved explained that “this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous [burdensome, oppressive]” (1 John 5:3).
3. The more we search the scriptures, we begin to see patterns, connections, parallels, and principles for living. Holy writ becomes more and more relevant to everyday life. In a sense, the words of the prophets become our words. Many of us can still remember the final sermon and testimony of Elder Bruce R. McConkie. As he began to unfold the truths associated with Christ’s atoning sacrifice, Elder McConkie said: “In speaking of these wondrous things I shall use my own words, though you may think they are the words of scripture, words spoken by other apostles and prophets."True it is they were first proclaimed by others, but they are now mine, for the Holy Spirit of God has borne witness to me that they are true, and it is now as though the Lord had revealed them to me in the first instance. I have thereby heard his voice and know his word” (“The Purifying Power of Gethsemane,” April 1985 general conference).
4. Our personal gospel study becomes more and more enlightening and faith affirming, so that regularly during the week we are fed and spiritually strengthened. Because of this, our attendance at Church—in which we partake of the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, receive instruction and inspiration from those who teach us, and enjoy sweet association with members of the household of faith—need not be our only opportunity for building gospel scholarship and being edified. Sabbath worship thus becomes the capstone for a spiritually productive week.
5. We begin to be more secure and settled in our faith, less troubled by unanswered questions; in short, we begin to have doubt banished from our hearts and minds. Cyprian, one of the great defenders of the faith following the apostolic period, described his own experience: “Into my heart, purified of all sin, there entered a light which came from on high, and then suddenly, and in a marvelous manner, I saw certainty succeed doubt” (quoted by Harold B. Lee, in Stand Ye in Holy Places [1974], 57).
6. We begin to feel a deeper sense of love for and loyalty toward the apostles and prophets, those charged to guide the destiny of the kingdom of God. As the Lord explained in modern revelation (D&C 1:38; 21:5), their words truly become His words. Their counsel becomes His counsel. President Harold B. Lee was fond of teaching, “That man [or woman] is not fully converted until [they see] the power of God resting upon the leaders of this Church and that witness goes down into [their hearts] like fire” (The Teachings of Harold B. Lee [1996], 520). We begin to see and feel about world conditions and the state of society as the Brethren do.
7. With the passing of time and as we mature spiritually, our faith is transformed into certainty. Indeed, our receipt of personal revelation and our regular encounter with the Spirit of God leads us to that point where our faith begins to be “unshaken in the Lord” (Enos 1:11; see also Jacob 7:5). Further, that conviction manifests itself in commitment. Because true faith entails a decision (see Neil L. Andersen, “It's True, Isn't It? Then What Else Matters?” April 2007 general conference), it becomes with us, as it was with the early Latter-day Saints: It is the kingdom of God or nothing!
Wo be unto them that shall pervert the ways of the Lord after this manner, for they shall perish except they repent. Behold, I speak with boldness, having authority from God; and I fear not what man can do; for perfect love casteth out all fear.
She talked about how perfect love does cast out all fear and maybe we need to put some of our questions on hold for later.
Sister Chappell talked about the major faith crisis that is happening within some Latter-Day Saints. She asked, "Wouldn't it be nice to be 100% settled and secure in your faith?" She followed up by saying, "I think we can get to that place."
She finished her lesson by talking about how some may just be desiring to have that faith--and that is a good place to start. She also talked about knowing that we need to preparing ourselves spiritually and how it is her desire for us to grow in the gospel, and it is up to us as individuals to deepen our faith.
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