Taught by Betsy Jones
Sister Jones started her lesson by showing a picture frame that contained a close up picture of her mother's hands along with a poem called "Nana's Hands." The picture of her mother's hands was taken at her funeral. Sister Jones loves the picture and poem because they speak volumes about her mother and all the time her mother used those hands in the service of others.
Sister Jones also spoke on her gratefulness for the Lord's hands and all the times that she has felt His hands holding, and helping her in her own life. She hopes that we all can recognize His hands in our lives.
She shared the following from a 2010 talk by Elder Uchtdorf, "You are my hands":
A story is told that during the bombing of a city in World War II, a large statue of Jesus Christ was severely damaged. When the townspeople found the statue among the rubble, they mourned because it had been a beloved symbol of their faith and of God’s presence in their lives.
Experts were able to repair most of the statue, but its hands had been damaged so severely that they could not be restored. Some suggested that they hire a sculptor to make new hands, but others wanted to leave it as it was—a permanent reminder of the tragedy of war. Ultimately, the statue remained without hands. However, the people of the city added on the base of the statue of Jesus Christ a sign with these words: “You are my hands.”
Sister Jones then asked the class, "How can we be the hands of the Lord?"
She then had us read a quote from Elder Uchtdorf, "When I think of the Savior, I often picture Hime with hands outstretched, reaching out to comfort, heal, bless, and love...He loved the humble and the meek and walked among them, ministering to them and offering hope and salvation."
She then asked us "What do you think of when you picture Christ?" Sister Jones says she pictures Him either with His hands outstretched or ministering to children. She again shared from Elder Uchtdorf, "As we emulate His perfect example, our hands can become His hands; our eyes, His eyes; our heart, His heart."
Sister Jones then told us that she wanted to talk specifically about what we can do to be lifting hands in our own ward. She spoke about thinking about how the sisters don't need this lesson--she knows of many things we are doing--but she felt she herself needed this lesson---and also Valorie had given her encouragement saying, "I don't care we need to hear it again." Sister Jones spoke of sometimes just needing another little prick.
She also talked about how just that morning in Sacrament Meeting she had watched as a sister and a brother had acted as "Lifting hands" to another family.
She then showed us a beautiful video that has been circulating on social media about some men that took on the role quite literally of "Lifting Hands." Sister Jones knows personally the women that this video focuses on and was quite touched. The video is called "Lifting the Spirit" and can be found on YOUTUBE.com or on our Lakeside Ward's Facebook page, where Brenda Johnson was kind enough to post it. Sister Jones asked us to share our feelings about the video.
Sister Jones also put on the board a hand with words at the end of each finger and thumb. These words were:
Extend
Love
Embrace
Comfort
Serve
She then had us read another quote from Elder Uchtdorf, "I hope that we welcome and love all of God’s children, including those who might dress, look, speak, or just do things differently. It is not good to make others feel as though they are deficient. Let us lift those around us. Let us extend a welcoming hand. Let us bestow upon our brothers and sisters in the Church a special measure of humanity, compassion, and charity so that they feel, at long last, they have finally found home."
Sister Jones then talked about how fast our ward is growing and challenged us to be extra mindful of the women that are moving in. She remembers when she moved here from Oklahoma and how she didn't have a calling for a while and how it was hard for her--but she realized it didn't prevent her from reaching out and serving in other ways--something she also encourages the new sisters to do. She encouraged sisters to realize that out of Utah really isn't that different from in Utah--how there are sisters that could use your reaching out. She quoted from President Monson, "“Perhaps when we face our Maker, we will not be asked, ‘How many positions did you hold,’ but rather, ‘How many people did you help?"
She then quoted from President Kimball, "God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs."
And from Mother Theresa, "We can do no great things-only small things with great love."
Sister Jones showed a picture of Jorji with the quilt many sisters helped to make and talked about the the comfort and love that it provides. She also talked of a favorite quote that says, "First observe then serve."
She talked about all we can do as visiting teachers. She asked us to ask ourselves, "How much effort are you putting into visiting teaching?" Also, "Are you just going through the motions?" She encouraged us to actually love the sisters that we teach, to pray for them by name in our daily prayers, and how if we love them we will want to be involved in their lives. She talked about the fact that we are all busy, and that can't be used as an excuse. She shared that when doing the visiting teaching interviews recently one sister told her that, "I just feel like an obligation." This was very upsetting to Sister Jones and she encouraged us all to inspect ourselves in this regard as visiting teachers.
Sister Jones then shared the following story that was told long ago by Elder Holland. In the story a young boy stops a stranger and asks him to come and help his sick sisters. Even though the man doesn't know him he follows him to the tenement where the boy lives only to find a terminally sick fifteen year old girl. Their mother had died, and their father had disappeared, and this fifteen year old girl had been doing everything to provide for her younger brothers and sisters, but now she was dying. The girl was worried about one thing in dying, "How will He know that I belong to Him?" The man thought about this and thought about all the girl had been doing and providing for her family, then he told her, "Show Him your hands, He'll know that you belong to Him."
Sister Jones asked us how it would feel if we were simply asked to show Him our hands? What if we were judged this way? She expressed gratitude again for the sisters and asked us to use our hands to lift those all around us. She expressed her own desire to be His hands on this earth.
She closed her lesson by handing out a magnet with a picture of the hand with those five words and a quote from Elder Uchtdorf, "When the Savior stretches out His hands those He touches are uplifted and become greater, stronger, and better people as a result. If we are His hands should we not do the same?"
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