March 22, 2020 Elders Quorum Lesson

March 22, 2020 - The Elders Quorum Lesson for this week was prepared by Ron Green.

Hello Elders of Chester this is Ron Green.

We always start our discussions by asking “What have you learned in your studies in Come Follow Me this last week that has brought you closer to the Savior?” Please ponder this question and if you if you feel inclined journal it. I have really enjoyed reading Jacob chapter 5 about the allegory of the olive trees. I felt of the Savior's love for me. Whether I am bad or good fruit or have old or tender branches he is willing to continue to work with me and help me along my way. A great video of this is Hugh B Brown – God is the Gardner if you would like to watch it is in Youtube, Hugh B. Brown - God is the Gardner.

The conference talk we have been asked to study for this Sunday is Elder Rasband’s talk from last October conference. You can read and ponder the whole talk or I have copied 12 paragraphs below from his talk that I felt were important to me.

After Elder Rasband’s talk I have included a text message that I received from a friend that I wanted to share with you. I have also included President Nelson’s challenge for all of us for this next conference.

Elder Ronald Rasband 
Standing by Our Promises and Covenants

Our promise to the Lord Jesus Christ that we are His servants and He is our Savior.

How important is it to you to keep your word? to be trusted? to do what you say you will do? to strive to honor your sacred covenants? to have integrity? By living true to our promises to the Lord and to others, we walk the covenant path back to our Father in Heaven and we feel His love in our lives.

He came to earth promising to do the will of the Father. He taught gospel principles in word and in deed. He atoned for our sins that we might live again. He has honored every one of His promises.

Will others come unto Christ in light of our example? Keeping promises is not a habit; it is a characteristic of being a disciple of Jesus Christ.

The Lord has said, “Every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am.”D&C 93:1. That is perhaps His ultimate promise.

As Nephi said to his father that he would go and do we also should go and do which means rising above the ways of the world, receiving and acting on personal revelation, living righteously with hope and faith in the future, making and keeping covenants to follow Jesus Christ, and thereby increasing our love for Him.

A covenant is a two-way promise between us and the Lord. As members of the Church, we covenant at baptism to take upon us the name of Jesus Christ, to live as He lived. We covenant to become His people, “to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light; … to mourn with those that mourn; … comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places.” Mosiah 18:8-9. Our ministering one to another in the Church reflects our commitment to honor those very promises.

When we partake of the sacrament, we renew that covenant to take upon us His name and make additional promises to improve. Our daily thoughts and actions, both large and small, reflect our commitment to Him. His sacred promise in return is “If ye do always remember me ye shall have my Spirit to be with you.” 3 Nephi 18:7.

My question today is, do we stand by our promises and covenants, or are they sometimes half-hearted commitments, casually made and hence easily broken? When we say to someone, “I will pray for you,” do we? When we commit, “I will be there to help,” will we? When we obligate ourselves to pay a debt, do we? When we raise our hands to sustain a fellow member in a new calling, which means to give support, do we?

President Nelson has taught: “We … increase the Savior’s power in our lives when we make sacred covenants and keep those covenants with precision. Our covenants bind us to Him and give us godly power.”

When we keep promises to one another, we are more likely to keep promises to the Lord. Remember the Lord’s words: “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” Matthew 25:40.

Elder Rasband invites us to consider the promises and covenants you make with the Lord, and with others, with great integrity, knowing that your word is your bond.

Text Message: Someone sent this to me this week and I wanted to share with you:
1. Isn’t it amazing that in this time, Heavenly Father called a Doctor to be a prophet to the world?
2. Isn’t it amazing that if we are asked to stay at home, we don’t have to freak out. The prophets have been telling us to have food storage prepared for emergencies?
3. Isn’t it amazing that if church was to be canceled, our prophet has been having us learn how to study/have church at home?
4. Isn’t it amazing that Heavenly Father put a prophet on the Earth to help people know what to do and prepare us?

President Nelson Challenge:
Thus, the year 2020 will be designated as a bicentennial year. General conference next April will be different from any previous conference. In the next six months, I hope that every member and every family will prepare for a unique conference that will commemorate the very foundations of the restored gospel.

You may wish to begin your preparation by reading afresh Joseph Smith’s account of the First Vision as recorded in the Pearl of Great Price. Our course of study for next year in Come, Follow Me is the Book of Mormon. You may wish to ponder important questions such as, “How would my life be different if my knowledge gained from the Book of Mormon were suddenly taken away?” or “How have the events that followed the First Vision made a difference for me and my loved ones?” – President Russell M. Nelson

I hope all of you are safe and well and enjoying Church at Home. I remember my grandfather making many deals with other people and it was all done with a hand shake. Now it is done with numerous pages of paper and signatures all for the purpose of protecting each other. As Elders we need to make sure that our word is as good as any contract. We all have raised our hands in support of our prophet President Nelson. May we all show our love and support by doing the above challenge. We have two weeks to prepare for Conference, may we all do so. In the name of Jesus Christ amen.

Brother Green also included this video that you may want to watch.  Joseph Smith's First Vision: Sacred Grove in Palmyra, New York