ELDERS QUORUM LESSON – 28 NOVEMBER 2021
Brethren,
This week’s
Elder’s Quorum lesson will be based on Elder Gary E. Stevens’ General
Conference entitled “Simply Beautiful – Beautifully Simple”.
Our
instructor will be Zach Goulding
For your
calendars, The Chester Ward Christmas Party will be held this year on December
4th. We will probably have an assignment to set up tables and
chairs. More details later.
Here is Elder
Stevens’ conference talk:
Simply
Beautiful—Beautifully Simple
May we keep the gospel simple as we
take upon us our divinely appointed responsibilities.
Introduction Today I hope to describe two elements of the restored
gospel of Jesus Christ, followed by four stirring accounts from Latter-day
Saints around the world demonstrating the application of these principles. The
first element of the restored gospel—God’s work of salvation and
exaltation—focuses on divinely appointed responsibilities. The second element
reminds us that the gospel is plain, precious, and simple.
Divinely Appointed
Responsibilities
To receive eternal life, we must
“come unto Christ, and be perfected in him.” As we come unto Christ and
help others do the same, we participate in God’s work of salvation and exaltation,
which focuses on divinely appointed responsibilities. These divine
responsibilities align themselves with priesthood keys restored by Moses,
Elias, and Elijah, as recorded in the 110th section of the Doctrine
and Covenants, and the second great commandment given to us by
Jesus Christ to love our neighbor as ourselves. They are found on the
first two pages of the updated General Handbook,
available to all members.
If hearing the words
“General Handbook” or “divinely appointed responsibilities” causes you to
shudder in fear of complexity, please don’t. These responsibilities are simple,
inspirational, motivating, and doable. Here they are:
1.
Living the gospel of Jesus
Christ
2.
Caring for those in need
3.
Inviting all to receive
the gospel
4.
Uniting families for
eternity
The Gospel Is Plain,
Precious, and Simple
It has been said that the gospel
of Jesus Christ is “simply beautiful and beautifully simple.” The world is
not. It is complicated, complex, and filled with turmoil and strife. We are
blessed as we exercise care not to allow complexity, so common in the world, to
enter into the way we receive and practice the gospel.
President Dallin H. Oaks
observed: “We are taught many small and simple things in the gospel of Jesus
Christ. We need to be reminded that in total and over a significant period of
time, those seemingly small things bring to pass great things.” Jesus
Christ Himself describes that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. We
should all strive to keep the gospel simple—in our lives, in our families, in
our classes and quorums, and in our wards and stakes.
As you listen to the
following stories I will share with you, recognize that they have been
carefully chosen to inspire on the one hand and to inform on the other. The
actions of each of these Latter-day Saints becomes a model for each of us in
applying the gospel in plain, precious, simple ways while fulfilling one of the
divinely appointed responsibilities just introduced.
Living the Gospel of Jesus
Christ
First, living the gospel
of Jesus Christ. Jens of Denmark prays daily to live the gospel and notice
promptings from the Holy Ghost. He has learned to act quickly when he feels
directed by the Spirit.
Jens shared the following:
“We live in an idyllic,
small, half-timbered house with a thatched roof, in the center of a cozy little
village, close to the village pond.
“On this night with the
most beautiful Danish summer weather imaginable, doors and windows were open,
and everything breathed peace and quiet. Due to our gloriously bright and long
summer nights, I had not been in a hurry to replace a burned-out light bulb in
our utility room.
“Suddenly, I got a strong
feeling that I had to replace it immediately! At the same time, I heard my
wife, Mariann, call for me and the children to wash our hands because dinner
was ready!
“I had been married long
enough to know that this was not the time to start doing anything else than
washing my hands, but I heard myself calling out to Mariann that I would just
pop over to the store to buy a new light bulb. I felt a strong urge to leave
immediately.
“The grocery store was
only on the other side of the pond. We usually walked, but today I grabbed my
bike. While riding past the pond, out of the corner of my eye I noticed a small
boy, about two years old, walking alone near the edge of the pond, very close
to the water—suddenly he fell in! One minute he was there—and the next he was
gone!
“No one had seen this
happen but me. I threw my bike on the ground, ran, and jumped into the
waist-high pond. The surface of the water immediately closed with duckweed,
making it impossible to see through the water. Then I sensed a movement to one
side. I put my arm in the water, got hold of a T-shirt, and pulled the little
boy up. He started gasping, coughing, and crying. Soon afterward the boy was
reunited with his parents.”
As Brother Jens prays each
morning for help to recognize promptings from the Holy Ghost, even something as
unusual as to immediately change a light bulb, he also prays that he can be
used as a tool to bless God’s children. Jens lives the gospel by seeking divine
direction each day, striving to be worthy, then doing his best to follow that
direction when it comes.
Caring for Those in Need
Here is an example of
caring for those in need. One day a stake president in the Cúcuta stake in
Colombia accompanied the stake Young Women president to visit two young
women—and their older teenage brother—who were going through some terrible
struggles. Recently their father had passed away, and their mother had passed away
a year before. The three siblings were now left all alone in their small,
humble shelter. The walls were made of crude wood lined with plastic bags, and
the corrugated tin roof covered only the area where they slept.
Following their visit,
these leaders knew they needed to help. Through the ward council, a plan to
help them began to emerge. Ward and stake leaders—Relief Society, elders
quorum, Young Men, Young Women—and many families all set themselves to the task
of blessing this family.
The ward organizations
contacted several ward members who work in construction. Some helped with
design, others donated time and labor, others made meals, and still others
donated needed materials.
When the little house was
finished, it was a joyful day for those who helped and for the three young ward
members. These orphaned children felt warm and reassuring bonds of their ward
family to know that they are not alone and that God is always there for them.
Those who reached out felt the love of the Savior for this family and acted as
His hands in serving them.
Inviting All to Receive
the Gospel
I think you will enjoy
this example of inviting all to receive the gospel. Seventeen-year-old Cleiton
of Cape Verde had no idea what would happen as a result of walking into his ward’s
seminary class one day. But his life and the lives of others would be forever
changed because he did.
Cleiton, along with his
mother and older brother, had been baptized into the Church some time earlier,
and yet the family stopped attending. His single act of attending seminary
would prove to be a hinge point for the family.
The other youth in the
seminary class were warm and welcoming. They made Cleiton feel at home and
encouraged him to attend another activity. He did so and soon began attending
his other Church meetings. A wise bishop saw spiritual potential in Cleiton and
invited him to be his assistant. “From that moment on,” says Bishop Cruz,
“Cleiton became an example and an influence to other young people.”
The first person Cleiton
invited back to church was his mother, then his older brother. He then widened
his circle to friends. One of those friends was a young man his own age,
Wilson. Upon his very first meeting with the missionaries, Wilson expressed his
desire to be baptized. The missionaries were impressed and amazed at how much
Cleiton had already shared with Wilson.
Cleiton’s efforts didn’t
stop there. He helped other less-active members return, in addition to sharing
the gospel with friends of other faiths. Today the ward has 35 active youth,
with a thriving seminary program, thanks in large part to Cleiton’s efforts to
love, share, and invite. Cleiton and his older brother, Cléber, are both
preparing to serve full-time missions.
Uniting Families for
Eternity
Finally, let me share a
beautiful example of uniting families for eternity. Lydia from Kharkiv,
Ukraine, first learned about the temple from the missionaries. Immediately,
Lydia felt a fervent desire to attend the temple, and after her baptism, she
began preparation to receive a temple recommend.
Lydia attended the
Freiberg Germany Temple to receive her endowment and then spent several days
doing proxy work there. Following the dedication of the Kyiv Ukraine Temple,
Lydia attended the temple more frequently. She and her husband, Anatoly, were
eternally sealed there and later called to serve as temple missionaries.
Together they have found more than 15,000 names of ancestors and have worked to
provide temple ordinances for them.
When asked about her
feelings regarding temple work, Lydia says, “What did I receive in the temple?
I have made new covenants with God. My testimony has been strengthened. I have
learned to receive personal revelation. I am able to perform saving ordinances
for my deceased ancestors. And I can love and serve other people.” She
concluded with this very true statement: “The Lord wants to see us in the
temple often.”
Conclusion
I am inspired by the
goodness of these Latter-day Saints, each with diverse and varied backgrounds,
centered in these four stories. Much can be learned from miraculous outcomes
brought through the simple application of simple gospel principles. All they
did is within our grasp as well.
May we keep the gospel simple as
we take upon us our divinely appointed responsibilities: To live the gospel of Jesus Christ so as to be
sensitive to promptings, as did Jens in Denmark. To care for those in need, as demonstrated by the members
of the Cúcuta stake in Colombia in providing shelter to orphaned ward members.
To invite all to receive the gospel,
in the way that Cleiton from the African island country of Cape Verde did with
his friends and family. Finally, to unite families for eternity,
as exemplified by Sister Lydia from Ukraine through her own temple ordinances,
family history efforts, and service in the temple.
Doing so will surely bring
joy and peace. Of this I promise and testify—and of Jesus Christ as our Savior
and our Redeemer—in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
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