12/16/12 Combined Meeting: New Youth Learning Method

  

We Learn * We Become *  We Share *  We Teach *  We Act

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The Priesthood, Relief Society, and Youth met together for the 3rd Hour today to discuss the new changes taking place in the Youth Programs beginning January 2013. I've heard from other Stakes the past few weeks that many have only had meetings that involved the Youth Leaders to introduce this so I was so happy to have been included in this orientation meeting to learn all about these changes! I personally feel that these changes will not be a big change for the Youth in our ward because they are already so wonderful!

My husband leaned over to me during the meeting and said he wishes that he could have had this program when he was in Young Mens but as we listened to the rest of the meeting I realized that this does not have to be for the Youth only.

"Heavenly Father established families as a central part of His plan to help His children learn the gospel in a loving atmosphere and prepare for eternal life. Parents have the primary responsibility to teach their children, which includes preparing them to receive the ordinances of exaltation  No one can take the place of parents in this God-given responsibility  Priesthood quorums, auxiliaries, and Church programs exist to support and strengthen families." ["A Guide to Come Follow Me" pg. 12]

The Savior set the example for us on teaching and we can use this in our homes, in Family Home Evening, in scripture study, and family councils. We must prepare through study and prayer. Ask questions and invite others to participate, He helped His disciples discover the gospel for themselves. He invited them to act on His words and trusted them to follow through. He empowered them by letting them teach and serve others. He knew His disciples personally and He showed His love to them, helping them grow and become empowered themselves.

I believe that if we participate in this program along with our youth that we will grow as well, and we and our families will be strengthened. We need to set the example for our youth so that they can learn to apply these changes in their own life. It is not a coincidence that the missionary age limit has been dropped and these changes in the Youth Program are taking place. What an amazing change we will see in the youth leaving on missions, leaving home and starting school, attending the Temple, and when the time comes, starting families of their own. We are preparing for our future, and how grateful we are to have a living prophet on the earth who receives guidance and inspiration for us in these latter days. We are so blessed to be a part of it all. 

Please feel free to leave a comment or share an experience on the blog about your thoughts or experiences you may have already had with your family and these new changes.

If you would like to know more about the new Manual, click here: Learning Resources for Youth

December Newsletter

I thought it would be nice to have the monthly newsletters available online to read and share with those who need it. Gwen Couch works so hard ever month to put it together so nicely and I thought it would be fun to see it in color, the way she created it :) Thanks Gwen!

2nd Sunday Lesson:Righteous Living in Perilous Times

Teachings of George Albert Smith

Serious difficulties have been predicted for the latter days.

• At the height of World War I, he warned, “War will not cease and the strife in this world will not end until the children of men repent of their sins and turn to God and serve him and keep his commandments.”
• While he acknowledged that war, natural disasters, and spiritual danger are part of living in the latter days, President Smith taught the Saints that they can escape much of the distress of these perilous times by living the gospel and resisting temptation.
• He also found optimism in his belief that righteous Latter-day Saints could have a powerful influence on the world around them. He taught that the Saints should not merely accept the condition of the world but should remain active in their communities and strive to make their influence felt, in spite of any opposition they might face. “We are all under the obligation of making this world a happier place for our having lived in it,” he said.

The only way to peace is the gospel of Jesus Christ.

• “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27.)
• But by following the teachings of the Lord, by turning unto him and repenting of sin, by going about doing good, we may have peace and happiness and prosperity. If mankind will love one another, the hatred and the unkindness that have existed so much in the world will pass away.
• Though the world may be filled with distress, and the heavens gather blackness, and the vivid lightnings flash, and the earth quake from center to circumference, if we know that God lives, and our lives are righteous, we will be happy, there will be peace unspeakable because we know our Father approves [of] our lives.

We need have no fear if we do what the Lord has asked us to do.

• We need have no fear if we do what the Lord has asked us to do. This is His world. All men and women are subject to Him. All the powers of evil will be controlled for the sake of His people, if they will honor Him and keep His commandments.
• If we have the confidence of our Heavenly Father, if we have His love, if we are worthy of His blessings, all the armies of the world cannot destroy us, cannot break down our faith, and cannot overcome the Church that is named for the Son of God.
• He is our strength, … your Father and mine, the Father of all; if we will only be worthy He will preserve us as He did Helaman’s sons, and as He preserved Daniel from the lions, and the three Hebrew children from the fiery furnace, and six hundred thousand of the descendants of Abraham when he brought them out from Egypt under the leadership of Moses and drowned Pharaoh’s army in the Red Sea. He is the God of this universe. He is the Father of us all. He is all-powerful and He promises us protection if we will live worthy of it.

Our homes can be peaceful, holy places even in the midst of calamities.

• I pray that our homes may be sanctified by the righteousness of our lives, that the adversary may have no power to come there and destroy the children of our homes or those who dwell under our roofs. If we will honor God and keep his commandments, our homes will be sacred, the adversary will have no influence, and we will live in happiness and peace until the winding-up scene in mortality and we go to receive our reward inimmortality.
• I pray that in our hearts and in our homes there may abide that spirit of love, of patience, of kindness, of charity, of helpfulness that enriches our lives and that makes the world brighter and better because of it.

We can be a positive influence in the world.

• I want to plead with you, … be as anchors in the community in which you live that others may be drawn to you and feel secure. Let your light so shine that others seeing your good works will have a desire in their hearts to be like you.
• It is our duty to set the example; it is our duty to hold aloft the banner of truth. It is our duty to encourage our Father’s other children to listen to his advice and counsel and so adjust things that wherever we are we will find the spirit of God burning in our souls and our influence will be for good.
• … Let us set our hands to the work that he has entrusted to our care, let us bless our Father’s children wherever they may be, and our lives will be enriched and this world will be made happier. This is the mission that has been placed upon our shoulders.
• ...That peace may abide in our hearts and in our homes, that we may radiate sunshine and cheer wherever we may go, that we may prove to the world that we do know that God lives, by the lives that we lead, and receive his blessings therefor, I humbly pray.