Sept 6th RS Presidency Lesson

RS Lesson: taught by Irene on Elder David A. Bednar’s talk “Things as They Really Are” Which was given as a CES Fireside for Young Adults • May 3, 2009 • Brigham Young University–Idaho.

Here are links to the talk:
Read it here:
http://www.lds.org/library/display/0,4945,538-1-4830-1,00.html

watch it here:
http://www.lds.org/broadcast/ces/0,7341,538-1-61-1681,00.html
(click on the pict of the conference center, follow diretions to watch)

Irene started out by playing/singing a beautiful song for us about a little mountain stream that was pure and un-muddied by the world flowing down the hill, making everything around it green – that we should be like that little stream.

She asked us two questions:
1. Does the use of various technologies and media invite or impede the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost in your life?

2. Does the time you spend using various technologies and media enlarge or restrict your capacity to live, to love, and to serve in meaningful ways?
She then drew on the board two lists, comparing and contrasting Heavenly father’s desires for us vs. Satan’s desires for us.

2 Nephi 2:27 Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.


Heavenly Father wants us to be:
Exalted
Joy – happiness

Satan:
Miserable like himself
Captivity


The main reasons we come to Earth is to:
Gain a physical body
Gain experience


We talked about what a blessing our bodies are, Satan’s mystery comes from not having a body:


“We came to this earth that we might have a body and present it pure before God in the celestial kingdom. The great principle of happiness consists in having a body. The devil has no body, and herein is his punishment. He is pleased when he can obtain the tabernacle of man, and when cast out by the Savior he asked to go into the herd of swine, showing that he would prefer a swine’s body to having none. All beings who have bodies have power over those who have not. The devil has no power over us only as we permit him; the moment we revolt at anything which comes from God, the devil takes power.”

Our Stake’s goals this year outline two types of sins to avoid
– sins of commission, doing things we should not do
– sins of omission, not doing things that we should do

In learning how to take care of our bodies, there are two types of sins too:
- Misuse: drugs alcohol/addictions, chastity, worshipping body image,
- Minimize: instead of experiencing “things as they really are” (using our natural 5 senses) we bury ourselves in video games, movies, chat rooms, internet games, books – living in a virtual world instead of the real one.

From Bednar’s talk:
“Sadly, some young men and women in the Church today ignore “things as they really are” and neglect eternal relationships for digital distractions, diversions, and detours that have no lasting value. My heart aches when a young couple—sealed together in the house of the Lord for time and for all eternity by the power of the holy priesthood—experiences marital difficulties because of the addicting effect of excessive video gaming or online socializing. A young man or woman may waste countless hours, postpone or forfeit vocational or academic achievement, and ultimately sacrifice cherished human relationships because of mind- and spirit-numbing video and online games. As the Lord declared, “Wherefore, I give unto them a commandment … :

Thou shalt not idle away thy time, neither shalt thou bury thy talent that it may not be known” (D&C 60:13).

You may now be asking yourself, “But Brother Bednar, you began today by talking about the importance of a physical body in our eternal progression. Are you suggesting that video gaming and various types of computer-mediated communication can play a role in minimizing the importance of our physical bodies?” That is precisely what I am declaring.”

Caryn talked about how at the MTC there is an increasing problem with missionaries giving up their cell phones / internet / games etc. etc. That these games are an addiction, and missionaries going into the field are having a really hard time letting go of these things.

Irene reminded us of the scriptures that say:
Psalms 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God:
And suggested that we are not still enough, that we need to get our lives in balance, in focus, that we should get rid of the clutter in our lives so we can focus on our family, and those in our ward, those we are given charge over. To spend our time on that which is of most worth.

Irene had really cute object lessons:
-“Parable of the talents” – with a little talent
-Parable of clutter” – Messy pile containing Barbie doll (obsessing with looks) movie, CD, exercise weight, earphones, piece of her computer, and piece of black material with pink sparkles on it to represent sin (black with shiney stuff)
-Balance and focus – a little balance with weights on it, a pair of eyeglasses.


“The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” the First Presidency and Council of the Twelve Apostles declare that as spirit sons and daughters of God we “accepted His plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize [our] divine destiny as heirs of eternal life”

Irene talked about the plan of salvation, that in the spirit world, before we had bodies, we were unable to experience all of the things that we do here. It was all just a theory to us – just abstract ideas of what we were going to be doing on Earth. Spending too much time on computers/movies/games is like going back to the primordial existence where we don’t have bodies to experience things as they really are.

“Our physical bodies make possible a breadth, a depth, and an intensity of experience that simply could not be obtained in our premortal estate. President Boyd K. Packer has taught, “Our spirit and our body are combined in such a way that our body becomes an instrument of our mind and the foundation of our character.”2 Thus, our relationships with other people, our capacity to recognize and act in accordance with truth, and our ability to obey the principles and ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ are amplified through our physical bodies. In the classroom of mortality, we experience tenderness, love, kindness, happiness, sorrow, disappointment, pain, and even the challenges of physical limitations in ways that prepare us for eternity. Simply stated, there are lessons we must learn and experiences we must have, as the scriptures describe, “according to the flesh” (see 1 Nephi 19:6; Alma 7:12–13).”

We should not let the virtual world rob us of the “breadth, depth, and intensity of experience” that can be had in the real physical world.

If you did not get to see this fireside (as many of us did not as it was directed at the youth) I would encourage you to use the above link to watch it – rather than read it. It is a great message that leaves you with a deep appreciation of our physical bodies and physical world, of being able to touch/smell/feel/hear/experience everything that is around us.

This was a great lesson that made us all think about re-prioritizing our lives, letting go of some things, and grabbing hold of others.

Thanks Irene!!!!