Using Agency Wisely: Consequences
Filed under: For the Strength of the Youth, Life Lessons, Making Decisions, Old Testament
In order to learn to make wise use of our eternal gift of agency, we must understand that each choice we make has consequences. These consequences can affect our entire lives and even our eternities. They also affect others. When we learn to evaluate the consequences of our choices, we are better able to make wise choices and get the most from our agency.
In the past, many Mormons used the term “free agency” to describe our God-given right to choose for ourselves. Today, church leaders discourage that term, because agency is not free, and they want us to understand this. Instead, they encourage the use of the term “moral agency.” Read more
Teens: Find the Spirit in Quiet Moments
Filed under: Life Lessons, Living the Gospel, Peer Pressure
It was a defining moment in our recent Sunday School class. We had been talking about the need and value of repentance, of the happiness it can bring to those who come back to the light and love of Christ, of the need to let go of the things of this world, when a woman raised her hand.
“I have a sister who turned away from the gospel years ago,” she began. “She lives her life in a way she was not taught growing up, and makes choices that go against many of Christ’s teachings.”
I began to wonder precisely where this conversation was going, and could feel the intensity of this woman’s need to be given a firm answer.
“She has more money than I could ever dream of. She’s traveled all over, she has had opportunities opened up for her left and right. I can’t see that she’s not happy.”
This woman paused for a moment, gathering herself. “My husband and I barely get by. We sometimes wonder where money will come from to pay the bills. I hardly see him for all the hours he works, and so much of the time I’m miserable.”
Before I go to the answer our teacher gave, I want you to take a moment to think of your own life. Which of these two women do you relate to more? Do you spend much of your time doing everything, obtaining objects, living life to it’s fullest?
Or do you find yourself spending much of your time watching others have everything, others who do not live up to your same standards, while you stand miserably to the side barely scraping by?
Is there really a way to have less in this life and still be happy?
Our teacher helped bring a very special point home.
“The things of this world are in your face,” she said. “They’re too loud, they’re too bright and shiny, they’re too showy, they’re simply too much.”
Why is this concept important? Because of the second part of the answer.
“Things that bring us true and everlasting happiness, otherwise known as things of the Spirit, those are found in the quiet times of our lives.”
We are taught the voice of the Lord, or the influence of the Holy Spirit, comes to us as a whisper. When we’ve put much of our focus on the things of the world we’ve innundated ourselves with television, with video games, with flashy clothes and jewelry. We’re more concerned with having the best car rather than finding peace.
If you feel unsatisfied in life, if you’ve been growing bitter over not having everything your friends have, search for the quiet moments in your life. Listen for the quiet whisperings of the Holy Spirit. As you do this, you will find peace instead of jealousy, love instead of misery.
Teens: Finding Tender Mercies in Trials
Filed under: For the Strength of the Youth, Life Lessons, Living the Gospel
“But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance” (1 Nephi 1:20).
I’ve been thinking about tender mercies a lot lately. They’ve been thrust up in my face lately. In a good way, that is.
We all have trials. It’s simply a way of life, and one of the most effective ways for us to learn and grow spiritually. Sometimes we bring these trials on ourselves through our own choices. Other times the harsh lessons of life are learned through the choices of others, and the effects of those choices on us.
Closely connected to both of these are the lessons we learn through experiences our Heavenly Father asks us to endure.
Recently someone known by my family lost a son-in-law in a plane crash. This son-in-law and his wife had recently had a baby. The crash was tragic, heart-rending, and world shattering for those who loved him. It took the couple’s bishop (lay clergyman) to help this young widow and the extended family search for the tender mercies of the Lord. He told them if they looked they could find little ways in which they were being prepared for this awful event. The bishop encouraged each family member to write these things down, so they might be strengthened in their struggles.
So what are the tender mercies of the Lord? David A. Bednar, latter-day apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (nicknamed the Mormon Church), asks and answers this very question.
“Through personal study, observation, pondering, and prayer, I believe I have come to better understand that the Lord’s tender mercies are the very personal and individualized blessings, strength, protection, assurances, guidance, loving-kindnesses, consolation, support, and spiritual gifts which we receive from and because of and through the Lord Jesus Christ. Truly, the Lord suits ‘his mercies according to the conditions of the children of men’ (D&C 46:15)” (David A. Bednar, “The Tender Mercies of the Lord,” Ensign, May 2005, 99).
As teens in this world today, you are asked to endure, to fight against, to protect yourself from things your parents can barely begin to imagine, just as their parents could not comprehend what being a teen was like all those years ago. You have been saved for this time, because your spirits are vastly strong. If you choose to follow the Lord’s way, Satan will be hard pressed to sway you otherwise. Unfortunately, this will not stop him from trying.
They key word in that paragraph is choose. We always have a choice. If we continually strive to choose the Lord’s way, He will prepare us and strengthen us through His tender mercies, “to make [us] mighty even unto the power of deliverance.” In fact, I know that even when we haven’t been following His path, He will often send us strength through reminders to come back to Him.
My challenge to you is the same of the bishop who counseled the grieving family. If you have been, are now, or will one day face trials that seem unbearable, take time out to actively look for the tender mercies of the Lord. Look for ways you were prepared beforehand. Search for things that are helping you now. Be ready to recognize the little blessings that are to come. It may take time for some of us to find the good things, but with much prayer and practice, looking for tender mercies can become second nature.
Then, perhaps, we can say with firm testimony, “Each of us can have eyes to see clearly and ears to hear distinctly the tender mercies of the Lord as they strengthen and assist us in these latter days. May our hearts always be filled with gratitude for His abundant and tender mercies” (David A. Bednar, “The Tender Mercies of the Lord,” Ensign, May 2005, 99).
Teens: Is Being a Little Off Course Okay?
Filed under: For the Strength of the Youth, Life Lessons, Living the Gospel, Peer Pressure
“It can’t hurt.”
“Try it just this once.”
“It’s not like taking one drink/puff/shot/etc. will make you addicted.”
Heard these phrases before? Odds are you have, or will, at some time of your life. Yet caving into any of the phrases, these pressure-filled persuaders, can cause us to become vastly off course.
My husband, a bishop in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (nicknamed the Mormon Church), was directed to put together a talk (sermon) to give to the ward (local congregation) on many different subjects. All of these subjects came back to one main theme:
Are we doing all that is necessary to keep us in alignment with God’s eternal plan?
In our search for stories and other things to help keep the flow of the talk, my husband came across a perfect example of what happens when we find ourselves even a little off course. This was related through another talk given by a modern day apostle by the name of Dieter F. Uchtdorf.
“In 1979 a large passenger jet with 257 people on board left New Zealand for a sightseeing flight to Antarctica and back. Unknown to the pilots, however, someone had modified the flight coordinates by a mere two degrees. This error placed the aircraft 28 miles (45 km) to the east of where the pilots assumed they were. As they approached Antarctica, the pilots descended to a lower altitude to give the passengers a better look at the landscape. Although both were experienced pilots, neither had made this particular flight before, and they had no way of knowing that the incorrect coordinates had placed them directly in the path of Mount Erebus, an active volcano that rises from the frozen landscape to a height of more than 12,000 feet (3,700 m).
As the pilots flew onward, the white of the snow and ice covering the volcano blended with the white of the clouds above, making it appear as though they were flying over flat ground. By the time the instruments sounded the warning that the ground was rising fast toward them, it was too late. The airplane crashed into the side of the volcano, killing everyone on board.
It was a terrible tragedy brought on by a minor error—a matter of only a few degrees” (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “A Matter of a Few Degrees,” Ensign, May 2008, 57–60).
Again he relates what getting just a bit off course can truly mean.
“Even small errors over time can make a dramatic difference in our lives.
Let me share with you how I taught the same principle to young pilots.
Suppose you were to take off from an airport at the equator, intending to circumnavigate the globe, but your course was off by just one degree. By the time you returned to the same longitude, how far off course would you be? A few miles? A hundred miles? The answer might surprise you. An error of only one degree would put you almost 500 miles (800 km) off course, or one hour of flight for a jet.
No one wants his life to end in tragedy. But all too often, like the pilots and passengers of the sightseeing flight, we set out on what we hope will be an exciting journey only to realize too late that an error of a few degrees has set us on a course for spiritual disaster” (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “A Matter of a Few Degrees,” Ensign, May 2008, 57–60).
We could probably take a little sniff, or puff, or drink, and we’d be done with it. It would not have hurt us in a moment. There is, however, another ending to the story, one those who try to pressure us into doing something wrong tend to gloss over. You could take one drink, and feel the need to drink for the rest of your life. You could take one puff, and spend your days using close to a thousand dollars a year or more to keep up the habit. You could take one sniff, and find yourself one day desperately entrenched in a life of crime just to support the very thing that has taken over your existence.
Essentially, you could find yourself vastly off course, with little or no hope of finding your way back.
When others begin chirping in your ear to just give it a try, think about whether or not you really want to take that chance. More often than not you’ll be giving away basic freedoms. Your life will be dominated by the very things those ‘friends’ promised wouldn’t hurt you.
When speaking to my youth girls about standing strong in the face of having to make a choice, we talked about things you can say. This is a vital step in protecting yourself, in staying on course. It’s only when you’ve prepared yourselves ahead of time that you can truly help yourself to say no, and stick to it. Things like, “Can you promise me I won’t become addicted? Can you promise me this won’t hurt me if I try it just once?” You might be surprised to find it’ll stop the person just long enough for you to make an escape.
When we make the right choices, when we stand by those things that God would have us do, we will not find ourselves vastly off course. If we cave in just a little, it’s possible (not to mention easier) to make a course correction early on through repentance. Once we recognize the need to make conscious decisions to stay on God’s path, we will remain in alignment with Him.
Teens: Perspective
Filed under: Discovering Yourself, Life Lessons, Living the Gospel, Service Opportunities
This was the lesson I gave in my Young Women’s class recently. I didn’t make it to Sunday School, where most of my spiritual epiphanies originate, so I’m taking my inspiration from the messages I delivered in class.
Perspective is a funny thing. It has to be based on truth, not our interpretation of truth. Our own personal perspectives can be skewed by our experiences and the experiences others bring into our lives. These are not based on truth.
I’ve been thinking a lot about how others perceive the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (nicknamed the Mormon Church). For those who have heard nothing about it, or who have been taught by those who are against it, many of our beliefs may seem really weird, out-there, or nutty. Even in this century there are individuals who are still taught that Mormons have horns, that the men still have plural wives, and other things that simply aren’t true.
One of my favorite accounts of this comes from the latter-day apostle Boyd K. Packer. He recalls:
Years ago, I was at a symposium at a college in Oregon. Present were a Catholic bishop, a rabbi, an Episcopalian minister, an Evangelical minister, a Unitarian clergyman, and myself.
The president of the school, Dr. Bennett, hosted a breakfast. One of them asked which wife I had brought. I told them I had a choice of one. For a second, I thought that I was being singled out for embarrassment. Then someone asked the Catholic bishop if he had brought his wife.
The next question came from Dr. Bennett to me: “Is it true that Mormons have horns?”
I smiled and said, “I comb my hair so that they can’t be seen.”
Dr. Bennett, who was completely bald, put both hands on the top of his head and said, “Oh! You can never make a Mormon out of me!” (Boyd K. Packer, “A Defense and a Refuge,” Liahona, Nov 2006, 85–88)
It can be difficult not to get one’s ire up just a little when these sorts of untruthes are spoken, but one of the big things I felt impressed to share with my girls is this: we don’t know where others are coming from. We don’t know what they’ve been taught. We don’t know what experiences they’ve had to fashion out their own perceptions on life.
The same can be said for us. Others don’t know what we’ve had to endure in this mortal life. They cannot perceive what personal testimony we might hold. Most of all, they do not know why we are the way we are. Therefore, we must treat others carefully, and with respect concerning their beliefs.
The second big point I felt impressed to share was that God knows so much more than we can ever hope to know. He sees everything, from where we lived before we were born (where did we come from?), to what we need to accomplish in this life (why are we here?), right down to where we can hope to be in life after death (where am I going?).
The Father’s knowledge far surpasses ours. He knows what we are capeable of, what we need to learn in this life. Sometimes He’ll ask us to go through hard times. Ask anyone who has come out of a trial seemingly stronger for the experience, and they’ll tell you they’ve learned things they never could have learned any other way. Our trials are not always punishment for doing something wrong. Sometimes they’re there to help us progress.
We all have things set up for us here in this mortal life. I personally have been given many trials in this life, most of which can’t be seen with just a glance. These lessons I had to learn were in my brain and in my heart, and I’ve passed – not with flying colors, but enough that my Heavenly Father has placed a new path my life is to take before me.
At times life feels overwhelming. At times it’s beyond exciting. At times we’re humbled. And at times we’re scared.
Lastly, it is important to keep an eternal perspective in our daily doings. We need to remember who we are: precious children of our Heavenly Father, who gave us an opportunity to learn and grow and choose this mortal life in the pre-existence. We need to remember why we’re here: to continue learning and growing and making a daily, even hourly choice to keep along the Lord’s path. We also need to remember where we’re going, and what we can become: even like unto our Father, forever connected to our families. This knowledge has brought me through many a hard time.
It is so important to make sure our perceptions, of anything and anyone, are based in truth. How? Well, we can guess at what something is or what it means, but then comes the important part. We need to take the matter to the Lord in prayer and ask if what we think or feel is truth. Be ready for the answer, whatever it may be.
Teens: A Loving Heavenly Father
There is a time in the life of Jesus Christ where my appreciation and love for our Heavenly Father knows no bounds.
This beloved Son has never once sinned. Never. He does not understand what it means to sin. He cannot comprehend until the moment He walks into the Garden of Gethsemane what one little sin can do to a person. All at once the realization of what He is being asked to do begins to settle upon His mind, and He calls out, “Father, I think this is going to be a lot harder than I could have imagined. Please, if it’s at all possible, let this part pass.”
Perhaps the Father’s perfect Son is now frightened by what He is being asked. We do not know. It is only in empathizing with our elder brother, in trying to imagine just a little of what agony the weight of sin had already placed upon Him, that we can even begin to appreciate His next words: “Nevertheless, not as I wilt, but as thou wilt” (Matthew 26:39).
Up in a world of spirits stood a Father who must have been in agony himself. Have any of you thought even for a moment what watching this scene must have been like for Him? As He watched His perfect Son writhe in anguish, did He wish to call out, to bend to His Son’s wishes, to stop the pain? Was His hand stretched out, shaking, wishing He could do just that?
The Father would not stop what was happening, but He could give His Son some form of comfort. He sent an angel, perhaps one of Christ’s greatest friends, down to give Him what little support could be offered. Still, it wasn’t enough.
The time came when Christ would be asked to endure more than even He thought possible. Not only was the angel’s presence withdrawn, but the Father pulled His own Spirit and influence away as well. I cannot begin to imagine the shock this must have been to a Son who had never, in His entire life, gone without the influence of His Father.
What a joy it must have been for both when the Holy Spirit and influence of the Father was restored. Never does one appreciate the blessings in one’s life until those blessings have been taken away.
Surely this should have been enough. Hadn’t Christ just endured all that would be required? Could not the Father now take His Son up to Him, satisfied that all had been accomplished?
We all know it was not enough. Still the Father watched on as His Son was brutally beaten, mocked by those who simply could not comprehend, nailed to a cross, and hung. Surely the Father desired to send legions of angels to stop the cruelty, to at last allow His perfect Son to be at peace. Instead, the Father knew the mission was not complete. Once again He needed to take His influence away from His Son. Is it any wonder, after all that He had endured, Jesus the Christ yelled out in agony, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46.)
How the Father’s heart must have torn at those words. They were not a condemnation, but a desperate cry from a Son to His Father.
There is a moment I like to ponder on, as perhaps only a parent can. Christ has given up the ghost, and returned to the spirit world, where He is embraced by friends and family who have gone before. His body is no longer in pain. What do you think our Heavenly Father was thinking at that point? Was He grateful for the little time it took for the resurrection and ascension to calm His trembling hands, to wipe His tears, before finally being able to take His Son up into His arms and hold on to His tight? Was His voice choked as He patted His Son on the back and whispered, “Well done, my good and faithful servant”?
Jeffrey R. Holland, a latter-day Apostle and member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (nicknamed the Mormon Church), spoke on this very thing.
“[The Father] endured what He saw because it was the only way that a saving, vicarious payment could be made for the sins of all His other children, from Adam and Eve to the end of the world. I am eternally grateful for a perfect Father and His perfect Son, neither of whom shrank from the bitter cup nor forsook the rest of us who are imperfect, who fall short and stumble, who too often miss the mark” (Jeffrey R. Holland, “The Hands of the Fathers,” Ensign, May 1999).
As we come to celebrate Father’s Day, take some time to recognize what it is our Father sacrificed that day, but don’t stop there. If you have never realized it before, it is time to recognize it now. He allowed all of this to happen because He loves each and every one of us so very much. We are not perfect. We will never be asked to go through what Christ went through. Yet the Father loved all of us so much, that He sacrificed His only perfect child so that we can all come back to live with Him someday.
What a remarkable Father.
Teens: A Father Who Doesn’t Give Up
Filed under: Book of Mormon, For Parents & Leaders, Life Lessons, Scripture Time
June is perhaps one of my favorite months. No, not because school is almost out (hooray!). I love the fact that we get to celebrate fathers.
Unlike many in this crazy world, I have been surrounded by good, righteous fathers. My own has always ever been a gentle man, slow to anger and quick to love. He has taught me much and even now we relish in learning something new together.
When I married I was blessed with another father, that belonging to my husband. He is also a good and gentle man, ever dedicated to serving others, a trait he passed along to his children. I never see him without receiving a hug and kiss, and hearing “I love you” pass over his lips.
And then there is my husband. He shares with me five beautiful children, and I marvel at the extraordinary man he is, and the care he takes of me and the little ones. He works two grueling jobs so I can be at home with them, as well as serving as a Mormon bishop (leader over our local church). Even with all these time consuming things, I have seen him push past his exhaustion to read one child a book, listen to the problems of another, or help one say his prayers.
With all these amazing examples in my life, it is not hard for me to empathize with a certain father we read of in the Book of Mormon – another testament of Jesus Christ. I am speaking in particular of Alma.
Alma spent a good part of his life living in wickedness. The king over his land reveled in sin, encouraging everyone under his rule to do the same. Alma was a priest of the king’s court, a high and respected position.
Something happened to turn Alma away from his life of sin: a man by the name of Abinadi. He was a prophet of God who came to their land with a message. These people needed to repent, or they would perish. Abinadi died bringing this message to the people, but it was not in vain. Alma believed his words, and he began to preach as well, turning many of the king’s people back to the ways of God.
Alma’s life was forever changed. He became a spiritual leader of the Lord’s church, but there was one major concern on his mind. His son, also named Alma (referred to as Alma the Younger), was a wicked young man. Alma the Younger rejected his father’s beliefs and worked hard to turn everyone he could away from the Lord’s church.
Perhaps Alma saw so much of his former self in his son. Perhaps he knew, more than Alma the Younger could ever realize, what the cost of each sin would be. One thing we do know. Alma never gave up on his son. Because of this, a miracle happened.
As Alma the Younger travelled with some of his friends an angel appeared.
“And again, the angel said: Behold, the Lord hath heard the prayers of his people, and also the prayers of his servant, Alma, who is thy father; for he has prayed with much faith concerning thee that thou mightest be brought to the knowledge of the truth” (Mosiah 27:14, emphasis added).
Alma loved his son, regardless of the wicked things he had done. Never had he stopped praying for this wayward youth.
Some of you reading this may have a son, a daughter, a good friend or a precious youth you teach who has lost their way. If there is anything we can learn from the example of Alma, it’s that there is always hope. Those lost souls may not be visited by angels. They will, however, be given the opportunity to repent and turn back to the Lord.
I’m certain Alma the Younger was raised with good and righteous fathers surrounding him. He had his own agency, however, and was given the chance to choose his own path. Just as I was. Just as we all are. If you, like this young man, have chosen a difficult path and now find yourself wishing to turn around remember this: in your life there are probably many fathers – as well as mothers, teachers, friends, siblings, etc. – who are praying for you every day.
What a miracle, the faith of a father.
Teens: Making Weak Things Strong
Filed under: Book of Mormon, Life Lessons, Living the Gospel
I took a weightlifting class my senior year of high school, and loved it! After just a few weeks of working the different machines I discovered new, fairly awesome muscles in places I didn’t think muscles existed.
After a few more weeks I thought I was doing pretty great. I’d established a good routine. I was happy with my progress and content to keep going at a certain level. Of course that’s when a classmate approached me and with a few simple words taught me a lesson I’ve never forgotten.
“You have to add more weight if you want to grow stronger,” she said.
Did the proverbial light bulb flash over your head just like it did mine?
One of the scripture mastery verses found in the Book of Mormon (another testament of Jesus Christ) chosen by leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (commonly called the Mormon Church) for youth to focus on discusses making the weak things within us strong.
“And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them” (Ether 12:27).
We all have weaknesses. I’m not talking just about physical weaknesses, but those involving our spiritual nature. Perhaps someone out there struggles with faith. Perhaps another has a hard time with forgiveness. Some of you may not be big on reading and allow scripture study to fall pretty far down on your priority list. For others it could be the seemingly simple act of praying to a Being you don’t know for certain is even out there, let alone listening.
These are only a few possibilities. The truth is there are so many things we may dislike in ourselves that we wish to overcome: shyness, tendency to lie, a bad temper, not knowing when to keep quiet, being too passive, etc. Obviously this list could go on and on. What the above scripture gives us is the key to overcome these weaknesses.
First, we need to acknowledge them. We need to admit there’s something that needs to change. Seems simple enough, right? Unfortunately there are many people afraid to admit to anything that can be portrayed as a weakness. Ironic, isn’t it? Just remember the person to whom you are telling it to loves you despite your weaknesses, and is just waiting for you to ask for help.
Next, we need to be humble regarding these weaknesses before the Lord. If we were able to make the necessary changes ourselves, we wouldn’t have any weak parts, right? It is crucial for us to recognize our need for the Lord’s help, and to be willing to submit what we think will work to what He knows will work.
We have to have faith. For those who struggle with faith, this may seem like an uphill battle, yet faith is the cornerstone of any religion. If we do not have the faith that anything we ask of the Lord can happen, we’ve lost the fight even before it’s begun.
Though this last step is not mentioned specifically in the scripture, I believe it’s implied by the previous stages. We have to work. Not only that, we have to constantly work. Anyone who has ever tried lifting weights knows it takes consistent effort to maintain a certain level. If we begin to slacken, we will lose ground. In other words, if you don’t read your scriptures for a few days, or if your prayers become less than sincere, you will lose ground. Those spiritual muscles will become weak.
On the other hand, if we work hard, and put in a lot of extra effort, we will see ourselves grow by leaps and bounds. We can be a living testimony to others of what happens to the weak things inside us.
By the time I left that class I could lift over twice as much weight as compared to where I had started. It was incredible. Too bad it didn’t stick. Over the years I’ve lost all those awesome muscles (they’ve gone into long-term hibernation). Fortunately the lesson I learned proved to be far more valuable, and permanent.
Teens Activity: Changing One Step at a Time
Changing bad behaviors isn’t going to happen overnight, no matter how eager we may be to make it happen. The further into sin we are, the more difficult it will be to turn around. It’s important to help youth understand that making significant changes to better our lives needs to be a step-by-step process.
ACTIVITY
Scripture:
“For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little” (Isaiah 28:10).
Learning is a step-by-step process, whether we’re learning about how to change a tire, or how to turn away from sin. To help youth understand the process a little better, try putting together some ‘Stepwords.’
“Stepwords are pairs of words of equal length which can be changed from one to the other by switching one letter at a time and forming a new word with each letter switch. For example, change black to white by forming these words: black, slack, stack, stalk, stale, shale, whale, while, white. Make certain the words you choose can be changed (some can’t be). Some sample stepwords include dry-wet, heat-cold, east-west, poor-rich, sick-well” (Alma Heaton, The LDS Game Book, [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1968], p. 152.)
Ideas:
1. If there are just a few youth, use a chalkboard or dry-erase board and see how many sets of words you can figure out. See if there are different ways to get from dry to wet, or sick to well. Let your youth come up with their own step words and see if you can make them work.
2. If there are lots of youth, split up into teams and see who can finish eat set of words first.
3. You could make a big game of it. Trace a lot (and I do mean a lot!) of footprints. On each of these footprints you’ll start with one word, such as black, and will write the changes on the other footprints until you reach white. Write a few footprints that will take you down a wrong path. It might look like it’ll get you to your end goal, but will become a dead end.
Tape the footprints on the floor in a sort of maze and have the youth try the maze one step at a time (space the youth at least 30 seconds apart, or let them go in teams).
If you have a lot of room (like a gym or cultural hall), use several of the word sets. Once your youth get to the end of one (going from black to white) make the next footprint the beginning of another set.
Lesson Application:
As we make turn away from sin we need to replace bits of the bad habit with bits of good habits (like changing the word one letter at a time). For example, say you have a huge problem with swearing. You could start off by changing the words you use. Make up nonsense words like ‘smag’ to replace the bad word. Begin singing a hymn whenever you feel the urge to swear. As you do this you’ll recognize what situations create that urge, and you can begin to avoid them.
Sometimes we think we have our goal in sight and we’re on the right path, but wind up hitting a dead end. Instead of becoming frustrated, angry, and resentful, we need to learn to turn around, backtrack to where we went wrong, and then start on the right path. We might need to do this several times before we finally make it to our goal.
Other times we might have different choices of how to get to our goal, and each of them will help us make it. Just as we are all different, the path we take may be different than the one our friends will take. We have to do what’s best for our own personalities and ways of living.
End with one more scripture. This one is taken from the Book of Mormon, another testament of Jesus Christ. I believe it brings Isaiah’s message into better light.
“For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have” (2 Nephi 28:30).
Teens:When Feeling Lost, Count Your Blessings
I’ve been fairly weepy the last few weeks (though I heartily exclaim there is no coincidence with my kids being off-track at the same time). It feels something like being two seconds away from bursting into tears at any moment. The littlest thing, whether it’s a tender or a frustrating moment, will set me off.
This happens to me several times throughout the year, in particular when I’m feeling a little lost as to my purpose in this life and what it is God truly wants for me. More often than not several new forks have been placed in my road and I simply don’t know which one to choose. Or, rather, which one God would have me choose.
Does this sound at all familiar? Perhaps, as teens, you thought the choices would get easier once you ‘grew up,’ got a job, had a family, all those things you’re taught to do. It isn’t. If anything the choices get a bit harder, in particular because time begins to fly by so much faster, and you realize just how important making the right choice becomes.
Even still, sometimes you can be making all the right choices and still feel a bit lost. There is a particular hymn I always turn to whenever life becomes a little too hard to bear, called “Count Your Blessings.”
When upon life’s billows you re tempest-tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings; name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings; every doubt will fly,
And you will be singing as the days go by.When you look at others with their lands and gold,
Think that Christ has promised you his wealth untold.
Count your many blessings; money cannot buy
Your reward in heaven nor your home on high.So amid the conflict, whether great or small,
Do not be discouraged; God is over all.
Count your many blessings; angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.Count your blessings; Name them one by one.
Count your blessings; See what God hath done.
Count your blessings; Name them one by one.
Count your many blessings; See what God hath done.
~Text: Johnson Oatman, Jr., 1856-1922
I have come to learn one of the best things we can do when we are feeling most lost is to take stock of our blessings. Perhaps at times these blessings may seem small, and far too insignificant compared to our trials and tribulations. I can testify to one good thing that comes of counting your blessings: recalling the good things in your life can bring about a wonderful change of attitude.
I have some remarkably kind children who have a sincere desire to choose the right. My husband is a good and kind man, who always thinks of others before himself. I have parents who raised me in the ways of the Lord. I have been given many dear friends over the years who have become vital parts of my heart. I have been raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of which I have a firm testimony of it being Christ’s restored church. I have been blessed with many wonderful gifts, which have brought me much happiness and have enabled me to serve others. Being able to serve others brings me such joy.
The funny thing is, this is just a starting point. Once you start listing the good things in your life, you might be surprised to find there are many more blessings you had never realized before. If you, like me, are feeling a little lost, take a moment to count your blessings.
“Nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours. And he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious” (Doctrine and Covenants 78:18-19).