Sunday Happenings

Today our lesson was taught by Sister Stott. The lesson centered around Spiritual Preparedness.

Spiritual Preparedness: Start Early and Be Steady, Elder Henry B. Eyring, Nov. 2005, Liahona

A Time of Urgency, Elder Marvin J. Ashton, May 1974, Ensign

What items would you add to a 72 hour emergency kit? How often do they need to be updated?
“Spiritual preparedness is an interesting concept. Does one sit down and make a list like for the 72-hour emergency kit we’re all supposed to have? Flashlight- check, Sleeping bag- check, Water- check, First-aid supplies- check. It might actually be somewhat similar.”

Most of us have thought about how to prepare for storms. We may ask, “How can I be prepared?” And there is a rush to buy and put away whatever we might need for the day we might face such calamities.

But there is another even more important preparation we must make for tests that are certain to come to each of us. That preparation must be started far in advance because it takes time. What we will need then can’t be bought. It can’t be borrowed. It doesn’t store well. And it has to have been used regularly and recently." (Elder Eyring, 2005)

Refer to: Matt. 25: 1-13: Parable of the Ten Virgins
Who do the virgins represent? Why could the wise virgins not share their oil with the
foolish virgins? What does this say about our own spiritual preparedness?

Speaking of the parable of the Ten Virgins, Elder Ashton has said, “Today thousands of us are in a similar position. Through lack of patience and confidence, preparation has ceased. Others have lulled themselves to sleep to a complacency with the rationalization that midnight will never come. The responsibility for having oil in our personal lamps is an individual requirement and opportunity. The oil of spiritual preparedness cannot be shared. The wise were not unkind or selfish when they refused oil to the foolish in the moment of truth. The kind of oil needed by all of us to light up the darkness and illuminate the way is not shareable. The oil could have been purchased at the market in the parable, but in our lives it is accumulated by righteous living, a drop at a time.

Refer to: D&C 4:5
Bible Dictionary: Faith
What do we need to add to our “spiritual backpack” so that we can be spiritually
prepared? What helps us obtain faith, or strengthen faith? (consider the following)

· Prayer
· Scripture study
· Patriarchal blessings
· Sharing our testimony
· Being grateful
· Reviewing/renewing our covenants
· Family history
· Paying a full tithe
· Temple attendance
· Attending church meetings
· Service
· Visiting teaching

Elder Eyring “However much faith to obey God we now have, we will need to strengthen it continually and keep it refreshed constantly. We can do that by deciding now to be more quick to obey and more determined to endure. Learning to start early and to be steady are the keys to spiritual preparation. Procrastination and inconsistency are its mortal enemies”.

Why do we have to constantly renew our faith? Why can’t we fill our backpack or vessel and put it on a shelf until we desperately need it?

Announcements:

• Remember to set your clocks ahead one hour next Saturday night because it is Daylight Savings Time.
• Tuesday, March 16: Relief Society Birthday Celebration- "Why every woman needs Relief Society. Join us for dinner and a short program, 6:30 p.m. @ the church. Nursery will be provided. Please bring something you have made or learned in Relief Society.
• Family History Fair: March 20, 9:00-2:30 p.m. @ Family History Center- 8439 S 2200 W (Topics- Involving Youth, Ancestry.com, Preserving Old Photos, Family Search Indexing, PAF 5.2, and many more)
• Single Mothers Seminar: March 23- 5:30-8:30 p.m. 2 SLCC Miller Campus 9750 S 300 W (click on title for more information)
• Blood Drive: March 25