Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles came to speak to the Greensboro Stake this past Sunday. He was amazing! I know this is going to sound crazy, but when I first joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and heard him speak the first time I knew that there was something about him. Something that was going to touch me personally and EVERY talk that he has ever given since that feeling has been a tremendous help and turning point for me in my continued spiritual progression. Here were a few thoughts he left with us:
*That moral agency is to choose to love one another and to choose God. Too many times we say we have agency so we 'choose' to stay home from church or 'choose' to obey one commandment and not another. However, Elder Bednar reminded us that when we were baptized that we came under 'terms and conditions' of Heavenly Father's making and therefore we must use our moral agency to choose the right. The example he gave was perfect:) A child says to his father that he's going to use his agency to choose not going to church. The father says to his child that he will either choose to walk to church or ride. I LOVE this! Elder Bednar went on to say that as parents we should be 'kicking and screaming' to guide our children back to Heavenly Father. How can we expect them to choose the right and live the gospel if we let them 'choose' otherwise?
*That going to the temple is about more than just going for yourself or not enough after you go the first time. That it is about the covenants and ordinances that are done there so go often.
*That spiritual power will not come from checking things off a checklist. I prayed today...check...we held Family Home Evening...check...we had scripture study...check. Spiritual power comes from living the gospel for real!
*That living the gospel standards no matter how many, is easier than going through this life without the gospel. When he made this particular statement it had so much intensity behind it and it was amazing! Do we really think it's easier to go through tragedy, loss, sickness, or any other trial without this gospel?
Finally, the last thing that I got after the meeting was how people that have been members their entire lives were also refreshed by his message. The things he taught were simple teachings too! It reminded me that I am not alone in my learning process/journey.
Our leadership was truly inspired when they decided that we all needed the gospel principles taught in Sunday School this year:)
I love the Lord and his Gospel and I am so happy that I chose this for my life!
It's so amazing how two people can be in the same meeting and hear the same things and remember different parts. I love that you got more indepth details on some of the ones I just remember having impressions of/about. I, too, love Elder Bednar. He was called as an apostle right after Isaac was born and Isaac met him right before we move out to NC. It's almost like he's "our" apostle! Of course, I love them all...but his messages always seem to touch me as well.
ReplyDeleteI'm happy that you chose it, too! Great post!
ReplyDeleteErika -
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing the gospel messages you learned from Elder Bednar. I was going to make the drive up to Greensboro to hear him speak, but I had a ward commitment. While working in the kitchen at Girl's Camp, our Stake President was hanging out with us and talked about his leadership training with Elder Bednar. How great that I got to learn from both of you!
Love to your family.
Heather Johnson
I don't know what it is about that man, but he speaks to me. I have never perked up at one particular member of the 12 before in my life, until I heard him speak the first time. He speaks so plainly, so simply and he is so entirely practical. I want to be a better person after every talk! Thanks for sharing this.
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