New meeting schedule
I'm excited about President Nelson's announcement at the beginning of General Conference concerning the change in meeting schedule.
And, it's not just because we have four kids ages 8 and under, where it can become a constant struggle to keep the youngest ones somewhat reverent for 70 minutes.
And, it's not because I've been helping with the nursery during the second and third blocks of the three-hour meeting schedule. I'm mostly there because our youngest is having a hard time getting used to nursery and there isn't enough help.
A shortened meeting block means one additional hour spent with the family, reading with the kids, writing in journals, or doing other things to build family relationships and have gospel-related discussions.
Six months ago the ministering program was introduced with all of the Melchizedek priesthood being the elder's quorum.
Now the church is moving towards a more home centered, church-supported focus.
In the April 2018 General Conference, President Nelson said, "In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost."
Our spiritual preparation is extremely important. We may have all the physical preparations we need, but without the spiritual preparation--being able to be guided, directed, and comforted by the Holy Ghost--we risk losing ourselves and our families when trials, conflicts, persecution, and calamities come. We will not survive without this preparation, and the lack of adequate spiritual preparation could also affect whether we live and survive physically as well.
If we solely rely on what man teaches for preparation, we will miss specific guidance, inspiration, and instructions that we may receive from the Holy Ghost in helping us to prepare.
And without this spiritual preparation we risk our hearts failing us for fear or our hearts becoming cold, and lacking compassion.
I'm certain there are a lot of Church members who see this change as giving them an extra hour for recreation, or to watch sports, TV, or other entertainment.
This change is test. Will members use it to strengthen their testimonies and families, or will they use it to follow after Babylon?
I believe this change will help strengthen those members who use if for what it is intended. It will help members learn to teach their families better. It will help strengthen testimonies. It will help us learn to better teach the gospel within our homes.
I believe the time is coming when we won't be able to regularly meet in a church building, and we will have to meet in our homes as families or very small groups. We will need to know how to teach and strengthen each other.
And, when a gathering call is issued for the righteous and faithful to leave Babylon, those who gather will need to know how to be guided by the Spirit and how to teach the gospel and strengthen each other in small groups.
They will not have the convenient, easy, weekly church meetings. They will not be able to delegate their responsibilities to teach their children and families. They will not be able to let others do the teaching.
They will be responsible for learning and teaching their own families, with very little guidance from Church authorities.
So, while this meeting schedule change may appear more policy-oriented, it is another step towards us taking on a greater responsibility to become more spiritually prepared, and to strengthen our families so they can also survive spiritually.
And, it's not just because we have four kids ages 8 and under, where it can become a constant struggle to keep the youngest ones somewhat reverent for 70 minutes.
And, it's not because I've been helping with the nursery during the second and third blocks of the three-hour meeting schedule. I'm mostly there because our youngest is having a hard time getting used to nursery and there isn't enough help.
A shortened meeting block means one additional hour spent with the family, reading with the kids, writing in journals, or doing other things to build family relationships and have gospel-related discussions.
Six months ago the ministering program was introduced with all of the Melchizedek priesthood being the elder's quorum.
Now the church is moving towards a more home centered, church-supported focus.
In the April 2018 General Conference, President Nelson said, "In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost."
Our spiritual preparation is extremely important. We may have all the physical preparations we need, but without the spiritual preparation--being able to be guided, directed, and comforted by the Holy Ghost--we risk losing ourselves and our families when trials, conflicts, persecution, and calamities come. We will not survive without this preparation, and the lack of adequate spiritual preparation could also affect whether we live and survive physically as well.
If we solely rely on what man teaches for preparation, we will miss specific guidance, inspiration, and instructions that we may receive from the Holy Ghost in helping us to prepare.
And without this spiritual preparation we risk our hearts failing us for fear or our hearts becoming cold, and lacking compassion.
I'm certain there are a lot of Church members who see this change as giving them an extra hour for recreation, or to watch sports, TV, or other entertainment.
This change is test. Will members use it to strengthen their testimonies and families, or will they use it to follow after Babylon?
I believe this change will help strengthen those members who use if for what it is intended. It will help members learn to teach their families better. It will help strengthen testimonies. It will help us learn to better teach the gospel within our homes.
I believe the time is coming when we won't be able to regularly meet in a church building, and we will have to meet in our homes as families or very small groups. We will need to know how to teach and strengthen each other.
And, when a gathering call is issued for the righteous and faithful to leave Babylon, those who gather will need to know how to be guided by the Spirit and how to teach the gospel and strengthen each other in small groups.
They will not have the convenient, easy, weekly church meetings. They will not be able to delegate their responsibilities to teach their children and families. They will not be able to let others do the teaching.
They will be responsible for learning and teaching their own families, with very little guidance from Church authorities.
So, while this meeting schedule change may appear more policy-oriented, it is another step towards us taking on a greater responsibility to become more spiritually prepared, and to strengthen our families so they can also survive spiritually.
Comments
Post a Comment