Inspiration

We just talked about the conference address "Are you sleeping thru the restoration" by President Utchdorf on Sunday.  Like I mentioned in my previous post.  It certainly feels like the last days with all the craziness going on in the world.  Wars, rumors of wars.  Upside down beliefs.  A complete lack of common sense etc.  What this means to me is that it's time to get serious.  It's time to see if you can really hear the voice of the Lord.  It's time to see if you can receive revelation.  It's time to see if there are really miracles happening in your life.  It's time to see if keeping covenants and commandments bring blessings.  It's time to put on the armor of the Lord.  

The most important thing I can do as a teacher is to have experiences myself and then help others have them or to know that they are having them.   One of the things we do for the kids each morning is get out their things and place them on the tables for them.  One morning as I was getting them out after a lesson I gave, I found these.  It made me smile that it was something these boys wanted to think about everyday because one had taped the reminder on the cover of his scriptures and the other on his journal.  

 On Saturday I took my girls to the general women's meeting.  While I was sitting there I took my standard notes on my iPad, but I also brought my seminary journal - it's were I write (old school pen and paper method) my lessons and I keep my training in there and inspiration, basically everything that has to do with seminary.  I wrote down in my journal things that specifically applied to either reinforcing what we have already learned or things I wanted to bring out in future lessons - or just things I needed to do.  

I won't go into everything, because that's not what this is all about.  But, I will tell you one thing.  Before seminary started I had purchased (they are actually free except for the shipping) "The Living Christ" for each of the students.  They have been sitting in the cupboard ever since.  I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with them.  Wait for a lesson that went with them.  Ask the kids to memorize them when they are already working hard on memorizing the scripture mastery verses.  I wasn't sure yet.  I acted on what I felt was a prompting by ordering them, but then decided to wait for further light and knowledge.  

What gets mentioned at the women's meeting?  Sister Neill F Marriott talked about the gift she was giving the Savior for Christmas this year - memorizing "The Living Christ."  Well, if that's not further light and knowledge, I don't know what is.  My companion got right on finding ways to help the kids memorize it by Christmas and we've got just under 12 weeks to do it (there are ideas on the web)

A week ago I picked up the October edition of the "New Era" and loved it.  We had been talking about the duties of the priesthood in class and how we all need to strengthen and watch over the members of the church.  I thought there were some good ideas in there pertaining to family history that the kids could use for those purposes.  They came in the mail Friday afternoon and I was trying to figure out how I would present them to the students.  

On Sunday we showed up for church and at the Bishop was the final speaker for sacrament meeting.  He shocked everyone when he asked all youth 12 and up to stand.  He then sustained them all as family history consultants and told them they needed to be set apart after church.  What an endeavor that was - setting apart all those youth!  They didn't do a rush job either.  I almost starting singing praises when he made the announcement (well, I actually kinda did).  Guess what I had?  Basically a training manual to hand to each of our students on Monday morning to help them to take their call seriously and magnify it.  We also got to talk about revelation.  Just because you're not sure how to fulfill a promoting you get, doesn't mean that it isn't a prompting.  It's best to follow thru and then wait for further light and knowledge.  We had a real life example of "at onement"  I had no idea that the bishop would do what he did, but I was on the same page and ready to help the kids act.  

Pretty darn amazing and cool if you ask me.  If you're not having these kind of experiences yourself, I challenge you to start working at it.  The best place to start is by writing impressions down.  You don't always get to know the why of promptings, but you surely never will if you don't write them down and acknowledge them.  I'm not special.  These privileges and blessings are available to all who want them.  You've got to want them and be looking for them and then acknowledge them and then encourage others to have them.  It's the only way to win this battle against darkness and win we will!