RS Message 1-18-2009

Dear Sisters:

Our lesson today was lesson 25 from the Joseph Smith manual, Truths from the Savior's Parables in Matthew 13. If you don't have a manual at home, here is a link.

http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=da135f74db46c010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=cff720596a845110VgnVCM100000176f620a____&hideNav=1&contentLocale=0

(This link wouldn't work in my last blog post, so if it doesn't work, just cut and paste it into your browser window.)

Sister Diane Smith was our teacher. Diane always keeps us interested. Today she broke us up into groups and had each group discuss one of the parables in Matthew 13 and then read the Prophet Joseph Smith's commentary on the parable.

One of the things that stood out to me as I read this lesson was this description of J0seph Smith,

"The Prophet's writings and sermons are filled with scriptural quotations and interpretations, for he had studied the scriptures so extensively that they became an integral part of his thinking. In his teachings, he quoted scriptures directly, he alluded to them, he paraphrased them, and he used them as the foundation for his sermons."

Sister Smith mentioned that when she read that paragraph, it made her think about Bruce R. McConkie and Neal A. Maxwell. They were apostles who loved the scriptures so much and spent so much time in them, that their regular everyday conversation was peppered with scriptural phrases and word combinations. Many times, their conference talks were almost like listening to someone read the scriptures.

In the lesson, there was also a quote from Wandle Mace, "I have listened to the Prophet Joseph Smith in public and in private, in sunshine and in shower, as many others have done as he taught them from the stand. And in my own, and in his house, I have been familiar with him...and do know that no man could explain the scriptures, throw them wide open to view so plainly that none could misunderstand their meaning, except he had been taught of God."

"I have sometimes felt ashamed of myself because, having studied the scriptures so much, even from a child, I had not seen that which was so plain when he touched them."

Sisters, let's work to become so familiar with the scriptures that they become a part of us; That their language slips, almost unknowingly, into our own; That when we have "free" time, we are drawn to the scriptures because they have become such an essential piece of our lives.

A great place to start would be to spend this week studying and pondering the parables in Matthew 13. As part of your study, read this lesson and learn from the Prophet's words about Matthew 13.

Sisters, there is great power to change in the scriptures. Most of us have things in our lives that we would like to change. We want to stop doing something we should not do. We want to start doing something we know we should do. We want to be better mothers and wives. We want to be better teachers and friends. We want to be more effective in our callings. We want to be more like Jesus Christ. The scriptures are one of the tools the Lord has given us to help us make those changes in our lives.

Here is a link to a wonderful BYU Fireside talk that was given by Elder Neal A. Maxwell in 1994. Although it has been a few years, it is a wonderful talk, filled with ideas of how we can make those changes in our lives and become better disciples of Christ.

http://speeches.byu.edu/reader/reader.php?id=7716&x=42&y=3

We love you sisters. Continue forward with all the good things that you do.

Your Relief Society Presidency