I'm a little bit of a procrastinator. This is not news to some of you. In an effort to correct this little flaw, I am going to try posting something relating to the upcoming lesson ahead of time. Crazy, I know. Especially considering I haven't really done much with this page over the past year.
This year (2010), we are studying the Old Testament in Gospel Doctrine class. Lesson 1 deals with the first chapter in the Book of Moses where the Lord speaks with Moses on "an exceedingly high mountain". We're not really sure when this vision took place, but it was sometime between the burning bush (Moses 1:17) and the Exodus (vs. 25-26).
What transformed Moses from someone who was so reluctant to accept the call to someone who could walk into Pharoah's court and confidently demand that he release the Israelites?
I believe the answer is in this experience with the Lord. God appears to Moses and speaks with him face to face, introduces Himself as "the Lord God Almighty" (vs. 3), then says "behold, thou art my son" (vs. 4) and twice more refers to him as "Moses, my son" (vs. 6-7).
From this introduction, Moses quickly learns that God lives and has a body, not just a voice speaking from a burning bush. He also has a powerful confirmation that he is a son of God.
President Thomas S. Monson taught:
"...we need to reflect on the counsel of Maxwell Maltz, who declared:
'The most realistic self-image of all is to conceive of yourself as made in the image of God.' You cannot sincerely hold this conviction without experiencing a profound new sense of strength and power." (Thomas S. Monson, Go For It!, Apr 89 General Conference).
It is one thing to know that God lives, it is quite another thing to learn that we are His spirit children. What does it really mean to know that we are literally a child of God? Elder Dallin H. Oaks taught:
"Consider the power of the idea taught in our beloved song 'I Am a Child of God.' ...Here is the answer to one of life’s great questions, 'Who am I?' I am a child of God with a spirit lineage to heavenly parents. That parentage defines our eternal potential. That powerful idea is a potent antidepressant. It can strengthen each of us to make righteous choices and to seek the best that is within us. Establish in the mind of a ... person the powerful idea that he or she is a child of God, and you have given self-respect and motivation to move against the problems of life" (in Conference Report, Oct. 1995, 31; or Ensign, Nov. 1995, 25).
How would it affect our own lives if we really knew and felt that we too were children of God? I suspect it would bring more focus and direction to most of us. I think many of us know or believe that we are children of God, but how many of us really feel it? What can we do to strengthen that feeling? I can only speak for myself, but I know if I "called home" more often on my knees, that would help. The times when I have really opened my heart in prayer, whether to seek for guidance or just to express thanks, are when I have felt this parent-child bond the strongest.
"Never forget, my dear ... friends, that you really are a child of God who has inherited something of His divine nature, one whom He loves and desires to help and bless." (Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley, "You Are a Child of God," Ensign, May 2003, 117
This year (2010), we are studying the Old Testament in Gospel Doctrine class. Lesson 1 deals with the first chapter in the Book of Moses where the Lord speaks with Moses on "an exceedingly high mountain". We're not really sure when this vision took place, but it was sometime between the burning bush (Moses 1:17) and the Exodus (vs. 25-26).
What transformed Moses from someone who was so reluctant to accept the call to someone who could walk into Pharoah's court and confidently demand that he release the Israelites?
I believe the answer is in this experience with the Lord. God appears to Moses and speaks with him face to face, introduces Himself as "the Lord God Almighty" (vs. 3), then says "behold, thou art my son" (vs. 4) and twice more refers to him as "Moses, my son" (vs. 6-7).
From this introduction, Moses quickly learns that God lives and has a body, not just a voice speaking from a burning bush. He also has a powerful confirmation that he is a son of God.
President Thomas S. Monson taught:
"...we need to reflect on the counsel of Maxwell Maltz, who declared:
'The most realistic self-image of all is to conceive of yourself as made in the image of God.' You cannot sincerely hold this conviction without experiencing a profound new sense of strength and power." (Thomas S. Monson, Go For It!, Apr 89 General Conference).
It is one thing to know that God lives, it is quite another thing to learn that we are His spirit children. What does it really mean to know that we are literally a child of God? Elder Dallin H. Oaks taught:
"Consider the power of the idea taught in our beloved song 'I Am a Child of God.' ...Here is the answer to one of life’s great questions, 'Who am I?' I am a child of God with a spirit lineage to heavenly parents. That parentage defines our eternal potential. That powerful idea is a potent antidepressant. It can strengthen each of us to make righteous choices and to seek the best that is within us. Establish in the mind of a ... person the powerful idea that he or she is a child of God, and you have given self-respect and motivation to move against the problems of life" (in Conference Report, Oct. 1995, 31; or Ensign, Nov. 1995, 25).
How would it affect our own lives if we really knew and felt that we too were children of God? I suspect it would bring more focus and direction to most of us. I think many of us know or believe that we are children of God, but how many of us really feel it? What can we do to strengthen that feeling? I can only speak for myself, but I know if I "called home" more often on my knees, that would help. The times when I have really opened my heart in prayer, whether to seek for guidance or just to express thanks, are when I have felt this parent-child bond the strongest.
"Never forget, my dear ... friends, that you really are a child of God who has inherited something of His divine nature, one whom He loves and desires to help and bless." (Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley, "You Are a Child of God," Ensign, May 2003, 117
