Conference Lesson

This week's lesson is taken from 2 different conference talks. The first talk is by Quentin L. Cook talk given in the Priesthood session: Choose Wisely.

From Choose Wisely we are admonished to:

During the ministry of President Thomas S. Monson, he has often taught that decisions determine destiny.³ In that spirit my counsel tonight is to rise above any rationalizations that prevent us from making righteous decisions, especially with respect to serving Jesus Christ. In Isaiah we are taught we must “refuse the evil, and choose the good.”⁴

I believe it is of particular importance in our day, when Satan is raging in the hearts of men in so many new and subtle ways, that our choices and decisions be made carefully, consistent with the goals and objectives by which we profess to live. We need unequivocal commitment to the commandments and strict adherence to sacred covenants. When we allow rationalizations to prevent us from temple endowments, worthy missions, and temple marriage, they are particularly harmful. It is heartbreaking when we profess belief in these goals yet neglect the everyday conduct required to achieve them.⁵

 

^{Goals are not enough,  you need to adequately prepare for the future and the achievement of these goals.}

 

Both talks were so awesome it was hard to figure out how to fit everything in and so this talk was just touched upon with the bulk of our lesson being on the talk given by Thomas S. Monson, Ponder the Path of Thy Feet.

 

As always President Monson gave a fabulous talk and it is filled with wisdom that we need to study and apply to our lives.

When we came to the earth, we brought with us that great gift from God—even our agency.

 

We came to earth to gain a body and to prove ourselves. We have the great gift AGENCY. We have to take responsibility for our choices.

 

I am certain we left our Father with an overwhelming desire to return to Him, that we might gain the exaltation He planned for us and which we ourselves so much wanted. Although we are left to find and follow that path which will lead us back to our Father in Heaven, He did not send us here without direction and guidance. Rather, He has given us the tools we need, and He will assist us as we seek His help and strive to do all in our power to endure to the end and gain eternal life.

 

"Sister Nielson gave us an example of enduring to the end. Her mother in law was dying of cancer. She was in the hospital and had lost the ability to talk, so had to write down whatever it was she wanted to communicate. She had a nurse or orderly that she wrote a message to telling him that he would make a good bishop. The man asked her what a bishop was and she told him that a bishop was part of her church's leadership, that she was Mormon. She then went on to write and tell him about the gospel. What a wonderful example of Enduring to the end and in her final days sharing the gospel. "

 

To help guide us we have the words of God and of His Son found in our holy scriptures. We have the counsel and teachings of God’s prophets. Of paramount importance, we have been provided with a perfect example to follow—even the example of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ—and we have been instructed to follow that example. Said the Savior Himself: “Come, follow me.”² “The works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do.”³

 

One woman, each time she related experiences she had during a visit to the Holy Land, would exclaim, “I walked where Jesus walked!”

She had been in the vicinity where Jesus lived and taught. Perhaps she stood on a rock on which He had once stood or looked at a mountain range He had once gazed upon. The experiences, in and of themselves, were thrilling to her; but physically walking where Jesus walked is less important than walking as He walked. Emulating His actions and following His example are far more important than trying to retrace the remnants of the trails He traversed in mortality.

When Jesus extended to a certain rich man the invitation, “Come, follow me,”⁷ He did not intend merely that the rich man follow Him up and down the hills and valleys of the countryside.

We need not walk by the shores of Galilee or among the Judean hills to walk where Jesus walked. All of us can walk the path He walked when, with His words ringing in our ears, His Spirit filling our hearts, and His teachings guiding our lives, we choose to follow Him as we journey through mortality. His example lights the way. Said He, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”⁸

 

Jesus walked the path of disappointment.

Jesus walked the path of temptation.

Jesus walked the path of pain.

 

Haven't we all walked these paths? Can't we all say that we have walked the path of disappointment, temptation and pain?

 

We, with Jesus, can walk the path of obedience.

We, like Jesus, can walk the path of service.

Jesus walked the path of prayer.

 

As I think of those who have truly tried to follow the example of the Savior and who have walked in His path, there comes readily to my mind the names of Gustav and Margarete Wacker—two of the most Christlike individuals I have ever known. They were native Germans who had immigrated to eastern Canada, and I met them when I served as a mission president there. Brother Wacker earned his living as a barber. Though their means were limited, they shared all they had. They were not blessed with children, but they nurtured all who entered their home. Men and women of learning and sophistication sought out these humble, unlettered servants of God and counted themselves fortunate if they could spend an hour in their presence.

Their appearance was ordinary, their English halting and somewhat difficult to understand, their home unpretentious. They didn’t own a car or a television, nor did they do any of the things to which the world usually pays attention. Yet the faithful beat a path to their door in order to partake of the spirit that was there. Their home was a heaven on earth, and the spirit they radiated was of pure peace and goodness.

We too can have that spirit and can share it with the world as we walk the path of our Savior and follow His perfect example.

We read in Proverbs the admonition, “Ponder the path of thy feet.”¹⁹ As we do, we will have the faith, even the desire, to walk the path which Jesus walked. We will have no doubt that we are on a path which our Father would have us follow. The Savior’s example provides a framework for everything that we do, and His words provide an unfailing guide. His path will take us safely home.