Lesson Recap

Our lesson this past Sunday was on the conference talk: Guided Safely Home by President Thomas S. Monson.

Our lesson began with a drawing of 2 paths. Which path would you want to take?

Seventy-five years ago, on February 14, 1939, in Hamburg, Germany, a public holiday was celebrated. Amid fervent speeches, cheering throngs, and the playing of patriotic anthems, the new battleship Bismarck was put to sea via the River Elbe. This, the most powerful vessel afloat, was a breathtaking spectacle of armor and machinery. Construction required more than 57,000 blueprints for the 380-millimeter, radar-controlled, double-gun turrets. The vessel featured 28,000 miles (45,000 km) of electrical circuits. It weighed over 35,000 tons, and armor plate provided maximum safety. Majestic in appearance, gigantic in size, awesome in firepower, the mighty colossus was considered unsinkable.

 

The Bismarck’s appointment with destiny came more than two years later, when on May 24, 1941, the two most powerful warships in the British Navy, the Prince of Wales and the Hood, engaged in battle the Bismarck and the German cruiser Prinz Eugen. Within five minutes the Bismarck had sent to the depths of the Atlantic the Hood and all but three men of a crew of over 1,400. The other British battleship, the Prince of Wales, had suffered heavy damage and turned away.

Over the next three days the Bismarck was engaged again and again by British warships and aircraft. In all, the British concentrated the strength of five battleships, two aircraft carriers, 11 cruisers, and 21 destroyers in an effort to find and to sink the mighty Bismarck.

During these battles, shell after shell inflicted only superficial damage on the Bismarck. Was it unsinkable after all? Then a torpedo scored a lucky hit, which jammed the Bismarck’s rudder. Repair efforts proved fruitless. With guns primed and the crews at ready, the Bismarck could only steer a slow circle. Just beyond reach was the powerful German air force. The Bismarck could not reach the safety of home port. Neither could provide the needed haven, for the Bismarck had lost the ability to steer a charted course. No rudder, no help, no port. The end drew near. British guns blazed as the German crew scuttled and sank the once seemingly indestructible vessel. The hungry waves of the Atlantic first lapped at the sides and then swallowed the pride of the German navy. The Bismarck was no more.

 

The once great Bismarck was "dead in the water" from one little hit to the rudder. That is how Satan gets us, with the little things. Some of these little things he uses to bring us down are:

Anger

Gossip

Envy

Tatoos
Inappropriate Movies, Books, Music, T.V

 

These small things, lead to the bigger things. He doesn't get us by causing us to make huge sins at first, he starts small and then leads to the big.

 

How do ships navigate?
Compass

Stars

Winds

Tug boat

Light house

 

Just like light leads a ship safely into harbor and allows it to navigate the rocks, so will the light of Christ lead us to safety.

 

How do we navigate?
In cooking? - Recipe. Step by step

Sewing? - Pattern, instructions

Gardening? - Prepping, books.

Spiritually? - Scriptures, Holy Ghost, Patriarchal Blessing, Prophet, Prayers, attending our meetings.

 

Elder M. Russell Ballard: Stay in the Boat and Hold On!

President Brigham Young commonly employed “the Old Ship Zion” as a metaphor for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

He said on one occasion: “We are in the midst of the ocean. A storm comes on, and, as sailors say, she labors very hard. ‘I am not going to stay here,’ says one; ‘I don’t believe this is the “Ship Zion.”’ ‘But we are in the midst of the ocean.’ ‘I don’t care, I am not going to stay here.’ Off goes the coat, and he jumps overboard. Will he not be drowned? Yes. So with those who leave this Church. It is the ‘Old Ship Zion,’ let us stay in it.”





On another occasion, President Young said that he also worried about people losing their way when they were being blessed—when life was good: “It is in calm weather, when the old ship of Zion is sailing with a gentle breeze, [and] when all is quiet on deck, that some of the brethren want to go out in the whaling boats to have … a swim, and some get drowned, others drifted away, and others again get back to the ship. Let us stick to the old ship and she will carry us [safely] into the harbor; you need not be concerned.”

And finally, President Young reminded the Saints: “We are on the old ship Zion. … [God] is at the helm and will stay there. … All is right, sing Hallelujah, for the Lord is here. He dictates, guides and directs. If the people will have implicit confidence in their God, never forsake their covenants nor their God, He will guide us right.”

Be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in Faith, in purity. The Apostle Paul

 

Which path would you take? A is not the straight and narrow, it is just the shortest and quickest path. The path you choose depends on the destination. Sometimes you want to get their as quickly as possible, other times you want to take the senic route and enjoy the journey.