PROPHETS
(Amos 3:7) We were encouraged to review, contemplate and meditate upon the most recent General Conference talks. We were reminded to search out the words of the prophets through past General Conferences talks and other addresses as well as the scriptures.
FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT
(Galatians 5:22-23) The fruits of the spirit are love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. We can use these attributes to help us to judge and discern righteously. We can also look at the opposite of these specific attributes to know when things are from the adversary or we have drifted from the influence of the Holy Ghost.
YOUTH
The youth in our ward are strong, righteous choice spirits and the greatest asset for the future. They need more models and less critics. They want and need our time; they want to be where we are. Are we home? Are we mentally engaged when we are home? Frequently tell your children that you love them, put your arms around them and hug them. There are temptations and experiences that parents are strong enough to resist but not our children, be careful what you expose your children to including movies. Our youth are thinking deeply, pondering deeply and contemplating whether the Church is true. Three areas of common questions from youth to the Bishop are
1) pornography
2) love
3) sexuality
MARRIAGE
Bishop Hutchison stressed the importance of making our marriages whole by
1) personal prayers
2) personal scripture reading
3) time together
4) communication
5) growing spiritually stronger together.
The Marriage manual put out by the Church has 12 great lessons as a resource for us.
AREAS OF CAUTION
1) Facebook, it is good to reconnect with our acquaintances BUT caution needs to be exercised in how much time we expend, the appropriateness of relationships fostered, awareness of the addictive nature of this application, and not replacing face-to-face interaction
2) Time away from family and spouse (e.g. girls/guys nights out, the gym, etc.)
TIME WITH THE LORD
Our time is overtaxed and we are overwhelmed. It is crucial that we allow ourselves more time to be with the Lord. We should not be comfortable with our spirituality but rather have the lofty goal of striving to talk to our Heavenly Father all day long. To help us evaluate how we use our time Bishop Hutchison referenced some criteria from President Gordon B. Hinckley
1) Does it enrich the mind?
2) Does it discipline and strengthen the body?
3) Does it nourish the spirit?
At the end of the lesson, Bishop Hutchison distributed a handout and encouraged us to read the following talks. The talks can be found on http://speeches.byu.edu or click on the links below.
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