Conference Talk:
For more information on this topic read “Come unto Me with Full Purpose of Heart, and I Shall Heal You,” by Patrick Kearon, Ensign, Nov 2010, 50.
Thought:
We must cease fighting against God and instead give our whole hearts to Him, holding nothing back. Then He can heal us. Then He can cleanse us from the venomous sting of sin. (Patrick Kearon, “Come unto Me with Full Purpose of Heart, and I Shall Heal You,” Ensign, Nov 2010, 50.)
Song:
“Repentance,” Children’s Songbook, p. 98.
Scripture:
Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:4-5)
Object Lesson:
Items needed: First-aid kit.
Presentation: Show the first aid kit and ask your family what it could be used for. Explain that when someone is hurt it can be an important tool for helping them get better. Ask: What would happen if a serious cut went untreated? (It might get infected, bleed too much, cause more serious problems, etc.). Tell your family that usually we can use a first-aid kit to care for our own little injuries, but when an injury is serious, we must go to someone with more authority an knowledge of first aid and medicine.
Tell your family that sin is like an injury to the spirit. If left untreated, it can also lead to more serious complications. Briefly discuss what some of those complications might be. (More serious sin, apostacy, or spiritual death.) Tell class members that we can take care of most of our spiritual injuries on our own. Discuss how this is done. Remind them that when a sin is grievous, someone with authority must help us. Ask: Who would that person be? (The bishop.)
(Beth Lefgren and Jennifer Jackson, Object Lessons Made Easy, [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2010], p.76.)
Story:
by Heber J. Grant
I shall tell you one incident in my life.
A man was cut off from the Church for adultery and asked to be restored. President John Taylor wrote a letter to the brethren that had taken action against the man, in which he said: “I want every man to vote his own convictions, and not to vote to make it unanimous unless it is unanimous.”
When the matter was presented and voted upon, the vote stood half for and half against restoration.
Later he came up again, and a majority were in favor of his being baptized.
Finally, all of the men that were at the trial, except one, voted to let him be baptized. President John Taylor sent for me and told me I was the only man that stood in the way of this man’s being baptized, and he said: “How will you feel when you meet the Lord, if this man is permitted to come up and say he repented although his sins were as scarlet, and you refused to let him be baptized?”
I said: “I will look the Lord squarely in the eye, and I will tell Him that any man that can destroy the virtue of a girl and then lie and claim that she was maligning him and blackmailing him, will never get back into this Church with my vote. You said in your letter to vote our convictions, and I will vote them and stay with them unless you want me to change.”
He said: “Stay with your convictions, my boy.”
I walked to my home, only one block away. I picked up the Doctrine and Covenants. I was reading it prayerfully and humbly, and marking passages. Instead of its opening at the bookmark, it opened at the passage:
Wherefore, I say unto you, that ye ought to forgive one another; for he that forgiveth not his brother his trespasses standeth condemned before the Lord; for there remaineth in him the greater sin.
I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men. (D&C 64:9-10.)
I shut up the book and rushed back to the President, and I said, “I give my consent.”
Brother Taylor had a habit, when something pleased him, of shaking himself and laughing, and he said: “My gracious, Heber, this is remarkable; what has happened?” And I told him. He said: “Heber, when you left here a few minutes ago did you not think: what if he had defiled my wife or daughter? And when you thought that, did you not feel as if you would like to just knock the life out of that man?”
I said, “I certainly did.”
“How do you feel now?”
“Well, really and truly Brother Taylor, I hope the poor old sinner can be forgiven.”
“You feel a whole lot better, don’t you?”
I said, “I certainly do.”
(Leon R. Hartshorn, Classic Stories from the Lives of Our Prophets, [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1971].
Activity:
Play “Circle Keep-Away.”
Arrange the players in a circle with someone in the center. When given the signal to start, the players in the circle pass a soft ball back and forth while trying to keep it away from the person in the center. The players must stay on their spots in the circle.
The person in the center attempts to catch or steal the ball. When he is successful, the person who lost the ball or threw it last trades places with the person in the center, and the game continues as before.
(George and Jeane Chipman, Games! Games! Games!, [Salt Lake City: Shadow Mountain, 1983], p. 71.)
Refreshment:
Easy Chocolate Mousse
This light and fluffy chocolate mousse is stabilized with gelatin Try it with a dollop of whipped cream and some fresh berries for an easy, yet elegant dessert.
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
1 tablespoon cold water
2 tablespoons boiling water (just heat it in a small bowl in your microwave)
1⁄2 cup sugar
1⁄4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1. In a small bowl, combine gelatin and cold water and allow to stand for about 1 minute. While gelatin is softening, bring 2 tablespoons water to a boil in the microwave (see tip at left). Whisk into the softened gelatin and allow to cool.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine sugar, cocoa powder, cream, and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer until medium-stiff peaks form. Mix in gelatin mixture until combined and refrigerate for 30 minutes. If serving in individual cups, place mousse in cups or bowls before refrigerating.
(Sara Wells and Kate Jones, Our Best Bites: Mormon Moms in the Kitchen, [Salt Lake City: Shadow Mountain, 2011], p. 234.)
*For a printable PDF, click here.