Here is a LINK to the lesson in the manual. The lesson in the manual is actually a little different this year from the one four years ago. They take their information this year primarily from Luke 22 and John 18. So listen to mine and then read the new one from this year. Double the work this week. Can’t wait to see what you learn!
Matthew 26; Mark 14; Luke 22; John 18
“Not as I Will, but as Thou Wilt
I began by talking about the challenge from the manual from last week about asking the Holy Ghost to be more involved in our lives every day. As I tried it, I found that my days were calmer and I was filled with so much more joy. It was a beautiful challenge. Many of you did it as well and reported great things happening in your lives! Let’s keep asking for the Holy Ghost to be a more prominent part of our lives every day!
Matthew 26:17–30; Mark 14:12–26; Luke 22:7–39
The sacrament is an opportunity to remember the Savior.
I started this section with a quote from Jen Hatmaker’s book, “Interrupted.” The main point was that the sacrament wasn’t just a one time deal each week when we think about the Savior’s sacrifice for us, but that we covenant to be more like Him. It’s a great quote. I’ll put it back on here when I get home.
The manual also suggested that we write down a few reasons we are thankful for the Savior and pull it out and read it during the sacrament. I thought that was a great idea.
I mentioned that a visitor in our ward said something in a comment during Relief Society that I really enjoyed. She said that she felt when we are told to remember the Savior it can also be taken as, “Remember when you were with Him before you came to earth? Remember that relationship?” That thought was so sweet to me. He’s not someone I’m just anxious to meet someday, but someone I am excited to reunite with! Love it!
I talked more about how important it is to remember Him every day.
President Nelson said, “There is nothing easy or automatic about becoming such powerful disciples. Our focus must be riveted on the Savior and His gospel. It is mentally rigorous to strive to look unto Him in every thought. But when we do, our doubts and fears flee.“
(“Drawing the Power of Jesus Christ into Our Lives,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2017, 40).
Matthew 26:36–46; Mark 14:32–42; Luke 22:40–46
The Savior suffered for me in Gethsemane.
President Russell M. Nelson invited us to “invest time in learning about the Savior and His atoning sacrifice” (“Drawing the Power of Jesus Christ into Our Lives,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2017, 40).
I started this section by saying that it has always bothered me a little when people said that they were thankful for the “Atonement of Jesus Christ” instead of saying that they were thankful for Jesus Christ. We aren’t thankful for one event but for the person Himself. Then I found this amazing quote in the lesson from President Nelson that reflected that same exact thought! Wow!
“It is doctrinally incomplete to speak of the Lord’s atoning sacrifice by shortcut phrases, such as “the Atonement” or “the enabling power of the Atonement” or “applying the Atonement” or “being strengthened by the Atonement.” These expressions present a real risk of misdirecting faith by treating the event as if it had living existence and capabilities independent of our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.
Under the Father’s great eternal plan, it is the Savior who suffered. It is the Savior who broke the bands of death. It is the Savior who paid the price for our sins and transgressions and blots them out on condition of our repentance. It is the Savior who delivers us from physical and spiritual death.
There is no amorphous entity called “the Atonement” upon which we may call for succor, healing, forgiveness, or power. Jesus Christ is the source. Sacred terms such as Atonement and Resurrection describe what the Savior did, according to the Father’s plan, so that we may live with hope in this life and gain eternal life in the world to come. The Savior’s atoning sacrifice—the central act of all human history—is best understood and appreciated when we expressly and clearly connect it to Him.”
I think it is very important to always tell our children and ourselves how much we love and value the Savior Jesus Christ. He is the one that we need to always look to. He atoned for our sins in Gethsemane! He loved us so much that He died for us. He is the best person in the whole town. We love Him.
I talked some more about Jesus Christ in the garden and the disciples falling asleep.
Then I shared all of these quotes from the same talk I’m going to link at the bottom from President Nelson.
“True disciples of Jesus Christ are willing to stand out, speak up, and be different from the people of the world. They are undaunted, devoted, and courageous.”
“Faith in Jesus Christ propels us to do things we otherwise would not do. Faith that motivates us to action gives us more access to His power.”
“We also increase the Savior’s power in our lives when we make sacred covenants and keep those covenants with precision. Our covenants bind us to Him and give us godly power.”
“When you reach up for the Lord’s power in your life with the same intensity that a drowning person has when grasping and gasping for air, power from Jesus Christ will be yours. When the Savior knows you truly want to reach up to Him—when He can feel that the greatest desire of your heart is to draw His power into your life—you will be led by the Holy Ghost to know exactly what you should do.”