Service--Class #6 (Fall 2012)

C.S. Lewis…The Screw tape Letters… The “master” is the devil.  You are reading it upside down.  He writes so you have to think when you read his things.  This quote is really good.  The devil talking about mortal man….

 “Let him do anything, but act.  No amount of piety in his imagination or affections will harm us if we can keep it out of his will.  The more often he feels without acting the less he will ever be able to act and in the long run the less he will be able to feel.”

How many of us go and testify, but don’t do the “to-do”?  Our choice decrease our probability of acting.  Why does it decrease?  It decreases because we have an excuse or a reason not to act.  As our ability gets better our willingness to act become weaker. 

This “me” generation and the law of consecration (giving everything we own to the Lord) are a huge distance apart.  “Let’s see if it’s convenient, entertaining, or fun.”  We live in that generation.  How do we teach our children to go from “me” to consecrated.  You are very sensitive to the spirit. 

Are we converted?  How is your net getting full?  Walking with the Savior. 

How do you get from the testimony to doing the “do”?

There was a point in her life where she went to a BYU Education week in Provo and listened to Jim McArther.  He had been raised in an abusive home…alcoholic.  He was a stake president.  I have reached a point in my life where I could just turn my life over to the Lord. 

I want it to come with a video tape not just as an impression.  

How do you ‘turn your life over to the Lord’?  Story of the rich young ruler.  He was doing everything that a good member of the church would do.  Savior said, “Sell all you have and come unto me.”   Had desire, but didn’t do it.

Alma 22:18   "O God, Aaron hath told me that there is a God; and if there is a God, and if thou art God, wilt thou make thyself known unto me, and I will give away all my sins to know thee, and that I may be raised from the dead, and be saved at the last day. And now when the king had said these words, he was struck as if he were dead."  King Lamoni’s father is talking to Aaron and wants to know your God.  I would give up all my sins to know your God.  If you want to know a list of sins read the talk on Pride from President Benson.  He had the desire and did it.

This is what we have to help our children do.  We have already covenanted to do it.  We need to see a vision of how to do it. There is a key to knowing how to be consecrated.

Matthew 20:28.…Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.  (He came to serve not to be served.) 

Whenever you get frustrated is it because you are serving or is it because you aren’t being served?  Usually when you are unhappy with your family it’s usually because they aren’t doing what you want them to do when you want them to do it.  You are focused on you.  When you are focused out you will find joy.

Class member shared:  My job is to serve my family and once in awhile he will ask you to serve someone else, but priority is at home.

“The Lord will never give us what we can handle, but he will help you handle what he gives you.”  You will get more than you can handle, but you will never get more than “we” can handle. 

She realized that she didn’t know how to do that.  She had to “see” what the trip looked like.  She is a good person.  She has a testimony, good mother, served.  There is a lot of good, but she wasn’t consecrated.  She wants to be there.  That’s where she wants to go.  She didn’t know how to be any more good.  Do you just keep doing good?  There are no more hours of the day.  It’s not a matter of getting your children to do more good stuff.  It’s about the heart.  We don’t need to increase “things”.  It’s a thing list.  Charity is not the number of casseroles you take to the neighbors.  It’s not the number of times you sign up for cannery assignments.  It’s how you felt about it when you signed up for the assignment.  Charity is a condition of the heart.  How did my heart feel when I said I will take the missionaries in for dinner tonight?  For your children you have to give them opportunities and them talk to them about “the heart”.  You have to evaluate for yourself. 

Service Continuum…(in the syllabus...you can order one here)

 It’s not a matter of time management.  This is heart management.  Evaluate your own heart.  You are at different levels in different areas.  You may be a better wife than a mother.  Some of you are better mothers than wives.  You are working harder on one or the other.  Where are you as a friend, as a church worker.  You can be a different levels.  The hope is to create integrity and be there all the time. 

You evaluate yourself in the levels.  It may be in a trial you are experiencing right now.  Some of you are in trials right now…marriage, family, children.  At least ½ of you are probably in “stress” right now. 

Level 1:  I won’t or I can’t (it doesn’t get done)

Sometimes in big trials I say I can’t do this.  You don’t move.  Your heart is I won’t and I can’t.  In this level you can see that they feel like they should be served.  You feel hurt or offended if people don’t know their problems and nurture them and feel sorry for them.  They turn down opportunities to serve.  That person won’t obey FHE, Family scriptures, Family prayer.  “It’s my husbands fault.”  True level of apathy.

Example:  In Relief Society once, the teacher gave a great lesson on service and consecration.  There was a lady behind her that raised her hand and gave fabulous comments.  She just has it.  They had closing prayer the Relief Society president stood up and said, a non member lady has a 6 week old baby and had an aneurism and they just moved here.  She is in the hospital and her husband needs to keep working.  If anyone would be able to help.  This lady who was sitting behind me turned to the sister and said I don’t know why they are asking us to do something like that.  She’s not even in our ward.  That is the perfect “I won’t”.  It made her so angry.  I went up there and said I will take that baby.  She had it for 2 months.  Sometimes overnight, but sometimes Dad took baby up to the hospital.

Anytime you want to improve you figure out which level you are at and look at the next level up.

Level 2: “I have to”

Laman and Lemuel are great examples of this one.  They did it.  They murmured all the way.  They are focused on the personal cost.  Usually it’s the cost of “time” not money.  Usually the first thing is I don’t have time.  If you hit the “I have to” in parenting you don’t find great joy in your children.  Their disobedience is because your husband isn’t available.  You are usually blaming other people or situations.  You may go to church, but where is your heart.  You’ll do it, but it’s because you have to.  It stews inside of you.   Many of us have children who are here.  You want them to be consecrated.  If you have children there you only move them up to the next level.  If you are here you move them up to the next level.  You can change levels one degree. 

Example:  Husband comes home and says I invited people over for dinner.  You think of all the things you have to do.  You say “I have to” and gripe the whole time. 

Use the word “I will” instead of “I have to” it changes.  You can change just the words and it creates different feelings.

Elder Bednar’s talk we can bring truth “unto” their hearts, but they have to open their heart and bring it “into”.  We encourage them and express joy. 

The Celestial Kingdom is all about service.  That’s why he came here and what the Atonement is. 

Level 3:  “I will”

They serve out of duty or guilt, but not joy.  It is a commitment…you are pretty good about doing it, but your attitude stinks.  You are still in “me” mode.  Still taking inventory of the cost.  They keep score in marriage.  I will do my part.  I will do my 50%.  I will keep track to make sure you are doing your part.  Not willing to do more than your part.  These people have testimonies.

Level 4:  “I want to”

Testimony is turning into conversion.  I want to do my part.  I want to do my visiting teaching.  I want to do what’s right.  I want to keep the commandments.  They have the desire to do what’s good.  Our church is full of this kind of people.  Many of us are right here in our parenting.  That’s why we are in this class.  Most people you know are right here.  I want to be a good parent.  It’s a good place to be, but not a consecrated place to be.  Having that change of attitude in what can I do instead of what can I get. 

Level 5:  “May I or I am Thankful to”

Example:  Someone once said what is the difference between the churches humanitarian effort and the world?  The answer is…the people in the world that are doing the projects are doing them because they want to do good.  Most of that doesn’t come at a sacrifice.  It’s big organizations that give money, but it’s to “do good”.  In the church we go out to do those things because we love the Lord.  Our motivation is that we love the Lord and we serve his children. 

If you come to this last level it’s because you know the Atonement and you know the dependency on the Savior.  You know that you can’t do it alone.  After all the good we do we can’t save ourselves.  Because we know him and what he has given us that we want to serve.  We can never serve enough to repay him.  It’s a privilege and honor to go do that.  That is the condition of the heart that is consecrated.  That is the condition you feel from the 12 when they speak.  I want to do whatever he will ask.  It takes a lifetime to get to the “May I”.  There are things you can do to help get there.

Things you can to do to get there…
1.  Evaluate your prayers.
2.  Study the Atonement--look it up in the Topical Guide, Read conference talks, and pray that you an come to understand it. 
3.  Serve!  Serve!  Serve!

We need to bear testimony of the Savior.  We don’t testify and teach and express our love for our Savior enough to our children.  As they feel him and love him and know him they will serve at the “Gratitude” level. 

HOMEWORK:  This will be the hardest assignment you get.  I want you to do it at the level of “I’m grateful”.  You may need to do preparation up front to get you to it.  Post your experiences to the blog.  With your family pick a Christmas Service Project to do that you have from now until Christmas to figure out what to do.  It needs to hurt. 

Don’t just take a family and out of your money buy the gifts.  It needs to have sacrifice in it.  Maybe children need to give up one of their gifts for it.  It means that that family earns money together.  From now to Christmas you adopt someone in a nursing home.  You visit each week.  Those are examples of possibilities.  It has to be with the intent of giving this gift to the Savior.  It is giving him something that he would do if he were here and you are simply his messenger.  You can serve and fill the life of someone else because of it.

Some of you are back to the “I can’t” level.  You are at various levels even as you think about the assignment.  I don’t think you will live in consecration, but I want you to experience it.  It can be life changing.  What should I do and how can we accomplish it?  Only go into this with the “I’m grateful” attitude.  I’m trying to put your hand in the hand of the savior for his birthday.  I think this is how you do it.  If you pray about it and seek to do it, it can be a sacred consecrated experience.   The more often we touch that level the more often we will want to live there.  It’s a condition of the heart.  Service and the heart is the vehicle that takes us to consecration.  We have to do it because of our gratitude for what he gave to us.  We can’t repay him, but we can serve him.