Tools Satan Uses To Discourage Women--Class #7 (Fall 2012)

Sister Tanner felt inspired to teach this class.  It is not in the syllabus.

She taught a couple of Relief Society Classes this week.  One class went really bad, she couldn’t get out of there fast enough.  There are those moments when you think you are prepared and it won’t work.  She got home and begged the Lord to forgive her.  It was the sweetest experience.  He came down and put his arms around her and told her to not live there. 

As women we carry that with us for years.  That isn’t the purpose.  We all bomb experiences...in marriage, in callings, etc.

President Spencer W. Kimball “My Beloved Sisters” SLC: Deseret Book 1979 pg 37  “In the world before we came here faithful women were given assignments while faithful men were foreordained to certain priesthood tasks.  While we do not now remember the particulars, we are accountable for those things which long ago were expected of us.”

Women were foreordained to be mothers to raise these children.  We were foreordained to some of our callings as well.  In that moment we knew that it would be hard.  We knew in our head it would be hard, but we hadn’t experienced it yet.  We were also told that we would be prepared and equipped. 

1 Nephi 3:7

“And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.”

2 things in this scripture…Go and do (willing heart) and The Lord has given you exactly what you need to prepare to go and do.

Our primary responsibility is to nurture.  Women were given that responsibility in the pre-existence.  Then the Lord sent them to earth with the gifts to be able to nurture. 

These are innate.  You already have them.  You have been given them.  These are personal.  You can put your name in front of it.  Some of the natural gifts are compassion, understanding, tenderness, sensitivity to spiritual things, a heart of being self sacrificing, the ability to know where your children are, the ability to see a big picture, faith, trusting, ability to uplift and bring happiness to other people.

“I do not believe that God’s purposes on earth will ever be achieved without the influence, strength, love, support, and special gifts of the elect women of God. They are entitled to our deepest veneration, our fullest appreciation, and our most profound respect. I believe angels attend them in their motherly ministry.”  James E Faust “The Highest Place of Honor” April 1988

You are not devoid of any of them.  You may have squelched some of them.

You have the right to expect angels to attend you as you seek to fulfill your responsibilities.  Some of you are in trial and have children that need extra help.  If you are doing it the best you can, you can expect intervention of angels.  They may come and simply nurture those you are trying to help or they may comfort you.  If you are doing all that you can you have that right.

M Russell Ballard “Women of Righteousness” April 2002  “Never doubt that your influence is absolutely vital to preserving the family and to assisting with the growth and spiritual vitality of the Church. This Church will not reach its foreordained destiny without you.”

Don’t undermine what the Lord has asked you to do.  In your corner of the world you are the only one that can do what needs to be done by the mother.  It can’t be delegated to the school, YW, or your husband.

M Russell Ballard “Women of Righteousness” April 2002 “Every sister who stands for truth and righteousness diminishes the influence of evil.”

That is in your sphere (your home) or your ward or community.  Dark and light can’t be in the same place. 

Why don’t we feel like that?  Most of you it’s like receiving praise.  You start saying “you don’t know me.  You should see what I yelled to my kids.”  Why do we hear that everyone else is important? 

How many of us looked in the mirror this morning and said, “You are one great lady.”  How many smiled in the mirror? 

Moses 4:21

“ And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, between thy seed and her seed; and he shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”

The Lord cursed Lucifer for what he had done and would place enmity between him and the woman.

(President Ezra T. Benson talk on Pride) Enmity is hate…impatience, dislike, feeling inadequate…all those things that keep us from the Lord.

Satan can have no power over you except you choose to give it to him.  There is a plan the question is “Whose side of the line are you going to be on?”  

Story of the Alamo

Satan	The Lord
Fruits of discouragement: depression (not clinical depression), hopelessness, idleness, fear, discouragement, anger, jealousy, entitlement, judgmental, pride, selfishness, self pity, easily provoked, offended, resentment	Fruits: the spirit, gratitude, joy, patience, charity, having companionship of Holy Ghost, peace, recognizing inspiration, faith, hope, empowered

The line is enmity.  Satan cannot cross the line.  The Lord will not cross the line

D&C 29:36

“And it came to pass that Adam, being tempted of the devil—for, behold, the devil was before Adam, for he rebelled against me, saying, Give me thine honor, which is my power; and also a third part of the hosts of heaven turned he away from me because of their agency;”

Give me thine honor (Satan) which is mine power also 1/3 part he turned away from me because of their agency.

Give me honor….my power…your agency.

We cross the line.  To give honor to someone is to follow them.  When we give honor to Satan it is to entertain the ideas he puts into our mind.  That is how we honor him.  As we do that we give him power over us.  It’s all predicated on our agency.  We are the ones who choose. 

Many of you feel hopeless. You are so in discouragement that you feel helpless.  When you are on the Lord’s side of the line you have hope and you feel empowered. 

As you look at this line, you are the one because of agency who crosses the line.  You choose to cross the line.  The Lord doesn’t cross the line.  He always offers you those fruits.  Satan cannot cross the line, but he is always the author of those fruits.  If you find yourself feeling one way or the other you are the one who chose it. 

“I feel this way because…” You are choosing to live on which side.  1^st Nephi, he enjoyed the journey in the wilderness.  Laman and Lemuel murmured and they were in the same experience.

D&C 6:36  “Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.” (look unto me in every thought)

D&C 88:69 “Remember the great and last promise which I have made unto you; cast away your idle thoughts and your excess of laughter far from you.” (Cast away idle thoughts)

D&C 46:7-8  “But ye are commanded in all things to ask of God, who giveth liberally; and that which the Spirit testifies unto you even so I would that ye should do in all holiness of heart, walking uprightly before me, considering the end of your salvation, doing all things with prayer and thanksgiving, that ye may not be seduced by evil spirits, or doctrines of devils, or the commandments of men; for some are of men, and others of devils.  Wherefore, beware lest ye are deceived; and that ye may not be deceived seek ye earnestly the best gifts, always remembering for what they are given;   (Do all things with prayer and thanksgiving)

Mosiah 4:30

“But this much I can tell you, that if ye do not watch yourselves, and your thoughts, and your words, and your deeds, and observe the commandments of God, and continue in the faith of what ye have heard concerning the coming of our Lord, even unto the end of your lives, ye must perish. And now, O man, remember, and perish not.”

(FORMULA) Positive Thoughts=Positive Feelings=Positive Actions=Positive Habits=Celestial Character

You sitting in your chair feeling discouraged.  We sincerely don’t want to be there.  We think to get out of it that the situation has to change.  Our husband has to change.  We have to get a raise.

In Alma…the people had been brought into bondage.  They left because they wanted to serve the Lord.  They have burdens placed on their backs.  The Lord didn’t take away the problem, but eased their burdens.  The situation did not change, but they changed.

When you want to change something (better wife, better mother), we start with actions.  “I will read my scriptures every day.  I will not yell.”  You can’t change this formula in the middle of the formula.  Long term it will not work.

Example:  I am really angry at my husband.  He never comes home on time and never helps with the kids.  I feel like I am doing it all myself.  That’s not right.  I hate it.  Go to class.  I repent. J  I need to do kind things for my husband.  Go home and make an apple pie.  I just need to be a better person.  Your house smells great.  He comes home and goes off with his friends to play video games.  I wasted all afternoon to make a pie he was so ungrateful. 

You tried to change it at the action level.  You didn’t change your thoughts.  Even though you may do an act if you don’t change your thoughts (keep replaying).  What does that do to your feelings.  It’s like adding oil to the fire.  We keep adding these negative thoughts.  If you want to change anything it starts with 2 things…on your knees seeking diving help and how you think about it. 

If your thoughts are on Satan’s side you have to change your thought to the Lord’s side.  As you pray you ask…How can I be a better wife?  It’s what can I do instead of what do I get? Then the Lord can walk beside you and help you.  The Lord isn’t willing to take it away. 

“Where art thou?”  Where are you?  Which side of the line are you on? 

Sheri Dew “Are You The Woman I Think You Are?” 1997 November Ensign “This is a day when the adversary has launched an all-out attack against womanhood, because he knows—he absolutely knows—that the influence of a righteous woman is enormous and that it spans generations. He would have us be disinterested in marriage and motherhood, confused by the world’s view of men and women, too harried by the pace of life to really live the gospel and to let it penetrate our souls.”

It doesn’t have to be a divorce.  He can keep the spirit out of your home.  Your children have to be saturated with the spirit at home so they know what it feels like and they want to come back. 

Gene R Cook “The scientists tell us that if you start thinking about something negative or wrong, it only takes about 8 seconds for that thought to be played in your entire body.”

You have 8 seconds to change that thought before it becomes a feeling.  That is where agency comes in.

“He didn’t bring the garbage cans in.”

OR

“I am so grateful that he took the garbage cans out.”

“I can’t do it alone.”

OR

“I am so grateful the Lord will help me.”

A tool that Satan uses to drag you over the line… Elder Henry B Eyring “Remember Remember”  or  Elder David A Bednar “Tender Mercies”.  In a lot of cases we notice them and we see the Lord’s hand.  We acknowledge and give thanks to the Lord and appreciate the things he does for us.  You do not notice when Satan is in your life.  When he is there tempting you and putting thought in your head.  You say instead “I am a bad person.” 

Satan is real and he is at war with you every day.  He doesn’t want you to know it’s him.  He would rather you think it’s you.  They you will give up.  I have power and can say “Get thee hence”.  You can cast him out of your life by not giving him power, by not giving him honor, by not staying there. 

Number 1 tool: To keep you self focused.  We went through list of attributes, they are all emotions.  Your job is to nurture.  That is an emotional assignment.  You are given emotional gifts.  If you use those gifts to serve out they magnify you and celestialize you.  Satan gets you to take the same gifts and turn them in to you then he can destroy you.

Being self focused means you are focused on yourself.  You are taking your own temperature.  You are only thinking about you.  “Poor me.  This is awful.” 

Neal A Maxwell “But for a Small Moment” BYU Speeches, 1975 pg 445  “We may at times, if we are not careful, try to pray away pain or what seems like an impending tragedy, but which is, in reality, an opportunity. We must do as Jesus did in that respect—also preface our prayers by saying, "If it be possible," let the trial pass from us—by saying, "Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt," and bowing in a sense of serenity to our Father in heaven's wisdom, because at times God will not be able to let us pass by a trial or a challenge. If we were allowed to bypass certain trials, everything that had gone on up to that moment in our lives would be wiped out. It is because he loves us that at times he will not intercede as we may wish him to. That, too, we learn from Gethsemane and from Calvary.”

Satan:  Why are you always so crabby?

Lord:  How can I help you be happy?

Satan: If you really loved me you would….(pick up your toys, be home for dinner)

Lord: What are your goals and how can I help?

Happiness is a choice.  Being unhappy is self focused.  Being happy means looking out and sometimes beyond.  When you make that choice tell your face.  Your face needs to smile.  Don’t be afraid to laugh and get on the floor and play with them. 

Are you living by principles or emotions?

Number 2 tool:  Busyness.  We become so busy

Richard G Scott… “There are so many exciting things to do.  It is hard to keep focused on that which is essential.  The wrong things take priority.  Satan has a powerful tool to use again good people.  It is distraction.  He would have good people fill life with good things so it isn’t filled with essential things.”

Example:  Balloons…family, church, community…keeping them all up in the air at once.

You can’t do it all. 

As we keep up with those things (none of them are bad) there are essential priorities…personal prayer, personal scriptures study, FHE, temple attendance.  Those need to be in line.  (Four legs of the table)

  

Richard G. Scott “First Things First” May 2001 Ensign “Are there so many fascinating, exciting things to do or so many challenges pressing down upon you that it is hard to keep focused on that which is essential? When things of the world crowd in, all too often the wrong things take highest priority. Then it is easy to forget the fundamental purpose of life. Satan has a powerful tool to use against good people. It is distraction. He would have good people fill life with “good things” so there is no room for the essential ones. Have you unconsciously been caught in that trap?” 

Number 3 tool: Comparison and criticism.  We feel life is a ladder.  Someone is better than…someone else.  Was your heart willing?  Did you do it with a good intent?  Satan teaches us to complain and find fault.

D&C 88:124…Cease to find fault.  (no exceptions)

This doesn’t mean you have to correct children.  We have to teach and train them.  There is a difference between teaching and criticizing and finding fault.  It is the condition of your heart.  It’s how you say something.  It’s not what you say. 

You have been given a spiritual gift. So you can serve other people.

D&C 46—Spiritual gifts.

Usually it is your gift and it doesn’t come easy.  Sister Tanner has good common sense and Brother Tanner has no common sense.  You have to be careful.  That is not his gift.  She had to help him see things in a bigger picture.  She just thought everyone could.

Spiritual gifts…There are hundreds of them.  If you have a spiritual gift and don’t acknowledge it then Satan wins.  It doesn’t matter what you gift is.  You have to acknowledge it, but then you say, “That’s prideful”.  It’s not.

If I say, “Teaching is my gift.”  With that gift it comes with a responsibility.  He didn’t give it to me to for me.  He gave it to me to share with you.  When you acknowledge the gift you acknowledge the giver.  Not to make me better, but to give me a responsibility.  You have been given more than one.

Write down on your paper something you are fabulous at. 

Some of us couldn’t do it.  You spend too much time focusing on your weaknesses and faults.

Spiritual gifts…

Listening

Teaching

Wisdom

Knowledge

Work with little children

Work with teenagers

Good wife

Faith

Faith on the words of others

Sensitive

Cry

Compassion

HOMEWORK:  Figure out your gift and what you are going to do to magnify it.  Sit down with your children help them figure out their gifts and what they will do to magnify it.

Movie…17 Miracles.

Neal A Maxwell CES Fireside June 4, 1995… “If you are faithful, the day will come when those deserving pioneers whom you rightly praise for having overcome the adversities in their wilderness trek will instead praise you for having made your way successfully through a desert of despair, for having passed through a cultural wilderness and having kept the faith. … And yes, you will rightly go on praising them for what they did in their days, but one day [they,] including some of your ancestors, will praise you for having come safely home”

Satan wants you and is fighting every day to get you.  Through you he wants to get your families.  We have the choice to stay on the Lord’s side of the line.  He will rush to your aid to succor you whenever you have a need and call on him.  He is there.  He will send angels to watch over you and your little ones.