President Spencer W.
Kimball taught that the fight against Satan and his forces “is not a little
skirmish with a half-willed antagonist, but a battle royal with an enemy so
powerful, entrenched, and organized that we are likely to be vanquished if we
are not strong, well-trained, and watchful.”
[Lucifer]
will use his logic to confuse and his rationalizations to destroy. He will
shade meanings, open doors an inch at a time, and lead from purest white
through all the shades of gray to the darkest black.
The arch deceiver has studied every
way possible to achieve his ends, using every tool, every device possible. He
takes over, distorts, and changes and camouflages everything created for the
good of man, … so he may take over their minds and pervert their bodies and
claim them his.
Today my topic is how we can fortify
ourselves against the adversary. I have
studied several general conference talks and the scriptures and I found out
that what our greatest defense is against the adversary is continuing to strengthen
our faith in Jesus Christ.
I want to read for Alma Chapter 48:
7-9 In this chapter Amalickiah is going from one Lamanite city to another to
gather an army, and Moroni is preparing the Nephites for battle.
Read verse 7 and change the name of
Amalickiah to Satan and Moroni to President Nelson.
Elder Eyering in this last conference said “You will best lead by example. Family members and others
must see you growing in your own faith in Jesus Christ and in His gospel. You
have recently been provided great help. Parents in the Church have been blessed
with an inspired curriculum for families and individuals. As you use it, you
will build your faith and the faith of your children in the Lord Jesus Christ.”
End quote
Our greatest defense against Satan is the Come
Follow me Curriculum. The purpose of this curriculum is to teach us and our
children how to have one on one experience with Savior that will increase our
faith in Him.
The lessons in this manual are fabulous but it’s
the underlying principles taught in this manual that is the key to gaining a
greater faith in Jesus Christ.
Each lesson in the Come Follow Me invites each
individual and family to pray, study, ponder, record and act. Why these 5
principles are important and what do they look like?
1-Prayer-Prayer opens the line of communication
to Heavenly Father, It opens our minds to the will of God
2-Study-Doctrine and Covenants 88:118 And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach
one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of
wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith.
Help your children learn how to study the
gospel, you can ask them simple questions like can they think of a primary song
or a youth song that teaches them about what they are studying, can they recall
a scripture story that teaches them the same principle they are learning about,
show them how to use the gospel library app. I recently taught a lesson to the
beehives and many of them did not how to use this App. This is a great resource for study and
learning.
3-Ponder- Ponder is the key to learning. In the
guide to the scriptures, it teaches “when combined with prayer, pondering the
things of God may bring revelation and understanding. I recently heard a different perspective of
revelation that I really liked. Revelation is a one on one interaction with God-(
David Beutler)
We need to create quiet moments in our homes when our kids can
take opportunities to ponder and think without the noise of the outside world
so they can have one on one interactions with God.
4-Record-In this week’s Come Follow Me, the
improving personal study tip was record impressions. It reads “when
impressions or insights come, record them.
For example, you could record your thoughts in the margin of your
scriptures, in the gospel library app, or in a study journal. “When you record spiritual impressions, you
show the Lord that you value His direction, and He will bless you with more
frequent revelation” (teaching in the saviors way 12)
We should encourage ourselves and our children
to record spiritual prompting, spiritual experiences, things they learned from
pondering so that you and they have your own record that God loves you and them.
5-Act- The Savior taught in order to change
lives. He wanted His disciples to do more than just hear His words, so He
invited them to act on His teachings with faith. He knew that as His followers lived
the doctrine He taught, they would come to know that it came from God. His
teachings would be a protection to them in times of turmoil, confusion, and
adversity. Remember that building faith and becoming more Christlike does not
happen in one brief moment. As we act on true doctrine, we extend the learning
experience into their homes and daily lives and we become more Christlike (teaching in the Saviors way)
I want to testify that these principals will
help you and your children's faith increase in Jesus Christ so that you and your
family can fortify yourselves against Satan.
I have been practicing these 5 principles for
several years. My family has been through some really hard things over the last
four years. Each of my kids has walked
their roads of Gethsemane and some are still there waiting upon the Lord to
hear their prayers.
Because I had been practicing these 5 principles
when my children came to me for help with their hard things I was spiritually
prepared to first all not to judge them, second I was ready to love them with
Christ-like love and third was prepared to help them.
And as my children have tried to act upon these
5 principles they have come to know the Savior for themselves and have become
resilient against the adversary.
Moms and dads as you pray, study, ponder, act
and record you will be prepared to help your children through their hard
things, and as they will be resilient against whatever the adversary throws at
them.
I found this quote in the back of one of my
journals as I was preparing this talk
“You could have given me diamonds and rubies,
but nothing is more to me than my knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ”
Let us be like the Nephites at the time of
Moroni and prepare our hearts and minds that we might fortify ourselves against
satan.
Name of Jesus Christ Amen.
Have a delightful day
Charissa
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