My Take

It's been hard not to notice all of the media reports, not only of the status of members of The Church who are living homosexual lifestyles, but also the status of children being raised by couples living a homosexual lifestyle in the home.

I'll start by saying this:  These are just my opinions and not of anyone else, and not of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Those of you who know me know I had a very long and hard struggle with how the Church defines widows as singles.  After all, why would a religion whose basic tenants include eternal marriage suddenly ditch the recognition of a sealed marriage after one of the spouses dies?

It took a lot of years and a lot of heart to heart talks with the Lord to find out it doesn't define me, it doesn't define my eternal marriage. This change is made to protect the widowed who find someone else to marry from being considered guilty of adultery from the Church.  Sometimes the harsh rules are there to protect us.

My take is that this is the same.  For years the Church has already had rules regarding excommunication of people living alternative lifestyles.  Those who have been members of the Church for a while should know this.  The change, for me at least, was with the status of children who are being raised in a home where homosexuality is practiced.

Again, to me, these rules of making the child wait until they are 18 to determine how that child wishes to live their life is also a protection.

It's not about punishment, it's about covenants.  Not only to make them, but the ability to keep covenants that have been made.  It's about getting serious about taking the Lord's name upon us, not just in outward appearance, but in inward belief.

It was hard for me to wait three years and eight months to be baptised, as my parents were opposed to the Church.  I have some experience in knowing you are an outsider.  There are times, even though I've been baptised for over 35 years and married in the Temple, when I still feel like an outsider, mostly because my responsibilites are not the norm for most women in my faith.

The Church, the gospel in my life, the blessings, the peace, the loved ones whom I hope will be awaiting me on the other side of the veil, all of it has been worth the wait, worth the struggles, worth the tears, even worth the betrayal I have experienced from time to time in this Church.

To be able to fully live my religious beliefs without the disdain and temptations of family members who do not understand the covenants I have made with the Lord, it has been worth the wait.

Again, just my opinion.

Lesson 16

I Was Blind, Now I See

From the Manual:  https://www.lds.org/manual/new-testament-gospel-doctrine-teachers-manual/lesson-16-i-was-blind-now-i-see?lang=eng


Slideshow:





Videos used in the lesson:



Source:  https://youtu.be/fycvkAhYz1I?list=PL4E784EC0770935C0




Source:  https://youtu.be/zDEXQ-GTYTs?list=PL4E784EC0770935C0




Source:  https://youtu.be/slTa15a3mp0?list=PL4E784EC0770935C0





Source:  https://youtu.be/TEy6jgfCSgI

Lesson 14

Who Is My Neighbour?

From the Manual:  https://www.lds.org/manual/new-testament-gospel-doctrine-teachers-manual/lesson-14-who-is-my-neighbour?lang=eng


Slideshow:





The Parable of The First Responder:

http://genealotech.blogspot.com/2010/06/parable-of-first-responder.html



Videos used in the lesson:



Source:  https://youtu.be/E7zwQ_7q-fU?list=PL4E784EC0770935C0




Source:  https://youtu.be/53Pqw20xK10?list=PL4A73DDEE675FBC39



 Source:  https://youtu.be/R7ldbrua9as?list=PL4A73DDEE675FBC39

Lesson 13

I Will Give Unto Thee The Keys of The Kingdom

From the Manual:  https://www.lds.org/manual/new-testament-gospel-doctrine-teachers-manual/lesson-13-i-will-give-unto-thee-the-keys-of-the-kingdom?lang=eng





Videos used in the lesson:





Source:  http://bcove.me/xziimk1q





Source:  http://bcove.me/ge6gjgay

Lesson 11

He Spake Many Things Unto Them In Parables

From the Manual:  https://www.lds.org/manual/new-testament-gospel-doctrine-teachers-manual/lesson-11-he-spake-many-things-unto-them-in-parables?lang=eng

Slideshow:





The use of an optical illusion was to point out that while some people heard a duck story, Jesus - and those who were converted and had the Holy Ghost - heard a parable of a rabbit.

This lesson was all discussion, there were no videos used for the lesson.

Lesson 9

Seek Ye First The Kingdom of God

From the Manual:  https://www.lds.org/manual/new-testament-gospel-doctrine-teachers-manual/lesson-9-seek-ye-first-the-kingdom-of-god?lang=eng




Videos used for the lesson:





Source:  https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2012-06-1070-phylacteries?lang=eng




 Source:  https://youtu.be/-3nN9-C1yKU?list=PL4A73DDEE675FBC39



Source:  https://youtu.be/YzmbLWIqUBk?list=PL4A73DDEE675FBC39



Source:  https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1993/04/the-language-of-prayer?lang=eng#watch=video

Lesson 8

The Sermon On The Mount: A More Excellent Way

From the Manual:  https://www.lds.org/manual/new-testament-gospel-doctrine-teachers-manual/lesson-8-the-sermon-on-the-mount-a-more-excellent-way?lang=eng

Slideshow:





Videos used for the presentation:



Source: https://youtu.be/BTO7-Jarl-E?list=PL4A73DDEE675FBC39



Source:  https://youtu.be/Ik0aS368Kv0?list=PL4A73DDEE675FBC39

Lesson 6

They Straightway Left Their Nets

From the lesson manual:  https://www.lds.org/manual/new-testament-gospel-doctrine-teachers-manual/lesson-6-they-straightway-left-their-nets?lang=eng

Lesson Slides:




Videos mentioned in the lesson:



Source:  https://youtu.be/h9M2mprzCF8?list=PL4A73DDEE675FBC39




 Source:  https://youtu.be/T7xNnBHM5Wg?list=PL4A73DDEE675FBC39


Source:  https://youtu.be/e-3TEnEzXHk?list=PL4A73DDEE675FBC39

Catching Up

Yes, I'm still alive.  ;-)

These next posts are to catch up on the lessons I've been doing the last few months.

Enjoy!

Prepare Ye The Way of The Lord

Link to the Gospel Doctrine Lesson Manual:  Lesson 4


Lesson:







Videos used:






Link:  http://youtu.be/9_dr9njVzKM?list=PL4A73DDEE675FBC39


President Hinkley's talk on the Goliaths in our lives:

April 1983 General Conference:  Overcoming The Goliaths In Our Lives

Best Kept Secret: Easter Eggs In Bible Videos App

I don't know if this is strictly and iPad thing, but I have discovered Easter Eggs on the Bible Videos app for the iPad.

For those who don't know what an Easter Egg is, in motion picture DVD's, a lot of the studio techies will add a hidden surprise in different spots of a DVD.  It usually gives an extra exclusive video that can only be found on the DVD.

When the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints first came out with the Bible Videos app, it had some sort of a clickable link to tap on to access the video with the corresponding theme of the scene you are looking at while in the Explore mode.  That disappeared with the latest upgrades to the Bible Apps.

I hadn't noticed it until I was looking for the videos on it for Lesson 3 and wondered why they eliminated the links.  Then I started clicking around on the different "talking points" links and found out that if you click on a specific object pictured in the scene, it opens the video.

Source:  https://www.lds.org/search?q=christmas%20pictures&lang=eng&domains=image

For example, if you click on the scene for the shepherds learning of the birth of the Messiah, click on the blinking North Star on the top left corner and you get the video for that segment.

Happy Hunting!

Bible Videos Web Page

Lesson 3: "Unto You Is Born ... A Saviour"

This lesson covers the events leading to the birth of Jesus Christ and events immediately following after.

Lesson 3 from the Gospel Doctrine Teacher's Manual





Videos used as part of the lesson:



Source:  http://youtu.be/GLEjPrdRLuI?list=PL4A73DDEE675FBC39




Source:  http://youtu.be/e5Q5STibJUQ?list=PL4A73DDEE675FBC39




Source:  http://youtu.be/Mrhyc-Fbu_Y?list=PL4A73DDEE675FBC39



Source:  http://youtu.be/xhD8lG9VDVc?list=PL4A73DDEE675FBC39



Source:  http://youtu.be/jJJo0Fksivk?list=PL4A73DDEE675FBC39

Lesson 2: "My Soul Doth Magnify The Lord"

My companion teacher was out sick today, so I taught in her place.  Prayers for this dear sister.


The lesson from lds.org


The presented lesson:




Given the plethora of information on the story of Mary and Joseph, I felt impressed to cover more about what we can learn from Zacharias and Elisabeth.

There were also 3-4 paragraphs covering Zacharias and his experience at the Temple from Chapter 7 of Jesus The Christ by James E. Talmage.  The e-Book can be found here.

Videos played at the end of the lesson:







Additional Videos to watch:






Sources:
http://youtu.be/Qq7NFiZL6ak?list=PL4A73DDEE675FBC39

http://youtu.be/3WLF3cwXfGc?list=PL4A73DDEE675FBC39

http://youtu.be/YUVvTYLgoBM?list=PL4A73DDEE675FBC39

http://youtu.be/M_xPTZSz4sA?list=PLAYgY8SPtEWE-Onx-IHSmBf14B0HUrbIU

New Testament - New Covenant

With the new year comes a new curriculum from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  This year covers the New Testament - or more correctly translated - the New Covenant.

This first lesson is laying the groundwork for the life and ministry of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

The Lesson from LDS.org:  Lesson 1

Here is the Powerpoint for the lesson:




The video resources:













Additional videos can be found:

YouTube

Bible Videos on www.lds.org

If you have a mobile device, be sure to check out the app and explore the areas covered in the New Testament.  It is well worth the time.