Week of December 7 2015: Helaman 8 -through 3 Nephi 6

Dear Sisters,

We hope that you have had a wonderful week and are feeling some of the warmth and joy of the upcoming Christmas season.  This week we had a chance to read into the book of Helaman, where we see an up close view of a people anticipating the arrival of Jesus Christ.  I have often felt that this book most closely matches the times that we live in.  There is a collapsing of eras:  the Nephites and the Lamanites are both reminded to look back on the miracles of generations past, recalling the promises and prophesies made to Lehi and Nephi, the prophesies of the Savior, while simultaneously preparing themselves for the Savior who is shortly to come.  

We also have a rich legacy of history and faith to draw from as women of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and, as the sacred name of our church states, we live in the dispensation of the fullness of times, the latter days, preparing for the second coming and working out our salvation with fear and trembling.  As we prepare ourselves, our families, and our communities for the Savior, we can learn from the powerful missionaries, Lehi and Nephi, named for their ancestors, who preach with such strength and clarity they are surrounded by fire.  As they prepare for their missionary work, they remember the words of their father Helaman (again, the past and the future coming together):

And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless woe, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall. (Helaman 5:12)

I pray that each of you can know and feel the strength of the rock of our Redeemer.  We each experience mighty winds, hail, and shafts in the whirlwind, and there is no other foundation we can rely on but our Savior.  He is our mighty rock, and as we take His name upon us, we covenant to provide that sure foundation for one another.  Thank you for providing a foundation for your sisters, friends, and families.

With love,

Marni Campbell

Stake Relief Society President

This week's readings:

Day 71 – Catch Up or Extra Study (12.5.15)

Use your reading chart to find the chapters you still need to read to be caught up through: Helaman 7

or

If you’re up to date with your reading, take time to study: Helaman 5

What did Helaman name his sons? Why? Whose name have you taken upon yourself? How were the Lamanites converted through their ministry?

Day 72 (12.6.15)

Read: Helaman 8-10

Mark: Helaman 8:4, 7-9

“How we respond to the words of a living prophet when he tells us what we need to know, but would rather not hear, is a test of our faithfulness.” ~ President Ezra Taft Benson

Even though wicked men were arguing against Nephi, some righteous people knew he was a prophet and supported him. How can you sustain our living prophet?

Day 73 (12.7.15)

Read: Helaman 11-12

Mark: Helaman 12:2-3

“Afflictions can soften us and sweeten us, and can be a chastening influence. We often think of chastening as something being done to punish us… Divine chastening, however, is a form of learning as it is administered at the hands of a loving Father.” ~ Elder Neal A. Maxwell

Why do you think it is so much easier to remember the Lord when we suffer, than when everything is going well? What can you do to remember the Lord even when times are good?

Day 74 (12.8.15)

Read: Helaman 13-15

Mark: Helaman 14:30-31

“Spiritual maturity is understanding that we cannot blame anybody else for our actions. Some factors may make it harder for us to perform according to God’s plan for us, but being accountable for how we use our agency means being answerable for our own behavior.” ~ Sister Elaine Cannon

In what ways do you use your agency to help you to grow?

Day 75 (12.9.15)

Read: Helaman 16 – 3 Nephi 2

Mark: 3 Nephi 1:12-13

“Gifts of the Spirit which the Lord bestows upon those who believe and obey the gospel of Christ are called signs. That is, their receipt stands as an evidence or sign of the presence of that faith which results from believing the truth. Signs are wonders and miracles; they always and invariably are manifest to and among the faithful saints.” ~ Elder Bruce R. McConkie

Why didn’t Satan want the faithful Nephites to believe in the signs? What lies does he send today to try to keep you from believing the witness you’ve received as a result of your faith?

Day 76 (12.10.15)

Read: 3 Nephi 3-5

Mark: 3 Nephi 3:12-14; 4:10

“In providing out-of-home activities for the family, we must use care; otherwise, we could be like a father determined to provide everything for his family. He devotes every energy to that end and succeeds; only then does he discover that what they needed most, to be together as a family, has been neglected.” ~ President Boyd K. Packer

How can you help your family receive the strength that comes from being “gathered together”?

Day 77 (12.11.15)

Read: 3 Nephi 6-8

Mark: 3 Nephi 6:12-14

“I testify that no one of us is less treasured or cherished of God than another. I testify that He loves each of us—insecurities, anxieties, self- image, and all. He doesn’t measure our talents or our looks; He doesn’t measure our professions or our possessions. He cheers on every runner, calling out that the race is against sin, not against each other.” ~ Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

Why is pride “the great stumbling block of Zion”? What can help you be more humble?

Day 78 – Catch Up or Extra Study (12.12.15)

Use your reading chart to find the chapters you still need to read to be caught up through: Nephi 8

or

If you’re up to date with your reading, take time to study: Helaman 13

What did Samuel the Lamanite preach to the wicked Nephites before the Savior came? What are modern prophets teaching us as we prepare for Christ’s second coming?