Don't Be a Church Spectator!

So much I could write on this speaker! Once again my notes don't do a very good job.

Douglas Willden spoke on living on the Lords side of the line. In this day an age keeping the Commandments is considered weird and strange.

He brought up an interesting point most of us know WHAT God wants us to do (ie the 10 Commandments/Beatitudes) but do not really understand the WHY (in our heart) we should.

It is important to put faith in God.

Work to having a deeper understanding WHY we should follow the Lord.

Often times we go to church and become a spectator. Some are not actively involved in the service (yup that's probably me!). Or we are not applying what we learned to our daily lives. Come to church prepared not only worship but to be educated.

The last One For Tonight

I can't seem to figure out how to make paragraphs on the other posts oh well :-) Stan Cripper (A high school teaching and family and marriage therapist) gave an excellent workshop on improving relationships. Again these are notes and do not do justice for the entire discussion.

*Happiness is the objective and design of our existence.

*"Pride is when we choose our will over God's will" Pres. Benson- Beware of Pride. Lay aside pride. 

Turn life over to God Matt 10:39  "He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it".


*Where there is no communication there is no growth. This applies to relationships of boyfriend/girlfriend and God.

*You can't have a good relationship with someone else until you have a good relationship with yourself. 




***The Tongue Can Be a Sharp Sword. By Marvin J. Ashton-- You should go read the whole thing. Very good. "Perhaps the greatest charity comes when we are kind to each other, when we don’t judge or categorize someone else, when we simply give each other the benefit of the doubt or remain quiet. Charity is accepting someone’s differences, weaknesses, and shortcomings; having patience with someone who has let us down; or resisting the impulse to become offended when someone doesn’t handle something the way we might have hoped. Charity is refusing to take advantage of another’s weakness and being willing to forgive someone who has hurt us. Charity is expecting the best of each other.

None of us need one more person bashing or pointing out where we have failed or fallen short. Most of us are already well aware of the areas in which we are weak. What each of us does need is family, friends, employers, and brothers and sisters who support us, who have the patience to teach us, who believe in us, and who believe we’re trying to do the best we can, in spite of our weaknesses. What ever happened to giving each other the benefit of the doubt? What ever happened to hoping that another person would succeed or achieve? What ever happened to rooting for each other?

It should come as no surprise that one of the adversary’s tactics in the latter days is stirring up hatred among the children of men. He loves to see us criticize each other, make fun or take advantage of our neighbor’s known flaws, and generally pick on each other". 

*Communication Traps to Avoid:
*Not being honest.
*Relying too much on technology (spending too much time online playing games).
*Not making eye contact.
*Limited self-confidence.

**Tips to help**
Show interest and willingness to learn. Ask Questions that invite. Identify and name others feelings (example "I can see you disappointed"). Listen actively. Respond non-defensively when upset. Using I feel____ Because _____ helps bring understanding. 

YSA Conference Notes (The panel discussion)

The panel was kinda question and answer. People from the audience could send a text to a number and moderators asked a the panel of several people to answer/give their thoughts on.

One person was a YSA (who was pretty funny), the mayor of Adelanto, and a blogger from Rancho (I think).

Some of my notes

*Live by example

*Don't try to argue your point

*Show love

*Can't have aggression and a good conversation

*Live close to the Lord.

Use social media to share the gospel.

AND

Social Media is a gift from God and is to be used to share the gospel. I had not given it much thought but in this technological age more people are able to learn about about the gospel of Jesus Christ through the internet. Write on forums. Stand up for your beliefs. Everything about the conference touch a part of my heart and made me want to live a little better.

YSA Conference Notes

This weekend I went to a Young Single Adult (YSA) Conference which my church puts on. It was a wonderful experience. Set me on fire! Here are a few of my notes from some of the classes.

***Saturday morning 1st Speaker: Spencer Holloway. This gentleman was around 23 and I could tell he was pretty nervous. He did a good job. My notes were horrible for this one.He discussed the importance of service. And how often we feel poorly equipped for the job of helping others. He quoted Winston Churchill "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat". Likely the most important "service" will be taking care of are family.

***Saturday morning 2nd Speaker: Sheri Dew. Very neat discussion. Left me with much to think about. A few points she brought up were -Thank Heavenly Father for requiring so much-God has high expectations for us.-Realized that the hereafter will be more important/the goal not the present. And live your life accordingly.Other points:1. Find out who I am. Abraham 3:22-232. Find the Savior. Luke 4:18 Study Jesus and really get to know him on a deeper level. 3. Ask Heavenly Father to help you learn the language of the spirit.