Hic et Nunc

“Thy Faith Hath Saved Thee”

Before Elder Hugh B. Brown left on a mission, his mother told him:

“Hugh, you remember when you were a little boy and you would have a bad dream or wake up in the night frightened? You would call from your room, ‘Mother, are you there?’ and I would answer and try to comfort you and remove your fears. Now as you go on a mission and out into the world, there will be times when you will be frightened, when you feel weak, inadequate, alone, and have problems. I want you to know that you can call to your Heavenly Father as you used to call to me and say, ‘Father, are you there? I need your help.’ Do this with the knowledge that He is there and that He will be ready to help you if you will do your part and live worthy of your blessings. I want to reassure you that He is there and will answer your prayers and needs for your best good” (told by Marvin J. Ashton, “Know He Is There,” Ensign, Feb. 1994, 50).

In this lesson we will study scriptural accounts that can help us develop greater faith that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ know and love each of us.

OVERVIEW:

 Luke 18:1–8, 35–43; Luke 19:1–10; John 11

• Jesus presents the parable of the unjust judge and the widow.
• A blind man demonstrates his faith and is healed by Jesus.
• Jesus is received in Zacchaeus’s home.
• Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead.

Here is the handout for this week’s lesson: New Testament Lesson 19.

pax vobiscum

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He Was Lost, and Is Found”

Think about a time when you lost something important to you or when a family member became lost.  How did you feel when the object or person was lost? How did you feel when the object or person was found?  Jesus often taught spiritual lessons by relating them to common experiences of the people. In chapter 15 of the Gospel of Luke, the Savior uses three parables to teach the worth of a soul, showing us how to find and return that which is lost to the fold of faith and family. The Savior’s parables remind us that as His undershepherds, we have the responsibility to “reach out and rescue those who have fallen by the wayside, that not one precious soul will be lost.”

This lesson discusses some parables that teach the importance of searching for and finding those who are lost.  It can also help us understand the joy that comes when we repent and when we help others repent.

OVERVIEW:

Luke 15; Luke 17

• The Savior teaches the worth of souls.
• Jesus teaches that Heavenly Father rejoices in forgiving the repentant.
• A man who Jesus has healed of leprosy returns to thank him.

Here is the handout for this week’s lesson: New Testament Lesson 18.

pax vobiscum

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“What Shall I Do That I May Inherit Eternal Life?”

Spencer W. Kimball: In spite of our delight in defining ourselves as modern, and our tendency to think we possess a sophistication that no people in the past ever had—in spite of these things, we are, on the whole, an idolatrous people—a condition most repugnant to the Lord. 

I am reminded of an article I read some years ago about a group of men who had gone to the jungles to capture monkeys. They tried a number of different things to catch the monkeys, including nets. But finding that the nets could injure such small creatures, they finally came upon an ingenious solution. They built a large number of small boxes, and in the top of each they bored a hole just large enough for a monkey to get his hand into. They then set these boxes out under the trees and in each one they put a nut that the monkeys were particularly fond of.

When the men left, the monkeys began to come down from the trees and examine the boxes. Finding that there were nuts to be had, they reached into the boxes to get them. But when a monkey would try to withdraw his hand with the nut, he could not get his hand out of the box because his little fist, with the nut inside, was now too large.

At about this time, the men would come out of the underbrush and converge on the monkeys. And here is the curious thing: When the monkeys saw the men coming, they would shriek and scramble about with the thought of escaping; but as easy as it would have been, they would not let go of the nut so that they could withdraw their hands from the boxes and thus escape.The men captured them easily.

And so it often seems to be with people, having such a firm grasp on things of the world—that which is telestial—that no amount of urging and no degree of emergency can persuade them to let go in favor of that which is celestial.   Satan gets them in his grip easily. If we insist on spending all our time and resources building up for ourselves a worldly kingdom, that is exactly what we will inherit. (Ensign, June 1976, 5–6)

This lesson is about some things we may have to sacrifice in order to receive the greatest blessing: eternal life with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

OVERVIEW:

Mark 10:17–30; Mark 12:41–44; Luke 12:13–21; Luke 14; Luke 16

• Trusting in riches can keep a person out of the kingdom of God.
• Seek heavenly, rather than earthly, treasures.
• Followers of Christ must be willing to forsake all to be true disciples.
• Seek spiritual wealth with enthusiasm and energy.

Here is the handout for this week’s lesson: New Testament Lesson 17.

pax vobiscum

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