Pouring Blessings of the Spirit.

Today we were all awakened by an overnight storm. Arriving to church in the middle of the last of the many drenching downpours, I felt blessed, and I continued to pray for the safe arrival of each students. I gave each student a high five for their spiritual strength making it out to seminary in the midst of such horrible weather. Nathan volunteered to do the devotional, and shared with us a great comparison of traveling to church this morning.  He described how his mom and him used the white middle line to get safely here. He compared the white line to our Savior and how he will direct us safely, even when we face storms in life. I felt like we had all been taught well.  Thanks Nathan.

 We then simulated “companionship study” by creating companionships. Each companionship was assigned to study a specific chapter from 2 Nephi 13-20. The mission of each companionship was to read and understand the chapter–I provided help where needed–and to liken the teachings of Isaiah to us. In other words to take the “there and then” and decide the “here and now.” We then made a summary of the principles on the board. They did a great job despite some challenging language and imagery. We then went to the 30,000 foot level and looked at patterns that flow through all of the chapters studied. We also worked on a great scripture mastery scripture 5 student were able to have it memorized by the end of class. Way to go! I was not able to attend seminary on Friday due to a prior obligation. I look forward to Monday where we will summarize 2 Nephi 21-24, then go into chapter 25.

Make-up work

Students are encouraged to complete make-up work when they miss class due to illness, school activities, or for other reasons. This allows students to fulfill the attendance requirement of of 80% for the school-year. If a student misses class when 1 Nephi 5 was addressed, then they need to (1) read the chapter in the scriptures, (2) read the corresponding chapter in the student manual and go to the link to the left (3) complete ONE of the learning activities (usually labelled as A, B, or C). Please contact me with any other questions. at mombergie@aol.com

High on Mountain Top

Our lesson today was on 2 Nephi 12:2-3. We watched the video the church has produced call High on a Mountain top, it was wonderul to hear the promised blessing given by the prophet Brigham Young as he said that the temple would become a haven for the members of the church. I told the kids today that I can remember my first experience of visiting the temple and how awesome and magnificent the temple was to me I still feel this same feeling every time I drive up to a temple it is always an awwwww moment for me.

I LOVE THE TEMPLE!!!!

Elder Bruce R. McConkie said: "We expect to see the day when temples will dot the earth, each one a house of the Lord; each one a sacred sanctuary to which Israel and the Gentiles shall gather to receive the blessings of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Perhaps they will number in the hundreds, or even in the thousands, before the Lord returns."

President Brigham Young said, "To accomplish this work there will have to be not only one temple but thousands of them..."

Now some temple trivia for you...

*83% of all members of the church live within 200 miles of a temple

*130 temples in operation

*21 announced and in some stage of development or construction

*For 101 years there were only 17 operating temples ~ (from the dedication of the St. George temple in 1877 until I graduated from high school in 1978)

*There were 26 temples dedicated in the 80's
*25 in the 90's
*62 in the past 9 years ~ from 2000 to present

Now some questions to see if you know the answer to:

1. In what year was the greatest number of temples dedicated?
2. How many?
3. Which temple is the 100th and when was it dedicated?
4. Which number was the Nauvoo temple? (on it's second dedication)
5. When was it dedicated?
6. The very first temple was?
7. Which was the 1st temple dedicated? (not counting Kirtland and Nauvoo)
8. Which one was the Salt Lake Temple?
9. Which is the 130th?
10. Which is the first one dedicated by President Monson?

Do you want the answers? Okay, guess I'll give them to you!

1. 2000
2. 34
3. Boston Massachusetts ~ October 1, 2000
4. 113
5. June 27, 2002 (April 30, 1846 the first time)
6. Kirtland
7. St. George ~ April 6, 1977
8. 4th ~ dedicated May 21, 1888
9. Oquirrh Mountain Utah ~ August 21, 2009
10. Rexburg Idaho ~ February 10, 2008 ~ which was the 125th temple. Therefore he has dedicated 5 in the 18 months he has been the prophet!

Then my challenge to my kids ~ if you don't have a recommend (limited use for baptisms) ~ get worthy ~ see your bishop ~ get one ~ carry it with you ~ and use it whenever you visit a temple!!!!

Spiritual Insurance=Obedience

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could buy a spiritual insurance policy, well as I ponder the words found in Second Nephi Chapter 5 it struck me he has given us the insurance plan it's found in this chapter.

The Lord warns Nephi to take all those that would follow him and flee into the wilderness. They were to flee from the wickedness and evil of his brothers Laman and Lemuel.

There are times when it is necessary to physically flee from evil. Then there are times when we are not physically able to flee from wickedness. Here is a quote from Elder Richard G. Scott on how to protect ourselves:

"God has provided a way to live in this world and not be contaminated by the degrading pressures evil agents spread throughout it. You can live a virtuous, productive, righteous life by following the plan of protection created by your Father in Heaven: His plan of happiness. It is contained in the scriptures and in the inspired declarations of His prophets…

"Avoid worldly wickedness. Know that God is in control. In time, Satan will completely fail and be punished for his perverse evil. God has a specific plan for your life. He will reveal parts of that plan to you as you look for it with faith and consistent obedience. His Son has made you free – not from the consequences of your acts, but free to make choices. God's eternal purpose is for you to be successful in this mortal life. No matter how wicked the world becomes, you can earn that blessing. Seek and be attentive to the personal guidance given to you through the Holy Spirit. Continue to be worthy to receive it. Reach out to others who stumble and are perplexed, not certain of what path to follow" (Ensign, May, 2004, 100, 102).

I love how he says that the Lord created a plan of protection for us! Might I suggest that it could be summed up into one word: OBEDIENCE.
Over and over again in the scriptures we learn that those who are obedient are blessed and prospered, those who are disobedient are cut off from the Lord – they cut themselves off through their disobedience.

That is the lesson I'm striving to teach my students this year – Obedience brings freedom and blessings – Disobedience brings captivity and heartache. I pray the Lord will bless me and strengthen me as I strive to be obedient!

Come listen to a prophet voice

On Friday we learned a little bit about our Prophet and living apostles. It was great to learn about these great servants of the Lord, it made me get excited to look forward to the weekend ahead when we can come and gather together as families and listen to their voices during conference and hear the messages that they have been inspired to share with us. We also spent time learning a new scripture mastery scripture. We continue to learn from Jacob as he spoke concerning his calling as a missionary, he shared his love and desire to serve the Lord and his concern he had for those had been called to minister and it made me think about the love I feel for each of my seminary students I can totally relate to Jacob and his heart, in verse 3 he said, "for i am desirous for the welfare of your souls, Yea, mine anxiety is great for you, and ye yourselves know that it ever has been." I hope you each know that I am concerned about each one of your welfare and your spiritual well-being, Jacob was such a tender and loving leader and had such a great love for his brothers and sister. What a wonderful example he set for us.