You Found a Lesson... Now What? April 22-28 Week 17

Cindy:  Hi, friends. Welcome back to Primarily Scripture. I'm Cindy Young, and today  Emily is here with me. How are you, Emily?  

Emily: Good. 

C: Good. Thanks for being here. This is a show dedicated to helping you learn how to study your scriptures because it's really easy, but it can feel overwhelming. And so we break it down and we do just little bits at a time, and it's so easy that even kids can do it.  So Emily, this week we are in Mosiah chapters one through three.  Worksheets are available for free on the website. Just go to PrimarilyScripture.com   We've got a column of scripture. We've got a column that puts it into everyday language to help you understand and kind of figure out what that scripture language means. And then there's a column with a couple activities and room to journal at the bottom.

Let's look at Mosiah chapter 2 verses 17, 18, and 19. And it is on the worksheet, but I'm also going to open up my scriptures. Because when I find something that I want to mark,  I want to mark it in my actual scriptures. The first activity says,     📍 "Search for Teachings."  I feel like everybody knows that you should do this. When you read the scriptures, you look for what it's teaching, right? So if you're always asking yourself, what is the teaching, then you'll be able to learn more. If you're just looking for the story, I mean, the story is important, but if that's all you care about, then you're going to miss those teachings. Let's go ahead and read verses 17, 18, and 19. Will you start?  

E:  "And  behold, I tell you these things that you may learn wisdom, that you may learn when ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God." 

C: So this is King Benjamin and he's talking to his people. He knows he's going to die soon. He's telling the people that Mosiah is going to be their new king, but he's going to talk to them one last time. And this is one of the things he wants to tell them.  What is the lesson in verse 17?  

E: When we serve our neighbors or our friends, then we're serving God. 

C: I'm going to mark that.  And instead of marking the entire verse, I'm going to pick the phrases that stand out to me the most.  

E: Okay. 

C: What phrases stand out to you?  

E: Let's see.  I'm gonna mark, like, when you're in the service of your fellow beings, you're only in the service of your God.  

C: That is the first one I am marking, too. And that actually is a really great one to memorize. On the first page of the worksheets, there are a couple of suggestions for memorizing, and that's one of the suggested verses.   I love that one.  Awesome.  I am also going to mark one other phrase here. I'm going to get a different color so that it stands out.  I'm going to do blue.  And I'm going to mark  "learn wisdom."  Do you have any thoughts on that phrase? 

E: Like wisdom is like knowledge, or like something you know, I guess, or learn. 

C: Mm-hmm.

E: Or like know how to do and so like he's wanting us to serve our fellow beings.  Right. And know that principle.

C: If we understand that we're serving Heavenly Father, then it takes our service to a whole other level. So before we move on, to what lessons we find in the other verses. Let's go back to the worksheet. the next activity says   📍  "Ponder the Application." So finding the teachings is a good start, but  application is what we do with it, right? How do we apply it? King Benjamin actually showed us how to do that in these three verses. What does he say to do in verse 18?

 E: "Behold, ye have called me your king; and if I, whom ye call your king, do labor to serve you,  then ought not ye to labour to serve one another?"  Um,  serve one another? 

C: Yeah. The principle is serving each other is actually serving God. And then he says, well, duh, shouldn't you serve each other? It seems like such a simple thing. But he's helping us see that's the next step. 

E: Mm-hmm. 

C: I love that.  I am going to highlight that as well. We found the lesson and then right here, King Benjamin gave us the to do list. So then what do we do? Finding the thing to do isn't the same as doing it.  So how do we make that connection? 

E: I don't know. 

C: It can be hard to like figure out, now what do I do?! 

E: Mm-hmm.  

C: One of my favorite things is to make a list.  Like, just stop what you're doing. Stop right in the middle of your scripture study, and write down some ways that you can serve other people.  So, if you've got the worksheets, then there's a spot right at the bottom. And if you don't, then any piece of paper is fine.  Let's brainstorm some ways we can serve others.  Any ideas? 

E: Um,  take them a plate of cookies.  

C: Absolutely. Deliver goodies. Take them something to brighten their day. That's a great idea. Okay, what else? 

E: You can make a kind note for someone.  

C: Yes. Notes. 

E: Or a thank you card.  

C: Oh, I love that idea. Thank you cards used to be common, that everybody would write thank you cards for everything. And we don't do it so much these days, and I think that that's sad.  Notes and thank you cards. 
What about just like being a good friend? Is that service? 

E: Yes. 

C: Why?  

E: Um, I guess you're just being their friend and friends make you feel included and  different things like that. 

 C: How is that serving Heavenly Father? 

E: Um, you're gathering his children 

C: Yeah, gathering Israel is important  and we can't invite people to join the church or to be comfortable in church if we're not helping people be comfortable, right? That's so good. Okay, being a friend,  
and if you're struggling to come up with ways that you can serve people, try this trick.  📍 Think of people that you could serve first and then think of ideas to go from there.  I bet the ideas you come up with to serve your friends  are going to be different from the ideas you think of to serve your parents or grandparents or siblings.  So, when you stop and think of these things, you're taking what's in the scriptures and you're putting it into your own life, right? King Benjamin can't tell us, oh, be sure you tell your teacher that they're doing a great job. Be sure you go sit next to a lonely person. Be sure you clean your room when your mom asks you to. He didn't write all that down. He wrote, serve one another. So we have to be the ones to 📍 fill in the blank and decide what that actually looks like. So if you just read over it - yay, serve each other - That's not enough to really... I mean, it could be enough, but it'll be more effective if you actually make your list and find those ways to put the scripture into your own life.  
Why does stopping and thinking about it make a difference? 

E: Maybe to take your idea further and deeper into your heart. 

C: Definitely. And what do you think the   📍 Holy Ghost does when you stop and think? 

E: Um, it's more invited into your heart. 

C: Yeah. And if you invite the Holy Ghost to help you figure out what do I do next, then you're going to know that what you're doing next is the right thing to do.   📍 That will be the most important thing that you do as you study, is invite the Holy Ghost. 

E: Mm-hmm. 

C:  Emily, this has been so wonderful. Thank you so much for studying with me today!

E: You're welcome. 

 C: All right, friends. Be sure you go to the website and get those worksheets.  Even if you don't, just open those scriptures because there are messages for you, and you can find them when you read.  Have a great day.  Bye, guys.  

E: Bye.  

  📍  Thanks for tuning in to Primarily Scripture with Cindy Young. Don't forget you can subscribe to the newsletter and download free worksheets on the website PrimarilyScripture. com. And if you like the channel, be sure to subscribe, like, share, and leave a review. See you next time!