How old are your kids right now?
Class member: 8 & 9 both girls.
You build the foundation in your family now or when they are adults it’s not there.
Class member: I want what we have now to carry over.
Are you different this week than you were last week?
Class member: Yes. I changed my percentages.
Class member: One of my questions is one that I have been thinking about for awhile, my 11 year old and I have been struggling big time. My question is….What can I do to help her feel loved? I want her to know that she is loved and wanted.
Class member: You talked about listening to our prayers and not to make a ‘to do’ list. I found that really hard. I was wording it as a to do list. This week it was more focused on ‘How can I do this or that?’ When I focused on what I was saying it made a big difference in how I pray.
When we discover this in ourselves and we are trying to change them, it’s hard. We don’t want to go back and do what we have always done.
Class member: I wanted to take more quiet time to think about praying. Finding a time where I can really focus on that. It has made a big difference in how I have handled things during the day.
I would invite you to ponder a little bit more and create a question to take to Conference.
Class member: One question you asked in the night class was to tell when the spirit leaves or be aware of that. I noticed that this week. I was very patient in my parenting when I had the spirit. I view my children differently. When the spirit isn’t there, I’m quicker to react and more harsh. I’ve been working hard to invite the spirit because I’m a better parent when I have it with me.
Class member: My husband was here last week, but then went out of town. We were talking over the phone. He said he had a note pad and a pen. He said I woke up 7 times during the night and wrote things down. He’s been really happy with the personal revelation and paying attention to his prayers. It’s been really good for us. I have been doing the scripture study part of receiving personal revelation. We’ve had some really good discussions.
Are you different today than you were a week ago?
Class member: I’m working on it.
You have been aware of and had more of the Spirit.
Class member: I didn’t work on my homework very well, but I am great at rolling out of bed and onto my knees to say my prayers, but it’s pretty repetitive. We kind of pray for the same things in family prayer too. The night we had that really big storm, I made sure that night to say we were thankful for the storm. To incorporate those daily things the Lord puts into our lives we need to be grateful for.
We talked a little bit before we prayed…if you think first about some of the things that you are grateful for and that you need help with before you actually begin your prayers you invite the Holy Ghost to teach you how to pray in that moment. The Holy Ghost will teach you what questions to ask to Heavenly Father so you can be taught. It’s ok to not know how to do something.
Class member: I made my husband lunch all week so that saved me $40 this week. He was grateful for it. I also tried to teach my kids to serve your siblings also. They only think about themselves.
Class member: We had Stake Conference last weekend. I already had my questions so I thought I would do a test run. I got some answers at Stake Conference. I thought…I could do that every week. I could go to Sacrament Meeting with questions. The first couple of days as I’m trying to make my prayers more purposeful things went great. I could feel that Satan knew I was trying hard because I was trying. Satan is working very hard on me.
Satan is as actively engaged as Heavenly Father is. As you make effort you will feel Satan working on you. I want you to say, “Hooray for Zion! Even Satan knows I’m doing it right.” Usually Satan is so subtle that we just say, “I knew I could never do it. I knew I couldn’t handle that.” We take it as a self evaluation instead of saying “Get thee hence!” and move forward.
I want you to know that when we share we get good ideas. It shows that you are trying and you are changing. I want you to see that with each other. If you even attempt or try your family will change because you change, as you change your environment changes, even catching yourself one time and keep the peaceful feeling in your home. Just attempt it for 1 week. You won’t have mastered those things. After the 10 weeks, my invitation/challenge for you is that you continue with one or two things. Keep something going. It will have made a difference.
If your car is running low on gas and I tell you that you have to do one more thing today (put gas in the car), it still requires effort, but the blessing is that you can keep going.