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Are we
serving priorities or gods ahead of the God we profess to worship?
This week’s lesson began with Sister Penny Fuehrer beginning with the
opening remark quoting the following by Elder Dallin H. Oaks from his October,
Sunday morning talk;
“The Ten Commandments are fundamental
to the Christian and Jewish faiths. Given by God to the children of
Israel through the prophet Moses, the first two of these commandments direct our
worship and our priorities. In the first, the Lord commanded, “Thou shalt have
no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3). Centuries later, when Jesus was asked, “Which is
the great commandment in the law?” He
answered, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all
thy soul, and with all thy mind” (Matthew 22:36–37).
The second of the Ten Commandments elaborates the
direction to have no other gods and identifies what should be the ultimate
priority in our lives as His children. “Thou shalt not make unto thee any
graven image, or any likeness of anything” in the heavens or the earth (Exodus 20:4). The commandment then adds, “Thou shalt not bow
down thyself to them, nor serve them” (Exodus 20:5). More than merely forbidding physical idols, this
states a fundamental priority for all time. Jehovah explains, “For I the Lord
thy God am a jealous God, showing mercy unto … them that love me, and keep my
commandments” (Exodus 20:5–6). The meaning of jealous is revealing. Its
Hebrew origin means “possessing sensitive and deep feelings” (Exodus 20:5, footnote b). Thus we offend God when we
“serve” other gods—when we have other first priorities.”
Sister Fuehrer then opened the discussion with how
this year’s Christmas season actually began on Thanksgiving afternoon!
Christmas season regarding “shopping” and the secular or commercialized aspects
of what has become the very distracting and often very overwhelming “thing
called Black Friday”.
Sister Fuehrer then talked about the story written by
President Thomas S. Monson entitled the “Christmas Train”. President Monson
told about how he had been coveting the Christmas gift received by a friend and
how distracting from the true meaning of Christmas it was. It was then that he
realized that “it was far better to give then to get”…
Sister Fuehrer then posed the question to the group
of sister’s; “what in our own lives causes us to be distracted or lose sight of
serving God?”
Many examples were shared by several sisters about
how things from cleaning our homes, feeling pressured to be a certain way with
respect to make-up and such things; exercise and various other daily rituals,
although very good and necessary for a healthy life can be distracting if such
emphasis is placed upon them that it takes away from our needed focus to serve
our Father in Heaven.
Sisters spoke about how the “events of the day”,
such as big news items, take our focus away from serving those that we need to.
Further discussion came from the group about how even recent events in the
area, specific to the State of Utah, has been so distracting from what is
important. Elder Oaks goes on to ask the following with respect to our focus in
being able to serve our Father in Heaven and his plan:
“What other priorities are being “served” ahead of
God by persons—even religious persons—in our day? Consider these possibilities,
all common in our world: Cultural and family traditions, Political correctness, Career
aspirations, Material possessions, Recreational pursuits, Power, prominence,
and prestige.”
Elder Oaks further states, “If none of these examples seems to apply to any one of us, we can
probably suggest others that do. The principle is more important than
individual examples. The principle is not whether we have other priorities. The question posed by the second
commandment is “What is our ultimate
priority?” Are we serving priorities or gods ahead of the God we profess
to worship? Have we forgotten to follow the Savior who taught that if we love
Him, we will keep His commandments? (see John 14:15). If so, our
priorities have been turned upside down by the spiritual apathy and
undisciplined appetites so common in our day.”
Sister Fuehrer then provided some examples that
also generated some very good group discussion about how even things of great
importance in our own personal lives; things that require us to become involved
in our children’s lives or another loved one, can cause us to lose focus and
feel helpless. When what we should be doing is getting on our knees and asking
for help…
Sister Fuehrer then read the following: “For Latter-day Saints, God’s commandments
are based on and inseparable from God’s plan for His children—the great plan of
salvation. This plan, sometimes called the “great plan of happiness” (Alma 42:8), explains our origin and destiny as children of God—where we came
from, why we are here, and where we are going. The plan of salvation explains
the purpose of creation and the conditions of mortality, including God’s
commandments, the need for a Savior, and the vital role of mortal and eternal
families. If we Latter-day Saints, who have been given this knowledge, do not
establish our priorities in accord with this plan, we are in danger of serving
other gods.
Knowledge of God’s
plan for His children gives Latter-day Saints a unique perspective on marriage
and family. We are correctly known as a family-centered church. Our theology
begins with heavenly parents, and our highest aspiration is to attain the fullness
of eternal exaltation. We know this is possible only in a family relationship.
We know that the marriage of a man and a woman is necessary for the
accomplishment of God’s plan. Only this marriage will provide the approved
setting for mortal birth and to prepare family members for eternal life. We
look on marriage and the bearing and nurturing of children as part of God’s
plan and a sacred duty of those given the opportunity to do so. We believe that
the ultimate treasures on earth and in heaven are our children and our posterity.”
The sisters were lead in discussion of how many
things in the world with respect to the family are very often distracting. Some
of the sisters read more from Elder Oaks talk on how we can easily allow
current events and popular topics of the day to cause us to be distracted and
think of other things other than serving each other:
“In many countries and cultures (1) the
traditional family of a married mother and father and children is coming to be
the exception rather than the rule, (2) the pursuit of a career instead of
marriage and the bearing of children is an increasing choice of many young
women, and (3) the role and perceived necessity of fathers is diminishing.
In the midst of
these concerning trends, we are also conscious that God’s plan is for all of
His children and that God loves all of His children, everywhere.6 The first chapter of the Book of Mormon declares that God’s “power, and goodness, and mercy are over all the
inhabitants of the earth” (1 Nephi 1:14). A later chapter declares that “he hath given [his salvation] free for
all men” and that “all men are privileged the one like unto the other, and none
are forbidden” (2 Nephi 26:27–28). Consequently, the scriptures teach that we are responsible to be
compassionate and charitable (loving) toward all men (see 1 Thessalonians 3:12; 1 John 3:17; D&C 121:45).
Sister Fuehrer then closed with the closing
statement; “that just as the laws of Heaven cannot be changed or are
unchangeable, so should our commitment to our serving our Father in Heaven be
equally as unchangeable”.
Please read Elder Dallin H. Oaks conference
address in its entirety at the following link: http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/10/no-other-gods?lang=eng
