Let's Discuss: "Precious Gifts from God," by M. Russell Ballard

"Precious Gifts from God"

By President M. Russell Ballard, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
31 March 2018, Saturday Morning Session

Hymn Recommendations:
95  Now Thank We All Our God
146  Gently Raise the Sacred Strain
167  Come, Let Us Sing an Evening Hymn
241  Count Your Blessings

Favorite quote:

Elder George A. Smith remembered some advice the Prophet Joseph Smith gave to him: “He told me I should never get discouraged, whatever difficulties might surround me. If I was sunk in the lowest pit of Nova Scotia and all the Rocky Mountains piled on top of me, I ought not to be discouraged but hang on, exercise faith, and keep up good courage and I should come out on the top of the heap at last.”

Something to put on the board:

"The Lord Jesus Christ is our most precious of all gifts from God."  - President M. Russell Ballard

One-sentence Synopsis:
Let us have faith, appreciate, and be blessed by receiving the many precious gifts God sends to us.

Talk and Discussion Questions:

My first thought when starting to study this talk was pondering the title.  What "precious gifts" does this title refer to?  I resolved to find out!  I made a list as I went through.  In a classroom setting, I might put the list on the board as we reached the items in the talk.  I'll go ahead and put the full list here first.  They are NOT in order of importance!

     Precious Gifts from God

1. Orderly way we have begun a new chapter in church history
2. Knowledge of Philippians 4:13 (that we can do all things through Christ)
3. "Many, many more"
4. Sabbath day
5. Sacrament
6. Service to others
7. The Savior
8. Church membership

Now let's begin.  Emphasis my own except where indicated:

My brothers and sisters, we have just participated in a solemn assembly, a practice that can be traced back to the Bible when ancient Israel gathered to feel the Lord’s presence and celebrate His blessings.1 We are privileged to live in a time when this ancient practice has been restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith.2 I urge you to record in your personal journal what you felt regarding this most sacred occasion in which you have taken part.

Did you take his advice?  Did you record your feelings from the solemn assembly?  Let's share with each other!  Would anyone share their feelings?  I made a separate blogpost with my reaction to conference.  Here is a quote from my "journal:"

The solemn assembly was special.  I started crying during the opening hymn, and was sensitive throughout - it was all so SPECIAL.  I wanted to shout "Hosanna!"  I found myself drawn towards the screen, wanting to reach into it.  I remember saying, "This is what I need."  I love general conference anyway, but I was so happy to be able to participate.  The Spirit was so strong, so moving, so delicious, so wonderful and ... familiar.  I believe the Savior Himself was with us.

Share your thoughts in the comments.  Or record them in your journal if you have not.

Recently, we said goodbye to our dear friend and prophet, President Thomas S. Monson. Although we all miss him, we are deeply grateful the Lord has called a new prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, to preside over His Church. In an orderly way we have now begun a new chapter in our Church history. This is a precious gift from God.

So, since I was looking for "precious gifts," I could see that President Ballard was trying to be very clear in his talk.  (Sometimes, I think it would be nice to have the titles before they start talking, so that we have clues of what to listen for.  Although, being taught by the Spirit is something I cherish from live conference, too.)  This is the first item in the list.  I couldn't quite tell which part he was referring to, though.  Is the procedure (the way) the gift?  the new chapter?  the new prophet?  the "orderly" or priestly or organizational way?  I suppose it could be all of those...  What do you think?  Am I missing something?

As we each sustained President Nelson by our uplifted hands, we stood as witnesses before God and acknowledged that he is President Monson’s rightful successor. With our raised hands, we promised to hearken unto his voice as he receives direction from the Lord.

Did you feel the import during the solemn assembly?  This sounds serious!  Keywords such as "witnesses,"  we "acknowledged" and "promised."  How will we do this?  How will you do this?

The Lord has said:
“Thou shalt give heed unto all his [meaning the President of the Church] words and commandments which he shall give unto you as he receiveth them … ;
“For his word ye shall receive, as if from mine own mouth, in all patience and faith.”3

I have known our new prophet-president for over 60 years. I have served with him in the Quorum of the Twelve for 33 years, and I am a witness that the hand of the Lord has been preparing him to become our presiding apostle and prophet to administer all the keys of the holy priesthood on the earth. May each one of us completely sustain him and his counselors and follow their direction. We also warmly welcome Elder Gong and Elder Soares as members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

All the above almost seems introductory, although he weaves it into his talk by mentioning the precious gift.  I wonder how Presidents Nelson and Ballard have known each other since their 20s/30s or so.  Does anyone know?

After Jesus’s Resurrection, an event we celebrate this glorious Easter weekend, He appeared to His disciples and said, “Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.”4 Notice a twofold action—God sends His Son. The Son sends His servants—mortal men and women—to accomplish Their work.

I am interested in this pattern.  God sends His Son, the Son sends His servants.  Where are WE in this pattern?  Are we helping God and Jesus accomplish Their work?  Are we His servants?  Is He our Master?  Anyway, I'm not sure where I'm going with this - but my ears perked up a bit when I heard this, because we see this same pattern in the temple, and on earth, and I had been thinking about it recently.

We should not be surprised to know that those individuals called to do the Lord’s work are not humanly perfect. Stories in the scriptures detail incidents about men and women who were called of God to accomplish a great work—good sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father called to serve in their assignments in the Church, striving to do their best, but none of them yet perfect. The same is true of us today.

Who in the scriptures fits this description?  "Great work" almost feels like a codeword to me - like the "great and marvelous work."  I thought immediately of Ammon and his brethren - Ammon relates that they were "made instruments in the hands of God to bring about this great work" Alma 26:3.  Who else?  Well, Moses.  "Moses was commanded of the Lord to do that great work..." 1 Nephi 17:26.  What other scripture examples?  I searched the scriptures for "great work," and got also Nehemiah rebuilding Jerusalem (Nehemiah 6:3), Joseph Smith and his contemporaries "laying the foundation of a great work" (Doctrine & Covenants 64:33), a "great work to be done in the temples of the Lord" (Doctrine & Covenants 138:48).  Interesting!  So what are we called to do?

Given the reality of our human weaknesses and shortcomings, how do we move forward in supporting and sustaining each other? It begins with faith—real, sincere faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith in the Savior is the first principle of the doctrine and gospel of Christ.

Well, President Ballard implies at least part of our commission is to move forward in supporting and sustaining each other in our callings - just like we sustained a new prophet.  It begins with FAITH.

Several years ago I was visiting the Holy Land. As we drove by a mustard plant, the director of the BYU Jerusalem Center asked if I had ever seen a mustard seed. I hadn’t so we stopped. He showed me the seeds from the mustard plant. They were surprisingly small.

I then remembered Jesus’s teachings: “For verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.”5

If we have faith as small as a mustard seed, the Lord can help us remove the mountains of discouragement and doubt in the tasks ahead of us as we serve with God’s children, including family members, Church members, and those who are not yet members of the Church.

I really like the idea of removing mountains fo discouragement and doubt.  What obstacles are hindering us from realizing our potentials?

Brothers and sisters, life can be filled with faith, joy, happiness, hope, and love when we exercise the smallest amount of real faith in Christ—even a mustard seed of faith.

Sign me up!  I want these fruits!

Elder George A. Smith remembered some advice the Prophet Joseph Smith gave to him: “He told me I should never get discouraged, whatever difficulties might surround me. If I was sunk in the lowest pit of Nova Scotia and all the Rocky Mountains piled on top of me, I ought not to be discouraged but hang on, exercise faith, and keep up good courage and I should come out on the top of the heap at last.”6

This really moved me.  I was just reminded of an acronym for HOPE I saw recently - Hang On, Pain Ends.

We should remember Paul’s declaration: “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”7 Knowing this is another precious gift from God.

Here we have item number 2 on the list of precious gifts from God.  How is knowledge a gift from God?  Share your insights.  I would say Spirit-borne testimony is always a divine gift.  But knowing we can do all things through Christ - and knowing He can strengthen us is a special witness.

In addition to the gifts I have mentioned, there are many, many more. I speak now of just a few—the gift of the Sabbath day, the sacrament, service to others, and the matchless gift from God of our Savior.

So here we have a sort of outline of the rest of President Ballard's talk.  These are items 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7.   First, the Sabbath:

The power of the Sabbath day is to experience in church and at home the delight, the joy, and the warmth of feeling the Spirit of the Lord without any kind of distraction.

Are we taking advantage of the Sabbath day?

Too many allow themselves to almost live online with their smart devices—screens illuminating their faces day and night and earbuds in their ears blocking out the still, small voice of the Spirit. If we do not find time to unplug, we may miss opportunities to hear the voice of Him who said, “Be still, and know that I am God.”8 Now, there is nothing wrong with taking advantage of the advances in the technologies inspired by the Lord, but we must be wise in their use. Remember the gift of the Sabbath day.

Are we living too much online?  Do you unplug on the Sabbath?  Any comments on gratitude or blessings from observing the Sabbath?

Next the sacrament:

The blessing of receiving the sacrament in sacrament meeting must never become routine or just something we do. It is only 70 minutes in a whole week when we can pause and find more peace, joy, and happiness in our lives.

 Partaking of the sacrament and renewing our covenants is a sign by us to the Lord that we do always remember Him. His Atonement is a gracious gift from God.

President Ballard almost sneaks in the gift of Christ's Atonement here, but will talk more of Christ in a bit.  How is the sacrament a "sign by us to the Lord?"

Next service to others:

The privilege of service to Heavenly Father’s children is another opportunity to follow the example of His Beloved Son by serving one another.

Some service opportunities are formal—in our family, our Church callings, and our participation in community service organizations.

Church members—both men and women—should not hesitate, if they desire, to run for public office at any level of government wherever they live. Our voices are essential today and important in our schools, our cities, and our countries. Where democracy exists, it is our duty as members to vote for honorable men and women who are willing to serve.

I think this may be the first time I have ever heard encouragement to run for public office stated in conference.  How can we use our voice today in our schools, cities, countries?

Many opportunities to serve are informal—without assignment—and come as we reach out to others we meet in life’s journey. Remember Jesus taught the lawyer that we should love God and our neighbor as ourselves using the good Samaritan as an example.9

President Ballard makes a distinction between formal service and informal service.  Why do you think he does that?  How does the service you do in your life fall into these two categories?

Service opens a window by which we understand the life and ministry of Christ. He came to serve, as the scriptures teach, “even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”10

I love this paragraph!  How has service helped you better understand Christ?  I have felt the love of God for people I have served, for example, in callings.  I have also felt the love God has for me.  I feel this stronger when I am helping others on His behalf.  It's almost a feeling of divine approval.  He loves when we help each other!  Just like as a mom, I love when my children help each other.

Peter may have given the best description of the Savior’s mortal ministry in five words when he referred to Jesus, “who went about doing good.”11

How do we follow this example?  How can we go about doing good?

Next, the gift of Jesus Christ:

The Lord Jesus Christ is our most precious of all gifts from God. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”12

 How is Jesus Christ a gift?  I am reminded that to appreciate a gift, we must receive it.  Receive is a another special word.

Nephi captured the importance of our Savior when he declared, “We talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.”13 We must keep Christ as the center of our lives at all times and in all places.

We should remember that it is His name that appears on our places of worship; we are baptized in His name; and we are confirmed, ordained, endowed, and sealed in marriage in His name. We partake of the sacrament and promise to take upon ourselves His name—and become true Christians. Finally, we are asked in the sacrament prayer to “always remember him.”14

As we prepare for Easter Sunday tomorrow, let us remember that Christ is supreme. He is the righteous Judge, our faithful Advocate, our blessed Redeemer, the Good Shepherd, the promised Messiah, a true Friend, and much, much more. He is indeed a very precious gift to us from our Father.

I love this part, too.  How can we make Jesus more of the center of our lives?

In our discipleship, we have many demands, concerns, and assignments. However, some activities must always be at the heart of our Church membership. “Wherefore,” the Lord commands, “be faithful; stand in the office which I have appointed unto you; succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees.”15 (emphasis in text)

This is the Church in action! This is pure religion! This is the gospel in its true sense as we succor, lift, and strengthen those in spiritual and temporal need! Doing so requires us to visit them and to assist them,16 that their testimonies of faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and His Atonement will be anchored in their hearts.

President Ballard mentions one last gift before closing:

May the Lord help and bless us to treasure our many precious gifts from God, including our membership in His restored Church. I pray we will be filled with love for our Heavenly Father’s children and be able to see their needs and be willing to answer their questions and concerns about the gospel in clear and kind ways that will increase understanding and appreciation for one another.

Why is membership in His restored Church a gift?  How is it a gift?  Have you ever wondered why you were "lucky" enough to be born in or to find the Church?  Do you treat your membership as a prized gift?

I testify that Jesus Christ is our Savior. What we will be taught at this general conference comes to us by inspiration from apostles and prophets, from General Authorities, and sister leaders who are General Officers of the Church. May the joy and peace of the Lord abide with each one is my humble prayer in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.