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Act. Index 2024
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Act. Index 2024
2 Nephi 21–22 - I Can Find Peace in Jesus Christ
From Come, Follow Me :
Lehi’s children had a problem with contention. The problem got worse in future generations, leading to division, captivity, sorrow, and destruction. And contention continues to be a problem today…Ponder what you can do to be a peacemaker.
Elder Renlund: "Family relationships can be some of the most rewarding yet challenging experiences we encounter. Many of us have faced a fracture of some sort within our families. Such a fracture developed between two heroes of the Restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ in these latter days. Parley and Orson Pratt were brothers, early converts, and ordained Apostles...During the Nauvoo era, their relationship became strained, culminating in a heated, public confrontation in 1846. A deep and prolonged rift developed. Parley initially wrote to Orson to resolve the rift, but Orson did not reply. Parley gave up, feeling that correspondence was over forever, unless initiated by Orson. Several years later, in March 1853, Orson learned about a project to publish a book on the descendants of William Pratt, the brothers' earliest American ancestor. Orson began to weep "like a little child" as he glimpsed this treasure trove of family history. His heart melted, and he determined to repair the breach with his brother.
Orson wrote to Parley, 'Now my dear brother, there are none among all the descendants of our Ancestor, Lieut[enant] William Pratt, who have so deep an interest in searching out his descendants as ourselves.' Orson was one of the first to understand that Latter-day Saints have an obligation to research and compile family histories so that we can perform vicarious ordinances for our ancestors. His letter continued: 'We know that the God of our fathers has had a hand in all this. ... I will beg pardon for having been so backward in writing to you. ... I hope you will forgive me.' Despite their unshakable testimonies, their love for their ancestors was the catalyst to heal a rift, mend a hurt, and seek and extend forgiveness.”
"... as we participate in family history and temple work today, we also lay claim to 'healing' blessings promised by prophets and apostles. These blessings are also breathtakingly amazing because of their scope, specificity, and consequence in mortality. This long list includes these blessings:
If you have prayed for any of these blessings, participate in family history and temple work. As you do so, your prayers will be answered. When ordinances are performed on behalf of the deceased, God's children on earth are healed. No wonder President Russell M. Nelson, in his first message as President of the Church, declared, 'Your worship in the temple and your service there for your ancestors will bless you with increased personal revelation and peace and will fortify your commitment to stay on the covenant path.' “ Dale G. Renlund, Family History and Temple Work: Sealing and Healing
Read stories about your ancestors and research ideas for compiling and sharing histories, stories collections, and memories. Sharing family history stories, events, photos and memories on social media could help unite your family and open the door to receive promised blessings. See Hashtags, Tweets, and Blogs: the New Language of Family History.
See also the family activity in Week 26 2022
Perhaps simply making a family history connection with living family members will be the beginning to healing troubled relationships.Rely on the Promises Elder Renlund lists in the above talk. See also:
Watch the following video to see how one family found forgiveness (time stamp 8:44).
Read about another example of forgiveness extended to a family member on the other side of the veil in this address by Kristin Yee: Beauty for Ashes: The Healing Path of Forgiveness.
The Lord is gathering His people
From Come, Follow Me :
What do you feel inspired to do to help gather God’s people?
As members of the Church, we are all responsible to help God gather His children. Here are some of President Nelson’s invitations:
To brethren:
After some 4,000 years of anticipation and preparation, this is the appointed day when the gospel is to be taken to the kindreds of the earth.This is the time of the promised gathering of Israel. And we get to participate! Isn’t that exciting?
To sisters:
My dear sisters, we need you! We “need your strength, your conversion, your conviction, your ability to lead, your wisdom, and your voices.” We simply cannot gather Israel without you.
To Millennials:
"Spend more time on your knees in prayer, more time in the scriptures, more time in family history work, more time in the temple. I promise you that as you consistently give the Lord a generous portion of your time, He will multiply the remainder."
To youth:
"You—my dear, extraordinary youth—were sent to earth at this precise time, this most crucial time in the history of the earth, to help gather Israel ... There is nothing happening on this earth right now that is more important than that. There is nothing of greater consequence. Absolutely nothing. This gathering should mean everything to you. This is the mission for which you were sent to earth."
“When we speak of gathering Israel on both sides of the veil, we are referring, of course, to missionary, temple, and family history work. We are also referring to building faith and testimony in the hearts of those with whom we live, work, and serve. Anytime we do anything that helps anyone—on either side of the veil—to make and keep their covenants with God, we are helping to gather Israel.” President Russell M. Nelson, Let God Prevail
See also:
Decide how you can accept our prophet’s invitation to gather Israel on both sides of the veil. Check out 5-Minute Ideas for Latter-day Saints. See also Family Activities: Anytime Activities and Games which includes “Quick and Easy Family History Activity Time Fillers.” Family history activities often are the catalyst to help family members have a desire to do proxy temple work for ancestors. The “no prep” activities are marked with an asterisk. Make good use of the Activities Index.
Each week in Weekly Family History Activities - A Come, Follow Me Companion, you will find temple and family history activities correlated to each Come, Follow Me lesson. Have fun using the “add-on method” to simultaneously receive the blessings of studying Come, Follow Me and doing temple and family history work.
This activity is at timestamp 4:14 in the above video. See also Activity #4 in the Youth Activities: Making Family History section and Kids Corner: About Family History.
Have a scavenger hunt in your house (or a relative's home) to see how many things you can find that are about your family history. You can look for birth certificates, a family bible, old pictures and scrapbooks, or anything that reminds you of the past. If the items are moveable you can make a display, and if not, you can take pictures to share. Create a name for your "family history museum," and have a family member tell you stories about the items. Remember to have someone record the stories as they are told to create a Digital Museum to view often.
Write (or audio-record) one story about your life as you study each Come, Follow Me lesson to have 52 by the end of the year. Save as a story and add it to your FamilySearch memories to preserve it. Use your own questions, those from (or inspired by) Come, Follow Me, or the #52 Stories Project.