5th Sunday Lesson Resources

Welcome to the web page that contains resources for today's Sunday School class.  If you are able to receive a single insight that helps you gain momentum in regards to personal and family preparedness, it seems reasonable that we can deem this class to be a success!

Refer to Pres. Nelson's recent conference talk and Elder Uchdorft's recent confernce talk to reexperience excitement on the topic of momentum!

 

Main Resource Links for Today's Lesson:

1) Bishop Victor L. Brown, The Church and the Family in Welfare Services, Welfare Session, Saturday, April 3, 1976

2) Preparedness for Salt Lake Emigration Stake

3) Bishop W. Chrispopher Waddell, There Was Bread, October 3, 2020

 

Favorite quotes from Bishop Brown's Talk:

We simply must recognize that the foundation of the Welfare Services program of the Church rests on the degree of preparedness of the individual and family to take care of themselves. If our people could but understand that these teachings come because the Lord loves them and in his infinite wisdom desires that his people be blessed particularly in troublesome times.

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“That through my providence, notwithstanding the tribulation which shall descend upon you, that the church may stand independent above all other creatures beneath the celestial world.” (D&C 78:7, 13–14.)

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A year ago in this Welfare Services meeting, President Marion G. Romney made this comment: “I do not want to be a calamity howler. I don’t know in detail what’s going to happen in the future. I know what the prophets have predicted. But I tell you that the welfare program, organized to enable us to take care of our own needs, has not yet performed the function that it was set up to perform. We will see the day when we live on what we produce.” (Conference Reports, April 1975, p. 165.)

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President Spencer W. Kimball has said:
“We have had many calamities in this past period. It seems that every day or two there is an earthquake or a flood or a tornado or distress that brings trouble to many people. I am grateful to see that our people and our leaders are beginning to catch the vision of their self-help. …
“Now I think the time is coming when there will be more distresses, when there may be more tornadoes, and more floods, … more earthquakes. … I think they will be increasing probably as we come nearer to the end, and so we must be prepared for this.” (Conference Reports, April 1974, pp. 183–84.)

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When we speak of implementing family preparedness, we are referring to simple, basic things: a father exposing his son to his work so that the boy will see this important part of his father’s life; parents involving their children in planning the family budget; a mother teaching her daughter homemaking skills such as sewing and cooking; parents and children discussing together how a stable, well-balanced family behaves even in times of hardship, thus developing an understanding of healthy emotional strength.
The Savior taught us the key to the eternal law of parenthood and family living when he said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.

Favorite Quotes from the Stake Emergency Preparedness Plan:

Objective:  To increase the level of preparedness in the stake, with an emphasis on individual and family preparedness, but also including ward and stake preparedness.

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Leaders draw from the teachings of the Savior to convey to individuals and families the need to be prepared temporally as well as spiritually, according to their abilities.

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Members prayerfully seek to know what contingencies they might need to prepare for (such as employment contingencies, retirement, disaster readiness, and other forms of readiness) so they can be better prepared to provide the necessities of life for themselves and their families—they then act in faith on their promptings.

Favorite Quotes from Bishop Waddell's talk:

From the beginning of time, the Lord has provided direction to help His people prepare spiritually and temporally against the calamities and trials that He knows will come as part of this mortal experience.

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In today’s environment, with a pandemic that has devastated whole economies as well as individual lives, it would be inconsistent with a compassionate Savior to ignore the reality that many are struggling and ask them to begin building a reserve of food and money for the future. However, that does not mean that we should permanently ignore principles of preparation—only that these principles should be applied “in wisdom and order” so that in the future we might say, as did Joseph in Egypt, “There was bread.”

The Lord does not expect us to do more than we can do, but He does expect us to do what we can do, when we can do it. As President Nelson reminded us in our last general conference, “The Lord loves effort.”

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Church leaders have often encouraged Latter-day Saints “to prepare for adversity in life by having a basic supply of food and water and some money in savings.” At the same time, we are encouraged to “be wise” and “not go to extremes”.

Theme for Today's Lesson:

Approaching preparedness with the right mindset.  What things can help us have the right mindset when it comes to preparedness?

 

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