Do I deserve it when people do bad things to me?

If you are or have been a teacher in the LDS Church, you can relate to the saying that the teacher learns the most from any lesson. A few weeks back I taught my 11-12 year-olds a Primary lesson about some of the persecution the early Saints endured. A scripture referenced in the lesson caught me off guard.

Here is the scripture reference: Doctrine and Covenants 98:23-24 (italics are mine):

23 Now, I speak unto you concerning your families—if men will smite you, or your families, once, and ye bear it patiently and revile not against them, neither seek revenge, ye shall be rewarded;

24 But if ye bear it not patiently, it shall be accounted unto you as being meted out as a just measure unto you.

So, at first I read this to say that if I have a hard time enduring any badness heaped on me or my family, that meant that I deserved it. "Ha! Serves you right!" I remember actually reading this to my wife during my preparation. That's hard! I wasn't sure how I could teach the kids something good from that. However, while I was actually teaching the kids during class, I had another thought come to me. Hooray for on-the-spot inspiration!

Why are we on this earth? Is it not to learn and to progress along our eternal journey? At what times do we make the most progress? Why, when things are tough of course! So if I can't bear some persecution patiently without retaliating, then I actually needed it in order to help me further my learning. I needed the experience in some way, at least to help me along my path. In that respect, it is a just measure. Not because I'm a bad person and I deserved the punishment, but because I am a work-in-progress and have not yet mastered the required patience.

Some experiences this weekend show me that this is also true inside the family. And I have a long way to go.

Children of God

We had an enjoyable Primary Program in church today. The theme of the program was "I am a Child of God".

I was walking around with Lily in the back most of the time, but what I did hear was really good. A large portion of the program was children saying why they know that God loves them.

The principle that we are children of a loving God is very simple, and yet implies so much that it can also be called complex. Today I add my witness to all of the Primary children of my ward. I know that God lives, that He loves me, and that I am His son. He is a real, caring, interested Father. He teaches me what will bring me the most joy. He sorrows when I choose not to obey. He allows me to struggle, not because He is a mean bully, but because it is only through struggling that I can progress.

He has provided a way that I may overcome my natural tendencies, escape the consequences of sin, and become more like Him. I know that Jesus the Christ lived, that He died to save us from sin, and that He lives today as a resurrected Being. He is my Savior. I worship Him. I pray to my Father in His name, for He is the only way that I can return to my heavenly home.

We live in a world where decency and goodness are belittled and even called evil. My voice stands with the children. God is good. We are His children. Let's be good.

Stake Presidency reorganized

Today I was able to be part of an infrequent event--the reorganizing of our Stake Presidency.

The ministry of our church is a lay ministry. There are no professional preachers or administrators. Each member provides service in positions that we refer to as "callings". A member is "called" to a certain position, and will be "released" from that calling some time in the future (excepting those called to the Quorum of the Twelve). Not all positions are equal, of course. The calling of Stake President is a great responsibility, for he has stewardship over a large geographic area (in this case, a large portion of the Austin area) and over all the people living within that area (whether members of the church or not).

My stake president had been serving in this position for over nine years--almost a decade. And yet, today his time was up. He was released with a vote of thanks and that was that. He will be called to another position, whether "higher" or "lower" in the leadership hierarchy it matters not, for what matters is not where one serves, but how. He could be called to teach the 4-year old children of his ward, and that would be just fine.

When a Stake Presidency is reorganized, at least one General Authority of the church comes to direct the matter. In this case, we had two--an Elder Lees and an Elder Packer (son of President Boyd K. Packer I believe). It was noted, as a stark contrast to political activity, that there is no lobbying or campaigning. There isn't even any voting (in the common sense). The General Authorities interview many brethren and the will of the Lord regarding who He wants to lead the stake is made known to them through the power of the Holy Ghost. The names are later presented to the body of the stake for "sustaining". We may either sustain the action or oppose it.

I am grateful for the revealed organization of the church. I know that our leaders serve to serve. They are not seeking power. They do not seek their positions, but are willing to do the will of Him who gives us everything. Through their service they gain a love for their people that can't be obtained any other way. I experienced that phenomenon as a missionary in Argentina. If you want to love, serve. This Church seeks to bring us to Christ, to have us become like Christ. The only way to become as Christ is to have a pure love for everyone. The only way to gain that love is to serve.

Reverence

Today we had all 10 little Sunbeams show up. I don't think it has ever happened this whole year and I was very grateful to have an assistant teacher with me. He is a great help as we try and teach these young 4-year-old's.

Our lesson was "We can be Reverent". How do you teach a 4-year-old to be reverent? We focused on how we act in church and why. The church building is the Lord's house, and while not as sacred as the temple, it is still sacred and special because we gather there to learn more about the gospel, to share our testimonies and fellowship with our brethren and sisters. No individual owns the church, we all pay tithes so that we can have a church building where we can meet.

Reverence is something that the children seem to know by this age. The children all know that being reverent can consist of folding their arms, bowing the head, speaking softly, and raising their hand when they have something to say in class. Putting our lesson into practice, we walked around the halls of the church in a reverent manner. They all did very well and we even helped some adults be more reverent as we walked past.

I hope they remember something of what we taught today, because as we headed back to primary for closing exercises, they ran down the hallway and seemed to quickly forget what we had just taught.

God bless the little children.