Tuesday, July 15, 2008

obedience

sunday, our lesson in relief society was on obedience. this is one of my favorite topics of all time - i've really gained a testimony of the power of obedience - it brings me all kinds of joy and freedom. sadly, i fell asleep during the lesson. i totally missed any great new insights. i wonder if i was a bit judgmental of the teacher and thought i knew more than her. what a way to ruin a good sunday - letting pride get in the way of learning new things. that IS the challenge of loving a topic - you tend to think you know everything about it. well i have to say i also know a lot about pride - it totally keeps you from learning new things and appreciating some really great stuff. what about any of you guys? any favorite topics that have changed your life? my other favorites of late are agency and trust.

4 comments:

Marie said...

My topic of interest for the last couple years: the ways in which others *have* to act in our lives (and we have to act in theirs) in order for us to fill the measure of our creation. And I'm not talking about visiting teaching, though I love visiting teaching. Not just marriage, either, though that's a big one. I'm thinking priesthood, proxy ordinances, and especially prayer. I'm fascinated by the concept that someone else praying for you should/can alter the course of your life, even if you are not praying yourself. That your unselfish prayer on behalf of someone else is allowed to give them an advantage (of sorts) over someone else in the same predicament who doesn't have someone praying for them. I think it's just another way that God encourages us to take on the attributes of a Savior on Mt Zion (that is, it's meant to bless the asker more than the person for whom the blessing is asked). But I don't know. I'm still trying to unravel it in my mind.

Pride's a huge one for me and I"m usually pretty opinionated, but I was speechless in our RS obedience lesson. Emily Moss is an incredible teacher and she managed to articulate a whole heap of things I've stubbornly been doing for years, but in a way that didn't make me defensive. Pride begone!

plainoldsarah said...

oh marie - thank you thank you! i remember a time a roommate said a prayer for me - i didn't know it at the time but i felt the effects. she later mentioned it and i can say i felt her prayer answered. that's a good one to think about!
and i am SOOO jealous you have/had emily as your teacher. she really is awesome.

triciab said...

Ok, I TOTALLY saw you sleeping in RS on Sunday... I put it down to pain medication but now I know you were just BORED! Ha ha ha!

I caught Geoff S sleeping in Gospel Doctrine one time and he told me he was praying! I still don't believe him...his head was nodding way too much. Next time, use that one as an excuse :-)

plainoldsarah said...

oh dear - I hate getting caught. buck poked me awake in sacrament at one point. i've heard good things about emily's lesson from more than just marie - I hate having 3 rs's because i'm sure i'm missing out on something. sleep is my curse, though. I can't begin to count the classes that I've been caught sleeping in - college was a real challenge.