Show Notes for Episode 21 of the Teach Me to Walk in the Light Podcast. The Light of Christ is more than just the goodness of God, it is much more. Learn what the Light of Christ is and how it is a part of you. Plus 4 great teaching tips when it comes to studying Come Follow Me with the family along with a fun game to play on your next road trip. This episode goes along with the Come, Follow Me – for Individuals and Families for the week of September 2 – 8.
FHE Outlines are available by email.
Sign up to receive weekly FHE Outlines delivered right to your inbox! Making FHE preparation as simple as possible for you!
**This Episode goes along with the Come, Follow Me – For Individuals and Families for the week of September 2 – 8, 2019.
Don’t miss these great books available on Amazon! And for more church-related products at great prices, check out my Amazon Favorites page by clicking HERE.
PERSONAL STUDY [1:20]
1.The Light of Christ was given to you and to every person who has ever been born on this earth. “In the scriptures, the Light of Christ is sometimes called the Spirit of the Lord, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, or the Light of Life.” Others have also referred to it as your conscience. (For resource, click HERE)
2. Three-part video series of Elder Bednar talking about LIGHT:
Part 1, click HERE
Part 2, click HERE
Part 3, click HERE
3. D&C 88:13 says that the Light of Christ, “…is in all things, which giveth life to all things, which is the law by which all things are governed” (D&C 88:12–13; see also D&C 88:6–11).
4. In his book, Transformed by the Light, Dr. Melvin Morse – an American medical doctor who was voted one of “America’s Best Doctors” 3 different times and has published numerous scientific articles in medical journals over the course of his 30-year career – notes the following discovery:
He starts off by saying that the accepted view on matter has been that atoms are made up of electrons, neutrons, and protons. But then he says: “Then science discovered an even smaller world than the electron. They call this tiny world wave/particle duality. According to astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, it works like this: As physicists have split the atom into smaller and smaller particles, they have discovered to their surprise that there is no final ‘tiniest part’ of nature. Rather, there are forces best described as wavelengths of electromagnetism, or light. These pieces of light serve as the fundamental building blocks for everything. What this theory tells us is that everything we consider to be real actually breaks down into simple light, in all of its various wavelengths.” (Cited in Glimpses Beyond Death’s Door by Brent and Wendy Top, Part II, The Immortal Spirit)
5. “The Light of Christ should not be confused with the Holy Ghost. It is not a personage, as the Holy Ghost is. [The Light of Christ] leads people to find the true gospel, be baptized, and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (see John 12:46; Alma 26:14–15).” (For resource, click HERE)
6. D&C 50:24 That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light growth brighter and brighter until the perfect day.
7. Have You Received His Image in Your Countenance by Janice Kapp Perry, click HERE
8. Brigham Young once said, “Those who have got the forgiveness of their sins have countenances that look bright and they will shine with the intelligence of Heaven.” (Cited in James E. Faust, To Reach Even unto You [Deseret Book, 1980], 28.)
9. For others, Isaiah said (in Isaiah 3:9), “Their countenance doth witness against them”
10. D&C 1:33: And he that repents not, from him shall be taken even the light which he has received; for my Spirit shall not always strive with man, saith the Lord of Hosts.
11. D&C 93:32 And every man whose spirit receiveth not the light is under condemnation.
12. What do you think happens to your light after you die? Will there still be a light radiating from you and it’s brightness be determined by your righteousness? Yes, actually, there will be.
JST 1 Corinthians 15:40 we are told that we will not all have the same bodies when we die and are resurrected. It says there will be…
“…celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial, and bodies telestial; but the glory of the celestial, one; and the terrestrial, another; and the telestial, another.”
13. In the Come Follow Me manual (pg 140) it says “…resurrected bodies will shine in glory in varying degrees, just as the sun, moon, and stars differ in brightness”
14. President Joseph Fielding Smith (Doctrines Of Salvation, Vol 2, p 286) said,
“In the resurrection there will be different kinds of bodies; they will not all be alike. The body a man receives will determine his place hereafter. There will be celestial bodies, terrestrial bodies, and telestial bodies…Elder Orson Pratt many years ago in writing of the resurrection and the kind of bodies which would be raised in these kingdoms said: ‘…There will be several classes of resurrected bodies; some celestial, some terrestrial, some telestial, and some sons of perdition. Each of these classes will differ from the others by prominent and marked distinctions;’ Some will gain celestial bodies with all the powers of exaltation and eternal increase. These bodies will shine like the sun as our Savior’s does…Those who enter the terrestrial kingdom will have terrestrial bodies, and they will not shine like the sun, but they will be more glorious than the bodies of those who receive the telestial glory.” (Cited from New Testament Made Easier, Part Two, pg 190)
15. Joseph Smith – History 1:16-17
I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun…When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description.
16. This heavenly light is so much more than a source of light that allows us to see. We are taught that this light is also truth, intelligence, and love.
D&C 93:36 The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth.
D&C 93:28 He that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things.
1 JOHN it says God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. Also that God is love. He that loveth his brother abideth in the light. (see 1 John 1:5, 2:10, 4:8)
17. Elder George F. Richards who saw the Savior in vision and said, “He spoke no word to me, but my love for him was such that I have not words to explain. I know that no mortal man can love the Lord as I experienced that love for the Savior unless God reveals it to him…If only I can be with my Savior and have that same sense of love that I had in that dream, it will be my goal of my existence, the desire of my life.” (as quoted by Pres. Kimball in conference report, April 1974, pg 173-74)
18. Elder Melvin J. Ballard who also enjoyed a dream or manifestation of the Lord’s love in which he was embraced and kissed by Him. He recounted, “The feeling that came to my heart then was: Oh! If I could live worthy, though it would require four-score years, so that in the end when I have finished I could go into His presence and receive the feeling that I then had in His presence, I would give everything that I am and ever hope to be!” (Melvin J. Ballard: Crusader for Righteousness, p. 66)
FHE [21:13]
**Sign up for the Teach Me FHE Email Group to receive the weekly FHE Outlines that include all links and downloads. Making FHE preparation as simple as possible for you. Sign up at the top of the page under the podcast recording.**
TEACHING TIP [25:48]
Virginia Hinckley Pearce once said,
“Learning in groups is so important that Heavenly Father planned for us to be born into a group – the most basic, most hallowed, and most powerful group on earth: the family.”
I love that. It goes perfectly with the new Come Follow Me that is being implemented in our homes.
Here are 4 tips taken from an LDS Living article I thought that you might find helpful.
The 4 tips include:
- Give the older kids assignments.
The Come, Follow Me manual…poses questions and gives ideas, but for the most part, it encourages individuals and families to study and find meaning. If you have older children, they can do this themselves…Each week, have them read the passages and write down thoughts to share so they can help teach…when you gather as a family.
- Teach to the simplest learner.
“No person left behind” is a good motto to follow here, so it’s important to teach to the simplest learner. Show a video,…act out or draw a scene from the scriptures. Play a game. As you do, you will find that even the older children will enjoy the process.
- Make time for personal study.
…Take time to study the material so that you can better teach your children, young and old. As you do, you will also learn and draw closer to your Heavenly Father.
- Keep class open every day.
Even with those simple lessons, there will be tough questions to answer — especially as your children begin to mix what they’re learning at home/church with what they are learning elsewhere. This is why it is so important to keep the dialogue open even outside family study.
In the end, the article says, “Conversion happens when the gospel becomes a way of life.”
(For the full article, click HERE)
#taketimeforfamily [27:58]
ROAD TRIP GAME: “I Kill Your Cows!”
Basically, you are trying to become a successful farmer by collecting various forms of livestock, and the player with the most livestock wins. Here’s how it goes.
- Get Livestock
Any time you pass by an animal or a herd of animals, in order to claim them, you estimate how many there are and say for example, “I see [10] of my cows!” Then you can add 10 cows to your personal tally of animals. *You can play with any and all animals or restrict the game to only certain species.
Other players can try and steal your animals by counting the animals that you just tried to claim and reporting the actual number, for example, they’d say, “Actually, those are [12] of my cows!” If the first player estimated incorrectly, they don’t get any of those animals, they go to the second player who counted them correctly.
But what if the second player didn’t count them correctly and the first player’s estimation was actually correct? Then some people play with the rule where the second person would then lose all of that kind of species that they have tallied up so far. In this example, the second player would then lose all of his cows that he had acquired up to this point in the game.
- Double Your Livestock
If you pass a church/synagogue/municipal office or other location associated with marriage ceremonies, a player may say “I marry my [cows]” or I marry my [horses]!” You can only marry one set of species and each church may only be used once by one player. Easy way to remember is: one church, one player, one species married.
When you marry your [cows], for example, they reproduce doubling their number. For example, if Susie has 10 cows, sees a church, and marries the cows, Susie then has 20 cows.
Just so you know, if the 10 cows were married at a Catholic church – becoming 20 cows – they could get married again and become 40 cows at the Baptist church down the street.
- Killing Off Livestock
You can kill off your competitor’s livestock if you are the first one to spot a graveyard or cemetery. You do this by saying, for example, “I kill Bobbie’s [cows] and put them in the graveyard.” You can only pick one other player and one species of animal. Some people have the rule that you can say “I kill everyone’s [cows] and put them in the graveyard.” Making everyone’s supply of cows go to zero. That’s up to you. And an easy way to remember this part of the game is: one graveyard, one player, one species killed.
- Protect Your Livestock
There is a way to protect your livestock and that’s by putting your animals safely inside any barn that you pass by and say, for example, “I put my [cows] into that barn!” And same as with the others: one barn, one player, one species protected.
Once inside the barn, animals cannot be killed by graveyards, but they also cannot get married in any churches.
You can’t remove your [cows], for example, from the barn until you pass a second barn and say “I take my [cows] out of the barn!”
The game ends when you reach your destination or the players get tired of the game. When the game has been declared over, everyone figures out how many animals they have. It’s also up to you if you will give more points to cows than you do horses, and so forth. Then the one with the most points wins. Have fun with it!
Yours Truly,
Disclaimer: Melanie’s Library is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. An affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
