Church Notes

Agency
-We have choices with eternal consequences but we are not alone.

Atonement
-By the shedding of His blood, His and our bodies become perfect.
-Salvation was never easy. How could it be easy for us if it was not easy for Him.
-The atonement is half the battle, now we must repent of our sins.
-Jesus was chosen in the pre-earthly life to atone and we sustained Him there.
-The atonement is central to our existence.
-How to apply the atonement in our lives: 1) Meaningful repentance. 2) Pray when you feel burdened. 3) Do all that we can to resolve.
-Through it, we have the freedom to continue to try.

Baptism
-When we are baptized, it is like we are embarking on a journey and we need to put our complete trust in the Lord that He will guide us to the promised land.

Book of Mormon
2 Nephi 33:10 These are the words of Christ and He teaches us to do good.
2 Nephi 9:40 So as people apply the gospel in their lives they will love the truth.
-A child was asked how he knew the Book of Mormon was true, and the child said, "Cause Jesus told Joseph Smith to write it down."
-Blessings for reading the Book of Mormon: Testimony is increased. Families are strengthened. Bring spirituality, stand against the wiles of devil, allow to perform miracles as servants of the Lord.
-The Book of Mormon is the keystone of a strong testimony. If you know the Book of Mormon is true, then Joseph Smith who translated it is a prophet of God, then the Church was restored and we have modern day prophets.

Chastity
-The blessings of living the law of chastity are:
1. Strenght from self control. 2. Confidence and trust in family relationships. 3. More fully enjoy the influence of the Holy Ghost.

Choice
I will remain free by choosing good over evil and will accept responsibility for my choices.

Church
How to get the most out of the best 3 hours of the week. From John Bytheway's talk. Take the word CHURCH and you have the perfect formula. C is for choose. We can choose to make every Sunday great. Give yourself a talk on the subject that is talked about. H is for Holy Sabbath. When you make Sunday special, it will make you special. What you think about during Sacrament shows how you treat the Sabbath. U is for Unity. It sounds to me like we're supposed to be friends. We can never be injured by anyone but ourselves. Satan is trying to get us from the inside out to tear us down. We need to tackle people with affection. R is for Respect or reverance. We sustained people in their calling so we should help them make their classes better. Reverence invites revelation. Cis for covenants. The sacrament bread is torn where everyone can see so that we can see that Jesus was bruised, broken, torn for us. We need Him every hour, He is the bread of life. Where he was born, Bethlehem, means bread. If Heavenly Father had a favorite scripture it would be read every Sunday, that would be the sacrament prayer. We always pray for our food that it will nourish and strengthen our bodies. Well the sacrament nourishes our souls. The true measure of a person is to treat kindly someone that won't do us any good." We should always remember Him as it says in the Sacrament prayer. The most important word in the dictionary is remember. A man that had his life saved during rock climbing was asked how he repays someone that has saved his life. His response was, "Just never forget him, just always remember him."  A boy who shook a famous person's hand was so happy that he never wanted to wash his hands again. Then when he had to wash his hands, he saved the water. Then when he had to throw the water away, He drank it. This is an analogy to how we should internalize the atonement. H is for the Holy Ghost. Go to church to serve the Lord. If I get nothing out of church then I fail. The goal is to get more church into me. Always learn 10 things I didn't know before. Be the little stream so wherever I go, the grass grows greener still.

Conversion
-As we give our whole hearts to the master, we will come to know Him and in time He will change our hearts.
-Saying 'thy will be done' is a window to revelation.
-When we repent, we experience the fruits of repentance, and we become converted as we are healed. 3 Nephi 9:13
-2 Ne. 4:16-36. When you are converted, you feel like you want to continue to keep progressing. You don't want to let any sin keep you from rejoicing. You know to trust in the Lord in not in the flesh.
-Mosiah 18:7-14 Converts should feel a desire to be more Christ-like. They should be firm in doing what's right.

Covenants
-When I seek His kingdom and His will I am honoring my covenants that I made to be willing to take upon me the name of Christ.
-A covenant family are united in purpose.
-Remember covenant to serve my Savior Jesus Christ and build others in unity.

Dating
-When the time for decision comes, the time for preparation is finished.
-Right then it was my responsibility to choose who to date and become acquainted with them so that we can make sure that we have the same goals down the road.

Drawing on the Powers of Heaven
-Powers of Heaven=coming from God.
-What governs the powers of heaven=Faith
-Who can exercise faith as a principle of power? The righteous.
-What is desire? Having enough motivation to act to bring about means.
-Explain how lack of desire and faith account for failure in other aspects of life. You believe you can accomplish your goal such as playing the french horn better then you can and must desire a lot to and then you must put forth that effort into action or practicing.
-My attitude regarding asking for the gifts of the Spirit is that we should be asking in faith and humility. The recent gift of the Spirit I've received is strengthening of testimony, uplifting of thoughts.
-My thoughts do focus on the attainment of righteouss desires constantly but I also have many mundane preoccupations and sometimes fears. I don't want to think about doubts, I believe I have none.
-You can change your circumstances if you change your thoughts and have faith in yourself and God.
-In order to experience faith as a principle of power you must focus on a righteouss desire for consecutive weeks.
-A person becomes converted to faith as a principle of power by realizing that there's virtually no limit to what you can accomplish by being able to call down the powers of heaven after you've done your part.
Why does the Lord allow faith to be tried?
a) Determines is a goal you are seeking is truly a desire.
b) Let's you learn if you are really dedicated to the Lord.
c) It's a means of purging you so that you can become clean, pure and spotless.
d) It humbles you and you realize that you can't rely on the arm of flesh.
-How has your faith been tried? My faith has been tried by loneliness. I responded faithfully when I was confronted with that trial. It will be tried by my mission.
-Specifying my plan of action will help me in my effort to exercise faith as a principle of power because then I will know what to do next and I will have more commitment.
-I can measure my faith by writing my goals b) revise goals under inspiration.
Memorized Hymn: Know This That Every Soul is Free

Education
1. Enjoy it 2. challenge the intellect 3. Use my talents 4. Do all this so I can support my family
Tips: Have discipline in preparation and don't be afraid of tough classes. Be so well equipped that you can compete. When you have done all you can, remember that you can rely on the Lord. Choose what's right for you and Heavenly Father will make you equal to your decision.

Faith
Faith in Jesus Christ means trusting in His promises enough to obey His commandments.

Fall of Adam and Eve
-Through understanding the fall we can understand the need for a Savior.
2 Nephi 2:16-26
-verse 16 Without having the 2 trees to be enticed by, they would not have a choice.
-Verse 26 Because of the atonement, we are made free knowing good from evil and not to be acted upon.
Alma 41:7 We are redeemed beecause of repentance and thus being placed in a positition to choose wisely for ourselves. As we choose one thing, we also choose it's consequences.
Alma 42:27 The atonement gives you freedom because Jesus Christ turns you around when you repent and then can have that which is good restored unto me and overcome our personal fall.

Family
-(Familia Ferreira) How do I turn my heart to Christ to let Him heal me and my family?
2 Nephi 25:19-20 We must repent and turn our hearts to God continually.
Mosiah 14:3-5 Remember that He was wounded for our transgressions to heal us. Some people distance themselves from God and think that He suffered for the sins of the world but His atonement truly was for each individual and family.

Fasting and Fast Offerings
-When paying it, we are caring for the poor and thus honoring our baptismal covenants.
-When we fast, our righteous prayers have greater power.
-It also cleanses our souls of toxins. Sometimes deeply embedded habits go not out but by fasting.

Flesh
-In Isaiah when it says that man is drunken with the flesh, it means that they are being controlled by the lusts of the flesh.

Following Christ's Example
-Continually compare self to the Savior instead of the world.
-Jesus was always choosing the right to serve His Father.
-He sought not the praise of the world but to glorify God.
-To come unto Christ means that we need to leave where we are.

Forgiveness
-The Lord is quick to forgive us, why are we not quick to forgive others.
-Forgiveness is redirecting our energies towards greater happiness than holding the burden of grudges.

Freedom
Freedom is not free. Someone had to pay the pay the price. Just like Salvation is not free, someone had to pay the price for us.
-God is the greatest of all beings because He is the most free of all beings.
-The freedom to do nothing is bondage.
-The secret to be free is to do the will of God because He will free us from Satan's grasp.

Goals
Set goals and pray about it. Set it with the Lord.

Grattitude
-Show grattitude by keeping commandments.
-Increase happiness by cultivating grattitude.
-Gratidao esta ligada com humildade.
-If we live with grattitude for the Spirit's guidance, we will always be able to continue on the path we took when we were baptized.

Happiness
-Happiness is when we make the sacrifice to give of our selve over to the Savior so He can mold us.
-True happiness comes when we follow Christ and come to know Him, bring souls to Christ, and follow the whisperings of the Spirit.

Healing
Mark 2: Christ makes a comparison between being forgiven and being healed, meaning that these two things are the same.
3 Ne. 17:7,21 Jesus had compassion upon the multitude and desired to heal them one by one. I like how He said if there is any that are afflicted among you in any manner to come forth because that could include a lot of things even depression.
Matt. 9:1-8 Jesus saw the inner broken heart and sought to heal that first.
John 4:46-54 Christ had no limits. Even when He was not there, He spoke and it was done by His word. He knew of His mission and acted in faith.

Healthy Tips that I learned on the Mission
1.Eat food that has properly been prepared and stored. That means the kitchen must be clean.
2. Make sure that the bed is clean. Clean sheets regularly, air out the mattress, pound the pillows.
3. Eat a balanced diet. Should eat no more than 30% fat a day. We should eat fiber every day. Must eat 5-10 vegetables a day. We should shop on the outside aisles of the grocery store.
4) Get exercise.

Helping
When we see others who are down, are we critical? We should be helpers and not honkers as Sister Greene talked about.

History of Portugal
221 B.c. Roman Empire had control of Iberian Peninsula
1640 Gonza regained power from Spain.
1811 England helped Portugal.
1976 Was the first election.
-The mission home sits on Avenida do Combatantes de Grande Guerra.

Holy Ghost
-The first level of receiving the Holy Ghost is the Light of Christ which is what we are born with. Then there is the power of the Holy Ghost which testifies of truth and brings us to believe and receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost through baptism. As we learn to hearken to the Spirit at all times, we increase in the gifts of the Spirit so much that our calling and election can be made sure.
-Think of how you can simplify your life so that you can give yourself time to listen to the Holy Ghost. Be still.

Holy Places
-If you stand in holy places, then you will always have the Spirit.

Hope
1 Nephi 19:24 We can grow in our hope by applying the scriptures in our lives. As we apply the scriptures, we will see the fruits of our efforts and the joy that the gospel brings in our lives and that will increase our hope more.

Humility
Poor in Spirit
-Definition: They recognize their reliance and seek the most to find spiritual blessings.
They that mourn
-Definition: Those that find purpose in their grief.
-We can let the Lord use our trials to help us become better.

Idleness
-Not only do we need to not idle away our time, we need to improve our time.
D & C 26:1 Do everything the Lord asks and then He will give me further direction.
D & C 130:4 Make my time one with God's time.
Moses 1:39 Remember that God's only purpose is to bring us to eternal life.

Instrument
The greatest fulfillment is to know that I am an instrument in the hands of God through the power and gift of the Holy Ghost. However to do this, I need to rely completely on the Holy Ghost instead of myself.

Justice
3 Nephi 27:13-22 Cling to justice by acting upon the example of Christ and following the will of the Father and cling to mercy by continually repenting and depending on Him.

Knowledge
-Heavenly Father will give us the opportunity to learn and gain knowledge every day, line upon line.

Love
Matt. 22:36-40
-We show our love to God by showing His love for others.
Mat. 5:44 Love them that despise.
-Eros=self love, Philial=Brotherly Love, Erotica=Physical Love, Agape=Pure love of God or To give your love for others.

Meek -Definition: Self control from anger, pride, and selfishness. Prov. 16:32 Example: When Christ submitted to the will of the Father. Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness -Hunger is uncomfortable but you can survive a couple of days without it but without water, your blood becomes thicker and loses volume. Then the heart begins to work too hard. -So without a search for personal revelations and the gift of the Holy Ghost, our hearts become heardened
Miracles
-When faith is lacking, there can be no miracles. We limit Him when we let doubt and fear enter us.

Missionary Work
Mark 1: Come ye after me: Come learn myu way and I will make you instruments in my hands to bring souls to heaven. We need to follow in the footsteps of Christ to become useful in His hands in His work. We need to forsake our nets, our old habits, our comfort zones, our reservedness and let Him make of us who we really are: children of God.
-Be a successful missionary by having hope. Have hope that the Spirit will have the converting power and trust and rely on the Spirit completely. Then you can maintain the high hope that people will be converted because with God all things are possible.
-Even though we are very little like our blood vessels. Our blood vessels lined up will go around the world. So can we as missionaries go forth and nourish the world with the word of God.

Not Taking Offense
Alma 61:9, 19-20 If we try to see the reason behind the actions, we'll be less offended.

Obedience
"When obedience ceases to become an irritant, at the moment an individual is endowed with power." President Benson (former prophet of the Lds church)

Pathway to Heaven
-Many people say that there is only one God and many roads but to enter the gates of heaven, there is only one person that has the key and that is Christ.

Persistancia
-Queremos nao ser chatos mas chato e nao estar conosco nos ceus.

Plan of Happiness
-Heavenly Father's plan of complete happiness is demonstrated through everything around us and it completes our weaknesses and our strengths.

Prayer
3 Ne. 18:19
1) Pray with sincerity and avoid repetition.
2) Say thank you prayers.
3) We must plead with the Lord.
-To improve prayers, pray from the heart and seek for answers.
-As we pray daily as a family, it strengthens family bonds and creates more unity as well as peace.
-Actions help to fulfill prayers. We should make goals base on what we are praying for.
-To avoid repetion, realize that everyday we are learning and trying new things.
-Think about blessings and concerns before begin praying to Heavenly Father.
-Be prepared spiritually to pray. Ponder what you are seeking to know.
-Talk intimately with our Heavenly Father, then listen.
-If we ever move apart from the Lord, it's we who have moved apart not the Lord. We must be doing what is required.
-Cease not to call upon God. Ask, seek, knock. Weary the Lord until He blesses us. Always have a prayer in our hearts.
-Pray for missionary experiences. Like Alma who said that the Lord spoke peace to His soul and gave reason to hope and have great faith.

Prepared
-Responsibilities might be laid on me much sooner than hoped for and I must be prepared.

Pride
-Let go of pride. When we have pride, we don't want to show love.
-Pride is competitive-putting our will against God's truths.
-The proud wish that God would agree with them. They are not interested in changing to agree with God.
-Moroni 7:45-48 We cannot get into heaven without letting go of pride and filling our hearts with charity. (Raymond Ralon) 2/11/07

Priesthood
-Once a man gets sealed to his wife, he becomes the head of an organization called the family and he is the patriarch.

Prophet
-We can follow the prophet by following his counsel.
-We should listen to his words with an open heart to receive the confirmation of the Holy Ghost.
-We worship God in the same that people worshipped Him throughout history. This is by following the guidance of a prophet. Prophet's teach the will of God. When we follow the will of God as He reveals His commandments to the prophet, we are showing our love and adorataion for Him. Jesus said, 'If ye love me, keep my commandments. Therefore as we follow the prophet, we are showing our love for Him.

Promised Blessings
D&C 130:20-21 All blessings come from following the laws.
Commandment Promised Blessing
D&C 11:21 Obtain the word Have the power of God unto the convincing of men
"84:85 Treasure up words of God Shall have that portion given to us
"95:8-9 Build a Temple Endowed with power
"100:5-8 Speak thoughts that are given The Holy Ghost will confirm

Quiet Dignity
-This means conducting one's self in such a way that the world can know that one is representing Jesus Christ.
-It means 'carrying the Spirit' by:
1) Remembering to Smile. 2)Are unified with our companion by doing things together. 3)Look for ways to serve our companion. 4) Learn the rules and help each other follow them. 5) On a mission you never leave your companion alone.

Refuge
- 1 Nephi 21:2 He has hidden me in the palm of his hand when I come to Him. He gives me refuge from the world and from my sins because we can trust that we can repent daily and do better knowing that He will be patient with us while we are trying.
Remember
-Remember that through Christ I have the opportunity to return home.
-Remember that just like Helaman's sons were named after the good guys, so have we taken upon ourselves the name of Christ.

Repentance
-Repentance is a central purpose of our lives because it requires bringing our will in line with God's.
-When we continue to repent, our desire to follow God increases.
-We must bring forth fruit unto repentance. Men came to earth to be perfected. Will one receive eternal life with good intentions? Hell is faith with good intentions. We cannot go to our grave and have our incorruptions of the flesh removed for what we don't do now will take 1,000 years to acomplish in the next life.

Restoration
-The church is a stone carved without hands.
-Because of the restoration, we also know that the Old Testament also applies to the atonement.
-Because of the restoration, we may know that Jesus Christ is our personal Savior.

Sacrament
-He spent His whole life doing service and sometimes I only think about Him deeply for 10 minutes during sacrament.

Service
Acts 8: The apostles were led to find those who were prepared. Because they had given themselves up, they were led to do many great things and were blessed to even be able to perform miracles. When we put ourselves in the Lord's hands, He knows He can trust us and will give us the opportunity to do great things.
Good Works: I will nurture others and build the kingdom through righteous service. (Young Womens)
Matt. 8:1-4 Jesus never asked to be recognized, in fact He asked not to be recognized. He only desired the welfare of others.

Self Reliance
Service and being self reliant go hand in hand. Support and understanding do not come from the emotionally barren. The ability to give spiritual guidance to others does not come from someone who is not trying to be spiritual.

Scripture Study
-Scripture study is a window to revelation and it helps increase our faith in Christ.
-Other blessings of scripture study are: the power to resist temptation, spiritual food.
Things you must do to prepare spiritually for scripture reading: 1) Set time. 2) Invite the Spirit 3)Search for an answer 4)Ponder and Feast 5) Relate it to now 6) Apply all this.
-When you get casual in your relationship with Heavenly Father and you read the scriptures, it all comes back.
-Life is a test but we have a take home open book exam with the scriptures.
-You can hear the voice of the Lord because the words in the scriptures are of God and not man.

Spirit World
Knowing that life continues beyond this world, gives you more purpose. You know that thoss who do good and have a hard time will still be blessed. And if you have your life and your faith founded on Jesus Christ, every phase of the plan will be joyful.

Spiritual Food
-We need to give ourselves spiritual nutrients that help us grow and heal by 1) Living the gospel according to what I read in the scriptures. 2) Selfless service. 3) Be totally involved in the work of the Master.
Success
Just because you're busy doesn't mean you're successful.

Teach
-Prepare to teach in such a way that the love which I have been given by my Savior may be shared with all.
-Adjust teaching to meet the needs. D&C 84:85 Given that portion of the word that shall be meted unto every man. (It is not needed to hear everything at once and can hear one piece of truth at a time.)
-Matthew 10:19-20 Heavenly Father is using us to speak to others through the Holy Ghost.
-D&C 28:16 Declare with rejoicing at all times.
-D&C 19:29-30 Must have the humility to not get in the way of the Spirit. Our purpose is to serve as instruments of the Holy Ghost to bear record of the message we carry.
-We need to be so clear that they have the ability to really choose the gospel.
-Simplify our teachings and center them on our Savior Jesus Christ.
-D&C 88:77-78 Teach with dilligence to have the grace of Christ.
2 Nephi 26:33 There are few times when the Spirit will tell us not to invite others to do something.

Testimony
-The power of a testimony will overcome all things when we follow God's commandments no matter what.
-It is know that God lives and loves us and connecting that to the knowledge of the gospel.
-You will have so much faith that you feel grattitude.

Time
"Prepare time for Him in lives and room in our hearts."
Visiting Teachers
-Christ will watch over the church through Visiting Teachers.

Wisdom of God
The application of knowledge becomes wisdom and that is why Christ had to pass through the garden of gethsemane to know how to succor us.

Word of Wisdom
-Encourage them to remove harmful substances from their homes.
-We must encourage others even when they have relapsed.