I find it pretty amazing that when I make the attempt to write an entry, there is always something that comes out. On the other hand, when I contemplate making an entry, I can't think of a single worthwhile thing to say. I guess it goes back to the "If you build it, they will come theory". If I make the effort to write, things come out of my brain that I didn't even know were there.
That being said, I really can't think of anything. I had an interesting experience with my seminary lesson this morning. I normally know where the lesson is going to go. As I planned the lesson, I had a general idea. Every once in a while, it goes a completely different direction, and today was one of those days.
We were doing the lesson from Luke where Jesus teaches the parable of the rich man and the beggar named (coincidently his best friend's name) Lazarus. When teaching this, the discussion always comes up about rich versus poor, and how rich people have a harder time being righteous. I was trying to take it in a different direction based on how we are supposed to teach a principle of the gospel: in this case, the atonement. (We have this list that goes over the gospel principles in every scripture block from the gospels. We have a list of 12 gospel principles that we are supposed to teach including: Godhead, commandments, covenants, apostasy & restoration, etc.)
As I've looked at the list, I sometimes have a hard time envisioning how that particular block relates to the chosen principle. Usually when I think about it, I can figure it out. This was NOT one of those cases. What did a rich man going to hell, and a poor man going to heaven have to do with the atonement? In my notes I made for teaching the lesson I had that maybe the rich man could have chosen during his life to apply the atonement, and the poor man's burdens were surely lifted by his application of this.
Well, that's not what happened. The Spirit totally blew that out of the water. We ended up with a discussion of how the Atonement makes us all equal. We all have the opportunity to partake of it. We talked about how these students are being blessed by the gospel in their lives, and they all have family members who want nothing to do with it. Nonetheless, they are being given the opportunity even if they reject it. We all have ancestors who were not given the chance while alive for whom we are doing baptisms for the dead. The Atonement truly makes us equal when it is all said and done.
My point in bringing this up is how cool it is that the Spirit cares enough about what we are doing to speak up and tell us how it should go. We seem like such an unimportant group; why bother? It builds my testimony in how important each of Father's children are to Him.
I am grateful for the ways in which my calling helps me to grow. I never progress as much as I do when I am teaching. I am grateful to be a member of a church that requires a lay ministry. When I belonged to other churches with paid ministry, I never experienced this kind of growth. I know this is one of the marks of the true church on the earth today; no church with a paid ministry can be the Lord's Church. (As a side note, I like how Nephi defines "paid ministry"; he calls it "priestcraft". Seems a little harsh, does it? Think about it!)
