SPEAKER_00 0:00

details but it wasn't very felt like I had a testimony but then at that point when I went through that it was such a pivotal moment that all the things that I heard about the Christ atonement wasn't just for sinners but it was for us to cling to his atonement the enabling power of the atonement and I kind of used it and I felt it and it changed my life. A it brought me more empathy for individuals going through difficult times but B it gave me a foundation of this work. And so it's helped me use it in more difficult times in my life and test upon the word of Christ and it's kind of like a seed you have to water it you have to give it light and so continuing to trust in God bringing my scriptures that primary answers and it has things mean it and me so a similar thought when she talked about the seed I always go back to that scripture that you know invites us to experiment upon our words.

SPEAKER_09 1:04

And I do think that when we do that we will have an experience whether you know we're all going to experience that in certain ways but for us I believe when it's accompanied with by the Holy Ghost we know we know the source that it came from and I do believe I think it's helpful to write some of those things down. I have a lot of regrets with not writing certain things down for my children and even for my own remembrance when I'm invited to give a talk or something I wish I I didn't have to just rely on my memory to recall those experiences. But when you have them and they're accompanied by the Holy Ghost I believe we know it so much that we're willing to share it and hang on to it in every day.

SPEAKER_05 1:54

I appreciate that um we are going to be taught today um by Sister Rebecca Baker who um is going to be uh leading the discussion it's by Elder Matt Holland his talk in the October conference for Sake Not Your Own Mercy and we'll turn the turn over to her good afternoon you know I was thinking that there may not be a whole lot of people here today so there was even a chance it was going to get canceled but here we are um they'd asked me to teach last month but I was going to be out of town and then they um moved it to this month which worked out perfectly and when uh Sister Anderson sent me which conference talk they wanted me to focus on I was actually in Korea and um so with the time difference and the lack of Wi-Fi when I was away from the hotel I only could see the title and she asked me if it was going to be okay and I really couldn't see it yet but the title sounded good so I said I'm sure it's fine and it sounded familiar and so when I was able to open it and look at the talk I remembered this talk.

SPEAKER_03 3:18

And so if you haven't heard the talk it's great to read it but I really encourage you to go on and listen to the talk because it is a fantastic one. And my biggest struggle over the last um couple of weeks has been trying to figure out what message I needed to give from this talk because there were so many different directions I could go with this one. And I truly just prayed that whatever direction I ended up going it was a direction that my heavenly father wanted me to go. And I intentionally didn't want I make up because in the event I get emotional which may very well happen less of a mess. And I just felt strongly that you know what I think I'm going the right direction and then I I don't know if any of you have had a chance to see the movie Mercy Me Too. I think that's what it's called if not I strongly encourage you to do so because in a kind of strange way although I pretty much I don't cry in a lot of movies but I was pretty emotional through that whole movie but it also reaffirmed that I was kind of going the right direction with this lesson. And then it was pretty cool because this morning when Brother Alexander shared his um experience that he had this week it was kind of right on track. So I decided that maybe maybe I was doing something all right. So while I was preparing for all of this I spent some time trying to take a closer look at myself through the context of this talk. And if you've read it or if you've heard it you'll kind of understand what I mean by that. But I tend to be a glass half full person. I am I I pretty much have a positive outlook. I give people the benefit of the doubt I just figure there's always a reason to the point that honestly sometimes I make my family and people I work with a little bit crazy because that's just my nature. However, so as kind and patient as I strive to be with other people I find that I'm not necessarily that way with myself and I'm probably not the only person in this room that feels that way. So it kind of made me wonder why is it easier to believe in God's mercy going back to his talk for others than it is to apply it to us personally. And that's a lot of the crux of part of his talk. He then he teaches us through this talk that sometimes we forsake our own mercy which is the title of this lesson not because God has taken it away but just a matter that we stop believing or don't realize is that it's intended for us. And one of the main points that he makes is that we have immediate access to divine help despite our human flaws and our imperfections. So he opens his talk talking about Jonah and the whale I don't know how many of you are familiar with Veggie Tales but my earliest recollection of really understanding the story of Jonah and the whale came from watching VeggieTales with my oldest of my kids. And basically the story of Jonah and the whale just in case you don't happen to know some of the details is that God commanded Jonah to go to Nineveh to declare repentance to the people. Nineveh was ancient Israel's brutal enemy so Jonah promptly headed the opposite direction. He was like no that's not what I'm gonna do. I'm instead going to take a boat and go to Tarshish and stay away from the bad people. As he sails away from what he's been commanded to do a huge storm comes Jonah feeling like it's his fault that this is happening I'm really paraphrasing it myself but this is this is the gist of it. He volunteers to be thrown overboard hoping that his sacrifice will then save everyone else on the ship because he truly believes this is a reflection of him now listening to God. The storm ceases everyone else on the ship is saved and then he escapes death when a a great fish who's been prepared swallows him whole now he's kind of kind of got a funny story at the beginning of the talk but um and basically he he languishes in the stomach if you will of the whale for three days before he's then spit out on dry land and saved. And he then figures um okay I guess I better go to Nineveh and so he goes to Nineveh however um it says when the city repents and is spared destruction Jonah resents the mercy that's shown his enemies he struggles with that he's like they're bad they're not good people they're there are enemies why are you okay with this so then our father in heaven because that's what he does he patiently teaches Jonah that he loves and seeks to rescue all of his children um it's a really it's a it's a really good story.

SPEAKER_10 9:03

Can I get somebody to read Jonah chapter 2 verses 2 through 7 should have mentioned that earlier so you can pull it out but Jonah chapter 2 verses 2 through 7 in the Old Testament someone will find it anyone thank you Jonah 2 four through seven two through seven sorry that's okay and said I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord and he heard me out of the belly of hell cried I and thou heardest my voice for thou hast cast me into the deep in the midst of the seas and the floods compassed me about all thy billows and thy waves passed over me. Then I said I am cast out of thy sight I will look again toward thy holy temple. The waters compassed me about even to the soul the depth closed me round about the weeds were wrapped about my head I went down to the bottoms of the mountains the earth with her bars was about me forever. Yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption O Lord my God when my soul fainted within me I remember the Lord and my prayer came in unto thee into thine holy temple.

SPEAKER_03 10:22

Thank you. Then in Jonah 2 verse 8 it says they that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy. Those that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy. So before we go on for a minute I just want to talk about the word mercy and it just says it or I guess I'm just saying it's important to kind of stop and think and ask ourselves what is mercy because sometimes we hear the word and I don't know about anybody else but oftentimes I equate mercy with forgiveness and so I really wanted to spend a little bit of time looking at what mercy really is so I looked it up a little bit and the bottom line is that mercy is not just being forgiven it's being helped loved and strengthened by Christ exactly where we are. It's not just about being forgiven it's about being helped loved and strengthened by Christ exactly where we are so when we talk about forsaking our own mercy it's not just about turning away from forgiveness it's about turning away from the help that our heavenly Father has available to us whenever we need it.

SPEAKER_08 11:37

So now I'm asking all of you what do you think it means then to forsake your own mercy we don't have a lot of time I think when Jonah like turned away from Nineveh and didn't listen to Lord that was a version of that I think it basically means like forsaking Christ I think maybe when we're struggling we don't uh pray for his help or the help of our Savior things out ourselves or something. And we don't rely on him and his merits to save and help us be filled with peace and struggle.

SPEAKER_03 12:26

Absolutely so if that's kind of some ideas about forsaking our own mercy what are some lying vanities so if we think about Jonah chapter 2 verse 8 it said um they that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy so what are some lying vanities that could prevent us from turning to God maybe we think whether we don't deserve it or that like it's not there for us.

SPEAKER_07 12:57

Like I did this so I can't I didn't even plan that very good anything else and here I was afraid I was going to talk too much about going along with that or we can think we're not worthy to we're not you know we're not worthy to go to the temple but we're not worthy yep and and those are perfect.

SPEAKER_03 13:21

Sometimes we're not losing access to its mercy we just stop believing it's ours. We stop believing that it's there for us.

SPEAKER_10 13:30

In the talk and I apologize if you're already going to be getting to this though but he says my plea inspired by Jonah is forsake not your own mercy. You have immediate access to divine help and healing despite your human flaws. This awe-inspiring mercy comes in and through Jesus Christ because he knows and loves you perfectly he offers it to you as your own meaning it is perfectly suited to you designed to relieve your individual agonies and heal your particular pains. So for heaven's sake and yours do not turn your back on that and accept it. So I think we just need to remember that I mean sometimes we can be our own worst critic or be really hard on ourselves but God doesn't want that. He wants us to use the tools and the gifts and the blessings that he's given so that we can become better. So sometimes we think that that's like the easy way out to be merciful but but the plan is for us to use that and to become better.

SPEAKER_03 14:30

Absolutely that's the my probably my favorite part of the talk it's in my closing so you'll probably hear it twice. You're totally fine I'm glad you found it um the so then Elder Holland reminds us um he he talks a little bit about the fall and that all of us are fallen you know that goes back to Adam and Eve that struggle whether we like it or not is part of mortality that's part of our lives like we we have to struggle in order to learn and to grow and to progress and to truly understand the joy and the things that life can truly bring and the imperfection is expected it's not failure. It's just because we're imperfect and maybe we don't make the right choice or maybe we're choosing between two good things it's not always a matter of that it's a failure it's just that we're truly not perfect nor we intended to be and 2 Nephi chapter 2 verse 25 it says Adam fell that men might be and men are that they might have joy so how does that understand the scripture that I just read and the understanding of the fall change how we can see or perceive our struggles men are that they never intended us to just follow in our sins and what we were what we were to have joy and what we are and one word that I love that's been coming to my mind during this talk is striving.

SPEAKER_00 16:03

Like striving is we're trying my striving is different than everybody's in this room but we're striving we're striving to become the some days or weeks or times I'm not going to be striving as it is my sister but I'm still striving.

SPEAKER_01 16:17

I love that I love that word so I actually saw an Instagram post this week about this story. Interesting. Anyways um the guy was talking about how Nineveh was actually a very wicked city and that Jonah was very scared and afraid to go go to teach to this city um and he said that the Lord could have called anybody but he called Jonah who was scared he was in fact he ran away um and uh I guess like the background story of Nineveh is that they were worshiping gods of the ocean and they said that uh that there was a prophecy saying that a big fish was like part of the god so something like that anyway the guy so when Jonah came to Nineveh they saw him come out of the fish or they saw that he came out of the fish so they're like oh my gosh this is this is a god we're supposed to listen to this guy so they instantly listened so what I the message behind it all was that God will take our weaknesses the things that we see in ourselves like you could probably think that Jonah thought himself a coward since he's running away um so he can take the things that we think negatively about ourselves and turn that into a strength and turn that into converting an entire city and um and onto the right path. So that's what I really liked about the message.

SPEAKER_04 17:50

Yeah I love that well I didn't read this lesson I didn't know what lesson we had but always that story I love that story but I because this is what I always thought with Jonah he had in his mind that these people were wicked and bad and so even when they repented and became righteous after his teaching he still didn't that didn't bring him joy and I think do we do that do we make a judgment and don't see the change in the person we've judged and keep them here where we have them instead of seeing how they've arisen.

SPEAKER_03 18:51

I think that's part of our imperfections in mortality I agree I agree completely I think sometimes we expect ourselves to be perfect in a world that was never intended to be perfect.

SPEAKER_06 19:05

Elder Holland in this talk references a different talk that President Nelson gave back in October 2016 when he his conference talk was joy and spiritual survival which I love that talk as well but President Nelson said when the focus of our lives is on God's plan of salvation and Jesus Christ and his gospel we can feel joy regardless of what is happening or not happening in our lives joy comes from and because of him and that's where when you combine the ideas of it's not necessarily that mercy isn't for us we're choosing to turn away and also the men are that they might have joy and that's what our heavenly father wants of us so desperately then we try to bring them together and in sometimes our imperfect minds our mortal minds we struggle to see how both can coexist how both can be happening at the same time can anyone go right up to two o'clock can anyone share of a time maybe they felt peace or joy during a difficult time when I was on a mission I got really sick and um like the doctors couldn't they couldn't figure out what was the matter and I did all these diagnoses and then the mission president said like do you want to go home and I said I'd rather die than go home and so anyway he let me stay and um I was sick and like he said I needed to be in the apartment for like a month. My poor companion was like really struggling it was a hard time for her but for me I was super sick but I was the closest to my savior than I'd ever been and it was like this bonding time and it was a time of like really huge joy even though my body felt like horrible it was beautiful.

SPEAKER_03 20:54

I love that I love that anyone else okay so I believe that that that's actually a perfect example of how the two can connect. We all have struggles we all have varying struggles of varying degrees we've all had vast experiences in our lives we've had ones that that truly shape us for the person that we become and they can shape us for who the person who we want to become and sometimes that can help become the bridge that's going to get us there. I think that this connects so beautifully between the finding joy and mercy because when we turn toward Christ instead of away from him we don't just receive forgiveness but we begin to feel his help his peace and his joy just back a little bit to what um sister what's your last name Thorpe. Thorpe Sister Thorpe shared which was Of what I was going to look at here, but I'm going to mention it somewhat part of it again. What he said in his talk was for anyone today feeling that you are cast off, sinking in deepest waters with seaweed wrapped around your head and oceanic mountains crashing all around you. My plea, inspired by Jonah, is forsake not your own mercy. You have immediate access to divine help and healing despite your human flaws. This awe-inspiring mercy comes in and through Jesus Christ. Because he knows and loves you perfectly, he offers it to you as you are. It's perfectly suited to us. It's exactly what we need, how we need it, when we need it, where we need it. It is for us personally. It's designed to relieve our individual agonies and heal our particular pains. So for heaven's sake and yours, do not turn your back on that. Accept it. Start by refusing to listen to the lying vanities of the adversary. So I asked a few minutes ago, and we kind of got sidetracked a little bit, but can anybody think of some examples of what could be lying vanities that maybe we need to stop listening to?

SPEAKER_06 23:21

A lot of women struggle with the idea that I'm not enough. And um anyway, it's a really interesting closet.

SPEAKER_03 23:33

I am uh just I think a big one, to be completely honest, is um social media. As I watched my daughter become a mom. And I see everything she sees. And luckily, she has the sister of a friend who she knows um really well, who one time, not sure in details, but uh got upset because a picture was posted of her baby that hadn't been edited, hadn't been, or her child that hadn't been like cleaned up or made to look perfect. And it was so important to me as she was going into motherhood that she understood that what she sees on social media isn't reality, that it's not perfect and it's messy and it's beautiful, and how something that can be so painful and so challenging and so difficult can be one of the most beautiful experiences of your life, and um and she's thriving in it, but to me, that is a line vanity. It's the the ways that the adversary can impact you wherever you are, just like our Heavenly Father's love and mercy, and all of these things are for us right where we are. He knows us better than anyone, he knows us better than we know ourselves, he knows what we need. So does the adversary. The adversary knows what it is that's going to impact you the most, sometimes even better than we do ourselves. And so when I think of, and I never even realized I heard the phrase before lying vanities until I was preparing this talk for this lesson. But it just made me kind of stop and think that I need to pay a little closer attention to what lying vanities may impact me or my family or my children. And so that's one thing I just want to mention to all of you is that just think about that a little bit. Just when you're having your struggles and you're having your challenges and life just isn't easy, just as much as our father in heaven knows and loves us and knows who and where we are, so does the adversary. And um and he knows how to just get to us quickly. Um, the most meaningful ideas, um, uh one of the most meaningful ideas and things that I loved most from this talk was the fact that I've said a few times that the Lord's mercy is for us, for him to help us where we are. It's not something distant, it's not something obscure, it's not something reserved for other people, it's not something that is for everybody else, it's something for us. And maybe part of not forsaking our own mercy is remembering that his mercy isn't just about being forgiven, but about being helped right where we are. Towards the end of Elder Holland's talk, he said, whether we're facing a deep Jonah-like catastrophe or everyday challenges of our imperfect world, even if it's he mentioned earlier in the talk, something of our own doing, a situation that we made the choices that put us in it, we're the reason we're in that situation, somewhat like Jonah. It was his choices and his decisions that put him in that situation. So even if we're in the middle of something that is a result of decisions and choices that we've made, look to the sign of Jonah, the living Christ who rose from his three-day grave, having conquered all for us. Elder Holland pleads with us turn to him, believe in him, serve him, and smile. And I love that he ended with smile. I just I remember telling my kids when they were on their missions or when things are difficult, tomorrow's always going to be there, and it's a bright new day. So just keep smiling, just keep trying, just keep working and progressing, even if it's baby steps. It's where we're going that matters the most. I have absolutely no doubt that Jesus Christ is aware of us, that he loves us exactly where we are, not where we should be, not who he wants us to be, but exactly who and where we are. He loves us unconditionally. I could not love my children and grandchildren more than I possibly do. Bless my husband, he knows, he's known for a long time. If I would have had to choose between him and my kids, I would have picked my kids. I love him, but I just I love being a mom more than anything. And I think to myself that I truly, more than likely, can't begin to fathom the love our father in heaven has for us. And if I love my kids as much as I do, the love our father in heaven has to have for us is just exponential. And all he wants is for us to return to him. He just wants us to be happy and to find joy in our everyday lives. So whether it's baby steps, whether it's giant steps, whatever it is, because of that, we're never beyond help. And we're definitely never beyond hope. I am my final thought is just that we don't have to become perfect to come to Christ. We come to Christ so He can help us in our imperfection. I am so grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for my eternal family. I'm grateful for these babies that have been born into my life and to watch some of my children already become parents. There's um, you know, you often wonder as a parent, young parent, you know, no matter what age your kids are, and I remember this when my kids were young, um, you know, go, how, you know, it there's so much, and it's not always easy, but I wanted so desperately to be a good mom and to do things right. A great way to gauge um uh the impact I've had on my children is by watching my children become parents. And so far, not gone wood, I've got uh three incredible dads to um my first four granddaughters, and I've got an incredible mother to my grandson. I am just grateful for all that my heavenly father has blessed me with, and I'm grateful for the gospel and the scriptures and for the opportunity to share this lesson with you today. And I say these things in Jesus' name, amen. I um I made these little cards, I spent an obscene amount of time making them because I was being way too picky. So if you don't like it, totally fine, just throw it away somewhere else. In Korea, it's interesting because they prep they they prepped us before we went that when if you happen to have a business card and you hand a business card to one of the people you're meeting with and they hand you one in return, it's important that you take it with two hands, that you take it from them with two hands and you take the time to look at it. Um I know it's almost two o'clock, but they shared an example how um uh someone had been in a business dealing with a major corporation out of Korea, and so the the owner of whoever they were wanting to get with them had handed them a business card, and then the the CEO or whoever it was from the Korean entity had handed him one, and he just kind of took it and shoved it in or started playing with it with his hand, and it was just kind of as he was talking, like I do with a pen, he was doing it with a business card, and such offense was taken that he the the the Korean man turned, walked out of the room, and refused to do business with this individual. And so while I was in Korea, we were just very careful, you know, just you should you show that that deference and and that respect. So I was thinking about that when I made these. Um, so he didn't have to take my two hands, but um basically I just have one of my favorite pictures of the savior with a sheep out in a green field with pretty flowers because I just see this picture of the savior just kind of attending to one of a sheep. And sometimes I think of us as one of those sheep that maybe just when we need him the most, whether we recognize it or not, he's there attending to us. And at the top it just says we don't have to become perfect to come to Christ. We come to Christ so he can help us in our imperfection. So I will just hand some out and let you think of the prayer or take over from there.

SPEAKER_05 32:42

Thank you so much, Rebecca, for your preparation and for the spirit that you brought um into this room and into this meeting. Um I appreciate the challenge and the invitation to look for those lying vanities in our lives. I thought of a few that the adversary forks on me on, and um, I give myself a talking to you on that. So really do appreciate that and appreciate all of you sisters for um the words that you shared and for also um inviting the spirit into our meeting. Um, because it's he is the spirit is the one that helps to teach and to um unify us and to draw us to our Savior. And I'm so grateful for that. Um we'll go ahead and one other thing, Sister Brad's talk to help you out. Um we have been working to get our text messages the week of so that you kind of know what's going on. Um but also in the gospel library, I gotta look again as I'm getting ready to say that. Yes, it's in the Gospel Library app. If you scroll down a little bit what uh into the middle of the page, um there's a place where we're putting the Relief Society lesson that's coming up.

SPEAKER_04 33:55

So it is the one the one that we can illiterate.

SPEAKER_05 34:01

Okay. Just so that you're kind of aware um that that is available, and it is something that's um a tool that um we are using as a presidency so that you guys do kind of know because that was something that um for somebody that hasn't always looked back at my messages or walks in saying, I don't know what's going on, um, that that is available, and so those lessons will be on there as far as in advance, and definitely within a couple weeks of the lesson. Um so if you're ever curious as to what the next lesson is going to be and you want to, you know, be a you know ahead of us, what's it on?

SPEAKER_08 34:40

What's it under?

SPEAKER_05 34:41

Um so it's on the home page, it's just on the homepage.

SPEAKER_08 34:45

It's on the library.

SPEAKER_05 34:46

So it's like the tools. It's like the library app.

SPEAKER_08 34:49

Okay.

SPEAKER_05 34:49

On the library app, yeah. So on the home page, if you scroll, so it looks like this. If you scroll down, it's kind of the middle. Yeah. It's after the come follow me. I don't know what everybody else is looking for. Next time I'll scroll over and show all of them. There you go. So library app you just can click on it and it'll take you right to the top. But we are trying to use that tool so that it is ahead of time in case something like this week happens and we don't have a message that goes out to you. But anyways, I just wanted to make you aware of that as well as a different um way to kind of prepare um for the upcoming lessons that are coming up. Thank you so much for being here and I appreciate you sisters and the spirit that you bring into our visitors. Um, please come again. We'd love having you here. Um, I'll go ahead and just say the prayer. Umly father, we're grateful to you for the Sabbath day that we've been able to meet together as Radio Society sisters. We're grateful to you for this lesson and discussion that we had this day as we were discussing the mercy of thy son and not forsaking it, that we can choose to hold on to it and to use the atonement in our lives on a daily basis. We're grateful for the spirit that lives here and we say in the name of Jesus Christ.