Mormon 1-6: Is My Lantern Completely Clean?

[picture of a half-cleaned lantern]

Today the students presented their research on Mormon 1-6. But before we started, I showed them a lantern that was very dirty on one side and freshly cleaned on the other. I asked them, "How easy would it be to see if this lantern were completely filthy?" Then, "How easy to see if this lantern were completely clean?"

They all agreed that much more light would shine through both ways if the glass were clean. I shared how we live in a world full of spiritual soot. And the only way to keep clean is by daily kneeling in prayer, daily cleansing ourselves through the Lord's word in the scriptures, and through searching each day for someone to serve. We also keep ourselves clean through obedience and repentance each time we err.

By living in this way, we can find Christ's light in our lives - it will shine brighter both toward us and from us - as we wend our way amongst those all around us who are intent on filling themselves with spiritual soot and grime.

Mormon shares in Mormon 1-6 that his people had gone past the point of redemption. It was as if their lanterns were completely black with the grunge of sinful living. As such, they couldn't see truth or reality at all. And how did they arrive there? One filthy choice after another, layers upon layers of sooty choices.

So how do we make sure we keep our lanterns clean, I asked? After the class talked for a few moments, I then had them read a few excerpts/quotes from the CES institute manual for Mormon 1-6. I told the kids how much Mormon wanted them to keep their lives clean, that is why he kept this record for them - so they could learn from those who refused to listen to the words of a prophet.

We moved into each of the kids presentations. They slipped their scene strips into our celestial "B-HVNLY screen" and each team told/showed the class the story line of their particular chapter (to learn more about yesterday's prep for today, click here). They finished up by sharing a verse that inspired them or that they had found particularly instructive from their study yesterday.

Truly for our light to shine out for others, we need to keep our own spiritual lanterns clear and free from the grime and soot of those around us. We can only do this through Christ and His gospel. It really works.

I ended by sharing this quote from Prophet and President Heber J. Grant:

"I say to you, Latter-day Saints, that the pearl of great price is life eternal. God has told us that the greatest of all the gifts He can bestow upon man is life eternal. We are laboring for that great gift, and it will be ours if we keep the commandments of God. But it will not profit us merely to make professions and to proclaim to the ends of the earth that this is the gospel, but it will profit us if we do the will of God.

"The all-important thing for you and me is to discover whether we are walking in the straight and narrow path that leads to life eternal, and if we are not, wherein have we allowed the adversary to blind our minds and to cause us to depart from that path which will lead us back into the presence of God? Each one should search his own heart to find out wherein he has failed, and then he should diligently seek our Heavenly Father for the assistance of His Holy Spirit, that he may come back into the straight path...

"If we are so living that we can ask God for light, for knowledge, for intelligence, and above all for His Spirit, that we may overcome our weaknesses, then I can tell you, we are in the straight and narrow path that leads to life eternal; then we need have no fear." [Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant, published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, p. 31]

Until tomorrow,

just another early-morning-seminary-teacher mom!

***
For more information, a monthly newsletter, and for free PDFs of past files, simply click here.