* Armor of God

Lesson 21

The Armor of God

Always begin and end with prayer.
Give each family member an assignment.
Assignment Planner

Scripture:

Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.(Ephesians 6:11)


Song:"Keep the Commandments"

Lesson:
Show your family a piece of protective equipment that is essential to the safety of the person wearing it, such as a football helmet.

Ask: What is likely to happen if the person tried to play a serious football game without a helmet?

Have your family identify what kind of serious battle we are in and who we are fighting against.

Ask your family to take turns reading D&C 27:15-18. Invite them to look for ways we can protect ourselves in our war against Satan.

Assign someone to be a scribe and have the rest of the family help him or her list on a poster or paper pieces of "armor" the Lord invites us to "put on."

Next to each piece of armor, list what the Lord said it represents spiritually.

Your chart may look something like this:

Physical ArmorLoins girt

BreasplateFeet shod

Shield

Helmet

Sword

Spiritual Armor

TruthRighteousness

Preparation of the gospel of peace

Faith

Salvation

Spirit

Click on the picture to print visual aids!

Discuss each piece of armor with the help of the following explanations:"Loins girt about with truth." Tell your family that to be "girt about" is to have a large belt around you, and that the "loins" are your many vital organs and the sacred procreative parts of your body."Breastplate of righteousness."

Ask "What important organ does the breastplate cover?" (The heart.)

"Feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace."

Ask your family how far they think they could walk without shoes compared to how far they could walk with shoes.

Remind them that mortal life is like a long journey to a place we can't really see at this time.

"Shield of faith." Have your family look again at D&C 27:17 and identify what the shield specifically does. (Stop the fiery darts of the wicked.)

Ask them why they think Satan's weapon is compared to a dart rather than a large tank or cannon. Invite them to give examples of how others (including Satan) have tried to get them to doubt the truths of the gospel.

How has your faith helped you to overcome?

"Helmet of Salvation." A helmet of salvation shall guide our thinking all through our days. How would remembering Christ more regularly help us resist the influence the devil tries to have over us?

"Sword of my Spirit."

Ask your family how the sword is different from the other pieces of armor listed. (It is a weapon rather than merely protection.) What are some ways we can receive God's word through the Spirit?

(Dennis H. Leavitt and Richard O. Christensen, Scripture Study for Latter- day Saint Families: The Doctrine and Covenants, [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2004], p. 55-6.)

Story:

One day I was made an attractive offer by a group of marines, buddies of mine, as we were about to go on liberty. It wasn't until after we were on our way that I discovered this was not the best company to be in. It was then that I found out the reason they had invited me. It was because they knew of my standards. They knew that I would be sober when it was time to return to the base, and I could guide them back. We found ourselves in Los Angeles on a streetcar headed toward a dance hall. They had already started to drink a little, and I was ready to part their company. It was here that that protective shield took over and I knew of the prayers of my parents for my welfare. The streetcar stopped and allowed new passengers to come aboard. The new passengers separated me from my buddies and pushed me to the back of the car. It was there that I discovered a nice group of young people standing and seated.

Immediately upon finding me in their company, one spoke up and said, "Hi, Marine! We're Mormons. What do you know about our Church?"

I answered, "Plenty," and got off the streetcar with them and went to a ward social.

You see, the shield of faith was there. It was protecting me from the fiery darts of the wicked in order that in a proper time in my life I would be worthy to take an angle into the temple of the Lord and there at its altar be sealed together for time and all eternity.

I know by personal experience the value of having noble parents to build around their children a protective shield of faith of our Lord and our Savior Jesus Christ. I give you my witness that it works. Should not every child of God be given that opportunity in their lives--to start each day having their fathers blessing their home and giving them that protective shield of faith as they depart from the home to go about their every activity.(L. Tom Perry, "Build Your Shield of Faith," Ensign, May 1974, 98)

Activity:Create a cardboard and aluminum foil armor for the smallest person in your family. Assign family members to create certain elements of the armor.

Treat:Angel Fluff

1 9-ounce loaf angel food cake

1 cup whipped cream, whipped until stiff

1 cup half-and-half cream

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup lemon juice

Pineapple Sauce

4 tablespoons cornstarch

1 cup sugar

2 ¼ cup pineapple juice

¼ cup lemon juice

In large, attractive, 2-quart serving bowl, break cake into bite-sized pieces. In small bowl of electric mixer or with hand electric mixer, gradually whip half-and-half into a fluffy, thick liquid. Beat sugar gradually into cream mixture, then slowly beat in lemon juice. Pour mixture over cake pieces. Chill for at least 2 hours. Spoon onto dessert plates and serve with Pineapple Sauce. Makes 8 servings.

For Pineapple sauce: In small saucepan, combine cornstarch and sugar; mix well. Add pineapple juice; cook on medium heat, stirring constantly, until clear and thickened, about 5 minutes. Add lemon juice. Remove from heat. Chill.

Credit for this lesson goes to fheinasnap.blogspot.com

* Charity

Lesson 20

Charity:

The Pure Love of Christ

Always begin and end with prayer.

Give each family member an assignment.

Assignment Planner

Scripture: Ether 12: 34-37

Home Can Be A Heaven On Earth
Love One Another




Read and Study President Monson's message:

The Master's Blueprint.

"As we increasingly think and act like Him, the attributes of the natural man will slip away to be replaced by the heart and the mind of Christ" Gene R Cook

Defining Charity
The Lord said that charity is “the pure love of Christ,” that which is “most joyous to the soul,” “the greatest of all the gifts of God,” “perfect” and “everlasting.”

As difficult as charity is to describe, it is rather easily recognized in the lives of those who possess it.

• An aged, crippled grandmother who subscribes to an afternoon newspaper, knowing it will bring her delivery-boy grandson to her home every day where, at her knee, she teaches him to pray.
• A mother who, in hard economic times and scarcity of meat, seems to savor only chicken wings, to the puzzlement of all.
• A man who suffers an undeserved public chastisement, but humbly receives it anyway.

A common thread in these examples is charity, a selflessness, a not seeking for anything in return. We may have the gift of love, but charity is bestowed only upon those who are true followers of Christ.

To develop a Christlike Charity, we can do these three things.

Charity: Perfect and Everlasting Love, Gene R Cook

1. Recognize His love.

“Pray … with all the energy of heart” for this gift. Do so in meekness with a broken heart, and you will be filled with hope and love from the Holy Ghost Himself. He will reveal Christ to you. Moro. 8:25–26; Rom. 5:5; 2 Ne. 26:13 It is part of the gift of charity to be able to recognize the Lord’s hand and feel His love in all that surrounds us. At times it will not be easy to discover the Lord’s love for us in all that we experience, because He is a perfect, anonymous giver. You will search all your life to uncover His hand and the gifts He has bestowed upon you because of His intimate, modest, humble way of granting such wonderful gifts.
Think about the following majestic gifts: the glories of all creation, the earth, the heavens; your feelings of love and joy; His responses of mercy, forgiveness, and innumerable answers to prayer; the gift of loved ones; and finally the greatest gift of all—the Father’s gift of His atoning Son, the perfect one in charity, even the God of love.

2. Receive His love in humility.

Be grateful for the gift and especially for the giver of the gift. D&C 88:33

True gratitude is the ability to humbly see, feel, and even receive love. Alma 5:26

Gratitude is a form of returning love to God. Recognize His hand, tell Him so, express your love to Him. As you come to truly know the Lord, you will find an intimate, sacred relationship built on trust. You will come to know He understands your anguish and will, in compassion, always respond to you in love. Receive it. Feel it. It is not enough just to know that God loves you. The gift is to be felt continually day by day. Alma 34:38 It will then be a divine motivator throughout your life. Repent. Remove any worldliness from your life, including anger. Receive a continual remission of your sins, and you will bridle all your passions and be filled with love.Alma 38:12

3. Convey His love.

The Lord’s response to us is always filled with love. Should not our response to Him be in kind, with real feelings of love? He gives grace (or goodness) for grace, attribute for attribute. As our obedience increases, we receive more grace (or goodness) for the grace we return to Him. D&C 93:12–13, 20 Offer Him the refinement of your attributes, so that when He does appear you will be like Him. 1 Jn. 3:1–3
As a man first immerses his thoughts in love and conveys those feelings to God, man, or self, a magnified portion of that attribute will surely follow from the Spirit. That is true of all godly attributes. Righteous feelings generated by a man seem to precede the increase of those feelings from the Spirit. Unless you are feeling love, you cannot convey true love to others. The Lord has told us to love one another as He loves us, so remember: to be loved, truly love.

To view more

about Charity

click on the

picture.

Mormon tried to teach hope through Jesus Christ’s Atonement and to have charity, which is the pure love of Christ. Click on the picture to read more about Mormon's Story, with pictures.

Click on the home picture.

Print and cut out the flowers.

Write your family’s name on the nameplate on the house.

When you serve your family or live gospel teachings, glue a flower on the house.

As you add flowers, your house will become a home. Place it where it will remind you to make your own house a home filled with charity.

Treat: Share a bunch of grapes. For each grape that you eat, share something you know that shows how much Jesus Christ loves you. Share ways you can build the true love of Christ in your life. Name charitable people who you know.