Learn Miracles from the Master: Lesson 14: “Who Is My Neighbour?”

We've got 3 weeks before our next Sunday school lesson, but I want you to check this out. Here's the purpose for our next lesson:

Purpose

To help class members humble themselves, forgive others, and show charity for one another.

What have I been talking about lately? Charity! Particularly noticing if we lack charity for ourselves and seeking help from God to correct that. {see excerpt from the Gospel Principles lesson on Charity or click this link for full lesson}. So I invite you over the next couple of weeks as we listen to the Prophets, Apostles, General Authorities, and Stake Leaders, to ask God if there areas of your life that need the pure love of Christ.

Do you need to forgive yourself or others? Can you be more kind in the things that you say to yourself? Do you fully believe that you are a beloved child of God deserving of love no matter what you do? Or do you chastise yourself unkindly for mistakes you make and dredge up memories of why you are unlovable, unforgivable, a hopeless case, not smart enough, not talented enough.....etc. etc. Listen to your self talk. Listen to what you say to yourself when you make a mistake or what you say about others when they do something out of line. Do you ever call yourself stupid? Would you ever say that to a friend?

You know how to be charitable. You practice all the time on your neighbors. I know. Because you are wonderful people and you make great sacrifices to help and serve others. So if you need to exercise a little more charity towards You, no sweat! You know how to do it. Just start loving yourself as you love others.

Self-love and self-acceptance aren't an event anymore than any other important relationship in your life. Charity for yourself can be nurtured overtime with loving kindness. When you hear yourself saying mean things to yourself, step in and intervene, just like you would if you heard someone being mean to someone else. Ask God to help you replace the unkind words with the truth about who you are. You are God's child. He loves you eternally and completely, no matter what you do. Nothing can separate you from the love of God. Rejoice in that truth!

Know who you are. Recognize all the good things you do. Forgive yourself for making mistakes and rejoice that the atonement can rectify anything! Be kind to yourself. Be grateful for the good choices you have made in your life. You are worth it!

Be a good neighbor to yourself.

God bless you in your journey!

Developing the Virtue of Charity

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How can we become more charitable?

One way we can become charitable is by studying the life of Jesus Christ and keeping His commandments. We can study what He did in certain situations and do the same things when we are in the same kinds of situations.

Second, when we have uncharitable feelings, we can pray to have greater charity. Mormon urges us, “Pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love [charity], which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ” (Moroni 7:48).

Third, we can learn to love ourselves, which means that we understand our true worth as children of our Heavenly Father. The Savior taught that we must love others as we love ourselves (see Matthew 22:39). To love ourselves, we must respect and trust ourselves. This means that we must be obedient to the principles of the gospel. We must repent of any wrongdoings. We must forgive ourselves when we have repented. We will come to love ourselves better when we can feel the deep, comforting assurance that the Savior truly loves us.

Fourth, we can avoid thinking we are better than other people. We can have patience with their faults. Joseph Smith said, “The nearer we get to our heavenly Father, the more we are disposed to look with compassion on perishing souls; we feel that we want to take them upon our shoulders, and cast their sins behind our backs” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith [2007], 428–29).

"Lesson 14: “Who Is My Neighbour?”," New Testament Class Member Study Guide, (1997)

Matthew 18; Luke 10

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What is Jesus’ counsel to those who desire to achieve true greatness in his kingdom? (See Matthew 18:2–4; Mark 9:35.) How can we become more childlike and more submissive to the will of our Father in Heaven?
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In teaching the parable of the unmerciful servant, Jesus emphasized the importance of forgiving others (Matthew 18:23–35). How are we like the king’s servant in our debt to the Lord? What can you learn from the king’s example in forgiving others? What are some of the dangers of not forgiving others? (See Matthew 18:34–35.)
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What can you learn from the parable of the good Samaritan? (See Luke 10:25–37.) How have you been blessed by “good Samaritans”? How can you be a “good Samaritan”? (See Mosiah 4:26.)

Suggestion for Family Discussion

Read the parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:25–37). Give particular attention to the Savior’s invitation to “go, and do thou likewise” (Luke 10:37). Then make a list of your friends, relatives, and other acquaintances, asking each family member to contribute at least one name to the list. Make plans to serve one or two of the people on the list in the coming week.

As part of this family discussion, you may want to sing together “Have I Done Any Good?” (Hymns, no. 223).