December: How can I learn to serve more effectively in the Church?

Service

Parable of the Spoon

• What is the meaning behind this parable?
• Difference between Heaven and Hell: Christ-like love - Service
• What is Service? “The action of helping or doing work for someone.”

Elder Dallin H Oaks talk “Why Do We Serve?”

• Service is an imperative for those who worship Jesus Christ. To followers who were vying for prominent positions in his kingdom, the Savior taught, “Whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant.” (Matt. 20:27.)
• When we think of service, we usually think of the acts of our hands. But the scriptures teach that the Lord looks to our thoughts as well as to our acts 1 Sam. 16:6-7. When the prophet Samuel was sent to Bethlehem to choose and anoint one of the sons of Jesse as a new king for Israel, the Lord told him to reject the first son, though he was a man of fine appearance.
• Latter-day revelation declares that the Lord requires not only the acts of the children of men, but “the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind.” (D&C 64:34.)
• These scriptures make clear that in order to purify our service in the Church and to our fellowmen, it is necessary to consider not only how we serve, but also why we serve.
• Reasons we serve: Some may serve for hope of earthly reward, motivated by a personal desire to obtain good companionship, Some may serve out of fear of punishment, Other persons may serve out of a sense of duty or out of loyalty to friends or family or traditions. One such higher reason for service is the hope of an eternal reward. our service should be for the love of God and the love of fellowmen
• have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.” (1 Cor. 13:1–3.)

Difference between Service and Christ-like Service

• Ask the youth to share stories from the scriptures in which someone was given a difficult assignment and received help from the Lord. What inspires them about these stories? What do they learn from these stories about fulfilling callings?
• Laman and Lemuel VS Nephi. (Or any other scriptural example)
• Jeremiah 1:5–9 (God puts words into Jeremiah’s mouth)
• Mosiah 2:11 (King Benjamin sustained by the lord to render christ-like service)
• Moses 6:31–34 (Enoch is blessed to preach unto the people.
• I know that God expects us to work to purify our hearts and our thoughts so that we may serve one another for the highest and best reason, the pure love of Christ.

Brainstorm ways to serve (choose a scribe)

Parable of the Spoon

One day a man said to God, “God, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like.

God showed the man two doors. Inside the first one, in the middle of the room, was a large round table with a large pot of stew. It smelled delicious and made the man’s mouth water, but the people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles and each found it possible to {mosimage}reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful, but because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths.

The man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering. God said, "You have seen Hell."

Behind the second door, the room appeared exactly the same. There was the large round table with the large pot of wonderful stew that made the man's mouth water. The people had the same long-handled spoons, but they were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking.

The man said, "I don't understand."

God smiled. “It is simple,” He said, “Love only requires one skill. These people learned early to feed one another. Those who are hungry are greedy people, and they think only of themselves.