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 Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2009 5:07 pm
Welcome everybody to todays meeting. I hope everybody has had a great week.
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Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2009 5:10 pm
I'm here! I didn't forget!
And I had an awesome week, I've got great news! My sister is engaged! She and her fiancee are going to be sealed in the San Diego temple next month.
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Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2009 5:14 pm
That's so cool. I love San Diego.
Do you have anything that you would like to discuss in particular?
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Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2009 5:15 pm
Mmm...I dunno, not really. Do you have anything?
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Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2009 5:20 pm
I was thinking Mission Prep or Self Control... You pick
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Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2009 5:20 pm
Well...I'm not really planning on serving a mission, so maybe self-control would be a more applicable topic if it's just us two. Self-discipline is an extremely important part of our mortal probation, after all.
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Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2009 5:23 pm
OK self control it is.
so lets start with an easy question. What is self control and how do we gain it?
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Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2009 5:29 pm
Self-control is just that, the mastery of one's self, in body, mind, and spirit. The three areas work together to form a total sum of self-discipline.
We gain self-control through practice and the help of the Lord, and by listening to the Holy Ghost.
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Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2009 5:33 pm
Yes very good. In 2 Nephi 2:27 it says ''Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself. "
Now what is one area of self-controll that you might need to improve?
Mine is with my family.
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Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2009 5:41 pm
I think I need to improve my temper. I've been way too snarky lately, I keep lashing out at people for no reason and things have been coming out a lot harsher than I mean them to.
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Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2009 5:46 pm
ok. over the next week work on that, write down in your journal and just check yourself. if you need just start daily, say "i won't let my temper get out of control today" and just do that over and over until you have gotten it into control.
So why is self-control so important?
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Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2009 5:52 pm
Self-control is important for three reasons, each relating to the three areas of self-control I talked about earlier.
Body: We were sent here to get a body, but we were also sent here to learn to take care of it. That means we need to exercise self-control with our bodies and not just use them to satisfy the various wants that bodies have, because when that happens, our bodies take control of us, which isn't how it's supposed to work.
Mind: It's important to learn to control our minds because they are powerful things, and with great power comes great responsibility. Not only that, but Satan gets at us through our mind. He puts stupid thoughts into our heads in the hopes that we will entertain them and even start to accept them. Which is why we need to control our minds to recognize and take out those influences. We also need to train our minds to learn and learn effectively, because we were also sent here to gain knowledge.
Spirit: Controlling our own spirits is the most important of the three. When we place God's will above our own, we are exercising self-control of our spirits, since we are acknowledging that there is Someone who knows far better than we, no matter how well we think we have things figured out. It's also integral to being susceptible to the promptings of the Spirit.
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Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2009 5:57 pm
some people become so obsessed with a desire for revenge after a real or imagined wrong that the desire takes control of their lives.
Here is a story of a rancher who portrays an amazing amount of self control:
In the early part of this century, a man living on an isolated cattle ranch discovered he did not have enough hay to feed his cattle through the winter. The closest source of help was a neighboring rancher who lived several miles away.
The man went to his neighbor, explained his need, and asked to buy hay. “Yes, I’ll sell you some hay,” the neighbor answered. Then, knowing there was no place else to get hay, added, “but it will cost you double the price.”
The rancher said nothing, paid the price, and made the long haul by wagon and horse team back to his own ranch.
Several years later the neighbor found himself in the same predicament—no feed for his cattle. He had no choice but to approach the man whom he had treated so shamefully with the request to buy some hay.
“No,” said the rancher, “I will not sell you any hay.” The neighbor had begun to walk dejectedly away, when the rancher stopped him. “But I’ll tell you what I will do. I’ll give you hay—all you want—and my sons and I will haul it to your place for you.”
Now why do you think that the rancher was able to do these things?
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Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2009 6:03 pm
Because he exercised self-control. There were myriad reasons for him to exact revenge upon the other man, all of them petty and selfish. He chose the nobler path and rose above the "natural man" response to be mean and retaliatory.
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Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2009 6:05 pm
very good.
Now what are some ways in which we can rise above the natural man? (ex. being lazy, becoming angry, revenge, or lying)
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