Remembering
by Shauna Gibby

We often speak of remembering our sacred covenants and God’s commandments and of remembering and performing saving ordinances for our deceased ancestors. Most importantly, we speak of the need to remember our Savior Jesus Christ.

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Conference Talk:

For more information on this topic read “Remember and Perish Not” by Elder Marlin K. Jensen, Ensign, May 2007, 36.

Thought:

We often speak of remembering our sacred covenants and God’s commandments and of remembering and performing saving ordinances for our deceased ancestors. Most importantly, we speak of the need to remember our Savior Jesus Christ.

(Marlin K. Jensen, “Remember and Perish Not,” Ensign, May 2007, 36–38)

Song:

“I Will Follow God’s Plan,” Children’s Songbook, p. 164.

Scripture:

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. (John 14:26)

Lesson:

Set a timer for three minutes. Have your family name as many stories about Jesus as they can remember. Have one family member put tally marks on a paper for each story named. When the time is up, count the tally marks and praise their good work. Select two or three of the stories they named, and ask what we can learn from them. (Example: The story of Jesus healing the ten lepers teaches us to show gratitude.)

Remembering Jesus helps us to choose the right. When we have a challenge or decision we must think of His example and ask ourselves, “What would Jesus do?” Then we must do our best to follow that example.

(Beth Lefgren and Jennifer Jackson, Sharing Time, Family Time, Anytime: Book Two, [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1994], p. 85.)

Story:

I love Sundays. I love the rush of getting ready, the bustle of dressing up, my husband making pancakes in the kitchen, my daughters looking radiant, and my sons in ties passing the sacrament. I love organ music, singing loud, and visiting with friends. Most of all, I love listening to, discussing, and thinking about spiritual principles, higher values, and eternal truths. During the sacrament I reflect, evaluate, and reassess. How am I doing? Often, not as well as I’d like. But this week, I promise myself, I’ll do better. I’ve promised to remember the Savior, and this week I will. No matter what, Lord, this week I will remember you.

Then comes Monday morning. Monday follows Sunday like the tail on a dog. I keep thinking maybe someday it won’t, but it always does. And on Monday morning, life gets hard. The bustle of getting ready for church on Sunday is like a movie scene in slow motion compared to Monday. Weekday mornings are always chaotic—too many people need to use the bathroom at the same time; do all the kids have their lunch?; Danny needs a check for music lessons; who will drive Adam’s project to school? Whether we’re hurrying off to a job, racing to get to school on time, or facing a mountain of laundry and the leftover mess from the weekend, Monday morning hits us like a runaway train. I always find that on Mondays, by noon or before, I’ve forgotten. I’ve forgotten what seemed so urgent just the day before. I’ve forgotten Christ. I’ve not just forgotten that, somehow, I want him to be Lord of my whole life (not just my Sunday mornings); I’ve forgotten him altogether.

Thoughts of God, Christ, scripture, or church don’t even occur to me. This workaday week is such another world, a world totally other. The pace is other, the priorities are other, what matters and what doesn’t, who matters and who doesn’t, what I need to do and how I need to be while I’m doing it—all are other. It’s as if we go to sleep Sunday night on a ranch in Wyoming and wake up Monday morning in downtown Manhattan. And we wonder: Which world is real? Which world is most important? Are these two worlds related at all? If so, why do they feel so separate? Why is moving from one to another so jarring?

Is it possible to integrate the spirit of Sunday into the world of Monday through Saturday? How? Given the hectic nature of each day, how do we remember even to try? For me, the question became, Is there some way work itself can remind me to remember? I was thrilled to discover that the answer is yes—a resounding, even thundering yes! Moreover, I believe work can be more than a reminder of lessons learned on Sunday; work has lessons of its own to teach. If we allow it, what we learn on Sunday will inform and affect what we do and learn Monday through Saturday. Likewise, what we do and learn Monday through Saturday informs and affects our experiences on Sunday. “The spirit and the body are the soul of man.” (D&C 88:15.) The Sabbath and the workday, the sacred and the secular, are the soul of our lives. Though they often feel separate, different, other, they are not. All things are spiritual to the Lord. If I am to become more like my Heavenly Father, then all things must be spiritual to me also.

(Joan B. MacDonald, Holiness of Everyday Life, [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1995].)

Activity:

Print two copies of five to twelve different pictures of Jesus Christ (see the Gospel Art Picture Kit on lds.org). Place face down on the floor in random order. Play a matching game, giving everyone a turn to try to find pictures that match.

Refreshment

Quick Peppermint-Stick Cake

• 2 cups whipping cream, plus sugar to sweeten
• 2 peppermint sticks or candy canes, crushed
• 2 drops red food coloring
• 1 large angel food cake
• 10 small candy canes
• Sprigs of holly, for garnish
• 1 recipe Chocolate Sauce (see below)

Whip cream until stiff, adding sugar to sweeten. Stir in crushed peppermint sticks and red food coloring. Slice cake into three layers. Spread flavored whipped cream in between each layer and on top and sides of cake. Garnish individual servings with a small candy cane and holly, if desired. Pass Chocolate Sauce for topping. Makes 10 servings.

Chocolate Sauce

• 1 (14-ounce) can Eagle Brand® sweetened condensed milk
• 1 (1-ounce) square unsweetened chocolate
• 1 tablespoon vanilla

Place sweetened condensed milk and chocolate square in a microwave-safe bowl and cook on high power for two minutes. Remove from microwave. Add vanilla and beat with hand mixer until smooth. Refrigerate sauce until cooled to desired temperature. Mixture will thicken as it cools. Sauce can be made ahead and reheated.

(Julie Badger Jensen, Essential Mormon Celebrations, [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2005] p. 7.)

Deseret Book

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