It’s week 6. Welcome back again to the GCBC! This week we’ll be studying the Sunday afternoon session talk called “Gifts to Help Us Navigate Our Lives,” by Elder Jose A. Teixeira of the Quorum of the Seventy. He teaches that, “We are not left alone. God has given us the necessary gifts to help us in our mortal experience.”
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>>Click here to read the talk “Gifts to Help Us Navigate Our Lives,” by Elder Jose A. Teixeira<<
I don’t have anything else profound to say yet. I’ll just wait around to see what you’ve got. 🙂
Diapers and Divinity 
I hope I can get to this talk this week! I’ve decided to study Conference by session, so if I don’t reply this week, I’ll definitely come back when I get to this session! 🙂 I’m glad you’re doing this, because whenever I read a talk, I’ll always be able to come back and read all the awesome comments people make!
Wow, I’m overwhelmed by the extreme popularity of the GCBC this week! 🙂
Here are my thoughts on this talk.
1. I’ve been thinking a bit lately about how important it is that God has equipped each of us with the tools we need to deal with whatever kind of mortality we’ve been sent here to experience. He has given us what we need to be successful at our own missions. “Using the spiritual gifts we have been given is paramount in order to remain on the right course.” And one of the most important tools is access to his all-powerful help.
2. I like the concept that conscience makes us responsible beings. I can’t help but reflect on how much irresponsibility there is in the world as people become more and more adept at squelching out their conscience.
3. “Learning to choose that which is good and keeping the commandments will create a pattern…” Patterns help me so much to act the way I know I should. I’ve been working hard lately to create routines that reflect my goals.
4. The last thing our Heavenly Father wants is for us to be lost. I love that, in His wisdom, He has given us everything we need to remain in His sight and care. Lost (in a spiritual sense) is a choice we make and a refusal of those gifts; but access to them, even in the deepest and darkest moments, is only one sincere prayer away.
I had much of the same thoughts as you, Steph. I, too, have been thinking about the gifts each of us is given for our particular mortal experience. I liked when he said, “We are born with a natural capacity to distinguish between right and wrong because of the Light of Christ that is given to every person (D&C 84:46). This faculty is called conscience. The possession of it makes us responsible beings.” I guess I usually don’t think of my (or anyone’s) conscience as the Light of Christ. I like that. It also makes me sad that so many have become irresponsible, thus refusing the gift of that direction from the Light of Christ. Thankfully, as you said, returning that is only a sincere prayer away.
One thing we’ve been talking about a little in our home lately is choices and their consequences. I have talked to my girls about the ability we have to make choices that will affect our lives for many years, but seem small and almost insignificant now. I liked the quote from the talk: “Choices have consequences attached, which may or may not be manifested immediately after our decisions. Using the spiritual gifts we have been given is paramount in order to remain on the right course.” The choices we make are always going to have consequences, and the more we grow and learn in the Gospel, the more we can see that relying on God and the gifts He has given us helps us to have consequences that are beneficial to our spiritual growth, and our desire to live with Him again.
Oh, I love the thoughts the previous posters have shared, but my own impressions went in a little different direction.
The thing that actually struck me, the most, was in the first paragraph:
“Following the teachings and example of Jesus Christ will enable us to understand more fully our part in that plan.”
This, for me, was profound! I believe that I have things to do and missions to accomplish here on this earth. Since I realized that truth as a teenager, I’ve fretted a little bit about “missing” the reasons why I’m here. What if I miss my whole purpose on earth because I’m too busy sleeping/shopping/hurrying? So, that sentence gave me both an answer, as well as some comfort. As long as I am doing my absolute best (snort) to follow the teachings and example of my Savior, I am not going to miss my mission. It is not going to pass me by. I found that to be motivating.
Also, in the next part, I felt a spiritual… I don’t know what to call it… pat on the back? heavenly hug? (That sounds weird. I don’t know how to describe it.) In the part where he’s talking about using our agency wisely to “bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” and the Spirit whispered to me “Look at your three children. You’ve done that.” And that? That was an amazing moment for me. Because choosing to have children when it puts you on bedrest, makes you sick, fat, and grumpy, etc. takes FAITH. No one ever told me that I would have to exercise my faith and agency muscles the hardest in the pursuit of having children. I was grateful for that moment.
Steph–thank you, so much, for GCBC. I am continuing to LOVE it.
I really liked ” If we become desensitized to the things of God in our lives, we too lose reception of the signal needed to guide us. Keeping the commandments is our best assurance to maintain a strong signal with the Divine.” I tend to fall between the two extremes too much of the time. I still have reception but not necessarily a ‘strong signal’. It was a reminder to me to do what I need to do to keep the signal strong.