Letter to the Class

image Class,  Heavenly Father loves each of us and knows how we can help Him and all of our brothers and sisters. For some of us, it's as simple as a smile or pat on the back to encourage others. We can make new friends, share stories or jokes. Simple acts are a great way to show how much you care. We cannot emphasize how important you are to heaven and earth.  Esther was a wonderful and obedient daughter. She was beautiful and wise. When she was faced with trials she went to Mordecai, her guardian, and parental figure. When they learned of the evil desire to kill the children of Judah, she and her uncle formulated a plan. The plan was theirs but everything depended on the Lord. The King of Persia had rules that could get his queen Esther killed. It took the fasting prayer and faith of all of the people of Israel to bless the Queen. The plan worked and the monster that had made the king desire to kill the Jews hung from the very gallows he made to kill them with. Esther

image Children,  When Israel was taken from their lands by Babylon, it was at this time that the hand of God was revealed that God is in charge, He is merciful. For decades the people were in bondage but then one day, the Holy Ghost inspired, Cyrus, the king of Persia. He wanted to return the Israelites to their homelands. He commissioned the saints of that time to choose among them who was ready. At the time Ezra and Nehemiah were prophets. These two men found those that we're ready and with them built the wall and the temple.  This was no small task. The enemies of Israel and Judah wanted the people to fail. They taunted them and fought them. They petitioned the kings not to allow this. They wanted to tear down and destroy. They wanted Judah and Israel to tear down and destroy. How easy is that, for us, to follow that same disaster? Hurt and destroy others. Lose faith or doubt others. We cannot go down this path. We must follow the example of the prophets. All the whi

image Class,  We are going to talk about the kings today. There are two great kings that we're great men who followed the Lord our God. The first was Hezekiah. This man was dealt a hard hand as the Assyrians wanted the city they could not take by force. A speaker of the enemy boasted of their success with other empires, clans, and tribes. They then were demanding the done to be open so that they could walk in. The King and his people ignored the promptings. The prophet said that they would succeed if they honored and obeyed the Lord and His prophet. On the day of the war, the destroying angel killed the entire army. Israel didn't need to fight the war because God had already done it. Heavenly Father wants us to compare ourselves to the city of Israel, Jerusalem. When we are surrounded by the advisory and his legions, we are encouraged to fortify our souls and ignore the devil and his angels. When we're prepared we will not fear. The prophet Elijah, from decades

Image How much do we give to the Lord? Do we not know it will be increased if we give up everything he asks? Sometimes we think the Lord asks too much. For Elijah (and Elisha for that matter), he asked the last meal of a woman and her son. She gave the prophet everything. Sometimes the Lord asks a lot. Maybe it's tithing, commitment, or sacrifice. Both prophets saw incredible miracles. The bounty and mercy of God showed over and over. The blessings became great for those that followed the prophets and listened to their words and read the scriptures.  Sometime later, Elisha encountered a charitable woman who asked for nothing but gave to the prophet. She gave him a room, food, water, and peace. The prophet wanted to give to her something but she kept saying she had enough. A servant of hers said she had no children but always wanted motherhood. The Lord heard her prayers because she was so humble. When we are humble, we mean humble, the Lord gives us blessing when we tak

image When we are feeling alone and afraid like no one knows our problems, remember it was a prayer that brought fire from heaven for Elijah and He (God) whispers to us not because He is far away but right beside us. Remember Mount Carmel? God answered by fire. The people had forgotten the Lord and the false priests challenged the prophet to a dual of gods. Their god was a god of fire and the sky. Elijah's (and ours by the way) was Jehovah, God of all things both heaven and earth. The prophet gave them the first pick of offers, each team built their alter of which the prophet used twelve stones. He then put a trench around his altar and poured twelve buckets of water. Then the priests were given all day to call lightning or fire to cook the offering. All-day they begged, pleaded, cried, threw themselves on the offering, and cut themselves; anything to make it happen. It didn't work. Then it was the prophet's turn. He said a simple prayer. There was no cutting, n