OUR PERFECT EXAMPLE--Relief Society Fourth Sunday "Teaching For Our Times" Lesson

Our Relief Society lesson this Sunday was from a talk given by President Henry B. Eyring at the last October General Conference and is included in the November, 2009, issue of the ENSIGN. The talk is entitled "OUR PERFECT EXAMPLE" and was beautifully taught by Sister Lorraine Johnson.

Sister Johnson introduced the lesson by asking the class to name some traits of someone who is a perfect example. The class responded with: Compassionate, generous, loving, humble, faithful, happy, service oriented, thoughtful, forgiving, optimistic, steadfast.

It was pointed out that only our Savior, Jesus Christ, possessed all of the attributes of a perfect person. In his talk, President Eyring stated that most of us share a desire to become better than we are. He quoted Moroni 7:48, "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is, that we may have hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen."

Sister Johnson then had the class sing the Primary children's song, "I'M TRYING TO BE LIKE JESUS." President Eyring said, "We believe that through living the gospel of Jesus Christ we can become like the Savior, who is perfect. Even the most humble person can take hope in the invitation to become like the Savior."

Love is the motivating principle by which the Lord leads us along the way towards becoming like Him. The class was asked to give examples of how loving someone made a difference. Sister Newton responded that a really grumpy man she worked with changed his attitude after she showed him kindness. He became very pleasant to be around. Sister Evans related that someone she was very tentative about approaching responded favorably to her when she tried really hard to be extra loving and nice. It made a great difference in their relationship.

Sister Johnson talked about how Christ loved unconditionally and it is important to focus on the good things in a relationship whether it is with our family, our partner, our co-workers, our neighbors, our friends. This brought responses from Sister Arrington who pointed out that families seem to be the most difficult to show an outpouring of love toward when in fact, they are the ones that deserve it the most. We have greater expectations of our family and feel they should rise above everyone else but we seldom tell them how great they are. Sister Heiner told about the unconditional love her grandmother has for everyone in her family, even those who have great shortcomings. Sister Lowe's daughter told her of a man at her daughter's work whose life was changed by his Patriarchial Blessing and how her daughter now wants to get her own blessing. Sister Jones expressed the way she played with her son changed his behavior. Sister Hafen told about a friend who is always so thoughtful she has influenced Sister Hafen all of her life. Sister Jones said she learned how to be a good visiting teacher because she had a visiting teacher who showed concern for her. Sister Newton said many of her children's friends call her Mom because she has shown an interest in them.

In his talk, President Erying gave advice to children, to teenagers, to husbands and wives and to those who have adopted children on how they can and should follow the perfect example of our Savior in expressing love to those we love. "As you forgive and love those around you, you will naturally develop a love for the Savior."

Sister Johnson concluded her lesson with her testimony and expressed her love of Christ and how grateful she was when she felt a Christlike love toward someone.

Sister Sheffer