Keeping the Commandments - The World From Their Eyes

In case you want to read the lesson itself, you can find that

here: September - Commandments - Lesson # 3

I asked the youth to give me a few things they see at school among their peers that could be better if their peers knew and lived the commandments. 

1) Respect of parents - It seems pretty common place for the kids to hear of their peers talking poorly about their parents. It could be because they are angry about discipline handed to them, or because they esteem the parents as old fashioned or out of touch.  We agreed it is okay be unhappy with your Mom or Dad if they give you a consequence, but it isn't okay to gossip about them. (Unless of course you are going to say how AMAZING your parents are, then they felt it was absolutely okay to spread that message.)   I'll go along with that .

2) Taking the Lord's name in vain - Every person in my class has been bombarded with this kind of language, without exception.  And when I asked them if that included their teachers, several said yes, including them as well. 

I shared with them a story of a recent experience I had at a local grocery store with a group of young men who were cursing up a storm. They were absolutely clueless that anyone else was listening to them, and moreover they were unaware that their language was of any concern. They didn't even remember what they had said that could be offensive.

I'm fairly certain that the next time a 50 year old woman saunters up to them to say something, they will think twice about what comes out of their mouth. (At least that is the hopeful attitude I'm going to keep regarding that incident.)

3) Drugs - Word of Wisdom 

This is always an interesting conversation. They seem to clearly understand that marijuana, cocaine, heroin, beer, liquor,and cigarettes are things to stay away from. They know there are kids that are doing drugs in their schools, and they haven't experienced it in their circle of friends.  What's interesting to me is to have the conversation about the gray areas in people's understanding.  What is the Church counsel on the Word of Wisdom ?  Do you drink Dr. Pepper to get out of bed ?  Do you use cough medicine to go to sleep and you aren't sick ?  The buzz words are stimulate and excess. 

One of my senior students said, " Keeping the commandments could help everyone - all over the world!" 

EXACTLY! 

Our class then took a turn as we read about Abinidi and his stellar example of keeping the commandments. He died because he wouldn't deny the commandments. So what does that tell us about our efforts to keep them ?

1) You always have a choice to be an example. 

2)  Search for ways to keep the commandments even if it            seems like it may be hard to do so.

3) The Spirit can guide you if you keep the commandments       and stay worthy to receive that guidance.

My heart aches for the youth of today. The adversary wants to desensitize their souls and cause them to be beyond feeling. He wants them to be so used to pain, suffering, death and destruction that they turn a blind eye. He uses the great and spacious building to keep them from holding on to the rod, learning about the Savior and choosing the right. 

I hope that my class knows that if they arm themselves with the shields of prayer, hope, faith in Jesus Christ and keeping the commandments, they will be "the light of the world."  They have been sent here at this time to be examples to those in their circles of influence. I see their brightness, their goodness and their potential.  I can't wait to see what these young people become.