RS Lesson: "Remember Your Way Back Home"

 This month's Relief Society lesson from me was Elder Jose A. Teixeira's talk "Remember Your Way Back Home." 

Ask yourself: What smell reminds you of your childhood home? For me, it's apple cinnamon candles.

Salmon hatch in a stream, spend their lives in the open ocean, and return to the stream of their birth when it’s time to spawn. How do you think they find the stream they were born in? Researchers discovered that they use their sense of smell to follow scents they recognize as their home.

In making the connection with the salmon, Elder Teixeira said, “The most important things we can do in this life is to recognize and remember the pathway back to our Heavenly Father and faithfully and joyfully persevere throughout the journey.”

Elder Teixeira gives us four things to remember to help us return home to Heavenly Father.

1. Remember that we are children of God

"“Knowing that we are children of God and that He wants us to return to His presence…” (emphasis added)

The reason I underlined the "and" is because knowing that we are children of God isn't a new concept. One of the first things we learn in the Church is that we are sons and daughters of God. But adding in that Heavenly Father wants us to return home is not new information, but it is something I haven't thought about as a motivation to follow the iron rod. Heavenly Father wants you to come back to him. He is rooting for you!

What helps us remember this?

• Remember our blessings from the Lord

• Trust what God’s servants say about our worth → the Spirit, Prophet, other church leaders, etc.

“Knowing who you are changes what you feel and what you do. Understanding who you truly are better prepares you to recognize and remember your way back to your heavenly home and yearn to be there.”

How has knowledge of your self worth helped you?

One sister shared that her acceptance of her self worth helped her quit a job that was mistreating her, and then gave her the courage to tell another potential job ten minutes after the deadline, "I am the right person for the job, please take my application."

Another sister shared that her self worth awareness helped her leave a group of friends in high school who were really mean to her, and find a new group who were much nicer; allowing her to have a much better high school experience.

2. We can remember the foundation that protect us

What is that foundation? Jesus Christ.

Helaman 5:6-12 has the word remember 13 times. And verses 9-12 specifically talk about what Christ has done for us, with verse 12 naming Christ as our foundation and rock.

When have you been protected by having Jesus Christ as your foundation?

Several sisters talked about how just in general having a foundation in Christ allows us to be strong during all of the stuff that life throws at us. Another sister added that part of this foundation is making decisions long before the situation happens, that way we aren't put on the spot and unsure of what the right choice it.

3. We can remember to be prayerful

What is the most common topic that you search on Google?

Answers: How to..., Cast of (fill in the blank movie), Recipes, Carbohydrates

We have something much better than Google: prayer.

D&C 19:38 Pray always, and I will pour out my Spirit upon you, and great shall be your blessing - yea, even more than if you should obtain treasures of earth and corruptibleness to extend thereof.

“God is fully aware of each one of us and ready to listen to our prayers. When we remember to pray, we find His sustaining love, and the ore we pray to our Father in Heaven in Christ’s name, the more we bring the Savior into our life and the better we will recognize the path He has marked to our heavenly home.”

4. We can remember to serve others

“As we strive to follow Jesus Christ by serving and showing kindness to others, we make the world a better place… Loving service adds meaning to the lives of both the giver and the receiver...Loving service to others guides us along the path to our heavenly hoe - the path of becoming like our Savior.”

“We have Jesus Christ’s perfect example to follow, and the journey toward our eternal home is possible only because of His teachings, His life, and His atoning sacrifice - including His death and glorious Resurrection.”

Why do you think serving others is part of the path to returning home?

So, to review:

Remember that you are a child of God who is rooting for you! Remember to make Jesus Christ your foundation. Remember to pray and serve others.