As a prelude to the lesson, I began by calling a student volunteer to the front of the room. As it happened, it turned out to be the tallest student in the class. I asked him to show how high he could reach. He went over to the wall and rested his verrry long arm at a very tall spot on the wall.
Then when it appeared he had reached as high as he could, I asked him to reach a little higher. Invariably, even though the student thought he was reaching as tall as he could, he still was able to stretch more - even without standing on his toes!
A few years back, President Hinckley asked that we all reach a little higher, to do a little more. Not a lot more, just a little more. I shared this with the class and asked why President Hinckley asked this of us.
I then drew a small bucket on the board and asked the class to imagine the room were filled with rocks. That being the case, would all those rocks fit in such a small bucket? What if the rocks were candy bars? Financial blessings? The class could see the bucket still was too small to hold a room full of much of anything.
I asked the class to read D&C 111:11 (the five "11"s verse).
"Therefore, be ye as wise as serpents and yet without sin; and I will order all things for your good, as fast as ye are able to receive them. Amen."
I asked the class again why they thought President Hinckley had asked everyone to stretch a little farther. They started thinking much more deeply about this, realizing that the prophet wanted them to have more and more blessings.
As a prelude to the lesson, I began by calling a student volunteer to the front of the room. As it happened, it turned out to be the tallest student in the class. I asked him to show how high he could reach. He went over to the wall and rested his verrry long arm at a very tall spot on the wall.
Then when it appeared he had reached as high as he could, I asked him to reach a little higher. Invariably, even though the student thought he was reaching as tall as he could, he still was able to stretch more - even without standing on his toes!
A few years back, President Hinckley asked that we all reach a little higher, to do a little more. Not a lot more, just a little more. I shared this with the class and asked why President Hinckley asked this of us.
I then drew a small bucket on the board and asked the class to imagine the room were filled with rocks. That being the case, would all those rocks fit in such a small bucket? What if the rocks were candy bars? Financial blessings? The class could see the bucket still was too small to hold a room full of much of anything.
I asked the class to read D&C 111:11 (the five "11"s verse).
"Therefore, be ye as wise as serpents and yet without sin; and I will order all things for your good, as fast as ye are able to receive them. Amen."
I asked the class again why they thought President Hinckley had asked everyone to stretch a little farther. They started thinking much more deeply about this, realizing that the prophet wanted them to have more and more blessings.
Following are some quotes by president Hinckley relating to the theme of this object lesson:
“Brethren, you hold the priesthood of the Almighty. I hope that we honor it, that we live worthy of it, that we are the kind of men who are deserving of the inspiration of the Lord as we serve in His work. Are we what we ought to be? Are we good husbands—thoughtful, kind, respectful? Are we good fathers—gentle with our children, with love for them, respecting them as sons and daughters of God? Are we worthy to ‘speak in the name of God the Lord, even the Savior of the world’? [D&C 1:20]. I ask you, my brethren, to ponder that question in your hearts; and if there be any who do not measure up, change, turn around, and stand a little taller and be a little better as a son of God, as a husband in Israel, as a father of a family, that faith might increase in the earth” (creation of the Canterbury England Stake, 27 Aug. 1995).
"Try a little harder to be a little better."— Gordon B. Hinckley
“The time has come for us to stand a little taller, to lift our eyes and stretch our minds to a greater comprehension and understanding of the grand millennial mission of this, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” ( “This Is the Work of the Master,” in Conference Report, Apr. 1995, 95.)
This post originally appeared on the Scripture Mom Seminary Class Notes blog. I've archived it so it doesn't get lost.
