WEEK 9: FEBRUARY 25 - MARCH 3

"He Taught Them as One Having Authority"
Matthew 6-7


Can I just say that your children are AMAZING!!! Each week they come in and surprise me by their awesomeness and knowledge. If they don't know it, they are able to understand new gospel principles by the end of class. Truly amazing people!!! I am humbled to be their teacher and to see their growth each week.


I am glad to see those who were here today. Some we haven't seen a while due to illness and other reasons. I am glad everyone was feeling better. We also missed McKayla and Joseph today. I hope to see everyone next week!!!

I have to admit my plan to go over two weeks was ambitious and we did not get to everything so they will get another week of being a peacemaker! As well as, more of Christ's Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6-7.


For Sunday, March 3:

• Matthew 5:9- Be a peacemaker
• Matthew 6:5-13- I can pray to my Heavenly Father as Jesus did
• Matthew 7:12- I should treat others the way I want to be treated (the Golden Rule)
• I heard a variation of this that I thought was interesting- "That which is hurtful to you, do not do unto others"
• Both "rules" are subjective and cover a lot of ground on how to be kind and I think that together they make a simple rule of thumb to live by
• Matthew 7:24-27- I can build on a strong foundation by following Jesus
• The wise man and the foolish man

Other highlights in Matthew 6 & 7:

• Matthew 6- 
• Jesus teaching how to practice the gospel with humility and faith
• As we follow Jesus Christ and His gospel we will want to do the things to keep us close to Him. Whether it be tithing (alms- Matthew 6:1-5), prayer (Matthew 6:5-15), fasting (Matthew 6:16-18), good works/service to others (Matthew 6:19-23), relying on our faith in Him and no other (Matthew 6:24-34; JST), etc.
• Jesus never did anything where He sought out the biggest venue, the largest audience, or the most brag-worthy act. He did things quietly and even asked some people to not share what He had done. He never lauded His abilities or miracles. He always quietly agreed to what He'd done simply and used it to teach greater truths.

• Matthew 7-
• vs. 1-2: Judge not unrighteously, that ye be not judged; but judge righteous judgment (see JST, Matthew 7:1-2)
• vs. 3-5 (see JST, Matthew 7:4-8): Be forgiving of others because we are not perfect either
• v. 6 (see JST, Matthew 7:9-11): Repentance and keeping sacred things sacred
• vs. 7-8 (7-12) (see JST, Matthew 7:12-17): God gives revelation to all who ask
• vs. 13-14: Because strait is the gate; and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life
• vs. 15-23: Beware of false prophets and false belief
• Be aware that we do not follow the wrong person, are not "followers" where others can see our works, but followers who follow for our own salvation and not the thoughts and opinion of others.

Have a wonderful week!!!

WEEK 8: FEBRUARY 18-24

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and enjoyed Stake Conference. There were many great talks and inspiration shared with us.


Matthew 5 & Luke 6:
"Blessed Are Ye"

We are back in Matthew and Luke this week with some fun and well-known scriptures. Because of Stake Conference, I'm going to try and combine last week and this week in our lesson on Sunday (see below). It's a lot to go over and maybe a little crazy of me to try and put it all together, but I think we can do it.

This week:

• The Sermon on the Mount- Matthew 5:1-12 & Luke 6:20-26 (20-38)
• Christ compares his disciples to salt- Matthew 5:13
• Salt can enhance/salt of the earth or it can destroy/salt the earth; it can have flavor/be useful or lose its flavor/good for nothing
• Be a light unto the world- Matthew 5:14-16
• The Law of Christ supersedes the law of Moses- Matthew 5:17-48 & Luke 6:27-35
• Jesus wants us to love everyone- Matthew 5:44-45

• Read through Luke- there is much in this chapter that we won't address in this week's lesson, but will be touched on in future lessons as the other books "catch up" to the events outlined in chapter 6.

For Sunday, the topics I want to focus on are:

~A quick review on needing baptism and the Holy Ghost to live with God again- John 3:1-10

~Jesus is living water- John 4:4:5-15
   ~Compare this phrase to John 6:35- Christ is the "bread of life" (I mentioned this scripture when we talked about Satan tempting Christ to turn a stone to bread)
   ~Compare this phrase to baptism.

~Jesus cleansing the temple- John 2:13-22
   ~What is the importance of the temple? 
   ~Why was Jesus mad about the things he saw happening within the temple?

~What is a peacemaker and how can we be one?- Matthew 5:9

~Be a light unto the World- Matthew 5:14-16

~God loves me and He wants me to love everyone- John 3:16 & Matthew 5:44-45

Have a wonderful week!! See you on Sunday!

WEEK 7: FEBRUARY 11-17

"Ye Must Be Born Again"
John 2-4

We had several kids not here today and we missed seeing them. Annie, Isla, McKayla- I hope to see you all next week!

I wanted to share a scripture from week 6's lesson that really stood out to me. Jesus was feasting at Levi/Matthew's house (Levi changed his name to Matthew when he converted to following Jesus) where some other publicans and Pharisees were also there. Pharisees, if you remember, were very by the book, follow every law, don't associate with non-Jews and unclean people. And they asked Jesus why He ate with publicans and sinners (non-Jews and unclean people)?

"And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick.

I came not to call the righteous, but the sinners to repentance."

I LOVED this. We are all sinners, we all have something we need the Savior for, we are all going through our own trials, we all need a little help from Jesus to "fix" us. Jesus is here for us, for you and for me. 

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STAKE CONFERENCE- FEBRUARY 16-17 (NO PRIMARY)
-February 16- Leadership meeting 2-4pm; Adult meeting 6-8pm (please note the time for the adult meeting, it is earlier than it has been in the past)
-February 17- Stake Conference 10-12pm at the stake center

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There are some GREAT stories and lessons going on in these chapters this week. I am actually really bummed we won't have primary next week there is so much good stuff here. I will probably touch on one or two things from this weeks reading when we have class again in two weeks.

Keep an eye out for any references to the Joseph Smith Translation (JST) in the footnotes for these scriptures. There are quite a few.

Highlights for the reading this week:

John 2-
~v1-11: water into wine (JST for verses 1 and 2)
~v13-22: Jesus cleanses the temple and prophesies of his death and resurrection

John 3-
~v1-10: we need to be "born again"; baptized and confirmed to live with God again
~v16 (16-21): God sent His Son to die so that we may have eternal life 
~v25-36: John the Baptist testifies of Christ and His ability to give us eternal life

John 4-
~v5-15 (16-30): Jesus teaches a Samarian woman about "living water"
~v31-38: missionary work; harvesting souls; the field is ready to harvest
~v39-42: continuation from the Samarian woman
~v46-54: Jesus heals the nobleman's son

HAVE A GREAT WEEK EVERYONE!!!

WEEK 6: FEBRUARY 4-10

"The Spirit of the Lord Is Upon Me"
Matthew 4 & Luke 4-5

So sorry this is so late!!! We've been battling illness here at the Zielke home. I hope you all are well and healthy.

We missed Annie this week in class. I hope you are feeling better and we will see you on Sunday.

This week's reading material covers a lot of ground and a lot of deeper concepts. I hope you are taking the time to discuss them as a family. I know I'm feeling the pressure to keep my own children learning and understanding.

I'm following the Primary manual pretty closely this week since there is so much in these chapters. But don't be afraid to discuss more from these chapters. I usually plan on talking about more than I post if given time.

• Jesus fasts for 40 days and nights and is tempted by Satan- Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13
• Jesus' purpose- Luke 4:18-19
• What does it mean to be fishers of men- Matthew 4:18-22; Luke 5:1-11

As you read through the scriptures each week, please pay attention to any reference to the Joseph Smith Translation (JST). Joseph Smith wrote it by revelation as a clarifier to truths and doctrine changed or omitted when the scriptures were compiled.

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Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John each wrote their records at different times and for very different reasons:

• Matthew- to emphasize Old Testament prophesies being fulfilled
• Mark- to show Christ as the Son of God
• Luke- directed his writings to non-Jews and tends to be more detailed
• John- to testify Christ is the promised Messiah and Son of God

Because of this their records, while similar, can have a different order of events and detail. For example this week in Matthew and Luke we are talking in depth about Satan tempting Christ after He fasted in the desert for 40 days and 40 nights. Mark glosses over this in 2 verses in Mark chapter one. A good resource to look at to keep each book and event on an even timeline is the "Harmony of the Gospels" located just after the Bible dictionary and before the Joseph Smith Translation. Or it can be found online HERE. 

Happy reading!