1. Elder Mervyn B. Arnold Area Council Meeting January 9, 2015
The Law of the Fast
Elder Mervyn B. Arnold
Area Council Meeting
January 9, 2015

2. Our Challenge
“Our basic challenge is to teach our people to faithfully observe the law of the fast, and invite them to consecrate their fast by making a generous offering (President James E. Faust)” What doctrines, principles, and blessings will we teach that will inspire the leaders, missionaries, and members to faithfully observe and teach the law of the fast and receive the promised blessings?

3. “This kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.” (Matthew 17:21)

4. Handbook 2, 6.1.2
“Providing in the Lord’s way humbles the rich, exalts the poor, and sanctifies both, ‘building character in the members of the Church, givers and receivers, rescuing all that is finest down deep inside of them, and bringing to flower and fruitage the latent richness of the spirit (President J. Reuben Clark Jr.; see also D&C 104).’”

5. “Another step toward self-mastery comes when you are old enough to observe the law of the fast. As funds are contributed from meals missed, the needs of the poor may be met. But meanwhile, through your spirit, you develop personal power over your body’s drives of hunger and thirst Fasting fortifies discipline over appetite and helps to protect against later uncontrolled cravings and gnawing habits.”

6. “As you grow older, our concerns shift more toward your spiritual growth, in order that you might achieve your full potential. ‘For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit and becometh a saint’ (Mosiah 3:19.) “That requires self-mastery. Remember, ‘The spirit and the body are the soul of man.’ Both are of great importance.” (See D&C 88:15) (Cont.)

7. “Remarkable as your body is, its prime purpose is even of greater importance—to serve as tenement for your spirit Part of each test is to determine if your body can become mastered by the spirit that dwells within it.” (Elder Russell M. Nelson)

8. Isaiah 58:6-11

9. Principles to Teach
Begin and end the fast with personal and family prayer
Give thanks for blessings and seek the Lord’s strength through the fasting period
Involve young single adults, youth, and children in fasting and the donation of fast offerings
Involve the Aaronic Priesthood quorums in the collection of fast offerings

10. “If every member observed the fast and contributed generously, the poor and the needy not only of the Church, but many others as well, would be blessed and provided for. Every giver would be blessed in body and spirit, and the hungry would be fed, the naked clothed according to need.” (President Gordon B. Hinckley)
First Presidency Meeting with the Presiding Bishopric

11. “Have you noticed that individuals who endeavor to be their brother’s keeper have a brighter smile? Their footsteps are more certain. They have an aura about them of contentment and satisfaction—even dedication—for one cannot participate in helping others without experiencing a rich blessing himself.
“I extol those who, with loving care and compassionate concern, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and house the homeless. He who notes the sparrow’s fall will not be unmindful of such service.”
(President Thomas S. Monson)

12. Our Challenge Therefore, what?
“Our basic challenge is to teach our people to faithfully observe the law of the fast, and invite them to consecrate their fast by making a generous offering (President James E. Faust)” What doctrines, principles, and blessings will we teach that will inspire the leaders, missionaries, and members to faithfully observe and teach the law of the fast and receive the promised blessings?
Therefore, what?