Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Meetings for the Atherton Ward are held at 6500 E. Atherton St., Long Beach. Sacrament service is held every Sunday at 9 a.m. This is followed in the second hour by Sunday School on the first and third Sundays; Relief Society and Elders Quorum meetings are on the second and fourth Sundays. Primary classes for children are held every Sunday during the second hour. Members who are unable to attend Sacrament services in person can request a link from Bishop Mike Gravley at (562) 212-8681.
The course of study is the Old Testament. Personal reading should be those chapters in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes not covered by this study. The study for the week of Aug. 29 covers Proverbs Chapters 1-2, 15-16, 22 and 31, plus Ecclesiastes Chapters 1-3, 11-12.
The first chapter of Proverbs reads, “My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother” (Proverbs 1:8). Proverbs can be seen as a collection of wise sayings from a loving parent, whose main message is that blessings of peace and prosperity come to those who seek wisdom–particularly God’s wisdom. But Proverbs is followed by the book of Ecclesiastes, which seems to say, “It’s not that simple.”
The preacher quoted in Ecclesiastes observed that he “gave [his] heart to know wisdom” but still found “vexation of spirit” and “much grief ” (Ecclesiastes 1: 17-18). In a variety of ways, the book asks, “Can there be real meaning in the world where everything seems vain, temporary, and uncertain?”
