This is the last week, and honestly I'm sad to see it come. The natural man (and busy woman) is glad to see the filfillment of an obligation, but I've really enjoyed learning from these assignments and from the other students in my class.
This week, is based on our view of ourselves, Jesus Christ, and our fellow man. Christ said, "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." John 13:34-35
I remember a few years ago, when I was still a young seminary student listening to a song that explained that the artist wanted to dissapear behind the reflection of the Savior. To this, the Holy Ghost bore witness that I should live this way; and so I committed myself to finding how I could do that. The answer came in a discussion in some place and some time that I don't remember and probably doesn't matter. What does matter is the answer, which was that others will be able to see the Savior in your actions, words and example if all things are done with love.
I learned that though verbally bearing one's testimony is faith building, and brings the Spirit; the true testimony comes from the actions one uses to back up the word with. People will see if you are truly a deciple of Christ if your actions bear the fruit of love.
True love is Charity, or how I see it, when we love without a desire to gain something in return. There are many ways that we can show this love, and it's only up to the person to determine the motive behind the action. Some examples may be if there is gossip about someone because of their style (or lack of), don't stand for it. We'v heard it a thousand times , and that many different ways. We don't know the whole story, and even if they do, even if they might in our eyes or the accuser's eyes seem justly fit for riducule, ask one question; "how is this fullfulling my covanant with the Lord?"
When someone new comes to church, or to work, or to school- chances are they feel aprehensive, lonely and perhaps a little scared. There are probably so many people, they don't know where to start or who they should talk to first. It's scary being new, so releve some suffering and go talk to them, and introduce them to your friends and people that make you feel happy!
I hope that people see Christ wen they look at me. I try very hard (not to pat myself on the back, I've got a long way to go) to live the way that Christ wants me to live. Commitments are a good thing, so because I have a long way to go I want to make a short list of things I'm going to work on starting this week. I've more or less specifically applied this to my mother. She's a great woman who sees the worst and best of me. I hope that she can see more of the best and less of the beast.
I will be nicer about my suggestions to improve a situation. I have a hard time with this one, mostly because I want people to understand what I'm trying to say. I know that sometimes I come across as brash (and on days that I've already worked for ten hours and I have eight more hours of homework staring me in the face sometimes I'm a little grumpy too). I will think first about how I would respond to the statments that I'm about to make.
I will listen to suggestions, and follow them, even if I don't exactly favor the desired method of getting from point A to point B
I will show my love and go out of my way to help with something that is important to someone else (such as waking up early to weed the garden). It's easy to go out of my way for something that is important to me, and it's an added bonus if it's important to them too, but it's a little more difficult when it's not your favorite.
I'm going to have to find some way to follow up, so I guess I'll be posting next week too.
My journey through the New Testament brings me this week to the Holy Ghost (the fact that it was an assignment option may or may not have helped sway my intrest peak this week.
The longer I live, the more I discover that I can't to do this whole life thing on my own. There are so many pressures from the world. Family, work, school, and activity in the gospel. All of these things have a tendency to scrape our metephorical butter thinly over the top of some whole wheat metephorical toast (because it's hard to butter real toast with metephorical butter)
Sometimes this world can be a cold lonely place...or it can seem like it anyway. Christ tells us that if we love Him and keep the commandments, then the Holy Ghost will ever be with us. Why is this important, why would something that we can not use our natural senses to percieve bring someone comfort? Christ answers this question too. In John 14 he tells us this: "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." (emphis added)
I know that I forget things all the time, so just having someone (whether I can see them or not) is really actually very comforting that as long as I'm doing my best, that I will not forget anything very important. We will be reminded of Christ, help us repent of our sins, and he will guide us where we need to go.
These are all really wonderful tools that we have been given, but they don't come without doing somethings that God has required of us. Christ told the deciples that they must testify of Christ, be physically seperated from Him, keep the commandments, love the Savior, pray in faith, then live with that faith instead of fear.
To me the Holy Ghost has been a never failing guide and friend. I have seen in my life where He lifts my capacities mentally, physically, and spiritually to do things that I alone could not accomplish if I had been left to my own devices. Also in addition to that and perhaps partially because of that, there has been more light and fullness to my life. In essance, because I have the Holy Ghost with me, I am able to be more and more like my Savior Jesus Christ, and am able to more fully walk in His footprints.
So, to return to the question that peaked my intrest as I read this week (especially in John), "how does the Holy Ghost help us with our mission here?" I don't just mean when I say "mission" when one leaves one's home for a period of time to preach and share the gospel that Christ has shared with us, I mean the mission that each of us as come to this earth to fulfill.
Let's take a look at the Apostles. How were they helped in the remainder of their lives? They had lived with the Savior, and not only grown to love Christ as their Savior, but as a dear friend, and their strength. The Holy Ghost was able to remind them of that strength as they suffered persecution, and the taxing task to keep the purity of the gospel across the map, fighting tradition and misunderstanding and inturpritation of the ideas of man. They were taught how to run the church, given inspirition as they wrote epistles to individuals and groups of members of Christ's followers. Ultimatley, they were given the strength to look pain, fear, temptation and even death in the face, and still choose the Savior and His teachings.
I can not recall a major moment in my life where the Holy Ghost has touched me in such a powerful way as to forever sear the memory into my mind, however, the warmth of the constant nudgings, adjustings, and loving reminders help me to know that He is there. He gives me, and others "hunches", just plain intuition that turns to be a blessing. I will think of a friend and want to call them, so I do and they just needed someone to say hello, or something small like that. Those small things end up meaning the world to me though, and they help me to know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ is real, and that they have done and are doing everything to help me return to them.
You know, when we look at it all. We aren't required to do a lot.
Mark tells us about some instruction in chapter 13 concerning the second coming of Jesus Christ. Our Savior tells us to heed His words at least four times in this chapter, and we know that in the scriptures, that if something is mentioned more than once you'f better sit up and listen (we probably should have been listening anyway).
So what's up? What does Christ want us to "take heed and watch" for? I noticed that Christ talks about deceit a lot, but he also mentions other things. Signs that will come to pass such as wars and rumors of wars, false Christs and prophets, and persecution of the saints.
This reminds me a little about an experience I had this week. I'm training for a relay race in August, and honestly I've had so much going on that I haven't been preparing for it (and feeling guilty), so naturally when the team captain invites me to a run, I accept the invitation. I've never run where we were running before, I knew it was longer than I'd ever run before, and the route was unfamiliar.
One of my team mates explains that the run was rough and explains a little about what we were going to experience, then we are off!
The first mile was 500 feet up. To make a long story short, they got ahead of me. I had been told signs to watch for so I could get back to the car, but I hadn't listened as well as I should have, and by the time I got to where I needed to remember, I was tired. I had no means of communication, so I just had to remember what I was supposed to watch for and take the actions accordingly. Eventually, I was able to remember, and made it, but I got to run around an unknown town a little more.
That's how life is! We're running, and sometimes the hill is steep. There are forks in the road, things we need to avoid, sometimes a road can be a little misleading but we have to keep going. We will be confronted with people that want to deceive us, even the best of us will be fooled. We will need to know when to stand our ground, such as with issues such as euthanasia, or the family (D&C 87:8). Unlike my run, we do have a means to communicate, because the road is constantly changing, we need to listen (take heed), and keep running. Christ tells us all that we have to watch continually.
Life is like preparing for the relay, except we don't know when we will actually have to run the race, but you can't just pick up and run six or seven miles, we have to have been doing that already, we have to stay in spiritual shape. We might recognize patterns in the trails that we run, so we won't get confused.
Christ has invited us to run. Let's go for it!
It's funny how money can compete so much with the Savior.
This week, I'm going to cover two things. First, the story of the young rich man who wanted to have his cake and eat it too, and the parable of the men working for wages.
Just a brief recap of the story of the young rich man; This young man with a lot of wealth comes to Christ inquiring how to gain Eternal Salvation. Christ replies that the man must keep the commandments.
I think that the young man knew that he was still lacking something, because he replies in a tone that I have conceived as unsatisfied, more or less in these words, "I already do all these things". Christ then thinks for a second and challenges the young man to give away all of his possesions to follow Him.
This young man turns ashamed, because he knows that he is not in a state where he feels he can do that. He, like all of us know deep down inside what is keeping us from fully keeping the commandments, but internally wishes that it could be passed over, especially if we live our lives 90% perfectly. (Matt. 19 16-30)
Then there is the parable of the laborers in the field.
the master of a vineyard went and hired men to work in his fields at different times of the day (at the beginning, the third hour, the sixth, the ninth and the eleventh. He made the agreement with all of them that they would be paid at the end of the day, a more specific agreement for those that He had hired at the beginning for a penny.
At the end of the day, he paid each worker the same; one penny, or as Elder Holland makes better known the equivalent of one days wages so the man could possibly feed his family.
The workers who worked all day became angry with the Master of the vineyard, and complained that they were treated unfairly. The reply they received was this, " Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny?" They were reprimanded for criticizing the Master's generosity.
Sometimes we do that too. We see ourselves working, and assume that all of our blessings are conditional on how long and how hard we work. I know that it is true that we get blessings for working, and often the more work we do for the Lord, the more blessings we receive....but how do we react when we see others getting blessings?
Do we murmur, become jealous of the blessings that we see someone receiving that we've been telling the Lord that we deserve?
We should be happy with our blessings and be happy that the Lord blesses others. Those that have worked their whole lives in the church faithfully live with the assurance their whole lives that the Savior loves them, they have more responsibility, and they work when they are able. They are they who worked all day. Those who come later have suffered the pain of the ignorance and separation from the fullness of the Love that could have been received all the years they did not know about the truth of the gospel. They will receive the same blessing as those who worked their whole lives, because the Lord doesn't measure the quantity of our works, he measures the desire in our hearts as we are capable and know about the work.
I love this gospel. The Savior, Jesus Christ is just, and fair. He wants to give us all the blessings that He can...for those that missed out early in life, He wants to make up for it a bit :)
Heavenly Father loves us. So does Jesus Christ. In John 10, Christ compares Himself to a shepard and he compares Himself to a door, both of these provide protection for the unknowing sheep. As I was reading, I was really touched by this verse:
"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." (John 10:10)
It also ties well into 2 Nephi 9:41&42 Christ Himself watches over us. He doesn't degate that responsibility. There are so many of us, and He knows us all.
He protects us from many dangers, and we don't even know. in John 10, it says "All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.." He is out there protecting our very lives, and we don't even hear. That shows a lot of love for us.
Christ uses the type of a shepherd because that's what shepherds would do, they themselves would watch over their sheep. Even if they did have help, the shepherd was out there staying awake against I'm sure the desires and advice of their bodies. I've stayed awake for a good portion of the night before. It's hard to just stay awake let alone alert! Chirst overcame a lot for us. He didn't have to, he could have chosen not to, but He did.
How do you know if you are one of Chirst's sheep? You would have taken His name upon you. There is one initial ordinance that we must go through, and another renewing one to help us remember who the shepherd is. We all must be baptized, and we must take the sacrament. These are the ways that we will know.
He gave us His life, so that we could live. We must live so that His life was not taken in vain. How do we do that? There are as many answers as there are people, Christ gives a few. We must love our Heavenly Father, and we must also feed His sheep.
He gathers us. In John 10:16 Christ mentions some other "sheep" those were those that lived on the American continent way back then. They had been promised that He would come, and He did go.
If you havn't read the record of that it's very moving and just as true. Read 3 Nephi starting at 11 in the Book of Mormon. You can also go to Mormon.org to learn more too!
This post isn't for an assignment, though it came by reading for my assignment.
In Mark 5 is one of the miracles that makes my heart flutter a little and feel like Heavenly Father is sitting right next to me.
It starts in verse 25 talking of "a certain woman" who acted. She used all that she had to heal her. She did Everything she could do. When the Savior came by, many would not blame her for being bitter. She was sick, and blood was seen as unclean if it was outside the body, however, she did not hate Heavenly Father for her trial, but she did want to do something to be made free from it.
She had already done step one. She did everything in her power. Then she realized that the Savior, who had been heard to preform miracles was near. She made a decision to act, and then she preformed that action.
Faith is action. Read Hebrews 11, then refrence all the miracles mentioned. There's always action. Sometimes the hardest part about making a miracle happen is realizing that an action needs to be made. The miracle doesn't come from us, just as we don't really turn a light bulb on. The power comes from a greater source, but sometimes we just have to be the one to flip the switch to get greater light.
I figured since it was Father's Day, and dad's are the ones that teach us so much, I would talk about the parables that are found throughout Christ's ministry.
First for anyone who does not know what a parable is, it's a story of an event (usually very common...like doing laundry) that could usually happen. For example, in a parable about wheat and tares, the event is an enemy of the wheat farmer sows bad seed after the good seed is sown. This could happen and probably did happen. It's purpose is to teach a Divine lesson by using an ordinary example, but the lesson has to be found through interpretation. Someone could listen to a story and think nothing of it, or someone could receive enlightenment; it's up to the individual.
Even today we can find meaning in the parables taught in 14:24-50
The parable of the wheat and the tares (verses 24-30) is about the members of the church growing. At first there is a lot of missionary work done, good seeds are planted (seeds of faith, converts), then eventually tares are planted (doubts, doubtful people who try to bring other's faith down with theirs.) We can't "uproot" the people that do not endure because it would do the same for many good, faithful people. Eventually probably after this life, we will be sifted, those who were faithful and those who were not.
The parable of the gospel net is of missionary work. There are lots of people baptized, some that are converted to the gospel and some that are converted to the missionaries, their spouse or a friend. Others are converted for a short time and then fade off. The church sends out so many missionaries because there are lots of people that are open and ready to accept the gospel. The phrase is often heard coming from the Doctrine and Covenants that the "field is white all ready to harvest" Everyone needs an opportunity to hear and accept the gospel. Those that are converted will stay and those that aren't won't. The message is delivered by the missionaries, full-time and part-time alike, but the Spirit teaches the open heart. There are so many people that are open. They just need that opportunity, and with the religions becoming so shaky people are seeking for stability. Thus the church is growing so fast!
The Parable of the pearl of great price is one of my favorites. This man spends his whole life looking for a great pearl, I'm sure that he doesn't know exactly what he's looking for, but when he finds it, he knows. That's how it it with so many people. Even members, and once they find it, if they treasure the gospel the way that this man treasured his pearl, they will do anything and everything to keep it. We sacrifice relationships with friends and family sometimes, we sometimes find ourselves in rough situations as we have to decline a drink, a movie or a social event. Church is three hours long. I could make a mile long list of the sacrifices, but when you look at the blessings the list is so very small.
This week I studied mostly the birth of Jesus Christ.
I've read it before, Joseph is espoused to Mary, he finds out she is pregnant and wants to end it. I'm sure he was hurt, however, instead of seeking revenge for his pain, Joseph decided to (after probably spending many brain cells, tears and hours on this decision) end their planned future together.
The Jewish law entitles one to give an offence for an offence. Joseph would have been justified and maybe even commended to take a heart for a heart, but because of the love in him; being a "just man" as described in Matthew 1:19 acted on that love. He made a decision. However Joseph's final decision was a different path from the merciful private end to the relationship with a little help.
An angel came to him and told him to marry Mary! I'm sure that this was a really hard decision, maybe not only to make, but to live, as I'm sure that he and Mary had to live through some persecution (but I'm just speculating).
I've come to admire Joseph after reading (it started before I knew about this assignment), he was so faithful, not only to Mary, but to Heavenly Father as well. He made many choices to follow devine instruction more than his decision with Mary. He listened to the wise men who counseled him about Herod's jealousy (Matt 2:12-15) and again when he was instructed to move back, not only when but were. (Matt. 2:20-23)
With as much love as he had, I'm sure that Joseph made a wonderful father. He was entrusted with the rearing and teaching of the Savior of the world. Joseph had already proven two attributes that would need to be taught to Jesus by love and example; love for others enough to seek mercy, and also humility in listening to the direction of the Spirit. I'm sure it was difficult for Mary and Joseph to move to Egypt, then Galilee, and even before that making the trip to Bethlehem, bringing a very pregnant Mary with him!
Speaking of Mary, what a wonderful woman! It's clear to me why she was chosen to be Jesus' mother. She was humble, fair (remember the Lord looketh upon the heart) and acording to Luke's record, she was "highly favored" and "blessed... among women"'
I love how confident she was in the presence of an angel. She wasn't afraid of her sins, or that she might be struck down, but that she didn't know how to address an angel! At a moment when an angel appeared to her, she was a woman who remembered her manners. I would one day like to be able to take something like that in stride. There are so many situations where Mary was such a strong spirit, she road on a donkey for who knows how long during a very physically uncomfortable time in her life, and I'm sure she didn't complain about it.
There are many definitions of royalty, but Mary was truly of noble attributes and also blood. She was a descendant of David, where Joseph was a legal heir to David's throne. These genealogies are found in Matthew 1 verses 1-17 and Luke 3 verses 23-28. We all get a little drowsy during the "so and so beget someone, and so forth" but when you get why it's there...not so sleep provoking!
Royalty, though viewed as a lofty and comfortable position, and even though Mary and Joseph (though they fit the qualifications on all levels), had special connections were not all that was needed. Jesus, as we all know had a unique heritage of royalty. He was (and is) the king of kings, the loftiest of the lofty...and so was his calling. He was called to do what no other man could do, so he needed some devine power. 1 Nephi 3:7 says that we are able to do whatever is required of us, and this applied to Jesus as well. He was God's only begotten of the flesh, meaning he had the power to do anything a mortal person could do, and then he had powers that no man as had or will have again; that is the power over death. His death was the price of our sins, and He needed to give it, it couldn't be taken.
So, I've tried to answer all of the questions of my assignment in an unobvious way to suggest I'm doing homework, but this part is going to give it away just a little. Here are 6 questions that are very important to be answered about Christ's birth:
Why did Joseph and Mary go to Bethlehem (especially with Mary so pregnant)?
The government called for taxes, but this was a special deal, they had to go back home to wherever their lineage was from, and Joseph was from David's line, so he went to the city of David (Luke 2:1-4)
Why was Jesus in a manger?
Because there were so many people there for taxes (this gathering was NOT optional..thus the trip with the donkey and the immanent threat of childbirth) there was no room for anymore people. Period...well except for where the animals stayed. This place I'm sure was worse than Salt Lake City during the Olympics or General Conference. (Luke 2:1-3, 7)
What did the angels tell the shepherds?
First of all, these men who watched their sheep all night making sure no danger came to their four legged fluff bundles were scared stiff at the sight of an angel, so the message to "fear not" was the first to come, followed by a more important statement. That THE sacrificial lamb had come into the world. This was big news, and they were told that not only was it good news for the shepherds, but every living soul. The angel also told them how to find the Christ child. The shepherds made haste away from their flock to see. (Luke 2:8-16)
Why was this child, born without a inn outside the comforts of home so important?
I covered this a little already, but it's probably the single most important question to be answered. This child is "the Savior, which is Christ the Lord", this is the "why" of the Gospel. This babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger has given everyone an opportunity to be cleansed from sin, inadequacies and pain.
How long should we wait to come to Him?
This question isn't answered directly, but needs a little application of scripture and social learning. Once the shepherds learned of the birth of the Savior, there was one question, "when" this was the decision of the shepherds, "Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us." (emphasis added)(Luke 2:15). These shepherds didn't mosey either, they "came with haste and found Mary, Joseph, and the babe lying in the manger." (Luke 2:16). Let us come now to the Lord and let us come quickly.
Who should be happy about this night?
Well, easy. The angel told the shepherds, " I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people" (Emphasis added) (Luke 2:10)
Now that you have been reading for a while (I hope I havn't bored you to death) I have five titles for this talk that I might write one Christmas weekend.
"Let us go now" (Luke 2:15)
"Shepherds abiding in the field" (Luke 2:8)
"The days were accomplished that she should be delivered" (Luke 2:6)
"In the city of David" (Luke 2:11)
"[Come] with haste" (Luke 2:16)
I wanted to post a great youtube video that someone made a few years ago. I think that it really helps us remember the courage of Mary and Joseph.
Three Reasons to go Into Town...
Growing up, my mom would always tell us whenever we needed something in the nearest town (about 7 miles away) that we couldn't go unless we havd three reasons. I feel a little bit like that about making a blog.
Here are my three reasons:
1. I had one before...but lost the password to the e-mail it was attatched to while I was traveling around Georgia and South Carolina. This kind of leads to the second;
2. I want a not facebook way of keeping a record of what I did in these oh so interesting and exciting years of my life. I do feel a little bit like I'm over recording though...since I write in a journal as well. Then there is my third reason:
3. I needed to make a blog entry for my religeon class...and since it's going to be around for a little while, I thought it would be a good way to get this thing back up and running.
For the next 6 maybe 7 weeks I will be studying the gospels (you know Matthew, Mark, ect.). It's going to be a fun ride.
