Unit Two: choice 1
A couple of things stood out to me in this activity. Recently I have had two friends of mine that left the church because of anti Mormon literature. As I read through the readings I was impressed by JSM 1:22, which talks about the "very elect" being deceived. Both of my friends served missions and were married in the temple and fell away because of anti Mormon literature. I realize that this statement is more true to me now than it ever has been. I realize now that the very elect will fall away. Those who are raised in the church, those who serve missions, those who marry in the temple, even they will fall away from the church. I felt hope as I read in verse 37 because the Lord promised that those who treasure up his word, will not be deceived. I immediately realize the importance of reading my scriptures and I have been able to see first hand the things that may follow as we stop reading out scriptures.
The other thing that stood out to me as I did this activity was the consistent promise that the righteous will be preserved. In the Doctrine and Covenants, 1 Nephi, and even in matthew. The righteous will be saved and the wicked will be taken from the earth. I thought it was interesting because its repeated so often that he will do whatever he needs to do in order to preserve the righteous if they are striving to keep his commandments.
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Lesson 4
I have often thought about the story about the young man that came to the master to ask what he should do that he might have eternal life. After the savior asked if he kept the commandments he replied that he did keep them all. The savior then told him that in order to be perfect he must sell all that he has and look for riches in heaven.
I find myself thinking about this story often because I think about myself and I think that I am keeping the commandments and that I to might think to myself "what do I lack?" much like this young man did. The savior helps us to see that keeping the commandments is just the beginning of what we are here to do. We are to try to become perfect that we are to be working on the pursuit throughout out lives.
The parable of the laborers is also a great story because you see that the savior teaches that the reward is the same for all of us as we embark to serve him in his kingdom, that reward referring to eternal life. Its comforting for those who are converts because the same heaven that we have been hoping to return to is the same heaven that the convert will go to if they are worthy. While the reward of Eternal life is the same for all, there are rewards for our labors that are not given to every man. The reward for our labors are not the same for every person when it comes to judgement. I know, that I have not done as much as Joseph smith did while his time on earth, nor will I. However, if I live worthy and keep the commandments I may return to God where Joseph smith is as well. That being said, I know that when he meets the savior at judgement, the reward for his labors in love and appreciation for his sacrafice will be much different from mine. That is why we serve the Lord, because we love him and to lay for ourselves treasures in heaven.
I find myself thinking about this story often because I think about myself and I think that I am keeping the commandments and that I to might think to myself "what do I lack?" much like this young man did. The savior helps us to see that keeping the commandments is just the beginning of what we are here to do. We are to try to become perfect that we are to be working on the pursuit throughout out lives.
The parable of the laborers is also a great story because you see that the savior teaches that the reward is the same for all of us as we embark to serve him in his kingdom, that reward referring to eternal life. Its comforting for those who are converts because the same heaven that we have been hoping to return to is the same heaven that the convert will go to if they are worthy. While the reward of Eternal life is the same for all, there are rewards for our labors that are not given to every man. The reward for our labors are not the same for every person when it comes to judgement. I know, that I have not done as much as Joseph smith did while his time on earth, nor will I. However, if I live worthy and keep the commandments I may return to God where Joseph smith is as well. That being said, I know that when he meets the savior at judgement, the reward for his labors in love and appreciation for his sacrafice will be much different from mine. That is why we serve the Lord, because we love him and to lay for ourselves treasures in heaven.
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Lesson 3
This week I was able to share about two things that impressed me from the reading. One of those was Matt 16:13-18 What I love about these versus is how the Lord points out how his church will be built upon revelation. Many when they read these versus believe that when Jesus said “thou art peter, and upon this rock I will build my church” they take it to mean that Jesus Christ was passing the church onto peter and for him to take on the role as the leader going forward. We know that Peter was called to be the prophet of God after Jesus left, but we know that this is not what the savior was trying to teach in these versus. It’s important to note that Jesus had just asked peter who he believed Jesus was. Peter replied by saying “thou art the Christ” and Jesus answered him saying “blessed art thou simon bar-jona for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my father which is in heaven.” There the savior was pointing out that Peter had received revelation from God. He then goes on to point out that “this” is the rock upon which I will build my church. Certainly if any man was to be the rock upon which the church was built it would be Christ and not peter. Here the savior points out that its revelation that the church is built upon.
The other was, Mark 9:17-25, I love this story because it applies to all of us. A man had a child that had a devil inside of him and seeks for help. The disciples try to heal the young boy and they are unable. The savior steps in and says to them that he is not going to be with them forever, he cannot keep doing these kinds of things for them. The father expressed his desire for help and pleaded for compassion. The savior then taught “ all things are possible to him that believith.” Helping us to all remember that although things may seem impossible, with God, all things are possible to him that believith. The father then went on to say" Lord I believe, help thou mine unbelief" do we not all relate to this? All of us feel we can believe, but we are unsure if we have done enough and if we have enough faith. He looks to the savior for the help to get the rest of the faith and belief he needed. We can all learn so much from this.
This is one of the many reasons I have grown to love the new testament. I feel like so often we read from the Book of Mormon and so many of us do not appreciate all that there is to offer in the New Testament and the bible. Each of these stories stood out to me because they have had helped me out at one point our another to strengthen my testimony of the truthfulness of this Gospel. That is one of the reasons why we read the scriptures, to strengthen our testimonies and to give us guidence and direction. These two stories have been able to do that for me and I hope that I will be able to continue to find stories that strengthen me and give me guidance as I make scripture reading a more regular part of my life.
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Week 2
Activity 2
1. The three things I would have told them were that Jesus healed the sick, cast out evil spirits, and gave sight to the blind. All things the disciples themselves were able to see when they went to see the savior.
2. After reading the required readings the question I was asking myself was if John himself was in question of whether Jesus was the Christ. I loved reading the section in the institute manual because it helped me to see that John was never in question. He was providing an opportunity for his disciples to learn and gain a testimony of the savior.
3. John was given the divine mission to prepare the way of the Lord, he was given the responsibility to baptize the son of God, and he was the only one with authority to baptize.
4. I had to read the scripture several times to try to understand what he was trying to say and to be honest I am still not 100% sure I know what it means. My guess would be that the savior is going to go on to do far greater things and that john, will have fulfilled one of the greatest moments of his mission. Thus, the savior will continue to increase and john will only decrease.
1. The three things I would have told them were that Jesus healed the sick, cast out evil spirits, and gave sight to the blind. All things the disciples themselves were able to see when they went to see the savior.
2. After reading the required readings the question I was asking myself was if John himself was in question of whether Jesus was the Christ. I loved reading the section in the institute manual because it helped me to see that John was never in question. He was providing an opportunity for his disciples to learn and gain a testimony of the savior.
3. John was given the divine mission to prepare the way of the Lord, he was given the responsibility to baptize the son of God, and he was the only one with authority to baptize.
4. I had to read the scripture several times to try to understand what he was trying to say and to be honest I am still not 100% sure I know what it means. My guess would be that the savior is going to go on to do far greater things and that john, will have fulfilled one of the greatest moments of his mission. Thus, the savior will continue to increase and john will only decrease.
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