Preparing for the Second Coming

Watch!  In Mark 13, the Savior admonishes us to watch for the day of his coming.   He says to watch that we be not deceived, pray for we don't know when he will come, and to watch for those who challenge our testimonies. We are further taught to 'stand in Holy places' and wait for the Lord to come. If we want to be ready for the Lord, we must seek after truth and hold tightly to our testimonies and live the truths that we know.

The Widow's Mite

A certain woman came to the temple to give her offering.  She put in two mites.  Others around her gave great riches, but she gave all that she had.  The beautiful part of this story is how she gave everything in a spirit of sacrifice and love of God.  We, like this woman, can give of ourselves in the same spirit of consecration.  One of the things we can give is our time.  It seems that it is easy for most to give of themselves financially,  but it is more difficult to find time.  When we seek to serve others in a sprit of love and sacrifice the time that is needed, we truly consecrate what we have to the Lord.

Christ and the Rich Young Ruler

Commentary on Matthew 19:16-30

The Savior is approached by what we understand to be a good and righteous young man.  He desires to have the promise of eternal life, and asks the Master what he needs to do.  The response that is given is that he needs to keep the commandments.  The young man’s response is “All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?” Jesus answers that he needs to sell all that he has, give the money to the poor, and follow the Savior.  He goes away, sorrowful, thus choosing to keep his possessions rather than do as the Savior bid him to.  Earlier in His ministry, the Savior taught that we ought to lay up for ourselves treasures in Heaven, and that our heart will belong to that which we treasure.  It is a hard thing to give up worldly wealth and possessions for something that is intangible, such as eternal life, if we do not love God more than we love our things.  As was the case for the rich young ruler, so it is with us.  We all have something we can give up to fully follow the Savior.  We know what those things are, and it is not always the physical things that are required.  We can sacrifice our whole hearts, give up our little sins and transgressions which keep up from following the Savior to the extent that we should.  When we put the Lord at the front and center of our day, every day, we are blessed the have the companionship of the Holy Ghost.  He can touch our hearts and inspire us to know what changes we need to make, and give us the courage to give up the worldly treasures that our hearts are set upon.

True Discipleship (Choice 2, Unit 1)

A true disciple of Christ:

Seeks for truth

Focuses on Heavenly treasures, not earthly treasures

Serves his fellowmen

Strives to keep the commandments

Loves the Savior above all else

 

One of these, in particular, is key to all the others.  When we love the Savior first, the rest of our life falls into its proper place.  It isn’t that lie suddenly becomes easier, but our ability to follow Christ and be changed by Him increases as our love for Him grows.  I find that my love for others, my desire to learn truth, to seek after Heavenly treasures, to serve, and to be obedient also increases.  True disciples of Jesus Christ try to keep their life in harmony with the teachings of the gospel. Discipleship results in good choices which are driven by a deep love and devotion to Jesus Christ. It really requires all that we are able to give of ourselves, and then some. 

Unit 2: Become as Little Children

Children are so precious in the sight of our Savior.  They are meek and submissive, humble and easily instructed.  We are all children of our Heavenly Father, and He desires to have us and love us like children.  He wants us to return to Him and He desires to pour out blessings upon us.  We can be like little children by submitting to the will of the Father.  We can lean on the Savior, Jesus Christ, for our support and rely on His perfect Atonement to compensate for our inadequacies.  Small children are sinless, and though we are not sinless, we can be made perfect in Christ.

The Faith to Walk on Water (Unit 1, Choice 3)

On a particular afternoon, Jesus sent His disciples out to sea while he remained behind to pray.  After a while, He joins them at sea.  He walked to them on the water, astonishing all of them.  Peter is permitted to join the Savior and miraculously also walks on the water.  He had tremendous faith.  However, Peter sank when he started to pay attention to the storm that was bustling around him and he became afraid.  He cries out to the Lord who immediately reaches for him.  I love the lesson in this story.  We must exercise great faith in Jesus Christ, and when we do great miracles happen for us.  I can’t help but feel that the greatest miracle happens when we cry out to the Lord and He immediately reaches to save us.  When I experience trials or difficulties, I, like Peter, can call out to the Savior with pure faith and trust, and He will be there for me.

Why the Lord teaches in Parables

The Bible Dictionary teaches that the Savior used parables to veil the meaning.  To those who seek a deeper understanding of a principle of the gospel, the parable was a way to teach to their level of understanding.  To those who were not seekers of truth, the parable was a nice story, but held no real meaning. 

 

One of my favorite parables that the Savior used is the parable of the treasure.  It is so brief.  A man discovers a great treasure in a field and, in his excitement, sells everything he has so he can then purchase the land.  The Savior compares this treasure to the kingdom of heaven.  Now, a parable is only as good if we are able to do something with it to make our lives better.  In this case, I would ask the question, “What am I willing to do that I may receive that great treasure that is heaven?”  This answer is personal for each of us.  For me, I think that answer is to give up the little things that waste time that could be better spent on meaningful pursuits.  Relationships, in my opinion, should always come before ‘stuff’ so if I am too busy tending to the ‘stuff’ in my life, I am often pushing aside the more important things like playing with my kids or getting to know a neighbor.  This gospel is a gospel for people.  We should be busily making people the center of what we do.

Week 3, Unit 1, Choice 2

Week 3, Unit 1, Choice 2
Study the miracles performed by the Savior, and write about how they influence your faith.

Reference	Miracles of the Lord	Who Demonstrated Faith
Matthew 8:1-4	Jesus cleansed and healed a leper	The Leper
Matthew 8:5-13	Jesus heals a the servant of a centurion	The centurion has faith, as does the servant
Matthew 8:14-15	Jesus heals Peter’s mother in law	Peter
Matthew 8:16	Jesus heals many who are sick and are afflicted with devils	All who are healed
Matthew 8:23-27	Jesus calms the storm while out at sea with his disciples	The disciples did not have faith, so the Savior strengthens their faith through the working of a miracle
Matthew 8:28-34	He casts out 2 devils in 2 men	The men show their faith
Matthew 9:20-22; Mark 5:25-34	The woman with an issue of blood is healed by touching his clothing	She shows great faith!
Matthew 9:27-31	Two blind men are healed and given their sight	They both show perfect faith.
Mark 2:1-12	A boy who is sick with palsy is both forgiven of his sins, and healed of his infirmity.	Those who brought the boy had faith, and perhaps the boy did as well.

​

My faith has been strengthened by reading the accounts of the Savior healing people and offering His forgiveness.  What touches me most is when the Savior forgives people of their sins.  The power to heal is amazing, but the power to forgive even more so!  I have personally felt the redeeming power of the Atonement as I have forsaken sins and asked for forgiveness.  Faith in Jesus Christ makes all the difference in how I see the world, and in how I make choices each day.

 

Unit 2, Choice 8: John 2. Water to Wine and Cleansing the Temple

In chapter 2 of St. John, there is a story of Jesus attending a marriage ceremony. His mother was also in attendance and takes note that there is no wine for the marriage.  She tells Jesus about it.  Jesus responds to her, “Woman, what wilt thou have me to do for thee?  That will I do; for mine hour is not yet come.”  I love that he responded to his mother so quickly, and in turn she faithfully asks the servants to do whatever he says.  His instruction is for them to fill the waterpots with water.  Then he causes them to become wine.  This is astonishing for those present. It is a miracle.  The scriptures tell us that each waterpot is two or three firkins apiece. A firkin is about 9 gallons, so this was no small thing.  This wedding celebration was quite large, and he was able to perform a miracle that would provide wine enough for all the people in attendance.  I think I always just thought it was a few cups, just a small token of kindness, when in reality it was a big service to provide.

            In that passage, the Savior refers to his mother as ‘woman.’  At this time, calling someone ‘woman’ was a term of respect and endearment and was spoken out of pure love for the mother who cared for him. 

            The Savior makes a visit to the temple, sometime following the marriage.  He drives out all those who were seeking for personal gain within the temple. I think one of the lessons we learn from this is that the Savior wants us to be clean and attend the temple with a pure heart and righteous intentions, seeking after the will of our Father.  We have to be prepared to worship, and then take care to treat the temple as a holy place and leave behind the things of the world.

 

A Real Live Update!

It has literally been a few years since I gave this blog any attention, and a LOT of life has happened since then.  I'm currently using the blog as a way to share some things I am studying in a New Testament class.  I thought it might be fun to give a family update though.

We live in Rhode Island.....for now.  That is going to change soon.  We are awaiting a new assignment with the Navy which will take Shawn back to a ship.  We are all gearing up for it. I feel pretty out of practice with flying solo.  Hopefully it'll be like riding a bike.....

 

Jack (you haven't met him yet)

 

Sam (he's the baby on the sidebar--->)

 

Sarah (you haven't met her either)

 

One of my favorite spots

 

My Momma (she's awesome!)

 

Daddy, Grant, and Nora (hiding behind her hair)

 

All of us...silly faces included but unintentional

 

My cute soccer-loving Alex

 

Mom and Pops

 

Grant

 

Nora

 

A bunch of cuties!