Monday, June 10, 2013
We are told to repent (verse 2). There were people who were trying to be baptized who had not yet repented of their sins. Before we can be baptized, we must first repent of our sins. This is essential and is what we are told to do. It allows us to be "clean" before we are baptized (verse 7).
In verse 11, we learn that without the Atonement, we could not be able to receive the Holy Ghost. Heavenly Father has provided us with a way to receive extra guidance from Him. This is through the gift of the Holy Ghost. But we cannot receive this gift until we are baptized. Through this verse, we learn that without Christ, we would not be able to receive this gift.
Something I think that is essential to remember and is also referred to in verse 11 is that God is mightier than us all. He knows everything and loves each and every one of us dearly. It often helps me to remember that Heavenly Father can accomplish far more than man. Things we find impossible are possible for Him to accomplish. In Luke 1:37 we are told "For with God nothing shall be impossible." We know that if we have faith in our Heavenly Father and trust Him even when we are afraid and unsure, all things can be accomplished. Faith is something we all need to have. We are told that even if we have faith just the size of a grain of mustard seed, we can move mountains. This is incredibly reassuring because that is barely any faith at all and yet, Heavenly Father is satisfied with that. He also realizes that we are not perfect and trials can seem like absolute mountains in our lives. A returned missionary once told me to not look at the mountain (or trial) that is right in front of me. He said to look ten feet in front of it. So look beyond our trials and know that Heavenly Father will help us. He will never ask us to do something if He is not willing to help us.
We all need to be baptized just as Christ was. He came to set an example for us in hope that we would all follow it. When we follow the example of Christ, we may one day be able to return to our Father in Heaven.
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Monday, June 10, 2013
Matthew 2
Thursday, June 6, 2013
In this chapter, King Herod
seeks to deceive the people who serve him. He asked to know where Christ was
being born, but it was not for good things. The king was seeking to kill the
baby Jesus.
There are many times when we are
deceived much like the servants of King Herod. There are temptations in our
lives that make us second guess what would normally be viewed as good
decisions. Sometimes temptations come from friends and family, asking you to do
something that goes against your beliefs. Other times, it can be your own
doing. One such example would be questioning your testimony or an answer you
have received from Heavenly Father. It is easy to do these things because
sometimes life can be really challenging. Sometimes we feel like we may not
make it through to the next day. A few months ago, I saw a post that was
talking about death. It said we would not leave this earth until all was well (with
ourselves). That does not mean the world is perfect. But when Heavenly Father
calls us back home, it will be because our time is up and we have done what we
could do in our lifetimes. And as the text up there says, when we leave the
earth, all will be well in our lives.
President Monson had a video
awhile back talking about how we need to stand steadfast in our beliefs. We
need to listen to Heavenly Father and uphold our values even when we don’t
understand our particular situation.
For me, one of my greatest
challenges has just been sticking by my testimony of the gospel. It can be
incredibly difficult without support from family and friends. When we are
especially vulnerable like this, Satan tries to take advantage and wants to get
us to do things we shouldn't. The practice of not following the gospel will
lead you farther and farther away from Heavenly Father. If you aren't listening
to Him and doing what He tells you to do, He can’t help you.
When you need help with
something, pray and ask Heavenly Father for help. He is by far a better person
to ask then google or friends. He knows what we are doing to do in our lives
and He knows where we need to be and what decisions we need to make at all
times. Whether or not we do what He wants is our decision. But He is there to
guide us when we do sincerely seek for His help. Trust Heavenly Father and
listen to Him.
Abraham 3
Monday, June 3, 2013
In the beginning of chapter 3,
Heavenly Father talks about the creation of the moon and the sun. He shows
Abraham how the earth was created. Abraham saw the things the Lord had created
(verse 12). Abraham’s trust in Heavenly Father shows a great amount of faith.
It means that Abraham was able to have enough faith and trust in the Lord that
everything would be alright. And for Abraham, everything turned out quite well.
Heavenly Father promised that He would allow Abraham’s seed to multiply to that
people would be on the earth.
A few verses down, Heavenly
Father tells Abraham that He showed these things to him before he went into
Egypt so that Abraham could declare that God does exist. For Abraham, it would
seem that his faith was unwavering in the Lord. He had so much trust that
Heavenly Father would provide for him and show him all he needed to know.
In the following passages, the
Lord talks about there being two spirits that exist, one more intelligent than
the other. (Verse 19) He says He is the more intelligent one “than they all.” I think it is very reassuring to know that it is
Heavenly Father who is the higher of the two spirits described here. I could
not imagine serving someone other than Him. It is through the grace of Heavenly
Father that we are able to learn. He provides us with the intelligence we
possess and He guides us through every day. Heavenly Father shows true wisdom
as we walk through our life day by day. I once saw a poem called “Footsteps in
the Sand” where it talks about a guy who has died and is now looking back on
his life. At one point, he told Heavenly Father that he only saw one set of
footsteps in the sand. He noticed that these were the points where he felt the
very lowest in his life. He then asked Heavenly Father why He wasn't there
during those times. Heavenly Father replied that He was and the one set of
footsteps the man saw were His. It was during that time Heavenly Father carried
him. This shows that Heavenly Father never leaves us, He is always there.
Heavenly Father goes on to talk
about how we all once lived with Him. This completely relates to The Plan of
Salvation, which says that in the very beginning, we all lived with Heavenly
Father. In Moses, it talks about how we were all created spiritually, or as
spirits, before we were created naturally, as we see ourselves today. This is
proof that we once lived with our Heavenly Father. Heavenly Father created The Plan of Salvation
and the earth so that we could be tested to see if we are fit to live in the
presence of our Heavenly Father.
Almost as a continuation of
this, in verse 23, Heavenly Father tells us that our path and place in life has
been chosen before we were born. Heavenly Father knows all things. He also
allows us through this to know that He already knows our path and what our
place is, what decisions we will make, and what type of life we will live. This
can be quite comforting because we know that He knows exactly what we are going
through on a daily basis because He already knows what our entire life will be
like.
I think, for me personally, I
like knowing that Heavenly Father knows exactly how each of our lives are going
to be. It means that we can know He really does have a plan for each and every
one of us. It also reassures us that He knows we exist and that He is there to
guide us. After all, He created us and completely knows our lives.
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Moses 6
Friday, May 24, 2013
People became evil and turned against each other. This is because of Satan. Satan wants to bring chaos and disruption into the people of the earth. He is a jealous figure who hates love and despises happiness. With this being said, we know that Satan will do anything to stop us from being happy and loving the Lord. The perfect example of this is in the section below, Cain killed his brother Abel out of jealousy. When he did this, their family was also very upset and unhappy. We know that this was Satan's plan. It made him overjoyed to know that these people were miserable. He feels the same way when we aren't happy and turn against each other. Even when we don't agree with other people's decisions, the best thing we can do is stand by them, not turn against them and abandon them. For one, it is not right and two, it also creates a void in which both people do not want to be around each other. This becomes a problem, especially in families, which are most sacred. Families need to support each other. In fact, they are the main support group, so when you take this away, you really don't have much left.
In this chapter, God becomes angry with the people for not listening to Him. Heavenly Father asks us to repent for our mistakes. Basically, feel bad about what you did, pray and ask for forgiveness, and try to not do it again. It is a very simple process and yet the people of this land ignored it and with that, the Lord became angry with them.
Heavenly Father tells Enoch to go to the people and say "Choose ye this day to serve the Lord God who made you." This is a reminder to us that as we go throughout each day, we need to choose to serve the Lord, our God and Heavenly Father. He created us and loves us dearly.
As I began pondering about this section, a Mormon Message I had been a bit back came to mind. It was called "Waiting on Our Road to Damascus." This is a story about a man named Saul, who was walking upon the road to Damascus when suddenly a light appeared on him. He hear the Lord's voice asking him why he had done all of the bad things he had. In the end, Saul became Paul and set out to serve the Lord. This video tells us to choose this day to serve, not one day, but this day. To say one day or someday states an indefinite amount of time. You could go on forever without actually choosing to serve the Lord. This is of absolutely no benefit to us. After all, if we are not doing the Lord's will, how can we be blessed? The point is, choose this day to serve the Lord; do not wait on the road to Damascus (after all, most of us will not have a Saul/Paul moment).
Follow what the Lord says. Enoch testified and spoke what the Lord told him to saying "If thou wilt turn unto me, and hearken unto my voice, and believe, and repent of all thy transgressions, and be baptized, even in water, in the name of mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth, which is Jesus Christ, the only name which shall be given under heavens, whereby salvation shall come unto the children of men, ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, asking all things in his name, and whatsoever ye shall ask, it shall be given you." Heavenly Father has asked us to follow this and it really is quite simple. Repent, be baptized, know and believe that Jesus Christ is the Only Begotten Son and believe in Him, receive the gift of the Holy Ghost and strive to follow God in the best ways you can, you will be able to be with Him in heaven. He also tells us that if we ask all things in His name, what we need shall be given to us. That's a pretty amazing promise, to know that Heavenly Father will always help us when we really need it.
People became evil and turned against each other. This is because of Satan. Satan wants to bring chaos and disruption into the people of the earth. He is a jealous figure who hates love and despises happiness. With this being said, we know that Satan will do anything to stop us from being happy and loving the Lord. The perfect example of this is in the section below, Cain killed his brother Abel out of jealousy. When he did this, their family was also very upset and unhappy. We know that this was Satan's plan. It made him overjoyed to know that these people were miserable. He feels the same way when we aren't happy and turn against each other. Even when we don't agree with other people's decisions, the best thing we can do is stand by them, not turn against them and abandon them. For one, it is not right and two, it also creates a void in which both people do not want to be around each other. This becomes a problem, especially in families, which are most sacred. Families need to support each other. In fact, they are the main support group, so when you take this away, you really don't have much left.
In this chapter, God becomes angry with the people for not listening to Him. Heavenly Father asks us to repent for our mistakes. Basically, feel bad about what you did, pray and ask for forgiveness, and try to not do it again. It is a very simple process and yet the people of this land ignored it and with that, the Lord became angry with them.
Heavenly Father tells Enoch to go to the people and say "Choose ye this day to serve the Lord God who made you." This is a reminder to us that as we go throughout each day, we need to choose to serve the Lord, our God and Heavenly Father. He created us and loves us dearly.
As I began pondering about this section, a Mormon Message I had been a bit back came to mind. It was called "Waiting on Our Road to Damascus." This is a story about a man named Saul, who was walking upon the road to Damascus when suddenly a light appeared on him. He hear the Lord's voice asking him why he had done all of the bad things he had. In the end, Saul became Paul and set out to serve the Lord. This video tells us to choose this day to serve, not one day, but this day. To say one day or someday states an indefinite amount of time. You could go on forever without actually choosing to serve the Lord. This is of absolutely no benefit to us. After all, if we are not doing the Lord's will, how can we be blessed? The point is, choose this day to serve the Lord; do not wait on the road to Damascus (after all, most of us will not have a Saul/Paul moment).
Follow what the Lord says. Enoch testified and spoke what the Lord told him to saying "If thou wilt turn unto me, and hearken unto my voice, and believe, and repent of all thy transgressions, and be baptized, even in water, in the name of mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth, which is Jesus Christ, the only name which shall be given under heavens, whereby salvation shall come unto the children of men, ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, asking all things in his name, and whatsoever ye shall ask, it shall be given you." Heavenly Father has asked us to follow this and it really is quite simple. Repent, be baptized, know and believe that Jesus Christ is the Only Begotten Son and believe in Him, receive the gift of the Holy Ghost and strive to follow God in the best ways you can, you will be able to be with Him in heaven. He also tells us that if we ask all things in His name, what we need shall be given to us. That's a pretty amazing promise, to know that Heavenly Father will always help us when we really need it.
Moses 5
Friday, May 24, 2013
To prove their obedience, God asked Adam and Eve to worship only Him and also to sacrifice the "firstlings of their flock."
(verse 6) Adam shows faith when he answers the angel's question by saying "I know not, save the Lord commanded me."
Everything we do is in the name of Christ (verse 8) this is something important to remember because when we do something, it should only be good things since it is in the name of Christ.
Adam received testimony that Christ is the Only Begotten Son of Heavenly Father. When Adam received this, he was filled with the Holy Ghost and began prophesying about his children and families.
Something that came to mind when reading this is that we can lean on Adam's faith when we have little or none of our own. One day when I was having a discussion with an Elder about whether or not God has a body, he told me, that for that time, I could lean on his faith until I had some of my own. Sometimes we do need to lean on each other's faith when we don't have our own. When times get us down, we can have help with this from someone else to help us be able to pray to Heavenly Father and ask for help from Him to get us back up on our feet.
Satan is always in our lives to disrupt our obedience to Heavenly Father. In this section, there are some verses that talk about how he told the children of Adam and Eve not to believe and that he is also the son of God. Unfortunately, some people did follow him and from that time, evil people began to exist upon the earth. In our lives, we cannot allow this to happen. Somewhere I had read that even just having faith as big as a mustard seed is good enough because Christ can take that faith and make it grow into something much bigger. All we need is some faith, trust and hope, and things will be alright for us.
Satan told Cain to make an offering of fruit unto the Lord and the Lord rejected it while He accepted the firstlings of the flock from Abel. This is because Cain did not follow what the Lord had commanded. This shows that the Lord wants us to listen to Him and will reject things, like the fruit, if we don't. The Lord is the one and only God and we need to listen to Him above everyone else. What pleases Him is what matters, and nothing else.
In anger, Cain went and slew his brother. This was also because of jealousy. Many people become jealous of those who follow the commandments of the Lord. This is unavoidable. We need to hold our faith and never waiver. The Lord is always there to help us. With the story of Cain, we know that the Lord will never give us a punishment, or in our case trial, that is too much for us to bear. He knows what we can handle far better than we do. Sometimes it's all we can do to remember that and rely upon Him. There is a Bible verse that tells us to "wait upon the Lord." This means wait patiently and the Lord will help you because sometimes, certain things that happen or need to happen can only be done by the Lord, not us.
One other thing that needs to be pointed out is in verse 58, we are told that angels themselves came down to earth to declare the truthfulness of the gospel. With this, we know that the gospel is real and true.
To prove their obedience, God asked Adam and Eve to worship only Him and also to sacrifice the "firstlings of their flock."
(verse 6) Adam shows faith when he answers the angel's question by saying "I know not, save the Lord commanded me."
Everything we do is in the name of Christ (verse 8) this is something important to remember because when we do something, it should only be good things since it is in the name of Christ.
Adam received testimony that Christ is the Only Begotten Son of Heavenly Father. When Adam received this, he was filled with the Holy Ghost and began prophesying about his children and families.
Something that came to mind when reading this is that we can lean on Adam's faith when we have little or none of our own. One day when I was having a discussion with an Elder about whether or not God has a body, he told me, that for that time, I could lean on his faith until I had some of my own. Sometimes we do need to lean on each other's faith when we don't have our own. When times get us down, we can have help with this from someone else to help us be able to pray to Heavenly Father and ask for help from Him to get us back up on our feet.
Satan is always in our lives to disrupt our obedience to Heavenly Father. In this section, there are some verses that talk about how he told the children of Adam and Eve not to believe and that he is also the son of God. Unfortunately, some people did follow him and from that time, evil people began to exist upon the earth. In our lives, we cannot allow this to happen. Somewhere I had read that even just having faith as big as a mustard seed is good enough because Christ can take that faith and make it grow into something much bigger. All we need is some faith, trust and hope, and things will be alright for us.
Satan told Cain to make an offering of fruit unto the Lord and the Lord rejected it while He accepted the firstlings of the flock from Abel. This is because Cain did not follow what the Lord had commanded. This shows that the Lord wants us to listen to Him and will reject things, like the fruit, if we don't. The Lord is the one and only God and we need to listen to Him above everyone else. What pleases Him is what matters, and nothing else.
In anger, Cain went and slew his brother. This was also because of jealousy. Many people become jealous of those who follow the commandments of the Lord. This is unavoidable. We need to hold our faith and never waiver. The Lord is always there to help us. With the story of Cain, we know that the Lord will never give us a punishment, or in our case trial, that is too much for us to bear. He knows what we can handle far better than we do. Sometimes it's all we can do to remember that and rely upon Him. There is a Bible verse that tells us to "wait upon the Lord." This means wait patiently and the Lord will help you because sometimes, certain things that happen or need to happen can only be done by the Lord, not us.
One other thing that needs to be pointed out is in verse 58, we are told that angels themselves came down to earth to declare the truthfulness of the gospel. With this, we know that the gospel is real and true.
Moses 4
Monday, May 20, 2013
Satan rebelled against God because He would not allow Satan to be His Only Begotten Son. Satan wanted the power and glory for himself. But the Chosen One said to Heavenly Father that the glory would always belong to Heavenly Father. Because of this, Satan was so filled with hate and rage that Heavenly Father denied him what he wanted, he left and became the devil. Satan has been so angry that he has done everything he can to stop us from hearing the voice of God.
Satan, through the serpent was able to trick Eve and Adam into eating the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. This, though, is absolutely essential to The Plan of Salvation because it allowed Adam and Eve to know the difference between good and evil. This is significant because Adam and Eve were able, in a way, to become more like God. Satan accidentally did the work of God. Part of Satan's plan was to destroy agency (verse 3). God wants each and every one of us to exercise dependence. That is why we have been given the gift of agency. Agency allows us to make our own decisions, even when they go against that of Heavenly Father. Through this, though, we can learn to live righteous lives and one day return to Heavenly Father, as He wants us to do. When Adam and Ever were banned from the Garden of Eden, it also allowed them to follow more of The Plan Heavenly Father has created for us. It allowed Eve to produce children, something she could not have done if she were still in the Garden.
Satan rebelled against God because He would not allow Satan to be His Only Begotten Son. Satan wanted the power and glory for himself. But the Chosen One said to Heavenly Father that the glory would always belong to Heavenly Father. Because of this, Satan was so filled with hate and rage that Heavenly Father denied him what he wanted, he left and became the devil. Satan has been so angry that he has done everything he can to stop us from hearing the voice of God.
Satan, through the serpent was able to trick Eve and Adam into eating the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. This, though, is absolutely essential to The Plan of Salvation because it allowed Adam and Eve to know the difference between good and evil. This is significant because Adam and Eve were able, in a way, to become more like God. Satan accidentally did the work of God. Part of Satan's plan was to destroy agency (verse 3). God wants each and every one of us to exercise dependence. That is why we have been given the gift of agency. Agency allows us to make our own decisions, even when they go against that of Heavenly Father. Through this, though, we can learn to live righteous lives and one day return to Heavenly Father, as He wants us to do. When Adam and Ever were banned from the Garden of Eden, it also allowed them to follow more of The Plan Heavenly Father has created for us. It allowed Eve to produce children, something she could not have done if she were still in the Garden.
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Moses 2-3
Monday, May 20, 2013
In this particular passage, Moses 2, God talks about how He created the Earth. Further along, He talks about how He has dominion over us all. I think this is a great thing for us to remember and should have attention drawn to it. This is so important for us to know because it reminds us that we are not the ultimate creature. While we may rule over the animals here on Earth, there is one we are not above. We are not the top, or the best. We rely so much on our Heavenly Father as we go about our daily lives. At the same time, this is very humbling. We know we can call upon someone greater than us whenever we need help. I know for me personally, there have been many times I have had to ask God for help because I did not know the answer or wasn't sure if my answer was the correct answer. But Heavenly Father knows. In the first verse it says "I am the Beginning and the End, the Almighty God; by mine Only Begotten I created these things; yea, in the beginning I created the heaven, and the earth upon which thou standest." This reminds us that God is always here. I feel that this is always incredibly reassuring to know that He will never leave us. He is the Beginning and the End, which means He has been here in the beginning and will be until the end, and even after that.
God, as we know, created the sun and the moon. I think we can use both of these to serve as a reminder that He is always with us. When the sun sets, the moon appears. And even during a new moon, we can still see its outline.
Something that came to mind as I read this is we can think of the sun as God. Not that the sun is God, because it is not. But it is LIKE God. CREATED by God. And can serve as a reminder that He is always there. The sun, in our solar system is the brightest. And like the sun, God is the best and brightest. We can think of the moon as to being like His Son, Jesus. Jesus is not God, but He does play a massive role in our lives. We can think of Him as the lesser of the great lights. And as we ponder on this we can think of the stars that surround them as us. Each of His little children. None greater than Him, but nonetheless, still important.
In Moses 2, The Plan of Salvation is referred to when Heavenly Father tells Moses of how He created all things "spiritually, before they were naturally upon the face of the earth." With this being referenced, I believe we can know for sure, without a doubt, that we were once in Heaven with our Father as spirits before we came to this earth. Because we were created spiritually before we were created naturally.
Continuing with the reference of The Plan of Salvation, we know Heavenly Father wants us to learn and grow so that we may one day be like Him. Part of being like Him is some self-reliance; being somewhat dependent. This is often a difficult concept to grasp because we don't want to rely so much on Heavenly Father that we ask Him for help with everything, but neither do we want it to be where we only depend on Him in moderation. When you try to balance something like that, with just moderation, bad things happen and you no longer carry the same amount of faith you once bad. You begin to think that you can do things by yourself, that you do not need Heavenly Father. I have been there before and I can say it is not fun. We need Him more than we could ever believe. But it is also His will that we exercise some dependence. It is also very important to remember that Heavenly Father created each and every one of us and that He loves us very, very much.
In this particular passage, Moses 2, God talks about how He created the Earth. Further along, He talks about how He has dominion over us all. I think this is a great thing for us to remember and should have attention drawn to it. This is so important for us to know because it reminds us that we are not the ultimate creature. While we may rule over the animals here on Earth, there is one we are not above. We are not the top, or the best. We rely so much on our Heavenly Father as we go about our daily lives. At the same time, this is very humbling. We know we can call upon someone greater than us whenever we need help. I know for me personally, there have been many times I have had to ask God for help because I did not know the answer or wasn't sure if my answer was the correct answer. But Heavenly Father knows. In the first verse it says "I am the Beginning and the End, the Almighty God; by mine Only Begotten I created these things; yea, in the beginning I created the heaven, and the earth upon which thou standest." This reminds us that God is always here. I feel that this is always incredibly reassuring to know that He will never leave us. He is the Beginning and the End, which means He has been here in the beginning and will be until the end, and even after that.
God, as we know, created the sun and the moon. I think we can use both of these to serve as a reminder that He is always with us. When the sun sets, the moon appears. And even during a new moon, we can still see its outline.
Something that came to mind as I read this is we can think of the sun as God. Not that the sun is God, because it is not. But it is LIKE God. CREATED by God. And can serve as a reminder that He is always there. The sun, in our solar system is the brightest. And like the sun, God is the best and brightest. We can think of the moon as to being like His Son, Jesus. Jesus is not God, but He does play a massive role in our lives. We can think of Him as the lesser of the great lights. And as we ponder on this we can think of the stars that surround them as us. Each of His little children. None greater than Him, but nonetheless, still important.
In Moses 2, The Plan of Salvation is referred to when Heavenly Father tells Moses of how He created all things "spiritually, before they were naturally upon the face of the earth." With this being referenced, I believe we can know for sure, without a doubt, that we were once in Heaven with our Father as spirits before we came to this earth. Because we were created spiritually before we were created naturally.
Continuing with the reference of The Plan of Salvation, we know Heavenly Father wants us to learn and grow so that we may one day be like Him. Part of being like Him is some self-reliance; being somewhat dependent. This is often a difficult concept to grasp because we don't want to rely so much on Heavenly Father that we ask Him for help with everything, but neither do we want it to be where we only depend on Him in moderation. When you try to balance something like that, with just moderation, bad things happen and you no longer carry the same amount of faith you once bad. You begin to think that you can do things by yourself, that you do not need Heavenly Father. I have been there before and I can say it is not fun. We need Him more than we could ever believe. But it is also His will that we exercise some dependence. It is also very important to remember that Heavenly Father created each and every one of us and that He loves us very, very much.
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