REL A 250 - Overcoming the World

This week I was re-listening to talks giving during General Conference a few weeks ago and I was really impressed by Elder Neal A. Anderson’s talk “Overcoming the World”. It seemed to echo some of the thoughts and feelings I have had lately about where I am in life right now. Elder Anderson talked about a vision that President David O. McKay had while he was sailing on a boat to Samoa. President McKay said that he beheld a beautiful white city and that there was a great concourse of people dressed in white approaching the city. Jesus Christ was at the head of the group of people. The city was the City Eternal.

Elder Anderson explains that those who were in that city were “[those] Who Have Overcome the World!”

In John 16:33 it says, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

And in D&C 64:2 it says, “For verily I say unto you, I will that ye should overcome the world; wherefore I will have compassion upon you.”

Overcoming the world is the same as rendering ourselves entirely to Christ. Christ overcame the world by submitting himself to the will of the Father. If we wish to overcome the world we need to let go of all the worldly things that hold us back. That could be having better Sabbath-day observance, being more honest/kind to those around us, avoiding un-wholesome media, etc.

I want to be numbered among those in the City Eternal, and that requires overcoming and letting go of the world.

REL A 250 Sons of Thunder

This past General Conference weekend was really enjoyable for me and I especially look forward to re-reading and re-listening to the talks. One talk in particular stuck out to me because it had a lot of relevance to my life and even a few of the class discussions that we have had in REL A 250.

President Uchtdorf’s General Priesthood Session talk was entitled “The Greatest among You”. In his talk he references the nickname given to James and John, the “Sons of Thunder”.

He says, “You don’t get a nickname like that without an intriguing backstory. Unfortunately, the scriptures don’t provide much explanation about the nickname’s origin. However, we do get brief glimpses into the character of James and John… On one occasion, as the Savior prepared to make His final journey to Jerusalem, James and John approached Him with a special request—one perhaps worthy of their nickname.  ‘We want you to do for us whatever we ask,’ they said. I can imagine Jesus smiling at them as He responded, ‘What do you want?’ ‘Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory.’”

President Uchtdorf goes on to explain that this request is not too dissimilar to us when we seek earthly or temporal power, he goes on to say, “you can’t get honor in the kingdom of heaven by campaigning for it. Nor can you ‘power lunch’ your way to eternal glory.”

Christ taught, “whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.”

This scripture should apply to all of us in some way. All of us at some time or another will have the opportunity to work in a leadership position. That may be at work, school, in a club, or in the church. I believe that as we seek to fulfill these roles in a spirit of servitude we will be better off and blessed for exercising humility. I can only imagine how different the world would be if the world leaders practiced this kind of Servant Leadership.

REL A 250 - What Lack I Yet?

While listening to conference this weekend and during my scripture study in Jesus the Christ I have heard the scripture Matt 19:20-21 several times. The scriptures says, “The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me” (bold and italics added).

I feel that the young man in this scripture did not as Christ this question to challenge the Savior, but he truly asked because of a sincere desire to know what he needed to do better. The fact that he asked “what lack I” shows that he must have felt something was missing, that he was not whole, complete, or perfected yet. And Christ perceiving this responded appropriately, “If thou wilt be perfect…”

One of my goals recently has been to seek the kingdom of God in all that I do. Although I do not have large amounts of worldly possessions like the young man in this scripture I realized that there are activities in my life that are less-than-productive. When I ask the question “what lack I yet” while praying I normally find something that I could be using my time better, and, often I feel overwhelmed like the young man; I know what I need to change is going to be difficult. This doesn’t have to be the case, however. We can know that the Savior wants us to improve and be perfected in him.

We all should ask on a regular basis, “what lack I yet”. I believe that as we do this we demonstrate humility, but we should also learn from the young man and recognize that the Lord will likely ask us to do something difficult. We should especially ask “what lack I yet” during this conference weekend. I know as we seek counsel from the Lord and strive to do His will, we will come closer to the Kingdom of Heaven and the perfection that is our goal. 

REL A 250 3/23/2017 - Christ the Vine

This week in our religion class Bro. Griffin mentioned something that I thought was interesting and decided to investigate a little more. He mentioned that Christ taught that He was the vine and that we are all branches and that branches that don’t bring forth fruit are cut away and branches that bring forth fruit are also cut (so they could bring forth good fruit). I thought it was interesting that both types of branches were cut so I decided to read the parable on my own.

In John 15: 1-7 it says,

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you”

I feel like Christ’s message is that we are wholly dependent on him and that is pointless to try to “make it” on our own because He provides us with life (spiritual and physical).

I have thought a little bit about how we might separate ourselves from Him or not “abide in [Him]” in our lives. I feel like, for me, one way I become vulnerable and detached is when I forget to pray often and sincerely. In order to strengthen our individual branch and our connection with the life giving vine we need to be exercising that connection frequently and meaningfully through prayer.

I know that if we strive to build our connection with the vine of life, we will be able to receive Christs promise, “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.”

REL A 250 3/17/2017 - Prayer

This week I was studying from the Book of Mormon in one of my favorite chapters, Helaman 10. In this chapter the prophet Nephi is discouraged because of the wickedness of the Nephites, but a voice came to him and said,

“Blessed art thou, Nephi, for those things which thou hast done; for I have beheld how thou hast with unwearyingness declared the word, which I have given unto thee, unto this people. And thou hast not feared them, and hast not sought thine own life, but hast sought my will, and to keep my commandments.

And now, because thou hast done this with such unwearyingness, behold, I will bless thee forever; and I will make thee mighty in word and in deed, in faith and in works; yea, even that all things shall be done unto thee according to thy word, for thou shalt not ask that which is contrary to my will.” (Helaman 10:4-5; italics and bolding added).

This chapter meant a lot to me as a missionary because I felt that I could often relate to and look up to Nephi’s example. There were times that I felt overwhelmed by the difficulty of the work, but at the same time I felt encouraged by Nephi’s example to always seek to do the Lord’s will.

From these verses we can learn a lot about prayer and how we should pray. Nephi always sought to do the Lord’s will and as a result the Lord promised him all that he would pray for because he would never pray for anything that was contrary the Lord’s will.

In the “Guide to the Scriptures: Prayer” it says, “The object of prayer is not to change the will of God, but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that we must ask for in order to obtain.”

I believe that if we wish to be most effective in our prayers we should always seek to pray for the things the Lord wants to happen (and not necessarily what we want to happen). In doing so we can obtain the promise of having “all things done according to [our prayers]”, because they are align with God’s will.  

REL A 250 3/11/2017 - The Wise Virgins

Studying the parables this week in our religion class has been especially thought provoking. I have enjoyed exploring all of the different layers of meaning in the parables and how each might apply to my life.

While studying the parable of the Ten Virgins we discussed that Christ, in this instance, was referring to the “good” people of this earth by using ten virgins which are a symbol of purity. We also discussed, however, what set the five wise virgins apart from the five foolish virgins; the bridegroom speaks to the unwise virgins at the door and says, “Verily I say unto you, ye know me not” (Matthew 25:12 JST translation, italics added). The defining trait that caused the difference between the wise and the foolish virgins was “knowing the Savior”.

This caused me to reflect on my own life and how well I feel that I know the Savior. There have definitely been times (like the mission) that I have felt more dependent on him and closer to him, and others when I have strayed (like we all do at some point in our lives).

My question of application for this scripture is then, “How do we come to know the Savior?” I found the answer in 1 John 2:3-5, “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.”

We can come to know the Savior by keeping his commandments. As we keep the commandments we fill our lamps with the precious oil (testimony, faith, consecration, etc.) that will keep us close to the door of Heaven.

REL A 250 3/6/2017 The Storms of Life

REL A 250 The Storms of Life

In our class this week we have been discussing the miracles of Christ. One that always seems to speak to me is Christ calming the tempest. We used Matthew’s explanation in class so I decided to read Mark’s on my own. In Mark 4:36-41 we read,

“And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships. And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

One unique thing to note from these verses that Mark provides is that there were other ships with that had joined the disciples. There were likely many people on the water that feared for their lives. This scripture always brings peace to me, knowing that the Savior has the power to calm both the tempests in our lives and in our hearts, and I have felt that power many times.

The principle I think we should take away from this scripture is that often times we can forget in the midst of the tempest (like the disciples did) who we have in our boat with us. When the Lord is on our side our boat will never sink. That doesn’t mean that bad things won’t happen though. Death, sickness, stress, loneliness are all parts of life, but it should be comforting to know that the Savior has the power to rebuke any storm we may face. The trials of this life are temporary, and whether it is a physical, spiritual, mental, or emotional storm that we face, the Lord will calm the storm in his timing.

REL A 250 2/26/2107 Prayer

I was really inspired by our discussion in class this week. I loved Brother Griffin’s interpretation of the Beatitudes and how they apply in the process and journey of repentance. Brother Griffin mentioned that he believes that the beatitudes are less about the “why” and more of the “how” we can repent. I loved that. And I wish to take that way of thinking and apply it to another one of Christ’s teachings in the following chapter.

In Matthew 6:9-13 it says, “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”

The Savior’s teaching of “the Lord’s Prayer” is another great example of Christ taking the time to teach “how” to be a disciple. Personally I love the Lord’s Prayer because it serves as a great example of the attitude that we should have as we approach our Heavenly Father in prayer.

If we dissect the prayer and look at each individual part we will notice some unique characteristics.

“Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be they name.”—We begin by addressing our Heavenly Father with respect and reverence.

“They kingdom come. They will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”—We recognize that it is not our will but the Father’s that will be done.

“Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:”­—We should recognize that we are reliant on Heavenly Father for our sustenance (both physical and spiritual), and we should be willing to grant the same mercy to others that we have been granted. And lastly we pray for the strength and guidance to overcome the temptation that Heavenly Father allows us to have.

”For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen”—we give all glory to him and don’t think to take any for ourselves (and we pray in the name of Jesus Christ because he is our advocate with the Father – for obvious reasons the Savior did not do this).

Christ showed us the attitude that we should have as we pray—he taught us how we should pray. I think it is interesting that even as the Only Begotten of the Father that he still approached Heavenly Father in reverence and submissiveness. If the Creator had need to submit himself to the Father, how much greater is our need to submit ourselves to His will?

I feel that if we take the time to recognize who we are talking to and take time to think about how we can more humbly approach Heavenly Father in prayer, our prayers will become more meaningful.

REL A 250 - 2/17/2017 Doing vs Becoming

Doing Versus Being

This week in our religion class Brother Griffin shared with us his understanding of the Beatitudes. The perspective he provided us was that each of the Beatitudes that Christ taught were steps or characteristics that we needed to take in our journey of repentance and quest for eternal perfection (perfection not being a sinless life, but a completeness of person – see Greek translation and Matt 5:48). It is on the idea of perfection being a quest that I want to build the following paradigm:

The old Mosaic Law was built on actions and works that needed to be completed, but Christ had come to fulfill the law and teach a higher way (Matt 5:17).

In D&C 29:34 we read, “Wherefore, verily I say unto you that all things unto me are spiritual, and not at any time have I given unto you a law which was temporal; neither any man, nor the children of men; neither Adam, your father, whom I created.”

Heavenly Father has never given us a law that was wholly temporal. He has always given us laws that are spiritual. Spiritual laws require internal obedience rather than just outwardly action. I believe that Heavenly Father is much less concerned with what we do in our lives than He is with whom we become.  He gives us commandments that dictate our outwardly actions because our actions will affect who we are. When one lies, cheats, or steals, he/she is not only committing a violation of a temporal law, but is becoming something less perfect or less whole spiritually.

The same concept applies to all the commandments that God has given us. The Word of Wisdom helps us spiritually to be self-reliant and clean of addictions. The Law of Chasity helps us to maintain good thoughts and be pure in heart and mind. The list goes on.

So in application of this principle, I think it is important that when we are considering questions like, “what is appropriate to do on the Sabbath? Or should I, as a disciple of Jesus Christ, drink caffeine?” we remember what the purpose of the commandments are. There is no definite answer to these questions, but we can know what we are to do if we ask ourselves, “will this help me in my journey to become more perfected (whole) like Christ?”

REL A 250 2/13/2017 Insight into John 1

I have had a few experiences this week that have made me think more about Christ’s role in my life, and how central and necessary it is. I just want to share a scripture that summarizes some of the thoughts that I have had this past week. In John 1: 12-13 it reads,

“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

These two verses are so deep that it could take me hours to dissect them completely; I don’t feel like my following analysis does them full justice, but I do want to share what my initial thoughts are. John mentions some criteria in verse 12, to “as many as receive him” he will give power to become the “sons of God”. I used the Online Greek Bible to understand some of the original meaning of “sons of God” and it mentions that son (or offspring in this case) refers to a Greek word that generally denoted discipleship. A disciple was considered an offspring of a teacher because it was the potential of a disciple to become like their teacher.

The second verse has profound implications as well. The “birth” or “son-hood” of these disciples cannot be of blood (we are not physically sons/daughters of God like Christ), or of will of flesh or man (we cannot will ourselves into becoming like Christ); rather the birth is of God.

What this means to me is the following (this may seem simple, but it is profound and important). We cannot become like God on our own. Christ is the only own who can give us the power to reach our potential as children of God. We have the ability to become like Him, just as a child becomes like a parent, or a willing disciple becomes like their teacher. BUT that transformation is NOT (1) a physical transformation, (2) a transformation we can do on our own (will of flesh), or (3) a transformation that someone other than Christ (will of man) can do for us.

So the question then is how we qualify ourselves for this blessing. Going back to the beginning John says “But as many as receive him” he will give power to. I personally we receive Christ by living his doctrine and teachings. His doctrine being to (1) have faith in him, (2) repent, (3) be baptized, (4) receive a remission of our sins, (5) receive the Holy Ghost and endure to the end. 

Sacrificing Our Hearts to the Lord

I have thought a lot about the nature of sacrifice over the past week – what it meant anciently, and what it means in these latter-days.

In Moses chapter 5, we read about the first sacrifices that man (Adam) offered to the Lord. The nature of those sacrifices was more than many of us could probably stomach today. In class we discussed how hard it must have been for a good shepherd to carefully observe and wait for a first born lamb, without blemish, and then take its life and offer its flesh as a burning sacrifice on the alter. While the emotional attachment to that lamb would be real—and the sacrifice difficult—the true offering up to the Lord is the heart of the servant.

In Moses 5:6 it says, “And after many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying: Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me.” I am incredibly overwhelmed by Adam’s humility. He obeyed the Lord solely to be obedient; and he did so multiple times.

The angel then taught Adam and Eve about the mission of the Savior and his role in redeeming them from their fallen state.

In 2 Nephi 11:17 we read Nephi’s response to the angels question about understanding the condescension of God, he says, “I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.” Like Adam, Nephi was not acting on a complete knowledge, but rather demonstrated great faith—which was followed by an increase of knowledge about the Savior and his plan.

I believe that as we accept that we do not know all things, rather trust in the savior and offer our hearts as a sacrifice to him, we will gain greater spiritual insight like Adam and Nephi. Our knowledge will grow, and Heavenly Father will bless us to understand the power of the atoning sacrifice of His Beloved Son to a greater degree than we had before. Just as Nephi and Adam rejoiced and were blessed by the greater knowledge of their Savior’s redeeming sacrifice, so will we as we offer our hearts to Him.

REL A 250 1/28/2017 "The Fall"

It is not often that we receive earth shattering information through revelation; rather, we typically receive additional truth in our lives in the form of little precious golden nuggets. I felt impressed this week by a specific small nugget of truth that we talked about in class, which deals with the nature of The Fall in the Garden of Eden.

In Moses 4:26 we read, “And Adam called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living…” (Italics added). Throughout the Book of Moses we constantly hear of Eve being referred to as Adam’s wife. Within the Christian realm, people often think of Adam and Eve’s partaking of the fruit as symbolic of sexual sin, and that the existence and condition of the human race is a “byproduct” of fornication. How lucky are we to have such a precious nugget of truth in the book of Moses that allows us to know that such a bleak outlook on the nature of the human race is completely false. Adam and Eve were married (husband and wife) in the Garden of Eden and therefore could not and did not commit any type of sexual sin. The partaking of the fruit was a transgression against the Word of Wisdom, not a gross violation of the Law of Chasity (see also James E. Talmage, “Jesus the Christ” Chapter 3, Note #3).

Although this bit of knowledge seems of minor importance in the gospel, the shift in the perspective that one has of the human race is significant. Rather than viewing ourselves (and others!) as the children of gross iniquity, we can more fully comprehend the love that our first parents had for all of their posterity. They made the sacrifice, that they didn’t fully comprehend, which would allow us to come into this world. The lone and dreary world does not seem quite so lonely or dreary knowing that we are so loved by our first parents and by Heavenly Father.

REL A 250 1/21/2017 "What is Truth"

What is truth? I have pondered over this for a long time and I enjoyed our discussion on this during our last class period. Elder Uchtdorf in his talk "What is Truth" (which Bro. Griffin cited in class) says, "never in the history of the world has it been more important to learn how to correctly discern between truth and error. Part of our problem in the quest for truth is that human wisdom has disappointed us so often. We have so many examples of things that mankind once “knew” were true but have since been proven false." I have felt discouraged many times in my life by the overload of information and opinion which diminishes the likelihood of encountering real truth.

In D&C  93:24 it states, "...truth is a knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come." And in D&C 84:45 it states, "...whatsoever is truth is light..." The importance of having truth in our lives is not only valuable, but essential to our salvation. Truth provides us direction and gives light to situations where our decisions have major consequences. An example of truth that fits both of the descriptions mentioned in the scriptures is the revealed Plan of Salvation. This revealed truth allows us to understand the "why" behind many events "as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come", and we have the light necessary to make correct decisions.

To finish, I thought I would share some thoughts about truth that I had during our discussions in class.

• Truth is not owned: to assume that we (as member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) have a monopoly on truth is to severely limit our eternal progress. There is truth in many other sects and faiths that we encounter. 
• Our eternal goal is to seek truth: if truth is light and our eternal destiny and mission is to become like our Heavenly Father who is full of truth and light, we must continually seek out truth.
• We sometimes may be afraid of seeking out truth because it means we need to change.

REL A 250 1/14/2017

In Moses 1, Moses is on a mountain speaking with God and is shown many of God's creations. In class this week, we discussed how Moses's experience was similar to Joseph Smith's first vision. Both prophets had amazing spiritual experiences speaking face to face with the Savior (and in Joseph's case, the Father also), but shortly after (or before) were confronted strongly by the Adversary. In Moses 1:12 it says, "And it came to pass that... Satan came tempting him, saying: Moses, son of man, worship me." Brother Griffin then pointed out that ten of the twelve Apostles called by the Three Witnesses fell away from the church, and Brigham Young explained that when we have spiritual experiences we normally have equal opposition just before or after the experience.

When he explained this, it made me think of times in my life that I have sought out spiritual experiences and felt disappointment or discouragement when they didn't come. I felt impressed, however, that sometimes when we seek out spiritual experiences and answers and we don't receive them, it may not be because we aren't ready for that specific spiritual experience, but because we aren't ready to face the opposition that accompanies those experiences. I can only imagine what Moses and Joseph felt as they spoke with Christ and were called by name by him. Likewise, I can only imagine the struggle and fear that they had being confronted by the adversary. I also appreciated Brother Griffin's comment that even though we face opposition the lesson learned from the prophets' experiences is that we do not (and cannot!) face that opposition alone.