Studying the second coming of Christ this week. How should we be preparing? What should we be watching for? When will He come? Will I be ready, or will I have just procrastinated my repentance and righteousness? It brings to mind the primary song When He Comes Again, specifically the second verse:
I wonder, when He comes again,
Will I be ready there (and I actually always thought it said "then")
To look upon his loving face
And join with Him in prayer?
I think I'm pretty safe in saying that I have righteous intentions. I really want to teach my children the Gospel better and pray more often and be kinder to others... but am I really doing it? (Now we're back to principle of good, better, and best; it's good to have good intentions, but it's better to actually do them, and it's best to become the person who is just plain good.) Will I be the kind of person that actually does these things before He comes? Would I feel comfortable today joining the Savior in prayer? I'm afraid the answer is actually 'no.' How could I pray with the Savior when I haven't even mastered daily prayer?
So, how do we prepare beyond commandment keeping and righteous living? In the Joseph Smith Translation of Matthew and the Doctrine and Covenants we find a few verses of how to live in constant preparation:
D&C 87:8 "Stand ye in holy places and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come; for behold, it cometh quickly..." Go to the temple, make your home a temple, a sanctuary, strive to treat your body like a temple, a holy place.
JST Matthew 1:37 "And whoso treasureth up my word shall not be deceived, for the Son of Man shall come..." Study the scriptures. Study the actual doctrines and principles that Christ teaches to avoid deception by others.
JST Matthew 1:48, 50 "Therefore be ye also ready, for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of Man cometh. / Blessed is that servant whom his lord, when he cometh, shall find so doing..." Just do it. Just do what you are supposed to, because if you wait, it will most likely be too late. We won't be able to hop out of our chairs when we first hear the trumpets sound and act like we've been living righteously and repenting. We have to have been doing it.
D&C 33:17 "Wherefore, be faithful, praying always, having your lamps trimmed and burning, and oil with you, that you may be ready at the coming of the Bridegroom." (And while I was writing that sentence my daughter spilled a full glass of water all over the floor and I swore. This is obviously not meant to be a "I'm perfect, so let me preach to you" kind of thing ;) We all have things we are working on, we all have lamps to keep trimmed. By cutting out the bad and doing the good, we keep our lamps ready and drops of oil within reach for when we will need them to see the Coming of the Lord.
D&C 45:57 "They have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and have not been deceived..." In our study of the scriptures and doctrine, we need to make sure we are being led by the Holy Ghost in order to understand truth.
Even though no one knows exactly when Christ will come again, we have been giving things to look for. In Mark 13 we are taught about signs of the Second Coming which include, false Christs, wars and rumors of wars, nations rising against nations, earthquakes in divers places, famines and "troubles." And at the end of verse 9 it says, "these are the beginnings of sorrows." This is just the beginning; it will get worse. But I think we've all seen or heard about all of these signs already, so... any day now? If Christ were to come tomorrow, would I be ready? Nope. So I'd better wake up, "lest coming suddenly he find [me] sleeping" (v 36).
But I think there is hope. We've been given the tools and the ability, we just need to do it, and then there is hope. The rest of the second verse of the song goes:
Each day I'll to do his will
And let my light so shine
That others seeing me may seek
For greater light divine.
Then, when that blessed day is here,
He'll love me and he'll say,
"You've served me well, my little child;
Come unto my arms to stay."
It should be a blessed day that we look forward to, not one that we should fear. Christ will always love us, but how wonderful will that day be if we can look to Him and say, "I have loved you, too"?
Monday, November 17, 2014
Friday, November 14, 2014
Rejected By the Jews
This semester has been especially interesting to see how many of my classes intertwine with one another. Parts of my chemistry class have gone right along with my nutrition class. The math in chemistry has helped put an edge on my stats class. And my world foundation class has absolutely coincided in time periods relating to my New Testament class. I love it when they do that!
For the last two weeks in my world history class we have been studying the Roman empire and the transformation of it into Christianity. It took a good 300 years after Christ for the empire to even accept those who followed Christianity. Before this, they followed a very polytheistic religion that was very much related to a citizens' loyalty to Rome as a state. If you rejected the gods, you rejected your country. It also took on many aspects of Greek religion or beliefs, making polytheistic worship extremely widespread, including the Middle East areas where Christ taught.
My topic this week is on why the Jewish leaders rejected Christ. He was considered a Jew but was rejected by the leaders as He became more of a "threat" to the nations. It was believed throughout Rome that Christ's doctrine, or Christianity, was simply a Jewish sect, but the actual Jews thought otherwise - and knew otherwise - and I imagine that it simply ticked them off for others to think that they were basically the same. The Jewish leaders had to make a statement and make it known that they were not the same by completely rejecting Christ Himself. And the Jewish citizens followed, of course.
In Matthew 21 we read about a few parables that can be related to these happenings. The first one is about a fig tree. While traveling, Christ happened upon a fig tree that bore no fruit, just leaves. He cursed it, and it withered away (vs 17-20). In the Lord's vineyard, if you aren't bearing good fruit, even if you aren't bearing bad fruit, there just no use for the tree. The leaders rejected Him and He withdrew blessings among them.
In vs 28-32 we read about a man who had two sons and asked each of them to do something. The first said that he wouldn't but then repented and did what he was asked. The second son said he would do it and never did. In vs 31-32 Christ states, "That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him." The publicans and harlots - the "common" people - may have at first rejected Him, but then believed on Him as they actually understood the teachings. The leaders were taught by John and perhaps made it look like they believed for a little while, but rejected Christ and His teachings in the end.
To me, though, knowing a bit about the historical context of all these happenings puts it into a little more perspective, at least with Rome. For the Romans, rejecting and refusing to worship the "gods" was like Americans burning the flag at the foot of the White House. You're not just a rebel, you're a threat and a heretic. I'm not saying that putting Christ to death was acceptable in any regard, but I can see how a disruption among so many people and beliefs could lead to such events. Luckily for us, we have the freedom to worship any way we want, and I choose Christ.
For the last two weeks in my world history class we have been studying the Roman empire and the transformation of it into Christianity. It took a good 300 years after Christ for the empire to even accept those who followed Christianity. Before this, they followed a very polytheistic religion that was very much related to a citizens' loyalty to Rome as a state. If you rejected the gods, you rejected your country. It also took on many aspects of Greek religion or beliefs, making polytheistic worship extremely widespread, including the Middle East areas where Christ taught.
My topic this week is on why the Jewish leaders rejected Christ. He was considered a Jew but was rejected by the leaders as He became more of a "threat" to the nations. It was believed throughout Rome that Christ's doctrine, or Christianity, was simply a Jewish sect, but the actual Jews thought otherwise - and knew otherwise - and I imagine that it simply ticked them off for others to think that they were basically the same. The Jewish leaders had to make a statement and make it known that they were not the same by completely rejecting Christ Himself. And the Jewish citizens followed, of course.
In Matthew 21 we read about a few parables that can be related to these happenings. The first one is about a fig tree. While traveling, Christ happened upon a fig tree that bore no fruit, just leaves. He cursed it, and it withered away (vs 17-20). In the Lord's vineyard, if you aren't bearing good fruit, even if you aren't bearing bad fruit, there just no use for the tree. The leaders rejected Him and He withdrew blessings among them.
In vs 28-32 we read about a man who had two sons and asked each of them to do something. The first said that he wouldn't but then repented and did what he was asked. The second son said he would do it and never did. In vs 31-32 Christ states, "That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him." The publicans and harlots - the "common" people - may have at first rejected Him, but then believed on Him as they actually understood the teachings. The leaders were taught by John and perhaps made it look like they believed for a little while, but rejected Christ and His teachings in the end.
To me, though, knowing a bit about the historical context of all these happenings puts it into a little more perspective, at least with Rome. For the Romans, rejecting and refusing to worship the "gods" was like Americans burning the flag at the foot of the White House. You're not just a rebel, you're a threat and a heretic. I'm not saying that putting Christ to death was acceptable in any regard, but I can see how a disruption among so many people and beliefs could lead to such events. Luckily for us, we have the freedom to worship any way we want, and I choose Christ.
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
Earthly and Heavenly Rewards
The New Testament is all about parables, right? Here are a few more I am studying this week ;)
The parable of the rich man; he came to Christ asking what he could do to gain eternal life. Christ replied that he should basically keep the ten commandments given to Moses. The man replied, "all these I have kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?" (Matthew 19:20)
Christ's reply to this was for the man to sell all that he had and give to the poor, but the man left in sorrow because he was rich. This goes back to my point from last week (?) about being rather than just doing. This man wanted something to do in order to gain eternal life. He was not very concerned with who he actually was becoming. Even though he was rich, this "something" - to give all he had to the poor - was too hard for him because he was not yet the kind of person that wanted to help the poor. He certainly could have done it and become closer to Christ and more like Christ because of it, but my guess is that the little things he had previously been doing - keeping the commandments - weren't changing him enough first.
When we make these kind of sacrifices Christ has promised us that we "shall sit in the throne of his glory" and that we "shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life" (vs 28-29). The verse I like the best in this parable is 26 stating that "With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible." If we try to do these things alone, especially the "big" or "hard" things, we will fail. It almost seems paradoxical: in order to follow God, we need His help. That doesn't sound much like following but rather being prodded or led. (Back to the song, Child of God, "Lead me, guide me".) Isn't this how we raise our children, though? I've been asking Via for hours to pick up all the candy she spilled in my bedroom. She probably can't do it on her own and I should probably go help her ;) I've been busy balancing chemical equations and figuring out how many grams of iron are leftover in a certain reaction and haven't wanted to go help pick up candy corn. I tell myself that she made the mess and is capable of picking it up, but that's not really true. Even as adults, we make messes of our lives all the time, at least I do, and am still in desperate need of Christ's help to pick up the pieces. By doing the things He asks of us and letting Him guide us, we are then able to follow Him.
The second parable is in Matthew 20 about the laborers in the vineyard all getting paid the same amount for different amounts of time worked. (This sounds like the beginning of a heat equation to me *eye roll*) Anyway, each laborer agrees to work the day for a penny, so those that are present in the morning start then. The lord of the vineyard goes out and recruits more laborers at the sixth, ninth and eleventh hours and pays them a penny for the day as well. Obviously the ones who have worked all day feel taken advantage of since they had been there all day in the heat of the day and were paid the same amount as those who worked only one hour. The lord replies, "Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? Take that thine is (take what we agreed upon) and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own?" (vs 13-15).
It does sound harsh, right? Some of us probably even get like this with our actual employment rates. But that's not exactly what Christ is trying to portray here. What about those who come unto Christ in the eleventh hour? Are they not just as blessed as those who have lived His gospel all their lives? Will they receive less eternal life because they were not recruited until later? No. This can bring comfort to many who have not had the opportunity to live the Gospel their whole lives. No matter when we come unto Christ, He has promised us blessings for following him - or for allowing ourselves to be led by Him. For those of us that have been "working" in the vineyard all day, it gives us the opportunity to learn more and perhaps some of us need more practice ;) I definitely need more practice with patience, especially when it comes to Via peeing on the stairs, which I now have to go clean up...
The parable of the rich man; he came to Christ asking what he could do to gain eternal life. Christ replied that he should basically keep the ten commandments given to Moses. The man replied, "all these I have kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?" (Matthew 19:20)
Christ's reply to this was for the man to sell all that he had and give to the poor, but the man left in sorrow because he was rich. This goes back to my point from last week (?) about being rather than just doing. This man wanted something to do in order to gain eternal life. He was not very concerned with who he actually was becoming. Even though he was rich, this "something" - to give all he had to the poor - was too hard for him because he was not yet the kind of person that wanted to help the poor. He certainly could have done it and become closer to Christ and more like Christ because of it, but my guess is that the little things he had previously been doing - keeping the commandments - weren't changing him enough first.
When we make these kind of sacrifices Christ has promised us that we "shall sit in the throne of his glory" and that we "shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life" (vs 28-29). The verse I like the best in this parable is 26 stating that "With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible." If we try to do these things alone, especially the "big" or "hard" things, we will fail. It almost seems paradoxical: in order to follow God, we need His help. That doesn't sound much like following but rather being prodded or led. (Back to the song, Child of God, "Lead me, guide me".) Isn't this how we raise our children, though? I've been asking Via for hours to pick up all the candy she spilled in my bedroom. She probably can't do it on her own and I should probably go help her ;) I've been busy balancing chemical equations and figuring out how many grams of iron are leftover in a certain reaction and haven't wanted to go help pick up candy corn. I tell myself that she made the mess and is capable of picking it up, but that's not really true. Even as adults, we make messes of our lives all the time, at least I do, and am still in desperate need of Christ's help to pick up the pieces. By doing the things He asks of us and letting Him guide us, we are then able to follow Him.
The second parable is in Matthew 20 about the laborers in the vineyard all getting paid the same amount for different amounts of time worked. (This sounds like the beginning of a heat equation to me *eye roll*) Anyway, each laborer agrees to work the day for a penny, so those that are present in the morning start then. The lord of the vineyard goes out and recruits more laborers at the sixth, ninth and eleventh hours and pays them a penny for the day as well. Obviously the ones who have worked all day feel taken advantage of since they had been there all day in the heat of the day and were paid the same amount as those who worked only one hour. The lord replies, "Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? Take that thine is (take what we agreed upon) and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own?" (vs 13-15).
It does sound harsh, right? Some of us probably even get like this with our actual employment rates. But that's not exactly what Christ is trying to portray here. What about those who come unto Christ in the eleventh hour? Are they not just as blessed as those who have lived His gospel all their lives? Will they receive less eternal life because they were not recruited until later? No. This can bring comfort to many who have not had the opportunity to live the Gospel their whole lives. No matter when we come unto Christ, He has promised us blessings for following him - or for allowing ourselves to be led by Him. For those of us that have been "working" in the vineyard all day, it gives us the opportunity to learn more and perhaps some of us need more practice ;) I definitely need more practice with patience, especially when it comes to Via peeing on the stairs, which I now have to go clean up...
Friday, October 31, 2014
Disciples of Christ
What does it mean to be a disciple of Christ?
Be willing to hear His words
Have a desire to pray
Readily repentant
Friendly to all
Humble
Sharing of our abundance
Undoubting
Watchful
Always striving to return to Him
Diligent in serving others
Committed
These are just a few of the traits or qualities that true disciples of Christ have. This is who disciples of Christ have become or at least are trying to become. Being a disciple, to me, is more about just doing these things. It's about being like Christ.
I sing the song"I Am a Child of God" most nights to my kids at bedtime. I change the word "do" in the phrase "teach me all that I must do" to "be" when I sing it to them. Via got mad at me the other night. She insisted that it is, of course, "do" in the song. (She also insists that church songs are to be sung only at church, and I can't sing them to her at bedtime *eye roll.*) While she is correct about the actual wording of the song, I still like my way more :) I tried to explain - to a 2 year old, 3 in 13 days! - that it's about who we are and not just about what we do.
I emphasize just, though, because I do believe that our actions are the greatest indicators of who we truly are most of the time. But if we are simply going through the motions of prayer, church attendance, and partaking of the Sacrament, Heavenly Father will know. He knows who we really are. Doing these things are definitely important, but they are designed for us to do them and become someone other than our natural, mortal selves. We must be striving to be while we are doing all these things.
One of the things that I will be working on next month is prayer. I'm horrible at praying consistently. It's so easy for me to fall out of the habit and so hard for me to get back in for some reason. I've noticed lately, though, that neither of my kids really have that desire to pray. I definitely need to do a better job of being an example of it, especially while I am at home with them all the time for the next few months. It's up to me to show them how to be a disciple of Christ. I'd better practice what I preach, right? ;)
Be willing to hear His words
Have a desire to pray
Readily repentant
Friendly to all
Humble
Sharing of our abundance
Undoubting
Watchful
Always striving to return to Him
Diligent in serving others
Committed
These are just a few of the traits or qualities that true disciples of Christ have. This is who disciples of Christ have become or at least are trying to become. Being a disciple, to me, is more about just doing these things. It's about being like Christ.
I sing the song"I Am a Child of God" most nights to my kids at bedtime. I change the word "do" in the phrase "teach me all that I must do" to "be" when I sing it to them. Via got mad at me the other night. She insisted that it is, of course, "do" in the song. (She also insists that church songs are to be sung only at church, and I can't sing them to her at bedtime *eye roll.*) While she is correct about the actual wording of the song, I still like my way more :) I tried to explain - to a 2 year old, 3 in 13 days! - that it's about who we are and not just about what we do.
I emphasize just, though, because I do believe that our actions are the greatest indicators of who we truly are most of the time. But if we are simply going through the motions of prayer, church attendance, and partaking of the Sacrament, Heavenly Father will know. He knows who we really are. Doing these things are definitely important, but they are designed for us to do them and become someone other than our natural, mortal selves. We must be striving to be while we are doing all these things.
One of the things that I will be working on next month is prayer. I'm horrible at praying consistently. It's so easy for me to fall out of the habit and so hard for me to get back in for some reason. I've noticed lately, though, that neither of my kids really have that desire to pray. I definitely need to do a better job of being an example of it, especially while I am at home with them all the time for the next few months. It's up to me to show them how to be a disciple of Christ. I'd better practice what I preach, right? ;)
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Cut It Off, Pluck It Out
Perhaps you have read the scriptures in the New Testament that talk about cutting off the hand or foot or plucking out the eye if they offend you. Yuck. Being maimed... not my idea of a good time. Of course, Christ is speaking in yet another parable ;) and Joseph Smith made it nice and easy with the translation he gave. He stated, "And a man's hand is his friend, and his foot, also; and a man's eye are they of his own household."
Well, keeping that in mind, let me give you the actual scriptures found in Mark 9. "And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched (v 43). And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell... (v 45). And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire (v 47)." Nice and graphic, right? Going into the medical field you would think that blood and amputations wouldn't bother me, but I'm really getting worse as I get older. I read Oedipus the King last week and nearly gagged when he gouged out his own eyes. Maybe it's just the pregnancy... But I digress...
The first thing that comes to mind - even knowing the true meaning of these verses - is "aren't we supposed to be friendly with everyone and be kind to all? Aren't we supposed to include everyone, especially family?" Yes. Kindness and inclusion are key principles of the Gospel, but we can also go back to Nephi having to slay Laban: "It is better that one man perish than a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief" (1 Nephi 4:13). If someone is dragging us down, dragging the light of Christ out of us through temptations, it is best that we cut off the source and try to keep ourselves and posterity on the right path. I read last week that it was better to have 4 quarters than 100 pennies for friends. Glean what you will from that; I thought it was interesting :)
The second astonishing questions one may ask is, "even family?" Yep. Even family applies here. Don't get me wrong, I completely love my family. All of them. In-laws just the same as my side. But there may come a point where it's just not conducive to be around a certain family member. I love my father. I may pity him more, but I still love him. I just cannot be around him much. It is more detrimental for myself and my family to spend time with him than to simply keep a certain distance while staying in touch. I've been working on being kind the last few years (I wasn't before; I was still pretty angry), and including him if I feel like the situation presents, but I can't offer him a home. Much of his family has unfortunately had to "pluck him out" as well in order to keep their immediate families in tact and - perhaps just as important - not allowing him a leg to stand on after he's cut off all the others (see what I did there? ;) My mother tried to make a secure family with him for years but finally had to pluck him out and leave. It was better for everyone. So, sad as it it, this principle, I truly believe, applies to anyone that can bring us down instead of lifting us up.
One thing that my assignment prompt brought up that I hadn't thought much about was the idea of being free especially regarding the Word of Wisdom and staying chaste. It's such a social norm to drink and sleep around these days. It looks so glamorous, but they don't really show you the consequences on Tv shows. I lived the consequences of an alcoholic parent and a broken family. I've seen the consequences of unplanned pregnancies outside of marriage. Our first two kids weren't planned, but we've brought them into a stable marriage and have both committed to them and their wellbeing. Without saying that all children bring with them is bondage, there truly is a certain amount of freedom that you lose when you become a parent, and when they are brought into a sticky situation, the less free you are as the situation brings even more stress and hardships with it. You can lose your freedom to alcohol, drugs, even food addictions, STDs, or a sudden pregnancy that you may not have wanted. We have the choice to cut out these temptations and the people that bring them. Harsh and sad, but I really believe it is true. Seek the things and people that edify and uplift you. Don't let anyone drag you down. You have the choice to be free.
Well, keeping that in mind, let me give you the actual scriptures found in Mark 9. "And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched (v 43). And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell... (v 45). And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire (v 47)." Nice and graphic, right? Going into the medical field you would think that blood and amputations wouldn't bother me, but I'm really getting worse as I get older. I read Oedipus the King last week and nearly gagged when he gouged out his own eyes. Maybe it's just the pregnancy... But I digress...
The first thing that comes to mind - even knowing the true meaning of these verses - is "aren't we supposed to be friendly with everyone and be kind to all? Aren't we supposed to include everyone, especially family?" Yes. Kindness and inclusion are key principles of the Gospel, but we can also go back to Nephi having to slay Laban: "It is better that one man perish than a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief" (1 Nephi 4:13). If someone is dragging us down, dragging the light of Christ out of us through temptations, it is best that we cut off the source and try to keep ourselves and posterity on the right path. I read last week that it was better to have 4 quarters than 100 pennies for friends. Glean what you will from that; I thought it was interesting :)
The second astonishing questions one may ask is, "even family?" Yep. Even family applies here. Don't get me wrong, I completely love my family. All of them. In-laws just the same as my side. But there may come a point where it's just not conducive to be around a certain family member. I love my father. I may pity him more, but I still love him. I just cannot be around him much. It is more detrimental for myself and my family to spend time with him than to simply keep a certain distance while staying in touch. I've been working on being kind the last few years (I wasn't before; I was still pretty angry), and including him if I feel like the situation presents, but I can't offer him a home. Much of his family has unfortunately had to "pluck him out" as well in order to keep their immediate families in tact and - perhaps just as important - not allowing him a leg to stand on after he's cut off all the others (see what I did there? ;) My mother tried to make a secure family with him for years but finally had to pluck him out and leave. It was better for everyone. So, sad as it it, this principle, I truly believe, applies to anyone that can bring us down instead of lifting us up.
One thing that my assignment prompt brought up that I hadn't thought much about was the idea of being free especially regarding the Word of Wisdom and staying chaste. It's such a social norm to drink and sleep around these days. It looks so glamorous, but they don't really show you the consequences on Tv shows. I lived the consequences of an alcoholic parent and a broken family. I've seen the consequences of unplanned pregnancies outside of marriage. Our first two kids weren't planned, but we've brought them into a stable marriage and have both committed to them and their wellbeing. Without saying that all children bring with them is bondage, there truly is a certain amount of freedom that you lose when you become a parent, and when they are brought into a sticky situation, the less free you are as the situation brings even more stress and hardships with it. You can lose your freedom to alcohol, drugs, even food addictions, STDs, or a sudden pregnancy that you may not have wanted. We have the choice to cut out these temptations and the people that bring them. Harsh and sad, but I really believe it is true. Seek the things and people that edify and uplift you. Don't let anyone drag you down. You have the choice to be free.
Friday, October 17, 2014
Hunger and Thirst
This week we studied Christ's sermon about the bread of life found in John chapter 6 among other things, but this is what struck me the most. In Sunday School this week someone mentioned that being hungry and being thirsty are two very different things. I really liked the comment, but it really hit me as I was reading this story.
In John 6:35 it states "And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst." I loved that! He specifically gives the difference between hunger and thirst and how to combat them. If we come unto Christ, we will never hunger. If we believe Christ, we will never thirst.
I'm sitting here just having eaten a frozen burrito. I was hungry, but I wasn't thirsty. Well, after eating (the entire burrito in about a minute) I'm thirsty now. They build upon each other. If we but come unto Christ we will be inclined to believe Him, I think. We will want to know more. We will want to keep coming back and will then believe more.
I'm also taking a nutrition class this semester - you wouldn't think so since I just ate a frozen burrito ;) but I am - but it made me think about how we need both food and water to provide for all the processes of our body. We need both. I also likened this with the commandment to "feast upon the words of Christ" and I would add "Atonement" to words. With Thanksgiving coming up I thought about how a feast really is about eating and drinking. I don't ever have my Thanksgiving without a few bottles of Martinelli's ;)
This all led me, of course, to the Sacrament. Why don't we, as Latter-day Saints, just have a cracker and call it good? Or a piece of cake? A piece of cake would be great, don't you think? (I think I'll actually have some cake after I'm done with this post!) We take the Sacrament with bread and water because 1) Christ is the "bread of life" and water is the most pure drink there is (and as for Christ and His disciples, the pure wine), and 2) we need both; we need bread and water to sustain our mortal lives. We eat of His flesh and drink of His blood because they are both different. We needed Him to come in the flesh and teach us the Gospel and we need to believe that the Atonement, performed with His precious blood, is the way to everlasting life.
In John 6:35 it states "And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst." I loved that! He specifically gives the difference between hunger and thirst and how to combat them. If we come unto Christ, we will never hunger. If we believe Christ, we will never thirst.
I'm sitting here just having eaten a frozen burrito. I was hungry, but I wasn't thirsty. Well, after eating (the entire burrito in about a minute) I'm thirsty now. They build upon each other. If we but come unto Christ we will be inclined to believe Him, I think. We will want to know more. We will want to keep coming back and will then believe more.
I'm also taking a nutrition class this semester - you wouldn't think so since I just ate a frozen burrito ;) but I am - but it made me think about how we need both food and water to provide for all the processes of our body. We need both. I also likened this with the commandment to "feast upon the words of Christ" and I would add "Atonement" to words. With Thanksgiving coming up I thought about how a feast really is about eating and drinking. I don't ever have my Thanksgiving without a few bottles of Martinelli's ;)
This all led me, of course, to the Sacrament. Why don't we, as Latter-day Saints, just have a cracker and call it good? Or a piece of cake? A piece of cake would be great, don't you think? (I think I'll actually have some cake after I'm done with this post!) We take the Sacrament with bread and water because 1) Christ is the "bread of life" and water is the most pure drink there is (and as for Christ and His disciples, the pure wine), and 2) we need both; we need bread and water to sustain our mortal lives. We eat of His flesh and drink of His blood because they are both different. We needed Him to come in the flesh and teach us the Gospel and we need to believe that the Atonement, performed with His precious blood, is the way to everlasting life.
Thursday, October 9, 2014
Say What You Mean
So this week my topic is The Lord Often Taught With Parables, and I have a set of questions to answer for the assignment. But first, let's talk about why. Why did He talk in parables when He could have just come right out and say what He meant? In one of my communications classes - the only one I ever took, actually - our instructor would always say "say what you mean, mean what you say." Great advice, especially for someone (like me) who doesn't like to say much of anything concerning feelings and emotions. My poor husband can attest. It was a rough first year of marriage gaining some ground on communication ;) He still brings us the time I locked myself in the bathroom because I didn't want to talk at all. I didn't grow up expressing my feelings, and I had no idea how to do it. It still takes me a while sometimes to even process how I'm feeling and why. And as for the "mean what you say" part... Well, I think most of us would agree that when a woman says she's "fine", she's not fine.
So why can't I just talk in parables and similes and metaphors or even through actions - such as locking myself in a bathroom?? Why am I expected to come out and say exactly how I feel?? Easy answer: I'm not Christ. The other answer is that a marriage or close relationships are completely different than Christ teaching and instructing. If Christ had said exactly what He meant the scriptures would be at least twice as long! He meant many things so He simply told a short story that covered those many meanings. We all interpret the scriptures a little bit differently, and even personally we interpret them differently at different times. Why use many words when you can say so much with just a few?
Another reason for this way of communication is given right in between the parables. In Matthew 13:10-11 it says, "Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given." We only understand the parables as much as we are willing to. If we don't put for the effort to see and hear the meanings we simply won't understand them, and then our understanding in halted. Line upon line. Precept upon precept.
The other thing I wanted to mention that I thought was interesting was the relationship between the word "parable" coming from the word "parabola." Just in case it has been about 10 years since you've taken a geometry class - like me - here is a picture:
Last week in my history class we studied the long journey and the monomyth. They explained this by using a picture kind of like this. Theirs was better, but I couldn't find it. Anyway, during this journey or story (parable) imagine you start at one of the arrow points in the "known" world. We cross over the x-axis (time) into the "unknown" world and go through this process of learning and becoming. We follow the parabola back into the known world and have brought back with us some kind of knowledge. I just thought it was interesting to apply this parabolic journey into the idea of the parables of Christ as well.
Okay, onto the questions and their corresponding parables...
What describes the future growth of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and how do you explain the remarkable growth of the Church considering it is fairly new compared to most world religions and started in the small American frontier?
I had never really thought about how very new this church is in relation to Islam or Catholicism and others. And it has grown quite large very quickly. I've heard it and said it many times before: The Gospel is perfect, the Church is not. And I do believe that. But we must be doing something right! We can compare this growth to the parable of the mustard seed (Matthew 13:31-32). It started with one boy and one question. So small. The mustard seed is "the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree."
Why does the Church send out so many missionaries?
We believe that it is our responsibility to gather others into the Gospel. We can compare this to the parable of the net found in Matthew 13:47-50. "The kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind."
Why are some members of the Church willing to sacrifice so much worldly wealth and recognition in order to maintain membership in the Church?
A pearl of great price (Matthew 13:45-46). Those that see the Church as this pearl with great value are willing to give up everything else to obtain it. The merchant man "went and sold all that he had, and bought it."
Why so some members leave the Church?
This is where our roots come in. I love Elder Nelson's talk about religion, Let Your Faith Show. "Religion" comes from the word "ligate" which means to tie back to. Religion provides the means to tie us back to Christ. Are we tied to Christ through our religion or are we simply tied to the Church? There are many reasons why people leave the Church, and I'm definitely not going to delve into them right now. It's lunch time, and I'm hungry ;) But if we don't accept the Church as simply a means for tying us to Christ and the fullness of His Gospel then I can definitely see how easy it would be to leave the Church and all its Mormon culture. We have to find root in Christ in order to survive this culture sometimes.
Let's look at Matthew 13:3-8, the parable of the seeds. "Behold, a sower went forth to sow; And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns; and the throne sprung up, and choked them: But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit." Whether we are in or out of the LDS Church, we must find root in Christ if we expect to grow instead of wither away.
There is happiness in the Gospel, which means we can find happiness in the Church. We just have to be willing to look past the "known" sometimes and feast upon the "unknown."
So why can't I just talk in parables and similes and metaphors or even through actions - such as locking myself in a bathroom?? Why am I expected to come out and say exactly how I feel?? Easy answer: I'm not Christ. The other answer is that a marriage or close relationships are completely different than Christ teaching and instructing. If Christ had said exactly what He meant the scriptures would be at least twice as long! He meant many things so He simply told a short story that covered those many meanings. We all interpret the scriptures a little bit differently, and even personally we interpret them differently at different times. Why use many words when you can say so much with just a few?
Another reason for this way of communication is given right in between the parables. In Matthew 13:10-11 it says, "Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given." We only understand the parables as much as we are willing to. If we don't put for the effort to see and hear the meanings we simply won't understand them, and then our understanding in halted. Line upon line. Precept upon precept.
The other thing I wanted to mention that I thought was interesting was the relationship between the word "parable" coming from the word "parabola." Just in case it has been about 10 years since you've taken a geometry class - like me - here is a picture:
Last week in my history class we studied the long journey and the monomyth. They explained this by using a picture kind of like this. Theirs was better, but I couldn't find it. Anyway, during this journey or story (parable) imagine you start at one of the arrow points in the "known" world. We cross over the x-axis (time) into the "unknown" world and go through this process of learning and becoming. We follow the parabola back into the known world and have brought back with us some kind of knowledge. I just thought it was interesting to apply this parabolic journey into the idea of the parables of Christ as well.
Okay, onto the questions and their corresponding parables...
What describes the future growth of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and how do you explain the remarkable growth of the Church considering it is fairly new compared to most world religions and started in the small American frontier?
I had never really thought about how very new this church is in relation to Islam or Catholicism and others. And it has grown quite large very quickly. I've heard it and said it many times before: The Gospel is perfect, the Church is not. And I do believe that. But we must be doing something right! We can compare this growth to the parable of the mustard seed (Matthew 13:31-32). It started with one boy and one question. So small. The mustard seed is "the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree."
Why does the Church send out so many missionaries?
We believe that it is our responsibility to gather others into the Gospel. We can compare this to the parable of the net found in Matthew 13:47-50. "The kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind."
Why are some members of the Church willing to sacrifice so much worldly wealth and recognition in order to maintain membership in the Church?
A pearl of great price (Matthew 13:45-46). Those that see the Church as this pearl with great value are willing to give up everything else to obtain it. The merchant man "went and sold all that he had, and bought it."
Why so some members leave the Church?
This is where our roots come in. I love Elder Nelson's talk about religion, Let Your Faith Show. "Religion" comes from the word "ligate" which means to tie back to. Religion provides the means to tie us back to Christ. Are we tied to Christ through our religion or are we simply tied to the Church? There are many reasons why people leave the Church, and I'm definitely not going to delve into them right now. It's lunch time, and I'm hungry ;) But if we don't accept the Church as simply a means for tying us to Christ and the fullness of His Gospel then I can definitely see how easy it would be to leave the Church and all its Mormon culture. We have to find root in Christ in order to survive this culture sometimes.
Let's look at Matthew 13:3-8, the parable of the seeds. "Behold, a sower went forth to sow; And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns; and the throne sprung up, and choked them: But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit." Whether we are in or out of the LDS Church, we must find root in Christ if we expect to grow instead of wither away.
There is happiness in the Gospel, which means we can find happiness in the Church. We just have to be willing to look past the "known" sometimes and feast upon the "unknown."
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