Week 14

With the end of the semester underway, I find it kind of tricky to balance everything that has to be accomplished. I sometimes find myself in disbelief that I was able to get all my assignments done on time. This would not have been possible without the help of the Lord.

This concept was further strengthened within me as I read in 1 Timothy 1:12, "And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful..." Because of Christ I can receive help and ability to do what is asked of me. I love that this applies to not only the spiritual aspect of my life, but also the temporal side. Christ is there to help me in all aspects of my life.

With the spiritual side of things, Christ has made it possible for each one of us to repent and become better. He has enabled us with power to overcome temptation and sin and become better. I know He is real and that with His help I can do all that is required for me.

Week 13

I was reading in Matthew 24 and Christ is telling His disciples about His future coming and the signs that will precede it. In verse nine He states, "Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake." He is basically saying that it is not going to be easy to be a disciple of Christ.

A few thoughts that came to my head when I read this verse; what would I be willing to suffer and experience in order to become more like Jesus Christ and build a trusting relationship with Him? Would I be ashamed of the Gospel of Christ? Or would I stand up for what I believe, no matter the situation? I feel like I know what I would choose, but I also know that it won't always be easy and I may fail sometimes. Gratefully, because of Christ I can keep trying to follow Him even when I mess up.

Christ is real. He is our Savior and is ready to help us when we are ready to accept Him. It will require a lot of faith sometimes, but we can do it because we have chosen Him once before. He will give us power to withstand those who hate us.

Week 12

Something that has been pertinent to me lately is fear. Sometimes fear stops me from making decisions and doing things that I know I should do. Instead, I freeze and become acted upon rather than acting. This is a hard obstacle to overcome, but thankfully I do not have to do it alone.

I know God is aware of me and what I think and struggle with because He has given us latter-day prophets to guide us. Thinking about my same concern mentioned above, I received guidance and comfort from President Uchtdorf's talk in the Sunday morning session of General Conference. He quoted the scripture, "perfect love casteth out fear." If I have a perfect love for God, He will help me work through my fears and eventually overcome them. I know this does not mean it will be easy, but with God anything is possible if I keep trying.

I still have a lot to learn about this concept, but I am grateful for the opportunity to do so. God is real and He lives and is ready to help each one of us whenever we need Him.

Week 11

I was able to attend a fireside this week that helped me view the Atonement of Jesus Christ in a different way. Alma 34:31 states "Yea, I would that ye would come forth and harden not your hearts any longer; for behold, now is the time and the day of your salvation ; and therefore, if ye will repent and harden not your hearts, immediately shall the great plan of redemption be brought about unto you." I think this describes the process we go through as we turn to the Savior perfectly. When we are willing to soften our hearts and plead for forgiveness, immediately the plan of redemption comes into our lives. We can be forgiven and become one with God again. 

The fireside speaker also gave another perspective of the word "atonement." He broke it up like this: at-one-ment. Being "at-one" means that we are in a relationship with someone. When we are "at-one" with God, we will be able to be "at-one" with those around us. This life is all about building relationships and coming closer to Christ. I know that as we strive to be one with God we will be able to help those around us and draw closer to our Father in Heaven. 

Week 10

This week I was reading in the New Testament from the Epistle of James. In the last verse it invites us to be unspotted from the world. I took the opportunity to look up the definition of this word and it means unnoticed.

I thought that was really cool, to be unnoticed from the world. One way I think about this is that when we are serving God, we usually go unnoticed from the world, but God notices. Also, if we are focused on the things of God and not of the world, the world won't notice us. The world will not be able to tear us down with all of its wickedness and lies. It will just look over us as unimportant. But we know better. We will be blessed as we do not become "of the world."

I love this analogy. I hope I will be able to focus on the things of God a little more and become unnoticed by the world so that I can become closer to my Father in Heaven. I know He is real and that He loves me.

Week 9

Sometimes all you can do is try and do your best. Even then, somethings still don't work out the way you would like them too. I don't have a specific verse of scripture that I was thinking about this week; it was more of a reflection on the many different people in the New Testament who kept trying. One specifically that comes to mind is Paul. He tried to do his best and share the Gospel, despite being beaten and thrown into prison. He kept trying.

As a college student, I have felt beat many times. I try so hard to do what I am supposed and somehow things don't work out quite like I had planned. It can be kind of discouraging and make me feel like I am not doing enough. I have come to realize (and still need to put it into practice) that I am doing my best. And that is all that God asks of me. He wants me to keep trying, despite the setbacks and disappointments. I know that He will make up the difference.

Week 8

Something we talked about in my class, Christ and the Everlasting Gospel, was the account of Peter walking to Jesus on the water in Matthew 14. When Christ walks toward the disciples on the water, Peter says, "Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water." Christ told him to come and Peter began walking on the water. I have some thoughts about this point in the story. First, Peter was willing to leave the comfort of the boat (his comfort zone) to come closer to the Lord. Second, Christ inspired Peter to have enough faith to walk on the water. No one else besides Jesus had done this before. Think of what we can do as we place our faith in Jesus and choose to come to Him. We will be able to see miracles in our lives and help others see them too. God wants us to show our faith and enjoy miracles. We can do it if we are willing to take those steps of faith. 

Week 7

This week in class we discussed Matthew 7. The first verse says, "Judge not, that ye be not judged." Thankfully we have the Joseph Smith Translation that helps us understand the words of Christ better; it says, "Now these are the words which Jesus taught his disciples that they should say unto the people. Judge not unrighteously, that ye be not judged; but judge righteous judgement." Christ wants us to judge righteously, yet this can still be difficult.

I sometimes struggle with passing judgment too quickly. It's a natural instinct most of the time. A thought has come into my mind several times as I have judged others; when we judge someone we lose the ability to love them. I have a long way to go, but I am going to keep trying to judge righteously and show love to those around me.

Week 6

This week we discussed the few stories we have from the childhood of Jesus. In Luke 2 we read about Joseph and Mary and their journey to find Jesus after they had realized he wasn't in the company. In verse 46 it says after three days they found Jesus in the temple.

While my professor was discussing this, he made the point of how easy it is to read "after three days" and then just keep moving on with the story. But, he made us stop and imagine ourselves as Joseph and Mary. How must have they felt to be looking for the Son of God for three days without any information? They had lost their child.

This has helped me realize a new way that I can read the scriptures: I can really pay attention to the characters and their emotions. I can put myself in their shoes and imagine how the characters felt and ask myself what I would do in this situation. I think God really wants us to connect with these stories so that our spirits can be touched and we can better handle our trials and challenges.

Week 5

Something that really touched me this week was our discussion in class about revelation. My professor gave an example of the Doctrine and Covenants and how the first 115 sections were written in the first 8 years of the church and that the last 15 or so sections were written over a period of 6 years.

My professor then mentioned how many return missionaries come home and feel a little lost because they feel like they do not receive revelation as often. He then made an interesting point explaining that sometimes God lets us make the decision. God can give us enough revelation to guide us to a certain path and then trusts us to make a decision. My professor called it revelation maturity.

For me, this means that God will continue to guide me and help me to learn and grow, but will also want me to use the revelation I have received to bless my life. This is not always easy and requires faith, but I know God will always be there to help me. He will help me find the right path to help me reach my potential.

Week 4

Something that I really appreciated from class this week was learning about the four different authors of the Gospels found in the New Testament. They each write to a specific audience, which can help us understand why they wrote the way we wrote.

Mark writes to the Romans. Matthew writes using Old Testament passages to show how Jesus fulfills them. Luke writes to one person, Thephilus. John writes to all the world - especially members. I really enjoyed learning about their different writing styles.  It will help me read in context and become part of the story.

How can this apply to my life? I need to be aware of my audience when I prepare lessons I may teach, or whenever I am talking to someone. If I can effectively speak to my audience then I will be able to inspire them. It reminds me how God speaks to each one of us differently so that we will listen and be blessed.

Week 3

I really enjoyed learning about The Fall of Adam and Eve this week. It has helped me understand more about agency and the love God has for us. In Moses 3:17 we read about God's command to Adam and Eve not to eat "of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil...nevertheless, thou mayest choose for thyself, for it is given unto thee." He makes it clear that they have their agency.

Eve chose to partake of the fruit. I appreciated what my professor pointed out about this choice Eve made. She had the opportunity to live in a beautiful garden without any strife, but chose a different path. Eve gave up the ease of Eden to be a mother. She chose to suffer so that life could be on earth.  

Thanks to Eve, we are now here on the earth. Eve made a choice that blessed all of mankind and gave us the opportunity to exercise our own agency. Yes, we are fallen, but God has given us a Savior so that we may become clean and return home to live with Him again. If we choose to follow Him, we can overcome our fallen state.

Week 2

I enjoyed reading this week in 2 Nephi 2 about God's plan and agency. Verse 26 really caught my attention this week. It says, "And the Messiah cometh in the fulness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall. And because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon..." 

This verse talks about how we can use our agency. God has given us the ability to choose for ourselves. Because we do not have to suffer in our fallen state, thanks to our Savior, Jesus Christ, we can make correct decisions that will bless our lives. However, we can also use this agency "to be acted upon." We have to choose how we will act in different situations. If we have chosen to follow Christ, then we will be able to make the better decision. 

Sometimes I have a struggle with agency. I just want to be told what the best decision is so I can make sure I am on the right path. Unfortunately, this can hinder my ability to exercise my agency to the fullest; to act for myself. Even though I still fight it sometimes, I am learning that faith also comes into using agency. If I can have faith as I make decisions that I am not completely sure about, then I can rely on God to help me know if I am making a wrong decision. This is still hard for me. I want to do what God wants me to do, but a lot of the time I don't know what that is for sure. I just know that He is aware of my circumstances and desires and that He will help me make the better decision. 

Week 1

In Moses 1:12-22, Moses tells of his experience with Satan. In these verses, Satan tries to convince Moses to worship him instead of God and Satan denounces the divine nature of Moses by calling him a "son of man" in verse 12. Moses recognized Satan and told him to depart. The first two times Moses tried to do this by himself and Satan grew furious and did not leave. Moses began to feel fearful and called upon God for help twice, before Satan finally departed. 

I learned a few different things from this passage of scripture. One is the importance of recognizing our divine nature. Because Moses knew who he was, a son of God, he was able to withstand Satan's temptations. Another thing I learned is that God is there to help us. Moses tried to get rid of Satan on his own, but could not. He cried for God to help him and when he did, Satan departed. Something interesting to note here is that Satan did not depart until the second time Moses had called upon God for help. 

This has taught me that I need to remember who I am, a daughter of God. I know that if I remember this eternal truth when I am tempted, I will be able to stand with God and not fall. I also learned I need God's help. Some things, actually most things, are too big for me to handle on my own. When I call upon God for help, I know He will hear me. I am grateful to know that He is always there.