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.