Wednesday, September 29, 2010
The greatest man
The Savior said that John the Baptist was the greatest man born of women. Three reasons as to why Joseph Smith considered John the Baptist to be among the greatest prophets is; John the Baptist was entrusted to prepare the way before Jesus came. Second, it was his opportunity to baptize the Son of Man. Lastly, he had the keys of heaven given to him. To be able to accomplish all of this is such an honor and a blessing and this is what makes him the greatest prophet born of women.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
BEATITUDES
The word blessed means; to be very fortunate, or to have many blessings from God.
In Matthew 5:12, "blessed" attributes would be; if we are optimistic and happy, we will receive blessings in heaven. As it says, the prophets were persecuted and they are very happy gentle people.
Three beatitudes;
1. Blessed are the Meek
-Living the beatitude to be meek can make an enormous impact on ones life and in my life. As President Lee points out, to be meek is "one who is not easily provoked or irritated." Just today I got super irritated with my husband because I went to the Relief Society Broadcast and while I was gone he fell asleep and I had to sit outside for 15 minutes constantly calling his phone until he woke up. I became so irritated with him, when in reality it wasn't his fault at all it just happened. If I had been meek in this situation I would have been happier and he would have also. Being meek not only makes you happy, but it makes others happy and blesses others also.
2. Blessed are they which are Persecuted
-Whenever I've been persecuted by friends, I always find it interesting as to why they think they should persecute me for my beliefs. I remember one time at a school dance I was dancing normal and I had a friend at the time who kept pointing at me and laughing because I was dancing "Mormon" apparently. Since I wasn't dancing inappropriately like a lot of people at that dance were, this girl felt that she needed to point out that my dancing was "Mormon" dancing even though I was dancing exactly the same as others in our group were, yet their dancing wasn't "Mormon" dancing. I think it's times like those to hold your head high and just brush off what others say because in the end it doesn't matter what they say, it matters how you react and what you believe.
3. Blessed are the Merciful
- Showing mercy to others is Christ-like, and it blesses others. I remember I had a friend once who went through many problems in her life. She was always up and down and at times hated my guts, for reasons I couldn't explain and I'm not sure she could either. One time she decided she would never talk to me again and said very hurtful things because I broke up with her brother. It was just a few weeks after that, that she needed help and she asked for my forgiveness and asked me to help. I was the only person she'd ever told certain things to and I was a good listener and could calm her down when she got really worked up. She called asking me to come over, and I did. At this point, I could have just let her deal with what she had problems with because I was hurt, but I decided to help anyway. It made my life so much happier when she was my friend again and it helped us to become friends again. She was such a good friend and if I hadn't extended mercy and if I had just been selfish and ignored her, I wouldn't be happy with my decisions, and neither would The Lord.
In order to stay happy in our lives, and for me in my life, it's important to do things even though at the time you don't feel like doing them. It will bless your life, like it has blessed mine for a very long time.
In Matthew 5:12, "blessed" attributes would be; if we are optimistic and happy, we will receive blessings in heaven. As it says, the prophets were persecuted and they are very happy gentle people.
Three beatitudes;
1. Blessed are the Meek
-Living the beatitude to be meek can make an enormous impact on ones life and in my life. As President Lee points out, to be meek is "one who is not easily provoked or irritated." Just today I got super irritated with my husband because I went to the Relief Society Broadcast and while I was gone he fell asleep and I had to sit outside for 15 minutes constantly calling his phone until he woke up. I became so irritated with him, when in reality it wasn't his fault at all it just happened. If I had been meek in this situation I would have been happier and he would have also. Being meek not only makes you happy, but it makes others happy and blesses others also.
2. Blessed are they which are Persecuted
-Whenever I've been persecuted by friends, I always find it interesting as to why they think they should persecute me for my beliefs. I remember one time at a school dance I was dancing normal and I had a friend at the time who kept pointing at me and laughing because I was dancing "Mormon" apparently. Since I wasn't dancing inappropriately like a lot of people at that dance were, this girl felt that she needed to point out that my dancing was "Mormon" dancing even though I was dancing exactly the same as others in our group were, yet their dancing wasn't "Mormon" dancing. I think it's times like those to hold your head high and just brush off what others say because in the end it doesn't matter what they say, it matters how you react and what you believe.
3. Blessed are the Merciful
- Showing mercy to others is Christ-like, and it blesses others. I remember I had a friend once who went through many problems in her life. She was always up and down and at times hated my guts, for reasons I couldn't explain and I'm not sure she could either. One time she decided she would never talk to me again and said very hurtful things because I broke up with her brother. It was just a few weeks after that, that she needed help and she asked for my forgiveness and asked me to help. I was the only person she'd ever told certain things to and I was a good listener and could calm her down when she got really worked up. She called asking me to come over, and I did. At this point, I could have just let her deal with what she had problems with because I was hurt, but I decided to help anyway. It made my life so much happier when she was my friend again and it helped us to become friends again. She was such a good friend and if I hadn't extended mercy and if I had just been selfish and ignored her, I wouldn't be happy with my decisions, and neither would The Lord.
In order to stay happy in our lives, and for me in my life, it's important to do things even though at the time you don't feel like doing them. It will bless your life, like it has blessed mine for a very long time.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Becoming Born Again
"Seeing" the kingdom of God and "entering" into the kingdom of God are two separate things. When you "see" the kingdom of God, you can see it and the potential of being there, but when you "enter" into the kingdom of God, you are in it. When you become baptized, you "enter" into the kingdom of God. In order for Nicodemus to enter the kingdom of God, Jesus Christ teaches him that he must be "born again". Baptism is a symbol of rebirth because you are fully emersing yourself under water, in order to come up again clean and new. Baptism could be a symbol of death because we are going under to start anew. To be "born of the spirit" means that you have been converted in your heart and the way you live your life. The Father loves every single person ever born or ever created. In order to show His love, He blesses us and teaches us. He lets us have our agency so we can choose the way to go. He has blessed us with bodies and with the chance to someday be like him and to return with him. The purpose of the Savior was to make it so we could all return to the Father someday. He had to suffer for our sins so that we could become pure like the Father. If there wasn't a sacrifice we wouldn't be able to return to our Father because we wouldn't be perfect enough.
JOHN THE BAPTIST
Zacharias was told that many would rejoice at his birth. John the Baptist was a very special person and accomplished many things on his mission. In the Bible Dictionary under "John the Baptist" it says he was of "priestly descent through both parents.. He was the outstanding bearer of the Aaronic Priesthood in all history, and was entrusted with its most noble mission"(p.714 B.D.). Many people would rejoice over his birth because he was a choice spirit. John the Baptist is the one who baptized Jesus. John was caring and he had no jealousy, but always to serve others. John was a wonderful teacher and taught many doctrines of this gospel. John the Baptist showed light unto people everywhere, and taught with such a strong spirit and conviction that many believed him and many came unto the gospel by him.
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