The Savior’s Instructions about the Holy Ghost

• Disciples of Jesus Christ must keep the commandments to keep the Holy Ghost. 
• If the Holy Ghost is present, he can teach you ALL things and bring all things to your remembrance.
• The Holy Ghost will also testify of Heavenly Father. When he does this we are also expected to testify of our Father in Heaven. 
• The Holy Ghost will reprove the world of its sin calling all to repent
• The Holy Spirit will guide disciples of Christ to truth and lead you to glorify the Father in Heaven. 
• We have to believe in the Holy Ghost in order to have his presence
• We have to live a righteous life
• After the Savior returned to Heavenly Father, the Apostles were left alone, but because they led good and righteous lives, they were able to have the Holy Ghost with them. 
• I think a time in my life where I have felt the Spirit the strongest was when I was in labor with my daughter. I had a long(ish) labor of 28 hours with 2 hours of pushing. At about 24 hours, my epidural gave out and I was in a lot of pain, but I just began to pray to Heavenly Father to send me comfort and I instantly felt safe and loved. After that moment, I felt the Holy Ghost wrap himself around me and my daughter. The birth of my daughter was an incredibly moving and spiritual experience for me and my husband. 

The Savior Taught the Apostles About Leadership

In the world today, leaders are often seen as people who dictate without love and are not expected to serve others. John 13:1-17 introduces us to the idea of Christ-Like leadership. This is the story of Christ washing his disciples feet. He was giving them love and service, which is exactly how our Church should run. Applying this teaching of Christ washing his disciples feet shows that we are all equals, put on this earth to serve one another. I think it really warns against pride within our leaders and reinforces the idea that our leaders should serve us. 

I watched our Bishop take all of the young men and abled bodied men out of the Church meetings and start building barriers around homes during a really intense flood. It was my favorite thing to see him working along side the other workers. It was wonderful to see that kind of Christ-like leadership within my ward, especially as a new convert. 

The Widow's Mite

The Savior taught, "Thou shalt love they Lord they God with all thy heart, and with all they soul and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment." After teaching this, a widow came up and gave two mites. She gave all that she had to the Lord and his mission, with coincides beautifully with the lesson the Savior taught.

The Widow gave everything she had to the Savior, which is what the Lord requires of his people. Following the Lord is never easy and it shouldn't be. He asks each of us to give up all we can to him, because when we do that, he replaces what we have given up with something much much better. It's all an act of faith. The Widow was reconciled to God because the she gave all to God and believed that he would take care of her needs, which connects beautifully to 2 Nephi 25:23, "For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, an also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do."

We can follow that Widow's example by more than money donation. We can give of our time and talents buy providing service to others around us.

Luke 10: 1-24, "The Lord Appointed Seventy"

When Jesus Christ called the seventy during his ministry, he gave them instruction as well. First he told them to pray to the Lord for people to help doing the work. I love this because it shows that even those that are leaders within the Church need to pray for help and this is something that I always forget, which is silly. I had a friend tell me once that, "Prayer should be your first priority, not your last resort."And that is something I really need to work on. As the Lord was telling them about prayer he also told them to be careful because he was sending them as "lambs among wolves." They were told to carry no money and to not salute any man by the road, which I think are interesting directions. It made the Seventy live by faith and no by the wiles of man. They were told to bless whatever house they entered and if the Spirit resided within the homes the people who resided within them would have peace. They were told to warn the people that kingdom of God was near them. Basically they were told to serve others, which I think is amazing! They were also told to not carry the words or even the dust of those cities that would receive them, which I think is great advice for missionaries. I think that the dust symbolizes the ideas, words, and thoughts of the people. It's actually great advice for everybody. I love that the entirety of the Savior's directions are about prayer and serving others.

The Church has 13 Articles of Faith and the sixth one states, "We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church." And this relates exactly to what I was talking about previously. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has the exact set up that that the Savior provided in New Testament times, we have a Quorum of the Seventy.

Luke 10:1 states that "The Lord appointed other seventy…"and other modern day scriptures describe this office. D&C 107:25-36 explains that the seventy are called to preach the Gospel and to be special witnesses of Christ.

The Savior Healed a Young Man

A man was brought to the Savior by his friends. He was called in the scriptures a "lunatic." I don't know exactly what this means of course, but he was described as "sorely vexed" and often "falleth into the fire and oft into the water." The Savior was asked to heal him and he did, but as he was healing the man, he took the time to teach. He told his disciples and those gathered that three things were needed to heal him: Prayer, Fasting, and Faith. Other parts of the scripture teach about what is needed for miracles to occur. For example:

3 Nephi 18:20-- This scripture teaches that prayer and faith is needed for miracles to occur. The Savior states, "And whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is right, believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto you."

Doctrine and Covenants 50:29-- This scripture teaches about the importance of baptism and faith when miracles are needed. This scripture states, "And if yes are purified and cleansed form all sin, ye shall ask whatsoever you will in the name of Jesus it shall be done."

Doctrine and Covenants 42:48-- This scripture teaches about the importance of faith when asking for a miracle. It states, "And again, it shall come to pass that he hath faith in me to be healed, and is not appointed unto death, shall be healed."

Walking on the Sea

When the Apostles first saw the Savior walking towards them, they didn't recognize that it was Jesus Christ and they were afraid, saying, "It is a spirit!"I can imagine how disorienting seeing somebody walk on water would be, so I totally understand their reaction. Peter's reaction is amazing to me. Once he realized that it was the Savior he asked the Savior to tell him to come walk on the water with him. The Savior told him, Come. And Peter came! That is astounding to me. I think it shows such immense faith and trust in the Savior. But his faith and trust were overtaken by his fear! I think we all have those moments, where our mortal fear overtakes our divine faith and trust in the Savior. When Peter began to sink due to his fear, he cried out, "Lord, save me!" The Lord did not wait or try to teach Peter a lesson. He immediately reached out to Peter and saved him.

Doctrine and Covenants 88:67 states, 'And if you eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you; and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things." This scripture relates to this because when Peter took his eyes away from the Savior (the glory) and let fear (darkness) overtake him, he was almost lost to everyone.

No Greater Prophet than John the Baptist

As John was in prison, word of Christ's works had reached him. After he had heard all that Christ had done and was doing for the people, John the Baptist sent two of his disciples to speak to him. He asked his disciples to ask the Savior, "Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?" They were asking the Savior if he was the Messiah that had been prophesied about for so long. I can imagine how amazing it would be to be John the Baptist and he of all th things that were happening! If I had been one of his disciples I would have told him how humble Christ was. He did immediately say, "Yes I am the Messiah." He told all that he had done and let them interpret what that meant! I would have told John about the miracles that Jesus Christ had done and was doing around the Holy Land. I would have also told him that Christ teaches, not only to the rich and educated, he also taught the Gospel to the poor and uneducated!

The question needs to be asked though, why did John need to send his disciples? Couldn't he just have prayed about it after hearing about all that Jesus had done for the people? It would have been pretty obvious to someone who was in tune with Heavenly Father and the Holy Ghost that Christ was the Messiah. And the answer to the aforementioned question is that, John didn't need the answer. His disciples did. His disciples had spent time and energy following John the Baptist, and it was hard for them to understand that John had been leading them to follow the Messiah, and he had finally appeared!

The Savior said that there had been no man greater, in the world than John the Baptist. Joseph Smith taught that this was because, he was entrusted with the task of preparing the world for the coming of Christ, he was asked to baptize the SON OF GOD, and because John was the " legal administrator in the affairs of the kingdom there was then on the earth, and holding the keys of power.

John 3:30 states, "He must increase, but I must decrease." Here John the Baptist is saying that the Savior's wants an desires should over take his wants and desires. I think that this should apply to everyone! I want my wants and desires to be aligned with that of the Saviors. 

Miracles are Evidence of Faith and God's Power

Reference	Miracles of the Lord	Who Demonstrated Faith
Matthew 8:1-4	Christ healed a leper	The leper.
Matthew 8: 5-13	Christ healed the servant of a centurion.	The centurion.
Matthew 8:14-15	Christ healed Peter’s mother-in-law.	Peter’s mother-in-law.
Matthew 8:16	Christ cast demons out of many people who were possessed.	The people who brought those who were possessed and those who being possessed.
Matthew 8: 23-27	Christ calmed the storm.	The disciples who woke up Christ to save them.
Matthew 8:28-34	Christ cast demons into pigs	The city came out to meet Christ when they saw him after he had cast them out to worship him.
Matthew 9:20-22; Mark 5:25-34	Christ healed a woman who “had an issue of blood.”	The woman with the illness. She reached out to the Savior to touch him because she had faith that even touching the hem of his garment would heal her.
Matthew 9:27-31	Christ healed two blind men, allowing them to see.	The blind men exercised faith when they asked to be healed.
Mark 2:1-12	Christ healed a man with palsy.	The man with palsy’s friends. They brought him to the Savior for him to heal him.

All of the miracles listed above are amazing. It really makes me look back and think about the things that the Savior has done for me. Reading these statements has reaffirmed my faith that my Father in Heaven in a God of miracles and he can and has worked miracles in my life.  

The Baptism of Jesus Christ

Why was John so hesitant to baptize Jesus?

I’ve always believed that John was hesitant to baptize Jesus because he was worried about his own worthiness to baptize the Son of God! I mean who wakes up in the morning and thinks, “Ya, I can totally do it. I can baptize the ONE perfect being on the planet.” I don’t blame him for feeling this way. I think it is a really natural reaction and one I definitely would have had!

What is taught here about the Holy Ghost?

Here we learn that the Holy Ghost is a personage, a tangible thing. President Joseph Smith taught, “‘The sign of the dove was instituted before the creation of the world, a witness for the Holy Ghost, and the devil cannot come in the sign of a dove. The Holy Ghost is a personage, and is in the form of a personage. It does not confine itself to the form of the dove, but in sign of the dove. The Holy Ghost cannot be transformed into a dove; but the sign of a dove was given to John to signify the truth of the deed, as the dove is an emblem or token of truth and innocence.”

List three reasons why Jesus was baptized.

Jesus Christ was baptized in order to be an example for everybody else in the world. Another reason he was baptized is because it is an earthly ordinance that must be done after you reach the age of accountability, as Christ was. The reason that I found most compelling is that the Savior wanted to prove his obedience to his Father in Heaven, by fulfilling the commandment to be baptized.

What evidence is found in Matthew 3:16-17 that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are three separate personages in the Godhead.

The list scripture(s) above state, “And Jesus when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and light upon him, And lo a voice from heaven saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” This is one of the few places in the scriptures that the three members of the Godhead appear together. Jesus Christ is being baptized, Heavenly Father’s voice is heard from the heavens, and the Holy Ghost appears as a dove. This is definite evidence of the nature of the Godhead.

Walk in Truth

In the verses mentioned, Gaius is described as a man who walked in truth, who joyfully taught those who also loved the truth, or the Gospel. When I studied these verses John's words made methinks that Gaius was the ideal member. Someone who taught and led his family with the Priesthood, someone who spent his time working to help others and build the kingdom. I want to be like Gaius.

John also mentions a man named Diotrephes. Diotrephes is the exact opposite of Gaius. He seeks after power, practices unrighteous dominion over others in his power. He is power hungry and filled with anger. He goes about "prating against the Church." Through these actions he tries to lead others away from the truth.

I find it extremely interesting that the descriptions of these two men appear subsequently in the scriptures. It is an interesting thing to compare them. Who do I want to be more like? Do I want to teach others truth and righteousness? Or do I want my actions to lead others away from Christ? I think these are really important questions for everybody in the Church to answer, but I think that they are vitally important for parents to answer and act on. I want my daughter to look at me and say, "My Mom loves God and so should I." I don't want my actions to lead my daughter away from what i know to be the truth!

Dear Friend…

Dear Friend,

      When I was investigating the Church, I ran into this question and this kind of opposition quite a bit. After much prayer and study, I discovered what members of the Church actually mean when we say, "Faith without works is dead." I think a lot times this statement gets misconstrued. When I was young in the Church I believed that this meant that I was required to do good works in order to get into heaven, that my faith in Christ was not enough for me to get back home to my Father in Heaven. As I have grown in my faith and studied more, I have come to realize that this means something so much more. Let me explain this a little more in depth. Matthew 7:21 states, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in Heaven." I know of several people who have claimed a deep faith in Christ, but it is an empty faith. They do not go forth and "feed his sheep" or serve others. They just say I believe in Christ and that is as far as their faith goes. To me what this indicates is that they are not completely converted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Someone who has handed their heart to Christ WANTS to serve, they look for opportunities to serve others. Another example of this is Matthew 19:17. It says, "And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, leap the commandments." The commandments that Christ is referring to are not only the ten commandments from the Old Testament, he is also referring to the commandments given by him such as, "Love one another, as I have loved you." Good works are simply acts of love. And Christ as commanded us to love others. And if we believe in Christ and have faith in him we follow his commandments. Ephesians 2:10 teaches almost this exact principle. One thing that it mentions that I find fascinating is the fact that Paul says, "We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus." To me this summons the image of modeling our behavior after the Savior. What did the Savior do in his ministry? He went about doing good. If we profess to have faith in Christ, shouldn't we also go about doing good? Something else that should be brought up is in Revelations 20:12-13. It tells us that we will be judged for our works. Which to me sounds pretty scary. I don't know about you, but I have definitely made some mistakes and sinned. Which means I won't have all good things to talk about during that judgement. But guess what saves us? Our faith in Christ! 2 Nephi 25:23 says, "For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we KNOW THAT IT IS BY GRACE THAT WE ARE SAVED, AFTER ALL WE CAN DO." In summary my friend, our good works don't save us. Our faith in Christ does. I think that the faith of somebody truly converted to Christ begets good works.

Mandi

Hebrews 13. Works of Righteousness

Can I just say, I LOVE Hebrews? I am going to admit something awful here, but I honestly had never read it before. I knew where it was and all that but I had never actually sat down and taken the time to read it. I am so grateful for this class! How wonderful! Anyways, this week the Share and Report assignment that I choose was choice number three: Hebrews 13: Works of Righteousness.

Paul concluded this letter by giving some really short succinct teachings and counsel, which I really enjoyed. Often times in today’s society people revere the Bible for its beautiful language and prose, which is totally warranted. But what these people do not understand is that the messages and lessons hidden within the beautiful language and prose are still applicable to us even though the words were written 2000+ years ago.

For example Paul tells us to treat strangers kindly, with hospitality because you never truly know who are helping. This statement reminds me a lot of the hymn “A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief.” The strangers you are entertaining could very well be angels or the Savior himself. And if it turns out they are not angels or Christ remember that when ye are in the service of your fellow men you are serving your God!

Paul also reminds us that we are to remember those that in bonds because we are also in bonds at times. Whether they be physical or emotional, you never truly know what someone is going through and every person is due compassion and charity.

Paul makes reference to marriage saying it is “honorable in all.” This makes me think he was trying to teach that marriage is something that should be sought after and not avoiding or made light of.

Paul also speaks of covetousness. I am so guilty of this, I catch myself coveting many things (Godiva chocolate cheesecake I am looking at you…). Paul tells us to avoid coveting and to be content with what the Lord has given us, because he will never leave or forsake us. I think this is telling because it speaks to the idea that the Lord gives us what we need when he knows we need it, not when we think we need/want it.

And of course something that I think is one of the most beautiful statements in the scriptures, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today and for ever.” It really speaks the Christ’s kindness and consistency. We are sanctified through Christ’s atoning sacrifice!

We believe that we should obey our rulers! In fact it is even one of our 13 Articles of Faith, “We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.”

Paul asked us to pray for the leaders of the Church because they need to know of our love and support for them as well as having the Spirit with them.

Paul’s Affection for Timothy

Paul wrote the Second Letter of Paul to the Apostle Timothy to Timothy while Paul was imprisoned for the last time and right before his death, approximately 68 A.D. Second Timothy is known as a letter of encouragement to Timothy and to all Priesthood Leaders within the Church. Second Timothy also warns against spiritual apostasy while at the same time standing as a witness of Paul’s great and unwavering faith!

The book of Moroni in the Book of Mormon contains letters exchanged between Moroni and his father, Mormon. In these letters Mormon demonstrates feelings of concern and love for his son by saying things like, “…mindful of you always” (Moroni 8:3) and “May Christ lift thee up…” (Moroni 9:25). Paul also demonstrates these feelings for Timothy by saying things like, “My dearly beloved son…” (2 Timothy 1:1-7). Both Mormon and Paul also show great reverence for the faith of their correspondences by saying things such as, “I trust in Christ that thou wilt be saved…” (Moroni 9:22) and “When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee…” (2 Timothy 1:5).

What is interesting to note is that in 2 Timothy 1:5, Paul makes mention of the great faith of both Timothy’s mother and grandmother. Why? I think he mentioned this to demonstrate to Saints then and Saints now the power that a mother’s faith and testimony can have on their children. Because of the strong faith of Eunice, Lois was greatly affected and because of this had great faith, which soon became an example to Timothy!

Paul also tells Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear but of power and of love, and of a sound mind.” How comforting! What this tells me is that fear does not come from God so it must come from Satan. Satan wants us to be afraid because when we are afraid our power as God’s children and reminders of Heavenly Father’s love for us are stripped away, leaving us vulnerable to spiritual attack.

In 2 Timothy 1:15-18, Paul speaks of a man Onesiphorus and asks the Lord to act mercifully toward his household. He did this because Onesiphorus took care of him and was not ashamed to be helping a Saint of the Lord Jesus Christ, even though he was not a member. I want to be more like Onesiphorus and help others without a thought because when I help others it is as if I am helping the Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 25:35-40)! How awesome that is! I am going to try to find one person to help this week. I will pray that they will be brought into my path!

The “yoke,” “chain,” or “cross” that is mentioned through out the New Testament as well as the Book of Mormon refers to the action of taking the name of the Lord Jesus Christ upon you and acting as his representative and doing the things you think he would do. Matthew, Jacob and Paul all speak of this and this is something that I believe every Saint has to choose to do!