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.