What a remarkable story the parable of the good Samaritan is. It is told by Jesus in Luke 10. I love how Dr. Griffin pointed out that this is such a well-known story worldwide, even among those who aren't Christians. It is pretty exciting to know that people in different cultures still can understand, and often support, the concept of supporting and helping your neighbor. This story for me is centered so much on the Samaritan acting as the Savior would. When you think about Christ's role and example in the story, it has even a deeper meaning. It is good to be a good person. It is better to strive consistently to be more like the Savior. I feel so blessed to have the role of the Savior in my life. I am so happy that I am a member of His church.

Sermon on the Mount

I love the higher law. When Christ teaches the people that they need to away with their old traditions, I'm sure they were not expecting that. Christ came in with some radical ideas that were new the ears of those people at that time. I admire him for his confidence while preaching those things. He knew this is what would make people happy. I'm sure it was a hard adjustment to get used to though. I thought it was interesting that in the Bible Dictionary, it talked about how it didn't seem as hard for the Nephite people to live the higher law, as opposed to the people at the time of Jesus. It mentioned that that could have been because they didn't have as many changes to the original law. It is so interesting that Christ got to teach the Sermon on the Mount twice, once in the Book of Mormon and once in the Bible. He taught it very similarly. This shows me that he truly knew the doctrine and taught it from his heart. Some variance is expected, but it is very little. I love learning about the higher law because it helps me stretch to be a better me. On my mission, I learned a lot about trying to live the higher law. Another example of this for our modern day is that we need to be converted, not just have a testimony. Conversion will lead us to do amazing things. It leads us to exaltation. Testimony is a lesser form, although testimony is needed for conversion.

This week in New Testament class, we talked about how Satan tried three times to tempt Jesus Christ. We read this straight from the scriptures. I have found that when we read directly from these holy words, we are so much more able to feel the spirit. The Spirit helps guide us as we read straight from the pages of the scriptures. We talked in class about how Satan tempted Christ to do things that would allow him temporary and immediate pleasure. One of them was to turn a rock into bread after his fast. Another was to throw himself off the building and then command the angels to save him. In all the temptations that Satan threw at Christ, he was pleading with the Savior to give up greater blessings by taking a current satisfaction now. This can happen to us a mortals too, even if we seek to always follow Christ. We have to make a conscious effort to avoid the buffetings of Satan. This was a really important lesson for me to relearn so that I can look more to avoid the temptations I face each day.

New Testament- CALM THE TEMPEST

New Testament Week 1

While starting the semester project to read both Mark and Luke, I came across a scripture that really meant a lot to me. It came from the story of when Jesus calmed the tempest in Mark chapter 4. In verse 39, Jesus calms the sea after the request from his apostles. One could stop right there and ignore the rest of the chapter and still gain great insight on the character of Jesus Christ. But, if continued, more can be learned about the nature of both Christ and his apostles. In the last verse of the chapter, it seems that the apostles are shocked and amazed at the the miracle Jesus just preformed. It is quite interesting to note that even these apostles who have now been journeying with him for some time now are still in awe at the miracle Jesus performs here. Maybe they had never seen a miracle in this context before. Maybe they were reminded of the power and authority Christ has in every aspect of life. Whatever their reasoning, it is obvious to me that a principle of hope and testimony lie rich in these verses.

Relating that to my own life and to others, Christ is willing to help us in our darkest times. We need not be in a literal storm for him to help us calm our hearts and minds. When the apostles asked him to help them through their trial, he was more than willing to. I believe he did it with gladness. It gave him a chance to bear testimony of the power and strength he had. Through this experience, Christ strengthen the hope and the testimony of his apostles. Just as the apostles could later recall this experience in times of doubt, we too can remember times where Christ helped us through our own refiner's fire. As we remember those sacred and precious moments where the Savior protected us, we will gain increase faith and hope in the process.

The Lord loves us so much and is so willing to grant us safety and peace. He does want us to ask for it though. It is incredible that he has such an amazing amount of love for us. We cannot even comprehend it. As we strive to better understand that love Christ has for us, we will be in awe over and over again at the mercy and grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Lately...

I have been reading talks from the oh-so smart and oh-so spiritual, Neal A. Maxwell. He has spoken on so many different topics, and yet, when I read them side by side, they all seem to perfectly intertwine. He is such a deep thinker.  His words baffle me at times.  Reading and re-reading his insights about various topics has humbled me in a big way.

The first talk:
"Meekness—A Dimension of True Discipleship"

I found this talk from a former mission leader. Gotta love being in a Facebook mission!  I kind of briefly  mentioned this thought in a Facebook post, but earlier in my mission, I desired the attribute of meekness so badly! It was such a hard concept to grasp, and even harder to acquire. It is neat that I have come full circle and I am interested in obtaining the attribute of meekness again. 

It seems so easy to get concerned about yourself  in today's world. Meekness lessens and eliminates thoughts of self. It is a freeing virtue. One line that was especially poignant to me was,

 "Without meekness, the conversational points we insist on making often take the form of “I”—that spearlike, vertical pronoun." 

Ah! How poetic! And true! How often do we use the word "I?" After I read this talk it seemed that I was hyper-aware of how often I talked about myself! I'm not saying it's bad to share your thoughts and experiences with others by any means! But next time you are in a conversation, consider how eager you are to share something about yourself, redirecting the attention back to you.

Later on in the talk, he says, 

"Among the meek there is usually more listening and less talking." 

This goes hand in hand with the quote above! Conversations with others are some of the best places to practice being meek.  Oh what we can learn from listening to others!

A few more gems: 

"The meek think of more clever things to say than are said. And it’s just as well, for there is so much more cleverness in the world than wisdom, so much more sarcasm than idealism."

"The meek are filled with awe and wonder with regard to God and His purposes in the universe. At the same time, the meek are not awestruck by the many frustrations of life; they are more easily mobilized for eternal causes and less easily immobilized by the disappointments of the day."

All in all, learning more about the Christlike attributes gives me two consequences. 1. I realize how far away I am from being perfect in that attribute. 2. I realize how incredible my Savior is! He exemplifies and personifies ALL of the good attributes in the world!

I love Jesus Christ with all my heart and I hope as I  learn more about him, I will be more motivated to become like Him.

There's nothing like serving the Master. Whether that's on a full-time mission, as a parent, child, spouse, student, aunt, uncle, teacher, or friend, HE HAS WORK FOR YOU TO DO!

So go and do! Like Nephi! You will be blessed beyond comprehension. Trust me. I know because it's happened to  me!

I love the gospel.

I know I haven't written on here in a long time, but the very few who may see this, I love the gospel with all my heart. I am so happy to be a part of this great work. Being a missionary really is a way of life. We must have full dedication to the things we are required to do.

The "gospel" is not merely just attending sacrament meeting, the principle of obedience, serving in our callings, or other meaningful events that happen within in the church each and every day.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is having faith in Him, repenting, being baptized (or renewing your baptismal covenants), receiving the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.

As we apply this doctrine into our lives, power comes, true power from our Heavenly Father. In 2 Nephi 31:21, we read, And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God. And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end. Amen."

This is the way! The only way! When we truly figure out what it means to live the gospel of Jesus Christ, our lives our changed. It becomes a pattern of righteousness to pattern our lives after.

"What are you thinking?"

A talk that I loved from General Conference came from Elder W. Craig Zwick. It was one of the talks that resonated with me long after the conference was over. It was about virtuous and uplifting communication.  I not only loved the topic, but I already loved and respected Elder Zwick because he came to visit our mission sometime last fall, and this talk helped me to love him even more.

Something that he said when he came to North Carolina stuck out to me so much. He bore such a powerful testimony that we were assigned to this mission for a specific reason. And I know that to be true. I know I was called to this mission for many reasons. He strongly and boldly stated, "You have been assigned to the North Carolina Raleigh Mission for a reason. Of that I bear witness." For some, it may have just been words. For me, it changed the way I viewed my entire mission. From that point on, I had no doubt (not that I had had much before) that I was supposed to be in this specific mission. I knew I had to be serving in North Carolina. That way, when times got hard, I could reflect on the way I felt on that day. I knew for a certainty that the words he was saying were true. I knew that I had to figure out the many reasons I was assigned to serve here (more on that some other time).

Back to his talk in conference, titled, "What are you thinking?" That question could be so commonly used to condescend or degrade. But instead, Elder Zwick used this phrase to help us internalize how can can look outward, and not inward. Often times, we jump to conclusions about why another person is feeling what they are. And we really don't know.

My companion and I have been pondering on how powerful words can be for good, or for bad.

This portion of Elder Zwick's talk from Conference answered a lot of my questions.

"Children sometimes speak to beloved parents with tongues as sharp as blades. Spouses, who have shared some of life’s richest and most tender experiences, lose vision and patience with each other and raise their voices. All of us, though covenant children of a loving Heavenly Father,have regretted jumping headlong from the high seat of self-righteous judgment and have spoken with abrasive words before we understood a situation from another’s perspective. We have all had the opportunity to learn how destructive words can take a situation from hazardous to fatal.

A recent letter from the First Presidency states clearly, 'The gospel of Jesus Christ teaches us to love and treat all people with kindness and civility even when we disagree' (First Presidency letter, Jan. 10, 2014).What a masterful reminder that we can and should participate in continuing civil dialogue, especially when we view the world from differing perspectives.

The writer of Proverbs counsels, 'A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger' (Proverbs 15:1). A 'soft answer' consists of a reasoned response—disciplined words from a humble heart. It does not mean we never speak directly or that we compromise doctrinal truth. Words that may be firm in information can be soft in spirit."

How true that is! I invite you all to speak more kindly this week!