SERVICE

The scripture I want to focus on this week is the classic, scripture mastery verse found in Matthew 25:40. I had some new and enlightening thoughts on this as we read it today. I know the Spirit was there with me in the class because of how inspired I felt. This scripture teaches me about the principle of service. I thought about all the service I have recently rendered to my sister who is going through a very difficult time because her husband is going through chemotherapy. I felt so happy that the Savior admires me for the hard work I have done. It is so hard to imagine that work I have done actually being done for him. I am not writing any of this to say I am so great or so charitable. I am writing this because I feel so motivated to continue to serve, even when I am exhausted and feel like I can do no more. The burden my sister's family is enduring is unfathomable. I know if the Savior was here on earth today, he would be serving and comforting them, so I can try my best to do that as well. 

I would like to also relate this to the story of Mary and Martha and their differing personalities. Sometimes when I am in their home, I am asked to be like Martha (cleaning, doing the dishes, and helping put their son to bed). Sometimes I am asked to be like Mary. I need to sit with my sister and listen to her talk about her thoughts and feelings. I need to be a good friend and a good listener. I view both opportunities as a big blessing.

As far as this can appeal or relate to any readers, it can give us courage to serve more faithfully. The scriptures can motivate us to do some pretty amazing things. If we are experiencing a lack of desire to deserve, we can turn to the Savior's words. We can have faith that the service we do is noticed and appreciated by the Lord.

This week in New Testament class we read Matthew 22 and 23. The passages found in these chapters, Christ is able to share his testimony with those around him. Specifically, he is answering questions of the Pharisees and the Sadducces. Because of their disdain for the Savior and his teachings, they are trying to catch him in a trap. If they can get him to contradict tradition or doctrine, they will have a good argument for finding fault in him and his teachings. It is so sad for me to think that all of these people historically wanted to prove Jesus wrong. It hurts my heart that so many people rejected and despised him. He taught such different teachings than the people were used to, but that doesn't give any good reason to be so rude.

As we already know, the Savior is perfect. He wouldn't get "trapped" in the teachings of these worldly men. He would hold to the will of the Father and teach his doctrine perfectly. The doctrine I get out of this story is that we must stick to the will of the Father. We can pray unto him if we are in need of help as well. Jesus Christ was a perfect example of following his Father in these stories. If you think about this as you read, this applies to everyone. Every single person can seek the will of the Father and do it. It is a two step process. We must not only figure out with the will of the Father is, we must also follow it.

After Christ spoke his answers to their questions, they were silenced and had no reason to keep trying to prove him wrong. This gave me so much comfort. We will not be confounded before the people we are trying to teach his doctrine. It gives me great strength to realize the Savior is by our side to help us through hard times. ALthough we may never be confronted with the same situations that Christ is, we may have situations where we need to stand up for our belief in the Savior.

A scripture we discussed in great depth in class was the story of Mary using ointment on Jesus' feet. This was such a special story. It was found in John 12. This story means a lot to me because of the connection and relationship that Mary and Jesus have. Judas Iscariot criticizes the use of all the expensive ointment on the feet of Christ. He made a comment that selling that ointment could have fed so many poor people. Christ rebukes Judas for being critical and the story goes on. Judas never had the intentions to sell the ointment and give to the poor. An assumption could be made that he wanted to sell it and keep the money for himself. Where Christ is always a perfect example of selflessness and love, those in opposition to him are usually the perfect example in the vice of selfishness.

I had never read this scripture passage in depth before. It has meant so much to me to get a better insight into the relationship Christ and Mary had. It is such a sacred one. I have always loved that Mary is one of the first people to see the resurrected Christ. Their special bond is so thought-provoking. It help same understand my worth and value as a women. Christ loves all people, women included. I am so grateful that through Christ I am able to get a glimpse of my infinite worth.

The good part

Today in class we talked about how Martha and Mary were when Jesus came to visit them. The purpose of Jesus coming to visit them was because His dear friend Lazarus who was also their brother. Jesus is sitting in their house and Mary is at his feet, worshiping him. Martha is busy preparing things in the kitchen and running around the house. This message is usually talked about in the exact same way. In our discussions, we almost always shame Martha for working and not sitting down to spend time with the Savior. This time when we talked about the story, we had much more compassion than I had previously heard. This discussion brought so much insight and comfort. Dr. Griffin talked about how it is more likely that Christ didn't want Martha judging her sister. When Martha tried to correct Mary's behavior, the Savior was not happy with that correction. I had never thought of it like that before. It was more to do with the judgment of Martha, then the actual action she did.

We also talked about how later in the scriptures, Jesus refers to Martha, whom he loves, and her sister. We talked about the scripture in Doctrine and Covenants that says when we reprove people we must show an increase of love. That is such a beautiful tie in. The scripture we talked about was found in Luke 11:44-48. It means so much to me that Christ would take these few verses to teach Martha and Mary a wonderful lesson. The judgement of not judging others is so inspiring. If we choose not to judge others, we will be so much happier. We will be more like Christ. It is encouraging to know that Christ wants us to love others. That means he would treat us with us love in situations where we were trying our best not to judge others. Thanks for reading!

Healing the man born blind

Reading the story of Jesus healing the man born blind was so incredible. I was in a quiet and peaceful room and I could just feel the Spirit all around me. I watched the Bible video of this story more than once on my mission and was just amazed at how well they portrayed this video. Obviously I do no know how it happened in reality, but the version in the Bible video truly inspires me. As I read the story, my heart was touched. I am so amazed that Christ is able to heal both spiritually and physically. This had such a profound effect on me. I also thought it was really interesting when the parents of the blind man had to come testify for him. They were quick to say, yes, he was born blind and we do not know how he was healed. I like that they say to ask him because he is of age. It just shows the love and respect they have for their son. :)

Dealing with Diffulties

Today in New Testament class we talked about how we address and deal with difficulties. We can pray and seek for revelation, we can be patient, and we can ask for help from trusted leaders and loved ones. We can rely on the faith that we already have. We then went into three biblical stories that could be challenging to take just at face value.

One that I was particularly moved by was an account found in Matthew 15:21. Jesus Christ was surely at the height of his popularity among the Jews. Many people knew his name and of his miracles such as feeling the five thousand and walking on water. Jesus and disciples took a trip to the area of Tyre and Sidon, which was listed as a place Jesus had visited before.

While there, a woman of Caaan approached them. She asked for Jesus to heal her sickly daughter. The scriptures say Jesus walked away without replying. This is not the usual nature of the Savior, even when interacting with people of different classes or races. The woman again begged for Christ to heal her daughter. Christ replied with a "no" this time. He mentioned how the "bread of the child should not be given to the dog." At first, this could seem very insulting from Christ. If this interaction were to happen in these days, we could guess the woman's reaction. She might run off and tell everyone she knows about how terrible Christ was. Instead, she was passed a true test of faith. The woman replied that often breadcrumbs fall from the table for the dogs to eat. She believed Christ could heal her. Christ was impressed with her faith and healed her daughter.

This story is really special to me because I felt the Spirit very strongly as we talked about. I am so grateful that the Spirit is the true teacher.

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.