Jesus Turns Water to Wine and Cleanses the Temple

Today I read John 2 which contains the miracle of Jesus turning water to wine for the marriage feast. I really like this miracle because it shows the love Jesus had for His mother. Sometimes, it is possible to misinterpret some of the things Jesus says during His ministry as being heartless and uncaring towards His earthly family. There is a story that I believe all 3 Gospels have where He is teaching a multitude and His mother and siblings show up and are not able to get through so they send word to Him that they are trying to see Him. Instead of acknowleding them, He says that whoever doeth the will of His Father is His mother and His brethren, and that's all we hear about it. We never hear if He actually goes and spends time with them or what. From this context it would be very easy to infer that He doesn't care about His mother and siblings.

This chapter and the story of Him turning water to wine disproves that though. As the story goes, Jesus is at a feast for a wedding and they run out of wine. Mary, Jesus' mother, comes to Him with the dilemma. I have often wondered why she comes to Jesus and asks Him for help. There are many theories out there, everything from this wedding is for Jesus Himself, to it's for one of His family members, to she knows He is the son of God and can help out. I really don't know the reason that she comes to Him when the wine runs out and it really does not matter too much in my opinion. What does matter is the fact that she comes to Him and His response. Now, the King James Version of the Bible still makes it sound very harsh. But the Joseph Smith Translation fixes it so that it becomes a very tender and loving conversation between the Savior and His mother. The JST reads, "Woman, what wilt thou have me do for thee? That will I do; for mine hour is not yet come."

So instead of the rebuke that the regular verse makes it out to be, Jesus is showing His compassion and love for His mother by doing what she asks of Him despite the fact that His ministry had not yet begun. It can be assumed from this verse and the way the JST version reads, that Jesus was not performing miracles until His ministry began. And yet, for the love of His mother, He performed a miracle of turning water to wine for her. He has the servants fill up the water pots with water and then draw out a cup for the governor of the feast. The servants do so and take it to the governor who declares it better than the wine that they had drunk at the beginning of the feast, which was contrary to popular custom at the time.

On a side note, it is interesting to me that some critics of the Latter-day Saint church use this story as a reference against us, citing that Jesus drank wine, so why can't we. First and foremost, no where in this story does it actually state that Jesus was drinking anything, let alone wine. So that argument does not hold any weight. Now it is true however that Jesus provided wine for others to drink and so He was certainly condoning the drinking of wine, but He was doing it for love of His mother, not because He wanted people drinking wine. Third, and this is actually the more popular of all the arguments, this was in a day way before purification of water was really being done and it was not always sanitary for them to drink water. There is also the argument that in the scriptures when they say wine they are talking about grape juice that is NOT fermented, and that may be true in other places, but you can rest assured that in this story at least, they are drinking alcohol, but again, nowhere does it say that Jesus did any drinking of said alcohol.

John is also the only one to include the story of the first cleansing of the temple. Jesus, while in Jerusalem, sees how the front part of the temple has become a house of merchandise by those selling sacrificial animals to be used inside the temple. This is not supposed to be and so Jesus makes Himself a whip and proceeds to overthrow the tables and chase out the animals and people. While doing this He refers to the temple as His Father's house. This is significant because 3 years later when He does it again, He refers to it as His house. We can assume that Jesus has not yet started His ministry and so at this point is just Jesus of Nazareth, son of Mary and Heavenly Father, but after He begins His ministry, He is the Savior, the promised Messiah.

While cleansing the temple, He also states for the first time that if the temple is destroyed, He will raise it up again in just 3 days. The people mock Him stating that the temple took 46 years to build, how can He possibly raise it again in just 3 days? Of course He is referring to the resurrection of His body as John points out, but this is significant because when they condemn Him to death in 3 years, despite the fact that the witnesses don't agree, this is the charge they level against Him, that He said the temple would be rebuilt in 3 days.

This is the beginning of the miracles and His teachings. His fame is already spreading and people are starting to take notice of Him and seeking Him out. As I stated above, I really like this chapter as it shows the softer side of the Messiah and the very real love He had for His mother. He certainly fulfilled the commandment to honor her. Until tomorrow.

John the Beloved Follows Jesus

Today I read John 1 and there are so many things to talk about that I almost don't know where to start. First things first, it is accepted by almost all that John was writing to those who were already Christians and believed that Jesus is the Christ. I have recently heard from the Sunday school teacher in my ward that John was actually not just writing to those who are members of the church but to those who have had a temple like experience, although I am not sure where he got that information from. So that gives us context and you can tell from John's opening verses that he expects you to have a background of what he is talking about.

Again, I am using the Joseph Smith Translations and so for those of my readers who are not LDS it will be a little different than the King James Version of the Bible. John starts out by introducing Jesus to us. John tells us that in the beginning was Jesus and He taught us all the Gospel. This is extremely significant because it lets us know that the Father had a plan right from the beginning. All of this was planned. Now, this is not news to most Latter-day Saints but it is news to some I am sure. Most Christians, that I have talked to, largely believe that the Fall of Adam was a mistake and that if he and Eve had not fallen, we would all be living in a paradisaical land. This is false and it was known and necessary for Adam to fall. To this end was a Savior chosen before the world was even created, Jesus Christ. John is re-enforcing this in his opening remarks.

The Joseph Smith Translation also clears up one of the verses and completely changes the meaning. I can't tell you the number of times I have had someone quote John 1:18 to me to disprove the First Vision. However, Joseph restores the proper translation which states that no man has seen God at any time except He has borne witness of the Son. This completely changes the meaning of the scripture. This lets us know that a select few men and perhaps women too, have seen God the Father in person. But the only time it has ever happened God has testified of Jesus and that is all He does, much like in the First Vision.

John also tells us how he became a disciple of Jesus Christ. None of the other Gospels mention how John found Jesus to begin with. John was a disciple of John the Baptist originally along with Andrew, Peter's brother. When John the Baptist testified of Jesus Christ John the Beloved left the Baptist and followed after Jesus. Andrew also went and got Peter to let him know that he had found the Messiah. We can assume that John the Beloved told his brother, James, about Jesus and that is how James came to be a disciple.

Perhaps the most humorous story in this chapter is the calling of Nathanael. Nathanael had a friend named Phillip who Jesus found and told him to follow after Him. Phillip went and told Nathanael that he had found the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. Nathanael's response is unique, "Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?" Apparently Nazareth was not well thought of by others. When Jesus saw Nathanael coming He spoke stating that an Israelite in whom is no guile approaches. Nathanael is a little taken aback and asks Jesus if He knows him. Jesus states that He does indeed know Nathanael and that He had seen Nathanael sitting under a fig tree not too long ago. Nathanael, we can assume was all alone at the time Jesus is talking about and immediately declares Jesus to be the Savior. Now I can just picture Jesus smiling at this, almost wryly, and saying because Jesus saw Nathanael sitting under a fig tree he believes that Jesus is the Christ? Then Jesus promises Nathanael he will see much greater miracles than this.

What a fantastic opening. John has set the stage for the Savior's ministry. He does not concern himself with talking about the Savior's birth and his childhood. He knows those have already been talked about before. He jumps straight to the baptism of Jesus and the beginning of His ministry and how His disciples found Him. This is how all of John's writings are, but given his audience he is writing to, it only makes sense. John will generally focus on the doctrine behind Jesus' teachings and miracles. It is without a doubt my favorite of the Gospels. And I think you'll see why in the coming month. Until tomorrow.

Qualities of a Resurrected Being

Today I read Luke 24, the last chapter of Luke which includes the story of the resurrection. Also in this chapter is the story of the two disciples as they were walking to Emmaus and walked with Jesus for a while. This chapter teaches us a few things about resurrected beings. For example, Jesus appeared to the two disciples as just a regular person, and not as a person in glory. So from this we can see that resurrected persons have the ability to mask, or hide their glory. We know from Joseph Smith's account where he saw both God the Father and Jesus Christ, as well as later seeing Moroni, that resurrected persons have a certain amount of light and glory if you will about their persons. But in this chapter obviously that was lacking when Jesus appeared to the disciples or they would have known Him instantly for a resurrected person.

This chapter also teaches us that resurrected persons can eat food. I would assume that they don't need to, but they are able to since this is one of the ways Jesus convinced His Apostles that He was not a spirit. He ate a piece of fish an a honeycomb in front of them after they had touched the wounds in His hands and feet. To my knowledge, this is the only recorded instance of a resurrected person eating food that we have in all of the scriptures.

The final thing that we learn about resurrected persons from this chapter is that resurrected persons have the ability to move through space, and presumably time as well. When Jesus was talking to the two disciples, He came into the house with them and brake bread with them and as soon as they recognized Him it says that He disappeared from their view. Again, later, as the 10 Apostles, all minus Thomas, were gathered together all the doors and windows were closed and locked, and yet suddenly Jesus was standing there in the midst of them. Now, we had already learned this principle from Joseph Smith's visit with Moroni but this chapter is also a perfect example of this principle.

Aside from learning about resurrected beings in this chapter, this chapter is the only one of the Gospels to contain the stories of Jesus with the two disciples on the way to Emmaus and Jesus eating the food to prove He was not a spirit. I personally prefer the account written by John of His resurrection, but Luke is the only one to add these two important parts of the story. Again, the common thought is that Luke is writing to the Gentiles, most specifically the Greeks who are known for their philosophy and great thinkers and so Luke includes things that would appeal to the "rational" mind. So it makes sense to me that Luke would include the part about Jesus eating food as part of the proof that He was not a spirit.

I can only imagine what it must have been like in those days, to have Jesus, the one you had assumed was the promised Messiah, killed before your very eyes, then to have Him return 3 days later. Jesus had told them several times, as had the prophets before Him, that this had to happen, but they had not understood what He meant and had apparently been too embarrassed or something to ask Him what He meant. But these lucky men and women were personal witnesses to the greatest event in mankind's history. It must have been amazing beyond description. Of course we will all see the Savior ourselves someday, hopefully we are living the kind of life that we will not be ashamed to talk about it with Him.

It is a testament to how much He loves us that Heavenly Father lets us live the kind of life we choose here on the earth. He does not interfere very often without us requesting us and He almost never interferes with our personal choices. Even in the case of Alma the Younger, the angel was sent by way of answer to prayer, not to entice Alma the Younger to repent. But whatever life we are choosing to live, we will have to account for it some day. And thanks to Jesus, we will all be resurrected someday too and receive a degree of glory based on who we have become. And we will be pleased with it I am sure because it will suite us and who we have become perfectly. This is the time to choose who you are and what you want to become, because when you have died, it is too late! Choose now and live your life the way you want to. Until tomorrow.

Luke's Account of the Savior's Death

Today I read Luke 23 which is the account of Jesus before Pilate, Herod and Jesus' crucifixion. Luke contains a few items that none of the other Gospel authors do. For example, Luke is the only one to mention that Jesus was sent to Herod. Herod is interesting because he doesn't treat Jesus like He is on trial, more like an oddity or like Jesus is going to perform for him. He is very excited that Jesus has come before him and tells him that too. However, Jesus does not answer Herod at all, not one word. Now this is the same Herod that had John the Baptist beheaded. It should be noted that he really didn't want to have John killed, but he made a rash promise and fulfilled it. It is possible and very probable that the reason Jesus did not answer Herod at all is because of John being killed, after all, John was his cousin and Jesus knew John's purpose in the plan.

Luke is also the author that tells us that the Sanhedrin, when they bring Jesus before Pilate, accuse Jesus of causing an uprising and saying it is unlawful to pay tribute to Caesar. And yet, when the Sanhedrin met the previous night to condemn Him, the charges were blasphemy. The reason for this change in the charges is because Pilate was a Roman. He believed in many gods and would not have cared in the slightest that Jesus was claiming to be a god in the flesh. However, it was Pilate's job to ensure that things stayed quite in Jerusalem, so a charge of a rebellion, now THAT would grab his attention. There is a secondary reason, a matter of prophecy. Since as early as 600 BC, and before because Jacob in the Book of Mormon is quoting a prophet, it was known that Jesus would be crucified. This means that the Jews could not put Him to death for blasphemy. Why? Because the penalty for blasphemy was death by stoning. The prophets had been quite clear that Jesus would be killed on the cross. So the Jews could not have been the ones to put Jesus to death because as we well know, they were VERY good at following the law and we can be assured that they would have put Jesus to death by stoning.

Luke also includes the conversation Jesus has with the two thieves while on the cross. Now, it's not really a conversation between Jesus and the thieves, it's really only 1 line from Jesus, which Joseph Smith actually clarifies. One of the thieves joins in the mocking of Jesus telling Him that if He really is the Christ to save Himself and while He's at it, save the thief as well. The other thief, much more contrite than his fellow criminal, rebukes him saying that their punishment is just while Jesus did nothing wrong. He then beseeches Jesus to remember him when He comes into His kingdom. Jesus then tells the thief that he will be with Jesus in paradise. Joseph Smith left the translation alone as being correct, but taught that what Jesus was referring to here was the Spirit world, which all Latter-day Saints know there are two parts, paradise for those who have accepted the Gospel of Jesus Christ and have accepted the ordinances necessary for salvation, and spirit prison for those who have not accepted the Gospel, or accepted it but have not received the proper ordinances. I can only assume that this thief had previously been baptized since even Jesus has to obey laws higher than Himself. That is of course only my speculation that the thief had been baptized previously and not doctrine.

Luke pretty much glosses over the rest of Jesus' time on the cross and I can't really blame him as who really wants to focus on such a gruesome spectacle as our Lord and Savior suffering in agony, even if that was the reason He was born? It is important to note that as Latter-day Saints we recognize and appreciate more than we can ever say Jesus' suffering and death on the cross, but that is not how we choose to remember Him. We instead choose to focus on the empty tomb, that Jesus lives again and conquered death, and that through His ultimate sacrifice, we too will conquer death. Some wonder why Latter-day Saints do not adorn their chapels with a cross or wear crosses to signify their status as Christians. It is for that reason I named above, we prefer to focus on the risen Christ. Personally I have always found the concept of wearing a cross kind of silly. I mean if you had a friend or family member who was stabbed to death, would you wear a knife to represent him or her? Hardly. So while we as Latter-day Saints do not minimize or gloss over the death of Christ and His sacrifice on our behalf, we do not revere it or choose to use his method of death as a symbol of our devotion to Him.

Tomorrow we finish the book of Luke and on Monday we start John, the Gospel that is very different from the rest and does not contain very many, if at all, of the stories we have already covered. It has been interesting reading the synoptic Gospels like this and writing about them and trying not to rehash what I have already talked about, but the Spirit has led me various ways and helped me know what will be of greatest benefit for those of you reading this. I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have writing it. Tomorrow we will read the account of the resurrection where Luke adds more to the story than we have read before. Until tomorrow.

To This End Was He Born

Today I read Luke 22, which contains the account of the Last Supper and the Garden of Gethsemane. It's always interesting to me to see what each author focuses on, of course the same could be said of me I suppose. I wonder if live me, the writers of the Gospels were trying to follow the spirit to know which were the important parts to include, or were they trying their best to include it all?

Luke doesn't really add any contributions to the Last Supper beyond the Savior's counsel to the Apostles to purchase swords, considering what was to come and after His resurrection as well, it makes me wonder what was the purpose of the swords. Was it a placebo effect to just help the Apostles feel safer? To my knowledge there are really no records of them ever using the swords, except Peter to try and defend the Savior in the Garden. So I'm really not sure what to make of that counsel.

In the Garden of Gethsemane, the events that most Later-day Saints colloquially refer to as the Atonement took place. The Savior took upon Him all the world's sins, pains, sickness and suffering. What I think of all the entails, all the atrocities mankind has committed over the last 6,000 years I shudder to think what Jesus endured. Luke adds two points that no other author includes. He adds that an angel of the Lord comes to comfort and uplift the Savior. Bruce R. McKonkie suggests that this angel was none other than Michael, or Adam, the first man, who helped the Savior form the world in the beginning. I must say I agree with this as I can think of no one better suited to comfort the Savoir. Luke also records that the Savior bled like it was sweat. In all the depictions of the Savior before Pilate, all show Him in a plain white robe. But the truth is He must have looked ghastly. He most likely would have been covered in dried blood. He rode stained reddish, brown, He must have looked awful. I can only imagine how He was still on His feet after all He'd been through already.

I could go on and on about Jesus' supposed trial and how illegal it was. If I remember correctly there are six reasons why His trail was not valid. But the fact is, He HAD to die. That was the plan, His whole purpose for life. Establishing His church was important, teaching His Gospel was necessary. But He could have had His prophets do that. No, Jesus was born for one reason and one reason only, the Atonement. He was born to die. Yes His trial was a mockery; Yes, the Jews took Him by force in the night like some kind of Gestapo police, but that was the way it had to be. He died so that we could live. Id the life you are living worthy of His sacrifice?
Until Tomorrow.

Signs of the Times

Today I read Luke 21 which is the Savior telling His Apostles about the destruction of Jerusalem and His Second Coming. It got me thinking, why does His Second Coming need to be proceeded with such destruction? The scriptures state that there will be wars, rumors of wars, famines, nature in upheaval and all sorts of unhappy things occurring. And it got me wondering, why does it need to be that way? Obviously, Heavenly Father could have the world be anyway He wants it to be and while He may not be able to control the influence Satan has over the people of the world and so He may not be able to stop the wars and things that are caused by the evil of people, but He surely could stop the natural disasters if He desired. So why does it need to be this way?

I think it has to do with the caliber of people that are currently inhabiting the earth. I am a firm believer in opposite emotions being very similar. What I mean by that is, the people who are most good, have the most propensity for evil. I do believe that Satan used to be one of the nicest people in all of creation before he fell. This is partially on my own observations. As any of my closest friends or family will tell you, I am one of the most laid back, calm and nicest people you could ever hope to meet. But as my former room mates will tell you, when I lose my temper, I have a vicious streak a mile wide that is not pretty, I actually really scared one of my room mates the first time it happened. When I realized that, it got me thinking about this very thing, opposite emotions, almost like two sides of the same coin. I think that the stronger one is in a certain emotion, they have a strong likely hood to be just as strong in the other direction, be it for good or for bad. I bring this up because the world is currently more crazy than it has ever been. Sin is everywhere and it can be a truly scary place. And I think it is because of who is here on the earth at this time.

We have been told by General Authorities that we have been saved for these latter-days of the earth and that we are some of the strongest the church has ever seen. That is both good, and bad. I do not believe that God would save both His choicest and worst spirits for the same time period. I think that unfortunately, some that should be doing what is right, have given in to their basest desires and because they were some of the strongest, they have fallen the hardest and so are causing atrocities. Of course there is always the theory that these things have always been going on throughout time but we now have the technology to track and hear about it all the time. I'm really not sure but I personally believe that things were not always this bad and that it has to do with the type of people that are here on the earth at this time.

So that brings us to the more controllables, the weather. Now, there are those who would deny that the weather is actually not worse than it was years ago, even some Latter-day Saints whether from some form of denial or some other reason, I don't know. But I can tell you that I remember what the weather was like 20 years ago as a child and it is very different today. I can remember rainstorms that would go on for hours as a child, thunderstorms that would rock me to sleep as surely as my mother singing a lullaby. These days the thunderstorms are violent and scary with winds that can quite literally push your car off the road. Last night alone as I was preparing to leave work the wind was so violent that we all thought a tornado was headed our way and at one point I could not get the door open at work the wind was so strong!

Now, some organizations that exist to save the planet might argue that we have done this to ourselves, and they might be right. I remember how things were before my mission in my home state of Kentucky and how they were afterwards and after college and they were very different, especially in the amount of wind. It may seem like a small thing, but when I returned home from college there was a LOT more wind on a daily basis than there ever was before I left for my mission. I believe that is because of cutting down forests to develop more land and build more homes. So some of it is the natural consequences of our own actions. But what about all the earthquakes that have been happening in recent years and the tsunamis and the tornadoes? I never remember hearing about devastating earthquakes as a child and a teenager, but in the past 10 years it seems there is at least 1 per year in places you would never hear of having an earthquake 20 years ago. The fact of the matter is, nature is in upheaval and it is a sign of the times, per Jesus Himself.

The good news is, if we are prepared we need not fear. Now, this does NOT mean we will be protected. Far from it, the scriptures are full of stories of righteous people meeting an untimely demise. What it means is, if we are called home to meet God, if we are prepared, we need not fear the judgement and our lot in the eternities, we will be prepared for whatever comes our way. If we are living the Gospel as we should, then we do not need to fear whatever comes our way because this life is meant to be temporary and prepare us for what is next. And if you think about it, that is a comforting thought. Until tomorrow.

Empower the People

Today I read Luke 20, which has the stories of the scribes asking Jesus about the seven brothers who all had the same wife, the parable of the wicked husbandmen, the Pharisees asking Jesus by what authority He did the things He did, and the Pharisees asking if it is lawful to pay tribute to Caesar. When I read chapters like this where the Pharisees, and Sadducees and scribes are all trying to trap Jesus, I have to wonder at their actions. They are the spiritual leaders of their people and along comes Jesus teaching a very different type of doctrine. I sometimes wonder if I were in their shoes, in other words someone came around teaching Latter-day Saints a different type of doctrine and performing miracles, how I would react. The difference I think is that the Pharisees were not interested in the well being of the people, they were more concerned with retaining their power an authority. They did not care about the people and their salvation.

Jesus really did make a good analogy when He compared the Pharisees to a sepulcher how the Pharisees were white and pristine on the outside but full of dead bodies on the inside. They were more concerned with how they were viewed by others than they were their own salvation. They were more concerned with remaining in power than they were the salvation of the people they had authority over. So I can't help but wonder, if something similar were to happen in this day and age, how would I react? Would I be distrustful or would I follow the Spirit and know that the person was sent from God? As a Latter-day Saint, I feel that if such a thing were to happen, our Prophet would tell us about it and then I could pray to receive confirmation and so the analogy is not really similar. You can't compare the two since for one I am not in a position of power over anyone except at my job. I am also not worried about losing what little power I do have, I am more concerned with doing a good job and helping those who I have authority over succeed.

And I think that was the Pharisee's downfall. It was the same one the Catholic church made for centuries. Instead of wanting to empower the people they had authority over, they wanted to remain in power. It was more important to them that they have control than the people be saved. The Catholic priests did not want the common man to have the Bible so they could remain in control and remain a necessary part of the common man's life. So likewise did the Pharisees fulfill a similar role centuries before the Catholic church was founded. They looked upon themselves as interpreters of the law and even enforcers. I have no idea what they would do to people they found transgressing the law, but I imagine it was not pretty. Instead of being the people's guides and teachers, they had become a sort of spiritual police force, not remembering that a person's spirituality is between them and God and no one else. Even in a family, as a husband and a father, I can set rules and do my best to enforce them, but at the end of the day, if my wife chooses to transgress the commandments, it is between her and God and all I can do is counsel and try and help her repent.

Children fall prey to this snare of Satan all the time. How often do we tell children to do something or not to do something and their first reply is that so and so does it. We as a natural man or woman see someone doing it and naturally assume because they did it, it must be alright for us to do it. This is doubly so if the person we saw do it is a member of the church. The best thing we can do for others and for our children is to set a good example and to make sure they know that it does not matter what anyone else does, it only matters what we do. Salvation is a personal act that has to be accomplished on an individual level with the exception being eternal marriage. That takes two and makes you part of a team that needs to pull equal weight. As you and your spouse work together it gets so much easier if you both have the same goals and work as a team. And as you and your spouse work as a team, it will set the example for your children and what they should strive to emulate when they are grown and you can face Heavenly Father with a clear conscience regarding how you taught your children. And that's really the best we can do in this life, is set the right example and lead by our actions. Until tomorrow.

Temple Service

Today I read Luke 19, which contains the parable of the talents, Jesus riding into Jerusalem for the final time and the cleansing of the temple. These are all topics we have covered in Matthew and/or Mark already. However, the temples have been on my mind recently. I have been re-listening to this past April's General Conference in my car as I drive around town and go to and from work. President Monson's talk on the temples has stayed with me and been much on my mind lately.

Temple work is perhaps the most sacred, worthwhile thing we as Latter-day Saints can do on this earth. We sometimes are given grief over those who are not Latter-day Saints because in their eyes we are trying to save ourselves. They sometimes feel we do not believe we are saved by grace and Jesus Christ. However, all Latter-day Saints look to the Savior as their Redeemer and know that without Him it is impossible to be cleansed from sin and we will never return to live with God someday. So we most emphatically DO believe we are saved by grace and that nothing we do will change that. Only the supreme sacrifice of Jesus Christ is going to save us.

But, there are certain requirements that must be met in order to take full advantage of the sacrifice Jesus made for us. For example, few in the Christian world will refute that baptism is necessary for salvation in the Kingdom of God. Along those same lines, there are certain other ordinances that must be performed in order to obtain the highest degree of glory and become like God is. These must be performed in the temple and are so sacred that we do not talk about them outside of the temple with a few exceptions. Perhaps the most sacred ordinance in the temple is that of marriage for time and eternity. All marriage outside of the temple generally contain the phrase "till death do you part". The Latter-day Saint marriage inside the temple does not contain this phrase because when performed in the right place by the right authority, marriage is eternal. It's so interesting because if you were to go randomly poll people on the streets anywhere you go and ask them if after death, if they believe in an afterlife anyway, they will be with their families, 90% will say yes they will be. It is in our nature to want our associations that we have here to continue with us into the next life. And yet without the proper authority, it won't happen. It is the same concept of earthly authority today. Everyone knows that only a drivers license issued by the government is valid and no matter how much you make one to look like it, unless it was issued by the government it is invalid. So it is with sacred ordinances.

Now, the temple is also the place where Latter-day Saints can help those who have gone on before us and not had an opportunity to hear the Gospel or participate in ordinances. Just as Jesus paid the price for our sins, so to can Latter-day Saints perform sacred, necessary ordinances for those who no longer have a body and consequently cannot perform them for themselves. There are few places on earth that you can feel the Spirit of God stronger than you can in the temple doing this sacred work. It is indescribable if you have never felt it and there are few times in life that you will feel nearer to God than while doing work in the temple.

It is important for faithful Latter-day Saints to attend the temple often. It is part of keeping our covenants we made with God upon baptism and joining His church. All take part in this great work in whatever way they can and all Latter-day Saints should make the time to attend the temple regularly. Whatever it takes to make that happen, no sacrifice is too big. There are literally hundreds if not thousands of examples where Latter-day Saints have sold everything they have except the clothes on their backs, even their homes, to journey to the temple to receive the blessings of an eternal family. Are we taking advantage of the blessings of a temple when all we have to sacrifice is our time and perhaps a little money to pay for gas to reach the temple? I feel it will be one of those things that God asks us about when we see Him again and as with everything else, you don't want to be standing there with excuses, especially not one as lame as "I was too busy".

Temple service is as close to God as we can get on this earth. It is a gift He has given us, to allow us to be part of other people's eternal progression and salvation. Do not squander it for petty, worldly things such as TV, movies or whatever other convenient excuse we can come up with. If we try hard enough, anything can become a reason NOT to attend the temple. Instead, focus on all the reasons why you SHOULD attend the temple, and then make the time for it. You will be glad you did. I promise. Until tomorrow.

Suffer the Little Children to Come to Me

Today I read Luke 18 which has all the same stories we have talked about before with a few exceptions. It contains the story of the rich man who asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. It also contains the story of the blind man that seeks Jesus to heal him and the crowd tries to stop him from calling out to Jesus. This chapter also has the story of the parents who want Jesus to bless their children and the Apostles stop the parents. It does not contain it in Luke, but in Mark it states that the reason they stop the parents is because Jesus had just told them that little children are saved in the Kingdom of God. So it makes sense that they would stop the parents from, what in their opinion was, wasting theirs and Jesus' time by blessing children that were already saved. Jesus of course takes the time to bless the little children and I am sure to talk and play with them.

Of all the gifts our Heavenly Father has given us, the ability to share in the creation of life with Him is perhaps the most sacred of all. This is why the Law of Chastity is so important. Little children are so precious and so full of life. They are a sponge that soak up all around them it is so important to make sure that they are given the best opportunities possible. When I think of all the people who abuse the opportunity to have children and all the children that are born in to horrible conditions, and I'm not talking about in countries where the parents cannot take care of them. I'm referring to children right here in America. It saddens me how children have almost become a commodity, that some people are having children so that they can receive assistance from the government. Children are precious and should be treated as more valuable than gold. I could not even imagine doing something to willfully harm my daughter, even when she makes me the most upset. I just remind myself that she doesn't know how to communicate very effectively yet and is still learning. And the times where she wants to play and be held and read a book with me more than make up for the few minutes a day of frustration I might have.

I sometimes wish that the act of creating children was not done through sex. Perhaps if creating children were a bit more arduous, it would not be done so often. It disgusts me how creating life is treated so flippantly and how excited people get when someone gets pregnant out of wedlock. Children have a right to come to a home with a mother and a father and their parents have a responsibility to give them the most loving, nurturing environment possible. I firmly believe that God will hold us accountable to how we raised our children and how/if we provided for them. It is my opinion that the raising of a child will help determine his/her long term personality, and potential in life. Some people never get over the fact that their parents treated them poorly. I can only imagine how painful it must be for Heavenly Father to see how horribly some children are treated in this world. It makes me sad and hurt to even think about it, but Heavenly Father actually has to witness it.

Now, that's enough of the bad stuff involved with children. The flip side is that we are given the awesome responsibility to create life and to provide a loving, nurturing home for those children. I love playing with my daughter and teaching her new things and watching her learn and grow. It is my favorite part of the day and most days I would rather do that over anything else. I love the way she laughs when we play together. I love how excited she gets when we read her favorite book. I love how despite how much she enjoys playing on her own, she wants to spend time with her mother and I. She and her mother are indeed my most treasured possessions if you will. I obviously do not own them, but that is the closest terminology I can use. As a teenager and sometimes in college, my friends and I would often ask each other if there was a fire and you could only take one thing out of the house with you, what would it be. Hands down as long as my wife, daughter and cat made it out, everything else could go up in flames and we would be ok. It can be replaced and as long as we are together, we'll make it work.

Little children are the future. If you want to know why our country is in a bad state right now and why things have changed so much from our grandparent's time, it is because of how our parents were raised, and how they raised us and now how we are raising our children. The culture only changes because people change it. Culture is not an animate object that can change and manipulate itself. It requires people to do the changing. It is up to us to teach our children correct principles so that they will know the right way to live and act in society. As we teach and take care of our children, they will know the right way to raise their children and we can continue to make this world a better place to live in. And yes, raising children is definitely something you can solicit Heavenly Father's help doing and He is infinitely interested in this topic. He will not leave you helpless if you ask Him for help, I promise. Until tomorrow.

Showing Gratitude

Today I read Luke 17 which mainly has to do with gratitude. This chapter contains the story of the 10 lepers who are healed by the Savior and only 1 of them returns to thank Him, and it is a Samaritan at that. The other 9 went on their way, never returning to thank Jesus for what He had done for them. Jesus also asks the people a hypothetical question. He asks which of them having a servant who waits on them, after the servant has fulfilled all the command that they are given actually thanks him for the job he has performed? I would wager not many.

It can be a surprisingly hard phrase to say, "Thank you", but it shouldn't be. It's just 2 words, no different than "hello there" or "good bye" or any other phrase, yet it is a phrase that is not heard nearly enough these days and from the sound of it, wasn't heard enough in Jesus' time either. What stops us from expressing our genuine gratitude? Usually it is pride or selfishness. Pride does not allow for us to admit that we needed someone else's assistance. Pride does not want to rely on anyone but itself. Some people take great pride in being a "self-made man" or woman. They like to think that they got to where they are all on their own. It's an interesting phenomenon and usually it comes with what I like to call the one up syndrome.

Have you ever met someone that no matter what story you tell, they have a similar story to tell about themselves but it's just a little bit more fantastic than yours was? They never seem to be happy for you or what has happened to you, they are unhappy unless the focus is on them. Such people rarely if ever have gratitude to anyone around them. It's also interesting that our culture takes pride in how much we suffered as children or whatever part of life we have and in overcoming that adversity to be who we are today. I like to just shrug in those situations and mention that I had a very normal life and upbringing and was in no way extraordinary. It is strange that as a culture we are so focused on the negative when instead we should be focusing on the positive in our lives. Perhaps that is why we have such a hard time as a culture with gratitude. When you only focus on the negative, you don't really notice the good in your life and so you may not even recognize that saying "thank you" is called for.

And yet those two little words can make all the difference in the entire world. My wife can be having the worst day for any number of reasons. It typically only takes a hug from me and a genuine thank you for something she has done to turn her whole day around. And there is SO much to be thankful for in this day and age. I don't know what it's like where you live, but this summer in Alabama has been HOT! It is been in the 100's almost daily since May. And boy am I grateful for air conditioning, and swimming pools and refrigeration! But I almost never think to thank Heavenly Father for those things in my prayers because I get too busy. Maybe I should ask Heavenly Father for patience to slow down so I can express my appreciation more for the things that I have.

The scriptures state that against none is God's wrath kindled save those who confess not His hand in all things. That's really strong language! God is only upset with those who are ungrateful is another way of saying that. If that is the case He must be furious with the world right now who half of them seem to not even want to acknowledge His even existence. We as a people need to really work on being more grateful to all of those around us. We can start by saying thank you when it is warranted. Even if it is just to those who are doing what has been asked of them. For example, do you say thank you to your waiter for bringing you your food? Do you thank the tellers at the bank for helping you with your transaction? Do you thank your wife/husband for making dinner? Do you thank your children for doing as they are asked? Start small and start practicing saying thank you. Fortunately it is one of those things that gets easier the more you do it. We need to have an attitude of gratitude in all things and make sure that we teach those around us the proper way to behave so that we can make a difference. Remember, it only takes one snowflake to start an avalanche. It only takes one person to start a change. Until tomorrow.

Lazarus and the Rich Man

Today I read Luke 16 which starts out with the story of the unjust steward. I have to admit I do not understand it in the least. The way I read it, the unjust steward is called into account by his lord and is about to be put out so the steward goes to the debtors who owe his lord money and starts forgiving parts of the debt. The lord then commends him for his wise decisions. I'll freely admit I don't understand it at all. The moral that Jesus is trying to get across is found in verse 10 which says that "He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust int he least is unjust also in much."

That part makes sense to me. Typically, someone who makes a mess over a little thing is going to botch a big thing as well. Whereas someone who is put in charge over something small and they handle it well is most likely going to do a good job over a large thing also. The point the Savior is trying to make is similar to the parable of the talents. When we are faithful over a few things and have proved our trustworthiness, the Lord will trust us over many things. But when we fail at the little things, where is the incentive to give us more responsibility? We have to prove our trustworthiness to those around us, including the Lord, before we will be given responsibilities. It's no different than proving ourselves to our parents here on earth. Our parents are not going to just buy us a brand new car because we turned 16 years old, or they shouldn't. They need to first see how we will treat their cars and how will we behave without them around to remind us of what we should be doing. Only after we have proved ourselves should the reward come. Sadly, some parents don't understand this point and so their children never learn responsibility and become a sore spot in society. What's even worse is that some parents never realize their mistake at all.

The end of this chapter contains the story of Lazarus and the rich man, which is a stroke of genius to me and I must admit I laughed out loud today when I read the last verse as Jesus rubs their collective noses in it. The story is that there is a rich man who outside of his home is a beggar named Lazarus. It is not implicitly states although it is heavily implied that the rich man is well aware of Lazarus and ignores him the whole of his life. As the story goes, both Lazarus and the rich man die and receive their reward according to their performance in life. Lazarus is received into heaven into Abraham's bosom where he is comforted. The rich man also receives a reward according to his deeds in life, he is sent to a fiery torment in hell. The rich man is able to see Lazarus in heaven and begs Abraham to allow Lazarus to just dip his fingers in water and allow it to drip onto the rich man's tongue so that he can have even a brief respite from his torment. Abraham replies that there is a gulf that cannot be crossed and so his request cannot be granted. Finally, the rich man begins to think of others. He asks Abraham for permission for Lazarus to go to his household and warn his 5 brothers so that they may escape his fate. Abraham replies that they have the scriptures before them and it is enough. The rich man replies that they will not believe the scriptures but if Lazarus appears to them they will believe. Abraham replies that if they do not believe the scriptures, then they will not believe even if one were to rise from the dead.

This story is being told to the Pharisees and as I said I laughed out loud at that last prophetic part. Jesus has been trying, literally for years, at this point to convince the Pharisees and other Jews that He is the prophesied Messiah and most of them do not believe Him. And they continue to not believe in Him after He rises from the dead. But looking past the obvious explanation of this story, there is more to it that we can internalize for ourselves. I once heard a talk where the General Authority mentioned that when the Holy Ghost communes directly with our spirit it has a more lasting and permanent affect than anything else. It was probably Elder Neal A. Maxwell but I am not positive. I bring this up because I believe that if we do not accept the word of God and repent of our sins of our own volition because of the testimonies of the prophets and those that have gone before us, then we would not stay true and faithful despite seeing an angel or some other miraculous visitation. Like Scrooge in Charles Dickens "Christmas Carol" who after seeing Jacob Marley, his dead former partner, tries to convince himself he didn't actually see the ghost of Marley but something else entirely, the novelty of seeing an angel would eventually wear off and we would return to our old ways.

Now you are probably thinking to yourself, what about Saul of Tarsus or Alma the Younger? Well, you have to remember that Saul was already a devout member of the church and he was doing what he believed God wanted him to do. So when he learned that he was on the wrong side, it was a simple thing for him to transfer all that zeal and energy to the right cause. As for Alma the Younger, remember that the angel did not appear to call him to repentance, he came to answer the prayers of his father, Alma the Elder, that Alma might know of the power of God. That is all. Alma made the choice to recognize the truth and gain a testimony on his own. I'm sure there are other examples in the scriptures and otherwise, but these will suffice. If we do not make the choice on our own to be converted when we feel the Spirit testifying to us, then we will not hold steady to the course and will eventually fall away, no matter how miraculous our conversion was. The early history of the church is full of such examples. As Paul tells the saints in Phillipe, we must work out our own conversion, with fear and trembling before the Lord. We can't rely on miracles to convert us. Miracles confirm faith, they do not create it. If we remember that, then we will be just fine and will not fall away. Until tomorrow.

The Prodigal Son

Today I read Luke 15, where Jesus gives three different parables all centered around those who have sinned and then repented. The 3 parables are the parable of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the prodigal son. In each of these parables, something is lost and then found again and there is much rejoicing.

In the first two parables, the lost sheep and the lost coin, the finding is done by the person who did the losing. This to me is indicative of efforts on the part of others to find the person who has strayed from the path. This is done in a myriad of ways and is accomplished by home teachers, bishops, friends and families. My mother actually was inactive for awhile in her life and it was her bishop who reached out to her and got her to come back to church and helped her gain a testimony. If he had not done that, I would not be sitting here today writing this blog. I can vouch that in such situations when someone who has been lost returns there is much rejoicing. It is one of the most wonderful feelings in the world to help someone who has lost their way and forgotten things come back into the fold and gain a testimony and be a strong member.

Another interpretation could be helping those who have lost their way in the sense of those who do not know of Jesus at all and we help them learn of the truth and the right way we should go. It is a truly wonderful feeling to help those who are not members of the church repent of their sins and be baptized. In my family two of my sisters in law were converted by their husbands, my brothers and it is a wonder to behold them and how strong in the Gospel they are. Every missionary knows that same feeling of wonder and pure joy when they teach someone who desires to hear the Gospel and then soaks it up like a sponge.

The last story is a very well known one, the story of the prodigal son. As is usual, when I was younger I used to look at this story differently. Since serving my mission though, I have come to look at it another way. Before my mission I really identified with the older son, the one who had lived the good life and how indignant he was over the fact that his brother's return was being made into such a good deal and he was kind of being tossed by the wayside. I agreed with him that it was not fair that such a fuss was being made over his brother because of how bad a life the brother had been living. I did not understand anymore than the brother in the story did why the father in the story was making such a big fuss over the brother who repented and came back.

Now that I am older and have served a mission and have some years under my belt, I identify more with the father in the story. I have had friends, and even a family member or two, that left the church and lost their way for many, many years who had a change of heart and returned to full activity in the church and have been good, upstanding members of the church for several years now. I remember the pure joy I felt when they made that decision and how it was the most important thing to me at that moment in time and I could have indeed thrown a party so that all could rejoice with me. Of course that is not how things are done in the church, but that's how happy I was. The funniest things is that I would have been the "good" son in that story and I was probably more thrilled and excited than anyone else. The thing the good son in the story of the prodigal son does not realize, is that rejoicing for a moment over the return of that brother/son/friend or whoever that was lost, does not in anyway shape or form take away from them and their accomplishments.

However, the fact that the "good" son in this story is upset that a party is being thrown in his younger brother's honor in the first place shows that he has not forgiven his brother for leaving them. He was holding onto resentment and feelings of anger towards his brother. If he had been at all concerned for his well being during the years he was gone, then he would have rejoiced just as much as his father did. But it is clear from his reaction that he was resentful of his brother leaving him to do all the work and for the younger brother living a life of sin. It is impossible to rejoice over the lost person if you do not have a Christlike attitude regarding them in the first place. It's very similar to helping those in need and imparting of our substance to them. In Mosiah 4, King Benjamin warns against just such behavior. He tells the Nephites that they might be tempted to think to themselves that the beggars situation is justified and their own fault, but we must not think that way. We must instead think only of how we can help and improve their situation.

So in order to first be any use in seeking out those who are lost, we must first make sure that we have the right attitude and are doing what we should be doing so that we can have the right frame of mind in assisting to find those who are lost. I personally cannot even understand holding a grudge like that against someone, but then again as I have mentioned before, easily forgiving others is one of my gifts. I can tell you this though, helping someone you love to come back and repent and return to full activity, is one of the best feelings in this entire world and it is unlike anything else you have ever experienced. If you have never done so, I highly encourage you to work with your bishop and missionaries in your ward/branch to see who you can help. You will not regret it. Until tomorrow.

Jesus Teaches to be Humble and Set Goals

Today I read Luke 14 where Jesus again heals on the Sabbath day and takes the opportunity to teach the Pharisees. It really is incomprehensible that the Pharisees saw nothing wrong with saving their animals that fell into a pit on the Sabbath day but when it comes to healing a person, they were completely against it. Actually, I guess it is not all that difficult to understand, after all there are people in our day and age who place more value on animal life than they do human life, although I doubt the Pharisees in Christ's time would have viewed it in such a fashion. But that is what it boils down to when you get past the pretty words. The Pharisees were perfectly fine with helping an animal on the Sabbath day, but not a person. They certainly had their priorities mixed up.

This chapter also contains the parable of the man who puts on a feast and none of the guests he invites come so he has his servant bring in the people off the streets. There is also another parable, or rather piece of advice, that Jesus gives in this chapter to the Pharisees in particular, but also to all the people. In the advice, Jesus states that if they were to be invited to a wedding they should not go to the higher rooms, or in other words they should not take honor unto themselves. The reason for this is because if they are in the higher room and someone more important than themselves were to come in and they were forced to go to the lower room, it would be very embarrassing for them. Rather when they attend a wedding they should go into the lowest room and then when the host comes and sees them there he can move them a higher room. The moral of Jesus' story which He tells them Himself, is to not raise ourselves up, but rather to be humble.

I thought this was very interesting and good advice. Everyone of us are going to have times where we get egg on our face so to speak. What matters is how we handle those situations. In Alma 5, Alma asks the people of Zarahemla if they are stripped of pride, because if they are not then they are not ready to meet God. Pride is feeling like you are more important than others. I heard a talk once in General Conference that I believe was given by President Uchtdorf that said pride does not take pleasure in having something, it only take pleasure in having more of something than another. Such feelings and thoughts are totally incongruent with God. God does not take pleasure in the fact that He has something we don't. Quite the opposite, His greatest joy is in being able to share what He has with all of us. If we hope to one day be like Him, then we need to make sure we find pleasure in lifting people up as well.

The last part of this chapter that stood out to me is the idea to plan ahead. Jesus talks to the people stating that if you plan to build a tower, first sit down and make sure you have enough money and resources to complete the tower. This struck me as the idea of setting goals and planning ahead. It is hard to get things of importance accomplished in this life without setting goals to help you achieve them. If you don't know what you are working towards, you are just wandering aimlessly in life and that is not a good thing. In order to stay focused, and for most us, happy, we need to have direction and have a clear purpose in life. There are a number of reasons that people commit suicide in this life, but the most common reasons are depression and lack of self-worth. The lack of self-worth, and sometimes even depression, can come from feeling like nothing you do matters because you do not have a clear direction. You can make it through life without having goals, but it makes it a lot easier to know what you are shooting for. Personally, I am trying to be more like Jesus and to return to live with Heavenly Father some day. What are you striving for? Until tomorrow.

Jesus Never Passed Up an Opportunity to Teach

Today I read Luke 13, it starts off with the Savior teaching in a synagogue on the Sabbath. There is a woman there while He is teaching and based on what it sounds like Luke is describing, she had an evil spirit in her for 18 years and she was so hunched over that she could not stand up straight. Jesus had her come over to Him and healed her. The thought occurred to me that Jesus never passes up an opportunity to teach. Actually the first thought I had was that Jesus likes to antagonize the Pharisees and the leaders of the Jews. But after reflecting on it awhile, I think it was more He did not like to pass up opportunities to teach.

The reason I say this is because the scriptures have several stories where the Savior healed someone without touching them. In fact, there are some stories where He is not even in the same part of the city as the people He heals, such as the centurion's servant. The centurion sent a messenger to ask Jesus to come heal his servant and then sent another servant almost immediately afterwards asking Jesus to just say the word and his servant would be healed. Jesus had compassion on the Roman and did as He was asked and the centurion's servant was indeed healed. I bring this up because Jesus heals this woman of her 18 year affliction by touching her, which is honestly probably the reason the leader of the synagogue got upset with Him for healing on the Sabbath day.

Now, Jesus could easily have just said, "Be healed" and it would have been so. But He heals her this way on purpose so that the leader of the synagogue will say something about it, hence my first thought that He likes to antagonize the Pharisees. However, I do not believe that His reasons for doing this to the Pharisees is solely to get a rise out of them, that is not how Jesus does things. Rather it was so that He could teach them that to heal on the Sabbath is doing the Lord's work. He wants them to know that by keeping the Sabbath day the way they have been so far is not in keeping with the commandment and they are missing the mark, something He has been trying to teach them His entire ministry. Happily enough, this time it seems to work. When He gives the example of feeding and watering their animals on the Sabbath, Luke states that the Pharisees are ashamed of themselves.

It really made me think, do I take advantage of all the opportunities I have to share the Gospel as Christ did? Unfortunately the answer is no. There are times where I could easily stand up for what is right a little quicker or help those in need a little faster. This story has helped me realize that while I don't need to antagonize people the way Jesus did to teach them, I do need to do a better job of standing up for what is right and making sure I don't pass up opportunities to teach those around me, even if only by example.

The other part of this chapter that stands out to is towards the end where some Pharisees actually warn Jesus to leave the city otherwise, Herod will have Him killed. I must admit I did not remember this before today and this re-reading. I do not recall any Pharisees being friendly to Jesus except Nicodemus, and his friendship only went so far. However, it would seem that not all the Pharisees were antagonistic against Jesus and perhaps more than we realize accepted His words and teachings and repented of their ways. We are not really told but this verse makes it seem as if such is the case. It's a neat little aside anyway.

The rest of the chapter is Jesus talking about the church on the earth. He uses a parable of how the church on the earth is like leaven used in baking, how it is put into the bread, or meal as Jesus states it here, and it rises to fill the entire loaf. Such is the kingdom of God here on the earth. It starts from humble beginnings, but eventually it rises and encompasses the entire earth, just as Daniel saw in his vision so many thousands of years ago. The work of God goes forward and cannot be stopped, not by Satan or the hands of man. It will go forward despite man's best efforts to frustrate the work. They succeeded for a time in frustrating it and delaying it, but it has been restored in it's fulness in our day and will never be taken from the earth again. It is here to stay and will be preached to all the world. Everyone will have a chance to accept or reject the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is because He loves and wants us to return to live with Him someday if such is our desire. It will take as long as it takes, but I promise it is in the Lords hands, and that is very comforting indeed. Until tomorrow.

Prepare Now to Meet the Lord

Today I read Luke 12, which the majority of the chapter is spent with Jesus telling His disciples, and everyone, to prepare for the Second Coming of the Lord. Obviously it is meant more for us in our day and age than it was meant for His Apostles then since they are not even close to being near the time of the Second Coming, however if everyone were to put into practice the things the Savior is teaching them about being prepared, then the world would be a wonderful place.

Now, we have discussed in detail, many times already in the past why it is needful for us to be prepared for the Second Coming, or for those of us who won't live to see it, to be prepared to meet the Lord after we die. It is of course because it is all about what type of person we are, not what a scale of how many good things or bad things we have done in this life. We have to be the right type of person. It's interesting to me that as kids, the child who is usually perceived as being perfect or too good is the child that gets picked on out of jealousy because the other children are not as good as they are.

I wonder where such thoughts come from. Why is it human nature to taunt and harass those who are better or more spiritual than we are? I am sure Satan has something to do with it, but we can see it in children who are under the age of accountability and are thus not able to be tempted by Satan, so there must be more to it than just straight temptations. Something resonates within us when we see those who are doing what we know we should be doing and it makes us ashamed of ourselves. Most people do not like to feel ashamed so I assume that is why it then turns to jealousy and taunting.

It is not easy to live a good life, especially in this day and age. There is sin all around us, and as someone recently so aptly put it, you pretty much have to work to avoid sin, especially pornography these days. Whereas in the past you had to seek it out, pornography has become so prevalent in our society these days that you now have to work to avoid it because it WILL find you, one way or another. Case in point, when I was a missionary, for the first few months of the mission, there was a mission rule that you had to do 30 minutes of exercise of your choice. It only lasted about 4 months but for those 4 months we did everything from karate, sit ups and push ups to running. Well, one day we were running for our work out, and it was about 6:15 am. We ran past a bus stop bench just on the side of the road and there was something on the bench. I was about 5 feet behind my companions, we were in a threesome at the time, and just as I got to the bench and look down to see what it was, I hear one of them tell me to don't look down. Well, it was too late and it was a box that had contained a pornographic movie as was evidenced by the picture on the back of the box. Even as a missionary, not watching TV, going on the internet, and just trying to be good and follow the rules of the mission, pornography found us. And that was not the first time that we were faced with pornography as a missionary, although it was the first time in my mission.

The only way to stay clean and pure in this life is to work at it. It has to be your goal and you have to want it badly enough, because otherwise, you will fall. It's so disgusting and disturbing to me how all the most popular TV shows in America these days all focus on sex, violence or drugs, or worse, all three. I work for a cable company and so I get to see firsthand a lot of new shows that are coming out and get to preview them and it is safe to say that 90% of them are not worth a good Latter-day Saint's time. And yet those are usually the shows that get the best ratings and do the best on TV. It is a very, very sad commentary on our culture that such is the case.

I once had a history professor when I was in college, back in 2001 state that perhaps the best test of your character would be to print out a list of websites that you have been to, along with the length of time you stayed at that website, because anyone can land on a pornographic website by accident. But when it happens do you turn it off immediately, or do you linger? Do you spend a lot of time on www.lds.org? Or do you find yourself wasting time on places like Facebook? Being ready for the Lord's second coming is more than just avoiding sin, it is about being anxiously engaged in a good cause. We do look at, listen, or watch pornography in any of its many, many formats? Or do we spend our time reading our scriptures or spending time with our families? It's no secret what it takes to be prepared to meet Jesus Christ, the scriptures state it over, and over again, we just need to choose to do it or not. And the more we choose to participate in those things that will draw us closer to Him, the easier it gets, and vice versa. But remember, you cannot serve God and Mammon. We most certainly have to make a choice, and we do it by our actions and where we spend out time. Choose wisely. Until tomorrow.

Ask and you Shall Receive

Today I read Luke 11, the first part of the chapter includes the Lord teaching His disciples how to pray at their request. After teaching them what we now call the Lord's prayer, Jesus tells them that if they ask it shall be given them. You know, all growing up I had assumed that when this particular saying had to do with righteous desires. However, last night I was home teaching one of my families and this very scripture came up and I had a bit of an epiphany. No where does Jesus state that if we ask for righteous things they will be given to us. All He says is that if we ask, we will receive.

Heavenly Father loves us and wants us to be happy. Now, He knows what will bring us ultimate happiness and that is what He wants for us, just as we want what is best for our children here on earth. However, sometimes, our children desire to do the things that are wrong, and that is their choice. And just like with our earthly children, sometimes parents will give their children the wrong things, I once had a friend tell me that his parents on high school graduation night threw him and his friends a drinking party because they would rather the kids be drinking where they could supervise. How sad is that. Why not go out, find a suitable girl and then bring her home for your son to have sex with so that you can supervise that too. I really don't think some people think at all. Nevertheless, I am off topic. No where does the scripture state that if we ask for righteous things God will give them to us. It just says ask and you shall receive. God loves us and wants us to be happy. That means not doing what He knows will be best for us, unless He knows that is our ultimate desire. God will give us what we want because He wants us to be happy. Now, there of course are things He will not give us no matter how much we ask for it. If we have truly evil desires, to rape and murder for example, no matter how much we pray for God to make it happen, what a mockery that would be, He is never going to assist with those desires.

But say if we desire something that is not necessarily in accordance with His plan for us, but still a righteous desire, He will make it happen. When I broke up with my college girlfriend, I was heartbroken and prayed to never again feel this way. God made that happen for me by making any relationship I tried to have with a girl beyond simple friendship just not happen. Even women that I knew for a fact felt the same way I did, they just never wanted to take it beyond friendship for some reason. It did not dawn on me until a year or so later that my prayer was being answered. I was not going to go through the hurt of a break up ever again because I was not going to be allowed to date anyone until I met my wife. The old adage be careful what you wish for, you just might get it, is very true.

The rest of the chapter contains stories we have already read in other Gospels and talked about. It contains the story of Jesus casting out a devil and the Pharisees accusing Him of using the power of the devil to do it. It also contains the story of Jesus going to eat with a Pharisee who complained because Jesus did not wash His hands before eating. You know, at first glance, you would think the Pharisee's concern is quite valid. I mean we have our children wash their hands before eating and it is a very hygienic thing to do. But the thing to remember is the Pharisee was not wanting Jesus to wash up for His health, but rather because it was in the traditions and He wanted Jesus to follow the rules of man. When we keep that in mind, Jesus' response makes a lot more sense. It's not that He doesn't want to be healthy, however, He knows the Pharisees are not concerned about His health so much as they His following their traditions.

We are now about to start the part of Luke where Jesus gives several parables, including quite a few that we have not read before in Matthew or Mark. This is what Luke is primarily known for, having parables and speaking to the thinkers and philosophers of the world. There are great insights to be had and learned from reading Jesus' parables. As we read with the Spirit as our companion, I know we will have new insights into the scriptures and will learn what God wants us to know. Until tomorrow.

Mary and Martha host Jesus and the Good Samaritan

Today I read Luke 10, which is the chapter where the Savior calls and sets apart the 70 and sends them out to preach and to teach in His name. When they return, they are surpised that the devils are subject to them when they use the Saviors name and Jesus also gives His famous go without purse or script speech to His disciples.

This chapter also contains the story of Jesus visiting Martha and Mary and how Mary sat at the feet of the Savior listening while He spoke while Martha did the house work. Martha was so busy and doing so much, that she became resentful of the fact that Mary was entertaining their guest and the scriptures record that she spoke to Jesus asking Him to order Mary to help her. Jesus gently replied that while what Martha was doing is important, Mary is doing something even more important. Now, I have been on both sides of this scenario where I am the host and am running around like mad trying to make sure everything is good and works the way I had intended, and I have also been the person entertaining the guests while someone else plays the part of the host or hostess. It is true that both parts are equally important, but what Jesus was trying to teach Martha, is that He was not going to be around forever, and He is not just another guest, what He has to say is more important than anything else in the world, So while Martha was doing something good by being a good hostess, it would have been better for her if she had sat with Mary and Jesus and heard what He had to say. I think a more apt comparison would have been say doing your home or visiting teaching during General Conference. Both are important, but it is more important to hear the instructions from our Prophet and Apostles.

This chapter also contains the story of the Good Samaritan. I think everyone is familiar with the story, a man traveling is beaten and robbed and left for dead. A priest and a Levite both walk on by without stopping to help the man. Finally a Samaritan, who does not like the Jews mind you, stops and helps the poor man and even pays an innkeeper to take care of him until he recovers. The real world application for this story are plentiful and just about everywhere you look. A family stranded on the side of the road, someone pushing a car that has broken down, a person carrying in groceries while trying to wrangle small children, the list goes on and on. This story goes back to the very beginning of time when Cain is asked by God where Abel is and asks if he is his brothers keeper. The answer of course is a resounding, YES, you are. I firmly believe that we will be held accountable for all those people that are put in our way that we may have helped but did not for whatever reason. I do believe this includes those who come up to you and ask you for money despite smelling of alcohol and cigarettes. It is not for us to judge what put the person in that state, it is only for us to help and assist in whatever way we can.

I think that this lesson has been well learned in most of the United States. Despite whatever else might be happening in the country, you still often hear, or even see reports of people assisting others in a very selfless manner. Just the other day there was a headline story of an 8 year old boy at a baseball game who caught a foul ball because another young boy missed it and it bounced behind him and the 8 year old caught it. Naturally the first boy who missed it started to get upset and when the 8 year old saw it, he immediately walked over to the boy and handed over the foul ball. While I was pleased to see such a wonderful story of a young boy doing such a good thing, I was even more pleased to see all the attention it was given in the news. You generally don't hear good things in the news. And the stories are there, our news anchors and news stations just seem to prefer the bad news, I guess it gets better ratings, I don't know. But there are good stories out there if you look for them.

But more importantly than looking for examples of being a good Samaritan is to be one. We should be helping those around us in whatever way we can. You don't know what someone else is going through, sometimes, the simple act of holding open a door for someone else can be what changes their day from a bad one to a good one. But as I said before, I firmly believe God will ask us why we did not help the person He specifically put in our way. And most of the time it takes so little time and effort to help those in need. All we need to do is slow down our lives and take a good look around us and we will see the needs and be able to help with them. And it always feels SO good to help those in need. It's one of the best feelings out there, don't pass it up. Until tomorrow.

The Sayings of Jesus

Today I read Luke 9 which contain several stories including Jesus being transfigured on the mountain, the feeding of the 5,000, the casting out of the devil that His Apostles could not cast out and the setting apart of the Apostles. There are also a couple of stories that are not found in other parts of the scriptures.

There is a story in this chapter that the Savior and His Apostles were walking towards Jerusalem and they entered and passed through Samaria. The scriptures state that Jesus sent a messenger ahead of Him so that the village would be ready to receive Him. However, they did not receive Him because, as the scriptures put it, He was just passing through on His way to Jerusalem. This made James and John very, very upset and actually asked Jesus for permission to call down fire from heaven to consume the village, like Elijah of old did. This is hardly comprehensible to me. I mean, they were a group of Jews traveling through Samaria, which we all know that the Jews and the Samaritans did not like each other, so it is hardly strange to think that when Jesus arrived the village was of the attitude of "So what?".

But it is just crazy to me that two of the Savior's Apostles would want to destroy an entire village for nothing more than a slight insult. Perhaps refusing a traveler aid in those days was worse than it seems to be today, but I still think it hardly warrants the destruction of the entire village. I mean for one thing there were innocent children in the village surely. James and John were nothing if not zealous. Jesus rebukes them for their desires though and reminds them that He is there to save lives, not take them. It must be a cultural difference because I cannot even imagine destroying a village just because they refused to show you the courtesy you expected. That is something that the bad guys in movies always do, not the good guys.

This chapter also makes me wonder about the things the Savior sometimes says in the scriptures. Again I wonder if it is a cultural difference that I am missing or perhaps a translation issue, but the scriptures have Jesus saying some really strange, and even harsh statements. I mean for one thing, it always seems to make Jesus seem like He is muttering to Himself. For example, in this chapter, there is the story of the devil that the Apostles could not cast out. And when the man told the Savior that His Apostles were not able to cast the devil out, Jesus' response was "Oh faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and suffer you?" And then He casts out the devil.

This just seems strange to me and it almost seems like something that someone with a bad or sour disposition would say. It strikes me as being an awful lot like muttering and the more I think about it, the more I wonder if it is a cultural difference of the time or perhaps a mistranslation or if there is more to the story than we have recorded, because that just does not seem like the kind of thing the Savior would say to me. It seems very lacking in compassion and as I compare it to my life it would seem to be the equivalent of say if one of my employees asked me a question and I give them the answer or perhaps even teach them the answer and then the next day they ask me the same question and instead of being patient and remind them that we went over this the day before and what did we say the answer was then, snapping at them and asking, "Are you just incapable of retaining information or what?" Now, there are definitely times when I feel like saying that with some of my employees, but it would be incredibly rude and quite petulant and so of course that is not what I say during such situations. That is why it seems kind of strange to me that some of the things it has Jesus recorded as saying seem so harsh and almost like complaining. Again perhaps it is nothing more than a cultural difference.

The same thing strikes me as being a bit strange when the Savior replies to what seem to be genuine statements. Now, the Savior obviously knows what is in our hearts and so He sees better than we do and understands better than we do what the people are truly saying, but His answers just seem strange at times. For example a man tells the Lord that He wants to follow Him and I presume be one of His disciples but needs to first return and bury his dead father. The Savior replies that the man needs to let the dead bury the dead and he needs to go preach the Kingdom of God. Now, that just seems like a really strange thing to say to me. As I was saying though, the Lord sees into the hearts of men and so perhaps there was more than just a desire to go bury his father in the man's request. And again, it could also be a cultural difference in how they talked back then.

Now the one statement that I can agree with and makes perfect sense to me is the last one. The man wants to go say goodbye to his family at his house and then will follow Jesus. Jesus replies that no man who has put his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the Kingdom of God. This one I can understand. We need to give it our all if we are going to serve the Lord. We can't have doubts and we need to make sure that we are fully committed to the Gospel. I am re-listening to this past April's General Conference as I drive to and from work and recently listened to Elder Dallin H. Oak's talk on desires. It is a great talk and I highly recommend it to everyone to re-read it, but in it Elder Oak talks about having the right kind of desires and to make sure that we are working towards those desires. Now that of course is a summary and does not begin to do the talk justice, but it is the same idea. If we are to desire something, we must do so with our whole hearts, including desiring the Kingdom of God. As we do so, we will find God helps us in ways we never dreamed of. We just need to make sure it is our real desire and that we are asking for God's help. Until tomorrow.

The Woman with an Issue of Blood

Today I read Luke 8 which contains the stories of Jesus casting out the legion of devils into the pigs, the raising of Jarius' daughter, the healing of the woman with an issue of blood as well as the parable of the sower and the calming of the sea. We have already talked about most of these stories and Luke does not really add any new perspective on them so we will not revisit them, but we have put off talking about the woman with an issue of blood until this version of the story.

The story goes that a woman had an issue of blood for twelve years. She had spent all that she had on doctors trying to cure whatever was causing her to have this problem. Until about 4 years ago, I did not realize that the word issue here is being used as a verb as in the phrase "issuing forth". I had always thought by the term issue of blood, it had meant a blood disease or perhaps even cancer. It was not until I bought a talk on CD in Nauvoo 4 years ago that I realized that her issue of blood was actually her monthly period, but that it had gone on non-stop for 12 years! I could not even imagine that. I have a hard enough time imagining what it must be like for a woman each month, but to have it go on every single day for 12 years, that is completely unimaginable to me.

Now, under the Mosaic law, when a woman was having her period, she had to be isolated from everyone and was considered unclean. I firmly believe this is because in those days there was not good medical options and so if some of the blood were to get on someone else and infect them if the woman was sick, there was little to no way to treat the person. Most of the prohibitions in the Mosaic law were to help the people be as healthy as possible during a time when there was little to no medical attention to be had or ways to properly cook certain meats, like pork. But we are getting away from the main story.

When a woman's body was going through her monthly cycle, she was considered unclean and had to remain apart from everyone. Can you imagine this woman's loneliness and how she must have felt being isolated from EVERYONE for 12 years? She could not leave her house, her family could not visit her, her husband if she had one could not come see her, she saw next to no one for over a decade. Heaven alone knows how she got food so she could eat and she saw practically no one except the doctors who would come to check on her. The stories make it sound like she had been quite wealthy at the beginning of this ordeal because it states that she had spent all she had on physicians and was not any better than when she started.

As I think about it, I can't help but wonder, what did this poor woman need to learn that she had to suffer this horrible malady? We never suffer anything needlessly in this life, except as a result of our own sins such as perhaps a broken bone from acting silly and falling off of something. But a trial like this, there is a definite purpose behind it and the person needs to learn something. I truly wonder, what was this woman like before this that she needed to go through this? What ever she was like before this, we know that after 12 years of this, she was humble, had faith in Christ and was very, very brave.

I say she was very brave because think about it. She has been isolated for 12 years. Do you think there is even a remote chance that someone in that city did not know of her? I'm sure even 6 year old children knew about the woman who always stayed locked up in her house. I'm quite confident that the throng of people that were surrounding Jesus would probably have recognized her too. Now, I do not know the penalty under the Mosaic law for breaking such isolation for a woman, but I guarantee it would not have been pleasant and may have been as harsh as a stoning, I do not know. Can you imagine how terrified she must have been to leave her house, even disguised as she surely must have been, knowing that anyone of the hundreds of people surrounding your goal could recognize you and you would face the penalty for it? What bravery she had, what faith she had that Jesus could heal her!

And as we know, her faith was well rewarded. She manages to touch his clothing and is instantly healed. Jesus notices as well, no big surprise, that someone touched Him and healing power left Him. He asks who had touched Him, but He knew full well who it was. He was just giving the woman another opportunity to display her faith. She rises to the challenge and introduces herself to the Lord and is blessed for her faith. Whatever she was like before her trial began, we know that it turned her into a humble, righteous woman of faith.

Just as Jesus was able to help this woman with her physical malady, Jesus can help heal our spiritual ailments if we will turn to Him with faith and full purpose of heart. We all have our trials in this life that are meant to strip us of pride and help us become more like Christ. It is up to us how we choose to handle them and if we will rise to our challenge or not. Hopefully we will learn what we need to like this woman did and when our opportunity to be healed of our spiritual malady comes, we will take it as this woman did. Until tomorrow.

Increasing Faith and Befriending Sinners

Today I read Luke 7 which contains the stories of Jesus healing the centurions servant, the raising of the widow's son who had died, Jesus proclaiming that no prophet was greater than John the Baptist, and the story of the woman who anoints Christ's feet in the Pharisee's home. I sometimes wonder as I read the scriptures if I am too harsh in my judgments and thoughts that I have when I read them. I say this because I read the story of the healing of the centurion's servant and he tells Jesus that he does not need Him to come in person, merely say the word and the centurion knows his servant will be healed. Jesus tells His disciples who are with Him that He has never encountered such faith in all of Israel.

Typically when I read such statements, I mentally shake my head that the Jews did not have more faith. But today as I read it, I wondered if such sentiments on my part are fair. Faith is such a personal matter for all of us and how faith is built is generally the same, but can be done in so many ways that I wonder if it is fair of me to judge all the Jews for not having more faith than they did and for rejecting the Savior like that. Faith, as we know from Alma's great sermon to the Zoramites, actually starts out as hope, and as we put into practice the things we are taught or hear, hope blossoms into faith by degrees. We are not given full knowledge all at once, but rather are taught line upon line, precept upon precept, just like a child. As I watch my daughter progress and grow it is a marvel to me and I love to watch her explore her world and learn new things and it always warms my heart to see her remember things she has learned a few days or weeks ago. Her mother and I teach her things as well but we know that she will not understand it all even if we were willing to just teach her everything she would need to know in life right now. We teach her what she can understand and as she proves she has learned it, then we teach her new things. That is how faith works too.

Very, very few people are just born with great faith, it has to be cultivated, nurtured and built up. The common man during the time of Christ, was probably much like he/she is today. They are concerned with caring for their families, and trying to make it through life. A few are more religious than most, but that understanding of their religion comes largely from their leaders. So again, I'm not sure it is proper to blame them for not having more faith than they had. I mean even the Apostles doubted the Savior multiple times during His earthly ministry. So, it was just a thought I had today while reading.

The other thing that stood out to me today as I read was the story of the Pharisee whose home Jesus visited for dinner and the woman who anoints Jesus' feet. The story states that while Jesus ate, a woman comes in who cries on Jesus' feet and wipes them clean with her hair and finally rubs oil on them. The Pharisee watches all this in silence but thinks to himself that Jesus should know that the woman is a sinner if He were really a prophet. As I read this story my mind went back to my mission. I remember I was teaching the 4th discussion, which for those of you who are not familiar with the old discussion format, that was the discussion where we discuss the plan of salvation in detail, including the 3 Kingdoms of Glory.

As we were teaching this lesson, the person I was teaching had a real problem with it. She said that it was unfair to put the bad people in one place and all the good people in another one. Now, I had heard this many times before from people and had worked out my answer and I gave it to her. I responded with, would you feel comfortable if a person who was a murderer moved in next door? Would you feel safe and as carefree as you do now? Up until this point such a response would always give the person pause and they would think and then answer no they would not and my point would be made.

But this woman, she stated emphatically that she would fine with it and was still stating that God was cruel for doing this to those who chose a life of sin. So I tried to push forward and stated that I would feel uncomfortable if a known murderer moved in next door to me. But then she said something I had never thought of before. She said that if we don't welcome such people and befriend them, how can they get better and improve? How can they be expected to change? It stunned me into silence for a few moments before replying that she was correct, however at the point we were talking about it was too late to change. But her point got me thinking in a way I had not before. And as I was reading this account this morning, it came back to my memory because this Pharisee wanted nothing to do with this woman who was a sinner. And how many people avoid or withhold their friendship from sinners because they are sinners?

Now, I do not find it comfortable to be around drug addicts, or murderers or people like that, but I have several friends who smoke and almost all my non-member associates and friends drink alcohol, I just choose not to be around them when they indulge in such behaviors. But I am still their friend and still hope to influence them for good. And I think that is what God would have us do in such situations. Hopefully I have given you food for thought as that woman did for me so long ago. Until tomorrow.