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.

Using the Sabbath Day for the Lord's Work

Today I read Luke 6 which is basically a mini-version of the Sermon on the Mount as well as Jesus talking to the Pharisees about what is lawful to do on the Sabbath. He also calls and sets apart His Apostles in this chapter. Reading this chapter has made me wonder, did the Pharisees ever work, or do anything at all productive? They seem to always be around the Savior and causing trouble. Now, I realize that there were probably thousands of Pharisees in Israel when Jesus was a live, but it just seems ridiculous he way they never left Him alone. Now, it could also just be the way the scriptures are written. We established yesterday that obviously not everything that the Savior did is recorded in the scriptures so perhaps they were not nearly as invasive and pervasive as the scriptures make them out to be.

The Pharisees had a problem with the Savior and His Apostles doing "work" on the Sabbath day, namely picking, shucking and eating corn, and then later healing a man with a withered hand. It honestly reminded me of my first Sunday in the mission field. I don't know how it is today, but when I was in the Missionary Training Center, Sunday's were very laid back and were almost a second preparation day with how much free time you are given. Well when I went out into the mission field and was with my trainer, we went to church that first Sunday and then got fed lunch by a member and I asked him what was next, if we were going back to the apartment. He replied that we had lots to do and we might even do some tracting. I was a little shocked as this was very different from the MTC and stated that it was the Sabbath. His reply has stayed with me all these years. He replied back saying, "Isn't this the Lord's work?"

Despite all the rules and commandments we follow as Latter-day Saints, perhaps nothing gives me more weird looks than when I explain what keeping the Sabbath day holy to me and other Latter-day Saints means. Even my good, go to church every Sunday Christian friends look at me askance when I tell them that we do not spend money, work, or cause anyone else to work on the Sabbath as part of keeping it holy. This is because the world views Sunday as a party day, and even if they go to church on Sunday, which is rare in most places, they feel they have done their dues and now they don't have to think about God or church again for another week.

I don't know when or where it happened, but somewhere along the way, Americans stopped treating their religion with the respect and honor it deserves. I was sitting here thinking about it, and I thought of those that adhere to the Muslim faith. Now, there are of course those zealots that go too far, but those aside, those men and women who adhere to the Muslim faith, take it very seriously and are extremely devoted. They are a good example to the rest of us and how we should give our faith more attention. It's sad that Christians, generally speaking of course, don't take their faith more seriously. They might go to church on Sunday, although the vast majority don't, but that's where keeping the Sabbath day holy ends for them.

We could learn a thing or two from those of other faiths who actually follow the adherents of their religion and live it like they should. The Muslim faith may have gotten a bad rap from those zealots who use their faith to commit atrocities, but the vast majority of those who follow the Muslim faith are good, upstanding people who follow the tenets of their religion with a zeal to be envied. Even Latter-day Saints could be better about following the commandments, especially about keeping the Sabbath day holy. It is one of those commandments God has intentionally not given us a long list of dos and don'ts so that we can use our judgment and grow.

As we do the Lord's work on the Sabbath day, we will grow in righteousness and the rest of the week will be easier. It truly is meant as a day of rest from the cares of the rest of the world. If we treat it as such, we will be amazed at what it does for us in our daily lives. Until tomorrow.

Jesus Recruits Peter, James and John

Today I read Luke 5, where Jesus calls Peter, James and John as well as Matthew to be His disciples. This chapter also contains the story of the man with palsy that was let in through the roof of the building where Jesus was, and Jesus cleansing a leper. But the story that struck me the most is the calling of Peter and the other fishermen.

It's very, very obvious that the scriptures only contain the bare bones of what actually happened during the life and ministry of the Savior. I do not think that even the Savior Himself could just casually walk by some fishermen cleaning their nets, say the words, "Follow me" and they would do it. Most people would just look at such a person askew and then shake their heads at the weird person and go back to what they were doing in the first place. But Luke sheds some light on the subject.

Jesus had such a great multitude that there was no where for Him to go to teach them when He sees Peter, James and John and their ships. So He walks over to them and finds them cleaning their nets. He somehow gets Peter to take Him out a little ways in His ship and then teaches the multitude. Peter hears what Jesus is preaching and is obviously impressed. This adds more to the next part of the story too.

After Jesus finishes preaching to the multitude, and to Peter and his crew, Jesus tells Peter to lower the nets into the water. Peter replies that he and his crew have been fishing all night and have caught nothing. But then he tells Jesus at at His word, he will lower the nets as he has been asked to do. Without the knowledge that Peter had just heard the Savior preach to the multitude, this seems a very odd thing for someone to agree to do. Now, it is entirely possible that the Spirit that Jesus surely must have radiated could have touched Peter, and others, from the beginning. After all, most if not all of us have met people that just seem to radiate goodness, just like I'm sure most of you have met people who radiate wrongness, or an evil feeling from them. So it is very possible that Peter would have done all this just from feeling the Spirit the Lord has about Him. But for my logical brain, this makes sense to me that Peter was more willing to lower the nets after a night of no success because he heard the Savior speak His doctrine and it resonated within him.

Now, the story is recorded that as they lowered and raised the nets, they caught the largest haul of fish they had ever seen. It was so large, that it started to break the nets, so they had to stop, call over the ship where James and John were and have them also lower their nets to help. Between the two ships, they were able to bring up the haul of fish, but it was so massive that it started to sink both ships, surely the single greatest haul of fish those poor fishermen had ever seen in their lives or perhaps ever even heard of. Peter immediately recognizes it is all because of Jesus and declares his unworthiness. And from that time forward, Peter, James and John become the Lord's disciples.

But have you ever stopped to wonder why Jesus had them catch those fish? Surely He could have convinced them another way. So why have them haul in the greatest catch of their lives and then just give up their trade? There is no clear cut answer because the scriptures do not say, but here is my thought. Peter, was a married man and had a family. It is possible that James and/or John did as well. It's all well and good for them to just leave their trade and follow Jesus, but how would their families be cared for if they do this? The Lord, in His mercy, gave them a method to provide for their families and to follow Him at the same time. He gave them a haul of fish that when sold, was great enough to live off of for 3 years, if not longer. That is what I believe happened. I believe the Savior was caring for the families of those fishermen so that He could take their men, their financial providers away for His purposes, but not leave the families destitute. It was a tender mercy of the Lord.

Now, no where in the scriptures does it implicitly state this, but it is my belief and once you think about it, I suspect many of you will feel I am right. It is entirely possible that Jesus sat down with Peter, James and John and had a whole conversation with them about what "following Him" would mean and how they can sell these fish to make sure their families are well cared for, we just don't know. But there are many, many things Jesus said and did that we do not have a record of, John tells us that at the end of his book, so I do not think it is too hard to imagine that there is a LOT more to this story than we have recorded here. But we do know that the Lord loves and cares for His people and has mercy for them, so I will continue to believe that the way I have outlined it, is the way it happened. It makes me happy to think that Jesus cared for the families of His Apostles while they were with Him. He certainly cares for all of us now, and He does not change yesterday, today or forever the scriptures tell us. Until tomorrow.

Rule Your Passions, Don't Let them Rule You

Today I read Luke 4, which covers Jesus' temptations and also His visit back to His home town where He reads the scriptures and tells them that the scripture is about Him. They then ask Him to perform the miracles that He did in Capernaum and He tells them that He won't and they get angry at Him and try to throw Him off a cliff. One thing I have noticed is a running theme this read through of the New Testament, the Jews do not have mastery over their emotions, at all. It seems like every time they get upset with Christ, they try and kill Him. They don't even hesitate either. Now, one could argue that they are following the lay that they have had for almost 2000 years and that is technically true, however, you will notice that the people in the synagogue don't try and cast Him off a cliff until He refuses to do any miracles for them. Then, and only then, do they try and kill Him. Not when He tells them that the scripture He just read about the Messiah was about Him, but only after He had, at least in their eyes, snubbed them. That to me shows a profound lack of control on their part.

Now, crimes of passion I can kind of understand. You are hurt so incredibly deeply, that you just act without thinking. It doesn't make them right and God will still hold such people accountable for them because we are here to learn to control such emotions, but I can at least understand how it can happen. But trying to kill someone that you have known their whole life, and perhaps all of yours too, just because He said "no" to you? That's extreme bordering on the ridiculous. It's no wonder that Jesus spent three years trying to teach the Jews of that time temperance and patience and teaching them to monitor their thoughts and that it wasn't enough to just not go through with the actions that they were thinking about doing. They had to control the thoughts that lead to such actions.

Now, in other instances the Jews were incensed because Jesus would claim to be the Messiah, and that makes sense that the Jews would become outraged at that. They had been conditioned over multiple generations, like I said almost 2000 years, to not tolerate any amount of blaspheme or departure from the truth. This was because they were very, very errant children and at the slightest provocation, would go searching after other gods and so any dissention in the ranks had to be quelled almost instantly, I get it. It's just such a different culture though than what I am used to that it is hard to wrap my mind around it. If someone went around today claiming to be God or the Son of God even, most people would just look at him/her askew and go on their way and would not think twice about it except to maybe relate it as a funny experience to friends later.

Case in point, I remember about 4 years ago, I was in downtown Louisville, KY assisting as an adult chaperone for a Youth Conference and we were in a park and at the edge of the park was a curbside "prophet". One of those people who stand up in crowded places and preach doom and gloom and how the world needs to repent. Not one single person paid him any mind. He was too far away for me to get more than the gist of what he was saying but literally hundreds of people just walked, rode or drove right on by him without more than a strange "what are you doing" kind of of look. Not one person was upset, not one person was outraged that he was, so called, forcing his religion down their throats, they just left him alone. It's a completely different culture than it was even 100 years ago.

But that is not to say people are less spiritual these days. People always have the things of the spirit in mind, even if only to mock them. But the scriptures are true that many people are out there searching for more meaning to their lives and for the truth. I am honestly, and truly happy for anyone who finds religion that makes them happy and helps them be a better person. We are all trying to make it to the same goal, not everyone takes the same path, and our Heavenly Father understands that. That is why He will reward us all a little differently based on our desires and what we were able to accomplish in this life, as we have talked about in the past.

But since the people in the days of Christ were so different, I can't help but wonder what it would have been like to live in those days. Would I have been one of the outraged Jews and tried to stone and kill Christ just because He claimed, rightly so, to be the Son of God? Or would I have felt the Spirit testify to me that what I was hearing is true? I guess I will never know, but in a way, I'm glad I don't have to find out. Because I know what would happen if I heard the truth in this day and age, because I have, and I accepted it whole heartedly and have never looked back. And it was the best decision I have ever made. Until tomorrow.

John the Baptist Taught Us to Serve One Another

Today I read Luke 3, which deals mostly with John the Baptist. In this chapter, some people wonder about John and if he is the promised Messiah or not. I can certainly understand where the confusion comes from, after all, John the Baptist is the forerunner for the Savior. In that capacity, John is preparing the people who come to hear him to accept the Savior after him. He does this by teaching the higher law to the Jews.

We know that the natural man is an enemy to God. The natural man looks out for his own interests instead of those of his/her fellow man first. The commandments the Jews were given with the Law of Moses reflect this: an eye for an eye and such. What John, and later Jesus, were teaching was radical new doctrine for the Jews. Those that have two cloaks, give to those who have none. That was not a concept that most people had in those days. It's not a concept that most people understand these days either.

Just the other night, my wife and I were talking before going to sleep about giving to the poor and the homeless. She and her little brother had an opportunity earlier that day to assist someone they saw standing on a corner of the street asking for help. She mentioned how happy and good it made her feel to help that woman and how she was glad and fortunate to be able to assist her. We went on to talk about assisting those we come in contact with and she reminded me of a story that one of the General Authorities of the church had told during the last session of General Conference. He told a story of how he and his family were going out to eat and a homeless person came up to their car asking for money and he sent the person away. But the General Authorities father asked the man to come back and gave the man some money. The General Authority asked his father why he did that and that he had no idea what the man was going to use the money for. The father replied that it did not matter, it was not his place to decide what the person did with the money, it was only his place to give what he had.

All too many Latter-day Saints like to read the scriptures, especially scriptures like Mosiah 4, where we are commanded to assist the poor and somehow twist the scriptures so that, at least to them, it means help them in all ways other than monetarily. And yet, in Mosiah 4, King Benjamin blatantly states that we are to give of our substance to those that ask if we have it to give. And if we don't have it to give, we should say to ourselves that if we had it, we would give it. Every time in the scriptures we read about a Zion society, it states that there were no poor among them. But the reason there is no poor among them is because they made it that way. It's not like money rained down from heaven and bam everyone was equal and had enough for their needs. It is because those who had, gave and helped in every way they could. And those that had not, gave and assisted in other ways. When we die, I guarantee we will not be thinking to ourselves, I wish I had earned more money while alive. But it is extremely possible we might think to ourselves, I wish I had helped so and so when I had the chance. I will never forget a time I passed up an opportunity to serve someone in need and passed them up because I felt I did not have the time because I was running late. I'm not sure I'll ever forgive myself for not helping that man when I had the chance. I honestly don't know what I'll say if Jesus looks at me and asks me why I did not help that man who He had put in my way to assist. I doubt I'll be able to look Him in the eye.

In most instances we are not blessed with the gift of being selfless, we have to cultivate it through experiences and through our actions, just like all spiritual gifts. Some are born with it, but most of us have to earn it by doing it. For some, it does not even occur to them to think of others before themselves. It is really sad, but I recognize that it is true. John is trying to teach the Jews that very principle in this chapter. Jesus spent His entire ministry trying to teach others to serve one another. Our modern day Apostles and Prophets still spend all their time trying to get us to serve each other. We need to learn that lesson before it is too late to learn it and we spend an eternity regretting it. Until tomorrow.

Jesus Teaches at the Temple as a 12 year old

Today I read Luke 2, the classic story of Christ's birth. I think just about everyone in America knows the story that Joseph and Mary had to go to Bethlehem to be counted in a census and that Mary was 9 months pregnant at the time and that all the inns were full. So they went and stayed in a stable which was little more than a cave and Jesus was laid for the first time in a manger, or a feeding trough.

I think it is very telling that Jesus frequently refers to Himself as the good Shepard and the only people to witness His first night of life besides His own parents and perhaps a midwife were shepards in the fields watching over their flocks. I know there is no such thing as coincidence when it comes to the Lord, but that particular part of the Savior's birth story has always made me smile.

I have already mentioned this before, but my favorite part of the story of Jesus' birth is the fact that He was born in the lowliest way possible. He could have had Himself born into royalty or any other circumstances that He wanted, but He chose to be born in this manner. It sets the tone for His entire life, a life of service without embellishment, as the servant of all.

Luke is the only one to record that when Mary and Joseph came to the temple to offer sacrifices to God for the birth of Jesus, they encountered Simeon and Anna, two very devout servants of God. Simeon had been promised by the Holy Ghost that he would behold the Savior in the flesh before he died. Anna was a woman who had been married for 7 years with her husband who then passed away and was a widower for 84 years after that, spending her time in the temple serving God in the best way she knew how. When she saw the Savior she knew instantly who He was and gave thanks to God that she had lived to see Him in the flesh. I wonder if when we see Him will we recognize Him as swiftly as Anna did?

Luke also records the story of Jesus and His earthly family going to Jerusalem for the passover when He was twelve years old. As the story goes, they came and had the feast and then Mary, Joseph and their children started back to Nazareth with a group of family and friends who had also come up to Jerusalem for the feast. I had always wondered as a child how they could have left Jesus behind, then as a teenager I got left somewhere by my parents. It was only for about an hour but it made me realize how things like that can happen, especially when the parents have other children to care for. Once they realized their mistake as they stopped on that first night, they turned back to search for Him. Now it says after 3 days they found Him, it does not specify if that includes the travel time or not, but think about that for a moment. Jesus, a 12 year old, was alone in Jerusalem, for between 3 - 5 days. And He was just fine. That is incredible to me, although it is not surprising since at this point in time He already knew who He was and what His mission was.

Luke states that when they found Him, Jesus was at the temple talking with the doctors and He was asking them questions. However, Joseph Smith corrects that to say they were asking Jesus questions and hearing His answers and were marveling at His answers and wisdom. Now, the modern day prophets have taught that Jesus was born with the veil over His memories, just like you and I were. He had to be taught line upon line, precept upon precept just like the rest of us do. The difference though between Jesus and us, is that He had angelic tutors. We do not know when Jesus' tutoring began or when He first learned that He was the Son of God, but we know it was before He was 12 years old! I would assume Jesus was taught most of what He needed to know before He turned 8 years old, the age of accountability and could sin. I suggest that because He was a perfect man and had no need of repentance of baptism for the remission of sins. In order for that to be true, He would have needed to know who He was so that He could have the strength to resist those sins by the time He reached the age of accountability at 8 years old. At least that is my thought.

Sadly, these few verses are all we have of Jesus' childhood. Matthew adds a few more but really it is a small amount to have to cover 30 years of life but I am grateful we have even that much. Tomorrow we begin the Savior's ministry again through a new perspective and with the Holy Ghost as our companion to teach us what we need to know and how best to apply what we take away from our reading in our own lives. Until tomorrow.

The Angel Gabriel Visits Zacharias and Mary

Today I read Luke 1. Luke is written to the Gentiles, or non-Jews, it is commonly thought that specifically he was writing to the Greeks. Luke's information came mostly from the Apostle Paul, who he traveled with. Luke is also thought to have interviewed Mary, the mother of Jesus, hence why he has such a comprehensive recording of the birth of John and Jesus. Luke contains more parables than the other Gospels do and focuses a lot more on the teachings of Jesus and will provide some good, new insights into the stories we have already read in Matthew and Mark.

Luke actually starts out about 1 full year before Jesus is born by recounting the story of the birth of His cousin, John the Baptist. I have never been fully sure why Luke records the miraculous birth of John, perhaps just to show that his birth too was special. Or perhaps it was just to record it since it hadn't been done yet and Luke knew how important John was. I've often felt that there is more to the story of Zacharias and the angel Gabriel than we have written. Zacharias was a priest performing the duties of a priest when the angel Gabriel appeared to him and told him that he and his wife would have a baby. Zacharias asks how this will be seeing that his wife is old, presumably post-menopausal. The story goes on to say that Gabriel states that he is an angel from God and that because Zacharias did not believe him, he will be unable to speak until his son is born.

Now that seems rather harsh to me personally. Granted, with God all things are possible, I know this, but Zacharias' question seems a perfectly natural one to me and that is why I think there is more to the story than we have recorded here or perhaps I'm reading it wrong. I just don't know but it seems like a harsh punishment for such a simple, and perfectly reasonable question to me. I also think that because also in Luke 1, we have the recording of Gabriel visiting Mary and she asks an almost identical question and is not punished at all.

When Mary gets her visit from Gabriel, she asks how it is possible since she has not had sex before. Gabriel then gives her the explanation and tells her that with God nothing is impossible. Mary then replies that she is willing to do whatever the Lord asks of her. The same reaction, very different outcome. That is why I think there was a bit more to the conversation with Zacharias and the angel than we have recorded. If it were me and my position was the exact same as his and an angel told me I would have a son after my wife had gone through menopause, I'm pretty sure I would at least think how is that possible if not say it just out of curiosity. I think probably Gabriel said something similar to what he told Mary and Zacharias still did not believe him, but I don't know for sure, it is just my thought.

One thing is for sure though, God was very involved in the conception and birth of those two men. Both had a job to perform on the earth and it was extremely important that they arrive close to the same time so that John could baptize Jesus. The naming of John is pretty significant too from what I have been taught. I have mentioned already I believe that I had the good fortune of having my own mother be my seminary teacher for the New Testament. One of the things she taught us was that when John was born and his family was trying to name him Zacharias and she insisted instead that his name be John, was that she was breaking Jewish custom if not the law. I'm not exactly sure how, but I remember quite clearly being taught that to speak out like that, even though it was her own son, was not a proper thing to do at all. The parents, earthly parents in the case of Jesus, were very remarkable men and women who had been handpicked by the Lord to raise these two men into adulthood and ensure that they were prepared to perform the tasks they had agreed to in the pre-mortal life.

I'm glad Luke recorded these stories personally. Some might think they are superfluous and unneeded, but any good scriptorian will tell you that without the proper background, it is often impossible to understand the scripture the way God intended them to be read. Knowing the background of the scriptures, or people in them, is often essential to understanding them. I am very glad Luke took the time to record the conception and birth's of two of the greatest, THE greatest in Jesus' case, men to ever walk this earth. And this is just the beginning! We have almost an entire month left of reading the other things Luke has recorded for us. I can't wait! Until tomorrow.

Signs Follow those who Follow Christ

Today I read Mark 16, Mark's very brief account of the Savior and His doings after He is resurrected. Part of this chapter states that the Savior appeared unto His Apostles as they sat together eating a meal and He upbraids, or scolds them for not believing those who had seen Him. As I was reading this part of the chapter this morning, I couldn't help but wonder how I would react to someone telling me they had seen the Savior. But then again, the circumstances would be completely different. These men and women knew the Savior in the flesh and had watched Him die and have never understood what He meant when He had told them that He must die and be resurrected. So I can understand why they might not believe them, although you would think with 4 of their close friends telling them all that they had seen them that they might believe. It's not exactly the kind of prank that one pulls on friends.

The other thought as I read this part and wondered at the Apostles disbelief was the prophecy of the Savior telling us to beware of false Christs and when some cry he is in the desert or the secret places, believe it not. Of course I had read this part dozens of time before today, but today got me thinking about it. Why would a false Christ need to hide? Well for one thing it is because he/she would be counterfeit. The Lord always has worked out in the open. Even when the Pharisees came to get Him after the Garden of Gethsemane, He bluntly tells them that they could have arrested Him at any time because He taught openly in the market but they chose instead to come and arrest Him at night when no one else was around. Satan is the one who operates under the cover of darkness where no one can watch him. Satan is the one who coaxes us when we are alone to make bad choices. It is Satan who needs to hide, not the Lord.

The other part of the chapter that stood out to me today was the last part where Jesus sends His Apostles and disciples out into the world to preach His Gospel. Mark tells us that signs shall follow them, that they shall speak in tongues and shall cast out devils and shall take up serpents without being hurt and a myriad of others. I have often wondered how some can accuse Latter-day Saints of not being Christians when these same signs follow them. Missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints learn foreign languages at a remarkable rate and sometimes at a miraculous rate and any missionary who has learned a foreign language will tell you that they had help. Missionaries have cast out devils, healed the sick, taken up serpents without being hurt and all other manner of like signs, and yet there are those who would declare we are not Christians. I do not understand why they would say such things when the Savior Himself through His Apostles and disciples tell us that such are His servants.

I also wonder why some would say that baptism is not necessary for salvation when Jesus declares it Himself that we must believe AND be baptized to be saved. Sometimes I wonder if people bother to read the scriptures at all! Tomorrow we start the book of Luke which is the last of the Synoptic Gospels. We will read a lot of the same stories and parables we have already read and will gain new insights to them and will read lots of new ones that we have not had a chance to read yet. Through it all, if we read with the Spirit, the Lord will teach us that which He would have us learn. And that is what is most important. Until tomorrow.

He Died for Us

Today I read Mark 15, a very straight forward account of the Savior being crucified. I like history and especially like to learn about ancient cultures and what they were like and the people, but the Romans have always sickened me. They always struck me as a people without any civilization despite their cities, and their taking over most of the known, to them, world. Any people that would built the Colosseum and watch people kill each other for sport is just disturbing to me. Although, I guess our culture is not too far off the mark, although we justify it to ourselves that it is fake and entertainment, but the sheer fact that we make such films is disturbing enough.

I bring this up because despite his knowing full well that Jesus was innocent, Pilate still offered Him up to be killed. Now, we talked already about the character of Pilate when we read the account of Jesus being crucified in Matthew, but it still boggles my mind that it would happen. I also wonder why it was necessary for Jesus to die by crucifixion. I know that was the Roman's preferred method of killing people, but He was God and could have influenced them another way. But that is not how God works, I guess He was merely prophesying because He knew that is what the Roman's would invent. You just have to wonder what kind of sick, evil mind would invent something like like a cross to be crucified on. It is one of the most painful methods to killed on since it restricts the airflow and forces you to stand up to take a breath and so once your strength gives out, you will suffocate. Not to mention nailing you to it so you are in pain the entire time.

And our beloved Savior refused to take anything that would dull the pain, or rather dull His wits, and He did it for us. It was this act that ensured that all mankind who ever lived would be resurrected. He did it for love of each one of us. We owe it to Him to be the best we can be each and every day of our lives. Don't let His suffering be in vain, live your life so that when you come to face to face with Him, you can be proud of the life you have led. Until tomorrow.

The Last Supper

Today I read Mark 14 which is Mark's account of the Last Supper and the visit to the Garden of Gethsemane. Mark's record of what happens is almost the exact same as found in Matthew with a few differences. I had to wonder though about this chapter, when Jesus sends His two Apostles into the city to find the room where they eat the passover, He tells them that the person who they talk to will have the room prepared already for them. You have to wonder just why a person would have a room ready with 13 places upstairs to eat of the Passover. I know that there are plenty of stories where a person feels the urge to do something and doesn't know why until after the fact, but it is generally something kind of small. I can't imagine setting 13 places at a table and preparing food for people and not knowing what it was for. Although perhaps the person did in fact know that it was for the Savior. Maybe the Spirit told him. But it made me think and wonder about it.

Now, the common thought among the Christian world, although I don't know where it comes from, is that this house that Jesus and His Apostles eat at is actually the house of Mark's parents and his family. It is commonly thought that Mark and his family were disciples of Jesus before His death and so perhaps they somehow knew they were preparing spaces for Jesus and His Apostles, we just don't know. It is also a commonly held thought that the unnamed young man who followed after Jesus and was dressed only in a sheet was Mark. It makes sense seeing how Mark is the only one to mention it, but again I don't know where that thought comes from since the scriptures do not say.

The rest of the chapter is much the same as Matthew records. It covers the dinner the Apostles and Jesus had, although not as in depth as John does. It records the institution of the sacrament. I find it interesting that Joseph Smith adds a few thoughts to the sacrament that gives it a more personal touch for the Apostles. The JST adds that the sacrament is meant to remind them of that dinner that they had with the Savior and that every time they partake of the bread it is meant to remind them of that night that He brake bread with them. How sad the Savior must have been, knowing that He was leaving His friends here on the earth forever. While it is true that the sacrament is an ordinance meant to cleanse us from sin and to renew our covenants, I think that first night, He really was trying to give them something to remember Him by.

The JST also adds a different level of significance to the trip to the garden of Gethsemane for the Apostles. According to the JST, as they were going to the garden, the Apostles were heavy in their hearts and began to wonder if Jesus really was the Messiah. Remember that the Jews were looking for a military Messiah, not the Messiah to fulfill the Law of Moses and save them from their sins. Plus, I wonder what it must have looked like from the Apostles' point of view. They could feel the sadness radiating off the Savior I am sure but they had no idea why since they didn't know the scriptures prophesying this. They also had never understood what Jesus was talking about when He told them that He would be killed and resurrected. So this must have all been very confusing to them and very saddening since they did not know what was going on.

Just like with Matthew, we'll forgo talking about what Jesus did in the garden in depth until we get to Luke since I like his version the best and we'll talk more about the trial of Jesus when we get to John. I often wonder if someone should take the 4 Gospels and combine them into one big Gospel but that would never work since everyone has their favorite version of parables and stories. And that's really the reason we have 4 of them to begin with anyway. So that it can touch as many hearts as possible. Until tomorrow.

The Gospel Must be Pulished in all Nations

Today I read Mark 13 where the Savior gives the signs of His Second Coming. The JST manuscript states that Mark 13 originally read the same as Matthew 24 and so the JST version is the same as the JST Matthew 24, which we previously covered as part of the Pearl of Great Price. The way the test currently reads does not really add anything new to the knowledge we already have about the Second Coming but there are a couple of items that stood out to me today in my reading.

The Savior mentions that before the end comes, the Gospel must first be published among all nations. This of course has not currently happened. Although there is speculation as to what constitutes the Gospel being published in other nations. I am not that old, but I am old enough to remember the last part of the Cold War. I remember the feeling that never, in a million years would the Gospel be allowed into Russia or East Germany. Then, what felt like overnight to a nine year old anyway, the Berlin wall came down completely unexpectedly and again what felt like overnight to me being so young, we became friends with the Russians and the Germans. No one could believe it. And yet, here we are, 20 years later. Two of my best friends in the whole world, one is married to a Russian girl and the other to a German girl. It would have been almost unthinkable in my parents day, or even my older brother's. But the Lord is able to overcome barriers when He is ready to do so. No one thought that the Iron Curtain would ever fall, let alone as quickly as it did. And yet it did.

Some, including myself, theorize that the reason we are not in the Middle Eastern countries or China itself yet, as far as missionary activities are concerned I should say, is because we are not ready to preach the Gospel there yet. When I was a missionary about 10 years ago, there were a little over 60,000 missionaries world wide. China at the time had a little over 1.5 billion people in it, about 1/6th the entire world's population. 60,000 missionaries is not nearly enough to effectively preach the Gospel in China. I sometimes wonder if 60,000 missionaries would be enough just to cover Beijing and Shanghai! But even though we do not have a missionary presence over there, we have members of the church who live in China. There are a couple of branches in China. There are people who get baptized here that move back home. I myself baptized several people from Mainland China who have since returned back home. The Gospel is being preached, just not in the traditional proselyting sense. And most of that I am convinced is because we as a church are not ready to handle the responsibility. When we are ready, the Lord will move just as quickly as He did with the Berlin wall and we will be reeling with how fast events moved.

I also think that we as members of the church need to do a better job of sharing the Gospel with those around us. We are often accused of "shoving our religion down other people's throats" by those not of our faith. And yet there are so many people who when they find out I am a Latter-day Saint just ask me question after question after question. And they are always positive questions and genuinely curious to know what we believe. It is very rare indeed that I get asked how I can sleep at night or another antagonistic question. It does happen, but I would say it is only 1 out of 100 questions I get asked. It really is very rare. The fact of the matter is, people are curious about what we believe and who we are. When I was in high school I once gave a presentation on Latter-day Saint theology that was supposed to last about 15 minutes and went on for an hour and 30 minutes because of questions my classmates asked.

As we get better about opening our mouths and not being shy about who we are, or as Paul puts it, being ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, then we will have more missionaries and more countries will open up. I firmly believe the Lord is waiting on us as a people to be ready before He opens those countries to us because He will not give us more than we can handle. It is up to us to be prepared and to prepare our children in whatever way we can. As we do that, we will see amazing things happen. Remember, the Lord can bring down the Berlin wall in a day, He can certainly overcome other political barriers. It's all up to us. Until tomorrow.

They Neither Marry nor are Given in Marriage

Today I read Mark 12 which starts out with the Savior telling the parable of the wicked husbandmen to the Pharisees, which we have already covered. This chapter also has the question the Sadducees asked the Savior about marriage and the resurrection. I have never understood why they even bothered to ask the Savior that question since they don't believe in the resurrection in the first place. Why bother to ask Him such a question?

The Savior's answer however gives us perspective about the workings of heaven and the things that have to be done here on earth. I have been asked many things about Latter-day Saint theology in my years on this earth. Many of my friends have asked me just about every question you can think of. The question I get asked the most is actually about polygamy followed up by the nature of God. However, the one question I almost never get asked is why we do work for the dead. Which is interesting to me because I would think that would be the most confusing thing to other people, but I almost never get asked about it.

But the reason we do the work for the dead, is because it cannot be done once the person is out of their body and it has to be done before they can be resurrected. So for the people that fall into this category, that means the work has to be done vicariously for them by those who are still inside their bodies and alive to do the work. We believe God is bound by laws, just like we all are. And God cannot break those laws or He will cease to be God. Part of those laws include that no unclean thing can enter into His presence or He will cease to be God. That means that no one can go back to live with God, no one. Because everyone has committed a sin, except for little babies who die before having a chance to do anything. But the Atonement of Jesus Christ makes it possible to be cleansed from sin and to make it back to live with God. He vicariously paid the price for our sins so that we would not have to.

But we must still make certain covenants with God and participate in certain ordinances to be able to return to live with God. Included in those ordinances are baptism by immersion and marriage for eternity. Neither of these, along with others, can be done by someone without a body. They must be performed in this life and thus if someone died before they had a chance to do it themselves, we have a chance to perform those ordinances on their behalf, much as Jesus performed the Atonement and paid the price for sins on our behalf. That is what Jesus meant by His answer of those out of this world are neither given in marriage or marry.

The other part of this chapter that I was impressed with today was the story of the widows mite. Jesus and His Apostles were standing near the treasury where offerings are made. As they sat there several wealthy men came by and put lots of money into the treasury. I can only imagine what kind of pomp and ceremony accompanied such donations. But as they sat there, Jesus noticed a widow quietly walk up and cast in 2 mites into the treasury. Jesus took this opportunity to teach a lesson to His disciples. He told them that the widow had cast in more money than all the rest, because they had much and had cast in plenty, whereas she had almost nothing and proportionally had cast in more percentage of her worldly wealth than the others had.

I also have always looked at this story as not only did she cast in a greater percentage of what she had, but I am willing to wager that she did it with a more appropriate attitude too. I imagine that the rich men who came in and cast in their large piles of money did it with great care so that everyone would see how much they were putting into the treasury. I can almost see them being very extravagant, being loud so as to draw more attention and relishing the praise of men. Then I picture this poor, humble widow, quietly walking up in the midst of it all, putting in her her meager offering, and then walking away again without any fanfare. I imagine almost no one besides the Savior even noticed or paid her any mind at all. Jesus Himself told us in the Sermon on the Mount that this is the type of attitude we should have when making our offerings. We should care more about what God thinks of us than we should what others in he world think about us. This humble widow was a perfect example of caring more for the Lord and His opinion than others.

As we strive to increase our own spirituality and become more like the Savior, we will find that the praise of men holds less appeal for us than it once did. We will also find that we relish the Lord's work even more than we do the reward. As we grow and progress, we will find ourselves being happy just knowing that we have done what is right in the sight of God. I imagine some of you are already there. And the rest of us are striving the best way we can, one day at a time. Until tomorrow.

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

Today I read Mark 11 which contain the stories of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on the colt and being hailed as the Messiah which of course infuriates the Pharisees. I can understand why the Pharisees did not believe Jesus was the promised Messiah, but I've never understood why they hated Him so much. Now, they obviously were a people who took their blaspheme very seriously, and perhaps that's all that it is. More likely though I suspect it was more a matter of pride. The Savior had on multiple occasions insulted and tricked the Pharisees by turning their own tricks against them, so maybe it was nothing more than wounded pride. We do know that there was at least 1 Pharisee who did not hate Jesus, although he was ashamed to be associated with Him. But we'll read more about him in John.

This chapter also contains the story of Jesus cursing the fig tree, although Mark oddly enough records that it was not the proper time of year for figs, which is more than what Matthew says about it. Matthew does not mention if it is the time for figs or not, he only records that Christ cursed the tree. Now, Joseph Smith did not correct this part of the story so it leads me to wonder, why would Jesus curse the tree if it was not time for the fig tree to bear fruit? I had always figured that it was because it was actually time for figs to be on the tree and there were none so Jesus cursed it. But this one little line changes that. We all know that the Savior is not one to do something just to show off His power, or without cause. So why would He curse the tree if it was not the time for figs? I must admit I do not have an answer for this one and will ponder on it. Maybe I will learn something I can share.

This chapter also contains the story of Jesus cleansing the temple of the money changers and the merchants selling animals for sacrifice purposes. When I was younger I used to wonder why Jesus was throwing them out. But when I went to seminary it was explained to me that these people were not just selling these animals near the temple, they were actually inside the temple itself, in the outer rooms. It would kind of be the equivalent of people selling temple clothing inside the modern day temples themselves. Could you imagine, going into the temple to worship and having a table setup inside with clothing for sale? Talk about not helping to get you in the proper frame of mind to worship.

This is also the second time Jesus cleanses the money lenders out of the temple, although Mark only records this one instance. In the beginning part of His ministry, John records that Jesus cleanses the temple and casts out the money changers and merchants and tells them that His Father's house is not a house of merchandise.However, at the end of His ministry when He cleanses the temple again, He states that it is His house. This is a very interesting distinction and I have often wondered what made the difference between the first time and this second time. He has not yet started the Atonement, so I can't help but wonder why the distinct change in it being His Father's house and now it is His house.

However, that distinction aside, this story has got me thinking about proper worship in the temple. Now, we all live frantic, hectic lives with many, many things vying for our attention. Some of them are bad, some of them are just time wasters and some of them are very good. But we all need to take the time out for proper temple worship for those of my readers who are Latter-day Saints. It is an important work that has to be done and we are doing it for those who cannot do it for themselves. The temples are built for a very specific reason, and ever since President Hinkley's revelation that we can build small temples, temples are closer than they ever were before now. It is a negligence to not use the temples that are around us and if it has been a long time since you have been to the temple, I really suggest you take the time to go and worship. You will be very glad you did. Until tomorrow.

Lead People to Christ by Example

Today I read Mark 10 which includes the Pharisees trying to trap Jesus by asking Him if it is lawful for a man to divorce his wife. Jesus replies by asking what the Law of Moses had to say on the matter. They replied that Moses allowed them to be divorced as long as a bill of divorcement was given. Jesus then replies that Moses only gave that law because of the hard hearts of the Israelites and their inability to live the higher law so Moses told them it was ok to get divorced but Jesus then teaches them that divorce for any reason other than fornication is causing adultery. I have never really understood this saying and I am not really sure I will in this life so I will not dwell on it. Suffice to say, my personal thoughts are that as long as two people work at it, they can overcome any obstacle. My wife and I when we got married made an agreement that divorce was off the table. It was not even an option we could consider. It made a huge difference in our early years of being married because no matter how bad things got, we knew that we would get through it, and it forced us to. Too many people these days use divorce as an easy escape because they don't want to put in the work necessary to make a good, healthy marriage.

This chapter also contains the story of the young rich man who desired eternal life and wanted to know what he must do to obtain it. Jesus tells him to go and sell all he has and return and follow Him. The rich man does not do this of course and Jesus remarks that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter into heaven. Now there are two schools of thought on this statement. It is my understanding that there is an actual place in Israel that at the time of Christ was referred to as the Eye of a Needle, and it was a very, very narrow passage that the only way a camel could get through it was to get down on its knees and shuffle forward. Some say that it was an analogy stating that rich men, and women, must humble themselves as these camels must to enter into heaven. While this is true, no one who is prideful will enter into heaven, there is another school of thought on this statement.

Some thing that Jesus was referring to a literal camel going through a literal eye of a needle, which without God's help would indeed be impossible. I personally feel that both interpretations are correct. We must indeed humble ourselves if we wish to enter into the kingdom of Heaven but none of us are getting into Heaven on our own, we must have Jesus' help or we will all fall short as Paul says. Everyone has sinned and all have fallen short, without Jesus' help and Atonement, none of us would be able to make it back into God's presence. So I think both interpretations are accurate.

The final part of this chapter that stood out to me today as I read it, was the story of the blind man, Bartimaeus. As Jesus is passing by where Bartimaeus is sitting in the city of Jericho he calls out to Jesus asking Him to have mercy on him. The strange thing to me is that the people all around him try and make him be quiet. I really don't understand that part of the story. Why would the people tell him to stop pestering Jesus and leave Him alone? Jesus is very well known by this point, it's been almost a full 3 years and it is a well known fact that Jesus heals those who ask Him, so why would they tell Bartimaeus to be silent and leave Jesus alone? We are not told but Bartimaeus does succeed in getting Jesus' attention and Jesus heals him of his blindness and followed Jesus ever after.

How often do we stop those around us from reaching out to Jesus? How often do we tell them they are being foolish or make it harder for them to make the right choices because of how we are acting? Do we bring people to Christ by our actions and words? Or do we drive them away? Do people believe that Christ exists because of who we are and how we carry ourselves? Or do we become a stumbling block for those around us? Those are all questions we have to ask ourselves but the answers have long reaching ramifications. Not only are accountable to God for all those we might have helped, I believe we will be accountable to Him for all those who our actions influenced, either for good or for ill. None of us want to be on the wrong end of that conversation, I can promise you that. Thankfully we can choose now where we will be and how we will get to answer that conversation. Choose wisely. Until tomorrow.

Jesus Casts out a Dumb Devil and is Transfigured

Today I read Mark 9. Chapter 9 starts off with the account on the Mount of Transfiguration. The JST clarifies that the Elias that appears to Jesus is John the Baptist. Other than that, there is not much difference between the account in Mark and the account in Matthew that we have already talked about. Mark does add a conversation between the Savior and the 3 Apostles on their way down out of the Mountain about why Elias must come before the Lord. Jesus' answer is fairly simple that Elias was to prepare the way for Jesus to come and teach the people of the prophets and how the Son of Man was to suffer many things for them.

I often wonder if in the scriptures stories and conversations seem so cryptic because they are written down from someone's memory or if that really is the way people spoke back then. In the case of Jesus, for at least most of it, I think that is the way Jesus was speaking because several times it states that the Apostles did not understand Him and what He meant. I do think that was mainly so that those who were not ready to receive Him would be protected and not condemned for rejecting Him.

After leaving the Mt. of Transfiguration, Jesus rejoins the rest of His Apostles to find that they have all been trying to cast out a devil out of a little boy. It specifically states it is a dumb devil, which I suppose just means it had never spoken and caused the boy to not speak. The Apostles were perplexed because while they had previously had much success with casting out devils, this one resisted their attempts to cast him out of the boy. The Savior, of course, is able to cast out the devil just fine and the boy is calm and returned to his father. The Apostles asked the Savior why they were so unsuccessful in casting out the devil and Jesus tells them that it requires prayer and fasting.

I have often wondered what was so different about this experience than the previous attempts the Apostles had in casting out devils. Why was this one so different from all the rest of the times they tried to cast out devils? The only thing I can think of is how they were living their lives up to this point. In the past, the Savior had sent them out to preach the Gospel and it was while on this endeavor that they reported they could cast out devils in His name. This time however, they were merely waiting for the Savior, Peter, James and John to return from the mountain when they were told about the boy's condition. So perhaps they were not in a spiritual frame of mind like they were when they were out spreading the word of God. At least that is all I can think of.

This chapter also contains the story of the Apostles arguing who will be greatest among them. The Savior tries to teach them that the greatest among them must be the servant of all. I very much doubt they understood what He was trying to teach them here. It is a concept that not many people seem to get. It always seems like those with the money and power in this life are those who expect others to serve them, not the other way around. At least that is how it is here in America, I do not know how it is in other countries but I cannot imagine it is very different considering what the Lord teaches us in Doctrine and Covenants section 121. I do not understand what it is about most people who seem to lust after power and spend their time and efforts chasing after it. Those with power ideally should only desire it to do good for their fellow man. Sadly we know all too well this is not the case.

The chapter ends with the statement about salt and if the salt loses its savor what is it good for. We have already talked about how we are the salt and we are to add that bit of goodness into the life of others. If everyone saw it as their personal mission to make sure that everyone they came in contact with on a daily basis had a little bit of a better day because of them, this world would be such a better place. Until tomorrow.

Jesus Feed the 4,000 and Heals a Blind Man in Stages

Today I read Mark 8 where Jesus feeds the 4000 who have been following Him for 3 days and have been fasting the entire time. Again Jesus manages to miraculously feed them with just 7 loaves of bread this time and a few small fishes. I wonder if everyone fasted the entire 3 days including Jesus and His Apostles or if everyone ate the food they brought and they ran out by the 3rd day. I suppose it does not really matter one way or the other, but I often wonder about the background of these stories that we are not told and what lead up to the miracle that we read about.

This chapter also contains what is perhaps the most interesting miracle that Jesus ever performs. He heals a blind man, but He does it in stages. Every time I read this chapter I can't help but wonder why the first time Christ heals the man, it does not work completely. Christ spits on the man's eyes and lays His hands on the blind man and then asks him to look and tell Jesus what he sees. The man does and tells Jesus that he sees men walking about as trees. This statement leads me to believe this man was not born blind. How would he know what a tree looks like if he had been born blind? So Jesus lays His hands on the blind man's head again and then he sees clearly. This miracle is so interesting to me, why didn't Jesus just heal him fully the first time? Did it have to do with the man's faith? We are not told. I also wonder if the first time Jesus heals him, if the man needed glasses. The description he gives Jesus sure sounds like blurry vision in need of corrective lenses to me. This is again one of those things that I will probably never know the reason in this life. But it is very interesting to me that Jesus chose to do it this way.

This chapter also contains that warning Jesus gives His Apostles concerning the Pharisees and their leaven. Although in this version it does not state implicitly that Jesus is referring to their doctrine. He merely rebukes them for thinking that He is upset with them for not bringing bread when He just fed 4000. You do have to wonder about Jesus' disciples and Apostles sometimes. They just watched Him take 7 loaves and a few fishes and feed 4000 people and have 7 baskets of leftovers and they think He is rebuking them because they forgot to bring any food with them. It's kind of silly honestly. But they were still learning and we are not told much about His Apostles other than some of them were fishermen and one was a publican. We do not know if they were overly spiritual men before Christ called them. So I can understand them not really comprehending His warning to beware their teachings.

They also did not understand His trying to teach them that He will be crucified and resurrected. Peter upon hearing that tells Christ that he won't let it happen. He doesn't understand that it is necessary and has to happen. But then again, none of the Jews did. When Jesus is killed they all forget that He told them it would happen that way and that He would be resurrected on the 3rd day. But that is because the references to His first coming and Atonement had been removed from their scriptures hundreds of years before this. The Apostles are still learning to use their spiritual ears and all too often, miss what Jesus is actually trying to say to them. But they learn little by little. I also wonder if it was harder to learn the things of the Spirit without the Spirit constantly present to testify of the truthfulness of the things they were hearing or if Jesus' spirit was able to fulfill that role? When we who have the Gift of the Holy Ghost hear truth, and are worthy of His presence, the Holy Ghost testifies to us that it is true. And so it is easier for us to distinguish between truth and error. Although we still make mistakes too and can choose to not listen to the promptings of the Spirit.

As we strive to make right choices though, it becomes easier to make even more right choices and to do that which is right in God's sight. But it is still possible to fall and fall hard, take David from the Old Testament for example. He was about as blessed as a man can be, but he still let temptation get the better of him and lost his place and his reward. It can happen to all of us. We have to remain true to our covenants and listen to the Spirit and His promptings. It gets easier to do it each and every time and our desires change so that we want to be better and do what is right. If that is our goal, we will get there little by little. God will give us what we want and what we ask for, so it is important to know what it is you want and where you want to end up. I know what my goal is, take the time to understand what yours is too and you won't be disappointed when you get there. Until tomorrow.

Christ Lived a Life of Service

Today I read Mark 7, which contain a few miracles and is Mark's version of the story Jesus tells about not worrying about what goes into a man that can defile him, but rather that which comes out of the man. We have covered that quite extensively I think in the version Matthew wrote so we will not go into it again.

Mark records a telling of a story of a Greek woman whose daughter is possessed of a devil and desires Jesus to cleanse her of it. Jesus replies that He is there for the Jews and not for others, although He says it in a round about way citing that the family eats before others. She shows great faith by stating that the dogs eat of the crumbs that the children let fall, and Jesus then heals her daughter from afar. There are a few stories of this happening, where a non-Jew displays great faith to the Savior and He consents to heal them. In fact, Jesus is actually not a Hebrew name, Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew name, Joshua. Jesus went by the Greek version of His name because of the great faith and honor that a group of Greek men and woman showed Him. Despite Jesus being there for the Jews, He never fails to help those of other nationalities when they show great faith.

The part of the chapter that most struck me today was when Jesus retires to a house and desires to be left alone. It must have been very difficult for Jesus, once His fame was known, people would swarm and flock around Him at all hours of the day and night. He rarely had time to Himself or even time to sleep in some instances. But that is what gives us such a wonderful example to emulate, the Savior never did anything for Himself except eat and sleep. He was always helping people and lived a life of service. I have often wondered how He ate and how He obtained food, but considering He is the Son of God I haven't wondered very long on it considering He could create food anytime He wanted.

But the way Jesus lives His life is an example to us. Obviously we cannot forsake our duties and our job, we cannot make food from rocks or nothing, we need to work to obtain money to meet our needs. But are we striving to do more than just meet our needs? Now, I am not saying we need to live in squalor and only survive, I think our Heavenly Father wants us to be happy and comfortable. But are we living in a house that could easily house double your family size? Are you working extra hours to pay for a car that costs twice but a smaller more efficient car does? Are you going out to eat for every meal? How many TVs do you have in your home?

The scriptures ask us where our hearts are. What are the things we spend our time and efforts trying to achieve? Are we concerned with building up the kingdom of God? Or are we more concerned with our status in society? With keeping up with the Jones as it were? If the man we are trying to emulate and be like, did nothing for Himself beyond what was necessary to keep His body alive and functioning properly, how should we be spending our lives? Parents spend most of their waking time doing things for their children when they are babies and toddlers. What of the rest of us? Are we serving our fellow man, even if just our families? Or do we come home from work and cloister ourselves in another room away from our family and our responsibilities?

Alma, in the Book of Mormon, in the 5th chapter asks some hard questions for each person to ask themselves to determine how they are doing. I propose that similar questions such as I proposed above are worth asking and finding an answer for too. Now, I am no prophet, but the scriptures teach us that he who would lose His life for the Christ-sake will find it. The scriptures also teach us no man can serve two masters. We must choose this day if we will serve Christ or not. If we serve Him, we must serve Him with our whole heart. When we do, the Lord will use us as His tool here on earth and you will be witness to amazing things and you will never regret your choice. I can promise you that because I have seen it first hand. Until tomorrow.

Jesus Feeds the 5,000 and Walks on Water

Today I read Mark 6. In this chapter the Savior ordains the Twelve Apostles from the disciples that He has and sends them out to preach His Gospel. He sends them out right away and tells them to go without purse or script and to go without a second cloak even but that God will take care of them. Mark does not go into as much detail as Luke does, but he mentions that the Apostles cast out devils and healed the sick all in His name. The Savior also tells them to shake off the dust of their feet as a testimony against those who would reject them. I have always found that a little strange and am glad that is not something modern missionaries do.

This chapter also talks about Herod having John the Baptist killed , which we talked about in a previous post when we read it in Matthew. Despite the fact that men seemed to make really dumb promises back in those days it would seem, it is still interesting that they keep those promises no matter how much they regret making them afterwards. I'm not sure which is worse, living in a society where people make rash promises but they are kept, or one like ours were people don't really promise anything anymore and even if they do, the promises generally aren't kept. I personally would rather live in a world where everyone keeps their word and the promises they make, no matter how rash or grand, are kept and fulfilled.

This chapter also contains the miracle of Jesus feeding the multitude of 5000 with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fishes. It's hard to pinpoint which of the Savior's miracles is the most impressive but this one must have been fantastic to see. I can only imagine the amazement of the Apostles as they took up the pitifully small amount of bread and fish fragments and started into the crowd. It must have been truly amazing to watch as the bread not only did not run out but multiplied right before their eyes. Interestingly enough though, it does not record the Apostles reactions to this miracle, although it does not really record any of their reactions except for when Jesus calms the sea and walks on water and a few others, but for most of the miracles, it does not record the Apostles reactions at all. I also wonder if seeing Jesus do miraculous things started to become commonplace and lose it's luster for them? No matter how miraculous it is at first, anything can become commonplace if done often enough.

The final part of this chapter is Jesus walking on the water. This is one of the few miracles that I can reason in my own mind how it might be possible to do it. All the others, like multiplying 5 loaves of bread into however much it was that fed the 5,000, I have no idea. But something like walking on top of the water, that makes sense almost if you understand water tension and how water striders do it. Now, it does not change the fact that it was miraculous and you and I cannot do it, but at least I can understand the physics of it.

Interestingly enough, Mark does not record that Peter tried to walk on the water to the Savior. It merely mentions that they were rowing to the other side of the sea and that the Savior was walking as if to pass them by and heard them become afraid because they thought it was a spirit. It makes no mention at all that Peter tried to walk out to the Savior. I read something about a week ago, when I was preparing to start reading Mark, that stated that most scholars believe Mark made his records by interviewing and listening to the reminiscences and teachings of Peter. Which makes this omission even more interesting because Peter never struck me as one to get embarrassed easily. I would not have thought that Peter would be one to omit his walking on the water for reasons of embarrassment or even forgetfulness, so I don't know what to make of Mark's omission.

I am glad that we have these records of the things the Savior did. As we mentioned above, anything can become commonplace if done often enough no matter how miraculous they first appeared. It is a wonderful thing to have such records of the Savior's ministry and how He interacted with the people. It gives us all something to strive for and become. If everyone would put into practice the things Jesus taught and follow the example He left us of what He did in His life, this world would be a utopia. But it begins with the self and we can only change our own behavior and not any one else's. It all begins with becoming the right type of person. Until tomorrow.

Jesus Casts out the Legion of Devils into Swine

Today I read Mark 5, where the Savior casts out the legion of devils into the herd of swine, heals the woman with an issue of blood and raises Jairus' daughter from the dead. I don't generally do this, but I went back and read my previous entries on these miracles to see what I had said because nothing really stood out to me during my reading today.

Mark goes into more detail about the casting out the devils into the herd of swine than Matthew did. Mark mostly focuses more on the person who had been possessed than Matthew did. The man was so tormented that he lived in the tombs and we are told he would cut himself with stones. Presumably he was naked as well because Mark makes a point that when the people came out to see him that he was clothed. The man could not be bound with chains because he would break them. That kind of gives us some insight into the powers that the devils and spirits who followed Satan have. Most people, even professional weight lifters cannot break chains, yet this man because he was possessed was able to do so. Now, we know that God can grant a man great strength, such as Sampson, but apparently the devil is able to do so as well. There have always been stories of man making deals with the devil to get what they want for probably as long as there have been people. It would only make sense that there be at least a grain of truth to them.

Now, possession by devil is not a topic most people tend to focus on and I really don't want to spend a large amount of time on it either, partly because I feel it is unhealthy to focus too much on the things of the devil as opposed to the things of God, but also partly because I have always been taught that the best way to avoid the power of the devil is to avoid him altogether. But I think it bears talking about just a little bit. We do not hear of people being possessed of the devil these days like we used to in the time of the Savior. I wonder if that is because it is not happening, or because we now say that such people are insane and we lock them away? I really don't have the answer but again I have always been told and taught that the best way to protect yourself from such things is by keeping the commandments, living a righteous life and avoiding situations where the devil may be present, like inappropriate parties, bars and other such places.

It is interesting to me how the people in that city reacted to the Savior cleansing the man of his many devils. Mark tells us that there were 2000 swine in the herd that the devils went into, but makes no mention how many devils were inside the man other than there were many. But when the citizens of the city heard the story from the swine herdsman and saw the man who had been possessed sitting calmly, clothed and in full control of his faculties, they were afraid and asked Jesus to leave. It is very odd that there was no rejoicing for the man and his being saved, there was no welcoming him back into society, although Mark makes it sound like this city may not have been his home as Jesus tells him to return to his family in the city of Decapolis. It makes you wonder what the people of that city were like that they feared such a one as Jesus who had power over devils.

This chapter also contains the story of the woman with an issue of blood which we will talk about when we come to Luke, and the raising of Jairus' daughter, which we talked about back in Matthew. It is important to note that when Jesus raised people from the dead, Jairus' daughter and Lazarus, and any others that we may have record of or may not have record of, He is raising them back to life and not resurrecting them. That means that they are still mortal and will die again as they were raised back to an imperfect body and not to immortality. I think most of you already know that but it is a good distinction to make.

The raising of Jairus' daughter is the first recorded instance of Jesus raising someone from the dead and we can infer that it was indeed the first time as when Jairus first approached Jesus, his daughter was merely sick. But when he was told that his daughter had died, he thanked Jesus for His time and care but told Him there was no need for Jesus to accompany him any further. It was not a common enough occurrence that people are raised from the dead back then, we only have a few instances of it happening in all the scriptures. I imagine many people did not believe it had happened, although perhaps those stalwart individuals who were faithfully living the commandments to the best of their ability did. After all, I would have no trouble believing a faithful priesthood holder had brought someone back to life with a blessing. Although a story like in the case of Lazarus would be a bit harder to accept, but I am getting ahead of myself.

As with all things of the Spirit, Jesus was both accepted and rejected, adored and feared, appreciated and treated with contempt. He still is. It is hard to listen to someone mock my Savior and my faith, but I remind myself when faced with such instances that everyone is entitled to choose their own path and I have no control over what they do just as they cannot control me, thank goodness! All I can do is live the best life I can and spread the Gospel by my actions and words and let the Spirit do the rest. That is what it means to do His will and be an instrument in His hands. Until tomorrow.

Milk Before Meat

Today I read Mark 4, which contain the parable of the sower, the candle under the bushel, and the calming of the sea. We have already covered all of these during our reading of Mathew but I was struck by something in today's reading that I don't recall seeing in Matthew. In verse 34 Mark says that Jesus spake only in parable to the multitude. Now we know that this was done so that He would not be imparting too much knowledge at once to people who are not ready for it. It is the same reason we don't have people who are baptized go through the temple the very next week, they are not ready for it. We all must learn line upon line, precept upon precept and as we prove ourselves to God that we are willing to live according to what light and knowledge we have, then He gives us more. When Elder Bednar was here back in September of last year he said that the reward of living the commandments is more commandments. And he's right, of course.

But the rest of verse 34 is what caught my attention, it says "and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples". I thought this was very interesting. To the multitude, Jesus was giving them a way out if they were not ready to receive His doctrine, but to those who had already made the decision to follow Him, to them Jesus explained all His parable. And that makes sense, it was just interesting to me. But I liken it to a person who has recently been baptized verses someone who is just asking a random question about the Latter-day Saint faith. You would probably give a very similar answer to both individuals, but to the recently baptized member, you would probably go further and give a more complete answer, because they have the Gift of the Holy Ghost which will help them understand the things they are taught. And of course it is not as if we have anything to hide from the person inquiring about Latter-day Saint beliefs, but such people are generally asking for only intellectual pursuits and not in earnest.

But to me it is like teaching a child, you start simple and work your way towards the complex, you don't try and teach a 4 year old all about the intricacies of the Atonement and how it is retroactive and will apply towards all those who had lived before Jesus did. They don't need to know that. A 4 year old only needs to know that Jesus died for us and made it so they can be with their families forever. Likewise a person who is newly baptized needs milk before meat.

I remember a young woman that I taught on my mission and helped get baptized who eventually went on to serve a mission of her own. She did not know very much, if anything, about the Bible before she got baptized. After her baptism, as she read the Book of Mormon, she would write down questions she had and we would spend literally hours going over her questions after the church meetings in the gym while my companion setup appointments with members or sat in on our discussions. But I remember one time while she was reading in I think 1 Nephi she came across a passage about Moses and she asked me who Moses was. I was floored that she did not know who Moses was, however, this is not uncommon among the Chinese people who I served among.

There was another instance where I was tracting with my companion and a very nice lady let us in the door. We were using the old discussion format at the time which starts out talking about God and then moves on to Jesus Christ. Well about halfway through the 2nd principle of the 1st discussion, she interrupted us and apologized for interrupting but we kept saying a name that she was unfamiliar with. She then asked us who Jesus Christ was. So we stopped and said, "You know, Jesus Christ, like in the Bible." She then replied with, "And then there's that too, you've mentioned it several times, what's the Bible?" She had never heard of either. We were trying to build off of common ground, but there was no common ground to build off of. Such a person was not ready for what we had to teach. We tried for a few minutes longer but she quickly lost interest so we left her with a few pamphlets and went on our way.

Heavenly Father loves His children very much and does not want them held accountable to more than they are ready to bear. We read in Doctrine and Covenants earlier this year that when much is given, much is required. That is why Jesus taught in parables after all. It is important that in our zealousness for the Gospel, we are not trying to move faster than those we are trying to teach are prepared for. If we try, we will only be hindering their progression. A child must walk before he/she can run. This is another tender mercy of the Lord and I for one am grateful for it. Until tomorrow.

Jesus Heals on the Sabbath and Calls the Apostles

Today I read Mark 3 which covers several of the same stories and ideas that are found in Matthew, which is no surprise. The chapter starts out with the Savior healing a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath and the Pharisees taking offense at that. I have often wondered just why, of all the things that they could do and could not do on the Sabbath, healing the sick was placed on the don't list of Sabbath activities? It really does make me wonder if the Pharisees understood the Gospel of Jesus Christ at all. I know that they didn't have the fulness of the Gospel to begin with and were only living the law of Moses but it is still strange to me that they could miss the mark so completely like that.

They for sure did not understand the final judgment and what it's purpose is and seemed instead to think it will be some giant checklist that God will go down and check off all the righteous things they did. I often wonder how such ridiculous measures start, was it something one of their prophets thousands of years before said in passing? Such mania does not appear overnight and the traditions the Jews were following at the time of Jesus outweighed the actual commandments by more than two times. It's really sad to see being on the other side and having the gift of hindsight, just how the commandments which were supposed to help them, became such a stumbling block because of their own pride and haughtiness.

This chapter also contains the calling of the Twelve Apostles. As I read this account, it really made me wonder, why was Judas Iscariot even chosen as an Apostle? I know someone had to betray Jesus and there are two schools of thought that Judas was foreordained or that he had a moment of weakness, but it really makes me wonder what even drew Judas to Jesus? John the Beloved describes Judas as a thief and a liar, but that could be because John wrote his book much later in his life and again was coloring his account with the benefit of hindsight. But I get the feeling that John never really liked Judas to begin with. But several of the modern day Apostles and Prophets have also talked about Judas and his character and seem to agree with John's assessment of Judas. And so I just can't help but wonder, if Judas was such a reprobate to begin with, what drew him to Jesus in the first place? I guess we will never know in this life.

I sometimes wish the stories contained in the scriptures were more complete because sometimes they just seem so weird. For example, this chapter closes with the story of Jesus' earthly family, his mother and half brothers and sisters coming to visit Him. Instead of going out to meet them, He states "Who is my mother, or my brethren?" To me that is just a strange thing to say, even as an object lesson, and kind of cold towards His earthly family. I just have to believe that this is more to the story than that. I can understand His earthly family taking a backseat to the work of His father but to completely shun them seems a little harsh. Now, I fully understand that Jesus is trying to teach the people that true followers of Christ will do the will of the Father, but again it just seems a very strange way to do it.

Again most, if not all, of these stories were covered in Matthew, but we get a slightly different perspective on them from Mark and when we read them again in Luke it will be yet a third perspective. That's one of the reasons reading the synoptic Gospels straight through is beneficial as even though you are reading the same story sometimes 3 times, you are getting a different perspective on them and can learn new things. Although it would be kind of neat if someone were to take the synoptic Gospels and combine them so that you get one Gospel that contains all the stories, teachings and miracles of the Savior in just one book. But then you are faced with the dilemma of which version to use for the stories that are the same. Hence this way is the best way and I personally am just grateful that we have so many of the teachings of Jesus for us to review, study and ponder. Thank goodness that those closest to Him thought to write down their experiences for us. Who knows where we would be without them. Until tomorrow.