Baptism

The power of the priesthood

1 Corinthians 1-11
The Jews and Gentiles were both being taught the gospel at the same time by Paul and the other apostles, yet  there was some conflict about the power of the priesthood to baptize. Some people felt like if they were baptized by Paul then it was not truly being baptized through Jesus Christ. What the people had to come to understand was that no matter if you were baptized by the Savior himself or if you were baptized by one of his apostles on the earth, the priesthood is the same for whoever bears it as a worthy member of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Paul baptized many people in the name of Jesus Christ through the power of the priesthood and this is equally as good as any other apostle or prophet. I was baptized when I was eight years old by my father through the power of the priesthood. I remember feeling so happy and warm for choosing to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was my choice and I felt very happy when I chose it. The water was very warm and  my father's arms were so comforting as they held me and baptized me.
The blessings I made at baptism have stuck with me throughout my life and they have helped me to be a better me.
There are three promises we make when we take the sacrament every Sunday and these help us to remember the covenants we made at baptism. They are a willingness to take Christ's name upon us, to always remember him, and to always keep him commandments.

Paul is lead by the spirit

Paul is led by the spirit

Lead, Kindly Light is one of my favorite hymns and this week in class we sang it and it was one of the most powerful renditions of that song that I have ever heard. The spirit was so strongly in that room that is greatly touched me. I was impressed that Brother Griffin felt the same way and had us sing the third voice just so that we could continue to feel that sweet spirit. After singing that song, Brother Griffin proceeded to give the class some very wise council. He asked the question "When you are praying or reading your scriptures does your mind sometimes wander off and you don't remember anything that you read?"
We all sheepishly nodded our heads and looked around. He then said when your mind wanders off, take a second to pause and think about what your mind wandered off to. More often than not our minds wander to something of great importance and that is of concern in our lives. Focus on that thought and then go back into your scripture reading or prayers and ask the Lord to direct you to inspiration or an answer to the problem plaguing your life.
I think this principle applies to everybody in their lives, but especially it should have applied to the Jews and Gentiles who were being taught at the time of the apostle, Paul. In 1 Corinthians 7:22, the Jews make it clear that they only care about seeing signs before they are willing to believe. The thing we have to realize is that hardly anybody sees huge miracles, has a vision, or has a thunderbolt strike them as a sign that the gospel is true. More often than not, we receive answers through prayer and scripture study and those answers are often very soft and simple.
It is apparent in the scriptures that the spirit speaks through the "still, small voice" and he will not speak loudly  if we are in tune to the spirit and being quiet in our hearts. It is a shame that the Jews were so caught up in the signs and that they couldn't feel the truth with their hearts and minds.

2/3/13 Neat Facts from Acts

February 3, 2013

I am taking the Second half of the New Testament and I have learned some extremely neat things that have helped me to better understand the scriptures and Jesus Christ. It is truly amazing to me that the Lord has planned for every insignificant detail and it will all be taken care in the end. The Bible is true as far as it is translated correctly, so on occasion you have to dig a little deeper in different verses of scripture to completely understand what is being said. I learned of one such occasion in the scriptures in Acts 17:24 which says, "God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temple made with hands." This scripture is often used again the LDS church  as trying to prove that God says himself he cannot dwell in a temple made with human hands on the earth when the Church has built temples all over the earth in this dispensation. The answer to this question is with the word temple. 

The problem is with the English word, temple. It is an incorrect translation of the Greek word that was used before the Bible was translated into English. The word that was actually used in the Greek translation is "naos" which means idol, shrine, or small structure. God actually dwells in our body or shrine; he is part of us and if we allow him he will dwell in our "temple" or our naos. Another scripture where naos was used is the phrase "I will destroy and raise the temple in three days." This scripture does not refer to the griheeron, the large temple, but it refers to Christ as a person. Jesus Christ died and was resurrected three days later.  

The world that actually means "large temple" in Greek is griheeron. The griheeron is the large temple in Jerusalem and was the temple cleansed by Jesus Christ.

The neat part of learning this is realizing that for Christ to dwell with me I have to choose to let him in. I have to allow the light of Christ to be apart of me and abide in my life. 

Gordon B. Hinckley applied to the scriptures

Class #3

Acts 13: 43-44

In these verses of Acts, the apostles Paul and Barnabas are teaching the Jews in the synagogue and when the     congregation breaks up the Gentiles that had been listening outside ask Paul and Barnabas if they can be taught outside the synagogue. The exact verse is "many of the Jews and religious proselytes follow Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God." Paul and Barnabas then teach the Gentiles who are not Christians, but they want to learn about the gospel of Jesus Christ. This event was so unique to me because the night before I had read a talk by Gordon B. Hinckley about revelation and sharing the gospel with those in times of need. Gordon B. Hinckley shares a unique experience where he was at the London, England temple open house where he met a couple that was not LDS. The couple was going through the open house and the heard mention of our knowledge of families being together forever once parents are married in the temple. This couple was sitting outside the temple and they asked Gordon B. Hinckley for more information. This experience that Gordon B. Hinckley had is very similar to Paul's experience of teaching the Gentiles who did not know about the gospel of Jesus Christ. I appreciated this event being addressed in class because I feel like it taught me a lot about missionary work. People, in general, are very willing to listen to my beliefs and I enjoy answering people's questions. I just lived in Jerusalem for four months and unfortunately we were unable to talk about the gospel to the people in Israel. I am realizing just how precious of a gift I have and how I need to share it with others who don't know the same truth that I do.

What Peter has taught me

Week 2: Acts 9

These are the verses of scripture that talks about Paul's conversion to the gospel. He is walking on the road to Damascus and the Lord comes down to rebuke him and tell him that he is not doing the Lord's work, but that he is hindering it. Paul doesn't know who he is speaking to, so he asks who are you and what do you want. Paul, after realizing who he is speaking to, has a change of heart and instantly asks what would you have me do. He uses his free agency to choose the right. Boyd K. Packer, an apostle in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, says, "People only change because of the things they feel, not the things they see or hear." I 100% agree with this statement because I have had this principle enacted in my own life many times. One experience that comes to mind is when I was applying for the Jerusalem Study Abroad at BYU. I really wanted to go to Jerusalem because my dad had gone, my friends were applying, and I also thought it would be a super neat experience. It wasn't until I turned in my application and I finally stopped to take stalk of my feelings I realized that I felt peace at my decision to apply for the study abroad. I didn't have to see an angel or hear a divine being speak to me, but I felt peace at what I had chosen to do for my future and I knew that I had made the right choice for me. This experience doesn't quite relate to Paul because I didn't see Jesus Christ, but like him I did feel strongly in my heart and I was able to make the right choice for my future. I don't know if this is beneficial to anyone, but I do hope that you can take away something that might help you in your life. Pay attention to what feels right and wrong, we weren't born dumb, so we know what feels like the right choice.

My Learning from the New Testament

Acts 3:1-12

A principle of truth that I gained from these scriptures is that if you have enough faith and it is the Lord's will anything can happen. Peter, the chief apostle after Jesus Christ had been resurrected, was obedient and faithful to the Lord, so he was able to practice the priesthood and heal people who were in need. An older man who had been lame his whole life sat in front of the "Beautiful Gate" begging for alms everyday until Peter came along and healed him through the Lord's power. I feel like I can apply this principle to my life today by finding opportunities to have the priesthood more a part of my life since I do not have it. I can ask my home teachers for blessings or service that they can do for me because that is why they are supposed to be there for me. I also think I can honor the priesthood and show that I have faith in it by sustaining my priesthood leaders such as my bishop and his counselors by going to church every Sunday and choosing to uphold my calling and work hard to do my calling well. Another way that this principle can apply to my life is through exercising faith. The more I can develop my faith the more easily I can work hard to do what the Lord would have me do. I can do these things by basically living the simple answers which are reading my scriptures everyday, praying night and morning, going to the temple once a week, attending my church meetings, and making sure I look for opportunities to serve other people.

So Bitter sweet :/

I have now lived in Jerusalem for four months and it has seriously been the most memorable and life-changing experience of my life. I have met so many people that have touched me with who they are and they way they live their lives. I have visited so many places and seen so many different sights that have helped me to see the Bible so much more clearly. I have made 82 new best friends that have helped me grow so much and I know that we will cherish our friendships forever. The Old City and Jerusalem have found a very special place in my heart and I will never be able to forget them. I loved my time to socialize, be academic, wander through the Old City and explore, make great friends, and most of all I have been able to take so much time to ponder and think about my life, who I want to be, and how I am going to live my life. I want to make sure that I leave Jerusalem with my memories, but also that I apply the things I have learned to my life. I know I will be able to make decisions in my future much better because of the things I have learned here. I hope you all know that I am so grateful for your emails and support through this amazing experience!

This is Jerusalem the second to last night before leaving, pretty much the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen :)