Resurrection

When I think about the garden of Gethsemane, I am very grateful. When I think about the crucifixion, I am very saddened. When I think about the resurrection, I am amazed. This is when I really am reminded that Christ is part of the Godhead. I am reminded of his divine nature. He has the ability to allow himself to suffer a physical death and he has the power to be risen again.

When Christ is in the garden of Gethsemane, I imagine him kneeling in prayer, being humble and submissive. When I think of Christ on the cross I see him extremely worn out, with an abused and broken body. When I think of the resurrected Christ I just see a perfect, powerful being. This is the same type of being I imagine Christ to be today. This is the Christ that I trust and try to follow to become more like.

I find it interesting that Christ does not have Mary touch him. I think this again shows that Mary had a spiritual relationship with Christ. Rather than caring for him physically, financially, etc., she cared for him through her personal relationship with him.

Something that I have always though about are the scars in the Savior's hands and feet from the crucifixion. I thought we were supposed to have perfect bodies when we are resurrected. However, it totally makes sense that Christ would have it that we remember the crucifixion and what he did for us by dying for us. Also, it proves to others that he was the being that was crucified. There wasn't a body switched or anything like that. In a lot of visual depictions of Christ after he was resurrected, he has his palms showing the viewer. I think this might be significant. It looks like he is open to embrace the viewer. It is a very welcoming and peaceful position.

Trial and Crucifixion

Pilate's political past was something that I was not familiar with until studying the student manual. I kind of thought that he was a pretty good guy, but in order to please the people he allowed for Christ to be crucified. However, the stuff he was responsible for before that point do not provide him with a good history of behavior. Also, I did not know that the washing of Pilate's hands was a ritualistic ceremony. I thought it was just a symbolic act.

The physical idea of crucifixion is such a gruesome one to me. It is beyond me that people had to die that way for the crimes they committed. However, Christ didn't even commit a crime, or even a sin, and he experienced the cruel and unusual death of crucifixion. I am not entirely interested in the details of the torture involved in the events just prior to crucifixion. Instead, the words spoken by Christ on the cross seem more important to me. They show the essence of his being and his message. I imagine I would be pretty angry if I were being punished for a crime I was not guilty of. I would want revenge on those that arrested me. I would feel anger towards them. Of course, this is the natural man type thing to do. Instead of this, Christ forgives and has concern for others on the cross. This really shows how he was not focused on himself, but on serving and helping others.

Gethsemane

The Atonement is the most profound gospel subject to me. I am incredibly humbled and extremely grateful for what the Atonement covers. It has such a simple application, but such an abundant all-encompassing range. It sometimes makes my head hurt to think about. I think that I will never fully understand the vastness of The Atonement, but that is okay. What I do know is that I love my savior. I know that he knows exactly what I am going through at any point in my life. He knows my physical pains, he knows my emotions, he knows my temptations, he knows EVERYTHING. If he suffered for the sins of just one person, that would be amazing on its own. When you start to think about all of the people that The Atonement covers, it is truly mind blowing. When I read the verses of sacrament hymns, I tear up a little bit. I forget where I am, what is going on in my life, and my problems. I have a personal moment. It is like a huge amplification of that feeling when a stranger does something randomly super nice for you. It is so comforting. These hymns have gotten me though the hardest times of my life.

I am eternally grateful that Christ suffered for my sins in the garden of Gethsemane. Even though he had intense suffering, when I think about him in the garden that night, I want to smile. I know that it is because of The Atonement and this suffering that I will get to see him again. That makes me so happy.

The Last Supper

When Christ says "Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me" to the Apostles all of them say "is it I?" This is interesting to me. In my mind, because I know that Judas is the one to betray Jesus, I always think of Judas as a sort of slimy, untrustworthy guy. However, he was an Apostle appointed by CHRIST. He obviously had to seem like a pretty awesome guy. This means that all of the Apostles had no idea which Apostle was going to be the one to betray Christ.

In John 14, it talks a little about doing greater works than what Jesus did on the Earth. The study manual helped me understand that he was referring to works in the eternities. This is where what he did on Earth has real meaning that is where they should look to behold his glory.

Also in John 14, the gift of the Holy Ghost is discussed. It seems kind of funny that while Christ was with them the Apostles didn't have the Holy Ghost. However, if you think about it, they didn't really need the Holy Ghost. They could get guidance from Jesus Christ, the son of God. They had one member of the Godhead, so they didn't need the Holy Ghost. Once they did not have the constant companionship of Christ, they had need for the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. That is why they received the Holy Ghost later on.

Olivet Discourse and Parable of 10 Virgins

The parable of the 10 virgins obviously is talking about being prepared for the second coming of Christ. During this study of the parable, I noticed a small detail that stuck out to me. Is is that the wise virgins were guided by the Holy Spirit. If we take the Holy Spirit to be our guide in our lives, we will not be deceived. We will be drawn closer to God and be ready for the second coming. Another small detail I really noticed was that there was a complete separation between the two groups at the hour when the bridegroom arrived. There are two distinct groups. There are those who had oil, those who were ready for the bridegroom, and those without, those who did not plan ahead. There is no in between.

Beyond the parable, we must prepare for the actual second coming of Christ. There are certain signs of the times that will warn us that we must make final preparations. Several of these have already been fulfilled, so this is definitely something we need to think about. It is more than a hypothetical possibility that is nice to think about. It is something we actually need to prepare for.

The sure fire way to be prepared when Christ comes again is to always be prepared. I want to repent for things that I need to repent for sooner than later. If people keep putting off repentance, it likely might not happen before the time when it all will count.

The Triumphal Entry

The fact that Christ cried over Jerusalem struck me as significant. The study guide clarifies that it is the people of Jerusalem that Christ wept over. It was the contention between religious sects that prevented them from seeing the truth in the gospel that Christ taught. It seems like several common gospel problems are at work in this instance. First of all, each sects has pride. They think they are better than each of the other sects. If they had concentrated on themselves I think they would have seen that Christ's message was a higher law and they could truly become more righteous. Secondly, contention really causes the spirit to not be heard. I know this from personal experience. Weather it be contention about religion, or any type of contention, the peaceful presence of the spirit cannot dwell with a spirit of contention. It is easy to see why this is upsetting to Christ. He brought such an important message and the people of Jerusalem are busy fighting over who is more holy.

When people welcomed Jesus to Jerusalem, they were told that Christ was the Messiah. They were so excited to finally be released from the corrupt rule they had been under. They thought that he would get rid of the Roman rule and be a great military and social leader and reformer. Of course, Jesus was capable of being this, he is omnipotent, but he had a more important change to bring about. He came to release them from religious corruption instead. There were some truths in the religions practiced, but through hypocrisy of religious leaders, worldly motivations, and dead religious forms being used, the religious state of Jerusalem was in poor shape. I think this serves as a great example of what we should prioritize in our lives. Even if our economic, political, social being is not the best, if we are doing well spiritually, it will all be okay.

Overview of Last Week

A fairly large amount of the material in the four gospels is about the last week of the Savior's life. Almost half of John is the last week, and almost all of that is the last 24 hours of the Savior's life. Since the last week is emphasized so much, it must mean that it is very important.

Leading up to this point in Christ's life, Jesus healed Lazarus. This greatly motivated those who were plotting against Jesus to really take action. They sought to destroy him and also any evidence of his Messiahship and miracles. They wanted to kill Lazarus since he was proof that Christ was miraculous. I think that Jesus waiting until he had trained his Apostles to do such a bold miracle as raising Lazarus from the dead. He had brought the gospel to the Earth and established the framework of the church, so now he could fulfill his other purpose and perform The Atonement. Christ knew what was going to happen and he prepared for it so the gospel could continue even after his death. He was ready to die for our sins via The Atonement. It is so apparent that he is ready that he goes to Jerusalem. He could have avoided his crucifixion by hiding out in the middle of nowhere, but he had to go to Jerusalem to fulfill the mission that he was sent to Earth by Heavenly Father to accomplish.

The fourth day of Christ's last week was spend outside of Jerusalem, but what happened on this day is not discussed in the Gospels. This is interesting to me. I wonder if it was just a day of planning, if anything significant happened, and where exactly Christ spent this day. I hope this information is available after this life. I am curious!

Parables, Lazarus Raised

One of the most novel concepts I have read about and heard about in this class was the concept of Christ bridging the gulf between Spiritual Paradise and Spiritual Prison. I have known for a long time that missionary work goes on in the spirit world, but I thought that was pretty much always the case. As I learned about the gulf being bridged, I had this intense feeling of gratitude. It was a cool experience. Not only did Christ die for the remission of our sins, but for the missionary work in the spirit world. People sharing the gospel is a simple joy for me, so for me to thing about the gospel being shared in the spirit world, it means that I have great increase in this joy.

One detail about the story of the raising of Lazarus that I didn't really realize was that Christ did not immediately leave for Bethany. He LET Lazarus die. He definitely could have healed Lazarus. I mean, he is omnipotent! I think the purpose of letting Lazarus die was to perform an even bigger miracle. Raising someone from the dead in undeniably a miracle. Healing a sickness could possibly have some confounding factors. It seems silly that some people could doubt Christ being the Messiah when he heals so many people, but raising Lazarus would be much more profound.

One thing that I have been very interested in while studying the New Testament is how there are small details in the stories that are part of the stories because of cultures. Hellenistic cultural influence and Jewish traditions are things that I am not familiar with, so I don't think I would ever realize why certain details are included. For example, Lazarus' body was laying in the tomb for four days. Upon initial reading, I wouldn't really think this was for a any reason, just a random number. I thought maybe that was just how long Christ took to get there. However, it is cool that Christ waited until Lazarus was dead four days because Jews believed that the spirit of the dad hung around for three days. After four days, Lazarus was really really dead. I always remember these random little facts, often more often than major events in a story.

Judean/Perean Ministry

Something that Christ emphasized in his Judean/Perean Ministry was hypocrisy. When people fall away from the church gradually I haven noticed that many of them still have respect for the church and/or a desire to eventually live the gospel again. I think this can be achieved through ward fellowship, missionary efforts, and other means. It is sad when they fall away, but it doesn't seem as hopeless as some cases. These other cases are when people seem to be strong in the gospel and then all of a sudden turn their back on the gospel. I think this can often happen because of two reasons. First, the person can be very offended by another person's words or actions. Second, they have been struggling with something and come to a breaking point. I think both of these things can be tied to hypocrisy. In the case of being offended, I think people can feel judged by others and since nobody is perfect, they don't have the right to judge them. They perceive others to be hypocrites. In the case of reaching a breaking point, I think some people can maintain an appearance that everything is okay, but they are struggling with some things. These things could be some type of sin or a weak point in their testimony. I think all members of the church can relate to this type of situation in some way. Recognizing these problems is the key in avoiding a breaking point though, so one must be humble enough and willing to seek Priesthood guidance to work on improving oneself and one's testimony. When I see people that seemed like strong members abruptly turn away from the church, I think they have not been sensitive to these weaknesses brewing and increasing. When these people are not in the church, there is an angry resentment that I notice and I don't like that one bit. It is such spiritual darkness and I think they are the ones that continue to attack the church in an effort to validate their decision to fall away from the church. These situations make me sad.

I really hope that I remain sensitive to my spiritual weaknesses and continue to work on them so I can become a better member of the church and more Christlike. I do not want to be a hypocrite. I know that through communication with Priesthood leaders, scripture study, and developing strong relationships in the church, I can remain centered on the gospel and improve.

Visits Martha & Mary

Mary and Martha's relationships and service to Christ are interesting. In the student manual I really like this piece of a quote: "He had more to give them [Mary and Martha] than they could possibly provide for him." They both loved the Savior and wished to serve him in their full capacity anyways. However, they did so in different ways. Martha was more about providing Christ with living accommodations than Mary. When I am reading about this, I for some reason thought about Home Teaching and service to other members of one's ward. If someone you home teach or know in the ward has to have surgery or is unable to provide meals for their family for some reason, people will often step up and cook meals for them. They might even do this for some extended period of time. Obviously, this is a great service and the people receiving the service can feel that they are thought about and loved. Now when we think about Mary's service to the Savior, it is a slightly different approach. Mary concentrated more on developing a relationship with Him. She showed appreciation for everything he did, and for the gospel he preached. Mary was a companion to Christ. Now back to relating this to Home Teaching and service within the ward. We can watch out for each other physically, but Mary's service encompasses this and more. By truly being a friend to those we Home Teach and others that are in our ward family, we can provide a higher service, a more spiritual service. These are our spiritual brothers and sisters, so why shouldn't we provide them with spiritual service? I haven't always been the best home teacher, but when I have been consistent, I have had great experiences. Additionally, when I have had good home teachers, it has made an impact in my life. I am motivated to be a better person because I know someone cares about how I am doing spiritually, other than the Bishop. My current home teacher always says hi to me and shows incredible genuine interest in my well being. He also offers physical service, but I am impacted more by his compassionate companionship. I am often not very good at expressing gratitude for things like this, but someday I hope to tell him how much his spiritual service has impressed me.

Later Judean Ministry

The idea of "the light of Christ" is a cool one to me. I imagine a pitch black area with one source of bright light. It seems incomprehensible that anyone would consciously choose to not follow the light. That gets me thinking, I really think that people that have experienced will always have some sort of belief. For example, those figures involved in the restoration that had seen visions and then later fell away from the church. There is no way they can fully dismiss the light even when they turn and go to head towards pitch black spiritual darkness. For some reason it was super easy for me to visualize "The light of Christ enables mankind to clearly choose between the kingdom of God or spiritual darkness.

In John, Chapter 8, it talks about "the truth shall make you free." When I think about this pretty well known phrase, I think it means that when you have the gospel, which is the truth, in your life, you are free from uncertainty. You have confidence. You are free of doubt. This totally makes sense in other forms of truth too. Through studying the gospel, and concentrating on daily gospel habits, we can know more of the truth and feel more and more confident in what we know. I know from personal experience, when I make time to have meaningful prayers and study the scriptures daily, I felt much more confident in the gospel and my beliefs. I don't think it was that I knew more information, but I had a peaceful feeling of confidence about what I knew.

Mount of Transfiguration

On the Mount of Transfiguration, Peter, James, and John received the priesthood keys. It is really neat to me to think that these restored keys are present in the church today. Just like we have the First Presidency today, Peter, James, and John were the First Presidency of the church that Jesus established. Sometimes I wonder how other churches lost this type of organization of their churches.

Of these priesthood keys, the sealing power is most exciting to me. The idea that what we have sealed here on Earth is valid in heaven is awesome. It really provides purpose to what we are doing here on Earth. It especially resonates with temple ordinances and temple work. If these keys were not restored, we couldn't have eternal marriages, we couldn't do baptisms for the dead. Actually, I don't think baptisms would really matter that much. As I think about finding an eternal companion, I sometimes think "could I spend the rest of my life with this person?" Really, I should think way beyond that scope. That is intimidating right now, but I am sure that when I do find someone for me the eternal relationship we will be sealed together in will be comforting. I wont be alone forever.

The other thing that stuck out to me was the concept of my priesthood line of authority. Every time it is brought up in Elders Quorum, I feel a special spirit. It makes me kind of giddy. How cool is it that I can trace my priesthood all the way back to Christ, and it doesn't even that that many steps. Thinking of this reminds me that I have divine potential. Otherwise, how could something like the priesthood get passed down to me. It is a big self-esteem boost! I also am humbled that I would be trusted with the priesthood.

3rd Year Public Ministry/Feeding 5000

The dramatic miracle of feeding the five thousand has always been interesting to me, but somewhat less important to me in a way. That might sound pretty strange, but I really like to focus on the healing miracles. Even though Christ is performing something very miraculous and that attests to him being the Messiah, the thing that sticks out to me in the healing miracles is Christ's compassion. The fact that the perfect Christ would take time out of his life to focus on an individual that is mourning over their dead child or an individual that has a physical infirmity is incredibly comforting. He is shown to be accessible once these people show their faith by coming to him and asking for help. I am filled with love and reminded of how I can do this as well. I know from experience that I have been healed and comforted when I have prayed for help. I think recently I have forgotten that. I am glad I am coming back to realizing this because I think I was getting prideful and/or intimidated by things in my life.

Now I don't mean it to sound like I don't like the feeding of the five thousand, but it has been secondary to the healing miracles. However, understanding the context of this event has made it more special. It has such a powerful bold message in retrospect. My knowledge of the Atonement and the sacrament really deepens the miracle beyond just the miraculous act.

In a way, I think it is a good thing that it isn't the miracles that are most impressive to me, but rather the meaning behind what Christ does and the reasons for him doing these things. These miracles alone don't convert people to become disciples of Christ, it is his love, the gospel, and their faith that do.

Parables/2nd Rejection/Twelve Sent and Return

In the parable of the wheat and the tares, I find it interesting that the Inspired Version indicates that the wheat is gathered first and then the tares are bundled and burned. This makes so much more sense to me, even though it is only a slight difference.

I think largely because I have always studied these parables in Matthew separate from each other, I hadn't previously noticed the single message that all of them bring. The fathering of Israel, which is currently in process, is in all of these parables.

In a broader sense, I really appreciate that parables were used by Christ. Analogies really help me understand difficult concepts. I am constantly coming up with analogies in my classes to relate the material to things that I know and know well. I enjoy the different levels one can go to in parables and get more and more meaning as you dive deeper and deeper into them. My personal experience with studying the gospel through parables has shown this to me. It is nothing short of genius to think about how we can learn these parables in primary and in Gospel Doctrine 50+ years later and still find personal application to the simple framework.

I think it is interesting how the Prophets today continue to teach using analogies and/or parables. I can think of several airplane related talks from President Uchtdorf. These are often talks that I remember for a long time because I can get a good visual in my mind. This kind of proves that parables are still an effective teaching tool.

I think the parables will be something that I will always find interesting. I could always listen to talk or lesson with someone's own interpretation as to what items and parts of parables mean to them. Maybe I should take another English class, haha.

On another note, I really like the heading of the last section of this reading assignment in the "Life and Teachings of Jesus and His Apostles." A man who says he will sustain the President of the Church but not his Bishop is deceiving himself

Healings and Miracles

Out of all the miracles, it is hard for me to try to comprehend raising people from the dead. It seems so profound that I have no idea how I would react to witnessing such a feat. In Luke, after Christ raises the widow's son from the dead, the people were afraid and then they glorified God. I think I might just be afraid and try to figure out what I just witnessed. I think this made me just realize now that I think I try to be too logical about the gospel sometimes. The abstract ideas in religion are hard for me to feel like I really understand. The absence of concrete evidence is sometimes troubling. I want to have reasons for everything and when I am presented with problems or questions in church or scripture study I become overwhelmed. The things that have eased these overwhelming feelings has been interesting to me. Even if I find some logical, scientific reasoning to my questions/problems, I don't feel the peace until I have an emotional experience. These emotional experiences are really spiritual experiences. That peace I feel is really the spirit. I know that I can get this feeling though doing the things that are within the classic "Sunday School answer." I need to go to church. I need to pray and read the scriptures daily. I need to listen to and read the words of our prophets and apostles. I am amazed constantly how simple these abstract concepts are to understand. I get caught up with understanding them in my mind that I forget to understand them in my heart and spirit. Rather than thinking about how I would react to someone being raised from the dead, I think it is more important to think about how God is all-powerful and how Christ is compassionate in performing miracles like this one.

In reading about all of these miracles and healings during Christ's ministry, I cant help but think about all of the people that have witnessed miracles, but have fallen away from the church. I know that is not enough just to witness such great things, but you need to become a real disciple of Christ and maintain your testimony in order to stay on the path and progress towards perfection and eternal salvation. This seems like a daunting task, but the organization of the church and God's help through prayer and the holy spirit can carry the real burden if we let Him help.

Sermon on the Mount

The sermon on the mount is so fun to read! The language is so simple and poetic. One piece in the beginning stuck out to me for some reason. "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God." For pretty much my entire life, I have really concentrated on being a peacemaker. I think a lot of it is my personality, but I am very grateful for my ability to settle contention among others. I felt really good reading this little bit and felt like it applied to me. I know there are a lot of areas that could use quite a bit of work, so it nice to feel like I have made some progress in this area of peacemaking. Furthermore, I realize that peacemaking is definitely a Christ-like attribute. Christ is the Prince of Peace. It just kinda clicks just now thinking about that.

Following the "blessed are the..." intro is one of my favorite pieces of scripture. It is very motivational to me to read that I should "let my light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." I want to be proud of who I am, a son of God, and who I am as a representative of the church and disciple of Christ. Not proud in the sense that Mormons often use it as, in a negative way (i.e. Pride Cycle). In fact the last part of the scripture addresses avoiding that type of pride. It says that men may glorify your FATHER. We can be great people and do great things, but it is all because of our Father in Heaven.

Another thing that I really enjoy about the Sermon on the Mount is that some of its teachings replace/transcend the Mosaic Law. The new law is much more profound, living, and full of light and it is exciting to see this change take place in the scriptures. I am grateful for the greater law today.

2nd Year Public Ministry

I don't know if I am just stressed out by school or what, but when I started this reading assignment, I immediately teared up. I started with reading the healing of the pool. The man that had been disabled for so long was unable to even carry himself to the pool because of his infirmity. Christ tells him to arise and walk. I was thinking if I were that man I might be offended that someone was telling me to do something that I wasn't able to do for such a long time. The man was incapable of doing what was asked. However, he had the faith that he could do it because he was asked to do this thing by Christ. This faith allowed him to be healed. This reminded me of the people who would not look the bronze snake on the staff to be saved. Sometimes we have things that are really quite simple and easy to do, but we don't do them because we lack the simple faith. I think this is an area that I could really work on. I am very hesitant to do things outside of my comfort zone. I get small impressions to help others, compliment someone, or give certain people a call, but I think that it might be awkward, or that it is easier just to not do these things. However, the times that I have listened to this small and simple promptings going on a bit of faith, I have been able to receive great blessings and bless others' lives. I think if I think of these promptings as things Christ is asking me to do, I can get over my selfish worries and be a more effective tool.

After this miracle at the pool, the Jews get angry with Christ for doing it on the Sabbath. This is so silly to me! Christ was performing miracles! Wanting to slay someone that is performing miracles is beyond my comprehension. I like Christ's response in teaching about himself. I think that even though I have always recognized Jesus as in the godhead, I sometimes forget how much power and authority he has in his mortal ministry as the Son of God.

A thing that I noted as interesting was that Christ prayed all night to God prior to selecting the twelve. I thought this showed that Christ was truly on Earth to do his Father's work and the twelve were definitely divinely called.

Galilean Ministry

One word that kept sticking out to me during this reading was "fame". As Christ performed all if these miracles (healing lepers, casting out spirits, etc.) his reputation spread. People came from all around to be healed or witness these things. I thought about how much his influence was widespread. The impact was amazing. Then, I think about how his impact has continued through to today. People from all over, throughout time. People have been bettered, been motivated to become even better because of the simple message that he taught. In some ways, the word "fame" is like a word for knowing the love and mercy of Christ.

Another word that repeatedly stood out to me was "follow". I think in most of the instances people may read it as physically following Christ, but I read "follow" as a synonym for disciple. Even though they might not be in the physical proximity of Jesus, they can definitely follow the path of Christ. As these people witnessed the work of Jesus Christ, they became disciples (followers) and spread the word. Hopefully, I can be an example to others of some Christ-like attributes and bring them to the gospel so they too can become followers.

There were several verses that were repeated in the different gospels. I know this is common in the synoptic gospels, but I think there is a reason they are repeated more than once. I carefully looked at some of these and got some good insight. When it talks about not needed a physician if you are whole, I thought "we are all not whole". We are all in need of betterment through the gospel. We cannot be perfect, so we need to continue to work on it all of our lives. Then, I thought "we are all made whole through the Atonement." Christ being our physician is something that we can know for sure will help us become righteous beings. Another repeated poetic verse is about putting new wine in new bottles. I am not for sure what that means, but when I read it I was intrigued. I will continue to think about applications of this verse so I can better understand it.

1st Year Public Ministry

Even though I have read about Christ casting out the merchants from the temple several times before, this time around I immediately thought of some giant nondenominational churches that I have visited. They have coffeeshops in them and sometimes a small restaurant type thing. I wonder why they think it is okay to sell things in their place if worship. This small difference always seemed like something I couldn't comprehend. I think I realize now that it is because Christ clearly says that the temple should not be a place of merchandise in John 2. Going on a little more about this, I don't think the merchants in the temple were trying to be bad people it anything. I think they were just trying to make a living. The ways of the world kind of rationalized it, but Jesus reminded them that it wasn't appropriate. I think the same thing goes for these small businesses in churches today. The ways if the world make it seem like it is practical to sell coffee at their churches.

Another scripture that resounded well with me was John 3:17. Again, this verse reminded me of a lot of the nondenominational Christian world. Many non-Christians view Christianity in a hostel way. The feel condemned by Christianity because some Christians point out their sinful behaviors and condemn them for them. These conversations make Christ seem like a weathful/angry being. I think the lds message of Christ is more like the Christ described in thus verse. He us our savior and was sent to save us. Instead of feeling afraid of Christ, I feel thankful for the atonement.

I don't mean to rip on other religions, but comparing these parts of our religions has really made me thankful for what I have in the church.

Baptism of Christ/Overcoming Temptation/First Miracle

The last reading assignment and this reading assignment both really make me think that John the Baptist is such a great person. The Bible Dictionary entry on John the Baptist was very interesting. It pointed out that his ministry has operated in three dispensations in that he was the last prophet under the Law of Moses, the first of the New Testament prophets, and brought the Aaronic Priesthood to the dispensation of the fullness of times. This alone was incredible to think about. He had such a big role. I knew that he baptized Jesus, of course, but I had either forgotten or not realized how much he prepared the way for Jesus. Several of his disciples became Christ's disciples and he taught many people about Christ before Christ came. Beyond this, he did this all without wanting credit for any of the things he was doing. He was doing it all for Christ. In a way I was reminded of the premortal life when Jesus proposed his plan in which all of the glory would go to the Father. This type of selflessness in Christ's and John the Baptist's examples is something that I aspire to work towards.

One thing that I really noticed during this reading assignment is how much the synoptic gospels are really alike. There are several verses found word for word in all three. There are some minor differences in the amount of detail or some word choices, but they are definitely synoptic.

One difference I found was when Christ was tempted after fasting. In Luke, the order of the tempting is in a different order. I wonder if this is significant or not. Also, in Mark, it mentions that he was tempted three times, but doesn't go into detail or explain how or where he was tempted.

One personal connection that I made with the story of Christ being tempted is that when he was tempted, he responded quoting scripture. It seems so much easier when you read it like that and I think it will be easier for me in the future if I turn to the scriptures when I am tempted about something and research them to find the answers. Previously, I had mostly relied on asking others for help or praying for comfort/guidance, but I think I can really benefit by using the scriptures to respond to temptation like Christ did.

Gospels as Testimonies/Nativity and Childhood

I found it really interesting and in a way comforting that the Gospels are similar yet different in who they are written towards and cover. In reading only a few chapters in Matthew I can already see how things are worded or phrased to appeal to Jewish readers, and Luke has the insights on the role of women in covering the nativity and Elizabeth giving birth to John the Baptist. The Gospel of John seems more thought provoking and spiritual coverage than the other gospels to me. This may sound funny, but it seems more quotable in that it's verses are easy to relate to and discuss.

One thing that I think I must have known before but had forgotten was that Joseph and Mary are cousins so they have the same genealogy. I was wondering this when I was reading the verses about lineage and wondered how they could use Joseph in that line because he wasn't biologically the father of Jesus. Previously the lineage was just something I would look at to get funny Biblical names for my future children, but Christ's lineage had a lot more to it than I realized. Jesus was born into the royal line, so if the politics allowed for a free nation, Joseph would be king and Jesus would be his heir. This brings a much more profound meaning to Christ being our king or King of the Jews. This also makes me think that people have potential to be kings or queens, even if they are born into very humble circumstances. Joseph and Jesus are perfect examples of that.

I was kind of surprised while reading in Matthew about some word usage and after reading the accompanying guide, I realized that the word choice was different for a reason. Have all nativity scenes been historically incorrect? Every nativity scene I have scene has the wise men present at a stable while the little baby Jesus is in the manger. In Matthew 2:11 it says they came into "the house, they saw the young child" and worshiped him and gave him their gifts. This makes a lot of sense to me and answers other questions I have thought about for quite a while. I wondered why Herod killed the children two years old and younger. I thought that was beyond what was needed for him to get rid of this potential threat to his kingdom. He was just born, so he wasn't going to be a two year old. I also wondered how the wise men got away with not reporting back to Herod where Jesus was. I didn't think about where all of these people were located geographically together and didn't account for the long travel time that walking brings. It was a simultaneous "ah-ha!" and "Duh!" moment. Hopefully I wasn't the only one confused by these things.

Promised Messiah/Meridian of Time

As I continue in this class I realize again and again that there is a lot of info in the New Testament that I only knew superficially. I could likely tell you the basic stories and I have retained a few insights from Sunday School lessons and Sacrament talks, but still my knowledge is definitely limited. One time that I realized this was when I was reading the Bible Dictionary entry for “Dead Sea Scrolls.” I have heard these scrolls mentioned many times before, but I never really realized how important they are in archeologically supporting the records present in the Bible. Although I know I should base my testimony of The Bible on my personal experiences and feelings, it is reassuring when there is scientific evidence in support of it too.

One question that I am still wondering about when reading Chapter 2 in “The Life and Teachings of Jesus & His Apostles” came up when I read “Under the direction of his Father, Jesus Christ created this earth. No doubt others helped him, but it was Jesus Chris, our Redeemer, who, under the direction of his Father, came down and organized matter and made this planet…” (pg. 16). Who are these others that helped him? I thought Christ alone was the creator. Did he just create everything physically, but others helped him figure out how everything would work together? If so, I thought he wouldn’t really need any help because he is of the highest intelligence greater than any other. In John 1:3 it says “All things were made by him” so that seems like he did it without help from others.

One verse that really stood out to me and made me think was John 1:17. “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” I think this is really neat because before Christ there were rules, but it wasn’t until after Christ came that the reasons behind those rules and things that evolved from those rules became evident. He brought all of the meaning to following the Gospel. He was a perfect example to us and provides everything for us via the atonement.

Another verse I liked was John 17:5 because it talks about Christ wanting to return to be with the Father and be part of the God Head once more.

Something that I had never learned about before was the meaning of Jehovah. I found it really interesting that the name Jehovah or I Am was not spoken of because the ancient Jews thought it might incur divine wrath. The Jews were angry with him because they were offended by his language, but he was actually the great I Am, so they really shouldn't have been offended.

Introduction/The Jesus We Worship

Let me just start off by saying that I am really glad that I picked up the manual that goes along with this class. It is “The Life and Teachings of Jesus & His Apostles.” I can already tell that I will use this book beyond this class. It is really organized and I love the quotes in it. I starting thinking about how I could incorporate what I read today into a sacrament talk. I think it will really enrich my study of the New Testament.

Today’s reading assignment was about Jesus, who he is, and what he is to us. The first major impression that I got was the inconceivability of the creation of our galaxy. Jesus has performed many miracles, but organizing our earth, in addition to the many other worlds is, quite frankly, amazing. I don’t even have to think about the astronomical systems created beyond that to be humbled and in awe of the powerful Man that is Jesus Christ. When the guide said “how simple that must have been to a Deity to made universes” in reference to creative miracles, like turning water into wine, I realized that I tend to focus on these smaller creative miracles. This is not a bad thing, but I am glad that I was reminded today of Earth’s creation and the creation of universes and galaxies. I think today was also the first time that I really saw a strong connection between Christ creating other worlds and Moses 1:39 “For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” I think I had read this verse so much on its own that I forget to read prior and get the context of its full meaning.

Today I felt that I identified with Moses when he was transfigured and God reveals himself to Moses. Now I have not been transfigured or anything like that, but I could relate to having Satan try to tempt me. Like Moses, shortly after I have a great spiritual experience, I feel like Satan is trying to get at me even harder. It is like he realizes that I have improved myself and wants to bring me back down.