John The Baptist

Matthew 11: 1-19, Luke 7:18-35. John the Baptist

The two disciples of John the Baptist asked him if he was the Messiah or if they should look for someone else. If I had been with the disciples of John the Baptist, I would have told John that I saw Jesus cure many of their illnesses, cast out spirits and give sight unto the blind. The lepers were cleansed, the deaf could hear, the dead were raised, and the gospel was preached.

John the Baptist did not doubt that Christ was The Messiah. His disciples were so loyal to him that they were reluctant to leave him and follow their true Master, so he sent them away, telling them to go and ask Christ questions so that they could learn the answers to their questions in hopes that they would gain a testimony for themselves that he was the Son of God.

John the Baptist is considered among the greatest of prophets because of his true devotion to Christ. His entire life was devoted to bringing people to Christ. The scriptures say that there was no greater prophet than he. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught us that no other man was entrusted with the divine mission of preparing the way for the coming of Christ. He also taught that no other man was entrusted with baptizing the Savior. And thirdly, Joseph Smith taught us that at the time, John had the only power and authority, because he was the son of Zacharias, at that time, and the Jews were obligated to obey his instructions.

In John 3:30 it says, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” To me, that means that Christ will always be our Savior and we need to be humble. John was very humble and so willing to serve. We need to humble ourselves and remember the sacrifice that Christ made for us.

John was such an amazing example and hero. He spent his entire life in the service of Christ, bringing people unto Christ. He spent his entire life in the service of Christ, bringing people unto Christ. He not only was the Savior’s cousin, but I’m sure he was a friend and confidant. He was truly amazing.

The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12)

I chose to research and write about The Beatitudes because I have always loved The Sermon on the Mount and the words of Christ.

“Blessed”, according to the footnote on Matthew 5:3 says “The Latin beatus is the basis of the English ‘beatitude,’ meaning ‘to be fortunate,’ ‘to be happy,’ or ‘to be blessed.

My definition for “blessed” is pure happiness which comes from striving for perfection.

Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit: Being poor in spirit is humbling yourself and realizing that you are dependent upon the Lord for everything that you have physically and that you should thank him for these things. In my life, I feel very blessed and “poor in spirit” on a daily basis. Over the years I have been through some difficult trials in my life and I don’t know where I would be without the knowledge that the Lord is there for me and that he knows me personally. To realize that he has entrusted me with my daughter-one of his special spirits, to raise as my earthly daughter, is one of the most humbling callings of my life. I would be nothing without Him and it is only because of Him and his blessings that I am able to accomplish the things that I do.

Blessed Are They That Mourn: To truly feel godly sorry. I have experienced this in my life. I am reminded of how Adam may have felt in the garden when he went after partaking of the fruit, because he realized he was naked. At first we hide from the Lord, knowing that we have done wrong and we have offended our Lord. Perhaps we don’t want to face the consequences of our actions. But inevitably, the regret and sorry of what we have done sinks into our soul and we realize that our actions caused our Savior, even the greatest of all, to bleed from every poor. And we mourn, and we feel godly sorrow for our sins. And we repent and ask forgiveness. I am so grateful for the atonement in my life and for the tender mercy of Jesus Christ who allows me to be forgiven.

Blessed Are They That Hunger and Thirst After Righteousness: After we have felt that godly sorrow for our sins and repented, we are renewed with a thirst to do nothing but good. We never want to disappoint our Heavenly Father again and so we have a new zeal to do our very best to keep the commandments. We read our scriptures and say our prayers. We attend our church meetings and fulfill our callings. There is no better feeling than knowing that you are in good standing with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and that you are doing all that you can do to return to their presence.

The Samaritan Woman at the Well

The Samaritan Woman at the Well

John 4: 1-42

I try to imagine myself in the shoes of the Samaritan woman at the well. The Samaritan woman was surprised that Jesus, a Jew, would talk to her because the Orthodox Jew of that time thought that Samaritans were more unclean than a Gentile of any other nationality. In fact, the direct route from Judea to Galilee was through Samaria, but many Jews would travel a much longer route to avoid going through Samaria. The Jews disliked the Samaritans because they were descendants of foreign lands and were of mixed races. They also disliked them because they boasted that Jacob was their father, which the Jews denied.

Christ loved all people, no matter what their race, or circumstance in life. He wanted them all to come unto him, so that is why he went through Samaria, because he would never neglect or ignore anyone. We will be judged individually according to what we have done.

By going through Samaria and talking to the woman at the well, Jesus was preparing his disciples to preach the gospel to all nations and to all people, regardless of their race, nationality, or religion. He was showing them that even though the custom was that Jews were to avoid Samaritans, He would not.

At first, the woman is a bit defensive and asks why he is asking her for a drink, because she is a Samaritan, and he is a Jew, and Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Then he tells her that if she knew who he was, she would have asked him for living water. She then asks him if he thinks his water is greater than her father Jacob’s. You can tell that her heart is softening because she continues to talk to him and ask him questions.

Our physical body needs water to live, just like our spirit needs Christ. Christ is the “living water” for our spirit it will wither away without him, just as our physical bodies will die without water. People are prone to try to find substitutes to replace Christ in their lives.

I was raised in the church. My mom has always been an active member and my dad was active off and on until I was a teenager. When my parents divorced, my dad left the church. As a child, I depended on my parents’ testimonies and what they believed in, and it wasn’t until I was probably in high school that I really gained my own testimony. As I started taking seminary, and really studying the scriptures, I started to learn more about the Savior’s life and how the atonement applied to me. I began to have a personal relationship with Him and realize my individual worth. Throughout the years since then, my testimony has deepened because of adversity that I have encountered. When you are at the end of your rope and you don’t know how much longer you can hold on, that is when you muster every particle of faith you have, and you get through it. And that increases your testimony. I am grateful for the knowledge that I have that my Savior is there for me, and that he loves me, unconditionally. I am grateful to know that he not only died for the sinner, but for the sinned against. He knows every sorrow and worry I have ever felt and will ever feel. He is all knowing and all powerful. He is my brother, and my friend.

New Testament Class

This semester I am taking a New Testament class. I am really excited about it. There is nothing I need more in my life than to learn more about the Savior and his life. Our first assignment was to study about his birth in Matthew 1-2, Luke 1-2 and John 1, and John 17. I have read about his birth over and over throughout the years, but never this in depth. My Student Choice Assignment was to read Luke 1:39-45, 2:8-38; Matthew 2:1-18 which talks about different people who learned of the birth of Jesus Christ. I filled out a chart describing who they were, how they learned about the Savior, what they knew about the Savior, and what they did with their knowledge of Him.

Who	How they learned about the Savior	What they knew about the Savior	What they did with their knowledge
Elisabeth (Luke 1:39-45)	Her cousin, Mary, the Savior’s mother came to visit her. When Mary entered her home and greeted her, Elisabeth’s baby leaped in her womb, and she was filled with the Holy Ghost. At that moment, she knew that Mary was carrying the Son of God.	She knew that the Savior was prophesied to come soon.	She knew that Mary was going to be the mother of the Savior and she told Mary that.
Shepherds (Luke 2:8-18)	An angel of the Lord appeared unto them and told them of his birth	They knew that he was born in the City of David and he would be wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger	They made it known to those around them which was told to them concerning the child
Simeon (Luke 2:25-35)	The Holy Ghost revealed unto him that he should not see death until he shall see Christ	He would be a light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of the people of Israel	He told Mary and Joseph
Anna (Luke 2:36-38)	She lived at the temple and was able to see him	She knew he was the Redeemer and Savior	She would speak of the Savior to all that looked for redemption in Jeruselam
Wise Men (Matthew 2: 1-12)	They heard the prophesy of the star and saw the star in the east and went to worship him	They saw the young child with his mother Mary and they gave him gifts. God warned them in a dream that they should not return to Herod.	They departed to their country another way. It doesn’t say what they did with their knowledge, but I’m sure they told many about their experience of seeing the Savior.
Herod (Matthew 2: 1-18	Herod had sent the Wise Men to find the Savior.	When the wise men didn’t return, he was angry and slew all children in Bethlehem 2 years and under	He was an evil man and tried to destroy the Savior.
Chief Priests (Matthew 2:1-6)	The prophets wrote of the Savior’s birth and that’s how they knew that he would be born	They knew that there would be a star in the east and that would be the sign of his birth	They told Herod that he would be born in Bethlehem of Judaea, according to the writings of the prophets
Nephites (3 Nephi 1: 12-22)	There was a sign—in the night there was no darkness, according to the prophesy	That when they saw the signs, that he would be born	Many repented and received a remission of their sins

2. Write a response to the question: What do I know about the Savior, how have I learned it, and what am I doing with what I know?

I know that the Savior is my Redeemer, my Brother, and my Friend. I know that He suffered for my sins and that He has felt every heartache, worry, doubt, and fear that I have ever had and will ever have. I know that He has faith in me and that He loves me. I know that the atonement is real not only for the sinner, but for the sinned against and that He can heal physical and emotional wounds. I have learned these things through study, prayer, and most of all, through personal experience. I am trying to live my life to be more like Him, so that the people around me will see His image in me. I am trying to teach my daughter about Him, so that she will know Him and have a personal relationship with Him.