Seek The Lord Often

This last week in my New Testament class we studied the end of Jesus Christ's life and his suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane. In John 17, he gives the great intercessory prayer. There was one particular verse that really stood out to me. Part of verse 24 reads: "Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am..." Christ is likely speaking of  us being with him in his kingdom someday, but when I read it I thought of something more immediate. I thought of the suffering Christ was undergoing in the Garden of Gethsemane and how it is possible he asked for us, his brothers and sisters, to be with him. I love the picture by Carl Bloch that depicts Christ suffering with an angel at his side. It is beautiful to think of all who were relying on and pulling for Jesus in his infinitely important and vital role. I can only imagine how it was for us watching down from the heavens as he suffered for each one of us individually. How must we have fe...

This week I'm going to jump into Christ's parable of the talents in Matthew 25. "And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey" (Matt. 25:15) . In the parable of the talents, Christ teaches us some very powerful lessons. He teaches us that we are not all given the same number of talents. God is a just God. Isn't he? Aren't we all equal in his eyes? Why is it that he seems to give some more talents than others? There are a few things I would like to highlight from this scripture. First, the word talent can have many different meanings and applications, but in this post I am going to focus on the Greek word "talenton" which means "weight." Now if we read the scripture, it makes a lot more sense. Heavenly Father gives us weights or responsibilities according to our ability to handle them. At the end of the parable, when the Lord re...

This week I am going to combine a scripture from last week with something that Brother Griffin said this week. The scripture is found in Matthew 22. In verse 42, Jesus poses the question, “What think ye of Christ?” This question motivates our actions, for how we act depends on how we view Christ. Who is Christ to you? Is he merely a man? ( C.S. Lewis andTad R. Callister ). Is he a prophet? Or do you view him as your savior? What is his character? What emotions do you feel when you think of him? Do you fear him? Do you feel his mercy? What causes you to feel the way you do about him? I have struggled a lot of my life to feel Christ’s love. I have often seen him as a “hard man” ( Matthew 25:24 ) and felt that if I made a mistake I was not worthy to enter into his kingdom. I saw only the justice side and not the mercy. Stephen E. Robinson, in his book “Believing Christ” talks about how we need to believe that Christ can save us in instead of just believing in him. We need to be...

I've been very uplifted this semester as I've had the chance to study the life of our Savior, Jesus Christ in the New Testament. I've felt peace as I've learned from his teachings, example and parables. He invites us to follow him. He leads us. He is truly the good shepherd. I was very touched by the scriptures about Jesus as the Good Shepherd in John 10 . Jesus Christ will never force us to follow him. He is a shepherd. He does not simply herd his sheep. He leads us. Like any good shepherd, he knows his sheep by name and they know him. They follow him because they recognize his voice. No one enters his fold but through him and through making covenants with him. He is the door of the sheepfold. Those who wish to have them as their leader promise to live as he did and invite others to enjoy the same kind of life. He has laid down his life for his sheep and he loves them. He provides protection from the gloom, confusion and evil influences of the world. If being part ...

We often have challenges that only the Great Healer can fix. Those challenges can be physical or spiritual. Many times we want to tell the Lord when or how we want to be healed. We must remember that the healing takes place in the Lord’s time and in his own way. In Isaiah 55:9, the Lord reminds us, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your way, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Today I wish to focus on the “how” of the healing by referring to one of Christ’s miracles in the New Testament. John 9 recounts the story of Jesus healing a blind man. My professor, Brother Griffin, gave some interesting insight into the “how” of the miracle. Jesus passed by a man who had been blind from birth. He spit on the ground and made clay and anointed the eyes of the blind man. Brother Griffin had us imagine what it must have felt like to be the blind man and hear someone spit right next to you and then shove mud in your eyes. I would personally be a litt...

"This is my beloved Son." Many Christians and students of the Bible have heard this phrase numerous times. Every time Heavenly Father presents his son, Jesus Christ, he says these words. We hear the phrase repeated so often in scripture and in discussions, but have we ever stopped to understand its meaning and implication? Heavenly Father didn't just say, "This is my son, Jesus." He emphasized that he was "beloved," meaning he was "greatly loved" or "dear to his heart." Our Father in Heaven taught us something very important. He reminded us how critical it is to let our loved ones know how much we love them in front of others. We may often feel it is prideful or embarrassing to tell people how much we love our family members. It is so easy to forget to express love. President Monson said , " Often we assume that they must  know how much we love them. But we should never assume; we should let them know." Jesus Christ cl...

This last week in my New Testament class, we went over the parable of the Good Samaritan. My teacher, Brother Griffin, reminded us that Joseph Smith said that one of the keys to understanding a parable is to see what question or concern brought it on. In this case, a lawyer asked Jesus what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. Jesus pointed him to the law of Moses which says to love the Lord and love your neighbor. To this, the man asked, " And who is my neighbour ?" I would like to briefly explore this question. Who is my neighbor? Many of us have likely asked this question. If loving our neighbor is a commandment to inherit eternal life, who do we need to love to get in to heaven? Jesus gave us some insight when he said, " Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you. " How can we obtain this love for all, even our enemies? Moroni, a prophet of God, gives us thi...