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| Ninja Unicorn |
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| Prison Inmate |
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| Badger |
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| Bassek Starbuck (his own comic book character) |
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| China Doll |
Sunday, October 25, 2015
Halloween 2015
2 Nephi 9
As those who read this blog know, I have been studying the Book of Mormon for a class I am taking this semester. Our reading assignment this week was 2 Nephi 9-16. Some of these chapters were difficult to understand because they were chapters from Isaiah. However, I really liked chapter 9 which explained the Atonement and what we need to do or not do if we want to be saved through this wonderful gift. It is a long chapter, so I'm not going to go trough the entire chapter, but I would like to go over some of the highlights.
Verses 5 and 6 explain "...the great Creator that suffereth himself to become subject unto man in the flesh, and die for all men, that all men might become subject unto him. For as death passed upon all men, to fulfill the merciful plan of the great creator, there must needs be a power of resurrection.." This is interesting to me because it explains the purpose of Christ coming to earth and dying. We are told that he was subject to men and now we are subject to him. I didn't think of it this way before. I had not thought of Jesus be subject to the laws of man, but we know that he was because he was careful of how he worded things like when he was asked what the greatest commandment was he responded in Mark 12:30-31, "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. and the Second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is non other commandment greater than these." By doing this, he had broken no laws and satisfied the will of God, his father. He was also crucified because of the corrupt laws of man. Because of this great sacrifice, we are now asked to be subject to Christ. He paid for our sins and he wants us to come unto him.
Further in the chapter, we are advised of Spiritual death which is the complete separation, both physical and spiritual, from our Heavenly Father. We that if we make the wrong choices we will have "perfect knowledge of our guilt," but if we choose righteously we will "have a perfect knowledge of (our) enjoyment" in verse 14. I would rather remember the joys that I had through life rather than the things I would need to feel guilty about. I don't know about you, but I don't like that guilty feeling. This is because of the atonement as well.
I think the best part of this chapter is verse 18 where we are given our goal for this life, "But , behold, the righteous, the saints of the Holy One of Israel, they who have believed int he Holy one of Israel, they who have endured the crosses of the world,and despised the same of it, they shall inherit the kingdom of God, which was prepared for them from the foundation of the world, and their joy shall be forever." This is a great goal for us with a promise from our loving God! We are old if we follow Christ as we endure the challenges of life, we will have eternal life with our Father in Heaven. Not only do they want us to have this gift, they have a place saved for us. That is even better than walking into a ward party and having a friend save seats for me and my family (which is a great feeling). They want us to succeed. They are waiting for us to come back. To put the icing on the cake, we will have eternal joy. What more could we ask for?
Christ came to this earth as a man. He suffered many things for us and was subject to all of the evils of the world. He knew joys and pain while he was here. He suffered and was crucified for us. All he is asking in return is that we follow His example. If we do so, he has a spot reserved for us where we will not feel pain and sorrow. He knew we wouldn't be perfect, but if we do our part by repenting and listening to and following His counsel, he has already paid the price so that we can still claim that spot. Isn't that a wonderful promise?
Please, take the time to REALLY study 2 Nephi. It is an amazing chapter of scripture that spells out all we need to know about the Atonement.
Verses 5 and 6 explain "...the great Creator that suffereth himself to become subject unto man in the flesh, and die for all men, that all men might become subject unto him. For as death passed upon all men, to fulfill the merciful plan of the great creator, there must needs be a power of resurrection.." This is interesting to me because it explains the purpose of Christ coming to earth and dying. We are told that he was subject to men and now we are subject to him. I didn't think of it this way before. I had not thought of Jesus be subject to the laws of man, but we know that he was because he was careful of how he worded things like when he was asked what the greatest commandment was he responded in Mark 12:30-31, "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. and the Second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is non other commandment greater than these." By doing this, he had broken no laws and satisfied the will of God, his father. He was also crucified because of the corrupt laws of man. Because of this great sacrifice, we are now asked to be subject to Christ. He paid for our sins and he wants us to come unto him.
Further in the chapter, we are advised of Spiritual death which is the complete separation, both physical and spiritual, from our Heavenly Father. We that if we make the wrong choices we will have "perfect knowledge of our guilt," but if we choose righteously we will "have a perfect knowledge of (our) enjoyment" in verse 14. I would rather remember the joys that I had through life rather than the things I would need to feel guilty about. I don't know about you, but I don't like that guilty feeling. This is because of the atonement as well.
I think the best part of this chapter is verse 18 where we are given our goal for this life, "But , behold, the righteous, the saints of the Holy One of Israel, they who have believed int he Holy one of Israel, they who have endured the crosses of the world,and despised the same of it, they shall inherit the kingdom of God, which was prepared for them from the foundation of the world, and their joy shall be forever." This is a great goal for us with a promise from our loving God! We are old if we follow Christ as we endure the challenges of life, we will have eternal life with our Father in Heaven. Not only do they want us to have this gift, they have a place saved for us. That is even better than walking into a ward party and having a friend save seats for me and my family (which is a great feeling). They want us to succeed. They are waiting for us to come back. To put the icing on the cake, we will have eternal joy. What more could we ask for?
Christ came to this earth as a man. He suffered many things for us and was subject to all of the evils of the world. He knew joys and pain while he was here. He suffered and was crucified for us. All he is asking in return is that we follow His example. If we do so, he has a spot reserved for us where we will not feel pain and sorrow. He knew we wouldn't be perfect, but if we do our part by repenting and listening to and following His counsel, he has already paid the price so that we can still claim that spot. Isn't that a wonderful promise?
Please, take the time to REALLY study 2 Nephi. It is an amazing chapter of scripture that spells out all we need to know about the Atonement.
Saturday, October 10, 2015
Straiten Through Afflictions
I have been studying 1 Nephi 15 to 22 this week. I have learned some important lessons. The main one that I have learned is that we are given trials, struggles, and afflictions to make us stronger and to gain the blessings that the Lord has in store for us.
I started learning this lesson as I was reading chapter 17. In this chapter, Nephi is commanded to build a ship, and the Lord shows him how. His brothers mock him and call him a fool for thinking he can build a ship and cross the vast waters. They didn't believe that the Lord had commanded him to build a ship and was showing him how. He stood up to his brother and told them that if the Lord could bring the children of Isreal out of bondage, He can help him build a boat saying in verse 37 to 40, "And he raiseth up a righteous nation, and destroyeth the nations of the wicked. And he leadeth away the righteous into precious lands, and the wicked he destroyeth, and curseth the land unto them for their sakes. He ruleth high in the heavens...And he loveth those who will have him to be their God..." He continues on to say that the Lord "did straiten them in the wilderness...because of their iniquity" in verse 41. I looked up straiten because I wanted to see why they would use this spelling of the word. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary online, straiten means to make narrow. According to dictionary.com, it means" to put into or bring into difficulties or distress." To me this means, he is telling us that the Lord was giving them difficulties and narrowing their options because they are not following the commandments.
Now, I am going to skip to chapter 20. This chapter is like Isaiah chapter 48. I want to concentrate on just a few verses: 10, 18, and 22. "For behold, I have refined, thee, I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction...O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments - then had peace been as a river, and they righteousness as the waves of the sea...there is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked." We are being told that the Lord is refining us with afflictions and if we follow the commandments we will have peace and a greater influence on others. Also, if we don't listen to Him, we will not have those blessings. Afflictions are not fun. Dictionary.com defines affliction as, "a state of pain, distress, or grief." We are not given peace automatically. We have to go through the "pain, distress, and grief" while obeying the Lord and following his plan for us. As we do this, he will bless us with peace.
In the Hymn book for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, we are taught "Sweet is the peace the gospel brings to seeking minds and true," in Hymn 14. As I have been studying the scripture over the last few weeks, this hymn has brought more and more meaning into my life. It has calmed me when I am scared, it has helped me in my studies, and it has helped me be more patient with my family. I know that the Lord brings us to Him through our trials and obedience. I am so happy that I have the opportunity to truly study and learn from the Book of Mormon!
I started learning this lesson as I was reading chapter 17. In this chapter, Nephi is commanded to build a ship, and the Lord shows him how. His brothers mock him and call him a fool for thinking he can build a ship and cross the vast waters. They didn't believe that the Lord had commanded him to build a ship and was showing him how. He stood up to his brother and told them that if the Lord could bring the children of Isreal out of bondage, He can help him build a boat saying in verse 37 to 40, "And he raiseth up a righteous nation, and destroyeth the nations of the wicked. And he leadeth away the righteous into precious lands, and the wicked he destroyeth, and curseth the land unto them for their sakes. He ruleth high in the heavens...And he loveth those who will have him to be their God..." He continues on to say that the Lord "did straiten them in the wilderness...because of their iniquity" in verse 41. I looked up straiten because I wanted to see why they would use this spelling of the word. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary online, straiten means to make narrow. According to dictionary.com, it means" to put into or bring into difficulties or distress." To me this means, he is telling us that the Lord was giving them difficulties and narrowing their options because they are not following the commandments.
Now, I am going to skip to chapter 20. This chapter is like Isaiah chapter 48. I want to concentrate on just a few verses: 10, 18, and 22. "For behold, I have refined, thee, I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction...O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments - then had peace been as a river, and they righteousness as the waves of the sea...there is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked." We are being told that the Lord is refining us with afflictions and if we follow the commandments we will have peace and a greater influence on others. Also, if we don't listen to Him, we will not have those blessings. Afflictions are not fun. Dictionary.com defines affliction as, "a state of pain, distress, or grief." We are not given peace automatically. We have to go through the "pain, distress, and grief" while obeying the Lord and following his plan for us. As we do this, he will bless us with peace.
In the Hymn book for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, we are taught "Sweet is the peace the gospel brings to seeking minds and true," in Hymn 14. As I have been studying the scripture over the last few weeks, this hymn has brought more and more meaning into my life. It has calmed me when I am scared, it has helped me in my studies, and it has helped me be more patient with my family. I know that the Lord brings us to Him through our trials and obedience. I am so happy that I have the opportunity to truly study and learn from the Book of Mormon!
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