Week 14: John 20:15

In John 20:15 Mary Magdalene has gone to take care of the body of Christ but has come to discover that it is not where it was laid. As she mourns someone she assumes to be a gardener comes and asks her why she weeps and she responds "Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away." She does not recognize that it is Christ who has come to her in her state of mourning and she brushes him off and almost accuses him of being the cause of her current problem. As I read this I wondered how often we do something similar. Sometimes when we are struggling the Spirit is trying to come to us and teach us something important and we ignore his message and proceed to blame God for the problem with which we are dealing. The Savior was patient with Mary though, and waited for her to realize who He was and then was able to show her the miracle that was His resurrection. I know Christ waits patiently for each of us and if we are looking for His hand in our lives, we will be able to more fully recognize the miracle of the Atonement.

Week 13: Matt 27:26

In Matt 27:26 Pilate releases Barabbas, a man accused of theft, murder, and sedition, and lets him go free while he delivers Christ to be crucified. When reading this verse we naturally dislike Barabbas and the fact that he would let the innocent Christ go to the cross when he himself is guilty. However, don't we all do the same thing? Barabbas is a representation of each one of us. We are all far more wicked than Christ and yet he suffered and died for us. While there is no record of how Barabbas responded to being set free there are two options. He could be grateful for the second chance he was given and hold Jesus near to him knowing that an innocent man died in his place or, he can go about his life forgetting the incident and acting as if he was never sentenced to death. These are the same choices we face. When we partake of the sacrament each week we covenant to always remember him and therefore need to choose the first option. We must not go about our lives forgetting the pains and sacrifice that Jesus bore for each one of us. We are all guilty of doing so but each week as we partake of the sacrament we are given the opportunity to start over and try again to do better. 

Week 12: Mark 14:34-36

This week in my New Testament class we were reading of Christ's experience in Gethsemane. In recent years, it has been consistently pointed out to me whenever I read of this that the actual account is very different than how it has been depicted in many church paintings. In Mark 14:35 it states that "fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him." The falling on the ground is emphasized to help us recognize the physical pain Christ was going through and that this wasn't an easy experience for him even as the Son of God and he wasn't just kneeling in prayer to the Father. We know that He was experiencing every kind of pain, sin, and guilt imaginable but a new insight that I gained this time that made it even more meaningful for me was that Christ doesn't actually take our sins but rather our consequences. Often times we actually enjoy the sin in our carnal state but the pain comes from the consequence. Christ receives none of the pleasure that we get from sin but still willingly took all of the suffering. He is truly the epitome of all selflessness and studying it again this week helped me to remember that once again. If you are ever feeling beyond help or hope, really study the act of the Atonement and you will feel of His love and comfort for you specifically.

Week 11: Matt 26:6

It is amazing how much the smallest verses of scripture can influence us. Matthew 26:6 reads: "Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper," and that's all it says. Is it really possible to gain something from that? It's not even a full sentence. I think it is possible. When we read this verse in class our professor pointed out that Simon was no longer a leper, he had already been healed, and yet he still is given the title of leper. This verse teaches us about the long lasting effects of previous parts of our lives. We may go through the healing process of repentance and be completely whole in God's eye but those around us may not recognize this change in us. We may still be viewed as a "leper" among our peers but we have to recognize that this isn't actually a defining characteristic of us and learn to look past it in ourselves. Simon once was a leper but was healed through Christ and because of this will one day become just Simon even if he is always considered a leper during this life. We must have faith in how God views us and not worry about what those around us may think.

Week 10: Matt 22:23-33

Often times as members of the LDS church we are shown scriptures that seem to counteract what we know to be true. These situations can make some people question their beliefs and others often just ignore the scriptural passage because they don't have an answer for it. One such verse that members often face is Matt 22: 30 that reads "For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven." Out of context this may be troublesome because it contradicts what we believe about families being sealed for time and all eternity. However, when read  it in context we realize that this answer was given by Christ in response to a question about a women who was given in 7 civil marriages and who she would be married to in the resurrection. When this is considered then verse 30 is no longer troubling but is a confirmation of what we believe about marriage. Studying this reminded me that we must always be sure to study the scriptures in context with the Spirit guiding us in order to not be lead astray and I challenge all of you to do likewise.

Week 9: Matt 21:19-20

In Matthew 21:19-20, Christ comes to a fig tree that appeared to be producing well but then notices that there isn't actually any fruit on it. He then pronounces the first curse we have record of on the fig tree announcing that it will never grow fruit. The tree immediately withers and the the disciples are surprised at how quickly the tree died. I don't know how many times I had heard this story and just moved on without much thought. It isn't one of the most discussed stories from the New Testament so digging deeper into it was a new experience for me. My religion professor pointed out how easy it is for us to be like the fig tree. Many of us live by the phrase "fake it til you make it," and go about attending our church meetings and reading our scriptures but we aren't really bearing any fruit. We have to have a strong enough testimony, our root system, that we can grow and develop the leaves like this fig tree had but we also need to become strong enough to be able to support fruit. We need to make sure we are not just at church for appearances sake but that we are actually going out and doing good because of it.

Week 7: Matthew 17

Something that was said this week in my New Testament class really hit me. We were reading in Matthew 17:5 which is one of the few times we hear the voice of Heavenly Father and my teacher asked us what one word is used every time the Father speaks. We all threw out guesses but I was still surprised by the answer. The word was beloved. Our professor then went on to point out how comforting it must have been for the Savior to hear. He was living on earth and was a real person with real temptations and whenever his father introduced him he was told again and again that he was loved. Our professor then told us quite frankly that we needed to express our love more too. This is not something that I am very good at and actually causes some angst but when he said it I knew it was something that I needed to work on. The past week has been filled with opportunities to express my feelings to those around me and as I have done so I know it has made a difference in my life as well as theirs. As you go about the next week or so, try to express your love to those around you a little bit more and see what difference it makes.