The Savior's Instructions on the Holy Ghost

1. What the Savior taught about the Holy Ghost and what His disciples must do to receive it:

               

Scripture:	About the Holy Ghost:	What we must do:
John 14:15-17	He is a comforter and the Spirit of truth	Keep the commandments
John 14:26-27	He will teach us all things, bring all things to our remembrance, give us peace, and again the Holy Ghost is a comforter	We must have faith - "Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."
John 15:26-27	Comforter, Spirit of truth, will testify of Jesus Christ	We must bear witness of the Savior and what the Spirit has testified to us.
John 16:7-8	Comforter, reprove the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgement	We cannot have the Savior physically with us if we are to have the Holy Ghost
John 16:13-14	Spirit of truth, guide us to all truth, show us things to come, glorify Christ	We must be one of the Savior's followers and believers if we are to receive these blessings from the Spirit
Institute Manual	We learn that the Spirit will quicken, or make alive, our minds, and intellectual facilities. He refines our passions, desires, and appetites with wisdom. Parley P. Pratt said: In short, it is, as it were, marrow to the bone, joy to the heart, light to the eyes, music to the ears, and life to the whole being. “In the presence of such persons, one feels to enjoy the light of their countenances, as the genial rays of a sunbeam. Their very atmosphere diffuses a thrill, a warm glow of pure gladness and sympathy, to the heart and nerves of others who have kindred feelings, or sympathy of spirit.”	We must keep the commandments with all diligence and faithfulness. We also must make and keep covenants to receive all these blessings!

                After Christ was resurrected and left His apostles they were able to have the gift of the Holy Ghost. I am sure that the Holy Ghost helped them to fulfill all their responsibilities. He would help them organize and establish the Church as Christ did, he revealed to them new revelations and things that they needed to know. I believe they relied very heavily on the Spirit to guide them as they were left in charge of the Church. I am sure that He was also a great source of comfort for them. One of his roles is the comforter. After the death of Christ I am sure they needed that source of comfort and strength!

                I am so grateful for the role and the influence of the Holy Ghost in my life! I know that I would not be able to make it through each day without his guidance. There are so many times that I begin to feel overwhelmed with school, being a mother and a wife, and balancing everything I have to do, when I feel a gentle reminder of who I am, why I am doing everything I am, and who is there to help me every step of the way! This past semester I have especially felt the help and guidance of the Spirit in helping me to make it through each day. When I choose to turn to Him and feel the influence of the Holy Ghost in my life I can truly see the hand of the Lord in each day! The Holy Ghost has helped me with big things like tests and doing well when I didn't expect to, to simple everyday things like finding time to load the dishwasher and clean off the kitchen counter because keeping a clean home is important to me. When I turn to the Holy Ghost my days are so much better.

John 13:34–35. A New Commandment

1. According to John 13:34–35, how can others know if we are disciples of Jesus Christ?
   
   • Others can know that we are disciples of Jesus Christ by the way we love and treat each other.
2. List some specific ways a disciple of Jesus Christ might respond in the following situations (in accordance with John 13:34–35):
   • Someone you know is ridiculed or made fun of because of the way he or she dresses. 
   • Being a disciple of Jesus Christ if I saw this I would not participate in the ridiculing. Instead, I would try to reach out and become their friend. I would strive to set a good example to those who are doing the ridiculing and I would become a friend to the person who is being ridiculed. 
   • You see a new person at church. 
   • I would try and become friends with them and help them to feel a part of the ward. 
3. Ponder the question, “Do people know that I am a disciple of Jesus Christ by the way I treat them?” Select a family member, coworker, or neighbor and make a short list of things you can do during the coming week to show him or her the kind of love the Savior would show. Then follow through with what you wrote down. 

• Next week I will follow up with how this went :) 

Preparing for the Savior's Second Coming

Mark 13:5,9,23,33,35,37. What are things I can watch for in order to be prepared?

• "Take heed lest any man deceive you" - Watch to make sure I am not deceived. 
• "I have foretold you all things" - watch for the things that have been foretold
• "Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is." - watch and prepare my home for when He comes.

Other truths about how to prepare for His coming:

• D&C 87:8 - Stand in holy places and be not moved!

• JS-M 1:32 - know the prophecies of old that must be fulfilled

• JS-M 1:37 - treasure up the words of Christ!
• This is one of my favorite scriptures. I love knowing that if I treasure up His words and if that is where my heart is, I will have His spirit to guide me. I will not be deceived at the last day, but I will be prepared for when He comes! 

• JS-M 1:46-50 - Prepare my home for His coming! Be always ready, always standing as a witness for Him. Be a faithful and wise servant. 

• D&C 33:17 - Have my lamp trimmed and burning with oil always!
• How do I get the oil? - These are a few of the things that first came to my mind when I asked myself this:
• acts of service
• daily prayer
• daily scripture study
• using the talents the Lord has blessed me with to build His kingdom
• teach my children the gospel 
• be obedient in all things
• be honest in all things
• attend the temple 

Just doing these simple daily and regular things is what will keep me on the path that will lead me and my family back to Heavenly Father. The little things we do everyday matter so much!

• D&C 45:56-57 - Parable of the Ten Virgins will be fulfilled: "They that are wise and have received the truth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and have not been deceived...shall abide the day."

I want to be one that an abide the day! Whether it happens in my lifetime or my children's, or their children's, I want to be worthy to be in His presence at that time. I love this gospel! I want to live it with all my heart. There are a lot of things that I need to improve on and do better in, but I know that as we continually work each day, we can become closer to our Father in Heaven. He knows us and He loves us! The little things that we do each day really are what keep us on the right track. Today I am going to find one attribute to work on, study, and improve over the next few weeks. What are you going to do today, or begin doing today, to prepare? 

Mark 12:41-44. The Widow's Mite

In Mark 12:28-30 the Savior taught that the first great commandment is to "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." The widow in Mark 12:41-44 is an example of someone who lived this commandment because she was willing to give all that she had for the Lord. She had a willing mind and a willing heart.

When she went to offer her sacrifice, she threw in two mites. The Savior said that she "cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasure: For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living." She was willing to give all that she had because she truly loved the Lord her God. Her example teaches us about what is an acceptable offering before the Lord. In 2 Nephi 25:23 we learn that we are saved by grace, "after all we can do." We must be willing to give all that we have for the Lord. We must be willing to do all that we can. We cannot halfheartedly keep the commandments and expect to receive all the blessings associated with keeping the commandments. The Lord will accept what we have done when we have a willing mind and an honest heart, striving to do all that we can before Him!

I could better follow the example of the widow by being willing to sacrifice my desires for the Lord's. I need to be willing to sacrifice all the talents that the Lord has blessed me with to be used in His service. I need to only desire to praise the Lord in all that I do. Especially with the music talents that I have been blessed with. I must find how the Lord would have me use them to build up His kingdom. I do not have them for my own personal gain, but I have been given them because there is something the Lord would have me do in His kingdom with them. I must be willing to sacrifice what I want and fully turn my life over to the Lord for His direction!

Luke 16-18. Parables and Accounts that Teach Eternal Principles

1. Luke 16:1-12, Parable of the Unjust Steward

•  I think that the main principle in this parable that we are to learn is to be wise and prudent with what we have been given. Especially if we have been blessed with riches, we are to use them wisely for the benefit of others. We must plan for the future in this life and in the world to come.

2. Luke 16:19-31, Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus

• In this parable we learn about the spirit world. We learn that before Christ visited the spirit world after His death and before his resurrection, there was no interaction between the spirits in paradise and those in spirit prison. Now, the gospel is preached in all parts of the spirit world just as it is here. Everyone who seeks repentance is granted it.

3. Luke 17:11-19, Ten Lepers

• I think that from this parable the main principle is the Lord accepts all who have faith. Having the lepers go to the priests was a test of their faith. Those who had the faith to go to the priest were cleansed. Not all the lepers were Jewish. The one that returned to give thanks was a Samaritan. This shows how Christ did not limit his teaching and healing to one group of people.

4. Luke 18:1-8, Parable of the Unjust Judge

• From the parable of the unjust judge, the main principle is that God will always be there. He, unlike the judge, wants to hear our problems and our concerns. The judge helped the woman because he was tired of having her always come to him. So, if he was willing to help her, and he regards neither God nor man, our Heavenly Father who does care for us is so much more willing to help us in all we need. We must pray always and not faint.

5. Luke 9-14, Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican

• Jesus gave the parable of the Pharisee and the publican to teach us to be careful and aware of how we view ourselves and others. We must be humble and submissive. We must not exalt ourselves or think  we are better than those around us!

Being A Disciple of Jesus Christ

Jesus taught many principles that we must follow in order to be one of His disciples. In Luke 10 through 14 there were many, but these are the ones that really stood out to me:

·         Luke 10:42 – I need to choose the better part. I need to not be so worried about little things that are not going to make a big difference in the end. I need to develop a better eternal perspective.

·         Luke 11:1-13 – I must be willing to help those around me even when it is not convenient. I also learned from this parable that I need to trust that Heavenly Father will give me all that I need when I ask in faith with righteous intent.

·         Luke 12:33 – I need to give to others and build my treasure in heaven

·         Luke 12:35 – Be prepared and an example

·         Luke 12:40 – A disciple is ready and waiting for Christ when he comes

·         Luke 14:26-33 – I must be willing to bear my cross and follow after Christ. I must be willing to pay the sacrifices of following Him

·         Luke 13:24 – I must know the gate that I must enter in order to return to Him. I must enter that gate and stay on the straight and narrow path that will lead back to Him!

I would like to follow the principle of reaching out to others and being willing to help those who are around me more. I want to reach out to others and help them and support them, but I get so busy that I don’t even think about it throughout the week. Or if I do think about it I don’t know what to do anyways, and so I don’t do anything. I need to do better. I think that if I do this my life will be more filled with the Spirit! I will come closer to Christ and my Heavenly Father as I reach out and serve those around me. I want to bless the lives of other! So I am going to take time each week to pray about who I can help and serve. Then I will move forward with faith to serve them and do what I feel prompted to do.

In Luke 14:33, Matthew 13:44-46, Mosiah 2:34, and Omni 1:26 there is a common theme of being a disciple. In all of these scriptures it talks about giving of your whole self to God. We owe Him everything. We need to be willing to sacrifice and give Him our all! In order to truly be His disciple we must be willing to sacrifice our own desires, passions, everything we have been blessed with to the Lord and the building of His Kingdom. I hope that I can always do all that He wants me to do! I have such a desire to follow Him and to be close to Him. I want to be His hands here upon the earth. I want to reach out to those who are around me. I know that I have been blessed with so many gifts and talents that somehow the Lord wants me to use them to build up His kingdom. I just need to find out how I can more fully give of myself to Him. All my desires and doings must be for Him and what He would have me do!

John 7:10-17. How to Know the Truth of the Savior's Doctrine

While the Savior was alive on the earth, there were many different reactions about Him. Some thought that He was a good man. Others said that he was not, for he deceived the people. The marveled at the things He was able to do. 

These reactions in many ways are similar to the reactions of people today in the way people think of Jesus Christ. Many people think that He was the Savior. Many others just simply think that He was a great teacher or prophet, not the actual Savior. And still others do not believe anything that He taught.

In these verses the Jews ask the Lord how he knew his letters, meaning how could he read, write and teach, without having ever learned them.

·        We learn in Jacob 4:14 that the Jews were a stiffnecked people. They despised the words of plainness, killed the prophets, and sought for understanding of those things which they could not understand. Therefore, they were blinded. They looked past the mark which was Jesus Christ, and so God took away His “plainness from them and delivered unto them man things which they cannot understand, because they desired it. And because they desired it and God hath done it, that they may stumble.”

·         We also learn in Colossians 2:8 to beware of the traditions of men. The traditions of men will spoil us through philosophy and vain deceit. They are after the world. They are not after Christ, therefore they take us away from Christ.

Putting all these scriptures together, we realize that the Jews could not understand how Christ could do the things that He did because they were looking beyond Him. They were not willing to have faith and believe in Him. They wanted those things that they could not understand. Christ’s gospel is a gospel of simplicity, humility, and diligence. They were so caught up in the traditions that they had established for themselves. They thought that the more little rules they followed the more righteous they were. They had allowed outward appearance of righteousness to replace the inward righteousness. They were so caught up in all of this that they could not see the truth when it was before them.

In contrast to that, we learn in Doctrine and Covenants 93:11-17 where Christ gained His wisdom and His knowledge. Christ received His knowledge directly from God the Father. He received “grace for grace; and he received not the fulness at first, but continued from grace to grace, until he received a fullness…and he received all power, both in heaven ad on earth, and the glory of the Father was with him, for he dwelt in him.” Christ only did what Heavenly Father wanted Him to do. Because He was willing to do all that the Father asked of Him he was able to receive all that the Father had to give to Him!

The same is true with us! Christ teaches us in verse 17 that if we will do His will, if we will follow His teachings, we can know the truth of the doctrines that He taught. We can gain a personal testimony of the words of Christ as we follow them and keep them with all our hearts! Then we too can begin to receive all the Father has in store for us.

President David O. McKay in Conference October 1966 said of this test that Jesus prescribed to know the truth of the doctrine, “That test is most sound. It is most philosophical. It is the most simple test to give knowledge to an individual of which the human mind can conceive. Doing a thing, introducing it into your very being, will convince you whether it is good or whether it is bad. You may not be able to convince me of that which you now, but you know it because you have lived it. That is the test that the Savior gave to those men when they asked him how they should know whether the doctrine was of God or whether it was of man.”

One gospel principle that has been especially important for me lately, and that I have really come to appreciate and rely on, is obedience. We learn in D&C 82:10 that the Lord is bound when we do what He says. When we are obedient we are promised to have His guidance and His Spirit. We will feel of His presence and be encircled about in the arms of His love. I have experienced this so many times in my life! I am especially grateful for this testimony that I have received right now. Life is so busy with school, being married, having Jackie to take care of, trying to practice and develop my talents on the piano, and everything else I feel like I am supposed to do that at times it nearly become overwhelming. But, every time I begin to feel overwhelmed or feel like I can’t do it, I remember the promises that are in the scriptures and the promises I have felt personally from the Lord. He will guide me. As I strive to do what He would have me do, He will lead me where I need to be! I am so grateful for that knowledge! Obedience brings so many blessings! It is so important to be obedient to every commandment. We cannot pick and choose what we want to do and not do. We must be willing to give our lives and our hearts to the Lord and be obedient to all He would have us be. When we are, great blessings come! I know it is true. It is hard to be obedient at times, but the rewards that come are so worth it!

John 6. Bread of Life Sermon

The day before the Savior gave the sermon on the bread of life, the miracle of feeding the five thousand

happened. Because this has just happened the previous day, there were many people seeking out Jesus because they wanted to be fed. Jesus said in verse 26 of chapter 6, "Ye seek me, not because ye desire to keep my sayings, neither because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves and were filled."

I hope that if I had been there I would not have followed the Savior in hopes of being feed physically. One thing that motivates me to follow the Savior is the desire to become like him! I want to get to know him more

personally. I want Him to become my best friend.  The best way to come closer to Him is to emulate what He did and serve like He did. And the desire to live with my family forever and receive all the promised blessings greatly motivates me to seek the Lord and follow Him. 

In response to those who were seeking bread from Jesus, he taught them in that He is the true bread from

heaven. They were expecting a miracle like Moses feeding the children of Israel manna from heaven. He taught them that the bread Moses fed to them was not from heaven, meaning that it would not bring them eternal life or closer to God.  Instead, Christ is the bread of life and the way to eternal life. They were too caught up in the belief that because they were part of the house of Israel they would be saved. They were too caught up in the law, and they missed what was actually important. Christ was teaching them that what they were searching for was right in front of them, but they could not accept Him as their Savior. They focused too much on the law, the meat that perisheth, rather than the meat which endureth unto everlasting life, Christ.

In John 6:27 the Savior teaches about "meat which perisheth" and "meat which endureth unto everlasting life." Another way that he teaches this in the New Testament is in Matthew 6. In verses 19 to 21 he instructs us to lay not up for ourselves treasures upon earth, but to lay up treasures in heaven.  Treasures on earth will not last, "moth and rust doth corrupt," but treasures in heaven will never fade or corrupt. "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." I think that it today's world it is so easy to get caught up in laboring for "that meat which perisheth. " One thing that people labor for that is of no worth is the praise of the world and feeling like they need to fit in with the world. The world teaches that to fit in you need the nice cars, the big house, all he toys, money, etc. For a lot of people I think this becomes very consuming in their lives and they lose sight of what is important. Not that any of those things are necessarily evil, but too much of them and making them have such a high priority in our lives is not good. It is more important to be accepted of the Lord and to have Him pleased with what you are doing in your life.

As Jesus taught these things, many of the people did not like what He said. They complained, saying that this

was "an hard saying" and many people stopped following Him. The response of the apostles is one of my

favorite. Jesus asked them if they were also going to go away, but they answered,  "Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life." They understood and had a testimony that Jesus was the Christ. This enabled them to be able to answer the way they did.

Another example in the scriptures of a hard saying was with Nephi and hia brothers. The Lord commanded them to return to Jerusalem to obtain the brass plates. Nephi's brothers said that it was a hard thing, but Nephi had courage and said, "I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded." He had faith and had a testimony of the Lord. He knew that the Lord would not ask him to do anything that he could not do.

This chapter in John helps me to understand that I need to follow the Savior, that I am expected to follow the

Savior even when it is not easy or convenient. Because of the knowledge that I have and the testimony that I

have gained of my Savior,  He expects me to search for that meat that will not perish but for that which will lead me to eternal life. If I can do the simple things each day I will draw closer to Him and He will strengthen me to withstand all that I need to!

Matthew 13:24-48. The Lord Often Taught With Parables

1. Parables: teaching divine truth in comparison to material things

2. Parable of the tares, parable of the mustard seed and leaven, parables of the treasure and the pearl of great price, and parable of the gospel net.

• The parable of the mustard seed describes the growth of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints because just as a mustard seed is small but grows into the greatest of all herbs, so the church will continue to grow from its small beginnings until it also, "becomes the greatest of all herbs. And it is truth, and it has sprouted and come forth out of the earth, and righteousness begins to look down from heaven, and God is sending down His powers, gifts and angels, to lodge in the branches thereof.” (Smith, Teachings, p. 98.)
• The parable of the gospel net describes why the Church sends out so many missionaries because the Church sends out missionaries to gather people of every kind. Just like the net catches every kind of fish in the sea, the missionaries search out all people who are willing. 
• The parable of the leaven describes the rapid growth of the Church. Leaven causes the bread to rise, just as truth came into the world through the Church and the Church continues to grow and rise each day. 
• The parables of the pearl of great price and the treasure describe why some members are willing to give up so much worldly wealth and recognition they have for the gospel. These parables teach us that when we find the gospel we should be willing to sacrifice all that we have to obtain membership in the Lord's church. 
• The parable of the tares teaches why some members of the Church choose to leave the Church. The tares represent the "corruptions of the Church" (Smith, Teachings, 98). Some members, if they do not have a solid foundation, or their roots are not deep enough, can be overcome by the tares and they will be plucked out with the tares. 

3. What would I be willing to sacrifice for the gospel? To be honest, I don't really feel like I have ever sacrificed that much for the gospel. Sure there were things like giving up sleep to get up early to study my scriptures, giving up friendships that weren't helping me remain true to the gospel, and things like that, but I don't really feel like I have given that much. And every time I do something little like these I am blessed so much in return that it doesn't even feel like a sacrifice! But I hope that I would be willing to sacrifice whatever the Lord asks for Him and this gospel! But one thing that was hard initially for me to sacrifice was my "plan" for my life. The Lord had a better plan for me than I did for myself, and once I realized that and was able to accept it I have been so so incredibly blessed! I hope that I will have the courage to give the Lord whatever He may ask of me and to do all I can to build up His Kingdom. 

3. I think that in the parable of the gospel net, the net represents all those that are reaching out and bringing others into the gospel. It represents the missionaries, the members, even the truths of the gospel that touch people's lives and help them come to the gospel. To be gathered into the net means to become a member of this Church. Then, I think what is represented in verses 48-50 in Matthew 13 is the last days when the wicked and the righteous will be separated. There will be those within and without the church that will be separated and only those who have been faithful to their covenants and the truths of the gospel will not be cast away.