The Brazen Serpent - Numbers 21:4-9

The children of Israel sinned by speaking against the Lord and against Moses. This is what caused the "fiery serpents"

Sometimes today we are like the children of Israel anciently when we do not heed the promptings of the Lord. In 1 Nephi 17:45 Nephi is talking to his brothers, reminding them of all the things that they have received from the Lord. He reminds them that they have seen an angel, they have felt the still small voice, and the Lord has then spoken to them "like unto the voice of thunder" because they would not listen. I think we also find this in 1 Nephi 19:7 where Nephi is teaching that people of the world will "set at naught and trample under their feet. Yea, even the very God of Israel do men trample under their feet; I say, trample under their feet but I would speak in other words - they set him at naught, and hearken not to the voice of his counsels." We see this around us everywhere in the world.

When Moses held up the brazen serpent, it was to symbolize Christ. (Alma 33:18-22)

We also can look to Christ for healing. We can look to Christ for physical healing and all other types of healing. He can heal us emotionally, spiritually, and physically. Through the power of His atonement He knows what each one of us experiences each day. He knows the pains we feel, the sadness, the sorrow, the joy, and all other things we go through. Ultimately, He is the only one that truly knows how to heal us and help us. We can receive priesthood blessings to receive strength and healing through the power of His priesthood. The Savior knows each of us personally, better than we know ourselves. And He is the one that can ultimately and completely heal us from anything that we may be going through physically or any other way.

Often, people in the world turn to other people in the world for healing. Now, this is not to say that going to the doctor is bad when you are sick or there is a physical, mental, or emotional thing that needs to be addressed. I am so grateful for modern medicine! But when people only turn to those things, only turn to the support of friends, or try to be healed through other worldly practices, without turning to the Savior then it becomes much more difficult to be completely healed. Sure we can eat a bowl of ice cream to make us feel better after a long day, but the ice cream or whatever it is cannot heal or improve us.

Rather, doing the simple things in the gospel of Jesus Christ can heal us! Daily scripture study and daily prayer are so important. Having that regular interaction with the Spirit in our daily lives is essential. I know for me the days are so much better when I get my studying in! Even if that day other things happen that would normally make the day worse, or the day is busier than usual, having the companionship of the Holy Ghost makes it all worth it. I feel the power of the Atonement each day in my life. I rely on my Savior each day to help me through all that I have to do! I am taking 19 credits this semester, have a one year old daughter, my husband works, and I am pregnant with our second one. Life is kind of crazy! And I hate being gone all day and leaving my daughter and husband home alone all day. Our roles are backwards for right now while I try and finish school. Often by the time I get home in the evenings I only have half an hour or so to play with Jackie before she goes to bed. Or I come home and she has already gone to bed. It just breaks my heart to not get to go through our bedtime routine together of reading scriptures, praying, and singing together before I lay her down in bed. That is one of my favorite times in the day, and I have missed it several times this semester. On those days I really turn to the Lord and tell Him how I am feeling, tell Him how much I missed being with Jackie today, tell Him all the desires of my heart and what I am striving to do. And when I am able to do that, I feel the overwhelming power of His atonement and His love. His atonement enables me to continue on each day and to somehow get done with everything that I have to do! Even when it's hard and long, He still is always there for me. I can feel it, I know that it is a real power in my life each day!

Holiness to the Lord

Leviticus 11:44-45; 19:2; 20:7, 26; 21:8. 
Theme: We need to sanctify ourselves and become holy in all things before the Lord as He is holy in all things. 

To become sanctified is to become free from sin, pure, clean, and holy through the Atonement of Christ.
To be holy is to be set apart for a sacred purpose and to have moral character.

Jehovah would command His followers to become holy because they are to fulfill a sacred purpose. We have been given a special relationship with Christ as we have made covenants with Him such as at baptism, the temple, marriage, getting the priesthood for men.  As disciples of Christ we have the obligation and the responsibility to fulfill all the covenants that we make. We have the purpose to bring others to Him. We need to be holy because Christ is holy. As we keep the covenants we have made, we are striving to become like him. This means that we will become holy as He is holy.

The Law of Holiness that was given in Leviticus 17-26 shows how the children of Israel were originally to become holy be means of these ceremonial observances. This would help them develop that holiness of character. However, this didn't work long term because later Jews became so focused on the ceremonies and the sacrifice rituals that they lost sight of the reason of them. They forgot that these things were to be done in similitude of Christ and thereby they neglected the spirit of the law. Today, we avoid this by remembering the reason that we do everything. Everything in the gospel is about families! It is about bringing families together, creating eternal families, and helping families to become stronger. I think even today we lose sight of that as we get caught up in our callings and doing all the little things, we forget about Christ that is at the center of the gospel and that the purpose is to bring families together! We no longer offer burnt offerings and sacrifices, but we offer a broken heart and a contrite spirit. As we truly offer those things to the Lord, He will guide us as we lead our families and help strengthen others around us. We can remain focused on the Lord and what He would have us do and who He would have us become!

I am going to remember these things that I have learned as I have been reading. I am going to remember that my relationship with my Savior and my Father in Heaven and then with my family are the most important things! As a mother I am set apart to the sacred work of raising my children in the gospel and bringing them up in light and truth. As I strive to become sanctified and become holy as the Lord would have me be, I will more fully be able to feel of His guidance in all that I do.

Leviticus 18:4-5 - The Lord has commanded us to do his judgements, keep his ordinances, and walk in his statues. We need to keep His commandments and live by His commandments in all things.
       Leviticus 19:3-4, 11-20, 28-31; 20:10, 13
                   - Honor our parents
                   - Keep the Sabbath day holy
                   - Do not turn to idols or other gods
                   - Do not steal
                   - Do not lie
                   - Do not swear
                   - Be honest with those we work with
                   - Be kind to others and help rather than creating stumbling blocks for others
                   - Be righteous in all our judgements
                   - Love our neighbors
     The commandment that I am going to work on improving is being more kind and loving those around me. I could work to be a little nicer each day to others. There are a lot of kind things that I think in my head but that I leave unsaid. I also often catch myself saying something that I don't really mean and that doesn't need to be said. So I am going to work to be a little nicer and more giving to those around me. I am going to work harder to reach out to my neighbors, friends, family members (especially extended family members) and work develop more meaningful relationships with them and strive to help improve their lives by being more kind. 

Exodus 20 - The Ten Commandments

The Ten Commandments: 1 - "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." = Love God. 2 - "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image" = Love God. 3 - "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain." = Love God. 4 - "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy." = Love God. 5 - "Honor thy father and mother" = Love thy neighbor. 6 - "Thou shalt not kill" = Love thy neighbor. 7 - "Thou shalt no commit adultury" = Love thy neighbor. 8 - "Thou shalt not steal" = Love thy neighbor. 9 - "Thou shalt not bear false witness" = Love thy neighbor. 10 - "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's things" = Love thy neighbor. In Matthew 22:36-40 we learn 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. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." All the other commandments are part of these two commandments. I think that out of all these commandments, the ones that are neglected most by the world are the ones where we show that we love the Lord with all our heart, mind, and soul. Especially the first three, to have no other gods, no idols, and to not take the name of the Lord in vain. There are so many things in the world that grab for our attention. There are so many things that we could choose to focus on. We need to remember that the Lord is more important than all those things that we may want here in life. Even as members of the church it is sometimes easy fall into the trap of going through the motions of keeping these three commandments rather than actually keeping them with our whole heart. In the student manual for the third commandment, it pointed out that not taking the name of the Lord in vain includes more than simply not swearing. But when we have made sacred covenants at baptism, in the temple, priesthood covenants and responsiblities for men, taking the sacrament, and all these other things, if we treat them lightly after we have entered into covenants we are taking the name of God in vain! Those covenants are sacred and need to be kept with all our heart, soul, and mind, and when we don't we are treating the name of the Lord vainly. How much of a difference would it make in our lives if we were truly concerned first about pleasing the Lord and keeping Him in our thoughts? What actions would change in our lives if we truly develop a relationship with the Lord and keep His commandments because we love Him? I think a lot of things would change. I know that when we love the Lord and put Him first in our lives everything else falls into place. Life doesn't necessarily get easier, but the way becomes clearer, our resoulutions become more firm, and we are truly able to do all things the Lord would have us do! When I feel myself slipping away from the closeness that I want to feel with my Father in Heaven and my Savior one thing I focus on is my thoughts. A really good indicator for me as to where I am standing is to recognize where my thoughts are and what they are when I don't have to be thinking about anything. The Lord needs to be first in all our words, deeds, and thoughts. When He is first in our thoughts and we truly seek to do and know what He would have us know, I testify that He will make those things known to us. We can be constantly under His guidance and direction. I am so grateful for that and I have come to rely on it so much throughout my life!

Exodus 19: Preparing to Meet the Lord

Exodus 19:3-6, 10-11

The Lord wanted the children of Israel to become a chosen people unto Him above all other people. He wanted them to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. He uses the word "peculiar" when describing them. He wants them to be different than all the other people that are on the earth, separate from them because they have been given specific promises and covenants that were not given to other people on the earth. To help the people become this kind of people, the Lord instructs the people t be obedient and to keep the covenants they have made. They need to sanctify themselves and prepare in all things to become who the Lord would have them be.

If the children of Israel could live up to all these things, the promised blessing was that they would be able to see the Lord. He would appear to them on Mount Sinai on the third day. The blessings and promises that were given to the children of Israel are still in effect for us today! We have been given these commandments to be obedient, keep the commandments, and sanctify ourselves as well. We have also been given the promise that if we are faithful we will be able to be with the Lord. We will be able to return back to live with Him again in as husband and wife and in our families if we are faithful! For me, I especially love that we also have the promise that we can feel of His presence now. We don't have to physically see the face of the Lord to know that He is near and that His presence is with us. We can receive the Holy Ghost and guidance from Him. We are promised that we will always have his Spirit to be with us as we keep the covenants we have made. As we are faithful to the promptings and the guidance that we receive here on earth then we will be able to one day physically stand before Him! But He has not left us here on this journey alone. I know that we can feel Him near us at all times. I feel it each day as I strive to be a mother, a wife, and accomplish all the things that He wants me to do! It is so comforting to know that He is near and that He loves us!