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. 

Beatitudes: "The Sermon on the Mount is our Constitution for Perfection" (President Lee)

Blessedness: Blessedness is defined as being higher than happiness. ‘Happiness comes from without and is dependent on circumstances; blessedness is an inward fountain of joy in the soul itself, which no outward circumstances can seriously affect.’ (Dummelow's Commentary)

Three of my favorite beatitudes that have affected me throughout my life, and that I hope will continue to affect me are:

1. “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.”

                I love what President Lee said about this beatitude: “To mourn, as the Master’s lesson here would teach, one must show that ‘godly sorrow that worketh repentance’ and wins for the penitent a forgiveness of sins and forbids a return to the deeds of which he mourns.” I know that in the past as I have mourned, or truly been sorry for thing things that I have done I have felt peace. The Savior wants us to change. He wants us to improve. And one step for that to happen is to repent and mourn for those things we have done and seek for forgiveness. This will bring a change of heart and courage to do better. This has brought me so much happiness and comfort throughout my life. Often as I look back at the weeks and months I feel silly about the mistakes I made, or I regret decisions I made. And every time I have felt those feelings, I have also felt comfort from the Spirit to know that I can do better this week. I can start now to do better!

2. “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled.”

                I love this! I love learning about the truths of the gospel. I know that the times in my life that I have been more focused on seeking after truth and light I have been filled and I have been happy! I love my scriptures! I know that they lead me to do good things. I know that they are true. I am grateful for all the experiences I have had in my scriptures and the experiences that have come because I studied them, and I am grateful that I have recorded the feelings that I have felt during that time so that when I am struggling I can look back and remember how wonderful it felt to truly hunger and thirst after righteousness. I so want to do good deeds, I want to be good, and I want to be filled with light and truth. I know that as I search for those good things to do, and as I continue to search for truth I will continue to be filled!

3. “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

                I hope that I can have the strength to endure all that comes. I hope that I will have the strength to stand strong to what I know is true. I hope that within the walls of my own home I will be able to withstand the persecutions and the influences of the adversary. I know that he wants to come into my home and destroy it spiritually, and I pray that I will have the strength to withstand all that will try to make its way into my home. I hope that I can keep my home as a safety and a refuge from the world. I want to keep the influences of the adversary away. I know that as I strive to do this as I am raising my children with my husband, that I will be blessed. I know that happiness will come because I am striving to do what my Heavenly Father wants me to do! 

I love the words and the teachings of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I have a testimony that as we follow them we can stay on the road that will lead us back to Him. And that is where we want to be with our family for eternity! I never thought about the Beatitudes as a constitution for our perfection, but it totally fits. I hope that I can understand them more fully and then be able to apply them more fully to my life! 

John 1:35-51 and Matt 4:17-25 The Early Disciples

Name:	How They Learned About Jesus Christ:	What They Did After They Met Jesus Christ:
Simon Peter	John 1:41-42 - - Andrew, his brother, told Peter that they had “found…the Christ”. - Brought him to Jesus. Jesus told him that he would be called a seer	John 1:42 JST “…And they straightway left all, and followed Jesus.” Matt 4:20 “And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.” - Peter had been a fisherman. When he met Christ he was willing to drop it and leave it all to follow Him. Peter was told by Christ that he would be called a seer.
Andrew	John 1:35-40 - - Heard John bearing record that Jesus was the Lamb of God - Followed Christ and He invited them to follow him and abide with him.	John 1:40-41 “…was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He [Andrew] first findeth his brother Simon…” John 1:42 JST “…And they straightway left all, and followed Jesus.” Matt 4:20 “And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.” - When Andrew met Christ he first went to find his brother, Simon Peter to share with him that he had found the Christ! Then Andrew was also a fisherman. Like Simon Peter, he too was willing to walk away from his nets and his boat and follow Christ.
Nathanael	John 1:45-51 – - Philip came to him, told him that they had found “him of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write”	John 1:49 “Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.” - He had a spiritual experience prior to Philip coming to him and meeting Christ. He had felt the Spirit of Christ under the fig tree. He was without guile and so when he met Christ was able to recognize him as the Christ. He then bore testimony that he was the Christ. Christ then told him that he, Nathanael, would see and experience “even greater things than these…ye shall see the heavens open, and the agels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.” (John 1:50-51)
Philip	John 1:43-45 – - Philip was from the same city, Bethsaida, as Peter and Andrew. - Jesus went into Galilee and found Philip and told him to “Follow me”	John 1:45 “Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him…” - Philip went and found Nathanael after he had found the Christ. Like Andrew, he wanted to share what he had found

Two actions demonstrated by these men that showed that they believed that Jesus was the Christ were leaving everything behind them to follow Christ, and finding others to share the knowledge that they had found.

Philip and Andrew were examples of sharing what they had found. When Andrew discovered the Christ the first thing he did was go and find his brother, Simon Peter. It must have been a joyful and a spiritual experience to realize that Jesus is the Christ and He is there with them! He wanted to share with him that he had found the Messiah. I think that this example is particularly important because Simon Peter was his brother. Just like Lehi wanted to share the joy that he felt from the fruit of the tree of life with his family, we should also desire to share the joy that we feel from the Savior with our family!

Philip was also willing to follow Jesus when Jesus said, “Follow me.” He too then wanted to share the experience that he had. So he went and found Nathanael and share with him that he had found the Christ! Philip and Nathanael were from the same place, Bethsaida. This is an example of the instructions given to us in D&C 88:81 which says, “I sent you out to testify and warn the people, and it becometh every many who hath been warned to warn his neighbor.”

I have always tried to implement this principle in my life. I don’t think that I have always been very successful at implementing it, but I have tried. I have tried to be an example to those around me and to help them feel of the Savior’s love. I have tried to always be filled with the Spirit so that those I come in contact with can feel of the Spirit through me as well. I love my Savior and I want to share that love! I know that there have been times in my life though that I have not been very good at it. There have been times that that light that is inside of me has been dimmed through my actions and my choices. And I have never been very good at verbally sharing the gospel, but I can improve. I will pray for courage to speak up and reach out. I will fill my life with things of light and truth. I will share with my children the joy of keeping the commandments and living the gospel. I will teach my children of the Savior’s glorious mission here on earth. I will pray to know what needs to be changed in my life to allow the Spirit to guide me more directly so that I can be continually under His direction.