The Young Rich Man

The Young Rich Man

The evidence that the young man in this parable decided not to follow the Savior is in verse 22 of Matthew 19, saying “[the young man] went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions”. He chose this to his detriment. He did all that Christ had asked: “Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” and wanted to do more, but the “more” was too much for his taste.

The savior promises that “with men [there are things that are] impossible; but with God all things are possible.” Also He promises, “And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.”

I can put the lord first in my life by giving up some of my vices. I have slowly been trying to wean myself off of TV shows I know I shouldn’t watch, and dress more modestly, and fulfill my church callings better. I know there are things for me to work on. With Christ to help me, I will get these things accomplished.

Matthew 19:29, Mark 10:29-30

Matthew 19:29, Mark 10:29-30

If I give up my treasures here on earth for the sake of Christ, then I will be rewarded a hundred times over when this life is over.

One time I did something nice for a neighbor, and she said "Thank you so much! You just built a giant pool for your mansion in heaven!". I have always remembered that, because I know that by doing good, forsaking all you have, and following Christ will make me happy, and secure a happy home when I pass into the next life. I find it really hard sometimes, to forgo doing things, wearing things, eating things, etc. in order to follow Christ. It is really hard to give things up that I want, but when I feel the spirit and I know I am doing the right thing, the feeling is worth the effort. I want to feel that happy all the time, and I know that God only asks hard things of us so that we can be happy. That is the true goal in life, to be happy.

Counsel to the Seventy (Luke 10)

The harvest is great and the laborers ore few, and we need to go out to the field to help! Help those in need, and stay with those that are righteous, but go away from those that would hurt you. If we listen to Christ's apostles, then we are listening to Christ, and if we hear Christ, we hear the Father. Love the Lord with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself.

We believe in the same organization that existed in the primitive church, namely: apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists and so forth. The church is organized the same today as it was back then. The revelations given to Joseph Smith were in accordance with how the church worked in the time of Christ, and we should stay true to that. It is the same church now as existed then, and that is a blessing so great that many didn't get to experience during the apostasy. I am so glad to have it fully restores while I am alive.

The scriptures clearly state that there were the offices of the seventy in Christ's time. We are so blessed to have these great men to lead us in doing right, and returning to our Heavenly Father once again.

Our Treasures

Luke 12:34

If I treasure the lord more than any other treasure, then my heart will be with Him, and my will aligned with His.

When I was younger, my mom gave me a note card that had a picture of a treasure chest on it, and a little note telling me I was one of her greatest treasures. She told me how much she loved me and made me feel really special and needed. I think that is how our Father in Heaven wants us to feel. He wants us to feel treasured, so He does everything He can to make us happy in our lives. The best thing we can do in return is to keep Him as our dearest treasure. If we revere Him as much as He deserves, then He will be our treasure. If He is our treasure, then we will hold him in our hearts, and follow what He wishes. The best part is, if we do these things, we will be so happy in so many ways. It can be hard sometimes, but it truly is a win-win situation all around, except for Satan. We truly can be happy if Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are our treasure.

"Become Like Little Children"

1. The Lord wants us to be as little children. He says we have trouble understanding everything now, because of our earthly limitations. It’s true, we are limited by ourselves, but in D&C 78:17-18 we are promised the kingdom, and blessings that go with it, and the riches of eternity, which are so much better than earthly riches. We are promised by the lord that even though we can’t bear it alone, he will lead us along. He will take our hand and show us where to go. We can’t pretend to be grown up if we can’t become like little children.

2. We need to be submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him. This is a long hard list. I have trouble with patience a lot, and humility, and I like to be independent, not submissive. This list is where we should be in our lives. Submit to the will of the Lord, and we will be blessed. Be meek and humble and the Lord will lead us along. Have patience and we will feel of His love for us in greater measures. And I feel that being full of love not only makes us happier, it makes everyone else around us happier as well. These things can be really hard, but the Lord will Help us, and hold our hand for comfort and guidance.

I learned this week about strengthening myself through the savior. I feel like a weak person sometimes. I don't like sports, or walking for long periods of time, and I get tired wuickly. I love thinking that when my testimony feels the way I do physically, I can turn to the Lord and He will help not only my testimony, but He will help me have the determination to build my physical endurance as well.

I loved the story about the dog, and the crumbs falling from the table. No matter how far we stray off the path, we can come back if we have faith, It isn't too late to believe! I love that, and the Savior blessed the woman for her faith. I want to have the same faith, and I want to be strong in body, mind and spirit. Because of these scriptures, this class, and the gospel in my life, I know that I can be, with the help of my Savior, who I love, and I know He loves me too.

	Matthew 14:14-21	Matthew 15:32-38
How many people were present?	-5000 men (not including women and children).	-Four thousand (not including women and children).
What did they need?	-Food, it had been a long day of learning.	-Food, so they didn’t faint.
What were they able to offer in an effort to meet that need?	-Five loaves of bread and two fishes	-Seven loaves and a few little fishes
What words or phrases describe the Savior's feeling toward the multitudes in their time of need?	-They need not depart; give ye them to eat.	-- I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.
What words or phrases describe what the Savior was able to provide for the multitudes?	-“Bring them hither to me” and He blessed the food. It fed them all.	- He gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.

Romans 3:23: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

We, like the little loaves are so small by ourselves, and our life task is like the 5000 needing to be fed. We can’t hope to even dent it without the saviors help!! With Him as our guide, though, we can feed all those people and have more left over than what we started with. It’s a pretty sweet deal actually! I love this gospel, and I love how the Savior strengthens me personally, and how I can feel His love for me daily.

Ether 12:27: And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.

Yes, we have weakness, but by the grace of the Lord, we can be humble, and we as weak things CAN become strong in faith and determination! We can be strengthened by the Savior.

Mark 8:21

Mark 8:21

If I can trust in Christ and have faith, then I will be better able to understand His teachings.

I think that when I am confused about things, and don't know where to turn, I always have somewhere to go. I can pray, and I do, about every little thing. The trouble is, it's really hard sometimes to listen to what the Lord has to say in return, and sometimes hard to trust in what He tells me to do. I have many times said my prayer, and gone to sleep right away, not taking the time to ponder and listen. Heavenly Father wants to tell me what is going to be good for me. He wants me to be as happy as I can be, because I know He loves me. I need to work on trusting more, because then I will understand what He wants for me. I will not be ignorant of His will if I do it trustingly, and I will be happy because of it. I love this principle, but it is also daunting, because the scripture it comes from is Christ saddens by a lack of understanding from His disciples. I want to understand, so I am making a goal to listen a little closer, and trust a little more.