The Value and Importance of the Temple

In Haggai, we read a lot about the importance of the temple.  Haggai, the prophet, called for the children of Israel to build a temple.  They had delayed it until that point and there were consequences for that.  Haggai 1:5 says, "he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes."  I thought this was a great visual.  The money they earn soon disappears.  They will try as hard as they can to feed and clothe their families but there will never be enough unless they set priority in building the temple.

In verse 12 of chapter 1 we read that the people heeded Haggai's counsel and set to work building the temple.  What a great example they are.  It can be hard placing the temple at the center of our priorities at times.  There is so much we have to do to take care of ourselves and our families every day.  But I have seen the blessings of making the temple a priority.  I try to make it to the temple on a monthly basis and the Spirit is so much more a part of my life as I do this.  The covenants I make in the temple impact me and my family into the eternities.  The work that goes on in the temple is what the Gospel is all about.

"Saviors on Mount Zion"

Read Obadiah 1:17, 21; Doctrine and Covenants 128:5, 15; institute student manual Points to Ponder, “Saviors on Mount Zion” (pg. 259); Bible Dictionary, “Obadiah” (pg. 739). Explain in a paragraph or two what is taught in these references. In what ways does the temple deliver the faithful? How does the temple represent holiness?

All of these references are talking about doing saving ordinances for the dead. In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints we believe that God wants all of His children to return to His presence in the next life.  The Unfortunate things is that a lot of people do not have the chance to accept His Gospel in this life.  They were not able to partake in the saving ordinances that will make it possible for them to return to Him; saving ordinances like baptism, endowment, and being sealed in families.  The loving Father in Heaven I know would not allow them to die in their sins without a chance to return to Him.

The main purpose of temples on the earth today is to do those saving ordinances for those that have passed on.  Members of the Church that have been found worthy to enter the temple are baptized, endowed, and sealed in the name of those that have passed on.  By doing this we are linked together as God's children and we come closer to Him.

I think I can adequately express how much I love the temple.  When I am there I feel God all around me.  I feel at peace; the worries of the worries are left behind at the door.  It is the most sacred and happiest place I have ever been.

Daniel

I loved reading the story of Daniel and the lion's den.  I don't think I have ever actually read it before.  It can be found in Daniel 6.

Daniel was favored of the Lord and King Darius because he had the Spirit with him (verse 3).  King Darius loved this about Daniel so much that he intended to put Daniel over all the other princes and presidents, which made the princes and presidents jealous.  They had King Darius sign a decree that any found worshiping God would be put into the lion's den (7-9).

Daniel did not follow this decree.  He continued to pray in his home with the windows open for all to see 3 times a day (10).  When the princes and presidents saw this they reported him to King Darius.  Darius did not want to throw Daniel in the lion's den but the decree was written in a way that it could not be changed (12).  There was nothing Darius could do so he had to put Daniel in the lion's den.

At this point, King Darius shows great faith.  He reminded Daniel that his God would save him (16) and then he went home and he prayed and fasted ALL night (18).  And Darius turned out to be very right.  Daniel was saved and the princes and presidents were thrown into the lion's den along with their families (24, pretty gruesome verse).

King Darius then sends out a decree to the people.  In this decree, he describes God to be living, steadfast, and a miracle worker (26-27).

I love this story.  It is so encouraging to me.  I may never face death as a result of living my religion but there are times when I will receive persecution.  I know that as I faithfully live the Gospel, the Lord will protect me.  I will receive blessings for following His commandments.

Scattered Israel

In Jeremiah we read a lot about the "scattering of Israel" because of their wickedness.  They would not follow the Lord.  They worshiped false idols and would not follow the commandments.  There is a lot of time spent on how Israel will be punished for their sins, which is being taken captive by other nations, or "scattering" them.  But there is also some promises by the Lord that they will be gathered together again and no other nation will rule over them.  They will be saved from their captivity and find rest (46:27).  He will punish the kings of those that have ruled over them (50:17-18).  The Lord will not leave them in the state they are.  He will rescue them and help them find rest.

In Doctrine and Covenants 110:11 we read that Moses gave Joseph Smith the keys for the gathering of Israel.  And we see that going on today.  Missionaries have been sent all over the world to preach the Gospel to all who will hear, gathering Israel by preaching and baptizing.  The descendents of Israel are being taught the Gospel and being gathered into the fold.  They are finding peace and happiness in the Gospel.

Jeremiah

Jeremiah was a prophet that lived in Jerusalem around 600 BC.  He spent his time crying repentance unto the people.  If they did not repent, Jerusalem was going to be destroyed.

The condition in Judah at the time were horrible.  Wickedness was running rampant: adultery, corrupt priests, worshiping idols, and any other thing you could imagine.  According to Jeremiah 7:21-28, they would not obey the Lord and follow His commandments, they forsook the prophets, they followed their evil imaginations, and they would not listen to the Lord.  The worst part of it all was that the people liked it that way.  They were so ingrained in sin that Jeremiah compared their repentance to a leopard trying to lose his spots.  Not that they were beyond forgiveness, but that they simply would not seek it.

Jeremiah preaching to Judah has a great connection to the Book of Mormon.  Right in the very first chapter of 1 Nephi we learn that Nephi and his family lived in Jerusalem.  Lehi, his father had lived there his whole life.  In verse 4 it talks about prophets that had been called to preach repentance because if they would not then Jerusalem would be destroyed.  This is also happening around 600 BC.  One of the prophets mentioned in 1 Nephi is Jeremiah!  Pretty cool to make a connection in the Bible to get an idea of where the Book of Mormon starts.

"For My Thoughts Are Not Your Thoughts"

Isaiah 55 is a great chapter.  In this chapter we learn that our thoughts are not the Lord's thoughts.  His ways are higher than our ways.  This is such a comforting thought to me.  To me this means that I have someone to turn to to help me make decisions and to find out what is best for me and my family.  I do not see the whole picture, but the Lord does and He will direct me.  I will never be disappointed by relying on the Lord.

So how can we turn our ways into the Lord's ways?  We can do this by following His commandments.  We find out what the Lord's ways are through revelation.  All the things that have been revealed by the scriptures and the prophets are the things that the Lord would have us do to draw closer to Him.  We can also seek personal revelation by seeking out answers to our questions and praying to receive answers.  When we do what the Lord would have us do, we draw closer to Him and our ways eventually become His ways.

One example I can think of in which the Lord's way is clearly higher than man's way is waiting to have intimate relations with our significant other until after marriage.  Man's way, or the world's way, would be to have sex whenever and with whomever feels good at the time.  However, more often than not this only brings heartache.  It also casts aside the sacredness of procreation as the world focuses on the pleasure aspect and see pregnancy as an inconvenience.  It also increases the chance of pregnancy in an unideal situation.  The Lord's way, sex after marriage, causes a lot less heartache and the circumstance of children being brought into a loving home.  It really is higher than the ways of the world.

Isaiah and Jesus Christ

Isaiah talks about Christ a lot.  In the following scriptures we find out a lot about Christ:

• Isaiah 40:10–31
• Isaiah 41:1–4, 10–14
• Isaiah 42:9–16
• Isaiah 43:1–7, 10–15, 22–25
• Isaiah 44:6–8; 21–24
• Isaiah 45: 20–25
• Isaiah 46:3–9

1. God- Jesus Christ is the God of the Old Testament.  In the LDS faith we believe in the Godhead.  We believe that God our Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ our Redeemer, and the Holy Ghost are three separate beings.  We know God and Jesus Christ have separate bodies of flesh and blood and that the Holy Ghost is a separate spirit.  There are a lot of times in these scriptures where Christ says that He is God and there is none other.  This may seem to contradict the Godhead theory.  We know that all three entities of the Godhead are one in purpose.  This would explain why it says that in these scriptures and the other places where it says that God and Christ are one.

2. Redeemer- Jesus Christ is our Redeemer.  Christ had not been born at the time of Isaiah so Isaiah prophesies about the future coming of the Lord and the Atonement.  Christ suffered and died for us.  He suffered all of our pains, sicknesses, sadness, etc. while He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane.  He later died on the cross.  He did all of this so that He could pay the price for our sins that we would never be able to pay.  He also did it so that we had someone to turn to who truly knew the struggles we were going through.  Christ redeemed us all.

3. Creator- Christ created the earth.  He did the physical work of creating all that we know and love about the earth that we live on.  He created the sun and moon, the mountains and waters, land and animals.  He created us to be dominion over the earth.  He created us in the likeness of God because we have the potential to be like Him.

These are the 3 main names the Lord is called by.  Of course, there are many others throughout the scriptures.  He is our Savior.  He died for us.  He knows us and He loves us.

Isaiah

I really like chapter 6 of Isaiah.  I think we can all relate to this chapter in some way.  At the beginning of the chapter, Isaiah feels unworthy to be standing in the midst of the angels and the Lord.  He really felt the weight of his sins and feels unnerved by it (Isaiah 6:5).  But it wasn't long before those feelings were changed.  An angel came down up Isaiah and placed a live coal upon his mouth (pictured above) and all of his sins were forgiven (6:6-7).  After Isaiah knew his sins were forgiven he had more confidence in standing before the Lord.  This can be concluded when the Lord asks who he can send to teach the people and Isaiah volunteers to do the work (6:8).

There is another example of this found in the Book of Mormon.  Alma the Younger spent a lot of time bringing people away from the Church.  It got to the point where he was struck dumb by an angel to stop him.  During this time, Alma remembered all of his sins and he was tormented by them (Alma 36:12-14).  He could not stand the thought of going before the Lord (36:15).  But he found hope.  He remembered what his father had taught him about the Atonement of Jesus Christ and he asked forgiveness of the Lord (36:17-18).  And the torment was washed away (36:19).  He was filled with joy and longed to be in the presence of God (36:20-22).

Most of the time I feel as though I am not worthy to stand before God.  I am often critical of others and do not treat them the way I should.  I am often complacent and do not do all that I should.  I get angered and lash out at my husband and kids.  I could go on for days.  All of these things make me feel as though I could never be able to look my God in the eye.  But those are the times that I call upon the power of the Atonement and feel clean again.  I feel the love that God has for me and I feel the strength to do a little better in helping others feel that love.  The Atonement is real.  God knows and loves us and wants us to use the power of the Atonement to make it back to Him.

Ecclesiastes

The book of Ecclesiastes consists of "reflections on some of the deepest problems of life, as they present themselves to the thoughtful observer."
The author describes himself as "son of David, king of Jerusalem."
Ecclesiastes is written from the point of view of the world.
Ecclesiastes should not be construed as "theological pronouncements on the condition of the soul."
(All from the Bible Dictionary under Ecclesiastes.)

The author of Ecclesiastes turned to many different things to find happiness: alcohol (2:3), he built houses (2:4), gardens (2:5), money (2:8), pleasure (2:1), etc.  None of these worldly things brought him happiness.

In Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 we read that there is a time and a season for all things.  As humans, we can only learn so many things at one time.  It has to come line upon line, precept upon precept.  We cannot try to achieve all things all at once.  If we push ourselves faster than we are able, we will burn out and fail.  If someone is pushed to accept the Gospel before they are ready, it could put a bad taste in their mouth and turn them off the Church for the rest of their lives.  We must do the best we can right now so we can grow.

In 4:9-12 it talks about how two is better than one.  They can help each other and lift one another when the other one falls.  I am better married than I am alone.  It is important for me to strengthen my marriage and watch out for my husband as he watches out for me.  I will be better at putting his needs before mine, taking care of him, and lifting him when he is down.  5:1 talks about being more ready to hear.  I need to be better at listening to the guidance the Spirit gives me to do God's will.  I will be better at finding ways to apply the scriptures to my life so I will be more in tune with the Spirit.

12:7, 13-14

From verse 7, we learn that when we die our spirits return to the presence of God.  The "whole duty of man" is to fear God (in this case, to reverence Him) and to keep His commandments.

Esther

I love the story of Esther!  My husband and I love it so much that we named our daughter Hadassah (Esther 2:7) after her.  Esther is the story of great courage.  And not just by Esther but others as well.  I am going to talk about a few of those courageous people in this post.

Vashti

We don't always talk about Vashti.  She is only mentioned in the first chapter, but she leaves a last impact in that chapter.  The king had a feast of all the princes and Vashti, the queen, had her own feast as well (Esther 1:9).  The king had her beckoned to appear before him (1:10-11) but Vashti refused (1:12).  Out of fear that the women of the land would follow her example, a law was written that the men of the land would rule over their houses and Vashti was dethroned (1:18-22).  The scriptures do not tell us the reason Vashti refused the king but she must have known that she was risking her life to do it.  This shows great courage.

Mordecai

Mordecai also shows great courage in this story.  He actually set the destruction of the Jews in motion through his act of courage.  Mordecai refused to bow before Haman, first prince in the king's court (3:1-2).  We have already established what can happen to those that disobey the king so Mordecai refused to bow before Haman at the risk of his own life.  Because of this act, Haman asked the king to set out a decree to kill all the Jews (3:6-15).  He then asks Esther to risk her own life and go before the king to try and save the Jews (4).

Esther

I just love Esther.  She was asked to do a hard thing from the beginning.  When she was taken into the palace to be presented before the king she had to keep her identity as a Jew secret (2:10).  That in and of itself can be a very hard thing to do.  In chapter 4 she was asked to do the hardest thing of all.  Mordecai asked her to go before the king without being called.  The punishment for that is death.  But she very bravely said she would do it to save her people.

I have learned so much from the book of Esther over the years.  All of these people did very hard things even though their lives were on the line.  They did what was right, no matter the cost.  I strive to have the faith and courage Esther did every time I receive a prompting from the Spirit to do something.  It is not always easy.  But it will always be worth it.

Elijah and Elisha

Elijah was translated at the end of his ministry.  The scriptures say, "Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven" (2 Kings 2:11).  I did some research in 3 Nephi 28 in the Book of Mormon and in the study guide for the Old Testament on what exactly "translation" means.  Simply put, translation means to not taste of death.  To it in common worldly terms it would mean to become immortal.  But not in the sense that we become immortal at the Resurrection.  Translated beings still go through a resurrection of sorts (it is different because they never die).  Because it is not the same as resurrection, being taken up into heaven does not mean that Elijah was taken up into the Celestial glory.  This will happen after the Resurrection, as with all of us.

I think the purpose for translated beings is to further the work of the Lord.  In 3 Nephi 28, 3 apostles ask to be able to remain on earth indefinitely so that they can do His work.  The Lord grants them their wish because they asked with sincere heart and good intentions.  In their case, they remained on the earth to serve and do good.  Elijah was taken up into heaven but we do know he comes to earth to restore the sealing power.

Elisha was to succeed Elijah the prophet after he was translated.  Lord called him through Elijah the prophet (1 Kings 19: 16-21).  Just before his translation, Elijah asked Elisha what his desire was.  Elisha answered that his one desire was to given a double portion of Elijah's spirit (2 Kings 2:9).  Elijah replied that if Elisha saw his translation that he would be given his desire (2 Kings 2:10).  Elisha did witness Elijah being taken up into heaven (2 Kings 2:12).  In verse 15 of 2 Kings 2, we find that Elisha's desire was granted unto him.  When the sons of the prophets that he had met with earlier saw Elisha, they saw that the spirit of Elijah did rest upon him.

Elijah

Elijah lived around the time of 914 BC.  Jehoshaphat was the king of Judah at the time.  He was such a faithful prophet of the Lord that he was translated, or taken up to heaven without tasting death.  He was given the priesthood keys for the sealing power and then restored that priesthood to the earth in our day.

Another prophet that was granted the sealing was Nephi, son of Helaman, in the Book of Mormon (Helaman 10: 4-10).  There are a lot of similarities between this passage and 1 Kings 17 about Elijah.  God promised Nephi that whatever Nephi would say would be done would be done.  This is because of the "unwearyingness" Nephi showed in keeping the commandments.  To me, this shows that Nephi had great faith in God.  The woman in the story of Elijah also showed great faith.  She has enough food for a tiny little meal for her and her son.  Elijah asked her to feed him.  Although she knew she did not have enough she did it anyways.  For her faith she was given enough feed for all three of them to live off of for a few weeks.  And when her son had dies, Elijah used the power of the priesthood to bring him back to life.

My life has been directly affected by Elijah the prophet.  As I mentioned earlier, he restored the sealing power to this.  For those not familiar with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and the work we do in the temple, this is the power to seal families together for all eternity and to do all saving ordinances for the living and dead.  I have partaken of these saving ordinances.  I have been baptized, received my endowments, and have been sealed to my husband for all eternity.  My life would be completely different if it were not for these ordinances.  I would not put as much focus on my family.  I probably would not even be married with kids at this time in my life.  I would not have the blessings that come from knowing my husband and children.  I would not have pure joy in my life.  For that is what these ordinances have brought into my life, pure joy.

David Anointed King

Who doesn't love the story of David and Goliath?? What amazing faith David had! I'm going to be talking a little about David post Goliath.

Some of David's Accomplishments (2 Samuel 1-10)
-Kills the Amalekite who claimed to have killed Saul (Ch 1)
-Anointed king over the house of Judah (Ch 2)
-His followers defeat Abner and those of Israel (Ch 2)
-David becomes stronger (Ch 3)
-All of Israel anoints David (Ch 5)
-Takes Jerusalem and is blessed by the Lord (Ch 5)
-Conquers the Philistines (Ch 5)
-Takes the ark to the city of David (Ch 6)
-His throne is to be established forever through Christ (Ch 7)
-Defeats and subjects many nations (Ch 8)
-Executes judgement and justice unto all his people (Ch 8)
-Finds the son of Jonathon to whom he restores all the land of Saul (Ch 9)
-Israel defeats Ammonites and Syrians (Ch 10)

In 2 Samuel 7, David offers to build a temple unto the Lord but he is denied by the Lord through Nathan. There is not really any explanation as to why the Lord denies this worthy request. We find the answer in 1 Chronicles 22: 7-8. It says,

"7And David said to Solomon, My son, as for me, it was in my mind to build an house unto the name of the Lord my God:

8But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build an house unto my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight."

David was denied because he had shed too much blood.

I think it would be a hard thing for me if I were in David's situation. It would be hard to be denied when you want to build a temple unto the Lord. It would be an expression of faith for me and it would be hard to be denied that of the Lord. I also would be a little confused why I would be blessed with such great things but not be able to do it. Luckily, David had a much better reaction than I did. In the last half of chapter 7, he does nothing but praise the Lord. He accepts the Lord's decision and is willing to do what the Lord asks. What an example!

"Whither Thou Goest, I Will Go"

(I am in love with this picture)

I love the story of Ruth. Who doesn't? She went through so much and stayed strong through the whole thing and was blessed for it in the end.

What was the situation in the land of Judah when Ruth and Naomi lived?

Judah was a fairly peaceful place. There was not a whole lot of fighting going on there like there was in areas surrounding it. It was a land of agriculture but it was prone to experience drought from time to time. Such was the case at this time. There was drought and famine in the land which caused Naomi and her husband and two sons to travel to Moab.

List the trials Ruth faced in Ruth 1.

-Her husband died (verse 5)
-She leaves her family to live with Naomi (verse 16-17)
-They had nothing when they arrived in Bethlehem (verse 21)

Choose one trial that is like one you have faced and briefly describe it.

I have also had to leave my family. I was born and raised in Minnesota. I left to come to school here in Idaho, got married and have stayed in Idaho. It was harder when I got married than when I went to school because while I was still single I knew that I would be home for months at a time on my off semester. Getting married was different, I was now going to be establishing my new life with my husband and because of work would be stayed in Idaho for an undetermined amount of time, only being able to visit home for a week or two out of the year. It was very hard. I can imagine it was very hard for Ruth as well.

Explain what you think motivated Ruth to go with Naomi. In what ways would it have been hard for Ruth to go with Naomi?

I think Ruth was motivated by empathy. She knew Naomi was all alone, no husbands and no children. She would have been going back to her home land but she probably did not have anyone to take care of her in her old age. I'm sure Ruth understood how it must have felt to be alone and did not wish that for Naomi. I'm sure it was a hard decision. She was leaving her family and traveling to a land she did not know. Facing uncertainty is not easy for anyone.

Why was Boaz so impressed with Ruth?

Boaz was very impressed with all that Ruth had done for Naomi. He was impressed that she would leave her family and home to live with Naomi and take care of her. (Ruth 2:11)

Explain what you can learn about facing your challenges from the examples in this chapter.

If we face our challenges head on, relying on the Lord after all we can do, we will be blessed. Ruth did what she had to do. She stayed with her mother-in-law and she did what she needed to do to get them food and she was blessed for it. Boaz saw all that she had done and made life a little easier for her.

Ruth is truly an amazing example. She sacrificed so much, and not only did she sacrifice it but she did it willingly. I have seen the same outcome that Ruth had in my own life. In high school, I sacrificed a lot of sleep to attend early morning seminary and was blessed a hundred times over for it. I did better in my performance at school and I was blessed with the Spirit while at school to protect me from all the filth I was surrounded by. I, too, got married and left my home and family. I and my family have been blessed so much for that. My husband has a wonderful job, I am able to attend a wonderful school, we live in an awesome ward and we have been blessed with so so so much more. I know that as we sacrifice things in our life, the Lord will bless us a hundred times over.

"Choose You This Day Whom Ye Will Serve"

I have loved reading the book of Joshua. Joshua is a prophet that I never really knew about. I have loved learning about him. He did a lot of really awesome things for the children of Israel. He helped them get to the promised land and conquer all of their enemies. One thing I thought fascinating about the true power Joshua had is found in chapter 10. The Israelites are battling the Amorites and Joshua commands the sun and the moon to stand still. As the student manual pointed out, it was actually the earth that stood still as we know that the sun doesn't move. It is easy to see that and think that it totally contradicts science so the Bible couldn't possibly be true. But it is! Heavenly Father controls the laws of nature. He can change them as He wishes. And, how would you explain all that is supposed to happen during the second coming?

The Israelites fought against a lot of different nations. By reading the chapter headings of chapters 7-22, here are the outcomes:

Failures
-Defeated by people of Ai


Successes
-They defeat Ai
-Gibeonites are made servants to Israel
-Defeat Amorites and their allies
-Conquer many cities and nations
-Conquer two kings on east of Jordan and 31 on west
-All the tribes receive their inheritances
-The Lord fulfills his promises and the Israelites are able to rest.

In the final two chapters of Joshua, Joshua gives his final address to the children of Israel before his death. He spends most of his talk encouraging the Israelites to serve the Lord. Based on the list above, I think he chose this topic to confirm to the children of Israel that they can accomplish great things with the Lord on their side. And it is true. We CAN accomplish great things with the Lord on our side. We can accomplish the impossible, for nothing is impossible for the Lord. I know that as we strive to follow the Lord, He will be on our side and fight for us every step of the way through this life.

Obedience Brings Blessings; Disobedience Brings Curses

I think everyone can say that the main thing to be learned from the children of Israel is the importance of obedience. At the beginning of Deuteronomy 10, we get a sense of just how important the commandments are to the Lord. Moses is commanded to keep the tablets with the Ten Commandments in the Ark of the Covenant. The ark was of great importance and was kept in the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle. The Ten Commandments were so important that they needed to be kept safe. From the JST for Deut. 10:2 and in Doctrine and Covenants 84, we see that the children of Israel denied themselves of the everlasting covenant of the priesthood, Melchezidek priesthood because of their disobedience.

There are several scriptures in Deuteronomy that talks about loving God and keeping his commandments. We also read in Matthew 22 that the first great commandment is to love God. This is very interesting if you think about it. Love is an emotion. Can we be commanded to have a certain emotion? My answer to that is yes. As we follow the commandments and draw closer to God, we learn to love Him. We see all that He has done for us and so begin to love Him. So when we are commanded to love God, we are being commanded to follow Him.

Why is there such an emphasis on obedience? Because Heavenly Father wants to bless us and for us to be happy (Mosiah 2:41, D&C 130:20-21). Heavenly Father can only bless us when we deserve it, when we follow His commandments. He is a merciful God that only wants our happiness, which can only come through obedience.

What do we receive when we are obedient? Deut 28:1-14 gives us the answer:

-We will be set high above nations
-We will be overtaken with blessings
-Our work and homes will be blessed with abundance
-Enemies will be smitten
-Everything our hands touch will be blessed
-People will see that we are called of God
-We will have plenty of goods

Pretty cool, huh?? Now, what are the consequences for disobedience? The rest of chapter 28 lists them:

-We will be overtaken with curses
-Everything we touch will be cursed
-We will have all manner of sickness
-Our enemies will smite us
-We will be cursed with famine
-Our hard work will be in vain
-We will be given things but will not be able to enjoy them
-And the list goes on....

Helaman 12:3 states that the Lord punishes disobedient people so that they will remember Him. The Lord is a very merciful Lord. In Mosiah 26, it says that as many times as we repent, He will forgive us. In Ezekiel 18, He says that He would rather the wicked repent and live than stay wicked and die. And this is evident all through the scripture. Every time He destroys a wicked nation, He allows them the chance to repent beforehand. He lives to bless us. He does not want to punish us but He has to if we do not follow the commandments. Our God is a very merciful God that loves us eternally.

The Brazen Serpent

Most know the story of the children of Israel and the fiery serpents. Fiery serpents were sent to them as punishment and they were commanded to look upon a brazen serpent and they would live. There is a lot more to this story than what appears in Numbers.

What did they do to receive this punishment? They murmured, or complained. They spoke out against God and Moses (Numbers 21: 4-9). They were sick and tired of wandering around in the desert with nothing but manna to eat. For most of us looking back on this, it is hard to believe that the children of Israel could forget all that the Lord had done for them. The Lord miraculously gave them manna to eat and then it wasn't enough. He brought them out of bondage in Egypt and then they wanted to go back. These, along with many other things had the Lord done for them only to have the Israelites turn their backs on Him. People of today (including myself) are often like this. We turn to the Lord during good times and then complain when things get bad. We think, "Why me?" forgetting all that the Lord has done for us in times past. We do this not realizing that He can make those hard times better if we will just turn to Him.

There is some very interesting symbolism found in this story. Throughout this class, I have found that so many stories represent Christ in ways that I had not realized before. This is one of those stories. The Book of Mormon gives us better insight into this story. In Alma 33:18-22 and Helaman 8:13-16, it states that the brazen serpent that Moses lifted up is in similitude to the Savior. In Helaman, it states that just as the serpent was lifted up, so shall Jesus Christ be lifted up on the cross. And just as the Israelites were saved as they looked upon the serpent, so shall we be saved as we look to the Savior with faith that we will be healed.

How does one "look" to Christ for healing? By having faith in His Atonement. By going to Him in reverence and prayer. By reading His word and living it to the best of our ability. How can we be healed? The pains of sins can be washed away. We can be made clean again through the Atonement. I we can receive comfort and healing in times of trial.

There are simple things we can do in the Gospel to heal us. My number one thing would be to read the scriptures. This brings us closer to the Savior and provides great healing during hard times. Prayer, sincere prayer, is also at the top. As we sincerely converse with our Savior and Heavenly Father, we will receive great healing as well. Other things we can do is take the sacrament every week, attend the temple, serve others, and so on.

I would like to end by testifying that I have seen and felt the healing effects of the Atonement in my life. At a time of great trial, when my family was falling apart, I turned to and "looked" to the Savior for comfort and support. And I received it. The wounds that I received through that time have been healed through the Atonement. I know that the Savior loves me and all of us. I know that His Atonement is real and that He can heal us as we look to Him.

Clean vs. Unclean

So our reading this week came from Leviticus. There are several chapters that lists lots of dos and don'ts. One of those lists being a list of meats they can and cannot eat. So here it is:

Clean Meats
-Anything with a parted hoof, clovenfooted and cheweth cud
-All kinds of Fish (those with fins and sales)
-Locust
-Beetle
-Grasshopper

Unclean Meats
-Camel
-Coney
-Hare
-Swine
-Things living in the water without scales and fins
-Eagle
-Ossifrage
-Ospray
-Vulture
-Kite
-Raven
-Owl
-Night Hawk-Cuckow
-Hawk
-Cormorant
-Great Owl
-Swan
-Pelican
-Gier Eagle
-Stork
-Heron
-Lapwing
-Bat
-Weasel
-Mouse
-Tortoise
-Ferret
-Chameleon
-Lizard
-Snail
-Mole

Pretty interesting list. Why such a detailed list? There are two general reasons, health and sanitation and obedience. A lot of the unclean animals listed, like swine, more easily contract diseases. Living in a time where their sanitation abilities were limited, Heavenly Father wanted to keep them safe. (Interesting fact: there were certain things that missionaries in my husband's mission could not eat, pig being one of them. It was meant to protect the missionaries from diseases that their bodies were not built to fend off. I thought it interesting that this still goes on in certain forms today) There other reason was to test the children of Israel. The Lord wanted to see how obedient they would be. The Institute Manual put it perfectly, "By voluntarily abstaining from certain foods or by cooking them in a special way, one made a daily, personal commitment to act in one's faith."

Although it is not so strict, the Lord has provided His children today with a list of good and bad things for us to eat. We call it the Word of Wisdom. Here's a list (found in Doctrine and Covenants 89: 5-17):

Good
-Herbs
-Fruit and vegetables
-Meat, used sparingly
-All grains

Bad
-Alcohol
-Tobacco
-Hot Drinks (meaning coffee and tea. Most members believe that herbal tea and hot chocolate are fine but some stay away from hot drinks all together)

The reason we have the Word of Wisdom today is to keep our bodies clean. As it says in 1 Corinthians 6: 19-20, our bodies are temples. They are used to house our spirits. Both our spirits and our bodies are gifts from our Heavenly Father. And we must be holy to return to our Heavenly Father. I am grateful for the Word of Wisdom. I am grateful that I have never taken a sip of alcohol or coffee or taken any type of mind altering drug. I have seen the addictions that have come from these things and I have seen the devastation that has come from that. My own family has been greatly affected by these things and I am grateful for the protection I have received from not partaking. There are always ways I can be better. The Word of Wisdom encompasses the health of our bodies in general, including working out and eating healthy. This is a goal that I have had that I have put off for too long. I am 21 years, overweight and I have high blood pressure. It is time for me to get my butt in gear! I am striving to be more careful about the foods that I eat and have been trying to muster up the motivation to work out more so that I can have a clean, healthy body for my spirit to reside. I know that as I do that, I will be blessed.

Planning and Building the Tabernacle

This week I have chosen to do my post on the Tabernacle of Moses. I chose this topic because there are a lot of connections between the Tabernacle and our modern day temples. I wanted to help expand understanding on our temples to those that do not know much. I hope you enjoy this.

So, what things were a part of the Tabernacle of Moses? Well, here's a list:

-The Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 25:10)

-The Table of Shewbread (Exodus 25: 23, 29)

-The Sacred Lampstand or Golden Candlestick (Exodus 25: 31)

-The walls and covering for the Tabernacle (Exodus 26: 1, 15, 26)

-The entrance to the Tabernacle (Exodus 26: 31, 36)

-The outer courtyard (Exodus 27: 1, 9, 16)

-The Altar of Sacrifice (Exodus 27:1)

-The laver basen (Exodus 30:18)

-The Altar of Incense (Exodus 30:1)

Below is a diagram of the Tabernacle that I have drawn outlining the set up of the Tabernacle. If you reference with the picture above, the rectangle drawn here is the Tabernacle itself. I did not draw the boundaries of the courtyard.

I found it very interesting that there are nine chapters in Exodus dedicated to the planning and preparation of the Tabernacle but only 4 chapters on the building of it. This is much like the process we should go through when making important decisions. We need to take plenty of time planning and going over every option, but once we reach a decision, we need to act. And when we act we should not drag our feet about it. When you know what you should do, do it.

The chapters in Exodus outlining the planning and building of the Tabernacle of Moses is very significant to Latter-Day Saints, probably more so than other Christians. And why is that? Because the Tabernacle of Moses is very similar to our modern day temples. We are washed and anointed before we go through the endowment session just as the priests washed in the laver before entering the Tabernacle. There are 3 sections to the Tabernacle; the courtyard, the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. Our temples are divided much this same way. During the endowment session, there is a progression through these rooms ending with entering the Celestial Room, which is equivalent to the Holy of Holies. Our time in the temple is a time of reflection and prayer, just as the incense represents prayers reaching heaven. And just as the Tabernacle was built with high quality material just as our temples are built with high quality materials. These are just some of the examples. The differences between the Tabernacle and temples today are do to the fact that we do not live the Law of Moses anymore. Since we live a higher law, things have changed, like the sacrifice of animals. Instead of physical sacrifice, we sacrifice things like time, worldly wants, etc.

Why do we have temples today? To receive blessings and to perform important saving ordinances for ourselves and for those that have passed on so that we can make it back to live with our Heavenly Father for eternity. In the Old Testament Student Manual and Doctrine and Covenants 97, there is a clear picture of what blessings we receive and who receives them. In the temple we have the blessing of dwelling in the Lord's presence. The words "The House of the Lord" are engraved on every temple. The temple is the Lord's house and His Spirit dwells there. It is such a blessing to have a place to go where we can leave the cares of the world at the door and focus on nothing but the Lord and His plan for us. Another great blessing we receive from the temple is learning the mysteries of God. Things are taught in the temple that are too sacred to be talked about anywhere else. These are things that are crucial to know upon our return to our Father's presence. What a blessing it is to have that knowledge!

Who can receive these blessings? EVERYONE....as long as they are clean. Everyone is interviewed about their worthiness before they enter the temple. Those who are not members of the Church have a hard time with the fact that not just anyone can enter. They feel they are being excluded. I completely understand that feeling, but I am here to say that is not true! We wish that everyone could enter the temple! And we hope that everyone will take the opportunity to. But you have to attain they level of worthiness before you can enter.

I don't think I could ever explain how much I love the temple. I have received so many blessings as I have covenanted with my Father in Heaven and kept those covenants. I have received direction from Him that I would not have received in any other place. There is a spirit in my home that I would not have if it weren't for my temple attendance. And the greatest blessing I have ever received from the temple is the sealing of my family for time and all eternity. How grateful I am to have the peace of mind that this life is not the end and that I will not part with my family at death. The temple is the greatest place on earth!

Receiving the Call to Serve

I have loved reading the story of Moses this week. What a great man he was.

I was particularly intrigued by the story of Moses being called by the Lord to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Almost everyone knows the story of the burning bush. Moses finds a burning bush that is not being consumed by the flames. He hears the voice of the Lord telling him to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt. And Moses responds with doubt. He does not feel that he is the kind of speaker the Lord needs (reading through it reminded me of Fiddler on the Roof. "For someone slow of speech he sure has a lot to say!" Makes me laugh every time :) ).

I love how the Lord responds through the whole exchange. Every time Moses brings up his inadequacy, the Lord is quick to respond with love and support. He tells Moses over and over again that He will provide the words He wants Moses to say. Although the Lord did get angry at Moses for his doubt, the Lord still provided an alternative mouthpiece for Moses, his brother Aaron.

There are great things we can learn from this story. In our church, we are given callings. We are asked to do the Lord's work within our wards in various areas, like Young Women's and Young Men's (teaching kids ages 12-18), Primary and nursery (teaching kids ages 18months to 12 years), Sunday School, Relief Society, Priesthood, etc. And we all do it voluntarily. There are a lot of teaching and leadership positions that can seem very daunting to undertake. Right after Chad and I moved into this ward as newlyweds, I was called to be the 2nd counselor in the Young Women's presidency. I was terrified! I was 20 years old, barely out of Young Women's myself. What experience did I have to teach these young women? When I found out that I was going to be serving with women ten years older than me who had gone on missions, I felt even more unqualified.

As I have served in this position the last year and a half, I have felt the presence of the Lord with me. I have found that the one thing keeping me from being a great leader, my age, actually has been a great asset, helping me to relate to the girls and the situations they are facing. And I have also seen that my life experience level doesn't make any difference, they just need a stable, temple worthy example to look up to. I know now that the Lord knew exactly what He was doing when He called me into the position. He knew that the girls needed me and that I needed them. He has helped me every step of the way to fulfill my leadership role. He has done the exact same thing for me as He did for Moses.

One more thing to add about callings. I read in Moses 1: 17, 25-26 a new piece of information about Moses's calling. He was actually commanded to call upon the Lord. And when he did so, he was about to behold the glory of the Lord. Prayer is key in holding a calling. As we kneel before the Lord and ask for direction, He will direct us.