The Savior's Suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane

Matthew 26:36-46, Mark 14:32-42, Luke 22:39-46, John 18:1-2
The scriptures above are each the account of the Savior's great atoning sacrifice in the Garden of Gethsemane. In the Book of Mormon which is the keystone of our religion also has insight on this event. In Mosiah 3:7 it says "And lo, he shall suffer temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death; for behold, blood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his anguish for the wickedness and the abominations of his people." Jesus atoned for every soul that has lived, is living, and will live on this earth. During his suffering he was left completely alone, by our Father in Heaven and by his friends, the disciples whom had fallen asleep while watching for the mob. The pain and agony that he suffered was greater than any man can comprehend, so great that it made God, tremble in pain and causing him to sweat drops of blood from every pore. (Talmage, Jesus the Christ).
        Gethsemane literally means "oil-press" which most likely has reference to a mill in the garden used to extract oil from olives that were grown there. I can't help but realize the relation between the name and the events that took place there. It just sounds so morbid to me, but just like an olive that is squeezed until every ounce of what makes it an olive is gone, is what happened to Christ. Every mortal sin was squeezed out of him in those drops of blood. Everything that made him half mortal was drained from him and the only way he survived the atonement was because he is the Lord.
     In Matthew 26:41 a lesson is given to the disciples and Christ is teaching them about how the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak and you must learn to overcome temptation. In Doctrine & Covenants 10:5 it talks about how we must pray always that we may become a conquer of Satan. This is an important principle to remember throughout your entire life. The flesh is so weak but through God anything is possible. In Mosiah 15:7 it says "the will of the Son being swallowed up in the will of the Father." I think we can relate that to the lesson Christ taught his disciples about the spirit being willing but the flesh being weak. We need our Father in Heaven and Savior to help us every single hour and it is important to remember to pray for strength and courage in everything that we do.
    In each account (the four gospels) Jesus asks the Father if this cup may pass from him, and in each scripture he says nevertheless not my will but thine be done. The strength and faith required to do such a thing is great. I know I struggle with doing that. Just have faith that Heavenly Father loves each and every one of us individually and he can see the bigger picture where you and I can only see what is right in front of us. As soon as that is learned it is easy to submit yourself to Heavenly Father and trust that he knows what he is doing.
    In Luke 22:44 it describes how as the Savior's agony increased he began praying more earnestly. I don't think there is a single person who wouldn't turn to God if he or she was suffering so intesntly. I know for myself that when I am dealing with something hard and I rely on Heavenly Father and Christ to support me and help me through it, it really is a lot easier to overcome.I think the example set my Christ in this moment is something that needs to be remembered.

    What amazes me as I have been studying these scriptures is how even when Christ was in the most pain any person has ever felt, he was still teaching. He was still lovingly helping his disciples be better people. I cannot even imagine that I would be thinking of helping others if I were to be experiencing such great pain and sorrow. I think it goes to show how crucial that lesson is. How important it is to remember to pray in times of need. Remember it is not only when we are in great despair and agony that you should pray. "Therefore may God grant unto you, my brethren, that ye may begin to exercise your faith unto repentance, that ye begin to call upon his holy name, that he would have mercy upon you; Yea, cry unto him for mercy; for he is mighty to save.Yea, humble yourselves, and continue in prayer unto him. Cry unto him when ye are in your fields, yea, over all your flocks. Cry unto him in your houses, yea, over all your household, both morning, mid-day, and evening.Yea, cry unto him against the power of your enemies. Yea, cry unto him against the devil, who is an enemy to all righteousness.Cry unto him over the crops of your fields, that ye may prosper in them. Cry over the flocks of your fields, that they may increase.But this is not all; ye must pour out your souls in your closets, and your secret places, and in your wilderness.Yea, and when you do not cry unto the Lord, let your hearts be full, drawn out in prayer unto him continually for your welfare, and also for the welfare of those who are around you." (Alma 34:17-27). I feel that this is a very important principle. I have a testimony of this. I know that the Lord has the power to make your burden lighter. That is why he atoned for the sins of the world. Christ has already suffered for everything, the justice has already been fulfilled and there is only mercy left to give. Turn to the Lord in everything you do. I know that my Redeemer lives and that he loves each of us, regardless of race, gender or age. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

The Savior Taught the Apostles about Leadership

John 13:1-17
        In these verses Christ washes the feet of the apostles. I love to see this example of leadership because it is so different than what the world views leadership as. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints believes that leaders are here on this earth to guide and help us, the saints, whereas leadership is sometimes viewed as the people needing to serve the leaders. These scriptures help us realize that the Savior has not and never will do anything for himself, but you and me individually.
        I am so grateful to be a member of this church and have the knowledge of this gospel because it has brought my family and me so many blessings. Experiences I have had with local leaders in the church, who are also neighbors and friends are many, but one that sticks out to me is an experience I had a few years back was when I was away at school far from any family and I became really sick with the flu. My roommates went to church without me and when they came home they had informed a few leaders that has asked where I was that I was sick. A few hours after church there was a knock on my apartment door and there was the Relief Society president and her roommate with dinner for me and she had brought the Elders Quorum president and his roommate, who also holds the priesthood, with them to give me a blessing. It was such a blessing for me because it was nearing finals week and I was so busy with projects and other assignments and it was a really tough time to get sick when I really needed to be healthy and on the go. It was just a little reminder that with the gospel you have family to take care of you no matter where you are in the world. The leaders are here to bless your life and even if it is just a friendly hello or some one to talk to when you are lonely they are here to serve you because when you are in the service of your fellow being you are in the service of your God (Mosiah 2:17).

Signs of the Second Coming and the Destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem

The scriptures that are referred to in this post is from Joseph Smith-Matthew which is an extract form the translation of the Bible as revealed to Joseph Smith the Prophet in 1831: Matthew 23:39 and chapter 24 (click here to read Joseph Smith -Matthew)

	Destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem (JS-M 1:5-20	The Second Coming of Jesus Christ (JS-M 1:21-55)
Events to Occur	1.       False Christ’s JSM 1:6 2.       False prophets that will deceive you JSM 1:9 3.       Many will be offended and people will betray each other. Hate will wax strong. JSM 1:8,10 4.       Great tribulation JSM 1:18	1.       False Christs and prophets that will show wonders trying to deceive the elect.  JSM 1:22 2.       Wars and rumors of wars JSM 1:23 3.       Many will say that the Lord has come and he is in the desert or he is in the mountain tops or here and there but do not believe them because when the Lord comes every living soul will know. JSM 1:25-26 4.       JSM 1:29 Nation against nation, kingdom against kingdom and earthquakes and famines and pestilences. 5.       JSM 1:31 The Gospel of Jesus Christ will be preached in the entire world. 6.       JSM 1:33 The sun will be darkened and not give her light.
Promises to the Righteous	The righteous will be saved. We are to flee into the mountains and take nothing with us. We can’t return to our homes to get our clothes or anything, just flee to the mountain tops. JSM 1:13-15	We are given all these signs so we know what to believe and what not to believe.  If we watch we will not be swept away like the wicked in the flood.

In 1 Nephi 22:16-22 it talks about how the Lord will preserve the righteous. The Lord will not allow the wicked to take down the righteous and as long as we do what we need to: study the scriptures, pray night and day and keep the commandments we will be saved. As long as we are diligently doing what we know is right and trying to do what Jesus would do we can and will be saved.

The Last Days of Jesus' Mortal Mission

Day 1	Day 2	Day 3	Day 4	Day 5	Day 6	Day 7 (Sabbath)	Day of Resurrection
Jesus arrived in Jerusalem on a Donkey. The multitude greeted him with a Hosanna shout.	Jesus cleansed the Temple.	A plot to carry out Jesus’ death, one of his own disciples offered to betray him.	Spent the day outside the city, probably in Bethany.	The last supper, suffered in Gethsemane, Jesus was betrayed and brought to an illegal trial.	Jesus was given the death sentence; he was crucified and placed in a tomb.	Remained in the tomb but in the spirit world ministered to the dead. He bridged the gulf.	Jesus appeared to Mary and his disciples. This brought the ‘good news’ of the gospel. It was a testament that Jesus is the Christ.

Parables Taught by Jesus Christ

Luke 16:1-12
The parable of the unjust steward:
I really struggled understanding what this parable was meaning. The conclusion I have come to, and what I feel the Savior is trying to teach here is that it is important to keep your word. It is important to be prepared and be honest in all thy doings because you don't know what is going to happen, you don't know when the end is coming and you need to be prepared for when you stand at that judgement bar. This steward got lucky and was able to cover up his tracks right before his master inquired of him but that is not going to be the case for us all the time. Do not procrastinate.

Luke 16:19-31
The parable of the rich man and Lazerus:
The principles found in this parable are to listen to the words of the prophets on earth. Also to share your wealth and serve the sick and afflicted.

Luke 17:11-19
The ten lepers:
The story of the ten lepers is pretty well known. Ten lepers came to Jesus begging for mercy. Christ shewed them to the priest to be healed and all were cleansed but only one of them turned back and gave the glory to God, and he was a Samaritan. The principles we can learn from this is Heavenly Father accepts all men and you don't have to have authority to be a Samaritan and to be accepted by the Lord. I think what is bigger is that it is a reminder to give thanks to Heavenly Father for the many blessings he gives us. How often are we given these incredible blessings and we don't even give thanks? We just continue on our way as if we deserve it.

Luke 18:1-8
The parable of the unjust judge:
The principle of this parable is to pray always and not to faint. The unjust judge was not a God-fearing man and because of that did very wicked things and did many people wrong.

Luke 18:9-14
The parable of the Pharisee and the publican:
This parable was not addressed specifically to the Pharisee's or publicans but rather just used their classes because they are so opposite. This parable teaches to all men that they cannot rely on their self-righteousness over God. You need to humble yourselves and stop comparing to others and stop judging.

Becoming as Little Children

Matthew 18:1-14
D&C 78:17-18

These scriptures talk about the importance of becoming as a little child to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. We are like little children ourselves if we take upon the name of Christ. In D&C 78:17-18 we are enlightened by the words in those versus that say "17 Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye are little children, and ye have not as yet understood how great blessings the Father hath in his own hands and prepared for you; 18 And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours." Heavenly Father is telling us that we don't need to worry. If we are doing what we are suppose to be doing He will make up the rest. I especially like the part that says "and ye cannot bear all things now" our Father in Heaven is aware of our circumstances and is aware of what we are capable of doing. 

Mosiah 3:19

So how do we become little children?

In this verse it teaches us that we must become:

• submissive
• meek
• humble
• patient
• full of love
• willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father. 

 

John the Baptist

Matthew 11:1-19
Luke 7:18-35
      John the Baptist sent two disciples to Christ and asked him two questions:
1. Art thou he that should come?
2. Or look we for another?
Upon asking these questions our Savior cured them of their infirmities and did perform many miracles then told them to go on their way and tell John the Baptist of the things they did see and hear.
If I had been with those two men I can't help to think of the things I would go and tell John the Baptist.
If I had been there and witnessed Christ heal the sick and cast out devils and cure my own infirmities there is no doubt in my mind that I wouldn't go and tell John that He is the Christ, the one that the world has been looking for. I would tell him that we do not need to look any further and I would tell John the Baptist that if he doesn't or can't believe that for himself then to go to Jesus and find out for himself.
  It seems confusing why John would send his disciples to Jesus and ask those certain questions because we know that just a few months prior to this when John baptized Jesus the heavens opened and John saw and heard that Jesus is the Christ. He heard Heavenly Father's voice testify that Jesus is His son. So why was John curious? Did John struggle believing Jesus' true identity?
    No.
   John had many disciples that believed that John was the Messiah. He had been working so hard to persuade his followers that he was not the one and that they should follow Christ so John the Baptist sent them to Christ to help them find out for themselves. (Funny because I said I would tell John the Baptist do the same thing). I don't think it is any different now than it was for those men then. If we have infirmities we shouldn't go to everyone around us, we would go to the Savior himself to find out the truth.
    Jesus said there is no greater prophet than John the Baptist. I believe John to be the greatest prophet of the Lord and Savior because of the many things he did on this earth to prepare the way for Jesus. It says all over the New Testament that he was sent to prepare the way. John the Baptist also had the privilege and glory to baptize the Savior and I am sure he felt it should be the other way around. That the Savior should be baptizing him. I also think what made John stand out is his loyalty to Christ. Christ prophesied himself that there is no greater prophet than John the Baptist (Luke 7:28). Like I mentioned before John had many disciples that believed he was the Messiah and John did not allow them to follow him. He did all that he could to help his men believe that Christ is the Messiah.
     In John 3:30 it says "He must increase, but I must decrease." This is John the Baptist speaking of the savior. This is another testament that John understood the divinity of Jesus Christ and his mission here on earth. John knew that he needed to do all that he could to make the people that believed him to be the Messiah to realize the truth that Jesus is the Messiah. I think that statement can run deeper than that though. The thoughts I had while reading that and pondering how we could apply that attitude in our own lives is obviously not to have to convince others that we are the Savior but to think of it in the sense that we are spirits in a body that has the tendencies to do evil or in other words we are constantly fighting the natural man. I believe that if we were all to take this attitude upon us and to stop thinking so much about what we want or what we think is the best for us and to increase God in our lives. The Spirit cannot reside in unholy temples so if we have unresolved sins we will have some trouble increasing God in our lives. I know that as we "increase" God in our lives we will be so much happier.

The Premortal and Mortal Savior

John 1:1-14 and John 17:1-5


Five truths from the Saviors premortal life found in John chapter 1 are

1. In John 1:3 it says "All things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made." This means to me that there is absolutely nothing in this world that didn't come from God.
2. In John 1:4 it says "In him was life; and the life was the light of men." To me this means that light comes from our Savior. The light of Christ is in men and I believe that we all have the light of Christ in each of us.
3. John 1:5 says "And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not." 
4. John 1:9-10 says "9....the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. 10. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not." At the beginning of verse 9 light is capitalized because it is referring to Jesus Christ. The footnotes in my LDS standard works (which contains The King James version of the Holy Bible, The Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants and The Pearl of Great Price. It also contains a Topical Guide and a Bible Dictionary) refers you to the topical guide to look up intelligence, Jesus Christ, Light of the world, and light of Christ. 
5. John 1:13-14 talks about how Christ did not come into this world from flesh or from man but from God. 

Five Truths from Jesus Christ's Mortal life - John 17:1-5

1. In John 17:1 it talks about how the Savior is praying to Heavenly Father and says "Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son. that thy Son also may glorify thee." This shows that Christ spent his time on earth not glorifying himself but to glorify our Father in Heaven.
2. In verse 2 we learn that the Savior wants to and will give eternal life to "as many as thou hast given him"
3. Verse 3 talks about how we may know our Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ as the only true God and that Heavenly Father sent his Son Jesus Christ to atone for our sins.
4. in verse 4 Christ has finished the work that He was sent to earth to do.
5. in verse 5 Christ asks Heavenly Father to glorify Him with the same glory as Christ had "before the world was."