Temple Work

My SMART project was centered around temples and different scriptures I related to temples and this past week I have thought more about the greatness of temple work and have been reading scriptures again. Most of you don't get to read my final project, so I want to share part of the spiritual aspect of it that I learned concerning the Book of Mormon. 

It was actually quite difficult to find scripture references that directly talked about temples in the Book of Mormon since that is mostly discussed in D&C. But, one of the scriptures I did find was  Mosiah 1:18 -

“And now, it came to pass that Mosiah went and did as his father had commanded him, and proclaimed unto all the people who were in the land of Zarahemla that thereby they might gather themselves together, to go up to the temple to hear the words which his father should speak unto them.”

I really liked this scripture because it reminds you that the temple is a place to hear the words of God. Even though the scripture doesn't explicitly say that, I read that this was talking about the ability to go to the temple and be close to God and have the spirit speak to you. I love that we have the temple as a place to go to when you are wanting to be closer to Him and I know that we can hear his words through the different ordinances we do, but then also through the feeling of the spirit.

I think that this scripture can be read in many ways, but I think it is interesting to think of it as a message for the power of the temple and the ability we have to go and hear the Lord's words.

I hope to find time to go to the temple this finals week because I have a testimony of its help when life gets rough.

Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Caroline

Endure to the End

Recently, my family has been going through some tough things. This trial has been very challenging and has caused a few family members to stray away. This last week, things have been especially difficult and so I decided to search lds.org for things that could be comforting or helpful. I decided to look at was under the scripture guide for "Endure". There were many comforting scriptures and 3 Nephi 27:6 stuck out to me the most. This scripture is simple, and while it can be directed to the idea of sticking with your faith, I also see it in a different way. The scripture says:

"6 And whoso taketh upon him my name, and endureth to the end, the same shall be saved at the last day."

Not only does this scripture remind you to be a believer of Christ and withstand any temptations or persecution, to me it also reminds you that when you are going through trials, you always have the Lord with you. This scripture is comforting because it reminds you that Christ helps you when you have faith in him.

This scripture is really applicable to what is going on in my life. It reminds me to be an example of a believer in Christ and not fall to temptation when I am struggling through a trial, but then it also reminds me that the Lord is with me and I will be rewarded for my strength.

Thanks for reading!

xoxo

caroline

Beattitudes

I really enjoyed examining and learning more about 3 Nephi 12 this past week. It was really interesting to look at the verses 3-10 as a story of conversion and progress through faith. I found the steps towards to perfection to be enlightening and comforting, and it really impacted me.

The way we read the verses in this chapter are interesting because instead of looking at is as the Lord declaring who will be blessed, he is actually giving steps to reach perfection.

The first step from imperfect to perfection like Christ is vs. 3:

"3 Yea, blessed are the poor in spirit who come unto me, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

This verse can be read as where you begin in the process. You don't have a strong testimony, but you recognize that and know that you need to move forward.

The second step is described in vs. 4:

"4 And again, blessed are all they that mourn, for they shall be comforted."

In this verse, after realizing you are "poor in spirit" you mourn for the sins that you have committed and reflect on your imperfections. This mourning process if still comforted by knowledge of the possible changes you can make from the place you are in.

"5 And blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."

In vs. 5, we receive step three, which is humility. When you are meek, you are ready to be taught and are open to change. Because you have recognized that you are of little faith, and have this feeling of remorse, you are humbled and ready to learn more and change. After you experience this level of humility, you are moved onto step four. This step is described in vs. 6:

"6 And blessed are all they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled with the Holy Ghost."

This step tells of the growing desire to learn and be strengthened that follows the humble attitude. When you are finally humbled, you receive a strong hunger for the gospel and are ready to be taught and active. Before this point, you are slowly moving towards perfection and now you are actively moving towards it.

Step number five is when you really start to move beyond yourself and look more towards others. This step is described in vs. 7:

"7 And blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy."

In this step, you are being asked to be merciful to others and to yourself. You need to be like Christ and forgive others for their transgressions, just like Christ forgave you. You also need to forgive yourself for the sins you have made, because Christ has already forgiven you. This ability to forgive others and forgive yourself makes you more perfect through your Christ-like attribute of forgiveness.

Step six is a really big step that is very important for the progression to perfection. This is described in vs. 8:

"8 And blessed are all the pure in heart, for they shall see God."

In this verse, we learn that it you are pure in heart, you shall see God. This step is another realization moment. To reach this step, you must be pure in heart - which is helped by forgiving others. When you are pure in heart, you also can see God's hand in your life. When you realize how much God has helped your life, you will have the strongest faith and this faith will drive you to bring others into the church - which is step seven. Step seven is described in vs. 9:

"9 And blessed are all the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God."

In vs. 9, you have finally reached the point where you are going out and sharing the gospel with others. When you are "peacemaker", you are making peace in everyone's hearts by sharing the gospel with them. When you share the gospel, you are a missionary and are called a Children of God because you are sharing his work. This step is really important because it opens others to the greatness of the gospel. When you share the gospel with others, you are opened up to criticism and that leads you to step eight, which is in vs. 10-12:

"10 And blessed are all they who are persecuted for my name’s sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 And blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake;
12 For ye shall have great joy and be exceedingly glad, for great shall be your reward in heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets who were before you."

In these verses, you can see how you can be persecuted for your faith. But with this persecution, you can be strengthened and rewarded. If you are tested by others and persevere, you will be stronger and closer to perfection. At this step, you are constantly being challenged and sometimes you will be pushed to your limits and you faith will be broken. When this happens, you restart the steps and through the repetition of steps, you continue to grow closer to God and to perfection. But, if stay strong and are remembering the journey and the steps you have taken, you will be on the path to perfection still.

These steps that are outlined in 3 Nephi 12 are a great reminder of how you can return to the Lord when you fall away. They are comforting because they show how the Lord has created a way for you to be perfect just like Him because that is what he wants. Repentance is the key to this process and it is the greatest gift and we are blessed for Christ's sacrifice through the Atonement. The Atonement is especially important to reflect on as we get close to Easter. I am really thankful for the Atonement and for the Plan of Salvation. I am happy that we always have a way to grow closer to the Kingdom of Heaven.

Thanks for reading!

xoxo

caroline

Relief Society Conference: Trust in the Lord and Lean Not

For scripture study this week, I decided to apply some of the Relief Society Conference talks to my study. The one I am choosing to share is "Trust in the Lord and Lean Not" by Sister Bonnie H. Cordon, the Second Counselor of the Relief Society.

In her talk, she discusses the ways in which we can trust in the Lord instead of leaning away from him. The first example that she shared was scriptures. She shared that reading and studying your scriptures is a great way to avoid leaning away.

With this, I am reminded of the power of the scriptures and so I searched Book of Mormon scriptures on reading and studying the gospel. One of the examples I found was: Helaman 3: 29-30:

"29 Yea, we see that whosoever will may lay hold upon the word of God, which is quick and powerful, which shall divide asunder all the cunning and the snares and the wiles of the devil, and lead the man of Christ in a strait and narrow course across that everlasting gulf of misery which is prepared to engulf the wicked—

30 And land their souls, yea, their immortal souls, at the right hand of God in the kingdom of heaven, to sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and with Jacob, and with all our holy fathers, to go no more out."

In this scripture, we are told of the power of trusting in the word of God. The scripture shares that if you trust in the word of God, you will be able to avoid temptations of the devil. I have definitely found that the times in my life where I am actively studying the scriptures, I am less able to be tempted by the devil.

The next tool for trusting in the Lord that Sister Cordon shares is prayer. She says to trust the Lord through prayer. She shares a personal experience where prayer helped her. One of the scriptures that is footnoted in the talk is Moroni 7:48:

"48 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen."

In this scripture, it tells you to pray to God with your heart and that by doing so, you will be more like him and become more pure. This is a comforting message about the great powers of prayer and its ability to help us become better. During the semester, I often rush out in the morning and don't remember to pray. This is something I need to work on because I know there are benefits to prayer and this Moroni scripture shows that.

The last tool that Sister Cordon shares is service. She explains how it is beneficial to trust in the Lord and do service. Sister Cordon shares a heartfelt story about a woman who chose to serve others when she was battling cancer. The woman, Amy Wright, chose to spend the nights that she couldn't sleep, because of her cancer symptoms, looking for ordinances that could be done in the temple, or searching for others to help. Through this service, Amy was trusting in the Lord to help her as well.

One of the scriptures shared in this talk, in relation to service, was Mosiah 2:17:

"17 And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God."

This scripture is really popular, and that is because its message is so clear and true. I have found that when I serve others, I am growing closer to God. Sometimes in life, you are so busy and it can be hard to find time to serve others. But, if you trust in the Lord to help you when you sacrifice time to serve others, it will be beneficial. It is never a bad idea to serve others and you can do it in so many ways.

These three ideas that Sister Cordon presented: Scriptures, Prayer, Service; are all great ways to grow closer to the Lord and with each one, I have personally found that to be true. I am so grateful for Relief Society Conference and how it inspires me and also how it helps me in my personal scripture study!

Thanks for reading!

xoxo

caroline ferrell

Looking at Ether 12:27

When my oldest brother went on a mission, my family made one of those build-a-bears for him and sent it out to him. In the build-a-bear, we had a recorded message with loving words from each sibling. I was only 10 years old, maybe younger, when he left and my small words of "advice" were "Love ya!". I definitely didn't know what the whole point of the build-a-bear. At least I wasn't like my younger brother who just said "Hello" in his tiny 7 year old voice. I am bringing this up because after my brother returned from his mission, his build-a-bear somehow landed in my possession. I would listen to the voices and cherish how they all sounded. In the recording, one my dad said "remember Ether 12:27!", and so I heard that reminder countless times. Even though, my dad's voice kept giving that reminder, I never put much thought into the scripture. 

Something that helps me in my scripture study is looking at the scripture mastery for the Book of Mormon. When I was looking at it earlier this week, I noticed Ether 12:27 as I was getting close to the book of Ether. I knew that the scripture was part of the scripture mastery, but still don't remember learning much about it when I was in Sunday School or Seminary. I clicked on LDS.org's information for the scripture and learned about the power of this scripture and understood why my dad chose it as a phrase in the build-a-bear message. You can look at the link I am talking about here

This is the scripture: 

"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."

On LDS.org's notes for this, they give background information to how this scripture is about Moroni's worries that he has weak writing. In the scripture, God teaches that if you come to Him humbly and show him your weaknesses, he will make them strong. After actually reading this scripture and understanding it, I know why my dad told my brother to remember this scripture. I am never served a mission, but I have heard about how hard they are. I can see how a scripture that teaches about weaknesses and faith in the God can be comforting to someone who is alone on their mission. The comforting message that God will strengthen you if you have faith is something that can be really applicable for everyone, but especially for a missionary. 

When I take this scripture and put it towards my current life, I can see how it can be applied very easily. As we get closer to the end of finals and all the stresses that come with it, we are in great need of God's help. Sometimes I am too prideful and believe that I can do everything on my own. But, if I humble myself and ask God for help, I know that I will be blessed with his help to strengthen me.

Thanks for reading!

xoxo

caroline

Alma 36

In class this week, we discussed Alma 36. This chapter is a beautiful chiasmus. From versus 1-17 (half of 17), Alma is describing the hell that he is enduring. He even discusses in vs. 15 that he doesn't want to live no longer in his statement where he wishes that he could be extinct. The verses 1-16 describe someone who is suffering and is giving up.

On a much milder scale, I experienced this feeling of hell and loss in the months following the death of my mother and brother. In some of the darkest times, I even had the desire to just give up. I didn't think the paint that I was feeling would ever be rid from my body. This moment was a feeling of low that I had never experienced and I couldn't see a light at the end of the tunnel. During this time, I really drifted away from the church. I didn't really see a reason to go and felt that it was totally acceptable for me to done with it because I had gone through so much. Luckily, I didn't do anything really foolish and kept to the values I grew up with, but I had lost faith. Even though I seemed like everything was okay on the outside, inside I was drifting away and losing contact with the spirit.

This type of action that I was experiencing, is something that I have seen and talked about with other friends and family members. Sometimes Satan can creep in and take over without you really noticing. The events that had occurred in my life and the terrible loss I was feeling, made it really easy for Satan to take control piece by piece. When I finally realized how far I had drifted, I felt like Alma the beginning of vs. 17 in 36:

"And it came to pass that as I was thus racked with torment, while I was harrowed up by the memory of my many sins..."

I felt the guilt of how I had totally lost faith and I even felt like there was too much to be done in order for me to turn back. But, just like the end of vs.17 and then in vs. 18, I remembered, with the help of a close friend, the gift of the atonement in my life:

 "...behold, I remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world.

18 Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me, who am in the gall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting chains of death."

In those two verses, Alma experiences a turning point through his remembrance of the promise of an Atonement. With me, the Atonement reminded me of the ability to repent, but then also the ability to turn to the Lord for comfort when I am struggling. And although my process of turning back didn't happen in an instant like it did for Alma, I was able to turn back over time and experience what Alma describes in verses 20-12 : 

"20 And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!

21 Yea, I say unto you, my son, that there could be nothing so exquisite and so bitter as were my pains. Yea, and again I say unto you, my son, that on the other hand, there can be nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my joy."

Although it was difficult for me to lose my mother and brother, I know that I gained something priceless from that treacherous experience. I gained the ability to truly appreciate the power of the Atonement and the ability it has to comfort you when you struggle and forgive you when you sin. I can testify that, just like Alma, you trade in the pain you are feeling for an equal amount of joy through the power of the Atonement. 


Also, I found this on google and thought it was cool and useful when you want to see the chiasmus in Alma 36! 

Thanks for reading! 

xoxo

Caroline 

Alma 7: 11-13

Alma 7:11-13 --- This section of scripture is part of scripture mastery and something that I was looking at this past week. I have been trying to actively look at scripture mastery throughout the semester in order to remind me of some of the important verses we discussed in seminary in high school and it has been a way for me to refresh on some ideas and principles. This scripture says:

 11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.

 12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.

 13 Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me.

When I read these verses and then looked them on the lds.org website and the notes they have listed for the scripture mastery, they had a question attached to it that really impacted me. This question was "When have you felt the healing power of the Atonement?". This question really struck me because I have been overwhelmed multiple times in my life with the healing power of the Atonement. Not only can the Atonement forgive you for any sins that you have committed, it can also comfort you when you are struggling through trial and tribulation. It has always been comforting to me to be able to turn to Jesus Christ when I am struggling and feel that I have no one to turn to. I have had unique terrible trials through my life and I have often struggled to find people to turn to because they simply do not understand. It is amazing though, to have Christ always there for you when you need help and I really think that is amazing. I really have a testimony of Christ's hand in our lives and know that he is always someone I can rely on. 

Thanks for reading! 

xoxo

caroline