Happy Birthday

(source)

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." Luke 2:11-12

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!  :)

C is for Christ

My A to Z blogging theme is characters in (people from) the scriptures. Since my blog is a book blog, this theme would fit right in and help me strengthen a weakness at the same. How fantastic is that?!  This challenge is a blessing. Thank you A to Z Challenge team!  *Book: LDS quad combo scriptures: KJV Holy Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants, Pearl of Great Price. (p)1989, (c)1979.

He is Risen by Del Parson

Today is my birthday and so it is a wonderful treat for me to talk about "Christ, the son of the living God" (Matt.16:16).  But instead of attempting to define or summarize Jesus Christ, I will share a recent experience of His influence on me.

This passed March was particulary trying for me.  The hate that I have been taming for many many years finally took full bloom last month.  I truly had hate in my heart for what I justified as appropriate.  This hate privately consumed me.  But not enough to completely overtake my faith or more importantly Christ's faith in me.  My prayer for forgiveness and understanding was going to be answered.  Believe it or not, this A to Z challenge was the spark!  That wee hour of the night that the theme came to me began the path to healing my festered heart.  To prepare for my posts, I had to read the scriptures and I found myself studying.  It felt good.  That goodness opened me up to really listen to the General Conference (semiannual world conference of the LDS Church) addresses this passed weekend.  I felt even better!  I had invited good things into my heart and before I knew it, I couldn't justify the hate to stay with me.  Just like that. 

What does this have to do with Christ?  Everything!  He knows me.  He loves me.  He roots for me.  He died for me.  At a vulnerable moment and what seemed to me a bleak case, He understood me and interceded my case to Heavenly Father for help.  He knew that for me, the answer was specifically getting me to read and study the scriptures and stick to it!  There will I find strength, enlightenment, hope, and love.  There lies opening up my spirit to be comforted.  There lies my path to eternal progression.  There I will find Him, my Savior and Redeemer.  There I will find peace.

I will continue to read, study, and ponder the scriptures because I still do not know exactly what to do when I see that person whom I thwart a hate for but I am promised that I will, "..feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do." 2 Nephi 32:3.

I change my mind.  I will quote a definition of Christ afterall (found in my scriptures' Bible Dictionary):

Christ. The anointed (Gk.) or Messiah (Heb.). Jesus, who is called Christ, is the firstborn of the Father in the spirit and the Only Begotten of the Father in the flesh. He is Jehovah, and was foreordained to his great calling in the Grand Councils before the world was. He was born of Mary at Bethlehem, lived a sinless life, and wrought out a perfect atonement for all mankind by the shedding of his blood and his death on the cross. He rose from the grave and brought to pass the bodily resurrection of every living thing and the salvation and exaltation of the faithful.

He is the greatest Being to be born on this earth—the perfect example—and all religious things should be done in his name. He is Lord of lords, King of kings, the Creator, the Savior, the God of the whole earth, the Captain of our salvation, the Bright and Morning Star. He is in all things, above all things, through all things, and round about all things; he is Alpha and Omega, the first and the last; his name is above every name, and is the only name under heaven by which we can be saved.

He will come again in power and glory to dwell on the earth, and will stand as Judge of all mankind at the last day.

Have a wonderful Easter everyone!  He is risen, so that we will too someday. 

I can honestly say I am happy.  Yeay!!  :)

Ch. 12: The Atonement

 

from Gospel Principles:

Let me back up a bit and sum the previous chapters that lead us to this point.  Well, we learned that their is a God and we lived with Him as spirits in our premortal life.  There the plan of salvation was presented to us and we rejoiced.  Most followed Heavenly Father's plan over Satan's which meant that we would be away from Heavenly Father's presence for awhile and dwell on earth where we would receive our physical bodies and be tested.  The fall of Adam and Eve jump started this testing for us in that we were are now accountable for our choices.  Should we follow God's commandments we would be blessed and be able to return in the presence of Heavenly Father once again; while if we do not follow His commandments we would reap consequences and be under Satan's power.  Heavenly Father was thorough and included assistance so that we may be able to stick to the right path.  We have the Holy Ghost, prayers, prophets, and scriptures to help us discern God's will.   Yet, the central part of our success is through our elder brother Jesus Christ and so the atonement comes to play.

In our mortal state we will be subject to sin and be unclean, thus disqualifies us to return back to Heavenly Father's presence. So an atonement was necessary for our salvation.  The Savior atoned for our sins by suffering in Gethsemane and by giving His life on the cross.  Hence, Christ is our mediator.  Follow me for a moment on a story: 

A man wanted something very much and in order to have this, he incurred a debt.  He signed a contract that he would pay it off some time along the way.  Before he knew it, the day came and the contract fell due and the debt had not been fully paid.  The creditor at this point had the power to repossess all that the debtor owned or cast him to prison.  The man asked for mercy, but this would not serve justice for the creditor.  Then came a friend to help.  He paid the debt in full and thus saved the debtor from prison.  The mediator then became the debtor's new creditor with new terms.  It was not going to be easy but it will be possible to repay.

Our sins are our spiritual debts.  Without Jesus Christ, who is our Savior and Mediator, we would all pay for our sins by suffering spiritual death.  But because of Him, if we will keep His terms, which are to repent and keep His commandments, we may return to live with our Heavenly Father.

Ch. 11: The Life of Christ

from Gospel Principles:

The life of Christ was predicted long before His birth. The story of the birth and life of the Savior is found in the New Testament in the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. There we learn that Jesus was born of a virgin name Mary. The angel told her that she was to be the mother of the Son of God. Hence, Jesus is the only person on earth to be born of a mortal mother and an immortal Father and so why He is called the Only Begotten Son.He inherited divine powers from His Father and from His mother He inherited mortality and was subject to hunger, thirst, fatigue, pain, and death.

Jesus led a perfect life. By the time He was 12yo, he had grown in His understanding that He had been sent to do the will of His Father (see Luke 2:46-49). When Jesus was 30yo, He came to John the Baptist to be baptized in order to fulfil all righteousness. Soon after He was baptized, He fasted for 40 days and 40 nights to be with God. After that, Satan came to tempt Him. Jesus firmly resisted all Satan's temptations. Then Jesus began His public ministry. He taught that there are two great commandments: first, to love God with all our heart, mind, and strength; and second, to love others as we love ourselves (Matt 22:36-39). His life is an example of how we should obey these two commandments... if we love God, we will trust and obey Him and if we love others, we will help them meet their physical and spiritual needs.

Jesus wanted His gospel taught to people all over the earth, so He chose twelve Apostles to testify of Him. They received the authority to act in His name. Moreover, near the end of His mortal ministry, He prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice for all the sins of mankind (more about the Atonement in the next chapter). Through the atonement, cruxifixion, and resurrection (see Matt 26-28, Mark 14-16, Luke 22-24, John 18-20), He redeemed us from our sins and saved us from death. His sacrifice showed His love for His Father and for us. Jesus taught: "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you" John 15:13-14. He willingly and humbly went through the sorrow in Gethsemane and the suffering on the cross so we could receive all the blessings of the plan of salvation. To receive these blessings, we must come unto Him, repent of our sins, and love Him with all our hearts.

The First Easter

We have Easter to remind us of the day that Jesus arose from the dead.

All over the world, people who love Jesus celebrate his resurrection on this day.

He has risen so we too can live again after we die.

Happy (belated) Easter!!

Ch. 3: Jesus Christ, Our Chosen Leader and Savior

from: Gospel Principles

As discussed in chapter 2, in the premortal spirit world the plan for our salvation was presented. Because we would be away from heavenly Father's presence all of us would sin and some of us would lose our way. So He planned a way to help us ... we needed a Savior to pay for our sins and teach us how to return to our Heavenly Father. Jehovah said, "Here am I, send me ... Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever" (Abr 3:27, Moses 4:2). Lucifer however said, "Behold, here am I, send me, I will be the son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor" (Moses 4:1). Because our Heavenly Father chose Jesus Christ to be our Savior, Satan became angry and rebelled... causing a war in heaven. Satan and the third of hosts of heaven that followed him were cast down from the presence of God and cast down from heaven. They were denied the right to receive mortal bodies. Because we are here on earth and have mortal bodies, we know we are the two-thirds that chose to follow Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father. How cool is that?! So that mean guy that you know down the street made a good choice in premortal world so he's not completely hopeless! Consequently, Jesus Christ has revealed the gospel, which tells us what we must do to return to our God, so it is now up to each of us to do our part and become worthy of exaltation.

My thought: Watch out! Satan will do all he can to make us miserable like him so make good decisions always.