Week Six: The Mount of Transfiguration

Important events from the Mount of Transfiguration:

• Jesus takes Peter, James, and John onto a high mountain.
• Christ is transfigured in front of them, appearing as bright as the sun and as white as the light.
• Peter, James, and John see a vision of the earth in its "future glorified position" (BD, Transfiguration, Mount of).
• Moses and Elijah appear to them and teach them, telling them of Christ's death and resurrection.
• Christ, Moses, and Elijah confer the keys of the kingdom on Peter, James, and John.
• Peter, not knowing what to say, suggests building a Tabernacle for Jesus, Moses, and Elias each.
• A bright cloud overshadows them, and God the Father's voice is heard coming from the cloud, saying:  "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him."
• Peter, James, and John fall on their faces when they hear God's voice.
• Jesus touches them, telling them to arise and to not be afraid, and they see that He appears as a man once again.
• After they come down from the mountain, Jesus tells them not to tell anyone what happened until after He had risen from the dead.
• We have not yet been told all of the events that happened there.

These events helped prepare Peter, James, and John as future leaders of the Church because they gained greater understanding of who Jesus is, were given keys of the kingdom of heaven, and heard the witness of God the Father and felt the witness of the Holy Ghost. They also saw things that were to come, which, if I am correct in this being their first time, established them in their roles as prophets, seers, and revelators.

Week Five: The "Bread of Life" Sermon

The day before Christ gave the Bread of Life sermon, He performed the miracle of the feeding of the Five Thousand. Many people sought the Savior the next day because they had heard of the miracle, and wanted to be fed. I used to seek the Savior only when I thought I needed Him. I would only seek Him when I thought He could do something for me and get me something I wanted. I realize now that I would only seek Him when I thought it would benefit me. Now, though, I try to seek the Savior as often as possible, because I know that He will lift me up and make me stronger, and because I want to do what He asks of me. I suppose that before I was seeking "meat which perisheth" before, whereas now I seek "that meat which endureth unto everlasting life." 

In response to the people who sought to be fed, Christ taught them that while feeding their bodies is important, those who feed their bodies still die in the end. He told them that they need to feed their spirits, because those who feed their spirits do not experience spiritual death. He then told them that the only source from which they could feed their spirits was He, the Son of God and the Savior of the World. He taught that all men must come unto Him in order to be saved, and those who are saved will never die a spiritual death.

Christ not only used meat to teach this principle; He also used treasure, saying that only treasure from Heaven doesn't rust or become corrupted. He warned against those who seek after meat that perishes and treasure that corrupts. Today, this could be interpreted as placing any worldly thing above Christ. Anything we consider more important than Christ is perishable, corruptible.

Many people were offended by what Christ said, saying that His teachings were hard sayings. Many of these people left and no longer followed Christ after that. The Apostles, on the other hand, responded with faith, saying that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and The Source for Eternal Life. The Apostles were able to respond this way because they were in tune with the Spirit. There are many times in the scriptures and elsewhere where people have fallen away because of "hard sayings," like Laman and Lemuel who took "the truth to be hard," the young rich man who refused to give away his riches, people in early Church History who thought the next prophet should be chosen by the people and not the Lord, and many others.

I think that John 6 teaches that we need to follow Christ no matter what. No ifs, ands, or buts. We need to follow Him and do as He says, no matter how hard we think it is, because, hard or not, it's what we need to do. It makes me think of the saying, "I never said it would be easy; I only said it would be worth it."

Week Four: The Lord Often Taught with Parables

A parable is defined as a story that relates Heavenly things to everyday earthly things in order to veil the true meaning of things, so that only those who are ready to hear the truth will understand it.

The parables of the mustard seed and the leaven describe the future growth of the Church. The parable of the gospel net explains why the Church sends out so many missionaries. The parables of the mustard seed and the leaven explain the incredible growth of the Church, especially considering its humble beginnings in the American Frontier. The parables of the treasure and the pearl of great price explain why some members of the Church are willing to sacrifice so much worldly wealth and recognition in order to maintain membership in the Church. The parable of the tares and the parable of the gospel net explain why some members choose to leave the Church.

Considering the parables of the treasure and the pearl of great price, I'm not exactly sure what I would sacrifice to obtain the Kingdom of Heaven. I've never really thought about it before. I've grown up in the gospel, so I've never really had to think about what I have or will have to sacrifice. But I can think of one thing. I had to give up my obsession with anime. But it doesn't really feel like a sacrifice anymore, because the blessings far outweigh the sacrifice. I suppose that's how it is with everything, and why I've never really thought of it before.

As for the parable of the gospel net, I suppose the net that is cast into the sea would be the Lord's Church. If that's true, then being caught in the net would mean joining the Church. And if that's true, then that means that the separation of the good and the bad is very much like the division between the five wise and the five foolish virgins in the parable of the ten virgins. Even if you're in the Church, you're not necessarily saved just because you got into the Church. So the action of gathering the good into vessels and casting the bad away would represent the last judgement, in a way.

Week Three: The Beatitudes

According to the footnote "A" for Matthew 5:3, "beatitude" comes from the Latin word "beatus," meaning "to be fortunate," "to be happy," and "to be blessed." In the Institute Manual it says that to be blessed is something higher than to be happy. It says that happiness is dependent on outside circumstances, whereas blessedness comes from within. From these two sources, I would come to the conclusion that blessedness is a happiness that comes from living the gospel and looking to Christ, rather than from other, temporary actions.

Up until now, I had not understood what it meant to be "poor in spirit." It sounded to me like somebody who did not have the Holy Ghost's help very often because they were "poor" in "the Spirit." Later, I learned that people who are poor in spirit are people who are not rich in pride. So then I thought, "Why didn't Christ just say 'Blessed are the poor in pride?'" But when I read the commentary in the Institute Manual, I finally understood. It says, "To be poor in spirit is to feel yourselves as the spiritually needy, ever dependent upon the Lord...". I realized then that this, while I had not had a name for it, was what I had been learning over the past six months. I've been "discovering my dependency," as I put it in a journal entry. As I read the commentary, my heart was touched, and I knew that I am on the path to becoming poor in spirit.

Another commentary that impressed me was the one that gave the definition of meekness. I always thought being meek meant being timid. I always pictured a mouse when I heard "meek" in the scriptures. But the Institute Manual says that "A meek man is defined as one who is not easily provoked or irritated and forbearing under injury or annoyance. Meekness is not synonymous with weakness. The meek man is the strong, the mighty, the man of complete self-mastery." What really caught my eye was "not easily provoked." This stood out to me because it is something I have been working on the past few weeks. I've noticed that I have snapped at my siblings on occasion, and have been working on not letting what other people say irritate or offend me. I once thought I was meek. Now I know I still have things to work on.

The third beatitude that caught my eye was "Blessed are the peacemakers." I had always fancied myself a peacemaker. I got along with just about everybody; even if we disagreed at times, I still got along with them. But now I realize that there might be more to it than that. Would being a peacemaker mean not taking sides? Would it mean trying to be the moderator when you're caught in the middle of a disagreement? Would it mean not getting offended when people don't respect my opinion? Would it mean learning to agree to disagree and not drag out the argument for the argument's sake? As I've thought this, I realized that I still have a ways to go before I'm truly a peacemaker.

I'm not perfect, as no mortal is, but I know that as long as I follow Christ and trust in Him, He will show me the way on the path to perfection.