Week Eleven: A New Commandment

According to John 13:34-35, others can know that we are disciples of Christ by the way we act toward and treat those around us. Even more than that, "all men" will know that we are Christ's disciples because we love one another. The love we show for each other reveals us as disciples.

As a disciple of Christ, in the situation that someone I know is ridiculed or made fun of because of the way he or she dresses, I would defend that person, telling whoever is doing the ridiculing that I choose my friends by the way they act, and not the way they dress. In the situation that I see someone new at church, as a disciple of Christ, the best way to act would be to go and greet them with a smile and make sure they have somebody to sit with.

I've been trying to consider how I treat people lately, and there is one person at work that I realized that I wasn't treating very well because of another person's opinion of him. I realized last Sunday that I have no right to treat him that way, especially when I wasn't even the one he slighted. I decided to make it a priority to treat him fairly from now on, without letting another person's opinion taint my opinion of him. I haven't seen him very often since then, so I haven't really had the chance to be nicer to him, but I hope to act with love toward him in the future.

Week Nine: Temporal Marriage and the Resurrection

The Sadducees did not believe in angels or spirits, and therefore did not believe in a resurrection, which is the reuniting of body and spirit. Since they did not believe in the resurrection, their question to the Savior about marriage and the resurrection was not asked in sincerity; more likely, it was to try and trip the Savior up and catch Him in His words. Contrary to some denominations' belief, Matthew 22:30 never says that marriage will not exist after the resurrection. Instead, it says that "they neither marry, nor are given in marriage," which literally means that there will not be any marriage ceremonies performed. This is a big difference from the common interpretation:  the first means that no one will be married, while the second one means that only marriages performed on Earth will exist, as no marriages will be performed after the resurrection. Elder James E. Talmage says, "In the resurrection there will be no marrying nor giving in marriage; for all questions of marital status must be settled before that time, under the authority of the Holy Priesthood, which holds the power to seal in marriage for both time and eternity." Doctrine and Covenants 132:15-16 give a little more insight on Christ's teaching to the Sadducees:  "Therefore, if a man marry him a wife in the world, and he marry her not by me nor by my word, and he covenant with her so long as he is in the world and she with him, their covenant and marriage are not of force when they are dead, and when they are out of the world; therefore, they are not bound by any law when they are out of the world. Therefore, when they are out of the world they neither marry nor are given in marriage; but are appointed angels in heaven, which angels are ministering servants, to minister for those who are worthy of a far more, and an exceeding, and an eternal weight of glory." These two verses clarify that Christ was telling the Sadducees that marriage is an earthly ordinance, and that only Eternal marriage is recognized in the next life.

Week Seven: Being a Disciple of Jesus Christ

What it means to be a disciple of Christ and what the Savior taught:

• Our spiritual nourishment is just as important as our physical nourishment, perhaps more so. (Luke 10:38-42)
• We pray to the Father for blessings, and He willingly gives them to us, if we only ask. (Luke 11:1-13)
• We must forgive others even as God forgives us. (Luke 11:1-13)
• We should not set our heart on riches and worldly successes, but on the things of Heaven. (Luke 12:13-40)
• If we are faithful, God will provide for our needs. (Luke 12:13-40)
• It is good to provide for our families, but it is also good to give to those who have none. (Luke 12:13-40)
•  We will not follow the ways of the world, or of the popular majority, but the Way of Christ, which is the only true Way. (Luke 13:23-24)
• We should not follow Christ lightly without considering what it'll take to be His disciple. (Luke 14:16-33)
• If we put other things before Christ, the blessings we would have gained from being His disciple will be given to someone else. (Luke 14:16-33)
• Following Christ means giving our all, and no less. (Luke 14:16-33)

If we are faithful, God will provide for our needs.

I have a tendency to forget this principle. I want to be independent and self-reliant, and while God wants us to be self-reliant, He also wants us to be God-reliant. He wants us to do all we can, but, in the end, leave it up to Him. I think He's been trying to teach me this the last few months. I keep thinking that I can take care of myself, that I can do anything, that I can conquer all of my weaknesses. And then I mess up. Again. And again. And yet again. And every time, Heavenly Father reassures me that it's okay. At first I wondered, "Really? It's okay?" The first lesson I had to learn was that it is okay to mess up. The lesson I am learning now is that while it's okay to mess up, it's not okay to give up. And as a part of that lesson, it's especially not okay to give up on the Lord. He won't give up on us, so we shouldn't give up on Him. I am learning that I need to do everything He asks of me, to try my best, and to remember that when my best isn't good enough, He is the one making up the difference.

Ultimate Requirements to be a Disciple of Christ.

  

To be a disciple of Christ, we need to forsake everything. We need to offer up our whole souls unto Him, and to "continue in fasting and prayer and endure to the end" (Omni 1:26). We need to give Him everything that we are and allow Him to shape us into who we can and should be. In other words, being a disciple of Christ is worth everything we have, including who we are, and we need to be willing to give our all in order to obtain it.