Category: LDS

This week in our Pathway class, we are studying 3 Nephi 23-30.  In these scriptures, we are taught to be more like our Savior, Jesus Christ.  In a previous post, I talked specifically about 3 Nephi 27:27 where it says, “Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am.”

Reading through these scriptures has been a great reminder to me this week of who we need to be striving to be.  As I watched videos this week that go along with our reading, there is one called “Be and Do to Become.”  It is narrated by the Clark’s and they talk about this scripture also.

As they talk, they stress the importance of making sure that we are striving to be more like Christ each day.  They explain to us that in order for us to become more like Him, we must Be more like Him and we must Do as He did.

It is not enough to think that we can just be more like our Savior without actually doing things as He did.  We know that He went out to teach his people.  We know that He would not leave anyone behind and that He loved everyone equally.  We also know that He was humble and did everything that He did for our Father in Heaven and not for His own glory.  We must also do these things if we hope to live a life like our Savior.

What a great example for all of us and what a great responsibility it is for us to try and emulate His life.  I am grateful this week for this reminder of who we should be.  As this week starts, we are starting as a class to work on another Christ-like attribute to focus on as we move forward.  I am so grateful for these opportunities that I have been given to try and become more like my Savior.

Reading and studying the scriptures reminds me each day that these habits we are forming while in this class are habits that need to follow us through the rest of our lives.  It is not something that we need to be doing for a grade.  It is truly something that we each need to be working on each day so that we can truly Be and Do like He did……..so that we can continue to Become more like Him.

This week for our pathway class we’ve been reading through 3 Nephi 12-17

In these chapters it talks about how Jesus visited the Nephite people after his resurrection.

As Jesus teaches, He organizes His church among the Nephites and tells them of other sheep that are not of this fold. I love when he talks about sheep from another fold and how we are to seek them out to bring them into the fold.

One other thing I was able to do this past week was spend time with the Priests quorum and the Teachers quorum from our ward as we went on our high adventure scout camp.

One of the activities we did with the young men during the week of camp was a COPE course. COPE stands for Challenging Outdoor Personal Experience and is made up of a variety of different activities throughout the day.

As I studied the scriptures throughout the week, the activities we did during scout camp made me think of what the Savior was teaching the Nephites.

In our COPE course, one thing that constantly came up during the activities was the importance of teamwork. Along with this was the mindset that we had to have to not leave anyone behind as we progressed through the challenges.

It really made me think of the teachings of the Savior and how in life, we need to adopt this type of attitude in our daily lives. We need to be aware at all times of those around us and what we can do to help them.  We know that we are all God’s children and with this knowledge comes a particular responsibility to share the gospel with others.

We should always keep those around us in mind so that we might look for ways to bring them into the fold as the Savior has counseled us to do. We should be constantly seeking out and helping to spread the gospel.

I am grateful for the gospel in my life and I hope that I can do better in the future with seeking out those around me that are looking for the truth of the gospel.

This week for our Pathway class we’ve been studying from Helaman 10-16 in the Book of Mormon.  I have really enjoyed reading from these chapters.

In our gathering this past Thursday, we talked specifically about Helaman Chapter 12.  In this chapter, Mormon teaches us about how we should be in our lives.  He teaches about how man is less than the dust of the earth.

We discussed what it is that Mormon means by saying this.  In our discussion we talked about how we know that, by ourselves, we are nothing.  We discussed how we need to have our Father in Heaven in our lives in order to truly become the person we should be.  Without Him in our lives, we truly are less than the dust of the earth.

In Helaman 12, Mormon talks about how we should trust in the Lord in all things.  He also taught that we should beware of pride and that we should stay humble at all times.

If we are able to do these things, we know that we are doing as the Lord would have us do and that he will help us to prosper.

One of the videos we watched for our class this week is titled “The Lord will Prosper the Righteous” and is given by Elder Dean L. Larsen.  This video tells about different instances in the Book of Mormon where people prosper by being righteous.  He also talks about how people often will become prideful at this point and turn away from God.  Doing so ultimately leads to their downfall.

I really have enjoyed learning these things during this week as it gives us hope as we move forward.  We learn that we are truly nothing without our Father in Heaven and our Savior in our lives.  But we also learn that if we are humble, trusting, loyal and give all thanks to Him that we can be prosperous in this life.

We need to remember moving forward that, as we become better at trusting in the Lord and as we prosper in our lives, that it is conditional upon living our lives in accordance with the gospel.  I hope that we can all remember these teachings so that we may remain humble and live in such a way that would please our Father in Heaven.

This week in class we have been studying Mosiah 27 through Alma 7.  One of the things I have learned from studying these chapters is taught in Alma Chapter 5.  In this chapter, Alma teaches us the things we must do in order to gain eternal salvation.

One thing he teaches us is that we need to have a change of heart.  He testifies in these scriptures that his father obtained a mighty change in his heart according to his faith.

As I read through this part in the scriptures, I am reminded of a video I watched as part of last week’s lesson with Elder Bednar titled, “Clean Hands and a Pure Heart”.  I would strongly recommend watching this video. In it, Elder Bednar teaches that it is not enough to not sin, but that we need to obtain the desire to sin no more.  In doing this, we obtain a true change of heart in our lives.

For our class this year, we have been working on a project where we choose a Christ like attribute that we want to try and develop for ourselves.  At this point in the semester, watching this video and reading through these scriptures, I have started to really understand this change of heart that Alma speaks of.  It truly is not enough for us to just be “good” and to not sin.  We truly have to become more like Christ and have a change in our hearts so that we will no longer have a desire to sin anymore.  We need to have the desire to do good continually.  One thing Elder Bednar says is that it is possible to have clean hands and not have a pure heart.  Searching to have this change of heart in our lives enables us to have both clean hands and a pure heart.

Alma teaches us that we cannot obtain salvation without repenting of our sins.  I know that we need to truly repent of the things we do wrong and we need to continually strive to be like Christ and obtain a change in our hearts so that we may stand before Him one day knowing that we have clean hands and a pure heart.  I am grateful for these scriptures and for the words of our leaders in these latter days.  I know them to be true and I am grateful for the opportunity to able to share my feelings regarding these teachings.

This week for class we read from the book of Enos through the 3rd chapter of Mosiah.  Included in that reading is the book of Jarom.  I really enjoyed this book this week and had several different discussions about it.

My instructor put together an awesome video this week talking about this book and how the Nephites during this time were able to break the pride cycle that we see repeated over and over throughout the Book of Mormon and throughout history.

As we’ve seen people go through this cycle, we see how they can be prosperous, which leads to pride, which then leads to their destruction or fall, which then points them back to humility.  As they humble themselves they get back to the point of being prosperous.  And the cycle continues.

But, as we see in the book of Jarom, it is possible to break this cycle.  We discussed in our gathering on Thursday night how the Nephites viewed the Messiah and what they did to stay faithful.  One of my classmates discussed that even though the time that this takes place is several hundred years before the coming of Christ, they acted as though He were there among them already.  They were a very humble people and made sure to keep the commandments.

As we read through the book of Jarom, we learn that they listened to the teachings and warnings of the Prophets which kept them from transgression and kept them from becoming prideful.  Because of this, they stayed humble and looked forward to the time when the Savior would come.  As they looked to Christ and tried to be more like Him, they were able to break the pride cycle, stay humble and continue to prosper.

I know that we live in a great time upon this earth where we have a true Prophet of God to help guide us and direct us.  We have all the resources available to us to learn from him, other church leaders and all those that came before them.  We need only to listen to their words, keep ourselves humble and look towards Christ with a desire to be more like Him.

This past week in our class we’ve been studying 2 Nephi 28-33.  In a couple of these chapters we learn about how Nephi prophecies about these last days and the false doctrines and sinful practices that will be surrounding us during these days.

As we’ve studied these scriptures, we have discussed in our weekly gathering what we can do to not be deceived in these latter days and how we can stand against these false doctrines and sinful practices.

Each week as we study the scriptures, we have a group of videos that we are able to watch to help us learn from leaders in the church.  There are a couple of videos that I watched this week that help me to understand what we can do to not be deceived.

The first talk that I watched was by Boyd Baggett and is called “Feast Upon the Words of Christ”.  In this talk, he mentions that his favorite scripture is 2 Nephi 32:3 where it says to feast upon the words of Christ. He then references a talk that Pres. Benson gave during General Conference in April of 1975.  In his talk, Pres. Benson mentions that the 2nd purpose of the Book of Mormon is that it will expose the enemies of Christ.  And that it will confound false doctrines and lay down contention.  Pres. Benson goes on to explain that the Book of Mormon will help to fortify the humble followers of Christ against the evil designs, strategies and doctrines of the devil in our day.

In our weekly gathering we discussed what it means to feast upon the words of Christ.  We recognized that feasting upon the words of Christ means for us to read the scriptures as often as possible.  In a recent meeting taught by our Stake President, he encouraged us to read from the Book of Mormon every day.  He testified that as he has committed to reading each day that he has been able to feel the Spirit guide him in his life.  I believe that reading the scriptures each day will give us the strength necessary to persevere in these last days and to be able to identify those false doctrines that Nephi prophecies about.  This will also help us to know of the sinful practices around us each day so that we might be able to distance ourselves from them. This will allow us to stand as followers of Christ and share our beliefs with all those around us.

The second video I watched that I think will help us in our everyday lives is titled “Enemy Territory”.  This is a story told by President Boyd K. Packer where he relates to us how he was protected during World War II by listening to a prompting of the Spirit.  He testifies to us that if we will live our lives worthily and if we will heed the promptings from the Holy Ghost that we will be watched over and protected.

This is a great blessing for us to be able to have in our everyday lives as we strive to live our lives in accordance with the Gospel.  As we diligently strive to read the scriptures each day and as we strive to live worthily, I know that we will have the power to be able to withstand the many forces against us in these latter days.