"Feed My Sheep"
First off, SHOUT OUTS. Sometimes people ask me to mention them in a blog post so I do.
Emily Vasas and Holly Daley: 'Sup, gurls. Word to your mother. Holla. Peace. *wink*
And now on to the actual blog post.
Sundays are my favorite days. Actually, Wednesdays are, but for the sake of this post, Sundays are my favorite days. The Sabbath day, the day of rest, gives us a chance to relax and reflect and rejuvenate our spirits.
And there isn't a person on this planet who doesn't need or deserve that chance.
This past week I've been reflecting on the life of Jesus Christ as illustrated by the New Testament, including his Atonement, his death, and his resurrection. In our seminary (bible study) class, we've been studying those chapters in the four gospels about the last week of Jesus's life. And in church lately we've been discussing the Godhead, composed of Heavenly Father, His Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. Today the question asked in our young women's class was, "Why is Jesus Christ important in my life?"
Thankfully I've had so much exposure to the life of Christ and his Atonement enough in my life and especially in the past week, so I was able to dive deep into my thoughts and figure out, why is he so important in my life?
The first thing that comes to mind is Mac. Don't know if you remember this, but once upon a time I met a boy who stole my heart and then he was taken from me very soon after.
I've been thinking about him a lot lately and his and his family's impact in my life, and how that changed everything about the way I act and the way I view the world and treat my life.
I remember how much pain I was in, how dark everything seemed, and how confused I was. It was a very lonely and depressing time in my life, but Jesus helped me through it.
Rewind back to the summer of 2011. August 19th, 2011, to be exact. I was on my way to attend a late class at Education Week on the BYU campus. It was one of the last classes of the day. The sun was setting, leaving a warm golden glow over all of Provo. My best friend (who had not yet become my best friend), Taylor Mefford, was with me and my brother as we walked to a class.
I didn't know beforehand that Taylor had no desire to attend this class, but seeing that I was determined to go, he followed patiently. (Thanks, man.)
The class was titled "Finding Peace in the Storm". I chose to take this particular class because Mac and his family had passed away just five days before and I wanted as much spiritual advice as I could get.
So we sat in the class and about halfway through the teacher asked for any examples of difficult trials, so since no one else raised their hand I did. I talked a little bit about Mac and how he had passed away and how hard it was, but how I had faith that Heavenly Father would bless me for my efforts and I would be strengthened by the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
It was a wonderful class and I learned a lot. I still have all the notes from the classes I took that year at Ed Week, and I go back and read them sometimes just to help me out. One thing that I love that I learned from that class was that even when we pray for help, Heavenly Father does not always give us immediate deliverance. Just like a diamond is made under intense heat and pressure, so too are we made into what God knows we can become, only after the trial of our faith.
I took this class and it helped me realize that the only way I was going to really get out of this dark place I was in was through the Atonement. I think a lot of the time we assume that the Atonement is all about our sins, but no... It is about every imperfection, every trial, every pain, every flaw. The Atonement is what makes it possible to live with our Father in Heaven again, because "he dwelleth not in unholy temples" (see Alma 34:36). We can't live in our Father's presence if we aren't perfect, and obviously that is not possible for us. We are human, we live in a fallen state and are subject to all sorts of diseases and ailments, physical and mental, and all sorts of other imperfections.
But guess what! The Atonement of Jesus Christ covers all those things. It matters not what imperfections we have, because it's all been taken care of.
Now, that doesn't mean we stop trying. Oh, no, we must make a valiant effort to prove to our Heavenly Father that we have a burning desire to enter into His kingdom. Eternal life does not come easy or free. Jesus died for us, the least we can do is show loyalty to Him and His Father by keeping their commandments.
Speaking of loyalty, that reminds me of one of the most powerful talks I have ever had the pleasure of hearing. It is "The First Great Commandment" by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland.
One part of this talk that keeps coming back to me is an embellished representation that Elder Holland gives of the possible conversation between the apostle Peter and Jesus, after Jesus's resurrection. Jesus asks Peter thrice, "Do you love me?" and each time Peter answers yes, of course. And Jesus, in Elder Holland's words, replies,
That is so powerful. Jesus called apostles to continue the work even after his death because the Gospel, the true and full Gospel, is not "destroyed". It cannot be hidden or lost, not anymore.
This talk is what motivated me to start preparing, really preparing, for the mission I hope to go on when I turn 19. I wish I could just leave now, but I have things to take care of. (Graduating high school, going to college, getting a job, saving up money for the mission, etc.)
Something I think is really cool about the LDS church is their mission program. When young men turn 18, and young women turn 19, we are all given the opportunity to go on a mission. We do not choose where we go, we are not paid to go, we don't get money from fundraisers or anything like that. We pay our own way so that we can go out to wherever God calls us and preach His Gospel for almost two years. It is scary, it is exciting, it is amazing. It is so incredible to see the intense change that people go through on their missions. Boys who were spiritually lost come home full of God's love and have a whole new desire to teach the Gospel. It is so, so awesome!
Seeing all my friends get their mission calls makes me so excited and so ready to get out there and teach. Some people are disappointed in where they are called to, but I have a firm testimony that where you are called to is where you are meant to be, for whatever reason God has.
For example, my dad, when he was 19, was called to serve in Arizona. It was literally a day drive from his house in Southern California, it was hot, it was stateside, it wasn't that exciting. He didn't even get the chance to learn a new language. Needless to say, he was a little disappointed. But it was on that mission that he learned he had a knack with computers. He found his niche in programming and storage engineering, and that skill has payed for our house, all our utilities, every car, every baby, every activity, for the past 20 years. How cool is that??
If he had been in a third world country, speaking Portuguese and living on dirt floors, he would never have discovered something that he enjoyed and something he was good at, that would later become his profession. It's just so cool to see what hidden blessings lie in God's plan for us.
So don't let your disappointment get the best of you; there's always something positive to find in every situation.
This post is way longer than I intended it to be, so I apologize for rambling. :) I just have a lot of feelings, okay, and I needed to get them out. It was a very good, spiritual Sunday filled with all kinds of revelation and whisperings of the Spirit and whatnot. Too many feels.
Anyways. Love all of you, thanks for at least glancing at this post.
Love and kisses,
E the B
P.S. I cut my hair off, whoops
Emily Vasas and Holly Daley: 'Sup, gurls. Word to your mother. Holla. Peace. *wink*
And now on to the actual blog post.
Sundays are my favorite days. Actually, Wednesdays are, but for the sake of this post, Sundays are my favorite days. The Sabbath day, the day of rest, gives us a chance to relax and reflect and rejuvenate our spirits.
And there isn't a person on this planet who doesn't need or deserve that chance.
This past week I've been reflecting on the life of Jesus Christ as illustrated by the New Testament, including his Atonement, his death, and his resurrection. In our seminary (bible study) class, we've been studying those chapters in the four gospels about the last week of Jesus's life. And in church lately we've been discussing the Godhead, composed of Heavenly Father, His Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. Today the question asked in our young women's class was, "Why is Jesus Christ important in my life?"
Thankfully I've had so much exposure to the life of Christ and his Atonement enough in my life and especially in the past week, so I was able to dive deep into my thoughts and figure out, why is he so important in my life?
The first thing that comes to mind is Mac. Don't know if you remember this, but once upon a time I met a boy who stole my heart and then he was taken from me very soon after.
I've been thinking about him a lot lately and his and his family's impact in my life, and how that changed everything about the way I act and the way I view the world and treat my life.
I remember how much pain I was in, how dark everything seemed, and how confused I was. It was a very lonely and depressing time in my life, but Jesus helped me through it.
Rewind back to the summer of 2011. August 19th, 2011, to be exact. I was on my way to attend a late class at Education Week on the BYU campus. It was one of the last classes of the day. The sun was setting, leaving a warm golden glow over all of Provo. My best friend (who had not yet become my best friend), Taylor Mefford, was with me and my brother as we walked to a class.
I didn't know beforehand that Taylor had no desire to attend this class, but seeing that I was determined to go, he followed patiently. (Thanks, man.)
The class was titled "Finding Peace in the Storm". I chose to take this particular class because Mac and his family had passed away just five days before and I wanted as much spiritual advice as I could get.
So we sat in the class and about halfway through the teacher asked for any examples of difficult trials, so since no one else raised their hand I did. I talked a little bit about Mac and how he had passed away and how hard it was, but how I had faith that Heavenly Father would bless me for my efforts and I would be strengthened by the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
It was a wonderful class and I learned a lot. I still have all the notes from the classes I took that year at Ed Week, and I go back and read them sometimes just to help me out. One thing that I love that I learned from that class was that even when we pray for help, Heavenly Father does not always give us immediate deliverance. Just like a diamond is made under intense heat and pressure, so too are we made into what God knows we can become, only after the trial of our faith.
I took this class and it helped me realize that the only way I was going to really get out of this dark place I was in was through the Atonement. I think a lot of the time we assume that the Atonement is all about our sins, but no... It is about every imperfection, every trial, every pain, every flaw. The Atonement is what makes it possible to live with our Father in Heaven again, because "he dwelleth not in unholy temples" (see Alma 34:36). We can't live in our Father's presence if we aren't perfect, and obviously that is not possible for us. We are human, we live in a fallen state and are subject to all sorts of diseases and ailments, physical and mental, and all sorts of other imperfections.
But guess what! The Atonement of Jesus Christ covers all those things. It matters not what imperfections we have, because it's all been taken care of.
Now, that doesn't mean we stop trying. Oh, no, we must make a valiant effort to prove to our Heavenly Father that we have a burning desire to enter into His kingdom. Eternal life does not come easy or free. Jesus died for us, the least we can do is show loyalty to Him and His Father by keeping their commandments.
Speaking of loyalty, that reminds me of one of the most powerful talks I have ever had the pleasure of hearing. It is "The First Great Commandment" by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland.
One part of this talk that keeps coming back to me is an embellished representation that Elder Holland gives of the possible conversation between the apostle Peter and Jesus, after Jesus's resurrection. Jesus asks Peter thrice, "Do you love me?" and each time Peter answers yes, of course. And Jesus, in Elder Holland's words, replies,
“Then Peter, why are you here? Why are we back on this same shore, by these same nets, having this same conversation? Wasn’t it obvious then and isn’t it obvious now that if I want fish, I can get fish? What I need, Peter, are disciples—and I need them forever. I need someone to feed my sheep and save my lambs. I need someone to preach my gospel and defend my faith. I need someone who loves me, truly, truly loves me, and loves what our Father in Heaven has commissioned me to do. Ours is not a feeble message. It is not a fleeting task. It is not hapless; it is not hopeless; it is not to be consigned to the ash heap of history. It is the work of Almighty God, and it is to change the world. So, Peter, for the second and presumably the last time, I am asking you to leave all this and to go teach and testify, labor and serve loyally until the day in which they will do to you exactly what they did to me.”Oh man. That passage always gets to me. "I need someone who loves me, truly, truly loves me..."
That is so powerful. Jesus called apostles to continue the work even after his death because the Gospel, the true and full Gospel, is not "destroyed". It cannot be hidden or lost, not anymore.
This talk is what motivated me to start preparing, really preparing, for the mission I hope to go on when I turn 19. I wish I could just leave now, but I have things to take care of. (Graduating high school, going to college, getting a job, saving up money for the mission, etc.)
Something I think is really cool about the LDS church is their mission program. When young men turn 18, and young women turn 19, we are all given the opportunity to go on a mission. We do not choose where we go, we are not paid to go, we don't get money from fundraisers or anything like that. We pay our own way so that we can go out to wherever God calls us and preach His Gospel for almost two years. It is scary, it is exciting, it is amazing. It is so incredible to see the intense change that people go through on their missions. Boys who were spiritually lost come home full of God's love and have a whole new desire to teach the Gospel. It is so, so awesome!
Seeing all my friends get their mission calls makes me so excited and so ready to get out there and teach. Some people are disappointed in where they are called to, but I have a firm testimony that where you are called to is where you are meant to be, for whatever reason God has.
For example, my dad, when he was 19, was called to serve in Arizona. It was literally a day drive from his house in Southern California, it was hot, it was stateside, it wasn't that exciting. He didn't even get the chance to learn a new language. Needless to say, he was a little disappointed. But it was on that mission that he learned he had a knack with computers. He found his niche in programming and storage engineering, and that skill has payed for our house, all our utilities, every car, every baby, every activity, for the past 20 years. How cool is that??
If he had been in a third world country, speaking Portuguese and living on dirt floors, he would never have discovered something that he enjoyed and something he was good at, that would later become his profession. It's just so cool to see what hidden blessings lie in God's plan for us.
So don't let your disappointment get the best of you; there's always something positive to find in every situation.
This post is way longer than I intended it to be, so I apologize for rambling. :) I just have a lot of feelings, okay, and I needed to get them out. It was a very good, spiritual Sunday filled with all kinds of revelation and whisperings of the Spirit and whatnot. Too many feels.
Anyways. Love all of you, thanks for at least glancing at this post.
Love and kisses,
E the B
P.S. I cut my hair off, whoops
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