Recognizing the Savior - He reaches out to many others

Luke 4 - The Savior reads in a synagogue a prophecy from Isaiah about himself. He then says that He is fulfilling the words of the prophecy. This definitely made people question whether they believed that could be true or not. Jesus responds to their disbelief (they said, 'is not this Joseph's son?) by explaining that oftentimes the prophets of the Old Testament would bless the lives of those who were not "Jews" even though many Jews could have benefited from the same blessings.

Here's the verses:

22 And all bare him witness, and ^awondered at the ^bgraciouswords which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this^cJoseph’s son?

23 And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in ^aCapernaum, ^bdo also here in thy country.

24 And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is ^aaccepted in his own country.

25 But I tell you of a truth, many ^awidows were in Israel in the days of ^bElias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land;

26 But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a cityof Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.

27 And many ^alepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was ^bcleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.

Jesus explains to them that just because they didn't see the miracles prophesied of, they shouldn't assume that Jesus wasn't the Son of God. The prophecy was the following:

18 The ^aSpirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath ^banointed me to ^cpreach the ^dgospel to the ^epoor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to ^fpreach ^gdeliverance to the ^hcaptives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at ⁱliberty them that are bruised,

19 ^aTo preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

Jesus' point was that they shouldn't assume that just because they didn't see the healings mentioned in this verse, Jesus isn't the Christ. He healed many others but not those in his home town because they didn't have faith in him. However, this isn't him trying to fool them. Prophets such as Elijah and Elisha (both mentioned in the verses in Luke with different names) healed not those in close proximity with problems but those who had enough faith to receive the blessings, such as Naaman and the widow of Sarepta.

I appreciate God is willing to bless the lives of those who come to Him and have faith, not just those who are close in proximity. Also, it's up to us to recognize the Prophets and the Savior.

Have a great day.

Example of a Father's Blessing - What to say

After John the Baptist was born, his Father prophesied about him in a pretty spectacular way. Because his father, Zacharias, had been mute for 9+ months, hearing Zacharias speak must have been amazing, and more so because of the prophecies he pronounced. Zacharias' words seem to have the qualities of a blessing of his child.

John the Baptist's birth was obviously special because his family knew he would be prophet and have a specific, special role in his life. However, all children in the church are blessed by a priesthood holder while young (almost always as a baby). I am impressed by the prophesy/blessing given by Zacharias and the influence this likely had on his son. Here's the words from Luke 1:

76 And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to ^aprepare his ways;

77 To give ^aknowledge of salvation unto his people by the^bremission of their sins,

78 Through the ^atender mercy of our God; whereby the^bdayspring from on high hath visited us,

79 To give ^alight to them that sit in ^bdarkness and in the shadow of ^cdeath, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

I imagine Zacharias parented differently than he would have if he didn't know these things about John. I also imagine that Zacharias thought about how to help these things come true. All children can do special things. If we always kept in mind their potential, we would probably parent differently. Also, we could probably be more powerful in promising blessings to our babies than most of us do. John's blessing/prophecy is powerful and in some ways is an example of how to bless our children.

Living the Law of Chastity - Gospel Principles

The Law of Chastity can be a very sensitive topic, however, it's also the law that most easily/often leads to members of the church losing their way and their church membership.Therefore, when I was assigned the lesson, I thought speaking more directly rather than less directly was the correct way to go. Also, discussing specific things we need to do better was something I hoped would happen.

The lesson went very well. Great participation. Good thoughts from the quorum members. I was nervous about being so direct, but it worked great.

Here's the email I sent prior to the lesson - a few great quotes here:

Look forward to discussing this topic with you tomorrow. The law of chastity appears to me to be one of the laws of God most often broken in our day by those in and out of the church.

As you know, General authorities teach general principles to the broader church but it is in our smaller, local congregations that we're expected to speak about more specific application of general principles. I hope we can do this tomorrow.

A few thoughts to consider for the lesson tomorrow:

What does the Lord mean from these verses?

“Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:

“But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart” (Matthew 5:27–28).

What does this phrase from Elder Oaks' 2005 conference talk on pornography mean? What does it teach about what qualifies as pornography?

"And young women, please understand that if you dress immodestly, you are magnifying this problem by becoming pornography to some of the men who see you." - Elder Oaks April 2005 Conference

Are you worthy to go to the temple with a pornography habit? Here's something Elder Oaks also mentioned on the topic:

"Some have suggested that pornography should be a separate question in the temple recommend interview. It is already. At least five different questions should elicit a confession and discussion on this subject if the person being interviewed has the spiritual sensitivity and honesty we expect of those who worship in the house of the Lord." - Elder Oaks April 2005 Conference

Are there any guides we can use to help us understand if we may have an issue becoming too involved with a member of the opposite sex? Elder Scott asks two questions in a 2008 conference talk given in priesthood session, but there are certainly others:

"If you are married, are you faithful to your wife mentally as well as physically? Are you loyal to your marriage covenants by never engaging in conversation with another woman that you wouldn’t want your wife to overhear?" - Elder Scott October 2008 Conference

Finally - what blessings lay in store for keeping the law of chastity? Here's one example from the scriptures - Jacob 3:

5 Behold, the Lamanites your brethren, whom ye hate because of their filthiness and the cursing which hath come upon their skins, are more righteous than you; for they have not ^aforgotten the commandment of the Lord, which was given unto our father—that they should have save it were ^bone wife, and ^cconcubines they should have none, and there should not be ^dwhoredoms committed among them.

6 And now, this commandment they observe to keep; wherefore, because of this observance, in keeping this commandment, the Lord God will not destroy them, but will be ^amerciful unto them; and one day they shall ^bbecome a blessed people.

Is there proof of the Savior or the Living Prophet?

I was reading in Mark and noticed that a testimony of a centurion was mentioned. In pondering why this testimony made it, I became convinced that it was a powerful one. Consider how many executions the centurion likely witnessed. He probably had seen dozens if not hundreds of executions or deaths. However, this one was clearly different. Here's the man's words about Jesus:

39 ¶And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.

It was likely the logical conclusion of the centurion that this man was the Son of God.

On a related note, I was reading Thomas Monson's biography on a plane this week. My boss was sitting next to me and asked what I was reading. I said I was reading the Prophet's biography and explained we believe he is a prophet, just like Moses and Noah. He said, "but I bet there isn't validation or proof of this." I responded, "oh, there's plenty of proof. You can pray and ask God if he is a prophet, think about his works and teachings, do what he says, study the topic. All of these things are proof he is a prophet." With the things of God, just like the things of man, it is true that when impressive things happen that lead to good outcomes, it's worth figuring out why. In my case, as I have followed church leaders, the outcomes have consistently been wonderful. As this happens over and over again, it becomes very obvious that the Church is true and the Prophet is a true Prophet of God.

Just like the Roman centurion recognized Jesus as someone different, based on the man's vast experience, I recognize truth based on my experiences. It's only logical for me to believe Thomas Monson is a prophet. Everything I've seen shows it's true.

Is it I? The Apostle's Question

When Jesus tells his Apostles that one of them will betray him, their response is to ask, "Is it I?" I have often heard that this is the Apostle's question and shows their humility. They were not saying, "it couldn't be me," but instead said, "could I possibly be the one?" That truly shows humility, but their answer also shows a great deal of respect/love for the other Apostles. At one point in their ministry the Apostles were jealous of one another, but that appears to be gone by this time. I believe that they couldn't image one of the other Apostles would betray Christ, so they were left to ask, "Well maybe it's me. I know I have weaknesses. These other men are so good, so it doesn't seem like it could be them."

I think it's a good trait to think highly of those we associate with. In addition, this also shows that the Apostles are just men who recognize their own weaknesses and faults and thought it might be possible for each of them to have been the betrayer. I know I realize that I have weaknesses and could potentially do very unwise things if I'm not careful.

Mark 14:

18 And as they sat and did eat, Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, One of you which eateth with me shall betray me.

19 And they began to be sorrowful, and to say unto him one by one, Is it I? and another said, Is it I?

20 And he answered and said unto them, It is one of the twelve, that dippeth with me in the dish.

Plan of Salvation - Allowing us to make mistakes

I learned something new this week. I have been involved in several important mistakes our startup has made over the last two weeks. While these mistakes are painful, they also teach us the most about what needs to change in the business and what we should do to improve. The value of mistakes is very high. When thinking about this, I started comparing it to life. God's plan was to send us to earth so that we could learn from our own experience the results of doing good and the results of doing bad. He wanted us to leave his presence and come to a place where we could prove ourselves and also learn from the mistakes we would inevitably make. In fact, he knew that there would be enticing things about doing both good and evil (2 Nephi 2)

16 Wherefore, the Lord God gave unto man that he should ^aact for himself. Wherefore, man could not ^bact for himself save it should be that he was ^centiced by the one or the other.

This realization about the value of mistakes in business and life gives me a different view about how God views us when we want to come closer to him. He knew that we would all make mistakes. He simply wants us to come back to him. Some make bigger or smaller mistakes, but that's not critical. What's critical is that we learn from our experiences.

Mistakes were so inevitable that the key component of the The Plan of Salvation was for Jesus Christ to come to the earth to pay the price for mistakes and sins and the failings of the world. That is what makes God's plan the perfect plan. He not only knew we would make mistakes, but he also made sure that the consequences of those would be paid for by someone else. I know this is indeed true and that everything that is wrong is this world will eventually be made right through Jesus Christ.

I appreciate the chances to make mistakes.

Have a good day.