Mary, Mother of Jesus

Be it unto Me, by Liz Lemon Swindle

 I have been reading the beginning chapters of the four gospels this week as part of my New Testament class. I have been so touched as I learn and read about Mary. As a mother, I am so drawn to her. I can relate to some of the feelings she must have had, and others I can only imagine. When she first was visited by the angel and learned of her sacred calling, she was humbled and said, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word." (Luke 1:38) 

Simeon Reverencing the Christ Child, by Greg Olsen

I love these verses, known as the "Song of Mary:" (Luke 1:43, 46-55)

 43 And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

 46 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,

 47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

 48 For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

 49 For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.

 50 And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.

 51 He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

 52 He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.

 53 He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.

 54 He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;

 55 As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.

As I study her life and her unique parenting challeges, I am strengthened and I want to be more like her. I think Virginia U. Jensen said it best when she said of Mary, "Her faith, obedience, and humility set a standard for all women."

Boy Jesus in the Temple, by Grant R. Clawson

 The story of the Savior, at age 12 really got to me this week. I have heard this story many times, but there were some additional details that I did not realize until this week. Mary and Joseph were traveling home with family. They assumed that Jesus was with relatives but somewhere along the way, they realized he was not in the company of travelers.

As a mother, I have had moments when I realized my children were not with me, and that I had left them somewhere. This is a terrifying feeling and I am sure Mary was heartsick.
She and Joseph returned to find Jesus in the temple, teaching scholars about the gospel. She asked Jesus, "Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? Behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing." To which He famously replied, "How is it that ye sought me? Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?" (Luke 1:48-49)

My favorite part of this story is in Luke 1:51, "but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart." Mary was in a unique position and must have been constanty amazed at her son, Jesus Christ. I love the reverence and the stillness in those words, she kept these experiences in her heart. She had so many spiritual experiences and an overwhelming love for this boy who was also her teacher and Savior. She pondered on these things and treasured them in her heart.

He has taught me and likewise shown me love and kindness. Sometimes I am weak and I do not understand. He is patient and teaches me and helps me understand. He is my advocate in every sense of the word. He reaches for me and lifts me. Like Mary, I treasure these sacred experiences in my heart. How wonderful it is to be loved by the Savior of the world! How wonderful to know that He knows me and is always there for me!

Esther - Selflessly Corageous

What a great week in Old Testament!  

I have been reading in Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther and Job. Studying the words and lives of Prophets of old - really helps me put my life and my experiences into perspective.

Now first, to fulfill my student choice assignment for the week.

Let's talk about Esther!

I have heard the shortened version of how Esther saved her people many times. I think this is the first time I have ever read the full account of Esther and there is so much more to this story than I ever knew.  

There are three individuals in the book of Esther that really possessed qualities  of strength, faith and courage.

Queen Vashti 

Vashti was married to King Ahasuerus.  She was beautiful and "fair to look on"(Esther 1:11) The King was throwing a big party and had invited nobles and princes from all around. This was quite a shin-dig and on the 7th day of drinking and making merry, the king called for Vashti to come before him, "to show the people and the princes her beauty."  Well, the King was pretty "merry with wine," (Esther 1:10) and I can image why Vashti did not want to go before him. Though the culture was much different for women then, I think Vashti was pretty brave and strong to refuse to go before the

king.  A wife refusing to obey her husband was dangerous back then and to disobey the king was even more risky. When Vashti refused to come and King Ahasuerus was furious. He called his wise men to counsel him in how to handle the situation.  They all agreed that Vashti might give other women and wives similar thoughts about disobeying their husbands and it was determined that this woman must pay to teach women all over that they must obey their husbands and follow the laws of the land.  The king made a decree (a royal commandment) that all the wives shall give to their husbands honor." (Esther 1:20) Vashti was replaced as queen. 

Mordecai 

Mordecai was Esther's cousin, but when her parents died, he adopted her and raised her himself. After Queen Vashti was banished, the King called for all the fair virgins to be brought forward, so a new queen could be selected. Mordecai brought Esther to the King's house.  He advised her to not divulge her Jewish heritage.  Later when Esther was selected as Queen, Mordecai found favor in the King's sight by discovering a plot to assassinate the King and getting word to him so the assassination could be prevented. Mordecai really showed his strength of character by refusing to bow down and worship Haman. This dedication to his belief in honoring God only caused a decree to be put out by Haman that all Jewish people would be exterminated.  Mordecai gets word to Esther about the upcoming extermination of her people and he asks her to go speak with the King about it.  When she expresses concern about the consequences of approaching the King, Mordecai says, "who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" Thou he loved Esther dearly and knew it was dangerous for her to approach the King, Mordecai had the clarity of mind to see what was the most important thing - protecting the Jewish race.  

Esther

Esther is also an example of a great hero in this story.  She was beautiful, smart, and so faithful.  I love the introduction for the Book of Esther in the OT Student Institute Manual.  I reads, "Esther's beauty was such that it could catch and hold the eye of an oriental emperor accustomed to being surrounded by loveliness.  Combined with her physical charms, were qualities of spirit that revealed her inward beauty as well. Esther was loyal and dedicated... She was submissive yet courageous, yielding yet faithful." Most of us know the story of what she did pretty well, so I will not go into too much detail, but I learned that when Mordecai asked her to go see the King, she told him that she had not been called for by the king for the last 30 days.  She must have been wondering if she no longer was pleasing to the king and these doubts must have made her very scared that she would not be welcomed by him.  However, she had wonderful faith and she quickly asked Mordecai and her people to fast and pray for her for 3 days.  Then she went to see the King and he reached out his sceptre to her.  She devised a plan to throw a banquet for the King and Haman for the next day. At the banquet, she revealed Haman's wicked plan and she revealed her heritage as a Jew. The King helped her save her people.

The attributes that I most admire about these individuals is their faith in God, their determination to do what is right, and their selfless courage.  I want to be firm in my convictions as Mordecai was when her refused to bow down to worship Haman.  I want to have the kind of faith and courage of Esther, who asked her people to pray and fast for her that she will be successful in pleading with the king for mercy for her people. I think I can develop these attributes by studying the lives and examples of the faithful in the scriptures and trying to follow in the steps of my Savior.

Holiness to the Lord

The theme for the book of Leviticus could look something like this:

Sanctify yourself and be ye holy, even as God is Holy.  

Be ye separate from the World!

What does it mean to be holy and sanctified?  Holiness, when referring to a place means set apart for a sacred purpose.  I think it means similar when we are speaking of a person becoming holy.  We should set ourselves apart for a sacred purpose.  Holy means the opposite of common or profane so we should avoid things that are common in the world and profane.

Sanctification is the process of becoming free from sin, pure, clean and holy through the atonement of Jesus Christ.  We can work toward sanctifying ourselves through Christ.  

"Jesus came to sanctify the world" (Doctrine and Covenants 76:41)

"Sanctification cometh to those who yield up their hearts unto God. (Helaman 3:33-35)

Why could Jehovah command His followers to be holy? He can ask us to become holy because He made it possible.  Without His atonement, we would not be able to repent and sanctify ourselves. Also, He can command that we be holy because He was holy.  He asks that we become holy, even as He is holy.  (Leviticus 11:44)

What could we do today to avoid the same downfall? 

We need to do 4 things:

Obey the commandments

Repent

Study the Scriptures regularly

Pray

How can the principles from the book of Leviticus help you become holy? I can see that I need to live differently than the rest of the world.  I am His.  I want to live in a way that separates me from the worldly ways.  I must be clean and pure.

Leviticus 19 and 20 list many commandments.  I have listed them below and highlighted the ones that I think the world struggles the most to obey today.  

Honor Parents

Keep Sabbath Holy

Not worship idols - (though the idols of today look differently than the golden calf)

Do not make graven images

Don't steal

Don't lie

Don't profane God's name

Don't rob neighbor

Be Honest

Don't curse Deaf or cause the blind to stumble - Bullying

Judge in righteousness

Don't hate your neighbors

Don't avenge or bear a grudge

Love thy neighbor as thyself

Obey the commandments

Obey the laws of intimacy

Don't cut your flesh

Don't prostitute yourself or your children

Reverence sanctuary

Don't commit adultery

Don't participate in homosexual relationships

If I had to pick one of these commandments that I most want to improve myself on, I would look closely at the commandment to not avenge or bear a grudge.  I think it is common for the natural man to want to get even or hang on to hard feelings of anger, distrust and resentment.  These feelings are holding us back from purity and sanctification.  It goes right along with the commandment to judge in righteousness. I want to try to let hard feelings go and forgive freely so I can continue to progress toward sanctification. 

The Ten Commandments

I have had a great week studying the Ten Commandments.  I love how relevant they are to us still, though they were given to Moses THREE THOUSAND YEARS AGO!!! 

I know that these commandments can serve as a guide from a loving Father in Heaven 

to help us attain a full and happy life.

In Matthew 22:36-40, the Savior teaches that there are two great commandments.

1.  Love the Lord thy God With All Thy Heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

2. Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself

As we look closer at the commandments that Moses was given, 

each fits inside one of these two "Great Commandments."

Love God
1. Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods Before Me.
2.  Thou Shalt Not Make Unto Thee Any Graven Image.
3. Thou Shalt Not Take the Name of the Lord Thy God in Vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath Day, and Keep it Holy.

The first four commandments help us know how we can show Love to our Father in Heaven.  

Love Thy Neighbor
5. Honor thy Father and Thy Mother
6. Thou Shall not Kill
7. Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery
8. Thou Shalt Not Steal
9. Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness
10. Thou Shalt Not Covet.

The last six commandments instruct us on how to Love our Neighbors.  

Many of these commandments are largely ignored by the world. 

I think the three most neglected commandments are:

2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.

3. Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord, thy God in vain.

4. Remember the Sabbath Day, and keep it Holy.  

First, it was prophesied that idolatry would be a major characteristic of this generation.  We have certainly seen that come true, though the idols of today differ from those of Moses's time.  I love the scripture in Matthew 6: 19-21, "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."  I understand this to mean - that which we spend the majority of our free time doing becomes our priority.  Are we giving priority to God through studying His word, and serving others in our free time?  We are commanded in Matthew 6:33 to "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God."

Many today take God's name in vain.  Even individuals who believe in the Bible and worship God on Sunday, often fail to honor Him with their language throughout the week.  Obeying this commandment means that we hold a deep and reverent attitude about God and we do not use his name lightly.  Profanity is incompatible with reverence.

Finally, the Sabbath Day was given to us for rest and worship.  However the world sees it as just another day of the week.  During the Mosaic dispensation, the punishment for violating the Sabbath was death.  This shows us what an important principle it is.  It is a sign between the Lord and His children forever.  We can not follow after those in the world and fail to give the Sabbath it's due importance among the commandments.

It's interesting to reflect on these and other commandments and wonder what the world would be like if God's children followed them.  If all the world followed the 2nd commandment to not worship graven images, there would be time for so much better activities.  We would have a world full of people helping others and less selfishness and pride.  If the world followed the third commandment to not take God's name in vain, the spirit would be available more freely and we would share a deeper reverence for Holy and sacred things.  If all of the world kept the Sabbath Day Holy, what a wonderful day that would be!  There would be no need for stores to be open on Sunday, and families could enjoy some time together, serving others and worshiping the Almighty.

I believe someday we will live be able to enjoy a world where those who remain here will attempt to follow the commandments exactly.  I will love to see what that kind of world looks like and feel the abundance of spirit.  I know these commandments are calculated to prevent misery and promote happiness.  Through obedience, blessings are available to each of us.

Leadership and Delegation

There are some great principles taught in the book of Exodus.  One that stood out to me in my reading this week was the story of Jethro (Moses' Father-in-law) counseling Moses.  This story is found in Exodus 18.

The story goes like this:

Jethro came to visit and observed Moses sitting upon the judgement seat from early in the morning until late each evening.

He was doing a great thing.  He was working so hard and advising all the people and helping them each know what God wanted for them.  After observing Moses for a while, Jethro asked what he was doing.  Moses explained in verses 15 and 16, 

"The people come unto me to inquire of God.  

When they have a matter, 

they come unto me; and I judge

 between one the another,

 and I do make them know the statutes

 of God and his laws."

After listening to Moses explain his routine, Jethro said, (verse 17)

"The thing that thou doest is not good."

Jethro went on to explain to Moses that this responsibility was too difficult for one man and that he could not do it all on his own.  This is where Moses' true character shines.  Instead of taking offense and reminding Jethro of his greatness and his leadership among these people, Moses was humble and wise to listen to this older man and take his advice.  

Jethro advised Moses to find men to be lesser judges.  He told Moses to look for these kind of men:

(vs. 21)

Men who fear God

Men of Truth

Men who hate covetousness

Jethro counseled Moses to teach these judges the ordinances and laws, and show them the way they must walk and the work that they must do.  Then Moses was told to allow these lesser judges to judge  the people in all small matters, and that only great matters should be brought to Moses.  (vs. 22)  I love what Jethro says at the end of that verse, "and they shall bear the burden with thee."

This account in the scriptures is still a crucial principle of the modern church.  It would be so difficult for a Bishop of a Ward to meet the needs of each member of his ward.  He relies on the men and women at the head of each auxiliary to help and administer so he can deal only with matters of most importance.  

Likewise, Relief Society Presidents and Elder's Quorum Presidents and High Priest Group leaders can not meet the needs of each individual in their group.  They rely on faithful Home Teachers and Visiting Teachers to assist them in this work.  

The load our Prophet carries is heavy and hard to bear, but he has help in the other leaders who serve with him and help him with these responsibilities.  There are his counselors, the Quorum of the 12 Apostles, the Area Authorities, and the General Auxiliary Presidencies who serve with him, each doing their part to help the work to go forward.  

In 1 Corinthians 12: 14-22 we read,

"For the Body is not one member, but many...

But now hath God set the members of every one

of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.  

And if they were all one member, where were the body?

But now are they many members, yet but one body. 

And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee:

nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.

Nay, much more those members of the body, 

which seem to be more feeble, are necessary."

I love this lesson, taught by Jethro.  We should not be expected to do more than we can.  God does not want us run faster than we have strength.  We each have a work to do and, no matter our contribution, we are furthering this work and administering to those in need.  We are laying the foundation of a great work and we each have a part to play, we each have a offering to give.

A Contrast Between Two Brothers

I love the story about Rebekah.  I named my youngest daughter, Rebekah after Isaac's wife.  I told my Bekah that she should marry a guy named Isaac someday.  She didn't seem convinced.  (She's only 4)

In Genesis 25, we learn that Rebekah and Isaac married and had two sons, named Esau and Jacob. Esau was the oldest, and therefore would be natural heir to the birthright.  Esau was described as red, hairy, and a great hunter.  ( I wonder if "hairy" was a sought after trait for a husband back then?) We are told that Jacob favored Esau.  Jacob was described as a plain man, dwelling in tents.  The Hebrew word, "plain" means whole, complete or perfect, so Jacob sounds like a pretty well-rounded individual. Rebekah favored Jacob.

In Genesis 25:32, the story is told of how Esau traded his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of pottage.

I used to be really surprised by this story.  Now I have teenage boys and I have seen how ravenous they get when they are hungry.  Sometimes the act like they are going to die if they don't get some food immediately!  This story also shows how little value Esau put on the birthright. His immediate needs seemed more important to him than the rights of the covenant.

So, poor Esau gave up his birthright for a mess of pottage... 

In Genesis 27, Isaac is getting old and can not see very well.  He calls for Esau and asks him to go hunting and prepare some delicious meat for his father, and tells him that he wants to give him a blessing.  Rebekah overhears this conversations and tells Jacob to play the part of Esau to receive this special blessing.  Great lengths are taken to put hair on Jacob so Isaac will think he is Esau and will give him the blessing.  Their plan works and Jacob and Rebekah tricked Isaac into giving Jacob the blessing.  

My heart kind of goes out to Esau at this point.  However, Rebekah knew from previous personal revelation that Jacob was to be the son of the covenant (Genesis 25:23) - so she must have felt justified in this act.  I would have liked to be there for Esau during this time.  He would have needed a trusted friend to help him find his place in all this and understand the best course of action.  I would have tried to help him see that his father had the opportunity to revoke the blessing and give it to Esau.  However, Isaac did not offer that and instead gave a different blessing to Esau.  I would want Esau to know that, though it seemed unfair, it was for the best and what God wanted. I am sure Rebekah helped Esau through these feelings and helped him understand.  At the time, however, Esau was angry and wanted revenge, but Jacob was sent away until Esau's feelings cooled down.  

This story can teach us a lot about prioritizing the most important things in our lives.  Esau traded his birthright for something that satisfied only temporarily.  What modern day examples are there where we sometimes sacrifice things of critical importance for things that do not satisfy in the long run?  

Here are a few examples that I've thought of.  

Pornography - so many people are addicted to pornography - that which never satisfies - usually sacrificing important relationships until they are left with emptiness.

Time Management - We get so busy with critical things that we often don't save time for that which can really save us - the scriptures, prayer, service, etc.  

Service - We get so caught up in what is going on in our lives and often feel down - and like life has little meaning.  When we look for opportunities to serve, life makes better sense.  

So Jacob disappeared to go win over a wife (or 4) for several years. When he returned, he was nervous that Esau would still desire to kill him.  However, "Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept." (Genesis 33:4)  I love this verse.  It made me cry a little.  Family.  Isn't it a pretty magical thing?  

Old Testament

Hello Friends!  I am currently taking an Old Testament Class and part of my homework is to post my thoughts and research to a blog...  So - for the next few weeks I will be posting about what I am learning about in the Old Testament.  I am really enjoying this book, so I am kind of excited to share some of this stuff with you.