The Lord Often Taught With Parables

Teaching by Parable is a method that many teachers throughout history have utilized. A parable is a way to teach a truth or principle by telling a story in a relatable context. During parts of the Savior's earthly ministry, he taught many principles and divine truths through the use of parables. The following are some parables that the Savior taught that can be found in chapter 13 of the book of Matthew:

• Matthew 13:24-30 The Parable of the Tares- This parable tells about a wheat crop that is corrupted by tares which, in a literal sense, are a weed called "Bearded Darnel" (Lolium temulentum). This parable can be used to describe the future of the Lord's church in the Latter-days. At the last days, or the time of the harvest, the members who are seen as wheat will be separated by those who are seen as the tares and be gathered in the farmer's barn.
• Matthew 13:31-33 Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Leaven - These two short parables speak of something that starts out as very small and grows into something magnificent. This Parable can be likened unto the gospel, how it is relatively new compared to some churches and how it started out small and has become a church with more than 150 million members. 
• Matthew 13:44-46 The Parables of the Treasure and The Pearl of Great Price - These Parables are both stories about a treasure that is found by someone and how that person gives up all he has to obtain it. These parables can be applied to those who give up a lot of worldly wealth and recognition in order to serve the church and/ or maintain their membership in it. A sacrifice that we have seen given by many of the Savior's own disciples.
• Matthew 13:47- 50 The parable of the Gospel Net - This Parable talks about fisherman gathering fish into a net and casting out the bad ones once the net is brought ashore. The fisherman mentioned in the parable are the missionaries who spread the gospel(the net) throughout the world and when the fish are brought in and sorted out, it symbolizes the people who have strong testimonies to get them through the tests of life and also those who don't have a strong enough testimony and end up being tossed back into the sea(the world). I think that this parable also speaks to why The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has more than 50,000 missionaries out at a time all over the world. The gospel net must be cast throughout the world. 

I love the parables of the Treasure and the Pearl of Great Price. When I think about my life and what I know about the Gospel, I think that I would be willing to give up anything to be a part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In my life I guess you could say that I have sacrificed some things like my time and energy for the gospel, but I don't see it like that, because I loved the time that I spent doing things for the gospel and I wouldn't have rather done something else.
I also appreciate the parable of the Gospel Net. Like I said earlier, in this parable I think that the net represents the gospel and how it is taught by missionaries (who are the fisherman) to God's children all over the earth. I think that gathering the fish into the net and bringing the net to shore represents the missionaries baptizing investigators into the gospel. The process of gathering the good fish into vessels and casting away the bad fish can be compared to people losing there faith and not staying part of the gospel, because there testimony wasn't strong enough.
Sometimes the parables that the Savior taught can be hard to understand, but that is part of the beauty of them. When we desire to learn more about them and develop our testimony, it becomes easier for us to discern their meaning and apply them to our lives. We should seek to understand these teachings, because in them, we can learn the mysteries of the kingdom of God.

The Beatitudes

In Matthew 5:1-12 the Savior is speaking in his sermon on the amount about the kind of attitudes that we need to have to become more like the Savior. In verses 3-11 each verse begins with "Blessed are..." The word "blessed," refers to a state of mind that is above happiness that can't be seriously changed by outward circumstances. The Latin counter part "beatus" is the base for the word "beatitude" which is synonymous with the meanings: to be fortunate, to be happy, or to be blessed. This is why many refer to these verses in Matthew chapter 5 as the "Beatitudes. The following are the Beatitudes:

1. Blessed are the poor in spirit- Poor in spirit does not mean that we need to not be lacking in spiritual things. Quite the contrary. Someone who is poor in spirit is someone who recognizes that all they have is, because of heavenly father and they always remember to pray and give thanks to Him.
2. Blessed are they that mourn- In this context, the Savior is referring to how we should feel when we commit a sin in the sight of the lord. When we truly mourn, or feel godly sorrow, we can truly repent of the sin.
3. Blessed are the meek- A person who is meek is someone who is not easily provoked and who has enough self-discipline to prevent themselves from losing their temper. 
4. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness- A person who hungers and thirsts after righteousness is someone who is whole heatedly committed to learning the gospel and increasing their testimony. A good way to put it in context would be to imagine not being able to eat or drink for a few days and then you are invited to a smorgasbord where you can eat all you want and you ravenously devour all the food in sight. That's the attitude we should have towards learning the gospel.
5. Blessed are the pure in heart- A person who is pure in heart is someone who doesn't commit sin and has there spiritual eyes turned toward God. This is something that we all must strive to be.
6. Blessed are the merciful- Forgiving one another there trespass is something that is essential for all of us if we want to return to Heavenly Father's presence. 
7. Blessed are the peacemakers- As children of God we should always be trying to seek peace between ourselves and others. Loving one another goes hand-in-hand with this principle. 
8. Blessed are they which are persecuted- In this context the Savior isn't telling us that we should go out and seek for persecution. He is telling us that if we are being persecuted for His or righteousness's sake, then it is a good sign that we are doing what Heavenly Father wants us to do. We will be further blessed if we are able to withstand the persecution and stand for righteousness even if it means standing alone.

I try to apply all of these principles in my life and I have definitely noticed that when I am doing my best to apply the "Beatitudes" to my life I am much happier. Being meek is something that I am constantly trying to do. When I am patient with others and try to understand them even when they are annoying me, I always feel happier, because I don't get angry.
When I was half-way through high school I really started to hunger and thirst after the gospel. I started reading my scriptures daily and I was more active in church. Even then, I could tell the difference between when I was not doing much to further my testimony and after I started really yearning to learn, and the difference was as big as the grand canyon. I was a hundred times happier and many of lives normal burdens began to seem trivial and simple.
I am also constantly aware that I have been very blessed throughout my life and I always try to remember to thank Heavenly Father when I pray. Acknowledging this blessings has allowed me to sit back sometimes and realize some of the blessings that I have that I may not have payed much attention to before. Realizing these blessings in turn, increases my happiness and thankfulness. So for me, I can already bear witness of the importance of the "Beatitudes." These principles are very true, and we should all be following these principles.

Water to Whine and Cleansing the Temple

This week I would like to talk about John chapter 2. In John 2 it talks about two different occasions, the first being when the Savior turned water into whine, and the second being when the Savior drove merchants out of the temple.
I have never thought of the miracle of changing water into whine as that big of a deal when I have read through it in the past, but this time I realized that it was actually pretty impressive. In John 2:6 it says that there were 6 pots in total and that each one could hold "2 or 3 firkins apiece." To put that into perspective, in total the Savior changed anywhere between 100-150 gallons of water into whine. However to me that wasn't even the most impressive part. The part that I thought was most impressive was that the person that was in charge of the meals at the marriage celebration said that it was really good whine. Now I am not a whine connoisseur, but I do know that whine needs to be aged before it is considered "good whine" and the savior made good stuff pretty much instantly.
In John 2:4 it says "Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come." Now at first glance you might think that it is odd that Jesus refers to his mother as "Woman," but to them it was actually a sign of respect to call there mother "Woman." That is why the word "Woman" is capitalized in the sentence even though it isn't her name.
In John 2:13-16 It talks about Jesus coming to the temple in Jerusalem and driving out all the merchants and traders that he found inside of it with a whip. He did this for a couple of reasons. One being that the temple is a sacred place so selling animals and stuff isn't something that should be done inside of it. Two being that he wanted to teach a lesson about cleansing our inner temple. We have been told that our bodies are a temple, so we should treat it like one. We should evaluate ourselves and look for any imperfections that reside within us and try to drive them out like the Savior drove all the corruption out of the temple.

The Premortal and Mortal Savior

Starting in John chapter 1 verses 1-14, it talks about Jesus Christ during the time before he came to earth. This time is known as the "Premortal Life" or the "Preexistence." The following are truths that I have learned from these scriptures about Jesus Christ in the Premortal Life.

• Jesus Christ was the First born of Heavenly Father in the spirit.
• Jesus Christ is the creator of the Earth and all that is on it.
• Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ were one in purpose from the beginning.
• The Light of Christ is given to all men who come to Earth.
• The word of God is in Jesus Christ.

In John chapter 17 verses 1-5 The Savior is speaking directly to Heavenly Father and he speaks many truths about himself and the purpose of his mortal ministry. The following are some truths that I have learned about the mortal Savior.

• Jesus Christ is the only begotten son of Heavenly Father.
• Christ's life was directed towards glorifying Heavenly Father.
• Jesus Christ was given the power to save all of us and grant us eternal life.
• What the Savior did on Earth was foreordained.
• When God glorifies the Savior, it gives him more power and authority to do Gods work.

In both the Old and New Testament, the Savior is referred to by many different names. The following are a few names that Jesus was given that I would like to discuss:

• Christ- The name "Christ" is a sacred name given to the Savior that refers to his purpose as our Savior, or Messiah. 
• Messiah- This is an Aramaic word meaning "The Anointed," which refers to the one who was chosen to be the deliverer and king for the Jewish people.
• Jehovah- This is the proper name of the God of Israel (Messiah). It's literal meaning is "Self-existent one" or "The Eternal" and was such a sacred name to the Jews of the Old Testament that they usually referred to him as "Lord."
• Immanuel- This is a name given to Jesus in Isaiah 7:14 that refers to the prophecy of his birth into mortality. 
• The Word- Jesus Christ is referred to as "The Word," because he is key to the entire Plan of Salvation. All that Heavenly Father wants to happen and all that he commands is put into effect by the Savior. 

I have a testimony that Jesus Christ is the true redeemer and Messiah. I anxiously look forward to the day that the Son of God comes to the Earth again and saves all of Gods children.