Reading Sections 70-76

I think these few sections were great ones to end on. The first explained what being a steward meant, a thing that most of us are probably a little hazy on. I liked how it explained that stewardships involve both spiritual and temporal needs, not just one or the other. In the next sections I liked how it explained the true role of debate in the church. I have overheard people debating over different gospel principles and I just wonder, what is the point of that? You are just raising contention, you are not actually teaching or preaching the gospel. I like how Elder Bruce R. McConkie said, "...Almost always a debate entrenches each contestant and his sympathizers more firmly in the views already held." That is a great thing to keep in mind. The other sections then went on the talk about the duties of a bishop, the revision of the Bible, a great and marvelous thing I take for granted, little children being holy, and how we shouldn't be idle, but should enjoy the work we are given and do are best at whatever task is thrown our way. All of the sections were good, but I think my favorite was the last section, 76. It was just so informative I almost couldn't handle it. Every question I could ever think to ask about the degrees of glory was answered in this great section. I am now more educated on the subject then I ever have been. I am extremely gratefu for this reading and all that I learned.

Reading Sections 64-69

One of the biggest themes I got out of these sections is that of forgiveness. To me, forgiveness seems easy enough, but it is actually quite a struggle. People can say they forgive or are forgiven, but do they mean it? I think a lot of people tend to hold grudges or get offended easily, and that is why forgiveness is so important. I remember a few conferences ago when Elder Bednar gave a talk on letting go of offenses and focus on the importance of the gospel. A lot of people leave the church because someone or something offends them. This goes hand in hand with forgiveness. We need to learn to forgive completely. We can't let what seems like a little thing get in our way of salvation. Just like section 64 says, for us it is required to forgive ALL men. Not just the ones you like, but all of them. It seems that people have been struggling with this concept for quite sometime. That is probably why it is mentioned so often in the scriptures. That fact is tied into what is written in section 68, the important role the scriptures play in salvation. Can you imagine what this world would be like without the scriptures?! I can't. It would be utter chaos. It is already pretty crazy with the scriptures available to us, so it would be much worse without them. We obviously would be lost on the subject of forgiveness. I love how everything you read in the Doctrine and Covenants connects with itself. It is truly amazing. Instead of searching for connection and understanding, you have to search to lose it. I love reading this section of scripture. I have read it before, but you learn so many different things each time you read that it doesn't even matter. You don't get bored, just more enlightened! I love it!

3 Goals REFLECTION

My first goal is dealing with prayer. Usually I am really good about praying, but lately I have been neglecting it, and I can tell that my life isn't as full as it once was. I don't know if it is the start of school or what, but praying, sincerely to my Father in Heaven has been harder to do. I am making excuses, too tired, too much homework, I forgot, etc. This has got to stop. It is bad enough that I am not praying often enough, but it is worse that I can tell I am not praying enough. That being said, my first goal is to pray, morning and night, sincerely, for the next six weeks, or until I feel my life is back in order. I will know I have accomplished this goal when I am back on the same level with Heavenly Father that I was before. I will feel it. To help me accomplish this goal I am going to schedule my life more. Get a routine going so I am not rushing to get everything done all the time. I am also going to make reminders for myself and hang them in my room. My favorite quotes about prayer, a rock, whatever it takes. I know overcoming the exhaustion of student life is going to fight against me constantly, but with determination and faith I know I can accomplish this goal.

I am happy to report that I accomplished my first goal. This was probably the most important goal to me personally. I was important to me because I usually am very good at praying, morning and night. I was taught at a young age how important prayer is and gained a strong testimony of it through different experiences. So when I was struggling with it, I was kind of worried. But I learned that if you prioritize your life and have a goal in mind, you can do anything. I organized my life and made sure that prayer and scripture study were my highest priority. Since doing that, everything else seemed to just fall into place. It just goes to show that if you have the right things in mind the Lord will surely bless you. It also helped that my lesson plan was on the subject of prayer. Not only was I actually praying daily, but I was also studying prayer in the scriptures and in talks. It was great to read about prayer and how it important it is in life while actually doing it and receiving the blessing I was learned about. If I could give any advice to others it would be make prayer a priority in your life. Life is hectic and it will probably always be hectic in some way, but it was comforting to know that anytime I felt overwhelmed I could just get on my knees and ask for guidance and support. It is a great way to calm down and re-evaluate your situation. I would also remind them that the Lord is always there, no matter what. You can always count on the Lord, and I have learned that through prayer.

My second goal is dealing with the gift of Knowledge. I know I have been blessed with this, but lately I feel as if I have lost it. Reading in the student manual it says, "the gift...comes by study and obedience." Two things I am also trying to work on. My goal is to get no grade lower than a B. I will know I have accomplished this goal when grades are posted. This is probably going to be my hardest goal because it requires a lot of things. Obedience, knowledge, good study habits, faith and prayer, just to name a few. There is also going to be a lot of things going against me. Time, tests, classes, work, callings, etc. However, I know if I am doing everything I can to follow the teachings of the Gospel as well as prioritize my life, I can accomplish this goal.

Although grades have not been posted yet, I feel like I am on track to accomplish this goal. As I predicted when I first posted about this goal, it has been my hardest. Luckily for me, the other goals I chose helped me a lot in fulfilling this goal. There were a few times where I thought I wasn’t going to make it, but prayer, obedience, diligence and support both from the Lord and my friends and family have helped me get through. I feel like be choosing this goal I have not only been blessed in getting good grades, but I have learned a lot more. Good study habits which are key to getting good grades have helped me become more knowledgable of all the subjects I have been studying. Learning to manage my time was also a huge part in accomplishing this goal. However when I felt there were not enough hours in the day I would step back, prioritize, pray and everything would get done in time. I was surprised at first, but soon I learned that if you were doing everything you were supposed to be doing, the Lord had your back. I was blessed this semester, I have no doubt about that. Because of this goal I will continue to do well in school because I have implemented proper study habits in my life and now know how to organize and prioritize my life. I would suggest that others who are having trouble in their studies learn how do the same. Have a schedule, learn to prioritize and to say no to some things, and most importantly put the Lord first in your life. He will bless you.

My third goal is obedience. I am going to have to work on this one if I want to fulfill my other to goals. My goal for obedience is going to deal with church. I am going to attend all of my meetings, on Sunday and otherwise for the rest of the semester. This sounds simple enough, but it is hard for me. Not so much for my Sunday meetings, but all the other ones. I am extremely disobedient when it comes to attending meetings other than on Sundays, but I know if I start attending my life will be richer. Not only will I meet people in my ward, I will be enriched with lessons and experiences beyond measure. The main problems of this goal are homework, being tired and friends. To overcome these obstacles I plan to schedule my time so my homework is done before 8, go to bed early so I get enough sleep, and invite my friends to attend with me.

This was a super struggle for me. I was doing well at first but then I wavered a little. I missed a couple of family home evenings. We changed to FHE groups a few weeks into the semester and that is when I missed. I was too lazy to figure out where my group was meeting, so I just didn’t go. There is no excuse. However, when I was reading over my goals and realized attending was one of them, I changed my ways. I learned where my group was meeting and started going again. FHE might seem like a trivial meeting, but like all other meetings the Spirit is present and I have learned some quality things while in attendence. The spiritual thought is usually just something short, but important. It was also nice to meet and get closer with some of the people in my ward. Being away from home, you rely on your ward to be your family and that is what happened through all of the meetings I attended. I became closer with my family. I was even asked to give a talk in sacrament meeting about the importance of attending church meetings and was able to challenge others to attend and share some of my experiences I have had by attending meetings. It has been a great experince and I hope to continue to attend all of my meetings, not only here on campus, but where ever I end up in life. I would hope that others would do the same. Meetings are held of us. Even if you think nothing in the meeting applies to you, chances are it does. Maybe not immediately but eventually you will understand all that is said in church meetings. They are a great way to be spiritually guided and uplifted.

Reading Sections 59-63

This weeks reading was good. Some of the highlights for me were the reminder of keeping the Commanments. If seems so simple when you just say it, but it actually something a lot of people struggle with. However, if you are reminded of the great blessings you are promised for keeping them, you will surely try harder and obey the Commandments of the Lord. I like how it says that if you are righteous you are promised peace in this world and eternal life in the world to come. The first blessing is what hit me the strongest. Peace in THIS crazy world today?! Awesome. Something else that struck me was the commandment to not idle thy time away or bury thy talent. I am afraid I struggle with both of these, but I am working on it. It was hard at first because after a long day of class and work all I want to do is idle my time away, but I know I need to still be productive. I have made commitments that I need to honor and do my best to work hard. We also need to be aware of our talents and not bury them. I always thought I was talentless, but just because I can't play the piano, doesn't mean I don't have any talents. I just have to look a little deeper and bring them to the surface so I can develop them and not bury them. I also enjoyed reading about signs coming by faith, especially because I just read a lesson on that subject. Studying that lesson really helped me understand that part of the doctrine. Overall I learned a lot in these few sections and as always, I have a lot to work on, but it is worth it for all of the blessings that come along with being obedient to the word of the Lord.

Reading Sections 52-58

When I was reading these sections something hit me. I don't think it is a coincidence that these sections fall in the order that they do. The first few sections talk about the selfishness some of the Saints were suffering from. They were giving into the secular world instead of focusing on the things the Lord was commanding them to do. For example the problem the Colesville branch was suffering from. The saints who were already established in the area offered the incoming saints land in which they could use and build upon. Then, they went back on there word and left the Colesville saints high and dry. I don't think this is something the Lord would ever command us to do. A promise, or covenant, was broken in this situation. Then as you read on in further sections is talks about tribulations coming upon the Lords people. I wonder why.... In the manual it states that tribulations, "sometimes come to the saints as a chastisement when they disregard the Lord's consel..." I think but kicking saints off of land that you had promised them to use would definitelt qualify as disregarding the Lord's counsel. Although that can be a factor of receiving trails, it is not the only one. There was another quote I liked in the manual. It reads, "Tribulation provides the Saints with opportunites for spiritual growth and character development." I think that is something we could all benefit from. So from these sections the two things that stuck out most to me were is follow the Lord's counsel and all will be well and if you happen to come upon a trial in your life, which happen to us all, just remember that the Lord is trying to strenghen you. He wants you to get through it and come out a better person.

Sections 47-51

I would just like to start this post off with saying how grateful I feel to have a strong testimony of the gospel. The things that happened to the saints back in the day are shocking to me. Having false spirits around you and Satan working on you constantly is frightening. I know that we are continually tempted by satan today, but I guess it just sounds worse when you read and hear stories about it. I am also grateful to be going to this school where the Spirit is strong and helps ward off those temptations that are being thrown at as constantly. Anyways, back the the reading. There was good information in this reading on how to discern between the Spirit of the Lord and that of the devil. This is very important information to know because we are being tested all of the time. The saints were new to the idea of bad and good spirits so it seemed that they had a bit of a harder time discerning than we do know. However, Satan is getting more deceiving everyday so it is important to be careful. It was also very interesting to read about the Shakers and the mission that the church did with them. This section relates to modern times really well. Missionaries tell stories all of the time about investigators that know the church is true, yet they can't become truly converted because their old beliefs or habits still play a strong role in their lives. The missionaries tried to teach the shakers as best they could, but they just couldn't get rid of their traditions. Lastly it was good to read about the the role of a bishop and also the law of consecration. A lot of questions get asked about the law of consecration and this section pretty much answers them all. One of the highlights of this section for me was the explanation of why God goves us laws and Elder Richard L. Evans stated, "He has declared his work and his glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. This is the ultimate objective. This is the whole purpose of the Gospel he has given." You can't get any clearer than that.

Sections 43-46

It seemed that these sections focused a lot on false prophets, revelations, and doctrine that were and would continue to pop up in the church. I think it would be hard to live in the time when the church was just getting started for that very reason- the falsities. I know we have them now, but there are also a lot more members to teach and reinforce the true doctrine. Also with the technological advancements we have today the Prophet and his many talks are just a click away if we have any questions. I learned something new when I read the hostorical background for section 43, when it talked about Mrs. Hubble, who claimed to be a prophetess with many revelations. It seems outrageous but things like that really happen, everyday really. We just have to remember the teachings of the church and steer clear of false prophets and revelations. Going along the lines of section 44, every conference we are able to hear revelation and teachings from our Prophet and gather with other saints to learn and grow. Section 45 was a doozy! There was a lot of good information within this section. I liked reading about the parables-that of the fig tree and the ten virgins. Parables make me think more, so the doctrine within them sticks with me more. I also enjoy reading about the Millenium, specifically about Satan being bound. Section 46 was also a good read because sometimes I forget that we have all been best with gifts from on high, but it is up to us to develop and use them accordingly. I never think that I am talented because I can't play an instrument, sing, paint, play a sport, or anything like that. But this section helped me realize those aren't the only gifts you can be blessed with. Those are more temporal talents. We can be blessed with much more useful gifts like the gift to know Jesus is the Christ-awesome, the gift to believe on the testimony of others, the gift to discern spirits, the gift of tongues and the list goes on. Overall these were wonderful chapters and although I was a little behind in reading, I learned a lot from them and am glad I took the time to study them.