Life's challenges and the encouragement of the Lord's apostles

Unit 1 Choice 1: Philippians 1-4. Find Solutions in the Scriptures to Life’s Challenges

·         People sometimes argue and complain over petty matters in church meetings or throughout the week:

-          If we have the spirit of Christ upon us and are seeking out His gospel then the things we think should be argued will become less of what is important and following the love of God will become what is important. Something else we can do if there is an argument is to take someone else’s opinion nicely instead of becoming upset. Be open to what is being said and give your own opinion in a kind way.

·         Many youth feel that their parents’ testimony is sufficient for them. Since they have good parents, they rely on them for all their spiritual strength.

-Their parents testimony came because they acted on what they believed so they could have a testimony. Children need to be taught how to have their own testimony and how to act on what they believe because just thinking and professing their parents testimony it isn’t enough, they need to show what they believe to God and in doing this can help them create their own testimony.

·         An investigator is considering joining the Church, but his family will no longer associate with him if he does.

-          As hard as it is to leave family the scriptures show that it is better to follow Christ and leave what you know behind than it is to continue going down the path that you are, especially now that you understand the gospel.

·         How is this writing assignment an example of the principle taught in 2 Nephi 3:3?

-          It’s an example of following the Holy Ghost, because if you believe in the Holy Ghost it will teach you and guide you to understanding of other things, thus it will give you peace in an argument, understanding of the gospel so you have your own testimony and the strength to let go of what is behind you to look forward to what God has promised you.

Unit 2 Choice 2

2 Timothy 1:1-10. Paul’s Affection for Timothy

1.       What parallels are there in the counsel and expressions given by both Paul and Mormon?

-          They pray for their safety, they encourage continuing the work of God and to not be discouraged by what is happening around them, to keep their faith.

2.       Why do you think Paul noted Timothy’s grandmother’s and mother’s faith?

-It was mentioned before that Timothy’s mother was a Jew and that she believed. His grandmother and mother must have been the ones to teach Timothy the gospel which has given him the strength and knowledge he needs to be an apostle of Christ.

3.       What assurance did Paul give timothy about “the spirit of fear”? How can this counsel and assurance help you in your life?

-It is not by fear that God works, it is great power that is shown by love and that the apostles have this with them along with a sound mind that helps them to do their work. If they have a sound mind with them while they go about doing the work of God, rather than the fear of doing the work, then they are given power to do the works of God.

4.       Why did Paul love and bless the “house of Onesiphorus” with the Lord’s mercy?

-          Because the house of Onesiphorus took care of Paul and helped him rest while he was in Rome. And the man of the house sought him out seeking the gospel (it seems)

5.       What did Paul bless him with?

-          With the mercy of the Lord.

6.       How does Matthew 11:29-30 and Jacob 1:8 help you better understand what the “chain” is (yoke or cross) that Paul spoke of in 2 Timothy 1:16?

-          It could be the gospel or to be a missionary for the gospel. 

Romans 6: Baptism, Romans 12-16. Live as Saints Should Live

Unit 1

Choice 3

Romans 6: Baptism

*What must be done with sin before baptism can occur?

- We must be rid of it in ourselves

*What events from Christ’s life are symbolized in baptism?

-His death and resurrection. His death is symbolized by being submerged in water, and His resurrection is symbolized by us coming out of the water.

*Considering this symbolism, why couldn’t someone be baptized by sprinkling?

- Just like he was buried in the tomb and was then resurrection, we are buried in sin and then rise because of His atonement, His redeeming power which is encompassment of the redeeming power. And this is the way He wants us to do it, by doing it we are giving our submission to His will just like He gave His submission to His father.

*What do these verses teach us about how we can maintain the “newness of life”?

-We need to leave our sin behind us after baptism and come unto God and Christ. By living their gospel we are able to be saved under their grace and become His instruments.

*According to Mosiah 3:19, what part of us would ideally die at baptism?

- The natural man.

Unit 2

Choice 1 Romans 12-16. Live as Saints Should Live

1.       What must we continue doing to work out our salvations?

-          We must be conscious of what our actions are. We need to continuously work on seeking God or we will stumble and fall and when the time comes we will be caught unawares and will pay for our sins.

2.        Romans 12:1- Treat your bodies like a temple

12:2- Have your mind centered on Christ and not the world

12:9- Do good things and do not pretend. Show the love of Christ in your actions

12:13- Be charitable. Give to those in need.

12:16- Do not think you are higher than those around you. Be humble.

12:21- Do not give into evil, but do good to be better than evil.

13:1- Powers received are given by God, seek to gain these powers righteously.

13:3- through repentance and obedience you will be justified and approved if you do the right things, in doing this you will not have to fear the law.

13:8- Give back to those that you owe and give them more, also give to those you owe nothing even though you do not profit from it but have gifts in heaven because you do those things out of love.

13:9- Follow the commandments of God

What cautions did Paul give about judging?

-          When we judge we are trying to take the judgment of the Lord onto ourselves which is not of us, we must remember that the Lord loves everyone and to avoid being judgmental of others because it is not our place and we must have the love of Christ.  

People may have different opinions and practices, but what is most important to remember?

-          It is must important to remember that we are of the Lord.

What additional insight comes from reading Doctrine and Covenants?

-          We need to treat others and we would have them treat us.

Write the term Paul frequently used to refer to members of the Church in his day:

-          He would say the word “us” a lot.

Choice 2:2 Corinthians 2:1-11 Forgiveness

What were the people of Corinth commanded to do “if any have caused grief”?

-They were commanded to forgive the person and to show them love. Rather than giving them a hard time about the grievance and holding it over their heads, give them comfort.

What blessings do we see if we forgive?

-When we are willing to forgive we have the spirit of Christ with us.

What is the danger in failing to forgive?

-We are more easily caught up in the wrong spirit and Satan will have more control over us, also God has asked us to forgive, because if we do not forgive the Lord cannot forgive us for it is His position, not ours, to judge and forgive others, in this we are the ones who have the ultimate sin over our head. 

Acts 1-22 "An introduction and overview"

* The summaries of 1-8 and 10-12 have these in common:

Preaching the gospel

Testifying of Christ

Performing miracles

Converting someone or a great number of people to the church and

The different travels and cities and people the Apostles met while doing missionary work .

*2-5, 8-10, 12 

What Peter preaches:

Resurrection, Salvation, the Holy Ghost, repentance, and the testimony of Jesus Christ. 

Acts 7 The Martyrdom of Stephen

1.
      * A summary of Stephens last words were similar to Christ's: the people taking my life do not understand what horrible things they are doing, don't punish them for it.

I learned a few things from the last words of Stephen. One of them being that he truly understood what it meant to be an apostle of God. He had the light of Christ with him until his death when he showed a similar example to Christ when he said: "...Lord, lay not this sin to their charge."
  Another thing is that when you think about it, if a child does something wrong because they didn't understand what they were doing, we shouldn't necessarily punish them, but use that time to teach them what they did wrong and help them understand how to do things differently next time. To me this is what Christ and Stephen were doing, they were trying to teach by being the ultimate example.

       * I learned that by Stephen, we see that Christ is on the "right side" of God, showing that Christ and God are two different beings. The only way he was able to see this is by the Holy Ghost and the power of God. So the three members of the God head are separate, but act as one.

2.
      * Abinadi and Stephen were similar in that neither of them feared them men they were preaching to and they refused to deny their God, even though it mean their lives.
     Their testimonies mean a lot to me, because they are some of the greater examples of what it means to preach the words of the Lord and not be scared of the consequences knowing that you will be taken care of no matter what happens. The Lord has His ways about life and will show and guide you and in the end of everything you, and possibly those around you will be affected by it for the rest of your life.