Jesus The Christ

                                                          

      Tonight I am going to finish up my very mini-series of people in the Christmas story, I will be focusing on Jesus Christ, The Son of God. 

     "Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of Heavenly host, praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, good will toward men." (Luke 2:10-14)  His birth was foretold centuries earlier by Isaiah, who declared prophetically, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).

      He was and is the Son of the Almighty. He was the only perfect man to walk the earth. He healed the sick and caused the lame to walk, the blind to see, the deaf to hear. He raised the dead.  He gave his life for each of us so that we too could be redeemed from sin and death and one day live with our father in Heaven. 

      With all the gift giving and the hustle and bustle that comes during the Christmas season, we all should remember the very first gift given during Christmas, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son..." (John 3:16)

     I am so thankful for my savior Jesus Christ, I know that he truly does live.  I know that just over 2000 years ago, he so humbly came to earth, and did so that we all could live again with him someday in the kingdom of our Heavenly Father. 

Mary, the mother of Jesus

                                                                      

     Today I am going to write about one of the most famous women in all the scriptures.  I am speaking of Mary the mother of Jesus.

    Although little of Mary’s life is actually recorded, what is recorded reveals a pattern of righteousness.  Many prophets had known of Mary’s vital role in the plan of salvation. Her mission had been recorded throughout the scriptures. (Alma 7, Isaiah 7)  From the angel Gabriel, who was sent from God to declare glad tidings to her, Mary learned that she was the one to give birth to the Son of God . The angelic messenger declared, “Hail, thou virgin, who art highly favored of the Lord. The Lord is with thee, for thou art chosen and blessed among women.” (Luke 1:28)  Following the announcement, Mary had a simple inquiry: “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” (Luke 1:34.) Mary’s question was not one of doubt, but of sincere curiosity as to how this was to be, for she was an espoused virgin. To Mary’s question, the angel answered, “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:35.)

         After receiving the angel’s message, Mary, in unreserved obedience, replied, “Be it unto me according to thy word.” (Luke 1:38.) In humbly accepting this opportunity of motherhood, Mary exemplifies the quality of obedience to which all disciples aspire.


        Mary truly is an inspiration to us all, and example of obedience.  When faced with great responsibility and uncertainty, she willingly and humbly did all that the lord asked.  I love the way it refers to her in the Book of Mormon, In Alma 7:10 it reads "And, behold, he shall be born of Mary, at Jerusalem which is in the land of our forefathers, she being a virgin, a precious and chosen vessel,..."  Mary indeed was a precious vessel, who the lord prepared for this great calling, she was an elect daughter of God.

       May we all think of the great example of the Mary and always be willing to submit ourselves to the will of the lord.

Joseph, the husband of mary

                                      


     I decided to write a little bit about the different people that are involved in the Christmas Story.  Today I am going to talk about one who isn't mentioned that much but is such a great example, I am speaking of Joseph. 

     what do we know of Joseph?  Joseph was the husband of Mary, who was the mother of Jesus.  He was a carpenter(Matt 13:55).  He was not the blood father of Christ, but was an earthly guardian of Jesus Christ.  He was looked at and recognized by the Jews as his literal father.  Joseph was of the house and lineage of David.  Thus Jesus, not a blood descendant, was a son of David. 

     Joseph was espoused to Mary and when he found out she was with child, he wanted not to "make her publick" (Matt 1:19) He loved Mary and didn't want to embarrass her. He later received a visitation by an angel informing him that Mary would give birth to the savior of the world.  He awoke and immediately took Mary as his wife.  Joseph was an example of obedience, he submitted to the will of his Father in Heaven. 

   I am even more impressed when I think about how much responsibility was placed upon him.  Who would the father choose as the husband to Mary and guardian and father of Jesus?  After all, we know that a fathers role is to teach his child correct principles and be an example.  This was the role that Joseph was to play for the child Jesus.  Many people would become overwhelmed with this responsibility, many would have felt it to hard.  But Joseph was willingly and submissive to every thing the lord asked of him.  He was a true example of obedience and humility. 

     May we all become more like Joseph and do all that the lord asks of us, with love and humility.

Whatsoever ye shall seal on earth, shall be sealed in heaven

                                                                                                                              

      In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints we put alot of emphasis on the family.  It is my goal in this post to give the reasons why this is. 

    We believe that family life here is an extension of what life was like in the Pre-earth life.  We believe before we lived in this life we lived as spirits, as a part of our Heavenly Fathers family.  In Hebrews it talks about this relationship, it says "Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?" (Heb 12:9).  and also in Romans 8:16 is says "...We are the children of God." 

    Our Heavenly Father created a plan for us where we could come to the earth, and gain experience.  He sent us here in family units so we could experience joy. Our purpose in this life is to find lasting joy, peace and happiness in families and to prepare to return to live with God.  When Jesus Christ was on the earth he gave unto his apostle Peter the keys to seal families together for time and all eternity. "And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Matt 16:19)

    Through the Restoration of the Gospel on the earth, we have these powers on the earth again to seal families together for time and all eternity.  In our Holy Temples this great power is manifested and families are eternally sealed. 

     This knowledge that family life is perpetuated far beyond this life is why we put such a great emphasis on family life here.  We are all striving to help eachother live the gospel and prepare to live together with our Father in Heaven forever.  We have recieved lots of guidance in these latter-days about how we can accomplish this.  Just 15 years ago, prophets and apostles announced "The Family: A proclamation to the world" This gives us alot of great counsel about the roles of family members, the importance of marriage, and the blessings of righteous family life.

      A couple of weeks ago, The Quinones family pictured below, made another step towards this great goal of theres to be sealed as a family.  Katy and Marina were baptized, and in a year from now they are going to go to the temple and be sealed as a family.  I am so excited for them to accomplish this goal.
                                                   

     I know that families truly can be together forever, I know that this knowledge can strenghten families and bring them peace and joy in this life.

Blessings of the Priesthood

        What is the Priesthood?  Why do we need the Priesthood?  How can the priesthood affect my life?

       I hope that this post will be able to answer all these questions, as many people might wonder them.

       What is the Priesthood?:   The priesthood is the power of God, and the authority to act in his name.  It has been given to prophets since the beginning of time so they can run Gods church upon the earth.  Multiple times this authority has been taken away due to wickedness and unbelief, but because God loves us he always restores it again.  When Christ came he gave this authority to his chosen apostles so they too could bless the lives of their brothers and sisters.  After Christ was crucified there came a falling away (2 Thessalonian 2:1-3, Amos 8:11-12) The priesthood authority was once again taken from the earth for a period of time.

In the early 1800's Joseph Smith, having been visited by God the father and his son Jesus Christ, and called to be a prophet, was given once again the priesthood authority.  John the Baptist, restored the Aaronic Priesthood, and later Peter, James and John as resurrected beings restored the Melchizedek Priesthood.

        The priesthood authority was then passed down from Joseph Smith to other worthy members of the Lords church.  Now days, all worthy males, ages 12 and older can hold the priesthood.

   Why the Priesthood is needed?:  Because this church is the Lords church and not mans, all things done within it must be done God's way by those he has chosen.  "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you and ordained you..." (John 15:16).  There are things the lord has commanded all of us to do, like being baptized, and when they are done without the priesthood authority they are invalid, because God did not authorize them.  God is a God of order, and if everyone were allowed to baptize and do it their own way, we would lose the beauty and the meaning of these sacred ordinances.  Kind of like if every single person was a cop, then there would be no reason for one anymore. 

       How can the Priesthood affect my life?:  Though only worthy males are able to hold the Priesthood, this power blesses the lives of all people. "the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon principles of righteousness." " (D&C 121:36).  The priesthood is a blessing is so many different ways, one of those is the ability the bless those who are sick or afflicted in any manner.  this goes along with the verse in James 5 verse 14-15 "is any sick among you? let him call for the Elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick..." By the same power that Jesus had to heal the sick, worthy males who hold the priesthood can heal the sick.  The other important way the priesthood can bless any families life, is that it is by this power that families are sealed together for time and all eternity.  Only through the priesthood of god, can families be eternally united.  This is something that every family should desire, and one all of us should seek after. 

                                   

        I know that the priesthood is real, I know that is so essential to the church of god.  With it we have everything and without it we have nothing. 

The Room

This was an essay written by a boy named Brian Moore,  I feel it explains the atonement very well. 

   

        In that place between wakefulness and dreams, I found myself in the room.  There were no distinguishing features except for the one wall covered with small index card files. They were like the ones in libraries that  list titles by author or subject in alphabetical order. But these files, which stretched from floor to ceiling and seemingly endless in either direction, had very different headings.

 

       As I drew near the wall of files, the first to catch my attention was one that read "Girls I have liked." I opened it and began flipping through  the cards. I quickly shut it, shocked to realize that I recognized the names written on each one. And then without being told, I knew exactly where I was.

 

     This lifeless room with its small files was a crude catalog system for my life. Here were written the actions of my every moment, big and  small, in a detail my memory couldn't match. A sense of wonder and curiosity, coupled with horror, stirred within me as I began randomly  opening files and exploring their content. Some brought joy and sweet memories; others a sense of shame and regret so intense that I  would look over my shoulder to see if anyone was watching.

 

    A file named "Friends" was next to one marked "Friends I have betrayed."  The titles ranged from the mundane to the outright weird. "Books I Have Read,"  "Lies I Have Told," "Comfort I have Given," "Jokes I Have Laughed at." Some were almost hilarious in their exactness: "Things I've yelled  at my brothers." Others I couldn't laugh at: "Things I Have Done in My Anger", "Things I Have Muttered Under My Breath at My Parents." I never ceased to be surprised by the contents. Often there were many more cards than I expected. 

Sometimes fewer than I hoped. I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the  life I had lived.

Could it be possible that I had the time in my years to fill each of these  thousands or even millions of cards? But each card confirmed this truth.  Each was written in my own handwriting. Each signed with my signature.

 

       When I pulled out the file marked "TV Shows I have watched ," I realized  the files grew to contain their contents. The cards were packed tightly, and  yet after two or three yards, I hadn't found the end of the file. I shut it, shamed, not so much by the quality of shows but more by the vast  time I knew that file represented.

An Introduction

     I thought for my first post that I would just introduce myself.  I am Elder Darion Bevan, currently I am serving a Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Ukiah, CA, although that will be changing in a couple of days.  I am going to be serving in Santa Rosa, CA. 
    
       A little bit about my backround. I am from Sandy, UT,  I have lived there all my life.  I have two Brothers, and older and a younger.  My older brother served a mission in Manaus, Brazil.  My little brother is going to be going on a mission very shortly.  I grew up playing a number of sports, Basketball being my favorite.  In highschool I also played volleyball and was on the swim team.  I have to say that I love sports, I would watch them all the time.  It didn't matter what was on, football, tennis, track, badmitton, I loved them all.

     My mission has been the best experience of my life.  I have met so many great people and made friends that will carry on throughout the eternities,  nothing can replace the experiences I have had.  I have also grown a very strong testimony of my savior Jesus Christ, and the church.  I can't even imagine where my life would be right now if I had not served a mission. 

     I know this church is true, I know by the power of the Holy Ghost that the Book of Mormon is true, and that Joseph Smith was a prophet of god.  I may not know much but atleast I know these things.