using the scriptures to meet life challenges

Choice 1: Philippians 1–4. Find Solutions in the Scriptures to Life’s Challenges
For each of the following common challenges, write the counsel from Philippians that you would use to resolve it:

• People sometimes argue and complain over petty matters in church meetings or throughout the week (see Philippians 2:1–8, 14–15)

2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

 3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.

 4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. We as members need to love and support each other despite our weaknesses and not take offense over trivial things. We need the spirit of love and unity in order to have the spirit of the lord in our meetings. we need to love others despite their weaknesses

• 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 (see Philippians 2:12–15 and institute student manual commentary for Philippians 2:12, “Work out Your Own Salvation with Fear and Paul told the Philippian Saints, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12). Some people incorrectly use this verse to support the idea that we are saved by our own efforts and not by the grace of Jesus Christ. However, Paul was not telling the Saints to work in order to earn salvation. Instead, as Paul pointed out, the Saints should live the gospel so that the saving work God was already doing within them would be manifest in all they did (see Philippians 1:6; 2:13). Our efforts to work out our salvation are possible only because of the Lord’s grace within us" We cannot rely on our parents testimonies our whole life because there comes a point in our lives where we will experience a trial of faith and we wont have our parents testimonies to save us. We can use their testimonies to build the foundation of our own testimonies but we have to do the rest on our own. We need to experience our own conversion, we need to seek a personal relationship with the lord. We need to make the decision to believe and act on faith, An investigator is considering joining the Church, but his family will no longer associate with him if he does (see Philippians 3:7–16; 4:13).
• How is this writing assignment an example of the principle taught in 2 Nephi 32:3?
  8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ
• ,3 Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.First both these scriptures are saying that if we rely on god he will guide us on the right road. people may enter and leave our lives but god will never leave us, he is always there to love and support us. Converts family members may oppose their membership in the church and even leave their lives but there is always a chance for them to come back, for their hearts to be softened and understanding opened but regardless the lord will be with us no matter what. relying on the saviors love and atonement can keep us spiritually strong and faithful in trials and tribulation. paul and nephis message is the same, rely on the lord and he will tell you all things you should do.

Diversity in unity

 So we, beingmany, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.
 6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;

 7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;

 8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.

 9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.

We as diciples of Christ are all given different gifts, abilities, talents that helps serve the lord at our best. We as a people are diverse and individual which the lord highlights for he uses our individuality to help others. Some people think everyone needs to be the same to be equal or included but I personally think if everyone was the same there would be no growth or individuality. we as a people are different for the sole purpose complementing each other, working together to grow, expand etc. the lord delights in our individualty and uniqueness for he made us that way on purpose to fulfill the purposes of our creation. Its our responsibility to figure out what our talents are and develop them so we can use them in serving others and serving in the church. if we don't utlize our abilities we will lose them just like if we don't nurish our testimonies we will lose our testimony.

light of christ

corthinans4;66 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

 This scripture reminds me of how everyone is born with the light of christ guiding them to truth. Light of chirst is prepatory to recieving the holy ghost. the light of christ can help those seeking truth find the light of the gospel. The light of christ is a gift to all born on this earth to guide us back to god. the light of christ along with the holy ghost can open our spirituality more fully to recgonize teachings of christ more readily. We are creatures of light and spirituality so its important to strengthen our spirituality through the light of christ and holy ghost

the power of unity

1corinthians1:10
10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

So this scripture stood out to me during me reading for it reminded me of the importance of unity within the church. So at this time the new converts were arguing over doctrine, practices etc which destoyed the sprit of unity they had when they were first baptised. It reminded me also how sometimes you've been in the church so long you forget why you became a member. Well due to their arguments they lost sight of what made them join the church in the first place. Faith in the lord Jesus Christ. They had felt God's love and had spiritual confirmation of what paul taught was true and were baptized and happy.So thankfully paul reminded them of their faith in Jesus Christ and not worry over trivial things and do what he taught them. Yes I can see the strain they were after paul left, they were brand new converts left to run the church which was like asking the imposssible but they did it the best they could and paul helped as much as he could from a distance. Now here in modern times this scripture reminded of division of churches, doctrine, practices and even divisions within the church which breed confusion,strife and resentment. I truly believe when we as diciples of christ are united in our faith and our love for each other our spirits are magnified and our power for food increases 10 fold.

The power of change Acts 9,13-18
So this week as I read through Acts I was quite impressed with Saul's conversion. I realized I never knew Saul was later known as Paul the apostle.So when Saul is first introduced he went around persecuting the church. Acts 8:"As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison."Not only that but he was going to the high priest for lists of the saints to put them in prison.Acts9:2 "And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem." So right now he is doing all he can to pervert the church of God. Then something unexpected happens, Jesus Christ appears unto him and personally asks him why he is doing what he does.
3 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:
4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.
This is the beginning of his conversion and the start of his new life as an apostle of the lord.Now there were those who were skeptic of his miraculous change of heart but they were proven wrong when they saw his sincere change of heart. That is what faith in Jesus Christ does it gives you a new heart and new life as his diciple. It always amazes me how far Gods love for his children go for none are turned away. God doesn't see us as we are now but who we can become for we can always become something or somone better with Gods help. Paul was an amazing missionary he helped thousands of people change and repent just like he did. That is the gospel of Jesus Christ, the power to change, for its never too late to become who we were meant to become. I feel like I have gotten to know both saul and paul personally this week and am impressed by both men for they both instruments in the lords hands.

The acts of the apotles

Well another semeter has started at byu Idaho and I am studying the new testamment, Mainly acts through revelations. So this week I studied acts 1-8, 10-12. So what was the main theme of these scriptures? What was taught? The main theme was missionary work. Jesus Has acended into heaven after his ressurection and charged his apostles to teach the gospel and keep his church going. They bore powerful testimony of Chirsts divinity, they spoke boldly against sin. They called and ordained apostles and sent them all over to preach the gospel.Here is a short summary of what the apostles taught the people,
1.Calling and ordaining of the apostles.
2. Conferring the gift of the holy ghost by the laying on of hands
3. Christs death and ressurrection
4.propheys of the second coming
5, testimony of Christs divinity
6. Repent and be baptized by the proper authority and recieve the holy ghost.
7. testifies of the latter day gathering of israel
8. gospel preached to the gentiles
9. martydom of stephan
10. peter and john imprisoned
11. Missionary work.
This list is just a small part of the apostles efforts in teaching the gospel but its clear to see missionary work was the main objective in this scriptures

Money management

1. In chapter 2, Poduska talked about family rules that regulate our perceptions and behaviors in all areas of family life, including the management of money. What are some of the specific rules stemming from your family of origin that have influenced your perceptions or philosophy about the purpose of money and how money is to be managed?

So I was raised by a single mother who told us readily that money was in short supply. My mother taught us to be frugle and only buy what you need. Although she would save up and splurge for things my siblings had to have. She taught us not to spend money on things of no worth. She taught us to put 10 percent into tithing and into savings to build up a fnancial reserve. Yes there were times mom bought us things to compensate for her working all the time but that is human nature. We never went without and lived comfortably with one income.Yes there were times I resented not having nice things and bought them with my own money when I was employed. Despite my teenage frustrations my mother taught me to respect money and to spend it wisely.

unity in marriage

The Savior of the world, Jesus Christ, said of those who would be part of His Church: “Be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine” (D&C 38:27). And at the creation of man and woman, unity for them in marriage was not given as hope, it was a command! “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh” (Gen. 2:24" Elder Henry B Eyring.

So how can we follow this command to be one with our spouses? This qoute tells me that oneness and unity is not only the same but ordained by God. Complete unity in marriage blesses us yes but spiritual unity will give us the power to create a spiritual haven in their home. Elder Eyring spoke of the sacrament prayers where we promise to take on us the name of Jesus Christ, to always remember him.He spoke of the power that comes into our lives and hearts to help us cultivate unity in the marriage relationship. If we put Jesus Christ first in our lives he will support us in all we do and bless us in our marriages and family life.

The best example I have of unity in marriage is my grandparents. There has never been a time where they were divided. Yes they disagreed on certain subjects but always were a united front in dicipline, teaching, correcting. Some family members say oh well grandpa just lets grandma do whatever she wants to avoid a fight. That is not true, they understand what their relationships is a partnership, they complement each other and the spirit of love and understanding is in their home and relationship. Yes no relationship is perfect but when we apply the atonement into our lives and relationships we can become one in spirit, in thought, in deed for our hearts and natures are changed. When we apply the atonement into our lives we truly can change for the better and everything that was broken before will be healed.I know when a couple truly loves each other and follows Christs teachings they can become oneflesh.

sexual relations

"Sex is For Procreation and expression of Love. It is the destiny of men and women to join together eternal family units.In the context of lawful marriage,the intimacy of  sexual relations is right and divinely approved. There is nothing unholy or degrading about sexuality in itself, for by that means men and women join in the process of creation and in expression of love" President Spencer W Kimball    Sexual relations is a intimate relationship not easily discussed. If Your a latter day saint you probably heard of what not to do in regards to sexual relations for example prematrial sex, fondling, pornography which is important to know don't get me wrong. Sexual sins are very serious so we must take the prophets council seriously. For this post I want to focus on Sexual relations in the marriage relationship. I love this qoute by President Kimball for he clearly stats that sex in the marriage relationship is beautiful and divine. There is no need to fear sex or be ashamed of proper sexuality in the marrage relationship. I myself am not married so I don't have personal experience to pull from but I can add my voice to the divinity of the sexual relationship in marriage.Satan has distorted the sexual relations between men and women. He has made it dirty,casual, dark, unholy. He has taken the divinity out of the act and warped the sexual desires of men and women. I personally think the more educated we are in sexual relations between husband and wife the less fear and anxiety we will feel towards sex. Its okay to ask questions about sex and be informed through the correct sources otherwise we will learn from the wrong sources. In my house growing up we didn't talk openly sex, I don't think my mom knew how to address it. So unfortuntaly tv, books and media taught me about sex and I went to my mom with questions and she had to give me the right information of sex. The more knowledge you have about something the more confident you are regarding that subject. The more educated we are about the correct use of sexual relations in marriage the less likely we are to have negative feelings toward sex. Satan wants us to feel dirty, ashamed, scared of our sexuality but not the lord. The lord created us to be sexual beings for the purpose of bringing children into the world in the marriage relationship. As long as we keep our sexaulity in the bounds the lord has set we will be open and confident in our sexuality in the marriage relationship. Sex isn't bad or sinful, as long its in the marriage relationship. nor is it always easy.If we follow the lords teachings toward sex and keep it in the marriage relationship our marriages will be blessed and the negative aspects toward sex will dissappear

Charity never faileth

Charity never faileth

"Love for Christ, Love from Christ, Love like Christ"

 This qoute is from H, Wallace Goddards book called Drawing Heaven into your marriage.

He was talking about charity in the marriage relationship.

So what is charity? The scriptures describe it as the pure love of Christ. I also would add that it is also loving as Christ loves. How do we develop charity?  in my opinion serving others helps us to develop charity.

"Charity is first and foremost the redemptive love that Jesus offers all of us.It is the love from Christ" I love this qoute because it shows the depth of Christs love for us. It also shows us that charity is a divine quality, one step further to perfection. So how do we show love for Christ?
 In my opinon the best way to show my love for christ is by being obedient. Living the gospel faithfully and by developing a personal relationshp with him.Prayer and scripture study is crucial because if you don't talk to him or read about him you won't know him. Now loving like Christ is an opportunity for us to show charity to those we love. When we apply charity in the marriage relationship we begin to see our spouse through Gods eyes. There is a spirit of love and harmony in the home and your spouse can feel your love for them. Goddard spoke about couples who let the lord guide their relationship the quicker worldly problems faded away. When we develop charity for someone your able to see past their imperfections and see who they can become, what your relationship can become. Charity in marriage will endow the couple with greater power to resist the natural man. Marriage is a heavenly institution which means we can call down the powers of heaven to save our marriages. God has given us everything we need to be successful in marriage and in life in general. We were not sent here to fail.

Agency and Anger

Jenni Northcutt  (3 replies) 6/16/2015 3:26 PM Agency and Anger  A cunning part of Satan's strategy is to dissociate anger from agency, making us believe that we are victims of an emotion that we cannot control. We hear, “I lost my temper.” Losing one’s temper is an interesting choice of words that has become a widely used idiom. To “lose something” implies “not meaning to,” “accidental,” “involuntary,” “not responsible”—careless perhaps but “not responsible.” “He made me mad.” This is another phrase we hear, also implying lack of control or agency. This is a myth that must be debunked. No one makes us mad. Others don’t make us angry. There is no force involved. Becoming angry is a conscious choice, a decision; therefore, we can make the choice not to become angry. We choose! These quotes are from Lynn Robbins Anger and Agency that stood out to me.So as you guessed it I will be talking about anger.So for me I tend to get mad quickly and easily that I am not proud of. In the past I used these same exuses, blaming the person who did me wrong. I always said I'm not patient enough or I'm too sensitive but in the end it was all an exuse. Its hard to take responsiblity for a trait your not proud of but needs to be done so you can live in full reality. The beauty of self dicipline is that over time we can overcome these expolosive behavior. I know for me once I have calm down I feel guilty, shameful, sorry, regret. Anger has never made me feel good about anything or anyone. Anger doesn't benefit anyone but itself. Yes anger and frustration are normal emotions we all experience but when those emotions run wild it becomes an problem. The church teaches everything in moderation and that includes emotions, thoughts,actions, words everything our lives entail.This talk definitely put me in my place but I needed to read it. The beauty of the atonement is that everything we have done, felt, said, experienced can be made right. The lord can teach us self mastery if we let him. We can choose joy and understanding instead of anger, resentment. I have a long way to go controlling my responses to people and choosing not to get angry but I am confident with the lords help I can achieve my goal. When we let go of anger, we are freeing ourselves from destructive cycle anger puts us in.

Pride

WEEK 07 DISCUSSION BOARD

---

Discussion Board Posts

Based on your thoughts and insights from the week’s reading material, create a rough draft of the blog you intend to post to your online marriage blog and post it to discussion board so that other students in your assigned group can react to it before you post it to your online blog. Think of the discussion board as the work room where students teach one another and work together in order to increase the depth of learning and to prepare blogs that will help strengthen marriages. The discussion board is one of the primary learning tools for this course. Hopefully students will use it for its intended purpose. The effectiveness of the discussion board is dependent on the quality of interactions among students within a given group.

Initial Post: Due by Wednesday before 11:59 PM – As noted above, the rough draft of your post for your marriage blog is to be submitted to the discussion board no later than Wednesday evening. You will want to give group members as much time as possible to react to your post, so if possible submit it before Wednesday evening.

Second Post: Due by Friday before 11:59 PM - After the initial post of your rough draft, you are to read the rough draft posts from at least three other group members and react to what they have written. You are encouraged to respond by: posing good questions that further learning, sharing thoughts from a different perspective, building upon the comments of others, sharing an example that illustrates a principle or concept discussed by another member, sharing thoughts on how a principle could be applied, or by linking the comments of other group members to class readings or ideas learned in other classes. Especially pay attention to the context of what is written. Do the explanations from other students make sense and do they provide the background information needed to understand the principles?

Evaluation of Discussion Board Posts

Two times during the semester, your discussion board posts will be anonymously evaluated by your peers in your group using the "Discussion Board Grading Rubric," which is to be completed through I-Learn. This rubric is posted on I-Learn under “Discussion Board Peer Review” in weeks 6 and 12. You are entrusted to be honest in your evaluations. Assigning a student higher marks than what a student has earned not only does a particular student a disservice, but is dishonest.

Peer evaluations will be based on the following criteria: (Worth 24 points each; 48 points total)

• Preparation
• Consistency
• Depth of Feedback
• Helpfulness

If you would like to refer to a more detailed description list of instructions for this activity, please refer to the Discussion Board for Week 1.

 

Jenni Northcutt 6/9/2015 9:22 PM Pride  Pride is a very misunderstood sin, and many are sinning in ignorance. (See Mosiah 3:11; 3 t::,el . 6:18.) In the scriptures there is no such thing as righteous pride-it is always considered a sin. Therefore, no matter how the world uses the term,we must understand how God uses the term so we can understand the language of holyThe central feature of pride is enmity-enmity toward God and enmity toward our fellowmen . Enmity means "hatred toward. hostility to, or a state of opposition .• It is the power by which Satan wishes to reign over us." These are quotes from Ezra Taft Benson's 1985 General conference talk Beware of Pride so you can tell this week topic is  on pride. So as Ive pondered on pride I asked myself what does pride mean to me in my life? So for me personally I never felt like I had an issue with pride but at that tme I didn't have a clear understanding of pride. I love these quotes for they do bring clarity to prides definition but I do believe pride manifests itself differently in each person. For me personally I realized for me pride manifests itself in spiritual apathy.Which totally took me by surprise I just thought I was weakness of mortality but that wasn't the case. I realized that by being apathic I was embracing the natural man instead of putting him off.When I was apathic spiritually I wasn't turning to God to help me nor was I trying to help myself. When we have an opportunity to turn toward God and don't its a manifestation of pride. Now I did not enjoy discovering this about myself but How can you fix something you don't know about?  So now that I can recognize those tendencies toward pride I can correct them through humility and repentance. Everyone experiences pride in different ways like I mentioned but the solution is universal repentance and humility.Now I know pride isn't something people like to discuss or hear about in church. Whether we like hearing it or not pride is a real threat we are facing in this world and needs to be dealt with.Unfortunately we aren't in a postion to live in ignorance for pride will come up and slap us in the face if left unchecked. Now I am only speaking from my experience with pride. My experience showed me in the long run you only hurt yourself and those you love.Pride destroys everything and everyone in its path. What can we do prevent from being a casuality of pride? Rely on the atonement of Jesus Christ to soften our hearts of stone through humilty and repentance.

Loving Kindness

1. As you think about the principle, turning toward one another, and the following verse of scripture, what thoughts come to mind? D&C 64:33 – “Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great.”

 When I pondered this question loving kindness kept coming to mind. Serving your spouse daily in small ways that show your love and appreciation. When I think of turning toward one another I envision a  couple focused on each other in word, in thought, in deed. They find joy in serving their spouse and getting to know them on a more personal level. I truly believe it doesn't take a lot to make your spouse feel valued and appreciated. All it takes is genuine interest in your spouse.No act of love or service goes unnoticed by the other, they see it and respond in kind.Now I am not married but I can testify of serving those you love.This week I focused on serving my siblings and my mother since I am not married. These principles apply to everyone and anyone, you don't have to be married to turn towards someone you love. Now My loved one didn't shout praises to my name for serving them but they recognized my intent was to show them love and responded in kind. I find great joy in serving others for it helps me see them as God sees them and that strengthens any relationship.

 Serve out of genuine love and interest for your spouse and see your love go stronger, affection grow sweeter, friendship longer lasting. When you put your spouse before yourself only good things will happen.

Nurturing your relationship

"our greatest joys and sorrows in this world are in our family lives" by President Eryring. I love that qoute because to me simplifies all the complicated thoughts,emotions, experiences that occur in family life.    President Eyring spoke of praying for stronger love to love your companion with. It takes great humility to pray for someone you maybe frustrated with but by the end of the prayer your frustration can be eased. When you start praying for your companion you start to have a change of heart towards your spouse. You can't change your spouse but you can change your behavior and thoughts of your spouse. Just like with a broken heart and contrite spirit Jesus Christ can heal broken hearts due to marriage conflict. I do believe focusing on the postive attributes of your spouse helps you to remember all the good times you had together. Remembering the good times can help bring back those good feelings toward each other. Nurturing your respect and admiration for each other can be like rediscovering each other. Ether way focusing on the postive things your spouse does will lessen your negative thoughts or frustration you may have towards them. At the end of the day you have to decide if your marriage relationship is your highest priority and if it is then you must do all you can to keep that relationship strong.

Positivty vs Negativity

I truly believe positivity comes from the lord and negativity's from the devil.I see positivity as the light and negativity's the dark. In my experience negativity weighs you down, emotionally, spiritually and physically. Eventually you start to believe the lies and your self worth is no more. Relationship expert John Gottman says couples who have a strong friendship are able to weather the storms of married life. He also spoke of emotionally intelliegenence being a key factor to successful marriage.So for example when your healthy emotionally, have a strong bond or friendship, they might have more postive interactions over negative reactions. When you fill your marriage with light it thrives. For example praying together, reading your scriptures, serving each other, spending quality time together, going to the temple would bring postive thoughts and feelings toward  your partner.  I truly believe in love and sacrifice as the foundation of a happy marriage. When you find a system that works for you as a couple then any conflict can be revolved. Negativity doesn't just destroy marriages but people as well. I truly believe when you choose your partner above all else and treat them as you'd treat yourself your marriage will succeed

Covenant Marriage

The temple has always been sacred to me growing up.  I was taught I could be married for eternity in the temple. The temple is the lords house and endows members with power from on high. I loved Bruce Hafens talk covenant marriage and how he described the differences of contract and covenant marriage. Contract marriage is  a piece of paper uniting the couple till death due them part while a covenant marriage is eternal. He also decsribed  a couple might begin a contract marriage but can turn it into a covenant marriage through faith, obedenice and sacrifice.The attitudes toward contract marriage is different from the attitudes regarding eternal marriage. People think that they can enter into a marriage and end it at will. They do what feels good for a time then move on to somethng different. Some might say well if it doesn't work out we will just get a divorce. They expect to divorce at some point because that is what is happening in the world. Marriages crumble at any given moment so people enter into marriage already thinking to the end. While couples who enter eternal marriages see it as a beginning with no end. They realize marriage is hard but are committed to making last. They see getting married as a privialge, blessing, they revere marriage. When your looking ahead to the end, you sabatoge yourself and the marrage for in your heart its already over. 
Single, married, young or old the temple is open for any worthy member seeking further enlightenment on their journey. The more you learn of the temple the more you learn of the eternal marriage relationship. Growing up getting married in the temple was my fairytale. Just having the knowledge marriage can be forever comforted me when those closest to me were divorcing. To the lord there is no higher honor than a family sealed through the holy priesthod.I had the privilage to witness a sealing or temple marriage ceremony and it truly was the most beautfiul thing I had ever witnessed. The couple getting married had prepared themselves phycially spiritually to be joined forever and neither of them were thinking about getting out of it. God was with this couple throughout the whole ceremony everyone could feel him there. We truly saw a gilmspe of heaven that day witnessing the love the couple shared for each other and the lord. The lord truly blessed this couple and approved their marriage. God is doing the same for all his children all around the world who are entering eternal marriages. That experience made me want a sealing of my own just as powerful as this couples were and we can attain that if we are faithful.
 When we gain a true understanding of this principle we can  get a small glimpse into the love god has for his children.There is no higher honor, or calling, nothing more sacred,pure, noble, than being sealed in the temple for eternity for when we do that we put ourselves in gods hands and we will never let us fall

same sex marriage

But as Elder Dallin H. Oaks has observed, “Tolerance does not require abandoning one’s standards or one’s opinions on political or public policy choices. Tolerance is a way of reacting to diversity, not a command to insulate it from examination.”

 I undertand that everyone has right to express their opnions or belief but when you try to force it on others it becomes a problem. Marriage is between a man and woman as declared by God. Woman and men were created to be together, not man with man or woman with woman. Yes everyone has the right to express their belief but redefining marriage to fit the new norm will only hurt society in the long run. The sacredness of marriage will be lost as will the religous freedom. I don't want anyone to face discrimination or persecution for living their beliefs or being different but in my heart I know its not right. We need to uphold Gods law while being kind and repsectful to those who don't share beliefs. I personally fear Gods wrath more than societies so I will uphold Gods commandments to fight for traditional marriage and family

Meaning of marriage

WEEK 01 DISCUSSION BOARD

---

Note: Creation of Groups

This course is organized in a way that you are able to regularly interact with others within a small group of approximately five class members. In fact, when you post comments to discussion board, these comments will be distributed to others within your small group. For the sake of maximizing learning, you are strongly encouraged to get to know others within your group and to be a contributing and cooperative member by looking for little ways to contribute to the learning of others. This is the Spirit of BYU-Idaho and is consistent with the learning model.

Group assignments will be randomly created in Week 1. In order to provide an opportunity for you to work with a larger number of students within the class, the groups will dissolve and new groups will be randomly re-created near the midterm of the semester (beginning of Week 7). Once again, when the new groups are created, please make the effort to get to know other group members. Doing so is a demonstration of charity. Also, keep in mind that during Week 6 and Week 12, you will evaluate the quality of discussion board posts of other group members, as mentioned in the syllabus.

Discussion Board Posts

The purpose of the discussion board is to provide a setting where students can submit and react to one another’s posts, in preparation for submitting a post to one’s personal, online marriage blog. Think of the discussion board as the work room where students teach one another and work together in order to increase the depth of learning and to prepare blogs that will help strengthen marriages. The discussion board is one of the primary learning tools for this course. Hopefully students will use it for its intended purpose. The effectiveness of the discussion board is dependent on the quality of interactions among students within a given group.

At the beginning of Week 1, students will be assigned to a group of approximately five students. Near the midterm of the semester the old groups will be dissolved and students will once again be assigned to a new group at the beginning of Week 7. This will provide an opportunity for students to work within two different groups during the course of the semester.

Initial Post: Due by Wednesday before 11:59 PM – As noted above, the rough draft of your post for your marriage blog is to be submitted to the discussion board no later than Wednesday evening. You will want to give group members as much time as possible to react to your post, so if possible submit it before Wednesday evening.

Second Post: Due by Friday before 11:59 PM - After the initial post of your rough draft, you are to read the rough draft posts from at least three other group members and react to what they have written. You are encouraged to respond by: posing good questions that further learning, sharing thoughts from a different perspective, building upon the comments of others, sharing an example that illustrates a principle or concept discussed by another member, sharing thoughts on how a principle could be applied, or by linking the comments of other group members to class readings or ideas learned in other classes. You are responsible to help other group members to create a blog that contains in-depth thoughts and is as polished and possible. Along with reacting to content, your efforts will be appreciated by group members if you point out errors in punctuation, grammar, sentence structure, etc. Especially pay attention to the context of what is written. Do the explanations from other students make sense and do they provide the background information needed to understand the principles?

Evaluation of Discussion Board Posts

Two times during the semester, your discussion board posts will be anonymously evaluated by your peers in your group using the "Discussion Board Grading Rubric," which is to be completed through I-Learn. This rubric is posted on I-Learn under “Discussion Board Peer Review” in weeks 6 and 12. You are entrusted to be honest in your evaluations. Assigning a student higher marks than what a student has earned not only does a particular student a disservice, but is dishonest. Moreover, inflated peer evaluations that are obviously out of touch with the quality of work of peers will negatively affect an evaluator’s grade. In short, you are expected to be honest in your evaluations of peers.

Peer evaluations will be based on the following criteria: (Worth 24 points each; 48 points total)

• Preparation: It is evident the student studied the assigned preparation material and was fully prepared to contribute to the learning of others and did not "wing it."
• Consistency: This group member consistently posted the rough draft of his/her blog to the discussion board by Wednesday, at the latest. Moreover, this group member consistently reacted to three group members’ posts per week and did so by Friday evening, at the latest.
• Depth of Feedback: Frank, in-depth feedback was given. The feedback helped group members to think more deeply about their written comments and to articulate their thoughts in a concise, logical, and persuasive manner. The feedback also focused on helping group members provide the context or background information so that posts would make sense to those who were unfamiliar with the content of the course.
• Helpfulness: This group member was genuinely interested in helping others improve their blogs. This member was patient, positive, and demonstrated charity through a willingness to go the extra mile to help other group members.

Sheri Manley  (4 replies) 4/27/2015 4:08 PM Blog post rough draft ... Reply

• Jenni Northcutt  (2 replies) 4/28/2015 9:19 PM Sheri ... Reply Edit

• Sandy Gage (New)4/30/2015 2:40 AM Sheri, I love how you state your convictions ... Reply

Jenni Northcutt  (5 replies) 4/28/2015 8:13 PM Marriage post rough draft  What does marriage mean to you? To the world marriage is a civil contract between two people untiting their assets and name, all they are combined. To others its a buisness transaction or investment for financial benefit. Still for some a simple certifcate verifiying their relationship. Some people don't believe in marriage at all. There are so many definitons, ideas, opinions, relating to marriage that It can be easy to be confused. So when your confused where do you go for clarity and truth you go to God for he is all truth. God has declared that marriage between a man and women is ordained of God, for the purpose of rearing children in a righteous family. He has declared that marriage is eternal, that we can be with our family for all ways.To God marriage and family is his greatest gift to his children for its his posterity. You could say we are Gods legacy, those who come after to represent him and his principles. So in that thinking what better way to represent himself with righteous sons and daughters living Godly lives raising children in loving and happy homes? For God is love and marriage and family are principles of love, faith and sacrifiice. I come from a divorced family and  was exposed to the fact that sometimes divorce is whats best for your family I know for my family this was the case. Every situation is different but God knows our needs and situation and will be there to help us. All you do is the best you can and to God that is enough.What doesn't happen in this life can be achieved in the next life if we faithfully endure. I know for me marriage us a sacred union between a man and woman for the purpose of raising a righteous family. Marriage is always having someone on yourside to love you, encourage you, support you. The promise that your never alone. Marriage is where you learn to love as God loves, to learn Gods ways, to serve as God serves, to live as christ lived.  Marriage is for us to recieve all that God has.  I make no judgements or condem anyone on their beliefs or practices regarding marriage. I simply share my beliefs in the hope to inspire all who reads this post. Thank you for reading

Darkness from light

I watched a mormon message where there was a quote that stated darkness and light can't occupay the same space at the same time.  That pharse hasn't left my mind my mind as I studied the assignment this week. I guess it was a light bulb moment, I always thought light came first because God created it first and then darkness was just there as opposite counter point. I never put much thought to it honestly, the scriptures say God separated the light from the darkness and I left it at that but there is so much more. Yes I realized Christ symbolized the light for he is the light of world leading way back to him. I also got to thinking about how light and darkness makes me feel.  Now I know its not the same for everyone im sharing my perspective. Light is comforting, reassuring, I can see where Im going and where Ive been. Light is clean, pure, happy. Darkness is mysterious, cold, threatening, overwhelming, concealing, shameful, scary. So its clear their opposites serving different purposes.I realized those purposes are to teach us what wrong and right feel like. We need to know the differences between right and wong aka christ and satan. Christ is the light shining over us in our lifes journey. Sometimes in life our lights go out and are surrounded in darkness that is when we turn to christ to lead us out of the darkness and helps us refill our lamps. So yes in this life we need both light and darkness but we can choose which one we allow into our lives and hearts and rely on christ when we are overshadowed by darkneshttps://youtu.be/Aup9M5HZawI is the video address please watch

Preparing our spiritual weapns Jarom 1-9

1 Now behold, I, Jarom, write a few words according to the commandment of my father, Enos, that our genealogy may be kept.
2 And as these plates are small, and as these things are written for the intent of the benefit of our brethren the Lamanites, wherefore, it must needs be that I write a little; but I shall not write the things of my prophesying, nor of my revelations. For what could I write more than my fathers have written? For have not they revealed the plan of salvation? I say unto you, Yea; and this sufficeth me.
3 Behold, it is expedient that much should be done among this people, because of the hardness of their hearts, and the deafness of their ears, and the blindness of their minds, and the stiffness of their necks; nevertheless, God is exceedingly merciful unto them, and has not as yet swept them off from the face of the land.
4 And there are many among us who have many revelations, for they are not all stiffnecked. And as many as are not stiffnecked and have faith, have communion with the Holy Spirit, which maketh manifest unto the children of men, according to their faith.
5 And now, behold, two hundred years had passed away, and the people of Nephi had waxed strong in the land. They observed to keep the law of Moses and the sabbath day holy unto the Lord. And they profaned not; neither did they blaspheme. And the laws of the land were exceedingly strict.
6 And they were scattered upon much of the face of the land, and the Lamanites also. And they were exceedingly more numerous than were they of the Nephites; and they loved murder and would drink the blood of beasts.
7 And it came to pass that they came many times against us, the Nephites, to battle. But our kings and our leaders were mighty men in the faith of the Lord; and they taught the people the ways of the Lord; wherefore, we withstood the Lamanites and swept them away out of our lands, and began to fortify our cities, or whatsoever place of our inheritance.
8 And we multiplied exceedingly, and spread upon the face of the land, and became exceedingly rich in gold, and in silver, and in precious things, and in fine workmanship of wood, in buildings, and in machinery, and also in iron and copper, and brass and steel, making all manner of tools of every kind to till the ground, and weapons of war—yea, the sharp pointed arrow, and the quiver, and the dart, and the javelin, and all preparations for war.
9 And thus being prepared to meet the Lamanites, they did not prosper against us. But the word of the Lord was verified, which he spake unto our fathers, saying that: Inasmuch as ye will keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land. I love these scriptures because it tells us how the nephites beat the lamanites but the reciepe on how to spiritually prepare for adversity or temptation. 1. obedience to Gods commandments. 2- industralized the land by building buildings, farms, fortress of defense. 3. Made weapons of war. 4. Listened and obeyed to their spiritual leaders. 5. Prepared for the worst while expecting the best. The nephites put the lord first in all things and trusted in the lords promise he made to their fathers and so when lamanites came to battle they were ready spiritually and temporally. Today we can follow their example by living by faith.we don't have to do anything spectalur all we need to do is put the lord first. We need to not only read the scriptures but follow their example of faith and obedience. The more time we spent following the gospel the more prepared we will be spiritually and temporally. its doing the everyday things like obedience to the lords commandments, listening and following the prophet and apostles, read our scriptures, fulifll our callings faithfully, create a christ centered home, daily prayer and fasting. preparing for the worst while expecting the best. My list sounds similar to Jaroms list because its the same doctrine being taught just to a different generation. The gospel is the same in every generation and if we believe in ourselves and trust in the lord we can achieve miracles wrought by faith. I know these scriptures are true and that the doctrine taught is true and for us to learn from. I know not everyone reading this shares my faith but I just want to testify of Christ and enourage those who read this post feel the love the savior has for them because he does love us all. Thank you for reading