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