2 Corinthians 2:1-11 Forgiveness
This week, I studied 2 Corinthians 2:1-11 and also read in Matthew 6:14-15 and D&C 64:9-10.These verses teach of the importance of forgiving others and that as we forgive others, we will be forgiven of our sins. It is the Lord that has the right to condemn, but we are required to forgive all men-if not, then we are condemned.
The people of Corinth were commanded to forgive those that had caused grief. The blessings we receive when we forgive is peace and love in our hearts toward those who have wronged us. Also, as we cause others grief, we are forgiven.The danger in failing to forgive is that we can become bitter and we actually cause those who have trespassed against us to be hindered in their progress. C Max Caldwell and Leun G. Otten discussed this danger, “When we take the position of withholding forgiveness from our fellow men, we are attempting to block his progress towards salvation. This position is … not Christlike. We are endeavoring to impede the progress of a living soul and deny him the forgiving blessings of the atonement. This philosophy is saturated with impure motives that are designed to destroy the soul”.One other important point to remember is that when we don't forgive, it remains in us and we become greater of a greater sin-that of an unforgiving heart.
A great book that has helped me understand this principle better is "The Peace Giver" by James L. Ferrell. Also, there is a beautiful portrait that depicts the true nature and meaning of forgiveness by Greg Olsen. It has also helped remind me of the importance of forgiveness. The fact is, If we don't forgive, then we allow Satan to win, not once but twice, or multiple times if many take offense and keep it in their hearts. We need to understand that this is just one of the ways Satan seeks to mislead us. Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said: “Satan’s most strenuous opposition is directed at whatever is most important to the Father’s plan. Satan seeks to discredit the Savior and divine authority, to nullify the effects of the Atonement, to counterfeit revelation, to lead people away from the truth, to contradict individual accountability, to confuse gender, to undermine marriage, and to discourage childbearing (especially by parents who will raise children in righteousness)” (“The Great Plan of Happiness,” Ensign, Nov. 1993, 72).
There are so many aspects of the Atonement, but one that I have learned well is that we can rely on His strength in the Atonement because He knows our pain and suffering when others have wronged us. One thing that has comforted me and was something that helped me in my last steps in the process of forgiveness (for I have learned that it truly is a process depending on the severity of the grievance)during one of the greatest painful times in my life was that if those who wrong you and repent, ( or don't repent) don't or are not able to restore completely that which they destroyed and took from you, He will Atone for them and you are given back all that was taken through Christ. He will repay you. I don't know about you, but I find that amazing and wonderful. It gives hope and faith and fills me with great joy to know that He will bless me with all I lost and more as I remain true and faithful to Him. I love my Savior and can testify of the truths found in these scriptures. I have found a greater capacity to love as I have been able to forgive especially those who have trespassed against me.
Saturday, March 14, 2015
Saturday, March 7, 2015
New Testament Studies on Increasing Attributes of Being a True Disciple of Christ.
So, Apparently, I started this blog as an assignment in one of my courses the first year I started college, and forgot all about it! Now, as another assignment for another course in another college (as I have since graduated form the previous one-that's how long ago it was), I am making a new post to my recently discovered blog.
I am reading the New Testament in my religious course and have written a list of attributes I derived from the Apostle Paul that he counseled members to improve, being disciples of Christ in His church:
1 Thessalonians 3:12-13; 4:1-12; 5:1-22; 2 Thessalonians 3:1-6,11
- Increase and abound in love one to another and all men (continued spiritual growth and improvement more and more in efforts to please God)
A quote from Henry B. Eyring tells us how important this principle is in our day: “As the forces around us increase in intensity, whatever spiritual strength was once sufficient will not be enough. And whatever growth in spiritual strength we once thought was possible, greater growth will be made available to us. Both the need for spiritual strength and the opportunity to acquire it will increase at rates which we underestimate at our peril” (
- Have hearts "...unblameable in holiness before God..." and separate ourselves from unholy and unclean things.
This comes through our efforts and God's work of purifying our hearts: “Holiness … comes by faith and through obedience to God’s laws and ordinances. God then purifies the heart by faith, and the heart becomes purged from that which is profane and unworthy” (“Standing in Holy Places,”Ensign or Liahona, May 2005, 62).
- We need to be chaste and “abstain from fornication,” “possess [their] vessel” (control their bodies), and choose not to give in to “lust of concupiscence” (lustful passions).
I found this excellent quote from Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles which stated: “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a single, undeviating standard of sexual morality: intimate relations are proper only between a man and a woman in the marriage relationship prescribed in God’s plan. Such relations are not merely a curiosity to be explored, an appetite to be satisfied, or a type of recreation or entertainment to be pursued selfishly. They are not a conquest to be achieved or simply an act to be performed. Rather, they are in mortality one of the ultimate expressions of our divine nature and potential and a way of strengthening emotional and spiritual bonds between husband and wife. We are agents blessed with moral agency and are defined by our divine heritage as children of God—and not by sexual behaviors, contemporary attitudes, or secular philosophies” (“We Believe in Being Chaste,” Ensign orLiahona, May 2013, 42).
What I really liked about this quote is that it reflects my own thoughts and feelings on the matter and refutes any and all attempts and explanations of deviating from this standard. What people don't get in this sex saturated world is that by living a lower standard and law, they are missing out on a very sacred powerful aspect of sexual relations. Only in and through marriage can it be achieved.It is the true ultimate experience that those who participate in any version other than God's appointed plan seem to be seeking, searching, and chasing around and around with insatiable appetites always missing the mark, getting further and further from it.Only to find themselves empty, lonely, and wanting-even as they are enraptured in their newest and latest escapade.What is this ultimate experience you ask? It is the fusion of all aspects of this most wonderful, God inspired sexual intimacy, in the ultimate spiritual, emotional, and physical expression and bonding that can only be achieved through God's approval.The key, the missing element, the very thing that cannot be present to achieve this when not used in God's way or for self gratifying purposes is the spiritual aspect. It can only be through and by giving of oneself - in marriage- as man and wife ultimately come together to serve one another and have their hearts unified with love and sacrifice, and centered on Christ.
-Live a quiet life serving and communing with God.
Elder Bruce D. Porter of the Seventy taught: “Personal prayer, study, and pondering are vital to the building up of the kingdom within our own souls. It is in quiet moments of contemplation and communion with the Almighty that we come to know and love Him as our Father” (“Building the Kingdom,” Ensign, May 2001, 81).
-Don't meddle in other's lives needlessly
-Work with your own hands and be honest, don't be dependent on others for that which you are capable of doing yourself.
-We must honor others and not take advantage or wrong them, don't render evil for evil only follow that which is good.
-Pray without ceasing and rejoice.
-In everything give thanks.
- We need to stay in the light of the Gospel and not the darkness and drunkeness of the world, watch and be sober. Be ready ( not waiting to prepare), paying heed to the words of Christ and his apostles for Christ's Second Coming will be at a time when many will not be ready for it.
- Have on the Breast Plate of Faith and the Helmet of Hope.
-"Know and "esteem" leaders in the church and sustain them.
-"Quench not the Spirit" Elder David A. Bednar states that we should avoid activities that will drive the spirit away:
I am reading the New Testament in my religious course and have written a list of attributes I derived from the Apostle Paul that he counseled members to improve, being disciples of Christ in His church:
1 Thessalonians 3:12-13; 4:1-12; 5:1-22; 2 Thessalonians 3:1-6,11
- Increase and abound in love one to another and all men (continued spiritual growth and improvement more and more in efforts to please God)
A quote from Henry B. Eyring tells us how important this principle is in our day: “As the forces around us increase in intensity, whatever spiritual strength was once sufficient will not be enough. And whatever growth in spiritual strength we once thought was possible, greater growth will be made available to us. Both the need for spiritual strength and the opportunity to acquire it will increase at rates which we underestimate at our peril” (
- Have hearts "...unblameable in holiness before God..." and separate ourselves from unholy and unclean things.
This comes through our efforts and God's work of purifying our hearts: “Holiness … comes by faith and through obedience to God’s laws and ordinances. God then purifies the heart by faith, and the heart becomes purged from that which is profane and unworthy” (“Standing in Holy Places,”Ensign or Liahona, May 2005, 62).
- We need to be chaste and “abstain from fornication,” “possess [their] vessel” (control their bodies), and choose not to give in to “lust of concupiscence” (lustful passions).
I found this excellent quote from Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles which stated: “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a single, undeviating standard of sexual morality: intimate relations are proper only between a man and a woman in the marriage relationship prescribed in God’s plan. Such relations are not merely a curiosity to be explored, an appetite to be satisfied, or a type of recreation or entertainment to be pursued selfishly. They are not a conquest to be achieved or simply an act to be performed. Rather, they are in mortality one of the ultimate expressions of our divine nature and potential and a way of strengthening emotional and spiritual bonds between husband and wife. We are agents blessed with moral agency and are defined by our divine heritage as children of God—and not by sexual behaviors, contemporary attitudes, or secular philosophies” (“We Believe in Being Chaste,” Ensign orLiahona, May 2013, 42).
What I really liked about this quote is that it reflects my own thoughts and feelings on the matter and refutes any and all attempts and explanations of deviating from this standard. What people don't get in this sex saturated world is that by living a lower standard and law, they are missing out on a very sacred powerful aspect of sexual relations. Only in and through marriage can it be achieved.It is the true ultimate experience that those who participate in any version other than God's appointed plan seem to be seeking, searching, and chasing around and around with insatiable appetites always missing the mark, getting further and further from it.Only to find themselves empty, lonely, and wanting-even as they are enraptured in their newest and latest escapade.What is this ultimate experience you ask? It is the fusion of all aspects of this most wonderful, God inspired sexual intimacy, in the ultimate spiritual, emotional, and physical expression and bonding that can only be achieved through God's approval.The key, the missing element, the very thing that cannot be present to achieve this when not used in God's way or for self gratifying purposes is the spiritual aspect. It can only be through and by giving of oneself - in marriage- as man and wife ultimately come together to serve one another and have their hearts unified with love and sacrifice, and centered on Christ.
-Live a quiet life serving and communing with God.
Elder Bruce D. Porter of the Seventy taught: “Personal prayer, study, and pondering are vital to the building up of the kingdom within our own souls. It is in quiet moments of contemplation and communion with the Almighty that we come to know and love Him as our Father” (“Building the Kingdom,” Ensign, May 2001, 81).
-Don't meddle in other's lives needlessly
-Work with your own hands and be honest, don't be dependent on others for that which you are capable of doing yourself.
-We must honor others and not take advantage or wrong them, don't render evil for evil only follow that which is good.
-Pray without ceasing and rejoice.
-In everything give thanks.
- We need to stay in the light of the Gospel and not the darkness and drunkeness of the world, watch and be sober. Be ready ( not waiting to prepare), paying heed to the words of Christ and his apostles for Christ's Second Coming will be at a time when many will not be ready for it.
- Have on the Breast Plate of Faith and the Helmet of Hope.
-"Know and "esteem" leaders in the church and sustain them.
-"Quench not the Spirit" Elder David A. Bednar states that we should avoid activities that will drive the spirit away:
“If something we think, see, hear, or do distances us from the Holy Ghost, then we should stop thinking, seeing, hearing, or doing that thing. If that which is intended to entertain, for example, alienates us from the Holy Spirit, then certainly that type of entertainment is not for us. Because the Spirit cannot abide that which is vulgar, crude, or immodest, then clearly such things are not for us. Because we estrange the Spirit of the Lord when we engage in activities we know we should shun, then such things definitely are not for us.
“… As we become ever more immersed in the Spirit of the Lord, we should strive to recognize impressions when they come and the influences or events that cause us to withdraw ourselves from the Holy Ghost” (“That We May Always Have His Spirit to Be with Us,”Ensign or Liahona, May 2006, 30).
-Keep the peace
-Be patient towards all men and serve and comf0rt others, warning those that are out of line.
- “prove all things”—meaning to distinguish between good and evil—and to “hold fast that which is good”
-“Abstain from All Appearance of Evil”
This exerpt is from the Institute New Testament Manual: "... or in other words, from all “kinds” of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22, footnote b). Church officials have also used 1 Thessalonians 5:22 to teach that we should avoid appearing as though we are doing something evil. For example, President James E. Faust taught: “I strongly urge you that if there is any question in your minds or hearts about whether your personal conduct is right or wrong, don’t do it. It is the responsibility of the prophets of God to teach the word of God, not to spell out every jot and tittle of human conduct. If we are conscientiously trying to avoid not only evil but the very appearance of evil, we will act for ourselves and not be acted upon” (“The Devil’s Throat,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2003, 51). Paul offered similar counsel in 1 Corinthians 8:9–13.
I can testify of the truths of the importance of avoiding the presence of evil. When others question what I mean, I am always trying to explain it to them in such a way that they can understand that even though something is innocent enough or you mean no wrong by it, the potential can be there for false interpretation or become a slippery slope or others walk away confused, etc. the possibilities are endless. I am glad I can share these scriptures and counsel from the church leaders to back me up.
Well that was a very long list of attributes and may seem like a tall order as saints to follow, but if we just reach out our hand to Christ and come unto Him, he will lift us and strengthen us as we follow Him and His example. We will find as we do this that we will in deed be able to "increase and abound" in all these attributes more and more.
I am going to choose three of these attributes to work on for the next six weeks and report my experiences as I "increase" and improve myself so I will be more prepared for the Second Coming of my Savior.
1. Continued spiritual growth through showing more love and charity to those around me and studying my scriptures consistently.
2. In the words of a Hymn, "More holiness Give Me"! I will work on having greater personal purity by increasing my faith and obedience to Gods laws and commandments.
3. "Quench not the Spirit" - I will strive to keep the spirit with me and in the home by listening and playing hymns more often, having regular prayer and scriptures personally and with the family, and recognize impressions from the spirit when they come.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
I'm sick, no more allnighters for homework!
Well,I was able to catch up on week 2 assignments. I'm almost done with week 3, but I'm stuck on a few assignments so I have to figure those out. Wish me luck! Actually, I'm pretty proud of myself that I've gotten so far. I've been sick since tuesday. I haven't been this sick since... well I don't remember it's been so long.If I don't get them done I'm not going to stress about it though. I already did that last week when I pulled two allnighters working on computer assignments the two nights before I got sick. I won't do that again! Last term , the best time for me to study was while my kids were asleep between 8-12 at night. With this class it's hard to get help that late.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
To answer the question whether or not I understand what I'm doing I would say no, but on second thought, I realize I understand!The part that's frustrating me is it takes me forever to get through a lesson because I'll get stuck on one task after another. The task itself isn't difficult, it's trying to remeber what I learned or fixing what I did by clickng on something wrong or it not doing or going to what the book says it should!I have spent way too long on all the assignments except this one,which is my favorite because it's something I can do without messing up....I hope!?!I'd estimate that I've spent between 20 & 30 hours this week working on this course and I've only submitted two assignments so far including this one.I am determined to figure things out so I'm not spending so much time though.
As far as my personal life goes, I've got tickets to the TVCC men's basktball game so I'm taking my son. Whoo hoo!
As far as my personal life goes, I've got tickets to the TVCC men's basktball game so I'm taking my son. Whoo hoo!
Sunday, January 10, 2010
online precautions
I don't know a lot about computers or the internet. I'm always saying ,"computers & me don't mix!". It has definitely proven true for me this week! I've never used microsoft office either. I need all the help I can get. when ever I try to use the computer something either goes wrong or I get stuck. It takes me longer to do things or find things on the internet than it does to do it the old fashioned way!
I didn't even know cyberbullies existed! when I read the article I tried to understand how someone could bully you that wasn't in plain sight. It wasn't until the end when it gave examples of different ways to be bullied that I understood. I geuss that makes sense.It turns out I've been cyberbullied and didn't even know it! Now that I'm aware, I'll be able to talk to my children about it and give them precautions to take.
I do know about online predators though. thats why I won't let my chidren go on social networking sights at all until they are teenagers. I think I'm more cautious because I don't know about them that much. Since reading the article I'm glad I stood my ground. I think I'll have them read these articles.
I didn't even know cyberbullies existed! when I read the article I tried to understand how someone could bully you that wasn't in plain sight. It wasn't until the end when it gave examples of different ways to be bullied that I understood. I geuss that makes sense.It turns out I've been cyberbullied and didn't even know it! Now that I'm aware, I'll be able to talk to my children about it and give them precautions to take.
I do know about online predators though. thats why I won't let my chidren go on social networking sights at all until they are teenagers. I think I'm more cautious because I don't know about them that much. Since reading the article I'm glad I stood my ground. I think I'll have them read these articles.
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