The Beatitudes

This week we studied the Sermon on the Mount and my assignment here is to select three of the beatitudes to write about.

Here's a video presentation of the beatitudes to get us started.




Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness

I often find that I get lazy in my spiritual life, but whenever I recommit myself and study more, I feel the floodgates open and the blessings rain upon me.  This week, as I have put my studies first, I have found that I was excited and happy to be reading my scriptures.  I hungered to learn more. As I read, I gained new insight and felt like I had greater comprehension.  Not only did I feel the blessings in my studies, but I also found that I was able to easily accomplish the rest of the tasks in my life.

Blessed Are they Which Are Persecuted

One of the defining moments in my spiritual life was when I was "persecuted" for my beliefs.  Before that moment, I studied and I believed, but at that moment I knew deep within my heart what I truly believed.  My testimony burned stronger than at any other time in my life.  From that time on, I have never had any doubts and I have been able to consistently learn and grow in the gospel.

Blessed Are the Merciful

I have often noticed that as I study and reflect upon how blessed we are and how much Heavenly Father loves us, I am more merciful and understanding of those around me.  I feel like I recognize the divine qualities about them and recognize that they are Heavenly Father's children too.  He cares for and loves them just as much as He loves me. 

The Baptism of Jesus Christ

This week we studied the Baptism of Jesus Christ.

I think this is the first time that I really contemplated what it must have felt like to be John.  He spent his life preaching of Christ and preparing people to accept the Savior when He came.  Then Christ asks John to baptize Him?  Why would Christ need John to baptize Him?  Why would Christ need to be baptized at all?

In 2 Nephi 31:6-11 we learn that Christ was baptized so that

·      He could humble himself before the Father

·      He could witness to the Father that he was obedient in keeping the commandments.

·      To provide an example to the children of men.

As we study the baptism of Jesus Christ, not only do we get to see the importance of baptism and the proper way to baptize, but we also get the opportunity to learn about the nature of God and the role of Christ, the Holy Ghost and God.

In Mathew 3:16-17 we learn that Christ was on earth, in physical form and was baptized.  As he arose from the waters, John witnessed that the Holy Ghost descended and he heard God proclaim that Christ was His son. Each member of the Godhead showed themselves to be a separate personage.

Intro

As I continue my studies at BYUI, I am finding that I need a place to share some of my assignments.  Part of the BYUI learning model is to "Teach One Another."  In keeping with that portion of the learning model, we are often required to share the things we have learned with others.  Rather than mix these posts in with my regular blog posts, I thought I'd set up a separate blog.

So here we go!