For My Profit and Learning

Jesus taught pragmatism and flexibility in keeping the commandments. When he was criticized for picking grain to eat on the sabbath, he offered an example from the life of King David eating sacred shew bread when he was hungry, and the analogy of priests laboring in their temple duties on the Sabbath to illustrate how there may be exceptions to certain religious rules under extenuative circumstances (Matthew 12:4-6).  When Jesus was asked if it was lawful to heal on the Sabbath, he used an analogy of a sheep that has fallen in a pit to imply that there is a hierarchy among the commandments of God, and that procedural aspects of the law should not get in the way of higher spiritual priorities. Over the last few years I've had a number of opportunities to interpret for  Elder Peter F. Meurs  of the Asia Area Presidency while he has conducted training sessions for Bishops and Stake Presidents in Taiwan. I have heard him apply this principle to helping new and retur...

Even after the miraculous experience of baptizing Jesus recorded in  Matthew 3, in Matthew 11 it seems that John the Baptist was unsure that Jesus was indeed the promised Messiah. John was imprisoned by Herod, but sent two of his disciples to ask Jesus, " Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?" (Matthew 11:3). At this point I would have thought it would be obvious to John the Jesus was indeed the Christ. John who had seen the Spirit descend like a dove and heard the voice of Heavenly Father testify of Christ's divinity. Perhaps something about being in  prison prompted John's need for additional certainty and renewed hope in a bleak circumstance. Mercifully, Jesus answered and said to the disciples of John, "Go and shew John again those  things  which ye do hear and see" (Matthew 11:4). Without the slightest hesitation or chastisement Jesus offered John the added witness he desired. He showed him agai...

Christ sent his apostles into the world, and " he gave them  power  against   unclean spirits , to cast them out, and to  heal  all manner of  sickness  and all manner of disease" (Matthew 10:1). But the scope of their initial calling was limited. They were called to preach to and bless the tiniest sliver of God's children on the earth at that time, let alone all God's children who have ever lived. Christ told them,  " Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into   any   city of the   Samaritans   enter ye not:  But go rather to the   lost   sheep  of the house of Israel" (Matthew 10:5-6). Why would God limit the blessings of his apostles to such a small subset of His children. He loves all of His children equally and infinitely. We all have need of His love and healing.  When we are absolutely certain that an end state will be reached, we are not in a hurry to get there. Knowing that a goal is a...

Each year at Easter Bren and I celebrate by recording our testimonies of Jesus Christ. Each year they are different and each year brings out new depth and nuance to the reality of His life and the miracle of His atonement.  This year as I taught our children more about Jesus and the events that took place during the last week of His mortal ministry, I was acutely aware of how willingly they believed what I was teaching them. They accepted as absolute truth the paintings I showed them, the stories I told them, and the video representations we watched together. The weight of my role as a parental gave me pause as I considered the impact these teachings would have on their lives. How can I be sure that what I am teaching them is true? Parents tell their children half truths all the time without any dire ramifications. The Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, Leprechauns, and the Elf on the Shelf are all innocent enough. But for a moment I thought, "What if none of this ...

How interesting that when Christ encountered a man with palsy his first inclination was to forgive his sins. He didn't heal his body right away. Christ saw the greater need to forgive the man's sins and taught the implicit lesson that our sprits are more important than our bodies. Our bodies are an essential part of our eternal nature, but they are only tools. One of the main purposes of our bodies is to give us something tangible to learn with. Our bodies offer thousands of visceral experiences that serve as metaphors to teach and train us. What we do with our bodies matters because it shapes and coaches our spirit.  There are numerous passages in the scriptures that emphasize the importance of our spiritual dimension over our physical.  After speaking to the Pharisees about the outmoded dietary restrictions of the Law of Moses, Jesus explained to his disciples that  " whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man,   it  cannot defile him;...

A Leper When Christ healed a leper, the leper did not come to Christ with a question, but a statement, and Christ's response, in turn, was not an answer, but an instruction. From this small exchange we can learn about the power of faith, and the responsibility we have in being made clean. Matthew records, " And, behold, there came a   leper   and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.  And Jesus put forth   his   hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was  cleansed' (Matthew 8:2-3).  Jesus healed a physical ailment, but the same process applies to our spiritual illnesses. The leper worshiped Christ and expressed his confidence in Christ's ability to heal him. When I pray for forgiveness, or ask for spiritual or temporal blessings I must sound pretty whiney by contrast. I usually just repeat my request over and over over the course of days. Instead the leper ...