Abide in the Doctrine of Christ

Christmas is rapidly approaching. I am so excited for the opportunities I get to share with my families.

1.    Read 2 John 1:7 and the institute student manual commentary for 2 John 7, “For Many Deceivers Are Entered into the World” (p. 437). Summarize in one or two paragraphs the false doctrine John warned against, where it came from, and what effect it would have if it were believed.

John was warning us about anti-Christs. That means those people who profess that Christ is not real. They were around in his day as well as ours. We know that Christ has come in the flesh and has sacrificed himself for us and with this knowledge we can be saved at the last days.

2.    Read 2 John 1:8–13. Write one or two sentences explaining what counsel John gave that could help avoid this and other false doctrines generally.

John teaches us that if we follow the counsel of the Gospel of Jesus Christ we will have God with us, and the Spirit will allow us to know what is right.

A Peculiar People

Sorry this is so late. Thanksgiving was great. I got to spend some time with family, but I forgot about this post so here is is now.

1.  Let's read 1 Peter 2:9–10, including footnote f  and also read the institute student manual commentary for 1 Peter 2:9, “What Is the Meaning of the Phrase ‘a Peculiar People’?” (pp. 416–17) and commentary for 1 Peter 2:9, “What Is a Royal Priesthood?” (p. 417). Write a brief definition of the following phrases:

o       Chosen generation

  A chosen generation means that God has chosen us to be here at this time. Each generation is chosen; this is not to mean that we are not all special in God's eyes, because he did choose us to be here at this time and in this place.

o       Royal priesthood

  A royal priesthood is exactly as it seems. We hold the priesthood of God, and as the manual puts it the king of all kings, thus we are hold a royal priesthood.

o       Holy nation

  A holy nation is one that has been called of God and God wants us to be his.

o       Peculiar people

  I like what President Joseph Fielding Smith had to say on this: "And we will be peculiar because we will not be like other people who do not live up to these standards." We will be Lord's people and this will make us different from other people.

2.  Now lets read 1 Corinthians 6:19–20; Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 1:18–19; Mosiah 3:7; Doctrine and Covenants 18:10–11 and describe the price that was paid to help us become God’s “peculiar people.”

We have been bought with Christ's blood. He suffered everything that we would ever go through in this world and more so that he could know what is like to feel what we feel, so he can relate to us. Finally Christ died for all of us so that we could live again.

3.    Search 1 Peter 1:13–25; 2:1–17; 3:10–11; 4:8; 5:6–8. Make a list of principles that, when followed, help us remain God’s peculiar people.

• Obedience
• Be holy
• Be kind
• Abstain from lusts
• Honor Men
• Love the brotherhood
• Honor the King
• Speak no evil
• Charity
• Humility
• Be vigilant

4.    The First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles declared: “By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners” (“The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” Ensign, Nov. 1995, 102). Read 1 Peter 3:1–12 and identify three principles that relate to the statement above.

1. Wife's should be "subject" to husbands (by this I don't mean that they have to take abuse, but follow his counsel as he follows the counsel of God).
2. Husbands honor wives (Should be equal partners).
3. Be ye all of one mind (the family needs to work together and be equal).

Works of Righteousness

Paul concluded his epistle to the Hebrews with some brief teachings and statements of counsel. Read Hebrews 13 and find statements about the following questions:

• How should we treat strangers and those “in bonds”?

Paul says to entertain strangers and those in bonds.

• How is marriage looked upon?

Paul states that marriage is honorable and the bed undefiled

• What warnings are given about covetousness?

The warning is that we need not to covet because the Lord will never leave us.

• What is “the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever”?

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday today and forever

• How are we sanctified?

We are sanctified through the blood of Christ.

• How do we respond to those who rule over us?

We need to obey them that rule over us and to submit ourselves to them.

• Who did Paul ask the people to pray for?

Good conscience, live honestly, 

Jesus Christ is Greater than Angels

This week we are going to be looking into Hebrews 1-2 and we are going to be looking more into Jesus Christ.

1. Lets look at “Epistle to the Hebrews” in the Bible Dictionary under Pauline Epistles (pp. 746–47). Read the first paragraph and the “Analysis of Hebrews,” number 1–5, and we are going to make a list of what Jesus Christ is superior to.

• Sin
• Boasting
• Death
• Comment on this post with some of the ones you found.

2.   Now let's read Hebrews 1 and make a list of three truths Paul taught about the Savior Jesus Christ.

• An appointed heir of all things
• Creator of worlds
• First begotten into the world

3.  And finally lets read Hebrews 2:7–18; 4:13–16; Alma 7:11–15; Doctrine and Covenants 122:8, and describe how these scriptures explain reasons the Son of God came to earth to experience mortality.

• He needed to suffer in order to make perfect our salvation
• To deliver us from bondage
• To succor us
• So that he can relate to us personally

“Be Thou an Example of the Believers”

Alright so this week we are going to be looking into 1 Timothy. We have to remember that Paul wrote this to a person who was already a member of the church and who had great knowledge of the workings of the church. It also appears that Timothy is one of Paul's most trusted friends and companions. 

1. Let's first have a look at 1 Timothy 2:9–10 and describe in writing what Paul said about dress standards. 

Here Paul talks about how we need to be modest in dress (I know he says women, but it can also apply to men). We also don't need to wear all kinds of fancy jewelry and broadcast our wealth.

How does Doctrine and Covenants 61:18, 36 help us understand that what Paul taught applies to both men and women?


It teaches us that we need to warn everyone and encourage everyone to live up to the standards set by the Lord.

Study Moses 6:9; Mosiah 2:37; Alma 41:2. Then list three reasons our bodies could be considered sacred.

• God created us
• God/the prophets refer to them as temples.
• Our bodies will be resurrected 

How does understanding that our bodies are sacred help us know why they should be covered modestly? 

Knowing our bodies are sacred allows us to know where we come from and it helps us to want to cover up our bodies and not show them off to the world. Things that are sacred shouldn't be broadcast about.

What is mentioned in Alma 1:32 that relates to the other concern Paul mentioned about dress? 

Alma mentions that people not of the church at his time wore costly apparel, which in some cases (not all) can lead to other sins.

What can you do to apply these principles in your life?

This is something I want you to think about personally, but as for me, I can remind myself that I don't always have to have the best things, especially when it comes to clothing. I just need to be able to cover everything up.

2.    List the evidences Paul mentioned in 1 Timothy 4:1–5 that an apostasy would not only come in the future, but that some people were already practicing false doctrines:

• Seducing spirits
• Doctrines of devils
• Lies and hypocrisy
• Forbidding to marry
• Abstain from meats

3.    How could Paul’s counsel to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:12 be used to strengthen a new missionary or a young person called to serve in any responsibility?

It can be strengthening because it shows that even though one may be young it doesn't mean that we can't be examples and show the way that we are supposed to live. We don't need to rub it in their faces, but we can just be a quite example.

4.    Review 1 Timothy 6:7–11 and answer the following questions:

• What did Paul teach about the love of money?
• Loving money can lead us to fall into pits of sin
• In what sense is the love of money the “root of all evil”?

• The love of money being the root of all evil is when men seek after money more than they seek after the things of God. It is not a sin to have money, but it is a sin to want money more than God.

5.    What guidelines are given in 1 Timothy 6:17–19 and Jacob 2:18–19 that when followed can help ensure that you do not focus too much on money or material wealth?

Paul teaches us that we need to not lay hold our riches, but lay hold the truths of God and trust in him. He says before that we did not bring anything into this world and we won't be able to bring anything physical out of this world. We also need to lay a sure foundation in Christ and God. We need to seek for God first and then riches. If we seek for riches we need to use them for good.

Becoming New Creatures in Christ

This week we are going to be looking into Paul's letter to the Colossians. There's a lot of good stuff this week, so lets just dive right in.

1. First we are going to make a list of names, titles, and phrases used by Paul in Colossians 1:13–2:7 to describe the Savior. 

• His Son
• The Firstborn of every creature
• The Firstborn of the dead
• the head of the body and the church
• What did Paul teach that Jesus Christ has done for us?
• Paul teaches us that Christ has done everything for us. He created the heavens and the earth, he performed the atonement, he gives us knowledge and wisdom, he gives us the resurrection.
• What do these verses teach about the responsibilities we have to receive the blessings of the Lord?
• The verses teach us that we need to follow the commandments and live up to our covenants in order to receive the blessings promised.

2. Next write Helaman 5:12 next to Colossians 2:7 in the margin of your scriptures (or in the notes section if you are using it online or on your smart phone). After reading these two scriptures, write a paragraph explaining what it means to be “rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith.”

• As we put our faith in Christ we can become strong in our testimony. We don't have to worry about our foundation failing us. I am reminded of a primary song entitled, "The wise man and the foolish man." We learn from this song about a wise man who built his house upon a firm foundation and when the rains came and the floods came his house did not fall; however there was a foolish man who did not build his house on a strong foundation and when the rains came and the floods rose his house was washed away. When temptation and sin come our way, if we have our foundations strong we will not falter.

3. Review Colossians 2:8, 18 and the institute student manual commentary for Colossians 2:18-19, “What does Paul Mean by the Worshiping of Angels?” (p. 345). List at least four means of deception Paul warned the Saints about in Colossae. What does 2 Nephi 9:28-29 add to what Paul warned.

• We can be deceived through philosophy, traditions of men, traditions of the world, and through the pride of the world.
• Nephi adds that we need to be careful of the counsel of the world.

4. Review Colossians 3 and make a list of what we should “put on” and “put off” or “mortify.” Make a chart like the following one and place your findings in the corresponding column:

Things We Should Seek After or “Put On”	Things We Should “Mortify” or “Put Off”
Things above the earth Mercy Kindness Humility Meekness Long suffering Forgiveness Charity Peace Wisdom Gratitude Love	Fornication Uncleanliness Inordinate affection Evil concupiscence Covetousness Idolatry Anger Wrath Malice Blasphemy Filthy communication Lying

5. Review Colossians 3:15-21 and identify in writing several ideas that would help families live in greater harmony. Then answer the following questions in writing:

• What specific counsel did Paul give to children, parents, husbands, and wives?
• Wives love husbands
• Husbands love wives
• Children love and obey parents
• Do all things heartily unto the Lord
• Sing praises together
• Serve Jesus Christ
• What did Paul teach about the importance of hymns?
• Hymns can teach us
• They bring us together as a family
• Give praise unto God

The Gospel of Christ is the Power of God unto Salvation

This week should be pretty awesome. We get to look into Paul's epistle to the Romans.

We are going to go over a few scriptures and look at some of the things in them. 

1.   Lets Review Romans 1:3–4; Luke 1:31–32; 3:23–31. Jesus Christ is both the Son of David and the Son of God because of the way the lineage works. Mary came from the line of Davis as did Joseph, but he was also the Son of God because of how he was born. The Lord should be able to reign both the kingdom of God and the kingdom of David, which is Jerusalem. 

Being the son of David, He was mortal; being the Son of God, He was immortal. Reading John 10:17–18 we learn why it is important the Lord is both mortal and immortal. It was important because it was supposed to be his choice to lay down his life and to die for us and perform the Atonement. 

2.   Now let us Review Romans 1:15–20 and answer the following questions:

o       How did Paul feel about the gospel?

• Paul felt that he should not be ashamed of the gospel. Once converted, he did everything he could to spread the gospel of Christ.

o       In what ways can you show you are not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ?

• I want you to think about this personally. Some things that I thought of are that we can continue to live as an example of Jesus Christ. 

3.    Review Romans 1:21–32. Then respond to the following items:

o       Make a list of the people’s sins by using the verses and the footnotes.

• Vain in their imaginations
• Worshiped images
• Lust
• Homosexuality
• Fornication
• Envy
• Murder
• Deceit
• Covenant breakers

o       Place a checkmark next to the sins on your list that are still a problem today. (This you can do on your own)

o       What reasons were given for why people commit these sins?

• They did not retain God in their knowledge, meaning they did not think about God.

o       What does it mean in verse 25 when Paul said that people “worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator”?

• It means that they did not follow the Spirit but followed the Natural Man.

Forgiveness

Today we are going to talk about forgiveness. We are getting into Paul's epistles to the Corinthians.

Lets review a few scriptures: 2 Corinthians 2:1-11, Matthew 6:14-15, and Doctrine & Covenants 64:9-10.
(Doctrine and Covenants are found the the triple combination of the LDS scriptures or are found online at lds.org/scriptures)

Then lets go over the following questions:

• What were the people of Corinth commanded to do "if any have caused grief?"
• The people of Corinth were commanded to forgive them, and show an increased measure of love and kindness. They/we should also "confirm" our love for them.
• What blessings do we see if we forgive?
• One of the main blessings that we receive from forgiving others is forgiveness ourselves. Heavenly Father will forgive us when we forgive others.
• What is the danger of failing to forgive?
• The dangers are that we will not be forgiven and we will be committing a greater sin than the person who offended us. 

We need to put our trust in the Lord and forgive others, even when it seems like a really hard thing to do. We are given the power to forgive others, so we can do it we just need to put our mind and heart to it. I also think that the person we need to forgive the most is ourselves. We are the hardest on ourselves and so it is that much more important to forgive ourselves. We can overcome anything with the help of the Lord through the Atonement.

The following video is one amazing man's experience with forgiveness. May we all be like unto him and forgive.

Being Influential for Good in the Lives of Others

Lets read 1 Corinthians 9:1,16,20-23.

What does Paul say about his position in the church?

Paul is an apostle in the Church. He is a special witness of Christ.

What does Paul say about being influential in the lives of others?

Paul teaches us that we need to be compassionate and empathetic toward others so that they may be able to be happy. If we can relate we can make other's happy.

Please comment to keep this conversation going.

Paul's Cousel to Members

The scriptures we are going to look at this week are:
1 Thessalonians 3:12-13; 4:1-12, 5:1-22
2 Thessalonians 3:1-6,11.

Let's compile a short list of attributes Paul asks of the members:

• Abound in love
• walk and please God
• Know the commandments
• Live the law of Chastity
• Love one another
• Study
• Work
• Be Honest
• Children of Light
• Watch and be sober
• Peace
• Rejoice
• Pray
• Abstain from all appearance of evil

Now that we have a list we need to pick a few that we can work on:

1. Walk and Please God
• Sometimes I find it hard to remember Christ throughout the day, so that is one thing that I will work on is to try and walk and please God all day.
2. Peace
• I need to have a little more peace in my life. I have a very busy schedule, so I need to find time to relax and find some peace.
3. Abstain from all appearance of evil
• I need to be an example in all things and I need to go though and do an inventory on things that may be considered and appearance of evil.

Paul's Second Mission

Hey all!

Well this weeks blog post is, as you could tell by the title, about Paul's (aka Saul's) second mission. We can read about this in Acts chapters 16 and 18.

A small list of the places that Paul visited on his journey (from Bible Map 13):

• Corinth-Epistle to the Corinthians
• Philippi-Epistle to the Phillipians
• Thessalonica-Epistle to the Thessolonians
• Ephesus-Epistle to the Ephesians

In Acts 16:6-10;18:9-11 we learn about how the Holy Ghost spoke to Paul and his companions. On there way to Asia the Holy Ghost forbade them to preach the gospel there. The spirit also "suffered them not." The spirit also gave Paul a vision to go to Macedonia.

The Spirit has always directed the missionary efforts. It is interesting to experience when you are teaching and the Spirit just takes over and you don't remember what was actually said during the lesson. One way that I will strive to allow the Spirit to help my missionary efforts by praying for a missionary experience every day.

The next question I want to pose is why was Paul so effective? Let's read Acts 16:9-33.

• He immediately followed the Spirit's promptings
• He prayed and sang praises unto God

Paul always did everything he could to teach the people. It didn't matter where he was. I can learn that we need to make the best of our experience and look for the missionary moment. The jailer is a true convert because he truly wanted to know how he can be saved and followed through. Let's compare Mosiah 4:9-10 with Acts 17:30-31. Mosiah helps clarify that in order to fully repent we need to forsake our sins. What can we do to better prepare ourselves to share the Gospel? I think the main thing is to study the gospel, and when we are prepared the Lord will place people in our path.

An Introduction and Overview

There are two objectives for today's post: 1) to give an overview of what I am doing and 2) to give an overview of the section I read for this week.

I am taking an online religion class, and for this class I get to choose one activity and then I get to choose from a list about what to write about. We will be using the LDS version of the King James Version of the Bible.

The class assignment: Read Acts 1-8, 10-12.

1) Read the chapter headings and list some of the main themes for Chapters 1-8, 10-12 and in the Bible Dictionary, "Acts of the Apostles."

Main themes:

• Testimony
• Holy Ghost
• Miracles
• Repentance
• Organization
• Missionary work

2) Make a list of what peter was doing according the chapter headings in chapters 2-8, 10-12:

ch 2 Peter testifies of Jesus' resurrection
ch 3 Peter and john heal a man and peter preaches repentance the second coming and christ
ch 4 Peter is arrested and brought before the counsel
ch 5 Peter is arrested with John and freed from prison and testify of christ
ch 6 no account
ch 7 no accout
ch 8 Peter confers the gift of the holy ghost and rebukes simon
ch 10 peter is commanded to bring the gospel to the gentiles
ch 11 peter is teaching the people
ch 12 peter is freed by an angel from prison

Gospel Principles Chapter 6

"The Fall of Adam and Eve"

The Fall. This one is always a little tricky. There's so many different views on what actually took place and if it was symbolism or not. The way I like to look at it is that this record is an account, or in other words, what actually took place; also that everything can be taken as a symbol--especially for our day. So we can take out of this event is both literally what happened and that there is going to be some application for our day. So back to what happened. In a nutshell, God placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and gave them two commandments. One, multiply and replenish the earth aka have kids, and two, don't eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. They knew the consequence of eating the fruit and that was if they ate they would die, and be cast out of the garden. One day a serpent, Satan, came and tempted Adam and Eve to eat of the fruit. He told them that if they ate they would "be as gods, knowing good and evil," and that they wouldn't die, which is where the lie came in because God said that they would and he doesn't go against his word. Anyway, they decided to eat of the fruit and they were both cast out. This brought in two types of death, physical and spiritual. Physical is pretty self-explanatory, and spiritual death is the separation of us and God. Many people think that this was a bad thing, that they transgressed the law and partook of the fruit, but like all things great things happen when we make mistakes. And this mistake was needed for all of us to be able to come here to the earth. The prophet Lehi explains in 2 Nephi 2:22-25,
             "And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen, but he would have remained in the Garden of Eden. And all thigs which were created must have remained in the same state in which they were after they were created. ...
             "And they would have had no children; wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin.
           " But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things.
       "Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy."
I love this explanation of why it was necessary for the Fall. So many other great blessings have happened because of this one act. It was truly a great blessing.

Gospel Principles Chapter 5

"Creation"

Many of us, if not all of us, in the world love to create. I personally love it; whether it is something that I can actually make or something in my head. I know that eventually I will be able to see that come to pass. Today we have all kinds of technology to help us create, but we still can't be as great as the Master Creator: Jesus Christ. We know that Jesus Christ under the direction of Heavenly Father created the earth and all of its inhabitants and everything else on and in it. If we look around, there has to be a reason as to how this all got here. One of my favorite analogies is about this. Someone once said that without God it's like having a tornado go through a junk yard and end up with a Boeing 747 as the outcome. It's just not possible, but if there is someone directing this tornado, it might just actually work. I love being able to enjoy the warm summer nights. Now that I'm home and summer is fast approaching I will be able to do that once again. I remember one evening with Elder Parr in Bozeman. We went out into the courtyard after we got our planning done and we laid on the tables and looked at the stars and just talked about how great it is to be able to know the things we know and have the assurance of things to come. Just remember that this was created for you, and for me. This world is given especially to us and we need to make the best of it. Jesus love you. He loves everyone of us and if he had to suffer for only one person, He would. That is what makes all of this so great.

**The picture of the airplane is of a Boeing 747. Just to show how complicated it is.

It seems like life revolves around sports...

Today's world seems to always have some connection to sports. People just seem to want to give their money away to these sports teams. On a personal note, my favorite sport is volleyball, as a lot of you know. I've been thinking of ways to try to associate the gospel to the game of volleyball. The most obvious way is kind of the same with any team sport: the team is your family, and just like on earth where your family is the most important support system that we have; the team is just as vital to your success on the court. Teamwork. Without everyone working together it is impossible to win. For example: the other day we had a couple of volleyball games. There was only four of us that showed up to play and we were playing against teams of 6. We won 2 out of the 3 matches that we played. I accredit the wins to team work and some skill. My friends and I knew how each other played and it helped us work together. The team that we lost to was just a little bit more tight knit and had a little bit better players, but overall it was a great day. Remember that we all need to work together in order to succeed. I love you all. Jesus loves you.

Apology

So, this is a formal apology to all those who follow my blog on a regular basis. Sorry that I have slacked off on my blogging since I have been home from my mission. I am going to try to be better at making an effort to blog at least once a week. Things have been pretty crazy since returning home from Montana. Here's just a little update about me:

• Now attending Brigham Young University-Idaho, studying Mechanical Engineering
• Working for Weed Man Lawn Care
• Before I made it up to school I was working 2 jobs, one at a law office and the other at a clothing store
• Now that Christmas and all of the holidays are past, I should be a little less busy and be able to keep everyone posted. :)

Thank you all for your support. It is greatly appreciated. I love you all.

Gospel Prinicples Chapter 4

"Freedom to Choose"

 Our freedom to choose is so important. We are told through the scriptures that Agency has been given to us from the very beginning. We were able to choose to come down to earth and to get a body or to follow the plan that Satan had proposed in our pre-earth life. Agency was the principle issue that we fought over in our pre-earth life. Satan's plan was to take away our agency from the beginning and to force us to return to live with God again. Agency is the thing that makes this life a time of testing. It is what allows us to make choices and to either follow what Christ would have us do or to follow what Satan would have us do. An analogy that I really like comes from the manual, it says, "When we follow the temptations of Satan, we limit our choices. The following example suggests how this works. Imagine seeing a sign on the seashore that reads: 'Danger—whirlpool. No swimming allowed here.' We might think that is a restriction. But is it? We still have many choices. We are free to swim somewhere else. We are free to walk along the beach and pick up seashells. We are free to watch the sunset. We are free to go home. We are also free to ignore the sign and swim in the dangerous place. But once the whirlpool has us in its grasp and we are pulled under, we have very few choices. We can try to escape, or we can call for help, but we may drown." We are told how to escape the grasp of Satan many times in the scriptures. We are told to "watch and pray continually," as we do that we will be able to overcome the temptations of Satan and be able to make correct choices.

Gospel Principles Chapter 3

"Jesus Christ, Our Chosen Leader and Savior"

Why was the need for a Savior so important? The answer: Because our Heavenly Father knew that we would all come here and make mistakes, and that we would need help along our way. "We needed a Savior to pay for our sins and teach us how to return to our Heavenly Father" (Gospel Principles, 13). The scriptures teach us that Jesus Christ was foreordained and chosen to be our Savior. In the Book of Mormon, there is an account of the Savior appearing to a man named the Brother of Jared and Christ tells him, "Behold, I am he who was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ. … In me shall all mankind have life, and that eternally, even they who shall believe on my name" (Ether 3:14) Even though Jesus Christ was chosen to be our Savior, Lucifer stepped up and said, "Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor" (Moses 4:1). Satan wanted to take away some vital things from us and Heavenly Father. The first thing he wanted was to take away our agency, or our right to chose, which we will discuss more in Chapter 4, and the second thing is he wanted Heavenly Father's glory. After hearing this he said, "I will send the first" (Abraham 3:27). Because Heavenly Father chose Jesus Christ, Lucifer got angry and rebelled against God. In his rebellion, Satan managed to convince one third of the hosts of heaven to come with him, and in doing so, they were also cast out of heaven along with Satan. We know that we made the right choice because we are here today. "By following [Christ's] teachings, we can inherit a place in the celestial kingdom. He did His part to help us return to our heavenly home. It is now up to each of us to do our part and become worthy of exaltation" (Gospel Principles, 16).

Gospel Principles Chapter 2

Chapter 2 is entitled, "Our Heavenly Family." Family is such a basic unit of society. Joseph F. Smith teaches us, "Man, as a spirit, was begotten and born of heavenly parents, and reared to maturity in the eternal mansions of the Father, prior to coming upon the earth in a temporal [physical] body”(Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith [1998], 335). That makes us all brothers and sisters, spiritually anyway. Just like on Earth, we were all different in our pre-earth state. "A veil covers our memories of our premortal life, but our Father in Heaven knows who we are and what we did before we came here. He has chosen the time and place for each of us to be born so we can learn the lessons we personally need and do the most good with our individual talents and personalities" (Gospel Principles, 10). While we were in our premortal life, we sat down with Heavenly Father and we talked about what was going to happen to us. He told us that we would leave his presence, and we would come to this earth. We were also told that we would have to do some things in our lives to show our Heavenly Father that we really wanted to come back to live with him once more. We learned that we would go through trials, and if we allowed them to they would purify us rather than defeat us. "They would teach us to have endurance, patience, and charity" (Gospel Principles, 11). And finally, that last thing we learned is that we were all going to make mistakes by our nature, and that a Savior was going to be provided for us. He would overcome all things that needed to be overcome, namely death and sin. Jesus Christ was chosen at that time to be our Savior and Redeemer.

Gospel Principles Chapter 1

Chapter 1 is one of my favorites. The title is "Our Heavenly Father." We learn all about our Heavenly Father in this chapter. First off, how can we know that there is a God? Alma, a prophet in the Book of Mormon, tells us, "All things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator” (Alma 30:44).  Everything around us tells us that there is a God, and that he exists. That leads us into what is He like, or in other words, what is the nature of God? One of the first attributes we know is, because we are made in his image--he has a body like ours. "He is a God of righteousness, with attributes such as love, mercy, charity, truth, power, faith, knowledge, and judgment. He has all power. He knows all things. He is full of goodness" (Gospel Principles, 5). After we know the nature of our Heavenly Father, we would like to get to know him, right? I would think so anyway. So there's a few ways that we can do this. First, we need to believe that he is actually there. Second, we need to study his word, or the scriptures. Third, we gotta communicate, or pray. And fourth, is we need to be obedient to His commandments. "As we do these things, we will come to know God and eventually have eternal life" (Gospel Principles, 7). That is one of my favorite quotes in the whole chapter. I know this to be true.