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 Articles of Faith part 4 of 13

Article of Faith #4, "We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost."

So I think first we must define what a principle is and what an ordinance is. So first off, a principle is "an underlying faculty or endowment" and an ordinance is "a prescribed usage, practice, or ceremony." So what that is saying is that a principle is a basic need that's established, like faith, and an ordinance is something that is performed, like baptism. (Definitions came from Merriam-Webster Dictionary)


Now that we have that established we can get into what the first principles and ordinances are. The first one being, "Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ." So what is faith, and why do we need it? Faith as explained in the scriptures is, "faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true." (Alma 32:21) So we must hope for things that we can't see, but we know are there. It's like the air we breathe, we can't see the air but we know it's there. It fills our lungs every time we take a breath, and so it is with Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father. We can't see them, but we can still know that they are there. We can feel the Spirit, and we can have their influence in our lives. We need faith in our lives so that we can know who to turn to in our times of need. It is what gets us through those hard times and picks us up when we are down.


Second is repentance. What is repentance? Repentance is a change of heart. It is turning away from the thing we don't want in our lives and adding something we do want in our lives. There is 5 steps to repentance: 1) To acknowledge that we are sinning, 2) be sorry and feel godly sorrow, 3) confess to God, 4) correct the mistake, and 5) endure to the end. As we apply these five steps in our lives, our lives become so much easier to handle and to get through. It's not making big changes, but the small ones that really add up to making big ones.


Third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins. Why is baptism by immersion so important? What is it a symbol of? What Christ baptized? Baptism is so important because it does exactly what Joseph Smith said it does, and that is gives us a remission of our sins, or it cleanses us. It symbolizes not only Christ's death, burial, and resurrection, but our own as well, by dying to our old life, burying it and coming up renewed with a new life, or in other words being born again. Christ showed us the way in all things, including baptism. In Matthew 3:13-17, we can witness Christ's baptism. We get a little bit better glimpse at what Christ did for us in the Book of Mormon, Nephi gives us a great explanation in 2 Nephi 31, he tells us, "And now, if the Lamb of God, he being holy, should have need to be baptized by water, to fulfil all righteousness, O then, how much more need have we, being unholy, to be baptized, yea, even by water! And now, I would ask of you, my beloved brethren, wherein the Lamb of God did fulfil all righteousness in being baptized by water? Know ye not that he was holy? But notwithstanding he being holy, he showeth unto the children of men that, according to the flesh he humbleth himself before the Father, and witnesseth unto the Father that he would be obedient unto him in keeping his commandments. Wherefore, after he was baptized with water the Holy Ghost descended upon him in the form of a dove. And again, it showeth unto the children of men the straitness of the path, and the narrowness of the gate, by which they should enter, he having set the example before them. And he said unto the children of men: Follow thou me. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, can we follow Jesus save we shall be willing to keep the commandments of the Father? And the Father said: Repent ye, repent ye, and be baptized in the name of my Beloved Son. And also, the voice of the Son came unto me, saying: He that is baptized in my name, to him will the Father give the Holy Ghost, like unto me; wherefore, follow me, and do the things which ye have seen me do. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I know that if ye shall followthe Son, with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no deception before God, but with real intent, repenting of your sins, witnessing unto the Father that ye are willing to take upon you the name of Christ, by baptism—yea, by following your Lord and your Savior down into the water, according to his word, behold, then shall ye receive the Holy Ghost; yea, then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost; and then can ye speak with the tongue of angels, and shout praises unto the Holy One of Israel." Christ has set forth the example and we all need to follow it. Baptism is our first covenant and ordinance that must be performed if we are to inherit the Kingdom of God, except it's not finish. Christ said, "yet a man be born of water and of the spirit he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God," which leads into the fourth thing.

Fourth, the Gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands. This is also known as the baptism by fire.The gift of the Holy Ghost is so very important. It is the purifying, or sanctifying, part of baptism. The gift of the Holy Ghost allows us to have the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. This can help us stay closer to our Heavenly Father, and to have to ability to be guided in all things. The Holy Ghost provides comfort, protection, and revelation.


These are the first principles and ordinances of the gospel. We know that we need to continue on and endure to the end in order to live with God in the end. These are just the beginning. I love this gospel. It is so simple and allows all to come closer to Jesus Christ. 

The Articles of Faith Introduction

So I was recently thinking about what I should blog about. For some time nothing came, then I saw a blog that said something about the Articles of Faith and so I figured, and felt, that it would be an awesome thing to blog about. So I will post what the Article of Faith is and then write my feelings and thoughts on it.

The Articles of Faith were written by Joseph Smith in response to a letter from John Wentworth. The Articles of Faith were originally known as the Wentworth Letter, and later reproduced in the newspaper Times and Seasons. They are 13 statements of belief by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We study them and use them to help others better understand the basic points and doctrines of our belief.

Actions

The things we do and say are very important to our daily lives and the daily lives of others. They not only affect our daily lives but also our eternal salvation if we are not careful. Actions can be for our good and for the bad. We have been given that opportunity by our Heavenly Father. He has given us the ability to choose, or agency. As we use our agency properly we can come in closer harmony with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, but as we misuse our agency it drives us further and further away from our Heavenly Father and closer and closer to Satan. It says in the Book of Mormon, in 2 Nephi 2:27, "Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself." That is really the only two things that we have to decide. It tells us that all of the choices we make in this life are to either choose God or choose Satan, and that should decide what our actions should be. Of course we have to love God and have faith, but our actions are another part of how we get into Heaven. It says all of the time in the scriptures that we need to have faith, but that we also need to show that faith. If we continue on in doing those things, and "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven," we can eventually return to live with our Father in Heaven.

Who Is Your Hero?

Heroes are an important part of all of our lives. There is a poster that hangs on my wall at home that has the saying, "Who is Your Hero?" I think it is such an inspirational quote. Also on the poster is pictures of heroes from the Book of Mormon. That is how I think we all need to be. We need to look toward someone that we want to be like and have them be our hero. Some great examples that I can think of off the top of my head are Jesus Christ, Captain Moroni, Paul, Ammon, Aaron, Moses. The list goes on and on. There is a website that has all of these posters on them and many more. It is amazing to see the artists rendition of our heroes. http://www.realheroposters.com/magento/ 

Captain Moroni is one of my favorite Book of Mormon heroes. He is so amazing and does so many things. One of my favorite quotes comes from about him it says in Alma 48:17-18, "Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be like unto Moroni, behold, the very power of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power the hearts of the children of men. Behold, he was a man like unto Ammon, the son of Mosiah, yea, and even the other sons of Mosiah, yea, and also Alma and his sons, for they were all men of God."