The Seventy

Seventy: An office to which men are ordained in the Melchizedek Priesthood. Today, the quorums of Seventy are General Authorities of the Church who are given the apostolic authority but are not ordained Apostles. They devote their full time to the ministry.

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Luke 10:1-24 is the scripture for this week.

In those verses the Lord counsels and instructs the seventy on their responsibilities. In verse 1 the Lord tells them that they would be sent places where He would go. The seventy do what Jesus Christ would do, they were also warned that the work would not be easy, they would go “as lamb among wolves (v. 3)” Their goal was to bring piece into people’s house, and they should eat with those that accepted their message. And for those that did not accept their message, the seventy were to warn them and called them unto repentance. The seventy were true messengers of Christ, “He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me (v. 16)”

In the Article of Faith 1:6 we read, “We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.”  The same way that seventy were called during Christ minister here on earth, they are also called today in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and they hold the same responsibilities.

There are other scriptures, modern ones, that also teach us about the seventy and their duty. Here are a few of them:

D&C 107: 25-26 25 The ^aSeventy are also called to ^bpreach the gospel, and to be especial witnesses unto the Gentiles and in all the world—thus differing from other officers in the church in the duties of their calling.

 26 And they form a quorum, equal in ^aauthority to that of the Twelve special witnesses or Apostles just named.

D&C 107:34 

 34 The ^aSeventy are to act in the name of the Lord, under the direction of the ^bTwelve or the traveling high council, in building up the church and regulating all the affairs of the same in all nations, first unto the Gentiles and then to the Jews—

D&C 124:138-139
 138 And again, I give unto you Joseph Young, Josiah Butterfield, Daniel Miles, Henry Herriman, Zera Pulsipher, Levi Hancock, James Foster, to preside over the quorum of ^aseventies;

 139 Which quorum is instituted for ^atraveling elders to bear record of my name in all the world, wherever the traveling high council, mine apostles, shall send them to prepare a way before my face.

John 10 - The Good Shepherd

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In the parable of the Good Shepherd, as I read verses 1 – 11, I see that Jesus says he is the door. And reading 2Nephi 9: 41-42 gives me a better understanding the symbol of Jesus Christ as the door.

41 O then, my beloved brethren, come unto the Lord, the Holy One. Remember that his paths are righteous. Behold, the way for man is narrow, but it lieth in a straight course before him, and the keeper of the gate is the Holy One of Israel; and he employeth no servant there; and there is none other way save it be by the gate; for he cannot be deceived, for the Lord God is his name.

 42 And whoso knocketh, to him will he open; and the wise, and the learned, and they that are rich, who are puffed up because of their learning, and their wisdom, and their riches—yea, they are they whom he despiseth; and save they shall cast these things away, and consider themselves fools before God, and come down in the depths of humility, he will not open unto them.

To enter into the path that will lead us back to our Heavenly Father, we need to come unto Christ. He is by the gate welcoming everyone unto the gospel. As we make a covenant to follow Him and keep his commandments, we will be guided into the kingdom of God. In relation to the parable what a shepherd does for his sheep is similar to what Christ does for us. In the New Testament Institute manual we learn details about a shepherd’s life and responsibility over the sheep. Here is a passage from the manual that will help us see the similarities:

“Jesus’ station as the Good Shepherd is complete in every detail. He is the door of the fold, by which we must enter. There is none other. (John 10:9.) He is not a hireling but is the true shepherd of human souls, and ‘we are not our own’ (1 Corinthians 6:19–20), but he has purchased us with his precious blood. (1 Corinthians 7:23; 1 Peter 1:18–19; 2 Peter 2:1; Acts 20:28.) The shepherd provided the pasture on which the sheep feed. Jesus has given us his word. We are warned against the doctrines of men. Only the ‘pasture’ that the Lord provides is proper food for his sheep, and no man can be saved in ignorance of his word or without his revelations. The true sheep know his voice. The true Shepherd knows and owns his sheep and he calls them. We thus take upon us the name of Christ, for he owns us; we are his sheep; and, if we have his name, we can enter ‘by the door.’” (Matthews, The Parables of Jesus, pp. 75–76.)

In the parable we learn how the sheep recognizes their shepherd’s voice and follow him. The same is applied to us. We leave in a world where there are many voices calling on us, wanting our attention. It is essential that we learn how to discern Jesus voice among all the worldly noise, and as we listen to his voice we need to obey His commandments, He will guide us safely. The atonement makes Jesus Christ the most special of all shepherds; Jesus died for all His sheep, for all of us. 

I would like to shared a song that I love and was reminded of when I was studying the parable of the Good Shepherd. Here is the link:

http://grooveshark.com/s/How+Great+Shall+Be+Your+Joy/3Dh1s4?src=5 

The Feeding of the Multitudes

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Matthew 14:14–21; 15:32–38. The Feeding of the Multitudes

1. The Savior provided two similar miracles. As a summary of what took place, complete the following chart:

	Matthew 14:14-21	Matthew 15:32-38
How many people were present?	5 thousand men, besides women and children	4 thousand men, besides women and children
What did they need?	Victuals = Food	Food, so they would not faint on their way home
What were they able to offer in an effort to meet that need?	5 loaves of bread and 2 fishes	7 loaves of bread and a few little fishes
What words or phrases describe the Savior’s feeling toward the multitudes in their time of need?	“was moved with compassion toward them”, “give ye them to eat”, “he healed their sick”	“I have compassion on the multitude” ,“I will not send them away fasting”
What words or phrases describe what the Savior was able to provide for the multitudes?	“And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full”	“And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full.”

2. In each story, the available food was insufficient to feed the multitude, yet with the help of the Lord the insufficiency was overcome. Read Romans 3:23 and explain in writing another way human effort is insufficient in receiving the glory of God. According to Ether 12:27, how does the Lord help us overcome this insufficiency?

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We all have weaknesses to overcome. Everybody makes mistakes. But we have learned in the scriptures that nothing impure can enter the kingdom of God. That is when Jesus Christ becomes our Savior; because of His atoning sacrifice we are allowed second chances (and thirds, and fourths…). He saved us from death, physical and spiritual. We just need to exercise faith in Him, repent of our sins and do all we can to endure in righteousness. As we read on Ether 12:27 “And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.”

Parables

To me a parable is when you explain a principle using a simple story to illustrate how that principle might be applied. Jesus taught using parables, especially during His ministry in Galilee.
Some of the parables that Jesus used can be the answer for questions about the church today.

·         What describes the future growth of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?
Parable of the tares.

·         Why does the Church send out so many missionaries?
Parable of the leaven.

·         How do you explain the remarkable growth of the Church, considering that is fairly new compared to most world religions and started small in the American frontier?
Parable of the mustard seed.

·         Why are some members of the Church willing to sacrifice so much worldly wealth and recognition in order to maintain membership in the Church?
Parable of the pearl of great price.

·         Why do some church members choose to leave the Church?
Parable of the gospel net.

When I consider the parables of the treasure and the pearl of great price, I think about the sacrifices of church pioneers, which in turn makes me ponder about my own life and things I had to give up to follow Christ. My sacrifices seem small compared to those who came before me, especially those who sacrificed their lives, but they still blessed me immensely. I have sacrificed time for the gospel by serving as a full time missionary; and how thankful I am for that experience. Every month I have the opportunity to sacrifice two important meals on the first Sunday and apart from helping others with fast offerings I help myself as I draw closer to my Heavenly Father. I would like to think that I would sacrifice anything for the gospel if the Lord were to ask that of me; to make that true in my life I try, step by step, to keep  the commandments and strength my faith in my Savior.

In Matthew 13:47-48 we read:
47 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:
 48 Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.

The net in this parable represent the gospel of Jesus Christ, and to be gathered into the net is to be baptized into the church. But being baptized is not enough. We call come to church with our weaknesses and trials, if we do not endure to the end we won’t gathered with the good in the vessel, instead, we will be cast out.

Beatitudes

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I have read chapter 5 of Matthew a few times but for the first time I read the footnote for verse 3ª, and there we read: "The Latin beatus is the basis of the English “beatitude,” meaning “to be fortunate,” “to be happy,” or “to be blessed.” TG Blessing. So I thought "Okay, blessed mean happy". But then I went to read a little from the New Testament's institute student manual and I know now that there is more to that word. The manual says " Blessedness is defined as being higher than happiness. ‘Happiness comes from without and is dependent on circumstances; blessedness is an inward fountain of joy in the soul itself, which no outward circumstances can seriously affect.” Suddenly those first verses of chapter 5 have more meaning to me. I am sure that as we follow Christ’s instructions on this sermon we will qualify to live with Him for all eternity.

President Harold B. Lee (1899-1973), in “Decisions for Successful Living” pg. 56, gives definitions for each beatitude found in Matthew 5. I encourage you to go read them all (https://www.lds.org/manual/the-life-and-teachings-of-jesus-and-his-apostles/section-3-the-second-year-of-jesus-public-ministry/chapter-8-be-ye-therefore-perfect?lang=eng), but would like to choose three of them to talk about, and how they have in the past or can in the future increase happiness in my life.

Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit

President Lee said “To be poor in spirit is to feel yourselves as the spiritually needy, ever dependent upon the Lord for your clothes, and your food and the air you breathe, your health, your life; realizing that no day should pass without fervent prayer of thanksgiving, for guidance and forgiveness and strength sufficient for each day’s need.”

I remember when my mission president’s wife, Sister Barreto, taught us that gratitude brings happiness to our lives. Every time I stop to realize how many blessings I have received from the Lord, my heart fills with joy, I feel loved. Every morning (or most of them) I pray that my actions throughout the day will be guided by the Holy Ghost, and if I am paying enough attention I will understand that my calling the sister I visit teach, for an example, was an action inspired by the spirit. And when I pray before bedtime I ask Heavenly Father to forgive me for my short comings, I ask Him to help me better the next day; there is always room, a few acres maybe, for improvement.

Blessed Are the Meek

“A meek man is defined as one who is not easily provoked or irritated and forbearing under injury or annoyance. Meekness is not synonymous with weakness. The meek man is the strong, the mighty, the man of complete self-mastery. He is the one who has the courage of his moral convictions, despite the pressure of the gang or the club.”, President Lee stated.

One of the things that came to mind when I was reading about this one is my role as a parent. Next year my son will start kindergarten and will slowly enter the real world without holding my hands. Am I a good example to him of meekness? I’m working on it. In the course of his young life, will he have the moral convictions to stand for what is right? That is my most fervent prayer. I know that as we all strive to be kind to others and defend the truth, happiness will be abundant within us.

Blessed Are the Merciful

This is what President Harold B. Lee taught us about mercy, he explained “Our salvation rests upon the mercy we show to others. Unkind and cruel words, or wanton acts of cruelty toward man or beast, even though in seeming retaliation, disqualify the perpetrator in his claims for mercy when he has need of mercy in the day of judgment before earthly or heavenly tribunals. Is there one who has never been wounded by the slander of another whom he thought to be his friend? Do you remember the struggle you had to refrain from retribution? Blessed are all you who are merciful for you shall obtain mercy!”

I think the world today is in desperate need of mercy. Not only mercy from God, but from each other. There is so much hate out there. People are so quick to judge others. I confess I am guilty of that, maybe not in words but in thought. But I am learning, learning through my own struggles in life. As years go by and understand more about the battles we face.  We should all exercise mercy unto others, because we definitely need the same from our Father in Heaven. S. Michael Wilcox, an instructor at the LDS Institute of Religion in Utah, counseled: “If we can learn to turn our eye inward—even when we feel that the major offense lies elsewhere—we will find ourselves more able to forgive and to extend mercy. We will become more like Christ.”

I know Christ showed us the path, by word and deed, to eternal exaltation. I know He loves us and provides us help every step of the way into becoming more like Him.