Ephesians

Bruce R. McConkie said, 

“Ephesians is an epistle for all the world, for Jew and Gentile, for husband and wife, for parent and child, for master and servant. It was the mind and will of God in Paul’s day; it is the voice of inspiration in our day; it is an epistle of universal appeal and application.

“… It contains some of Paul’s best writing, and is a document that deals with fundamentals, with the gospel of God in all its saving glory”

As I read the six chapters in this epistle, I can see that Heavenly Father, through Paul, was teaching the members of the church how to be spiritually strong, how to be aware of the teaching of the world. I believe we the message in these chapters can be applied in our lives today.

Two of the messages I found in Ephesians are:

1   1 -  We have been chosen “before the foundation of the world” to be participants of the gospel of Christ on this earth. What a great blessing! There is a talk given by Neal A. Maxwell entitled “Called and Prepared from the Foundation of the World”, that I would like for you to read, as to learn more about our purpose here on earth.

     2 -  We live in the dispensation of the fullness of times. This is a time where not only we have a prophet of God on earth to reveal His will to us, but we also have the chance to see many prophecies being fulfilled. Elder B. H. Roberts has said: “This is the dispensation of the fullness of times, and we see running into it, as mighty streams rush into the ocean, all the former dispensations, putting us in touch with them, putting them in touch with us; and we see that God has had but one great purpose in view from the beginning, and that has been the salvation of His children. And now has come the final day, the final dispensation, when truth and light and righteousness must flood the earth”
Elder David A. Bednar talks about this dispensation in which we live in this a short video. I invite you you to watch. Please click on this link .

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"...we glory in tribulations..."

In the epistle of Paul to the Romans, chapter 5 verses 3 to 5, we read: 

"3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;

4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope:

5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”

Since a young age I have been taught that tribulations are blessings, that we should be thanking Heavenly Father for them, and that we need them to learn and grow. I believe that is true. But I also believe that that is easier said than done. It is especially hard to “glory in tribulation” right in the middle of our suffering.

As I try to follow the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ, that are things I can do that I find helpful as we strive to be thankful for our challenges in life.

First, I believe that as we pray often and study the scriptures daily, we will invite the company of the Holy Ghost into our days, and that will not only helps us make good decisions, including the ones involving our feelings towards hard time, but it will also bring us peace and understanding.

Second, we need to make a habit of counting our blessings. As we go about our days, driving places, working, showering, etc, we can make a mental list of the things we are thankful for. I would even encourage you to write down those blessings you are thinking about. Anyway you choose to do it, it will help you recognize the Lord’s hand in your life.

And lastly, we should develop and nurture a positive attitude towards the experiences we have in life. Being positive helps us see the problem in a better perspective. We could even ask ourselves, “What can I learn from this?” 

I know that we came to this earth to learn and grow, and that our trials are simply tools that will help us become better. I am thankful for the sacrifice Christ has made for all of us. We can go to Him to find comfort. Elder Henry B. Eyring said, “We have the gospel of Jesus Christ shape and guide our lives if we choose it. We never need to feel that we are alone or unloved in the Lord's service because we never are. We can feel the love of God. The Savior has promised angels are on our left and on our right to bear us up, and He always keeps His word.”

I invite you this watch this video that teaches us that “Finding faith in the Lord Jesus Christ will help us have the power to endure and overcome challenges in life.”

Images and video found on lds.org

CHARITY - 1 Corinthians 13

Image found here: https://culturequote.wordpress.com/2014/06/07/incentivizing-charity/

I believe that chapter 13 of 1 Corinthians might be one that is well known among Christians. The message of charity might be one of the most important ones in the New Testament. Even though charity is a simple principle, it can be connected to many other principles in the gospel.

Paul, in verses 1 through 3 explains that we could have faith to move mountains or even have all the knowledge in the world, but without faith that would mean nothing. My favorite part in these verses in in verse 3, when Paul says that even if we give away all that we have to feed the poor, without charity, that would mean nothing. But why is that my favorite part you might ask. Well, because we often assume that donations are the equivalent of charity. However, charity, in the true sense of the world and who Paul is describing it in this chapter, goes beyond that.

The rest of the verses in the chapter are the words of the apostle Paul teaching us what charity is.

Image found here: https://culturequote.wordpress.com/2014/06/07/incentivizing-charity/

The video below if a portrayal of Paul teaching the message of this beautiful chapter 13. As I watched it I was able to imagine how much charity Paul must have had as he was able to overcome so much, as he endured his trials as he preached the gospel all around. 

I invite you to watch this video and let Paul's words inspire you, as they have me, to seek today to pursue the charity he is teaching us about, to become more like our Savior Jesus Christ, who is the perfect example of charity.