This week in my New Testament Class I chose to study The Savior's Suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane. Mostly because there as a lot of reading to do in the Institute Manual which is amazing! There are several posted questions and I will write the answers!

1.   Review Matthew 26:36-46; Mark 14:32-42; Luke 22:39-46, making a list of words and phrases that describe the Savior’s suffering.

in agony, praying earnestly, sweat was drops of blood, amazed, awestruck, astonished as he entered the Garden, depressed, dejected when he left his apostles and felt very heavy, or felt no pity and no comfort, his heart felt exceedingly sorrowful

2.   Write additional insights about the Savior’s suffering in Gethsemane found in the following resources: Mosiah 3:7; Alma 7:11-13; Doctrine and Covenants 19:16-19

Mosiah said, "he shall ^asuffer ^btemptations, and pain of body, ^chunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can ^dsuffer, except it be unto death;" and Alma says, "he [will] ^bloose the bands of death." also that, "he may know according to the flesh how to ^csuccor his people according to their infirmities." D&C says, " I, God, have ^asuffered these things for all, that they might not ^bsuffer if they would ^crepent" also that he, "suffer[ed] both body and spirit" and, "I partook and^afinished my preparations unto the children of men."

·      The institute student manual commentary, “To What Extent Was the Atonement Completed in the Garden of Gethsemane?” (pg. 173)

It says, "In that bitterest hour the dying Christ was alone, alone in most terrible reality. That the supreme sacrifice of the Son might be consummated in all its fulness, the Father seems to have withdrawn the support of His immediate Presence, leaving to the Savior of men the glory of complete victory over the forces of sin and death.”

·      The institute student manual commentary for Luke 22:44, “And Being in an Agony, He Prayed More Earnestly” (pgs.173-74)

It says, "“Groaning beneath this concentrated load, this intense, incomprehensible pressure, this terrible exaction of

Divine Justice, from which feeble humanity shrank, and through the agony thus experienced sweating great drops of blood, He was led to exclaim, ‘Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.’ He had wrestled with the superincumbent load in the wilderness, He had struggled against the powers of darkness that had been let loose upon him there; placed below all things, His mind surcharged with agony and pain, lonely and apparently helpless and forsaken, in his agony the blood oozed from His pores.

·      The institute student manual commentary for Luke 22:44, “And His Sweat Was As It Were Great Drops of Blood Falling Down to the Ground” (pg. 174)

It says, "It was not physical pain, nor mental anguish alone, that caused Him to suffer such torture as to produce an extrusion of blood from every pore; but a spiritual agony of soul such as only God was capable of experiencing. No other man, however great his powers of physical or mental endurance, could have suffered so; for his human organism would have succumbed, and syncope would have produced unconsciousness and welcome oblivion. In that hour of anguish Christ met and overcame all the horrors that Satan, ‘the prince of this world’ could inflict.

3.   Read Matthew 26:36 and the institute student manual commentary for Matthew 26:36, “Then Cometh Jesus … unto a Place Called Gethsemane” (pgs. 172-73). Write a paragraph about how the meaning of Gethsemane adds insight to what the Savior experienced there.

I remember learning in my Book of Mormon class on campus about the 'oil-press' and how it was most likely a mill where olives were pressed to make olive oil and that is was most likely a place the Savior often wen to ponder, pray, or meet with his disciples. In that verse of MAtthew it says, "Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called^aGethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and ^bpray yonder." Possibly the disciples thought it was a regular occurence is this instance and didn't think much of what he was gone to pray about. Maybe this is why they didn't both to watch or stay awake till he was done?

4.   Write response to each of the following questions, looking for lessons you can apply to your own life from the example of the Savior in Gethsemane:

·      What were the Savior’s disciples doing while He was praying? What had the Lord taught the Apostles in Matthew 26:41? What does His example teach about how to be obedient even when “the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak”? How does Doctrine and Covenants 10:5 apply to this verse?

They had tried to stay awake, but fell asleep waiting for Him. He taught them that good intent will not safe anyone. I think it stresses the importance of knowing why you are willing and why you follow te commandments. Their needs to be a true commitment and a true testimony built to stay with God.

·      Read Mosiah 15:7; 3 Nephi 11:11; Doctrine and Covenants 19:19. Write the phrases from these verses that describe what motivated the Savior to “drink the bitter cup.”

Mosiah says that he was, "slain, the ^bflesh becoming subject even unto death, the ^cwill of the Son being swallowed up in the will of the Father." 3 Nephi says that He, " have glorified the Father" by drinking the bitter cup. Also in D&C, it says, "glory be to the Father, and I partook and^afinished my preparations unto the children of men."

In my New Testament Class this week, I decided to study the The Parable of the Ten Virgins found in Matthew 25:1-13.

The Parable of the Ten Virgins

 The following are the questions I was provided with to answer, followed by the answer found in the scriptures, or teachings in the Institute Manual given by Harold B Lee.
1. Who does the Bridegroom represent? The Savior of all Mankind
2. Who do the virgins represent? They are the professed believers in Christ
3. Why did the bridegroom come at midnight while the weddings guests 'slumbered and slept'? How does this apply to the Savior's Second Coming? To test their loyalty and love. This applies to us because he could come at any day, so we need to be ready, everyday for His coming.
4. What did five of the virgins do that was foolish? How might a church member today make the same error as the foolish virgins? What would the consequences be? The 5 foolish virgins did not prepare their lamps to last a long time. A church member today could not gain their own testimony that will last them through their trials, and not have the necessary faith the believe in Him. The consequences will be as is said in Revelations, "So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." We need to be totally entrusted in the Lord, pick a side, or we will be cast away.
5. What should we learn from the actions of the five wise virgins? We can learn to be unceasingly watchful and prepare for His coming. by building our own testimonies and helping to strengthen others.
6. What are some ways we can add 'oil' to our 'lamps'? We can work on our spirituality every day to draw closer to Heavenly Father. This can be done especially by doing service for others.

The Destruction of the Jerusalem Temple

The Second Coming of Christ; What do these two pictures have in common?

The Following is a chart of the Events  and promises to the righteous according to Christ when the Temple of Jerusalem will be destroyed, and of His Second  Coming;found in Joseph Smith-Matthew  in the Pearl of Great Price.	Destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem (JS-M 1:5-20)	The Second Coming of Jesus Christ (JS-M 1:21-55)
Events to occur	JS-M 1:6; False Christ's will deceive many.	JS-M 1:22; "there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets.. Who shall deceive"
	JS-M 1:8; Many will be offended and will betray and hate one another,	JS-M 1:23 Wars and rumors of wars
	JS-M 1:10; Iniquity and sin will be stronger than love.	JS-M 1:26. The elect from all over the world will come together.
		JS-M 1:29;   Nations and kingdoms will fight against each other and there will be famines, earthquakes, and pestilence.
		JS-M 1:30; There will be no love or charity those of the world.
		JS-M 1:33. The Sun will darken and the moon will give off no light. Stars will fall from heaven and the powers of heaven will shake.
		JS-M 1:36; Christ shall come through clouds in heaven with all His power and glory.
		JS-M 1:37; The rest of the elect will be gathered to Him.
Promises to the Righteous	JS-M 1:11; Those who remain steadfast and strong, will be saved in the end.	JS-M 1:29; The elect will be gathered together.
	JS-M 1:12; Those standing in holy places will be saved.	JS-M 1:30; Those who are not overcome by iniquity will be saved.
		JS-M 1:37; The remainder of the elect will be gathered once He has descended from Heaven.

The Savior's Final Week in Mortality

This weeks assignment I chose to study each day in the week proceeding Christ resurrection. the following summary was obtained from the Institute Manual "The Life and the Teachings of Jesus and His Apostles", section 5, p. 135-137.

Day 1:
Jesus arrived at Jerusalem. He rides through the city gates into Jerusalem on a donley. A multitude placed palm branches in his way and greeted him with a hosanna shout:“Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.” (Matthew 21:9.)

Day 2:
Early the next morning Jesus went to the temple and challenged the Jewish religious leadership. He drove the money exchangers. The money exchange was apparently sanctioned by the Jewish leaders; and by preventing the merchandizing, Jesus was in effect challenging their leadership. He asked if the temple is  a place of worship of God or of pursuit of gain? As he cleared the temple courts, he said, “It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.” (Matthew 21:13.) That night, Jesus returned to Bethany.

Day 3:
Jesus’ wrath in the temple raised the issue of authority, and the priests were not about to let the incident pass. As Jesus came to the temple the next day, the priests challenged him: “By what authority doest thou thesethings? and who gave thee this authority?” (Matthew 21:23.) Jesus responded by relating a series of parables that offended the religious leaders of the Jews. The scribes and Pharisees challenged him again; Jesus openly denounced them and condemned them as
hypocrites. From this point on, Jesus did not teach the public, but only the Twelve.
The Jewish leaders perceived that Jesus had gained the upper hand in their confrontations, so they consulted again how they might bring about Jesus’ death. They would have to move quickly before the Passover to avoid a riot, however, since Jesus had become very popular with the Jewish people. How to bring about an arrest without provoking crowd reaction was the problem. An unexpected turn of events that took place abetted their plot. One of Jesus’ own disciples offered to betray him.

Day 4:
Jesus well knew of the plot. The fourth day was spent outside the city, perhaps at Bethany. The record of the gospel writers is silent on the proceedings of this day. This picture depicts Christ weeping over the people in Jerusalem while staying in Bethany.

Day 5:
Jesus had arranged to commemorate the Passover meal in a home privately reserved for him and the
Twelve. Following the Passover meal, Jesus introduced a new ordinance, the sacrament, which
presaged his atoning sacrifice. He then prophesied of his death and indicated who would betray him.
After some instructions, Jesus offered his great intercessory prayer.

Then, with the eleven (Judas had left), Jesus led them outside the walls to a familiar spot—Gethsemane. Then taking Peter, James, and John with him, he went further into the Garden where he then left those three and went off by himself to pray. (See Matthew 26:36–39.) There he pled with his Heavenly Father to “let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” (Matthew 26:39.) The cup did not pass and Jesus suffered “the pain of all men” (D&C 18:11), an agony so excruciating that it caused him to bleed at every pore (D&C 19:18).

 Some time later he rejoined his apostles and indicated that his betrayer was at hand. While he spoke, an armed band led by Judas approached Jesus to seize him. Without resistance Jesus submitted. Jesus was brought to an illegal trial that night.

Day 6:
The Jewish leaders now faced another problem. They were not content that Jesus should be put to death; they also wanted to discredit him before his own people. To do this, the leaders arranged to have Jesus charged with two crimes. The first was blasphemy, a capital offense under Jewish law. He was unanimously convicted of this charge solely on the evidence that he had said that he was the Son of God. (See Matthew 26:57–66.) Such a conviction would discredit Jesus before the Jews, but the rulers knew well that they could not carry out the death penalty; only the Roman governor could pronounce this. Therefore, they had to find political indictment against Jesus. The surest means of securing this was the charge of sedition against the state, for he had claimed to be a “king of the Jews.” Though Pilate’s examination found Jesus guiltless of the charge, the Jewish leaders had incited
the crowd to “destroy Jesus.” (Matthew 27:20.) Fearing a demonstration, Pilate gave in to the clamor
to crucify Jesus, and the death sentence was pronounced.

And so Jesus was executed by the brutal Roman practice of crucifixion. Later that afternoon he voluntarily gave up his spirit. The next day, which began at sundown, was the Passover, and the Jewish leaders abhorred the idea that a man should remain on a cross on the Sabbath, particularly the paschal Sabbath. Before nightfall, Jesus’ body was removed from the cross and buried in a sealed tomb by two revering disciples.

Day 7:
This was the Jewish Sabbath. Jesus’ body remained in the tomb, but in spirit he ministered in the realm of departed spirits. (See 1 Peter 3:18–20.)

Day 8:
Jesus Christ emerged alive from the tomb, and appeared before Mary.  “These are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” (John 20:31.)

Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard by Jacob Willemszoon de Wet

  This week in my New Testment I decided to study Matthew 20:1-16 which tells of the Parable of the Labourers. Below is the chart that I was to make to show the different workers and what they earned according to their hours. As you can see, at the end of the day, they were all payed the same, no matter how many hours worked. The men that had worked all day were mad at the householder for paying those who had barely worked an hour the same as them. Jesus says that any "laborer" who accepts the invitation to the work in the vineyard (said by Jesus to represent the Kingdom of Heaven), no matter how late in the day, will receive an equal reward with those who have been faithful the longest.

 

The hours the laborers were there	How much the man agreed to pay	Hours worked	How much they were actually paid
Early morning	penny a day	12	penny
early afternoon, 3rd hour	whatever is right	9	penny
late afternoon, 6th hour	whatever is right	6	penny
evening, 9th hour	whatever is right	3	penny
late evening, 11th hour	whatever is right	1	penny

 Below is the ful account of the parable. Matthew 20:1-16:

1 For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.

 2 And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.

 3 And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace,

 4 And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way.

 5 Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise.

 6 And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?

 7 They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.

 8 So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.

 9 And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny.

 10 But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny.

 11 And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house,

 12 Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.

 13 But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny?

 14 Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee.

 15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?

 16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen

This weeks assignment  I chose to study the seventy in Luke 10:1-24. I am amazed by what I learn each week. I had no idea Jesus had set up the Seventy when he was on earth. 

The Lord counseled his Seventy in how to do missionary work there. He instructed them to go by two's and he warned them that it would not be easy, that they would be like "lambs among wolves" (Luke 10:3).  He told them to bless the houses they enter and to eat and drink with them and to "eat such things as are set before you" (Luke 10:8). He asked them to heal whoever was sick, and testify of God and Jesus. He also told them to warn of those cities who will reject them.

Interestingly enough, the 6th Article of Faith says, "We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth." This is a great testimony to me because of how Jesus set up His church in Jerusalem is just how it is set up now. I always knew of the apostles and prophets and their set up in Christ's day, but learning that He even had a seventy blew me out of the water! That just affirmed my testimony even more of this Article of Faith and how it stands as a testament of the truthfulness of this gospel. Similarly, we had Seventy now who are all over the earth who help church efforts and spread to gospel, just like Jesus instructed them back then. Also, the Seventy in Jesus' time we taught to know their people and to eat and spend time with them that will allow it and to teach them in their home, much like our Seventy do now all around the globe. Later in chapter 10, The seventy report back to Jesus that they had the power of the Lord with them and that they were successful in taming demons and glorifying their God, much like they do today with the Priesthood. 

The Church Website had a great link to further explain the Seventy's duties. that shows how the primary mission of one called to a position in the Seventy, is to travel the world and proclaim the gospel. There should be 7 presidents chosen out of the Seventy. They are also called to expand their own Seventy as much as needed.

1.) In the book of Matthew, Jesus performs two miracle that were similar, The following chart will explain their similarities and differences:
                                                                               Matthew 14:14-21                Matthew 15:32-38
How many people were present?                           5,000 besides                    4,000 besides women                                                                                    women and children                          and children
                                                                                                                     

What did they need?                                                        food                                            food

What were they able to offer in                            to leave Jesus and go         The offered themselves   an effort to meet that need?                                  back to town to buy food         by fasting for 3 days                                                                                                               


What words or phrases describe the                  "They need not depart;       "I have compassion on    Savior's feeling towards the multitudes             give ye them to eat"         the multitude... [they]have       in their time of need?                                                                          nothing to eat:and I will not                                                                                                                           send them away fasting,                                                                                                                            lest they faint in the way"

                                                                                                                                                               What words or phrases describe      "And they did all eat, and were filled"   "And they did all eat,
what the Savior was able to provide                                                                        and were filled"
for the multitudes?
                                                                                                                                        
2.) The stories above give an account where human effort is insufficient. We learn in Romans 3:23 and Ether 12:27 that some things can only be done with the power of God. "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" says Romans 3:23 and Ether 12:27 says; And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give 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." These scriptures illustrate the need for the Savior and the atonement. Without it, none of us can return to live with HEavenly Father again, because we are not perfect. But through the atonement and ONLY through the atonement can we become clean and pure enough to be in his presence. To accept the healing powers of the atonement we must have a 'broken heart and a contrite spirit"( 3 Nephi 9:20) and experience godly sorrow

Lesson 3; The Lord Often Taught With Parables

This weeks lesson for my New Testament class, I chose to focus on the parables told by Christ. The main scriptures focused on were in Matthew 13.

My definition of a parable is a story taught to help us learn the ways of the Kingdom of Heaven. They can be interpreted differently according to who is listening and their proportion of faith and intelligence.

1. What describes the future growth of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints? The parable of the mustard seed because it starts out small, but becomes the greatest church on the earth and a beacon to the world.

2. Why does the church send out so many missionaries? The church sends out lots of missionaries to find anyone and hopefully everyone who has 'ears to hear' the word of God, and bring them into His fold.

3. How do you explain the remarkable growth of the church, considering it is fairly new compared to most world religions and started small in the American frontier? The growth in the church can be explained by the teaching and truthfulness to our gospel and that Christ is the leader of the church. People find this out through the Holy Ghost. Moroni's promise at the end of the Book of Mormon puts the responsibility in them to act and pray in faith to know for themselves. Once they do this, of course the right answer will come, and they will know the truth, and will not be able to deny it.

4.Why are some members of the Church so willing to sacrifice so much worldy wealth and recognition in order to maintain membership in the church? Members sacrifice so much because they know this church is true and it id Christ's church. If they are endowed, they will know the level of commitment they have covenanted with the Lord about the Law of Sacrifice.

5. Why do some Church members choose to leave the church? Some members choose to leave the church because the faith has been shaken, or possibly was never deeply established.

and

Considering the parable of the treasure and the pearl of great price, what sacrifices would you be willing to make to obtain the treasure of the gospel? What sacrifices have you or those you know already made for the gospel? I would hopefully be willing to sacrifice everything I have for the Church and for the gospel. I am responsible to stand up for it. I believe it and have a strong testimony of it. Sacrifices made by a family friend are amazing. She and her sister left Jamaica after being baptized, served missions, and now have little to no contact with their family because of their religious beliefs. I can't imagine how hard that must be to be rejected by those who raised you.

What does the net represent in the parable of the net cast into the sea? What does it mean to be gathered into the net? What is represented by the action of gathering the good into vessels and casting the bad away?  The net represents missionaries. To be gathered into the net means to be taught the gospel and grow a testimony. Judgement day is represented when the scripture says, "gathering the good into vessels and casting the bad away". The good will be saved, and the evil will be 'cast into the furnace of fire' (Matthew 13:50).

 For my New Testament class, we do a Share and Report assignment every week. This week I decided to do it as a blog entry, and on the miracles Jesus preformed, and to share who demonstrated faith in the story.

Reference                    Miracle of the Lord                                        Who Demonstrated Faith

Matthew 8:1-4             Healed the leper                                                The leper

Matthew 8:5-13           Healed the centurion's servant                          The centurion

Matthew 8:14-15         Healed Peter's mother-in-law of a fever            Peter's mother-in-law

Matthew 8:16              Cast out devils and healed the sick                    Jesus

Matthew 8:23-27         Calmed the storm at sea                                    Jesus

Matthew 8:28-34         Cast devils out of 2 men into a herd of swine   Jesus

Matthew 9:20-22;
Mark 5:25-34              Woman healed of her blood disease by             Sick woman
                                     touching Jesus's cloak

Matthew 9:27              Two blind men healed                                       Blind men

Mark 2:1-12                Man healed of his palsy while other                  Sick man
                                     men questioned Jesus' power

This is quite incredible; and it isn't even all the miracles Jesus preformed. I have never studied His miracles so closely as this, and it is amazing to know what He did while he lived on this earth. It also makes me think of how wrong it was that people accused Him and wanted Him to die for breaking the law. He is the true Lamb of God, pure, clean, and holy. Being as pure as He was, he had to be the sacrifice for all of mankind.  It is very humbling to know what he did for me, and for us as a people. I love Him, and hope that I can be more like Him.