"I declare unto you the gospel... by which ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you..." Paul taught that we are saved on the condition that we keep in memory, or remember, the gospel that has been preached to us. From a historical perspective, it makes sense that Paul wanted the Christian converts in Corinth to remember and focus on simple gospel truths. Corinth was a large and diverse Greek city. In 400 BC, Corinth has a population of 90,000 (https://books.google.com/books?id=PD14aQTG05UC). The city was destroyed by the Romans in 146 BC, and rebuilt in 44 BC. Paul visited Corinth in AD 49 or 50 and Corinth later became the capital of Greece. Greek myths played an influential role in the beliefs of many Corinthians. For example, Corinthian myth taught that Corinthios, a descendant of the god Zeus, had founded the city (Pausanias, Description of Greece 2.1.1) Needless to say, the Corinthians were a diverse people with varied and conflicting beliefs. Hence, Paul's teaching that "God is not the author of confusion, but of peace," is all the more relevant. Following Pauls admonition to keep in memory the preaching about the gospel, Paul neatly defines the crux of the gospel: "...that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures." The gospel is Jesus Christ—his life and death; his mission, ministry, and resurrection. Only in and through Christ can we be saved.
To follow in Christ's path, we must remember Him and his teachings. As part of the baptismal covenant that we renew weekly through the ordinance of the sacrament, we promise to "always remember Him." Why is remembering so important? What have Church leaders taught about remembering Jesus Christ? King Benjamin taught that we must watch our thoughts, words, and deeds, and that we must faithfully observe the commandments. He humbly yet boldly concludes by saying, "And now, O man, remember, and perish not" (Mosiah 4:30). In instructing his sons Nephi and Lehi, Helaman taught, "O remember, remember, my sons, that there is no other way nor means whereby man can be saved, only through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ... And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation" (Helaman 5:9, 12). In a 2002 BYU Devotional, Dennis B. Neuenschwander of the Presidency of the Seventy suggested five things that we can remember and do (https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/dennis-b-neuenschwander/remember-remember/):
Jesus Christ and his Gospel should be the focus of our remembering. I remember by paying tithing and fast offerings. I remember by attending Church and partaking of the sacrament. I remember by reaching out to others who need a friend. I remember by studying the scriptures and words of the living prophets, and by writing down my thoughts. I remember by repenting when I forget. I remember by building a Christ-centered home. How do you remember?
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For with God nothing shall be impossible Sometimes we, like Simon, have worked as hard as we think we can, but have no fish to show for it. At those times, when our nets are up and our ship is back on shore, Jesus invites us to "launch out into the deep and let down our nets for a catch."
Simons’ response was "Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net." In the Garden of Eden, Jesus was asked to do more than he felt capable of doing. “Father, if thou be willing, take this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.” It is hard; I don’t think I can. Nevertheless. It is the act of saying nevertheless, and submitting our will to God’s, even if it seems impossible, that allows us to experience the enabling power of Christ’s mercy and experience miracles in our lives. Mary, when told she would conceive the son of God, said “How will this be?” (Simon: How can I catch fish? Jesus: How can I drink this bitter cup?) Yet she, like Simon and Jesus (and unlike her husband, who wavered as we often do) said an unspoken nevertheless, followed by “Behold the handmaiden of the Lord, be it according to thy will.” I bear testimony that when we submit completely to the will of the Lord, He provides a way. Like Simon, we find a great multitude of fishes in barren waters. Like Mary and Elizabeth, we find children in barren wombs. Like Jesus, we accomplish our missions and achieve the inconceivable. For with God nothing shall be impossible. Based on Luke 5:1-11Peter the salesman has been cold-calling potential customers all week, but no one is biting. As he begins a new day's work, his boss comes over and asks why his numbers are so low. Peter describes his countless phone calls and overtime hours. But, he admits, he hasn't made a sale in over a week.
Later that day, as Peter hangs up after another futile call, Jesus enters the office. Jesus asks Peter if he will stop his calls so that Jesus can use the office to preach. Peter thinks about his boss' visit that morning. He thinks about his sales quota and his miserably low numbers. He thinks about his family at home, who are depending on him. Yet Peter feels something inside of him that prevents him from refusing. He agrees to Jesus' request, and Jesus walks to the front of the office to preach. As he begins to speak, people starts filing into the office. Sales partners. Curious coworkers from the department next door. Even people who do not belong to the company. People form a crowd around the office, trying to hear Jesus speak. Peter listens intently. As the work day comes to a close, Jesus concludes his remarks. Slowly, the crowd begins shuffling out of the office, until only Jesus and Peter remain. Jesus pulls a post-it note from his shirt pocket with a string of numbers written neatly on it. He hands the note to Peter, and says, "Call this number, and ask if they will buy your product." Peter quickly responds, "Master, I have worked all week making calls, but I haven't made a single sale." Then, after a short pause, he continues, "But even so, I will do as you ask." Peter calls the number, and sure enough, the woman at the other end is anxious to buy a massive order of the product. In fact, she belongs to a network of companies that have been looking for just the solution that Peter's company sells. She emails Peter a long list of company contacts, and Peter and his sales partners spends the rest of the month making sales just based on the list. At the end of the month, Jesus returns to the office. Peter is in the conference room, discussing a new product launch with his sales partners, James and John. When Peter sees Jesus entering the room, he falls to knees, followed by James and John. Peter cries out, "I am not worthy to be in your presence, Lord. I do not deserve the success and prosperity that you have brought to me and my family." Jesus motions for the men to stand up. He looks directly into Peters eyes, and loving responds, "Do not be afraid. From now on, you will serve God and offer something money cannot buy. Something of infinite worth. Leave your jobs, and follow me." At that very moment, Peter, James, and John exit the building, and, leaving everything behind, follow the Savior. And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him. (Surely Christ's twelve apostles were among his closest friends. Friendship is an important gospel principle (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1999/04/friendship-a-gospel-principle). Christ taught, "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you" (John 15:12). Friendship with others is the result of obedience to Christ's commandment to "love one another, as [Christ has] loved you" (John 15:12).
Matthew (also known as Levi) had a very different background than the other apostles. Matthew was a tax collector, or publican, for the Roman government. Publicans were generally considered social outcasts. "He it was who gave a feast, for attending which Jesus and the disciples were severely criticized by the Pharisees, on the charge that it was unseemly for Him to eat with publicans and sinners" (https://www.lds.org/manual/jesus-the-christ/chapter-16). Simon (Peter), was a prosperous fisherman. "In temperament Peter was impulsive and stern, and, until trained by severe experience, was lacking in firmness. He had many human weaknesses, yet in spite of them all he eventually overcame the temptations of Satan and the frailties of the flesh, and served his Lord as the appointed and acknowledged leader of the Twelve" (https://www.lds.org/manual/jesus-the-christ/chapter-16). The brothers James and John were also fishermen. "With Peter these two brothers were witnesses of many of the most important incidents in the life of Jesus; thus, the three were the only apostles admitted to witness the raising of the daughter of Jairus from death to life; they were the only members of the Twelve present at the transfiguration of Christ; they were nearest the Lord during the period of His mortal agony in Gethsemane; and, as heretofore told, they have ministered in these modern days in the restoration of the Holy Apostleship with all its ancient authority and power of blessing" (https://www.lds.org/manual/jesus-the-christ/chapter-16). Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. Jesus Christ's life is our only tangible, mortal example of perfection. Our daily goal should be to draw closer to Christ, to be more like him today than we were yesterday. Though he was without sin, Christ was baptized to "fulfill all righteousness." The Light of the World showed the way that we must follow to return to our Heavenly Father.
Yesterday, during the weekly BYU devotional, Brother Douglas D. Holmes stated, "We don't simply want to know God, we want to be like God." (See https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/douglas-d-holmes_identity-doctrine-christ/.) His comment made me think about my purpose in writing this blog. As I continue my journey to know the Savior, am I committed to make the necessary changes to become more like Him? Am I willing to follow His example in all things? I want my answer to be, "Yes!" The Jesus Christ and the Everlasting Gospel Teacher Manual explains that, "Like the Savior, we fulfill righteousness when we submit to the ordinances and covenants of the everlasting gospel." (See https://www.lds.org/manual/jesus-christ-and-the-everlasting-gospel-teacher-manual/lesson-8-jesus-christ-fulfilled-all-righteousness?lang=eng.) Ordinances, like baptism and the sacrament, are physical acts that symbolize sacred spiritual acts. They help us remember who we are and remind us of the covenants we have made with our Heavenly Father. (See https://www.lds.org/topics/ordinances?lang=eng.) A covenant is a "sacred agreement between God and a person or group of people." (See https://www.lds.org/topics/covenant?lang=eng.) Jesus Christ takes ordinances and covenants very seriously. I know that as I make and keep covenants with my Heavenly Father, I can have have the peace and assurance that my life is in line with Heavenly Father's will. Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. The Law of Moses required that all males attend the three feasts of the Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. The House (or Academy) of Hillel, a school of Jewish law that "thrived in 1st Century B.C. Jerusalem" taught that women must also attend the feast of the Passover. (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Hillel.) Attending this feast was an act of "devout obedience" by Mary and Joseph. (See http://biblehub.com/commentaries/luke/2-41.htm.)
At age 12, Christ went with his parents to the feast of the Tabernacles. "At twelve a Jewish boy became a son of the law, with the responsibility of a man, putting on on the phylacteries which reminded of the obligation to keep the law." (See https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bd/phylacteries and http://biblehub.com/commentaries/luke/2-41.htm.) Like his parents, Jesus was strictly obedient to the law of Moses. It was not until the Christ's death and resurrection that the ceremonial law of Moses was fulfilled. (See https://www.lds.org/scriptures/gs/law-of-moses?lang=eng.) What would it be like to have a perfectly obedient child? You would never have to worry about him coming home late at night. If he said he would do a chore, the chore would always get done. Interestingly, Jesus' parents' worries stemmed from Christ spending 'too much' time preaching his Heavenly Father's gospel or teaching at the temple. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. Jesus had a humble, loving step-father. Before the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph, and told him that "that which is conceived of [Mary] is of the Holy Ghost," Joseph desired to "put her away privily," without specifying the cause. Joseph did not want to make a public example out of Mary, or put her to shame. (See http://biblehub.com/commentaries/matthew/1-19.htm.) His name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb. Jesus' mortal life was part of a much larger plan. Jesus Christ is central to the Plan of Salvation. He was prepared from the beginning to perform the Atonement. Just as God had a specific plan for Jesus Christ (down to a predetermined name), God too has a detailed plan for my life. And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord. Jesus had a devoutly obedient mother. She followed all applicable laws (circumcision, purification) with respect to the birth of her son. I too should follow civil and eternal laws.
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