Preparing for the Second Coming of the Savior

Last Thursday, my friend Heather and I had the blessing of being able to go to the temple.  It had been a really long time since I have been to the temple, and the timing could not have been more perfect.  Last week was very difficult for me and going to the temple gave me the peace and assurance that I was in desperate need of.

As we were in the car for the long 2 hour journey to the temple, part of what we talked about was concerning the Second Coming of the Savior.  I shamefully do not know as much about this as I would like to, so I decided to focus my studies over the past few days about it and how I can be better prepared for it. 

One of the things that I need to watch for in order to be prepared to meet the Lord is people that will try to deceive me.  I also need to be paying attention for signs and continue to be prayerful.  I find it interesting that the scriptures say that no one knows when the Second Coming will be.  That really makes it vital that I strive to be my very best each day so that I can hopefully be prepared to meet Him when He comes!

Digging further into the scriptures, Doctrine and Covenants Section 45 Verse 57 talks about the importance of having the Holy Spirit be my guide.  I am grateful for that reminded that I need to strive to listen and obey the promptings that I am given by the Holy Ghost.  I also think that it is very important that I continually strive to do the daily things that we are commanded to do, such as reading my scriptures and praying faithfully.  I also feel that it is important to continue to strengthen my testimony of the Gospel and to share it with all those who will listen.  When I attended the temple on Thursday, I felt the Spirit burn so strongly inside of me; more than I ever have before.  I have a very strong testimony that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the true church, and it is my hope and prayer that I can do the very best that I can so that I can be in the Lord’s presence once again.

The Last Week of the Savior's Life

When I was attending BYU-Idaho, one of the weekly devotional speakers talked about the last week of the Savior’s life, and I have always wanted to study it more in depth.  For that reason and more, my scripture study focus for this week was about the events that occurred during the Savior’s last 7 days of life and on the day of His resurrection.  Below is the commentary from the Institute manual about what happened on each day.  

First Day

Jesus arrived at Jerusalem. He secured a donkey and a colt, and rode through the city gates into Jerusalem. A “very great multitude” who knew him to be “the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee” 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.)

He went directly to the temple, and according to Mark, took note of what he saw and retired to Bethany for the night (Mark 11:11).

Second Day

Early the next morning Jesus went again to the temple and made a decisive thrust calculated to challenge the Jewish religious leadership. He drove from the outer court area of the temple those who were trading and making money exchange from foreign currency. The money exchange was apparently sanctioned by the Jewish leaders; and by preventing the merchandizing, Jesus was in effect challenging their leadership. The issue was clear: Was the temple to be 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.)

Again that evening Jesus returned to Bethany.

Third Day

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 these things? 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.

Perceiving that Jesus had gained the upper hand in their confrontations, the Jewish leaders 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.

Fourth Day

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.

Fifth Day

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.

Sixth Day

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.

Seventh Day

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 of the Resurrection

Had the gospel ended with Jesus’ burial, there would be no gospel story, no “good news.” The great message of these testators is that Jesus was risen and was seen again by many witnesses. On the first day of the week, the most memorable Sunday in history, Jesus Christ emerged alive from the tomb, and appeared before Mary. The testimony of these witnesses constitutes the gospel story, the “good news.”

“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.)

Parables and Accounts That Teach Eternal Truths

This week, I wanted to study about parables and accounts that teach eternal truths.  There were 5 that I looked into more deeply to try to discover what principle the Savior wanted me to learn from Him by way of His parables. 

In Luke Chapter 16 Verses 1-12, it talks about the parable of the unjust steward.  The principle that I obtained from these verses was the importance of preparing for my eternal future.  While it is wise to prepare temporally for the things that we need while we are here on this earth, temporal things are just that—temporary.  It is vital that we also take care to prepare spiritually for our eternal life after we leave this earth.

In Luke Chapter 16 Verses 19-31, it talks about the parable of the rich man and Lazarus.  The principle that I got out of this was the importance of temple and family history work.  The people who are loved ones of the past are waiting to hear the gospel message.  To paraphrase Elder Ballard’s October 2013 General Conference talk titled, “Trust In the Lord,” he said that it is up to us to invite but it is up to whoever we invite to choose whether or not they want to accept our invitation.  Therefore, doing our family history work and temple work is crucial in order to give deceased members of our family a chance to make that choice for themselves. 

In Luke Chapter 17 Verses 11-19, it talks about the parable of the ten lepers.  The thing that stuck out to me the most, and therefore became the most important principle to me from this parable, was the reminder that what the scripture says in Doctrine and Covenants Section 18 Verse 10 is correct”  “Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God;”    

In Luke Chapter 18 Verses 1-8, it talks about the parable of the unjust judge.  The principle that I got from this was the importance of consistent, honest prayer.  I need to learn how to pray to Heavenly Father as though I was talking to Him face to face, instead of just having my prayers be a set of random words strung together.

In Luke Chapter 18 Verses 9-14, it talks about the Pharisee and the publican. This parable reminded me that self-righteousness is no justification before God.  I want to strive to do all I can to stop justifying things, as well as stamp out any self-righteousness that is inside of me.   

What do I need to do to become a disciple of Christ?

As I was doing my scripture study this week, I pondered over what a disciple of Christ is and what characteristics they hold.  Here is a list of a few things that I came up with:

1.    A disciple of Christ gives up all that they have to follow Him.

2.    A disciple of Christ puts their complete trust and faith in the Savior.

3.    A disciple of Christ lives their life in a way that emulates the Savior. 

4.    A disciple of Christ lays up treasures in Heaven instead of putting their love and heart into treasures on earth.

The characteristic that I want to apply more fully in my life is to be sure that I am laying up treasures in Heaven.  I am going to strive to make sure that I continue to be grateful for all that I have been blessed with, instead of being jealous of the things that I do not have (such as a backyard).  I know that the Lord has blessed me with all that I currently stand in need of, and for that, I am truly grateful.  I am also extremely grateful to Him for blessing me with things that I do not necessarily need, but that make my life easier and better.

What is ultimately required to become a disciple of Jesus Christ is to give our whole souls as an offering to Him and to be willing to sacrifice all that we have for Him.  It is also required of us to press forward and to endure to the end.  Sometimes, enduring feels like the hardest part!  However, I know that the Lord can strengthen us as we continually go to Him in prayer and ask Him for comfort, guidance, and strength with whatever we stand in need of. 

"If thy right hand offendeth thee..."

As I was doing my scripture study this week, several things really stood out to me that I wanted to share.  I found it interesting that the Joseph Smith Translation for Matthew Chapter 18 Verse 9 explains that a man’s hand and foot symbolize his friends and a man’s eye symbolizes his own household.  That really emphasized to me the importance of having quality friends around me and the importance of choosing my husband wisely (which I did)! 

There is no way to completely avoid being around people who have the potential of being an unrighteous influence on you, however.  That being the case, I believe that the best way to be around them and to avoid falling into transgression or temptation at the same time would be to always keep the Spirit with you. 

Someone made a comment that she was breaking up with a television show because it did not add any value to her life.  I pondered over that comment and realized that there were a few things that I needed to “break up with” myself.  I prayed to the Lord and asked for forgiveness for participating in those time-sucking activities that were not bad, but that did not add value to my life and I have been striving to be more intentional in the way that I spend my time.  I listen to the General Conference talks periodically throughout the week and Elder Cook talked about this topic in his talk titled, “Lamentations of Jeremiah:  Beware of Bondage” really stuck out to me.  He said:

"...some addictions or predilections, while not inherently evil, can use up our precious allotment of time which could otherwise be used to accomplish virtuous objectives. These can include excessive use of social media, video and digital games, sports, recreation, and many others." - Elder Quentin L. Cook

In John Chapter 8 Verses 32-34, the Savior explains what the sources of freedom and bondage are.  Truth is the source of freedom and sin is the source of bondage.  That reminds me of an analogy I heard about a kite string.  It would make logical sense that the string of the kite is holding the kite down, and if you only cut the string off, then the kite could fly high and free.  However, we know that if the kite string gets cut, the kite falls down to the ground.  Commandments are the same way.  They do not hold us down, they help us be free and closer to the Savior.  An example of this is the commandment to stay morally clean.  There is so much bondage when you do not keep that commandment and miss out on so much happiness by participating in sin.  Since the Savior is the way, the truth, and the life (as it says in John Chapter 14 Verse 6), that goes to show that He truly is the source of freedom and happiness that we can obtain if we follow Him and keep the commandments.  I believe that knowing the Savior makes us free in so many ways.  For example, we are free from devastating loneliness and despair because we know that He is there to comfort us and bear us up when we are going through trials.   

Have faith, not fear

As I was studying Matthew Chapter 14 Verses 22-33, I pondered over the story about Jesus walking on the sea.  It was completely understandable why the Apostles were frightened when they saw Him walking towards them on the water!  I love how Peter’s response to the Savior showed how much faith he had in Him.  However, even Peter’s faith wavered when he lost sight of the Savior and focused on his fear of drowning in the sea.  Despite that fact, I loved how Peter knew that He could call upon the Savior for help when he started to fall beneath the water.  Jesus did not make Peter wait; He immediately stretched forth His hand and helped him. 

In Doctrine and Covenants Chapter 88 Verse 67, it talks about how we need to have our eyes single to the Lord’s glory.  In other words, we need our whole bodies to be filled with His light so we do not have any darkness in us.  The principle in this verse about having faith in the Lord instead of having doubts or fears relates to Peter being able to walk on the water when he had faith that the Savior could make it be so.  Likening that to my own life, I need to remember that the Savior will help me get through the storms in my own life if I trust in Him. 

Sacrifices & the net cast into the sea (Matthew Chapter 13)

As I was studying Matthew Chapter 13 Verses 44-46, I pondered over the sacrifices that others that I know have made as they have joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  I do not feel that I have made any sacrifices, but I know a friend who has made many sacrifices to become a member of this church.  Her parents were very mad at her when she got sealed in the temple and they were unable to come.  Her parents have not been supportive of her as she strives to live the gospel values and keep the commandments.  It breaks her heart sometimes to get treated the way she does by her family for the righteous choices that she has made, but it never shakes her faith.  She has a firm testimony that this is the gospel is true and she moves forward faithfully.  It is her hope that her example will be a positive influence for good and will help bring her parents into the church.  Another friend of mine has parents who say very mean things to her about her church membership and make being at home a very difficult time to endure.  The only time she feels peace in her heart and happiness in her life is when she is away from them and at a church college; surrounded by those like her who live and love the gospel.  I am ever in awe of these two women that I know who travail through so much sorrow and hardship, yet still remain true and faithful to their covenants! 

I am not sure if this is correct, but my guess is that the net in the parable of the net cast into the sea in Matthew Chapter 13 Verse 47 represents judgment day.  I think that being gathered into the net means being born on earth to go through the tests and trials that we must all face.  When that parable talks about casting away the bad and gathering the good, I think that represents what will happen to all of us during the day of judgment—we will either be cast away with the bad or placed in His peaceful arms of rest if we are true and faithful.  What do you think this parable is talking about?