Walking on the Sea

There are many lesson’s that can be learned from Christ’s miracle of walking on the water, but today I want to focus on Peter’s example of faith.

Originally when the disciples saw Christ walking towards him on the water it states that they “were troubled.” Do we sometimes feel this way as we see Christ coming towards us during our trials? At first when I thought about this I was sure that of course not, I welcome him coming in my hour of need! But the more I thought of it I wondered if that was really true. Do we sometimes not recognize The Lord as he attempts to help us in the midst of our trials? Do we sometimes not accept his bread because we think it’s a stone?

Peter was the first to recognize the Savior, however, and what he did next astonishes many, yet the principle is simple. But by putting our trust in The Lord we too can walk on the waters of trial and temptation. The key is to have faith, believe, and not fear. This can be hard as often times in our lives we may accept God’s plan for us, but that does not mean we are not afraid. Just as Peter we may see the temptations and trials coming and sink into despair. This scripture teaches us the next valuable lesson. We do not need to depend on our faith alone. The moment that Peter cried out to The Lord, Christ immediately stretched forth his hand.

If we focus all our energies and focus on The Lord we can be given the knowledge and power to endure all our trials and temptations. In D&C we read that we can comprehend all things, just as Joseph Smith was promised when he prayed to The Lord. If we have faith instead of fears we can withstand all our trials that we are faced with. And in those moments that we may lose our faith or waver, the moment we look to Christ he will come to our aide.

The Beatitudes

This week I was able to read and study the beatitudes Jesus taught during his mission here on earth. During this study I defined what blessed really means and discussed three of the beatitudes and how I feel they have either affected my life, or will affect them in the future.

Blessed- joy of the soul. A joy higher than happiness untouched by outward circumstances. 

Blessed are the poor in spirit-

We depend on The Lord for everything. When reading Hugh Nibley's Approaching Zion, he speaks of the importance of depending on The Lord for all that we have. We are so minuscule in this world. We can do so little. I have seen this take place in my family as my Father has been called to be a mission president. Because my father is poor in spirit he relies on The Lord for all things, including success in the mission, finances while he is away, and to take care of our family. I have seen The Lord provide for our family while my Father has displayed this quality of being poor in spirit. 

Blessed are the pure in heart- 

I like the quote by president Lee that states, "We only see what we have eyes to see." If we are constantly focused on the negative, that is what we will see, however, if we look for the positive, that is also what we will see. We will not see God for what he is unless we have the spiritual eyes to see. Many people in the world don't see God because they are not interested, however, when we have faith and exercise that faith we are able to see God in our everyday lives. By doing so I can come closer to Christ and more fully feel his influence in my life. By perfecting myself and purifying myself I can come closer to Christ and be an instrument in helping others come closer to Christ.

Blessed are they which are persecuted- 

I have experienced persecution because of my beliefs and I have found that when I stand firm in my beliefs, even after persecution, others gain respect and are more open minded. It's common for people to scoff at our value of abstinence before marriage, but when I stand up for what I believe I have had others become more understanding and open to my beliefs. I believe The Lord truly does bless us for withstanding persecution and that it often leads to missionary opportunities.