The "How" On Making Miracles Happen

Matthew 17:14–21. The Savior Healed a Young Man 

1. 1. Review Matthew 17:14–21, and list three things the Savior said were needed for the disciples to heal the man. 

 17 Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.

1. 1. Have faith the size of a grain of mustard seed
2. 2. Prayer
3. 3. Fasting

2.    Read each of the following references. Next to the reference, write what it teaches about what is needed for miracles to happen. 

o       3 Nephi 18:20 

“And whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is right, believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto you.”

You must ask in the name of Christ and you must believe it will happen.

• • Doctrine and Covenants 50:29

 29 And if ye are purified and cleansed from all sin, ye shall ask whatsoever you will in the name of Jesus and it shall be done.

You must be pure

• • Doctrine and Covenants 42:48 

 48 And again, it shall come to pass that he that hath faith  in me to be healed, and is not appointed unto death, shall be healed.

You must have faith that you can be healed

Will You Walk or Will You Sink?

Matthew 14:22–33. Walking on the Sea

1.      Review Matthew 14:22–33. Identify in writing what the reaction of the Apostles was when they first saw the Savior walking on the water toward them.

They were freaked out to say the least.  They thought that Christ was a spirit and were struck with fear.

The scriptures states:

 “25 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.

26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.”

2.      What did Peter’s response indicate about him?

When Peter heard that it was Christ he asked Christ to call him out of the ship so he could see for himself that it was he. I feel this suggests that Peter had faith in Christ. He knew that if it really were him that walking on water would be possible. 

3.      According to Matthew 14:30, why did Peter begin to sink?

He began to sink because the wind and reality of what was happening caused him to start doubting. After catching him before he sank, Jesus even asks him “O thou of little ^afaith, wherefore didst thou ^bdoubt?”  Peter’s faith was not enough to support him on the water.

4.      What did Peter do when he began to sink?

Peter became afraid and when he began to sink he called out to Christ begging to be saved from sinking.

“he was ^aafraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.”

What word in the verses describes the expediency or the timing when Jesus responded to Peter’s request?

When peter called out for help Christ “immediately” responded.

5.      Read Doctrine and Covenants 88:67. Write a paragraph describing what principle from this verse relates to what Peter did to successfully walk on the water. How can this same principle be applied to your life to assist you in walking over the storms of life?

The reason why Peter Successfully walked on water was because his eye was single to the glory of God.  He was not doing it for his own but for the reasons that God needed him to. Perhaps it was to increase his faith for later down the road, or to show those in the ship that were witnessing that such faith was possible.  At that moment he was filled with light and his body comprehended all things.  I would love to experience such faith.

It was when his mind was filled with doubt that the light was pushed away and he began to sink.

D&C 88:67 And if your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you; and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things.

Love and Respect for Righteousness

1.         Read Matthew 11:1–19 and Luke 7:18–35. 

What did the two disciples of John the Baptist ask Jesus Christ?

The two disciples ask Jesus Christ: “…Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?”

The Savior told them to go back to John and tell what they saw and heard. After reading these accounts, explain three things you would have told John if you had been with those two men.

Three things that I would have told John are:

#1

 I would tell John that Jesus is helping the blind receive their sight and the deaf to hear.  This can be taken two ways for Jesus Christ helped people to physically see and figuratively.  He was opening eyes, ears, minds and hearts.

#2

 I would Tell John that Christ is Cleansing the Leaper.

I feel that John would understand that when you reach out to the son of God in faith that this would heal you in your weakness.  He would have Joy to hear that people are humble enough to seek the Lord for help in any infirmity.

#3 

I would tell John that the poor were having the gospel preached unto them

What is a poor person?  They are people who have been brought low. They are prepared to receive the word of Christ.   (See:  Alma 32 from the Book of Mormon).

2.         Read the institute student manual commentary for Matthew 11:2–3, “Did John Doubt That Jesus Was the Messiah?” (pg. 66). Explain why John wanted his disciples to go to Jesus Christ.

John did not doubt the Messiah but some of Johns followers did. John was always telling his followers that he was not the Christ and that he was preparing the way for Jesus. The reason John sent some of his disciples was not because he himself need persuading but to persuade his disciples that Jesus was the Christ

3.         Read the institute student manual commentary for Matthew 11:11, “No Greater Prophet than John the Baptist” (pg. 66). What did the Savior say about John the Baptist in Matthew 11:11 and Luke 7:28? Provide three reasons given by Joseph Smith why John the Baptist is considered among the greatest prophets.

The Savior held John the Baptist in the highest respect and loved John yet he still loves everyone:

In Mathew 11:11 it states:

11 Verily I say unto you, among them that are born of ^awomen there hath not risen a greater than ^bJohn the Baptist: ^cnot withstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Luke supports this very statement.  Out of the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.

Three reasons Joseph smith gave why John is among the greatest prophets was primarily:

“First. He was entrusted with a divine mission of preparing the way before the face of the Lord. Whoever had such a trust committed to him before or since? No man.

“Secondly. He was entrusted with the important mission, and it was required at his hands, to baptize the Son of Man. Whoever had the honor of doing that? Whoever had so great a privilege and glory?

“Thirdly. John, at that time, was the only legal administrator in the affairs of the kingdom there was then on the earth, and holding the keys of power. The Jews had to obey his instructions or be damned, by their own law; and Christ Himself fulfilled all righteousness in becoming obedient to the law which he had given to Moses on the mount, and thereby magnified it and made it honorable, instead of destroying it. The son of Zacharias wrested the keys, the kingdom, the power, the glory from the Jews, by the holy anointing and decree of heaven, and these three reasons constitute him the greatest prophet born of a woman.”

4.         What does John 3:30 suggest about John the Baptist and his attitude toward the Savior? Briefly describe how we could apply a similar attitude in our own lives.

In John 3:30 it suggests that John humbly loves Christ and sees him as the savior.  It shows that John desires Christ to be successful in his mission.

In order to grasp the true feelings and attitude start in John 3:27

 27 John answered and said, A man can ^areceive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.

 28 Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him.

 29 He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.

 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.

 31 He that cometh from ^aabove is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all.

We must understand that without Christ we are nothing.  He deserves our greatest respect and love.  We can show this in our life but keeping the commandments and living as he did.  Serving our fellow brothers and sisters and directing the lost back to the straight and narrow

The Beatitudes

The Beatitudes 

To Be Blessed 

I lived on the buckle of Bible Belt for two solid years.  I know a lot about southern hospitality.  It was wonderful but could also be a confusing place.  There were so many opinions of doctrinal interpretation.  This is why you would see so many churches. On every corner you would see a church professing that their interpretation of the gospel was the "correct one". Now my point isn't to tell you what church to join (if you want to know that I will have you read the account of Joseph Smith from mormon.org ).  What I really want to point out that while I was in the south, something that I truly loved was that the people would use the word "blessed" in every other sentence.

The foot notes in Mathew talks about the word "blessed" as follows: "The Latin beatus is the basis of the English “beatitude,” meaning “to be fortunate,” “to be happy,” or “to be blessed.”    I love how it says " to be fortunate and then follows with "to be happy"  I have never received a blessing that didn't make me happy.  

Points to Ponder gave the insight that:  Blessedness is defined as being higher than happiness. ‘Happiness comes from without and is dependent on circumstances; blessedness is an inward fountain of joy in the soul itself, which no outward circumstances can seriously affect.’

One of my favorite accounts from this week was when a lady in our area noticed that our wash and dryer was a no go.  She kindly offered hers until we could figure something else out. Me and my wife considered ourselves blessed at that moment and to this day.  Knowing that there are kind people out there that are following Christ's example causes us to have something higher than happiness.  WE ARE TRULY blessed.

Examples from the scriptures would be found in Matthew 5:12  I will highlight in yellow all the attributes of blessedness that I find.

12 "^aRejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your ^breward in heaven: for so ^cpersecuted they the prophets which were before you."

Three of my favorite beatitudes are:

1. 5. 
   Blessed Are the Pure in Heart
2. 
   
3. One of the many reason why living this way has blessed my life and caused me to be happier is because I can be trusted.  I can be trusted with friends, family, strangers and with my Heavenly Father.  When you are pure in heart you have a real intent for that which is good.  You seek to uplift rather than tear down.  I feel that when you are pure in heart that you are better equipped to listen to the promptings of the spirit and act.  God can trust you with more which will then bless you more in  return.
   
   
   
4. 7. 
   Blessed Are the Peacemakers
5. Have you ever met someone that can calm a room that is heated.  You can't help but look up to them. What is it about them that helps them to do such an difficult task. Peacemakers are those that we turn to when we don't know the nice thing to say. One way that it will bring happiness in the future by being a peacemaker is that you will be able to bring an environment of contention to peace. Thus inviting the spirit to teach. 
6. 
   
7. 8. 
   Blessed Are They Which Are Persecuted
   When we are persecuted we are tried. Those who are persecuted are blessed because they are being tested to see if they will be followers of Christ at all times. If we are willing to be prosectuted for our beliefs but still rely on God to help us through it then we will be blessed because "we were put on this Earth to testify of Christ". 

The Baptism of Jesus Christ

Why was John hesitant to baptize Jesus Christ?

In Matt 3:13-17 You read about the account where Jesus Christ is baptized.
He goes to John who wants to turn him down saying " I have need to be baptized of thee".
What John was essentially saying is that he knew that Jesus Christ was perfect. He was clean.  John could not understand why someone who has never sinned would ever have a need to be baptized when baptism is to wash away sin.  John's statement admitted how imperfect he is and his desire to become like Christ.

I love that Jesus used this opportunity to teach.  To explain how important baptism really is.
In verse 15 Jesus responds to John by saying: "Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness." That is a powerful statement."...To fulfill all righteousness".  
Think about this;  "If Jesus Christ, being perfect had need to be baptized to fulfill all righteousness, how much more need we being imperfect to be baptized?"  
So what did John do? He suffered him (or in other words, he baptized Jesus Christ).

Verses 16 and 17 finish off the chapter by stating that:

16 And Jesus, when he was ^abaptized, went up ^bstraightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the ^cSpirit of God descending like a ^ddove, and lighting upon him:

 17 And lo a ^avoice from heaven, saying, This is my ^bbeloved ^cSon, in whom I am well pleased.

What is taught here about the Holy Ghost?
 "‘The sign of the dove was instituted before the creation of the world, a witness for the Holy Ghost, and the devil cannot come in the sign of a dove."   Now when you read of the dove you know that it is an emblem representing the Holy Ghost.

Continued revelation explains to us that "The Holy Ghost is a personage, and is in the form of a personage. It does not confine itself to the form of the dove, but in sign of the dove. The Holy Ghost cannot be transformed into a dove; but the sign of a dove was given to John to signify the truth of the deed, as the dove is an emblem or token of truth and innocence.” It thus appears that John witnessed the sign of the dove, that he saw the Holy Ghost descend in the ‘bodily shape’ of the personage that he is, and that the descent was ‘like a dove.’” (McConkie, DNTC, 1:123–24.)

Three reasons why Jesus Christ said that he must be baptized to "fulfill all righteousness"
 (2 Nephi 31: 6-11) :


#1 Humility:  "...notwithstanding he being holy, he showeth unto the children of men that, according to the flesh he humbleth himself before the Father, and witnesseth unto the Father that he would be ^aobedient unto him in keeping his commandments."

#2 Demonstrate And Set The Example:  "And he said unto the children of men: ^aFollow thou me." 
#3 To Establish the Importance:  of being baptized  of water and receiving the Holy Ghost. 
" Wherefore, after he was baptized with water the Holy Ghost descended upon him in the ^aform of a dove.



This section of scripture also teaches about the relationship of God, Jesus Christ and The Holy Ghost.
The following are a few of the many evidences.

Evidence that The Father, The Son and The Holy Ghost are three separate and distinct beings:

#1  The way that Christ refers to God as Father.


"But notwithstanding he being holy, he showeth unto the children of men that, according to the flesh he humbleth himself before the Father, and witnesseth unto the Father that he would be ^aobedient unto him in keeping his commandments."

#2  The Holy Ghost descended upon Christ

#3  The way that God refers o his son.

 "And lo a ^avoice from heaven, saying, This is my ^bbeloved ^cSon, in whom I am well pleased."


We are so blessed to have God who is our eternal heavenly father, his son Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost who love us and desire our success in this life.  Our progression is their goal.  This is beautiful.