Well Hello Family!!!
This week was a pretty all right. It was full of
testifying and helping and learning and well all the works!! As a missionary
you usually have the opportunity to testify. And it’s not just a cool thing but
as a Representative of Jesus Christ we testify of him often. Its more like our
duty to testify "And we talk of
Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and
we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source
they may look for a remission of their sins”. (2 Nephi 25:26) There is
another part I would like to add in, We
Love Christ. It can be part of any
of these but the truth is we love our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But why?
What do you think?
I think its because he atoned for our sins the
scriptures say he bled from every pour (Luke 22:44) so you and I can be free "or to this end Christ both died, and
rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living."
(Romans 14:9) "But if we walk in the
light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the
blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."(1 John 1:7)
no greater love hath a man than this that he lath down his life for his
friends. Jesus really was "the savior of the world" as he is called "Neither is there salvation in any
other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we
must be saved."(Acts 4:12) he is the savior of the all man kind. "For therefore we both labour and
suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the saviour of all
men, specially of those that believe." (1 Tim 4:10) "And we have seen and do testify that
the Father sent the onto be the Saviour of the world."(1 John 4:14)
I with the
Disciples of Christ do testify that he is the Savior of the world. Jesus asked
his apostles "When Jesus came into
the coasts of Cæsarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say
that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the
Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say aye that I
am? And Simon Peter answered and said,
Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed
art thou, Simon aBar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee,
but my Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 16:13-17)
He is the Christ the very son of God. How did they
become to know? How did they know…with an invitation, "And he saith unto them, follow me, and I will make you fishers of
men”. (Matthew 4:19) and what did they do? They didn't just sit and think
about it, they "straightway left
their nets, and followed him." (Matthew 4:20) They straightway knew
that he was the Christ. They knew it and felt it in their hearts. But then why
did they leave the whole work of salvation behind when the unthinkable
happened? The unbelievable was true didn't they have a testimony? We know they did, but why? Was the fishing
really the bigger part of their lives? Why didn’t they ask the lord why all of
it happened? Lots of whys, but lets go into the shoes of Peter for a second
here. He was with the very Son of God he testified that he was the Christ what
happened? Elder Holland explains it like this, “Brethren, it has been a glorious three years. None of us could have
imagined such a few short months ago the miracles we have seen and the divinity
we have enjoyed. We have talked with, prayed with, and labored with the very
Son of God Himself. We have walked with Him and wept with Him, and on the night
of that horrible ending, no one wept more bitterly than I. But that is over. He
has finished His work, and He has risen from the tomb. He has worked out His
salvation and ours. So you ask, ‘What do we do now?’ I don’t know more to tell you
than to return to your former life, rejoicing. I intend to ‘go a fishing.’”
But what happened? Why did they leave the work of
salvation? Was the fishing really that good? (I know some fishermen here and
they say its not the best way of life maybe back then it was but not now)
anyways they knew the Son of God. They had walked and talked, they cried they
labored beside, and they watched the very Son of God in action. Did they really
think, (Elder Holland continues) "After
an encounter with the living Son of the living God, nothing is ever again to be
as it was before. The Crucifixion, Atonement, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ
mark the beginning of a Christian life, not the end of it." or did they
think other wise as they entered into a ship immediately (john 21:5) of course
they didn't know that the fishing wasn't going to be good. but they as they see
the Christ and rejoice in his visit. Christ asks Peter 3 times "do you
love me?" (John 21:15-17) "My beloved brothers and sisters, I am not
certain just what our experience will be on Judgment Day, but I will be very
surprised if at some point in that conversation, God does not ask us exactly
what Christ asked Peter: “Did you love me?” I think He will want to know if in
our very mortal, very inadequate, and sometimes childish grasp of things, did
we at least understand one commandment, the first and greatest commandment of
them all—“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy
soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind.” And if at such a
moment we can stammer out, “Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee,” then He
may remind us that the crowning characteristic of love is always
loyalty. “If ye love me, keep my commandments,” Jesus said. So we have
neighbors to bless, children to protect, the poor to lift up, and the truth to
defend. We have wrongs to make right, truths to share, and good to do. In
short, we have a life of devoted discipleship to give in demonstrating our love
of the Lord, It was this truth, this reality, that allowed a handful of
Galilean fishermen-turned-again-Apostles without “a single synagogue or sword”
to leave those nets a second time and go on to shape the history of the world
in which we now live, We can’t quit and we can’t go back" the
apostles learned a very important lesson that day on the shores of Galali that
Jesus lives and his work never stops, now we have lives to dedicate the the
ministry. I Know as the apostles then and the apostles now (https://www.lds.org/liahona/2014/04/special-witnesses-testify-of-the-living-christ?lang=eng)
I KNOWthat Jesus Lives that he is the Christ the Son of
the Everlasting Father and the head of this Church. I feel honored to have his
name on my chest everyday. He lives for all of us live in him. He died and
rose again I know it.
1.They heard His voice, a voice so mild.
It pierced them through and made their souls to quake.
They saw Him come, a man in white,
The Savior, who had suffered for their sake.
They felt the wounds in hands and side,
And each could testify:
2. I read His words, the words He prayed
While bearing sorrow in Gethsemane.
I feel His love, the price He paid.
How many drops of blood were spilled for me?
With Saints of old in joyful cry
I too can testify:
Chorus:
This is the Christ.
This is the Christ, the holy Son of God,
Our Savior, Lord, Redeemer of mankind.
This is the Christ, the Healer of our souls,
Who ransomed us with love divine." (James E Faust)
He through his prophets are inviting us to come, to
leave our "boats and fish" and come unto him. "I would that ye should come unto Christ, who is the Holy One of
Israel, and partake of his salvation, and the power of his redemption. Yea, come
unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him, and continue in
fasting and praying, and endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye will be
saved." (Omni 1.26) Now do you see the importance of testifying
everyday? I hope so. "And now, after
the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last
of all, which we give of him: That he lives!" (Doctrine and Covenants
76:22)
All I can say is my never ending friend lives, our
example and our Savior. I know that my Redeemer lives what comfort this sweet
sentence gives.
This week is Easter weekend and Holiday all wee, spring
break and all the fun around here. Now let us remember the reason we celebrate
Easter. I love you all!!
Elder Jaymes Monson
 |
| atop a bridge |
 |
| crazy Elders |
 |
| peeling mangos for mango juice |
 |
| Mangos |
No comments:
Post a Comment