blueprint for perfection

This week in New Testament we studied the "greatest general conference talk ever". Also known as the Sermon on the Mount, as recorded in Matthew 5. I'll admit, before the insights I received this week, this chapter always confused me a little bit, especially the beatitudes. I wondered why Christ was talking about these random groups of people and the blessings they would get from being humble or poor in spirit or meek or a peacemaker or whatever. But in class we learned that the beatitudes can be seen as a blueprint for perfection.
Before we got into the doctrine our teacher asked us to keep a prayer in our heart during the lesson and have the pure intent to learn how we specifically can become more Christlike. One of the biggest lessons I learned from that is the scriptures are eternally significant to each of God's children. It's amazing how billions of people can read the same verses of scripture, and each be comforted and strengthened in an individual way. This blueprint is very personal and yet, it applies to each of us, no matter where we are in life, or where we've been. It's beautiful.
So, the beatitudes can represent the repentance process in 8 steps.
1. recognize wrongs
2. feel sorrow
3. turn to God for help
4. seek His will and do it
5. accept others and self
6. have pure intent
7. dedicate life to bringing peace
8. remain faithful despite opposition
In each of these eight steps we make a kind of mini covenant with Christ. We give Him something, such as our shortcomings, our weaknesses, or our dedication, and in return He gives us amazing blessings. He promises the kingdom of Heaven, comfort, the Spirit, mercy, a witness of God... and this is never ending. This isn't a process we go through once or twice. It's a process that shapes us and refines us our whole lives, if we will let it.
After we learned about this process it was compared to a spiral staircase. We can go up, and down, and sit on the steps for a minute. Being a disciple of Christ is an upward climb. It takes endurance and patience, but it is so rewarding. We should always be looking where we want to go. But we can always reach down and take someone's hand and lead them higher. The main point of this is progression and change. Yes. We are all poor in Spirit. We are not even close to being perfect, but as we follow this blueprint we become more complete. One of my favorite quotes from this lesson is "don't hold your present hostage to your past". We are able to continue on this staircase because of the Atonement, and saying that we can't go any further is saying the Atonement isn't enough for us to overcome our past sins and weaknesses. We can ALWAYS climb upward because of Christ's ultimate gift, and inherit everything our Heavenly Father has in store for us. There is nothing to inspire greater hope than that!
cheers
Tamsyn

Finding a Christlike balance

This week in New Testament class we covered Christ's childhood and the beginning of His ministry. And as we discussed, there was one scripture that really stood out to me. One that I've probably read quite a few times and haven't even noticed. As we talked about this verse it just amazed me how much there is to learn from the scriptures. They truly are a map or guidebook for our lives and teach us the way to return to our Heavenly Father. So the verse I'm talking about is in Luke chapter 2, verse 52. It says: "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man." So that's cool. But really, in 14 simple words this scripture gives us the recipe for how to have a perfect balance in our lives. I guess this was super meaningful to me because, coming home from a mission recently, it's been a bit difficult to refocus and rebalance and remember how to live normal life. So this scripture is awesome! It tells us the four areas that we should always be striving to increase in to become like Christ.
The first is intellectually ("increased in wisdom"). Hey, I've got that part down! I'm at school, trying to gain more knowledge that I'll use to benefit the rest of my life. But it's important not to let the other things fall by the wayside. We have been taught that the knowledge we gain in this life will help us here and will come with us to the next life, and Christ is a perfect example of that.
The next area is physically ("increased in stature"). Our spirits and our bodies are connected, and when we are taking care of our bodies... things just go better. All around. Christ was a carpenter. He was active. He was always walking around finding people to help. It's important for us to take care of our physical temples and show our Heavenly Father our appreciation for the marvelous gift that our bodies are.
Third is spiritually ("increased in favour with God"). Christ showed us that having a relationship with our Heavenly Father is essential for us to be happy and to succeed and progress in this life. We grow that relationship through sincere prayer, scripture study, church and temple attendance, service, and missionary work, among other things. Striving to better ourselves spiritually is a life long pursuit, marked by covenants that lead us on the path to eternal life. It's easy to slack on the little things, but not worth it. I think this area is the foundation for a balanced life.
Fourth is socially ("increased in favour with man"). We are all children of God, which means we all have something to learn from each other. The relationships we form and cultivate here on earth can bring us so much joy and help us through the trials and struggles we will inevitably face. Christ was friendly with everyone He met and focused completely on the individually. His ministry wasn't about being popular or having lots of followers, it was about showing His Father's love and showing people their potential. We can be His hands here by showing kindness and love to our fellowmen and being a light.
I'm so grateful for the insight I gained this week from this scripture. Finding a balance is difficult, but the principles here lay it out so simply, and I hope we can all implement it, and keep going on our way to becoming like Christ.
cheers
Tamsyn

Thy prayer is heard

For my New Testament class we have the chance to share some of our thoughts on what we learned about in class each week. And after only 3 classes, my understanding of the scriptures is growing so much! I was trying to decide what to share today because a lot of things stuck out to me as we studied the beginning of Christ's mortal life.
One of my favorite lightbulbs came when we talked about Zacharias. So he was a really important priest and had spent a lot of time serving God. He and his wife Elisabeth were getting up there in age and had never been blessed with a child, though they had definitely prayed for one. Despite that, Zacharias was faithful. Then one day while Zacharias is in the temple he is visited by an angel, which scares him a little bit, but this heavenly messenger tells him something pretty amazing. He says "Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John (Luke 1:13)". For some reason, I had never really understood the significance of that moment. Zacharias and Elisabeth had prayed years and years ago that they could be parents. And now, with Elisabeth past the age of having kids, no doubt they had left those prayers in the past and had just accepted the fact that having a child was not part of God's plan for them. I can't imagine the emotions Zacharias felt as he realized that God was aware of him all those years, and was just waiting for the right moment to bless him. That probably dispelled all the fear, uncertainty, and nervousness that comes with receiving big news... like you're having a baby! Now Zacharias knew for sure that God doesn't withhold blessings from us if we are faithful. He has something miraculous planned for each of us and sometimes we think we're being left out, or being kept in the dark, but we just have such a limited view of the plan. God can see it all. And His timing is perfect. Zacharias and Elisabeth would now have the privilege and responsibility of being the parents of John the Baptist... and that is pretty cool.
I love applying this principle into our lives today. We are constantly praying for guidance and help, and a lot of times it seems we're left alone to make big decisions, or what we want just isn't given to us. But, we really should never question if God is there. He is. He wants to bless us and answer our prayers, and we just have to continue faithful, trusting that there is something great in store for us. Living that way can quiet all our fears!
Cheers,
Tamsyn

Back to BYU

After a long absence, I am returning to the blogging world. I have been back at school for just over a week and it's been good! This semester I am taking a bunch of random classes that all somehow relate to my major such as French 102 (retaking because I don't remember much from over 18 months ago), 19th Century Europe. We are learning about the French Revolution at the moment, which apparently is part of the long 19th century. English 23943something, basically we're studying the legend of King Arthur for the whole class, which is pretty cool. By the end I'll probably be fluent in old/middle English. And Humanities 201 which is the old Western world. I just read some excerpts from the Iliad and the Odyssey today. And New Testament. I have a great teacher so I'm excited for that class. There is always something new to learn from the scriptures.
Right now my dilemma is figuring out what to do with my major. I really like it, but I don't know what direction I want to go with it. There are so many possibilities, but I guess I have some time to figure that out.
So those are my classes. It should be a good semester!