Brother Hilton,
I hope that you are pleased with my Book of Mormon Project. I spent a lot of time on it, and by doing so I became closer to my Savior. I successfully posted 5 times a week for 8 weeks about both scriptural insights and tender mercies I noticed. Doing so helped me slow down in my scripture study and really recognize God's hand in my life.
I am very grateful for this assignment because this is the first spiritual "journal" I have ever kept, and I learned a lot from working on it. I decided to not share my blog with family and friends because I wanted to be able write for my own pleasure and benefit. I didn't want to have to worry about what other people thought of my blog and I knew that somethings were too sacred to share. I hope that someday my posterity will read through this blog and use it as a tool to get to know me. I really poured my heart and soul into this blog.
Thanks again for this assignment. It was really hard, but it caused me to grow.
-Danielle Jones
Sunday, November 16, 2014
Alma 1
Fun Fact about the Book of Alma:
Alma covers 1/3 of the Book of Mormon and only 40 years of history.
"They bore with patience the persecution which was heaped upon them." Alma 1:25
The righteous people were patient in their afflictions. This really stood out to me because patience is a very Christlike attribute. Fortunately, I have not had to endure much persecution, but if I had, then I know that my first instinct would be to fight back. I know that Christ would not fight back and that he would even love the people who were afflicting him. We can all learn a lesson in patience from both this verse and from Christ, who is the perfect example.
"And thus they did establish the affairs of the church; and thus they began to have continual peace again, notwithstanding all their persecutions." -Alma 1:28
Even though these people were being persecuted, they knew that the church was still the most important thing. They were able to have peace during their trials because they put their trust in God and established the church. I can have peace in my life if I focus on the gospel and on serving others.
Alma covers 1/3 of the Book of Mormon and only 40 years of history.
"They bore with patience the persecution which was heaped upon them." Alma 1:25
The righteous people were patient in their afflictions. This really stood out to me because patience is a very Christlike attribute. Fortunately, I have not had to endure much persecution, but if I had, then I know that my first instinct would be to fight back. I know that Christ would not fight back and that he would even love the people who were afflicting him. We can all learn a lesson in patience from both this verse and from Christ, who is the perfect example.
"And thus they did establish the affairs of the church; and thus they began to have continual peace again, notwithstanding all their persecutions." -Alma 1:28
Even though these people were being persecuted, they knew that the church was still the most important thing. They were able to have peace during their trials because they put their trust in God and established the church. I can have peace in my life if I focus on the gospel and on serving others.
Friday, November 14, 2014
Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy
I had an amazing, peaceful, spiritually uplifting experience while completing this challenge last Sunday. Growing up, my parents were very strict on what we could or could not do on Sunday. We never turned the TV on, cleaned our house, did homework, listened to music, or shopped at the store. When I was younger, I had a hard time understanding why my parents would require something that hard from me, but as I grew up, I began to become very grateful for the requirements set.
Unfortunately, as soon as I moved out, I began to slacken on my Sunday worship. For the first time I was so swamped with homework that I didn’t know how I could possibly finish without working on it on Sunday. Also, my roommates all love watching Netflix, listening to music, and throwing parties on Sunday. Our walls are thin, which made it nearly impossible to separate myself form the world.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I began robbing banks on Sunday or anything like that, but it just became easier to go along with the crowd, rather than constantly tell my roommates to remember that it was Sunday. I often did homework on Sunday, and would sometimes watch movies that I knew wouldn’t be very bad. Certainly a G or PG rated movie should be okay on Sunday right? Fortunately, I wasn’t the only roommate who was upset by this policy, and last Sunday we all contributed to a more uplifting atmosphere.
It was one of the most peaceful, uplifting days of my life. I spent all day studying my scriptures, reading my patriarchal blessing, writing letters to missionaries, playing the piano, and writing in my journal. It was so relaxing to put away all of my homework and worries and focus on what really matters. Believe me, it was hard! I had a ten page paper due on Tuesday and all I wanted was to work on it because so much depends on that paper! I believe that taking a day off from writing it helped me write a better paper in a shorter amount of time. I had the opportunity to go to a missionary fireside, and had a lot of important questions answered that had been really bothering me for a long time. I was so in tune with the spirit and I benefitted from acting upon it.
As it turns out, my parents were right! Keeping the Sabbath day holy will make such a difference in your life and Heavenly Father will bless you because of your obedience. From now on, I am going to try harder to finish all of my homework before Sunday, and to refrain from media and TV. I hope that if I ever get tempted to do otherwise that I will be able to remember the amazing experience I had last week. Heavenly Father blesses us when we keep his commandments.
Unfortunately, as soon as I moved out, I began to slacken on my Sunday worship. For the first time I was so swamped with homework that I didn’t know how I could possibly finish without working on it on Sunday. Also, my roommates all love watching Netflix, listening to music, and throwing parties on Sunday. Our walls are thin, which made it nearly impossible to separate myself form the world.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I began robbing banks on Sunday or anything like that, but it just became easier to go along with the crowd, rather than constantly tell my roommates to remember that it was Sunday. I often did homework on Sunday, and would sometimes watch movies that I knew wouldn’t be very bad. Certainly a G or PG rated movie should be okay on Sunday right? Fortunately, I wasn’t the only roommate who was upset by this policy, and last Sunday we all contributed to a more uplifting atmosphere.
It was one of the most peaceful, uplifting days of my life. I spent all day studying my scriptures, reading my patriarchal blessing, writing letters to missionaries, playing the piano, and writing in my journal. It was so relaxing to put away all of my homework and worries and focus on what really matters. Believe me, it was hard! I had a ten page paper due on Tuesday and all I wanted was to work on it because so much depends on that paper! I believe that taking a day off from writing it helped me write a better paper in a shorter amount of time. I had the opportunity to go to a missionary fireside, and had a lot of important questions answered that had been really bothering me for a long time. I was so in tune with the spirit and I benefitted from acting upon it.
As it turns out, my parents were right! Keeping the Sabbath day holy will make such a difference in your life and Heavenly Father will bless you because of your obedience. From now on, I am going to try harder to finish all of my homework before Sunday, and to refrain from media and TV. I hope that if I ever get tempted to do otherwise that I will be able to remember the amazing experience I had last week. Heavenly Father blesses us when we keep his commandments.
Thursday, November 13, 2014
Mosiah 24
"He did know the thoughts of their hearts" -Mosiah 24:12
Christ, aside from understanding everything we have ever or will ever go through, knows the thoughts of our hearts. He can hear our thoughts, and the Holy Ghost puts thoughts into our hearts. He always knows what we need before we ask for it, and he knows of our good intentions, even though sometimes those intentions don't work out the way we had hoped. Christ is always with us. Watching us. Guiding us. Helping us. We can pray at any time. Think about that. We can have a conversation with our Heavenly Father, who is the most powerful being in the entire universe, at any time. Even more amazing than that, he listens and responds back. I am so grateful that I have the knowledge of my Savior, Jesus Christ, and my Heavenly Father. I only hope that I express that gratitude enough.
"I will also ease the burdens which are put on your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs." Mosiah 24:14
The interesting thing about this line is that in the chapter heading it states that "the Lord makes their burdens seem light. This is the enabling power of the atonement which, as stated in class, is something we should all take the time to understand better. Sometimes Christ doesn't take the pain away. Instead, he helps us through the pain. You can do anything through Christ.
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Mosiah 21-
"They did humble themselves even in the depths of humility" -Mosiah 21:13
Humility is a tricky thing. How humble exactly is being humbled to the depths of humility? How humble am I supposed to be, because it is easy to feel inferior to everyone else, but it is also easy to be very prideful and to feel like you are better than everyone else. I guess that the right amount of humility is to know that everything you have comes from God and that he even created your body and your spirit. We should be spending our lives in the service of others to show our gratitude for everything God has done for us. That's what humility is; knowing that God is everything.
"Now there was a great number of women, more than there was of men" -Mosiah 21: 17
This really has nothing to do with the scriptures, but I couldn't resist! This scripture perfectly describes freshman year. There are 2 girls for every boy in my ward, and any sort of social life is a real struggle. Now back to real scriptural insights!
"King Limhi and his people were desirous to be baptized; but there was none in the land that had authority from God...therefore they did not at that time for themselves into a church" -Mosiah 21:33-34
We should thank our Heavenly Father that we have the priesthood! I am so blessed to have a worthy father and brother than can give me blessings, as well as righteous home teachers, FHE brothers, and an amazing bishop. I am surrounded by the priesthood and that knowledge makes me so happy! I am so excited to someday marry someone with the priesthood who, just like my own father strives to use if often and is always worthy of it. I am so very blessed.
Humility is a tricky thing. How humble exactly is being humbled to the depths of humility? How humble am I supposed to be, because it is easy to feel inferior to everyone else, but it is also easy to be very prideful and to feel like you are better than everyone else. I guess that the right amount of humility is to know that everything you have comes from God and that he even created your body and your spirit. We should be spending our lives in the service of others to show our gratitude for everything God has done for us. That's what humility is; knowing that God is everything.
"Now there was a great number of women, more than there was of men" -Mosiah 21: 17
This really has nothing to do with the scriptures, but I couldn't resist! This scripture perfectly describes freshman year. There are 2 girls for every boy in my ward, and any sort of social life is a real struggle. Now back to real scriptural insights!
"King Limhi and his people were desirous to be baptized; but there was none in the land that had authority from God...therefore they did not at that time for themselves into a church" -Mosiah 21:33-34
We should thank our Heavenly Father that we have the priesthood! I am so blessed to have a worthy father and brother than can give me blessings, as well as righteous home teachers, FHE brothers, and an amazing bishop. I am surrounded by the priesthood and that knowledge makes me so happy! I am so excited to someday marry someone with the priesthood who, just like my own father strives to use if often and is always worthy of it. I am so very blessed.
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Mosiah 16 and the mission decision
"If Christ had not risen from the dead, or have broken the bands of death that the grave should have no victory, and that death should have no sting, there could have been no resurrection" -Mosiah 16:7
One of the things that I love about this gospel is that death really has no sting. It is hard to see people die because we miss them. We love them. But we know that we will see them again and we know that they are in a better place now than they were in before they died. Our Heavenly Father loves us so much that he takes us home with him.
I also just want to record where in chapter 15 it says Christ "shall see his seed" three times. We have all been taught that when Christ performed the atonement that he saw all of us individually, but this is the first scripture I have found that states it. Christ saw me. He felt what I feel. He experienced what I have experienced. I am never alone because Christ is always there for me.
Last weekend I made the decision to not serve a mission. I went to a fireside called "to go or not to go" where four sisters spoke of their mission decisions. One sister in particular felt that she was not supposed to go and even though she wanted to, she knew that it wasn't right for her. Since then, she has become an RA, and an EFY councilor. She has had so many missionary experiences without leaving home.
I really think that is what I am supposed to do with my life. I am not to serve a full time mission but I am expected to still be a missionary and to still share the gospel. I have my whole life to bring others unto Christ!
This is what I feel strongly about doing and I hope that I will continue to receive a confirmation about my decision. I know that God's time is not my time and that I still have many years to serve him. I know that if I do not serve a mission that something even better will come along and I can't wait to find out that that might be! I have my whole life ahead of me and there are so many hundreds of opportunities waiting for me!
One of the things that I love about this gospel is that death really has no sting. It is hard to see people die because we miss them. We love them. But we know that we will see them again and we know that they are in a better place now than they were in before they died. Our Heavenly Father loves us so much that he takes us home with him.
I also just want to record where in chapter 15 it says Christ "shall see his seed" three times. We have all been taught that when Christ performed the atonement that he saw all of us individually, but this is the first scripture I have found that states it. Christ saw me. He felt what I feel. He experienced what I have experienced. I am never alone because Christ is always there for me.
Last weekend I made the decision to not serve a mission. I went to a fireside called "to go or not to go" where four sisters spoke of their mission decisions. One sister in particular felt that she was not supposed to go and even though she wanted to, she knew that it wasn't right for her. Since then, she has become an RA, and an EFY councilor. She has had so many missionary experiences without leaving home.
I really think that is what I am supposed to do with my life. I am not to serve a full time mission but I am expected to still be a missionary and to still share the gospel. I have my whole life to bring others unto Christ!
This is what I feel strongly about doing and I hope that I will continue to receive a confirmation about my decision. I know that God's time is not my time and that I still have many years to serve him. I know that if I do not serve a mission that something even better will come along and I can't wait to find out that that might be! I have my whole life ahead of me and there are so many hundreds of opportunities waiting for me!
Monday, November 10, 2014
Tender Mercies: Temple Edition
I really do love to see the temple. I had a wonderful experience there this morning. It is very sacred, so I am not going to share, but I testify that if you go to the temple often, then the Lord will bless you.
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