("The Better Part" by Simon Dewey)
1. Read about the attributes of disciples of Christ
a.
Luke 10:38-42 (First things First)
i.
Mary and Martha teach me to always keep my
priorities in order by doing the “needful” thing and choosing the “good part.”
ii.
In the talk “Good,
Better, Best” by Elder Dallin H. Oaks he says, “We have to forego some good
things in order to choose others that are better or best because they develop
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and strengthen our families.”
iii.
Elder Ballard counsels us that “A periodic
review of the covenants we have made with the Lord will help us with our
priorities and with balance in our lives. This review will help us see where we
need to repent and change our lives to ensure that we are worthy of the
promises that accompany our covenants and sacred ordinances.” (Keeping
Life’s Demands in Balance)
b.
Luke 11:1-13
i.
Ask to be taught certain things, like prayer
(vs. 1)
ii.
Submissive to the Father’s will (vs. 2)
iii.
Gratitude and Humility (vs. 3)
iv.
Forgiveness (vs. 4)
v.
Seek and have faith (vs. 9-10)
vi.
Ask for the guidance of the Spirit (vs. 13)
c.
Luke 12:13-40
i.
Eternal perspective (vs. 15, 21)
ii.
Work (vs. 19-20)
iii.
Faith (vs. 28)
iv.
Prepared (vs. 35)
v.
Be watching for the Second Coming (vs. 37-40)
d.
Luke 13: 23-24
i.
“Strive to enter in at the strait gate” (vs. 24)
1.
I feel this means try to follow Christ’s example
e.
Luke 14: 16-33
i.
Accept the invitations of the Lord and don’t
give excuses for not living the gospel
1.
Excuses given in the parable
a.
Need to see piece of land he just bought (vs. 18) = wealth
b.
Prove oxen (vs. 19) = work
c.
Married a wife (vs. 20 = relationships
ii.
Extend the gospel invitation to all (vs. 22-23)
iii.
Willing to lay down your life for Christ’s sake
(vs. 26)
1.
I feel this means physically die but more
importantly to let go of bad habits and anything else that would keep us from
being like Christ.
iv.
Use the Spirit to hear and follow Christ (vs.
35)
f.
Luke 14:33
i.
“forsaketh all that he hath”
g.
Omni 1:26
i.
“…come unto him, and offer your whole souls as
an offering unto him, and continue in fasting and praying, and endure to the
end…”
h.
Mosiah 2:34
i.
“…ye are eternally indebted to your heavenly
Father, to render to him all that you have and are…”
i.
Matthew 13:44-46
i.
“…sold all that he had…” to purchase the “pearl
of great price” which represents the gospel and being a true disciple of Christ
2. What does it means to be a disciple of
Jesus Christ?
a.
In the Bible Dictionary under the word “disciple”
it defines a disciple as “a pupil or learner” and goes on to say it is “a name
used to denote all followers of Jesus Christ”. So to me that means that in
order for me to become a disciple of Christ I need to be a learner of Christ’s
life and apply his teachings to the best of my ability.
3. What is the cost of being a disciple of Jesus Christ?
a.
Being a disciple of Christ is often thought of
being a great sacrifice but the truth is that having the opportunity to become
like Christ is a huge blessing given to us by our Savior and our Heavenly
Father. In Matthew 10:39 of the Joseph Smith Translation is says, “He who
seeketh to save his life shall lose it; and he that loseth his life for my sake
shall find it.” We will become so much more in partnership with our Heavenly
Father and Christ than we could ever become on our own.
4. Read the institute student manual commentary for Luke 11:5-13 “The Parable of the Friend at Midnight”
The parable of the friend at midnight in
Luke 11: 5-13 is an analogy of how our Heavenly Father will answer our prayers
when we ask with real intent and sincerity. Elder James E. Talmage clarifies
this by saying, “The Lord’s lesson was, that if man, with all his selfishness
and disinclination to give, will nevertheless grant what his neighbor with
proper purpose asks and continues to ask in spite of objection and temporary
refusal, with assured certainty will God grant what is persistently asked in
faith and with righteous intent.” He goes on to say, “There must be a
consciousness of real need for prayer, and real trust in God, to make prayer
effective; and in mercy the Father sometimes delays the granting that the
asking may be more fervent” (Jesus the Christ, 3rd ed. [1916], 435).
This gives me such peace knowing that my
Heavenly Father truly does love me and is willing to answer my prayers if I am
praying with real intent according to His will.
Identify one of the teachings that you
would like to apply more fully in your life. Write a paragraph about how you
could apply that teaching and what difference you believe it would make in your
life.
Honestly, I have a hard time going with the
flow and dealing with changes in my life. I am a planner. I like to make lists
of what I need to get done, follow my calendar of events or appointments to a
tee, and get really stressed out if it doesn’t go according to my plans. I do
have faith in my Heavenly Father but I have a hard time giving up total control
of my life over to Him and trusting Him fully.
As I was pondering being a disciple of
Christ and following his example I realized that this is a Christlike attribute
I need to develop. If Christ is my example then I should look at his life for
examples of him fully trusting the Father. One of the best examples that comes
to mind is when Christ is suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane and he says, “Father,
if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but
thine, be done” (Luke 22:42). Even though Christ was hurting and the weight he
was called to bear seemed to overwhelming he never doubted that his Father
loved him and that is Father’s will was the best for him. If I am to become a
better disciple of Christ then I must learn to turn my whole life over to my
Heavenly Father and trust that His plans for me are so much better than I could
even dream of.
Now this sounds all great on paper but what
action step am I going to take to truly apply this principle in my life? There
are many things that we can do to help us learn to trust our Heavenly Father
more, but one thing that I really need to work on is saying meaningful personal
prayers. Yes, I go through the motions each day but my heart isn’t present in
my prayers. I feel that if I truly prayed with real intent having faith that
what my Heavenly Father has in store for me that day is the best I would be
able to live a more peaceful life full of more joy and less worry. I would be
able to forget myself and go to work each day helping others around me become
disciple leaders like Christ. I feel that if I make personal prayers a priority
in my life then my faith and trust in my Heavenly Father and Savior will grow.
To understand prayers a little better I
decided to study about it in the Bible Dictionary. My favorite parts are when
it says, “As soon as we learn the true relationship in which we stand toward
God (namely, God is our Father, and we are his children), then at once prayer
becomes natural and instinctive on our part.” It goes on to say, “Prayer is the
act by which the will of the Father, and the will of the child are brought into
correspondence with each other.” Now this to me is the key… “The object of
prayer is not to change the will of God [or tell Him my plans], but to secure
for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant,
but that are made conditional on our asking for them.”
Wow, so not only do I need to remember the
God is truly my Father but I also need to remember that for certain blessings
it is a condition that I pray for them. This makes me sorrow thinking of how
many blessings I and others have missed out on because I didn’t exercise my
agency and ask in prayer for those blessings. Luckily, today is a new day and I
can use the Atonement to repent and become better at saying my personal
prayers. Of course, trying to become a better at my personal prayers is going
to take time so I will have to be patient with myself and use the Atonement
daily. What would we do without the Atonement? It truly is an amazing gift from
our Savior and our Father.
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