One Mann's Viewpoint

Christ will Provide This week I had the pleasure of learning again, in depth, the miracle of feeding the five hundred. This story shows up a few times in the New Testament, but I ran into it again while reading in Mark chapter 6. For those who are unfamiliar with this miracle, I will give a short and quick breakdown.  The Savior and his apostles are in the wilderness and people come to be taught by him. Many came and learned with him. As the day went on the apostles asked of Jesus what they should do for these people. They needed to eat, but there were so many people. The apostles suggested sending the people back to the city to get food for themselves. Jesus Christ had a different idea, inviting his apostles to go out among the people and collect all the food they had. They collected only 5 loaves of bread and 2 fishes. After Jesus blessed this food and separated the people into groups, he was able to feed them all. It was a miracle that this small sacrifice of food was m...

The Origin of True Authority This week in my studies I came across a scripture that got my mind thinking. The scripture was in the Book of Mark, chapter 1, verse 21 & 22, and it reads... " And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught.  And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes."  To set the stage, Mark is telling about some of the things that Christ did in his ministry, and he tells this right after saying how Christ called his apostles one by one. These scriptures stood out to me because they outline the distinct difference that people were able to see between the scribes and the Lord, Jesus Christ. In two ways he was different, in his "astonishing" knowledge of the doctrine and in his authority.  Christ's knowledge of the doctrine came from study and prayer. He was the Son of God, but he grew up learning, as th...

Being Judged Today What it means to have your "Calling and Election" made sure Recently while reading in the new testament in 2 Peter, I stumbled across a scripture that led me to think and study more deeply. The verse that caught my attention was 2 Peter 1:10-11 which reads... "Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." This scripture explains how if you are able to "make your calling and election sure" then you will never fall away and it seems like you'll be admitted into the same kingdom as Christ, our savior. Now these seemed like pretty important promises to me, things that I would most certainly want to obtain. The next step was to figure out what "making your calling and election sure" even meant.  ...

Being Equally Yoked There is a topic that I have been thinking a lot about lately. It is what it means to be "equally yoked" to the people around you. Especially your spouse. This week in my study of the New Testament I stumbled across a scripture in 2 Corinthians 6:14 that says... "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?" This verse is a pretty intense verse with some pretty different interpretations. Paul is the author of this book and he is writing to the saints who are living in Corinth. Is he telling them, and us, to not be friends with those who aren't faithful members? Surely he isn't telling us to drop every one of our non-member friends and live in a shelters lds community where we will never be around those who are "equally yoked" in the gospel with us.  There is a talk, given by President Spencer W. Kimbal...

The Reality of Christ and Satan As many of you know, I am a Christian. I fully believe in the reality of Christ, in his ministry as recorded in the New Testament, and of the miracles that he performed. I gained this revelation in the same way many of the apostles did that we read about in the scriptures. When Christ called his apostles he told them to follow him and gave them authority to enact certain miracles. In Matthew chapter 10 he told them to...  "... go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.". With this charge, the apostles did just that. We can read account after account of them healing the sick, raising the dead, and giving freely of the word of God to his children. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I believe that this is the same church that Christ established, brought back to the earth by Christ himself, a ...

The Family: A Proclamation of Action The Family: A Proclamation to the World outlines the purposes of family and the divine roles of a fathers, mothers, husbands, and wives. It lays out clearly how to organize the family and how to make the family experience the most enjoyable. The last and final paragraph of the proclamation serves as a call to arms, inviting everyone to support the words in the proclamation because they are the words of God. It reads... WE CALL UPON responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society. How can the everyday "joe" like you and me promote these measures to strengthen the family. One of the most important things we can do is begin living the council that we gain from the proclamation. By living it, the people around you will begin to see the difference and ask themselves what you are doing differently. We can also all promote...

The Family: A Proclamation on Accountability The 8th paragraph of "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" holds within it a warning. The Lord knew that when families operated appropriately the results could be beautiful, but he equally understands the destruction that can come to people's lives when their family situation is less than ideal. Knowing this, the majority of the proclamation is about how families should act at the ideal level. This paragraph is a warning when life is not ideal. The 8th paragraph reads...  WE WARN that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets. Accountability to God means that we will be judged for our actions in the family.  Violating covenant...