Calling the Fishermen.

{VIA}

I love this painting, I always have. I love the colors, and the way the water ripples, and the way Christ looks. I just like all of it. But there was one thing I hadn't really taken note of. Well, I guess that's not fair. I've noticed it, but never thought about it in this way before.

This last Sunday, there was a really interesting speaker in my ward. You see, we all take turns speaking during our worship meeting, which is a meeting we call Sacrament. It's the most sacred meeting of all our church meetings, and is the time when we partake of the Sacrament. Bread and water are blessed and partaking of it allows us to renew our covenants made with our Heavenly Father at baptism. If taken properly, we become clean again. We carefully and thoughtfully consider the sacrament prayers and the covenants we are renewing, such as: eating in remembrance of the body of Christ, and promise that we will always remember his sacrifice upon the cross,  drinking in remembrance of the blood shed for us, which atoned for the sins of Adam and allows us to be freed from our own sins, on condition of true repentance, covenanting to take upon us the name of Christ, and avoid anything that would bring shame to His name, and covenanting to keep His commandments.

After we take the sacrament, we hear from church members who have been assigned to speak on certain topics. It's a time to learn and reflect upon the Lord.

So, as I was listening to this certain speaker (his name was Brother Lillywhite, if you're wondering), he mentioned something so interesting, I'm surprised I'd never caught on.

Brother Lillywhite mentioned this picture, and the way Christ's feet are positioned. In it, He is calling to Peter, asking him to come to Him so that He may make them "fishers of men". In the painting, Jesus' feet are parallel to the shoreline, and His left heel is raised, as if He is still walking.  He is calling to them, and moving forward with His work. He wanted them to come, and come when He needed them. His feet are not perpendicular to the shoreline, as they would be were He begging them to come. He asked simply, and allowed them to make their choice.

This is still how it works today. When our Heavenly Father calls us, or prompts us to do something, we have our choice. But the work doesn't stop. We have to act when we are prompted, for if we are prompted, it is important and needs attention now. We need to move our feet to keep up with His, so that we may serve each other in the best way possible. When He calls us, He is calling us specifically because we are the best person for that job, in that particular moment. And while His plan will not fail, it is made that much better by our willingness to stand and go where He wants us to go.

I'm glad to say I've gotten better at this, standing up and going when He needs me to. I'm not perfect at it yet, but I have seen situations that were time sensitive, and the outcome wouldn't have been as good had I waited and not followed the prompting. I have a strong testimony of angels on earth, and strongly believe we can be those angels for other people if we will listen to promptings and go when we are called.

Have you had any situations where you acted when you were prompted to?

The Power of the Priesthood

As conference approaches we are reminded of how sneaky the adversary is and how determined he is to destroy all things that are important to Our Heavenly father, our Savior, His church, and us, His children. President Monson once said, "Today, we are encamped against the greatest array of sin, vice, and evil ever assembled before our eyes. … The battle plan whereby we fight to save the souls of men is not our own. It [came through] the inspiration and revelation of the Lord.”  (Thomas S. Monson, “Correlation Brings Blessings,” Relief Society Magazine, Apr. 1967, 247.)

To live in this world and not of this world is a very difficult task at times, but we must remember it may be difficult in this moment in time, but it will not always be difficult. It is not just possible but it is very certain that we will win this battle against the adversary. We are a part of The Church of Jesus Christ, His church that is now as it was when He walked the earth preaching. It was not easy to live the gospel then, it was not easy in the early days for the early saints, and it certainly can be difficult in today’s world. It has been many years since that day when the priesthood was restored to us here on Earth. Our numbers have grown to astonishing numbers since then, but compared to the billions of people here on Earth it is still a small fraction. We must keep in mind who we are, remember what we know, and we must step out against the adversary and preach the gospel to all those who are around us. We will be able to accomplish all things great with the power of the priesthood.

Many people have begun to question why we, as women, are not given the keys to hold the priesthood. Many of which are mis-lead, I am here to remind you that woman are just as much a part of the priesthood as the men. We all hold a very important role within the Church. It is important that we all understand this because as woman we are wives, mothers, daughters and sisters of the brethren that the priesthood keys are bestowed upon. We have influence on our husbands, fathers, sons, and brothers. If we are not working as a whole we cannot progress and the complete greatness the priesthood can posess will not be reached.  Without the worthy priesthood holders standing in his own place standing strong, along with all members of the church women alike  the Lord said,” the weak things of the world shall come forth and break down the mighty and strong ones.”  (Doctrine and Covenants 1:19)

With Our Heavenly Father there is a plan, He loves each one of us and would not leave any of us out of the plan. After all He wants each of us to return and live with Him once again. His plan is that even those homes without the priesthood are being watched over by the quorums of the church. The true power of the priesthood comes through faithful and obedient living in honoring covenants. It increases by exercising and using the priesthood. Just imagine by allowing the priesthood into our homes, families, and lives how strong we will become spiritually to keep out the adversary and his followers. As we look around in today’s society it is so very clear that he and his followers are persistent on attacking the home and the family. President Boyd K. Packer reminded us in the April General Conference of 2010, because the power of the priesthood has been given to us to guide us and protect us we will not be fearful of the future. We will move forward knowing that the Lord will watch over us, our families, and homes.  

Introducing Gospel Principles Monday!! Have questions? Ask!

Over here at Being Martha, Becoming Mary, we understand that people have questions about our faith. While awareness of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is increasing in the world today (thanks to the examples of everyday members in our communities as well as prominent members of our faith), there are still lots of questions, misconceptions, and downright lies out there about us, what we believe, and who we worship.

One of our goals here is to open the conversation a little bit. To provide a place where questions can be asked and honest answers are given. Honestly, I didn't think our faith and practices were odd or different until I moved to Tenneessee for a bit. I met many really neat people there, and was asked a lot of weird questions. Mostly about polygamy and how I feel about it (I don't believe it appropriate).

So, in response to questions people may have, we're going to start doing Gospel Principles Mondays! We'll focus on a different topic each week, include our feelings about it, and direct to further resources if interested. Ok? Ok.

Our topic for the inaugural Gospel Principles Monday seemed an obvious one, and one that seems hotly contested.

Q:Are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons) Christians?

A. Yes!

As Latter Day Saints, we worship our Heavenly Father and His son, Jesus Christ. In fact, Jesus Christ is the center of our faith. This is His gospel, and we strive daily to be like Him. We focus our efforts on living Christ-like lives and serve as He did.

We recognize Jesus Christ as our savior, the only way through which eternal life can come. We are eternally grateful for His sacrifice and atonement. All of our teachings are based on His teachings. He is the center of our belief and we are nothing without Him.

President Gordon B. Hinckley, prior president of our faith (and one of my personal favorites!) said it best:

"We are Christians in a very real sense and that is coming to be more and more widely recognized. Once upon a time people everywhere said we are not Christians. They have come to recognize that we are, and that we have a very vital and dynamic religion based on the teachings of Jesus Christ. We, of course, accept Jesus Christ as our Leader, our King, our Savior...the dominant figure in the history of the world, the only perfect Man who ever walked the earth, the living Son of the living God. He is our Savior and our Redeemer through whose atoning sacrifice has come the opportunity of eternal life. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints pray and worship in the name of Jesus Christ. He is the center of our faith and the head of our Church. The Book of Mormon is Another Testament of Jesus Christ and witnesses of His divinity, His life, and His Atonement.”

I couldn't have expressed it better. I know that, personally, Jesus Christ is my friend as well as my Savior and the person on whose teachings I try to base my life. I have a personal relationship with Him and our Heavenly Father through prayer and personal revelation and know that He loves us infinitely. We consider our faith to be His gospel, and include His name in the name of our faith to make sure the world knows we have our eyes single to the glory of God.

Please visit www.mormon.org for more info on this topic and more!

Well, that's it! I hope you enjoyed the first installation of Gospel Principles Monday, and I hope we answered the question for someone dying to know. If you have suggestions, questions, comments or concerns, please let us know in the comments section or email us at beingmarthabecomingmary@gmail.com!!

Have an awesome week.

-Christi

          (Photo credit unknown, if you know, please reach out so we can give credit where it's due!)