Walking on the Sea Matthew 14: 22 - 33

In Matthew 14:22-33, we experience the story of Peter walking on water and we learn more about faith and fear.

When the Apostles first see the Savior walking on the water, they fear that he it is a spirit. In our lives today, we are often times faced with decisions, challenges or trials where are first response is to be afraid like the apostles first were when they saw a being walking on the water.

Peter being filled with faith asks the Lord that if it is Him “bid me come unto thee on the water”. This response shows that he has incredible faith in Jesus Christ knowing that if it was indeed Him walking on water than through the power of Jesus Christ, he would be able to walk on the water as well.

Peter turns his faith into action as he takes those first steps on the water, but is filled with fear as he becomes unfocused on his goal of joining Jesus Christ on the water and the surroundings become clear to him as Christ becomes blurry. Many times, we may lose our focus, but it is important to keep our eye on our eternal goal.

As Peter begins to sink, he calls out to the Lord “save me” and the Lord immediately stretches forth his hand to catch him.

We our exhorted time after time to “come unto Christ” and we can learn from Peters example that as we do come unto Christ and call to him to “save me”, Jesus Christ will immediately come to our aid to help relieve our burden.

There is a guarantee through this journey of life that we will all be faced with our own personal “storms”. We will all face challenges, but we are blessed with another guarantee in our life and that is explained further in Doctrine and Covenants 88:67, it says “And if your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you; and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things”. As we face the inevitable challenges in life, we can all be filled with hope as we keep our eye to the single to the glory of Christ and our whole bodies shall be filled with light. As Peter stepped onto the water, he was focused on Jesus Christ, his eye was single to his glory and thus, he was blessed and was able to walk on the water. We also learn from Peter that if we take our eye off of Jesus Christ and let fear inside then we will face the consequences. Christ will always be there to catch us when we fall. We may all be filled with the hope knowing that as we keep our eye single to his glory, then there shall be no darkness in you. That is such a great promise knowing that in the darkest, scariest of times, we can still rely on the blessings that the Atonement brings in each and every one of our lives. We will all be faced with decisions in our future especially as we are going to school, starting families, and becoming independent. As we make those decisions, our thoughts may become clouded by many different things, but remember this scripture in D&C 88:67 and keep your eye on the eternal perspective.

The Lord Often Taught With Parables Matthew 13: 24 - 48

Throughout the ministry and teaching of Christ, He used parables to teach the people of religious truths comparing them to objects or situations that were around them at the time. In my own words, the definition of a parable is a story that teaches us principles of the gospel that can be applied in our lives and in the lives of those that came before us and those that will come after. A parable is in some ways can be compared to a scavenger hunt, those that are actively involved searching in this “scavenger hunt” will find what they are looking for or they will find the meaning of a parable. Those that are not actively involved in the scavenger hunt will not necessarily know what they are looking for and therefore, they will not find it or they will not understand the meaning of a parable.

Parables can be used to answer questions that we might have in these latter days. For example:

What describes the future growth of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? The Parable of the Mustard Seed and the Leaven - Matthew 13: 31-33
Why does the Church send out so many missionaries?
The Parable of the Gospel Net - Matthew 13: 47-50
How do you explain the remarkable growth of the Church, considering that it is fairly new compared to most world religions and started small in the American frontier?
Parable of the Mustard Seed and the Leaven Matthew - 13:31-33
Why are some members of the Church willing to sacrifice so much worldly wealth and recognition in order to maintain membership in the Church?
Parable of the Treasure and the Pearl of Great Price - Matthew 13: 44-46
Why do some Church members choose to leave the Church?
The Parable of the Tares - Matthew 13: 24-30

Matthew 13:44-46 is the parable of the treasure and the pearl of great price. This parable can be likened to the sacrifices that we have to make in our lives to obtain the treasure of the gospel. I would be willing to sacrifice everything that I own even my life to obtain the treasure of the gospel. That sounds like a lot, but we are taught the Law of Consecration that we will put forth all that we have and all that we can to the building up of the Lord’s Kingdom. The blessings of the gospel include so many things here on earth, but ultimately we are all seeking the greatest blessing of all which is eternal life and I would be willing to give up anything to live with our Heavenly Father again for eternity. I have seen so many examples of sacrifice in my family, the first example I have seen is in my Dad. My Dad grew up in a home that was filled with anything and everything that is opposite the teachings of the Gospel. He was constantly faced with pressure from his family to participate in those things, something kept him from being involved in it. He was baptized when he was 21 years old and has since dedicated his entire life to the gospel which has included many sacrifices. My brother and I have also had the wonderful opportunity to sacrifice 18 months to 2 years of our lives to give to the Lord in service. As I have seen the sacrifice in my family and even experienced it in my own life, I know that the blessings that come from our sacrifice are far greater than the temporary anguish we may have when we are faced with sacrifice.

Matthew 13: 47 is the parable of the net cast into the sea. The net represents the gospel being spread forth throughout the world or it can also mean those that are gathering many different people through their missionary efforts whether it be serving a full-time mission or in other capacities as members of the Church. The act of gathering in verse 47 is our efforts here to bring others to the gospel, missionary work. In the Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Joseph Smith says “Behold the seed of Joseph, spreading forth the Gospel net upon the face of the earth, gathering of every kind, that the good may be saved in vessels prepared for that purpose, and the angels will take care of the bad.” (Teachings of the Prophet of Joseph Smith, 102) As we strive to share the gospel in our everyday lives, there will be those that accept the gospel and those that do not. Our job is to continue to find those that are ready to receive the gospel and to continue to spread the gospel in any way that we can whether it be through work, service, or even in the home. Those that do not accept the gospel we will continue to remember in our prayers and hope that they will be ready to accept the gospel later in their life.

The Beatitudes: Matthew 5: 1 - 12

As people all over the world pray, there is a common word that is used to plead for help in any situation. That word is “bless”, you may have heard or used it yourself in your communication with Heavenly Father. “Please bless this home”, “Bless this food”, “Bless our family”. The word “blessed” is used again and again in Matthew 5:1-12 as the beatitudes are introduced. Bless is a word that is so commonly used, but I have never thought to discover the real meaning of bless, blessed or blessedness, yet I have so many blessings in my life. In the Institute Student Manual, the word “blessedness” is defined as being “higher than happiness”. The Merrium-Webster dictionary defines “blessed” as “enjoying the bliss of heaven”. Thus, if you follow what was taught in the Sermon on the Mount than you will be filled with something that is higher than happiness, you will be blessed.

Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in Spirit”
One of my first semesters back at school, I was called to be a Sunday School Teacher teaching the New Testament. I have been taught the stories my entire life, but I didn’t feel like I had the knowledge or the ability to teach it to others. At this time, I relied on the Lord in all aspects of preparing and delivering my lesson. I was so blessed during this time because I overcame a big weakness for me which was public speaking. I use to only take classes that did not require any presentations because of my fear of speaking in public. The first Sunday, I was scared to death, but with much prayer and fasting, I did it! I taught and I owed my success in teaching to the Lord, for it was because of Him that I was able to do that. I am so thankful for that experience because through it I have been able to overcome my weakness and come closer to Christ.

Matthew 5:6 ”Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness”
I served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints; this was a time in my life that I devoted 18 months to the Lord, preaching the Gospel. During this time, I discovered the Gospel like I never have before. As I had daily personal and companionship study, studying the scriptures and as I taught lessons to those that were interested in the Gospel, I had an appetite for the gospel that encompassed my entire being. My life was all about striving for righteousness and it made my life so fulfilling.


Matthew 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers”
Peace is a trait that I strive to have in my life continually. It is something that is quickly recognized when it is not present. As I have been filled with peace, personally, spiritually, physically, and emotionally, my life has truly been blessed. As I have returned to school to continue to pursue my education, I have been confused and filled with turmoil as the time to make decisions neared. I use the word turmoil because that is how I always feel when I don’t have the presence of peace in my life. In the recent weeks as school has started, I have strived to have consistent, daily scripture study and I have also made an effort to take care of myself physically as I exercise regularly and eat healthily. I have noticed a complete change as I feel peace envelop my life. I still am not completely sure what I need to do at this time, but I do know that everything will work out and I feel that I am in control of my life because of the peace that I feel as I have put my life in line with the Gospel.

"Ye Must Be Born Again" John 3:7

In John chapter 3, verse 7, it says “Ye must be born again”. We are exhorted to be “born again”, but what does it mean to be “born again”? Like many of us, Nicodemus was confused as to the term “born again”. In verse 4, it says “Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the womb, and be born? Jesus teaches Nicodemus’ men that “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” (John 3:4)

In Verse 5 through Jesus Christs’ teachings, we learn that there are two things required to be born again. 1)Born of Water and 2)Born of the Spirit. In the footnotes of John, we see that being born of water means baptism. Through the Bible Dictionary, we learn that baptism is an introductory ordinance in the Gospel of Jesus Christ including faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism by immersion, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end. “Baptism symbolizes death, burial, and resurrection, and can only be done by immersion.” Baptism is necessary to our salvation or to entering in the kingdom of God as it says in John 3:3-5.

Baptism can be a symbol of rebirth. In Moses 6:59 many examples can be found such as “ye were born of the world by water”, the rising up out of the water following the baptism, “be cleansed by blood, even the blood of mine Only Begotten; that ye might be sanctified from all sin”, through the Atonement, forgiveness of our sins is made possible and we must follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized by immersion to be cleansed of our sins. Baptism can also be a symbol of death. Being immersed in the water is symbolic of death, being buried and then coming up from the water is symbolic of being raised from the dead as Christ was.

Born of the Spirit means to receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost. This happens after baptism by the laying on of hands. After receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, we are blessed with the constant companionship so that we may receive comfort, peace, guidance, and so on. In John 3:8, the Holy Ghost is compared to wind because as it says in verse 8 “thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and wither it goeth.” The Spirit may manifest itself in many ways whether it be a still small voice, or a feeling, or a clear and direct thought.

Our Heavenly Father loves each and every one of us and because of His love, he sacrificed his only begotten son so that we could return to live with our Father again. Unconditional love was required of Jesus Christ to suffer as he did in the garden of Gethsemane and on the cross. That same love was required of Heavenly Father to sacrifice his son, to watch his son endure the pains of the world, but he did it for the world so that we could have eternal life. If we follow the example of Jesus Christ, accept the Gospel: Having faith in Jesus Christ, repenting, being baptized by the proper authority and in the proper way, receive the gift of the Holy Ghost and endure to the end then we will be blessed with eternal life. I have seen the blessings of following the Gospel in my life and in the life of my family. I know that the Atonement is real and is meant for each and everyone of us.