“Be Ye Doers of the Word and Not Hearers Only”

1.    Read James 1 and respond in writing to the following items:

o       What words or phrases encourage you to look for direction from God?
 Ask in faith

o       How did James further define the phrase to “ask in faith”?
Have unwavering faith and you will receive your answers.
o       How do Matthew 6:24 and 1 Kings 18:21 add to your understanding of James 1:8?
They help clarify that a man eventually HAS to choose to follow the Lord or to follow Satan. You cannot follow both, it's not an option.
o       From James 1:13–15, 19–27, make an outline of how we can better live the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Do not lust after things
Be quick to hear and slow to speak
Be clean and cling to the scriptures
Be doers of the word, and not just hearers 
o       Give a few modern examples of how you have recently seen individuals exemplify James 1:22.
Being a "hearer" of the word but not a "doer" gives people a false sense of security. Going through the motions are not enough, people need to actively be engaging in the gospel, improving themselves daily. Those that are both "Hearers" AND "doers" are constantly on check with their spirituality and don't get lulled into a spiritual rut.
2.    Read the institute student manual commentary for James 1:5–6, “If Any of You Lack Wisdom” (p. 409). Make a list of reasons why Elder Bruce R. McConkie (1915–1985) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said these verses have “had a greater impact ... upon mankind than any other” scripture.
It helped Joseph Smith ask God to know what church was true, which lead to the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
Investigators of the Church have this promise that if they ask God, they will get an answer

Choice Three, Hebrews 13

Paul concluded his epistle to the Hebrews with some brief teachings and statements of counsel. Read Hebrews 13 and find statements about the following questions:

• How should we treat strangers and those “in bonds”?
 We need to be kind to strangers and those that are in bonds. We need to treat them how we would treat friends, family or how we, ourselves, would want to be treated. Treat them like we are the ones in bonds or the ones who are suffering.
• How is marriage looked upon?
 Marriage is an honorable and sacred thing.
• What warnings are given about covetousness?
 We should keep coveting out of our conversations and be happy with what we have. We have the Lord on our side, what more could we want?
• What is “the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever”?
 Jesus Christ
• How are we sanctified?
 We are sanctified through the blood of Christ.
• How do we respond to those who rule over us?
 We are supposed to obey and submit to those that are over us.
• Who did Paul ask the people to pray for?
Paul asked the people to pray for their leaders.

Choice 5: Hebrews 1-2

• What Christ is Superior to: The Law of Moses, Prophets, Angels, Moses, High Priests of the law of Moses
• Truths Paul taught about Jesus Christ: Christ is appointed heir of all things, Christ is made better than the angels, Christ laid the foundation of the earth
• Reasons why Christ came to mortality: To descend below every human being so He can understand everyone sorrows, He needed to be tempted so He can understand those that are tempted, So that He can be merciful towards us at our judgment because He will know what we've been through, He had to fulfill the prophecy, Loose the bands of death,

Choice 1 Phillipians 1-4

• Phil 2:1-8,14-15: We are supposed to love one another and have no contention among us. We are commanded to not murmur or fight amongst the saints.
• Phil 2:12-15: We are supposed to gain our own testimony, not rely on our parents. It's so difficult to do what is right if we have always only relied on our parents, when our parents aren't there, then we might fall and not be able to obey.
• Phil 3:7-16, 4:13: If we are dealing with a family member that will disown us because we join the church, then we need to have faith that everything will work out. Christ will not punish us for doing what is right He wants us to succeed and He will strengthen us when we are weak.
• We need to rely on the scriptures to guide us through our daily life. Often times people think that the scriptures don't apply to them because they were written thousands of years ago, but they are just as relevant today. The Book of Mormon was written for US and will help guide us through our lives.

Gratitude

I would be extremely ungrateful if I did not express how blessed I am. I have the most AMAZING friends in the world. There is no doubt in my mind that the friends I have, have been placed in my life for a reason. My friend Jeff texted me this morning to be strong and keep my head up, not that anything was wrong, just a friendly reminder. It got me thinking, I really can do anything if I have God on my side, and my friends. Both Heavenly Father and my blessed friend will lift me up when I cannot bare to hold myself up. I am so so so grateful for the wonderful men in my life who exemplify what being a man truly is, their wives are gonna be treated like angels! I know that these men are going to do great things in their lives and I'm so grateful that I've been given the opportunity to know them.
Now for my lady friends.
I cannot express how grateful I am for Kaylynn, Lisa and Brianna. It's the small things they do for me that add up to the big things. Kaylynn letting me cry on her shoulder while I cry on the phone with Nate. Lisa being my comic relief. And Brianna, oh how I miss her. There are days when I ache for my best friend. I don't like being this far apart for so long. But I am so grateful that we are still the same, 747 miles away from each other. I am grateful that I can call her up whenever I need to vent, really vent without any hesitation. I'm grateful that she makes fun of me and is completely honest and can tell me when I'm being dumb. I AM SO BLESSED!!!!!!!
I love my life. With all it's ups and downs, trials and heartaches, laughs and embarrassing moments. I know God has a purpose for me. I'm still trying to figure it out, but I know that He will direct me wherever I need to go. Life is good and I'm PUMPED!

Forgiveness

Choice 2: 2 Corinthians 2:1-11

• The people are commanded to forgive those that hurt them, as well as love them. I think the second part of this commandment is the hardest. It's not something that is easily done. It's our human nature to hate someone when they have hurt us, whether they pushed us down on the playground, stole money from us or said something mean, we automatically don't like someone when we are wronged. But this is not the Lords way. We are commanded to love our neighbor. Jesus Christ LOVED those that crucified Him on the cross. He LOVES those that do wrong to us, so we must be like them and love them too. I don't believe that means you have to trust them again, or that the relationship will be the same, but we need to move on, and just be nice to people. Being nice is what it's all about.
• I think one of the main blessings we receive from forgiveness is peace. It's hard to hate someone. It takes a tole on our bodies. I think this is because it hurts our spirit to be angry with someone. When I was young, I had a family member hurt me deeply. It took me years to get over it, and in some ways, I'm still not over it. But eventually I came to understand the power of forgiveness and through help from my bishop, I was able to forgive them. It wasn't easy. I think often times the forgiveness process is very similar to the repentance process. It's long and hard, but at the end we are blessed with comfort and strength.
• One of the greatest dangers in refusing to forgive someone is that it hurts us in the long run. We are warned that if we do not forgive others, we cannot be forgiven. It's pointless to hold on to grudges because it doesn't affect the other person at all, just ourselves.

Need to catch up!

I'm back in Rexburgggg! Thank goodness! I love being home and working, but school is where I belong at this time in my life. A lot has happened in this short month, and yet I feel like I've been at school this semester for a lifetime! There has already been plenty of laughs, a few tears and lots of sleep deprived nights and thoughts of changing my major. I am in a drawing class... Lets just say the teacher pointed out that I am NOT good at drawing in front of the whole class. It was just fantastic. I miss being in a photography class, but I will be in THREE this coming Winter semester, so I guess I should cherish the fact that I'm not in the photo-lab 24/7, but I still hate drawing. I LOVE living in a house up here at school, it is seriously the coolest experience! We have so much space and it's just a lot of fun! My roommates are awesome, a little loud at times, but they are all fun. Oh, have I mentioned my calling? Relief Society Secretary... Guess that means I have to pay attention. It's cool though, I actually like it... Most days. Here are just a few pictures and highlights from the semester. I'll post pictures of more of my roommates and the house soon. 

Life is good.

 

 This is my roommates Alex, Me and Kaylynn. For FHE we had an Ice Cream drop... which just turned into an ice cream fight! It was awesome! (October 1st)

 Evan Johnson came home! I met Evan up here at school my very first semester and we have been friends ever since! The top picture was taken September 23rd 2012 (the first time we had seen each other since he's been back and the Bottom picture was taken in July of 2010) It's crazy how time has flown and I'm so excited for him to be back so we can party it up!

 This is my bestest friend Nate. His birthday was October 1st so we threw him a surprise party on September 30th! It was so much fun and I'm glad he was ACTUALLY surprised! He knows me so well that I figured he'd know, haha guess not. It was fun and lots of good food! (Which I made! I'm perfecting my cooking skills! Yumm)

This was taken right before the above picture. I seriously LOVE this picture. It describes our friendship so well. Him taking his sweet time and me saying "Naaaaaate!" haha it's a marvelous friendship.