Student Choice Assignment

Choice 1- In Deuteronomy 20:17 the nations listed are Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. The Lord commanded that Israel destroy these nations because they were wicked because they were serving other gods and their altars and pillars were not of the Lord. Heavenly Father saw them as being unrighteous. We can protect ourselves from sin today by following God's commandments and by only being in the service of Him and those around us. When we do good unto others, we are ultimately doing good unto the Lord and when we serve others, we serve Him. I think that today's society seems to get caught up in serving "gods" which symbolizes material things of the world. I see a lot of people who are not focused on striving to live more Christ-like and are allowing worldy posessions to come before the Lord. I have noticed this a lot with money, greed, and selfishness. So many people in this world are too concerned with how much money they have or what they can do to get ahead, instead of loving life and enjoying all of the blessings God has given us. When we put God and our Savior Jesus Christ above everything else, we truly have it all and will understand and see all the greatness and blessings in our lives.

Student Choice Assignment

For this week's assignment I chose choice number 1: Why is the book called "numbers?" After reading over some of the material, I learned that the book of Numbers does indeed number each tribe of Israel. At the beginning of the of the children of Israel's sojourn into the wilderness, the males twenty years of age and older were counted at 603,550. After the 40 years of wandering and bearing children in the wilderness, the ending count for males twenty years of age and older were counted at 601,730. It's interesting that there would be less than the original amount counted for at the beginning, but I think a reason for this could be that the Lord saw some of them being ungrateful of the wonderful blessings that would come from the promised land so, the ones that did not make it were those who were not worthy and did not show a great amount of faith. Being in the wilderness for 40 years would be a difficult and a trying time for anyone and with the people of Israel complaining toward Moses and God, it was hard for them to see and understand the blessings that the Lord was giving them. I think it is a good reminder that no matter what the situation or circumstance may be, or even how difficult it may seem, God always has a reason and purpose behind everything. Strive to look for the positives and try to be strengthened to grow closer to Heavenly Father and feel of his love, constant comfort, and guidance.

Student Choice Assignment

For this week's assignment I did Leviticus 11-14. There are two lists, one containing the clean animals that Israel could eat and one containing the animals they couldn't. The list of food they could eat were: cloven footed and cheweth the cud, fins and scales in the water, and locus, beetles, and grasshoppers. The unclean food they could not eat were: uncloven the foot and cheweth not the cud, hare, coney, things without scales and fins, camel, raven, owl, hawk, swan, pelican, stork, harron, lizard, snail, eagle, ossifrage, ospray, vulture, kite, cuckow, lapwing, bat, creeping fowls, weasel, mouse, tortoise, ferret, chameleon, and mole. I think the purpose and meaning of this was for the people of Israel to practice self-discipline and to follow direction and guidelines. Another list is for what God ordained for the use of man and what He has restricted. The list for those things ordained include: self-made pure wine, strong drinks for washing the body, wholesome herbs, tobacco for bruises and cattle, ripe fruits, beasts and fowls sparingly, grain, and mild drinks. The list for what he has restricted include: Drinking wine and strong drinks made by others, hot drinks, and tobacco for the body or belly. This applies to the Word of Wisdom and it is a guideline to help us avoid things that the Lord does not want us to partake, but also what is not good or beneficial for our minds or bodies. Heavenly Father wants us to be strong and healthy and to only partake and do things that will be nutritious and helpful to our physical and spiritual well being. I love the blessings that come from following the Word of Wisdom and also the words of the Lord and I feel like I work hard on my physical health, but I can do more to be spiritually healthy. I can be more diligent in my scripture study and to show more gratitude and appreciation for the wonderful people in my life and for the opportunities I have been given.

Student Choice Assignment- The Ten Commandments

In Exodus 20:3-17 a list of the Ten Commadments includes:
The two great commandments are to: Love God and Love your neighbor
This is a list of the commandments included with what commandment associates with it:
1. Love no other gods before me- Love God
2. Do not worship idols such as statues and monuments- Love God
3. Do not take the Lord's name in vein- Love God
4. Keep the sabbath day holy- Love God
5. Honour thy father and thy mother- Love God
6. Do not kill- Love our neighbor
7. Do not commit adultery- Love God/ Love your neighbor
8. Do not steal- Love your neighbor
9. Do not bear false witness- Love your neighbor
10. Do not covet- Love your neighbor
I think three of the commandments that are most neglected by the world today is- keeping the sabbath day holy, committing adultery, and coveting. I think if the the world today would keep these commandments and follow the words of our Heavenly Father then we would live in a peaceful, loving, honest, successful, and righteous world. How wonderful would it be to live in a place where we wouldn't have to worry about our safety or wonder if our posessions would still be around when we leave them unattended? If more people were honest and truly loved God and loved their neighbors, I think we would have more peace of mind and put more trust in those around us. There is so many blessings that come from following the commandments and it truly would benefit everyone to do as the Lord has asked.

Student Choice Assignment

In this week's reading, I learned about the children of Israel and how they were symbolically saved by water and fire. We learn that being born of water and of the Spirit, water meaning the cleansing and purifing while fire is being sanctified by the Holy Ghost. So, symbolically, the children of Israel were baptized, being completely cleansed, purified and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. We can all experience this wonderul opportunity because it is a blessing from the love and greatness of God. Baptism is of key importance to entering the kingdom of heaven and I am grateful for the testimony I have of its power of changing and replenshing lives.

Student Choice Assignment

In the Old Testament, reading through Genesis chapters 24-50 we learn about the story of Jacob and his son Joseph, who received the "coat of many colors." Jacob had twelve sons, and they were named: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Isaachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin. In the story of Joseph, he was a very humble and obedient man and his brothers became envious of him, I think because of his righteous doings and the example he set for all those around him. Joseph's brothers were so negative toward him, that they even sold him into Egypt because of their anger and jealousy toward him. Although Joseph faced many trials and was betrayed by his brothers, he stayed faithful and did not show resentment and still loved and forgave them for what they had done to him. Joseph resembles a lot of Christ-like attributes because he was so quick to forgive and his heart was always full of love and gratitude toward his family and his Heavenly Father. He was merciful and compassionate, especially during those times when he had every right to be upset and hold grudges toward his brothers, but he didn't. Joseph's challenges are a lot like the challenges that we face in the world today. We experience a lot of competition and are always comparing ourselves to others. When this happens, we are easy to find fault in others and in ourselves and hold bitter feelings and jealousy. It's important to remember the example and the story of Joseph because even though we experience trials and adversity, we can still find the strength to be forgiving, loving, and understanding of those around us, even family. Love others as we love ourselves and do good unto them, even at times when it's hard to. The Lord loves us all perfectly and we should strive to treat others this way and to follow in the footsteps of our Savior Jesus Christ.

Student Choice Assignment- Who Was Melchizedek?

Melchizedek was a king in the land of Salem and although this land was filled with people who were wicked and sinful, Melchizedek remained faithful and obedient. According to the Doctrine and Covenants and the LDS church, there are two priesthoods, one being the Aaronic and the other the Melchizedek. The Melchizedek is the first and highest because it came from such a great and respectable high priest. In Alma 13:18 it reads, "But Melchizedek having exercised mighty faith, and received the office of the high priesthood according to the holy order of God, did preach repentance unto his people. And behold, they did repent; and Melchizedek did establish peace in the land in his days; therefore he was called the prince of peace, for he was the king of Salem; and he did reign under his father." This is such a great passage because we learn so much about the life of Melchizedek, even in such a short verse. He was a very righteous man and set an example for all those around him. It mentioned a lot about how he preached repentance and this is so important for all of us to remember. Even though we are not perfect and will sin and make mistakes, God allows us the opportunity to repent and be truly forgiven of our transgressions. It's such a powerful and wonderful blessing and I am so grateful that my Father in Heaven loves me and all of His children enough that He would send His son, Jesus Christ, to atone for our sins so, that we may be forgiven in all that we do. It is also true that men in the LDS faith can receive the Melchizedek priesthood which is so significant with our church. We receieve so many blessings through our priesthood holders and it truly is a blessing from God that we have such a power on this earth today.