Temple work....faith.... holy places

                This week I thought a lot specifically about what it meant to stand in holy places. I thought about what my holy place was. It’s hard because in Rexburg I live with 5 other girls and it is hard to have those sacred times by myself when I have a roommate who is always in the room or whatever. But recently I remember hearing that our scriptures themselves can be our holy place. WE don’t have to be in a physical location to have a holy place. Your holy place needs to be somewhere or something that you come closer to your Savior.

                I also love the scripture that asked what think ye of Christ? How often do we really think of who Christ is to us personally? I know I don’t think of it as often as I should. The way we think in our heart reflects our devotion to Christ. Christ is my elder brother, he is my Lord and Saviour who suffered everything for me. Have you ever loved someone so much that you would die for them?! I personally can say I haven't. I know that sounds horrible on my part but it's the honest truth. Our Savior, Jesus Christ didn't know us as mortal beings, he only knew us as Spirits however he absolutely loves us like we could never imagine. 

               Both of these principles go straight in with temple work. When we have a strong testimony in Christ we want to be in the temple. The scriptures talk about marriage and we know that marriage needs to be eternal. This leads us to doing the work for our ancestors in the Temples. Our ancestors who have passed on are not able to do their own work. It is our decision to help them receive the blessing of happiness that we have on this earth. 

Have you ever doubted the miracle of the Lord?

This week the miracle of Lazarus being raised from the dead really hit me. I have never analysed the story like I did this time. When I read it I thought about faith, as that is the Christlike attribute I am focusing on right now. And I thought about those who were involved and how their faith played a big part in the raising of their brother. Martha came to Christ first. The way that I read it was at first she put all her trust in the Lord. She said that "Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee." At this point, the scriptures show to us that Martha's faith was unwavering. Even with death she knew that God would bless the righteous. Mary on the other hand, was very sad. I don't think she doubted the Lord but at the same time I don't think, at least the way it is portrayed in the account of John, that she had the strongest faith that the Lord could raise her brother from the dead.
We all know that Lazarus was raised from the dead and it is amazing that it was because of the faith. There are many times that we think things aren't possible when they really are. We need to put all the trust we have in the Lord and if we don't have any, we need to strengthen our faith.

Parable of unmerciful Servent

In Matthew 18 verses 23-35, the parable of the unmerciful servant is shared. I love this parable because it teaches us a valuable lesson. I am going to just quote all of the verses and then I will share my thoughts:)

"Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.
And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.
But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.
The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.
But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.
And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.
So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.
Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:
Shouldest not thou also had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?
And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.
So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses."

This story has been a big lesson builder to me this week. I personally have gone through a tremendous amount of trials. I like the the lord in this parable was not treated right even after I gave compassion to others.
It is so easy to be like the servant and ask the Lord for compassion and then turn and not give it to others, even when they ask for it from us. I have learned so much from this parable and how we must treat others the same way we would want to be treated. Learning and gaining the strength to forgive someone after they hurt or wrong you is very hard to do. But the Lord has told us that we must forgive our brethren for their trespasses. This semester has been a time where I've had to forgive a lot of people. More just in the last 3 months than in the last year. I am grateful for forgiveness. And for the teachings that Christ gave while he was on the earth. We are so much happier when we forgive and we become eternally grateful.

Trust in Him

Have you ever made a decision where you didn't know why you were making that decision? Or you knew that making that decision wasn't practical for that time in your life? We all have those moments. I had quite a lot of those moments this week. I had to make a lot of decisions. Ones that I feel I should had made a long time ago because of the way I feel about it now, but also because I knew then that I wouldn't be able to get by without. The Lord will let you know when you need to make a decision. This week I made the decision to quit my job. I put my two weeks notice in and was hoping that I would work these next two weeks... As I called my mom to tell her what I was doing she said, 'Kourtney, are you prepared to not have a job until you go up to Alaska in 2 months, and are you prepared for them to possibly cut you cold turkey?' I told my mom that I wasn't prepared at all. Not having an income for two months is going to be hard. But even though it will be difficult the Lord knows whats best and he knows that I trust him. I love the reassurance that the scriptures give when it says, "your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him." The Lord LOVES us. He loves us no matter our choices and he wants only the best for us. We need to trust that the Lord hears our prayers and that he wants us to be happy.
I am so grateful for the Savior and the selfless life that he lived. As this week was a very busy one I was very grateful for the power of prayer and knowing that the Lord knows me and he knows my needs. I also am grateful for the example of service the Lord showed before and during his earthly ministry. Even among all the stress of homework, and work, this last week I put that aside and served some friends. I know that because I stopped caring about myself and started caring about others I was able to see them the way the Lord sees them.