The Value of the Temple

Josie, here! :)

 

So, today I am going to be talking about the importance of the temple. As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints we consider the temple a way for us to commune and meet with God. It is the portal between Heaven and Earth. It is the place where we go to perform sacred ordinances, or a sacred formal act that is performed by the authority of the priesthood.

 

So, right now I am reading about Haggai. Haggai is telling the people how important the temple is, but they do not take him seriously. They do not value the temple like they should. So, they are cursed. In verse 6 of chapter 1 Haggai is saying that they hunger, thirst, and have no heat because they are being disobedient to the Lord. In verses 9-11 it reads that Haggai asked the Lord to have no rain and to make a drought cover the land because the people did not value the temple like they should. In verse 6 it is talking about a bag with holes in it I think that this means that they are wasting their money on things that do not have any value. In verses 4-6 of chapter 1 it says that the people do not think it is the day of the Lord. They think that it is not here yet. And they spend they time doing idle things.

 

So, the Lord had to remind the people of what they needed to do. He did this by stirring up their hearts in remembrance. The people then went to the house of the Lord which is the temple to do the work of the Lord. I make the temple a symbol of my membership because it determines the way I live. I want to live worthily to be able to enter the temple. I know that when I live worthily that I will be blessed.

 

The Lord blesses His people by having His Spirit remain with them. Also, He will bless the earth to make sure that it yieldeth fruit. They shall know what is clean and what is unclean. The temple provides peace because we are able to commune with God. It is a great concept.

(no subject) Hermana Durfee didn't come up with her amazing title this time...

This week has been full of some amazing, crazy, interesting stories which makes it just amazing! I'm a really happy missionary right now! :D The first story is about Gary that I mentioned in my last e-mail... Turns out he's crazy. We just decided to hand him over to the elders who are suppose to teach him. We saw them on Thursday after Institute and asked them what happened to Gary. The first thing they said was, "You didn't tell us he was crazy!" Apparently he was at the church all Wednesday just wandering around the church. He had no shoes on and was looking for his wife... then mentioned the name of Anderson (my comps name). He also had tally marks all over his arms (For those who have seen Doctor Who that's what I thought of). The bishop that was there finally called the cops. And that's all we know. His car is still parked outside the church. And Sister Anderson is pretty scared. The thing is I know we are protected. I had left my binder there on Monday and all Wednesday I wanted to go back and get it but each time I had that thought the Spirit would tell me that I had better things to do. I'm not very worried. We'll just continue to follow the Spirit and we'll be safe(:


So yeah that was kind of crazy but what I'm about to tell you next is just off the walls amazing! We have an investigator named Skylar. He is super prepared and loves reading and learning about the gospel  When we talked to him about baptism he said that he wanted to read all the Book of Mormon and Bible. Of course we told him that wasn't necessary to come to know oif it was true, but he wanted to think about it. This past Saturday we went back and we asked him what he thought. He told us that he wasn't ready. The Spirit told both Sister Anderson and I that we shouldn't say much. So we just started teaching Lesson #3. When we got to baptism he started to use an analogy on why he wasn't ready. And in mid sentence he said, "What am I talking about!? I am ready for baptism. I'm ready!" The Spirit hit all of us like a wall! I couldn't breath! I'm pretty sure that was the strongest I have ever felt the spirit. I almost cried(: He's now praying about a date either April 19th or the 26th. The Lord truly blesses you after the trail of your faith. I haven't had a baptism since my first transfer. I'm sooo happy! 


There are some pretty amazing people here. One is named Jose Sanchez. I knew him when I was in the Fort Lupton ward. He just started going to the singles branch when I got there. It was my first day in the branch, Sister Anderson's companion Sister Hauet was still there so we were in a trio for about a day. But I felt so left out and I wanted to cry because I missed Hna Trujillo so much. When we walked into FHE I hear, "Durfee?" It turned out to be Jose. I was so happy I wanted to hug him so bad! Don't worry it didn't happen. We just shook hands as hard as we could. We've seen him a lot since then and its been so great! I also mentioned Oscar who is doing great! He came to part of General Conference and even took notes. 

Missionary work is really amazing! I would never trade this even if I could! :D <--- Very Happy Girl! 

I love you guys! Thanks for all the support! I hope to hear from some of you! 

Stay Sweet
Dont Do Drugs 
(as always)

Hermana Durfee

The Majesty of the Lord

This is another look into what I, Josie have been studying in the Old Testament. It is in the book of Habakkuk, King James version of the bible.

 

In the heading of Habukkuk, or the summary it says that the Lord raised up the Chaldeans to overrun Israel. This troubled Habukkuk because he did not want the land to be overrun with the wicked. An exact quote from the summary is this, "...he was troubled that the wicked could be thus employed." This is very self-explanatory.

 

Habakkuk chapter 2:3-15 is comparable to one of the Articles of Faith. We as members of the church believe that Joseph Smith received inspiration from God to know what these were. The comparable Article of Faith is number 9. It is also comparable to Jacob 4:8, and Doctrine Covenants 101:32-34; 121:26-31; 130:18-19. These are all talking about the understanding and obtaining knowledge and glory of the Lord. 

 

In the verses of Habakkuk 2 it is talking about the steadfastness and faithfulness of the members and also the vanity of those who are wicked. It is also talking about the commandments and saying that those who covet are wicked. Verse nine says, "Woe unto him that coveteth and evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil."  This is meaning that those who covet are evil. The Lord is warning them.

 

Article of Faith number 9 reads,  "We believe all that God has ^arevealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet ^breveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God." this is relatable to that of Habakkuk 2 because the Lord reveals his secrets to those who are righteous. Habakkuk was righteous, thus the Lord revealed some of His plan and inspiration to him. 

 

In Jacob 4:8 it reads,   " 8 Behold, great and marvelous are the ^aworks of the Lord. How ^bunsearchable are the depths of the ^cmysteries of him; and it is impossible that man should find out all his ways. And no man ^dknoweth of his ^eways save it be revealed unto him; wherefore, brethren, despise not the ^frevelations of God." This is like that of verse nine the Lord only reveals His purpose to those who are righteous and who seek it. 

 

In Doctrine and Covenants 101:32-34, it saying that the Lord will reveal all things to those who are righteous in the end when He comes. In Doctrine and Covenants 121:26-31 it reads,

" 26 God shall give unto you ^aknowledge by his ^bHoly Spirit, yea, by the unspeakable ^cgift of the Holy Ghost, that has not been ^drevealed since the world was until now;

 27 Which our forefathers have awaited with ^aanxious expectation to be revealed in the last times, which their minds were pointed to by the angels, as held in reserve for the fulness of their glory;

 28 A time to come in the which ^anothing shall be withheld, whether there be ^bone God or many ^cgods, they shall be manifest.

 29 All thrones and dominions, principalities and powers, shall be ^arevealed and set forth upon all who have endured ^bvaliantly for the gospel of Jesus Christ.

 30 And also, if there be ^abounds set to the heavens or to the seas, or to the dry land, or to the sun, moon, or stars—

 31 All the times of their revolutions, all the appointed days, months, and years, and all the days of their days, months, and years, and all their ^aglories, laws, and set times, shall be revealed in the days of the ^bdispensation of the fulness of times—"

These scriptures are saying the same thing. The Lord will reveal His secrets to those who are righteous, and He will reveal all things when He comes again. In Doctrine and Covenants 130:18-19 reads, "18 Whatever principle of ^aintelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the ^bresurrection.

 19 And if a person gains more ^aknowledge and intelligence in this life through his ^bdiligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the ^cadvantage in the world to come." These verses are self-explanatory. They have a very significant meaning.