Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane

I chose to do choice #1 because I wanted to learn more about the suffering the Savior went through. I am grateful for His willingness to endure all He went through for each of us. I posted this on my blog so that my daughters will know that I know the Savior atoned for us and loves us. To help understand what the suffering was like if only by reading the description. We have all felt alone during our personal sufferings and Christ teaches us how to endure it all by prayer and accepting our Heavenly Father's will.

Choice 1: Matthew 26:36-46; Mark 14:32-42; Luke 22:39-46; John 18:1-2. The Savior’s Suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane

1. Review Matthew 26:36-46; Mark 14:32-42; Luke 22:39-46, making a list of words and phrases that describe the Savior’s suffering. Include in your list clarifications provided in the footnotes.

From Matthew – “sorrowful”, “very heavy”, began to be distressed and troubled, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death”, deeply grieved, pain, “fell on his face”, “if it be possible, let this cup pass from me”, prayed a third time.
From Mark – “sore amazed”, awestruck, astonished, “very heavy”, depressed, dejected in anguish, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death”, “fell on the ground”, prayed, “if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.”, called out to His Father “Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee, take away this cup from me, “prayed and spake the same words.”
From Luke – “withdrawn from them”, “kneeled down, and prayed”, asked “if thou be willing, remove this cup from me”, “being in agony he prayed more earnestly, pain, “and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”
 Write additional insights about the Savior’s suffering in Gethsemane found in the following resources:

• Mosiah 3:7; Alma 7:11-13; Doctrine and Covenants 19:16-19

Mosiah 3:7 – suffered temptations, pain of body, hunger, thirst, “fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death;” “blood cometh from every pore, anguish. All “for the wickedness and abominations of his people.”
Alma 7:11-13 – “suffering pains, “afflictions”, “temptations of every kind”, “take upon him the pains and sicknesses of his people.” “he will take upon him death”, “he will take upon him their infirmities”, “suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people”
Doctrine & Covenants 19:16-19 – “suffered”, “Which suffering caused  myself even God, the greatest of all,” “to tremble because of pain,” “and to bleed at every pore,” “and to suffer both body and spirit”

• The institute student manual commentary, “To What Extent Was the Atonement Completed in the Garden of Gethsemane?” (pg. 173)

He suffered the intense pain of body and spirit all alone.
To What Extent Was the Atonement Completed in the Garden of Gethsemane?
“It seems, that in addition to the fearful suffering incident to crucifixion, the agony of Gethsemane had recurred, intensified beyond human power to endure. In that bitterest hour the dying Christ was alone, alone in most terrible reality. That the supreme sacrifice of the Son might be consummated in all its fulness, the Father seems to have withdrawn the support of His immediate Presence, leaving to the Savior of men the glory of complete victory over the forces of sin and death.” (Talmage, Jesus the Christ, p. 661.)

• The institute student manual commentary for Luke 22:44, “And Being in an Agony, He Prayed More Earnestly” (pgs.173-74)

He bore the weight of all sin, suffering, death and sickness and carried the responsibility of it all. Doing it and feeling it all on His own.
But what was it that caused the Savior’s intense agony?
“Jesus had to take away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. … And as He in His own person bore the sins of all, and atoned for them by the sacrifice of Himself, so there came upon Him the weight and agony of ages and generations, the indescribable agony consequent upon this great sacrificial atonement wherein He bore the sins of the world, and suffered in His own person the consequences of an eternal law of God broken by men. Hence His profound grief, His indescribable anguish, His overpowering torture, all experienced in the submission to the eternal fiat of Jehovah and the requirements of an inexorable law.
“The suffering of the Son of God was not simply the suffering of personal death; for in assuming the position that He did in making an atonement for the sins of the world He bore the weight, the responsibility, and the burden of the sins of all men, which, to us, is incomprehensible. …
“Groaning beneath this concentrated load, this intense, incomprehensible pressure, this terrible exaction of Divine Justice, from which feeble humanity shrank, and through the agony thus experienced sweating great drops of blood, He was led to exclaim, ‘Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.’ He had wrestled with the superincumbent load in the wilderness, He had struggled against the powers of darkness that had been let loose upon him there; placed below all things, His mind surcharged with agony and pain, lonely and apparently helpless and forsaken, in his agony the blood oozed from His pores.” (Taylor, The Mediation and Atonement, pp. 149–50.

• The institute student manual commentary for Luke 22:44, “And His Sweat Was As It Were Great Drops of Blood Falling Down to the Ground” (pg. 174)

Christ had the power himself to remove himself from the suffering and yet He endured it all to accomplish His Father’s will and for us. He also suffered spiritual agony that we cannot comprehend, but only a God could endure and overcome, He also endured and overcame all that Satan could inflict upon Him.
“Christ’s agony in the garden is unfathomable by the finite mind, both as to intensity and cause. The thought that He suffered through fear of death is untenable. Death to Him was preliminary to resurrection and triumphal return to the Father from whom He had come, and to a state of glory even beyond what He had before possessed; and, moreover, it is within His power to lay down His life voluntarily. He struggled and groaned under a burden such as no other being who has lived on earth might even conceive as possible. It was not physical pain, nor mental anguish alone, that caused Him to suffer such torture as to produce an extrusion of blood from every pore; but a spiritual agony of soul such as only God was capable of experiencing. No other man, however great his powers of physical or mental endurance, could have suffered so; for his human organism would have succumbed, and syncope would have produced unconsciousness and welcome oblivion. In that hour of anguish Christ met and overcame all the horrors that Satan, ‘the prince of this world’ could inflict. The frightful struggle incident to the temptations immediately following the Lord’s baptism was surpassed and overshadowed by this supreme contest with the powers of evil.
“In some manner, actual and terribly real though to man incomprehensible, the Savior took upon Himself the burden of the sins of mankind from Adam to the end of the world.” (Talmage, Jesus the Christ, p. 613.)
Read Matthew 26:36 and the institute student manual commentary for Matthew 26:36, “Then Cometh Jesus … unto a Place Called Gethsemane” (pgs. 172-73). Write a paragraph about how the meaning of Gethsemane adds insight to what the Savior experienced there.
“Gethsemane.—The name means ‘oil-press’ and probably has reference to a mill maintained at the place for the extraction of oil from the olives there cultivated. John refers to the spot as a garden, from which designation we may regard it as an enclosed space of private ownership. That it was a place frequented by Jesus when He sought retirement for prayer, or opportunity for confidential converse with the disciples, is indicated by the same writer (John 18:1, 2).” (Talmage,Jesus the Christ, p. 620.)
The feeling of being pressed physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually is incomprehensible. In Gethsemane, Christ experienced all that was required to fulfill the requirements of Justice. He suffered so that we might not suffer. As a olive is pressed to extract oil, so was the Savior in order for Him to redeem us and know how to assist us. He knows us intimately, our pains, feelings, worries, sin, guilt and knows how to heal us. We can go to Him because of what He endured in the Garden of Gethsemane because He felt what we feel and can heal and strengthen us.
 Write response to each of the following questions, looking for lessons you can apply to your own life from the example of the Savior in Gethsemane:

• What were the Savior’s disciples doing while He was praying? What had the Lord taught the Apostles in Matthew 26:41? What does His example teach about how to be obedient even when “the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak”? How does Doctrine and Covenants 10:5 apply to this verse? 

The disciples were sleeping. The Savior asked them to “watch and pray” so that they did not enter into temptation. Also warning them that our spirit is willing but our physical bodies are weak. Christ prayed through His Atonement while He suffered and pleaded with the Father. His example teaches we must pray for strength and be willing to endure. Our Heavenly Father will provide strength to endure the pain and suffering we go through if we seek Him.
In Doctrine & Covenants 10:5, Jesus pleads with us to “pray always” Prayer is the tool to overcome and endure. Prayer is protection and strength against Satan.

• Read Mosiah 15:7; 3 Nephi 11:11; Doctrine and Covenants 19:19. Write the phrases from these verses that describe what motivated the Savior to “drink the bitter cup.”

Mosiah 15:7 – “will of the Father.”
3 Nephi 11:11 – “I have drunk out of that bitter cuo which the Father hath given me”, “and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world,” “in the which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning.”
Doctrine & Covenants 19:19 – “glory be to the Father,”

• Write your thoughts about the Savior’s use of the word “nevertheless” in Matthew 26:39; Mark 14:36; Luke 22:42. In each of these accounts, what did the Savior initially ask for? What did He say next, using the word “nevertheless?” What does it require to submit one’s will to the Father in this way, no matter how painful or difficult the outcome might be? When have you followed the “nevertheless” pattern the Savior exemplified in these verses by submitting to Heavenly Father’s will even though it was very difficult?

Jesus asked His Father “if it be possible, let this cup pass from me” However, when the Savior uses the word, “nevertheless” He is offering His will for the will of the Father. He asks but only wants what His Father wants.  If we are to follow the Savior, then what we desire and want needs to be second to what our Heavenly Father wants for us. His will over our will. We need to use our agency to seek His will to be done in our life and follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost. Our Savior will guide us if we are willing to follow His will. I remember a time when one of my daughter’s was going through a difficult time. It was hard to watch her suffer and not know how to help her. I wanted it all to be over and for us just to be happy. I wanted her to be healed and not feel the sadness and confusion she was enduring. As I prayed, I felt that my Heavenly Father needed me to go through this with her. He needed me to follow Him and have faith. I trusted Him and instead of asking for it to be over, my prayers changed to help me to know how to love her and give her the love and counsel she needs.

• According to Luke 22:44, as the Savior’s agony became more intense, how did His prayer change? Do you feel more like praying or less like praying when you are suffering? When has it made a difference in your suffering to have turned to the Lord with more earnest prayer?

As the Savior’s agony intensified, “He prayed more earnestly.” Sometimes I have suffered too long before going to my Heavenly Father and sharing with Him my agony. I feel much better after I do pray. I share all that I am feeling and plead for direction. When I pray the Lord strengthens me and I feel like I can endure. I do not always receive an answer immediately in fact I don’t receive an answer immediately but I feel like He is with me. He hears my prayers and guides me through the experience.

• Reflect on what you have learned about the Savior’s suffering in Gethsemane. Write a paragraph about lessons you can apply to your own life from the example of the Savior in Gethsemane.

 I am impressed with how much the Savior prayed and how earnest His prayers were. He had the power himself to remove the suffering, but He desired to fulfill His Father’s will. All the pain and suffering He endured and He chose to pray. I have a new insight into the power of prayer and how to pray. The Savior felt and was alone during this extremely difficult experience. We cannot comprehend what Christ endured for each of us, but we have all felt alone in our suffering. The Savior shows us how to endure and overcome and it is through prayer and accepting Heavenly Father’s will. He will strengthen us and not leave us alone if we come to Him.

Leadership in the Lord's way

Choice 4: John 13:1–17; Luke 22:24–30; Mark 10:43–45. The Savior Taught the Apostles about Leadership

1.     Study John 13:1–17; Luke 22:24–30; Mark 10:43–45. Write a paragraph or two about how the application of these teachings makes leadership in the Church of Jesus Christ different from what the world usually describes as leadership.

2.     Write a paragraph or two about a time when one of your Church leaders or someone in the scriptures served and led in the way Jesus Christ taught.

Leadership skills the Savior teaches both directly and indirectly 

John 13:1-17

·       He loved whom He served – “he loved them unto the end.” John 13:1

·       He knew His Father in Heaven and His purpose – “Jesus know that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God.” John 13:2

·       He served all people including His disciples, “…he poureth water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.” John 13:5

·       He perceived and was aware of the situation –“For he knew who should betray him;” John 13:11

·       He lead by example –“For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.” John 13:15

·       He was humble –“Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his Lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.” John 13:16

·       He taught truth – “If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.” John 13:17

Luke 22:24-30

·      The Savior taught that great leadership is not exercising authority, but to minister to people. Serve others and assist those in need. Leadership is in the doing and not in authority or title.

Mark 10:43-45

·      The Savior is the greatest of leadership examples. He “is ordained of God and sent forth, the same is appointed to be the greatest, notwithstanding he is the least and the servant of all.” D&C 50:26

·      All things are subject to Him –D&C 50:27

·      We are to lead as the Savior leads and minister to each other. Mark 10:43

Just this past Sunday, a young man gave a talk before he left for his mission. It was a great talk and after he spoke our Bishop called Justin back up to stand beside him at the pulpit. The Bishop shared his love for Justin and praised him for preparing to serve the Lord. With his arm around Justin he shared an experience they had together earlier on in the week. Bishop Anderson was called to give a blessing to a member in need at the hospital. He wanted to take Justin with him to help him prepare to use the priesthood. Justin was ready to go and listened to the Bishop give instruction on the way to the hospital. This was Justin’s first time giving a blessing so our Bishop was teaching Him and ensured Justin that he was going to be there with him. He told Justin to share what came to his heart. As the Bishop described the sacredness of this experience, I was touched by the love our Bishop had for Justin and for the desire he had to teach him. Our Bishop served right along with Justin. To me this experience today reminded me of the Savior. The Lord, Jesus Christ, loves us. He is with us to teach us and serve with us. Just as Bishop Anderson put his arm around Justin, so the Lord comforts us as we go about doing His work. Our Bishop wasn’t concerned if Justin would say the right thing he had faith in Justin and most importantly in the Lord. I’m grateful for the example of leadership Bishop Anderson is to me. More than once he has encouraged, warned, taught and served us just as the Savior would do if he were here.

Prepare, Watch and Take Heed - The Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ

When I prepare a meal for a special dinner, a lot of time and thought goes into it. I picture myself with my family and try to envision what we will be eating and how to make that time enjoyable and memorable. Compare this type of preparing to how I prepare for the Savior Second Coming and I know I can make some improvements. I have learned what it means to watch and take heed. I want to be prepared each day and live my best and to do this I need to watch, pray and take heed!

Choice 2: Mark 13; Luke 21: 5-38; Joseph Smith – Matthew. Preparing for the Savior’s Second Coming

Review Mark 13:5, 9,23,33,35,37 and identify the words take heed and watch in each verse. List at least three things from this chapter that believers could watch for in order to be prepared to meet the Lord.

1.) In verse 5, it says to “take heed” what does that mean? In the dictionary it says that to “heed” means to pay attention or give attention. We are warned by the Savior himself to, “Take heed lest any man deceive you:” In the time we live there are many deceivers and soothsayers. We should give attention to what is happening around us and beware that Satan desires that we be deceived.

2.) In verse 22 the Lord warns us that there will be false Christs and false prophets that will rise up and show signs and wonders “to seduce” us and deceive us. In verse 23, the Lord again says, “take heed” (pay attention) “I have foretold you all things.” We should be familiar with what the Lord has warned us about and His servants have given us counsel on how to prepare for the Second Coming. By listening to inspired prophecy, we will be protected for deceit and be prepared.

3.) In verses 33,35, and 37 the Lord uses the word “watch.” I wanted to get a clear understanding of what the word watch means. The dictionary gives this meaning:

To look at (someone or something) for an amount of time and pay attention to what is happening.

Give attention.

To care for (someone or something) for a period of time in order to make sure that nothing bad or unwanted happens.

These definitions give greater insight to the word watch.

If we are to watch perhaps we could be watching the Lord learning His ways and following Him. By watching and learning of Him we are preparing for His coming and can watch for His return.

We can give attention to the state of the world and know that we are in the Last Days and prepare.

We can “care for” our testimonies, nourish them, and share them with others. By doing so we share the message of Jesus Christ and help prepare others for His return.

Explain in writing any other additional truths that are taught in the following references about how to prepare for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

Doctrine & Covenants 87:8 – Christ is the light and life of the world. He gives light.

Joseph Smith – Matthew 1:32 – All Prophecies will be fulfilled.

Joseph Smith – Matthew 1:37- Study the scriptures. Know them. Read, study and ponder them to feel the spirit and hear the Lord’s voice. The elect will be gathered.

Joseph Smith – Matthew 1:46-50 – The Lord speaks to all. Be watchful, look to the Savior’s example and follow Him, be found doing the will of the Lord. Be ready. The Lord’s coming will come to pass in a time “we think not.”

Doctrine & Covenants 45:56-57 – Jesus Christ testifies that those who are “wise” have “received the truth”, “taken the Holy Spirit for their guide”, “and have not been deceived” As believers, we can be watchful by following this path.

The Last Week of the Savior's Life

It was an insightful experience to read about the Savior's last week of His life. Though a difficult week it was He willingly went through it all for each of us. Because of His last week, the Atonement was performed and He died, overcame death and gave each of us hope for eternal life.

The Assignment I chose was Choice #1 - Read the information in the institute student manual about “The Last Days of Jesus’ Mortal Mission” The fill in the chart with key events that took place during the Savior’s final week of mortality.

Day 1

Jesus arrived in Jerusalem and rode through the city gates into Jerusalem. This is known as the Triumphal Entry, people praised Him in shouts of “Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.” (Matthew 21:9) He went directly to the temple and stayed in Bethany.

Day 2

Again early in the morning Jesus went to the Temple. This is where the money exchangers were thrust out of the Temple and this act challenge the Jewish leadership authority since they were the ones that allowed money exchangers in the Temple. The Temple was to be a house of prayer, “It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.” (Matthew 21:13) Jesus again returned to Bethany.

Day 3

The priests were not happy with their authority being challenged so when Jesus returned to the Temple the priests challenged him and asked where He received His authority. The Savior responded through parables and again the scribes and Pharisees challenged Him. “Jesus openly denounced them and condemned them as hypocrites.” New Testament Student manual

From this time forward the Lord did not teach the public, only the twelve apostles. The Jewish leadership was scheming a way to kill Jesus while weighing in on how they would do this without disrupting the public. Judas, one of Jesus’ disciples, offered to betray Him.

Day 4

Jesus knew Judas would betray Him and of the entire plot. Not much is known of what happened on this day.

Day 5

Jesus commemorates the Passover in a private home and this is where He institutes the Sacrament. Jesus instructs the twelve. He offers the Intercessory prayer and takes the eleven disciples (Judas left) to the outside walls of Gethsemane. He takes Peter, James and John a little further and asks them to wait for Him. Jesus Christ atones for all of Mankind.

After some time Jesus returns to His disciples and says his betrayer is at hand and Judas returns to the group with band of armed men. Jesus went with them peacefully.

An illegal trial was held that night.

Day 6

Jesus was charged with Blasphemy under the Jewish law because He claimed He was the Son of God. He was also charge under a political indictment and punish under Roman law. Pilate gave in to the crowd shouting to destroy Jesus and He was sentenced to death by crucifixion.

The Savior, Jesus Christ, voluntarily gave up His spirit. Before nightfall His body was removed from the cross and buried in a tomb.

Day 7

The Jewish Sabbath and Jesus’ body lay in the tomb but His spirit was ministering to those who died and were in the spirit world.

Day of Resurrection

This is the day of hope where Christ appears to Mary. He promised He would overcome death and He did.

“These are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” John 20:31