A House of Prayer

I love the temple and how it points me to God. To my good friends in Virginia, it's that building just off the beltway in Maryland. There we learn about Jesus Christ and commit to be more like him.

This week we're reading some in Matthew, and I thought about Christ's statement that his house shall be called the house of prayer. God will hear our prayers anywhere, but we can definitely feel the Lord's presence and receive answers to prayers in the temple.

Interestingly, when I read about going up to the mountain (in both the Old Testament and the Book of Mormon), I'm reminded that it represents the Lord's presence and the temple.

My house

shall be called the

house of prayer

Matthew 21:13

The voice of the Lord came unto me, saying:

Arise, and get thee into the mountain.

And it came to pass that I arose

and went up into the mountain,

and cried unto the Lord.

And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me.

1 Nephi 17:7-8

With Great Power, Minister

This week as we've been reading in the New Testament, I was impressed again by the great love our Savior has for us and his example of loving and ministering to others.  The most powerful person to ever walk this earth, Jesus Christ could have reigned in personal glory on the earth.  Instead, he associated with the downtrodden and outcast, blessed the sick and afflicted, washed the feet of weary travelers, and taught us all to love and serve one another.

Whosoever will be great among you,
  let him be your minister;
And whosoever will be chief among you,
  let him be your servant:
Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but
  to minister, and
  to give his life a ransom for many.

 - Matthew 20:26-28

Yea, and if it had not been for his matchless power, and his mercy, and his long-suffering towards us, we should unavoidably have been cut off from the face of the earth long before this period of time, and perhaps been consigned to a state of endless misery and woe.

 - Alma 9:11

Gratitude of a Leper

This week as we study Luke 12–17 and John 11, we'll have a chance to think about the healing of the ten lepers.  My hope is that we'll remember to be like the one, full of gratitude to the Lord for his tenderloving kindnesses.

Luke 17:

 11 ¶ And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.
 12 And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:
 13 And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.
 14 And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.
 15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,
 16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.

Alma 34:37-38:

And now, my beloved brethren, I desire that ye should …worship God, in whatsoever place ye may be in, in spirit and in truth; and that ye live in thanksgiving daily, for the many mercies and blessings which he doth bestow upon you.