The Twelve Apostles

Simon Peter: Chosen and called of Jesus to be one of the original twelve apostles. Denied Christ 3 times, as was prophesied, spent the rest of his life preaching until his own crucifixion.

Thomas: Chosen and Called of Jesus to be one of the original twelve apostles. Thomas means twin.

Judas Iscariot: Chosen and Called of Jesus to be one of the original twelve apostles. Jesus told Judas, who did not believe Him, that he would betray him. He betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver then hung himself.

Apostle: Meaning literally “one who is sent forth”. Those called of God to be His disciples on Earth during and after His ministry. Special witnesses of Jesus Christ throughout the world. The representation on earth of the Father in Heaven.

First Jesus told His apostles not to go to those who already had faith in him, “There is no need for a doctor for the healthy.”. He commanded them to go to the ‘Lost Sheep of Israel’, Those who no longer or who never knew the truth. He taught them to heal the sick and perform miracle sin the name of the Father so that people would believe on Jesus name. Jesus also taught them patience in dealing with the men of the world. He taught that there would be those who would reject them and despise them, but having faith in Him and charity towards all would demonstrate the most good. Service in the face of adversity is loved and admired of God and Jesus taught this to His disciples. Overall He taught them to be like Him, having charity and love towards all men.

When Jesus called the apostles Peter, James, and John they dropped everything that they were doing and followed him. There is nothing more simple than that very important action. What is stopping us in our lives from following our Savior? There should be nothing in our way, but constantly we find ourselves hesitating and second guessing. Our purpose in this life is to Follow Him, to become more like Him and to return to Him. We should use the example of Peter, James and John in our lives, Drop EVERYTHING and Follow Jesus Christ. Only through Him can we be saved and given eternal life.

The Baptism of Jesus Christ

The baptism of Christ was one of the most important things He could have done here on earth. I am amazed every time i read about His willingness and want to be baptized. When He approached John the Baptist and asked to be baptized John was Amazed, said he, "i have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?" John felt that he was ill prepared and unworthy to baptize the Savior, the most perfect person in this planet. After John's willingness to serve the eyes of his understanding were opened and he saw the great importance of the baptism of the Savior. He also witnessed the Father proclaim, "THis is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." What great joy and complete peace must have filled John the Baptist upon hearing those sacred words. JOhn also witnessed the all too important fact that the Father , Son and the Holy Ghost are 3 separate beings, with 3 separate callings to fulfill.

The Holy Ghost then, "descended on Him like a dove...". This act was significant of the spirit and power of the Holy GHost that is given to each of us after baptism. I find it very symbolic that here in this scripture all members of the godhead were present to witness this sacred act. The Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. It, in a way, completed the 'act' of His baptism and proved its importance in our lives.

There are FOur main reasons that Jesus was Baptized. First, to fulfill all righteousness. Second to prove the importance of obedience to the Father in all things. third to set the ultimate example for us to follow and fourth to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

John the Baptist

Many people overlook the important role that John the Baptist played in the life of the Savior and in our own lives. Sine before his birth John the Baptist was known as an elect child of God. In Luke 1:14 it was told to Zacharias, "And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.’ His birth and ministry was announced to his father Zacharias by the angel Gabriel. Zacharias knew that many people would herald the birth of his son, and that his son would bring much happiness to the children of men through his righteousness and faith in the Lord. His mother, the cousin of Mary mother of Jesus, was said to be barren though thru the mercies of God she begat John at about the same time the Mary Begat Jesus. John grew up unto God and at age 8 was given the GIft of the Holy Ghost and the power to know when the Holy Ghost would descend upon Jesus Christ. He was given the power to baptize and thus Baptized many people and then the Savior Himself. John was the first to see the Holy Ghost fall upon the Savior after baptism and was always a witness of the truthfulness of The Saviors Life. The bible dictionary states that, "...he was the last of the prophets under the law of Moses, He was the first of the New Testament prophets, and he brought the Aaronic Preisthood to the dispensation of the fulness of times." JOhn the Baptist was the way by which Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdry recieved the Aaronic priesthood, and therefore opened the Last Dispensation for the Fulness of TImes. HE is the way by which baptism was brought to this dispensation and his ministry filled his life to the very end. Therefor he fulfilled all the reasons why people would rejoice of his coming to this earth. he did so much for the Savior and for members of His true church.

day 1:vegan diet!

ok...so today was day 1 of my vegan diet...and it didnt start out too great but it ended with a bang. basically i went into work at kneaders and of course they had a new deelish bread...pumpkin bread. kill me now! i tried some because they said i had to sample it and then i realized that it was totally against my diet. so then when i came home i totally ate nothing but salad corna dn olives...i am determined to lose the weight i need to! look out world.! im gonna have a hot body and you cant stop me, nor you pumpkin bread, or you crzy deelish cinnamon rolls....i will not be tamed!!!

this thing called OBESITY

so while reading the book Eat to Live, i found out that i am medically obese. well thats one thing i thought i would never hear myself say, but according to the book its true. so here is what i am going to do about it!! i am going to do the weight loss challenge in Eat to Live, so that when my older brother Brandon steps of the plane dramatically reentering our lives i will be a slender but bo-dacisously so, 125 LBS....which means i technically have to lose about 30 pounds.....thats is not an unreal goal! i feel and i know that i can doit, i just have to put my whole head into it! so starting tomorrow August 31 i am going vegan. thats righ tyou heard it! vegan!!! chances are i will have a scrambled egg or some boiled chicken in my salad occasionally, but i am going to be mostly vegan! no dairy products whatsoever!!! i can do it! forget about the fact that i work in a bakery or that i love dairy! cuz i would love more being 125 pounds. along with this new vegan diet i am going to have a strict excersise program, where i have to do at least 30 minutes of strenuous excersise every day (excluding sunday of course) whether it be yoga or a run through the streets of provo i will succeed!! you will see! plus the fact that this is a competiton between most of the members of my family, oh i will win the challenge though! no worries!! there is a before picture of me here and when i have dropped my excess 30 lbs off the side of a cliff you will see an after picture!!! HOT BODY HERE I COME!!!

trippin....on love for ohio...part 1~

ok so here it is...the journey as some would call it!! day one of the big road trip to OHIO... can 'you tell that i was a happy girl! no work, no responsibility, no worries for 7 whole days!! hot dog i was ridin high...high on life that is!!!so we left provo at 3:30am sunday the 1st day of august. little did i know that this would be the first day of the rest of my life....bahah oh what a great day. a day that will forever live in my memory! not only was this my longest trip ever experienced in a car, with no a/c , but it just was proof that i do what i want when i want. take that peeps that hate!! so like i said, NO A/C...for 28 hours int he car we relied heavily on the wind that rushed through the windows as we raced down the highway at high speeds...too bad that come 12 noon this wind became more like a soggy breath of stale air...thanks alot humidity...i will forever hate you!! oh well the drive was quite enjoyable...kitara...that gorgeous and mazing driver lady that i know from some place called rexburg...was such a trooper...she drove most of the way and didnt complain one little bit...even when i took my pants off...she just smiled and kept her eyes on the road...they didnt wander...bahah...oh life.!! anyway we had some in depth discussions on the importance of marriage and all that it entails...we also discussed the joys of life...a/c, hot boys, food. the thing that bothered me sooooo much though was that i wanted to catch every state sign that we saw....but i never got one...after crossing through 6 states i only got the corner of the sign for Missouri...and i was soo mad that i just gave up and threw my camera into my bag. talk about a friend letting you down...thanks alot camera. upon arrival at Jamie Junes house in Independence MO, where we spent the night, i realized that missouri is dang gorgeous with all that green and stuff, but dang girl it was soooo hot there. over 70% humidity at night and during the day even worse and hotter even....so gross...thank goodness i will never live there....well until the second coming...but we wont go into that right now. tat is a blog topic for another time. anyway when i saw jamies gorgeous face peering through her living room window and her gorgeous Idaho girl figure running towards me in the pale moon light i began to scream and didnt stop until the hug sesh was over.....and it lasted quite a while. cuz jamie and i hugged then jamie hugged kitara then we all hugged eachother and the hwole hile we were all screaming....baha im sure the neighbors hated us. subject change for 2 seconds....the grossest thing ever...succadas....a nasty bug that inhabits much of the central states that is so loud and creepy that i could barely walk out side..i was that creeped out....anyway jamie was gorgeous and i had not seen her in forever...since before christmas...way too long and kitara was missin her too so the reuinion was something to be recorded into the logs of our history together as roomies and pretty much sisters!! we were given a quick tour of the sheppard residence then we proceeded in giving eachother our birthday presents...oh the joy that i had when jamie opened the present that i gave her. a scrapbook that i made with my own hands...a scrapbook of our lives together up t o this point in our lives. i was given a great pair of earings as well as a sweet scarf and kitara was given a sweet set of nail polishes in exquisite colors and shades. there is a pic of it up there somewhere. amazing is it not....ok so this is part on of tript o ohio...i will comesnce with part 2 tomorrow when ihave regained my strength....oh the joy that comes from letting it all out in blogging!!!

late...

briannas plane came in at 11:35...it is now 1:30....she is late coming home and for the first time in her adult life doesnt have a stupid cell phone so i can make sure she is alright....curses!!!