Knowledge is Power

Hello Everyone! 

I have finally finished my semester class and am done till September! I promised that I would post my final essay and I would like to tell you about what it is about. I was asked to tell the three principles this semester that have stood out most to me and have been a powerful example in my life. The three scriptures that I chose have been scriptures that have meant a lot to me and during this semester have become even more powerful to me. I really had a wonderful semester and am glad I had the opportunity to learn so much!         

   What does the word powerful mean to me? How about knowledge? If you look up what powerful means in the dictionary it says powerful means having a strong effect on people's feelings or thoughts, while knowledge means facts, information, and skills acquired by a person through experience or education or an awareness or familiarity gained by experience of a fact or situation. This semester I have gained knowledge and understanding from my personal studies as well as from my classmates. That is where the word powerful comes in because there have been a few principles throughout this semester that have left a powerful influence on me. A couple of the things that had an influence on me this semester were things that I had previously found interesting and amazing but because of my classmates, those things have an even more powerful effect on me.

            My first principle is found in Matthew chapter 6 and reads, "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." If you were to shorten these scriptures into a short principle it might be, we should not treasure the things of this world but treasure that which you can hold in your heart and only you can touch. This scripture had an effect on me because it taught me that the natural man in each one of us is pushing us to want to give more importance on the material things we can gain in this world and to care more for them than the things we can take with us once we pass on from this Earth. In church we have been taught that the only things we can take with us when we die is the knowledge and experiences we have gained and what is in our mind and heart. All that we take with us to heaven are treasures that can neither be destroyed nor taken away from us and those are the things that matter most. Things like our faith and testimony and the lessons we have learned through experience are things that we should treasure because they define who we are and show others what is in our heart. I have been trying to apply this more in my life and I have really noticed that I have started to feel better and less worried about all the material things in my life.

            The next principle that had an influence on me was in Mark chapter12 verses 42-44. These scriptures are about the widow and her two mites and I came up with the principle that, each one of us should give all that we can in service of the Lord. Even when our contribution is less than others, as long as we know that we gave all that we could give, it does not matter. I have always loved the story of the woman and her two simple mites. The Mormon Ad for this scripture stood out to me when I looked it up for my student choice assignment that covered this topic because you can tell that she is a poor woman and she is holding out all that she has and she knows that she will need those mites to live but she sacrificed them because she knew that’s what she needed to do. Others around her could give so much more than she but she still gave what she could. This example is one that we should follow, each one of us. As long as we can honestly say that we gave all that we could and were being obedient, than that is what matters most. I have learned that sacrificing is one of the hardest and most rewarding things you can do to gain knowledge and blessings in your life. In applying this in my life I have looked at those around me and looked for things that they have had to sacrifice or are sacrificing and how much of a difference it made in their lives.

            In Mark 10:7-9 it reads, “For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” My principle that I had for these scriptures was that when you marry your eternal companion you are bound to each other and should not let another tear you apart. The reason that this was one of the principles that stood out to me most was because I am not married and I don’t plan on being married anytime soon but when I read this I think about the people I look up to in my life and what their marriages are like and how if I were to apply this into my life in the future, how much better my life and marriage will be.

Examples in my life have been my dad and two of my best friends parents. My dad was baptized when he was 8 but never went to church again in his life and my mother is not a member and they were only married for about 10 years before my dad died but while he was alive, nothing ever came between them in their marriage. My girl best friend’s parents were married outside the temple because her dad was not a member and it took him 18+ years to join the church but through it all nothing separated them. My guy best friend’s parents have both been members their whole lives and they are one of strongest marriages I have had the privilege to learn about because his mom tells me stories about their life and all the troubles that they went through but they never let anything come between them because they relied on God.

These examples show that with God’s help, faith, and trust a marriage will work and it will last. God doesn’t want to see any of us hurt or heartbroken so He will be there for us, to help us in any trials we have in our life and in our marriage.

When we are born we are attached to our parents but when the time comes we break ourselves off of them and re-attach ourselves with our spouse. In my mind I imagine that there are two trees with strong deep roots that represent God. Tree number 1 is Jacob’s (figurative name) parents and tree two is Susan’s parents. Jacob and Susan are both branches on their trees and when it is time to get married they are cut from their tree and put on a new, young tree so that they can work together to build up their tree. God is there to help them by sending nutrients up to them so that they can become strong and healthy and because God is the roots and they grow deep into the ground, if a strong wind comes and tries to tear them down they will not fall.

            This semester has been one of my favorites and full of powerful principles and learning experiences that have made a difference in my life and am grateful for my classmates for sharing all that they learned and have experienced!