The New Testament

In Acts 9, we read about when Jesus appeared to Saul on his way to Damascus. The Lord asked him why he was persecuting Him. Saul replied in astonishment, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" The Lord then told Saul to go into the city where he'd be told what to do once he was there. Saul did what was asked of him. He acted in faith and he did the Lord's will even though he did not fully understand what was asked of him. Like Saul, we may be asked to do the Lord's will even when we don't understand how or why we're asked to do it. Have you received a calling you felt inadequate to fulfill? Has a prophet or other church leader asked you to do something that you felt was beyond your abilities, such as paying a full tithe or serving a mission? Elder Neal A. Maxwell stated: “The submission of one’s will is really the only uniquely personal thing we have to place on God’s altar. The many other things we ‘give,’ … are actually the things He has already

In Matthew 28, we read about the resurrection of the Savior. As He prophesied, 3 days after His body was laid in the tomb following His Crucifixion, He rose from the dead. When His loved ones sought Him in the empty tomb, an angel said to them, “He is not here: for he is risen” (Matthew 28:6). His body and His spirit were reunited after His death. What does the Savior’s resurrection mean for us? Perhaps the greatest gift of His resurrection is hope. His resurrection means that death is not the end for us. We all receive immortality because of His resurrection. Our spirit and our body will be reunited. The Resurrection means that we have hope of being reunited with our loved ones who pass on before us. Elder Neal A. Maxwell explained, “The gift of immortality to all mankind through the reality of the Resurrection is so powerful a promise that our rejoicing in these great and generous gifts should drown out any sorrow, assuage any grief, conquer any mood, dissolve any despair,

In Matthew 25, we read about the parable of the 10 virgins. Five of the virgins were wise and were prepared to meet the bridegroom with their lamps filled with oil while the other five were foolish and unprepared. The oil in the lamps represents spiritual preparation and the bridegroom represents our Savior, Jesus Christ. Elder David A. Bednar suggests that we see the lamps as a testimony and the oil as conversion. All 10 of the virgins had a testimony. It was complete conversion that half of them lacked. How many of us will be like the 5 foolish virgins with a testimony, but no true change in ourselves when it’s time to meet the Savior? Why couldn’t the 5 wise virgins share their oil? Can’t a parent or a spouse use their conversion to save their loved ones? Elder Bednar states, “Were the five wise virgins selfish and unwilling to share, or were they indicating correctly that the oil of conversion cannot be borrowed?” We can rely on others to help us build and strengthen our testi