Watching General Conference the weekend before studying these last Isaiah chapters really framed the way I studied this weeks Come, Follow Me material (Isaiah 58-66). In the talk entitled “That They Might Know Thee” given by Elder Jonathan S.Schmitt he talked about the importance of taking the Lord's name upon us and challenged us to learn about all the different names of Jesus Christ, and by so doing, it might inspire us to become more like Him and to develop those different Christlike attributes. As I thought about this challenge and wondered how/when to start gathering those different names, one of the Come, Follow Me podcasts I listened to (Follow Him) talked about how prolific the book of Isaiah is when it comes to giving us different names of Jesus Christ! So, I had my answer. Start now with the book of Isaiah. Here are the names that I found...
Chapter 58: rereward (rearguard, or protector), the holy of the Lord
Chapter 59: intercessor, Spirit of the Lord, Redeemer
Chapter 60: Lord thy God, Holy One of Israel, The city of the Lord, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel, Savior, Redeemer, mighty One of Jacob, Salvation, Praise, everlasting light
Chapter 61: bridegroom
Chapter 62: bridegroom
Chapter 63: Savior, father, redeemer
Chapter 64: father, potter
Chapter 65: God of truth
I also found it interesting to see some of the names that He calls us, His righteous followers...the repairer of the breach, the restorer of paths, trees of righteousness, Priests of the Lord Ministers of our God, clay and the work of thy hand.
I loved what I learned about what it might mean to be a "tree of righteousness." In the Follow Him podcast, Dr. Ross Baron talked about the characteristics of trees and how we might compare them to ourselves.
1) trees always grow towards the light
2) trees require opposition to thrive
3) trees are best grown in forests, not in isolation
4) trees draw strength from previous generations of trees
5) trees point upward and use the power of the sun to provide oxygen for life
I love how he went into detail about point #3 and talked about how your ward and family are great laboratories where you get to practice developing Christlike attributes like faith, knowledge, temperance, patience...because you don't get that kind of development in isolation. It’s easy to be spiritual living alone on top of a mountain, but the real test of spirituality is found by putting yourself in a ward and in a family and then try living the gospel of Jesus Christ. This principle reminded me of another talk that was given in General Conference. Sister Michelle D. Craig in her talk entitled "Wholehearted" said "when your faith, your family, or your future are challenged-when you wonder why life is so hard when you are doing your best to live the gospel-remember that the Lord told us to expect troubles." She goes on to say that "living in convenience does not bring power." We don't need to go looking for trials, they will come no matter what. But when they do come we can try to see that adversity as a way to develop some Christlike attributes.
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