The Good News

Today I begin teaching again after the ten-day-break between semesters. I am always excited to start a new semester, but this semester I am teaching the Four Gospels of the New Testament and that adds to the excitement. The Four Gospels are the life of Jesus Christ and to study, review, ponder, and discuss the life of Christ for the next seven weeks is not only a privilege but an absolute delight.

Because it will be on my mind, I’ll probably be recording many New Testament thoughts on Good News! beginning today! But that’s appropriate since the Greek word gospel means good news.

Whenever I introduce the Four Gospels to students I am struck by the power of traditions over the people. We are so blessed to have the Spirit to guide us, but following the Spirit takes work and constant effort and requires us to be obedient and repentant. Traditions, on the other hand, are like the tracks of a train. Once you are on them they carry you without any thought on your part. Thus the ancient Jews took the easy route and became caught up in tradition instead of following the Spirit and after a few years the traditions were all that mattered to them.

There are many things in our lives that we need to evaluate. Are we doing those things because it is habit or because we are being directed to do them? Are we walking through the rituals because they are tradition or are we really thinking and pondering and renewing ourselves through the rituals?

It is easy to slip into the realm of tradition. But it only takes a little thought and effort to bring ourselves back to a state of awareness and alertness—a state that will feed our souls and keep us in tune with the Spirit.

My Easter Gift

Easter is just a few weeks away and every Easter I give myself a present. It is a gift I look forward to all year long; I read the four gospels in the New Testament which are the books Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John that tell the story of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.

Over the years this tradition has made Easter very special for me, but this year there has been an added surprise. At our last Stake Conference our Stake President asked the entire stake to read the Four Gospels for Easter! So this year instead of reading it alone, I have people all around me reading and commenting and enjoying the same tradition. I love it!

I sometimes read my Easter gift from a harmony which means that the stories from the four books have been put side by side so you can read each writer’s version of a story all at once and compare them. The best harmony I’ve found is by Steven and Julie Hite’s. Besides being a harmony of the gospels it has all of the Joseph Smith Translation included. But since I am teaching New Testament next semester and will be using the Hite book as my text, I decided that for Easter I’d read it book at a time. I’ve finished Matthew and Mark and am reading in Luke right now and eagerly anticipating John because his gospel is my favorite. It is so full of light and truth that I can’t read it without coming away absolutely lifted and encouraged.

I love Easter! I love it for all it represents and for the opportunity it gives me to remember and renew. Life isn’t always what I want it to be, but because of Jesus Christ it will be.

The Way

In the New Testament the teachings of Jesus aren’t called Christianity, the gospel, the Church, or any other designation we refer to them as today. Instead His teachings were simply called “the way.” When blind Bartimaeus was given sight by the Lord, we are told that he then “followed Jesus in the way” (Mark 10:52).

I love this description. It isn’t A way to go, but it is THE way to go. It conjures up in my mind a mental picture of a well defined path that is worn because many have traveled it before. Those who have traveled this path are no less than people such as Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob, Rachel and Leah, Joseph and Emma, and the greatest of all, Jesus Christ himself. There is a certain security that comes from knowing you are on a path worn hard and smooth by such people.

When I think about the way in this manner, it is less tempting to consider taking a purported short-cut through the bush or even a cut-off that is touted as leading to pleasure and fun. The way that is worn smooth and well defined by apostles and prophets looks good to me. I like the idea of “following Jesus in the way.”

This Is A Great Day!

I just returned home from seeing the eye surgeon, Dr. Todd Cook. Once more he told me what a miracle I was. But while waiting for my eyes to dilate, his associate Dr. Olson, who is a friend of ours, came in and told me again what a miracle I was. He also said that on the day of the surgery he’d never seen Dr. Todd so emotional. “He didn’t expect to be able to preserve your vision,” he said. “He was overcome with how everything went, and acknowledged that there had been some intervention from a higher source.” If that wasn’t enough, he told me that he also spoke to one of the operating room nurses immediately after the surgery and was told that there was a tension in the operating room and that at first they thought I would be blind, but they were ecstatic when they realized Grizelda had been excises without damaging my sight.

But here is the most amazing thing. After the eye exam it was discovered that my eyesight is better than it was before. My prescription in the eye Grizelda inhabited is half the strength that it was before! Even my other eye has a little better vision.

And there is more good news! When I arrived at home there was a package on my doorstep and in it was a copy of a newly released book, Shedding Light on the New Testament, in which I wrote one of the chapters. My chapter is “Paul’s Teachings in 1 Corinthians on Women.” I know; it’s not a very exciting title, but the research was so fun. Paul revered and respected women and understood some things that we have lost track of.

So, I can sleep lying down. I can drive a car. My hair is almost ½ inch in length. And life begins anew. I have so very much to be grateful for!