Matthew 13

I find it interesting that as the Savior returned and preached in the synagogue in Nazareth that -

"...they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?

55 Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?

56 And his sisters, are they not all with us?..."  (Matthew 13:54–56)

In mind would suggest two or more sisters.  Which would probably mean six or more siblings.

Luke 11

 The Savior taught his disciples concerning prayer - 

"I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

10 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

11 If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?

12 Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?

13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?"  (Luke 11:9–13)

The Prophet Joseph Smith added to verse 13 -

"JST Luke 11:14 … good gifts, through the Holy Spirit …"  (Luke 11:13 note a)

I also note the Lord teaches in parable - 

"...because of his importunity..."  (Luke 11:8)

Many blessings will follow our righteous persistence.

Matthew 12

 The Savior taught concerning seeking a sign - 

"...An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas..."  (Matthew 12:39)

Which would suggest to me that Jonah didn't receive what he wanted.  We see this with Nehor and Korihor in the Book of Mormon.

Matthew 11

 The Savior taught -

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."  (Matthew 11:28–30)

What does it mean to "take my yoke upon you"?  Elder Bednar taught - 

"Making and keeping sacred covenants yokes us to and with the Lord Jesus Christ".

President Russell M. Nelson - Focus on the Temple

 As President Nelson concluded the October 2022 general conference, he emphasized - 

"It is significant that the Savior chose to appear to the people at the temple. It is His house. It is filled with His power. Let us never lose sight of what the Lord is doing for us now. He is making His temples more accessible. He is accelerating the pace at which we are building temples. He is increasing our ability to help gather Israel. He is also making it easier for each of us to become spiritually refined. I promise that increased time in the temple will bless your life in ways nothing else can."

Luke 9

 The teaching of the Savior to His apostles has great application to all of us when - 

"...he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.

25 For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?

26 For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels."  (Luke 9:23–26)

The words "lose himself " suggests to me sacrifice and consecration of outward and inward things or other words, things of possession as well as personal time and work.

Mark 5

 When Jesus asked the name of the evil spirit in the possessed man, the response was - 

"...My name is Legion: for we are many."  (Mark 5:9)

Then the evil spirit requested that Jesus - 

"...would not send them away out of the country.

11 Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding.

12 And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them.

13 And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea."  (Mark 5:10–13)

In my mind, Legion must have been at least two thousand evil spirits.  Isn't it interesting that even then the evil spirits lost possession with the death of the swine.

Another thought is the owners of the swine mut have been non-Jews or unfaithful-Jews being that they are raising swine.

Matthew 10

 I find it interesting that the twelve apostles were instructed that initially - 

"Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:

6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand."  (Matthew 10:5–7)

My thoughts seem to go to - 

"...the time cometh that he shall manifest himself unto all nations, both unto the Jews and also unto the Gentiles; and after he has manifested himself unto the Jews and also unto the Gentiles, then he shall manifest himself unto the Gentiles and also unto the Jews, and the last shall be first, and the first shall be last."  (1 Nephi 13:42)

Quentin L. Cook - Be True to God and His Work

 Elder Cook spoke of his great-great-grandfather, Heber C. Kimball saying -

“Let me say to you, that many of you will see the time when you will have all the trouble, trial and persecution that you can stand, and plenty of opportunities to show that you are true to God and His work.”

He quoted Alma's words to his son, Shiblon - 

“See that ye bridle all your passions, that ye may be filled with love.”

Adding - 

"Bridle is an interesting word. When we ride a horse, we use the bridle to guide it. A good synonym might be to direct, control, or restrain. The Old Testament tells us we shouted for joy when we learned we would have physical bodies.13 The body is not evil—it is beautiful and essential—but some passions, if not used properly and appropriately bridled, can separate us from God and His work and adversely impact our testimony."

Elder Cook then suggested two current difficulties that will challenge us in our day - 

"Let’s talk about two passions in particular—first, anger, and second, lust.14 It is interesting that both left unbridled or uncontrolled can cause great heartache, diminish the influence of the Spirit, and separate us from God and His work. The adversary takes every opportunity to fill our lives with images of violence and immorality."

"In our day one of the most significant challenges is contention and verbal abuse related to societal issues. In many cases anger and abusive language have replaced reason, discussion, and civility. Many have abandoned the admonition of the Savior’s senior Apostle, Peter, to seek Christlike qualities such as temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity.18 They have also abandoned the Christlike quality of humility.

In addition to controlling anger and bridling other passions, we need to lead pure moral lives by controlling our thoughts, language, and actions. We need to avoid pornography, evaluate the appropriateness of what we are streaming in our homes, and avoid every form of sinful conduct."

He concluded - 

"In Alma’s day, in Heber’s day, and certainly in our day, we all need to seek our own testimony of Jesus Christ, bridle our passions, repent of our sins, and find peace through the Atonement of Jesus Christ and be true to God and His work."

Luke 7

 As the Savior was invited and came to dinner by a Pharisee - 

"...behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment,

38 And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.

39 Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.

40 And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on.

41 There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty.

42 And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?

43 Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.

44 And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head.

45 Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet.

46 My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.

47 Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.

48 And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven."  (Luke 7:37–48)

In my mind, one that has truly repented of somewhat grevious sins find the Savior's atonement even of greater worth.

Mark 4

 Sometimes the stories of Jesus in the New Testament become so repetitive. the we fail to consider the magnitude.  So it is as we read concerning the apostles and their travel on the Sea of Galilee - 

 "...there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.

38 And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?

39 And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

40 And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?

41 And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"  (Mark 4:37–41)

It is hard to imagine what it was like being there.

Elder Gary E. Stevenson - Nourishing and Bearing Your Testimony

 In teaching us how to continue to nourish and bear our testimonies, he told the story of Elder Matthew Cowley as he went on his mission - 

"...his last words to me at the railroad station, ‘My boy, you will go out on that mission; you will study; you will try to prepare your sermons; and sometimes when you are called upon, you will think you are wonderfully prepared, but when you stand up, your mind will go completely blank.’ I have had that experience more than once.

“I said, ‘What do you do when your mind goes blank?’

“He said, ‘You stand up there and with all the fervor of your soul, you bear witness that Joseph Smith was a prophet of the living God, and thoughts will flood into your mind and words to your mouth … to the heart of everyone who listens.’ And so my mind, being mostly blank during my … mission … , gave me the opportunity to bear testimony to the greatest event in the history of the world since the crucifixion of the Master. Try it sometime, fellows and girls. If you don’t have anything else to say, testify that Joseph Smith was the prophet of God, and the whole history of the Church will flood into your mind.”"

On the matter, quoting the First Presidency - 

"...President Dallin H. Oaks shared, “Some testimonies are better gained on the feet bearing them than on the knees praying for them.”"

"President Henry B. Eyring lovingly taught us that “feasting on the word of God, heartfelt prayer, and obedience to the Lord’s commandments must be applied evenly and continually for your testimony to grow and prosper.”"

"President Dallin H. Oaks reminded us that to retain our testimony, “we need to partake of the sacrament each week (see D&C 59:9) to qualify for the precious promise that we will ‘always have his Spirit to be with [us]..."

"...President Russell M. Nelson kindly counseled recently:

“Feed [your testimony] truth. …

“… Nourish yourself in the words of ancient and modern prophets. Ask the Lord to teach you how to hear Him better. Spend more time in the temple and in family history work.

“… Make your testimony your highest priority.”"

In conclusion - 

"Brothers and sisters, I invite you to seek opportunities to bear your testimony in word and in deed."

Mark 3

It was Mark that specifically tells us that the Savior- 

"...goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him.

14 And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach,

15 And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils:

16 And Simon he surnamed Peter;

17 And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder:

18 And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphæus, and Thaddæus, and Simon the Canaanite,

19 And Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed him,,,"  (Mark 3:13–19)

It is obvious to me that these individuals were not only disciples, but specifically set apart and ordained to be apostles.

Mark 2

 Jesus Himself challenges Jewish rules on the Sabbath as He says - 

"...The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath..."  (Mark 2:27)

Only His rules and those of His living prophets should set Sabbath rules.