Mark 9:28-29 Some things can only be done after prayer and fasting

True to the Faith:

This account of Jesus casting out an evil spirit from a man’s son teaches that prayer and fasting can give added strength to those giving and receiving priesthood blessings. The account can also be applied to your personal efforts to live the gospel. If you have a weakness or sin that you have struggled to overcome, you may need to fast and pray in order to receive the help or forgiveness you desire. Like the demon that Christ cast out, your difficulty may be the kind that will go out only through prayer and fasting” (True to the Faith: A Gospel Reference 2004, 67).

Mark 5:38-42 Elder Shayne M. Bowen's son chokes on a piece of chalk

Mark 5:38-42 Elder Shayne M. Bowen

“On February 4 of 1990, our third son and sixth child was born. We named him Tyson. …“When Tyson was eight months old, he aspirated a piece of chalk that he had found on the carpet. The chalk lodged in Tyson’s throat, and he quit breathing. His older brother brought Tyson upstairs, frantically calling, ‘The baby won’t breathe. The baby won’t breathe.’ We began to administer CPR and called 911.

“The paramedics arrived and rushed Tyson to the hospital. In the waiting room we continued in fervent prayer as we pled to God for a miracle. After what seemed a lifetime, the doctor came into the room and said, ‘I am so sorry. There is nothing more we can do. Take all the time you need.’ She then left”

“As I felt the guilt, anger, and self-pity trying to consume me, I prayed that my heart could change. Through very personal sacred experiences, the Lord gave me a new heart, and even though it was still lonely and painful, my whole outlook changed. I was given to know that I had not been robbed but rather that there was a great blessing awaiting me if I would prove faithful. …

“I testify that … ‘as we rely on the Atonement of Jesus Christ, He can help us endure our trials, sicknesses, and pain. We can be filled with joy, peace, and consolation. All that is unfair about life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ’ [Preach My Gospel: A Guide to Missionary Service (2004), 52]” (“Because I Live,” 17).

Mark 1:1 Intro to Mark

Introduction to the book of Mark

The book of Mark is a fast-moving account that often focuses on the powerful deeds of the Savior. It recounts events in quick succession, frequently using the words straightway and immediately, giving the effect of rapid pace and action.

Mark was not among the original disciples of Jesus Christ, he later converted and became an assistant to the Apostle Peter, and he may have written his Gospel based on what he learned from Peter. Peter referred to him as “Marcus my son”, suggesting the closeness of their relationship.

Mark and his mother, Mary, lived in Jerusalem; their home was a gathering place for some of the earliest Christians. Mark left Jerusalem to help Barnabas and Saul (Paul) on their first missionary journey. Paul praised Mark as a companion who was “profitable to him for the ministry”.

Mark likely wrote his Gospel in Rome between A.D. 64 and A.D. 70, perhaps shortly after the Apostle Peter suffered martyrdom in about A.D. 64.

Mark is the only Gospel that relates the parable of the seed growing by itself (see Mark 4:26–27), the healing of a deaf person in the Decapolis region (see Mark 7:31–37), and the gradual healing of a blind man at Bethsaida (see Mark 8:22–26).

One-third of Mark’s Gospel recounts the Savior’s teachings and experiences during the last week of His life. Mark bore witness that the suffering Son of God ultimately triumphed over evil, sin, and death. This testimony meant that the Savior’s followers need not fear; when they faced persecution, trials, or even death, they were following their Master. They could endure with confidence, knowing that the Lord would help them and that all His promises would ultimately be fulfilled. (NT Seminary Teacher Manual p115)

Mark 1:23-26 Christ can rebuke Satan for us if we want it dearly and deeply enough

Elder Holland taught: ….I have of necessity also spoken of el diablo, the diabolical one, the father of lies and lust, who will do anything he can to counterfeit true love, to profane and desecrate true love wherever and whenever he encounters it. And I have spoken of his desire to destroy us if he can.

When we face such temptations in our time, we must declare, as young Nephi did in his, “I will give place no more for the enemy of my soul.” We can reject the evil one. If we want it dearly and deeply enough, that enemy can and will be rebuked by the redeeming power of the Lord Jesus Christ. (“Place no more for the Enemy of My Soul”. General Conference April 2010)

Matthew 28:6 We can receive peace because Christ was resurrected.

Matthew 28:6 President Monson: “in our hour of deepest sorrow, we can receive profound peace from the words of the angel that first Easter morning: ‘He is not here: for he is risen’.”

“As one of His special witnesses on earth today…, I declare that this is true, …”

(He is Risen, May Ensign 2010)

Matthew 27:46 It was required for the Father to withdraw from the Savior on the cross

Matthew 27:46  Holland Taught: “With all the conviction of my soul I testify that … a perfect Father did not forsake His Son in that hour. Indeed, it is my personal belief that in all of Christ’s mortal ministry the Father may never have been closer to His Son than in these agonizing final moments of suffering. Nevertheless, … the Father briefly withdrew from Jesus the comfort of His Spirit, the support of His personal presence”

“It was required, indeed it was central to the significance of the Atonement, that this perfect Son who had never spoken ill nor done wrong nor touched an unclean thing had to know how the rest of humankind—us, all of us—would feel when we did commit such sins. For His Atonement to be infinite and eternal, He had to feel what it was like to die not only physically but spiritually, to sense what it was like to have the divine Spirit withdraw, leaving one feeling totally, abjectly, hopelessly alone” (“None Were with Him,” Ensign, May 2009, 87–88).

Matthew 26:39 Jesus always did His Fathers will.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland:

“If you can leave your students with one principal commitment in response to the Savior’s incomparable sacrifice for them, His payment for their transgressions, His sorrow for their sins, leave with them the necessity to obey—to yield in their own difficult domain and hours of decision to ‘the will of the Father’ [3 Ne. 11:11], whatever the cost. They won’t always do that, any better than you and I have been able to do it, but that ought to be their goal; that ought to be their aim. The thing Christ seems most anxious to stress about His mission—beyond the personal virtues, beyond the magnificent sermons, and even beyond the healing—is that He submitted His will to the will of the Father” (“Teaching, Preaching, Healing,” Ensign, Jan. 2003, 41).

Excerpts from a talk by Elder Rasband April 2019

Excerpts from a talk by Elder Rasband April 2019

President Russell M. Nelson has taught, “In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.”…

Brothers and sisters, we are at war with Satan for the souls of men. The battle lines were drawn in our pre-earth life. Satan and a third of our Father in Heaven’s children turned away from His promises of exaltation. Since that time, the adversary’s minions have been fighting the faithful who choose the Father’s plan.

Satan knows his days are numbered and that time is growing shorter. As crafty and cunning as he is, he will not win. However, his battle for each one of our souls rages on.

For our safety, we must build a fortress of spirituality and protection for our very souls, a fortress that will not be penetrated by the evil one.

Satan is a subtle snake, sneaking into our minds and hearts when we have let our guard down, faced a disappointment, or lost hope. He entices us with flattery, a promise of ease, comfort, or a temporary high when we are low. He justifies pride, unkindness, dishonesty, discontent, and immorality, and in time we can be “past feeling.” The Spirit can leave us. “And thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell.”

When we build a fortress of spiritual strength, we can shun the advances of the adversary, turn our backs on him, and feel the peace of the Spirit. We can follow the example of our Lord and Savior, who, when tempted in the wilderness, said, “Get thee behind me, Satan.” We each have to learn by the experiences of life how to do that.

Such righteous purpose is well described in the Book of Mormon when Captain Moroni prepared the Nephites to face attacks from a deceitful, bloodthirsty, power-hungry Amalickiah. Moroni constructed fortresses to protect the Nephites “that they might live unto the Lord their God, and that they might maintain that which was called by their enemies the cause of Christians.” Moroni “was firm in the faith of Christ” and was faithful “in keeping the commandments of God … and resisting iniquity.”

When the Lamanites came to battle, they were astonished by the Nephites’ preparation, and they were defeated. The Nephites thanked “the Lord their God, because of his matchless power in delivering them from the hands of their enemies.” They had built fortresses for protection on the outside, and they had built faith in the Lord Jesus Christ on the inside—deep in their souls.

What are some ways we can fortify ourselves in troubled times…?

We are obedient…

We trust the Lord…

We stand for the truth…

We make and renew our covenants by partaking of the sacrament and by worshipping in the temple…

We should have integrity in all that we do…

Your testimony of Jesus Christ is your personal fortress, the security for your soul. When my great-grandfather and his fellow pioneers built the Heber fort, they put up one log at a time until the fort was “fitly framed together” and they were protected. So it is with testimony. One by one we gain a witness from the Holy Spirit as He speaks to our own spirit, teaching “truth in the inward parts.”  (Build a Fortress of Spirituality and Protection By Elder Ronald A. Rasband. GC April 2019)

Matthew 24:50 Let's prepare now to meet the Lord

“While we are powerless to alter the fact of the Second Coming and unable to know its exact time, we can accelerate our own preparation and try to influence the preparation of those around us…”

“What if the day of His coming were tomorrow? If we knew that we would meet the Lord tomorrow—through our premature death or through His unexpected coming—what would we do today? What confessions would we make? What practices would we discontinue? What accounts would we settle? What forgivenesses would we extend? What testimonies would we bear?

If we would do those things then, why not now? Why not seek peace while peace can be obtained? If our lamps of preparation are drawn down, let us start immediately to replenish them.” (“Preparation for the Second Coming”. Elder Dallin H. Oaks. April 2004 GC)

Matthew 22:37-39 The First and Great Commandment

Elder Holland - "My beloved brothers and sisters, I am not certain just what our experience will be on Judgment Day, but I will be very surprised if at some point in that conversation, God does not ask us exactly what Christ asked Peter: “Did you love me?” I think He will want to know if in our very mortal, very inadequate, and sometimes childish grasp of things, did we at least understand one commandment, the first and greatest commandment of them all—“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind.” And if at such a moment we can stammer out, “Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee,” then He may remind us that the crowning characteristic of love is always loyalty.

“If ye love me, keep my commandments,” Jesus said. So we have neighbors to bless, children to protect, the poor to lift up, and the truth to defend. We have wrongs to make right, truths to share, and good to do. In short, we have a life of devoted discipleship to give in demonstrating our love of the Lord. We can’t quit and we can’t go back. After an encounter with the living Son of the living God, nothing is ever again to be as it was before…" (“The First Great Commandment” Elder Holland. General Conference Oct 2012)