Introduction Week – Student Choice Assignment #3
1. Study Matthew 1-2; Luke 1-2, The Birth of Jesus
·
What did
Joseph initially want to do when he found out Mary was with child?
o He
wanted to quietly annul the marriage arrangement.
·
What did Joseph
decide to do after the visit of the angel in his dream? What does this suggest
about Joseph’s character?
o After
Joseph was visited in his dreams by an angel, he decided to go ahead and marry
Mary.
o I think this reaction shows that he cared
deeply for Mary’s well-being and he truly trusted that the Lord would take care
of them both.
·
How many
time in these chapters was Joseph guided by the Lord in a dream? What does this
suggest about Joseph’s spiritual sensitivity?
o Joseph
was visited by the Lord 4 times in a dream.
o This tell us that Joseph was very sensitive to
the spirit. He kept himself close to the
Lord. He must have prayed
constantly.
·
Although
Joseph was not the literal father of Jesus, he was a righteous man entrusted by
Heavenly Father to be a guardian to His Son in mortality. Write about at least
two qualities Joseph demonstrated that you think you could develop to help you
prepare to be a good parent.
o Joseph
was thoughtful. When a problem arose he
was not quick to respond. He would think about what was going on, and what the
options were. As a mom, I know that I am
quick to react which is not usually a good thing. I let my temper and impatience get the best
of me. If I can learn to slow down and
access the situation more I would be understanding and more able to take
advantage of teaching opportunities with my children. I imagine that Jesus was
able to learn patience from his wonderful father Joseph.
o Joseph
was trusting. He knew that Mary was a kind and honest person and that allowed
him to trust her and not just turn her away.
He also trusted his Father in Heaven. He knew that the Lord loved him
and was aware of his trials and because of that when questions arose he was
able to turn to the Lord for direction. As a parent it is important to trust
the Lord. There will be many trials to
face as a parent, but the Lord knows to maneuver them all. When we are able to
ask the Lord for help and trust his guidance our trials will be bearable and he
will help us to find peace.
2. How is Mary referred to in Luke 1:28? From
the account in Luke 1:26- 56, make a
list of Mary’s qualities that you think distinguish her as one who would be “favoured”
by God with the special mission of being the mother of the mortal Messiah.
Write a paragraph about one of Mary’s qualities that you want to develop more
fully and what difference it would make in your life.
·
Mary is called “highly favoured” by the angel
·
List of Qualities that make Mary “favoured”
o Faithful
o Humble
o Servant
·
My favorite quality that Mary possesses is humility. I think this is a very important quality for
a woman to have. I hope to be able to be
more humble. Lately I have been prideful in my trials. I have been trying to solve all of my problems
by myself. If I were able
3. Matthew 1:1-17 and Luke 3:23-38 contain
genealogies of Jesus Christ. In the institute student manual, read the
commentary for Matthew 1:17; Luke 3:23-38, “Jesus Descended from Kings” (p.
22). Write a statement about the possible significance of the genealogy of
Jesus Christ and why the two accounts are slightly different.
4. Read the institute student manual Points to
Ponder: “Jesus was the First Begotten in the Spirit and the only Begotten in
the Flesh” (p. 16) and “Because God was His Father, Jesus had power over life
and death” (p. 24). Read John 10:17-18 and Mosiah 3:7. Then write a paragraph explaining
why it was necessary for Jesus Christ to have an immortal Father and mortal
mother.
5. Study Luke 2:1-16 and complete the
following assignments:
·
Write 6
questions that cover what you think are the most important details of the
Savior’s birth. In the parenthesis after each question, write the correct
answer and the verse where the answer can be found.
o
o
o
o
o
o
·
List five
phrases from Luke 2:1-16 that you think would be good titles for a talk about
Jesus Christ at Christmastime.
o
o
o
o
o
