I got frustrated a while back because of a situation where a person had taken offense (not from something I had done but dealing with another person) and stopped coming to church. It got me thinking about how great we are at living the gospel until a trial comes, or a temptation, or someone offends us, or things just don't go our way. We forget that principles like repentance, forgiveness, love, compassion, faith, endurance, and patience are to help us through these hard times. It made me think of Jesus Christ and how He endured. As we go through trials, and apply the principles of the gospel, we too can progress just as Christ did. This poem was inspired by the aforementioned situation.
"Jesus The Christ"
What made Jesus our "Shepherd"?
Was it leading the ninety and nine?
Or leaving these alone for the one to search and find.
And how was Jesus "Exemplar"?
By His smile when smiled at?
Or by patiently submitting when evil men upon Him spat.
What made Jesus "Savior"?
Was it happiness without loss?
Or was it being nailed upon the cold and wooden cross.
And how was Jesus "Anointed"?
By trumpet and song all day?
Or by three humble wise men as He sleep on manger hay.
How became Jesus "Messiah"?
Was it kindness he was shown?
Or was it bearing pain and grief from sins not of His own.
I call Jesus "Redeemer"
Why call him such a thing?
Because He earned the title by descending below all things.
The good of life, the ease and joy
Did not Him the label bring
Of Jesus the "Anointed One", "Messiah", "Savior","King"
But suffering the pain of men
Bearing persecution all His life
Spilling blood and sweat and many tears
This made Him "Jesus The Christ".
Ben Arkell
October 2007
Strength for Youth Song
The following is an excerpt from a friend's blog:
CALLING ALL SONGWRITERS
Here's the dealio: I have to write a song based on a familiar and simple church song that Erik can play on the guitar (so not too many fast chord changes) about avoiding "bad movies." (When I say "bad movies" I mean adhering to the guidelines in the For the Strength of Youth booklet.) So far, the only valid suggestion I've received is to write it to the tune of "Pioneer Children" and say at the end something like, "And walk, and walk, and walk, and walk away." I have to write this by tomorrow morning! It can be painfully bad, as long as it is funny and gets the point across... any ideas?
I decided to help her out. Here is what I posted under the alias of "Sara":
Nephi's Courage #120
The Lord commands his children to remember who we are
Be above the filthy, and try to raise the bar
Movies and media can teach us how to sin
We must be courageous and not let Satan win.
Chorus:
To that show, I won't go
Even if friends want me to
I know the Spirit won't remain
If bad things I should view
I can be clean and pure
Bad movies I won't endure
I'll be who God wants me to be
and I'll always watch just "G"
Verse 2
The world has given us movies
to relax and entertain
If we are not careful then they can fry our brain
We start to think that what's bad is really good
And we fall in traps of not doing what we should
Chorus Repeated.
This was her response to my post:
While I got a lot of ideas... Sara's wins!! Who are you?? An angel? An answer to my prayers?!?!? Seriously, I don't care how much people make fun of blogging, in this situation, it has pulled through. Sara - GREAT JOB! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!! Erik and I practiced it a bunch last night, and with a few minor changes, it works perfectly!
CALLING ALL SONGWRITERS
Here's the dealio: I have to write a song based on a familiar and simple church song that Erik can play on the guitar (so not too many fast chord changes) about avoiding "bad movies." (When I say "bad movies" I mean adhering to the guidelines in the For the Strength of Youth booklet.) So far, the only valid suggestion I've received is to write it to the tune of "Pioneer Children" and say at the end something like, "And walk, and walk, and walk, and walk away." I have to write this by tomorrow morning! It can be painfully bad, as long as it is funny and gets the point across... any ideas?
I decided to help her out. Here is what I posted under the alias of "Sara":
Nephi's Courage #120
The Lord commands his children to remember who we are
Be above the filthy, and try to raise the bar
Movies and media can teach us how to sin
We must be courageous and not let Satan win.
Chorus:
To that show, I won't go
Even if friends want me to
I know the Spirit won't remain
If bad things I should view
I can be clean and pure
Bad movies I won't endure
I'll be who God wants me to be
and I'll always watch just "G"
Verse 2
The world has given us movies
to relax and entertain
If we are not careful then they can fry our brain
We start to think that what's bad is really good
And we fall in traps of not doing what we should
Chorus Repeated.
This was her response to my post:
While I got a lot of ideas... Sara's wins!! Who are you?? An angel? An answer to my prayers?!?!? Seriously, I don't care how much people make fun of blogging, in this situation, it has pulled through. Sara - GREAT JOB! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!! Erik and I practiced it a bunch last night, and with a few minor changes, it works perfectly!
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