#1- What have they learned about the Savior, and what do I know about the Savior

Choice 2: Blog

Unit One: Choice 4

Who	How they learned about the Savior		What they knew about the Savior	What they did with their knowledge
Elisabeth (Luke 1:39-45)	Mary arrived at her home and the babe in Elisabeth's womb jumped and she was filled with the Spirit. So she knew also by the spirit that Mary was to conceive the Savior.		She knew that He was her Lord and that her son was meant to prepare the way for the Lord so that he could redeem all mankind. She knew that He was the Son of God.	She was filled with joy and happily welcomed Mary into her home and told Mary that she was the mother of the Lord. Also she believed and had faith. With this knowledge she proclaimed her testimony to Mary.
Shepherds (Luke 2:8-18)	The Angel of the Lord came upon them and proclaimed the good tidings that Christ was to be born. Then there was a heavenly host of angels proclaiming the birth of the Savior. They were also shown the star which marked the birth of the Savior.		They knew that the Son of God, their Savior was born. That He would be their Saviour. That He was Christ the Lord.	They rushed to see the Savior. Then once they had seen the Savior in the manger they rushed to let others know of his birth as well. They then returned glorifying and praising the Lord. So they first exercised faith, they believed, they shared testimonies and rejoiced.
Simeon (Luke 2:25-35)	It was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost that he would be able to see the Lord. He was led by the spirit to go to the temple to see the Lord.		He knew that the Savior was a gift from the Lord who would save us all from our sins (salvation). He knew he was the Son of God to atone for our sins and to save us.	He followed the spirit, he recognized that the babe was the Savior. He held Jesus in his arms and rejoiced and blessed him.
Anna (Luke 2:36-38)	She served God with fasting and prayer and was in the temple when Mary and Joseph came with the Savior.		She knew that He would bring about the redemption of Israel.	She gave thanks unto the Lord and proclaimed to others her testimony and shared with the people the blessing.
Wise Men (Matthew 2:1-12)	They studied the scriptures and recognized the sign of the new star and knew that Christ had been born.		They knew that he was born to be the King of the Jews, they rejoiced which showed that they knew that his birth was a blessing. They knew that he was to be their Savior, and so they knew that his birth was a miracle and rejoiced.	They rejoiced and wanted to visit the Savior to bring gifts to him. They also let the King know about Jesus Christ but later being warned by an angel decided not to return to Herod and kept his whereabouts a secret.
Herod (Matthew 2:1-18)	The three Wise Men had been studying the scriptures and the signs of Christ's birth and they went to Herod to tell him.		He knew that Christ was born "King of the Jews" and therefore felt that this would mean that he would lose his kingdom to a different king. That there had been prophesies about how Christ would rule and govern the people of Israel.	He was troubled, he wanted the kingdom for himself and therefore felt threatened. Sent the Wise men to find out where he lay and then tried to kill the Savior. ordered the death of all the male children born within the 2 year time frame to try to kill the Savior.
Chief Priests (Matthew 2:1-6)	Herod demanded of the Chief Priests to know where Christ was to be born.		They had studied the scriptures and read that the prophets had said he would be born in Bethlehem. That he would rule and govern the people.	They (being part of Jerusalem) were troubled by the news of Christ and how he was meant to be King of the Jews and therefore when asked by the King, they told him where the Savior was to be born.
Nephites (3 Nephi 1:12-22)		They were being taught by the prophets	They knew that the Savior would come to redeem mankind, that He would be the Son of God and that he would suffer and die for their sins so that they could repent to life with God again.		They exercised their faith in standing up for what they believed in and being righteous.

What do I know about the Savior? How Have I learned it, and what am I doing with what I know?

             I know that the Savior is our elder brother who was with Heavenly father in the beginning. That he helped create the world under the direction of the Father. That because of his great love for God and for us he offered to be a sacrifice so that we could return to live with our Heavenly father. I know that he suffered all things being the only perfect being that could be able to. I know that he submitted his will to the Father's and overcame all things. I know that because he sacrificed himself that the chains of death are broken and therefore we all will be resurrected into a perfect state, and if we were righteous we can live with our Heavenly Father and the Savior Jesus Christ forever with our families. The Savior is the Son of God, and the only begotten of the Father. He is the perfect example to us of how we should treat others with love and kindness. He is the example and the way for us to follow so that we can become like God. He is perfect in his love for us, his compassion and he wants us to be happy.

             I have learned these things because I was blessed to be born into a family with loving parents that taught me the ways of the Lord. My parents were righteous in their actions and brought us to church every week, taught us to pray, taught us in family home evening and was consistent in daily prayers, and scripture reading. They focused Christmas on the Saviors birth and taught us about the saviors birth. Where they would teach about the important event of Christ coming to earth, and we would read about his birth and act out the nativity. They supported us and encouraged us to go to YM and YW activities where we also were able to learn about the Savior. I learned these things by choosing to take time to pray every morning and night which allowed my heart to be prepared to trust in the Lord. I read the Book of Mormon with my family but also on my own to strengthen my testimony and to learn these things. I did projects in Young Womens which allowed me to research more about the Savior. I was able to pray many times throughout my life to know that these things were true and also through personal experience gained a testimony. I also learned these things through church choir because we learned songs about the Savior which further helped be to learn these things and to strengthen my testimony. Also one of the greatest ways I learned these things were to put them into practice by doing service projects in my ward which helped to learn about the Savior. As well as the overall experience of my mission because I was able to see the Lord's hand bless the lives of others. Another of the hugest ways I learned that these things were true was through exercising faith and seeing the atonement truly work in my life. 

          Right now with this knowledge I have I am constantly striving to do better and to repent so that the blessing of the Saviors life can take effect in my life. I'm working on sharing my testimony of the Savior with others through the righteous was that I live, through loving and serving others and by trying to bear my testimony when I feel that it could benefit others.I have noticed that when I have shared my testimony with others on my mission and trusted in the Lord to fulfill his promises then I have strengthened by testimony into being factual knowledge into a deep conviction. This is something that I am trying to exercise and strengthen through continuing to do the daily important habits that I invited people in Brazil to do. Such as reading the scriptures daily, praying sincerely, visiting the temple, having faithful church attendance and other things that will bring me closer to the Savior.

1. How did you and what did you do to complete the assignment?
   1. What I did do complete this assignment is I first read the entire reading so that I could get a fuller understanding of what was occurring during these verses. Then I specifically read the assigned readings for each person, sometimes reading parts before or after to see if there was details I should include. Then I pondered about other information I knew about these people and thought about what else they may have known about the Savior or what their actions meant. Then I related that to my life seeing the faithful examples of these people and thought about how I am doing in comparison. Then I wrote about my experiences trying to include little events that may have also helped me gain this knowledge.
2. Why did you decide to do the assignment you did?
   1. I'm trying to keep a journal of moments in my life through a blog, usually including the review of my week when I send an email to my missionary sister. I think blogs are very useful because I am usually using a computer and therefore I can quickly jot down information about my life. Also because I know that sometimes computers crash, information is lost and I wanted the work I did to be saved so that I could look back on it. Also I'm trying really hard to be a good member missionary but I don't want my friends to feel pressured and so I felt that using a blog was a way to share the gospel for those who felt prompted or inspired to read what I read and therefore they could ask questions.
3. What do you think is the best thing about your assignment and how do you think it could be improved? What I really liked about the assignment was it allowed me to look at many different examples of people who had knowledge of the Savior and to see what they did with it. I think I was able to really apply to to my own life and ponder about how I can be better at using this knowledge the way I should. I think that I could have included specific experiences that helped my faith to grow.