The Gospel of Jesus Christ is True

This phrase commonly said in testimonies contains important understanding and teachings. To be in Christ's church "ye must take upon you the name of Christ" and the church must be "built upon [Christ's] gospel," (2 Ne 27:5,8). What is Christ's gospel? This question is answered in verses 13 through 22 in 2 Nephi 27. Gospel refers to the "good news" of the atonement that Christ paid the price for our sins that we might return to God and live with our families forever. In verses 13 through 15 it discusses Christ's part in the Gospel, and 16 to 21 is our part and the doctrine. The gospel and doctrine we must follow includes repentance, baptism, enduring to the end, etc. 

What is the difference between "I know the church is true" and "I know the gospel is true"? 
We were asked this in my Book of Mormon class, and we created some annalogies to correlate church and the gospel. Here are a few:

        Hogwarts is like Church as magic is like the Gospel
        Hospital is like Church as treatment is like the Gospel
        A sailboat is like Church as the wind is like the Gospel
        Body is like Church as the spirit is like the Gospel
        University is like Church as classes and teaching are like the Gospel

This helped me discover the difference between Church and Gospel. For the Church is dynamic and changes with different people and buildings, but the gospel is constant through the teachings and good feeling. The gospel is the doctrine of Christ and is perfect. Therefore both can be true, but the phrase "I know the (church/gospel) is true" has different meanings.

I've loved these intreaging things I've learned in my Book of Mormon class and Gospel Doctrine. I love learning more about Christ, this church, and the gospel. I loved this quote that I found that says, "Jesus Christ knows each of us personally. If we but reach out, we can know Him too." (https://www.mormon.org/beliefs/jesus-christ) I've loved studying the scriptures (especially the Book of Mormon) in more depth this year to find Christ and God in each scripture and page. 

If you haven't seen the Christmas video for this year go to mormon.org and you will be amazed by the power the video has with very few words. I love the spirit brings and I challenge you to accept the Christmas challenge. There are a few things that you can do each day of December to grow closer to Christ through service and love. Do it! It starts on December 1st and the theme is "Jesus lifted others' burdens and so can you."

#LIGHTtheWORLD
www.mormon.org
Melissa Longhurst
Laugh Love Inspire Smile