great questions of life

"And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from god unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee:  blessed art thous among women. and when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her fear not, Mary: for thou hast found for with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in they womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David. And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end." Luke 1:26-33

"God was his Gather, from which Immortal Personage...he inherited the power of immortality, which is the power to live forever; or, having chosen to die, it is the power to rise again in immortality, thereafter to live forever without again seeing corruption. Mary was his mother, from which mortal woman he inherited the power of mortality, which is the power to die. It was because of this intermixture of the divine and the mortal in one person, that our Lord was able to work out the infinite and eternal atonement. Because God was his Father and Mary was his mother, he had power to live or to die, as he chose, and having laid down his life, he had power to take it again, and then, in a way incomprehensible to us, to pass on the effects of that resurrection to all men so that all shall rise from the tomb." The Promised Messiah 1978, 470-471

"And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord. And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior. For he hat regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from hence forth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name." Luke 1:45-49

"And behold, he shall be born of Mary, at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers, she being a virgin, a precious and chosen vessel, who shall be overshadowed and conceive by the power of the Holy Ghost, and bring forth a son, yea, even the Song of God." Alma 7:10

Mary is an example to all women everywhere. She was able to put her "needs" aside and accept the will of God. She was virtuous and pure. She asked questions, when confused. She was humble and submissive. Even though the situation was potentially life-threatening for her she saw it for the personal blessing it was.

Mary found favor with God, meaning she was an upright, devout girl. Finding favor with God is difficult for those of little faith, because they want immediate tangible praise or reward. God doesn't really work that way, although many blessings are physical. Instead many look for worldly honors and riches for favor. Unfortunately, looking for worldly favor makes it difficult to find favor with God. Just as the old story goes, we won't find God in the whirlwind but in the still small voice. Mary was worthy to have the Lord with her. We can likewise be worthy if we choose humility, faith, repentance, submission to God's will, and obedience.

Elisabeth and the unborn John rejoiced when Mary came to visit. One of the Holy Ghost's principal roles is to testify of Jesus Christ. The Holy Ghost can help us gain testimony of the Savior, which has happened to me. As I study more of Jesus' life and character, I am filled with assurance that He lives and loves me. I know that He died for me personally and wants me to partake of the amazing blessing of repentance. He wants the same for each and every person upon the face of the earth regardless of circumstances.

The examples of Elisabeth, Zacharias, John the Baptist, Mary, and Joseph, their efforts to praise the Lord and help others see his greatness, increases my faith. These verses are here for more than just a nice, inspiring story. They are here to show us how we too can put our "needs" behind us and become true followers of Jesus Christ. We can sacrifice for His kingdom. The great questions of life have already been asked and answered if we will but search them out and testify of them after we have found them.