LDS Gospel Doctrine Plus

Book of Mormon Lesson #7 "I Know in Whom I Have Trusted"

2012-02-05T14:25:00.000-08:00

2 Nephi 3-5

(I'm not going to focus on 2 Nephi 3, but there is good information about this prophecy regarding Joseph Smith in the April 1989 Ensign, "I Have a Question" feature, available at this link.)

THE PSALM OF NEPHI

In the middle of recording the story of his family and their journeying, Nephi offered an explanation about his record—that if we wanted more detail about the historical parts, they could be found in his other plates; these plates were for writing “the things of [his] soul” (2 Ne. 4:14-15). The things of his soul were a delight in the scriptures and the things of the Lord. This is what took up the focus of his thoughts continually, he wrote.

But then he surprised by launching into a lament about his inadequacies.

“Nevertheless, notwithstanding the great goodness of the Lord, in showing me his great and marvelous works, my heart exclaimeth: O wretched man that I am! Yea, my heart sorroweth because of my flesh; my soul grieveth because of mine iniquities. I am encompassed about, because of the temptations and the sins which do so easily beset me. And when I desire to rejoice, my heart groaneth because of my sins…” (2 Ne. 4:17-19)

Wait a minute! This is Nephi talking here, right? The ultra Good Guy of the Book of Mormon? In what way could he be “wretched?” What great sins and weaknesses could he possibly be writing about? He always honored his dad as the patriarch, he got the brass plates against all odds, he interpreted revelations for his brothers, he built a ship aided directly by God, he had the power of God course through him so strongly that it sent an electrical shock through his brothers, angels came to his defense, he saw visions.

Remember, he said that

1) His heart sorrowed because of his flesh (weaknesses)

2) His soul grieved because of his iniquities (sins)

If we skip ahead to 2 Ne. 4:26-27, Nephi itemizes the problems.

1) “…why should my heart weep and my soul linger in the valley of sorrow and my flesh waste away, and my strength slacken, because of mine afflictions?” His weakness was that he got discouraged, he got depressed, he wasted his energy on sorrow for the circumstances around him.

2) “And why should I yield to sin, because of my flesh? Yea, why should I give way to temptations, that the evil one have place in my heart to destroy my peace and afflict my soul? Why am I angry because of mine enemy?” His sin was anger.

Well, Nephi had good reason to be depressed! In fact, wasn’t it a sign of his righteousness, and the love he had for his family that he found himself inconsolable about the waywardness of his brothers? He was the birthright brother—a type of parent, really—and isn’t it a sign of a good parent to be deeply depressed about children who reject the gospel and choose paths that the parent knows will lead to misery?

Nephi also had good reason to be angry! These brothers caused no end of trouble, they led their children astray, they disrespected their parents, they threatened to kill Nephi, they couldn’t even seem to be changed by the voice of the Lord thundering from heaven, or the personal appearance of an angel. Wouldn’t anger against them be righteous indignation?

But the effect of this weakness and this sin on Nephi renders him less able to do God’s will. The depression and anger make him physically ill (his flesh wastes away), sap his energy (his strength slackens), and destroy his peace.

Yet with such huge challenges, how could Nephi have avoided these problems? What did he do wrong along the way? After expounding upon the greatness of God, he tells us. Look for it here:

“…nevertheless, I know in whom I have trusted. My God hath been my support…He hath filled me with his love…He hath confounded mine enemies…Behold, he hath heard my cry by day, and he hath given me knowledge by visions in the nighttime…angels came down and ministered unto me. And upon the wings of his Spirit hath my body been carried away…and mine eyes have beheld great things… [Pay attention; here comes the reason:]

“O then, if I have seen so great things, if the Lord in his condescension unto the children of men hath visited men in so much mercy, why should my heart weep and my soul linger in the valley of sorrow, and my flesh waste away, and my strength slacken, because of mine afflictions?” (2 Ne. 4:19-26)

The Lord in his condescension has offered to his children the matchless, merciful gift of the Atonement. Nephi saw his depression and anger as proof that his faith in the Atonement of Jesus Christ was not fully functional in his daily life. He gave himself (and us, because we are like this, too) a pep talk before carrying on with his record:

“Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin. Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the enemy of my soul. Do not anger again because of mine enemies. Do not slacken my strength because of mine afflictions. Rejoice, O my heart, and cry unto the Lord, and say: O Lord, I will praise thee forever; yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God, and the rock of my salvation.” (2 Ne. 4:28-30)

Nephi realized that, regardless of the circumstances around him, he had control over his own happiness. If he increased his faith in the Lord, he would know that things would work out okay in the end because “the Lord in his condescension unto the children of men [had visited them] in so much mercy.” Faith in the Atonement will conquer any sorrow of life.

GIVING UP HAPPINESS

Let’s leave Nephi for a moment and talk about Laman and Lemuel. We have to feel sorry for Laman and Lemuel. They seem to fit the saying, “If you can’t be a shining example, at least serve as a horrible warning.” One of the purposes of their lives seemed to be to show us how not to be. And yet, we know that our period of probation extends beyond this life and so does theirs; temple work attests to this truth. Now that they are in the Spirit World, Laman and Lemuel could very likely have finally understood and accepted the gospel, particularly bearing in mind that the sealing power would have been in effect for their righteous parents. And yet they still have to suffer the consequence of their ill choices by being the bad guys in myriads of Sunday School and Primary lessons. Hopefully they are glad to have us learn from them, even though it is in a negative way.

“Not all problems are overcome and not all needed relationships are fixed in mortality. The work of salvation goes on beyond the veil of death, and we should not be too apprehensive about incompleteness within the limits of mortality.” (Elder Dallin H. Oaks, October 1995 General Conference)

“Now, sometimes there are those that are lost. We have the promise of the prophets that they are not lost permanently, that if they are sealed in the temple ordinances and if the covenants are kept, in due time, after all the correction that’s necessary to be given, that they will not be lost.” (President Boyd K. Packer, Worldwide Leadership Training Meeting, Feb. 9, 2008)

Don’t you think Laman and Lemuel ought to be on our list of people we want to meet when we get to the other side, because it’s going to be so great to see how they have changed? But the Laman and Lemuel we have to read about in the Book of Mormon are the undeveloped ones who hadn’t accepted the gospel yet, and who hadn’t accepted responsibility for their own happiness. So, my apologies to Laman and Lemuel as we use them, once again, as a “horrible warning.”

Laman and Lemuel had blamed all their problems on Nephi and Lehi. So when Lehi died (2 Ne. 4:12) and Nephi left with his people (2 Ne. 5:5), all their problems should have been solved. There was nobody to boss them around. They didn’t have to do family scripture study anymore, they didn’t have to listen to General Conference, they didn’t have to pay tithing to build temples they didn’t want. There would be no more crazy ship-building, wilderness-wandering, Isaiah-reciting, or anything else they hated. They should have been free to be happy, right?

Wrong. Throughout all the rest of the Book of Mormon, we still see them and their descendants blaming their misery on Nephi. Their grudge defined their lives and even their civilization. They had decided they were “picked on” and they tenaciously stuck to that attitude, no matter how circumstances changed around them. They gave up all control of their own happiness.

CHOOSING HAPPINESS

One of the great truths of this earthly existence is that, by giving us agency, the Lord gave us the ability to choose happiness.

“Happiness has its roots in obedience to the teachings of the Lord and in faith in his capacity to fulfill His promises. It can be enjoyed in an environment of poverty or wealth, sickness or health, scarcity or abundance, serenity or challenge. Happiness can and should be the general background in which life is lived.” So wrote Elder Richard G. Scott. Well, easy for him to say, right? He’s an apostle. He’s got it made.

But Elder Scott has endured trials like the rest of us (or worse), which could have taken away his happiness. When Elder Scott and his wife were young, they were hit with a double-disaster that would have buckled anyone’s knees. A baby girl they were expecting died just before birth, and six weeks later, their two-year-old son died during heart surgery. Two children gone in two months! But the Atonement of Jesus Christ made it possible for them to regain happiness.

“I cannot [understand the Lord’s] power, his majesty, his perfections,” he said. “But I do understand something of his love, his compassion, his mercy. There is no burden he cannot lift. There is no heart he cannot purify and fill with joy. There is no life he cannot cleanse and restore when one is obedient to his teachings.” (Ensign, November 1988, p. 77)

Pieter Vlam was a member of the Church who was also an officer in the Royal Dutch Navy in 1939. When World War II began, he was called to serve as second counselor to the mission president. His job was to help get the missionaries safely out of Germany. While doing this, he was arrested by Nazi officers and put in a prison camp for the duration of the war. He could have chosen to shake his fist at heaven, or to fill his soul with hatred for the soldiers, but he chose something better. He had been on a mission when he entered the prison camp, and he stayed on that mission. Many prisoners came to Pieter and wanted to talk to him about the Church. Meetings were forbidden in the prison camp, however, so every day Pieter would take two people at a time and walk all around the camp, for miles and miles in circles, while he taught them the gospel. He taught almost a thousand men about the Restoration. Lives were changed, and people joined the church because Pieter chose to spread joy instead of misery. (Robert C. Freeman, Dennis A. Wright, Saints at War, p. 203-205)

Bryan Burningham was 13 years old when a gun accidentally fired in his North Logan, Utah home, shooting him in the face. He lost his mouth, his teeth, in fact his entire jaw, his nose, his cheekbones, his eye sockets. He has endured over 65 surgeries to rebuild something that could work as a face. Yet, in that moment when he nearly died, his mother said, “He felt this peace come over him, and he felt this love surround him, and it changed his life. And he went from a kid who was pretty moody and negative, to this positive boy without a face.” Because Bryan consistently chose joy and love, he became very popular at school. He even won a basketball game for Sky View High School when in the last few seconds of a close game, his prosthetic nose was knocked off, all the players on both teams gasped and stopped playing, and he picked up the ball and sunk the winning shot. He served a mission, graduated from Utah State University and married in the Logan Temple. “Life is so wonderful!” is his mantra. “I mean, there are a million things that happen every day…You take the good from it. Just enjoy life!” (Photo at Huntsman prosthetics site; stories on KSL TV and Fox News a partial transcript of one here, various articles in the Herald Journal, a short video of news stories on YouTube.)

Elder Scott wrote, “Challenge, when faced within the framework of the gospel of Jesus Christ and in recognition of the beauties around us, is a path upward to help us grow and earn peace with happiness.” (Richard G. Scott, Finding Peace, Happiness, and Joy, p. 167)

Nephi appears to have followed his own counsel and “given place no more for the enemy of his soul.” Being warned of the Lord of a plot to kill him, he and his family and all that were followers of Christ left Laman and Lemuel. They also left their homes, their crops, their “Promised Land,” all of their hard work behind for the Lamanites. They moved out into the wilderness again and they built another Promised Land. They kept the Law of Moses, they had the plates of brass as their scriptures, the Liahona as their guide, the sword of Laban after which they fashioned a military defense. Their new Promised Land provided them with timber, iron, copper, brass, steel, gold, and silver. They used these things to build a temple, like Solomon’s temple but not so fancy, Nephi wrote.

And they lived, as Nephi said, “after the manner of happiness.”

We also can live after the manner of happiness, regardless of our circumstances, if we can choose to be hopeful and not discouraged, to trust in the Lord and his mercy both for us and for those we care about, and to forgive offenses even if the perpetrators are not repentant. If we lose one “Promised Land,” we can build another, always keeping the scriptures and revelation as our guides. This is the way to peace.

“No formula can prescribe how every individual can be assured of continual peace with happiness and joy in this mortal life,” wrote Elder Scott, “[But] I am a witness that with patience, some long-suffering, and the help of the Lord, coupled with obedience to His commandments, those blessings can be enjoyed most of the time.” (Scott, p. 4-5)

Book of Mormon Lesson #6 "Free to Choose Liberty and Eternal Life"

2012-01-27T22:39:00.001-08:00

2 Nephi 1-2

THE IMPORTANCE OF TEACHING OF CHRIST

In chapter 2 of 2 Nephi we learn something remarkable about Nephi's younger brother Jacob: He had seen Jesus Christ personally in a vision--when he was very young!

"Nevertheless, Jacob, my firstborn in the wilderness, thou knowest the greatness of God...Wherefore, I know that thou art redeemed, because of the righteousness of thy Redeemer; for thou hast beheld that in the fulness of time he cometh to bring salvation unto men. And thou hast beheld in thy youth his glory; wherefore thou art blessed even as they unto whom he shall minister in the flesh." (2 Ne. 2:2-4)

It's interesting that even though Jacob had seen the Lord himself, his father Lehi still wanted to teach him about Jesus Christ.

"Wherefore, redemption cometh in and through the Holy Messiah; for he is full of grace and truth. Behold, he offereth himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law, unto all those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit; and unto none else can the ends of the law be answered." (2 Ne. 2:6-7)

And here we find the reason why Lehi taught someone who already knew--to make sure that that someone understood how important it was to teach others:

"Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah, who layeth down his life according to the flesh, and taketh it again by the power of the Spirit, that he may bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise.

"Wherefore, he is the firstfruits unto God, inasmuch as he shall make intercession for all the children of men; and they that believe in him shall be saved." (2 Ne. 2:8-9)

Jacob took the lesson to heart, and later wrote,

"For this intent have we written these things, that [our beloved brethren and our children] may know that we knew of Christ, and we had a hope of his glory many hundred years before his coming; and not only we ourselves had a hope of his glory, but also all the holy prophets which were before us." (Jacob 4:4)

RESURRECTED TO PERFECTION

As we pass through this mortal life, we receive wounds, we become ill, our bodies age, we get gray hair and stiff joints. We slowly deteriorate from the day of our birth until the day we die. But dying is not the end but the beginning, because Christ provided the way for us to be resurrected to perfection.

Alma taught,

“The death of Christ shall loose the bands of this temporal death, that all shall be raised from this temporal death. The spirit and the body shall be reunited again in its perfect form; both limb and joint shall be restored to its proper frame, even as we now are at this time; …

“Now, this restoration shall come to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous; and even there shall not so much as a hair of their heads be lost; but every thing shall be restored to its perfect frame” (Alma 11:42–44).

So after the resurrection, all our diseases will be gone, all our wrinkles will be smooth, amputated limbs will be restored, minds will be young, and scars will just disappear. Whether celestial, terrestrial, or telestial, all the inhabitants of heaven will have perfect bodies.

All, that is, except for one. There is one resurrected person whose scars remain.

As Jesus Christ hung on the cross he was taunted, "He saved others; himself he cannot save." (Matt. 27:42) What the mockers did not understand was that Christ did not come to save himself; he came to save us. In order to save us, he had to die. In order to remove our scars, he had to be scarred. And he chose not to remove those scars when he was resurrected. Why? So that we would know that he always remembers us.

"I [will] not forget thee, O house of Israel. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands." (1 Ne. 21:15-16)

As Jesus also retains a scar in his side near his heart, we know that our hearts can be mended. We all receive damage to our hearts here in this mortal existence, but another beauty of the atonement is that while our bodies are deteriorating, our spirits can become more perfect even before the resurrection. The sins we commit, the wounds inflicted on us by others, the mistakes we make, even the knife wounds in our hearts as great loss comes to us, can all be healed as we travel through life by the power of the Atonement. If we continually come to Christ, our spirits will become purer, younger, freer while our bodies become more scarred, aged and immobile. The key is to choose daily to come to Christ.

THE IMPORTANCE OF AGENCY

Lehi explained in beautiful simplicity the importance of agency to our Heavenly Father's great plan for us. (See 2 Ne. 2:11-30.) Jacob had experienced a lot of opposition in his life, but his father explained that opposition is necessary; otherwise there would be nothing to choose. Indeed this entire earthly existence was begun because of a choice. It had to be so.

Why God would command Adam and Eve not to partake of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil when clearly He wanted them to, so that His children could be brought to the earth and experience their mortal probation. Why didn't He just tell them to take it? They would have done it! They were really obedient people! But to command Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit and fall from His presence would go against His very nature.

"Behold, doth he cry unto any, saying, Depart from me? Behold, I say unto you, Nay. But he saith, come unto me all ye ends of the earth..." (2 Ne. 26:25)

"If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love." (John 15:10)

"And if you keep my commandments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life." (D&C 14:7)

So, you see, God could not issue a commandment that would push Adam and Eve away from Him. Keeping his commandments always brings his children closer to Him, eventually leading to eternal life, not to a temporary and fragile existence in a fallen state far from His presence. So a commandment had to be issued to Adam and Eve to avoid the tree of knowledge. They had to choose for themselves to take the step away from God and into mortal life.

Remember that in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve knew no opposition. It wasn't until after their encounter with the devil that the Father put enmity between mortal man and Satan. (See Gen. 3:15.) So they did not know that someone could be evil and that someone could lie to them until after they took the fruit. Fortunately, they were not the only ones lacking knowledge: The devil did not know that he was actually pushing Adam and Eve in the direction that the Lord wanted them to go but could not command them to go, when he tempted them with the fruit.

And so, once opposition and knowledge entered into the scene with agency, the plan of the Lord could progress.

AGENCY

"In years past we generally used the term free agency. That is not incorrect. More recently we have taken note that free agency does not appear in the scriptures. They talk of our being 'free to choose' and 'free to act' for ourselves and of our obligation to do many things of our own 'free will'. But the word agency appears either by itself or with the modifier moral: 'That every man may act in doctrine and principle … according to the moral agency which I have given unto him, that every man may be accountable for his own sins in the day of judgment' (D&C 101:78). When we use the term moral agency, we are appropriately emphasizing the accountability that is an essential part of the divine gift of agency. We are moral beings and agents unto ourselves, free to choose but also responsible for our choices..." (D. Todd Christofferson, "Moral Agency," Ensign, June 2009)

Satan thought that knowledge would be Adam and Eve's undoing. But knowledge is of God.

"The beauty of the gospel of Jesus Christ is that it pours knowledge into our souls and shows things in their true light. With that enhanced perspective, we can discern more clearly the choices before us and their consequences. We can, therefore, make more intelligent use of our agency..." (ibid.)

We have to remember always, though, that (as they demonstrated recently in our Primary) when you choose one end of the stick (choice) you also choose the other (consequence).

"Freedom of choice is the freedom to obey or disobey existing laws—not the freedom to alter their consequences. Law, as mentioned earlier, exists as a foundational element of moral agency with fixed outcomes that do not vary according to our opinions or preferences." (ibid.)

Because we have opposition (things to choose between), law to link choices with consequences, and the power to choose, we can exercise agency and participate in God's great plan for our progression.

"It was necessary in God’s plan for our future happiness and glory that we become morally free and responsible. For that to happen, we needed an experience apart from Him where our choices would determine our destiny. The Fall of Adam provided the spiritual death needed to separate us from God and place us in this mortal condition, as well as the physical death needed to provide an end to the mortal experience...

"[But] if our separation from God and our physical death were permanent, moral agency would mean nothing. Yes, we would be free to make choices, but what would be the point? The end result would always be the same no matter what our actions: death with no hope of resurrection and no hope of heaven." (ibid.)

And so it was necessary that we have a Savior.

OUR SPIRITUAL BANK ACCOUNT

When I'm running my bank card at a checkout counter in a store, I wait for the card to process, and then I see a message flash on the screen: "Approved." I like being approved. This experience often makes me think of the "pearly gates." I imagine myself at the door of heaven, swiping a spiritual "bank card" and seeing that happy message: "Approved." But last night at the temple, I realized I had it wrong. I am going to get to the entrance of heaven, the veil, and I am going to discover that I have "insufficient funds" in my spiritual bank account. This is going to happen to you, too. We are going to be asked to show identification--our glory and power--and we will have to answer that we do not have any.

Yet.

And here is the beauty of the atonement: When we come unto Christ and admit that we do not have what is needed to enter that glorified existence, all we will have to do is ask, and it will be given to us through the power symbolized by those scars on Christ's hands and wrists--the atonement! If we repent continually, if we keep our covenants faithfully, and if we come to Christ and ask, the deficit will disappear, the glory will be bestowed upon us, and the veil into the Celestial Kingdom will part.

"...And thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name. Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God." (Isaiah 62:2)

Returning to our opening scripture, we can see that even the great prophet Jacob, despite his righteousness, despite personally seeing Jesus Christ in vision, despite later enduring to the end, fell short and could only be saved the same way we will: through the atonement.

"Nevertheless, Jacob, my firstborn in the wilderness, thou knowest the greatness of God...Wherefore, I know that thou art redeemed, because of the righteousness of thy Redeemer."

As Christ, then, retained his scars so we could see proof that He remembers us always, we would be wise to remember those scars as well and daily and hourly make choices of obedience and repentance that will bring us greater spiritual progression, until that final day when Christ reaches out His hand and we feel those scars for ourselves.

As Lehi counseled,

"And now, my sons, I would that ye should look to the great Mediator, and hearken unto his great commandments; and be faithful unto his words, and choose eternal life, according to the will of his Holy Spirit." (2 Ne. 2:28).

If we do so, at the end of our lives we can say, as did Lehi,

"I have chosen the good part." (2 Ne. 2:30)

(For more on agency, see my Young Women's lesson, "Forks in the Road," available at this link.)

Book of Mormon Lesson #5 "Hearken to the Truth, and Give Heed unto It"

2012-01-20T11:53:00.001-08:00

1 Nephi 16-22

(If you have access to an old airline ticket and a copy machine, you may want to "white-out" the destination and arrival time on the ticket and then photocopy and cut out one for each class member. Start class by passing out the tickets and offering them all to go on an amazing adventure with you. Answer all questions about the destination or the itinerary or the travel route with "It's a surprise!")

SURPRISE JOURNEYS

Imagine being given an airline ticket with a departure date and a gate number, but no destination printed on it. Let's suppose you have just retired and so you have no work obligations, and you can take your immediate family with you. Would you take the flight? What things might you be worried about? Are there any conditions under which you would take the flight? (If you knew and trusted the person who planned the trip.)

A five-year-old would take that plane trip with his family, if a close relative he loved gave him the ticket. He would not have to know where the plane was going, and he would have total confidence that everything about the trip would be great. Five-year-olds are used to being dragged here and there without knowing the destination. They get a kick out of the bugs and garbage trucks and dandelions that they see along the way. Sometimes they complain, but they are actually much more accommodating than any of us adults would be. "Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven" (Matt 18:4). Little children really have great faith in their parents, and we should have faith in our Parent and the trips He plans for us.

Most of us, at some point in our lives, experience a journey in which we thought we knew the destination, but when we got off the plane, we were in an entirely different place. Do we spend our time indignantly asserting our rights and shaking our fist at the Lord, or do we leave the airport and enjoy the sights? You'll see examples in your own life, but here are couple from mine: Just as I filled out admittance forms to attend college since all my children would now be in school, I found out another baby was coming--major destination change! It was eleven years before I got back to college. Two years after that baby, my husband and I saved up to go on a romantic trip to Paris for our 20th wedding anniversary; instead we spent that time and money (plus a home equity loan) to travel to Russia to adopt our daughter Marisha. We never made it to Paris, but the Lord's plans were better than ours, and those two children have greatly enriched our lives.

Today our lesson is all about journeys. Lehi and his family were given "tickets" with a somewhat hazy destination and no arrival time posted at all. Even the mode of transportation was not listed, and it changed enroute. The journey went on for years. They had marriages, births and deaths before it was over. At times they thought they had arrived, only to find they had to move on again.

(Just for fun, if it's not Fast Sunday, you may offer small packages of peanuts and disposable cups of soda to the class like the airlines do.)

THE JOURNEY OF THE LEHITES

Here is some interesting research from the Neal A. Maxwell Institute regarding the journey after from the Valley of Lemuel:

"After traveling for 'the space of four days' Lehi's group camped at a place they called 'Shazer,' [1 Ne. 16:13] which by normal traveling distance (about a hundred miles) would correspond to the prominent ancient oasis now called Wadi Al Azlan. Here they began to hunt wild game with bows and arrows and continued to do so after traveling for 'many days' in the 'same direction,' which would have taken them into the general area of modern Jiddah.

"This area, midway down the eastern shore of the Red Sea, is known for a combination of heat, humidity, sand, and salt that rusts car fenders in a few months and turns limber any dry wood brought from other areas. Here Nephi broke his steel bow [1 Ne. 16:18] and the wooden bows 'lost their spring,' but Nephi found wood for new bows [1 Ne. 16:23] and then found wild game nearby at the top of a mountain [1 Ne. 16:30]. Around Jiddah grows the pomegranate tree, excellent for bowmaking, and to the east, as there are farther north, are mountains with wild asses, gazelles, grouse, partridge, etc., which are still hunted with 'slings,' as Lehi's group hunted.

"After again traveling 'many days' in 'nearly the same course,' Lehi's group stopped 'for the space of a time' in a place 'which was called Nahom' [where they buried Ishmael; 1 Ne. 16:34], evidently a well-established oasis on the route, and then turned and traveled 'nearly eastward from that time' [1 Ne. 17:1]. The ancient Trail did indeed take exactly such a turn (because of the interruption of high mountains coming directly to the seacoast) at modern Al Kunfidah, then going up the wadi system to the ancient caravan city of Najran and branching there. The main route then went south to ancient San'a, which by 600 B.C. had developed into an alternate source of frankincense, and the other route continued east, through the southern edge of the desolate sand desert known to modern explorers as 'the Empty Quarter,' until it came out to the fertile Qara Mountains in Dhofar, the original ancient source of frankincense and the only such spot (about twenty miles long) on the entire fourteen-hundred-mile southern coast. Joseph Smith's account got the turn exactly right and also the area of increased desolation and 'much affliction,' including the interesting detail that the emigrants lived on raw meat [1 Ne. 17:2], not being allowed 'much fire,' in this the one area of the trail where we now know they would have been in greatest danger of Bedouin raiders.

"Most startling, the Book of Mormon provides exactly all the details (now proven, but which no one knew in the 1820s) of Salalah [which Lehi called "Bountiful;" 1 Ne. 17:6]: This small, unique spot is favored six months of the year by southwest monsoon winds that cloak the mountains in mist and produce the anciently precious frankincense which brought the caravan trail there—and also produce flowers, honeybees, fruit, and huge 'sycamore-figs' [which] can produce long timbers of strong hardwood, remarkably free from knots and resistant to sea water and used even today to make ocean-going [vessels]. There is also iron ore in the mountains [1 Ne. 17:16], a beach where Lehi's emigrants could 'pitch . . . tents by the seashore' but one which terminates abruptly on the west in cliffs that drop a hundred feet 'into the depths of the sea' [1 Ne. 17:48]. And the seasonal monsoon winds that produce the fertility of this unique area also provide a unique source of power that we now know opened up trade across the open sea to India in the first century A.D. and by which Nephi's ship would have been 'driven forth . . . towards the promised land' of America [1 Ne. 18:8]. In Joseph Smith's time, as we have seen, neither the shipbuilding skills and materials nor the favorable winds on this desert shore of Arabia were known about in the west." (Eugene England, Through the Arabian Desert to a Bountiful Land: Could Joseph Smith Have Known the Way?, Maxwell Institute BYU Publication)

It's fascinating to know exactly where the journey took place, but it is more important to learn what the journey can teach us about our own lives. Nephi gives us the point of the story:

"AND THUS WE SEE, that the commandments of God must be fulfilled. And if it so be that the children of men keep the commandments of God he doth 1) nourish them, and 2) strengthen them, and 3) provide means whereby they can accomplish the thing which he has commanded them; WHEREFORE, he did provide means for us while we did sojourn in the wilderness" (1 Ne. 17:3).

But not everyone on the trip felt so positive about the journey, and no one felt so positive about it all the time. Let's look at this story to see how we can be better travelers and find joy in our journeys.

HOW TO BE A HAPPY CAMPER DURING LIFE'S TRAVELS

1. Trust that the destination is a land of promise

Lehi and Nephi constantly affirmed their complete trust in the Lord that the end of the journey would be worth it. If we can learn to do this, everything will go a little easier.

2. See the blessings in every part of the journey

"...And we did travel and WADE THROUGH MUCH AFFLICTION in the wilderness; and our women did bear children in the wilderness." (Don't you expect the next sentence is going to be a complaint about that? Nope, it's Nephi, remember?) "And SO GREAT WERE THE BLESSINGS of the Lord upon us, that while we did live upon raw meat in the wilderness, our women did give plenty of suck for their children and were strong..." (1 Ne. 17:1-2)

3. Be patient in delays, side-tracks, or extentions to the journey

"And it came to pass that we did pitch our tents by the seashore; and notwithstanding we had suffered many afflictions and much difficulty, yea, even so much that we cannot write them all, we were exceedingly rejoiced when we came to the seashore; and we called the place Bountiful, because of its much fruit." (1 Ne. 17:6)

When they stopped at the shore of the Red Sea, they called the place Bountiful. When they got to America, they called that land Bountiful, too. There is never any indication that Lehi knew that the promised land would be across the sea until Nephi was told to build a ship when they were already living in a wonderful location. It seems very likely that the travelers thought that the Bountiful by the Red Sea was their final destination, their promised land. Was it possibly a little disheartening to find out that they had only just begun their journey at that point, eight years after leaving Jerusalem, and the most treacherous part lay ahead? [1 Ne. 17:4] When we find that a difficult life journey has yet another twist to it, can we calmly load up our bags and keep going?

4. Have faith even while having questions

When the Lord commanded them to leave this beautiful and fruitful land Bountiful by crossing a treacherous sea in a homemade ship, everyone had questions. But Nephi's questions were useful. "Lord, whither shall I go that I may find ore to molten, that I may make tools to construct the ship?" Do the questions we ask when we are in challenging positions reflect our faith? Instead of asking "Why me?" as Laman and Lemuel did, can we ask "What do you want me to do?" as Nephi did.

5. Don't waste effort looking back or thinking what might have been

Laman and Lemuel chose to whine and complain. "It would have been better" to have died in Jerusalem, they said. However, they didn't really think they would have died in Jerusalem, because the next thing they said was that instead of suffering in the wilderness, "we might have enjoyed our posessions," "we might have been happy." (1 Ne. 17:20-22) But the destruction of Jerusalem really did happen and their "afflictions in the wilderness" were mighty blessings compared to the real "might-have-beens."

Do we complain about our blessings?

6. Recognize the Lord's hand in the journey

As the Lord said to Nephi, "I will also be your light in the wilderness; and I will prepare the way before you, if it so be that ye shall keep my commandments; wherefore, inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall be led towards the promised land; and ye shall know that it is by me that ye are led." (1 Ne. 17:13)

Look for "the light in the wilderness." Keep track of it in your journal. Give thanks for it in your evening prayers.

7. Use the scriptures as a map

Nephi wanted his brothers to see that they were being guided by the Lord, and that they would reach their destination, so he likened their journey unto another journey they were familiar with from their scriptures, the Brass Plates:

"Do ye believe that our fathers, who were the children of Israel, would have been led away out of the hands of the Egyptians if they had not hearkened unto the words of the Lord?" (1 Ne. 17:23)

He reminded them of what they knew about this trip ("ye know"), and that the hand of the Lord did it all ("by his words").

YE KNOW that the children of Israel were in bondage
YE KNOW that they were laden with [grievous] tasks.
YE KNOW that it must needs be a good thing [for them to be freed].
YE KNOW that Moses was commanded of the Lord to do that great work.
YE KNOW that BY HIS WORD the waters of the Red Sea were divided...and they passed through on dry ground.
YE KNOW that the Egyptians were drowned in the Red Sea.
YE KNOW that they were fed with manna in the wilderness.
YE KNOW that Moses BY HIS WORD smote the rock...to quench their thirst...[despite being led by the Lord] they hardened their hearts and blinded their minds and reviled against Moses and against...God.
ACCORDING TO HIS WORD he did destroy them.
ACCORDING TO HIS WORD he did lead them.
ACCORDING TO HIS WORD he did do all things for them.
And there was not any thing done save it were BY HIS WORD.
YE KNOW that they were led forth BY HIS MATCHLESS POWER in the land of promise.
YE KNOW that BY THE POWER OF HIS ALMIGHTY WORD he can cause the earth that it shall pass away.
YE KNOW that BY HIS WORD he can cause the rough places to be made smooth, and smooth places shall be broken up. (1 Ne. 17:25-31, 42, 46)

Similarly, as we study the scriptures, there are many things we can learn about the Lord's dealings with his people over centuries of time that will help us see and understand that by His word, everything will work out in the end for us as well.

8. Know the Lord can be trusted because he 1) loves, 2) covenants, 3) remembers

This is the most important thing to remember, and will make all the other things easier to do. After re-telling the story of the exodus from Egypt, Nephi reminded his brothers of the character of God--that He is the Creator of the earth and of each of them, that He raises up the righteous and destroys the wicked, that He leads the righteous into promised lands, that He rules high in the heavens...

"And he loveth those who will have him to be their God. BEHOLD, he 1) loved our fathers, and he 2) covenanted with them, yea, even Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and he 3) remembered the covenants which he had made; WHEREFORE, he did bring them out of the land of Egypt.

FINDING HOPE IN ISAIAH

After Nephi taught his brothers from the scriptures about the exodus, he read to them from another scripture. (Ask your students to identify it from 1 Ne. 19:23--Isaiah.) There were two reason that Nephi gave for reading from Isaiah in verses 23 and 24. Each of them is begun with the word THAT.

"THAT I might more fully persuade them to believe in the Lord their Redeemer."
"THAT ye may have hope."

Isaiah is a great place to find hope for the journey expressed in beautiful ways. If you are a "beginner" at Isaiah, don't worry about understanding every detail--just listen to the beauty of the words and phrases, and try to get a feeling about what is being said.

"All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear; who among them hath declared these things unto them? [That would be the prophets, specifically Isaiah.] The Lord hath loved him; yea, and he will fulfil his word which he hath declared by them...

"...I have sent him--the Lord thy God who teacheth thee to profit, who leadeth thee by the way thou shouldst go, hath done it." (1 Ne. 20:14, 17)

We can trust that the words of the prophets, will be fulfilled for our journey because the Host of our tour, the Lord Himself, has sent him.

No matter how things are right now, everything will come right, because...

"Thus saith the Lord: In an acceptable time have I heard thee, O isles of the sea, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee; and I will preserve thee, and give thee my servant for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages;

"That thou mayest say to the prisoners; Go forth; to them that sit in darkness: Show yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places.

"They shall not hunger nor thirst, neither shall the heat nor the sun smite them; for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them.

"And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted." (1 Ne.21:8-11)

No matter where we live (even the remotest places, the isles of the sea), we will have a prophet to deliver the Lord's promises to us. If we are in a prison of sin or circumstance, we will be allowed to escape. If we are in darkness, we will be led into the light. We will be led to a high place (mountains, which generally mean temples in the scriptures) where we will be nurtured by the Lord. There we will be sheltered from the vicissitudes of life (heat and sun). All the mountains will become a way. (Temples the world over lead us to God.)

Even when times come that we think the Lord has forgotten us, we can be sure He hasn't and His promises will eventually be realized,

"For can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? [Even if she is a neglectful mother, a nursing mother will be reminded by her body that she has a baby to feed--it is impossible for her to forget!] Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee, O house of Israel.

"BEHOLD, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me." (1 Ne. 21:15-16) What is on the palms of Christ's hands? The scars of His crucifixion, His atonement for us. Even though he was resurrected to glory and to a perfect body, those scars remained as eternal symbols of his love and sacrifice for us!

But it is not just the house of Israel whom the Lord remembers:

"Thus saith the Lord God: BEHOLD, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard [a banner, rallying troops or groups of people together] to the people; and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.

"And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens their nursing mothers; they shall bow down to thee with their face towards the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord; for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me." (1 Ne. 21:22-23)

It is the spread of the true gospel restored in the United States (1 Ne. 22:7-9) to all those who do not have it anywhere in the world and in any way that is described by Isaiah. It is the fulfillment of the covenant to Abraham that in his seed all the kindreds or families of the earth should be blessed. Their thanksgiving will be great, and those who labored for the Lord will be gratified and not sorry for their service. Who are these people?

Those who have the gospel are as "kings and queens," and if they spread the gospel through missionary service, they are "nursing fathers and nursing mothers" to those whom they bring to Christ, whether those people are next-door or in their Sunday School class or in a remote village in Guatemala.
Those who live in circumstances equivalent to kings (with both spiritual and material blessins fit for royalty) become "nursing fathers and nursing mothers" by adopting children into an environment where they can learn of Christ.
Those who, through their military or civilian service to less-privileged peoples, nurture and protect them and elevate their circumstances are "nursing fathers and nursing mothers".
Can you think of others? There are many specific examples of "nursing fathers and nursing mothers" in the world around us.

As people's basic needs are met and they are then able to accept the gospel, they are brought out of captivity, they are brought into light, and they will KNOW that the Lord is their Savior. What greater cause can we unite in?

Once we are underway on our own journey with the Lord as our Guide, it is our responsibility to bring others to find their way and follow the Light as well, until we reach the happy ending of all our travels when,

"He gathereth his children from the four quarters of the earth and he numbereth his sheep, and they know him; and there shall be one fold and one shepherd; and he shall feed his sheep, and in him they shall find pasture. And because of the righteousness of his people, Satan has no power; wherefore, he cannot be loosed for the space of many years; for he hath no power over the hearts of the people, for they dwell in righteousness, and the Holy One of Israel reigneth...

"But behold, all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people shall dwell safely in the Holy One of Israel if it so be that they will repent." (1 Ne. 22:25-26, 28)

Book of Mormon Lesson #4 "The things Which I Saw While I Was Carried Away in the Spirit"

2012-01-13T21:05:00.000-08:00

1 Nephi 12-14

In these three chapters of the Book of Mormon, Nephi relates more of the marvelous vision which he was shown. Chapter 12 records how he saw the rest of the Book of Mormon being played out in the lives of his descendants. We've addressed this in the previous lesson. The heading to Chapter 13 tells us that he also saw the history of the world following Book of Mormon times:

The church of the devil set up among the Gentiles (v. 4-9)
The discovery and colonizing of America (v. 10-20)
The loss of many plain and precious parts of the Bible (v. 20-29)
The resultant state of gentile apostacy (v.32-34)
The restoration of the gospel (v. 34-37)
The coming forth of latter-day scripture (v. 35-36, 39-41)
The building up of Zion (v. 37

The Great and Abominable Church

"And it came to pass that I beheld the great and abominable church; and I saw the devil that he was the founder of it." (1 Ne. 13:6)

What exactly is "the great and abominable church?"

"And [the angel] said unto me: Behold there are two churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the devil." (1 Ne. 14:10)

So does that mean that the LDS Church is the church of the Lamb of God, and all other churches are of the devil? Yikes! That would bode ill for the world!

Fortunately, that isn't the case. We are told in the Doctrine & Covenants,

"Contend against no church save it be the church of the devil." (D&C 18:20).

Obviously, all other churches cannot be the church of the devil, or this statement would make no sense. We have been advised by our prophets that other religions contain some truths of the gospel and do much good on the earth. Our church joins with other churches in many causes, and often supports other churches in their needs. We are taught respect for all religions.

In an article in our church-published Ensign on Muhammed, we find this quote by apostle B.H. Roberts:

"While the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is established for the instruction of men; and it is one of God’s instrumentalities for making known the truth yet he is not limited to that institution for such purposes, neither in time nor place. God raises up wise men and prophets here and there among all the children of men, of their own tongue and nationality, speaking to them through means that they can comprehend. … All the great teachers are servants of God; among all nations and in all ages. They are inspired men, appointed to instruct God’s children according to the conditions in the midst of which he finds them.”

This was the second article published in the Ensign on Muhammed. "Ishmael, Our Brother," can be found in the June 1979 Ensign. Respectful articles were also published on Buddhism, Hinduism, Roman Catholicism, and Lutheranism. In a separate article honoring Martin Luther, President Joseph F. Smith is quoted:

"Calvin, Luther, Melanchthon, and all reformers, were inspired in thoughts, words, and actions to accomplish what they did for the liberty, and advancement of the human race. They paved the way for the more perfect gospel of truth to come.”

President Hinckley was known to invite those of other faiths to, "Bring all the good you have with you, and let us add to it."

At the closing of the April 2011 Conference, President Monson reminded us again, "We are a global church. Our membership is found throughout the world. May we be good citizens of the nations in which we live and good neighbors in our communities, reaching out to those of other faiths as well as to those of our own."

So what then can Nephi's vision refer to?

The Guide to the Scriptures, which is the LDS-written scripture dictionary included in non-English LDS scriptures, but also available in English on-line, defines it as "Every evil and worldy organization on earth that perverts the pure and perfect gospel and fights against the Lamb of God." In this sense, it may not be confined to a "church" as we know it at all, but may include philosophies, government organizations, drug cartells, cults, cultures, media, etc.--anything whose purpose is to pull people away from Christ.

What will be our escape from them? They will fall into the pit they have dug for the believers. (1 Ne. 14:3) When you work for the devil, the pay is not good, and never what you were promised.

The Discovery and Colonizing of America

The Lamanites had been safely separated from the rest of the world by the great oceans for centuries, but when they reached a fulness of iniquity, the Lord bridged that gap and allowed others into His promised land. He guided Columbus to find America. Others followed him, going out of captivity, to live in America. (1 Ne. 13:10-13) Europeans escaped debtor's prison or serfdom to claim their own land in America.

As prophecied by Nephi, "I beheld the wrath of God, that it was upon the seed of my brethren; and they were scattered before the Gentiles and were smitten.

"And I beheld the Spirit of the Lord, that it was upon the Gentiles, and they did prosper and obtain the land for their inheritance..." (1 Ne. 13:14-15)

Okay, knowing how things worked out between the settlers and the native Americans, with the natives being slaughtered, driven off their land, and herded onto reservations, we wonder, could that really have been the Spirit of the Lord, telling the Gentiles to do these atrocities? Well, these are two different paragraphs--two different subjects. And as we look more carefully at the scripture, we see that it was not the Lord's plan that the Lamanites be driven and scattered by the Gentiles, but before the Gentiles. And, indeed, that happened on a terrific scale, in a little-known way:

"Throughout the Americas, diseases introduced with Europeans spread from tribe to tribe far in advance of the Europeans themselves, killing an estimated 95% of the pre-Columbian Native American population. The most populous and highly organized native societies of North American, the Mississippian chiefdoms, disappeared in that way between 1492 and the late 1600s, even before Europeans themselves made their first settlement on the Mississippi River." (Jared Diamond, Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies, p. 78)

There is no indication that it was part of the Lord's plan for his children, the Lamanites, to be persecuted by the white settlers.

The Creation of a Free Nation

"I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles who had gone forth out of captivity did humble themselves before the Lord; and the power of the Lord was with them. And I beheld that their mother Gentiles were gathered together upon the waters, and upon the land also, to battle against them. And I beheld that the power of God was with them, and also that the wrath of God was upon all those that were gathered together aginst them to battle. And I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles that had gone out of captivity were delivered by the power of God out of the hands of all other nations." (1 Ne. 13:16-19)

The story of the American Revolution is the story of miracles: a ragtag, unseasoned, disorganized group of citizen-soldiers won their independence from the world's greatest empire. The Book of Mormon tells us this was a part of God's plan, to create an environment where the "marvelous work and a wonder" of the Restoration of the Gospel could take place.

The retreat from the Battle of Long Island at the beginning of that conflict clearly shows the hand of the Lord in the establishment of a free land. With a fleet of British warships waiting in New York Harbor to attack Manhattan as soon as the tide and winds allowed them up the East River, British and Hessian troops numbering 20,000 surrounded a little American force of 3,000 soldiers trying to hold a four-mile ridge on Long Island. Behind those troops stood the Brooklyn forts, which held another 6,000 American soldiers. The Britons pushed them back to the forts, killing or capturing a little less than 1,000, but paused to rest for the night before annihilating the rest of the force. The British had lost 400.

"The average British regular was in his late twenties, or about five years older than the average American soldier...the average regular had served five or six years in the army, or five or six times longer than the average volunteer under Washington...[but] for most of the redcoats, soldiers and young officers, like nearly all of the Americans, the battle [of Long Island] was...their first." (David McCullough, 1776, p. 167-168)

If this map is hard to read here,

you can find it on Wikipedia,

under Battle of Long Island.

The American troops were hemmed into an area three miles around and their only chance of survival was to retreat. Behind them lay the East River, behind that, the security of Manhattan Island. But as soon as the wind changed, the warships would cut off that escape.

1,200 men from two Pennsylvania regiments were dispatched across the river to bolster spirits and aid in defense. After they arrived, a terrible storm arose. The soldiers were soaked, cold, hungry, and beaten.

"Yet for all the miseries it wrought, the storm was greatly to Washington's advantage. Under the circumstances, any ill wind from the north-east was a stroke of good fortune. For as long as it held, Lord Howe's ships had no chance to 'get up' where they could wreak havoc." (ibid., p. 184)

The storm stopped, but the wind kept up, preventing the warships from coming, but also preventing Washington's troops from retreating.

About 11:00 p.m., "the wind shifted to the southwest and a small armada of boats...started over the river from New York...In a feat of extraordinary seamanship, at the helm and manning oars hour after hour, they negotiated the river's swift, contrary currents in boats so loaded with troops and supplies, horses and cannon, that the water was often but inches below the gunnels--and all in pitch dark, with no running lights. Few men ever had so much riding on their skill, or were under such pressue, or performed so superbly... (ibid., p. 188)

The troops withdrew silently, with the enemy so nearby. They covered the wagon wheels with rags, did not speak above a whisper, and even stifled their coughs.

"The orderly withdrawal of an army was considered one of the most difficult of all maneuvers, even for the best-trained soldiers, and the fact that Washington's ragtag amateur army was making a night withdrawal in perfect order and silence thus far, seemed more than could be hoped for...

"[The rearguard, those Pennsylvania men] kept busy creating enough of a stir and tending campfires to make it appear the army was still in place, knowing all the while that if the enemy were to become the wiser, they stood an excellent chance of being annihilated." (ibid.)

At least 11 crossings of the East River were made that night by the mariners.

"But the exodus was not moving fast enough...time was running out. Though nearly morning, a large part of the army still waited to embark, and without the curtain of night to conceal them, their escape was doomed.

"Incredibly, yet again, circumstances--fate, luck, Providence, the hand of God, as would be said so often--intervened.

"Just at daybreak a heavy fog settled in over the whole of Brooklyn, concealing everything no less than had the night. It was a fog so thick, remembered a soldier, that one 'could scarcely discern a man at six yards distance.' Even with the sun up, the fog remained as dense as ever, while over on the New York side of the river there was no fog at all...

"It was seven in the morning, perhaps a little later, when [the last men, the Pennsylvania militia] landed in New York. 'And in less than an hour after,' [reported one soldier] 'the fog having dispersed, the enemy was visible on the shore we had left [behind].'

"In a single night, 9,000 troops had escaped across the river. Not a life was lost. The only men captured were three who had hung back to plunder." (ibid., p. 190-191) The American army was preserved. The revolution that was supposed to have been suppressed by this one battle was still alive and eventually succeeded.

The Establishment of Zion

Once the environment of freedom was created in America, the gospel was restored just a few hundred miles from New York City.

For the first century of its life, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints encouraged its members to "gather to Zion," with Zion being first Jackson County, Missouri and then Salt Lake City, Utah. Those same Britons from whom Washington's troops won their independence, now became the lifeblood of Zion as they converted, emigrated, and replaced apostates. They colonized the west, along with other European converts. But once the society of saints was firmly established in the western United States, the next part of Nephi's prophecy began to be fulfilled. As the forces of the great and abominable church spread over the world to attack the Lamb of God, so did democracy spread throughout the earth.

Although democracy has its origins in ancient civilizations and the tiny island of Corsica implemented a short-lived democratic government system in 1755, the United States formed the first lasting democracy of our day. The establishment of democracies throughout the world, with freedom and equality as their tenets, spread to Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South America, Africa, and eventually Eastern Europe. "In 1950, there were 22 full democracies [in the world]. At the century's end, there were 120, and almost two-thirds of the people in the world could cast a meaningful ballot." (Daniel Gardner, The Science of Fear, Kindle edition, chapter 1)

Democracy Index 2010

Blue regions on this map of the world

show at least partially-democratic

countries. Lighter blue countries

are most democratic.

The spread of democracy allowed the spread of the fulness of the gospel to people all over the earth, and the spread of the power of covenants with God.

"I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory." (1 Ne. 14:14)

How exactly was this great power and glory of the Lamb bestowed upon the people to arm them with righteousness? Does the phrase "temples to dot the earth" ring a bell? As Joseph Smith prayed at the dedication of the Kirtland Temple,

"And we ask thee, Holy Father, that thy servants may go forth from this house armed with thy power, and that thy name may be upon them, and thy glory be round about them, and thine angels have charge over them. And from this place they may bear exceedingly great and glorious tidings, in truth, unto the ends of the earth, that they [the ends of the earth] may know that this is thy work, and that thou hast put forth thy hand, to fulfil that which thou hast spoken by the mouths of the prophets, concerning the last days...

"Remember all thy church, O Lord, with all their families, and all their immediate connections, with all their sick and afflicted ones, with all the poor and meek of the earth; that the kingdom, which thou hast set up without hands, may become a great mountain and fill the whole earth...

"That our garments may be pure, that we may be clothed upon with robes of righteousness, with palms in our hands, and crowns of glory upon our heads, and reap eternal joy for all our sufferings." (D&C 109:22)

Aba Nigeria Temple

"And as there began to be wars and rumors of wars among all the nations which belonged to the mother of abominations, the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold, the wrath of God is upon the mother of harlots; and behold, thou seest all these things--

"And when the day cometh that the wrath of God is poured out upon the mother of harlots, which is the great and abominable church of all the earth, whose founder is the devil, then, at that day, the work of the Father shall commence, in preparing the way for the fulfilling of his covenants, which he hath made to his people who are of the house of Israel." (1 Ne. 14:15-17)

So, in other words, things will only get worse until they get better! We need not fear the great and abominable church, we need only stay out of it. The Lord will fulfill his covenants made with his people "scattered upon all the face of the earth" for "there is one God and one Shepherd over all the earth."

As revealed in Nephi's vision, we are the continuation of the history in the Book of Mormon. Therefore, as we establish groups of Zion in the nations of the world, each becomes a Promised Land and is bound by the Lord's promise, that "Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land." (2 Ne. 1:20. See also 1 Ne. 2:20; 1 Ne. 4:14; 1 Ne. 13:15; 1 Ne. 17:13; 2 Ne. 1:9; 2 Ne. 4:4; Jarom 1:9; Omni 1:6; Mosiah 2:22; Mosiah 2:31; Mosiah 29:43; Alma 9:13; Alma 36:1; Alma 36:30; Alma 37:13; Alma 38:1; Alma 45:6-8; Alma 48:15; Alma 48:25; Alma 50:20; Alma 62:51; Helaman 3:20; Ether 7:26; Ether 10:16;

Book of Mormon Lesson #3 "The Vision of the Tree of Life"

2012-01-06T13:01:00.010-08:00

1 Nephi 8-11; 12:16-18; 15

We are going from the ridiculous to the sublime in this entry. (Everyone needs a little ridiculous to go with their sublime.) I was forwarded this humorous reading from my sister-in-law years ago when she received it via e-mail. No author was given, but I just searched and found it on a psychologist's website, with the author listed as a Brian Thomas, so I will credit him. I am reprinting it here in its entirety (mainly so I can find it again when I want it).

Imagine if Lemuel had written the record instead of Nephi...

THE BOOK OF LEMUEL
By Bryan Thomas

Chapter One
Dear Diary,
I, Lemuel, having been born of nagging parents, therefore, I have been harassed much of my life; not only by my parents, but by my younger brother Nephi, and my older brother Laman, with whom I get along the best. There! Now maybe my parents will get off my back about keeping a journal.
Lem

Chapter Two
Dear Diary,
Well, it's finally happened! My father is a lunatic!! He has decided that he feels that we should leave the big city and head out into the wilderness. He hasn't said where. He started talking about leaving after he came home from yelling at people to repent. He said the people threw rocks at him. No kidding! I think one of them must have beaned him on the noggin. When he came home, he went to his tent and laid on his bed for about twelve hours straight. I thought he was in a coma.
Lem

Chapter Three
Dear Diary,
Hi, I'm Lemuel, and I'm dumb...
I didn't write that last entry. Laman must have gotten hold of the plates. Sometimes he's a real jerk. I wish there was a way to erase engravings. Maybe a jeweler could fix it. Dad says we have to go back to town and get some brass plates from Uncle Laban. Sure, like Laban's going to say, "Here, have them. Maybe you want my coat, too? You want that I should die from pneumonia; then you'll be happy?" Laban hit me once when we were younger because I spit on him. I'm not going!
Lem

Chapter Four
Dear Diary,
I decided to go to the city after all. We just got back and the walk was murder. Laman was picked to talk to Laban. He went over and talked to him...Laman got mad and beat Laman up pretty good. After that, we went to our old home and got our gold and tried to buy the plates from Laban. His gang chased us away and stole our stuff. Laman was furious! I thought the vein in his forehead was going to blow up! He and I got sticks and beat up Nephi and Sam until we got tired. Then an angel came and told us to quit hitting them. Boy, Nephi and Sam sure got lucky! Nephi went back to the city and found Laban lying in the street. He was so drunk that Nephi chopped off his head and got the plates. What a trip!
Lem

Chapter Five
Dear Diary,
Now Dad wants us to go back to the city and get Ishmael and his family. He probably wants us to marry his daughters...he's got a million kids. I guess I don't mind so much about going back to the city this time; some of Ish's daughters are pretty good-looking, even though they don't have much upstairs. Sounds like a pretty good match for me, eh? I'll write more when we get back. Just got back from the city. Ishmael's daughters are better-looking than I remembered. But there's one that's really ugly. She's hanging on Laman like a bad suit. Nephi's been on our backs the whole time. He keeps telling me to repent. Sheesh! It's not like I'm Cain or something!
Lem

Chapter Six
Dear Diary,
I've had it out here! I'm not a happy camper! I've had diarrhea for the last two months. I haven't been writing much lately because things have been really hard! Now Dad has this gold-colored ball that he sits and stares at for hours a day. He says it tells him what to do and where to go. If Dad's looking for that kind of information, I can give him a few ideas...Ah, I'm going to bed! Mom's pregnant, I think. Either that or she's got a tumor. I think she's too old to have a baby.
Lem

Chapter Seven
Dear Diary,
Mom was pregnant! She had a boy, she named him Jake. We all have families now and most of us have at least one kid. I have two: Frank and Jesse. They're little terrors, but I guess they'll grow out of it. I know I should write more, but I keep putting it off. I don't know the reason but my wife is getting really buff. I'm worried because she's almost gotten bigger than me. Laman's wife is huge! She's stronger than eight cows. But then, I told Laman he'd have an eight-cow wife.
Lem

Chapter Eight
Dear Diary,
Oh man!! Could that be a deli out in the middle of the wilderness? I'm craving some bagels and lox. Maybe some pastrami on rye. Aww, it's just a mirage...Nephi says God told him to build a boat. Nephi's never even seen a boat. Jerusalem is landlocked! I've never seen more than a glass of water at a time, let alone a whole ocean. And now Nephi thinks he's Noah all of a sudden. Why, he can't even shoot a bow. He broke his last week. We went a day without food because of it. Knowing Nephi, he probably called it a fast. Gotta go.
Lem

Chapter Nine
Dear Diary,
Laman gave me a tattoo. It really hurts. He rubbed salt in it before I could stop him. He said salt makes it feel better. It hurts like the dickens. Why'd I let him do it? He can talk me into just about anything. I can't believe it's been eight years since we left home, and here we are on a beach with a ship that probably won't even float. Mom had another baby, called him Joe. I can already tell he's going to be trouble.
Lem

Chapter Ten
Dear Diary,
I'm really sea sick! We've been having a party here on the ship that Nephi made. The boat worked pretty good. We've been floating around for about two weeks now. We tied up Nephi yesterday because he's such a stiff. He got really mad at Laman and me because we got drunk. It's stormy a lot. If it gets worse we might sink. Everybody says that Heavenly Father is punishing us with this storm and that we should untie Nephi. Yeah, right. Doubt it. But maybe we'll untie him after Family Home Evening.
Lem

Chapter Eleven
Dear Diary,
We've finally landed. I feel like we've been in this tub forever! Good thing Nephi brought all those seeds. There's nothing to eat and it's my turn to go hunting. What if I run into some big animal I've never seen before? Maybe I can con Jake or Joe into going hunting for me. Can you believe it? Nephi is already talking about building a temple. And we haven't even been here for a day! Can't he give this religion thing a rest? Laman has already got ideas about moving out on his own. I think I'll go with him.
Lem

Chapter Twelve
Dear Diary,
Well, Nephi finally did it. He got Laman so mad at him that Laman couldn't see straight. They started talking again about who was going to be the leader. Laman thinks he should be the leader because he's the oldest. But Nephi thinks he should be the leader because some angel said so. Oh well, it'll be the last fight between them for a while. Nephi and a bunch of the family left a few nights ago to live somewhere else. And they took everything with them: The brass plates, Laban's sword, the gold-colored ball, everything!! Laman's pretty ticked off. I'm glad I stayed with him. Nephi won't know the first thing about living in the wilderness on his own. But since Nephi left, we've all developed a red rash on our skin. We can't seem to get rid of it.
Lem

Okay, now to get serious...

LEHI'S VISION OF THE TREE OF LIFE (Chapters 8-10)

(Ask class members to relate the story of the vision of the tree of life, then ask the class for insights into the relevance to their lives found in the symbols. A few of my insights follow.)

The Dark and Dreary Wilderness

It's important to notice what happened to Lehi before he saw the tree of life.

"And it came to pass that while my father tarried in the wilderness he spake unto us, saying: Behold, I have dreamed a dream; or, in other words, I have seen a vision...

"And it came to pass that I saw a man, and he was dressed in a white robe; and he came and stood before me.

"And it came to pass that he spake unto, and bade me follow him.

"And it came to pass that as I followed him, I beheld myself that I was in a dark and dreary waste." (8:4-7)

Lehi found himself in a wilderness. This is very significant.

A wilderness to Lehi would not have been just a barren place, but a life-threatening, terrifying place, full of ravenous wild animals, devoid of water or edible vegetation, and sprinkled with murderous highwaymen. A wilderness would have had no dwellings or places of safety and refuge. Remember, Lehi had just traveled through such a wilderness between Jerusalem and the Red Sea, eating uncooked meat for the fear of drawing attention of enemies or animals with the smoke of a fire. In the dream, as in real life, Lehi did not put himself in the wilderness; the Lord put him there.

"And after I had traveled for the space of many hours in darkness, I began to pray unto the Lord that he would have mercy on me, according to the multitude of his tender mercies." (8:8)

Many people today will say, when they find themselves in a "wilderness" due to no fault of their own, "The God I believe in would never (fill in the blank with what injustice they see in the world)." But Lehi was not worshipping a "Franken-God" (to borrow a term from pastor and newspaper columnist Eldon Peterson of the Herald Journal) a god of his own creation. Lehi knew the character of the God he worshipped. This is why we don't see him shaking his fist at heaven, but instead crying to God for mercy. He knew that the wilderness was part of his learning experience or God would not have put him there. He also knew that God, in his tender mercy, would bring him back out of it to a situation of greater light and love, if he exercised his faith in him. And he did.

Where have we seen that phrase "tender mercies" before?

"But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance." (1:20)

Even though we know intellectually that this life is a time of trial and learning, we are always shocked when we find ourselves in a wildernesss. We expect that the tender mercies of the Lord will make us "mighty even unto never having a need of deliverance." We expect that if we follow the Lord, we'll never meet up with trouble, we'll always be fed manna, and everything will be rainbows without floods. But that's not the way it is. We will be made mighty, even unto the power of deliverance, just as was Lehi in his dream and in his life.

"And it came to pass after I had prayed unto the Lord I beheld a large and spacious field. And it came to pass that I beheld a tree, whose fruit was desirable to make one happy. And it came to pass that I did go forth and partake of the fruit thereof; and I beheld that it was most sweet, above all that I ever before tasted. Yea, and I beheld that the fruit thereof was white, to exceed all the whiteness that I had ever seen. And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy..." (8:9-12)

Even though he cried unto the Lord for help, and even though the Lord answered his prayer, Lehi was still required to "go forth and partake." Personal effort is always necessary. The fruit is never dropped in our mouths.

The Four Groups of People

Those who start on the path to the tree, but then become lost in the mist of darkness. They give in to the temptations of the devil, or the hardships (or luxuries) of life. (v. 23)
Thos who hold to the rod of iron until they reach the tree and partake of the fruit, but then become embarassed and fall away. (v. 24) They are distracted by worldliness, pride, pursuit of temporal goals, etc. Partaking of the fruit (the atonement of Jesus Christ) is not a one-time, end-of-your-life thing, but a part of the journey. The plan of salvation is not as linear as the vision of the tree of life. (see L. Tom Perry, Ensign, Nov. 1995)
Those who hold to the rod of iron until they reach the tree and partake of the fruit, and who then remain faithful (v. 30). Note, Lehi saw "multitudes" doing this, "pressing their way forward, continually holding fast." That's encouraging! Also, note the spelling of the word strait in "strait and narrow path" (v. 20). A straight path doesn't turn, switchback, climb, drop, veer, or have rocks or bumps. But that's not the kind of path we're talking about. It is a strait path, which means it is narrow, with strict requirements. The interpretation of the path is never given, but we can figure it out from other scriptures easily enough: It is the keeping of covenants.
Those who never start on the path but instead go directly toward the great and spacious building (v. 31).

The fearsome Angel's Landing trail

in Zion National Park, Southern Utah

with its chain of iron

reminds me of the challenges of

following the Strait and Narrow Path

with its Rod of Iron.

Four Steps to Reaching the Tree of Life

Commence on the path (8:22). The first three groups did this.
Catch hold of the rod (8:24). The second and third groups did this (v. 24, v. 30).
Cling to the rod (8:24). The second and third groups pressed forward, they did not have a casual grip (v. 24, v. 30).
Continue (8:30). The third group is the only one who hung onto the rod for dear life continually.

"Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life." (2 Ne. 31:20)

NEPHI'S DOUBLE VISION

Whenever we receive a revelation from the prophet, it is our privilege to ask for a validation of it from the Spirit, if we need it. Nephi went beyond: he had a desire to see the whole vision for himself, and his desire was granted and even expanded upon. Nephi saw a vision within a vision, the second vision being the interpretation of the first vision. The first vision was similar to his father's vision, and the second vision explained the meaning of the symbols through prophecies that would take place in either the Holy Land or the Promised Land. Here is a brief outline:

The Tree of Life (11:8-23) is explained through a vision of Jerusalem, Nazareth, the Mother of Christ, the Infant Christ-Child. It is the love of God the Father, manifested in His condescension (becoming the literal father of a part-mortal).
The Rod of Iron (11:24) is explained through a vision of Christ's ministry in Israel and His faithful followers. It is the word of God.
The Fountain of Living Waters (11:24-31) is explained through a vision of John the Baptists ministry, the baptism of Christ, the descent of the Holy Ghost, Christ's ministry in Israel and rejection by the Jews, the 12 apostles, the ministry of angels, and the miracles of Jesus. It is the love of God the Son, manifested in His condescension (becoming part human and dwelling upon the earth to minister and redeem).
The Large and Spacious Building (11:32-35) is explained through a vision of the trials of Christ, His crucifixion, and the persecution of His apostles. It is the House of Israel's rejection of the gospel in favor of the wisdom of the world.
The Great Fall of the Building (11:36) is explained through a vision of the Great Apostacy. It is the downfall and destruction of those who reject the gospel.

Interjected at this point is a vision of the Land of Promise (America), many generations of warring factions, darkness and massive natural disasters, the descent of the resurrected Christ to the survivors, the American 12 apostles, and generations of righteousness among the Nephites.

The Fountain (or spring) of Filthy Water (12:13-16) is explained through a vision of the wars of the Nephites and Lamanites. It is the depths of hell.
The Mists of Darkness (12:17) is identified as the temptations of the devil.
The Large and Spacious Building (12:18) is identified as pride.
The Great and Terrible Gulf (12:18-23) is explained through a vision of the destruction of the Nephite civilization and the Apostacy in America. It is the word of the justice of God.

The Tree of Life vision is only half of the vision that Nephi saw. Chapters 13-14 tell the remainder of the prophecy, which regards the Restoration and the Gathering of the House of Israel prior to the Last Days. It's the happy ending! Nephi also viewed the Last Days and the end of the world, but was commanded to refer his readers to The Revelation of John rather than write it himself.

HAVING VISIONS, AND HAVING VISION

Visions from the Lord are often omniscient in nature, as the Lord is omniscient (or able to see all).

"The saith the Lord your God, even Jesus Christ, the Great I Am, Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the same which looked upon the wide expanse of eternity, and all the seraphic hosts of heaven, before the world was made; the same which knoweth all things, for all things are present before mine eyes." (D&C 38:1-2)

I live in a mountain valley with Preston, Idaho at one end, and Avon, Utah at the other. If I want to see Preston and Avon and all the towns and farms between, I can get in my car and drive from one end to the other, and I would be able to see a certain dimension of those places over a period of an hour or two. But above the valley, there is a peak called Mount Logan.

When I am standing on Mount Logan, I am able to see all of the communities, the marshes, the rivers, the farms at the same time, rather than in a linear way. When God offers an omniscient vision such as Nephi had, he pulls the seer up to stand beside him and view the entire panorama at once. (Credit for this idea goes to Jerry Wilson, former instructor at the Logan Institute of Religion.)

Similarly in omniscient visions, there is no linear time, but all can be seen at once. That fact is reflected in the prophetic future tense used to record visions. Tense discrepancies are very common, since the tense doesn't matter. You can see future, past and present tense all three in 11:27: the prophet who should prepare the way (future); the Lamb went forth and was baptized (past); heavens open and the Holy Ghost comes and abides (present).

Nephi explained the reason that he was able to have this wonderful vision before he related the vision to us. It was because he asked. "For he that diligently seeketh shall find; and the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them, by the power of the Holy Ghost..." (10:19)

As a piano teacher, I love teaching all ages. Beginners are fun; they are so excited about every new thing. But it's really fun to have advanced students. There is so much wonderful material you can share with an advanced student. You can explain to them the fascinating theory by which the piece is constructed, the history of the composer and the reasons he wrote the piece, the nuances and techniques that can be used to bring out the beauty of the music, and it is a delight to share this with them.

I have the feeling that the Lord loves having "advanced students" like Nephi as well. If you are a "beginning" gospel student, he loves seeing your excitement, but don't stay in the "intermediate" stage forever: become an "advanced" student! We have all the information and inspiration necessary to be "advanced." Get up on the mountain!

"In this dispensation of the fulness of times, the revelation superhighway has been carrying heavy traffic of eternal truth ever since that day in the spring of 1820 when the Lord answered a farm boy's fervent prayer in the Sacred Grove and ushered in the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ." (Joseph B. Wirthlin, Ensign, Nov. 1995, p. 75)

We may not see the heavens opened, as did Joseph Smith, and we may not see the panoramic vision of the tree of life as did Nephi, but we can stand on a mountaintop and gain an eternal perspective that will guide us through our own lives. The "revelation superhighway" is open to us.

"In our own lives, in our daily workaday world, we can create our own 'mountaintop experience' so unique and personal that I wonder why more of us do not readily do so. The spiritual mountaintop of which I speak is the development and refining of a testimony of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Just as we can stand on the top of any great mountain and experience an awe-inspiring panorama, I believe we can stand in our own places and experience overwhelming awe in knowing that the Savior, in an act of love which defies mortal understanding, gave his life in taking upon himself our pain and suffering...

"It is in the development of our testimonies, in the moving even partway up the mountain and out of our comfort zones, that I think we begin to approach our own personal, spiritual mountaintop where we can receive inspiration and truth as never before." (Jack H. Goaslind, Ensign, Nov. 1995, p. 9, 11)

Book of Mormon Lesson #2 "All Things According to His Will"

2011-12-31T14:07:00.003-08:00

1 Nephi 1-7

THE FIRST FAMILY OF THE BOOK OF MORMON

The Book of Mormon begins with the story of a family. This family faces many of the same crises we face as families today. They live in a corrupt environment while striving to live the gospel and follow the prophets. They face a huge material downturn when they opt to leave the city. They are required to be constantly pioneering, or doing things that have not been done before. As they strive to follow the Lord's specific guidance for their family, they often find things get much worse before they get better. They have children who follow their parents in righteousness, and children who reject the family and its values. They love, they argue, they suffer, they repent, they forgive, they get sick, they complain, they see miracles, they live and die. They are like us.

THE PATRIARCH

In the first chapter of the Book of Mormon, we are introduced immediately to the father, Lehi. We learn that Lehi:

was a city-dweller (v. 4)
that he was well-off (v. 1: "goodly")
that he listened to the prophets (v. 4)
that he had great care and concern for his fellow-citizens (v. 5)
that his instant approach to worries was to pray (v. 5)
that he was educated and wrote a great deal (v. 16--see the link in the previous post theorizing that he may have been a scribe by trade)
that he was seer (v. 13)
that because of his own communications from the Lord he became a prophet or missionary (in a real sense they are the same thing) in Jerusalem (v. 18)
that he was not swayed by public opinion (v. 19)
that he had a powerful testimony of Jesus Christ (v. 19)
and he did not see any success in his mission, and was even threatened with death for it (v. 20).

As we look at Lehi's first vision recorded in the Book of Mormon, it has similar elements to the visions of other prophets. Like Moses and the burning bush, he saw a pillar of fire which came down from Heaven and dwelt upon an earthly object, from which emanated a prophecy of some kind which caused him to quake and tremble (v. 6; Exo. 3:2). Like Moses and Joseph Smith, he was exhausted after the vision (v. 7; Moses 1:9-10; JS-H 1:20). Like John the Divine, Steven the Martyr, and a few select others, the door of Heaven was opened to him and he saw, in a second vision, "God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels" and Jesus Christ with him. He saw the twelve apostles and their glory (1:8-10). Like John, a book was delivered to him (1:11). His book, however, was not symbolic of the plan of salvation as John's was, but filled with words of warning: Jerusalem would be destroyed, many of the inhabitants would be killed, and many should be taken away as slaves (1:13).

And yet, the immediate result of seeing this vision was not despair but joy! "For his soul did rejoice, and his whole heart was filled, because of the things which he had seen..." (1:15). The reason can be found as we look for the perceptual word because in v. 14:

"And it came to pass that when my father had read and seen many great and marvelous things, he did exclaim many things unto the Lord; such as: Great and marvelous are thy works, O Lord God Almighty! and thy power, and goodness, and mercy are over all the inhabitants of the earth; and, because thou art merciful, thou wilt not suffer those who come unto thee that they shall perish!"

John taught that God is Light (or truth), and God is Love (1 John 1:5; 1 John 4:8). It was in God's very nature to show Lehi the truth--that Jerusalem was nearly ripe for destruction. But it was also in God's very nature to show Lehi the love--that those who chose righteousness would be spared.

Lehi emulated the character of his Father in Heaven, and immediately, because of the love he had for his people, he shared the truth with them (1:18). It didn't go well.

But this set of events is a perfect introduction to the theme of the entire Book of Mormon, which is declared by Nephi in the last verse of 1 Nephi:

"But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance." (1:20).

This message is reiterated in the very final chapter of the Book of Mormon by Moroni:

"Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts." (Moro 10:3)

It is this grateful pondering that will lead one to the state of revelation desired by true seekers:

"And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things." (Moro. 10:4)

This is exactly what Lehi had done. He had heard the words of the prophets. Immediately, he desired to know the truth himself and so he prayed. His prayer was one of real intent: he wasn't just curious; he intended to do a great deal with the knowledge he would gain; he intended it to change his life. Without this key, real intent, no revelation can be an advantage to us, but it will instead be a condemnation--therefore, the Lord may opt to withhold revelation from those unwilling to commit. Lehi clearly had great faith in Christ and in His power to direct and save. Because Lehi acted upon each revelation he received, he was given another, and the power of the Holy Ghost directed his journeyings through the remainder of his life.

(For more on Lehi, see Marshall R. Craig, "Father Lehi: Prophet and Patriarch," Ensign, Sept. 1976

THE CHILDREN

As this family leaves Jerusalem, there are four sons and an unspecified number of daughters. We don't ever read anything about the daughters since the writer comes from a male-biased culture.)  We only get the chance to know the sons. But, male or female, in these sons we see ourselves.

Nephi
Nephi stated in his first sentence that he suffered many trials but he recognized that he was highly favored of the Lord.  When those trials began in earnest on the journey to the Promised Land, Nephi needed to know for himself whether the family was on the right path.

"And my father dwelt in a tent."

We already know this. Why does he bother to remind us? Because it is the clearest indicator that the family members are "fishes out of water." They are in an uncomfortable, unfamiliar situation. It is this discomfort that leads Nephi to have an intense need to know what God wants of him and his family.

"And it came to pass that I, Nephi, being exceedingly young, nevertheless being large in stature, and also having great desires to know of the mysteries of God, wherefore, I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father." (2:15-16)

This belief grew into great faith that has been a model for Latter-day Saints from Primary age on up: "I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the things which he commandeth them." (1 Ne. 3:7)

As is the case with all who come to know God, Nephi's immediate desire after receiving the answer to his prayer was for the welfare of others. He prayed mightily for his unbelieving brothers, and was answered with the great promise of the Book of Mormon, restated many times throughout the book (you may want to highlight this each time you find it as you read; I use yellow for the words of God): "And insasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper, and shall be led to a land of promise." (2:20)
Because of his trust in the Lord, Nephi was tenacious in the face of difficulty. The impossible was not impossible to him; it just took a little longer. He succeeded in getting the Brass Plates from a powerful man who did not want to give them up, by simply trying and trying again with a new approach, being led by the Spirit.

Nephi was also quick to forgive (7:21), although we see later in the story that when repentance didn't last, he was smart enough to flee abuse.

Laman and Lemuel

Despite the great encouragement of their father and his vision for them--"O that thou mightest be like unto this river, continually running into the fountain of all righteousness...O that thou mightest be like unto this valley, firm and steadfast, and immovable in keeping the commandments of the Lord!" (2:9-10)--Laman and Lemuel rebelled against their parents.

"And thus Laman and Lemuel, being the eldest, did murmur against their father." [You may remember from the story of the prodigal son that the eldest or birthright son in Hebrew culture was to be a partner with the father, a type of under-parent].

Why did they complain? The same reason that all of us complain: a lack of faith. "And they did murmur because they knew not the dealings of that God who had created them." (2:12).

Despite testimonies, examples, and miracles, they did not see that spiritual things had any relevance to "real life:" "...An angel of the Lord came and stood before them, and he spake unto them, saying...Behold ye shall go up to Jerusalem again, and the Lord will deliver Laban into your hands...And after the angel had departed, Laman and Lemuel again began to murmur, saying: How is it possible that the Lord will deliver Laban into our hands? Behold he is a mighty man, and he can command fifty, yea, even he can slay fifty; then why not us?" (3:31)

Sam

We are all sometimes like Laman and Lemuel; hopefully we recognize it quickly and nurture our faith. On rare occasions we may also find ourselves like Nephi, mighty in spiritual power. But the brother that might be the best role model for many of us is Sam, remarkable because he is unremarkable. Mentioned only 11 times in the Book of Mormon, we first hear that he listened to his younger brother Nephi (1 Ne. 2:17) and he believed. Not much is said of him, but each time he is mentioned he is found on the Lord's side. (What a great epitaph that would be!)

He received a very brief blessing from his father as his father was dying: "Blessed art thou and thy seed; for thou shalt inherit the land like unto thy brother Nephi. And thy seed shall be numbered with his seed; and thou shalt be even like unto thy brother, and thy seed like unto his seed; and thou shalt be blessed in all thy days." (2 Ne. 4:11)

Why kind of a blessing is that? Nothing is said about Sam personally, only how he compares to his amazing brother Nephi. This kind of thing is exactly what irritated Laman and Lemuel, and led their ancestor Joseph to be sold into Egypt by his jealous brothers.

And yet Sam was unaffected. Sam was meek, or in our present-day vernacular, he was non-competitive.  He was okay with hearing his younger brother praised. He was okay with letting someone else be the leader. He was okay with being unremarkable. None of these things appeared to affect his willingness to follow the Lord steadfastly. His vertical relationship (his relationship with the Lord) centered and stabilized his horizontal relationships (his relationships with those around him). By following the Lord in his unremarkable way, he received all the same blessings as did his brother, the famous prophet Nephi.

Does that mean that if we follow the humble, noncompetitive, steadfast example of Sam, we can receive all the same blessings that President Monson will? That is exactly what it means.

THE MARRIAGE

A prime example of righteous conflict resolution in marriage is shown in chapter 5. The sons of Lehi and Sariah were called by the Lord to return to Jerusalem on a very dangerous mission: to get the Plates of Brass from Laban. Sariah had followed her husband in righteousness, and it had led her into the wilderness. She was okay with that. She trusted the Lord enough to allow her sons to leave.  But every mother has probably reached a similar moment when the happy ending was delayed, and worry overcame hope.

"For she had supposed that we had perished in the wilderness; and she also had complained against my father, telling him that he was a visionary man; saying: Behold thou hast led us forth from the land of our inheritance, and my sons are no more, and we perish in the wilderness. And after this manner of language had my mother complained against my father." (5:2-3)

Sariah had been listening to a despairing inner dialogue, and she expressed it to her husband in the language of doubt and fear and blame. All of us do this at times.

But Lehi responded with a different manner of language, the language of faith and hope and compassion. First he faced the truth in what she had said:

"And it had come to pass that my father spake unto her, saying: I know that I am a visionary man..."

But he explained the reasons for the thing she criticized.

"...for if I had not seen the things of God in a vision I should not have known the goodness of God, but had tarried at Jerusalem, and had perished with my brethren."

And then he bolstered her faith by testifying of the care of the Lord, and comforting her concerning the welfare of her sons as the Holy Ghost undoubtedly testified to him.

"But behold, I have obtained a land of promise, in the which things I do rejoice; yea, and I know that the Lord will deliver my sons out of the hands of Laban, and bring them down again unto us in the wilderness."

But wait a minute! In the first part of the sentence Lehi said he had already obtained a land of promise, and in the last part of the sentence, he said he was still in the wilderness. What gives?

Lehi was speaking to Sariah (and to himself) in the highest language of faith and hope: prophetic future tense. In prophetic future tense, time is irrelevant and things that have not yet happened are stated in the present tense or even in the past tense. To the deeply faithful Lehi, the promises of the Lord were as real as if they had already happened.

"And after this manner of language did my father, Lehi, comfort my mother, Sariah, concerning us, while we journeyed in the wilderness up to the land of Jerusalem, to obtain the record of the Jews." (5:4-6)

Wouldn't it be marvelous if our family interactions could mirror this example shown by Lehi of both meekness and strength? Rather than speaking back to an upset family member in the same negative manner of language she is using, we recognize her feelings of fear, and we carefully choose a positive manner of language filled with faith, hope and love. If we are meek we can avoiding taking verbal attacks personally and remain in a position of strength. Recognizing that almost every negative emotion is at its core fear, we can apply the antidote of faith and build a relationship of trust, understanding, and love.

CONCLUSION

In our present day, families face many challenges. Even the family itself as an institution is challenged. The Book of Mormon examples of families can teach us many helpful truths relevant to our daily interactions as family members.

The prophet Lehi was unsuccessful in teaching the gospel to the people of Jerusalem, but his real mission followed in which the focus of all his efforts was in teaching the gospel to his children. His entire church congregation and mission boundaries included only his family, their in-laws, and one friend Zoram. And yet it was a great enough mission to be prominent in the Book of Mormon. Let us likewise recognize our own families as our first and foremost "mission field," living and sharing the gospel in our homes as did Lehi.

Book of Mormon Lesson #1 "The Keystone of Our Religion"

2011-12-23T11:30:00.002-08:00

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE BOOK OF MORMON

"The church stand[s] or falls with the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon." It is the keystone of our witness of Christ, the keystone of our doctrine, the keystone of our testimony. (Ezra Taft Benson, October 1986 Conference Address)

"Concerning this record the Prophet Joseph Smith said: 'I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.'" (Introduction, Book of Mormon, paragraph 6)

We can get closer to God, not by reading the Book of Mormon, but by living it; however, reading comes first.

(Challenge your class to read the Book of Mormon this year. If this is not a challenge for them, challenge them to give a Book of Mormon to someone else this year. For a fun Book of Mormon marathon you might consider doing with your family, youth group, or Sunday School class, see my family blog.)

"Brothers and sisters, without reservation I promise you that if you will prayerfully read the Book of Mormon, regardless of how many times you previously have read it, there will come into your hearts an added measure of the Spirit of the Lord. There will come a strengthened resolution to walk in obedience to his commandments, and there will come a stronger testimony of the living reality of the Son of God." (Gordon B. Hinckley, "The Power of the Book of Mormon," Ensign, June 1988)

HISTORY OF THE TRANSLATION OF THE BOOK OF MORMON

The Book of Mormon was translated very quickly after a long period of personal preparation and skill development on the part of Joseph Smith. (Please see the detailed timeline of the translation of the Book of Mormon can be found under the heading, Spiritual Gifts Must Be Developed, in a previous post.) In the original script dictated by Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery's handwriting is sloppy and there are ink blotches all over. In the copy he made afterwards, his penmanship is beautiful; there are no lines to the page, yet it is perfectly straight and the lettering is so consistent it looks like it might have been a computer font. Obviously, during the translating, Oliver barely had time to dip his pen, and not enough time to blot the ink.

The entire Book of Mormon was written in one sentence; no punctuation whatever was included. John H. Gilbert at E. B. Grandin printers punctuated it as he printed it. That is why there have been occasional revisions to the punctuation since. The title page to the third edition reads "carefully revised by the translator"--the only edition that says that. (Bruce R. Woolley, BYU Education Week Lecture, August 1999, personal notes)

PURPOSES OF THE BOOK OF MORMON

"The title-page of the Book of Mormon is a literal translation, taken from the very last leaf, on the left hand side of the collection of book of plates." (Joseph Smith, History of the Church, 1:71)

On this title page, Mormon lists two main purposes to the Book of Mormon in the second paragraph. (Ask class members to find them.)

1) To Show the House of Israel:
     a) The Works of God, "what great things the Lord hath done
          for their fathers..."
          Why is this important? It builds faith in God.
     b) The Covenants of God, "that they may know the covenants of the
           Lord, that they are not cast off forever..."
          Why is this important? It lets us know our role in the plan,
          and the promises to us in the next life.

"Once we know who we are and the royal lineage of which we are a part, our actions and directions in life will be more appropriate to our inheritance...People are gathered into the fold of God through learning the doctrine of Christ and subscribing to the principles and ordinances of his gospel. They learn through scripture and through patriarchal and prophetic pronouncement of their kinship with or, in rare instances today, of their adoption into the house of Israel...The fulfillment, the consummation, of these blessings comes as those who have entered the waters of baptism perfect their lives to the point that they may enter the holy temple. Receiving an endowment there seals members of the Church to the Abrahamic Covenant." (Russell M. Nelson, BYU Devotional, 11-22-88)

2) To Convince Everyone That Jesus is the Christ
    "...to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that JESUS is the
    CHRIST, the ETERNAL GOD, manifesting himself unto all nations."
    Why is this important? Our salvation depends upon faith in Him.

In the 531 pages of the Book of Mormon, there are 275 testimonies of Christ.

There is a duality to this purpose as well: President Benson said the Book of Mormon teaches us of Christ (or what the gospel is), and it exposes the enemies of Christ (what the gospel is not).

RELEVANCE TO OUR DAY

As we take a very general look at the Book of Mormon, what are the main subjects?

1) The first part is about families in crisis. Do we have this problem today? Even when the parents are doing their righteous best?

2) The middle part is about how to conduct oneself (or an army) righteously during wartime. Do we have need of this counsel today?

3) The last part is about how to remain righteous in a degenerating environment. Do we find ourselves in this situation today?

PERCEPTUAL PHRASES IN THE BOOK OF MORMON

Remembering that this is a book written for the purpose of teaching, we must watch for the lessons in it. There are some good clues the writers of the Book use in what we could call perceptual words and phrases. (Credit for this idea goes to Jerry Wilson, former Logan Institute teacher.)

THEREFORE
WHEREFORE
FOR
NEVERTHELESS
NOTWITHSTANDING
BEHOLD
I SAY UNTO YOU
REMEMBER
THAT
BECAUSE

These words are key to recognizing important concepts throughout the Book of Mormon. In fact, it is a great idea to highlight them in a specific color (I use blue to symbolize truth) so that they are obvious to you.

Therefore/Wherefore/For
Therefore links cause and effect:

"...having been born of goodly parents      THEREFORE    I was taught in all the language of my fathers..."
''...having had a knowledge of God      THEREFORE     I make a record..." (1 Ne. 1:1)

Because Nephi was born of goodly parents (some scholars interpret "goodly" as "wealthy"), he was taught how to write well. Indeed, they would have had to be wealthy for him to have received such an education. (See Literary Themes in the Book of Mormon, by Joey Greene.) Because Nephi had a knowledge of God in addition to that education, he made a record: If we have faith in God, or desire to increase our faith, we might also make a record of God's dealings with us.

Wherefore is very similar. We can see that Lehi's great vision did not come "out of the blue," but as a result of his prayer and concern after listening to the prophets of Jerusalem:

"...in that same year there came many prophets, prophesying unto the people that they must repent, or the great city Jerusalem must be destroyed.    WHEREFORE    it came to pass that my father, Lehi, as he went forth prayed unto the Lord, yea, even with all his heart, in behalf of his people. And it came to pass as he prayed unto the Lord, there came a pillar of fire and dwelt upon a rock before him; and he saw and heard much..." (1 Ne. 1:4-6)

Nevertheless/Notwithstanding
Nevertheless and notwithstanding show the hidden effect, often the opposite of what might be expected by the cause:

"...having seen many afflictions      NEVERTHELESS    having been highly favored of God..."

So despite having seen many afflictions, Nephi recognized that he was highly favored of God: We can likewise assume that experiencing sore trials in our lives does not mean God does not favor us.

Behold/I Say Unto You/Remember
Behold (often linked with I say unto you) and remember draw attention to an important concept or event:

"BEHOLD   the Lord slayeth the wicked to bring forth his righteous purposes. It is better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief." (1 Ne. 4:13)

That/Because

Reasons for things can often be found following the word that or because. We can see two reasons listed for obtaining the brass plates in the following passage, marked by that:

"And behold, it is wisdom in God that we should obtain these records, THAT   we may preserve unto our children the language of our fathers; and also THAT we may preserve unto them the words which have been spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets..." (1 Ne. 3:19-20)

We can find the reason that people (including us) whine or complain in 1 Ne. 2:12:

"And thus Laman and Lemuel...did murmur against their father. And they did murmur BECAUSE   they knew not the dealings of that God who had created them."

Since faith consists, in part, of a knowledge of God, we murmur because our faith is weak. Faith also consists in a knowledge that our life is in accordance to God's will, so we may also murmur because we are unwilling to accept God's plan for us.

Combinations

A particularly strong combination of perceptual words and phrases is used in the last verse of Nephi's first chapter to state his purpose in keeping his record:

"But    BEHOLD,    I, Nephi, WILL SHOW YOU THAT    the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen...  [why are they chosen?]

"BECAUSE   of their faith, [and here the word "to" shows the purpose of the tender mercies]

"TO   make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance." (1 Ne. 1:20)

Having stated his purpose in writing, now we can look for it all through Nephi's two books. Here is an example of the tender mercies of the Lord making the faithful mighty unto deliverance, which also uses a combination of perceptual words:

"And now, my beloved brethren, seeing that our merciful God has given us so great knowledge concerning these things, let us remember him, and lay aside our sins, and not hang down our heads,    FOR we are not cast off..." (the good result of having a knowledge of [or relationship with] our merciful God.)

"NEVERTHELESS,   we have been driven out of the land of our inheritance..." (the opposite result of what we might expect if we were not cast off.)

"BUT   we have been led to a better land..." (a good result of being driven out)

"FOR the Lord has made the sea our path..." (we were led to a better land because the Lord showed a new path, through the sea.) (2 Ne. 10:20)

LITERARY TECHNIQUES OF THE BOOK OF MORMON

The literary techniques of the Book of Mormon testify of its authenticity, as they are commonly used in Hebrew and would have been completely unknown to Joseph Smith at the time of translation. In fact, some scholars believe Lehi and Nephi must have been scribes by trade, to have written such great literature. (See Literary Themes in the Book of Mormon, by Joey Greene.)

Conjunctions

Why are there so many ands in the Book of Mormon? For an extreme example, Helaman 3:14 has 18 ands in it! In Hebrew, and is attached to a noun and is used much as we use a comma in English. (David Bokovoy, BYU Campus Education Week lecture, August 2001, my personal notes)

Anaphora

And it came to pass is a purposely repetitive phrase, indicating the beginning of a sentence. It usually shows the passage of time, or the introduction of a new section of the story. It is found in the Bible, but much more commonly in the Book of Mormon (over 1,400 times), since the Book of Mormon is "a highly condensed prose narrative." (Hugh W. Pinnock, "Forms of Repetition," Neal A. Maxwell Institute)

Cognate Accusative

In this literary form, the verb is immediately followed by a noun of the same root.  The English form is kind of funny-sounding, but in Hebrew it would be poetic and beautiful. This is another indication that the Book of Mormon came from Hebrew writers. Examples: "fear with great fear," "cursed with a sore cursing," "work all manner of fine work," judge righteous judgments," "dreamed a dream." (Bokovoy)

Pronominal Suffix

This is a pronoun attached directly to the noun indicating ownership. In a list, it would be attached to every word. We can learn something very interesting about Lehi in 1 Ne. 2:4 by noticing which items in the list do not have the word his attached to them:

"And he left his house, and the land of his inheritance, and his gold, and his silver, and his precious things, and took nothing with him, save it were his family, and provisions, and tents..."

Aha! The provisions and the tents had not belonged to Lehi--he had to purchase them. This tells us he was not a nomad, and just like the latter-day European pioneers who traveled across the plains of the United States to Utah in the 19th century, the family of Lehi was not at all used to camping. (Bokovoy)

The Construct State

Two nouns are placed together, one of which describes the other, like an adjective. The best way to say the same thing in English is to use the word of between the two: "altar of stones," "skin of blackness," "state of probation," "plates of brass." In English we would typically put the adjective first, and say "brass plates," but you won't find "brass plates" anywhere in the Book of Mormon.

A particularly interesting one is "river of water." What other kind of river would there be? Well, in the mideast, dry river beds or wadis are in abundance for most of the year. This specification lets us know the writer was used to wadis and wanted to clarify that this was running river. (Bokovoy) This phrase is used 5 times but by only one writer. Guess which one? The only Book of Mormon writer who began his life in the middle east: Nephi.

CONCLUSION

"Not all truths are of equal value, nor are all scriptures of the same worth...There is a power in the book [of Mormon] which will begin to flow into your lives the moment you begin a serious study of the book...[power to] resist temptation...avoid deception...stay on the strait and narrow... When you begin to hunger and thirst after those words, you will find life in greater and greater abundance." (Ezra Taft Benson, A Witness and a Warning, p. 6)

"Its appeal is as timeless as truth, as universal as mankind. It is the only book that contains within its covers a promise that by divine power the reader may know with certainty of its truth.

"Its origin is miraculous; when the story of that origin is first told to one unfamiliar with it, it is almost unbelievable. But the book is here to be felt and handled and read. No one can dispute its presence.

"All efforts to account for its origin, other than the account given by Joseph Smith, have been shown to lack substance. It is a record of ancient America. It is the scripture of the New World, as certainly as the Bible is the scripture of the Old. Each speaks of the other. Each carries with it the spirit of inspiration, the power to convince and to convert. Together they become two witnesses, hand in hand, that Jesus is the Christ, the resurrected and living Son of the living God.

"Its narrative is a chronicle of nations long since gone. But in its descriptions of the problems of today’s society, it is as current as the morning newspaper and much more definitive, inspired, and inspiring concerning the solutions to those problems." (Gordon B. Hinckley, "The Power of the Book of Mormon," Ensign, June 1998)

"With other latter-day prophets, I testify of the truthfulness of this 'most correct of any book on earth,' even the Book of Mormon, another testament of Jesus Christ. Its message spans the earth and brings its readers to a knowledge of the truth. It is my testimony that the Book of Mormon changes lives. May each of us read it and reread it. And may we joyfully share our testimonies of its precious promises with all of God’s children." (President Thomas S. Monson, First Presidency Message: Precious Promises of the Book of Mormon, Ensign, October 2011)

Extra Christmas Lesson #3

2011-12-18T16:16:00.000-08:00

I just read The Purpose of Christmas, by Rick Warren. It has a great message and many helpful insights which are almost entirely compatible with LDS doctrine. (The only deviation I can see is that he says Jesus did not come to organize a religion, and I'm pretty sure he did, since he set up apostles, seventies, the sacrament, baptism, and temple worship. But that's only one sentence in the entire book.)

You can read an outline and some great quotes from the book which would make a great lesson if you filled it in a bit, in my new personal online notes file (which is another blog, to make it easily searchable).

Here is the link: The Purpose of Christmas

Extra Christmas Lesson #2

2011-12-10T09:59:00.000-08:00

If you didn't give this lesson earlier in the year, it fits very well at Christmastime:

http://gospeldoctrineplus.blogspot.com/2011/01/nt-lesson-3-unto-you-is-borna-saviour.html

Extra Christmas Lesson #1

2011-12-09T16:26:00.001-08:00

If you have an extra week and would like to give a special Christmas-oriented lesson on faith, please follow this link to one I posted in 2009, "The Measure of Our Faith."

New Testament Lesson #46: "He Will Dwell with Them, and They Shall Be His People"

2011-12-03T20:35:00.004-08:00

Revelation 5-6; 19-22

THREE KINDS OF SCRIPTURE

The New Testament seems to have three sections:

The four gospels and the Book of Acts are like storybooks. (Hold up and leaf through a children's Bible storybook.) We can read them and follow the story line, and we can learn wonderful lessons from the stories. If we wanted to (and many people have) we could draw pictures to illustrate them.
Then we have the epistles. (Hold up and leaf through a reference or textbook--Mormon Doctrine, for example.) Just words, no pictures, all black and white. But they are full of wonderful deep truths for serious students of the gospel.
And at the end of the New Testament, we have this wonderful book of the Revelation of John, not much like a book at all. Revelation is full of color, sights, action. There are many stories and ideas depicted, but they are not necessarily in a chronological order. You can see them all at once, or examine one scene by itself.

Christmastime is such a wonderful time, full of sights, sounds, smells, memories, symbols, and imagery that mean much more to us than their face value, and that is one reason we love it so much. Revelation at the end of the New Testament is like the joyous Christmas celebration at the end of the year: a multi-sensory, emotion-laden, visual panorama of the Plan of Salvation.

THE REVELATION OF ST JOHN THE DIVINE

"The Revelation seems to be divided into two parts. The first, chs. 1 to 3, deals with things at the time the Revelation was given, and is addressed to branches of the Church in seven cities of Asia. Note Revelation 1:3: 'the time is at hand.' These three chapters show clearly that the Church in that day was rapidly going into apostacy.

"The second part, chs. 4-22, deals with things yet future for John...It begins with John's time and continues to the end of the world. Note Revelation 4:1: 'I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.' Accordingly, it offers a sort of panoramic view of events through the ages--of apostasy, restoration, judgment, and millenium" (Bible Dictionary, p. 762.)

The Book of Revelation is amazing and volumes could be written about it (in fact, they have), so having to cover the whole thing in two lessons is daunting. If you have extra weeks left over at the end of the year, you may want to divide this lesson up and spread it out.

CHAPTER 4: THE VISION OF GOD THE FATHER

The revelation begins with this wonderful opening statement:

"After this I looked, and behold, a door was opened in heaven..." (4:1) We talk about the "windows of heaven" being revelation, but here, the door was opened: This was a major revelation.

The first thing that John saw was the greatness and glory of God.

"And immediately I was in the spirit: and behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.

"And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices; and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.

"And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal; and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.

"And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.

"And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, the four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power, for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created." (4:2-11)

So, before we even get to the overview of the entire scheme of earthly existence, we get to see the victor: we know who is going to win, and we know how great and wonderful he is, and we know who is going to be on the winning side with him. Knowing who wins alleviates a lot of the stress of life, and of the scenes to come. Imagine watching a pre-recorded soccer or football game and already knowing your favorite team wins! You wouldn't be too stressed out when the opposing team makes a score or gets ahead for a while, because you already know the outcome. This is what we are given here--the outcome--and it is going to be glorious, and we are going to know which team to be on if we want to be a part of that. We know "the end from the beginning."

"Evil will not win; goodness will achieve the mastery. The earth will not diminish in nuclear winter but rise in millennial splendor. Christ, not Lucifer, will claim the earth, and his claim will stand." (Michael Wilcox, Who Shall be Able to Stand?, Kindle edition, ch. 5)

Let's take a closer look at the beautiful images presented in this image of the Celestial Kingdom.

The Rainbow
"Since a rainbow presents light in one of its most beautiful manifestations, a rainbow surrounding the Father is most appropriate. One aspect of eternal truth [light] and the attributes of the Father [God is Light] appear to be displayed here. The rainbow has strong associations with the mercy of the Father. This is seen as early as the flood. In the midst of storm, God's light, truth, and mercy ever bend back to the earth, touching it softly in healing wonder." (Wilcox, chapter 4, paragraph 4.)

Lightnings and thunderings and voices! These are the ways God communicates with us--sometimes with flashes of pure knowledge, sometimes with the thunderings of his wrath, and sometimes with a still, small voice.

24 Elders
"In the vision, the throne of the Father consists of three things, represented by the 24 elders, the sea of glass, and the four beasts. According to D&C 77:5, the 24 elders 'had been faithful in the work of the ministry and were dead; who belonged to the seven churches.' The Joseph Smith Translation makes an important change. These elders are not sitting 'round about the throne' but 'in the midst of the throne'...

"God's throne includes, first and foremost, exalted beings. This is his work and his glory...Hope and encouragement come from understanding that these...are ordinary members of the kingdom, coming from its many scattered branches [in the time of John]. If we were to see a vision of the paradise of God, the celestial kingdom, and within those glorified confines we saw members of our own wards enjoying eternal life with the Father--members we served with, home taught, and sat next to in sacrament meeting--would that not inspire us to believe in our own everlasting possibilities?" (Wilcox, ch. 4, para. 5-6)

The number 24 is associated with priesthood. (See Bible Numerics.) That was already obvious by the symbol of "elders." If we want to get even more tricky and technical with our Bible numerology, 24 is the product of multiplying 2 and 12. The number 2 refers to "unity," and the number 12 refers to "perfection in government." So these 24 are the product of unity in government, and it is a theocracy (government based upon God) because they are priesthood bearers. This is further emphasized by the fact that they "cast their crowns before the throne" and give all praise and glory to God.

Do not assume that because they are "elders," the revelation refers only to the male gender. As temple ordinances clearly teach us, the priesthood is a partnership, and the new and everlasting covenant of marriage is necessary to reach the celestial kingdom; therefore, both men and women are symbolized here, just as both the men and women of the church are symbolized by the woman giving birth in the part of the revelation we studied last week, and by the manchild she bears.

The Sea of Glass
"Crystal and glass are often used to represent God's celestial world, for they are not susceptible to decay or change. If we buried a glass bowl in the earth and dug it up a thousand years later, it would not have deteriorated. Crystal also suggests purity, a clarity born of the heat of refining fires. When the earth is sanctified, all the impurities that once had dominion upon it will be gone, and this extends to every object of creation." (Wilcox, ch. 4, para. 14)

Remember also that crystal reflects or refracts light in a rainbow display of color and light, harking back to the symbol of the rainbow surrounding the throne. If it is polished and flat, it reflects like a mirror. If it is faceted, it refracts light, or breaks it up into its various colors. So this crystal can give a clear vision of oneself, or it can refract the light around us so that we can see the beauty and glory that others may miss.

"As glass is transparent, so too will this earth cease to hide its secrets--secrets that once required long years of research, testing, experimentation, and observation to uncover. A crystal earth, a Urim and Thummim world, is a sphere of light, truth, intelligence, beauty, perfection, purity, and endless, open knowledge." (Wilcox, ch. 4, para. 15)

The Four Beasts
The number 4 in Hebrew refers to the whole of the creative works of God. Often in scripture we find "the four corners of the earth," or "the four winds of the earth." So four beasts may mean all of the animals in creation.

"The lion is called the king of beasts and causes us to think of wild creatures; the calf's innocence turns the mind to the usefulness and friendship of domestic animals; the face of a man suggests thought; and the eagle's dignity and swiftness represents the free world of birds. Strength, gentleness, intelligence, and movement are all incorporated to stand for the world of animals." (Wilcox, ch. 4, para. 20)

Those who love animals, and particularly those who have lost a beloved pet, will particularly appreciate this part of the vision. Animals are important to God, he created them to be eternal, and he redeems them from death. This is even more clearly stated in the Bible Dictionary entry for "Revelation of John" as Point of Doctrine 4: "Animals are resurrected from the dead, and there are animals in heaven, redeemed by the blood of Christ." What a beautiful and comforting truth!

CHAPTER 5: THE VISION OF JESUS CHRIST

"And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon" (5:1-4).

The book symbolizes a wonderful story, and the story is unable to begin. What is it? The plan of salvation. (See D&C 77:6.) Each of the seven seals is a division of the story, or a chapter of the book, and remember: there is writing on the back, too! We have already read the back cover in chapter 4, but to achieve that glorious result, it is absolutely vital that someone open the book, and heartbreaking that no one is found able.

"And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. And I beheld, and lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having 12 horns and 12 eyes, which are the 12 servants of God, sent forth into all the earth" (5:5-6, with JST footnote).

Of course, the Lion of Juda, the Root of David, is Jesus Christ. Remember that time is a function of earth life, not God's life, and this vision is panoramic, so it should not bother us that at the same time we see the beginning of the story before the book is even opened, in the same sentence with the end of the story, the triumphant throne. Jesus Christ was a Lion, a possible earthly king as the lion is the king of the beasts. He has the power to destroy, but he makes himself become a Lamb, that he might be slain for the sins of the world. But although he is a lamb, he has great powers. Remember that 12 refers to "perfection in government." Having horns, he has great power of both offense and defense. Having eyes, he is able to see light or truth, and therefore direct the body, the Church. These horns and eyes are the 12 Apostles. They foresee the future, they guide our path, they defend the faith, they lead the battle. What a glorious blessing it is to have 12 Apostles upon the earth today!

The 12 Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

It is such a great and glorious thing that the Lion of Judah is willing to open the book that a new song is sung by "angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders; and the number of them was 10,000 times 10,000, and 1,000s of 1,000s." (5:9-11) Okay, that is a LOT of people! Besides it being an awful lot of people, the numbers 10 and 1,000 symbolize respectively "testimony and responsibility," and "divine completion and the Father's glory." That fits in actual numbers and in numerology: there are going to be countless hosts of people perfected (perfection = completion). They are perfected and receive eternal life by the greatness of God's plan and the willing Atonement of Jesus Christ, they are the "work and the glory" of God. (Moses 1:39)

THE FOUR HORSEMEN

Now we come to the four horsemen. Each of them corresponds to a "seal" or a chapter in the book.

First, remember that in scripture a conqueror rides a horse. This is why Jesus was able to enter Jerusalem, hailed as "King of the Jews" without bothering the Roman overlords in the slightest: A king riding a horse was a king coming to battle, but a king riding a donkey was a king coming in peace.

1--The White Horse with the Crown
"And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer." (6:2)

The New Testament Institute Manual says this horse is white, pure, made holy. His rider wears a crown, a symbol of government and priesthood. It is the temporal and spiritial conqueror, Enoch. (See the New Testament Institute Manual, chapter 55, for more detail on the four horsemen.)

"If we choose to see the white horse in more general terms, using a less literal fulfillment, grouping it more fully with its three companions, it can symbolize the idea of conquest. I lean to this reading of the first seal. This shifts the emphasis more to one of a desire for power and the unrighteous seeking of it, Enoch being a lonely exception." (Wilcox, ch. 6)

2--The Red Horse with the Sword
"And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword." (6:4)

Red symbolizes evil and Satan, and the sword symbolizes bloodshed. This was the time of terrible wickedness in which Noah and his family escaped on the ark.

3--The Black Horse with the Balances
"And I beheld and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts [the whole of the earth, remember] say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and 3 measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine." (6:5-6)

This is the black horse of famine in the times of Abraham, Jacob, and Moses. One measure of grain was about one quarter, or a day's ration for one person. One penny was about a day's wage. Therefore one person's ration costing one day's wage describes a serious famine. Barley was three measures for a penny but was greatly inferior nutritionally, and only used as a last resort. The scales symbolize the great care taken to ration grain during the famine. It was also enormously important to keep wine and oil preserved and useable for both nutritional and medicinal purposes.

4--The Pale Horse
"And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth." (6:8)

The ashen look of the dead is the color of this horse. It refers to the time of the great empires, in which death came in many forms: by sword, by wild beasts, and by famine.

As we view the first four seals and their representative horsemen, "We must be careful not to limit the horsemen exclusively to their own seal. There have been famines and plagues in the first as well as the fourth dispensation, just as war and new subjugating empires have come and gone throughout the sad disharmony of history. We are being shown the manner in which Lucifer rules the world when man gives him the ascendancy." (Wilcox, ch. 6)

THE FIFTH AND SIXTH SEALS

5--The Altar
"And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: and they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?

"And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled." (6:9-11)

Why were the souls of the righteous under the altar?

"Certain sacrifices of the Jewish religion required that the animal's blood be used in different ways...In some rituals the blood was collected in a bowl and poured out at the foot of the altar of sacrifice. (See Lev. 4.) Pouring out the blood suggests a freely willed, total commitment of life to the Lord. It was often associated with the removing of sin. The souls John saw under the altar had freely given their all. Their offering was directly related to their desire to remove evil from the world. They poured out their lives at the altar of God." (Wilcox, ch. 5)

“Where the Lord’s people are concerned, the events of the fifth seal, that period from our Lord’s birth down to 1000 A.D., which are of unspeakable worth are:

“1. The birth into mortality of God’s only Son; his ministry among men and the atoning sacrifice which he wrought by the shedding of his own blood.

“2. The spread and perfection of the Church which was set up by Him whose Church it is, and the unbelievable fanaticism among unbelievers that made acceptance of martyrdom almost synonymous with acceptance of the gospel.

“3. And then, of course, the complete falling away from true and perfect Christianity, which sad eventuality ushered in the long night of apostate darkness on all the face of the earth." (Bruce R. McConkie, Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3:482, quoted in Institute Manual)

6--The Earthquake
"And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth...And the heavens opened as a scroll is opened when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island, was moved out of its place.

"And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains..." (6:12-15)

"The sixth seal brings us to our own time and dispensation. Since we are living during this seal, it would stand to reason that we recognize our own age in the visionary descriptions of it. John sees a world where all things are in commotion, where stability is overturned. Seven areas come under this general impression as the seal is opened: 1) a quaking earth, 2) a blackened sun, 3) a blood-red moon, 4) falling stars, 5) opening heavens, 6) shifting mountains and islands, and 7) people seeking places to hide...

"I do not wish to discount the literal fulfillment of any ancient prophecy. Nephi told his wondering brothers that the words of Isaiah had both 'temporal and spiritual' fulfillment (1 Ne. 22:3). The turmoil of the sixth seal may have literal as well as poetic fulfillment, but because of the nature of the writing style in Revelation, we would be foolish to examine the literal at the expense of the figurative...

"If the scene presented to John were opened to our view, we would immediately notice that darkness was dominant. There would be little light with a black sun, a red moon, and falling stars...

"It is also a time of great instability...notice that the major aspects of creation are mentioned--earth, sun, moon, stars, heavens...Normally the earth is firm, not shaking; the stars are constant and never depart from their accustomed cycle in the night sky. Mountains are supposed to be immovable, and the moon shines with soft light...

"The reason we fear eathquakes is not so much the shaking of the earth but what that shaking produces. Buildings, bridges, roads, and rocks tumble to the ground...'Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land [indicating all creation]; and I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come.' (Haggai 2:6-7) The 'desire of all nations' is a reference to the Savior...

"'Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably.' (Heb. 12:25-28)

"In the last century, as Haggai indicated, we saw nations fall. Two of the most obvious were Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, but smaller, less dramatic examples are almost too numerous to name. When all the shaking is done, one kingdom, one nation, will remain--that of Zion or the kingdom of God.(See also D&C 84:117-19.)

"In the D&C, the Lord urges the Saints to build Zion, that they might have 'a city of refuge, a place of safety for the saints of the Most High God'...In [our] chaotic world...God has provided one mountain, one island, that will not move: 'And there shall be gathered unto it out of every nation under heaven; and it shall be the only people that shall not be at war one with another (D&C 45:69). As Saints, we need not be overwhelmed by the darkness of the seal in which we live--we need to build Zion." (Wilcox, ch. 6)

THE SEVENTH SEAL

Chapters 7-20 describe the events of the seventh seal or chapter of the book. In this lesson we skip to chapter 19. We are finally at the end of the story, for which we saw a preview in chapter 3, but one element is added: a marriage.

"Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready." (19:7)

Why a marriage? Because it is the strongest covenant known to most cultures, it involves becoming literally "one" with the marriage partner, it is something that requires much planning and preparation, something to look forward to with great joy and anticipation, the greatest event in people's lives in many cultures, a time of supreme happiness, and a union that of all unions is intended to last forever. The bride in this story is, of course, the Church of God which has become Zion.

"And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.

"And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

"And out of his mouth proceedeth the word of God [a sharp sword], and with it he will smite the nations; and he will rule them with the word of his mouth; and he treadeth the wine-press in the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS." (19:11-16 JST)

The Fate of the Wicked
Then an angel "standing in the sun," completely filled with the glory of God, calls to the vultures to come because the opposing army will soon be corpses. Unfortunately for the leaders of that enemy, the devil and those who knowingly led others astray, however, they will be cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. It would be so much better to be killed.

"Brimstone is a sulphur, a yellow-green, highly combustible element commonly found along the shores of the Dead Sea. The same substance is used to make matches and gunpowder...When ignited...sulphur liquefies and produces a sharp and suffocating burning odor that can desolate and kill." (D. Kelly Ogden and Andrew C. Skinner, New Testament Apostles Testify of Jesus Christ, p. 343)

"A man is his own tormentor and his own condemner...The torment of disappointment in the mind of man is as exquisite as a lake burning with fire and brimstone." (Joseph Smith, History of the Church, 6:314)

Then an angel will come down from heaven with the key of the bottomless pit. As we discussed in the previous lesson, a key anciently was a symbol of great power. What image does a bottomless pit bring to mind? It is a place where you cannot get a foothold, you cannot even stay in place, but must continually be falling downward. This is the fate of Satan, he who strove to elevate himself by putting others down.

Why was an angel the symbol used for the one who would bind Satan, rather than Jesus Christ himself? Here is a possible answer:

"The only power I know of that will bind Satan, or render him powerless, is righteous living...Satan had no power over [Christ], because Jesus resisted his temptations." (Eldred G. Smith, Conference Report, April 1970) The righteousness of the followers of Christ will cast the devil into the pit. Along with this representative angel, John saw the thrones again, and the souls of the righteous martyrs living and reigning with Christ for 1,000 years. 1,000, again, means "divine completeness and glory." The key to their success is found in verse 4: "They had not worshipped the beast [Satan] or received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands." "It was a common practice in John's day for devotees of the various heathen gods to markt their foreheads with the name or symbol of their god. For example: Zeus = thunderbolt, Poseidon = trident." (Institute Manual, p. 460). Slaves would also receive the brand of their master on their forehead or on their right hand. (Ogden/Skinner, p. 335)

The First Resurrection
The people who rise in the morning of the first resurrection are those who resisted Satan, who have no such condemning mark, but have "clean hands" (Psalm 24:4) and are "unspotted from the world" (James 1:27) and have been "sealed up for the morning of the first resurrection." Does your patriarchal blessing offer you this promise? A seal such as this is proof of ownership, a label placed on goods or tattooed on servants (Illustrated Manners and Customs of the Bible, p. 319). It means Christ has paid for their sins and they belong to and with him.

I hope it isn't too disrespectful to compare this to the movie "Toy Story 2." If you've seen this movie, you will remember that the key character was a little cowboy toy named Woody. Woody belonged to a little boy and had his name "Andy" magic-markered on the sole of his foot. Despite getting separated from Andy and going through a great deal of trial during that time, he is reunited with Andy, and his new friend, the cowgirl doll Jessie, who has never belonged to a child, receives the name of "Andy" on the bottom of her foot as well.

We can be sealed as possessions of Christ's, the Man riding victorious on the white horse with the label KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS if we resist being tainted with the mark of the devil as we are enduring our separation from our Heavenly Father on this earth.

The New Jerusalem
The glorious new dwelling of the righteous, the New Jerusalem, will have light like unto jasper (21:11), walls of jasper (21:18), and the first foundation made of jasper (20:19). Where I live, our foundations are typically made of concrete, and although they are vital, they are the ugliest part of the building. The very bottom foundation of this city is made of jasper, a beautiful precious stone. The city is so glorious that gems and precious stones are all John can find in our world to describe it!

"Jasper is a mixture of quartz and iron oxide...[It] is harder than a knife and scratches glass. It takes a high polish, is used for mantels, pillars and other fancy interior finishings. Fine grades of jasper are polished into gems. Jasper was found on the breastplate of the High Priest in Exodus. Greeks and Romans believed it could heal many illnesses and draw the poison from snake bites." (World Book Encyclopedia)

A distinguishing feature of a city or area that is largely populated by Latter-day Saints on our earth is a temple at its center. Surprisingly, the New Jerusalem will not have a temple!

"And I saw no temple therein; for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it; for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.

"And the nations of them which are saved [again, that's a LOT of people] shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there." (21:22-25)

THE OPTIMISM OF THE REVELATION OF JOHN

Although John was in exile as he received this Revelation, most or all of his fellow apostles had been killed, and the Church was on the eve of the greatest apostasy of all time, he wrote the Revelation with an attitude of great joy and hope. "The prophets of God, and especially the 'seers' who have seen as God sees from the beginning to the end are substantial optimists because their hope is sure...No one can read these concluding chapters of Revelation without sensing the great joy and hope that was felt by John as he wrote." (Institute Manual, p. 470-471)

President Ezra Taft Benson said, "Of all people, we as Latter-day Saints should be the most optimistic and the least pessimistic." (Conference Report, October 1974)

"We don’t always know the details of our future. We do not know what lies ahead. We live in a time of uncertainty. We are surrounded by challenges on all sides. Occasionally discouragement may sneak into our day; frustration may invite itself into our thinking; doubt might enter about the value of our work. In these dark moments Satan whispers in our ears that we will never be able to succeed, that the price isn’t worth the effort, and that our small part will never make a difference. He, the father of all lies, will try to prevent us from seeing the end from the beginning...

"The Lord wants you, my young friends, to desire with all your heart to keep these standards and live by the gospel truths found in the scriptures. As you do this, you will see beyond the moment, and you will see your bright and wonderful future with great opportunities and responsibilities. You will be willing to work hard and endure long, and you will have an optimistic outlook on life...

"The Lord will help you to make more out of your life than you ever can by yourself. He will help you always to see the end from the beginning!" (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Conference Report, April 2006).

“‘Things will work out’ may well be President Hinckley’s most repeated assurance to family, friends, and associates,” noted Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. “‘Keep trying,’ he will say. ‘Be believing. Be happy. Don’t get discouraged. Things will work out’” (Ensign, June 1995, 4).

Because the Revelation of John has been called The Apocolypse, and because it has been written in a "divine code" misunderstood by the world since the great Apostasy, the word "apocalypse" has come to mean "the end of the world." The very word conjures up feelings of terror, of doom and devastation. But the original meaning of the word "apocolypse," used by the early Saints who understood the revelation, is "unveiling." It means a showing of something that has been hidden. The Revelation of John is not given to scare us, but to teach us what we need to know to reach the happy ending of the story of the world.

"My hopes in reference to the future life are supremely grand and glorious, and I try to keep these prospects bright, continually; and that is the privilege and the duty of every Latter-day Saint." (President Lorenzo Snow, Conference Report, October 1900)

Let's read in John's own words the reasons we should be so hopeful:

"And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." (21:3-4)

At the very end of his revelation, John writes the words of the Lord, "Surely I come quickly. Amen." (22:19) "Quickly" here does not mean "right away," but "in a sudden manner." To this, John adds these words of his own, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus."

(You may want to end your lesson by playing one of the musical versions of the Revelation of John from Handel's "Messiah." It has been recorded by the Tabernacle Choir, as well as many other choirs. Rev. 11:15 is the middle of the "Hallelujah Chorus;" 5:12 is "Worthy is the Lamb;" 5:13, 7:12, and 7:10 combined are "Blessing and Honour.")

(FYI: Rev. 22:18-19 are John's copyright on the book of Revelation. He warned against adding to or taking away from his words. This may have been effective as they have been largely untainted over time, or perhaps it is just his "divine code" that prevented tampering. At any rate, it does NOT refer to the Bible as a whole. The Bible had not yet been assembled when this was written, and in fact, John's own gospel and his epistles were written AFTER this Revelation. --KBYU New Testament study television program with Andrew Skinner and other BYU religion professors)

New Testament Lesson #45 "He That Overcometh Shall Inherit All Things"

2011-11-19T13:12:00.003-08:00

Revelation 1-3; 12

See the previous post for a preparatory thought to share with your class the week before this lesson.

Hand out the five questions on "The Power of Imagery" to five class members to read aloud when asked. Hand out the seven descriptions of Christ to seven class members. Ask them to think about what this imagery tells them about Christ and prepare to share it with the class.

ATTENTION ACTIVITY: SCRIPTURE CHARADES

Call one person up front to face the class. Divide the class into two teams. Write on the board, behind the person, one of the key words or phrases from Revelation 12 below. Have the class members then try to act out the word in turns without saying anything. (Use a timer and give each team 30 seconds.) Whichever team conveys the idea to the person wins the point. Continue with a new person each time until all eight words or phrases have been guessed.

A woman
The sun
The moon under her feet
A crown of twelve stars
A baby boy
A rod of iron
A great red dragon
Two wings of a great eagle

THE POWER OF IMAGERY

Ask the class to think about the following five questions as they are read by the assigned class members.

Why are nightmares so terrifying, when we know they are not real?
Why is a story acted out in the temple endowment ceremony?
Why did Christ teach with parables?
Why are McDonald's commercials so effective, even though they rarely show the product they sell?
Why on earth did Joseph Smith say that the Book of Revelation was "one of the plainest books God ever caused to be written?"

The answer to all of these questions is THE INCREDIBLE POWER OF IMAGERY.

I believe it was Gerald Lund who said, "Of course Joseph Smith said it was one of the plainest books God ever caused to be written: He saw the movie!" But just because Joseph Smith saw many things in vision that we have not seen, it does not mean we cannot envision them ourselves. We just have to put on our spiritual 3-D glasses as we read. (See previous post.)

There are many theories that we possess two opposite kinds of thought--one that deals in words and logic, and one that deals in imagery and creativity. If we're used to the logical, verbal side of the brain, the temple can be frustrating. It's supposed to be the gospel "university" on the earth, isn't it? Well then, why do we watch a movie, rather than hear a lesson? Why can't we take notes? Or, at least, why don't we have a little class with the temple president before we watch the movie so he can tell us "this is this, and that is that" and we can learn more? Gradually, as we attend the temple more often, we come to the understanding that the reason that the temple ceremony is total imagery is that it is a better teaching method. With the technology of the movies we see now in the temple, we have even more imagery. For example, as we learned last week in class, God is Light. If we watch for light in the temple movie, we can see and feel the light through the movie and receive more depth of understanding about it.

The logical brain controls willpower, but the imagery-focused brain is where we get drive. Willpower is when we force ourselves to do something; drive is when we can hardly stop ourselves from doing something. Psychologists who help Olympic athletes or performing musicians to do their best under pressure know that if we can imagine a winning outcome, we are more likely to end up actually achieving it. God knows that, too. If we can use our subconscious, imagery-driven, spiritual eye to catch the fire and grandeur and scope of the vision John received, it can become our own driving force to compel us to the grand finish line with the winning team, the Kingdom of God. When we get discouraged or experience a setback, the images in the Book of Revelation can provide powerful encouragement to help us carry on.

THE BOOK OF REVELATION

"The title of the book in Greek is Apocalypsis, from which we get its other common name, the Apocalypse. Apocalypsis is formed from two Greek words—apo, a preposition denoting separation or removal, and kalypto, a verb meaning to cover, hide, or veil. Apocalypsis, then, literally means removal of the veil or covering. Hence its title in English, the book of Revelation (or the uncovering or unveiling).

"While many might find the title to be ironic, arguing that few books are more hidden or veiled, it is an appropriate one, for it truly reveals many things. Elder Bruce R. McConkie, in response to the question 'Are we expected to understand the book of Revelation?' answered:

'Certainly. Why else did the Lord reveal it? The common notion that it deals with beasts and plagues and mysterious symbolisms that cannot be understood is just not true. … If we apply ourselves with full purpose of heart, we can catch the vision of what the ancient Revelator recorded.' (Ensign, Sept. 1975, p. 87.)" (Gerald Lund, "Seeing the Book of Revelation as a Book of Revelation," Dec. 1987 Ensign.)

The Book of Revelation, however, was written in a sort of "divine code." (That phrase comes from my friend, LeAnn Whitesides.) Only those who truly study and are guided by the Spirit can understand it. This is a blessing, because, just like the similarly encoded book of Isaiah, it underwent very little change over the hundreds of years since it was written, as it passed through many hands. People couldn't understand it, so there was no need to change it. Even the changes made by Joseph Smith's editing are not really doctrinal, just clarifying. The book, written by "John the Divine" (divine = seer) has been preserved in its purity.

REVELATION 1

Many sources give good information on Revelation 1-3, including those cited in this post, and also The Gospel Doctrine Class website, which was immensely helpful to me when I began teaching years ago, so I will not attempt a complete treatment of these chapters, but just an additional perspective.

John bears a beautiful and unusually worded testimony to introduce his revelation:

"I, John, the faithful witness, bear record of the things which were delivered me of the angel, and from Jesus Christ the first begotten of the dead, and the Prince of the kings of the earth. And unto him who loved us, be glory: who washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God, his Father. To him be glory and dominion, forever and ever. Amen. For behold, he cometh in the clouds with ten thousands of his saints in the kingdom, clothed with the glory of his Father." (Rev. 1:5-7 JST, p. 812 of the LDS Bible)

All numbers in Hebrew have a verbal meaning. The number 10 means "testimony." The number 1,000 means "divine completeness and the Father's glory." (See Biblical Numerics.) So there will a huge number (undoubtedly many, many more than tens of thousands--consider all the millions of infants alone who have died unsullied by earthlife and are saved) of glorified, perfected saints, who have been faithful to their testimonies of Christ, and who will be with Christ in his kingdom.

"If one of the major purposes of Revelation is to give us encouragement, we receive it almost immediately. If myriads of people will return to reign with Christ--if tens of thousands are crowned kings and queens in his eternal realms--there is hope for each of us" (Michael Wilcox, Who Shall Be Able to Stand? Finding Personal Meaning in the Book of Revelation, Kindle Edition, chap. 1, para. 17).

John heard the voice of Christ identifying himself (1:10-11). When he turned (notice, it took an action on his part to receive the vision), he saw seven golden candlesticks and Christ in the midst of them. The meaning of the candlesticks is found in verse 20: they are the church congregations.

"The word 'candlesticks' reflects the King James translators' familiarity with wax candles. What John actually saw, however, was a seven-branched menorah with a bowl at the top of each branch. Each bowl held olive oil, into which a wick was placed and then lit, providing light...

"The seven churches must be filled with the Spirit that they might bring light, healing, and peace to the world. The challenge has not changed for us today" (Wilcox, ch. 1, par. 18-19). (See D&C 45:56-57 where the symbol of oil is explained to mean the guidance of the Holy Spirit.)

"John describes the voice of Christ 'as the sound of many waters.' (Rev. 1:15) I frequently ask my classes when we reach this point to close their eyes and hear in their imagination the sound of many waters. I then ask them to tell me what they are listening to. I get three answers. Some hear the waves of the sea rolling to shore, some hear a mountain stream rushing from high peaks, and some hear the thunder of waterfalls cascading down the rocks. It doesn't matter which they hear, for all suit the purpose of the poetic description. In each case the sound is a powerful one, impossible to ignore. Yet when I ask them how they feel when they hear these sounds of water, they respond with words like 'Peaceful!' 'Calming!' 'Soothing!' 'Healing!' The voice of God is powerful but instills solace" (Wilcox, ch. 1, par. 22).

"And he had in his right hand seven stars..." (v. 16)

This is also interpreted in verse 20: it is the leaders of the churches.

"In the ancient world people used the stars for navigation. People looked to them for direction because they were constant and unchanging. On the central west tower of the Salt Lake Temple, about halfway up, you can see the Big Dipper carved into the granite. These stone stars represent the priesthood, who will show us the way, just as we use the Big Dipper to find the North Star. The local leaders must be constant in order to direct their members. The Savior's upturned hand is a testimony of his willingness to succor them" (Wilcox, ch. 1, par. 24).

REVELATION 2-3

In these chapters, each of seven branches of the church of Christ is given a message, and each message follows a distinct pattern. By picking apart the pieces of this pattern, we can see the messages in a new way that can show a relevance to our own lives.

The Savior's Self-Portraits
In each message, Christ identifies and describes himself.

Have the assigned class members read their descriptions and tell how the images make them feel about Christ.

He that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks (2:1).
The first and the last, which was dead and is alive (2:8).
He which hath the sharp sword with two edges (2:12).
The Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass (2:18).
He who hath the seven stars (3:1).
He that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth, and shutteth and no man openeth (3:7).
The Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God (3:14).

Some supplementary comments:

For number 6: "Anciently, locks were hand-carved from wood or hand-forged from metal and they were large, bulky and expensive...therefore used to protect only very valuable treasure...keys usually were held only by the wealthy and powerful--or entrusted by them to stewards. Keys were typically worn around the neck on a chain, so if people saw a man on a street wearing a key, they could rightly assume that he was a man of power and authority." (Lund)

For number 7: "Amen is a word used so frequently in the Church that you would think that most Christians would know its meaning. However, many do not. Others tend to use the word frivolously, some even thinking that it simply means, 'the end.' But this word is much more than just the standard thing to say, or the appropriate ending of a prayer.

"[Amen] is one of the few words of scripture which is written in its original Hebrew form. In fact, it is practically a universal word, having been adopted directly from the Hebrew into Greek, Latin, English, Spanish, and many other languages. Found both in the Old and the New Testaments, it is also translated in different ways, depending upon the context of the passage in which it is found. This Hebrew amen is derived from the root [aman], which means to be firm or solid in the sense of permanency or faithfulness. Thus by implication, it means to be sure or true." (The Mountain Retreat; see also Bible Dictionary.)

The Savior's Knowledge of the Works of the Churches
Read these descriptions as a class and ask class members to listen with their hearts and feel whether Christ is speaking any of these words to them personally.

I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience...for my name's sake [thou] hast laboured, and hast not fainted (2:2-3).
I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) (2:9).
I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is; and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith (2:13).
I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first (2:19).
I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest and art not dead (3:1).
I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name...Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth (3:8, 10).
I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot... (3:15) .

Some supplementary comments:

For number 2: The meaning of being rich despite poverty is defined by its inverse in number 7.

For number 4: The word "works" is mentioned twice in this sentence. Is it just carelessness? Knowing the difficulty of recording scripture in ancient days, we can assume that every repetition has a purpose. The purpose here is revealed when the Savior says he knows "the last to be more than the first." These saints have increased their works from when they first began, through their faith, charity, service and patience. The Lord is pleased when we improve; in fact he expects improvement.

For number 7: This church received no commendation.

Christ's Rebukes
After receiving recognition from the Lord for what they were doing right, he pointed out what they needed to improve. Are any of these warnings applicable to us?

"I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love [passion for the gospel]. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works..." (2:4-5)
The second church received not a rebuke, but a warning that they would suffer and great deal, but it would last ten days (2:10). Remember the meaning of ten? It would last as long as they testify. But for being faithful unto death, they will receive a crown of life.
"Thou has there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam" (2:14). In their midst, there are people who would convince the saints to dilute or divide their worship in order to obtain material gain.
"Thou sufferest that woman Jezebel." David Stern (Jewish New Testament Commentary) translates this as "that Jezebel woman," or a woman who is like Jezebel. In the Old Testament, Jezebel led the people into idolatry. This congregation apparently had a similar woman, who was not being disciplined despite the fact that she had not repented. The curse to her would also apply to her bedfellows, or the saints who followed her or tolerated her behavior.
"I have not found thy works perfect before God. Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent" (3:3). This counsel would apply to every single member of the church everywhere and in every age, as none of our works are perfect unless we remember what we have received and heard (the doctrine of the atonement), hold fast to it, and repent.
This church received no rebuke.
"I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent" (3:15-19). The Savior offers his atonement to make them rich, to clothe them, and to show them the way. The price is to be zealous and repent (repentance requires effort).

The Promises to Those Who Overcome
Suggest to your class that they highlight these verses, preferably in a special color (I like yellow), so they are easy to find. In times of discouragement, they can turn to Revelation and quickly become buoyed up by the promises for overcoming whatever trials are afflicting them.

These promises are huge!!! Notice that thy seem to be in a progressive order.

"To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God" (2:7). By turning away from the filthy water, and the great and spacious building of Lehi's dream, holding to the rod of iron through the mists of darkness, we can reach the tree of life, the fruit of which is the Atonement of Jesus Christ, the greatest manifestation of God's love.
"He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death" (2:11). Through the Atonement of Christ, we will be safe from spiritual death.
"To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it" (2:17). What is manna? Pure nourishment from heaven. What is the white stone? A personal Urim and Thummim "whereby things pertaining to a higher order of kingdoms will be made known" (D&C 130:10). What is the new name? "The key word" (D&C 130:11), a key that unlocks the door to the person's true identity, divine potential, and membership in the Lord's family. Hmm. Sounds an awful lot like the temple endowment.
"And to him who overcometh, and keepeth my commandments unto the end, will I give power over many kingdoms; and he shall rule them with the word of God; and they shall be in his hands as the vessels of clay in the hands of a potter; and he shall govern them by faith, with equity and justice, even as I received of my Father" (2:26-27 JST). Those who continue until the end in this state will become kings and priests, queens and priestesses, ruling over kingdoms, with the power to shape and form them, governing (guiding and protecting) them as the Gods do. Are you seeing the progression here?
"He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels" (3:5). We're still on the same train of temple thought, knowing that the white clothing in the temple symbolizes the purification of the Holy Spirit and the Atonement of Christ. The nakedness and vulnerability of man's fallen state can be covered by the Atonement.
"Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out; and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name" (3:12). Walls, doors, stairways and windows of a building may be moved, but a pillar is a main supporting post and cannot be removed. Those who become "fixtures" in the temple to go no more out will receive the name of Christ, and will be known as citizens of his heavenly city. What is Christ's new name? A new name according to Bible traditions would relate to a change in status. When did Christ's status change? When he overcame all through his Atonement and became the Father of our Spirits.
"To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne" (3:21). Wow. This is such an awesome image, it's hard to fathom. Those who make it through the challenges of life, overcoming through the power of the Atonement, who keep their temple covenants and endure to the end, will actually be sitting on Christ's throne with him. This implies becoming as he is, one of the revolutionary doctrines of the restored gospel. There really isn't anywhere to go up from here. That's why this is Promise #7: the number seven symbolizes divine completion and perfection.

REVELATION 12

The entire chapter is found in the JST Appendix of the Bible, p. 812-813, and it is best to read it there as there are many editorial changes and even a resequencing of the verses.

If you have items that would depict parts of the chapter, you may want to bring them in a bag and pass them around the class just for a tactile relation to the subject. People remember better if they have held (even fidgeted with) something relating to the subject. Ideas might be stars, a lightbulb, a picture of bright sun rays, a dress, a moon, a bejeweled tiara, a photo of a newborn baby, a miniature metal rod, a toy Tyrannosaurus Rex or dragon, something that is red, a paper crown like from an English Christmas cracker or from a Burger King restaurant (or a homemade one).

Chapter 12 of Revelation tells the story of an astonishing, awe-inspiring woman.

The Glorious Woman and Her Child
V. 1 "And there appeared a great sign in heaven, in the likeness of things on the earth; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars." We have the interpretation for the symbol of the woman in verse 7, and the symbol of the twelve stars... The woman is the Church of God, and the twelve stars are the apostles. With these two interpretations in mind, we should then ask ourselves, "What image is this verse trying to transfer to us?" in order to flesh out the revelation.She was "clothed with the sun." She is not the source of light herself, but she is dressed in light. Not only that, but the light that she is wearing is the sun, the most glorious source of light known to earthly men, so brilliant we can't even look at it.

"And the moon under her feet." What is generally under our feet? Our shadows. This woman is so brilliant, she has no shadow, only light.

"And upon her head a crown of twelve stars." A crown is worn by ruling royalty. The number 12 in Hebrew indicates priesthood. Her crown is her witness of Christ: the twelve apostles. This provides her direct link (revelation) with heaven and the source of Light as she rules.

"The importance of this description is seen in such places as temple architecture. The Nauvoo temple had starstones, moonstones, and sunstones, These were repeated in the Salt Lake Temple and even in more recent temples, such as the one in Palmyra. In descending order from top to bottom the stones are placed--stars, sun, moon. The stars encircle the top of the temple, resting above the sunstones. The moonstones lie at the foot of the pillars. Thus, when seen together, they duplicate the description of the woman in Revelation 12." (Wilcox, chap. 12, para. 8.)

(See "The Trumpet Stone" blog for photographic images of these symbols on temples, including the Big Dipper, mentioned earlier.)

V. 2 "And the woman being with child, cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered." Those who have delivered a child know they don't call it "labor" for nothing, do they? It is one of the hardest things physically that a body can do. Those who have adopted a child can also relate, as it is one of the hardest things emotionally that a woman can do. (I speak from experience, as we have brought children into our family both ways.)

But then, as soon as the baby is delivered, there is tremendous relief and overwhelming joy. This baby is the most wonderful thing the world has ever seen! He was worth every minute of pain! We would do it all again! (But not right away!) It is possible that our joy in the baby is greater because of the pain we endured to bring it into existence.

V. 3 "And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up unto God and his throne." Who is this man child? Verse 7 tells us he is the kingdom of our God and his Christ. "The name of the child is Zion. It has been the purpose of the Church in every age to establish a Zion community on the earth." (Wilcox, chap. 12, para. 9.) The rod of iron with which he will rule is interpreted in Lehi's vision of the Tree of Life as the word of God. (See also Rev. 2:26-27 JST. Remember: the best commentary on scripture is scripture. The prophets all get their material from the same Source.)

So: The entire world will someday be ruled by the scriptures and revelation! Won't that be wonderful? At a couple of points in the existence of this earth, such a kingdom did exist, for example, in the City of Enoch. But the kingdom was "caught up unto God and his throne," to remove it from Satan's grasp. The future kingdom, however, will encompass the entire earth and become heaven.

The Great Red Dragon
V. 4 "And there appeared another sign in heaven; and behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman which was delivered, ready to devour her child after it was born."

The dragon is Satan. Why is this a good image for the devil? In opposition to the word of God, his mouth breathes fire and destruction. He is greedy and angry and hordes treasure for himself. He is difficult to defeat.

And why the color red? Red is associated with heat, with fire, with danger, with pain, with suffering in most cultures of the earth. (As are dragons).

There may be multiple meanings of the seven heads and ten horns. Heads can symbolize political kings (17:9-12). Gerald Lund hypothesizes that the seven heads may have been the emperors of Rome. In our day, they may symbolize the "seven deadly heresies" named by Bruce R. McConkie. (Read about them at this link.) As the number seven means "completion," they may also indicate that every type of evil or sin is employed by Satan.

Horns in scripture typically refer to power. Since ten means "testimony," this may refer to false testimony, lies, heresies and the power that they wield among men.

No matter the individual meanings of the symbols, the overall message is clear: Satan is attempting to rule over the earth with great power.

His method of governance follows in the next sentence: with the power of his tail, he sweeps and crushes his servants, and flings them down. He uses people and then casts them aside. It is his ever-mistaken belief that by putting others down, he himself will be elevated. But he is wrong and (verse 13) he himself is cast down. His reign is as temporary as a paper crown.

THE DEFEAT OF THE DRAGON

How to fight the dragon? "One of the most dangerous things one could do when fighting a seven-headed dragon would be to single out one head, label it the enemy, and focus all attention on its destruction. The single focus would allow the other heads to attack." (Wilcox, Chapter 12, "The Red Dragon," para. 3.) We have to be alert to attack from every direction.

V. 4 "And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she had a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore years." Michael Wilcox explains that this number, which equals the other scriptural phrase "time, times, and half a time" (see Dan. 7:25, and Rev. 12:14), and three and a half years, means a time of apostasy and trial, seeming best represented by the great apostacy, the time of Lucifer's most total power.

"In the New World, the lights went out completely with the last great battles of the Nephites and Lamanites at the time of Mormon and Moroni. The sacred plates were buried, and within a few centuries almost all remnants of Christian belief were eclipsed in the mystery religions of the Maya, Aztec, and other groups on this continent. Only fleeting shadows of a white god who promised to return, along with some distorted rituals, remained as witness of the American gospel...Yet even here, the buried plates with their precious messages would not perish.

"However, in the Old World, in spite of the apostasy, Christianity survived. Though changed in many of its doctrines, ordinances, and priesthood, many essential truths remained. Most remarkable, the scriptures survived. Some 'plain and precious truths' were removed, but what endured still carried a rich fullness. The belief in resurrection, baptism, sacrament, atonement, priesthood, and scripture, though all distorted, continued to exist...We owe a deep debt of gratitude to hundreds of individuals who preserved, copied, debated, lived, displayed in art, and passed on the tenets of Christ's teachings. The great cathedrals of Europe have always filled me with thanksgiving, in spite of their more somber elements, for they represent the triumph of the woman over the dragon. This is not to deny the condemnation of the apostate church...in chapter 17, but to give credit where credit is due and validate the Lord's wisdom in keeping the woman from annihilation. She fled into a gentile wilderness and lived." (Wilcox, chapter 12, "The Woman in the Wilderness," para. 4-5.) (For an example of this preservation of gospel truth through the apostacy, see a previous post.)

The story of the war in heaven is interjected in verses 6-13. Why? To show that the devil is always defeated. "And the dragon prevailed not against Michael, neither the child, nor the woman which was the church of God...For they have overcome him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony...Therefore, rejoice O heavens, and ye that dwell in them." (V. 7)

V. 15 "And the serpent casteth out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood." What comes out from the mouth? Words. God rules with his word. Satan hopes to rule with words. Interestingly, the word "devil" comes from the Greek diablos, which means "slanderer" or "accuser." Is this not a cool thing to know? Slandering is what the devil does best. He uses his words to ensnare others, to drag them down to destruction. The meaning of the word "Satan," which is Hebrew, is "adversary". So the dragon, the devil, uses his words, his doctrines, to oppose and destroy. Just as Christ is the Living Water, the devil releases his killing water as a flood upon the earth to drown the inhabitants.

What will save them? The answer to this is not what we might expect.

V. 16 "And the earth helpeth the woman, and the earth openeth her mouth, and swalloweth up the flood which the dragon casteth out of his mouth." The earth? What could "the earth" refer to? The laws of nature. The devil may twist the truth and put forth his false teachings that seem to make sense, but he cannot change the consequences. He fools himself and his followers into thinking that they can make destructive behaviors yield happiness and freedom just by making them sound right, but this mortal existence is not a court of law wherein the suit is won by the person who presents the best argument. Instead it is governed by actual truth, the outcomes of right and wrong actions are already in place, and the devil and his servants ensnare only themselves. The laws of nature, "the earth," swallow up their false teachings in the end.

...AND THEY ALL LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER

The great news, and the end of the story, is found in the story of the war in heaven, which is the precursor of the war on earth. Just as the devil was "cast out [of heaven] into the earth" (v. 8), he will be cast out of the earth in the end."And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ; for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

"For they have overcome him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; for they loved not their own lives, but kept the testimony even unto death. Therefore, rejoice O heavens, and ye that dwell in them" (12:9-11).

Preparation for New Testament Lesson #45

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You may want to share the following story with your class at the end of lesson 44 to get them in the right frame of mind for reading the assignment in Revelation.

When our older children were little, we took them to a 3-D movie. For one of them, who was only four or five years old, it was the first
3-D movie she'd seen. This was in the early days of 3-D and the movies were made 3-dimensional by playing two views of the scene on the screen at once which were slightly offset from each other and in slightly different colors. You had to wear little cardboard glasses that had one blue lens and one red lens, so each eye would be watching a different "movie" and as the images were sent to your brain it created the special 3-D effect. (Click here for a link to a picture of 3-D glasses and an explanation of how they work.)

Well, our little daughter was upset about having to wear the funny glasses and refused. She had never had to wear glasses to see a movie before, and she didn't see why she should have to for this one. Beside, the glasses felt awkward to her. Of course, as the movie began to play, she was even more upset because she couldn't see the movie! Without the uncomfortable glasses, everything on the screen was just a blur.

The Book of Revelation is like an epic 3-D movie. We have to approach it with an entirely different perspective than we do, say, the Book of Mormon, and if we refuse to do that, it's all just a blur of nonsensical words.

The irony of the Book of Revelation is that John had a wonderful vision--three-dimensional, multi-facted, sensory-laden, and emotionally-charged--all the stuff of the subconscious mind or the right brain or the artistic side, but the only "technology" available to him to convey his vision to us was the written word--the stuff of the conscious mind or the left brain or the logical thought process. Somehow we have to transfer the language back into the mode in which John received the revelation. If we just try to understand the words, it is a silly, disjointed story at worst, or a list of symbols and their interpretations at best. BUT, if we can transfer the words back into the images, and call upon the spirit of personal revelation available to those who fervently study the scriptures, we can experience the emotions, the grandeur, the spiritual fire that this vision gave to John, and which still carries him in his work on the earth today. To catch the vision of the Book of Revelation, we have to step out of our "spiritual couch-potato" comfort zone and put on our 3-D glasses.

Keep that in mind as you study Revelation 1-3 and 12 this coming week.

New Testament Lesson #44 "God is Love"

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1, 2, and 3 John

JOHN'S TESTIMONY

John begins his first epistle with his powerful testimony.

"Brethren, this is the testimony which we give that that which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;

"(For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)

"That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.

"And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full" (1:1-4).

This is the purpose of testifying: to bring joy to others--not just a bit of joy, but complete joy.

POETRY AND IMAGERY

John is good at imagery and poetry. After all, he's the same guy who wrote Revelation. "An important characteristic of poetry is compression, or concentrated language" (Creative Writing Now). John is not verbose (his two epistles are among the smallest in the New Testament), but as a poet, he uses words with concentrated meaning and imagery to instill in us more deeply the truths he wants to teach. "Often what causes the strongest emotions is not what the poem describes, but what it makes the reader imagine." With well-written poetry, it is not the literal meaning of the words that matters, but what kinds of intangible feelings those words provoke.

"'Poetry lifts the veil from the hidden beauty of the world, and makes familiar objects be as if they were not familiar' (Percy Bysshe Shelley). Here Shelley points out an important aspect of poetry, which is to find fresh ways of looking at things we think we know well" (ibid.).

"Sir Philip Sidney [said], 'Poetry is a speaking picture' (ibid.).

Ask the class members to take 1 minute to come up with a one-word, all-inclusive description of their mothers.

It is difficult to describe a person with only one word, and cover all the various aspects of their complex personalities. But John is a poetic genius and his subject (God) is simpler than most people realize, so twice in the first epistle John is able to describe God completely with only one word. What are these two one-word descriptions he gives of God?

God is Light (1:5).
God is Love (4:8).

With these words, John links us with images and feelings that help us understand God in a fresh way. What images and feelings do you get when you think of light? And what about love? How is it that each of these words can completely describe such a powerful being as God? I'd like to say that we'll figure that out in the next few paragraphs, but actually the depth and meaning of those words and their relation to God could be studied productively for many years.

But we'll give it a start...

GOD IS LIGHT

"This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all" (1:5).

To make this metaphor clear to us, John elaborates with alternating verses about what it means for us to be in darkness and then how God can be as a Light that dispels that darkness.

Darkness: "If we say that we have fellowship with [God], and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: (1:6)

Light: "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." (1:7)

Darkness: "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." (1:8)

Light: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1:9)

Darkness: "If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." (1:10)

Light: "If any man sin and repent, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the world. And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments." (2:1-3 JST)

Darkness: "He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him." (2:4)

Light: "But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. Brethren, I write a new commandment unto you, but it is the same commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning. Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing was of old ordained of God; and is true in him, and in you: because the darkness is past and the true light now shineth." (2:5-8)

Darkness: "He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even unto now." (2:9)

Light: "He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him." (2:10)

Darkness: "But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes." (2:11)

(See also D&C 88:6-13.)

So, to summarize, if we follow the new commandment (which is really just the old commandment) to love, we will no longer be in darkness but will be walking in the Light--Light with a capital L. Which leads us to John's second one-word description of God.

GOD IS LOVE

John uses the word "love" and its variations 46 times in the first epistle. Although by the time of Christ the Law of Moses had morphed into a huge conglomoration of rules and regulations, many of which had completely lost their original meaning, the Law of Moses was originally based on love. The phylacteries which the Hebrew bound upon their foreheads as they prayed contained the words of the Shema, the central prayer of the Jew and often the first scripture that a Hebrew child learned. They were the first words uttered in the morning and the last at night. Shema means "hear." (Blair G. Van Dyke, "Profiles of a Covenant People," Covenants, Prophecies, and Hymns of the Old Testament: The 30th Annual Sidney B. Sperry Symposium, p. 37)

Click on this link to hear the Shema sung in Hebrew, and to learn more about its meaning to the Jews.

The first part of the Shema is Deuteronomy 6:4-9. "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart." (Deut. 6:4-5).

"In Hebrew thought, the heart (not the mind) was the source of thinking, willing, and deciding. Therefore, to love God with all one's heart was to make a deliberate commitment to steadfast loyalty and unwavering obedience. To love 'with all thy soul' was the demand for the [servant] to be prepared to die for the [master]. It denoted full devotion. To love 'with all thy might' meant that a [servant] would come to the aid of the [master] with all his force, with his army and chariots." (ibid.)

John reminded his readers of this new commandment, which was just a restatement of the old commandment that had been obscured by rabbinic law.

"And this is his commandment, that we should 1) believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ [faith in Christ is of course based on a love for Him] and 2) love one another, as he gave us commandment." (1 John 3:23). "If we could not love on command, the Lord would not have commanded us to love" (Ester Rasband, Confronting the Myth of Self-Esteem, p. 54).

"He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love." (4:8).

(Please note the great information on love in the first reader's comment at the bottom on this entry.)

KEEPING COMMANDMENTS ALLOWS US TO FEEL LOVED

In John's gospel, he wrote the words of the Savior: "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love." (John 15:10).

Wait--what?

Isn't the love of the Savior unconditional? Does this scripture say that the Lord will only love those who keep his commandments?

No. It says only those who keep his commandments will abide in his love. If you have ever been able to feel the love of God, you know that it is the most wonderful feeling in the world. If we could abide in that love always, it would be amazing.

But what if you haven't felt the love of God, or if it has been a long time since you have?

First, you must check your obedience to his commandments, which can all be summarized into two: loving God and loving others. "And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in [God] and [God dwelleth] in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us' (1 John 3:24).

Second, you must check your willingness to receive God's love.

"I attended a seminar a few years ago where a questionnaire led us to a conclusion about the expressions of love that we accept. Some of us accept and recognize love when it is expressed verbally, some when another labors in our behalf, some when a loved one offers demonstrative affection, and some when material gifts are given to us. Thee were still other ways. The series of questions helped us to examine our behavior to see how we are willing to receive love. The director of the seminar suggested that each of us has the right to receive love in the way that we recognize it and accept it. His goal, he said, was that we would use this self-revelation to tell our partners how they should give love to us.

"At the end of the quiz I'm sure that I was not alone in feeling more self pity than self-discovery. No one ever gets all they want from others...

"How valuable it would be to our mental health to examine the ways that others give love to us instead of the ways we are willing to accept it. Inasmuch as we have a great need to be loved--indeed, a survival need--it seems to me that the great benefit would be in recognizing love that comes to us in ways that are perhaps not our way at all.

"God's love is perfect, but we are not. Things of the world which we ignorantly would prefer as an expression of love may not be for our best good. They may even be destructive and therefore would not be an expression of love at all. We must be so humble that we trust the way our perfect Father in Heaven expresses his love for us and be grateful for it without condition. If we don't do that, if we are unwilling to receive it, we fail to collect it. Unrecognized and therefore uncollected, the love does not strengthen us, does not energize us, does not bless us...

"I have heard the same formula repeated many times: 'A loving God would surely see that all of his children were equal in comfort.' 'A loving God would see that all his children were treated fairly.' However the complaint ends, it is the same: man telling God how to love him instead of seeing God's love in God's omniscient expression of it and being grateful.

"Gratitude is the key to collecting God's love." (Rasband, p. 60-62)

By keeping the covenant to love, and by gratefully recognizing God's hand in our lives, we then are blessed to dwell in His love. In Hebrew this love of God's is called hesed, a word which, unfortunately, has no English equivalent. It has to do with love that never fails, with compassion, with mercy and grace. It is a love that translates into action, a rescuing kindness (Van Dyke).

"Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him." (4:15-16)

The benefit to us personally of dwelling in this love is the removal of possibly the most debilitating condition of our latter-day existence: fear.

FEAR

As Paul stated in one of his epistles, "God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (2 Tim. 1:7).

At the very low point of the Great Depression, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected President of the United States.  In addition to being elected president of a country in crisis, FDR had faced serious challenges himself, being a paraplegic, and having narrowly escaped an assassination attempt three weeks before his inauguration. (Five shots were fired, four people were wounded and the Chicago major was killed.)

"In his first address as president, Roosevelt spoke directly to the mood of the day...'First of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself--nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.'

"Of course Roosevelt knew there were plenty of things to fear aside from fear itself. But he also knew that as serious as the nation's problems were, 'unreasoning fear' would make things far worse by eroding faith in liberal democracy and convincing people to embrace the mad dreams of communism and fascism. The Great Depression could hurt the United States. But fear could destroy it.

"It's an insight older than the United States itself. Roosevelt's line was lifted from Henry David Thoreau, and Thoreau in turn got it from Michel de Montaigne, who wrote, 'the thing I fear most is fear' more than three and a half centuries ago." (Daniel Gardner, The Science of Fear, Kindle Edition, chapter 1, paragraphs 3-5.)

FDR knew that fear was a grave danger, and so does the Lord. He knows that fear will incapacitate us and leave us open to the influence of the devil. It will cause us to retreat rather than to advance. That is why he has commanded us repeatedly in the scriptures to "fear not." "For I, the Lord thy God, will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, fear not; I will help thee." (Isa. 41:13)

But we live in the latter-days, the "perilous times" when "men's hearts shall fail them!" (See 2 Tim. 3:1; D&C 45:26.) How are we supposed to avoid being afraid? Perhaps, more than anything, it is the peril of fear itself that causes men's hearts to fail. Because of our worldwide media, we are subject to an endless parade of fearful images right in front of our eyes. Why?  Because fear sells. Newscasters focus on scary stories, and ask "could this happen to you?"  Most advertising is based on fear that our lives will not be safe or good or we will not be happy without the product in the ad. Politicians prey upon our fears, offering to resolve the frightening problems they present. Thanks to these "merchandisers of fear," despite the fact that we have more democratic societies than ever in the history of the world, more babies survive to adulthood even in underdeveloped countries, civil war and war between countries are both at a low point, and a longer and healthier life can be expected on every continent, we have become a "culture of fear." (Gardner)

How do we overcome the fear that is being forcefed to us? By simply and specifically keeping the great commandment to love. We can love our God and trust in him, we can love the people we fear, we can love the circumstances we are in, we can infuse love into our environment, our reactions to others, and our basic approach to life. John taught that when we are filled with the pure love of Christ, it is not possible to be afraid.

"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love." (4:18)

Mormon lived in a more evil and frightening day than did we, as he witnessed the depraved condition of his people and the destruction of an entire civilization. And yet he wrote in a letter to his son Moroni, "I fear not what man can do; for perfect love casteth out all fear" (Moro. 8:16).

We may not be facing the total annihilation of our civilization (even though the "fear merchants" may like us to think so), but this principle also has a a very real and very useful daily practical application that can literally change our lives.  If we are feeling "stressed" (stress is just fear by another name), we can ask ourselves what we are afraid of, and then we can see how to overcome that fear with love. The result is that our stress can turn to joy. Love is the greatest energizer, and the greatest bringer of peace. Those very situations that bring us stress can be sources of happy excitement or joyful peace if we can train ourselves to face them with love instead of fear.

Ask class members to share something that stresses them--minor or catastrophic--and see if the class can brainstorm a way that love could overcome the fear. Example: I am afraid of walking down the halls in the high school because I think everyone is judging my appearance. Possible antidote: Focus on others, smiling and saying hi to people who seem to need it. Example: I am so stressed out trying to keep my house clean. Possible antidote: Express gratitude for each aspect of your home as you work, for the mere fact that you have shelter, for all the items you are putting away. Example: Fears produced by catastrophic life events can also be overcome by trust in the Lord (another aspect of love for the Lord), a hope to learn valuable lessons from the experience, and a desire to love and serve others also affected.

"Anciently, the Lord spoke to Isaac, saying: 'Fear not, for I am with thee' (Gen. 26:24). The admonition to 'fear not' was clear and direct and meaningful. The promise that 'I am with thee' was equally plain and direct and powerful.

"Down through the ages the same admonition, the same assurance, has been extended to every living soul who is willing to qualify. And yet, fear is prevalent throughout the earth. It stifles initiative, saps strength, and reduces efficiency. It weakens faith, brings doubts, and begets mistrust. Indeed, it tends to impede the very business of being. How negative, frustrating, and futile is fear...

"One lesson we have to learn is that fear is the beginning of defeat." (Derek A. Cuthbert, "The Futility of Fear," New Era, Nov. 1985). (See also, H. Ross Workman, Ensign, Dec. 2003.)

"God has given us the power of the gospel to lift us above our fears.

"God has given us the power of truth...

"We have nothing to fear when we walk by the light of eternal truth...

"We need not fear as long as we have in our lives the power that comes from righteously living by the truth which is from God our Eternal Father. Nor need we fear as long as we have the power of faith...

"I have seen time and again that love of God can bridge the chasm of fear...

"How great and magnificent is the power of love to overcome fear and doubt, worry and discouragement." (President Gordon B. Hinckley, "God Hath Not Given Us the Spirit of Fear," First Presidency Message, October 1984.)

JOHN'S TESTIMONY AND ADMONITION

At the end of the first epistle, John again shares his testimony:

"And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life" (5:20).

After bearing this testimony of the Savior, he adds this curious little sentence:

"Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen." (5:21).

It seems disjointed or tacked on but actually it relates directly to, and even summarizes, the entire point of his epistle. To know God and to be one with him is Eternal Life. But to achieve this state, we must keep ourselves from idols, or from anything that may compromise our loyalty to the Lord. The key is to closely control our love. As he advised earlier:

"Love not the world, neither the things that are of the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him" (2:15 JST).

We must examine our pastimes, our passions, our use of resources, our goals, our desires, and make sure they all come up based on getting to know and be one with the Lord. If they point in any other direction, our hope for Eternal Life as well as daily peace and joy is being frustrated. We will fail daily, weekly, and eternally if we allow ourselves to be limited by fear, or if we love anything more than the Lord.

Please see the next blog entry for a little idea you may want to tag onto the end of this lesson to prepare your class for studying the Book of Revelation.

New Testament Lesson #43 "A Chosen Generation"

2011-10-24T08:04:00.003-08:00

1 and 2 Peter; Jude

A ROYAL GENERATION

In the beloved children's book, A Little Princess, by Frances Hodgson Burnett, the principal character, Sara Crewe, is the rich, pampered, only child of her adoring father, left at a boarding school when he goes abroad. She is the favorite of the director, Miss Minchin, and receives special treatment, although she notices Miss Minchin does not treat all the children fairly. When news arrives that she is now orphaned and penniless, Miss Minchin takes away all her privileges, abuses her, and relegates to her the position of a slave.

But Sara, whether she is rich and favored or destitute and despised, teaches the others, even the servant child, that every girl is a princess. "I am a princess," she says. "All girls are. Even if they live in tiny old attics. Even if they dress in rags, even if they aren't pretty, or smart, or young. They're still princesses. All of us."

She behaves as a princess herself--not a princess who expects to be waited upon, but a princess who knows she is of value, and who serves others with kindness. "'Whatever comes,' she said, 'cannot alter one thing. If I am a princess in rags and tatters, I can be a princess inside. It would be easy to be a princess if I were dressed in cloth of gold, but it is a great deal more of a triumph to be one all the time when no one knows it.'"

Our then-3-year-old daughter Camille

wore this hot pink tiara every day for months.

Write "Royalty in Any Situation" on the board.

In earthly terms, what makes a prince or princess? Inheritance.

Write "Through the Merits of Our Father" on the board.

We also are royalty, through the merits of our Fathers: God the Father, and Jesus Christ. But, as in the story of Sara Crewe, that doesn't mean we get a trouble-free life of luxury. Often our royalty is disguised behind trials, problems, weaknesses, mistreatment. Like Sara Crewe, however, we must learn to act as royalty no matter what happens to us or how we are treated.

ANY SITUATION

"Simon Peter...was the chief apostle and equivalent of the prophet-president of the Church of Jesus Christ, though he is never called that in the New Testament...The Prophet Joseph Smith said of his predecessor, 'Peter penned the most sublime language of any of the apostles' (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 301)" (D. Kelly Ogden & Andrew C. Skinner, New Testament Apostles Testify of Christ, p. 277).

There is a great deal of divine doctrine in the two small epistles of Peter; unfortunately, we will only touch upon part of it here.

The first letter of Peter's was written from Rome before the persecutions intensified there. It is centered on how saints might endure trials and suffering, a warning and preparation for the tough times ahead. "[Peter] was a man who had grown perfect through his own trials, suffering, and experiences. Tradition has it that Peter and Paul were both executed in Rome at a time of intense persecution and paranoia in Rome owing to Nero" (Ogden/Skinner, p. 277). (See also the Bible Dictionary.)

"Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; Having your [conduct] honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation...

"For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it, if when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God" (1 Peter 2:11-12, 19-20).

Being called upon to suffer when we haven't done wrong is so unfair! But it is following in the footsteps of Christ. How else can we learn to act as royalty in any situation?

"For even hereunto were ye called; because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth; who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously; who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness; by whose stripes ye were healed. For ye were as sheep going astray; but are not returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls" (1 Peter 2:21-25).

"Jesus is our exemplar in all things. His crown of thorns came first and then his crown of glory" (Ogden/Skinner, p. 278).

"Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy" (1 Peter 4:12-13).

As we learned in the lesson on Hebrews, the blessings God gives us are not always want we want and do not always come easily, but they always exceed our greatest imagining. Eventually.

The great Christian writer, C.S. Lewis, fell in love with an American divorcee, Joy Gresham, just as she was diagnosed with terminal bone cancer. They were married anyway in her hospital room in March of 1957, the ceremony being performed by the Reverend Peter Bide. She lived just three years more. Before she died, Lewis wrote in a letter to Father Bide, "We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us: we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be" (C.S. Lewis, in a letter to Father Peter Bide, April 29, 1959, quoted in The C.S. Lewis Bible, p. 1406).

As Elder Boyd K. Packer said, "Life will teach us some things we didn't want to know" (Boyd K. Packer, 1999 BYU Education Week Devotional).

"Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour...But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you" (1 Peter 5:6-10).

HOW TO BE ROYAL IN ANY SITUATION

"But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a [purchased, preserved] people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light" (1 Peter 2:9).

"Deep down all of us know our mortal limitations. We know we aren't wonderful--our enormous, eternal potential notwithstanding. Inadequacy is the human condition, and unless we tap into the adequacy of our Father in Heaven, we live in a somewhat fearful state: fearful that our inadequcy will cause us to fail and will stand in the way of our being loved and valued. Society, trying to rid us of that fear, tells us that we must feel adequate in ourselves...The belief that we must have self-esteem exacerbates the very problem it's supposed to combat: our search for self-esteem is a depressant, an anxiety producer, and a dreadful pressure" (Ester Rasband, Confronting the Myth of Self-Esteem, p. 1-2).

"There comes a still, small voice telling us that there is something we must do to relieve that anxiety. Because we do not have a clear identification of our need, we think that we must do something to shore up our image of ourselves...That golden grain of divine discontent is not telling us that we must do something so that we can feel great about ourselves...It is there to remind us that we must do something to show our humility to our Father in Heaven, so that we can feel great about him" (Rasband, p. 17).

"You might ask...'But isn't some self-esteem necessary to achieve, to accomplish things? Isn't self-esteem the means?' 'Not self-esteem,' I answer. 'Just love. Love brings peace, and peace leads to confidence" (Rasband, p. 2).

"The real need of our heart is to be close to our Father in Heaven" (Rasband, p. 18).

Nephi, of all people, should have had a great self-esteem. His father continually and publicly praised him for his righteousness, he had built a ship entirely by revelation from God which had carried his whole family safely across a huge ocean, he had a group of people calling themselves by his name--he was the prophet, for crying out loud! And yet, it wasn't enough. It is never enough.

"Nevertheless, notwithstanding the great goodness of the Lord, in showing me his great and marvelous works, my heart exclaimeth: O wretched man that I am! Yea, my heart sorroweth because of my flesh; my soul grieveth because of mine iniquities. I am encompassed about, because of the temptations and the sins which do so easily beset me. And when I desire to rejoice, my heart groaneth because of my sins;

"Nevertheless, I know in whom I have trusted. My God hath been my support; he hath led me through mine afflictions in the wilderness; and he hath preserved me upon the waters of the great deep. He hath filled me with his love, even unto the consuming of my flesh" (2 Nephi 4:17-21)

"That which we call self-esteem is a high-maintenance condition, and therefore a barrier to peace...

"All of us are familiar with stories of movie stars and other celebrities who outlive their spot in the public eye and turn to alcoholism or other forms of private agony.  Whatever good feelings they had about themselves...It left them with greater needs than they would have had had they never achieved such self-gratification" (Rasband, p. 32-33).

"For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away; but the word of the Lord endureth for ever..." (1 Peter 1:24-25). "With the heavy rains of wintertime, grass can flourish and even spread over the barren wilderness [of the Holy Land], but it is gone with a wisp of the transitional khamsin (an Arabic word for a devastating east wind). The blades are vivacious and vigorous one day--and vanished the next" (Ogden/Skinner, p. 279). So it is with earthly honor and happiness.

But despite our inadequacies and the transitory nature of our existence, "we can have peace...It comes through identifying that the need of our heart is grace, and that grace comes when the motivation for our unmeasured doing is founded in love" (Rasband, p. 30).

PARTAKERS OF THE DIVINE NATURE

"Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust [in other words, having repented]. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 1:4-8). (Remember that "knowledge" in the Bible implies an intimate relationship, not just a theoretical understanding.)  This divine nature is not something we do or develop ourselves--we are "partakers:" we get it from elsewhere, we get it from our Fathers.

Write "divine nature" in parentheses underneath "royalty" on the board.  Then add the list: 1) faith, 2) diligence, 3) virtue, 4) knowledge, 5) temperance, 6) patience, 7) godliness, 8) brotherly kindness, 9) charity.

Sister Camille Fronk Olson gave an excellent talk at a BYU Women's Conference on Peter's admonition to partake of the divine nature in which she illustrated how it could be viewed as steps along a pathway to perfection. (I highly recommend listening to this 30-minute talk, which you can do by clicking on this link, although I have given an outline here. Unless otherwise noted, all of the following quotes in blue come from this talk.)

The first epistle of Peter warned the saints of trials to come, and instructed them in how to endure. "Therefore, recipients of [Peter's] second epistle would have been well-acquainted with trials of their faith and, having withstood the attacks, would have developed a steadfast trust in Christ."

"With faith as a foundation and diligence as our sustaining effort, divine attributes will gradually develop. Peter taught that, 'while giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue.' Virtue is the natural fruit of faith and diligence." Virtue is the opposite of "the new apostacy" A. Lynn Scoresby identified. (See a previous post.) It is the opposite of hypocrisy. It is knowing the truth and living it.

"Virtue produces pure motives which, in turn, educate our actions...

"A remarkable phenomenon occurs when we make following Christ a natural part of life. We begin to understand and make connections with gospel principles that previously seemed unrelated. Paul identified knowledge as the addition to virtue. When we sincerely obey the Lord, our knowledge about him and his doctrine deepens exponentially."

The next aspect of the divine nature is temperance: self-control, the proper management of temporal things such as our time, our physical bodies, our appetites, our finances. "When temperance is born of faith, virtue, and gospel knowledge, our ability to keep the first commandment preeminent is bolstered and enlivened...President Ezra Taft Benson taught, 'When we put God first, all other things fall into their proper place or drop out of our lives. Our love of the Lord will govern our claims of affection, the demands of our time, the interests we pursue, and the order of our priorities.'"

Temperance helps us develop patience. True patience runs much deeper than gritting our teeth or counting to ten while we wait for a problem to pass. With godly patience, "we forget about checking our preconceived agenda for life while losing ourselves in helping others progress along the trail. This patient response grows out of a willingness to have patience first with God...We don't know all that he has in store for us, but we are at peace knowing that it will be vastly superior to our myopically designed plan. Such patience ripens into eternal perspective."

"We do not recognize others with divine natures by their outward appearance, but by how we feel when we are around them...The Greek word for 'godliness' suggests 'reverence' as a related term."  The godly value holy things; temple worship and sacrament service are significant to them.  They respect others and desire to forgive, seeing the royalty that is in them, just as Sara Crewe saw a princess in her fellow slave girl.

At this point, we can develop brotherly kindness. The needs of others become apparent to us, and we desire to meet them. We follow promptings of the Spirit to bless others without a second thought."The progression from brotherly kindness to charity is not a giant leap...[But] Peter teaches us that we cannot simply jump to charity. Charity is given only after we receive the perfecting influence from all the other virtues...Paul taught that without charity any of the other attributes can become self-serving or self-lauditory, 'as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal.' With God's gift of charity, the Lord stretches, strengthens and solidifies all the other virtues he has given to us."

"And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves:for charity preventeth a multitude of sins" (1 Peter 4:8 JST)

"The Christian paradox is true. Only when we lose ourselves will we find ourselves." (Rasband, p. 37). "When we partake of the divine nature, our trust in the Lord becomes unshakeable. We find no reason to question him, but only ways to better serve him" (Olson). When we humble ourselves and give our whole selves to Christ, drawing his divine nature to ourselves amidst our trials, we will find that we are indeed royalty, through the merits of our Father.

CONCLUSION

"Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God" (D&C 121:45). We do not have to be great to be confident of success in our mortal probation; we just have to be "in the presence of God," relying on his merits, living by the Spirit, driven by charity. We can be like the prophets of old, having peace and confidence despite our trials (and often because of them) if we strive to develop the divine nature in ourselves.

Here is a link to a really sweet and simple song written and sung by an 8-year-old girl who obviously has "confidence strong in the presence of God." Despite of (or because of) the trial of losing her mother to death, she shows the depth of her relationship with God: "I Thank God."

New Testament Lesson #42 "Pure Religion"

2011-10-22T13:37:00.001-08:00

James

INTRODUCTION

In Northern Utah, five minutes from my house, there is a beautiful canyon, Logan Canyon, and right along the road that goes through Logan Canyon there is a huge spring coming out of a cave.

Ricks Spring

In 1899, Brigham Young asked the Cache Valley saints to build a road through Logan Canyon to the Bear Lake Valley. Thomas E. Ricks was the leader of that group, and the canyon road was built to what became known as Ricks Spring that first winter. From its earliest discovery, Ricks Spring was very popular. It was a great place for canyon travelers to stop and stretch and enjoy the cool air and icy water that came from the cave. Everyone drank from the spring and people often took home jugs or bottles of the clear, cold water. A rock and cement drinking fountain was installed next to the cave, fed by the spring water through pipes for those who didn't bring cups with them.

In the 1950s, hydrologists noticed that there seemed to be some connection between the water level at Ricks Spring and the Logan River, which winds through Logan Canyon and is filled with fish, beavers, ducks, geese, muskrats, deer and moose.

Logan River in Logan Canyon

But it wasn't until 1972, when the Logan River froze in an unusually cold winter, water backed up above the ice, and Ricks Spring began to flow earlier than usual that the terrible discovery was made, confirmed by dye testing: the water in Ricks Spring came from the Logan River across the road, from Tony Grove Lake a few miles away, and even from a livestock camp higher up the mountain.

It was actually filthy water. That would explain the digestive distress people sometimes got after a trip through the canyon. Although there are many clear, clean springs in the Bear River Mountain range, Ricks "Spring" is not one of them.

Just for fun, you could bring a bottle of water labeled as Ricks Spring Water and ask if anyone in class wants to drink it. Point out that it looks okay to you...

The apostle James lived in the Jordan Valley, an area with similar water purity challenges. Being a seismic region, it contained both fresh water springs and mineral springs. Great effort had to be taken to keep them separate and preserve clean drinking water. (See Ogden & Skinner, New Testament Apostles Testify of Christ, p. 269).

The Jordan River

PURE WATER
"Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and freah. Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation [better translation: "conduct" or "way of life"] his works with meekness of wisdom" (James 3:11-13).

Christ is the Living Water. He teaches the ways to life and spiritual health. His truth comes straight from the heavens as clear, clean rain or snow, (revelation, including personal revelation) or has sunk and been stored deep in the earth where all contaminants have been filtered out (scripture).

"But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not and lie not against the truth. [Thinking yourself righteous (glorying) is a lie if you carry envy or strife.] This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work." (James 3:14-16).

Satan feeds us poison water that appears to be pure. He hides the truth that his "wisdom" has come up through the ground from murky river water, fields of cowpies, and lakes full of algae and tadpoles, and is therefore filled with pollutants and disease.

"But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace" (James 3:17-18).

"The wisdom that is from above" is pure religion, and is actually the topic of the entire epistle of James.

THE EPISTLE OF JAMES

The Epistle of James is one of the earliest writings in the New Testament and was written to Church members in general. James was the half-brother of Jesus, known by the Hebrew name Jacob (James is the Greek form), and was converted after the resurrection, possibly at the ascension of his Brother into heaven. He was probably an Apostle, was the leader of the Church in Jerusalem, and was stoned to death by the Sanhedrin in A.D. 62, about 15 years after this epistle was written. (See Ogden and Skinner, p. 264).

Because of its emphasis on the importance of works, this epistle presents problems for those who believe that grace alone saves--Martin Luther, for example. (See this link for a really good explanation of Martin Luther's viewpoint on James.) But the Epistle of James is a wonderful pure source of the Living Water of Christ: A book of practical religion.

DIGGING FOR PURE WATER

Assign a chapter to each person or group in the class, to dig out some principle of pure religion. Give each a piece of paper and a marker to write the principle on, or if it is a small class, give each a large Post-It note. Ask them also to identify a present-day example of the principle. As they share their ideas, you can post their papers on the board and give additional information from the comments below.

Be sure to refer to the many JST footnotes.

Chapter One

1:2-4 "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations [trials]; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing."

"No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God" (Orson F. Whitney, quoted in Spencer W. Kimball, Faith Precedes the Miracle, p. 98).

1:5 "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him."

"This single verse of scripture has had a greater impact and more far-reaching effect upon mankind than any other single sentence ever recorded by any prophet in any age" (Bruce R. McConkie, Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3:246-247).

1:27 "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the vices of the world."

Here is a simple definition of religion: 1) to serve others, and 2) to purify ourselves. All of our righteous aims in life can be contained in these two categories.

Why the "fatherless and widows" specifically? They symbolize those from whom we can expect no return favor.

And how does religion purify us? C.S. Lewis explains: "People often think of Christian morality as a kind of bargain in which God says, 'If you keep a lot of rules I'll reward you, and if you don't I'll do the other thing.' I do not think that is the best way of looking at it. I would much rather say that every time you make a choice you are turning the central part of you, the part of you that chooses, into something a little different from what it was before. And taking your life as a whole, with all your innumerable choices, all your life long you are slowly turning this central thing either into a heavenly creature or into a hellish creature: either into a creature that is in harmony with God, and with other creatures, and with itself, or else into one that is in a state of war and hatred with God, and with its fellow-creatures, and with itself. To be the one kind of creature is heaven: that is, it is joy and peace and knowledge and power. To be the other means madness, horror, idiocy, rage, impotence, and eternal loneliness. Each of us at each moment is progressing to the one state or the other" (C.S. Lewis, from Mere Christianity, quoted in The C.S. Lewis Bible, p. 1398).

Chapter 2

2:16 JST "If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth your faith profit him.

"I am often, I believe, praying for others when I should be doing things for them. It's so much easier to pray for a bore than to go and see him" (C.S. Lewis, from Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer, quoted in The C.S. Lewis Bible, p. 1397).

2:14-24 "What profit is it, my brethren, for a man to say he hath faith, and hath not works? can faith save him? Yea, a man may say, I will show thee I have faith without works; but I say, Show me thy faith without works, and I will show thee my faith by my works. For if a brother or sister be naked...(see above)...Even so faith, if it have not works is dead, being alone. Therefore wilt thou know, O van man, that faith without works is dead and cannot save you? Thou believest there is one God; thou doest well; the devils also believer, and tremble; thou hast made thyself like unto them, not being justified. Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how works wrought with his faith, and by works was faith made perfect?"

"Christians have often disputed as to whether what leads the Christian home is good actions, or Faith in Christ. I have no right really to speak on such a difficult question, but it does seem to me like asking which blade in a pair of scissors is most necessary. A serious moral effort is the only thing that will bring you to the point where you throw up the sponge [Americans might say "throw in the towel"]. Faith in Christ is the only thing to save you from despair at that point: and out of that Faith in Him good actions must inevitably come" (C.S. Lewis, from Mere Christianity, quoted in The C.S. Lewis Bible, p. 1396).

Chapter 3

3:2-10 "For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able to bridle the whole body. Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, withersoever the governor listeth.

"Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth? And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity; so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.

"For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind; but the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be."

"The Prophet Joseph Smith deepened our understanding of the power of speech when he taught, 'It is by words … [that] every being works when he works by faith. God said, ‘Let there be light: and there was light.’ Joshua spake, and the great lights which God had created stood still. Elijah commanded, and the heavens were stayed for the space of three years and six months, so that it did not rain. … All this was done by faith. … Faith, then, works by words; and with [words] its mightiest works have been, and will be, performed...

"The voice that bears profound testimony, utters fervent prayer, and sings the hymns of Zion can be the same voice that berates and criticizes, embarrasses and demeans, inflicts pain and destroys the spirit of oneself and of others in the process. 'Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing,' James grieves. 'My brethren [and sisters], these things ought not so to be.'

"Our words, like our deeds, should be filled with faith and hope and charity, the three great Christian imperatives so desperately needed in the world today. With such words, spoken under the influence of the Spirit, tears can be dried, hearts can be healed, lives can be elevated, hope can return, confidence can prevail." (Jeffrey R. Holland, "The Tongue of Angels," April 2007 General Conference)

Chapter 4

4:3 "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts."

"It may be clear that we shouldn’t ask for the wrong things, but sometimes it is not as clear how we determine what the right things are to ask for. Asking to pass a test we didn’t study for or to win a lottery are clearly on the 'amiss' side of the equation. But what about praying for obstacles to be removed in our lives, relief from afflictions, or help in directions we want to go?

"The entry under 'prayer' in the Bible Dictionary is insightful: 'Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other. The object of prayer is not to change the will of God, but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that are made conditional on our asking for them.'

"How is our will brought into correspondence with the will of the Father? The scriptures answer: 'He that asketh in the Spirit asketh according to the will of God; wherefore it is done even as he asketh' (D&C 46:30). As we grow in the principle of prayer, we come to recognize that the Lord will guide our words by His Spirit, that the Holy Ghost will inspire us with what we should pray for." (Dan Skoubye, "Prayer: The Soul's Sincere Desire," Ensign, August 2002).

4:17 "To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin."

See "Avoiding the Faces of Apostacy" in a previous post.

Chapter 5

5:14-16 "Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him."

"That faith that, through Priesthood, heals, is the same faith that remits sin, or justifies: the healing power of Christ" (Ogden & Skinner, New Testament Apostles Testify of Christ, p. 270).

"Although Jesus healed many people without anointing them with oil—sometimes even healed a person without touching him or her—it was a general practice for priesthood holders in the Church to anoint the sick with oil. While performing their first missionary labors, the Twelve Apostles “anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.” (Mark 6:13)

"The epistle of James records the most detailed description of priesthood administration preserved for us from ancient times: “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord...

"We apply hands and oil, the physical touch and the tangible substance, but the hands and the oil do not heal. It is faith in Jesus Christ and the power of the priesthood that heals.

"So why is olive oil used? Anciently, oil pressed from olives was considered the cleanest, clearest, brightest-burning, longest-lasting of all animal and vegetable oils. It was also the purest of oils and was thus appropriate for holy anointings. Joseph Fielding Smith has written, 'We find through all the prophetic writings that olive trees and olive oil are emblems of sacredness and purity.' (Answers to Gospel Questions, 5 vols., Joseph Fielding Smith, Jr., Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1957–66, 1:152.)" (D. Kelly Ogden, "I Have a Question," Ensign, October 1991).

CONCLUSION

"Ye adulterers and adulteresses [people who are untrue to their union with God], know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?" (James 4:4-5).

Are we "friends with the world" or "friends with God?" What if we examine ourselves and find "pure religion" lacking from one or another aspect of our lives? Even one dirty corner of our lives will make us unclean. What then? Are we to be cast out? Are we hopeless? Read on!

"But he giveth more grace." Grace is always available to us! "Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners [follow the letter of the law--keep the outer observances]; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded [follow the spirit of the law--live in faith, hope and charity]. "Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness [suffer godly sorrow for your sins]. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and he shall lift you up." (James 4:6-10).

This also is "pure truth": That God will always give us a way out, a way up. But we have to stop being doubleminded adulterers, wanting one foot in the world and one in heaven; a home in Zion with vacation time in Babylon; salvation on our own terms. To become truly free, we must become willing slaves, giving every bit of ourselves to God's will.

New Testament Lesson #41 "I Have Finished My Course"

2011-10-16T06:52:00.000-08:00

1 & 2 Timothy; Titus

ORDER OF THE EPISTLES

Just a little FYI here about why the epistles are the way they are in the Bible. The early Christians who assembled the epistles into the New Testament did not have access to their chronology, so they ordered them in two other ways. First,

"The arrangement [of the epistles of Paul] is neither chronological, geographical, nor alphabetical, but by length, in descending order from the longest (Romans) to the shortest (Philemon). This is the case except with the epistle to the Hebrews, which was placed last because some have questioned whether or not it was written by Paul" (Bible Dictionary, p. 743).

And a second theory,

"The epistles do not stand in the order in which they were written, but in the order of the importance of the audiences addressed. Thus, Romans comes first because Rome was the capital of the empire. Corinth was the next most important city, and so on. Paul's epistles to individuals follow those to collective audiences...Hebrews appears last, because there is good reason to doubt whether it is by Paul.

"After Paul's epistles come the seven 'catholic,' or general, epistles--so called because they were addressed to Christians generally. They appear roughly in the order of their length.

"Christians adopted this order of the epistle as early as the time of Eusebius in the beginning of the third century" (J.I Packer, M.C. Tenney, ed., Illustrated Manners and Customs of the Bible, p. 587).

(For an exhaustive article on the authorship of the Epistle to the Hebrews from an LDS viewpoint, please see proceedings from the 35th Annual Sidney B. Sperry Symposium, published online by BYU and accessible via this link.)

So...

To congregations--Romans through 2 Thessalonians
To individuals--1 Timothy through Phileman
Hebrews
General epistles (other than Pauline)

MATCHING GAME

Just for variety and to keep the class awake, on one side of the board, put up the scripture references below. On the other side, in mixed-up order, put the names of a government leader, expectant or new parents in your congregation, your bishop or branch president, and a missionary from your ward or an exemplary youth. Have the class read the scripture and match it to the person. Then discuss the relevance of each today.

1 Tim. 2:1-2 "I exhort therefore, that, first of all supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty." (government leader)
1 Tim. 2:15 with JST footnote "Notwithstanding they shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety." (expectant or new parents)
1 Tim. 3:2-3 "A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous." (your bishop or branch president)
1 Tim. 4:12 "Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity." (an examplary youth)

DISCUSSION

We should pray for our political leaders, even if (or maybe especially if) we disagree with them. We should pray at election times that those who will help us lead "a quiet and peaceable life" will be elected.
How is it that we are "saved through child-bearing?" And why did the JST change it to say "they" instead of "she"? If we "continue" and raise (or rear) those children "in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety [modesty]," we receive excellent spiritual training ourselves. Parenthood is the practicum for godhood. It provides great opportunities for service and for the development of all divine characteristics, if we let it.
The word bishop is from the Greek episkopos. Epi means "over;" think of the epicenter of an earthquake. (Is that what a bishop feels like sometimes?) Skopos means "caretaker." Put the two together and you have "head shepherd," or "chief slave." (That's probably what a bishop feels like most of the time! If so, he's doing the right things, according to the definition of the word.) The Episcopalian denomination of Christians is so named because of the emphasis it places on pastors of congregations.
There are six checkpoints noted here for believers. Which of these could you stand a little work on this week? We must "be an example of the believers in...

Word. Do we gossip? Are we uplifting in our speech? Do we encourage others and ourselves?
Conduct (the literal meaning of the word translated in the King James Version as conversation). Our children can see our character and faith by the way we live. It is said that when we are under stress, we reveal the most about ourselves. This is the condition our family members can observe more readily than anyone else. We must conduct ourselves well in crisis, small or great, as well as in ordinary daily life.
Charity. Love must be our motivation for everything, and our solution to everything.
Spirit. Are our daily actions guided by the Spirit?
Faith. Are we easily discouraged and depressed, or do we see the Lord's hand in the details of our lives? Do we follow through on counsel of our leaders? Do we trust the Lord enough to obey all of His commandments as best we can?
Purity. We must be very careful of the media influences we allow in our homes. A lack of vigilance in this area will affect all of the other areas. (Actually, that can be said of each of these six items--they are all a part of each other.)

(Note there are many JST changes in Timothy.)

THE LAST WORDS OF PAUL

The Second Epistle to Timothy contains Paul's last words. Paul was ill at this time, and probably on "death row." (Note he asks for his cloke, his books, and his parchments in 4:13). Knowing this, the two-fold theme of the epistle is especially poignant: 1) God's care despite persecution of the saints, and 2)encouragement and counsel to those who suffer trials.

The first point can be summarized in 1:12 and 4:18.

"For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day."

"And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."

The second can be summarized in 2:3,15.

"Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ."

"Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing [meting out to others] the word of truth."

PEACE AMIDST CHAOS

How does one live in the peace of the gospel while enduring the trials of life? The answer, and a great key to living as a Christian, is found in 1:6-7.

"Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. [What gift have all church members been asked to receive by the laying on of hands? The Gift of the Holy Ghost.] For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

"Fear is spoken of [in the Bible] as something unworthy of a child of God, something that 'perfect love casteth out' (1 John 4:18). The first effect of Adam's sin was that he was afraid (Gen. 3:10). Sin destroys that feeling of confidence God's child should feel in a loving Father, and produces instead a feeling of shame and guilt. Ever since the Fall God has been teaching men not to fear, but with penitence to ask forgiveness in full confidence of receiving it" (Bible Dictionary, Fear, p. 672).

The word spirit in verse 7 refers to "the disposition or state of mind brought by the Holy Ghost" (Harper-Collins Study Bible, p. 2239). Do we allow our state of mind to be influenced by the Holy Ghost? If we do, our fears should certainly diminish. The Holy Ghost will bring power. "Faith is a principle of action and power" and is always linked with hope. The Holy Ghost will fill us with love, which is the opposite of and antidote to fear. And the Holy Ghost will give us a sound mind, alternatively translated as self-discipline. Without faith, charity, or self-discipline, we cannot have peace. But with these three, we can overcome the fears and uncertainties of the latter-days and trust in the Lord with confidence in ourselves as His servants.

Therefore, we must heed Paul's warning in chapter 3.

AVOIDING THE FACES OF APOSTACY

In the early days of Christ's church, apostacy crept in, and eventually all believers went astray or were killed. Now, in the days of the Restoration we have been promised that this will never happen again collectively, but it will happen individually. We must check ourselves against these harbingers of personal apostacy:

"This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent [without self-control], fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady [rash, reckless], highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God" (3:1-4).

You may want to discuss as a class each one of these negative and dangerous attributes, so opposite to the Attributes of Christ in the Preach My Gospel handbook.

Brother Lynn Scoresby, a prominent LDS psychologist and family counselor and author of the blog Leading Families, identified three types of apostacy. The First Apostacy, he said, is getting angry and leaving the Church in a huff. The Second Apostacy is perverting the Church from within. The Third Apostacy, or the New Apostacy, is much more subtle and very dangerous. It's not really new, but it has experienced a resurgence in recent years. The New Apostacy is like a virgin with not quite enough oil. It's like a sacrifice of a lamb, but a blind one. It's like paying 8% tithing. It's like accepting a Church calling and never getting around to doing it. The New Apostacy is to not do what you say you believe. It is half-heartedness. It is hypocrisy. It is a lack of spiritual integrity. If the integrity of a building is compromised, it may look fine, but in a hurricane or an earthquake, it will crumble. So with the faith of one whose spiritual integrity is not solid. (A. Lynn Scoresby, BYU Education Week Lecture, August 19, 1999. For a treatise by Brother Scoresby on how to help our children avoid this apostacy, listen to his excellent lecture, "The Crisis of Unbelief", given August 17, 1999 at BYU Education Week.)

Paul warns that "evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived" (3:12). How do we avoid being drawn into any kind of apostacy? The answer is immediately given by Paul in his counsel to Timothy: "But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; and that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus" (3:14-15). Hooray! We are doing the right thing in Sunday School class!

Why is studying the scriptures such an effective safeguard against evil? Again we find the explanation given immediately by Peter: "And all scripture given by inspiration of God, is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect [suited, ready, complete], thoroughly furnished unto all good works" (3:16-17 JST). To summarize, scripture will do four things for us:

Teach us truth (doctrine)
Point out what we need to change (reproof)
Put us back on course (correction)
Keep us there (instruction in righteousness)

FOLLOWING PAUL WHO FOLLOWED CHRIST TO GLORY

"The Apostle Paul’s voice echoes through the centuries addressing us who are “called to be saints” in the latter days. He shares with us the joy he found in his glorious vision of the resurrected Lord, and his life stands as a witness of his testimony and as an example of overcoming adversity to preach the gospel. In his letters we can feel his passion for the gospel and his love and concern for the members of Christ’s Church. His words instruct us in the doctrines of the Atonement and inspire us to enjoy its blessings" (David Rolph Seeley and JoAnn H. Seeley, "Paul: Untiring Witness of Christ," Ensign, August 1999).

We all should keep Paul's final words before us as a goal for the end of our own lives--who knows when it will come? Maybe tomorrow, maybe 80 years from now...

"For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing" (4:6-8).

New Testament Lesson #40 "I Can Do All Things Through Christ"

2011-10-07T13:43:00.004-08:00

Philippians; Colossians; Phileman

These three epistles emphasize the importance of the Atonement in our lives, that without Christ we cannot succeed, but as we follow him, we cannot only be saved in the next life, but we can achieve peace and joy in this life, regardless of circumstances. Several key elements of happiness are found in these three small epistles. We'll work our way backwards from the smallest to the largest. If you are struggling with finding joy in life right now, pay close attention to see if you can find a key that you can implement in your life that may restore your happiness.

FORGIVING OTHERS
The epistle to Philemon has one object: the welfare of a runaway slave named Onesimus. Onesimus had been Philemon's slave. After he ran away, he found the gospel and joined the Church. Now he desired to return to Philemon and the fellowship of the saints in his former residence, but an escaping slave who was caught and returned to his master could, by law, be put to death. (See Bible Dictionary.)

This seems at first like such a narrow topic, one that applied to a specific individual, and has no relevance to us today. But everything in the New Testament has relevance to us to today, we just have to look at it through another angle, and in this case, it has tremendous importance if we view Paul as playing the Savior's role, ourselves as being Philemon, and those who have sinned against us or offended us as Onesimus. Let us read it through this lens:

"I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds, which in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me...Receive him...not now as a servant [or as someone who owes you a tremendous amount, which was what often led to slavery in those days], but above a servant, a brother beloved, specially to me, but how much more unto thee, both in the flesh and in the Lord? If thou count me therefore partner, receive him as myself...

"If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee [anything], put that on mine account. I...have written it with mine own hand [think of the scars of Golgatha], I will repay it: albeit [it goes without saying] how thou owest unto me even thine own self besides. Yea, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord: refresh my bowels [today we would say, my heart] in the Lord" (Phile. 1:10-21).

Truly, until we forgive, our peace and happiness is held hostage by the offenses committed against us. Once we give that debt over to Christ, we are free to be happy, free to live in the present and for the future, unfettered by the damaging past. (See also Col. 3:12-13.)

GIVING WHOLE-HEARTEDLY
In one little verse in Colossians, a great key to happiness is found: "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance; for ye serve the Lord Christ" (Col. 3:23).

My mother worked in the university library when she was attending college. Most of the books were downstairs from the library reference desk. If someone wanted to check out a book, they would bring the reference to my mother or one of her co-workers, and they would have to go down to the basement, look up the book, and then bring it back up to the patron. They went down and up those stairs constantly, all day long. They got so tired that they would just drag themselves back up. Then they discovered an amazing thing: If they ran down and up the stairs, they were energized, rather than exhausted!

We may experiment and find that in any endeavor in any area of our life, if we do it hesitantly, with misgivings, with resentments, holding back even a tiny bit from the Lord, we likely will get burned out. There is too much tension in our spiritual muscles, too much earthly gravity holding us down. But if we give it all and don't count the cost, the stress lessens, the joy increases, and we only desire to do more.

"If you are tired of walking, run!" (Credit for that little mantra goes to my neighbor, Gail Hanson.)

LIVING IN LOVE
We don't need to worry about achieving perfection through checking off lists and meeting expectations. We will, like the Pharisees, never succeed. But we can achieve perfection through doing everything we do and treating everyone we meet with love. Our goal in life should be to have love become our motivator in every instance, because charity never faileth, and charity will bring us peace. "Above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts..." (Col. 3:14).

VIEWING EVERYTHING (BUT OUR SINS) IN A POSITIVE LIGHT
In the first instance, Paul points out that everything works out, even things that appear to be negative. "But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel" (Philip. 1:12). Because he has been imprisoned and yet continued faithful in the preaching of Christ, other missionaries have followed his example of boldness. And although some of those have preached with "envy and strife" and "of contention, not sincerely," hoping to make things worse for Paul, others have preached in "good will" and "love." Either way, it brought attention to Christ (1:13-18). "What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice" (Philip. 1:18).

TRUSTING THE FUTURE TO THE LORD
Next, Paul avers that if he continues in the faith, whatevers happens to him--death or life--will be to the glory of God. "For I know that this shall turn to my salvation...according to my earnest expectation and my hope...Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by [my] life, or by [my] death. For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain" (Philip. 1:19-21). He would like to leave this life and its afflictions and join Christ "which is far better," but he realizes it may be more beneficial for the saints if his life is spared. He feels, therefore, the inspiration that he will not be taken yet, so that their "joy of faith" may be furthered, and their "rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ" (Philip. 1:22-25).

NOT COMPLAINING
"Do all things without murmuring and disputings: that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ...for the same cause also do ye joy, and rejoice with me" (Philip. 2:14-18).

FORGIVING OURSELVES AND MOVING ON
Remember that Paul caused a great deal of damage to the early Christian church. He caused slaughter and imprisonments, terror and scattering among the believers of Christ. He was a Carthage mob leader, so to speak. When Christ appeared to him on the road to Damascus, Paul did something quite remarkable. Besides having an immediate and drastic change of heart, and besides repenting and turning whole-heartedly to Christ, he did something that many of us with lesser sins find extremely difficult to do. Although he never gloried in himself regarding the good he did for the Church afterwards, he did give himself credit for this one difficult task: forgiving himself. "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Philip. 3:13-14). Paul could not have pressed forward if he were always looking back with shattered confidence.

President Hinckley counseled, "To any who may be grieving over serious mistakes in their lives, I hold out the assurance, given anciently and in modern revelation, that where there is repentance there may be forgiveness. Do not dwell upon the tragic mistakes of the past. Rather “'look to God and live'” ("If Thou Art Faithful, March 1992 Liahona).

NOT STRESSING OUT
"Be careful for [our modern-day phrase would be stressed about] nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Philip. 4:6-7). No matter how perfectly reasonable our most intense worries are, if we want peace, we need to give our worries to the Lord in prayer, focusing not only on those requests but on gratitude for our blessings. Sometimes it's not the big fears, but the daily anxieties that destroy our peace--being late, burning dinner, meeting deadlines. It doesn't matter which: the principle is the same. Trusting in the Lord removes our fear. As I remember one of my teenage boys (Andrew) saying, "If it doesn't affect my eternal salvation, I'm not going to worry about it." This is a great attitude.

BEING CONTENT
One of the truly great and uplifting scriptures we frequently quote from Philippians is "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."  We use it to encourage ourselves to meet challenges, to endure, to persevere, to achieve, to take risks, to stretch beyond what we thought were our limits. But this sentence has additional meaning if we put in in context with the verses before.

Paul "rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last, your care of me hath flourished again" (Philip. 4:10). The Philippians had for a while lacked opportunity to help Paul in his trials, but now they were again able. Paul was very grateful for this, but pointed out that even if he had not received the necessities they sent, he would still have been happy because he had learned to be happy in any situation. "Not that I speak in repect of [or, not that I give a lot of attention to] want; for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Philip. 4:11-13).

Sometimes, rather than being strengthened by Christ to conquer overwhelming odds or achieve amazing goals, we must be content to accept what is, we must be okay with giving up dreams we thought were important. In things that might be considered disappointments, we can, like Paul, learn to be content, through Christ which strengtheneth us.

SEEKING AND SPREADING GOOD CHEER
The "admonition of Paul," to use Joseph Smith's words, was to think upon things that lift our hearts, that elevate our spirits, things that are "true," "honest," "just," "pure," "of good report," "virtuous". We should focus on and share news stories that are uplifting and encouraging. We should actively seek to elevate those around us with our good cheer. We should promote happiness. We should be positive. As President Hinckley said, "We all worry. But the Lord has told us to lift our hearts and rejoice. I see so many people, including many women, who seem never to see the sunshine, but who constantly walk with storms under cloudy skies. Cultivate an attitude of happiness. Cultivate a spirit of optimism. Walk with faith, rejoicing in the beauties of nature, in the goodness of those you love, in the testimony which you carry in your heart concerning things divine" (ibid.)

SINGING WITH GRACE IN YOUR HEARTS
Both the epistle to the Colossians and the epistle to the Philippians were based around early Christian hymns of praise to the Savior. Paul quoted one in Philip. 2:6-11 and the other in Col. 1:15-20 (Harper-Collins Study Bible). Then he admonished the saints to "[teach] and [admonish] one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord" (Col. 3:16). This is one way to spread the gospel, to uplift ourselves and others, and to share love.

Charles Wesley did a great service to his fellow contemporary Christians and all those who followed in later years by the writing of inspiring lyrics for hymns of praise.  Altogether, he wrote over 8,000 hymns, 6,000 of which were published! Six of these are found in our LDS hymnbook ("Jesus, Lover of My Soul;" "Ye Simple Souls Who Stray;" "Christ the Lord is Risen Today;" "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing;" "Come Let Us Anew Our Journey Pursue;" and "Rejoice! The Lord is King!"). We can share in that service by singing hymns written by him and many others. "Rejoice! The Lord is King!" shares the encouraging tone Paul set in his three short epistles studied today to seek joy in this life through the knowledge of our Savior.

If you have a vocally talented class member with a strength and gusto, you may want to ask him/her in advance to prepare and sing the following hymn at a fast tempo. If not, you may want to play a recording of the Tabernacle Choir singing it, or sing it together as a class.  An excellent video recording can be found on YouTube:  Women's Chorus at General Conference.

REJOICE, THE LORD IS KING!

Charles Wesley

Rejoice, the Lord is King!

Your Lord and King adore!

Mortals, give thanks and sing and triumph evermore.

Lift up your heart!

Lift up your voice!

Rejoice,

again I say, rejoice!

The Lord, the Savior reigns,

The God of truth and love.

When he had purged our stains, he took his seat above.

Lift up your heart!

Lift up your voice!

Rejoice,

again I say, rejoice!

His kingdom cannot fail;

He rules o'er earth and heav'n.

The keys of death and hell to Christ the Lord are giv'n.

Lift up your heart!

Lift up your voice!

Rejoice,

again I say, rejoice!

New Testament Lesson #39 "For the Perfecting of the Saints"

2011-09-24T11:52:00.001-08:00

Ephesians

OVERVIEW OF EPHESIANS

"The perspective of Ephesians moves from a vastly cosmic picture of God's plan (Chapter 1) and the believer's inclusion in it (Chapter 2), to the role and mission of the church and life within it (3:1-5:21), to a depiction of relationships within the household [in our society broken into family (5:21-6:4) and workplace (6:5-6:9)], to a final description of how, with prayer, each believer stands battle-ready in God's power (6:10-20). This broad perspective binds the letter together. God's power to enact the cosmic plan [faith] is the same power available to the believer as armament. Relations of families mirror those between Christ and the church. Life within the church reflects God's larger purpose in Christ, 'to gather up in one all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth' (1:10)" (J. Paul Sampley, Professor of New Testament at Boston University School of Theology, writing for Harper-Collins Study Bible, p. 2193).

You may want to pass out half-size sheets of paper and pencils to your class members with these questions on them (and space after each to write an answer):

HOW CAN I FOLLOW THE COUNSEL OF EPHESIANS THIS WEEK?

How can I help to spread the gospel this week?
How can I use my place in the ward/branch to bring others to greater knowledge of God this week?
How can I be an example of the believers in my workplace this week?
How can I better extend myself to nurture spiritual growth in my family this week?
How can I put on more of the armour of God this week?

GOD'S COSMIC PLAN AND OUR PLACE IN IT (Chapter 1)

v. 3-12 Overview of the cosmic plan (the plan of salvation)
v. 4 Pre-existence: "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love..."
v. 5-6 House of Israel--adoption: "Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved."
v. 7-8 Atonement: "In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence..."
v. 9 Prophets: "Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself..."
v. 10 Latter-days, gathering: "That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him..." (See Bible Dictionary for the definition of "dispensation.")
v. 11-12 Inheritance in His kingdom: "In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ."

What are some of the things that are being gathered together in our day? (Scriptures, converts, geneologies, families being sealed, information about the gospel...)

Give class members 1 minute to answer the first question on their paper.

THE ROLE AND MISSION OF THE CHURCH

4:11-13: "And he gave some [to be] apostles; and some prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ..." The purpose of the church is to perfect the saints, and through the unity of faith, bring everyone to a knowledge of God. Christ united the Jews and Gentiles in His early church. Inasmuch as we just discussed all the gathering that is taking place today in the church, it may take us a little extra work to be united.

What does it mean to perfect the saints? To bring them to the stature of the fulness of Christ. The definition of that follows in v. 14-15. "That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; but speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ." The effect of these Christ-like individuals upon the rest of the church follows in v. 16: "From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love."

If the cornerstone of the Church is in place, the rest of the building will be sound. So if Christ is the foundation of our belief, we will be united. Being Christ-like is the key to unity. "Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: in whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit" (2:19-22).

Paul's prayer for the saints is a great example of how we should view our fellowcitizens in the gospel: "For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God" (3:14-19).

Give class members 1 minute to write the answer to the second question on their paper.

WORKPLACE

Terrific counsel in just a few verses: "Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling , in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; with good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men; knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free. And ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening; knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him" (6:5-9).

Give class members 1 minute to write the answer to the third question on their paper.

FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS

"Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.

"Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it" (5:22-25).

This is so opposite of our culture today! Submitting! But we are talking about submitting to a husband who is attempting to be as Christ. Christ is the greatest king of all, as well as the greatest servant of all. A truly great and benevolent king serves, protects, guides his kingdom. That is the point of his calling. Think of king Benjamin and King Mosiah in the Book of Mormon...

The best definition (outside the scriptures) for love is "The will to extend one's self for the purpose of nurturing one's own or another's spiritual growth" (M. Scott Peck, The Road Less Traveled, p. 81). The Book of Mormon teaches us that Christ "doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world" (2 Ne. 26:24).

Our purpose in family love should be lifting each other closer to God, as Christ has lifted us.

"Can you think of how [Christ] loved the Church? Its every breath was important to him. Its every growth, its every individual, was precious to him. He gave to those people all his energy, all his power, all his interest. He gave his life--what more could one give?" (President Spencer W. Kimball, quoted in the manual). President Kimball said that is what Christ asks of a husband.

The husband should treat his wife as a queen, and the wife should treat her husband as a king, while each of them views him/herself as a willing servant to the other. What a great marriage that would be! However, if it flips around the other way--the wife expecting the husband to treat her like a queen, and the husband expecting the wife to submit, it doesn't work. It must be selfless to be love.

"And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord" (6:4).

We shouldn't argue with our children; we also shouldn't let them "get away with murder." We are supposed to "bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." In other words, we should be Christ-like parents, who use the gospel to teach the principles that will help our children to govern their actions and guide their decisions. (Yeah, I know...easier said than done...)

Give class members 1 minute to write the answer to the fourth question on their paper.

INDIVIDUAL

"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rules of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand.

"Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (6:10-20).

(See The Life and Teachings of Jesus and His Apostles, (The New Testament Institute Manual), p. 353, for Harold B. Lee's explanation of the imagery of the armour of God.)

(The Church has a video clip called "The Armour of God" on "The New Testament Video Presentations" which you may like to show. It doesn't appear to be available online.)

Give class members 1 minute to write the answer to the fifth question on their paper.

Challenge them--and follow through on it as a teacher--to report back at the next lesson any effect they may have experienced throughout the week by following the counsel of Paul to the Ephesians.

New Testament Lesson #38 "Thou Hast Testified of Me"

2011-09-18T06:22:00.000-08:00

Acts 21-28

VIDEO SEGMENT

You may want to show the class the excellent Church video, "Paul: A Chosen Vessel," from "New Testament Video Presentations." It is available in most church libraries, and at this link. Begin class by showing the first 2-3 minutes, ending at the words "...bear His name before kings and rulers."

Our reading assignment begins by telling of Paul journeying to Jerusalem, amid warnings of threats to his life there. Remember that Luke is narrating the story.

"Now when we had discovered Cyprus, we left it on the left hand, and sailed into Syria, and landed at Tyre: for there the ship was to unlade her burden. And finding disciples, we tarried there seven days: who said to Paul through the Spirit, that he should not go up to Jerusalem..." (21:3-4).

Then they wandered around a bit, and met a prophet named Agabus, who "when he was come unto us, he took Paul's girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.

"And when we heard these things, both we, and they of that place, besought him not go up to Jerusalem" (21:10-12).

Nevertheless, he was determined to go: "Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus" (21:13).

A FINAL FAREWELL

Why was Paul so insistent that he go to Jerusalem? To find the answer, we need to backtrack in the story.

This is a long passage, but it tells us so much about Paul and his faithful resolve, it is worth reading in its entirety. Imagine yourself being there with Paul and the Saints and witnessing this scene, as did Luke.

Acts 20:16-38: "For Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus, because he would not spend the time in Asia: for he hasted, if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost.

"And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church. And when they were come to him, he said unto them, Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all season, serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews: and how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publickly, and from house to house, testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

"And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. But none of these things move me [scare me away from my purpose], so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.

"And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more.

"Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.

"Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.

"And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.

"I have coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel. Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me. I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring yet ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.

"And when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down, and prayed with them all. And they all wept sore, and fell on Paul's neck, and kissed him, sorrowing most of all for the words which he spake, that they should see his face no more. And they accompanied him unto the ship."

Paul went to Jerusalem "bound in the spirit...not knowing" what would happen--although he had a pretty good idea, thanks to the witness of the Holy Ghost "in every city" that it was not going to be pleasant.

Ask: Have you ever had to do something without knowing why, in order to follow the promptings of the Spirit?

THE LAST TESTIMONY IN JERUSALEM

Paul's testimony in Jerusalem was the last recorded apostolic witness there until 1800 years later when Orson hyde dedicated Jerusalem, also at peril of his life. (Please see "Orson Hyde's 1841 Mission to the Holy Land," from the October 1991 Ensign.)

How did Paul have the courage to do this? Because of his faith in the blessings he would receive for so doing: "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" (Rom. 8:18).

Ask: Has anyone here ever had to testify in a scary situation?

Paul was a truly great example of what a Christian should be. "By learning more about Paul, we become more intimately acquainted with the Lord Jesus Christ and with those men whom the Savior has called to be his prophets and apostles" (Michael W. Middleton, "Paul Among the Prophets: Obtaining a Crown," The Apostle Paul: His Life and His Testimony, p. 112).

"Paul endured many persecutions as he approached the time of his martyrdom; there are a number of notable parallels between his life and the Savior's. Like the Savior, Paul was smitten by the Jews with the high priest present (John 18:22; Acts 23:2). Like Christ, Paul was arraigned before both Jewish and Roman tribunals; both the Savior and his apostle were arraigned three times before Roman rulers as the Jews sought the death sentence their own jurisdictions could not provide. The absence of credible witnesses against them during their trials showed both Christ and Paul to have been falsely accused (Mark 14:55-56; Acts 25:7). And, like Pilate, Agrippa was 'almost persuaded' (Acts 26:28) and would have freed Paul had it not been for the Jews and his consideration of Caesar (John 19:12; Acts 26:32). Although Paul was not crucified, he was stoned and left for dead outside the city. Like Christ, who was slain outside the city gate and, though placed in a tomb, did not see corruption (Psalm 16:10), Paul also arose and continued his minstery (Acts 14:19-2)" (Middleton, p. 127).

We can briefly tell the storyline of Paul's final experience in Jerusalem by reading the chapter headings to Acts 21-25:

"Paul journeys to Jerusalem. He is persecuted, arrested, and bound. Paul recounts the story of his conversion and also tells of seeing Jesus in a vision. He is accorded some privileges as a Roman citizen. Paul [is] smitten at Ananias' order. The Lord again appears to Paul. Forty* Jews plot his death. He is delivered over to Felix. Paul is accused of sedition. He answers in defense of his life and doctrine. He teaches Felix of righteousness, temperance, and the judgment to come. Paul, before Festus, appeals unto Caesar. Agrippa desires to hear Paul." (*For the symbolic meaning of the number forty, see a previous post.)

VIDEO SEGMENT:

Show the next part of the video, which depicts Acts 26:1-29. Stop at "...except these bonds." This is about 7 minutes long.

This video does not well depict what Paul actually looked and sounded like, according to what Joseph Smith described (he was short, beady-eyed, dark, and had a high-pitched voice) but his spirit is well-depicted.

If you are concerned about your class's attention wandering during the video, bring treats and ask the class to pay close attention, because you will be giving a prize for answering the trivia question at the end. Watch the video ahead of time and choose something (or more than one thing) to be the trivia question(s). In the end, those who answer correctly get treats.

THE JOURNEY TO ROME

Because of his appeal to Caesar, Paul was sent with an armed entourage to Rome. He could have been freed had he not made this appeal (Acts 26:32), so why did he do it? To obey his Savior, Jesus Christ, who had appeared to him as he was in prison. "And the night following, the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome" (Acts 23:11).

Have you ever noticed how the Lord issues the command to "be of good cheer" just at that point when life seems most difficult? If it's a commandment, it must be possible to obey it, but often we discard the great blessings available to us through cheerfulness and hopefulness.

"Your level of spirituality is...directly related to how well you fill the Lord’s commandments to 'Be of good cheer' and 'Lift up your heart and rejoice' (D&C 31:3). How many times in the scriptures did the Lord command us to be of good cheer? He didn’t say, 'Be of good cheer if everything is going well, if you have enough money to pay all your bills, if your biorhythms are up,' or whatever. No. For us to be of good cheer is a commandment and not merely a suggestion" (Joe. J. Christensen, "Ten Ideas to Increase Your Spirituality," Ensign, March 1999.) (See also Marvin J. Ashton, "Be of Good Cheer," April 1986 General Conference; Jeffrey R. Holland, "This, The Greatest of All Dispensations," Liahona, July 2007; Neal A. Maxwell, "Be of Good Cheer," October 1982 General Conference; ).

Ask: If Paul could be of good cheer, headed for a mission that was mostly going to be a failure, and which he knew would end in his execution, could we try a little harder to be of good cheer through our challenges?

"Paul, in a perilous voyage, travels toward Rome. An angel comforts him. He uses the gift of seership. He is shipwrecked" (Acts 27 chapter heading).

Luke had been among those who begged Paul not to go, but as a faithful servant of the Lord and friend of Paul's, he traveled with him through the perilous circumstances, including the shipwreck (Ogden/Skinner, New Testament Apostles Testify of Christ, p. 109). Of course, the Lord would have needed a witness to testify of Paul's last days, and Luke, as we know, fulfilled his calling as a witness for generations to come, still witnessing now, over two thousand years later. He writes

"And so it came to pass, that they [the crew of the ship] escaped all safe to land. And when they were escaped, then they knew that the island was called Melita. And the barbarous people shewed us no little kindness: for they kindled a fire, and received us every one, because of the present rain, and because of the cold. And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand. And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live. And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm.

"Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god.

"In the same quarters were possessions of the chief man of the island, whose name was Publius; who received us, and lodged us three days courteously. And it came to pass, that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux [dysentery]: to whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him. So when this was done, others also, which had diseases in the island, came, and were healed: who also honoured us with many honours; and when we departed, they laded us with such things as were necessary" (Acts 28:1-10).

THE FINAL TESTIMONY IN ROME

The journey eventually continued to Rome, where Paul testified to the Jewish leaders as commanded (Acts 28:16-23), fulfilling Isaiah's prophecy that only those who desired would hear and understand (Acts 28:24-28), and where he testified for two years while living under house arrest (Acts 28:29-31).

The rest of the story is not found in the Bible, however early historical documents, such as the Acts of Paul, report that Paul was released by Caesar, allowed to do more missionary work, then arrested and imprisoned again, and finally beheaded in Rome under the hand of Nero around 65-67 A.D. Eusebius, another early historian, reported that Peter was crucified by Nero during the same time period (Ogden/Skinner, p. 224).

VIDEO SEGMENT

Show the final part of the video, which is under 2 minutes long. If you prepared trivia questions, ask them now and reward those who answer correctly.

CONCLUSION

"Just before the end of his ministry, Paul wrote a letter to Timothy...After exhorting Timothy to the utmost of diligence, he expressed the realization that his own mission had been completed. He said, 'For I am now ready to be offered and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight; I have finished my course; I have kept the faith' (2 Tim. 4:6-7).

"How inspiring are these words when they come at the end of such a life of outstanding devotion and constancy. He was soon to go to Rome to be beheaded. But even in his death, his determination never faltered, and the fervor of his faith shows no sign of any decrease from that first day when blinded and stunned, he said, 'Lord what wilt thou have me do?' And I like to think of Paul on that day, when the ax of the executioner granted him the final release from his earthly labors when he should go to stand a second time before Jesus of Nazareth and I imagine that there will be very few, if any, men who will ever stand before their Maker with greater cause to rejoice than he. And when we come to that point in our lives, and have cause to reflect on the fight we have fought and the course we have run, how insignificant will be the money we have made or the ease we have enjoyed or the affluence we have attained.

"Life was never intended to be only a pleasure trip. It is also a mission, a conquest, a testing, and how bitter must be the final remorse of any wasted life. May God help us to develop the courage, the industry and dedication to live his answers to the great Apostle's question 'Lord what wilt thou have me do?'" (Sterling W. Sill, "Dedication," Church News, April 22, 1967).

Ask the class to think of one way in which they can show just a little more dedication to the Lord this week. Remind everyone that they never know when their turn will come to stand before the Savior and declare whether they have "fought a good fight" and "kept the faith."

New Testament Lesson #37 Jesus Christ: "The Author and Finisher of Our Faith"

2011-09-09T13:17:00.008-08:00

Hebrews

Have a bowl of small treats, such as mini chocolate bars, on display on the table. Don't mention them or answer any questions about them, but don't allow anyone to have one.

If the book of Hebrews was studied and understood by the other Christian sects of the world today, it would change their beliefs and doctrines drastically. Here is a very general outline of Hebrews.

WITNESSING OF CHRIST (CHAPTERS 1-6)

Paul's primary calling was to bear witness of Christ. Therefore, Paul opens every single epistle by witnessing of the godhead and what they are like. In this epistle, he opens with the most explicit description of all: Jesus Christ is

Heavenly Father's Son
Heir of all things
Creator of the worlds
The brightness of his Father's glory (a much expanded "apple of his eye" statement)
The express image of his Father's person.

All of chapters 1 and 2 are devoted to teaching about Christ's character and calling.

An allusion to the following section is made in 2:17--He became part mortal in order that he might become a "merciful and faithful high priest." 4:14-15--We have a high priest who understands us.

What does it mean to say that he was a high priest? Well, as you can imagine, if you have been paying attention the past few weeks and learned of Paul's other epistles, it is going to have to do with the Atonement.

A MERCIFUL AND FAITHFUL HIGH PRIEST (CHAPTERS 7-10)

Chapters 7-9 detail the duties of the high priests of the Old Testament and explain that all of their responsibilities were types of Christ--in other words, they symbolized and foreshadowed Christ and his Atonement. Foreshadowing is put in literature to allude to an important event later in the story. Foreshadowing in the Old Testament is to explicitly point the people to Christ.

Melchizedek was the greatest high priest and the greatest type of Christ.

"For this Melchesedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace" (7:1-2).

The rest of chapter 7 tells about high priests of the Aaronic Priesthood, under the Law of Moses, compared to Christ and the Melchizedek Priesthood. Ordination to the Melchizedek Priesthood depended upon personal righteousness, not lineage, as did the Aaronic. (See v. 3.) (Be sure to note the three large JST passages in the footnotes.)

The summary is found in 8:1-4 (with JST footnote): "Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: where it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer. Therefore while he was on the earth, he offered for a sacrifice his own life for the sins of the people. Now every priest under the law, must needs offer gifts, or sacrifices, according to the law."

The high priests, under the Law of Moses, had a tabernacle or a temple (9:2). Josephus, the ancient Jewish historian, reported that Melchizedek had a temple (Ogden/Skinner, New Testament Apostles Testify of Christ, p. 255). Within this temple, once a year, the high priest would enter the Holy of Holies alone in behalf of the people, to offer a sacrifice for their sins (9:3-7). This was symbolic only; he could not actually pay for the sins of the people.

"But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come" [isn't that a nice phrase: "an high priest of good things to come"] "by a greater and more perfect tabernacle [his body], not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us." (9:11-12). He sacrificed his own blood, and he entered, not just the Holy of Holies, but what the Holy of Holies symbolized: Eternal Life.

The result of this for us is found in 10:17-22: "And [our] sins and iniquities will [he] remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin [no more need for the earthly high priest to offer blood sacrifices]. Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest [the Holy of Holies, or Eternal Life] by [because of] the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh [his bodily sacrifice provides the entryway for us to enter that Holy of Holies, as the veil in the temple does] and having an high priest [Christ] over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts [purified] from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water [the Living Water of Jesus Christ's atonement]."

The arch shows the relationship between the concepts taught in Hebrews. In his teachings about the Melchizedek Priesthood, Paul links back to his witness of Christ, calling Christ the Great High Priest.

FAITH (CHAPTER 11)

First we find a definition of faith, or perhaps the formula under which faith grows: "Now faith is the substance [assurance or guarantee] of things hoped for, the evidence [proof] of things not [yet] seen" (11:1).

"The assurance is founded upon a correct understanding about and trust in God and enables us to press forward into uncertain...situations...The witness we obtained after the trial of our faith is the evidence that enlarges and strengthens our assurance...Assurance leads to action and produces evidence" (David A. Bednar, CES talk given February 3, 2006). So as something tries our faith, and our trust in God is rewarded, we have more proof that God is there and that he helps us, and so the next time, our faith has a greater assurance. This cycle continues throughout our lives, if we continue to exercise faith.

Following this definition or formula, we are given 18 great examples of faith. "For by [faith] the elders [ancestors, forebears] obtained a good report [a beneficial result]" (2:2).

You may want to ask your class to look over vs. 3-40 and see how many examples of faith they can find.

The greatest and first example, of course, was Christ. We speak of the necessity of having faith in Christ, but Christ also exercised faith, because faith is the principle upon which the Priesthood works.

"Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God [Christ], so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. (Things were physically formed from spiritual creations or ideas.)
"By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain..." (Abel's sacrifice was "more excellent" than Cain's in that it was in exact obedience to God's command, and in that it symbolized Christ's atonement. Cain made up his own sacrifice, which symbolized nothing.)
"By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found [on the earth any longer], because God had translated him; for before his translation he had this testimony[:] that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please him; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." This perfectly matches Joseph Smith's first Lecture on Faith: That we must know God, know his character, and know that our lives are pleasing to him in order to exercise faith.
Noah
Abraham
Sara
Isaac
Jacob
Joseph
Moses
Joshua (walls of Jericho)
Rahab
Gideon
Barak
Samson
Jephthae
David
Samuel

The stories of all these faithful people can be found by following the footnotes.

Ask your class whether they have faith in you as a teacher and your willingness and ability to give them a treat. Undoubtedly, they will all say they do in hopes of getting a treat. Give most of the class members a small treat, like a bite-size chocolate bar. Ignore the rest of the class. Everyone will protest loudly, but continue with the lesson.

Note that faith does not always immediately produced the hoped-for results. Although some "through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions...received their dead raised to life again..." (11:33-35), "others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection (JST says "first resurrection"): and others had trials of cruel mockings and scourgings...they were stoned, they were sawn asunder...And these all, having obtained a good report [satisfactory result--can this be a satisfactory result?] through faith, received not the promise..." (11:35-39).

What? Is it a satisfactory result to not receive the "promise," the answer you wanted?

Yes, in fact, it's always more than satisfactory because if God does not give the requested blessing, it is because he has prepared a better one.

"...God having provided some better things for them through their sufferings, for without sufferings they could not be made perfect." (11:40 JST footnote).

Now ask those class members who didn't get a treat before whether they still have faith in your desire and ability to give them a treat. They will say yes in hopes of a treat. Give them a full-size candy bar. Explain that often God has better blessings in mind for us than we have for ourselves, but he expects us to exercise our faith in patience and wait for the greater blessings.

And the message is summarized (in the next chapter) with an injunction to follow the perfect example of faith: Jesus Christ. "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience (patience and faith are inextricably connected) the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author (originator--see 11:3 regarding his faith to create our world) and finisher of faith (who made it possible for us to be finished, perfected); who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God" (12:1-2). (Notice the word "our" in "finisher of our faith" is in italics, indicating that the King James translators added it in, so I have taken it out. Christ is the author and finisher of faith itself, not just our faith.) (See also 12:11.)

ENCOURAGEMENT TO FOLLOW CHRIST (CHAPTERS 12-13)

Paul was an apostle, and therefore a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. In every epistle he shows the proper function of his priesthood calling. (See D&C 121:36, 41-44.) Paul had the "doctrine of the priesthood distilled upon his soul." Just as every epistle of Paul the Apostle begins with his witness of Christ, every one is also filled with Paul the High Priest "maintaining power" by "persuasion, long-suffering, gentleness, meekness, and [the summary of these:] love unfeigned;" some of them with Paul "reproving..with sharpness as moved upon by the Holy Ghost," and all of them "showing afterwards an increase of love." Every epistle contains (usually at the end) an encouragement--a blessing--a pep talk. Paul knew that encouragement was a powerful motivator and a necessary tool of priesthood authority.

Paul gave some truly great "pep talks" that we may want to reread ourselves from time to time. If King James' English had used exclamation points, I have the feeling Paul's writings would be full of them.

As a teacher, you may want to write up each of these on a little handout or fridge magnet, put them in a basket, and let each student randomly choose one out to read, and then to keep and take home to encourage himself throughout the coming week. There are plenty of others which you can choose from in Paul's writings, but here are a few:

"Be content with such things as ye have; for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Heb. 13:5).
"Stand fast in the faith" (1 Cor. 16:13).
"I have confidence in you" (Gal. 5:10).
"Put on the whole armour of God" (Eph. 6:13-18).
"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Philip. 4:13).
"Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies" (Col. 3:12-15).
"Ye are all the children of light" (1 Thess. 5:5).
"We have confidence in the Lord touching you that you both do and will do the things which we command you" (2 Thess. 3:4).
"Fight the good fight of faith" (1 Tim. 6:12).
"Run with patience the race the race that is set before you" (Heb. 12:2).
"Look unto Jesus the author and finisher of faith" (Heb. 12:3)
"Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord" (Heb. 12:14).
"Be not forgetful to entertain strangers; for thereby some have entertained angels unawares" (Heb. 13:2).
"The Lord is my helper" (Heb. 13:6).