1 & 2 Timothy, Titus: "I Have Finished My Course"

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...

1. To congregations--Romans through 2 Thessalonians
2. To individuals--1 Timothy through Phileman
3. Hebrews
4. 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. 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)
2. 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)
3. 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)
4. 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

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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...
1. Word.  Do we gossip? Are we uplifting in our speech? Do we encourage others and ourselves?
2. 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.
3. Charity.  Love must be our motivation for everything, and our solution to everything.
4. Spirit.  Are our daily actions guided by the Spirit?
5. 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?
6. 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:

1. Teach us truth (doctrine)
2. Point out what we need to change (reproof)
3. Put us back on course (correction)
4. 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).

Old Testament Lesson #48 "The Great and Dreadful Day of the Lord"

Zechariah 10-14; Malachi

INTRODUCTION

What do a coin, an argument, and the state line have in common?  (Wait for response.) They all have two sides--which leads us right into our topic, the Second Coming.  "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord" (Malachi 4:5).  The Second Coming will have two sides:  it will be great on the one side, and dreadful on the other.

It is reported that President Faust was speaking at a regional Priesthood meeting.  At the end of the meeting he opened up the session for questions.  Someone raised his hand and asked what the Brethren knew about when the Second Coming would occur.  President Faust asked the man what priesthood he held.  The man said he was a high priest.  President Faust said, "Then I will fill you in on what the Brethren know:  (pause)  We haven't a clue."  But then he added, "Go to your High Priest's quorum next Sunday; I'm sure someone there will know."  (Story told by Scott B. Marsh at BYU Education Week, August 2001)

But even though President Faust didn't know when the Second Coming would be, it can't be too far away.  President Benson said, "This is the last and great dispensation in which the great consummation of God's purposes will be made, the only dispensation in which the Lord has promised that sin will not prevail.  The Church will not be taken from the earth again.  It is here to stay.  The Lord has promised it and you are a part of that Church and kingdom--the nucleus around which will be builded the great kingdom of God on the earth.  The kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God on the earth will be combined together at Christ's coming--and that time is not far distant.  How I wish we could get the vision of this work, the genius of it, and realize the nearness of that great event.  I am sure it would have a sobering effect upon us if we realized what is before us."  This was originally said in the '80's and was repeated by President Hinckley in 1992 in the October General Conference.  (Ensign, Nov. 1992, p. 4)

THE NEW APOSTACY

The Second Coming is called "the great and dreadful day of the Lord."  It is two-sided, just like the coin and the argument.  On the one side, it will be great for the righteous, and on the other it will be dreadful for the wicked.  Of course, it's going to be great for all of us, because we are members of His Church, right?  Well, that depends on what kind of members of the Church we are. 

Christ told many parables about the Second Coming and one of them was the Parable of the Ten Virgins.  (Read Matt. 25:1-13.)  The most important thing to remember about this parable is that it is the Parable of the Ten Virgins, not the Parable of the Five Virgins and the Five Harlots!  All ten were members of the Church, members of the "wedding party."  All ten had lamps of testimony.  But five had let their lamps get low on oil, and while waiting for the "bridegroom" (the Second Coming), they were extinguished altogether.  They were drifting off to sleep and didn't even realize it was happening until it was gone!  They were victims of what Lynn Scoresby calls "The New Apostacy" (A. Lynn Scoresby, BYU Education Week Lecture, August 19, 1999).

Malachi warned of this type of apostacy.  "A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my [respect]? saith the Lord of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name.  And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?  Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee?  In that ye say, The table of the Lord is contemptible.  And if ye offer the blind [lamb] for the sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick [animals], is it not evil?" (Mal. 1:6-8) 

What is the accusation?  Perverted obedience.  It's no sacrifice to give the Lord the leftovers, the things that we didn't need anyway, the sick animals that we couldn't have eaten or sold.

"Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them.  Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts.  But ye said, Wherein shall we return? [What did we do wrong?]  Will a man rob God?  Yet ye have robbed me.  But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee?  In tithes and offerings" (Mal. 3:7-8). 

What is the accusation?  It's more than just not paying tithes.  It's not recognizing that everything belongs to God and should go for the good of His kingdom; that we are not entitled owners, but simply stewards.

"Your words have been stout against me, saith the Lord.  Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against thee?  Ye have said, It is vain to serve God; and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts?  And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered" (Mal. 3:13-15). 

What is the accusation?  Envying those who are not members of the church, or who are not active in their membership.  Who would do that?  Most of us at one time or another.  We get tired of church service and look at the "easier" lives of our nonmember neighbors who get to sleep in on Sunday mornings and don't have as many rules to follow.  We don't recognize the tremendous blessings that have entered our lives through our service to the Lord and our obedience to His commandments.  When something happens to us that we term to be a tragedy, we shout angrily at the Lord, "Hey!  I've been active in the church all my life!  I've read the scriptures, said my prayers, served a mission, gone to the temple, lived the Word of Wisdom!  Why did I get cancer?  Why did my house burn down?  Why did my daughter die in a car crash?  Why did my son go astray?  Look at my neighbor:  His life is perfect, and he's never gone to church!  I have been cheated!"  Instead of trusting the Lord's long-term plan for our lives and looking for lessons and blessings in trials, we blame Him for what we view as injustice or inattention.

THE DANGER OF HYPOCRISY

Let's look at another parable.  "A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard.  He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.  And he came to the second, and said likewise.  And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.  Whether of them twain did the will of his father?" (Matt. 21:28-31).

Brother Scoresby defines the First Apostacy as getting angry and leaving the Church in a huff.  The Second Apostacy, he says, is to pervert the Church from within.  The Third Apostacy, or the New Apostacy, is much more subtle.  It's not really new, but it has experienced a resurgence in recent years.  It's 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.

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin said, "Some people are weak in their faith and testimonies but are not even aware of how precarious their situation is.  Many of them likely would be offended at the suggestion."  He explains what their problem is: "They raise their right hand to sustain Church leaders and then murmur and complain when a decision [made by those Church leaders] does not square with their way of thinking.  They claim to be obedient to God's commandments but do not feel at all uncomfortable about purchasing food at the store on Sunday and then asking the Lord to bless it.  Some say they would give their lives for the Lord, yet they refuse to serve in the nursery.

"The Savior spoke very explicity about people who 'draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me' (Isa. 29:13).  His words were: 'Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."  (Joseph B. Wirthlin, "Spiritual Bonfires of Testimony," Ensign, November 1992)

Brother Scoresby notes that when there is a conflict between your belief and your action--in other words, hypocrisy--the action wins; the brain will eventually adjust the belief to match the action.  The value of other beliefs in the brain are also compromised when one belief is overridden by action.  Over time, the individual continues to lose control over his own behavior.  This is why Christ condemned hypocrisy so soundly.  It is a powerful sin because it decreases integrity and eventually leads to apostacy.  It compromises the soundness of the spirit, it undermines the foundation of faith.

DEVELOPING SPIRITUAL INTEGRITY

How can we develop spiritual integrity, or help our children do it?  Most of us as children, if we were in good homes, developed the foundation for integrity, which forms the foundation upon which we can build spiritual integrity.  (This chart is my interpretation of the principles taught by Lynn Scoresby.) 

Keep in mind, these stages overlap, and we are often working on several of them at once.

Development of Personal and Spiritual Integrity
1. Adapting emotional behavior
    First, we learned to adapt our emotional behavior to the situation. 
    As infants we were more excited to see our mothers than to see a
    stranger, for example.
2. Adjusting language to situation
    Then we learned to adjust our language to different situations,
    such as learning to be reverent in Primary.
3. Self-regulation
    And we learned how to regulate ourselves in sports or in playing
    games or in restaurants to adhere to the rules or the social
    expectations.  Most children have reached this stage by about
    age five.  

At stage 4, we can begin to develop our spiritual integrity:

4. Formation and application of conscience
    "Put your trust in that spirit that leadeth to do good..."
     (D&C 11:12)
    The next step is to learn to listen to our conscience and recognize
    the direction of the Spirit.  This is the stage we would hope to
    have children reach by the age of accountability when they are
    baptized.  We continue to build on the ability to hear and follow
    the guidance of the Spirit throughout our lives.
5. Accurate view of self
    "I show unto men their weakness..." (Ether 12:27)
    We must also be able to recognize the truth about ourselves,
    without being afraid of what we might find, and then go to the
    Lord with repentant hearts.
6. Practice and internalize beliefs
    "Write it in your hearts..." (Prov. 3:1-4)
    Over the course of our lives, we must daily internalize our beliefs
    through our experiences; we must practice obedience to God
    until it becomes "second nature."
7. Change circumstances to match belief
    "Faith to move mountains..."  (Prov. 3:5; Matt. 21:21)
    Then we gain the ability to change circumstances based on our
    beliefs, rather than changing our beliefs to fit the circumstances;
    we use our faith in Jesus Christ to work for improvement in our
    world, to heal, to receive answers to prayer, to exercise the gifts
    of the Spirit, to change lives, even to work miracles.
8. Integrity and compassion
    "This is my work and my glory..." (3 Ne. 28:9-10; Moses 1:39)
    Finally, we reach a state of spiritual integrity: behavior that is
    consistent with belief.  In this stage, we truly live with charity
    and peace, wherein we love God so much that, not only do we
    trust Him, but we are one in purpose with Him, meaning that our
    top priority is always the temporal welfare and spiritual growth of
    those within our influence.  This is the effect of a celestialized
    person.

If we look carefully at ourselves, we may be able to find what is holding us back.  Instead of the positive development noted above, we may be stymied by acting in ways that are detrimental to our spiritual integrity, such as in the examples below.

4. Formation and application of conscience.
    We don't always listen to the Holy Ghost, trust what it says to do,
    or follow through on promptings.
5. Accurate view of self. 
    We are too prideful to recognize any error, or don't want to go
    through the storm of repentance to get to the peace of
    forgiveness.
6. Practice and internalize beliefs.
    We pick and choose which commandments to keep, or we keep
    them under our own terms like Cain did when he sacrificed grain
    instead of a lamb (Gen. 4:3-5).  We keep the commandments
    only if it doesn't require us to give up anything important, like
    offering a blind lamb as a sacrifice (Mal. 1:8).  We don't think the
    Brethren know what they're talking about it regarding some of
    their counsel to us, or we think we are an exception.
7. Change circumstances to match belief.
    We say we have faith in Jesus Christ, but we don't believe He
    can or will help us with this particular problem/church calling/
    weakness/sin/relationship. We look at our planner each morning
    and freak out, rather than trusting the Lord to guide us to do the
    most important things.  We second-guess the Lord's wisdom,
    and try to tell Him what to do in our prayers, rather than seeking
    to know His will.  We interpret unplanned events (accidents,
    illnesses, financial losses, etc.) to be tragedies, rather than
    potential blessings and stepping stones in our progression.  We
    look to the future fearfully, not remembering that our lives and
    our earth are cradled in God's hands. 
8. Integrity and compassion.
    We go to church, we read the scriptures, we carry out church
    callings, but we can't stand our relative/neighbor/coworker.  We
    gossip or judge.  We are jealous or judgmental.  We feel a
    constant sense of competition, as if to "win the prize" of celestial
    glory (Mosiah 4:27) we must beat our ward members to it, as if
    the Lord graded on a curve.  We continually break the great
    commandment to "love our neighbor as ourselves."

THE IMPORTANCE OF INTEGRITY AT THE GREAT AND DREADFUL DAY OF THE LORD

Read Malachi 3:1-4.  Do we want the Second Coming to be great for us, or to be terrible?  It's a no-brainer, but it's a question we need to ask ourselves every day in order to avoid the New Apostacy.  Do we want to be one of the five wise virgins, or one of the five unprepared virgins?  The days ahead will be a challenge to testimony, and those that are just a flicker will go out.  Those who have been hypocrites and not realized it will find that their "hearts fail them."  They will not be able to abide the Day of His Coming.  Their compromised foundations will crumble.  But those who have the integrity to stay on the Lord's side, who have built their lives upon the Rock, will be saved. 

"Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name.  And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.  Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not" (Mal. 3:16-18).

"And at that day, when I shall come in my glory, shall the parable be fulfilled which I spake concerning the ten virgins. For they that are wise and have received the truth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and have not been deceived—verily I say unto you, they shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire, but shall abide the day. And the earth shall be given unto them for an inheritance; and they shall multiply and wax strong, and their children shall grow up without sin unto salvation. For the Lord shall be in their midst, and his glory shall be upon them, and he will be their king and their lawgiver" (D&C 45:56-59).

CHALLENGE

The New Year is upon us.  What better time to examine ourselves prayerfully, determine where our spiritual integrity is lacking, and make a resolution to strengthen that foundation?