Phillip Preaches the Gospel

Today I read Acts 8 which is largely the story of Phillip, another assistant to the Twelve Apostles. It has always been intriguing to me that the 7 assistants were supposed to look after matters of the Spirit for the Twelve but the two we actually hear about, Phillip and Stephen, did a lot of preaching, which is what they are known for and we don’t really hear about them taking care of the temporal needs, which is originally what they were called to do.

After Stephen was stoned to death, his body was taken up by those who followed Jesus Christ and he was given a proper burial. I’m sure the Apostles and the church were saddened by the loss of one so great and so full of the Spirit. I’m sure it would be akin to if one the members of the current Quorum of the Twelve were to meet a violent death today. It would be a shock to the church. But the church does move forward. Luke makes a brief mention about Saul and how he was consenting to the death of Stephen and how afterwards Saul was arresting followers of Jesus Christ, men and women alike in Jerusalem. Now, in Saul’s defense, he thought he was doing the will of the Lord. He was doing what was right as far as he was aware and was following the light and knowledge that he had at that time, and that is commendable in my opinion.

Phillip gets led by the Spirit to Samaria to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ where he has much success. I believe he is able to have so many people believe him because of the ground work that Jesus Himself did during His ministry. If you will remember when Jesus talked to the woman at Jacob’s Well she believed and then stayed for 2 days afterwards to preach His Gospel to the people in Samaria. A few years later when Phillip comes to preach the Gospel he finds the people ready and accepting of the message. When the Apostles hear of the success Phillip is having, they send Peter and John down to help. This is significant because the reason they are sent is so that those who are converted may receive the Holy Ghost. Phillip only has the Aaronic Priesthood and so is not able to give the Gift of the Holy Ghost. So the Apostles come down personally to make sure that all those Phillip has baptized receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost.

There was a man named Simon, the sorcerer in Samaria that was an important man in the community. He was important in the community and had used his knowledge of herbs and what the scriptures declare to be magic to bewitch the people and to make a place for himself in the community. Luke tells us that he heard Phillip preach and believed his words and was baptized. However, he was not truly converted. When Simon sees Peter and John giving the Gift of the Holy Ghost to all those in Samaria, he desires to be given the Priesthood and makes the mistake of offering money to Peter for it. Peter rebukes him and it is made very clear to all those around that Simon is not truly converted. If he had been, he would not have tried to purchase the Priesthood from Peter. We do not hear anymore about Simon in the scriptures but I imagine he fell away into inactivity as we would say in our day and did not stay true to the faith since he was not really converted anyway.

The last part of the chapter has to do with Phillip again. He is led by the spirit to a man from Ethiopia, a eunuch, who is reading Isaiah. Phillip asks the man if he understands what he is reading and the man replies that he can’t unless someone teaches him. Well of course this is what Phillip wants to hear and he sits with the man on his chariot as they are driven towards whatever the Ethiopian’s final destination is. Phillip preaches all about Jesus Christ to the man and he believes. They come up to a body of water, probably a small pond, and the man asks Phillip what is to prevent him from being baptized? This is what most missionaries refer to as a golden contact! This man was most certainly prepared by the Spirit beforehand and was ready to receive the Gospel. Phillip baptizes him and the Spirit carries Phillip away but states that the Ethiopian man went on his way rejoicing.

As you can see, the work was progressing quite nicely in the early days of the Apostles. It reminds me a lot of the early days of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, people were drawn to it and would flock to the missionaries in droves. The truth resonates within people and they listen to it when they hear it. It is one of the most wonderful things in the world to be a part of the changes people make to their lives when they hear the Gospel and it must have been truly amazing to be around Phillip and the Apostles in those days. They were men of sound understanding, as the scriptures state in reference to others of a similar caliber. I’m sure the Lord was very pleased with them and their efforts and were able to say like Paul did years later that they had fought the good fight. Until tomorrow.

Stephen's Martydom

Today I read Acts 7 where Stephen speaks to the Sanhedrin and shows how Abraham and Moses testified of Christ. I have often wondered why he only spoke to them of Moses and Abraham but I think that is because all too often when the Jews talk about their self-righteousness, it is to declare that they are the sons of Abraham and have the law of Moses. Those were the two pillars upon which the Jewish faith were built. So to show them that their ancient father and leader believed and looked forward to the time when Jesus would come would help convince them that Jesus truly was the promised Messiah. At least that is what I think Stephen was thinking.

But it didn't turn out that way at all. They heard what Stephen had to say, which is a small miracle in itself, and they were furious. But while they were upset with him, they still had not made a move against him. It was only when he had his vision that they lose all control and stone him to death. So what happened in the vision? Why did they get so upset with him? It was because he declared that he saw the heavens open and saw God the Father, so far so good, but what he said next sealed his fate. He then declares that he sees Jesus Christ, who these same men crucified standing on God's right hand. This was blaspheme of the worst sort and was not to be tolerated. Stephen was immediately taken outside and stoned to death.

Stephen was truly a man of charity and even in the act of murdering him, he pleads with God to forgive these men and not charge them with his murder. What compassion and charity! I am not sure I would have been so forgiving. I think I would have more gone out like Abinidai and declared that God would avenge me. But I have a bad temper too, which is one of my weaknesses. Stephen does not blame these men for what they are doing. He understands that to them, they are doing what is right, stamping out any unrighteousness from among themselves in an effort to save all the Jews. Unfortunately, Stephen's last plea was in vain and these men will most likely be condemned of murder when the day of judgement comes around and will most definitely have to answer for Stephen's death, not to mention the death of Jesus Christ!

Now, when the men stoned Stephen to death, they removed their coats, to not get blood on them I presume. They laid them at the feet of a man named Saul. Now this is our first introduction to Saul, who would later become Paul the Apostle. He was complicit in the death of Stephen and was single handledly responsible for the incarceration and death of dozens of other Jews. But we will get to that later.

As I read the account of Stephen's death, I am amazed that Jesus was not stoned to death. I mean, these people lose all control when they hear too much blaspheme, how is it that they were able to control themselves enough to deliver Jesus up to the Romans for crucifixion? I truly don't know other than prophecy had to be fulfilled. But the more mundane reason, I cannot guess. I do not know why these same men were able to control themselves with Jesus. Maybe it was because they had tried to stone Him before and were unsuccessful, or that they wanted Jesus' death at the hands of the Romans. I am not really sure. Whatever the reason, Stephen declaring Jesus to be standing at the right hand of God, a position of favor, when Jesus was a known blasphemer and heretic was the final straw for these men. They would not let this go unpunished and so Stephen sealed his testimony with his blood.

I have often wondered just what would have happened if Stephen had been allowed to live. What a powerful force for good he would have been! I think he would have been similar to Nephi in the time of Jesus' visit to the Nephites, who was so full of faith and preached so powerfully that people could not disbelieve his words. What would it have been like to hear these men preach? It would have been inspiring indeed. Stephen's death was not in vain however, as his preaching and death set into motion the events that would eventually come to convert Saul who would go on to be the most well known Apostle of his day. Similar to Abinidai, who only converted Alma the Elder, Stephen helped pave the way for the conversion of one who would completely reshape his part of the world. I think Stephen would have been pleased to know that. But we will read more on that in the coming days. Until tomorrow.

The Seven Assistants to the Quorum of the Twelve are Chosen

Today I read Acts 6 which is very short and is the story of how the Apostles chose 7 assistants to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The reason this was necessary is that the temporal needs of the church was falling by the wayside. So the Apostles said that it is not meet that they should leave of preaching the word of God to wait tables so they were to choose 7 men of good report, full of the Holy Ghost to assist them in the more secular tasks.

Now, the Apostles did not say this to be mean or because they did not care about the widows who were going hungry. Rather they said it because their main charge always has been and always will be the preaching of the word of God. That is what they have been charged to do by Jesus. And given the day and age they lived in without television, telephones, radio or satellite, the only way they could preach the word is by physically going there and spreading the Gospel. That was their main task and focus.

But they recognized that the needs of the people were important too and needed tending to. At this point I do not believe they had bishops, just the Twelve Apostles. I may be mistaken about that but it is clear that the temporal needs of the members were not being met, especially the widows. So they appointed the seven assistants to the Quorum of the Twelve. This sets the precedent that continues even through today. The Melchizedek priesthood is responsible for the spiritual welfare of the church and the Aaronic is responsible for the temporal needs of the members. It is the bishop in the ward, which is the head of the Aaronic Priesthood in each unit, that is in charge of the temporal welfare of his ward. The Melchizedek priesthood assists but it is the Aaronic priesthood that has the primary responsibility.

Now one of the seven that are chose is named Stephen. We don't know much about Stephen, he does not appear in the scriptures prior to this point and he is stoned to death in the very next chapter. But we know that Stephen was a man who knew the scriptures very well. He stands before the Sanhedrin with boldness declaring the word of God to them how all the prophets and scriptures have prophesied of Jesus Christ. We know he is a man that was full of the Spirit. He could contend with all who came to him and did not like his preaching. He was in several synagogues teaching the word of God which did not sit well with the leaders of those synagogues and so they brought him before the Sanhedrin to be tried. While he is there it states his countenances was like that of an angel. The chapter heading of this chapter states that he was transfigured in front of the Sanhedrin. We will talk tomorrow about what he said to them.

It is interesting to me that the Sanhedrin had such a problem with the spreading of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Now, I can kind of understand why that is, I mean the Jew's past is checkered with them apostatizing and going after strange Gods and these men are probably just trying to make sure that they are protecting their congregation and making sure this new "fad" as they thought of it, did not corrupt the church. They thought they were doing God's will. Even Paul, before his conversion felt he was doing what God would have him do. That is so foreign to me to think that God would want us to kill those that don't agree with us, but that is exactly what the Jews had been taught for thousands of years. That is what the law of Moses taught them. That was what they knew. It's not that they were bloodthirsty, they were following the law as they knew it.

What was unfortunate, is that they were following the law and the traditions that they had created to such an extent that they could not hear the Spirit testifying of the truth when they heard it. These men were so in love with power and the authority they had that they could not open their hearts to the possibility of another way. And that's sad really. Unfortunately with power comes pride usually. And that was the downfall of the Jewish nation in the time of Jesus Christ, spiritually speaking of course. If the Sanhedrin had not been so prideful and in love with their power they had enjoyed, they might have been able to humble themselves and accept Jesus. Perhaps not, but I guarantee it was their pride that stopped them from accepting it. It is the same pride that stops people from accepting it today. The most important message they will ever hear in their lives and they reject it out of the pride of their heart for any number of supposed reason but it all comes down to pride. I thank Heavenly Father that I was born into the Gospel and did not have to find it on my own. It has been such a blessing in my life and I don't know what I would do without it. Until tomorrow.

The Saints had all Things in Common

Today I read Acts 5, which is a very interesting chapter. In the first part of the chapter we have the story of Ananias and his wife, Sapphira, two early Christians who did not like living the law of consecration. During the early days of the church, the Saints had all things in common. This means that the Saints would take what they owned and give it to the church, namely the Bishop of their ward or congregation. Well, Ananias and his wife sold some of their land and instead of giving it to the church they hid some of the money and lied about how much they sold the land for.

Now when Ananias came to turn in his money, the Spirit told Peter what he had done and he confronts Ananias about it and he falls down dead at Peter's feet. It is sad really, the scriptures don't elaborate on why this married couple conspired to lie to God about their offering, but I guarantee it was not for a very good reason. There is no reason good enough in the world to justify lying to God. For one thing, He already knows that you are lying. He knows the intents of your heart and knows your thoughts. But most people who try and deceive God don't think in those terms I think. I'm not sure why they do the things they do, but I don't know if they really believe they are putting one over on God or not.

I know when I have done something wrong, I'm fully aware that God knows about it, it's just that because I have made the mistake and have sinned against Him, I was not in a frame of mind to care about it. But I was well aware of what I had done and that God knew it too. But because I had done what was wrong, I had put my will ahead of His, it didn't matter. It is not a good frame of mind to be in. I can't even imagine being in a frame of mind like King Lamoni and the Lamanites though. Yesterday we read as a family Alma 18, where Ammon teaches King Lamoni about God and Mormon tells us in his abridgement that despite Lamoni believing in God, he believed that anything he did was right and ok. What a backwards philosophy. There is a right and a wrong and everyone is born knowing it. It is the Light of Christ that is in all of us. We can dampen it through consistent wrong choices and unfortunately if we are given a bad enough example of it, we can have it driven out of us at a very young age.

I have often wondered why Ananias and his wife were killed for their sin. I believe it is because they were robbing from the poor essentially and there are few things God takes as seriously as He does the care for the poor and needy. I may be wrong but that has always been my thought on it. When Peter confronts Ananias, he falls down dead at Peter's feet. About an hour later his wife comes looking for him and Peter gives her a chance to do the right thing and asks if that is all the money the land sold for and when she answers yes, she also dies. It is a sad story really but one they brought on themselves. If they had just done as was asked of them, they would have been alright and would have had no problem.

The rest of the chapter focuses on the Apostles and some of them were thrown into prison for preaching the word of God. An angel lets them out of the prison and commands them to go preach in the temple. The next morning the jailer looks for them and can't find them in the prison despite the doors all being locked and closed and the guards still at their posts. When the Apostles are found at the temple they are brought before the Sanhedrin again who ask the Apostles didn't they just tell them that they should stop preaching Jesus Christ to the people. The Apostles again stand up to them with boldness and declare that they need to fear God more than man.

While the leaders are deciding what to do, one of their own stands up and reminds them of a few radicals in years past that started a movement among the people who, when the leaders were killed, it all came to naught and gives great counsel that luckily for them, the Sanhedrin listens to. His advice was that if this movement was that of a man, it will fizzle out in a little while because Jesus is dead. But if it really is of God, then nothing they could ever do would stop it and they need to tread carefully lest they are fighting God. The Sanhedrin find this good counsel and so let the Apostles go after they are physically punished, or beaten. The Apostles go away rejoicing that they are counted worthy to suffer in His name. Clearly not all the leaders of the Jews were the zealots that those who put Jesus to death were.

I find it really funny, very funny in fact, that when Peter accuses them of killing Jesus they tell him not to lay Jesus' death on their heads, when just a few months, perhaps years, prior, when Jesus was crucified these same men told Pilate that His death would be on them. How soon they forget. I don't think I would have lasted very long in those days if I would still be the man I am here and now then. I can't abide hypocrites like that and I probably would have been put to death very quickly. But these are my days and I rejoice to be worthy to be His disciple and to show forth my testimony each and everyday by my actions. I hope you also recognize what a privilege it is to live in this day and age where we can share the Gospel without fear of retribution. Are you taking advantage of this gift? Until tomorrow.

We Should Fear God More than Man

Today I read Acts 4 which is a continuation of Acts 3 and the healing of the lame man. Peter and John are arrested and brought before the Sanhedrin and asked by what power they performed this miracle. Peter and John boldly declare that it was done by the power of Jesus Christ whom they had set at naught and crucified. The miracle was widely known among the Jews in Jerusalem so the Sanhedrin were afraid to punish Peter and John because they feared the people and their reaction if they did so. So instead they threaten them to not talk about Jesus anymore.

Peter tells them that he will continue to speak the words that God wants him to speak. He goes on to say that he fears God more than those men, which of course is how it should be. We should not fear man more than God, but all too often we do. We don't think about it in those terms, but that is what we are doing when we do not open our mouths to spread His Gospel. When we are worried about how we will be perceived by someone when we have felt the Spirit prompting us to share the Gospel with them, that is fearing man more than God. We need to instead of thinking what will this person think of me, we need to think what will I say when I stand before God and He asks me why I did not do as He asked?

We can be an instrument in God's hands in spreading the Gospel to His children and it is one of the most rewarding experiences you will ever have in this life. Watching your loved ones come into the Gospel is such a wonderful feeling. It is like coming from a dark room into the light and watching someone else make those changes in their life is beyond joyful. The Gospel really is the good news of Christ and we have it. How can we be so selfish to not share it with those around us? If we want to be truly happy, the scriptures tell us that we need to lose our life for His sake, meaning we need to give our lives over to Jesus Christ to serve Him in whatever capacity He needs us. We can take comfort in knowing that whatever Jesus asks of us will be in our best interest and we can have confidence in what He wants us to do.

The rest of the chapter has to do with Peter and John returning to their friends and telling them what has been done and they praise God. It also talks about how the Saints had all things in common but we will save that discussion more for tomorrow when it goes more in depth about it. Until tomorrow.

We can be an Instrument in God's Hands

Today I read Acts 3, where Peter heals a man who has been lame since his birth. Peter does it to help the man, but also to create a teachable moment. When the Jews in the synagogue see the man they recognize as being the man who was lame from birth leaping about and running and walking and rejoicing in his new found ability to walk and run, they are astonished. Peter takes the time to teach them it is done by their faith in Jesus Christ. The doctrine Peter teaches is not new and is very similar to that taught in Acts 2.

I am interested in the lame man who Peter healed. I wonder what type of a person he was. Was he lame from birth so that, like the blind man, Peter could show forth his power unto the convincing of others of the power of Jesus Christ? Whether that is the entire reason he was born lame or not, that is definitely the reason he was at that synagogue that morning, I can assure you. When I was a missionary I used to call God the grand Puppetmaster. I meant no disrespect by saying such, but rather I was referring to the fact that God can help us get to where we need to be and put people in our way and it all seems so effortless to us. Much like a marionette He moves us to where we need to be and moves others into our way so that we meet who we are supposed to.

I stopped believing in coincidences when I was a missionary too. Things would just seemingly happen that when I stepped back and viewed them in their entirety, found that there was a little too much order in those seemingly random events and that in fact it is God making sure we are where we need to be. If we desire it, God will use us as His tool here on the earth. Sometimes He will use us that way anyway, but most of the time I think it needs to be our decision and needs to be our choice. But it is a wonderful thing to be Heavenly Father's instrument here on the earth and to help someone in need. I would advise not asking Heavenly Father to use you as His instrument unless you really mean it though, because a lot of the time you will be required to give up things you would rather be doing and will have to go out of your comfort zone. But the reward is amazing and like nothing else in this world. It is like the scriptures state, if you would lose your life for His sake, you will find it. And it is very, very worth it as any of the General Authorities of the church or missionaries will tell you. Until tomorrow.

The Day of Pentecost

Today I read Acts 2 which covers the events on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Ghost was poured out upon the Apostles and they preached and over 3000 men, and I assume women, joined the church through baptism. I have always found this story interesting because it has always been my understanding that the Apostles are given the Gift of the Holy Ghost at this point, and it's not just a matter of the Holy Ghost's influence being poured out upon them, but rather they are being given the Gift of the Holy Ghost, entitling them to His constant companionship if they remain worthy of it.

The reason I find it interesting is it is one of the few instances in history that we know of, where the Gift of the Holy Ghost is given without the laying on of hands. The only other person in all the scriptures that I know of, is Adam, the first man. He was baptized by the spirit, according to the Pearl of Great Price, and had the Gift of the Holy Ghost given to him in much the same way we are reading about the Apostles being given it here in this chapter, it is poured out upon him. Every other person in history, that we know of, are given the Gift of the Holy Ghost through the laying on of hands, as prescribed in modern revelation.

But however it happened, everyone agrees that the Holy Ghost was poured out upon them and those in attendance saw cloven tongues of flame above their heads. What a sight that must have been! Once it had happened, the 12 Apostles started to teach those in attendance and were given the gift of tongues. Each man in attendance was hearing them speak in their own native tongue. Interestingly enough, those who were not believers claimed the Apostles were "full of new wine", or drunk. What a silly thing to think when there were literally thousands of people there stating that they were hearing their native tongue. But non-believers have often grasped at straws and come up with the most ridiculous explanations for miraculous events.

Like a good missionary, Peter takes advantage of the Spirit's strong presence and speaks to all those in attendance and proclaims Jesus as the Messiah, the promised Christ. He teaches them that salvation is only through Him and that they must be baptized in order to receive salvation. After he makes that invitation, 3000 souls go into the waters of baptism and are received into the church. This event really reminds me of my mission. I remember when I was still a relatively young missionary, out only about 13 months or so, I became a senior companion and was given a missionary who had only been out for 4 months but still knew relatively little in the way of missionary work and the language. So I was suddenly required to shoulder the majority of the work which was not a problem, but it was a change as I had prior to that had mostly companions who like to be in charge so I was regulated to a kind of secondary role. During this first transfer as a senior companion, we taught many people and were able to help 3 individuals enter the waters of baptism and we committed 2 others for baptism at a later date.

I bring all this up because the 2 that we committed to be baptized were 2 that when we were teaching them, although the Spirit was present, they did not really seem to be too enthused with the message we were sharing so I had some reservations about inviting them to be baptized. But I did in both cases and to my real surprise, both of them accepted. That was when I learned to not be afraid of rejection when sharing the Gospel and, at least as a missionary, to always invite for baptism unless the Spirit prompts you otherwise. As a non-missionary, I would say always invite friends to hear the missionary lessons from the full time missionaries unless you feel the Spirit telling you otherwise. The Spirit can quite literally work miracles on a person and you will be amazed at what the Spirit can do if you just act as it's mouthpiece and are bold in declaring the truth.

As members of the church we have covenanted with God to stand as a witness for Christ at all times and in all places. If we let fear of rejection overcome stop us from testifying of the truth, then we are not being faithful to that covenant. We can only expect blessings from God when we do our part. They may come otherwise as He deems fit to bless us, but we can count on them when we live up to our end of the bargain. God truthfully asks so little of us. How can we not do as He asks? We will be glad we did but I promise that if we do not, we will regret it for all eternity. Until tomorrow.

The 40 Days of Teaching and Matthias Replaces Judas

Today I read The Acts 1. The Acts, it is commonly accepted, was written by Luke, the same Luke who wrote the Gospel of Luke. He accompanies Paul on many of his journeys and it is my understanding in this way is able to catch up on all that he had missed prior to that point. In chapter 1 the Apostles replace Judas Iscariot and choose another Apostle to be a witness of Jesus' resurrection, as Peter puts it.

But before that, Luke records that Jesus was with His Apostles for 40 days, preparing them, and teaching them. Now, this one single line in a verse in the New Testament has caused a LOT of confusion among the Christian world. Many different religions have very differing opinions on the matter of what went on during those 40 days. I will admit that I gave it much thought myself over the years and I have come to a conclusion. About the only thing that makes sense to me as to what was taught during those 40 days, would have to be the temple ordinances.

Think about it, Paul mentions in a letter to the Saints in Corinth about baptisms for the dead. But that is the first and only time it is mentioned in all of the Bible. So where did they learn about it since we have never heard of them doing it before? How did the Apostles, which were so wet behind the ears if you will, that when Jesus was telling them plainly about His death and resurrection and they didn't understand, suddenly become these powerhouses of faith and knowledge? Peter, who was always very zealous sure, has suddenly become quite level headed and performing miracles left and right and is able to lead a church that spans 2 continents. How is such a transformation achieved?

It is no secret among Latter-day Saints who have been to the temple that the ordinances performed there change you. It imparts knowledge and sacred covenants are made and as one keeps those covenants, they are blessed by our Father who is in Heaven. I can think of almost nothing else that would so completely prepare these men for their task of leading the church without Jesus there to guide them besides temple ordinances. Perhaps I'm wrong and perhaps Jesus was teaching them administrative things and how to run a church in His name, but I doubt it. For one thing, if that were the case, why wasn't it widely known? What Jesus taught the Apostles and perhaps others was not recorded in any book of scripture that we have today and many Christian churches throughout the years used that to their advantage stating that they had the lost 40 days teachings the Jesus gave to His Apostles. But honestly, if you want to know what Jesus taught His Apostles, just go to the temple and perform the sacred ordinances, and you'll know.

The last half of the chapter are the 11 Apostles choosing another Apostle to replace Judas Iscariot. Here is an example of what I was just talking about. Impulsive, reckless Peter showing a quite levelheaded approach to things, guiding the Apostles in that which they need to do. They chose from a group of men who had been with them from the beginning, meaning the baptism of Jesus at the hand of John according to Peter, all the way down to His death. One of the disciples who had believed and stuck with Jesus through it all. They eventually narrow down the choices to 2 men and cast lots as they put it after saying a prayer and Matthias is chosen.

This single act shows a spiritual maturity and levelheadedness that we just haven't seen out of the Apostles prior to this point. Prior to this Jesus was having to spoon feed the Apostles the Gospel and now it is the Apostles feeding others, in the course of just one chapter! So what had changed? Again, the 40 days Jesus spent with them. There certainly must have been some administrative knowledge on how to run the church imparted to them however otherwise why would they have thought to replace Judas Iscariot and make sure they had 12 Apostles? But I don't think it took the entire 40 days.

It is also interesting to me that the way they chose the Apostles is in keeping with the method of receiving revelation that God has given us. First they studied it out in their minds, meaning out of the 120 some odd men and women there they narrowed it down to just 2 choices. Then they took the matter to God in prayer asking them to help them know His will and then cast lots based on who they thought the Lord wanted. This is a perfect example of how to obtain revelation from God. We have to first do our part then go to God with what we have done and ask for help and confirmation. The Apostles have truly matured indeed. Until tomorrow.

Feed My Sheep

Today I read John 21, the last chapter in the book of John. In this chapter we have a peculiar event between the Lord and Peter which has always made me wonder just what it was all about. After the Lord had appeared to His Apostles, Peter and a few others went fishing. They fished all night and did not catch anything at all. As they are finishing for the day, or night as it were, Jesus approaches them and from the shore tells them where to cast their nets after they tell Him that they have not caught anything. When they cast the net where He tells them to, they cannot pull up the net because of the amount of fishes in the net. This act reveals to John that it is Jesus and He tells Peter.

As miracles go, this one seems like it would be pretty simple. I would imagine telling 153 fish to all congregate on the right side of their ship would be much easier than the miracle of the loaves and fishes. When John realizes it's Jesus he tells Peter who, impulsive as ever, jumps into the water and swims to shore. The others merely sail back in, only being out 200 cubits, or around a football field, out to sea. When they get to shore they find that Jesus has a fire going a with some fish cooking on it. None of them seem surprised by this fact and sit down to eat with the Savior.

Now, as they are eating, Jesus asks Peter if he loves Jesus more than the fish. When Peter answers in the affirmative Jesus tells him to feed His lambs. Jesus then asks 2 more times if Peter loves Him and each time when Peter says yes, Jesus replies to feed His sheep. Now, I have heard that in the original Greek, each time Jesus asks Peter if he loves Him, a different form of the work love is used. I do not know where I have heard this and do not know if it is true or not. I have personally always thought that if Peter was not instructed by the Lord to deny Him to save his life, perhaps this is Jesus' gentle rebuke to Peter. Peter denied the Lord 3 times so now Jesus is asking Peter 3 times if he loves Him.

This scene has always reminded me of John 14:15, where Jesus says if you love Him, keep His commandments. This is very similar in that if Peter loves Jesus, he will feed His sheep, or care for His disciples. And this goes for all of us really. If we love and follow the Savior, we will do as He taught and do as He did, we will care for the poor and needy around us. If we are truly His disciples, we will try and emulate what He did with His life and will try and do as He taught. We will not live a hedonistic lifestyle but will instead live a lifestyle in keeping with the principles the Savior taught and lived Himself.

It is no wonder why John is the only one to include this story in his Gospel. For one thing, he was one of only 6 people that was even there, but more importantly, remember that John was writing to those who were already Christian and converted to Jesus Christ. His audience would be the only one who could understand that this command from Jesus was not to Peter alone, but to all of us. We are all commanded to feed His sheep, or in other words, to care for those in need wherever they may be. It is one of our sacred duties to care for the poor and sick and the afflicted. Unfortunately most of us conveniently seem to forget that when it comes time to assist those in need.

When it comes time to stand before the Savior to be judged, our actions are going to count while our words will not. I promise that if we tell the Savior that yes we are converted but we spent all our time focusing on ourselves and neglecting our families and those in need we will hear about it and we will be ashamed of ourselves. None of us want to be in that position and truly if we we are converted to the Lord, we will not be in that position, we will want to do as Jesus would if He were here. We must first convert ourselves, then we need to focus on those around us, that is the formula. If we can do that, then we have nothing to worry about and we will stand proudly before the Lord. Until tomorrow.

Mary Sees Jesus and Doubting Thomas

Today I read John 20, which is the story of the resurrection of Jesus. Essentially everything John brings up is new to us and we have not read before. John records that Mary Magdalene went to the tomb on Sunday, the first day of the week, after the Sabbath and found 2 angels on the stone. John does not record any other women with Mary, just mentions her. In John's version the angels do not speak to her, but rather she sees the empty tomb and runs to tell the Apostles. John and Peter then run to the sepulcher.

John outruns Peter but does not go in at first. Rather he just leans down and looks inside. He sees that the burial clothes are nice and neatly folded and John records that it was then he believed. I think it was Elder Jeffrey R. Holland who stated that he thought the reason John believed when he saw the burial clothes is because if it were grave robbers they would not take the time to fold the burial clothes nice and neat and the facial napkin in a separate pile. And truly they would not, it lends a lot of weight to what Mary and the other women had told them.

I have often wondered on just why the Apostles had so much trouble believing each other after all they had seen and heard over the past 3 years. I mean, at first Mary just tells the Apostles that she saw 2 angels who told her that the Savior is risen and that indeed the chamber is empty. But then she sees Him with her own eyes, and if the JST is to be believed, even hugs Him! The part I am referring to is when Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene and asks her why she is crying. She thinking Him to be the gardener asks Him where He has taken the body and she will come and take it. Jesus says her name and her eyes are opened. Quite naturally she runs to Him with the intent to hug Him. The King James Version of the Bible seems as if she does not get the chance because He asks her not to touch Him. However, the Joseph Smith Translation changes touch to hold so that He actually says "Hold me not". This indicates to me that Jesus let her hug Him in relief but could not stay. It would almost be the equivalent of saying I can't stay long in our modern day culture. At least that is how I have always looked at it.

I have wondered just what the relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene was that Jesus chose her to appear to first and even let her hug Him. Some have theorized that she was Jesus' wife although there is no evidence of this being the case anywhere. Luke tells us that Mary had seven devils inside of her that Jesus cast out, but we do not hear much else about her. We will not know if there was more to their relationship than disciple and Master and perhaps even friendship, until we meet the Savior again in person and can ask Him. But whatever the reason Mary sees and hugs the Savior and the Apostles do not believe her.

It is, perhaps, understandable why the 11 do not believe Mary as she is just a single witness. But what gets me, is when the 10 see Him and Thomas does not believe them. That is almost incomprehensible to me. Unless the Apostles were a LOT more lighthearted than I have always given them credit for and were in reality pranksters always playing jokes on each other, there is no reason that Thomas should have not believed them when they told him that they had seen the Lord. And yet he doesn't, earning him a nickname that would forever live on in infamy, Doubting Thomas. It is sad that such a man would be forever saddled with this title because of one moment of weakness. This is the same Thomas that when Jesus came up to Bethany to see Lazarus and all the other Apostles tried to talk Jesus out of going, Thomas said to the others that they should all go with Jesus and if it so be that they die, they would die with Him. What faith and love! But despite that love and faith, Thomas doubts the testimony of what is most likely, his 10 best friends in all the world. However, once he does in fact see the resurrected Savior he believes.

The Savior commends Thomas for believing but tells him that those who have not seen but believe are even more blessed. That has always made me feel good about myself because we fall into that category. We have not seen the Savior, at least I have not, but we believe that He is risen and conquered death. We shall see Him someday and see the prints in His hands and feet, but it should not be a revelation to us at that point. In my mind it should be more like seeing an old friend again after many years of separation. What a day that will be! I look forward to it as much as anything else in this world. I hope you do as well. Until tomorrow.

He Died for Us

Today I read John 19, John's version of the crucifixion of the Savior. He does not add a whole lot that we didn't already know. He does tell us more about how Pilate tried to save Jesus' life multiple times though and it wasn't until the Jews threatened to tell Caesar that Pilate was revolting against his rule that he finally relented and had Jesus killed. The way he writes it, it is almost like John feels that Pilate was forced into crucifying Jesus, although I do not think this is the case. I think it is more likely that John wanted to record the events as truthfully as possible. Perhaps John also wanted to show just how many chances Pilate had to back out and let Jesus go.

As we know, Jesus was crucified despite all of Pilate's efforts to let him go. About the only additions that John adds to the crucifixion story is Jesus taking care of His mother. I don't know all that much about Jewish culture, but Jesus feels a need to make sure His mother is cared for. Jesus has brothers and sisters, in American culture the responsibility of taking care of His mother would have fallen to one of Jesus' brothers, or perhaps even a sister. Perhaps in Jewish culture though the responsibility for the parents relies upon the oldest brother. But whatever the reason, while on the cross Jesus gives responsibility to care for His mother to John. John takes care of Mary from that time forward. When you think about crucifixion and you have to push up on your feet to allow your diaphragm to expand so you can speak, it really hits home just how much Jesus loved His mother and was concerned about her being taken care of.

Once Jesus had fulfilled all things He gave up the ghost. I have often wondered what happened on the cross that fulfilled and ended the Atonement. I mean, why did He have to be on the cross for 9 hours? It is my understanding that the Atonement was Jesus taking up on Himself our pains, sicknesses and sins in the Garden of Gethsemane and then His overcoming of death through His resurrection. So what was accomplished on the cross? Why did He have to wait to give up the ghost? He could have died at any time, when He decided to die, He died instantly and did not have to go through the fatigue and tiring that most crucifixion victims have to go through where they weaken to the point they cannot stand up to breathe anymore and thus they suffocate. This is why the guards broke the thieves legs to speed up the process. But when they came to Jesus they found He was already dead. One of the guards pierced His side with a spear and blood and water came out. I have been told that the only way water can enter into the heart is if it literally breaks. Jesus died of a broken heart of His own choice.

Of course it is not necessary for me to know why Jesus had to remain on the cross for those 9 hours. As my father in law says it's a black hole question, it is not necessary for me to understand for my salvation. It is enough to know that He did it for us. After He gave up the ghost Joseph and Nicodemus petitioned Pilate for the body of Jesus and were granted the privilege of preparing Jesus' body for burial. It must have been a very sobering task but I can only imagine how strong the Spirit must have been in that little sepulcher. They did not at that time know that He would rise again in just 3 days, because they did not understand what He was saying when He had explained it to them. But we know He would rise again and conquer death for all of us. It was the single most significant event in the history of the world. And tomorrow we will get John's take on the event. Until tomorrow.

The Arrest and Trial of Jesus

Today I read John 18, John's version of the arrest and capture of Jesus as well as His arraignment before the high priest and Pilate. It is interesting that although John is writing to those that are Christian already, he completely glosses over what happened in the Garden of Gethsemane, the whole purpose for Jesus' life and the 1 single act that saves all of creation. John doesn't even mention it. Perhaps it is because he wrote his gospel last and he knew the others had already covered it and he did not wish to repeat anything, who really knows.

Whatever the reason, John does not dwell on it but jumps instead to the arrest. John makes no mention of Judas pointing out the Savior or a kiss to betray Him, but only mentions that Judas was with a band of men. A band is roughly 500 men by the way for those that did not know, this was not a small group of men that were thrown together. This was a full blown assault on the Savior. Now, a strange episode is recorded by John that when Jesus asks them who they seek, they reply Jesus of Nazareth and when Jesus replies with, "I am he" the band of men falls down. This is commonly thought to be because when Jesus stated that I am He, He was actually using the name of God, I AM, or Jehovah. In other words, when they stated that they sought Jesus, Jesus replies that He is Jehovah. That is the common interpretation anyway of why they fell down. It may be another reason, I do not know. I personally think though that this interpretation is the right one, I mean Jesus was never shy about proclaiming who He was I'm not sure why He would start now.

The rest of the chapter is pretty straight forward and almost the same as the other versions. Jesus is brought before Caiaphas and asked to tell them about His doctrine. Jesus replies that He has ever taught in the open and never in secret and He was always heard in the temple and other places and they can ask anyone what His doctrine is. The guard hits Him for the apparent insult in His answer and Jesus calmly asks why the guard hit Him and if His answer was wrong to point it out. It speaks volumes to me how in control Jesus was. He is exhausted, covered in dried blood, and just got hit for answering their question. And all He does is calmly ask the guard why He was hit. It may have been why He was born, but Jesus was not going to just roll over and play dead. But He was not being difficult either. He was pointing out the obvious and remaining calm and giving them every chance to back out.

I remember once asking as a teenager why Pilate would be punished for putting the Savior to death when it had to be done or all was lost. The answer I got has always stayed with me. I don't even remember who gave it to me, but I still remember the answer. Basically the answer was that yes, it had to be done, but it didn't have to be done by him, meaning Pilate. He had his agency and could have released Jesus despite it all. Now, Pilate was not a good man, or even a nice man. His history according to Elder Neal A. Maxwell is quite dark and hideous and we will not go into it here. The mere fact that he was willing to whip Jesus, a man he opening admitted multiple times to have done nothing wrong, proves just how dubious he was, at least to me. I mean, who whips an innocent man? Especially with a whip that was known to kill people! Yes it is commendable that Pilate was trying to do the right thing while still keeping the peace in Jerusalem, but in the end, he put to death an innocent man and he knew it. In the end, despite the warning from his wife, despite the fact that he knew Jesus to be innocent, he still had Jesus put to death. In a sense, he bowed to peer pressure.

There is a lesson to be learned in all of this. How often do we avoid doing what is right because it is not the popular choice? How often do we just sit there and be quiet and go with the crowd? Do we stand as a witness for God at all times and in all places as we have covenanted to do? Do we stop people from doing what is wrong when we have a chance? Do we stand up for the Savior when His name is being abused? Do we take a stance on moral issues of the day? Do we share our beliefs with those around us? Do not make the same mistake Pilate made. Do not give into something you know is wrong just because that is the popular and easiest choice. If we do then we are no better than Pilate, who knowingly whipped and crucified an innocent man. You do not want to be in the same boat as him, I promise. Stand for what is right and do not be afraid. Remember, this life is only temporary and has an end. But the next life stretches on for eternity. Until tomorrow.

This is Life Eternal, That They Might Know Thee

Today I read John 17, also known as the great intercessory prayer. This chapter is a prayer that Jesus offers up to the Father. It is interesting to me that so many religions only recite the Lord's Prayer when they want to pray and that is all, although I think these days it is becoming increasingly such that they recite the Lords prayer first and then go on to offer up a prayer. However, you will notice that in this prayer Jesus does not recite the example prayer that He gave years before that we all refer to as the Lord's prayer. I have often wondered why some people latched on to the Lord's prayer like that. I mean it is just an example of a good prayer and a good type of prayer to give.

I personally think this is a much better example of how our prayers should be than the Lord's prayer. I mean this is Jesus praying to His Father. We see His joy in His Apostles and His desires for them. We see the Savior talking to the Father as if His Father were present, exactly how we should be talking to Him. We should speak to Him as if when we are kneeling down we are kneeling at His feet and speaking to Him. Now, we should of course show proper reverence and humility for the God in our prayers and our dealings with Him, but we should also feel able to speak to Him as we would to our earthly father.

Early in the prayer Jesus mentions that life eternal is to know God. And truly it is, because as we have talked about in the past, eternal life is life with God. How can we know that is what we want if we don't know God? How can we be sure that life with Him for eternity is the kind of life we want to have? The only way we can know that for certain is if we understand His qualities and what He does. In order to understand that, we need to live the kind of life He lives. He has given us the qualities He possesses in the form of the commandments. God does not lie, He does not steal, He does not commit adultery, He does not blaspheme, He honors His father and mother and so forth. We are all making our choice each and every day by the type of life we choose to live. If we struggle with living the commandments but we are supplicating our Father to help us so that we enjoy living the Gospel more, then we are on the right path. If we instead are holding onto our favorite sin, or just going through the motions of a righteous and worthy life, then that is a problem. But God loves us enough to let us choose what we want. It is quite sad and a little disgusting how comfortable the vast majority of people are with the world today and it is clear that they enjoy a telestial life. But I strive for something more. I enjoy living the commandments and while I have a few that haunt me, I am striving each and every day to get better and to live them a little more perfectly.

We have talked about this quite extensively in the past and the rest of the chapter goes on as the Savior prays for the Father to strengthen and uplift His Apostles as well as those who believe on their preaching. It really amazes me the love and concern the Savior is showing for His Apostles at this, His most difficult hour, the entire reason for His mortal life. But, then again, charity and service to others, are the best way to overcome depression and sad feelings. So perhaps this is actually helping Him prepare for the rest of the night and next day. I guess we'll know one day when we see Him and can ask. But regardless of all else, Jesus has given us yet again a perfect example, this time of prayer and how our relationship with our Father in Heaven can be. It is a relationship I want and strive to cultivate. Maybe one day I'll get there. Until tomorrow.

Choose Not to be Offended

Today I read John 16, where Jesus continues to prepare His Apostles for what is to come. I like how this chapter opens up. Jesus tells them that they should not be offended. I like that choice of words because it shows that there is a choice to be made. And truly there is. No one can offend us, we have to choose to take offense. And it seems that people are choose to take offense more and more these days. And it's sad because I do not think that most people truly desire to cause us pain or hurt or offense, but we choose to take offense and think the worst about such people. Life is so much better if we choose to think that the majority of the people and their intentions are benign.

I decided a LONG time ago that nothing anyone said or thought about me was going to change the truth of who I am, so why should I care about what they thought or said? It's a simple thing really but most people are not able to accomplish it. They care too much how they are thought of by others. The only person on this earth that I care about their opinion of me, is my wife. Everyone else can draw their own conclusions about me, and do of course, and it won't change anything. But for some reason, I care deeply about what my wife thinks about me. But when you stop caring about what other think, you can accomplish great things for the Lord. You can be an instrument in His hands.

I cannot stress too much that it is a choice to be offended or not. If you have trouble overcoming feelings of hurt or anger over something someone else has said to you, you can always pray for help in overcoming those temptations. The Lord will most definitely help you in this regard. It is not worth throwing away YOUR salvation just because you don't like someone or don't like what they said once upon a time. This is especially true if you dislike someone who is called into the bishopric or branch presidency where you live. It is not acceptable to the Lord to stop going to church because you dislike who HE has called into that position. You do not know better than the Lord. Plus, I have seen in about 80-90% of the cases where someone stopped going to church because they were offended, there was sin in their life before hand anyway. The offense is just a smoke screen for the real reason, guilt. Guilt over not being perfect like the other members of the ward/branch are. Guilt for not being able to overcome their weakness. Guilt over liking their favorite sin.

Such people are not ready to be called to meet God. They are not willing to admit the truth to themselves. They also have grossly misinterpreted their fellow Saints. No one is perfect. No one is living the commandments 100% of the time. It's just not possible. Everyone has a favorite sin. And most people enjoy it, that is why they keep going back to it. And it is almost impossible to overcome this sin without help from Heavenly Father. It was designed this way on purpose so that it would bring us to Heavenly Father. Heavenly Father is the only one who can change us, change our nature, so that we no longer desire to do evil. We have to humble ourselves and ask for His help in overcoming our weakness and to change our nature so that we no longer desire to do those things. This is true whether our weakness is a bad temper, pornography, alcohol consumption, laziness or whatever else might be keeping us from fulfilling our duty to God as we should be.

I once had a discussion with a very good friend of mine who had fallen away from the church. He had sinned, as is ALWAYS the case I personally feel, and so avoided church. I once got him to talk to me about it and he said that he felt terrible because he did not feel bad about the sin. He was worried that because he did not feel bad about the sin that he was not welcome back in church or something like that. Sadly, he made the choice to not come back and to stay away from church to this day. He did not understand the Atonement well enough and was not ready to give up his favorite sin. I still hold out hope that one day he will come back, along with several other of my friends who have fallen for one reason or another.

Always remember that your salvation is much more important that holding a grudge against someone who has said something to you they shouldn't have, on purpose or by accident. We are required to forgive all men, whether they deserve it or not. It is not our decision if they are deserving of our forgiveness or not. And I promise when we stand before God and He asks us why we did not forgive someone, our excuses of he offended me will ring very, very hollow in our ears. Please don't put yourself in that position. Forgive all men their trespasses against you. Learn not to be offended. Heavenly Father will help you in this regard if you ask Him. He is waiting for you to come to Him for help. Don't make Him wait in vain. Until tomorrow.

Greater Love Hath No Man Than This

Today I read John 15, where Jesus continues His talking to the Apostles during the Last Supper. The majority of this chapter is the Savior telling the Apostles that the world will hate them and trying to prepare them for this eventuality. To be hated, it is strange to think about. I don't think most of us understand what it means to be truly hated. We read about it in stories and see it in movies, but how many of us really have someone truly hate us? It's actually pretty rare I think for the common individual. Those of you who have served a mission have a greater chance of having run into it than others. The only way I can describe it is a profound lack of the Spirit. It's quite creepy.

But especially as a missionary they do not really hate you, they hate what you represent, which is oddly enough, Jesus Christ. They don't look at it that way, but it is in fact what is happening. They hate the church, deeming it un-Christian. I have often wondered just what is there in our religion to be upset about? I have met some people that didn't like Latter-day Saints because of polygamy and I was able to talk with them and explain that we do not do that anymore. But people that hate Latter-day Saints, I just don't get it. We have the Book of Mormon, so what? Others use the Apocrypha, but that doesn't give me license or cause to hate them for it. They are upset that we believe we can become as God is one day. I guess they feel it lessens God somehow. I've not been able to get one of the people who expressed their hatred of me for being a Latter-day Saint to have a rational conversation about it with me. Go figure.

On the flip side of this equation, Jesus also tells His Apostles that greater love hath no man than he give his life for his friends. Every time I read that verse I am taken back to when I lived in Southern California one summer living with a college roommate and his family working on their turkey ranch. I was asked to give a talk in sacrament meeting, the father of my roommate was the bishop, and impress upon us the love our Savior has for us. I thought about it for days. The good thing about working on a turkey ranch is a lot of the work you do day to day is very rote and leaves the mind free to think. I finally decided the best way for me to impress upon the ward our Savior's love was to share two stories. One was from my own past where I feel into a pond in the middle of winter and could not get out and my brother and a friend risked falling in themselves to save me. I did not let on though that it was me in my story, I just told it as two brothers and a friend. The second story though I told a much more personal version of the plan of salvation and focused on the personal relationship of the Savior and myself as Him being my older brother.

In both stories a brother was willing to give his life for that of his younger brother. When I fell through the ice on the pond we were all three on the ice but I had them leave before I tried to move because I was the furthest out and on the weakest part as it turned out. But Jesus did in fact give His life for us, and He did it for each one of us, make no mistake about that. He could have stopped it, could have turned back at any time. He had the power but He did it willingly, which is as it had to be. He did it because He loved us. I don't see how any one of us will be able to meet Him again on the other side of the veil with anything less than tears and worship.

The other part of the chapter that stood out to me is where Jesus states that He will not refer to His Apostles as His servants anymore, but as His friends. He says this is because He has shared with them His Father's plans, which He would not do with a servant. It reminds me of Joseph Smith. If you will notice as you read the Doctrine and Covenants the Savior calls Joseph different things. At the beginning Jesus refers to Joseph as, my servant. But as time goes on He starts to refer to Joseph as, my son, until finally he becomes Joseph, my friend. In the past I wondered if the change was in Joseph of Jesus, what I mean is, did Jesus really change how He thought of Joseph or did Joseph change his relationship with Savior through his obedience and prayers? I have come to believe that the change was on Joseph's end. I think the Savior always viewed Joseph as His friend but as Jesus is telling His Apostles, a friend does His will perfectly and is taken into confidences about the Father's will. It is my greatest hope that one day when I meet Him again that Jesus will welcome me home as a friend, not a servant. That is what I work for, each and every day. I hope you are doing the same. Until tomorrow.

If ye Love Me Keep My Commandments

Today I read John 14, where the Savior teaches His Apostles about the Father and about the Holy Ghost. I wonder if Jesus ever got frustrated with His Apostles and how they just didn't get it? But can you really blame them? I mean Jesus was teaching them very different doctrine than they were used to. Love them that hate you? Who honestly does that? Be good to them that do evil to you? Almost nobody is willing to do that. So I am not surprised at how Jesus' Apostles didn't seem to understand His doctrine at times and needed Him to explain it to them. It doesn't surprise me because if I read it without the help of the Spirit, there are times where I don't really understand what He is saying either.

But this chapter contains some scripture masteries and verses most people recognize. The first one is If ye love me, keep my commandments. It is one of the most well known verses in the New Testament. It seems to be a concept not really understood anymore these days, to do as someone asks you to do as a sign of love, respect and loyalty. Oddly enough, it seems that the people who understand this concept more than more, at least in the movies and books because I have never met one, are the people in organized crime! They do as their boss commands them to do and don't question why. There are always exceptions, but for the most part they do as they are told. That is very ironic to me. How is that the followers of Satan are better at showing their love for him than the followers of Christ seem to be? Now granted, I am sure that in the world of organized crime, a large part of their desire to please and do as they are told is fear, but they are still doing it. Whereas in the Christian world, almost no one seems to understand the concept of following the commandments anymore.

Everywhere you look you see people drinking alcohol, smoking tobacco, lying, stealing, being promiscuous, taking advantage of their neighbor and the list goes on and on. People showing a profound lack of respect for the Savior and His commandments. Now I am sure that most of the world does not consider drinking alcohol or smoking tobacco to be against the commandments but it's so funny to me. I sometimes I want to ask them if they can picture Jesus with a lit cigarette hanging out of his mouth? Or can you picture Him at a bar drinking a mug of whatever? I sure can't. The very imagine is SO out of character as to be laughable. And as we've been counseled to do by our past Presidents of the Church, if our leaders are not doing it, why are we? I think part of the statement that if we love Him we will keep His commandments is because if we love Him, we will want to be like Him and do as He does.

Truth be told His commandments are not that arduous or outrageous. They are quite simple actually and it is only the world that has made them seem outdated and sinning as being the ideal lifestyle. It used to be that the masses obeyed God's law and followed His commandments almost to point of being zealots. But now we have swung the other way and it is the popular thing to do to be coarse and unrefined and break God's laws and commandments. It is up to us who still love the Lord to follow His commandments and show the world that we are not afraid to be righteous and that we love the Lord! It is the only way to lasting happiness, I promise you that. Don't be afraid of the world and don't be afraid to do what is right. You can be a light to the world and when you come face to face with God again, you can say with a clean conscience that you did the best you could. Until tomorrow.

Jesus Washes the Feet of the Apostles

Today I read John 13, which is where Jesus washes the feet of the Apostles. John is the only one to mention that it even happened which causes me to wonder, what about washing the feet is meant for church members? I don't mean that there is something mystical that only church members can understand, but John wrote to those who were Christians or members of the church, the other 3 writers of the Gospel did not, therefore it must have something to do with being a member of the church, but I sure do not know what.

John actually spends several chapters talking about the last supper whereas most of the other writers mention it happened and that the sacrament was instituted but that is all they talk about. I am glad John felt the need to write more and give us more detail about what Jesus did with His Apostles that night, His last night of instruction to them before He died.

As I stated above, Jesus took the time to wash His Apostle's feet before they ate the feast of the passover. From John's record none of the Apostles had anything to say about it except for Peter who declared that Jesus did not need to wash his feet. Jesus replied that unless He washed Peter's feet, then Peter had no part in being with Him. Peter, impulsive as always, stated that Jesus should then not just wash his feet only, but his hands and his head. The JST version of Jesus' answer shows that Peter had already prepared himself well for dinner. Jesus states that He who has washed his hands and head has only to wash his feet to be clean.

I personally believe Jesus did this to prove a point to His Apostles. They considered Him to be the greatest among them, and indeed He tells them in this chapter that He is the Messiah. And yet He gets down on the ground and washes their feet, which in a world without paved roads and sandals were one of, if not the most, dirty parts of the human body. What a humbling thing to do. In Jerusalem at this time period, the rich and wealthy had servants who would wash their feet for them. This could have been nothing more than Jesus' object lesson to follow up on what He had taught them earlier, that he who would be the greatest among them, must be the servants of all.

This chapter also contains the phrase that was turned into one of my favorite hymns. Jesus tells His Apostles that they should love one another and that by this shall men know they are His disciples. I have wondered if in the past these men did not get along the best and that is why Jesus gave this counsel. Or perhaps the term one another was relative and Jesus was telling them to have charity towards all men. Perhaps the men had trouble with being kind to all that came their way. Certainly there are stories in the Gospels where the Apostles are less than courteous to some people. I have often wondered what causes people to be less than nice, civil and professional to others? Is it pride, that one feels they are above the rest of the people and therefore not obligated to be nice? I really don't know but I know that we need more people to be nice and friendly in this day and age. Think how much nicer the world would be if everyone was nice and polite to everyone else? What would that be like?

This is also the chapter where Jesus reveals Judas Iscariot as the one to betray Him. Jesus tells John that the one to whom He gives the sop, or a piece of food, is the one that will betray Him and He then proceeds to give it to Judas. I remember a few years back that there was a "gospel of Judas" that was found and it rocked the faith of some. I remember talking about it with one of my brothers and my father. Even then I did not believe it to be genuine because it had claimed that Jesus told Judas to betray Him. I do not believe that because all of the modern Apostles and even Jesus Himself declare Judas to be a son of perdition and that it were better that he had never been born. He was NOT instructed to betray the Son of God. It was a willful and deliberate rebellion on the part of Judas. Despite knowing it was coming, it must have hurt Jesus to know one of the men who had been with Him daily for 3 years would betray Him like that. I can't even imagine what that must have been like. No wonder Jesus' heart was heavy with all that was expected of Him. But He did not falter and He did not shy away from it as we shall see in the coming days. Until tomorrow.

The Beginning of the End of Jesus' Mortal Life

Today I read John 12, where Jesus rides in triumph into Jerusalem. There is really not much that is different in this chapter than we have already read in the other Gospels. However, John adds a little bit more information such as a lot of people came to see Lazarus. In fact the scriptures make it sound as if as many people as came to see Jesus came to see Lazarus. And who can blame them? I mean, what if you heard in the news today that a man who had been dead for 4 days suddenly came back to life and it was as if he had never died? No brain damage, no lasting effects, it was just as if he was in a coma and not dead for those 4 days? I personally would be very intrigued and want to meet him and find out does he remember anything from his time he was dead?

Lazarus was so popular in fact that the Sanhedrin were not just contemplating putting Jesus to death, but they wanted to put Lazarus to death too. The reason was because Lazarus was as popular as Jesus Himself and what was worse in those men's eyes, because of Lazarus, lots of people were believing that Jesus was in fact the Christ. This was not in their plans and so they conspired on how to put Lazarus to death. Now, we never hear about this again and I think if they succeeded there would be more about it. I would assume that once they put Jesus to death they let it drop since clearly if he had been the promised Messiah He would not have died. At least I imagine that was their reasoning.

This chapter also contains a rare instance of the Father speaking. Jesus is troubled in spirit because His time is coming and He is scared, and who can blame Him? I mean who could do what He did? He is trying to teach His Apostles that what He does next is what He was born to do and He asks the Father to glorify His name. The Father responds and the people wonder thinking they have heard an angel. Jesus tells them that the Father did not speak for His benefit but rather for their benefit. What an experience that must have been. To be standing there and have a voice thunder out of heaven all around you like that! I think it would be scary honestly. I mean think about it. We're pretty used to PA systems and things like that in our world of technology. But think about if you were outside and suddenly you heard a voice from overhead. That would be a little spooky.

But this marks the beginning of the last week of the Savior's life. He knew it was coming, and yet nothing could have prepared Him for it. The next few chapters will go into detail that none of the other authors did, partly because they were not there in the case of Mark and Luke, and because he was more focused on other things in the case of Matthew. But John treats us to what it was like to be with Jesus, at His side the last week of His mortal life and to give us insights to the things Jesus taught His Apostles and to show us what it was like to be with Him at the end and the crux of all creation. We will read about it in the coming days and see what the Spirit wants to teach us. Until tomorrow.

Lazarus is Raised from the Dead

Today I read John 11, the chapter famous for the telling of Jesus raising Lazarus. It also contains the shortest verse in all the standard works for those of you who like those kinds of facts. There are many parts of this chapter that I find interesting and are worth talking about. First and foremost, this chapter tells us that Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, was the sinner that entered into the home of the Pharisee Simon and cleaned the Savior's feet with her tears and her hair. If you recall the story, Jesus points out that her sins were many, but they are forgiven. We can infer from this chapter and the fact that Jesus has continued association with her, that Mary turned her life around and sinned no more. It is always nice when you see someone turn their life around and start to live a good, upstanding life. Any returned missionary knows that feeling.

The second thing that I noticed in this chapter is when Lazarus was sick, Mary and Martha sent a messenger to Jesus to tell Him that Lazarus was sick and to please come and help him. Now, Jesus waits for two days before starting out to Lazarus' house where He finds that Lazarus has been dead for four days. I had never noticed this before this reading, but unless it took two days to travel to Bethany where they lived, Lazarus was already dead by the time Jesus even got the message that Lazarus was sick. I had never quite picked up on that before today. Now, we'll discuss the timing of this miracle in just a moment and why Jesus waited the precise amount of time before going to Bethany but I had never noticed that Jesus only waited 2 days but Lazarus was dead for 4 days, so he must have already been dead by the time Jesus got the message. Now that is only really significant if Jesus were a regular man and had no power over death He could have pointed out to Martha and Mary that Lazarus was already dead when He got the message. However, Jesus does have power over death and He waited for a very specific purpose.

It is also interesting to notice the different responses between Martha and Mary. Mary berates Jesus that if He had been here, Lazarus would still be alive. Martha says the same thing, however adds on that she knows that He is the Son of God and all things will be as He commands them to be. What a testimony! Whereas Mary was only grieving, Martha knew that Jesus had power over death and that if He so chose, He could bring her brother back from the dead. At first she is a little confused and thinks Jesus is talking about the resurrection, but then Jesus reminds her that He IS the Son of God. At that point Martha goes and gets Mary because she knows something amazing is about to happen, but she still has doubts. When Jesus wants to roll back the stone she forgets herself and tells Jesus that Lazarus stinks at this point. But I can understand Martha's position, I'm not sure how I would react to the prospect of someone I love being brought back from the dead.

Now, I'm sure most of you reading this already know this next part. It is commonly brought up in Sunday School classes and is a point usually made by people talking about this story. At this point Jesus had caused 2 other people to rise from the dead, Jarius' daughter and the widow's son. Both had only been dead a few hours. This was significant to the Jews because the Jews, at the time, believed that the Spirit of the body stayed nearby the body for 3 days and had the ability to re-enter into the body within those 3 days. But after 3 days the spirit leaves and is no longer able to enter into the body. This means that with the first two people Jesus brought back from the dead, the skeptics and enemies of Jesus could claim that Jesus did nothing but in fact it was the spirits of the bodies entering back into the bodies and nothing that Jesus did. Jesus also knew this and counted on it. Hence why He waited two days where he was so that by the time Jesus arrived in Bethany, Lazarus will have been dead for 4 days, too long for his spirit to re-enter the body on its own. So this time when Jesus caused Lazarus to rise from the dead, no one, not even His critics, could deny that is was Jesus who had performed this miracle. And so Jesus raises Lazarus back from the dead in front of dozens of witnesses and it cannot be denied.

Now, at this time the Pharisees are quite worried. They also cannot deny Jesus' power and this miracle. But they are worried because they think the people will proclaim Him to be the promised Messiah and therefore will rise up against the Romans who will then send forth their armies and destroy the people. They do not know what to do about this. It is then that Caiaphas, the high priest, ironically enough, declares that it is better that one man should perish than an entire nation. He has no idea that he is directly quoting the Lord from 600 years prior when the Lord commands Nephi to kill Laban and again even further back than that when the Plan of Salvation was first told to us and explained that Jesus would be our Savior and suffer so that we might all be saved. It is ironic that one of the men that considered Christ to be his enemy was in fact saving his people, so he thinks, in the exact same fashion that Jesus saved all of us. I wonder what Caiaphas thought of that when he learned the truth on the other side?

I can only imagine what it must have been like to see someone raised back from the dead like that. It must have been fantastic and a little scary I bet until they realized that Lazarus was whole and healthy. What must it have been like to live in those days and see the miracles of Jesus first hand? I suppose one day we will view it all and remember what we saw before we were born into this life. I can't wait for that day! Until tomorrow.