Day 36 September 14 - I Peter 1 - I John 1


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A Chosen Generation, A Royal Priesthood, An Holy Nation, A Peculiar People

Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. - Exodus 19:5, 6

Scripture Reference: 2:9-12

9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;

12 Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.

** Peculiar - GR purchased, preserved; note that in Ex. 19: 5 the Heb. word is segullah, meaning ‘special possession or property.’

Elder Russell M. Nelson, "Children of the Covenant," Ensign, May 1995, 32

Peter used uplifting terms in a prophecy regarding our day. He identified members of the Church as "a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people." The adjectives chosen, royal, and holy we recognize as elevating. But what about peculiar? A modern dictionary defines peculiar as "unusual," "eccentric," or "strange." What kind of compliment is that?

But the term peculiar as used in the scriptures is quite different. In the Old Testament, the Hebrew term from which peculiar was translated is segullah, which means "valued property," or "treasure." In the New Testament, the Greek term from which peculiar was translated is peripoiesis, which means "possession," or "an obtaining."

Thus, we see that the scriptural term peculiar signifies "valued treasure," "made" or "selected by God." For us to be identified by servants of the Lord as his peculiar people is a compliment of the highest order.

When we know who we are and what God expects of us—when his "law [is] written in [our] hearts"—we are spiritually protected. We become better people. When the Nephites were truly righteous, they avoided divisive nicknames and "there was no contention in the land, because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people."

"There were no … Lamanites, nor any manner of -ites; but they were in one, the children of Christ, and heirs to the kingdom of God."

That lesson from history suggests that we also delete from our personal vocabularies names that segregate and hyphens that separate. Paul taught that "there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus."

He invites us "to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; … all are alike unto God."

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been restored in these latter days to fulfill ancient promises of the Lord. It is part of the "restitution of all things." Committed children of the covenant remain steadfast, even in the midst of adversity. We shall "be chastened and tried, even as Abraham, who was commanded to offer up his only son." Yet we are strengthened by this promise of the Lord:

"Ye are lawful heirs, according to the flesh, and have been hid from the world with Christ in God—

"Therefore your life and the priesthood have remained, and must needs remain through you and your lineage until the restoration of all things. …

"Therefore, blessed are ye if ye continue in my goodness, a light unto the Gentiles, and through this priesthood, a savior unto my people Israel."

Edwin B. Firmage, "The Word of Wisdom: Mark of a Peculiar People," Ensign, Oct 1972, 18

The idea of separateness for his disciples has always been stressed by the Lord. In his first general epistle to the Church, Peter reminded the early Christians that they were chosen of God to perform certain functions essential to the accomplishment of his plan for the salvation of men. As the ancient Israelites were under covenant with the Lord to perform a peculiar role in the plan, and in that sense were a chosen people, so now the followers of Jesus had taken upon themselves by baptism a similar covenant. The early church, possessing unique priesthood powers, had a role to perform in the plan of salvation that could not be accomplished by others.

Peter told the early Christians that they were "a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light." (1 Pet. 2:9.)

A certain separateness seemed to be essential to the fulfillment of the roles to be performed by ancient Israel and later by the Christian church. Time and again Israel was enjoined to "come out of Babylon." The Christian was instructed to be in the world but not of the world. The worldliness of Rome and Jerusalem was compared by the early Christians with that of Babylon and Sodom. Members of the church were told to keep themselves unspotted from the world.

The relationship between the church and the world at best contained a constant element of tension; at worst the attempts of the church to perform its functions resulted in its persecution. But in either situation, tension or overt persecution, as long as Israel and later the Christian church maintained its separate identity, its peculiar functions could be performed. The danger to the performance of these functions lay not in persecution or unpopularity but rather in the possibility that Israel or the church would suffer an unconscious assimilation into the world and lose the separateness essential to the accomplishment of its mission. Prophets and apostles inveighed against any tendencies of Israel and the church to merge with the world and lose their separate identities.

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1 Peter 1 Introduction

“The two short letters we have from the Apostle Peter are treasures. Though containing about 3 percent of the New Testament, they survey the major doctrines of the early Church: the Atonement, repentance and baptism, priesthood power, the threatening apostasy, and Christ’s second coming. These doctrines come from no less than the person given the keys to lead Christ’s church anciently—keys bestowed in the presence of the transfigured Christ and the translated prophets Moses and Elijah.

“When in his ministry did Peter write the letters? The first half of the book of Acts narrates Peter’s Palestinian ministry in the two decades after the Resurrection, ending with the Jerusalem Council at mid-century, as explained in Acts 15. This meeting was held right after the first Gentile converts in Asia Minor joined the Church and the Apostles had to decide the relevance of the law of Moses for them. It took about another decade to evangelize the whole of Asia Minor. So it was probably in the early sixties when Peter wrote his first letter, addressing Christians of five major provinces in that area. (See 1 Pet. 1:1.) Consistent with this date is the fact that within fifty years, 1 Peter was being quoted as authoritative by two early Christian bishops in the region.” (Richard L. Anderson, “Peter’s Letters: Progression for the Living and the Dead,” Ensign, Oct. 1991, 7)

“His addressing a letter to church members in several provinces of Asia Minor implies a personal relationship in missionary work there (1 Pet. 1:1), and this letter was written from ‘Babylon,’ the early Christian code name for Rome, indicating Peter’s final ministry in the center of the empire so frequently referred to in early sources. (See 1 Pet. 5:13.)… Origen said that Peter came ‘to Rome and was crucified head downwards, for so he had asked to suffer.’ (Commentary on Genesis, cit. Eusebius, History 3:1.) So the Lord’s prophecy to Peter was at last fulfilled: ‘… when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.’ (John 21:18.) (Richard Lloyd Anderson, “Simon Peter,” Ensign, Feb. 1975, 49)

Joseph Smith

Peter penned the most sublime language of any of the apostles. (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 301.)

Harold B. Lee

[Often] when I want to pick up something that would give me some inspiring thoughts, I have gone back to the Epistles of Peter. (Jeffrey R. Holland, However Long and Hard the Road [salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1985], 95-98.)

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1 Peter 1:7 the trial of your faith… more precious than of gold that perisheth

“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently he starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of—throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. …” (C. S. Lewis, New York: The Macmillan Company, 1952, p. 160.)

James E. Faust

Into every life there come the painful, despairing days of adversity and buffeting. There seems to be a full measure of anguish, sorrow, and often heartbreak for everyone, including those who earnestly seek to do right and be faithful. The thorns that prick, that stick in the flesh, that hurt, often change lives which seem robbed of significance and hope. This change comes about through a refining process which often seems cruel and hard. In this way the soul can become like soft clay in the hands of the Master in building lives of faith, usefulness, beauty, and strength. For some, the refiner’s fire causes a loss of belief and faith in God, but those with eternal perspective understand that such refining is part of the perfection process. (“The Refiner’s Fire,” Ensign, May 1979, 53)

John Taylor

I do not desire trials. I do not desire affliction. I would pray to God to “lead me not in temptation, and deliver me from evil; for thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory.” But if the earthquake bellows, the lightnings flash, the thunders roll, and the powers of darkness are let loose, and the spirit of evil is permitted to rage, and an evil influence is brought to bear on the Saints, and my life with theirs is put to the test, let it come, for we are the Saints of the most High God, and all is well, all is peace, all is right, and will be, both in time and in eternity.

I used to think, if I were the Lord, I would not suffer people to be tried as they are. But I have changed my mind on that subject. Now I think I would, if I were the Lord, because it purges out the meanness and corruption that stick around the Saints, like flies around molasses. (The Gospel Kingdom: Selections from the Writings and Discourses of John Taylor, selected, arranged, and edited, with an introduction by G. Homer Durham [salt Lake City: Improvement Era, 1941], 333.)

Joseph Smith

The days of tribulation are fast approaching, and the time to test the fidelity of the Saints has come. Rumor with her ten thousand tongues is diffusing her uncertain sounds in almost every ear; but in these times of sore trial, let the Saints be patient and see the salvation of God. Those who cannot endure persecution, and stand in the day of affliction, cannot stand in the day when the Son of God shall burst the veil, and appear in all the glory of His Father, with all the holy angels. (History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 7 Vols

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1 Peter 1:15 be ye holy in all manner of conversation

Robert S. Wood

When we speak and act, we should ask whether our words and expressions are calculated to invite the powers of heaven into our lives and to invite all to come unto Christ. We must treat sacred things with reverence. We need to eliminate from our conversations the immodest and the lewd, the violent and the threatening, the demeaning and the false. As the Apostle Peter wrote, “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation” (1 Pet. 1:15). The expression conversation refers here not only to speech but also to our entire comportment. As Nephi, he is inviting us to so live that we may speak with the “tongue of angels.” (“The Tongue of Angels,” Ensign, Nov. 1999, 84)

George Q. Cannon

Do angels take the Lord's name in vain? The idea is so ridiculous that we scarcely like to ask the question. . . . How dare we do that which angels dare not do? (Gordon B. Hinckley, Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley [salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1997], 496.)

Gordon B. Hinckley

In our dialogues with others we must be an example of the believer. Conversation is the substance of friendly social activity. It can be happy. It can be light. It can be earnest. It can be funny. But it must not be salty, or uncouth, or foul if one is in sincerity a believer in Christ. . . .

It is a tragic and unnecessary thing that boys and girls use foul language. It is inexcusable for a girl so to speak. It is likewise serious for the boy who holds the priesthood. This practice is totally unacceptable for one authorized to speak in the name of God. To blaspheme His holy name or to speak in language that is debauched is offensive to God and man.

The man or the boy who must resort to such language immediately says that he is poverty-ridden in his vocabulary. He does not enjoy sufficient richness of expression to be able to speak effectively without swearing or using foul words. (“Take Not the Name of God in Vain,” Ensign, November 1987, pp. 45, 47-48.)

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1 Peter 2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby

Have you ever been amazed by how much a baby grows with a diet of almost nothing but milk? It seems they need little else and certainly don’t need adult food. Besides the choking risk, a newborn has neither the teeth to chew meat nor the stomach to digest it. The same is true of our consumption of gospel principles. It is just as inappropriate to teach deep doctrines to gospel novices as it is to feed meat to a baby. Besides, it is the simple gospel principles which edify anyway.

Peter is not speaking just to the new converts but also to the general membership. His hope is that the members will develop a desire for edifying spiritual food, and he thinks they need milk more than meat. Unfortunately, many of our spirits are already undernourished but on a diet anyway. Sometimes we make the mistake of spiritual anorexia, denying our souls the necessary sustenance. Other times we are spiritual bulimics, regularly consuming gospel principles but vomiting them out before they have time to nourish us. Alternatively, some prefer to satisfy their oral fixation with the pacifier of one gospel principle to the neglect of nourishing milk. Others, in their overconfidence, endlessly chew on the meat of deep doctrines without ever truly digesting them.

Gospel meat is an acquired taste. It is not the diet of the natural man. It may be consumed by the masses but can only be savored by those who have acquired a taste, line by line, precept by precept. Until that taste is fully developed we should ‘desire the sincere milk’ of the basic gospel principles.

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1 Peter 2:9 a royal priesthood

Thomas S. Monson

“As bearers of the priesthood, we have been placed on earth in troubled times. We live in a complex world with currents of conflict everywhere to be found. Political machinations ruin the stability of nations, despots grasp for power, and segments of society seem forever downtrodden, deprived of opportunity and left with a feeling of failure.

“We who have been ordained to the priesthood of God can make a difference. When we qualify for the help of the Lord, we can build boys, we can mend men, we can accomplish miracles in His holy service. Our opportunities are without limit.

“Though the task looms large, we are strengthened by the truth: ‘The greatest force in this world today is the power of God as it works through man.’ If we are on the Lord’s errand, we are entitled to the Lord’s help. That divine help, however, is predicated upon our worthiness. To sail safely the seas of mortality, to perform a human rescue mission, we need the guidance of that eternal mariner—even the great Jehovah. We reach out, we reach up, to obtain heavenly help.” (“You Make a Difference,” Ensign, May 1988, 41)

J. Reuben Clark, Jr.

“I am sure there is no other Church on this earth that has the proportion of Priesthood to total membership that we have. The plan which the Father had for Israel could not be carried out because they refused to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood, and the Lord took the Priesthood and then Moses out of their midst and left them with the Aaronic Priesthood.

“Now the lesson I would like to get out of this situation, is what a tremendous advantage not only, do we have over any other church, I think I may safely say in the world, but I would like to point out to you we have a corresponding responsibility, a responsibility that we cannot escape. We have been made in general language, a kingdom of priests, a priesthood kingdom. The Lord so looks at us, I am sure, and I am sure he will hold us responsible.” (Conference Report, April 1956, General Priesthood Meeting 82.)

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1 Peter 2:9 that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light

LeGrand Richards

“Now we are peculiar to the world. Wherever we go they want to give us different kinds of drinks than we are used to, and they wonder what they can do for us peculiar Mormons.

“Then Peter adds the reason for all of this: ‘. . . that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.’ (1 Pet. 2:9.)

“Isn't that what Jesus meant when he said, ‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven’? (Matt. 5:16.)

“This is God's work

“Just a few years ago we had a prominent woman here from New York. She came to attend our MIA June Conference. I had the privilege of meeting her several times. She was escorted around in the different departments, as many as she could attend. On Sunday morning we had our meeting here directed by the First Presidency. As she went into the little anteroom, I walked up to her, and calling her by name, I said, ‘Mrs. So and So, someday you will know that the spiritual capital of the world is Salt Lake City.’

“’Oh,’ she said, ‘I know that already.’

“It is interesting to know that when people come, they are impressed.” (Conference Report, October 1968, First Day—Morning Meeting 10 - 11.)

Joseph Fielding Smith

“Any man or woman in this Church who violates the commandments, though it may be one of the least, is doing injury not merely to himself or to herself, but to the entire body of the Church. We individually have in our care and keeping the good name of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and having that good name in our keeping, it is required of us that we walk circumspectly, that we be sincere in our conversation, in our deportment, in all that we do. A man may say that, if he violates one of these commandments which have been given to the Church, he is injuring only himself, but that is not the case, for he is doing an injury to the entire body of the people, because the world will judge the Church by the acts of the members.” (Conference Report, October 1922, Afternoon Session 73 - 74.)

Gordon B. Hinckley

“Sometimes we take offense when one who is nominally a member of the Church is involved in a crime and the public press is quick to say that he is a Mormon. We comment among ourselves that if he had been a member of any other church, no mention would have been made of it.

“Is not this very practice an indirect compliment to our people? The world expects something better of us, and when one of our number falters, the press is quick to note it. We have, indeed, become as a city upon a hill for the world to see. If we are to be that which the Lord would have us, we must indeed become ‘a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that [we] should shew forth the praises of him who hath called [us] out of darkness into his marvellous light.’ (1 Pet. 2:9.)” (“A City Set Upon a Hill,” Ensign, Nov. 1974, 99–100)

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1 Peter 3:15 be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you

Thomas S. Monson

Many years ago I boarded a plane in San Francisco en route to Los Angeles. As I sat down, the seat next to mine was empty. Soon, however, there occupied that seat a most lovely young lady. As the plane became airborne, I noticed that she was reading a book. As one is wont to do, I glanced at the title: A Marvelous Work and a Wonder. I mustered up my courage and said to her, “Excuse me. You must be a Mormon.”

She replied, “Oh, no. Why do you ask?”

I said, “Well, you’re reading a book written by LeGrand Richards, a very prominent leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”

She responded, “Is that right? A friend gave this book to me, but I don’t know much about it. However, it has aroused my curiosity.”

I wondered silently, Should I be forward and say more about the Church? The words of the Apostle Peter crossed my mind: “Be ready always to give an answer to every [one] that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you.” I decided that now was the time for me to share my testimony with her. I told her that it had been my privilege years before to assist Elder Richards in printing that book. I mentioned the great missionary spirit of this man and told her of the many thousands of people who had embraced the truth after reading that which he had prepared. Then it was my privilege, during the remainder of the flight, to answer her questions relative to the Church—intelligent questions which came from the heart, which I perceived was a heart seeking truth. I asked if I might have an opportunity to have the missionaries call upon her. I asked if she would like to attend one of our wards in San Francisco, where she lived. Her answers were affirmative. She gave me her name—Yvonne Ramirez—and indicated that she was a flight attendant on her way to an assignment.

Upon returning home I wrote to the mission president and the stake president, advising them of my conversation and that I had written to her and sent along some suggested reading. Incidentally, young men, I recommended that rather than sending two elders to this pretty off-duty flight attendant and her pretty roommate, two lady missionaries be assigned to call.

Several months passed by. Then I received a telephone call from the stake president, who asked, “Brother Monson, do you remember sitting next to a flight attendant on a trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles earlier this fall?” I answered affirmatively. He continued, “I thought you would like to know that Yvonne Ramirez has just become the most recently baptized and confirmed member of the Church. She would like to speak with you.”

A sweet voice came on the line: “Brother Monson, thank you for sharing with me your testimony. I am the happiest person in all the world.”

As tears filled my eyes and gratitude to God enlarged my soul, I thanked her and commended her on her search for truth and, having found it, her decision to enter those waters which cleanse and purify and provide entrance to eternal life.

I sat silently for a few minutes after replacing the telephone receiver. The words of our Savior coursed through my mind: “And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.” (D&C 84:88)

Such is the promise to all of us when we pursue our missionary opportunities and follow the counsel and obey the commandments of Jesus of Nazareth, our Savior and our King. (“That All May Hear,” Ensign, May 1995, 50)

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1 Peter 4:6 for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead

“The good news restored in this dispensation through the Prophet Joseph Smith is that the plan of salvation makes it possible for every person to be taught the gospel—if not in this life, then in the spirit world. Not only did Jesus Christ organize his Church and choose missionaries to teach the gospel on earth, but he also spent three days in the spirit world, where the spirits of those who have died await the resurrection. There he organized his work so that all the dead will be able to hear the gospel fully.” (George Lyman, “I Have a Question,” Ensign, June 1988, 58)

George Q. Cannon

My mind has reverted to a conversation which I had a few days ago with a minister of the Dutch Reform Church, who was passing through this city, and who was introduced to me, and had a good many inquires to make respecting our doctrines. When I told him how God had revealed Himself in these last days, how He had restored the Everlasting Priesthood, the ordinances of life and salvation, the Gospel in its original purity and power, accompanied with the Holy Ghost and its gifts, and had organized the Church as in ancient days, and related to him what God had said concerning all the churches in Christendom, he had the question to ask, which is so frequently asked of all our Elders when they travel and declare the same message, “Why has God left the Christian world for so long a time without these blessings and these powers and these gifts that you now claim as belonging to your Church and having been restored from heaven? And what has become of those Christians whom you say died in ignorance of the fullness of the Gospel of salvation?”

These are very pertinent questions. They are questions frequently asked of all our Elders. They are questions which suggest themselves to the minds of every thinking man when he is told that God has restored the truth in its original purity, with the power and authority of the Priesthood which have been so long withdrawn. Our ancestors we may have known, at least some of them; we may have known the morality of their lives, the purity of their intentions, the goodness of their motives, their exemplary conduct; and if we do not understand the principles of the Gospel when we are told the message that the Elders have to bear, the inquiry naturally arises, “Is it possible that my grandfather, my grandmother, my uncle, or perchance my father and my mother, have not gone to heaven, that they are not in the presence of God? Why, better people I never knew, and I have always thought,” says the inquirer, “that they really had gone to heaven, and now you tell me that unless I am baptized I shall be damned, and yet they are dead and have not been baptized.”

I expect many feel as the heathen king once felt. He was a king of the Franks, one of the old races that invaded what is now called France. He had surrendered his old convictions sufficiently to consent to receive the rite of baptism. A Catholic Bishop from Rome was to sprinkle him. But before submitting to be sprinkled the thought suggested itself to the king to ask the question what had become of his ancestors. The Bishop, more ready than politic, said, “They have gone to hell.” “Then,” said the king, “I will go to hell with them; I shall not be separated from my ancestors,” and he refused to receive the rite of baptism.

Now, I expect that there are many people in the world who, in the absence, or for the want of knowledge concerning the plan of salvation would almost feel the same when told that if they did not obey the Gospel, they would be damned. But when people are enlightened concerning the plan of Jehovah, the Gospel of the Son of God, they can easily reconcile justice and mercy as being attributes of the Great Being whom we worship. As I remarked to this gentleman, “I might easily answer your question by propounding another question to you. You are a Christian minister; you preach what you believe to be the Gospel; what has become of the millions of heathen who died in ignorance of that Gospel which you profess to obey and accept as the plan of salvation—the millions of heathen who never heard the name of Jesus Christ, the only name given under heaven whereby man can be saved—what has become of them?”

“Oh,” said he, “but they were not Christians.”

Said I, “Do you think that God makes a distinction between the souls or the spirits of men? Is there one class of spirits for whom He has a greater respect than He has for others! Is a Christian soul more valuable, or more precious, in the sight of our Great Creator, than the soul of a heathen? I do not believe it myself. I have no such idea.”

But he could see a wide distinction between those who were Christians and those who were not.

Nevertheless the difficulty still remains, and it will ever remain to those who do not comprehend the plan of salvation as revealed by the Lord Jesus Christ. We must remember that God's work is not confined to this life; that God's plan of salvation extends throughout eternity; that according to our belief it began to operate in eternity, if it ever began at all—for it never really in truth began, it always operated, operated from eternity and will operate to eternity, for all the children of men, for every human soul. The plan of salvation devised by our Father and God, is intended to save every human being that will be saved; to reach them all, unless, during this probation, they commit what is termed the unpardonable sin, the sin against the Holy Ghost, and become sons of perdition, in which event salvation ceases (so far as they are concerned) to operate; they put themselves outside of the pale of salvation. (Journal of Discourses, 26 vols. [London: Latter-day Saints' Book Depot, 1854-1886], 26: 79-80.)

Spencer W. Kimball

[The Savior] provided the opportunity whereby they might repent of their sins, change their attitudes and their lives, and live according to God in the spirit. We do not know how many millions of spirits are involved. We know that many have passed away in wars, pestilence, and in various accidents. We know that the spirit world is filled with the spirits of men who are waiting for you and me to get busy—waiting as the signers of the Declaration of Independence waited. “Why,” they asked President Wilford Woodruff, “why do you keep us waiting?” That question continues to be asked of us also, by our own people.

We wonder about our progenitors—grandparents, great-grandparents, great-great-grandparents, etc. What do they think of you and me? We are their offspring. We have the responsibility to do their temple work, and the beautiful temples of the Lord stand day after day, yet we do not fill them always. We have a grave responsibility that we cannot avoid, and may stand in jeopardy if we fail to do this important work.

I hope our Saints will understand the glorious reality of it all: that as the work in our temples is done in this world, it helps to prepare us for another and better world. (“The Things of Eternity—Stand We in Jeopardy?” Ensign, Jan. 1977, 5)

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1 Peter 5:2 Feed the flock of God which is among you

The most painful lesson Peter ever learned was the mistake of three times denying the Lord. Later, providing opportunity for restitution, the Lord asked Peter three times, “Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?” (John 21:16) After declaring his love and devotion three times, the Lord gave Peter the second most important lesson—to feed his sheep. Those who declare their love for the chief Shepherd must of necessity abide the injunction to feed the flock.

Gordon B. Hinckley

Great is our work, tremendous is our responsibility in helping to find those to teach. The Lord has laid upon us a mandate to teach the gospel to every creature. This will take the very best efforts of every missionary—full-time and stake. It will take the very best efforts of every bishop, of every bishop’s counselor, of every member of the ward council. It will take the very best interests of every stake president and his council, and particularly the Member Missionary Coordinating Councils.

God bless you, my beloved brethren and sisters, in meeting the tremendous challenge that is ours. We cannot evade it. We cannot escape it. We must face up to it. The opportunities are tremendous. We are equal to it, and the Lord will bless us as we try. (“Find the Lambs, Feed the Sheep,” Ensign, May 1999, 107–8)

Helvécio Martins

President Marion G. Romney taught that the home teachers “carry the heavy and glorious responsibility of representing the Lord Jesus Christ in looking after the welfare of each member” (Ensign, Mar. 1973, pp. 12–13).

Every Sunday, those brothers received our family when we arrived at the chapel. They sat next to us during meetings. They taught us the hymns. They taught us about the standards of the kingdom. They called us to inform about the passing away of President Joseph Fielding Smith, and later about the calling of the new prophet, President Harold B. Lee.

They were interested in the well-being and the progress of our family and our eventual needs. After our baptism, postponed for two months, and even after we had moved to the Tijuca Ward, these dedicated home teachers and President Barros took turns during the following three months, approximately, in regular phone calls to know if our family was well adjusted in the new ward, if everything was all right, if any help was needed.

In spite of the change of residence, the home teachers did not feel totally released of their duties of taking care and giving attention to our family.

Even being sure we had new shepherds, they continued as our brothers in Christ.

What a magnificent attitude! They no longer had the assignment, but they kept the Christian interest. What an extraordinary bond was established. Almost twenty-three years have passed since then. Many other home teacher companions have succeeded those first ones. Their names, with few exceptions, are vaguely remembered, but the names and images of those first servants are forever in our memories since they served as true shepherds.

“The most worthy calling in life … is that in which man can serve best his fellow man,” taught President David O. McKay (Instructor, Mar. 1961, pp. 73–74).

Those brothers were, in fact, guardians, keepers, and very supportive. It is also worth mentioning that they fulfilled their stewardship with happy countenances, which reflected a happy state of spirit.

It seemed as if it were an honor and a privilege for them to serve so. They seemed to understand the duties of the eldest and youngest alike, as it was taught by the Apostle Peter:

Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind” (1 Pet. 5:2). (“Watchmen on the Tower,” Ensign, May 1995, 44)

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2 Peter 1 Introduction

Peter begins his second epistle with a dissertation on the deep doctrine of calling and election. He exhorts the saints to make their calling and election sure in verse 10 but the entire chapter is devoted to the same subject. Without the spirit of revelation and Joseph Smith’s teachings, we would not know what Peter was really talking about.

Joseph Smith

“There are three grand secrets lying in this chapter, which no man can dig out, unless by the light of revelation, and which unlock the whole chapter as the things that are written are only hints of things which existed in the prophet's mind, which are not written concerning eternal glory.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 304)

Bruce R. McConkie

“Those members of the Church who devote themselves wholly to righteousness, living by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God, make their calling and election sure. That is, they receive the more sure word of prophecy, which means that the Lord seals their exaltation upon them while they are yet in this life. Peter summarized the course of righteousness which the saints must pursue to make their calling and election sure and then (referring to his experience on the Mount of Transfiguration with James and John) said that those three had received this more sure word of prophecy.

Joseph Smith taught: ‘After a person has faith in Christ, repents of his sins, and is baptized for the remission of his sins and receives the Holy Ghost (by the laying on of hands), which is the first Comforter, then let him continue to humble himself before God, hungering and thirsting after righteousness, and living by every word of God, and the Lord will soon say unto him, Son, thou shall be exalted. When the Lord has thoroughly proved him, and finds that the man is determined to serve him at all hazards, then the man will find his calling and election made sure, then it will be his privilege to receive the other Comforter.’ To receive the other Comforter is to have Christ appear to him and to see the visions of eternity. (Teachings, pp. 149-151.)” (Mormon Doctrine, 2d ed. [salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1966], 109.)

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2 Peter 1:5-7 How to obtain the great and precious promise of eternal life

Ezra Taft Benson

“The Savior declared that life eternal is to know the only true God and His Son Jesus Christ (see John 17:3). If this is true, and I bear you my solemn witness that it is true, then we must ask how we come to know God. The process of adding one godly attribute to another, as described by Peter, becomes the key to gaining this knowledge that leads to eternal life…Oh, my beloved brethren, I pray that these qualities and attributes of the Savior may abound in us so that when we stand at the Judgment and He asks each one of us, ‘What manner of man are ye?’ we can raise our heads in gratitude and joy and answer, ‘Even as thou art.’ This is my humble prayer for each and every priesthood holder in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.” (“Godly Characteristics of the Master,” Ensign, Nov. 1986, 48)

Joseph Smith

“If you wish to go where God is, you must be like God, or possess the principles which God possesses. For if we are not drawing towards God in principle, we are going from him and drawing towards the Devil…Search your hearts and see if you are like God. I have searched mine and feel to repent of all my sins.” (Kent P. Jackson, Joseph Smith’s Commentary on the Bible, 205)

David O. McKay

“(quoting 2 Peter 1:5-8) Those are divine steps, that lead back to the presence of God, our Eternal Father.

“May the young within the sound of our voices tonight, and all in the Church, follow those steps, and gain, each one the precious gift of a knowledge of the divinity of this work, I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.” (Conference Report, October 1953, General Priesthood Meeting 90.)

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2 Peter 2:10-12 But these…speak evil of the things that they understand not

Spencer W. Kimball

“Among Church members rebellion frequently takes the form of criticism of authorities and leaders. They ‘speak evil of dignities’ and ‘of the things that they understand not,’ says Peter. They complain of the programs, belittle the constituted authorities, and generally set themselves up as judges. After a while they absent themselves from Church meetings for imagined offenses, and fail to pay their tithes and meet their other Church obligations. In a word, they have the spirit of apostasy, which is almost always the harvest of the seeds of criticism. Unless they repent they shrivel in the destructive element they have themselves prepared, poison themselves with mixtures of their own concocting; or as Peter puts it, they ‘perish in their own corruption.’ Not only do they suffer but their posterity also. In modern times the Lord has described their fate in these words:

‘Cursed are all those that shall lift up the heel against mine anointed, saith the Lord, and cry they have sinned when they have not sinned before me, saith the Lord.

But those who cry transgression do it because they are the servants of sin, and are the children of disobedience themselves.

And those who swear falsely against my servants…

Their basket shall not be full, their houses and their barns shall perish, and they themselves shall be despised by those that flattered them.

They shall not have right to the priesthood, nor their posterity after them from generation to generation.’

“Such people fail to bear testimony to their descendants, destroy faith within their own homes, and actually deny the ‘right to the priesthood’ to succeeding generations who might otherwise have been faithful in all things.” (The Miracle of Forgiveness [salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1969], 42-43)

Spencer W. Kimball

“We pray for the Church leaders. If children all their days in their turn at family prayers and in their secret prayers remember before the Lord the leaders of the Church, they are quite unlikely to ever fall into apostasy and into the class that Peter mentioned: ‘. . . Presumptuous are they . . . selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.’ (2 Peter 2:10.) The children who pray for the brethren will grow up loving them, speaking well of them, honoring and emulating them. Those who daily hear the leaders of the Church spoken of in prayer in deep affection will more likely believe the sermons and admonitions they will hear.

“When boys speak to the Lord concerning their bishop, they are likely to take very seriously the interviews with the bishop in which priesthood advancements and mission and temple blessings are being discussed. And girls too will have a healthy respect for all church proceedings as they pray for the leaders of the Church.” (Faith Precedes the Miracle [salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1972], 203.)

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2 Peter 3:8 one day is with the Lord as a thousand years

“While some readers of the Bible throughout the world regard that the creation of the earth took six 24-hour days, other readers of the Bible refer to Peter’s statement ‘that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day’ (2 Pet. 3:8) as evidence that the process of creation may have taken six thousand years.

“Latter-day Saints have additional information that allows a third view: that each ‘day’ of the Creation was of unspecified duration, and that the creation of the earth took place during an unknown length of time. In fact, Abraham stresses that time is synonymous with day. For example, Abraham 4:8 summarizes the second creative period by stating that ‘this was the second time that they called night and day.’ This usage is completely consistent with the ancient Hebrew. The Hebrew word YOM, often translated ‘day,’ can also mean ‘time’ or ‘period.’ In other words, the term translated ‘day’ in Genesis could be appropriately read as ‘period.’” (Thomas R. Valletta, “I Have a Question,” Ensign, Jan. 1994, 53)

Bruce R. McConkie

“Time is measured by the revolutions of whatever planet or other heavenly body is involved. With reference to ‘celestial time,’ the Lord said to Abraham, ‘that Kolob was after the manner of the Lord, according to its times and seasons in the revolutions thereof; that one revolution was a day unto the Lord, after his manner of reckoning, it being one thousand years according to the time appointed unto that whereon thou standest. This is the reckoning of the Lord's time, according to the reckoning of Kolob.’ (Abra. 3:4.) Later, with reference to God's decree that in the day Adam partook of the forbidden fruit he should surely die, the record says: ‘Now I, Abraham, saw that it was after the Lord's time, which was after the time of Kolob, for as yet the Gods had not appointed unto Adam his reckoning.’ (Abra. 5:13.)” (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3 vols. [salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1965-1973], 3: 368.)

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1 John 1 Historical Background

“John was the surviving member of the early Church’s presidency. Reading the close of his Gospel and its modern clarification (see D&C 7), we know that John’s special ministry continued without death, though he was known as an aged Apostle at the end of the first century. As the final witness of Christ among the Old World Apostles, he penned his firsthand knowledge of Jesus in plain phrases: ‘Which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled.’ (1 Jn. 1:1.)

“History sketches John’s last mortal decade but is silent about his middle years. Earlier there was the intense period of testifying with Peter in the temple. During this period he also sat in many Church councils on the expanding work. Like Peter after the Jerusalem Conference, John disappeared from our view. Unlike Peter, however, there was no hint of John’s whereabouts until almost half a century later.

“John’s life during these years was sketched by Irenaeus, a bishop writing in the last quarter of the second century… Irenaeus related that John wrote the Revelation in exile ‘towards the end of Domitian’s reign,’ which is A.D. 96. 14 John then wrote his Gospel ‘during his residence at Ephesus in Asia.’ Some modern scholars speak of an Ephesian ministry before Patmos, but Irenaeus gives no hint of this. Irenaeus speaks of John as known until ‘the times of Trajan,’ a reign that began in A.D. 98. That approximate date for John’s Gospel is supported by Irenaeus’s story that the Apostle John would not be in the same building with the heretical Cerinthus, who flourished in the early second century.

“So a study of Irenaeus suggests about A.D. 96 for Revelation, about A.D. 98 for the Gospel, and about A.D. 100 for the letters. Since the letters constantly refer to what Christ taught, they presuppose that the Apostle had already circulated his Gospel. Some modern Christians mistakenly argue that no prophecy could come after the end of Revelation, but the Apostle continued to speak and write by inspiration after warning copyists not to change ‘the book of this prophecy,’ clearly referring to the book of Revelation only. (See Rev. 1:3; Rev. 22:19.)

“According to modern revelation, Apostles are ‘special witnesses of the name of Christ in all the world’ (D&C 107:23), and no one filled this assignment more faithfully than John. A trademark of his writings is the emphasis on ‘witness,’ ‘testimony,’ and ‘bear record.’ John testified firsthand because he outlived all others who could speak of Jesus from personal knowledge. But his words also show reliance on the Holy Ghost as the deeper source of knowledge of Christ. (See 1 Jn. 5:9.)…

“The patterns in 1 John are striking. He continually reminds his readers of what Jesus taught ‘from the beginning.’ His topics are those of the Last Supper discourse, showing us that more than half a century later he still remembers the final mortal teachings of the Lord…love. What are the springs of life-giving love? John, the Apostle of love, answers from his strength in the Lord: ‘We love him because he first loved us.’ (1 Jn. 4:19.)” (Richard Lloyd Anderson, “The First Presidency of the Early Church: Their Lives and Epistles,” Ensign, Aug. 1988, 21)

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1 John 1:7 if we walk in the light

Bernard P. Brockbank

Sometimes we like to create a little darkness to hide in, but in God there is no darkness at all. (Conference Report, October 1962, Afternoon Meeting 105 - 106.)

Bruce R. McConkie

Where the true gospel of Christ is, there is light; and where that gospel is not found, darkness reigns. “The whole world lieth in sin, and groaneth under darkness and under the bondage of sin, . . . because they come not unto me,” the Lord said. (D. & C. 84:49-54.) “Darkness covereth the earth, and gross darkness the minds of the people,” (D. & C. 112:23.) The kingdom of the devil is “full of darkness,” (Rev. 16: 10.) And men “love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil.” (D. & C. 10:21; John 3:19.) But when men repent and heed the call of Christ, they thereby come “out of darkness into his marvelous light.” (1 Pet. 2:9; 1 Thess. 5:4; 1 John 2:9.) (Mormon Doctrine, 2d ed. [salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1966], 179.)

Joseph B. Wirthlin

To be a light for others, we ourselves must live in the light. To do this, we must make correct choices, walking in the ways of the Lord.

There are places where our lights shine the brightest Elder Theodore M. Burton of the Seventy shared this experience with us:

When I was a young boy, I went with my father to inspect a mine in Nevada. We each had flashlights, but took no extra batteries with us, for we did not expect to be in the mine very long. But the tunnel was longer, colder, and deeper than we anticipated. Before we got to the end of the mine, where the mineral was, father told me to turn off my flashlight to save my batteries. By the time father had finished inspecting the mine, his flashlight began to dim, and he suggested we had better turn back. Before long his flashlight gave out completely, and I can still remember—until I again turned on my light—the panic I felt to be in such cold and utter blackness. Although my own batteries gave out before we reached the mine entrance, we were by then guided by the dim light coming from the mouth of the tunnel. How good it felt to see the light increase coming from the mouth of the tunnel. How good it felt to see the light increase as we made our way back to the entrance and found ourselves in warm, brilliant sunlight.

I have since wondered how anyone could knowingly prefer to live where it is dark and cold. How could anybody willingly prefer darkness and misery over light and warmth? Yet darkness, cold, and misery will be the lot of those who willingly and knowingly reject the Lord. John wrote, “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5.)

I remember passing a dark and dirty pool hall in years past. When it changed ownership, the new owner spared no expense to clean up the place. He put bright lights where dim ones had been. He painted with clean new colors over dark and dingy walls. He replaced painted windows with clear glass that invited in the sunshine. The “new place” smelled clean and fresh and was bright, shining, and inviting. But what happened next was an interesting phenomenon. Most of the old customers stayed away; they chose darkness rather than light. A decrease in business was followed by a period of planned neglect. Clear windows become smoke-filmed and fly-specked. Bright lights were turned out. Walls became dirty. Eventually the old customers returned to their comfort zone in the darkness.

Familiarity with darkness can eventually erode our sensitivity until we choose darkness rather than light. Let us seek the light and keep our own lights shining, thus inviting the Spirit of the Lord into our lives, our homes, and the lives of our children and neighbors. (Finding Peace in Our Lives [salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1995], 83-84.)

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