Therefore What - Jeffrey R. Holland

In spite of life’s tribulations, there is help for all of us on this journey. When Christ bids us to yield, to submit, to obey the Father, He knows how to help us do that. He has walked that way, asking us to do what He has done, but He has made it very much easier for our travel. He knows where the sharp stones and the stumbling blocks lie and where the thorns and the thistles are the most severe. He knows where the path is perilous, and He knows which way to go when the road forks and nightfall comes. He knows that because He has suffered “pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind … that he may know … how to succor his people according to their infirmities” (Alma 7:11–12). To succor means “to run to.” I testify that Christ will run to us, and is running even now, if we will but receive the extended arm of His mercy.

When we stagger or stumble, He is there to steady and strengthen us. In the end He is there to save us, and for all this He gave His life. However dim our days may seem, they have been a lot darker for the Savior of the world. As a reminder of those days, Jesus has chosen, even in a resurrected, otherwise perfected body, to retain for the benefit of His disciples the wounds in His hands and in His feet and in His side—signs, if you will, that painful things happen even to the pure and the perfect; signs, if you will, that pain in this world is not evidence that God doesn’t love you; signs, if you will, that problems pass and happiness can be ours. Remind others that it is the wounded Christ who is the Captain of our souls, He who yet bears the scars of our forgiveness, the lesions of His love and humility, the torn flesh of obedience and sacrifice.

These wounds are the principal way we are to recognize Him when He comes. He may invite us forward, as He has invited others, to see and to feel those marks. If not before, then surely at that time, we will remember with Isaiah that it was for us that a God was “despised and rejected … ; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief,” that “he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed” (Isa. 53:3, 5).

-Elder Jeffrey R. Holland - CES Conference - August 8, 2000 ("Therefore, What?”)

Read or download the full talk HERE

Saul's Conversion

Damascus is about one hundred and fifty miles north of Jerusalem, so it would take Saul and his attendants about a week to travel the distance. Perhaps during those few days of comparative leisure, he began to wonder whether what he was doing was right or not. Perhaps the shining face of the dying Stephen and the martyr's last prayer began to sink more deeply into his soul than it had done before. Little children's cries for their parents whom Saul had bound began to pierce his soul more keenly, and make him feel miserably unhappy as he looked forward to more experiences of that kind in Damascus. Perhaps he wondered whether the work of the Lord, if he were really engaged in it, would make him feel so restless and bitter. He was soon to learn that only the work of the evil one produces those feelings, and that true service for the Lord, always brings peace and contentment.

Ancient Apostles - Lesson 23 - David O McKay

The Omniscience of God

BOOK: All These Things Shall Give Thee Experience

CHAPTER 2: The Omniscience of an Omnipotent and Omniloving God

BY: Neal A. Maxwell

Few doctrines, save those pertaining to the reality of the existence of God, are more basic than the truth that God is omniscient. "O how great the holiness of our God! For he knoweth all things, and there is not anything save he knows it." (2 Nephi. 9:20.) Unfortunately, this truth is sometimes only passively assented to by individuals who avoid exploring it and coming to understand its implications. Later on, such believers sometimes have difficulty with the implications of this core doctrine—which connects with other powerful doctrines such as the foreknowledge of God, foreordination, and foreassignment. The all-loving God who shapes our individual growing and sanctifying experiences—and then sees us through them—could not do so if He were not omniscient.

The word omniscient has, at times, been used carelessly, unnecessarily blurring our understanding of this very fundamental attribute of God. We read in the Prophet Joseph Smith's Lectures on Faith that God is perfect in the attributes of divinity, and one of these is knowledge: ". . . seeing that without the knowledge of all things, God would not be able to save any portion of his creatures; for it is by reason of the knowledge which he has of all things, from the beginning to the end, that enables him to give that understanding to his creatures by which they are made partakers of eternal life; and if it were not for the idea existing in the minds of men that God had all knowledge it would be impossible for them to exercise faith in him." (Lecture 4, paragraph 11.)

Joseph Smith also declared, "God is the only supreme governor and independent being in whom all fullness and perfection dwell; who is omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient." (Lecture 2, paragraph 2.)

God, who knows the beginning from the end, knows, therefore, all that is in between. He could not safely see us through our individual allotments of "all these things" that shall give us experience if He did not first know "all things."

Below the scripture that declares that God knows "all things" there is no footnote reading "except that God is a little weak in geophysics"! We do not worship a God who simply forecasts a generally greater frequency of earthquakes in the last days before the second coming of His Son; He knows precisely when and where all these will occur. God has even prophesied that the Mount of Olives will cleave in twain at a precise latter-day time as Israel is besieged. (Zechariah 14:4.)

There are no qualifiers, only flat and absolute assertions of the omniscience of God such as these: "The Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all." (1 Chronicles 28:9.) The psalmist said that the Lord's "understanding is infinite." (Psalm 147:5.) "Now we are sure that thou knowest all things." (John 16:30.) "The Lord knoweth all things which are to come." (Words of Mormon 1:7.)

Mortals should not aspire to teach God that He is not omniscient by adding qualifiers that He has never used in the scriptures. Job rightly asked, "Shall any teach God knowledge?" (Job 21:22.)

The Lord could not know all things that are to come if He did not know all things that are past as well as all things that are present. Alma described God's "foreknowledge" of all things and said also that God "comprehendeth all things." (Alma 13:3; 26:35.) Indicating that omniscience is a hallmark of divinity, Helaman wrote, "Except he was a God he could not know of all things." (Helaman 9:41.)

The Lord Himself said that He "knoweth all things, for all things are present" before Him. (D&C 38:2.) We read, too, that "all things are present with me, for I know them all." (Moses 1:6.)

Therefore, God's omniscience is not solely a function of prolonged and discerning familiarity with us—but of the stunning reality that the past and present and future are part of an "eternal now" with God! (Joseph Smith, History of the Church 4:597.)

Most, if not all of us, have been momentarily wrenched by the sound of a train whistle spilling into the night air—and we have been inexplicably subdued by the mix of memories and feelings it evokes. Perhaps, too, we have been beckoned by a lighted cottage across a snow-covered meadow at dusk. Or we have heard the distant but drawing soft laughter of children at play. Or we have been tugged at by the strains of singing from a nearby church. In such moments we have felt a deep yearning, as if we were outside something to which we belonged and of which we so much wanted again to be a part. The impact has been brief, to be sure—but real!

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Grace - Lesson from Romans

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New Testament Articles from BYU Religious Studies Center

Go Ye Into All the World: Messages of the New Testament Apostles

The 31st Annual Sidney B. Sperry Symposium

Growth of the Church Despite Opposition

Acts 9:32–43 

(see also the student manual commentary for Acts 9:32–43)

Acts 11:19–30 

(see also the student manual commentary for Acts 9:26–31; 11:22–30)

Acts 12:1–19, 24 

(see also the student manual commentaries for Acts 12:1–2; for Acts 12:1–19; 

and for Acts 12:12).

Summarize the account in the scriptures 

and describe any (if any) opposition the Church faced.

Point out any verses that describe the growth of the early Church.

Moses and Jesus Christ

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Acts 3: 17-21

Doctrinal New Testament Commentary - Bruce R. McConkie

Acts 3:17; 17. Jesus' murderers acted in ignorance only in the sense that they did not know he was the Son of God. But even this was an ignorance born of rebellion, born of a refusal to believe the Messianic prophecies, born of a deliberate election to close their eyes to the teachings and miracles which testified of his divinity.

Acts 3:18; 18. Christ should suffer] Israel had expected a triumphant, temporal King, but the Messianic prophecies spoke of a suffering, reviled, and rejected Redeemer. (Psalms 22; Isaiah 50:6; 53:1-12.)

Acts 3:19; 19. Repent ye therefore, and be converted] Joseph Smith says that Peter is here addressing the murderers who crucified Christ and that this is the reason Peter "did not" invite them to repent and be baptized for the remission of sins, but rather counseled them to repent and be converted in the hope their sins would be blotted out at the Second Coming. "They could not be baptized for the remission of sins," the Prophet said, "for they had shed innocent blood." (Teachings, p. 339.) Speaking of this verse, Joseph Smith also said: "Remission of sins by baptism was not to be preached to murderers. . . . There is no forgiveness for murderers; they will have to wait until the times of redemption shall come, and that in hell." (Franklin D. Richards and James A. Little, A Compendium, p. 288, 2nd ed.)

Acts 3:19; That your sins may be blotted out] Not that they shall be forgiven and be heirs of salvation, as are those whose sins are washed away by baptism; but after they have paid the utmost farthing, they shall rise to some degree of reward in one of the lesser mansions.

Acts 3:19; The times of refreshing] Joseph Smith says this has "reference to the time when Christ should come; then, and not till then, would their sins be blotted out. Why? Because they were murderers, and no murderer hath eternal life." (Teachings, p. 188.) It "has the same meaning as the one in the Tenth Article of Faith which records that 'the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.' This occurrence is 'the regeneration' which shall take place 'when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory.' (Matthew 19:28.) It is also 'the day of transfiguration . . When the earth shall be transfigured.' (D&C 63:20-21.)

Acts 3:19; "This earth was created in a new or paradisiacal state; then, incident to Adam's transgression, it fell to its present telestial state. At the Second Coming of our Lord, it will be renewed, regenerated, refreshed, transfigured, become again a new earth, a paradisiacal earth. Its millennial status will be a return to its pristine state of beauty and glory, the state that existed before the fall." (Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed., pp. 795-796.)

Acts 3:20; 20. He shall send Jesus Christ] The Second Coming of the Son of Man; he shall be sent again by his Father, this time in glory and triumph to reign on earth a thousand years.

Acts 3:21; 21. Whom the heaven must receive until] Christ must and shall retain heaven as his dwelling place until the time appointed for him to return and reign personally on earth. In the providences of the Father, the Second Coming cannot be until "the times of restitution."

Acts 3:21; The times of restitution] The age or era of restoration. "It is that period in the earth's history known as the dispensation of the fulness of times, for in that era all things are to be restored. (Ephesians 1:10.)

Acts 3:21; "It should be noted that Peter does not say that all things must be restored before Christ comes, but that the age, era, period, or times in the earth's history in which restoration is to take place must itself commence. That era did begin in the spring of 1820, but all things will not be revealed until after Christ comes. (D&C 101: 32-34.)" (Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed., p. 796.)

Acts 3:21; Of all things] What will be restored? All things! Visions, revelations, miracles, and gifts of the Spirit; apostles, prophets, seventies, evangelists, and judges in Israel; doctrines, ordinances, rites, and knowledge; priesthood, keys, and powers; the fulness of the gospel; Israel as a kingdom and a people; and even the earth itself "will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory." (Tenth Article of Faith.)

Acts 2

In speaking of the purpose of the gift of tongues, Joseph Smith said: "The gift of tongues by the power of the Holy Ghost in the Church, is for the benefit of the servants of God to preach to unbelievers, as on the day of Pentecost." (Teachings, p. 195.) Also: "Be not so curious about tongues, do not speak in tongues except there be an interpreter present; the ultimate design of tongues is to speak to foreigners, and if persons are very anxious to display their intelligence, let them speak to such in their own tongues [that is in the tongues of the foreigners]." (Teachings, pp. 247-248.) See 1 Corinthians 14:6-28.

"Pentecostal outpourings of the Spirit have occurred many times in many dispensations. One of these great latter-day Pentecostal periods was in connection with the dedication of the Kirtland Temple. For a period of weeks, the visions of eternity were opened to many, angels visited in the congregations of the saints, the Lord himself was seen by many, and tongues and prophecy were multiplied. (History of the Church, vol. 2, pp. 379-436.) On Sunday, March 27, 1836, in the dedicatory service itself, an almost exact repetition of the events of the New Testament day of Pentecost took place. 'Brother George A. Smith arose and began to prophesy,' the Prophet recorded, 'when a noise was heard like the sound of a rushing mighty wind, which filled the Temple, and all the congregation simultaneously arose, being moved upon by an invisible power; many began to speak in tongues and prophesy; others saw glorious visions; and I beheld the Temple was filled with angels, which fact I declared to the congregation. The people of the neighborhood came running together (hearing an unusual sound within, and seeing a bright light like a pillar of fire resting upon the Temple), and were astonished at what was taking place.'

(History of the Church, vol. 2, p. 428.) " (Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed., pp. 181-182.)

Disciple in New Testament Times

The word disciple is closely associated with the word discipline, and it might well be said that a disciple is a disciplined believer or adherent.  The word literally means “a learner” and denotes one who follows the teachings of another.  A disciple, however, is not merely a pupil but is an imitator of the teacher.  In the Jewish culture of Jesus’ day a disciple of a rabbi would leave his home and move in with his teacher.  He served the teacher in the most servile ways, treating him as an absolute authority.  He was expected not only to learn all that his rabbi knew but also to become like him in character and piety.  In turn, the rabbi provided food and lodging and saw his own distinctive interpretations transmitted through his disciples to future generations.  When Mark says that Jesus chose twelve men “that they should be with him” (Mark 3:14), he accurately reflects contemporary understanding of how future leaders were trained.  Inherent in such a call was the idea of a disciple’s total commitment.

-W.E. Vine - An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, Pg. 226

Harold B. Lee on the Beatitudes

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Matthew Chapter 5 JST

See PDF of Matthew 5 JST

From the Inspired Version

The Sermon on the Mount

Interesting insights on the Bible and the JST can be found at the BYU Religious Studies Center. Click on the title below to see an article regarding the Sermon on the Mount.

The Sermon on the Mount in the JST and the Book of Mormon  

Robert A. Cloward

The Number 40 in Scripture

The Lost Language of Symbolism

Alonzo L. Gaskill

Forty

Some commentators interpret this number as simply meaning "a lengthy period of time." As it is applied to years, it is certainly that. However, the symbolism in the number goes beyond this simple definition. In scripture, the number represents a period of trial, testing, probation, or mourning.

In the days of Noah it is said to have rained some forty days and forty nights (see Genesis 7:12). This cleansing of the earth, both literal and symbolic, gave God and Noah reason to mourn (see Moses 7:27–38; 8:22–30). One typologist added that Noah's faith was tested and found to be all that it should be.

Israel's sojourn in the wilderness lasted forty years. Because they had exhibited lack of faith when they initially fled Egypt, God required that they be tested forty years; then he called another generation to receive the promised land, instead of those who had come out of Egypt under Moses (see Numbers 14:20–23).

In accordance with the law of Moses, no more than forty lashes could be imposed on an offender (see Deuteronomy 25:3). The number forty here is likely symbolic of both the mourning that will come to those who sin and refuse to repent, and possibly that trials and tests have their limits. The Lord gave the inhabitants of the city of Nineveh forty days to repent, or they would be "overthrown" (Jonah 3:4).

Moses was on Mount Sinai forty days while the children of Israel were being tested by Jehovah. They failed miserably because, lacking faith in the true God, they chose to create the golden calf as an image of their god (see Exodus 24:18). After the episode with the idol, Moses again went up upon the mount for an additional forty days (see Deuteronomy 9:18, 25).

One text offers this interesting observation: "According to the reckoning in our Bibles, Christ was born into the world about the four-thousandth year, or fortieth century. Forty, we have seen, is the symbol of probation. So after a full period of the world's probation under law, Jesus Christ was born into the world to usher in grace."

Jesus fasted for forty days and then was tempted prior to beginning his official earthly ministry. As evidence of his commitment to the Father and his divine plan, Christ passed the trials and tests put to him (see JST, Matthew 4:1–11).

Jesus spent forty days after his resurrection (see Acts 1:3) teaching his disciples and initiating them into the higher ordinances of the fulness of the gospel.

Perhaps it is not coincidental that it took a total of forty years to build the Salt Lake Temple.

Alonzo L. Gaskill is an  Associate Professor of Church History and Doctrine. He holds a Bachelors degree in Philosophy, a Masters in Theology, and a Ph.D. in Biblical Studies. Brother Gaskill has taught at Brigham Young University since 2003. Prior to coming to BYU he served in a variety of assignments within the church Educational System--most recently as the director of the LDS Institute of Religion at Stanford University (1995-2003).

Jesus Grew Up

The Mortal Messiah

Volume 1

"From Infancy to Manhood"

And it came to pass that Jesus grew up with his brethren, and waxed strong, and waited upon the Lord for the time of his ministry to come.

See PDF HERE