Works of Righteousness

Paul concluded his epistle to the Hebrews with some brief teachings and statements of counsel. Read Hebrews 13 and find statements about the following questions:

• How should we treat strangers and those “in bonds”?

Paul says to entertain strangers and those in bonds.

• How is marriage looked upon?

Paul states that marriage is honorable and the bed undefiled

• What warnings are given about covetousness?

The warning is that we need not to covet because the Lord will never leave us.

• What is “the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever”?

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday today and forever

• How are we sanctified?

We are sanctified through the blood of Christ.

• How do we respond to those who rule over us?

We need to obey them that rule over us and to submit ourselves to them.

• Who did Paul ask the people to pray for?

Good conscience, live honestly, 

Jesus Christ is Greater than Angels

This week we are going to be looking into Hebrews 1-2 and we are going to be looking more into Jesus Christ.

1. Lets look at “Epistle to the Hebrews” in the Bible Dictionary under Pauline Epistles (pp. 746–47). Read the first paragraph and the “Analysis of Hebrews,” number 1–5, and we are going to make a list of what Jesus Christ is superior to.

• Sin
• Boasting
• Death
• Comment on this post with some of the ones you found.

2.   Now let's read Hebrews 1 and make a list of three truths Paul taught about the Savior Jesus Christ.

• An appointed heir of all things
• Creator of worlds
• First begotten into the world

3.  And finally lets read Hebrews 2:7–18; 4:13–16; Alma 7:11–15; Doctrine and Covenants 122:8, and describe how these scriptures explain reasons the Son of God came to earth to experience mortality.

• He needed to suffer in order to make perfect our salvation
• To deliver us from bondage
• To succor us
• So that he can relate to us personally

“Be Thou an Example of the Believers”

Alright so this week we are going to be looking into 1 Timothy. We have to remember that Paul wrote this to a person who was already a member of the church and who had great knowledge of the workings of the church. It also appears that Timothy is one of Paul's most trusted friends and companions. 

1. Let's first have a look at 1 Timothy 2:9–10 and describe in writing what Paul said about dress standards. 

Here Paul talks about how we need to be modest in dress (I know he says women, but it can also apply to men). We also don't need to wear all kinds of fancy jewelry and broadcast our wealth.

How does Doctrine and Covenants 61:18, 36 help us understand that what Paul taught applies to both men and women?


It teaches us that we need to warn everyone and encourage everyone to live up to the standards set by the Lord.

Study Moses 6:9; Mosiah 2:37; Alma 41:2. Then list three reasons our bodies could be considered sacred.

• God created us
• God/the prophets refer to them as temples.
• Our bodies will be resurrected 

How does understanding that our bodies are sacred help us know why they should be covered modestly? 

Knowing our bodies are sacred allows us to know where we come from and it helps us to want to cover up our bodies and not show them off to the world. Things that are sacred shouldn't be broadcast about.

What is mentioned in Alma 1:32 that relates to the other concern Paul mentioned about dress? 

Alma mentions that people not of the church at his time wore costly apparel, which in some cases (not all) can lead to other sins.

What can you do to apply these principles in your life?

This is something I want you to think about personally, but as for me, I can remind myself that I don't always have to have the best things, especially when it comes to clothing. I just need to be able to cover everything up.

2.    List the evidences Paul mentioned in 1 Timothy 4:1–5 that an apostasy would not only come in the future, but that some people were already practicing false doctrines:

• Seducing spirits
• Doctrines of devils
• Lies and hypocrisy
• Forbidding to marry
• Abstain from meats

3.    How could Paul’s counsel to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:12 be used to strengthen a new missionary or a young person called to serve in any responsibility?

It can be strengthening because it shows that even though one may be young it doesn't mean that we can't be examples and show the way that we are supposed to live. We don't need to rub it in their faces, but we can just be a quite example.

4.    Review 1 Timothy 6:7–11 and answer the following questions:

• What did Paul teach about the love of money?
• Loving money can lead us to fall into pits of sin
• In what sense is the love of money the “root of all evil”?

• The love of money being the root of all evil is when men seek after money more than they seek after the things of God. It is not a sin to have money, but it is a sin to want money more than God.

5.    What guidelines are given in 1 Timothy 6:17–19 and Jacob 2:18–19 that when followed can help ensure that you do not focus too much on money or material wealth?

Paul teaches us that we need to not lay hold our riches, but lay hold the truths of God and trust in him. He says before that we did not bring anything into this world and we won't be able to bring anything physical out of this world. We also need to lay a sure foundation in Christ and God. We need to seek for God first and then riches. If we seek for riches we need to use them for good.

Forgiveness

Today we are going to talk about forgiveness. We are getting into Paul's epistles to the Corinthians.

Lets review a few scriptures: 2 Corinthians 2:1-11, Matthew 6:14-15, and Doctrine & Covenants 64:9-10.
(Doctrine and Covenants are found the the triple combination of the LDS scriptures or are found online at lds.org/scriptures)

Then lets go over the following questions:

• What were the people of Corinth commanded to do "if any have caused grief?"
• The people of Corinth were commanded to forgive them, and show an increased measure of love and kindness. They/we should also "confirm" our love for them.
• What blessings do we see if we forgive?
• One of the main blessings that we receive from forgiving others is forgiveness ourselves. Heavenly Father will forgive us when we forgive others.
• What is the danger of failing to forgive?
• The dangers are that we will not be forgiven and we will be committing a greater sin than the person who offended us. 

We need to put our trust in the Lord and forgive others, even when it seems like a really hard thing to do. We are given the power to forgive others, so we can do it we just need to put our mind and heart to it. I also think that the person we need to forgive the most is ourselves. We are the hardest on ourselves and so it is that much more important to forgive ourselves. We can overcome anything with the help of the Lord through the Atonement.

The following video is one amazing man's experience with forgiveness. May we all be like unto him and forgive.

Being Influential for Good in the Lives of Others

Lets read 1 Corinthians 9:1,16,20-23.

What does Paul say about his position in the church?

Paul is an apostle in the Church. He is a special witness of Christ.

What does Paul say about being influential in the lives of others?

Paul teaches us that we need to be compassionate and empathetic toward others so that they may be able to be happy. If we can relate we can make other's happy.

Please comment to keep this conversation going.

Paul's Cousel to Members

The scriptures we are going to look at this week are:
1 Thessalonians 3:12-13; 4:1-12, 5:1-22
2 Thessalonians 3:1-6,11.

Let's compile a short list of attributes Paul asks of the members:

• Abound in love
• walk and please God
• Know the commandments
• Live the law of Chastity
• Love one another
• Study
• Work
• Be Honest
• Children of Light
• Watch and be sober
• Peace
• Rejoice
• Pray
• Abstain from all appearance of evil

Now that we have a list we need to pick a few that we can work on:

1. Walk and Please God
• Sometimes I find it hard to remember Christ throughout the day, so that is one thing that I will work on is to try and walk and please God all day.
2. Peace
• I need to have a little more peace in my life. I have a very busy schedule, so I need to find time to relax and find some peace.
3. Abstain from all appearance of evil
• I need to be an example in all things and I need to go though and do an inventory on things that may be considered and appearance of evil.

Paul's Second Mission

Hey all!

Well this weeks blog post is, as you could tell by the title, about Paul's (aka Saul's) second mission. We can read about this in Acts chapters 16 and 18.

A small list of the places that Paul visited on his journey (from Bible Map 13):

• Corinth-Epistle to the Corinthians
• Philippi-Epistle to the Phillipians
• Thessalonica-Epistle to the Thessolonians
• Ephesus-Epistle to the Ephesians

In Acts 16:6-10;18:9-11 we learn about how the Holy Ghost spoke to Paul and his companions. On there way to Asia the Holy Ghost forbade them to preach the gospel there. The spirit also "suffered them not." The spirit also gave Paul a vision to go to Macedonia.

The Spirit has always directed the missionary efforts. It is interesting to experience when you are teaching and the Spirit just takes over and you don't remember what was actually said during the lesson. One way that I will strive to allow the Spirit to help my missionary efforts by praying for a missionary experience every day.

The next question I want to pose is why was Paul so effective? Let's read Acts 16:9-33.

• He immediately followed the Spirit's promptings
• He prayed and sang praises unto God

Paul always did everything he could to teach the people. It didn't matter where he was. I can learn that we need to make the best of our experience and look for the missionary moment. The jailer is a true convert because he truly wanted to know how he can be saved and followed through. Let's compare Mosiah 4:9-10 with Acts 17:30-31. Mosiah helps clarify that in order to fully repent we need to forsake our sins. What can we do to better prepare ourselves to share the Gospel? I think the main thing is to study the gospel, and when we are prepared the Lord will place people in our path.

The Articles of Faith part 12 of 13

Article of Faith #12, "We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law."

This one is pretty self-explanatory. We believe in being law keepers, not law breakers. It says in Titus 3:1, "Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work." We are taught to obey the law like Paul is teaching Titus. We should do all we can to uphold the law up until it starts to break the laws of God. It's best to help support our government in what they do, but not things that go against what God would have us do.We gain more freedoms as we are obedient and we are more free to do what we chose when we are obedient as well. The more we are willing to keep the commandments the more we are blessed.

The Articles of Faith part 6 of 13

Article of Faith #6, "We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth."

So this statement is pretty well stated. It is saying that we believe in the same organization that Christ set up when he was on the earth. The same exact names may not be used, but we have to remember that the English Language changes and the people are doing the same thing. Evangelist is a patriarch, a pastor is a bishop and those are the only two that change everything else stays the same. One of the ways you can know the church is true is through the way it is organized. One can't claim to be a restoration of something if it isn't organized in the same fashion. Paul states in his epistle to the Ephesians why it is necessary for us to have the Church organized as it is, "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;" so with that we must turn to the apostles and prophets, and etc. to continue to follow that straight and narrow path that we are all trying to stay on. This keeps us doing the things that we need to be doing, and how we need to be doing them. Without the organization of the church, we would all be like Paul said and we would be going after what sounds best to us instead of what is right.