Walk in Truth

In the verses mentioned, Gaius is described as a man who walked in truth, who joyfully taught those who also loved the truth, or the Gospel. When I studied these verses John's words made methinks that Gaius was the ideal member. Someone who taught and led his family with the Priesthood, someone who spent his time working to help others and build the kingdom. I want to be like Gaius.

John also mentions a man named Diotrephes. Diotrephes is the exact opposite of Gaius. He seeks after power, practices unrighteous dominion over others in his power. He is power hungry and filled with anger. He goes about "prating against the Church." Through these actions he tries to lead others away from the truth.

I find it extremely interesting that the descriptions of these two men appear subsequently in the scriptures. It is an interesting thing to compare them. Who do I want to be more like? Do I want to teach others truth and righteousness? Or do I want my actions to lead others away from Christ? I think these are really important questions for everybody in the Church to answer, but I think that they are vitally important for parents to answer and act on. I want my daughter to look at me and say, "My Mom loves God and so should I." I don't want my actions to lead my daughter away from what i know to be the truth!

Dear Friend…

Dear Friend,

      When I was investigating the Church, I ran into this question and this kind of opposition quite a bit. After much prayer and study, I discovered what members of the Church actually mean when we say, "Faith without works is dead." I think a lot times this statement gets misconstrued. When I was young in the Church I believed that this meant that I was required to do good works in order to get into heaven, that my faith in Christ was not enough for me to get back home to my Father in Heaven. As I have grown in my faith and studied more, I have come to realize that this means something so much more. Let me explain this a little more in depth. Matthew 7:21 states, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in Heaven." I know of several people who have claimed a deep faith in Christ, but it is an empty faith. They do not go forth and "feed his sheep" or serve others. They just say I believe in Christ and that is as far as their faith goes. To me what this indicates is that they are not completely converted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Someone who has handed their heart to Christ WANTS to serve, they look for opportunities to serve others. Another example of this is Matthew 19:17. It says, "And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, leap the commandments." The commandments that Christ is referring to are not only the ten commandments from the Old Testament, he is also referring to the commandments given by him such as, "Love one another, as I have loved you." Good works are simply acts of love. And Christ as commanded us to love others. And if we believe in Christ and have faith in him we follow his commandments. Ephesians 2:10 teaches almost this exact principle. One thing that it mentions that I find fascinating is the fact that Paul says, "We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus." To me this summons the image of modeling our behavior after the Savior. What did the Savior do in his ministry? He went about doing good. If we profess to have faith in Christ, shouldn't we also go about doing good? Something else that should be brought up is in Revelations 20:12-13. It tells us that we will be judged for our works. Which to me sounds pretty scary. I don't know about you, but I have definitely made some mistakes and sinned. Which means I won't have all good things to talk about during that judgement. But guess what saves us? Our faith in Christ! 2 Nephi 25:23 says, "For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we KNOW THAT IT IS BY GRACE THAT WE ARE SAVED, AFTER ALL WE CAN DO." In summary my friend, our good works don't save us. Our faith in Christ does. I think that the faith of somebody truly converted to Christ begets good works.

Mandi

Hebrews 13. Works of Righteousness

Can I just say, I LOVE Hebrews? I am going to admit something awful here, but I honestly had never read it before. I knew where it was and all that but I had never actually sat down and taken the time to read it. I am so grateful for this class! How wonderful! Anyways, this week the Share and Report assignment that I choose was choice number three: Hebrews 13: Works of Righteousness.

Paul concluded this letter by giving some really short succinct teachings and counsel, which I really enjoyed. Often times in today’s society people revere the Bible for its beautiful language and prose, which is totally warranted. But what these people do not understand is that the messages and lessons hidden within the beautiful language and prose are still applicable to us even though the words were written 2000+ years ago.

For example Paul tells us to treat strangers kindly, with hospitality because you never truly know who are helping. This statement reminds me a lot of the hymn “A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief.” The strangers you are entertaining could very well be angels or the Savior himself. And if it turns out they are not angels or Christ remember that when ye are in the service of your fellow men you are serving your God!

Paul also reminds us that we are to remember those that in bonds because we are also in bonds at times. Whether they be physical or emotional, you never truly know what someone is going through and every person is due compassion and charity.

Paul makes reference to marriage saying it is “honorable in all.” This makes me think he was trying to teach that marriage is something that should be sought after and not avoiding or made light of.

Paul also speaks of covetousness. I am so guilty of this, I catch myself coveting many things (Godiva chocolate cheesecake I am looking at you…). Paul tells us to avoid coveting and to be content with what the Lord has given us, because he will never leave or forsake us. I think this is telling because it speaks to the idea that the Lord gives us what we need when he knows we need it, not when we think we need/want it.

And of course something that I think is one of the most beautiful statements in the scriptures, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today and for ever.” It really speaks the Christ’s kindness and consistency. We are sanctified through Christ’s atoning sacrifice!

We believe that we should obey our rulers! In fact it is even one of our 13 Articles of Faith, “We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.”

Paul asked us to pray for the leaders of the Church because they need to know of our love and support for them as well as having the Spirit with them.

Paul’s Affection for Timothy

Paul wrote the Second Letter of Paul to the Apostle Timothy to Timothy while Paul was imprisoned for the last time and right before his death, approximately 68 A.D. Second Timothy is known as a letter of encouragement to Timothy and to all Priesthood Leaders within the Church. Second Timothy also warns against spiritual apostasy while at the same time standing as a witness of Paul’s great and unwavering faith!

The book of Moroni in the Book of Mormon contains letters exchanged between Moroni and his father, Mormon. In these letters Mormon demonstrates feelings of concern and love for his son by saying things like, “…mindful of you always” (Moroni 8:3) and “May Christ lift thee up…” (Moroni 9:25). Paul also demonstrates these feelings for Timothy by saying things like, “My dearly beloved son…” (2 Timothy 1:1-7). Both Mormon and Paul also show great reverence for the faith of their correspondences by saying things such as, “I trust in Christ that thou wilt be saved…” (Moroni 9:22) and “When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee…” (2 Timothy 1:5).

What is interesting to note is that in 2 Timothy 1:5, Paul makes mention of the great faith of both Timothy’s mother and grandmother. Why? I think he mentioned this to demonstrate to Saints then and Saints now the power that a mother’s faith and testimony can have on their children. Because of the strong faith of Eunice, Lois was greatly affected and because of this had great faith, which soon became an example to Timothy!

Paul also tells Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear but of power and of love, and of a sound mind.” How comforting! What this tells me is that fear does not come from God so it must come from Satan. Satan wants us to be afraid because when we are afraid our power as God’s children and reminders of Heavenly Father’s love for us are stripped away, leaving us vulnerable to spiritual attack.

In 2 Timothy 1:15-18, Paul speaks of a man Onesiphorus and asks the Lord to act mercifully toward his household. He did this because Onesiphorus took care of him and was not ashamed to be helping a Saint of the Lord Jesus Christ, even though he was not a member. I want to be more like Onesiphorus and help others without a thought because when I help others it is as if I am helping the Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 25:35-40)! How awesome that is! I am going to try to find one person to help this week. I will pray that they will be brought into my path!

The “yoke,” “chain,” or “cross” that is mentioned through out the New Testament as well as the Book of Mormon refers to the action of taking the name of the Lord Jesus Christ upon you and acting as his representative and doing the things you think he would do. Matthew, Jacob and Paul all speak of this and this is something that I believe every Saint has to choose to do!