No Coincidences

Tag: Christ

  • God, Sin, and Joy

    God, Sin, and Joy

    *Edit -Two days before posting this I read this in Unlimited Power by Tony Robbins:

    “Let’s consider the habit of smoking cigarettes… They contribute to everything from cancer to heart disease… People have every reason in the world not to smoke. Yet the tobacco industry continues to profit, and millions of people continue to smoke cigarettes, with more starting all the time. Why is that?

    People may learn to enjoy the experience of smoking, but is that what got them started?.. What happened when they first smoked? They hated it. They coughed and gagged and felt nauseated. Their body said, ‘This stuff is terrible. Get it away from me.’ In most cases if your own physcal evidence tells you something is bad, you would expect to listen. So why don’t people do that with smoking? Why do they continue to smoke until the body gives in and finally becomes addicted?

    They do it because they’ve been reframed as to what smoking means, and then that new representation and state have been anchored into place. Someone with a great deal of knowledge about persuasion has spent millions and millions of dollars to convince the public that smoking is something desirable. Through skillful advertising, clever images and sounds were used to put us in positive-feeling states; then those desired states (paradigm shift) were associated with or linked to a product called cigarettes. Through massive repetition, the idea of smoking has been linked with various desirable states. There’s no inherent value or social content to a piece of paper wrapped around tiny tobacco leaves. But we’ve been persuaded that smoking is sexy, or suave, or adult, or macho…

    How crazy is this? What in the world does putting carcinogens into your lungs have to do with any desirable state? But advertisers do on a mass scale exactly what we’ve talked about in this book. They put out images that put you in a receptive, elevated state-and at the peak of the experience, they anchor you with their message. Then they repeat it on television, in magazines, or on the radio so that the anchor gets constantly reinforced and triggered.”

    My own emphasis (underlines) and commentary (in parentheses) were added. Eerie. This book is copyright 1986. Do you think advertisers have let up? Do we think Lucifer is deciding to go easier on us? Anyone reading the above might say, “well cigarettes aren’t cool anymore, and they’re definitely not advertised the same.” Go to any bar and look at the mass of people outside. Then if you really think things have changed, pay closer attention to the next liquor/beer commercial you see. Shouldn’t take long. We’re bombarded by them all day, every day. I’ll now get to my original post. That was a long side-tangent.

    ___________________________________________________

    Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles once gave an address at BYU where he talked about a discussion he had. The discussion was about the influence of evil and the consequences of bad choices.  Elder Cook was given an interesting hypothetical: how would Lucifer present his plan to an advertising agency?

    “The adversary described his dilemma: he and his followers had rebelled and rejected the Father’s plan and had come to understand that they could not prevail against God. Lucifer understood that while the Father’s plan was about joy and happiness, his own plan resulted in grief and misery. The problem, Lucifer explained to the ad executive, was how to attract followers.”

    Lucifer would determine that the only way he could win would be to achieve a “paradigm shift.”  He would need to convince us that what he wanted us to do would result in happiness, joy, and freedom while following God would result in misery, lack of freedom, and bondage. 

    “This hypothetical meeting serves a useful purpose. The truth is, not only do the enemies of the Father’s plan attempt to undermine the doctrine and principles of the plan, but they also attempt to mischaracterize the blessings that flow from the plan. Their basic effort is to make that which is good, righteous, and joyful seem miserable.”

    It’s an amazing thing to consider how humans gravitate towards what destroys them.  As the lyrics from OneRepublic’s song Counting Stars says, “Everything that kills me makes me feel alive.”

    Consider the most obvious examples.  Everyday millions of people drink literal poison.  Here’s the amazing thing, you just read that and depending on who you are you thought of a different beverage from someone else.  There are multiple poisonous drinks consumed every day.  Am I referring to soda or alcohol?  Both?  How about cigarettes?  I’m blown away every time I see someone smoking one.  Like, “you know that is actually decaying your body from the inside out right?”  Don’t care.

    There are certain things that we have been asked to avoid in this modern day.  We don’t always know why we avoid certain things.  What I do know is that faithfully trying to follow God leads to blessings, both spiritual and temporal.  

    This leads to an important question.

    Why do you think God doesn’t want you to sin?

    Is it because He wants to control and tell you what to do?

    Why wouldn’t He just force you not to sin then?  He’s God.

    Why does God hate and abhor sin?

    God hates and detests sin because He know what the results of sin are: unhappiness, pain, suffering.

    God doesn’t hate sin; He hates the unhappiness it leads to.

    God is love.  God is peace.  God is joy.

    I think about this often.  I used to wallow in my sin and wonder why I was so miserable.  Now that I’ve drawn closer to God, I’m so much happier.  I see others stuck in the same pattern I was in and I desperately wish they would see there is another way.  You don’t need to drink alcohol until you forget, to find happiness.  You don’t need the lifestyle you think is bringing you joy, but you know is not.

    Does God want you to be happy?  An emphatic YES.

    Does God want you to have freedom?  An even more emphatic YES.

    God would rather you have freedom even more than happiness.  Otherwise, He would force you to make the choices that bring you joy.  He refuses to do that.  Your freedom means more to God even more than your happiness.  To find true happiness you must choose it.  To find true love you must gravitate towards it.  We see this in what He’s given us, our agency. We always have the option to choose.

    God’s plan, the Plan of happiness is meant to do just that.  Bring happiness.

    That doesn’t mean we all find joy the exact same way.  That doesn’t mean we’re all on the same path.  But I do believe the path of greatest joy leads to the being who gave us this whole experience.  If life is hard, come to God and he will lighten your burdens.  If life is joyful, we owe it to Him.  Joy, growth, and freedom go hand in hand.  We are meant to find these things during our mortal journey. 

    I use alcohol as an example because I believe it’s the easiest to use as an example, and because it’s what I have personal experience with.  I’ve tried that life.  I know alcohol doesn’t bring happiness.  In fact, the terrible impact of alcohol on young brains and adult lives is now medically established. 

    A study from Harvard in the 1940s on success and happiness found:

    “This study contains three significant insights.  First, adult happiness has a high correlation with childhood family happiness, especially love and affection from parents.  Second is the importance of a healthy, stable marriage to lifelong happiness. Third is the negative effect of alcohol on marital and lifetime success and happiness.  Alcohol abuse touches one-third of families in the United States and is involved in one-fourth of hospital admissions.  It plays a major role in death, bad health, and diminished accomplishment.”

    The above quote was from the 1940s!! Has alcohol consumption gone down?

    Notice the three things this study found that lead to happiness:

    1. Love and affection from parents
    2. Stable marriage
    3. Alcohol avoidance

    It’s no wonder the family has been attacked so aggressively the past 80 years. The paradigm shift has officially happened. Society says it’s about me, not my kids, kids take away MY freedom. Divorce. Drink and be merry. This isn’t happiness.

    When the gospel of Jesus Christ was restored on the earth, soon after, the advice was given to abstain from strong drinks (Doctrine and Covenants section 89).  The Word of Wisdom has blessed my life.  It was established a century before studies started to prove its temporal benefit.

    The Gospel of Jesus Christ brings happiness.  I know this personally, from my experience following it.  It only occurred to me recently that many of my friends and people I care a lot about really don’t think this happiness is an option for them.  I know many of my friends and people around me are happy.  That’s not what I’m saying.  What I’m saying is there is always more joy to be gained.  The Gospel of Jesus Christ isn’t an exclusive club.  I wasn’t chosen to be a part of it because I’m lucky.  I’m a part of it because it makes me happy, and that option is available to everyone. 

    I know a lot of people think “organized religion” or “God” or maybe even “a family” isn’t meant for them.  I just want to remind anyone taking the time to read, happiness is for everyone.  Happiness is something we all can find.

    I know many of my friends think I’ve become a religious nut.  Good.  I have.  The reason is because I’m happier than I’ve ever been.  I used to invite people around me to bars, or parties, or to gamble. I’ve invited people to participate with me in things I thought brought me happiness.  So why wouldn’t I invite every person I come in contact with now that I’ve found real happiness?

    I wish I could shout it from the rooftops.  I wish I was bolder about it than I am.  I wish I could tell the entire world:  you deserve to be happy.  Find your happiness, however you need to.  But I will tell you this, Jesus Christ is the source of all love.  Therefore, He is the source of all truth and light.  For that reason, He is the source of all happiness.  I’ve learned that for myself and hope we all can, on our timeline.

    I know where I come from.  I know where I’m going.  I know why I’m here.  I know what happens when I leave here.  I know I’ll be with my family forever.  I know my daughter and my wife, who I’ve known for countless days, going all the way back to our premortal existence, I know I will be with them for eternity.  This is true joy.

    I know these things.  Knowing these things bring me comfort.  Knowing these things makes me happy.  The choices and changes I’ve made in my life have brought me happiness I never thought I deserved.  This happiness is for everyone.

  • One True Church

    One True Church

    I initially tried to write this post with the hope of using scripture and doctrine and principles to convince anyone who would read that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is God’s true church, restored from the meridian of time on the same principles that Christ established while He was here.  I have agonized over this post.  Eventually I realized something obvious.  No one is going to read this and dive into the deep scriptural and doctrinal references that add to the truth claims of this church.  Plenty has been written on the truth claims of this church.  All of it by much more learned and accomplished religious scholars than I.  For the best intellectual break down of every truth claim of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, A Marvelous Work and a Wonder is the book to read. 

    What I can do is reference some scriptures, but ultimately give my testimony of this Church and Christ’s gospel.  This will be my best attempt to explain why it’s important to have one faith, one body, one church (Ephesians 4:5).

    Into some scripture from the Book of Mormon:

    “Thou hast beheld that if the Gentiles repent it shall be well with them; and thou also knowest concerning the covenants of the Lord unto the house of Israel; and thou also hast heard that whoso repenteth not must perish.”

    1 Nephi 14:5

    In a recent post He Lives I talked about why any church is important.  Why covenants?  Why repenting?  Because it turns us to Jesus Christ.

    “And he said unto me: Behold there are save two churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the devil; wherefore, whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God belongeth to that great church, which is the mother of abominations; and she is the whore of all the earth.”

    1 Nephi 14:10

    It’s important to note that this scripture doesn’t mean if you don’t belong to the Church of Jesus Christ you belong to the Church of the Devil.  But.  An important point is made.  There is a church of the Lamb of God.  There is a church that if Christ were here today, He would be the head of.  There is a church that Christ is the head of spiritually.  It must be.  God and Jesus Christ have not left us.  What this scripture is saying is you either must follow the devil or follow Christ and there will be a church on the earth with proper keys and authority to help you in following Jesus Christ.

    “There is only light and darkness; there is no dusky twilight zone [in regard to covenant salvation].  Either men walk in the light or they cannot be saved.  Anything less than salvation is not salvation.  It may be better to walk in the twilight or to glimpse the first few rays of a distant dawn than to be enveloped in total darkness, but salvation itself is only for those who step forth into the blazing light of the noonday sun.”

    Bruce R. McConkie

    The beauty of the doctrine taught by Joseph Smith (given him from Jesus Christ) is that everyone will have a chance to hear the gospel.  Every one will have their chance to choose to walk in the light.  Agency is a core truth in God’s Plan.  Without agency it would all be for not.  What would our faith and devotion mean if it was by coercion?  There is an idea perpetuated by other faiths and churches that if you aren’t baptized you are doomed to hell or if you don’t believe a certain way, you’re destined for eternal suffering. This is not how God works.  It can’t be.  Where is the grace, love, and compassion in that plan?  Many faiths that emphasize the grace of Christ also claim hell as the destination for those who have never heard of Him.  All will have their chance to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior.  We are all the more blessed if we accept Him while here on earth when we are walking completely by faith. The covenants we make here draw us closer to Him  These are truthful doctrines taught by Joseph Smith that should speak to all hearts that believe in a God who is our loving Father.

    “Many in the religious world claim that no church is better than any other, just different.  As “all roads lead to Rome,” it is reasoned that all beliefs must lead to heaven.  If all religious paths do indeed lead to heaven, the righteous will be at a considerable disadvantage.  If the gates of the celestial city are to be thrown open that widely, why the need for Apostles and prophets, their doctrines, their priesthood and keys; indeed, why the need for the Savior himself and a strait and narrow way?  The doctrine of one true church is as offensive to much of the Christian world today as was the testimony of Christ anciently that he was “the way, the truth, and the life”” (John 14:6).

    Joseph McConkie and Robert Millet

    Part of my agonizing over this post was the fear of offending all my friends of other faiths. I would never want to disparage other churches and especially any church that leads to God and faith in Jesus Christ. That said, I will not apologize for claiming Christ has ONE church.

    “There is only one true way to eternal life and that is by obedience to valid covenants.  That is what the Book of Mormon testifies.  When one comes to an understanding of the Lord’s covenant process of salvation, what great things the Lord did with our fathers in bringing them to a knowledge of this covenant process, and that this message is being sent forth to all the world, then one can not help but become convinced that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations.”

    Alan C. Miner

    I can’t agree with Brother Miner’s words more because that is what I have experienced.  My baptism, the priesthood, my temple covenants draw me to Jesus Christ in a way that would not be possible otherwise.  I know others can come to Christ and be devoted to Him without these covenants. What shall be bound on earth shall be sealed in heaven. We aren’t here for worldy things but for eternal. I am grateful for my covenants. They draw me closer to my Heavenly Father, my Savior, and eternity.

    “For the time speedily shall come that all churches which are built up to get gain, and all those who are built up to get power over the flesh, and those who are built up to become popular in the eyes of the world, and those who seek the lusts of the flesh and the things of the world, and to do all manner of iniquity; yea, in fine, all those who belong to the kingdom of the devil are they who need fear, and tremble, and quake; they are those who must be brought low in the dust; they are those who must be consumed as stubble; and this is according to the words of the prophet.”

    1 Nephi 22:23

    I will not talk down on other churches. But does that scripture strike a chord with anyone else? Sound familiar. These are the churches of our day. They draw near to God with their lips but deny the power thereof (Joseph Smith History 1:19, 2 Timothy 3:5).

    This will continue to be a theme of my writing.  My greatest desire is for others to experience the love of Jesus Christ as I have felt it.  This comes through covenants.  This comes from knowing who we follow.  This comes from knowing what He has done for us. 

    I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is Christ’s church on the earth today.  There are many churches that do much good.  But there is one way.  Covenants are only binding if they are initiated by God.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the establishment by which Christ initiates his covenants with man.  This is my testimony.  In His name.

  • Rameumptom

    Rameumptom

    It’s amazing to read the Book of Mormon and compare those people to our day.  One story from the Book of Mormon that recently stood out to me was the story of the Zoramites and the rameumptom.

    The Zoramites were a people who corrupted religion in many ways.  They built a large tower.  This tower was called a rameumptom and it was used for prayer.  People would go to the top of the tower and loudly proclaim a rehearsed prayer.  In the prayer they would thank God that He chose them.  They would thank God that He had enlightened them and saved them while He would damn all the others to hell for their false beliefs.  They would say their prayer, leave the tower, and go about their week without another thought towards God.  They would use their week to serve no one but themselves. 

    A Zoramite man prays on the Rameumptom in the land of Antionum.

    Let’s compare the many false beliefs of the Zoramites to our society today.

    First, praying on the rameumptom.  What good deed is done today without proclaiming it to the world?  We’re all guilty of it.  Social media is our modern day rameumptom.  It is where we proudly shout our greatest deeds for the world to see.  Prayer and good deeds should be done in private.  Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth.

    Second, the Zoramites had a temple that only the rich were able to go to.  Churches today have become much more about prestige and power than about humility and kindness.

    Third, rehearsed prayer.  The Zoramites used a rehearsed, scripted prayer to talk to God.  There are many problems with this.  It takes any effort from the procedure.  The prayer has no thought or feeling to it, it’s like reading in class.  There’s no genuine questions, no genuine requests, no genuine gratitude. It is a script.  We see this in many churches today.

    Fourth, prayer without action.  This is a byproduct of rehearsed prayer.  What does prayer without effort lead to?  Life without effort.  The Zoramites loudly spoke their prayers from their tower, stepped down, and that was the extent of their worship.  They wouldn’t speak to God again until the next week when they would give their five minute rehearsed prayer and move on with their life.  This is the worship of our society today.  With all God has given us we can’t even give Him a day of worship in return.  Most don’t go to church at all.  Many who do go, go on Sunday, listen for an hour, and the rest of the week don’t do a selfless act.  Christ was our example.  He taught us to pray always, serve others, and love others.  If we aren’t doing that, we aren’t of Him, no matter how loud our prayer.

    Fifth, the Zoramites thanked God that they were chosen by Him.  They thanked Him for enlightening them and turning them away from the foolish traditions of their fathers and neighbors.  They were selected by God and would be saved.  All others were fools who would burn in hell.  Sound familiar?  Many churches today believe you will only be saved if you follow their beliefs or belong to their church.  What kind of selective God is this?  It spits in the face of a loving, caring Heavenly Father who is no respecter of persons. This is a blasphemous and poisonous teaching that goes back to the pride and selective nature of churches.  God loves all His children and will provide a way for all of them to attain as much glory as they desire.  The doctrine of Jesus Christ taught by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that there are many mansions in heaven and God’s wonderful plan has provided a way for a vast majority, almost all of His children to go to Heaven.  All that repent,  follow His commandments, and believe in His Son will find a place worthy of their righteous hearts.  This is truth.

    I have a close friend of a different Christian faith.  We have many good religious conversations.  One day the topic of heaven came up.  He told me that surely I didn’t believe he would go to heaven as he wasn’t a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, my church.  This made me so sad.  I told him with complete sincerity and 100% certainty that I knew he was going to heaven.  Whether he joined the Church (my church) or not, I knew he was a good person.  I knew he loved Jesus Christ.  I knew he tried every day to seek Christ and to do good.  I knew he sought God with all his heart.  I knew he was kind and liked to help people.  I know, without a doubt in my mind, that there is a place in heaven for him.  I know this because I know God.  I know he loves all of us.  I told this to my friend, and I’ll never forget the look on his face.  A little shock, a little awe.  I know that he believes I am going to hell, he has told me so.  He believes I have been fooled and I will have to pay for my ignorance.

    I know that God loves him, and I know that God loves me.  I know that Jesus Christ is the perfect judge.  We will be judged perfectly.  Even those who are fooled will be given mercy and love from God.  That’s the God I know.  I feel sad for those who don’t know that same God.

    False teachings have corrupted and destroyed religion.  False teachings have turned many away from the truth and light that religion should provide.

    I have an invitation to anyone who read this and thought “I do hate how churches say everyone who doesn’t do this or that is going to hell,” or “I’ve never understood rehearsed prayers,” or “I can’t stand the hypocritical church goers who are the meanest people during the week.”  My invitation is to come and see.  Come and learn of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Come and learn what Christ intended for us.  Come and learn true principles and ordinances of Christ’s gospel.  Come serve with us, come worship with us, come pray with us, come be with us.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not perfect, not yet.  Not until Christ returns.  We can still be hypocrites but we’re trying.  Christ’s Gospel is perfect and we’re working toward it.  Come and see.

  • The Glory of the Sun

    The Glory of the Sun

    I recently finished a book that was so packed with wisdom I couldn’t come close to taking it all in.  Every page provided a new insight.  Every thought was provoking.  It is amazing to walk through the minds of men and women so in touch with the spirit or some form of knowledge I don’t yet have.  It’s my favorite part of reading.  From reading his words and thoughts I could feel his closeness to our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, and therefore come closer to them myself.

    The name of the book was The glory of the sun which refers to 1 Corinthians 15:41:

    “There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.”

    Doctrine and Covenants 76:70 reads:

    “These are they whose bodies are celestial, whose glory is that of the sun, even the glory of God, the highest of all, whose glory the sun of the firmament is written of as being typical.”

    Sterling W. Sill, author of this book, was a general authority in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  He was asked to share a series of gospel messages each week for a year over the radio.  The series was called “Sunday Evening from Temple Square.”  Those 52 addresses were put into this book.  It’s amazing to see that so many unique and powerful messages can come from one individual. 

    Sterling W. Sill

    Every message was so good, I could randomly turn to a page and share an important thought.  There was one in particular I found pertinent to our current moment in history.

    Elder Sill shared his messages at the height of the cold war so there is an emphasis of freedom and liberty throughout. 

    In one of his addresses titled “Five grains of Corn” Elder Sill reviewed the custom of Thanksgiving.  Elder Sill pointed out that Thanksgiving is a uniquely American holiday.  It is a day we give thanks to our ancestors who bravely came here and suffered through much hunger, affliction, and death.  He reminded me that during Thanksgiving we give “deep gratitude.. for the rich productivity of American soil.”

    I believe it is important for us to remember the blessed nation we are fortunate to live in.  The United States of America is a chosen land.  One thought Elder Sill presented was the idea that we live more lavishly and comfortably today than any king in history.  He pointed out that if we had to live as King Solomon, even in all the glory of his palace and kingdom, it would be a great hardship to us.

    What a thought!  The average person in America lives with more comfort than any historical king!  How blessed we are and how often we take for granted this great nation we live in.  It truly is a promised land. 

    What has always separated America from any other nation is our freedom – the freedom that gives us the ability to worship our God however we please. If you look at the short history of the United States it becomes quickly apparent what separates us.  It is the freedom we enjoy, particularly religious freedom.  It saddens me that as a nation we are turning from the God who has so blessed us.  It is part of the agency God has given us, the freedom this nation is founded on, that currently allows so many to turn from God.

    This paragraph from the book rings so familiar to our current landscape that I will quote it in whole.  Elder Sill says:

    “In the United States we have just gone through a great political election to decide who would represent us in the governing councils of our country for the next four years.  We have been sharply divided on issues and people.  We have settled the matter by an appeal to the ballot box.  No blood was shed, no life was in danger, no one had any thought of trying to liquidate his opponent.  No one even pounded with his shoe or threatened to throw it at anyone.  Now all Americans will settle down and give full support to the government that they, under God, have created.  Now we will all unite in building a greater America and help to carry out our divine mission to promote freedom, justice, and happiness in the world.”

    Election day is tomorrow.  It is my sincere prayer that we as a nation can unite and support whoever wins this election.  It is my prayer that there is no bloodshed, danger, threats, or pounding of feat.

    The final and important point Elder Sill gives in this message is about our faith in God that I have already mentioned.  Specifically, the devotion to His Son, Jesus Christ. 

    The Mayflower Compact, written by those coming to settle a new America reads, “We whose names are underwritten have undertaken for the glory of God to establish in Virginia the first colony for the advancement of the Christian faith.”

    The New England Federation Compact Agreement reads similarly, “We all have come into these parts of America with one and the same end, namely to advance the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

    I hope we can remember our Thanksgiving for this promised land.  I hope we can remember the freedoms and liberties we enjoy, and how great it is to be a part of the democratic process.  Finally, I hope we can remember who it is our ancestors came to America to serve, who’s kingdom they wished to establish. 

    “America was established as a kind of laboratory or experiment station to show what would happen to any people who cared and dared to follow Jesus Christ.” – Elder Sill.

    How blessed our ancestors were and how blessed we’ve been as we’ve looked to Jesus Christ.  I hope that can continue.

  • Paul’s Life and Letters

    Paul’s Life and Letters

    Book Review: Paul’s Life and Letters

    By Dr. Sidney B. Sperry

    Copyright 1955

    __________________

    This book was a breakdown of Paul’s life and everything he ever wrote – thus the title.  I haven’t read the New Testament beginning to end.  I want to finish the Old Testament first.  This book helped me get a better understanding of Paul’s writings.  His writing was deep and powerful.  I also think his writings have always been and are increasingly misunderstood.

    Paul was such a fascinating figure.  I’ve long wondered what it would have been like to be alongside him.  Everything he did he did with such zeal.  Reading and learning about him, I’m awed by his work ethic.  He’s somebody to be admired for his hard work.  The fervor with which he did whatever he put his mind to.  It’s motivating on one hand and terrifying on the other.  Few can live up to the devotion Paul had to what he was passionate for.  We are lucky his passion turned towards the Gospel of Jesus Christ and worship of God as we’ve seen how his efforts against the early saints caused much pain and suffering.

    The book starts with a history of Paul.  Where he was from, who he was, how he became who he became.  The beginning was basically a historical biography of who Paul was.  As Paul got into the portion of his life where he was writing so much, the book transitions.

    This book is one I will refer back to often as I continue to study scripture.  It had a great breakdown of Paul’s individual epistles and when they were estimated to be written.  For example, chapter 13 was “Paul’s third missionary journey (continued).”  It gave a detailed breakdown of the epistle to the Galatians including everything Paul said, the authenticity, importance, style, and doctrine from that epistle.  I would find myself marking entire pages during these chapters. 

    There were many notable things I learned about Paul from this book.  One was that he worked throughout his missionary ministry.  Despite travelling all over the ancient world and spending many, many years as a full-time missionary, it never appears that Paul was paid for his ministry.  He was given “gifts” from church members from time to time.  But it seems very clear that Paul always worked.  The predominant theory is that he was a tent builder.  I found this very interesting given that many modern-day ministers point to Paul’s writings as proof that Paul advocated a paid ministry. 

    One amazing thing about this book was the feeling I had while reading it.  Especially while reading the breakdown of Paul’s letters.  There were moments where I’d pause and ask myself what I was feeling.  This isn’t normally something I do, but I was aware I was feeling something.  It was joy.  It was a feeling like, ‘what is this earth and what does it really matter but to be a test for something greater?  Live righteously and prepare to live with Christ and God forever.’  While reading his writings everything seemed so clear and simple.  It was a feeling in my chest while reading his messages.  Pure joy.  Pure peace.  Pure comfort in the future if I am faithful.  Motivation to be faithful.  As long as I am obedient and keep faith, I truly have nothing to fear.  It’s a similar feeling to what I get when I read the Book of Mormon.  That testified and made it so clear to me that what I was reading was the word of God, meant to lift up and inspire.

    I’m grateful for this book and the understanding it gave me of Paul and his writings.  As I mentioned, I know I’ll be using this book often as I continue to read scripture and one day study Paul’s writings more intently.  The principles Paul taught were pure.  He was called by Jesus Christ Himself which tells us of the importance of Paul’s work.  The missionary effort Paul put forth and his contribution to building God’s kingdom is inspiring.  He has the greatest conversion story of all time.  We could all be better if we spent more time aspiring to be like Paul the Apostle.