No Coincidences

Tag: minister

  • Ministering of Angels

    Ministering of Angels

    I read something from Hugh Nibley recently that stood out to me. It was very simple, but it jumped out at me. I think there is a profound truth about our existence in the vast universe behind this simple realization.

    What I was reading was a lecture from Nibley’s Book of Mormon class in the 1990s.

    Hugh Nibley asked a question:

    What is it that angels do when they minister to an individual?

    His answer – “It’s quite simple. They talk to them.”

    When Christ was on the mount of transfiguration with Peter and John and He was ministered to by angels, what did they do with Christ at that time? They spoke to Him.

    When Nephi was taken up in vision atop a mountain and spent time with an angel, what did the angel do? Talk to him.

    When Daniel was in the Lions’ Den, the angel shut up the mouths of the lions, but what else did he likely do? Do you imagine the angel and Daniel just sat there looking at each other? I think not. I think it likely the angel was talking with Daniel while they were in the den together.

    Same goes with Shadrach, Meshach , and Abednego who were thrown in the fiery furnace. Do you imagine the angel was standing and staring at them? I don’t.

    What is the significance of this?

    What is the ministering of angels? The ministering of angels is quite often angels simply conversing with mortals.

    What is the point?

    Angels come from another realm to visit mortals, and what do they do? Talk.

    Yet we’re surrounded by mortals all day every day. How often do we really talk?

    The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a ministering program. I think this program gets overcomplicated. All the program really asks is for us to talk to each other. Angels come from other dimensions to do it. We can pull out a phone and have someone on the other end of a line in seconds. We can be angels every day. All it takes is talking to people.

    I think this a profound thing to consider. All it takes for you to be someone’s ministering angel is to reach out and talk to them. This can be the difference in someone’s life.

  • An Epistle from the New Testament Apostles

    An Epistle from the New Testament Apostles

    I read a book titled An Epistle from the New Testament Apostles.

    A sentence in the second paragraph of the preface caught my attention and helped me to read this book in a different light. That sentence read:

    “Imagine for a moment how you might feel if you were to go to your mailbox only to find there a long letter addressed personally to you from the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as those church leaders were constituted shortly after the resurrection of Christ.”

    Huh. Do we read the Bible in this way? Do we read the Bible as if Simon Peter, Paul of Tarsus, or John the Beloved were writing to us? How much more power comes from the words as we consider them a personal letter directly sent to us? What is the Bible really, but a letter sent directly to us from these prophets? You could also consider the Bible a letter sent to you from God.

    I’d like to share a part of this book that was especially significant to me. As I said, the book takes all the epistles of the prophets in the New Testament and categorizes them. It’s also worth noting that where there are multiple translations or interpretations of what may have been originally written, this book showed some of those different options. Keep that in mind when reading the quotes below. One category that stood out to me was titled:

    Unity in the Church

    From James 3:14-16 “But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not/do not assume superiority over/ and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.”

    Sounds like Christianity today.

    Another section.

    A Call to Unity in the Body of Christ

    From Ephesians 4:1-6 “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the calling wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is {In} one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” 

    Ephesians 4:11-15: “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 in the unity of the faith, all come and of {to} the knowledge of the Son of God, (MISSING ERASED CONTENT FROM KJV). That we 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, But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.”

    Unity.

    I point out the lack of it in Christianity not to try to “dispute” or to create “contention” but to point out the obvious.

    It’s interesting the first things Jesus Christ did when he appeared to His other flock in the Americas.

    1. He proclaims His Atonement, announcing that He accomplished what the prophets said would be fulfilled, announcing that He can save His people.
    2. He ministers to His people one by one. They are each individually allowed to come up and feel the wounds in His hands, feet, and sides.
    3. After the people cry out “Hosana!” literally, “God save us” or “Save now, we pray,” Jesus Christ sets forth the mode of baptism, the way He can save them.

    From here Christ’s complete focus is on unity. He elaborates on the oneness of Himself, God the Father, and the Holy Ghost.

    Then He says (3 Nephi 11:28-30), “And according as I have commanded you thus shall ye baptize. And there shall be no disputations among you, as there have hitherto been; neither shall there be disputations among you concerning the points of my doctrine, as there have hitherto been. For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirrith up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another. Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such things should be done away.”

    May we all avoid disputations and contention. May we always serve with meekness, longsuffering, and love. I hope that one day Christianity can be unified in our faith in Jesus Christ. That will likely not come until the millennium, when we can all look to who we serve, and know without a doubt that we know Him. But we can do our part today to not let the devil have power over us. We can do our part by removing contention and argument from our lives.