Blogging Through the Book of Mormon

3:10 - The Galatians are being doctrinally torn apart by two groups. The first group is trying to convince them that in order to be true Christians, they must not only obey Jesus' teachings but they also must keep the law of Moses and be circumcised. The other group, which Paul is a part of, is teaching that just obeying the laws of Jesus are sufficient and that reverting to the law of Moses would not only not help them spiritually, it would set their progress back. Paul had just reminded the people of Abraham, the "father" of Israel, who had not had the law of Moses during his lifetime. There is an excellent summation of Paul's position in the article on this chapter from gospeldoctrine.com which says, "Paul's logic in support of his position is simple and direct. First, he shows that righteousness is obtainable without the Law of Moses. He uses the example of Abraham, who lived centuries before the Law was even given to Moses, yet who, even without the La...

3:1-3 - All this explanation of works vs. grace and the dispute that Paul had with Peter, begs the question, why would Paul tell the Galatians this? I believe that the congregations throughout the Galatian area were mostly gentile converts and they had these Jewish Christians coming over and telling them to obey the law of Moses in addition to their new found Christianity. Paul is telling them to follow the gospel teachings that come from Jesus, and maybe as an emphasis of “I know what I’m talking about to the point that even Peter eventually agreed with me.” Paul is just so hard to understand that I again am going to the NIV for help. Paul asks the Galatians to think back and tell him, “did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard?” I understand this to mean, “did your testimony come because you kept the commandments or because the Spirit testified of what was being taught?” Clearly, the answer is that the Spirit testifies of the truthfulness of t...

2:14- - Peter is in a no-win situation when the Jewish Christians show up to Antioch from Jerusalem. They are not pleased that Peter has been associating with the Gentile Christians, so he stops while they’re there to appease them. Now Paul is not pleased with Peter’s actions because it offends the Gentile Christians whom Paul loves and serves. The article on this chapter from gospeldoctrine.com quotes Bruce R. McConkie as making a very interesting point about this situation that Peter and Paul were facing, saying, “Peter was the President of the Church; Paul, an apostle was Peter’s junior in the church hierarchy, was subject to the direction of the chief apostle. But Paul was right and Peter was wrong… The issue was not whether the Gentiles should receive the gospel. Peter himself had received the revelation that God was no respecter or persons, and that those of all lineages were now to be heirs of salvation along with the Jews.” This situation magnifies the purpose of having a quo...

2:1-2 - Maybe it’s because I’ve been out of Acts for so long now that I don’t remember everything that happened there, but now as Paul continues telling the Galatians about his conference in Jerusalem with the other apostles, I’m realizing just how much I have forgotten or just never really understood in the first place. So Paul met with Peter and James, Jesus’ brother, in Jerusalem 3 years after he was first “called” to the work, meaning when the Savior appeared to him. After that initial meeting, Paul went back out teaching the gospel for “fourteen years,” before he made another trip back to Jerusalem. That’s a really long time, especially because there was such limited communication between people back then. The article on this chapter from gospeldoctrine.com says, “Paul had been preaching the gospel for fourteen years without meeting with any other apostles. For fourteen years, there were no general conferences, no telephone calls, and no e-mail messages. The only communication m...

1:11-12 - One thought I had earlier today was that because Paul was a Jewish convert to Christianity, I wonder if the gentile converts gave greater heed to the usurpers because they too were Jewish-Christian converts. Maybe that’s why Paul tells them his conversion story. I’m sure that he had told this story before, but it would be a nice refresher for those who had heard it and be important to hear for those who hadn’t. Previously, Paul had said that the saints could determine whether or not a preacher was teaching truth or not, and that was who they sought to please. Paul asked them if they thought that he served God or man? He answers his question by saying, basically, “because I’ll tell you right now that the gospel I teach is not from man. No man taught me this gospel, but I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.” This is just my own summation of what Paul says. Interestingly, the article on this chapter from gospeldoctrine.com quotes Bruce R. McConkie as teaching, “that, o...

As we start in the book of Galatians, I was relived to see that there are only 6 chapters in this book, because Romans and both Corinthians were so lengthy. Paul wrote this letter to the Galatians because, even though they were some of the first gentile converts to Christianity, they were quickly being led astray by Jewish-Christians who were usurping Paul's authority among the people. These Jewish-Christians had joined the church and accepted the gospel, but for whatever reason, were now exalting their positions above that which was authorized to them. They were mostly teaching these new Christians who came from a gentile background, that they were supposed to be keeping the law of Moses in addition to their newly accepted gospel principles. This included circumcision. I swear, I don't know what it is about men and circumcision but they seem so dead set on making sure that everyone else has it done too, it is just bizarre. Now, I can understand where the people are coming fr...

13:7-9 - Knowing that this letter is the wrap up before he sees them again, Paul ends it urging them to “do no evil… that ye should do that which is honest, though we be as reprobates.” The NIV of this verse translates that to mean, “Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong- not so that people will see that we have stood the test but so that you will do what is right even though we may seen to have failed.” Paul wants them to detach themselves with the church leadership personally and grow their faith based on Jesus, not them. Paul even continues telling the people that “we are glad, when we are weak, and ye are strong.” They are grateful when their weakness does not impact the righteousness of others, and really that’s how it should be. Our testimonies should be independent of what others do or say, but unfortunately that isn’t always the case. It wasn’t for me, that’s why I left so long ago, and I refused to come back until I was strong enough to not leave if something ...

13:5-6 - Paul’s warning that accountability will be coming with his next visit can seem daunting but he also recommends a way to not be subject to that kind of discipline. In fact, instead of him being the judge of their spirituality, he wants them to do it themselves. Paul says, “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves.” I’m a fan of the saying, “the unexamined life is not worth living,” because an unexamined life is a reactionary life and that’s not only exhausting, but likely to end up with you being in a situation that you don’t want to be in. In order to get out of life what you want, you have to know first where you are and make a plan to move forward. I look at my life constantly, maybe a little too much, but self-examination gives me a lot to think about and something to do. I think that this is the reason I ask myself so often, “do you believe in God?” and all the other questions that I constantly think about. I’m trying to figure out if I really ...

13:1 - I thought that Paul had visited the Corinthians several times before he wrote them this letter, but in verse 1 he states that his upcoming trip will only be “the third time I am coming to you.” From a Wikipedia entry about 2nd Corinthians, we can put together the time line of Paul’s visits as: 1. His first missionary efforts in Corinth that lasted about 18 months. He then goes to Ephesus for 3 years. 2. During his first year in Ephesus, Paul writes a “warning letter” to the Corinthians, I would assume because he heard about their misconduct. 3. During his second year in Ephesus, Paul writes the letter known to us as 1 Corinthians. 4. During his third year in Ephesus, Paul visits the Corinthians for the second time, which he referred to in 2 Corinthians 2:1 as a “painful visit.” 5. Paul writes the very harsh letter to the Corinthians and sends it with Titus. I think this is where Paul was planning to make his third visit to the Corinthians but decided against it and just sent Ti...

It's interesting because, as I start the last chapter of 2 Corinthians, I look back and realize that I have spent 11 months with Paul writing to the Corinthians, and 14 months if we include his letter to the Romans before that. I guess maybe it's because Paul can be so difficult to understand that I haven't really been feeling it, but I had a little meltdown yesterday just contemplating life and death and loss and stuff like that. In the middle of all that, I thought about Paul. I don't know his personal circumstances as far as being married, etc. I suspect that he was married at some point because I think marriage is a requirement for being a Pharisee. But we never hear anything about his wife or family so it makes sense to me that his wife died young and either any children they had died too or he had given them to be raised by relatives. Even though he probably had at least one supporter with him some of the time, it seems like he is not only alone for much of his mi...

12:11-12 - Not only are there false teachers claiming to be apostles of Christ, but they are disputing that Paul is one at all. I had never considered that people might not consider Paul and others as apostles because they did not personally travel with Jesus during his mortal ministry. I am 2,000 years removed from Jesus’ mortal ministry so it’s improbable that I would be aware of anyone who would have personally traveled with Jesus back then. That’s probably why I never questioned the authority of the apostles based on whether or not they were with Jesus, because it wouldn’t be possible to do it the other way. I mean, it makes sense, the false teachers had to discredit Paul in order to usurp his power for themselves. Interestingly, they seem to be disputing Paul’s authority as an apostle because they say that he didn’t associate with Jesus while he was alive in Palestine, but I’m going to venture a guess that they themselves didn’t either, which is ironic. But this concept requires...

12:7 - Paul has just made a seemingly contradictory statement, that he “will not glory, but in mine infirmities.” I can’t think of a single person that I know who would “glory” in their infirmities, I know I wouldn’t. But apparently, it’s all about how you view the purpose and potential of those infirmities. I view them as sources of pain and as restricting my progress. But Paul seems to view them as an opportunity to grow closer to Christ. I wonder how much different my life would be if I considered my problems to be invitations to become closer to the Savior, to increase my faith. I’m going to think about this more. One of the “infirmities” mentioned is what Paul calls “a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.” I think one of my problems in accepting Paul’s point of view in my own life is the idea that if I work on my flaws to the point that through the grace of God, they can become strengths to me, that I will become so sel...

12:1-2 - Paul has commented on the baselessness of attacks on his physical appearance, he has given examples of extreme endurance for the sake of the gospel, but now he switches his focus to spiritual matters. Interestingly, when his topic switched, so did his attitude. While speaking about “visions and revelations of the Lord,” suddenly he’s speaking in the third person, saying, “I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago… such an one caught up to the third heaven.” The article about this chapter from gospeldoctrine.com says, “After a dozen or more examples of dramatic persecution, we might expect a half dozen episodes of dramatic revelation just to drive his point home. Instead, Paul’s awe, humility, and gratitude for having received those revelations turn him from aggressiveness to reverence- even reticence. The fact that he describes the vision as happening to ‘a man in Christ’ is such an evidence of that humility, though he is obviously speaking of himself. The passage makes ...

11:23-33 - The false teachers are corrupting the Corinthian saints with false doctrine and quick to point out Paul's personal flaws. They use these critiques as proof that Paul is wrong in his teachings and in his authority. And even though Paul isn't a bragging type of guy, he tells his readers that he is about to "speak as a fool," meaning that he's about to sound like he's bragging on himself, but really, how else is he supposed to get his point across. There are people all over who are ready and willing to reap all the benefits of discipleship, but Paul points out that he's also reaped the wrath of Satan. He reminds the Corinthians,, "of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one." Now this might not seem like a big deal to us because we have a very limited reference point when it comes to whipping. Honestly, the only knowledge I have about whipping comes from what I know about slaves being whipped back during the early 1800's...

11:16-22 - There have been a lot of implied accusations against Paul. I say implied because we don’t have the letter that he is responding to in which he gets all this criticism. So, we can only assume what his detractors have said based on his responses to them. They have said Paul is not a credible apostle of Jesus Christ because he is ugly, because he is rude, because he won’t take money for his services. These people really have their priorities wrong, because if someone good looking and smooth talking showed up, they would be out of money real quick. With all these personal attacks, Paul is about to set them straight. But he recognizes that what he’s about to say might seem boastful or “holier than thou.” He basically says, “ok since you guys want to talk about these things, buckle up cause I got you.” Or another way might be, “this is going to make me sound crazy, but just hear me out.” Paul’s asking them, basically, “how is it that you’re willing to listen to someone who puts ‘...

11:13 - It’s interesting how God works because as we get to the part of the chapter that discusses false prophets and false doctrine, what do I hear on my way to work from the Ensign but a discussion about Korihor and him leading people astray because of false teachings. Korihor was obvious in his opposition to the gospel, teaching that there was not God, etc. This kind of deception might be more obvious because it all clearly contradicts the prophets and scripture. But I think the more sinister and pervasive destroyers are the ones Paul talks about who “are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.” It’s easy to look back at Paul’s day from our own and think, “how could someone possible say that they were an apostle of Jesus Christ, when they weren’t called and set apart into the Quorum of the Twelve?” We have to remember that even though the gospel is the same, circumstances were different back then. Now we have an organized world wide ...