Apostasy - Galatians 1:1-10

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 from, I really do. These Jewish-Christian converts had lived their whole lives believing that their religion was not only the correct one, but that they would be rewarded just because they were born into the lineage of Abraham. So they might think that they had sacrificed their whole lives to try to be faithful to the one true religion, and now here were people being given the same amount of "salvation" as they were, even though they hadn't lived this life of sacrifice. And some of those traditions that were in the Law of Moses weren't necessarily contrary to the gospel, like abstaining from pork, etc. so many Jewish converts probably lived many parts of the law of Moses just because they were used to it. But to be told your whole life that eating pork is wrong and filthy and that non-Jews were to be avoided at all cost, then suddenly it's all ok because you believe in Jesus, there is a cognitive disconnect there, it would understandably take some time getting used to, honestly probably a couple of generations. So here is this newly converted group of Christians coming into the gospel from multiple backgrounds and personalities trying to make this religion work, and some people who are less committed to the gospel than others sees an opportunity to fill the leadership vacuum and gain more power and wealth for themselves. 1:1-7 - Paul spends the first five verses giving them a customary greeting, I would imagine some where along the lines of "I've missed you, I hope all is well, I come in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ." Then he dived right into the meat of his message, saying, "I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel." The IM comments, "Paul typically began his epistles with words of gratitude and praise for the Saints he was addressing, even when they were in need of correction. His Epistle to the Galatians lacks any expressions of thanksgiving of praise; rather, Paul immediately confronts the Galatian Saints with the charge of following false teachers." This begs the question, are the people who are being led astray knowingly going against the gospel, or do they just not know any better? It's hard for me to see someone as knowingly accepting doctrine that they knew was wrong, but then again, if you are just looking for a reason to get out of the gospel or want something that is wrong, but don't care, then I can see embracing someone who says what you want to hear. But my guess is that most of the people, probably to include some of those who were teaching the false doctrine, didn't really know what they were doing was wrong. They probably should have been more diligent in keeping the Holy Ghost with them to discern truth from error, but I don't think that most of them knew that what they were being taught was wrong. 1:8-10 - My assumption that most were unknowingly apostatizing comes from the next verse where Paul teaches the people, "but though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed." I think that the people probably had a misunderstanding of following the doctrine instead of the leadership, which is understandable, it can be a process. Basically Paul is saying, "even if I come back to you and teach something other than Christ, or if you see an angel who tells you something other than the gospel that you already accepted, do not believe us." That's a pretty strong argument for your initial message. And really, it makes sense, the initial message is what brought the Spirit to the people who eventually joined the Church, so if something varies from that, even if it's the same messenger, then you can know that further contemplation is needed before you deviate from the course. Interestingly, this teaching that not even an angel from heaven should be listened to, if their message is contrary to the true gospel of Christ is used as an argument against the restoration of the gospel to Joseph Smith. I guess the key here is whether or not the message from the angel is contrary to the gospel. As Paul traveled around and grew in his own spirituality, then what he said might have varied over time, but how do we know if the message is to be heeded or ignored? Paul gives us some guidelines to follow, asking if he, as a messenger, "persuade men, or God?" The JST changes "persuade" to "please," so Paul is asking if his message is to please men, in which case we can deduce that he has strayed from the gospel, or if his message is to please God, in which case, we can continue to follow his counsel. This is also an interesting idea that we need to constantly gain a testimony for ourselves about gospel teachings, to include current teachings from church leadership. I think that's one of the tricky parts of being an active member of the Church, policies and cultures change so much that if we aren't consistently going to Jesus for confirmation about the truthfulness of a current teaching, then we can more easily be persuaded to fall away. Like when the policy came out in 2016 about children of same sex couples couldn't be baptized until they were 18. This was a huge issue for many members of the church, and I was shocked when I found out about it, but I immediately prayed about it, and I had an incredibly spiritually powerful 16 hours following that. It was incredible and I learned a lot and I had a profound teaching moment that I still treasure. I could have just thought about it myself, and who knows what conclusions I would have come to, but because I asked the Lord to get involved in my understanding, it was immensely powerful.