Blogging Through the Book of Mormon

4:1-2 - It's been a while and I can definitely feel the lack of the scriptures in my life and I've really missed them. But I have been working really hard on my other project that has consumed most of my time plus it's been really busy at work. But I have a few minutes now and really want to get back into the game whenever I can. I anticipate being able to come back full time in about 2 weeks, I really hope. If I recall correctly, Paul's letter to the Thessalonians was one that was prompted not from some doctrinal misunderstanding but because they had remained faithful to the gospel after Paul left and he wanted to convey his gratefulness for their steadfastness. He asks them to "walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more." This could be a long of the lines of the more we are righteous the more we can live in an abundant mindset, not only receiving physical blessings but also spiritual knowledge and uplift. It could also be referring to spiritual...

3:1-4 - Coming into chapter 3, we find Paul again explaining apologetically why he can’t personally visit the people. I honestly could not figure out why Paul was always saying, “I really want to come visit but I can’t and here’s why…” until I heard LTJ say something on his lecture that was basically explaining that we get these letters from Paul to these groups of people but writing letters was Paul absolute least favored method of communication. He preferred to meet people in person, face to face. This was 100% the way that he wanted to conduct his business in the gospel. When he couldn’t do that, he would send someone he knew and trusted to visit them, and finally when he couldn’t send someone, he would write a letter. He didn’t like doing it but would when he had to, that’s why so much precious real estate is taken up by his explanations for letters instead of visits. Paul decided that he was fine alone in Athens and sent Timothy to the people in Thessalonica “to establish you, a...

Just as a side note, I am starting a 30 day online class that is going to take several hours of my day to complete. Because I paid for it and hopefully will be getting some really great stuff out of it, I'm going to make completing that days portion priority over a blog post everyday. I'm really sad about it, but this is really important to me so I might be a little bit MIA for the next month. Also work has been crazy busy for the last month or so and in combination with that and my project, this blog hasn't been getting the attention that I wish I could give it. Here's to hoping for the best. 2:5-6 - Paul continues to note that he and his companions brought the gospel to the people of Thessalonica without the use of "flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloak of covetousness… Not of men sought we glory… when we might have been burdensome, as the apostles of Christ." IN the lecture series by Luke Timothy Johnson, he said something to the effect of "preac...

In the time that I’ve been working on other things, I’ve been very fortunate to come across something that has really helped me understand the ancient world in which Paul was operating. One thing that makes studying the Book of Mormon a bit more difficult is that the number of theological scholars are smaller and they all consist of LDS members. But when you get to studying the Bible, our research can be drawn from not only LDS scholars but the Christian world at large, and the Jewish world is included when we get to the Old Testament. I was really struggling with Paul but I thought that I was the only one and that everyone else “got it,” so I looked up “Apostle Paul” on Overdrive, which is a library sharing media app. I came across a lecture series by a theologian names Luke Timothy Johnson that is absolutely incredible. He was able to put into words a lot of the issues that I have with understanding Paul and also helped me understand more about why the concept of Jesus as Messiah was...

1:1-4 - The epistle begins with Paul, “Silvanus” who is Silas, and “Timotheus” who is Timothy announcing themselves and wishing the audience grace” and “peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.” It must have been refreshing for Paul to have a group of converted saints who thrived in the gospel after he left them, especially considering that he had to leave because of a violent mob of leadership of an opposing religion. I bet when he left under the threat of violence, he was worried that the opposition would be too strong for new converts to resist. Paul gives “thanks to God always for you all,” and remembers their faith, love and patience, “knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God.” The article on this chapter from gospeldoctrine.com says, “Almost in passing, Paul gives us an interesting version of the ‘faith, hope, and charity’ theme. He reminds us that individual faith takes work, that hope requires patience, and that charity is really a labor of love. Indeed, ...

It's been almost two weeks since I've written and mostly it's been because I've been very busy with work and also a personal project in which I am heavily invested. I haven't had a day off in over two weeks and won't get one for another several days, but I'm doing ok. And even though I've been so so busy on my other endeavors, I have missed being here and studying. Usually my daily study is my main priority after getting all my other work done, but when I haven't had time, I've still felt a little bit of loss in my day, so anyway, I'm glad to be back. The other point that I want to make is that when I ended my last entry, I said that I would try and be more grateful for things and see what kind of difference that made in my life. I really focused on the "I am grateful for…" for the next couple of days, and then it dropped off, but I still managed to have it be a little bit higher on my priority list than usual and my mood was dram...

4:1 - Paul continues the household code, having just given counsel to servants, he now has something to say to those who are in the position of “Master,” saying, “give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven.” I wondered why Paul didn’t just say, “free them,” assuming that they were slaves, but first, that might start a whole thing saying that those who had slaves couldn’t become Christians. It would make a requirement for joining the church to be freeing your slaves. Now I personally see slavery as a disgusting, abhorrent thing, freeing slaves wasn’t even a requirement for the modern church in the beginning. A few pioneers emigrated to Utah territory with their slaves in tow, and some even paid their tithing by giving slaves to the church. While Jesus clearly wants all slaves freed, he also chose not to make the abolition of slavery a central focus in the early church, probably because of the precarious state of America at that tim...