Blogging Through the Book of Mormon

1:1-3 - Maybe it’s because Jude is the brother of James and so also the half-brother of Jesus that I thought Jude’s letter as recorded here would be along the same lines as James and John, like peace, love, and obedience and all that. What I found instead is that Jude’s letter is like if someone took a random chapter out of Harry Potter and expected you to come away with the storyline after you are done reading. Some of the stuff in here, I was like, “wait, what?” He starts by introducing himself as “the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James.” He doesn’t say, “I’m Jesus’ brother,” probably for the same reasons that James didn’t, but it’s interesting because he talks about Jesus like he’s this foreign, holy guy that no one knows, when in fact, he grew up in the same household with Him, and might know him more personally than almost anyone else. Jude wishes mercy, peace, and love “be multiplied.” Jude says that his purpose in writing is to “exhort you that ye should earnestly c...

1:1-8 - This is another short (14 verse) book from John to church members, but what’s different about this one is that it isn’t about “love one another” commandments but instead directed to specific individuals. This letter is addressed to “the wellbeloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth.” From listening to the podcast “The History of Rome,” I learned that Gaius was a very common Roman name, so my guess is that this Gaius was a Roman citizen, but also became a Christian believer. This almost certainly means that Gaius was not natively Jewish, therefore a gentile convert. This also means that John is another one who accepted the gentiles into Christ’s church. Apparently, some Christian church leaders had visited the saints in Gaius’ city and when they came back to report the status, they praised Gaius because he “doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren, and to strangers.” The IM comments that Gaius was “a faithful member of the Church whom John praised for showing unsel...

1:1-4 - This 2nd letter of John to “the elect lady and her children” is a short book consisting of only 13 verses. Interestingly, it seems like this letter is addressed to a woman which is unusual, but the IM explains, “Since the epistle addresses a group of people, many commentators conclude that ‘the elect lady’ actually refers to a Christian congregation. The Greek term for church is feminine, and it was common to personify the Church as a woman. Another possibility is that ‘the elect lady and her children’ were John’s wife and family.” Concerning the term “elect lady” specifically, the IM continues, “In our dispensation, Emma Smith, wife of the Prophet Joseph Smith, was called ‘an elect lady’ (D&C 25:3).” Most of what John discusses in this epistle is covered in what he talked about in his 1st epistle, 1st John. He introduces himself as “the elder,” and wishes his reader “grace be with you, mercy, and peace from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.” He also “rejoice...

There is a lot in this last chapter of the first book of John that is repeated and because I’m incredibly short on time, I’m just going to focus on the points that are unique to this chapter. 5:3 – “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.” I think there is a point in everyone’s spiritual progression where their desire to keep the commandments transitions from fear based (doing it because you’ll be punished if you don’t) and love based (doing it because we recognize God’s love for us and desire to keep us safe.) I know that for me, any desire to be obedient was mostly rooted in fear and guilt. Fear that if I went against the laws of God that I would miss out on certain blessings, and the guilt of doing what I was told was the right thing to do but hating that I had to do it or else I was “bad.” I think it came after I learned who God is and who I am to Him that I was able to make that mental shift to WANTING to be obedient bec...

4:1-6 - We know that God “dwelleth” in us “by the Spirit which he hath given us,” but John warns us to be wary of just any “spirit.” Now I’m not exactly sure what John means by “spirit” here, if he is referring to the aura or feeling that we get from other people, the vibe they put off, or if he’s talking about influences, I don’t know, but either way John encourages us to “try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” The article on this chapter quotes Dallin H. Oaks as teaching, “(the) power of discernment is essential if we are to distinguish between genuine spirits gifts and the counterfeits Satan seeks to use to deceive men and women and thwart the work of God.” I read somewhere and I can’t find it now but basically it said that it would be impossible to tell the difference between God given revelation and that given by Satan if we don’t have a sort of “checklist” to go by. John gives us the start of that checklist, “hereby kn...

3:1-2 - Because God has given the righteous “an unction from the Holy One,” John says that we can “behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.” What does that mean? John continues that when Jesus “shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” The IM quotes President Dallin H. Oaks as teaching, “the purpose of mortal life is to prepare us to realize our destiny as sons and daughters of God- to become like Him… The Bible describes mortals as ‘the children of God’ and as ‘heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.’ It also declares that ‘we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together’ and that ‘when he shall appear, we shall be like him.’ We take these Bible teachings literally. We believe that the purpose of mortal life is to acquire a physical body and, through the atonement of Jesus Christ and by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel, to qualify for the glorified, resurrected cele...

2:1-2 - John addresses his readers multiple times as “My little children” which the IM explains is a term of endearment. His goal in writing is “that ye sin not.” There’s a critical JST saying, “But if any man sin and repent, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” The KJV translation says, “And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” This is a very important addition because without it, there is no accountability for our actions. The KJV makes it sound like “but don’t worry, if you sin, you’ll be forgiven” where the JST clarifies, “if you sin you can repent and then be forgiven.” The process of repentance is omitted from the first one and really, that would be a huge win for Satan, if he could convince us that it doesn’t matter if we sin, Jesus will cover us either way. Not only is Jesus our advocate with the Father, but “he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole w...