The Book of Romans is a powerful epistle from Paul. Although he may not have been the one to actually write down the words, the messages conveyed in the book are both revolutionary and eternal. In the first chapter, Paul bears a powerful testimony and sets up the rest of the book with his authoritative tone. In verse 16 he says, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto the salvation to every one that believeth: to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” I remember on my mission, we were asked to look especially for men in ties to talk to. At first I was a little bothered by the idea because I always considered missionary work to be to everyone… especially the downtrodden and humble. As my mission progressed, I was able to see the wisdom in this counsel, however. Although we definitely kept seeking out everyone we could find that would talk to us, we would definitely focus on talking to men in ties. Often, these men had families they were supporting through stable jobs and had stable lives. Although this may sound a bit judgmental, the work progressed as we talked to these people. We were asked as missionaries to seek out families, and if men in ties were the way to do this, then so be it. In this scripture, Paul talks about first preaching to the Jew, and then the Greek. Although this may seem a bit biased at first reading, it makes sense. The Jews were a God-fearing, scripture-reading, covenant-keeping people who understood Jehovah and knew how to keep commandments. The Greeks had a much different, polytheistic view and were thus less susceptible to adapting to a monotheistic, commandment-keeping belief system. That’s not to say that there weren’t any Greeks in the church (there are several mentioned in the scriptures) but they were less likely to join with the young Christian movement than their Jewish counterparts.
Skipping ahead to chapter 8, I think Paul has conveyed one of the most beautiful concepts in Christianity. He says (verses 37-39): “Nay in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, not things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creatures, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus or Lord.” Paul is a man who has had keen experience with suffering and grief. He knows the loneliness of separation and the pains of torture. Yet all these things have not separated him from the love of God. As he says, he is the “servant” of the Lord, and has had experiences feeling the depth of love that Christ has for his children. This is the message that Paul is conveying, and this is the message of the Gospel. No matter what wrongs we’ve done, we are never too far that the love of Christ cannot reach us.

1 Corinthians chapter 13 has become the quintessential chapter in the Bible on the value of charity. In this remarkable chapter the reader can really get a sense of Paul’s eloquence and insight. In the first verse, the tone is set for the rest of the chapter. “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.” I really enjoy this imagery. Although the sounding of brass and a tinkling of cymbals can be meaningful in a context, they are not nearly as meaningful if used alone. I think this is what Paul is trying to convey in his message, that although we may be doing great things, if we do not have the pure love of Christ in our lives, these things are meaningless. In verse four, Paul changes the tone a bit and proceeds to describe different aspects of charity. In our New Testament class, our professor added an interesting insight into the verses, which I felt really strongly about. He mentioned that one could substitute the name of Christ in for the word charity throughout verses 4-13. I thought to myself, that although we could not use our own name now, it is our hope and faith that allows us to believe that through Christ, one day we can become like Him. As I substituted Christ’s name into the verses, I felt how much I rely on the Lord. In verse eight, the scripture says that, “Charity never faileth.” These three words mean a great deal to me. Though health, relationships and wealth may pass away, Christ will never fail us because he has already suffered for us and stood as proxy for us so that we may succeed through his grace. When we access this atonement, we are succeeding in our goal towards exaltation.
As I read these passages I was reminded of the personal experiences that Paul must have had as he felt this pure love toward him. The Lord, in love reached out to Paul as he was going about persecuting the Christians and trying to destroy what Christ had established. Through his miraculous conversion Paul was able to receive a first-hand understanding of the pure love of Christ. I am sure he continued to feel this love throughout his ministry for both himself and those he taught. As a missionary, I often felt this love towards those I taught, and it was this love, which brought power and authority to the testimony that I bore. If we have not charity, our words are nothing. With charity, our words carry power.

Special Collections

This last week I had the opportunity to attend a unique presentation with my New Testament class in the Special Collections section of the library at BYU. The Special Collections is a seldom-visited treasure on the BYU campus. I was frankly quite surprised at what kinds of artifacts the library had acquired.
The first piece that we were shown was an ancient clay tablet called a Cuneiform. The tablet was only about 4 inches by 3 inches. The engravings on the tablet were most likely created by a reed or piece of the wood. I noticed that the inscriptions bore a strong visual resemblance to Chinese or Japanese. The tablet had a green color and was rounded on the edges. I wondered what kind of finish or treatment that the tablet went through in order to be preserved so well for thousands of years. Our instructor mentioned to us that the engravings contained a message about a land owning transaction. He explained that much of the time, these Cuneiforms were used for law, business, history or other important aspects of life during that time period.
The next artifact to which we were privy, was a set of metal plates. The contents of the plates contained a discharge report of a Roman soldier. These plates must have been very important to him because they contained a written record that this person had Roman citizen and was able to access the rights that went along with that. It was very important that these documents be written on something that would not be easily destroyed. These plates were most likely displayed in a prominent position in the community for all to see. We were told that these plates had a portion of them sealed at first (sound familiar?) and could only be opened by someone who held the proper keys…quite an interesting tidbit.
Soon, people developed a less expensive surface upon which to make records- papyrus. The durable stems of this plant could be harvested, split open, dried and stuck together to make paper upon which a scribe could write. The most often form of record keeping at the time was in scrolls. If kept dry and out of the sunlight, papyrus could be preserved for thousands of years. There are still numerous records preserved on papyrus that have been preserved for over 2000 years; among them: the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Books came next. They were a huge adjustment from the scrolls that were used in the past. They often had very hard, durable covers, made of wood in order to protect the delicate and ornate pages contained in the book. These books were extremely valuable and only the most wealthy and learned people could afford them, let alone read them. The books themselves, with the gold-leaf ornamentation and hand-written lettering sometimes took more than 11 years to create!
Guttenberg made the process easier and more rapid. And modern printing presses are an updated version of those older pioneers. The time and effort people have given throughout history is astounding, and the records they have preserved are an invaluable insight into history.

Explanation of why Paul was concerned about circumcision.

In Galatians chapter 1, Paul begins his epistle with a sharp reproof. He says, “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel. Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ” (Galatians 1:6-7). To what was Paul refer to in this rebuke? The early disciples of Christ often had a hard time making adjustments to their newly formed faith. They often had a hard time reconciling the Law of Moses with the New Law. The disciples in Galatia had a hard time adjusting to the New Law in that they wanted the new converts to Christianity to be circumcised, as was the custom with the Law of Moses.
Many of the new converts in that area were not already Jewish, meaning they had not been circumcised. Not only had the disciples thrown aside the New Law and the Atonement of Christ by forcing new converts to be circumcised, but also they undoubtedly drove a few potential converts away, at the prospect of the pain that inherently accompanies circumcision.
Paul’s mission was to bring all souls unto Christ. This mission was being deterred by the stubborn and prideful converts who wanted to integrate their faith with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In the next verse Paul says, “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” (Galatians 1:8). The members of the church in that area were looking beyond the mark. They were going off the path that Paul had already laid out for them.
We can learn a valuable lesson from this rebuke. So many times, we as members of the church look beyond the mark and claim that certain ideas or principles that they regard as important, is actually doctrine. Sometimes they may use words of the General Authorities (often taken out of context) as justification for their ideas. These ideas can be a major deterrent for potential converts to the Gospel. This is why, as missionaries, we were taught to teach only out of “Preach My Gospel” and the scriptures. Apostasy arises when the Gospel is twisted to meet a member’s ideals. The atonement of Jesus Christ is perfect and needs no addition to the doctrine of the gospel, and when some seek to do so, the are, as Paul mentions, accursed.

The Gift of the Holy Ghost

Acts chapter 2 gives an account of the day of the Pentacost. It was on this day that the Holy Ghost was poured out upon the faithful disciples of Christ and they were able to do marvelous things. One of those things was to speak with the gift and power of God. Verse 2 begins, "And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them, and they were filled with the Holy Ghost..." It continues to say that they spake in tongues. I've always been a little curious by this phrase. 2 Nephi 32:3 says, "Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ..." In the previous verse it talks about how those who received the Holy Ghost could speak in the tongue of angels. I think that this speaking in tongues, generally means that the nature of the matter of which the person is speaking is so sacred that only those who have been blessed by the same spirit will understand. The Lord has shown a pattern throughout the scriptures of keeping things sacred and not revealing them to people unless that person was completely ready to receive it. In 2 Nephi 33:1-2, Nephi says, "for when a man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost the power of he Holy Ghost carrieth it into the hearts of the children of men. But behold, there are many that harden their hearts against the Holy Spirit, that it hath no place in them; wherefore, they cast many things away which are written and esteem them as things of naught." When we are receptive and have been blessed with the Gift of the Holy Ghost, the Lord can and does bless us to comprehend truths that would otherwise go unnoticed. Such was the case here on the day of the Pentacost. Many of the saints were open and receptive, but there were also many bystanders who did not believe. They cast away their opportunity to gain a testimony, and resorted to mockery and scorn. Peter, full of the spirit, and having recently repented from his denial of the Savior boldly testified to the scorners. He was a witness and his voice was heard, and it was carried into the hearts of some of those present. He was able to testify of the Atonement, not only because he was present for many of the events surrounding the act, but because he now had an abiding testimony of its power to redeem the soul. Like Peter, I have felt the power of the Atonement. Although I wasn't present to witness the events surrounding the Atonement, I can make my voice heard in testifying of the power of the Savior's supreme act of love.

In John chapter 21:18-19, Jesus describes something that Peter was probably not ready to hear, nor fully understand. "Verily, verily I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst wither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me." Peter, the Rock, like so many others would later seal his testimony with his life, being killed in a most cruel manner, according to legend. The point that struck me is that Peter, although knowing the fate that awaited him, only grew stronger in his testimony and more bold in his ministry. With unflinching faith and perserverence he persued a course that would eventually lead to his brutal death, and the promise of everlasting life.
Jesus taught, "...he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it." The scriptures and more modern examples are full of examples of people who lose their lives for the sake of the Lord. As members of the church we covenent with the Lord in the most sacred of places that we will give all we have, even our very lives if necessary for the establishment of Zion. Full-time missionaries pledge to give their lives for two years in the full-time service of building Zion across the world, but is this sacrifice enough? I think the Lord wants more than two years.
Each Sunday in Sacrament Meeting we hear the words, "...and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him and keep his commandments which he has given them...". The commandment clearly extends into the fibers of our character. Are we living to give away our lives to Christ? He wants our agency, but will never take it forcefully, and has promised that if we do so, we will end up finding ourselves and inherit all that he has.
Easter is a good time to reflect on how this blessing is made possible. Christ is not asking us to do anything he hasn't done already. He handed his agency over to his Father in the Garden of Gethsemane and suffered more intensely then is imaginable. He is the one man who knows what it really means to give one's life for the establishment of Zion.

Reading through John chapter 12 this week, I came across a scripture that I thought was very significant. Verses 35 and 36 read, "Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them."
This analogy of light and dark is often used in the church. Metaphorically, we have to walk in the darkness occasionally and put our trust in the Lord to guide us.
I remember going hiking on Mt. St. Helens when I was younger. The hike was beautiful, on the other side of the mountain from where the famous eruption occurred in 1980. On the way home we decided to take a little detour and hike through the caves that served as the passageway through which the explosion passed. The caves were massive and cold, cutting out all sources of light from above. The only light we had were the flashlights in our hands. At one point, our guide asked us to turn off our flashlights. As I sat there in the cold blackness an overwhelming fear came over me and I began to tremble. I had a dark and eery feeling that I had never felt before and I begged my dad to turn his light back on. I was starving for the light... for it's comfort and source of clarity and direction. Without it I felt empty and alone and desperate. On our way out I had the thought that no wonder we, in the church, call hell "Outer Darkness". The most terrifying thing I could imagine would be far from the light.
To be "children of light" as Christ mentions is to allow the atonement into our life, to seek it and let ourselves become his children because he is the way, the truth and the light. The light of Christ is in each person on this earth, and we are all therefore capable of becoming his children if we are willing to have his light penetrate the dark corners of our lives.

Oft-cited as the shortest scripture, John 11:35 simply reads, "Jesus wept." The next verse reads, "Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!" The him in this verse is referring to Lazarus, brother of Mary and Martha. As I mentioned in a previous post about John the Baptist, I find it fascinating to read about the accounts of Jesus' interactions and relationships with his disciples. So much is given on the places he went, the miracles he performed and the doctrine he preached, that little is given on the individuals that meant so much to him.
I don't know much about Lazarus or his relationship with the Savior, but I do know that Christ wept when he learned of his passing. Although earlier in the verse, Christ testifies that through him, all will be resurrected and have the possibility of eternal life, the passing of this man struck an emotional cord in Jesus. His life was so filled with turmoil and heartache that these close friends must have been an incredible blessing of comfort and support. Again, I don't know much about his personal relationship with Lazarus, but I do know that I have relied heavily on my friends throughout my life, and thinking about going through my trials without them would give me cause to weep. I wonder what kinds of people Christ kept as close friends. I like to think they were people from all different walks of life: rich and poor, educated and uneducated, young and old, men and women. We do know a few example of people that we spent a lot of time with: fishermen, women, the sick and afflicted, those who needed help and those who were genuinely and sincerely for answers in their life. He wasn't great friends with the powerful political leaders of the time, or the rabbis who oversaw the religious instruction of the people. He chose humble and sincere people who could support and love him. I think we can learn a lot about these "Christ-like" friends.
Through his divine power and authority Christ was able to bring Lazarus back, and I think this serves as a poignant reminder that we all can receive this incredible gift of resurrection as his friends. Last weekend, as I attended Stake Conference I heard many talks about faith in Jesus Christ and how we can better develop our relationship with him. Although he is not walking among us on earth at this time, we all have an opportunity to be close friends with the Lord. I think about the people who are alive today who have a very close, personal and friendly relationship with the Lord and they possess a lot of the same qualities shown by his friends during his mortal ministry. It is so important during this life to associate with these Christ-like people so that we can also become more humble, loving and sincere friends not only to those around us, but the Christ himself.

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!

This week I was reading in the book of John chapter 9. In this chapter, Jesus heals a blind man by rubbing some clay on his eyes. The man had been blind since birth and the disciples asked the Lord, "Master, who did the sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents; but that the works of God should be manifest in him." I think this scripture can be read on multiple levels, but when I first read it, I was reminded again of how quickly we evaluate and make judgments of things and people. In school we are bred to work quickly making evaluations of problems and fast judgments. To some extent I think this spills over into other aspects of our lives.
We may jump into a situation not weighing the circumstances, we may say something without thinking and later regret, but I think the most dangerous mistake we make, as illustrated here from the disciples, is to make judgments of people before we get to understand them. As part of common belief of the time, the disciples believed that this blindness was a curse from God for either the man's sins or the sins of his parents. As Jesus clarifies, neither the man nor the parents committed the sin, but the man suffers blindness in order for some purpose of God to be fulfilled.
I remember being in France when hurricane Katrina hit the southern United States and New Orleans was buried in water. I was teaching a devoutly religious family, when the mother said, "Those sinners in the south of the United States needed a wake up call! God was behind that hurricane." I remember thinking, well if that's what God does to all sinners, we're all in serious trouble.
I think that after a natural disaster, disease, accident, suicide, or war people want to find some meaning behind it, some manifestation from God that his hand was in it. Although I believe God can and does intervene in peoples' lives on a regular basis, He loves us enough to let us suffer through our own difficulties. If injustice (sometimes severe, sometimes less severe) is dealt, God will deal justly with that person or people, but he will rarely step in and prevent it. We need to make our own decisions here on earth, and sometimes those decisions can lead to seriously detrimental consequences for ourselves and others.
A common practice among members of the church that can be used for both good and bad is reproving. Judgments need to be made by those who are in authority to make them, but so often, judgments are made by those who have no authority or reason to make them. We are our brothers' keepers but we do not and cannot tell people how to live their lives. In love, we can tell someone that their actions are hurting us, or hurting them, but once we begin to exercise unrighteous dominion we are in danger. D&C 121:43 says that priesthood holders, or those who are in authority are allowed to "Reprove betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterward an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved..." (emphasis added).
Passing unfounded judgments upon others is one of the most detrimental practices we can do in the church and has led to thousands (maybe millions) of inactive members of the church. Again, as I've said before, Christ's mission was to the downtrodden, and those who were rejected by society. We ought to show them the same love and respect that Christ showed them.

There is constant debate and struggle within religious discussion about faith and miracles. We are commanded in several places not to be a "sign-seeking" people, but to have faith through impressions from the Holy Ghost. Korihor, the Anti-Christ spoken of in the Book of Mormon wanted a sign from God, and in return, he was smitten dumb. Today, many people say to themselves, if God would just show me a sign then I would believe.
A great number of people spoken of in the scriptures and in present-day life who do receive signs do not believe, however. Think of the hypocrites written of in the Gospels who criticized Jesus for telling a crippled many that his sins are forgiven. Christ turned to them and asked why they would have such feelings in their hearts. Then, to show them that the Son of Man has power to forgive sin, he healed the crippled man from his ailment, and the man "took up his bed" and walked. Did this change the hearts of the hypocrites? What about Nephi's brothers, Lamen and Lemuel. As the savagely beat Nephi and multiple occasions, the Lord intervened and rebuked the brothers for what they did, yet they had no faith.
Even the early apostles of the Lord had little faith after seeing so many miracles. After the death of Christ, Thomas, who had been with Jesus on multiple occasions, did not believe the words of his fellow apostles that Jesus had been resurrected. He wanted proof... hard evidence that Jesus had indeed fulfilled the commandments that he told them he would.
In John 2:23-25 it reads, "Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men,

and needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man." He knows our hearts and he knows the sincerity and source of our belief.
As a student of the physical sciences, I am often looking for physical proof of everything I do. I want to see immediate application of the principles I am learning, and demonstrations that prove that these scientific principles (some of them counter-intuitive) are indeed accurate. Faith has not always come easily or quickly for me, but my testimony has been founded on real and powerful experiences. Faith is the refreshing trust that I have that God is true and will keep His promises and that He knows and loves us more than we know and love ourselves.