The Letters of Peter, John & Jude: Living in Jesus (Meditative Commentary Book 11)

During the half hour immediately preceding her death, I walked the floor with the little creature in my arms. He then assisted the family with the burial arrangements and spoke at their graveside services.

This he did all for a family of strangers. What a great example of Christlike kindness! Wirthlin taught that when we obey the commandments out of love, obedience ceases to be grievous:. Meditate on His words. Take His yoke upon you. When we love the Lord, obedience ceases to be a burden. To read about the blessings that come to those who overcome the world, see Revelation 2: And there are three that bear witness in earth. What is important is that these verses emphasize the blood of Christ.

Baptism is performed by immersion in water. Each person born in mortality is literally the offspring of heavenly parents, having received a spirit body in the premortal world. In this epistle, John expressed concern over apostate influences in the Church. This rejoicing illustrates the joy and gratitude that Church leaders, both ancient and modern, feel for those who remain faithful to the Lord. We do not know the location of its composition. The Greek term for church is feminine, and it was common to personify the Church as a woman see Ephesians 5: In this epistle John warned about false teachers who had entered into the Church.

John warned Church members not to heed or befriend these individuals. He warned of antichrists. John rejoiced that he found the children of the elect lady walking in truth and following the gospel of Jesus Christ.

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John was not suggesting that the Saints should fail to extend common courtesy to those who taught contrary doctrines. However, since early Christian congregations gathered to worship in the homes of Church members, traditional customs of hospitality could inadvertently enable heretical teachers to infiltrate congregations. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles warned modern Church members not to associate with deceivers and antichrists operating in our day:.

They reject the need for a Savior. In this brief epistle, John praised Gaius, a Church member who was loyal during a time of rebellion against Church leaders. John also warned Gaius about one Diotrephes, who may have held a local leadership position in the Church or perhaps was the host of a local house-church congregation.

John praised Gaius, who was charitable to men who spoke the truth. He warned Gaius about Diotrephes, who sought for power and refused to take in Church leaders when they visited. Diotrephes was apparently either a leader in a local branch or the host of a house-church. Faust — of the First Presidency cautioned: Traditionally the author has been understood to be Jude the half-brother of Jesus Christ see Matthew Jude was evidently an active Church member of high esteem in Jerusalem, and he had traveled as a missionary see Acts 1: Though Jude does not appear to have held a prominent leadership position in the early Church, early Christians held his epistle in sufficient esteem to include it in the New Testament canon.

If this letter was indeed authored by Jude the brother of Jesus, it was probably written between A. The location of its composition is unknown. Jude cited scripture and Jewish apocryphal accounts to show how God had dealt in times past with individuals who openly opposed His work.

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McConkie noted several unique characteristics of Jude:. Jude encouraged his readers to defend the faith. Here Jude was referring to the faith that was taught originally by Christ Himself and then by His Apostles. President Wilford Woodruff —98 related how as a young man he had sought after the faith that had been taught by Jesus Christ and the Apostles:. I learned verse after verse and chapter after chapter. It taught me that the organization of the Church consisted of Prophets, Apostles, Pastors and Teachers. I believed in them; yet I had never heard them taught by any clergyman or divine upon the earth.

I was quite young then. I arose and stepped into the aisle, and I said to that body of ministers: Why do you not contend for that religion that gives unto you power before God, power to heal the sick, to make the blind to see, the lame to walk, and that gives you the Holy Ghost and those gifts and graces that have been manifest from the creation of the world?

Wilford Woodruff [], 35— Wilford Woodruff finally heard the gospel preached by an authorized servant of God—Elder Zera Pulsipher—and recognized it as what he had been searching for. He was baptized just a few days later. Jude acknowledged the ongoing apostasy in the ancient Church as he described ungodly men who entered the ranks of the Church without the awareness of the members and then taught false doctrines see Jude 1: Jude compared these rebellious individuals to people in Old Testament times who were destroyed for their disobedience—the Israelites who were led out of Egypt and later failed to forsake their sins, and the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Jude also gave the example of the angels in the premortal world who chose to rebel against God and follow Satan see verses 5—8. Because these spirits rebelled against the Father, they lost their standing before God and did not qualify for the privilege of coming to mortality—our second estate.

While serving as a member of the Seventy, Elder L. Lionel Kendrick discussed the premortal events that led to the casting out of Satan and his followers: Even with the possibility of their eternal damnation, Heavenly Father would not take their agency from them. To do so would be counter to eternal law. Sodom and Gomorrah were ancient neighboring cities located somewhere near the Dead Sea, probably at its southern end. McConkie gave insight about this verse: This non-canonical work presents the doctrine that Moses was translated and taken up into heaven without tasting death.

Satan opposed the burial. From the Book of Mormon we learn that Moses was translated and taken into heaven without tasting death see Alma Apocryphal books like the Assumption of Moses are not included in the Bible because of their dubious authenticity or validity. Even though these works often have some value, they are not felt to be correct in every particular.

To read more about Michael the archangel, see Doctrine and Covenants Jude compared false teachers to the rebellious Cain, Balaam, and Core or Korah, as it is spelled in the Old Testament , each of whom sinned grievously in the eyes of the Lord see Jude 1: Balaam used his God-given gift of prophecy to seek after riches and honor see Numbers And Korah rebelled against Moses because he was excluded from priesthood office see Numbers In each instance the Lord cursed these men for their wicked actions.

His epistle can help us avoid similar apostate teachings in our own time. Jude may have quoted from the apocryphal book of Enoch, which is not in our present canon of scripture.

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Safety is found in following apostolic direction, as President M. That voice is the voice of the living prophet and apostles. Hales — of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught how we might dispel darkness from our life and walk in the light: Oaks of the First Presidency explained that the purpose of mortal life is to become like God through the Atonement of Jesus Christ: Holland similarly expressed that Christ came to demonstrate the great love God has for His children: Talmage that illustrates how Christlike love casts out fear: Wirthlin taught that when we obey the commandments out of love, obedience ceases to be grievous: Want to Read Currently Reading Read.

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