How much love did Jesus have?

The defining characteristic of God and Jesus is love. That's most evident by Jesus' sacrifice and death for us. He became like us, felt our sorrows and pains, died for us that we might be allowed to resurrect, all because he loves us. That must be a lot of love.

Paul describes it this way in Romans 5:

7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.

8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet ^asinners, ^bChrist died for us.

What the prophets do well - believe God

Paul speaks about Abraham in Romans 4 and says that what Abraham did is believe God would do what God said he would do. Therefore, Abraham and Sariah had a son, "against all odds" as most humans would say it's not possible for someone in their 90's to have a son. Here's what Paul said about Abraham:

21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had ^apromised, he was able also to perform.

22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.

23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;

24 But for ^aus also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;

25 Who was delivered for our ^aoffences, and was raised again for our ^bjustification.

Abraham believed God could do what God had said. That's what's expected of us, to believe that Jesus did what he said he would do: die for us that we might resurrect, be brought back to the presence of God, and forgiven of our sins and made like God if we repent. We just must believe.

Believing God was a trait of Paul's as well as he listened to a messenger of God in Acts 27 tell him that none of the men would die in the storm:

25 Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.

Matters of faith can be simple: believe God. He always comes through. Follow his promises and trust his word as recorded in the scriptures.

Context when Paul's discussing works and grace

A few verses are often used to emphasize grace is all that is needed for someone to be saved. Here's a couple of these in Romans 3:

23 For all have ^asinned, and come short of the glory of God;

24 ^aBeing ^bjustified freely by his ^cgrace through the ^dredemption that is in Christ Jesus:

However, it's very important to read more and consider he's talking principally about "the law" in this chapter. "The law" is what the Jews follow very strictly. Paul spends this chapter saying that "the law" isn't necessary to save someone, but that it's Jesus and faith in him.

At the end of the chapter, Paul says that the law is established by faith.

30 Seeing it is ^aone God, which shall justify the ^bcircumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.

31 Do we then make void the law through faith? ^aGod forbid: ^byea, we establish the law.

It appears that faith is what makes the circumcised man acceptable to God as well as the uncircumcised man (in other words, the Jew and the Gentile). The law also is made worthwhile by a man with faith; that's the purpose of the law, to increase the faith. Notice it doesn't say that law is worthless now; the law is valuable when faith is the driving motivation behind the person performing the law.

Thus it is in life. Faith makes action worth doing. Action makes faith grow.

Have a great day.

Uncircumcised of heart; outward ordinances useless without inward conversion

It appears that the prophets and Apostles of the church throughout time have had different understanding than the leaders of the church when there aren't prophets and Apostles. Also, sometimes the common members have been dogmatic about certain things that the leaders have not. A great example of this is circumcision. Generally speaking, the Jews thought it incredibly important to be circumcised. There is some scriptural evidence of this, however, you must note that Moses actually said that it was terrible to be uncircumcised of heart (in other words, bad to not live the gospel inside) a couple times without commenting on the need to be circumcised ever. There's only one story (with his son) that shows circumcision is important, but multiple verses saying being a true Jew on the inside is important ("true Jew" meaning circumcised of heart).

Here's Leviticus 26:41 mentioning the need to be circumcised of heart:

And [that] I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity:

Ezekiel 44 emphasizes the need to be circumcised in flesh and the heart:

Thus saith the Lord GOD; No stranger, uncircumcised in heart, nor uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any stranger that is among the children of Israel.

Also, the Book of Mormon and Romans both emphasize being circumcised of heart:

Here's Romans 2:

29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and ^acircumcision is that of the heart, in the ^bspirit, and not in the letter; whose praiseis not of men, but of God.

Here's 2 Nephi 9:33

33 Wo unto the ^auncircumcised of heart, for a knowledge of their iniquities shall smite them at the last day.

Being, in your heart, a follower of God is the true test. Outward ordinances (or outward confessions) are important, but worth nothing if the heart is in the wrong place. This is taught in all of the books of scriptures, Old and New Testament, and the Book of Mormon.

Have a great day.

Not worshiping nature or other creations; worshiping the Creator

Paul makes an interesting comment about how people of his time would focus on the creations of the earth more than the Creator.

Romans 1:

25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

Very interesting that he saw this in his day. It happens in our day as well: some people love/worship nature more than God, or technology more than God, or the universe more than God, though he created them all. While understandable because the Creator is not seen, it is nonetheless unwise and also surprising that so many things on Earth require a Creator, why would this not be true of things in nature.

Have a good day.

Testimony of Paul - Desire that all knew of the Savior

Paul's answer to Agrippa after Agrippa said, "thou almost persuadest me to be a Christian" is interesting. From Acts 26:
28 Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.

29 And Paul said, I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these bonds.

He wishes that everyone there were a Christian in quite a powerful way. That is not what many say about religion, "we all worship the same God," or "it's just important that you're a good person". Why didn't he say that? Because he wanted people to have the blessings, comfort, and assurance that he had about life due to the Savior.

I hope to be altogether as Paul was also, a true believer.

Preparation for receiving the Gospel - understanding of the Scriptures

While sometimes being immersed in another religion can make it difficult for someone to receive/understand the Gospel, in many times it is an advantage. It appears that understanding the scriptures, while not being too dogmatic allows someone to accept new truth that comes along.

For example, consider King Agrippa, who apparently knew the scriptures and was close to accepting the gospel.

Acts 26:
27 King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest.

28 Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.

Paul was able to tie together the prophecies of the scriptures with the coming of Jesus (showing the fulfillment of those prophecies). Agrippa, likely recognizing how nice the additional truth sounded and perhaps felt, was somewhat accepting of the message. It is so helpful when people consider and love the scriptures, as it makes them much more likely to accept our message, that there are prophets in the land again in preparation for Christ's second coming.

Power of the Atonement - bringing us to God

I'm reading "The Infinite Atonement" right now, and Tad Callister makes an interesting observation about Alma's attitude towards entering God's presence. In Alma 36, Alma makes to different, opposite statements about wanting to be with God.

First -
14 Yea, and I had amurdered many of his children, or rather led them away unto destruction; yea, and in fine so great had been my iniquities, that the very thought of coming into the presence of my God did rack my soul with inexpressible horror.

15 Oh, thought I, that I acould be banished and become extinct both soul and body, that I might not be brought to stand in the presence of my God, to be judged of my bdeeds.

Then -
22 Yea, methought I saw, even as our father aLehi saw, God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels, in the attitude of singing and bpraising their God; yea, and my soul did long to be there.

It's instructive to see that his desire to be with God changed very quickly, likely in a matter of hours or less as he came to accept and follow Jesus Christ. I am impressed by the power of the Atonement and its ability to cleanse the follower of the Savior. Also, I appreciate the Book of Mormon's clear evidence of this power. There is not a more clear story in the scriptures expressing the power of the Atonement in cleansing sins and bringing us to God.

God is Real, our Father

Paul does a great job explaining some core principles to people. In this, one of his most famous sermons, he explains that God is our Father.

29 Forasmuch then as we are the ^aoffspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto ^bgold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s ^cdevice.

30 And the times of this ^aignorance God ^bwinked at; but now^ccommandeth all men every where to ^drepent:

This understanding is helpful because it affects us meaningfully. If we believe he's a loving Father, we'll want to talk to him daily, about things we've done well and things we haven't done well. I think this understanding of who God is most affects our prayers. He does love us. He knows everything we do anyway, so we really should talk to him about life. It helps us.

How Merciful the Lord Hath Been

In teaching, we listened to Elder Maxwell's last talk. It is one of the most meaningful talks I've heard for many reasons. Briefly, I'll say this:

The man went through 8 years or so of chemotherapy and radiation. It was essentially 8 years of torture, through which he worked and served. At the end of his life, this talk, his main message was, "how merciful the Lord has been." Interesting that a man whose body was tortured for years would say that God has been wonderfully loving and merciful with him. That makes no sense. And yet, it is true. I believe it's because when God lets you know of his love or reveals himself in any way, it is such a gift. It is so merciful. It makes life okay, even great, no matter what's going on. I appreciate God condescending to be with us, even to love us even though he is God.

I didn't get through that discussion without tears.

Here's a link to the talk.

http://bestldsconferencetalks.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/06-remember-how-merciful-the-lord-ha.m4a

Honest in heart; Noble

Paul traveled throughout the Middle East, preaching the gospel. There's a terrific verse in Acts 17 that talks about a group of people that are called "noble". I would also say that they're honest in heart - willing to learn and discover if a new teaching is true. Here's what's said about them:

11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and ^asearched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

These were noble people because they were willing to search the scriptures and find out if what they heard was accurate. I am so impressed by their willingness to act when they heard an impressive message. Most of the people that I know haven't been willing to do that. Perhaps I could preach the message with more power, but the people also need to be willing to "search the scriptures" daily.

The natural result of their actions was the following:

12 Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.

It is important to do the actions necessary for believing. Every time those actions are followed, people will know the truth of the message.

Intently Listening to Church Leaders

In Acts 14, we read about Paul teaching people in Lystra. Here's some verses about a particular man who was listening:

8 ¶And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a ^acripple from his mother’s womb, who never had walked:

It then mentions that Paul noticed how intently the man was looking at him (presumably listening to his words) and Paul perceived the man had the faith to be healed and Paul then healed him.

9 The same heard Paul speak: who stedfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had ^afaith to be ^bhealed,

10 Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked.

I think it's worth considering what Paul was saying and what the man was doing. I remember the first general conference I listened to when I was on the mission was special for me. I listened so intently to the prophet and felt as if he were there speaking to me. It was so real and powerful. I assume Paul spoke about the Savior and brought hope to the man. I imagine that Paul had the same effect on this man and that, upon noticing the man, Paul compassionately reached out and healed him. I hope to emphasize the powerful effect the words of the Apostles can have on those hearing their voice and the faith that their words can engender in others.