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.