Idols of today?

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This week our study consisted of The Acts 17-18 and I and II Thessalonians. First off, I totally was taken by surprise when I found out that the New Testament isn’t actually in chronological order but is in order by length. When I saw that the next reading for my class was in Thessalonians I was very confused (we haven’t even finished Acts yet!).  However, Thessalonians was actually even written before the gospels of Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John (it was written from 50-52 AD).  I was taught that Thessalonians was written while Paul resided in Corinth during his second mission (Acts 18:11). One of the main things that stood out to me while reading about Paul’s second mission was the people’s problem with idolatry. When Paul visited Athens he witnessed the people had constructed an alter to the “unknown god” due to their superstition. Many cities that were described had taken to worshiping idols and the apostles even addressed the issue by declaring that one of the new requirements for Gentiles to be converted to Christianity was to abstain from meats offered to idols. Now while in today’s world there isn’t such a big problem of people offering sheep to a statue of silver or gold, it made me wonder if there is still an element of this idol worship in today’s society. I think that idols don’t necessarily have to be statues of some precious medal to be an idol, but can consist of celebrates, ideals, and even ourselves. We have to be careful to make sure those temporal things, things that only really matter in the brief time that we are here on this earth; don’t take up all of our time and energy.  There is a great talk by President Spencer W. Kimball titled “The False Gods We Worship” that illustrates examples and the consequences of worshiping idols in today’s culture.

Here’s the link:

http://www.lds.org/liahona/1977/08/the-false-gods-we-worship?lang=eng&query=idols

Continue in the faith

There are two major points that stuck out to me during the next few chapters of Acts that I’ve studied. The first comes from Acts chapter 13 verse 45. To give you context Paul/ Saul and Barnabas are preaching in the city of Antioch. After traveling to the synagogue and preaching to the Jews, the Gentiles desired to hear what they had preached the next Sabbath. The next Sabbath day rolls around and the whole city has gathered together to hear the words of the apostles. However because of the massive group of people that came the Jews “were filled with envy, and spake against those thing which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming” (Acts 13:45). Upon reflection I find that often people, including myself, can try to ruin good things out of jealously. Because someone has better grades, a boyfriend/girlfriend, strong testimony of the gospel shouldn’t mean we should try to tear them down. Instead we should be rejoicing in their success and be supporting them. Secondly, one of my favorite scriptures in the New Testament is found in Acts 14:22. After Paul has been stoned and left for dead after preaching, he meets up with other disciples and “exhort(es) them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God”. Wow! I hope that this scripture will help buoy up your spirit when you are feeling down or overwhelmed as it does for me.  I know that Heavenly Father gives us trials and challenges that will help us become the person he would like us to be, and while times might seem dismal in the present—know that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. Endure. You have the strength, the capacity to become the best person you can be and fulfill the divine role you have inherited. 

My Study Of The New Testament

As I study the New Testament I would just like to share my thoughts and comments:

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I find a great source of hope in my life with the fact that people don’t have to be members of the church or necessarily be taught the gospel in order to be good people. This is made quite evident with the story of Cornelius found in Acts 10. He was not a proselyte but simply a God fearing man. He gave alms to the poor and served his fellow man. I think often times I assume that if people aren’t members of the church then they have an excuse to act cruelty or harshly to their fellow brethren.  However this story just goes to show that even without having the fullness of the gospel, there is hope for the natural state of mankind. Throughout my academic studies questions would arise with regards to if man was born naturally evil, good, or if it was his environment that determined his moral compass. Knowing that we are all children of our Heavenly Father and that we have already displayed a vast amount of faith and righteousness with our decision to follow our fathers plan to come to this earth, it was always hard for me to think that we were born with a disposition for evil. Now the natural tendencies of man are an enemy unto God sure, however I’ve now come to the realization that we have the strength and capacity as human beings to put off this natural man and still be exemplary Disciples of Christ, even if we know almost nothing about the particulars of the gospel. Cornelius’s faith and willingness to learn from Paul about the gospel is astounding and a testament to the hope that is possible in humanity.