Lessons from Paul

By Hollis

So, I have been reading through the New Testament this year in my personal scripture study. The last time I read all the way through it was my senior year in High School, and I don't remember as much as I'd like.

The last couple of days, I have been reading about Paul's testimonies in Jerusalem and before Agrippa (Acts 21-26) and my faith was strengthened, by the firm zeal of Paul. In the face of violent oppositions, he stuck to his testimony of the living Christ with determination and humility.

One excerpt I would like to share is from Acts 26. Paul is recounting the story of his vision of the Savior to King Agrippa.

12 ... as I went to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests,
13 At midday, O King, I saw in the way a light from haven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me.
14 And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
15 And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.
16 But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast see, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;
Acts 26:12-16 KJV

What struck me while reading this, is that the Lord did not appear the call Paul to repentance as much as he did to call him to the ministry. Repentance was expected and received. The Lord trusted that Paul would do what he needed to to change his ways, and cut the the heart of the matter, calling Paul as a Special Witness of Jesus Christ.

How often do I wish that the Lord would take me by the hand and clear the trouble from my way, or appear and call to repentance a friend or family member who has strayed from the strait and narrow path. What I have never understood is that with great miracles from the Lord comes the responsibility to be a witness of those miracles. Just like Paul, Alma the Younger (Mosiah 27 Book of Mormon) also was called to be a special witness and it dramatically altered the course of his life.

What this means to me is that no matter what we think we want, God has our best interests in mind when answering our prayers, blessing us, and helping lead loved ones back to Him. He won't give us more than we can handle. Even if you beg him for it. Why? Because He loves us, and is our perfect Father. I know that God lives and knows and loves me and each of you.

Seek Thou First the Kingdom of God

This morning, I had the final for Plant Propagation class. A month ago the mid-term snuck up on me and I didn't study as much as I should have and unfortunately it showed in my grade. I didn't do terribly, but I definitely struggled with some of the questions. I was not going to do that again.

Yesterday between classes I went to the class website and pulled up each week's study questions that the teacher posts online going over that weeks material. I also pulled up all of my notes for the quarter to review and started into it. I got through about 3 1/2 weeks and then had to go to class. Then after class I went to the temple on an Initiatory assignment. It was great. Then I studied a little bit before I went to sleep that night (at 11, cause I'm trying to go to bed earlier so I can get up earlier). I planned on getting up this morning, showering and then reviewing it all a second time. This quarter I have been regularly working evenings and it is not unusual for me to get home around 11, get ready for bed, read a book for a bit, and then go to sleep. Because of this schedule, and because I am no good at staying up to do homework, I have gotten into the habit of finishing homework in the mornings before I leave for school. Unfortunately, during breakfast is the time I have set aside for studying the scriptures. This morning as I was getting my materials together to study and cereal in a bowl to consume, I thought, "I don't think I'll have time to read scriptures this morning. Which really is too bad, because I have been missing morning reading quite a bit recently." Then I remembered the scripture I had read last week, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you." That scripture had struck me when I first read it. I remembered feeling that if I made my callings and responsibilities to God a priority, He would ensure my ability to accomplish all other things pertinent in my life, even if I didn't have the time to get to them. They would be ADDED unto ME. I decided that I was going to first seek the kingdom of God and I knelt down and prayed that I would remember the things that I had studied yesterday, and that I would be able to focus on the scriptures as I studied them, and that I would WANT to seek the kingdom of God first, because I couldn't help but think about how I really wanted to study in order to feel more confident about the final. Then as I ate breakfast, I started back into the Gospel of Luke. It was wonderful. I was reading about parables and read through about 3 chapters. By the time I finished, it was time to pack my bag and head off to school.

I got to class in time to sit down and pull out my notes for 5 more minutes of review. When my teacher passed out the final and notes went away, I ate my way through the final like I had never seen paper before, and really wanted to know what it would feel like in my digestive track. I felt really good about it all when I finished, and didn't blank on anything. It was wonderful. I don't know how I did, but I think it is safe to assume I passed the class.

It was one of those small things that probably won't drastically change my life, but will definitely help me when it comes down to putting the Lord before everything else in my life. Is it really that important to say family prayer morning and night, even if you have to wake other people up for it? Is it important to make time to have family home evening, even if you guys do spiritual stuff together all the time? Is it important to make temple attendance a priority even if you get out about once a month just fine? Yes. Yes to it all. And if ye do, all things shall be added unto you. Opening the windows of heaven and all that.

Insight

Note: I actually wrote this a while ago, but forgot to post it. So here it is now!

I was studying my scriptures and this verse in Alma 32 gave me some thoughts:

27 But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words.

I started thinking about the way that I often spend my time. TV and most media is quite passive. I just sit and absorb. And sometimes, I feel that is how I "participate" in church - sitting and absorbing. But that isn't the way that I need to be. I need to be active, to arouse my faculties. That way is the way to gaining spiritual insight.