New Testment Class: Paul's Second Mission

1. Four cities Paul visited and later wrote epistles:

• Corinth


• Ephesus


• Galatia


• Philippi

In Acts 16: 6-10, the Holy Ghost prevented Paul and his companions from preaching in several places. Then Paul had a vision to go to Macedonia and help there. In 18:9-11, the Lord speaks to Paul again in vision, giving him comfort and encouraging him to continue teaching the word.

I will admit, up to this point in my life I have not been very responsive to the Spirit in doing missionary work. I always try to be a quiet example, but when it comes to actually speaking out and teaching, I have not had confidence in the Spirit. Lately, as I have decided to go on a mission, I have realized I just have to get over it! I study the scriptures daily, trying to keep the Spirit close and have a greater knowledge and understanding of the gospel. It's important to be prepared! I also pray for understanding, and for strength to share the things I know.

2. Paul was able to preach the gospel effectively first of all because he heeded the promptings of the Spirit. He also prayed with his companions, and spoke to people he came across. He made sure to dispose of evil spirits that interfered with the work. He had faith, and testified of Jesus Christ.

I think for Paul, every experience was a missionary opportunity! He was a true missionary in that he used every moment to represent Christ and praise the Lord. When he was only with his companions, they prayed. When there were others around, he taught, and dispelled evil showing others that they should do the same. Even in jail, he took the opportunity to praise the Lord through song, thereby creating a miraculous escape and creating an opportunity to teach the jailer about Christ.

I learned a lot from Paul's missionary experiences, but my favorite was the power of song. As a music major, I love opportunities to use my talent to serve God, and Paul's example of praising God through song really touched me. It showed how the hymns can really bring the Spirit and work miracles in people's lives. I hope I can learn to listen to the Spirit like Paul did, and be able to touch people's hearts with the Spirit of my testimony and my song.

The jailer was a true convert because he sought salvation, and then accepted the word of the Lord and believed on Christ, was baptized, and rejoiced!

As mortal beings, we cannot understand all that God understands. However, this doesn't mean that we should be satisfied with ignorance. We must learn all we can, and repent of things that we realize are wrong or that we could be better about. The Lord will be our righteous judge.

To prepare myself to share the gospel, I need to continue to strengthen my own testimony, and continue gaining more knowledge and understanding of the gospel. This will be most effective if I have the Spirit as my companion, as He will help me retain what I learn, and help me share it effectively when the times comes. I also need to be the best person I can be, and repent of things I know I should not be doing, because it would be hypocritical of me to teach of things I do not even do myself! Most importantly, I need to pray always.

New Testament Class: The Martyrdom of Stephen

1. Acts 6:6-8 describes the qualities of Stephen after he is set apart to assist the apostles. He is full of faith and the power of the priesthood, which allow him to work miracles. In Acts 7:51-60, Stephen chastens the people for denying the Holy Ghost, and testifies of the reality of God the Father and Jesus Christ. The people take offense and stone him.
Here is the impressive part. At this point, most people would probably be afraid, panicking, angry at his persecutors, perhaps cursing God for ending his life this way. However, Stephen good-naturedly calls upon God, asking Him to receive his spirit, and asks Him to "lay not this sin to their charge." What a courageous and truly humble thing to do! This is a great similitude of Jesus Christ, who forgave those who hung him on the cross.
These verses also demonstrate that the Godhead is made up of three separate beings. Stephen could not be "full of the Holy Ghost", and see God, with Jesus on His right hand, if they were not separate.

2. In Mosiah 17:7-20, Abinadi is martyred for similar reasons. He will not deny the words he spoke against King Noah and the priests, and they take offense and burn him to death. Like Stephen, Abinadi asks God to receive his spirit. The main difference I see is that Abinadi does not ask the Lord to excuse their sin, and instead boldly warns that God will execute vengeance upon them.
Both of these final testimonies of Stephen and Abinadi make me think of the scripture that says, "The guilty take the truth to be hard." These prophets are simply declaring the truth, which if accepted and followed could bring about true happiness and a very blessed people! But instead they cower in their guilt and destroy these great men so they can "feel better" about themselves. It makes me want to hold to the truth and remove the sins in my life so I can feel nothing but gratitude and the Spirit as I listen to the prophet today.