Apostasy in the Gentile Church
READ 1 Timothy 4:1-2, and 2 Timothy 3:1-6
What
will happen in the last days?
Some shall depart from the faith.
They will preach lies but will know
better.
They will be filled with pride.
They will be devoid of charity.
They will have a form of godliness but
deny the power thereof.
Why
will the last days be perilous?
It’s not because of the earthquakes and
wars (although that’s true, too).
It is because
these men (church leaders not lay members because only leaders can have this
level of influence) shall deceive even the very elect, according to the
covenant – i.e. the best Church members (see JST Matthew 24:22).
It will be so
hard to tell the difference between these church leaders and true prophets –
you will have to put everything aside (appearance, credentials, authority,
accomplishments) and listen for the Spirit in their message.
What
does it mean to have a form of godliness but deny the power of godliness?
They are
uncomfortable with the idea of miracles, angels, the birth of the
spirit/baptism of fire, direct revelation, and Christ coming to minister to His
people as the Second Comforter in mortality.
They proclaim
His name and may have prophesied, and done many wonderful works but they never
knew Christ and He never knew them (see Matthew 7:22-23 and 3 Nephi 14:22-23).
They will deny
that the rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected to the Powers of
Heaven (angels, gods, etc.); and that they in heaven cannot be controlled or
handled except with complete meekness and charity – no compulsion; but since
they won’t act in a way that will enable them to have Priesthood or an
association with the heavens, through which God’s power is manifest to men
(amen to their authority and power), they will do their best to appear that
they have it, even though they don’t.
In other
words, they will depend on authority and say “listen to our precepts” and
follow us, because God has given His power unto us (see 2 Nephi 28:5) and we
know the way and cannot be led astray or God will remove us; so if we are not
removed, by default, we have not been led astray.
READ 2 Timothy 4:3-4
What
does it mean to not be able to endure sound doctrine?
They will be unable to even tolerate it -
unable to “endure” hearing it; they must rebut it and shut it down.
They will think what is “sound” or true
doctrine is beyond what can be permitted to be spoken, thought or believed.
They will create their own version of
“true doctrine” – doctrine which sounds good to the masses and will enable them
to stay in power and in the good graces of the world (so that they won’t be
persecuted and lose their positions and advantages as leaders of a large and
prosperous organization).
What
kind of teachers will these people want?
Church members who uphold leaders like
this will want Church Leaders who will tell them what they want to hear.
The want church leaders who are able to
discern the desires of their congregation (through focus groups and opinion
polling) and they make decisions and tailor their message to what the group
wants – it is a win-win relationship.
What
are “itching ears”?
Ears tuned to hear the flattery, praise
and assurance that comforts them in their pride: “chosen people”, “royal
priesthood”, “all is well in Zion”, and “cannot be led astray” are hypothetical
examples.
What
kind of “lusts” would cause people to frequent teachers with itching ears –
that will praise and comfort them falsely?
Not so much immorality, because they
still must seem religious and moral (in fact, the Pharisees were very devout).
But they lust for the desire to be
popular and praised.
They will require the truth to give way
to the social attitudes and fashions of the day.
And some will actually indulge in
immorality, especially if they think they cannot be caught.
Why
do they turn their ears away from the truth?
Because the truth is never popular but
this is not a popular view. However,
God’s ways are not man’s ways and we call good evil and evil good on a regular
basis.
Truth does not gather wealth and status,
but instead criticism and ostracism. It will cost you something, not pay you
something.
Indeed, among the false teachers, one of
the evidences they offer of God’s favor toward them will be their “blessings”
from God - wealth, influence and popularity.
What
is a fable?
It is a fictional account – it is not
true.
It is a counterfeit gospel being
portrayed as the true Gospel.
It is eternally dangerous to one’s
salvation if a person cannot tell the difference between the fable and the
truth.
READ 2 Timothy 3:7
How
does one “ever learn” but never come to a “knowledge of the truth”?
They could be focusing on learning the
“lesser matters”.
Or they could
have adapted a scholar’s approach of quoting, credentialing, and analyzing the
writings and ideas of other men instead of seeking to know the truth for
themselves through experience with God and a quickening of the inner man –
Joseph Smith said you’d know more gazing into heaven five minutes than all that
was ever written on the subject (see TPJS 365:1).
And the
insidious reason why they don’t seek to know for themselves through experience
is that they don’t have the faith to do it.
What
is the opposite of this problem – those who are “never learning but always able
to come to a knowledge of the truth?”
They are almost worse.
These are the ones who can’t be bothered
to even study the gospel, much less experience it for themselves.
They are content to believe on someone
else’s testimony forever – they are those whose soil is “rocky” because in the
heat of the day, their lack of a connection to God will cause serious doubts to
arise in what they say they “know”.
But it doesn’t stop many of them from
loudly proclaiming that they “know” something is true because of some illogical
argument they learned from the pulpit or that they “know” something is not true
because “their God” wouldn’t do something like that because it doesn’t seem
virtuous in the context of today’s cultural norms.
Sound Doctrine
READ Titus 2:1, 1 Timothy 4:13-16 and
Titus 1:9
What
is “sound doctrine”?
The doctrine of Christ (see 2 Nephi
31:17-21).
And only the doctrine of Christ (see 3
Nephi 11:40)!
How
does one find “sound doctrine”?
Scriptures.
Gift of the Holy Ghost – revelation
regarding what was read or on new topics.
Meditation.
Teaching of others who have a true
message from God.
What
does teaching “sound doctrine” do?
Save you and all who hear it (v16).
Exhort or encourage people to come unto
Christ and receive their own direct connection/covenant with God (3 Nephi 11:35
and Alma 31:5).
Convince the unconvinced.
Promotes the work and glory of God –
enabling the immortality and eternal life of others.
2 Timothy 3:15-17 and D&C 68:4
What
is scripture?
Whatever is spoken when moved upon by the
Holy Ghost by whomever receives that Spirit.
In other words, scripture is the revealed
words of God – His will, mind, and voice.
There is a difference between scripture
(uncanonized) and Scripture (canonized or voted on and accepted by the
Church) but both are true if they are actually the revealed word of God.
Why
does God give us His words via the Holy Ghost, written down as scripture?
To teach us the Way (instruction in
righteousness or doctrine).
To help us see when we are out of the Way
(reproof or correction).
That we might be perfect.
Because we must gain knowledge to become
perfect – knowledge saves a man (TPJS 400:2) – we won’t obey His commandments
unless we know them, and many of us are not yet ready to receive this knowledge
directly from His lips or even from His angels’ lips.
READ 1 Timothy 4:12
Why
should “no man despise” Timothy’s youth?
God is no respecter of persons – if you
exercise the faith, repent with your whole soul, keep the covenants and obey
the commandments, you get the eternal blessings (see D&C 1:35, LoF 3:23 and
D&C 130:20).
But if you don’t – regardless of age or
church calling or affiliation, you won’t get the blessings.
There is nothing inherently more special
about youth but at the same time, anyone can receive the blessings if they
comply with the Law – including any youth.
Follow After Righteousness
READ 1 Timothy 6:11-12
How
do you “follow after righteousness”?
You choose to. In what you choose to do – how you spend your
time – each decision you make every day.
By fighting to have faith; fighting with
the natural man within yourself, fighting with what is popular in the world,
and fighting with the power of unseen adversaries.
Lay hold of eternal life by literally
coming unto Christ in this life.
By fleeing away from temptations and “burying
your swords” (see Alma 24).
READ 1 Timothy 6:7, 9-10
Why
is wealth a temptation and snare?
The “deceitfulness of riches” is that we
rely on the money more than God – we have a “safety net”, we think.
It enables us to engage in temptations
that we wouldn’t have access to if we didn’t have the money – and it’s not just
hedonistic things but leisure time and material excess also count.
Why
is the love of money the “root” of ALL evil?
It puts a value on things that are
priceless – specifically people.
To love God is the first and great
commandment – loving anything else first is evil.
Charity requires we love each other as we
love God and ourselves – so having poor among us is proof we love the money
more than we love each other, and by extrapolation, more than we love God.
READ 2 Timothy 4:7-8
Does
“fight a good fight” mean to win?
No.
None of us “win” outright in this world
as all of us sin and all are in desperate need of a rescuing Savior.
To fight a good fight means to be found
fighting, even at the end and against all odds – like King Théoden at Helm’s
Deep in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings.
It means to keep the faith or covenant
that we’ve entered into.
Why
must we finish the course?
Regardless of who we are or what light
and priesthood we have attained to while here in mortality, we stand in
jeopardy every hour we are in this world (see 1 Corinthians 15:30).
King David and Judas are two sad examples
of not finishing the course.
Only when you successfully lay down the
burden here and have completed this test, are you permitted then to take the
Priesthood up there, as a matter of right.
But here, although the priesthood is
endless and the covenant of God is eternal, a person may fall from it, and
therefore you proceed on this earth, recognizing you do so, at your eternal
peril; condescending from the heavens is not just about living in telestial
squalor, it is about putting at risk all that has been gained heretofore.
