Choice 1: Romans 12-16. Live as Saints Should Live

In Romans 13:11, Paul counsels the Romans that now was when they needed to wake up, because the thing that was “nearer” was salvation. He said that it was closer than they believed. In Ezekiel 3:20 and Doctrine and Covenants 14:7, there is found counsel of what we can continue doing to work out our salvation. In Ezekiel 3:20, the counsel is that we need to stay away from sin, which is a stumbling block on the path to salvation. In Doctrine and Covenants 14:7, we are counseled to do a couple of things. We are counseled to keep the commandments and endure to the end. It stays that if we do those two things, we “shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God.”

In Romans 12-13 Paul gave much counsel that leads to salvation. The following verses include a list of various things that will help lead us to salvation.

Scripture	Those that will help lead us to salvation
Romans 12:1	to present our bodies as a holy and living sacrifice to God
Romans 12:2	we shouldn’t be of the world but have renewing of our mind
Romans 12:9	let love be sincere; abhor the evil and cleave to the good
Romans 12:13	give to those of us who are need but are lacking
Romans 12:16	be of the same mind toward one another; do not be prideful
Romans 12:21	“Be not overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good.”
Romans 13:1	we need to “be subject” to the powers of God; His is the only power
Romans 13:3	do good
Romans 13:8	love one another
Romans 13:9	don’t commit adultery; don’t kill; don’t steal; don’t bear false witness; don’t covet; “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”

From Romans 14:1-13; 15:1-3.

Q. What cautions did Paul give about judging?

A. Paul cautioned that God and the Lord are the judges of all things…not us. We are not to judge others.

Q. People may have different opinions and practices, but what is most important to remember?

A. We should not judge them. We are all children of God, and He loves each of us. God will be the judge and not us. We need to serve our fellow men.

Q. What additional insight comes from reading Doctrine and Covenants 38:25-27?

A. We need to be one. It says in those verses, “be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine”. We need to treat others the way we would like to be treated. “…let every man esteem his brother as himself.” God won’t say to two of his sons that one of them has to be a king while that son’s brother is a peasant. He is a just God, and loves each of his children equally.

In Romans 15:25-26, 31 and 16:2, 15, Paul uses a term frequently in referring to members of the Church in his day. He refers to them as “saints”. According to the Bible Dictionary, “The word saint is a translation of a Greek word also rendered ‘holy,’ the fundamental idea being that of consecration or separation for a sacred purpose;”. The saints back in Paul’s day were consecrated for a sacred purpose as they were baptized, therefore entering “into the Christian covenant.”

Choice 3: Romans 6. Baptism

I will do this blog in a Question & Answer format.

From Romans 6:1-13

Q. (Question) What must be done with sin before baptism can occur?

A. (Answer) We must disconnect ourselves from sin. We shouldn’t let sin rule what we do, say, and think. That way we can be prepared for one of the principle steps in the gospel…baptism.

Q. What events from Christ’s life are symbolized in baptism?

A. When Christ died and was resurrected, his life became a symbol of baptism. In baptism we are lowered into the water and then rise out of it washed and clean. So is the same with death and resurrection. We become pure and perfect after resurrection (as long as we are righteous in this life. I’m excited for that day.

Q. Considering this symbolism, why couldn’t someone be baptized by sprinkling?

A. I believe that baptism by immersion…which is what I mention in the last answer…is the only way to have a true baptism. Immersion is how you are made completely clean. Sprinkling is just not sufficient.

Q. What do these verses teach us about how we can maintain the “newness of life”?

A. After we are baptized, we are confirmed as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and given the gift of the Holy Ghost. Then comes one of the most important steps in the gospel…that of enduring to the end. It is through enduring to the end that we can maintain the “newness of life”. We must continually forsake sin (no one is exempt from this since we are all not perfect). We need to not follow the lusts of the natural man, and we must always remember that we are “instruments of righteousness” to God.

Q. According to Mosiah 3:19, what part of us would ideally die at baptism?

A. Ideally, the part of us that would die at baptism would be the natural man. As King Benjamin taught, we need to become like unto a child. I look at my 4-month-old son and find pure innocence, patience (sometimes haha), and love. He brings me to remember what I should be striving to become like.

 

Romans 6:14-23

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (v. 23) How do we know whose servant we are. As Paul taught, we know through our choices, our thoughts, and our actions. When one is freed from sin, they are servants of righteousness. When we freely sin, we are free of righteousness. Therefore, let us seek to be servants of righteousness so that we can have eternal life, one of the greatest gifts God can give to us.

The true source of freedom is to be servants of righteousness and not of sin.

Choice 2: 2 Corinthians 2:1-11. Forgiveness

The people of Corinth were commanded to, “if any have caused grief”, to forgive them. One thing that stood out to me is found in verse 7 of 2 Corinthians 2. Paul teaches that not only should we forgive each other but we must comfort each other also. We should let the other person know that we care about them and do not want to be enemies.

The blessings we see if we forgive are simple. We gain forgiveness from our Heavenly Father if we forgive others. If we do not forgive others, as it says in the book of Matthew, our Father will not forgive us.

The danger in failing to forgive is that of is as I mentioned above…the Lord will not forgive us of our sins and trespasses. Therefore, it is essential for us to find the faith and willingness to forgive others. If we do not, our personal repentance will be for nothing.

Choice 1: 1 Corinthians 4:2, 9-17; 8:9-13. The Impact of Example

According to 1 Corinthians 4:2, the thing that is required in stewards is that they are faithful.

In 1 Corinthians 4:9-17, the group that was specifically selected to be examples as stewards were the apostles. The apostles had a great opportunity to be an example to all the met in faith, service, charity, humility, and hope. Without that example, the Church wouldn’t have grown as it did.

The next question I will answer will be does being a good example apply to more than the group of apostles. The answer is yes. The saints of the Church…the members…must also be good examples to those who are not believers of the resurrected Jesus Christ.

I then read Alma 39:11-12 which talks about when Alma the younger was talking to his son, Corianton, about his bad example he had in front of the Zoramites. The Zoramites were not believing what they taught because they saw the example of Corianton. They saw that he was doing what he taught. So, it is not enough just to know what is right. We have to do what is right or else others will see our bad examples and not believe what we teach them about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

The last thing that I will address is taken from 3 Nephi 8:1. There was a “just man” talked about in that verse who could perform many miracles. He was viewed as a just man by those who witnessed his example. If we live what we know, we be able to perform miracles (miracles in various ways) and be viewed as a “just” man or woman by others. They will see us as ones who live what we know and believe. I know that as long as I strive to do this, I will not have to worry about others viewing me a bad person. I will be able to gain more respect from those who see me.