The Importance of Scripture Study
When Paul visited Thessalonica, he entered
into a synagogue and taught and conversed those there about Christ and the
scriptures for three days. Many of the ‘devout
Greeks’ and ‘chief women’ believed what Paul had to day. However, the Jews that
didn’t believe him engaged in lewd and base behavior, caused an uproar in the
city.
Paul and Silas then
went to Berea to teach. Those in Berea
searched the scriptures daily to find if what they were being taught was
true. This helped them to be prepared to
receive the gospel with readiness of mind. Many Greek men and women believed
the message that Paul and Silas taught.
When the unbelieving Jews of Thessalonica heard that Paul and Silas were
teaching in Berea, they came and engaged in their previous disruptive behavior.
In our own lives, daily scripture study can help us to be
prepared for the messages that Heavenly Father sends us each day. The scriptures are the words or Christ. As we feast upon them, they become part of
who we are and lead us in the directions that we should take, just as they did
for the people in Berea. We can always find answers to lives smallest and
biggest questions.
“…For the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye
should do….” 2 Nephi 32:3
Ultimately, the disruptive behavior of the unbelieving Jews
did not end stop anyone from believing the words of Paul and Silas. Why not?
The answer can be found in Alma 31:5:
“And now, as the preaching of the word had a great tendency
to lead the people to do that which was just—yea, it had had more powerful
effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else, which had
happened unto them—therefore Alma thought it was expedient that they should try
the virtue of the word of God.”
The Pen is mightier than the sword.
Putting God First
Athenians were a people very interested in different
philosophies. Paul happened to encounter
two popular groups of the time: the Epicureans and the Stoics.
The Epicureans believed that the world happened by chance
without purpose and that men should follow practices that brought them the most
enduring happiness while on earth. The Stoics believed that the universe was
brought about by a ‘Divine Mind’ and that man should accept circumstances as
they come to him, instead of trying to change them.
Athenians were aware of the Gods that had been traditionally
worshipped in Greek Mythology as well as tangible idols that they
worshiped. They had Zeus but were
unaware of the full doctrine of Heavenly Father, as indicated by the altar Paul
mentioned with the inscription to the “Unknown God”. The people of Athens were also very devout to
their schools of logic and philosophy.
There is nothing wrong with being a logical person, as indicated in 2
Nephi 9:29, as long as you still hearken unto the counsels of God. Even today, people
still decide to worship ‘false gods’. A
false god is anything that leads you to forget or deprioritize God in your own
life. These could even include good
things that are not done in moderation such as making a living, getting an
education, and leisure activities. I have seen a lot of people stop going to
church or lose their testimony just because of what they thought other people
would think of them.
The Premortal Existence
In Paul’s teaching there is also an important reference to the
premortal existence that is often overlooked. He says “Neither is worshipped
with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life,
and breath, and all things; And hath made of bone blood all nations of men for
to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed,
and the bounds of their habitation;”
What is the “time before appointed” that Paul speaks about? Judging from
the context of the phrase it would have to be a time before men came to earth.
These bounds of habitation could not be determined if there was nobody to put
anywhere.
The Nature of God (And us)
Paul also makes some good points about the nature of God, and
in doing so makes some points about the nature of mankind. He says that because
we are the offspring of God, God cannot be made of gold or silver or anything
else that man has made. If God is a
graven image, then we created God and not the other way around. For God to have
offspring, he must also have a body like us.
Since we are God’s children, and not just his creations, then
that means that we are capable of developing divine characteristics and we are
as capable of being like our father as any child is of being like their father.
The Resurrection
One thing that many of the people of Athens were
not receptive to was Paul’s teachings of the Resurrection. While it was not unheard of at the time for
someone to be brought back from the dead, such as Lazarus, it was unheard of
for someone to die and then become immortal.
This was because Jesus Christ was the first to be resurrected (Acts
26:23). Job had spoken of this
resurrection when he said “And though, after my flesh worms destroy this body,
yet in my flesh shall I see God.” The
doctrine of resurrection is also taught in 2 Nephi 9:12 and in other verses
throughout the Book of Mormon.
Sources: lds.org, New Testament Student Manual, KJV Bible, Bible Dictionary, Topical Guide, The Book of Mormon
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