Thought: Spiritual
food is necessary for spiritual survival, especially in a world that is moving
away from belief in God and the absolutes of right and wrong. In an age
dominated by the Internet, which magnifies messages that menace faith, we must
increase our exposure to spiritual truth in order to strengthen our faith and
stay rooted in the gospel. (Dallin H. Oaks, CR, April 2015)
John 20
Vs. 1-10- "Together they view the grave-clothes-linen strips
that have not been unwrapped, but through which a resurrected body has
passed. And then, upon John … the reality dawns first. It is true! They had not
known before; now they do. It is the third day! Christ is risen! ‘Death is
swallowed up in victory.’ (1 Cor. 15:54.)” (DNTC
1:842)
Vs. 11-18- Mary Magdalene was the first mortal to see the
resurrected. She is the only person mentioned in each of the four Gospels as a
witness to the Crucifixion, burial, and empty tomb.
Vs. 17-18- JST -"hold me not"
Vs. 19-23- The apostles met behind closed doors for fear! “Resurrected bodies have control over the elements. How do
you think the bodies will get out of the graves at the resurrection? When the
Angel Moroni appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Prophet saw him
apparently come down and ascend through the solid walls, or ceiling of the
building. … It was just as easy for the Angel Moroni to come to the Prophet
Joseph Smith down through the building as it was for our Savior to appear to
his disciples after his resurrection in the room where they were assembled when
the door was closed. … How could he do it? He had power over the elements” (Doctrines of Salvation, 2:288).
Vs. 21- Breathed
on them probably means, laid his hands on them.
"Receive
ye the Holy Ghost "
Vs. 24-29-
"To see is to believe, but Christ answered, To believe is to see"
(HWHunter CR, Oct. 1962)
“The wounds
in his hands, feet, and side are signs that in mortality painful things happen
even to the pure and the perfect, signs that tribulation is not evidence that God does not love us. It is a
significant and hopeful fact that it is the wounded
Christ who comes to our rescue. He who bears the scars of sacrifice, the
lesions of love, the emblems of humility and forgiveness
is the Captain of our Soul. That evidence of pain in mortality is undoubtedly
intended to give courage to others who are also hurt and wounded by life,
perhaps even in the house of their friends” (Christ and
the New Covenant , p. 258–59).
Vs. 31- Why
John wrote his gospel.
John 21
Vs. 12-13- "Bread,
fish, and wine are the characteristic symbols found throughout John that unify
the stories and the teachings. The presence of bread and fish beside the Lord
when he bid the disciples come ashore ties this scene back to earlier events in
John, and they all point to the great Messianic banquet when he will come in
his glory and eat (see Matt. 8:11 where "sit down" properly means to recline
at a meal with someone; Also D&C 27:5-14.) Just as he had broken bread with
the two disciples in Emmaus, here, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, the
resurrected Lord shared a sacramental meal with his disciples. The very word sacrament
comes from the Latin sacramentum,
meaning an oath of allegiance such as was made by a Roman soldier to his
general. In a sense, in the sacrament we partake of the emblems of the our oath
of allegiance to the Lord. (Mackay, Studies in Scripture. 5:463)
Vs. 15-17-
President McKay suggested that the three-fold questioning of Peter was the
Lord's way of letting Peter make good his error, of having him purge his soul
with a reaffirmation of loyalty and of energetic devoted action. (Improvement
Era - June 1968 p. 5) See also "The Poetic Genius of Alma the Younger
(part 3 - Symbolism) by Doug Talley in Meridian Magazine which suggests that
the Lord is telling Peter to watch the flock, the child, the youth, and the
adult.
Vs. 18-19 -
A prophecy of Peter's death by upside down crucifixion.
Vs. 20-22- “As
for what God gives differentially to others, we need not be concerned. Peter,
inquiring about John’s future role, was asked by Jesus, ‘What is that to thee?
follow thou me.’ (John 21:22.) Sometimes, brothers and
sisters, we do too much comparing and too little following. Sometimes also a
few resent God’s having chosen someone else; perceiving themselves as passed
over, they then go under spiritually” (NAMaxwell, Ensign, Nov. 1988, 32).
Vs. 21-23 - Foretelling
the translation of John. See Matt. 16:28; D&C 7 and 3 Nephi 28. We learn
that a translated being is 1) No longer subject to mortal restrictions. 2) Can
disguise self. 3) Has supernatural mobility. 4) Has great priesthood power. 5)
Satan has no power to tempt. 6) Has one change ahead- when Christ comes again.
Vs. 24-25-
We know that his testimony is true. Testimony of John, Matthew, Mark, & Luke-12 Apostles
The
Testimony of the Twelve Apostles Testimony of Gary Poll How do I know? 1. I have always known. 2. I trust others: parents,
influential others, leaders 3. When I read the scriptures, especially the Book
of Mormon I -A. Cannot think of another explanation B. I feel a different Spirit. 4. When I share my testimony - The Spirit
testifies to me that what I am saying is true.
5. Often,
when I hear the testimony of others, the Spirit testifies that what they are
saying is true.
6. I have
had special, sacred experiences; A. Blessing Children B. Praying with friends C.
Knowing who I should marry D.
Teaching the gospel. 7. The gospel
works in my life; when I live it, I am happy
8. More than
anything in my world, I want the gospel to be true, so that I can have what I
want most in this world. The gospel gives my life purpose. 9. Music 10. My great-great-grandfather
picked up a Book of Mormon for the first time. He
opened it, read a few pages and declared, “That book was either written by God
or the devil,& I am going to find out who.” He read it twice in 10 days &
declared, “The devil could not have written it—it must be from God.”That is the
genius of the Book—there is no middle ground. It is either the word of God, or a
total fraud. This book does not merely claim to be a moral treatise. It claims
to be the word of God—. Joseph Smith declared that an angel directed
him to gold plates, which contained writings of prophets in ancient America, &
that he translated those plates by divine powers. If true, the Book of Mormon
is holy scripture, if not, a diabolical hoax. C. S. Lewis spoke of a similar
dilemma to accept or reject the Savior’s divinity—where there is no middle
ground: “I am trying to prevent anyone from saying the foolish thing: ‘I’m
ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to
be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and
said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. … You
must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a
madman or something worse. … Let us not come with any patronizing nonsense
about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open. He did not intend
to.” (Tadd Callister, CR, Oct. 2011) 11. Lord I
Believe- “I would
say to all who wish for more faith, remember this man! In moments of fear or
doubt or troubling times, hold the ground you have already won, even if that
ground is limited. JRHolland- Apr. 2013-
Two things I am not open minded
about. What next for me?
