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[00:00:00] INSIGHTS INTRODUCTION

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Hey everybody. Welcome back. This is week 29 of Creative. Come Follow me for the New Testament. And this week we're in the Book of Acts still, but we're gonna go from chapters 10 through 15 and we're gonna see a major shift happen in the early church, and that's when the gospel's gonna start to go out to all the Gentiles.

I think the apostles knew even in Jesus' lifetime from the things he said and the way he interacted with Gentiles, that the gospel was intended to go out. It's part of the Abraham accountant that it's going to go out to all people. I just think they wondered, I. When and how that was gonna happen. And so this week you see that shift occur and visual that kept coming to my mind today as I was sort of looking over everything I was planning to teach is, um, an experience I had with a symphony just a couple months ago.

So a friend of mine in our ward invited us to go and watch one of her concerts. She's in this really impressive choir and it was in [00:01:00] a relatively small theater that had incredible acoustics and not just this, I don't know, a hundred, 200 person choir, but also a full orchestra was performing as well as these keynote, you know, singers in a microphone.

I have never in my whole life heard music quite like that before it was this requiem and it was, you could feel the pulse of it, I think because of the intimacy of the theater and the acoustics and just the sheer number of musicians there. There was a pulse that I could feel and it was. Crazy to me. I just had never experienced anything like it.

And what I found myself watching was not the choir or the orchestra, but the director of both, because this one man stood at the center and he directed all of this what otherwise would've been noise to be this incredible symphony of sound. And the reason I like that visual for what's happening here is I feel like it's kind of similar.

I feel like the [00:02:00] Lord, before any of this ever happened, had a plan in place. There is a plan for when things are gonna roll out to each group of people and how it will create the most harmonious sound. And so you're gonna see that happen the same way when you watch a symphony, you see the director. Focus in on a certain group, right?

Maybe the winds or the strings or the woods, or like the choir, they'll, they'll gesture and they'll focus in on a certain part of the sound to amplify it and call it in when it's needed. And in the meantime they expect those they've already gestured to, to continue making their sound. You know, if you've ever watched them like call the violins into the music, they're expecting the other parts of the orchestra to continue to play, but they want to put a big spotlight on the sound that comes from the violins.

I feel like that's what's happening here. He's basically saying to the Jews who've been paying attention and been playing, continue what you're doing. And now I'm gonna put, uh, an invitation to play on the Gentiles. So I need you guys to go and [00:03:00] to call them into the music. And it just creates this beautiful sound.

There is, um, There's struggle in it. There's change that has to occur. Our hearts have to shift, but because people are willing to be humble, both the Jews and the Gentiles, in this scenario, especially in this early Christian Church, there is a sound that emerges that has never been played before. And that's what you get to study this week.

You'll get to hear the sound of these chords playing together, and it will just ignite you. So grab your scriptures, grab your notes. You guys, there's so much to study. Let's get started.

[00:03:42] ACTS 10

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The first Gentile that's gonna be called to play in this symphony is a man named Cornelius. And what I love about him is he is someone who is. He is, I think, a part of that white field. He's someone who's clearly been prepared cuz his heart's in the right place. If you look in the verses, he's a centurion.

So he is a [00:04:00] military leader, he's a Roman citizen. He must be at least a little bit wealthy cuz he clearly has servants that do his bidding and he's over a whole household. And because of what he believes, that he believes in the Jewish God and therefore his whole household believes. And I think it's fascinating to see how this plays out.

Cause basically what happens is he believes in the Jewish God, but doesn't live by the law of Moses. He's just beginning. I don't know if he heard some of the miracles that happened to the Gentiles, or maybe he's friends with the other centurion that had his son or servant healed. Like I, I don't know his backstory, but for whatever reason he.

Is devout to the point that he gives alms and he prays always and then he has a vision come. This is, um, pretty new, especially to any Jewish person listening that that a vision would come to a gentile is pretty big deal. So he sees a vision and he has an angel that comes to him and tells him he needs to seek out Simon.

He needs to find Peter, send men to go get him and bring him closer. I think [00:05:00] it's really interesting. First off, you learn a little bit about the value of covenants because I think the reason. The Lord sends angels to Cornelius is because his devotion and his charity and his alms giving is wonderful, but it's not enough.

Cornelius deserves an opportunity to make covenants with the Lord just like everyone else does. And so he gives him the tools in order to create covenants. And the tools are, you need a Astic priesthood holder, you need to reach out to Peter so that you can make covenants with me and be welcomed into my kingdom.

So that's, you can see this half of the vision happening here simultaneously. We're gonna see a vision happening for Peter as these two men come together. It's almost like you can see this master plan of the Lord. Coming together and they just don't know that the two of them are gonna play notes at the same time.

So when simultaneously, Peter is on a housetop and he is praying. So we look at nine, he's praying about the sixth hour and he becomes very much hungry. And as he is [00:06:00] hungry, he goes into a transfer. He has a vision in the daytime and in this vision he sees something sort of strange. I don't think he even knows how to interpret it.

In fact, that's pretty clear in the verses. He basically sees something descend from heaven and he sees a bunch of animals of all different kinds that are considered unclean who are brought before him. And remember, he's hungry, he's been made to be hungry and the voice in this vision says, you know, kill and eat.

So if you look in 13 and there came a voice to him saying, rise Peter, kill and eat. And Peter says, not so Lord, for I have never eaten any unclean thing that is, that anything that is common or unclean. Peter here, I think is trying to. Pass a test. You know, he's, he's really careful about these laws of Moses cuz he, he is lived his whole life this way and he doesn't want to let go of those promises too quickly.

So I think he's wrestling with that a little bit. But then he gets clarification in 15 and the voice faked on him again the second time. What God had cleansed called thou not [00:07:00] common. Here's what I like about that. I think what the Lord is saying is there was a time and a season when these things were unclean.

There was reason and purpose behind the law of Moses when I had it active and now things are going to shift. I have cleansed all those things. He's not saying those things were never wrong and you never should have kept the law of Moses. What he's saying is the law of Moses has been fulfilled. The reason I like that is there were several youth I talked to when the.

Kind of the new, uh, for strength of the youth guidebook came out who said, see, I told you it was fine to never have, you know, like they, and then they would list things like earrings or certain modesty standards, or they're like, see, I told you that we didn't have to do that all this time. And we had some interesting chats about that because I, I really believe that you are held accountable and are, you are responsible for keeping the commandments of your time.

So if Peter had chosen to discard the law of Moses dietary requirements during the time when the law of Moses was still in [00:08:00] effect, he would've been held accountable for that. The Lord isn't saying none of those commandments mattered before. What he's saying is, okay, now those have been fulfilled and now it's time for something to change.

There is something new coming. So Peter's trying to sort that all out the same way. Most of us when we heard the new for strength of the youth guidelines, were trying to sort things out for a little while. And that's what you see Peter doing. So he's. Concerned in 16, it says he gets the same vision three times.

So much like Joseph Smith. I think this is a very, very pivotal doctrine that will change, or, sorry, I shouldn't say doctrine policy that will change the trajectory of their missionary efforts. And so I think he gets this one several times so that things can be clear. What's interesting to me is it's the same, I hate to say murky vision, but you know, this is not a very, it's not like a big sign on a wall that says, okay, it's time to take the gospel to the Gentiles.

It's this vision of animals. And you know, some people think it's like a prayer shawl, something, it's, it's confusing and a little bit cryptic, but it gets it three times. [00:09:00] What I love about this is then he gets other direction. I think the same way we said it in the Old Testament about the story of Gideon.

Remember how I told you that Michael Wilcox taught that we worship a fleece? Giving God meaning a God who doesn't just give you one chance of revelation. He often will reassure and give you extra guidance in additional revelations. And that's what I see happening to Peter in the rest of this chapter because as he's thinking on the vision, things happen.

So in 19, while Peter thought on the vision, the spirit said unto him, behold three men seek thee. I think it's interesting that Peter's first vision that is so important, and it's gonna change the policies of the church is told in this kind of, Visionary way that's sort of confusing. And then the spirit speaks to him in very clear words.

Like, Hey, there's three guys who wanna talk to you, you need to go find. It's just interesting to me, cuz sometimes I think the better I get at Revelation, the more clear revelation should be to me. And I think Peter is a beautiful example of, no, the spirit speaks the way he's gonna speak the same way. I'm still [00:10:00] wrestling with images that I see in the temple and trying to understand what they could possibly mean.

And yet at the same time, sometimes the spirit speaks to me and very clear, Hey Maria, you need to do this now. And I think it's not so much a progression, it's just that the spirit can speak to us in many ways. And you see Peter dealing with that in this chapter as well. So he goes with them, the spirit tells him to go and doubt nothing go with these men.

And so these men will take him to Cornelius. What's. Powerful about this is Cornelius is Gentile. It is a breach of the law of Moses to go and especially into the household of a Gentile, let alone sit and eat with them and talk with them. You kind of see Peter stepping into this uncertain space. Remember he thinks he understands what this vision means, but it's not perfectly clear yet, but you can see him stretching himself.

So even right at the beginning in 23, he calls them in these three men who came to see him. Cuz the journey is long to get back to where, you know, to get back to Cesia. And so he calls them in and they're gonna stay for the night where he [00:11:00] is, he is already stepping into that uncertainty of, to have Gentiles stay at your house and to lodged with them and eat with them is already a breach.

But he's trying to, I think, show the Lord, I'm trying to understand, it seems like you want me to welcome the Gentiles and into stretch to the Gentiles. So he, he immediately is acting and as he chooses to act on this revelation, even though he doesn't understand it fully, he gets more light and more knowledge.

So he invites them to stay. They stay with him, and then the next day they head back to Cornelius's house. So they go together and Cornelius waited for them and had called together his kinsman and his near friends. This is verse 25, and as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him.

But Peter took him up saying, stand up. I myself also am a man. I think one of the additional ways that the Lord is giving revelation to Peter about the correctness of this shift in policy is to see the heart of Cornelius. Not only does Cornelius himself bow [00:12:00] before Peter and show his humility, remember he's a Roman centurion.

He is a big deal. Peter is a Galilean fisherman who has given away all his possessions. They couldn't be more different, but Cornelius bows before him. Not that Peter lets him stay there, but I think it shows him Cornelius's heart. He also sees that Cornelius has gathered all of his family to come and listen to the words of Peter, where Peter is getting pushed out of synagogues and not listened to on occasion to see a whole group of people be ready to receive his words.

I imagine that was another powerful layer of this revelation that these hearts are ready. It just reminds me of Amon and King Laona. Remember that interchange in the Book of Mormon wear? Amon comes to King Lamona and he immediately thinks because he's defeated the bad guys and cut off the arms, that he must be a God.

And he's not even sure how to handle himself. I just, it feels similar to me. And I think Peter's demeanor is similar to Amon, where he seeks to serve and he seeks to do the will of God. He just doesn't exactly know how that's gonna play out yet. And I don't think Amon did either. [00:13:00] So when you turn the page, you can see how he sorts this through.

So in 27, as he talked with him, he went in and found many that were come together, and he says to them in 28, basically, you know, it's against the law of Moses for me to even be here, but the Lord has directed me to be here. So here I am. What do you need from me? I think it's really cool that he asked them what they want.

Because I think one, Peter's still trying to sort this out and figure out how all this fits together, but also I think it invites them into this revelatory process. I read this great quote from Elder Scott, it's in the notes this week. He was talking about being a good teacher. And the reason that we need participation, it's not just for the variety of sounds in the room and to get different opinions.

It invites the listener into the revelatory process. It invites them to open up to the spirit. Cuz when they get the guts to raise their hand, they're inviting the spirit to come and teach them. So it's like you need to have participation in your classes, and I think that's part of what's happening here.

Peter wants them to feel this. [00:14:00] Truth, and he wants him to understand it. And so he's opening up space by saying, what is it you want from me? And then when you go into 30, you can see the heart of Cornelius. He talks about how he's been fasting and how when he was fasting, he was hoping for guidance and gets this vision.

And this is when Peter starts to realize that Cornelius has been having an angelic experience almost the same time that Peter was having an angelic experience, which is remarkable, right? It's like those stories you hear about, I don't know, I just heard a mom talk about how when her kid was in the Philippines and had a disaster happen to his body like a, an injury occur, she felt pain at the same time and she didn't realize it until they connected later and talked about timing of when she felt something was wrong and when he experienced pain.

So those kind of stories, right? That's sort of what's happening here. I think Peter's starting to realize. God is working with both of us and God is deeming both of us worthy to receive angelic visitations and he's bringing our hearts together. Peter's just getting all those [00:15:00] connections to fire up. So then he says in 31, immediately, therefore, I sent thee, and thou has well done that thou art come.

This is Cornelius speaking to the apostle Peter. Now therefore, are we all here present before God to hear all things that are commanded the of God. The reason I love 33 you guys is because what Cornelius is saying in this verse is, it's so good that you came. I need you to tell me what God wants me to do.

He inherently understands the priesthood keys of Peter. At least that's how I read it. I think he knows that in order for him to get clarification and understanding about when to come into this symphony, he needs. The, the leader of the, the church who is connected to God to direct it. He understands that new guidance and new policies are gonna have to come through basically what is the prophet of the church at this time?

So he looks to Peter and says, we're all here. Tell us what God wants us to know. I just think there's a stance of humility in it that I really love. So this is when I think Peter [00:16:00] gets this additional layer of revelation because not only does Cornelius understand and seek connection with God, but he understands priesthood and he understands authority and keys, and this is like layer upon layer of revelation that Cornelius and his family are ready.

So this is when you get that epic response from Peter. Then Peter opened his mouth and said, of a truth, I perceive that God is no respecter of persons, but in every nation, he that feared him and work a righteousness is accepted with him. He is understanding what that vision meant. That I think at first it almost seems like he was just not, I think.

He thought maybe he was just not supposed to call things common. He wasn't supposed to call the gen. Gentiles common, I think when he sees Cornelius and he is in his house and he feels the spirit and he understands what's happened in Cornelius's life and the angel that came, all those little bits of revelation are coalescing for Peter.

And he says like he understands that it's not just about not calling them common, but treating them [00:17:00] as brothers, bringing them into the fold of God. And then he, it's like the floodgates open up and he starts to understand. And so he starts to teach. So if you look in 38 and 39, he teaches about Jesus Christ.

He talks about the Holy Ghost that filled them. He talks about who they are. He pumps them up with understanding of who they really are. And then he teaches about prophets and how this is, This is all fitting into place. I just think you can see Revelation clicking for Peter. I think he's also casting his mind back on all the experiences he watched the Savior have with Gentiles when he healed the Gentiles and helped the Gentiles and you know, woman at the well kind of situations.

Like he's, he's remembering who he represents and he's, he's bringing this to pass and so you can see what happens. Basically in 46 he talks about how well Cornelius and his family received the gift of the Holy Ghost. So this happens in 44. While Peter yet spad these words, [00:18:00] the Holy Ghost fell on all them, which heard the word.

And then they have circumcision, which believed were astonished as many as came with Peter because that on the Gentiles was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. They're sort of shocked because the experience they had on the day of Pentecost, where they received the gift of the Holy Ghost is now happening to this group of gentiles.

They haven't had a whole lifetime of living the love of Moses or doing the feast days and celebrating Passover. They haven't had all that early experience, and so I think they're kind of shocked by it, but they can't deny it either. So 46 for they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God and then answered Peter.

So this is when the presiding authority speaks and he says, can any man forbid water that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we, what I think Peter is catching is the understanding of grace that there. They may have believed for a time that that people needed to be Jewish first in order to prepare their hearts for [00:19:00] this new covenant.

And now Peter's starting to get that. This vision is saying, I have cleansed, like I have made them enough, I have taken these hearts and they are prepared. They need baptism. And so that's what happens in 48. And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord, then prayed they him to Terry.

Certain days they are eagerly anticipating a chance to make covenants with God. And because Peter is the presiding authority and has received these layers of revelation and a confirmation by seeing the Holy Ghost poured out on these hearts, he says, okay, it's time. The floodgates are open.

[00:19:41] ACTS 11

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I. Just like an R day just cuz something is the will of God and brought through his, you know, divine sources or his prophet. It doesn't mean that the policy shifts are gonna be comfortable to the members. And so there's some struggle as other people try to understand this new shift in policy. So you can see in one and two that there is contention [00:20:00] happening.

What's interesting is who is contending? If you looking too, when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of circumcision contended with him saying, that went us into men uncircumcised and did eat with them. And Peter rehearsed unto them the matter from the beginning and expounded it by order unto them, here's what I feel like is happening.

Basically those who are so of circumcision means two things. It can either mean that you were born into the Jewish faith and so you were circumcised at eight days old and you've, you know, gone to all those same. Feasts and festivals and lived the love Moses and cautionary like was, you were careful with your steps on the Sabbath and you, you kept all those 600 plus rules all your life.

It can also mean that you're someone who has converted to the Christian faith and then has begun to live the love of Moses, which means you submitted to circumcision potentially as an adult, which is a really big ask, right? So you have converts who are living all those law of Moses rules and submitting themselves to circumcision who are saying, [00:21:00] wait a second, this isn't fair.

And I don't think it's, I don't think it's that their hearts are in the wrong place. Maybe they are. But part of me thinks that maybe they think that living those laws and rules of the law of Moses actually prepared them for their testimony of Jesus Christ and prepared them to accept this New Testament, a new covenant the same way.

Well, here's the example that came to mind. So, When I was a teenager, I had to do personal progress, right? I had to get that medallion, and so I went through all these different steps and all these different goals and all that stuff to prepare me for what was coming next in my discipleship, which would be relief society.

There are many people who converted after teenage phase who never had to do personal progress. In fact, today, none of the young women have to do personal progress or do all those bajillion steps in order to be ready to move on to relief society, and it's, I could easily stand and say no. Those things helped me become ready for relief society because they did right.

All those things helped me become a better person and they were beneficial to me. It would be [00:22:00] wrong for me though, to pretend that you had to do those things in order to be ready to accept being a part of relief society. The grace of God can make up for all things, so I think that's where the sticking point is.

They're trying to attach. To me, it seems a lot like the parable of the laborers of the vineyard. They're saying, we got here at 8:00 AM you came at noon, it, you're not gonna be, you don't deserve the same penny. I don't think it's that they want to withhold exaltation. I wonder if their hearts are like, you're not doing all the things I'm doing and therefore you can't possibly be ready.

And I think Peter, his guidance is needed to help them understand the grace of Christ. That through grace they can be made enough. He can teach them through his spirit. All the things that years of time living the love Moses had taught others that they can be made ready to accept covenants. And so that's what Peter's gonna focus on.

What's interesting is how he does it. So like I said in four, Peter rehearsed the matter from the beginning and expounded it by [00:23:00] order. He as the presiding leader of the church and the chief apostle. Could have just come in and said, you guys, I have revelation from God and this is what we're doing. And instead he takes the time to explain the revelatory process.

He takes them from the very beginning and says, lemme tell you what I was thinking about. And then I had this vision and I didn't understand it at first. And then I went to Cornelius's house and I got another understanding when he, I saw him fast and I got another understanding when I saw them, the Holy Ghost descend on them and it hit him just like it hit us on the day of Pentecost.

He walks through this process and I don't think it's that he has to do it. I think he's trying to help them understand Revelation and that that's how Revelation comes to him as this senior apostle. And so he needs them to get on board. And what I love is because he takes the time to do all those things.

They do get on board. There is peace. So if you look in the verses, it says, um, what, what, where was it? 18 when they heard these things, meaning all his explanation of the things that have come to pass, they held their peace and glorified God saying, then [00:24:00] God, then half God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.

They get it. They may not have understood it if he had just come out and said, you guys, this is the new policy. This is what we're doing now. Because they've seen the process of revelation. Not only do they understand the policy, but they understand how to get their own revelations better themselves. I, I just think there's power in this kind of teaching.

I think this is why President Nelson is trying to speak to us over and over again about creating space for peace. What Peter did here is he used. Understanding to help them open up their minds enough for the spirit to settle in. That's what being a peacemaker is, at least in my opinion. I feel like what you do when you make are a peacemaker is you make space for peace.

The comparison I always give is like my job charts at our house, that by creating a job chart, I stop contention before it even starts. I make space for peace and then the spirit can be at our house cuz we're not fighting about who's gonna do the dishes and who's gonna do the floor. It's just already [00:25:00] decided.

And that's kinda what Peter does here. He makes space for peace and he teaches them how it, how it relates back to the savior and what the savior did. You can see him emphasizing those things in his teaching them and helping them understand. Then when you flip the page, there's this. Shift. I kind of expected that at the end of 11 there would be this phase of, okay, let's go to the Gentiles.

You know, now we all agree and now we know what we're doing. Let's go to the Gentiles. But if you look in 19, it says they continue to preach but to Jews only. And then they talk about where they're going and that a great number of people are believing and converting in 21. And then you see this missionary companionship start to form.

Cuz Barnabas the one who stuck up for Paul when the apostles were scared of Saul and they were like, I'm not sure if he's a good guy. Barnabas is the one that stuck up for him. So Barnabas is recruiting Paul who's had some time to, you know, convert and learn all those things. And they're getting ready to be a missionary companionship.

But I don't think they know exactly what they're gonna do. I, I think this is. You can see the Lord's hand in this as he's [00:26:00] preparing things. But what this phase reminds me of is that time and bountiful. Do you remember in the Book of Mormon when Lehigh's family took like eight years to get to this shore, where they're finally at a place that's pretty and safe and there's food and milk and honey and all those good things, and then right, right after that they're gonna get direction to build a ship and go.

And you can see layman and lemle. Push back a little bit against Nephi cuz Bountiful is pretty great. You guys like it's pretty comfortable and they're getting comfortable in this place. And what Nephi knows is you can't stay here. He gets Revelation that a ship needs to be built because the promised land is greater than bountiful.

The destination that the God has planned for them is so much bigger than just getting to the seashore. At Bountiful. He needs them elsewhere. And so Nephi gets that revelation and then they follow suit over time. I actually think that's what you're gonna see happen here between 11 and 12. You see this comfortable phase where they're almost in a bountiful like setting.

Jews are joining the church, there's nobody really attacking [00:27:00] them. They're feeling kind of good. And then you have what happens in 12 and I, to me, it's where Peter learns that he needs to build a ship and it comes in a prison break. So we're gonna go there next.

[00:27:17] ACTS 12

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Very abruptly in chapter 12, you hear about the loss of James. So this is like member of the first presidency of James Sons of Thunder, James. He is killed by Herod. And you learn in the process that not only is he killed, but Herod sees so much. Uh, rejoicing happened around the Jews that he decides he's also gonna kill Peter to kind of amp up his popularity.

And so he puts Peter in prison. I sometimes wonder, this is totally just my theory, um, I wonder if Peter thought this is where his story ends. Cause remember he learned from the savior that his story would end in a way that is similar, um, to the Saviors. I don't think he knew exactly what that meant. He, I just think it's always in the back of his head knowing that he's gonna be a martyr for this faith [00:28:00] and that it's gonna be similar to the savior.

Well, in this case, you guys, he's actually probably in the exact same prison that the Savior was in for a little season, you know, during the trial phase of the savior. Like he's probably in that same place and he is. On the eve of his execution. I dunno how long he's in prison. It seems like it's for a while cuz people are praying for him.

So in five it says Peter therefore was kept in prison but prayer was made without ceasing of the church under God. For him, people are praying, the whole church is praying for Peter to be released. So it makes me think that Peter's there for a while, then he gets to the night before his execution and something happens.

I feel like, well here, lemme show you why I think this. If you go on the verses it says, and in six when Herod would have brought him forth the same night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers bound with two chains and the keepers before the door kept the prison Peter's sleeping. This again, this is just my interpretation of this, but I think Peter has come to terms with his and I think he [00:29:00] probably aches for James, you know, as a senior apostle.

I'm sure he wishes he could have been in James' place and I'm sure there's a lot of feelings right now. And Peter is. He knows this prophecy from the savior and I think he trusts that the work will go on and that maybe this is the end for Peter cuz he's sleeping. Uh, the night before he's executed, he's seems to be sort of peaceful and then he's abruptly awakened.

So in seven behold the angel of the Lord came upon him and a light shined in the prison and he smoked Peter on the side and raised him up saying a rise up quickly and his chains fell off his hands. What's interesting as you watched these verses play out is Peter seemed sort of stunned or dazed or surprised at least that this is happening to him.

I don't think he expected deliverance. I think he expected to end. I don't think he was comfortable with that. I don't know. He has a death wish, but I think he had come to terms with his fate and he's surprised when he's delivered. And so you see the miracle play out. Basically the angel [00:30:00] has him get on his shoes and his clothes and he takes him out past the different watches and gets him out of the gate and then disappears.

Here's what I think is so cool about this chapter, you guys, uh, I think this is another layer of Peter's revelatory process about the Gentiles, because now Peter knows firsthand what it feels like to expect to not be delivered and then to be miraculously delivered. Like he in this moment was ready to accept his fate as someone who was done and he's not done.

He has a ship to build and the angel knows it, and he's like, Peter, you have a work to do. And now Peter knows exactly what it feels like to be a gentile, to be someone who's felt like you're constantly kept outta the covenant and you're, you have a, a definite end. And he, I think, Is getting it in a whole nother way cuz he rushes out.

He's still sort of figuring out like he's surprised that this isn't a vision. Sometimes I wonder what it's like to be Peter. [00:31:00] I, I was thinking about the matrix that like people like Peter and Joseph Smith who are so often in vision, it must be sometimes hard to tell when you're in the real world, when you're not, especially when you're tired.

Cuz if you see in nine, you can see that he's starting to catch, he's like, oh, I thought it was a vision and I guess it wasn't. And so he goes off, this is when I think Peter has got his revelation of, you need to build a ship. You are the, you are going to lead this charge to get the Gentiles, the covenant.

I need you to go. And so he goes, and where he goes is where the disciples are gathering, where the people are praying for him and he knocks on the gate and there's this sweet little interchange with a woman who, her name's Rhoda. And she hears him at the gate and recognizes his voice and then tells the others so that they can come.

There's sometimes people tell this story, and I guess everybody has their own interpretation. I think Rhoda is courageous. I think in this moment she's not like sometimes people teach it like she's bumbling and she's so overjoyed that she just like rushes and forgets to open the gate. And I just, I don't read any other women in the New Testament.[00:32:00]

Like I think she is someone who very nice, safe house. Okay. I think they're in danger all the time. And so they're in a safe house and in order for anyone to open that outer gate and let someone in who they are expecting to have died, like this is a very easy setup for a bad guy to pretend to be Peter and get into their safe house.

So my guess is that Rhoda doesn't wanna open that gate until somebody else confirms. No, this actually does sound like Peter. So she goes into the house and she tells them the joyful news. Peter is outside the gate and what I think is powerful is how she does it. So they said unto her, thou art mad. This is in verse 15.

But she constantly affirmed that it was even so, and then they said it was his angel. What this basically means is they believe it's more likely that Peter died and his angel is at the gate than the chances of him escaping from prison. That tells you about the guard that is watching Peter in prison, that their, their guard is so intense that even the believers think it's more likely that he died.

But Rona consistently and constantly [00:33:00] affirmed. I think this tells you about her. She will not let this drop. And she says, I heard his voice. I know Peter's voice. This is Peter. And so eventually they give in, right? And then they hear Peter knocking. I love the combination of the two. I think our role is to constantly affirm when I know something and I really know it, I should constantly affirm the promise is if I will continue to affirm, the spirit will keep knocking.

That's how I read these verses, because Peter never stops knocking. He just invites and entices and brings them, you know, he brings them out. And I think the combination of those two is powerful when you know something. Affirm it and trust that there will be other witnesses that will come. So they rush to the gate, they find out that it actually is Peter and he doesn't stay.

Here's what I think is interest. I, this is why I think he got his bill, the ship revelation in this deliverance story because he doesn't stay with them. Maybe it's cuz he is afraid that he'll create danger for them. But he basically says to them, you're gonna need to let the apostles know that [00:34:00] I am out and we have things to do.

And that's kind of where things end in this chapter. You, you see the end is, the actual end is Herod dies. So this is not the same Herod that we were talking about with John the Baptist. It's not the same Herod that was from the days of Jesus' childhood with the s slang of the innocence. This is that next generation Herod, the one that killed James, and now you see him die.

This sort of pitiful death as he tries to look like a God to his people. And because he takes credit, he dies. I actually think there's some interesting comparisons between his attempts to look bright and shining. And what they actually saw in Steven. So you can go in the notes and learn more about that comparison.

But his end comes abruptly. He dies uncomfortably. And you see the stage set for what's gonna happen next. As we see Peter's build a ship, revelation come to pass.

[00:34:54] ACTS 13

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You can feel the spiritual symphony kind of reaching a bit of a crescendo in this chapter cuz now he [00:35:00] is gotten rid of Herod, this major point of opposition. He's built up Peter and as a the senior apostle who knows what they need to do and how they need to do it. And now he's got apostles in place ready to go out and do the work.

So you can see in the first couple verses of chapter 13 that Paul and Barnabas are already ready. Remember they've been teaching at Antioch, a big city where there's a hub of members and they've been feeling successful already. So now they've been primed and ready and the Lord's about to. Bring them into this song, right?

He's about to point to them and say, okay, it's time to go. And so they get a call. So in verse two it says, they minister unto the Lord and fasted, and the Holy Ghost said, separate me, Barnabas, and Saul for the work where into I have called them. This call is coming from the Godhead, it says from the Holy Ghost.

But it is a, it is a work that the Godhead has sent forth to them and they're gonna need to accomplish it in order to accomplish it. They get the same blessings that we get today when we're asked to do a great work. They are set apart. In fact, if you look in the footnotes, it says that word [00:36:00] separate or the combination separate me means to set apart.

I didn't realize until this week when I was studying that there is a literal nature to that phrase being set apart. It means you are, you are to set aside some of the things of your. Old ways know whether you are set apart as a missionary like they are, or set apart in your calling. It's an invitation to set aside things of the natural man, what you used to be and how you used to spend your time and choose to do something different.

Choose to do something more in line with what the Lord would have you do. And if you do that, if you'll commit to that, then he promises you abundant blessings. I mean, there's a bunch in the scriptures. You can go in the notes and read several, but I especially like the one from Enoch. Remember, he's, he's called and people don't like him and he is he, he doesn't speak well and he's worried.

There's a lot of reasons I love Enoch, especially with all my history with Jack. But I do love that what the Lord promises is that his words will be justified, that he will be made enough to do the work in front of him. That's the promise of a [00:37:00] setting apart blessing. And that's what happens to these two.

Before they go out their, their hands are laid, hands are laid on their head, and they are set apart and then sent away. And so they begin their first big mission. Their missions are gonna go from chapter 13 all the way through 28. Paul's. Companions will vary a little bit, and where he's going is all over the map.

But for the next many, many chapters, you're gonna see Paul kind of globe trotting the known world around the Mediterranean and teaching everyone who will listen. So I, I won't have you keep up with the city names, so I think it's overwhelming, but don't worry. In the object lessons, I'm gonna give you some tools to keep up with those.

But he's gonna go to a bunch of different places and teach. And this first one, when they go to Cypress, they're, they run into a problem. Cypress is Barnabas's hometown. It's a little island in the middle of the Mediterranean, and Barnabas would be really familiar with that place. But there is a problem.

There's somebody, there's a local leader who wants to know more, and there is opposition. Remember there's opposition in all things. So in this particular case, they run into a sorcerer who is trying to negate or neutralize all the good that [00:38:00] Saul and Barnabas are trying to do. So he causes trouble and basically they, they, they run into that obstacle.

To me, it's kind of similar to what we read in the Book of Mormon with Alma and Cohor, where this is a situation where the priesthood power is used not to heal or to bless per se, but to stop, uh, to abruptly stop, which I guess by extension heals and blesses those who are hoping to learn. It kind of takes a barrier and moves it just like we saw the Lord do with Herod, who he took that barrier and he got rid of it.

That's kinda what happens with this Soer because Paul or Saul is one who understands his motives. Remember, it hasn't been that long since Saul has been like this guy who was working against the Christian faith. So I think Paul gets him, you know, he understands his motives and he wants him to change.

What I love is how he uses his priesthood in this moment is to do exactly what happened to Saul. He causes him to have blindness. So if you look in 11, first he calls it [00:39:00] like it is in 10. And he says, oh, thou full of subtlety and mischief. Thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, will thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord like he is.

He knows exactly what's in this guy's heart. He's been there and he's calling him on it. And then 11. And now behold, the hand of the Lord is upon the, and thou shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist in the darkness. And he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.

I mean, it's almost verbatim what we saw happen to Saul, that he needed someone to lead him by the hand because he couldn't see. And so you have to wonder what happens to this sorcerer. What you do know is now that his, now that that stumbling block is outta the way. That diplomat of sorts that wanted to learn more now can seem more clearly.

So in 12, then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord. I do love that it's not the miracle that astonishes this deputy. It's not seeing this man. The sorcerer be blind. It's the doctrine of the Lord that astonishes him. It's the power he sees in front of [00:40:00] him and he wants to learn more.

And so he leans in and then as they're building converts, they go to all these different cities. So you can follow along in the verses, but there's some key things that I think you'll see first. You'll see that whenever they go to a new town, they first first approach the synagogue. There's probably a lot of reasons for this, but I think the predominant one is that that's the direction from the Lord, that they're supposed to take the gospel to the Jews first.

And then to the Gentiles. So even though the gospel is open to the Gentiles, they still follow that same course of action. Cuz that's the what? That's what the Lord has laid out for them. So they go to the synagogue and they preach. They follow the same structure that we see from, that we saw from Peter when he was standing in front of the court and we saw from Stephen when he was standing in front of that tribunal, he, they try to find common ground.

Paul and Barnabas both will speak and teach about the history of the people of Israel, who they are, where they have commonality. And then they will add this new chapter I just had, you have to wonder what this must have been like for the people listening in the synagogue [00:41:00] cuz they would be with them the whole way.

You know, like, okay, yeah, we're talking about Moses. Oh yep. We're talking about David. You can see that all throughout chapter 13. And then there is this. New edition that's kind of tucked in amongst all these prophecies. In 23 of this man's seed hath God raised, hath God according to his promise, raised unto Israel a savior Jesus.

And then he teaches them about Jesus of Nazareth. He teaches them about John and John the Baptist witness of Jesus. Cause remember, a lot of the Jews respected John as prophet, so he's trying to help them understand like we have common ground. Look how this fits. It makes me wonder if this is when the Savior expounded his doctrines and he taught them for those 40 days.

If this is part of what he taught them, that because you see it in Peter and you saw it again in Steven and now in Paul. It seems like this is what, this is. The method to reach hearts is to teach them about their heritage and who they are and help them see who God really is. So in 26, men and Brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you, feareth God [00:42:00] to you, is the word of salvation sent for they that dwell in Jerusalem and their rulers because they knew him, not nor yet the voices of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath day.

They have fulfilled them in condemning him. I read an interesting scholar this week who said, there's some similarities here. These Jews, especially those in Jerusalem, read these scriptures every Sabbath, these prophecies about a Messiah who would come and they missed it the same way. In today's world, there are lots of Christian churches who read the Bible and see.

What looks to us like very clear prophecies about the restoration, and they miss it, and it's our job to help close the gap the way Paul and Barnabas did. So they try and reach and they teach about God in 30, but God raised him from the dead. They testify of the resurrection, that they're witnesses of this resurrection.

In 33, God has fulfilled the same unto us, their children, and that he has raised up Jesus again. As it is written in the second Psalm that weren't my son this day, I have forgotten the, they're trying to, they've tucked this new chapter into this beautiful continuum of [00:43:00] the history of Israel's story, and they're saying, look, it still fits that they want that harmony to happen so that the listeners feel it.

What's interesting is the Jews, by and large, at least in these early cities, don't catch it. The people who catch it are the Gentiles. They overhear what's happening and what's being taught in the synagogue, and they lean in because now this message is not just for the Jews. It's extending and inviting them to be part of this story.

And so you see them lean forward. In fact, they are so eager to hear the words that they invite the preachers to come back. They invite the missionaries to come and teach them again, because now they understand that this, this legacy of the children of Israel story fits in their narrative as well. And so they come in 42, you can see and when the Jews were gone outta the synagogue, the Gentiles be sought, that these words might be preached to them, the next Sabbath.

And so they come, people come and they want to learn more, and they want to learn about what you see in 43. They're persuade. They persuade them to continue in the grace of God. [00:44:00] I love. In 43, basically what you see is. The, the missionaries are kind of packing up, getting ready to finish, and the people who are listening, the Gentiles and the pros lights are saying, could you please stay?

We wanna learn more about the grace of God. It just reminds me about third Nephi. You know when the Savior is about to leave and he tells them he's gonna go and they just, you know, their heart's kind of ache and lean in and he says, you know what, I'll stay. And I just think you see echoes of that with Paul and Barnabas, cuz they stay and they teach and by the next Sabbath, the whole city is gathered together to hear the word and they wax bold.

Here's what's interesting. In 45 you see that they're gonna get some opposition. So there are those who are filled with envy and they speak against the things which were spoken by Paul contradicting and blasphemy. Again, I think Paul knows this, knows this mindset pretty clearly from his own experience.

And so he stands and he speaks boldly. 46. Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold and said it was necessary. That the word of God should first have been spoken to you, but seeing you put it from you and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life. [00:45:00] Low. We turn to the Gentiles. Paul and Barnabas know the Abrahamic covenant, and they know that the gospel is supposed to go to the children of Israel first, and if they won't hold onto it, then they're, they're gonna take it to the world.

And that's kinda what's happening here. We turn to the Gentiles 47 for Soha. The Lord commanded us, saying, I have Sethy to be a light to the Gentiles, that thou should us be for salvation unto the ends of the earth. This promise of being a covenant children and being tied to the Lord and tethered to his strength comes through being a part of this.

New faith, this continuation and building up that that's what they're inviting the Gentiles to be a part of, and they rejoice in 48. When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and they glorified the word of the Lord. As many as were ordained to eternal life believed. You can see in the JST that he says, those who believed now have an invitation to be to participate in ordinances.

That's kind of the idea, is that they, they lean in, they believe, and now they have a chance to participate in ordinances that were before held back from them, and [00:46:00] the policy has shifted. You can see Peter's boat setting sail, you know, what he was directed to do and the shift that he was directed to make is starting to change hearts and change lives and it, it will have ramifications that will extend all the way to our day.

It's a powerful promise.

[00:46:24] ACTS 14

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I think it's really fun when you read the letters of missionaries that come in cuz they always sound so glowy and wonderful and things are going great. And then you talk to their mom. Recently I was with my sister Mindy, who, you know, she has a daughter Kelsey, who's out and working so hard in Mexico and it is hard.

I mean like she went without water and toilets for a while. Like it is hard. But in her emails that I read, everything sounds pretty dreamy. And I mean, not dreamy but like glowy. And it's fun to hear Mindy's report cuz she talks about how she's glowy. Even though all those things are happening, you know, she gives you a rounder version of the mission.

And I feel like that's what you [00:47:00] get when you compare Acts 13 and Acts 14. You get X 13 where they're full of joy and rejoicing. And 14 when you're like, oh, people tried to stone you and you had to run out of town, that's, you get 14. You get more of the persecutions and the hardships and how they manage to still be full of joy and.

Carry on despite all the hard, so in 14 you can see they go to a new town and I, I iconium and you can follow this on the map, uh, that I give you in the object lessons. But basically they go and there are barriers at the get go cuz they're unbelieving Jews who start to sow seeds of doubt and lies. And so things are, things are hard and you can see that they stay a long time in that hard.

I, I think it's interesting cause they're a bunch of towns they could go to, right? They, they could just take off cuz things are hard. But instead they are directed to stay so they stay in three a long time. Therefore they abode speaking boldly in the Lord and gave testimony unto the word of his grace.

And he granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands. And then in four, but the multitude of the city was divided [00:48:00] and part held with the Jews and part held with the apostles. Their work is devout, but it is not causing everyone to come together. It's creating a chasm between these Jews who don't believe, and the apostles who are teaching this.

New covenant and they, there's the chasm that's forming and in the process, the intensity gets so high that they want to stone the apostles and so they're directed to leave town. I think it's kind of reminiscent of what we saw with, with the savior when he was young and how Joseph's directed to go to Egypt to protect him.

There are certain times when miracles are needed and there are certain times when they say, actually just go to a different town. You're like, I think there's any number of ways he could have solved this problem of these Jews who are working against them. But in this case, they just say, maybe we just go to another town.

So that's what they do. And in this other town, they have a miracle that occurs. It's really similar to what we see with Peter and John at the Temple. Remember with the lame man who they help to walk and then he leaps and rejoices and praises God. [00:49:00] It's really similar and it's fun to see that it's similar because I feel like it reminds you of the source.

All these miracles are from the source of Jesus Christ. Remember Elder Holland's phrase of these are the works of Jesus Christ that are accomplished by his apostles? Like that is what we're studying and there's so there's some lovely similarities. So you see certain men in eight, a certain man at Lystra impotent in his feet being crippled from his mother's womb who had never walked the same heard Paul speak, who steadfastly beholding him and perceiving that he had faith to be healed, said with a loud voice, stand upright on the feet, and as he leaped and, and sorry, and he leaped and walked.

This is a really similar miracle, but it doesn't produce faith in everyone around them. In fact, it. Produces a little bit of confusion. What happens next is that the, those who are watching this occur try to worship them as gods. I think it tells you something about their upbringing that these missions out to, these outlying areas are [00:50:00] often to places that are pagan in nature.

I think sometimes we assume that all these people are sort of blank slates and they're gonna learn the gospel and they're gonna come, but they all have traditions that they have to set down in order to accept this new faith. And one of the traditions that this group has is that they worship many gods and they believe in demi gods.

And you know, this is, these are Roman territories where people have a lot of beliefs in gods of different kinds and gods who come and mingle with men. And so Paul and Barnabas are trying to. Get them to set aside these old traditions and see what is real. And you see how they do that in the verses.

Basically they tear their clothes for emphasis and then they come out and they cry out to the people in 15 saying, SIRS, why do you do these things? We are also men of like passions with you and preach to you that you should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven and earth and the sea and all things they're in.

And then he talks them about the living God. Remember he's trying to get them to a common place. So he's trying to speak their language and their language [00:51:00] is Gods of the seasons and Gods of rain and thunder. And he wants them to see all of those in the true and living God. And so he speaks about how this good God takes care of all those things and looks out for them and that they are witnesses of him.

And then you see what happens. So 19 there came through there, certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium who persuaded the people at having stoned. Paul drew him out of the city supposing he had been dead. What's really fascinating to me, you guys is that's like a hundred mile distance. Between those two cities.

So these Jews are so set on stoning Paul, that they travel over a hundred miles to get to the city where they're preaching and take them down. That tells you something about the kind of persecutions these guys are facing and basically it seems like they're successful cuz in this moment Paul in fact is stoned.

You just have to wonder like why weren't they warned this time? And I think this is the nature of revelation. There are times when the Lord wants you to get up and go to another city. And there are times when a miracle needs to happen. And that's what happens, this one in 13, because in 20, you [00:52:00] see how be it as the disciples stood round about him.

So Paul's dead, they've carried him off out of the city, left him for dead, and they circle around Paul and he rises up. I don't know if this is like arising from the dead, like if he actually was dead or if this is just, he is able to rise up. In fact, I don't even know if this means Paul is healed. I found myself wondering if this is like one of those princess bride moments, you know, nor like Wesley, he's able to stand and hold up his sword in front of Prince Humping, but he's actually just as weak as he was before.

It's very possible that Paul in this moment stands and testifies being bruised and being beaten and being damaged. Sometimes I wonder if, you know, Paul's often gonna talk about his thorn of the flesh, that he has something in his body that for some reason is never healed. And I wonder if maybe it happened at this stoning and he will carry it with him on all his, you know, tens of thousands of miles of missionary journeys.

But he stands and he [00:53:00] testifies, and what he testifies of is the heart. It's. He goes to those same cities where people just chased him out. Those same cities where people hurled stones and followed him from city to city so they could take him down. He goes to those same cities and he preaches what I think is powerful is what you see in 22.

I don't think he's going to preach to the people who were carrying stones. I don't think this is a vendetta. I don't think he's trying to show a miracle like, look, here I am. I'm still standing. I think he's coming to confirm the souls of the saints. So in 22, confirming the souls of the disciples and exhorting them to continue in the faith that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

He goes to all those cities potentially wounded and scarred and hurting and maybe never to walk normal again or whatever His thorn of the flesh is to testify that this is what discipleship looks like. I know it's hard and look how much it hurts, but it is so worth it because on the inside he is filled with joy.

He is like Alma, the younger who when he sees hearts turn to Christ, [00:54:00] he is filled with joy cuz he remembers what God did for him and how far he's come. That's Paul and he understands it and so he teaches. There are a lot of people who compare this moment for Paul with Joseph Smith when he stands to preach after being tarred and feathered, there is a, there's a dignity in choosing to testify about passing through tribulation when you're still standing in the thick of it.

And that's what Paul does. And so he sets things in motion. These two missionaries you can see in 23, they set aside elders. So they're setting apart Mel priesthood holders who will run these little branches that they've established and then they. I just love the way it's phrased in 23 says they had, when they had ordained them elders in every church and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord on whom they believed.

It almost sounds like when you set a ship out to sail, you know, like they commend it to the Lord, meaning like it's in your hands. God, that that's how they must feel. These tidy little branches that have enemies and people who stone believers, they have to walk away and go to the [00:55:00] next city and so they commend them to the Lord.

I think it's what every missionary has to do when they get transferred, right? They, they commend things to the Lord and say, I've done what I can. Or when they get sent home, they're like, you know, I, I've done everything thing I can. It's time for me to go home and report. And that's what you see happen at the end of Acts 14, they basically go back to Antioch and they report all that they've seen.

I imagine it's not just about the numbers and the converts, I imagine it's about, let me tell you what the hearts of the Gentiles really look like. For 1500 years, our people have thought that the Gentiles are our enemy and that we can't be close to them, and we can't, that they can't possibly have hope.

Let me tell you what Gentiles hearts really look like. That's what I imagine their mission reports are full of, and so they opened this broad door of faith. That's how it's phrased. In 27. They rehearsed all that God had done with them and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles. They know that God has worked through them to accomplish this great beginning, and they're rejoicing in that moment.

I love it.[00:56:00]

[00:56:03] ACTS 15

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If you ever find yourself wondering why we work in council so often, I think Acts 15 is a really good example of why cuz they work, they help people get to the same point. And what's powerful about a council in God's way is that you, the point that you get to is God's will. That's the goal of any council, is to seek and understand the will of God and then find out how you can carry it out.

That's basically what you're gonna see in Acts 15, is after the two missionaries report in Antioch, they're called down to Jerusalem where there is contention arising cuz there are some in Jerusalem who still feel that the people who, especially these gentiles who come into the faith need to basically live as a Jew first in order to fully be ready to make these other commitments.

And there there's disputing among them about whether that is necessary. What's powerful is when you see the council led. So Peter, who is the senior apostle and the one who speaks the will of God makes it really clear, but he does it in such a gentle, Thoughtful way. There's a [00:57:00] few verses, but he rises up in seven and says unto them, men and brethren, you know how that a good while ago, God made a choice among us that the Gentiles, by my mouth, should hear the word of the gospel and believe and God, which know what the hearts bear them, witness giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us.

He's saying God knows their hearts and he knows how ready they are. They are, and he has deemed them worthy of this path we we're not gonna get in their way. So then a nine and put no difference between us and them purifying their hearts. By faith, he's demonstrating grace. He's saying they have been made clean.

They're no longer common. They have been made pure. They're no longer where they were. They're they're new creatures and we need to help them stay in 10 now. Therefore, why temp you God to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear. But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be saved even as they he is trying to.

Reiterate the prophecy that he understood. You know, that revelation that he understood. He is now [00:58:00] making clear to all the elders in this council and helping them see that this is the will of God. And what happens after this is where they try to figure out how it's gonna be carried out. Now we know the presiding officer has spoken, this is what God's will is.

Now let's figure out how we're gonna make that happen. So Paul and Barnabas stand up and they speak probably about the hearts of the Gentiles and reaffirming what Peter has just said, that their hearts have been filled and that they have been blessed with the grace of God. I, I imagine that's what Peter and Barnabas speak of.

And then James talks about his concerns. James is kind of, a lot of people think this is the half brother of Jesus who is sort of the ruling priesthood leader in Jerusalem. So he's probably dealing with more of these, they call them judaizers. It means like people who want people to be circumcised and to live the whole law of Moses before they can join the Christian faith.

So he's dealing with a lot more of. That piece of the opposition. And he basically comes up with a strategy that how they can carry this out. It's important that, I don't think this is a compromise. James isn't trying to say like, we're gonna take a piece of what you want Peter and a piece [00:59:00] of what the Judaizers want, and we'll make a, a blend.

What he's basically saying is, I think in order for us to be one, they need to set aside any temptations towards pagan practices. That's a lot of the gentiles come from pagan situations where they worship many gods or sacrifice things on altars, or they had different practices than the Jews. And so he's saying we need to set all that aside.

So his direction is like about that. It's about how they need to abstain. So in 20, we write unto them that they abstain from pollutions of idols and from fornication and from things strangled and from blood. All these things are things that the children of Israel were warned about in the Old Testament.

Remember we read a lot about their issues with idol worship and with fornication at times and in the name of, you know, worshiping other gods. So he is trying to say like, we need to make sure that that's not gonna be an issue. I think what's interesting though is that they don't say that the law of Moses needs to be ended.

What's gonna cause problems down the road is there is a bit of a division happening here. They just can't see it quite yet. [01:00:00] But by setting up a standard for these new people coming in and not saying the law of Moses is fulfilled, we don't need to circumcise anymore. Even though those who of you who are Jews, we don't need to hold, hold on to the love of Moses, it's gonna become a bit of a problem later.

It's kinda like if we, when we shifted to two Hour Church, you know, there was this rejoicing all around this church, but it would be different if those who are coming into the faith had two hour church. But all, everybody in Utah still has three hour Church know, like that's what's gonna happened here.

Those who are of. Uh, who started as Jews or have converted to Judaism in the process of becoming Christians are gonna hold onto that love Moses, and it's gonna cause a bit of a division later, but we don't see that play out just yet. Basically, they send out this official declaration to all the lands.

You can tell Paul and Barnes Barnabas are excited to share the news, right? Because they've. I mean it's the same as like two hour church. They're basically saying like it's, there are less obstacles than you thought there were. Come and rejoice and join with us. You are full brothers. You know, I guess it's a lot deeper than two Hour Church, but I think that Universal rejoicing is, is [01:01:00] there, so they all rejoice and then you find that there's a second mission that's about to happen.

Paul wants to go back and check on all their people and there's, there's some contention between he and Barnabas because of John Mark. So long story short, John Mark started their first mission with them, but left in the middle to go back to Jerusalem and nobody knows why he left. And Barnabas wants John Mark to come on this second mission and Paul has some hesitations about that.

We don't know why exactly, but it gets pretty sharp and they end up parting ways. So they each take a separate missionary companion and each go their way. And we'll study more about Paul's mission. But I actually thought doctrinally, it's kind of interesting cause I think there are moments of division that happened in scripture.

You see this a little bit with the ne fights and the Lamanites. I don't think Nephi wanted to separate from his brethren, but they get to a point where there is so much contention and hostility that it is approved to separate for a season. The difference I think, is that they're constantly seeking after, you know, you have like the sons of Mossai who are seeking after the Lamanites and out with the younger who seek, you know, they, [01:02:00] they're constantly trying to bring them back to be one.

I think we're gonna see that here as well, cuz you eventually, by the time we get to Corinthians, you'll see that Paul and Barnabas have mended things, at least a little bit to the point where there's not contention between them. So I think sometimes that's okay. I think sometimes in our lives there needs to be a separation where there needs to be boundaries that you put up between you and someone else or, and that that can be okay with the spirit as long as there is a constant desire to find a way to come back, to be one again as a ward, as a family, in whatever way, we should always be seeking to be one.

And you kind of see that at the end of chapter 15.

[01:02:42] CREATIVE PREVIEW

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Welcome back everybody. This is the creative side of week 29. So this is where I teach you that there are lots of fun, memorable ways that you can teach this week's study with things you already have in your house, and this week is a good one. Okay, so my goal here is I'll give you a quick preview of the three object lessons just to get your ideas [01:03:00] spinning.

And then for those of you who are in the full course, just keep watching and I'll take you through each one and give you the notes and the printables so that you can teach them to your classes or your families and have a blast in the process. Okay? First object lesson. I really wanted to zero in on what we see happen with Peter this week in understanding layers of revelation.

We see that taught from Elder Bednar and many others that. Revelation often doesn't come fully. It comes in bits and pieces and we, we get an understanding over time. So I wanted to create a cool cipher that would demonstrate that and that's where your printable comes in. So it's gonna be this nonsensical cipher that your kids will struggle to understand.

And then you'll use tools around your house to help them find what this really says. And I'll walk you through that in just a minute. Second one, you need a big stack of books. Ideally you're gonna need books kinda like this, so we found like chapter books from your kids that have a little bit of weight to them and have a sturdy spine.

If it's something that's weak, it's not gonna work as well. Cuz you guys were making an air hockey table because we're gonna talk about being set [01:04:00] apart. I know that's hard just to make that leap, but I actually love, this is missionary week on the chart and I think one of the beautiful things about being set apart is it's one of the things your kids probably get to experience.

I. At least if they have an older brother or sister who goes on a mission, they get to see them be set apart. If you see your parents go get called to certain callings, they might be able to witness them being set apart for that calling. And I think air hockey is a really fun way to teach the value of being set apart what it does.

So to create your own air hockey table, you're gonna use a whole bunch of chapter books. I think we use like 20, 30, whatever you have on hand. And then you're gonna need a couple supplies to actually play air hockey with. So you're gonna need two rolls of toilet paper and then just a lid from a jar, you guys, and I promise you'll have a blast.

I'll walk you through it. Just a second. Okay, third one. We are gonna talk about the journeys of Paul over the next several weeks of time. Just like at the beginning of the year, how I had you make that map that you could stick pins in so that you could kind of get your, get your bearings around the holy land.

This is where you see [01:05:00] the gospel go a lot farther. So in the prints this week, I'm giving you an upgraded version of the map that we had before. So before our map was vertical and it was all about the holy land. Now we're taking map 13 that's provided in the Bible maps, and it's gonna show you the journeys of Paul, but I didn't wanna just give you the printable map.

I gave it to you in a bunch of different sizes. You can find those in the printables. I also wanted to give you a way to show your kids how far this journey really is. Sometimes I think we hear them go from city to city, and we just think, oh yeah, now they're in a whole different city. They're crossing the Mediterranean Sea, they're, they're hiking up mountains.

They're going hundreds of miles between cities, and the only way you can really appreciate that is if you see it on a real map. And I think the coolest one is Google Earth. So Jason got to work and he created me a Google Earth map so that you can actually jump from city to city, explore the ruins, and see what those places look like today.

And I'm gonna walk you through how to use it coming up next.

[01:05:52] WRAP UP

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All right you guys. That's it for week 29. I hope you enjoyed this whole new season of the New Testament. We've got lots of adventures to follow along with Paul. It's gonna be a good [01:06:00] few weeks, but if you have any questions or if there's something I missed, feel free to catch me on Instagram Monday, 10:00 AM I'll pop on for a live.

If you just follow my account at MEC mom life, then you can, you'll get an alert when I go live, and you're welcome to join in. And if you can't catch it live, you can always come and pop on later and get the full details. Usually I talk through the insights and then I add a little more depth to the object lessons so that for those of you who are not on the course, you can get a little more information about how to pull off each one if you watch the live, either live or a little bit later in my feed.

But I hope you enjoy it. You guys, if you have questions, if there's something I missed, feel free to add comments on the YouTube video or leave me a message on the discussion boards and I'll get back to them as soon as I can. Last week you guys posted some pictures of your smash cubes and things like that, and it was delightful to see it.

So if you have questions or if you just wanna show me how these object lessons are working. Fantastic. I'd love to see it put on the discussion boards and I'll message you back as soon as I can. But otherwise, enjoy your week you guys, and I will see you on Monday.[01:07:00]