N.T. #4: “Prepare Ye the Way of the
Lord”
Matthew 3:1–4:17
Matthew 3:1–4:17
re: Matthew 3:1–12; Luke 3:11
What did John the Baptist preach in
preparation for Christ’s coming?
What are the elements of
repentance that brings forgiveness?
(See, e.g., 2 Cor. 7:10; Matt.
3:6; 6:14 ; D&C 1:32; Mosiah 4:26 ; 7:33 .)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
re: Matthew 3:8, please see Moroni
What are the fruits of repentance?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
re: Matthew 3:11
“Baptism in water is the introductory ordinance of the
gospel and must be followed by baptism of the Spirit in order to be complete” (Bible
Dictionary).
“The baptism of water, without the baptism of fire … is
of no use. They are necessarily and inseparably connected…. Baptism by water is but half a baptism, and is
good for nothing without the other half—that is, the baptism of the Holy Ghost.” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church:
Joseph Smith, 90, 95.)
What is complete baptism?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
President
Boyd K. Packer has said: “[T]here are two parts to baptism--baptism by water
and baptism by fire.” When teach about baptism we should “always” include both
parts. For example: “When you are eight years old,
you can be baptized and receive the Holy Ghost.” (“The Gift of the Holy Ghost: What Every Member Should Know,” Aug 2006 Ensign.)
Did John the Baptist practice this principle taught by
President Packer?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
“[T]he
baptism of fire by the Holy Ghost … cleanses, heals, and purifies the soul” (Elder David A. Bednar, October
2007 CR).
President Lorenzo Snow said: “[Some] weeks after I was
baptized [in water]…. I began to reflect upon the fact that I had not obtained
[the baptism of the Holy Ghost] and I began to feel very uneasy. I … left the
house and wandered around through the fields under the oppressive influence of
a gloomy, disconsolate spirit…. At length, realizing that the usual time had
come for secret prayer, I … knelt as I was in the habit of doing…. I had no
sooner opened my lips in an effort to pray, than … the Spirit of God descended
upon me, completely enveloping my whole person, filling me from the crown of my
head to the soles of my feet, and O the joy and happiness I felt! … It was a
complete baptism--a tangible immersion
in … the Holy Ghost.” (Teachings of
Presidents of the Church: Lorenzo Snow, 59, 61.)
Elder
Joseph L. Wirthlin told of a member friend who “had prayed often and long” to
receive the baptism of fire and had nearly given up on receiving it. “One
morning, while pondering the scriptures, he felt something surge through his
body from the top of his head to the bottoms of his feet. ‘I was immersed in a feeling of such intense
love and pure joy’ he said, ‘there was no room in me for any other sensation.’”(April 2003 Conference Report [CR].)
What is the baptism of fire?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
“For the gate
by which ye should enter is
repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by
fire and by the Holy Ghost” (2 Nephi 31:17).
“Baptism
by immersion in water is the introductory ordinance of the gospel, and must be
followed by baptism of the Spirit in order to be complete... [T]hen cometh a remission of your sins by
fire and by the Holy Ghost” (President
James E. Faust April 2001 CR).
“We
must be baptized by immersion in water” and “also be baptized by and immersed in the Spirit… and then cometh
a remission of sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost” (Elder David A. Bednar April 2006 CR.)
What is baptism by immersion for the remission of
sins?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
re: Matthew 4:3
“Satan was not simply tempting
Jesus to eat” but to use “His divine powers for selfish purposes” (Elder Howard W. Hunter, Oct 1976 CR). “There was nothing wrong with the Lord's providing
food by miraculous means. … [H]e would later multiply loaves and fishes so that
thousands could eat.” (Elder Dallin H.
Oaks, Pure in Heart, 18.) But Jesus always “acted out of love and compassion for
[others… H]e would not turn stones into bread to appease his own ... gnawing
hunger born of forty days of fasting—yet for others, whose needs were less and
whose hunger was but one day old, he would exercise his own divine power” (Elder Bruce R. McConkie, The Mortal Messiah 2:349).
What would have been wrong with Jesus heeding Satan’s “first
temptation”?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Matt. 4:4,7,10) What did
Jesus’ responses to Satan’s temptations have in common?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Matt. 4:
17 ) What did Jesus preach in preparation for the kingdom
of heaven?
No comments:
Post a Comment