Regarding Matthew 26:69–74 . . .
“[Peter became] weak and fearful
and … denied his Lord” (President Thomas S. Monson,
April 1987 Conference Report).
“[U]nder the pressure of
accusation, his resolution crumbled. Then, recognizing his wrong and weakness, ‘he
went out, and wept’” (President Gordon B. Hinckley, March 1995 First Presidency Message).
“[A]fter bitter tears of
repentance, he was forgiven” (President Joseph F.
Smith, Gospel Doctrine).
“Has anyone repented more
sincerely [than Peter]?” (Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, 471).
“[W]e should
not be discouraged if we should be overcome … but, [like Peter] straightway
repent of the wrong we have committed, and as far as possible
repair it, and then seek to God for renewed strength to go on and do better.” (Teachings of
Lorenzo Snow, 34.)
“If Peter had received the
gift of the Holy Ghost prior to the terrible night … the result would have been
very different… The other disciples and apostles of Christ were in precisely the same condition.”
(President Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctrine, 20.)
“Peter had a testimony. He knew that Jesus was the
Christ, the promised Messiah, and he had declared it (Matt. 16:15 –17)…. Later,
the Savior confirmed the importance of being converted, even for those with a testimony of the truth…. He told Peter,
‘[W]hen thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren’.” (Elder Dallin H. Oaks Oct 2000 Conference Report.)
“[On] the day of Pentecost, Peter
was born again. … The change wrought in his heart is apparent when we contrast
his words and actions on the night of the trial with his words and actions
thereafter.” (Elder Marion G. Romney, October
1941 Conference Report.)
“[O]ne of the most positive
and powerful demonstrations of what the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, can do for
a man … is the experience of the great apostle Peter. You remember just prior
to the Savior's crucifixion Peter [denied knowing Him].... But after
he had received the [gift of the] Holy Ghost, we have a different Peter. When
he was commanded [by the Jewish authorities] that he should no more preach
Christ … in the streets of Jerusalem
“So many of us are so much like [Peter]. We
pledge our loyalty; we affirm our determination … that come what may we will do
the right thing …. Then the pressures begin to build…. There is a weakening of
the will…. There is capitulation…. If there be [any] who by
word or act have denied the faith, I pray that you may draw comfort and
resolution from the example of Peter, who … rose above this and became a mighty
defender” of the faith (President Gordon
B. Hinckley, March 1995 First Presidency Message; quoted in New Testament Gospel Doctrine Teacher’s
Manual, 109).
Regarding John 18:36. Elder Bruce R. McConkie
explained: “The earth itself is the Lord's, and he is its ruler; but the world
(the corrupt society [of men] on earth) is under the rule of him who is the god
of this world” (Mormon Doctrine, 324); Elder
John Taylor stated: “The world … has never been under [God’s] control” (The Government
of God, 85).
Regarding Mark 15:15. Elder Neal A. Maxwell said, “Pilate sought to
refuse responsibility for deciding about Christ; but Pilate’s hands were never
dirtier than just after he had washed them” (October
1974 Conference Report [CR]).
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland has said,
“Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor in Judea ,
[interrogated Jesus twice and declared:] ‘I … have found no fault in this man.’
Then, in an act as unconscionable as it was illogical, Pilate ‘scourged Jesus,
[and] delivered him to be crucified.’ Pilate’s
freshly washed hands could not have been more stained or more unclean.”(April 2009 CR.)
Regarding Luke 23:43 & John 19:26 –27. Church Patriarch Eldred G. Smith said: “All He did was
for others… There was not one selfish act”
(April 1968 and 1976 Conference Report.) Elder Howard W. Hunter said: “To the very end of his
mortal life [Jesus] was not selfishly engrossed with his own sorrows ... He was
anxiously attending to the present and future needs of [others].” (April 1974 Conference
Report.)
Regarding Mark 15:34. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland has said:
“I
speak very carefully, even reverently, of … those final moments for which Jesus
must have been prepared intellectually and physically but which He may not have
fully anticipated emotionally and spiritually—that concluding descent into the
paralyzing despair of divine withdrawal when He cries in ultimate loneliness, ‘My
God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?’
“The
loss of mortal support He had anticipated, but apparently He had not
comprehended this. Had He not said to His disciples, ‘Behold, the hour … is now
come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me
alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me’ and ‘The Father
hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.’
“With
all the conviction of my soul I testify that He did please His Father perfectly
and that a perfect Father did not forsake His Son in that hour…. Nevertheless,
that the supreme sacrifice of His Son might be as complete as it was voluntary
and solitary, the Father briefly withdrew from Jesus the comfort of His Spirit,
the support of His personal presence. It was required, indeed it was central to
the significance of the Atonement, that this perfect Son who had never spoken
ill nor done wrong nor touched an unclean thing had to know how the rest of
humankind—us, all of us—would feel when we did commit such sins. For His
Atonement to be infinite and eternal, He had to feel what it was like to die
not only physically but spiritually, to sense what it was like to have the
divine Spirit withdraw, leaving one feeling totally, abjectly, hopelessly
alone.
“But
Jesus held on. He pressed on … even in a state of complete anguish…. When the
uttermost farthing had then been paid, when Christ’s determination to be
faithful was as obvious as it was utterly invincible, finally and mercifully,
it was ‘finished.’” (April 2009 Conference Report.)
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