Week 10: I & II Timothy and Titus

     After today's lecture, my thoughts have been stuck on a single word from our reading - more specifically, a single letter. One little 's' on the end of a word in verse 1 of chapter 4 of I Timothy. Says Paul to Timothy, his "son in the faith" and faithful mission companion, "the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils." It's that verse's last three words that Brother Gryffin pointed out to us. 'Doctrines of devils.' Not 'doctrine,' but 'doctrines.' Plural. More than one doctrine. Many different doctrines derived from the devil. That alliteration was completely unintentional, but I'm not changing it. Anyways, Brother Gryffin told us that the only other use of this phrase in canonized scripture was in D&C 46, where Christ warns the saints to stay close to Him and practice righteous habits in order to withstand being "seduced by evil spirits, or doctrines of devils" (super similar to the verse we read in I Timothy! Pretty awesome...). Both of these instances make it clear that there are more than one doctrine belonging to the devil, and therefore adverse to Christ's, with both using the word 'doctrines' instead of 'doctrine.' On the other hand, when talking of Christ's doctrine, the phrase 'doctrines of Christ' is never used - it is always 'the doctrine of Christ.' Singular. Interesting, right?
     After dwelling on this all day, when I got back home in my apartment I did a little experiment on my own. On the LDS homepage I searched all scripture for the phrase "doctrines of devils." Like Brother Gryffin said, there were only two instances: one in I Timothy and one in D&C 46. I then searched "doctrine of the devil," the singular form. No results in any of the scriptures. I next searched "the doctrines of Christ," plural. No results for this phrase. Finally, the singular "doctrine of Christ." Seven results - five in the Book of Mormon, and two in the New Testament.

     How interesting that the scriptures referring to these two doctrines are worded this way, without fail, throughout all scripture. Truly the ways and wiles of the devil are countless, constantly diverting, and ever-contentious, no matter where they started or what the intentions originally were. Dishonesty, immorality, lust, theft, hypocrisy, idleness - the list goes on. The awesome and insightful C.S. Lewis, in his amazingly clever Screwtape Letters put it, "It does not matter how small the sins are, provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the Light and out into Nothing. ...Indeed, the safest road to Hell is the gradual one -- the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts" (The Screwtape Letters, New York: Macmillan, 1962, p. 56). Woah. That's an eye-opener, huh?

     On the other hand, the doctrine of Christ is simple, singular, and straightforward - faith in Him, baptism by immersion, receiving the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end through a life of continued faith, obedience, and righteous works, pursued in hopes of being worthy to receive eternal life in the highest level of the Celestial Kingdom. Of course there are many separate doctrines within the doctrine of Christ - the ordinance of the sacrament, the concept of missionary work, the proxy work performed in the temple, and so on - but the actual doctrine of Christ would cease to be His doctrine if it were plural.
     Granted, the simple difference in wording between these phrases is not the foundation for the doctrinal substance that's occupied my mind and that I've discussed here, but rather supports a pre-existing doctrine. Christ himself states in the book of Matthew, "For wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, [... and] strait [i.e. narrow] is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life," teaching us that there are countless ways that Satan can deceive us and lead us astray, but only one, simple, happy way that Christ can lead us to eternal life. The confusion and deceit of the doctrines of the devil differ so strongly from the straightforward restored gospel of Jesus Christ, which we are so blessed to have here on earth. With the companionship of the Holy Ghost, we can discern and avoid Satan's many methods and improve our sensitivity to our Lord's will, for strait, narrow, and simple is the gate to eternal happiness.

Week 9: Acts 27-28 & Ephesians 1-6

     One of the most applicable stories I've read so far in the New Testament happens in Acts 27. Paul is one of several prisoners on a ship bound from Jerusalem to Rome. In verse 8, the ship has harbored in a place called "the fair havens." Paul is inspired to tell the captain that to leave the fair havens would endanger the ship and lives of all passengers. "I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading [cargo] and ship, but also of our lives," he warns. But those in charge refuse to listen for two reasons: first, because the owner of the ship disagrees with Paul, and second because the fair havens is "not commodious to winter in" (verse 12). They leave their mooring in the fair havens and as they set sail the south wind is blowing softly, making Paul's warning seem ridiculous. But in verses 14 and 15, a "tempestuous wind" kicks up and the ship is driven by a deadly storm, eventually leaving them shipwrecked after two long weeks in the storm.
     This story is so applicable to the real-life situation of making a wrong choice. It starts off with the Spirit warning us that what we are about to do is wrong, just as Paul warned those who oversaw the ship, but we often ignore the promptings because 1) the world disagrees with the reasons the Spirit gives, or 2) because it's more comfortable or pleasing to follow through with this wrong decision (such as when staying at a party where an inappropriate movie is being watched is less embarrassing than getting up and leaving). This directly parallels the ship captain's decision to listen to the ship owner/leave the fair havens because it wasn't as convenient to stay there. When we have ended up making the wrong choice, sometimes the immediate result isn't punishing at all - maybe it's even gratifying. We scoff at the warnings we received from the Holy Ghost about the wrongdoing we were contemplating. However, whether it's in the near future or far in the future when we are eventually judged by God, we receive what we deserve for sinning and are spiritually "shipwrecked" for disobeying.