Scriptural Highlights

• We should endure affliction patiently.
• We should pray to God in faith.
• We should control our tongues and be "slow to wrath."
• We should be "doers of the word," showing our faith by our works.

Introduction

1. It is interesting to note that Martin Luther tore the Book of James out of his Bible.
• He felt that the Book of James disagreed with Paul and his teaching on faith.
• He did not like the doctrine taught by James that faith was demonstrated by work.
2. Who are the possible authors?
• James - Son of Zebedee, Brother of John.  One of the 12 (Matt.10:12).
• James was killed by Herod (Acts 12:2).
• At the time of his death, the church was not big enough for James to have been considered the author.
• James - Son of Alphaeus.  One of the 12.  May also be the same referred to as James the Less (a smaller man)(Matt. 10:3).
• Little is know of him, not likely to have been the author.
• James - Father or brother to Judas (one of the 12 - referred to in Matthew as Lebbaeus Thadaeus)(Luke 6:16).
• James - Brother of Jesus.
• Most probably the author.
• Scriptural references:
• Matthew 13:55: "Is not this the carpenter's son?  is not his mother called Mary?  and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?"
• In Galatians 1:17-19, Paul writes of having seen James at Jerusalem.
• Galatians 2:9-10 makes reference to James as one of the pillars of the Church.  The incident mentioned occurred after the death of James, the brother of John.
• James was the Bishop of Jerusalem.
• Historians from that time say he was killed 62 A.D.
• Sources from that period indicate that James prayed so much that his knees were as calloused as those of a Camel.
Bruce R. McConkie:  "To have a book written by the Lord's brother is akin to having one penned by the Master himself. And in this General Epistle we find the son of Joseph, often in language reminiscent of that used by the Son of Mary, setting forth the practical operation of the doctrines taught by his Elder Brother.
    "James -- religious by nature; schooled in the strict Judaism of the day; converted after our Lord's resurrection; and said to have died a martyr's death -- took upon himself the awesome responsibility to write an epistle to the saints in the dispensation of the fulness of times.
    "Paul wrote to the saints of his own day, and if his doctrine and counsel blesses us of later years, so much the better. But James addressed himself to those of the twelve scattered tribes of Israel who belonged to the Church; that is, to a people yet to be gathered, yet to receive the gospel, yet to come into the fold of Christ; and if his words had import to the small cluster of saints of Judah and Benjamin who joined the Church in the meridian of time, so much the better." (DNTC, 3:244)

The Book Of James

1. READ JOSEPH SMITH-HISTORY 1:8-14. If any of you lack wisdom.
• James was inspired to impart this counsel to the people of his time.
• IS IT POSSIBLE HE WAS INSPIRED TO WRITE THESE WORDS FOR THE BENEFIT OF JOSEPH SMITH?
• Bruce R. McConkie: "...this single verse of scripture has had a greater impact and a more far reaching effect upon mankind than any other single sentence ever recorded by any prophet in any age. It might well be said that the crowning act of the ministry of James was not his martyrdom for the testimony of Jesus, but his recitation, as guided by the Holy Ghost, of these simple words which led to the opening of the heavens in modern times.

    "And it might well be added that every investigator of revealed truth stands, at some time in the course of his search, in the place where Joseph Smith stood. He must turn to the Almighty and gain wisdom from God by revelation if he is to gain a place on that strait and narrow path which leads to eternal life." (DNTC, 3:246-247)
• In a sense, our journals are personal scriptures.  We do not know the power and effect our written words may have on one in the future.  It behooves us to not only verbally share our testimonies, but to write them for posterity.
• WHAT DOES EXPERIENCE OF YOUNG JOSEPH TEACH US ABOUT PONDERING THE SCRIPTURES?
• When questions or difficulties arise, the scriptures are an appropriate place to turn for answers.
• We should thoughtfully consider the issue, as did Joseph, as we turn to the scriptures.
• After visiting the various churches, Joseph was troubled by the confusion: "In the midst of this war of words and tumult of opinions, I often said to myself: What is to be done?  Who of all these parties are right; or, are they all wrong together?  If any one of them be right, which is it, and how shall I know it?" (JSH 1:10)
• After reading James 1:5 Joseph said that he "reflected on it again and again".
• DO WE DO THIS?  DO WE CONSIDER THE WORDS OF THE PROPHETS CAREFULLY?  OR DO WE HURRY TO GET OUR 15 OR 30 MINUTES OR 5 PAGES IN FOR THE DAY?
• HOW IMPORTANT IS THIS?
• Joseph Smith: "The things of God are of deep import; and...careful and ponderous and solemn thoughts can only find them." (TPJS, p137)
• David O. McKay: "...meditation is the secret, sacred door through which one enters into the presence of God".
• We must take action on the truths we learn.
• JSH 1:13: "I at length came to the determination to 'ask of God'."
• JSH 1:14: "So, in accordance with this, my determination to ask of God, I retired to the woods to make the attempt."
• By taking action on this one truth, much more was revealed to the Prophet and it became the catalyst for an outpouring of truth.
2. James 1:8: "A double minded man is unstable in all his ways."
• WHAT IS A DOUBLE MINDED MAN?
• Bruce R. McConkie: "A fickle, wavering man, as contrasted with one who is constant and firm, who always sustains the cause of righteousness. A member of the Church who tries both to forsake and to follow the world and who does not serve the Lord with an eye single to his glory." (DNTC 3:248)
• Do we have an "eye single" to the glory of God?  If not, we will be unstable in the faith.  We cannot serve both God and mammon.
• As we ponder our lives, Paul has provided a standard to judge our progress.  Are we "double minded" or do we have an "eye single" to the glory of God?  I suspect that most of us are somewhere on the path between.  Hopefully, we are consistently progressing away from double mindedness toward having our focus upon the things of eternity.
3. James teaches in 1:19 that we should be "swift to hear, slow to speak".
• WHAT EXPERIENCES IN YOUR LIFE HAVE CONFIRMED THE WISDOM OF THIS COUNSEL?
• Have you ever had an experience with your children where you were quick to issue a judgment and found that you had made a mistake?
• Would it have made a difference if you heard the whole story before taking action?
• Do you suppose there was a reason we were created with two ears and one mouth?
• HOW CAN WE BECOME BETTER LISTENERS AND MORE THOUGHTFUL SPEAKERS?
• As we seek to focus on the needs of others, we will listen with greater care rather than be concerned about what we might say next.  If we have truly listened, we are taking the time to speak from the heart rather than shoot from the hip.
4. James continues in 1:19-20 saying that we should be "slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God."
• 1:26: "If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain."
• THROUGHOUT HIS EPISTLE JAMES EMPHASIZED THAT WE SHOULD BE SLOW TO ANGER.  HOW CAN WE BE SLOW TO ANGER AND BRIDLE THE TONGUE?
• Recall what James said in verse 19, that we ought to be swift to hear and slow to speak.  If we focusing on listening and understanding, our anger tends to dissipate.
• Consider the consequences of James 3:5: "Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things.  Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!"
• A single match can start the fire that burns down a forest.
• Likewise, an angry word can be the start of a fire that destroys a family or even a life.
• Dale Carnegie in his classic work, How To Win Friends and Influence People, commented himself and quoted others on the virtue of avoiding an argument, that which often leads to anger by one party or the other.
• Mr. Carnegie said that he had come to the conclusion "that there is one way under high heaven to get the best of an argument--and that is to avoid it.  Avoid it as you would avoid rattlesnakes and earthquakes."
• Benjamin Franklin: "If you argue and rankle and contradict, you may achieve a victory sometimes; but it will be an empty victory because you will never get your opponent's good will."
• Abraham Lincoln once reprimanded a young army officer for indulging in a violent controversy with an associate.  After explaining to the officer the fallacy of engaging in contention, he concluded by saying, "Better give your path to a dog than be bitten by him in contesting for the right.  Even killing the dog would not cure the bite."
• Seek for the Spirit at all times.  Have you ever felt the sweet whisperings of the spirit at the same time you engaged in unbridled anger?  It's not possible.
• Take the time to pray about the issue at hand.  We may find it so trivial a matter when we present it to the Lord, that we will simply let it go.  Isn't it interesting how our view of things change when we are on our knees.
5. READ JAMES 1:22-25. Be ye doers of the word.
• IN WHAT WAYS MIGHT WE BE "HEARERS ONLY"?
• Attend church weekly, but do not attempt to incorporate the truths we have learned.
• We can become gospel scholars, but unless we do what is taught, we are a "hearer only".
• IN WHAT SENSE DO "HEARERS ONLY" DECEIVE THEMSELVES?
• As "hearers' we feel good about the truth that we are learning, but action is the real demonstration of our faith.
• James continues by telling us what "doers" of the word do.
• READ JAMES 1:26-27. Pure religion.
• HOW DID JAMES DEFINE PURE RELIGION?
• One who disciplines his speech.
• To serve others, particularly those with challenges in life.
• Keep oneself unspotted from the world.
• Joseph F. Smith: "This may be interpreted as meaning that a person who is religious is thoughtful to the unfortunate, and has an inner spirit that prompts to deeds of kindness and to the leading of a blameless life; who is just, truthful; who does not, as Paul says, think more highly of himself than he ought to think; who is affectionate, patient in tribulation, diligent, cheerful, fervent in spirit, hospitable, merciful; and who abhors evil and cleaves to that which is good. The possession of such a spirit and feeling is a true sign that a person is naturally religious.
      "The Church's outward ordinances and requirements are but necessary -- yet they are necessary -- aids to the inner spiritual life. The Church itself, the organization, meetings, ordinances, requirements, are only helps, but very necessary helps, to the practice of true religion  -- schoolmasters to direct us in the way of eternal light and truth." (Gospel Doctrine, p121)
• THE GREAT CHALLENGE - HOW CAN WE STAY UNSPOTTED FROM THE WORLD?
• Apparently, staying "unspotted" from the world has always been a challenge for James to have written about it over nineteen hundred years ago.  And yet, we live in a time unprecedented in the history of the world.  Until this century, one could retire to one's home and generally have some protection from the evil influences of the world.  In our day, those influences sneak into our homes through books, magazines, radio, television, videos, CDs, and the internet.  It often comes in looking harmless.  What a challenge to survive this insidious battle.  And yet there are some keys.
• As James indicates, we are strengthened in that resolve by serving those in need.
• The Lord said in Section 59:9 that to keep ourselves "unspotted from the world" we should "go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day."
• This renewal of baptismal covenants, strengthens our resolve to keep ourselves on the straight and narrow.
• Our life is a long journey.  Weekly attendance is as necessary as fueling our cars every few hundred miles.  If we do not renew our covenants on a regular basis, we are putting ourselves in jeopardy of getting caught in the flood.
6. READ JAMES 2:1-9. Judging others.
• WHAT DOES JAMES TEACH US ABOUT JUDGING OTHERS?
• We should treat people equally and not create castes among us.
• WHY DO MANY OF US TEND TO JUDGE OTHERS BY THEIR EARTHLY POSITIONS OR MATERIAL POSSESSIONS?
• We seem to be impressed and awed by position, power, and wealth.
• HOW CAN WE LEARN TO LOOK BEYOND THE OUTWARD APPEARANCE?
• Seek to become like Christ in all things.
• Seek for the Spirit.
7. READ JAMES 2:14-26. Faith without works is dead.
• WHAT DID JAMES TEACH ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP OF FAITH AND WORKS?
• Works are a demonstration of our faith.
• Faith is made perfect by righteous works.
• There is no faith without our works.
• True faith causes good works as in the case of Abraham and Rahab.
• HOW HAVE WORKS AFFECTED YOUR FAITH?
8. READ JAMES 4:1-6. Effects of lust and envy.
• WHAT EFFECTS OF LUST AND ENVY ARE CITED IN THESE VERSES?
• Wars, fightings, killing, friendship with the things of the world, envyings.
• How can we overcome temptations to do evil?
• V7: Submit yourself to God & resist the devil.
• V8: Draw nigh to God.  How do we do that?
• V8: Cleanse your hands. Repent.
• V8: Double minded need to purify their hearts.  How?
• V10: Humble yourselves before God.
• V11: Speak no evil of one another.
• V17: He that does not good and knows that he should, it is sin.  Strive always to do good.
• Spencer W. Kimball: "In abandoning evil, transforming lives, changing personalities, molding characters or remolding them, we need the help of the Lord, and we may be assured of it if we do our part.  The man who leans heavily upon his Lord becomes the master of self and can accomplish anything he sets out to do, whether it be to secure the brass plates, build a ship, overcome a habit, or conquer a deep-seated transgression.
      "He who has greater strength than Lucifer, he who is our fortress and our strength, can sustain us in times of great temptation.  While the Lord will never forcibly take anyone out of sin or out of the arms of the tempters, he exerts his Spirit to induce the sinner to do it with divine assistance.  And the man who yields to the sweet influence and pleadings of the Spirit and does all in his power to stay In a repentant attitude is guaranteed protection, power, freedom and joy." (Miracle of Forgiveness, p176)
9. READ JAMES 5:7-16. Be patient to the coming of the Lord.
• James 1:2-3:  "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience."
• HOW DID JAMES COUNSEL PEOPLE WHO EXPERIENCE TRIAL AND AFFLICTION?
• Be patient.
• Grudge not one against another.
• Look at the Prophets who have suffered affliction in patience.
• Pray for the afflicted.
• Confess your faults.
• HOW HAVE YOUR TRIALS HELPED YOU DEVELOP PATIENCE?
• Orson F. Whitney:  "No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God." (quoted by Spencer W. Kimball, Faith Precedes the Miracle, p98)
10. James 5:19-20: "Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins."
• JAMES EMPHASIZED THE IMPORTANCE OF HELPING PEOPLE WHO "ERR FROM THE TRUTH".  HOW SHOULD WE DO THIS?

Next Week

Lesson 43: 1 & 2 Peter; Jude