"Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied."
- In this epistle, Peter is addressing himself to the church in many lands.
- WHAT DOES PETER MEAN BY THE "ELECT ACCORDING TO THE FOREKNOWLEDGE OF GOD"?
- Bruce R. McConkie: "This election to a chosen lineage is based on pre-existent worthiness and is thus made 'according to the foreknowledge of God.' (1 Pet. 1:2.) Those so grouped together during their mortal probation have more abundant opportunities to make and keep the covenants of salvation, a right which they earned by pre-existent devotion to the cause of righteousness. As part of this election, Abraham and others of the noble and great spirits were chosen before they were born for the particular missions assigned them in this life. (Abra. 3:22-24; Rom. 9.)" (Mormon Doctrine, p216)
- We are blessed in knowing of our faithfulness in the pre-existant realm, but all of those eons of living valiantly will be for naught if we do not follow up on these "abundant opportunities to make and keep the covenants of salvation".
"That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ".
- Moroni taught that "ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith" (Ether 12:6)
- Peter is in recognition of the difficulties and challenges the Saints are having to endure throughout the empire.
- Faith that has been refined through trial, even fire, is more precious than gold.
- James E. Faust: "In the pain, the agony, and the heroic endeavors of life, we pass through the refiner's fire, and the insignificant and the unimportant in our lives can melt away like dross and make our faith bright, intact, and strong.... This change comes about through a refining process which often seems cruel and hard. In this way the soul can become like soft clay in the hands of the Master." (Ensign, May 1979, p53.)
- WHAT DID PETER TEACH ABOUT HOW WE CAN PURIFY OUR HEARTS AND SOULS?
- Obedience to the Spirit, which leads to one "unfeigned" love for others.
- How true this is. As we seek to obey the Lord as guided by the Spirit, our hearts become purified in the process.
- Each of these terms or titles was formerly used to refer to the covenant people, the house of Israel.
- He is telling these people, and it certainly applies to us today, that by accepting the gospel they are the new Israel.
- WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU TO BE A PECULIAR PEOPLE?
- Neal A. Maxwell: "Peculiar, of course, in the Greek rendition should denote not eccentricity but 'purchased, preserved, treasured, rare.' 'Purchased' denotes being 'bought' and freed by Jesus' atonement." (Sermons Not Spoken, p96)
- Joseph Fielding Smith: "And we will be peculiar because we will not be like other people who do not live up to these standards." (CR, Apr. 1971)
- Harold B. Lee: "In your business life, in your social contacts, and in your public service, remember always to say to yourself as did the young British officer who was asked why he had shunned a drinking, riotous party at his officer's club. 'Because, he replied, "I am a member of the Royal Household of England.'
- Neal A. Maxwell: "Furthermore, where 'much is given much is required' (D&C 82:3). Note that the word is not expected but required. For any people favored of God (see 2 Nephi 1:19), it is obligatory for them to favor God's way of life and to keep His stern but sweet commandments. Thus they can then be a much-needed 'light unto the Gentiles' (D&C 86:11). Ways in which they are to be peculiar will include their purity (see D&C 100:16), as this quality, too, comprises a standard for other people (see D&C 115:5)." (Sermons Not Spoken, pp96-97)
- As the world becomes increasingly more steeped in its wickedness, we become even more peculiar compared to the rest of the world. And, as Elder Maxwell states above, we become a much needed light to the world.
"You who belong to God's holy priesthood must say to yourselves, 'Neither can I stoop to engage in the wickedness of the world, because I (as the apostle Peter declared) am of the chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, and of a peculiar people.' (See 1 Peter 2:9.) Or to paraphrase the British officer's reply, 'I cannot because I am a member of the Royal Household of God'." (Stand Ye In Holy Places, p256)
In a sense, as members of this "chosen generation" and "peculiar people" we might be compared to a flashlight. We use flashlights as guides in times of darkness. In this modern world, we are flooded with light
at night because of electricity. There are times though, when we
lose power or go camping, when a flashlight becomes indispensible.
In the brightness of day or when the lights are on, the light from a flashlight
doesn't make much impact. As night falls and power fails, the flashlight
seems to grow brighter. As members of the Lord's kingdom, we are
as flashlights in a world growing increasingly dark. The light that
we shine, as we live righteously, is essential to guide those who would
seek to do right.- WHAT COUNSEL DID PETER GIVE ABOUT THE LAWS OF THE LAND?
- We are to submit or obey those laws.
- D&C 58:21-22: "Let no man break the laws of the land, for he that keepeth the laws of God hath no need to break the laws of the land.
- Bruce R. McConkie: "While man dwells in this temporal sphere, and as an essential part of working out his salvation, he must obey the laws of the land in which he lives. The perfect system of government is a theocracy in which God governs in both civil and ecclesiastical fields. Such was the case among the saints from Adam to Noah.
- WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS PRINCIPLE?
- WHAT IF EVIL OR PERNICIOUS LAWS ARE ENACTED? WHAT IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY?
- Several years ago I was being interviewed by a particulary agency of the U.S. government for a position (not my current employer) . On my resume, the interviewer noted that I had served a mission for the Church. He then asked me that if a situation came up where I had to choose between obeying the words of President Kimball (president of the Church at that time) or the will of the government, which would I choose? As I considered the question, the interviewer interrupted and said that I did not have to answer the question. Clearly, he was looking for some kind of reaction to a provocation.
- Bruce R. McConkie: "In such cases, when God so reveals and commands, his people are expected to reject the civil law and follow the course announced from on high. Otherwise his saints are expected to conform to the civil law, and they are never justified in opposing it unless such a course is marked out for them by revelation." (DNTC, 3:299)
"Wherefore, be subject to the powers that be, until he reigns whose right it is to reign, and subdues all enemies under his feet."
"But with the rise of other governments, and the birth of religious climates in which church members were a minority portion of the population of the earth, sharp divisions between the operation of church and state came into being. Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses were all subject to the Pharaohs while in Egypt. The children of Israel were subject to a partially theocratic governmental arrangement during much of their history.
"But in Peter's day, and in ours, the saints are subject to two wholly separate and independent systems of direction -- the Church which directs in ecclesiastical matters and the state which governs in civil affairs. And experience gained through conformity to both systems of government is essential to the perfecting of the human soul. Hence Peter's categorical statement that it is the will of the Lord for his saints to submit to civil governments, for the Lord truly renders 'unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's.' (D. & C. 63:26.)" (DNTC 3:297-298)
It is a good question for each of us. In those few seconds before the interviewer withdrew the question, I recall that I would recite the 12th Article of Faith, "We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law." If I had prepared this lesson the week before, I could also have cited Peter's counsel and the words from D&C 58.
- HOW DID PETER SUGGEST WE RESPOND TO GRIEF OR SUFFERING THAT COMES WRONGFULLY?
- Do not render evil for evil (9). No revenge.
- Do not speak evil (10).
- Turn away from evil, do good, and seek peace (11).
- If we suffer for righteousness sake, we should be happy, not afraid, or troubled (14).
- Sanctify the Lord in our hearts (15).
- Be ready always to give an answer about our hope in the gospel (15).
- HOW HAVE YOU BEEN BLESSED WHEN YOU RESPONDED THIS WAY?
- HOW HAVE YOU BEEN STRENTHENED BY THE EXAMPLES OF JESUS AND OTHERS WHO HAVE SUFFERED UNJUSTLY?
- In our time, the life of Joseph Smith serves as an incredible example of Peter's counsel. Recall the incident when Joseph and Sidney Rigdon were tarred and feathered. Did he seek revenge? Did he speak evil of the perpetrators? No. He turned away from that and continued to do good and build up the kingdom of God. The following day, said the Prophet, "With my flesh all scarified and defaced, I preached to the congregation as usual, and in the afternoon of the same day baptized three individuals." (DHC, 1:264)
- J. Golden Kimball, at one time one of the presidents of the Seventy, related an incident that occurred with two missionaries in the South: "An incident happened in the Southern States mission, which I will relate. It transpired in the days of President John Morgan, and occurred at a time when the State of Tennessee passed a law that any man who advocated or preached polygamy was to be arrested and punished. Enemies to the Elders entrapped the brethren into a discussion on this most unpopular subject, and the Elders defended the principle from a Biblical standpoint. A complaint was filed, and the Elders were arrested. They were short of room inside the jail, so the brethren, two in number, were confined in two steel cages on the outside, near to each other. The imprisoned servants of the Lord were not orators or singers. The people far and near, hearing of Mormon Elders being under arrest, gathered to see these peculiar individuals. The brethren sang hymns and testified of the truth of the Gospel, etc. It is claimed they had congregations of 300, and I have been told that the people had never heard such wonderful preaching and singing. The Elders almost regretted receiving their freedom. So I am almost inclined to advocate putting our Elders in jail once in a while, when they are unable to get a hearing in any other way." (CR, Apr 1906)
Though this incident is humorous, it is a wonderful example of how true Saints act in the face of evil. Rather than cower in the face of their persecutors, these Elders exemplified Peter's teaching. They did not return evil for evil, nor did they speak evil. They suffered for righteousness sake. They seemed to not be troubled or afraid. And certainly they were ready to give an answer about their hope in the gospel.
HUSBANDS". WHAT DO YOU THINK THIS MEANS?
- WHAT MUST HUSBANDS DO TO BE WORTHY OF SUCH TRUST?
- Ephesians 5:25: "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it".
- This is the key and the challenge. Christ was a type of the kind of husbands we should be. His life teaches us how to be good husbands. We could probably pick out any story or teaching from His life and learn something from it about being a better husband.
- Ephesians 5:33: "Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband."
- WHAT DID PETER TEACH ABOUT BEING HUMBLE?
- We are to serve and feed the Lord's flock.
- Be clothed with humility.
- God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble.
- WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO BE HUMBLE?
- If we are humble and submissive to God, he will "exalt" us "in due time."
- Ezra Taft Benson: "Humility is an acknowledged recognition of our dependence on a higher power." (Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p369)
- How can we have faith in God if we are not sufficiently humble?
- How can we learn to be like God, if we are not willing to be submissive to him.
- Ezra Taft Benson: "Pride is characterized by 'What do I want out of life?' rather than by 'what would God have me do with my life?' It is self-will as opposed to God's will. It is the fear of man over the fear of God." (Ibid., p435)
- JST: "And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves; for charity preventeth a multitude of sins."
- WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THESE TWO TRANSLATIONS?
- HOW HAVE YOU FOUND THIS PRINCIPLE TO BE TRUE?