The Glory be Thine

In comparing two miracles of Peter to Paul it is interesting to see the results of the general populace, particularly  how the wording used during the physical miracle made a huge difference in the spiritual outcome.

Acts 9:32-35

"And it came to pass, as Peter passed throughout all quarters, he came down also to the saints which dwelt at Lydda.

"And there he found a certain man named Aeneas, which had kept his bed eight years, and was sick of the palsy.

"And Peter said unto him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole: arise, and make thy bed. And he arose immediately.

"And all that dwelt at Lydda and Saron saw him, and turned to the Lord."

Compared to:

Acts 14:8-13,18-19

"And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother's womb, who never had walked:

"The same heard Paul speak: who steadfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed,

"Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked.

"And when the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men.

"And they called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius, because he was the chief speaker.

"Then the priest of Jupiter, which was before their city, brought oxen and garlands unto the gates, and would have done sacrifice with the people

...

"And with these sayings scarce restrained they the people, that they had not done sacrifice unto them.

"And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and , having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead."

In Peter's miracle he explicitly acknowledged that Christ was performing the miracle, and he was simply the vessel or instrument through which it happened. The result was that the whole city believed and became followers of Christ. In Paul's miracle there is no immediate mention of Christ, and so the people forget about the one true God, and Jesus Christ. They see Paul and Barnabas as gods, and so they come out with garlands to make to sacrifice to them. After Paul rebukes them for doing so they change their mind about offering sacrifices to them and instead decide to stone him. Instead of the people coming closer to Christ, they distance themselves further by stoning and casting out leaders in Christ's church. I don't think Paul was in the wrong here, however if he had acknowledged Christ while preforming the miracle the actions of the people might have been different, and maybe more would've come unto Christ rather than completely rejecting him as a whole.

So what's the reason for the differences in results? Peter leaves no room for the people to worship him, or take any credit for the miracle. Paul and Barnabas leave plenty of room for the people to completely miss the mark and interpret the miracle in whatever way they would like, and they do so by acclaiming Paul and Barnabas as "gods [who have] come down ... in the likeness of men."

In like manner, when God preforms a miracle through us, it is easy for us to forget to vocalize that the glory is God's, and acknowledge His hand in all things. Sometimes it is because we want to place ourselves on a little pedestal. But if we even think about taking any of the glory for ourselves then as Elder Bednar informs us, we are in the wrong, are practicing priestcraft, and need to repent. ..."For, behold, priestcrafts are that men preach and set themselves up for a light unto the world, that they may get gain and praise of the world; but they seek not the welfare of Zion." (2 Ne 26:29). Anything we do in God's name, through his priesthood or by the spirit we should do with an eye single to his glory, and seek only for the welfare of Zion. 

Through the Lord's eyes

1 Sam 16: 7

"Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart."

But what about Saul, a man who "made havock of the church," who breathed "out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord," and entered "into every house, haling men and women [committing] them to prison." (Acts 8:3; 9:1)

To men he was as a man of evil, whose soul purpose was to persecute others and cast them into prison. Despite Saul's outward actions and appearance, the Lord saw him differently in his heart. In speaking of Saul, the Lord said to Ananias: "Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel." (Acts 9:15)

I think far too often we as children of God, live far beneath and sometimes contrary to our potential. In thinking of the great Prophets, many of them doubted their self worth.

From Enoch we hear the words:

"Why is that I have found favor in thy sight, and am but a lad, and all the people hate me; for I am slow of speech; wherefore am I thy servant?" (Moses 6:31)

And from Moses:

"Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?" (Exodus 3:11)

"I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue." (Exodus 4:10)

But in looking at them as the Lord saw them, we see why they became such great men.

From Saul:

"It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" (Acts 9:5-6)

"And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink....And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus. And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God." (Acts 9: 9, 19-20)

From Enoch:

"And the Lord spake unto Enoch, and said unto him: Anoint thine eyes with clay, and wash them, and thou shalt see. And he did so." (Moses 6:35)

"And it came to pass that Enoch went forth in the land, among the people, standing upon the hills and the high places, and cried with a loud voice, testifying against their works; and all men were offended because of him....And it came to pass when they heard him, no man laid hands on him; for fear came on all them that heard him; for he walked with God." (Moses 6: 37, 39)

"And as Enoch spake forth the words of God, the people trembled, and could not stand in his presence." (Moses 6: 47)

"And so great was the faith of Enoch that he led the people of God, and their enemies came to battle against them; and he spake the word of the Lord, and the earth trembled, and the mountains fled, even according to his command; and the rivers of water were turned out of their course; and the roar of the lions was heard out of the wilderness; and all nations feared greatly, so powerful was the word of Enoch, and so great was the power of the language which God had given him." (Moses 7:13)

And from Moses:

"And it came to pass that when Moses had said these words, behold, Satan came tempting him, saying: Moses, son of man, worship me. And it came to pass that Moses looked upon Satan and said: Who art thou? For behold, I am a son of God, in the similitude of his Only Begotten; and where is thy glory, that I should worship thee? .... And again Moses said: I will not cease to call upon God, I have other things to inquire of him: for his glory has been upon me, wherefore I can judge between him and thee. Depart hence, Satan." (Moses 1:12-13, 18)

"And calling upon the name of God, he beheld his glory again, for it was upon him; and he heard a voice, saying: Blessed art thou, Moses, for I, the Almighty, have chosen thee, and thou shalt be made stronger than many waters: for they shall obey thy command as if thou wert God." (Moses 1:25)

And as we learn from Stephen: "Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds." (Acts 7:22)

Why were these men chosen when others weren't? 1. They were quick to hearken to the voice of God. Obedience and Promptness were qualities of their heart that were Godly in nature. 2. Despite their fears they pressed forward in faith relying upon God to fulfill his promises as they opened their mouths.

The Lord can lift us to heights that we never dreamed of. For he sees as we can become, not as we are. He sees us in our full potential. But the question is: How do we view ourselves and others? Do we see ourselves in the light of our potential, or in a different spectrum?

Let us then lift our sights, raise our vision, and expand our perspective. Let us see ourselves as the Lord sees us and see through His eyes.

"And if your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light." (D&C 88:67)

"What e're thou art, act well thy part"

A replica of this stone hangs in the Preston MTC on the wall. This saying teaches a great truth: at the end of the day it does not matter what we were but who we were. 

Excellence should be our quest in whatever we may do. We should strive to become the best that we can be. Always. 

In the Lord's Time

Acts 3:1-8:

1 “Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the ninth hour, for prayer. *(JST)

2 “And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;

3 “Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.

4 “And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us.

5 “And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.

6 “Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.

7 “And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.

8 “And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.”

 Here was a man, crippled since birth, now over 40 years old. Daily he sat at the gates of the temple begging for money and food. During Christ's three year ministry, Christ most likely passed by this man many numerous times as he went into the temple. This man probably watched Christ preform countless miracles as he healed others and may have wondered why he wasn't chosen to be healed at that time. Nevertheless this man was not forgotten by God. The Lord was preparing him through his afflictions both to strengthen him and to further His own work.

 D&C 98:3:

"...and all things wherewith you have been afflicted shall work together for your good, and to my names glory, saith the Lord."

This promise was fulfilled as 5000 people were converted to the Lord after seeing the man healed in the temple and hearing Peter's testimony. The Lord fulfills his promised blessings in his own timing and in his own way for his own purposes.  This man was an instrument in the hands of the Lord in bringing thousands of souls into the fold of Christ.

There are many applications that we can draw from this story:

• When our afflictions and trials seem to last forever, and the path ahead seems dark and dreary we must remember that we are not forsaken. The Lord will never forsake or forget us, for he has engraven us upon the palms of his hands (Isaiah 49:16), and everything which we are called to pass through will one day come to an end and will be but a small moment in time (D&C 121:7). The period of time that this man had to wait for most likely provided an environment for him to learn and gain many traits and qualities that brought him closer to God, including growing in hope and in faith in the Lord. 
• Like the man begging for alms we often seek for blessings far below what the Lord is willing to grant us. If we would take the time to carefully ponder, seek and ask for blessings beyond our daily loaves of bread, the Lord will bestow blessings upon us far greater than we ever could've imagined. 
• Just as the blind man healed by Christ was born blind so "that the works of God should be made manifest in him" (John 9:3) the man who was born crippled was that way so that he could be healed by Peter for the strengthening of other's testimonies. The Lord can use us in the same way. The trials that we go through in this life are designed not only for us and our benefit but for the benefit of others. This rang true for me for several months on my mission as I served as a District Leader. I seemed to go through a trial just prior to members of my district going through the same trial, and sometimes even simultaneously. This allowed my compassion to grow, and my ability to strengthen and uplift others. Going through trials was a wonderful blessing for me, as it brought me closer to God, and closer to the members of my district. We all grew together. Little did I know that not only did these trials benefit me while on my mission, but as I have shared them with others after my mission they have strengthened others and brought them closer to God as well.