Below are the quotes that were used in the video.
In the book of Acts, we see how the Holy Ghost communicates with the apostles, and they act on those promptings. The book focuses on the “Acts” of God through his communication with the Apostles. This week’s readings show God’s interactions with His apostles and the people through the Holy Ghost. I hope your study this week will inspire you to continue to look for promptings from God. Don’t forget to record them and then act on them. Never postpone a prompting.
President Thomas S. Monson: “Late one afternoon I was swimming at Deseret Gym, gazing at the ceiling while backstroking width after width. Silently, but ever so clearly, there came to my mind the thought, “Here you swim almost effortlessly, while your friend Stan is unable to move.” I felt the prompting, “Get to the hospital and give him a blessing.”
“I ceased my swimming, dressed, and hurried to Stan’s room at the hospital. His bed was empty. A nurse said he was in his wheelchair at the swimming pool, preparing for therapy. I hurried to the area, and there was Stan, all alone, at the edge of the deeper portion of the pool. We greeted each other and returned to his room, where a priesthood blessing was provided.
“Slowly but surely, strength and movement returned to Stan’s legs. First he could stand on faltering feet. Then he learned once again to walk, step by step. One would not know that Stan had lain so close to death and with no hope of recovery.
“Subsequently Stan spoke in church meetings and told of the goodness of the Lord to him. To some he revealed the dark thoughts of depression that engulfed him that afternoon as he sat in his wheelchair at the edge of the pool, sentenced, it seemed, to a life of despair. He told how he pondered the alternative. It would be so easy to propel the hated wheelchair into the silent water of the deep pool. Life would then be over. But at that precise moment he saw me, his friend. That day Stan learned literally that we do not walk alone. I too learned a lesson that day: never, never, never postpone a prompting.” (https://site.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1997/06/the-spirit-giveth-life)
Note on Acts 16:10: “After fifteen chapters, the author of Acts, Luke, now begins to use the pronoun, “we.” The beloved physician herein becomes one of Paul’s associates, making him an eyewitness to most of the rest of the story. At this point, the missionary entourage is made up of a foursome: Paul, Silas, Timothy, and Luke. However, only Paul and Silas are beaten and put into prison (v. 19-23).
“The “we’ begins in "Acts 16:10, it ends when Paul leaves Philippi (Acts17:1) ...Here, then, we see that Luke was St. Paul's companion from Troas on his second apostolic journey, he was with him at Philippi, accompanied him to Jerusalem, and, so far as we know, never left him again till his martyrdom in Rome.
“How pathetic are those words, almost the last ones written by the great Apostle shortly before his death, and addressed to his friend Timothy from the gloomy dungeon in which he was incarcerated in the imperial city of Rome: “For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me’ (2 Tim. 4:10, 11). This faithful friend and companion was nearly always by his side, and we feel no wonder, therefore, at the deep attachment which Paul had for his “beloved physician,’ whose character he had once summed up some six years previously in the words-”the brother whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches’-("2 Cor. 8:18). It is pleasant, too, to think that the medical skill and attention of this devoted friend must have been as great a source of comfort to the aged, feeble and sick Apostle, as we are sure that his companionship was a source of consolation to him during all the many trials of his later life.” (“St. Paul's Companions in Rome.” by Col. R. M. Bryce Thomas., Improvement Era, 1908, Vol. Xii. December, 1908. No. 2 .)
Acts 16:16: “… the mob about this time enlisted the help of Willard Chase’s sister Sally in their efforts to obtain the plates. Sally Chase reportedly had a “green glass through which she could see many wonderful things” and had begun to apply her talents on behalf of her brother’s efforts to locate and obtain the plates. Thus, after “but a few days rest,” the Prophet “received another intimation of the approach of a mob and the necessity of removing the record … again from [its] hiding place,” and he dug up the plates.
“Accounts vary as to what Joseph did next, but it seems that he hid the plates, still housed in the same box, under the floor of a cooper’s shop located just across the road. After a “short time,” Joseph dug them up yet again, removed the plates from their box, reburied the box, and hid the plates—now wrapped in some clothing—in “a quantity of flax” being stored in the shop’s loft. The decoy worked. Following Sally Chase’s directions, the mob that night tore up the floor of the cooper’s shop and smashed the wooden box, but left the plates undisturbed in the loft a few feet above their heads.” (https://site.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2001/01/take-heed-continually-protecting-the-gold-plates)
Selected scriptures that may help in a discussion on suicide:
Some related discussion questions:
President Heber J. Grant: “There is no man, there is no people, without a God. That God may be a visible idol, carved of wood, or stone, to which sacrifice is offered in the forest, in the temple, or in the market place; or it may be an invisible idol, fashioned in a man's own image and worshiped ardently at his own personal shrine. Somewhere in the universe there is that in which each individual has firm faith, and on which he places steady reliance. The fool who says in his heart, “There is no God’ really means there is no God but himself. His supreme egotism, his colossal vanity, have placed him at the center of the universe which is thereafter to be measured and dealt with in terms of his personal satisfactions. So it has come to pass that after nearly two thousand years much of the world resembles the Athens of St. Paul's time, in that it is wholly given to idolatry; but in the modern case there are as many idols as idol worshipers, and every such idol worshiper finds his idol in the looking glass. The time has come once again to repeat and to expound in thunderous tones the noble sermon of St. Paul on Mars Hill, …” (Conference Report, April 1922, 11.)
Epicureanism is a system of philosophy based upon the teachings of Epicurus (c. 341–c. 270 BC). He taught that pleasure was the chief end of human existence.
Stoicism was a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded in Athens by Zeno of Citium. They taught a philosophy of personal ethics and a methodology for seeking practical wisdom in life. For them, was the belief that we don’t react to events; we react to our judgments about them, and the judgments are up to us. They also advised not worry about things beyond our control.
What does Paul teach on Mars hill about God that stands out to you?
Joseph Smith: “If [we] do not comprehend the character of God [we] do not comprehend [ourselves].” (TPJS p 343).
President Dallin H. Oaks: “Be careful how you characterize yourself. Don’t characterize or define yourself by some temporary quality. The only single quality that should characterize us is that we are a son or daughter of God. That fact transcends all other characteristics, including race, occupation, physical characteristics, honors, or even religious affiliation.” (“How to Define Yourself,” New Era, June 2013, 48).
Paul’s Third Mission Highlights
“On 22 July 1839, numerous healings were seen at Commerce (later Nauvoo), Illinois, when the Prophet Joseph Smith, who himself had been critically ill, rose and began healing people on both sides of the Mississippi River: "After healing the sick in Montrose, all the company followed Joseph to the bank of the river, where he was going to take the boat to return home. While waiting for the boat, a man from the West, who had seen that the sick and dying were healed, asked Joseph if he would not go to his house and heal two of his children who were very sick. They were twins and were three months old. Joseph told the man he could not go, but he would send some one to heal them. He told Elder Woodruff to go with the man and heal his children. At the same time he took from his pocket a silk bandanna handkerchief, and gave to Brother Woodruff, telling him to wipe the faces of the children with it, and they should be healed; and remarked at the same time: 'As long as you keep that handkerchief it shall remain a league between you and me.' Elder Woodruff did as he was commanded, and the children were healed, and he keeps the handkerchief to this day" (Smith, History of the Church) 4:4 5). (D. Kelly Ogden and Andrew C. Skinner, New Testament Apostles Testify of Christ Salt Lake City; Deseret Book, 1998, 93)
Elder Gene R. Cook: “One time a man asked President Kimball, 'What do you do when you find yourself in a boring sacrament meeting?' There was silence for a moment and then President Kimball said, 'I don't know. I've never been in one.'” (Church News, 24 Mar. 1990)
Joseph Smith: "Paul said to the elders of the church at Ephesus, after he had labored three years with them, that he knew that some of their own number would turn away from the faith and seek to lead away disciples after them. . . . After his departure from the church at Ephesus, many, even of the elders, turned away from the truth and, what is almost always the case, sought to lead away disciples after them. Strange as it may appear at first thought, yet it is no less so than true, that with all the professed determination to live godly, after turning from the faith of Christ, apostates have, unless they have speedily repented, sooner or later fallen into the snares of the wicked one and have been left destitute of the Spirit of God, to manifest their wickedness in the eyes of multitudes" (Jackson, Joseph Smith's Commentary on the Bible, 152).
"Women are not one whit behind men in spiritual endowments" (McConkie, Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 2:181).
Paul arrived in Jerusalem and gave a report of his missionary labors to local Church leaders. Paul went to the temple, and when a group of Jews who knew Paul from his missionary journeys saw him, they proclaimed that Paul was a false teacher who taught against the law of Moses and unlawfully brought Gentiles into the temple. Because of this accusation, a mob removed Paul from the temple and began beating him. Roman soldiers intervened and carried him away to be tried. While on the stairs of the Antonia Fortress (see Bible Maps, no. 12, “Jerusalem at the Time of Jesus”), Paul asked the soldiers if he could speak to the people.
Teaching Thoughts:
President Thomas S. Monson: “Late one afternoon I was swimming at Deseret Gym, gazing at the ceiling while backstroking width after width. Silently, but ever so clearly, there came to my mind the thought, “Here you swim almost effortlessly, while your friend Stan is unable to move.” I felt the prompting, “Get to the hospital and give him a blessing.”
“I ceased my swimming, dressed, and hurried to Stan’s room at the hospital. His bed was empty. A nurse said he was in his wheelchair at the swimming pool, preparing for therapy. I hurried to the area, and there was Stan, all alone, at the edge of the deeper portion of the pool. We greeted each other and returned to his room, where a priesthood blessing was provided.
“Slowly but surely, strength and movement returned to Stan’s legs. First he could stand on faltering feet. Then he learned once again to walk, step by step. One would not know that Stan had lain so close to death and with no hope of recovery.
“Subsequently Stan spoke in church meetings and told of the goodness of the Lord to him. To some he revealed the dark thoughts of depression that engulfed him that afternoon as he sat in his wheelchair at the edge of the pool, sentenced, it seemed, to a life of despair. He told how he pondered the alternative. It would be so easy to propel the hated wheelchair into the silent water of the deep pool. Life would then be over. But at that precise moment he saw me, his friend. That day Stan learned literally that we do not walk alone. I too learned a lesson that day: never, never, never postpone a prompting.” (https://site.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1997/06/the-spirit-giveth-life)
Note on Acts 16:10: “After fifteen chapters, the author of Acts, Luke, now begins to use the pronoun, “we.” The beloved physician herein becomes one of Paul’s associates, making him an eyewitness to most of the rest of the story. At this point, the missionary entourage is made up of a foursome: Paul, Silas, Timothy, and Luke. However, only Paul and Silas are beaten and put into prison (v. 19-23).
“The “we’ begins in "Acts 16:10, it ends when Paul leaves Philippi (Acts17:1) ...Here, then, we see that Luke was St. Paul's companion from Troas on his second apostolic journey, he was with him at Philippi, accompanied him to Jerusalem, and, so far as we know, never left him again till his martyrdom in Rome.
“How pathetic are those words, almost the last ones written by the great Apostle shortly before his death, and addressed to his friend Timothy from the gloomy dungeon in which he was incarcerated in the imperial city of Rome: “For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me’ (2 Tim. 4:10, 11). This faithful friend and companion was nearly always by his side, and we feel no wonder, therefore, at the deep attachment which Paul had for his “beloved physician,’ whose character he had once summed up some six years previously in the words-”the brother whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches’-("2 Cor. 8:18). It is pleasant, too, to think that the medical skill and attention of this devoted friend must have been as great a source of comfort to the aged, feeble and sick Apostle, as we are sure that his companionship was a source of consolation to him during all the many trials of his later life.” (“St. Paul's Companions in Rome.” by Col. R. M. Bryce Thomas., Improvement Era, 1908, Vol. Xii. December, 1908. No. 2 .)
Acts 16:16: “… the mob about this time enlisted the help of Willard Chase’s sister Sally in their efforts to obtain the plates. Sally Chase reportedly had a “green glass through which she could see many wonderful things” and had begun to apply her talents on behalf of her brother’s efforts to locate and obtain the plates. Thus, after “but a few days rest,” the Prophet “received another intimation of the approach of a mob and the necessity of removing the record … again from [its] hiding place,” and he dug up the plates.
“Accounts vary as to what Joseph did next, but it seems that he hid the plates, still housed in the same box, under the floor of a cooper’s shop located just across the road. After a “short time,” Joseph dug them up yet again, removed the plates from their box, reburied the box, and hid the plates—now wrapped in some clothing—in “a quantity of flax” being stored in the shop’s loft. The decoy worked. Following Sally Chase’s directions, the mob that night tore up the floor of the cooper’s shop and smashed the wooden box, but left the plates undisturbed in the loft a few feet above their heads.” (https://site.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2001/01/take-heed-continually-protecting-the-gold-plates)
Selected scriptures that may help in a discussion on suicide:
- Cross References:
- Isaiah 53:3–5
- Alma 7:11–12
- Philippians 1:23–24
- Acts 16:28
- Jude 1:22
- D&C 138:57–59
- John 14:27
- Moroni 9:25–26
Some related discussion questions:
- How can we better teach and testify that the Savior knows our circumstances, and our pains and sorrows?
- How can we better teach and testify that the Savior can help carry whatever pains and sorrows we may be facing especially our youth and young adults?
- How can we better show Christlike compassion towards all of those we teach?
- How can we cultivate an environment where our ward/students feel that “we are all here” to help them?
- How can our teachings and conversations testify that it is “more needful” for all to remain in this life?
President Heber J. Grant: “There is no man, there is no people, without a God. That God may be a visible idol, carved of wood, or stone, to which sacrifice is offered in the forest, in the temple, or in the market place; or it may be an invisible idol, fashioned in a man's own image and worshiped ardently at his own personal shrine. Somewhere in the universe there is that in which each individual has firm faith, and on which he places steady reliance. The fool who says in his heart, “There is no God’ really means there is no God but himself. His supreme egotism, his colossal vanity, have placed him at the center of the universe which is thereafter to be measured and dealt with in terms of his personal satisfactions. So it has come to pass that after nearly two thousand years much of the world resembles the Athens of St. Paul's time, in that it is wholly given to idolatry; but in the modern case there are as many idols as idol worshipers, and every such idol worshiper finds his idol in the looking glass. The time has come once again to repeat and to expound in thunderous tones the noble sermon of St. Paul on Mars Hill, …” (Conference Report, April 1922, 11.)
Epicureanism is a system of philosophy based upon the teachings of Epicurus (c. 341–c. 270 BC). He taught that pleasure was the chief end of human existence.
Stoicism was a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded in Athens by Zeno of Citium. They taught a philosophy of personal ethics and a methodology for seeking practical wisdom in life. For them, was the belief that we don’t react to events; we react to our judgments about them, and the judgments are up to us. They also advised not worry about things beyond our control.
What does Paul teach on Mars hill about God that stands out to you?
- God “made the world” (Acts 17:24).
- “Made of one blood all nations…” (Acts 17:26).
- “Seek the Lord, if they are willing to find him, for he is not far from every one of us” (JST Acts 17:27).
- “For we are also his offspring” (Acts 17:28).
Joseph Smith: “If [we] do not comprehend the character of God [we] do not comprehend [ourselves].” (TPJS p 343).
President Dallin H. Oaks: “Be careful how you characterize yourself. Don’t characterize or define yourself by some temporary quality. The only single quality that should characterize us is that we are a son or daughter of God. That fact transcends all other characteristics, including race, occupation, physical characteristics, honors, or even religious affiliation.” (“How to Define Yourself,” New Era, June 2013, 48).
Paul’s Third Mission Highlights
- God “wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul.” (Acts 19:11-12).
- Faith in Christ has power. (see Acts 19:13-19)
- The new Sabbath is "the first day of the week," Sunday. (see Acts 20:7)
- If you are speaking until midnight, expect some to fall asleep.
- Don’t sleep while prophets teach.
- Paul prophesies of the apostasy (Acts 20:28-31)
- Women in the Church had spiritual gifts like the gift of prophesy (Acts 21:9)
- Unity in the church is important (Acts 21:22)
“On 22 July 1839, numerous healings were seen at Commerce (later Nauvoo), Illinois, when the Prophet Joseph Smith, who himself had been critically ill, rose and began healing people on both sides of the Mississippi River: "After healing the sick in Montrose, all the company followed Joseph to the bank of the river, where he was going to take the boat to return home. While waiting for the boat, a man from the West, who had seen that the sick and dying were healed, asked Joseph if he would not go to his house and heal two of his children who were very sick. They were twins and were three months old. Joseph told the man he could not go, but he would send some one to heal them. He told Elder Woodruff to go with the man and heal his children. At the same time he took from his pocket a silk bandanna handkerchief, and gave to Brother Woodruff, telling him to wipe the faces of the children with it, and they should be healed; and remarked at the same time: 'As long as you keep that handkerchief it shall remain a league between you and me.' Elder Woodruff did as he was commanded, and the children were healed, and he keeps the handkerchief to this day" (Smith, History of the Church) 4:4 5). (D. Kelly Ogden and Andrew C. Skinner, New Testament Apostles Testify of Christ Salt Lake City; Deseret Book, 1998, 93)
Elder Gene R. Cook: “One time a man asked President Kimball, 'What do you do when you find yourself in a boring sacrament meeting?' There was silence for a moment and then President Kimball said, 'I don't know. I've never been in one.'” (Church News, 24 Mar. 1990)
Joseph Smith: "Paul said to the elders of the church at Ephesus, after he had labored three years with them, that he knew that some of their own number would turn away from the faith and seek to lead away disciples after them. . . . After his departure from the church at Ephesus, many, even of the elders, turned away from the truth and, what is almost always the case, sought to lead away disciples after them. Strange as it may appear at first thought, yet it is no less so than true, that with all the professed determination to live godly, after turning from the faith of Christ, apostates have, unless they have speedily repented, sooner or later fallen into the snares of the wicked one and have been left destitute of the Spirit of God, to manifest their wickedness in the eyes of multitudes" (Jackson, Joseph Smith's Commentary on the Bible, 152).
"Women are not one whit behind men in spiritual endowments" (McConkie, Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 2:181).
Paul arrived in Jerusalem and gave a report of his missionary labors to local Church leaders. Paul went to the temple, and when a group of Jews who knew Paul from his missionary journeys saw him, they proclaimed that Paul was a false teacher who taught against the law of Moses and unlawfully brought Gentiles into the temple. Because of this accusation, a mob removed Paul from the temple and began beating him. Roman soldiers intervened and carried him away to be tried. While on the stairs of the Antonia Fortress (see Bible Maps, no. 12, “Jerusalem at the Time of Jesus”), Paul asked the soldiers if he could speak to the people.
Teaching Thoughts:
- Paul’s missions – title and tell the story. Have students identify applications that can be made from the story.
- Conversation on suicide - “Do thyself no harm, for we are all here.” (Acts 16:28). Explore Church resources.
- Each day this week, look for a prompting from God. Record it and act on it. Never postpone a prompting.