Peter warned us about podcasters. (1&2 Peter)

1 Peter

1:13

Peter gives three important principles to the members of the church:

1. "Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind,

2. be sober,

3. and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ."

The phrase "gird up your loins" usually meant "prepare for action." Our thinking should be centered on action - what we do. Studying is a means to an end. The purpose of our study and our pondering is to act like disciples of Christ. We should think through how we will testify of the truthfulness of the gospel. We should consider the many arguments wicked people are making against the church and develop lines of reason that dispute their incorrect teachings. We must be proactive in our thoughts about defending our testimonies. We can't expect to be helpful if we simply react to each argument or question.

Being sober is about taking the plan of salvation seriously. We cannot be flippant in our role in building the kingdom. I read once that most sin is not done with intense rebellion but a simple shrug. In other words, apostasy comes from disengagement. We can lose our testimonies by not actively strengthening them and letting the mortal world slowly grind away at what we believe.

The key component to us navigating through this mortal experience is having hope in what Christ has promised. Salvation through the grace of Christ is the destination. Each of us must have that destination in mind as we face a million things that are attempting to push us off course. Without a goal, it's very easy to lose our path and our perspective.

Peter is clear that the destination isn't to become perfect through our extreme effort. The goal is to "hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you..." The Greek for "to the end" is "perfectly, completely." Our goal isn't to perfect ourselves but to completely rely on the grace of God through Christ.

1:17

"And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear." We must view our time here as temporary. We are sojourners here. This is a short proving ground in an eternity of development.

1:22-23

"Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever." In our spiritual journey, most of us progress from obedience to selflessness. We first learn to submit to God before demonstrating Christlike love. I'm still on that progression arc. (I should say that there are some who seem to naturally be selfless from birth. It's such a wonderful gift that I wasn't given...)

As we completely submit and achieve selflessness, we are born again a new creature. We aren't born again as newborn mortals, we are born again into a life that is different. Our new life is made of stuff that is incorruptible and will never end. The source of this life isn't the womb but is through the Spirit and hope in Christ.

In Isaiah 40:6-8, we read, "For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you." We become one with the word and that endures forever.

2:7-8

"Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed." Jesus Christ is the greatest example of love and the Prince of Peace. However...to the disobedient, he is a "stone of stumbling."

Many will be offended by Christ and his church. Many will be offended by what the leaders of the church may say. A beautiful talk given by our prophet will deeply offend many. The gospel of Jesus Christ will divide families. Jesus said this himself. In Matthew 10:34, we read, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.”

I heard a podcaster recently say that, if the Church's teachings set family members against each other, that this gospel cannot be true. They say that anything that breaks up families is evil. Well, if we believe in Jesus Christ and what he said, we can't say this. His gospel will divide the wheat from the tares. Those who disobey will be at odds with those who are faithful. Relationships may be severed as someone chooses wickedness.

Universal acceptance of any behavior is not what Jesus taught or how he lived. Of course he loves unconditionally but he truly condemns sin - whether or not it hurts someone (family member or not).

Christ brings peace in that we have hope for a bright future regardless of our current circumstance. He does not bring peace for those who rebel. Members of the same household can become "foes" because some are choosing Jesus and some aren't. In this way, Christ is divisive. He has always said that he would. In Matthew, we read of a parable that Christ taught: "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth."

This doesn't sound like everyone, regardless of their beliefs, identities, preferences, opinions, and righteousness, will be accepted by the Lord. Some will be rejected. He will separate us at the judgment and his gospel will sometimes separate us in mortality.

2:9

Our role is to be an example. "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light." We are meant to be an example. We are meant to be different from the world. We are meant to be peculiar. If there is no difference between us and the general population, we are doing it wrong.

2:11

Peter definitely saw this world as it is - a temporary condition. He viewed all of us as strangers here. This world is not our home. "Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul." While we are here, we must abstain from all of the "fleshly" temptations that are all around us. Part of our ability to resist comes from seeing reality as it is.

2:21-23, 3:9

"For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously." Christ was the ultimate example of how to handle mistreatment. I generally think that when someone wrongs me that they should be wronged. This isn't what Jesus taught. When I am reviled, I should revile not again. Keep working on that Eric.

He takes it one step further in the next chapter. "Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing." He's saying that, not only should we not revile when reviled, we should instead give a blessing. As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are called to do exactly this.

3:7

Here's some advice for husbands. "Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered." What does it mean to "dwell with them according to knowledge." To me, it means that we should be understanding. Men sometimes just react with very little information. Husbands could be better at listening and understanding. I think this is what Peter is saying.

He says to give honor to the wife. How do you treat someone that you "honor?" How does that compare with how you treat your wife? Honoring someone is a big deal. It involves:

• Listening carefully.

• Speaking respectfully.

• Making time for her.

• Helping at every opportunity.

• Being respectful.

• Making her a priority.

• Speaking highly of her.

• Seeing the good and ignoring everything else.

For the record, I'm not a perfect husband but I truly honor Marci.

3:15

"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear." I see this as direction that we should always be ready to testify of Jesus Christ and his gospel. We should have a ready answer to:

• Why are you the way you are?

• What do you believe?

• What's your religion about? Why is it the true church? How is your church different from other Christian religions?

• What do you think the purpose of life is?

• What are the benefits to being a member of your church?

• What do you believe about Jesus Christ.

It would be good if we have a solid answer for each of these questions.

The Greek for "an answer" is "defense." It may be that we are asked to defend the church. Can we? Have we worked through how we would verbalize a defense? I think if we're waiting until the event actually happens, we'll get a little tongue-tied.

I also think that this is about our ability and willingness to talk about Jesus Christ and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. How often is there an opportunity to bring this up in normal conversation in a natural way? Do we seize every opportunity to share what we believe? If we are prepared and have thought through how we would weave a gospel topic into a regular conversation, we'll do it more. We will "be ready."

3:19, 4:6

"By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison." This is important doctrine. It gives us insight into what we will do when we die. As in all things, Jesus is an example. There are many who are in "spirit prison" because they never learned the gospel or were disobedient. There will be preaching and learning going on in that world.

It's not just Christ who will do it. Those who know will teach those who don't. Of course, there will be the temptation to just enjoy ourselves in that world. We will be tempted to relax and simply socialize with those interesting people who are there. But, just as it is here, there will be a call to serve, to preach, to save. If we are well-developed in our testimonies, our selflessness and willingness to submit to God's will, there's going to be a lot of work for us in the spirit world. Buckle up.

In chapter four, we read, "For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit." Again, the gospel is being preached to "them that are dead." Regardless of what happened in the flesh, they will have the opportunity to repent and "live according to God in the spirit." Everyone will have the opportunity to learn the gospel. There are likely more people who live without hearing the name Jesus Christ than those who do. Those billions will be given the opportunity.

4:2

"That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God." WE shouldn't live the rest of our lives according to the lusts of men. Natural urges are part of the mortal experience. We naturally feel pride or selfishness or covetousness and certainly lust. If we don't proactively battle those natural feelings, we can spend our lives spinning on that hamster wheel.

If we can break that cycle and submit to the will of God, we can be on a completely different track. Our lives will be about refinement and progress - not racing from pleasure to pride.

4:8

"And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins." We've heard that preaching the gospel will "cover a multitude of sins." Now, we're reading that charity will do the same.

It's all about gathering Israel. Anytime we do anything that brings someone closer to Christ, we are gathering Israel. We are helping God prevail in people's lives. When we are serving others in charity or preaching the gospel, our sins are "covered." Pretty good deal.

4:11

"If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen." If we do something well, we know that it's a gift from God. How can we glorify God with our talents?

I've seen some good examples of this lately with athletes. There was a women's college team that won a national title. They showed how it's done.

If they can do this with softball, I can do it too.

4:12-13

"Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy." None of us should be surprised that we are experiencing trials. We should view trials as normal and certainly not "strange." Peter is saying that our trials can ultimately be blessings.

He's suggesting that we can feel "exceeding joy" because of our trials...if we partake in Christ's sufferings. The suffering helps us to feel joy. We cannot feel joy without the comparison. I cannot be grateful for the light unless I experience darkness.

5:5

"Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble." What does it mean to be subject one to another? Generally, when I subject myself to something, I am willing to accept some unpleasantness. If we are subjecting ourselves to each other, we are accepting all of our faults. We are willing to endure some aspect of each other's personality or expectations that we don't like.

If we aren't willing to subject ourselves to each other's foilables, what's the alternative? Do we avoid? Do we fight? Do we gossip about? Do we punish? All other options aren't bringing others to Christ! We must be willing to subject ourselves to each other fully. We should accept fully and love unconditionally.

The foundation for doing this is to be "clothed with humility." If we see ourselves as above our neighbor who has serious weakness, we will never be in a position to lift. If we see ourselves as servants of those around us, we are empowered to be saviors among men. We will be filled with the grace needed to love unconditionally.

5:6

"Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." If we are willing to be humble and teachable and submissive, God can and will exalt us. When will this happen? Not sure. It may take a while. For almost all of us, it won't happen as mortals.

We shouldn't live stressed out about how much and when we are going to progress. If we are humble and desire to be like Jesus, it will work out. We will progress as far as we want to. No stress. We can "cast all of our care upon him." God's plan was achieved through Jesus Christ. We are already saved and our destination is secure.

It's important that we remain humble. Peter says that God will exalt us. It's not completely on our shoulders to be exalted. God is with us and he's good at this.

If I hired the world's leading exper to do something for me, I wouldn't stress about doing it myself. God and Jesus are the universe's experts at bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. We should trust them that they know what they are doing.

5:8

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." Having said all of that, we must be vigilant in our effort to resist the temptations of the devil. He is a real being who can tempt us. He doesn't sleep and has been doing this a long time.

We must see ourselves in a battle. I think we forget this because we cannot see our enemy. Not seeing him doesn't mean he isn't there. He's there and he's good at tempting. He's been doing it for millennia. You've only been resisting his temptations for 50-80 years. We've got to be "sober and vigilant." The devil is powerful as "a roaring lion." We shouldn't underestimate this particular enemy.

5:10-11

"But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you." I hate to say it but a big part of this mortal experience is to suffer. That suffering may be loneliness, depression, poverty, pain, sickness, chronic disease, rejection, disability, loss of loved ones, exhaustion, etc.

But, through the "God of all grace," he will "make us perfect, stablish, strengthen, and settle us." We all can get pushed off balance so much in this mortal experience. We develop character flaws or mental issues or physical weakness. If we think critically, we are all a mess.

But we must have faith that, in the end, it will work out. I love the words, stablish, strengthen and settle. Those are all peaceful, stable, foundational words. There will not be mental imbalances or emotional instability after Christ is done with us. For many, this is going to be incredible. No wonder Peter said, "To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen."

2 Peter

1:2

"Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." How much grace and peace exists in our individual lives based simply on our knowledge of God and Jesus Christ? Knowing about the plan of salvation, the purpose of life and Christ's atonement and our eventual salvation certainly gives us peace. It gives us grace to forgive and not get overwhelmed by all of the bad things that have and will happen. Truly, we know "all things that pertain unto life and godliness."

We are aware of our potential. We have been promised a future godhood and infinite posterity. These are "great and precious promises." We don't just worship God as a foreign, unknowable entity - we are "partakers of the divine nature." Understanding our nature and godly lineage helps us rise above the "corruption that is in the world." We are less tempted by lust and covetousness and pride when we see ourselves and this earthly experience through the lens of eternity

1:5-8

Elder Robert Hales gave a talk "Becoming a Disciple of Our Lord Jesus Christ" that is beautiful. I found it when we were serving as senior missionaries working for the missionary department. I was searching for direction on becoming a better disciple of Christ. I wanted a roadmap. This talk is a pretty good start! Here it is:

It's based on these verses in 2nd Peter. "And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." So, the key words are:

• Faith. This is the beginning. Without faith, there is no action.

• Virtue. To be a disciple that can influence others, we must purify ourselves. A hypocrit cannot be a powerful disciple of Christ.

• Knowledge. How can one be a disciple of Christ if he is not intimately familiar with Christ's teachings and gospel. Without knowledge, we are in a weakened position to gather Israel.

• Temperance. Can a disciple have uncontrolled anger? Can a disciple be ruled by his emotions? No.

• Patience. For most of my life, I thought this was about being patient with my fellow humans. It's not. That is covered in "temperance." It's about being patient with God and God's timing. It's about patiently accepting the trials and tribulations that are a part of life.

• Godliness. We must work to be more godlike. We must be full of grace and truth. Just like the Savior, we must dedicate all that we do to the glory of God.

• Brotherly Kindness. Christ loved every one - not matter whether they worshipped or tortured him. He paid the price of every sin - no matter whether the sinner was irritating or not. This is hard but it is how we become a disciple. Christ said, "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."

• Charity. Developing charity is the ultimate training ground for the infinite selflessness we will need to create our own universe and spiritual family. Placing the needs of others above our own needs is what God does. It is what Christ does. If we are to be disciples of Christ, we definitely need charity.

To me, this is a progression. If you're working on charity and you haven't developed virtue, you're attempting to master a behavior without developing the foundation necessary to support it. We cannot develop charity if we aren't kind.

Peter starts our encouraging us to "give all diligence." These qualities that he lists won't develop on their own. We won't stumble into having these traits. We must lean into our development and consciously make daily effort to developing this way.

I believe that if this list was in front of us and we worked each day to improve in each of these areas, we would find ourselves to be true disciples of Christ.

1:9

"But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins." We all "lacketh these things" to some degree. I think Peter is saying that those who aren't striving to improve in each of these areas is stunted. If we aren't conscious of where we are at with each of these qualities, we're not leaning into our development.

It's possible to be a member of this church and not think about improving these qualities. We can just float along and not really get any spiritual growth "traction." We can be spinning our spiritual wheels year after year. It's possible that we can be a member for 70-80 years and be blind when it comes to being a true disciple of Christ. If we don't think about how we can improve, we can't even see it.

2:1-3, 14, 17, 19-22

"But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not." I see this everywhere now. There are many critics of the church who are false teachers. They weave lies, embellishments, cynical explanations into a bit of truth.

There are many who are believing them. Truly, "many shall follow their pernicious ways." These false teachers take a true principle and make it sound foolish. They take righteous elements of the restored gospel and attempt to make members appear naive and gullible. "The way of truth shall be evil spoken of."

Why do they do it? They may covet those who are still active, faithful members. Many do it for money. I've seen one YouTuber who makes every video a fundraiser. He's making money based on criticizing the true church. Truly, "they with feigned words make merchandise of you." It is wickedness but the false teachers have done an amazing job of twisting reality in their favor to avoid the guilt and shame that they should feel.

Many false teachers post online several times a week. They "cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls." They do sound convincing. They bring on guests podcasters who reinforce their tainted opinions. "These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever." There is nothing good that comes from them. They are worse than a distraction because they are actively attempting to persuade others to join them. Why? Because it makes them feel good if they have a following. How can they be wrong if thousands of people support them?

"While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage." These false teachers assure listeners that there is more freedom outside of the church. They can drink coffee and alcohol and act on their same sex attraction. Pornography and masturbation are taught to be natural and moral and even healthy.

"For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire." These are those who are ex-members of the church. Since their apostasy, they are worse than if they had never been acquainted with the Church.

It is worse to never know a commandment than to follow a commandment and then turn from it.

3:16

"As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction." Anyone can take any teaching, quote, book, etc. and twist it into a wicked and critical commentary. There can always be a cynical spin on historical events of the church.

If you look hard enough into any prophet or book of scripture, you can find things that contradict each other. I could possibly evaluate the words of Christ himself and find something that I could criticize!

The mysteries of God are sometimes hard to understand. And, they certainly can't be understood except by the Spirit. Attempting to see the big picture of the gospel is impossible without help from the Spirit. Because this church, from the time of Adam, has been administered by men, there is flaw after flaw, mistake after mistake. All of those mistakes can build a compelling case why none of it is true.

But if we understand that God wants us to develop. He delegates and trusts. He wants us to become like him. That cannot happen if he gives us daily assignments and tells us, word for word, what we should say and do. We came to this world to be on our own and God intends to make the most of it. That involves allowing us to make mistake after mistake. Ancient and modern prophets are not immune from this world encumbered by angency.

If we know this, we can navigate the effects of this fallen world. "Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen." Instead of falling for the wicked arguments of the critics, we can grow in grace. We can continue to learn more about Jesus Christ. We can become more like Him which gives him more glory.

Let us not be "led away with the error of the wicked." Let us be true to the knowledge we have received and the testimonies we have developed. If we stay in the scriptures and seek the Spirit and embrace the fellowship that can exist in this church, we wil not fall away.