Creation and the numbering of verses

John 1

In the Bible, the creation story is told in Genesis, Hebrews, and here in a shorter form in John. In the Book of Mormon we find it in 1 Nephi, Mosiah, Doctrine and Covenants, Moses, and Abraham.
It is important to know that the John speaking in the Book of John is the man who becomes an apostle of Christ, not John the Baptist who most assuredly knew Jesus as they were cousins. This is important because John recognized Jesus as soon as he saw Him as the Light of the World. He testified of who Jesus was.
John went on to write the Gospel of John, three epistles and is the author of the book of Revelation. (www.lds.org).

Most of the time the way they number verses is helpful and makes it easier to find specific scriptures. It is important to remember that this was not always the case and I think these verses in John point it out. Lets take a look at the difference.

John 1:1-14 with numbers

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2 The same was in the beginning with God.

3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

6 ¶ There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.

8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to becomethe sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Same verses with out numbers

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness;  and the darkness comprehended it not.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.  He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.  That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Obviously, I chose the paragraph markers, but they are breaks that make sense with the content and for me, this format makes the verses clearer and easier to see what John is saying. Jesus is the Word of God made flesh and dwelt among us; in the beginning Jesus dwelt with God, we see repeatedly Jesus referred to as the Light, John states that he is not the light but the witness of the Light, and that the world was made by the Light. Taking this and rereading Genesis we understand that Jesus created the world under the direction of our Heavenly Father "He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not".

  

Learning More About the Birth of Christ

Studying Luke 2 and Matthew 2


Almost everyone knows the basics about the birth of Jesus. It is portrayed in cartoons, live action movies, plays, as well as being discussed in Church. Many people might think at this point that they know all about it.  That exact reason is why we have been told by the Prophet and the Apostles to study the scriptures, which is not the same as just reading them. And that is what I did, in doing so I found something I never expected.

Lets start with Luke chapter 2:11-16 which is the angels and the shepherds

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

Now lets compare this with Matthew 2:7-13 when the Wise Men search and found Jesus

Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.

And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.

When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.

When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.

In most depictions of the birth of Jesus the angels, shepherds, and wise men are all in the stable at the same time. Studying this we realize that in Luke we are looking immediately after his birth. They are in the stable, He is laying in the manger, and is referred to as a babe (baby).  In Matthew Mary and Joseph are now in a house. Jesus is referred to as a young child. It is likely that they have been in Bethlehem for at least 18 months perhaps longer. The word toddler had not been coined but even today a child is a baby when they can not walk, while a young child is able to walk and might even be referred to as a young child up to around school age.

The wise men arrived in time to fiance the flight to Egypt when Jesus was old enough to travel safely.  It is amazing how events were orchestrated by Heavenly Father to fulfill the prophecies.

Realizations Upon Reading

Mary and Elisabeth-  © 2015 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.

Mary, Elisabeth and the Line of David

The Gospel According to St Matthew starts with the genealogy from Abraham through Joseph. These are names of people whose stories are in the bible and we know their stories. A few stories in here stand out to me, the first is the realization after reading this chapter many times over the years that this is the line of Joseph. It is a amazing line going back to Abraham, and while Joseph is not blood related to Jesus he is still his father. He raised Jesus, taught him his trade.  Reading this genealogy also made me wonder about Mary's line I don't recall that Marys line was ever discussed but I would hazard a guess that to be married to Joseph her line goes back to Abraham as well.  We know from Luke that Mary and Elisabeth were cousins, hence John the Baptist was a cousin of Jesus. There are great lessons in obedience and faith that we can discuss involving Mary, Joseph, Elisabeth and Zacharias.  Zacharias is especially interesting in his crisis of faith after speaking directly to the angel Gabriel! 

All Things Work to the Glory of God

As interesting as the discussion of Zacharias and faith is, a second realization occurred to me while reading the genealogy of Joseph, and its the thought that has consumed me since reading it.

Matthew 1:6 And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias;

We have all heard this story - David saw Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11) became enamored of her, lies with her, and arranges for her husband to be killed in battle. The child of this union is King Solomon who built the Temple, who is known as the wisest king, who furthered the line and went down to Joseph. 

The scriptures don't tell us a whole lot about Mary and Joseph, but this line (Matt 1:19) is so telling the more you think of it 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.

Joseph would be within his legal rights to take this public, to state how he had been wronged by his bride to be. But even before the angel appeared to him he was noted as a just man and did not want to take the issue public, after the angel appeared to him he took Mary as his wife, and knew her not until she gave birth. Then he raised that child as his own.

Our Heavenly Father took Davids sins of adultery, lust, and murder and used them to bring forth King Solomon, the Temple of Jerusalem, and the man who raised the Son of God as his own. To me that is proof of all things working to the glory of God.

It was only a four year hiatus...

New Year- New Start

According to my published posts the last time I actually posted anything was May 2015. Well, its been a while - I didn't forget but also didn't get any writing or posting done. Let's start again and see where we go from here.

We are Responsible For Our Own Learning

This year my Church as started a new learning program - well, perhaps not so new as a shift in emphasis. For those of you who followed me through what I posted while an online student at BYU-Idaho (Graduated!!)

You may remember that BYU (on all campuses) follows something called Disciple Leadership along with the honor code. As a student, as a member of the Church and as a responsible person you are responsible for your own learning, your own actions, your own walk with Christ and your own life.  That doesn't mean that you are not going to learn from teachers, but it does mean that how much and how well you learn is up to you.  You are also encourage to not only learn from your peers but to teach your peers. It is a great way to learn lifetime learning skills and to carry them into the real world.

The Church as taken that and applied it to our weekly church schedule.  Our new books are entitled Come Follow Me and it lays out the lessons for the entire year and it is our job as members to read and study before church and to be ready to discuss during Sunday School, Relief Society, Priesthood or Primary (whichever group you are in). It think its a great way to reinforce the fact that we are suppose to be studying the scriptures on our own, it helps focus the discussion in class because its not the first time seeing the material and really allows for in home discussions about the material because we are all doing the same lessons!

This year we are studying the New Testament. I am making it my goal to post every week, because of our church schedule along with the New Testament you will see posts about our Relief Society talks, possibly Primary class tie ins.

I want to extend the invitation to anyone who wants to study as well- here is the online link for Come Follow Me  I hope some of you will follow along.  Finally, of course I will discuss LIFE. This is a blog about Life, and my life also includes family, hobbies, cooking, activities and all the normal stuff.

Once again, sorry about the long break, as we go along I'll try and catch you up with what happened over the last 4 years- its allot :)