On Wednesday, we discussed the characteristics of the elect. Today, I’d like to discuss the warning given by Christ in JS-M 1:22 regarding the deception of those chosen by God.
If you compare JS-M 1:22 to Matt 24:24, you will see only one difference. Instead of simply reading that false prophets and false Christs “shall deceive the very elect,” we are told further “who are the elect according to the covenant.” Since we established earlier this week that there are different types of the elect, this means that a single specific group is being referred to.
Who are “the elect according to the covenant”? Elder Mark E. Peterson of the Quorum of the Twelve stated in the October 1945 General Conference that “they are those persons who have entered into the new and everlasting covenant by accepting membership in this church.” So that means that even we as church members can be deceived and led astray by false prophets and false Christs. We can be deceived by Satan.
The next question, then, is how can we avoid this deception? Only a few short verses later, Christ tells us. “And whoso treasureth up my words,” He says, “shall not be deceived.”
His words, of course, are most easily available in the scriptures, though we might also hear them from living prophets today. So we should treasure the scriptures and latter-day teachings.
What does it mean to treasure something? (I ask myself a lot of questions when I study the scriptures, but that makes me think.) When you treasure something, you consider it to be of great value. We love it. We take joy in it. This should be our attitude towards the scriptures. We should (often) approach scripture study with joy and excitement, not drudgery or a sense of duty. We should be grateful to have these words.
I’d like to paraphrase a story I heard many years ago. I think it was making the rounds on the Internet in the early 90s, but it’s worth telling again. It’s not a gospel story, but it’s one of those “make you think” pieces.
Three men died suddenly and found themselves in Heaven. The first man entered a room, where a heavenly being asked him what he knew about Jesus. “Well,” said the man, “He was born in a manger and died on a cross.” The man was sent on to his eternal destination.
The next man entered. Again he was asked, what do you know about Jesus? “He was born in Bethlehem, of the Virgin Mary. He was the Son of God and He atoned for the sins of the world. He called disciples during His time on earth and taught people about God. He was resurrected.” The second man was also sent onward.
The third man entered the room. He looked at the celestial being and said, “Master.”
Of course, the point is that the third man knew so much about the Savior that he could recognize Him in an instant. He would not have been deceived by false prophets or Christs on the Earth. We, too, should aspire to know Jesus so well that we will not be deceived. One of the greatest helps with that is to treasure His words.
For other blogs on this week’s Sunday School lesson, click on the Gospel Doctrine link at right.
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