Hey everyone!

Here’s another post based on the New Testament. More specifically on the book of 2 John. Once again, I have been given some prompts, but I invite you to respond to some of these questions as well! Here are some links for answering these questions…

http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bible?lang=eng

http://www.lds.org/manual/new-testament-student-manual?lang=eng

Choice 5: 2 John. Abide “in the Doctrine of Christ”

1. Read 2 John 1:7 and the institute student manual commentary for 2 John 7, “For Many Deceivers Are Entered into the World” (p. 437). Summarize in one or two paragraphs the false doctrine John warned against, where it came from, and what effect it would have if it were believed.

I’ve always wondered what an antichrist actually is. There are accounts in the Book of Mormon describing certain qualities of an antichrist through examples of certain people, but in our day it is pretty difficult to tell. One of the things that Elder M. Russel Ballard seems to be referencing is the wolf in sheep’s clothing. He made it seem that people who are using the Church as a way to get mortal or worldly gain is an antichrist. Elder Ballard says, “both men and women, who are self-appointed declarers of the doctrines of the Church and who seek to spread their false gospel and attract followers by sponsoring symposia, books, and journals whose contents challenge fundamental doctrines of the Church.” This is significant. I don’t know if we can label this people as permanent antichrists, but their actions at that time may have had qualities of such a nature. They still have opportunities to repent, but they obviously need to realize this first.

I share this because some of us think that we need to believe everything that we see or hear in relation to the gospel right away. I’m not saying that we need to be doubtful, but I do believe that each person needs to gain a testimony of specific individual principles that the Church teaches so that they can discern the good from the evil. Satan is trying so hard to confuse us about what is acceptable and what isn’t. We need to be able to stand on firm ground and rely on the Spirit to tell us what things are true and eternal.

2. Read 2 John 1:8–13. Write one or two sentences explaining what counsel John gave that could help avoid this and other false doctrines generally.

Here John counsels us to “abide in the doctrine of Christ”. This means to live the doctrine, apply the doctrine, to make it a part of your life. John is telling us to be careful about who we let influence us. Yes, we can influence others for good, but we should be careful who we should let influence us. Pick good role models.

Thanks for reading!