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ICEBREAKER
For an icebreaker to the Book of Acts, a bit of a peculiar one, but I like to begin by talking about alarm clocks and I bring one out as a kind of object lesson. Sometimes I’ll even try to set it so that it goes off close to the time that I plan to be talking about it. And I find that it’s kind of fun to have one of those old-fashioned kind of alarm clocks to display. You know, the kind that have the two bells on the top. You can get one fairly cheaply on Amazon, so I’ll put a link to one in the video description below if you’re interested. (https://amzn.to/3XjjUYV) Then I like to ask some of the following discussion questions:
How do you feel about your alarm clock?
Have you ever gotten physically violent with your alarm clock?
Are you grateful for your alarm clock?
And I’ve found that this usually turns out to be quite a fun conversation. Interestingly enough people do like to talk about this, and you’ll probably hear stories of people throwing their alarm clocks across the room, or smashing them, or hitting the snooze button over and over again. Most of your students are going to express their dislike for their alarm clocks. But also, I like to ask that last question to get them thinking more deeply about their alarm clocks. I mean, if we hate them so badly, why do we use them? Just don’t set it if you dislike it so much. This can lead to a good discussion of why we are actually grateful for our alarm clocks. If it weren’t for them, we might lose our jobs, get into trouble, get bad grades, or miss our flight for an exciting vacation. We seem to have a bit of a love/hate relationship with our alarm clocks.
TRANSITION
Today we’re going to talk about some latter-day alarm clocks. Some voices that have been sent specifically by a loving Father in Heaven to help “wake us up” spiritually. And just like our alarm clocks, some people react negatively to these voices, while others feel gratitude for them and rely on them to help them to get up and do what they know they need to do. Which kind of person are you? Let’s find out.
BACKGROUND
Now the Book of Acts marks a significant shift in the narrative of the New Testament. Last week we studied the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Acts chapter 1 is going to begin with the account of the resurrected Christ ascending into heaven, essentially leaving behind his disciples to continue His work of building up the Church of Jesus Christ on earth. For a little bit of background to this book, let’s first find out who wrote it. We can do this with a quick scripture detective activity. I’ll begin by giving you three clues. Clue #1: The book of Acts was written by one of the four gospel writers—Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John. Which one was it? Clue #2: Read Acts 1:1. And then Clue #3: Read the first 4 verses of each of the gospels. Can you figure it out with those three clues? Let’s read Acts 1:1
1 The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,
Now go back and read the first 4 verses of each of the gospels and see if you can figure out who wrote Acts. Use your detective skills to see if you can make a connection. Perhaps you can challenge your class to see who can figure it out first. But they can’t just shout out a guess. They have to give you evidence from the scriptures for why they chose that particular author. And the answer is Luke. Luke wrote the Book of Acts. And we know this because look at verse 3-4 of Luke 1:
3 It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,
4 That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.
So we see that he is writing to the same individual—a person named Theophilus. And we don’t really know who Theophilus was. An early Christian investigator? A convert? A government official seeking to understand this new religion in his area? Perhaps. Or the name Theophilus does mean “friend of God”, so could it have just been a generic term for anyone seeking to discover the truth? Bible scholars aren’t sure. But the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts comprise a 2-part witness by Luke of the establishment of the early Church. And in this book of Acts, Luke is going to show us how the work of Christ’s ministry continued after his death and how Christianity was established and extended throughout the Roman empire. It kind of reminds me of the three “Saints” books that we have now detailing the Restoration and the establishment of the latter-day Church. So let’s learn how that took place in the early apostles day.
The Critical Question: How?
The first critical question we need to answer about this time period in early Church history is HOW? How was the Church going to be run. There is that pragmatic issue of leadership that has to be addressed. How does a Church continue to function once its founder, its leader, its chief creator is gone? And this is going to be important, especially to us as members of a Church that believes it is the restored manifestation of this same organization. How does Christ intend to manage his Church? Luke is going to waste no time in helping us understand this. Take a look at Acts 1:2. How would the Church be run?
2 Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen:
So HOW was this going to work? I see three important elements there. HE, the Holy Ghost, and the Apostles. That’s who would lead his Church. But what’s the connection between those three components? HE, Jesus Christ would continue to lead and direct the Church by giving commandments (or we might use the word revelation) to his Apostles through the power of the Holy Ghost. That’s how this was going to work. And so I like Elder Holland’s suggested revised title for the Book of Acts. He said he would call it this:
The Acts of the Resurrected Christ Working Through the Holy Spirit In the Lives and Ministries of His Ordained Apostles
I suggest you write that title in at the beginning of Acts.
And if had to choose a verse of scripture that I feel captures the theme of Acts 1-5 and indeed much of the book of Acts itself, it would be Acts 5:32 which reads:
32 And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.
And there we see the three elements again. The witness of the apostles and prophets, the witness of the Holy Ghost, and our charge to obey the instructions and promptings of those two sources of truth and leadership. Now if you’ll go through and study these 5 chapters with that in mind, you’ll begin to see that message pop up everywhere.
Apostles and Prophets
So let’s start with the Apostles and Prophets, our latter-day alarm clocks, what’s their role? What do we learn about that calling in these first 5 chapters. The method of study I like to use to teach these truths is called a “Thinking Map”. I give each of my students the following handout. And then you, as a teacher, can decide how you wish to work through this. You have a lot of options. You can work through it together as a class, with you guiding them as the teacher. You could give them time individually to study and work through it on their own. You could put the students in to groups or companionships to work through the handout together to see how much they could fill in in a given time frame. You could even turn it into a game of sorts by calling out one of the boxes and seeing which team can identify a truth about apostles and prophets from the given verses first. However you decide to do it, to make sure that you as a teacher are familiar with each idea here, allow me to walk you through the handout. Here we go:
The Three P’s
Remember that Acts chapter 1 describes the ascension of Christ into heaven. But before he goes he’s going to give the apostles something—three things to be precise. And to make them easier to remember, they all start with P. He’s going to give them Power, he’s going to give them Purpose, and he’s going to give them a Plan. In Acts 1:8, can you identify those three things? What’s the power he will give them? The power of the Holy Ghost. Apostles and prophets act by the power of the Holy Ghost. What’s their purpose? To be witnesses of Christ. And what’s the plan? To take that witness to Jerusalem and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. And as you read the book of Acts, that’s the exact order you see the gospel spreading. In Acts chapters 1-7, we see the gospel taught in Jerusalem, then chapters 8-9, you see the work expanding into all of Judea and Samaria, and then in chapters 10-28, the gospel begins to spread throughout all of the ancient world, particularly through the ministry of Paul.
Our living apostles have the same three p’s as well. They too have the power of, and teach by, and act under the influence of the Holy Ghost, they are special witnesses of Christ, and their plan is to continue to spread the gospel throughout all the world.
Special Witnesses
Our next box here lists a number of different references: Acts 1:8, 1:22, 2:32, 3:15, 4:33, 5:32. What do they all have in common? They all give us the special title apostles are given. And what is that title? The word is witness or witnesses. Each of the chapters in this week’s study contains that word. In each, the apostles declare themselves to be witnesses of Christ. That’s what they do. In our day, Christ has called 15 men as his special witnesses. A witness can be defined as “one that gives evidence” or “one that has personal knowledge of something.” How wonderful is it that, even today, God has given us this authority to rely on. Men who have a deeper personal knowledge of the reality of Christ and receive personal revelation from him. The brethren, for me, stand as a huge pillar of my testimony. You can just tell that they are good men—that they are not trying to deceive us—that they have a deep conviction of what they teach. I trust in their authority even though I personally do not have the same level of understanding or experience as they do. But I can trust in their witness and find strength in it. I don’t have to just rely on my own feelings, emotions, or experiences. I have them to turn rely on as well.
How are they chosen?
Now a skeptic might look at that idea there and wonder, “Ok, how are these men chosen for that position though? Are they self-appointed witnesses? Are they elected by the members of the Church? How does someone become a special witness of Christ? The events described in Acts 1:15-26 can help us to understand this. And here we get to see Peter step up and really perform his first act of authority as the new leader of the Church—a new apostle needs to be called to fill the vacancy that Judas Iscariot left behind. And that by itself stands as an indication that God always intended the leadership of the church to continue, for more apostles to be called as vacancies opened up in that organization. As you read Acts 1:15-26 see if you can find evidence of each of the following factors in deciding who is called to be a leader in the church?
Scripture—Peter quotes Psalm 69:25 in verse 20 as scriptural precedent for the practice of filling vacancies in Church leadership.
Prayer—They pray in verse 24
Discussion—We see evidence of discussion of who they felt were possibilities to take the position of apostle in verse 23
Qualifications of the individual—are considered in verses 21-22. They feel that in this instance, somebody who had been with them from Christ’s baptism to the resurrection would be a significant qualification for that position
Trust in Lord—Look at their prayer in verse 24-- 24 And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen,
25 That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.
And then they show their trust when they cast their lots after the prayer—asking for God’s intervention to allow the lots to fall on the man that he approved of.
The Spirit—And the Spirit is mentioned in verse 16 and evident throughout the process, as they discuss, pray, and show faith in God.
It’s the same process today. Our leaders are chosen with all of these considerations and factors in mind. When I served as Bishop, I know that I relied on these things as I considered who was to be called to fulfill specific callings. Each of these plays a role in making those kinds of decisions. It’s not an election. It’s not first come first serve. It’s not a competition. As Gordon B. Hinckley once said:
“The procedure is peculiar to the Lord's church. There is no seeking for office, no jockeying for position, no campaigning to promote one's virtues. … Under the Lord's plan, those who have responsibility to select officers are governed by one overriding question: 'Whom would the Lord have?' There is quiet and thoughtful deliberation. And there is much of prayer to receive the confirmation of the Holy Spirit that the choice is correct"
Gordon B. Hinckley
(in Conference Report, Apr. 1994, 73; or Ensign, May 1994, 53).
Quick Principles
Now let’s cover a few of these a little quicker.
Acts 1:14
14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.
Apostles and prophets are unified. As they make decisions for the Church, no policy change can move forward without the unanimous vote of all the brethren. Can you imagine if Congress had the same rule? Nothing would ever get done. Nothing seems to get done even with majority rule. But it’s amazing how our Church leaders are able to do so much and move forward on so many things unanimously. 15 different men with very different backgrounds. They must be inspired!
Acts 2:11
They speak about the wonderful works of God
Acts 2:28 They make known to us the ways of life, and fill us with joy.
Love that one. Prophets can teach us the best way to live. Their counsel will lead us to live joyful, fulfilling lives.
Acts 3:22 This verse summarizes our duty to the prophets:
22 For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.
We should hear them in all things whatsoever he shall say unto us.
Acts 4:8 They are filled with the Holy Ghost
Acts 4:13, 29, 31, 33 They speak with boldness and power. (And on this one I would pause and give them some background. After performing an incredible miracle, the apostles popularity skyrockets and people begin joining the church left and right, which is not too pleasing to the scribes and Pharisees, so they arrest Peter and John and ask them by what authority they act. And the setting is key here. Where is Peter standing at this moment? In Caiaphas palace! The very place where not that long before he denied that he even knew Jesus Christ. And now in front of the very same people listen to him now in verses 10-12
10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.
11 This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.
12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
This is not the same Peter. Now that he has the power, the purpose, and the plan, he is not afraid. He speaks with boldness and power. I love it!
Then in Acts 4:16
They perform notable miracles.
Acts 4:18-20
And so in verse 18, the Jewish leaders
18 And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.
19 But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye.
20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.
So, They cannot be controlled by the world. They speak the things they have heard and seen.
And isn’t that the way our modern apostles and prophets are? I’m sure there are many out there who would love to stop the brethren from teaching what they teach. But no amount of pressure from the media or other churches or any organization can stop them from testifying and teaching what they know to be true.
And so let me add this little story from chapter 5 in here. In verses 17-28 the apostles are thrown into prison by the Jewish leaders because they refuse to listen to their commands to stop preaching. And I love this story so much, it’s actually kind of comical in a way. An angel comes to the prison at night and lets them out and they go straight back to teaching. So can you just imagine the look on the leaders faces the next morning? and I would have hated to be the poor officer who has to deliver the message. He comes to them and basically says in vs. 25. Remember those guys that we threw into prison last night. “Yes, what about them” , well I know we locked them up and we put guards at the gate, but umm, right now, they’re standing in the temple, and teaching the people”. And I can just see them like WHAT? How is this possible? AARRGH we can’t win against these guys. So fun.
Acts 5:12 By their hands, many signs and wonders are wrought
Acts 5:29 They obey God rather than men
Acts 5:42 They cease not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.
The Power of Prophets
And then Chapter 3 contains a story that teaches a very powerful prophetic principle. I want to see what you come up with. I’ll give you the framework. When I . . If I . . Then I . . . How could we take this story and turn it into a truth that we all could live by.
Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.
2 And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;
3 Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.
4 And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us.
5 And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.
6 Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.
7 And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.
8 And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.
9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God:
10 And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.
11 And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon's, greatly wondering.
What’s the situation here? This poor man has a problem. He has been lame from birth; he can’t walk. So what happens to him? Well, through the power of Peter and John, He is lifted up, immediately receives strength, he leaps, he is lead into the temple, praises God, and is healed. But what did he have to do? And your students may struggle a little with this one and may even guess that he didn’t have to do anything, but that’s not entirely accurate. If they have trouble finding the answer send them to vs. 4 and ask what Peter instructed him to do. And it is “Look on us”. And it wasn’t until the man “gave heed” unto them that he was healed.
So what could our statement be? When I have problems in my life, if I look to the prophets and heed them, Then I can be healed spiritually, lifted up, immediately receive strength, and be led to the temple to praise God with joy.
TRUTH
Now when you’ve completed this activity and everyone has their sheet filled in, you could ask them which prophetic principle stood out most to them. Which was the most meaningful to them today and why?
LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES
Have you ever seen the apostles and prophets of our day exemplify any of these same things?
Why are you grateful for the leadership and example of today’s prophets and apostles?
And just a few of my thoughts, when I think of speaking with boldness and power-I think of Elder Holland
When I think of obeying God rather than man and not being controlled by the world, I think of President Oaks, he always seems to pick the tough topics that the world disagrees with, and sets forth our position as a Church beautifully and with logic and eloquence
When I think of being filled with the Holy Ghost, I think of Elder Bednar who has such a deep and palpable connection with the Spirit. He has given so many talks and even written books on understanding and recognizing the Spirit and how it works.
And when I think of making known to us the ways of life and filling us with joy, I think of none other than our beloved prophet Russell M. Nelson. His counsels, his example, his guidance, fills me with joy and I am so grateful for his inspired leadership.
CONCLUSION
We are so fortunate as a Church to be led today by JESUS CHRIST in the same way that the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of ancient day saints were led. Through living apostles and prophets. Jesus called them back then and he continues to call them now, and they provide the members of his Church with the same blessings. They are our latter-day alarm clocks that we would do well to listen to. In Peter and John’s day, some people got so upset with their warnings that they became physically violent with them, sought to silence them, or to shut them down. And nowadays, for us, at least every six months they go off, right?! When they do, how do we react to them? Do we get upset? Do we ignore them? Do we just turn over and go right back to sleep or just spiritually hit the snooze button every six months but never really get up and make any changes? Or do we respond? Do we wake up? Do we get to work? Are we grateful that we have these special, inspired wake-up calls to keep us on track. May we all be the types of Saints that react positively and gratefully to our latter-day alarm clocks.
THE DAY OF PENTECOST
ICEBREAKER
Moving on to the second major element of post-resurrection discipleship. For an icebreaker to this portion of the lesson, I would start by asking a simple discussion question which could vary depending on the age of who you are teaching. If I were teaching the youth, I might ask them “What advice would you give to someone that was just beginning high school? Or Middle School?
Or if I were teaching adults, I might ask what advice would you give to someone who was just beginning college, or their career, or were just recently married, or had become new parents? Anything like that depending on the makeup of your class. But then you could continue by telling them that Joseph Smith, after he had been martyred at Carthage jail came back to Brigham Young in a dream and gave him some advice. Some advice on becoming the next leader or prophet of the Church. So from one prophet to the next, what do you think would be the advice he would give? Just guess. What lesson of leadership would you imagine would be important to pass on? Important enough to make a visit from the Spirit World to deliver? And after they make their guesses you can read to them Brigham Young’s account of this experience and invite them to listen closely for the major advice that Joseph had for Brigham. He said:
"Tell the people to be humble and faithful, and be sure to keep the spirit of the Lord and it will lead them right. Be careful and not turn away the small still voice; it will teach you what to do and where to go; it will yield the fruits of the kingdom. Tell the brethren to keep their hearts open to conviction, so that when the Holy Ghost comes to them, their hearts will be ready to receive it. They can tell the Spirit of the Lord from all other spirits; it will whisper peace and joy to their souls; it will take malice, hatred, strife and all evil from their hearts; and their whole desire will be to do good, bring forth righteousness and build up the kingdom of God. Tell the brethren if they will follow the spirit of the Lord, they will go right. Be sure to tell the people to keep the Spirit of the Lord; and if they will, they will find themselves just as they were organized by our Father in Heaven before they came into the world. Our Father in Heaven organized the human family, but they are all disorganized and in great confusion."
. . . Joseph again said, "Tell the people to be sure to keep the Spirit of the Lord and follow it, and it will lead them just right."
(Recorded in the Manuscript History of Brigham Young on 23 February 1847, at Winter Quarters)
So did you catch it? What was Joseph’s major advice? Keep the Spirit of the Lord. Learning how to recognize, follow, and continue worthy of the companionship of the Holy Ghost is one of the most important things we can do as members of the Church.
TRANSITION
Acts chapter 2 has some important things to teach us about that counsel. Let’s now focus on that second element of our HOW question we began with. How will Christ lead his Church while he’s gone? The Holy Ghost plays a big part in that. During the Last Supper, in John 14:16-17 Jesus made a promise to his apostles. He said:
16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
And later in verse 26
26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
Acts 2 is going to describe a very special event in the early Church which will be the fulfillment of this promise called the day of Pentecost. The Pentecost was the Jews feast of the harvest. And while the apostles are observing this special feast something quite miraculous takes place. And I find it fitting that this would happen on that particular day, perhaps symbolizing a different kind of harvest that was about to begin in the early Church. So let’s discover what this chapter can teach us about the third member of the Godhead.
SEARCH
First, I want you to read Acts 2:1-12 with the following question in mind.
What does this event teach us about the Holy Ghost?
And then either read those verses as a class, invite them to read it on their own, or read it to them as a teacher. Then have them share their answers.
At some point during that discussion, you may want to ask the following question: What two symbolic elements is the Holy Ghost represented by in this event?
And the answers are wind and fire.
Now why wind? Why is that a good symbol for the Holy Ghost? A few thoughts:
You can’t see it, but you can feel it.
It can be powerful or soft
It is not controlled by man
It produces power and movement
Now why fire?
It gives light (or guidance and understanding)
It provides warmth, sometimes feeling the spirit is described as a burning in the bosom or an overall feeling of warmth
It provides comfort
Fire purifies
It can spread
What does verse 4 teach us about the Holy Ghost?
2:4. It can enable you to do miraculous things. The gift of tongues is manifest at this time as the apostles are in the presence of Jews from all over the ancient world, and they all can understand what the apostles are saying in their own tongue. And just for fun here, it’s kind of cool to take a look at a New Testament map and find these areas that are mentioned in Acts 2:9-11. You’ve got
9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,
10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,
11 Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.
And what message do you get from looking at that map? And I think that sends a pretty clear message here. Remember the PLAN that the apostles were given in Acts chapter 1. To take the gospel to all the world, just look at this. Kind of neat huh? Truly an allusion to the fact that they WOULD take the gospel to all the world.
Continuing on, point out a few more verses to them from Acts 2. Peter is going to quote Joel in vs. 16-18. What do these verses teach us about the Holy Ghost?
16 But this was that which was spoken by the prophet Joel.
17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:
What do these verses teach us? One thing I see here: The spirit is for everybody. Male and female are included here, as are the young and the old. I will pour out my Spirit upon ALL flesh.
And then, one more truth regarding the Holy Ghost that I want you to see. Peter teaches the people in verses 19-36 all about Jesus Christ, how his coming fulfilled Old Testament prophecy, how he was resurrected, and that he was their Lord and Savior. Later, in Acts chapter 5, Peter is going to be in front of a different group of people, the Pharisees, and Sadducees, and deliver to them a similar message. Now I want you to compare and contrast the two reactions of these groups of people. The Holy Ghost can have one of two effects on our hearts. What are they in Acts 2:37 and Acts 5:33?
37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
And then from Acts 5
33 When they heard that, they were cut to the heart, and took counsel to slay them.
Did you notice the contrast? When truth is taught, our hearts can either be pricked by the Holy Ghost, or they can be cut by the Holy Ghost. If our hearts are pricked, what effect does that have on us? It inspires us to want to change and ask, “what shall we do?” On the other hand, if our hearts are cut by the Holy Ghost, it may make us angry or desire to silence the voice that is testifying by it. This dynamic of the Spirit is also seen in other places in scripture. We see the same kind of language used in the Book of Mormon. In Jarom 1:12 we find a description of a group of Nephites whose hearts were pricked by the Spirit, and it causes them to desire to repent. By contrast in 1 Nephi 16:2, as Nephi reprimands Laman and Lemuel, we see the other description. “Wherefore the guilty taketh the truth to be hard, for it cutteth them to the heart.”
And who decides which reaction takes place? Who determines whether our hearts are pricked or cut? We do? Are we soft hearted or hard hearted. Soft hearts just need to be pricked by the Spirit, hard hearts take more work and have to be cut.
TRUTH
Well, here I would sink these truths deeper into their hearts by reviewing what you’ve discovered so far.
The Holy Ghost is like wind.
The Holy Ghost is like fire.
The Holy Ghost can enable us to do miraculous things.
The Holy Ghost can be poured out on anybody.
The Holy Ghost can inspire me to change for the better.
LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES
Have you ever had an experience with the Spirit where you felt one of these truths in your life?
And I know that for me personally I have seen every single one. I have felt the rushing mighty wind of the Spirit at various times in my life, I’ve also felt the fire of the Spirit comfort me, guide me in making righteous choices, and purifying me from my sins. I personally have been able to be part of miraculous circumstances through its power and have used special gifts of the Spirit in blessing my life and the lives of others. And there have been many times where I’ve felt the pricking of the Spirit in my heart, prompting me to make inspired changes in my life.
CONCLUSION
As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we are blessed to have the gift of the Holy Ghost as our constant companion. The more we learn to attune our ears to both its gentle breezes and rushing mighty winds, the more we learn to warm ourselves by its comforting and guiding fire, the more we are willing to allow it to prick our hearts into action, the more strength, peace, guidance, and joy we will experience in our lives. So with the help of the apostles and prophets, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, we too are able to move forward down the path of discipleship even when Jesus Christ himself isn’t personally at our side.
THE BEST POLICY
Another brief lesson idea here. The story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1-11 is such an interesting one, and a little troubling too.
ICEBREAKER
To introduce this story, I sometimes like to give my students the following honesty quiz. Now this should be done anonymously and is not intended to be handed in. It’s just a personal exercise that places them in various scenarios where their integrity might be tested and how they feel they would react. Let me give you just two examples of the kinds of questions that you’ll find on it.
You’re taking a stroll when you see a stray $20 bill fall from the pocket of an elderly woman walking in front of you. She doesn’t notice the fallen money. What do you do?
A. Pick up the money, and hand it back to her.
B. Pick up the money. Hand her a five and tell her she dropped it. $15 is a reasonable finder’s fee.
C. Pick up the money and pocket it. Finders Keepers.
You’re working on a big assignment for one of your classes when your friend calls to ask if you want to go see a movie. They tell you that they did the same assignment last semester, and they will send you a copy through email. What do you do?
A. Tell them no thanks and continue to do your assignment.
B. Have them send it over and use parts of it to support the work you have done.
C. Tell them to send it on over. You remove their name, put yours on it and get ready for the movie.
You can conclude that activity by saying that you hope they had more A’s than C’s in their answers. If they had more B’s and C’s, then maybe today’s story might help them reevaluate their integrity.
TRANSITION
In Acts chapter 5 there is a short story of a couple who learned a painful lesson in honesty. Their names were Ananias and Sapphira.
SEARCH
The search activity for this story is very simple. Read Acts 5:1-11 with the following question in mind. What does this story teach us about honesty?
Now I’m not going to read the text of the entire account here but it’s the story of the couple who holds back part of the price of land that they intend to consecrate to the church, but they want to appear as if they are giving everything. So they lie to Peter about it. And each one in turn falls dead when confronted by Peter. Can you imagine if that is how things worked in the Church today? You know, your Bishop gets up and announces to the whole ward, “I’m afraid to say that Brother and Sister Smith only paid 9% tithing this month” and then they keel over and die in the pews, and the deacons come and carry them out and bury them next to the Church. How would that be? And, you know, part of me wants to say, really Lord, I mean of all the people you could smite in this world, why them? Why not Herod, why not Nero, or in a modern context, why didn’t you smite Hitler or an Osama Bin Laden before they did such terrible things. Why these two? And I’m not sure, but a couple of thoughts. One, it never says that God smites them, perhaps it was their own conscience. I mean, our bodies are not good at lying. There is a physical reaction that our bodies have to lies, I mean, there is a whole science behind lie detection. Its stressful for our spirit and our bodies. Our bodies don’t like to lie. Our spirits don’t like to lie. That should tell us something. Another point about honesty here. You cannot lie to God, like Peter says in vs 4,
“thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.”
We may feel like we’ve gotten away with something, and it’s very possible that nobody else ever finds out about our lie. But we can’t hide from God. That omniscience thing gets in the way. Perhaps that can help us to commit to honesty.
Another possible message from the story: dishonesty is serious. Maybe that’s the whole reason God allowed this to happen. He knew that the impact of this story would not just be for those present but for all people who would read this Bible story in the future. It may not sound like the most serious of sins in this context, and perhaps Ananias and Sapphira had a good laugh about it with God in the Spirit World and He thanked them for allowing him to make an example out of them. To send a message to the world that dishonesty is serious. And maybe they were like, “Ah, don’t mention it. Glad to be of service”. Now I’m glad that God doesn’t run the world on the “You Lie, You Die” policy, none of us would probably be here. But in a world where dishonesty is seen as commonplace and often as a small indiscretion, this story shows that lying is serious, and when we lie, something does die inside us. It says they gave up the ghost. Well, when we lie, we also give up the ghost, the Holy Ghost. We lose the Spirit.
VIDEO
There is a little Church video that you might consider showing at this point. It’s entitled, “Honesty, You Better Believe It”. It does a great job of illustrating some of the principles of honesty that we just discussed.
LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES
Have you ever had any experiences that helped you to understand the importance of honesty or the seriousness of dishonesty?
In what areas of your life do you need to be more honest?
CONCLUSION
Well I imagine that both Ananias and Sapphira, after this experience, would agree that honesty truly is the best policy. The dangers of dishonesty to our spiritual and indeed, our societal health can’t be underestimated. Dishonesty is personally damaging as it engenders guilt, loss of self-respect, and a constant fear of being exposed. Dishonesty damages relationships whether that’s in marriages, families, or friendships. It breeds suspicion, resentment, and a loss of trust that is very hard to regain once lost. And then, not to be overdramatic, but dishonesty can really erode the very fabric of our society. Corruption in government, misinformation in the media, unethical business practices, all of these things hinder the well-being of our communities. It leads to cynicism, polarization, and a lack of faith in institutions. Choosing honesty, on the other hand, fosters trust, strengthens relationships, bolsters personal integrity, and paves the way for a better life for everyone. And then, spiritually speaking, honesty gives us confidence in the presence of God. We can stand tall in the knowledge that not only are we authentic and truthful to his representatives but to God himself. And in return, we won’t “give up the ghost” ,or the Holy Ghost, like Ananias and Sapphira.
ADDITIONAL INSIGHTS
All right, I should end right there and those would be the three most important principles that I would want to teach my students from these chapters. However, there are a lot of other great insights in these chapters and I’m struggling to give them up. So, here are two more brief insights that I’ll just throw out there if you’re interested.
I love Peter’s words to the lame man just before he heals him. As the man asks for alms, Peter says: Silver and Gold have I none, but such as I have give I thee.
I believe there’s a beautiful message in that response. Sometimes people come to us asking for some kind of help or blessing, our children, our family members, our ward members, or friends, and we want to give them what they are asking of us. When I served as bishop, people would come in asking for help with their children, or their marriages, or their faith, or some desired blessing. And I always wished that I could give it to them, I would have if I could have, but sometimes we just don’t have the ability or means to fix their problems in the way that they are hoping. But we don’t have to abandon them, or just say, sorry, can’t help you. Instead, we can say in essence, silver and gold have I none, but such as I have, give I unto thee. I will give you what I can give you. I will do everything in my power to do. And sometimes that’s counsel, hope, encouragement, love, or our support. But we should seek to give what we can.
And then finally, Acts 5:34-40 describes a principle that I call the Gamaliel solution. It’s one of the best answers to the age-old question of, what do you do about people that don’t believe what you consider to be the truth—people we would say are wrong or misguided. The world’s solution for ages has been, like the Sanhedrin want to do to Peter and John here, is to threaten them, throw them in prison, or even slay them. And unfortunately, there is a long sad history of this through the ages. This is the thinking that has led to holy wars, pogroms, burnings at the stake, inquisitions, crusades, terrorist attacks, and the tearing down of other people’s faith or ideas. This is also one of the reasons why many have become disillusioned with organized religion. But it’s the same in the secular world, whether its politics, or philosophies, or ideologies, the solution the world gives is to threaten, fight, mock, and slay. Gamaliel, a Pharisee, and member of the Jewish council, though, gives us a better solution to this question. What do we do when we run up against those who disagree with us? In vs. 38-39, he says “Refrain from these men, let them alone, if this counsel or work be of men, it will come to nought.” So, let them alone if they’re wrong, then it won’t last, it will come to nought. “But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found to fight against God.” So if it’s true, and I’m not admitting that it is, but in the off chance it is, then it makes no sense to fight against it, because then you’re fighting against God, which, is a battle, you can never win. So, the persecution of the early Latter-day Saints, it came to nought, those that killed Joseph Smith at Carthage jail thought they had killed the Church too, that came to nought, various break off groups and anti-church literature, has not stopped the church from growing. So we can stop wringing our hands over these kinds of things, if God is on your side, then you can't lose. And when you come across people who disagree with you, follow Gamaliel’s advice. Just let it be. If it’s false, it will eventually fall apart. Or, on a related note, we can also follow Joseph Smith’s solution. I love this cross reference for Acts 5. Joseph was somebody who knew something about religious persecution and prejudice. What was his advice? Look in JSH 1:28 for his solution. How should we treat those who we think are deluded or have got it all wrong. He says that he was “forbidden to join any of the religious sects of the day, and being of very tender years, and persecuted by those who ought to have been my friends and to have treated me kindly, and if they supposed me to be deluded to have endeavored in a proper and affectionate manner to have reclaimed me.” Do you see a better solution in that? So instead of fighting against, or putting down, or ostracizing others, we can be their friends, and treat them kindly, and endeavor in a proper and affectionate manner to reclaim them. The Gamaliel or Joseph Smith solution. I wish more people in our world would follow that advice.
