Brigham Young University (BYU) is operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, often mistakenly called the “Mormon Church.” As part of their undergraduate coursework, BYU students take multiple semesters of spiritually uplifting, stimulating religion classes.
Here, in this column, students enrolled in scripture study classes have shared their thoughts, insights, and reflections on the New Testament and gospel of Jesus Christ in the form of letters to someone they know. In publishing these, we fulfill their desire to witness to all of us of the relevance, power, and beauty of the New Testament, and God’s plan of happiness for each of us. We invite you to take a look at their epiphanies and discoveries as they delve into the scriptures. Let us know how these may help you in your own life. Share them with a friend.
Mormon Thoughts: Importance
Conversation with a friend
We had an unbelievable lesson in my New Testament class this week. We talked about a lot of things that really hit me hard, but the one that blew my mind was the book of Philemon. I have always just glazed over those super small books in the New Testament and the Book of Mormon, because they never seemed to be that important in the big scheme of things, but after that class I realized that truly each and every verse in the scriptures is there for a divine purpose. It is just our job to realize why the Lord had people pay so much, even sometimes with their lives to give us each and every verse of scripture that we have. Then after we find that, it is our responsibility to see how those verses apply to us.
The one in Philemon that he showed starts in verse 10. it is honestly one of the most profound yet simple teaching of the atonement that I have ever read in scripture. In it Paul is writing to Philemon on behalf of Onesimus. He says that he apologizes for any wrongs that Onesimus has done and tells Philemon not to hold them against Onesimus but to instead hold them against Paul, and that he would pay the price. What a crazy thought to think that not only would Paul pay the price, but even more amazingly to me that he would take credit for the wrongdoings of Onesimus… and I know that this only scratches the surface of what our Savior did for us in performing the Atonement for us.
Your friend,
Tyler
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