1 Peter 5

Peter stood in the presence of Jesus during the Transfiguration. The Doctrine and Covenants tells us that he saw much more than Moses and Elias. "He that endureth... shall receive an inheritance upon the earth when the day of transfiguration shall come; When the earth shall be transfigured, even according to the pattern which was shown unto mine apostles upon the mount." (D&C 63:20-21) Peter, James, and John saw the glory of the Millennium, when the "man" they had been following would reign as King and Lord over the whole earth. Prior to that they certainly could not have appreciated Jesus' true identity.

 

In order to witness Christ's transfigured glory, Peter, James, and John were also transfigured. They witnessed the earth in its transfigured state, when it returns to a paradisiacal or terrestrial state. Peter both saw that glory and was made a partaker of that glory yet to be revealed. The ancient prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Zechariah and others prophesied much concerning this earthly state of glory when the House of Israel will finally be redeemed:

 

...and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. (Isa 65:17-22)

 

The most painful lesson Peter ever learned was the mistake of three times denying the Lord. Later, providing opportunity for restitution, the Lord asked Peter three times, "Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?" (John 21:16) After declaring his love and devotion three times, the Lord gave Peter the second most important lesson-to feed his sheep. Those who declare their love for the chief Shepherd must of necessity abide the injunction to feed the flock.

 

Great is our work, tremendous is our responsibility in helping to find those to teach. The Lord has laid upon us a mandate to teach the gospel to every creature. This will take the very best efforts of every missionary-full-time and stake. It will take the very best efforts of every bishop, of every bishop's counselor, of every member of the ward council. It will take the very best interests of every stake president and his council, and particularly the Member Missionary Coordinating Councils.

 

God bless you, my beloved brethren and sisters, in meeting the tremendous challenge that is ours. We cannot evade it. We cannot escape it. We must face up to it. The opportunities are tremendous. We are equal to it, and the Lord will bless us as we try. ("Find the Lambs, Feed the Sheep," Ensign, May 1999, 107-8)

 

President Marion G. Romney taught that the home teachers "carry the heavy and glorious responsibility of representing the Lord Jesus Christ in looking after the welfare of each member" (Ensign, Mar. 1973, pp. 12-13).

 

Every Sunday, those brothers received our family when we arrived at the chapel. They sat next to us during meetings. They taught us the hymns. They taught us about the standards of the kingdom. They called us to inform about the passing away of President Joseph Fielding Smith, and later about the calling of the new prophet, President Harold B. Lee.

 

They were interested in the well-being and the progress of our family and our eventual needs. After our baptism, postponed for two months, and even after we had moved to the Tijuca Ward, these dedicated home teachers and President Barros took turns during the following three months, approximately, in regular phone calls to know if our family was well adjusted in the new ward, if everything was all right, if any help was needed.

 

In spite of the change of residence, the home teachers did not feel totally released of their duties of taking care and giving attention to our family.

 

Even being sure we had new shepherds, they continued as our brothers in Christ.

 

What a magnificent attitude! They no longer had the assignment, but they kept the Christian interest. What an extraordinary bond was established. Almost twenty-three years have passed since then. Many other home teacher companions have succeeded those first ones. Their names, with few exceptions, are vaguely remembered, but the names and images of those first servants are forever in our memories since they served as true shepherds.

 

"The most worthy calling in life ... is that in which man can serve best his fellow man," taught President David O. McKay (Instructor, Mar. 1961, pp. 73-74).

 

Those brothers were, in fact, guardians, keepers, and very supportive. It is also worth mentioning that they fulfilled their stewardship with happy countenances, which reflected a happy state of spirit.

 

It seemed as if it were an honor and a privilege for them to serve so. They seemed to understand the duties of the eldest and youngest alike, as it was taught by the Apostle Peter:

 

"Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind" (1 Pet. 5:2). ("Watchmen on the Tower," Ensign, May 1995, 44)

 

A lay clergy, such an unusual and distinctive characteristics of Mormonism, performs with less training, education, or pay than their sectarian counterparts. U.S. News and World Report noted that the median annual salary for paid clergy was $78,690. (March 19, 2007 issue, p. 40) One Episcopalian church listed their clergy fees on the internet: $1500 for a wedding, $750-1300 for a funeral (cost depending number of musicians involved).

 

With such well-paid competition, how could the LDS bishops possibly survive without pay? The system of having men serve for free while keeping their day-jobs defies mortal logic. But the system is not of mortal design. The Lord knows that motivation is not a problem for those shepherds who love their flock and serve them with a ready and willing mind. They need neither constraint nor filthy lucre to feed their flocks. The payday for these bishops comes "when the chief Shepherd" appears and gives them a "crown of glory that fadeth not away." (v. 4)

 

We have a mission in the world: each man, each woman, each child who has grown to understanding or to the years of accountability, ought to be an example to the world. They ought not only to be qualified to preach the truth, to bear testimony of the truth, but ought to live so that the very life they live, the very words they speak, their every action in life will be a sermon to the unwary and to the ignorant, teaching them goodness, purity, uprightness, faith in God and love for the human family. (Gospel Doctrine: Selections from the Sermons and Writings of Joseph F. Smith, compiled by John A. Widtsoe [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1939], 251.)

 

Humility is an attribute of godliness possessed by true Saints. It is easy to understand why a proud man fails. He is content to rely upon himself only. This is evident in those who seek social position or who push others aside to gain position in fields of business, government, education, sports, or other endeavors. Our genuine concern should be for the success of others. The proud man shuts himself off from God, and when he does he no longer lives in the light. The Apostle Peter made this comment:

 

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. (1 Pet. 5:5-6.)

 

From the beginning of time there have been those with pride and others who have followed divine admonition to be humble. History bears record that those who have exalted themselves have been abased, but the humble have been exalted. On every busy street there are Pharisees and publicans. It may be that one of them bears our name. ("The Pharisee and the Publican," Ensign, May 1984, 66)

 

As part of His infinite atonement, Jesus knows "according to the flesh" all that through which we pass (Alma 7:11-12). He has borne the sins, griefs, sorrows, and, declared Jacob, the pains of every man, woman, and child (see 2 Ne. 9:21). Having been perfected in His empathy, Jesus thus knows how to succor us.

 

We can, therefore, actually do as Peter urged and cast our cares upon the Lord (see 1 Pet. 5:7); He is familiar with them, including even the feeling of being forsaken (see Mark 14:50, Mark 15:34). Nothing is beyond His redeeming reach or His encircling empathy. Therefore, we should not complain about our own life's not being a rose garden when we remember who wore the crown of thorns! ("Overcome ... Even As I Also Overcame," Ensign, May 1987, 72)

 

We find solace in Christ through the agency of the Comforter, and he extends this invitation to us: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matt. 11:28.) The Apostle Peter speaks of "casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." (1 Pet. 5:7.) As we do this, healing takes place, just as the Lord promised through the prophet Jeremiah when he said, "I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow. ... I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul." (Jer. 31:13, 25.)

 

In the celestial glory, we are told, "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain." (Rev. 21:4.) Then faith and hope will replace heartache, disappointment, torment, anguish, and despair, and the Lord will give us strength, as Alma says, that we "should suffer no manner of afflictions, save it were swallowed up in the joy of Christ." (Alma 31:38.) Of this I have a testimony, and I so declare it in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. ("Spiritual Healing," Ensign, May 1992, 8)

 

We do not have to protect ourselves from wolf packs as we travel the road of life today, but, in a spiritual sense, we do face the devious wolves of Satan in the forms of temptation, evil, and sin. We live in dangerous times when these ravenous wolves roam the spiritual countryside in search of those who may be weak in faith or feeble in their conviction. In his first epistle, Peter described our "adversary the devil, as a roaring lion [that] walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." (1 Pet. 5:8.) The Lord told the Prophet Joseph Smith that "enemies prowl around thee like wolves for the blood of the lamb." (D&C 122:6.) We are all vulnerable to attack. However, we can fortify ourselves with the protection provided by a burning testimony that, like a bonfire, has been built adequately and maintained carefully.

 

Unfortunately, some in the Church may believe sincerely that their testimony is a raging bonfire when it really is little more than the faint flickering of a candle. Their faithfulness has more to do with habit than holiness, and their pursuit of personal righteousness almost always takes a back seat to their pursuit of personal interests and pleasure. With such a feeble light of testimony for protection, these travelers on life's highways are easy prey for the wolves of the adversary. ("Spiritual Bonfires of Testimony," Ensign, Nov. 1992, 34)

 

Lucifer in his diabolical scheming deceives the unwary and uses every tool at his command. Seldom does one go to a convention, a club meeting, a party, or a social gathering without hearing vulgarity, obscenity, and suggestive stories.

 

Peter cautioned us: "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Pet. 5:8).

 

And the Savior said that the very elect would be deceived by Lucifer if it were possible. He will use his logic to confuse and his rationalizations to destroy. He will shade meanings, open doors an inch at a time, and lead from purest white through all the shades of gray to the darkest black. ("President Kimball Speaks Out on Morality," Ensign, Nov. 1980, 94)

 

The Savior declared, "be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect." (Matt. 5:48) Latter-day saints stress this concept with a persistent emphasis upon strict obedience. Satan, however, makes a point to discourage the saints from their efforts. He tells them they can never be perfect-that it is just too hard-that they can't do it-and he is right; they can't do it. I can't do it, you can't do it, the Prophet can't do it by himself. Without the Lord's help, no one can do it. Stephen E. Robinson eloquently taught this principle

 

"Sometimes the demand for perfection drives us to despair. More than a decade ago, my wife and I were living in Pennsylvania. Things seemed to be going well. I'd been promoted in my work and was also serving in the bishopric. Janet had given birth to our fourth child, had graduated from college, had passed the CPA exam, and had been called to serve as Relief Society president. We were busy but happy, and I thought we were doing the right things.

 

"Then my wife began to feel an overpowering sense of discouragement. She asked to be released from her callings, and try as I might, I could not get her to tell me what was wrong.

 

"One night, after two weeks of being prodded by a sometimes insensitive but worried husband, she finally said, 'All right. You want to know what's wrong? I can't do it anymore. I can't get up at 5:30 in the morning to bake bread and help my kids with their homework and do my own homework. I can't do my Relief Society stuff and get my genealogy done and sew and go to the PTA meetings and write the missionaries. ...'

 

"She added, 'I don't have the talent that Sister Morrell has. I can't do what Sister Childs does. I try not to yell at the kids, but I do. I'm not perfect, and I'm never going to be perfect. I'm afraid I'm not going to make it to the celestial kingdom.'

 

"I said, 'Janet, I know you have a testimony. ...'

 

"'Of course I do! That's what's so terrible. I know the gospel's true. I just can't do it. I've tried and I've tried, but I can't do it all, all of the time.'

 

"It was a long night. At last we came to understand what was wrong. We realized, after talking together, that Janet was trying to save herself. She knew that Jesus is an adviser and a teacher. She knew that he is an example, the head of the Church, our Elder Brother, and even God. She knew all that, but she did not understand His role as the Savior.

 

"We all fail at living the full celestial level. That's why we need a Savior... Perfection comes through the atonement of Jesus Christ. That happens as we become one with him, a perfect being. It is like a merger. If you take a small, bankrupt firm that is about to go under and merge it with a corporate giant, what happens? Their assets and liabilities flow together, and the new entity that is created is solvent.

 

"This is similar to what happens spiritually when we enter into a covenant with the Savior. We have liabilities; he has assets. So he proposes a covenant relationship. Jesus is sometimes called the Bridegroom and the Church the Bride, because of their close association under the covenant. After the covenant is made, I become one with Christ, and as partners we work together toward my exaltation. My liabilities and his assets flow into each other. I do all that I can do, and he does what I cannot yet do. For now, in partnership we are perfect, through His perfection.

 

"What heavier burden is there than the demand we sometimes place on ourselves to be perfect now, in this life? But Jesus proposes:

 

For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matt. 11:28-30.)"

(Stephen E. Robinson, "Believing Christ," Ensign, Apr. 1992, 7)

 

Perfection is only possible by the grace of God, not by exacting obedience and personal performance. The scriptures clearly teach this, but Satan would have us believe otherwise. Peter refers to "the God of grace" as the One who will make us perfect after we have "suffered a while." This concept is so important that Peter makes it the concluding doctrinal statement of this general epistle. Similarly, of all the things Moroni could have given us as his last words as the last surviving Nephite, as the last prophet of a once great nation, he taught this sublime principle. He reminded us that we are not expected to perfect ourselves. Rather, we are to "come unto Christ, and be perfected in him" (italics added) by denying ourselves of all ungodliness and loving God with all our "might, mind and strength." This is how it works. "Then is his grace suffieient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ." (Moroni 10:32, emphasis added)

 

"Peter wrote his first New Testament epistle 'at Babylon' (1 Pet. 5:13) in A.D. 63 or 64, near the time of the persecution of Christians under Nero. Babylon was a name that Christian writers often used for Rome, so Peter's phrase likely refers to that city. We know from 1 Peter 1:1 that the document was written to Church members in central and northern Asia Minor.

 

"Peter mentions no serious defections or schisms in that area, but clearly the Christians there were enduring local persecution, which Peter encourages them to bear. (See 1 Pet. 1:6-7; 1 Pet. 3:14; 1 Pet. 4:12-14.)" (S. Kent Brown, "Whither the Early Church?" Ensign, Oct. 1988, 8)

 

This Marcus is presumed to be the same as John Mark who is the author of the second gospel. The intimate relationship between Mark and Peter is implied by the appellation, "Marcus my son" (I Peter 5:13), and it is therefore supposed that he was one of Peter's converts. Dr. Farrar tells us that according to Papias, Mark accompanied Peter as his interpreter." (St. Paul's Companions in Rome. by Col. R. M. Bryce-Thomas., Improvement Era, 1908, Vol. Xii. December, 1908. No. 2 .)

 

"John Mark, commonly known as Mark, is the author of the Gospel of that name. He was the son of one of the leading women in the early church in Jerusalem. Believers assembled at her home, and Peter returned there after being freed from prison (Acts 12:12-17). John Mark was chosen as a companion of Paul and Barnabas as they left on the first missionary journey (Acts 12:25,13:5) but for an unnamed reason he left the two brethren about half way into the journey (Acts 13:13)...Peter speaks of Mark as his son and as being with him in Babylon-probably Rome (1 Pet 5:13). An ancient tradition states that Mark wrote his gospel in Rome, taking his material directly from Peter." (Institute Manual, The Life and Teachings of Jesus & his Apostles, 2^nd ed., p. 253)

 

"The Gospel according to Mark came into being in this manner: when Peter had publicly preached the word at Rome, and by the Spirit had proclaimed the Gospel, that those present, who were many, exhorted Mark as one who had followed him for a long time and remembered what he had spoken, to make a record of what was said; and that he did this, and distributed the 'Gospel' among those that asked him." (S. Kent Brown, Studies in Scripture, Vol. 5: The Gospel, ed. by Kent P. Jackson and Robert L. Millet, [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1986], 63 - 64.)