John rejoices because the children of the elect lady are true and faithful.
1 The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth;
The word elder is a title applied to all holders of the Melchizedek Priesthood, whether they be ordained to the specific office of elder or not ( D&C 20:38 ).
The word elder is a title applied to all holders of the Melchizedek Priesthood, whether they be ordained to the specific office of elder or not ( D&C 20:38 ).
2 For the truth’s sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever.
3 Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.
4 I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father.
5 And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another.
6 And this is alove, that we bwalk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the cbeginning, ye should walk in it.
7 For many adeceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an bantichrist.
These were the Docetists, Gnostic heretics who insisted that Christ was a phantom and ministered in appearance only. Matter is evil, and Christ could not have been a material being, for that would make him evil by association. Christ did not suffer for men’s sins in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross; he only seemed to suffer. ( Dokein in the Greek means “to seem or appear,” hence Docetism.)
These were the Docetists, Gnostic heretics who insisted that Christ was a phantom and ministered in appearance only. Matter is evil, and Christ could not have been a material being, for that would make him evil by association. Christ did not suffer for men’s sins in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross; he only seemed to suffer. ( Dokein in the Greek means “to seem or appear,” hence Docetism.)
8 Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have awrought, but that we receive a full reward.
9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.
10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your ahouse, neither bid him God speed:
11 For he that biddeth him God speed is apartaker of his evil deeds.
John was actually telling his readers to refrain from wishing prosperity and success to those whose lives and teachings were not in harmony with gospel truth. John is not suggesting that common courtesy cannot be extended to those who teach contrary doctrines. But in his time, the phrase he used also meant to welcome one into the home, to accept him as a guest. It was this kind of hospitality that enabled the itinerant preachers to exist and carry on their work. Thus, extending greeting was akin to supporting the work of these teachers.
John was actually telling his readers to refrain from wishing prosperity and success to those whose lives and teachings were not in harmony with gospel truth. John is not suggesting that common courtesy cannot be extended to those who teach contrary doctrines. But in his time, the phrase he used also meant to welcome one into the home, to accept him as a guest. It was this kind of hospitality that enabled the itinerant preachers to exist and carry on their work. Thus, extending greeting was akin to supporting the work of these teachers.
12 Having many things to write unto you, I would not awrite with paper and ink: but I trust to come unto you, and speak face to face, that our joy may be full.
13 The children of thy elect sister greet thee. Amen.
http://institute.lds.org/manuals/new-testament-institute-student-manual/nt-in-11-11-53.asp
As the shadows of apostasy increasingly overtook the church, its leaders earnestly sought to meet the challenge. Thus John and Jude warned the former-day saints of “ungodly” and false men who had “crept in unawares.” ( Jude 1:4, 15 .) Their perverse doctrines and conduct were polluting the church and leading the unsuspecting astray. John and Jude forthrightly identified these errors and counseled the faithful how they might resist them.
Similarly, in our own time church leaders have cautioned the Latter-day saints of the false men teaching incorrect doctrine. The modern prophets have spoken as unequivocally as their predecessors, and not surprisingly they have described problems remarkably parallel to those of the early church. Satan’s tools and man’s nature have not changed.
“There are some as wolves among us. By that, I mean some who profess membership in this church who are not sparing the flock. And among our own membership, men are arising speaking perverse things. Now perverse means diverting from the right or correct, and being obstinate in the wrong, willfully, in order to draw the weak and unwary members of the Church after them.” (Harold B. Lee in CR, Oct. 1972, p. 125.)
Who are these people? What are their false ideas and ungodly practices? How can you fortify yourself against their deceptions? If you suspect someone of “speaking perverse things,” what is your obligation both to them and to the Church?
“We must not ‘liberalize,’ and I put that term in quotes, our teachings; we must accept them as God gave them to us and there must be amongst us unity in faith. . . .” (J. Reuben Clark, Jr., in CR, Oct. 1944, pp. 117–18.)
Do you “invite” the brethren into your life by studying their conference addresses?
Do you give as much credence to the statements of the living prophet as to those of the past?
In order to justify a personal belief, do you attempt to pit the statements of one general authority against another?
http://institute.lds.org/manuals/new-testament-institute-student-manual/nt-in-11-11-53.asp
As the shadows of apostasy increasingly overtook the church, its leaders earnestly sought to meet the challenge. Thus John and Jude warned the former-day saints of “ungodly” and false men who had “crept in unawares.” ( Jude 1:4, 15 .) Their perverse doctrines and conduct were polluting the church and leading the unsuspecting astray. John and Jude forthrightly identified these errors and counseled the faithful how they might resist them.
Similarly, in our own time church leaders have cautioned the Latter-day saints of the false men teaching incorrect doctrine. The modern prophets have spoken as unequivocally as their predecessors, and not surprisingly they have described problems remarkably parallel to those of the early church. Satan’s tools and man’s nature have not changed.
“There are some as wolves among us. By that, I mean some who profess membership in this church who are not sparing the flock. And among our own membership, men are arising speaking perverse things. Now perverse means diverting from the right or correct, and being obstinate in the wrong, willfully, in order to draw the weak and unwary members of the Church after them.” (Harold B. Lee in CR, Oct. 1972, p. 125.)
Who are these people? What are their false ideas and ungodly practices? How can you fortify yourself against their deceptions? If you suspect someone of “speaking perverse things,” what is your obligation both to them and to the Church?
Place and Date of Writing -- All the evidence, and it is very scanty, suggests a date and place identical to that for First John somewhere near the turn of the first century at an unknown place in the Roman Empire. Indications in the letters suggest that Gnosticism is still the apostle’s dominant concern. While we cannot be certain as to the exact order in which the three letters of John were written, there is no solid evidence for accepting them in any other sequence than that in which they presently appear in the New Testament.
“The Church is little, if at all, injured by persecution and calumnies from ignorant, misinformed, or malicious enemies. A greater hindrance to its progress comes from faultfinders, shirkers, commandment-breakers, and apostate cliques within its own ecclesiastical and quorum groups.” (David O. McKay in CR, Oct. 1967, p. 9.)
“There is creeping into our midst, and I warn you brethren about it, and I urge you to meet it, a great host of sectarian doctrines that have no place amongst us. The gospel in its simplicity, is to be found in the revelations, the teachings of the Prophet and the early leaders of the Church. We shall make no mistake if we follow them. We shall make mistakes . . . if we try to harmonize our simple beliefs with the philosophy and the speculations of sectarian doctrines. When you can hear in our Sunday Schools in some of our most prominent wards, that we do not need to worry much about or think much about the first vision, we do not need to think very much about the atoning sacrifice of Christ—that is a mystery; . . . we would better be careful.“We must not ‘liberalize,’ and I put that term in quotes, our teachings; we must accept them as God gave them to us and there must be amongst us unity in faith. . . .” (J. Reuben Clark, Jr., in CR, Oct. 1944, pp. 117–18.)
Do you “invite” the brethren into your life by studying their conference addresses?
Do you give as much credence to the statements of the living prophet as to those of the past?
In order to justify a personal belief, do you attempt to pit the statements of one general authority against another?
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