Why We Study the New Testament?
Both ancient and modern prophets have stressed the value of
the scriptures in helping us come to know God. Jesus taught,
“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3).
The Apostle Paul taught Timothy about the value of holy writings:
• They are able to make one “wise unto salvation”
(2 Timothy 3:15).
• They are “given by inspiration of God” (v. 16).
• They are “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction
for instruction in righteousness” (v. 16).
• They help the righteous become perfect and “throughly
furnished unto all good works” (v. 17).
The prophet Mormon wrote:
“Yea, we see that whosoever will may lay hold upon the word of God, which is quick and powerful, which shall divide asunder all the cunning and the snares and the wiles of the devil, and lead the man of Christ in a strait and narrow course across that everlasting gulf of misery which is prepared to engulf the wicked—
“And land their souls, yea, their immortal souls, at the right
hand of God in the kingdom of heaven” (Helaman 3:29–30).
The scriptures help us “divide asunder” (overcome) the lies
and temptations of the devil and follow a course that will “land us in” (bring us to) the celestial kingdom.
Elder Boyd K. Packer taught:
“In the New Testament course, you learn of the birth and
ministry of Jesus the Christ and His divine Sonship. You learn
about ordinances, about baptism by immersion for the
remission of sins.
“You read of the call of the Twelve and follow their ministry.
You learn of the fatherhood of God. You learn of the Holy
Ghost, the Comforter, and personal revelation.
“You relive the days of the Betrayal and the Crucifixion, and
learn transcendent truths of the Atonement and the
Resurrection. You learn of love and law and why a Redeemer.
“From the four Gospels to the book of Revelation, the
teachings of the Master and of His Apostles—the Lord Jesus
Christ’s gospel—are opened to you” (in Conference Report,
Mar.–Apr. 1990, 49; or Ensign, May 1990, 38).
The following doctrines, all taught in the New Testament,
show why a careful study of the New Testament is not only
meaningful but crucial:
• God is literally our Father in Heaven.
• Heavenly Father created the heavens and the arth through
His Son Jesus Christ.
• Heavenly Father sent His Son into the world that the world through him might be saved” (John 3:17).
• Heavenly Father has given all judgment to the Son.
• God can and does intervene directly in the lives of men.
• Heaven is divided into different kingdoms of glory.
• We receive blessings from God by making and keeping
sacred covenants.
• Idolatry in any form is spiritually destructive.
• Jesus Christ’s Second Coming is prophesied, including events of the last days.
Being far removed in time and culture from the New
Testament period brings special challenges to those who
study the Bible. In addition, the record we now have is not
complete. Many parts “which are plain and most precious”
were taken away (1 Nephi 13:26). Much that was lost has
been restored by the Book of Mormon, the Joseph Smith
Translation of the Bible, and other modern revelations (see
1 Nephi 13:33–41). Further, some portions of the Bible are
cloaked or hidden in symbolic language.
Such prophetic cloaking has been useful because those who sought to remove the “plain and precious” parts have left many of the more obscure passages relatively intact. Thus, many great truths have been preserved to be read and understood by the power of the Holy Ghost and the “spirit of prophecy” (2 Nephi 25:4) that God has made available to the Saints of the latter days.
The essential components of the Great Plan of Happiness, of redemption, of salvation, are:
- Pre-mortal existence
- Spiritual creation
- Agency
- War in heaven
- Physical creation
- The Fall and Mortality
- Principles and Ordinances of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
o Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ
o Repentance
o Baptism
o Gift of the Holy Ghost
- The Atonement
- Life beyond the grave
- Spirit world
- Judgment
- Resurrection
- President Boyd K. Packer
Scripture Mastery Focus
Moses 1:39
39 For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.
Moses 7:18
18 And the Lord called his people ZION, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them.
Abraham 3:22–23
22 Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones;23 And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born.
Genesis 1:26–27
26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
