41. “I Have Finished My Course”

Learn and Teach True Doctrine

Chart 12-8: “Offices of the Priesthood,” Charting the New Testament
“Well Done, Thou Good and Faithful Servant,” Esnil Acosta, Ensign, March 1988
We can receive the Lord’s approval of our labors (as Paul expressed in 2 Timothy 4:7) as we learn and teach true doctrine and are righteous examples to others. “Having this feeling permits us to evaluate our efforts, determine if we are doing what is right, correct our errors, and thus keep progressing throughout our lives.” This article tells of a young missionary’s experience with receiving confirmation that the Lord accepted his efforts.
“The ‘Same’ Organization That Existed in the Primitive Church,” Grant Underwood, Go Ye Into All the World: Messages of the New Testament Apostles
When Paul writes about bishops (1 Timothy 3), was he speaking of the office in the same way that Latter-day Saints understand the office now? This chapter explores the nature of Church organization in the New Testament and shows how, without distorting history, it can be considered the same as in the LDS Church today.
“Paul as a Witness of the Work of God,” Ted L. Gibbons, Go Ye Into All the World: Messages of the New Testament Apostles
This article describes Paul’s dedication in spite of persecution and his witness of God at all times. “Paul did not believe in sabbaticals. He learned what he was expected and able to do, and he got it done. His continual witness was one of undiluted commitment. He imparted the same sense of duty to Timothy, his own disciple: “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine” (2 Timothy 4:2).”