"The Word of God Grew and Multiplied"
July 17–23
FAIR Faithful Resources for Come, Follow Me 2023 July 17–23. Acts 10–15: “The Word of God Grew and Multiplied.” Find answers to difficult questions to help you in your learning and teaching. Here is a collection of reliable resources to supplement your study of Acts 10–15. FAIR Resources link to relevant questions which have been answered on the FAIR website. Under Church Resources you’ll find links to the different Come, Follow Me manuals, as well as other helpful links as applicable. Other Resources link to resources outside of FAIR that are trustworthy and helpful.
Main points to ponder
The ninth Article of Faith says “We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.” Consider the following scriptures in light of this declaration:
- Acts 10
- Acts 11:1–18
- Acts 15
- Gospel Topics, “Revelation”
Have you ever sought for greater understanding by asking for and receiving revelation?
- In what way did the Spirit speak to Peter?
- How does the Spirit speak to you?
Faithful Resources on the FAIR website:
- Celebrating the Sabbath on Saturday
- Question: Did ceremonies or practices ever change in the ancient Church?
- Question: Was Paul a “real” apostle, with authority over the Church like the original Twelve?
- Question: Were the early apostles married?
- Question: Was the Apostle Paul Married?
- Question: Does the Biblical reference by Paul to “apostles and prophets” refer to Church offices?
- Question: Why did Jesus call Twelve Apostles?
- Question: Did Christ establish a Church while on the earth?
- Is Baptism Essential for Salvation?
- Question: Why is priesthood authority transferred by the “laying on of hands”?
- Question: Why do Mormons use the Aaronic Priesthood, since Hebrews 7 states that the Aaronic/Levitical Priesthood was “changed” to the unique priesthood “after the order of Melchizedek” held by Jesus Christ?
- Question: What does the Bible teach about priesthood in the Church of Jesus Christ?
- Question: What are the standards for prophetic succession in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?
- Question: Why do Latter-day Saints believe that ongoing divine revelation is necessary?
Resources on the Church website:
Come, Follow Me—For Individuals and Families
Come, Follow Me—For Sunday School
Peter’s Revelation to Take the Gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 10:1-48; 11:1-18)
The Jerusalem Conference (Acts 15)
Faithful Resources from other reliable websites:
- Come, Follow Me Study and Teaching Helps — Lesson 30: July 17–23, Jonn Claybaugh
- The New Testament in Context: Come, Follow Me Lesson 30
- Audio Roundtable: Come, Follow Me New Testament Lesson 28
- Lessons from the Story of Cornelius, Hales Swift
- Acts 10-15. Continuing Revelation, Taylor Halverson
- Scripture Roundtable: New Testament Gospel Doctrine Lesson 30, “God Is No Respecter of Persons”
- Scripture Roundtable: New Testament Gospel Doctrine Lesson 31, “And So Were the Churches Established in the Faith”
- Paul the Apostle: Champion of the Doctrine of the Resurrection, Ray L. Huntington
- Peter, Cornelius, and Cultural Boundaries, Frank F. Judd Jr.
- The Jerusalem Council, Frank F. Judd Jr.
- The Jerusalem Conference: The First Council of the Christian Church, Frank F. Judd Jr.
- How Church Leaders Receive Revelation for the Whole Church: Peter’s Example, Book of Mormon Central
- Come Follow Me – Acts 10-15, Book of Mormon Central Archive
- The Acts to Revelation, Discussions on the New Testament: Acts 10-13
- The Acts to Revelation, Discussions on the New Testament: Acts 14-16 & Gal. 2
- Come Follow Me 2019: Acts 10-15, Book of Mormon Central
- Come Follow Me Acts 10-15 (July 15-21), Don’t Miss This
- Come, Follow Me Podcast #28: “The Word of God Grew and Multiplied” Acts 10-15, Meridian Magazine
- Come, Follow Me for Individuals and Families: “The Word of God Grew and Multiplied”, Acts 10-15, Meridian Magazine
- Acts 10—15, BYU Studies
- “Come, Follow Me” July 15–21: “The Word of God Grew and Multiplied”, LDS Living
- “Come Follow Me” FHE: From Ruins to Restoration, LDS Living
- Scripture Central, Lynn Hilton Wilson: Acts 10-15: New Testament with Lynne Wilson (Come, Follow Me)
- Scripture Central, Taylor and Tyler: Acts 10–15 | Jul 17 – Jul 23 | Come Follow Me Insights
- The Scriptures are Real, Kerry Muhlestein: The Gospel Goes to the Gentiles Then and Now with Andrew Skinner (week of July 17, 1st to watch)
- Follow Him, John Bytheway and Hank Smith: Acts 10-15 Part 1 • Dr. Michael Goodman, Acts 10-15 Part 1 • Dr. Michael Goodman
- Unshaken, Jared Halverson: Part 1, Part 2
- Talking Scriptures, Bryce Dunford and Mike Day: Acts 10-15
- Don’t Miss This, David Butler and Emily Freeman: Come Follow Me New Testament Acts 10-15 (July 17-23) Don’t Miss This
- BYU Scripture Roundtable God is No Respecter of Persons, Continue in the Faith
Dig Deeper
Be sure to listen to Jennifer Roach’s presentation for this week!
- General Conference Talks
- James E. Faust: The Surety of a Better Testament
- BYU Devotionals
Lee H. Radebaugh: The Challenges of the International Growth of the Church | BYU Speeches
- Map of Paul’s Missionary Journeys: 13. The Missionary Journeys of the Apostle Paul
Lesson Devotional
Craig Lindquist is an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He is a father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, happily married to Dianna for the past 46 years. By trade he is a cabinetmaker, actor, and writer. He lives in Henderson, Nevada, except when he travels to film or to work on the construction of temples.
Lesson devotionals are provided by the Wilford Woodruff Papers Foundation. Its mission is to digitally preserve and publish Wilford Woodruff’s eyewitness account of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ from 1833 to 1898. It seeks to make Wilford Woodruff’s records universally accessible to inspire all people, especially the rising generation, to study and to increase their faith in Jesus Christ. See wilfordwoodruffpapers.org.
“The Word of God Grew and Multiplied”
By Craig Lindquist
The Truth of God Will Go Forth
The plan of redemption. The plan of happiness. How wonderful is this plan of our great God! Generally, and rightfully, we focus on the blessings and promises of that plan. But let us not forget an indispensable word in those descriptive titles: plan. This word is vitally important to our understanding of our Heavenly Father, who knows the end from the beginning. In a remarkable prophecy, Joseph Smith said that:
“persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.”1
Indeed, God knows the end from the beginning, and He has always had a plan in place to accomplish His goals. In a miraculous vision to the prophet Daniel, God revealed His plan for the future to Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel told the king that he had seen a stone “that was cut out without hands . . . and became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth” (Daniel 2:34–35).
Teach All Nations
Yet long before that promised day would arrive, things needed to be put in place to accomplish so great a task. It may have begun with Peter when God showed him in vision “a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to earth” (Acts 10:11). As Peter sat pondering this vision, men sent by a Gentile named Cornelius arrived and the Spirit said to Peter, “Get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing. For I have sent them” (Acts 10:20). Then, after Peter entered the home of Cornelius, it was witnessed that “the Holy Ghost fell on all of them which heard the word” (Acts 10:44). And so began the great work of teaching “all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 28:19).
God’s Work Requires Sacrifice
Yet this work cannot be accomplished without great sacrifice from all who embark on the magnificent cause of Christ. While serving a mission on the Fox Islands, Wilford Woodruff wrote in his journal what would become a familiar experience: “We felt as though the powers of darkness was great among the gentiles upon every side of us both on the Islands & maine land & that the people were deluged in unbelief.”2 Despite opposition then and now, God’s plan remains undeterred. With our limited mortal views of life we might become discouraged, thinking the opposition is winning. But we would be wrong! God’s plan for us is never frustrated.
Fill the Whole Earth
Today we see the fruits of the sacrifices of people like Wilford Woodruff and the waves of faithful men and women who gave up all they had to join the Church, with millions of faithful Saints and hundreds of temples dotting the earth, all in preparation for the glorious return of the Savior Jesus Christ. As prophesied from the beginning, the word of God has indeed grown and multiplied (see Acts 12:24), and it will soon fill the earth. For God’s wondrous plan, I add my eternal gratitude, with countless others, to our Heavenly Father and His beloved Son, Jesus Christ.
1 History, 1838–1856, volume C-1 [2 November 1838–31 July 1842], p. 1285, The Joseph Smith Papers, josephsmithpapers.org/standard-of-truth.
2 Wilford Woodruff’s Journal, April 26, 1838, p. 29, The Wilford Woodruff Papers, wilfordwoodruffpapers.org/journal/1838-04-26.
Chapter Summaries
1-8: A devout gentile, Cornelius, is instructed through prayer to send for Peter.
9-16: Peter has a vision involving food, being instructed to eat food that by the Mosaic law he was not allowed to eat. While hesitating, Peter is told, “What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.” He has this vision three times.
17-48: While pondering the vision, Peter is visited by Cornelius’ men. He accompanies them back to Caesarea. Upon hesitating to enter the home of a Gentile, Peter understands the meaning of the vision, that the Gospel is meant to be shared with all, Gentile or Jew. The Gospel is shared, the Holy Spirit is felt by all, confirming Peter’s decision to preach to the Gentiles.
1-18: Peter’s decision to preach to all is met with skepticism and criticism. He recounts his vision and experience with Cornelius. His decision is accepted and embraced.
19-26: Missionary work continues in the surrounding areas, for example, Phoenicia, Cyprus, Cyrene, Antioch. Antioch is where the believers are first called “Christians.”
27-30: A famine is prophesied to occur. Believers contribute to help those in need.
1-2: James, the brother of John, is put to death by Herod.
3-20 : Peter is imprisoned, and it is feared that he will also be put to death. He has a miraculous escape from a well guarded prison and is greeted by surprised and joyful believers. Peter leaves Jerusalem.
21-25: Herod’s death. Paul and Barnabas return to Jerusalem.
1-5: Paul and Barnabas are set apart for further missionary journeys. John Mark accompanies them.
6-12 : In Paphos they are confronted by a false prophet, Elymas. Paul causes him to be blind for a time. Many are converted.
13-41: Paul preaches in a synagogue in Pisidia. He recounts Old Testament prophets who prophesied of a Messiah, and testifies that Jesus was that Messiah. He states that belief in Jesus frees them from sins in a more complete way than the Law of Moses.
42-52: Paul and Barnabas draw big crowds the following Sabbath. The Jewish leaders become worried and upset, and draw upon the influence of city leaders to drive Paul and Barnabas from the city. Nevertheless, the Saints in Antioch continue to grow in joy and spirit.
1-7: Paul and Barnabas go to Iconium with similar results. Many believe, but leaders then stir up contention towards them. Under threat of stoning they move on to other cities.
8-18: Paul and Barnabas heal a lame man in Lystra. The people believe them to be gods and prepare to offer sacrifices to them. Paul and Barnabas dissuade them, but many are still confused.
19-20: Paul is stoned and left for dead, but the prayers of the believers help to heal him.
21-28: Paul and Barnabas continue their missionary efforts, strengthening the faith of the early Christians in the region.
1-35: Many of Jewish ancestry still believe that all new Christians must be circumcised. The apostles meet together to decide on policy moving forward. It is decided that circumcision is not necessary, and that only a few dietary laws need to be practiced moving forward, along with sexual purity.
36-41: Paul and Silas go on missionary journeys, as well as Barnabas and John Mark. They strengthen established Christian communities and continue to share the gospel.
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