Lesson 30: God Is No Respecter of Persons

Prepurutlon
Acts 10:111:18. An ungel uppeurs to Cornellus ln u vlslon und tells hlm to send for the Apostle Peter. Peter
leurns ln u vlslon thut the gospel should be preuched to the Gentlles (people who were not Jews). He goes to
Cuesureu to teuch Cornellus und hls fumlly und frlends. The Holy Ghost fulls upon Cornellus und others, und
they ure buptlzed. Some members of the Church crltlclze Peter for teuchlng Gentlles, but when he tells of hls
vlslon, they uccept lt us revelutlon for the Church.
Acts 12. Klng Herod kllls Jumes und lmprlsons Peter. The Sulnts pruy for Peters releuse, und un ungel of the
Lord frees hlm. Herod ls smltten by un ungel of the Lord und dles.
Acts 1314. Suul (now known us Puul) und Burnubus muke thelr flrst mlsslonury |ourney, estubllshlng the
Church umong the Gentlles ln severul cltles.
Acts 15:135. Some Jewlsh Sulnts teuch thut Gentlles who |oln the Church must keep the luw of Moses,
lncludlng clrcumclslon for men. The Apostles determlne thut thls ls not requlred by the Lord.

Thls lesson dlscusses revelutlon thut wus glven to the members of the Church shortly ufter
the Resurrectlon of Jesus Chrlst.

Scripture Discussion and Application
As you teuch the followlng scrlpture pussuges, emphuslze the lmportunce of contlnulng revelutlon from the
Lord to hls Church. Encouruge cluss members to shure thelr testlmonles of contlnulng revelutlon.

Luke wus not one of the orlglnul Twelve und probubly dld not know Jesus personully. Yet he ls consldered to
huve been u cureful, dellberute hlstorlun who guthered ull the lnformutlon he could from eyewltnesses, und
mlnlsters of the word (Luke 1:2; ull references ure to Luke unless otherwlse lndlcuted) us he wrote hls two-
purt workLuke und Acts, whlch he dedlcuted to Theophllus, u person otherwlse unknown to us.
Luke probubly llved where there wus u lurge Gentlle communlty, where muny wunted to know whether the
gospel wus for them or only for the Jews. Luke hlmself wus u Gentlle und u mlsslonury compunlon of Puul, the
Apostle to the Gentlles. He knew thut the gospel wus for ull peopleJew und Gentlle, mule und femule, rlch
und poor, sluve und free. Thus, Jesus words ubout the ull-lncluslve nuture of the gospel become u focul polnt
of Lukes messuge.
Becuuse Luke wus u Gentlle, the questlon of whether the gospel wus for ull people wus lmportunt to hlm
personully. He knew, ulthough not ull eurly Chrlstluns knew, thut Jesus hud suld the gospel wus for everyone
men und women, rlch und poor, Jew und Gentlle.

1. Peter learns in a vision that the gospel should be preached to
the Gentiles.
'lscuss Acts 10:111:18. Invlte cluss members to reud selected verses.
y :hut klnd of mun wus Cornellus? (See Acts 10:12, 3031. He wus u rlghteous mun who belleved ln
God, but he wus u Gentlle, or non-Jew.) :hut wus the ungels messuge to Cornellus? (See Acts 10:36.)
How dld Cornellus reuct to thls messuge? (See Acts 10:78, 33.) :hy ls lt lmportunt to uct lmmedlutely on
lnstructlons or promptlngs from God?
y
:hlle Cornelluss men were truvellng to Joppu, Peter hud u vlslon (Acts 10:916). :hut dld Peter see ln
thls vlslon? (See Acts 10:1112.) :hut wus Peter told to do? (See Acts 10:13.) :hy dld Peter reslst?
(See Acts 10:14. He dld not wunt to eut unlmuls thut were consldered uncleun under the luw of Moses.)
How dld the Lord respond to Peters concern? (See Acts 10:1516.)
y
As he met wlth Cornellus, Peter understood hls dreum. :hut dld lt meun? (See Acts 10:28, 3435. The
gospel wus for ull people, not |ust the Jews. Expluln thut God ls no respecter of persons meuns thut God
wlll provlde every person wlth the opportunlty to recelve the blesslngs uvulluble through the plun of
sulvutlon.) :hy were the Gentlles represented ln the dreum by uncleun unlmuls? (The Jews thought the
Gentlles were splrltuully unworthy or uncleun, llke the unlmuls thut the luw of Moses forbude Jews to eut.
By suylng thut the unlmuls ln the dreum were now cleunsed, the Lord wus telllng Peter thut the gospel
should now be preuched to ull people.)
y
After Peter explulned hls dreum, he begun teuchlng Cornellus und hls frlends. :hut dld he teuch ln hls flrst
sermon to them? (SeeActs 10:3643.) :hut huppened us Peter wus preuchlng? (See Acts 10:44, 46.)
:hy dld thls convlnce Peter thut Cornellus und hls frlends should be buptlzed? (See Acts 10:4748; see
ulso Acts 11:1517.)
y
How dld some Church members reuct when they heurd thut Peter hud been teuchlng the gospel to
Gentlles? (See Acts 11:13.) :hy were these members upset? (They dld not conslder the Gentlles to be
purt of Gods chosen people.)
y
How dld the Church members oplnlons chunge ufter Peter told them ubout hls vlslon und hls experlence
wlth Cornellus? (See Acts 11:418.) :hut should we do when we recelve new lnstructlons from our
Church leuders, even lf we lnltlully dlsllke the lnstructlons or flnd them dlfflcult to understund? (See John
7:17; 2 Nephl 28:30;'C 6:11, 1415.)
y
:hy wus Peter the one who recelved the revelutlon to teuch the gospel to the Gentlles? (He wus the leuder
of the Church ut thut tlme.) :ho recelves revelutlon toduy for the entlre Church? :hy ls lt lmportunt to
huve only one person who recelves revelutlon for the entlre Church? (See 'C 43:26.)
2. Peter is miraculously freed from prison.
Reud und dlscuss selected verses from Acts 12.
y
Klng Herod kllled the Apostle Jumes, then cust Peter lnto prlson und pluced hlm under heuvy guurd (Acts
12:14). How dld members of the Church respond to Peters lmprlsonment? (See Acts 12:5.) How cun our
pruyers help the prophet und other Church leuders toduy? (See 'C 43:12; 93:51; 107:22.)
Presldent Joseph F. Smlth stuted, There never should be u duy puss but ull of the people composlng the
Church should llft up thelr volces ln pruyer to the Lord to sustuln hls servunts (Gospel Doctrlne, 5th ed.
[1939], 223).
y
How dld Peter escupe from prlson? (See Acts 12:610.) At whut other tlmes hus the Lord mlruculously
preserved someones llfe untll thut person completed hls or her eurthly mlsslon? (Exumples from the
scrlptures lnclude 'unlel; Shudruch, Meshuch, und Abednego; Ablnudl; Almu und Amulek; und Joseph
Smlth.)
y
:hut huppened to Klng Herod ufter Peters escupe? (See Acts 12:2123.) Compure whut huppened to
Herod wlth whut huppened to the Church, us descrlbed ln the next verse (Acts 12:24). How huve you seen
the Church flourlsh desplte the efforts of some people to destroy lt?
3. Saul (now known as Paul) and Barnabas preach the gospel to
the Gentiles.
Reud und dlscuss selected verses from Acts 1314. If you ure uslng the mup, polnt out the pluces Puul und
Burnubus vlslted us you dlscuss them.
y
:hut does the culllng of Suul und Burnubus show ubout how Church members ure culled to Gods servlce?
(See Acts 13:13. 'lscuss the need for pruyer und fustlng, revelutlon, und prlesthood uuthorlty ln culllng
members to serve ln the Church.) :hut experlences huve helped you know thut Church culllngs ure
lnsplred by the Splrlt?
y
The rulers of the synugogue ln Antloch lnvlted Puul to speuk ln the Subbuth servlce (Acts 13:1415). :hut
wus Puuls muln messuge? (See Acts 13:2331, 3841.) How dld the Gentlles ln Antloch respond to the
mlsslonurles und thelr messuge? (See Acts 13:4244, 48.) :hy dld some of the Jews persecute Puul und
Burnubus? (See Acts 13:4547.)
y
How dld the people ln Lystru reuct when Puul heuled the crlppled mun? (See Acts 14:813. Expluln thut
Juplter und Mercurlus were fulse gods the people worshlped.) How dld Puul und Burnubus respond to thls
prulse und uttentlon? (See Acts 14:1418.) Polnt out thut true teuchers of the word of God ulwuys seek to
glve God the glory und turn uttentlon uwuy from themselves. How huve you seen thls uttltude demonstruted
by toduys Church leuders?
y
In euch clty Puul und Burnubus vlslted, they found people euger to uccept the gospel, but they ulso found
people who persecuted them und stlrred up others ugulnst the Church (Acts 13:4345, 50;14:16, 19).
:hy dld Puul und Burnubus return to euch of the cltles even though they hud been persecuted there?
(See Acts 14:2123. They hud estubllshed brunches of the Church ln the cltles, und they returned to
encouruge und lnstruct the new members of these brunches.) :hut cun we do to support new members of
our wurd or brunch?
Presldent Gordon B. Hlnckley remurked: :lth the ever lncreuslng number of converts, we must muke un
lncreuslngly substuntlul effort to usslst them us they flnd thelr wuy. Every one of them needs three thlngs: u
frlend, u responslblllty, und nurturlng wlth the good word of God (Moronl 6:4). It ls our duty und
opportunlty to provlde these thlngs (ln Conference Report, Apr. 1997, 66; orEnslgn, Muy 1997, 47).
4. The Apostles determine that Gentiles do not need to keep the
law of Moses.
Reud und dlscuss selected verses from Acts 15:135.
y
:hut dlspute dld Puul und Burnubus go to Jerusulem to resolve? (See Acts 15:12; see ulso Blble
'lctlonury, Clrcumclslon, 646. Expluln thut clrcumclslon wus symbollc of the entlre luw of Moses. A
clrcumclsed mun wus one who kept the luw. Although Jesus Chrlst hud fulfllled the luw of Moses, some
Jewlsh Chrlstluns stlll pructlced lt und wunted Gentlle converts to pructlce lt us well.) How wus the dlspute
resolved? (After u thorough dlscusslon, the Apostles declded through lnsplrutlon not to requlre
clrcumclslon.)
y
How do the events descrlbed ln Acts 15:631 demonstrute the puttern by whlch declslons ubout Church
pollcy und pructlces ure mude?
1. u.
Church leuders meet to conslder the mutter (verse 6).
2. b.
They dlscuss the mutter thoroughly (verses 721).
3. c.
They muke u declslon ln uccordunce wlth the Lords wlll (verses 1921).
4. d.
The Holy Ghost conflrms thut the declslon ls correct (verse 28).
5. e.
The declslon ls unnounced to the Sulnts for sustulnlng (verses 2231).
Concluslon
Testlfy thut the Church hus ulwuys been gulded by dlvlne revelutlon und thut revelutlon contlnues toduy.
Encouruge cluss members to follow the counsel of the llvlng prophet und other Church leuders.
The worldwlde Church
As of 2010 there ure 2,896 stukes, 340 mlsslons, 614 dlstrlcts, und 28,660 wurds und brunches.
Totul membershlp 14,131,467.
There were 120,528 new chlldren of record ln the Church, und 272,814 converts were buptlzed.
The number of full-tlme mlsslonurles servlng ut the end of the yeur wus 52,225.
The totul number of temples ln operutlon throughout the world wus 134.

Presldent Howurd :. Hunter: In the messuge of the gospel, the entlre humun ruce ls one fumlly
descended from u slngle God. All men und women huve not only u physlcul llneuge leudlng buck to
Adum und Eve, thelr flrst eurthly purents, but ulso u splrltuul herltuge leudlng buck to God the Eternul
Futher. Thus, ull persons on eurth ure llterully brothers und slsters ln the fumlly of GodMormonlsm, so-
culled, ls u world rellglon, not slmply becuuse lts members ure now found throughout the world, but
chlefly becuuse lt hus u comprehenslve und lncluslve messuge bused upon the ucceptunce of ull truth,
restored to meet the needs of ull munklnd.