A Strange New Sect

After Paul was arrested and taken to Rome, he called together the chief Jewish leaders in Rome and they told him: "We neither received letters out of Judaea concerning thee, neither any of the brethren that came shewed or spake any harm of thee. But we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest: for as concerning this sect, we know that every where it is spoken against" (Acts 28:21-22). The Jews and others at that time viewed Christians as simply a heretical new sect of Judaism, not as a restoration of the fullness of the everlasting gospel as it was given to Adam.

Interestingly, we had a reenactment of this scene in the 1800s with the Prophet Joseph Smith: "I soon found, however, that my telling the story had excited a great deal of prejudice against me among professors of religion, and was the cause of great persecution, which continued to increase; and though I was an obscure boy, only between fourteen and fifteen years of age, and my circumstances in life such as to make a boy of no consequence in the world, yet men of high standing would take notice sufficient to excite the public mind against me, and create a bitter persecution; and this was common among all the sects—all united to persecute me" (JS-H 1:22).

It's amazing how many parallels we can find between the stories of the persecutions of the early Saints in New Testament times and the early Saints at the beginning of this dispensation. Both groups were considered heretical by their peers, both added new (or restored) scripture and doctrines to their canon, and both groups were heavily persecuted. Jesus warned his disciples before his crucifixion of the persecutions they would face: "They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service" (John 16:2). Isn't this what happened to the early Saints? Isn't this exactly what happened in Missouri and Nauvoo?

As a new onslaught of persecutions assail us in the media, in the press, and on the internet, I think we can find comfort in knowing that the Lord knows the beginning from the end. He has restored His Gospel upon the earth in these last days, never to be taken again. He will uphold us through our persecutions so long as we keep preparing for His coming. He promises us: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid" (John 14:27).