Romans 1: Apostles, grace, saints, faith, and apostasy

The Presbyterian pastor who spoke at my grandfather's funeral said that it was through reading Paul's epistle to the Romans that my grandfather gained a testimony of Jesus Christ as his Savior and Redeemer. In memory of my grandfather, I have decided to re-read this same epistle, and imagine that I am leading my grandfather through a bible study. Or imagine that he is leading some of his friends through a study and that he is helping them come to the same knowledge that he has.

I'm not a trained minister, so this is super informal. It's pretty much a verse-by-verse study of each chapter. I imagine Grampy reading one verse at a time, and at appropriate moments, asking the following questions:

Romans Chapter 1
As you read this chapter, pay attention to the attributes of Jesus Christ that Paul writes about. How can you develop these attributes in your own life?
(v. 1) How is being an apostle different from being a disciple?
(v. 1) It says in this verse that Paul is "called" to be an apostle. What does that mean? What is God's way of "calling" someone to be an apostle?
(v. 5) What does grace mean to you? Who is the source of grace?
(v. 5) Who is the source of apostleship?
(v. 7) Paul says that he is writing this apostle to "all that be in Rome" who are "called to be saints." What does that mean? And how do we become saints?

• Okay, I'm actually cheating with this question. One of my favorite verses in the Book of Mormon explains what it means to be a "saint." It doesn't mean just being naturally perfect! Instead, Mosiah 3:19 says that a saint is someone who has put off the "natural man" by yielding to "the enticings of the Holy Spirit." A person can become "a saint [ONLY] through the atonement of  Christ." A saint has become "as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which The Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father." 
• Isn't it cool how the Book of Mormon and the Bible support each other? Okay, end digression...back to Romans.

(v. 8) What is faith?
(v. 17) What does it mean to live by faith?
(v. 21-31) How does God feel about people who change His truths?
(v. 29-31) What happens to people who reject God's truth?

A wedding and a funeral

Two weeks ago, I was sealed for time and all eternity to a man who is perfect for me. A whole bunch of little things "went wrong" on the day of our wedding, but a whole bunch of BIG things went right. It was a really special day, and we both felt extremely loved by our family, friends, and Heavenly Father. My grampy was not able to attend due to his rapidly declining health, but I heard from my uncle Glenn that he wore a white shirt and the red "wedding party" tie that we sent up to him. My granny and grampy watched most of the day's celebrations via skype.

We are still waiting on the professional photographs, but here is one that Bryan's step-mom took of us as we joyfully exited the temple on Saturday afternoon!

Bryan and I spent five glorious days on a cruise-ship in the Caribbean. The day after we returned, my grampy passed away. 

This photo is from May 2009, when I graduated from college. Granny and Grampy drove all the way from Parker, Colorado to Tucson, Arizona so that they could attend my College of Science ceremony. My parents were attending my brothers' high school graduation, so it meant a lot that Granny and Grampy were willing to endure the 100-degree heat just to show their love and support to a granddaughter.

Yesterday, Bryan and I flew up to Denver to attend Grampy's service. It was great to see [nearly] the whole family rally around each other to provide support and remember what a patient and loving father, grandfather, and great-grandfather Lewis Burrit Palmer was.

The pastor of Grampy's church mentioned that Grampy and Granny had both participated in a small Bible-study group that focused on the book of Romans, from the New Testament. Grampy really enjoyed it, and even led the discussion one week when the normal leader could not make it. The pastor said that reading Romans really helped Grampy come to know and understand that Jesus Christ is our Savior. I have decided to re-read that little book in the coming days.