James and the Giant Speech

 Now that I have your attention, no that is not a typo!  I meant "speech", NOT "peach"!
  Alright, this morning I was excited to find that, in my venture through the New Testament, I had reached the book of James.
 Now, James is a very important book for many reasons.  As missionaries teaching the message of the Restoration, we are all very familiar with James' admonition to "ask, and ye shall receive." This verse would touch the heart of a 14-year old boy in just a way that inspired him to turn to God for his answer, and in so doing, changed Christianity forever. 
  Five verses in, and James has already changed the world. 
 But who exactly was James?  We may be inclined to think of James the apostle, as in Peter, James, and John right?
 That's a fair assumption; the only problem is that it's wrong!

 The writer of the Epistle of James is not James, brother of John.  It is James, the brother of Jesus Christ. At least, that is the widely held belief.
 This too, piqued my curiousity regarding the book of James.  As I continued reading, I found many pearls of wisdom and knowledge that struck chords with me.  These include:
 ~ A verse on not being "double minded", but firm in our loyalty and beliefs.
 ~ A blessing upon those who endure tempations and trials, and a reminder that God does not tempt man, only the adversary.
 ~ An admonition for us to not "err", and to remember that all gifts come from God.
 ~ Gently imploring us to be quick to listen to others, and slow to anger as well as to speak.
 ~ And lastly, a beautiful definition of what "true religion" really is: comforting those who need it, and rising above the stains of the world.

  And that was just the first chapter!  I invite you all to read what James has to say, and ponder the message he shares, even as the Prophet Joseph Smith did.  If his words could bring about the restoration of the fulness of the gospel, who knows what more we could learn from the wisdom of James?