August Sky over Mount Olympus

Taken from my street corner on August 1, 2010

"Great and marvelous are thy works, O Lord God Almighty!

Thy throne is high in the heavens, and thy power and goodness

and mercy are over all the inhabitants of the earth."

I Nephi 1: 14

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I took this picture yesterday evening on the first day on August. It was a beautiful and unusual sunset. The mountain seen in the background is Mount Olympus. The other Mount Olympus is in Greece, which is the highest mountain in their country. In Greek mythology, Mount Olympus was regarded as the "home of the Gods", specifically of the Twelve Olympians, the twelve principal gods of the Classical Greek worlds.

Salt Lake City happens to be the home of 12 men, not" gods".. who we refer to as "apostles" in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. During his ministry, Christ called 12 disciples. What is the difference between a disciple and an apostle? Are they synoymous terms or is there a difference?

In researching this.. I found that the term disciple means "learner" in Latin..while the term apostle means "messenger, or one who is sent forth". So the difference is ... a disciple is one who learns from a teacher...and an apostle is sent to deliver those teachings to others.

I don't think the terms can be mutually exclusive. A true apostle of the Lord would also need to be a disciple.. learning from Christ Himself, to know the messages that Christ would have him teach...

It is interesting to note that Jesus, Himself, is referred to as an "apostle" in Hebrews, one of His titles, a designation meaning that He is the personal and select representative of the Father... or a "messenger, one who is sent forth".