Come Follow Me Archives - FAIR

A Double Portion Promiseby Autumn Dickson

I love the tangible. I love when Christ takes vast, spiritual concepts and puts them into human parables that help us better understand. Even if those earthly parables are imperfect in comparison to God’s plans for His children, they help me grasp things more solidly.

Biblical scholars argue whether Job was a real man or whether he is a piece of literature simply meant to teach us. Job may be a person who truly lived upon the earth, or he may be a parable. I have no idea whether Job was real, but I do know that the Lord uses physical things to help us better understand. All things are spiritual unto the Lord. The book of Job is no different. There are beautiful spiritual parallels to be drawn from Job.

Here is one of those spiritual parallels.

Job’s story begins with abundance. He has 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke (1,000 oxen), and 500 female donkeys. He has 7 sons and 3 daughters. His life implodes with a series of horrible trials, and he loses everything including his children.

Job remains faithful, and this is the end of his story:

Job 42:12-13

12 So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses.

13 He had also seven sons and three daughters.

His material blessings from the Lord are doubled by the end. He also ends up with the same amount of children that he had before, 7 sons and 3 daughters.

I found myself asking, “If I knew the end from the beginning, would I voluntarily choose to experience what he experienced to double what I had?” My knee-jerk reaction is “HECK NO.” Not only would I never give up my current children, but I’m also a total wuss when it comes to pain. So no thank you. I’m happy with half of my potential riches. Seems plenty sufficient to me. I don’t know what to do with 1 sheep let alone 7,000, but I digress.

Interestingly enough, all things are spiritual to the Lord, and that’s actually exactly what we volunteered to do.

Before we came to earth, we lived in a beautiful place with a loving family. We were safe. It was wonderful, but Heavenly Father wanted to give us more. In order to give us more, we would need to choose to go down to earth and experience opposition. We would have to walk away from all of that goodness, but Heavenly Father also had some promises for us. He would give us a double portion, and we wouldn’t have to actually lose anything important (i.e. children) because we had a perfect older Brother who would take care of us.

And so we volunteered to experience pain in order to receive that double portion, and we held on to the promises that the most important things would be restored to us.

It is significant that Job had the same number of children. I don’t know if Job was real and if he truly lost 10 children, but the spiritual lesson is poignant. Heavenly Father can double all of these other wonderful resources, AND we don’t need to truly lose anything valuable. He didn’t double Job’s children like the first round was unimportant; the Lord restored what Job originally had.

A double portion of resources was likewise significant. It describes the Lord’s generosity and His willingness to overcompensate for anything we might have lost during our period of opposition. I truly believe that. I believe that anything I suffer here will pale in comparison to what He plans on giving me there, and I hold tightly to those promises. They fill me with peace.

Honestly, part of that double portion is peace, but it’s so much more than that as well.

Sure, the Lord is going to give us a heavenly place with all that we need. We will have resurrected bodies that never grow old and die, but we will have more than that. Job was given double the resources, but he was given something much better as well. He became the blessing. He levelled up. He became more like his Savior. This is a parable for us. We can be someone worth being. We can be resilient, wise, and strong. We can be powerful. We can know the truth deeply because we were given an opportunity to live the truth.

We can be prepared to serve as our Heavenly Father serves, which actually leads to another insight surrounding the idea of “double portions.”

A biblical double portion refers back to inheritance laws and traditions. The firstborn son always received a double portion. This was both an honor and a responsibility. That double portion was given so that the firstborn son could take care of the vulnerable members of the family.

When I picture heaven, I see a beautiful place with everything we could possibly ask for. I also see good people who take care of each other. It feels heavenly because we’re all friends and build a community. Heavenly Father is actually trying to give us more than a beautiful place. He is trying to give us eternal purpose so that our forever doesn’t feel meaningless and empty. He wants to give us responsibilities to serve the vulnerable who come after us. He wants to give us a double portion to serve, but He needs to know that He can trust us to stay strong through opposition just as He does.

There are far more layers and parallels to study in the book of Job, but one of those layers echoes the Plan of Salvation itself. Job began with abundance. He experienced opposition. He had his abundance restored and doubled, and he likewise came out of the experience as a better man.

I testify of a Heavenly Father who has a plan. I testify that He teaches His plans over and over and over throughout His word. We just have to find the patterns. I testify that He loves each of us and has the power to restore what’s most important as well as offering a double portion. He is good and wise and powerful, and He adores us. We can trust Him as we wait to get to the other side of the opposition.

Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR’s 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Job 1–3; 12–14; 19; 21–24; 38–40; 42 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Jennifer Roach Lees holds a Master in Divinity as well as a Masters in Counseling Psychology. She is a licensed mental health therapist and lives in Utah.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Job 1–3; 12–14; 19; 21–24; 38–40; 42 – Jennifer Roach Lees appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Integrity Under Pressureby Autumn Dickson

Job is a profound biblical exploration of faith and loyalty to God. Job loved the Lord, and he stayed true to Him. In the midst of great tribulation as well as riches, Job kept himself close to the Lord. Here is a verse that tells us a bit about Job.

Job 2:3 And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause.

By this point in time, Job has lost all of his property and riches. Worse than that, he has also lost his children. Despite this being the case, Job remained an upright man. There is one phrase in particular that I want to talk about, namely, “he holdeth fast his integrity.”

What does it really mean to have the Christlike attribute of integrity?

The more I try to write about integrity, the more difficult it becomes. Integrity is a mixture of things.

Preach My Gospel gives us a great definition that I want to paraphrase. Integrity is when you love God and stay true to Him because of that love. Integrity means that you know there are absolute truths and you align your life with those absolute truths no matter what comes along. It includes deep honesty, and what you choose to do when you’re alone is a good measure of your integrity.

In order to develop integrity, you need two ingredients: a knowledge of absolute truth and then alignment with that knowledge.

Ingredient one: a knowledge of absolute truth.

There are different types of integrity. There is a general sense of integrity where you hold fast to your principles, and then there is a religious integrity where you hold fast to God’s principles. It doesn’t matter how much general integrity you have if your principles are weak. Creating a house entirely made of straw may be consistent. It may be honest in the sense that you’re not pretending your house is anything other than what it is, but at the end of the day, it’s still straw. It won’t be able to withstand load or protect you.

We have to start with strong principles, God’s principles, in order to build something that will protect us and stand strong under the weight of adversity.

It is worth starting with the right materials if you’re going to build something. Starting with the right materials means understanding reality. If you understand that you’re a child of God and that there is an eternity waiting for you on the other side, it’s (hopefully) going to change your choices.

Ingredient two: aligning with that knowledge.

You would think that if you’ve got a solid foundation of truth, you would want to stay true to it. You would assume that if you could see that there are eternal realities, you would see the long game and hold on. Unfortunately, it’s simply not always true.

For example, King Zedekiah knew Jeremiah was a prophet. He protected and consulted Jeremiah. He even admits that he believes Jeremiah, and yet, he ignored Jeremiah’s warnings. He didn’t align himself with the truth that he knew, and tragedy struck because of it. In the face of fear and rejection, Zedekiah crumbled. And because he crumbled, his kingdom fell and the Jews were scattered.

So in order to reach integrity (the ability to withstand pressure), we need knowledge of truth and we have to align ourselves with that truth. It’s not enough to have one ingredient or the other; they have to come together in order to stand strong.

Action without knowledge of eternal realities stops when pressure builds. Knowledge without aligning yourself is moot; it doesn’t affect you or save you or bring you joy.

I’m going to make up a ridiculous parable, but it teaches my point.

A stranger comes to you, sets down a stool, and convinces you to step onto it. The stranger warns you that if you get down, you’ll die. It’s easy enough to stay standing on the stool for a little while, but then your legs get tired. You need to go to the bathroom. You’re hungry and cold. Why on earth are you standing on a stool because a stranger told you to do so?

Now imagine someone you deeply love and trust doing the same exercise. They warn you. You know they have your best interest at heart. You trust their wisdom and knowledge of reality. Despite mounting discomfort, you choose to hold on because you trust your loved one. Integrity is what you find when you keep standing on the stool even when it’s difficult.

It’s a mixture of trust in eternal principles and resilience.

And then there is the happy ending. Job is blessed with even more than he had previously. Even beyond the physical blessings, Job comes out a stronger man with a deeper appreciation of salvation and heaven. Integrity allowed him to conquer and come through on the other side.

Recap.

Ingredient one. Knowledge of God and eternal principles.

Integrity is powerful because it takes our acts of faith and turns them meaningful. No longer are we reading scriptures because a stranger asked us to. We read them to get closer to our Father in Heaven. And because we know Him, we seek Him out in times of trouble and need. Rather than turning our back on Him in anger, we find all the solace we need. It helps us to escape bitterness.

Ingredient two. Aligning ourselves with that knowledge.

Resilience gives us personal power as we grow into what our Father would have us become. It forges strength of character. We come out refined on the other end, seeing more clearly and that much more convinced of the truthfulness of gospel principles.

Integrity is powerful. It makes the gospel pathway worth it. We can see the blessings, and we stay on track to receive them. I testify that Heavenly Father is seeking to teach you truth. He wants you to see things as they are, and He wants you to choose to change your life according to that truth so you can experience the same joy He has experienced.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Job 1–3; 12–14; 19; 21–24; 38–40; 42 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Her Hidden Namesby Autumn Dickson

Esther’s story is one of courage. She is a remarkable woman who was placed in humble circumstances and rose to save her people. In a land that often looked down upon Jews, Esther’s heritage should have prevented her from being able to save her people. And yet, she rose to prominence was guided by the hand of the Lord. Here is one verse that introduces Esther and sets the foundation for what I want to talk about.

Esther 2:7 And he brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle’s daughter: for she had neither father nor mother, and the maid was fair and beautiful; whom Mordecai, when her father and mother were dead, took for his own daughter.

In this verse, we learn that Esther’s given Hebrew name was “Hadassah.” In an effort to protect her, her name was changed to “Esther,” a Persian name. Jews were often looked down upon, discredited, and hated. Having a Persian name would have protected Esther from some of the prejudice she would face in court.

There is beautiful significance in the fact that Esther changed her name.

“Hadassah” means “myrtle.” The myrtle was a fragrant, humble evergreen plant often symbolizing righteousness, peace, beauty, or God’s people in biblical imagery. Esther was many of these things, and she rose to represent all of her people. The name “Esther” was also significant. Its Persian roots connect it to the word “star” which she certainly rose to be. Interestingly enough, the name “Esther” also has Hebrew roots, but those Hebrew roots mean “hidden.”

Esther’s names, with their many meanings, all tell her story very well. It also connects her back to Christ.

Esther was placed in a position to save her people. So much of her identity was “hidden” so that she could fulfill her role to save her people. Had her true identity been known, she may have been barred from being queen due to prejudice.

In the Old Testament, Christ is known as Jehovah, a latinized version of “YHWH.” This means, “I am.” It is a powerful statement of our Creator. It emphasizes self-existence, sovereignty, and eternal nature. When He comes to the earth, His name is revealed to Mary as “Jesus.” Jesus is the English version of Yeshua, which is a shortened version of Yehoshua. Yehoshua means “YHWH saves.”

When Christ came to earth, He did so quietly. Much of His identity was hidden. It was so hidden that the people in Nazareth, who knew Him while He was growing up, rejected Him thoroughly. They were angry when He claimed divine authority and purpose, and they tried to kill Him. If He had come in all of His glory, would things have been different? How would they have felt about Him then?

If He had come in all of His glory, He might not have been rejected and put in a position to save us.

On a broader note than Nazareth, many of the Jews didn’t recognize Him. They were looking for a powerful rebel who would throw off the Roman empire. They did not understand that Jesus was coming to save them in a more important way. Because He didn’t come in all of the glory that was due to Him, He was betrayed and rejected.

And though He didn’t deserve it, we needed it. We needed His true identity to be rejected so that He would be able to fulfill His atonement on our behalf. His “hidden” identity placed Him in a position to save the entirety of the human family.

Let’s take it a step further.

Esther’s hidden identity placed her in a position to save her people, but it wasn’t just her hidden identity. It was also her humility. Because of her docile and peaceful nature, the king really liked her. When she entered the throne room, the king extended his scepter towards her, sparing her life. Even after being spared, her humility continued. Rather than making a big fuss in the middle of court, she invited the king and Haman to a banquet. At the banquet, her request on behalf of her people was not widely viewed.

This likewise ties her to Christ.

When Christ saved the world, He did it quietly and without fanfare. As He suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane, He may have had an audience on the other side of the veil, but they were likewise hidden. His only companions fell asleep, and Christ accomplished His mission humbly. When it was all over, His success remained quiet as He was betrayed and taken to die. Not even His apostles seemed to understand just what He accomplished in that garden.

Both Esther and Christ had identities that were hidden that placed them in a position to save. Both Esther and Christ did so quietly and humbly, and this likewise enabled them to fulfill their missions.

What does this mean for us?

Each of us has a mission given to us by the Lord. We made promises before we came here. The Lord can place us in the position we need to be in to set us up for our mission. Regardless of whether we are born as an exiled, lowly orphan or born in a stable, He has the power to place us exactly where we need to be. Though it is counterintuitive, sometimes it is the very humble circumstances we are given that enables us to fulfill our own personal missions. Christ utilized kings like Cyrus and Hezekiah to save His people, but He also used those in the humblest circumstances to save His people. None of your circumstances matter; those are easy enough for the Lord to manipulate. What truly matters is whether you’re following the Savior.

Your mission may be quiet and humble, but if that is the case, then you are in good company. We don’t have to go over a loudspeaker to save His people. It doesn’t have to look outwardly dramatic. It doesn’t have to be filmed or livestreamed or hold a huge audience. We simply have to be willing to follow the Savior, and He will lead us to do good.

I testify that we can learn about Christ when we study the scriptures. I testify that everything was set up perfectly for Him to save us, not just with the alignment of circumstances in the New Testament, but also in your own personal life. There is a Plan of Salvation at large, and it has been successfully won. There is also a Plan of Salvation for you, and through the power of God, the circumstances can align for Him to save you too. We can trust Him.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Esther – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Mordecai as a Type of Heavenly Fatherby Autumn Dickson

The book of Esther is generally well-known. A Jewish orphan finds herself in the harem of the king, and she becomes queen after winning his favor. A plot against the Jews unfolds, and all of them are going to be destroyed. At the peril of her life, she stands before the king and invites him to the banquet to plead on behalf of her people.

It is very easy to see how Esther is a type of Christ. She intercedes on behalf of her people. She is willing to die in order to do it. She delivers the Jews from death; she gives them a fighting chance. She “rises” on the third day of fasting to go to the king on behalf of delivering her people. There are many parallels that we could talk about.

But after pondering on the fact that Esther is a type of Christ, it occurred to me that Mordecai is a type of Heavenly Father. It’s not a perfect parallel, but there are two details that point to Mordecai being a type of the Father.

Esther 2:7 And he brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle’s daughter: for she had neither father nor mother, and the maid was fair and beautiful; whom Mordecai, when her father and mother were dead, took for his own daughter.

Esther was an orphan, and Mordecai raised her. He loved her. After Esther was taken by Persian soldiers, he walks in front of harem court to check on her everyday. In all the important ways, he was her father.

And then, of course, there was this parallel.

Mordecai asks Esther to intercede on behalf of the Jewish people. She responds that it might kill her. He responds with this verse.

Esther 4:14 For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?

Mordecai warns that deliverance will come from elsewhere, but that she might not escape in the king’s court. He encourages her to risk herself, and we get his famous line that suggests she had been placed in a very specific place where she was capable of saving the kingdom.

I love this little parallel too. Christ likewise asked for the cup to be passed by Him in the Garden of Gethsemane, but He willingly took it when it was presented before Him.

But it’s actually Mordecai that I want to talk about.

As Latter-day Saints, we believe that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are two separate Beings. If it is true, then this is actually a very important theology. Combining them into one Personage, completely eliminates the sacrifice of the Father. There is great love in sacrificing yourself; there is also immense love in allowing your loved one to be sacrificed.

But unlike with Esther, where deliverance would have risen from elsewhere, there was no one else to save us but Christ.

Heavenly Father could have stopped the atonement of Jesus Christ because of His great love for His Son, but He didn’t. He allowed Him to be sacrificed. This is no small thing, and we can’t afford to look over Heavenly Father’s sacrifice.

Mordecai understood what it meant to sacrifice a child. Despite the fact that he had likely been moved upon by the spirit to help him see that Esther had been set up to save her people, I can’t imagine that there weren’t nagging little feelings. Did Mordecai ever think, “What if I ask her to do this and I’m simply sending her to her death for nothing? What if the Lord has a different means of deliverance but Esther is simply killed because I asked her to approach the king? What if her death is my fault?”

Obviously, Heavenly Father knew what the sacrifice of Christ was really going to entail. However, Mordecai’s experience of worrying over Esther helped him get a better taste of what Heavenly Father experienced as He watched His Son suffer.

I’ve never been asked to sacrifice a child on behalf of the world or even a nation (or at all). Because I’ve never been asked to sacrifice in this manner, I can only imagine what Heavenly Father felt when He allowed the Savior to take on the sins and pains of the rest of us. Mordecai has a better understanding of what Heavenly Father went through.

Esther was separated from her family and taken into the Persian court, a place of danger and intrigue. When Mordecai asked her to go walk into that court and face death, he was asking her to do it alone. Her handmaidens fast with her, but when she truly goes in to face her death, there is no mention of anyone standing with her.

Heavenly Father likewise had to completely withdraw from His Son in order to complete the atonement. Christ had to understand what it meant to be truly rejected by God in order to fulfil the atonement completely. Not only did Heavenly Father have to ask the Savior to suffer what He did, Heavenly Father had to leave His Son to do it alone.

We cannot overlook what Heavenly Father did for us without robbing ourselves of the chance to be grateful. We cannot combine them into one Personage without running the risk of completely disregarding the sacrifice of our Heavenly Father. The story of the atonement of Jesus Christ is a story of sacrifice. Christ willingly laid Himself upon the altar, but there is One who loved Christ who also allowed it to happen.

And honestly, I rather lay down on the altar than ask my child to do it. But in the case of Heavenly Father, He couldn’t. He simply had to let Christ do it.

The atonement of Jesus Christ preaches great love in the form of self-sacrifice. It preaches love in the form of watching a loved one suffer. Is there any greater love than that?

I testify that Christ loves us and volunteered to do what He did. I testify that when Heavenly Father asked who He could send down to the earth to perform the atonement, He knew that only Christ could do so. Christ 100% volunteered, but Heavenly Father knew what He was asking for. I testify that Heavenly Father loved us enough to ask His perfect Son to do that. Between the two of Them, I can think of no greater love that has been offered to us.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Esther – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Covenants, Gospel, and Protectionby Autumn Dickson

In the readings this week, we find three changes for the Jews under the kings in Persia. There were three men who helped with these changes.

First, we have Zerubbabel, a Jewish governor who worked tirelessly to build the temple.

Ezra 5:2 Then rose up Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and began to build the house of God which is at Jerusalem: and with them were the prophets of God helping them.

Then we have Ezra who taught the people the Law of Moses.

Nehemiah 8:2-3

2 And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month.

3 And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law.

And lastly, we have Nehemiah who rebuilt the wall around Jerusalem.

Nehemiah 2:17 Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach.

I want to talk about these three elements of the Jews returning to their homeland and why it’s so relevant to the Lord working with us in our day.

The three elements are this: covenants, gospel, and protection.

When the Lord is seeking to build us and sanctify us and bring us to Him, those are the three elements He uses.

It starts with the covenants. Covenants are promises to and from the Lord. They bind us to Him in significant ways and offer us protection. It gives us access to Christ’s power. When I think of a covenant with Christ, I always think of it in terms of marriage covenants. Christ often uses the allusion of marriage to describe His relationship with us as well.

When two people get married, they make promises to each other. They’re going to stand by each other even in imperfection and trial. Traditionally, their finances also merge. Whatever debt or surplus they bring is combined. When we enter into a covenant with Christ, we promise to stand by Him, and He promises to stand by us even in imperfection and trial. Our “finances” merge with His. All of our debt is erased by His infinite surplus but beyond that, we have constant access to that surplus to call upon in times of need or want.

This is the first step. We cannot be saved without Christ. We need to be bound to Him in a way that enables Him to save us. Hence, covenants. Hence, Zerubbabel and the temple.

The next portion of rebuilding Jerusalem was the Law of Moses. The Law of Moses is often described as the “preparatory gospel.” It helped the people start to figure out Christ and what He meant in their lives. All of the rituals and remembrances were put in place to help them better understand Christ’s role.

In our day, the Law of Moses is fulfilled and we have the gospel. The gospel, with all of its truth, is taught to us regularly so we can understand Christ in our lives. What good is being bound to Christ if we don’t know the point of Him? What good will a covenant do me if I don’t know that my sins are paid for and I don’t know that I can draw upon His strength and peace and power? We need the covenant, but we also need the information that enables us to draw upon Christ and take effect in our life.

The last portion of rebuilding Jerusalem was the wall. City walls were tremendously important. When the walls of Jericho fell, the Israelites were able to immediately take the city. The walls around Jerusalem offered protection from enemies who would want to hurt what was inside of the city.

It would be easy to put “protection” under the umbrella of covenants and gospel learning, and it would likewise be accurate to do so. Covenants protect us; covenants are our promises that allow us to call upon Christ in need. That is definitely protection. Gospel learning protects us; understanding our Savior and His love and power keeps us close to Him where we can remain safe.

But I want to separate the wall from the temple and Law of Moses readings in order to highlight specific portions of protection.

Joseph Smith taught the following regarding the gospel:

The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it.

The gospel (Ezra and the Law of Moses equivalent) is that the apostles and prophets testify of Christ and His mission; everything else is an appendage. The church is an appendage, an important and beautiful appendage, but it is separate. This is what I’m thinking of when I picture the wall around Jerusalem.

There are additions to the covenants and gospel that protect us. For example, commandments protect us. The Word of Wisdom protects us from all of the terrible things that can happen when you don’t have complete control over your body. The spirit of revelation protects us by warning us about certain situations or leading us towards where we need to be. There are a ton of different church programs that put us in safe and holy places to protect us.

City walls were not foolproof. Christ could make our “walls” foolproof, but part of mortality was opposition. Sometimes we leave the walls and find ourselves in trouble. Sometimes the trouble finds us even when we stay behind the walls. However, city walls still provide more protection than we would otherwise have. Not to mention, when an enemy breaches the gate, we still have complete access to our temple covenants and gospel knowledge and that heals us. The opposition hopefully pushes us closer to Christ so that no lasting damage can be done.

The stories we find in Ezra and Nehemiah have these overarching themes that point our minds back to Christ and what’s important to Him. We see His patterns. We see what He utilizes when He’s trying to build us and sanctify us: covenants, the gospel, and spiritual protective barriers.

I testify that the scriptures contain beautiful messages that teach us about God’s plans and purposes for us. I testify that Christ offers Himself to us by giving us covenants, knowledge concerning His gospel, and specific protections that build a barrier between us and our enemies. I testify that Heavenly Father thought of everything when He came up with His plan, and I testify that He is purposeful in preparing us to come home.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Ezra 1; 3–7; Nehemiah 2; 4–6; 8– Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Jennifer Roach Lees holds a Master in Divinity as well as a Masters in Counseling Psychology. She is a licensed mental health therapist and lives in Utah.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Ezra 1; 3–7; Nehemiah 2; 4–6; 8 – Jennifer Roach Lees appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

95 Years of Waitingby Autumn Dickson

I’m going to give you a bit of a timeline to help you follow what is going on with these chapters. The bible is not chronological, and so it can get confusing. There are different names for the same people, and different names for the same ethnicity of people. Ezra also jumps around which isn’t particularly helpful. So here is a brief timeline to help you keep track of where we’re at.

There are three main waves of Jews returning to Jerusalem.

Context: Babylonians were the ones who took Jews away from their homeland. Cyrus easily defeats Babylon, and now Persia is in charge with a more tolerant hand.

The first wave happens with Zerubbabel, a Jewish governor, and Jeshua (Joshua) is the priest who helps with the religious portion of returning to Jerusalem. This happens under Cyrus, and the temple foundation is laid. About 50,000 people have returned, and they brought sacred temple treasures with them. Opposition stalls the rebuilding of the temple.

Cyrus has a son, but he’s not mentioned much and there is simply more stalling that occurs from local opposition.

Then Darius takes over, and he finds Cyrus’ decree to let the Jews go back and build. The work resumes. It is still Zerubbabel and Jeshua who are leading the rebuilding. The temple is completed, and Passover is celebrated. Haggai and Zechariah were prophets who became involved at this stage in urging the continuation of rebuilding.

Xerxes comes onto the throne. He is also known as Ahasuerus. Jewish rapport is building in high places within Persia, and this is the king who marries Esther.

Now we get our second wave of people returning to Jerusalem. Artaxerxes comes on to the throne. He is sympathetic to Jews, possibly influenced by Esther. Ezra is part of this second wave, and he goes and starts teaching the Law of Moses again. Unfortunately, letters of opposition once again stop the work.

Then there is our third wave. Thirteen years later, Nehemiah gains sympathy from Artaxerxes. He is the cup-bearer, and the king notices Nehemiah is sad. He allows Nehemiah to go and build the wall (which affords great stability and protection to the Jews against all of the local opposition). The king even gives Nehemiah resources to do so. Despite continued opposition, Nehemiah finishes the wall in 52 days. The people celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.

This entire timeline, from the first wave of Jews under Cyrus to when Nehemiah finishes building the wall around Jerusalem, occurs over approximately 95 years. 95 years of waiting. There were 70 years of exile under Babylon, and then there was another 95 years of waiting until they truly got any momentum in rebuilding their home.

Despite the decrees of kings, the Jews found their work halted again and again and again by local enemies, primarily the Samaritans who held long-standing rivalries with Judah.

And maybe that’s my message this week. The Lord is patient even when we’re anxious to reach our happy ending. Maybe we keep finding moments where we’ve finally “made it” only to have things fall apart again. Perhaps we find ourselves in the trenches, and it feels like no one is listening.

God knew exactly where His people were, and He was not as worried about rebuilding His temple as He was about rebuilding His people. After all, the temple isn’t the end-all. The temple is a tool to get to the end-all: a redeemed House of Israel.

Perhaps it’s time to realign our goals with the Lord.

I’m going to keep referring to the goal of “rebuilding the temple and walls of Jerusalem,” but you can insert whatever goals you’re currently working towards.

I’m sure it was discouraging for the Jews to face all of that opposition. I’m sure it was discouraging every time a page turned, and they thought it was “finally time.” Perhaps they kept thinking, “This is it,” only to get halted all over again. I wonder if they felt like they were taking one step forward and ten steps back.

Interestingly enough, the Lord sees the entire process differently. Where you see ten steps back, He sees 11 steps in the correct direction for His goal. The Lord wasn’t just rebuilding Jerusalem; He was rebuilding His people. And despite the fact that it likely made them feel broken down, those trials were an important part of their refining process. He was making them powerful by helping them face obstacle after obstacle.

I can only imagine how much more they appreciated their home because of how much longer it took to rebuild it, and that was really the successful part for the Lord. They had a holy city, but more importantly, He had a people who loved their holy city.

If you’re struggling to find peace in the midst of the ups and downs of trying to find your “happy ending,” might I make a recommendation?

Prayer.

Prayer is not about changing the Lord’s mind or getting yourself out of a situation. Prayer is about talking with the Lord so that you see the way that He sees. So turn to prayer; not just so you can ask Him to save you but so that you can see how He is actively working within your life. Perhaps He might even show you how the seeming setbacks are the exact stepping stones you need. He has a glorious goal in mind: you.

I testify that the Lord remains with us through the ups and downs. I testify that even when we’re doing His work, He purposefully allows for opposition because opposition is an important ingredient for His goal. He can’t accomplish His goal without that opposition so don’t despair. It’s all part of the plan. He loves you. He’s got this. He knows exactly what He’s doing.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Ezra 1; 3–7; Nehemiah 2; 4–6; 8– Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Turn Back to Godby Autumn Dickson

Time for another Old Testament story.

Jehoshaphat is a king of Judah. He is a righteous king who worked on pushing the hearts of his people towards the Lord. He tears down idols. He seeks out the will of the Lord. He’s a good man, though imperfect at times.

At one point in time, Jehoshaphat finds himself in Israel with his ally, the wicked King Ahab. Ahab wants to go fight Syria to recapture a city that was taken from Israel. Jehoshaphat agrees but wants to consult a prophet first. After consulting 400 false prophets who declare that they will be victorious, Jehoshaphat insists on consulting a true prophet.

The true prophet, Micaiah, comes and prophesies that they will lose and Ahab will die. Micaiah is actually quite awesome, but he is a story for another day.

Despite Micaiah’s prophecies, Ahab and Jehoshaphat try to fight Syria. It obviously doesn’t go very well. Ahab tells Jehoshaphat to wear royal robes, and Ahab dresses like a common soldier. Syria immediately starts trying to kill Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat calls out to the Lord and is saved. Ahab takes a random arrow and dies.

Jehoshaphat returns home and is greeted by a prophet from his own kingdom.

2 Chronicles 19:2-3

2 And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to king Jehoshaphat, Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the Lord? therefore is wrath upon thee from before the Lord.

3 Nevertheless there are good things found in thee, in that thou hast taken away the groves out of the land, and hast prepared thine heart to seek God.

After this experience, Jehoshaphat continues to make reforms to point his people towards the Lord. Jehoshaphat was not a perfect king, but he was a good king. In the Old Testament, we read a lot about the Lord punishing disobedience quickly and strongly. There is a reason for that; the Lord is warning us about the spiritual consequences of disobedience. And yet, the Lord doesn’t do this with Jehoshaphat despite his multiple recorded failings.

We see Jehoshaphat’s weakness a few more times over his reign.

Later on, Jehoshaphat makes another alliance with Ahab’s son, the new king of Israel. They built a bunch of ships together, and the prophet, Eliezer, prophesies that the ships will get destroyed. They get destroyed.

One of the ways that these two nations were allied was through a marriage. Jehoshaphat’s son, Jehoram, marries Ahab’s daughter. It comes back to haunt Jehoshaphat later when Jehoram starts worshipping idols and Ahab’s daughter tries to wipe out the Davidic line.

I love the nuance here.

Jehoshaphat made mistakes, but God spares him. He has weaknesses; he keeps trying to connect himself further with the northern kingdom that is wicked and idolatrous. There are two “despites” here that teach something really important.

Despite the fact that Jehoshaphat loves God, his disobedience and lack of trust come back to bite him. He loves God, but he has to experience consequences because of his flaws.

Despite the fact that Jehoshaphat has flaws, God continues to save him. He is directly saved in the battle that he fought with King Ahab, but he is preserved upon the throne until he “rested with his ancestors.” This is a biblical phrase that suggests he died peacefully.

I see it in my own life all the time. Despite the fact that I love God, I have flaws and they come with consequences. They drive me to be unhappy. When I get frustrated with my kids or get prideful or uncharitable, I find innate consequences that come back to bite me.

And yet, despite the fact that I have flaws, God continues to save me. We just keep on trying to move forward.

As I pondered this pattern, I thought of some of the other patterns I find in the Old Testament, specifically the pattern where God punishes those who trust mankind over Him. We see examples of kings that trusted Egypt but found themselves completely fallen to Babylon. Why didn’t Jehoshaphat find himself in this category? As I pondered Jehoshaphat’s exception, I was reminded that Hezekiah is another example of this. Hezekiah tried paying tribute to Babylon to get them to go away, and he even stripped the gold and silver out of the temple in order to pay that tribute.

So why were Hezekiah and Jehoshaphat spared when they also didn’t put their trust fully in God?

There is one more verse I want to share. It’s about Jehoshaphat, but Hezekiah did a similar thing.

2 Chronicles 18:31 And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, It is the king of Israel. Therefore they compassed about him to fight: but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the Lord helped him; and God moved them to depart from him.

What was the difference? Jehoshaphat called out to God. Hezekiah did similarly. After stripping the temple and failing, Hezekiah went to the temple and pleaded with the Lord.

When do we really lose the battle? When we turn on the Lord and don’t turn back to Him again after.

I think that’s really one of the keys to life here. We all fail. It’s inevitable. What keeps us in the pattern of Jehoshaphat and Hezekiah? We turn to the Lord again even after we failed Him. We plead to Him and ask for forgiveness even in the midst of the potentially devastating consequences that we got ourselves into.

We just keep turning back, no matter how many times we’ve failed.

I testify that we can turn to God, no matter how many times we’ve failed. I testify that this pattern is the one that really grants us success: turning to the Lord over and over and over and over. Even when we’ve failed Him, we turn right back. We trust that He will still love us, and we ask Him to help us get out of it and get better.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 2 Chronicles 14–20; 26; 30 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Jennifer Roach Lees holds a Master in Divinity as well as a Masters in Counseling Psychology. She is a licensed mental health therapist and lives in Utah.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 2 Chronicles 14–20; 26; 30 – Jennifer Roach Lees appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

God loves to make us work for itby Autumn Dickson

Asa is one of the kings we read about this week. He was a king of Judah, the southern kingdom. He starts out his reign really strong, tearing down idol worship and deposing his own grandmother who worshipped idols. He encouraged people to seek the Lord. Unfortunately, he also took a turn for the worse and started trusting in human solutions over God, and he died.

There is one verse in the midst of his story that I want to share.

2 Chronicles 14:6-7

6 And he built fenced cities in Judah: for the land had rest, and he had no war in those years; because the Lord had given him rest.

7 Therefore he said unto Judah, Let us build these cities, and make about them walls, and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is yet before us; because we have sought the Lord our God, we have sought him, and he hath given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered.

Asa had a time of peace during his reign, and in the midst of this peace, he built fortified cities in Judah.

Asa goes on to face an Ethiopian army, and he is vastly outnumbered. As he faces his enemy, he cries out to God.

2 Chronicles 14:11 And Asa cried unto the Lord his God, and said, Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O Lord our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O Lord, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee.

The Lord proceeds to smite the Ethiopians, and they are driven back.

So here is my question…why did they fortify their cities?

Over and over and over again in the Old Testament we read about this same pattern. The Israelites (or in this case, Judah specifically), do all of the things only to have the Lord completely fight their battles.

The Lord parted the Red Sea. He made the walls of Jericho come down. He struck down 185,000 Assyrians outside Jerusalem’s walls during Hezekiah’s reign. This is a consistent pattern throughout scripture. The Lord fights the battles. Entire armies are defeated or become confused or simply flee.

So why bother even fortifying the cities?

Even in this specific story where the Lord defeats an army of a million Ethiopians, it doesn’t say that the fortified cities made a difference in the slightest. So why? Why fortify the city when the Lord defeats the enemy?

The only way I can think to explain it is this: chores.

Every Monday, our house gets totally cleaned. Bathrooms, mopping, dusting, vacuuming, all of it. Then, throughout the week, my three oldest kids are assigned one chore a day. It is usually the same list of chores that is done on Monday.

I remember watching my four year old wipe down the mirrors in the bathroom on Tuesday. That mirror went from clean to streaked in no time flat. My soul kinda died a little bit watching her make the mirror dirtier, and then it died a little more when I had to sneak back in to clean it a third time in two days.

But. I have to remind myself that it’s not about a clean mirror. It’s about a healthy, growing child. She doesn’t clean the mirror so that I can have a clean mirror (obviously). She cleans the mirror so that she learns how to clean a mirror (eventually).

The Lord paid for our sins. He paid for the sin you committed years ago, the sin you committed yesterday, the sin you’re going to commit today, and the sin you’re going to commit years into the future. The mirror is already clean.

But He still asks us to learn how to clean a mirror. Even when we’re actually just making the mirror dirtier again or when we’re cleaning an already clean mirror.

Being saved means you’re clean again, and to some extent, all of us will be saved in some degree of glory. Being saved means you’re clean, but being exalted means you grew up.

And that’s important because it determines our level of happiness.

There is inherent worth in knowing how to clean a mirror. There is inherent worth in learning how to fortify your city and do labor. There is inherent worth in growth even if it’s not actually contributing to anything yet. There is inherent worth in work even when it’s not paying for our salvation.

The Lord saves us. He cleaned the mirror. He protected His people throughout the scriptures.

But He asks us to learn how to clean the mirror because we won’t find happiness unless we know how. Some of the most miserable people I know are the ones who don’t appreciate the value of working hard. It won’t do you much good for the Lord to save you if you’re still miserable, and He’s not going to hook you up to constant happy drugs in heaven. Where do you think happiness comes from? It doesn’t really come from the mirror simply being clean. It comes from growing, and the clean mirror enables you to live with God again.

So we follow the Lord and His commandments so we learn how to be happy, and then He pays for the whole experience. He cleanses us so we can return to live with Him, and we return with the knowledge and experience required to find deep and lasting joy.

I’m grateful for the scriptures that teach true doctrine. I’m grateful that I get to watch these patterns over and over and over throughout the Old Testament. The Lord does the work, but then He asks us to grow. I see it everywhere. I’m grateful He paid the price for me to get messy and come home with the knowledge and experience I need. I’m grateful that I get to learn, through my own experience, the good from the evil. I testify that the Lord saves, and I also testify that He gives commandments for our good.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 2 Chronicles 14–20; 26; 30 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

When You Have Nothing but Godby Autumn Dickson

This week, we find a righteous but imperfect man surrounded by legitimate reasons to be afraid. How do you respond when you’ve been backed into a corner? Let’s talk about how Hezekiah responded.

Hezekiah was a righteous king especially when contrasted with his wicked father, Ahaz. When Hezekiah rose to the throne, he threw out all of the idolatry and tore down all of the false places and altars of worship. He was reforming Judah, and he was helping them repent and turn back to the Lord.

Assyria was a superpower in the ancient world. They had just dominated the northern kingdom of Israel, and they set their sights on Judah next.

I am a firm believer that the Lord protects the righteous. It’s one of the main themes of The Book of Mormon, and yet, we see something interesting happen here. Judah is not completely protected. Assyria is able to take some of their fortified cities, and Hezekiah responds by offering to pay them a tribute to go away. In order to afford the tribute required by Assyrian, Hezekiah strips the temple.

It doesn’t work. Assyria sticks around.

One of the Assyrian commanders comes to the walls of the city and starts speaking in Hebrew so that the people of Jerusalem can fully understand the danger they’re in. It’s psychological warfare, and the people respond with silence as instructed by Hezekiah.

Hezekiah responds differently this time. He covers himself in sackcloth and ashes and goes to the temple to pray to the Lord. He prays and tells the Lord, “They’re mocking Thee. Show them who You are.” The Lord does. He slays 185,000 soldiers in the Assyrian army, and Sennacherib goes home to be assassinated by his sons.

We get to see Judah change and repent at this particular period in time. There are many good details; let’s cover a few.

Detail one. The Lord allows Assyria to defeat some of the fortified cities in Judah.

Judah was in the process of repenting. Hezekiah had torn down a lot of the idolatry, and this was incredible faith. Unfortunately, Judah had a long history of turning away from the Lord. Losing these cities was not an indication of the Lord being powerless. It was about discipline so that Judah could learn.

I actually find it really poetic that the fortified cities were conquered, but Jerusalem remained. What was in Jerusalem?

The temple.

The kingdom of Judah was being stripped down to its center, specifically to that covenant relationship that it held with the Lord.

I’ve seen this kind of repentance in my own life. I didn’t actually recognize it until a couple of days ago as I sat in my car in a parking lot. There was once a time when the Lord dismantled huge parts of who I used to be in order to make way for more important things.

Music used to be the most important thing in my life. I would drive down the highway, listen to some good country songs, and I always felt like I was on fire. It was such a strong feeling. So much of my identity revolved around music. There were a lot of reasons I was worried about getting married and starting a family, but I actually think music was a huge portion of those reasons. I didn’t want to sacrifice music.

Music was taken away from me. I stopped college to try and be a musician. I was working in the industry. I was entering competitions and playing small shows. I did it for months. Then it all collapsed a bit. I was surrounded by darkness, both within my own mind and in what I had surrounded myself with.

After being separated from that dark period, I put up a barrier between me and music. It didn’t touch me like it used to. I couldn’t write anything anymore. It was too associated with darkness.

As I sat in my car pondering this, I found myself bawling my eyes out that the Lord had taken it away. Only, I was bawling in gratitude not in despair. Music is powerful and wonderful and I don’t think I’m done with it yet. However, it had become an idol to me. I needed it taken away because the Lord had something much more important in mind. If I had kept music, regardless of whether I was successful or not, I think it would have prevented me from fully stepping into more divine callings. I wouldn’t have had room for these other things that the Lord wanted to give me.

Would I have willingly chosen children or resented them? Would I have ever had time to bear my testimony in the capacity that I do now? Would I even have been able to enjoy my role as a wife as much as I do now if music hadn’t been taken away from me?

I can’t totally be sure, but I think music would have robbed me of those things. I was that obsessed. It was an idol. I know that’s not the case for other musicians, but it was for me. It would have kept me from some of the most important parts of my life.

As I think about the beautiful life I’ve been given, it makes me sick to think that I could have missed it.

The Lord stripped away all of these parts of me that felt so important, and He left just Himself and His covenant with me. With all of the problems I had accumulated combined with the music having been taken away, there wasn’t much of me left. Just a covenant.

And the Lord upheld that covenant. He somehow got me on a mission and gave me my family. He had to remove all of that other stuff so that He could build something better with nothing but the covenant protection He had given me.

Detail two. Hezekiah goes from stripping the temple of riches to praying in it.

Hezekiah originally tried to give money over to Assyria to get them to leave, and it didn’t work. They camped outside of Jerusalem. He doesn’t make the same mistake twice. Hezekiah receives a letter telling him, “Don’t trust anyone who tells you that your God can save you. We’ve defeated so many other gods before you.”

Hezekiah had overturned altars and torn down idolatrous images in Judah; he did all the things. Now he gets to prove how much he really trusts the God of his fathers. Hezekiah tells the Lord that the Assyrians have done all of these major feats of strength and power, but Hezekiah also acknowledges that it is only the power of mankind. He continues his beautiful prayer with this sentiment.

2 Kings 19:19 Now therefore, O Lord our God, I beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the Lord God, even thou only.

He implores the Lord to show the Assyrians who the true God is.

This isn’t about saving his own skin anymore. Hezekiah’s heart has turned towards God’s glory. That is the result he wants: God’s glory.

God shows up with a whole lot of glory, and He shows Judah and the rest of the world who holds the real power.

Hezekiah repented. He spiritually up-levelled. He went from knocking down idols to facing fear with nothing but his trust in God’s covenants with Judah. He went from fear of losing his life and kingdom to simply wanting the glory of God. He stood to lose a lot in facing off with Syria, but he chose trust and it saved him.

I testify that a covenant relationship with Christ is a powerful foundation. I testify that sometimes the Lord strips away parts of us that feel so important so that He can uncover that foundation and start anew with something more powerful. I testify that spiritually maturing means stepping into trust, and I testify that trusting in God saves us. It’s not enough to keep the commandments and do the things. Hezekiah did the things, and they were SO important and necessary, but even that was not enough. Hezekiah still had to trust, and that was what turned the tides of Judah. It can turn the tide for you.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 2 Kings 16–25 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Start HereQuestionWhy did King Josiah remove objects from the temple?

Short AnswerKing Josiah removed temple objects because many had become closely associated with pagan worship and Assyrian religious practices. Rather than rejecting the temple itself, he sought to restore covenant worship by removing symbols that no longer pointed people toward God. According to this episode, these reforms represented spiritual cleansing and covenant renewal rather than political power or religious innovation.

Key Takeaways* King Josiah inherited Judah during a period of political, economic, and spiritual collapse. * The rediscovery of the Book of the Law sparked a national covenant renewal rather than the creation of a new religion. * Many temple objects Josiah removed had become symbols of idolatry under Assyrian influence. * Jeremiah praised Josiah for defending the poor, seeking justice, and remaining faithful to God’s covenant. * Josiah’s death at Megiddo marked the end of Judah’s last righteous king before the Babylonian captivity. Continue readingThe post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 2 Kings 16–25 – Jennifer Roach Lees appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Learning to Accept the Lord’s Consequencesby Autumn Dickson

For a few weeks, two of my kids were really struggling. They would fly off the handle at little provocations. I would ask them to do things, and they would throw a fit (or throw other things). It was beyond normal kid misbehavior. I still don’t know whether it was a phase or something going on at school. I tried hard to figure it out, but couldn’t.

After trying to connect with them first, we ended up just spending a lot of time in our rooms. If they made my home miserable, they were going to spend time in their room. My normal philosophy is that as soon as they are truly repentant, they can come out. As soon as their ready to be part of the family, they can come join the family.

Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to be cutting it.

So we spent extra time in our rooms for just a couple of days. Some days, they would spend the whole afternoon into the evening in their rooms, and I would bring them dinner. There was one day where Warner tried talking to me through the door. He asked me, “Mom why are you being so mean? I’m sorry. Can I come out?” I had let him out previously, and we ended up exactly where we were within minutes. So he stayed.

There are a lot of moments in parenting where you question whether you’re getting it right. This was definitely one of those times. I didn’t know what my kids needed in order to turn themselves around and choose happiness, but I had exhausted other options so we were trying this one.

The spirit was super kind and as I walked away from their doors, a verse was brought to mind. In Mosiah 21, we learn that the Lord was slow to hear the cries of His people because of their iniquities. The Lord is perfectly loving, and He made a perfectly appropriate choice to be slow in responding to their cries.

Sometimes we need to sit with the discomfort a little bit longer in order for the lesson to sink in.

After a couple days of this torture (for them and for me), we finally started controlling our tempers and choices again. My home isn’t perfect, but it’s definitely more peaceful than it was for those couple of weeks.

This week in the Old Testament, we read about some people who found themselves in similar situations. I want to specifically talk about Zedekiah.

I want to tell Zedekiah’s story. Many of the details are actually found in the book of Jeremiah who was the prophet at the time of Zedekiah.

At this point in our timeline, the southern kingdom of Judah has been conquered by Babylon. Babylon puts Zedekiah in as a puppet king. Zedekiah swears an oath of loyalty to Babylon. Zedekiah reigns for a total period of 11 years. Around year 9, he starts rebelling against Babylon. He stops paying tribute and seeks help from Egypt. Most importantly, he ignores warnings from the prophet, Jeremiah.

Over and over and over and over, Jeremiah warns Zedekiah to bow down to Babylon. Zedekiah receives a very clear warning: submit or the city will be destroyed. Egypt will not save you.

Unfortunately, Zedekiah believes Jeremiah, but he keeps rebelling against Babylon anyway. He pays the price for it.

2 Kings 25:6-7

6 So they took the king, and brought him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah; and they gave judgment upon him.

7 And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon.

Zedekiah’s sons were killed, and he was blinded.

The principle I want to teach in this post requires highlighting a very specific fact: Judah’s subservience to Babylon was a direct result of breaking their covenants. Judah needed to repent, and the Lord sent Babylon to help them do it. Apparently, their repentance process was not quite over. The Lord was slow to hear their cries. They were not going to be immediately delivered from consequences because the Lord knew what they truly needed.

Judah was unimpressed with the Lord’s choices, rebelled against their consequences, and found even deeper consequences.

Sometimes when we’ve found ourselves entrenched in the consequences of sin, we bristle against it. We get tired and want to throw it off. We believe that surely, we’ve repented enough. We can move on. We can do what we want again. We don’t want to deal with the pain or humiliation anymore. I think of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies who almost broke their covenant and went back into battle. I think of the consequences of addiction and the continuous maintenance of keeping yourself clean. I think of people who believe it’s easier to walk away from the church completely than to try and keep working towards worthiness.

We rebel. We find consequences so that the Lord can soften our hearts and reach us. We are annoyed by the consequences, and we find ourselves in deeper trouble than before. We blame the Lord instead of recognizing His desire to help us step in a better direction.

The kingdom of Judah hated being a vassal state of Babylon. The leaders and priests found it humiliating and degrading. They did not want their consequences anymore, and it cost them dearly.

Consequences are not fun, but they are there for a reason. The Lord doesn’t hand out consequences generously to uphold His own control. No, the Lord gives them out as necessary to get us to turn our hearts around. Consequences are a gift and bristling underneath them only drags out the pain further. It doesn’t necessarily make the consequence longer, but it does drag out the pain. Let me explain what I mean by that.

Think of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies. They were about to break their pacifist covenants when they saw the Nephites suffering on their behalf. The consequences of their past violence was that they needed to keep their “swords bright.” They couldn’t stain them with blood again.

The Anti-Nephi-Lehies had changed hearts. They were hurting for their Nephite brothers. The consequences were too much to bear. And then I can imagine that it only got worse when their young sons volunteered to go in their place. Can you imagine the grief that filled their hearts? Can you imagine the regret they felt over past actions that kept them from defending their sons?

The consequences were REAL.

But they accepted the consequences and let their sons go. And because this is the gospel of Jesus Christ, we get a happy ending. The sons were all protected. They performed miracles. They made their fathers and mothers proud. And what’s more? They probably developed an intense testimony because of their experiences.

The fathers submitted to the consequences of their actions and because of the atonement of Jesus Christ, their submission to the ongoing repentance process became a blessing to them and their families.

Any pain they might have felt at sending their boys off surely paled in comparison to the joy they felt at watching their sons come home as incredible, powerful, spiritually gigantic men.

Zedekiah bucked against his consequences, and in doing so, told the Lord that he still needed his consequences. He hadn’t learned anything yet.

Consequences are not fun, but I testify that they are signs and reminders of the love of our Father in Heaven. He wants us to be better because that is the only way to be happier. I testify that the sooner we submit to whatever lessons the Lord is trying to teach us, the sooner we find hope and peace (regardless of whether the lesson continues on). I testify that even if we have to carry consequences the rest of our lives, it is not a sign that the Lord has rejected you. Be patient and submit to what the Lord sent. There is a bright horizon coming.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 2 Kings 16–25 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

The Eternal Significance of Sevenby Autumn Dickson

There are many patterns in the Old Testament. The story of Naaman, the Syrian, falls right in line with one of these patterns.

Naaman was a Syrian captain. The Lord utilized Naaman to deliver Syria. He was a good man, but he was also a leper. A captured Israelite girl resided as a servant in his home. She audibly wishes that Naaman could visit the prophet in Israel because the prophet could cleanse him of his leprosy. The testimony of the captured servant girl reaches Naaman and through a series of diplomatic relations, Naaman finds himself outside of Elisha’s door. Elisha doesn’t come out, but he does send instructions for Naaman.

2 Kings 5:10 And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.

Naaman is supposed to wash in Jordan seven times. He’s annoyed about these instructions for a number of reasons: Elisha didn’t come out to greet him, the river Jordan isn’t as nice as the rivers in his homeland, and it seems like such a silly thing. Despite his annoyance, his servants are able to convince to wash seven times. He does so, and he is cured of his leprosy.

I actually talked about this story four years ago when I went through Come Follow Me the first time. I talked about how arbitrary it was for Naaman to wash seven times in the river Jordan. I still stand by the principles I taught in that post. However, I am now four years older and wiser, and I have learned that washing in the river seven times is not arbitrary at all. Seven is a very symbolic number.

In the bible, the number seven symbolizes completeness, so let’s look at this story from that angle and let’s also generalize the details just a tad so that they become relatable.

A man wants to be clean (it specifically says that he was “cleansed” from leprosy). He has to go to a prophet to figure out how to be cleaned. The prophet instructs him to “be complete,” and he will be cleansed. He is cleansed.

I think this is so cool.

If we want to be clean in our day and age, the Lord still works through the same patterns. He works through His prophets to point us in the right direction. Through his prophet, we are given instructions. If we follow through on those instructions towards completion, we are cleansed. Naaman’s story is a parallel for receiving salvation.

I was definitely mistaken in thinking that seven was an arbitrary number. However, I actually love that I made the mistake because it led me to an important realization: bathing in the river seven times is not what healed Naaman. I don’t think there was some odd organism in the river that year that ate away at his chronic bacterial infection. I think the Lord healed him for his obedience.

And isn’t that the key here?!

As Latter-day Saints, we believe in salvation through grace. Naaman didn’t actually wash off his leprosy in the river. He was healed by the Lord. It was a gift that was given to him.

But the Lord didn’t cleanse Naaman until after Naaman was obedient in washing seven times, in being “complete.”

Latter-day Saints believe that salvation is a gift; we also believe we will be judged by our actions and whether we followed the Lord. The Lord judges us, cleanses us, and gives us that gift of salvation if He judges us worthy.

We see this same pattern multiple times in the Old Testament. It was the same with the walls of Jericho. The Israelites were instructed by the prophet to circle the city seven times, and the Lord made the walls come down so that they could enter into the promised land. The Israelites didn’t make the walls come down; they were obedient and the Lord judged them and enabled them to enter into the promised land.

We work towards completion, and the Lord cleanses us so that we can enter into the Celestial Kingdom.

So what does it mean to be complete?

There are probably a lot of things to be said about reaching completion, but the first thing that came to mind in this particular moment was the captive Israelite girl.

There were skirmishes along the border of Syria and Israel. Syria would perform raids into Israel, and they would steal women and children and turn them into slaves. This is likely how she came to be a slave in Naaman’s household. She was young. Some biblical scholars believe she was anywhere from 8-14 years old. We know nothing of her family, whether they were killed or put into slavery elsewhere or whether she was simply taken away from them.

What we do know is that she was in a pagan household, and despite her youth, she believed in a prophet in Israel. Belief will take us so far, and yet, she takes it beyond belief. That little servant girl held true compassion. She loved Naaman’s household enough to want Naaman to be cured and okay. Despite the fact that Naaman might have been partially to blame for her slavery, she had compassion.

Completion does not mean perfection. If we specifically strive towards perfection, we often end up discouraged. Instead, I would hope that we strive for completion. In my mind, completion means that we become beings that mirror Christ. We have faith. We have enough love in our hearts that our actions follow suit.

That little servant girl reflected Christ. She loved the very people who betrayed her. Being betrayed enabled her to save Naaman. We don’t know if she had to work through homesickness or anger or deep depression, but we do know she loved. I think that love helped her be complete in the sense that she turned outwards and was like Christ, but I also have the distinct impression that her love healed her. No matter what she went through, that love healed her enough that she could be compassionate.

I testify that the Lord teaches us His gospel in patterns. He teaches His gospel again and again and again through His servants, the prophets. I testify that He is the one who gives salvation to us, and I also testify that doing our best to become the kind of person who reflects Him brings healing and joy and peace into our lives no matter what we’ve been through.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 2 Kings 2–7 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Jennifer Roach Lees holds a Master in Divinity as well as a Masters in Counseling Psychology. She is a licensed mental health therapist and lives in Utah.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 2 Kings 2–7 – Jennifer Roach Lees appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Faith to Ask; Faith to Acceptby Autumn Dickson

One of our people from this week’s readings is Elisha. He is the prophet who was called after Elijah. We don’t get many of his words or sermons, but we do get to read about many miracles. One of those miracles includes a Shunammite woman who took care of Elisha.

The Shunammite woman recognized Elisha as a man of God despite the fact that she lived in an idolatrous nation. Elisha and the prophet before him, Elijah, both worked to address the sins of the northern kingdom of Israel, but it only went so far. Widespread problems still occurred. Yet despite the widespread sin, the Shunammite woman chose faithfulness.

She constrained Elisha to come in and eat one day. After that first time, he came in to eat as often as he passed by. The Shunammite woman takes it farther and convinces her husband to make up a room for Elisha, and Elisha stays for them some time. Because of her kindness, Elisha prophesies that she will have a son. The son later dies from a tragic reaping accident, and the Shunammite woman goes to see Elijah.

2 Kings 4:22-23

22 And she called unto her husband, and said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the young men, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God, and come again.

23 And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him to day? it is neither new moon, nor sabbath. And she said, It shall be well.

Her son has died, and she wants to go to the prophet. Her husband asks, “Why are you going to the prophet? It’s not a religious day.” She simply responds, “It will be okay.”

She moves quickly to find Elisha and finds him at Mt. Carmel. Elisha sees her coming and sends his servant to meet her.

2 Kings 4:26 Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well.

I want to draw your attention to two details that speak volumes for this woman and teach us valuable lessons about approaching prayer.

Detail one. Her husband didn’t make the connection between the death of his son and his wife’s desire to go and see the prophet. This implies that it didn’t even cross the husband’s mind to ask the prophet for a miracle. It occurred to the wife though.

How often do we pray for miracles? What is our mindset towards miracles? When something tragic happens, does it even occur to us that we can ask for a miracle? Maybe we believe in miracles, but maybe we don’t even think to ask for them. It makes me think of the quote from Elder Holland, “God is anxiously waiting for the chance to answer your prayers and fulfill your dreams, just as He always has. But He can’t if you don’t pray, and He can’t if you don’t dream. In short, He can’t if you don’t believe.”

It certainly didn’t occur to the husband to dream and ask the prophet to bring back his son. This isn’t a pronouncement of judgment on the husband, but it does reflect the strong faith of the wife. She had enough faith to dream up something miraculous in response to the tragedy. When her son died, she went for the prophet to ask for help.

As I look back on my life, I think I got the concept of faith wrong sometimes. When something tragic would hit, I would often despair and think God was mad at me or I would try to press myself into faithfulness and acceptance of whatever the Lord was sending my way. Perhaps tragedy was the Lord’s way of softening my heart sometimes, and it is always the appropriate response to accept what the Lord sends your way.

But faith isn’t just about accepting. Sometimes the Lord sends tragedies (or allows tragedies) because He wants to bless us directly. It draws us to Him. He wants us to have enough faith that we feel comfortable approaching Him in humility. There is power in humbly approaching the Lord. You see His hand when you’ve asked Him for it.

My husband is super handy. I’m convinced he can fix anything, and apparently, my kids are likewise convinced. Whenever they break something that matters to them, it is placed on dad’s desk. And he does fix it. Conner often fixes it.

One time, near the end of a pregnancy, we were all gathered in the kitchen. I turned to my husband and said, “I think my water just broke.” I didn’t realize my oldest was even listening, but she didn’t miss a beat. Before my husband could respond to this life-altering detail, my daughter called out, “It’s okay mom! Dad can fix it!”

We all laughed pretty hard, but as I write this particular post, I actually find myself in tears. My kids trust their dad. They have faith in his abilities to fix things. They have so much faith that my daughter’s immediate response to the word “broke” is to call for her dad’s help. I hope that I can keep building my faith until my response is that immediate.

What tragedy or uncertainty are you facing right now? What miracle can you pray for? What’s your happy “ending” for this particular episode in your life? Have you prayed for it?

Perhaps sometimes we simply forget to ask for a miracle, and other times, perhaps we’re simply afraid the answer will be no. The second detail I want to point out can likewise help with this.

Detail two. She responds with, “It is well.”

The Shunammite woman, in the face of horrifying tragedy, responds, “It is well,” two times. When her husband asks and when Elisha asks, that is how she chooses to respond. Her son had just died but when asked if everything is okay, she says, “It’s okay.”

I don’t think the woman was trying to downplay the tragedy. I don’t think this is one of those quintessential stories where you ask someone if they’re okay, and they sigh really big and say, “It’s fine,” when it’s anything but. I believe the wife was declaring trust in the Lord.

I believe she was saying, “It’s going to be okay. I can ask the prophet to save my son, but if not, it will still be okay.”

As I mentioned before, maybe it’s hard to ask for a miracle when you’re scared of a “no.” When Elisha tells the wife that she is going to have a son, she responds with, “Please don’t lie to your handmaid.” This could signal a lack of faith, but the fact she calls herself his handmaid is significant. She is calling herself his servant. She is saying “I serve you. Please don’t lie to me if this isn’t a real thing, but I’m your servant.”

So even the Shunammite woman was afraid to ask at some point. However, turning to the Lord, even when He is going to say “no,” can still be a cathartic experience if we approach it with the right heart. Demanding a miracle sets us up for failure because the Lord won’t take away every hardship.

But turning to the Lord with a specific type of heart will always bless us. We find this type of heart in the Shunammite woman. Her heart trusted in the Lord’s ability to fix things, but she also declared that it would be fine if He chose not to. She would trust Him. We talked about the blessing of the first detail, but the second detail can be just as important.

When the Lord says no, we’re willing to say “okay.” This faith enables Him to bless us even when He won’t fix things. It is this humble, trusting attitude that allows Him to comfort our hearts with the life-altering facts that we have a powerful God who orients His every action towards giving us what’s best for us. We trust that He can fix anything. We trust that He loves us. We trust that if He chooses not to fix something, He’s got a good reason and all things will be made up to us. Even when He has told me no, I have found special comfort when I’ve responded with, “Okay.”

I testify that prayer is healing. I testify that it brings great blessings into our lives. Building that childlike faith that the Lord can fix anything is powerful in our life. It brings joy and hope. Building that faith even farther brings a mature faith that withstands even the hardest of tragedies on earth. It is the kind of faith that will carry us. It is the kind of faith that can’t be brought down because it leads one to trust that He will fix it, even if it’s not immediately. I testify that He can and will fix everything. Trusting Him soothes and carries us in the meantime.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 2 Kings 2–7 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Scraping the Bottom of the Barrelby Autumn Dickson

Do you ever feel like you’re desperately scraping at an empty barrel? Maybe it’s with physical resources to take care of your family, or maybe you feel emotionally or spiritually drained.

Well this week holds a story that can give us the key to finding peace with our barrel.

There is a huge famine in the land, and the Lord is providing for the prophet, Elijah. Elijah is living by a stream and getting water from it, and some birds are feeding him. When the stream dries up, Elijah is instructed by the Lord to go to Zarephath where a widow will take care of him.

When he gets to Zarephath, he finds the widow. He requests water and a piece of bread. Here is where our story continues.

1 Kings 17:12-14

12 And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.

13 And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.

14 For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth.

Elijah requests bread. The widow said she only has enough for her and her son before they die. Elijah tells her to get him some bread anyway and promises that if she does, she will have enough flour and oil until it rains again.

HERE IS WHY I LOVE THIS STORY AND WISH IT WERE ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS STORIES IN THE BIBLE: There is always enough in the barrel.

The widow of Zarephath chose to feed the prophet, and his promise was fulfilled. She had enough food for her and her son, and that food continued on. Absolutely incredible.

But. What did the miracle look like?

When the widow of Zarephath woke up in the morning and she lifted up the lid on her barrel, how much flour was there? Was the entire thing full? Did it always remain full? Did it empty over time and then one morning, she would awake to a full barrel again? Or…did it always stay almost empty?

Was there always a slight tinge of fear that one morning, it would simply be gone? Every night when she used up the “last” of the flour, did it prick at heart and push her to pray for another day? How long did it take for her to trust the miracle?

I’m going to highlight it again: There will always be enough in the barrel.

But even more than always giving enough, the Lord is trying to teach us something important.

I don’t know how the Lord continued the miracle of flour, but I would feel pretty comfortable guessing that it was the last option. The barrel always had just enough. If we’re going off of the Lord’s past patterns in almost everything (not just physical and monetary resources but spiritually and emotionally), we see very clearly that the Lord likes to give us just enough.

Here is my theory as to why I think the Lord chose the last option: that there was always just enough flour left.

Let’s say the Lord filled up the barrel and kept it perpetually full. There is not as much need, and therefore, there is not as much reliance upon the Lord. The widow always had plenty of flour. This is awesome, but there is an option that actually gives the widow more than just flour.

Let’s say the Lord filled up the barrel, let it empty, and then filled it up again. I don’t know how big her barrel was, but let’s say it took a week for her to empty the barrel. Once a week, the widow would go to bed with a prayer in heart that there would be more tomorrow.

And then my personal theory: The Lord only ever gave the widow just enough. Every single time the widow opened the barrel, she was praying that there was enough. She had so much more need which meant there was more opportunity to rely on the Lord and learn to trust Him. There were way more opportunities to build trust, and so the widow had flour AND she gained trust.

Some might argue it was cruel of a loving Father to not give her more flour and more security and confidence. I think the gift of trusting Him is one of the greatest gifts He can offer, and He’s very limited in how He is able to build that trust. Hence, the withheld flour.

So how does this relate to us?

If He’s withholding flour, it’s not because He wants to torture you. It’s because He wants a relationship with you. He wants you to trust Him, and giving you these repeated exposures builds trust even if it’s stressful until you figure out that He’s going to show up.

So the solution? Trust! Trust that there will be enough.

Perhaps the widow even had to scrape the bottom of the barrel to make sure there was enough, but the simple fact remained true: there was enough. Even if you’re only ever receiving enough for your needs, your barrel might as well be overflowing because the Lord’s resources are infinite. You don’t have to worry about that part. The part you should really start to work on is trusting Him.

Because even with a full barrel, there is never true security in this world. Everything could blow up tomorrow. But if you put your trust in the Lord instead of a full barrel, you never feel empty. In fact, I don’t think scraping the barrel is the stressful part. I think worrying about whether you’ll have enough is the stressful part. The real part that is killing you right now is not the physical motion of scraping the barrel; it’s being terrified that there won’t be enough tomorrow. If you can release that fear, the barrel will no longer feel tortuous. You’ll see the miracle as it is. You will see infinite resources.

If you can learn to trust, you won’t feel empty. You will rejoice and trust in His infinite resources. You will feel confident as His heir. Your barrel will feel full.

Every night, as you go to sleep, switch your thinking. Don’t ask yourself, “Will there be enough tomorrow?” Instead, recount the many times there has always been enough. You will find that the worries begin to disappear on their own.

The widow of Zarephath is one of my favorite stories because it teaches me that I don’t have to be scared about what’s in my barrel. I can look at my barrel and see the emptiness, or I can look up and see His infinite flour. Just because He’s only giving me a scoop at a time doesn’t mean I have nothing. It means I get as much flour as I need AND it means that I get to look up at Him everyday. I testify with all of my heart that there is enough for you.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 1 Kings 12–13; 17–22 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Jennifer Roach Lees holds a Master in Divinity as well as a Masters in Counseling Psychology. She is a licensed mental health therapist and lives in Utah.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 1 Kings 12–13; 17–22 – Jennifer Roach Lees appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

The Deadly Lie of the Old Prophetby Autumn Dickson

There are major themes throughout the stories we read in the Old Testament. Some of the more negative themes are idolatry, fear over losing power, disobedience, and corrupting influences. The Old Testament does not shy away from showing the fallibility of humankind. There is great hope in faithful stories in the scriptures; there are also important warnings in the stories of people who were not obedient to the Lord.

One of the stories we read this week shows themes of obedience and disobedience. We see people who have a connection to God and follow Him, but we also watch them choose against God and find themselves in deep water because of it.

There are a lot of details for our story in this post, but stick with me. They are important because they set the stage for our principle.

In 1 Kings 13, we read about a man of God and an old prophet. Those are the only “names” we receive for these men, and these titles can get confusing especially when you’re reading the details of the story. Though they were labeled as a man of God and an old prophet, we see their fallibility on full display.

For some quick background, Israel has split into two kingdoms: Judah and Benjamin in the south and the rest of the ten tribes in the north. The man of God was from Judah where the true temple was. The northern kingdom had fallen into idolatry. The man of God was commanded to go to Bethel (in the northern kingdom) and condemn the idolatrous practice. He does so and performs a couple of wonderful miracles as well.

The Lord warns and commands the man of God to not eat or drink in Bethel. The man of God originally follows this command very well as he works to return to Judah. Unfortunately, another man, the old prophet, comes along and finds the man of God resting under the shade of a tree. The old prophet offers the man of God some food and drink, and the man of God refuses. The old prophet says this.

1 Kings 13:18 He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the Lord, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him.

The man of God listens to the old prophet and partakes in food and drink. While the man of God eats, the old prophet tells him that he won’t make it home because of his disobedience. On the way home, the man of God is killed by a lion. The old prophet collects the body, gives the man of God an honorable burial, and requests to be buried next to the man of God when he dies. The old prophet calls the man of God a brother. He testifies that the prophecy made by the man of God earlier regarding the idolatrous altar in Bethel will come true.

There are a lot of confusing details. I don’t know if this was one of those parts of the bible that was translated incorrectly or whether it’s simply highlighting the fallibility of real people who sometimes follow the Lord.

Who was the old prophet? Was he an actual prophet to the Lord? He was in the idolatrous kingdom so when they called him a prophet, was he a false prophet? Was he trying to tear down the man of God for prophesying against the northern kingdom? We know that the old prophet received some revelation from the Lord. He prophesied of the death of the man of God, and he testified of the prophecy given by the man of God. So why did he lie? Was he threatened by the man of God or did he see no harm in his white lie? Was he trying to just nourish the man of God? Was he wicked but then received a testimony while he watched the man of God come and eat?

There is a lot of ambiguity. Oftentimes, I’ll try to take one biblical theory and talk about true principles from it regardless of whether the details are perfect. This time, I’m going to embrace the ambiguity.

The man of God listened to the old prophet and found himself dead because of it.

I’ve seen a pattern on social media. This is a pattern that has existed for a long time, but I’ve seen it more readily because of its prevalence on social media.

On social media (and in real life), we find people who are disgusted by the church. They hate it. They actively fight against it. Their entire online persona can be defined by, “I hate the church.”

But there is another group of people. They claim to be part of the church, to receive revelation, and to love the Lord. Some of their posts are uplifting and encouraging, but some of their posts teach things that can be found in direct conflict with the Lord’s commandments. Some of their posts might not necessarily be in direct conflict, but they are critical of the church in the name of their love for the Lord.

These people are much more ambiguous. What are their true motives? What does it mean that they call themselves members? Because heaven knows you can call yourself a member without actually following Christ.

I don’t have any real desire to discover their motives. If they are sincere, the Lord will work with them and hopefully they will listen. If they are not sincere, then the Lord can handle all of that. I don’t need to know their motives or even condemn them.

Rather, I’d like to highlight a warning from this story. The man of God died because he followed the ambiguous old prophet who had some claim to God but also lied.

I don’t think we’ll get killed by a lion if we follow these accounts, but I do think it can spiritually deaden us. It can blind us.

Isn’t that funny? The rest of the world would call us blind and accuse us of drinking the Kool-aid, and yet, either side could be logically labelled as propaganda. Both sides label themselves enlightened. Everyone thinks their version is the closest one to the truth.

So how do we know whether we can trust the old prophet? How do we know whether we should whole-heartedly follow the prophet of our church?

I can’t answer that question for everyone. All I know is that I talk to the Lord, and He responds. I can’t answer for other people, but the more I study the gospel and the church, the more I see the Lord’s perfect hand working with the imperfection of mankind. I have watched some of my loved ones listen to these posts and believe they can disobey the Lord in little ways and be fine, and I have watched some of my loved ones turn these voices off. With the experiences that I’ve had in the gospel, I have no desire to follow anyone (real or on the internet) who tells me that I can disobey the Lord. It’s not just about avoiding dying either. I have found too much joy in the protection and safety of the Lord, and I refuse to lose that joy.

I testify that being obedient to the Lord provides safety and warmth and true happiness. I testify that even in the darkest times, following Him is where we will find respite. I testify that He teaches us through powerful stories in the scriptures, and that His patterns reflect across all generations on the earth. I testify that there is safety in joy in following the word of the Lord as given from Him directly.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 1 Kings 12–13; 17–22 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Solomon’s Sword and Crazy Plansby Autumn Dickson

This week, we get to learn a bit about Solomon’s reign. Solomon was known for his wisdom, a spiritual gift that was the direct result of a request he made as he was ascending the throne. The story of the two women and the baby is well-known and highlights this wisdom.

In the last post, we talked about how the Lord reflected Solomon’s heart back to him when the Lord offered to answer a prayer for Solomon. This week, we get to read about Solomon imitating the Lord in the story with the two women.

Here is a refresher on the story with the two women and the baby.

Two women lived in the same home. They both had babies. One woman accidentally laid on top of her child and killed the child. She snuck into the room of the other woman and switched the babies. The second woman woke up to the dead child and realized he wasn’t hers. They took their case to King Solomon. This is how King Solomon responded.

1 Kings 3:24-25

24 And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king.

25 And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.

The lying woman wanted the child cut in half. The true mother offered to let the other woman have the son; she just wanted him to be alive. Solomon obviously gave the baby to the woman who wanted to protect the baby at all costs.

Now, I want you to imagine being the true mother of the child who found herself in this nightmare through no fault of her own.

I don’t know exactly what she was feeling, but I think my response to this wild suggestion from the king would be this: “What?! I thought this guy was wise! Why would he do this? Is he crazy?”

I think this is sometimes how we react when the Lord makes decisions in our lives as well.

Sometimes the Lord sends or allows trials to happen in our lives. Sometimes we respond with, “What?! I thought the Lord was wise! Why would He do this?”

Throughout my life, and especially while working through sharing my testimony online, I have received this testimony over and over and over: The Lord loves me and works very carefully as He makes decisions to interfere in my life. He is wise! He knows what He’s doing! I know this testimony. I believe it. I find a lot of comfort in it.

And yet, even though I already had a testimony of this fact, I’ve found that there were limits to this testimony that needed to be expanded. When certain events have cropped up in my life, such as getting pregnant three months after having a baby, I have tried to trust in that growing testimony that the Lord loves me and is trying to give me the best of what mortality actually has to offer. Despite my desire to trust that He was trying to do what was best for me, I simply felt scared and betrayed and powerless.

I’m sure that woman was terrified when Solomon made the crazy suggestion to cut the baby in half. He was a king, and she was a harlot. I’m sure she knew what it meant to feel powerless and to have someone making decisions regardless of what was best for her.

And yet, Solomon wasn’t trying to torture her. He had very specific purposes. He was not rash or ridiculous. He was intentional. He was a mortal man blessed with wisdom to discern what was going on in his kingdom. He “sent a trial,” and it revealed the hearts of the women he was judging.

The Lord already knows our hearts, but He still sends little tests in mortality. I’m becoming increasingly convinced that He isn’t testing our hearts for His own sake, but for our’s. We spoke about this in my last post as well: He reflects our own hearts back to us.

Solomon actually needed to see the reflection of the hearts of the women so he could judge well. He was wise, but he did not know these women perfectly. He needed a way of seeing their hearts.

The Lord’s purposes are slightly different, but His methods are similar. His purpose is showing us our own hearts. Sometimes that means sending or allowing trials that allow the deepest parts of our heart to go on display. It highlights the boundaries of what we truly know and feel and desire. It gives us opportunities to expand those boundaries.

Going back to my example of getting pregnant so quickly, I felt incredibly betrayed by God. I am so miserable when I’m pregnant, and now I was going to be in that dark state of mind for 18 months with very little reprieve (honestly, with no reprieve since my body and mind still hadn’t completely recovered in between babies). I thought I had a testimony that the Lord loved me, and I did. But apparently there were limits to that testimony. This specific experience showed me the boundaries of my own testimony. It brought my heart right up to the surface where I could look at it very clearly. I then had the opportunity to work through those experiences and expand those boundaries.

Despite the fact that this woman likely thought King Solomon was out of his mind, I would guess that she felt differently after the experience. Despite the initial fear and distress it caused her, she gained a testimony that Solomon acted with purpose. By the end of this, she knew that Solomon wasn’t crazy. He was trying to be a good king and make sure that baby went back to its rightful mother.

Surely, the experiment could have gone poorly. What if both mothers had pled for the life of the baby? Yes, it could have failed, but this story is a parable. Even if Solomon’s experiments fail, the Lord’s “experiments” never have to. Solomon was a mortal man. The Lord has much more to offer in the way of helping us discern the boundaries of the testimonies that will carry us and help us get where we need to go. The Lord also has the ultimate power of delivering what will be best for us. Even when He sends or allows dark times, He has the power to help those difficult times become sacred experiences.

I testify that the Lord loves us. I testify He knows what He’s doing. I testify that He already knows our hearts, but like Solomon, He sends and allows trials that bring our very essence up to the surface where it’s noticeable. We get to find the holes and limitations of our testimonies, and in turn, we can fill the holes and broaden the boundaries until we are fully protected and constantly uplifted by them.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 2 Samuel 11–12; 1 Kings 3; 6–9; 11 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

What Would You “Wish” For?by Autumn Dickson

Solomon, David’s son, has become king. Very early on in his reign, Solomon has a dream in which the Lord appears to him.

1 Kings 3:5 In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.

This is a really incredible experience as Solomon is stepping into his kingship; the Lord appears and offers to grant a prayer to Solomon. Solomon asks for wisdom and discernment in judging his people. The Lord is pleased with what Solomon asked for especially since Solomon could have asked for more selfish things such as riches, long life, or the defeat of his enemies. Solomon does none of this; he wants wisdom.

For a moment, I asked myself what I would ask for. It turned into quite the exercise as I pondered what I really wanted. Going through this experience taught me a couple of principles.

Principle one: No dream required.

I began thinking of all the things that would bless my life the most. I thought of a grateful heart, seeing people clearly, or or to see His hand moving in my life. I thought of spiritual protection for my kids. I tried to think of which spiritual gift would be the most effective for my own life.

It suddenly occurred to me that I didn’t have to wait for a dream from the Lord in order to ask for things, and I didn’t have to pick just one gift. I could ask for all of them. That’s my first principle. The Lord answers prayers regardless of whether He came to us in a dream and agreed to answer a prayer. What would you ask for? What do you ask for? What will you ask for now?

Ironically, I haven’t prayed for any of those things in a long time. I don’t think my prayers have been bad by any means, but I thought so hard about what I really wanted from the Lord and realized that those values had gotten buried by the day-to-day.

Principle two. It is powerful to have your heart reflected back to you.

The normal pathway for prayers and answers goes like this: We are encouraged by prophets and scripture to pray to the Lord, and He answers according to His wisdom.

The pathway for Solomon in this specific experience: The Lord appears directly to Solomon and essentially offers a wish.

So here are the differences:

The Lord appears directly instead of going through a prophet.

He basically offers a wish which is highly unusual (at least in my experience).

The experience that Solomon had was very different than normal. Why? The Lord is intentional so why did He make this particular choice with Solomon? Both of these differences combined to make a special thing happen. Whether this was the Lord’s intentional purpose is a question that only He can answer. However, one of the side effects was that Solomon had his heart reflected back to him. Let’s talk about both differences.

Difference 1: He appeared directly.

The Lord does not often appear when we have sufficient for what we need. For example, He doesn’t always answer “yes” to everything we ask Him about; sometimes He simply refrains from saying “no.” In my experience, He directly interferes only as necessary. Obviously, He is very involved in our lives and manipulates the details in our favor. I’m talking about when His actions would affect our faith. So the Lord is taking care of me behind the scenes and influencing things to help me out, but He’s not appearing in a manner where I can have a very clear conversation with Him.

And there are reasons for this.

Later in life, Solomon turns towards worshiping other gods, influenced by his many foreign wives. I wonder how much more intense Solomon’s betrayal was because Solomon had this dream from the Lord directly. The Lord is very involved in our life, but He also keeps direct interference to a minimum in order to protect our faith.

And yet, despite the fact that the Lord could have allowed Solomon to simply pray without receiving a dream, the Lord chose to come to Solomon to ask and offer. This extremely direct experience opened up Solomon’s heart in a way that normal prayer doesn’t always achieve. Perhaps ideally, normal prayer would achieve this, but I’m not sure that it often does.

If the Lord came to you, I have a feeling you would be much more intentional in comparison to praying in faith. As least, I would be more intentional…and because it forces intention, you get to see what really matters to you. It reflects your heart back to you.

Difference 2: He offers a wish.

If you knew you had the opportunity to ask the Lord for something that He had offered to grant, it changes how you approach what you’re asking. The Lord has already offered to answer prayers, but this is different. He offers to directly answer one prayer. It’s almost like He offered to give Solomon a wish.

When I approach normal prayer, I am very open and talk through things and ask for little things. I’m not always perfectly focused. I ask for a lot of things. When I was thinking about what my request would have been, I suddenly got extremely intentional and this wasn’t even my experience! This didn’t even happen to me, but all of a sudden I was way more concerned about what I was asking for. It gave me an opportunity to reflect on what really mattered to me. What are my values? What do I really want?

It’s interesting because the Lord already knows our hearts. While mankind looks on the outside, the Lord looketh on the heart. So this wasn’t about the Lord trying to figure out Solomon’s heart. One of the effects was that Solomon was able to take a good look at his heart as he ascended the throne where he would have power and responsibility. Not only do we pray more intentionally, it also pushes us to live more intentionally.

How did Solomon feel when he approached that throne to govern his people? How did this experience change how he approached that throne?

I have not stepped onto a throne recently. I have not received a dream or a wish, but even my less-intense experience of pondering what I would ask for has changed my prayers. And in turn, as I pray for help with specific gifts, I’m more intentional as I approach experiences that call upon those gifts.

I testify that the Lord is intentional. I testify that He already knows our hearts. I testify that He is very involved in our lives and acts with purpose. If we can learn to act with purpose as He does, we start to change more readily. Our lives become much more available to Him.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 2 Samuel 11–12; 1 Kings 3; 6–9; 11 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Jennifer Roach Lees holds a Master in Divinity as well as a Masters in Counseling Psychology. She is a licensed mental health therapist and lives in Utah.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 1 Samuel 17–18; 24–26; 2 Samuel 5–7 – Jennifer Roach Lees appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Correction Without Condemnationby Autumn Dickson

David is one of our center characters this week as he rises to the throne and protects Israel. There are a lot famous stories this week, including the famous story of David and Goliath. However, I want to talk about a lesser studied portion of the Old Testament. It’s a relatively tiny detail, but it can teach us a lot.

David has conquered Jerusalem and brought the Ark of the Covenant there. After all the celebration, David is sitting in his palace and it occurs to him that the Lord doesn’t have a proper place of worship. David is living in a house of cedar, but the Lord only has a tent. David feels a desire to correct this and approaches Nathan about it. Nathan approves and tells David to do what his heart desires; the Lord is with him. Later on, the Lord corrects Nathan.

2 Samuel 7:12-13

12 And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.

13 He shall build an house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever.

So interestingly enough, the Lord disagreed. That night, the Lord sends a revelation to Nathan. David will not build the temple; his son will. David is associated with war, and the Lord approved much of that conquest. However, from a symbolic and theological standpoint, the temple is associated with peace and rest. Solomon’s reign was associated with rest, and so he was the one to build the temple. Nathan passes the message on to David, and David accepts this answer from the Lord.

Perhaps this doesn’t seem like that big of a deal in comparison to other scripture that we’re reading this week, but that’s actually partially my point. Making a decision all on your own and then being corrected by the Lord doesn’t have to be that big of a deal. Let’s delve in a tad deeper.

Sometimes we get really caught up in making sure we’re following the Lord. The problem isn’t wanting to follow the Lord; the problem comes when we make it a problem.

There are two fears that we can often run into in regards to revelation:

Fear one. We don’t want to do wrong by the Lord and get in trouble.

I’m not 100% where this fear comes from…probably Satan? The Lord tells us over and over and over that He loves us and wants us to try and act. Yet despite His assurances, we get nervous about doing things wrong.

As far as I can tell, the Lord wasn’t angry with David or Nathan for getting excited about building a house for Him. I would be shocked if the Lord was anything less than beaming over two of His sons trying to worship Him. That didn’t mean it was the right direction, but the Lord wasn’t mad about it.

The Lord wants us to act and move forward and do good things of our own free will. He will course correct as necessary. Which leads me to my next point.

Fear two. Even if the Lord isn’t angry, we don’t want to end up in the wrong direction.

We’re often afraid to move forward without the explicit green light from the Lord. We don’t want to take the wrong steps.

When we were looking to get a house, I was really worried about making the wrong decision. I was praying about it and praying about it and praying about it. Conner didn’t. I had a hard time wanting to move forward without the Lord’s approval, but he approached the situation very differently. He weighed the pros and cons and went over our finances. He made the best decision he could with the information he had.

And that was it.

I don’t think he prayed about it even once.

It used to worry me. I wanted him to seek out the Lord’s will more often than I thought he was, but I had an experience with him that shifted my perspective. We were looking at getting a car years and years ago. We stopped to look at this van on our way to a family dinner. I stayed in the car while he went and looked at the van. When he climbed back in, I asked if we were buying it. He answered in the negative. I asked him what was wrong with it (he’s worked as a mechanic previously), and he told me that he didn’t see anything that was wrong with it. When I asked him why we weren’t buying it, he replied, “I had a bad feeling about it.”

Conner didn’t necessarily wait for green lights, but he listened to red lights when they came along as needed.

That was the first step in a journey that changed how I approach revelation. I no longer feel held back by fear. I’m not afraid of the Lord being mad. I recognize that the Lord wants me to be wise like Him, and that requires practicing my decision-making skills like Him. He knows that allowing me to make decisions also means that I’m going to make mistakes, but He’s not worried about that. Not to mention, He’s happy to course correct as necessary. I make a decision that I truly want and think is best, and I trust Him to speak to me if I’m wrong.

That’s how I pictured the context of this particular conversation between David and Nathan. They were rejoicing and ready to worship the Lord. They were purposefully thinking of Him and trying to do good works without being directly asked. Then the Lord simply corrected them as needed.

We can move forward in faith and excitement and trust the Lord to close the door or correct us if it’s not the right path. There is no reason to be afraid.

I testify that the Lord wants us to make decisions and become wise like Him. There is no other way to do this except to practice. I also testify that He is powerful and knows how to speak with us. He doesn’t give us our agency so that He can condemn us when we make mistakes. He paid for those mistakes and stands ready to help us along. He knows how to speak to you if you’re trying to listen. Trust that He can lead you along. Be excited about the decisions before you; the Lord can turn them all for your good when you’re seeking to worship Him.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 1 Samuel 17–18; 24–26; 2 Samuel 5–7 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

God Gives Us What We Ask Forby Autumn Dickson

In the last post, we talked a bit about how the people implored Samuel for a monarchy. They were insistent, and Samuel saw their folly. He tried warning them; he understood what they were really asking for even if they didn’t. Here is a modern rendition of that conversation.

Israelites-We want a king! Give us a king like other nations!

Samuel-Do you even understand what you’re asking? Kings take your sons for war and your daughters to be servants. They take the best of your property. They serve themselves. Why do you want a king?

Israelites-Give us a king!

Samuel knew Who they were rejecting, and he knew they were trying to replace the ultimate Defender with a mortal. The Israelites already had a King, but they wanted a different one. They insisted on it.

And interestingly enough, the Lord tells Samuel to go ahead.

Samuel 8:22 And the Lord said to Samuel, Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king. And Samuel said unto the men of Israel, Go ye every man unto his city.

The Lord tells Samuel to give them a king, and then He guides Samuel through the process of selecting and anointing kings. He gives the people what they want. The Lord literally just gives it to them. He didn’t directly condemn them. He literally just gave them the curse they asked for.

What I want to share today is my own interpretation of Judgment Day. I do not know exactly how Judgment Day or the eternities will look, but this is what I have come to believe thus far as I’ve studied the words of prophets and scripture. I’m sure it will evolve as I grow older, but this is my working theory.

Part (and I emphasize part because I’m sure there are exceptions to this) of Judgment Day is the Lord saying, “Give them what they want.” I think we often picture the Lord condemning and cursing and exiling people, but I think we’ve got it a bit wrong. I think people choose where they’re going more often than not. Let me give some examples of what I mean.

Woman-I refuse to be a baby factory. I won’t be oppressed like this.

Heavenly Father-Okay. I won’t force you. I’m not trying to make you a baby factory, I’m trying to make you a mother. I’m trying to save you from eternal emptiness, but I will give you what you want.

Woman-You can’t fool me! You’re just trying to control me!

The woman separates herself from what she perceives is a controlling, power-hungry god. She separates herself because she doesn’t know the true God, because she doesn’t understand what He’s trying to offer her.

It drives me nuts when people mischaracterize the Lord. Eternity is going to be painfully empty without posterity. PAINFUL. What do you even live for? Do you really think being single and childless is going to fulfill you for eternity? Sure, you’ll be fine for a while, but there will come a day when you realize that you have no purpose because there is no progression or struggle. Eternity will be hell, and you will have put yourself there. Someday you’re going to wake up and realize that God was trying to bless you, and you cursed yourself instead.

It often blows my mind how people get things so wrong, but this has been prophesied. In the latter-days, people will call good evil and evil good.

As a mother, I’ve been experimenting with how much agency to give my kids. And when I say “experiment,” I mean I get so tired of giving them instructions and being labelled a bad guy that I hide out in my room and let them go Lord of the Flies on each other. It usually gives me a small reprieve in exchange for hours of fixing the problems that cropped up while I was hiding.

If I were to let them choose exactly what they wanted, they would refuse any kind of schooling, sports, self-development, and anything else that is essential for healthy adjustment to adult life.

The irony is that for a long time, they would likely think they were happy, but I can see the misery that would come from never learning to read or work with a team. I can see the misery that would stem from watching their friends move on without them, watching the whole world move on without them. And if I allowed them to completely sink into TV and iPads, they would live there and be miserable and not even know it. If I let them take full control of their tiny-human-inclinations, they would scream at each other and kick each other, and they would turn into mean, miserable little gremlins who no one wants to be around.

I get it, Heavenly Father. It’s exhausting. It’s so frustrating to give your loved ones everything they need to be truly happy and live a worthwhile life only to be labelled bossy and mean.

Now that’s a pretty bleak assessment of my parenting right there, and it’s not always like that. Sometimes they appreciate me coaching them into better people. Sometimes I wake up and they’re making bagels for their baby sisters without me. Sometimes I watch them play games with each other for hours. I watch them control their anger or forgive each other or do any number of wonderful, mature, Christlike things. So we’re not complete failures over here, but I’ve definitely learned important lessons after becoming a mom.

I have learned that humans often love making themselves miserable. Heavenly Father doesn’t even have to curse us or send us to hell. We walk there willingly. We choose oppressive kings and empty saviors to fight our battles. We choose hell.

How much of Judgment Day will be arrogant people cursing His name because they supposedly know better? How much of Judgment Day will be people walking away from the Lord because they have Him all wrong? How long will it take for them to wake up and realize the path they took is a curse and He was trying to save them?
I testify of a Lord who is not a tyrant. He doesn’t force our hand. He is the one who gave us our agency and protects it. Despite all that it costs Him, He preserves our agency while Satan would try to destroy it and enslave us. Despite the fact that He had to pay for it with the blood of His Son, despite the fact that He is spit upon by His enemies because He allows them to, despite the fact that He gets labelled as an oppressive tyrant (ironic when you consider the fact that He is allowing them to call Him a tyrant), He protects our agency. He will let us walk away and choose those difficult lessons. Don’t choose the difficult lessons. I testify that He knows what He’s doing. Follow Him! Let Him be your King.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 1 Samuel 8–10; 13; 15–16 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

by Jared RiddickIn May 2026, FAIR published two new volumes, the first of which was A New Translation of Isaiah: Based on Ancient Scrolls and Texts, edited and translated by Donald W. Parry, an established and well-published Isaiah scholar and professor of the Hebrew Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls at Brigham Young University.

I met with Don in January of this year, when he was recording an episode of his podcast “Jesus Christ in Scripture” produced by our friends at the Ancient America Foundation. As we chatted, and I told him about FAIR’s publishing goals, he mentioned the manuscript for this translation, which he had been working on for some time. I offered FAIR’s help in publishing it, and he accepted.

Over the next several months, we worked together closely, going over the minutiae of editing and typesetting, and we became increasingly excited for the book that was emerging, and the resource it would be for Latter-day Saints in their Isaiah study during the “Come, Follow Me” Old Testament curriculum this year. The result is the volume that you can see and order today, with which we are very pleased.

Shortly after copies arrived, I sent Dr. Parry a series of questions about his background and new translation, which I think you will enjoy and get you excited to take a look at the book yourself!

Get your copy at the FAIR Bookstore or Amazon today!

QuestionYou served on the International Team of Translators of the Dead Sea Scrolls, giving you direct access to the oldest surviving biblical manuscripts in the world. How did working specifically with the Great Isaiah Scroll allow you to clarify passages in this translation that have been obscured or confused in later versions?

Response: It has been a distinctive opportunity to serve as a member of the International Team of Translators of the Dead Sea Scrolls since January 1994. I was first assigned to work on the Samuel scrolls; later I worked on the 21 Isaiah scrolls. Additionally, for several years I served as a member of the directors of Dead Sea Scrolls Foundation. To your question, having access to primary texts (the actual scrolls) versus secondary images (e.g., photos or digital images) is vital to scholars. Although there are advantages to viewing high quality photos, there is no substitute to working with ancient leather scrolls! Reading the Great Isaiah Scroll in the Scrollery of the Shrine of the Book Museum, Jerusalem, was a crucial course of action in the process of translating Isaiah’s text from ancient Hebrew to English. This enhanced my entire experience as I engaged with a scroll that is 2,100 years old. I viewed several minuscule properties on the leather—creases, folds, guide and separation dots, horizontal and vertical rulings; and a multitude of scribal marks and features. Most significantly, the leather exhibited scores of paleographic elements that may be indiscernible on photographs; this is vital because a correct reading of letters and words is vital as one conducts his/her translational work.

QuestionYou’ve made a deliberate effort to update the archaic language of the King James Version—like changing “durable clothing” or “mean man” to their actual modern meanings—while retaining important ancient Hebraisms. How did you balance the need for modern readability with preserving the ancient, sacred feel of the Hebrew?

Response: The King James Version sets forth hundreds of English archaic words, e.g., astonied, beseech, besom, cauls, mirth, mufflers, rereward, stomacher, tabret, tow, wimples (see A New Translation of Isaiah Based on Ancient Scrolls and Texts, pages 15-16); inasmuch as archaic phrases may confuse readers as they seek to comprehend Isaiah, I avoided such archaisms in my translation.

In my translation of Isaiah, I have attempted to retain many of the Hebraisms and Hebrew-like expressions, including the following: “and it came to pass,” the many “ands,” the construct form “House of the Lord” instead of “Lord’s House” (there are hundreds of these), idea-amplifying plurals, ancient idiomatic expressions (even when they are rather difficult to comprehend), and so forth.

QuestionOne of the most striking visual features of this book is your identification of approximately sixty different speakers in the left-hand margins. Why is knowing who is speaking—whether it’s the Lord, Lady Zion, or the Assyrian king—so crucial for unlocking Isaiah’s closed book?

Response: Three chief obstacles to comprehending Isaiah are: (1) Isaiah’s poetry, (2) his usage of symbols (figures of speech and literary devices), and (3) his complex utilization of speakers. In the book of Isaiah, there are many different speakers, or individuals who express words.

Time after time, Isaiah (as God’s prophet, spokesman, and messenger) served as the speaker, narrator, and relater of history (see, for example, Isaiah 36–39); Isaiah also had the important role of introducing other speakers. In my translation, I offer suggestions (throughout, in the left-hand column, in bold letters) regarding who the speakers are, but my suggestions are tentative and provisional, because we are not always certain who the speaker is. Identifying Isaiah’s speakers removes one of the three obstacles.

QuestionMost readers don’t realize that Isaiah is almost entirely ancient poetry. You’ve painstakingly formatted the text into over a thousand poetic parallelisms. How does seeing these “rhymes of thought” visually laid out on the page change the way a reader comprehends the prophet’s logic and message?

Response: Most of Isaiah’s book is composed of ancient poetry, which consists of parallelisms and other blocks of scripture. Like numerous examples of modern poetry, Isaiah’s poetry displays qualities of beauty as well as a power to influence our emotions and sensibilities. In total, there are more than 1,100 parallelisms in Isaiah. As we gain an appreciation of the concept of parallelism in Isaiah’s writings, we will better understand his message and prophecies. A New Translation of Isaiah Based on Ancient Scrolls and Texts does indeed visually lay out the poetic parallelisms, thus making Isaiah’s poetry more readable and understandable.

QuestionThis translation offers something truly unique by placing the Hebrew text side-by-side with bracketed insights from the Joseph Smith Translation and the Book of Mormon. Can you share a specific example where reading the Hebrew through this lens of the Restoration profoundly expands our understanding of the ancient record?

Response: There are dozens of variant readings in the Joseph Smith Translation (JST) of Isaiah. Major readings (and many minor readings) are incorporated into this volume. I have utilized brackets ([ ]) to indicate readings from the JST and Book of Mormon. Here are two examples: (1) In the dialogue between the Lord and Lady Zion (see Isaiah 49:13-21), the words [“O house of Israel”] (see 1 Nephi 21:18) make it evident that Lady Zion is none other than the house of Israel. This Book of Mormon reading greatly enhances our understanding of this dialogue; (2) Isaiah’s prayer to the Lord is made explicit with the words [“O Lord”] in Isaiah 2:6 (from the JST, 2 Nephi 12:6). Again, this reading magnifies our comprehension of the text.

QuestionYou point out that Jehovah (translated as LORD) speaks over two-hundred times in Isaiah. You’ve also chosen to capitalize all pronouns referring to Him. How does reading Isaiah with the explicit, constant visual reminder that Jehovah is the premortal Jesus Christ completely reframe the emotional impact of the book?

Response: The fact that Isaiah presents the direct speech (the actual words) of the LORD more than two-hundred times is evidence that Isaiah’s text is indeed about Him. In this New Translation, I have capitalized all pronouns that refer to God (Me, My, You, Your, He, Him) in order to (a) reverence Him with the highest regard, by separating Him from all other characters in the text, and (b) to help the reader know when God is the speaker, thus making the text easier to comprehend.

QuestionIf someone is still feeling intimidated by diving into Isaiah this summer, what is the single most important piece of advice you would give them before they open to chapter one?

Response: Take your time, enjoy every word and every verse of Isaiah! Don’t rush through Isaiah as if it is a fictional work, a news article, or a common writing. Here is an analogy—according to one study—“museum goers spend an average of just 17 seconds looking at an individual painting—and that statistic might be generous.” Perhaps for this reason, in 2009, Phil Terry started “Slow Art Day,” an initiative that encourages museum goers to examine a painting for several minutes before moving on to the next painting. Let’s compare one’s viewing a classic painting (think Vincent Van Gogh) to reading Isaiah—rather than read a single verse in a few seconds, and then moving on to the next verse, I recommend that we search diligently (see 3 Ne. 23:1) every single verse of Isaiah before moving on. Take your time, carefully study Isaiah, and find joy in every verse!

QuestionThis volume represents the capstone of a trilogy, building upon your comprehensive commentary Understanding Isaiah and your guide Search Diligently the Words of Isaiah. How does having this dedicated, modernized translation complete the “toolkit” for a student trying to truly master these complex writings?

Response: To return to the Dead Sea Scrolls Isaiah scrolls—I began searching the Great Isaiah Scroll with considerable intensity in 1996. The three volumes identified in your Question cover many significant aspects of studying Isaiah: Understanding Isaiah (authored with Jay Parry and Tina Peterson) is a verse-by-verse commentary (imagine that, a work that seeks to explain every verse in Isaiah!); Search Diligently the Words of Isaiah presents a multitude of tools and keys to comprehending Isaiah (including his complex parallelisms, figures of speech, and literary techniques); and A New Translation of Isaiah Based on Ancient Scrolls and Texts, derived from ancient scrolls, which is formatted into parallelistic lines together with the identification of speakers.

Do you like what you read here? Be sure to grab your copy of A New Translation of Isaiah: Based on Ancient Scrolls and Texts, linked at the top of the article, and check out this recent review of it, written by Chad Nielsen on the Times & Seasons blog.

We have been thrilled with the interest in FAIR Books so far, and we cannot wait to show you what we have in store for publications for the rest of the year and going forward.

Stay tuned! And Happy Reading!

Donald W. Parry, Professor of Hebrew Bible and Dead Sea Scrolls at Brigham Young University, is married to Camille Mills, from Las Vegas, Nevada; they have six children. He has served as a member of the International Team of Translators of the Dead Sea Scrolls since 1994. He has authored or edited thirty-three books, ten of which pertain to the scrolls and five deal with the writings of Isaiah. Parry has also published articles in journals, festschrifts, conference proceedings, and encyclopedias. He is also a member of several other professional organizations, including the International Organization for the Study of the Old Testament, Groningen, The Netherlands, Society for Biblical Literature, Atlanta, Georgia, and the National Association of Professors of Hebrew, Madison, Wisconsin. Parry presently serves as a member of the Dead Sea Scrolls Foundation Board of Trustees.

Jared Riddick is the Managing Editor for FAIR. From 2015 to 2025, he was the research librarian and archivist for Scripture Central, where he established, built, and curated their digital library of over 14,000 items. He graduated from the University of North Texas with a Masters in Library Science with two graduate academic certificates in Archival Management and Digital Curation and Data Management. He received a Bachelor of Arts in History Education from Brigham Young University-Idaho. He was also an editorial consultant for Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith Scholarship from 2012 to 2017.

The post A New Translation of Isaiah: Q&A with Scholar Donald W. Parry appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Jennifer Roach Lees holds a Master in Divinity as well as a Masters in Counseling Psychology. She is a licensed mental health therapist and lives in Utah.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 1 Samuel 8–10; 13; 15–16 – Jennifer Roach Lees appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

What King Will You Follow?by Autumn Dickson

At the beginning of chapter 8, we find Samuel getting older. He made his sons judges, and they were corrupt. The people went to Samuel and asked for a king. Samuel didn’t like that much, and he turned to the Lord. Here is the Lord’s response.

1 Samuel 8:7 And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.

The people wanted a monarchy instead of a theocracy. They wanted to be like other nations despite the warnings that Samuel gave them. He warned them of all the problems that come with a king, but they insisted.

We’re not in the same situation as the Israelites. None of us are asking President Oaks to give us a king, but there are still lessons for us here. Let’s look at some details.

Israel wanted a king; they wanted someone who would rule over them. The irony here is that if you had asked Samuel whether the Israelites had a king, he would have answered, “Yes.” The Lord was meant to be their king. The Lord had a mouthpiece, a messenger for how He wanted His kingdom ruled, but He was meant to rule over His own people.

So when the Lord says that the Israelites rejected Him, He is accurate. They had a king, but they wanted a different kind of king.

There are a lot of parallels we could find in our own lives. Rather than explicitly stating the parallel, I rather just give one potential manifestation of this parallel.

The Lord has come before each of us and promised to bless us. He wants to make us kings and queens, priests and priestesses. He wants to make us like Him. He wants to shower us with warmth and promises. He wants to open our eyes and show us everything. There is so much to be had as heirs of God.

All of that sounds pretty wonderful. Unfortunately, these things don’t just get bestowed upon us. We have to grow into it.

So when we are faced with the decision of opening our scripture app or social media, we often find ourselves on social media.

The Lord comes and says, “Let me be your king. I won’t ever betray you. I won’t take from you; I only want to give. I want to show you all that you can become.” The Lord comes and warns us, “Taking a different king can be dangerous. The king will take your children, and it will take the best parts of what you have. It only serves itself; you will be its servant.”

And yet, like the Israelites, we insist on choosing social media. We choose a different king. We choose a king that robs us of moments with our loved ones. We choose a king that does have the power to take our children away from us. We choose a king that is only looking to profit itself, and we make ourselves slaves to it.

Why?? Why do we do this??

And it’s interesting. The Lord doesn’t mind if we have a mortal king. In Mosiah 29, Mosiah tells his people that it would be fine to have a king if they could guarantee that their kings were righteous. The Lord doesn’t mind if we have social media, TV, video games, or any other of these other banal activities. The Lord can utilize these tools to enhance our life and make it better.

The problem comes when we essentially reject the Lord for something pathetic. If you had asked the Israelites if they were rejecting their God, I wonder what they would have said. Maybe they would have told us, “We’re not rejecting our God. We will still follow our God. We just want a king too. Having a king doesn’t mean that we don’t worship God.” If you ask us if we’re rejecting God when we pull open something vapid instead of something inspiring, we would probably answer that we’re not rejecting God.

Perhaps that’s true. Perhaps you’re not outright rejecting God.

But have you ever tried to connect with someone who was too busy on their phone? Have you ever gone to someone for help only for them to be too distracted to love you? Have you ever done this to someone else?

Perhaps you’re not turning to that person who is seeking a connection with you and saying, “Stop. I don’t like you. Go away. I hate you.” But aren’t you still rejecting them? Don’t you feel rejected when it happens to you?

So we can tell ourselves all we like that opening instagram instead of the scriptures isn’t rejecting God, but isn’t it? He’s trying to connect with us. He’s trying to draw us higher, and we turn away. That is rejection too.

I’m not describing a world where we become monks that don’t take part in any other type of material. Social media isn’t evil. I just think it’s wise to take inventory of who is ruling us. Our phones often do this cool thing where it keeps track of where we’re spending our time. Look at your phone. Where did you spend your time today?

And as a sidenote, this isn’t a message about social media. I’m sharing an example that shows an overarching principle. What is ruling us? Is it God?

As I was reading about the Israelites choosing a king, I thought of all the pain that was coming to them. I thought of everything we would read about Israel and the trials that were coming. If they could have seen what was coming, would they have chosen differently?

If we could see what our kings would bring us, would we choose differently?

The Lord has warned us about how to spend our time. He has warned us about what to invite in and what to leave be. Who is your king? What is your king taking from you or giving to you?

I testify that there are many good things to enjoy in life, but only one King who is willing to give rather than take. I testify that the Lord knows what He is talking about in how He directs our lives. I testify that you don’t have to verbally reject the Lord to be cutting Him out of your life, and that being careful of what we choose will bless us in the long run. It may seem easier to choose something else, but it’s not.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 1 Samuel 8–10; 13; 15–16 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Trusting the Lord With Your Childby Autumn Dickson

The story of Hannah is almost too much for me. Hannah struggled with infertility. She went to the tabernacle and prayed her heart out. She told the Lord that she would dedicate her son to Him. Her prayer was so intense that Eli, the priest, thought she was drunk. He tells her the Lord will grant her petition. She goes home, and it is fulfilled. She conceives a son.

Hannah kept him until he was weaned. This could have happened as early as 24 months and as late as five years old. After he is weaned, she takes him to Eli. She reminds Eli that she was the woman who was fervently praying for a child before, and then she says this.

1 Samuel 1:27-28

27 For this child I prayed; and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of him:

28 Therefore also I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the Lord. And he worshipped the Lord there.

Hannah leaves her son with Eli. She gets to see him annually when they go to the tabernacle to make their sacrifice. This is the part that makes my heart desperately ache. I have two children who currently fall within that age group, and I can’t imagine dropping them off and only seeing them once a year. I am quite certain that it would kill me.

But Hannah had promised her son to the Lord, and she stuck to that promise. Samuel went to Eli at the temple.

Samuel goes on to do incredible things in the name of the Lord. He became the first centralized prophet to Israel in a long time. His ministry is marked by attempts to pull the Israelites out of apostasy and idolatry. He helped Israel transition to a monarchy first with Saul, and then he later anointed David and protected him from Saul. He was known as a great prophet like Moses.

When I attempt to put myself in Hannah’s shoes, I think there is really only one testimony that would bring me any semblance of peace in the midst of handing my child over.

The Lord can do better with him than I can.

Luckily, I don’t think most of us are facing a time where this sacrifice is required of us. We don’t drop our kids off at the temple and dedicate them to the Lord, but there is still a lesson here for all of us.

The Lord can do better with your loved one than you can.

That doesn’t just apply to our children. The Lord can do better with your sister, brother, friend, parent, cousin, grandchild, niece, nephew, spouse, or anyone you love. We can “hand them off” to the Lord and be at peace that the Lord can take them on a journey that’s going to be better than the one we can take them on.

What does that look like? I can think of two different ways that we can hand our loved one over to the Lord.

1) We closely follow what the Lord has in store for them.

I can think of two contrasting examples that depict one principle: I have two family members that strayed from the gospel for a while. They had zero interest in taking part of what the Lord wanted them to have.

The first relative was forced to go to church. As long as he lived under the roof of his parents, he would be attending church. His father was adamant about it. And you know what? One day, this relative of mine went to church and one of the speakers said something that reached him. He was no longer forced to go to church because he didn’t have to be.

My second relative went a different route completely. Her mother received the impression that she should allow her to stay home. This was the right way for my second relative. Because of her personality, forcing her to go would have only caused her to hate it more. It wouldn’t have fixed anything. In all honesty, it would have made things worse.

Two different approaches that teach a principle when placed side by side: We don’t always know what to do, but the Lord does. We may think we know what to do, but we have to let go of trying to control the situation and turn to the Lord for what’s going to be best for our child. If one of my children grows to hate the church, my knee-jerk reaction would be to force them to go as long as I could in a desperate attempt to draw them back. And perhaps that’s the right answer, but the key is to turn your loved one over to the Lord and follow the path that the Lord has in store for them.

Even if part of that path means letting them choose a different path for a while, it’s going to end up being the most powerful path if we’re following the Lord. Even if that path takes them on a journey like the prodigal son, that journey may be the very thing that makes them so powerful in the end. It may be the very experience they need to finally develop a relationship with a Savior who can watch over them.

Fear is natural when we worry about our loved ones, but we can hush our fears and lean on the promises of the Savior. His atonement reaches wide and far. It can turn sin into stepping stones. Consequences become opportunities to turn to the Savior. The Savior has earned our trust. We can lean on Him and let Him lead.

2) Sometimes trusting the Lord with your loved one is an internal battle.

Hannah’s path looked a little different than both of my relatives. She wasn’t trying to save Samuel. In many ways, she was simply letting him go. Sometimes that is the path we have to take. Even when our children are young, we can’t really control them. It can be easier to force them to do something when they’re little. However, even then, control is often an illusion.

As they get older, the illusion disappears and you have to hope they’re wise enough to follow the Lord.

But no matter how we hope, sometimes they take a different path.

Sometimes the Lord is going to seem rather silent on the matter when we’re desperately trying to save our loved one. That isn’t a sign that you screwed up or that He doesn’t love them; sometimes, that loved one is simply going to choose what they’re going to choose regardless of the path that you choose to take.

Sometimes turning your loved one over to the Lord means seeking out the Lord’s will for them; sometimes turning your loved one over to the Lord means finding peace in the midst of being powerless to help them (at least for a time). Even if the Lord is silent, that doesn’t mean He doesn’t have a plan. It likely just means there isn’t anything you can do to help that plan along at this point. When there is nothing you can physically do to help your loved one, you do what Hannah did. You let go and trust that the Lord has a plan for them.

Just like with Hannah’s situation, I think a knowledge of my Savior’s power and love is the only thing that would bring peace. I can’t change anything externally, but I can orient my heart towards the Savior and let His promises enable me to hope.

I testify of a Savior who does have a plan. He has the Plan of Salvation which included the creation, fall, and atonement, but He also has individual Plans of Salvation for each of us. He knows exactly where your loved one is. He has steps to take and action to follow through on, and He will do so. It may take a long time, longer than you want or even imagine right now, but the Lord’s plans can stretch that far. You can trust Him to take care of them, and you can put that burden down and rest. That doesn’t mean you don’t mourn, but it does mean you simultaneously carry the Savior’s promises in your heart so that you can keep going. I testify that He will fulfill His promises.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Ruth; 1 Samuel 1–7 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Jennifer Roach Lees holds a Master in Divinity as well as a Masters in Counseling Psychology. She is a licensed mental health therapist and lives in Utah.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Ruth; 1 Samuel 1–7 – Jennifer Roach Lees appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Ruth Had Nothing to Offerby Autumn Dickson

Ruth was a woman in an extremely vulnerable position, and she placed herself in an even more vulnerable position with Boaz. Let’s talk about it, and let’s talk about how it relates to us.

Ruth was a Moabite who followed her mother-in-law to Bethlehem. She was not originally part of God’s people, but she voluntarily chose to be a part of them at great risk to herself. She was vulnerable as a widow, and she was stepping into a life of poverty by following after her mother-in-law instead of going back to live in her father’s house. Not only did she face poor circumstances and the necessity of providing for herself and Naomi by gleaning the fields, she likewise faced potential ridicule and social rejection because of her foreign status.

But she wanted to be with Naomi and follow after the God of Israel, so she chose that sacrifice.

After spending some time in Bethlehem, taking care of Naomi and gathering up meager amounts of food from hard work, Ruth put herself in an even more vulnerable position.

Boaz, a respected and wealthy man in the area, had taken note of Ruth and took steps to make sure she was okay. After hearing about Boaz watching out for Ruth, Naomi encourages Ruth to essentially propose to Boaz. According to the direction of Naomi, Ruth follows Boaz to the threshing floor one night, uncovers his feet, and goes to sleep there. Boaz wakes up and finds her, and she asks him to essentially take her under his wing. She asks him to marry her and bring her into his protection. Boaz agrees to do so if another relative relinquishes his first claim upon her.

In order to understand the vulnerability that Ruth found herself in, it’s important to understand the context of the threshing floor. Threshing floors were not inherently evil; they were community spaces where people went and prepared their different grains to finish the harvesting process. However, threshing floors were associated with a celebratory period that sometimes got out of hand. It was a male-dominated space, and there was drinking. It was not uncommon for prostitution. Let it be known, it was also common for wealthy men to sleep there and protect their grain piles. Boaz wasn’t there to get in trouble; he was there to protect his grain. And yet, I want to highlight the potential danger for Ruth.

Naomi trusted the integrity of Boaz and sent Ruth anyway. Beyond just protecting her, here is an extra thing that Boaz did for her.

Ruth 3:14 And she lay at his feet until the morning: and she rose up before one could know another. And he said, Let it not be known that a woman came into the floor.

So Boaz protected her in every sense of the word. He could have taken advantage of her and probably gotten away with it. He could have thrown her to the wolves and ruined her reputation. As an outsider, she already faced scrutiny. She could have been branded a loose woman and made herself ineligible for future marriage. Regardless of whether it’s just or moral that he had the power to do this is a question for another day. The fact remains that he did have power to do so, and he didn’t. Not only did he avoid taking advantage of her, he also protected her from potential shame.

If we generalize some of these ideas, we might find some personal parallels in our relationship with Jesus Christ. Here are a couple of reflections.

1) Boaz didn’t actually have a responsibility to take care of Ruth.

It is important to note that Boaz didn’t have to legally take care of Ruth. In ancient Israelite custom, a brother of the dead husband would marry the widow and buy the land to keep the inheritance in the family. Boaz was a more distant relative. He was eligible but not required. It wasn’t expected of him. In fact, the relative who was closer to her wanted the land but refused when he found out he would also inherit Ruth.

Boaz married Ruth. He went above and beyond what was required of him to protect her.

And how poignant is that?

Christ was eligible to save us but not obligated. He chose to do it. He wanted to protect us.

2) She had nothing to offer Boaz except loyalty and need.

Boaz didn’t reap any benefit for marrying Ruth other than receiving her love and gratitude. Even beyond the fact that he didn’t have a legal obligation, he was essentially bringing on “dead weight.” I understand that sounds heartless, but let me expound.

Boaz had the option of marrying advantageously. He had to pay to get the land that had belonged to Ruth’s previous husband; it didn’t just come to him. He could have married someone that would have contributed to his own wealth or social standing without any complications of marrying a foreigner. Not to mention, any children he had with Ruth would be considered heirs of her first husband. That’s why the other relative had refused. It endangered his personal estate. Boaz was willing to pay the price for kindness.

Obviously Ruth had value as a human being. However, when she is logically compared with other options, she isn’t bringing much to the table.

Sound familiar? We hold very limited benefit in the traditional sense. Even as long-term investments, the Lord gives us everything we have and then gives us more when we try to serve Him. We don’t offer much. And yet, Christ knows the value of being loved in return. Boaz recognized a woman who would add much more to his home despite the costs. He watched her love Naomi, and he knew that she would be the kind of person that brings joy.

Christ is willing to pay the price of kindness, and He recognizes that investments don’t necessarily bring joy. Our loyalty and gratitude and willingness bring joy.

3) And then, of course, the point I highlighted before: Ruth was vulnerable and Boaz protected her.

Ruth could have been ridiculed and rejected. She was already prone to it because she was born a Moabite. It became that much more dangerous when she voluntarily chose to approach Boaz on the threshing floor.

Someday we will stand vulnerable before the Lord. Someday we will live in a time where secrets are shouted from the rooftops. What secrets are you worried about? What do you want protected and kept private?

I testify of a Lord who “forgets” our sins when we repent. I believe in a Lord who is willing to cover for us and take us under His protection. I believe in a Lord whose name is so powerful that we don’t have to fear rejection and ridicule. He covers us when we approach Him in faith and humility. He doesn’t despise our weakness; He honors it by taking it upon Himself.

I testify of a Lord who pays the price of kindness and simply wants our love in return. It brings Him joy. Do not withhold it from Him. Do not withhold yourself from Him. He loves you.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Ruth; 1 Samuel 1–7 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

God’s Mercy With Gideon’s Doubtby Autumn Dickson

The book of Judges records a time period in which Israel had no centralized prophet. There was apostasy and partial restorations as the Israelites would sway into worshipping like the Canaanites did. The Lord sometimes sent judges to help Israel against their enemies. These judges were charismatic, military leaders. Some of the judges would save all of Israel; other judges were more regional.

Gideon was one of these regional judges, primarily protecting Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun, Naphtali, and Ephraim.

Gideon is interesting because he struggled with his faith in the Lord, and yet, the Lord was merciful. There are plenty of instances in the scriptures where the Lord doesn’t seem to respond to that very well. Right after the Red Sea parted, the Israelites demanded a sign of Moses to show his favor with God. They were complaining and challenging Moses to show a sign. The place was named Massah as a memorial to their lack of faith. When Zechariah was told that his wife would have a son, he didn’t believe it because she was old. He was struck as a mute. Thomas the apostle was likewise rebuked for his lack of faith.

Gideon receives not just one, but multiple signs from the Lord. The angel burns up his offering to the Lord. His blanket is covered with dew while the ground is dry one night; his blanket is dry while the ground is wet one night. As he stands in the camp with his 300 men to go against the Midianites, the Lord encourages him to go spy on the Midianites and see what they’re saying in order to receive comfort. He does so and overhears a Midianite sharing a dream in which a barley loaf came and flattened a tent. The Midianite’s companion interprets it as God helping Israel defeat them. Here is Gideon’s response.

Judges 7:15 And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he worshipped, and returned into the host of Israel, and said, Arise; for the Lord hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian.

Multiple signs! God continually blesses Gideon and gives him signs to encourage him along. In fact, Gideon didn’t even ask for the last sign. The Lord just gave it to him, and He gave it to Gideon in a powerful way. It would have been one thing to send a dream to Gideon about defeating the Midianites. It would have been easy for Gideon to wonder if it was just wishful thinking. In comparison, hearing the mighty Midianites have a dream and interpret it as defeat by the Israelites was much more powerful in calming Gideon’s fears.

So why did Gideon get multiple signs while others seem to be rebuked for asking for the same thing?

I think there are a lot of reasons because the Lord works according to individual circumstances, but I want to talk about two potential reasons that can be applied in our own lives as we work to approach the Lord.

The first reason the Lord was willing to work with Gideon is because the Lord is wise enough to understand that Gideon didn’t have much of a relationship with the Lord. The fact that his father had a Baal altar implies that Gideon’s family had fallen into idolatry. How much did Gideon know about God? We know Gideon had some knowledge of God because he asks about the deliverance from Egypt, but how much had Gideon experienced God? There’s a difference. How much could the Lord reasonably expect Gideon to trust Him? The Lord knew Gideon, but did Gideon know the Lord?

The Lord isn’t looking for blind, obedient dogs. He is looking to have a true relationship with us. The fact that Gideon was cautious about running into danger isn’t a sign that Gideon is faithless; it is more an indication that Gideon did not yet know the Lord.

So what does this teach us about our own lives? The Lord will not begrudge us the time it takes to learn how to trust Him; He doesn’t mind allowing us to approach Him until we’ve built up a number of encounters and start to understand His character.

David fought off two wild animals before he fought off Goliath. We recently read about Moses whose trust in the Lord was extremely fragile in the beginning; Moses grew to the point where he encouraged the Israelites to have faith in the face of certain death even though he did not yet know the plan for rescue. The Old Testament gives us a front row seat to watching people experience the Lord and grow in their trust of Him.

In contrast, imagine a powerful stranger coming up to you and saying, “Trust me.” When you ask them why you should trust them, they respond with, “Because I told you to.” Um…what? You may not immediately hate them or be wary of them, but you’re not going to give them your darkest secrets or social security number (or hopefully you won’t…).

The Lord understands that He is a stranger to us; He is the one who put the veil there. He understands that we need experiences with Him before we’re ready to run into danger when He asks. Once again, He isn’t looking for blind, obedient dogs. He wants His children to be wise and consciously and voluntarily choose Him.

He gave Gideon experiences because Gideon likely hadn’t had many previously. He was patient with Israel. He was patient with Moses. The Lord has no problem being patient. If He seems impatient in specific scenarios, we can usually assume it’s for the benefit of the person He is working with. He is trying to get their attention or get them moving.

Which leads me to my second reason: The Lord allowed Gideon to approach Him multiple times for signs because Gideon’s heart was soft.

Over and over and over and over and over we read about the Lord responding with intensity in response to a hard heart and responding with mercy and encouragement to a soft heart. Gideon’s heart was obviously soft. Look at this verse.

Judges 6:17 And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me.

Gideon approaches the Lord so humbly. When the angel gave him a sign, Gideon immediately built an altar unto the Lord. That night, Gideon went and took down the altar of Baal according to the direction of the Lord. We see this multiple times with Gideon. He approaches the Lord in humility and asks for help knowing the truth. Gideon was willing to follow the truth and power and peace; Gideon was just trying to make sure he was looking in the right direction before moving forward.

It is only when we’ve closed our heart off to that truth and power and peace that the Lord shakes the earth to reach us.

I think of the Egyptians that saw all the same signs as the Israelites but didn’t bother to ask whether they should follow after the same God as the Israelites. I think of Rahab and her people. The Canaanites were all terrified, but it didn’t change who they put their faith in. Only Rahab was willing to follow the Israelite God and was spared because of it. You would think that people would open their eyes and ask, “Is there something here?” You would think that they would pause long enough and open their hearts so that the Lord could speak to them.

Gideon asked, but Gideon was likewise prepared to follow through. This was part of why the Lord was so willing to encourage him along.

I testify of a Lord that responds with wisdom. He knows what He is doing. He will not condemn us for approaching Him for reassurances if we’re doing so with the intent to follow after Him. He doesn’t even condemn us when we struggle; His intensity is not a sign of condemnation. It’s a sign of God’s love in trying to reach us! However the Lord is working in your life, you can take it with the perspective that He is trying to do what’s best for you. I’m grateful for a Lord who is wise and can train me so purposefully and deliberately.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Judges 2–4; 6–8; 13–16 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Jennifer Roach Lees holds a Master in Divinity as well as a Masters in Counseling Psychology. She is a licensed mental health therapist and lives in Utah.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Judges 2–4; 6–8; 13–16 – Jennifer Roach Lees appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

What Does it Mean to be a Prophetess?by Autumn Dickson

In a day and age where many are curious as to why women can’t hold specific positions in the church or be ordained to priesthood offices, reading about Deborah the prophetess can be confusing. Here is a verse that describes her as a prophetess.

Judges 4:4 And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time.

If Deborah can be a prophetess, can we have a prophetess in our day? What does it even mean that she was a prophetess and what are the implications for women in the latter days?

I think it’s important to note that I’m not an official representative of the church. However, I’d like to share some of my own perspectives and interpretations surrounding Deborah and what it means as a female Latter-day Saint.

But first, some context.

Judges is a book of scripture that describes the time period when Israel had no king. Joshua, the prophet after Moses, died, and there was no prophet that directly succeeded him. We don’t know exactly how long it took before the Lord called another centralized prophet (Samuel), but educated guesses suggest 300-450 years.

As a society, they had the Law of Moses, and the government could be described as a tribal confederation. Despite having a law given unto them from God, they often fell in with Canaanites and found themselves in varying levels of apostasy.

Sometimes, in response to the Israelites finding themselves in trouble, the Lord would send a “judge.” The way that we define “judge” is not necessarily accurate in this particular book of scripture. In this context, a judge was a charismatic military leader that would help Israel. There were some major judges such as Samson; there were other minor judges that would help regions rather than the entire nation of Israel.

So who was Deborah?

Deborah was one of the major judges sent by God to help Israel. She was a judge in every sense of the word. She was a military leader, but people also literally went to her for guidance to settle their problems. She was also a spiritual leader over the nation of Israel.

Was she a prophet? The scriptures describe her as a prophetess, and she led all of Israel politically and spiritually. But was she a prophet in the way that we define “prophet” in our day?

At this point, I think it’s important to clarify what it means to have a prophet.

Definition One. The way that we usually define “prophet” in our church in the Latter-days is unique. It’s not just someone who studies the scriptures and knows them really well. It’s not just someone who receives revelation. When Latter-day Saints speak of prophets, we are often describing the man who has the authority to speak for God on behalf of the entire church. He is the only one with spiritual jurisdiction to lead (under Christ) the church. He holds all of the priesthood keys.

And yes, he is a male.

We don’t know if that will ever change. I don’t know if it’s doctrine that means this particular role will always be male, or if someday the Lord will use His unchanging love and wisdom to adapt His church according to circumstances as He has throughout the course of history.

But there is also a broader definition of this term, “prophet.”

Definition two. Anyone can have the spirit of prophecy which is defined as a “testimony of Christ.” We know that Jerusalem had centralized prophets in ancient times as well as lesser “prophets” who would also be sent by the Lord to teach and call upon people to repent. I am not a prophet in the sense that I hold all the priesthood keys or can define doctrine on behalf of the Lord for the entire church. However, I have come to view myself as a prophetess within my own family. Beside my husband, I lead our home. I receive revelation on behalf of our kids and what we need to do. I learn the will of the Lord for our family. I fulfill so many of the “prophetic” responsibilities often associated with prophets; I simply do it within the context of my own family. Most importantly, I am a witness of Christ to my family.

What kind of prophetess was Deborah? With the information we’ve been given, I feel pretty safe assuming she was the second kind of prophet. The Lord had declared that priesthood responsibilities would go through male descendants of Aaron and the tribe of Levi. Deborah was not ordained nor did she hold any keys.

So Deborah was a prophetess but not necessarily how we often define it in our day.

Perhaps there are some who are disappointed by this news. Perhaps there are some who hoped that because Deborah was a prophetess, we could have one in our day. Perhaps there are some who cling to the idea that things will change and long for the day to see a prophetess lead the church. I don’t know whether that will be a thing. If anyone has any insight into that particular doctrine, feel free to comment. But as far as I know, we don’t know.

Here’s what I do know.

Deborah doesn’t need to be disappointing. In fact, if we understand her properly, we should be exultant. If we understand what the Lord would like to bestow upon His daughters and His sons, then we would hold no fear. Deborah is excellent proof of what the Lord would have all of us do.

Deborah may not have been a prophetess in the modern sense of the word, but guys! She was still a prophetess! She was a national leader, and people followed her. She changed Israel. She made a difference. She has been regarded with respect by millions who learned about her generation after generation.

And she didn’t need the priesthood keys to do it.

The Lord is wonderful and wise and set up a priesthood organization with offices and keys. I know that can be a painful sticking point for some. I understand that. I’m personally grateful for this organization, but I can simultaneously understand why it’s painful. But that’s not really my point today.

My point is that you have all that you need to become everything God wants you to become, and He has much more in mind for you than you have for yourself. This has implications for men too. About 3-5% of men will hold priesthood keys at any given time in the church. That number jumps to 10-20% of men who will hold priesthood keys at some point in their lifetime.

BUT YOU DON’T NEED KEYS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE AND CHANGE THE WORLD.

No one came to Deborah and ordained her as a prophetess. The bible doesn’t tell us how she rose to that role, but I have my guesses as to how it happened.

It happened because she was a faithful daughter of God who chose to follow the Lord wherever He chose to lead her.

Following the Lord and handing your life over to Him in faith (female or male) does not mean you will be recorded for people to pore over your life story for generations to come. It doesn’t mean you’ll be famous or even particularly loud. But if that’s what you’re looking for, then you’re in the wrong place anyway.

I love the example of Deborah, if for no other reason than her story means that I can be a powerful tool for the Lord regardless of what mankind recognizes in me. Regardless of whatever official roles I’ve been given, I could part seas or change lives. Really what it comes down to is what the Lord wants for me and what He’s trying to teach me. Having enough power to change the world isn’t really the question here; the Lord will give me everything I need. The true question is whether I will give my life over to Him in whatever capacity He asks.

I have as well as I can, and I love my life.

I testify that we have everything we need to do everything the Lord wants us to do and become everything He wants us to become. I likewise testify that He has much more in mind for you than you have for yourself. If you (female or male) feel left out because you can’t be or aren’t a bishop, then hold tight. The Lord has much bigger plans for you. He loves you so much. You are so important to Him. It would be silly to ask more from Him when He already plans on giving you everything that He has.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Judges 2–4; 6–8; 13–16 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Rahab: From Prostitute to Type of Christby Autumn Dickson

How could I not take some time to speak about Rahab? She was incredible. Here is our introduction to Rahab.

Joshua 2:1 And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot’s house, named Rahab, and lodged there.

Rahab was a prostitute who hid Israeli spies as they were coming to look at Jericho. In exchange for hiding them, she asked them to spare her and her family. They gave her a red cord to put in the window, and all of Jericho was destroyed except for her and her family.

In order to understand precisely why she was so great, it’s important to understand the background she was born into.

Jericho was getting utterly destroyed. There have been times throughout history where the Lord helped His people conquer without utterly destroying everything. Jericho was not one of those times. The land of Canaan was “full” of sin to the extent that destruction was necessary. It was so filled with misery that it needed a clean slate.

Except for Rahab.

The fact that she’s a prostitute during this time period isn’t unsurprising. What she’s had to go through is not a sign of her moral failings but of her society failing her. We can see the type of person she is from her reactions.

She is willing to follow the Lord after hearing the testimony of others.

She wants to save her family, not just herself.

She utilized her circumstances for the Lord’s work.

These are not the only reasons Rahab is incredible. The fact that she married is also amazing when you learn what trauma she likely accrued because of her circumstances. This is not a comprehensive list of her good qualities, but I specifically chose these ones. These qualities are what make her like the Savior.

Rahab is a type of Christ. Let’s talk about a couple of things in her life that reflect the Savior.

1) She is willing to follow the Lord despite what the society around her is doing.

Rahab could have been blinded by her own society. She could have followed what everyone else was doing and simply been afraid. Imagine if the rest of the Canaanites had the heart that Rahab had. Imagine if all of them had approached the Israelite army and were like, “We heard how your God protected you and took care of you. We would like to follow Him too.” Imagine if all of us were able to look at what was going on around us and be willing to follow a better way.

The Jews were not especially righteous when Christ came to fulfill His mortal ministry. In fact, many of them were evil. If Christ had been born to any other nation, they would have recognized Him as God. Some of the Jews of this time period were too wicked to see Him for what He was. Jesus broke a lot of their made up rules. He followed the Law of Moses perfectly, but He broke a lot of the rules that they had built up around that law. He looked at society and knew there was a better way to live.

2) She wants to save her family, not just herself.

Rahab could have followed the spies out. Perhaps that would have been easier than sitting in her home and hoping all the soldiers followed the direction to spare her. We don’t know all the reasons why Rahab stayed, but we do know she sought out her family and brought them into her home where they could be protected too. She cared enough about her family that she sought saving them too. Maybe she even felt that being saved wouldn’t be worth it if her family couldn’t be saved too.

Christ’s heart also pushed Him to look beyond Himself. Christ is the only One who was perfect enough to go to heaven. He could have come down here, lived perfectly, and gone on to live in heaven forever, but He loved us too much. He put Himself through difficult things in order to save us too. He was concerned with saving His family. He obviously didn’t think heaven was going to be good enough without us despite our many failings. He loved us, and looked beyond Himself.

3) She utilized her circumstances for the Lord’s work.

It was actually important that Rahab was a prostitute. With all of the tension in the air from the Israelite army, it would have been difficult for the spies to get into Jericho. Because she was a prostitute, it allowed them to enter into the city. It wasn’t as uncommon for strangers and foreigners to visit brothels in comparison to visiting repectable houses. Not to mention, Rahab’s house was within the city wall and allowed them to escape.

Now, the fact that she was a prostitute did not mean that the spies went undetected. Somehow, the residents of Jericho noticed the spies and they came knocking. Rahab hid them on the roof before helping them escape. This is actually also an important reflection of Christ.

Only Christ was in the correct circumstances to save us. Because of His birth, He held power that no one else had. He had the ability to save us because of His circumstances.

But, it was still ultimately His decision to save us.

Rahab’s circumstances put her in an ideal situation to save her family and help the Lord’s work, but her choices and faith were absolutely key as well.

Sometimes our circumstances make it difficult to believe that we could ever be like Christ. Sometimes what we’ve been through or are currently going through make us think that we can’t serve. Sometimes our circumstances are the very things that put is in a position to be like Christ.

I testify that like Rahab, we are all given opportunities to be like our Savior. I also testify that like Rahab, following the Lord and His prophet will ultimately save us. It doesn’t matter where we started; we can make choices that will put us in line with the Lord’s people. He can save us, and He can utilize us if we’re willing to leave our old lives behind.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Joshua 1–8; 23–24 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Why They Marched Around Jericho 7 Timesby Autumn Dickson

The Fall of Jericho is epic for many reasons. There are a lot of details that we could talk about that would teach us about the Savior, but let’s just cover a few.

Jericho was a large city that was meant for the Israelites. The Lord was helping them gain their land one bit at a time. When Jericho saw the Israelites coming, they closed their gates and settled in for a siege. The Lord commanded the Israelites to circle the city every day for six days. Then on the last day, they were to do this.

Joshua 6:15 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they rose early about the dawning of the day, and compassed the city after the same manner seven times: only on that day they compassed the city seven times.

I can’t speak for the whole of the commandment (walking once a day for six days); I would need to study it further. However, I want to talk about the last day. The Israelites were to walk around the city seven times, trumpets would blow, and the people were to start yelling. They did so, and the walls fell. The Israelites flooded in and took the city. No one was spared except for Rahab and her house because she had helped the Israelites.

It is significant that the Israelites had to walk around Jericho seven times. Seven was a symbol of the covenant, and it was also symbolic of fullness or being complete. Jericho was the promised land; the Israelites needed completeness.

In the New Testament, the Lord commands His people to be perfect. Perfect was a translation from the word “teleios,” which has an alternate translation. It also means “end” or “complete.” The Savior might also be commanding His people to reach their full spiritual maturity in comparison to going constantly without error.

I find it beautiful that the Israelites needed to symbolically be “complete” in order to enter the promised land. I also find it beautiful that their completeness didn’t make the walls come down. They needed to keep the commandment to go around the city seven times, but that’s not what brought them into the promised land. Here is another important verse.

Joshua 6:16 And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the Lord hath given you the city.

The walls hadn’t fallen down yet when Joshua said this to the people, and yet, Joshua is speaking as though it already happened. “The Lord has given you this city, so shout!” Joshua knew the promises of the Lord were good for the money. He had no doubt that the city was their’s, and it reflected in the way he spoke to the Israelites.

So what do we learn from this?

The Lord was the one who brought them into the promised land, and He did so after they had become complete.

The Lord is the one who brings us into heaven, and He does so “after” we are complete.

I use quotation marks because “after” is a bit relative. There are many aspects of heaven that we already get to enjoy: family relationships, peace, freedom from past sins, and many more. In some ways, the Lord has already allowed me into heaven. I know that those blessings are a direct result of His atonement, and yet, He still wants me to walk towards completion. It is only when we have become complete, that we can truly enjoy heaven.

For example, in my imperfection, I am still working on fully appreciating the most important things in order to bring more heaven into my life. Because of my insistence on completing tasks, I often prioritize my to-do lists over my relationship with my kids. It is very difficult for me to set aside these tasks that I make monumentally important in my life, and my ability to feel heaven suffers. I inadvertently start to view my kids as obstacles rather than the treasures that they are, and my happiness lessens because of it. I get irritable and don’t treat them as good as they deserve, or I simply don’t go out and be with them.

Becoming complete isn’t about never losing my temper again, though that’s a nice side effect. Becoming complete is about spiritually maturing. It means taking a step back often enough that I change. I change to value my kids the way that Heavenly Father values me, and as I do that, I find more happiness than I could ever find within my completed tasks. It means that I become the kind of person who no longer feels a need to yell; it’s much better than trying the perfectionist route.

As I walk towards completeness, I gain more and more access to the promised land. This is not because I’m taking a hammer to the walls. I just work towards spiritual maturity, and the Savior is the one who actually delivers the promised land. He is the only one who can offer the promised land. We can’t get it ourselves; it has to be given to us. And yet, the Lord still asks us to walk towards completeness. He does this because it’s no use being in the promised land if we’re all keeping ourselves from being happy through our own values and choices.

The Lord asks us to keep His commandments and change towards completeness, but keeping His commandments doesn’t earn heaven. It enables us to appreciate the heaven that He is delivering to us.

The Old Testament is cool. The scriptures are cool. The Lord knows exactly what He’s doing as He tries to teach us about the reality of the Plan of Salvation. The more I study the scriptures, the more I see that He knows what He’s doing.

I testify that the Lord knows us. I testify that He is the One who delivers heaven through His sacrifice. He gives it to us. It’s a gift. He simultaneously pushes us and gives us commandments because He knows our growth is essential for our happiness. We can’t enjoy His gift unless we become like Him. I’m grateful for His sacrifice, His commandments, and His support every step of this process. I’m grateful He loves me enough to work this hard for my joy and benefit.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Joshua 1–8; 23–24 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

The Promised Land You Can’t Enter Yetby Autumn Dickson

In the chapters this week, Moses is led to the top of a mountain where he is shown the promised land.

Deuteronomy 34: 1, 4

1 And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the Lord shewed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan…

4 And the Lord said unto him, This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither.

Interestingly enough, despite the fact that the Lord led him there to show him the promised land, Moses wasn’t allowed to go into the promised land because of prior disobedience. He had led the Israelites out of Egypt and across the wilderness. It had not been easy. At one point, Moses had even asked the Lord to kill him rather than deal with the Israelites anymore. Moses suffered plenty of hardship, and he learned many great and important lessons.

But despite this, Moses was still not allowed to step foot in the promised land. The Lord held true to Moses’ consequences for disobedience. According to modern revelation, Moses was translated and taken up to the Lord before the Israelites entered the homeland that was meant for them.

Details are always key. One of the details this week is the fact that Moses was taken up into a mountain where he could overlook the promised land that he couldn’t enter. Mountains in scripture are often compared to temples. Holy things often take place on the tops of mountains, and the Lord gives knowledge and power to some of His children in the tops of mountains. Hold that thought.

I wonder how he felt looking over the lands that were meant to be the inheritance of the Israelites. Did it hurt him that he would not be joining them or had he come to terms with the consequences that had been laid out for his disobedience? Did it hurt to see what had been meant to be his inheritance? Did it hurt to see the promises of the Lord that he would not be receiving?

Whether it hurt or not, I can assure you that it no longer hurts Moses. He was translated, and he ended up in a different promised land than he had pictured or seen on the top of that mountain. It was a better promised land. Yes, Moses is just fine.

I have found a surprising pattern in my life. I have multiple friends who dislike the temple, not because they don’t agree with what happens there, but because they can’t see the promises of the Lord being fulfilled for them. I have friends who have faced infidelity or family members who don’t want to participate in ordinances in the the temple. Going to the temple and hearing the promises that were meant to be theirs doesn’t feel particularly good. It is painful to hear about it and desire it deeply and not have current access to it.

I fully recognize that I have not been in their shoes, nor do I understand what it’s like to feel barred from those promises. Even as I share my testimony of these things, I fully own that I dont understand what it’s like to have to come to terms with feelings like that.

But sometimes objectivity is precisely what is needed. Strong emotions can be so overwhelming that it’s difficult to see the end from the beginning.

So let me testify of the end.

Moses did not enter into that promised land here. He could see it. He was so close, but it was something that wasn’t available to him.

I promise you that he’s okay. More than that, I promise that he is far more than okay. The Lord has taken care of Moses beautifully.

There are two specific promises I want to testify of if you are facing the same problem as Moses or my friends. If you feel that there is no happy ending in sight, these are the promises I want you to hold to.

Promise one. There is a promised land available for you even if it feels like mortality is barring you from in it one form or another. Mortality is not strong enough to keep you from your Savior’s ability to give you a joyful existence. He is mighty to save. He can take care of you. You are not actually barred from those promises.

And in all honesty, you don’t even have to wait to step foot in the promised land.

Moses’ disobedience was what kept him from the promised land, and even his own disobedience didn’t ultimately keep him from eternal joy. If you feel innocently barred, then Satan is lying to you. Christ can offer peace and comfort right now. You can go to the temple and listen to the promises and cling to them. Find comfort in them. You don’t have to know the how in order for those promises to take affect in your life. Those promises ARE for you even if you don’t know exactly how they will look.

And if you don’t feel strong enough to cling to those promises, He has the power to bring peace even when it’s illogical. You can go to the temple and call upon the blessings He promised you there. You can tell Him, “I’m here. I came like You asked. Can you help me feel peace?” And then allow Him to offer peace. Allow Him to comfort you.

Unfortunately, sometimes promises of joy feel empty without our loved ones who refuse their own promises.

Which brings me to promise two. The Lord can take care of those around us, just as He can take care of you.

Elder Orson F. Whitney, an apostle, taught this:

The Prophet Joseph Smith declared—and he never taught a more comforting doctrine—that the eternal sealings of faithful parents and the divine promises made to them for valiant service in the Cause of Truth, would save not only themselves, but likewise their posterity. Though some of the sheep may wander, the eye of the Shepherd is upon them, and sooner or later they will feel the tentacles of Divine Providence reaching out after them and drawing them back to the fold. Either in this life or the life to come, they will return.

I don’t believe the sealing power only applies to children. There is a reason we all get sealed together; I believe this likewise applies to spouses who have chosen to stray. The Lord has a plan for everyone who ever lived upon the earth to be sealed together. That sealing power is so strong.

And in the meantime, He will sorrow with you. He knows what it’s like to watch loved ones stray. He cannot force them to come back, but He knows how to succor you in your pain. He knows exactly how you feel, probably even stronger because His love is deeper. Take comfort in the fact that He has found eternal joy and hope. You can too.

Looking at the promised land doesn’t have to feel painful. I testify that if Moses had seen what was coming for him, any sting from being barred from the promised land would have been soothed. It would have had no power because Moses knew what the Lord had in store for him. We can be like Moses. If you could see the end, it would take away much of the sting for you as well.

I testify that as we consciously strive to strengthen our testimonies of His promises, we find the balm He promised us now, not just in the next life. I testify that the Savior can deliver on His promises of eternal joy. I testify that the ending is beautiful. I testify that He knows how to reach our loved ones, and we can trust Him with them.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Deuteronomy 6–8; 15; 18; 29–30; 34 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Why Moses Never Entered the Promised Landby Autumn Dickson

Moses was not allowed to go into the promised land with the rest of the Israelites. He wandered in the desert with them for 40 years, saw the promised land from a mountaintop, and returned to God before he could step foot into that land.

Deuteronomy 34:4 And the Lord said unto him, This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither.

The event that caused Moses to be barred from the promised land came at a time when the Israelites needed water. At one point in their sojourn, Moses was commanded to smite a rock in order to provide water for the Israelites, and it worked. At another time, Moses was commanded to speak to the rock in order to provide water. Instead, Moses hit it again. Because of this, the Lord told Moses that he would not step foot in the promised land.

And the Lord was true to His word. Moses never did enter the promised land that he had led the Israelites to. Despite the miracles and work and lessons that Moses had in his life as he led the Israelites out of Egypt and through the wilderness, Moses didn’t get to help them take those last steps into the promised land.

Seems a bit harsh for those of us who are also not exactly obedient. Everything that Moses contributed was not enough to earn him entrance into the promised land.

Despite its seeming cruelty, this consequence handed down by the Lord is not harsh. It’s true to life and important to understand. There are two portions that we need to understand in relation to Moses being barred from the promised land.

1) When we are not exactly obedient, it can bring lifelong consequences.

It was such a small thing. Moses hit the rock instead of speaking to it. He was supposed to hit the rock the first time. Was it really such a big deal that he hit it a second time? I wonder how Moses came to accept this punishment handed down by the Lord. Perhaps Moses accepted his punishment meekly and perfectly, but I’m going to show you a couple of potential responses from Moses that might reflect how we sometimes receive our own consequences.

“It was such a small thing. Why am I being punished so severely? I’ve done so much good. Isn’t that enough for the Lord?”

“I have to live with this the rest of my life. Every step I take towards the promised land is a reminder that I can’t ever go in. It’s too much to bear.”

“Why am I even walking towards the promised land if I can’t go in? Why can’t someone else lead them? What’s the point of me wandering for forty years if I can’t ever step foot in there?”

Sometimes the consequences of our disobedience seem too much to bear, but the fact remains that the Lord warned us. He doesn’t control us, and honestly, we would likely rail against Him if He tried. People rail against Him even when He merely tells them to stay away from certain behaviors and actions. He doesn’t want to control us, and we don’t want Him to control us, not really. So He warns us, and then He leaves us to decide whether we want to risk it.

No amount of service to the Lord is going to erase a DUI that hurt you, another passenger, or someone in the other car. Even if you’re doing everything right, pausing to look at pornography has the power to destroy your marriage or your happiness in marriage. Breaking the Law of Chastity just once can carry disease or bring a baby into the world who deserves two parents. None of these are things that you can’t overcome, and yet, these consequences follow you even when you continue walking towards the promised land. All of these little commandments handed to us by the Lord are meant to protect us because they carry potential consequences that will follow us for life.

This isn’t meant to shame; it’s meant to warn. You can choose what you want, and perhaps you’ll be one of the lucky ones. But don’t rail against the Lord if you end up with consequences that you have to carry with you until you die. He tried to warn you. He tried to help you set up a life that would be healthy and full of joy. He gave commandments for a reason.

Now here is my second point, and it is every bit as important as the first point.

2) Moses went to heaven even though he didn’t go to the promised land.

The Lord forbade Moses from entering the promised land, and that consequence followed him throughout his journeys in the wilderness.

BUT.

According to modern revelation, Moses was translated, so I’m not really worried about him. Maybe it hurt while he was alive. Maybe he carried that disappointment throughout his journeys. Maybe it hurt even as he stood on that mountaintop and the Lord showed him where the people were going without him.

But it’s not hurting anymore.

Moses is just fine. He carried those consequences; that’s an important part of life. Even despite our best efforts, most of us will carry consequences for life. We will have things we wish we had never done. We will have things we terribly regret that come back to haunt us occasionally.

But it’s worth continuing our walk towards the promised land even while carrying those consequences that are teaching us powerful lessons.

Because even if we don’t get to walk into the promised land here, there is one waiting for us on the other side. That’s the beauty of the atonement of Jesus Christ. The consequences are important for lessons, but lessons don’t have to be carried forever. Christ paid for it. We get to leave them behind and receive the fullness of the Lord if we keep walking towards the promised land.

I testify that the Lord tries to warn us and prevent us from carrying around things that hurt. I testify that even when we do it anyway, those consequences are gifts that teach us to rise to another level. I testify that we don’t have to carry those consequences forever, that Christ paid for them and we still get to go to the promised land even if it’s not the promised land we originally had in mind. I testify that Christ has something better in mind than we had for ourselves.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Deuteronomy 6–8; 15; 18; 29–30; 34 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

How to Complain to the Lordby Autumn Dickson

In Numbers 11, we read about the Israelites getting sick of their miracle, namely the manna in the wilderness which fed them. They remembered all the good food they used to eat in Egypt, and they were mad about eating the same thing for every meal.

Numbers 11:10 Then Moses heard the people weep throughout their families, every man in the door of his tent: and the anger of the Lord was kindled greatly; Moses also was displeased.

Moses gets so sick of the Israelites complaining that he asks the Lord to kill him rather than having to deal with them anymore (same, Moses, same). The Lord responds by sending too much meat until they get sick of it.

I want to share my own story, and then I’ll bring it back to the Israelites.

My daughter was baptized in December. It was beautiful. A lot of my family was in town for the wedding and so they got to be there which was magical for me; it also actually complicated things.

The week before the baptism and wedding, the stomach flu went through our house. I rejoiced that we got over it in time for my family to come into town because I don’t get to see my family that often, and I adore being around my family. Unfortunately, the day before the baptism, one of my babies started throwing up again.

I was actually rather devastated. I hadn’t realized how much excitement I had placed on being with my family and having everyone with us for this huge step in my daughter’s life until it was potentially getting taken away from me. I pleaded with the Lord for it to be a fluke, that she would just throw up once and go a full 24 hours without throwing up again before the baptism. Unfortunately, this miracle was not to be. She threw up again the morning of the baptism.

I texted the family and warned them all that I was still going to my daughter’s baptism and that the baby would be there because I had no one else to watch her. I told them I understood if anyone was too afraid to come because everyone was traveling for Christmas (some on international flights), and there were some pregnant women and other little children. We had some immunocompromised family members. There were many reasons to stay away.

And then I knelt down. I told the Lord that I accepted what He chose to give and withhold, and I worked really hard to feel that acceptance and not just offer lip service. Heaven knows lip service wasn’t going to make me feel any better.

And you know what? He blessed me for it. He opened my eyes to see the fact that I was blessed for having a family that I wanted to be around. Not everyone has that. He helped me see that I have an eternity of Christmases to be with family and celebrate. And most importantly, He helped me see that my daughter’s baptism wasn’t just about that single day. It was about the fact that she was binding herself to her Savior forever. In fact, because of her baptism, I would be able to be with her and the rest of my family for eternity. It was definitely a moment to celebrate. Regardless of the circumstances surrounding it, it would be one of the greatest blessings of her life.

Now, my family all came anyway, as did my husband’s family who live closer to us. It was perfect and chock full of the spirit and a surprising amount of fun.

BUT. If my family had chosen to stay away that day, I would have understood. There were plenty of reasons to bail. I would have been terribly disappointed and sad, but it would have likewise been tempered by the Savior’s soft reminders.

I’ve gotten frustrated with the Lord often enough in my life that I’ve realized it’s fruitless. There have been times when I’ve been filled with anger or sadness or betrayal and turned to the Lord in my immense overwhelm; He has responded by giving me a clearer perspective and teaching me that I can trust Him.

So after a million and one experiences with the Lord and His wisdom, I was able to approach Him with a lot more faith this time. Rather than getting angry with the Lord for not preventing the problem, I approached Him with meekness. As with all things in the Lord, I was the one who was blessed.

We don’t approach the Lord with meekness to placate His ego. We don’t approach the Lord with meekness to try and get Him to change His mind. We approach Him with meekness because it blesses US. It allows Him to show us the reality of our situation.

The reality of our situation is this: even in the midst of fast and direct trials like Egypt or in the long and arduous and uncomfortable trials of a journey through the wilderness, we have already won! We actually have every reason to be grateful and when we commit to meekness, we have the Lord to help us remember that.

Important sidenote: I have learned that meekness can coexist with many different emotions. We often picture a humble, quiet servant who doesn’t talk back or ever complain, but I don’t think that’s the only way to be meek.

Even in the midst of anger or frustration or exasperation or devastation or annoyance, we can simultaneously say, “I know Thee, Lord. I know I am in Thy hands, and I know that Thou art doing what’s best for me.” You don’t have to turn down your emotions in order to successfully approach the Lord. Just simultaneously bring your knowledge that the Lord is watching out for you. Better yet, take those big emotions to the Lord and ask Him to help you see more clearly so that it’s not difficult to be meek.

When I approached Him in prayer about seeing my family while they were in town, I was bawling. I’ve definitely approached Him and carried my anger with me. We don’t have to seem all pious and restrained. We can simply cling to our testimony that the Lord loves us and wants what’s best for us.

The truth is, the Lord is often going to do what He’s going to do anyway. If the Israelites had simply approached Moses (or approached the Lord, directly) and asked for some dietary variety, maybe the Lord would have sent the right amount of quail rather than sending a difficult lesson alongside it. However, the blessing of meekness is that regardless of what the Lord chose to send, the Israelites could have been happy.

We came here to struggle. He can’t take that away without simultaneously robbing us of the purpose of the Plan of Salvation (growth), and meekness softens that struggle enough that we can see it more clearly. It enables us to see around it and rejoice anyway.

I testify that the Lord has your best interest at heart. I testify that He loves you. I testify that meekness over complaining is a gift that blesses us. It honors Him with the deference He deserves, but even our meekness before Him gives back to us. I testify that trials are gifts, and that the Lord provides.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Numbers 11–14; 20–24; 27 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

The Spy Report That Cost 40 Yearsby Autumn Dickson

The Israelites are wandering in the wilderness before they’re led to the promised land. They’re having experiences with God and learning difficult lessons. They’re being provided for even if it’s not everything they had in mind. They have had experiences of faith as well as experiences where they betrayed the witnesses they had received. Let’s talk about one of the times they were rebellious and unfaithful.

In Numbers 13, Moses sends twelve spies (one from each tribe) into Canaan. Depending on where you read in the bible (see Deuteronomy 1), the timelines differ slightly. One suggests the people wanted to spy; one suggests the Lord recommended it. Either way, the church seems to emphasize the Lord’s approval of the mission.

The spies come back with the following report.

Numbers 13:27

27 And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.

They then warned of the city’s defenses. Caleb encouraged the people to have faith, but ten of the other spies continued on with their report.

Numbers 13:31-33

31 But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.

32 And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature.

33 And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.

It’s important to understand that Canaan was the promised land. It is eventually (mostly) conquered by the Israelites and divided out amongst the tribes. The Lord had led them through this entire experience from slavery to the edge of the land of promise, only for them to believe they wouldn’t be able to take the land.

So what does this teach us?

Your promised land is available. I’m not simply talking about the mansion being built for you on the other side. I’m talking about all the most important aspects of the promised land. Peace, contentment, joy, healthy relationships, all of these things are available to you. These are all crucial parts of our salvation and eternity. Sure, eternity also includes all of our needs being met and perfect bodies, but some of the most important portions of the promised land are available to us right now.

So what kept the Israelites from inheriting the promised land sooner?

A lack of faith.

What keeps us from inheriting the portions of promised land that are available to us on this side of the veil?

A lack of faith.

That’s it. That’s the first step on this journey towards your promised land. The Israelites didn’t need military might or impeccable strategy. They needed faith. You don’t need all of the things you think you need. You just need to trust the Lord.

It’s enough for you to see the land flowing with milk and honey and say, “The Lord meant for me to have that.” Sometimes it’s hard to feel that way when you see what you’re up against; namely, all of your own flaws and mistakes and imperfections. The Israelites certainly didn’t feel capable. However, you’re not conquering the land for yourself; you’re showing up for the Lord to conquer it for you.

So how do we do better than the Israelites so it doesn’t take us forty years to figure out how to be in the promised land?

Well if our problem is a lack of faith, maybe we should look at increasing faith. Here is one recommendation from Bednar on how to do that.

The enabling power of the Atonement is accessed by faith in Jesus Christ. And that faith is strengthened as we remember and acknowledge the hand of the Lord in our lives.

Remembering and acknowledging the Lord → Faith → Enabling power of the atonement of Jesus Christ steps in and gets us where we need to go

Would the Israelites have felt differently if all the spies had come back and started with a list of the ways the Lord had provided for them from the time they were in slavery? If they had started off with the miraculous infant survival of Moses to the steps right outside the promised land, it would have been a long list. There were many times that the Israelites didn’t even lift a finger for their own freedom and survival; the Lord took it completely on Himself. And that’s just the list of the society as a whole. How many personal miracles did the Israelites experience from family to family?

Would it have changed how the Israelites approached this experience? I’m not sure, but I know it’s changed how I approach my own life.

I think that’s partially why my prayers have been so powerful in my life, specifically the gratitude. When I’m facing a situation of uncertainty or tragedy, I pray. There are so many wonderful ways to pray and draw closer to the Lord, but one of the most powerful ways I’ve found is to start with true gratitude (even when it’s mixed with sorrow or fear or anger). When I’m struggling, I don’t list nice things that happened throughout the day. I consciously think of similar situations in the past where the Lord has shown up for me.

By the end of the prayer, I often find myself in some version of the promised land, even if the obstacle wasn’t removed.

I testify that the Lord has saved you many times before this, and He will continue to save you in the future. He will continue to teach you the lessons He needs to teach you until you’re ready to step into that promised land He has offered each of us despite mortal circumstances. I testify that if we take the time to record these miracles and tender mercies, it makes our faith powerful.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Numbers 11–14; 20–24; 27 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Repenting of Unintentional Sinby Autumn Dickson

In my last post, we talked about Yom Kippur, the day of atonement. As a quick review in case you missed the last post, this day was a solemn event with an undercurrent of joy. The main ritual of the day included two identical male goats. One goat would be sacrificed with its blood spread on the Holy of Holies and its fat burned on the altar. The priest would lay his hands on the second goat, pronounce the intentional and unintentional sins of Israel upon it, and then send the goat out into the wilderness. The first goat represented the payment of Israel’s sins. The second goat represented the guilt being taken away from them.

The detail that I want to explore from this ritual is when the priest symbolically transferred the sins of Israel onto the second goat. There are parallels to Christ in all of these steps and details, but that’s the one I want to talk about today. Here’s the verse that teaches us about this.

Leviticus 16:21-22

21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:

22 And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.

Implication one from this detail: It is important to repent of unintentional sin. It is good for us. It makes us happier.

I think of when my oldest daughter finally lashes out at my son when he’s being purposefully obnoxious. My son often tortures his sisters repeatedly, not hurting them or saying directly mean things, but pushing their buttons until they explode on him. My daughter will hold out as long as she can until she finally explodes in a violent reaction.

The violent reaction is more jarring than the relentless teasing, but whose heart is actually sinning (Yes, I recognize that both my kids are young and one isn’t even accountable yet. This is about the principle, not the specific details)? My son is the one truly trying to make his sister batty; that’s his entire purpose. My daughter never set out to bug or hurt him; she simply has the emotional control of an eight year old.

And yet, she still needs to repent. She doesn’t need to repent because she’s evil and horrible and cursed. She needs to repent because it’s going to make her happier. Repenting isn’t just about atoning for what you’ve done; it’s about changing so you’re protected, close to Christ, and happier. In this specific example, my long-term goal for her repentance is to get to the point where her brother doesn’t affect her. She just goes on in her life, unbothered by people who are purposefully trying to make her life harder. That’s part of happiness, and therefore, repenting is a gift.

Obviously, I need to help my son change too, but my principle here is about repenting of unintentional sins, not intentional ones.

I used an example of violence, and I specifically used an example where she made a mistake because she’s flawed like the rest of us. It’s easy to see how violence needs to be repented of. However, these same principles apply when we’re trying to do what’s right but not worshiping how the Savior would have us worship.

We talked about this recently with the golden calf incident. Maybe Israel wasn’t trying to worship a different deity. Perhaps they had just created an idol in hopes of worshiping the God who had just delivered them. Perhaps their hearts were trying to do what’s right but were misguided.

Even if their hearts were in a good place, repentance of unintentional sin is important. Heavenly Father gives commandments to help us be good people, but He also gives us commandments to protect us from becoming bad. Seems like a silly nuance but let me elaborate. Israel could have very quickly devolved into worshiping the calf rather than the Lord even if their intention had been to worship the Lord in the beginning. They needed to repent because the Lord wanted to protect them.

So even if the Israelites had unintentionally sinned (and I emphasize if since we don’t know precisely where their hearts were), they still needed to repent! They still needed to repent of unintentional sins so they could remain close to the Lord where they would be happy.

So quick recap so we can understand where we’re going: The detail we’re covering is that the priest symbolically transferred the unintentional and intentional sins of Israel up on the goat that would be released into the wilderness.

Implication two from this detail: We’re trying to change our sinful nature, not just listing off individual sins and saying sorry. Ultimate repentance is about changing to be like God, not racking up individual points that tip the scales and put us in the Celestial Kingdom.

When I write my posts, I often use AI to help me get my details straight. I don’t use it to actually write my content in case anyone was wondering, but I do use it to make sure I’m understanding timelines and facts. For example, I asked it to give me a play-by-play of the ritual so I wouldn’t accidentally ruin one of the details.

I turned to AI as I was writing this early in the morning and asked, “Did the Israelites write down their sins and give it to the priest to transfer over to the goat?” It was only after hitting “enter,” that I realized how ridiculous that question was. I blamed the early morning and brain fog.

Anyway, AI responded by saying that no one gave the priest a long list of the sins they committed over the past year. First of all, that’s terribly impractical. It’s impractical (and unhealthy) to keep a list of all your sins, and it’s impractical to list each sin of each individual for the entire society for the entire year. Second of all, a majority of them were illiterate. Like I said, I blame the early morning for my ridiculous question, but I’m actually grateful that I asked it because it led me to a beautiful implication.

Because of my question, I more consciously realized that the Israelites weren’t listing individual sins. It’s not about repenting of individual sins and trying to garner points that put us in the Celestial Kingdom. It’s about changing our nature to goodness. The priest didn’t transfer each individual sin onto the goat for it to run out into the wilderness; the priest merely acknowledged the sinful nature for the year. Perhaps this seems cheap; it’s so easy to go to Heavenly Father and be like, “I sinned a lot last year. Forgive me please.” However, religious rituals are only as cheap as you make them.

This ritual wasn’t about reliving every mistake and rebellion. This ritual wasn’t about rehashing everything you did wrong. This ritual was about recognizing that you can’t make it to heaven on your own. It’s about fully understanding how lost you are without Christ and rejoicing as you watch that goat be taken away. It’s about wanting to change into a new creature, one who is worthy and joyful, a person who can live in heaven and contribute to the atmosphere there and appreciate the atmosphere there.

I testify that the Lord was sacrificed for our sins. I testify that He gave us an opportunity to remember that each week with the sacrament. Like with Yom Kippur, we have an opportunity to repent of unintentional and intentional sins so that we can be happier. We have an opportunity to sit with our reality as mortals who live in a fallen world who rely wholly on the merits of Christ and to rejoice that He is willing to carry us.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Exodus 35–40; Leviticus 1; 4; 16; 19 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Still Holding On To Guilt?by Autumn Dickson

This week we’re learning about the sacrifices and rituals of the Israelites in the wilderness. They had a temple that would go with them as they travelled, and there was immense symbolism all throughout this temple. Much of this symbolism was meant to draw the attention of the Israelites towards the atonement of Jesus Christ. It was called a sacrifice, but it was actually a blessing.

One of the detailed rituals that we get to read about occurs on Yom Kippur, or Day of Atonement. The central ritual on this day involved two identical male goats, both had to be perfectly healthy. Here are some of the details of that ritual.

Leviticus 16:7-8

7 And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

8 And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the Lord, and the other lot for the scapegoat.

So the priest would cast lots to see which goat would take which role. The first goat would be killed, and its blood would be collected in a basin. The high priest would take that blood into the Holy of Holies and sprinkle it upward once and downward seven times. The fat would be burned, and the rest of the goat would be taken outside the camp and burned.

This symbolized the payment of Israel’s sins.

The second goat was the scapegoat. The high priest would lay both hands on the goat and confess all of the intentional and unintentional sins of Israel upon the head of the goat. Essentially, the priest was symbolically transferring the guilt to the goat. A designated man would lead the goat into the remote wilderness and release it.

This symbolized the guilt being removed from the Israelites.

I love that they are separate processes. There are so many layers of symbolism, but one of the layers is something I talk about often:

Christ already paid for the sins; what do we do with this knowledge?

Think about the power of that second goat when it was taken as it was meant to be taken. Imagine being an Israelite and watching these rituals take place. You watch the ritual with the understanding that the Son of God would be sacrificed to pay for your sins, and then you watch another ritual in which your guilt runs off into the wilderness.

I think one of the issues that we have in modern times is believing that the atonement of Jesus Christ occurred but holding on to our own sins anyway. It would be like having an understanding that the Son of God was sacrificed, watching the scapegoat be taken away, and still going home to reflect and beat yourself up over your own sins. The sacrifice of the first goat doesn’t matter if you refuse to let go of the second goat. The fact that the second goat is now out in the wilderness didn’t matter. You have to internalize both parts to receive joy.

The atonement of Jesus Christ was incredible in and of itself. The act of love was immense and singular. Everything hinged on this sacrifice performed by Christ. But Christ didn’t perform the sacrifice just to perform the sacrifice. The atonement of Jesus Christ enabled the Father to remain perfect with His promises, but it was meant for even more than that incredible purpose. It was meant to make us joyful. The atonement of Jesus Christ remains an independent fact of reality, but what we do with that knowledge determines whether it fills the fullness of its purpose in our lives.

If Yom Kippur had only included the first goat, the Israelites could have learned about Christ and His atonement. They could have rejoiced that He paid for their sins, and they could have garnered hope from this sacrifice. But I love that it included the second goat, the scapegoat, because it highlights our need to utilize the atonement of Jesus Christ in our lives.

It’s not enough that He performed it; we have to bring that knowledge into our bones so that it changes us in a way that we are joyful. We have to send our guilt away from us. We have to put the weight down. It’s a conscious, voluntary choice.

I think many of us hope the guilt will simply be taken away from us, or at least that’s what I used to think. I believed that if I was truly forgiven, I just wouldn’t feel guilty anymore. The Lord would remove it for me. Interestingly enough, that’s not how it usually works. The Lord is too wise to vanish our guilt away from us.

The process of repentance wouldn’t be nearly as effective in this way. If the Lord simply took away the guilt because it was paid for, we would learn nothing and we certainly wouldn’t attach that redemption to the Son of God. We would just wake up in the morning and not feel guilty anymore. We might not even register the fact that the guilt was gone or we could unconsciously start to believe, “I can do what I want, and I don’t feel bad about it. Maybe it’s not even bad.” There were many times that I wanted the Lord to take the guilt away. I didn’t want to carry it with me and I asked the Lord to take it away, but He was wise enough to wait for me to trust Him enough to set it down on my own.

He waited for me to consciously say, “Christ promised that He took care of this. He promised that He’s strong enough to save me. I’m going to voluntarily step onto that trust and send my guilt away.” This is the most powerful way to repent. It pushes us to recognize the source of our renewed cleanliness as well as the fact that what we did was wrong. Having consequences (including guilt) magically dissipate is unhealthy for our desire to do better.

So the Lord paid for it, and then He waits for us to learn to trust Him so that we send the guilt away of our own accord.

That’s not to say Christ isn’t present for every step of this process. He paid for the sins, and He didn’t abandon me when I asked Him to take the guilt away. He just helped in a different way than making the guilt dissipate. The Israelites didn’t have to individually lead their own scapegoat into the wilderness. There was still a representative who did that for them. The key here is that it needed to mean something to them. They had to trust that their representative would take care of it, and it would truly be gone.

I’m grateful for a Savior who paid for my sins. I’m grateful that He was patient as I learned to trust Him rather than removing the very difficulties that helped me recognize my reality and love Him for it. I’m grateful that I’ve learned to set my sins and mistakes and embarrassments down; the Savior truly is mighty to save. That knowledge gives me hope in every situation I remember Him in.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Exodus 35–40; Leviticus 1; 4; 16; 19 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

The Idols We Don’t Call Idolsby Autumn Dickson

The Israelites were delivered by incredible miracles. The plagues were immense in and of themselves, but the parting of the Red sea was next level. The Lord had freed the Israelites through marvelous power, just as He promised.

A short time later, the people find themselves in the wilderness. Moses is lingering up on the mountain away from everyone, and the Israelites have gotten antsy. They convince Aaron to make them an idol to worship. Aaron tells them to bring their earrings, he melts them down, and makes a golden calf.

Exodus 32:4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

I grew up thinking these people were ridiculous. You just saw the sea part, and you forgot that fast? How could you be so blind? Why would you follow after another deity?

As I got a bit older, I remembered that they had just been slaves. Despite the miracles, I assume they were still very young in the doctrine of Christ. How much were they taught in the midst of everything else Moses was trying to take care of in freeing them?

Maybe I’m late to the party, but as I read the verses this time, I started to wonder if they really followed after another god at all. There was an Egyptian god that was represented by a cow, but ancient Near Eastern studies also explain a connection between bulls and calves and mounts and thrones for deity. Maybe they were just trying to build a physical representation of their God to carry with them.

In the verse we read, we even see that Aaron tells Israel, “This is the god who brought you out of Egypt.”

Perhaps they weren’t worshipping a different god at all. Perhaps their worship was merely corrupted. Maybe that’s why Aaron didn’t put a stop to it. Maybe he thought it was fine because he thought it was one way to worship the true God. Maybe he thought it was great that they were sacrificing their gold and trying to worship the God who had delivered them.

Obviously we don’t know. There aren’t enough details. However, there are principles we can learn about the gospel from studying it from either angle. Today, I’m going to speak as if this angle (corrupted worship over following after a different god) is the true angle, simply so we can explore it more effectively. However, before I begin, I completely concede that we don’t know for sure whether this is the truth of the account. Fortunately, whether I have the story’s details correct isn’t completely relevant. What’s important is that the principles I want to talk about are correct.

So that’s what we’re going to talk about. Maybe the Israelites were hoping for a symbol of Christ, not a separate idol to worship. Plot twist. When we don’t worship how the Savior prescribes (like building a golden calf), we run into danger of turning that symbol into an idol. I guess we’re talking about corrupted worship and worshiping idols.

Now, following another god is crazy after everything the Israelites experienced; worshiping in a corrupted manner is more understandable. However! Despite it being more understandable, it is still dangerous and needs to be corrected and prevented regardless of whether their hearts were in the right place. Sometimes the world looks at sin and gives a pass when your heart is in the right place. We can be understanding of a good heart and still make the correction; it is loving to make the correction.

When I was around 10 years old, I remember my mom walking into my room when I was saying my nightly prayers. I had a picture of Christ sitting in front of me while I prayed because I wanted it to help me remember Him. It made my mother a little bit uncomfortable (at least that’s how I remember it when I was 10), and she told me it wasn’t a great idea. The practice stopped that night.

Some would call this silly. Why not let a child put a picture in front of them to help them focus on Christ? I understand the sentiment. Having something in front of you to focus your thoughts and help you be reverent so you can focus on Christ can be a good thing.

But there’s another side to that coin too. It could be fine. I could have kept the picture of Christ and never run into dangerous ground. I don’t think I would have worshiped the picture, but let’s talk about a couple of perspectives I might have adopted had the practice continued.

I could have gotten to the point where I didn’t feel like I could pray without the picture there. I could have gotten ultra-protective of the picture. I could have wanted to carry the picture with me to make me feel safe even though I was perfectly safe without it. I could have attributed more power to the picture than the picture held. I could have given it power over me even though it had no power innately.

Even if I didn’t consider the picture my “god,” it still could have affected my life. And in perfect honesty, that’s how most idols work these days. People don’t call their priority their god; they don’t consider themselves worshiping idols. They just give all their time and energy and resources to something, hoping it will bring them deeper happiness than it is capable of giving.

We are worshiping incorrectly when we attribute power to things that don’t have power. We are worshiping incorrectly when we give things power over our lives and place all of our hopes for happiness on those things. Even if we don’t call them “gods,” we’re still worshiping wrong and hurting ourselves.

People do stuff like this all the time. Superstition is rampant in our world. It’s easy to start giving things power when they hold no power. Maybe I would have never been so silly as to give the picture any power, but I’m not totally sure. Let’s look at another example.

I got plenty superstitious as I played tennis through high school. I went through the same routine between each point, worried that if I changed it, I might lose. Plot twist 2. I lost a lot of the time anyway. And yet there I was, making sure I always did the short handshake with my partner in between points. I made sure I bounced the ball three times before serving, and then I would start over if I messed something up. I literally remember messing up my rhythm in between points and feeling cursed. I was convinced I had ruined the point before the point even began. Needless to say, I basically gave those points away.

The Israelites have just left Egypt behind where they were surrounded and ruled by people who worshipped things like the golden calf. It was dangerous to their spiritual health. Even if it was meant to represent Christ, it would have been very easy (as we see throughout the rest of the Old Testament) for them to turn it into their god instead. For example, when they run into problems, did they feel a need to go and talk to the calf or did they pray to God? If something happened and the calf was damaged, would they have cursed themselves by assuming they were cursed for hurting the golden calf?

I gave away points in tennis because I attributed more power to my routine than it actually held. What would the Israelites have given away because internally, they were giving more power to the golden calf than it actually held?

We worship how the Savior asks us to worship. That’s when we are at our most spiritually powerful. That’s when we are going to be led in the right direction concerning His character and decisions regarding us. That’s when we’re going to be able to get closer to the truth, and therefore, closer to happiness.

I testify that the Lord has revealed His own character and the way that He wants us to worship. I testify that He did this because He wants to protect us and keep us close to the truth of things. I testify that as we follow what He has given, we see reality more clearly and find deeper joy.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Exodus 19–20; 24; 31–34 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Jennifer Roach Lees holds a Master in Divinity as well as a Masters in Counseling Psychology. She is a licensed mental health therapist and lives in Utah.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Exodus 19–20; 24; 31–34 – Jennifer Roach Lees appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Why God Let the Israelites Worship the Golden Calfby Autumn Dickson

The infamous golden calf incident; that is one of the stories we read about this week. Moses is gone a long time speaking with the Lord. The people grow impatient and tell Aaron to build them a god. He took their earrings (the ones the Lord told them they could take out of Egypt), melted them down, and formed them into the calf.

Here is one of the details I noted this week that I didn’t recognize before.

Exodus 32:7 And the Lord said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves:

I have a feeling that the Lord knew when and why the people were making the golden calf. While He worked with Moses, He knew far ahead of time that they were going to make an idol for themselves. What I’m trying to imply is the fact that He could have purposefully sent Moses down earlier to prevent the entire debacle. It never needed to happen…or did it? I suppose that depends on how you define “need.”

The word “need” has more nuance than we think sometimes. I need the Savior in order to live with my Heavenly Father again; that is a defined, definite, unaltering need without any leeway. I also use that word in this way: I needed my parents to teach me and love me into a testimony of the Savior. Perhaps I could have found the Savior without them, but so much of what I have was given to me by my parents. I was given so much from them that I feel comfortable using the word “need.” There is a spectrum of the word “need.”

We need the Savior, and the Savior is also wise enough to understand that we need supports to help us find Him.

Did the Israelites need to go through this incident of worshipping a golden calf after being freed from Egypt? Perhaps they didn’t need it to the extent that they needed a Savior, but I’m comfortable with utilizing that word to describe their situation. They needed to have this experience outwardly so that they could be taught in a powerful way. They needed this experience so they could flesh it out of their hearts.

So the Lord could have prevented the sin altogether by simply sending Moses down. I’m sure the Lord would have had plenty of time to teach Moses at other opportunities, and they would have been able to surpass this debacle altogether.

But is that what Israel needed?

There are some principles here that we can apply to our own lives.

The first principle is the idea that the Lord is more concerned with us learning powerful lessons than being perfect.

I have noticed a trend among parents that they would do absolutely anything to prevent harm from coming to their child. The sentiment is great. Of course we don’t want our children to get hurt. However, sometimes the most powerful thing for our children is for them to face real consequences rather than constant protection.

Last summer, my son would often run off and jump on his dirt bike without a helmet or shoes. Despite the fact that I got onto him again and again and again and again, I couldn’t perfectly keep him protected. Even when I sent him out with shoes and a helmet, he would often leave them behind throughout the day and do what he wanted.

I could have taken the dirt bike away completely, and I did for periods of time. But it wasn’t working. He wasn’t learning.

At the same time, I felt inspired to pray that he would make mistakes and learn powerful lessons without killing himself or getting seriously injured. To be honest, I didn’t make the connection between my prayer and his bad safety habits ahead of time. This is why I know it was an inspired prayer.

One day I sent Warner outside to play with his sister before school. I told him explicitly to stay in the yard because I didn’t want to have to run off and find him and have him be late for school. Unfortunately, the dirt bikes are kept in a shed in the backyard. He jumped on one and put his sister on the back, and they left the yard and rode off.

Thirty seconds later, they were hit by a car. The car was moving very slowly, and she threw on her brakes and essentially tapped them over.

No broken bones. I don’t even think there was any real blood. There were some skinned knees and bruises, but they were totally fine.

Warner was also petrified. The cops came and checked everything out to make sure they were okay. I don’t know if he thought he was going to jail. I don’t know if he was feeling the gravity of what could have happened (as much as a five year old can feel). I do know that he wore his shoes and helmet willingly the rest of the summer. I still had to remind him occasionally, but he didn’t fight me on it like he had before.

The lesson he learned from living the consequences was far more powerful than any words I could have shared, and he started to voluntarily use his agency more wisely than he had previously. That’s the true goal. It’s not about perfection or complete and total safety; it’s about us learning how to use our agency wisely and on purpose so that we can live happy lives.

I’m grateful for the lesson my son learned that day. I’m grateful that the lesson wasn’t so severe as to permanently injure him or his sister.

Israel learned a hard lesson when Moses came back down from the mountain. They learned it very clearly. Would they have learned it in the same way if Moses had simply told them the Ten Commandments? The Lord could have prevented the entire problem, but He was wise enough to know that allowing the incident and imperfection to teach wisdom.

I’m grateful for the atonement of Jesus Christ which means that we can make these mistakes in a controlled environment where nothing has to permanently injure our spirit. Even when we make the mistake of creating idols out of the very things the Lord has given us, He doesn’t cast us aside. He purposefully allows us to make those mistakes so we can learn those powerful lessons, and then He pays for those mistakes. He is selfless in its truest sense. He just wants us to be happy, and I’m so grateful He paid for me to have these experiences.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Exodus 19–20; 24; 31–34 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Parted Waters, Messy Leadership, and Miraclesby Autumn Dickson

The story of Moses freeing the Israelites through the power of God is an incredible parable for the atonement of Jesus Christ. It’s probably the most important lesson we can pull from that story. However, it’s not the only story we can learn from it. There are other principles at work too. Let’s talk about one of them.

Within the story, we find Moses exhorting the people to have faith in God and His ability to deliver. We’ve come a long way from Moses being worried about talking to Pharaoh. After exhorting the people to believe and trust, he turns to the Lord. The Lord tells him to move forward, and there would be a miracle. Moses listens.

Exodus 14:21-22

21 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.

22 And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.

I want to zoom in on some of the people who were experiencing these events. I have no idea how the individual Israelites were truly reacting outwardly and in their hearts, but let’s talk about relatable hypotheticals.

I want you to imagine an Israelite who was particularly grumpy about being saved; let’s call him Joshua. Despite the fact that Joshua was saved, he was still a little peeved over the fact that there were so many problems along the way. Surely, the whole process of saving Israel could have been a lot smoother. Moses wasn’t very good at convincing Pharaoh to let the people go, and they ended up with a lot of extra work. He had to put blood on his doors which just seems unnecessary; why couldn’t God just save them if He was really so powerful? And then, of course, Joshua was one of the first to call Moses out when they noticed that the Egyptians were chasing after them to kill them in the wilderness.

What was Moses thinking bringing them out here? Sure, their lives weren’t fantastic, but at least they were alive. Why did Moses feel the need to go ruin it and why did everyone follow after him? If you’re going to save someone, you should do it right and actually save them. Not just do it halfway.

Joshua is legitimately worried about himself and his family and this supposed prophet who has led them into the wilderness to be slaughtered. Despite the real danger behind them, Moses has the gall to tell them to just have faith. Who does that? Moses is the reason they’re in danger, and his response is for them to trust him? Who does he think he is?

But then something changes. Moses starts walking towards the water, and miracle of miracles, the water parts for the Israelites to walk through.

Maybe there is something here. Maybe Moses has God behind him. So Joshua follows.

Unfortunately, this process isn’t necessarily smoother than the experiences with the plagues. The terrain left behind after the parted waters can be treacherous. Trying to get families safely through it is downright dangerous. It can be steep and rocky. It’s hard to tread through the sand. Couldn’t Moses have summoned a boat instead? Surely that would have been easier than parting the entire sea.

Not to mention, how do we know this miracle is going to hold? Joshua is pretty skeptical about this whole thing. Does he have the power to hold this long enough or are they all just going to end up drowning anyway? Conveniently for Moses, they don’t have a choice but to follow him anyway.

Now, I want you to imagine for a moment that Joshua slips and slides down the face of a rock. He becomes injured, and he is fed up. He is so over this. How can Moses be so reckless with the lives of people he apparently loves and wants to rescue?

Joshua is done. He’s turning back. He’s done putting his life at risk for this mortal man who is supposed to be saving them.

Seems a bit ridiculous, don’t you think?

And yet, don’t we see this all the time? The church hasn’t been perfect. The programs aren’t perfect. Leaders aren’t perfect. In fact, some people who were called into positions were downright evil and dangerous. Sometimes people have gotten hurt along the way because of those imperfections. Sometimes there has been true fear involved.

These are all true and legitimate statements.

But it’s also true that the Lord sent plagues and enabled the Israelites to walk out of Egypt. It’s also true that the Red Sea was parted.

The path was messy. There was difficulty and fear and devastation. There were also miracles beyond our wildest dreams and covenants with a Lord who has a land for our inheritance. There is a life beyond slavery. It’s not necessarily going to be an easy life, but it’s a life worth living. It’s worth growing and owning your decisions and having the freedom to build something for yourself. It’s worth the difficulty to get a front row seat for the miracles. It is worth leaving slavery for.

It is worth it to follow the prophet. Don’t miss the miracles of the priesthood structure and church and The Book of Mormon and the youth programs and welfare programs and the missionary programs. The church is doing miraculous things and changing lives. It’s giving people an opportunity to rise above previous circumstances. The prophet is being led by the Savior even if you think things should be done differently.

Maybe you don’t like the whole list of plagues you had to go through before the death of the firstborn. Maybe you don’t like the blood on the door.

Maybe the Lord is trying to teach you about His atonement.

Maybe you don’t like the difficult path you’ve had to walk within the church.

Maybe the Lord is trying to teach you about His atonement.

The story of the exodus from Egypt is a powerful parable for the atonement of Jesus Christ. It’s also an incredible example of why it’s important to follow the prophet even if things don’t go perfectly smoothly or even if you think that you could have done things better. The Lord has called a prophet, and He knows what He’s doing.

So you can stay in slavery or you can join the Lord in this journey where even the treacherous parts can contribute to a glorious you.

I testify that the Lord loves His children. I testify that He led Moses even when things weren’t going smoothly. I testify that following the prophet enabled the Israelites to be freed through the power of the Savior. I testify that the Lord is leading His church through a living prophet today. Perhaps that prophet hasn’t been led perfectly, but it would be ridiculous to miss out on the miracles because of the mistakes.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Exodus 14–18 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Doctrine & Covenants 1“Hearken, O Ye People”Joseph Smith—History 1:1–26“I Saw a Pillar of Light”Doctrine & Covenants 2; Joseph Smith—History 1:27–65“The Hearts of the Children Shall Turn to Their Fathers”

Doctrine & Covenants 3-5“My Work Shall Go Forth”Doctrine & Covenants 6-9“This Is the Spirit of Revelation”Doctrine & Covenants 10-11“That You May Come Off Conqueror”Doctrine & Covenants 12–13; Joseph Smith—History 1:66–75“Upon You My Fellow Servants”Doctrine & Covenants 14-17“Stand as a Witness”Doctrine & Covenants 18-19“The Worth of Souls Is Great”Doctrine & Covenants 20-22“The Rise of the Church of Christ”Doctrine & Covenants 23-26“Strengthen the Church”Doctrine & Covenants 27-28“All Things Must Be Done in Order”Doctrine & Covenants 29“Jesus Christ Will Gather His People”

Easter“I Am He Who Liveth, I Am He Who Was Slain”

Doctrine & Covenants 30-36“You Are Called to Preach My Gospel”

Doctrine & Covenants 37-40“If Ye Are Not One Ye Are Not Mine”

Doctrine & Covenants 41-44“My Law to Govern My Church”

Doctrine & Covenants 45“The Promises … Shall Be Fulfilled”

Doctrine & Covenants 46-48“Seek Ye Earnestly the Best Gifts”

Doctrine & Covenants 49-50“That Which Is of God Is Light”

Doctrine & Covenants 51-57“A Faithful, a Just, and a Wise Steward”

Doctrine & Covenants 58-59“Anxiously Engaged in a Good Cause”

Doctrine & Covenants 60-62“All Flesh Is in Mine Hand”

Doctrine & Covenants 63“That Which Cometh from Above Is Sacred”

Doctrine & Covenants 64-66“The Lord Requireth the Heart and a Willing Mind”

Doctrine & Covenants 67-70“Worth … the Riches of the Whole Earth”

Doctrine & Covenants 71-75“No Weapon That Is Formed against You Shall Prosper”

Doctrine & Covenants 76“Great Shall Be Their Reward and Eternal Shall Be Their Glory”

Doctrine & Covenants 77-80“I Will Lead You Along”

Doctrine & Covenants 81-83Where “Much Is Given Much Is Required”

Doctrine & Covenants 84“The Power of Godliness”

Doctrine & Covenants 85-87“Stand Ye in Holy Places”

Doctrine & Covenants 88“Establish … a House of God”

Doctrine & Covenants 89-92“A Principle with Promise”

Doctrine & Covenants 93“Receive of His Fulness”

Doctrine & Covenants 94-97“For the Salvation of Zion”

Doctrine & Covenants 98-101“Be Still and Know That I Am God”

Doctrine & Covenants 102-105“After Much Tribulation … Cometh the Blessing”

Doctrine & Covenants 106-108“To Have the Heavens Opened”

Doctrine & Covenants 109-110“It Is Thy House, a Place of Thy Holiness”

Doctrine & Covenants 111-114“I Will Order All Things for Your Good”

Doctrine & Covenants 115-120“His Sacrifice Shall Be More Sacred unto Me Than His Increase”

Doctrine & Covenants 121-123“O God, Where Art Thou?”

Doctrine & Covenants 124“A House unto My Name”

Doctrine & Covenants 125-128“A Voice of Gladness for the Living and the Dead”

Doctrine & Covenants 129-132“When We Obtain Any Blessing from God, It Is by Obedience”

Doctrine & Covenants 133-134“Prepare Ye for the Coming of the Bridegroom”

Doctrine & Covenants 135-136He “Has Sealed His Mission and His Works with His Own Blood”

Doctrine & Covenants 137-138“The Vision of the Redemption of the Dead”

Articles of Faith and Official Declarations 1 & 2“We Believe”

The Family: A Proclamation to the World“The Family Is Central to the Creator’s Plan”

ChristmasThe Matchless Gift of God’s Divine Son

The post Study Resources for the New Testament appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Jennifer Roach Lees holds a Master in Divinity as well as a Masters in Counseling Psychology. She is a licensed mental health therapist and lives in Utah.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Exodus 14–18 – Jennifer Roach Lees appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Delivered…But Pharaoh Came Againby Autumn Dickson

I love the story of Moses and the Red Sea. There is a reason it was used as an example time and time again throughout the history of the scriptures. There is so much goodness.

One of the parts of the story that used to stick out to me was the fact that Pharaoh released them, but then he came after them again. Here are some verses about it.

Exodus 14:8-9

8 And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with an high hand.

9 But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea…

I believe that the Lord is in the details, so what do we learn from this idea that the Israelites were free but then once again in danger? I used to think it had something to do with the fact that Christ suffered in Gethsemane and on the cross. He suffered twice as part of the atonement. Was that somehow relevant? Perhaps, but there are always multiple layers and details. Let’s talk about one of the potential parallels from the fact that the Israelites had to be saved from the Egyptians twice.

The Israelites were saved by the death of the firstborns in Egypt. Pharaoh is finally ready to release them, and he lets them pass by into the wilderness. Unfortunately, little time passes and Pharaoh is right back at it. He pursues the Israelites to come and enslave them again.

Think about this for a minute. Christ has saved us. We have passed through those gates and out of slavery.

But the work isn’t done. There is still an enemy after us that has the power to enslave us again. He is relentless despite everything that points to the power of God. He comes after us in his might.

What did the Israelites do? When they faced slavery, maybe even death, again, how did they respond?

Not well in the beginning. They were really afraid and they turned to Moses saying, “Why didn’t you leave us alone to be slaves? It would be better to be slaves in Egypt than dead in the wilderness.” Moses has an epic response.

Exodus 14:13-14

13 And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.

14 The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.

Moses encourages them to have faith, turns to the Lord, and the Lord tells him to proceed. The Israelites walk through the Red Sea on dry ground.

So. Many. Cool. Parallels.

The Lord saved them out of Egypt, and He saved them again with the Red Sea. It is so important to note that. The Israelites didn’t make the ground dry so that they could walk across. Moses didn’t even do it. The Lord did it. He was the one who utilized Moses to part the Red Sea. It was the Lord’s power.

And yet, the Israelites still had a job. They had to walk forward in faith, just like Moses encouraged. They could have watched the walls of water form on either side, sat down on the beach, and said, “There’s salvation! It’s right there. How cool.” And then they could have just stayed there to be killed by the Egyptians. They could have feared that treading the sea floor would be too treacherous, or that the salvation wouldn’t hold and they would end up drowning after walking into the water. There were any number of responses that they could have had, but they took a leap of faith, followed the prophet, and trusted the Lord’s miracle. They took the chance that the Lord gave to them.

The death of the Firstborn has freed us, but an enemy still pursues after us.

We could sit down, observe the miracle changing the lives of those around us, and not actually take the opportunity that the Lord has given to us. We could think the miracle is really cool but not actually follow the prophet. We could look at the difficult path on the sea floor and feel like it’s too hard. We could worry and fret that the miracle wouldn’t hold, that Christ doesn’t actually have the power to save us.

Or, we could move forward in faith. We can trust that this miracle was made for us, to protect us from those who would enslave and destroy us. We could trust that maybe there is a Being out there who lives His life for the pure joy of saving us, who simply wants our faith and love in return.

Follow the prophet. The Lord will help you navigate the path. He will provide deliverance. Trust Him.

I testify that the Lord has provided deliverance. I also testify that there is still an enemy who wants us to be miserable and destroyed if he can help it. I testify that the Lord has the power to save us from that enemy and our job is to have faith. That’s our job. Have the faith necessary to trust that the prophet can lead us through on dry ground by the power of God.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Exodus 14–18 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Find Joy in the Wildernessby Autumn Dickson

When I was studying the Doctrine and Covenants last year, my pattern revolved around learning about the people who were receiving the revelations and how they were feeling so that we could better relate to them and receive the same comfort in the revelations that they did. As I’ve studied the Old Testament thus far, I’ve found a different pattern for learning principles from God. Namely, I look at the details in the class Old Testament stories, and I find the parallels for our day. It’s been powerful and helpful.

So without further ado, here’s another detail from the Moses and Plagues story. The God of the Hebrews is working to free His people from slavery in Egypt. There are some questions that we could ask as to why He didn’t jump right in with the death of the firstborn, but those questions can be asked another time. As the Lord continues on with His work through Moses, Pharaoh appears to relent a couple of times. He tells Moses, “Take back the frogs, and I’ll let them go.” But then he hardens his heart and refuses to free them.

It happens again with the flies. Pharaoh tells Moses to take away the flies and he will let the people go. Here is how Moses responds.

Exodus 8:29 And Moses said, Behold, I go out from thee, and I will entreat the Lord that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, to morrow: but let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.

Of course, Pharaoh goes back on his word and refuses to release them. Maybe he was hoping Moses and His God would run out of power and not be able to send any more plagues? Regardless, Pharaoh still holds the Israelites captive.

There is a lot of goodness here, but I want to draw your attention to one detail. Moses wants the Israelites free so that they can go sacrifice to the Lord in the wilderness. This is not the only time this is mentioned. More than once, Moses specifically says this. Pharaoh needs to free the Israelites so that they can go and sacrifice to the Lord out of Egypt and in the wilderness.

Oof. Is there a better way to describe life after we finish our ordinances? We are made free by the death of the Firstborn, we pass through the gate, and what do we see? A whole lot of wilderness. For a long time. Why are we here in the wilderness? It seemed so exciting to be free before. Now it just seems dusty, hot, hard, and uncomfortable.

Interestingly enough, we didn’t walk through those gates to make it into paradise immediately. The gate was just the first step. We’ve been freed from slavery, but we don’t know how to be happy and healthy yet. There are many more lessons to learn. There is a lot of sacrifice to be made so that we can understand what it means to grow to be like the Lord and find what He found. We have a long journey ahead of us.

It’s funny. I remember being on my mission and working long hours with minimal breaks. I remember rushing to write in my journal at night so that I could pass out in my bed on time and get as much sleep as possible because I was so dang tired. I remember mentally aching when I had to leave the dinner table at the houses of members I was close to. I think that was one of the things I missed the most while I was on the mission. I grew up in a family where we all ate dinner together and talked the whole time. We had a lot of family come into town for holidays, and we would sit at the table for a long time afterwards and talk and laugh.

I missed that resting while on my mission. I remember getting on the plane, and I was so excited to eat a meal and then do nothing afterwards. I was excited to rest.

Lol.

I did get some rest for a while, but heaven knows life only speeds up after that. We came here to struggle in the wilderness, to keep putting one foot in front of the other, to make sacrifices and grow and learn what we’re supposed to learn. We didn’t come here to finish all of that so we could rest. We came to sacrifice in the wilderness.

Which sounds horrible, but it doesn’t have to be.

This was a timely lesson for me. I have a goal right now to be grateful for the opportunity to wear myself out in the name of the Lord. I’m not talking about being a martyr, though sometimes that seems to be my default mode. Rather, I’m talking about completely turning my perspective upside down. I didn’t come to earth to preserve energy and my body. I didn’t come here to try and completely annihilate stress from my life or reach some magical point where I feel great enough to give all of myself.

Rather, when I catch the true feeling behind this goal I made, I find rest when I let go of my own concerns and cheerfully and willingly take advantage of these incredible opportunities God has given to me. Someday I’ll get enough sleep (or my body won’t need sleep? I don’t know?). Someday, I’ll have a perfect body and perfect perspective and all my needs met, and I won’t have to reach for those things anymore. They will be given to me. I’ll have a perfectly clean house with everything I could ask for.

Sometimes we get mixed up and wear ourselves out on the things that don’t matter, things that will be freely given to us on the other side. We’re putting all of our energy and hopes and focus on setting foot on that promised land. What if we let go and trusted that the promised land will make it to us at the right time? What if instead, we focused on the gift of the wilderness and what it has to offer?

I have found that when I stop striving to put my feet in the promised land here in mortality, I find beauty and rest and hope and peace in the wilderness.

Moses had it right. He didn’t tell Pharaoh that he was taking the Israelites to the promised land. Sure, that was the eventual goal, but there were some really important goals along the way before they would even be able to enjoy the promised land. Moses told Pharaoh to release the Israelites so that they could go and sacrifice in the wilderness.

When we let go of trying to hold on to ourselves, we find joy in the sacrifices we’re asked to make in the wilderness. That’s a true principle.

I’m grateful my Savior redeemed me. I’m grateful He let me walk through the gate and bind myself to Him through the ordinance of baptism. I’m grateful that He gave me a path with lessons along the way. I’m grateful that I don’t have to worry about reaching the promised land; He’s got that handled. All I have to worry about is learning along the way, sacrificing along the way. I’m grateful for my testimony that He will provide for all that I need in the wilderness.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Exodus 7–13 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Jennifer Roach Lees holds a Master in Divinity as well as a Masters in Counseling Psychology. She is a licensed mental health therapist and lives in Utah.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Exodus 7–13 – Jennifer Roach Lees appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

A Passover Question For Youby Autumn Dickson

For my last post this week, we talked about some specifics of Passover in order to better reflect on our free status because of Christ. I really love the Passover. My sister does a Passover meal for Easter each year, and there are so many beautiful traditions associated with it that can teach us about Christ if we choose to explore the symbolism. So I want to talk about a different aspect of Passover.

In Exodus, the Lord teaches His people to keep the Festival of Unleavened Bread (Passover) in Canaan.

Exodus 13:8 ¶ And thou shalt shew thy son in that day, saying, This is done because of that which the Lord did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt.

The Israelites were commanded to teach their children about their deliverance. Some of the traditions that formed as a part of this commandment are wonderful.

As the Jews do their Passover meal, they begin with strange ways that are different than any other day. This is meant to provoke curiosity in children. As they move through a couple of these strange steps, there is a ritual called Ma Nishtana. For this ritual, the youngest child would say:

“Why is this night different from all other nights?”

On all other nights we eat leavened and unleavened; tonight only unleavened.

On all other nights we eat all vegetables; tonight bitter herbs.

On all other nights we don’t dip even once; tonight twice.

On all other nights we eat sitting or reclining; tonight we all recline.

This would begin the story telling of how the Israelites were freed from Egypt.

Like with the Israelites on Passover, we, as Latter-day Saints, do things in a peculiar way. We live differently because of what we believe. And when our children (or anyone, for that matter) ask why, how do we answer them?

Because the answer should always connect back to Christ and His deliverance. Whenever we can connect it back to Christ, we should.

Why do we keep the Word of Wisdom? Because it keeps our bodies healthy and strong and better able to hear Christ.

Why do we go to the temple? To try and feel Christ more closely and to receive power from Him.

Why do we go to church every single week? Why do we keep the Sabbath Day Holy? Why are we so careful about our entertainment? Why do we keep the Law of Chastity? Why do we do Family Home Evening and Come Follow Me? Why are we making our lives harder and different?

These are peculiar traditions that were meant to put our lives in order so that we can better feel Christ and serve Him. It is always about Christ because in Christ, we find joy and peace.

When we try to do the gospel without Christ, it’s merely an extra burden. When we utilize the gospel to draw closer to Christ, that’s when it’s life-changing.

Whenever I start to feel like the gospel or church is a burden, I have learned that the problem is forgetting Christ. Let’s talk about it with a direct example.

I try to go to the temple once a month. I used to be so intense about it because I’m often intense about everything. I never missed a month, which is awesome except for the fact that it didn’t bring me closer to Christ. It just gave me a little rush of dopamine to cross it off my list and a weird sense of pride and martyrdom. Because I’m often intense about things like this, it can get really easy for me to overwhelm myself and reach the point where I want to give up entirely.

Everything changes when I switch my perspective to see tools and layers of bringing Christ into my life. This makes two great changes in my life.

The first is that I can utilize wisdom to know what to prioritize and to let go when things don’t come together. For example, I travelled a ton last month, and it was really difficult to go to the temple. We were gone for a little over half the month, and I have limited windows in which I can run over and participate in the temple. I had lined everything up one afternoon to go while my babies slept and my other kids were in school and Conner was downstairs working. I planned it all without the knowledge that Conner wasn’t actually going to be home to be with the babies while they napped.

What normally would have been an absolutely unreasonable irritation gave way to peace. I couldn’t go to the temple to find Christ, but that didn’t mean I needed to banish Him from my heart in anger. The temple is a tool and if something prevents me from picking up that tool, I have a myriad of tools at my disposal to draw myself closer to Him.

The second way that it has changed my life is probably even more important. The things that used to overwhelm me are now the things that relax me.

The temple used to be a rushed thing that took up some of my time. Now I see it for the worthwhile activity that it is. I calm my heart and utilize it rather than completing it. I can go to church with 5-8 kids (depending on whether my kids bring their friends) and I can simply be grateful for the opportunity to be there and show my devotion to Christ. I can be grateful for the opportunity for my children to also practice drawing closer to Christ even if it’s a rather imperfect effort. When I keep the Word of Wisdom, it’s because I want to nourish my body so that it stands ready to hear and serve Christ. When I keep the Law of Chastity, I am removing unnecessary drama and heartache that are distracting from Christ.

The gospel and commandments and church all become exactly what they were meant to become when we tie it back to Christ. In Christ, we find our ultimate joy and peace and hope. He lightens everything He touches. His yoke and burden are light because the yoke and “burden” are the very things that tie us to Him.

I am grateful for Christ in my life. He truly has changed my life. I look at my life and find all sorts of reasons to rejoice and hope for better days. I have also learned how to be grateful for the yoke and burden He gives me because I see it for what it is.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Easter – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Jennifer Roach Lees holds a Master in Divinity as well as a Masters in Counseling Psychology. She is a licensed mental health therapist and lives in Utah.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Easter – Jennifer Roach Lees appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Reclined. Redeemed.by Autumn Dickson

This week we celebrate Easter, and with it, the ability of the Savior to redeem us. Because we are studying the Old Testament this year, I’d like to look at the predecessor to the holiday of Easter: Passover. There is a lot of symbolism that comes with the Passover; let’s talk about some of it.

Here is a verse that talks about one specific part of the first Passover that happened in Egypt.

Exodus 12:11 And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the Lord’s passover.

On the first night of Passover, the Lord commanded the Israelites to eat in haste. They were going to need to leave Egypt quickly once the Pharaoh said they could go. This commandment to eat in haste was just for the first night though. Throughout time, it changed to the opposite. The Israelites ate unleavened bread to remember the haste in which their ancestors had to flee, but rather than eat their own Passover in haste, the Israelites started a new tradition. They ate their Passover reclining.

Though it was not commanded, there was symbolism here. Free, wealthy people eat reclining and relaxed. They eat leisurely and enjoy themselves. Slaves eat on their feet, rushing. The Israelites ate reclining to show that they were no longer slaves.

Traditions can be really beautiful as long as we don’t turn them into commandments to show off our own righteousness. The Israelites sometimes had a problem with that.

However, I love this specific tradition. I think it’s beautiful. I think one of the reasons I enjoy this specific tradition so much is because I often put myself in a hurry. I get really caught up in trying to get everything done so that I can relax. Here is a tradition that caused the Israelites to pause their daily lives, take a meal, and rejoice and relax. They wore festive clothes, and they specifically took the time to eat like the liberated people they were.

How often do you take the time to realize that you are free? Do you go about your daily life knowing you are liberated? Do you fulfill your daily work in a manner that reflects your redeemed status?

When you deeply know what you are, it reflects in how you live your life. That’s why slaves eat on their feet and rich, wealthy people eat relaxed and reclining. I appreciate the symbolism even more because both parties are doing necessary daily tasks; they just go about their daily tasks very differently. Everybody has to eat, but they are eating differently.

The rich and free people went about their meal with peace of mind. They enjoyed the companionship of the family and friends they were surrounded by. They got to enjoy what they were bringing into their lives and eating, to be grateful for it.

In our own lives, “eating relaxed and reclined” may not look so literal. The really important part here is your heart. Like the rich and free, we go about our daily tasks with peace of mind. We take enough time to turn to those around us and enjoy the companionship of our family and friends. It means we take enough time to think about what we are bringing into your life while we’re “eating,” to be grateful for it and enjoy it. Whatever necessary tasks we’re doing in our lives, we are doing it with purpose and understanding.

This can reflect in so many different ways in our life; one of those ways is in how we take the sacrament.

Sundays are not as restful as they used to be before I was a mother. I’ve got my five kids, ages 8-1, and every other week, they bring their friends to church with us. On any given Sunday, my husband and I have 5-8 children scattered between us. Sometimes, because of my husband’s work schedule, I have 8 kids to take care of on my own.

Trying to help all of the kids stay reverent during the sacrament is a task, especially when they’re sitting with their friends. Trying to help them all take the sacrament in a manner where they’re not touching everyone else’s bread and water is also quite the task. There are many times that I’m eating in a rush so I can pull tiny, grabbing hands away from trays.

The rest of sacrament meeting isn’t necessarily better. My one year old is a wanderer and often finds herself frustrated to be stuck in the pew. My two year old wants my lap. My four year old also wants my lap, and my other kids want to giggle with their friends or fight with each other. I can’t sit between all of them. Some of the time, I can’t even sit with them at all because the baby is screaming about wanting to explore.

It is easy to frame this as frustrating. It’s easy to feel like, “Wo is me,” especially when I’m already tired or overstimulated. It’s easy to feel angry when I desire to be spiritually uplifted, but I have no choice but to be Martha unless I leave my kids at home. Eating the sacrament in an outwardly relaxed manner isn’t always a choice, but there is always my attitude. I can always relax inwardly even if I’m surrounded by chaos that I’m in charge of.

I can look down the aisle at the kids and feel tons of pressure, or I can look down at the aisle of kids and rejoice that I have my family with me at church (even if they’re not perfect). I can rejoice that my kids want to bring their friends to church. I can rejoice that there isn’t any test about whether my kids were perfectly reverent. I can rejoice that my kids get regular practice on how to be reverent so that over the course of their young lives, they will have opportunities to invite Christ into their own lives to save them in ways that I can’t. I can rejoice knowing that my Savior is just happy they’re there.

I can rejoice and relax even as I referee, balance, juggle, and interfere. The sacrament reminds me that the Savior has redeemed me. I’m happy to be there even if it’s chaos.

I testify that we are free and wealthy. I testify that because of Christ, we have every reason to rejoice. Or, at the very least, we have every reason to hope alongside our darkest despair. We can rejoice even when our efforts are imperfect or rushed. We are free, and if we take the time to truly know that, it changes how we do the necessary tasks we’ve been given each day.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Easter – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Seeing Through Anguish of Spiritby Autumn Dickson

In our last post, we talked about how Moses turned to the Lord in despair. He had done what the Lord asked and told Pharaoh to free the Israelites. In response, Pharaoh gave them more work. Moses blamed himself and asked the Lord why He had been so cruel to His own people. In chapter 6, we get to read the Lord’s response to Moses.

He comforts Moses with assurances. He tells Moses that it’s not over; Pharaoh will relent, and the Israelites will yet be free.

The Lord then tells Moses to go and share this with the Israelites. Moses does so, and this is how the Israelites respond.

Exodus 6:9 And Moses spake so unto the children of Israel: but they hearkened not unto Moses for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage.

The Israelites were suffering so much that they had a difficult time believing that Moses would deliver them. There is a lot of depth here.

Let’s cover the first beautiful principle: The Lord saved them anyway. The Lord still kept sending Moses back. He kept sending miracles. He kept reaching out to those in bondage. He kept shining a light on them. Despite their lack of belief (which disbelief continues on even after the miracle of parting the Red Sea), the Lord kept reaching. He kept moving forward in saving them.

There are two parallels here.

Parallel one: The Savior suffered for all of us, not just the people He knew would accept His atonement. He didn’t look at each of us ahead of time and decide to only suffer for the people who were going to accept the saving. He suffered for everyone. Even those who did not or would not believe.

Parallel two: The Lord doesn’t wash His hands of us. Even when we wash our hands of Him (which is rather ironic), He doesn’t throw us over. When He steps back, it’s not due to annoyance or giving up. Stepping back is also one of the ways He reaches for us and tries to get us to see the truth of things.

The Israelites get a pretty bad rap throughout the Old Testament. They turn from the Lord frequently. They get distracted. They get the doctrine wrong and miss the mark.

They were also slaves. Their “cruel bondage” led to “anguish of spirit.” I’m not sure I would have fared much better had I been placed in their shoes. I think that’s partially why the Lord didn’t throw them off with the golden calf incident after showing them an incredible miracle with the Red Sea. The Lord knew what they were facing and what they were truly capable of. As a society, the Israelites didn’t know who they were anymore. They didn’t know the Lord or His goodness. Because of what they had been through, they didn’t have any sense that there was an all-powerful Being who might care for them and care about where they ended up.

They had a long way to go, and it started right here. They couldn’t find it within themselves to hope for deliverance through Moses, and so it started with the Lord sending miracles anyway.

Here is the second beautiful principle.

Their salvation was standing right in front of them even if they couldn’t see it. They were so broken that they couldn’t see their salvation. No judgment. I’m sure I would have been in a similar place had I been a slave. And yet, there is an implication for us here.

At what point have we reached “salvation?” When do we get to say, “I’m here. I’ve arrived. I’m saved.”?

I’m not sure there is a definitive level where you get to state that you’re saved. I think there are varying levels of salvation. Let’s talk about some of those different points of salvation.

Salvation 1: The Savior promised He was coming. The people don’t know it.

This is where we’re at in the Old Testament. Moses, their deliverer, is standing in front of them. He has been foreordained to save them, but they don’t know it. They’re too lost to feel it.

Interestingly enough, despite the fact that Moses technically hasn’t saved them yet, it’s as good as done when it comes to the Lord. If He has promised it, it’s as good as if it’s done, and so yes, this is a type of salvation. The Israelites are saved! Moses is here! Even if they don’t see it, they’re saved.

Salvation 2: The Savior promised He was coming, and there are people who do know it.

This is the next level, and we see this in The Book of Mormon. The Savior promised He was coming and would save; there are people who believed that so thoroughly that they acted as though He had already come. They believed so thoroughly in His ability to fulfill His promises, that it was as good as done, and they rejoiced.

Salvation 3: The Savior came and did His work, but the people don’t know it yet.

We see this all the time. This is as if Moses had opened the gates of Egypt, and there were people too busy slaving away for masters who no longer stood over them that they missed it.

The Savior has come, but there are many who don’t know it. This happens in the church and out of it. Even when we’ve been baptized and follow the commandments, sometimes we still don’t understand that we’ve been saved.

Salvation 4: The Savior came and did His work, and the people know it.

This one is self-explanatory. The Lord won, and we know it. This is the ultimate form of salvation.

I bring this up because there are two sides to the coin of salvation. There is the portion with Christ. There was a period of time before He came where His salvation was still a promise. That promise was as good as though it had already been done. When it comes to this side of the coin, we were always saved.

But then there is the other side of the coin.

Is salvation really salvation if we can’t enjoy it? Have we truly been saved if we’re still miserable because we don’t trust Him or because or our actions? It takes a long time for the Israelites to truly be saved. They make it out of Egypt, but they have not yet reached joy. They don’t know that the Lord is going to take care of them and lead them to that promised land. In that sense, salvation is a spectrum.

And let’s bring that full circle. The Israelites didn’t yet believe. They were in so much despair that they couldn’t bring themselves to believe. The Savior was going to keep sending miracles until they could see it. He paid for the salvation, and then He continues to reach out on top of it. He reaches and reaches until we finally see that the gates have been unlocked.

Where are you on the spectrum of salvation? The Savior has saved you. Do you see it? Do you see Him ready to lead you out of Egypt? Let Him heal the brokeness from the slavery. Let Him provide for you in the wilderness. Believe in His salvation so much that it’s as if you’re already in the promised land.

I testify that the Savior’s promises are solid. They are coming. We don’t have to live in despair even now because we have been taught what comes next. Even in our darkest moments (because dark moments aren’t evil), there is hope to temper it. We can rejoice. And if we’re still getting run over by life and can’t seem to lift up our heads and believe it, then hang tight. The Lord is sending miracles anyway until we do see it.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Exodus 1–6 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Did God Send Me Here to Fail?by Autumn Dickson

Moses was a prophet who delivered the Israelites from bondage in Egypt. He was such a good prophet that the Jews held him up as a standard for a long time. He is still revered as a great prophet.

And yet, despite his righteousness, his closeness with God, his foreordained role, Moses didn’t know everything. Moses was incredibly nervous to approach Pharaoh about freeing the Israelites, and the first time he approached Pharaoh, it didn’t go so well. Pharaoh did not release the Israelites. In fact, Pharaoh gave all of the Israelites more work to accomplish than they previously had.

This led to the Israelites getting frustrated with Moses, and in turn, Moses turned to God.

Exodus 5:22-23

22 And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? why is it that thou hast sent me?

23 For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people; neither hast thou delivered thy people at all.

Moses asks the Lord a few questions and makes some points that I think all of us have made at one point or another. “Why did you send me? I just made it worse. You said You would deliver them, but they’re still in bondage and Pharaoh has made things harder on them.”

There is a lot we could unpack there. Moses’ insecurity about his ability to do the job would be a good place to start. We could discuss the fact that Moses could only see his own limitations rather than the Lord’s plan in motion.

However, I want to take a slightly different angle that I mentioned earlier. Moses, despite his calling and the big job ahead of him, didn’t see the end from the beginning. He saw enough that he was willing to begin, but the Lord left out quite a few details about this long road that Moses would travel before he could be an instrument in the hands of the Lord in freeing the covenant people.

The Lord loves to leave out details.

Why? If the Lord has made a decision in relation to how He works with His children on earth, there are solid reasons behind that decision. Why does the Lord choose to leave out details? Why does He allow us to sometimes think we’ve failed? What purpose does it serve to push us to wait for the next step?

What reasons do you see?

One of the reasons is because we would probably get confused and lost and disillusioned anyway. The Savior tried telling His disciples that He was going to die and live again. He said it quite clearly, more than once, but they were still so surprised when it happened. If the Lord had told Moses more of the details, would he have grasped the plan?

I think a more important reason is the fact that it forces us to cling to Him.

If Heavenly Father had given Moses a play-by-play of what would happen in Egypt, how much would Moses have connected his success back to the Lord? How often would Moses have turned back to the Lord? It is very difficult to see the Lord’s hand when we are not turning to Him over and over and over.

When it comes to the Lord, it’s never just about the task that’s been given. The task always has a double purpose of drawing us closer to Him. One of the most effective ways of drawing us closer to Him, is to force us to keep coming back to Him, to work closely with Him.

This brings great comfort when we look at our own efforts and tasks. Like Moses, it’s easy for us to decide that we’re the weak link. We’re not strong enough or smart enough or persuasive enough. We’re the reason everything failed.

Moses is not the reason the task failed. Moses was just under the impression that the task was supposed to be easier than it was. The Lord could have explained this in great detail ahead of time to spare Moses this despair. However, it would have negated His purposes of keeping Moses close.

It had to be this way. The Lord needed you to have the task. Telling you in detail ahead of time would have made it really easy for you to forget Him and try to do everything on your own. It was important for you to stay close to Him, and He knows our propensity to wander. So He chose to do things this way. Unfortunately, sometimes we also have the bad habit of despairing when we hit obstacles. The Lord knows this, and He can work with it. It is much easier to work with your despair when you turn to Him than it is when you run off and try to do things on your own.

The Lord is wise enough to see all of this and make the decision to leave out the details.

So how can this change our response when we do hit obstacles in the tasks we’ve been given by the Lord?

We trust Him and know He’s not finished yet. Even when we do not know the details, He does. He is plenty aware of them and knows how to work with the children of men.

Give it your best shot, and look to Him with faith. That’s your real job. It wasn’t Moses’ job to deliver the Israelites, not really. It was Moses’ job to be willing. It wasn’t Moses who sent the plagues or parted the sea. It was the Lord who made man’s mouth and made the seas. The Lord knew exactly what He was getting with Moses, and He still decided on Moses.

It is no different with you. The Lord knew what He was getting when He asked for you. He knows better than you know what you are or aren’t capable of, and He decided on you. When you run into unanticipated obstacles, there is no need to despair. He didn’t tell you about this part, but He knew about this part.

Your job is to be willing. Give it your best shot, and look to Him with faith. The Lord can still work with despair; He worked with Moses through His despair. He can work with us through despair. However, the faith part serves us. Moses didn’t ever have to be afraid or upset that he had ruined everything. Those feelings were necessary so that Moses could go through the process of building his faith, but faith changes our entire experience by changing our perspective. Obstacles look different in the light of faith in Christ. It is a joyful way to live.

Trust the Lord. Trust Him when He doesn’t give you all the details. Trust Him that He chose you for a reason. Trust Him so that you can rejoice even in the faith of setbacks.

I testify that the Lord knew what He was doing when He chose you. I testify that He knows all of the details even when He doesn’t share them all immediately. I testify that He isn’t despairing or mad when obstacles appear. All He wants is our faith. He deserves our faith. He has earned it. He is worthy of it.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Exodus 1–6 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

We Can’t Afford Graceby Autumn Dickson

Last week, we talked about some of the symbolism behind Joseph’s story. He offered food that filled the bellies of the Egyptians and saved them. Christ offers salvation, and we should be actively paying attention to whether we’re bringing the bread home or internalizing it and letting it fill us. We expanded this symbolism to missionary work; if we are full, people will come and see just like other countries traveled to Egypt for food.

This week, I want to expand upon that same symbolism again.

So here are the quick details of that story. Pharaoh has a dream that Joseph interprets. This dream warns Pharaoh that there will be seven years of plenty and seven years of severe famine. Pharaoh puts Joseph in charge of a food-saving program, and it works. The people are saved because a portion of food had been set aside during the years of plenty.

When the land was desolate, the people came in and started to buy food from Joseph. When they ran out of money, they started giving their cattle and flocks to pay for the food. Ultimately, even that becomes insufficient. Then this happens.

Genesis 47:18-20

18 When that year was ended, they came unto him the second year, and said unto him, We will not hide it from my lord, how that our money is spent; my lord also hath our herds of cattle; there is not ought left in the sight of my lord, but our bodies, and our lands:

19 Wherefore shall we die before thine eyes, both we and our land? buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants unto Pharaoh: and give us seed, that we may live, and not die, that the land be not desolate.

20 And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine prevailed over them: so the land became Pharaoh’s.

It is at this point in time that the Egyptians become serfs to Pharaoh. Serfdom is an important distinction from slavery, especially as it relates to our conversation today. It is much more accurate to call them serfs. They’re not going to be bought and sold at will, but they’re tied to the land they don’t own. They have the right to work that land and provide for themselves, and they give back 20% of their food to Pharaoh.

Let’s talk about the implications of this policy that Joseph put forth in the land of Egypt as it relates to the symbolism of our last post, namely the atonement of Jesus Christ.

Implication 1. We can’t afford the atonement of Jesus Christ.

Joseph saved Egypt as well as the surrounding countries and the House of Israel. Plain and simple, he saved them all, and he did it with generosity. He didn’t resent the Egyptians for not being able to afford the food he had saved. In fact, he rejoices that his brothers betrayed him so that he could be placed in a position to save everyone.

In the seven years of the famine, the people got to the point where they had nothing else to give. Even after devoting all of their money, cattle, flocks, and land, they still came up short. It was never going to be enough. Nowadays, we are encouraged to build up our own food storage and self-reliance, and there are different principles that come with that prophetic counsel. This story, however, does not play out like that. Joseph saved the food, not the citizens. This is indicative of the atonement of Jesus Christ.

Grace is free. No matter how much money we bring to the table, no matter how much we have saved up, it is insufficient to save us. Justice is a harsh master, and we don’t have the means to save ourselves. It’s impossible. Christ saved you. Yes, we believe that He judges us by our works, but the eternal truth stands: He saved us, and nothing we offer can ever pay that back.

Implication 2. None of this is ours; we can only give of ourselves. Even then, we are not our own. We become stewards, and Christ is a generous benefactor.

The food was not free. The Egyptians couldn’t afford it, and Joseph still offered it, but Joseph required something in return: their lands and themselves. The Egyptians agreed to this willingly.

Some people would call this coercion. How can you say no if your only other option is death? My response? That’s ridiculous. Why on earth would you be ungrateful? The best response you could have to this situation is, “Thank you. I couldn’t do this on my own. I couldn’t save myself. You saved me, and I will forever owe you for that. I recognize that I wouldn’t have anything without you, and so I willingly devote myself to give back some of what You gave me.”

In fact, this is how the Egyptians responded to their predicament.

Genesis 47:25 And they said, Thou hast saved our lives: let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.

Christ saves. We can resent Him for that. We can resent Him and falsely accuse Him of taking away our agency, but that’s not it at all. Joseph didn’t make them slaves so he could do whatever he wanted with them. He made them stewards and asked them to give back. He didn’t save them because he wanted to own them. He saved them so he could provide them with the opportunity to keep living.

Christ gave us an opportunity to make something of ourselves. He asks for a portion of what He gave us back. He asks us to devote ourselves and make the land fruitful. If we hate Him for it, then it’s tragically ironic. Not only does He own everything anyway, but He’s also trying to teach us how to make the best use of our land. He wants our land to be overflowing. He wants us to rejoice in what we’ve been given and gratefully give back. The more we do with what He has given, the more we have. Even when He asks for a portion back, it is actually continuing to serve us.

There are so many perfect, poignant details of Joseph’s story that teaches us about the atonement of Jesus Christ. It teaches things as they really are, and it gives us an opportunity to have the correct attitudes towards our true state of reality.

I testify that Christ can save us. We can reject His bread and try to find it elsewhere, but we’re going to come up empty. I testify that He didn’t perform the atonement so that He could own us and subject us to whatever He wanted. He performed the atonement so that our own agency didn’t ruin our eternity. He literally freed us, gave us more opportunity, and He teaches us how to make more of ourselves. We did not come out as slaves. Because of Jesus Christ, we have won.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Genesis 42–50 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

More Than Food Storage; Famine and Atonementby Autumn Dickson

The Old Testament is full of stories, and oftentimes, those stories come as a type of things to come. They teach us about life. They teach us about our relationship with God and our dependence on the Savior. Joseph’s life is no different. We can look at the parts of his whole life and find incredible symbolism, and we can look at his life as a whole for symbolism. There is so much there. Let’s talk about just some of it.

Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers. After a series of miracles and difficulty, Joseph is made a ruler in Egypt after interpreting a dream for Pharoah. Pharoah puts him in charge of gathering food to save up for a horrible famine that is going to spread throughout the land. Here is what happens when the famine hits.

Genesis 41:54-57

54 And the seven years of dearth began to come, according as Joseph had said: and the dearth was in all lands; but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.

55 And when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread: and Pharaoh said unto all the Egyptians, Go unto Joseph; what he saith to you, do.

56 And the famine was over all the face of the earth: And Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold unto the Egyptians; and the famine waxed sore in the land of Egypt.

57 And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn; because that the famine was so sore in all lands.

First, the Egyptians come and get food from Pharaoh. Other countries, including Joseph’s brothers, follow suit and start coming in to get food from Pharaoh.

We believe in food storage and self-sufficiency, and this is a powerful example of that. However, that’s not the most important lesson we can learn here.

Believe it or not, this is an incredible example of the atonement of Jesus Christ.

Before we delve into the deeper symbolism, I want you to think about some of these poignant details. Joseph was originally with his family who would grow to be the twelve tribes of Israel. After they rejected him, he ended up with Gentiles – Egyptians. He saved them from the famine first, and then his brothers came to buy bread as well. Christ originally stuck with the House of Israel until they rejected Him. Then the gospel went to the Gentiles before returning to the House of Israel once again.

The details are too beautiful. Even beyond the incredible parallels, there are deeper principles here. As I mentioned previously, this isn’t a story about self-reliance despite its ability to teach that principle. This is a story about the atonement of Jesus Christ.

Joseph knew the dearth that the people on earth would face. It was revealed to him, and he had been foreordained to handle it. He had been prepared throughout his life to handle it. He had the gifts necessary in order to prepare for it. A plan was set in motion to save everyone from this dearth. He was betrayed and placed into a position where he would be enabled to provide that saving grace when no one else could.

Joseph had the corn that saved everyone. There was nowhere else to go in order to be saved. Joseph was the only one who had legitimate bread to offer. Perhaps other people and sources tried to offer and lie about having some, but you had to go through Joseph to get bread.

Christ knew the dearth that the people on earth would face. It was revealed to Him, and He had been foreordained to handle it. He had been prepared throughout His life to handle it. He had the gifts necessary in order to prepare for it. A plan was set in motion to save everyone from this dearth. He was betrayed and placed into a position where He would be enabled to provide that saving grace when no one else could.

Christ provided salvation. There is nowhere else to go in order to be saved. Christ is the only one who has legitimate salvation to offer. Perhaps other people and sources tried to offer and lie about having some, but you have to go through Christ to be saved.

There are implications for this, implications for your personal life as well as missionary work.

Implication one. The Egyptians could have stood in line, filled their buckets, gone home, and put those buckets in the corner. They could have looked at the buckets, maybe even opened them, and still refused to eat the food that had been given to them. The dearth still would have killed them. It didn’t matter if they did all the things that enabled them to have food if they didn’t consume the food and let it fill their bellies.

Are you going to church? Are you doing Come Follow Me? Are you studying the scriptures, going to the temple, serving, doing your calling, praying, and studying your patriarchal blessing and conference talks?

Here’s a more important question. Are you allowing those things to fill you? It is very easy to cross things off a to-do list. It takes a different kind of work to internalize the to-do’s and bring them into your heart to fill you like they were always meant to.

Which leads me to the next implication.

Why did the other countries come to Egypt for food? The other countries, including the House of Israel, came because they saw that the Egyptians had full bellies.

Is your belly full?

Other countries looked at the Egyptians and saw that they had food. They didn’t look at the Egyptians and notice that they were standing in lines or carrying buckets. Other countries saw that their bellies were full.

Missionary work becomes simpler when the gospel is filling your life with light. When you are utilizing the to-do’s of the church to internalize the light of Christ’s gospel (not just doing the to-do’s), people will come to you. They will be drawn to you. In a world that offers empty bellies, we have the sustenance that a person can live and thrive on.

Bring the sustenance home. Do the to-do’s.

Consume the sustenance. Let the to-do’s fill you up and make you whole.

The other countries will see what you have and want it. One of the most powerful ways to share the gospel is to let the gospel fill you so that everyone can see your light shine and glorify your Father in heaven.

I testify that there is salvation in the world, and I testify of a Savior who offers it. There is bread to fill your belly. I testify that it feels good to have a full stomach, and I testify that there are so many people out there consumed by emptiness. They will be drawn to what we have. Share it. Internalize the Savior and His promises, and share it.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Genesis 37–41 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

An Underrated Section: How to Become Zion…and Heavenby Autumn Dickson

With Joseph and Hyrum martyred, Brigham Young was now the prophet. After the Saints were expelled from Nauvoo, Brigham was in charge of finding them a permanent home in the mountains of the west. Though the westward movement of the Saints was among the most impressive immigrations of Americans, it did not start out that way.

The Saints were starving and freezing along the trail. Muddy quagmires kept the Saints from reaching their goal to plant crops ahead of everyone coming. Brigham described feeling like he was dragging around a 25 ton weight. He felt like he had a large family with no way of taking care of them. At Winter Quarters in Nebraska, he turned to the Lord for guidance.

The Lord told Brigham how to organize the company, but He taught Brigham much more important things that would turn the tide for the Saints’ ability to make it to their destination.

Here is the verse that introduces the important concept that turned things around.

Doctrine and Covenants 136:2

Let all the people of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and those who journey with them, be organized into companies, with a covenant and promise to keep all the commandments and statutes of the Lord our God.

The Saints were to be organized into companies that would stick together, and they entered into those companies by making covenants to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord.

There were two major principles at work here that changed the game.

Principle one. When people normally made their way across towards the west (Saints and non-Saints alike), it was done very loosely with every man vying for his own family. They often travelled together for safety, but companies broke apart and came together with different members more than once. That is the first principle: Brigham Young organized them into companies with leadership at different levels, and each company was expected to stick together throughout the entire journey. If one made it, they were all going to make it.

The second principle was to focus on spirituality again. Not only were they to focus on the eternal nature of their work, but they were to focus on the fact that they believed in the same God who helped many groups of people travel to new destinations, the God of Israel.

This becomes even more significant when you recognize what the Lord was preparing Brigham for.

In 1877, Brigham Young organized the priesthood structure of the church. After travelling around Utah, he found that there were many people scattered and not enrolled in wards. There were overlapping authorities where spiritual jurisdictions were confusing, and it was unclear who would have the responsibility of showing their stewardship to the Lord. There were bishops who had never been ordained, and this was setting the stage for people to become more vulnerable as they were travelling the covenant path.

The Saints had now grown large enough that they needed to be organized or two things would happen: losing people and losing the doctrine that had been restored with such difficulty.

So that’s what Brigham did. Under the direction of the apostles, Saints scattered across Utah were better organized into stakes and wards. Bishops were set apart. Every member found themselves in a ward with a leader who would watch over them. Priesthood roles were clarified so that everyone understood what they were in charge of. This would lessen the gaps in which people could fall through with no one to watch over them, and it would also serve to help the Lord speak to His entire church when He revealed something rather than sending word out and hoping everyone was able to receive it.

It’s hard to overstate the unglamorous importance of what Brigham did.

Let’s tie it back to what we talked about in the beginning, and let’s talk about it from the perspective of an imaginary Saint who could have lived it

A widow is trying to get her kids across the plains to gather with the Saints. Her oldest child is 10 years old and he helps, but he is still only 10. She started out with one company as she began her journey across the plains only to have fallen behind and found herself in a new company. As she tries to nurse her sick baby back to health, they fall behind again as the 10 year old can only get the wagon going so far. She finds herself in a new company once again. At this point, she is simply hoping that she gets to their destination before she reaches the end of the line of companies.

Organizing the Saints into companies that cared for each other changed the game. No one got left behind. This is powerful for the widow, but it’s also powerful for the ones who are watching out for the widow. It’s powerful for the entire company who works together, mourns together, lifts one another. If you can cry with someone, you are very likely to rejoice with each other as well. Everything changes when you’re not alone.

The widow cries as she holds her baby and a 16 year old from another family has stepped up to drive her wagon along. Her 10 year old looks up at the 16 year old with something akin to hero-worship. This is the beginning of hope. The widow finds renewed faith in her ability to make it, and the 16 year old is changed too.

This doesn’t even mention the fact that all of this hope and change invites the Lord to rain down manna on the heads of the Saints.

Now let’s fast forward. The Saints are in the valley, and it is now 1877. There is a young family whose father has broken his leg in a wagon accident. Mother and teenage daughter are doing everything they can to keep the farm and home running, but it’s not going well. What will winter look like if they can’t finish the work?

But then a man shows up and knocks on their door. He sees the ragged family and introduces himself as their bishop. Over the course of the next few weeks, there are rotations of brethren coming in to harvest the family’s crop. There are young women who come in and help mother prepare the crop to last through the winter.

This is all good and beautiful and inspiring, but I want to fast-forward again.

We are accustomed to living in wards and stakes with leadership that enables lightning fast communication from our beloved prophet to each member. If there is a change wanted by the Lord, it is implemented overnight if that’s what He wants. We are organized, and we enter into a covenant in order to become part of the organization.

It changes the game when this kind of organization is used effectively. It didn’t do much good if the companies that were travelling the plains stayed in the same geographical area but still found themselves laboring alone.

When was the last time you looked around your ward and saw a family? When was the last time you made a valiant attempt to make it a ward family? When was the last time you ministered to make sure no one was lost out on the plains, physically or spiritually? When it comes to the Lord’s work, it’s not just about the widow who is being served. It’s about how we change when we forget our own problems, and we all work together towards common purposes.

Picture the vast difference between the beginning of the Saints journey towards Utah and the end of it. That’s the difference we will find in our own lives if we recognize what the Lord has given us in His organization of the church.

I testify that wards and stakes and leadership and priesthood organization are gifts from the Lord. I don’t believe we recognize the full power of what we’ve been given. I worry that we won’t recognize the full power until we’re ready to bring everyone along the covenant path together. Zion is available everywhere; we do not have to wait. The Lord wants us to experience those blessings today, but He can’t force us to find them. He can simply offer the opportunity and wait for us to step into those blessings. I testify that He loves us and gave us organizations to protect us and lift us.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 135–136 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Martyrdom of Joseph & Hyrum Smith; Brigham Young led the Saints west (D&C 135–136)by Mike Parker

Class Notes

Additional Reading and Videos

Alexander L. Baugh and Richard Neitzel Holzapfel, “‘I Roll the Burthen and Responsibility of Leading This Church Off from My Shoulders on to Yours’: The 1844/1845 Declaration of the Quorum of the Twelve Regarding Apostolic Succession,” BYU Studies 49, no. 3 (2010): 4–19.
Dallin H. Oaks, “The Suppression of the Nauvoo Expositor,” Utah Law Review 9, no. 4 (Winter 1965): 862–903. Oaks argued that the Nauvoo city council’s action to destroy the Expositor press was legal within the understanding of the law in Joseph’s time. (This article was published twenty years before he became an apostle.)
Joseph L. Lyon and David W. Lyon, “Physical Evidence at Carthage Jail and What It Reveals about the Assassination of Joseph and Hyrum Smith,” BYU Studies 47, no. 4 (2008): 4–50.
Mark Lyman Staker and LaJean Purcell Carruth, “John Taylor’s June 27, 1854, Account of the Martyrdom,” BYU Studies 50, no. 3 (2011): 25–62.
D. Michael Quinn, “The Mormon Succession Crisis of 1844,” BYU Studies 16, no. 2 (Winter 1976): 187–233. Quinn argued that Joseph did not leave clear directions on who should succeed him and this spurred a crisis that was resolved only when the majority of the Saints threw their support behind Brigham Young and the Twelve.
Ronald K. Esplin, “Joseph, Brigham and the Twelve: A Succession of Continuity,” BYU Studies 21, no. 3 (Summer 1981): 301–41. Esplin countered Quinn’s article by arguing that the path of succession was clear from Joseph’s statements and the canonized revelations.
Russel R. Rich, “Nineteenth-Century Break-offs,” Ensign, September 1979, 68–71. Rich described some of the schismatic groups that broke away from the restored Church during the Prophet Joseph’s life and after his death.
R. Jean Addams, “Aftermath of the Martyrdom: Aspirants to the Mantle of the Prophet Joseph Smith,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 62 (2024): 335–402. Addams examines the individuals who claimed the mantle of the Joseph Smith, their motives, and the churches or organizations they founded in the decade following the death of the Prophet.
Road to Carthage: A Joseph Smith Papers Podcast is an eight-part documentary miniseries that explores the history of the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith in 1844. The episodes focus on the historical events that led to the assassination of the Prophet and his brother by a mob, as well as the aftermath of that tragic event. Series host Spencer W. McBride interviewed historians and Church leaders for this podcast.
LaJean Carruth, “Brigham Young on Brigham Young: His Life, Conversion, and Faith, in his Own Words,” 2024 FAIR Conference.
Daniel C. Peterson, “Appreciating Brother Brigham,” 2024 FAIR Conference.

Mike Parker is a business and marketing analyst with over twenty years’ experience in the financial services and cellular telephone industries. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Management Information Systems from Dixie State University (now Utah Tech University) of St George, Utah. He also has eight years’ experience in corporate training and currently teaches an adult religion class in southern Utah. Mike and his wife, Denise, have three children.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 135–136 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

You Don’t Have to be Ready, Just Willingby Autumn Dickson

Joseph Smith was 38 years old when he was murdered in Carthage Jail. He received the First Vision at age 14. He began translating The Book of Mormon at age 21, and he completed it at age 24. The Church was also organized when he was 24. The Kirtland temple was built, the Nauvoo temple began, temple ordinances were restored, the work of salvation for the dead was set in motion, numerous revelations were received, and missionaries were sent abroad.

He had the vision at age 14, and he was taught annually by Moroni, but his true ministry began at the age of 21 as he started translating The Book of Mormon. His ministry was 17 years.

Here is a verse in the Doctrine and Covenants that was written in the announcement of his death.

Doctrine and Covenants 135:3

Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it. In the short space of twenty years, he has brought forth the Book of Mormon, which he translated by the gift and power of God, and has been the means of publishing it on two continents; has sent the fulness of the everlasting gospel, which it contained, to the four quarters of the earth; has brought forth the revelations and commandments which compose this book of Doctrine and Covenants, and many other wise documents and instructions for the benefit of the children of men; gathered many thousands of the Latter-day Saints, founded a great city, and left a fame and name that cannot be slain. He lived great, and he died great in the eyes of God and his people; and like most of the Lord’s anointed in ancient times, has sealed his mission and his works with his own blood; and so has his brother Hyrum. In life they were not divided, and in death they were not separated!

Could anyone else do what Joseph did?

I don’t know.

I believe that the Lord can enable anyone to do anything if they’re willing, but were any of us willing? I really don’t know. I believe so, but I don’t know. I think of great men like the apostles who stood with Christ during his ministry. I think of Old Testament prophets and New Testament missionaries. I think of the stripling warriors who learned from their own mothers and followed in obedience. I think of pillars of faith in latter-day church history. I think of other men who were placed in different roles who were willing to do what God has assigned them to do, men like Martin Luther King Jr. Beyond that, I think there are a great number of quiet individuals who went about doing the Lord’s will in their own lives even though it brought about no acclaim. I know plenty of women who are likewise incredible if that was the organization that the Lord had chosen.

But He chose Joseph.

I’m not sure why God places us in the roles that He does. I’m sure there are many reasons for His decisions, but I’m not sure what they are. He probably doesn’t explain Himself because the reasons are situational. For example, He had specific roles that needed to be filled, and perhaps there were multiple people who could have filled those roles, but He also looked at us as individuals. What were the lessons we needed to learn in order to become what He wanted us to become?

If we want to learn what the Lord wants us to learn and if we want to bless the world in the most powerful way available to us, there are a couple of characteristics of Joseph’s that we can develop.

The number one characteristic that came to my mind today is the willingness to follow His will no matter where it takes us. I believe that all the other attributes we could possibly develop in order to be prepared to fulfill our roles here on earth can all contribute to this one significant characteristic: we follow Heavenly Father and what He wants for us. If we can stand before God, (or better yet, kneel), and tell Him, “I’m not sure what you want me to do. I don’t know what I need to learn in order to do it. I don’t know who I need to become in order to do it, and I’m sure there will be many times that I feel that I can’t do it. And yet, I want Thou to show me the way and make me who I need to be. Lead me. I will follow.”

You don’t have to be ready for your various roles yet. I repeat, you don’t have to be ready. You just have to be willing. He can take care of the rest. The only thing you can truly give Him is your willingness to follow Him and do what He asks. He is capable of speaking to you in a way that you can understand and helping you know what you need to know. He can help you develop the specific testimonies you’re going to need to carry you through. He can mold you. Sure, you’ll make mistakes, but that’s why we start today. We give Him time to work with us so we have had time to practice what we need to be.

I was thinking of some grand moment in which you could promise God to follow Him, and yet, many of us already made that promise a long time ago at 8 years old. Some of us made that promise when we were a bit older, and maybe some of us have yet to make that promise. Perhaps we have already made the promise, but we are only just now feeling prepared to truly hand over our will.

Lucky for us, we have this thing called the sacrament where we renew those promises every single week. How powerful could we become if we simply whispered to the Lord (and to ourselves) each week that we were willing to follow wherever, willing to learn what was necessary, willing to become what God wanted for us?

When I think of Joseph’s willingness, I don’t think it was just one decision. I think it was a million decisions. When he would look at the vast amount of work he needed to do, he would turn to the Lord for guidance about what to prioritize. Then he would have faith that the Lord would enable him to do what was absolutely necessary. There was so much that needed to happen to restore Christ’s church upon the earth; there is only so much he could accomplish with the time he was given on earth. So it wasn’t about accomplishing everything; it was about just doing what God had for him each day.

I love and honor Joseph Smith for his willingness to jump in and devote his time and life to what God wanted, whether that was building an impressive temple or living in squalor for four months in a prison.

Most of all, I love and honor Joseph because he set the foundation a long time ago for me to find Christ.

Joseph did more, save Jesus only, to save mankind. I think it’s important to note that Jesus was the one who did the most.

And wasn’t this His defining characteristic? He was willing to do what the Father sent Him here to do. His ministry was only four years, He spent some of that time playing with children or taking quiet time to Himself. You would think that having only four years available to change the world would make someone rush a bit more, but that’s not what the Father needed. Christ simply did what the Father wanted and because of that, His four year ministry changed everything.

I testify that each of us have roles in the work of salvation. I testify that the Lord is capable of helping you fulfill that role if you simply tell Him that you’re willing and ask Him to lead you along. I testify that you don’t have to be capable or incredible, just willing. I testify that He is more than capable, loves you, and wants to include you.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 135–136 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Leaving Babylon, Building Zionby Autumn Dickson

At one point in time, the call to gather Zion was a physical one. The Lord commanded those who were getting baptized to come and gather with the rest of the Saints. That commandment changed to a spiritual one as the needs of the Saints likewise changed. It will one day change again as we are commanded to gather in one physical place to await the coming of the Savior.

But for now, we gather Zion spiritually. We leave Babylon, and we create Zion by changing the state of our hearts rather than the state in which we dwell.

The Lord repeats the sentiment that we should gather to Zion multiple times throughout Doctrine and Covenants 133, but here is one of those repetitions.

Doctrine and Covenants 133:4-5

4 Wherefore, prepare ye, prepare ye, O my people; sanctify yourselves; gather ye together, O ye people of my church, upon the land of Zion, all you that have not been commanded to tarry.

5 Go ye out from Babylon. Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord.

Prepare and sanctify. Gather together upon the land of Zion. Leave Babylon and be clean.

There is a quote in the Institute Manual that gives us some extra insight into Babylon.

“The antithesis and antagonist of Zion is Babylon. The city of Babylon was originally Babel, of Tower of Babel fame, and later became the capital of the Babylonian empire.”

The Institute Manual goes on to describe how Babylon worshipped evil with perversions and decadence. There are a lot of things we could cover in those two topics, and yet, my very first thought was this: the people at the Tower of Babel were cursed by the Lord to all speak different languages so that they couldn’t understand each other.

Zion is meant to be a place of unity where everyone understands each other, takes care of each other, loves each other despite our differences. I think sometimes people picture a place where everyone is going to think the same and have the same perspectives but not so. Zion will be a place of peacemakers and bridge builders.

At the time of writing this, the United States has just experienced a politically motivated assassination. Though most of the rhetoric I’ve seen condemns the violence, there is still plenty of vitriol between people of differing political parties. There is an immense amount of division. There are a lot of unproductive conversations taking place, and it seems very difficult to understand one another. Almost as if we’re speaking different languages.

Babylon is the opposite of Zion, and one of the key characteristics of Zion is unity. Note that the key characteristic isn’t eerily similar tastes and perspectives; it is unity.

When we read The Book of Mormon, we are constantly reading about how two nations were enemies despite the fact that they were brothers. They all came off of the same family. They couldn’t find it within themselves to love each other.

I’m convinced that Satan isn’t walking the earth parading as one political party or the other in any nation. He utilizes political parties to his own destructive ends in a myriad of ways, and one of those destructive ends includes creating nations of “us” and “them.”

The true enemy here is division. That is one of Satan’s favorite tools. He makes us believe we’re the good guys and the others are the bad guys. The true solution is unity despite differences.

The Savior isn’t waiting for the world to become wicked enough for Him to come again; He is waiting for the world to become righteous enough. President Nelson could announce tomorrow that we need to gather in Missouri, and we could all do that. We could create the buildings and homes and businesses, but if we do not spiritually create Zion, it’s going to be a while before Christ shows up.

Are we ready to build Zion in all of the ways that matter?

If you were called to go to Zion tomorrow, would you be able to love your neighbor if they felt differently about healthcare, approaching LGBTQ issues, world affairs, government systems, and how to combat poverty?

I guess a better question is this, “Do you currently love your neighbor who looks at all of these issues with a different perspective?” And I’m not talking about “trying to change all of their perspectives to your own because you love them” kind of love. I’m talking about being able to look at another person with respect and dignity, to look at another person and assume that they’re trying to make the world a better place. I’m talking about building Zion right where you are with any neighbor you’ve been given.

President Nelson has asked us to build bridges. Building bridges doesn’t mean making everyone move from one body of land to another body of land. It means creating a space where people can come from different places and meet together.

The Lord has asked us to leave Babylon and come to Zion. We have not yet been called to that physically, but we have been asked to build Zion spiritually. This includes living righteously in terms of worldliness and chastity, but it also means that we speak in a way that we can understand each other. We seek to understand each other. We seek to be unified.

I testify that the Lord asks for unity because He knows it’ll bless us. He’s not worried about everyone having the perfect perspectives just yet. Someday, we will all gain the knowledge we need to see the world clearly. Until then, the most happiness we can possibly garner will come from being unified despite our differences. It will come from watching out for each other and loving each other. Our different perspectives will enlighten each other and help us draw closer to the truth until the day when we will understand everything. I testify that the Lord asks for unity because He knows what it will do for us.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 133–134 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Eternal marriage & plural marriage (D&C 132; Official Declaration 1)by Mike Parker

Class Notes

Additional Reading and Videos

Gospel Topics Essays on plural marriage. These articles, published by the Church with the help of Latter-day Saint scholars, review the history and practice of plural marriage in nineteenth century:

“Plural Marriage in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” (an introductory essay).
“Plural Marriage in Kirtland and Nauvoo” (on polygamy as revealed and practiced by Joseph Smith).
“Plural Marriage and Families in Early Utah” (how polygamy was practiced in the Utah period).
“The Manifesto and the End of Plural Marriage” (how the practice was discontinued).

Joseph Smith’s Polygamy is the website for Brian and Laura Hales’ book series on Joseph Smith and the establishment and practice of plural marriage in Nauvoo. The Hales are the most thorough and reliable scholars working on this subject. Works in the series include Brian’s three-volume scholarly examination of Joseph’s practice of plural marriage and Brian and Laura’s brief, one-volume book that summarizes his work for a lay audience.

Brian Hales, Joseph Smith’s Polygamy, Volume 1: History (Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2013)
Brian Hales, Joseph Smith’s Polygamy, Volume 2: History (Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2013)
Brian Hales, Joseph Smith’s Polygamy, Volume 3: Theology (Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2013)
Brian Hales, Joseph Smith’s Polygamy: Toward a Better Understanding (Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2015)

Gregory L. Smith, “Polygamy, Prophets, and Prevarication: Frequently and Rarely Asked Questions about the Initiation, Practice, and Cessation of Plural Marriage in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” FAIR (2005). Smith explores some of the difficult issues surrounding plural marriage, including Joseph Smith’s public denials that he was practicing it. * Brian Hales, “Controversies in Joseph Smith’s Polygamy.” Presentation given at the 2010 FAIR Conference. * Brittany Chapman Nash, “Let’s Talk About Polygamy.” Presentation given at the 2021 FAIR Conference. * Gordon Irving, “The Law of Adoption: One Phase of the Development of the Mormon Concept of Salvation, 1830–1900,” BYU Studies 14, no. 3 (Spring 1974): 291–314. Irving’s article reviews the early Mormon practice of being sealed as a son or daughter to a prominent Church leader, a practice President Wilford Woodruff did away with by revelation in 1894. Mike Parker is a business and marketing analyst with over twenty years’ experience in the financial services and cellular telephone industries. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Management Information Systems from Dixie State University (now Utah Tech University) of St George, Utah. He also has eight years’ experience in corporate training and currently teaches an adult religion class in southern Utah. Mike and his wife, Denise, have three children.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 132 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

The Second Coming: Is the World Righteous Enough?by Autumn Dickson

In the readings for this week, Joseph Smith helps us glimpse into eternity so we can see a portion of what it looks like. Understanding what eternity looks like can help us more fully take advantage of what the Lord has given us with this mortal experience. He covers a variety of topics. Here is one of the things that Joseph Smith taught.

Doctrine and Covenants 130:14-15

14 I was once praying very earnestly to know the time of the coming of the Son of Man, when I heard a voice repeat the following:

15 Joseph, my son, if thou livest until thou art eighty-five years old, thou shalt see the face of the Son of Man; therefore let this suffice, and trouble me no more on this matter.

Before I went to bed last night, I had a very clear thought pop into my head. I knew it was revelation, and so I rolled over and wrote it in my phone quickly before rolling back over and falling asleep. When I woke up in the morning, I couldn’t remember what the Lord had whispered to me until I opened my phone to reread it. It said this.

“The Lord is not waiting for the world to become wicked enough in order to come again. He is waiting for us to be righteous enough. We seem to be waiting on the world to grow wicked enough rather than ardently focusing on becoming righteous enough.”

The scriptures often speak about how the world will grow more and more wicked and scary in the last days, and yet, I don’t think that’s a product of the Lord’s minimum level of wickedness before He’s willing to come. I think it’s merely a prophecy about the state of the world when we finally become prepared to receive Him.

The Second Coming is not a waiting game for us. The Lord is waiting, but we should not be. We should be building.

I studied Elementary Education in college, and one of the courses you take is how to design assessments for your students. When you’re trying to build a foundation of knowledge for your students, it’s important to understand where they’re at. If you skip steps in the foundation, there will be shakiness as you continue to build. If you keep trying to pour the same layer, you’re going to be wasting time. It is essential to understand where your students are at so you can take them where they need to go.

I actually loved this class for a lot of reasons and one of those reasons included the fact that my idea of what assessment truly looked like was immensely expanded. When we think of assessing our student’s knowledge, we often picture traditional multiple-choice questions. This class taught me that the most powerful way of assessing a student’s knowledge and skill was to design an assessment that put them as closely as possible to a real-life scenario.

Isn’t that what we’re trying to prepare them for as teachers? We’re trying to prepare them for life. Maybe they can use a formula that you repeated over and over and over, but if they run into a problem in real life, will they know to use that formula and how to plug the right information into that formula?

That is the ideal kind of assessment. If your goal is to prepare your student to function in real life, then designing an assessment that is close to real life is your best shot at understanding whether you succeeded and how far you have to go.

So what is God’s goal? To bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.

Immortality? Check. Thank you resurrection of Christ.

Eternal life? Well, let’s read a verse from this week’s reading.

Doctrine and Covenants 130:2 And that same sociality which exists among us here will exist among us there, only it will be coupled with eternal glory, which glory we do not now enjoy.

Society will be similar to what we experience here except there will also be glory. It’s almost like God took the same class that I did.

This life is our assessment. Eternal life is the goal.

There are a lot of directions I could take this idea. I could talk about the importance of relationships. I could talk about how we seek righteousness and change, but ultimately, glory is added later by the power of Jesus Christ. So many directions, but I’m going to choose to pursue what the Lord whispered to me last night.

We often picture this life as an individual assessment, and ultimately, it will be an individual assessment. How those around you act will not influence your judgment other than context. The Lord will be looking at you, what you produced with what you were given, and whether you’re prepared to live how He lives.

So yes, this life is an individual assessment. However, there are other parts of this assessment that we should be aware of.

I want you to picture the idea that we’re all part of a group project. Our goal? To make a society that is righteous enough to welcome the Savior back to earth, to create Zion.

This is so powerful because that’s what we’ll be doing on the other side. Heaven is where you go to be amongst others who actively choose to love and serve and give. That’s Heavenly Father’s goal. Perhaps He is waiting for us to create that here as our group project.

Down here, it’s a little bit different. We are surrounded by people who have different perspectives even within the church. Down here, we are all plagued by mistakes and flaws and blindness. If our goal is to eventually live in heaven where these won’t be a problem, why didn’t the Lord create a mortality that was more closely aligned with heaven?

Because we will still need to be prepared to work with and love future generations that still have lessons to learn.

We have to start truly loving our neighbor. This isn’t about being polite but secretly just tolerating. This isn’t about being nice and smiling at someone we disagree with but wishing they would just go away. This is about changing deeply within our core to love and offer dignity to everyone around us.

And so we practice and build it here. We show the Lord that we are prepared to survive and thrive in our next life. Most importantly, we become the kind of people who are prepared to survive and thrive in our next life. And as we build Zion, as we build heaven (or as closely as we can considering we dwell in a fallen world), we create a society in which the Savior can come again.

I testify that the Lord is waiting, and we should not be. I testify that creating Zion around you will be one of the most important and rewarding projects you step into. I testify that as we strive to be prepared to live in our next life, the Lord will take care of the rest (cleansing and adding glory). I’m grateful that changing and becoming are the tasks that were delegated to me. I’m grateful that despite my flaws, the Lord felt I was worth investing in. I’m grateful that He paid and paved the way for me.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 129–132 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Doctrinal Developments in Nauvooby Mike Parker

Class Notes

Additional Reading

This week’s lesson notes include a comparison of the sources used to compile section 130. (See notes, pp. 15–32.)
Joseph Smith’s teachings about the Holy Ghost in D&C 130:22 were emended in 1854 under the direction of Brigham Young. For an explanation of what happened and why, see Ronald E. Bartholomew, “The Textual Development of D&C 130:22 and the Embodiment of the Holy Ghost,” BYU Studies Quarterly 52, no. 3 (2013): 4–24.
Stan Larson, “The King Follett Discourse: A Newly Amalgamated Text,” BYU Studies 18, no. 2 (Winter 1978): 193–208. Joseph’s 7 April 1844 sermon, delivered at the funeral of his friend, Elder King Follett, is arguably the most important of his published discourses. In it, Joseph explained his understanding of the nature of God, including the doctrine that God the Father is an exalted Man who once had a mortal existence. Four different individuals took notes during Joseph’s sermon. Their accounts were synthesized into a single text in 1855 by Church scribe Jonathan Grimshaw; Grimshaw’s version was published by B. H. Roberts in his seven-volume History of the Church (6:302–17) and in many other Church publications. Stan Larson’s 1978 amalgamated text attempted to remove Grimshaw’s textual emendations and provide proper weight and balance to the various accounts.
On 16 June 1844, only eleven days before his death, Joseph gave his “Sermon in the Grove” that expanded on the nature of God and other ideas he had presented in the King Follett Discourse. The most complete account of his sermon was made by Thomas Bullock; you can read his handwritten notes on the website of the Joseph Smith Papers or a parallel comparison of his and two other accounts on the archived website of the Book of Abraham Project.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 129–131 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Is Exaltation Blasphemous or Worship?by Autumn Dickson

In case it was ever in question, we believe in exaltation. As I worked on this post, I felt like I was addressing a non-member even though it’s usually members who look up Come Follow Me posts. In the end, I decided to keep it that way. Even if non-members don’t look up this content, we can learn how to potentially respond to those who question our beliefs.

So let’s talk about exaltation.

Exaltation is one of the topics that is covered in our readings this week, but what does that really mean? What does it mean to inherit exaltation? Let’s look at what the Lord says.

Doctrine and Covenants 132:20 Then shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them.

The Lord defines (to an extent) what it means to be exalted. He describes His righteous children as capable of becoming gods (note the “g” and not the “G”) because they have no end. They shall be from everlasting to everlasting, but they also “continue.” They become above all things, and all things are subject to them. They have all power and angels are subject to them.

In other sections in Doctrine and Covenants, exaltation is described as “made equal with the Lamb of God” and “receive of the Father’s fulness.”

There are also references to this idea in the bible. Romans 8 teaches that we are children of God, and because of that, we can be heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ. We can all be glorified together. In Revelation 3, the Lord talks about how He will allow us to sit on His throne with Him. In Psalm 82:6, it describes us, as His children, as gods with a little “g” just as it does in Doctrine and Covenants.

There are a few reasons that people believe this doctrine is blasphemous. I actually believe that exaltation is the antithesis of blasphemy, and I want to explain why. First, I’ll explain it from the perspective of God looking down. Then, I want to turn our perspective from the child looking up.

First, let’s talk about blasphemy from the perspective of God.

I can only think of two reasons why exaltation would not be real. The first possible reason is that God is incapable of doing so. Maybe He can’t lift us up that high. Maybe He can only lift us as high as heaven but no further.

When I’ve had conversations with friends over this, I always hear them say, “Oh no. I’m way down here, and God is just so high. I can’t ever be on His level.”

Well duh. We also can’t earn heaven because it’s just so high, and we’re down here. And yet, He toiled and sacrificed and paid the price to lift us above where we are. Why can He only lift us so high? I think He lifts us to where He is despite our lack of earning it.

I don’t think exaltation is blasphemous. I think it’s blasphemous to suggest that God is incapable of lifting us to where He is.

I think most Christians would agree with that statement. God can do anything. He already sent His Son to die for us so that we could be lifted higher than we were, so the only other reason is that He chooses not to do so.

Can anyone think of a reason why God would not want to lift us to His level?

Let’s view this from a parent-child relationship, the parent-child relationship that God set up here on earth. On purpose. Intentionally.

Why would a parent keep their child down below them?

Usually, the answer is narcissism.

Narcissism often springs from deep insecurity, and it often translates as a person trying to keep themselves above everyone else. They want everyone to essentially worship them because they’re trying to fill that scary, deep void of insecurity. I know a few parents who are narcissistic. I know parents who have purposely tried to keep their kids down so that they could feel better about themselves. They have days where they’re lifting the child and then bragging to friends about it because it makes them look good, but they also have days where they’re undermining the child because they can’t bear the idea that the child will become independent and powerful and joyful and not need them. They do what they can to keep the child on a lower level because their ego can’t handle it. Sometimes this looks like constant criticism, mocking, or belittling. Sometimes it includes more nefarious plots, but it all boils down to this idea that they want the child on a lower level.

I know non-narcissistic parents who are the exact opposite. They look at their child and want that child to grow and become more than they ever did. They know that the child could potentially become very powerful, and they want that for the child.

I believe that’s how God loves us. I believe that He saw our potential and invested in it. I believe He loves me more than I love my kids, and I want my kids to be so much better than I was. We can’t be better than God because He is perfect, but if He loves me so much more, than why would He want anything less for me?

I don’t think exaltation is blasphemous. I think suggesting that God wants to keep us down is blasphemous.

Maybe someone else can come up with a logical reason as to why our growth is capped, but I can’t think of any reason that would not be blasphemous in and of itself.

Now let’s view this from the perspective of the child.

Another line of reasoning that I run into with the doctrine of exaltation is the idea that putting us on the same level as God diminishes Him somehow. Once again, only a narcissist sees it that way. God saving me and glorifying me and lifting me does not diminish Him.

IT DOES THE OPPOSITE.

Blasphemy is often associated with the idea that the human is mocking God.

I’m not mocking God with exaltation; I love Him more because of exaltation.

Swinging back around to the narcissistic parents and the non-narcissistic parents. Think about the children who grow up in those kinds of homes.

Which child adores their parents more? Which child loves and honors and follows their parents more? Which child is more likely to worship their parent?

The child who lives in the home with parents who love them and want to lift them as high as they are capable of reaching. I ADORE God because of exaltation. I don’t earn it. I worship Him for making sacrifice after sacrifice to make it possible. I worship Him for offering something that is priceless beyond my imagination. I worship Him for offering it when I don’t deserve it.

You don’t have to agree with the doctrine of exaltation. Perhaps you have a logical reason as to why the Lord would cap that growth. Perhaps you don’t, and that’s okay too. Heaven knows I don’t have logical reasons for everything that I believe in (though I’m trying awfully hard to get there). What I’m merely trying to suggest in this post is that our belief in exaltation doesn’t automatically equate to blasphemy.

I testify of a God who adores us. I testify that He is capable of lifting us and that He desires to do so. I testify that lifting me is possible because of the sacrifice of His Son, and I testify that lifting me doesn’t diminish His glory. It adds to it because it makes me worship Him all the more. I am grateful God calls me His child and set up parental relationships on earth so that I could observe that pattern and learn from it.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 129–132 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Redoubling Works or Effort: A Lesson on Faith in God’s Timingby Autumn Dickson

There is a verse in this week’s readings that always jumps out to me. It came at a time when I was praying about what I needed to do. I had started my blog, and then a while later, I found out that I was pregnant. I prayed about taking a break during the pregnancy and postpartum periods before working on everything again. I prayed, confident that the Lord would be fine with me taking a step back and then continuing on again.

Boy, was I wrong.

I prayed, flipped open my scriptures at random, and read this:

Doctrine and Covenants 127:4 And again, verily thus saith the Lord: Let the work of my temple, and all the works which I have appointed unto you, be continued on and not cease; and let your diligence, and your perseverance, and patience, and your works be redoubled, and you shall in nowise lose your reward, saith the Lord of Hosts…

I wasn’t doing temple work, but I knew what work the Lord was referring to. At that moment, I also knew that the Lord expected me to start creating posts for multiple weeks in order to give myself a break after having a baby. I had to redouble my efforts.

This verse has always stuck out to me for that reason. I’ll never forget the shock I felt when I read that. I had been so sure I would be able to just step away for a little bit and come back. Nope.

And though this verse has always stuck out to me and reminded me of this time and season, a couple of other things stuck out to me as I read it this time. For anyone who feels overwhelmed with the sheer volume of expectations in the church, this is a powerful verse in understanding what the Lord truly wants.

Let your diligence, perseverance, patience, and works be redoubled. Diligence and perseverance are both wonderful principles in helping to build the kingdom on earth. When I think about the Lord asking me to redouble my diligence and perseverance, those feel pretty normal. However, it was actually the other two words that struck me this week: patience and works.

So first: patience.

When the Lord gives us a work to do, do we often consider our need for patience with the project? We think about how the Lord often requires sacrifice, but does that sometimes include our best efforts for patience? Sometimes holding still feels like it requires more sacrifice than the Lord enabling us to finish everything at once with one huge, herculean effort.

I’m a herculean effort kind of girl. I want to get everything done at once, and I have a very difficult time enjoying myself when there are tasks that I could be completing. This was all fine and dandy when I received a syllabus in college and literally wrote all of my term papers in the first month of school so I could enjoy the semester. This has not translated well into motherhood and has been a consistent lesson the Lord has tried to impress upon me.

I struggle with the patience of His timeline because I’m willing to kill myself to get it done now so I don’t have to do anything tomorrow. Instead, He lets me sit in anxiety throughout today and still have to do it tomorrow. Why? Why does He make us wait to get it done if we have the time and desire to do it today?

I talk often about how the Lord requires our best efforts because anything less would leave us unprepared for what He wants to give us. Our best efforts include the acquired attribute of patience. The Lord puts us on a timeline because if we want to be able to do the work that He does, patience is absolutely essential. We have to acquire the patience needed to wait for the right moment to move.

So why does the Lord let me sit in my anxiety instead of giving me what I need to complete my tasks today? It’s because He needs me to acquire this valuable attribute: patience. I have to learn to be comfortable waiting, and I won’t ever learn it if He gives me what I want and helps me finish it all the first day. He keeps giving me opportunities to sit and wait and learn to be okay.

Second: works. Let your works be redoubled. This might feel opposite to what we were just discussing. Some of the time, I believe this implies the idea that we literally need to double the number of actions we’re utilizing to draw closer to Him. There are times in my life when redoubling my actions would have been helpful. However, I read this differently today. The wording of this verse is so particular, and the Lord is nothing if not careful in His words.

Let…your works be redoubled.

As in, allow your works to double. Sometimes, it’s not about doubling our actions so much as getting out of our own way and allowing the Lord to magnify our efforts.

There have been times in my life where I’ve needed to increase the amount of my efforts, and there have been times when I’ve needed to decrease the amount of my outward efforts and increase my faith.

I used to prepare these Come Follow Me posts the week before I needed to post them. I’m farther ahead now, but that was not the case for a very long time. I would write and prep everything throughout the week, film on Thursday, and then I would edit and upload on Fridays for the posts to go live Sunday at 12:00 am.

The Lord had been telling me to slow down for a long time, and I was adamant in my refusal to listen. I insisted that if I slowed down, everything would fall apart. After a long time of refusing to do this voluntarily, the Lord took away any other option. For a couple of months, I found myself beating my head against a wall in trying to prepare content. I felt so strongly that the Lord wanted me to do this, and yet, He wasn’t giving me anything. I tried redoubling my efforts, denying myself any naps or downtime in the evenings. I would sit in front of my computer for hours, trying to get anything written down, but it was to no avail.

Then, each Friday, the Lord would help me write a post, prep it, film it, and edit it all in one Friday afternoon while my kids napped. I finally got the memo that this pattern would continue until I chilled out and let it go. And so I did. Every day, I would sit down and put my heart into it for 20 minutes. If nothing was forthcoming, I would step away and accomplish something else or go take a nap. After doing this repeatedly, the Lord stopped pushing everything to Fridays and let me start getting things done throughout the week again. I started getting inspired on other days instead of Friday afternoons.

The Lord could do His own work. I just had to let Him do it according to His own terms. Redoubling my patience helped, and then I needed to let the work be redoubled.

Sometimes the lesson the Lord is trying to teach us has nothing to do with the idea that we’re not giving enough. Sometimes the lesson is that He wants more of our trust, trust in His timeline and trust in His ability to do His own work. Redouble your faith that He can make a mountain of miracles out of the molehill of effort that you can currently provide. He’s got this. He just wanted you to be a part of it so that you could grow.

I testify that there are appropriate times to put in more effort than we’ve been doing. I testify that there are also appropriate times to increase our faith instead. I testify that at any given moment, He is asking for what is going to truly prepare us to step into our divine destinies. He is asking for what is going to give us the most fulfilled, free, satisfactory life that can be provided in mortality. I also testify that it won’t be the fulfillment, freedom, and satisfaction that the world tries to peddle, but a deeper, more abiding kind.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 125–128 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Deep Water: Lessons from Joseph Smith and a Croatian Free Diverby Autumn Dickson

Context for this week: Joseph Smith and his companions were freed from prison by sympathizing guards during a transfer. Though they returned to their families, persecution rendered it necessary for Joseph to go into hiding. Some of what we read this week came through letters that Joseph had dictated with the will of the Lord.

In Section 127, there is a verse written by Joseph Smith that speaks of his ability to handle stressful situations. After repeatedly being placed in difficult circumstances, his ability to handle it grew tremendously.

Doctrine and Covenants 127:2 And as for the perils which I am called to pass through, they seem but a small thing to me…deep water is what I am wont to swim in. It all has become a second nature to me; and I feel, like Paul, to glory in tribulation; for to this day has the God of my fathers delivered me out of them all, and will deliver me from henceforth; for behold, and lo, I shall triumph over all my enemies, for the Lord God hath spoken it.

Deep water is what I am wont to swim in.

I feel like coming across this message was rather timely for me. At the time that I’m writing this post, I just read about a Croatian freediver named Vitomir Maričić. Maričić just set the world record for holding your breath, a whopping 29 minutes and 3 seconds. He beat the last world record by almost five minutes.

I researched what Maričić had to do in order to become this incredible freediver who could handle this kind of extreme duress. He obviously engaged in cardiovascular training, but it was not sufficient for this kind of world record. He also engaged in specifically training his diaphragm to take much slower, longer breaths. He stretched and performed breathing exercises in order to increase lung capacity. He worked with carbon dioxide tables in which he would hold his breath for a set amount of time and gradually decrease his rest intervals; for example, he would hold his breath for two minutes at a time while taking breaks that gradually shortened in between each two-minute period. He did the opposite with oxygen tables where the rest intervals were fixed, and the amount of time he would hold his breath would increase. He would walk while holding his breath to put extra stress on the body to acclimate. He literally worked to condition his spleen to release an increased number of oxygen-rich red blood cells.

He also worked mentally. At a certain point in holding your breath, your diaphragm starts to contract as a defense mechanism for the lack of oxygen. At about 20 minutes, Maričić felt these contractions but held the mental resolve to continue.

In order to prepare for the dive, he breathed pure oxygen for ten minutes. This can also cause problems, and he had to consciously work on building up his endurance for pure oxygen.

One of the main principles Maričić took advantage of was progressive overload where you continuously increase the stress you’re under to increase the amount of pressure you can handle. He did this under proper safety protocols and teams who could take care of him if something went dramatically wrong.

Deep water is what I am wont to swim in. Deep water is what Joseph Smith was accustomed to swimming in. It is one of our goals of mortality: to learn how to swim in deep water.

Why does it matter if we can swim in deep water?

Because that’s where Heavenly Father lives His life, in the deep end. He is fully engaged, completely immersed, surrounded by difficult circumstances that He doesn’t shy away from. Because of His willingness to enter into this state, He finds its opposite side of the coin: deep joy, contentment, and satisfaction in an eternal existence that has the potential to hold a lot of emptiness.

If we want to find that same kind of existence, an existence where we find meaning and purpose and joy in a never-ending lifetime, we have to be prepared to swim in deep water. You can’t get involved in loving imperfect others without consequent pain, but you can’t completely avoid relationships if you want joy. They come together.

Somehow, we have to develop the kind of fortitude where we can find joy while buried in deep water. Eternal life is not actually about waiting to get pulled out of the water; it’s about finding the resilience to be okay in the thick of it.

That’s difficult to find when the Lord allows us to perpetually stay in the shallow end.

There have been times in my life where I have found myself in the deep end, and I did not improve in my ability to find peace or joy. There have been times when I have simply panicked the entire time. Yet, there are other times when I have been able to school myself into being okay while being placed in a situation that’s uncomfortable.

Just like with Maričić, there are many methods that we can utilize to purposefully maximize our training rather than floundering and screaming the whole time and missing the entire point of the exercise. Let’s talk about one method today.

I taught swimming lessons growing up, and I’m not too shabby at it. As I taught my oldest daughter to swim, I would take her out into the deep end while holding her. I would count to 3 and dip her all the way under the water. I wasn’t holding her under. We were literally just dipping under and out. I made her do it 3 times every time we swam (which was nearly every day), and then she could be done and do whatever she wanted in the shallow end.

For the first week, she screamed bloody murder at me every time. I think I made the lifeguards rather uncomfortable. I definitely made the other patrons uncomfortable. But I knew that my daughter could do this, and I also knew that she would be a very happy person once she learned that going under the water wasn’t going to kill her.

The true turning point in this practice was when I asked a friend to take a video of her going underwater. She still screamed, but then I showed her the video. I made a big deal about the fact that she was so cool for being able to do that. I showed her what she was capable of.

She literally never screamed again. She didn’t love it immediately, but she didn’t scream anymore.

And then she did grow into what I knew she could be. She did grow into someone who had more opportunities for joy. I can’t keep the girl above the water anymore. Her siblings have followed right in after her, and no one is stressed or screaming about it except for me trying to keep an eye on three of my five young children, trying to determine who has been underwater too long.

One of the methods for taking full advantage of mortality is realizing who we are meant to be like. When you can catch a glimpse of what you’re meant to be, it makes the water worth it. And when something is worth it, it changes the game. It changes you. It is much harder to handle training and coaching when you don’t realize that there is a purpose in it.

I testify that you can swim in deep water. I testify that it’s worth training. I also testify that like Maričić, you have an extremely talented team that knows the progressive overload you need and can handle. There are angels standing around you to guide you. And, of course, you have the ultimate Lifeguard. The only thing that matters in that water is that you grow. He doesn’t care if you make mistakes. In the end, it won’t matter what happened to you because He can heal it. You just have to grow, and He will be there to fix everything.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 125–128 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Choosing Faith Through Failure: God’s Timetable for Zionby Autumn Dickson

Because of an extermination order, the Saints were driven out of Missouri and into Nauvoo. In Doctrine and Covenants 124, the Lord excuses His people from building the temple in Missouri after they had been driven out.

Doctrine and Covenants 124:49 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that when I give a commandment to any of the sons of men to do a work unto my name, and those sons of men go with all their might and with all they have to perform that work, and cease not their diligence, and their enemies come upon them and hinder them from performing that work, behold, it behooveth me to require that work no more at the hands of those sons of men, but to accept of their offerings.

The Saints were driven out and persecuted. They had been commanded to build Zion, and they had been commanded to build a temple, and it didn’t happen. The Lord explains Himself by saying that if people work really hard to do what they were commanded and they are stopped by enemies, He accepts their offering and doesn’t require it anymore.

Some might see this as rather convenient for Joseph when his prophecy didn’t work out, but what do you see?

What we choose to see is important because perspective is a choice. There are so many ways to look at any given scenario. Do we choose faith?

We can choose to look at what happened in Missouri, and say, “The Lord must not be in this. He commanded something, and it didn’t work out.” Didn’t Nephi say that if the Lord commands something, He will make it happen? Don’t we teach that all of the time?

Absolutely, we teach that. I reaffirm that. I also reaffirm that what the Lord declares can take a long time to come to pass. Let’s look at a couple of other scenarios.

First, there is the mortal ministry of Christ. Many of the Jews rejected Christ because they were looking for a different kind of savior. They wanted someone to come and throw the yoke of the Romans off their backs. They interpreted the scriptures incorrectly and because of that, they missed out on some of the greatest miracles that ever took place. They didn’t see. Their perspective was wrong.

Second, there is the death of Christ. The apostles were quite forlorn after Christ was crucified, and they were all immensely surprised to find Him alive again. One of them refused to believe that Christ had risen again until he personally saw Christ. Do we abandon our faith when things don’t look how we thought they were supposed to look?

Let’s look at some other examples.

One of the Old Testament stories that strikes me as important is that of Daniel and his friends. Babylon besieged and conquered the kingdom of Judah. As part of the conquest, they took the sons of Jewish nobility and put them into the Babylonian court to train and assimilate them. Daniel and his friends refused the food from the king’s table because it had not been prepared according to the Law of Moses. Daniel and his friends believed it would be a sin to eat it.

Think about that for a moment. Biblical scholars believe that these boys ranged from age 14-18. Their home had just been conquered. They had lost against a wicked, secular kingdom. It would have been easy for Daniel to think, “Is God really on our side? Do I really want to make the Babylonian king mad? He beat us. Why would I believe that we have the true God? Why would I keep following the religious laws of my defeated nation when it puts my friends and me in danger?”

But that is not the perspective that Daniel chose. Despite evidence that pointed to the contrary, David chose to believe. Despite religious beliefs that the Jews were chosen by an all-powerful God and still getting conquered, David chose to believe. Despite the fact that conquering nations paid homage to their gods in response to winning wars, David did not see His God as less powerful. He kept obeying.

Perspective is a choice.

Some may see a God who abandoned His people or was never there. Some may see the effects of a frenzied mind. Some may see a fallen prophet or a charlatan.

I see a God who is actually rather unconcerned with a location. Everyone is so caught up in wanting to know where Zion is or move there immediately, and Heavenly Father is like, “Okay. I see the future. I know where it is, but you’re missing the most important part…” I see a God who knows what mortality is actually for, and He delivers on His promises of growth and deliverance. I see a God who makes and keeps promises but also doesn’t have a pocket watch because time is only measured unto man. Sure, the Saints were driven out, and they didn’t build a temple. It took Nephi a couple of tries to get the plates. Let’s do this on God’s timetable, not our’s. We will build Zion, and we will build a temple there. Just because it hasn’t happened yet doesn’t mean it’s not going to. It doesn’t prove anything.

I testify of a Lord who was very aware of His Saints. I testify that He was powerful enough to win Zion over immediately and kick out all of their enemies, but I also testify that He has reasons for what He does. I testify that He has a plan and a timetable, and I testify that it is the best that we could ask for. I testify that trusting Him and choosing a perspective of faith brings blessings and hope and peace.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 124 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Establishment of Nauvoo; Baptism for the Dead & the Endowmentby Mike Parker

Class Notes

Additional Reading

T. Edgar Lyon, “Doctrinal Development of the Church During the Nauvoo Sojourn, 1839–1846,” BYU Studies 15, no. 4 (Summer 1975): 435–46. Lyon gives a brief overview of the new doctrines and interpretations Joseph Smith introduced in Nauvoo concerning the Godhead, the priesthood, the temple, and salvation.
Minutes of the Female Relief Society of Nauvoo, 17 March 1842. The Relief Society’s minutes record the counsel given by the Prophet Joseph Smith and by Society President Emma Smith on the date of its founding and the discussion over its name and goals.
FAIR has information on the Kinderhook Plates with links to several other resources.
The Nauvoo Temple: A Joseph Smith Papers Podcast is an eight-part documentary miniseries that explores the history and legacy of the temple that Latter-day Saints constructed in Nauvoo, Illinois, in the 1840s. The episodes consider what the Nauvoo Temple meant to the men and women who constructed it and the role in played in their religious devotion and worship. Series host Spencer W. McBride interviewed historians and Church leaders for this podcast.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 124–128 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

An Unchanging God, Individualized Graceby Autumn Dickson

In August of 1840, Joseph Smith delivered a sermon that introduced the concept of baptisms for the dead. People rejoiced and began being baptized for their kindred dead shortly thereafter. The Mississippi River was often the choice of setting for these sacred ordinances.

In January of 1841, Joseph Smith received Doctrine and Covenants 124 along with this instruction.

Doctrine and Covenants 124:31 But I command you, all ye my saints, to build a house unto me; and I grant unto you a sufficient time to build a house unto me; and during this time your baptisms shall be acceptable unto me.

The Lord commanded the Saints to build a temple again, and He told them that He would give them sufficient time to do so. Until then, He would accept their baptisms for the dead that occurred in the river.

We’ve talked about the fact that the Lord tailors His commandments for His people. For example, He made the Word of Wisdom advice before He ever made it a commandment or requirement for the temple. In this case, He allowed the Saints to give their best effort in preparing the temple but allowed them to still offer salvation to their loved ones in the meantime. The willingness exhibited by the Lord to work with us is always a gift.

And yet, in other examples, He seems unrelenting in what He demands of His Saints. For example, some of the trials the Saints went through leading up to Nauvoo are difficult to read about, let alone endure. He required a beautiful, massive temple from people who were poverty-stricken and inexperienced. He sent fathers out on missions while their families struggled at home.

At times, He stands ready to accept their best efforts. At other times, they are chastised for not fulfilling commandments to the letter. Some may see this as variability in personality. Some may see an arbitrary God who demands or allows depending on His mood.

I see a God who eternally loves us and makes decisions based on His purposes for us: to turn us into little versions of Him so that we can enjoy what He enjoys.

This is why He can simultaneously overthrow moneychangers in a temple but speak gently to an adulterer. It’s why He can strike Uzziah but forgive a Canaanite prostitute named Rahab. These decisions aren’t based on His ever-changing moods. They’re based on individuals who actually need wildly different things. And even within those individuals, their needs are going to vary from day to day.

There is a philosophy adopted by humans that we need to treat all of our children the same. I understand that consistency is vital to a child, but maybe we’re being consistent in the wrong things. I have tried to approach parenting a little differently. Rather than being consistent across the board with each child, trying to remember how I handled any given situation so that I can do the same thing for a sibling, I am consistent in my love for each child.

And because I am consistent in my love for each child, my reactions and decisions are going to vary by child.

At any given moment, does my child need me to meet them where they’re at or hold to a high standard? What is going to help them progress depending on how they slept, whether they’re hungry, whether they’re stressed from sitting at school all day? Do they need connection and mercy or connection and discipline? Which will help them see reality more accurately and help them acquire correct attitudes towards that reality?

I am not Heavenly Mother (or Father) and so unfortunately (or fortunately) for my children, sometimes my decisions ARE based off of my mood and limited capacities for wisdom and patience as much as I try to center them on each individual child.

But not so with the Lord.

He stands ready with infinite wisdom and patience in guiding us along. If He seems impatient or demanding, perhaps it is us who need to reframe our perspective. He is not annoyed with us; He isn’t ready to wash His hands of us (even when we wash our hands of Him). Rather, He is making individualized decisions about what to require and how to meet us where we’re at. He is parenting and coaching and coaxing in the most divine way possible.

If He seems cross or unrelenting, it is likely because He knows that pushing us to a higher standard is what we need. It’s going to require more of our souls. It’s going to push us to the point where we need Him; or more accurately, it will push us to the point where we recognize how much we need Him.

If He is gentle and accepting, it is likely because that is the approach that is going to help us progress faster in that moment.

The Saints had just experienced some intense devastation. They had been harmed cruelly. They had sacrificed so much. That sacrifice and difficulty wasn’t necessarily over, but Nauvoo became a period of rest for the Saints. The Lord knows what He’s doing. He knows that difficulty is why we came here; He knows the divine purpose of opposition. And yet, He’s also wise enough to know that we’re not ready for constant opposition. Moments of quiet and peace can balance all of that out and help bring out the best in us.

So here we see the Lord meeting His Saints where they’re at. He rejoices in the excitement of their hearts to perform this work. He loves their eagerness to provide saving ordinances for their kindred dead. That doesn’t mean He let go of the standard; baptisms for the dead belong to the temple. But He was also willing to give them stepping stones towards that standard.

He is not a changing Lord, making decisions based on whether He slept good last night or whether He’s hungry. He is a perfect Lord who knows whether His Saints need a stepping stone or chastisement.

I testify of a Lord who loves us and makes decisions based on each individual. I testify that even in the most tragic circumstances, He is there ready to carry us and give us the hope we need to be resilient. I testify of a Lord who loves us enough to whip us into shape or meet us where we’re at, depending on what is going to help us progress into our best selves. He is infinitely good, wise, and patient, but He is not afraid to push us. I love Him, and I’m grateful for how He has pushed me.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 124 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

There is Love in the Lack that God Givesby Autumn Dickson

In my last message, I shared some of the words of Joseph Smith when he spoke to the Lord. Those words have been canonized as part of Section 121. For this message, I want to share something similar from the same time period though it’s not canonized. Like the prayer of Joseph Smith, I hope that these words can become our words.

Emma Smith was amongst the Saints who were driven out of Missouri at gunpoint. She left behind what she owned and took her children into a frozen wilderness. Not only did she leave behind her possessions, but she was leaving behind her husband who was stuck inside of Liberty Jail. She wrote about this in a letter to her husband, but here is the portion that I hope to emulate in my own life.

Was it not for conscious innocence, and the direct interposition of divine mercy, I am very sure I never should have been able to have endured the scenes of suffering that I have passed through … ; but I still live and am yet willing to suffer more if it is the will of kind Heaven that I should for your sake.

What Emma went through would not be described as divine mercy by most, and yet, she found the hand of the Lord. She saw the Lord and His goodness and mercy (just as Joseph did), and because of what she saw in faith, she was “yet willing to suffer more if it is the will of kind Heaven…”

That is a powerful point to reach. To look at the Lord in any situation and say, I will take whatever You choose to hand out, good or bad. To accept your cross, pick it up, and start following with a childlike trust that He has your best interest at heart.

There are many little lessons that lead us to this point. There are many trust-falls that lead to the kind of relationship where you’re willing to accept what the Lord sends your way. There are a lot of principles and truths that we can internalize in order to reach this powerful point in our relationship with God.

Let’s talk about one truth that we can internalize that will shift how we look at our lives.

As I sat in Relief Society this weekend, the Spirit whispered to me, “There is love in the lack that God gives to you.”

We love to testify of tender mercies and divine “coincidences.” We rejoice when someone knocks on our door at the right time. We celebrate the moments when everything comes together for our good. In so many instances, these are the circumstances that build the foundation of our trust in God. It is because of these small moments that we look up and say, “I know He loves me and takes care of me.”

What if we could recognize the hand of God in everything?

Whenever Conner and I struggled to make things come together, my mom loved to tell me that the Lord would take care of us. She’s absolutely right and yet one time, I responded with, “Like He took care of the Willie and Martin handcart companies?” I was being facetious rather than bitter, but there’s still a lesson there.

The Lord did take care of the Willie and Martin handcart companies, and I’m not just talking about the moment they were rescued or the moment they stepped through the veil into spirit paradise.

It is easy to associate comfort, intervention, and safety with the Lord’s love; it is powerful to associate discomfort, silence, and perceived danger with the Lord’s love. We needed and wanted mortality with all of its pitfalls. And yet, when the Lord delivers on His promise of growth, we suddenly start to question whether He’s even there. There is no other way for Him to deliver on that promise!

Imagine for a moment that He sent us down here and didn’t allow bad things to happen, or maybe He just didn’t let super bad things happen. Being annoyed doesn’t call upon the depths of our soul. It doesn’t prepare us to step into His shoes and perform the work that He performs. Sure, the Lord lives in heaven and experiences all of those positively associated emotions, but He also has to stand back and watch the tragedies unfold on earth. If we can’t hang, we don’t get to step into His shoes.

He is giving us exactly what He asked for. He is giving us depth of life. The depth of your sorrow can unlock the height of your joy. They are inseparable sides of the same coin.

Life changes when we see the Lord’s hand in the tragedy and not just in the rescue. It changes even more when we see His hand in the tragedy before we reach the happy ending. When your spouse loses their job, when you’re lonely, when your family member or friend gets sick, when you lose your favorite pet, when you lose your health. How would these experiences change if you knew that the Lord had His hand in it and that He had your best interest at heart? What if He could show you the ending? And by the ending, I mean, what if He could show you how powerful you become as a result of the tragedy? What if He showed you the end result, your glory, as well as what He went through to make sure you wouldn’t walk the path alone?

Would it change your fear? Would it change your bitterness or devastation?

How would your life change if you saw His love immediately as tragedy strikes? How would your life change if you could see His love in the lack that He gives to you?”

It enabled Emma to carry more than most. The perspective of “His love in the tragedy” carried her.

That doesn’t mean that Emma never suffered again. Her faith didn’t immunize her against mental, emotional, and physical suffering. In her letter to her husband, she also references deep pain. Our trust in God’s love, whether in the rescuing or the tragedy, doesn’t take away the suffering. Life isn’t about escaping pain; eternal life isn’t about escaping pain.

Which is why I ask again: How would your experience change if you knew He had a hand in it and that He had your best interest at heart?

How do you describe the change that comes from knowing heaven is right on the other side of the veil? I’ve shared this analogy before, and I share it again.

It’s like being homeless, hungry, and exposed to the elements but knowing that everything you could possibly dream of awaits you in a couple of days. It doesn’t erase what you’re immediately feeling. You still feel the hunger, the weather, the lack of a bed. And yet, it does change how you feel about what you’re experiencing.

I testify that every decision the Lord is making to manipulate the details around you is in your favor even when it doesn’t feel like it. I testify that there is love in the lack that He chooses to give just as there was love in the suffering that ultimately rescues us. I testify that trusting Him through everything changes you for the better, and it brings the hope He promises.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 121–123 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

The “Mormon War” of 1838; Joseph Smith’s letter from Liberty Jailby Mike Parker

Class Notes

Additional Reading

FAIR has an article on The Danites with links to several other resources.
R. Scott Lloyd, “Hawn’s Mill Massacre: ‘New Insights and Interpretations’,” Church News, 9 November 2013. Recent research indicates that the name of the Mormon settlement was spelled Hawn’s Mill, rather than Haun’s, and that the Saints there were not aware of Joseph Smith’s counsel to move closer to Far West to avoid violence.
Transcript and photograph of Governor Lilburn W. Boggs’ “Extermination Order,” Missouri Executive Order 44, issued 27 October 1838.
Emma Smith’s letter to Joseph Smith, Jr. in Liberty Jail, 7 March 1839. In her letter, Emma updated her incarcerated husband on her status and the the welfare of their children: “Was it not for conscious innocence, and the direct interposition of divine mercy, I am very sure I never should have been able to have endured the scenes of suffering that I have passed through…but I still live and am yet willing to suffer more if it is the will of kind Heaven, that I should for your sake.”
Sections 121, 122, and 123 of the Doctrine and Covenants are extracts from a letter written by Joseph Smith and other Church leaders from Liberty Jail on 20 and (c.) 22 March 1839. Images of the original letter, along with an uncorrected transcript, are available on the Joseph Smith Papers website: Part 1 (20 March 1839); Part 2 (ca. 22 March 1839).
Kent P. Jackson and Robert D. Hunt, “Reprove, Betimes, and Sharpness in the Vocabulary of Joseph Smith,” The Religious Educator 6, no. 2 (2005): 97–104. Jackson and Hunt explain what these words meant in 1839 and the context in which they were used in D&C 121:43.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 121–123 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Three Truths to Transform Your Prayersby Autumn Dickson

Context.

Joseph stayed in a frigid prison with some of his companions for four months. It was one of the coldest winters on record in Missouri. They didn’t have sufficient clothing to keep them warm; the food was scarce and rotten. On at least four occasions, the food was poisoned. They couldn’t stand up straight because the prison was too short. There was no trial because of insufficient evidence, and witnesses were intimidated from testifying on behalf of Joseph and his companions.

This suffering was compounded by what was happening to their loved ones. They were separated from family and friends who were also suffering tremendously. Joseph’s band of followers had been expelled from Missouri through an extermination order and found themselves camped on the side of a river in winter time. As the men froze in the horrible prison, their people froze on the banks of a river. Joseph and his friends listened to their captors tell stories of the assault and murder of their friends and family back in Missouri, specifically the recounting of Haun’s Mill.

Dark times.

I have experienced some level of darkness and even if mine is comparatively lesser to Joseph and the Saints, I still believe that what we read in these sections can uplift us, carry us, and help us see more clearly. There are three principles that we’re going to talk about in relation to prayer that have the power to bring light back into our life.

Doctrine and Covenants 121 is a revelation that occurred during this time period, and it is unique in the sense that it is one of very few sections that include words spoken by man and not just the voice of the Lord. I want to talk about the specific verses coming from Joseph’s own voice. Though it was Joseph speaking and not the Lord, we can learn something profound.

If you want a good example of how to pray in faith, look no further than Joseph in Liberty Jail. Instead of reading consecutive verses, I’m going to read phrases from different verses to emphasize my point. Here are some of the words we read from Joseph.

Doctrine and Covenants 121:1-6

O God, where art thou? How long shall thy…pure eye, behold the wrongs of thy people…? O Lord God Almighty, maker of heaven, earth, and seas, and of all things that in them are…Remember thy suffering saints, O our God; and thy servants will rejoice in thy name forever.

Are we able to rejoice in the Lord under all circumstances? Even in the midst of tragedy, do we acknowledge His presence, purity, and power? In the midst of despair, are we able to still recognize ourselves as His?

Let’s talk about three ways Joseph shows his faith.

First, Joseph acknowledges Him. Perhaps we have not received manifestations to the extent that Joseph did, but we have had manifestations. Though the Lord wasn’t providing solutions or softening hearts or providing ways of escape, Joseph reached for the Lord.

Second, he acknowledges the perfect characteristics of God. Despite the less than perfect circumstances, despite the seemingly juxtaposed concepts of God’s goodness and God’s willingness to allow the current despair, Joseph calls His Lord good.

Third, Joseph acknowledges the sacred relationship between him and his God. It’s easy to be tempted to believe that God is angry or disappointed with us when things get sticky. If I had been in Joseph’s circumstances, I surely would have felt like I had done something wrong. I would have assumed that if I had been better or wiser or more righteous, I could have circumvented this terrible halt in the Lord’s plans. Not Joseph. More than once, Joseph describes the Saints with adjectives that imply ownership. Joseph and the other Saints belong to Christ. At least within this prayer, Joseph doesn’t waver in that.

Joseph’s prayer is filled with faith. It is fascinating to me how each of these three principles of faith are almost like stepping stones in our progression of faith that eventually becomes powerful enough to move mountains. As we apply that faith in prayer, we find the salvation we’re looking for. Here are the three principles of faith put into concise terms.

1) I believe that God is there.

2) I believe that God is good and powerful.

3) I belive that I am God’s child, and He loves me.

After it became a habit to write my prayers, I found myself inadvertently going through these three principles when I found myself in trouble. I didn’t even realize I was doing it (thank you Spirit) until the Lord guided me to write this. As I acknowledge the pattern this Lord has helped me establish, I realize that it has changed the course of my prayers, and therefore, my life.

If you are in a place of darkness, there is a lot of benefit in taking your troubles to the Lord. I’m sure there were plenty of times when Joseph talked to the Lord about all the things that he and the Saints were experiencing. I have found a lot of goodness in this strategy, and I employ it often.

And yet, some of my most powerful prayers have not come when I’ve poured out my heart about what’s going on and pleaded for some specific form of deliverance. My most powerful prayers are those drenched in those three principles of faith: I believe God is there, I believe He is good and powerful, and I believe that I am a child of God and He loves me.

When I take the time to acknowledge those three beliefs (in the same way that Joseph did), I find myself healing and comforted before I’ve ever gotten direction or deliverance. My problems and danger feel much smaller, the rewards greater. It makes everything I’m going through more manageable because I have remembered to compare it against some of the most powerful facts in existence. My problems don’t stand a chance against that.

I think it’s important to acknowledge that Joseph wasn’t immediately delivered from his prison after showing faith. Faith can move mountains, but the most important thing that faith can do is change us in the face of those mountains. Being changed at the end of this mortal experience is infinitely more important than being delivered from a jail cell. There’s no comparison.

I testify of God. I testify that He is there, that He is powerful and good, and I testify that He loves you because you are His child. I testify that those facts are true, and yet, they don’t hold much power in our life if we don’t believe them. God cannot prove Himself, His goodness, His power, or His love any more than He already is. We have to be the ones who change if we want to find those pieces of salvation He keeps handing out.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 121–123 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Rejoicing During Failingby Autumn Dickson

We are in an interesting section of church history here. This portion of history is often very difficult for some people because it calls Joseph’s prophetic calling into question…again. While the Saints were living in Kirtland, Ohio, Joseph encouraged the Saints to invest in the Kirtland Safety Society. The Kirtland Safety Society was meant to be a bank, but the state of Ohio rejected the Saints charter to form one. Instead, they utilized a loophole and made it a joint-stock company. You don’t really have to understand economics or legalities to understand that it failed. Many people lost a lot, and when we consider the fact that there are many people who don’t have a lot already, it can be easy to wonder how Joseph got it so wrong.

Why didn’t the Lord help the Saints with this? Or, at the very least, why didn’t the Lord warn Joseph against forming the Kirtland Safety Society? People listened to him because he’s the prophet, and they got burned. In fact, this is one of the reasons many Saints (including members of the twelve apostles) apostasized.

Interestingly enough, very shortly after the Saints fled Kirtland, Joseph was praying about the church’s difficult financial situation. Here is one of the verses in the revelations he received.

Doctrine and Covenants 119:1, 4

1 Verily, thus saith the Lord, I require all their surplus property to be put into the hands of the bishop of my church in Zion,

4 And after that, those who have thus been tithed shall pay one-tenth of all their interest annually; and this shall be a standing law unto them forever, for my holy priesthood, saith the Lord.

So the Kirtland Safety Society failed, and then Joseph received a revelation that the Saints needed to give more. Again.

If this is the Lord’s church, why isn’t He enabling them to do what they need to do? LIke build Zion? Or build temples? If He has all of these expensive things that He desires of His Saints, why does He keep taking away? Or, at the very least, why is He allowing it all to be taken away?

I’ve got a theory.

My theory calls upon a story found in the New Testament, specifically in John 6. Christ feeds the 5,000 with a couple loaves of bread and fish. In modern times, we revere this beautiful miracle and use it to teach all sorts of lessons, but the story gets even more interesting. The people did not take all of the spiritual lessons that we often pull from it. Instead, they try to force Christ to be their king. He departs, and they find Him again, presumably to look for more free bread. I presume this because they don’t really like it when He refuses to make more bread. Many disciples leave and walk no more with Him.

Despite the gigantic miracle that did take place, we find a bunch of murmuring people who start to get mad at Christ. The second that Christ takes away the free bread, the people essentially start saying, “Who is this guy? He is just the son of Joseph and Mary.”

The parallels with the people who apostasized during this period in church history is astounding. Anyway.

Christ had to take away the bread in order to provide an opportunity for people to follow after Him for spiritual reasons. Otherwise, they would have followed Him for eternity continually receiving the bread but never actually finding the joy that was meant to be theirs. They never would have found it. They were too distracted by bread.

The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. We rejoice in Him when He gives, and we rejoice in Him when He takes away. Otherwise, it’s not really the kind of faith that brings salvation. If we want salvation from our faith, it has to be a specific kind of faith. Let me show you the differences.

It cannot be faith that says, “I trust that God can give me everything I want.”

It has to be faith that says, “I trust God no matter where He takes me.” It is only this kind of faith that moves the mountains within us. It is only this faith that brings salvation in the truest sense.

Let’s bring this back to the Kirtland Safety Society. It would have been very easy for Heavenly Father to build up the city and the bank and the temple all by Himself. He built the earth; I’m pretty sure construction is not the problem here. I’m sure He could have enabled the Kirtland Safety Society to succeed wonderfully. But He didn’t, and it shook the faith of many. This is not the first time that Christ has “taken away,” and it’s not the first time that people abandoned ship because of it. It’s not the first time that people turned their backs on all of the other miracles that were performed. It’s not the first time people were too distracted by earthly problems to miss the eternal, spiritual lessons that had far more significance.

Let’s take this a step farther. The Lord took away, and then He called upon the people to give even more after they had just fled their homes in Kirtland.

In our day, I have seen many people call for an end to tithing, at least for the poor. For a church that is worth a lot of money, it really makes them upset that it would require the sacrifice of the widow who only has a mite to give. I understand where they’re coming from. Imagine a billionaire asking the poor for donations. It would spark outrage.

But, like the disciples of old who walked no more with Christ, they are missing the entire point.

Christ is the ultimate billionaire. Trillionaire. Yeah, it goes beyond that but I don’t know the label for someone who has infinite funds. He could end world hunger and physical suffering. He could stop all of it, but then we would be so distracted that we would never learn the weightier matters.

I don’t care what you say; bread can’t bring true happiness. Bread will one day be a part of our eternal reward. If you live righteously, all of your needs will be provided for. I’m pretty sure that even if you live wickedly, all of your needs get provided for in the other kingdoms. However, none of that will amount to the joy and peace and salvation that is meant to be yours if you do not learn the weightier matters.

Our God is wise and knows that taking away is essential to learning the weightier matters. He takes away, and He asks for sacrifice because only complete and utter faith in Him will bring salvation and all of its associated positive emotions. Christ doesn’t need your tithing. You need your tithing.

In Doctrine and Covenants 119:6, the Lord says that if His people do not follow the law of tithing, “…it shall not be a land of Zion unto (them).” I want to give an analogy to take this further.

Let’s say I build a house for my kids. It has absolutely everything they need, and I give it to them for free. It’s a gift. However, I can’t force my kids to enjoy the house. I can’t force them to live together in harmony and work together and love each other. I can’t force the house to be heavenly. They have to do that with their actions and more importantly, their attitudes. It doesn’t matter how much I gift them heaven if they’re not living in a heavenly manner so that it brings all the joy that the gift was meant to bring.

In that sense, I am offering them a gift of “Zion” in which they can have everything they need and where they can experience all the joy that comes with living in harmony and love with others. Unfortunately (or fortunately?), I cannot truly force Zion’s joy upon them. I can tell them how to experience it by forgiving and loving and taking care of what they’ve been given, but if they choose to ignore my laws, then it will not be Zion to them. It doesn’t matter how much I provide and offer the gift. It will not be Zion to them if they are not living Zion-like lives.

If my children continue to ignore my laws to the extent that they’re miserable, then perhaps the most merciful and loving thing I can do is to kick them out of the house so that they can learn to appreciate what they were given. Perhaps that sounds dismissive, unmerciful, or uncaring, but it also holds a grain of truth. We can’t experience Zion unless we are changed to appreciate it. No matter how long you stay in the land of Zion, you will be miserable until you are changed.

Sometimes the only way to change is when He takes it away or when He asks us to sacrifice it. Maybe you don’t believe me, but believe Christ. He knew He had to take away the bread FOR THE BENEFIT of His disciples so long ago. They chose to leave anyway, but they would have refused the eternal blessings anyway because they would have been distracted by a piece of bread.

I testify that following the Lord no matter where He leads is the most incredible journey you can take. I testify that if you want joy, you trust the Lord. I testify that you need tithing, not the Lord. I testify that the weightier matters will bring you more than a piece of bread.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 115–120 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

When You Covet What You Haveby Autumn Dickson

The Saints began to flee Kirtland in January 1838 because of religious persecution and mounting debts. A majority of them went to Far West, Missouri. When July came around, Newel K. Whitney and William Marks were still in Kirtland. They had originally been left behind to settle affairs, but they had remained there longer than necessary because they were attached to their property and didn’t want to liquidate it too quickly.

Honestly, no judgment. It would be hard to flee. It would be hard to just close the door on something you had worked so hard for. It would be hard to turn off the lights for the last time and know you would likely never see the place again. It’s difficult to close a chapter even when you have confidence in a well-laid plan for the next chapter, which Whitney and Marks didn’t necessarily have.

And yet, here is what the Lord counseled them.

Doctrine and Covenants 117:4 Let them repent of all their sins, and of all their covetous desires, before me, saith the Lord; for what is property unto me? saith the Lord.

According to the “Guide to the Scriptures,” part of the definition for “covet,” is to “have an excessive desire towards.” Our desires for our own things can be excessive. We are not always accustomed to speaking of coveting something that already belongs to us. Usually when we speak about coveting, we’re talking about wanting something that someone else has. And yet, the Lord is speaking to these men about their own property. You can covet your own property.

I think it’s important that the definition includes the word “excessive.” We do not need to banish any desire we have for things. We can want a house, good food, clothing, and objects that make our life nicer or easier. We just need to keep our desires from becoming excessive.

I believe that excessively desiring our own property can look like a couple of different things. I want to talk about two different scenarios of coveting your own property as well as ways that we can overcome that coveting.

I’ve watched people be perfectly content with what they have until after they started earning more and having more. I’ve watched them start to covet what they already have only after they were given more. This is a legitimate pattern. Despite the fact that we usually speak of coveting something that someone else has, I’ve found that the most common form of coveting is when you have an excessive desire for your own stuff. We see it all the time in The Book of Mormon with the pride cycle. The people start out humble and poor and taking care of each other. It’s only after they start having nice things that they truly get caught up in the things of the world.

So how do we keep ourselves grounded? How do we not get caught up in owning things in this scenario?

It can feel tricky since the Lord doesn’t begrudge us laboring to increase what we have. There isn’t anything wrong with an appropriate desire for things. Those desires just can’t be excessive. How do we keep our desires balanced?

I’m sure there are plenty of ways that we can keep our desires for our own things at appropriate levels: humility, gratitude, giving, recognition of stewardship. However, I want to talk about one specific way we can keep ourselves from coveting our own property when we find ourselves with more than what’s normal.

We keep ourselves grounded by accurately placing our desires alongside our desire for eternal things. When we have an accurate view of eternity and what that entails, it becomes much easier to see the actual worth of our property. So what is this accurate view of eternity?

The accurate view is that the Lord is building a mansion for you. You are meant to be a king or queen. It is your divine birthright to walk on streets of gold and have everything you need. It is also part of your birthright to grow into a glorious being capable of eternal happiness. Walking on streets of gold can only bring so much happiness. When you find yourself in the eternities, you’re not going to be able to derive any little bursts of happiness from having more than those around you because they will also be walking on gold. When you’re in the eternities, walking on gold will be nice to the extent that you have what you need. However, you will very quickly start to realize that there is only so much joy you can derive from gold. The accurate view of eternity is that you will have all you need and want; however, if you don’t also have the weightier matters, you’re going to be miserable and empty.

So we keep ourselves grounded by balancing our desires for our own stuff with our desires for what truly brings happiness. When you’re feeling a little miserable or empty, it can be tempting to want to go buy something to fill that little void. Rather, if we can remember to invest in relationships and serving and turning outwards when we’re seeking happiness, we’re going to find it. You cannot find deep, lasting happiness in stuff in this life or the next. It is only when your stuff is a part of something more important and enduring, that you can derive all the joy and peace that was meant to be your’s.

There is another way that we can covet our own property, and I think this particular scenario is closer to what William Marks and Newel K. Whitney were experiencing.

We have observed a pattern of how becoming richer can actually make you more susceptible to coveting your own property. Despite this being a regular pattern, I believe it’s just as possible to covet your own things when you don’t have as much. Perhaps you’re not looking around and yearning for what everyone else has, but perhaps you’re plagued by fear of losing what little you do have.

And isn’t that the very definition of sin? Wickedness never was happiness. Being plagued by fear of losing what you have is not happiness which is why it can also be classified as sin. We have already established that getting richer doesn’t inoculate you from coveting your own property. The only way we can truly rid ourselves of the weight of envying our own property is by changing our hearts.

The only way to experience true happiness, and not Satan’s counterfeit, is by changing our hearts to trust Him and desire righteousness.

You don’t have to wait until you have more stuff to find the peace you’re looking for. You don’t have to wait until your pantry is full to trust that the Lord is taking care of you. In fact, you may not find peace or trust even after you have everything you wished for.

We are seeking joy and peace. That doesn’t come from our stuff. It cannot come from our stuff! Property is incapable of providing it. Joy and peace only come from following the pattern of living laid down by our Savior. Just as the Lord instructs in Doctrine and Covenants 117, we have to repent of our covetous desires. We have to change our heart to desire the best things and to trust Him enough to find peace in a world that is filled with turmoil.

I testify of a Lord who loves us. I testify that it is not difficult for Him to give you everything you could possibly desire and want. Property is nothing to Him because there is no end to His property. He’s trying to teach us that. We don’t want to be afraid of what we won’t have tomorrow but that doesn’t come from having enough. Even if you become the richest person in the world, you can still lose everything. There is no security but in the Lord. I testify that if you want joy and peace, you have to follow after the Lord.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 115–120 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Mistakes Were Part of the Planby Autumn Dickson

The church is running into some issues. They have incurred heavy debts, and leaders are growing increasingly worried. There was a member, Brother Burgess, who spoke of a widow who had left behind a lot of money hiding in her cellar. Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, Sidney Rigdon, and Oliver Cowdery travelled to Salem, Massachusetts to attempt to find this treasure. It was never found.

It’s important to note that this account was written 53 years later by a former church member. We may not have every detail correct, but here is a verse from that stay in Salem that may be referring to this experience.

Doctrine and Covenants 111:1 I, the Lord your God, am not displeased with your coming this journey, notwithstanding your follies.

The Lord isn’t mad that they went to Salem despite their follies. A folly is an error in judgment, a mistake. The Lord is not afraid of us making mistakes. He warns against sin making us unhappy, but an error in judgment does not need to tear us down. Joseph and his companions had sought means to relieve the debts of the church. How could the Lord be upset with that? They were proactive and sought to do all within their power to fix the problems they were facing.

This is actually really important to understand; it’s very important to internalize. The Lord isn’t angry when we make mistakes.

We came to earth so that we could eventually become like Jesus Christ. We did not come to earth to never make mistakes.

It may sound like the same thing sometimes, but it’s not.

I’m going to ask some questions now that I’m desperately hoping do not come off sounding sacrilegious. There are many definitions of some of the words I’m about to use, and I’m asking questions so we can better understand the scriptures.

What do the scriptures mean when they say that Christ is perfect? Did it mean that He never fell down when He was learning to walk? Did it mean that He never found Himself with setbacks on a journey because of unforeseen circumstances? Or did it mean that He handled unforeseen circumstances with absolute faith? Is that partially why people in Nazareth rejected Him? Is it because they had seen Him grow up and make mistakes (not sin! mistakes!)?

This is the gospel according to Autumn, but I’m not sure that’s what the scriptures meant when they described Christ as perfect. I believe He faced a lot of the same trials we did in mortality. He had the same veil placed over his eyes and had to learn who He was. He faced situations where He didn’t know the outcome or the most effective decision, and maybe He didn’t even know the perfect thing to say. We know that scriptures taught that the Savior increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. How can you increase beyond the traditional definition of perfection?

When the scriptures say that Christ was perfect, I believe it means that He never sinned. Sin is not the same thing as a mistake. I believe that when He faced two roads that He could travel, He didn’t always know which one to take. Instead, He moved forward with faith and listened to see if His Father would correct Him. I believe that when He faced setbacks, He never faltered in that faith and devotion. I believe that when He faced people who had experienced tremendous grief, He wasn’t necessarily given perfect words (because I believe there are situations in which there are no perfect words) but His words were filled with power because of His perfect love.

When the scriptures ask us to be perfect, I believe the scriptures are asking us to become devoted to the Savior. We become so devoted that our hearts become perfectly filled with faith in the Savior and perfectly turned outwards towards others. Does that mean we will never face a situation where we don’t immediately know what we’re supposed to do? No. Does that mean we’ll never face obstacles because we’re simply going to know everything to say ahead of time? Does it mean that we’re going to be proactive in making decisions that we completely circumvent every setback as we’re going about the work of the Lord?

I don’t think so. I could be wrong for sure. But I believe perfection, as described by the scriptures, is a state of heart in which we are wholly turned towards the Lord and then towards others. I don’t think it extends to omnipotence until the next life.

If we become paralyzed with fear of mistakes, we prevent ourselves from acquiring growth. Growth is essential to the entire purpose of the Plan of Salvation. So there you go. We didn’t come to earth to avoid mistakes. We came to earth to become like Jesus Christ.

And honestly, I believe this extends towards sin. This is the part where we obviously differ from Christ. We’re going to sin and make mistakes. And though the Lord was talking about the debts the church had incurred in Kirtland, the Lord loves to have layers of meaning in His words. Here is another verse from the same section.

Doctrine and Covenants 111:5 Concern not yourselves about your debts, for I will give you power to pay them.

Christ is not concerned with our debts. He already paid them. He knows the price because it was paid a long time ago. He isn’t concerned. He had enough to cover it.

He is wholly focused on your growth.

If Heavenly Father was wholly focused on avoiding sin, He never would have sent us here to earth at all because it was impossible to come to earth without sinning and making mistakes.

This doesn’t mean that we run around excusing ourselves and doing whatever we want because Christ paid the debt and Heavenly Father is wholly focused on our growth. He is not concerned when we have flaws we’re trying to overcome, and He is not concerned with our follies. He is concerned when we’re refusing to grow and receive the joy that comes with following after Him.

If you are actively repenting, if you are trying to orient your heart towards the Savior, if you are trying to turn your heart outward towards your fellow man, then rejoice. The Savior isn’t mad at your mistakes. Rejoice; don’t be concerned about your debts. They are taken care of.

I testify of a Savior who is perfect. I testify that He was wholly devoted to His Father and rejoiced in His Father because of His faith. I testify that He rejoices in your repentance and growth to the extent that He is not angry, nor concerned. I testify that He loves you perfectly even though He knows you exactly as you are; you don’t have to be afraid of your flaws or lack of wisdom about how to handle every circumstance in your life because He already knows and He loves you anyway.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 111–114 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

End of the Kirtland period; revelations in Missouri, 1838by Mike Parker

Class Notes

Additional Reading

BMC Team, “Why Was Martin Harris Cut Off from the Church?”, Book of Mormon Central, 1 June 2021. This brief article explains why Martin Harris, one of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon, was excommunicated from the Church in late 1837 during a period of mass apostasy.
Stephen C. Harper, “The Tithing of My People,” Church History: Revelations in Context, last modified 13 January 2016. Harper, a historian for the Church History Department, explains how the Saints in Missouri understood how to calculate “one-tenth of all their interest annually” as tithing. (D&C 119:4)
Dennis B. Horne, “Reexamining Lorenzo Snow’s 1899 Tithing Revelation,” Mormon Historical Studies – Fall 2013, Vol. 14, No. 2. President Lorenzo Snow did not prophesy an end to the southern Utah drought at the time he received his famous tithing revelation in St. George in 1899 (as portrayed in the church-produced movie “The Windows of Heaven”). The tithing manifestation was indeed true and real, but President Snow’s son LeRoi C. later created an accompanying fiction of a prophecy that if the locals paid their full tithing it would yet rain that very season and save their livestock and crops. President Snow uttered no such prophecy and there was no end to the drought for two years.
Elder Boyd K. Packer, “The Least of These,” General Conference, October 2004. “I remember my servant Oliver Granger; behold, verily I say unto him that his name shall be had in sacred remembrance from generation to generation, forever and ever, saith the Lord.” (D&C 117:12)
Elizabeth Kuehn, “Finances and Faith in the Kirtland Crisis of 1837,” 2017 FAIR Conference.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 111–112, 114–115, 117–120 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

The Power of Conversion: Healing Through Christby Autumn Dickson

Thomas B. Marsh was frustrated with Joseph Smith for calling two of the apostles on missions without consulting him. He received a revelation that helped him repent and gave him spiritual counsel. Within the counsel he receives, there are two phrases that are found next to each other which take on profound meaning when you observe them together.

Doctrine and Covenants 112:13 And after their temptations, and much tribulation, behold, I, the Lord, will feel after them, and if they harden not their hearts, and stiffen not their necks against me, they shall be converted, and I will heal them.

The Lord is talking to Marsh about the apostles. The Lord told Marsh to correct them and be an example to them before sharing this verse where He promises to reach out to them. The phrases that are interesting when placed together are, “…they shall be converted, and I will heal them.”

There are a couple of definitions of the word convert that are relevant. The first one is, “change in form, character, or function.” The second definition is to, “change one’s religious faith or other beliefs.” Let’s talk about both definitions and how they lead to healing. I’m actually going to talk about the second definition first.

To change one’s religious faith or other beliefs. This is an interesting one. We’re obviously not talking about converting to a different religion, but even within our own church, we need to be evolving our own beliefs as we learn more about the gospel. Let me give an example. It’s a long one, but sharing all of the details helps me teach the principle.

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve actually had multiple friends come to me with marital problems and I shared a piece of advice that I had received. Love your spouse when you don’t feel loved. Interestingly enough, this is good advice no matter what kind of marriage you find yourself in. Even more interestingly, this is good advice for any relationship you’re in.

I can imagine that this might cause some outrage, especially for people who have escaped abusive relationships, but let me explain further.

God loves us infinitely more than anyone else. His love leads Him to act mercifully, to make sacrifices on our behalf, to continually turn towards us even when we’ve rejected Him. God’s love has also led Him to reject us, to put up boundaries, to separate us from Himself and others.

Love is a feeling, not a specific action.

When I originally shared this advice with my friends, some of them struggled with it. They felt that they had already sacrificed enough, and they weren’t seeing enough sacrifice on the part of their spouses. AND THIS IS PRECISELY WHAT I’M TRYING TO TEACH.

They struggled with the advice because they had inaccurate ideas of what love means and what it looks like. When I explained to them that my definition of love was a feeling that could lead to several different appropriate actions, that softened the blow a bit.

When we talk about converting in relation to the gospel, we’re talking about changing aspects of our faith and beliefs. I’m not talking about getting baptized in a different church; I’m talking about true, internal change within our hearts as we receive new perspectives and interpretations of doctrine. The more we convert, the more we heal. Let’s look at our example of love again.

I also gave this piece of advice to a friend whose significant other broke up with them in a hurtful way. I told my friend to love her, truly love her enough that you wanted what was best for her. I told him that if he wanted to heal from getting hurt in this manner, his best strategy was to love her. Love didn’t mean following her around. He had to change his belief of what love was and looked like, and if he chose to allow a more accurate definition of love to take hold in his heart, he was going to find healing.

As we convert closer and closer to the gospel, we are going to naturally find healing. Even as members of Christ’s church on the earth, we still have some inaccurate ideas surrounding gospel principles that we’re going to weed out as we grow older.

When we learn that forgiveness can look like complete mercy and letting go of past grievances as well as loving someone from a healthy distance, we can find healing.

When we learn that serving can bring about resentment if we’re not throwing our heart into the mix, we can soften our own hearts and find healing.

When we learn that humility doesn’t mean squashing ourselves and the spiritual gifts we’ve been given, we start to step into our divine destinies, and we find healing.

There are so many different aspects of faith that need to evolve as we learn more about the gospel. Following gospel principles inaccurately can make things more difficult, but if we convert our faith as we learn a more accurate perspective on these same principles, we will find the healing that Christ has talked about.

The first definition that I mentioned was to “change in form, character, or function.” I’m not going to elaborate too much on this because it’s simply another way of saying what has already been said. We change. Not only do we change our functions (i.e. the outward actions of the gospel), but we change in character. If you can utilize the actions to actually change your character, you find the salvation that Christ promised.

I testify that following Christ accurately is what brings about the true blessings of the gospel. I testify that we do need to convert as we learn more and more and more about what Christ meant when He gave certain commandments. I also testify that when we allow our faith to convert and transform, we will find the healing that He promised us.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 111–114 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Building the Kingdom in Diapers and Day Jobsby Autumn Dickson

The Saints have built the Kirtland temple. This week we read about the dedication event, including the revealed prayer from the Lord, and we read about the Lord restoring priesthood keys within the temple. Here is one of the verses from the prayer that was revealed to Joseph Smith.

Doctrine and Covenants 109:9 That your incomings may be in the name of the Lord, that your outgoings may be in the name of the Lord, that all your salutations may be in the name of the Lord, with uplifted hand unto the Most High–

This verse is talking about temple worship. When you come into the temple, your heart should be turned towards the Lord. When you leave the temple, that state of heart should follow you into the world. During temple worship, all of your salutations (or, in other words, your interpersonal communications) should reflect the Lord and His holiness.

There is a lot of power in focusing on Christ in the temple. Temple worship reflects the antiquity of the gospel, and it can feel very different than how we normally worship. When we use every part of the temple to reflect on Christ and look at every symbol through a lens of Christ, the worship experience becomes more meaningful.

However, I want to take this beyond the walls of the temple.

When I was a teenager, I remember attending EFY camps, fireside, Sunday youth classes, and all sorts of youth activities. Oftentimes, we would be invited to spend more time with the Savior. Being the perfectionist that I was, I often took this goal beyond what my leaders had likely intended. I would make goals about reading my scriptures, praying, and doing other spiritual activities that went beyond the bounds of what was balanced or even appropriate.

As an adult, I recall the Spirit whispering a very important truth to me. Spending time with the Savior is not just about going and doing traditionally spiritual things; it’s also about inviting the Savior into the rest of your life. Our incomings, outgoings, and salutations can be in the name of the Lord regardless of whether they are directly about the Lord.

Rather than constantly immersing myself in scripture study, I can take my learning to a new level as I bring Christ into the rest of my life. This has many outcomes, but let’s talk about a couple of them.

The first effect is that it transforms my life.

I can listen to secular music, read my favorite romance novels, go out to dinner with my husband, and hang out with my girl friends with the Savior as my companion. I remember driving to go buy a dress for a Christmas party. The sun was shining, and my Apple Playlist was giving me all of the best songs. The Spirit whispered to me that I should remember Christ, and I did. I thanked Him for moments like that, and it made it all the sweeter. I knew He was happy for me and that He was enjoying my happiness and gratitude.

Eternal life isn’t all work. I don’t know what the Savior does for fun, but I believe that fun is an important part of a healthy and balanced spiritual life. The Savior wants to be included in those moments too.

As a stay-at-home mom, my life can also get a bit repetitive meeting the needs of my kids. Helping the kids with their tasks that I’m trying to teach, making bottles, changing diapers, wiping the counter, picking up things so that I don’t trip over it, and refereeing can take its toll sometimes. The daily tasks can feel so mundane sometimes until you place them in the context of eternity. But then I bring the Savior into it. Eternity isn’t about learning some huge new lesson every few weeks. It’s not about giant, transformational experiences. It’s about daily habits that make us who we are.

When I invite the Savior to walk with me in my experience, it reminds me that I’m building discipleship into the rapidly developing brains of my children. Showing up for them over and over and over and over and over sets the stage for them to understand their Savior. He gives power and purpose to the mundane parts of my life. And though I speak of my personal experience as a stay-at-home mom, these principles extend beyond that. You can find power and purpose in the mundane parts of your life.

So we’re working on letting our incomings, outgoings, and salutations be in the name of the Lord. The first effect is that it transforms our lives. It makes sweet moments sweeter. It fills the mundane parts of life with purpose. And I didn’t talk about it, but it also soothes the hard moments.

The second effect is that it makes your work more powerful.

When you do something in the name of the Lord, it adds power. Acting in His name means that we are standing in for Him as if He were here. We are His representative. We are doing what He would do in our situation. Christ left His carpentry job to be a full-time missionary for 3 years, but that’s not our mission. He made premortal promises, and He fulfilled them. We also made premortal promises, but ours are not the same as His.

You don’t abandon your day job. You transform your day job. It’s “Bring the Savior to work day.” This has a couple of outcomes.

It quickens your ability to do your job. I watch my husband receive revelation all the time in his engineering designs. I pray all the time for his inspiration. The Saints were building the Kirtland temple, and I’m sure they learned a lot of spiritual lessons. They also developed some major construction skills. Maybe that doesn’t seem like an important skill until you realize that the Lord is preparing us to create like He did. Invite Him to join you, and do all things in His name. It can add purpose, and it can make you more capable.

When you do your day job in the name of the Lord, you also find ways to build the kingdom in creative ways. Sometimes we think building the kingdom means we go to church and do our calling, but building the kingdom can happen everywhere around you. Can you imagine how quickly our ability to build the kingdom would collapse if all the farmers left their jobs to be full-time missionaries? Jobs that are not traditionally thought of as spiritual can be done in the name of the Lord, and they can help build the kingdom.

Let all your salutations, incomings, and outgoings be done in the name of the Lord. That doesn’t mean you immediately need to preach to your coworker. It can also mean finding purpose, power, and fulfillment in the work that you are a part of. It doesn’t mean abandoning your day job to knock doors; it means bringing the Savior with you everywhere you go.

I testify that doing so transforms your life and your work. The Savior is the best companion on this unofficial mission we’ve been called to do. He knows the importance of daily tasks and can help us remember how our small contributions matter. He knows how to have fun. He finds great joy in your joy. He can expand your capacities and help you creatively utilize them for good.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 109-110 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Your Body as a Temple: Surprising Lessons from the Kirtland Templeby Autumn Dickson

We have been asked to liken the scriptures unto ourselves. Oftentimes, I look at this from the perspective of studying the people who lived at the time of the revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants. As I study the events surrounding the revelations, I am able to learn so much more about what the Lord is trying to teach. I am able to relate, if not in situation than in feeling, to these Saints and the Lord’s words answer me just as it answered them.

Though I often go through this process in relation to people, there is another way to liken the scriptures to us this week.

The Lord declares that our body is a temple. When He declares this, He implies many things. Our bodies are tabernacles through which we experience mortal life and the (hopefully) resulting spiritual growth. Our bodies can house the Spirit. We treat our bodies as a gift from the Lord.

What can we learn from Section 110 that teaches us even more about our bodies that were given to us by the Lord? I want to pull out a couple of phrases and ideas.

The first idea is that the Kirtland temple was unique amongst temples in this dispensation.

Traditionally, a temple in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a place where we go to receive further instruction and power by entering into covenants with the Lord. Interestingly enough, temples looked very different before the Lord came to fulfill His mortal ministry. Even in this dispensation, we have the Kirtland Temple. Within the Kirtland Temple, there was no baptismal font or rooms for sealings. There was no endowment. It looked like a church. There was a place for the congregants to sit, worship, learn, and sing. There was a pulpit.

This uniqueness holds many implications for our own bodies. The first implication I can think of is the progression of the gospel, or the idea of a living church. We believe that the church does change. The doctrine doesn’t change, but we grow closer and closer and closer to the truth. The Kirtland Temple was not completely ready to start performing additional ordinances en masse. Neither were the people ready en masse to receive that ordinance. It was a step in the right direction as the Lord continued to give further light and knowledge. We grow and progress and sacrifice and learn before we also receive further ordinances.

There were also three keys that were restored in the Kirtland temple. Moses came and gave the keys of the gathering of Israel. Elias came with the gospel of Abraham, and Elijah came to restore the sealing power. A grand majority of us will never hold those keys, male and female alike. However, those keys unlocked power for everyone there. One of those purposes of the Kirtland Temple was to create a place and a people who were prepared to receive these keys, and it worked. The Saints sacrificed and toiled, and it prepared their hearts to utilize the power that was unlocked from those keys.

And so we work and sacrifice and prepare ourselves to receive the power of those keys to the same extent that the Saints felt the power of those keys. Priesthood keys unlock power. The Lord wants these restored keys to unlock power in each of our lives. He wants us to experience the power of the Gathering of Israel. He wants us to understand what it means to be part of the family of Abraham. He wants us to be sealed together as part of His eternal family.

There are more phrases and implications, but I want to discuss one more verse.

Doctrine and Covenants 110:7 For behold, I have accepted this house, and my name shall be here; and I will manifest myself to my people in mercy in this house.

In verse 7, the Lord accepts His house and places His name upon it. He also promises to manifest Himself there. We looked to eventually be accepted of the Lord as we build and refine ourselves. We carry His name upon us. And then there is also the matter of the manifestation of the Lord.

The Lord visited the Kirtland temple as a fulfilment of the promise He made that He would enter into His house if the Saints would allow no unclean thing to enter therein. I believe the Lord is willing to reveal as much as we are willing to bear, including the manifestation of Himself, and so we utilize His atonement to be cleansed and we work on ourselves to be prepared to hold that responsibility.

I believe this has another implication. The Lord will manifest Himself to His people. Sometimes a manifestation of the Lord is not always the act of standing in His presence. Honestly, looking at a sunset is a manifestation of Him if we’re looking through spiritual eyes. I believe that we can manifest the Savior to others. He can visit His people through us as we work to lift where we stand. When I strengthen my husband, kiss my children, and love my friends, they are receiving miniscule doses of the Savior. We can be walking temples that house the Spirit and bring the Savior closer to everyone on this earth.

I testify that there are many reasons that the Lord described our bodies as temples. I testify that one of those reasons is because we can parallel temples in many regards. We can look to temples to better understand what the Lord has in store for us. We can look to temples to better understand what the Lord expects of us. I testify that He can sanctify our sacrifices and efforts and make us clean as we work to become a type of the House of the Lord.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 109-110 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Priesthood Privilegeby Autumn Dickson

Disclaimer. I want to talk about the priesthood this week, but the more I dive into it, the more I realize that I know hardly anything about it. There is so much; it’s rather overwhelming. I have done my research. I have tried very hard to understand, but it’s also important to note that I’m imperfect. If I have made any mistakes about principles surrounding the priesthood or even policies, I apologize. Please feel free to correct; I’d much rather learn truth in comparison to standing in ignorance.

Another disclaimer. Elder Neil L. Anderson teaches, “There is an important principle that governs the doctrine of the Church. The doctrine is taught by all 15 members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve. It is not hidden in an obscure paragraph of one talk. True principles are taught frequently and by many.”

There are quotes that I’m sharing today that are doctrine, taught over and over through inspired church leaders. I also want to declare that I am sharing personal interpretations, as well as ideas that have not been taught frequently or been canonized. Why do I share them if they are not official doctrine?

I share them for a lot of reasons. They inspire questions, revelation, and for me, they inspire wonder. How much do we not know yet? It’s mind boggling and beautiful. I don’t think there’s anything objectively wrong with exploring doctrine and learning and wondering and asking questions and forming theories as long as we keep a healthy understanding that the Lord reveals official doctrine through a prophet to the whole church.

So without further ado.

Section 107 helps to explain the idea of different aspects of the priesthood. One of the clarifications we receive about the priesthood is as follows:

Doctrine and Covenants 107:18, 5 (why yes, I’m sharing them out of order)

18 The power and authority of the higher, or Melchizedek Priesthood, is to hold the keys of all the spiritual blessings of the church-

5 All other authorities or offices in the church are appendages to this priesthood (Melchizedek Priesthood).

Before I continue on, I want to give a quick tangent here that will help me clarify what I’m talking about as I go through my post. The Melchizedek Priesthood is the power we’ve been given on earth from God. It holds all the spiritual blessings of the church. There are many powers we have not been given in the church. God’s power extends far beyond what we currently have the ability to utilize. In other words, there is Melchizedek Priesthood and then there is priesthood.

But for this post, I may use Melchizedek Priesthood and the general term “priesthood” interchangeably. This is not because they are synonymous; it is because it’s much shorter to just say priesthood. So, when I use the word Melchizedek Priesthood or just the general term priesthood, I am referring to the power that is currently given to the church to bring about the salvation of mankind on the earth.

Phew. Lot’s of groundwork today. Back to the verses.

The Melchizedek Priesthood is the power and authority of God given to us today; all of the other permissions and powers we structurally recognize in the church have grown out of that one priesthood. If you continue reading on in Section 107, we learn that even the Aaronic priesthood is an appendage to the Melchizedek Priesthood. The Melchizedek Priesthood stands independent of all these other offices and authorities.

In the institute manual, we read a quote by Joseph Fielding Smith that teaches this.

“There is no office growing out of this priesthood that is or can be greater than the priesthood itself. It is from the priesthood that the office derives its authority and power. No office gives authority to the priesthood. No office adds to the power of the priesthood. But all offices in the Church derive their power, their virtue, their authority from the priesthood.”

This is actually a critical understanding. The Melchizedek Priesthood is the power and authority of God. Here is another quote from Joseph F. Smith; “Priesthood is the power of God, delegated to man (as in mankind, humanity), to act in the earth for the salvation of the human family.” That’s it. It’s the power of God given so that we can help people return home to Him. We often limit the Melchizedek Priesthood to the specific offices of Elder, High Priest, Patriarch, Seventy, and Apostle. Those are offices within the Melchizedek Priesthood, but if the verse we read earlier is correct, then those offices are literally just appendages. The Melchizedek Priesthood is actually so much more.

All of the other stuff we read in relation to the priesthood (performing ordinances, men getting ordained to the priesthood, etc.) are actually just appendages. They utilize priesthood, but they are not THE priesthood.

Here is my perspective on what that actually means. Once again, gospel according to Autumn.

The Melchizedek Power is just a fancy way of saying that God is supplying the power behind our actions in order to bring His children home. This is doctrine. So much of what we interpret as the Melchizedek Power is actually just policy.

For example, when a boy turns 12, he gets ordained as a deacon. When he is 14, he becomes a teacher. When he is 16, he becomes a priest (This is why it was able to change! Boys went from passing the sacrament when they turn 12 to passing the sacrament at the beginning of the year in which they turn 12). This list goes on and on. All of this structure is actually just policy that is meant to help us along. It is a structure that the Lord has put into place. Think of it like a calling. The actual priesthood acts independently of the calling. You don’t need callings for the Melchizedek Priesthood to exist. Rather, the Lord organizes everything so that it’s easier to come back home to Him. The priesthood structure that was given by the Lord (from deacon to prophet) were all put in place to help us, but are they necessary?

That’s an extremely complicated question. It’s like asking whether a prophet is necessary. In an ideal world where we were all tremendously righteous, no, a prophet would not be necessary. We could all be prophets unto ourselves. Unfortunately, most of us need more of a support system than pure intelligence coming into our minds through the power of the Spirit. In that manner, YES, we need a prophet.

It’s the same with the priesthood organization. If we were all righteous enough, I wonder if we would still be operating on the patriarchal form of priesthood in Abraham’s day where the dad was the presiding officer and took care of his family. There wasn’t a more complicated structure than that.

The point I’m trying to make boils down to this: the Melchizedek Priesthood is the power of God, and it extends far beyond the priesthood structure that God put into place. The structure is helpful, and because of that, it’s necessary. However, the priesthood structure is not the priesthood.

So I’ve made my point. Why the heck does it matter?

BECAUSE IT PUSHES US TO LIVE UP TO OUR PRIESTHOOD PRIVILEGES.

Example.

I was reading a message delivered by Wendy Ulrich, a member of the Relief Society Advisory Council Member. She said this.

“…when women give birth within the new and everlasting covenant, they are in essence performing for themselves for their child that sealing function that cannot otherwise be done except by a sealer in the temple.”

Um. What?!

I love being a mother. I appreciate pregnancy (as much as I hate being pregnant), childbirth, all of it. I have a deep reverence for the female body I’ve been given, and I am in awe that God has trusted me with this divine calling that embodies all the most important aspects of my Heavenly Mother.

In a world that increasingly diminishes and detests motherhood, I declare that I am utilizing the most powerful force in existence: the Melchizedek Priesthood. The childbirth process that I participate in seals my child in the new and everlasting covenant by the power of God, by His Melchizedek Priesthood.

Let’s extend this further. Let me bring two ideas together.

Idea 1. I’m repeating a quote from earlier. Joseph F. Smith said, “Priesthood is the power of God, delegated to man (as in mankind, humanity), to act in the earth for the salvation of the human family.”

Idea 2. Childbirth somehow creates a soul. We know that a woman’s body creates a physical vessel, a body. But somewhere in that process, a spirit is placed into that body.

Creating physical vessels for the spirit children of our Heavenly Parents is absolutely essential for the salvation of the human family. Does that mean pregnancy and childbirth (independent of the sealing power) are also acting by the Melchizedek Priesthood?

Honestly, I’m not sure. There are so many things that have not been revealed to us. We don’t know when the spirit enters the body. We don’t know how that process occurs. But this I do know. When a man baptizes his child, it is said that he is acting with the priesthood to further their salvation even though it’s not really the man’s power. He is merely the vessel in which God is furthering the salvation of that child. Is it really so different from bringing a child into the world? I didn’t design this body to do this miraculous process. I don’t even have to think about it. Like a man who baptizes his child, I am merely the vessel in which this sacred process is occurring.

Once again, I don’t know for sure. All of that was just a long-winded way of saying something I do know.

The Melchizedek Priesthood is available for all of us to utilize. The very power that shaped the universe is the same power that God extends to you regardless of whether you’re a deacon, bishop, prophet, or mother. It’s not about being a leader in a priesthood structure. It’s about serving. And as we serve in the way that Christ served, we change the world.

I testify that God’s power is available to all who are willing to follow Him and try to serve His children. I testify that women can hold as much power as any man. I testify that the power God is willing to extend to any person is proportionate to how willing we are to follow the Lord. That is the only qualifier for how much priesthood power we are capable of wielding.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 106-108 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

What are Priesthood Keys?by Autumn Dickson

The Lord restored the priesthood to mankind some time ago, and yet, He did not reveal the structure in which He wanted everything to be organized. There were many who had received callings and knew their responsibilities, but putting it together in a structural whole would serve to provide organization so that the Lord’s house could be a house of order.

One of the organizational tools for the Lord’s priesthood is that of keys.

Doctrine and Covenants 107:8-9

8 The Melchizedek Priesthood holds the right of presidency, and has power and authority over all the offices in the church in all ages of the world, to administer in spiritual things.

9 The Presidency of the High Priesthood, after the order of Melchizedek, have a right to officiate in all the offices in the church.

These verses are talking about rights. Verse 8 explains that the Melchizedek Priesthood holds the right of presidency, and the Presidency of the High Priesthood (or in our day, the First Presidency) has a right to officiate in any capacity in the church.

Here is a quote that connects the idea of rights to keys. Joseph Fielding Smith taught, “While all men hold the priesthood who are ordained to any office, yet there are special, or directing, authorities, bestowed upon those who are called to preside. These authorities are called keys.”

I’m going to zoom out a bit so that we can attempt to understand different aspects of the priesthood and organize it all.

First, we have the priesthood. The priesthood, in its simplest definition, is the power of God. It is the power by which He created. It is the power by which rules.

Second, there is the Melchizedek Priesthood. As stated in my previous video from this week, the Melchizedek Priesthood stands independent of any office or calling. In its simplest definition, it is the power of God that is given to man to further the work of salvation on the earth. In other words, it’s a portion of the priesthood power that is held by our Heavenly Father. He only gave us a portion of the power that we needed for this life.

Third, there is the Aaronic Priesthood. This is actually not a separate priesthood from the Melchizedek Priesthood. It is an appendage of the Melchizedek Priesthood. It was another way of organizing the priesthood and delegating responsibilities.

Fourth, there are priesthood ordinations and offices. When men come of age, they are ordained to the priesthood and progress through priesthood offices. Different priesthood offices delegate different priesthood responsibilities. Quick tangent. Only men are ordained to the priesthood, but women can utilize the priesthood without being ordained. The Lord has still not answered why He has chosen this path or whether it’s doctrine or policy. There are plenty of theories, but the Lord has not chosen to explain it.

And the last thing I want to talk about today: priesthood keys. Priesthood keys take priesthood offices just a tiny step further. Priesthood keys are the right to govern. You can hold a priesthood office without holding any keys. You can hold the office of Elder or High Priest but not have any keys with which to direct the work. You simply have responsibilities to function underneath those keys. The church website teaches us which offices and leaders hold keys.

Members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles hold all the keys necessary for governing the Church. Only the President of the Church has the right to exercise all of those keys. He delegates these keys to others who preside in the Church—temple presidents, mission presidents, stake presidents, district presidents, bishops, branch presidents, and quorum presidents, including deacons and teachers quorum presidents.

Oftentimes these keys are to overlook specific responsibilities and geographical jurisdictions. They eventually trace back to the prophet, and ultimately, to the Savior, Himself.

When I think of keys, I think of unlocking rooms. Let’s pretend that God’s various works (including those not directly associated with the earth) are a giant castle. Different rooms hold different responsibilities and powers that the Lord governs.

The Lord has given a grouping of rooms to the President of the Church on earth, or the prophet. When the Lord gave the prophet the keys, a couple of things happened. He gave the prophet a stewardship. The prophet is now in charge of making sure that what occurs in those rooms are in alignment with what the Lord would have occurring in those rooms.

But as the church grew bigger, it became very difficult for one prophet to oversee so many rooms and consequent responsibilities so he started delegating keys. The prophet can still access any of these rooms and perform responsibilities associated with those rooms, but he often chooses, delegates, and allows other leaders to perform their responsibilities without too much interference.

A mission president is over a room of missionaries found within a geographical area. If a mission president is called over the Salt Lake City North mission, he has no jurisdiction over any other missionaries than the one in his mission. He also doesn’t hold authority over the members. His specific room is for the missionaries.

The same idea goes to temple presidents, stake presidents, bishops, and quorum leaders. Eventually these men get released from their callings and they hand their keys back to be given to a new leader.

As I said previously, the person who holds the key for a specific room is in charge of making sure that everything that occurs in that room aligns with the Lord. Are ordinances being performed correctly? Is the doctrine kept pure from apostasy? Keeping a massive, worldwide church on track is no easy task. Keys help to make sure that the Lord’s church is the same everywhere.

It is also important to note that you don’t need keys to help push the work further along. Though a leader is chosen to hold the keys, all of us have access to God’s priesthood power to make a difference. We can’t get caught up in the idea of leadership. Christ’s example of leadership should give us a real taste of what it means to govern. You don’t have to be a leader to access power or even change the world.

Interestingly enough, I don’t know if priesthood keys are doctrine or policy. If anyone does know, please feel free to comment. I don’t know if keys exist independently or if the Lord created the priesthood organizational system, and the keys were part of the system that He created. I don’t know if keys were just meant to help create a house of order or if they belong to the category of doctrine in which they don’t really get changed.

This post definitely was definitely more informational than some of my other posts, but being able to zoom out and understand some of the basic organizations of God’s priesthood has also helped me better understand my own priesthood responsibilities. It helps me understand the access I have to priesthood power, not just in the form of receiving blessings but also the power I am capable of wielding to further the work of salvation.

There is beauty in the fact that the Lord knows what He’s doing. There is beauty in knowing that there is truth, and I can trust that truth to remain pure no matter where I go and attend church services. The Lord has achieved an incredible amount of unity and continuity in a worldwide church that many world leaders only dream of.

As we come closer and closer to a knowledge of Christ’s character, we receive more and more salvation. We experience more happiness. That’s why the keys are so essential. It keeps our knowledge of Christ accurate and enables us to remain close to Him through the ordinances that He put forth.

I am grateful for a Lord who is wise enough to set up His church as He did. I’m grateful that despite all the imperfections of mankind, He has done a phenomenal job of keeping His truths and ordinances pure so that we can draw as close to Him as possible. I testify that the priesthood is ultimately His to delegate, and that He offers His power to anyone who is worthy and willing. I also testify that He set up a priesthood organization in which He delegated certain responsibilities to push us to become better and keep things as close to the truth as humanly possible.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 106-108 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Prevail Against Mine Enemiesby Autumn Dickson

The Saints were driven from their homes and living as refugees in Clay County, Missouri. Joseph Smith and other church leaders received letters with news regarding what had happened. Besides the letters, Joseph also received a revelation from the Lord with this declaration:

Doctrine and Covenants 103:6 Behold they shall, for I have decreed it, begin to prevail against mine enemies from this very hour.

The Lord declares that the Saints will begin to succeed over His enemies immediately. This likely brought great hope to those who were worried about the redemption of what was meant to be Zion. As Joseph and other leaders gathered Zion’s camp to go and win back the Saints’ lands, I’m sure they were full of faith that the Lord would help them restore the Saints back to their homes.

Unfortunately (or fortunately?), Zion’s camp was disbanded. The Saints lived in Clay County and then Caldwell County before being ultimately expelled approximately five years later. They never made it back to their homes in Jackson County where Zion was supposed to be.

Some would argue that they did not succeed against their enemies. Then again, perhaps they were succeeding against the Lord’s enemies. And who is truly the Lord’s enemy? Satan.

It brings to mind different stories from the scriptures.

The Lord commanded Nephi to go and get the brass plates. It took multiple tries before Nephi succeeded against Laban, but what did Nephi learn as he “failed” first? The growth that Nephi received must have been a true victory for the Lord.

The Lord commanded Moses to go and save the Israelites. Plague after plague seemed to fail in softening Pharaoh’s heart. What did the Israelites learn in the meantime as things actually grew progressively harder for them at first? What did they learn as they looked back upon the fact that things were difficult before they were free?

And then of course, the most important battle that ever occurred.

Christ suffered in Gethsemane, and no mortal man watched. He was taken by soldiers, tortured, and then killed. Not exactly a resounding victory to anyone objectively looking from the outside. He rose three days later, and yet, that was only part of the victory. The victory was found in His resurrection, but the victory was also found within His pain and death.

Interestingly enough, the Jews were looking for a Savior to free them from the Romans, and so they completely missed the mark of what would be the most important victory in their unending lives.

What does victory look like to the Lord? His ways are not our ways, and so we can assume that the Saints were likely mistaken when He declared that they would prevail over their enemies and they got excited that they would be restored to their homes in Jackson County.

Some of my most important victories have occurred in what would objectively be seen as losing a battle by the world.

There was a time when my husband’s chosen career path was being taken away from him by lies. I remember watching it all unfolding, and I remember retiring to my room and praying. I told the Lord I knew how powerful He was. We were scrambling to find alternate solutions to keep things on track, but nothing was looking super promising. I pleaded with the Lord to stop the man who was lying and to stop the men who were acting because of those lies. I told the Lord that I knew He was more powerful and could open a door that we didn’t know about and stop everything in its tracks. I knew it would be easy for Him to save us.

I also distinctly remember the Spirit whispering that I should stop praying for that. At that moment, I knew we would “lose.”

Of course, those moments of loss marked the beginning of much more important victories in our lives. The Lord has been merciful in helping me see that our loss led to my husband being placed on a path that would ultimately lead him towards fulfilling the promises he made before he came here. That loss made him grow. It made me grow. Despite all worldly signs pointing to the opposite, I count it as a great victory.

As those Saints struggled along the banks of the river, as they fought persecution for years to come, as they found themselves ultimately driven out, and as they were pushed thousands of miles west, they were finding a victory much more important than land. Within these darkest moments, the Lord was winning His most important victories.

I testify of a Lord who knows what He is talking about and fulfills all His words. I testify that Zion will be redeemed one day, and that the Saints will return there. I also testify that the Lord was beginning His victory against His enemies in the moment He declared so. I testify that He is mighty to save, and I testify that He utilizes our dark moments as part of that victory.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 102-105 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Did the Lord Fail?by Autumn Dickson

To give a bit of content for what we’re reading about this week, the Saints have been driven from their homes in Missouri, and Joseph Smith received a revelation that talked about gathering a group of Saints to go and win back their homes. After marching towards Jackson County, the camp was actually disbanded.

Doctrine and Covenants 105:13 Therefore it is expedient in me that mine elders should wait for a little season, for the redemption of Zion.

The Lord called off what the Saints believed to be the original purpose of the Zion’s camp: redeeming the Saints’ lands in Missouri. Here is a bit of what the Lord said about His true purpose.

Doctrine and Covenants 105:19 …and it is expedient in me that they should be brought thus far for a trial of their faith.

There are two ways that the Saints could have their faith built during this experience. The first way is how to stick around when the going gets tough.

Being a part of Zion’s Camp was not an easy thing. It was hot and muggy. Food and water could be scarce. There was disease, and members of Zion’s camp even died of cholera on this expedition that did not provide the results that many Saints looked for.

One of the characteristics the Lord is trying to instill and test us in is the idea that we will follow Him. Truly follow Him, not just rewards.

In the New Testament, many followers left when they realized that He wasn’t going to keep miraculously giving out bread. Interestingly enough, the bread was a distraction from the most important, life-changing aspects of following Christ. They couldn’t see the miracle of who Christ was because they were too distracted by their want of bread. Never mind that Christ had performed an incredible miracle and dispersed an immense amount of food. The people in the New Testament were too distracted by the fact that their bread stopped to remember that He had done something powerful in their lives. They were too distraught by the lack of bread to stick around and wonder if there was something more powerful at work.

The Lord doesn’t want obedient dogs. He didn’t keep giving out bread just to keep people coming back. He wants the loyalty and love of His people through anything. He doesn’t want to give us a treat every time we show up. He wants us to truly follow Him through thick and thin. He wants us to trust Him when the treat doesn’t immediately appear. He wants us to choose to love Him and follow Him through difficulty just as He followed us through difficulty. The only way that He can instill and test this aspect of faith is to allow us to face incredible obstacles and choose Him.

Trials can try the faith. When you’re trying to fulfill the Lord’s commands and there are obstacles, it can lead you to wonder whether you’re truly fulfilling the Lord’s commands. Understanding the purpose of mortal life can help us understand the irreplaceable effect of trials. The Lord needed to try us or we would never be able to grow into what we needed to become. Trials are not just a punishment; trials are also to help the righteous grow. We cannot afford to see them as proof that the Lord is not with us otherwise it completely prevents us from accessing a level of growth that is completely necessary.

But this experience wasn’t just about trials. There was a second way that this experience could make or break the faith of the Saints.

This faith-shaking experience was not just about a difficult trip; it was about the fact that the trip seemed unsuccessful. This could easily call Joseph’s prophetic call into question, and it did. This experience caused many to wonder, and yet, it did the exact opposite for others. In the Come Follow Me manual we read, “Faithful members of Zion’s Camp, many of whom later became leaders of the Church, testified that the experience deepened their faith in God’s power, in Joseph Smith’s divine call, and in Zion—not just Zion the place but Zion the people of God.”

It deepened their faith in God’s power and Joseph Smith’s divine calling as prophet. From the world’s perspective, this is ridiculous. Why would you believe more in the God that is being preached to you when He couldn’t deliver on His promises? Why would you believe more in Joseph’s calling at the end of this? The idea that the Lord was trying to create a Zion-like people may feel like a thinly-veiled excuse for bailing after the governor rescinded his promise to send a militia to aid the Saints. Why on earth should we believe and continue to follow?

Exploring this concept is important because there are plenty of aspects in the church that don’t make sense from a worldly perspective. There are revelations that seem like sad excuses. For example, the Lord rescinded His command for polygamy when the United States threatened to take away everything that was beloved by the church and Saints. If the Lord is so powerful and if He is truly leading His Saints along through a prophet, why did He bail on Zion’s Camp? Why did He continue to enforce polygamy until the going got too tough?

When it comes to the gospel, it is IMPOSSIBLE to make things make sense from a worldly perspective. Faith precedes understanding. It is impossible to convince someone of Joseph’s prophetic call. If you try to explain that the Lord was trying to build a Zion-people rather than being concerned about the land, they will laugh in your face.

When it comes to the gospel, your testimony cannot form from the idea that it has to make sense before you choose to believe. Sooner or later, you are going to come across something that doesn’t come together in your mind. You are going to come across principles, policies, or history that feel like they create cognitive dissonance in your mind.

It would seem like the Lord would try to avoid these faith-shaking experiences altogether. He’s trying to build our faith. Why would He allow it to be shaken after this manner?

Interestingly enough, the only way to build a truly strong faith is to let it be shaken. Faith is not knowing everything. Faith is choosing to trust when we don’t know.

The Lord wants to take our testimony from, “I know the Lord leads His church today because He made this miracle happen,” to, “I know the Lord leads His church today, and I will follow Him through hell if He calls me to do so.” When we can unlock that second level of faith, we become powerful disciples. We find a new level of salvation when we find that trust and relinquish our need to control and understand everything.

How do we make that jump in faith? How did the members of the Zion’s Camp come out of this experience with stronger faith rather than weaker faith?

I’m sure there are many answers, but I can only truly share my own.

I talk to God, and He answers. For me, that is the single largest portion of my testimony.

I have had experiences where I have looked back in awe at how the Lord made everything come together for me. I was amazed when I saw how He manipulated details from the years before to help everything stitch together and help me come out on top. Those are faith-building experiences. They helped me grow in my faith.

But they no longer define my faith. I am immensely grateful for those experiences. I cannot begin to describe how grateful I am to look back and see how the Lord saved me because He has indeed saved me. I am grateful, but they do not define my faith.

My faith has shifted. I talk to Him on a regular basis, and He answers, and I will not deny it. When things don’t go as planned, when I feel confused, when something new comes along that makes me wonder if I’m on the right track, I talk to Him and He answers. Regardless of whether He chooses to give me a new perspective or help me understand something, I have talked with Him enough that I trust Him. He is my Friend. He has shown me His power enough, and I will follow Him.

I have had enough experiences with Him to hold on, and I am happier since I have let go and chosen to trust Him through anything. I testify that when you choose to keep at it and continue to follow this path that has been presented to you, you will find the same results. In fact, you will be grateful that He allowed you the experience of questioning and finding Him again and again.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 102-105 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

To Become Like Himby Autumn Dickson

We read about many stories in the scriptures where someone is a type of Christ. We seek to be a type of Christ. We seek to pattern our lives after Him. There is a verse in Doctrine and Covenants that puts forth a similar idea.

Doctrine and Covenants 101:4 Therefore, they must needs be chastened and tried, even as Abraham, who was commanded to offer up his only son.

In the story of Abraham and Isaac, Isaac is a type of Christ who was willing to follow his father’s will. And though we often speak of people being a type of Christ, it’s interesting to me how Abraham was able to be a type of Heavenly Father. He was willing to sacrifice his son if that’s what was required.

The Saints in Missouri at this time were driven out of their homes and were camped out on the river in the cold. Approximately 200 of their homes had been burned down, and many had lost all. They had not been asked to sacrifice their son, but they had been asked to sacrifice something they had longed for – a safe home.

Why would the Lord ask His people to sacrifice these things? Why would He ask Abraham to sacrifice his son? Why would He allow the Saints to be tried in this manner? As the Saints continue to flee persecution in this time period, many will lose more than homes.

Why does the Lord take away so much and ask us to love Him anyway?

Let’s explore it.

We are meant to be more than a type of Christ. We are meant to be more than a type of Heavenly Father. We are meant to become like Them. We are meant to inherit what They have. We are meant to inherit Their characteristics, who They are.

Our Heavenly Parents cannot allow us to inherit all that They have without us being prepared to act responsibly.

The Lord allowed the Saints to be expelled from Missouri because they were not spiritually prepared to build up Zion, and they would not become spiritually prepared by remaining there. Zion would have been forever lost if the Lord allowed anyone to live there just as heaven would be lost if He was not willing to make the necessary judgment calls. In order to preserve Zion, in order to preserve heaven, the Savior had to be willing to make the difficult decision.

Why does He ask us to sacrifice so much? Because we have to be like Him; we have to be prepared to make difficult decisions. We have to be tried to the extent that we are willing to sacrifice as Abraham was willing to sacrifice. If we are not prepared to live like Him and if He chose to allow us to inherit all that He has anyway, we would destroy heaven when we couldn’t make the difficult decisions that He has to make. When we have to watch our own children experiencing mortality, will we be strong enough to allow them to struggle and strive in order to become all they’re capable of becoming? Will we love them enough to let them suffer if it is the only means by which they can eventually reach a full happiness? If not, the Lord has to be willing to withhold some of His blessings in the next life. He has to be willing to sacrifice all that He had in mind for us if we are not prepared to receive it.

Despite His willingness to make those decisions, make no mistake; it was difficult for the Lord to watch His Saints on the bank of that river. It hurts Him to watch us suffer.

Doctrine and Covenants 101:9 Verily I say unto you, notwithstanding their sins, my bowels are filled with compassion towards them. I will not utterly cast them off; and in the day of wrath I will remember my mercy.

He loves us. He, more than anyone, loves us. And this is precisely why He requires so much sacrifice of us.

Going back to the original verse in this post, we read that the Saints have to be chastened and tried even as Abraham. The word “chasten” means to correct or to discipline. We’ve heard that definition many times. I was interested to learn that “chasten” also means to “have a restraining or moderating effect on.” It implies the idea of subduing intense feelings. This definition makes a lot of sense when I think of Heavenly Father having to sacrifice His Beloved Son. He had to subdue His intense love for His Son on behalf of the rest of us; there was no other way. And then He also needed to not hate the rest of mankind for requiring such a sacrifice.

That’s what we have to become. We have to be willing to sacrifice and continue to love those around us because that’s what our Heavenly Father is. That’s what our Savior is. It is the only kind of Being that can truly live an eternally joyful life.

To recap, our Heavenly Father loves us dearly. We are His children. He was willing to sacrifice His Son on our behalf, and He was willing to love the rest of mankind that required that sacrifice. It was the only way He could save us. He was willing to watch His Saints sit on the river banks in the dead of winter for their own behalf. It was the only way He could save us. He had to subdue His intense feelings of love in order to help us reach the greatest good. More accurately, He had to subdue the intense desire to shield us because He loves us.

If we want to receive all that He has, we have to hold those same characteristics. The only way we can gain those kinds of characteristics is in real-life practice. And so the Lord allows us to be chastened and tried even as Abraham, and we get to see whether we’re willing to endure chastening and still love Him afterwards. We cannot learn the importance of these lessons unless we live them.

I testify of a Lord and Savior who loves us so much that He is willing to subdue His strong inclinations to protect us in order to help us become all that we are capable of becoming. I testify that all that we suffer can one day contribute to the glory He intends to give. I testify that loving Him for what He gives and loving Him for what He chooses to take away can bring the greatest peace, happiness, and joy.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 98-101 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

The Lord’s people & secular governmentsby Mike Parker

Class Notes

Additional Reading

In March 1907, the First Presidency issued a proclamation affirming that the Church is politically neutral, and that the state should not control the church, neither should the church control the state: “An Address: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to the World,”, Improvement Era 10, no. 5 (May 1907): 492–93.
Today’s First Presidency has continued to reaffirm this policy; see “Political Neutrality,” Newsroom of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Spencer W. Kimball, “The False Gods We Worship,” Ensign, June 1976, 3–6. President Kimball’s First Presidency message, criticizing militarism among Latter-day Saints, was published one month before the commemoration of the United States bicentennial.
Rodney Stark, “The Rise of Christianity: A Sociologist Reconsiders History,” PBS Frontline: From Jesus to Christ, April 1998. Stark, a world-renowned sociologist of religion, argues that what made early Christianity unique—and one reason why it prospered and became a world religion—was because it “taught that mercy is one of the primary virtues—that a merciful God requires humans to be merciful.”

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 98–99, 102, 106, 108, 134 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

In Peace and Troubleby Autumn Dickson

The Saints in Missouri were experiencing tremendous persecution at this time. The leaders of the mob wanted the Saints to promise that they would leave Missouri by spring, and they wanted the Saints to promise it within 15 minutes of demanding that they do so. The situation was tricky. The Lord had commanded them to build up Zion, but the opportunity to do so was being taken forcefully out of their hands.

How would you have responded? You’ve been commanded to build up Zion, but you’re still finding yourself under the influence of evil men. The Lord is all-powerful and able to defend you against all your enemies, but He’s been pretty quiet.

When the leaders didn’t immediately promise that they would leave, the violence escalated. Property was destroyed. People were attacked. The leaders finally relented and promised to leave.

I’m not sure how many of us have been threatened with bodily harm if we do not relent following the commandments, but the Lord often allows obstacles to arise to oppose us as we try to follow His commandments. So what do you do?

The Lord recommends this course of action.

Doctrine and Covenants 98:1-2

1 Verily I say unto you my friends, fear not, let your hearts be comforted; yea, rejoice evermore, and in everything give thanks;

2 Waiting patiently on the Lord, for your prayers have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, and are recorded with this seal and testament—the Lord hath sworn and decreed that they shall be granted.

Fear not. Be comforted. Rejoice. Give thanks. Wait on the Lord.

Let’s talk about the first three together. Fear not; be comforted; rejoice.

Whenever I’ve felt commanded by the Lord to do something and it’s not working out, my main fear has become that I’m not doing enough to follow through on the Lord’s commands. I think of Nephi. If the Lord commands it, then it’s going to happen. So am I not being faithful enough? I worry that the Lord is upset with me or that I’m not being good enough.

Since then, I have learned that if I am putting forth an honest effort, I don’t need to be afraid of the Lord being angry. Nephi didn’t obtain the brass plates the first time despite his tremendous faith. The Lord wasn’t punishing him; He wasn’t upset with Nephi. Sometimes, the Lord simply doesn’t allow us to succeed the first time despite His ability to help us succeed the first time. It’s not because our faith is insufficient to bring the miracle immediately; it’s because true faith is acquired and shown when we keep at it after it didn’t work out the first time.

We do not have to be afraid that the Lord isn’t powerful enough to follow through. We do not have to be afraid we’re innately insufficient to fulfill what He has asked. We do not have to be afraid when it doesn’t work out how we were expecting. We do not have to be afraid that the Lord is angry with us because it doesn’t feel like it’s immediately coming together.

We can choose to trust the Lord so completely that we feel comforted and rejoice in His yet-to-be-fulfilled promises. If He promised it, it’s happening even if it takes a little while.

So fear not. Be comforted. Rejoice.

His next piece of advice is to give thanks. Interestingly enough, giving thanks is one practical way to help ourselves get to the point where we can set aside our fears, allow ourselves to be comforted, and rejoice. “Giving thanks” isn’t an “end;” it’s a journey that takes us to our desired end: peace and joy in Christ. We thank Him for the times He has shown up before. We thank Him that nothing in this life can take away our happy ending. We thank Him that despite our own imperfections, He is mighty to save. As we reflect and find gratitude for Him and His choices, we find that comfort and joy.

And as we rejoice, we show up diligently doing our best and wait on Him to come and do His own work on His own timetable. Waiting on Him is His last piece of advice.

If you were a leader in Missouri at this time, the right course of action is to wait on the Lord. We read about stories in the scriptures where the Lord fights all the battles for His people. We read about stories where the Lord commands His people to flee. We read about stories where He allows them to be attacked regardless of whether they were being righteous because sometimes He simply allows His children to be tried.

We might not be sure which scenario the Lord is going for, and so we wait on Him to answer and do the best we can in the meantime because He doesn’t always answer immediately even when the situation feels dire. We choose to trust the Lord in times of plenty and in times of scarcity. We rejoice in His wisdom in what He allows to come to pass, and we wait for all He’s promised.

I testify of a Lord who is all-powerful to save, but I also testify of a Lord who doesn’t step in to stop every tragedy. I testify of a Lord who has a plan even if He doesn’t reveal it immediately. I testify of a Lord who we can trust in, and I testify that if we trust in Him, we will find comfort and peace even when the situation is trying to pummel us with the opposite. We can set aside our fears, allow ourselves to be comforted, give thanks for however He chooses to let things play out, and we wait.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 98-101 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Uncleanby Autumn Dickson

The Lord is giving instructions about things He wants built in Kirtland, Ohio. The verses I’m about to share describe a building that was meant to be a meeting place for the First Presidency to carry out their work, but it was never built. The Lord gave some pretty specific instructions for its construction; these instructions were both spiritual and temporal. Here are some of His spiritual instructions for the building.

Doctrine and Covenants 94:8-9

8 And ye shall not suffer any unclean thing to come in unto it; and my glory shall be there, and my presence shall be there.

9 But if there shall come into it any unclean thing, my glory shall not be there; and my presence shall not come into it.

The Lord is very clear here. In fact, He is doubly clear. If it is kept clean, He will be there. If it is not, He won’t be.

We live in a world that despises being called unclean. It flip flops between playing a victim and being enraged that we would dare to label it. We are the bad ones for using the word unclean. And yet, here is the Lord, Himself, using it. He’s not necessarily pronouncing eternal judgment, but neither is He afraid to call it what it is. There is power in being able to label something as unclean as long as we don’t let Satan push us to use it in a damaging way.

When the Lord describes something as unclean, it’s for two reasons that boil down to one reason. The two reasons are: He is trying to keep you safe, and He wants to make you the best person you can be. Both of those reasons boil down to one: He loves you.

Let’s look at this idea of uncleanliness through the lens of those two motivations of the Lord: keeping you safe and helping you be the best you can be.

The first lens is keeping you safe. One of the examples that the world truly hates is the Law of Chastity. I view teaching the Law of Chastity in the same way I teach my kids about safety regarding the street.

I teach my kids how to utilize a street correctly. I teach them when it’s safe to cross the street. I teach them to look around and make a judgment call about whether it’s safe to cross the street. I teach them that crossing the street is an important part of life (okay, I don’t really teach that but I plan on teaching the Law of Chastity equivalent). I teach them all the important aspects of crossing the street, and I teach them that there are appropriate times to cross the street.

But you better believe that I’m also teaching them about how incredibly dangerous it can be to cross the street if you do it unwisely.

I don’t hesitate to tell my kids that they can get hit by a car. I don’t hesitate to tell my kids that even if they’re big enough to look across the street, their baby sister is not. I am unafraid of teaching my kids the consequences of ignoring danger. Everyone can understand this when it comes to crossing the street. For some reason, the world has a difficult time understanding this in terms of the Law of Chastity.

You can teach a child that intimacy is good in the right circumstances, and you can teach them that their divine identities rejoice in the righteous use of sexuality. In fact, you should teach them this. There doesn’t need to be any shame. Interestingly enough, you can simultaneously teach them that using it inappropriately can cause a lot of harm. You can teach them that breaking the Law of Chastity is unclean. Or, in other gospel words, it can bring a mess into their lives that the Savior can heal and put back together after a lot of work.

The Lord uses the label unclean so that we know to stay away from it. It’s to keep us safe.

But uncleanliness isn’t just about the Law of Chastity. There are many thoughts, feelings, and actions that can be unclean.

We can also view the term “unclean” by looking at it through the lens of the Lord trying to make us a better person.

When I first read this verse, I had a slightly inaccurate picture come to my imagination. I pictured the Savior wanting to walk into the building that was meant to be kept clean before realizing that there was someone or something inside of it that was unclean. I pictured Him not turning His back in a rage, but in frustration that He couldn’t come in because His glory would burn whatever was unclean. Obviously, there are some serious logistical flaws with that imagination, but it also holds a tiny portion of truth.

Our Heavenly Father and Savior will not allow uncleanliness into their kingdom because it would be devoured in the fire in which they dwell.

Oftentimes, Satan tries to use this concept to influence us to despair and give up, but what if we flip that on its head?

Instead, we can realize that the whole point of coming here was to become like our Heavenly Father and Savior. We came here to internalize the fact that we are meant to be glorious; our countenances are meant to grow into the countenance of our Savior. We are meant to become so incredible that our countenances are like lightning, that we dwell in that same burning fire that He does. All of the things that the Savior deems “unclean” are actually beneath us. Like our Savior, we don’t deign to utilize things that cause harm.

And when we are imperfect (because we’re not like the Savior yet), He cleanses us. That was always the plan.

The term “unclean” was utilized to warn us that something could harm us and make a mess in our lives (such as in the street example); it was also utilized to warn us that something was beneath what we were meant to become.

Satan likes to twist it. Satan is the one trying to tie the term “unclean” to your identity when you make mistakes, and then he likes to point at the Church and blame them for making you despair. Satan is the one who likes to bring a mess into your lives and whisper to you that the only reason you feel unhappy is because the Church shames you.

When used correctly, “unclean” is a warning from a loving Savior. It was never meant to describe your identity! Why on earth would the Savior go through what He went through if He believed you were just innately unclean? Satan is the one who whispers it when in actuality, the opposite is true. “Unclean” was meant to help you keep your divine identity and make you realize that you deserve so much more.

I testify of a Savior who loves us enough to warn us. I testify that the word “unclean” can seem so harsh, but it can also be descriptive and teach us something valuable, namely the fact that the Savior can cleanse us and make us whole. I truly testify of that; we can rejoice because the Savior can cleanse us and make us whole. Because of Him, we can eventually reach the point where we internalize that all of that unhappiness is beneath us and no longer allow it to bring us down.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 94-97 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Building the Templeby Autumn Dickson

One of the most impressive accomplishments made by the early Saints of this dispensation was to build the Kirtland temple. Many Saints didn’t have much to begin with, and many of them abandoned what they had in order to gather in Kirtland, Ohio. Brigham Young recorded that some of the workers didn’t have shoes.

But the temple was a requirement of the Lord, and He strongly reiterated His command to build one.

Doctrine and Covenants 97:10 Verily I say unto you, that it is my will that a house should be built unto me in the land of Zion, like unto the pattern which I have given you.

The Lord wanted His house built, and He wanted it according to His own plans.

In the book Saints, we learn that, “Lucy Mack Smith remembered a council meeting in which it was decided that a frame building would be too expensive; a log house was proposed instead. Joseph Smith reminded them ‘that they were not making a house for themselves or any other man but a house for God.’ He said, “And shall we, brethren, build a house for Our God of logs? No, brethren, I have a better plan than that. I have the plan of the house of the Lord given by himself.”

Sometimes the Lord gives us a task, and we want to use logs. It’s practical to use logs. It’s cheaper. You can do basically the same thing with logs. If you use logs, then you can use other resources for other important tasks. And yet, sometimes the Lord asks for stone anyway.

Why does the Lord require stone? Judging from what we know about Him, I wouldn’t say it’s because He’s got an ego and refuses to take less. It’s not because He wants us to spend as much as we can on Him. Honestly, it’s not really about Him.

My mother always taught me that serving someone helps you love them. The world often thinks that love stems from someone treating you right and saying all the perfect things, but it’s not true. That can help the process, but real, lasting love comes when you choose to serve someone else before yourself. We see this process occur constantly with mothers and children.

When the Saints left Kirtland, they were devastated to lose their temple so quickly after dedicating it. Some might argue that it was cruel for the Lord to ask for those sacrifices when He knew that they would be driven out shortly after. Some might question Joseph’s connection to heaven; how come he didn’t know they would lose the temple? Why would he waste so many resources when they could have saved and built a temple in a more permanent home?

But it’s not really about the building!

Imagine for a moment that the Lord told the Saints that they could build a log cabin instead of the mighty temple that they built. I understand that I’m making assumptions here, but I’m also making assumptions off of normal human nature. If the Saints had built their temple from logs, I imagine the Saints looking back in devastation over their homes rather than the temple as they were driven out. I’m sure many Saints mourned their homes AND the stone temple, but if the temple had been constructed of logs, I imagine very few of them would have missed it in the same manner.

Why do I make these assumptions?

Because we see it all the time in our day. I am grateful for the temple, but I don’t think I appreciate it on the same level as someone who has saved and worked and waited for the opportunity to travel hundreds of miles in order to go and take out their endowment and be sealed to their families. It is actually more difficult for me to prepare my heart for the temple in comparison to someone who has had to work so hard for it. Ironic, right?

The Saints mourned the temple they had worked so hard for because the Saints loved the temple and what it gave them. The Saints appreciated what they were given there because they dedicated so much to it. It was difficult to leave it behind, but that’s precisely the type of heart the Lord was looking to nurture. Though they mourned that magnificent building they had sacrificed for, the Lord rejoiced over how their hearts had turned towards what He was offering them. He rejoiced that requiring stone gave them the opportunity to give over their hearts bit by bit. It enabled the process by which they could more fully appreciate the ordinances therein.

The Lord wants us to love Him more than anything else. He wants us to love Him more than anything earthly and sometimes developing that kind of love requires an opportunity for us to choose Him over earthly things. What do we really prioritize? What do we really value? You can’t truly know until it’s asked of you. And if it frustrates you that the Lord would ask you to sacrifice, then you probably love what you’re sacrificing more than you love the Lord. Hence, He asks us to sacrifice. He wants our hearts.

The Lord can endow us with power in a log cabin, but preparing our hearts to love and receive and honor requires more. He can’t force us to love Him. He has to give us opportunities to build that love and then hope we take advantage of it.

I testify of a loving and wise Heavenly Father. I testify that He does ask for sacrifice, not because He can’t provide enough resources and make the process easy but because it’s difficult to hand over our hearts when we don’t have to lose anything for it. He gave us agency, and He refuses to take it away. So instead of taking away our agency and forcing us to “love” Him, He provides us with opportunities to decide whether we’re going to choose Him.

I testify that choosing Him is worth it. I’ve never had to sacrifice much to attend the temple, but I have had to sacrifice things I love to put Him first. It has been worth it every time. Even when those sacrifices didn’t seem to amount to anything, they pushed my heart towards the Lord and that’s the most important thing. I’m so grateful He gives me opportunities to choose Him and love Him. I rejoice in it.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 94-97 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

A Type of Christby Autumn Dickson

Doctrine and Covenants 93 teaches us about the character of God and our Savior who came to the earth. Here is just a little of what is taught to us.

Doctrine and Covenants 93:12 And I, John, saw that he received not of the fulness at the first, but received grace for grace;

There is a quote in the Institute Manual that provides some more clarification.

President Lorenzo Snow taught:

When Jesus lay in the manger, a helpless infant, He knew not that He was the Son of God, and that formerly He created the earth. When the edict of Herod was issued, He knew nothing of it; He had not power to save Himself; and [Joseph and Mary] had to take Him and [flee] into Egypt to preserve Him from the effects of that edict. … He grew up to manhood, and during His progress it was revealed unto Him who He was, and for what purpose He was in the world. The glory and power He possessed before He came into the world was made known unto Him.

When we place this side by side with a quote from the Come Follow Me manual, we learn an important truth.

We learn from Joseph Smith that, “If men do not comprehend the character of God, they do not comprehend themselves.”

We came here to become like Christ. Ideally, people would be able to look back at our lives and see a type of Christ. There are so many things that we could talk about in the scripture and quotes I just shared. We could talk about what perfection actually looks like. Christ has always been perfect, and He still had to grow and learn who He was. We could talk about who our Savior wants us to become and what He wants to share with us. Many people believe exaltation is blasphemous; I say that I worship God all the more because He wants to give me so much more than I deserve. There is so much we could talk about.

I want to talk about the fact that Christ had to learn who He was. He grew from grace to grace. In the manger, He was as unaware as the rest of us and had to progress. Part of that progression included learning about why He came to earth. I want to talk about the fact that understanding this portion of His character can help us understand ourselves. This is yet another way that we can mimic Christ.

You have to learn who you are. You came here to learn and grow and become, but you were also given responsibilities. They are not as magnificent as the Savior, but they do typify Him. They are still important.

There are many whose gut reaction is to say, “Oh no…I’m not important. I’m not anything special. I was not special before I came here. I’m not good enough to contribute.”

Imagine the power that Satan would have gained if he could have convinced Christ that humility meant giving up His identity. Imagine, for a moment, the power that Satan does hold because He has convinced us that humility means allowing him to tell us that we have nothing to contribute.

It is a powerful day when you’re able to cast off the idea that you have to make yourself small. It is a powerful day when you decide that through the power of Christ, you can do anything He needs you to do. It is a powerful day when you learn that accomplishing grand and important things does not always look grand and important. It is a powerful day when you simply accept what the Lord wants you to do without allowing Satan to whisper that you’re incapable or that your role isn’t particularly paramount.

When I think of my most important calling, I think of being a mother. I am a mother to my own children, but I have been a mother to many before that and I will mother many who come after. Being a mother is part of accepting my divine identity to nurture God’s children and help them know who they are.

It is not glamorous or loud. The world will often laugh at it or outright scorn it.

But I am powerful. I know who I am even if the world rejects me like they rejected Christ. No, I do not innately hold the power that He held, but I have all the power I need because He carries me and enables me. I can do all things through Christ. “All things” does not necessarily mean that I will move a mountain. Likely, it means that I will do something far more important. It means that I will powerfully love those around me.

Christ came here without any idea of who He really was. He did not know He was a God at first. He did not know that He could wipe out Herod or the Romans or the evil Jews if necessary. And when He did learn it, He did something more powerful. He loved and made Himself a servant. And by doing so, He stepped into His identity and changed the world. We can be a type of Christ and follow after Him.

I testify that Christ wants you to be His joint heir. That doesn’t mean simply receiving a mansion. It means so much more. He wants US to become so much more, and that blessing is readily available to us regardless of where we were born or how much we were born with. Even the least of us can be incredibly powerful with nothing but our faith in Christ. He can make us mighty to save with His power. We can let Him lead us to our roles in life, and we can trust that those roles can change the world as He did. We can also remember that changing the world as He did will look like Him, quietly serving and lifting where we stand.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 93 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

The Word of Wisdom (D&C section 89)by Mike Parker

Class Notes

Additional Reading

Paul H. Peterson and Ronald W. Walker, “Brigham Young’s Word of Wisdom Legacy,” BYU Studies 42, no. 3–4 (2003): 29–64.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 89 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

For the Weakest Saintby Autumn Dickson

The Word of Wisdom is a gift. Some view this advice as ridiculous and unnecessary. Honestly, it reminds me of when my son thinks it’s ridiculous and unnecessary for him to wear shoes and a helmet when he rides his dirt bike. Sure, he may ride his dirt bike and never get seriously injured. Maybe it even feels better to ride his dirt bike without a helmet, but it is worth protecting yourself.

As I read the Word of Wisdom this week, this verse stuck out to me.

Doctrine and Covenants 89:3 Given for a principle with promise, adapted to the capacity of the weak and the weakest of all saints, who are or can be called saints.

The Word of Wisdom, our health law given from God, was “adapted to the capacity of the weakest of all saints.” If the Lord adapted it, it means that He “made something suitable for a new purpose.” The Lord modified the Word of Wisdom so that the weakest saints would be capable of following it. The Lord did this in a couple of ways.

The first interpretation was the fact that the Word of Wisdom did not originally come as a commandment. In 1833, it was given to the Saints as some strong advice, as a revelation filled with wisdom. In 1882, the Lord told John Taylor that the Word of Wisdom was to be formally recognized as a commandment. In 1919, Heber J. Grant made it a requirement for the temple recommend. The Lord could have come out and made it a commandment immediately, but there were many people who were addicted to these substances. So the Lord adapted the law for His vulnerable saints. He changed it to start out as advice so that the people could become prepared to live it before it would condemn them.

Though this section is about the Word of Wisdom, this idea of adaptation from the Lord has numerous implications. One of those implications is the fact that the Lord is willing to meet us where we’re at and work with us until we’re where He wants us to be. He knows we’re imperfect and weak. He adapts on a societal level such as when He installed the Law of Moses to give the Israelites a step up towards His higher law. He also adapts on an individual level where He chooses to look at the bigger picture, unafraid of our mistakes along the way.

I had a dear friend who was overcoming a serious, serious pornography addiction. Addiction is definitely a spectrum, and he was thoroughly enmeshed. He didn’t have much support at home and had started extremely young. If I remember correctly, he found himself entrapped in pornography even before the age of accountability. In many ways, he was on his own to overcome it. And without support, especially as a young kid, overcoming it was going to be difficult (to put it lightly).

He had some wonderful youth leaders who took him in. One of those leaders was inspired by God to help him change his goals in relation to pornography. Because he was so deeply addicted, she recommended taking baby steps. Instead of trying to cut everything out and move on, she recommended starting with smaller goals that would eventually build to that ultimate goal.

His first goal was to make it an hour without looking at some version of pornography. That goal would build to 24 hours. Eventually he would make it to a week, a month, a year. She didn’t worry about what he would pull up at the end of that hour when he had reached his small goal. Rather, she gave him baby steps to work towards that law.

As we speak of adapting, I worry that this could sometimes get taken out of context and used as justification. Adaptation and justification are not the same thing. The entire point of adaptation on the part of the Lord is to help us step towards exaltation. The Law of Moses was definitely a step down from the law Christ wanted to give the Israelites, and yet, it was a step in the correct direction. This is not about justifying our sins or changing the law because we think we’re too weak. It’s about setting ourselves up for eventual success in following the Lord.

The Lord did not give the Word of Wisdom as a full-on commandment in the beginning because He needed to adapt it for those who were already addicted.

There is also a second interpretation of adaptation that I find important. I want to teach this second perspective by jumping back to that original analogy I used with my son and his helmet.

We have a rule in our home that you wear your helmet when you go out on the dirt bike. Imagine if our house rule was actually, “You don’t have to wear a helmet if you’re really strong and talented. Only the weakest family members need to wear a helmet.” There are a few problems that could arise.

First of all, none of my kids would classify themselves as weak riders, not even the four year old. I might as well not bring up the helmets at all. Secondly, even the strongest riders can make mistakes. No matter how strong and talented you are, a blow to the head can cause serious and permanent damage.

The Lord created the Word of Wisdom to protect the weakest of Saints, but He asked all of us to live it because He’s wise enough to know that none of us would classify ourselves as weak. We all think we would be strong enough to use dangerous substances wisely, and there would be significantly more problems. I’m not just talking about addiction. I’m also talking about the kinds of problems that arise within families when inhibitions have been dampened and lines are crossed.

This concept also extends to the idea of the strongest members running into issues. Even if you’re spiritually strong and only utilize substances at certain times, you are still leaving yourself incredibly vulnerable to others with bad intentions. Even the strongest can take a “blow to the head” when they are not adequately mentally present to protect themselves.

The Lord knows that experiences with substances do not always lead to destroyed lives, but the Lord is also wise enough to know that it causes enough pain and destruction to just avoid it altogether. He adapted these principles for the weakest of saints, but these principles protect all of us.

I testify of a Lord who is wise enough and cares enough to get involved and help us stay away from compromising and dangerous situations. I testify of a Lord who wants us to be safe and even though He desires a world where the most vulnerable are protected, I testify that He’s smart enough to know that’s not the world we live in yet. For now, we need these rules to keep us safe and help us protect ourselves more fully. Some see the Word of Wisdom as a desire to control. I see a wise and loving Father who is just trying to help His children live life more fully and healthy. I’m grateful for His protections and sage advice.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 89-92 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Accepting Christ’s Giftby Autumn Dickson

I love when the scriptures give us more insights into how the relationship between the atonement of Jesus Christ and our works come together. I think it’s a relationship that needs to be studied thoroughly if we are to understand how to enjoy Celestial Glory. For while we believe in worthiness and the necessity of following after Christ, we also believe that we were given a gift. Here is a verse that can add another layer to our understanding of the relationship between grace and works.

Doctrine and Covenants 88:33 For what doth it profit a man if a gift is bestowed upon him, and he receive not the gift? Behold, he rejoices not in that which is given unto him, neither rejoices in him who is the giver of the gift.

Christ gives us a gift, but we have to utilize the gift. That is one way of describing the relationship between grace and works. Gifts are free. There are no strings attached. There are many who argue that we, as Latter-day Saints, do not believe in grace because we believe in the necessity of worthiness. I do not believe that grace and works are mutually exclusive, and this verse helps to describe it.

When someone gives you a gift at Christmas and you open it and utilize it, does that suddenly mean the gift wasn’t free because you had to work to use it? I’ve been accused of not being a Christian because if we believe in the necessity of works then I don’t truly believe that His gift is free. Believing in the concept of worthiness does not negate the fact that Christ gave His gift. If Christ had been unsuccessful in atoning, and I had still worked towards worthiness, I still wouldn’t have made it to the Celestial Kingdom. No one would. Christ gave a gift of atonement.

As for worthiness, this verse also describes it beautifully. When someone places a gift in your lap, you can be grateful and love that person for putting it in your lap. But who is going to be more grateful to the giver: the person who just stares at the beautifully wrapped gift or the person who opens it and utilizes it?

The gift is free, but salvation has multiple parts because heaven has multiple parts. You enjoy heaven because you’re perfectly clean, near the Savior, and you’re enjoying a heavenly society where love abounds.

The cleanliness (and therefore, the ability to be near God and the Savior) comes from Christ. You cannot stand in the presence of God without that cleanliness or you’ll get eaten alive by the fire that He dwells within. This is where the gift of Christ’s atonement comes into play. He just cleans us. Even if we worked and practiced, our works do not cleanse us. It is free.

But salvation is more than cleanliness. Even if Christ is continually cleaning you (because you don’t believe in worthiness; you didn’t have to change or shed natural man tendencies), you won’t experience salvation even if you’re standing in the location of heaven. You have to be perfectly clean (thank you gift of Christ’s atonement), but salvation is also about enjoying eternity. If you want to enjoy eternity, the works part is necessary.

There is innate unhappiness that comes with wickedness. Wickedness never was happiness. So even if Christ cleanses you continually so that you are capable of standing in heaven, you still won’t be able to enjoy heaven because you are still actively pursuing wickedness that brings in innate unhappiness. You didn’t even really touch your gift. You didn’t open it. It was free. It’s sitting in your lap, but it brought you no joy because you didn’t even use it.

There is another aspect of this verse that I think is really important for Latter-day Saints who overemphasize works. While we believe in worthiness, I believe that Christ is much more willing to save than we think He is. He worked so very hard, harder than we can comprehend, to place that gift in our laps. Fewer things bring Him more satisfaction than when we rejoice and trust in that gift.

He does not want us to be leery of that gift. He doesn’t want us to look at His gift and think, “Mmmm I just don’t know if He really wants me to have this.” HE DOES. Use it. Rejoice in it. Trust it. It was a gift. Rejoice in the fact that He has the power to cleanse over and over and over. Rejoice in the fact that if you’re willing to follow Him, He can work with that.

I’m not perfect. I am so not perfect. But I have found salvation. I have opened the gift and got excited about it. I wave it around for everyone to see. Look what Christ gave me. He gave it to me. I didn’t earn it. I’m getting better at using it. He is teaching me to use it, and that’s going to be enough.

I testify of a Savior who loves you and wants you to rejoice in His perfection. I testify that if you’re willing to follow Him, if you’re trying to do as He asks even if you fail repeatedly, He has the power to pull you along anyway. He can cleanse you until you’ve completely changed and figured it out. He can keep you clean, and you can enjoy the happiness that innately comes with striving to love God and love others. You can rejoice in your salvation.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 88 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

“The Olive Leaf”; the divine natures of God and man (D&C sections 88, 93)by Mike Parker

Class Notes

Additional Reading

Diana L. Mahony and Marla D. Corson, “Light-Mindedness versus Lightheartedness: Conflicting Conceptions of Laughter among Latter-day Saints,” BYU Studies 42, no. 2 (2003): 115–29.
Kenneth W. Godfrey, “The History of Intelligence in Latter-day Saint Thought,” in The Pearl of Great Price: Revelations from God, ed. H. Donl Peterson and Charles D. Tate Jr. (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center at Brigham Young University, 1989), 213–36.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants sections 88, 93 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Reverence as the Foundation for Spiritual Connection

Have you ever wondered why certain moments in worship feel life-changing—while others feel ordinary, even rushed? In a world that increasingly scoffs at the idea of sacred times and places, Elder Ulisses Soares’s April 2025 General Conference message, Reverence for Sacred Things, is a powerful reminder: reverence is not an accessory to spirituality—it is spirituality.

Elder Soares draws us to the image of Moses before the burning bush—removing his sandals, aware he was standing on holy ground. That act was more than cultural tradition; it was a physical expression of a heart fully turned toward God. Reverence, he teaches, is the virtue that prepares our hearts to receive divine instruction, whether we are in the temple or in our own homes.

Doctrine and Covenants 88 echoes this call: “Sanctify yourselves that your minds become single to God, and the days will come that you shall see him” (v. 68). Reverence is not simply about silence or outward formality—it is the alignment of our whole being with God’s presence. It can transform a home into a sanctuary, and a building into the House of the Lord.

In the words of Elder Soares:

Reverence for sacred things is the greatest manifestation of a vital spiritual quality; it is a by-product of our connection to holiness and reflects our love for and proximity to our Heavenly Father and our Savior, Jesus Christ.

As we study D&C 88 this week, the pattern is clear: the Lord invites us to create holy places—“a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God” (v. 119)—not only in our temples, but in our homes. The question is, will we pause long enough, and reverently enough, to meet Him there?

Apologetic Issues: Reverence & the Relevance of Sacred SpaceDoctrine Issue: “Reverence Is Just Outward Formality”Misconception: “Reverence is about being quiet and somber—it’s just an old-fashioned cultural formality, not essential to spiritual connection.”

Response:Reverence is not a cultural habit—it is a Christ-centered virtue. In Joseph Smith’s day, the word virtue carried the meaning of moral power, excellence, and strength of character—not just moral purity. C.S. Lewis’s Screwtape Letters warns that the adversary will do all he can to prevent the formation of true virtues, because they shape how we receive God’s influence.

Elder Soares teaches that reverence is “a feeling or attitude of profound respect, love, and gratitude,” which invites the Holy Ghost and opens us to God’s blessings. Doctrine and Covenants 88 calls us to “sanctify yourselves that your minds become single to God” (v. 68) and to “establish … a house of God” (v. 119). This inward alignment transforms outward stillness into spiritual receptivity. Reverence is the soil where testimony and revelation grow.

Common Fallacy: False Analogy – assuming two things are alike in all respects because they share some similarities.
This misconception treats reverence as the same as cultural formality. While formality can be empty, reverence is a spiritually potent virtue that changes our capacity to receive light (D&C 88:67).
Solution: Distinguish between empty custom and divine principle. Reverence is not about keeping an outdated style—it is about cultivating the inner condition that allows the Spirit to speak and be heard.

Social Issue: “Sacred Spaces Aren’t Necessary—God Is Everywhere”Misconception: “If God is everywhere, I don’t need a temple or a special setting to worship. My home, hobbies, or nature walks are enough.”

Response:It is true that God can be worshiped anywhere, but throughout scripture He commands the creation of dedicated sacred spaces. The Lord told Moses to remove his shoes because he stood on holy ground (Exodus 3:5). In D&C 88, He commands the Saints to build a temple and to establish their homes as “houses of prayer … faith … learning … glory” (v. 119).

Sacred spaces—especially the home and temple—do more than mark a location; they mark our intent. They provide a context for covenant, order, and focused worship that cannot be replicated by casual devotion alone. Elder Soares teaches that showing reverence for sacred things gives meaning to our everyday lives and freedom from the apathy that the irreverence of the world catapults us toward.

Common Fallacy: Hasty Generalization – drawing a broad conclusion from a few cases.
This misconception assumes that because God can be worshiped anywhere, all places are equally effective for deep spiritual formation.
Solution: Recognize that while God hears prayers anywhere, He commands and blesses the creation of set-apart spaces for His work. Sacred spaces amplify our focus, readiness, and covenant connection.

Apologetic Application: Reverence as a Christ-Centered Virtue that Unlocks Spiritual LightElder Ulisses Soares’s talk teaches a doctrinal truth with profound apologetic value:
Reverence is more than etiquette—it is a covenantal virtue that opens our hearts to God’s presence.

In Joseph Smith’s day, virtue meant far more than chastity—it was moral power, excellence, and strength of soul. C.S. Lewis’s Screwtape Letters warns that the adversary seeks to prevent the formation of such virtues, knowing they shape our ability to receive heaven’s influence.

In D&C 88, the Lord links reverence to divine vision: “Sanctify yourselves that your minds become single to God, and the days will come that you shall see him” (v. 68). This is not about outward posture—it’s about the alignment of heart, mind, and will to Christ.

Defending Core Beliefs1⃣ Reverence ≠ Empty FormalitySome dismiss reverence as a hollow cultural habit. But in scripture, reverence is repeatedly tied to encounters with God—Moses removing his sandals before the burning bush (Exodus 3:5), the Lord commanding His people to build a temple “that I may dwell among them” (Exodus 25:8), and His instructions in D&C 88 to establish “a house of prayer … faith … learning … glory … God” (v. 119).
Defense: Outward expressions of reverence reflect inward humility and readiness to receive revelation. They are not ends in themselves—they are tools to help us stand on holy ground.

2⃣ Sacred Spaces Are Commanded, Not OptionalSome argue that since God can be worshiped anywhere, dedicated spaces like temples and worship-centered homes are unnecessary. While God indeed hears prayers offered anywhere, He commands the creation of holy places (Isaiah 2:3, D&C 88:119) as a pattern for covenant relationship and focused worship.
Defense: Sacred spaces amplify spiritual focus, strengthen covenant identity, and serve as protective “holy ground” in an increasingly irreverent world.

Practical Apologetics

This doctrine clarifies that reverence is a spiritual discipline that invites the Holy Ghost and allows the Lord to “unveil his face” (D&C 88:68). Practically, it becomes a defense against cultural trends that scoff at sacredness—showing that reverence isn’t just “acting” a certain way but a divine requirement for those who would see God.

Apologetic Use:When someone claims, “Your Church is too rigid about how worship should look,” you can respond: “It’s not about rigidity—it’s about readiness. Reverence prepares the heart to receive revelation. God asked Moses to remove his shoes before holy ground. Today, He asks us to sanctify our homes and temples so He can meet us there.”

Historical and Doctrinal ConnectionsReverence for sacred things is not a cultural invention—it is a divine pattern, repeated in every dispensation. Anciently, the Lord commanded Moses to remove his sandals before the burning bush, because he was standing on holy ground (Exodus 3:5). Israel was taught to sanctify themselves before approaching Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:10–11). The early Saints were commanded to do the same in their day.

In December 1832, Joseph Smith and other leaders met in the upper room of Newel K. Whitney’s store in Kirtland, Ohio, to seek the Lord’s will “concerning the upbuilding of Zion”. The result was Doctrine and Covenants 88—the “Olive Leaf” revelation—a message of peace after prophecies of war. In it, the Lord commanded His people to “sanctify yourselves that your minds become single to God” and to establish “a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God” (vv. 68, 119). This call to reverence mirrored ancient Israel’s preparation for holy encounters and reaffirmed that sacred spaces are central to covenant life.

Elder Soares’s counsel continues this prophetic continuity. He reminds us that reverence is not optional—it is preparatory. Just as the Saints of Kirtland were commanded to create a temple and sanctify themselves, we are called to treat both our homes and temples as holy ground. Reverence is the spiritual posture that enables the Holy Ghost to “abide in your hearts” (v. 3) and fills our lives with light until we can “see [God]” (v. 68).

Connection to This Week’s Come, Follow Me Lesson:This week’s study of Doctrine and Covenants 88 focuses on light, sanctification, and the house of God. Elder Soares’s message fits perfectly:

D&C 88:67 – “If your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light.” Reverence aligns our vision with God’s glory.
D&C 88:68 – “Sanctify yourselves … and the days will come that you shall see him.” Reverence is the act of sanctifying both our space and ourselves.
D&C 88:119 – “Establish … a house of God.” The Lord commands physical and spiritual preparation for sacred encounters.

By honoring this pattern—whether in our living rooms or in the temple—we claim the same promise given to the Saints in Kirtland: that God will “establish his name” among us and fill our homes with His presence.

Living Apologetics: How to Apply This Today How can we help others understand that reverence is not outdated formality, but the foundation for real spiritual experience?

Elder Soares testifies that “…as we strive to incorporate such virtue into our daily lives, we will be able to increase our humility, expand our understanding of God’s will for us, and strengthen our confidence in the promises of the covenants we have made with the Lord.” In an age where sacredness is often dismissed, this truth helps us respond to cultural skepticism: reverence is not about restriction—it is about readiness.

Principle in Practice: Two Ways to Apply Apologetic Principles1⃣ Reframe Criticism of “Formality in Worship” When someone says, “Your church is too formal about worship,” respond:
→ “Reverence isn’t about formality—it’s about focus. Just like Moses removed his shoes before holy ground, we set apart our spaces and hearts so we can receive God’s guidance.”

2⃣ Explain Why Sacred Spaces Matter When someone says, “I can worship anywhere, so temples aren’t necessary,” respond:
→ “We can pray anywhere, but God repeatedly commands His people to create holy places so we can meet Him in covenant. Homes and temples give us both the setting and the spiritual preparation to hear His voice more clearly.”

Conclusion: Standing on Holy Ground Every DayElder Ulisses Soares’s message calls us to rediscover reverence as the foundation of spiritual life—a virtue that transforms both sacred buildings and humble homes into holy ground. Reverence is not an empty tradition; it is the posture of a heart prepared to meet God.

From Moses before the burning bush to the early Saints commanded in D&C 88 to sanctify themselves and build “a house of God,” the Lord’s pattern is clear: when we recognize and honor the sacred, we open ourselves to the light, peace, and guidance He is eager to give. In a noisy world that often mocks the idea of sacredness, choosing reverence becomes a powerful, even countercultural act of discipleship.

This week’s Come, Follow Me lesson echoes the same truth: sanctifying ourselves and creating holy places—both physically and spiritually—prepares us to “see Him” (D&C 88:68). The temple and the home are not just places we enter—they are environments we create through our choices, our preparation, and our devotion.

Elder Soares reminds us:

…As we embrace this gift of reverence for sacred things—whether in the mountain of the Lord’s house, in a meetinghouse, or in our own homes—we will be filled with astounding amazement and awe as we connect to the perfect love of our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

What will you do this week to make your home and your heart holy ground?

The Consider Conference series by FAIR offers an in-depth look at recent General Conference talks to help members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints navigate common questions, misunderstandings, and criticisms. Each post provides doctrinal insights, historical context, and practical ways to apply gospel principles in everyday conversations. Through this series, we hope to equip readers with faith-promoting resources that encourage thoughtful reflection, respectful dialogue, and a stronger foundation in gospel truths, fostering both personal conviction and meaningful discussions with others.

The post Holy Ground appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Holy Places and Taresby Autumn Dickson

I want to talk about two different themes from the sections assigned this week, standing in holy places and the parable of the wheat and tares. I’m not sure whether the Lord purposefully put these two themes right next to each other, but now it’s caught my attention and won’t leave me alone. Here are just a couple of excerpts from the Lord regarding these themes.

In the parable of the wheat and tares, the Lord says this.

Doctrine and Covenants 86:6 But the Lord saith unto them, pluck not up the tares while the blade is yet tender (for verily your faith is weak), lest you destroy the wheat also.

In the parable of the wheat and tares, the wheat are the righteous and the tares are the wicked. Many biblical scholars believe that the tares are darnell, a plant that looks incredibly similar to wheat until it’s fully grown. Only at the last day are they divided, after what they truly are comes to fruition.

Then the Lord prophesies of immense war through Joseph Smith before teaching us this:

Doctrine and Covenants 87:8 Wherefore, stand ye in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come; for behold, it cometh quickly, saith the Lord. Amen.

In Section 86, we learn that we will be surrounded by the wicked and the righteous until the day of the Lord.

In Section 87, He tells His Saints that they should stand in holy places until the day of the Lord.

Even though the Lord allows us to grow amongst wickedness, He asks us to stand where it’s holy.

How do we stand in holy places when much of the world around us isn’t holy? We cannot forever stand on temple grounds. We cannot stay in the chapel indefinitely. Even if we can turn our homes into sacred spaces, I don’t think it’s advisable to never leave your home.

In the guide to the scriptures, we learn that “Holiness indicates purity of a person’s heart and intent.”

THIS IS SO DANG COOL TO ME. It’s cool because wheat and tares look incredibly similar. You can’t really tell them apart in a field until they are fully ripe. And though wheat and tares look similar, what they truly are is hidden internally. Holiness is something that happens internally. When a place is holy, it’s because the things that are happening within that place are turned towards the Lord.

We can make ourselves a holy place. The space that we inhabit, the air that we breathe, can be a holy place if we are pure in heart and intent. We can stand in holy places by making ourselves holy.

How do we make ourselves holy? How do we purify our hearts and intent?

Get this. We weed out any of our personal tare tendencies.

Tare and wheat look similar. Sometimes we have traits that look Christlike but aren’t. Sometimes we do things that look Christlike but are not truly so.

For example, sometimes we serve and find resentment. Sometimes we go out and try to correct someone from a pedestal we’ve put ourselves upon. Sometimes we think we’re so wonderful for tolerating someone to their face, but find ourselves relieved when they’re gone because we haven’t taken the time to truly develop love for them. Christ felt true love. He didn’t tolerate people and then secretly rejoice when they left. And yet sometimes we think we’re being Christlike because we’re nice on the outside. We’re nice, but we’re not actually being Christlike. We’re not wheat. We are being tares, and we have to work to weed those tendencies out of ourselves.

As we extend ourselves to being truly Christlike, we become wheat. As we practice truly seeing others and loving them in our heart, we purify ourselves and become holy.

The Lord placed us in an environment that has plenty of tares. And though He placed us in an unholy environment, He asks us to stand in holy places. There are many ways to stand in holy places, but one of the best ways is to take holiness with us. We take holiness with us by weeding out the parts of ourselves that are not truly Christlike even if it mimics Christlike behavior.

I testify that as we shed those parts of ourselves that look like love but are not based in love, we will become a blessing to others and to ourselves. I’m an introvert. Being around people is often tiring for me. There have been plenty of times that I’ve been a tare, and I’ve just endured people until I could get some peace. However, as I truly engage and connect with others, I have found that those encounters are worth it even if I’m tired after. I’ve learned that the Lord is extremely willing to help us shed those tendencies. I testify that He stands ready to help purify us so that we can experience life as He does.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 85-87 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Steadying the Arkby Autumn Dickson

There is a reference to an Old Testament story found in the sections for this week. Let’s talk about the background and then read the verse.

In 2 Samuel, the Israelites are bringing the ark of the covenant back into Israel after an enemy nation had captured and released it. An oxen shook the ark of the covenant while they were crossing a river, and Uzzah touched it and tried to steady it even though no one was allowed to touch the ark. He was struck dead immediately next to the ark of the covenant.

Here is the verse in the Doctrine and Covenants.

Doctrine and Covenants 85:8 While that man, who was called of God and appointed, that putteth forth his hand to steady the ark of God, shall fall by the shaft of death, like as a tree that is smitten by the vivid shaft of lightning.

Around the time this verse was given, Edward Partridge and Joseph were disagreeing. Partridge thought the quality of land in Missouri was poor and didn’t want to buy it, and it took a while for him to reconcile with Joseph over the matter. This warning would have been to Partridge had he not repented. In 1834, Oliver Cowdery recorded that Joseph clarified that this verse didn’t apply to any individual. It was a warning to anyone.

So what is the warning?

Just like with any scripture story, there are a few different lessons. Elder Neal A. Maxwell taught that trying to direct God’s work without authority can bring spiritual death. We learn that good intentions aren’t sufficient to protect us. It teaches us that approaching God with a lack of immense reverence is dangerous. The ark of the covenant was a representation of God, and only the high priest (as a type of Christ) could approach that ark and only after a series of cleansing rituals.

This can be a tender spot for some who are struggling in the church. Our belief in a prophet who is led by God can create a sense of all or nothing when attempting to follow the church. And while I desperately hope for everyone to continue working out their salvation within the church, this is a legitimate warning. When we try to change things without authority or try to steady the ark when we think it’s out of balance, it really can bring spiritual death.

I have a friend who has left the church over the past few years. As I’ve had conversations with him about it, I have repeatedly heard the phrase, “I just don’t think God would do something like that.” This sentiment was repeated over and over. I often found myself internally asking, “Well, have you asked Him if He would do something like that?”

With the way the church is set up, it really boils down to whether it’s true or not. It’s hard to find a way around that sticking point. Either the prophet is led by God or he isn’t. Sure, we all receive personal revelation and the Lord can guide us about specific principles and policies in our lives. But, we also believe that the Lord only gives revelation to the prophet if He is trying to direct His church. Just like in the New Testament, the Lord didn’t teach every individual that the Law of Moses was completed and done away. He sent that revelation to Peter, the head of the church, and then people got to decide whether they would follow.

Just like with most people in the church, I have found myself struggling with doctrine, policy, and history. While I was growing up, I would often choose to ignore it and just keep going. As I got older, I decided I didn’t really want to do that anymore. If I couldn’t face these doubts head on and work it out with God, then I didn’t want to be a part of this. If these issues couldn’t stand up in the light, then why am I working so hard to follow the church?

When we are trying to figure out whether the prophet and church are led by God, we have to be ready to follow. That is one of the major keys here. If you want Him to answer you about the truthfulness, you have to be ready to lay aside your own thoughts and opinions in favor of His greater knowledge and wisdom. You have to be prepared to say, “I don’t understand, but I will trust that God does and I will follow Him until I do.” You have to be prepared to follow regardless of whether He tells you why He is working in a specific manner.

And so I often approach my struggles in this manner.

I work it out in my head first. When I run across something that I struggle with, I try to approach it head on. I try not to hide from that discomfort. I try to write everything I understand about God and eternal realities. I try to place what I don’t understand into the context of those eternal realities. Sometimes that has been enough to soothe the disquiet. Other times, I just feel more and more troubled.

This is when it’s time to go directly to the Lord.

I lay it all out for the Lord. I tell Him everything. I tell Him why I think it’s wrong or skewed or incorrect or faulty. I try to get to the root issue of what I’m really struggling with, and I take it all to Him.

And then I tell the Lord that I don’t know as much as He does. I tell Him that even if I don’t understand, I tell Him that I will choose to follow Him in faith and rejoicing. Sometimes He will help me understand, and sometimes He just tells me to keep following. Either way, I know that He’s got this. Maybe the time has not come for Him to change things. Maybe He will never change things because there are aspects that I do not understand with my limited knowledge. Maybe, maybe, maybe.

But there are two aspects that are not a “maybe.” God knows all, and He loves His children. I feel this in my bones. So if He says that I’m on the right track and if He tells me that this is where I need to be, I feel safe enough to do so. I have gotten to know God, and though I don’t understand all of His decisions, I understand His love and omnipotence and I am not afraid. I am excited for Him to show me all that He sees when He deems that it’s the right timing.

So when I feel that the ark is off balance, I have learned to steady myself rather than the ark. I have learned to let the Lord do His own work, and I’ve learned that the ark will be just fine. If I follow, I’ll make it across the river and home someday.

You don’t have to follow blindly. You don’t have to hide from scary doubts. You can work them out in your mind and do your best to understand them. But you can also get to know God. You can deeply internalize His love and omnipotence, and then you can go to Him. You can tell Him that you’re willing to follow where He leads because you have come to trust Him deeply. You can be willing to let go of what you don’t understand because you trust that He understands.

Everyone is going to have to work this out in their own lives. You have to receive that answer for yourself. Is the prophet truly being led by God? This can feel like a difficult answer when it seems like it conflicts with some deep part of you, but the conflict only exists because we do not see all that He sees. I can testify of His God’s love and omnipotence. I can testify that He isn’t betraying you or setting you aside. I can testify that He sacrificed everything so that no hurt would go unhealed. I also testify that He leads His prophet and church today.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 85-87 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Raising a Generation That Can Stand in Holy Places

What happens when Jesus is reduced to a symbol? A vague ideal? A cultural icon with no real power to save?

In her powerful message Thou Art the Christ, Sister Amy A. Wright of the Primary General Presidency pleads for something deeper than casual Christianity: a life centered on the real, resurrected, glorified Jesus Christ. Not a fictional Jesus. Not a simplistic or bodiless Jesus. But the living Son of God—mighty to save, and intimately involved in our lives.

She also issues a clear call: our children must come to know this Jesus. If we want them to stand in holy places as the storms of mortality and morality rage, they must encounter not just teachings about Him, but personal testimony, sacred images, and spiritual experiences that anchor their discipleship.

As we study Doctrine and Covenants 85–87, where the Lord warns of global upheaval and commands, “Stand ye in holy places, and be not moved” (D&C 87:8), Sister Wright’s message becomes strikingly urgent. In a world of shifting norms and relentless noise, the holy place that matters most may be the one built in a child’s heart—where faith in the true Christ takes root.

Apologetic Issues: Misunderstanding Who Jesus IsMisconception: “Latter-day Saints don’t believe in the same Jesus as traditional Christians. Their view of Christ is simplistic or unorthodox.”

Response: Latter-day Saints affirm that Jesus Christ is the Only Begotten Son of God, the divine Savior of the world, who was resurrected with a glorified, immortal body and now sits at the right hand of the Father (see John 20:27; Philippians 2:9–11). Sister Wright testifies powerfully of this same Jesus: “a glorified, omnipotent, resurrected, exalted, worshipful, powerful Only Begotten Son of God, who is mighty to save.” Her plea is to center our lives not on a caricatured or casual Christ, but on the real, risen Redeemer—not merely admired, but worshipped.

Common Fallacy: False Dilemma – presenting two oversimplified options as if they are the only possibilities
Critics often set up a False Dilemma, suggesting that one must either accept a traditional creedal view of Jesus or conclude that Latter-day Saints worship “a different Christ.” But scripture teaches that belief in Christ is demonstrated by faith in His words and power (see John 14:15–21)—not by agreement with post-biblical creeds.
Solution: Recognize that Latter-day Saint Christology is rooted in scripture and emphasizes a real, personal relationship with the living, resurrected Lord.

Social Issue: “Faith Is Optional—Goodness Is Enough”Criticism: “Why teach kids to center their lives on Jesus Christ? Isn’t it enough to just be kind, honest, and a good person?”

Response:While kindness and honesty matter, they are not enough without Christ. Sister Wright warns: “If we are not testifying to the veracity of His … Resurrection in our homes and in every single meeting of this Church, then our messages of love, service, honesty, humility, gratitude, and compassion can become nothing more than a jaunty pep talk of thoughtful living.”Christ isn’t a motivational figure. He’s the source of all transformation. Without Him, our efforts may improve behavior—but they cannot redeem souls.

Common Fallacy: Moralistic Therapeutic Deism – the belief that God wants us to be nice, but isn’t personally involved unless needed
This critique reflects Moralistic Therapeutic Deism, a shallow worldview that sees Jesus as optional and religion as a self-help tool. It strips discipleship of its divine power.
Solution: Teach that Christ is not just an example of goodness, but the only source of salvation (Mosiah 3:17). Faith in Him enables not just goodness, but godliness.

Apologetic Application: The Nature of Jesus ChristAt the heart of Sister Wright’s message lies a clear doctrinal call: Jesus Christ is not symbolic—He is real, resurrected, glorified, and divine.This doctrine holds deep apologetic value in a world that increasingly reduces Christ to metaphor, myth, or mere moral teacher.

The restored gospel teaches that:

Jesus Christ is the literal Son of God (John 3:16), born in the flesh, crucified, and resurrected with an immortal body (Luke 24:39; 3 Nephi 11:14–15).
He is omnipotent, exalted, and worshipped by all who recognize His divine identity (Philippians 2:9–11; 2 Nephi 25:29).
His role as Savior is not symbolic—it is actual, embodied, and eternal.

Defending Core Beliefs1⃣ Jesus Is Not a Mere Moral ExampleMisconception: Some claim Jesus was just a wise teacher whose value lies in His ethical philosophy.
Clarification: Sister Wright challenges this directly: “Without Jesus Christ there is no power to change, no purpose to aspire to, and no reconciliation of the travails of life.”Latter-day Saints affirm that Christ’s power is redemptive, not just inspirational (Mosiah 3:5–8). The Atonement, Resurrection, and priesthood covenants transform mortal experience—they’re not optional footnotes to a good life.

2⃣ Jesus Is Resurrected and Exalted—Not Abstract or DistantCriticism: Some critics argue Latter-day Saints believe in a “different Jesus,” or that their view is too anthropomorphic.
Clarification: In reality, the restored gospel declares Jesus rose in a glorified, tangible body and remains eternally divine (D&C 76:22–24; 3 Nephi 11). This doesn’t diminish His power—it fulfills prophecy and affirms the reality of resurrection for all.
Sister Wright underscores this with reverent precision: He is not a casual or fictional Jesus, but “a glorified, omnipotent, resurrected, exalted … Only Begotten Son of God.”

Practical Apologetic Use

Understanding the real nature of Jesus Christ protects against cultural Christianity that values virtue but forgets divinity.
Apologetic Use: When someone says, “All that really matters is being a good person,” you can respond, “We agree that goodness matters—but goodness alone can’t save us. We follow Christ not just because He taught truth—but because He is the truth, and He alone has power to transform and redeem.” Analogy: A lighthouse isn’t just inspiring—it’s essential to navigate storms. Without the real, shining light of Christ, even moral people can drift off course.

Historical and Doctrinal ConnectionsThroughout scripture and across dispensations, the Lord has issued this same charge to His people: Stand in holy places and be not moved. From Israel at Sinai to the Nephites at Bountiful to Latter-day Saints preparing for Zion, sacred spaces have always served as spiritual strongholds amid chaos, division, and uncertainty.

Sister Amy A. Wright reinforces this enduring command by pointing us back to the central source of holiness—Jesus Christ Himself. She urges that He must not be reduced to a symbol, fictionalized, or made casual. The real Christ—resurrected, glorified, and worshipped—is the reason any place becomes holy at all.

In Doctrine and Covenants 87, the Lord prophesies war and global calamity—not as a message of doom, but to highlight where peace can be found:

“Stand ye in holy places, and be not moved.” (D&C 87:8)

Sister Wright’s words offer modern continuity to this command. The “holy places” of today are not limited to temples or churches—they include homes where testimonies are borne, lives shaped by covenants, and hearts centered on Christ’s reality and mission.

Just as Christ invited the Nephites to “thrust their hands into his side” and “feel the prints of the nails” (3 Nephi 11:14–15), Sister Wright reminds us that our children need real experiences with the real Christ—seeing, hearing, and feeling the Spirit testify of Him in ways that transcend the symbolic.

Doctrinal Connections to Come, Follow Me (D&C 85–87): D&C 85:6 – “Yea, thus saith the still small voice…” Just as the Spirit testifies of truth in quiet, personal ways, so too must our testimonies of Christ be sincere, specific, and Spirit-led—not abstract or generic. * D&C 86:11 – “Be a light unto the Gentiles, and through this priesthood, a savior unto my people…” Sister Wright calls each of us to teach, guide, and lift others—especially children—by connecting them to the living Christ. * D&C 87:8 – “Stand ye in holy places, and be not moved.”* This isn’t just a warning—it’s an invitation to build a holy refuge in our hearts and homes, founded on an unshakable testimony of Jesus Christ.

These revelations echo and support Sister Wright’s message: faith in the real, risen Christ is what makes any place holy, any testimony powerful, and any disciple steady in turbulent times.

Living Apologetics: How to Apply This TodayHow can we help others see that discipleship isn’t about vague values—but about anchoring our lives in the real, living Jesus Christ?

Sister Amy A. Wright reminds us that a fictional, casual, or symbolic Christ cannot sustain us in turbulent times. If we want the rising generation to remain steady, we must bear bold, reverent testimony of the glorified and resurrected Jesus Christ. And we must live as if He truly leads His Church today.

This has powerful apologetic value. When critics claim our religion is just rules, or that belief in Christ is outdated or simplistic, we can respond with clarity and conviction:
We don’t follow a philosophy. We follow a Person—resurrected, real, and mighty to save.

Principle in Practice: Two Ways to Apply Apologetic Principles1⃣ Counter the “Good Without God” Narrative When someone says, “You don’t need religion to be a good person,” try this:
→ “Being good is important. But Sister Wright reminds us: without Jesus Christ, there is no power to change or reconcile life’s deepest wounds. Christ doesn’t just inspire good people—He transforms broken people.”

2⃣ Teach Kids More Than Values—Teach Christ In Primary, family study, or youth lessons, avoid reducing gospel lessons to generic kindness or morality.
→ Instead, say: “We’re kind because we follow Jesus. His life isn’t just a story—it’s our example, covenant, and power.”

Conclusion: Standing Steadfast with the Real ChristSister Amy A. Wright’s message is a bold and beautiful reminder: we do not follow an abstract ideal—we follow Jesus Christ, resurrected, exalted, and real.

In a world filled with shifting values, symbolic faith, and casual discipleship, our strength comes not from standing in a place—but from standing with a Person. He is the one who transforms our homes into holy places and our testimonies into spiritual protection.

This week’s Come, Follow Me lesson (Doctrine and Covenants 85–87) echoes her call with prophetic clarity: stand ye in holy places, and be not moved (D&C 87:8). Holiness is not just a setting—it’s a way of living, testifying, and pointing others to the living Christ.

Whether you’re teaching your children, defending your faith, or simply trying to hold on through personal storms, Sister Wright’s invitation rings true: make Christ the center, not the backdrop. Let your discipleship be intentional, your testimony of Him specific, and your worship of Him reverent.

Where in your life can you shift from admiring Christ to truly standing with Him?

“If we become casual in our discipleship of Jesus Christ, it could be catastrophic for our children.” — Sister Amy A. Wright

The post A Real and Holy Jesus appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

The priesthood & its quorums (D&C sections 84, 107; Official Declaration 2)by Mike Parker

Class Notes

Additional Reading

Ronald K. Esplin and Sharon E. Nielsen, “The Record of the Twelve, 1835: The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles’ Call and the 1835 Mission,” BYU Studies 51, no. 1 (2012): 4–52. This document, made available through the Joseph Smith Papers Project, is the earliest extant record of the activities of the modern Quorum of the Twelve.
Elder L. Aldin Porter, “A History of the Latter-day Seventy,” Ensign, August 2000, 15–20. Elder Porter reviews the organization and growth of the modern office of the Seventy.
“Race and the Priesthood,” Gospel Topics Essays. This scholarly article on the Church’s website explores the origins of the ban on ordaining men of African descent to the priesthood.
Edward L. Kimball, “Spencer W. Kimball and the Revelation on Priesthood,” BYU Studies 47, no. 2 (Spring 2008): 4–78. Edward L. Kimball discusses the chain of events that led his father, President Spencer W. Kimball, to seek revelation regarding changing the Church’s ban on ordaining black men to the priesthood. The article describes how President Kimball went about obtaining the revelation, how the revelation was spiritually confirmed to other leaders, and members’ reactions when the change was announced.
Lester E. Bush Jr., “Mormonism’s Negro Doctrine: An Historical Overview,” Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 8, no. 1 (Spring 1973): 11–68. This seminal article—which appeared before the 1978 revelation that reversed the Church’s ban on ordaining men of African descent to the priesthood—examines when the policy began and developed, and what scriptures were employed to explain it.
Elder Bruce R. McConkie, “All Are Alike unto God,” address in the Second Annual CES Symposium, 18 August 1978. Elder McConkie’s address came just two months after the 1978 revelation that extended the priesthood to men of African descent.
The Priesthood Restored: A Joseph Smith Papers Podcast is a six-part miniseries that explores the events and circumstances that played a role in the restoration of the priesthood. Series host Spencer W. McBride interviewed historians and Church leaders for this podcast.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – D&C sections 84, 107; Official Declaration 2 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

A Legitimate Questionby Autumn Dickson

When I was growing up, I remember being worried about receiving revelation. How could I differentiate between His voice and my own internal voice? I know I wasn’t the only one who asked this question and as I’ve become an adult and occasional leader over the youth, I have heard that same question frequently.

I am not perfect at it, but I have learned to recognize a distinct feeling in my head when the Lord is trying to say something to me. When I start to receive that subtle, distinct feeling, I turn to my journal, start to write, and the Lord will often teach me something.

Elder Bednar once taught that it doesn’t matter whether it’s coming from the Lord or not. If something good pops into your head, you should follow it regardless of whether it’s an official prompting. I agree with him. If a thought pops into your head about serving someone or doing something uplifting, it doesn’t really matter whether the Lord is asking you to do it. Do it anyway.

But there are some cases when it is necessary to be able to discern between your own voice and the Lord’s.

For example, when Joseph Smith asked the Saints to pack up and leave their comfortable homes in New York for the rugged frontier in Ohio, it was probably pretty important that Joseph knew whether it was a commandment from the Lord or whether it was just something that popped into his head. I’m sure Joseph Smith could discern the Lord’s voice. I’m merely pointing out a situation in which it was pretty important to have that ability to discern.

There is a verse found in Section 84 that reminds me of one of the most powerful admonitions I have heard from President Nelson. The admonition is to hear Him. The verse is as follows.

Doctrine and Covenants 84:52 And whoso receiveth not my voice is not acquainted with my voice, and is not of me.

The definition of “acquainted” is to “make someone aware or familiar.” Are you aware of the Lord’s voice? Is it familiar to you?

How do we become aware of His voice? How do we become familiar with it? How do we become acquainted with how the Lord speaks to us?

Develop an awareness

There is a difference between an awareness that He is speaking to you and a familiarity of His voice. Developing an awareness that He is speaking to you is a matter of developing faith. It’s a matter of purposefully choosing to believe that He wants to talk to you. If you don’t believe the Lord would ever deign to talk to you, then you’re cutting off your ability to hear. You have to develop faith that He has something to say or you’re not going to listen and become aware.

Sometimes this faith is most easy to develop when you are seeking His voice on behalf of someone else. A grand majority of the revelation I receive from the Lord is when I’m seeking it on behalf of someone else. I’m studying a question that was posed to me. I’m studying it for my blog. I’m seeking answers for how to help my family or friends. The Lord has often spoken to me for my personal life, but it is usually in conjunction with the fact that I’m seeking it on behalf of someone I love. When I am seeking revelation to serve someone, it puts me in an uplifting mindset where I’m more sensitive to the Spirit, and it also helps my faith that the Lord would choose to speak to me. Maybe the Lord doesn’t have anything to say to me, but I know He’s going to be willing to help me help someone else.

So first develop an awareness of His voice. Believe that He is willing to speak to us. You have to believe that He is willing to speak if you’re ever going to become familiar with His voice. Once you believe that He’s willing to speak, awareness of His voice is a matter of checking in consistently.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 84 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Repentance, Worth, and the Real Meaning of Godliness

Have you ever worried that your repentance doesn’t count anymore—because you’ve had to ask for forgiveness again? Or that your standing with God depends on your performance?

In her talk “Your Repentance Doesn’t Burden Jesus Christ; It Brightens His Joy,” Sister Tamara W. Runia offers a powerful message of hope, identity, and covenant belonging. She dismantles perfectionism, reframes repentance as joy, and affirms that God’s love is constant—even when our progress feels slow.

In a world that confuses worth with worthiness, Sister Runia’s testimony is a healing reminder: God delights in your return. Your place in the covenant doesn’t depend on perfection—it depends on choosing Him again. And again.

This week’s Come, Follow Me study of Doctrine and Covenants 84 affirms the same truth: The power of godliness is revealed not through flawlessness, but through covenant connection. That power is extended to all—male and female, strong and struggling—through ordinances, faith, and the Savior’s sustaining grace.

Apologetic Issues: Repentance, Perfectionism, and Divine WorthMisconception: Repentance as a Burden on Christ – “I shouldn’t need to repent so much. My repeated failures must disappoint Him—or prove I’m just not cut out for this path.”

Response:
This misconception creates a spiritual catch-22: the more you try and fail, the more ashamed you feel—and the more distant you assume Christ must be.

Sister Runia lovingly corrects this idea by reframing repentance not as a burden but as a divine joy:

The Savior loves us always—but especially when we repent.” (quoting President Nelson) “He delights to forgive us, because to Him we are delightful.

Doctrine and Covenants 84:19–22 affirms that “the power of godliness is manifest” through priesthood ordinances. But that divine power is accessed through more than sacred ritual—it begins with sacred desire. Repentance is not an ordinance we perform upon us; it is a principle we live by. It is an active expression of faith in Christ and a vital part of the covenant path.

Rather than disqualifying us, the need to repent signals our willingness to change, our openness to grace, and our readiness to receive God’s power through His ordained ordinances. This distinction matters deeply: it means that repentance is not the evidence we’ve failed to earn divine love—it’s the very way we reach for it.

Common Fallacy: False Cause – A false cause fallacy occurs when a cause is incorrectly identified based on correlation or timing. In this case, some assume:
“If I need to repent again, it must mean I’m a failure—or that God is disappointed in me.”
This reasoning falsely links the repetition of repentance with spiritual unworthiness, as if sincere effort and imperfection are mutually exclusive.
This oversimplifies the purpose of repentance and misrepresents the nature of God’s covenant relationship. Repentance is not evidence that we’ve broken something beyond repair—it’s the way we stay repaired and remain connected to Him.

Solution: Recognizing that repentance is a gift of relationship, not a penalty for weakness, resolves this false cause. It reorients our view: the need to repent doesn’t mean we’re defective—it means we’re devoted. We are choosing Christ again and again, and He rejoices every time.

Social Issue: Latter-day Saints Only Feel Loved When They’re ObedientCriticism: “Your Church teaches that God’s love is conditional—if you sin or struggle, you’re worth less.”

Response: This is a painful and common concern—not only among critics of the Church, but even among lifelong Latter-day Saints. Many have absorbed the mistaken idea that God’s love increases or decreases depending on our level of obedience. Sister Tamara W. Runia gently but clearly corrects this belief:

Your worth isn’t tied to obedience. Your worth is constant; it never changes. It was given to you by God.

While obedience brings blessings, direction, and peace, it does not qualify us for love. We are loved because we are His—not because we are flawless. Priesthood ordinances don’t measure our value; they manifest God’s power to help us grow into who we already are: His children.

Common Fallacy: Category Error – A category error occurs when two distinct concepts are treated as if they are interchangeable. In this case, many conflate spiritual worthiness (our current standing in a covenant relationship) with eternal worth (our inherent, unchangeable identity as children of God).
Some assume:
1⃣ If I’m obedient, I’m valuable.
2⃣ If I sin, I’m worth less to God.
This fallacy causes people to confuse their current behavior with their eternal identity.

Correction: Our worth is fixed and divine—rooted in our identity, not our performance. Worthiness is about our present alignment with God and our willingness to return to Him. Understanding this distinction offers freedom from shame and a deeper trust in Christ’s ability to forgive and sustain us.

Apologetic Application: Repentance Reveals Our Covenant BelongingSister Tamara W. Runia teaches a doctrinal truth with powerful apologetic weight:
Repentance is not a reset button for the guilty—it’s a covenant practice for the faithful.

Her message emphasizes that repentance is not about earning love or reclaiming lost worth. It is the process of continually choosing Christ—and rejoicing in His power to receive us.

At the heart of her testimony lies a doctrinal triad:

The Atonement of Jesus Christ – The source of our healing and joy (Alma 7:11–13).
The Covenant Relationship – A connection maintained through daily repentance, not flawless performance (Mosiah 5:2; D&C 84:47–48).
Divine Worth – A truth that remains fixed, regardless of obedience (D&C 18:10).

Defending Core Beliefs

1⃣ God’s Love Is Not Earned Through ObedienceMisconception: “If I obey, God will love me more. If I fail, He loves me less.”
Correction: Sister Runia clearly refutes this idea:

Your worth isn’t tied to obedience. Your worth is constant.

God’s love is not a reward for performance. It is a foundation for growth. Doctrine and Covenants 84 reminds us that through priesthood ordinances, we access “the power of godliness”—not to prove ourselves worthy, but to help us become more like Him.

2⃣ Repentance Is Proof of Relationship, Not FailureCriticism: “Needing to repent again means I’m failing.”
Clarification: The covenant path is not about never stumbling—it’s about continually returning. Sister Runia says:

We don’t stay on the covenant path by never making a mistake. We stay on the path by repenting every day.

Just as ordinances like the sacrament renew our covenants weekly, repentance is not a reset—it’s a ritual of reconnection.

Practical Apologetic Use

When someone says, “Your church is too focused on worthiness and rules,” respond with clarity and compassion:

→ “It’s true that we talk a lot about obedience—but not because we’re trying to earn God’s love. We obey because we love Him. And when we fall short, repentance isn’t proof we’ve failed—it’s proof we’re still walking with Him.”

Analogy: Think of a GPS. You don’t throw it away when you make a wrong turn—you follow the prompt: “Recalculating.” That’s repentance. Not a system error—but the system working.

Historical and Doctrinal ConnectionsGod has always invited His children into covenant relationships—not by demanding perfection, but by offering power. From Adam’s repentance and sacrifice (Moses 5:5–8), to Alma’s cries of “O that I were an angel… to cry repentance” (Alma 29:1–2), to Jesus proclaiming that He came “not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Mark 2:17), the pattern is consistent: God’s people are always flawed, always invited, and always loved.

Sister Tamara W. Runia’s message carries this eternal theme into the present with grace and clarity. She affirms that God’s power isn’t reserved for the perfectly obedient—it is extended through repentance to those who choose Him again and again.

In Doctrine and Covenants 84:19–22, we are taught that “the power of godliness is manifest” through priesthood ordinances. That power isn’t abstract—it is felt in sacrament prayers, temple covenants, and daily acts of repentance.

Sister Runia applies this directly:

Maybe you… feel deflated because you haven’t kept all the commandments. Let me remind you that it is also a commandment to repent!

This is a transformative insight: Repentance isn’t evidence of failure—it’s part of the divine order. It is how covenant power is accessed and experienced.

President Nelson echoes this in his prophetic promise:

The Savior loves us always but especially when we repent. (The Power of Spiritual Momentum, Apr. 2022)

We don’t need to wait until we’re perfect to experience His love. In fact, it’s through imperfect, honest returning that His power is most clearly manifest.

Living Apologetics: How to Apply This Today How can we help others understand that God’s love is not earned, and that repentance isn’t failure—it’s faith in action?

Sister Tamara W. Runia’s message is a powerful reminder that the gospel is not performance-based—it’s relationship-based. Her reframing of repentance and divine worth helps us respond to common criticisms about perfectionism, shame, and exclusivity in Latter-day Saint teachings.

She testifies that our repeated efforts to return to Christ—especially when we fall—are not exhausting to Him. They are what He rejoices in.

Principle in Practice: Two Ways to Apply Apologetic Principles1⃣ Reframe Perfectionism in Conversations about the Church When someone says, “I just can’t be good enough to belong at church,” respond: → “You don’t come to church because you’re perfect—you come because you’re in a relationship with Christ. Repentance is part of that relationship. It’s not proof you’ve failed—it’s how you stay connected.”2⃣ Clarify the Difference Between Worth and WorthinessWhen someone asks, “Don’t you believe God loves you more if you’re obedient?” → Try saying: “We believe God’s love is constant. Obedience brings blessings and closeness, but your worth doesn’t change. God doesn’t withdraw His love when you’re struggling—He draws closer.”Conclusion: A Covenant Relationship, Not a PerformanceSister Tamara W. Runia’s powerful reminder cuts through shame, perfectionism, and spiritual discouragement: You are not your mistakes. Your worth is unchanging. And repentance is how we stay close to Christ—not how we re-apply for His love.

Her testimony affirms that we are already in relationship with the Savior—He has already claimed us. What He asks in return is not flawlessness, but faithfulness in returning. His joy isn’t delayed until we get it right. It begins the moment we try.

This week’s Come, Follow Me focus in Doctrine and Covenants 84 reinforces the same doctrine: Priesthood ordinances manifest the power of godliness—not through perfection, but through covenant connection. When we participate in repentance and renewal, we are drawing on that power in real time.

We live in a world that often mistakes performance for worth and mistakes struggle for failure. But the restored gospel teaches a different message:
God’s love is not earned. It is remembered.

And repentance is not a reset. It is a return.

What if every time you repented, you imagined the Savior smiling with joy instead of keeping score?

“Repentance is our best news!” — Sister Tamara W. RuniaThe Consider Conference series by FAIR offers an in-depth look at recent General Conference talks to help members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints navigate common questions, misunderstandings, and criticisms. Each post provides doctrinal insights, historical context, and practical ways to apply gospel principles in everyday conversations. Through this series, we hope to equip readers with faith-promoting resources that encourage thoughtful reflection, respectful dialogue, and a stronger foundation in gospel truths, fostering both personal conviction and meaningful discussions with others.

The post His Power Is for You appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Much is Requiredby Autumn Dickson

Rather than talking about a specific verse from this week, I want to talk a bit more about context so that the verses we read are more powerful. Hearing the Lord speak about gospel principles is wonderful, but sometimes understanding the stories behind the principles He chooses to talk about make a big difference because it makes it more relatable. So let’s talk a bit about what’s happening in the lives of the people who the Lord is speaking to.

It is no secret that Emma and Joseph suffered much in their personal lives during the restoration of the Lord’s church. They buried several children, many of whom did not live past babyhood. For a moment, I want you to think about this timeline that is shared in the Institute Manual.

March 15 – Section 81 was given.

March 24 – Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon were taken by a mob and tarred and feathered.

March 29 – One of the adopted twins of Joseph and Emma died from measles.

April 1-24 – Joseph and other leaders travel to Missouri.

April 26 – Section 82 was given.

April 30 – Section 83 was given.

Joseph is tarred and feathered. Five days later his son dies. Two days later he leaves to go to Missouri. Emma is left behind after a traumatic couple of days.

The fact that Joseph preached to the Saints the day after being tarred and feathered, and the fact that he still followed the Lord’s command to go to Missouri after all of this is a sermon in itself. The fact that Emma stuck around is a sermon as well.

This is a strange analogy, but it’s the only way to explain what I’m picturing.

I picture this earth life as some kind of virtual reality game that we’re trying to conquer. We put on our helmets, and we’re put into this very intense training arena where we actually have very little control. Everyone can choose their own path. You are given a team, but some teams are effective and other teams are not. You receive little missions to accomplish, but there are so many obstacles. Sometimes those missions feel worthwhile, and sometimes you look back and think, “What was the point of all that effort?” The arena can be dangerous, disheartening, discouraging, devastating.

It feels so real, and that was the point; the Lord wanted to train you. It was meant to be real because anything less than a completely immersive experience would hinder your progression.

And this immersive experience is rough. You are actually quite limited in how missions go, and you are also quite limited in saving your team. Sometimes it feels like you’re pushing against this giant unmoving wall. Sometimes it feels like you’re losing more ground and more people than you’re gaining.

But in the end, it really is only a virtual reality game. Though it doesn’t feel like it, you are actually completely safe. Someday, when it’s time to take off the helmet, you’re going to look around and see that you were never truly in danger. You’re going to laugh at yourself for some of the things you’re stressed over. You’re going to rejoice that some of the things that were drowning you weren’t “real.” This was all just an intensive training experience that the Lord paid for. The Lord isn’t cruel. He didn’t look the other way when it seemed like the missions He gave were impossible. He didn’t send you on wild goose chases for nothing. He wasn’t permanently taking away things that uplifted you. He wasn’t just manipulating everyone like game pieces for His own glory or fun.

He was manipulating everything, but He was manipulating everything in order to try and train His children to become as powerful as possible.

Without the Savior’s atonement, this virtual reality experience would have trapped us and the stakes would have been impossible. You may have learned, but it would have all come to naught. It is the Savior’s atonement that enabled Him to make this training experience mean something, and our success literally boils down to whether we love Him and are trying. You can’t lose if you lean in and garner the experience He meant for you to have.

The devastation that Joseph and Emma experienced was real. What you’re feeling in your life is real. I’m not trying to make light of difficult situations or minimize what you’re going through. What I’m trying to do is place your pain in the context of eternity so that it doesn’t drown you. You can grieve and experience hope at the same time. You can lean into the immersive experience and trust the Lord’s plan, resources, and abilities. You can recognize that you didn’t step into this virtual reality to actually complete anything or save anyone. You didn’t step into this arena to feel safe or have the Lord take care of you. You don’t need the Lord to take care of everything in order to prove His love. Rather, the real and difficult immersive experience and readily available happy ending is the proof of His love.

You came because you wanted that growth that the Lord wanted you to have, and He is delivering it. Lean into the growth and accept the price you have to pay in order to gain that growth. Simultaneously recognize that the price you pay for that growth is paid back by the atonement of Jesus Christ. You lose nothing and gain everything because of a Savior whose purpose is rooted in love.

In the beginning before I described my analogy, I said that sometimes the Lord waits to ask us to do something when we’re drowning. Joseph could have very easily been drowning. He could have resented the Lord for what was asked of him in his deepest grief. And yet, the Lord didn’t ask it of Joseph because He’s cruel. It’s because when we’re drowning, it pushes us to more readily lean into Him where we find true safety. Sometimes we get to the point where we have no choice but to trust in Him. If we can remain in a state where we’re looking to Him and leaning on Him, this virtual reality experience will be at its most effective. It won’t wear us down or destroy us. We will know that everything that happens is a sign of His love as He coaches us through specific experiences to garner the characteristics we need to live like Him.

We have a Savior who loves us. Everything He and the Father arranged in this plan are signs of that love.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 81–83 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Finding Wholeness While Waiting for Healing

I think we have all wondered why God doesn’t heal every pain, fix every struggle, or resolve every heartache right now—especially for those who earnestly follow Him. Watching my parents, family members and children go through so many difficulties has taught me just how much we all long for relief—for miracles.

Through these challenges, I’ve begun to learn something life-changing: wholeness isn’t about a life free of trials. It’s about a heart full of Christ. Illness or death doesn’t mean God’s disfavor. Trials—if we let them—can bring us closer to Him, not farther away.

In her General Conference message Spiritually Whole in Him, President Camille N. Johnson reminds us of this truth. She teaches that while physical and emotional healing may come later—in the Lord’s time—we can be made spiritually whole now through faith, repentance, and covenant connection with Jesus Christ.

“I can be whole while I wait for healing if I am wholehearted in my relationship with Him.”

As we study Doctrine and Covenants 81–83, President Johnson’s message resonates powerfully with the Lord’s invitation to “succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees” (D&C 81:5). Both remind us that God’s timing doesn’t diminish His love—and His wholeness is available even in the waiting.

What does it mean to you to be spiritually whole in the middle of unanswered prayers? And how can trusting Christ’s timing bring peace when the healing you long for hasn’t yet come?

Apologetic Issues: Healing, Wholeness & God’s TimingCriticism: If God is truly loving and all-powerful, why does He allow faithful people to suffer from chronic illness, depression, or even death? Shouldn’t faith guarantee healing?

Response: God’s love does not shield us from every trial in mortality. As President Camille N. Johnson teaches, “Wholeness does not necessarily mean physical and emotional restoration in this life. Wholeness is born of faith in and conversion to Jesus Christ.”

The scriptures are clear that ultimate healing—physical and emotional—comes through the Resurrection (Alma 40:23). In the meantime, faith in Christ can make us spiritually whole even when mortal struggles remain unresolved. Trials don’t prove that God is absent. Rather, trials can deepen our reliance on Him and prepare us for His promised restoration.

Common Fallacy: False Dilemma – A false dilemma (or false dichotomy) occurs when only two options are presented as if they are the only possibilities, ignoring other reasonable alternatives. Some argue: “If God is loving and all-powerful, He must heal every affliction immediately. If He doesn’t, then He must not be loving or even real.” This reasoning creates a false dilemma by assuming there are only two possibilities:
1⃣ God removes all pain now, or
2⃣ God is unloving or absent.
This oversimplifies the doctrine of God’s plan. Mortality is designed as a time for growth, testing, and learning faith. Healing comes in His time—spiritual healing now, physical and emotional healing in the Resurrection.
Solution: Recognizing that God’s love is expressed through sustaining grace in trials, not just the removal of trials, resolves this false dilemma and reinforces trust in His perfect timing.

Social Issue: Trials mean God is displeased with me

Misconception: “If I’m struggling with sickness, loss, or unanswered prayers, maybe God is punishing me or I’ve lost His favor.”

Response: God allows trials not as punishment but as opportunities to draw nearer to Christ, to experience His grace, and to grow in spiritual strength. The Apostle Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” (2 Corinthians 12:7–10) reminds us that God’s power is made perfect in our weakness, and joy can be found even amid struggle.

Common Fallacy: Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc – (“after this, therefore because of this”) is a logical fallacy that assumes that if one event follows another, the first must have caused the second. Some assume: “Because trials came after my sin or weakness, they must be God’s punishment for it.” This reasoning commits the Post Hoc fallacy by connecting two events (sin → trial) as cause and effect without considering other explanations.
Correction: Not all suffering is the result of sin. The scriptures teach that trials are part of mortality and can refine even the righteous (Mosiah 23:21–22). Christ’s grace is not about sparing us from hardship but transforming us through it. Recognizing that difficulties can sanctify rather than condemn helps us avoid blaming God or ourselves unnecessarily.

Apologetic Application: Wholeness Through Christ’s Atonement Requires Faith and CovenantPresident Camille N. Johnson’s message reveals a doctrine with profound apologetic value: wholeness is not about perfect circumstances—it’s about perfect reliance on Jesus Christ. This perspective shifts the focus from expecting life to be free of pain to trusting that Christ can bring peace, strength, and purpose even in the midst of trials. At the heart of her message lies a doctrinal triad that helps us understand how Christ makes us whole.

Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we are healed from sin and strengthened to endure life’s challenges with faith (Alma 7:11–13). His grace is sufficient to sustain us, even when our outward circumstances do not immediately change. And covenants deepen our conversion, anchoring us to Him and filling our “lamps with oil” as we prepare to meet the Bridegroom and experience ultimate wholeness (D&C 81:5; Matthew 25:1–13).

As President Johnson beautifully reminds us, “Wholeness does not necessarily mean physical and emotional restoration in this life. Wholeness is born of faith in and conversion to Jesus Christ.”

Defending Core Beliefs1⃣ Healing ≠ Proof of God’s FavorSome critics argue that illness or ongoing struggle means either “God doesn’t love you” or “faith doesn’t work.” But Latter-day Saint doctrine refutes this. Christ’s grace doesn’t eliminate all trials—it transforms us within them. The Apostle Paul gloried in his “thorn in the flesh” because it taught him that “when I am weak, then am I strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10).

Wholeness is spiritual first, physical later.

2⃣ God’s Love Is Redemptive, Not TransactionalAnother misconception is that blessings and healing are rewards for “being righteous enough.” President Johnson counters this:

“I can be whole while I wait for healing if I am wholehearted in my relationship with Him.”

Faith is not a lever to control God—it’s a covenantal relationship that sustains us through trials and draws us to Christ. Christ’s Atonement isn’t conditional on our perfection. It’s extended to all who will come unto Him.

Practical Apologetic Use

When someone says: “If God really cared about people, He wouldn’t let them suffer like this” or “Faith is useless if it doesn’t fix your problems,” you can respond with this principle:

“Faith in Christ isn’t about having a life free from pain—it’s about having Christ in the middle of the pain. His Atonement can bring peace and strength now, and His Resurrection assures full healing later.”

This answer does two things:

It reframes the conversation so God’s timing and plan are seen as loving and purposeful rather than indifferent or absent.
It invites others to consider spiritual wholeness as a reality they can experience, even in unresolved trials.

You might also use President Johnson’s quote to gently offer perspective:

“Wholeness does not necessarily mean physical and emotional restoration in this life. Wholeness is born of faith in and conversion to Jesus Christ.”

Historical and Doctrinal ConnectionsThroughout scripture and in every dispensation, the Lord has shown that wholeness in Him is not dependent on perfect circumstances but on a willing heart. From Job’s declaration, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him” (Job 13:15), to Paul’s testimony that “when I am weak, then am I strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10), God has demonstrated that spiritual strength often comes amid mortal weakness.

President Camille N. Johnson builds on this eternal pattern by teaching:

“Wholeness does not necessarily mean physical and emotional restoration in this life. Wholeness is born of faith in and conversion to Jesus Christ.”

This truth is echoed in Doctrine and Covenants 81–83. In these revelations, the Lord calls His Saints to bind themselves in covenant relationships and lift others:

D&C 81:5: “Succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees.”
D&C 82:10: “I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise.”

These passages remind us that covenant faithfulness fills our lamps with the oil of conversion and enables us to become whole in Christ—even while waiting for full healing in the Resurrection.

Living Apologetics: How to Apply This TodayHow can we help others see that spiritual wholeness is possible in Christ—even when physical or emotional healing hasn’t yet come? President Camille N. Johnson testifies that wholeness is not the absence of trials but the presence of Christ in our lives. This message has powerful apologetic value in conversations with those who wonder why God doesn’t heal every hurt or prevent every tragedy.

This doctrine helps us respond to criticisms that suffering disproves God’s love or that faith is ineffective if it doesn’t immediately change circumstances. In truth, faith in Jesus Christ transforms hearts now and prepares us for complete healing in the Resurrection.

Principle in Practice: Two Ways to Apply Apologetic Principles1⃣ Reframe Questions About Suffering and Faith When someone asks, “If God loves us, why doesn’t He heal everyone?” respond:
→ “The Savior’s mission isn’t just to fix mortal pain—it’s to transform hearts. He promises full healing in the Resurrection, but He also offers spiritual wholeness now for those who walk with Him.”

2⃣ Use Scriptural Stories to Encourage Hope When you hear, “I’ve prayed, but nothing changes,” gently share:
→ “Even the Apostle Paul had a ‘thorn in the flesh.’ Christ didn’t take it away, but He made Paul strong in his weakness. Sometimes the miracle isn’t the removal of pain but the strength to endure it with Christ.”

Conclusion: Becoming Whole in ChristPresident Camille N. Johnson’s message invites us to consider a profound truth: wholeness in Christ is not about a life without pain but a heart filled with His peace. Physical and emotional healing will come in the Resurrection, but spiritual healing—wholeness of soul—is available now for those who choose to walk with Him.

We are not forgotten. We are not disqualified by our weaknesses, grief, or unanswered prayers. As we turn to Jesus Christ in faith, keep our covenants, and let our light shine, we discover that He makes us whole—even in the waiting.

This week’s Come, Follow Me lesson reminds us that covenant discipleship means “succoring the weak, lifting up the hands which hang down, and strengthening the feeble knees” (D&C 81:5). As we do this for others, we also find our own hearts strengthened in Him.

Are you allowing Christ to make you whole today—or are you waiting for all your circumstances to change first?

“Wholeness is born of faith in and conversion to Jesus Christ.” — President Camille N. Johnson

The post Spiritually Whole in Him appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

A Recycled Revelationby Autumn Dickson

This week I’m talking a lot about context rather than any specific verses which is not usually my norm. However, I think that delving into the context of these sections is really important and can make the scriptures feel more rich. Just as we learn from the stories in our other books of scripture, we can learn more about the revelations from the Lord by studying when they were given. So here is some context for what we read this week.

Section 81 was originally given to a man named Jesse Gause who was called to serve as Joseph Smith’s counselor in the forerunner of what would eventually evolve into the First Presidency. When Gause was excommunicated, he was replaced by Frederick G. Williams. Gause’s name was also replaced by Williams’ name in the revelation that was given.

I wonder if it slightly bothered Frederick G. Williams when he didn’t get his own revelation upon being called. Please note that I’m not saying it should bother him; I just wonder if it did.

Imagine being in a ward where the bishop gets called and then moves six months later. A new bishop comes in, and the stake president is just like, “Here. We recorded the blessing for the last bishop. We’ll set you apart, but this blessing is just going to be yours now.”

Imagine going in to receive your patriarchal blessing and the patriarch recycles an old blessing he gave and inserts your name in it. Would you feel a little shafted? These are supposed to be individualized, right?

Now, I’m not sure that it bothered Williams at all. Maybe he didn’t think twice about it, but it can’t hurt to explore the concept and dig deeper.

Joseph Smith was receiving a lot of revelation during this time period. He probably could have easily received something just for Williams, but he didn’t. Have you ever felt skipped over at church? Have you ever felt like everyone else was receiving something special but you weren’t? Maybe it was a calling or a special experience. It could have been anything.

I have. I used to feel that way all the time. I remember having experiences where parents told me about how special the patriarchal blessings of their kids were. They talked about how it felt so powerful and singular, and I remember feeling very un-special.

I’m going to tell you a little secret that changed my life. When we seek to be set apart from others, to be singular, to receive something that no one else has received, we usually end up having the opposite experience. Trying to be more than others is an insatiable desire; you can temporarily please it but you can’t quench it. Maybe we don’t think we’re trying to be more; I certainly didn’t recognize it at the time, but I was. There was a comparison, and you can’t win with comparisons. No matter how things play out, you lose.

In my own life, those deep and unrelenting desires to be special were coming from a place of insecurity about my Heavenly Father’s love for me. Unfortunately, I wasn’t just trying to feel loved. I wanted to be more loved, probably in some mistaken belief that it would drive away the insecurity.

Luckily, the Lord is smarter than giving me what I want sometimes.

He could have given me something special. He could have given me some experience that no one else got to have to make sure that I knew that He knew me and that I was important to Him. He could have looked at me and worried about the insecurities and worried about the fact that I didn’t have a testimony of His love.

But He didn’t want to do that for a couple of good reasons. He didn’t communicate that I was more special because I’m not more special. It would be silly to tell me an untruth. He also didn’t give some overt, flamboyant sign of His love because it would have actually just fed the insecurity. You would think that I’d be able to take these huge signs of love and accept them. But in my experience, it simply doesn’t work. Think about it from a mortal perspective. You can make huge overtures of your love to someone, but until they’re ready to believe it, the signs you choose to give don’t change their insecurity.

Rather, He continued to feed me a healthy, quiet kind of love and left me to accept it. He never caved when I felt unloved, insecure, and assumed He was so angry with me. He just kept feeding me that unrelenting, reverent love and waited for me to finally accept it.

Drawing this back to Frederick G. Williams, I would have felt distraught over getting a recycled blessing that had originally been given to someone else. At the time that I was still seeking that unhealthy form of love, I would have let that circumstance speak to me, and it would have said, “You don’t really matter. You don’t even get your own blessing.”

I’ve learned a few things since my angsty teen years. The Lord does love me. I’m so important to Him even if that’s illogical. Nowadays, if I were to receive a recycled blessing, I would be able to quietly read it in gratitude. That gratitude would have enabled me to see the quiet, personalized messages He was sending. The recycled blessing would have been as personalized as I allowed. The help of the Spirit, love from our Heavenly Father, and my own belief in that love would have given me what I was seeking – a reassurance of His love for me.

The most interesting part about this experience is the fact that once I let go of comparison, once I let go of desperately seeking some inarguable sign that I was valuable, I was able to start seeing the small tokens of His love. If I had received a “recycled” blessing and chosen to let go of any whispers of insecurity, the experience of receiving this revelation would have been a sacred and treasured experience. Letting go of the need to have my own, I would have been able to read this blessing in a state of mind where the Spirit could whisper the personalized messages I needed to do my work to serve others.

Isn’t that ironic? Once I let go of trying to receive some ostentatious sign that I was special, I was able to see and receive those smaller, special messages that were meant for me at a specific time period in my life. And once I began appreciating and accepting those small, special messages, I have become convinced that I’m special to my Heavenly Father.

I testify that the Lord loves you. He recycles the same values, words, and lessons that He teaches everybody because He loves all of us. You’re not going to receive anything “new,” but I promise that you can receive something better, something that fills you up more.The need for something singular can be sinister. It can prevent you from receiving the healthy kind of love that sticks with you and fills in all of the cracks. I testify that the Savior loves you with a deep and abiding love and that His love is enough to fill you up, even if it’s not more than the love He gives to others.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 81–83 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

The office of high priest; the United Firm (D&C sections 78, 80–83, 85, 92, 104)by Mike Parker

Class Notes

Additional Reading

Max H. Parkin, “Joseph Smith and the United Firm: The Growth and Decline of the Church’s First Master Plan of Business and Finance, Ohio and Missouri, 1832–1834,” BYU Studies 46, no. 3 (2007): 5–66. Parkin sheds light on how the United Firm was organized and operated and the role it played in early Church history.
David J. Whittaker, “Substituted Names in the Published Revelations of Joseph Smith,” BYU Studies 23, no. 1 (Winter 1983): 103–12. Whittaker explains Joseph Smith’s use of code names when he published the revelations related to the United Firm.
D. Michael Quinn, “Jesse Gause: Joseph Smith’s Little-Known Counselor,” BYU Studies 23, no. 4 (Fall 1983): 487–93.
Joseph Smith’s 27 November 1832 letter to William W. Phelps, an extract of which was canonized in 1876 as section 85.
Bill Shepard, “‘To Set in Order the House of God’: The Search for the Elusive ‘One Mighty and Strong’,” Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 39, no. 3 (Fall 2006): 18–45. Shepard traces the various interpretations of and claimants to the “one mighty and strong” mentioned in D&C 85:7.
First Presidency statement on the “One Mighty and Strong,” Improvement Era 10, no. 12 (October 1907): 929–43. This statement—written and signed by Presidents Joseph F. Smith, John R. Winder, and Anthon H. Lund—suggests two possible interpretations of D&C 85:7.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 78, 80–83, 85, 92, 104 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Be of Good Cheerby Autumn Dickson

The Doctrine and Covenants are interesting as a book of scripture. They are different from other books of scripture. So many of the scriptures that we read are stories from which we can draw lessons or sermons given by the people in those stories. The Doctrine and Covenants is simply the voice of the Lord as He directs His restored gospel. He reveals things a bit at a time as the people are prepared to receive. And though He is revealing much, He is not revealing everything.

Doctrine and Covenants 78:18 And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours.

The first phrase found in this scripture, “ye cannot bear all things now,” reminds me of the promise that the Lord gave through Joseph Smith. Joseph Smith taught that the Lord is willing to make all things known even unto the “least” Saint as soon as that person is prepared to “bear them.” A grand majority of us are not prepared to bear all that the Lord wants to offer. We aren’t ready. We’re not strong enough or prepared enough or faithful enough or obedient enough. The list goes on and on. We are not yet ready to bear all things.

And yet, the very next phrase reads, “…be of good cheer, for I will lead you along…”

There are many ways to interpret this verse so that it speaks to us personally, but I will share what I am “hearing” today when I read this message from the Lord.

“You are not yet good enough, but rejoice anyway because I’m going to lead you there. The kingdom and blessings and riches of eternity are yours.”

He isn’t saying, “Hey, once you finally pay for your own sins, you can rejoice.” He isn’t saying, “Hey, once you finally get over those flaws, you’re going to have the riches of eternity.” He is saying, “Hey, you’re not ready yet, but rejoice RIGHT NOW anyway.”

The idea that we are not yet good enough makes it so easy to get bogged down and depressed. Even when we have a testimony of the atonement of Jesus Christ, we can still find ourselves wondering whether we can make it. It is easy to feel the weight of our own sins and flaws. Even when we’re trying our very best, those mistakes can come back and yell in our faces. Sometimes, it’s even worse when we’re trying our best because our best isn’t “good enough.” Other times, we feel like we’re even falling short of our very best. We know better, and yet, our same flaws keep running around to pull us down.

And yet, here is the Lord, telling us that we can rejoice. He doesn’t say dance around it. He tells us, “You’re not ready yet.” Interestingly enough, we all believe that part. We know we’re not ready yet. And yet, when He also tells us to be of good cheer, we seem to bypass that part. When He tells us that the riches of eternity are our’s, we seem to skim over that part and focus on how we’re not prepared to receive everything yet.

We don’t give ourselves permission to rejoice. We do not yet believe that the riches of eternity are our’s. I think it’s critical that we note the Lord’s specific wording here. He didn’t say, “If you keep following this path, the riches will by your’s.” He says, “The riches ARE your’s.” And yet, we don’t feel like rejoicing or being of good cheer. The weight of our sins is too heavy and tethers us down.

Yesterday, in Relief Society, a woman named Sydnee shared a beautiful comment in Relief Society and gave me permission to share what she was expressing. It’s not exact by any means, but the message is similar. She taught me this:

Are we really allowed to let go of being sad over our mistakes? Are we really allowed to set those flaws aside and not hold on to them? Yes. I cannot yet rejoice in myself, but I don’t have to carry those sins around. I can rejoice in Christ and the fact that He’s perfect.

And if you don’t believe my friend, believe the Savior. He knows you’re not ready to bear all things yet. He knows you’re not ready to be exalted, or maybe you’re not even ready for the Celestial Kingdom. None of us deserve the Celestial Kingdom, but that’s the entire point of the gospel. Because He paid for our sins, He’s giving it to us anyway.

You don’t have to be perfect in order to receive the riches of eternity. You don’t have to have a knowledge of the universe to receive the riches of eternity. The Lord was not speaking in a future tense. He told the Saints that the riches of eternity ARE already theirs. They weren’t perfect either.

Here is another verse where the Lord teaches us the exact same thing.

Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

Set aside every weight and sin which besets you. I used to interpret this verse as saying, “Set that weight and sin aside. Don’t do it anymore. You’re so easily tempted,” but that isn’t what the verse is saying. The definition of “beset” is “to trouble.” Lay aside all of your sins and flaws that are troubling you. Set them down. The Lord already carried them. You have permission to set them down. You don’t have to carry them so that they keep you in line.

Rather, carry the perfection of Christ. Carry His sacrifice. The joy that springs forth from that sacrifice is much lighter, and that is what He wants you to carry around. The love that inspired that sacrifice will “keep you in line” much better than any shame you might be hauling with you. It will inspire you to rise above the things that are holding you back and propel you towards the preparation that’s needed to follow after Him.

You are not ready. You are flawed, and you sin. You will continue to sin, and those flaws are going to be around for a while. But be of good cheer. Find good cheer in Him, His perfection, His ability to save you anyway. You are not perfect, but the kingdom and blessings and riches of eternity ARE your’s. Find joy in that. Rest in it.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 77–80 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Spiritual Epistemology in President Eyring’s “Draw Near unto Me”

Have you ever wondered how you can really know the Savior—not just believe in Him, but know Him?

In his deeply personal testimony Draw Near unto Me, President Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency invites us to consider the many ways we come to know Jesus Christ—not just through grand revelations, but through small, faithful acts: prayer, covenant, scripture, service, and spiritual memory.

In a world that often dismisses spiritual experiences as “just feelings,” President Eyring offers something both bold and deeply grounded: a lived, layered witness of Christ. He shows that faith is not blind, and that knowledge of divine things is possible—because Jesus Christ draws near to those who draw near to Him.

As we study Doctrine and Covenants 77–78, we see the Prophet Joseph Smith asking questions about the book of Revelation—and receiving divine answers. President Eyring’s talk echoes that process in a modern, personal way: both remind us that God honors the seeker.

Apologetic Issues: Knowing Truth & Trusting Spiritual ExperienceCriticism: If spiritual experiences are subjective and emotional, how can they be considered real evidence of truth?

Response: This concern is common in a culture that privileges the empirical and dismisses the spiritual. But President Eyring challenges that view—not by abstract argument, but by example. He shows that spiritual knowledge is cumulative, experiential, and confirmed through multiple witnesses over time.

Spiritual truths are not “less real”—they are part of a broader epistemology that includes reason, memory, service, and revelation. We do not need to apologize for spiritual witness. We can anchor it.

Common Fallacy: False Dichotomy—the mistaken idea that truth must be either emotional and unreliable or empirical and objective.
This criticism sets up a false choice by saying something is either emotional and not real, or factual and trustworthy. But spiritual truths—like knowing God is near—can be both felt and real. They don’t have to fit into just one box.
Correction: In reality, truth can be known through many means—logic, experience, testimony, scripture, revelation. Latter-day Saint belief embraces a holistic epistemology that integrates the mind and the Spirit.

Social Issue: “It Felt Real, but It Was Just Emotion”

Misconception: “I used to feel something at church or in scripture study, but I realize now it was just emotion—not anything real.”

Response: This is exactly the distortion C.S. Lewis warned about in The Screwtape Letters. When spiritual feelings are dismissed as fantasy, while pain and fear are exalted as truth, we fall into a cultural trap that confuses reality with trauma.

Lewis writes: “The general rule which (the devils) have now pretty well established among them (humans) is that in all experiences which can make them happier or better only the physical facts are ‘Real,’ while the spiritual elements are ‘subjective.’” (Letter 30)

President Eyring reclaims spiritual experience as valid and sacred. His witness of feeling light during the sacrament, of ‘burning hearts’ on the road to Emmaus, and of the Savior’s nearness through covenant, testifies that spiritual peace is not delusion—it is revelation.

Common Fallacy: Reductionism – The error of oversimplifying something complex by explaining it only in terms of one of its parts—ignoring its full meaning or depth.
In this case, this error reduces spiritual experiences to “just emotions,” as if that’s all they are. But real experiences with God often include feelings—and meaning, memory, action, and change. There’s more going on than just emotion.
Correction: Just as music cannot be explained by sound waves alone, spiritual experiences are more than the sum of their parts. They point to a divine source and invite us to know the Savior.

Apologetic Application: Sentiment or Truth?Today’s critics often challenge religious conviction by questioning its epistemology—How do you know it’s true? Faith, they argue, is just an emotion. A warm feeling. A sentiment.

President Eyring answers that claim not by debate—but by demonstration.

Through quiet, layered experiences, he shows how spiritual knowledge comes through scripture, prayer, service, memory, and covenant. His testimony is not built on momentary emotion but on decades of repeated witness. When he says, “I am a witness of the Resurrection as surely as if I had been there,” he’s affirming a kind of spiritual knowing that is real, reliable, and cumulative.

C.S. Lewis described this very issue in The Screwtape Letters, where a senior devil boasts that people have been trained to believe only painful emotions are “real,” while joy, beauty, and divine peace are dismissed as illusion:

“In all experiences which can make them happier or better, only the physical facts are ‘Real’ while the spiritual elements are ‘subjective’… (the man you’re tempting), properly handled, will have no difficulty in regarding his emotion at the sight of human entrails as a revelation of Reality and his emotion at the sight of happy children or fair weather as mere sentiment.” —Letter 30, The Screwtape Letters

Spiritual experiences are not less real—they are the very moments when we most clearly perceive divine reality.

Defending Core Beliefs1⃣ Spiritual knowledge ≠ wishful thinking.A common criticism is that religious belief is just emotional comfort or sentimentality. But this assumes that feelings of peace, love, or spiritual insight are less real than fear, doubt, or anger. As President Eyring’s testimony shows, spiritual experiences are valid and cumulative ways of knowing.

When President Eyring testifies, “I am a witness of the Resurrection… as surely as if I had been there”, this is not blind belief—it’s a knowledge formed through decades of prayer, scripture, service, and covenant. Latter-day Saints reject the false idea that truth must be purely empirical. God speaks through the Spirit—and we can know it.

2⃣ Feelings ≠ fantasies.Critics often reduce spiritual experiences to “just feelings.” This reflects a reductionist mindset: simplifying something sacred to a single biological cause and dismissing its spiritual depth. But scripture teaches, “Did not our heart burn within us?” (Luke 24:32). That burning is not imaginary—it’s revelatory.
As C.S. Lewis warned, our culture often treats trauma as truth and joy as illusion. But President Eyring reclaims joy, memory, and peace as sacred evidences of Christ’s reality. Knowing God isn’t irrational—it’s relational.

Practical Apologetic Use:When someone says, “You just believe that because it makes you feel good,” reframe it:

“Spiritual feelings are part of how we recognize truth—not the whole of it, but an important part. Just like love, trust, or beauty, some of the most important truths in life are known through experience, not just data.”

The gospel doesn’t ask us to shut off our minds. It asks us to bring our whole souls—mind, heart, and spirit—to the process of coming to know Christ.

Historical and Doctrinal ConnectionsThroughout every dispensation, God has invited His children to draw near by seeking truth, asking questions, and acting in faith. From Moses at the burning bush to Joseph Smith in the Sacred Grove, truth has been revealed not through passive observation—but through faithful inquiry, covenant, and discipleship.

President Henry B. Eyring echoes this eternal pattern in his talk Draw Near unto Me. His personal witness unfolds through prayer, scripture study, covenant keeping, and a lifetime of spiritual remembrance. It is a deeply Latter-day Saint model of how we come to know truth.

This week’s Come, Follow Me lesson from Doctrine and Covenants 77–78 beautifully parallels that model:

D&C 77: Asking Questions to Receive RevelationJoseph Smith approaches the Lord with a series of direct questions about the book of Revelation—and receives inspired answers.

This teaches that asking sincere, faithful questions is an essential part of knowing divine truth.

President Eyring does the same: he searches the scriptures, prays to feel the Savior’s nearness, and reflects on past witness to strengthen present faith. This shows how the pattern of prophetic inquiry is also the pattern of personal discipleship.

This continuity—from ancient Israel to early Restoration Saints to modern-day Apostles — strengthens our confidence that God still reveals truth, still honors covenants, and still draws near when we ask, seek, and knock (D&C 88:63).

Living Apologetics: How to Apply This Today How can we show that knowing Christ is not sentimental—but spiritual, cumulative, and real?President Eyring teaches that we come to know the Savior through repeated acts of faith: scripture study, prayer, covenant keeping, and service. Apologetically, this counters the claim that faith is naïve emotion or social conditioning. It reveals faith as a discipline of divine familiarity—a real relationship built over time.

Principle in Practice: Two Ways to Apply Apologetic Principles1⃣ Reframe “It was just emotion” with spiritual epistemologyWhen someone says, “I used to feel something at church, but I realize now it was just emotion,” respond gently:
→ “What if those feelings were actually telling the truth? President Eyring teaches that peace, love, and joy are part of how the Spirit helps us recognize what’s real.”
→ Then share: “You will come to know the Savior, and in time you will come to be like Him.”

2⃣ Honor sincere seekers by pointing to Joseph Smith’s modelIf someone wonders whether it’s OK to question and seek truth in spiritual matters, say:
→ “Doctrine and Covenants 77 shows that even prophets ask questions—and God answers. Faith isn’t afraid of questions. It grows from them.”
→ Invite them to explore their questions through prayer, scripture, and personal reflection.

Top Apologetic Facts Revelation comes through faithful questioning. (Historical Context) In Doctrine and Covenants 77, Joseph Smith receives answers from God by asking direct, sincere questions. This confirms that the Restoration is not built on blind belief but on prophetic inquiry, showing that faithful discipleship welcomes truth-seeking. * Spiritual experiences are a valid source of knowledge. (Doctrinal Insight) President Eyring’s talk demonstrates spiritual epistemology—we can come to know the Savior through prayer, memory, covenant, and service. The Holy Ghost is a teacher, not a vague feeling (see Moroni 10:5; D&C 88:63). * Testimony grows through lived discipleship. (Practical Application) Eyring’s witness isn’t dramatic or sudden—it’s the fruit of a lifetime of faithful patterns*. This models a defensible, reproducible path of gaining knowledge: small acts of obedience that build cumulative certainty.

Conclusion: Knowing the Savior—Not Just Believing in HimPresident Henry B. Eyring’s quiet, confident witness in Draw Near unto Me offers more than inspiration—it offers a roadmap. In a world that questions whether spiritual experiences are real, he gently testifies that they are not just real—they are how we come to know Jesus Christ.

This is not abstract theology. It’s personal and practical. Through scripture, service, prayer, covenant, and memory, we draw near to Christ—and He draws near to us. As we walk that path repeatedly, our hearts begin to burn, and our understanding deepens.

The same pattern appears in Doctrine and Covenants 77–78. Whether it’s Joseph asking questions and receiving revelation, or the Lord promising to “lead [us] along,” the message is clear: Discipleship is not passive. Revelation is not rare. And closeness with Christ is not reserved for the perfect.

“Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you.” (D&C 88:63)

Which moments in your life have become evidence that God draws near to you?

The post Drawing Near: How We Come to Know Christ appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

The Vision of the three degrees of glory (D&C section 76)by Mike Parker

Class Notes

Additional Reading

Philo Dibble, “Recollections of the Prophet Joseph Smith,” Juvenile Instructor 27, no. 10 (15 May 1892): 303–04. Dibble recalled his firsthand experience being in the room when Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon experienced the Vision now canonized as section 76.
Joseph Smith, “A Vision,” Times and Seasons 4, no. 6 (1 February 1843): 81–85. William W. Phelps wrote a letter in poetic verse to the Prophet Joseph about the celestial kingdom, and Joseph responded with a poetic form of section 76.
Elder Russell M. Nelson, “Perfection Pending,” General Conference, October 1995. Then-Elder Nelson offered a suggestion on the meaning of the word telestial.
Kevin Barney, “The Etymology of ‘Telestial’,” By Common Consent, 27 January 2010. Barney takes a scholarly approach to the origin of the word telestial.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 76 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Compiled by Dennis B. Horne

Elder Harold B. Lee told a close friend (who decades later told me) that, “Twenty years ago, the most electrifying and most interesting man in the Quorum of the Twelve was Melvin J. Ballard. People used to travel miles just to go and hear him at a stake conference. People just flocked to hear him. Hardly anyone knows who he is now.” Elder Lee told the Ballard family that of all the men he knew, he most wanted to be like Elder Melvin J. Ballard.

Elder Melvin J. Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve (Pres. M. Russell Ballard’s grandfather):

Excerpts from his famous address, “The Three Degrees of Glory”:

The greatest revelation the Lord, Jesus Christ, has ever given to man, so far as a record is made, was given to the Prophet Joseph Smith on the 16th of April, 1832, known as the 76th section of the book of Doctrine & Covenants, commonly called for years and still known as “The Vision.” This to my mind is the climax of all wonderful revelations that have come from the Lord from the days of Father Adam until the present moment. . . .

Your minds and hearts are set upon knowing what you must do to obtain the greatest thing the Lord has offered. I want to talk about that more than anything else because I do not discover many of you who would be satisfied with second-hand things, and you are not contented or happy by having second best or third best. So we will begin by reading a description of the terms and conditions that we must comply with to obtain the celestial glory. I think it will be worth every sacrifice required and a hundred times more if need be. Personally, I would give it to attain that which God has offered to men and women who enter into the celestial glory.

CONTINUED HERE

Dennis B. Horne grew up in south Davis County and he served in the Independence Missouri mission. He attended BYU and Weber State Universities, earning a degree in Communications. After working in television broadcasting for a number of years he became a technical writer for the LDS Church Material Management Department. He became an independent researcher/author because of his love of church history and doctrine. This pursuit led him to write a biography of Elder Bruce R. McConkie, an edited publication of the diaries of Abraham H. Cannon, and biographies of President Lorenzo Snow and Orson F. Whitney. He also wrote about callings to serve in the church, the doctrine of giving healing blessings, and a compilation of the teachings of prophets and apostles about how to determine doctrinal authority. He has twice presented at the BYU Church History Symposium. His articles occasionally appear at Truth Will Prevail, Interpreter, and FAIR.

The post Doctrine & Covenants 76; the Vision of the Degrees of Glory appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Becoming Holy Through Charity and Virtue

Have you ever felt that eternal life is meant for people holier than you—people more spiritual, more disciplined, more sure of themselves in God’s presence?

In his final remarks at the April 2025 General Conference, President Russell M. Nelson offers a bold and empowering invitation: We can prepare for celestial glory now—by becoming the kind of person who feels confident standing in the presence of God.

But how do we become that kind of person?

President Nelson doesn’t point us to outward signs of worthiness or visible achievement. He draws from Doctrine and Covenants 121, where the Lord declares that “confidence shall wax strong in the presence of God” when virtue and charity guide our lives. These terms are often misunderstood—but President Nelson reclaims them with divine clarity:

Charity is not just a nice gesture. It is the essence of who the Savior is. And it is what He expects us to become.

This talk reframes charity as the divine love that transforms, and virtue as the spiritual power to become holy. These are not distant ideals—they are the pathway to exaltation. Through consistent choices to live with compassion, moral strength, and devotion to Christ, we become more than improved humans. We become celestial beings.

As we study Doctrine and Covenants 76, President Nelson’s message echoes the vision of glory Joseph and Sidney saw—a vision not of hierarchy, but of transformation. What if confidence in our relationship with God is not earned, but grown—through one act of charity and virtue at a time?

Apologetic Issues: What Does It Mean to Be “Worthy” to Enter God’s Presence?Misconception: “Your church teaches that only the perfect—or obsessively obedient—can enter heaven.”
Response: President Nelson teaches that confidence in the presence of God is not the reward of perfection—but the fruit of charity, virtue, humility, and covenantal living. These are not standards of exclusion; they are processes of transformation.
Doctrine and Covenants 76 affirms that those who are “valiant in the testimony of Jesus” receive of His fullness and glory (D&C 76:79). The standard is not flawlessness, but valiant discipleship—a willing alignment with divine truth.

He echoes Webster’s 1828 definition of virtue as “voluntary obedience to truth,” reinforcing that virtue is not repression—it is power. The kind of moral courage that fuels sanctification.

“Charity towards all men is essential to our progress. Charity is the foundation of a godly character.” —President Russell M. Nelson

Common Fallacy: False Dilemma – A False Dilemma presents only two options when more exist.This issue commits the False Dilemma Fallacy—assuming only two extremes: either we are perfect, or we are damned.
Solution: Scripture and modern prophets reject this binary. Exaltation is not pass/fail—it is grow and become. Charity and virtue are not checklists; they are qualities we cultivate in relationship with Christ.

Social Issue: Is “Virtue” Just a Polite Code Word for Shame?Criticism: “The Church’s focus on virtue, especially for women, seems outdated and shame-based.”
Response: That interpretation reflects modern misunderstanding, not scriptural intent. President Nelson reframes virtue as spiritual strength and personal sanctity, not social compliance. He testifies that it is essential for becoming confident before God.

Joseph Smith and early Restoration teachings often used “virtue” to mean spiritual force —something empowering and divine, not restrictive. When applied as moral courage and obedience to eternal truth, virtue becomes not a burden, but a shield (D&C 121:45–46).

Common Fallacy: PresentismThis critique relies on Presentism—judging ancient or eternal principles by modern cultural norms.
Correction: When we study scriptural definitions in their original context—like Webster’s 1828—virtue becomes liberating, not limiting. It is not about controlling people—it’s about freeing them to live aligned with divine truth.

Apologetic Application: Charity Isn’t Just Kindness—It’s Covenant Power

President Nelson’s message brings us back to a divine truth:

Charity is not just an emotion. It is a sanctifying force.

At the heart of exaltation lies charity—not merely good behavior, but a sacred transformation of the soul through Christ. Scripture declares:

“Charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever” (Moroni 7:47).
And D&C 121:45–46 promises that if virtue and charity adorn our thoughts, we will have confidence before God.

Webster’s 1828 definition of charity is “Supreme love to God, and universal goodwill to men.” President Nelson’s remarks support this definition, reminding us that charity is a doctrinal cornerstone, not social sentiment.

Defending Core Beliefs1⃣ Charity just means giving to the poor or helping people in need.In modern usage, charity often refers to acts of generosity—donating money, volunteering, or offering aid to the less fortunate. While these are good and important, they are outward expressions, not the essence of scriptural charity.

In scripture, charity is “the pure love of Christ” (Moroni 7:47)—a divine attribute that transforms hearts and relationships. It’s not just doing good but becoming good—becoming like Jesus Christ in how we see and treat others.

President Nelson teaches that charity is what empowers us to become peacemakers in a divided world:

As charity becomes part of our nature, we will lose the impulse to demean others. We will stop judging others. We will have charity for those from all walks of life. Charity towards all men is essential to our progress. Charity is the foundation of a godly character.

While charity often includes generosity toward the suffering, it goes much further. It leads us to forgive enemies, abandon tribalism, and seek the healing unity of Zion.

Doctrine and Covenants 121:45 links charity to spiritual strength and divine confidence:
“Let thy bowels also be full of charity… and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God.”

2⃣ Virtue and charity are lofty ideals, not actionable traits.Some feel that virtue and charity are abstract (and therefore unattainable) ideals. To them, these qualities seem like ethereal goals that can’t be lived in real, daily life.

President Nelson directly counters this notion. He teaches that charity and virtue are not just qualities to admire—they are powers to cultivate. In fact, he promises that as we intentionally cultivate charity and virtue, our joy and faith will increase.

As we diligently seek to have charity and virtue fill our lives, our confidence in approaching God will increase. I invite you to take intentional steps to grow in your confidence before the Lord. Then, as we go to our Heavenly Father with increasing confidence, we will be filled with more joy, and your faith in Jesus Christ will increase. We will begin to experience spiritual power that exceeds our greatest hopes.

These traits are not passive states—they are choices, repeated over time. Each time we forgive, speak truth with love, curb a cruel impulse, or honor our covenants, we are acting in virtue. Each time we offer mercy, hold back judgment, sacrifice for another, or try to see others as Christ sees them, we are practicing charity.

Historical and Doctrinal ConnectionsWhen Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon received the vision recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 76, it astonished early Latter-day Saints—not because it was harsh, but because it was too merciful.

Rather than a binary heaven-or-hell judgment, the Lord revealed a spectrum of glory—a plan in which almost all of God’s children would inherit some degree of salvation. To some, this felt threatening. It challenged entrenched notions of exclusivity and punishment. But it also testified of a God who is more gracious, loving, and just than anyone had imagined.

D&C 76:5 begins with a striking reassurance:

I, the Lord, am merciful and gracious unto those who fear me, and delight to honor those who serve me in righteousness and in truth unto the end.

This vision offered not just a theology of rescue, but of refinement. The Celestial Kingdom is promised to those who are “valiant in the testimony of Jesus” (D&C 76:79)—not because of flawless behavior, but because of covenantal transformation through Christ. This is echoed in President Nelson’s bold assertion that charity and virtue are the key to becoming more like Him—that confidence before God is not earned, but cultivated through Christ’s grace and our willingness to be changed.

This week’s Come, Follow Me block (D&C 76) directly supports this doctrine of holy becoming. While D&C 76 unveils the glorious outcomes of those who follow Christ with full purpose of heart, D&C 76:69–70 makes the process clear:

These are they who are just men made perfect through Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, who wrought out this perfect atonement through the shedding of his own blood.

This doesn’t mean being perfect—it means being “made perfect in Christ” (Moroni 10:32), a process fueled by virtue (moral strength and purity) and charity (the pure love of Christ). Both attributes lead us to peacemaking, humility, and trust in divine mercy.

By restoring the fuller picture of God’s justice and mercy, The Vision connects ancient prophetic patterns to modern revelation. From Isaiah’s messianic hope to John’s heavenly visions, to Joseph Smith’s revelatory insight, we see the same eternal pattern: God’s plan is one of restoration, not rejection. And His end goal is not mere salvation—it’s transformation, through Christ.

Living Apologetics: How to Apply This Today How can we explain that confidence before God isn’t arrogance, but a spiritual gift available to all who walk the path of discipleship?

President Nelson’s message turns a common narrative on its head. Rather than portraying divine confidence as something earned only by the ultra-faithful, he teaches that confidence is cultivated as we grow in virtue (moral integrity) and charity (Christlike love).
This is apologetically powerful—especially in a world where religion is often seen as shame-inducing or exclusionary. The gospel of Jesus Christ invites us to be transformed, not tormented. When we follow Him with sincerity, the fruits of that journey include peace, confidence, and assurance in our standing with God—right now, not just after death.

Principle in Practice: Two Ways to Apply Apologetic Principles1⃣ Reframe Misconceptions About Worthiness When someone says, “Your Church makes people feel like they’re never good enough,” try responding:
→ “Actually, we believe worthiness isn’t about being flawless—it’s about being willing. Confidence before God comes from striving with real intent, not checking boxes.” Then add President Nelson’s insight: “Charity and virtue will qualify us for the Holy Ghost and assure us that we will be prepared to stand confidently before God.”

2⃣ Define Charity Beyond Generosity If someone thinks “charity” just means giving to the poor, gently clarify:
→ “Charity isn’t just what we do—it’s what we become. The pure love of Christ turns us into people who bring peace, forgive quickly, and walk with humility. That’s why it leads to confidence—it shapes us into someone ready to see God face to face.”

Top Apologetic Facts 1. Charity isn’t just kindness—it’s transformation. (Doctrinal Insight)Many assume charity means giving to the needy, but in scripture, it means becoming like Christ. As Moroni 7 teaches, “charity is the pure love of Christ”—a divine attribute, not just an action. President Nelson affirms that cultivating charity changes who we are, empowering us to stand confidently before God.

2. Confidence before God is a spiritual gift, not a personality trait. (Practical Application)Some believe confidence in God’s presence is presumptuous or reserved for prophets. But D&C 121:45–46 and President Nelson’s talk teach that confidence grows from virtue and charity. This doctrine reframes worthiness as progress, not perfection.

3. Doctrine and Covenants 76 connects transformation with celestial glory. (Historical Context)Revealed in 1832, D&C 76 emphasizes that those who inherit celestial glory are “just men made perfect through Jesus.” President Nelson echoes this eternal pattern: through Christ, ordinary disciples can become holy—not just later, but now.

Conclusion: Reclaiming Sacred Language and PowerPresident Nelson’s prophetic message redefines confidence—not as pride or entitlement, but as the fruit of charity and virtue, cultivated in covenant living. When we grow in the pure love of Christ, we begin to see ourselves as God sees us: not as impostors or pretenders, but as becoming holy through His power.

This week’s Come, Follow Me lesson in Doctrine and Covenants 76 expands that vision. It reveals a God who glorifies the faithful, not for their perfection, but for their willingness to be made perfect through Christ. The traits we often reduce to vague ideals—charity, virtue, holiness—are actually sacred tools for transformation. When lived intentionally, they prepare us for celestial glory and give us peace in God’s presence now.

Let’s reclaim this sacred language. Let’s teach our children, our friends, and ourselves that these are not passive virtues—they are actionable ways to become more Christ-like..
You can become holy. You can live in truth and love. You can stand confidently in the presence of God.

“The great opportunity before us is to become the people God needs us to be.” —President Russell M. Nelson

What would your life look like if you intentionally chose virtue and charity?

The post Confidence in the Presence of God appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Hear Himby Autumn Dickson

In Section 76, we receive an immense amount of information that had been lost over time. If you grew up with the Plan of Salvation, it may not feel that way but this was all very new. Though it was hard for some Saints to accept it at the time, we rejoice in this doctrine that the Lord restored. I am so grateful to know it.

And though we received this immense amount of information from the Lord, we also read this at the end of the vision.

Doctrine and Covenants 76

115 Which he commanded us we should not write while we were yet in the Spirit, and are not lawful for man to utter;

116 Neither is man capable to make them known, for they are only to be seen and understood by the power of the Holy Spirit, which God bestows on those who love him, and purify themselves before him;

117 To whom he grants this privilege of seeing and knowing for themselves;

118 That through the power and manifestation of the Spirit, while in the flesh, they may be able to bear his presence in the world of glory.

We did not receive everything that Joseph and Sidney received in this vision. It reminds me of 2 Nephi 32:7. The Spirit stops Nephi from saying more.

The Lord wants to give more. He has more to give. Our eventual goal is to be reunited with Him, and that goal doesn’t have to wait until the next life. There are a myriad of quotes and scriptures that seemingly plead with us to actively seek Him so that He can give more than we’ve received. The scriptures can only give so much. There are things we have to receive directly from the Lord through the Spirit, and the Lord wants us to receive it as soon as we are able.

When I was younger, I remember very distinctly praying for a vision. I did it periodically as I was growing up. I wanted the Lord to just give me a dream or something. Some of my intentions were pure. I did want to be with the Lord again, but there was also some pride involved. Regardless of my intentions and spiritual readiness, I would pray very sincerely for this type of revelation. I figured if the Lord wanted to give more, I wanted to receive it. Luckily, He is wise enough to do what’s best for us and not just give us everything we ask for.

I have stopped asking for visions because I have learned that the Lord doesn’t often work that way. Doctrine and Covenants 76 holds a record of one of the most significant restorations of truth in the early church, possibly in the whole history of the latter-day church. It is significant to consciously recognize how Joseph and Sidney received this vision.

Doctrine and Covenants 76:15, 18-19

15 For while we were doing the work of translation, which the Lord had appointed unto us, we came to the twenty-ninth verse of the fifth chapter of John…

18 Now this caused us to marvel, for it was given unto us of the Spirit.

19 And while we meditated upon these things, the Lord touched the eyes of our understandings and they were opened, and the glory of the Lord shone round about.

Joseph and Sidney did not ask for a vision. They just asked for clarification regarding scripture. This is truly significant because it gives us a path to follow. The Lord has so much to give you, but it has to be built. You have to be prepared. He doesn’t just hand it out as soon as you recognize the fact that He has more and wants to give it to you. It requires seeking and study and learning His voice and character. It requires work. Otherwise, we get to remain in the dark.

These verses that we just read, specifically 18-19, can give us a clue about how to start building and preparing for what the Lord wishes to give. The verse in John caused them to marvel because it was given to them by the Spirit. I recognize this pattern now. When I’m seeking what the Lord wants me to share in my weekly messages, the Spirit “gives” me something. I’m reading and a phrase jumps out to me. The feeling is extremely subtle, but if I pause and start to write about it, it expands and expands and expands and I receive so much more than I would have otherwise.

I have noticed that it has expanded beyond just the scriptures. I can be having a conversation or walking by some people and overhear a phrase, and that subtle feeling comes over me again. It’s as if the Lord stamps it softly into my head and if I take the time to pause, or if I hold onto it until I have time to think about it, the Lord often gives more.

President Nelson has asked us to learn how to “Hear Him.” I echo President Nelson’s request. Learn to hear Him. Seek Him. He has more to give. It does not start out with visions, and receiving everything He wants to give starts with preparation. So prepare. It’s worth it.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 76 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

A Glorious Godby Autumn Dickson

For those of us who grew up with the concept of the Plan of Salvation and its many kingdoms, the vision recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 76 is nothing new. Because of our familiarity with it, I think it can be easy to miss the majesty and goodness that is God. One of the things I love about the doctrine we received in this section is that it upholds the idea that God is good and perfect and just. As Latter-day Saints, we don’t just claim that God is a perfect judge. He actually is a Perfect Judge.

The traditional beliefs surrounding what is recorded in the bible about heaven and hell make no sense upon closer examination. I have had friends who have believed I was going to hell. They very specifically iterated that Conner and I were good people, but they still retained their beliefs that God would throw us into an eternally burning pit. I pondered this for a very long time.

There are many interpretations of heaven and hell and judgment, but the most common I’ve come across is the idea that if you believe in Christ (the right Christ because apparently we don’t believe in the right one), you will be saved. If you don’t believe in the right Christ, you will be thrust into an eternal fire. For many, it doesn’t matter how evil you lived your life. If you believe in Christ, you’re good to go.

I want you to imagine, for a moment, that you were saved on Judgment Day. In fact, God even asked you to come and help carry out His judgment because your belief was sufficient. One day, He sends over a man for you to toss out of heaven. This man was a good man who loved his family, freely gave to all of his neighbors around him, and deeply sacrificed on behalf of his belief in God. But he was not Christian. It is now your job to toss this uplifting man into a literal fire pit, and that man gets to stay there forever.

Would you do it? How would you feel about God afterwards? Would you look at Him and call Him perfect because He calls Himself perfect?

As Latter-day Saints, we believe in heaven and hell but have different interpretations of it. There are many different kingdoms in heaven so as to make room for all the children of God to fit perfectly and comfortably. The bible declares that God is good and perfect and just, and I believe that. If I had never heard of God and someone came and taught me the truths found in Doctrine and Covenants 76, I would not need someone to declare to me that God was good and perfect and just. His plan declares it for Him.

There are so many ways that this doctrine plays out in individual lives, but I suppose that’s the point. This doctrine allows Christ to judge perfectly rather than trying to fit the whole spectrum of humanity into something as stark as heaven and hell. Let’s observe how this might play out in one circumstance so that we can better understand how beautiful this truth is.

Let’s say that you don’t believe in God and don’t want to worship Him. Even if you got to the spirit world on the other side and people tried to preach to you, let’s say that you still refused to worship God. Heavenly Father would send you somewhere safe and warm because you are still His child. He would send you to a place that has everything you need, and you would be surrounded by people who feel similar to you. As a mother, this kind of judgment makes perfect sense to me.

But there is still judgment, and though you would be “saved” in a place where you’re safe and warm, you would still experience some level of hell because you refused to worship God. The aspect of hell that you would experience is opportunity cost. I believe in a God who is worth worshipping. I picture an adult child who reflects on their life and sees all of the opportunities given to them by a loving mother. I picture an adult child who can see the heartache and sacrifice experienced by this loving mother, and I picture that adult child feeling such a deep attitude of awe and gratitude that it’s akin to worship.

I have a relationship with my Heavenly Father. I have seen the sacrifices He, and His Beloved Son, have made on my behalf. I have personally felt how the Lord is turned completely towards my eternal joy, and I worship Him for that. I experience heaven when I experience that awe and gratitude. Being around Someone who loves me like He does is an incomparable feeling that I have only glimpsed. You would experience hell to the extent that you miss out on experiencing the greatness that is God.

We believe that God is a perfect judge (not just because He says so but because He really is perfect). We believe that He loves His children and will place them where they will have all they need and will experience as much happiness as their choices allow.

And so with Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon and so many, many other Saints, I declare these words as well.

Doctrine and Covenants 76:1-3

1 Hear, O ye heavens, and give ear, O earth, and rejoice ye inhabitants thereof, for the Lord is God, and beside him there is no Savior.

2 Great is his wisdom, marvelous are his ways, and the extent of his doings none can find out.

3 His purposes fail not, neither are there any who can stay his hand.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 76 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Purpose Drives Revelationby Autumn Dickson

Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon paused work on the translation of the bible and were called to go and preach the gospel in order to dispel some of the hatred and persecution being heaped up against the church. After a conference held with the elders, Joseph and Sidney were called once again to work on the translation of the bible.

Doctrine and Covenants 73:3 Now, verily I say unto you my servants, Joseph Smith, Jun., and Sidney Rigdon, saith the Lord, it is expedient to translate again;

Here is a quote in the institute manual that can give us insight into how this verse can apply in our own lives.

The Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible had ‘a significant influence on the Church in the way it shaped the content of the Doctrine and Covenants. More than half of the current Doctrine and Covenants consists of revelations received during the three-year period in which Joseph Smith labored over the Bible translation. Many revelations were received as direct answers to questions Joseph was inspired to ask as his understanding of the gospel expanded during the effort to restore plain and precious parts of the Bible.

Joseph was commanded to work through the bible, and as he did, he was able to receive revelation because of his intentional study. We see an example of this directly after in Section 74 where Joseph receives revelation regarding 1 Corinthians 7. He received a variety of revelations, not just the portions that were corrected and expanded upon in the bible. This is actually really interesting to me because we have never fully canonized the Joseph Smith translation. We believe it is divinely guided and it’s been included in our scriptures as a study aid, but it’s not canonized.

Joseph spent a lot of time on this translation for it to never be canonized. We receive a lot of insight from the Joseph Smith Translation, and yet, maybe one of the major purposes of this translation wasn’t about the translation. It was about how the translation prompted intentional study, heartfelt pleading, and specific questions. It changed Joseph, and it shaped much of our understanding of the restored gospel because of the revelations Joseph received while working on it.

I noted similar experiences as a missionary. Every day, we would have dedicated time to study the gospel. As I chose to study on behalf of those I had been called to teach, my understanding of the gospel would improve and I would also receive revelation for my personal life. We had been called to do a specific work in the gospel and as we worked on that, revelation flooded in regarding many things – not just the specific work. I know other missionaries had very similar experiences.

As life moved on, I felt very called to work on a blog. Once again, the revelation started coming, but the revelation expanded beyond just the work I felt called to do. There were days when I would start writing a message I felt prompted to share, and I would end up in my journal writing and writing and writing about experiences in my family and things that the Lord wanted me to know and do in my personal life. I would get to the end of the time I could dedicate to studying and though I hadn’t made any progress on a post, I had received very special communications on behalf of my family. I really don’t think I would have received even a small portion of what I’ve received if it had not been for the fact that I was trying to prepare weekly messages.

And that’s why we receive callings and responsibilities in the church. Having a calling hones our focus and draws our mind in the direction of the Lord so that we’re prepared to receive. It also pushes us in a direction where we deeply need the Lord because we feel inadequate. This is not just about official callings! Being part of a family, being a friend, or even working to better mankind in your professional life can teach you about the gospel if you include the Lord. I watch my husband receive revelation on a daily basis as he works to create things as an engineer. And though it may not seem “churchy,” he is still learning about his Heavenly Father who is also an engineer.

What purpose has the Lord given you in order to more fully teach you His gospel? What responsibilities have you been given in which you can include the Lord to expand the amount of revelation you can receive for your life and family?

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 71–75 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Choosing Christ in a World of Opposition

Have you ever felt disoriented by how much resistance seems to follow faithful living? Whether in a classroom, a family gathering, or scrolling through your feed, you may have encountered voices that belittle your beliefs, question your values, or mock your faith in prophets and scripture.

In his message Divine Helps for Mortality, President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency affirms a profound and empowering truth: opposition is not a sign that something is wrong—it’s a sign that something eternal is at stake. God’s plan doesn’t shield us from difficulty; it places us in it—so we can choose Christ, grow in spiritual strength, and become something more than we were.

Drawing from the premortal conflict in heaven and the mortal reality of temptation, sin, and rejection, President Oaks teaches that moral agency—especially in the face of opposition—is central to God’s plan. He reminds us that “mortal growth requires us to strain against Satan’s temptations and other mortal opposition.”

This insight echoes the Lord’s charge in Doctrine and Covenants 71:

“Confound your enemies… let them bring forth their strong reasons against the Lord… there is no weapon that is formed against you shall prosper” (D&C 71:7–9).

President Oaks’ remarks help us reframe our view of adversity. What if opposition isn’t something to escape—but something to engage, faithful and unafraid, with truth, covenants, and divine help?

Apologetic Issues: Moral Agency & Prophetic CommandmentsCriticism: “If God really loves us, why does He allow so much opposition—especially to His own people?”

Response: Opposition is not a sign that something has gone wrong in God’s plan—it is part of the plan. President Oaks teaches that “mortal growth requires us to strain against Satan’s temptations and other mortal opposition.” Choosing righteousness in a world that resists it is what transforms disciples into Saints. In Doctrine and Covenants 71, the Lord sends Joseph and Sidney directly into opposition—not to avoid it, but to confound it with truth and the Spirit (D&C 71:7–10).

God allows opposition so that His children can use their moral agency to grow, choose Christ, and become like Him. As President Oaks reminds us, the greatest growth comes through struggle—not ease.

Common Fallacy: False Dilemma – A False Dilemma presents only two options when more exist.“Either God loves us and removes all opposition, or He doesn’t care.”
This argument overlooks the third, revealed truth—that God loves us enough to let us grow, even when it’s hard.
Solution: Recognize that divine love and mortal opposition are not opposites—they coexist in a plan that prizes growth through choice. That is real love.

Social Issue: The Commandments seem like a restrictive checklist.
Misconception: “The Church just gives too many rules. I want to follow Christ, not a checklist.”

Response: This critique often confuses commandments with control. President Oaks clarifies:

People who imagine commandments as the way God decides who to punish fail to understand this purpose of God’s loving plan of happiness.

Commandments are not punishment—they are protective structures, “guardrails” designed to keep us moving toward eternal joy. Even financial stewardship, accountability, and consecration are means to spiritual transformation and blessing (see D&C 72:3–5, 17–23).

Commandments, ordinances, and covenants do not restrict—they refine. They teach us how to walk with Christ, not just believe in Him.

Common Fallacy: Straw Man – A Straw Man misrepresents a belief to make it easier to dismiss.“Latter-day Saints think they earn salvation by checking boxes.” In reality, the gospel teaches that obedience is not about earning, but becoming—it invites transformation, not transaction.
Solution: Replace checklist thinking with covenant discipleship—where obedience isn’t a list, but a relationship.

Apologetic Application: Moral Agency Amid Opposition Is a Divine Trust, Not a Design Flaw

President Dallin H. Oaks’ talk Divine Helps for Mortality affirms a bold and essential doctrine:

Opposition is a necessary condition of mortal experience, and moral agency is the God-given power to meet it with faith, growth, and righteousness.

This teaching directly addresses one of the most common questions critics and seekers ask: “If your Church is true, why does it get so much opposition?” Or more personally: “If God really loved me, why is this so hard?”

President Oaks testifies that mortal life was designed to include struggle, and that agency is not diminished by hardship—it’s magnified in how we respond to it. As he teaches:

Mortal growth requires us to strain against Satan’s temptations and other mortal opposition.

Defending Core Beliefs1⃣ Opposition is Not a Sign of Failure—it’s a Sign of Eternal Purpose.Some assume that hardship means either God is absent or the path is wrong. But Doctrine and Covenants 71 commands Joseph and Sidney to meet their critics head-on, with truth and power:

“Let them bring forth their strong reasons against the Lord” (D&C 71:8).
Far from being protected from criticism, they were empowered to confront it.
This teaches that opposition is part of discipleship, not proof against it.

2⃣ Agency in Adversity Proves Eternal Potential.Critics often say: “If God really loved us, He wouldn’t let people suffer, sin, or fail.”But President Oaks reminds us that growth only comes when we must choose between real options—good or evil, trust or fear, faith or failure:

Most important for spiritual growth is the requirement to choose between good and evil.

This aligns with 2 Nephi 2:11, echoed in Divine Helps for Mortality—without opposition, progress would be impossible. Agency isn’t just a permission; it’s a divine entrustment.

Practical Apologetic Use: When someone says, “Your Church has too many critics to be true,” you might reply:

“Actually, we’re promised opposition—and instructed to face it with truth, not silence. Growth doesn’t mean avoiding conflict—it means choosing faith in the middle of it.”

Discipleship is not a stroll through calm weather. It is more like walking into the wind.

When you walk into the wind, every step requires focus, effort, and resolve. The air resists you—pulling at your clothing, pushing against your face. It would be easier to stop. But the strength comes in the striving. That resistance is not a sign you’ve lost the path—it’s confirmation you’re still moving forward.

Historical and Doctrinal ConnectionsThroughout scripture and in every dispensation, the Lord has permitted His children to face opposition—but always with divine helps to guide, strengthen, and protect them. From the war in heaven (Revelation 12; Moses 4), to Nephi’s “opposition in all things” (2 Nephi 2:11), to the ministry of early Restoration prophets confronting hostile voices, God’s pattern is clear: He does not shield His people from adversity—He equips them to face it.

President Dallin H. Oaks draws on this eternal pattern in Divine Helps for Mortality, teaching that:

Mortal growth requires us to strain against Satan’s temptations and other mortal opposition.

This echoes the Lord’s instructions to Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon in Doctrine and Covenants 71, where they are commanded not to retreat from opposition, but to step forward and confound falsehood with truth:

“Confound your enemies… let them bring forth their strong reasons against the Lord” (D&C 71:7–8).“There is no weapon that is formed against you shall prosper” (v. 9).

This is more than a historical moment—it is a doctrinal principle. Every Saint, in every age, is expected to engage opposition with agency, confidence, and covenantal power.

Doctrine and Covenants 72 adds another dimension: the idea of stewardship, especially in fulfilling divine assignments and giving account before God:

“It is required of the Lord, at the hand of every steward, to render an account of his stewardship” (D&C 72:3).“Let every man be diligent in all things” (D&C 75:29).

President Oaks affirms that our path is marked by commandments, ordinances, and covenants—not to burden us, but to bless and enable us:

Commandments define the path our Heavenly Father has marked out for us to progress toward eternal life.

This perspective reframes both external criticism and internal hardship. It clarifies that opposition is not divine neglect—it’s divine design, and that commandments are not restrictive rules—they’re redemptive routes.

Living Apologetics: How to Apply This Today How can we help others understand that opposition isn’t failure—and that commandments aren’t control?

President Dallin H. Oaks teaches that opposition is an intentional part of God’s plan, and that commandments, covenants, and divine helps are not restrictions—they are spiritual scaffolding that help us climb. This has real apologetic power when addressing critiques that faith is repressive or that the Church “gets in the way” of personal authenticity.

Principle in Practice: Two Ways to Apply Apologetic Principles1⃣ Reframe Struggles as Sacred Opportunities When someone says, “If this Church were true, why would it face so much opposition?” → Respond: “Opposition is part of every divine pattern in scripture. God allows it because He trusts us to grow—and provides us help along the way.” Support with D&C 71:9 and Oaks: “Mortal growth requires us to strain.”

2⃣ Explain Commandments as Empowering, Not Oppressive When a loved one says, “There are too many rules. I just want to follow Christ.” → Try: “We do follow Christ. That’s what commandments help us do. They’re like trail markers in the wilderness—they don’t confine, they keep us safe.” Link to D&C 72:3 and Oaks: “Commandments define the path… to progress toward eternal life.”

Top Apologetic Facts 1. Opposition is a condition of mortality—not a contradiction of truth. Doctrinal Insight – President Oaks teaches that “mortal growth requires us to strain against… opposition” (cf. 2 Nephi 2:11). Doctrine and Covenants 71 shows the Lord sending His servants directly into controversy—not to avoid it, but to engage and confound it with faith and truth.

2. Commandments are covenantal helps—not restrictive rules. Practical Application – President Oaks reframes commandments as part of a “loving plan of happiness.” Doctrine and Covenants 72 teaches that rendering an account of stewardship is part of becoming “a wise steward” (v. 17), emphasizing that obedience isn’t about control—it’s about growth and trust.

3. The Lord empowers disciples to defend the faith with clarity and confidence. Historical Context – Doctrine and Covenants 71 was given in response to public opposition. The Lord instructed Joseph and Sidney to “confound your enemies” (v. 7) and promised that “no weapon… shall prosper” (v. 9). Latter-day Saint apologetics is rooted in revelation, not reaction—and meant to build faith, not contention.

Conclusion: Growing Through Opposition, Choosing Christ AgainPresident Dallin H. Oaks reminds us that we are not left alone in a hostile world—we are equipped, empowered, and entrusted. God’s plan doesn’t eliminate difficulty; it transforms it into growth. Through divine helps—like the Light of Christ, the commandments, covenants, the gift of the Holy Ghost and especially the atonement of Jesus Christ—we are not only sustained through opposition but sanctified by it.

In Doctrine and Covenants 71, Joseph and Sidney were commanded to step into criticism with confidence, armed not with bitterness, but with truth and the Spirit. In Doctrine and Covenants 72–75, the Lord teaches that discipleship means accountability, diligence, and unwavering trust.

President Oaks’s message reaffirms that commandments are not chains—they are channels for power. Opposition is not a punishment—it is part of the pattern, and agency is not something to survive with, but something to use in becoming more like Christ.

This week, as you reflect on your own spiritual path, consider this:

Are you viewing opposition as a barrier—or as an invitation to grow?

“Commandments define the path our Heavenly Father has marked out for us to progress toward eternal life.” —President Dallin H. Oaks

The post Straining Against the Wind appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Joseph Smith’s “new translation” of the Bible (D&C sections 71, 73–75, 77, 86, 91, 113)by Mike Parker

Class Notes

Additional Reading

Kent P. Jackson. “Was Joseph Smith Influenced by Outside Sources in his Translation of the Bible?” 2022 FAIR Conference. This presentation demonstrates that recent claims of plagiarizing from Adam Clarke’s Commentary are wrong.
Kent P. Jackson. “New Discoveries in the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible.” Religious Educator 6, no. 3 (2005): 149–60.
Kent P. Jackson and Peter M. Jasinski. “The Process of Inspired Translation: Two Passages Translated Twice in the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible.” BYU Studies 42, no. 2 (2003): 35–64. This article demonstrates how Joseph Smith translated the same passage from the New Testament twice, and got different results each time. (This is evidence that the Joseph Smith Translation is not a restoration of a lost, ancient original text, at least in all of its parts.)
David Tayman. “The Joseph Smith Translation: Inspired Targum and Pseudepigrapha For Latter-day Saints.” ImprovementEra.com (via Archive.org), 24 March 2010. Tayman explains why he believes the JST is best understood as a modern, revealed expansion of the Bible, rather than a restoration of an ancient text.
Kent P. Jackson. “Joseph Smith’s Cooperstown Bible: The Historical Context of the Bible Used in the Joseph Smith Translation.” BYU Studies 40, no. 1 (2001): 41–70.
Nicholas J. Frederick. “Section 77 and Book of Revelation Scholarship.” Religious Educator 22, no. 2 (2021): 46–71. Section 77 contains Joseph Smith’s inspired answers to questions posed to him about the symbols in the book of Revelation. Frederick compares Joseph’s interpretations to those in commentaries on the book of Revelation published between 1817 and 2014.
Some Latter-day Saints have interpreted D&C 77:6 to mean that the earth is only 6,000 years old. The scriptures, however, “do not say how old the earth is, and the Church has taken no official stand on this question.” (Encyclopedia of Mormonism 2:431) See also Morris S. Petersen, “I Have a Question: Do we know how the earth’s history as indicated from fossils fits with the earth’s history as the scriptures present it?,” Ensign, September 1987, 28–29.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 71, 73–75, 77, 86, 91, 113 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Bishops and Consecrationby Autumn Dickson

Hello friends! Just a quick PSA. My normal format up to this point has been to post one message a week. The Lord has pointed me in a different direction, and I will now be sharing two shorter messages posted throughout the week. Thanks for sticking with me as I work to figure out my new posting schedule!

In Section 72, the Lord is calling a bishop (Newel K. Whitney) to serve in Ohio because the other bishop (Edward Partridge) is in Missouri. At that time, the Saints were living the law of consecration in which they offered up their land to the church; they also offered up their excess when they had it. One of the roles of the bishop was to handle the logistics of the law of consecration. The bishop would determine what was needed by a family, and then he would deed that property back over to that family. The idea was that the church would be able to organize what everyone needed and make sure life necessities were being taken care of, but the land would still belong to the individual families. In essence, they could do what they wanted with it, and they were responsible for doing all they could to take care of it. Here is part of what the Lord says about it.

Doctrine and Covenants 72:2-3

2 For verily thus saith the Lord, it is expedient in me for a bishop to be appointed unto you, or of you, unto the church in this part of the Lord’s vineyard.

3 And verily in this thing ye have done wisely, for it is required of the Lord, at the hand of every steward, to render an account of his stewardship, both in time and in eternity.

The Lord wanted a bishop called so that the people had an opportunity to show responsibility for what the Lord had given them. These men, Newel K. Whitney and Edward Partridge, were called to be representatives of the Lord, and we can learn about our Savior from the roles that they were given. These bishops would meet with the Saints and essentially ask two questions, “What do you need?” and, “What can you give?” Both questions are important, and both questions are posed to us by the Savior.

At this time, we do not deed our property over to the church and receive what we need in return. However, we do covenant to live the law of consecration in the temple. In essence, we are covenanting to dedicate all that we have and are to the Savior and His kingdom on the earth. What do you need? What can you give?

The law of consecration doesn’t necessarily mean giving everything away. Sometimes it also means working to build what you have so that it is sufficient. When we’re trying to answer these two questions, two internalizations can help. One: everything we have belongs to the Lord and He can help us know the best way to utilize what we have and two, the Lord doesn’t just ask what we can give. He also asks what we need. And unlike Edward Partridge and Newel K. Whitney, who were often drawing on empty wells to try and take care of the Saints, our Savior can easily give us what we truly need in order to do what He wants us to do. He is wise in what He chooses to give.

And like Edward Partridge and Newel K. Whitney, the Savior lives the law of consecration with us. He loves us so much that few other things occupy His mind. He devotes all of His time, energy, and resources to us. And I suppose that’s the point. We’re trying to become like Him. There is power in devoting all that you have and all that you are to others. There is power in loving others that much. There is power in letting go of “owning” things. There is power and security in a community that truly gives and leans on each other.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 71–75 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Receiving Eternity’s Gifts Through Christ

Have you ever felt that no matter how much you believe in Christ, His promises feel just out of reach—like peace, healing, or wholeness belong to someone holier, stronger, or more deserving?

In his Easter message Eternity’s Great Gifts: Jesus Christ’s Atonement, Resurrection, Restoration, Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles offers a sweeping and tender reminder: God’s eternal gifts are not reserved for the perfect—they are extended to all. What matters most is not whether the gift is offered (it is!) but whether we are willing to receive.

Drawing from Isaiah’s vision of “beauty for ashes” and the Savior’s declaration in the synagogue that He came to “heal the brokenhearted,” Elder Gong teaches that the Atonement, the Resurrection, and the Restoration are not distant doctrines—but deeply personal invitations. Through Jesus Christ, each of us—poor, brokenhearted, captive, blind, bruised—can be made whole.

As we study Doctrine and Covenants 67–70, Elder Gong’s message resonates with striking power. What does it mean to receive what Christ offers? And how does our willingness, not our worthiness, shape our eternal destiny?

Apologetic Issues: Receiving Salvation & Blaming the ChurchCriticism: If God truly loves all His children, why doesn’t He just save everyone—regardless of their beliefs, choices, or covenants?

Response: While Christ’s Atonement, Resurrection, and the Restoration are extended to all, the Atonement and Restoration must be received. Elder Gong teaches that God “saves all the works of his hands” except those who willfully reject Him after receiving knowledge (D&C 76:43). This is not a restriction—it is a recognition of divine love that honors our agency. Salvation is offered freely, but God will not force it upon the unwilling.

In Elder Gong’s words:

Jesus declared His mission to bless us each with all we are willing to receive.

Receiving salvation requires a willing heart, not a flawless record. The gospel is not about earning heaven but accepting Christ’s gifts and following Him with purpose and intent.

Common Fallacy: Straw Man – misrepresents or oversimplifies another person’s argument in order to make it easier to attack or refuteThis critique creates a Straw Man Fallacy by misrepresenting the doctrine of salvation as either universal or cruelly exclusive. In reality, Latter-day Saint doctrine teaches that God desires to save all, but will not violate our agency or override the natural consequences of our choices.
Solution: Recognizing that agency is instrumental to grace helps us appreciate both the justice and mercy of God.

Social Issue: Blaming the Church for Spiritual DiscontentMisconception: “I left the Church because the Church failed me. I didn’t feel seen, heard, or spiritually fulfilled.”Response: It is deeply painful when people feel hurt, neglected, or unseen. But Elder Gong gently reminds us that while Christ always sees us, receiving His healing and guidance requires our active participation. Like the mourners who met the resurrected Christ in the garden or the brokenhearted He declared His mission to heal (Luke 4:18), we must come to Him.

The Savior offers garments of salvation and robes of righteousness—but He doesn’t force us to wear them. Some spiritual discontent comes not from what the Church failed to give, but from what we failed to seek. Rather than outsource spiritual growth to an institution, we are invited to claim our stewardship as disciples. The Church can support, but only Christ can transform—and only we can choose Him.

Common Fallacy: Attribution Error – the tendency to explain someone else’s behavior by blaming their character or intentions, while overlooking external circumstances or situational factors.This reflects the Fundamental Attribution Error—blaming external systems (like “the Church”) for internal struggles without acknowledging personal agency or stewardship.
Solution: Taking spiritual accountability—our study, prayer, service, and effort—restores power to our discipleship and invites Christ to heal and guide us personally.

Apologetic Application: Receiving Christ’s Gifts Requires Agency and Willingness

Elder Gerrit W. Gong’s talk underscores a doctrinal truth with powerful apologetic value:
God’s gifts are universal in offer—but conditional in reception.

At the heart of this message lies a doctrinal triad:

The Atonement of Jesus Christ – offered to all for the redemption of sin and sorrow (Alma 7:11–13).
The Resurrection – a universal gift, unconditionally granted to all who have lived (1 Corinthians 15:22; Alma 11:42–44).
The Restoration of the Gospel – a divine process to empower willing disciples through priesthood authority, covenants, and revelation (D&C 76:42–43; 2 Nephi 30:8).

Elder Gong teaches that Christ’s mission is not to coerce but to heal, lift, and liberate—as much as we are willing to receive.

Defending Core Beliefs1⃣ Salvation ≠ Forced Equality.Some critics claim it’s unfair that God doesn’t give everyone the same eternal reward. But this overlooks the difference between resurrection and exaltation. Resurrection is a universal gift—a free offering through Christ to every soul. Exaltation, on the other hand, honors our agency and desires. As Elder Gong teaches:

“He saves all the works of his hands—except those who willfully deny the Son.”

God doesn’t restrict salvation—He extends it. But He also respects our choices.

2⃣ God’s Love Is Universal, Not Coercive.Some see the plan of salvation as exclusive or elitist, but that misrepresents the doctrine. Jesus Christ came “to heal the brokenhearted… to set at liberty them that are bruised” (Luke 4:18)—and that includes all of us.

Elder Gong emphasizes that Christ’s invitation is open in “every time, every land, every circumstance.” But real love invites—it doesn’t override. God does not drag people into heaven. He empowers them to become heavenly.

Understanding that reception, not worthiness, is the gate helps dismantle the false belief that the gospel is only for the already-righteous. This view aligns beautifully with Latter-day Saint teachings on grace, growth, and accountability.

Practical Apologetic Use: When someone claims, “Your Church is too focused on rules and worthiness,” this doctrine shifts the focus: “Worthiness” isn’t about perfection—it’s about willingness. Christ meets us where we are, but He invites us to walk with Him through covenants.” This answer not only clarifies the doctrine but offers a loving, scriptural lens through which to see it.

The gospel is a gift. Discipleship is choosing to open it.

Historical and Doctrinal ConnectionsThroughout scripture and in every dispensation, the Lord has extended divine gifts to His children—but always with an invitation to receive them intentionally. From Adam’s covenant sacrifices to Isaiah’s Messianic prophecies to the Restoration of priesthood power, God has shown that salvation is offered freely but must be accepted willingly.

Elder Gerrit W. Gong draws on this eternal pattern by quoting Isaiah’s description of the Savior’s mission:
“To preach the gospel to the poor … to heal the brokenhearted … to set at liberty them that are bruised.” (Luke 4:18; cf. Isaiah 61)
He reminds us that this promise is as real today as it was anciently—fulfilled anew in our lives through the Atonement, Resurrection, and Restoration of Jesus Christ.

In his talk, Elder Gong affirms that the Restoration is not just a historical event—it is an ongoing promise: the Savior continues to heal, restore, and guide today through living prophets, priesthood ordinances, and the quiet power of personal revelation. The same Christ who brought “beauty for ashes” in Isaiah’s day continues to do so now.

Doctrine and Covenants 67–70 offers powerful continuity to this theme. These revelations testify that:

It is our privilege to receive divine confirmation through spiritual means, not carnal reasoning (D&C 67:10)
We are stewards over the sacred truths entrusted to us (D&C 70:3-4,9-12)

Just as Elder Gong teaches that we must receive what Christ offers, these sections emphasize that revelation and salvation are not passive experiences—they involve faith, stewardship, and accountability. Christ’s gifts are enduring and personal. God will give us truth, peace, and healing—but we must act in faith to claim them.

Living Apologetics: How to Apply This Today How can we help others understand that Christ’s gifts are real, available, and require our participation?

Elder Gong testifies that the Savior offers each of us “atonement, resurrection, and restoration—peace, becoming, and belonging.” These gifts are universal in invitation but personal in reception. Apologetically, this helps us respond to criticism that Church teachings are exclusionary or conditional. In truth, they are covenantal—meant to be received, not imposed.

Principle in Practice: Two Ways to Apply Apologetic Principles1⃣ Reframe Accusations of Exclusivity When someone says, “Only your church thinks it’s right,” respond:
→ “Christ offers salvation to everyone. Our doctrine teaches that He honors agency—and invites all to receive what they are willing to accept.”

2⃣ Use Isaiah’s Language to Reassure the Weary Elder Gong quotes Isaiah’s promises to the “poor, brokenhearted, captive, blind, and bruised.” → In conversation, say: “This isn’t just poetic—it’s who Christ came to heal. And that means all of us. The gospel is for the bruised, not the perfect.”

Top Apologetic Facts 1. Salvation is universal, exaltation is invitational. Joseph Smith’s teachings in Doctrine and Covenants 76 boldly revealed a God who will “save all the works of His hands”—offering resurrection to all through Christ. But exaltation requires willingness and discipleship, not passive inheritance.

2. Restoration reveals a healing, not condemning, Christ. In contrast to fire-and-brimstone portrayals of God, the Restoration affirms Jesus Christ’s mission to “heal the brokenhearted… and set at liberty them that are bruised” (Luke 4:18). His gospel is redemptive, not punitive.

3. “Beauty for ashes” is a covenantal promise. Isaiah 61:3 is more than poetic—it’s a pattern of restoration. Christ offers hope and transformation through His Atonement. As Elder Gong testifies, His gifts include atonement, resurrection, and restoration— extended to all who will receive them.

Conclusion: Receiving Heaven’s Gifts with Willing HeartsElder Gerrit W. Gong’s Easter message invites each of us to step into the healing, peace, and joy made possible through Jesus Christ’s Atonement, Resurrection, and the Restoration of His Church. These are not distant theological concepts—they are personal, practical gifts waiting at the threshold of our willingness.

We are not forgotten. We are not too broken. In every circumstance, Jesus Christ offers beauty for ashes, garments of salvation, and robes of righteousness. But as Elder Gong reminds us, the Savior’s gifts must be received—not just known about, or admired, or believed in abstractly, but embraced with covenantal commitment and faith in action.

This week’s Come, Follow Me lesson underscores the same truth: stewardship, accountability, and trust in God’s word prepare us to receive His richest blessings. Through our choices, we decide whether eternity’s gifts will be symbolic… or transformative.

Are you willing to receive what Christ is already offering?

“May we each find in Jesus Christ atonement, resurrection, and restoration—peace, becoming, and belonging—that which is enduringly real and joyful, happy and forever.” — Elder Gerrit W. Gong

The post Beauty for Ashes appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

A Testimony of the Revelationsby Autumn Dickson

Joseph Smith and various elders gathered this week to decide whether they would publish the revelations that Joseph had thus far received. Many of the elders were prepared to write their testimonies to be published right alongside the revelations, but others were hesitant. Joseph was not always eloquent, and he was not incredibly educated. Several of the elders did not yet believe that the revelations had come from the Lord.

In Section 67, the Lord issues a challenge. He tells the men to select the “least” of the revelations and then to take their wisest man and have him try to write a revelation like it. William McLellin, a school teacher, took up the challenge. According to the institute manual, this is how things played out.

Joseph Smith described the outcome of William’s attempt to write a revelation: ‘[William] E. McLellin … endeavored to write a [revelation] like unto one of the least of the Lord’s, but failed; it was an awful responsibility to write in the name of the Lord. The elders, and all present, that witnessed this vain attempt of a man to imitate the language of Jesus Christ, renewed their faith in the fulness of the gospel and in the truth of the commandments and revelations which the Lord had given to the church through my instrumentality; and the elders signified a willingness to bear testimony of their truth to all the world

Since we’re talking about how the Lord’s words are more powerful than man’s (even when it is filtered through a man), let’s look directly at some of His words. I want to talk about three different principles found throughout the chapter.

To gain a testimony

Here is how the Lord starts out the revelation in response to this situation we’ve been discussing.

Doctrine and Covenants 67:1 Behold and hearken, O ye elders of my church, who have assembled yourselves together, whose prayers I have heard, and whose hearts I know, and whose desires have come up before me.

Does the Lord sound angry with these elders because of their unbelief? I don’t think so. He’s literally telling them, “I’ve heard your prayers, and I know your hearts and desires.” The hearts of these elders are apparently soft enough that they don’t need rebuking. Rather, the Lord, in His infinite wisdom and perfect knowledge of us, knew that these elders simply lacked the testimony they needed as of yet.

It could have been easy for Joseph to get offended that these men felt his words were insufficient, but this wasn’t coming from Joseph. It was coming from the Lord, and the Lord knew His children enough to know that they simply needed more opportunities to practice faith and see Him in this work.

And so He set them up to gain a testimony of the revelations received by Joseph Smith.

The Lord does rebuke His children sometimes, but that is usually the result of hard hearts. If the Lord is calling someone out and forcefully calling for repentance, it is usually because a softer approach will be ineffective. For this particular chapter, I picture the Lord being very matter-of-fact about it.

So what do we learn from the Lord’s relaxed tone?

We learn that we don’t necessarily have to be afraid or ashamed if we have doubts. We don’t have to worry or put immense pressure on ourselves to “already know” or “just have faith already.” Rather, we can work to make (or keep) our hearts soft and give the Lord an opportunity to lead us along and show us. He knows our hearts, and He knows if you’re sincerely trying to find Him. He can work with that. It reminds me of the father in the New Testament who asked the Lord to “help Thou mine unbelief.” The Lord can give us eyes to see reality, and He can give us reasons to trust Him. We merely need to seek Him out and be willing to experiment upon His words, just like these men experimented.

Missing out

Here is another tidbit from the Lord.

Doctrine and Covenants 67:5 Your eyes have been upon my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., and his language you have known, and his imperfections you have known; and you have sought in your hearts knowledge that you might express beyond his language; this you also know.

There is at least one general principle here that we can pull out and apply it many different ways. It is this: when we hyperfocus on the mistakes and supposed flaws of others, we miss out on so much goodness. When we scoff or mock, we’re voluntarily skipping over blessings.

This actually makes me think of Christ’s mortal ministry. Christ’s words and actions were obviously perfect, but I’m not sure they were perfect in the sense of how we sometimes picture the meaning of that word. He was a traveler. He was likely dirty from walking everywhere. He didn’t wear priestly robes or hold any worldly authority or education except in carpentry. Think of what the Pharisees and Sadducees missed out on because they couldn’t see past what they perceived as beneath them.

Think of what these elders might have missed out on had they continued on that path where they perceived the revelations of God as beneath them.

What are we perceiving as beneath us? What are we missing out on? The list could be endless: sacrament talks, good people, wisdom from parents.

Set aside our fears

In verse 3, the Lord tells His elders that they tried hard to believe that they would receive a blessing, but fear prevented them from actually receiving it. He also said this.

Doctrine and Covenants 67:10 And again, verily I say unto you that it is your privilege, and a promise I give unto you that have been ordained unto this ministry, that inasmuch as you strip yourselves from jealousies and fears, and humble yourselves before me, for ye are not sufficiently humble, the veil shall be rent and you shall see me and know that I am—not with the carnal neither natural mind, but with the spiritual.

There are a lot of things that we could talk about in this verse. How might jealousy have played into the elders not being able to recognize the revelations for what they were? There are so many phrases we could pull out and talk about, but I want to talk about stripping yourself of fear instead.

One of the steps for preparing to “see” the Lord is to remove fear.

I always try to put the Lord into the context of parenting because that is when I best understand Him. In this instance, it reminds me of when my son comes down and tells me that he’s too scared to go to bed. There are times when it’s appropriate for me to go up and comfort him, but usually he just gets scared again the second I leave the room. I have often found myself saying, “There is no way that I can make you any safer than you are now.” I assure him of all the reasons he is safe. We’re downstairs, dad has adequate means of self-defense, and we’ve got a dog that has protected my family before. Unfortunately, sometimes my son doesn’t believe in that safety. It’s a process to learn that kind of trust, but as we actively engage in choosing that trust, we’re going to find enough peace to rest.

The Lord is even more capable of protecting us than I am of protecting my son.

After over four years of trying to settle out on the east coast, things have finally lined up and we’re moving forward on a house. We did a lot of research in order to decide if this is what we wanted. We put in a lot of time to make sure this was a good move for our family. We prayed about it, and we felt good about the house, or at the very least, we didn’t feel bad about the house. When we were moving through this process, I felt like this is where we had been led after four years of searching.

But it’s easy to backslide and get scared again. I was so scared that we had chosen wrong or that the Lord had washed His hands of us and left us to fail. Logically, I know that the Lord doesn’t work that way, but that’s what my fear was saying. My husband is an entrepreneur which means that things can go really well, but they can also go really wrong. The risks of life suddenly seemed tremendously overwhelming. What if I had missed His warnings? What if we expected more than the Lord was willing to give at this time?

I’ve prayed for reassurances so many times, and the Lord has often answered. But even after the Lord answered, the fear remained or came back again. I was scared that I misunderstood Him or that I was seeing revelation where it wasn’t.

The Lord isn’t going to force me to lay down my fears. He is not going to constantly whisper in my ear that we’re going to be fine because that’s not what is best for me. He wants me to choose to trust Him. If I want to feel better and find rest, I have to choose to believe that the Lord is making my family as safe as we need to be.

The Lord promises His elders that if they can strip themselves of fear (alongside a few other things), the veil will be rent and they shall see Him.

As I hush my fears, as I remind myself of all the times He’s never abandoned me, I start to “see” Him again. This past week, the fears did come up and try to overwhelm me and there were moments when those fears were successful. But as I consciously remembered my experiences with the Lord and who I’ve come to know Him as, it was as if I put on spiritual glasses. Not only was I able to remember old experiences, but I started to have new ones. He started to whisper insights that helped me believe I was on the right track. I could “see” Him again.

I testify of a Lord who is willing to help us have the experiences we need to build trust in Him. If we keep our hearts soft and seek to trust Him and His prophets, He will give us what we need to know that we’re on the right track. If we push back against our fears, we will be able to see Him in our lives.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 67–70 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Receiving the Light of Christ—and Letting Go of What We Cannot Carry

Have you ever wondered what it actually means to forgive someone—especially when the pain they caused hasn’t gone away?

In his tender and Christ-centered address, And We Talk of Christ, Elder Gary E. Stevenson reminds us that Jesus Christ is the Light we receive—and the Light we share. His Atonement is not just about removing our sins, but about transforming our sorrows into peace and our suffering into joy.

Elder Stevenson rejoices in the “peace and hope” that come from forgiveness made possible by Christ’s atoning sacrifice. But how do we forgive when reconciliation feels impossible—or even unsafe? When we trust that the Savior’s sacrifice is sufficient for both justice and mercy, we can let go of the burden of judgment and step into healing. Forgiveness is not about excusing, forgetting, or reconciling—it’s about trusting Christ enough to release the pain.

As we study Doctrine and Covenants 64 this week, we hear the Lord Himself say: “Let God judge between me and thee, and reward thee according to thy deeds” (D&C 64:11). Let’s explore how receiving Christ’s light enables us to forgive—even when reconciliation is not possible.

Apologetic Issues: Forgiveness vs. ReconciliationCriticism: If I forgive someone, that means I’m obligated to reconcile with them—especially if I’m trying to be a ‘real Christian.’

Response: Forgiveness and reconciliation are not the same. Forgiveness is a personal, spiritual act—letting go of resentment and entrusting justice to God (see D&C 64:10–11). Reconciliation, however, involves mutual trust and safety and may not be possible—or even wise—in situations of abuse, betrayal, or repeated harm.

Elder Gary E. Stevenson teaches that “we rejoice that because of the Savior’s atoning sacrifice, we can be forgiven… This brings us peace and hope”. That same peace and hope are what we extend to others when we forgive—not a demand to restore broken relationships.

The Savior’s atonement provides the power to forgive without returning to harm. That is not weakness—it is faith in Christ’s justice and mercy.

Common Fallacy: Equivocation – When a single term is used in different ways without clarification. The word forgiveness is equated with reconciliation, though they are distinct actions. Forgiveness is commanded; reconciliation is conditional.
Solution: Clarify terms. A faithful disciple can forgive without resuming unsafe contact. Forgiveness is vertical (between you and God); reconciliation is horizontal (between people) and requires mutual healing and trust.

Social Issue: Justice for VictimsMisconception: Forgiveness lets people get away with sin. If we forgive, there’s no justice.

Response: Forgiveness is not the absence of justice—it is trust that ultimate justice belongs to God. Elder Stevenson teaches that Christ’s Resurrection and Atonement mean that all wounds will be healed, and all wrongs made right in Him. Forgiveness means we no longer carry the burden of demanding compensation—we give it to the One who already paid the price.

Terry Warner explains:

Because we believe [Christ] paid for every sin, we do not desire to exact payment for whatever we have suffered. Instead, we are able freely to forgive.

Elder Kearon adds that victims are not responsible for what was done to them, and healing does not mean the wrong is excused—it means it is given to Christ:

You are not responsible… You are not less worthy… The Savior has descended below all things—even what has happened to you.

Common Fallacy: Straw Man – Misrepresenting a position to make it easier to attack.This objection creates a straw man by misrepresenting forgiveness as permission for abuse. But forgiveness does not erase accountability—it entrusts it to God.
Correction: Christ does not overlook injustice—He atoned for it. Forgiveness doesn’t mean the offender “gets away with it.” It means the victim no longer has to carry the weight of vengeance.

Apologetic Application: Forgiveness Is an Act of Trust in Jesus ChristElder Gary E. Stevenson’s testimony in And We Talk of Christ affirms a profound doctrinal truth: because of Jesus Christ, we can be forgiven—and we can forgive. That power doesn’t come from minimizing injustice, but from trusting that Christ’s Atonement is enough to right every wrong and heal every wound.

Core Doctrine: The Atonement of Jesus Christ Enables Forgiveness. Forgiveness is not just a moral obligation—it is a sacred act of faith in the power of Jesus Christ. It means trusting that He has already suffered the full cost of the injustice, and that we don’t have to carry that pain alone.

The Atonement of Jesus Christ enables forgiveness not merely as a commandment but as a divine invitation to participate in the healing power of Christ’s suffering, mercy, and justice. When we choose to forgive, we are not declaring that the offense was insignificant or that justice no longer matters—we are testifying that Jesus Christ has already paid the full price for every wound, injustice, betrayal, and sin. His suffering in Gethsemane and on the cross bore not only our guilt as sinners but our grief as victims. As Isaiah declared, “He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows” (Isaiah 53:4). Forgiveness, then, is not an act of weakness—it is an act of profound trust in the Savior’s promise that He will “judge between me and thee” and that His justice will not fail (D&C 64:11). It allows us to lay down the heavy burden of vengeance or resentment and walk forward in peace, knowing that Christ has already absorbed the cost and stands ready to both heal the wounded and hold the unrepentant accountable. This makes forgiveness an apologetic witness: it proclaims that we believe in a God who is both merciful and just, and who has conquered all things through His atoning love.

Defending Core Beliefs1⃣ Forgiveness ≠ Endorsing Sin. Critics often argue that forgiving someone is equivalent to saying their sin didn’t matter or wasn’t harmful. But that misunderstands the doctrine. Forgiveness is not excusing sin—it is handing judgment over to Christ, who already bore its full weight (see Mosiah 15:7–9).

Elder Holland affirms:

In order to forgive fully, you [do not] have to reenter a toxic relationship… But notwithstanding even the most terrible offenses, we can rise above our pain only when we walk the forgiving path.

Forgiveness says, “I choose to stop carrying this, because Christ already carried it for me.”

2⃣ Forgiveness Heals the Victim, Too. Forgiveness is often framed as a gift to the offender, but in Latter-day Saint doctrine, it’s also about liberating the victim.

“We suffer from doing wrong to others… But forgiving, we avoid doing ourselves terrible harm.” —C. Terry Warner

Letting go of resentment is a sacred form of personal healing through Christ. It helps the disciple stop defining their identity by the harm they’ve endured.

Forgiveness clarifies two key misunderstandings –

It does not minimize evil. It confronts evil and places it squarely on the Savior’s shoulders, where justice and mercy meet.
It does not mean reconciliation. It means peace, even if the relationship cannot be restored.

Practical Apologetic Use: This doctrine clarifies that forgiveness is not about removing accountability, but about trusting Christ to deliver justice perfectly. It relieves victims from carrying the burden of judgment and reorients the question from “Will they get away with it?” to “Do I trust the Savior enough to let Him carry both my pain and their consequence?”

Historical and Doctrinal ConnectionsTrusting Christ Then and Now: Forgiveness as a Pattern of Discipleship

In And We Talk of Christ, Elder Gary E. Stevenson bears witness of Christ’s power to forgive sins and fill us with peace and hope. His words echo a profound moment in Restoration history: in September 1831, the Lord chastened early Latter-day Saints in Missouri and Ohio for refusing to forgive one another.

Though those Saints had made covenants and sacrificed greatly, they still struggled to let go of personal offenses. The Lord responded with direct and sobering counsel in Doctrine and Covenants 64:

Ye ought to forgive one another; for he that forgiveth not… standeth condemned before the Lord… let God judge between me and thee (D&C 64:9–11).

That commandment still applies today. Elder Stevenson helps modern disciples understand that forgiveness is not a one-time act, but a process made possible through receiving the light of Christ and choosing to walk in it.

Just as early Saints had to learn to trust God with their wounds, so must we. The Lord didn’t ask them to deny what happened—but to stop carrying what only He could heal.

When we forgive, we act in faith that Christ’s Atonement is sufficient to judge sin, heal victims, and redeem all that is broken. This faith removes the burden of bitterness and replaces it with hope and peace, fulfilling the promise in D&C 64.

Living Apologetics: Forgiveness as a Witness of Christ How do we explain or live the doctrine of forgiveness when it feels impossible or unsafe?
Elder Gary E. Stevenson reminds us that receiving the Savior’s light enables us to act in faith, not fear—including in our efforts to forgive. “We receive the Savior’s light as we choose to have faith in Him, follow Him, and believe Him.”

Principle in Practice: Forgiveness Requires Trust in Christ, Not the OffenderForgiveness is often misunderstood as reestablishing trust with someone who harmed us. But Elder Stevenson’s testimony—and the Lord’s words in D&C 64—make it clear: we forgive because we trust Christ to carry the burden of justice.

1⃣ Set boundaries and still forgive.From this week’s Come, Follow Me: “Forgiveness does not mean we allow others to hurt us.” Teach that forgiveness can exist without reconciliation. This principle corrects common critiques that Latter-day Saints minimize abuse or trauma.

2⃣ Explain that forgiveness is an act of strength, not weakness.Use examples like Jesus on the cross (“Father, forgive them”), or Saints who forgive amid tragedy—not because the offense is small, but because the Savior is mighty.

Top Apologetic Facts 1. Forgiveness is a commandment, not a concession.Doctrine and Covenants 64 teaches that refusing to forgive brings spiritual condemnation. Forgiveness is not excusing sin—it’s obeying Christ’s command to release others to His justice and receive peace through Him.

2. Trusting Christ means trusting His justice.Elder Stevenson affirms that forgiveness is only possible through Christ’s healing power. By placing judgment in the Lord’s hands, we declare our faith in His ability to heal us and deal justly with others—even when we cannot see how.

3. Forgiveness does not require reconciliation.Both Elder Holland and this week’s Come, Follow Me lesson emphasize that forgiveness is compatible with healthy boundaries. Letting go of resentment doesn’t mean returning to harmful relationships—it means moving forward with Christ.

Conclusion: Forgiving in the Light of ChristElder Gary E. Stevenson’s testimony is a call to draw nearer to Christ—not just by speaking of Him, but by receiving His light so deeply that it changes how we carry sorrow, how we view justice, and how we respond to those who hurt us.

His message reminds us that forgiveness is not about forgetting or enabling sin—it’s about choosing to trust the Savior more than our pain. As we walk in His light, we are enabled to lay down burdens that were never ours to carry. We can forgive without compromising safety. We can find joy even amid injustice. We can move forward, not because others have changed, but because we have been changed through Christ.

This is the heart of Christian discipleship—and the heart of Latter-day Saint apologetics: bearing witness that Christ’s power is real, and that it works in the messy, painful places of life.

Forgiveness is a gift we give to ourselves by trusting in the Lord and letting His light heal us.

What burden are you still carrying that Christ is willing to carry for you?

The post And We Talk of Christ: Forgiving Through His Light appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

The Greater Sinby Autumn Dickson

The Lord talks a little bit about forgiveness this week. Section 64 was given at a time when tempers were running hot and Zion felt far away. What did the Lord have to say about forgiveness?

Doctrine and Covenants 64:9 Wherefore, I say unto you, that ye ought to forgive one another; for he that forgiveth not his brother his trespasses standeth condemned before the Lord; for there remaineth in him the greater sin.

I remember being young and thinking that didn’t make sense. I didn’t understand how the Lord could condemn a victim for holding on to their anger against someone who hurt them. As I’ve learned more and more about the gospel, I’ve received a different perspective. That’s not what the Lord is doing at all. It was merely me misunderstanding the Lord. Let’s talk about it.

Different kinds of sin

My definition and understanding of sin has evolved. It’s probably important to highlight that this is how I define the concept of sin personally. I likely don’t have it all correct, but we’re working towards perfect knowledge still, right?

Sin is sin. It is bad. We should try to avoid it as much as possible. Let it be known; I absolutely believe that the Lord cannot look upon sin with any degree of allowance. It would thwart the Plan of Salvation, His perfection, and it would stunt our growth dramatically.

But I used to take the concept of sin and tag on extra implications that weren’t necessarily true. I used to connect sin with an inherent badness on the part of the sinner. When there was condemnation, it was the Lord doling out punishments because we had been bad.

After becoming a parent, I have learned that it’s not necessarily that black and white. Making mistakes does not mean you’re bad, and the Savior is coaching us towards exaltation. Sometimes He utilizes consequences but not because He’s looking to make us suffer. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Consequences teach us so we don’t have to suffer any longer.

And then sometimes He doesn’t dole out consequences at all. Sometimes our choices come with inherent repercussions. He seeks to pull us out of those choices, but another form of condemnation is when we refuse Him and stay right where we’re at. I repeat. Another form of condemnation is when we refuse to accept His healing and grace. We condemn ourselves.

In my mind, sin has expanded beyond just a definition of “badness” to “anything that takes us farther away from the Lord.” This expanded understanding has many implications that have shifted how I look at the gospel.

One of the implications applies to the verse we just read. There are times when the Lord condemns; we see that most especially when someone is hard-hearted. When you read the New Testament, the Lord would condemn the Pharisees because softer forms of teaching were ineffective.

But sometimes condemnation isn’t coming directly from Him. When you read that verse more carefully, it doesn’t say that the Lord condemned the person who refused to forgive. It says that they stand condemned before the Lord. Sometimes, we stand before the Lord condemning ourselves because we refuse the salvation He is offering.

My personal interpretation of this verse is that the person refuses peace (and therefore, salvation) by refusing to forgive those who hurt them.

Putting it into context

I’m going to use a real-world example, and then I’m going to expand upon it.

I read a book about trauma a couple of years ago, and there is a story that has stuck with me. It spoke about a girl who had been locked in the closet from the time she was very little. When I studied the effects of abuse, I was surprised to learn that neglect from a very young age leaves deeper scars than actual abuse. This little girl was essentially feral when she was finally found and taken out of the custody of the parents. She was placed somewhere safe and spent far more time in a wholesome environment than she did locked inside that closet.

Unfortunately, the first three years of our lives often make the biggest impressions because our brains are developing so rapidly. When neglect and abuse happen in the first three years, it gets built into the brain as a blueprint for how someone looks at life. It can be changed, but because the growth of our brains slows down significantly, it takes far more time to undo the damage than it did to make the damage.

This girl grew up, became an adult, and went on to abuse another child. From a person who grew up healthy, it would be easy to wonder, “You know what it’s like to be hurt! Why would you do that to someone else?” But when you study the brain, you recognize a perfect storm. This adult girl was essentially unable to grow up. Her body matured, but her brain did not. She didn’t have the inhibitions of an adult. She didn’t develop empathy (because that develops in your second or third year). And when she wanted to be romantically involved, she was completely unable to relate to adults. She could only relate to a child.

She never really had a chance. And even as I speak about her struggles, we don’t allow cycles of abuse to continue. We work to protect potential victims. We do the logical thing and stop her from hurting others. However, it’s possible to protect victims, stop the abuse, and have compassion for the girl who suffered in ways that most of us don’t understand.

Here is the part where I expand upon this story with hypotheticals. The Lord is the perfect judge so we’ll ultimately leave this up to Him, but I’m going to postulate so that we can explore the forgiveness principle we were talking about before.

Fast forward to the next life. This girl has been healed by the Savior. She is no longer constrained to a brain that is broken and undeveloped because of what happened to her. Her spirit is free to be good and wholesome, and let’s say that’s exactly who she is.

How would you judge her? If she were your child and you loved her, would you banish her away from you? I hope not.

Now let’s look at the child who was abused by this broken woman. Let’s say this child grows up and passes away. He gets to the other side and sees her enjoying the presence of the Lord and being welcomed by good people around her. Let’s say this child is enraged by this.

How would you judge him? I would hope you wouldn’t judge him harshly. He has also been through some horrific things. But would you throw her out because he demanded it? I would also hope not.

I hope that we would be pleading with this young man to trust that the Lord knows everything perfectly, and she is safe to be around. I would hope that we would be pleading with him to come and join us and be healed and enjoy everything that the Lord meant for us to enjoy.

If he refuses to forgive and join in on the “heaven,” then yes, he is standing condemned before the Lord. He is condemning (or, in other words, consigning) himself to hell by clinging to pain and anger. He refuses to accept the healing and the celestial possibilities. He refuses the happiness that’s standing in front of him. He holds the “greater” sin because he is refusing to let go of hell. He is separating himself from the Savior and those in His company, and that’s the definition of hell.

We have to change how we interpret sin and condemnation and damnation. Sometimes the Lord does step in and mete out judgment as needed. Sometimes it’s just us condemning ourselves by refusing the path of healing, peace, and goodness.

For those struggling to forgive

I want to take a moment to talk about forgiveness and what it looks like. Forgiveness is a process that occurs in the heart. Because it’s an internal process, the outward manifestation can look different. Sometimes forgiveness looks like welcoming someone back into your life, and sometimes forgiveness looks like stepping away from someone for the rest of your life. Look at Nephi. He was commanded by the Lord to leave his brothers behind, and they did not reconnect in this life. Forgiveness does not always look the same on the outside, and it doesn’t mean that you have to invite a dangerous person back into your life.

But let’s examine forgiveness in the heart for a moment.

Doctrine and Covenants 64:11 And ye ought to say in your hearts–let God judge between me and thee, and reward thee according to thy deeds.

God will judge, and He will judge perfectly.

Forgiving doesn’t mean the other person gets off easily. It doesn’t necessarily mean you’re enabling them to go on hurting others. That’s not what forgiveness is about. God sees all, and He will judge accordingly. He’s not going to let someone come into heaven and destroy it with manipulation or harm. I think sometimes we’re afraid to forgive because we’re afraid of getting hurt. Fortunately, we have a loving Heavenly Father who separates people according to the goodness they offer those around them. If He has forgiven someone, it’s because they’re prepared to be different.

Going back to our previous example, I’m going to postulate again. In this specific imaginary scenario, I believe that the girl (the one who Heavenly Father judged was safe and worthy) will be so grateful for her healed mind. I believe that despite what she went through, she will also feel horrified by how her actions harmed another person. I believe that so much of what we experience in the next life is coming to terms with what happened to us and what we did to others in our mortal life.

You can let go and trust God to handle it perfectly. You can trust that you’re safe and will be healed. That is a process, and you don’t need to harangue yourself if it takes a while, but working towards it will free you. Forgiveness has everything to do with you and finding peace again. If you want to heal from damage caused by another person, you have to dig down deep and find love for that person. You have to sincerely want them to heal and make better choices and stop harming others. That is where you’re going to find the freedom and peace the Lord means for you to have.

I testify of a loving Savior who will protect and heal the innocent. I testify of a Father in Heaven who is a perfect judge. I testify that He teaches us principles that are meant to bless us, and I testify that forgiveness is one of those principles.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 64–66 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Overcoming Fear, Comparison, and Inaction in the Light of ChristWhat does it really mean to be ready to meet the Savior—at His Second Coming or at the end of our mortal journey?

In his message Personal Preparation to Meet the Savior, Elder Dale G. Renlund teaches that Christ’s return should not fill us with fear, but with hope. Using three parables from Matthew 25, Elder Renlund outlines a pattern of preparation not based on dramatic change or public deeds, but on quiet, faithful consistency.

At the heart of this preparation is a personal reckoning: Are we living as the Savior invited us to live—or are we holding back out of fear, comparison, or self-doubt? Elder Renlund urges us to:

Overcome fear by trusting Christ more than uncertainty.
Stop comparing by recognizing that the Lord measures our faithfulness, not our resumes.
Act in faith with what we uniquely have, knowing that our offerings, however small, are precious to Him.

These teachings are not abstract ideals—they are the daily, deliberate choices of discipleship. Whether we meet the Savior at His coming or at our life’s end, Elder Renlund reminds us that we prepare by living our covenants, serving others, and embracing the person God created us to become.

Apologetic Issues: Readiness and Individual Worth in ChristCriticism: The Church teaches that Latter-day Saints must earn their way into heaven by being good enough, which causes unnecessary fear and perfectionism.

Response: Elder Renlund directly addresses this fear-based misconception: “God will be disappointed if we do not rely upon the merits, mercy, and grace of the Savior.” Latter-day Saint doctrine affirms that we are saved by Jesus Christ, not by our own perfection. Personal preparation does not mean performing flawlessly—it means trusting the Savior, repenting daily, and moving forward with hope. The parables Renlund teaches from (especially the wise virgins and talents) demonstrate that the Lord does not expect us to have identical gifts or results—only faith-filled effort rooted in covenant trust. The Savior’s grace magnifies our sincere efforts, no matter how small, and prepares us to meet Him.

Common Fallacy: Straw Man – Misrepresenting someone’s position to make it easier to attack.
This criticism misrepresents Latter-day Saint beliefs by creating a straw man, suggesting that we believe in salvation by self-sufficiency.Correction: True doctrine emphasizes covenant partnership with Christ. As we do our part—however imperfectly—He fulfills the rest with mercy, power, and love.

Social Issue: Comparison Culture and Spiritual AnxietyQuestion: If I’m not as spiritual, talented, or successful as others, does that mean I’m not ready to meet God? The effects of Comparison Culture and Spiritual Anxiety.

Response: Elder Renlund offers a powerful reassurance: “That we may start with differing abilities is irrelevant to Him. And it should be to us.” The Lord judges our hearts, not our highlight reels. The parable of the talents teaches that the reward was the same for both servants who magnified their gifts—regardless of how much they were originally given. Fear, comparison, and hesitation come from the adversary. Christ invites us to prepare by becoming our best selves, not someone else’s version of righteousness.

Common Fallacy: False Equivalence – Treating two unequal things as if they are the same.
This concern commits a False Equivalence Fallacy, assuming that differing spiritual gifts or outward accomplishments equal differing value in God’s eyes.
Correction: Readiness is not measured by outward status, but by inward commitment and humble effort.

Apologetic Application: Divine Stewardship and Individual AccountabilityCore Doctrine: God entrusts each soul with divine gifts, and He holds us accountable not for equality of outcome, but for faithful effort. This stewardship model is rooted in love, agency, and grace—not perfectionism or performance pressure.

The doctrine of divine stewardship teaches that God entrusts each of us with unique abilities, opportunities, and spiritual responsibilities—and that He judges us not by comparison with others, but by our individual faithfulness. As taught in Doctrine and Covenants 11:7, “every man may receive his own reward, according to his own labor,” and Mosiah 4:27 reminds us that the Lord does not require more than we have the strength to give. Elder Renlund builds on this eternal principle through the parable of the talents, affirming that what matters most is not how much we begin with, but how faithfully we magnify our God-given stewardship. Our efforts must be rooted not in fear or perfectionism, but in trusting “the merits, mercy, and grace of the Savior” to lift and magnify what we offer.

Defending Core Beliefs1⃣ Salvation is through Christ, not performance. Some critics claim that Latter-day Saints believe salvation must be earned through personal righteousness or works-based perfection. But the restored gospel clearly teaches that we are saved by grace through the merits, mercy, and grace of Jesus Christ. Our actions—like keeping covenants, serving others, and repenting—are not attempts to earn heaven but demonstrations of our faith in the Savior and willingness to follow Him. As Elder Renlund teaches, God will be disappointed not if we fail to be perfect, but if we fail to trust Christ enough to magnify what we’ve been given. Our works are the fruit of discipleship, not the currency of salvation.

2⃣ Spiritual success is unique, not uniform. A frequent misconception is that faithful discipleship in the Church looks the same for everyone—public callings, confident testimonies, measurable results. But Elder Renlund affirms that God honors individual effort, not comparison. Whether we begin with five talents or one, what matters to the Lord is our willingness to act in faith with what we’ve been given. “That we may start with differing abilities is irrelevant to Him. And it should be to us.” In other words, the covenant path is deeply personal. It includes quiet service, unseen growth, and small victories—each sacred to God. Readiness to meet the Savior is not about visibility; it’s about sincere, covenantal living in partnership with Christ.

Practical Apologetic Use: This doctrine clarifies that God’s expectations are individually tailored and merciful. It removes shame from spiritual comparison and replaces it with Christ-centered accountability. For those who feel “not enough,” this doctrine reorients the question from “Am I as good as others?” to “Am I offering what I uniquely can?”

Historical and Doctrinal ConnectionsDivine Stewardship Then and Now: Trusting the Lord with Our Unique Gifts

In August 1831, several elders returned from visiting Zion without having shared the gospel as they were commanded. Some were bold, but others had hesitated—“because of the fear of man” (D&C 60:2). The Lord’s response was not harsh condemnation, but clear, compassionate correction:

“Thou shalt not idle away thy time, neither shalt thou bury thy talent that it may not be known” (D&C 60:13).

Like the Savior’s parable of the talents (Matthew 25), these revelations underscore a timeless truth: God gives us specific gifts and expects us to use them faithfully, not fearfully. This principle echoes through Elder Renlund’s talk, where he reminds us that:

“The Savior expects us to use our gifts, talents, and abilities to bless the lives of Heavenly Father’s children, especially the most vulnerable and needy.”

The revelations in Doctrine and Covenants 60–63 reinforce the same spiritual pattern Elder Renlund teaches in his message: to overcome fear, stop comparing, and act in faith with what we’ve been given. In D&C 60:2, the Lord gently rebukes those who “hide the talent… because of the fear of man,” and in verse 13, He adds, “Neither shalt thou bury thy talent.” These early disciples were not condemned for failure, but for inaction rooted in fear—just like the unprofitable servant in Christ’s parable. In contrast, D&C 62:3 reassures faithful missionaries that even simple testimonies “are recorded in heaven for the angels to look upon,” and D&C 63:47 promises that “he that is faithful and endureth shall overcome the world.” Taken together, these verses illustrate a clear doctrinal and historical continuity: from New Testament parables to early Restoration revelation to modern apostolic teaching, the Lord consistently invites His followers to trust Him, use their gifts, and prepare to meet Him—not with anxiety, but with humble, faithful effort.

Living Apologetics: Becoming the Disciple God Meant You to Be How can we help others understand that faithful discipleship is not about perfection or comparison, but about acting in trust with what we’ve been given?

Principle in Practice: “Why were you not the man I gave you the capacity to be?”This piercing question from Elder Renlund challenges the idea that we must match others’ gifts, visibility, or impact to matter in the eyes of God. Our faithfulness matters—even when it’s quiet, unseen, or imperfect.

1⃣ Normalize spiritual individuality.Many people—both within and outside the Church—struggle with feeling spiritually inadequate because they don’t serve in visible roles, express themselves eloquently, or have the same spiritual strengths as others. But God’s expectations are not based on comparison but on personal stewardship. A powerful way to offer reassurance is to gently testify that the Lord doesn’t expect uniformity—He expects sincerity and faithfulness in our unique sphere of influence. This doctrine removes shame from spiritual differences and replaces it with divine confidence: “The Lord needs you to be you.”

2⃣ Counter perfectionistic doubts with covenant-centered confidence.It’s common for people to feel overwhelmed by the idea of preparing for the Second Coming or meeting the Savior, especially when they view spiritual readiness as a standard of flawlessness. Elder Renlund helps shift that mindset by teaching that preparation is not about performance—it’s about faithfulness and trust in Christ’s enabling power. The Savior’s parables show that the real danger is not being imperfect—it’s doing nothing out of fear. The covenant path is not a race to perfection but a steady walk with Jesus, whose “loving assistance” transforms our sincere efforts into something holy. When someone expresses anxiety about not being enough, we can bear testimony that covenant-keeping is not about earning salvation—it’s about building a relationship with Christ, who makes us whole.

Top Apologetic Facts 1. Fearful inaction is spiritually hazardous.In Doctrine and Covenants 60, missionaries were rebuked not for failure, but for fearful inaction—a pattern echoed in the parable of the talents. Both remind us that inaction born of fear is spiritually hazardous.
2. Improvement and progression are individual.Elder Renlund teaches that God’s expectations are shaped by our circumstances and capacity (see also Mosiah 4:27). He does not judge us against others, but invites us to be our best selves through Christ.
3. Consistent, sincere effort pleases God.Sharing your testimony, using your unique gifts, and serving others—even imperfectly—are sacred ways to prepare for the Savior. Consistent, sincere effort matters to God far more than visible success.

Conclusion: Becoming Who God Meant You to BeElder Dale G. Renlund’s message is a powerful reminder that preparing to meet the Savior is not about becoming someone extraordinary—it’s about becoming exactly who God created us to be. We do this by trusting Him enough to overcome fear, letting go of unhelpful comparisons, and acting in faith with whatever gifts He’s entrusted to us.

This doctrine doesn’t just build our personal faith—it offers clarity and hope to those who feel overwhelmed, inadequate, or unsure of their standing before God. Whether you’re helping a friend who feels unworthy, or wrestling with your own fear of not measuring up, Elder Renlund’s message replaces pressure with peace.

Are you becoming the best version of yourself?

The post Prepared to Meet Him appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

The Church in Ohio, August–November 1831 (D&C sections 63–69)by Mike Parker

Class Notes

Additional Reading

President J. Reuben Clark Jr., “When Are the Writings and Sermons of Church Leaders Entitled to the Claim of Scripture?,” address to Seminary and Institute personnel at BYU, 7 July 1954.
Kirtland, City of Revelation: A Joseph Smith Papers Podcast is an eight-part documentary miniseries that explores the way men and women flocked to Kirtland in the 1830s to hear the voice of God through the prophet Joseph Smith. The episodes consider Kirtland as a site of abundant revelation and the place where church leaders organized much of the church. The episodes also illuminate how Joseph Smith was intent on teaching church members in Kirtland how to hear the voice of God themselves. Series host Spencer W. McBride interviewed historians and Church leaders for this podcast.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 63–69 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Faith and Signsby Autumn Dickson

Ezra Booth was a Methodist preacher who joined the church after witnessing Joseph Smith heal Alice Johnson’s arm. He later left the church and published material that was particularly antagonistic. Despite witnessing a miracle, Ezra didn’t hold on to his faith.

We see this time and time and time again throughout the scriptures. Signs are insufficient conversion tools. I’ve spoken about signs before, but I want to talk about it on a more individual level today. Let’s cover the basics and then bring it into our personal lives. Here is some of what the Lord has to say about seeking signs.

Doctrine and Covenants 63:7, 9

7 And he that seeketh signs shall see signs, but not unto salvation.

9 But, behold, faith cometh not by signs, but signs follow those that believe.

Let’s break these down just a bit.

Verse 7. He that looks for signs will receive them, but it won’t bring salvation. In my mind, the Lord is saying, “The signs are already there, and I’ll send you signs, but it won’t do you any good because you don’t believe.” The same people will look at the complexity of the earth and see completely different origins. There are signs, but they’re not going to change you or bring you the full extent of happiness if you don’t believe there is a Creator behind it.

Verse 9. You don’t receive faith from signs. You see the signs when you have faith. Faith is a conscious choice that you make of your own accord, and then you start to see. Here is a quote from one of my all-time favorite BYU speeches given by Lawrence E. Corbridge.

“I don’t know if pigs will ever sprout wings and fly, but if they do, flying pigs will never be nearly as amazing as the ordinary pig in the first place.”

If you have faith, the pig is the miracle. Everything the Lord has already given us is a miracle and a “sign.”

Faith comes first.

Now, many of us have already made the conscious choice to believe in the restored gospel. We go to church every week and we attend the temple and pray and follow the commandments. We profess that we believe, so what do these verses mean for us? Let’s look at a few different ways that they could apply to someone who already believes in God.

Revelation

Interestingly enough, there’s another verse from this week that can get tied into the message I’m trying to cover today.

A revelation was given on the banks of the Missouri river. The Lord said a few things in this revelation, but one of the things that He taught these elders was that they could choose to travel how they wanted.

Doctrine and Covenants 62:8 These things remain with you to do according to judgment and the directions of the Spirit.

Revelation can feel tricky, but it’s an enormously powerful tool that is life-changing. I had the fortunate experience of being raised in a home where I was taught to seek revelation, but unfortunately, I occasionally took it to the extreme. I had such a hard time moving forward unless the Lord had told me to do so. I did seek signs for everything, and you can imagine that might cause problems.

Sometimes I would “find” signs that I believed He had sent when it was actually in my own mind. I had a hard time accepting the idea that He was choosing to be silent so that I could make decisions for myself. Other times, I would come to the conclusion that He was mad at me or that I wasn’t being good enough to receive revelation. Other times, I would just panic and stay confused rather than making a decision that sounded good to me.

I often found signs, but they were not unto salvation.

The Lord wants you to make decisions because you’re training to be like Him. He’s not trying to keep you from making mistakes; He is trying to help you gain the wisdom you’ll need to do what He does. There is no other way to do that except for making your own decisions sometimes.

Sometimes we’re worried about jumping in. We’re either scared that we’ll make a mistake, take a route He doesn’t want us to follow, or we’ll somehow shoot ourselves in the foot. In reality, the Lord wants us to have faith. He wants us to trust Him to speak as necessary, course-correct when it matters, and rescue us when we paint ourselves into a corner.

As we move forward with faith in His ability to save, the signs follow! If we take the time to look back prayerfully, we’ll find that He was leading us along the whole time.

Maybe we’re not asking for signs before we’re willing to believe in God, but I do believe that sometimes we ask for signs before we’re willing to believe in Him enough that we can move forward with rejoicing. If we choose to have faith, the signs will follow after.

Feeling love or forgiveness

Here is another potential example of seeking signs because we don’t quite believe in the Savior enough.

I know far too many people who don’t quite feel the love of their Savior. Logically, they can kinda get behind it because it comes along with having a testimony of the restoration. Unfortunately, despite this general testimony of the gospel, it’s still hard for them to dive in and bask in that love and acceptance towards their own person.

This extends to other feelings such as forgiveness. When we’ve made a mistake or when we’re falling prey to a particular flaw, it can be difficult to accept that the Lord has moved on. We want a sign that we really are forgiven. We want some indisputable evidence that we’re okay, and He’s not mad anymore.

Interestingly enough, even when He does give little signs of His forgiveness, we often don’t accept the signs and we cling to those mistakes and flaws.

Trusting that the Savior loves you and forgives you is a conscious act of faith, and the faith comes first! When you have truly chosen that faith, then you have finally reached the point where you’re able to accept the signs.

This circumstance doesn’t translate perfectly, but I want to utilize it anyway because I feel like it makes it more concrete.

Conner and I have been married for eight years. That’s not long, relatively speaking, but I have learned a few lessons along the way. One of those lessons is to trust Conner and his love for me. When we argue, I have learned to find peace in the fact that I know things are going to be just fine. Arguing doesn’t mean we’re going to get divorced. It doesn’t mean that we’re going to be stuck in an unhappy marriage forever. Conner has showed up for me time and time again, and it has taught me that we’re going to come back from whatever we’ve fallen into. I don’t spiral anymore when things aren’t perfect in our marriage.

Conner’s love for me was there anyway. There are plenty of ways that he shows up for me and gives me signs of his love. However, I don’t find peace and “salvation” in that love if I don’t have faith and consequently find all the signs of his love.

Like I said, it doesn’t translate perfectly, but you get the idea. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love you even more than Conner loves me. The love is there. All the signs are there, but you can’t see them (or in the very least, you can’t trust them) without faith. Faith has to come first. You have to choose to look at your situation and believe that He loves you. You have to believe that He loves you enough to send challenges but also a Savior to pull you through it. As you choose to look at each situation as a manifestation of His love, I promise that the signs follow. You’ll see them everywhere once you start to choose faith in His love and willingness to forgive.

I testify of a Savior who loves. I testify that He is constantly showing His love. I testify that He is constantly reaching out with that love, but you have to turn on your end of the receiver. Believe and the signs will follow. That extends towards revelation as well. As you trust in Him, you’ll be able to move forward and make decisions. As you keep moving forward, you’ll be able to look back and see the signs that He’s been guiding you all along.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 60–63 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

From Passive Observers to Active Participants in God’s Prophetic Work

Have you ever assumed that the Restoration was something that happened once—and now we’re just meant to follow along?

In his deeply doctrinal message, “The Times of Restitution of All Things,” Elder David A. Bednar challenges that assumption. Quoting Acts 3:21, he draws our attention not just to what God has restored, but what He continues to restitute—through us. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was formally organized in 1830, yes—but that event was part of a prophesied restitution of all things foretold by prophets throughout time. And we are not merely witnesses to it—we are meant to be agents in it.

Elder Bednar’s invitation is clear: learn the message, prove it for yourself, and act on it. The Restoration isn’t only about what God did through Joseph Smith—it’s about what He is now doing through each of us. So the question is: Are we content to be acted upon? Or will we choose to act in faith as disciples in the final dispensation?

Apologetic Issues: Restoration and ApostasyMisconception: Many members believe the Restoration was a one-time historical event completed through Joseph Smith. Others concede the idea of an “ongoing restoration” but assume that only Church leaders receive revelation and direction, leaving ordinary members to simply follow.

Response: Elder Bednar reframes this entirely: the Restoration was only the beginning of the “restitution of all things” (Acts 3:21). This restitution includes not only restored priesthood, ordinances, and doctrine—but also our individual participation in fulfilling prophecy. Elder Bednar teaches that each of us is to “learn about and prove this message,” actively preparing the world for the Second Coming.

Common Fallacy: False Dichotomy – Presenting only two options when more exist.
Correction: Elder Bednar adds a third, crucial truth: The Restoration inaugurated a restitution that requires each of us to engage—studying, praying, acting, and helping to fulfill God’s promises.

Criticism: Critics often argue that there was no “Great Apostasy,” and that the early Christian Church has continued uninterrupted through history. In their eyes, the Apostasy is an LDS invention justifying the need for a new Church.

Response: Elder Bednar (quoting the Restoration Proclamation) affirms that after the death of Christ’s original Apostles, “Christ’s New Testament Church was lost from the earth.” The Restoration was not about dismissing past faith, but about restoring priesthood authority, covenants, and organization through a divinely appointed prophet. This directly fulfills the biblical promise of a future restitution.

Common Fallacy: Straw Man – Misrepresenting a position to make it easier to attack.
Correction: The Church does not claim that all truth disappeared—only that authority and fullness had to be restored by divine means.

Apologetic Application: The Apostasy, Restoration and RestitutionCore Doctrine: The Great Apostasy refers to the loss of priesthood authority and gospel fullness. What began with Joseph Smith is part of a broader restitution (Acts 3:21)—one that invites us to actively participate in preparing the world for Christ’s return.

This doctrine helps clarify why the Restoration was not just about correcting teachings or starting a new church—it was about divinely reestablishing Christ’s original authority, ordinances, and covenants. It affirms that the Church today stands not only as a restored institution but as the prophesied means of gathering Israel, sealing families, and preparing for the Second Coming. Recognizing that we live in the era of restitution reframes our role as disciples—not as observers of sacred history, but as active partners in the fulfillment of God’s work on earth.

Defending Core Beliefs

1⃣ The Apostasy and Restoration were prophesied. The Apostasy was prophesied (2 Thessalonians 2:3; Amos 8:11–12), and the Restoration was needed to return authority and ordinances to the earth. Prophets and apostles foresaw a falling away from truth and priesthood power, which made a divine intervention necessary. The Restoration through Joseph Smith wasn’t just a revival—it was a re-establishment of the Church with the same authority and covenants Christ originally gave.

2⃣ Restitution is participatory.
It includes each of us gaining a testimony and acting in faith to help fulfill God’s promises. Rather than being spectators to prophecy, we are agents commissioned to act. Through missionary work, temple service, personal revelation, and teaching others, we take part in the fulfillment of Acts 3:21 as co-laborers in the Lord’s ongoing work.

Practical Apologetic Use: Rather than viewing the Restoration as a completed chapter in Church history, Elder Bednar urges us to see it as the opening act in an ongoing divine process. The year 1830 marked the official organization of the Church, but it was just the beginning of a sweeping restitution that continues to unfold. Understanding this helps us reframe our role—not as bystanders in a finished work, but as engaged participants in the prophesied gathering, teaching, and temple work that defines this dispensation.

Historical and Doctrinal ConnectionsIn Acts 3:21, Peter foretells a future time when God would orchestrate the “restitution of all things.” Elder Bednar links this to modern revelation:

The Savior’s restored Church is being established throughout the world and is the instrument by which God will ‘gather together in one all things in Christ.’

Come, Follow Me Connection:This week’s study includes Doctrine and Covenants 58:26–29, a passage that beautifully complements Elder Bednar’s message. The Lord teaches that He does not intend to “command in all things”—instead, He calls us as disciples to be “anxiously engaged in a good cause” and to act “of their own free will.” Elder Bednar’s invitation to “learn about and prove this message” reflects that same divine expectation. We were never intended to experience the Restoration as a passive spectator; each of us is meant to be an active participant through initiative, faith, and agency.

Living Apologetics: How to Apply This Today We are not passive recipients of restored truth—we are participants in the restitution of all things.

Principle in Practice: We need to be engaged in the restitution of all things1⃣ Explain That Priesthood Authority Had to Be Restored:

Many Christians believe that the Church merely needed reformation, not restoration. But Elder Bednar testifies that priesthood authority and saving ordinances were lost and had to be restored by heavenly messengers—not simply rediscovered through scholarship. When someone questions why a Restoration was necessary, explain that authority from God can’t be self-appointed or inherited through tradition; it had to be divinely conferred once again.

2⃣ Emphasize Personal Revelation as a Covenant Expectation:

While we often associate revelation with prophets, Elder Bednar reminds us that each disciple is invited to receive answers and direction from God. Revelation isn’t reserved for leadership—it’s foundational to our covenant relationship with Him. You might say: “One of the greatest truths of the Restoration is that each of us can ask, seek, and receive.”

Top Apologetic Facts 1. The Church Was Organized After Key Restorations – The formal organization of the Church on April 6, 1830, occurred after priesthood authority had been restored by John the Baptist and the Apostles, and the Book of Mormon had been translated and published. This sequence emphasizes that the Church is built upon divinely conferred authority—not human ambition or historical tradition.
2. Restitution Means Ongoing Fulfillment – Restitution, as used in Acts 3:21 and by Elder Bednar, means more than restoring what was lost—it means bringing to pass everything prophesied, promised, and covenanted in all previous dispensations. It includes temple covenants, family sealing, gathering Israel, and preparing for the Second Coming.
3. Testimony Is Gained Through Action – Elder Bednar promises that those who “learn about and prove this message” will be blessed with their own divine witness. This underscores that faith is not passive; it is a process of seeking, acting, and receiving. Living the gospel is how we come to know it is true.

ConclusionThe Restoration of the gospel was not the end of a story—it was the beginning of a divine unfolding. Elder David A. Bednar reminds us that we are not merely inheritors of restored truth, but agents in a continuing restitution—a prophetic work that gathers, heals, and prepares the world for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

We are invited to learn, to prove, and to act. The Lord trusts us to move forward without needing to be “compelled in all things” (D&C 58:26), and He has placed power within us to participate in fulfilling prophecy, not just observe it.

So let’s ask ourselves: Am I waiting to be acted upon—or am I fully engaged in the restitution of all things?

The Savior’s restored Church is being established throughout the world and is the instrument by which God will ‘gather together in one all things in Christ.’

The post The Times of Restitution Are Now appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Be Perfectby Autumn Dickson

The Savior appears and starts teaching the people immediately. He elaborates on fulfilling the Law of Moses and lays out His higher law for the future. He teaches them about a million different things from prayer to judging to His personal characteristics. There is so much.

In the very first section of the Come Follow Me manual, we find one of the most intimidating exhortations.

3 Nephi 12:48 Therefore I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect.

The Lord commands us to be perfect. I think logically we all understand that the Lord doesn’t expect us to be perfect just yet. We understand that the entire reason He suffered the atonement was because He knew that we wouldn’t be perfect. So why command it? Why give us what we can’t live up to?

There are two critical understandings we need in order to understand how and why the Lord gave us the commandment to be perfect.

Waiting until we were “ready”

Understanding why the Lord would give us such a commandment can be better understood when we observe the context of the rest of His teachings in this chapter. Christ is teaching about his fulfillment of the Law of Moses all leading up to that last verse in chapter 12 where He asks us to be perfect like Him and His Father. The sequence of this is significant, and it can teach us a lot about what He is asking and why He is asking. Context and purpose are everything if we hope to fulfill what He desires of us.

Let’s look at the context of what the Savior is teaching so that we can understand His purpose.

The Lord gave the Law of Moses back in the time where the Israelites had just been freed from slavery. He didn’t do this because He has lesser standards for different groups of people. In the end, we will receive all that the Lord has by living as the Lord lives. There is no other way to find those blessings. And yet, the Lord gave the Law of Moses because He understood that they had just come out of slavery. Their understanding of morality was childlike at best. They likely believed that life was one big test of whether you get caught when you do something wrong rather than doing right when no one is looking.

The Lord understood this, and He didn’t punish them for it. He never lowered the standards for the Israelites; He merely gave them a stepping stone. One day, if we wish to live the kind of life that He lives, every single one of us will have to live according to this higher law and we will have to live it perfectly. But the Israelites needed a stepping stone before they were prepared as a whole society for a higher law, and the Lord is wise enough and loving enough to give that stepping stone.

As the people spent more and more time away from slavery, and as generations passed and trauma slowly healed, the people became more prepared for this higher law. However, it’s significant to understand that even though they were becoming more prepared, they weren’t “ready” for this higher law in the sense that they would be able to keep it immediately. They had grown in their capacity to do what’s right after having the Law of Moses for so long, but they still weren’t capable of living the higher law perfectly yet. The Lord didn’t give them the higher law because they could live it perfectly; He gave it to them so that they could become capable of living it perfectly.

And that is critical understanding number one: The Lord gave us the commandment to be perfect because if He had waited until we were ready to be perfect immediately, we would have never become perfect because we wouldn’t have strived for it. The only way for us to fulfill that commandment was to begin striving for it.

Think of it in this manner. I teach my kids to control their tempers and not hit each other. My six year old isn’t even ready to live this law perfectly. When Warner comes after Evelyn, torturing her over and over, she eventually gives in and chases him around the house until she catches him and can tackle him.

Emotionally, she is unprepared to live my law of loving her brother enough to control her temper. Logically, she’s not capable of sinning yet because she’s not eight. One could make the argument that I’m cruel for expecting something of her she can’t do, something that she’s not even guilty for yet. But I feel like most of us can understand that that’s a stupid argument.

I give her the law. I don’t do it because I believe she’s capable yet. I don’t have expectations for her to fulfill it perfectly. I give her the law because I want her to start practicing. She will never learn to not hit if I wait until she’s ready to live it perfectly before I give it as a law.

The same goes for the exhortation to be perfect. He didn’t give us this commandment because we were ready to live it right now. He didn’t give it to us so He could hold it against us. He gave it to us so we would have a standard to look to, something to work towards, something to strive towards. The perfecting process would have been held off indefinitely if it wasn’t given as the standard.

The Lord already won

When I think about the Lord commanding us to be perfect, I think of Nephi.

Nephi was commanded to go and get the brass plates in Jerusalem. He hadn’t even left for Jerusalem when he testified that the Lord never gives a commandment unless He opens the way to fulfill that commandment. Nephi “failed” more than once in his attempts. He didn’t agonize over his failed attempts. He didn’t worry that the Lord had disowned him. He kept believing that the Lord would provide a way, and the Lord did. Each misstep and obstacle that Nephi experienced weren’t true failures; they were steps he had to live through in order to be ready to be led by the Lord. Because of his simple belief that the Lord would provide the way, Nephi had already won the battle. He had basically already received the plates before even leaving for Jerusalem because of that simple faith that the Lord would provide the way. You can’t fail with the Lord on your team.

Our second critical understanding in relation to the commandment to be perfect is this: The Lord already provided the way. He already won. Our destiny to be perfect is set and coming if we simply continue trying.

The Lord has provided the way for us to become perfect. He believes in us. He stands ready to teach us everything we need to learn, to guide us through each experience and failure we desperately need in order to actually fulfill that commandment to become perfect. Like Nephi, we have nothing to fear. If we love the Lord and keep trying, then we are 100% safe. The Lord paid for our sins and already won the battle. That means that all of the missteps and failures and obstacles are not evidence that we have failed His commandment; they are opportunities to step towards that commandment. They are precisely what we need to become perfect.

The commandment to be perfect is a gift, not a measuring stick with which to beat ourselves. If we look at it in the manner in which the Lord gave it to us, we will see it for what it is. We will see it as a glimpse of what He has in store for us. We will see it as our ultimate end, our literal destiny, if we simply continue trying. The commandment to be perfect is the ultimate testament to His love, a sign that He literally wants everything for us.

Being perfect was always your destiny. It is your birthright as a literal son or daughter of God. It is something you will grow into. It was given to you now so that you could work towards it, not so you get it right the first time.

In summary, there are two critical understandings when we think about the Lord’s commandment to be perfect.

If the Lord had waited to give the commandment, we never would have made it because we never would have strived for it. He had to give it to us before we were ready so we could grow.

The second critical understanding is that the Lord will provide the way. Work towards that perfection without all of the pressure. The pressure adds nothing to your journey except discouragement and extra exhaustion. The pressure was on the Lord to live perfectly and fulfill the atonement, and He already won. Now we just keep practicing, and we’ll get there.

I believe in a Lord who does everything for our benefit. I believe that every tender mercy comes from Him, and I believe that all of the obstacles and failures we’re experiencing on earth can be turned into gifts when combined with the power of His atonement. They can become contributions towards that ultimate goal of perfection because they can be powerful learning tools. We have every reason to rejoice in the Lord and trust Him.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 3 Nephi 12–16 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Jesus Christ’s ministry among the people of Nephi, part 1(3 Nephi 8–18)by Mike Parker

(Mike Parker is a long-time FAIR member who has graciously allowed us to use materials he originally prepared for the Hurricane Utah Adult Religion Class. The scripture passages covered in his lessons don’t conform exactly to the Come, Follow Me reading schedule, so they will be shared here where they fit best. This post will cover the content for the next two weeks, plus part of the following week.)

Class Notes

Additional Reading

John W. Welch explains that everything in 3 Nephi, especially the ministry of the Savior, echoes themes related to the temple and the presence of the Lord in the Holy of Holies. Welch, “Seeing Third Nephi as the Holy of Holies of the Book of Mormon,” Journal of the Book of Mormon and Other Restoration Scripture 19, no. 1 (2010): 36–55.

The great destructions and thick darkness in the Book of Mormon lands described in 3 Nephi 8 have all the indications of intense volcanic activity. Several Latter-day Saint scientists have written about this; their conclusions are summarized in these brief articles from Book of Mormon Central:

“What Caused The Darkness And Destruction In The 34th Year? (KnoWhy #197),” 28 September 2016.
“Is There Evidence of Sunken Cities in Ancient America? (KnoWhy #429),” 1 May 2018.
“Is There Evidence for Great Destruction in the Land Northward at the Death of Christ? (KnoWhy #530),” 6 September 2019.

Immediately before Jesus’s appearance at the temple in Bountiful, the people there “were showing one to another the great and marvelous change which had taken place great” (3 Nephi 11:1). What was this “great and marvelous change”? Clifford Jones argues that it refers to “the essential, infinite change wrought by the Atonement.” (Jones, “The Great and Marvelous Change: An Alternate Interpretation,” Journal of the Book of Mormon and Other Restoration Scripture 19, no. 2 (2010): 50–63.)

When Jesus appeared at Bountiful, “the whole multitude” of the people there “fell to the earth.” (3 Nephi 11:12) This description echoes Lehi₁’s dream of the tree of life, in which he saw “multitudes” of people who “did press their way forward, continually holding fast to the rod of iron, until they came forth and fell down and partook of the fruit of the tree.” (1 Nephi 8:30) For more on the connections between these two passages, see Matthew L. Bowen, “‘They Came Forth and Fell Down and Partook of the Fruit of the Tree’: Proskynesis in 3 Nephi 11:12–19 and 17:9–10 and Its Significance,” Studies in the Bible and Antiquity 5 (2013): 63–89.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 3 Nephi 8–18 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Giving Your Broken Heartby Autumn Dickson

We have reached the crowning jewel of The Book of Mormon. We have reached the climax, the epitome, the purpose of The Book of Mormon. Christ has arrived to reach out to His people in other parts of the world.

When Christ’s voice pierces the darkness that the Nephites and Lamanites had found themselves in, He started to teach them immediately. He proclaims the destruction, but He also invites them to come and be healed. Before He even directly appears before them, His voice teaches them that the Law of Moses has been fulfilled. Of all the things the Lord could have chosen to express with His voice through the darkness, one of the things He chose to tell them was that the Law of Moses was no longer in effect. While this may seem like a slightly less significant happening when compared to all the destruction and His literal presence amongst these people, it heralded the incoming of a higher law. It brought about the new way to draw closer to Christ, and this new way would become the standard for all the generations afterwards (including our’s). It was a big deal that the Law of Moses had been fulfilled. It is a big deal that we have been given new ways to approach Christ and learn of Him.

Christ visited the Nephites and Lamanites. Living according to His new law is how we invite Him to visit us, to make Him a part of our lives.

Here is how Christ told them about the fulfilled Law of Moses.

3 Nephi 9:19-20

19 And ye shall offer up unto me no more the shedding of blood; yea, your sacrifices and your burnt offerings shall be done away, for I will accept none of your sacrifices and your burnt offerings.

20 And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost, even as the Lamanites, because of their faith in me at the time of their conversion, were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not.

Christ will no longer accept sacrifices according to the Law of Moses. He doesn’t want burnt offerings or the shedding of blood. He wants a different kind of sacrifice. He wants us to offer the sacrifice of a broken heart and a contrite spirit.

The way this is worded is fascinating to me. When we think of sacrifice, we often picture giving up something we really love and adore. We believe that we’re going to receive something back which is the whole reason we agree to it. However, we are still giving up something that holds worth for us.

Which is why I find this new law so interesting. I can understand why Christ would ask for a broken heart and contrite spirit. It makes sense when you understand that the Lord is trying to change us, and a willingness to change often helps that process. However, Christ specifically asked for these things as a sacrifice. What can we learn from the way He worded this?

Broken hearts hold value

If Christ is asking us to offer up broken hearts and contrite spirits as a sacrifice, it implies the idea that these things are valuable to us. If you were to list things that were valuable to you, a “broken heart” might not be at the top of the list. And yet, sometimes our actions and underlying feelings can give us greater hints about what we value than our logical minds.

For example, I can talk all day long about how much I love my kids. However, I remember an experience one day where I was praying for them. I wasn’t at my best at that particular point in my life and so I started praying that they would feel my love even though I wasn’t showing it very well at the time. I think there are appropriate times to pray for that. However, in that particular moment, the Spirit whispered to me that I had prayed for the wrong thing. I loved my kids, but I wasn’t valuing them sufficiently at that time. How could I expect the Lord to just help them feel prioritized when I wasn’t actually prioritizing them? I could talk about how much I loved them all day, but until it changed how I was acting and feeling, then I was really just loving myself. I could tell you that I loved my kids more than myself, but my actions and underlying feelings during that time period were hinting at something different.

The same goes for a broken heart. We may not consciously value our broken hearts, but why do we sometimes withhold our broken hearts? Why do we hide our vulnerability? Why do we often continue to kick against the pricks rather than allowing our spirits to feel contrite? We’re not doing it for funsies, so there must be some reason we want to hold onto these things rather than handing them over to the Lord.

I had an experience some time last year; I believe it illustrates a time when I was withholding my broken heart and when I finally released it to the Lord and the resulting experience. I want to try very hard to maintain the point of me sharing this and not get distracted by the actual subject matter. It’s important to me that we take the principle I’m trying to teach so that we can apply it to all of our different situations rather than trying to hyperfocus on what my broken heart was about.

Last year, I had a quiet moment where I started thinking about Heavenly Mother. It had never bothered me before that She was relatively unknown or that we didn’t talk about her. I hadn’t put much thought towards it up until the time I became a mother and learned what it meant to be a mother. Her role is likely far more significant than we realize, and I started to wonder if She ever felt unappreciated because everyone was so quiet about Her. She likely has much more perspective than I do, but it affected me. I held onto those feelings for a while, not willing to give up how I felt about it. It suddenly felt all wrong, and I felt very right. I held tight to that feeling of my being right.

But then I started to reflect on the relationship I had with my Heavenly Father. I thought about the Savior and how He had sacrificed so much for me. I thought about how He had shown up for me multiple times, and I reflected on how I had sincerely felt His love.

I didn’t understand why Heavenly Mother wasn’t more openly appreciated, but I decided that I’d had enough experiences with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ that I still trusted Them. Instead of holding onto my rightness, I held onto the relationship I had with Them. I turned to pray, and I remember asking, “Why?” but how I asked that question had suddenly changed dramatically.

Rather than asking, “Why?” in my determined rightness, I asked, “Why?” but I also mentally said, “Okay.” I let my heart feel sad over the issue, and I turned to Him for comfort regarding the issue. I gave Him my broken heart.

I’m not going to go into detail regarding the answer I received. It was very personal to me, and I believe that my answer was for me. He spoke to me in a way that I understood, and it changed everything. I don’t want to talk about how He answered me. I want to highlight the fact that giving my broken heart to Him changed things for me. I had held onto my broken heart believing that I was right in doing so, but the experience of giving it up had been beautiful, and I’m so grateful I did.

Different circumstances require giving up your broken heart

I believe that with certain issues throughout our lives, it’s going to be an elaborate dance as we work towards having that kind of experience. Handing your broken heart to the Lord has to be done in your heart; it’s not something you can fake or force. It requires examining where you’re at and accepting where you’re at so that the Lord can work with where you’re at.

I have very little advice on how to go about this elaborate dance of handing your broken heart over to the Lord because that process has been so different for different circumstances in my life. The Lord has had to patiently walk me through that process because half of the time, I didn’t even realize I was withholding a broken heart. He would have to guide me in how to experience my feelings before handing them over to be worked through with Him. I guess my only true advice is to turn to Him. You can even ask Him to walk you through the process because you don’t know how to do it on your own. You don’t have to know how to hand it over to Him; He can teach you how if you ask.

I believe that handing over your broken heart can be related to issues you don’t understand in the church. I believe that it can relate to personal circumstances when you don’t understand why He allowed you to enter into certain trials. I believe that anything that can break our hearts can be taken to the Lord.

I also believe that handing over your broken heart or finding your way towards a contrite spirit can often feel like a sacrifice. You have to sacrifice your pride and question whether you see the whole picture. You have to sacrifice your desire for Him to just fix things instead of allowing mortality to take its course. You have to sacrifice your desire to keep yourself safe and allow Him to step in.

I testify that it’s worth handing over. I’ve never been disappointed when I’ve handed my heart over to the Lord. I’ve also learned that the process of truly handing my broken heart over can take years of trying and failing and patience. As I’ve accepted the need to work through things and not just come to simple, clean answers, I’ve learned that this process of submitting your heart to the Lord has been a worthwhile experience. I trust Him. When He opens my eyes to the details He has adjusted in my life, I see that He has never let me down. Just like with any sacrifice, the Lord offers more than He asks for.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 3 Nephi 8–11 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Nephi Waited All Dayby Autumn Dickson

The chapters this week are full of some intense events that all occurred within a very short span of history. Within approximately 30 years, we find the almost-genocide of a religion, a major war in which an entire nation comes together to live in the same place, and a governmental collapse. I mean…how long did people even live during this time period? That’s quite the life to have.

Though there were many tragedies and anxiety, there were also great miracles. One such miracle was the birth of Christ in Bethlehem with its accompanying signs in the western world. Before this grand event, we find that almost-genocide. Non-believers were convinced that the prophesied signs of Christ’s birth had past, and they were prepared to put the believers to death.

Nephi, an immensely righteous prophet of the Lord, found himself in charge of a people who were condemned to death. Here is where we find Nephi at this particular point.

3 Nephi 1:12-13

12 And it came to pass that he cried mightily unto the Lord all that day; and behold, the voice of the Lord came unto him, saying:

13 Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the world, to show unto the world that I will fulfil all that which I have caused to be spoken by the mouth of my holy prophets.

Nephi prayed all day, and the Lord’s voice came to him, comforting him and telling him that the sign was coming soon enough to spare his people.

We love the Lord who delivers us. We love the stories of miracles when He comes in and saves the day, and we testify boldly of His sacrifice that made Him the ultimate hero.

However, do we also love the Lord who waited all day before responding to Nephi? Do we trust Him when we’re in the middle of a crisis and receiving nothing? Do we have faith in the last-second Lord and the Lord who allows for tragedy?

Nephi was a good man

In the first chapter of 3 Nephi, we find Nephi who is the son of Nephi who is the son of Helaman. Just to give you a quick recap, Nephi Sr. (the son of Helaman) was the guy who preached to the people on his garden tower about the death of the chief judge. He was also given the sealing power from the Lord in which he called down famines and wars. He was a great man. This Nephi, the son of Helaman, “departs” within the first few verses of 3 Nephi. We don’t know much about his departing, but we know that’s the last we hear of him.

Nephi Sr., son of Helaman, also named his son Nephi. So Nephi Jr. is who we’re working with right now for this post. He is the leader of a people who is about to be put to death for believing in a coming Messiah; he has also just apparently lost his father. The combination of his father’s departure and the new mantle of leader over a threatened people likely weighed on him. Think of all the new leaders we hear from. How many times have you heard them describe their feared inadequacy? How many times have we heard about new leaders feeling overwhelmed and scared of the mantle they were being given?

Nephi (I’m dropping Jr. now since we know who we’re talking about) had this mantle placed upon him at a particularly tumultuous time, both in terms of the church and his personal life. The Lord didn’t pull any punches.

If my child came to me in these particular circumstances, praying about whether they were going to be okay, I feel like I would have responded immediately. That would have my natural inclination, to immediately ease their worry and suffering on top of so much they were already feeling. I would have worked quickly to remove any burden they felt as they were trying to lead my people to be faithful.

But not so with the Lord. A day might not seem like very long to wait relatively speaking. However, the Lord was really cutting it close to crunch time. Nephi was counting down the time to the impending death of himself and his fellow congregants, awaiting the Lord’s response. I’m sure Nephi was pleading with the Lord for comfort, but I also imagine that Nephi was pleading with the Lord for direction. Should the people depart? Should they arm themselves? I’ve gotten answers to “wait” before, but Nephi was getting nothing for a while despite his seemingly pressing need.

An effectual struggle

A few months ago, we talked about Limhi and his people and their effectual struggle. As a reminder, “effectual” means to bring the intended result. We discussed how Limhi’s effectual struggle taught the people what they needed to learn. They were repenting of sin, and being released immediately from any effects of their sin would have likely just taught them, “I can do whatever I want and not experience consequences. Look! I sinned a ton, and I didn’t have any problems. I can definitely go back to sinning.” The effectual struggle did not pay for their salvation, and it wasn’t a result of the Lord exacting vengeance. The effectual struggle was a merciful, beautiful lesson given to the people of Limhi to drive them to be better and avoid their bonds.

Since that lesson, I have been taught that every struggle in mortality can become an effectual struggle with the Lord. Even when we are righteous and seeking the Lord like Nephi, the Lord still has lessons for us to learn. Effectual struggles are essential for those lessons; we couldn’t learn what we needed to learn without them. More importantly we couldn’t become what we need to become without them.

For instance, patience is a highly underrated characteristic of the Lord. We hate learning and practicing patience, but patience is one of the most beautiful characteristics the Lord has. Can you imagine where we would be if the Lord grew impatient with humanity? Someday, we will hopefully step into the shoes of the Lord and do as He does. However, that is going to require a patient being. Patience isn’t something that comes with a perfect life. You don’t learn patience as you receive enough rest, get enough alone time, or have everything sufficient for your needs. Those are beautiful gifts of eternity, but those gifts will not help you develop the patience you need to do what the Lord does, namely being patient when everything seems to be going wrong.

Only an effectual struggle can help you develop that resilience.

Sometimes we experience trials for “no” reason. We get to the end, and it didn’t feel like there was an overarching lesson or purpose. It feels random and tragic and unnecessary. However, as we turn to the Lord, perhaps we’ll recognize that sometimes the purpose is to stretch and practice our patience. You can’t become patient unless you’re given an opportunity to practice it, and we have to become patient to be exalted.

The lesson for Nephi and his people

I don’t know what lesson Nephi specifically needed to learn as the Lord remained quiet during a crucial time. Perhaps there were many lessons. Perhaps all of the followers had different lessons they needed to learn as they waited on the Lord to let them know it was going to be okay. I know that the Lord wasn’t ignoring Nephi because He was too busy, because He wanted Nephi to squirm and struggle, because He was insensitive to the things that Nephi was experiencing. No, the Lord was providing an effectual struggle.

I can guess at one potential lesson. Just like with patience, we need an opportunity to practice faith in order to increase our faith. There comes a point in your testimony where you start to feel pretty sure that God is there and aware of you. You have learned that lesson. God has shown up enough in your life that you know He’s got you. You have developed that faith.

But the Lord calls on us to stretch and grow our faith beyond that. After you know He’s there, He wants to push us to trust that He’s going to show up at the right time with everything you need. You’re not going to have to practice faith with nothing to lose. Imagine if the story we were reading was different. There was no antagonism towards the believers. There were people who didn’t believe in Christ, people who believed that the time for the sign had passed. However, these non-believers didn’t give a rip about whether others believed a sign was still coming.

The believers might have still looked forward with faith or the sign to come, but they had nothing to lose. If it never came, they didn’t really lose out on much. There was no test. There was no stretch. There was no effectual struggle. There was no opportunity to really decide whether you were going to hold on because it didn’t actually matter if you held on. The Lord gave them an opportunity to stretch when He remained silent for a time. It was an opportunity, not a punishment or a sign that He didn’t love them. It was the only way for them to become like Him.

Surely these trials can take different forms. There will be times in our lives where we receive respite and care, and we’re immensely grateful for those times and we enjoy them. However, those effectual struggles are actually the tender mercies that we came to earth for. Utilize them. You don’t have to love them. Christ didn’t love the idea of suffering in Gethsemane so don’t put pressure on yourself to grin and bear it. But utilize the opportunities you’ve been given to stretch your faith and patience and whatever other gifts come from being tested. Recognize what they are for. Don’t use them as “evidence” that you’re being punished. Use them as evidence that the Lord is preparing you. Understand that there was no other way to give us what we had asked for: a chance to be like Him.

I testify that you’re safe. I testify that the Lord is going to show up at the right time. I testify that you’re not going to be abandoned. I testify that the Lord’s overwhelming love is what drives Him to push us beyond what’s comfortable. I testify that appreciating the purpose of the effectual struggle of mortality can make our lives a fulfilling and less bitter process. If you wait on the Lord and trust Him, you are in no danger. Not really. Not when we’re talking about the eternities. We have already won so take your turn being stretched and recognize the struggle for what it is.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 3 Nephi 1–7 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Samuel prophesied; the Gadianton War & collapse of Nephite society(Helaman 13–3 Nephi 7)by Mike Parker

Class Notes

Additional Reading

Daniel C. Peterson compared the style of warfare used by the Gadaniton robbers to historical tactics employed by irregular and insurgent forces, a type of warfare that Joseph Smith was unlikely to have been familiar with: “The Gadianton Robbers as Guerrilla Warriors,” in Warfare in the Book of Mormon, ed. Stephen D. Ricks and William J. Hamblin (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book/Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1990), 162–63.
The ritual surrounding Zemnarihah’s execution (3 Nephi 4:28) has strong connections to Old Testament practices. See BMC Team, “Why Did the People Cut Down the Tree after Hanging Zemnarihah? (KnoWhy #192),” Book of Mormon Central, 21 September 2016.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Helaman 13–3 Nephi 7 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Foretold Promisesby Autumn Dickson

In the chapters for this week, we find Samuel the Lamanite. His title, “the Lamanite,” is actually very telling for this particular passage in The Book of Mormon. All throughout the history of The Book of Mormon, the Lamanites were traditionally the ones who rejected the gospel. And yet, we’ve reached a point in the timeline where the Nephites had grown extremely wicked. The Lord sent a Lamanite to go to the Nephites and preach the gospel to them.

Samuel listened and did so. He warned them of all sorts of scary things that could happen if they didn’t repent, and he was miraculously preserved as he delivered his message.

He also testified that Christ was coming.

Helaman 14:2 And behold, he said unto them: Behold, I give unto you a sign; for five years more cometh, and behold, then cometh the Son of God to redeem all those who shall believe on his name.

Samuel told the Nephites that Christ would be born back in Jerusalem in five years. Even though Christ would be born an ocean away, there were going to be all sorts of signs that would precede His birth. The night before His birth, there wouldn’t be darkness in the night. A new star would appear. There would be many signs and wonders, and many would fall to the earth in amazement and wonder.

Even though many of Samuel’s prophecies can be considered frightening, it didn’t need to scare anyone who chose to repent. Samuel even teaches that Zarahemla was currently being preserved because of the righteous people who were still in the city.

Prophets prophesy of things to come. They foretell of signs to look for. They encourage us to change our lives according to the events on Heavenly Father’s timeline. Let’s talk about it in a modern context so that this can be a more relatable principle.

In our day

I want you to imagine that President Nelson told us all that Christ was returning in five years. This will likely not happen since we’ve been taught that no one, not even the angels, know when Christ is coming. However, for the sake of applying the scriptures, let’s pretend that he did.

I’m sure there would be plenty of mockery in the world, just as there was with Samuel the Lamanite. I wonder how many people who are not of our faith would become curious over this miraculous and bold announcement. It would be an interesting day on social media to say the least.

But how would you respond? What would you change? If Christ was really coming within the next five years, what kind of feelings would you experience with this announcement?

President Nelson did not come forward last General Conference and announce the coming of the Savior, but he is a prophet and he has made pronouncements. He has admonished us in specific ways but because there is no deadline, sometimes we underestimate the importance of such guidance.

I can think of two specific ways that President Nelson’s (along with other prophets) pronouncements should change us. I want to cover the first, but I want to focus on the second.

Behavior

The first way it should change us is in our behavior.

If I knew Christ was coming, I’d probably get a bunch more food storage. I’d spend more time with my family and at the temple. I would probably cut out a lot of extra things that once felt so important to me. I would probably spend more conscious time considering how I spent my free time, reading books with tons of value in comparison to these cheap filler novels I can find on Stuff Your Kindle day. I’d spend my money differently knowing that things would change after He came.

To an extent, it’s wise to consider how we would change. It can help us refocus our priorities and remember what has true value.

However, I want to highlight the phrase, “To an extent…” It’s also important to remember that we might live another hundred years before He comes. There’s a balance there. For example, I mentioned how I would change the way I spent my time and money. We just spent the last two months trying to fix up our yard. Would I have bothered to fix it up if I knew Christ was coming? Maybe. I definitely would have reconsidered if I knew that the world was going to look different in five years.

We can’t drop everything and live our lives as though Christ is coming in five years because we don’t know whether He is, but we can consider how we would change. Pondering this idea may not dramatically change our current actions, but they might realign what we’re focusing on and worrying about.

Which leads me to my second point that I truly want to hone in on.

How we feel would change

I hope that an announcement regarding the coming of the Savior would make you feel hope over despair. I hope that the idea of facing Him would fill you with all the best kinds of anticipation. I hope that your life would feel lighter.

When we have something really exciting to look forward to, all of the days leading up to that event can often feel more exciting even though the event isn’t there yet. When you’re looking forward to a cruise or the last day of school, the anticipation can be just as fun as the event itself. I remember I used to love Fridays at school because it meant the weekend was coming. Friday was technically the same as any other day at school, but Friday felt different because I was looking forward to something.

During a district meeting on my mission, we all made lists of the blessings that we were most excited for. It was actually a really fun exercise and made me feel lighter and better even though nothing had really changed. It simply brought the anticipation of the promised blessings of the Savior to the forefront of my mind where I could enjoy them even though they weren’t here yet.

We listed blessings from the ridiculous to the deep. We were excited to hold our children, to be happy and safe in a marital relationship. We were excited to be able to fly (I don’t know if that was ever directly promised, but one could argue it’s implied). We were excited to see a beautiful world that was even prettier than what we already have. We were excited to not get the flu anymore, to see loved ones who had passed on, and to pet lions.

Like Samuel, we have modern day prophets who have warned us. However, also like Samuel, we have prophets who have taught us about the Lord’s promises, and we have every reason to rejoice in those blessings today. If we are repenting, remaining close to the Lord, and trying to be a good person, we have every reason to believe that He will bestow all that the Father has on us. That means whole and healed family relationships, healthy bodies that can move and act in tremendous and free ways, and a gorgeous setting to enjoy all of it in.

What is hurting you? What has the Lord promised you that’s adjacent to that hurt? Can you visualize it? Can you visualize the fulfillment of His merciful promises? We don’t have to be afraid of getting our hopes up. Christ has the capacity to fill our hopes beyond what we could have dreamed of. Sit in that visualization of that fulfilled promise, and let it fill you with faith. Let it fill you with a sweet and healing gratitude for your Savior.

The Savior has promised tremendous blessings. Make a conscious list of them and allow yourself to hope for them. It’s okay to still feel hurt and disappointment and sacrifice in this life as we ache to have those blessings fulfilled now. The Savior does not begrudge us feeling misery when He built the world for the very purpose of experiencing the full spectrum of life. However, when you’re ready to step out of the misery and you’ve allowed yourself to feel it sufficiently, let His promises be a balm to you. Let your anticipation of the fulfillment of these promises be as exciting as the event itself.

I testify of a Savior who is coming again even if we’re not sure when. I testify that He has the capacity to fulfill His promises; He already won! He already secured the right to give us everything our hearts desire. I testify of a Savior who also has the capacity to help you strive and reach and repent so that you’re ready to experience those blessings. If you’re worried about being able to receive those blessings because you’re worried about your ability to follow Him, then visualize the promise that there is no darkness too far where He can’t reach you and save you. And beyond pulling you from that darkness, He wants to give you more than you can imagine. He can give you more than you can imagine. Hold those promises in your heart, and let them fill you now.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Helaman 13-16 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Healed by the Saviorby Autumn Dickson

The theme of remembrance is abundant in the chapters we’ve been reading lately, and that does not cease for this week. Nephi is preaching to the people from the tower in his garden, and he starts to bring up stories that they should remember. One such story is succinctly taught in these verses.

Helaman 8:14-15

14 Yea, did he not bear record that the Son of God should come? And as he lifted up the brazen serpent in the wilderness, even so shall he be lifted up who should come.

15 And as many as should look upon that serpent should live, even so as many as should look upon the Son of God with faith, having a contrite spirit, might live, even unto that life which is eternal.

Nephi teaches the people of a story found in our Old Testament. The Israelites had been bitten by serpents and were dying. Moses lifted up a brazen serpent, and if the Israelites looked at it, they would be healed. Many looked and were saved; many did not and perished.

Such a simple concept. The Israelites were members of the church who had made covenants with God. They still found themselves in trouble throughout their lives, and in this particular instance, the solution to their problems was to simply look at a brazen serpent.

We are likewise members of the church who find ourselves in trouble throughout our lives. Is it really as simple as looking to the Savior? Is this just another way to teach the theme of remembrance? If we can simply remember to look towards the Savior, will we really find the solution to our problems?

I wholeheartedly argue yes.

Interaction with the Savior

Let’s look at the woman with the issue of blood as an example. This woman in the New Testament had been sick for years and years. She had a blood disorder of some kind that made her continually unclean. When you dive into the Law of Moses, you learn that women who were bleeding were not to be touched. They were unclean, and if you touched them, you became unclean. Though this sounds awful, I believe the Lord was actually protecting the health of His daughters during vulnerable times. After a woman was done bleeding, she needed to go and do specific washings to become clean again. Then she was allowed to be touched again.

This woman wasn’t supposed to be touched. No matter how many washings she went through for the Law of Moses, she couldn’t be healed. No matter how obedient she was to the Law of Moses, it was insufficient. Doctors during this time period couldn’t help her either.

It likely didn’t help that the Jews during this time period were all about the Law of Moses. There were all sorts of extra rules that made sure you were following the Law of Moses. It was a badge of honor to be following the Law of Moses “perfectly.” The outward ceremonies and acts of worship had become dramatic, and the people had forgotten that all of these ceremonies were meant to be pointing them towards a Savior that was coming. Obedience to the Law of Moses was inherently worthless without the coming of the Savior.

And we see the physical manifestation of this truth in this story. The woman could not wash herself clean or heal herself with obedience. She could not return to her relationships because she was untouchable. The only thing that healed her was approaching the Savior and touching the hem of his garment.

It was not obedience that healed the woman; it was approaching the Savior in faith.

That’s an important concept to master. I’m not trying to teach that obedience is unimportant. Obedience is vastly important, but it’s important for different reasons than we’re often seeking. We’re looking for obedience to save us, to heal us from our maladies, to make us happy, but obedience cannot provide that. Only a relationship with the Savior can do that.

Obedience offers many blessings. The Law of Moses was important because it was meant to open the eyes of the people so that they could recognize their Savior. It was meant to help them understand their Savior on a deeper level. It protected them. It pushed them to rise above earthly circumstances. It prepared them.

But it could not save them.

We don’t go to the temple to be healed. We go to the temple so we can more easily feel the Savior who can heal us. We don’t read our scriptures to make us happy. We read our scriptures so we can feel the Spirit and catch a glimpse of the presence of the Savior to make us happy. We don’t pray to get what we need; we commune with our Heavenly Father and Savior so we can find solace, adjust our lives according to their foreknowledge, and learn to trust in Their abilities and promises.

All of the acts of obedience and worship are inherently worthless without the aspect of the Savior. We obey and perform and show up and follow the primary answers because they more readily facilitate a relationship with the Savior. If you’re focused on completing the obedience and tasks, you’ll miss the blessings.

Let that knowledge change your worship. Let it change how you attend the temple, church meetings, and service. Let it change how you pray and read your scriptures. We don’t necessarily need to give more; sometimes we just need to adjust our focus to our purpose – the Savior.

A more specific example

This is an example that is more specific in nature, but I feel prompted to share it so here ya go.

I have found that I cannot feel the Savior in the same ways when I’m depressed. This makes perfect sense because I often feel disconnected from people in general when I’m depressed. No matter how I engage or invite, I feel oddly alone and cut off. This problem is exacerbated when we remember that I can’t even physically see the Savior show up like I can with my other relationships.

So when I’m in a dark place, I try to apply the same principles to the Savior that I do to my friends and family. Even when I feel depressed and disconnected from my friends, I talk myself through it. I feel dark, but they don’t hate me. They don’t think I’m annoying. They’re still here, and they’ll still be here when I come back out of it. I can’t feel the connection with them right now, but I know that’s just something in my brain. That connection was and is real.

The same goes for the Savior. He doesn’t hate me. He’s not disappointed in me. He hasn’t fled from me because I’m doing something wrong. He’s not annoyed with me. He’s still there, and He will still be there when I come back out of it. It’s just something in my brain that was given to me for a wise purpose in Him. That connection was and is real, even if I can’t currently feel it.

I take what I’ve been taught about a perfect Savior, and I apply it to my situation. His promises are still real. His concern and desire to push me farther are still real.

This is not always practiced perfectly. Sometimes I forget or stumble and stay on the ground. But practicing has been worthwhile anyways.

Looking to the Savior

Nephi asked his people to remember how looking towards a representation of the Savior had saved their ancestors because he wanted his people to look to the Savior so they could be saved.

In any aspect where you find yourself troubled, you can look to the Savior and include Him. I promise for any problem you find yourself facing in life, there is a corresponding miracle, story, principle, or promise adjacent to the Savior that can either solve your problem, help you understand the purpose of your problem, or lift your sights, and strengthen your faith that deliverance is coming. Every single aspect.

Include Him. And when I say include Him, I mean actually include Him. Don’t include some skewed version of Him that is inaccurate. I used to do that. I pictured the Savior, but I never pictured Him helping me, offering mercy, lifting me up, and encouraging me on. For some bizarre reason, I pictured Him angry with me.

The Savior is a perfectly loving Being who is constantly pursuing us. If He’s disciplining His people, it’s being done out of love to bring them back. All of His acts are acts of love. His no’s, His silences, and His deliberate choices to allow your struggles are all proof of His love. That’s the Savior you need to bring into your life on purpose. That’s the Savior you need to turn to with each obstacle you face. That’s the Savior who won’t let you down.

It takes a lot of mental strength and patience to develop a relationship with a Being you can’t see. It takes a lot of energy to develop and maintain a relationship with anyone, let alone a Being you can’t see. However, I testify that it is infinitely worth it. I testify that on the days I remember to include the Savior in every aspect of my life, I am changed and happy. Life is worth living. All the wilderness we’re asked to endure and walk through is worth it. I testify that He, and He alone, heals and saves. Worship and obedience are beautiful principles, but they were only ever meant to point us to Him because He is the only path to salvation with all of its accompanying goodness.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Helaman 7–12 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

The ministries of Nephi & Lehi; Nephite spiritual decline(Helaman 1–12)by Mike Parker

Class Notes

Additional Reading

What does the mention of concrete in Helaman 3:7 tell us about where the Book of Mormon could have taken place? See Matthew G. Wells and John W. Welch, “Concrete Evidence for the Book of Mormon,” in Reexploring the Book of Mormon, ed. John W. Welch (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book and Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1992), 212–14.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Helaman 1–12 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Treasure in Heavenby Autumn Dickson

Helaman had two sons whom he named Nephi and Lehi after their forefathers. He named them this so they could remember the good works of their ancestors and try to follow their examples. Helaman wanted his sons to have constant reminders to do good.

Helaman also taught his sons this:

Helaman 5:8 And now my sons, behold I have somewhat more to desire of you, which desire is, that ye may not do these things that ye may boast, but that ye may do these things to lay up for yourselves a treasure in heaven, yea, which is eternal, and which fadeth not away; yea, that ye may have that precious gift of eternal life, which we have reason to suppose hath been given to our fathers.

Helaman wanted his sons to do good, but he wanted his sons to do it for the right reasons. When it comes to the gospel of Jesus Christ, the right reasons are indispensable. It is the right reasons that change us and prepare us to actually receive eternal life because it is only through becoming like our Eternal Father that we can experience the kind of life He lives.

Helaman knew this and so he didn’t want his sons to do the right things so that they could boast and be proud of their good works. He wanted them to lay up a treasure in heaven for themselves, namely eternal life. This was an interesting way of phrasing this because some might argue that Helaman was teaching them to do good works so that they could receive a personal reward. Let’s talk about this personal reward so we can discuss what Helaman was truly teaching when he phrased it in this manner.

What is this treasure in heaven?

When we’re discussing the concept of “treasure” in heaven, we have to understand that this is symbolic. Treasure on earth is valuable, but the traditional treasure that we think of will not be valuable in heaven. It’s too plentiful to be valuable. Everyone will receive a healthy, resurrected body. Everyone (except for those few sons of perdition) will be living in a world that’s better than the one we have. Everyone will have what they need to be sustained forever.

So what’s valuable in heaven?

When you do good works, you’re not earning a mansion and an unending supply of gold and jewels and other nonsense. I have a sneaking suspicion that those things will be rather worthless on the other side because of their inability to provide anything for us. Money has its place here and can provide some measure of security, peace, and happiness. However, on the other side, where the Lord has already promised each of us a place in a kingdom that is above anything we’ve experienced here, I’m going to guess that your money is going to be laughable.

No. This treasure is not a reward in that manner.

In fact, I believe that the true treasure is nothing more than a deep realization of how to actually be happy in the context of eternity. That is what’s going to be valuable on the other side. The implications that follow this deep realization are all a part of this treasure in heaven, and when we understand this treasure in heaven, we will understand that Helaman was not encouraging his sons to seek a reward in the traditional, selfish sense.

Valuable treasure in the context of eternity

So let’s cover some of the realities of the context of eternity. We find ourselves in a world more beautiful than the one we’re living in now. Everyone has everything they need as well as perfectly healthy bodies. There is no such thing as having more than another person because every person pretty much gets whatever they want.

The only thing I want to alter about these realities (in order to drive home my point) is the fact that in my scenario, everyone remains exactly who they are.

How would you spend your time if this were your reality? Where would you invest your energy? Obviously, we’re going to spend our energy in a way that makes us happy. How long will your investment bring a return? How long will it take before your investment grows unbearably dull and miserable as you view your unending life?

Real and lasting happiness requires drama and hardship. Nobody wants to watch a movie where the main character goes through nothing, learns nothing, and is just fine for two hours. In real life, having moments of reprieve where nothing is going wrong is absolutely appreciated. But it’s only appreciated because we know what it feels like when things are going wrong. Otherwise, it’s literally just boring. And in the context of eternity, I would imagine it can actually become unbearable.

I’ve watched my sister experience this on a smaller scale recently. She has ten kids. Needless to say, her life has been chaotic and constant movement for years on end. She has finally reached the point where her kids are growing up. They’re all in school. One is married. Another is off at college, and another is on a mission. She found herself in a period of time where she could finally catch up on reading and watching TV, and she definitely took advantage of it. She had solidly earned that reprieve.

But after some time passed, she got bored. She needed a challenge. She needed more than constant downtime. So she enrolled in school again.

Such is the case with eternity but on an even more extreme level. We will have nothing but constant “downtime.” We will need something to challenge us, or things are going to get dreadfully monotonous to the point where we have nothing to live for.

So here comes our Plan of Salvation in which the Lord allows us to have eternal posterity. Here comes our challenge to love and help someone who needs us, someone we can love more than ourselves. Here comes happiness and an appreciation of it.

But in order to take advantage of that potential happiness that is being offered to us, we have to be willing to look outside ourselves and our own needs. In order to be happy in the context of eternity, you have to let go of yourself and be turned outward like our Heavenly Father. That’s the big secret to happiness. That’s the key. That’s the treasure in heaven.

When Helaman teaches his sons to pursue this treasure in heaven, he wants them to learn the value of turning beyond yourself and the best way to learn this principle is to live it. You can read about serving others all day long, but you don’t change into an others-oriented kind of person until you practice what you’ve been taught. We have to act in order to change. Helaman’s sons were being given opportunities to practice turning outward so they could change and be prepared for the reality that was heaven. That was the treasure that was being offered to them.

Eternal life and its true treasure is being surrounded by loved ones and helping others progress. All of that other stuff (healthy bodies, homes, all of our needs met) is going to be wonderful and a necessary part of our eternal happiness, but those things are insufficient for happiness. Look at real-world examples. There are plenty of rich people who are unhappy and plenty of poor people who are happy so it’s not truly about having resources. The valuable treasure available in heaven is the knowledge that forgetting about yourself is where happiness lies, because it is only in forgetting about yourself that you find something worth living for: eternal posterity who can grow and progress.

I testify of a Heavenly Father who lives and loves His eternal life. I testify that He loves us enough to offer it to us. I testify that He has a complete understanding of eternity and that He’s trying to give it to us. I testify that He set up this entire plan, made possible by Jesus Christ, so that we could come down and gain the necessary knowledge and change to be prepared to live like He does. I testify that performing good works presents that specific opportunity to morph into the kind of person who can appreciate eternity.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Helaman 1–6 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

To Support and Sufferby Autumn Dickson

One of the most well-known stories in The Book of Mormon is that of the stripling warriors. Though their story is replete with inspiring stories and principles, I want to actually discuss their fathers, namely the Lamanites converts who changed their name to the Anti-Nephi-Lehies. These Anti-Nephi-Lehies came to dwell with the Nephites, and the Nephites offered them protection as they had taken oaths of pacifism because of their past dealings with violence. When Lamanites came to battle against the Nephites, the Anti-Nephi-Lehies did not participate in the war despite the fact that they were beneficiaries of the bravery of the Nephites.

Consider the whole of the story. These Nephites, who had once been mortal enemies with the Anti-Nephi-Lehies they were now protecting, were going out to war to protect all the people. The Anti-Nephi-Lehies helped support the war effort by helping to provide for the armies; however, before the stripling warriors, they offered up no warriors. The fathers had made an oath not to fight.

Though I would have whole-heartedly supported these Anti-Nephi-Lehies in keeping their covenant of pacifism, I acknowledge that this might have been difficult for some to swallow (maybe it wasn’t hard for anyone, I obviously don’t know because it doesn’t say specifically). I wonder if any Nephite mothers felt unwanted resentment as they sent out their husbands and sons, knowing that the Anti-Nephi-Lehies were not contributing in the same manner. Perhaps, in the minds of some, they felt that it was actually morally wrong that the Anti-Nephi-Lehies wouldn’t contribute similarly in the middle of a war. It wasn’t just about their own deaths; it was about helping to protect Nephite lives as well. We know this wasn’t a completely absent opinion because before the stripling warriors stepped forward, their fathers (who had taken the oath of pacifism) wanted to break their oaths and help fight alongside the Nephites.

I don’t point out this side of the story to cause discontent or even to play devil’s advocate. I point it out so that we can better understand the principle I want to teach today. That principle is found in the following verse. Helaman is writing to Captain Moroni and explaining that he didn’t want the Anti-Nephi-Lehies to break the covenant they had made with God.

Alma 56:8 But I would not suffer them that they should break this covenant which they had made, supposing that God would strengthen us, insomuch that we should not suffer more because of the fulfilling the oath which they had taken.

Because this was a war and because we live in a fallen world, there was going to be suffering and sorrow and loss. However, Helaman testifies of a benevolent God who would not allow the Nephites to suffer more because they had made the decision to protect the Anti-Nephi-Lehies. The Nephites were making a sacrifice, a potentially heavy sacrifice, in order to support someone else following the Lord. And yet, they were not truly going to lose.

There are a lot of modern day applications to this principle. There were sacrifices made by the saints in the early period of this dispensation as they buried family members, lost limbs, and suffered extreme depravities to provide a safe place for the church to grow for the countless people in generations to follow. There are also modern day implications that are likely more relatable because they aren’t a life or death situation. Serving missions, serving in time-heavy callings, and serving in general can take time away from other important priorities. All of the people who choose to answer the call and volunteer when called upon by the Spirit are sacrificing something potentially important, and yet, no one has to truly lose. Not really.

There are two points I’d like to cover.

A supposed sacrifice

Even if we were to end up sacrificing more than we would have otherwise, the Lord has every right to call upon us. I want to look at the idea of sacrifice as if we were truly sacrificing on behalf of others to better highlight the rightness of sacrifice.

I was called to serve in a primary presidency a week before I gave birth to my second child. Our ward had an enormous primary, and each half could hardly fit into the primary room for singing time. Needless to say, there was some time involved in the calling. It wasn’t even necessarily an extreme amount of time. However, as it came at the inopportune moment of delivering my second child, I was feeling a bit bitter. It didn’t help that my postpartum depression raged harder after my second child than with any other child. I felt stretched to the limit in many capacities. Conner’s schedule was absolutely chaotic, and Sunday was the only real day that I could have him home with the family with any kind of regularity. I wanted that time as a family, and I also wanted my nap time that I felt I desperately needed. But alas, Sunday was the only day that worked for the presidency to come together.

I fulfilled my responsibilities, and I believe I did so with a brave face (though it’s hard for me to tell…when I’m depressed, I have a hard time adequately gauging the success of my social endeavors). However, despite the brave face, I was angry and resentful of having this time taken away from me. I didn’t want to leave my house to take care of other kids. I wanted to stay home with my new baby.

I wasn’t even offering up my life like the Nephites, and yet, I felt cheated.

I’m not sure how long it took for my heart to soften enough that the Spirit could chastise me. But I remember walking around, delivering little packages to the primary families in the surrounding neighborhoods, when the Spirit helped me to see the kids who didn’t have what my kids had at home. I was missing out on a couple hours max with my little baby who was safely tucked away at home napping or with dad, but some of the kids that were on my list needed the gospel and they weren’t getting it at home. The Lord needed someone else to bring it to them.

My bitterness dried up quickly as my mind cleared to see the situation accurately. With everything beautiful that had been given to me, how was I to turn my back on the Lord and say He was asking too much? How could I deny these tiny sacrifices that had the potential to bless kids who needed it so badly because of the circumstances they were born into?

Perhaps the Nephites were wiser than me and recognized this. Perhaps they saw that these former Lamanites had been born into circumstances that were harmful. Perhaps the Nephites had their eyes opened, and they were completely taken aback as they recognized the strong spirits who had turned away from their previous traditions because of their immense faith. Perhaps the Nephites saw the situation for what it really was, and because of what they clearly saw, it was easy to make the decision to protect them even when it might have been perceived as “unfair.”

Which leads to my next point.

The Savior didn’t have the same promise but sacrificed anyway

No one has sacrificed more than the Savior. No one has given up what He gave up to save us. If He had been born into our circumstances, He still would have chosen to be perfect. And yet, despite the fact that He didn’t need to operate with the humble understanding that Heavenly Father would have tried to save Him in our circumstances, He still sacrificed. From our viewpoint, we can have the humble realization that we are no better than those we sacrifice for. For His viewpoint, He is better, but that’s not what mattered. What matters is that He loved everyone enough to want them to come home and so He sacrificed accordingly.

He sacrificed for each of us individually. He asks us to be like Him, to let go of what we believe we deserve, to sacrifice on behalf of those who can’t do it for themselves. There was no one to promise the Savior that He wouldn’t have to suffer more for choosing to step up for those who couldn’t step up for themselves. And yet, He did it. And because He did it, He offers us the promise that Helaman testified of, namely that He will not have us truly sacrifice anything that matters when we’re stepping up to sacrifice for another.

I also know this to be true. There have been a million moments in time where I have asked the Lord why He has asked me to do this blog when all I ever wanted to do was be a mother. There have been moments where I have failed my kids because I’ve been sacrificing to try and share these messages. There have been plenty of moments of bitterness where I have felt like He’s asked me to set aside my family in order to fulfill this responsibility He’s asked me to do. When looking at those individual moments, it would be easy to become confused and believe that it’s wrong to make these sacrifices when my priority should be my family. And yet, when you step back and look at the scales that include all of the blessings and sacrifices that have been made, I cannot testify enough that no one has been blessed more than me and my family. So much of what I love about myself has come because of these “sacrifices” I’ve been asked to make, and I know that these powerful beliefs about my Savior and myself will be passed on to my children. Though there are moments of sacrifice, my children will ultimately receive far more than they would have gotten otherwise.

Be willing to make the sacrifice with a willing heart, and you will also find the overwhelming blessings I have found on behalf of yourself and those you love.

The Nephites did not suffer more for being willing to uphold the Anti-Nephi-Lehies as they kept their covenants with God. I know it because I have had the same experience in my small way. The Lord is overwhelmingly good, and when He has asked us to step up and serve on behalf of others, He will turn again and bless us. If we follow Him with all of our hearts, we will never be able to repay Him for what He offers in return.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Alma 53–63 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

The Zoramite, Amalickiahite & Lamanite Wars(Alma 43–63)by Mike Parker

Class Notes

Additional Reading

This important book examines Book of Mormon warfare from many different aspects, including Mormon₂’s reasons for including these accounts in the text: Warfare in the Book of Mormon, eds. Stephen D. Ricks and William J. Hamblin (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book / Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1990).

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Alma 43-63 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

What You Choose to Seeby Autumn Dickson

We have arrived at the war chapters. Within these chapters are plenty of principles that we can still spiritually engage with despite the fact that the events are taking place on a battlefield. During one such battle, Captain Moroni bears his testimony to Zerahemnah (one of the antagonizing military leaders) regarding the protection of the Lord.

He testifies that they have the true faith and that the Lord strengthened and protected them because of their belief and worship. After bearing testimony, he commands Zerahemnah to make an oath that he and his men will never come against the Nephites again. Otherwise they will commence the battle and wipe out the remainder of the men.

Zerahemnah delivers his weapon to Captain Moroni but refuses the oath. Zerahemnah gives this as his reasoning:

Alma 44:9 Behold, we are not of your faith; we do not believe that it is God that has delivered us into your hands; but we believe that it is your cunning that has preserved you from our swords. Behold, it is your breastplates and your shields that have preserved you.

Captain Moroni believes that they won because of their faith. Zerahemnah believes it was because they were good at war. Note that both sentences contain the word “belief.” People can find evidence of whatever they choose to look for. Captain Moroni found evidence of the Lord’s protection, and Zerahemnah did not.

What we choose to see

I taught a man on my mission who had lost his faith. He had grown up a devout Catholic. He attended mass regularly, and after marrying his wife who was a member, he also started attending church meetings with us. He met with us regularly, read The Book of Mormon, and participated in other faith-promoting activities.

And yet, if you were to ask him, he would have maintained that he didn’t feel any faith in God. He had watched a movie that had asked a question, “What if it’s not true?” or something along those lines. That question had stuck with him, and he had not been able to feel faith since.

My companion and I worked over and over and over to teach him to look for those good feelings from God. We wanted so badly for him to find that faith he had lost. There was one evening where the Spirit was so powerful. We had randomly chosen to sing a hymn or primary song (can’t remember which one). He, his wife, my companion, and I found ourselves in tears. It was “thick” in the room.

But still, our friend could not bring himself to attribute it beyond good hormones that were conjured up with beautiful music. He still could not bring himself to see God in it.

I’ve learned since then that faith is a choice, both when it comes to obedience and when it comes to seeing God in our lives.

My friend participated in faith-promoting activities but wasn’t choosing faith; he wanted faith to descend upon him. Where we felt the presence of God, he felt good feelings that didn’t necessarily come from Him. People can look at the same event and draw completely different conclusions.

When I pray about finding my lost keys, I can choose to believe that God helped me find them or that it was a coincidence. When I feel good emotions associated with church, I can believe that the Lord is making His presence known or that I simply have positive pathways built in my brain when it comes to church. When we look at mistakes leaders in the past and present, we can choose to see fallible humans who are still generally led by God or we can see evidence that they can’t really be prophets if they had flaws. When Alma faced off with Korihor, he testified that all of creation was a witness of God. Obviously, there are millions of people throughout history who have come to a completely different conclusion.

The truth remains that you can find “evidence” to support your beliefs no matter which beliefs you ascribe to. I feel that almost most everyone goes through moments in their lives when they ask, “What if it’s not true?” Though these moments can be a little scary, both for ourselves and those we love, these moments can be defining. They can be the threshold in our lives where we really decide where we are going to invest our belief, and that’s incredibly powerful.

We may be tempted to desperately avoid questions such as, “What if it’s not true?” However, rather than avoiding them, we can examine them closely and try to include the Lord we’ve been taught about. We can use it as a testing ground rather than unraveling because we’re afraid of it.

Why should I choose to invest in faith?

So let’s say we’ve reached that threshold. We’ve asked ourselves, “What if we were wrong about everything? What if I was just seeing what I wanted to see?” If you can find “evidence” of whatever you believe in, why should you choose faith?

Unfortunately, this is an extremely personal question that gets handled by the Lord according to each individual. I can only share my experiences.

For a long time, I’m not even sure I had a good reason for choosing to invest in faith because I’m not sure I was consciously choosing it. I was afraid to consider the alternative of leaving the church, and I had found enough goodness and evidence that I felt okay moving forward. I invested in faith because I had been taught to invest in faith. I believed that my good feelings were coming from God because I had been taught to believe. I’m so grateful for that gift.

I’m also grateful that I reached the point where I’ve made my own, conscious choice to continue investing in faith. It was scary facing some of those questions at first, but walking through those low points created an opportunity for me to invest on my faith on purpose, and that has been far more rewarding.

I still receive all those good feelings and quiet moments and associate them with God, but those are not the reasons I choose to keep investing. Those are rewards I receive from investing, but they are not the reasons I continue investing.

I think my most definitive reason for investing right now is how I’ve felt guided. Over the past couple years, I have been watching the Lord guide my prayers before something happened and then watching them be fulfilled before my eyes.

I’ve told the story before, but as we were moving to Virginia, I opened my journal and prayed for absolutely everything I wanted. I left nothing out, no matter how silly or artificial it seemed. At a time when my husband was under immense stress trying to find something we could afford that wasn’t a box in an alley, I was feeling pretty good about everything and asking for whatever I wanted. Sure enough, seven months later, we were led to a temporary home that had every single thing I had asked for. Not to mention, it was given to us at a price that was unheard of, and we did absolutely no work to get it. It quite literally fell into our laps.

I would have been fine if the Lord had given us a tiny apartment without all the extras and I told Him that too, but it was one of those moments where one of the most important lessons He taught me was, “I heard you.” Maybe in and of itself, this can be considered coincidence, but this has been repeated over and over and over.

I pray. I am guided as I pray. Things come together, and I recognize the Lord’s hand because He told me to pray for it. He would likely still bless my family, but because I prayed for it, I was given the tremendous gift of recognizing that He was speaking to me.

Maybe this is how Captain Moroni felt. Maybe Zerahemnah was impressed with their shields, breastplates, and cunning, but maybe Captain Moroni had felt something nagging at him ahead of time to prepare his men in precisely this manner. Then, when he saw everything come together, he quietly thanked the Lord for preparing him ahead of time. Or, maybe Captain Moroni had enough experiences of that manner that he knew the Lord had been guiding them, even if he hadn’t felt any specifics in that particular moment.

Right now, prayer and its results are the reasons I keep investing in faith. I have had other experiences where my prayers have been much shorter and involved far less of my silly, little wants, and I have seen how those prayers were also guided because He led me towards something that I wasn’t expecting. I have had even more experiences where I did pray for everything I wanted, but I felt this little nagging feeling that I wasn’t going to get it. And sure enough, I was led elsewhere.

The Lord could lead me for my entire life without me knowing it. But because He has commanded me to pray, He has been able to guide my feelings ahead of time so that I can recognize Him later. And isn’t that just a beautiful reason to pray? Prayer isn’t about getting what we want. It’s about helping us find our Heavenly Father, and it has surely done that for me.

I testify of Heavenly Father who hears and answers prayers. I testify that He can guide our prayers and feelings if we practice that skill. I testify that He can make Himself known to you should you choose to invest in faith and ask for help in recognizing Him. The experiment surely won’t hurt you. You have nothing to lose by asking Him to help you see Him if He’s really there. The rewards I have personally experienced have gone far beyond what I could have imagined, and I know it all comes from a loving Heavenly Father who loved me because He made me.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Alma 43–52 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Perspectives on Coriantonby Autumn Dickson

In the chapters we’ve been reading lately, Alma is counseling with his sons. We read so many incredible sermons of missionaries and prophets to their people, but these are incredible messages given from father to sons. One of these messages is especially relevant today as Alma talks to his son Corianton. Corianton had been guilty of sexual sin. As the Come Follow Me manual so eloquently puts, it can be hard to know how to help our loved ones when they’ve made a big mistake.

I believe there are a couple of perspectives that can help us when we’re trying to know what to say or how to support. People can feel how you feel about them, even if it’s just subconsciously. If we have the right perspective going into the situation, they will be able to feel how we feel about them, and it will make all the difference in how they perceive whatever words come out of our mouths. There is no perfect way to respond, but if we have a correct knowledge of the Plan of Salvation and an accurate perspective of what we’re really looking at, it can be easier to set aside our own personal feelings and be there for those who need it.

The gravity of certain sins

Here is one of the things that Alma said to Corianton.

Alma 39:5-6

5 Know ye not, my son, that these things are an abomination in the sight of the Lord; yea, most abominable above all sins save it be the shedding of innocent blood or denying the Holy Ghost?

6 For behold, if ye deny the Holy Ghost when it once has had place in you, and ye know that ye deny it, behold, this is a sin which is unpardonable; yea, and whosoever murdereth against the light and knowledge of God, it is not easy for him to obtain forgiveness; yea, I say unto you, my son, that it is not easy for him to obtain a forgiveness.

So sexual sin is pretty high up there on the list of sins. If we were to weigh the gravity of sins, the most serious would be denying the Holy Ghost (this is a specific sin that most of us aren’t capable of). The second highest is shedding innocent blood, and the third is sexual sin.

A couple of weeks ago, I actually found myself pondering this idea of the gravity of sins (I suppose the Lord was preparing me for this week), and I remember distinctly thinking that it was interesting to find sexual sin right next to murder. Heavenly Father judges us by our hearts, and I want you to consider for a moment the state of the heart of those who murder vs. those who commit sexual sin.

I would wager that those who shed innocent blood have pretty dark hearts. Now compare the hard heart it would require to murder someone vs. the heart that commits sexual sin. I fully recognize that there are plenty of people out there who commit sexual sin with the intent to hurt, and I believe that there will be reckoning for that.

However, consider the hearts of those who made a mistake. Consider the hearts of the young teenagers who found themselves with too much freedom and undeveloped brains. Consider the hearts of two people who are about to get married. Please do not mistake me. I’m not seeking to excuse sin. I’m merely pointing out the difference in the hearts of those who murder and the hearts of those who commit sexual sin in a moment of weakness because there is a difference. Heavenly Father knows this.

So if Heavenly Father is judging us by our hearts, why is sexual sin right up there next to murder?

This is the perspective I wish to share that may help you know how you should approach your loved one. Namely, sometimes the gravity of sin is not weighed by our hearts but by the potential of consequences and the required healing.

A lot of the hearts that commit sexual sin are nowhere near as dark as those that commit murder. And yet, the fact remains. Even if your heart wasn’t dark, the potential for consequences and the need for healing remains. Even if it was a moment of weakness in the midst of a million successful evenings, the consequences can be painful.

The world doesn’t like us teaching the consequences of sin because they believe that we’re trying to scare people into doing what’s right. There are many positive reasons to keep the law of chastity, but it’s not wrong to teach my kids about how sexual sin can hurt them just like there’s nothing wrong with teaching my kid that they can get hit by a car for running out into the road. Having all the information, good and bad, can help our children make the right decisions.

I don’t want to hyperfocus on the consequences because this post isn’t about not committing sexual sin; it’s about having the right perspective to approach those we love. I believe that most adults can easily imagine all the potential consequences of sex, from a baby (and all of the options in that scenario) to how it changes a young brain. So instead let’s focus on how this perspective of hearts can change how we approach our loved ones.

The other side of repentance

Much of repentance is a true recognition of how sin affects us and others. It’s a realization that we don’t want to bring those kinds of results into the world, and it’s about rising above and choosing to live our life on a higher plane.

But the other side of the coin of repentance is healing. It is essential that we don’t neglect this portion of repentance if we truly want our loved ones to live at a higher plane. We don’t want them limping around the rest of their lives, carrying shame in a desperate attempt to not make mistakes anymore. No. We want them to fully heal. If you really want someone to choose the right, one of the most essential ingredients is that they need to feel good about themselves. Punishing myself and hating myself never led me to goodness, just perfectionism and there is a difference. When I learned to love myself, I wanted to treat myself better and take care of myself. Hating myself made it harder to do what was right because I didn’t care what happened to me.

The other positive aspect of healing is that it can nurture a deep appreciation for the Savior. If we can help our loved ones approach the Savior, they’re going to find something way more powerful than anything they can find in this world. At the end (and all throughout!) the repentance process, we want them to be feeling the effects of the Savior and His ability to wash away the darkest of sins. If you want your loved one to do what’s right, you introduce them to the Savior. Introducing them to the Savior means personally recognizing the state of their hearts, their need for healing, and then helping to deliver those things. Their deep gratitude for the Savior offers a deep propulsion to turn around and live happier lives.

The moment we offer love is important

Alma the Younger is the one delivering the message to his son, and this is so perfect. Alma the Younger came to a deep awareness of his sins. When did he start to feel better? The second he reached for Christ. His sins were washed away, and he praised the Lord. The Lord didn’t wait to deliver His love and healing and acceptance until after Alma went out and started trying to make up for his sins. No. The Lord flooded Alma with His love the second Alma’s heart was prepared to receive it, and because Alma was flooded with that love, Alma wanted to go out and do what was right.

The order of that is important. I feel like sometimes we want to withhold our love because we want them to feel the consequences of what they’ve done to discourage them from making those mistakes again. Ironically, it often comes from a place of love because we want them to be better. Unfortunately, it’s also coming from a place of fear which isn’t as helpful. Consequences can be a great way to not repeat mistakes, but only to an extent.

Think about how the Savior does it (because He obviously does it perfectly). He wields consequences, but He usually does so in response to hard hearts as He tries to soften them. He often responds to soft hearts with love, and that love changes them and turns their lives around. And let’s review what we know about the hearts of those who commit sexual sin. Yes, there are those who have hard hearts, but there are many who have made mistakes and need love instead if we want them to heal and come back from those mistakes.

Love immediately. Put yourself on their team immediately. Recognize that they’re going to experience consequences regardless of whether you deliver them yourself, and recognize where their hearts are sitting. You can help them understand the gravity if necessary, but in most scenarios, they’re already going to know and feel it.

What they don’t know is whether you still love them and whether you’ll still accept them. Helping them feel loved and accepted will be a precursor to their ability to let the Savior in to love, accept, and heal them to the extent that they are changed and want to be better.

I believe in a Savior who understands the consequences of sin. I believe that sexual sin can cause a great amount of heartache which is why the Lord seeks to protect us from it. I also believe that the Lord wants to heal and love, especially when we’re seeking, and I believe that allowing that love and healing throughout the entire process is more effective than sharp disapproval, cold shoulders, and fear. Love them so much that they love themselves and want better for themselves. Love them so much that they catch a glimpse of the Savior’s love and are able to accept His atonement on their behalf.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Alma 39–42 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Alma’s counsel to his sons Helaman, Shiblon, & Corianton(Alma 36–42)by Mike Parker

Class Notes

Handout

Additional Reading

Alma₂’s testimony in Alma 36 is one of the longest and most complex examples of chiasmus in the Book of Mormon; it is a poetic and literary masterpiece. See See John W. Welch, “A Masterpiece: Alma 36,” in Rediscovering the Book of Mormon, eds. John L. Sorenson and Melvin J. Thorne (Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1991), 114–31.
Michael R. Ash, “The Sin ‘Next to Murder’: An Alternative Interpretation,” Sunstone 143 (November 2006): 34–43. Mike Ash argues that the serious offense for which Alma₂ chastised his son Corianton was not sexual sin (although that, in itself, is serious), but rather destroying their testimonies of the Zoramites₂ through his bad example. In effect, Corianton committed “spiritual murder.” See also “KnoWhy #147: Why Was Corianton’s Sin So Serious?,” Book of Mormon Central, last modified 20 July 2016. For the doctrinal reasons behind the seriousness of sexual sin, see Jeffrey R. Holland’s 12 January 1988 BYU address, “Of Souls, Symbols, and Sacraments.”
In 1856 Brigham Young delivered an address in Salt Lake City in which he discussed, at length, the location of the post-mortal spirit world. See Journal of Discourses 3:367–73.
This chart shows the major chiastic elements in Alma 36.
Stephen Ehat explains chiasmus and how Alma₂ used it to explain the atonement of Christ in Alma 36. (From Book of Mormon Central.)

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Alma 36–42 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Diligence is Underratedby Autumn Dickson

There was a period in my life where my stress levels grew to problematic levels that were consuming me. I was experiencing some postpartum depression, and that was combined with responsibilities that threatened to drown me. I was tired all of the time. I was waking up at the crack of dawn with a toddler (after waking up with the baby throughout the night), and I would move from task to task to task to task until as late as 10:00 pm. This was compounded by health problems that I started experiencing. For weeks on end (maybe even a few months), it felt like there wasn’t a reprieve. There wasn’t any time to pull my head above water for a breath. Conner was swamped with his own work, and so we were both just surviving.

My sweet mother kept telling me to simplify my life, and I truly tried to do so. I looked at what tasks were filling my day and genuinely considered which of those tasks could be dropped. I wanted to simplify my life, but there really wasn’t anything that I could let go of. I was taking care of small children and all the endless tasks that required. I was making sure my house was a sanitary enough place even if it wasn’t always tidy. My health problems grew better when I started cutting out certain ingredients, but that meant I had to cook a lot of things from scratch which was also time consuming. I couldn’t give up my kids or all the tasks associated with them. I couldn’t give up the extra cooking unless I wanted to have chronic pain again. We didn’t have the resources at the time to take on some of my tasks. The only thing I could really give up was the blog.

But alas, the Lord said no. Quite forcefully actually. I even asked one too many times, and He essentially answered with, “Stop asking or you’re crossing over into disobeying Me.” So I stopped asking, but I remained frustrated. I felt like He didn’t care that I was destroying myself. Every once in a while, I would feel a whisper that I didn’t have to destroy myself; He would enable me to do what I needed to do without carrying the weight of the world.

For some bizarre reason that I don’t understand, I didn’t listen. I suppose I didn’t trust Him sufficiently yet. I felt like I had to carry myself because no one else would pick up the slack.

It would have been easy for Him to remove my stress and let things flow easily. He could have minimized other tasks quite easily for me or brought in resources that would have enabled me to delegate tasks. Some might even believe it was cruel that He simply watched me struggle for so long; there were definitely times that I subconsciously thought so.

But the Lord wasn’t there to make my life easy. Honestly, I see now that He was wise enough to let me push myself until I broke. He knew that there was no other way to soften my heart and help me learn those lessons the easy way. So He let me suffer in my bullheadedness, and He waited to teach me a lesson that would change how I lived the rest of my life.

I know that comparatively, I was blessed. However, I also know that I’m not the only one who feels like they’re being run ragged while trying to do everything they’re supposed to be doing. I know I’m not the only one who has been afraid of failing if I didn’t martyr myself. I know that each of us will have to go through periods in our life where we have to learn to trust the Lord with what needs to be accomplished.

Helaman is given a responsibility

Alma has a son named Helaman, and this week, we read the chapter where he passes the sacred responsibility of the plates down to his son. He admonishes his son to treat them with gravity, to be steadfast in his obedience to the Lord so that he could fulfill the responsibility which he was given.

Over and over and over in Alma 37, we learn about a small principle that can make a big difference in our life. Let’s start with this verse.

Alma 37:20 Therefore I command you, my son Helaman, that ye be diligent in fulfilling all my words, and that ye be diligent in keeping the commandments of God as they are written.

Diligence is a remarkably underrated Christlike attribute. It’s definitely not one of the first qualities I think of when it comes to Christ, but it has made a surprisingly large difference.

According to Preach My Gospel, “Diligence is steady, consistent, earnest, and energetic effort in doing the Lord’s work.” I have learned that the Lord doesn’t ask for some all-consuming, overwhelming effort that completely takes over our lives; He asks for diligence. Diligence is an act of faith where we show up with willingness, and the Lord helps us do what we need to do.

When I finally hit my breaking point in my stress, I turned to the Lord. I told Him I would do what He wanted me to do, and I told Him that if everything totally failed and died, I couldn’t be blamed. I had given everything I felt I could give, and if it wasn’t good enough, well…then that was just too bad. I didn’t have anything else.

The Lord taught me that I wasn’t giving everything; I was withholding my trust. Accurately practicing diligence also requires a faith that He can quicken our abilities, magnify our efforts, and bring miracles where we fall short.

Another phrase found in this chapter is, “Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings…” So that’s what I did. Every morning, I would wake up, look at my to-do list, smirk at the fact that there was not enough time in the day, and then I would tell the Lord to tell me what He wanted.

For a while, I had the training wheels on. For a short period of time, I felt guided in every section of my day. I knew when I needed to fold laundry, when it would be wisest to work on the blog, and when I needed to let go of responsibilities and focus on my kids. I even felt very deliberate pushes to rest, nap, or read a book. He gave me way more breaks than I had given myself.

And you know what happened? It all got done. When I needed to work on the blog, the kids would miraculously play well together, and I wasn’t a constant referee. Somehow dinner made it onto the table, and my kids got an occasional bath. I had the same tasks, and sometimes the tasks still lasted into the night, but the weight was gone. I had hit my breaking point and so I finally handed the weight over to the Lord; I physically couldn’t carry that anymore so I handed Him my trust.

I still have lots to do, but the weight is gone. The stress is gone. I guess I should be careful saying that because I’m still imperfect and get tired and fall back into old neurotic habits, but it’s not killing me anymore.

A couple lessons

I have seen this principle of diligence take on many forms. I have learned that diligence looks different at different times in my life.

For a while, when I was really overwhelmed, it looked like the Lord guiding my day to know which activities to perform. Sometimes it looked like me closing my laptop because I was beating my head against a wall, and I knew that the Lord would give me what I needed when He was good and ready. There was no need to force it.

Right now, it looks like a goal and a prayer. When I found out I was pregnant again and needed to be preparing extra videos for when the baby came, I made a goal with God about how much I would work on it. I do my best to hit that goal, and I pray hard that my diligence will be sufficient and that He will help me finish what I need to do in the time I’ve been given. Under normal circumstances, I’m not sure I would be investing enough time. Under my current, miraculous circumstances, I feel like the Lord is going to bring a miracle I need. So even when I worry about deadlines, I remind myself that He has the power to accomplish whatever needs to happen in the time He has given me. I don’t have to carry that weight because He does.

Another way I saw it manifested is when I recently got called to teach Youth Sunday School. I was pumped, but that also meant more gospel study on top of the other messages I was already trying to prepare. When our bishop came to ask me, he spoke about how he had found himself immersed in the scriptures for way longer than he had ever been. He talked about how he felt a deep need to prepare and do his best for these kids. I smiled as I thought about the very individual lesson that the Lord was teaching him.

And rather than putting pressure on myself to spend multiple hours a week preparing lessons for the youth, I had a testimony that the Lord could work with the time I had. I spend about an hour a week preparing the lessons for the kids, but I’m constantly immersing myself in the scriptures and trying to be worthy of the Spirit. Even if I can’t dedicate seven hours to their specific lesson, my spiritual diligence in general counts towards preparation for them.

The principle of diligence evolves and looks different at different times in our lives. Sometimes, He’s telling me to stop being idle. Other times, He’s telling me to stop trying to carry the weight by myself. I can do the tasks without carrying the immense pressure. When I work in this manner, I find that I can still get everything done that I need to and the tasks are much more fulfilling because they don’t feel like they’re killing me.

It’s on Him

The task that was given to Helaman was not an easy one. He was asked to engrave the records of the people on the plates. I’m sure this was not the only responsibility Helaman had, and I highly doubt he was getting paid for it. Think about all the tasks Helaman must have had to just survive in a pre-electricity world, not to mention his other extra religious duties. This was an extra responsibility that was given to him by his father. Despite the extra task he had been given, his father also gave him this promise:

Alma 37:16 But if ye keep the commandments of God, and do with these things which are sacred according to that which the Lord doth command you…behold, no power of earth or hell can take them from you, for God is powerful to the fulfilling of all his words.

There are a couple of keys here. If you do what the Lord commands (not what you command or society commands or outward pressures command), then no power of earth or hell can stand against you. God will help you do the task He has given to you. Whether it’s acquiring the brass plates or finding time to invest in extra responsibilities, He will provide a way for you to accomplish the thing He commands. You will have what you need if you diligently show up with willingness.

So be diligent. Show up regularly and allow Him to work with you. Give the pressure to Him because He’s the one truly doing the work anyway, and small means will show you marvelous works.

I know that the Lord can move mountains through me. I know that He can help me find out ways to carve time into my schedule. I know that He can help me know how much time is sufficient. I know that He can help me accomplish the tasks He’s given to me, and that it doesn’t have to be at the detriment of my health or the happiness of my family. I know that I can trust Him to bring the miracle if I’m simply willing to diligently show up and be utilized.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Alma 36–38 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Alma contended with Korihor & led a mission to reclaim the Zoramites(Alma 30–35)by Mike Parker

Class Notes

Additional Reading

Gerald Lund explored Korihor’s teachings in “Countering Korihor’s Philosophy,” Ensign, July 1992, pp. 16–21.
Who were the separatist Zoramites₂ and where did they come from? Sherrie Mills Johnson suggests some answers to those questions in “The Zoramite Separation: A Sociological Perspective,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 14, no. 1 (2005): 74–85, 129–30.
Matthew L. Bowen, assistant professor in religious education at Brigham Young University–Hawaii, has argued that the syllable ram—found in both the names Zoram and Rameumptom—could come from the Hebrew for “the one who is high/exalted,” which fits both the Zoramites₂’ pride and the high tower upon which they prayed. See his article, “‘See That Ye Are Not Lifted Up’: The Name Zoram and Its Paronomastic Pejoration,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 19 (2016): 109–43.
Which spirit is the “spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life”? (Alma 34:34) See John A. Tvedtnes and Matthew Roper, “Do Not Procrastinate the Day of Your Repentance,” Insights 20, no. 10 (October 2000): 4.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Alma 30-35 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Hearts of the Zoramitesby Autumn Dickson

In the chapters for this week, we read an interesting account about some Nephite dissenters known as Zoramites. These Zoramites had stopped following the Law of Moses and taken to a new form of worship that astonished Alma and the other missionaries. Once a week, on the “day of the Lord,” the Zoramites would gather at the synagogues they had erected. Then, they would all take turns standing up and reciting the same prayer. After this worship experience, they would head home, never speaking of their worship again until the next time they gathered in the synagogues. Here is some of the prayer they would recite:

Alma 31:16-17

16 Holy God, we believe that thou hast separated us from our brethren; and we do not believe in the tradition of our brethren, which was handed down to them by the childishness of their fathers; but we believe that thou hast elected us to be thy holy children; and also thou hast made it known unto us that there shall be no Christ.

17 But thou art the same yesterday, today, and forever; and thou hast elected us that we shall be saved, whilst all around us are elected to be cast by thy wrath down to hell; for the which holiness, O God, we thank thee; and we also thank thee that thou hast elected us, that we may not be led away after the foolish traditions of our brethren, which doth bind them down to a belief of Christ, which doth lead their hearts to wander far from thee, our God.

Many of us scoff at the idea of the Rameumpton, this great standing place where each of the Zoramites would offer the same prayers. And yet, are we really so different? Observe some of the actual problems these Zoramites were dealing with. The concept of rote prayers was not actually the problem; we have plenty of ordinances and ceremonies that are to be performed with the same words over and over.

No, the actual problems of the Zoramites were found within their hearts. For example, they only thought about God once a week. Their hearts were set on money. They didn’t believe in Christ. They believed they were special, better than others because they believed they had the truth.

All of us are guilty of these issues to one extent or another, and if you think you’re not, then you should probably pray for the Lord to open your eyes. Do we keep Heavenly Father in our minds, allowing Him to participate with us throughout the week? Do we set our hearts too heavily on things that can’t fulfill us? Do we believe in Christ to the fullest extent in which it influences all of our actions, uplifts all of our worries, and turns our hearts towards others?

And then, of course, there’s the last one. The Zoramites believed they were better because they believed they had the truth. Hmmm. This is the one we’re going to talk about today. We believe we have the truth. Our doctrine is pretty straightforward and frequently taught. We believe that the Lord restored the true gospel and true authority through Joseph Smith. We believe we belong to Christ’s church.

Do we also believe we’re better because of it? Our jerk reaction may be to say no! Logically, we may understand that we’re not better, but has that understanding penetrated our hearts to the extent that we see others clearly?

There are many ways that this particular attitude can manifest. It can manifest in how we treat others who belong to other systems of belief, in how we approach missionary work. It can manifest in our attitudes regarding whether we can learn from other belief systems and whether we recognize the Christlike attributes of those who do not yet know Christ.

Interestingly enough, it can also manifest within our own system of belief. Sometimes we believe we have more truth, more understanding, and more obedience than those who share our same faith. “More” is a relative term that can cause lots of problems. It can be difficult to measure “more,” not to mention, there are millions of different experiences that offer new perspectives and require varying levels of strength. Let’s talk about it.

Inside the church

Sometimes, we think we’re better because we see ourselves as living the gospel more accurately than others. Even if this is true in regards to observing the outward performances and standards of the church, our hearts are going to be what’s judged at the last day. And if we’re harboring and inadvertently nurturing thoughts that we’re better (rather than actively fighting against and rooting out those beliefs), then we’re going to be the ones with a problem.

There was a point in my mission where some of my mission leaders weren’t being exactly obedient. None of us are perfectly obedient; I understand that concept. However, I had noticed the issues and I also saw that some of the other non-leader missionaries had noticed the issues. I remember it being difficult. Some of these missionaries were trying to be really obedient and were meeting minimal “success.” They watched their leaders baptizing often enough and training them in our frequent meetings, but they also watched their leaders doing things we had been asked not to do.

I remember taking this problem to the Lord. I was angry. These non-leader missionaries were righteous missionaries who felt like they were being swept aside even though they were trying hard to do what’s right. These were righteous missionaries who had started asking, “Why bother?” when their leaders weren’t even following the rules and seemed to be met with success.

This was actually a huge turning point in my life. I was filled with what I believed to be righteous indignation towards these leaders who were being bad examples. As I opened the scriptures for my personal study, I found that I was about to read the story of the stripling warriors. I was a little excited because I felt justified in my anger as I thought about the exact obedience of these young soldiers.

But boy was I in for a different lesson than I was expecting.

As I read the story about these young men, the Spirit rather forcefully whispered to me that if these missionary leaders had been in the position of the stripling warriors, we would be reading the same story. They would have been exactly obedient. My eyes filled with tears as the Spirit also whispered that I had no idea what some of these missionaries had sacrificed to go on a mission. I was floored.

Who was I to think I was better? I had happily married parents (which actually makes all the difference in the world). I had been actively taught the gospel and protected from nefarious influences as I was growing up. I didn’t have much trauma. I wasn’t worried about my family back home and whether they were okay. I had never struggled to overcome serious sin because I hadn’t even really had an opportunity to commit serious sin. The gospel was handed to me on a silver platter. I was given a lovely environment to learn about it and love it. A huge majority of my experiences with the gospel were positive.

What these missionary leaders had chosen to do of their own accord with minimal support was awe-inspiring. They had pushed much harder and farther than I had ever had to push. They had to build up a strength that had never been required of me.

And this happens all the time. When a youth has a difficult time being reverent, when an adult is rough around the edges, we can be guilty of this. We think they should know better. We scoff that they can’t get it together. And yet, we never stop to consider how we would be acting if we had grown up in their shoes with their perspectives and experiences.

This doesn’t mean we treat them kindly and then feel proud of ourselves for being charitable to people who we’re actually viewing as lesser. No. This means we pray for eyes to see them clearly and step back as the Lord shows us what we couldn’t see on our own.

The tricky part

Now this is all a little bit tricky. We’re taught to share our light, to love those who need support, and to share the message of repentance. All of these messages can intrinsically hold some measure of, “I’m better than you and need to share all of my righteousness with you.” This is exactly the attitude that turns so many people off.

So how do we accurately apply these principles of sharing our own light while simultaneously sloughing off attitudes that we’re so great?

I have 1000% been guilty of this sin. I have worked to reach out to those who weren’t as “strong” and been proud of myself for being compassionate and giving them all of this fantastic advice about being more righteous. There has been one understanding that has really helped me work towards casting out this inaccurate attitude.

This understanding can easily be defined as, “I don’t really know. Maybe I think I know, but I don’t really know.”

In a more concrete analogy, this would be like looking at someone next to me at the gym and assuming I’m stronger because I’ve done more reps. It would be me arrogantly walking over to encourage them that they can do more reps, faster reps, and still have plenty of energy like me. Awakening to a proper understanding of the world around me would look like the realization that this person I was trying to bless is actually lifting five times the weight that I’ve been lifting.

There are times when it’s appropriate to correct. Even when someone is lifting ten times your body weight, it can still be helpful to tell them that locking their knees isn’t going to help. However, the delivery feels so different when you simultaneously have the realization and respect that’s due for what they’re carrying. I think it’s also helpful to recognize that sometimes the most helpful thing you can do is realize and respect what they’re carrying.

I had another mission leader who used to do exchanges with us. At the end of exchanges, you’re supposed to tell the missionary what they’re doing wrong and then also encourage them a ton in what they’re doing right. This sister missionary was likely very wise when she taught me that she rarely told people what they were doing wrong. In her words, “People already know what they’re doing wrong. You don’t usually have to tell them.”

I have found this to be true. There will be times when you’re encouraged by the Spirit to correct. However, I believe that a grand majority of the time, you’re going to find you’re more effective at helping someone when you genuinely seek out their friendship with a deep and abiding knowledge that they’re children of God, regardless of whether they’re different from you. Not only are you more effectively helping them, but you’ll find that your life is much more blessed and full for having known them and learning from their example too. I have found that if I’m applying this principle correctly, I feel like I’m the one who’s blessed for knowing them and not the other way around.

I believe in a Savior who loves us. I believe in a Savior who judges perfectly according to our experiences and gifts. I believe that if we can recognize and cast out our own attitudes that reflect the Zoramites, we’re going to find a much fuller life because we’re going to be blessed by people we didn’t know we could be blessed by.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Alma 30–31 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

He Relentlessly Pursues Usby Autumn Dickson

In chapters 24 and 25 of Alma, we read about the details of a war between the Lamanites, Nephites, and the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi. Let’s cover the timeline of this story so we can pull out details of how the Lord works with His people.

In chapter 24 of Alma, we see the Lamanites originally coming upon the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi. These converts of Anti-Nephi-Lehi had buried their weapons and as they were being slain, they raised their hands and praised the Lord. Over a thousand of these converts were slain before the Lamanites pulled back and couldn’t do it anymore. All of them stopped killing the converts, but there were still two different reactions among these aggressors.

More than a thousand of the Lamanites were so affected that they joined the church that day. First of all, that experience in and of itself is mind boggling, both on the part of the killed and those doing the killing. Let’s say you’re in the group that was attacked; you’re watching a thousand of your family members and friends being killed. The second the killing stops, you jump in to help comfort, teach, convert, and welcome those who had been killing. Wild. I also think it’s wild that so many of those who were doing the killing were able to jump so quickly into redemption. It’s hard to forgive yourself, but these guys did it and it’s remarkable.

But there was also a second group of Lamanites. These guys couldn’t stomach the idea of killing the defenseless people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi any longer, but their hearts were still hard. In verse 1 of chapter 25, we learn that they decided to direct their anger towards the Nephites instead. I want you to try and comprehend the switch. These Lamanite hearts are soft enough that they can’t handle killing someone stretched out on the ground before them, but their hearts are still hard enough that they can’t let go of their anger. I would imagine this is partially because they can’t bring themselves to accept the reality of what just happened. The Lamanites were raised as a wild and bloodthirsty people, but sin always affects the sinner. These experiences stayed with the Lamanites and facing the reality of what they had done to the converts was probably harder than redirecting their anger towards a different group of people who would fight back.

So that’s what they did. They turned their anger to the Nephites and were like, “Yeah. This was definitely all the fault of the Nephites. Let’s get vengeance on them instead.” Their hearts were still too hard to break unto the Lord; their hearts were hard enough that they still felt that killing was the answer.

As the Lamanites turned to the Nephites, they killed all the wicked people in Ammonihah before being driven back again and again. They could not overpower the Nephites, and so we find this experience next.

Alma 25:6 For many of them, after having suffered much loss and so many afflictions, began to be stirred up in remembrance of the words which Aaron and his brethren had preached to them in their land; therefore they began to disbelieve the traditions of their fathers, and to believe in the Lord, and that he gave great power unto the Nephites; and thus there were many of them converted in the wilderness.

Many of the leftover Lamanites converted as well.

There are only a bajillion principles in this timeline ranging from forgiveness and charity to the merits of defending yourself vs. pacifism according to the will of the Lord. I can’t cover them all so the one I want to cover today is summed up nicely in the words of Elder Patrick Kearon in his conference address from this last April.

God is in relentless pursuit of you.

How many chances qualify as sufficient?

There were three chances (that we know of) that this last group of Lamanites received to accept the gospel.

The first chance came in the land of Nephi. Ammon, Aaron, and their brethren came to the Lamanite lands to preach the gospel. Many converted, and it would have likely been impossible to miss the surge of religious fervor in the area. These Lamanites had been given a chance to hear the gospel and accept it. We know that they heard some of the message because in the verse we read (Alma 25:6), it talks about how they remembered the words of Aaron. Though many joined the church, there were still plenty who rejected it.

The second chance came after they literally went to war with the converts who had come to be known as Anti-Nephi-Lehies. Not only did they reject the gospel, but many Lamanites actively sought against it. Think about the state of their hearts. They killed one thousand and five converts who were laid out on the ground in front of them. The people they killed were praising God as they were slaughtered. Think about what you understand of war and what it requires to actually kill someone. Then think about how much more it would require of a man to stab a defenseless person with a sword because you were mad that they had joined a church. So much of war these days is impersonal, bombs dropped where you can’t see the people you’re affecting. Even shooting a gun is less personal than having to use a sword.

I don’t bring up these facts to be gruesome. I bring them up because I want to highlight the state of the hearts of these Lamanites; understanding how far “gone” they were can help us understand just how much the Lord pursues us. I mean, we get discouraged when our friends don’t accept a copy of The Book of Mormon or an invitation to church. These Lamanites were killing, and yet, the Lord didn’t abandon or give up on them. The Lord relentlessly pursued their souls despite everything they had done, despite the state of their hearts and their willingness to kill.

There came a point where even the most hardened Lamanites couldn’t kill any more defenseless people. It was too much. A large number of these Lamanite hearts broke as they acknowledged that the killing they had participated in was wrong, and the Lord was standing there, ready to forgive and heal them from the trauma they had brought on their own heads.

The Lord brought them in and worked with them as soon as they were ready for it. As soon as they were ready to join hands with those who had been their “enemies,” as soon as they were ready to look into the faces of the family members of the people they killed, the Lord was ready to gather them in. I also find it beautiful that the family members of the murdered were standing ready to be the hands of the Lord and welcome them in, to show these broken Lamanites just how far the Lord was willing to go for them.

But the story doesn’t even end there! Though many of the Lamanite hearts broke unto the Lord, there were still many who refused to acknowledge that maybe they were on the wrong side here. There were many who refused to consider that maybe they were only hurting themselves by continuing to kick against the pricks.

Their hearts were still hard! They could no longer stomach the idea of killing defenseless, happy people, but they refused to let go of their anger and hard hearts. Instead, they just decided to go and kill the Nephites because apparently that made loads of sense to them. They couldn’t kill the converts anymore, so they decided that all this apparently revolting (in their eyes) religious conversion was definitely the fault of the Nephites so they decided to go and kill some more.

The combination of Aaron’s warnings and being beaten down by Nephites finally did it for them. Their hearts finally softened and broke, and they finally considered that maybe they had been looking at the entire situation wrong. And there was the Lord, ready to accept them into the folds through the medium of baptism.

If you were in the Lord’s shoes (exactly as you are, not perfect like Him but as you are now), when would you have given up on these Lamanites? When would you have said, “Okay. Enough is enough. I’m done trying to save you; you refuse to be saved.”

In the midst of all this overwhelming tragedy, this one principle screams through. The Lord’s love for us runs deeper than we can truly fathom, and He absolutely, unendingly, relentlessly pursues us. We may give up, but He does not.

Even when it seems like the end, His actions are still demonstrative of His relentless pursuit. As the Lamanites suited up for war against the converts, many of us would have believed, “They’re placing the last nail in their own coffins.” As the killing began, our hearts would have broken for those who were being killed and maybe even for the Lamanites who were hurting themselves. We would have thought, “Surely, they can’t come back from this.” We would have been floored with surprise as many of them threw down their own weapons in their first act of conversion, and hopefully would have cried surprised tears of joy as they entered the waters of baptism.

As we watched the rest of the Lamanites angrily march off to go and kill Nephites instead, we would have thought, “Okay if that experience didn’t change them, they’re never going to change.”

We would have given up, but the Lord never does. Where we saw acts of rebellion that surely announced the bull-headed desire to be damned, the Lord saw opportunities for the Lamanites to finally figure it out. When Satan started to rejoice over the powerful hold he had over the Lamanites, the Lord was just warming up and utilized all of Satan’s chains to wake them up.

We are not the Lord, but let’s not forget the Anti-Nephi-Lehies. The Anti-Nephi-Lehies, more than any other group, held a balm for these broken-hearted Lamanites that sealed their budding conversion. These converts, who had been changed themselves, believed that the Lamanites could change and welcomed them into their homes and families. The Lord loved and relentlessly pursued, and He utilized the Anti-Nephi-Lehies as one of the extensions of that love. He can likewise utilize us.

I testify of a Lord who never gives up, and I testify that if we choose to offer the same grace, compassion, forgiveness, and acceptance towards our enemies, we will find greater peace than we ever thought possible.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Alma 23–29 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

The Lamanite mission of the sons of Mosiah(Alma 17-29)by Mike Parker

Class Notes

Additional Reading

Cutting off the arms of one’s enemies (as seen in Alma 17:37–39) is an ancient practice around the world; see:

John M. Lundquist and John W. Welch, “Ammon and Cutting Off the Arms of Enemies,” in Reexploring the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book and Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1992), 180–82.
Bruce H. Yerman, “Ammon and the Mesoamerican Custom of Smiting Off Arms,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 8, no. 1 (1999): 44–47, 78–79.

The presence of horses in the promised land is mentioned eight times in the Book of Mormon (1 Nephi 18:25; Enos 1:21; Alma 18:9–12; 20:6; 3 Nephi 3:22; 4:4; 6:1; Ether 9:19). Archaeological evidence for the presence of the horse in the pre-Columbian Americas is scant and inconclusive. The following articles explore the possibilities that horses survived to Book of Mormon times or that the Lehites called a similar animal by a familiar name:

“Book of Mormon Evidence: Horses,” Evidence Central, 16 January 2023.
“When Lehi’s Party Arrived in the Land, Did They Find Horses There? (KnoWhy #649),” Book of Mormon Central, 17 October 2022.
Daniel Johnson, “‘Hard’ Evidence of Ancient American Horses,” BYU Studies Quarterly 54, no. 3 (2015): 149–79.

Duane Boyce explored the views of the people of Ammon toward war in “Were the Ammonites Pacifists?”, Journal of the Book of Mormon and Other Restoration Scripture 18, no. 1 (2009): 32–47.

At end of Alma chapter 22, Mormon₂ left a detailed explanation of the geographical layout of the lands where the Nephites and Lamanites lived (see Alma 22:27–34). Why did he do this? And how can understanding the internal geography of the Book of Mormon help us understand the text better? Book of Mormon Central examines this topic in KnoWhy #130.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Alma 17-29 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

The Power of Womenby Autumn Dickson

Just as a heads up, I will be speaking about Ammon this week, but it takes a bit for me to segue into it so stay with me.

In the March 2024 Relief Society Broadcast, J. Anette Dennis, the first counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency taught, “There is no other religious organization in the world, that I know of, that has so broadly given power and authority to women.” This has caused quite a backlash on social media. I’ve read a lot of the comments regarding it, and though there are too many to cover, I’d like to talk about one common argument.

There are many women who feel silenced in the church. They may receive priesthood authority to perform their callings, but there are still male leaders who hold authority over their authority. This can lead to feelings of being stepped on, passed over, and ignored. I don’t disbelieve that this occurs. I know many faithful women who have had experiences where their voices didn’t matter; their perspectives were invalidated, and their opportunities to make a difference felt cut off. On top of that, because of our belief in organized priesthood authority, it can feel like there’s little room for redress.

I believe in priesthood authority. I believe it’s given to men and women to perform various callings on the earth to help build the kingdom. I believe that the Lord leads His church, and I believe that His church policies change according to His will. I believe the general authorities in the church are good people who seek out the Lord’s will to the best of their abilities and that they do a really great job of it. I believe that despite the issues caused by the fact that we are all imperfect people, the system given to us by the Lord is generally effective and gives us opportunities to grow.

I also believe that any of the imperfections we experience in this priesthood system given to us by the Lord cannot truly take away our power nor does it need to impede our personal growth.

Let’s talk just a little bit about this structure, and then we’re going to talk about Ammon.

The priesthood system of management

There are a couple of facts we need to be aware of that can help us recognize what’s really happening around us. Understanding these facts can help us understand what issues we may run into, and it can also help us solve any problems that come as a result of imperfect people.

Our first fact is that a majority of the callings with higher authority in the church are held by men. This is difficult for a lot of faithful women who feel that whatever authority they’re supposed to receive can be usurped and passed over. There are two perspectives we need to take into consideration here. I don’t believe it’s a problem rooted in sexism. In other words, I don’t believe that’s the cause. I have seen my husband have his authority usurped by other men who hold authority over his authority. I’ve had male friends asked to be released because they felt that their opinions never mattered, and they were always being passed over. This is not to diminish the problems a lot of women face, but I think it’s important to recognize what’s really happening in order to fix the problem. I don’t believe this is a sexism problem. I believe it’s a bad management problem.

The second perspective is to recognize that it happens disproportionately to women because of the nature of the structure. Men often hold more authority which means they have more opportunities to usurp power. Women often hold less authority which means more plentiful opportunities to have power usurped.

I don’t know if things are going to change. I don’t see everything that the Lord sees. I don’t know why women have priesthood power and authority but do not hold priesthood offices. I don’t know why the Lord has organized his church in the way that He has. There are plenty of theories out there, but we have to be careful with theories. We should not try to definitively explain the Lord’s mind when He has not chosen to do so Himself.

So we believe in the Lord. We believe that He guides His living church. We also believe that He loves His daughters as much as He loves His sons. Sometimes this can cause some cognitive dissonance. How do we reconcile the imperfections of the priesthood structure with the fact that He (at least for now) has chosen this structure? How do we reconcile that with our belief that He loves all of His children equally?

There are two perspectives I’d like to share. The first perspective is that there are no perfect systems of governance in an imperfect world. There will be pros and cons to each system of governance. There will always be chances for corruption. I don’t know what the Lord sees, but I know that He set things up this way for some reason. I don’t know if He plans on changing the priesthood structure during this mortal period of the earth or if He’s laying the groundwork for change, and it just takes a while. I don’t know. I do know He sees more than I do.

For the second perspective, I’d like to take a look at Ammon. It is Ammon that inspired the message for me this week.

Ammon’s “illogical” decision

This week we read about Ammon going to the Lamanites to try and teach the gospel. As he enters into the land, he is taken and bound and brought before King Lamoni. King Lamoni speaks with him and ends up liking him so much that he offers his daughter to Ammon.

Alma 17:25 But Ammon said unto him: Nay, but I will be thy servant. Therefore Ammon became a servant to king Lamoni. And it came to pass that he was set among other servants to watch the flocks of Lamoni, according to the custom of the Lamanites.

Though we don’t find much detail about this daughter that was offered up to Ammon, it was this daughter that drew my attention to this issue I’ve been pondering so much. Here we find a woman who is a commodity, and we find Ammon turning down the offer. Ammon could have gotten married and exercised his newfound authority to try and spread the gospel far and wide. But he didn’t. Ammon chose to be a servant. Some would have found this approach illogical. How much good could Ammon do as a servant in comparison to being a son-in-law to the king? Despite any arguments about the illogical nature of his choice, this is the route Ammon chose to take.

And this is precisely where we find a key to our problem. Ammon turned down authority to become a servant, and it was this exact process that made him the powerful missionary that he was.

Authority does not equate to power

I have a feeling that if I were to ask some of these women why they wanted more authority, many of them would answer things like, “Because I want to help” or “Because I want to build the kingdom and I feel like I’m not allowed.” Many of these women have likely been in situations where they felt like they had received revelation about how to make a difference, and someone had prevented them from acting on some of that revelation.

It can be extremely frustrating when you’re trying to help, and you’re feeling rebuffed over and over.

Interestingly enough, if we can take on the same perspective as Ammon, we will find far more power to do good than we previously dreamed of.

Ammon chose to be a servant. Perhaps Ammon knew that authority doesn’t always equate to power. Or, in the very least, Ammon chose to follow God and God knows that authority doesn’t always equate to power.

God doesn’t care if you’re a bishop. I repeat; God doesn’t care about whether you’re a bishop. But Satan does. If Satan can convince you that you’re being held back because you’re not allowed to have more authority, then he can distract you from rising to your true power. You can be a nursery leader for the rest of your life, male or female, and make as big of a difference as any bishop, stake president, or prophet.

We see this with Ammon. He was watching over sheep, and it was this very position of servitude that opened the path for him to change the lives of thousands upon thousands of people.

You do not need authority to have immense priesthood power. I know some may argue that this is a copout for a structure that naturally puts women at a disadvantage, but I truly believe it.

I am a daughter of God. I am immensely powerful, with or without a specific priesthood jurisdiction. If we’re diminishing our power to only our formally held callings, then we are holding everyone back, not just women.

You are important. God believes you’re important, but until you believe that you have power within yourself (regardless of what calling or authority you’ve been given) then the only real limiting factor here is you because God is ready to take you above and beyond.

Even if people with more authority than you can override specific revelations you have received for your calling, you have not lost your power. Let’s say you find yourself in this specific situation. You’re a Relief Society President and feel really strongly about changing something in your realm of priesthood authority. Let’s say your bishop tells you no. What is the reality of this situation?

Perhaps your bishop has an ego problem, and it’s affecting his management. This does happen sometimes. Perhaps he’s a good man who the Lord is molding and pulling along; it’s just taking a bit (because hello…we’re all stubborn and often need to get pulled along). Either way, we’re feeling like our power has been limited, but is that really the truth?

I don’t believe so. I believe that if something truly needs to happen, the Lord can move heaven and earth to make it happen. The Lord will handle the bishop, whether he needs to be humbled or have his eyes opened. But you still have everything you need to make the difference that the Lord wants you to make. You have all the power you need to bring His children home to Him, because that’s really our goal in the end, isn’t it? It’s to bring everyone home.

Sometimes we equate power with authority and the ability to make decisions without anyone stopping you, but that is a slim definition of power. True power is a recognition of who you are, who the Lord is, and how He wants to propel you further in life than you could have ever imagined.

Sometimes we equate power with a microphone in a large auditorium. But if you’re looking for true power, do you know what you’ll find?

You’ll find that wrapping your arm around a friend holds more power than the lesson that was chosen to be taught in Relief Society. You’ll find that your broken hearts and compassion will far outweigh the influence found within decisions that are far removed from personal, individual relationships. Your prayers will have eternal consequences that can’t be touched by who gets to teach at the stake fireside. You will find creative solutions that allow you to stretch your wings and bless many despite any authority “over” you.

Think about your own life. What has held more influence over your actions, life perspectives, and testimonies? A talk given by a prophet or the involvement of a parent? Surely a talk given by a prophet can do much good, but a talk by a prophet means nothing without a foundation laid by an individual, personal interaction with a disciple of Christ.

We have all of the power AND opportunity we need to influence the world in incredible ways. None of our systems are perfect because none of our people are perfect, but isn’t that the point of the gospel? There are “problems” with each of the decisions that Heavenly Father has made in regards to our salvation (agency, priesthood authority structure, etc.), but we have the atonement of Jesus Christ. And the atonement of Jesus Christ means there’s always a loophole, there is always a way for things to turn out for our good.

I believe in a Heavenly Father and Mother who made decisions together for the benefit of Their children. I believe They lead, guide, and love. I believe we have everything we could ever need and want to make the specific differences They want us to make, and I believe that Their specific paths for our lives are the most powerful paths we can take.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Alma 17–22 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Foreordainedby Autumn Dickson

As we begin the chapters for this week, we find Alma preaching to the people regarding a variety of topics. One of these topics is how high priests are foreordained and sent to the earth to fulfill special callings.

Alma 13:3-4

3 And this is the manner after which they were ordained—being called and prepared from the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works; in the first place being left to choose good or evil; therefore they having chosen good, and exercising exceedingly great faith, are called with a holy calling, yea, with that holy calling which was prepared with, and according to, a preparatory redemption for such.

4 And thus they have been called to this holy calling on account of their faith, while others would reject the Spirit of God on account of the hardness of their hearts and blindness of their minds, while, if it had not been for this they might have had as great privilege as their brethren.

According to these verses, people are foreordained according to their faith and good works before they came here. Men and women were chosen and prepared to do specific things in their lives as dictated by their actions in the premortal existence. I think of all the men and women who are leading the church and building the kingdom in significant ways.

And I also thought about the fact that there are many of us who aren’t chosen as general church leaders. I think about those of us who have quieter callings. What does that say about us? I used to think it meant that I simply wasn’t good enough, that I hadn’t been strong enough to choose or that I didn’t have it within me to be one of these foreordained.

Interestingly enough, the second verse teaches us exactly what keeps someone from having the same great privileges as their brethren, namely a hard heart and blind mind. Let’s talk about those two things in the context of being foreordained.

A blind mind

What does a blind mind look like in the context of foreordination? When I think of blind, I obviously think of someone who can’t see. So we’re talking about not seeing this concept of foreordination clearly. I’m sure there are a million ways this can manifest, but there is one that I’m thinking of specifically and would like to talk about.

My husband, Conner, is the one who helped me see in relation to foreordination. I don’t think he ever meant to. I don’t think we’ve ever had a conversation about the doctrine of foreordination. However, observing him has brought about a dramatic shift in how I view callings in life.

Conner is not what I thought I would marry. I knew that I wanted to marry someone spiritual, but my view on what it meant to be “spiritual” was very narrow. I was naive, and I thought that being spiritual included long patterns of praying, reading scriptures, and pondering. Interestingly enough, these are all things I’m relatively good at. My sometimes-neurotic personality means that my family reads the scriptures, prays, and goes to church very regularly. Conner and I go to the temple. We have family home evening with all the prayers and songs, and all of the lists get checked off. In my young and limited world view, I believed that this list checking signaled spirituality, and I believed that these were habits that could be easy to anyone who simply chose to prioritize them.

Then I got to know Conner. He was chaotic and impulsive. If he’s holding still during a church meeting, it’s because I’m tickling his back or hand. He hardly remembers to eat, let alone daily worshiping tasks.

But the more I got to know Conner, the more I heard the Spirit whispering to me that there was something more to him that I couldn’t quite grasp. The Spirit would give me these moments where I could see him as the Lord saw him. I couldn’t describe it but I could feel that Lord was molding Conner into something specific, something very different than what I had pictured. And though I couldn’t reconcile it with my view of what spirituality was supposed to look like, I continued the relationship.

Now please don’t get me wrong. I obviously whole-heartedly believe in regular worshiping activities. I do believe we need to do everything to prioritize them because the Lord asked us to. But I also know now that all of these daily tasks don’t always completely equate with goodness and spirituality, and I know there are far more measures of spirituality to take into consideration. I also know that just because these tasks come easily to my personality, they aren’t easy for everyone. I have also learned that the Lord needed different personalities with different strengths and weaknesses in order to build His kingdom to the fullest extent.

And that is precisely what I mean by blindness of mind. For so long, I would read those verses and picture somber people who fit into this very specific archetype, and this extremely narrow view (this blindness of mind, if you will) limited me.

There are people who were foreordained to be temple presidents and general authorities, but the Lord didn’t just want temple presidents and general authorities. Can you imagine how limited our world would be if we only had temple presidents and general authorities? We need so much more. God is an extremely multidimensional Being, and all of us reflect something of Him.

I used to think I needed to try to tame the chaos that is my husband, but I have since learned that his chaos and all of the unique things about Conner were given specifically to Conner so Conner could fulfill his specific mission in life. There are things that Conner can accomplish that I will never be able to do, and I have a testimony that he can do those things because he is built differently than a temple president.

When it comes to foreordination, sometimes blindness of mind means that we have this idea in our heads of what foreordination is supposed to look like and only some people qualify for it. Only some people fit into the mold, and all of a sudden, we’re leaving out remarkable people who had specific jobs too. Yes, men were foreordained to be high priests, but there were so many more callings to give out.

It’s easy to see how my work (my blog, Youtube channel, and podcast) require revelation from the Lord. It requires me to regularly seek Him out, but I have learned that Conner is just as inspired and attuned to revelation in his work. I have watched him sink into these trance-like states as he ponders specific engineering problems, and I have watched him come out on the other end after he has been inspired with solutions. I am convinced that he receives revelation as regularly as I do; it just looks different than what I receive.

We need to broaden our perspective on what foreordination can look like. You were foreordained to build the kingdom, but there are a million ways to build that kingdom. What principles did the Lord use to create the world? Physics, engineering, biology. These are spiritual principles to Him. Your calling to build the kingdom may very well look like something that is traditionally viewed as secular. But we have to expand that view. We have to cast away that blindness and realize that the Lord wants to utilize each individual in beautiful, specific ways.

There are so many kinds of work, and just about every single one of them can be turned into spiritual work if we’re simply willing to include the Lord. And when we broaden our view of foreordination and realize that our “secular” work can include the Lord, He vastly expands our capacities and influence for good.

Believing that our work is lesser because it isn’t “spiritual” keeps us from stepping into that foreordination we were given and doing all the good we’re capable of doing.

A hard heart

And this is where the “hard heart” principle comes in. Are our hearts soft enough to believe that He can work with us? Have we softened towards Him enough to believe that He loves us, made us as we are, and gave us specific gifts to fulfill specific roles that look different than the roles of others? Can we allow ourselves to believe that He can utilize us to influence the world in powerful ways?

Can we trust Him to take us where we can make a difference? Can we trust Him to help us understand what “powerful influence” means? When we think of changing the world, we often think of people with microphones and stadiums, but Jesus Christ worked with individuals, small groups, and His voice could only carry as loud as He could speak.

Let go of your own predilections for what you’re supposed to look like and what it looks like to influence the world for good. Soften your heart, and let the Lord mold you and give you specific experiences so He can utilize you in all of the best ways, the ways that may not make sense to the world but make perfect sense in the context of everything He knows.

I testify that no one is special. That would imply that the Lord holds favorites, but the Lord is absolutely willing to work with anyone who wants to be worked with. We are unique, and there are unique callings but there are no secret, special ingredients you have to innately possess in order to qualify as “foreordained.” The only thing holding someone back from their “great privilege” is their own unwillingness to see themselves as the Lord sees them or a hardness of heart that disables them from connecting with the Lord to become all they were meant to become. If you’re worried that you weren’t good enough in the pre-existence, it’s never to start turning to the Lord and allowing Him to work with you.

The Lord is willing and capable to turn you into so much more than you have in mind for yourself.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Alma 13–16 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Revelation for Almaby Autumn Dickson

In the chapters for this week, we read about Alma and Amulek attempting to convert the hard-hearted people of Ammonihah. In the beginning, we observe Alma as he originally goes into the city to preach to the people. They spit on him and revile him, and he leaves the city with much sorrow. As he is journeying, an angel comes and uplifts him and shares this message.

Alma 8:16 And behold, I am sent to command thee that thou return to the city of Ammonihah, and preach again unto the people of the city; yea, preach unto them. Yea, say unto them, except they repent the Lord God will destroy them.

Alma takes this message and hurries right back to the city to try again.

Now why was this the order of things? Why did Alma leave and come back? The angel could have easily delivered his message before Alma left, comforting him and encouraging him to continue on his work. Is there a reason for it or is it simply a detail of how the story unfolded that doesn’t matter?

Maybe it didn’t really matter, and that’s totally fine. Maybe Amulek needed an extra day of heart-preparation before he was ready for the angel to come and talk to him and prepare him to receive Alma. Maybe Alma needed some time to grieve before the angel came in and encouraged him. And once again, maybe it didn’t really matter.

There isn’t really an answer, so why is it important? I believe it’s important because despite whether there’s a reason for this turn of events or not, it can teach us about the process of revelation in our own lives. It can help us have the faith we need to do two things: grow in the way the Lord would have us grow and trust that revelation will come as needed.

Understanding the purposes of the Lord

I believe that in order to understand why and how revelation comes to us, we have to understand the reasoning of the Lord. What is He truly trying to accomplish with us? I think sometimes it’s easy to believe that the Lord is just trying to keep us on a perfect path with as little interference as possible, and even if we don’t believe that consciously, we often act like that’s His entire purpose. Surely, He wants us to follow Him, but His true purpose isn’t avoiding missteps; His true purpose is our growth, and that is essential to understand (even in the context of revelation).

For example, we often become paralyzed as we’re trying to make decisions about what to do in our lives because we don’t want to misstep. We really, really, really want to do what the Lord would have us do and so we wait and wait and wait for an answer that may never come rather than acting. I don’t believe the desire to do what the Lord wants us to do is bad (obviously), but I do believe that the fear that sometimes accompanies missteps stems from incomplete understanding about the purposes of revelation.

So what is the Lord’s true purpose for us? To put it in incredibly simple terms, He wants us to be like Him. He wants us to make purposeful decisions based on wisdom like He does. He wants us to create the kind of life we desire. He wants us to create goodness without someone pulling us along to do so.

What does this mean for revelation? Everything. It explains why the Lord answers in specific ways.

For example, let’s look at a college student who is trying to choose a major. If you were in the Lord’s shoes, and you wanted this student to become brave and bold in their decisions, how would you respond to them? Would you simply give them the answer whenever they asked for it? Surely, they could potentially avoid some mistakes and anxiety, but what are you truly wanting for them?

There are appropriate times that the Lord gives us an answer directly and quickly. Sometimes He allows us to sink deeper into our faith so we’re prepared to receive more important answers. Sometimes, He is totally silent. Sometimes, He answers and turns us around after we’ve started acting. All of these responses are crafted carefully so that we can be given the tailor-made opportunities to step into His shoes and become like Him.

In the context of Alma

Let’s look at it in the context of Alma. Now one of the difficulties in the scriptures is the fact that they were abridged. We don’t necessarily have the entire story. We might be missing some details about how Alma decided to leave Ammonihah, but let’s just take the story at face value.

Alma was doing the Lord’s work, but we don’t see Alma on his knees for any length of time praying for an answer about whether he should leave Ammonihah and move on to another city that would be more prepared for the work. All we see is that Alma recognized that the people had hard hearts, and he made an extremely logical decision to go find someone who was prepared for the word of God. In missionary work, this is actually tremendously important. Dropping unprepared people in faith is critical because it shows the Lord that we believe in His ability to lead us to people who are prepared. Alma used the faculties of mind he had been blessed with and started to move on.

However, the Lord had more information than Alma. He knew that there were a couple people in the city who needed the missionaries, and He also knew that the people were preparing to destroy the liberty of the Nephites. Was the Lord angry that Alma had moved on without asking? No! He sent an angel to course correct. The Lord wasn’t angry at all. Observe Alma’s heart. Alma had enough love in his heart for these people that he was sad for them and their inability to accept the gospel. Alma also quickly course corrected and trusted the Lord immediately upon receiving an answer. Why would the Lord be angry?

But are we sometimes worried that the Lord will be angry with us if we choose wrong? Do we sometimes inadvertently believe that the Lord will abandon us to decisions made upon limited information? Do we subconsciously think that if we make the “wrong” decision that the Lord will wash His hands of us and we’re going to ruin our own lives? There are wrong decisions morally speaking, where you’re choosing to cause problems. And then there are wrong decisions where you didn’t choose the path the Lord had in mind, and He course-corrects. He doesn’t get mad over the second kind of “wrong.” He just fixes it. So if your heart is set on following Him, you’re going to be fine.

Perhaps we profess faith in the Lord, but do we feel enough faith that we make our own decisions with enthusiasm, believing that the Lord sees the whole picture and will course correct as necessary? Do we feel immense relief over the fact that we know He loves us and isn’t going to abandon us to our limited knowledge? Do we experience gratitude when we think about the fact that He’s given us the opportunity to create what we want our lives to look like while simultaneously promising to guide us along should it be needed? Do we have enough faith in Him to trust that He can give us answers in a way that we will understand?

When our desperate desire to avoid missteps overpowers our faith in Him, His purposes, and His abilities to guide us, we will find ourselves at a standstill. We dramatically limit ourselves from accomplishing so much good. We cripple our ability to grow to become like Him.

Look at this verse in Doctrine and Covenants.

Doctrine and Covenants 58:29 But he that doeth not anything until he is commanded, and receiveth a commandment with doubtful heart, and keepeth it with slothfulness, the same is damned.

We’re damned if we don’t make decisions. We’re not damned because He’s cursing us. We are literally damned in our progression. We aren’t able to grow to become like Him because that’s exactly who He is. He does good of His own accord with His unlimited knowledge. When we stop ourselves from gaining this kind of growth and experience, we’re hurting our progression and damning ourselves.

A word of advice on revelation

If you really want to seize the opportunities you’ve been given here on earth, there are a couple of attitudes you can adopt to help you along. The test we’ve been given on earth is less of a multiple choice test and more of a final project where you are the product that’s turned in. So rather than focusing on trying to get an answer for every decision and following it perfectly, try focusing on cultivating certain attitudes that will allow the Lord to utilize you in tremendous ways.

Honestly, there is one overarching posture that you can cultivate that will enable you to receive everything you need to be successful. Seek a closeness with the Lord. Being close with the Lord will allow you to understand two things: His love and concern for you, and His wisdom.

Knowing that He loves you and wants the best for you will allow you to breathe freely. It will help you trust that He wants to watch you soar of your own free will and that your future happiness is very safe with Him. You have nothing to worry about. He will reach you as necessary so go create goodness as much as you can in the ways that you love.

Understanding His wisdom will cultivate a natural desire to turn Him and check in. Alma may not have been praying about whether he should leave Ammonihah, but he was turned to the Lord. This made it very easy for the Lord to speak to him, and it also made it very easy for Alma to course correct. When we know who God is, it becomes more difficult to ignore Him and very natural to seek Him out regularly as you would a loving, all-knowing Parent.

We have every reason to believe that the best is coming. Even when we know that we’ll be stepping into difficulty and peril throughout our lives, we can know that our ending is perfectly safe. There is no circumstance that can permanently destroy our happiness or take away our eternal reward. Your job is to love the Lord and trust Him, and that love will lead you towards Him and towards perfection.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Alma 8–12 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

The ministry of Alma & Amulek(Alma 5–16)by Mike Parker

Class Notes

Handout

Additional Reading

Robert A. Rees, “Alma the Younger’s Seminal Sermon at Zarahemla,” in Bountiful Harvest: Essays in Honor of S. Kent Brown, ed. Andrew C. Skinner, D. Morgan Davis, and Carl Griffin (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2011), 329–43.
Why does Alma 7:10 say Jesus was born “at Jerusalem” when the Bible says he was born in Bethlehem? Robert F. Smith answers this question in “The Land of Jerusalem: The Place of Jesus’ Birth,” in Reexploring the Book of Mormon, ed. John W. Welch (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book / Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1992), 170–72.
Thomas A. Wayment, “The Hebrew Text of Alma 7:11,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 14, no. 1 (2005): 98–103. Wayment argues that the translation of Isaiah 53:4 in Alma 7:11 is closer to the Hebrew text than the English translation in the King James Bible is.
BYU professor John W. Welch explains the Nephite system of weights and measures in Alma 11:3–19 in “Weighing and Measuring in the Worlds of the Book of Mormon,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 8, no. 2 (1999): 36–45, 86. (See also Robert F. Smith’s “Table of Relative Values” in the same issue.)
Alma₂ forbade Amulek from using the power of God to save the believers in Ammonihah from being killed (Alma 14:11). Why does God permit evil to take place in the world? Elder Spencer W. Kimball gave some ideas in his article “Tragedy or Destiny,” Improvement Era 69, no. 3 (March 1966): 178–80, 210–12, 214, 216–17.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Alma 5–7; Alma 8–12; Alma 13–16 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

The Change of Heartby Autumn Dickson

In the chapters for this week, we find various sermons and experiences from Alma as he is traveling from city to city to try and build up the church. In one of the areas, Zarahemla, he found some issues within the church that were plaguing the Saints and taking them away from the Lord.

This is another one of those chapters growing up that troubled me and made me worry about my salvation. As I read verses about being stripped of pride and envy (particularly difficult as an insecure teenager), or when I read verses about walking blameless before God, I was convinced I didn’t stand a chance.

I never think it’s a bad idea to consider the state of your soul and talk to the Lord about it, but it has to be done right. There have been plenty of times that I’ve examined the apparently black state of my soul growing up and thinking that there was no way I’d ever be good enough to live with God again. This wasn’t uplifting or helpful. It didn’t make me a better person. It just made me focus more on myself. I was doing plenty of good things, but those good things weren’t changing me. Which is rather unfortunate and ironic when you think about the fact that change is literally the entire point of this earthly exercise.

A mighty change of heart absolutely includes a desire to do what’s right, to follow the Lord, and serve those around us. However, a mighty change of heart includes much more than that. There is a process to follow that I believe often gets pushed out of order to our own detriment.

Let’s observe exactly what Alma is teaching here, and I think we’ll find how to have our hearts changed in a way that is uplifting and joyful. Understanding exactly what Alma is teaching about being prepared to meet God can help us to accomplish more good works than we otherwise would be able to, and it can also help us go about this process in a way that fills our souls rather than leaving us empty.

How does the change of heart occur?

Alma is addressing the Saints in Zarahemla when he starts talking about remembering the captivity of their fathers. He talks about them being encircled by the bands of death and chains of hell. An everlasting destruction awaited them. Were they destroyed? No. Their restraints were loosed. Alma then asks:

Alma 5:10 And now I ask of you on what conditions are they saved? Yea, what grounds had they to hope for salvation? What is the cause of their being loosed from the bands of death, yea, and also the chains of hell?

That’s what we’re trying to find out here, right? We’ve all found ourselves encircled with bands that we can’t break ourselves. We’ve all sinned. So how did our fathers escape? Because if we can figure out how they escaped, we can know how to escape ourselves. Luckily, Alma describes it clearly.

And if I had been able to observe the answer as a teenager, it would have surprised me.

Alma 5:12 And according to his faith there was a mighty change wrought in his heart. Behold I say unto you that this is all true.

What saved them? It wasn’t an incessant, bullheaded attempt to do everything right. It was faith! It’s so funny because I was absolutely surrounded by Texas Christians growing up who were of the opinion that “works” were completely unnecessary. You were only saved by believing in Christ. We believe in works, and there is a place for works, and we will talk about works. But maybe they were onto something. I feel like we have a culture in the church that talks about our belief in grace and faith as they are related to salvation, but we also inwardly scoff a little. We’re afraid to lean on grace and faith to the extent that we relinquish responsibility for our actions to our detriment. I feel like we profess the idea of grace and faith, and yet oftentimes, our beliefs about our own worthiness and the extent to which we beat ourselves up does not reflect this belief in the Savior’s ability to redeem.

And yet, here we have Alma, teaching that it was faith that freed them from their bonds.

So let’s cover grace and works again. Where does faith come in and what’s the point of works? How do the two relate together? I’ve only talked about it a million times, but that’s because the relationship between the two is complex. There are a lot of ways to teach it and better understand it. There are layers to it, so we’re going to add another layer here that can hopefully add to what we’ve already studied about grace and works.

Works-first method

Perhaps we don’t mean to, but I believe we often follow a “works first” method and we believe that the faith (and all the feelings associated with salvation) just kinda descends later. I tried that for a long time, and it never descended. I think sometimes we believe that if we’re following the commandments and standards, those good feelings of freedom and peace and salvation are simply going to show up. Not so.

Here is a disclaimer before I start elaborating. Someday perfection will come. Someday, you’ll never have to fall down again. That day is not today, not in this environment on earth. Heavenly Father set you up to fail, not because He doesn’t love you but because we had to fail. We needed to fail in order to become like Him. It had to happen. He wants us to be like Him, and He knew the only way to achieve that all-important goal was if we were placed in an environment with enough opposition to fall down repeatedly. He set us up to fail for a good reason, and He provided His Son to pay for those failures.

So stop trying to stop failing. Don’t make that your goal. When we follow a works-first based method, we place all of our hopes on the idea that we’re going to stop falling down. We believe that we have to stop falling down in order to go home. Perhaps we don’t phrase it like that out loud, but that’s what we internally believe. That’s why we beat ourselves up every time we mess up or when we can’t overcome our flaws as fast as we want. That’s why we get discouraged and wonder if we’re good enough. It’s because we subconsciously believe we have to stop falling, and as we covered before, there is purpose in our weaknesses and fallen environment.

In a works-first method, we’re placing our faith in ourselves, not in Christ. We claim to believe in Christ. We claim that He pays for our sins and will forgive as often as we repent. However, if we truly believed that, if we truly let His grace seep into our hearts, we would feel joyful about His ability to save us and bring us home. When I say we’re placing our faith in ourselves, I mean that we’re trying to use our own abilities to stop falling down. It won’t work. It will only leave you battered and discouraged until you eventually want to stop trying. Have you ever felt that way? “I can’t do everything. I’m so tired. I want to just give up.” It’s because subconsciously we believe that we have to do everything, and it’s simply not true.

Faith-first method

Like I mentioned previously, sometimes we internally scoff at people who tell us to stop striving, that belief is all you need. I’m not telling you to stop striving. I’m telling you to change your goal. I’m telling you to switch to a much more effective method of striving.

The works-based method and the faith-based method both have the same eventual goal: perfection. However, they approach it in dramatically different ways. Only one is effective: faith-based.

When you are following the faith-based method, you know that trusting Christ is the only way to salvation. You stop trying to stop falling down. Instead, you collect strength every time you fall down and get back up. You have faith in a Savior who paid the price so you could be sent here to fail and gain the experience you so desperately needed.

And as we choose to focus on collecting strength and developing a deep gratitude for the Savior’s ability to redeem, something absolutely incredible happens.

Our hearts change.

I have experienced it, and it feels so good. The gospel feels good. Salvation feels good.

I do fail. I’m not a perfect mother or wife. I get angry when I feel wronged. I murmur. I can be vain. I can be selfish, and I can hold a grudge. But because I believe in my Savior, I turn to Him. I believe that He adores me, that He thinks I’m wonderful, that He believes in me, so I turn to Him. And as I repeatedly turn to Him with trust, I feel those wonderful feelings of salvation, and I change. It’s difficult to be angry and vain and selfish when faced with the reality of the love of your Savior. My heart changes. I want to do good, and it becomes easier to do good and become good.

Faith comes in two forms, or at least that’s how I’m going to describe it so I can make sure I’m really hitting this point home. There is faith in the form of obedience, and there is faith in the form of trusting your relationship with the Savior. Both types of faith are action words. I had to choose to trust my Savior as much as I’ve ever had to choose to be obedient. Trying to choose faith in the form of obedience without faith in the form of trust is the worst. Don’t do it. It’s a miserable way to live the gospel, and it’s completely ineffective.

I think sometimes we’re afraid to let go of our own constant nagging towards ourselves because we’re afraid we’ll let go, become comfortable in our sin, and then we’ll actually find ourselves in a ton of trouble. I know I was afraid of that.

But it’s not what happens. When we let go of the nagging and embrace the Savior and His ability to save, you find a much deeper motivation to do good and be good. You want to be stripped of envy and pride? Experience the love of your Savior, and you won’t feel a need to compare yourself to anyone. It melts away.

Embrace the Savior. Embrace faith and trust in Him. It’s the only happy and effective way to live the gospel.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Alma 5–7 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Mosiah and Amliciby Autumn Dickson

Within the chapters this week, we see two contrasted examples of men who are types of the Savior and Satan. It’s remarkable that these two examples were so closely put together within these chapters, and it’s very easy to observe the Plan of Salvation on a minute scale because of it.

King Mosiah

First, we have King Mosiah. He is obviously the representation of the Savior. He had all of this power bestowed on him, true power that was valid and recognized among the people. Here are two verses that very clearly put forth the Savior’s stance during the war in heaven as we were trying to decide how to proceed with the rest of our very long lives.

Mosiah was king over the Nephites and decided to form a new government. The people would elect judges and acknowledge laws and all live according to those laws. This is what King Mosiah had to say about it.

Mosiah 29:31-32

31 For behold I say unto you, the sins of many people have been caused by the iniquities of their kings; therefore their iniquities are answered upon the heads of their kings.

32 And now I desire that this inequality should be no more in this land, especially among this my people; but I desire that this land be a land of liberty, and every man may enjoy his rights and privileges alike, so long as the Lord sees fit that we may live and inherit the land, yea, even as long as any of our posterity remains upon the face of the land.

The second verse is very easy to find the parallel. Our Savior wanted us to have our freedom to choose. He wanted us to have the right to design our own eternal lives, to build what we wanted our eternal futures to look like. He was wise enough to understand that this was the only way we could truly be happy, to have the freedom to choose happiness. You can’t force someone into happiness even if you can force them to make choices that were meant to bring happiness.

The first verse that I included was also important because it describes the other side of the coin of freedom. King Mosiah teaches his people that sin can be caused by kings which equates to that sin falling upon the heads of the kings rather than on the heads of the people. Responsibility is as crucial to our happiness as freedom. We need the opportunity to take control of our own futures because it is only in the building of those futures that we find true happiness.

Let me give an example. I dated Conner for a year and a half before we got married, and I prayed and prayed and prayed and prayed and prayed for an answer about whether to marry him. I know that some people do receive answers when they pray about that kind of thing which is awesome, but I had a slightly different experience. Heavenly Father never truly answered me, and as I’ve made my way through marriage, I learned why.

I chose Conner on my own. I had known him for a very long time. We had seen the worst of each other if I’m being perfectly honest, but we had also seen plenty of good. After we got married, I don’t feel like I was completely caught off guard by choices he made because I knew what I had married.

There was beauty in this. I had desperately craved that validation from Heavenly Father, and I think Heavenly Father is wise in whether He chooses to bestow that validation or not because we’re all learning different lessons at different times in our lives. But for me, at this time in my life, He knew that I needed to make my own choice.

I needed to make my own choice so that when hard things came up in my marriage (which they inevitably always do), I couldn’t shake my fists at the heavens and ask why Heavenly Father had put me here. I had to look at myself, take responsibility for the choice I had made, and decide what I was going to do with those hard things. That doesn’t mean I leave Heavenly Father out of the equation, to the contrary. I ask Heavenly Father for help all the time. The difference is that I decide to make my marriage what I want my marriage to be. When something difficult comes along, I don’t throw up my hands and say, “Well this is where Heavenly Father put me so I guess I just have to deal.” I decide how I’m going to change, how I’m going to approach Conner, and a million other little choices. I’m very blessed to have a husband who makes these same choices.

The Lord let me own my marriage, and because He let me own it, I’ve been able to create something beautiful with my own choices and His help. It’s been an exhilarating and fulfilling process that has brought me far more happiness than I thought possible. It has brought me far more happiness in comparison to hoping that happiness would just fall on me; happiness simply doesn’t happen that way. We need freedom and responsibility to own our lives and build what we want.

Sometimes Heavnely Father gives us an answer, and that’s comforting and wonderful and definitely has its purposes in our life that can teach us important lessons. Sometimes He’s silent, not because He doesn’t care or doesn’t love us, but because He’s trying to push us into our big kid shoes. He’s trying to make us like Him, where we get to create what we want. We get to make choices, tell Him what we want, and then He helps us build that kind of future. He does this because He knows it’s an incredible process. King Mosiah also wanted this for his people.

Amlici

On the other end of the spectrum, we find Amlici. Amlici wanted to get rid of this new system of government five years after Mosiah put it into place; he wanted there to be kings again and he wanted to be king. So everyone got together and put in their votes, and the voice of the people came back. Amlici was not to be king. Not enough people wanted it. When Amlici was not chosen as king, this happens:

Alma 2:9-10

9 And it came to pass that they gathered themselves together, and did consecrate Amlici to be their king.

10 Now when Amlici was made king over them he commanded them that they should take up arms against their brethren; and this he did that he might subject them to him.

Can we not see the parallels between Amlici and Satan?

When Satan lost the war in heaven, he threw a hissy fit and dubbed himself powerful over the world. He enlisted those who had followed him to try and bring as many people under his control as possible.

And that is where we observe the true Satan. That is where we get a glimpse of Satan as he truly is, not as he is promoting himself to the people. Amlici wasn’t going around telling people that he wanted to be powerful and rule over everyone. He was arguing the merits of having a king to protect them. He was whispering and promising power to those who would be loyal to him. Amlici’s arguments were attractive.

But the second he didn’t get what he wanted, he tried to force them.

This is Satan. Satan had an “attractive” plan. Everyone would come home after going down to earth because Satan was going to make sure of it. Anyone who has had a loved one leave the gospel and felt fear or whether that loved one would be coming home can feel the attraction of Satan’s plan. You don’t have to look around you and wonder who is going to be missing. You don’t have to look internally and wonder whether you’re going to be missing. Satan told you he loved you, that he wanted to bring you home, that he would never risk your soul by sending you down to make mistakes. You have a “king” who will protect you and bring you home no matter the cost.

And that was precisely the problem. No matter the cost. What was the cost of Satan’s plan? Everything.

The point of the Plan of Salvation was to come down here, make mistakes and struggle and grow, and go home prepared to live like our Heavenly Father. It is only in this manner that we can find eternal happiness.

Satan’s “Plan of Salvation” would have brought all of us home. But the cost was the entire purpose of the plan. We would have returned unchanged. We would not have been prepared to live like God which means we would have been damned in our capacity to experience happiness forever. We would have been stuck right where we were, forced to do what’s right forever but never tasting the goodness of those right choices because they weren’t really our choices.

Amilici didn’t want to protect the people as king. He wanted to own the people as king. He was willing to risk the lives of his followers and those who voted against him because no one mattered to Amlici except Amlici. He didn’t care about those who died in battle. He cared about whether he won.

Satan didn’t love us enough to want to bring us all home. He loved himself enough to be willing to sacrifice the happiness of all of his brothers and sisters because he believed that power over us would make him happy. The ultimate narcissist. When he lost, he just went on a rampage working to destroy any shred of happiness on the earth. If he had truly loved us, he would have still worked for our happiness under any conditions he was given. But he doesn’t love us. He loves himself, and he’s willing to sacrifice us.

These are powerful stories and characters that can teach us so much about Heavenly Father’s choices for our lives here on earth. We hear people cry about the trauma and devastation on earth, and those are valid cries. But the opposite, a removal of agency, was a fate worse than death literally. It was an eternity stuck in the same state. It was an eternity of boredom and unhappiness and damnation in our progression.

Agency was necessary and beautiful. There were some immensely tragic consequences to agency, but we can look to two facts for comfort. One. The alternative was worse. Two. We have a Savior who suffered and promised to take care of everything. No hurt will stay hurt with the Savior. No wound is too deep. No consequence of agency is too far for the Savior to reach.

Our Heavenly Parents and Savior love us. They chose this plan for us, and then They took care of absolutely everything. They know how to be happy, and they have provided us with the perfect plan to find that happiness and to build it in our lives forever. And then the Savior paid for it. We are so loved; we have every reason to trust Them.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Mosiah 29–Alma 4 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Conversion of Alma & the sons of Mosiah; commencement of the reign of the judges; Nehor & the Amlicites(Mosiah 26–Alma 4)by Mike Parker

Class Notes

Additional Reading

Elder John K. Carmack, “When Our Children Go Astray,” Ensign, February 1997, pp. 7–13.
“How Were Judges Elected in the Book of Mormon? (KnoWhy #107),” Book of Mormon Central, 25 May 2016.
Matthew Roper, “For What Crime Was Nehor Executed?,” Ether’s Cave (blog), 29 January 2016.
J. Christopher Conkling, “Alma’s Enemies: The Case of the Lamanites, Amlicites, and Mysterious Amalekites,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 14, no. 1 (2005): 108–17. Conkling argues that the Amlicites of Alma 2–3 were the same group as the Amalekites who appeared suddenly, without explanation, in Alma 21, and that Oliver Cowdery simply used a different spelling of the same word dictated by Joseph Smith.
Benjamin McMurtry, “The Amlicites and Amalekites: Are They the Same People?,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 25 (2017): 269–81. McMurtry disagrees with Conkling and argues that that the Amlicites and Amalekites were, indeed, two separate groups.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Mosiah 25–28; Mosiah 29–Alma 4 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Understanding Requires Beliefby Autumn Dickson

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Mosiah 25–28 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Ammon’s expedition; Limhi & Alma’s escape to Zarahemla(Mosiah 7–8, 18–25)by Mike Parker

Class Notes

Additional Reading

BYU professor Daniel C. Peterson examines the baptism of Alma₁ in these two articles:

“Priesthood in Mosiah,” in The Book of Mormon: Mosiah, Salvation Only Through Christ, eds. Monte S. Nyman and Charles D. Tate (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center at Brigham Young University, 1991), 187–210.
“Authority in the Book of Mosiah,” FARMS Review 18, no. 1 (2006): 149–85.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Mosiah 18–24 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

They Were Just Dancingby Autumn Dickson

This post will probably not be a popular one, at least in terms of the world, but it’s definitely an important one.

One of the stories we read about this week is painful and tragic.

Mosiah 20:1 Now there was a place in Shemlon where the daughters of the Lamanites did gather themselves together to sing, and to dance, and to make themselves merry.

While these daughters were dancing and enjoying themselves, the wicked priests of King Noah abducted 24 of them and married them. This actually snowballs into a battle where a lot of people die because the Lamanites blame Limhi’s people for taking their daughters.

Now, we have no idea what the scriptures mean by singing, dancing, and making merry. I had dance parties with my girlfriends all the time when I was young. We know that when Laman and Lemuel were making merry, they were sinning, but we don’t know if that’s actually what they were trying to imply right here. I’m not going to assume that these girls were doing anything wrong, but I’m still going to use the story to teach a principle.

Perhaps some would argue with me that everything worked out because the daughters end up defending their abductor-husbands later on, but I just don’t buy it. I’ve seen my fair share of abused women defend their abuser. These priests couldn’t go back to their wives so they kidnap women and marry them instead. These priests had spent their time with other women while they were previously married, and they had also abandoned those poor wives! Something tells me they didn’t change just because they got married again. We also know they haven’t changed because when they’re given a bit of power, they use it to abuse other innocent people as well (cough cough Alma). I don’t think these girls were okay.

Which leads me to what I want to teach today.

The Lord gave us standards to protect us, not to blame victims, but to protect us. Read it again. I want to teach both of those principles today.

Not to blame victims

I feel like I should start with the “blame victims” portion of the principle so we can appreciate the second portion of the principle as well.

The standards weren’t given to punish the victims. The girls were out dancing and making merry, but even if the scriptures were purposefully implying that these girls were sinning, could we accurately blame them for what happened to them afterwards? No. Even if their actions enabled wicked men to take advantage of them, the blame lies with the wicked men.

I remember a time when I was growing up and getting ready for a youth conference dance. I was getting ready at my friend’s house, and we went all out for fun. Dance party, face masks, snacks, everything. Getting ready for the youth conference dance was going to be just as fun as the actual dance.

But we were also taking pictures. Even though we weren’t quite ready yet (i.e. not modest). There was nothing crazy, but they weren’t great either. They weren’t meant to be anything. If you’re judging us by intent, the pictures were 100% innocent. We were playing and getting ready and taking pictures. There was nothing else there.

My mom found the pictures and was understandably upset. She was worried that one of my friends wouldn’t think about it and post some of them online. I learned an intense lesson that day about protecting myself.

Here was the reality of the situation: We didn’t sin. I mean, taking the pictures was probably a mistake but we weren’t actively rebelling or sinning. We were young girls getting ready to go to a dance. Heavenly Father was proud of us for going to youth conference and loving it.

Here’s the other half of the reality. I could have had a friend post some of those pictures online without thinking about it. And those pictures could have been downloaded by someone gross. And as innocent as we were, it could have hurt us. As innocent as we were, it could have hurt us.

I was not a bad person. I was a good, innocent person who loved playing and dancing with her friends and going to youth conference. But the rest of the world is not so innocent or good. Heavenly Father is more aware of this than anyone, and that’s why He gave us standards.

I didn’t need to be blamed if those pictures had been used against me. And yet, despite the fact that I am not responsible for the wicked actions of another person, I am overwhelmingly grateful that my mother taught me a hard lesson about protecting myself that day.

Things as they are

I’m going to use a more extreme example, but I’m actually not going to apologize for it as I often do. The world can hem and haw and complain, but the reality is this: I had too many friends from high school for which this was a reality. I have too many friends who didn’t know what happened to them the night before. I have too many friends who wish they could take back actions or words that occurred because their inhibitions were dulled by alcohol. The world can attack us for using “fear” tactics to try and force our kids to do what’s right, but I call it a reality check. I’m teaching them the truth. As my kids grow older, I will try my best to simultaneously teach them to trust themselves and their instincts, but I’m not going to refrain from teaching them about the very real danger that shouldn’t (but does!) exist in the world. They don’t have to be afraid of the world, but they do need to be able to make their decisions with accurate information.

Let’s say my daughter grows up, goes to a party, drinks some of this alcohol, and gets attacked. What is the reality of this situation? What is she going to have to face?

Is my daughter guilty because the attack happened because she chose to go to a party? No. we already discussed this. The guilt that should lay on her shoulders should be equivalent to her growing up, going to a party, drinking alcohol, and coming home safely. There was still disobedience and broken promises, but the resulting attack isn’t on her.

Since we already talked about that a little more in depth, let’s move to the second part of the principle.

I once had a young woman come to me and argue that she should be able to wear whatever she wants, go wherever she wants, and get blackout drunk if she wants, and expect safety. We should be teaching people to protect others, not teaching girls to keep themselves “safe.” I agreed with her. We should live in a world where people are safe even when they’re extremely vulnerable. I will teach my children to protect vulnerable people. I will not stand for behavior that exploits vulnerable people.

But I am not the only person on the planet. And so despite the fact that we should be able to expect safety even when we’re vulnerable, that is not the reality around us.

So I will teach my children to protect the vulnerable, and I will teach my children to follow the standards given to us by the Lord in order to more effectively protect themselves. I don’t believe the Lord curses those who made themselves vulnerable, but I do believe He is trying to teach us commandments and standards to protect us from pain.

And you know what? Sometimes we do all the right things, and those bad things still happen to us. Sometimes we do what’s right, dress modestly, stand in holy places, avoid substances, and those bad things still happen. Sometimes you follow all the standards, and you still unknowingly marry one of those wicked people. That’s why I can accurately say that it’s not your fault if someone takes advantage of you. Because even when you’re doing everything right, it can still happen.

We teach that. We make sure our children know that if someone hurts them, they are innocent of the crime that happened to them.

But we also teach wisdom. Because even though you can do everything right and still find yourself in trouble, I can promise that the odds of protecting yourself are much higher when you follow the standards given by the Lord.

I compare it to locking your door. If you lock your door, someone could absolutely still break the lock, come in, and hurt your family. Is that your fault? No, it lies with the person who chose to do the wrong thing. But it’s stupid to leave your door unlocked because someone could break in anyway.

And unfortunately there’s another harsh reality, and I ask you to please not misunderstand me. I will do my best to express my thoughts accurately.

When you leave the door unlocked and someone comes in and harms the family, you will be asking yourself, “What if I had just locked the door? Could I have spared us all of this pain?” There is no reason to carry guilt around because someone else chose to do the wrong thing, but a lack of guilt does not equate to a lack of pain. It is difficult to experience those kinds of consequences regardless of whether you made yourself vulnerable. I would argue that it’s especially painful when you wonder if those consequences actually had to happen. I reiterate. It’s not your fault. You do not need to take on the guilt of a person who chose to do something very wrong to you.

But I also reiterate. It is painful to find yourself in those circumstances. And even though you can’t perfectly protect yourself, the Lord has given us commandments and standards that do provide a good measure of protection from that kind of pain.

I testify of a Savior who gave us commandments and standards because of how much He loves us and because of His overwhelming awareness of the realities of this fallen world. I testify of a Savior who has the ability to heal us, regardless of how difficult circumstances came about because I can testify of a Savior who has saved and healed me when I’ve been imperfect or unwise. I testify of a day when the Savior will judge perfectly and heal those who desire to be healed.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Mosiah 18–24 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

He is Justiceby Autumn Dickson

This week, we find Abinadi standing before King Noah and his wicked priests. They love to lounge around, preaching at people, and spending their strength in highly questionable ways. Abinadi teaches them a plethora of doctrine, the ten commandments, the Law of Moses and its true purpose in the plan, and the coming of Jesus Christ since the House of Israel seems to forget about the Messiah and hyperfocus on a law that was always meant to point to a Messiah.

Abinadi teaches them that those who listen to the prophets and hope for Christ will be taken care of. Then Abinadi warns them.

Mosiah 15:26-27

26 But behold, and fear, and tremble before God, for ye ought to tremble; for the Lord redeemeth none such that rebel against him and die in their sins; yea, even all those that have perished in their sins ever since the world began, that have wilfully rebelled against God, that have known the commandments of God, and would not keep them; these are they that have no part in the first resurrection.

27 Therefore ought ye not to tremble? For salvation cometh to none such; for the Lord hath redeemed none such; yea, neither can the Lord redeem such; for he cannot deny himself; for he cannot deny justice when it has its claim.

Abinadi is warning these men that they’re going to miss out if they don’t repent. If you’re spending the time reading and listening to Come Follow Me posts, videos, and podcasts, I’m going to take a wild guess that you’re not out doing the things that these priests are doing, not the least of which is murder. I doubt Abinadi would be calling you to repentance in the same manner that he’s calling these priests to repentance.

But there are still principles here for us to learn. There is one phrase in particular that can help us better understand the perfect judgment of the Lord.

“…for he cannot deny himself…”

One of my favorite topics is the perfection judgment of the Lord because I spent so long calling His judgment perfect and attributing less than perfect judging skills to Him. Let’s talk about what I mean. We’re going to cycle around a bit, but we’re going to come back around to this specific phrase.

The definitions of perfection

One of the ways that we can understand Judgment Day and the atonement of Jesus Christ is to look at it through the lens of two different definitions of perfection. I say, “one of the ways,” because these concepts are complex ideas, and I have not yet found a way to completely encompass all of the perfect principles that make up these ideas. I have talked about many of them, but here is yet another way to understand them.

When we’re talking about perfection in reference to Judgment Day and the atonement of Jesus Christ, you could almost say that there are two different definitions of perfection, and they come into play at different points.

The first definition of perfection is the more traditional way we frame perfection. It is to be without sin or flaw. Without the atonement of Jesus Christ, we could not make it back to heaven. We all sin and come short of the glory of God. We messed up, and we don’t deserve it. We have corrupted ourselves, and no corruptible thing can coexist with God or it burns up in His glory. This is our first idea of perfection.

Interestingly enough, is this actually fair? Is this truly perfect judgment? Think of all of the remarkable people who overcame great odds and trials and became compassionate, selfless human beings. Do they truly deserve to find unhappiness for an eternity? Is that really perfect judgment? In my unqualified opinion, I think not. We weren’t capable of being perfect. We needed the opposition to grow into perfection so why punish us for something we were incapable of?

And yet, this is what had to be. Corruption simply cannot exist in the presence of God. It’s obliterated. We needed to come to earth to grow into perfection and happiness; this absolutely, unequivocally meant that we would corrupt ourselves to a degree. These were the very real facts of our circumstances. A catch-22. Stay in the presence of God and experience damnation in the sense that we were stopped from progressing for forever or leave God’s presence, grow, but be tainted and away from His loving presence forever.

But here is where our second definition of perfection comes in. Christ was perfect in the sense of our first definition. He was without sin. We don’t understand how, but He paid for those sins. And because He paid for them, we can be cleansed. Voila. Catch-22 solved. We can go to earth, become corrupted to a degree (because it was inevitable), but we can also gain the experience we need to move past our damnation, our stop in our progression. That corruption gets cleansed, and we can coexist with Heavenly Father without getting burned up in the all-consuming fire that is the glory of His presence.

The second definition of perfection includes aspects of justice and mercy. People who are really trying and growing and believing and learning still get to come home even though they’re made mistakes. What is a more “perfect” definition of perfection? The first or second? Which is a more perfect judgment? The one that called for absolute discipline for the imperfect or the one that included the very real aspects of mercy?

Once again in my extremely unqualified opinion, the second definition of “perfect” is nicer, but it’s also a more perfect definition of perfect.

He became justice

Let’s cycle back to the phrase from the beginning: “…he cannot deny himself; for he cannot deny justice…”

We have all heard the phrases, “Christ is justice,” and “Christ is mercy.” In some sense, those are literal and accurate statements. Because of what He did for us, that first scenario of perfection is not applicable. There is no more catch-22. There is no more third party justice that disallows us from going back into the presence of our Heavenly Father to be consumed by His glory. Christ’s atonement can cleanse us so we can go back. These are our new and true circumstances. Christ gets to decide whether we come home because He took the place of justice when He paid justice. He is our debtor. He is justice.

Our original circumstances that existed with the first definition of perfection are no longer our circumstances, and yet, we keep acting like they are. We keep acting like justice overpowers mercy and not the other way around.

In my home, I am justice. I am also mercy. These are temporary roles that were given to me by a Father in Heaven who needed me to teach His children because He couldn’t do it Himself. My husband, Conner, also holds these roles though he practices them less often because he’s gone working.

Maybe it sounds silly to say I am justice and mercy, but in so many real aspects of the words, it’s true. The worlds of my children very much fall into what I create for them.

I believe that one of the reasons the Lord set up these circumstances in this manner was because He wanted me to understand His atonement. I am wildly imperfect, but I do have some sense of what perfect judgment looks like. I may lose my cool with my kids, but I have my King-Solomon-wisdom moments too. When I take a step back from the overstimulation and chaos, I often know where my kids’ hearts are at. I know if they’ve been stressed with specific circumstances, different triggers for their big emotions, and whether they went to bed on time. I know if Warner was literally trying to play with his sister or whether he was trying to get his kicks torturing her. I know whether Evie meant to push her brother off the couch or whether she’s still learning to control her growing body.

As of yet, none of my children have done anything worthy of getting kicked out. They have punched, bit, threw, pushed, and taunted. They have continuously provoked and purposefully broken things, but I’m not crazy enough to believe that merits getting kicked out of my home. I am not perfect, but I do have some immature understanding of perfect judgment. I have some inkling of what it means to wisely distribute mercy and justice according to the needs of my children so that they can grow into well-adjusted adults without banning them from the home.

Heaven forbid the day ever came that I would need to kick a teenager out to protect my other children, but I hope I would be wise enough to do that too if the situation called for it.

Now let’s take this little home scenario and zoom out to look at the world the Lord created for us. I am imperfect. I am also a good person. I want peace in our “home” here on earth even though I often make mistakes and hurt my siblings. I love my Father and Brother.

And in my imperfect sense of perfection, I know that I have not merited getting kicked out yet. He will distribute mercy and justice according to what I need to learn in order to become a well-adjusted Being like Him, but He’s not kicking me out of the house. I made covenants that bind me to Christ and allow Him to cleanse me so that I can coexist with my Heavenly Parents, and I am someone who wants to follow Them. They can work with that.

I am saved by the atonement of Jesus Christ. I experience salvation regularly in the forms of peace, hope, and joy in my home. It is a beautiful feeling, and it’s a feeling that my Savior wanted me to experience. He paid an excruciating price so that I could experience it and experience it now, not just in the next life. I am grateful to Him for bringing about the second definition of perfect, for banishing the catch-22, and enabling me to experience eternal happiness.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Mosiah 11–17 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Zeniff’s return to the land of Lehi‐Nephi; Abinadi’sconfrontation with king Noah(Mosiah 9–17)by Mike Parker

Class Notes

Additional Reading

These two articles by BYU religion professors address Abinadi’s teachings on the Messiah as the Father and the Son in Mosiah 15:1–5:

Paul Y. Hoskisson, “The Fatherhood of Christ and the Atonement,” Religious Educator 1, no. 1 (2000): 71–80.
Robert L. Millet, “The Ministry of the Father and the Son,” in The Book of Mormon: The Keystone Scripture, ed. Paul R. Cheesman (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center at Brigham Young University, 1988), 44–72.

How was Abinadi executed? One suggestion is that he was beaten to death with burning torches.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Mosiah 7–10; Mosiah 11–17 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Limhi and Repentanceby Autumn Dickson

One of the stories that starts to get introduced this week is that of Limhi and his people. The order of events over the next few (or ten) chapters can be a little confusing because you’re jumping around in the timeline, and you’re following different groups of people. This is also intermingled with sermons that break up the stories and can make it even harder to follow if you’re not really trying.

I want to talk about Limhi and his people today. I know that their story is spread out over multiple chapters and weeks, and so if I want to talk about them as a whole, I’m going to have to venture into their story a bit more even if I’m getting ahead of myself in the manual. Luckily, the principles that I want to share are all found within verses that are included for this week.

I want to give the full story so we can look at the principles in context. I know I’m omitting some details, but I want to focus on this specific timeline. So the Nephites are all in one big group of people. At one point in time, a man named Zeniff decides that he wants to inherit the land where the Lamanites are living because he feels as though that land was originally supposed to be the inheritance of the Nephites from the Lord. He takes a big group of people, and the Lamanite king lets them settle on some of that land. The Lamanites try attacking Zeniff’s people, the Lamanites lose, and Zeniff’s people are really happy. After Zeniff passes away and time moves on, Zeniff’s people become wicked. Zeniff’s people come into bondage under the Lamanite king and are forced to pay crazy amounts of taxes.

The original group of Nephites become curious about what happened to Zeniff’s people, and they send Ammon and a small group of people to go find them. Ammon finds them, and Limhi (the new king of Zeniff’s group) is ecstatic because he wants to free his people from the Lamanites.

The scope of today’s message

Limhi’s people differ from the other group of people that we read about over the next few weeks in the sense that their sin brought them into bondage. The other group of people (Alma’s people) were brought into bondage despite their righteousness, and they were likewise freed by the Lord. Both this group of people and Limhi’s people are reflective of our own lives. Sometimes affliction happens even when we’re striving to do what’s right; affliction was an essential ingredient to the Plan of Salvation if we really wanted to reach our full potential so even when we’re doing what’s right, the Lord may still allow us to wander into difficult circumstances.

On the flip side, sometimes our affliction is brought about by our own sin, as was the case for Limhi’s people. It is this specific circumstance that I want to talk about today. Despite the fact that repentance can be broadened to encompass the growth experienced by Alma’s people, I want to talk about repentance within the scope of overcoming sin specifically. In my opinion, repentance can be any step towards Christ whether that’s in the form of overcoming sin, learning something new about Christ, healing, developing a talent, or getting stronger. But for this particular message, I want to zoom in the lens and just talk about repentance in the form of overcoming sin.

It is in this context that we can study parallels between Limhi’s people and our own repentance process.

A posture of accountability

One of the things that impresses me most about the parallels between Limhi’s people and the general process of overcoming sin comes from Limhi, himself. In truth, we know very little about Limhi. We hadn’t heard of him before this moment even though he was King Noah’s son. We don’t know what his past was like, how often he participated in wickedness with his father, or how involved he was when Abinadi was killed. And yet, we read this from him:

Mosiah 7:25-26

25 For if this people had not fallen into transgression the Lord would not have suffered that this great evil should come upon them. But behold, they would not hearken unto his words; but there arose contentions among them, even so much that they did shed blood among themselves.

26 And a prophet of the Lord have they slain; yea, a chosen man of God, who told them of their wickedness and abominations, and prophesied of many things which are to come, yea, even the coming of Christ.

Limhi knew that his people had done wickedly, and he didn’t shy away from that fact. He knew that their bondage was a result of falling into transgression.

I want you to think about Limhi for a second. He was raised in a wicked society with an awful father. His experience with religion had been limited to wicked priests that his father had put in place. Not exactly fertile soil. It could have been easy for Limhi to be completely self-absorbed like his father. It could have been easy for him to be vain and surround himself with “religious” men who would stroke his ego. It could have also been easy to turn his back on religion completely considering the fact that his experience with it was full of hypocrisy, pride, and silencing anyone who dared disagree. If this was the God that Limhi was introduced to by wicked priests and his father, why did he want anything to do with it?

And yet, somehow, Limhi became an unbaptized convert waiting for the missionaries to show up. How he learned about the true character of God and the nature of sin is anyone’s guess, but somehow Limhi knew. Somehow he shed the example of doing whatever you wanted and calling it righteous. He stepped into the mantle of king over a people in bondage, and he was brave enough to tell them that their own wickedness had brought their destruction, even though Abinadi had been killed for doing the same thing.

If we’re looking at Limhi’s people as an example of repentance, we can look at Limhi as holding the primary state of mind. Limhi was ready to repent; he was ready to change. His was a posture of repentance that included several aspects: an ownership of the sins, a willingness to seek help in order to be freed, preparedness for penance (was willing to be slaves to the Nephites even though that idea was shot down fast), and a steadfast desire to avoid running right back into the sins that brought the problem in the first place. All of these attitudes provided a readiness for Limhi and his people to be saved.

An effectual struggle

When deliverance for Limhi’s people arrives in the form of Ammon, Limhi addresses his people. This is one of the things he says to them:

Mosiah 7:18 And it came to pass that when they had gathered themselves together that he spake unto them in this wise, saying: O ye, my people, lift up your heads and be comforted; for behold, the time is at hand, or is not far distant, when we shall no longer be in subjection to our enemies, notwithstanding our many strugglings, which have been in vain; yet I trust there remaineth an effectual struggle to be made.

Ammon found Limhi’s people, and Limhi is thrilled for good reason. He sees that freedom is possible. They don’t have to remain in bondage and pay forever. However, there is a little phrase at the end that is very telling.

“…I trust there remaineth an effectual struggle to be made.”

“Effectual” means to produce the desired result, and I believe that this struggle was meant to produce freedom in its truest sense.

I want you to imagine working super hard to free a people from bondage. You succeed, and it’s wonderful and celebratory and beautiful. But then, they run right back into their bonds that you freed them from. It’s silly, but it happens on a spiritual level quite often. We believe that Heavenly Father requires work and allows for guilt and struggle, but not because He wants to punish us or because we have to pay for our sins. Heavenly Father requires an effectual struggle that will free us from the bonds and keep us from going back to them. Having an effectual struggle doesn’t mean destroying ourselves for imperfection (that would not be effectual in the slightest). Rather, an effectual struggle enables us to appreciate the sacrifice that was made by the Savior. We receive enough of the consequences that we recognize we don’t want those bonds (if we were always bailed out with no struggle, why wouldn’t we keep going back?). And there is also a beautiful kind of growth that is experienced in that effectual struggle.

Do not fear the struggle. We want to be freed from past mistakes and the consequences that still seem to haunt us. We want to be freed from flaws that aren’t contributing to our happiness. But the Lord was wise in allowing us to struggle.

Limhi teaches one other principle in this chapter that can help us determine our relationship with this effectual struggle.

Mosiah 7:33 But if ye will turn to the Lord with full purpose of heart, and put your trust in him, and serve him with all diligence of mind, if ye do this, he will, according to his own will and pleasure, deliver you out of bondage.

Our true requirement here is to continually turn to the Lord. When we sin, we turn to Him. When we struggle, we turn to Him. When we run into obstacles while trying to do what’s right, we turn to Him. We trust Him. If we do this, He WILL deliver us out of bondage. He will deliver us. It’s going to happen. He’s going to deliver us according to His own wisdom about what’s best for us, but we can lift up our heads and rejoice right now. An effectual struggle doesn’t mean we’re not forgiven. It means we are loved by a Lord who frees us from sin and is wise enough to know the struggle will put us where we need to be.

I’m grateful for a Savior who can teach me in whatever situation I need. I’m grateful that I have gained a testimony that He will deliver me, and I’m also grateful He lets me struggle. Or, to be more accurate, I’m grateful for what I get out of the struggle. Even as I face consequences and obstacles, I know that they could easily be removed. I’m not actually in any “danger.” I simply need them to become everything I can be, and I’m grateful the Savior gives that to me.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Mosiah 7–10 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Watch Your Thoughtsby Autumn Dickson

King Benjamin doesn’t mess around with his sermon. He knows what he came to do, and he does it. He doesn’t mince words. He teaches some pretty essential doctrines with no apologies attached. Let’s talk about one of these no-nonsense doctrines.

Mosiah 4:29-30

29 And finally, I cannot tell you all the things whereby ye may commit sin; for there are divers ways and means, even so many that I cannot number them.

30 But this much I can tell you, that if ye do not watch yourselves, and your thoughts, and your words, and your deeds, and observe the commandments of God, and continue in the faith of what ye have heard concerning the coming of our Lord, even unto the end of your lives, ye must perish. And now, O man, remember, and perish not.

These are some of those verses that used to haunt me back before I knew how much I mattered to the Lord. There are so many ways to sin and if I can’t watch every little thing about myself, I’m going to perish. There is a reason I can sympathize with those who have left the church and felt a “great burden lifted off their shoulders.” It is because of misunderstanding verses like this. It’s not fun to carry that kind of fear and perfectionism around.

And though there is much I could say about sin and its consequences, I actually want to run in a different direction with this verse.

Interpreting a tone

When my daughter first joined gymnastics, her coach was a lady who had escaped the Soviet Union. She spoke in a thick Russian accent, and there was absolutely no coddling. In a society where gentle parenting has taken a really strong foothold, this was a very different approach. She corrected the girls immediately, loudly, and with no remorse. She also demanded respect from them.

Though some parents shied away from this gym for that reason (more power to them, plenty of right ways to parent a child), I chose this gym for that reason. I wanted my daughter to get used to personalities that could be considered abrasive in our culture because I knew there was value there. Evelyn’s coach loved her, and she showed Evelyn that she loved her. She just didn’t show it with smiles and pats on the back. I knew that if Evelyn could learn to internalize the good in an environment that might seem hostile to some, I would be doing her a huge favor.

It would have been easy to internalize this coach’s approach as criticsm and wither underneath it especially when you consider how different it is from other approaches found in America.

So let’s go back to this verse with King Benjamin. It was very easy for me as a child to read that verse and internalize fear as the motivation for living the gospel. If I didn’t watch myself, I was going to perish. I have seen the church (as well as lots of other churches) get torn apart for teaching this kind of doctrine. “We shouldn’t try to scare people into doing what’s right. It’s so damaging to teach a young child or teenager that they need to behave or they’re going to be destroyed.” In all honesty, I have found that this is true. I have watched friends talk about overcoming religious trauma, and I have had to work through unhealthy religious beliefs as well.

Scare tactics aren’t super effective or healthy; THAT is a true principle. In the same breath, I also feel that the critics are missing a couple key points to the story, and it is these very key points that can help us know how to teach the truth about sin while simultaneously helping our children absorb the gospel in the most effective manner.

The whole truth

So what’s the whole truth here? What parts of the story are missing? What are the critics missing?

As I worked through some of my own incorrect, harmful religious beliefs, I remember experiencing the scriptures and conference talks completely differently. As I learned about the atonement, the mercy of Christ, my own divine potential, the freedom afforded me by my Heavenly Father, and His coaching methods, I internalized completely different messages.

When I look back on my experience with King Benjamin’s sermon as a teenager, I remember fixating on my own nothingness and the need to desperately watch my thoughts, words, and actions so I wouldn’t perish. Now when I read his sermon, I find myself saying things like, “Yes! That’s how I feel! I have tasted of His love, and I want to remember it and follow Him.”

There is an aspect of internalization when it comes to the gospel, and that means there is also a subtle layer of personal accountability. I can only imagine how many times my parents and leaders taught me that I was beloved of my Heavenly Father, but it wasn’t until I was an adult that I truly internalized it. My parents did teach the good news of the gospel. I was just a depressed teenager that fixated on the negative.

King Benjamin warned us that sin hurts us, and he rightfully did so. It’s true, and it needs to be taught so we can be protected. But he also taught so, so, so much more than that. Read his sermon. Pay attention to the language about Christ, joy, and freedom. I cannot blame King Benjamin for teaching me to be a perfectionist because he didn’t teach that. Satan did, and I let him because I didn’t recognize him.

Please know that I’m not trying to pass blame around. Maybe we can do better at making sure every child has internalized what it means to a divine Parentage. But maybe there is something else we can teach in addition to this principle that will help our loved ones (and probably ourselves too) take control of what they’re internalizing in terms of the gospel.

Recognizing Satan

A powerful tool in combating the self-loathing and perfectionism that is often associated with religion is to recognize Satan at work.

I believe that one of Satan’s favorite tactics is making the gospel a painful experience. He loves getting into our heads and screaming half truths as we’re trying to learn the doctrine. He’s trying to brush over and numb the parts that teach us who we really are and Who is standing behind us. If he can turn the gospel into a negative thing, the Spirit cannot testify of it. The gospel suddenly seems like the problem because we’re not actually learning the gospel. We’re learning harmful, partial truths, and we feel extremely burdened by it. When we finally shed those harmful, partial truths, it’s no wonder we feel liberated.

I find it interesting that King Benjamin teaches us that we need to watch our thoughts as well as our actions. This could easily be processed as an extreme process to strive for perfection as defined by the world. In relation to what we’ve been talking about, I also believe it’s appropriate to observe our thoughts and try to determine the sources they’re coming from. We watch our thoughts. We look at them. Are they coming from the Spirit? Are they coming from Satan? Are they coming from our own perceived notions and habits? Are our thoughts actually reflecting the gospel or some twisted version of it?

If we don’t take the time to watch our thoughts, trying our best to align them with true gospel principles, we may find that Satan has led us to believe in a false gospel completely based on perfectionism and an incessant need to “do” all the things while neglecting the heart of the matter.

And what did King Benjamin warn would happen if we didn’t watch our thoughts? He warned that we would perish. Living the gospel in the way that Satan wants us to live the gospel is equivalent to perishing. It doesn’t feel like salvation; it feels like hell (which is Satan’s whole point). Satan wants us to perish and be miserable.

We cannot experience a fullness of salvation here on earth. Some of the aspects of salvation will only be unlocked on the other side. However, there is a good amount of salvation that we can experience right now. It includes feelings of peace, confidence in your Savior’s ability to heal and save, and a deep sense of worth. If you’re not experiencing these feelings, maybe ask yourself who you’ve been listening to. Go back and read passages of scriptures, and look at them objectively. What is the actual message being shared and what message have you been internalizing?

Are we teaching our loved ones to watch their thoughts and own what they’re holding onto within their own minds? It’s a powerful teaching to own your beliefs and thwart Satan.

I testify of a Savior who wants to offer salvation now. He never meant for us to carry around the burdens He paid for or the burden of perfectionism. When He teaches us (through King Benjamin) to watch our thoughts or perish, it’s not because He wants to rain down curses on our heads or give us the evil eye for making mistakes; it’s because He knows that Satan wants to subtly destroy us and make us miserable. He’s trying to prevent our unhappiness, not add to our worries.

I testify that He loves you. If you don’t know that, I also testify that He is already doing everything He can possibly do to show you that He loves you. There comes a point where you have to make a choice to trust Him. There comes a point when we will need to choose to internalize that doctrine. There is a measure of personal accountability when it comes to whether we place our faith in that principle. I testify that if you place your faith in Him and His love, you will be happy in the most important sense of the word.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Mosiah 4–6 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

King Benjamin’s temple sermon(Mosiah 2–6)by Mike Parker

Class Notes

Handout

Additional Reading

John W. Welch and Stephen D. Ricks, eds., King Benjamin’s Speech: “That Ye May Learn Wisdom” (Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1998).
John A. Tvedtnes, “King Benjamin and the Feast of Tabernacles,” in By Study and Also by Faith: Essays in Honor of Hugh W. Nibley, volume 2, eds. John M. Lundquist and Stephen D. Ricks (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book and Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1990), 197–237.
Matthew L. Bowen, “Becoming Sons and Daughters at God’s Right Hand: King Benjamin’s Rhetorical Wordplay on His Own Name,” Journal of the Book of Mormon and Restoration Scripture 21, no. 2 (2012): 2–13. Bowen argues that King Benjamin’s reference to being “found at the right hand of God” in Mosiah 5:9 is a play on his own name, which means “son of the right hand.”
Donald W. Parry, “Service & Temple in King Benjamin’s Speech,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 16, no. 2 (2007): 42–47. Parry, a professor of Hebrew Bible at BYU, explores how King Benjamin’s speech focuses almost entirely on service, repeating four variations of the word—servants, serve, served, and service—fifteen times in only eighteen verses (Mosiah 2:10–27).

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Mosiah 1–3; Mosiah 4–6 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

The Lord Supports Meby Autumn Dickson

Maybe this week’s message was meant for me. I definitely needed to hear it. I feel like every time I’ve sat down to write a message, I’ve been hitting my head against a wall. I had all these goals about getting ahead and being on top of things, and though I have attempted to completely set myself up for success, it feels as though I have found nothing but obstacles. Maybe, just maybe, that’s because I would need this message for this very week. I couldn’t get ahead because it wouldn’t have come at the right time.

Maybe, just maybe, it’s a message that you need too.

An unexpected turn of events

I’m pregnant again. At the time of writing this, I’m not very far along. By the time this message comes around, I will be near the middle of my pregnancy. I had a baby five months ago. No, we were not being irresponsible. It came about because of circumstances that were actually outside of our control.

I completely recognize that I am so blessed to be able to bear children. I know that there are women out there who would do anything to be in my position. I would not trade my problems for someone else’s.

But I have struggled with this news. My babies will be thirteen months apart. I already feel like I’m going from sunup to sundown with no time to pull my head above water. Add in the nausea and depression, and I’m basically a basket case. Every single time I sit down at my computer to try and share something about Christ, I feel like I’m swimming through mists of darkness. I feel like I’m trying to cut through a nebulous darkness to try and receive something to put on paper. And by the time I’ve been able to start writing and working through my process, I’m so drained.

I don’t do well when I’m pregnant. I’m not the mom or wife I want to be. Trying to share messages about Christ when I’m agitated, angry, or despairing feels like trying to climb a sheer cliff face.

It is in this state of mind that I read this verse:

Mosiah 2:30 For even at this time, my whole frame doth tremble exceedingly while attempting to speak unto you; but the Lord God doth support me, and hath suffered me that I should speak unto you, and hath commanded me that I should declare unto you this day, that my son Mosiah is a king and a ruler over you.

I am not here to declare my child as your king and ruler, but I do feel a kinship with King Benjamin in his other sentiments. I have a message to share, and I’m exhausted. Beyond the emotional toll, my body is worn down. I know that I’m not the only one who has felt too weak to accomplish the tasks at hand, to wonder if God has asked too much this time, to wonder if I don’t have what it takes to choose faith for another day.

So this message from King Benjamin is for us. The Lord God will support us, and He will help us accomplish what He sent us here to do. He has taught me how we’re going to get through this together by reminding me of a couple of principles that I easily and often forget. Maybe I can share them with you, and maybe you’ll have a better memory than me.

A day at a time

The first principle is that we’re going to take it a day at a time. There are appropriate times to plan and make ambitious goals and prepare for future crises. And then there are times when you reach crises, and it becomes appropriate to ration. The Lord can help you know what stage you’re at, but as for me and my house, we’re rationing for the next year.

Each day, I’m going to wake up, I’m going to devote whatever time I can to accomplish the work He’s given me (both motherhood and blogging), and then I’m just going to wake up and repeat it the next day. I’m going to push aside my fears that are whispering that there is too much work, that I need to sacrifice more, that I’ll never accomplish it. I’m going to trust that He will give me what I need to accomplish what He wants done.

And I’ll fail at that. Heaven knows half of my mental effort these days is solely focused on trying to trust Him and forget about tomorrow. However, in the quiet moments when the wind stops and the darkness dissipates just a little, I know that He will magnify what I can give. It may be measly, but it’s not my work anyway. It’s His, and He asked me to do it which means that He’s going to help me do it. I make a pretty poor partner, but He chose me so that’s on Him.

He will carry us

There are three little phrases I want to pull out of the verse we read earlier. The Lord commanded King Benjamin to speak to the people. King Benjamin’s frame was literally shaking while he was trying to do this. But the Lord was also supporting him through the process, suffering him to fulfill the work he had been given.

The Lord could have asked someone else. King Benjamin could have gotten up and said, “My son is your king now,” and turned the time over to Mosiah. Mosiah made a good king too. I’m sure he had been taught well by his father. He was young, but the Spirit could have just as easily testified of his words to his people as it did for King Benjamin’s words.

So why King Benjamin?

We don’t know.

Which is probably an unsatisfying answer, but it’s also the truth. Maybe the Lord needed a little extra sacrifice to consecrate the speech delivered by King Benjamin for the sake of his people. Maybe King Benjamin needed to feel that unending support, that lesson, again (even though he likely felt it a ton throughout his career as humble and serving king). Maybe Mosiah simply wasn’t ready, or maybe Mosiah needed to see his father supported by the Lord so that he would know the Lord could carry him through his service as king. We just don’t know.

So what am I trying to teach here? Because this is all rather unhelpful.

I guess what I’m trying to teach is that the Lord has His reasons, and I’ve never known Him to be unwise or cruel. Maybe I don’t know His specific reasons for why an old king needed to overly exert his body after a lifetime of service. However, I do know that the Lord had a very good reason, and I know that King Benjamin wouldn’t regret following Him.

I don’t know why I’m having a baby right now. Maybe I won’t know until the next life. I’ll probably have guesses, but it’s very probable that I simply won’t know.

But I do know this. I know He is wise. I know He sees way more than I do. I know that He manipulates the details of my life in my favor.

I also know this. I know that He is not doing it just to make my life harder. It is a good reason, even if I can’t see it now. I also know that I won’t regret following Him (at least not permanently).

I can give you a million reasons why I think this is a bad idea. I have this other work He’s given me, and this makes me vastly more inefficient. I have other children who need a loving mother, and being a loving mother while I’m pregnant and depressed is so hard. Oftentimes, they need far more than I am capable of giving. My cup is often empty when I wake up in the morning. I could accuse Him of making me sacrifice all of these other things, and I could even tell Him no.

But I would only be hurting myself. And truth be told, I would probably be hurting my family too.

He has His reasons. I don’t know them, but I know Him. I am so blessed to know Him.

And because I know Him, I also know this. He has good reasons for what He is doing, and He’s also not going to abandon me. He’s not sacrificing me for some greater good. He didn’t look at King Benjamin and say, “Sorry, but you’re out of luck. It’s either you or all of these other people who need these words.” Everything can be for our benefit. My kids may have a much shorter-tempered mother, but they will also have a mother who knows how to apologize, who knows how the Lord loves her and is cheering her on. They will know how to be compassionate. They will know that the Lord does not abandon His own even if He’s pushing them beyond what they believe are their limits.

He has asked me to do something hard, and I love Him for it because I know Him. I may not love my difficult task; luckily that doesn’t seem to be a requirement for celestial glory. But I love how He will carry me through it and bless me and my family for it.

If He asked you to do something hard, it’s okay to be afraid. It’s okay for it to feel impossible. It’s okay that you don’t know how you’re going to do it. It’s okay that you’re probably going to fail at it multiple times. Trust Him.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Mosiah 1–3 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Enos’s wrestle with God; Nephite spiritual decline; Mosiah led righteous Nephites to Zarahemla(Enos, Jarom, Omni, Words of Mormon, Mosiah 1)by Mike Parker

Class Notes

Handout

Additional Reading

Clifford P. Jones, “The Prophets Who Wrote the Book of Omni,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 34 (2020): 221–44. The brief accounts written by Omni, Amaron, Chemish, Abinadom, and Amaleki, taken alone, don’t always inspire confidence in their righteousness. Jones argues that, when the specific words used by these men and all relevant context are taken into consideration, it’s reasonable to conclude that each of these authors of the book of Omni was a prophet of God.
The people of Zarahemla were the descendants of a group that came from Jerusalem who were led by Mulek, a son of King Zedekiah. (Omni 1:14–19; Mosiah 25:2; Helaman 8:21) There is no outside historical record of Zedekiah of Judah having a son named Mulek, and the Old Testament record claims that Zedekiah’s sons were killed by the Babylonians in front of him. (2 Kings 25:7; Jeremiah 39:6; 52:10). However, an ancient Judean stamp seal has been identified as bearing the Hebrew form of the name Malkiyahu, son of the king, which may refer to the Mulek of the Book of Mormon. See Jeffrey R. Chadwick, “Has the Seal of Mulek Been Found?”, Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 12, no. 2 (2003): 72–83.
For more information on how the small plates of Nephi became the replacement for the lost 116 manuscript pages of the Book of Mormon, see the notes and slideshow for Doctrine and Covenants lesson 3.
Mosiah chapter 1 is identified as “Chapter Ⅲ” in the printer’s manuscript of the Book of Mormon. This evidence indicates that these two missing chapters from the book of Mosiah were part of the 116 manuscript pages lost by Martin Harris. Royal Skousen, editor of the Book of Mormon Critical Text project, discusses this with Michael De Groote in “Scholar’s Corner: The stolen chapters of Mosiah,” Deseret News (24 June 2010).
The Words of Mormon describes Mormon₂ finding the small plates of Nephi and placing them with his own record (the plates of Mormon). This diagram from Book of Mormon Central helps to visualize the source materials that went into compiling the final printed edition of the Book of Mormon.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Enos–Words of Mormon – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Enos is Changed by Prayerby Autumn Dickson

When I was younger, I remember reading the exchange between Enos and the Lord and finding some of the comments kinda interesting. Enos prays for forgiveness and for his people, and it’s beautiful, but the prayer doesn’t end there. As part of his exchange with the Lord, Enos also prays for this:

Enos 1:13 And now behold, this was the desire which I desired of him—that if it should so be, that my people, the Nephites, should fall into transgression, and by any means be destroyed, and the Lamanites should not be destroyed, that the Lord God would preserve a record of my people, the Nephites; even if it so be by the power of his holy arm, that it might be brought forth at some future day unto the Lamanites, that, perhaps, they might be brought unto salvation

Enos prays very specifically that if the Nephites fall into transgression, He wants the Lord to preserve the Nephite records and bring them forth unto the Lamanites. The Lord answers with, “I will do this at the right time,” and so Enos is like, “Cool. Great. Thanks.” Then the Lord adds on, “Actually, I already told your dad I was going to do this.” In some ways, this all could seem a bit odd. Let’s talk about Enos’ prayer in general and then cycle back around to this specific verse in the context of the whole prayer.

Following Enos’ process

I think it’s important to note that Enos prayed all day and night. What does this mean? It means that we have an extremely tiny portion of the conversation he actually had with the Lord. He didn’t record the entire prayer. This makes sense because it was apparently really difficult to engraven things upon the plates. So what do we learn from the portion that Enos engraved upon the plates? What do we learn from the fact that not all of it is there?

One of the reasons I love this chapter so much is because I write my prayers down too. My process for writing these prayers has given me potential insight into Enos and his prayer. At least once a day, I write my prayer. Usually my process entails opening up a note on the computer and typing everything. It helps me focus at a time in my life where interruptions are frequent. The next day, I erase the whole thing and type a new prayer. Otherwise, my computer would fill up fast. However, if I feel guided by the Lord to pray for something specific that I haven’t prayed before, then I move over to my journal and record it in my journal instead. I keep the significant parts in a place where they’re more permanent.

There have been times where I’ve been telling Him what I’m grateful for, and He will open my eyes to a very significant way that He stepped in and coordinated something perfectly for my family. I want to remember those moments so I record them in my journal where they can be kept. There have been times where I’ve been praying for something we need, and I feel guided to pray about something specific that seems to hint at what may be coming for my family. I likewise record that in my journal where I can refer back to it.

Enos prayed all day, and then he went and recorded the most significant parts. By observing Enos’ prayer, both the recorded AND unrecorded portions, we can explore what prayer was always meant to look like.

Most of us have had lessons on prayer and its true purposes: change, conversion, communion. We all know that prayer is supposed to be a process in which our visions are lifted higher and we change ourselves accordingly. And yet, despite this, we still persist in praying like our Father is a vending machine. Sometimes there isn’t much connection between what we’re putting in and what we’re receiving. Prayer was always meant to be more of a phone call, a communion, where we’re hearing Him and talking and discussing so we can better understand the realities around us and change accordingly.

Enos changed during his prayer. We can see it happen. Let’s point out pivotal moments that can help us watch what prayer is really supposed to look like.

Two influences

As we go through Enos’ prayer, I want to be focusing on the change that’s occurring in Enos. We’ll point out the actual changes that are recorded, and then we’ll delve a little deeper and try to observe some of the influences that led towards that change. Though there are likely many influences that change us while we pray, there are two that I observed regularly through Enos’ prayer as well as my own. The first influence is a given: namely, the direct revelation you’re receiving from Heavenly Father. As you hear from Him, it’s kinda easy to see why it would change you. The second influence is more subtle: it’s when Enos brings in knowledge that he has already received about his Heavenly Father. We’ll point out direct examples of this and why it’s significant.

So let’s just look at Enos’ prayer in order and specifically observe the changes he undergoes as these two influences play upon him.

In the first part of the prayer, Enos prays for forgiveness and receives it. This is the first time we can easily see Enos change. When he is forgiven, Enos responds with the fact that he knows that God cannot lie. Because of his communication with heaven as well as reflecting on what he already knew about God (specifically God’s unblemished honesty), Enos is changed. More specifically, his guilt is swept away and that is a mighty change.

Next, Enos prays for his brethren the Nephites. He describes his prayer as a pouring out of his soul and a struggling in the spirit. That seems like a lot to skip over. What are we potentially missing in all of this pouring and struggling? We can’t know for sure because he didn’t include it; I fully acknowledge that this is all conjecture. However, it still teaches the principle so I’m going to share my conjecture anyway.

Enos was praying for the Nephites to be saved. They were his posterity. They were his brethren. They were close to his heart. They were his children and grandchildren. He prayed for their hearts and righteousness. He wanted them to find the Lord and stay with Him, and that’s probably what he was praying about; that was the struggling and pouring. Maybe he didn’t record every detail about it, but he did record what he received from the Lord. The Lord answered him by essentially saying that He would bless the Nephites to possess the land as long as they were righteous.

We find two changes that come over Enos after this portion of prayer is over.

The first change is that his faith began to be unshaken. This is interesting to me because the Lord’s answer seems to imply that the Nephites will eventually succumb to temptation and be swept off the land (Enos actually does recognize this implication of destruction and we’ll talk about that in a second). You would think that the change that overcomes Enos would be depression. He has just been taught that the Lord will only be able to protect his people for so long, and yet, Enos feels his faith grow stronger.

How? How did Enos feel his faith grow stronger instead of just making him sad? I cannot tell you the mechanism. I can merely bear witness that this is a thing. I have had enough experiences where the Lord has seemed to imply that bad news was coming, and yet, I was filled with stronger faith and less fear than when I began praying. I remember one instance in particular. I was praying for deliverance from some people who were trying to hurt our family. The Lord stopped me from praying for this, and it was at that moment that I “knew” that these people would “win” to an extent. And yet, that experience stayed with me and strengthened me for years afterwards. Even as things got crazier and crazier, I knew that He knew where we were, that He needed to act according to His plan and allow for agency and judgment. I knew that He would support us and that we could never really lose. What should have been bad news somehow pushed me closer to the Lord.

The second way that Enos changes is what he prays for; this actually leads us to the next section of prayer, a portion that I mentioned in the beginning of the post. Enos prays that if the Nephites are destroyed, he wants the Nephite records to go to the posterity of the Lamanites. Enos had felt what the Lord had implied. He wasn’t sure. There didn’t seem to be any sort of vision of the Nephites being destroyed, but the implication of Nephite destruction affected him enough that his prayers altered.

Now here is where we see that interplay of the two influences again. Enos changed his prayer according to what he received from the Lord, namely the implication that the Lord would not always be able to protect the Nephites. But what about the second influence? The knowledge he had previously received?

Once again, this is all conjecture, and I know that. But it can still teach us righteous principles.

In the beginning of the chapter, we learn that Enos was taught in the language of his father. This could mean a couple of things, but some historians believe that Enos was saying that his father taught him how to write. This makes a lot of sense considering the fact that Jacob left the records to Enos. This would also likely imply that Jacob taught Enos the deep importance of the records. He taught Enos how important it was to record something on the plates so that the records would last a very long time. Here is the previous knowledge at play.

Enos didn’t just pray that if the Nephites were destroyed, the Lamanites would eventually find the gospel. No. Enos specifically prayed that The Book of Mormon would be brought forth to the Lamanites. I could be totally crazy, but I feel like there was a moment where Enos’ eyes were opened. There must have been a moment where he was like, “Oh. That’s why we’re doing this. That’s why I need to write on these difficult plates. It’s not for the Nephites. Maybe it’s for the Lamanites.” In verse 15, Enos acknowledges that the Lord can preserve the Nephite records (there is that previous knowledge coming again). He was also alerted to the idea that the Nephites might not be around forever; it changed what he prayed for.

What prayer should look like

We can’t pray every day all day like Enos did in this particular instance, at least not in this manner. And the revelation we receive will not always look like this either. I’ve had many prayers where I have reached out looking for something with all of the elements we’ve talked about, but the Lord has remained silent for His own purposes. It’s not because we’re doing anything wrong; The Lord has His reasons so trust Him.

Oh, but the times when we have these kinds of experiences are so powerful. The times when I’ve been praying and felt guided to pray for something new or my eyes have been opened to something I didn’t see before, when everything clicks into place and I see that He is controlling all the details so perfectly, it has changed me.

Interestingly enough, in some cases, I believe that the Lord would have still manipulated all of those details to make things come together. And yet, because I was praying about it, I was able to see His hand before it happened, and it changed me. I would not have changed nearly as much if I hadn’t been praying about it. The Lord would have brought forth The Book of Mormon without Enos’ prayer, but Enos was changed because he was praying about it.

Do not get discouraged if you feel like your prayers don’t look like Enos’ every time you pray. Go back to the purpose of prayer: change, conversion, communion.

The most intense, eye-opening experiences that I have often occur in the middle of the day during nap time when I have a few less interruptions. They don’t happen every day, or every week, or even every month. But if they’re going to happen, this is usually when they happen because this is when I’m capable of investing the spiritual energy that requires some of those big answers, and Heavenly Father knows this is when He is going to be able to reach me.

At night, my prayers are much smaller, but no less important. I have received a personal witness from my Heavenly Father that He doesn’t begrudge me my weak, tired, mortal body that has been looking after kids all day. He understands. So my prayers look a lot less like spiritual strugglings and much more like an acknowledgment of our relationship, some gratitude, and a mental goodnight hug. And even though these are far more simple prayers, they still change me. They still make me feel close to a Father who loves me.

If you’re worried about your prayers, reflect on the purpose of prayer. What is going to make you feel close to God as your Father so you can feel changed? What has He already taught you about Himself that you can acknowledge? There are a great many beautiful ways to pray. Enos gave us a really fantastic, drawn out version that can help us study, but his prayer is not the only right way to pray.

There are so many good ways to change which would imply the fact that there are so many good ways to pray.

I am grateful for a Father in Heaven who has enabled me to speak to Him whenever I need. I’m grateful that He has described Himself as a Father so that I can understand my relationship with Him, so I can understand how He expects to be approached. I’m grateful for a Savior who paid the price so I could have a communion with Him every day.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Enos–Words of Mormon – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

The Allegory of the Olive Tree; Jacob contended with Sherem(Jacob 4–7)by Mike Parker

Class Notes

Handout

Additional Reading

Ricks, Stephen D. and John W. Welch, eds. The Allegory of the Olive Tree: The Olive, the Bible, and Jacob 5. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book / Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1994.
BYU–Idaho professor Bruce Satterfield’s page on olive tree horticulture (with photographs).

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Jacob 5–7 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Servants in the Vineyardby Autumn Dickson

There are a ton of resources out there regarding the Allegory of the Olive Tree found in Jacob 5. You can find information about olive trees and why they’re such a fantastic symbol. You can find timelines for the gathering and scattering of Israel that very closely follow the timeline of the gathering and scattering of branches throughout the vineyard. There is so much out there given by extremely qualified people who have researched horticulture and religious history.

I am not one of those people, but maybe I can be helpful in a different way. If you get nothing else out of the Allegory of the Olive Tree, get this: the Lord is currently performing His last work among His people. He has spent a lot of time gathering and scattering His people, and this is the last time He is going to gather them before He comes again. We were always meant to be a part of gathering those people.

Jacob 5:70 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard sent his servant; and the servant went and did as the Lord had commanded him, and brought other servants; and they were few.

There are so many reasons that we were meant to be a part of the gathering. However, actually jumping in and being a part of it can feel tricky. So let’s talk about some really basic ways to participate in gathering the House of Israel since President Nelson taught that it is the most important work occurring on the earth today. While we talk about it, consider following the action suggested in the Come Follow Me manual and make a list of ways that you feel like the Lord wants you to help with.

President Nelson is quoted in the manual as saying, “Anytime you do anything that helps anyone—on either side of the veil—take a step toward making covenants with God and receiving their essential baptismal and temple ordinances, you are helping to gather Israel. It is as simple as that.” That leaves the door wide open for options on how to help. Anytime you do anything that helps people take a step towards making covenants, you’re doing your job.

It starts with you

We’ve heard it a million times, but it starts with you. And I’m not talking about just learning the doctrine so you can answer questions. Learning the doctrine is fantastic; I highly recommend it. Unfortunately, the doctrine does nothing if it’s not sinking into our hearts. The fact that the Lord sacrificed Himself so that you could experience salvation doesn’t mean nearly as much when you’re not experiencing salvation. Let me describe what I mean. Here is how it looks when the doctrine of Christ has sunk into your heart:

You turn to Him like the Parent that He is. When you run into obstacles or unknowns, you turn to Him. You’re grateful for His advice and reassurances, and you’re also excited when He encourages you to make the decision for yourself. You know that He can support you in every step as He coaches you through building a life for yourself.

When darkness comes, you know your happy ending is safe with him. Let’s say there is a homeless person living on the street. They know that in three days time, they are going to be given a mansion with all of their needs provided for the rest of their lives. Those three days might be brutal. They might be hungry, scared, cold or hot, but the experience feels different when they know what’s coming in just a short time.

When you fail, it’s still easy to turn to Him. Even when you’re failing repeatedly, have some kind of addiction you’re trying to overcome, or have some major character flaw that likes to jump out at you repeatedly, you see it for what it is: opportunities to grow. Remember. Your happy ending is safe with Him. You cannot fail if you’re trying. He will never not invite you back. The fact that “it” happened again doesn’t matter nearly so much as the fact that you keep coming back. That’s what really counts at the end; did you keep coming back?

When you live your life with the truth in your heart, you feel hope and it touches every part of your life. The good times are sweeter; the bad times are worth it. People have much more intuition than we tend to give ourselves credit for. People will sense your hope and desire it for themselves. This doesn’t mean hiding the bad and the difficult; people can also sense insincerity. What it truly means is placing all the bad and difficult in the context of eternity. You were meant to experience difficulty in all of its extremes, but you know what it’s about. And as people go through their own difficulties, they will want to feel as you do.

When I say that gathering the House of Israel begins with you, I mean that the hope of the gospel begins in you and other people see it and desire it. Move beyond the doctrine, and let it change your heart.

Giving love

Perhaps this seems like a copout for missionary work, but after seeing what I’ve seen in the world, I’m convinced there are few things more powerful than loving like He would. We always think missionary work is inviting to church, and it absolutely is. But conversion is more than coming to church which means that missionary work extends beyond invitations to church.

The times when I have felt most converted have been the times that I have felt most loved by my Father in Heaven. If you can teach them what it is to feel love and be accepted and encouraged, you are opening the path for them to experience it from their Heavenly Father. Many of us only begin to comprehend His love when we have felt some measure of love from another person.

Think about all the people in your life who are faithful members of the church with healthy families; think about how many of them have a difficult time feeling the love of their Heavenly Father. Then think about how much harder it would be to find His love when you’re from a broken family and have never been taught about the idea that someone could love you so powerfully. If you can teach them about love, they will be so much closer to believing that a Father in Heaven could love them. They will be so much closer to feeling motivated to live a powerful life, to feeling capable of living a powerful life. Honestly, in my very unqualified opinion, I believe that’s half the battle. Feeling loved is the primary feeling of salvation.

Give the rest to Him

It is the Lord’s vineyard, and it is His work. Which means that He’s going to take care of it.

A couple years ago when we were still in Virginia, we had a very special event occurring in our area, and we were all asked to invite someone to come. I had been so excited to move to Virginia so that I could be around missionaries more often and share the gospel more easily. I was pumped and ready to have the Lord send me anyone who was ready. I wanted to actively and consciously seek opportunities to do missionary work.

I failed miserably. I invited a few people to this special event, and it never worked out. I tried so hard to coordinate schedules and pray and find someone. I tried starting conversations with strangers when I took my kids out to play. No one. I could find no one who could go. I finally gave up and let it go.

A couple of days later, I was sitting with friends at a city event. One of them brought up this special church event that I had been trying so hard to invite someone to. They had heard about it and wanted to go and asked me to take them. I suddenly found myself surrounded by four women and their kids who all wanted to go. We scheduled a time right there, and I got to go with them.

The Lord very distinctly taught me to stop trying to make it my work. If anything was going to be happening, it was not going to be because of me. It was going to be the Lord. I felt very distinctly that He had waited until I let go before He stepped in. I needed to learn that it wasn’t about me or my skills or knowledge.

And though this was on the eager end of the spectrum, the principle remains true on the other side of the spectrum. If you’re scared or nervous or feeling inadequate, it’s not about you nor is it your work. You’re not trying to sell yourself. Heavenly Father is planning on doing His work.

So how do we actually step aside and let Him do His work? Like all great things in the church, it’s more about adopting a specific type of heart than it is about any specific action. I have found that the most effective way to change my heart is to pray about it in the way that prayer was meant to be utilized. The entire purpose of prayer is to change our will to His, and it makes complete sense. Having a conversation with Someone who is all-loving and omnipotent tends to have that effect on you. It becomes easier to adopt their way of thinking.

Talk to your Heavenly Father. If you make no other goal for gathering the House of Israel, make it a goal to speak to Him regularly about it. There are a couple of things you can include in those prayers that will make it more powerful than simply praying for a missionary opportunity. If you just add in, “Help us find missionary opportunities,” into your prayers very often, you’re not going to feel very changed by it. It is not likely that you’ll be able to adopt that attitude that allows for the Lord to utilize you as effectively. So how do we make our prayers more effective so that we can become more effective?

Acknowledge how you really feel about missionary work. Heavenly Father doesn’t mind if it scares you so be honest with Him. In fact, when you approach Him with where you’re at, He’s given an opportunity to talk you through it. When Moses told the Lord that he was slow of speech, the Lord was like, “Who made man’s mouth?” I don’t believe He was trying to be sarcastic with Moses’ I believe He was trying to assure Moses that He could help Moses do whatever He needed to do, and it obviously worked. Moses listened and went on to change the world. If you tell Him where you’re at, He will respond with what you need to hear. I know this is true. I remember telling Him that there was no way I could start a blog about religious things; I wasn’t a seminary or institute teacher. I liked the scriptures, but I wasn’t any kind of scriptorian. I told Him that I felt ridiculous trying to teach others about the scriptures. I told Him exactly where I was at. He told me that if He could work through Joseph Smith with no education, He could work with me. So be honest with Him and give Him an opportunity to respond to how you’re really feeling. He makes good arguments.

Another way to change yourself while praying to Him is to acknowledge what you know about Him. You can say things like, “I know that You know who is ready. I know that You know how to bring those people into my life. I know that You can soften hearts and send the Spirit so that people don’t hate me if I try to invite them to do something religious.” Acknowledge all of the fears and inadequacies you have regarding missionary work, and then acknowledge specific ways that He can work with you despite your fears. After repeating this process somewhat regularly, you’re going to feel different about it. You’re going to believe that He can work with you and you’re going to be willing to work with Him. It is this attitude that enables the Lord to send His children your way.

I know that Heavenly Father wants us to participate in this work because He wants all of His children to feel close to Him, including those performing the work. I know that this work of gathering can change your life because it’s changed my life. I know that He can work with any of us, exactly where we’re at if we are able to adopt a willingness to help. I know that we have reason to have faith in Him and His ability to make us so much more than we are.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Jacob 5–7 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Love and Great Anxietyby Autumn Dickson

I think one of the defining characteristics of Jacob is his desire to do right by his people. When you go through his writings, it’s very clear that he thinks of them often and wants to steer them in the right way. It is this characteristic that I want to speak about today.

Jacob 1:5 For because of faith and great anxiety, it truly had been made manifest unto us concerning our people, what things should happen unto them.

I think this verse originally caught my attention because of the seeming juxtaposition of the words “faith” and “great anxiety.” My second thought was that it’s possible to have both, and then my third thought was that it’s a fantastic way to parent, lead, and love.

So how do we have faith and great anxiety over our loved ones at the same time? What does that look like?

What does “great anxiety” look like?

There are many different definitions and levels of anxiety, but I would wager that not all of them are applicable in this particular instance since “great anxiety” has been paired with faith. When you feel faith, you know that Christ can help you accomplish anything you truly need to accomplish and you know that your happy ending is safe with Him.

So what is “great anxiety” in this specific circumstance? In my mind, it is a deep propulsion to seek out the best for your loved one. This is a fantastic quality to have. In fact, it’s one of the greatest commandments: to love others as you love yourself. Without charity, we are nothing. So when Jacob talks about having great anxiety for his people, he wants the best for his people.

Interestingly enough, despite this being a good quality to have, Satan is going to try and twist anything he can. If he can’t get you to only care about yourself, he’s going to try and twist your love for others into something detrimental. If we let him, he’s going to take that “great anxiety” and turn it into regular old anxiety that expends energy and makes you feel powerless. I believe a majority of us have felt this “great anxiety,” this propulsion to want the best for our loved ones. Unfortunately, when this great anxiety is not paired with faith, it can become damaging. When your need to protect your loved one overshadows your belief in the Savior, His abilities, and the plan that He set up, things get knocked off kilter.

Utilizing great anxiety and faith in the way you lead

Life can often throw us unexpected circumstances. Even though we’ve been given gospel principles and standards to guide our families, there is this little thing called agency which makes it infinitely more difficult to make decisions about those who are in our charge. If the true goal is to get our loved ones close to the Savior (not just going to church every week but a true relationship with Christ), then it’s going to require some maneuvering that is actually beyond our own abilities.

Do I let my kid decide whether they’re going to play their soccer game on Sunday? What if they choose wrong and don’t feel like it’s a big deal? Do I force my kid to go to Sunday school where the other kids are mean and bad examples? What if it’s actually pushing them farther away from the Spirit rather than closer? Do I let my kid date that person who doesn’t seem like the best influence even though they’re going to be 18 and moving out in a month? Will it actually teach them to have better standards or will it just isolate them from me while they’re in a dangerous situation?

It would be easy to sit and fret and worry and feel great anxiety in all the wrong ways. It’s easy to look at the options before and see only bad ones. But when we look at it through a lens of faith, we stop expending energy on superfluous worry and start investing our energy in worthwhile places, namely action as well as hope in the Savior and His ability to turn a bad option into the very purpose of the Plan of Salvation: growth. We listen to see if one option is going to steer them right, and if there’s nothing forthcoming, we move forward with faith that Christ is still paying attention and will intervene when necessary. If things end up going sideways, we still hold to the faith we had previously and trust that everything that can be done is being done.

The concept of combining faith and great anxiety is so powerful. Instead of fumbling around and trying to make the wisest decision about what to do for your loved ones in the face of uncertainty, take all of that desire to do what’s right for them and let it propel you towards inviting and following the Spirit. You can’t control your kids (or other loved ones) indefinitely so let go, and put your energy where it’s going to count. Let your great anxiety be the motivation, but invest your energy into your faith.

How do we invest our energy into our faith?

The best way to demonstrate the power of this concept is to give an example. Let’s just stick with the sports-on-Sunday example because it’s simple. Before I begin, I know that life doesn’t always play out like this. I know that what I’m teaching is one path in a million, but that doesn’t negate the fact that the principle is being taught so we can apply it effectively not matter what path appears.

So your kid comes to you, and they have a couple of games that are played on Sunday. The great anxiety that Jacob describes is naturally there. You naturally feel propelled to try and do what’s best for your loved one. It would be easy to let that great anxiety fall into regular old anxiety and worry about whether to give them an opportunity to choose for themselves, but we’re not going to do that. We’re going to invest our energy into faith. We’re going to trust in His foreknowledge and His ability to speak in a way we understand.

Let’s say He doesn’t say anything. It would be easy to worry that we’re not doing enough or whether we’re worthy enough to receive revelation. It would be easy to worry that we’re just plain missing the answer, but we’re not going to do that. We’re going to trust that He can speak to us in a way we understand, and He’s never going to let us permanently fail if we’re trying.

So let’s pretend we decide to let the kid choose whether they want to play on Sunday, and they throw us a curveball. They choose to go to their game. Once again, we have another opportunity to fret that we inadvertently taught them that we don’t care about their church attendance, but we’re not going to fret, are we? No. We’re going to have faith that if there was a better option, Christ would have led us to it. We’re going to have faith that He is doing everything that needs to be done on behalf of our loved one. We’re going to have faith that He can teach lessons in a way that our loved ones will best understand.

Now is our chance to pray fervently and specifically. We pray that we will be guided to speak when we need to, to ask the right questions, to let their choices play out, and to know when to intervene. We can pray that their hearts will be softened and prepared to feel the difference in skipping church. We can pray that the contrast of missing church will be an extremely powerful lesson. Maybe they needed to feel the absence of Sabbath Day blessings in order to appreciate the presence.

Have faith in the Savior. He is playing the long game. He is intensely motivated and ever-present even when you can’t see Him. He is doing everything that needs to be done to reach that end goal of exaltation for your child. Trust His process and invest your energy in Him.

Mimicking your faith

This is a powerful way to parent, lead, and love but not only because you’re putting your energy where it counts. It’s powerful because your children are going to mimic your actions far more than they ever listen to your words. Learning to have faith is the most powerful way to teach your loved ones to have faith.

When we have true faith, we feel the blessings of the gospel. Worrying and trying to force the gospel on someone can work sometimes (and there will always be appropriate boundaries while younger ones are growing up), but it is infinitely more powerful for them to see the blessings in your life and desire them. When Alma the Younger was struck dumb, his mind was drawn back to the words of his father and the joy of the saints.

This is also incredibly powerful when they make mistakes. They won’t sit around and fret that this is the end for them, that they’re too far gone. They will know that there is a Savior who loves them and will always welcome them back with open arms, and that is an extremely motivating feeling to turn around and choose better. It is far more motivating than worrying.

Jacob teaches that because of faith and great anxiety, it was revealed what should happen to their people. Maybe the Lord won’t tell you the specific future, but He will guide you with His knowledge of the future. He will help you know when to act, pause, or whatever it is that needs to be happening. And if He’s quiet, have faith that He’s leading you along anyway because He is.

I’m grateful for a Savior I can depend on. I’m grateful that He loves my loved ones more than I love them. I’m grateful that He can guide me according to His knowledge rather than trying to stumble my way through. I’m grateful that He doesn’t always interfere, but allows us to learn the lessons in the way that will be most powerful.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Jacob 1–4 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

How to Find Peaceby Autumn Dickson

There is a verse in the bible that is probably one of the most quoted and appreciated verses of all time. Christ shared it the night of the Passover amidst instituting the sacrament, teaching and prophesying, and washing the feet of His disciples. He spoke peace to His disciples just a little bit before He went to the garden and suffered.

John 14:27 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.

Think of the context in which this saying was given to the disciples. Christ knew what was coming. He knew that the coming night would not be peaceful, nor the hours that followed it (at least not in the usual sense of the word). He knew that “peace” as defined by the world would very soon be snatched away from His disciples. But still, He promised to leave them with peace.

What kind of peace was He trying to give them? What does it look like and how do we receive it in our darkest moments?

To have faith

The kind of peace offered by our Savior is not a quiet morning. It is not perfect children or tons of money to do what we need and want. It is not a promise of health. It certainly wasn’t what He was offering His disciples in the moment He made the promise, and it’s not what He’s offering us either. A huge point of coming to earth was turmoil and opposition so offering an escape from that would diminish the ability of the Plan of Salvation to exalt us.

So how does He give peace?

Receiving peace requires faith in Him. Such a simple sentence, but I believe there’s a whole lot to unpack there. For Easter, we’re talking about the peace that comes with faith. But we’re going to have to talk a lot about faith to understand the kind of faith we need in order to receive peace.

We often talk about how faith is an action word, and it absolutely is. Faith in God drives us to keep the commandments which oftentimes leads us away from circumstances that may bring more turmoil, and that’s awesome. In the same breath, not all turmoil comes from choices we’ve made, and sometimes we’re also going to be making mistakes So what does faith look like in the circumstances that are beyond our control or in the situations where the mistake has been made?

Let’s first look at how the experiences of the disciples might have changed if they had felt faith.

The disciples during the time of crucifixion

Let it be known that this is not a critique of the disciples and how they responded with the events around Christ being taken and killed. For some reason, the Holy Ghost was not operating in the same way during Christ’s mortal ministry (see Bible Dictionary, “Holy Ghost”), and we know how the Holy Ghost plays a key role in many of these kinds of circumstances. This is not a critique, it’s a way to observe the past (since hindsight is 2020) and know how to apply it to our current and future circumstances.

So the disciples are sitting with Christ at the Passover dinner. He teaches many things that were likely hard to be understood without the Holy Ghost. He tells them to not let their hearts become troubled. He has told them more than once that He is going to die, but then again, Christ also spoke about being born again. How literal are we talking here?

Christ is taken, tortured, and crucified. As they lay Him in the tomb, what are they thinking? They lovingly care for His body, but are they also a little angry? Are they in shock? Do they feel abandoned? Are they frustrated that He took them away from their lives and then left them to fend for themselves? The disciples are left to mourn their beloved leader, and they are also left to mourn the hopes and dreams they had placed upon Him. They are left to fear the future, and fear they do. Christ rises again, and it takes a while, but eventually they all come to see and believe and feel peace.

Now imagine if they had been able to have faith in Christ’s words.

Jesus is taken, tortured, and crucified. As they watch this come to pass, they are agonized over watching it, but they know what this is for. Even if they don’t fully grasp the fact that Christ needs to experience this suffering to complete the atonement, they know that He promised it would all work out. They lovingly take care of His body. There are still tears and disbelief, but the source is an overwhelming awe at what He sacrificed for them. There are whispers of gratitude instead of whispers of, “Why?” They are still saying, “I can’t believe this happened,” but it’s only because they can’t believe that He suffered in that manner for them; it’s only because they can’t believe they are truly free from Satan’s grasp.

And then there is a waiting period of three days. They know He’s coming back; He promised He would. No matter what they do, their minds are always drawn back to pondering what happened. And they wait.

With faith, they experienced the same events, but the events felt completely different. There were still tears, still agony. There was a lot of waiting, but the waiting had anticipation over fear.

When Christ teaches Thomas that, “blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed,” He’s not talking about raining down arbitrary blessings upon those who choose to believe in something they can’t see. He’s talking about the fact that Thomas could have saved himself a whole lot of pain if he had been able to find faith. He would have been blessed to pass over all of the agony of the past few days by knowing that it was all part of the plan and Christ would return.

So this is all fine and dandy when you feel faith. Forcing faith doesn’t bring peace; it’s when you feel faith. So how do we “feel” faith so that we can find peace?

Faith is an action word

Faith is an action word. It is an action word in the sense that we prepare for tomorrow by keeping the commandments today, but it’s also an action word in the sense that we are in control of our own thoughts.

Alma 34:31 Yea, I would that ye would come forth and harden not your hearts any longer; for behold, now is the time and the day of your salvation; and therefore, if ye will repent and harden not your hearts, immediately shall the great plan of redemption be brought about unto you.

I have been struck by this verse a number of times because of the line, “immediately shall the great plan of redemption be brought about unto you.” Immediately. If we can soften our hearts and repent, we will immediately experience the great plan of redemption.

What does it mean to experience the great plan of redemption? It can mean a lot of things, but the one I want to focus on today is the aspect of peace. Experiencing the great plan of redemption means experiencing the kind of peace that Christ promised.

So if we can repent and soften our hearts, we will experience the peace associated with the great plan of redemption. Let’s talk about repentance and softening our hearts separately.

Of course we will experience peace when we repent. Repentance is so much more than saying sorry for breaking a commandment. In my mind, repentance is any step towards becoming like Christ. This means we change into people who are calm, steady, joyful, and authentic. It means allowing ourselves to be healed; Christ didn’t need healing in the same manner, but if we want to be like Him, we need it. So yeah, repentance is going to bring peace.

But repenting and living the commandments won’t bring peace unless it’s combined with that soft heart, and having a soft heart is a conscious choice that we have to make.

Don’t harden your heart any longer. Don’t disbelieve that He adores you. Don’t disbelieve that He will make everything up to you. When something comes in and breaks your peace, actively fight it with a mantra that He loves you and will take care of absolutely everything. Note that I said, “mantra.” Maybe the idea that He loves you is not yet a knowledge, but if you want to find that knowledge, you might have to start with a mantra. When Satan comes in, you repeat to yourself how Christ loves you and will take care of it. Eventually that mantra will give way to hope, then faith, then growth of faith, then knowledge. And then bam, you feel peace. It simply comes.

I can personally testify of this. I lived the gospel my whole life with small glimpses of salvation and redemption and peace. But when my heart finally softened and believed, I started experiencing the feeling of salvation immediately and consistently. I started experiencing peace immediately and consistently.

I still have my moments. I still know what it is to feel hopeless, discouraged, weary, explosive. But I have been finding my way back to that peace more quickly or through thicker darkness.

The eternities after this earth life will not be perfect in the sense that the world thinks of as “perfect.” God still experiences sorrow. He still has to watch difficult things and make difficult decisions. But that is precisely why Christ offers a different kind of peace. If He offered us peace as defined by the world, we would find ourselves unprepared for the next life. We need the kind of peace He offers in order to find a peace that lasts an eternity.

I’m grateful for a Savior who sacrificed, and I’m grateful for this time of year to ponder His sacrifice. I know that He loves us endlessly and has the power to support us endlessly. When you find that knowledge and experience it again and again and again, you will find the peace you’re looking for.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Easter – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

A Strait Pathby Autumn Dickson

The end of 2 Nephi is fantastic. As I read it, I pictured Nephi summarizing everything towards the end of his life. He had kept a record and taught many lessons and told stories from his life, but in 2 Nephi 31, Nephi wanted to make sure that the lessons were explicitly laid out.

There is one specific lesson I want to cover.

2 Nephi 31:9 And again, it showeth unto the children of men the straitness of the path, and the narrowness of the gate, by which they should enter, he having set the example before them.

Maybe I’m a little slow on the pickup, but it wasn’t until later in life that I recognized the word “strait” as being different from the word “straiGHt.” Though both imply “narrowness,” they are not the same thing. “Strait” was the word that Nephi chose and Joseph translated, and it was a very purposeful word. Let’s explore it.

In the dictionary, “strait” has a couple of definitions. It doesn’t mean a line with no curves or bends. It means, “difficult, limited in resources, closely fitted.” It might not sound pleasant, but these words are actually so cool.

So, “difficult.” The path towards ultimate salvation (as well as the path where we can experience a form of salvation along the way) is hard; that was kind of the whole point. Though it sounds awful, our path towards exaltation included finding ourselves in really difficult circumstances that bring us down. That doesn’t sound very loving or doting of our Heavenly Father, but if we can keep our focus on Him, then it’s actually the most rewarding by far. Strait also means “limited in resources;” this one fascinated me. There will not be many places where we can find comfort outside of the Savior. Luckily, He is actually quite vast in terms of resources.

I could spend a post on each of those definitions, but the one I want to really explore is “closely fitted.” It completely changed the meaning of this verse in my mind when compared to the word “straiGHt.” StraiGHt means no turns or bends. Strait can turn and bend as much as necessary; it’s just closely fitted to the individual. The Lord has extremely individualized paths for each of us. Christ is the only One who walked a “straiGHt” path; the paths we take as imperfect people are much more accurately defined as strait.

There are many ways in which our paths can be described as strait. Obviously, the Lord takes us through specific trials, life experiences, and personalized messages from the Holy Ghost. But there is one other way that I’ve learned that I don’t believe is often talked about.

Strait and sin

So if we were to look at the word “straiGHt” as our example of a sinless path towards God, then it’ll be easier to observe our own paths.

Do we “need” sin in order to get back to our Heavenly Father? Obviously not. Seems like a very silly question, but the silly question helps me highlight the actual truth. We don’t need sin in order to get back to our Heavenly Father, but we do need the lessons that often accompany sin. Sometimes we really do need to learn the hard way in order to change into what God would have us become. God doesn’t want us to sin, but He did send us here to grow and learn. He sent us to taste the bitter so we could comprehend the sweet.

My personal strait path has included plenty of opportunities to fail. One of the first ones that come to mind is this blog to be honest. When Heavenly Father first started prompting me to start this journey of blogging and Youtube videos and podcasting, one of my main worries was my vanity. In college, I wanted to be a musician which takes a fair amount of promoting yourself. Which is awesome for other people. Not so awesome for me. I was painfully aware of rejection and perceived rejection everywhere. I craved validation from other people. I became self-centered in a lot of ways. I wanted to be on a pedestal. When it all came crashing down around me, it felt like one of the biggest blessings of my life (or at least it did later on). I was taken out of that dark place and away from putting myself out there. I became a much happier person, and I shunned temptation because I never wanted to feel that way about myself again.

So when Heavenly Father came knocking on my door, asking me to put myself out there again, I told Him I wasn’t interested. I told Him that I was trying to avoid my obvious weakness of vanity and pride and caring too much about what other people think about me. I know what happens at the end of that road (at least what happens for me). It wasn’t a place I wanted to go to.

As I talked with Heavenly Father about these concerns, He told me that He was giving me an opportunity to practice sharing my light while letting go of that vanity. I told Him that if I failed, that would be on Him haha.

And I have failed many many many many many times. There have been plenty of times where I have cared far too much about whether people like what I put out there. There have been plenty of times where I have felt sharp embarrassment over mistakes I’ve made or when I’m not particularly articulate. There have been plenty of times when I’ve gotten too excited about when I have done a good job. I still have all of these problems, but they have gotten significantly better. It doesn’t affect me as much as it used to.

But I’m so grateful that Heavenly Father wasn’t worried about keeping my path perfectly straiGHt. He was wise enough to take me on a strait path that would allow me to practice being like Him even if it meant some curves, bends, failings, and even sin. He knew that it was the only path that would help me become what He needed me to become. It was specifically tailored to me.

This is not me encouraging you to go seek paths of temptation and sin in order to learn a lesson. That would be dumb; excuse the word, but I used it because it’s accurate. So if I’m not encouraging you to go out and seek opportunities to sin, why am I bringing it up?

Why teach this?

Because it took a weight off my chest. I don’t look back in agony at past mistakes, and I don’t look forward in fear about making more mistakes (since…you know…it’s inevitable). I was never meant to be perfect during mortal life. Heavenly Father has specific lessons that we, as individuals, need to learn. Sometimes it means putting us in situations where we’re going to fail, fail often, and fail hard (hello mortality in general).

He sent us here to make mistakes so that we could become what He meant for us to become, and He sent His Son to pay for it. That was always the plan.

I don’t seek sin, but I’m also no longer afraid of failing. I get to move forward in my life, exerting my energy toward becoming like Him without carrying around the weight of my mistakes. I have a powerful Savior who paid for my sins. Rather than worrying about the fact that He didn’t deserve to take on all that pain, I trust Him and I have a testimony that He was the One who led me on this strait path. He brought me here to fail, He paid for my sins, He comforts me and has the ability to comfort those I’ve wounded, and all I’m left with is a powerful lesson.

As parents, family members, leaders, and friends

I also share this message because it makes us powerful disciples.

Sometimes it’s so easy to get caught up in a desperate desire to keep our loved ones from making mistakes, to keep them on the straiGHT path so that they never have to experience consequences, that we end up doing more damage. We were never meant to walk a straiGHt path, and neither were those we love. Of course we would like to spare our loved ones pain, but that goal is ultimately short-sighted.

There was a talk given by Sister Tamara W. Runia in the October 2023 General Conference. Please listen to it. God led me to it right at this specific time of writing this post because she expressed what I was hoping to express.

I went through a rough patch my senior year in high school when I wasn’t making great choices. I remember seeing my mom crying, and I wondered if I’d disappointed her. At the time, I worried that her tears meant she’d lost hope for me, and if she didn’t feel hope for me, maybe there wasn’t a way back.

But my dad was more practiced at zooming out and taking the long view. He’d learned from experience that worry feels a lot like love, but it’s not the same. He used the eye of faith to see that everything would work out, and his hopeful approach changed me.

If we can tap into the doctrine that Christ always meant for us to walk a strait path, not a straiGHt path, we will become much more powerful in our ability to help those we love. If we can focus on developing their relationship with the Savior, helping them rely on Him, helping them learn from Him, helping them take powerful lessons from their mistakes, we will exponentially increase their progress in comparison to a desperate attempt to avoid pitfalls, curves, and bends. Our loved ones will no longer feel like it’s their responsibility to be perfect; rather, they will feel and know that mortal life was about progress and that a relationship with the Savior will give them everything they need to achieve that.

I’m grateful for a Savior who paid the price for me to have this experience. I’m grateful that He has taught me about His sacrifice. I’m grateful that He didn’t have impossible expectations for me, and I’m grateful that He has never lost sight of who I can become.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 2 Nephi 31–33 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Nephi’s prophecies of the Book of Mormon; “the doctrine of Christ”(2 Nephi 28–33)by Mike Parker

(Mike Parker is a long-time FAIR member who has graciously allowed us to use materials he originally prepared for the Hurricane Utah Adult Religion Class. The scripture passages covered in his lessons don’t conform exactly to the Come, Follow Me reading schedule, so they will be shared here where they fit best. This week’s lesson includes information that goes with the Come, Follow Me reading schedule for the next two weeks. The previous post covers the first two chapters of this week’s reading.)

Class Notes

Additional Reading

Michael B. Parker, “Nephi’s Later Reflections on the Tree of Life Vision,” Insights: A Window on the Ancient World 22, no. 5 (2002): 2–3. In this—my one and only published scholarly article!—I compare Nephi’s language in 2 Nephi 31:20 with his description of the tree of life in 1 Nephi 8:30. In his final testimony, Nephi appears to have purposely alluded to his father’s earlier vision.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 2 Nephi 28–33 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Mixing Doubt with Angerby Autumn Dickson

One of the topics given as a suggestion in the Come Follow Me manual for this week is to study Satan’s tactics. This has actually already been a topic on my mind for a while. There is one tactic in particular that I’ve come to recognize over the past few months, and so I feel like the Lord has prepared me to learn about this before He even gave me the verse. Here it is.

2 Nephi 28:20 For behold, at that day shall he rage in the hearts of the children of men, and stir them up to anger against that which is good.

As I have read this verse in the past, I always pictured two specific ways of Satan raging in the hearts of men. One, I always pictured Satan tempting people to get angry with each other, and two, I pictured him tempting people to hate the church. Both are totally valid examples. However, as I read it this time, I was reminded of this observation that the Lord has been helping me ponder lately.

Namely, I’ve been pondering the observation that Satan likes to mix our doubts with anger. Doubts happen. Even Joseph Smith taught that in order to reach salvation, we have to be able to “contemplate the darkest abyss.” Faith is non-existent without its opposite: doubt. We can’t have faith in something unless there is reason to doubt it, and I believe Satan has a major victory when he can mix our doubts with anger and frustration.

The toxic combination of anger and doubt

One of my children is going through a bit of a phase recently. There have been quite a few stressors in our family life with frequent moves, a new baby, and dad going out of town frequently for work. She also recently started school every day, and all of this has thrown her a bit of a curve ball. She is a daughter after my own heart and loves routine and so all of this upheaval is an obstacle for her. There have been a couple of days in a row where she has absolutely lost her mind at me, screaming, crying, throwing, hitting, slamming doors, all of it.

There have been two sentiments that she has expressed to me in her anger. Namely, she has expressed that she believes I hate her or that I’m not treating her like she’s part of the family.

It’s extremely easy for me to see that my disciplining her has everything to do with how much I love her and how badly I want her to be part of a functional and healthy family, but to her, these are very real feelings. She doesn’t always understand my decisions, she doesn’t always see my perspective, and so she draws a conclusion that I must not love her.

Unfortunately, it’s very difficult to explain my love and reasoning to her when she’s angry. I’ve tried. When she’s throwing a fit and I’m trying to hold her and explain to her why I’m choosing to make certain decisions in her life, sometimes she simply can’t hear me above the big feelings.

Later on, after she’s had time to calm down, the conversation goes far more smoothly. She is able to see the big picture, to see that I have a responsibility to teach her even if consequences make her sad sometimes.

This is not a perfect similitude of the principle I’m trying to teach, but it can teach the principle that we can apply to broader circumstances. Let me give a better example.

I love the gospel, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t had my personal struggles with different aspects related to the church. It’s especially difficult when those struggles are highlighted on social media or by a friend who has left the church. There have been times when I have felt very dark inside. I know there is a temptation to believe that the only way to escape that darkness is to leave, to stand up against a perceived (and possibly very real) injustice. I know the temptation to get angry and demand better in comparison to sitting in the darkness and allowing yourself to feel hurt, invalidated, and unimportant.

Interestingly enough, Satan is on both ends of that spectrum. He is the one in the dark, whispering that you’re nothing. Heavenly Father would never have you sit in the darkness believing that you’re lesser, and as soon as He starts to build you and help you believe that you matter, Satan is right there. Satan is whispering that you should be angry and demand better, that you should have never been made to feel the darkness in the first place.

Whether or not we should have been constantly protected from darkness is a conversation for another day. For now, let’s consider why Satan would like us to feel angry when we have doubts or don’t understand. Let’s consider what can happen when we’re able to let go of the anger.

Letting go of the anger and frustration

It’s easy to say that we should let go of the anger that accompanies doubt. It’s much harder to actually accomplish the task, especially when those doubts make you wonder if you’re insignificant, lesser, or weary. It’s harder when those doubts can easily lead to feelings that something is wrong.

If there is anything I wish for anyone to get out of my blog posts, YouTube videos, or podcasts, it is this truth: any gospel problem can be solved when we have a relationship with Jesus Christ. I would even go as far to say that any problem at all can be solved. We don’t have to force or contort or squash anything about ourselves or how we’re feeling. We simply need to approach Christ with an understanding of who He is.

Imagine how powerful it would be if my daughter could come to me and calmly ask why I made certain decisions in regards to her life. Let it be known that I don’t have expectations for this; she’s really young and that takes a lifetime of practice. But imagine for a moment, that she was able to. How would that change how she feels about herself? How would that change how she sees the circumstances around her?

Like I said, she’s young. Some of the principles I use to make decisions are beyond her ability to understand, and so there has to be a level of trust. But if I prove myself to be a loving mother and if I reassure her of her importance, it becomes much easier to feel okay even if she doesn’t fully understand.

If I can approach my Heavenly Father with faith that I’m important to Him, the doubts are resolved or become insignificant to me.

Maybe that sounds like voodoo. Maybe it sounds like I’m trying to placate people by telling them to “just have faith.” But it’s a reality, at least for me. More than once I have approached Him and told Him that I don’t understand something, that it feels wrong. As I approach Him, replacing my anger with faith that He loves me and is perfect and capable, I find that the doubts are bearable, miniscule even. Trust finds me. I don’t have to ignore doubts or push them down; they dissipate in the comforting knowledge that He really can fix everything and help me come out on top of it all, powerful and glorious and everything He meant for me to become.

It takes a relationship

The power to overcome these doubts does not often happen overnight. My daughter can come to me and be reassured of my love because she experiences it consistently. However, if a stranger did something that felt vastly unfair, it probably wouldn’t mean much if that stranger insisted they wanted what was best for her.

The same goes for trusting the Savior. Think of how often you have little testimony moments. If you were to apply that to a normal relationship, how much would you trust the other person? How much satisfaction and joy would you find in that relationship? The answer is probably not much. If I saw a random stranger do a couple of good things, that would probably give me a good opinion of them, but without a relationship, that good opinion of them would do very little to bless me.

If we want to be truly changed by the atonement of Jesus Christ, if we truly want to experience the blessings of the gospel, to experience salvation now, we need more than a testimony of Him. If we want to feel power over Satan and doubt, if we want to feel secure in this world, a testimony is insufficient. We need a relationship with Him. It is only in a relationship with Him that we gain enough exposure to Him that we start to trust in the promises that make life bearable, worth it, and wonderful. It is only in a relationship with Him that the doubt feels insignificant, laughable even. A relationship with a perfectly loving and powerful Being melts the anger that Satan tries to infuse in our lives. Satan is no competition when we have that relationship. Why do you think we’re encouraged to read The Book of Mormon every day? I believe it’s because it’s giving us a taste of that relationship even if we don’t fully recognize it.

It can be hard work to know your Father in Heaven. Spiritual effort is as difficult as physical effort, maybe even more so. There are no markers. It takes focus in a world that diminishes our ability to concentrate. It builds slowly over time in a world that can deliver gratification quickly.

But it’s worth it. My life has never been so happy and peaceful as it has been since I’ve come to know and experience His power regularly enough that I trust Him and what He says. Invest in that relationship. Above all else in relation to the gospel, invest in that relationship. Help your children develop that relationship so that when the storms come, they will feel that storms are either insignificant or contribute to their ability to be awesome.

I testify of perfectly loving Parents and a Savior. I testify that They have the ability to do all that They have promised to do. I testify that we can’t see the full picture, and I testify that when we do, we will laugh at ourselves for ever having been worried. That is not meant to diminish how difficult it may feel now; it is meant to give comfort. Someday, everything will make sense. I know it because I know my Savior.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 2 Nephi 26–30 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

This podcast series features past FAIR Conference presentations. This presentation is from our 2022 conference.

Kerry Muhlestein, Keys to Understanding Isaiah

Kerry has several books available from the FAIR Bookstore.

Kerry received his B.S. from BYU in Psychology with a Hebrew minor. He received an M.A. in Ancient Near Eastern Studies from BYU and his Ph.D. from UCLA in Egyptology, where in his final year he was named the UCLA Affiliates Graduate Student of the Year. His first full time appointment was a joint position in Religion and History at BYU-Hawaii. He is the director of the BYU Egypt Excavation Project. He has been teaching about Isaiah for almost three decades, and has been teaching classes specifically on Isaiah for several years, and has written a verse-by-verse commentary on Isaiah. He and his wife, Julianne, are the parents of six children, and together they have lived in Jerusalem while Kerry has taught there on multiple occasions.

The post FAIR Conference Podcast #82 – Kerry Muhlestein, “Keys to Understanding Isaiah” appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Keeping the Law of Mosesby Autumn Dickson

I have been waiting for the verses I want to talk about today. I have held them in my mind for a couple years, waiting for the opportunity to write this post. And as I have written it, I have found myself truly humbled as I realized this message extended beyond what I previously thought and hit me directly where I needed it.

Before I delve into these verses, I want to call to your attention the character and circumstances of Nephi. Nephi was a friend of Christ. Nephi knew Christ on a personal level that most of us will only realize on the other side. Such is the man who taught the following doctrine:

2 Nephi 25:24-25

24 And, notwithstanding we believe in Christ, we keep the law of Moses, and look forward with steadfastness unto Christ, until the law shall be fulfilled.

25 For, for this end was the law given; wherefore the law hath become dead unto us, and we are made alive in Christ because of our faith; yet we keep the law because of the commandments.

Throughout this chapter, Nephi taught that we believe in Christ; he knew that salvation came through Jesus Christ. He knew that belief in Christ is what releases us from the power of Satan, faith that Christ can truly free us from sin and make us everything we hope to be. When we believe in Jesus Christ, we find the peace and freedom and happiness we seek because we know of His power and ability to take care of everything.

But Nephi’s teaching didn’t stop there; Nephi also taught his people to keep the Law of Moses.

When I think about the character and circumstances of Nephi, I would wager that Nephi didn’t actually “need” the Law of Moses. In order to have a fulfilling relationship with Jesus Christ, he didn’t need all of those laws and ordinances and constant rituals to keep him in line with his eyes on Christ. I believe that Nephi would have thrived in his relationship with Christ in our day, in a time when we are much more principle-based in our learning and worship.

And yet, Nephi still taught his people to keep the Law of Moses. In fact, Nephi didn’t just teach the Law of Moses, Nephi kept the Law of Moses. Despite the fact that he didn’t need it in order to remain close to Christ, Nephi probably kept the Law of Moses better than just about anyone in his day.

The Law of Moses in our Day

In our church, we have a personal line of revelation and a priesthood line of revelation. There are a million reasons for this, but one of the reasons is this: the Lord needs to guide us individually because we are all different and have different needs, but He also guides the church as a whole.

At the time of the Law of Moses, all of the extra rules and rituals were necessary. If you were to compare the Israelites to a person, they likely would have been a toddler. They needed very clear boundaries and teaching because they had just spent years and years and years in brutal captivity. Even beyond the fact that they had forgotten the Lord, their moral compass was questionable at best. Who can blame them? Think about where they had been in Egypt; growing up as a slave would have made it very difficult to form proper attachments and character. The more I think about the Israelites in the Old Testament, the less I see a vengeful God who was constantly frustrated with His people and the more I see a loving and wise God who knew what His people truly needed.

As time has moved on, the Israelites (as a whole church) have grown. Just as my older kids have outgrown their baby gates and training wheels, the Israelites outgrew the Law of Moses. It was fulfilled and no longer needed, and the church became more principle-based as Christ came in, fulfilled the Law of Moses, and left them with a higher law.

We again live in a time where the church is growing towards principle-based learning; just observe the changes in the For Strength of Youth. And yet, as much as we’ve grown as a whole church, there is a reason that some of our more “Law of Moses” rules stand. Things like coffee, dating standards, and garments are all examples of rules that fall more in line with the Law of Moses in comparison to a principle-based type of worship and learning. There is a difference between, “Keep your body healthy,” and, “Don’t drink alcohol.” There is a difference between, “Keep Christ in your thoughts,” and attending weekly sacrament meetings where we are given a very specific time period to think of Christ. There is a difference between principle-based learning and worship and Law-of-Moses-rules-and-rituals type of learning and worship.

Our need for the “Law of Moses”

As I said before, Nephi likely didn’t “need” the Law of Moses in order to remain close to Christ. When it comes to the modern day rituals and rules that are similar to the Law of Moses, there have definitely been days where I didn’t feel like I needed them. I think about the gospel a lot, and I feel close to my Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ. Trying to create a post about the scriptures every week has forced me to think about the gospel and my covenants often. It puts me in a position where I need the Lord, and so I am constantly turned towards Him over and over and over.

And yet, as I was typing out this post, my similarity to the Israelites smacked me in the face. As I scoffed and face-palmed through the Old Testament, wondering on how on earth the Israelites could be missing the symbolism of the rituals they had been given, I realized that I am just as guilty. As I judged the Israelites for going through the motions of the rituals and completely missing the change of heart that was supposed to accompany it, I didn’t realize just how relatable they are.

As one example, I put on my garments every day. And yet, like the Israelites in their action-minus-the-heart worshiping, I find that I am thinking of how inconvenient they are more often than I think about the covenants and blessings they represent. I have a sneaking suspicion that if I were to think about what my garments truly represent, I would forget all about their inconveniences. In truth, if I could glimpse what my garments represent, I would likely be floored at the opportunity I’ve been given to wear them. Like Naaman who washed and was healed in the dirty Jordan River, I wonder if I will get to the other side, and whisper, “I didn’t know. I didn’t know what a blessing I was given.”

It is only in writing this post that I’ve realized how much I still need our little modern-day “Law of Moses” rituals because I obviously haven’t fully realized what a gift I’ve been given.

Christ definitely didn’t need it

As I mentioned previously, Nephi taught and lived the Law of Moses despite the fact that he had a very close relationship with Christ. And yet, as I picture Nephi going through the details of the Law of Moses, I picture him in a posture of humility. I don’t imagine that he stomped around, murmuring about the fact that he has to wash something or sacrifice something since he just spoke to Christ personally. No. I picture Nephi performing the Law of Moses rituals in deep awe because he knew the Savior personally. He knew what the Savior did for him. Those rituals meant everything to him.

To take that a step further, there was no single individual who ever lived on the earth that needed the Law of Moses less than Jesus Christ did. And yet, there was no single individual who ever lived on the earth who more perfectly lived the Law of Moses than Jesus Christ did. And just like the comfort and awe it inspired in Nephi, I actually believe the Law of Moses helped Christ too. It taught Him about Himself; it brought comfort and understanding as He realized what He would be required to do.

In our day, it’s not about whether we “need” the “Law of Moses” rules and rituals like temple attendance, the sacrament, and garments. Need is relative. Maybe there are some of us who don’t “need” it (though I’ve realized I’m not one of those people). But there is always room for more blessings and growth and awe and thundering humility when we view these Law of Moses-ish things as they truly are. Maybe it’s not about need; maybe it’s about the opportunity to find more faith in Jesus Christ.

No; garments aren’t perfect. Perhaps sacrificing to go to the temple can feel like a burden. Perhaps taking the sacrament every single week doesn’t feel necessary. But if you feel this way (and I say this with utter humility because I have been guilty of feeling a “burden”), consider the idea that perhaps you’re looking at it all wrong.

A sheep could NEVER truly symbolize Christ. And yet, if the Israelites had been able to grasp what the sheep represented, it wouldn’t have mattered that the sheep feel pitifully short. If the Israelites could have really seen that sheep symbolically, if they could have looked past what it would cost them to sacrifice it, their lives would have changed because they would have felt changed.

I suppose my overarching plea is this: if you have found yourself frustrated, flip the frustration on its head. Check your reverence as you participate in modern-day Law of Moses equivalents. Check where your focus is as you engage. Are you thinking of Christ? Are you thinking of what He sacrificed for you?

If we utilize the rituals and rules in the way they were meant to be utilized, the burden dissipates and we are left with awe and wonder. And, like Nephi, we will come to know our Savior on a deeply personal level. In fact, it is likely through our deep appreciation of these rituals and rules that we will find ourselves prepared to know our Savior on a personal level.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 2 Nephi 20–25 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Nephi’s quotations & commentary on the prophecies of Isaiah(2 Nephi 11–27)by Mike Parker

(Mike Parker is a long-time FAIR member who has graciously allowed us to use materials he originally prepared for the Hurricane Utah Adult Religion Class. The scripture passages covered in his lessons don’t conform exactly to the Come, Follow Me reading schedule, so they will be shared here where they fit best. This week’s lesson includes information that goes with the Come, Follow Me reading schedule for the next three weeks.)

Class Notes

Handout

Additional Reading

Isaiah in the Book of Mormon. A side-by-side comparison of the King James and Book of Mormon texts of Isaiah.

Two book-length treatments of the Isaiah material in the Book of Mormon I recommend:

1. Donald W. Parry and John W. Welch, eds., Isaiah in the Book of Mormon (Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1998).
2. Donald W. Parry, Harmonizing Isaiah: Combining Ancient Sources (Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 2001).
Since 1981, the Church’s footnote for 2 Nephi 12:16 has indicated a connection between the text of the Book of Mormon and the Greek Septuagint. BYU professors Dana M. Pike and David Rolph Seely examine different interpretive possibilities in “‘Upon all the Ships of the Sea, and Upon All the Ships of Tarshish’: Revisiting 2 Nephi 12:16 and Isaiah 2:16,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 14, no. 2 (2005): 12–25.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 2 Nephi 11–27 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

The Context of Eternityby Autumn Dickson

One of the topics that gets covered this week is the Millennium. Life in the Millennium is going to be a little bit different than we are experiencing now. Nephi quotes the following verse about what life will be like:

2 Nephi 12:4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plow-shares, and their spears into pruning-hooks—nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

This verse teaches us that war will cease. People won’t be fighting anymore. They will take their weapons that have been used to destroy, and they will be turned into tools that build and cultivate instead. This has often brought me an immense amount of comfort.

Interestingly enough, I actually found a warning when I read it this time.

The warning

When I read about this verse of weapons being turned into tools, I actually thought of The Book of Mormon war heroes, Captain Moroni being one example. Captain Moroni was good at war, really good at it. He spent a good portion of his life preparing for war and fighting in wars. However, the following verse teaches us something essential about Captain Moroni.

Alma 48:11 And Moroni was a strong and a mighty man; he was a man of a perfect understanding; yea, a man that did not delight in bloodshed; a man whose soul did joy in the liberty and the freedom of his country, and his brethren from bondage and slavery;

Captain Moroni didn’t enjoy war despite his talent with it; Captain Moroni enjoyed freedom and helping his people enjoy freedom. Why is this so important?

It’s important because when Captain Moroni arrives at the Celestial Kingdom (or if the Millennium were to have occurred in his time), he will have righteous desires that allow him to experience happiness in eternity. If he enjoyed war specifically, he would have found himself feeling rather useless and empty because a desire for war cannot be fulfilling in eternity. Maybe he could enjoy some competitive strategy board games, but that kind of joy is only going to last so long.

Captain Moroni had become the kind of man who could feel fulfilled throughout all of eternity. He lived according to his circumstances here on earth, but he changed himself according to the laws of eternity. He aligned himself with the nature that exists there rather than with the realities of mortal life that only exist for so long.

So here’s the warning. When there is no use left for our swords, will we be happy with our pruning hooks? When our “weapons” become obsolete in the Millennium or in the eternities beyond this mortal life, will we be left empty?

Understanding the nature of our swords

Maybe we are not professional soldiers in our day and age, but there are plenty of mortal desires that will not be compatible with eternal life. There will be plenty of desires that become obsolete.

What are your desires? What makes you happy? What fuels your choices? What makes your work feel worth it? The interesting thing about mortal desires (in comparison to eternal desires) is that mortal desires really can make us happy on earth; the doctrine that is essential to understand is that mortal desires expire.

I have concocted a practical process that can help us examine our desires to check ourselves; there are really only two steps.

Step 1: Make a list of things that fulfill us here in mortality

The first step in the process is to make an honest list of our desires. It is important to be as honest as possible because eventually we’re going to be faced with the truth, and it’s far more unpleasant to meet that truth on the other side. This process is also more effective when we can be kind with ourselves. Every single one of us holds desires that are not compatible with eternity. We don’t have to hate ourselves for it, and hating ourselves just makes it more difficult to be honest and progress. Heavenly Father gave us the opportunity to change ourselves so that we could learn to be strong like Him, and Christ paid for that opportunity. We have nothing to fear.

So what are your desires? It’s easy to write all of the “right” answers, but let’s look at some more leading questions. What occupies large portions of our thoughts? What is our first thought when we wake up and what do we think about before falling asleep? Where do we spend a majority of our free time? What sacrifices are we making and to what end? For example, are we sacrificing so we can provide for our family or are we sacrificing our family in the name of providing? That’s an intensely circumstantial question that may differ day to day, but it’s essential to go to the root of these desires so that we can truly examine how we’re going to feel in eternity.

Looking back over our list of desires, we can also ask questions like, “What makes me happy about this particular desire?” For example, we could write, “Making money,” but there are so many facets of money. Do we like having the freedom that often accompanies money or do we like the prestige of money? Those desires play out differently in eternity so we have to be specific.

Step 2: Place those desires in the context of eternity.

The next step is to take a look at each desire and place it into the reality of eternity.

This step is harder to ask general questions about so instead, I’m going to take one pretty common mortal desire and show what it’s like to observe it in eternity. In that way, we can apply this process to our own personal list of desires. Let’s talk about money again because it’s practical and easy to observe.

There is nothing wrong with making money, working for money, and enjoying money. Let me reiterate that Captain Moroni didn’t like war, but he understood the realities of mortal life. Money is essential, and money can provide a measure of security and happiness. Let’s not pretend that it’s not true.

But. We keep ourselves safe and happy when we keep money in perspective by recognizing the nature of eternity. What are some realities about eternity that correlate with money?

First, if we make it to the Celestial Kingdom, all that the Father has will be ours (that also means it will be everybody else’s too). And if we end up anywhere else, we’re going to still have our temporal needs filled. Our feelings about money should reflect this. Are we going to end up on the other side and wonder, “Well now what do I do?”

Second, there is no prestige over our brothers and sisters in the Celestial Kingdom. If you enjoy all the mortal prestige that stems from money, then understand that the prestige cistern will dry up quickly. You will feel empty.

Third, what did we sacrifice for it? Everyone will have to sacrifice some measure of family time to provide for family needs, but are we spending sufficient time with our families so that we are the kind of people that find deep fulfillment within our families? Because a good majority of the happiness that is available in eternity will be found in family. This is an extremely internal question. It’s not even really about how much time you’re spending; it’s about your desires once again. Some people work three jobs because they have to, but they wish they could come home to their families more. Some people just stay at work because they want money.

Placing all of our desires in the context of eternity can help us align our desires with everlasting realities. In this way, we can make sure we are capable of finding happiness in the eternities.

The key is to change

These questions and lists can seem practical, but people vary widely even within their individual circumstances on a day to day basis. You will likely find that your desires are eternally compatible one day and mortally compatible the next. The key is to nurture your eternal desires. We can enjoy our mortal situations without being left bereft in eternity, but we have to open our eyes to the true nature of things and align ourselves with the truth. As you open your eyes to the true value of things, it becomes easier to invest in the things that matter most.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 2 Nephi 11–19 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Jacob’s teachings about the Messiah & the gathering of Israel(2 Nephi 6–10)by Mike Parker

(Mike Parker is a long-time FAIR member who has graciously allowed us to use materials he originally prepared for the Hurricane Utah Adult Religion Class.)

Class Notes

Additional Reading

Taylor Halverson, “‘O How Great the Goodness of Our God’: 2 Nephi 6–10,” Interpreter Foundation, 5 July 2013.
John S. Thompson argues that Jacob₂’s sermon was given in connection with the Nephite observance of the Feast of the Tabernacles: “Isaiah 50–51, the Israelite Autumn Festivals, and the Covenant Speech of Jacob in 2 Nephi 6–10,” in Isaiah in the Book of Mormon, ed. Donald W. Parry and John W. Welch (Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1998), 123–50.
Jacob₂ personified physical and spiritual death by calling them an “awful monster.” (2 Nephi 9:10, 19, 26) Book of Mormon Central examined Jacob₂’s words and other uses of monsters in the scriptures in “KnoWhy #34: Why Does Jacob Choose a ‘Monster’ as a Symbol for Death and Hell?”

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 2 Nephi 6–10 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Nephi’s Psalmby Autumn Dickson

Nephi’s psalm is a classic, and there are a great many things we can learn from it. Rather than focusing on any specific phrases or words, I want to look at the message as a whole. I believe there is something we can learn as we follow Nephi through his transitions.

All throughout the chapters we have read thus far, Nephi has given us examples of his righteousness. He turned to the Lord for his own testimony, faithfully followed his father out of his home, valiantly encouraged his brothers to let the Lord help them accomplish the impossible, and then frankly forgave them after being beaten with a rod. We appreciate these examples; we learn a lot about revelation, turning to the Lord, and following in faith. If we can read these examples with the right heart, we will learn many of the mysteries of the kingdom. However, oddly enough, there is also something very strengthening and reassuring about hearing someone be vulnerable and open about their flaws. It builds connections between people that are much harder to cross over otherwise.

During his psalm, I feel like I catch a glimpse into Nephi’s heart, and it’s one of my favorite Nephi moments. In this awful moment of sorrow after his father died, he bears his soul a bit. He writes down his feelings exactly as they’re coming along and being processed, and it’s a beautiful process to watch. It’s a process that we can mimic. And interestingly enough, when we mimic this vulnerable process out loud at appropriate times, we can often strengthen our relationships with others and strengthen them in general.

Following Nephi’s process

I want to break up Nephi’s psalm into four parts. I will share a verse from each of the four parts that summarizes his train of thought.

2 Nephi 4:17 Nevertheless, notwithstanding the great goodness of the Lord, in showing me his great and marvelous works, my heart exclaimeth: O wretched man that I am! Yea, my heart sorroweth because of my flesh; my soul grieveth because of mine iniquities.

So Nephi is experiencing what many of us have felt before. We’re frustrated with our own lack of progress. We’re frustrated that we continually hurt others with our weaknesses. Nephi then transitions into, “I’m a weak man, but I know the Mighty One I have trusted.”

2 Nephi 4:20 My God hath been my support; he hath led me through mine afflictions in the wilderness; and he hath preserved me upon the waters of the great deep.

After praising the Lord for all that He has done on Nephi’s behalf, Nephi is then like, “If He has blessed me so much, why am I so worried about my afflictions? Why do I let Satan come in and destroy my peace?”

2 Nephi 4:26 O then, if I have seen so great things, if the Lord in his condescension unto the children of men hath visited men in so much mercy, why should my heart weep and my soul linger in the valley of sorrow, and my flesh waste away, and my strength slacken, because of mine afflictions?

Nephi then transitions one last time to more of a plea. He asks the Lord to keep him spiritually safe essentially. He recognizes the reality of his mortal weaknesses and asks the Lord to essentially not let him get lost.

2 Nephi 4:33 O Lord, wilt thou encircle me around in the robe of thy righteousness! O Lord, wilt thou make a way for mine escape before mine enemies! Wilt thou make my path straight before me! Wilt thou not place a stumbling block in my way—but that thou wouldst clear my way before me, and hedge not up my way, but the ways of mine enemy.

Each of these transitions is important and has something to teach us about where to transition emotionally when we’re struggling. Honestly, I wonder if Nephi has actually given us the secret to his relentless optimism – namely consciously processing the yucky stuff with God. Let’s look closer.

Nephi speaks of feeling wretched; all of us know what it is to feel worthless and incapable and discouraged. Do we make the same transitions that Nephi makes? Do we stop to remember the doctrine surrounding our mortal lives and the power of Christ’s atonement? Do we stop to remember all of the encouragement that He has already given us? Nephi did; he looked back and remembered how he has been supported before.

After that original, “I trust the Lord,” it almost appears as if Nephi dips back down into despair again. He asks why do I get angry or yield to sin? It feels like Nephi might be getting discouraged again. Maybe he did. I have interpreted it that way many times, but there is also an alternate interpretation. When I read it this time, I saw an encouraged Nephi. I heard him saying something along the lines of, “Oh my gosh. How did I forget all the ways the Lord has taken care of everything? How did I forget that He always makes it okay in the end? I don’t have to be anxious or discouraged or angry. That’s just Satan trying to distract me from God.” When I read it this time, I didn’t see Nephi falling back into discouragement. I saw him standing up taller, recognizing Satan, and casting him off. And then of course, it ends with Nephi’s plea with the Lord to protect him.

We can follow Nephi’s transitions very easily. We can imitate them and find his same optimism. In the face of death, homelessness, and familial issues, we can literally choose to be like Nephi. It starts with acknowledging your discouragement very openly. It then proceeds with a conscious choice to trust the Lord again; this is much easier when we take the time to recall other times this trusting process has worked, and eventually our eyes are opened to the reality of the situation. We know that we have nothing to truly fear. We find ourselves asking, “Wait a minute; I have God. Why am I worried?”

Stepping away from worry

Worry is an interesting concept because of its close association to love. An oft-occurring reaction that follows love can be worry, and so I believe that sometimes we translate worry into a good thing, and we encourage it. If we’re worried about someone, it is “evidence” of our love. If we’re worried about our salvation, it means that we’re humble and don’t assume that we’re worthy. If we’re worried about accomplishing everything, then the Lord knows that we were anxiously engaged (the irony…). While I agree that worry can have appropriate bounds and doesn’t have to devolve into a dire problem in and of itself, I also believe that sometimes worry becomes this compulsion of righteousness. We feel like we’re supposed to worry because it makes us feel like we care.

Once again, I do not feel like we have to be ashamed of worry. There are appropriate times for worry because it can also help us act. However, Nephi is a fantastic example of the fact that we don’t need worry in order to be righteous or loving or engaged. He is also a fantastic example of how to overcome feelings like worry.

We consciously choose to trust, and one of the feelings that come along with trusting is rejoicing. It is casting off Satan and not giving him a place in our hearts to destroy our peace of mind.

Another reason I love the psalm

There is another reason I love Nephi’s psalm, and it connects to these transitions that we’ve been talking about.

I believe that Nephi’s immense examples of faith can make him feel different than us. Sometimes we can place him on a pedestal and because of this, we simply view it as unrealistic for most people and therefore are discouraged from trying. We commend him for his examples, we’re impressed by them, but we don’t always follow that faith because we turn Nephi into an “other.”

Nephi’s vulnerability in the beginning allows us to relate to him and then realize that we can follow him into that same faith. It’s a fairly simple transition to go from discouragement to faith; it’s a simple choice. Sometimes Satan can make us subconsciously feel like we don’t deserve to step into that faith and optimism, but the Lord literally commands us to trust Him. He wants us to experience the peace, faith, and miracles that Nephi did. He wants us to make the same kind of difference in the world that Nephi did, but it takes that simple choice of trust.

I’m grateful Nephi chose to be vulnerable. I’m grateful that he chose to record his feelings after the passing of his father so we could catch a glimpse of how Nephi is the way that he is. There is a small extension to this message that I mentioned in the beginning. There are appropriate times to be vulnerable. There are times when vulnerability and acknowledgement of weakness will take us much farther in our ability to reach others in comparison to advice or life lessons. Sometimes, simply realizing that you’re not the only one who gets discouraged does more to bolster you than any plea to be faithful. And when you choose to combine this vulnerability with an absence of shame, it gives others the permission to follow suit.

I’m grateful for a Savior that I can trust. I’m grateful for all of the powerful examples of faith given to us by Nephi, and I’m just as grateful for his example of mortal weakness. None of us are alone in our less-than-charitable thoughts, moments of despair, or times of anger. We are especially not alone when we consider the fact that the Savior is always ready to draw near. We can trust that outreached hand, cling to it, and find gratitude and joy in it.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 2 Nephi 3–5 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

by Vickey Taylor

(This was originally presented at the 2009 FAIR Conference. It’s being reprinted here to go along with this week’s Come, Follow Me lesson.)

The Book of Mormon begins in a manner that I love. Nephi—a child who never misplaced his faith in God and in Christ—summarizes that he was well educated [because he had “goodly parents”—parents whose net worth allowed him the privilege to study], that his life & the life of his family were wrought with affliction, and that his days, nevertheless, were highly favored of the Lord.

It is interesting to think of how the account would have come out if Lehi had written it, if one of Nephi’s older brothers had written it (wouldn’t that have been interesting!) or if Sariah, Nephi’s mother, had given us the account. As a mother myself, I have a unique ‘take’ of the things that happen in my family; different in perspective, I am sure, from the account you would get from one of my children.

I feel certain that Sariah must have had a dilemma, leaving her home behind and traveling into the wilderness with her husband and children, some of whom were out of control and wreaking havoc for the rest of them. Murmuring a bit, she came to understand the Lord’s purposes. It surely must have helped her, as a mother, to deal with the children whose faith was very much misplaced.

For any of us who have had our hearts broken and our ideals shattered by our children’s choices to temporarily toss the teachings of truth aside, Sariah and Lehi’s family is a prototype.

Parents of wayward children commonly agonize over questions like “What did I do wrong?” or “How have I failed?” The most common first reactions are guilt, anger, depression, hurt, or the impression that our teachings have been for naught. The feelings of failure may become a wall in the path of our own progression.

In reality, our children’s rebellious choices may offer us the opportunity to learn more about our personal relationship with Christ, and gain a sweeter understanding of the Savior’s role in our lives than we might have imagined.

How do we remain “whole” when we feel as though we are broken apart? How do we obtain needed healing when it seems as though there is no energy within us to mend? How do we cling to hope when we feel hopeless?

This heavy, heart-rending issue is too much for us as followers of Christ, unless we allow Him to carry us and our burdens. The first and most central assistance to be gained is from the Savior, whose shoulders are broad, strong, and whole enough to tend to us and our children.

Our first choice would be to have children who are so well taught and conditioned to righteousness that they would be like the little girl who went shopping with her mother at a large department store. Following closely as her mom shopped, she grew tired and sat down on the floor. Watching people around them, the little girl failed to notice her mother move on, and her mother was not aware that the little girl didn’t follow her. Soon the little girl realized that her mother was nowhere in sight and she began to cry.

A clerk came to her rescue and learned that this little girl had lost her mommy. She took her by the hand and walked up and down the aisles, but Mommy was nowhere to be found. Following an idea that popped in her head, the clerk asked the little one if she thought her mommy would recognize her voice, and the little girl nodded her head.

Over at the service counter, the little girl stood on a chair so that she could reach the microphone for the PA system. The clerk urged her to speak into the microphone so that her mother would hear her voice, and come get her. The sweet little one held that microphone close to her mouth and, with tears running down her cheeks and a sob in her voice, she said:

“I would like to bear my testimony; I know this Church is true.”

Oh, that it was this easy to rescue our children when they are temporarily lost! When the situation is heavier, and the task is filled with bitter anguish, it is important that we not lose our own way, nor break under the load of hurt and pain.

There is a better way—a way that Sariah and Lehi surely followed.

Many times, we have heard the scriptural examples of righteous parents with wayward children. Interesting, isn’t it that the examples of Lehi, Alma, even Adam and Eve – so many righteous people whose children wandered—don’t seem to compensate for our own inferior feelings when we are faced with similar conditions?

The change within us comes when we stop comparing ourselves- even to those whose own children’s wanderings are captured in the scriptures—and begin changing ourselves. With this change in ourselves, we can find more peace – a peace that is not dependent upon our children “behaving”, but upon our greater hope in the Atonement and in the Eternal Plan.

President Boyd K. Packer once taught, “The measure of our success as parents will not rest solely on how our children turn out. That judgment would be just only if we could raise our families in a perfectly moral environment, and that is now not possible.

It is not uncommon for responsible parents to lose one of their children, for a time, to influences over which they have no control. They agonize over rebellious sons or daughters. They are puzzled over why they are so helpless when they have tried so hard to do what they should. It is my conviction that those wicked influences one day will be overruled…..” [Ensign, May 1992, p. 68].

I think it is important to note that President Packer spoke these words more than seventeen years ago. How much has changed for the worse, in our moral climate, since 1992?

The Lord loves each child. His plan is eternal. His purposes are sure.

While our children may temporarily lose their faith, it is important that we maintain certain habits and a certain order so that our faith remains unshaken. We may, in fact, see the hand of God working in our lives and deepening our conviction of truth as we walk our mortal walk.

I offer a few reminders to keep us pointing in the direction of Christ, to making personally positive, life-affirming choices, and to remaining faithful to our own covenants.

Keep Sanity In Our Own LifeDealing with the mental and emotional pain that comes with chaos surrounding our children’s choices, we may be prone to keep ourselves in the middle of the storm. It is depleting. It does not help them or us.

Finding ways to take care of ourselves will diminish the murmuring and keep us more serene. If we remember that each of us answers individually to the Lord, maybe it will give us license to concentrate on our own journey, and act in an advisory capacity to our children—who will have their own interview with the Lord. He loves them more than we do. His Atonement was offered for them as well as us. His judgment is sure, while ours is spotty and without a full view.

So, let’s be kind to ourselves. Normalcy as it was once known may be a thing of the past, but when dealing with the chaos of children’s choices that often rob us of everything from sleep to money, we must seek the comfort of our places of peace when and how we can. Taking time to read good books, to exercise, to do little things that we enjoy can help us remember that we are in charge of our own life, and of our own relationship with God and Christ. Toss away the self-scorn. Refuse to be drawn into daily drama that accompanies the angry or defiant family member, and actively seek for peace.

I am not sure how Sariah accomplished this. Maybe it was because she also had a Nephi. If we lack a Nephi, perhaps there is a Jacob coming in the second or third generation. Time is not nearly as important to God as it is to us, because He knows the timing of all things.

Keep Focus On Our Spiritual Growth and UnderstandingWhen the rains are coming down and the floods are coming up, it is important to keep our own spiritual reserves from becoming depleted. I realize that this is easier said than done. When we come to terms with the fact that we are not in charge, we can control nothing our family member does, but we can control our own actions and reactions, a new sense of reliance upon the Lord blossoms within us. We remember the counsel given us in 2 Nephi 2:27, “Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.”

Brothers and sisters, the devil has a heyday when we allow ourselves to be pulled down into misery by our reactions to our children’s wrongful decisions.

2 Nephi 2:28 offers us the way to keep our spirits higher and our spiritual growth intact: “And now, my sons, I would that ye should look to the great Mediator, and hearken unto his great commandments; and be faithful unto his words, and choose eternal life, according to the will of his Holy Spirit.”

The blessings of our covenants will continue for us in the needed ways. The strength of keeping the commandments will buoy us. To be able to “lose face, without losing heart” will grant us a measure of discipleship that may serve us well now and in times to come. [Elder Neal A. Maxwell, “If Thou Endure It Well” BYU Fireside, December 4, 1984.]

To have loving concern and sadness for our wayward children is expected and normal. Misery is optional. I believe Sariah would agree.

Keep Feeding the GoodThere is a story of an old Cherokee man who told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.

He said, “My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all.

One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.”

The grandson thought for a moment and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf wins?”

The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”

While it is human nature to feel anger, regret, self-pity, resentment or any of the issues attached to the “first wolf” inside each of us, it is the second one we must focus on feeding. During time of crisis, to nourish the Good will bring us a greater capacity to deal with earthly problems. When the difficulties we see before us become overwhelming, it is necessary that we “Walk by faith, not by sight” [2 Cor. 5:7] and become “alive in Christ because of our faith” [2 Ne. 25:25].

At times of despair over our children’s spiritual well-being, we are better served by sharpening our own spiritual tools and working on our own testimonies in order to better help our defiant family members.

Keep a Sense of Humor and an Optimistic ViewTough on occasion? Absolutely. But to work at cultivating a sweet sense of humor can carry us through tumultuous times.

I enjoy the story of a nine-year-old boy with an attitude, who announced to his parents at breakfast one morning, “I am running away from home tomorrow. Who is going to drive me?”

If a “merry heart doeth good like a medicine” [Proverbs 17:22], taking a humorous and optimistic approach to some of the issues that come from our children-with-attitude will offer us a dose of helpful medication. For the more severe and heart-rending issues we are called to deal with, it is difficult to find merriment. On our mortal journey, there are some steep climbs and difficult descents where there seems to be only darkness.

I like to reflect on the beautiful talk given by Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin at General Conference, October 2006. He speaks of the dark and stormy Friday on which our Savior was crucified. On Sunday, Christ arose from the dead and brought hope to all. Elder Wirthlin reminds us that “No matter our desperation, no matter our grief, Sunday will come. In the darkness of our sorrow, Sunday will come.” As we look faithfully forward for better days, we may find more quiet joy in the small things that continue to serve us, as we serve the Lord. To keep a merry heart will bless us with more peace during times of turmoil.

Keep Our Job Separate from the Lord’sBrother Larry Barkdull told of a mother who wrote to him from Idaho about how alone and overwhelmed she felt. She was carrying the heavy burden of her child’s redemption on her shoulders. This is a weight that none of us can carry! Only the Savior can carry this kind of crushing burden. He encouraged her to remember her covenant with the Lord, and the partnership involved. That covenant guarantees us that He will walk with us and lighten our burdens if we will give them over to Him.

Our part is different from our Savior’s part. We become overwhelmed when we spin our wheels in a helpless plan to rescue and save our wayward child. That, brothers and sisters, is our Savior’s job. Our job is to remember him and keep our faith and hope intact. Our job is to humble ourselves before him and follow his loving counsel. Oh, the lightening of our load when we accept this truth! Our dilemma grows when we blur the lines of job description.

Keep Our Sights on the Plan of RedemptionWhen in the fiery furnace of dealing with errant children, we have the opportunity to grow our belief in Jesus Christ as the Deliverer and Redeemer. Rather than focus on our real or perceived failings as a parent, we may choose to concentrate on the divine role of the Savior.

He completed his part in the Eternal Plan. What can we do to complete our part of the plan? What blessings are in store for us as we yield to the Savior and pray for continued guidance? What promises might the Lord have in store for each of us?

The prophet Joseph Smith said, “Our Heavenly Father is more liberal in his views, and boundless in his mercies and blessings, than we are ready to believe or receive.” [Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith (1976), 257, 240-41.]

God’s work is the work of redemption. We recall the scripture in Moses 1:39, “This is my work and my glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” Because the Lords’ work is to redeem souls, He will do his work. He will continue until your son or daughter, until my son or daughter, cries out with humble heart, “O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me.” (Alma 36:18.)

It is The Plan. It will not fail. He will not fail us, brothers and sisters.

Keep PrayingPresident Gordon B. Hinckley gave us the rule of thumb when dealing with careless children: “I hope you don’t lose patience with them; I hope you go on praying for them, and I don’t hesitate to promise that if you do, the Lord will touch their hearts and bring them back to you with love and respect and appreciation.” [Church News, Sept 2, 1995, Regional Conference in Great Britain].

Prayer works wonders. Prayer opens the portals of heaven. Prayer is balm for our sore hurts. Prayer, when it is in truth “the soul’s sincere desire, uttered or unexpressed” [Hymnbook , number 145], is answered. Perhaps in a distant day, and in a different way than we imagine, but prayers are answered.

At one point in our history, a telephone seemed an unneeded and unvalued device. In its infancy, a Western Union internal memo stated, “This ‘telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us.”

Can you imagine? We now need land lines, cell phones, texting—all sorts of devices in order to feel current and secure and in communication.

Over the course of our lives, as we pour out our hearts to our Father in prayer, the value of this type of communication becomes more evident. As with a telephone, we have to pick up the receiver and speak into our end of it. Then we must listen in order to receive the answers we are seeking. Despite our shortcomings, this means of communication always works. Like Sariah and Lehi surely did, we have to keep praying.

Our Father is not only concerned with our wandering children, but with us as well. He will never leave us alone and our prayers will not go unanswered. We just need to keep on utilizing this tool of communication, even when it seems hard to do so.

Despite the advice and comfort we receive from good family members, church leaders, and friends who have trodden a similar path, there is nothing to bring us so much comfort, consolation, and cure as Prayer.

Keep on BelievingA testimony of truth allows us the freedom to lean on the Savior. The scriptures give us understanding of the ways of the Lord. We can gain hope from what we learn. The study of Alma the younger is a premier example of the redemption of a wayward soul. He is spoken of as “a very wicked and an idolatrous man” [Mosiah 27:8] who, along with the sons of Mosiah, was the “very vilest of sinners” [Mosiah 28:4].

We can imagine that his parents never ceased praying for him. Though the scriptures do not name the prophet Alma’s wife, I think we may safely assume that both parents remained true to their covenants and trusted in the Lord. In due time Alma the younger repented of his sins and became a mighty man of God. We can imagine the joy that replaced the sorrow within a mother and a father who never lost faith in the Lord.

Any among our members who have children living in a wicked, vile way may take comfort from this example. If not today, this year, or in this life, our continued faithfulness will pay eternal dividends.

There is consolation in this counsel given by President Joseph Fielding Smith,

“Let the father and mother, who are members of this Church and Kingdom, take a righteous course, and strive with all their might never to do a wrong, but to do good all their lives; if they have one child or one hundred children, if they conduct themselves towards them as they should, binding them to the Lord by their faith and prayers, I care not where those children go, they are bound up to their parents by an everlasting tie, and no power of earth or hell can separate them from their parents in eternity; they will return again to the fountain from whence they sprang.” [Doctrines of Salvation, comp. Bruce R. McConkie, 3 volumes. 1954-56, 2:90-91.]

Even during the most vile and turbulent of times, when we are buffeted by Satan, feeling overwhelmed and under-prepared, the Savior will lead us. Our faith will increase based upon our determination to follow Him at any cost. Our hope is anchored to Christ and we are able to keep on believing.

ConclusionWe each have the chance to do as Lehi, Sariah, and their righteous children did:

“Wherefore ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ having a perfect brightness of hope and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold thus saith the Father, ye shall have eternal life.” 2 Ne 31:20.

Elder Neal A. Maxwell taught that “after you and I have passed breaking points without breaking, our virtues take the form of endurance” [“If Thou Endure It Well,” BYU Fireside, December 4, 1984.]

Endurance—a vibrant stamina—allows us to feast on the words of Christ and more deeply appreciate the promised blessings for those who will endure.

Back to Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin’s comforting words from October 2006 General Conference, “Each of us will have our own Fridays- those days when the universe itself seems shattered and the shards of our world lie littered about us in pieces. We all will experience those broken times when it seems we can never be put together again…. But Sunday will come.”

A final recounting of counsel I would like to share with you today comes from Elder Orson F. Whitney:

“You parents of the willful and the wayward! Don’t give them up. Don’t cast them off. They are not utterly lost. …. Though some of the sheep may wander, the eye of the Shepherd is upon them, and sooner or later they will feel the tentacles of Divine Providence reaching out after them and drawing them back to the fold. Either in this life or the life to come, they will return. … They will suffer for their sins; and may tread a thorny path; but if it leads them at last, like the penitent Prodigal, to a loving and forgiving father’s heart and home, the painful experience will not have been in vain. Pray for your careless and disobedient children; hold on to them with your faith. Hope on, trust on, till you see the salvation of God…” [Orson F. Whitney, Conference Report (April 1929): 110]

Enduring faithfully, though our days may – like Nephi’s – be wrought with affliction, allows each one of us to continue steadfastly during our Fridays of testing, and look faithfully and hopefully forward to our Sunday, whether in this life or the life to come.

We may face many a dilemma in our parenting and grand parenting, brothers and sisters. There is only one way to find peace and to grow in a heavenly direction- that is to keep ourselves focused on Christ and his good word. He knows of our hurts, and of our sorrows. He loves us. He wants to succor our hurts. He knows how to do his job if we will allow him to do so.

It is my hope that we may find the peace we desire—even joy- during our times of dealing with our wayward children. It is my testimony that we can increase in our own faith until that promised day when the Savior gathers them safely within His fold.

More Come, Follow Me resources here.

Vickey is a songwriter/producer, vocalist, and professional speaker, and has performed and/or taught in numerous venues. Her compositions include the theme songs for the Special Olympics program (state by state selection), the Make A Wish Foundation, the Especially For Youth program of the Church, and the Families In Focus program. She is a Billboard award-winning songwriter, with hundreds of songs to her credit.

Vicky has enjoyed participation in the Church Education System’s youth and family programs for two decades, having taught for Know Your Religion, Campus Education Week at BYU-Provo, BYU-Hawaii, and BYU-Idaho, Especially for Youth, Best of Especially for Youth, BYU Conferences and Workshops, and women’s conferences. She works with FAIR’s Rising Generation youth group and writes a weekly column, “Can Do Youth,” for Meridian Magazine.

Vickey joined the Church as a teenager, growing up in Virginia. She holds a masters degree in interpersonal communications and currently resides in the Salt Lake Valley. She is married to Dean Taylor. They have eight children and two grandchildren.

The post The Sariah Dilemma: Finding Increased Faith When Our Children Misplace Their Own appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Lehi’s farewell address; Nephites & Lamanites separate(2 Nephi 1–5)by Mike Parker

(Mike Parker is a long-time FAIR member who has graciously allowed us to use materials he originally prepared for the Hurricane Utah Adult Religion Class. The scripture passages covered in his lessons don’t conform exactly to the Come, Follow Me reading schedule, so they will be shared here where they fit best. This week’s lesson covers both this week’s and next week’s Come, Follow Me reading.)

Class Notes

Additional Reading

Lehi₁’s teachings are an example of a biblical testament offered by a dying patriarch, which included the dying family head gathering together his relatives and close friends, exhorting them to avoid temptations, instructing them in the ways of righteousness, uttering blessings and cursings, and prophesying of the future. See “KnoWhy #29: Should 2 Nephi 1:1–4:12 Be Called the ‘Testament Of Lehi’?”, Book of Mormon Central, 9 February 2016.
Matthew Nickerson, “Nephi’s Psalm: 2 Nephi 4:16–35 in the Light of Form-Critical Analysis,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 6, no. 2 (1997): 26–42. Nickerson’s article outlines the Psalm of Nephi₁ and shows how it follows the same literary pattern found in the Old Testament Psalms.
Steven P. Sondrup, “The Psalm of Nephi: A Lyric Reading,” BYU Studies 21, no. 3 (Summer 1981): 357–72. Sondrup analyzes the poetic structure of Nephi₁’s Psalm.
After the death of Lehi₁, Nephi₁ recorded that “the Lord God did cause a skin of blackness to come upon” to those who followed Laman₁ (2 Nephi 5:21). Clifford P. Jones argues that Laman₁ and his followers marked their skins with “a permanent, self-imposed mark—an ancient tattoo—cut into the skin in defiance of the law of Moses” as a sign of rebellion against God. Jones, “Understanding the Lamanite Mark,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 56 (2023): 171–258. (Kyler Rasmussen has prepared this brief summary of Jones’s paper.)
Joseph’s September 1830 revelation to Oliver Cowdery commanded him to “go unto the Lamanites and preach my gospel unto them.” How did the Book of Mormon define a Lamanite ? And what does DNA evidence tell us about the descendants of Lehi₁ living in the Americas today? Book of Mormon Central examines this complex subject in “KnoWhy #486: Who Are the Lamanites?”

See Also:

“The apparent genetic discrepancy between Mormon’s narrative and the origin of Native Americans” by Michael R. Ash and Ugo Perego at the 2023 FAIR Conference

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 2 Nephi 1–2 & 2 Nephi 3–5 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Choosing Liberty and Eternal Lifeby Autumn Dickson

In the chapters for this week, we find Lehi’s family in the promised land and Lehi is dying. He knows he is dying and decides to share some last messages with his family. He pleads with Laman and Lemuel to get it together, blesses his grandchildren to be protected from bad influences, encourages the others to do what’s right, and prophesies of future events. He also shares essential doctrines.

One of these doctrines is a huge focus in the Come Follow Me manual this week as well as the huge focus for my post.

2 Nephi 2:27 Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.

I have taught about grace and works and the atonement of Jesus Christ many times. And yet, I feel like Lehi has taught about these topics in a way that illuminates my understanding further. Not to mention, he did it in a single sentence.

They are free to choose liberty and eternal life through the great Mediator of all men.

This is a fantastic way to teach grace and the role of works in the Plan of Salvation.

A multiple choice test

I want you to imagine for a second that choosing the Celestial kingdom was occurring on a multiple choice test. There is only one question. This is how I imagine it would look like:

What do you want?
1. Liberty and eternal life
2. Captivity and death

It sounds simple to the point of silliness, but I want you to think about it in this manner. Without Jesus Christ, the test would look like this.

What do you want?
1. Captivity and death

And that is why salvation is a gift. No matter how often we would have chosen to do what’s right, no matter how much we would have changed, no matter how much we would have gotten glimpses of what eternity is supposed to be like in moments with our family and friends, it would have been out of reach. Without the Savior, Heavenly Father could not have given us eternal life without spurning justice and ceasing to be God and newsflash…that would mean there was no heaven to be had. The price had to be paid, and Christ was the only one who could pay it. Because of Christ’s sacrifice, the option for eternal life was now available to us. The option was unlocked for us. It was a gift to us.

That is why we, as Latter-day Saints, believe in grace. That is why we believe salvation was given to us freely. We didn’t pay for that option to show up. Christ gave the option of salvation to us; He didn’t have to give it and He dearly wants to give it.

And yet, it is still a choice.

The “works” portion

This week, I sat down and watched “Prince of Egypt” with my kids. Phenomenal movie. Please watch it. I feel the Spirit every time.

Anyway, as I’ve been pondering this specific principle this week (i.e. Christ providing the option for us to choose eternal life), the “Prince of Egypt” movie hit me differently. There is a part where the Egyptians come chasing after the Israelites, and the Israelites are trapped at the sea. Moses, as a type of Christ, parts the water thereby providing a way for escape for the Israelites. The option for liberty appeared because of the power of Christ.

And yet, the Israelites still needed to choose to take the option. Christ didn’t transport them onto the other side of the sea; He merely made liberty available. Can you imagine the silliness of the Israelites cheering on the shore, ecstatic that the waves had parted and then just sitting there? Can you imagine them praising the Lord for parting the sea and then choosing to camp on the shore until they were slaughtered by the Egyptians or brought back into captivity?

Christ provided the option, but He won’t force us to move forward. He won’t force us to live an eternal life (which, by the way, starts today if we want). He can’t force us to live in a manner that allows for us to feel the peace and happiness He offers.

Some may argue that belief is all that is required, but I believe that eternal life isn’t bestowed. It’s something you grow into. And yet, Latter-day Saints still believe it’s a free gift because Christ paid the price for that option to become available to us..

Walking through the sea

I simplified our choice of liberty and eternal life earlier with my test question, but I did that in order to highlight grace and the principle of Christ providing an option that was not there beforehand. It’s easy to circle “Liberty and eternal life” on a test, but choosing it in real life is a little more involved than that.

I’ve talked often about growing into an eternal life, about progressing to become like our Heavenly Father rather than believing that heaven is something that simply descends upon us. Integrity, charity, and humility aren’t just arbitrary traits that Heavenly Father chose because He thought it would make us better worshippers. In actuality, these are traits that make us feel the happiness and peace that He feels. They are traits that make us feel happy with ourselves and enable us to have heavenly relationships. I could talk a lot about the importance of pushing ourselves to grow into eternal life. I could wax long about the blessings of feeling these qualities within yourself, but I believe there is another part of choosing liberty and eternal life that is equally important to our peace and happiness and ability to grow into eternal life.

Eternal life is not just about becoming like our Heavenly Parents; it’s about being with Him and our Heavenly Mother again. We may not fully comprehend the import of that concept, but there was a time when we loved and felt loved by Them. If we could taste of that mutual love again, we would understand why living with Them would equate to an eternal life.

Consciously choosing to live a life like our Eternal Parents enables us to feel happiness and begin our eternal lives now. Consciously choosing eternal life today also means inviting our loving Parents and Savior into our lives and developing a relationship with Them now. This can be accomplished through a little phrase found in the same verse we read earlier, namely, “…through the great Mediator of all men.” To be a Mediator means to reconcile two parties. The Savior provides the opportunity for us to be reconciled and united with our Heavenly Parents. But just like with any other part of eternal life, He simply provided the opportunity. We are the ones who have to walk through the sea.

There are many things that can keep us from feeling that relationship with our Heavenly Parents. We are very aware that conscious rebellion and laziness can keep us from feeling this precious relationship, but there are also more subtle tactics from Satan that keep us from Them. A belief that we are unworthy, holding onto guilt longer than is needful, and perfectionism are all subtle tactics BUT THEY ARE STILL FROM SATAN. For some reason, it may feel oddly righteous to believe we are too unworthy to approach our Heavenly Father, but nothing could be farther from our Heavenly Father’s desires. He misses us. He feels cheated when we keep ourselves from Him.

Satan would do anything to keep you from believing that you have Parents who are perfectly supportive, perfectly coaching, perfectly pushing us to become as They are because Satan knows the absolute power of that belief.

Satan knows that if we learn how much our Heavenly Parents love us, we will find the happiness and peace that is available in eternity. And if we find that happiness and peace and love, we will find the motivation and power necessary to become like them. Following the gospel will no longer feel punishing; it will be freeing and powerful, and we will crave it.

Christ provided the opportunity for us to develop that relationship by paying the price that kept us from Them. However, it will never be enough to camp on the shore. We will constantly be plagued by fears of the enemy and there will not be any growth. If we camp on that shore and keep ourselves from Them, we will likely be taken over by the adversary just like the Israelites would have been if they hadn’t walked through the Red Sea.

We have to throw off Satan. We have to choose to mentally shun him and send him away. We have to walk through the sea, not only by living the commandments, but by actively choosing to trust in Their love for us.

Trusting Their love is an act of faith; we may not see it ahead of time. Maybe you don’t feel Their love for you yet. We may have to act before we can feel it. However, if we choose to act as though they love us, if we choose to change our thoughts and beliefs about ourselves according to the love we’ve been taught about, that act of faith will start to grow and grow and grow until it fills us and we know it is true.

That is what it means to choose liberty and eternal life, and it is all made possible by a loving Savior.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 2 Nephi 1–2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Hell was Preparedby Autumn Dickson

When I was younger, I remember being a bit troubled by the judgment and justice of God towards those who choose to do what’s wrong. If He really loved us, I couldn’t imagine Him wanting to be separated from any of us for eternity. It didn’t make sense to my young mind.

As I’ve grown older and observed the world a bit more, it has come to make more sense. Though I know that I can’t make any final judgments of people and I know that I don’t fully understand the circumstances of others, I can still see enough of the world to understand that people choose their outcomes. And despite all efforts to help people make choices that lead to good outcomes, some people still want to choose things that don’t bring anything worthwhile into their lives.

Why would He send His children away from Himself?

I had an experience with a friend a few summers ago where she expressed some of the same sentiments that I had felt when I was growing up. She was a mother of two, a boy and a girl. She told me she didn’t understand how we could believe in a God who was willing to send some of His children to a place like hell. We all make mistakes, we’re all imperfect. She couldn’t possibly grasp the idea of sending one of her children to hell because they weren’t perfect.

I had this entire response built up in my mind, but luckily the Spirit caught my attention before I could give her that response. I simply asked her, “If your son assaulted your daughter and didn’t change and continued to belittle her, would you force her to spend eternity with him? That wouldn’t be heaven for her.” She didn’t have much of a response, but the Spirit will do that to you.

The Spirit did it to me too in that same moment; I had never looked at it in some real terms because I had never been forced to. I have never yet had to question how I would respond if one of my children was making destructive choices that severely influenced the happiness of my other children. It was at that moment that I understood Heavenly Father just a little bit better. As much as it would make my heart ache forever, I would hope to be wise enough to not sacrifice the happiness of all my other children. If that child changed and chose better, then I would rejoice and cry and throw my arms around them and welcome them home. But if they continued to choose what they wanted at the expense of others, they would have to leave my home.

An understanding of hell

The simple fact of the matter is, there are those who will continue to choose to harm others despite any attempt we might make to help them be happier. We see this so clearly with Laman and Lemuel! Once again, I can’t make any final judgments; I hope they finally figured it out, but they were given every advantage, but they did not want it. Their father taught them how to reach the Lord, but they would not inquire of Him. They saw an angel rebuke them, but that didn’t stop them from hurting Nephi again and again and again. Happiness and salvation were handed to them over and over and over, but they did not want it.

I don’t know why, but some people choose what they want to choose despite all evidence to the contrary. The Lord understood this, and He taught it to Nephi.

1 Nephi 15:33-35:

33 Wherefore, if they should die in their wickedness they must be cast off also, as to the things which are spiritual, which are pertaining to righteousness; wherefore, they must be brought to stand before God, to be judged of their works; and if their works have been filthiness they must needs be filthy; and if they be filthy it must needs be that they cannot dwell in the kingdom of God; if so, the kingdom of God must be filthy also.

34 But behold, I say unto you, the kingdom of God is not filthy, and there cannot any unclean thing enter into the kingdom of God; wherefore there must needs be a place of filthiness prepared for that which is filthy.

35 And there is a place prepared, yea, even that awful hell of which I have spoken, and the devil is the preparator of it; wherefore the final state of the souls of men is to dwell in the kingdom of God, or to be cast out because of that justice of which I have spoken.

There is a place prepared for those who would continue to harm others and rob them of the heaven that our Father wants for them. Much of the world believes that this place is scary; we have a different theory.

One of the keys to understanding God is to understand hell. Hell is a word that can mean a couple of different things to us, but let’s discuss it in this context.

One version of hell includes a place called “outer darkness.” There is not much known about this place other than the idea that most of us aren’t even capable of going there. You have to know Christ perfectly and then reject Him. That’s one version, but it’s not super applicable so let’s move on.

Another concept of hell is associated with the three different kingdoms of glory. The concept of hell can expand to mean any place where we are not directly living with God (basically anything lower than the Celestial kingdom). Hell is like a lake of fire and brimstone, not a literal lake of fire and brimstone. The pain of being separated from Heavenly Father is the fire, the brimstone, the hell.

Interestingly enough, sometimes salvation is even expanded to represent anyone found in the three kingdoms. We know that even the lesser two kingdoms are more glorious than what we have on earth. They are beautiful places and Heavenly Father’s children who go there will receive resurrected bodies. In this sense, everyone in one of the three kingdoms of glory experiences salvation to an extent.

In a sense, the lesser kingdoms are places of heaven and hell, and that completely matches up with what I understand of a loving Father. Even as an imperfect parent, I can understand the logic behind this plan of Heavenly Father. I may not be able to have all of my children with me, but I still love them. I still want them to be as comfortable as I can make them for eternity so I will prepare a place for them. It will be a wonderful place, but unfortunately, because of their choices, they will still experience aspects of hell. There is nothing I can do about that except rob them of their ability to choose, and even then, they will still not experience happiness; they will still not feel the full extent of heaven because it will be forced upon them. So I leave them to experience hell to the extent they choose. They will be separated from a loving parent, their siblings, and they will be surrounded by others who make the same kind of choices. I would grieve knowing that some of my children are continuing to hurt each other and that they are separated from me, but I would find peace in the fact that I had done everything I could for them. Everything that could have possibly been done to help them was done.

I love the Plan of Salvation because it makes perfect sense to me. Nothing is arbitrary. I look at the plan, and I see the love of Heavenly Father. If no one had ever told me that God loved me, but they showed me this plan, I wouldn’t have to be told of His love. You can see it in the decisions He has made regarding His children.

I testify of a Heavenly Father who truly loves His children. I testify that He gave us children so that we could better comprehend His choices surrounding us. I testify that He did everything He possibly could to give them everything He has. He sacrificed His perfect Son, gave them the ability to choose happiness, and made up for all of the bad that would occur. I testify of the Savior’s atonement that can make up for all the wrong that happens to us. I testify that what will truly matter at Judgment Day is whether we will be a harmful influence in the Celestial Kingdom because the Savior paid for the mistakes we would make while figuring it all out.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 1 Nephi 11–15 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Lehi’s dream; Nephi’s apocalypse(1 Nephi 8, 10–15)by Mike Parker

(Mike Parker is a long-time FAIR member who has graciously allowed us to use materials he originally prepared for the Hurricane Utah Adult Religion Class. The scripture passages covered in his lessons don’t conform exactly to the Come, Follow Me reading schedule, so they will be shared here where they fit best. This week’s lesson covers both this week’s and next week’s Come, Follow Me reading.)

Class Notes

Additional Reading

“Components of Lehi’s Vision of the Tree of Life,” a chart of the setting, people, and action/outcome in 1 Nephi 8. Extracted from Charles Swift, “Lehi’s Vision of the Tree of Life: Understanding the Dream as Visionary Literature,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 14, no. 2 (2005): 60.
Daniel C. Peterson, “Nephi and His Asherah,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 9, no. 2 (2000): 16–25, 80–81. Nephi₁’s vision of “a virgin, most beautiful and fair above all other virgins” who was “the mother of God, after the manner of the flesh” (1 Nephi 11:15, 18; 1830 edition) is connected to Lehi₁’s vision of a “a tree, whose fruit was desirable to make one happy” (1 Nephi 8:10). Dr. Peterson’s article shows how they’re both connected to ancient Israelite belief in the female divinity Asherah, whose representation was a tree.
Stephen E. Robinson, “Nephi’s ‘Great and Abominable Church’,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 7, no. 1 (1998): 32–39, 70. In this article, Professor Robinson draws a clear distinction between a specific “great and abominable church” described in 1 Nephi 13, and a general “great and abominable church,” representing any and all wicked organizations, in 1 Nephi 14. (A shortened version of Robinson’s article was published in the January 1988 Ensign, 34–39.)
Taylor Halverson, “1 Nephi 12–14: Nephi’s Grand Vision,” The Interpreter Foundation, 30 January 2016.
What is apocalyptic literature, and how does Nephi’s vision in 1 Nephi 11–14 fit into apocalyptic writings of the Ancient Near East? Book of Mormon Central explains in KnoWhy #471, “Why Can Nephi’s Vision Be Called an Apocalypse?”
Why does Nephi₁’s vision use the symbol of the tree of life to represent the virgin Mary in 1 Nephi 11:12–23? Book of Mormon Central explains in KnoWhy #13, “What Does the Virgin Mary Have to Do with the Tree of Life?”

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 1 Nephi 6–10 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

What does it mean to be worthy?by Autumn Dickson

As I was reading through Lehi’s vision this week, I was struck by a verse that I have thought about plenty before. For context, we see large groups of people moving towards the fruit of the tree which represents the love of God. There are lots of things occurring, but here’s just one:

1 Nephi 8:25 And after they had partaken of the fruit of the tree they did cast their eyes about as if they were ashamed.

As we continue on reading, we learn that there was a great and spacious building representing the pride of the world, and it was filled with people. Some of the people who came and partook of the love of God looked around, saw the building, and they became ashamed as they were moved by those who were in this building.

But I saw something new in that verse this time. I know that Nephi explains the reason that these people felt ashamed. However, the Spirit whispered another possible interpretation to me.

I have found that there are many of us in the church who partake regularly of the love of God. However, despite this regular partaking, we still feel ashamed of ourselves for past transgressions. I don’t think this is a completely abnormal feeling; in fact, I think it’s actually quite natural. When you find yourself partaking of something that pure, it can be hard to look back at your less-than-pure actions and intentions in comparison. It makes it doubly difficult if those less-than-pure actions and intentions still haunt you in the form of feelings and memories.

Though I believe that this can be a “natural” response, I don’t think it’s a feeling we should entertain. The Lord utilizes guilt to help us come back, but He does not utilize shame. Shame is an unhelpful feeling that draws us away from God in every instance. Whether we’re ashamed because we’re being mocked by others or if we’re ashamed because of our past sins, shame will never bring us closer to Him. It will only cause us to withdraw and hide. Shame comes from Satan.

I think that shame, at least in this particular context, stems from a misunderstanding about what it means to be worthy.

What does it mean to be worthy?

What does it mean to be worthy? We know the atonement paid for our sins, but we also know that the Lord still has expectations for us. We have learned our entire lives that there is a Judgment Day, and it will be determined whether we have been worthy.

The Lord has taught me about this a lot over the past few years. He has taught me about His atonement, and He has taught me about His perfect judgment.

My understanding of Judgment Day used to look something like this: I believed I would stand before the Lord and He would tally up all the good and bad I had done. The Lord paid for the bad, but it still had to be determined whether I had done enough. The “good” and the “bad” also included desires and thoughts rather than just actions. He would then place these things in the context of my life, the opportunities I was given as well as the weaknesses and struggles I received.

I have learned that Judgment Day (all of the mini judgments in between) are not really determined like this. Understanding the atonement and what it means is key to understanding what Judgment Day will look like. The atonement of Jesus Christ paid for all sin so that it would no longer count against us. The sin you committed yesterday, the one you will commit today, and the one you will commit tomorrow are gone. They were paid off. When you stand before the Lord on the other side, you’re not going to find any “tally marks” on the bad side because they’re not there anymore. Judgment Day isn’t about the sum total of your good and bad actions (thoughts and desires included).

Judgment Day really is about who you are. The Lord judges us by our hearts. When you stand before the Lord, He is going to determine something very simple: will you contribute to the feeling of the Celestial Kingdom? When people are around you, will they know that you mean well even if you’re not perfect yet? Do you contribute to a happy, spiritual home? Do you love Him and do you love others? Do you understand the importance of wielding power responsibly? Do you already experience the peace that comes with living with integrity?

This has completely changed how I approach the gospel. It has changed from perfectionism (minimizing bad and maximizing good) to simply attempting to utilize the commandments to get closer to Christ. I no longer hold onto my sins, but I allow the Savior to take them away because they’re not really there anymore. I actually get to experience the blessings that come with the gospel: redemption and closeness to Christ.

Perhaps this view of Judgment Day still has you feeling worried…you have flaws that will certainly take away from the heavenly feeling in the Celestial Kingdom. I’m obviously not a perfect judge, but let’s discuss those flaws too. Sometimes I yell at my kids (especially when I’m pregnant), and sometimes I still have a hard time forgiving and assuming the best of others. BUT. I have a desire that runs much, much deeper than those flaws. I want to be free of those flaws. I want to follow the Savior perfectly and willingly; it’s just difficult sometimes. When I get to the other side, and Satan can no longer tempt me and all secrets are out, I will be free of those flaws. The only time flaws are going to follow you to Judgment Day is if you are clinging to them all on your own. For example, if you need to forgive someone but you refuse to, then when you get to the other side you’re going to continue to hold onto that flaw regardless of the fact that Satan is no longer tempting you. If you have a deep and abiding desire to follow the Savior and love others (even if you’re not perfect yet), then you’re going to be just fine. Trust that the atonement took care of it so that you can start enjoying the blessings of the gospel now.

And let’s not forget this is all placed in the context of our lives as well. Not everyone has been taught or given the advantages that come with growing up in a healthy home. The Lord knows that. However, I teach this doctrine because there are a lot of people out there who do understand the importance of worthiness and are given advantages, and a lot of these people are worried about their personal worthiness. Make the switch from desperately trying to be good enough to simply trying to draw closer to Christ. Interestingly enough, it actually helps you develop the kind of character that belongs in the Celestial Kingdom. Following the gospel in this manner allows you to experience the blessings of the gospel rather than experiencing the negative side effects of perfectionism. It allows you to partake of the fruit of the tree and experience gladness and joy and relief without any of the shame.

All we have to do is remain at the tree

Satan uses shame because it logically makes sense. He knows that we know that we don’t deserve the atonement, and he uses that logic against us. Because it’s logical, we don’t really question it. But we need to! It’s dangerous and incomplete. Shame is uncomfortable enough that it would cause us to shy away from the Lord so we don’t have to feel that shame anymore.

But Satan is also just distracting us from the good feeling that is meant to come with partaking of the fruit. God put that tree there, not so He could stand around and make us feel bad for eating it. He wants us to take it so we can be close to Him. You don’t deserve it, you have hurt Him, you have caused Him pain, but don’t make it worse by retreating from Him. Don’t deprive Him of your company because whether it makes logical sense or not, He wants your company.

If you also want to consider logic, consider this: Christ experienced all of the bad feelings we experience so stop holding yourself hostage with sin that was already paid for. If you have repented and been deemed forgiven, then lift up your head and rejoice. Turn shame into a deep gratitude. If you really want to be a better person, if you really want the ability to become everything He wants you to become, then cling to His love and let it fill you until the shame isn’t there anymore. That is what will fill you with light. That is what people will notice when they see you. That will be the reason for the joy in your eyes: His love has changed you and turns all the bad in your life into goodness.

I know some of us are still haunted by past sins. Even if we’ve repented, you can’t always get rid of the memories, and Satan will use them against you for as long as he can. If you find yourself in this situation, take heart in two gospel principles:

1) If you continue on the road you’re on, staying near to the tree, then one day Satan will be bound and there will be no more temptation. You will be freed from those past aspects of your life – another reason to find ultimate gratitude!

2) Turn those “bad” things upside down. Christ’s atonement gives you the power to do that. Every time those memories pop up, rewrite the story with the Savior. Instead of saying to yourself, “There it is again, a memory of my past that will forever remind me I don’t deserve this,” say, “Here is an opportunity to become even better. Here is a thought that has been placed in my mind that I have the power to replace with something more powerful. Satan has presented me with a stepping stone to become stronger.” And if you falter and those memories linger longer than you would have liked, repeat the process anyway! Repentance is about becoming perfect, but the “becoming” process is going to take way longer than you think. In terms of this mortal life, it’s not about never failing again, it’s about being able to cast off Satan enough that you remain close to the tree, to His love. Remaining close to the tree is what is going to actually bring the perfection we so desire.

I testify of a Savior who never wanted us to carry shame. I testify that He utilizes guilt to the extent that it changes us because He loves us enough to push us. I also testified that He paid for sin so that it can’t hurt us anymore. We only hurt ourselves by depriving ourselves of His company on purpose – whether we do it by willingly rebelling or holding ourselves down under the weight of shame. We also hurt Him when we do that because I testify of a Savior who wants to be around you.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 1 Nephi 6–10 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

by Mike Parker

Class Notes

Additional Reading

Neal Rappleye, “Learning Nephi’s Language: Creating a Context for 1 Nephi 1:2,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 16 (2015): 151–59. Rappleye explains how Nephi₁’s record could have been written in Hebrew language using Egyptian script, and he gives examples of ancient Israelite documents that did exactly that.
Book of Mormon Central team, “When Did Lehi Leave Jerusalem? (KnoWhy #475),” Book of Mormon Central, last modified 11 October 2018. Lehi₁’s ministry began “in the commencement of the first year of the reign of Zedekiah.” (1 Nephi 1:4) Scholars have variously dated his departure from Jerusalem between 605 and 588 ʙ.ᴄ. Read about the arguments for early, middle, and late dates.
Research and Perspectives, “Nephi and the Exodus,” Ensign, April 1987, 64–65. Latter-day Saint scholars have identified numerous parallels and motifs that show how Nephi₁ used the story of Moses and the Exodus as a type for his family’s own journey into the wilderness.
S. Kent Brown, “The Hunt for the Valley of Lemuel,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 16, no. 1 (2007): 64–73. Professor Brown explains how Wadi Tayyib al-Ism, the best candidate for Lehi’s valley of Lemuel, was discovered.
David Rolph Seely, “Lehi’s Altar and Sacrifice in the Wilderness,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 10, no. 1 (2001): 62–69, 80. Professor Seely explores why it was important for Lehi₁ to travel “three days in the wilderness” before making an offering to the Lord (1 Nephi 2:6–7), and how Lehi₁ could have made such a sacrifice, even though he wasn’t a Temple priest or Levite.
John W. Welch, “Legal Perspectives on the Slaying of Laban,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 1, no. 1 (1992): 119–41. Welch argues that Nephi₁ was legally within his rights to slay Laban, according to the moral and legal code at the time.
When Lehi₁ and his family left Jerusalem, they came to the Red Sea and then traveled south for three days until they reached a river valley, which Lehi named after his sons Laman₁ and Lemuel. An excellent candidate for this valley has been discovered in Saudi Arabia; Book of Mormon Central discusses this in KnoWhy #286.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 1 Nephi 1–5 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Goodly Parentsby Autumn Dickson

When we read the first seven chapters of The Book of Mormon, we find a great many patterns for how the Lord works with His children. We find patterns of revelation, agency, perfect timing, and the nature of personal progression and testimony. One of the patterns we also find is that of righteous parenting. One of the first things declared in The Book of Mormon is:

1 Nephi 1:1 I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father…

Over and over and over again we see how Lehi and Sariah followed patterns of righteous parenting. Before you non-parents wonder if this message has relevance to you, I promise you that it does. Studying the patterns of Lehi and Sariah can teach us about how to become better parents, but it can also teach us a couple of other things such as how the Lord deals with His children so we can recognize why He is making specific decisions when we wonder what the heck He must be thinking. It can also teach us about the dual, and sometimes conflicting, principles of loving another person but simultaneously appreciating agency and feeling peace despite worries over their destructive choices. I will be referencing “parenting,” but this is not just about parenting. It’s about how the Lord works with us and how we work with others.

Personally seeking the Lord

One of the first things discussed in the righteous pattern of Lehi’s parenting is the way that Lehi personally sought out the Lord on His own. In verse 5, we see that Lehi went and prayed with all of his heart to the Lord. In return, Lehi receives a vision; this vision discusses a lot of things, but one of the things it talks about includes the abominations and impending destruction of Jerusalem at the time. These could not have been easy things to watch. The destruction of Jerusalem at the time of Zedekiah was ugly and brutal, and yet, Lehi came out of that vision in this manner:

1 Nephi 1:15 …his soul did rejoice, and his whole heart was filled, because of the things which he had seen, yea, which the Lord had shown unto him.

There are a couple of things we can learn from Lehi’s experience.

First, Lehi was led because he was actively praying. Interestingly enough, Lehi wasn’t even praying about anything specific in regards to his family. He was praying to the Lord with his whole heart on behalf of his people. My key concept here is this: Turn regularly to the Lord, and He will lead along in the specifics on how to protect your family. You may not even originally recognize how the Lord is leading you along. After Lehi finds out Jerusalem is going to get destroyed, the Lord doesn’t say anything about leaving. It isn’t until Lehi is about to be killed before he receives the life-saving, miraculous gift of being driven from the lands of their fathers. From the outside, it might not look like Lehi was being led along, but we have hindsight which means we see the miracle in all of it. I attribute this incredible miracle to the fact that Lehi was turning regularly to the Lord.

And there is an implied principle that comes with this previous principle. If we’re turning to the Lord, we will be guided. This means we don’t have to live in fear. In the world we live in, it would be incredibly easy to let our desire to protect our children overwhelm us to the extent that we actually harm them. I want to protect my children from danger, but I can’t really…not unless I want to take them away from everything, and that’s not healthy for them either. We do the best we can to provide gospel principles, healthy homes, and reasonable boundaries, but we have to turn to the Lord and ask Him to guide us and our feelings when it comes to specific events that could hurt them. Only He can really protect them and lead them along the path that will protect them but still allow for growth.

There is a third principle for parents here. No matter how much we follow the Lord, our children still have agency. We want them to choose the right, but we can’t force them to. It’s not possible. Not even the Lord does that. It can be extremely difficult to watch loved ones make destructive choices. Lehi knows this firsthand. My children are young yet, but I’ve had other loved ones go down paths that would hurt them. Lehi prayed on behalf of his people with his whole heart. He loved the people who were going to try and kill him, or at least he loved the other people who were indulging in choices that would lead to their destruction and exile.

Where did Lehi find comfort? When Lehi turned to the Lord, he saw what would happen to his beloved people. I can’t imagine that was the source of his comfort. Lehi rejoices in His Redeemer. When all else is failing, there is comfort in the Redeemer. When there is no happy ending currently in sight because loved ones are choosing unhappiness, there is still a source of peace that we can cling to.

Sending his sons into difficult circumstances

Lehi sent his sons to go back to the volatile Jerusalem twice, and Sariah was not happy about it. Honestly, I can’t imagine that I would have been happy about it. If there was a time that I was going to doubt the visions of my husband, this would probably be that moment. I probably would have sought the Lord and asked if I could go instead. I was a mother, a parent. It was my responsibility to protect them, not send them to get slaughtered which is precisely what almost happened. By parenting standards today, this is terrible”parenting. I mean…some of the stuff I get side eye for nowadays is nothing compared to what Lehi was doing.

And yet, Lehi was doing exactly the right thing by following the Lord. As far as we know, he didn’t even question it. The Lord wanted the sons to go, not Lehi, and that was good enough for Lehi. And look what it brought to his sons! Laman and Lemuel were going to use their agency how they wanted to, but I can’t get over the experiences that Nephi had. This was an early, soul-stretching, pivotal experience in his testimony. I think about all the things I learn while reading about his experience. Just think about what he learned living them, and it was all because Lehi was brave enough to follow the Lord and let it happen. This doesn’t even cover the fact that Nephi brought Zoram back with him.

When we send our kids out into the world, it may feel like we’re sending them straight into Babylon, the place we often feel a desperate need to avoid at all costs. There will be appropriate times to leave Babylon, and there will be appropriate times to be in the world but not of it. Trust and follow the Lord to lead you and your family along about which path you’re supposed to be taking at any given time. Have enough faith, like Lehi, to follow that path.

And also, don’t feel like you failed if some of your children still utilized their agency in a way that you wish they hadn’t. Heavenly Father is a perfect parent, and He lost a third part of His children before we even made it to earth. Just do your best to follow Him, and the Lord won’t let you fail. Your children may still choose wrong, but it won’t be because you failed them.

He loved their mother

One of the most critical things that can occur in a family is for a father to love the mother; it’s not the only critical thing, but it is what I’m going to talk about in this section. And though I’m talking about Lehi loving Sariah, these are still principles that apply to anyone who has the opportunity to love someone else.

Let’s consider the circumstances of Lehi for a second. Lehi is a visionary man. Because of these gifts and because he loved others enough to try and serve them with those gifts, Lehi was almost killed. He abandoned his home, led his family to the wilderness, and was constantly receiving criticism from his sons. After receiving another vision and sending his sons out to Jerusalem, he got criticism from his wife. And honestly, I wonder if this was one of the hardest ones for Lehi to face. It can be particularly stinging when a spouse isn’t supporting you, especially when you have devoted your life and sacrificed everything to try and uplift your family. Sariah mocked him as a visionary man and mourned the loss of their sons. This could have been the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Lehi could have easily felt justified in calling her out. He could have responded with the same scorn. He could have yelled at her and told her that he had lost everything too. He could have told her that he was trying to do what was best for their family by following the Lord, and he could have iterated that he didn’t appreciate her undermining him in this.

Rather, he loved her. He bore testimony to her. He took her biting words and sent them back in a loving manner. He didn’t have to do this. He could have felt as though he was in the right, and he could have gloated when their sons returned. But I wonder how his compassion affected her testimony in ways that the miraculous return of her sons could not.

Lehi was an incredible example of the Lord. He loved her at her worst. And because of his example, Sariah was one step closer to understanding the Lord. When difficult things came along in the future, she could trust that the Lord was making His choices because of His love for her not in spite of it. When Sariah faltered again (just like we all do), she could trust that He would lead her along through the rough patches despite the fact that she might not have deserved it.

I am so excited to be in The Book of Mormon this year. I testify of a Savior who loved people everywhere and led along one of the tribes of Israel to the Americas. I testify of a Savior who prepared the way perfectly for all of us, but also for each of us. Everything I’ve studied over the past few years and everything we get to study this year shows example after example after example of His awareness, power, and love.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 1 Nephi 1–5 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

by Mike Parker

(Mike Parker is a long-time FAIR member who has graciously allowed us to use materials he originally prepared for the Hurricane Utah Adult Religion Class)

Class Notes

Recommended books:

Hardy, Grant, ed., The Annotated Book of Mormon. New York: Oxford University Press, 2023.
Skousen, Royal, ed. The Book of Mormon: The Earliest Text. 2nd ed. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2022.
Parry, Donald W. Poetic Parallelisms in the Book of Mormon: The Complete Text Reformatted. Provo, UT: The Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship at Brigham Young University, 2007.

Sources of the Plates of Mormon – Mormon and the other writers and editors of the Nephite records drew from many different source materials. This diagram depicts all known sources of the material that was abridged into the plates of Mormon and published as The Book of Mormon in 1830:

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Introductory Pages of the Book of Mormon – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

What is Scripture?by Autumn Dickson

The title page of The Book of Mormon has me pondering about a couple of things that have actually been on my mind over the past year as I read the New Testament – namely, what really is scripture? Why do certain things get counted as scripture? What does it mean to be a writer of scripture?

As you read various books in the New Testament, you find that some of these men might not have even known they were writing what would be classified as scripture one day. We have the four gospels which are retellings of the life of Christ, replete with testimonies of who He is, but then we also have letters written by missionary-apostles. Lastly, we have a vision written by one of the apostles. In the same breath, we find the Doctrine and Covenants. These were a collection of blessings, visions, and dictations of the voice of God from a prophet. Apparently, the word “scripture” can be used to connote many different types of writing though I would still argue that there are a couple of criteria. The biggest criteria is that scripture is the “word of God.” How that chooses to manifest seems to include a wide array of options, but it all comes back to the idea that writing scripture is writing the word of God.

Let’s also look at this concept of “scripture” in the context of the title page of The Book of Mormon. There are a couple of phrases found on the title page that originally caught my attention. Mormon is teaching us that The Book of Mormon is a record “Written by way of commandment, and also by the spirit of prophecy and of revelation.” I do not believe this to be an exhaustive list of criteria required for canonized scripture, but I do believe it can give us a glimpse of what the Lord views as scripture as well as giving us ideas of personal application.

Revelation

Though it is listed last, I want to start with it first so that I can describe why you can find personal relevance in this message. Scripture is written by way of revelation. This is obvious and makes sense. If the Lord had left us alone here on earth, revealing nothing, we could have likely found a wide range of things to worship. We could have pondered and thought and believed and worked and formed theories and acted, but none of them would have likely been accurate. Writings about the true nature of God and His plan for His children had to be revealed to us, and we see that in any of the canonized books of scripture we read. He has to speak to us, and it gets written down. Scripture is the revealed word of God. All of the men who wrote the books of scripture had the Savior revealed to them by some measure of His power.

But as I ponder this idea of revelation as well as the general concept of “word of God,” I also realize that we, as individuals, have the gift of revelation that enables us to receive the word of God directly. The Lord can reveal the mysteries of His kingdom to us, just as He did with other servants. That being said, that doesn’t make generalized scripture a free-for-all. Though we can all receive revelation, we also have limited jurisdiction with our revelation. I can receive revelation for my family and me and the actions we need to take in our own lives. I can receive revelation for myself about the mysteries of the kingdom, but I cannot receive an answer about where my friend should move or whether my brother should take a specific job he’s been offered. If I have a dear friend who is struggling with a question in the gospel, I may feel inspired to say something, but it has to be revealed to them in some manner by the Spirit. In the end, the true revelation will go to the person who has the right jurisdiction to receive such revelation.

I believe it is the same with scripture. There have been countless times where I have felt the Lord speaking to me (cough cough word of God) as I’ve written in my journal. He has revealed new perspectives, specific life directions, and even knowledge I had never noticed. Does that mean my journal is scripture? Maybe for me. It’s the word of God directly to me. Like scripture, I can go back and read through old entries and feel the spirit anew. I make new connections about things I have written in the past while I was feeling inspired.

On that same note, I feel as though I’ve caught a glimpse of what some of these scripture writers might have felt. The men who were commissioned to write scripture did have jurisdiction to write revelation for the entire church. They were apostles and prophets. The Lord had given them the authority to lead the church, and therefore, the word of God that they were receiving could come to us with authority. And even though some of these men were likely far more righteous than I am, they were still imperfect. There have also been times that I have gone back in my journal entries and found imperfect understandings, incomplete thoughts, or just the smallest fledglings of new knowledge. I think of Paul. If you read his epistles in chronological order, you see him grow in his own understanding of the Savior! His sermons describing grace become more eloquent and complete.

Much of the world believes scripture to be final, infallible; there is nothing left to say. This is extremely limiting to a God who has never ceased wanting to speak to us. This is extremely limiting to a God who is trying to teach us more about who He is and His plan for us, but we’re not ready to receive everything immediately. That doesn’t even begin to touch the idea that our language isn’t even perfect enough to describe what heaven can reveal; don’t we want to get better and better at expressing it? What if Paul stopped progressing after writing his final letter before his death? That was it. There was nothing else to learn or be said. What if we had only been given the first letter written by Paul? Having an understanding that scripture is the inspired writings of holy (imperfect) men means that the Lord can continue to reveal His will to us!

Scripture is the revealed word of God given to men, and it has not ceased.

By way of commandment

According to the title page of The Book of Mormon, this record was also written by way of commandment. The men who kept the records of the Nephites (as well as the men who abridged those records) were doing so because they were commanded.

To be totally honest, I don’t have a ton of commentary on this particular principle other than this: we have been commanded to keep a journal (even though we don’t always like to think about it), and I don’t think it’s because the Lord wants our posterity to hear all about our crush in the seventh grade. I think the Lord knows the power that can come from writing while being guided by the Spirit, and He wants us to find that power. Perhaps you have a hard time writing; try recording your thoughts. Most of us have phones with voice memo capabilities. I don’t believe it’s the writing so much as the expansion of inspired promptings. If you come across a thought in scripture or a feeling about a question you’ve been asking for a while, pause long enough to speak or write about it for a little bit. I can promise you from personal experience that the Lord has more to tell you if you’ll pause to hear it. The word of God continues on, and the commandment to write it down (or record it some manner) only furthers that process.

Spirit of prophecy

This section is like the commandment section; I don’t necessarily have a ton of commentary, but I still think it’s worth being brought to attention specifically. The spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus Christ; the testimony of Christ enables the writing of scripture.

Once again, we do not have authority to write scripture for the entire church, but we do have a testimony of Christ, and it can lead us to write the word of God for our own lives as well as our circles of revelatory jurisdiction. I should also mention that my most powerful moments of writing what the Lord is trying to tell me often comes when I write about Christ. It’s not easy to just sit down and start writing about Christ spontaneously, at least not for me. Rather, I usually write about what’s going on in my life, I get it all out there on paper, and then I start to write it again with the perspective of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I reconsider what’s going on in my life through the lens of His promises, love, and power. These are definitely the times when I feel like He is revealing the most to me.

Interpretation by the gift of God

The Book of Mormon was written in reformed Egyptian, and it came to us by “the gift and power of God unto the interpretation thereof.” This is honestly a pretty significant claim that we lean on in the church. We testify that Joseph Smith, a simple farm boy, was able to translate this book in record timing through the power of God.

Perhaps we do not need to “translate” the word of God into our language, but there is personal and general relevance in this message. Whenever we seek to read the word of God, it needs to be interpreted by His power to the best of our ability. This has two implications. It means having a healthy understanding of our own imperfection and a willingness to be corrected as we mature in the gospel, but it also means pushing a significant portion of our energy towards having a communion experience with God as we read His word. If we want to get the most out of it and truly hear His word for us, it will require hearing from Him again. It is not enough to simply just read what’s already been written. God has not stopped giving His word, and this extends to the circumstances of reading what’s been written. When we read, He has more to say about His own mysteries as well as direct relevance to our own lives. Seeking that interpretation brings more of His word directly to you; it brings more “scripture.”

I testify of a Savior who is not finished speaking with His people and leading them. I testify that He continues to reveal His word, both on a church wide scale and an individual level. I testify that we can receive and write the word of God for our own lives and our own posterity. I testify of that because I feel and experience it all the time. It is through this process of recording (not just writing) His word that I have been able to experience the gospel in a way that has brought so many of the promises that have been made by the Savior.

And if there are faults, they are the mistakes of men. They are the frailties and mortal limitations of men who are trying to receive something heavenly into broken vessels. I testify that even some of these mistakes can be turned for our benefit because they push us to seek His word for ourselves. If we knew the word was completely written and perfect, we would not have to struggle to receive it for ourselves and develop the relationship with the Savior that He desires. I am so grateful for a Savior who continues to reveal His word because there is no way we can catch it all the first time.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Introductory Pages of the Book of Mormon – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Evangelical Questions: The Book of Revelationby Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC

Oh my goodness, we have made it to Week 50. And we’re almost done with this project. The whole goal this year has been to give you a peek into how your Evangelical friends and family see things differently – and how we can approach conversation a little bit differently with them and perhaps have more success sharing the goodness of our faith with them. And it’s been an amazing year for me – I’ve clarified some of my own thinking on this topic and hopefully helped some of you too. I’ve received so many kind and thoughtful notes from some of you that I never could have met any other way, so I’m incredibly grateful for this project.

However, and I’ve alluded to this before, trying to same format with the Book of Mormon just doesn’t make sense. It’s worked this year because we’re doing the New Testament, and maybe we’ll do it again when Old Testament year comes around, but for now we’ve got 3 episodes left in this series. Today the topic is on the Book of Revelation, next week it’s about Christmas, and what I’d like to do the week after that, our final week, is to do quick question-and-answer for anything you would like to know that we haven’t covered yet, that you were hoping to have addressed, or that you’re still wondering about. You can either put questions in the comments below, or email me at jroach@fairlatterdaysaints.org. I’d like to fit in as many questions as possible so hit me up if you’ve got something.

And, just a tiny bit more business before we start, I’ve teased you already about what will happen next, and it’s 2 things. First, there will be a new concept taking over this weekly format that relates closely to the Book of Mormon, and it has to do with helping your loved ones who are in a faith crisis. I will not be hosting that one, but I know who is and I’m very excited for you to get to hear a lifetime of wisdom on this topic from them. AND, we have a new show with a new format coming out. The idea is that we’ll do 5-6 episodes on specific topics in scripture or church history analyzing them from multiple perspectives – historical, cultural, textual, psychological, and more. I am one of 3 hosts on that show and it’s been so fun to plan it out with our team. The other two hosts are 1) Sarah Allen – who is basically everyone’s research hero – she wrote that incredibly comprehensive response to the CES Letter that is something like 70 parts. There simply is not a more comprehensive collection of research on that than what Sarah has done…. 2) Zach Wright who is the young scholar who hosts the By Study and By Faith podcast. He’s so bright and so quick, if you don’t know Zach yet I think you will really enjoy his energy and perspective. Yesterday we filmed a couple of trailers for this new show that will come out later this month.

Last thing….this week I got to film episodes with two of our partners – Scripture Central’s show Let’s Get Real with Stephen Jones; and the Saints Unscripted show. Both were on my other research area which is sexual abuse in the church and they were great fun to do. You can check those videos out on their respective channels.

Okay, let’s get started for today. We’re going to talk about the Book of Revelation. The reality is that Latter-day Saints and Evangelicals alike are confused by this book, kind of afraid of it, and often prone to taking it out of context. Why? Well, frankly because it’s a weird book. It’s a vision, it’s a dream, and just like your dreams, sometimes symbols intermix in weird ways and then morph and mix again.

Another way to say the same thing is to say that it’s a book that has been mostly treated as a subjective text – that is, a reading the reader brings meaning to based on their own culture, perspective, time in history, personality, and life details. You know a Roarsch test is – the ink blot pictures a psychologist holds up and asks the client to say what they see – well, many of the treatments of Revelation have been little more than that. It’s a subjective text that the reader brings his or her own meaning to. Think about a scenario where you’re telling a group of friends about a dream you had, and each one offers a slightly different interpretation. Who’s right? Well, who is to say?

But this gets complicated for us, Latter-day Saints and Evangelicals alike, and honestly, for every other group out there. Revelation is a difficult-to-understand book. And we’re not going to dive into explaining it here today – that’s the task for plenty of other shows – but I do want to talk about the different ways we approach a text like this that is just so weird.

And really, the differences here come down to our beliefs about prophecy, covenants, and dispensations. But let me back up and tell you why that’s important. So, the book of Revelation is a very specific type of prophecy called apocalyptic literature. A regular prophecy foretells something in the future – but not necessarily on an epic global scale. For example, in the Old Testament book of Jeremiah, we get a prophecy that Babylon Will Rule Over Judah for 70 Years. Now, that’s a pretty earth-shaking prophecy if you happen to live in that time, especially if you’re living in Judah. But this type of prophecy is very specific to the people living in a certain time and place. Your life, and my life, are not significantly impacted by the face that Babylon ruled over Judah for 70 years. However, what we call apocalyptic literature is about events that will impact all of humanity. There is no way for the events of the Book of Revelation to unfold without it impacting every human being forever. And all of this applies to both Evangelicals and Latter-day Saints.

Where we have differences has to do with how our understanding of covenant theology and dispensationalism intersect. In the Evangelical world a person’s beliefs are either formed by the idea that God makes covenants with humanity OR the belief that God deals differently with humanity in different dispensations. But you generally can’t have both. It’s an either/or situation. You can find lots of Evangelicals, especially of the Calvinistic persuasion, who very much believe in covenants in a similar way to how we do. But those Evangelicals would absolutely cringe at the idea of talking about the different dispensations. And vice-versa, the Evangelicals who think about how God works in the various dispensations are very unlikely to see him also working through Covenants.

But Latter-day Saints don’t have this problem. We easily talk about how God deals with groups and individuals through covenant, and we also see how God works differently in different dispensations. It wasn’t until after I joined the church that I even put that together. Like, wait, they’re integrating both?!? It sort of blew my mind because in the Evangelical world those 2 are water and oil. So how does this impact how we read Revelation?

Well, an Evangelical dispensationalist is very likely to read Revelation literally. They try to see a one-to-one correspondence between the symbols in Revelation and the unfolding events of history. For example, “This symbol in the book of Revelation represents that nation of the Soviet Union, and this one represents the United States…” There is a lot of concern for making sure every person knows the saving message of Jesus before the Book of Revelation unfolds. They really deeply want everyone to hear about Christ. Meanwhile, the Evangelicals who think of their relationship with God as part of a covenant tend to think through Revelation really differently. They believe that certain human events can trigger the end times – primarily meaning here that every human being who is supposed to be saved, has been saved. Evangelicals in this camp – roughly 60% of all Evangelicals – believe that only some humans are able to be saved. The problem is that no one knows which humans are to be saved, and which aren’t. Only God knows if he made you for salvation or damnation. So the end times begin when the final person God has chosen for salvation is saved.

And Latter-day Saints kind of combine these two views. We believe that all are God’s children and he would like all of his children back and this promotes our entire missionary enterprise. This is our thinking about all of humanity as a whole. But at the same time, we believe in covenants and that God will keep his end of the covenant with us as individuals. We would agree with them that “God will save who he will save,” We just happen to believe he wants to save everyone.

In addition, our views about prophecy are different. Evangelicals don’t buy into the idea that God has further light and knowledge to give. So they have no modern teaching about what to do with Revelation, they’re kind of left on their own here. While the leaders in our church have given clarity on how to understand many things from the Bible, including this confusing book.

So, all of this to say, the Book of Revelation is rather confusing to most people, and having a conversation with an Evangelical friend might leave you both more confused than when you began! What to do? Here is my advice….The glorious end of the book is that God puts everything right and a place exists where his people can be with him forever. That part could certainly lead you to a good conversation.

Okay, 2 weeks left. Please let me know if you have questions specific to Evangelicals that I haven’t been able to answer yet, I’d be glad to use them in my wrap up episode in a couple weeks. See you next time.

More Come, Follow Me resources here.

Jennifer Roach earned a Master of Divinity from The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology, and a Master of Counseling from Argosy University. Before her conversion to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints she was an ordained minister in the Anglican church. Her own experience of sexual abuse from a pastor during her teen years led her to care deeply about issues of abuse in faith communities.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – The Book of Revelation appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Evangelical Questions: Do You Have the Holy Ghost?by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC

Hi friends, and welcome back to Come Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions. If you wondered if you missed last week’s episode, it wasn’t you, it was me. And sometimes life is like that. Several of you reached out with kind notes asking if I was okay and I’m grateful for your caring. And here we are, back on track now.

As you know we’re going through the Come Follow Me readings and addressing common questions that Evangelicals ask about our faith as we go along. Our purpose here is not to fuel debate but to help you understand where your Evangelical friends and family are coming from so that you can have better conversations with them, and perhaps even be able to offer them a bit of our faith in a way they can understand.

I also wanted to tell you….I got to run up to Salt Lake this last week and participate in a preview of Come Follow Me for next year. There are some structural changes in the manual that will likely make it easier for families as well as new material that was not in the manual last time we went through it 4 years ago. I got to take home a physical copy and honestly, if you have kids I recommend getting a physical copy. The digital copies have access to all of the children’s activities, but you will have to print things out and the physical copy has everything in one place.

So, I’m behind a week and here is how I’m going to solve that problem. Today you’re going to get the content from last week, and I’m going to combine the text for this week and next into my episode for next week – they’re both in Revelation and it’s easy enough to cover in the same talk.

Okay, today we’re going to talk about the Holy Ghost from last week’s readings. One of the questions I’ve received at least a couple of times in the last year goes something like: How can Evangelicals claim to have the Holy Ghost, I thought our church was the only church with authority to give the gift of the Holy Ghost. And it’s a good question, you can see why it would be confusing because Evangelicals absolutely do claim to have the Holy Ghost, though they’re much more likely to refer to him as the Holy Spirit. So, what is that like for them?

We’ve talked about this a bit before on this show regarding the “charismatic” or “pentecostal” side of the Evangelical world, but what about the rest of them? Because here is their dilemma: There is no possibility for new authoritative revelation. So anything they feel from the Spirit does not have the same idea underpinning it that God can reveal new things. In fact, they are warned against believing that God might reveal something new to a person through subjective means. Whatever they hear from the Spirit will be echoed in the Scriptures, and that is now they know it’s true. The problem, of course, is that there are millions of choices a person has to make over the course of their lifetime that the Bible does not address, and can not address specifically. They have to take broad principles from the scriptures, apply them to what they feel the Spirit is saying, and only move forward if they see a match. Some of this is a very good safeguard – they have a good understanding that the Spirit is not going to tell them to do something wicked. If you boil the whole endeavor down to it’s most basic parts the idea you’re left with is that the Spirit can remind them of things that the Bible has already said, He can contextualize things the Bible has already said, but not much more.

And in some ways, dear Latter-day Saint friends, they have it easier. They view the scriptures as a check-and-balance against the subjective experience of hearing the Spirit. It’s a cleaner process, far less messy. There is another way they have it easier, but it doesn’t always work out fo them very well – that is they have no one above themselves telling them what the scriptures or Spirit are actually saying. The vast majority of them are going to make an honest attempt to listen to both scripture and spirit in an open way that allows God to guide them. But we little humans are excellent at self-deception, even when it comes to spiritual things. It’s very easy to mistake one’s own desires for the Spirit. We have this problem too – all humans do – but our risk is mitigated a tiny bit because we have a Prophet who can give a final word on big things. We don’t need – or want – to have a Prophet giving us exact directions on every single thing. But there is some rest available in the fact that we’re not left alone to figure it all out by ourselves. The difference here for Evangelicals is that they do accept pastors and others to teach them, but those teachers are employed by the will of the listener. If the Evangelical person does not want to listen to a particular teacher or pastor, they don’t. And they feel no compulsion to see that person in authority. While Latter-day Saints are much more likely to see the goodness of having someone with authority being able to teach us.

So, do Evangelicals have the Holy Spirit? I will speak for me, not the church, not FAIR, just myself. Long before I knew very much about our church at all, I know that I had the influence of the Holy Ghost in my life -guiding me, teaching me, leading me. At the most basic definition, that is the gift of the Holy Ghost. So, what’s different now that I’ve joined this church, been baptized and confirmed? Well, honestly, it’s not a lot different in terms of feeling the Spirit and allowing him to lead me. The difference is the presence of covenants.

In the Evangelical church someone can hear the Spirit, and as long as it confirms basically what is in scripture, then it’s considered a good thing. For me, now as a Latter-day Saint, the Spirit’s role is to provide a broader kind of guidance that allows me to do the things I’ve already been asked to do, or promised to do. It’s not about confirming the scriptures – it’s about how do I live out the covenants I’ve made. Now, there are Evangelicals who believe in covenant theology, but the role o the Spirit is still kind of stuck just being able to confirm what scripture says. And I’m sure other people’s experience is different than mine, I can only tell you my experience.

Okay, that’s about all I’ve got to say on that. Next week we’ll do Revelation – which is always weird, but that will be fun. See you then.

More Come, Follow Me resources here.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – 1–3 John; Jude appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Evangelical Questions: Priesthood of all Believersby Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC

Welcome back to Come Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions. My name is Jennifer Roach and today we’re going to talk about priesthood of all believers. As you know we’re going through the Come Follow Me readings and addressing common questions that Evangelicals ask about our faith as we go along. Our purpose here is not to fuel debate but to help you understand where your Evangelical friends and family are coming from so that you can have better conversations with them, and perhaps even be able to offer them a bit of our faith in a way they can understand.

It is Thanksgiving week here in the US, so happy Thanksgiving if you celebrate. We got snow on the mountains here in Utah County, so there is plenty to be thankful for in these parts. I hope it’s a week of gratitude for you too, no matter where you live.

Okay, today we’re going to talk about one of the most misunderstood verses in the New Testament when it comes to conversation between Evangelicals and Latter-day Saints: The priesthood of all believers. We’ll start with 1 Peter 2:5:

You yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Now, no Latter-day Saint that I know of would disagree with that verse or verses like it. There is no quibble as to if this is a good verse translated properly or not. The question becomes what does it mean by “priesthood”? And as with most things, digging down a little into history and language helps us clear up the confusion.

Let’s start with history. So, rewind all the way back to before the Protestant Reformation. In 1517 Martin Luther has had it with the corrupt practices of the Catholic church and nails his 95 thesis to the door of the Wittenburg Chapel. Luther had 95 complaints and social media hadn’t been invented yet, so nailing something to the door of the church was what he had available to him. A lot of that document has to do with the concept of purgatory and the paying of indulgences. Indulgences were purchased for money by living people in essence to shave off some of the time a dead person would have to serve in purgatory. Sometimes they’ve been wrongly thought of as purchasing a free pass to commit some sin, and there may have been some of that happening, but what Luther was really upset about was the idea that a living person could impact the experience of a dead person- without that person having to accept the work. Luther wasn’t even primarily mad at the idea that a living person could do some proxy work for dead people – he was mad that indulgences discouraged the purchaser from doing works of mercy in a way that would cause growth in their own soul. His logic was: How could people who were not pious give any assistance toward the piety of dead people? It would be as if we were baptizing people for the dead but there were no requirements on the righteous living of the person doing the work. Luther saw this issue really clearly. By the end of the 95 Thesis Luther makes it clear that he’s not trying to do away with proxy work altogether, he just wants to have it be done in such a way that requires righteousness from living people.

And what Luther was trying to do, he states this very clearly, is to begin a conversation among the religious scholars of the day. But by 1520 (just 3 years later) the whole thing spins a bit out of control for him as the conversation morphs into, “what is the role of the priest in forgiveness – are they actually the ones deciding if you get forgiven? Or are they the ones who pronounce forgiveness upon you but that forgiveness is granted from Christ, not the priest.” And that’s where we’ll pick up the thread.

So things are not going well for our boy Martin, at least in terms of debate among his academic peers. He wanted to be having this as an academic conversation, and he got some of that, but the people are starting to understand at least a bit of what he’s talking about when they see the implications for them. And Luther himself sees this to. In 1520 he puts out a document that has a very unfortunate name if you’re standing on this side of history. “The Christian Nobility of the German Nation.” But this is the document where he really lays out his growing ideas on the priesthood of all believers. And what he’s trying to do is react against the pre-Reformation idea that humans are divided into 2 categories – the secular and the sacred. So before this, if you lived in some little German town, there would be the regular people living their lives, mostly just trying to feed themselves and their families. These were the secular people. Even if they were followers of Christ, they were considered secular. The sacred people were the priests and those who had taken holy orders to live in monastic communities. And how it played out was that the secular people who believed in Christ didn’t have much access to materials that would help them learn the scripture or grow on their own – so they kind of gave up and let the sacred people take on that burden. It was sort of the attitude of, “I’m just a regular person, I don’t need to spend my day praying because those monks up in the monastery on the hill are spending their days doing that on my behalf.” And you can see where Luther gets upset at this – he’s not mad about the “proxy-ness” of it, he’s mad that the secular people side-step their own responsibility to grow and outsource most spiritual tasks to the priests, monks, and nuns. In the monasteries, the system was set up so that they prayed at fixed points throughout the day, including the middle of the night. And this system of prayer became more and more elaborate, requiring more and more time. The regular folks just trying to live their lives and feed their families couldn’t live under a schedule like that, so instead of modifying it for their own use in ways that were workable, they mostly just let the monks and nuns take care of the prayers for them. And Luther is upset at this because it leaves the regular people spiritually immature. And he wants to correct this situation, so he writes about it in “Nobility of the German Nation.”

And so one of Luther’s goals becomes the emptying of the monasteries. He wants everyone – secular people and sacred people – to know how to do the work of prayer and Christian living. The term “liturgy” has its origins here – liturgy means, “the work of the people.” And you can see how Luther is using this term in particular – he wants the regular people to do spiritual work too. But in order to do that, he has to help them break out of the system they have going that separates secular and sacred. So he spends a lot of time and energy teaching that the regular people also have a priesthood to which they belong, the priesthood of all believers, and there are responsibilities in that priesthood.

So far, Latter-day Saint friends, I don’t think there is much for you to disagree with. What Luther was doing is very reasonable in lots of ways. But let’s flip contexts out of Luther’s German world, and into our English-speaking world. And you’ll easily see how the problems develop.

Very often when translating from Biblical Greek to English we have more English words to choose from. But in some instances it works the other way around – Greek has more words for something while English only has 1. Probably the best example you’re familiar with is the various words for “love” in Greek describe important nuances between different forms of love. But in English, we use the same word for, “I love pizza” and “I love my child.” It’s the same situation with “priesthood.” We have 1 word, priesthood, while the New Testament has 2 words: One that means “sacred person” and the other that means “one with elderhood.”

So when Luther says, “you are the priesthood of all believers” he means, “You are not just secular people who have nothing to do with the spirituality of those monks and nuns….you too are sacred people, even just living your normal lives of taking care of your families.” He never intended to say that there aren’t 2 different kinds of priesthoods. The one we are talking about right now, the priesthood of all believers, is a universal priesthood that everyone who claims the name of Christ has – the priesthood that asks us to do the spiritual work for ourselves and those over whom we have responsibility such as children. The other form of the word meaning, “the one who has eldership,” is not canceled because of this universal priesthood responsibility that the average believer also has.

So, what about our Evangelical friends? What do they make of all of this? Well, as we’ve talked about here a number of times Evangelicals value 2 things above all else – independence and devotion to Christ. When I say “independence” what I mean is they do not want to be told what to believe by anyone who claims authority. To them, the very claim of authority is problematic. They want an absolute level playing field where no person has authority over any other. They want to do what is right in their own eyes – you get the appeal, I’m sure. But they also value devotion to Christ and the concern here is that they do not want anyone “standing between” them and Christ. Not monks and nuns up on a hill, not priests that help with confession and repentance, not even the body to which they are a church member. If they don’t like what is being taught they see no obligation to stay – they move on to another church. In practice what this means is that they each have to be their own Prophet. They don’t get – or want – guidance that comes with authority. They are the authorities.

They also see Christ as being not just the “great High Priest” but also the only current priest of any type. And to be honest, we’re not too far apart from each other on this one – we would also say that the priesthood belongs to God. It is his power on the Earth. But Evangelicals worry that any claim to priesthood is an attempt to take the power away from God and give it to man.

And this is part of the arc of development for them as people embedded into a particular time and place. The Evangelical movement grew up right alongside of the modern, hyper-modern, and post-modern era. The natural conclusion of this arc is that the concept of authority itself is invalid. Think of how people conceptualize books. It used to be that the author had a meaning in mind, she would write her thoughts, and people who wanted to understand what she’s on about would read the book. The author got the final say, as it were. But in the postmodern turn it is the reader who brings meaning to the book. The reader decides what it means, even if that meaning is wildly different from what the author intended. The reader gets the final word. There is an important philosophical concept that started back in the 1960’s that says, “the author is dead”….and by natural progression, the very concept of authority dies with him. Author-authority. We see this play out in our national debates – what is an authority anyway? Is a guy at home with an internet connection just as much of an authority as a guy with a PhD? Large parts of our current culture answer that question as: Yes. Authority has died. And this is the culture the Evangelical movement has grown up alongside. Any authority that comes with priesthood is bad, it’s nonexistent to them. Only the common authority anyone has over their own lives matters, the idea of, “you can say what you want as long as its true for you.” But, “history predicts the future” and these things are cyclical – at some point things change. If you look at last week’s Deseret News you will find an article titled: Want to fix education? Bring back authority.” (You also will find a piece in DN last week with my name on it – its a summary of the presentation I gave at the FAIR conference back in August if you’re curious.) But “Bring back authority” is essentially getting at this same thing – we’ve swung too far away from the idea that anyone, teacher/priest/researcher/anyone can have authority at all. And maybe these things correct themselves over time.

This got to be a long episode, but I hope it helps you think though why your Evangelical friends get so worked up about the “priesthood of all believers” concept.

Okay, we’ve got 5 episodes left. Next week we’re talking about the Holy Ghost and asking what does it mean when an Evangelical also experiences the Holy Ghost. I think you’ll be plenty fascinated with that one. See you then.

More Come, Follow Me resources here.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – 1 and 2 Peter appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Evangelical Questions: Perfection?by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC

Welcome back to Come Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions. My name is Jennifer Roach and today we’re going to talk about perfection. As you know we’re going through the Come Follow Me readings and addressing common questions that Evangelicals ask about our faith as we go along. Our purpose here is not to fuel debate but to help you understand where your Evangelical friends and family are coming from so that you can have better conversations with them, and perhaps even be able to offer them a bit of our faith in a way they can understand.

We are on Week 46. This year of Come Follow Me is rapidly coming to a close which means that talking about how Evangelicals view things in the Bible doesn’t really make sense next year because we’ll be doing Book of Mormon year. And I know several of you have wondered what will happen next year. Fear not. Things will change for next year, this particular podcast needs to pivot a bit, but I will still be around. FAIR is working on a show in addition to this one where there will be fewer episodes, but higher quality. I have been working with 2 of the best researchers FAIR has and we’re putting something together I think you’re going to like. So you will still get to see me – Congratulations and I’m sorry. I don’t know exactly what to say about that. But it will be good and I will have much more to share with you after Thanksgiving.

We have arrived at week 46 and we’re in James. 2 of the biggest verses in James that we could have talked about are James 1:5, “If any of you lacks wisdom let him ask God…” and James 2:14 and following talking about works. We’ve actually covered both of these topics pretty well in this series, so we’re going to back up a little and talk about James 1:2-4. This is in the ESV:

2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

There is some history here that will help put Evangelicals in the right context. And, as we’ve seen before many times here, even when an Evangelical church presents itself as a “community church” with no denominational tie, there is usually a tie somewhere in the background – and that might be a formal denomination that just isn’t put front and center (Lifeway Research says that over 60% of the cosmetically named churches, things like Vision Church, are Southern Baptist churches that simply do not name the SBC anywhere on their website or materials and they present themselves as if they are no ties with a larger group at all.) Or it can just show up in the education of the pastoral staff – if they all went to Dallas Theological, then you know something about where they’re coming from.

So, the particular part of the Evangelical world a church comes from matters here. Churches that are informed by the Lutheran, Reformed or Calvinistic traditions are very unlikely to ever talk about the idea of becoming, “perfect as your father in Heaven is perfect.” It’s not a category for them, and their theology reveals why. Their position is sometimes called, “hyper-sovereignty” which is trying to get at the idea that God is so perfect, so complete, so good that it’s insulting to him for any human to have the audacity to say that they could be perfect as he is perfect. So, for them verses about perfection are part aspirational – they believe God is perfect and we should try for perfection even though we will never achieve it. But they’re also part of their system that says all humans are depraved and hated by God – only the power of Jesus Christ can heal the rift between us and God. So verses like this function as a sign to point out not only how good God is, but how bad we are. You know how Paul sometimes says that the law exists to point out our sin – these folks would likely say that these verses about perfection exist to point out how imperfect we actually are. In their way of thinking perfection is impossible, even thinking we could ever do it is hubris. Their interpretation is that God is so good he is perfect, and we are so bad that we could never obtain perfection. It doesn’t feel as grim in real time for them as it sounds to you. It sounds awful, I know, but they think of it more like: The stronger of a believer you are, the more willing you are to affirm God’s goodness and your own depravity. It’s a way for them to say that they are so committed to God that they’re willing to accept their own terribleness, and its a point of pride when they’re able to do so. All of this that I’ve just described is true for Evangelical churches that are influenced by Reformed theology, probably about 60% of current Evangelical churches. But there is another side.

It started in the 1700’s with John and Charles Wesley, the brothers who begin the Methodist Church. Just for timeline, John dies about 15 years before Joseph Smith is born. The Wesleys are part of the 1st Great Awakening, and Joseph Smith is part of the 2nd Great Awakening. And what the Wesleys do is pull from the group in early Christianity known as the Church Fathers who lived in the couple hundred years after Christ. And there is plenty in their writings about the idea of perfection. But, things get weird around the 4th Century and that thinking about perfection turns into a very deep asceticism and monasticism – so life either in a cloistered monastery or life lived in public society but living with deliberate poverty and frankly, near starvation. Now, Christian history had to go that way – the fall of Rome happens right around this time and the governmental structure that had been holding Europe together disappears. And we get the dark ages. By this time Christian monastic communities were already well established in such a way that they could continue to exist. So, its not an entirely bad thing, but the Wesleys look at that and think its awful – that Christian life is intended to be lived out publicly in a way that nonbelievers can see and understand. Not cloistered away or taking vows of extreme poverty. So the Wesleys want to rewind time and go back to what the early Chruch Fathers were talking about with perfectionism. Over time, Methodists have moved away from the idea quite a bit, but it gets picked up by a group of churches known as the Holiness Movement. The Free Methodist Church (different from their much larger sibling the United Methodists), The Church of the Nazarene, the Church of God (Anderson, Indiana), The Salvation Army, and the Wesleyan Methodist Church (the smallest of the Methodist groups.) And an awful lot of current Evangelical churches are influenced by this arc in all kinds of ways. But it gets weird.

You can trace the influence of the Wesley brothers into modern Evangelicalism in about 100 different ways. But the idea that we might become like God is not one of them. Mostly what they do is take advantage of the wiggle room that exists in the Greek word used here for perfection. There is a legitimate nuance in that word that is something closer to “mature.” So you get translations like the NIV that say, “Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” The ESV still gives us, “that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” The ESV is considered a little bit more scholarly than the NIV, but the NIV has been around for decades longer and has had more influence on Evangelicals. So when they read a verse like this they hear, “be mature” and it doesn’t trigger the same response that, “be perfect” does. So some of them don’t even know, “perfect” is a possible translation here.

So what do we do with all of this?

Well, first, I can’t help myself…the mental health therapist in me needs to tell you that this conversation has nothing to do with perfectionism or the idea that today you must do all things perfectly in order to be loved or accepted by God or others. Part of the joy of having family and friends is that those are the people who can see your imperfections and love you anyway. So we’re not talking about some kind of scrupulosity or perfectionism. And to be fair, you do see a slightly lower incidence of these issues in an Evangelical population than you do in a Latter-day Saint population.

But as far as how to talk with Evangelicals about this, let me offer you my experience when I was an Evangelical. I didn’t know a lot about Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but I had picked up some things along the way, not as any kind of serious study, just part of being alive in the 20th century in America. And I can say from that perspective that there is some overlap for people outside our church on the concepts of “perfection” and “worthiness.” Before I knew better, I would have heard the phrase, “a worthy Latter-day Saint” as “a perfect Latter-day Saint.” I knew that didn’t make sense, but I also knew the reputation of people in the church as being good people, excellent mothers, and excellent people to have around in a crisis. So, my first thought is that if a conversation about the concept of perfection came up, you might want to make sure your friend is able to differentiate between the two concepts.

Here is my second thought. There is a quote from President Nelson long before he was the president of the church. Back in 1995 he said, “We all need to remember: men are that they might have joy—not guilt trips!” And I love that because guilt is…kind of contagious. If you feel guilty about what you have and have not done, and you’re talking about the ideas of perfection, or even worthiness with an Evangelical friend, they will intuitively feel that guilt in you. The role of guilt in spiritual or personal development must be to point out something that has gone wrong – thus prompting us to make a change to address the issue. That’s the only reason you get the emotion of guilt. It doesn’t add to your holiness, it doesn’t add to the love you receive from God. It’s a big arrow pointing to a situation or event – not to make you feel worse about yourself, but for you to do some problem-solving around how to change. We humans don’t like to change, and sometimes barely know how to change, but that is the role of guilt – to point to where change needs to happen. In that sense its an empowering and problem-solving emotion. But what we do a lot of times is turn guilt to shame – instead of, “I did a bad thing” it becomes, “I am a bad thing.” That’s not growth or development, that’s self-pity. As much as you can, for your sake and the sake of those with whom you talk about gospel issues, let the feelings you have about your own lack of perfection be the things that makes you progress forward – not stay stuck on how awful you are for getting something wrong. So much overlap between this and mental health, forgive me for my soapbox.

Okay, next week is Priesthood of all Belivers. Come back and we’ll have some fun.

More Come, Follow Me resources here.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – James appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Evangelical Questions: Isn’t Jesus the Only Melchizedek Priesthood Holder?by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC

Welcome back to Come Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions. My name is Jennifer Roach and today we’re going to talk about part 2 of 3 on priesthood. There is so much to say on this and we’re going to get right to it. But I want to point out one thing…

Sometimes, at least in people I know, Latter-day Saints seem a little unsure of their overall Bible knowledge. And it’s true, there are some ins and outs of the Bible, especially the New Testament, that Evangelicals will tend to know better than our people. But the Book of Hebrews is not one of those places. The Book of Hebrews is the least read in the New Testament among Evangelicals. It’s not that they don’t think it’s scripture. They do. But it’s a dense book, and you have to know some things about the Old Testament, and even then it’s still considered kind of esoteric. But because of the mention of Melchizedek in Hebrews, more Latter-day Saints have spent significant time there. The parts of Hebrews they really do like are chapters 11 and 12. You probably see this too, but it feels more familiar in tone, pace, and voice. It feels like Paul writing. The first 10 chapters of Hebrews just feel different to them. And, to be fair, they are different. If this is Paul writing, these chapters are the only ones where he talks like that.

Okay, so let’s get to our jumping-off point. Hebrews 7:17:

You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.

So what do Evangelicals do with this verse?

If we’re talking about percentages – how many Evangelicals engage with this concept – the answer is: its not a very high percentage. It’s just not on their radar. We say, “The Bible doesn’t lay flat,” meaning that some passages form a canon within a canon. Those are the go-to passages that all Evangelicals would know. And the verses in Hebrews about Melchizedek are not on that list. Latter-day Saints certainly have our own “canon within a canon” – the passages we pay more attention to, and those outside of it don’t get much air time.

So the most likely question an Evangelical would have here is simply, “Who is Melchizedek anyway?” Because we don’t have tons of details about the historic priest Melchizedek, the answer to that question is pretty short, so they think there isn’t much here and move on to the other parts of Hebrews that have more content they can do something with. They don’t really have a conceptualization of “priest” so it doesn’t really go anywhere with them. They do like the part in Hebrews that talks about Jesus’ ability to be our Great High Priest because he suffered in the same ways we suffer. And who wouldn’t? There is a lot of comfort in that idea and we are on very firm mutual ground here. Both Latter-day Saints and Evangelicals would feel good about that concept.

Among Evangelicals who are theologically educated, you might get conversation about how Melchizedek is actually “Jesus in disguise,” as one of the few places in the Old Testament where Jesus shows up. That was a really popular theory all throughout the 20th century, less so now.

I think the question that might most come up for them here is, “Why are you making all of this priesthood stuff more complicated than it needs to be?” And if you’ve been listening to this series at all you know that is pretty on-brand for them. The entire Evangelical project has been all about simplifying the Gospel, taking away the parts that make it hard for people to understand or participate – church services are very casual, “priests” are now “pastors,” Difficult to sing hymns are replaced by pop worship choruses. There is a way to take this question without disrespect intended, I think it could be a very sincere question: Why are you making this so complicated? Because in many ways Evangelicals are doing what the early Campebelite churches were doing – trying to get rid of everything that is not the absolute most essential part of the Gospel. The Campbelites considered that the “restoration of all things,” to them it meant just getting to the most important part and let everything else go. And you can hear echoes of that in the Evangelical question: Why are you making this so complicated? And to be honest, it’s a fair question. On the outside looking in, it can seem like a lot when you’re used to the “paring down” philosophy. However, Joseph Smith was not interested in a restoration that gets rid of everything. He wanted to add in everything, always be expanding, worlds without end. So Latter-day Saints look at this and think: Why wouldn’t you want EVERYTHING restored?

And what it comes down to on this one is the question of authority. What is needed in order to do God’s work? The go-to verse for Evangelicals is in 1 Peter, “the priesthood of all believers,” and they interpret this to mean that no special authority is needed to baptize or perform ordinances. They see the Bible as giving anyone who believes in Christ the proper authority. To them, the concept of authority means that someone else is going to stand between you and God and regulate what you must do. While we would see authority slightly differently – the power of the priesthood is God’s power and we all are invited to participate in it in various ways.

We see the priesthood as belonging to God, it is his power, and we humans are invited to participate. While they see the priesthood as belonging to humans who just want to get in the way and make it more difficult to understand God. And sometimes they’re not wrong. There really are, “evil priests who seek to destroy and oppress,” even if those people don’t always carry the title, “priest.”

And I gotta tell you….I sympathize with their opinion in some ways. No one wants evil priests, and it is very easy for someone who thinks they’re acting in the power of God to confuse that with their own desires for power. That goes bad in 100 different ways. But the saying, “misuse should not mean no use,” applies here. Just because evil priests exist, does not mean there is no good priesthood at all. And this is part of what Hebrews is getting at – Jesus is the only priest who never messes it up and misuses his power.

But you can see that what Evangelicals are really worried about here is something like: Who gives you the authority to make all these rules? And the accusation is: You’re just making stuff up to make it seem more complicated than it is. And in a weird way, they see THAT as being an “evil priest.” A person who is blocking access to God – in this case through “complications” – instead of doing what Jesus did which is to make access to God even possible.

They see things like baptism being required as an extra rule. They see all of the ordinances that way. The idea of a priesthood is just another example of this. But this is actually where we find some common ground. In the Evangelical way of thinking authority or leadership is bestowed on someone because they themselves feel a direct call from God to do whatever it is that God is calling them to do. No one chooses you or calls you, you have to do it yourself. And, depending on the corner of the Evangelical world you’re standing in, anyone can claim to be called to anything simply because they feel God wants them to do the thing. In the simplest terms possible, this is the main difference that they would be able to identify – they call themselves and qualify themselves, and we have a process for it that involves requirements and accountability. A young deacon in our church might not have given much thought as to whether he should become ordained or not – I hope he has, but these are young boys and that process probably happens a bit more automatically for some than for others. They get ordained as a deacon simply because they’re the right age to do so – but the further up he goes the more it will require the man himself to desire to take on the requirements and responsibilities of the priesthood. He has to want to do it too. That piece – the man’s desire to serve in this way, and his own understanding of his calling – that is something Evangelicals can relate to. They might never love the structure (though to be honest, for someone like me the structure in our church is a breath of fresh air) but they might also be surprised that a man taking on priesthood responsibilities is also doing it out of his own sense of desire to do so. I mean, have you met the men in our church? My impression is that yes, they can certainly submit to their spiritual leaders when necessary – but it’s not divorced from the man’s own desire to serve. And Evangelicals would recognize and respect that if it were pointed out to them.

Okay, next week we’re in the book of James, so a break from talking about priesthood – and then we do the “priesthood of all believers” which is the continuation of this. See you then.

More Come, Follow Me resources here.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – Hebrews 7–13 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Evangelical Questions: Ordain Every Man in the Church?by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC

Welcome back to Come Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions. My name is Jennifer Roach and today we’re going to talk about why in the world ALL men in the church can be ordained as a priest, not just a few. As you know, we’re going through the Come Follow Me readings and addressing common questions that Evangelicals ask about our faith as we go along. Our purpose here is not to fuel debate but to help you understand where your Evangelical friends and family are coming from so that you can have better conversations with them, and perhaps even be able to offer them a bit of our faith in a way they can understand.

You will also notice I am not in my regular spot. I’m in the airport waiting on a delayed flight. I planned on recording when I got home, and that is not going to happen. But I got to have a fantastic girl’s weekend with friends that I know from growing up in Modesto, CA. So, this video is going to be shorter, and well, it’s an airport. So, yeah. Here we go.

The word, “priesthood” is a very loaded word. At least when we’re trying to talk about how different groups use that word, and the situation between Latter-day Saints and Evangelicals is one area where it gets hard in about 8 different directions. But, luckily, we’re spending 2 weeks in Hebrews, and then some time in 1 Peter, so I’ve got 3 episodes worth of material to try and unpack this. Today we are only going to focus on the aspect that we come across in Hebrews 5 which is this:

For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. 3 Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people. 4 And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was. 5 So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him,“You are my Son, today I have begotten you”; 6 as he says also in another place, “You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.”

So the question that comes up here might not even be obvious to you as a Latter-day Saint if you haven’t spent much time in other Christian churches. For this episode, we’re going to talk about “priest” as a category, not necessarily a job title. Most Evangelical churches are not going to use the word, “priest” except in the context of, “priesthood of all believers” and we will get to that specific issue once we hit 1 Peter. However, today we’re just going to stay tightly focused on the issue of why most men are ordained to the priesthood in our church. It’s a rather unique thing. I actually can’t think of another denomination where that happens – where every eligible man is ordained. If you know of one, hit me up in the comments.

In Evangelical churches the word priest morphs into “pastor” and all the variations on that word. But we’re in the same category, sort of. But we need a little history lesson first.

For most of the history of Christianity churches were led by pastors, and those pastors were overseen by a bishop – maybe they didn’t call him bishop, but that’s the category of the role. So it goes, congregation, pastor, bishop, and then someone over him, and up some more. And initially, Evangelical churches were organized this way too, at least in th e1950’s and well into the 1960’s. By the late 70’s, and certainly by the 1980’s this structure had significantly disappeared. The nature of Evangelical churches lends itself very much toward independent churches that are not overseen by a bishop. This is not scientific evidence, but I messaged a handful of my Evangelical friends who all attend church regularly and asked if any of their churches had this set up, and not one did. It’s mostly gone away. So what they have now is congregation, pastor, and maybe he has some kind of advisory board, but there is no one above him. And so the language started to change in the 80’s and into the 90’s. They started to say things like, “Every member a minister” and the idea was that the senior pastor was now the overseer of all the members of the chuch, who are actually the ministers. It’s no longer a bishop overseeing a number of churches in the same city, but a pastor overseeing non-ordained people who mostly do the work of the church.

This set up should sound somewhat familiar to you. An Evangelical would look at how our local wards are set up and wonder why someone is being called the Bishop (I mean, if they know the word at all) because he’s only over 1 congregation and traditionally bishops were over multiple churches. But if you go up one level in structure we have Stake Presidents who essentially are in the same category that would traditionally be called Bishop – he oversees multiple congregations. And it’s not immediately intuitive to Evangelicals that we have formalized a structure that they arrived at because of the changing landscape of how churches work. So, back to our question, why is every eligible man and boy ordained? But the only structural difference there is that we have formalized what they keep informal. They actually do see each member (men and women, for the most part) as ministers – they just grab the title “priesthood of all believers” to sort of cover them in that role.

This is one of those fascinating situations where, at first glance, we are in very different structures…..but as it turns out, no, not really. Now, questions about priesthood certainly don’t stop at understanding who is ordained and why. We’ll get to the rest in parts 2 and 3.

But I do hope this clears up a bit of the language difference between us. We use a formal ordination process for “ordinary” men – and they use an informal process that accomplishes the same thing.

This is a short episode, but I’m in the airport. So. Come back next week and we’ll take up the next bit on priesthood.

More Come, Follow Me resources here.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – Hebrews 1–6 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Evangelical Questions: What Apostasy?by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC

Welcome back to Come Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions. My name is Jennifer Roach and today we’re going to talk about The Great Apostasy. As you know we’re going through the Come Follow Me readings and addressing common questions that Evangelicals ask about our faith as we go along. Our purpose here is not to fuel debate but to help you understand where your Evangelical friends and family are coming from so that you can have better conversations with them, and perhaps even be able to offer them a bit of our faith in a way they can understand.

Our jumping-off point is 2 Thes 2:1-4. This is in the English Standard Version:

Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.

If you’ve ever had a conversation with someone unfamiliar with The Great Apostasy you are probably familiar with the look on their face that says something like, “I have no idea what you are talking about.” And I imagine that is rather confusing to you, Latter-day Saint friends. The signs of it seems so obvious to us it’s barely something that needs proving. You might as well ask someone to prove that air exists. But it’s different for Evangelicals. So, what are the issues?

Well, first, they don’t deny that apostasy with a lower-case “a” has happened many times in history. You can see it in the Bible and in every generation since. However, they will always couch it in terms of being individual apostasy, not collective. This forces the conversation into an awkward corner because the natural response might be something like, “Oh no, it wasn’t just one person, it was the whole thing.” And now you’ve got a problem. Because it wasn’t the whole thing. You’ve just conflated 2 different ideas about apostasy. Let me explain.

What does, “complete apostasy” mean? And what doesn’t it mean? Well, it can’t mean that there were no people who loved God, had the desire to serve him, and patterned their lives after Jesus Christ. We know from history that this is not true. So Evangelicals have a rough little piece of logic to work through here – and sometimes we make it harder on them by over-playing our hand. The Evangelical who knows even the basics of history can point out plenty of people who are examples of faithful believers throughout the ages. So, even being able to point out 1 counterexample seems to discredit the claim.

But the claim of The Great Apostasy is not that no one loved and followed God to the best of their ability. It’s that the priesthood power was taken from the Earth. Those are 2 very different things. The Great Apostasy is an institutional situation, not an individual one.

All that to say, when you’re in a conversation with an Evangelical about the apostasy try to stay out of the trap of “the apostasy means no one loved Jesus Christ at all during that time.”

Second issue. Evangelicals absolutely believe in a great apostasy. But, like many times, they’re not talking about the same thing we are. They would define the great apostasy as something that will happen at some future point in time. GK Beal, an Evangelical Biblical scholar says it this way, “The point Paul appears to be making is that the visible church community, within which true saints exist, will become so apostate that it will be dominantly filled with people who profess to be Christian but really are not. The church will continue to profess to be Christian but most in it will actually not be true believers.” Dr. B. J. Oropeza, an Evangelical at Azusa Pacific University has written 3 volumes, 800 pages, on apostasy. And every single one of those pages deals with the apostasy of the individual. Not the removal of priesthood power.

So, we’re on the same page that there is such a thing as a great apostasy. They just think it is a future event while we believe it is a past event. But this nuance brings up an interesting layer. Some of the pushback Evangelicals give on the concept of an apostasy (as we define it) is that God wouldn’t do that to us humans – why would he send Jesus and then let the whole thing fall apart? Well, interestingly enough they are perfectly okay with believing that is a possibility – a future possibility, but a possibility nevertheless. The only difference between their thinking on this and ours is that we think it happened quickly after the Apostles were gone, and they think it won’t happen for a long time to come.

In this 2 Thes passage, we also get Paul warning the reader to not let anyone deceive you. Which is a very good and helpful thing for him to be saying – but it also sets up the Evangelical way of thinking – that apostasy an individual matter. The person who becomes apostate has been tricked or fooled out of proper belief. And it is their responsibility alone to right their ship. Apostasy happens to individuals and must be fixed by individuals. The closest they can probably get to apostasy being the removal of priesthood power is looking at the Catholic church in the middle ages – if they know much about history they can probably point to that time period and say that the whole project seems to be off the rails. But Evangelicals and Catholics have an uneasy relationship. A very typical response here would be something like, “Well, those were Catholics.” The implied message is, “they aren’t real Christians like us.”

So what do you do with all of this? They see apostasy as an individual matter. And while we certainly can also see it in individuals, when we use the term The Great Apostacy, what we mean has to do with priesthood power, not individual behavior. And while they agree that a great apostasy is going to happen in the future, they don’t think its happened yet. Are we just at a stalemate? No, I don’t think so.

It gets tricky because they tend to see the concept of priesthood as a burden, not a gift. They think it is an unnecessary barrier between an individual and God. All they know are “false priests who oppress.” So one path you could go down is talking about how having the priesthood restored actually helps you get closer to God, not further away. I have experienced this in my own life, I’m sure you have too.

But another way to talk about this is to think about apostasy as they do. Accept their definition for a moment – that apostasy only has to do with the individual holding incorrect beliefs and has nothing to do with the lack of priesthood power. That it only happens to individuals and not all humans together. How does someone come to understand that they hold an incorrect belief? Your Evangelical friends hold incorrect beliefs – I did when I was an Evangelical. But, most good people who hold wrong beliefs really have no idea that they’re wrong. They’re not trying to be wrong, and they have nothing else to go on that might help them see that some things are off here. Some very simple questions about epistemology would come in handy here – how do they know what they know? How do they know they’re not wrong?

If you know and love Evangelicals you probably already know where this goes – they point to the Bible as the source of what they believe. And I trust them when they say that. But here is the thing….the Bible doesn’t lay flat. What does that mean? It means that some passages are given more emphasis and importance than others. And this is true in a way that makes people “blind” to certain passages. They can quote and believe the ones they like, and ignore lots of other verses that add more information. The solution here? You are not going to like it….You need to know your Bible better than you do. I know. I teach Gospel Doctrine and it’s only October and I can already hear the sighs of relief that people have about getting to do Book of Mormon year next year. -And I’m excited too – but as a people, we don’t know the Bible very well, so conversations with folks who are basing literally everything off the Bible are difficult because they can outwit you. I know you’re antsy to get to the BoM but I implore you, if you have a missionary heart toward Evangelicals at all please don’t run out of energy on the New Testament yet. We’ve still got 10 weeks left of the New Testament and one of the best things you might be able to do for the Evangelials you care about, is learn the Bible better.

Alright, that is that. Next week we get the wonderful phrase, “husband of one wife” and all the worries Evangelicals have about the history of polygamy in our faith. See you then.

More Come, Follow Me resources here.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – 1 and 2 Thessalonians appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Evangelical Questions: Another Gospelby Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC

Welcome back to Come Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions. My name is Jennifer Roach and today we’re going to talk about the phrase, “another gospel”. As you know we’re going through the Come Follow Me readings and addressing common questions that Evangelicals ask about our faith as we go along. Our purpose here is not to fuel debate but to help you understand where your Evangelical friends and family are coming from so that you can have better conversations with them, and perhaps even be able to offer them a bit of our faith in a way they can understand.

A couple of reminders for you. This last weekend FAIR hosted an online only conference called Defending the Book of Mormon. Those talks will be released on the FAIR Youtube channel in the upcoming weeks. Brent Schmidt’s talk about grace is still exploding in my head. And Stephen Smoot’s talk – not on the Book of Abraham where he is an expert – but on the difference between translation and revelation was also fantastic. And yes, you see me a bit in there too – I didn’t present anything, but got to introduce speakers and ask questions. Which, really meant I got to have all the fun of a conference without the pain of writing a paper to present. You also get to see Zach Wright and Sarah Allen doing the same thing. And…oh goodness….at one point we end up with more time than we’d planned for. A couple speakers were efficient with their time and we needed to fill some space. So you get to hear me interview Sarah – she’s the author of that 70-part response to the CES letter – and we had a great chat. Though I think it was something like, “Hey, you girls are interesting, and we’ve got some time to fill – can you just go talk and we’ll film you?” In other words, you can probably fast-forward through that section. But it was fun. Last bit of news….at FAIR we do have some fun projects cooking up for next year. Not ready to let details out yet, but lets just say that I will be busy. More to come later.

Okay, we’re going to talk about that phrase, “another gospel” and our jumping off point is Gal 1:8:

But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse!

And this verse comes up a lot for Evangelicals when thinking about what our church teaches. So I want to dive in here and try to understand why they say that – and then take a look at how Evangelicals actually define, “the gospel” and see how much agreement there actually is between the two groups.
What IS the gospel, according to Evangelicals?

So, “the gospel” literally means, “the good news” and no one is disputing that. Both Evangelicals and Latter-day Saints are on the same page here. But we do differ in some areas.

I think I could come up with a pretty good answer on my own, but I wanted to see what is currently being taught in their own words so I surveyed some of the most popular sites for Evangelicals and here is the criteria they’re talking about…

The gospel is…”Imputed righteousness. What do we receive because we are counted righteous in Christ? The answer is fellowship with Jesus. (This will) remove obstacles to the only lasting, all-satisfying source of joy: Jesus Christ.”

Latter-day Saint friends I suppose some of you are thinking, “Umm, what’s wrong with that?” We’ll unpack.

Let’s start with the first one which talks about “imputed righteousness.” And here is your can of worms. What is “imputed righteousness.” It is, “Imputed righteousness is the righteousness of Jesus credited to the Christian, enabling the Christian to be justified.” This is a term that comes from Martin Luther and was a corrective to some of the Catholic practices at the time including buying indulgences with money. An “indulgence” kind of sounds like it is a free-pass to do some elicit activity without getting in trouble, but what it really means is that the person’s “sentence” in purgatory will be reduced by a certain number of years. Luther was right to fight against this practice. He’s trying to say that people don’t need to spend money to get a softer sentence in purgatory – Jesus pays the price. And I know, in theory, when you put it that way, we don’t disagree. But the idea is part of a bigger package of ideas that include believing that God is angry at all of his children and will absolutely torture them for eternity unless during their lifetime they profess faith in Christ. Luther’s phrase here, imputed righteousness, solves one problem (indulgences) but opened up another – and 500 years later, Protestants are still grappling with what it means to accept salvation that they can’t earn. This doctrine is called Sola Fide, “By faith alone” Lately – meaning the last 120 years – its turned more into “Jesus did it all – so you don’t have to do anything.” But it hasn’t always been this way.

If we go back even further to Augustine – who isn’t always trying very hard to keep the apostasy at bay – but he gets it right here. He uses the term, “Infused righteousness” which for him means, “God bestows justifying righteousness upon the sinner in such a way that it becomes part of his or her person.” The implication here is that after one receives this righteousness it becomes part of them and they go on to strive to live a life of holiness. But you can see how Luther’s change – which made sense at the time when you compare it to the practices of the Catholic church – has been used to claim that Jesus’ righteousness does everything for us and we don’t have to do anything. Here it is expressed by one Evangelical pastor, “Your salvation is a free gift. You can not do anything to earn it. You can’t even ask for it because asking would be you doing part of the work. If God is going to save you, he’s going to save you. It has nothing to do with you. It is God’s work. You are the object of that work. But that’s all you are.” Augustine was closer to the truth on this one than Luther – and I’m not really a fan of Augustine. But he’s right here.

John Wesley, founder of the Methodists, tries to offer a correction here to the change Luther made by coining the term, “imparted righteousness” as a way to say that salvation is through Christ alone, but it must, “empower the process of sanctification,” which Wesley also called Christian perfection. By “perfection” here he means something similar to what we mean when we say that we will become “like God.” And it’s no wonder that Joseph Smith said that the Methodists are closer to truth than some other groups.

So, what is the gospel to Evangelicals? They would all affirm that its good news. That it comes through Christ alone. But they radically disagree on what comes next. Do we have to do anything after receiving salvation or not? The room is deeply divided on this. Why did I tell you all this?

Why do Evangelicals think we have “another gospel”?

I think you can see at this point that the versions of the gospel offered by Luther and Wesley (2 men who still influence Evangelicals to a great degree) are radically different, or at least have been taken in radically different directions. And yet, these 2 versions of the gospel do not trip the Evangelical worry about “a different gospel.” But they couldn’t be more different. They in fact opposite. The only thing they have in common is that Jesus Christ paid for salvation. In one version of the gospel you, the individual, are not required to do anything at all – and if you try you are insulting God by saying that Jesus is not enough. And in the other, Christ paves the way for salvation, but you, the individual, must change and grow in holiness as time goes on in order to reach perfection. It’s weird right. Totally different views. But Evangelicals will sometimes easily say that we Latter-day Saints have a “different gospel.” If you ask for specifics you’re more likely to get quotes from past leaders that are not part of the standard works and that are taken out of context. Or perhaps were not even recorded correctly in the first place – see the last FAIR conference and the talk by LaJean Carruth for an incredibly detailed account of how and why this is true.

Why else do they think this? Because, frankly, anti-mormon propaganda has been effective. That was true in Joseph Smith’s day. There is a book – if you don’t know about this book you should – written by 3 BYU professors and came out this year called, “Marrianne Meets the Mormons.” And it’s about the church in France in the first part of the 20th century. During this time there are less than 500 members of the church in all of France. Statistically, they’re not a significant group in that culture by any means. But, the amount of literature, art, and music that uses “Mormons” as the bad guys is huge. There’s 42 Million people in France at this time – 500 of them are members of the church – but anytime a movie or book needs a bad guy, he’s very likely to be a Mormon. It’s very similar to the same stereotyping that we see today – turn on any number of television shows from the last year and you already know this.

What now?

So, what do we do with this? Within the Evangelical community, you can have 2 radically different versions of what the gospel is and no one cares. But when you want to talk about the gospel how Latter-day Saints do, which includes a belief in the saving power of Jesus Christ, and agree with both Augustine and Wesley that sanctification matters after salvation – all of a sudden that’s just too different.

You have a number of options here. You can fight with them, though I dont recommend it. You can simply bear your testimony knowing that they can’t really refute what you believe, and that’s a good move. But on this chanel we’re really focused on how you talk about these things with the people you love – friends and family – and sometimes bearing your testimony can feel like you’re shutting down the conversation, not opening it up. At least when it’s with people you’re close to. Our leaders – Prophets, Apostles, your local leaders – have given us plenty of spiritual advice on how to manage these situations. I won’t repeat all of that you – you know it already and should listen to them. But I will offer you a piece of psychological advice.

People love to feel understood. I love it. You love it. One quote says, “Being heard feels so close to being loved that for the average person, they are almost indistinguishable.” So try to hear them before you try to get them to hear you. What does the gospel mean to them? Does admitting that there are different versions of the gospel even among Protestants make them feel anxious? Why? What’s that about for them? And similar questions will help them teach you about what they need in order to have this conversation. Maybe that’s just therapist psychobable. But if you want them to understand why you see the gospel the way you do – you’re probably going to have to put in the work and understand why they’re resistant to it. If they’re throwing a bunch of complaints that sound like they got them off some website, they probably did. Try to help them identify what their actual concerns are. And listen to them to understand them. That is the most effective way to get them to listen to you, at least from a psychological perspective.

All right, next week we’re to do what is essentially part 2 of this week’s episode and talk about how Paul sees “works” in the book of Ephesians. See you then.

More Come, Follow Me resources here.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – Galatians appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Evangelical Questions: Why do you believe in Levels of Heaven?by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC

Welcome back to Come Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions. My name is Jennifer Roach and today we’re going to talk about the 3 kingdoms of Heaven. As you know we’re going through the Come Follow Me readings and addressing common questions that Evangelicals ask about our faith as we go along. Our purpose here is not to fuel debate but to help you understand where your Evangelical friends and family are coming from so that you can have better conversations with them, and perhaps even be able to offer them a bit of our faith in a way they can understand.

Quick announcement for you first: This coming weekend, Friday Sept 22 – Saturday Sept 23 is an online only conference put on by FAIR and the focus is evidence for the Book of Mormon. I am not presenting at this conference but I do get to help out a bit with introductions and questions which I am thrilled to death over because it means I get to hang out with some very smart people all day long. The Friday evening presentation is none other than Richard Bushman. On Saturday there are a number of speakers including Stephen Smoot – he’s the most up-to-date scholar on issues surrounding the Book of Abraham; a presentation by my 2 favorite Spencers – Spencer Marsh and Spencer Kraus – which I think has been jokingly titled, “Revealing the One True Spencer” but in reality is about 2 Nephi 19:1, which is rather a puzzling verse. Several good talks on archeology challenges and ancient artifacts. I’ll be there live with the speakers, but the conference is online only and you can stream it on the FAIR YouTube channel.

Okay, we’re going to talk about the levels of Heaven. Our jumping-off verse is 2 Corinthians 12:2:

I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows.

And I’ve noticed that Latter-day Saints sometimes are confused about why Evangelicals don’t accept this idea, it’s in the Bible after all. I want to talk through how and why Evangelicals see this verse in 2 Corinthians the way they do, and then we’ll talk about some intersections with our faith and where you might go in conversation about this topic.

I don’t have research to point to that backs this up, but my sense is that if you asked most Evangelicals what Paul means by “the 3rd Heaven” they wouldn’t even understand the question. It’s considered an obscure verse that they generally don’t spend a lot of time on so the average Evangelical person might not even know it’s in scripture. But, for those who do, they have a very concrete (meaning physical) explanation for it – rather than a spiritual one. Which brings up a bigger question: Why do we – why does anyone – take some verses literally and some spiritually? Evangelicals and Latter-day Saints use both techniques, but at different times and for different reasons. The cynical explanation is that the other group, the group that is opposite of you, does this at their own convenience only to fit their doctrine in. But I think it’s more complex than that. Both Latter-day Saints and Evangelicals (as well as every other denominational group or religion out there) are heavily influenced by a set of interpretative rules called hermeneutics. The hermeneutic you use – here the choices are physical or spiritual, but there are lots of others – determines how you will interpret a passage. Let me make an analogy to help you understand.

In English, there is a proper order for adjectives in a sentence. An adjective is a descriptive word and if you string them together in the wrong order your sentence won’t sound right. However, if you ask almost any native English speaker to name that order, they can’t do it. I can’t do it. I had to look the order up for this talk to make sure I got it right – it’s a rule I follow, but don’t even know I’m following it. I just know it sounds right. The order is Quantity, Quality, Size, Age, Shape, Color Proper adjective (often nationality, other place of origin), and Purpose. A classic example of getting this order correct is the sentence, “I love that really big old green antique car.” If you’re a native speaker, this sounds right to your ears while, “I love that antique, green, old, big car,” just doesn’t sound right. You follow this rule without even knowing the rule exists. And hermeneutics are like this. Knowing when to read literally or physically and when to read spiritually is a rule that you follow without even knowing there is a rule. And Evangelicals and Latter-day Saints use different rules. So when they interpret something, it doesn’t sound quite right to our ears – and vice versa.

What are the Evangelical rules for the interpretation of a verse like this one in 2 Cor? They interpret this verse literally by saying that the first heaven refers to the atmospheric where the birds live (and yes, this is how it’s normally phrased.). The second heaven is the area of the stars and planets. The third heaven is the dwelling place of God and Heaven. But why?

So, I think the tendency here is for Latter-day Saints to claim that Evangelicals get it wrong because they don’t have the Spirit and therefore can’t interpret correctly. But that’s not a very satisfying answer and it probably breeds more us-them than is good for anyone. So let me offer a couple different ways to understand what’s happening here.

First, you remember from past episodes that the Evangelical movement is not even 100 years old, and it really came of age alongside the Baby Boomers. It is very much a post-WW2 American invention. The cultural mix at the time was encouraging everyone to move into the modern world with all its conveniences. And they didn’t want to be seen as old fuddy-duddies. If you’re close to my age, our family lines probably play out in a similar fashion. My mother was born in the first wave of the baby boom, but her parents were both born in the 19-teens, and all 4 of her grandparents were born in the 1800’s. The Evangelical movement rose up with these baby boomers whose parents and grandparents seemed to be from an entirely different era. So they wanted an entirely different version of church than what their parents and grandparents had which was now out of fashion for being too fundamentalist and strict. They found what they were looking for in the Evangelical movement. The Evangelicals were a reaction to the fundamentalists who came before them.

But like with all reactionary movements, the very thing they’re reacting against often gets smuggled right in any way, and in this case, we’re talking about the temptation to interpret in an overly literal way. They will say things like, “The Bible is the literal word of God.” At face value, what that sentence means is that God’s message to use is found in this book. But what that gets morphed into is something like: everything in the Bible should be taken literally. This leaves you in a weird place if you read in Luke that Jesus says he gathers us like baby chicks under his wings because the rule of “everything should be taken literally” falls apart unless you want to regard Christ as some kind of giant cosmic chicken. So what has happened with Evangelicals is that their interpretative rule is something like: in order to take scripture seriously you have to take it literally whenever possible – and when it is not possible you must find the spiritual meaning instead. In other words, if it can be literal – it should be taken literally. Evangelicals will get a little squirmy if you try to say this plainly. When they ask, “Do you take the Bible literally?” what they’re really asking is, “Do you think the Bible is actually true?” The word “literal” here is morphing in meaning – it’s okay, words do that within the context of a culture. But it leaves Evangelicals with this sense of the literal meaning has to come first.

So, when they look at our verse about the third Heaven in 2 Corinthians their first impulse is to look for a literal meaning. Remember, these rules are often as invisible to people as the English rules of which order adjectives go in – everyone follows the rule, even though most people don’t know it exists. And, Evangelicals have a second interpretation rule here that reinforces the first: If another verse in the Bible mentions the same thing, it should be used to enhance the meaning of the verse in question. So, Evangelicals interpret the 1st Heaven to be where the atmosphere and the birds are and they back that up with a verse like Deut 28:12, “The Lord will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season.” And they see this as a perfectly valid explanation. Paul mentions a 3rd Heaven, implying that there are 1st and 2nd Heavens. Can we interpret this literally? Yes, and we have scriptures that do so, a literal interpretation works and therefore should be used.

Latter-day Saints have our own history of why things have been interpreted the way they have. And we face the same reality that Evangelicals do – many of the rules we use for interpretation are rather invisible to us, we just know what sounds right. My experience has been – and I’m sure some of you have had different experiences and I’d love to read about them in the comments – but my experience has been that the hermeneutics Latter-day Saints most often use is something called an emendatory (amendatory) hermeneutic which just means that we have been given additional information or clarity on what the Bible is talking about through either the Book of Mormon or our modern Prophets. In general, we would look at a verse like this one about the 3rd Heaven and easily be able to quote all kinds of modern revelation that help us know what “the 3rd Heaven” actually means. The challenge for Latter-day Saints comes in 2 directions. Either we’re overly quick to jump to, “this part of the Bible is clearly not translated correctly and I don’t have to do any study or work to try and tease out some meaning.” Or, we over-relate a Biblical passage to modern revelation – sometimes making connections that the Prophet himself (whichever one speaking) did not make. Latter-day Saints can also go a little too heavy on literal interpretation just like Evangelicals can simply because we’re impacted by history here too – the early half of the 20th century was dominated by more literal/fundamentalist thinking in our church too.

Okay, so how do you talk about this concept with your Evangelical friends? I have 2 thoughts.

First, Jesus doens’t use the phrase “levels of Heaven” or “Kingdoms of Heaven” but he does talk about varying degrees of reward in Heaven and makes it clear that certain things we do here on Earth will bring more reward, and certain things less reward. For example: Matthew 5 Jesus says there is a great reward for those who are persecuted. Meaning that the people who did not have to face persecution will not be rewarded in that way. Jesus is offering a compensatory reward for suffering faithfully for his name. In the very next chapter Jesus talks about how some folks really want to draw attention to the fact that they’re giving to the poor – Jesus tells us that these people have their reward in full already and this behavior will not get them further reward in Heaven. Romans 2 Paul tells us God will give to every man based on his deeds. In 1 Cor 3 Paul teaches that our works will be judged – some will burn up, and some will endure – those who produce works that endure will be rewarded. All this to say, pointing out that these passages (and many others) describe different degrees of reward and that might open up the conversation really nicely.

My second thought on how to talk with Evangelicals about this: Read the CS Lewis book, “The Great Divorce.” It’s fiction and a rather easy read. The audio book is only about 3 hours. Lewis was not a member of our faith, and at times actually had some rather snarky things to say about our faith, but in The Great Divorce, he sees the same truth we’re talking about. Here is the basic plot: It’s set in the afterlife and people from the lower kingdoms (here represented by a large, noisy city) are given a chance to go on a bus ride to the higher kingdoms. In the book the higher kingdoms are thought of as being closer to God – the countryside is closer to God than the city – and the great mountain is where God lives but its rather steep and hard to get to. However, God reigns over all 3 kingdoms. You might think that when the people from the lower kingdom get a glimpse of the country side and its fresh air that they might awaken their desire to progress. But they don’t. They complain that the color of the grass is such a vivid green it hurts their eyes and feels “too real” when they put their feet on it. They complain that living in the countryside requires too much of them and they want to get back on the bus and go home where it’s comfortable. The point here is that the people who spent their lives preparing to live closer to God are the ones who are best able to adapt to the higher kingdoms. You can’t climb the great mountain without some training. But in the book, progression is possible if you want it. Most people don’t. Lewis never intended this as a pro-LDS book by any means – and yet he is getting at some of the very things we’re saying about 3 Heavens. I actually read this book long before I investigated the church and it was an important thing for me to have on board in my brain as I learned how to adjust to a different way of thinking about eternity.

I hope this episode helps you think through some ways of how to understand your Evangelical friends and how to talk with them about the beautiful doctrine we have about Heaven in a way that they can actually hear.

Next week we’re talking about the phrase, “another gospel” in Galatians. Looking forward to seeing you then.

More Come, Follow Me resources here.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – 2 Corinthians 8–13 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Evangelical Questions: Obedient in Everythingby Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC

Welcome back to Come Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions. My name is Jennifer Roach and today we’re going to talk about obedience. As you know we’re going through the Come Follow Me readings and addressing common questions that Evangelicals ask about our faith as we go along. Our purpose here is not to fuel debate but to help you understand where your Evangelical friends and family are coming from so that you can have better conversations with them, and perhaps even be able to offer them a bit of our faith in a way they can understand.

I do love to tell you about things that are going on just in case you don’t know. This coming weekend, Sept 15-16, is a conference in Salt Lake, at the Conference Center and it’s regarding the completion of the Joseph Smith Papers. The conference is free and you can come in person, or watch online. Each session will be focused on a different aspect of the world during the time of Joseph Smith. Which is really cool because you can think about what the social and economic forces are at play behind the scenes of the beginning of the church. So there’s a session on what it was like for women and families during that era, or what race, ethnicity, and politics were like then. There’s a session on how they handled conflict and one on finances. And lots more. If you’re into historical stuff like I am, you will be sure to enjoy it.

Okay, we’re going to talk about the concept of obedience. And our jumping-off verse is 2 Corinthians 2:9 which says:

Another reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything.

So, Paul is writing to the church in Corinth. What we call 2 Cor is thought to actually be his 4th letter to them, and as you can see in the letter, things are not exactly going well. They’ve gotten themselves into some very precarious situations, and Paul is trying to help them out. But he’s also apparently a bit worried that they’re not going to listen – as evidenced by the fact that this is his 4th letter and things have gotten worse over time. So he starts out the letter with a reminder about obedience. Which leads us to an interesting question….What does the phrase, “you should be obedient in everything” bring up for Evangelicals that’s different than what it brings up for Latter-day Saints? In church we sing, “We love to obey thy command.” And that’s good. I actually really like that song. But Evangelicals get a bit weird around this sentiment and it’s not because they don’t want to obey the commands of God. They do. They interpret them a bit differently than we do, but on the whole, they are interested in obeying God. The problem, which actually is illustrated rather well in this song, is that those “commands” often come through human leaders. That song, “We Thank Thee oh God For a Prophet,” is praise directed toward God for a variety of different blessings, including the blessing of having a Prophet.

We’ve touched on this briefly in the past, but there are some variations on this topic. They’re not as much based on the different denominations or groups, but on where you fall in the authority structure of that group. Here’s an example: The average pew-sitting Evangelical will likely never be in the position to promise obedience to a human leader. They do have membership agreements that they agree to when joining a certain church, and we’ll get to that in a moment. But in general, they are assuaged into obedience based on what the individual or family will get out of that obedience. For example, the church starts some new program they want everyone to participate in. The church leadership will use various marketing techniques to help the people see the need for this thing they’re offering and then willingly participate. That’s mostly what it’s like for the pew-sitting person, no matter what version of Evangelicalism they’re following. But you will see far more variety regarding how leaders in those churches are dealt with.

Latter-day Saints, I think you’ve vaguely familiar with this, but I’ll go over it just to be sure. Church leadership in the Evangelical world is almost all done by paid employees. Those employees fall into 3 categories. First category, ordained pastoral staff. These are people who went to Divinity School and have been through an ordination process. This is a long-term career kind of position. They intend to spend their life serving a group of people by teaching them. When you think of someone who says, “I’m a pastor,” this is what you’re thinking of. Second category, non-ordained pastoral staff. These are folks who maybe are in the process of finishing their pastoral education or those for whom that level of education was simply out of reach. They might have a title like, “youth pastor” or “children’s pastor” I was a children’s pastor for a lot of years at a great church in California. And this is the category I was in. Sometimes people in this category are called “youth director” instead of “youth pastor” depending on the rules of the church, but they function identically. The third category are folks who have been hired because they possess a skill that the church needs in order to run – someone to work on printed materials; someone to keep the grounds; someone to keep the books, etc. Mostly these are people who could be doing the same work somewhere else, but work for a church instead. Our church hires lots and lots of people in these categories – people who make the website and LDS Tools work; people who know how to manage a warehouse, etc. But in theory, these people could take their skills and work for any other employer as well. So, in talking about obedience, Category 2 (non-ordained pastoral staff) and 3 (skilled professionals) are mostly compelled to obedience in their work environment by human resources, or an employee manual, or a board that oversees their work. But the Category 1 people, those who have a formal education and are ordained, might also have a different level of requirement for obedience. In the denomination where I was ordained the ordination service included what is called the Oath of Conformity and the Oath of Canonical Obedience which is a lot of words just to say: You promise to do what the Bishop tells you to do. But my experience is on one end of the spectrum – not every ordained leader is asked to take an oath for conformity and obedience. And in some places, the pastor almost ordains himself and decides to start a church all on his own, and he only answers to himself. So you can see, sometimes obedience is required at higher levels, but that is a tiny, tiny percentage of people. Most Evangelicals won’t even come across any kind of wording like that unless they’re paying attention to the process of how people get ordained. But what Evangelicals have been frequently asked to do is sign a membership agreement. But some interesting exceptions have popped up and there’s history here.

A membership agreement is traditionally exactly what it sounds like: an individual signs something to say they agree with the doctrine of a particular church, that document probably says something about the expectation that they participate in the life of the church and that they obey the scriptures. There would probably be something about what might happen if a person becomes apostate. Eventually – think 1960s – 1980s – those begun to be seen as too legalistic, too controlling. Churches mostly moved away from specifics into something that just sort of signs the person up for membership without there being any requirements – or even more likely, they did away with membership all together.

Around the year 2000, many Evangelical churches started to think about church membership differently. There was a huge resurgence of Calvinist or Reformed churches during that era. The vibe of these churches was very slick, urban, young. In the past on this show I’ve told you the history of Mars Hill Church in Seattle – which at one point was the largest church in America – before it blew up in spectacular fashion. But MH is the epitome of this time in Evangelical history. These are the folks who wanted to say – with good motives, I think – but it’s going to sound really weird to your Latter-day Saint ears….they wanted to say that God hates humans and thinks we’re disgusting worms, but the faithful response to this is to kind of take it like a man. Any softening of that was seen as weak faith. These Reformed churches revitalized the practice of church membership – and then they took it to ridiculous lengths.

Instead of being a simple statement between a church and a member about their beliefs, it started to morph into a legal document or contract. What had happened was churches that were trying to practice some form of church discipline – that is keeping members accountable for their behavior – were getting sued by the people they were trying to discipline for defamation of character. Let me read you a quote from an attorney familiar with the story,

When a church begins the process of exercising formal, biblical discipline, it will often receive a letter from the member’s attorney threatening to sue the church for defamation, invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Many church leaders who would not back down have found themselves forced into court, subjected to days of humiliating cross-examination, and shocked to see juries penalize their churches with six-figure damages awards. This trend was triggered by the Guinn case in 1984, which resulted in a $400,000 judgment against a church and its leaders, and has continued to grow for twenty-five years.

So Evangelical churches have, more and more, reframed the idea of church membership. On one side they’ve completely given up the idea and said, “we just want you to come and learn and be with us – but we make no demands of obedience on you.” OR, they’ve gone the other direction and morphed their membership agreement into a legal contract, sometimes even requiring members to sign a non-disclosure agreement regarding all church issues. I’d don’t have a study to point to that says this, but my own estimate is that probably 60% of churches have very low-key membership, or none at all. There are no expectations placed on people who attend. They’re treated like customers that the staff needs to keep happy. In your town if you have some slick megachurch that goes by the name,”The Rock Church” or “The Well” or “Elevation Church” this is very likely the model they’re using – church members are customers and customer service is the highest priority. And probably 40% that are trying some kind of membership agreement, which may or may not include phrasing about obedience. The ones that do contain words about obedience are probably leaning toward the legal contract side of things.

There are rare churches that have done extra sneaky things. Mars Hill in Seattle, for example, drafted their membership agreement so that in all reality, the church only had 3 members. Despite having 40,000 (or something) attending on Sundays, those people were not members. The membership contract they signed said they are members in name only, and have no right to anything – the 3 members of the church (the senior pastor and his top 2 board members) are the ultimate authority and the ones who must be obeyed above all else, and the only ones who will decide what happens, and attendees have no ability to influence that at all ever. There are other similar things. So, frankly, Evangelicals are not stupid people – they hear about stories like this and get suspicious that membership is a trick, and revert back to their hyper-independence of wanting a relationship to just be between them and God where no one else has the right to say anything about obedience.

So, all that to say, the word “obedience” is really loaded for Evangelicals. It’s either become a dirty word and been eliminated except in the most basic sense of obeying scripture – or it’s been hyped up into the realm of contracts and law. It’s probably going to take another 20 years, probably more, before they can find a sensible stance on it again.

Let’s briefly contrast this with what we believe in our church. We came to this Earth, in part, to prove our willingness to obey a Father that we can no longer see. It’s Abraham 3:25 “And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them.” We covenant to obey the Law of Obedience, but it’s not blind obedience. At one point in my investigation of the church I had a true fear that having a Prophet actually meant that some guy I never knew could tell me what to do, and I’d have no choice but to do it. But the Law of Obedience is not God legally forcing us to comply with his dominance, it is him inviting us to come unto him. And then we get to make any choice we want – all those choices have consequences. There are no consequence-free choices in any aspect of life. But our obedience is not compelled – it is seen as a voluntary act of faith. We see – at least on our best days – that obedience is something that leads to happiness. Evangelicals have had a rough go on this topic and that word is going to bring up a lot of division (some of which we haven’t even covered here) and it’s not a word most of them would associate with “happiness.” I highly recommend to you the Youtube channel called Temple Light where my friend Jasmine talks through all things Temple in a direct way. Her episode called, “The Law of Obedience” would be a great video to watch after this one (and she’s more efficient than I am and can make her point in 10 min where it takes me 25) But that video will help you to think about why obedience has been played out in our church the way it has.

Next week we’re talking about the 3 levels of Heaven and why Evangelicals think we’re crazy to think such a thing, and how they think about it instead. See you then.

More Come, Follow Me resources here.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – 2 Corinthians 1–7 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Evangelical Questions: Men and Women by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC Welcome back to Come Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions. My name is Jennifer Roach and today we’re going to talk about the interdependence of women and men. As you know we’re going through the Come Follow Me readings and addressing […]

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – 1 Corinthians 8–13 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Evangelical Questions: Satan and Jesus are brothers? by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC Welcome back to Come Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions. My name is Jennifer Roach and today we’re going to talk about an issue that baffles Evangelicals to their core: Jesus and Satan as brothers.. As you know we’re […]

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – 1 Corinthians 1–7 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Evangelical Questions: The Problem of Suffering by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC Welcome back to Come Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions. My name is Jennifer Roach and today we’re going to talk about the role of suffering. As you know we’re going through the Come Follow Me readings and addressing common […]

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – Romans 7–16 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Evangelical Questions: How Do ‘Works’ Work? by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC Welcome back to Come Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions. My name is Jennifer Roach and today we’re going to talk about more about grace and works. As you know we’re going through the Come Follow Me readings and addressing […]

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – Romans 1–6 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Evangelical Questions: Do Evangelicals have “a testimony”? by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC Welcome back to Come Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions. My name is Jennifer Roach and today we’re going to talk about testimonies. As you know we’re going through the Come Follow Me readings and addressing common questions that […]

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – Acts 22–28 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Evangelical Questions: Who is – and who is not – a Christian? by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC Welcome back to Come Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions. My name is Jennifer Roach and today we’re going to talk about what being a Christian means. As you know we’re going through the […]

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – Acts 10–15 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Evangelical Questions: The Holy Ghost by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC Welcome back to Come Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions. My name is Jennifer Roach and today we’re going to talk about the Holy Ghost. As you know we’re going through the Come Follow Me readings and addressing common questions that […]

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – Acts 6–9 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Evangelical Questions: What IS an Apostle anyway? by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC Welcome back to Come Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions. My name is Jennifer Roach and today we’re going to talk about apostles. As you know we’re going through the Come Follow Me readings and addressing common questions that […]

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – Acts 1–5 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Evangelical Questions: Baptism for the Dead by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC Welcome back to Come Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions. My name is Jennifer Roach and today we’re going to talk about baptism for the dead. As you know we’re going through the Come Follow Me readings and addressing common […]

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – Matthew 28; Mark 16; Luke 24; John 20–21 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

By Emma Hadfield “It is a startling idea to think we are worshiping a God that once was in the situation that we are in ourselves,” Brigham Young stated in June of 1851. In this sermon recorded by Wilford Woodruff, President Young continued, “[He] had to pass through a probation of pain, suffering and the […]

The post Because of His Loving Kindness appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Evangelical Questions: Views on Atonement by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC Welcome back to Come Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions. My name is Jennifer Roach and today we’re going to talk about Atonement Theories. As you know we’re going through the Come Follow Me readings and addressing common questions that Evangelicals […]

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – Matthew 27; Mark 15; Luke 23; John 19 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Evangelical Questions: The Garden or the Cross? by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC Welcome back to Come Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions. My name is Jennifer Roach and today we’re going to talk about Gethsemane and the crucifixion. As you know we’re going through the Come Follow Me readings and addressing […]

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – Luke 22; John 18 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

“Continue Ye in My Love” JUNE 5–11 FAIR Faithful Resources for Come, Follow Me 2023 June 5–11. John 14–17: “Continue Ye in My Love.” Find answers to difficult questions to help you in your learning and teaching. Here is a collection of reliable resources to supplement your study of John 14–17. FAIR Resources link to relevant questions which have […]

The post John 14–17 – Faithful Resources for Come, Follow Me 2023 Week 24 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Evangelical Questions: Grace and Works by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC If ye love me, keep my commandments. (John 14:15) Welcome back to Come Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions. My name is Jennifer Roach and today we’re going to talk about Grace and Works. As you know we’re going through the […]

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – John 14–17 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Evangelical Questions: The Sacramentby Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC

Welcome back to Come Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions. My name is Jennifer Roach and today we’re going to talk about the sacrament. As you know we’re going through the Come Follow Me readings and addressing common questions that Evangelicals ask about our faith as we go along. Our purpose here is not to fuel debate but to help you understand where your Evangelical friends and family are coming from so that you can have better conversations with them, and perhaps even be able to offer them a bit of our faith in a way they can understand.

Before I get into that let me remind you of the FAIR Conference. I will be speaking on Friday, August 4 at 10:30 Mountian time. I would be delighted to see you there in person, but you can also sign up to stream the event. It’s free to stream, but you do need to sign up at https://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/conference/august-2023. I will be talking about issues of sexual abuse in church settings.

And, before we get started, I’ve been wanting to address a question that comes up a lot, but I haven’t been able to find the right spot to do it. Maybe I just need to do a Q/A video – hit me with questions in the comments if you’d like to see that, but for now, I want to briefly answer this one because I get it frequently. The question goes something like, “My grown child has left the church and joined an Evangelical church and I want to use all this information to talk with them, but they do not want to talk with me about this topic. My faith is such a huge part of who I am, so it seems like I’m being kicked out of their life. What should I do?” The short answer is: What you should do is respect their wishes. I know that’s not the answer you really want to hear, but it’s the only one that makes sense, and here’s why…No one likes being given boundaries by other people. I don’t like it, you don’t like it. It stings. That’s okay. But a boundary is someone telling you to, “stay in your lane.” The idea of “staying in your lane” directly implies the idea that you have a lane in which to stay. You’re not being kicked out of their life. I know it can feel that way. But try to focus on the relationship you do have with them and work with what you’re given. In this scenario, parent-child, it is a very long game, and it makes sense to do the work to figure this out. Perhaps it doesn’t make sense in other relationships, only you can decide that. But in this scenario, you might just have to dig deep into every bit of emotional maturity you can muster and preserve the relationship. All right, that was me slipping into mental-health education a bit, but I hope that was helpful for you. Moving on.

Today, we are talking about the Sacrament, which Evangelicals know better as communion or the Lord’s Supper or the Lord’s Table, and Catholics know better as the Eucharist or the Holy Mass. My favorite alternative name for it is a term that pops up a few times in history, “The Love Feast”. But they all are referring to roughly the same thing, though obviously with some very different understandings of it. Our text comes from Matthew 26:26:

And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.

Before about 5 years ago…Latter-day Saint friends, you can laugh at me for this all you want…I did not know that the main worship meeting of the week was called Sacrament Meeting. And I remember when I heard that phrase I thought, “How odd! I wonder what they think “sacrament” means?” Commence laughter, I’m not offended.

In my own defense, I will say that part of this is because I spent about 10 years in the Anglican world where the word “sacrament” can refer to several things: it can be the taking of communion, but things like baptism and marriage are also considered sacraments. I think the LDS word there is more specific, as we would call those ordinances, but we mean the same thing. Anglicans (and Catholics, and others) also have something they call “Sacramentals” which are considered, “sacred signs” (LDS friends, don’t run too far with that word here, they’re using ‘signs’ differently.) But Sacramentals are something like oil that has been blessed to use in healing, or making the sign of the cross, or holy water. These are things that get really misunderstood by outsiders, but they’re functioning very similarly to how some of the ordinances function for us. (There is an episode I want to do on water as symbol – how it’s used in our faith for baptism and in the initiatory, how it’s used as “holy water” in other places. But that’s some deep geek-level stuff and I think I will try to spare you from that. Maybe. We’ll see.)

I’ll start by describing the differences an Evangelical would see in our Sacrament meeting, and include the differences we would see in theirs. And then we’ll go a little deeper and examine on the theological level what is purported to be happening during the sacrament or communion, and we’ll even look at the Catholic side too simply because it’s helpful to illustrate some of the differences in theology.

Evangelical friends, if you were to attend a Latter-day Saint service on a Sunday morning you would probably be surprised to see that what we call “the sacrament” is pretty familiar to you, even if it’s not 100%. The elements are blessed and passed, which would feel very familiar to you. Latter-day Saints are taught to use this time in 2 ways. First, it is considered a renewal of the covenants we have made – I have an episode coming up on covenants so I’ll kick the discussion of what that actually means for us down the road. Some Evangelicals are very familiar with the idea of Covenant theology and none of this would be new to them, others have only the vaguest idea of what that could even mean. The second thing we are taught about this time is it is for focusing on Jesus Christ.

There are 3 things that stand out that are really different though.

1) Most of the time in an Evangelical Church no special priesthood is required to bless the Sacrament. In theory, anyone can do it. In our Latter-day Saint tradition, ordinances require someone who holds the priesthood. It’s hard for me to think of other times in which this would come up, but during the pandemic lockdown everyone was doing church at home, and if you did not have someone in your home who is a priest, then you are instructed to spend that time pondering the sacrifice of Christ but to refrain from taking the elements. That will sound very weird – and very Catholic – to Evangelical ears. But for Latter-day Saints, priesthood really matters, we’ve talked about that on this channel a couple of times already, and I have more planned on that as well.

2) Most Evangelicals use grape juice or real wine for communion. Latter-day Saints use water. In my lifetime more and more Evangelical churches have switched from using grape juice to using wine. It’s sort of considered a little bit edgier of a thing to do, and they like that. But Latter-day Saints have had their own journey through what to use as well. My initial guess at why water was used was something like: Latter-day Saints avoid alcohol, even socially, so maybe this is them just trying to stay really far away from something that looks like alcohol. But, I was surprised to learn later that the Word of Wisdom makes a provision for using wine during Sacrament. Doctrine and Covenant 89 gives us, “Inasmuch as any man drinketh wine or strong drink among you, behold it is not good, neither meet in the sight of your Father, only in assembling yourselves together to offer up your sacraments before him. And, behold, this should be wine, yea, pure wine of the grape of the vine, of your own make.” Latter-day Saints use wine in the Sacrament well into the 19th century. In fact, in 1861 Brigham Young sent 309 Mormon families to settle in southern Utah, where they could produce, among other crops, wine for the sacrament. (That’s in Leonard Arrington’s book Great Basin Kingdom – which is very good and worth a read.) By 1906 the temperance movement is really starting to come into its own and by that point, the Word of Wisdom had been around for 70 years. The Saints had been given a generously slow onramp to living by the Word of Wisdom, so during that on-ramping time, alcohol and tobacco use was not unheard of among the Saints. But by 1902 the on-ramping time was coming to an end, and shortly after that, in 1906 the First Presidency and the 12 begin using water in their Sacrament meeting in the temple, and the rest of the church soon follows suit. So, yeah, we use water.

3) The third difference Evangelicals would notice is that it’s quiet while the elements are passed. Well, it’s not quiet. I’m in this fantastic ward with lots of young families with babies and toddlers. Just because of the area where I live is brand new, high-density housing, which tends to attract younger families just starting out after college. So, if you’re in a ward like mine, it is actually not remotely quiet during Sacrament. Delightfully so. But, what I mean by that is that there is no music playing. In an Evangelical Church, for the most part, during that time their band would be playing music, sometimes contemplative, but frequently loud worship-rock music.

That should give you a good overview of the practical differences in how we practice Sacrament, but let’s take a look at the theological differences.

In the Protestant/Catholic world, there are 3 ways to think about what is happening in communion. The first way is the Catholic version, and if you’ve never heard it before, or if you can think back to the first time you heard it, it sounds weird. But this is an extremely sacred doctrine to them, so we’re going to treat it respectfully. In Catholic theology, at the beginning of the service, the bread and wine are just common elements. There is nothing special about them, they were made in perfectly ordinary ways. They lay on the altar and look like the bread and wine that they are. At a specific point in the serve, often indicated by the ringing of a bell, the priest says the words of consecration, and the elements become the actual body and blood of Christ. They sill look and taste like bread and wine, but they are not. They are the body and blood of Christ. This idea is called transubstantiation and it is an expression of their desire to take the words of Christ literally when he says, “this is my body, broken for you, take and eat.” This practice has a lot of meaning for them and it deserves respect. But it is very different from the typical Evangelical view.

In the typical Evangelical view the communion bread and wine remain bread and wine and only become the body and blood of Christ symbolically. But there are 2 versions of this. These make up numbers 2 and 3 of out list of ways Protestants and Catholics think about the Sacrament. Some Evangelicals would say that the bread and wine are simply there as a memory jogger. Jesus asked us to remember his death, and he asked us to use bread and wine, so we do this and remember him. But there is nothing happening more than memory or recall. There is nothing efficacious in it. It’s not doing anything other than helping them remember. This is probably the more common view, or at least it has been historically, things are shifting here too. The other possible way Evangelicals `view the element is what gets called, “The Real Presence.” Which is sort of a halfway point between communion-as-memory-jogger and Eucharist-as-literal-flesh-and-blood. In this view, they see Christ’s presence in the elements, though the elements themselves remain bread and wine, but Christ indwells the elements in a special way that brings Christ’s presence to the one who eats it worthily.

For Latter-day Saints, none of those categories are even discussed much. Instead, we believe that what is happening in the Sacrament is the renewal of covenants. Before I was baptized into the church, I attended Sacrament Meeting for a long time, months, and I made a decision that I wanted to participate by receiving the bread and water. And as far as I know, no one had any problems with that, but I also understood the theology was clear: I had not yet made covenants, so there was nothing to renew. My participation in eating and drinking was something else – a desire to express my faith and hope that I could become part of that community. But that was my own personal meaning. The actual point of the Sacrament entirely has to do with covenant keeping.

There is so much more to talk about on this topic, I know that doesn’t seem possible, but it’s true. And this is a topic we will come back to again from a different angle a couple of months from now. Thank you for joining me all of this. I’ll be back next week and we’ll continue working our way through the New Testament.

More Come, Follow Me resources here.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – Matthew 26; Mark 14; John 13 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Evangelical Questions: Holy Weekby Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC

Welcome back to Come Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions. My name is Jennifer Roach and today we’re going to talk about Holy Week. As you know we’re going through the Come Follow Me readings and addressing common questions that Evangelicals ask about our faith as we go along. Our purpose here is not to fuel debate but to help you understand where your Evangelical friends and family are coming from so that you can have better conversations with them, and perhaps even be able to offer them a bit of our faith in a way they can understand.

Before we get started though I want to remind you about the upcoming FAIR Conference, August 2-4 in Provo at the Experience Event Center. I will be there and would love to say Hi to you. I’ll be speaking one of the days, not sure which. You can register online at https://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/conference/august-2023 and there are options for viewing online or in person. Let me tell you about one of the talks that will be happening. You may know who Keith Erekson is, but if you don’t he is the director of historical research for the church. He had a really good book come out a couple of years ago called, “Real vs. Rumor” where he gives really helpful instruction about how to think critically about when you hear a “historical” story. I love history – if you’ve listened to this podcast at all you know that I try to give you the history of why certain theologies or practices developed – but I am by no means trained as a historian. So I adore Keith’s work because he helps normal people like me think better. He really blends expertise in history with a desire to help regular people learn from history in a way that is helpful. I can’t tell you how excited I am to hear his talk. So, come to the FAIR conference and geek out with me.

Okay, onward with our work here. Today we’re talking about Palm Sunday and Holy Week. Yes, I know, it’s already past – you’re probably watching this in late May and Palm Sunday was many weeks ago. But I’m brining it up now because 1) It’s contained in our CFM readings this week and 2) It got talked about a lot at General Conference and I’ve heard a number of really interesting conversations and questions come up about it from lifetime Latter-day Saints. So, our text for this week is Matthew 21:8:

And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way.

I think the talks in General Conference did a good job of talking about what Holy Week is and why it’s important. So I’m not going to repeat that information. If somehow you missed those talks go back to the recordings of the April 2023 General Conference and check them out. What I want to do here is talk about what Holy Week is like for Evangelicals, why they’re doing what they’re doing, so that you might have a better conversation with them. And honestly, this is a topic where we Latter-day Saints might have our own imaginations expanded by learning about what they’re doing. I don’t think a re-creation of the typical Evangelical practices of Holy Week should just be copied and used in our church – but Holy Week has been important to believers for 2,000 years and it might be time to figure out how to put some of that into our own context, in a way that fits our church culture, and leads Saints closer to Jesus Christ.

Okay, so you know what a Latter-day Saint Holy Week, Palm Sunday, Easter Sunday is normally like. Let me tell you what an Evangelical version of that is like. And with all things Evangelical there is a wide spectrum. But one familiar dynamic you will notice is that more people are interested in coming to church on Easter (and Christmas) so Evangelical churches try to capitalize on this as much as they can.

Version 1 – The “lowest church” version (you’ll remember we talked about what “low church” and “high church” are in a previous episode – “low church” here just basically means very little emphasis placed on ritual, ceremony, or formalness) of this that I can think of is the “Helicopter Egg Drop.” And this is exactly what it sounds like. For about $500 a church can hire out a helicopter for the hour, it goes up, drops anywhere from 3,000 to 20,000 plastic eggs filled with candy in a field – and the kids go crazy hunting for them. This is usually part of the Sunday morning worship, not a side-event on Saturday or something, and it’s a big deal for them. It does draw families out. The kids love it, so their parents love it, and the church hopes this will translate into families being interested in getting involved with them. And it frequently works – churches wouldn’t be doing it if it didn’t. And for some churches, this embodies their entire philosophy toward Holy Week and Easter itself – it’s essentially a “put on your best face and try to draw in new families” event. The churches are perfectly aware that dropping eggs out of a helicopter isn’t exactly the essence of how the Savior might want to be recognized on this day. They’re not confused about that, they’re just trying to make a really easy onramp so that the family who comes to church because they want to see a helicopter drop 20,000 eggs (and I’ll be honest – I kind of want to see that too) might be wooed so that eventually their interest in developing a relationship with Jesus grows. They’re playing a long game, and they do a few events like this a year, and it seems worth it.

I will say this though, there are churches that use this strategy full-time. Every single Sunday is about impressing people in hopes that they will want to become more involved eventually. I’ll give you an example that is both dazzling and horrifying (even many Evangelicals I know can see both sides of this one.) Years ago I worked as a full-time children’s pastor at a church in California. They were lovely people who had a passion for Jesus and wanted to know how to bring other families into their fold so that they could teach them about Jesus too. So I was working for this church and it had become obvious that the buildings they were used for children’s ministries were getting old and looking run down. Instead of just doing a refresh of carpet and paint, they decided – with very good motives – that they wanted to have buildings that looked closer to a children’s museum than a children’s Sunday School building. So, they sent me on a trip across the country to go visit a church that had done this very thing.

My purpose for this trip was to get a tour of the building and come to understand what aspects had been worth the investment, what had not, and what elements our church back in California could be inspired by. They start the tour by showing me the check-in desk for school-age children – this is a common feature for bigger churches – the children are brought to that point, checked into their class, and sometimes the parents are given a vibrating pager (like you get while waiting for a restaurant sometimes) and the kids are off to their classes. But in this church, after the check-in process was complete the worker would go to the wall behind the desk and open up 1 of 4 round hatches. When it was open it revealed a slide. The child would then be invited to slide from the main floor down to the floor where their classroom was. A monitor above the portal showed a video feed from the bottom where the parents could see their child greeted by a worker and taken to class. Then they took me to the infant/toddler area – instead of having some toys and blankets laid out on a floor for the nursery-age children they had constructed a room where 2 of the walls were floor-to-ceiling salt-water aquariums filled with exotic fishes. And it went on and on from there. And I’ll be honest, it was impressive. It was exactly children’s-museum-meets-Sunday-School. If I were an Evangelical parent looking for a place my child would be excited to go to on Sundays – this would be it. But much like the churches that use helicopters to drop thousands of eggs, churches that are doing this have to be crystal clear on why they’re doing it and work hard to get people to the actual goal – becoming disciples of Jesus Christ. And sometimes, this goal seems to take second place to “being impressive.” Because it’s really fun to be impressive. When I was an Evangelical I fell into that trap for a long time. And it’s not an easy one to see your way out of.

Version 2 – back to Holy Week – the next version of what Evangelical churches do for Holy Week is a step up in terms of what you might recognize as looking like a religious observation. The bare-bones version of this is…1) Palm Sunday. Congregations members are given palm branches when they arrive for the Service that Sunday. At some point during the service one of the leaders will talk the congregation through the meaning of the Palm Sunday story and the congregation will wave the palm branches in the air. (Many parents know how to teach their children to make little items with the palms after they’ve been waved – they can be made into woven crosses or even little dolls while the children sit in church.) This service is often accompanied by upbeat music and singing. In many scenarios that will be the extent of it. Most churches will allow the mood to stay upbeat until the end. A minority of churches will end the service talking about that while Jesus receives a warm welcome on this day, things would turn against him in the days to come. But most of them will let the mood remain festive. The next even of Holy Week for a church like this might be either a “Maundy Thursday” or “Good Friday” service. Maundy Thursday is traditionally a feet-washing service. And in the past perhaps everyone in the congregation would have the opportunity to have their feet washed, these days it is far more likely to be a symbolic event that maybe a handful of people experience on behalf of the rest of the congregation. The idea here is that Jesus washed the disciple’s feet and we are to remember that he humbled himself to be the servant of all. This is generally a service attended by adults and maybe older children, though I’ve never heard of younger children being prohibited. The same is true with Good Friday. This is a somber service where congregants remember the crucifixion. It’s often an emotional service with music, low lights, scripture readings, and not many bells and whistles. Sunday morning – Easter – can either be a ramped-up version of their normal service, or perhaps a Sunrise service. People are more likely to dress up – Evangelicals normally do not dress up for church – but there are lots of exceptions to that too. All of this is sort of a middle-of-the-road kind of approach to Holy Week.

Version 3 – this is a church that goes all out. They will do all the things just mentioned plus some additional things. The first difference that you would notice is that the palm branches used on Palm Sunday are collected from the congregation – so no little crosses or dolls are made from them. Seems weird at first, but the reason they do this is that those branches are laid out and dried, then later they are burned. The ashes will become the ashes used in next year’s Ash Wednesday service. Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the season leading up to Easter called Lent. Lent is the 40-day (minus Sundays) period leading up to Easter. The point of Lent is to get your heart ready to celebrate the resurrection. And they will often give up things like sugar to help them stay disciplined and focused during that time. On Ash Wednesday they go to church for a special service where the ashes (made from the Palms) are smeared on their forehead in the shape of a cross. After Palm Sunday they would certainly celebrate Maundy Thursday and Good Friday as well. But they add in a Saturday service that I think you will be fascinated by. It’s called Easter Vigil. It usually takes place on Saturday night. Sometimes this is a simple service, and sometimes it’s a grand production with actors and costumes, lights and music, but here is the point of it…..The service tells this history of humanity beginning in the Garden of Eden. It talks about how and why Adam and Eve left the garden and tells the history of God’s people down to Moses, and then from Moses to Jesus Christ. The point is for them to tell the history of the salvation of God’s people – leading to the resurrection or the doorway to eternity. The highlight of the service is at the end when the congregation is symbolically placed in Heaven celebrating God’s love. I imagine that every adult Latter-day Saint is making connections here to what we’re doing in our temple worship. Some of the same things are going on – we Latter-day Saints have a much more developed theology around what all of that means, and this is a similar practice to what many of you do on a regular basis. So it might be interesting to learn that at least some Evangelicals are doing this once a year – it doesn’t mean the same thing to them that it means to us. But some of the raw materials are there.

I don’t where our traditions around Holy Week will go in the future. We had some great talks and inspiration at General Conference this last time, and we’ll see what that might develop into. I think it’s exciting. Join us next time and we will continue on. See you then!

More Come, Follow Me resources here.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – Matthew 21–23; Mark 11; Luke 19–20; John 12 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Evangelical Questions: Handling Difficult Textsby Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC

Welcome back to Come Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions. My name is Jennifer Roach and today we’re going to talk about handling difficult scripture texts. As you know we’re going through the Come Follow Me readings and addressing common questions that Evangelicals ask about our faith as we go along. Our purpose here is not to fuel debate but to help you understand where your Evangelical friends and family are coming from so that you can have better conversations with them, and perhaps even be able to offer them a bit of our faith in a way they can understand.

Before we get started though I want to let you know about a very cool event coming up. Every year FAIR hosts the most fantastic 3-day conference that you should think about attending. I will be there, I’d be happy to meet you. I’m speaking on one of the days, though I don’t think the schedule is finalized yet so I don’t know which day. One of the talks I really looking forward to hearing is from Dr. Jenet Erickson. Sister Erickson has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, U.S. News and World Report, Slate Magazine, and more. She’s a social science researcher and digs into all areas that affect family life. She will be bringing her expertise to talk about the new For the Strength of Youth. Even if you’re beyond the stage of life where you have young people in your home, Dr. Erickson is absolutely worth listening to as she applies wisdom from social science to theological concepts.

Our scripture this week comes from Matthew 19:9:

And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.

We’re not actually going to talk about divorce or adultery in this episode – I’m brave but not that brave. What we’re going to do instead is look at the different ways Evangelicals and Latter-day Saints handle the really difficult texts in the scriptures. And like most topics, this one is easier to understand with some historical background.

There has never been a time in history when people of faith have not had to grapple with difficult scriptures. Sometimes there are difficulties come because we don’t understand something about the context or language of a passage, but sometimes they come because the passage is just painful or hard. And all along people have had to figure out what to do with those.

One way of handling it was that sometimes the scribes who would hand-copy the manuscripts would change them intentionally to make the verse easier. Let’s talk about the New Testament as our example. There are lots of changes – or what we call “textual variants” – between various NT manuscripts. In an ideal world we would have original copies of what was actually written by the hand of Paul to compare the manuscripts to. But we don’t. There are no originals. There are only copies of copies. The Book of Mormon and the Bible actually have this in common – no originals to compare them to. Just lots of copies – And those copies vary in quality. There is a branch of study called “Textual Criticism” which isn’t about criticizing what the scriptures have to say, despite the misnomer. Textual criticism is the study of figuring out what the most likely original word was in a text. There are about 5,500 hand-written manuscripts of the New Testament that range in date from about 150 years after Christ to the year 1550 AD. At that point, the printing press was established enough that no one was interested in making hand-written copies anymore. Of those 5,500 manuscripts some are very tiny – about the size of a business card – and just contain 1 verse or a part of one verse. Around the year 350 AD we get the first complete Bible manuscript. It’s called the Codex Sinaitcus and you can go see it – it’s on display at the British Library in London. But before the Sinaitcus we have about a hundred or so fragments, and after it we still get lots of small fragments, but as the centuries go on, better care is taken of newly produced manuscripts, and they last longer, so the newer a manuscripts is, the more likely it is that we have more than just a fragment. Every manuscript is numbered, and some are named – like Codex Sinaitcus. They are also categorized into 5 groups. Category 1 manuscripts are considered the best, but not because they’re the most complete, because they’re the oldest. A Category 5 manuscript might be complete, but if it was created in 1500 it has had the opportunity to have a lot of textual variants.

And, so what? What do we do with this information in our conversation about how to handle difficult texts? If I was fancy, and I knew how to put graphics into these videos, I would show you a copy of Papyrus 28. Papyrus 28 is about 3×2 (considered medium-sized for its category) and is from John 6, the story of the loaves and fishes. It used to be housed at a University in Berkeley, but it was sold to a private collector about 10 years ago. There are 2 really interesting things about 28….1) In that small manuscript there are 5 variations or 5 unique differences between it and other similar manuscripts and 2) it looks like someone took an exacto-knife and cut out 1 word very deliberately. The word that is cut out means, “those who were sitting down.” Somewhere in the history of this papyrus someone probably decided they didn’t like that detail, or they thought it didn’t fit, so they just cut it out. And I suppose that’s one way to solve your issues with difficult texts – just cut the passage out. However, it’s not a very efficient or good way to deal with a difficult text.

Another example of how the scribes deal with difficult passages is to simplify them. Even though the scribes who copy these manuscripts lived across many centuries there are some patterns that appear in their work. One of those patterns is that scribes tended to add words to the text to explain or clarify what they were copying. They were trying to be helpful to the reader in doing this, but for modern purposes what they were doing is giving us a general rule to follow that says, “The shorter reading is probably closer to the original.” If you have 2 manuscripts, and one has extra explanatory words in it, that is probably the manuscript that has been altered. In a similar way, scribes also tended to try and “harmonize” the texts, sort of smooth them out, or make very difficult sayings less difficult. The rule here becomes, “The harder reading is probably closer to the original.” So here we see a slightly more sophisticated version of editing than just cutting the word out of the page – this is deliberate scribal changes because they thought they were doing the right thing.

Modern ways of dealing with difficult passages

So, fast-forward from all of that history to today. How are difficult passages handled today by Evangelicals? There’s 2 answers – the scholars and the people in the pews.

First, there are many very good Evangelical scholars who are offering their very best to help people know what to do with hard passages. The top of the heap, in my opinion, is Dr. Phyllis Trible. Her landmark book is called, “Texts of Terror” and in it she takes the 4 most disturbing passages from the Old Testament – the stories of Tamar, Hagar, the Daughter of Jephtha, and the unnamed woman whose husband is a priest of Isreal, and commits human sacrifice on her. All of these stories are extremely disturbing. And she goes through them one by one and helps the reader understand what is going on beyond all the violence and sadness that are at first so shocking. Her book is a very good example of showing what a very careful and close reading of the text can do as far as figuring out what in the world is happening. But that’s what scholars are doing, not what people in the pews are doing.

And most of the time what people in the pews are doing is…. avoiding the hard passages. In their minds at least, they tend to swap them out for broader 30,000 feet comments that are much easier to listen to. Something like, “Well, I don’t know what Jesus was really saying about divorce here, but I do know he said we’re not supposed to judge, so I’m just going to let God sort ‘em out.” It’s not that Evangelicals don’t have scholars putting out work on these texts, they do, they just prefer more practical answers that let people get on with life. One of the values in the Evangelical church really is an anti-intellectualism which comes across as just trying to get out of the scriptures what they need to live life, and move on. In 1994 an Evangelical scholar, who is also an excellent historian, wrote a book called, “The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind”….and it turns out that the scandal is that there isn’t much of one. Things have gotten somewhat better for them since, at least at the academic level. In 2004 Christianity Today said that Noll’s book did more to change the trajectory of Evangelicalism than any other that had been published in that decade. But the anti-intellectualism in the pews remains. Several authors and speakers in the Evangelical world have tried to address this, but none of them seem to get much traction.

So, how do Latter-day Saints manage difficult texts?

A good test case for this is Doctrine and Covenants 132. That is a difficult chapter that many people need a moment or two when trying to wrap their minds around it. So how do we see people handling it?

For many people, a path that makes sense can be seen in what Scripture Central is doing (they used to be called Book of Mormon Central.) They are not shying away from the passage or making any excuses about it, they’re trying to help listeners contextualize it in history. They’ve got 15 videos explaining it from various angles that take top-level scholarship and make it accessible to regular people. Some of those are bite-sized little videos, while others are 90 min long. But what all of them are trying to do is help the listener pull the lens back and understand the entire context of a passage.

If you go to the FAIR website – which stands for Faithful Answers Informed Responses – you will see similar work being done, but with a different focus. If you have a specific difficulty or question about a passage, chances are very good that one of the FAIR scholars has already written a lot to address that very question. And not just with scripture passages, but with issues from church history, and current events (they have a new page up on understanding what in the world is going on with the Daybell trial, for example.) And they also have very focused responses like Sarah Allen’s 69-part response to the CES Letter.

And how about Latter-day Saints in the pews?

This is just my experience, but it is my experience, and I’m going to tell you something hard. One of the things Latter-day Saints do when they come across a difficult passage in the Bible is immediately jump to, “Well, clearly this is not translated correctly.” And…it’s lazy. Not because it can never be true – we all share the belief that the Bible has mistranslations. It’s lazy when it’s the first solution you jump to when you come across a difficult passage. There is no list of, “these are the passages translated incorrectly,” though you know from the beginning of this video that the science of figuring out what the New Testament actually originally said is difficult. A better approach is that if you come across a passage you don’t know what to do with, don’t jump immediately to, “mistranslation.” Go to the FAIR website or the Scripture Central website and do some reading about that passage. Both are working hard to make scholarship accessible. If you want to geek out even more go to the BYU Studies page and look up some of the academic work on that passage. Go to the BYU Scripture Citation Index – you can search up the passage and see every time it has been referenced in a General Conference talk all the way back to 1830. My point is that the tools are there for you to use and if you do some of the work to learn how to study better you can get more out of your scripture study. This kind of work isn’t a replacement of the Spirit – without the Spirit you’re never even going to get off the ground – but without taking in some content from people who know more than you, the Spirit only has so much to work with.

On a more positive note, the other way I’ve seen Latter-day Saints manage really difficult passages is with the kind of faithfulness that says: I don’t understand what is happening – Doctrine and Covenants 132 is a great example here – but I’m willing to let it ride for a while and see if I can find a way to think about it that’s helpful. One of the greatest gifts in our church is the idea that ongoing revelation exists – you don’t have to have everything all figured out today. Eternity is long, and your intelligence will have forever to learn and grow.

I hope this was helpful to you. This issue of difficult scriptures has been with people of faith for as long as scriptures have existed and I hope out discussion has helped you think about how you handle difficult passages. Join me next time and we’ll take up a new topic.

More Come, Follow Me resources here.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – Matthew 19–20; Mark 10; Luke 18 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Evangelical Questions: Heavenly Motherby Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC

Welcome back to Come Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions. My name is Jennifer Roach and today we’re going to talk about Heavenly Mother. As you know we’re going through the Come Follow Me readings and addressing common questions that Evangelicals ask about our faith as we go along. Our purpose here is not to fuel debate but to help you understand where your Evangelical friends and family are coming from so that you can have better conversations with them, and perhaps even be able to offer them a bit of our faith in a way they can understand.

Before we get started though I want to let you know about a very cool event coming up. Every year FAIR hosts the most fantastic 3-day party. When I say “party” what I mean is getting to listen to and interact with some of the smartest people in our church. They give a talk on what they’ve been working on – and frequently the FAIR conference is the first place their ideas are presented in public. That’s my kind of party. And maybe it’s yours too. This year the FAIR conference is on August 2-4 (Wed – Friday) at the Experience Event Center in Provo, Utah. You can buy tickets to attend in person, or online by going to https://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/conference/august-2023. I will be there all 3 days and would so happy to meet you. I am presenting a talk on one of those days, I don’t know which on yet, but will let you know once the schedule is finalized. 2 of the talks I am very much looking forward to are…1) Michaelbrent Collings is an American horror novelist and he’ll be talking about, “Horror: the Genre of Goodness, Godliness, and Hope.” Horror is not my genre at all, but I am completely intrigued by what he will say. 2) Dr. Janiece Johnson – her specialty is religious history – will be speaking on the Mountain Meadows Massacre. I’ll try to highlight the talks every couple of weeks here – if you enjoy sitting around listening to me, you probably will enjoy sitting around listening to my friends too. Okay, back to our scriptures…

Our scripture this week comes from Luke 13:34:

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!

Evangelical Views

So here we have God compared to a mother hen. The traditional Evangelical conversation around this verse goes something like this….Yes, God is compared to a female chicken, a hen, but this verse does not require us to believe God is female any more than it requires us to believe God is a Cosmic Chicken. Fair enough. No one is asserting that God is a giant chicken.

And for a long time, this was the boundary on thinking about God and gender. God is male, and images in the scripture that refer to God as female such as a hen, a woman looking for her lost coin, a woman in labor, a nursing mother, a mother bear, and a mother eagle….these were just poetic images and not to be taken too seriously. But the boundary has certainly changed in even the last 10 years. It used to be that if you wanted to talk about any kind of feminine identity for God you were being scandalous. Only the most liberal of the Evangelicals would be talking about this. But last year Eerdmans published 2 books on the topic. If you are not familiar with the Evangelical publishing world Eerdman’s is willing to push the boundaries, and that’s been true for a long time. They’re not Zondervan or Lifeway which are going to take a very traditional Evangelical line, and to my knowledge have not, and would not, publish something about a feminine identity for God. But Eerdman’s isn’t ignored by Evangelicals either. So it’s a big step forward that this is being talked about.

The traditional Evangelical view is not all that interesting to talk about. God is male. End of story. So I’m not going to spend much time there, but what I do want to talk to you about is the direction the Evangelical world is headed on this topic – even if all of them aren’t there yet. And that direction takes 2 flavors. In order to get at what those flavors are I’m going to summarize 2 different books – and the reception they’ve received. By the end of this section, you should have a good idea of where the line on this topic has moved to. After that, we’ll compare the Latter-day Saint view.

The first one is, “Women and the Gender of God” by Dr. Amy Peeler. She is a professor at Wheaton College, which they like to say is the, “Harvard of the Evangelical world.” It’s probably closer to the, “BYU of the Evangelical world.” That probably gives you the right feel for it. Peeler’s PhD is from Princeton and she’s very well-liked in the Evangelical world. The biggest point her book is trying to make is that while Jesus Christ was male, he was born of a woman. His flesh does not exist without her flesh. She’s modernizing an argument first made by Augustine when he said, “(Jesus) was born of a woman; don’t despair, men; Christ was happy to be a man. Don’t despair, women; Christ was happy to be born of a woman.” And her book has been very well received by Evangelicals. But as Latter-day Saints you might sort of tilt your head at that and think it’s awful long path to just connect 2 points. Why not just say we have a Heavenly Mother? Evangelicals can’t get there. You can see their longing to – Peeler is brilliant and she works hard in this book to help people make connections to the idea that God is not solely male. But it’s an incredible amount of effort to get to a far less radical point than Latter-day Saints make about Heavenly Mother. But Peeler’s book demonstrates the idea that the boundary on this topic has in fact moved, even if it hasn’t moved all that much.

In contrast, there is another book that shows pushing the line too far will still get you a slap on the hand in the Evangelical world. The book, “God Is” by Mallory Wyckoff is fascinating, but ultimately most Evangelicals appear to reject where she goes. To be fair, Wyckoff does not have the same kind of educational background as Peeler does. So the work is automatically going to be quite different, and that’s okay. I dont think that’s what gets her rejected. Here’s what she does in the book…She takes the idea that God is not merely male and expands on it using a kind of panentheism that says: because God resides in us, we are God. So if God resides in a woman, then God is a woman. And that line is just too far for Evangelicals. When you read some of the Evangelical criticisms of her book you see the logic of G.K. Chesterson (one of the patron saints of the Evangelical world) – he once said, while talking about this idea, that if a man leans too heavily on the idea that God is part of him – and not also something quite separate from him – then he ends up worshiping not God, but self.

You can see from these 2 examples that Evangelicals are very much grappling with ideas about God and gender….but you can also see that they’re in a muddle it’s hard to find a way out of.
I’ll point out one other Evangelical take on this issue. If you watched the “Certain Women” episode a couple weeks ago you heard me talk about what women in leadership or ordained ministry is like for Evangelicals. And an interesting little piece of theology pops up here for the Evangleicals who ordain women. In the past, the Evangelical positon on ordained women could be summed up in something CS Lewis said, which is something like: a woman can not be ordained because it would confuse people into thinking that she represents God, and God is not female. And one of the modern-day reasons why some Evangelicals ordain women is so that their members in their congregation can experience what it is like to see the feminine side of divinity. They can’t make the jump to, “there must be a Heavenly Mother,” but they can say something like: All humans are created in God’s image, therefore God must contian within himself both feminine and masculine. So when a woman is ordained so that the congregation can experience a feminine divine through her, they’re trying to get to the idea of a Heavenly Mother, without ever having to get there. Interestingly enough, in oru Latter-day Saint church we do not ordain women, and looking through this lens, it makes sense why we do not need to.

The take-away here is that your Evangelical friends and family might be more interested in this topic than you think.

If you want to know my first take on hearing about Heavenly Mother, I’ve told you my first experience a few weeks ago back in that “Certain Women” episode. And you might find that interesting.

Latter-day Saint view

So, this is tricky territory. Let’s just acknowledge that. My sense is that 30 years ago that very few people were talking openly about this doctrine, and for understandable reasons. And things have shifted for us too over the years.

There is a resource that if you don’t know about, you should. The BYU Scripture Index – it’s an online site scriptures.byu.edu where you can search general conference talks all the way back to 1830, you can also search “Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith” as well as the “Journal of Discourses” (which can be a tricky reference to wade through – you have to know what you’re looking at in order to not take things wildly out of context) but it’s there and you can search it as well. And you can search for how often certain words or phrases have been used. Pro tip: you might have to do a little research on the historic phrasing of certain words. For example, if you search for “Heavenly Mother” you will only find references going back to the 1970’s, but that’s because before that she was much more likely to be referred to as, “Mother in Heaven.” This doesn’t signal some big theological change as much as it demonstrates how the English language changes over time.

So, anyway, if you use the BYU Index to research Heavenly Mother you find several talks from the last 20 years, a couple in the 1980s and 90s, a couple in the 1970’s, 1 in the 1940’s, and 1 in 1885.

But there have been more things said outside of Conference and the best round-up of those to my knowledge was presented at the BYU Studies symposium in 2011 called, “A Mother There” by David Paulsen and Martin Pulido. It’s a long paper, 28 pages, but it does a great job of tracing the teachings throughout history. We also see Heavenly Mother referenced in the Family Proclamation. And, most notably, Elder Renlund’s talk a couple years ago titled, “Your Divine Nature and Eternal Destiny.”

And, we have our own tension of what can – and can not – be said about her. In the Evangelical world that tension is mostly around, “what is true?” and ours certainly has that element to it but also adds in a layer of, “Even if it is true can it be said?” That layer of carefulness is hard for Evnagleicals to understand as they don’t really have an equivalent dynamic. They don’t have a category called, “sacred things that should be kept private.” Latter-day Saints clearly have that category and the only quibble comes in trying to decide everything that should be in that category.

I do want to take minute to talk about the Catholic perspective here. It’s not my area of research or specialty – for that I would refer you to frequent FAIR speaker Robert Boylan. But there is an interesting thing happening in Catholic theology that Latter-day Saints will find interesting.

You are probably at least vaguely familiar with the idea that Mary the Mother of Jesus has a special place in their theology. Exactly what her position is has changed over the centuries, but her importance has never gone away. Non-Catholics sometimes day that Catholics, “pray to Mary” and while that is sometimes true, it’s probably more accurate to say that they are speaking to Mary and asking her to pray on their behalf. Mary is also sometimes called The Queen of Heaven, or The Mother of God in their theology. The reason I point this out to you is that it revelas the same issue the Evangelicals are trying to grapple with: They long for a feminine divine, but can’t quite work it out theologically how to get there.

Well, we are out of time. We’ll probably pick this topic up another time or two before the year is out. I hope you enjoyed this. Come back next time and we’ll take up another topic.

More Come, Follow Me resources here.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – Luke 12–17; John 11 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Evangelical Questions: Is It True? How do you know?by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC

Welcome back to Come Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions. My name is Jennifer Roach and today we’re going to talk about truth – and how you learn it. As you know we’re going through the Come Follow Me readings and addressing common questions that Evangelicals ask about our faith as we go along. Our purpose here is not to fuel debate but to help you understand where your Evangelical friends and family are coming from so that you can have better conversations with them, and perhaps even be able to offer them a bit of our faith in a way they can understand.

Our scripture this week comes from John 7:15-17. Jesus has gone up to the temple to teach and we get this:

The Jews there were amazed and asked, “How did this man get such learning without having been taught?” Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me. Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.” (NIV)

So, the question is: Do we approach gospel learning differently? Both groups, Latter-day Saints and Evangelicals are highly interested in gospel learning. And yet, we do seem to go about it in very different ways. We’re going to start with the question on a really practical level – what do the 2 groups do when they’re trying to engage in gospel learning, and then we’re going to look at the experiential level that Jesus is talking about in this section of scripture.

Scripture Reading

First, let me make an outsider’s observation. I’m new enough to being a Latter-day Saint that I can still see some things as an outsider. Both groups, Evangelicals and Latter-day Saints fret a lot on this topic. We both worry that people sitting in the pews don’t know their scriptures well enough, that the youth are uninterested in gospel learning, that things were better in a previous generation where more people were interested in studying. Lifeway Research, the research arm of the Southern Baptists frequently puts out studies showing the state of how frequently their people engage with scripture, and much hand-wringing ensues. Pew Research, which is not denominationally based, also regularly puts out studies on how much scripture study various groups do.

My observation is that people in both groups – Evangelicals and Latter-day Saints – fear that their people are not doing this enough and that others are doing it better. I don’t have a study to cite here, but my sense is that many comments get made in Latter-day Saint Sunday School about how we need to do better studying scripture. There might even be worries that Evangelicals do this much more frequently than Latter-day Saints do. And it might surprise you to know that Evangelicals look at Latter-day Saints and think we’re doing better. So what does the research say?

In a 2017 study, Lifeway Research noted that 49% of Evangelicals read a little bit of scripture every day. That’s pretty good and it clearly shows that they’re interested in gospel learning. The same study – done in 2017, so prior to the introduction of Come Follow Me – says that 77% of Latter-day Saints read a little bit of scripture every day. Now, this is survey research, so we’re taking people’s word for it that this is actually what they’re doing – and it’s true that there could be some inflation here. But it’s also safe to assume that if there is inflation on the Latter-day Saint responses there is also inflation on the Evangelical responses. This isn’t a “we win” conversation (in other words, you don’t get to use this information to be a jerk and lord it over your Evangelical friends) but it does show one view into how we both approach gospel learning. But it is just one view, so here are some others.

What Kind of Information

Another way to look at this question is to consider what kind of information the 2 groups are taking in – in other words, what forms the basis of their gospel learning? If you’re a Latter-day Saint the main things are probably: talks in Sacrament Meeting; Lessons in Sunday School/EQ/RS or youth classes; Seminary and Institute classes; General Conference talks, family or private scripture reading, Come Follow Me reading and the various podcasts about them, resources like FAIR, books on gospel topics, and maybe a few other things.

And Evangelicals have a fairly similar list. They listen to sermons in church; they have Sunday School and classes for youth; they don’t really have an equivalent to Seminary and Institute in the same way we do – what they call seminary is an academic graduate school program that most “normal” people don’t ever attend. I was a weirdo and went to Evangelical seminary and got a Masters in Divinity, but most Evangelicals don’t access that kind of learning. While they don’t have something to compare to General Conference talks like we do (where the words said are coming from the centralized authority of the church) they do have a wide range of various conferences they attend. And they have books, podcasts, and organizations that try to supplement and increase people’s learning.

Lectionary reading vs. spontaneous reading

And while both groups do a lot of gospel learning through scripture reading, the recent Come Follow Me change adds an interesting contrast. I’ve only been a Latter-day Saint since the invention of CFM, but my understanding is that prior to that the Sunday School curriculum followed roughly the same pattern (a year for OT, a year for NT, a year for BoM, and a year for PoGP) but that family or individual reading was based on need or preference of the individual family or individual who is reading. And this is roughly the system Evangelicals live in. Their churches set the topics/scriptures for their classes and groups, but they decide for themselves what to engage in for private scripture reading. Some churches do a corporate push toward something like, “We’re all going to read through the Psalms this summer.” But those are special initiatives and not the regular pattern.

Interestingly enough, the invention of Come Follow Me actually places Latter-day Saints in alignment with most of the rest of the Christian world outside of Evangelicals. You might not realize this but CFM is a Lectionary. What’s a lectionary? A lectionary is a set list of which scriptures are to be read during which weeks. The most commonly used one around the world is called The Revised Common Lectionary and is used by millions of Christians around the world. It runs on a 3-year cycle, compared to our CFM which runs on a 4-year cycle. CFM is also different because it includes some commentary, ideas for discussion, ideas for family and the like, but in essence, it’s a lectionary. Most Evangelicals would turn their noses up a bit at the idea of following a lectionary because they are fiercely independent and want to decide for themselves even down to the question of, “Which scripture should I read today?” There are pros and cons to that attitude, but that would be a significant difference in how we approach gospel learning.

Preaching scripture

Another way that both groups engage in learning the gospel is through listening to talks or sermons. And Evangelicals and Latter-day Saints are roughly in the same category here. The biggest difference is that Evangelicals usually have 1 person, or perhaps a small team of people, who are delivering sermons week after week. While Latter-day Saints spread that responsibility around to everyone. And Latter-day Saints you already know the kinds of content you hear in Sacrament meeting talks, so let’s look at what Evangelicals are preaching about.

In 2019 the Pew Research Center analyzed 50,000 sermons that were posted online from over 6,000 churches (Evangelical, Catholic, Mainline, and Historically Black). They compiled the data to look for trends. The average length for an Evangelical sermon was 39 minutes, which is roughly comparable to the total number of minutes that Latter-day Saints spend in Sacrament Meeting listening to talks. We’re probably under that by a bit, but not much. The researchers wondered what the distinctive things each group was talking about, and found that the unique things (this doesn’t mean the most common things – this means the things they’re talking about that others are not) Evangelicals talked about were 1) Eternal Hell 2) Losing salvation 3) Trespassing or sin. It’s a bleak list and we might be tempted to look only at the bleakness of it but on the upside, it does show that Evangelicals are thinking hard about these topics. Evangelical speakers also made far more references to other books in the Bible. They might be preaching a passage from Luke but will take care to show how that passage relates to or references other places in the Bible. Latter-day Saints have their own version of this – we just tend to make connections to modern-day talks more than other sections of scripture. Another trend was that the bigger the Evangelical church, the less likely they were to mention anything at all about the Old Testament. We might have some underlying feelings in common here when it comes to knowing how to talk about the Old Testament.

There are a lot of other practical level ways to think about this question, but I want to switch over to thinking about how gospel learning happens on the experiential level.

Service and Life

Similar to Latter-day Saints, Evangelicals talk a lot about learning gospel principles through serving others, serving their families, and serving God in a general sense. This seems to be a major way both groups are living out Jesus’, “Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.”
Both groups also have a good understanding of the fact that the principles of Jesus have to make sense in real life, not just as philosophies. Latter-day Saints don’t love philosophical types of thinking much for our own reasons, and Evangelicals don’t love it because it’s not practical. They are very pragmatic and not usually inclined to care about something that works in theory, but can’t be tested in life. If you’re looking for points of connection, this is a big one where we end up at the same spot.

To make the next part of my point I need to compare Evangelicals to Catholics for a moment. If you think of the typical Catholic service (even if you’ve only seen it on tv) you probably picture priests in robes, the congregation doing a lot of standing, sitting, responding, and lots of ritual, liturgy, and lots of symbolism. This kind of worship is called “high church” and it’s main characteristic is that the service is trying to teach the people something through ritual, beauty, repetition, and experience. Evangelicals generally hate this stuff. It’s too theoretical and not practical enough. It’s not at all what you might expect to see in their services. An Evangelical service would be called “low church” for this reason. It’s not an insult (as if “high” means high value) it’s just a way of describing how much ritual or symbolism is used.

Here’s where it gets kind of interesting.

In this sense, a Latter-day Saint Sacrament Meeting is very similar to an Evangelical meeting. Things are pretty plain-spoken, there isn’t anything mysterious happening, very little ritual. I suppose the passing of Sacrament or communion trays is as close as we come, but outside of that everything is pretty grounded and there is not a lot of learning through experience going on. Latter-day Saint Sacrament Meetings, like Evangelical worship services, would easily be called “low church.”

Latter-day Saints also have access to all the beauty, mystery, ritual and symbolism that is offered in a high church service – we just access it in the Temple. Our temple worship is highly symbolic, full of ritual, very liturgical, full of meaningful words being repeated or used over and over, full of beauty, and very interested in teaching by experience. In this sense, we sort of have the best of both worlds – the down-to-earth practicality of a low-church service, with the experiential learning of high-church in our temple worship. It’s really a compelling combination and most other churches do not have access to both worlds – high and low church. Temple worship is nothing if not experiential.

The other bit of being experiential that comes out is in our theology around why Adam and Eve had to leave the Garden. In Evangelical theology it’s only a punishment. In our theology part of the reason why they have to leave is to go learn from their own experience. The Old Testament tells us many times, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,” and we put some emphasis on the fact that Adam and Eve had to learn what it was like to be separate from God (kicked out of the garden) so that they would know what to do to be close to him (stay true to the covenants they had made.) The fear of the Lord here is “not liking what it feels like to be out of God’s presence” so the beginning of wisdom is, “so we learn to do the things that keep us in his presence.”

Well, this was a lot – I hope you enjoyed seeing some of the similarities and differences here, and that maybe you picked up a way or two to have these conversations with your Evangelical loved ones. Join us next time and we’ll pick up another topic.

More Come, Follow Me resources here.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – John 7–10 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Evangelical Questions: Church Disciplineby Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC

Welcome back to Come Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions. My name is Jennifer Roach and today we’re going to talk about Church Discipline. As you know we’re going through the Come Follow Me readings and addressing common questions that Evangelicals ask about our faith as we go along. Our purpose here is not to fuel debate but to help you understand where your Evangelical friends and family are coming from so that you can have better conversations with them, and perhaps even be able to offer them a bit of our faith in a way they can understand.

Our scripture this week comes from Matthew 18:6:

But who so shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned.

I love Jesus’ powerful word here for people who harm others, especially the vulnerable, especially children. But today we’re going to broaden the scope just a bit and consider all the ways in which church discipline might be necessary. Specifically, I want to look at how this is handled in our church compared to how it gets handled in Evangelical circles. And I will say from the start that I know our Latter-day Saint church has not always gotten this right. And if you’re listening and you are involved in a situation where discipline didn’t happen in a way that you had hoped for, I want you to know that I see you and I know very well that this does not always go down perfectly, and I’m not going to pretend like it does. And at the same time, I want to talk about how the imperfect system we have is different than what Evangelicals do, and why it is that way.

So, if you’ve heard my name before watching any of these videos it is probably because I’ve talked a lot about sexual abuse cases in our church and Evangelical churches. And if you’ve watched the video on my conversion story you know that part of my lived experience is abuse in an Evangelical church and the aftermath of how they dealt with it. I’m aware that I’ve had a very particular experience, in a very particular time and place, and that influences how I think about these things. I think it’s okay to tell you my bias going in.

We’ll start with what church discipline looks like for Evangelicals. The answer, as with all things Evangelical is: It depends. If you remember back a few episodes we talked about how “Evangelical” is not a denomination. There is no central authority. There is no membership for churches. If a church wishes to be seen as Evangelical they may call themselves such – there is no one to police that term. It’s different in our church – if a new church wanted to call themselves The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in exactly the same way as we do, there would be pushback on that. But anyone can open a church in your town and call it something like Journey Church or Crosspoint or some such thing. So it’s almost impossible to fully answer the question of how Evangelicals handle church discipline as there are hundreds of different answers to that question. But we’ll look at some trends.

As you know, Evangelicals are Protestants and at the beginning of the protestant Reformation church discipline was considered part of the mark of the true church. The Catholic church at the time had gone off the rails, and the church leaders offered no discipline or correction. So the Reformers, named three “marks by which the true church is known”: the preaching of the pure doctrine of the gospel, the pure administration of the sacraments, and the exercise of church discipline to correct faults.” But it’s been a long time since that has been true. Christianity Today, which is The news magazine for Evangelicals says, “Today, church discipline is feared as the mark of a false church, bringing to mind images of witch trials, scarlet letters, public humiliations, and damning ex-communications.”

Lifeway Research is the research arm of the Southern Baptist Church and while not all Southern Baptists would consider themselves Evangelicals, many would and Lifeway is a good place to look for research. In 2018 they surveyed 1,000 Evangelical pastors across the US and found that almost 60% of them said that their church has never disciplined anyone for any reason. So, how do Evangelicals practice church discipline? Mostly they don’t. I don’t think this is them being lazy or not caring about standards, it’s them playing out their value that each individual hears from God alone and they are each their own prophet. We’ve talked in past episodes about how they really value an attitude of, “You can’t tell me what to do” or “I’m independent and don’t need rules or authority,” and this is one way you can see that attitude play out.

However, sometimes we do see them practice church discipline. The 40% who said that they do have some version of church discipline have not used it in the past 3 years. And there is a slight difference here between big churches and small churches. The smaller Evangelical churches, which grow fewer every year, are far more likely to have at least some version of discipline available to them. The larger churches and they are increasing every year, make it pretty easy for people to hide. If there are 5,000 people who attend your church on a Sunday morning it’s pretty easy to remain a stranger for a long time – and the folks who do that would have no one noticing anything in their life that might require discipline even if a process was in place.

And here is where we see a big difference – in a Latter-day Saint church anyone can ask for a meeting with the Bishop, and even if youd don’t have specific need to ask for one, you are invited at least once a year for a tithing meeting, and every couple of years for a recommend meeting. It just doesn’t work that way in the larger Evangelical churches, which most of them are. Once a church gets over about 500 members on a Sunday access to pastoral leadership starts to diminish. Around the 500 member level members are frequently no longer even allowed to request a meeting with their pastor, though he probably knows the names of many of the families and could recognize many people on sight. But once a church is over 1,000 people that is no longer true for obvious reasons. Some Evangelicals attend a church for a decade and never even meet the pastor.

There is an article from a group called The Gospel Coalition written about a decade ago (so they used the term Mormon) that compared Evangelicals and Latter-day Saints that says, “But compared to the Mormon experience, evangelical churches are a carnival ride of short services, low accountability, and rare church discipline. If you’re a faithful Mormon, you’re not living a 95 percent secular life like so many evangelicals.” So we’re starting to see how some of these differences play out.

Back to the Evangelical churches who do practice some form of church discipline. Some of them like the Evangelical Free Church actually do have a formal process for discipline, but it only applies to the clergy. Others have an informal process where a church leader will use a kind of persuasion/exclusion approach where they will try to persuade a person that what they’ve done is wrong (for example, an unmarried couple living together) but if that person disagrees or isn’t moved by the persuasion the only thing that happens is a “light exclusion” where they are now allowed to do any teaching in the church – meaning maybe they will be asked to step down from teaching the 6th grade Sunday School for example.

Cautionary Tale

There is a really well-documented example of how all of this plays out and you can hear it in a podcast put out by the Evangelical magazine, Christianity Today. It’s called “The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill.” It’s 10 or so episodes long and it’s essentially a cautionary tale of how church discipline goes wrong. The podcast features a church called Mars Hill that was at one time the hottest thing in Seattle. My family and I were members of that church in the early days. My son, who is now a full-grown adult, was a toddler in the nursery when we were there. And Mars Hill was the place to be. It was the fastest-growing church in America and primarily made up of young Seattle hipsters in the early 2000’s. But what happened was the pastor who founded the church really went off the rails in a number of ways that require too much detail to go into here, but suffice it to say that the board of the church came to a decision that the pastor needed to be put under discipline for some of his actions. The church was drawing 15,000 people a week in multiple locations, in 4 states. And when the board wanted to discipline the pastor he initially agreed to submit to it, and then backed out. He decided he would rather quit his role as a pastor than be disciplined by the church. He resigned and moved his family to Arizona 8 years ago. And to this day, the Christian community in Seattle is impacted by this man’s refusal to face accountability for his actions. But, in the Evangelical world, all you have to do is move to a new church or a new city and you get a fresh start. So this pastor moved to Arizona where he formed a new church and is predicted to essentially repeat the process since apparently, he didn’t learn from the last time.

In a Latter-day Saint congregation, this could never happen. If a bishop or stake president went off the rails he can’t just move to a new city and become bishop again. At least not based on policy. Have the policies of the church been poorly enforced at times? Of course. But having some policies around stopping someone who refuses accountability is better than having no policies at all because the end result is there is never an expectation that behavior gets addressed. What this case illustrates is that Evangelicals have decentralized leadership and that Latter-day Saints have centralized leadership. If you don’t like your Evangelical leader or pastor, you just change churches. If a leader is trying to hold you accountable for your behavior, and you don’t like it, you change churches. That is harder to do in the Latter-day Saint world.

Example

I will tell you this next story with a little bit of trepidation. It involves people I care about, so I will disguise some of the details. You’ve probably never heard someone say before, “I have a testimony of church discipline councils”, so here ya go…

I had to take the Evangelical church where I grew up to court to hold them accountable for some things. I didn’t want to and tried for a very long time to find another way. But when the church refused to police itself, I employed the help of the secular courts to enforce some consequences for them. I’m glad I did it, and I’m glad it’s over. It was very hard on me. The church said things in court papers like, “Any damage Jennifer took on due to this is her own fault.” I had to fight them, tooth and nail, to take accountability for their actions.

Contrast this to the experience of a friend. He was abused by a family member who is a long-time member of our church. My friend hadn’t spoken about this to anyone, but in his 30’s he decided to speak to his family about what had happened and found out that he was not the only victim. The cousins of that family banded together, believed the victims, and wanted to help make things right. The legal statute of limitations had long run out so they had no criminal or legal options, which was heartbreaking and frustrating to them. Their next move was to go to the bishop of the abuser. Within a very short amount of time, the man’s stake held a disciplinary council and he was disfellowshiped. If he would ever like to rejoin the church he would need approval from the First Presidency.

When I contrast that experience against my own – where the Evangelical church couldn’t admit what had happened and certainly wasn’t going to disfellowship anyone over it – I understood why church discipline matters in a way I never had before. The church’s actions took the feelings and experiences of the victims into consideration. I relayed the events to a friend who told me about an experience where the details are very different, but the experience of the victim was also prioritized. I know it doesn’t always happen this way in our church. I’ve heard many of your stories in recent years and I acknowledge them and how painful they are. But it does give me great comfort to know that our church at least strives to get this right, and frequently does. I will never meet the men who sat on the disciplinary council of my friend’s abuser. They live in a different state and I don’t even know their names, but their actions of discipline against an abuser knit something back together in my heart, even though it wasn’t my case.

I hope this conversation helps you see and understand some of the differences. Join us next week as we take up a new topic.

More Come, Follow Me resources here.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – Matthew 18; Luke 10 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Evangelical Questions: “What Apostasy?”by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC

Welcome back to Come Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions. My name is Jennifer Roach and today we’re going to talk about the Apostasy. As you know we’re going through the Come Follow Me readings and addressing common questions that Evangelicals ask about our faith as we go along. Our purpose here is not to fuel debate but to help you understand where your Evangelical friends and family are coming from so that you can have better conversations with them, and perhaps even be able to offer them a bit of our faith in a way they can understand.

Our scripture this week comes from Matthew 16:18:

And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.

On the one hand, what a fantastic, reassuring scripture. And on the other hand, you can immediately see how there is a lot of debate about what this actually means. And I’ll be honest, Latter-day Saint friends, some of the ways we talk about the apostasy are adding to the confusion and I think as we go along you’ll be able to see what I’m talking about.

So, first off, I will tell you, when I was an Evangelical the apostasy and the accompanying restoration were the hardest concepts for me to understand. This is the spot in our conversation where it is easiest to see the phenomenon that if you ask a fish to describe water he can’t do it – he has no idea what it means to be without water, so he really has no idea what to compare water to. I took missionary lessons for 9 months and we talked about the apostasy many times, but it was hard for the missionaries to get much past, “the apostasy happened and that’s why we need a restoration.” And even when pressed they could only cite a couple of points in Church History where things were especially bad, usually having to do with the pre-Reformation Catholic Church. But from the Protestant point of view, the pre-Reformation Catholic Church is a blip in a 2,000+ year landscape where God has always been active on the Earth. Honestly, during those lessons, my thought to myself was, “Well, these are young kids who are high school graduates and haven’t studied much history so they are simply unaware of the vastness of Christian history.” But once I started to understand what they were actually saying – and it took me an embarrassingly long time for that to actually click – I started to see that this was a case where Latter-day Saints are using the same language to mean something slightly different. For me, at the end of the day, the nuances of how our church is using that language are better. It’s theologically fuller and more hopeful than the Protestant/Evangelical meanings. And I will also say that this is probably one place in which my formal theological education probably made it harder for me than it would for the average person simply because I was able to see all of the knowledge the missionaries couldn’t and had a hard time reconciling what they were saying with the truth of Christian history. So today I want to talk about the terms we use when talking about the apostasy and help you see how Evangelicals hear them so that maybe you can help someone else short-cut through the difficulties I had.

We’ve talked in many episodes of this series about how Evangelicals and Latter-day Saints use the same words differently sometimes and that fuels the confusion between us. You might not be aware but there is a niche dictionary called the Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Theology which gives us a definition that Evangelicals would agree on. Baker is the publisher and it’s a nice, thick 1,000-page dictionary. So we’re going to draw on that a bit.

First, let’s start with the word “apostasy.” Evangelicals don’t use this word a lot, but it’s probably in their vocabulary and according to Baker’s it would mean, “Defection from the faith, an act of unpardonable rebellion against God and his truth. The sin of apostasy results in the abandonment of Christian doctrine and conduct.” And this gets used in two ways.

First, and probably most common, is that apostasy is something an individual person does after making a covenant or decision to follow Christ. “He went off the rails into apostasy.” Basically, a person who used to believe the right things, but no longer does.

Second – and you’ll see that this is where the confusion comes in – this word can be applied to large groups of people. They see widespread apostasy as an eschatological sign – meaning a sign of the end times signaling the second return of Christ is near. So if the whole world goes into apostasy, the return of Christ is near. Here is how they get there. Just like us, Evangelicals can read the Old Testament and see that constant pride-cycle. The Israelites follow God for a while, then they start to prosper and fall away from God, then God allows bad things to happen to them and they get back in line. They see this as a prototype of what will happen before the second coming of Christ. They base this on 2 Thes 2:3 “Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day (the return of Jesus Christ) will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.” In that verse, they hear that an apostasy absolutely will happen, but only in the future, and only right before Christ comes again. So when we say, “the apostasy happened” it just doesn’t compute for them because if an apostasy happened, surely Christ would have come again.

Another term that causes some confusion here is “priesthood.” Now there is a lot to say about priesthood, and we’ve got several episodes coming up on that. When talking about the apostasy Latter-day Saints would say, this comes straight from the Church’s website, “(After Jesus Christ ascended back to Heaven)…The Apostles were killed, and priesthood authority—including the keys to direct and receive revelation for the Church—was taken from the earth. Because the Church was no longer led by priesthood authority, error crept into Church teachings.”

That word “priesthood” throws them here because they define it very differently than we do. Again, according to the Baker dictionary priesthood is defined in 4 ways. The priests we see in the Old and New Testaments; the priesthood of all believers; the post-resurrection ordained priesthood which is modernized into, “being a pastor”; the priesthood of Jesus. So when they hear us say, “the priesthood was lost from the face of the Earth” it doesn’t make sense because 1) Clearly that statement can’t be talking about the priests of the Old and New Testaments. 2) It can’t be talking about the priesthood of all believers because believers in Christ have existed on the Earth since his resurrection, which has never gone away. They’re not wrong about that. 3) It can’t mean that pastors don’t exist because clearly, they do. 4) And it can’t mean that Jesus is no longer our great high Priest. So even though they have 4 definitions of “priesthood” available to them, they can’t work out what we’re talking about when we say that the priesthood authority was taken from the Earth.

For Latter-day Saints, there are two additional meanings of priesthood that Evangelicals don’t easily see. Those are 1) Priesthood is the power and authority of God. It has always existed and will continue to exist without end. 2) In mortality, priesthood is the power and authority that God gives to man to act in all things necessary for the salvation of God’s children. Both of those are straight from the church’s website. It’s the power of God, given to humans in certain circumstances to do stuff.

Evangelicals get really nervous right here – and this might sound funny to your Latter-day Saint ears – but they hear that as a very Catholic concept. They have no conceptualization of the idea that certain actions like baptism would need to be done in certain ways, by certain people, according to God’s law. That is not a concept for them. Instead, they would say something like: We take the principle of baptism and contextualize it into our specific culture and there are no absolute rules about how that must be done. It’s sort of a “pragmatism wins” approach to theology. Evangelicals are very pragmatic, for better or for worse. The idea that a person might need to wait to be baptized because baptism requires someone who bears the priesthood is nonsense to them. They would have a kind of “hero cowboy” approach of: Well, I would jump right in and baptize that person who cares about your rules.

There’s a prototype here much earlier in American religion than the Evangelicals. You’ve certainly heard of the Methodist Church. They invented this attitude. Back in the 1700’s, pre-Revolutionary war, the Church of England whose members are called Anglicans was very well established in the colonies, but because all the senior leadership was still headquartered in England things moved very slowly for the Anglicans in America. When the Revolutionary War ended in 1783 the Anglican leaders in America were ready to start spreading out further and reach people who were living outside of the cities. Westward expansion wasn’t really in full swing yet, but it was starting and the Anglican leaders wanted to develop churches in outlying places. Their leaders in England made it hard for them – feelings were still pretty sensitive as the war had only been over for a few months. So 2 Anglican brothers, John and Charles Wesley become very frustrated and want pragmatic solutions for how the American churches could self-govern and make decisions about where and how to Evangelize. The Anglican leadership in England said no, so the Wesley brothers started the Methodist church primarily so that they could figure out how to reach people who lived outside of the established cities at that point. They needed and wanted practical solutions. It was sort of a, “Well, I don’t actually need your permission Leaders in England. Goodbye.” And Evangelicals inherited that attitude from them. It’s: you can’t tell me what to do; I don’t need your authority; I can innovate solutions without you getting in the way. It’s very, very American in that sense. And it is a high value for them to solve problems without bureaucracy. So when we say something like, “ordinances require proper authority” they hear “I want to put bureaucracy in your way.”

One final definition I want to touch on is kind of more of a cultural issue than a literal definition issue. From the same article on the church website talking about the apostasy we get, “Because the Church was no longer led by priesthood authority, error crept into Church teachings. Good people and much truth remained, but the gospel as established by Jesus Christ was lost. This period is called the Great Apostasy.” Now, how that sometimes gets taught by members in our church is something closer to, “Absolutely everything from God was removed from the Earth and no evidence of his presence could be found.” And this is maybe were we could be a little more careful with how we say things because that’s actually pretty insulting to the many people who have loved Christ and been faithful to God in the best way they could ever since Christ’s resurrection. In every era of history, we can find that people who love God are alive and well. It’s going to cause some real confusion for Evangelicals if you try to suggest that is not true. And it’s quite needless to suggest that every bit of God’s presence was removed – because that’s not even what our church is teaching, as evidenced by the quote I just read. But still, culturally, some members of the church are still saying it that way.

I hope you enjoyed this conversation about the apostasy and hopefully, you understand a bit more about why this gets muddled between Evangelicals and Latter-day Saints, and maybe some ideas about how to talk more clearly about these ideas because this is one area where our church really does have a lot of goodness to offer.

Join us next time and we’ll take up another topic. I hope to see you then.

More Come, Follow Me resources here.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – Matthew 15–17; Mark 7–9 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Evangelical Questions: “Don’t Latter-day Saints worship a different Jesus?”by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC

Welcome back to Come Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions. My name is Jennifer Roach and today we’re going to talk about Easter and Jesus. As you know we’re going through the Come Follow Me readings and addressing common questions that Evangelicals ask about our faith as we go along. Our purpose here is not to fuel debate but to help you understand where your Evangelical friends and family are coming from so that you can have better conversations with them, and perhaps even be able to offer them a bit of our faith in a way they can understand.

So, you are probably watching this video sometime in April or later. Dear people of the future, I hope the sun is shining and it’s warmed up because I’m recording this in February and the sky just dumped 1 foot of snow.

This week’s topic is a tiny bit different because of Easter. We jump forward in the readings from earlier in the Gospels to the events of Easter this week, we’ll go back and pick up the rest of the Gospels after this. So I don’t have a particular scripture that encompasses the question for this week, but it goes something like this…”Don’t Latter-day Saints worship a different Jesus?”

I’ve you’ve been following along you know that this is our 3rd episode on Christology and there are many aspects to this question. We’ve already talked about the question of, “Is Jesus God?”…and “If Jesus is ‘the son’ doesn’t that prove the Trinity?”…and the question of what worshiping or praying to Jesus looks like. So if you’re interested in those aspects see the earlier videos. And there will be more in Christology coming up, including the ever-popular, “How can you say Jesus and Satan are brothers?” But for today I want to focus on the basics of beliefs about Jesus as Evangelicals or Protestants express them in one of the most important Creeds in mainstream Christianity, the Nicen Creed.

First we need to talk a tiny bit about Creeds as a concept – meaning figuring out even what are they?

So one of my early questions when I was investigating the church was: Aren’t the Articles of Faith a creed? They certainly read like a creed. Afterall a creed is, “a brief authoritative formula of religious belief.” And the Articles of Faith are brief, they’re authoritative as evidenced by the fact that they are found in our standard works, and they spell out our religious beliefs. It’s confusing right?

But the way a creed functions is something else. A creed is not just A statement of belief for a faith group….It is THE statement of belief for that group. That is, it means, “here is what we believe and nothing can be taken away, modified or added.” For Latter-day Saints this doesn’t make any sense when you set it next to the idea of ongoing revelation. You can’t have both. Either you can nail your beliefs down at a single point in time and demand that no changes ever be made OR you can say you believe in ongoing revelation so here are our beliefs but when God reveals more, we will believe that too. So it’s not so much that we disagree with what is contained in a traditional creed – though there is some of that – it’s that we disagree with the entire concept of having a creed because that means saying official revelation is closed.
Having said that, let’s talk about the Nicene Creed. What is it? Who wrote it? Why is it important to traditional Christians? So, the Nicean Creed was put together in the year 325 AD. No one who is alive at that time had been alive during the time Christ or the Apostles were alive. More time has passed between the Resurrection and the writing of this creed than has passed since the United States has been a country.

So what happened was there was a guy named Arius who argued that, “if the Father begat the Son, he that was begotten had a beginning of existence: and from this it is evident, that there was a time when the Son was not.” This is a heresy called Arianism.

As a side note….if you’ve been paying attention to these videos you remember in the very first week we started talking about this question of, “Was Jesus created?” Your Latter-day Saint ears probably heard that and thought, “Who in the world is even talking about this stuff?” Well, this is a very old heresy that has been talked about since the 300’s and Evangelicals have historically misunderstood Latter-day Saints as believing this. In theological conversations a really bad insult to throw around is that someone is an Arian, meaning they believe this heresy. And Evangelicals think we believe this – that Jesus has not always existed.

So back to the Nicene Creed. Constantine is Emperor at this time and he has made Christianity the state religion. And he’s a smart guy, he can read the tea leaves and see that Arius and his teaching are going to destabilize the entirety of Christianity, and thus the entirety of the Holy Roman Empire. So Constantine asks the leaders of the church to come together and hammer out what the church actually believes, and they do it in a city that was then called Nicea. It’s now called Iznik and it’s in Turkey. If you follow the news you know that some really bad earthquakes recently happened there. The earthquakes were in the southern part of the country, and Iznik is in the northern part, near Istanbul (which used to be Constantinople, named after Constantine.) So the leaders of the church meet in Nicea and want to lay down, once and for all, what the church beleives so that Arias gets knocked down. The creed was a collaborative effort, though there are three main authors called the Capadocian Fathers. They’re from Capadocia (which is also in Turkey, and on my bucket list of places I want to visit. Just google it, it’s gorgeous.) The Cap Fahters are two brothers and their good friend. In the background is also their sister. Her name was Macrana and they all called her The Teacher because she was said to understand theological concept more deeply than any of them and helped them make needed connections. There is a bakery in Seattle named after her. So the three Capadocian Fathers, with Macrena in the background, really are the ones who hammar out the creed.

So the question – the reason we’re going down this path at all – is to ask: What does the Nicean Creed say about Jesus? I’ll read you the section about Jesus…

“We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.”

The only place a Latter-day Saint would quibble here is in saying that Jesus is, “One being with the Father.” In English it sounds a little softer than it does in Greek. In English we can almost imagine stretching that phrase as far as it can go and landing on an understanding of the Godhead that is kind of close to what we believe. But in Greek, which is what the Creed was written in, it doesn’t stretch. The Greek word is Homoousious – meaning, “the same substance.” This is exact spot they take a left turn into Trinitarian thinking and end up having a hard time disambiguating God the Father and Jesus Christ.

I point all of this out because it’s a really interesting example of how Latter-day Saint has taken a creedal statement – that is a statement that is supposed to be set in stone – and applied ongoing revelation to it in a way that undoes the exact left turn that got taken in 325.

I think you’re able to see from here that there are a number of ways to approach the question from Evangelicals of, “Do you believe in the Jesus of the New Testament?” A plain answer would be something like: Yes, that’s exactly what we believe in, and we’ve corrected the error that was introduced 300 years later. But it gets difficult here because Evangelicals do a really normal and human thing at this point. You know, from standing in 2023 looking back over history the year 30 AD and 300 AD seem like pretty much the same thing. If I asked you to tell me 5 developments that had happened over those 300 years, most people couldn’t do it. 30 AD and 300 AD are pretty much the same thing to folks in 2023. So when your Evangelical friends have a hard time seeing the difference between what is taught about Jesus in the New Testament, and what is taught about Jesus in the Creeds, they’re not being difficult or obstinate. They’re just standing in 2023 and can’t squint hard enough to see the difference between the NT and Nicea.

I had a missionary ask me recently, “Do Evangelicals literally think that we believe in another boy named Jesus, who also had a mother named Mary, who grew up at the exact same time, and had the exact same things happen to him?” And no, that’s not what they’re saying when they ask if we believe in the same Jeus. What they mean is that their concept of Jesus has been shaped by the Creeds just as much as it has been shaped by scripture. We might say they have an extra-scriptural book called “the creeds” that they have been shaped by….while they would say that the Creeds are just a summary of what is already in the New Testament. They’re sort of color-blind to the difference between what is in the NT and what is in the Creeds.

So in the 1990’s when Gordon B Hinkley says that we don’t worship the traditional Christ, the Evangelicals lose their minds over it. Because they think the traditional Christ (that is the Christ portrayed in the Creeds) is identical to the Biblical Christ. They can’t tell the difference.

Our rejection of Creeds enables us to embrace a correction to an error that was made by really well-meaning people, long after Christ and the Apostles were gone. If that isn’t the best news ever I don’t know what is. We are not stuck with the burden of someone else’s mistake just because they thought we should be bound to it forever.

The reality is that we share a deep love of Jesus with our Evangelical friends. The vast majority of items we agree with them on, and where we don’t, it’s because we are open to God’s ongoing revelation.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this conversation and have a bit more understanding of why and how this rift happens, and maybe how to talk about it instead. Join us next time and we’ll get to work again.

More Come, Follow Me resources here.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – Easter appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Evangelical Questions: “Paid Ministry?”by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC

Welcome back to Come Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful answers to New Testament questions. My name is Jennifer Roach and today we’re going to talk about paid ministry. As you know we’re going through the Come Follow Me readings and addressing common questions that Evangelicals ask about our faith as we go along. Our purpose here is not to fuel debate but to help you understand where your Evangelical friends and family are coming from so that you can have better conversations with them, and perhaps even be able to offer them a bit of our faith in a way they can understand.

Today’s verse comes from Mark 6:7-9:

And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts— but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics.

And there is so much in that verse alone to talk about, but I want to focus on a question that comes up a lot between Latter-day Saints and Evangelicals: Is it right to pay clergy or isn’t it?

And I will give you a full disclaimer here. I’ve been on both sides of the fence. I’ve earned full-time income working in churches and had no problem with it – and now I’m a Latter-day Saint and I can see why paying clergy is problematic. And, I will also point out that it’s true that our church does in fact have paid clergy – our senior leaders work full-time and are paid for their work. So the answer here has to be nuanced. We can’t just say, “paying clergy is bad,” because we do in fact pay a small number of clergy. The right question is something closer to: Under what conditions should clergy be paid?

As always, let’s start with how Evangelicals think about this issue. And we’ll start with the practical reasons. How does an Evangelical even become a paid clergyperson? There are exceptions to this, but for the most part a person who wants to become ordained as an Evangelical minister must first do a 4-year undergraduate degree followed by a 4-year Master in Divinity (MDiv). There are some types of positions where a person can get away with a 2-year Masters in theology but the standard route is a MDiv. I know this route well – you will notice in my credentials that I earned one. It was a fantastic program, I loved every moment of it. But most MDiv’s come with a pretty hefty price tag, mine did too, so the people who take one are either very serious students of theology who are learning just for the love of learning, or they are hoping to work in a church setting for their employment – in part because they will need to pay off their student loan. So, right out of the gate, on a very practical level, you can see why Evangelicals are set up for a paid ministry situation. And while there are some outliers in either direction, the average salary for an American pastor is about $80,000 a year. Now, the tax situation makes this a little bit more livable for them because a pretty large chunk of that can be claimed as a housing allowance, which is not taxable income. So, there’s our second practical reason why they usually pay clergy – even the American tax system is set up with the expectation that ministers are paid. The third practical reason is that most of the time being a paid minister is a full-time job, meaning they don’t have the opportunity to earn income elsewhere, so they need to be paid.

Moving from the practical to the values of Evangelicals that cause paid clergy to make sense to them. First, Evangelicals, as their name suggests, puts a high value on sharing the message of Christ as they understand it. And while the 75-year history of Evangelicals has always included paid clergy, the idea really found substance in the example of a church in the Chicago area called Willow Creek. Willow Creek was the first of its kind because they made Sunday mornings, not a time for believers to gather and worship, but a time to showcase what a church had to offer for “seekers.” Willow Creek goes on to become the largest church in America for quite a long time and their influence was felt in every Evangelical church across the country. While a typical little church on the corner of some small town would normally have 1 paid minister working alongside several volunteers to present a Sunday morning worship service, Willow Creek employed hundreds of people full-time to produce television-quality services on Sunday mornings. No longer was it good enough for a volunteer to play the piano or guitar, they began employing professional musicians. And the rationale for all of this was that someone who was interested in their church but not yet a believing Christian needed a very specific kind of experience in order to feel comfortable. They coin the term, “seeker sensitive,” meaning that everything is looked at through the lens of the “unchurched” (another term they coined) person. Willow Creek believed that those seekers should be given the most professional presentation possible in order to get them more interested in Jesus. And soon, every other church in the country was trying to imitate them. So the average church on the corner went from one pastor and some volunteers to multiple pastors or other workers who would produce services for them. This fed an explosion in attendance at Evangelical churches during the 1980’s and 1990’s. The downside is that not every church could manage this kind of financial burden and many of them would combine their congregations to make employing these people more affordable.

The unintended result of this was that churches kept getting bigger simply because they were bigger. And any smaller church that was trying to buck the trend and keep Sunday mornings for worship by believers was just financially edged out. The whole experiment doesn’t go all that well for Willow Creek either, to be honest. There were some sexual scandals happening with their top leadership that were not dealt with very well, and they lost well over half their congregation over it. But, the reason I tell you all of this is to illustrate that the Evangelical value of producing services for “seekers” is part of what drove their need to pay people to do the work.

And to be fair to them, the value behind this – wanting to help seekers understand more about Christ – was not bad. It’s even admirable. But there were not enough checks and balances in the system to keep it on the rails as the decades go by.

Another value held by Evangelicals that influences them here is that the members of a congregation are seen as people who need to be fed and taken care of, and I mean that in the very best way possible. It’s not that they don’t think those people can do some of the work of the church, it’s that they want them to feel that the church cares about them, and therefore God cares about them. The church doesn’t want to put too much of a burden on even a willing volunteer because when that volunteer goes out of town for a week, the job won’t get done, and someone else in the church may end up feeling not cared for. Because of this the “most important” jobs are paid – paid work comes with different expectations than volunteer work. A volunteer and a paid worker both sometimes go out of town, but there is a different set of expectations for the paid worker than the volunteer in terms of how things will be taken care of in their absence. So when an Evangelical church hires someone to be the Pastor of Middle Schoolers (yes, that’s a thing) part of why they’re doing that is so the people in attendance have a reliable go-to source for that area of ministry. To put it bluntly, volunteers can flake out, it’s harder for employees to do so. Or at least there are more consequences when they do. These churches place a very high value on what could be called, “customer service” and they don’t want volunteers making that difficult.

Now, Latter-day Saints, the thing you will notice in that discussion is that they use the word, “volunteer” to describe these non-paid positions – and that volunteers are held at slightly lower standards, are seen as less reliable, and are not trusted with the really important jobs in the church. I think you get a sense now of why they’re doing that. But let’s contrast it with what we’re doing.

In our church you are not a volunteer – you are called, sustained, and set apart. Non-paid workers are not given then unimportant jobs, they’re given all the jobs. And we see these positions not as just being good for the church presenting a professional or slick image, but they are good for the person who holds them. Whether you work in the Nursery or are the Bishop that calling is a responsibility where you will help shoulder the weight of what the congregation needs. And we all do it together. And that is part of what shapes our spirituality. Church is not something we pay other people to produce for us, it is something we co-create.

The trade-off here is that Sister Jones might not be very good at giving Sacrament Meeting talks but we all have to listen to her once a year. And Brother Miller hasn’t been able to figure out how to get on Family Search, but he still does his best to learn when he gets the calling to be a Family History consultant. But it’s really, really good for Sister Jones to give a talk, even if she’s not very good at it, because it helps shape her ability to study and articulate her own faith. In an Evangelical church if you are not good at something, you will not be doing it for long, even if you volunteer. The value is on impressing seekers or outsiders. While our value is on shaping the spiritual life of Saints.

But we’re still left with a question I pointed out at the beginning of this video: If our system of calling people to positions of service and not paying them is so good and healthy, why do we pay our top leaders? And it’s a fair question. I don’t have a definitive answer, but let me tell you what I think.

Do you remember earlier in this video where I mentioned that “seeker sensitive” church Willow Creek sort of falls apart in the end? The obvious reason for that is that the man who created that church and led it for decades showed himself to have very poor moral character as evidenced by the sexual abuse he committed. But the less obvious reason is that he had no one above him. He had no accountability. He didn’t answer to anyone. There was no one to have the equivalent conversation that we have about renewing a temple recommend, for example. He had no accountability. And because Evangelicals don’t conceptualize “ministers” as “priesthood holders” he didn’t even have to see himself as accountable to God all that much. In our language he was a bishop without a Stake President to be accountable to. So in our church, you can see how everyone has someone above them they answer to, even the Prophet who answers to God. And when you’re a worldwide church it eventually requires a small number of people who are given a different calling than the rest of us – they are called to work full-time to keep this thing on the rails SO THAT the rest of us can enjoy the blessings that come with ordinary ward-life…callings and releasings and working together and all the goodness and soul-formation that comes with that comes with that. We actually need a structure that goes all the way up so that the vast majority of us can be sheltered in the orderliness of everyone being accountable to someone.

I hope you have enjoyed these thoughts on paid clergy. If you’ve got questions put them down in the comments and I try to get to them as I can, or you can hit me up at jroach@fairlatterdaysaints.org and I will see you in the next video.

More Come, Follow Me resources here.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – Matthew 14; Mark 6; John 5–6 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Evangelical Questions: “Certain Women”by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC

Welcome back to Come Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions. My name is Jennifer Roach and today we’re going to talk about Women and their role in the church. As you know we’re going through the Come Follow Me readings and addressing common questions that Evangelicals ask about our faith as we go along. Our purpose here is not to fuel debate but to help you understand where your Evangelical friends and family are coming from so that you can have better conversations with them, and perhaps even be able to offer them a bit of our faith in a way they can understand.

Today’s verse comes from Luke 8:1-3:

Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, 2 and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, 3 and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means.

So here we have Jesus and his disciples going around doing what they do – and we also have a group of women who are supporting them financially, and though the text doesn’t say it they were probably offering lots of other practical means of support as well. And so the question presents itself about the role of women in various churches. This is not an easy question answer on a number of fronts, but one of the most complicating factors is that “Evangelical Churches” are not 1 single entity. “Evangelical” is not a denomination or formal group. Evangelicals are a subset of Protestants whose tradition and way of thinking developed about 75 years ago – around the time when the Billy Graham crusades began. But they can be of any denomination – like Baptists or Methodists – or they can be of no denomination at all. So when we say, “What is the Evangelical stance on women?” there is no one single answer to that. There are some general trends and I’ll talk about those, but there are also lots of exceptions. Explaining our LDS understanding is complicated for other reasons. Unlike Evangelicals who have a decentralized structure, we have a very centralized structure so the official list of what women can and can’t do isn’t hard to identify – the difficult thing for us is that there are a lot of feelings around this. And I’ll talk about that a little today too.

The Evangelical View on Women

First, let’s gain some understanding on how Evangelicals view women and why they see it like they do. And the first thing I’ll say is that I’m not talking about the characteristics of Evangelical women. The reality is that they’re not all that much different than Latter-day Saint women in many ways. They love Jesus, they serve their families and community tirelessly, and they want good things for their children. But I’m going to talk about how they’re viewed in their churches, what they’re allowed to do, and why.

I want so badly to be able to explain this to you in a simple way by saying, “there are two groups, and here is what they think,” but the on-the-ground reality is very different than that. I’m going to tell you how I understand it, even though it’s a bit messier. And I know that even though this series is aimed at Latter-day Saints that we have some Evangelical friends who are listening along and I’d love to hear your experience on this issue in the comments – there really is a wide variety of how this plays out here.

So, according to the Pew Research Center roughly 10% of American churches (in all their varieties) will ordain women and allow them to take the top leadership position in a church. And about half of those are Evangelical churches. So a pretty small minority of churches will say that women can be the lead pastor in a congregation. Of the largest 100 Churches in America – churches that have between 10,000 and 40,000 members (a few outliers have up to 100,000 members) 3 have a woman in the senior role, and 4 others have had one in the past, but not now. So the number of churches that have women in top leadership positions is very small, and we’re going to set that group aside for moment. The only reason I really point them out is that sometimes I think Latter-day Saint women look at other churches with a sort of misunderstanding that they all have women who are allowed to do as much as they want, and that’s just not true.

Public Role of Women

Of all the remaining churches, which is the vast majority, there are limits on what women are allowed to do, but those limits vary from church to church. Latter-day Saint women might find it amusing to hear that is that many, many of those churches women are not allowed to speak (meaning teaching or preaching) in a public service. I say that’s amusing because we let 12 year-old-girls teach us on Sunday morning on a regular basis. So sometimes when I hear Latter-day Saint friends complain about women not having enough of a role I just chuckle to myself because right out of the gate girls and women in our church already have a greater role than in many places. Churches that have this practice – women not being allowed to teach a mixed group in public – are doing so because they are trying to obey their understanding of Paul in the New Testament when he says, “a woman should remain silent in the church.” They take that very literally – this doesn’t mean that all of them like it, but they get respect for trying to take scripture seriously.

In other churches women are allowed to speak or teach, but they are restricted from doing other things like bless and serve communion, or perhaps are restricted from being on a governing board or something similar. And here is where women in our church have a lot in common with Evangelical women as girls and women in our church do not do these things either. And it is probably fair to say that Evangelical women have mixed feelings about this just as Latter-day Saint women do. And they manage those feelings much like women in our church do.

In terms of public worship outside of speaking/teaching Evangelical and Latter-day Saint women are pretty similar. In both traditions women are frequently found leading worship – for us that looks like a song leader helping the congregation with hymns, and for them it might look like a praise-band on a stage. In both traditions women are often found doing things like teaching Sunday School, leading youth, planning events, coordinating various service efforts, and more. We sometimes joke that our church would not run without the Relief Society, well their churches wouldn’t run without the women who do the equivalent work.

Ordination

When it comes to ordination it’s an interesting view. Many Evangelical churches don’t even practice ordination, so it’s not an easy comparison to make. Of those who do, they think about it differently. Ordination is usually not about being able to lead priesthood ordinances. There are a few minor exceptions to this and those have to do with who is authorized to do something like perform a wedding. But for the most part ordination is a process through which the community recognizes that a certain person has a call to some kind of ministry and they become ordained as a way for the congregation to say that they will sustain this person in their call. In function this is what we do too. I know that there are women – some whom I like and respect a lot – that would feel really frustrated with that explanation because they feel using the word “ordained” is important. And I sympathize with that pain. But in function, the callings that women experience in our churches work the same way that ordination works in most other churches. It’s recognition that someone is going to be filling a role and the community pledges their support.

Interestingly enough, Evangelical women do not usually receive this formal kind of calling and declaration of support or sustaining. If the 3rd grade class needs a Sunday School teacher, a woman might volunteer, get a bit of training and some materials to use, and that is that. There is no calling and setting apart, no sustaining. While we don’t use “ordination” language for women in our church, the apples-to-apples comparison puts us in a situation that is often better than is recognized.

Heavenly Mother

Another difference to point out is that only the most liberal of Evangelical or Protestant churches would talk about having a Heavenly Mother. And to be fair, it’s not like we know a lot about how to do with her or even have a very developed theology around her – but we do have the concept of her. The only comparison that comes close for Evangelical women is that they can sometimes talk about God having feminine qualities – maybe a reference to the verse about Jesus being like a “mother hen gathering her chicks under her wings.” But it stops there. Before I joined our church I did not know that Latter-day Saints had a belief in a Heavenly Mother. The way I found out went like this…I wasn’t even studying with the missionaries yet, but I wanted to visit a LDS service and just see what it was like. It happened to be Father’s Day. We sang the hymn “Oh my Father,” and I was shocked to see the line about, “I have a Mother there.” But I think I told myself that it was only a song and didn’t think too much about it. But one of the speakers that day was a middle aged man whose children were teenagers. He talked about the work of being a father with all its rewards and challenges, and admitted that he could not have begun that journey in any way without his wife. And then he said something like: It’s just like our Heavenly Father…a Mother is required for someone to become a Father and aren’t we grateful to have a Heavenly Mother.” To say that I was shocked was an understatement. Only the most liberal of liberal churches would talk about God in that way. I was very confused. Later I messaged a friend to ask about it – the only sense I could make of it was that this idea must have belonged to that individual man and he was saying something provocative but it was based in his own belief and logic – it couldn’t possibly be a teaching of the Church.

The Two Trees

Before we are done here I want to make one recommendation. I know this is a tough topic for some women in our church. If nothing else I hope this comparison has helped you see that when you compare like-to-like, we actually have quite a bit to be very pleased with. And still, I think any of us can struggle from time to time. And I have a thought for something that might help.

On the FAIR website (and YouTube channel) there is a talk called The Two Trees by Dr. Valerie Hudson. Dr. Hudson is a member of our church and also a professor at Texas A&M in the Department of International Affairs, previously she taught at BYU. Her list of impressive credentials is longer than my arm. I say all of that to say that this woman is no dummy. She is incredibly impressive. And she gave a talk called The Two Trees that addresses this topic so well. It’s a long and dense talk. I won’t do justice to it with this summary but her main point is that both men and women are required in this work. Without a woman (Eve) the whole human project would have never got off the ground. And without another woman (Mary), Jesus Christ could not have come to save us. But men have their role too. Without the man Jesus Christ we would be stuck in our sin forever. And without a priesthood bearing man we have no ability to accomplish ordinances. It took women to usher us into this world, and it takes men to usher us into the next. If this is at all interesting to you please go listen to Sister Hudson’s talk. It was the single most helpful thing for me to get all of this settled in my head.

So there you have it. There are many similarities – and some important differences between Latter-day Saint women and Evangelical women. I hope this conversation encouraged your faith and sparks something in you to learn more.

Join us next week and we’ll tackle another topic from the New Testament.

More Come, Follow Me resources here.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – Matthew 13; Luke 8; 13 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Evangelical Questions: Why Don’t You Pray to Jesus?by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC

Welcome back to Come Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions. My name is Jennifer Roach and today we’re going to talk about Prayer. As you know we’re going through the Come Follow Me readings and addressing common questions that Evangelicals ask about our faith as we go along. Our purpose here is not to fuel debate but to help you understand where your Evangelical friends and family are coming from so that you can have better conversations with them, and perhaps even be able to offer them a bit of our faith in a way they can understand.

Today’s verse comes from Luke 11:1-2:

“And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name….”

If you’ve ever visited an Evangelical church for a worship service you’ve probably noticed a lot of differences from how we conduct worship in our church. A couple videos back I talked about this at length and if you want a more thorough discussion on that take a look at the episode about honoring the Sabbath. And one of the things you may have noticed is that they address prayers directly to Jesus, while we do not.

…And here’s a bit of an aside…All of the issues I’m discussing are addressed in depth on the FAIR Latter-day Saints website. And many other issues this series won’t touch. Almost every video in the comment section (“Hi people who leave comments!! Love you!”) someone will ask about addressing some other aspect of the same topic, but sometimes it’s just far beyond the scale of what I’m trying to do here. But FAIR has a massive collection of articles and research that explores every nook and cranny of just about every issue you can think of. One of my hopes for this series is actually that something you hear makes you curious about the topic and you set out to learn more. And the FAIR website is just a treasure trove of information for you to dive into. Okay, back on topic…

So before we talk about why Latter-day Saints pray differently, we need to work to understand why Evangelicals are praying directly to Jesus and what it means to them to do so.

First we should say that Evangelicals also pray to the Father. And some also pray directly to the Holy Spirit. That’s not off limits to them and you will hear plenty of this in their services or private prayer. But they have special affinity for praying to Jesus that’s a bit hard for us Latter-day Saints to understand.

Evangelicals would start with the Bible and say that we have examples from the New Testament of people praying to Jesus and it seems to work out for them. There are 3 main examples of this plus one other, and we’ll quickly look at all of them.

The three examples are Stephen, Saul, and Ananias – their stories are found in Acts chapters 7-9. The other instance is in Revelation 22:20, the second to last verse of the Bible. There are some other examples that people quibble about, but these are the ones where there is agreement that these are prayers directed toward Jesus.

Stephen

So first let’s look at Stephen’s example and try to see how Evangelicals see it. In Acts 6 we see that Stephen is a man full of the Spirit and working to spread the Gospel. The ruling council called the Sanhedrian – they’re a ruling council for Jews during this era – if you remember Jews are under Roman occupation so the rule of Rome is still enforced, the Sanhedrian is a ruling body or court for religious matters the Roman government didn’t concern itself with. The members of the Sannhedrian are upset with Stephen, they conspire to make false charges against him and haul him into court. The charge is that he has spoken blasphemous words against Moses and against God. Stephen is asked if the charges are true and he gives a passionate speech explaining how Moses points directly to Jesus. The Sanhedrian is furious – they “gnashed their teeth at him” – and then they drag him outside the city limits and start stoning him. Stephen looks up to Heaven, sees Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ in a vision, and prays, “Lord Jesus, receive my Spirit.”

Stephen’s prayer is very short and directed at Jesus, despite the fact that Heavenly Father is there too. Evangelicals take this to reinforce the idea that Jesus is the mediator between God and man. They’re not taking this passage to say, “You shouldn’t pray to Heavenly Father,” but they do take it to reinforce the idea that no longer did people need to consult a priest or make an animal sacrifice to approach God. Praying in Jesus’ name is now the key to communication with God. For them, “praying in Jesus’ name includes praying directly to him.” They see Stephen taking this option – even though God the Father was right there too.

Bruce R. McConkie addresses this in his Doctrinal New Testament Commentary by basically saying the prayer was consistent with what Stephen had just preached, and was being stoned for – calling Jesus God. Jesus, showing his approval for Stephen’s actions, reveals himself to Stephen as he is dying, and Stephen addresses him directly because that’s how he got in this spot in the first place.

Saul

We’ll look at the example of Saul, but Evangelicals basically make the same argument here. In Acts 9 Saul (who becomes Paul) is traveling around persecuting Christians for many of the same reasons the Sanhedrian was persecuting Stephen. He and his companions are walking on the road to Damascus. Saul sees a great light and hears a voice asking, “Saul, Saul why do you persecute me?” Saul answers back directly to the voice, “Who are you?” and the voice tells him that it is Jesus speaking and then gives him some further directions. Paul’s “who are you” is a kind of prayer directed at Jesus. Evangelicals would say that this is an example of praying to Jesus when things worked out.

Is it? Technically, yes. Paul speaks to Jesus, speaking to the divine is prayer, so Paul prayed to Jesus. And it worked out for him.

But the experience does seem like an outlier. It’s not a normal occurrence to be traveling down the road, blinded by a light, and have Jesus speak directly. And I suppose if you have this experience, answering directly is the right thing to do. But these are not the normal circumstances of how most of us are going to pray our entire lives.

Ananias

The final example Evangelicals would cite is Ananias. He’s a disciple living in Damascus, where Saul is headed. Now, Saul had been blinded by his encounter with Jesus on the road and Ananias is who gets called on to restore Saul’s sight. Ananias has a vision of Jesus asking him to go to a certain house where Saul will be to restore his sight. Ananias’ first response is, “Yes, Lord.” And I think we Latter-day Saints would agree that if Jesus appears to you and aks you to do something, the correct response is, “Yes, Lord.”

But none of these examples – Stephen, Saul, or Ananias – are typical. They happen very soon after the resurrection of Jesus, they all happen within a short time of each other (Acts 7-9), they all involve Jesus appearing to someone, speaking to them, and the person speaks back. Evangelicals see this as a prototype of prayer, while we would probably see it as an understandable exception.

Revelation 22:20

And there is one other example that helps explain why Evangelicals see praying directly to Jesus as a good thing. Revelation 22 is the last chapter of the Bible. It’s not the last chapter that was written – that’s probably 2 Peter, though there’s plenty of debate – but it is the last chapter of how the New Testament is arranged, and this verse is one of the final verses we read, so it has some weight.

The verse goes like this, “He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” And, ‘he who testifies to these things,’ is Jesus himself, and the phrase “Amen, Come, Lord Jesus,” is seen as a prayer in agreement that he does so.

And that phrase, “Come, Lord Jesus,” has a history. It is considered the second oldest formulation of prayer, second only to the Lord’s prayer. Part of how we know this is that Paul quotes it in 1 Cor. 16:22 – but he quotes the Aramaic version, Maranatha. The people living in Corinth are Greek speakers. So for Paul to assume they would know an Aramaic phrase suggests that it was a well known prayer. The phrase also appears in another book from that era called the Didache, which is kind of like an early “church handbook” and teaches about how the church should be run in practical terms. The phrase, “Come Lord Jesus” or Maranatha is suggested as a way to end a prayer, much like we would say, “In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.” Early Christians could say, “Come, Lord Jesus. Amen,” and they meant the same thing. And the phrase, “Come, Lord Jesus,” goes on to have an important place in Christian worship for many centuries.

Evangelicals aren’t usually super interested in ancient church history though. And they don’t understand the history and development of how that phrase has been used. Remember the entire Evangelical movement is about 70 years old, so they don’t care much about history before that except to jump way back into time to the days of the New Testament. And when they see “Come, Lord Jesus” in the New Testament they take it to be a prayer toward Jesus. But they miss the fact that the phrase was being used as something much closer to, “In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.” Their desire and motivation here is not bad. They want to get as closely connected to Jesus as they can, and that is admirable. But in doing so they miss the fact that Jesus himself asked us to pray in the name of the Father.

One of the weaknesses of the Evangelical movement is that because they hold a view of the Bible as inerrant, they take things in it more literally than context and history would allow. They take “Come, Lord Jesus” as a literal prayer, not a formation of praying in Jesus’ name. Their hearts are in the right place, but they get a bit lost in the weeds of obeying the Bible vs. obeying Jesus. I say that kindly, and I think they have very good motives for doing so, but the resulting practice has some issues.

Repetition in Prayer

The other issue I want to briefly introduce here is repetition in prayer. For the most part we would be on the same page as Evangelicals about scripted prayers. Like us they would say scripted prayers are to be avoided because it’s too easy to pray them without your heart in it. However, there is a sizable minority in the Evangelical world who experiment with scripted prayers, and they have an interesting motivation for doing so that I want to point out.

Now, usually scripted prayers are not new prayers. They are very old prayers that have been written down and repeated throughout the centuries. You’ve probably heard of The Book of Common Prayer which contains the Anglican prayers assigned to any given Sunday. Evangelicals who are interested in this kind of thing have a soft spot for Anglicans so that’s usually their go-to source. These prayers have been prayed by Christians for many centuries. And there is a decent sized minority in the Evangelical culture that longs for learning about ancient ways. They have an innate understanding that their so-called “happy clappy” churches are actually missing something. And they know the thing they’re missing is ancient. Using very old scripted prayers is one attempt they make to learn ancient practices. They know that something has been lost, and they long to have it restored. I’ll push my luck here and say: they long for a restoration. And what they long for in theory and vagueness, we have in specificity. Just something to think about as you talk with your Evangelical friends about these kinds of things.

I hope you will join us next time. I love getting your questions in email – you can find me at Jroach@fairlatterdaysaints.org And I will see you next time.

More Come, Follow Me resources here.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – Matthew 11–12; Luke 11 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Evangelical Questions: No Authority Needed?by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC

Welcome back to Come Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful answers to New Testament questions. My name is Jennifer Roach and today we’re going to talk about Authority. As you know we’re going through the Come Follow Me readings and addressing common questions that Evangelicals ask about our faith as we go along. Our purpose here is not to fuel debate but to help you understand where your Evangelical friends and family are coming from so that you can have better conversations with them, and perhaps even be able to offer them a bit of our faith in a way they can understand.

Today’s verse comes from Luke 9:1-2:

Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.

Why Authority?

A common Evangelical question that would come up here is something like: Why are Latter-day Saints obsessed with authority? In our church authority comes straight from Jesus.” And it’s interesting because there are several spots in this week’s readings, and in the readings coming up, where Jesus’ authority is questioned. People want to know under what authority he is doing this or that. And in our church we talk a lot about authority…proper authority…priesthood authority…general authorities. Who has authority to do what is an important question to us. We would say its part of how Jesus Christ has ordered his church. Evangelicals see questions of authority differently. I want to explain how they see authority and what they mean by it, so that we might see a way our church’s point of view might be thoughtful or a blessing to them.

First, I need you to set aside, just for a minute, the worry about the Bible being corrupted and translated incorrectly. Yes, those are true, but if that is your whole focus in conversation about the Bible you’re going to be butting heads with Evangelicals and not seeing a way to understand them, or to let them see the beauty in our beliefs. So, yes, there are issues in the Bible’s translation and transmission process. We will just let that sit to the side for a moment. In this video I want you to think of the parts of the Bible that are inspired, that truly show God, that are translated correctly – all the best parts of the Bible.

And this topic gets a little heady – and we need to geek out a bit to get to the point – stay with me there is a pay off, I promise.

If you’ve been following along with these videos you are starting to see that because Evangelicals hold a certain set of values, they prioritize different concepts differently.

When Evangelicals use the word “authority” it’s usually in the context of, “the authority of scripture.” And they put a lot of effort and priority into demonstrating how and why the Bible is the source of authority. They have a sincere desire to live in a way that is resisting the pull of culture (to some degree) and place themselves under the authority of scripture. This value goes all the way back to the earliest Protestant roots. At least part of what the Reformation was about was the question: Who or what gets the final say? Is it the Pope? Who?

The Reformation

Prior to the Reformation (which was not a singular event, but a process over many years) authority was contained in the Catholic Church. Few people had access to a physical Bible, few could read, and frankly few had time to devote to study as their lives were primarily about doing what needed to be done to sustain life. Leisurely sitting and studying the scriptures is not easily compatible with agrarian life. So before the Reformation the Catholic Church holds all the authority. The scriptures mean what they say it means – very few people could open up their Bible and check their work. And it wasn’t just Martin Luther who saw some of the contradictions between what the text said, and what the Catholic Church taught that the text said. Plenty of priests saw this, some were even writing about it. But it took a Martin Luther to have the courage to take the argument public. And he does it in spectacular fashion – and with excellent timing. If he had been born even 100 years earlier his argument wouldn’t have mattered much because there was no way to get scripture into the hands of average folks since the printing press had not been invented. But Luther comes along and makes a good point at a time in history when there is technology to actually apply it. And all of this is a very good thing. However, what happened when the Bible itself was given ultimate authority, and the church took a back seat. Anyone with enough education to read could access the Bible – their level of understanding the context of what they were reading didn’t matter much because the Bible itself was the ultimate authority. As long as they read with as “plain” a reading as they could, the Bible could replace the authority of the priest. This is referred to as Sola Scriptura – meaning “Scripture alone” has the final say. Today’s Evangelicals very much follow in this tradition. The idea for them is that God is the ultimate authority, and he has given us a book, therefore that book has to have authority too.

Did God come to us as a Book? Or did he send a Son?

But here’s the problem. We don’t say, “God so loved the world that he sent us a book.” That feels pretty cold, a bit lonely, kind of disconnected. We say, “God so loved the world that he sent us his son.” Sending his son came with all kinds of messiness and pain and difficulty, but the experience Jesus had while on Earth was very human so that is to be expected. It just seems odd that God would go to this great, messy length to send us a Son, and then expect those who come after that Son to be given a book to represent him and whose authority to follow, and not an actual real-live human being who can act in his authority.

We believe, as the first 1500 years of Christianity believed, that the authority to act in Christ’s name is best located in a human being who can understand the messiness of life – not in a book. Further – without even talking about the problems with translation and transmission of the Bible – all written words have to be interpreted. You have to take the written word and understand what it means. This requires a human mind. There is no bypassing this where God just dumps words straight from his mouth into your head. (Michael Ash’s book, “Rethinking Revelation: The Human Element in Scripture” is 700 pages explaining why this is true if you’re interested.) God’s project of communicating to us has to involve humans. Evangelicals want to place it in an object, a book.

What is the Authority of the Bible?

And it’s easy to see how some problems develop right away when a book is the container for God’s authority on the Earth, instead of a human being who represents him. The biggest question seems to be, How can an ancient narrative text hold authority over modern people who do not understand the culture and context from which it came?

Here is what Evangelicals do, and it’s interesting, they simply open the scripture, read what it says, and apply it to themselves. The end. Or so they think. They understand themselves to be doing a “plain reading” of scripture, and that they have within themselves all that is needed for understanding – anyone who understands differently is at best dull-minded, and at worst outright evil. But most of the Bible is not a list of things to do and things to avoid, or even a list of things to be believed. It’s a story, a narrative. And even when it lists things to be believed or things to do, those are in the context of some story. But if you can’t understand the story, you have no way to understand the do’s and don’ts. It can kind of be a grab-bag approach – just reach into the text and pull out some meaning, doesn’t really matter if it was ever intended to apply or not.

A low view of Scripture

Evangelicals then think about the Bible as something that represents God – He has placed his authority into the Bible. When they say, “authority of the Bible” it’s a kind of short-hand for, “God has authority and he has vested it into the book we call the Bible. We can turn to the Bible to learn what we need to learn.” But we think of it sort of the other-way around. And it’s the same point that NT Wright makes in some of his writing. We would say that according to the Bible itself authority is vested in God – and God gets to decide what to do with it – and the narrative of the Bible shows us, over and over, that God vests it in his representatives. To say that God now vests the authority in a book takes a complete left-turn away from where the story of the Bible is leading you. It’s actually a very low view of scripture because what it’s saying is that: God’s plan within the pages of the Bible is to cooperate with humans to do his work, but we feel ambivalent about that, so we’re going to change the plan and let God place it all in a nice neat book, not a messy human race. By taking the authority away from where God was pointing it, we disrespect him and the very book he gave us.

So what about your Evangelical friends? They want – desperately want – to get things right about God. And having everything all neat and tidy inside a book seems like a good way to do that. So they remove authority from human leaders and place it in a book. They’re trying to keep things “pure” and not let the humans mess them up. That’s an understandable desire and goal. But it’s not God’s desire. God partners with us to create, to organize, and to lead. And to remove authority from the humans God partners with, and placing that authority in a book might feel safe, but it’s not because it’s not God’s plan.

In other words, Jesus gives authority to his apostles in this story. That’s what we read in Luke 9. Evangelicals are saying, “That’s scary because humans mess things up – remember the Reformation.” And they’re not wrong. But the answer isn’t to change God’s way of operating in the world, the answer is to try and get better at following the very pattern the Bible has laid out for us – listening to God’s representatives on the Earth. The Evangelicals desperately want to have a high view of scripture. But they undermine themselves because they’re pivoting away from scripture when they place the Bible as God’s partner instead of the humans God has decided to partner with. Think of it this way, the Bible is kind of like a 5-act play…Creation, the Fall, the story of Israel, Jesus, and then the book we call, “The Acts of the Apostles,” where the gospel is taken to the ends of the Earth. And that is the stage we’re still in. We don’t call it, “The Acts of the Book.” Books don’t commit acts. They’re objects. Everything in the Bible is intended to teach us how to carry on the story of the Bible, and that includes placing authority in humans, not books.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this episode. Come back next week and we’ll look at some more.

More Come, Follow Me resources here.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – Matthew 9–10; Mark 5; Luke 9 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Evangelical Questions: But I thought Jesus said we don’t have to follow the Sabbath anymore?by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC

Welcome back to Come Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions. My name is Jennifer Roach and today we’re going to talk about Sabbath. As you know we’re going through the Come Follow Me readings and addressing common questions that Evangelicals ask about our faith as we go along. Our purpose here is not to fuel debate but to help you understand where your Evangelical friends and family are coming from so that you can have better conversations with them, and perhaps even be able to offer them a bit of our faith in a way they can understand.

Today’s verse comes from Mark 2:23-27:

One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?” He answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.” Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.

A common Evangelical question that would come up here is: WHY does your church teach that we should obey the Sabbath when clearly Jesus says we don’t have to. First we’ll address what that looks like during Sunday worship and then what it looks like for the rest of the day on Sundays.

So, how do Evangelicals understand what “keeping the Sabbath” means? As we’ve talked about in another video the history of Evangelicalism really goes back about 70 or so years and it’s growth happens right along side the Baby Boom. And those initial churches that called themselves Evangelical were pretty much following the pattern churches had followed forever – Sundays were for worship, no working, no shopping, no extravagant entertainment, spend time with family, try to keep a reverent spirit about the day. But by the late 60’s that starts to change and it’s a Southern California church called Calvary Chapel they’re at the forefront of that change. They were hugely successful. They become the hub of the “Jesus Movement” of the 1970’s where churches and a tension starts to develop between the rules and expectations that churches, even Evangelical Churches had, and what the Jesus Movement/Hippies were looking for. But for most of the 1970’s this tension is located Southern California and isn’t an issue. Most Evangelical churches across the country would still have been thinking about something like the Sabbath Day in traditional ways. The members probably would have still been dressing up for church, men in ties and women in dresses. But by 1979 the younger leaders at Calvary Chapel wanted to take the church culture they had created there, and start churches with the same mind set around the country. And so during the 1980’s the Evangelical movement takes a radical turn toward a more casual worship style. It doesn’t happen all at once, but by the end of the 1980’s most Evangelical churches are encouraging people to come “dressed as you are” to church, and have also de-emphasized most rules on Sunday behavior. This is the history of how they got there, but why did they do it?

Ultimately Evangelicals place high priority on the pragmatic – does something work – and far less priority on the long term consequences. Beginning in the 1980’s and certainly into the 1990’s the kinds of Evangelical churches that were embracing a casual style of worship were growing. They were exciting places to be. Families with youth flocked to these churches because they had fun programs that kept the teenagers engaged. But by the 1990’s and into the 2000’s a pragmatic practice that had begun for a good reason (to accommodate the Jesus Movement culture) had turned into the normalized practice. By 2000 you would be hard pressed to find any Evangelical church where members and clergy alike were not dressing in casual clothes on Sunday morning. And when that shift happened along with it was the shift away from “rule keeping” around other Sunday practices like not working or shopping. Nobody really saw a point in emphasizing what was relevant because embracing what was casual was working for them from a pragmatic point of view. The casual style did draw in young families and lots of excitement. By the time this had spread to most Evangelical Churches there really wasn’t a way to put the Genie back in the bottle. The change happened and that was that.

Interestingly enough, about 15 or so years ago, a movement started within some corners of Evangelicalism to embrace more traditional practices, to have services that were quiet and not full of rock music. Many of the people who embraced that ultimately move out of the Evangelical world and become Anglicans, Lutherns, Catholics or Eastern Orthodox.

One thing I’ve noticed in our church is that it can sometimes be hard for Latter-day Saints to look at Evangelical services and not be a little jealous. They’ve got exciting music, lots of energy, worship bands, and more. And so sometimes I think that a conversation with an Evangelical friend would end with a Latter-day Saint saying something like, “Yeah, I kind of wish we were doing what you’re doing.” And I sympathize. Our hymns are old, organ music is not the most exciting, even when the hymn says it should be “sung vigorously” it’s usually not. But I’d like to make the case about why a more reverent style of worship sets the tone for a day where the Sabbath can be kept, and that keeping the Sabbath is a blessing, not a rule we chaff against.

When Evangelicals started to dismantle a more formal style of worship for the sake of the Jesus Movement they had the best of motives. But as it grew into a standard practice without the underlying motivation it also came with an unspoken message that said something like: We can follow Jesus without traditional constraints, and in fact, it is our obligation to do so. “We need to show people that church is not about following your grandmother’s rules for church, it’s for us fun, modern people too.” Do you hear the change there? It went from, “We want to change our worship style for the sake of the Jesus Movement people who seem to need an honest accommodation,” into “We make the change for ourselves because we’re not old and boring.” The goal moved from accommodating others to expressing one’s own coolness. And if the point of worship is about me and what makes me feel comfortable, it’s really hard to accept that anyone else, even God, should place any expectations on me. So the idea that God gets a say in how worship goes gets tossed aside. But none of them really looked far enough into the future to say, “If we start to throw out God’s expectations in one area, it becomes pretty easy to throw them out in other areas.” And a deep cynicism starts to develop of God’s right to have any say in our behaviors. If his opinion doesn’t matter on Sundays, soon it won’t matter on Friday night either.

Instead, what we are trying to do in our church is to say that God asks us to have an attitude of reverence when we worship him, especially on the Sabbath day. And that attitude should be carried throughout the day. And it’s true that the expression of reverence might look different in different cultures, but there is no culture where failing to express reverence in at least some way is obedience to that command. God is the object of our worship, His day is Sunday, we modify our behavior to worship him as he would like – not as we would like. And so while I see what the Evangelicals are trying to do, at least historically, I think that project ultimately failed. It became about what makes the members of that church feel good – and when they stop feeling good at that church, they can move to another one across town where they might feel good again.

But what about after church? How do Evangelicals think about keeping the afternoon/evening holy?

In our church there has been some change over time here as well. Some of the more strict practices of the past seem to have softened. If you were to peek in on a Latter-day Saint family during a Sunday afternoon and an Evangelical family during the same time, you might not see much difference. It’s subtle, but let me try to tease it out for you.

In the last 10 years or so there has been a flurry of books published in the Evangelical world on the topic of the Sabbath. I’ve read many of them, one of the classes I had in Divinity School was simply titled, “The Sabbath.” Those books have titles like, “Finding Renewal on the Sabbath”…”The Sabbath for Soul Rest”…and one simply titled, “Breathe.” The thesis of most of these books is that God wants you to feel good and mentally healthy, and taking time for yourself on the Sabbath is God’s plan for how to do that. Now, you know this, I’m a mental health therapist so I’m all about good self-care and doing things in your life that will bring about more mental health. This is not a bad pursuit and I’m certainly not making fun of them for it. You should be taking care of yourself and you do need breaks from your obligations and that is certainly part of what is going on in observing the Sabbath. But is that it? Is it just for me to feel better? You can hear in this the same logic that is used for an Evangelical Sunday worship service playing out here too. This is “you time” which is quite different then,“This is a day where we focus on worshiping God all day long, and in various ways, even when that requires quite a bit of effort from us.” The traditional understanding of keeping the sabbath day holy was that this is God’s day, and we use it for him. But for Evangelicals that has turned into “this is a day for you to rest and feel better.”

So, how do we explain our beliefs to an Evangelical friend without their eyes glossing over and them thinking, “that doesn’t sound like Sabbath day rest to me at all.” Well, let me tell you what it was like for me when I was investigating our church.

I noticed the external differences in worship right away, anyone would. But eventually I noticed the spirit of reverence behind the differences and found that very attractive. It’s impossible to be both reverent and cynical. Those two things repel each other. And, while this isn’t true for every Evangelical, my experience of it was that all that striving to be cool also came with a deep river of cynicism. When you form a church to suit your own preferences, you have to edge out at least some of God’s preferences, and things get confusing. It’s hard to tell which of God’s commandments even matter any more. Or what things about God are even true. Not everyone’s experience, but it was mine. So when I encountered a very typical, boring service at my local ward it didn’t take me long to see the lack of cynicism as very comforting. I came to enjoy being able to worship reverently with friends, but also to have a hilarious time with those same friends in other contexts. But when we’re together doing the things of God we act like God wants us to act. That’s the feeling of community and purpose. There are very few feelings that are better than that.

I hope you enjoyed this discussion on the Sabbath day. Join us again next week when we look at more Evangelical questions as they come up in our Come Follow Me text.

More Come, Follow Me resources here.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – Matthew 8; Mark 2–4; Luke 7 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Evangelical Questions: Why Do You Need Prophets Anyway?by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC

Matthew 7:15-20 Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

Welcome back to Come Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful answers to New Testament questions. My name is Jennifer Roach and today we’re going to talk about prophets. As you know we’re going through the Come Follow Me readings and addressing common questions that Evangelicals ask about our faith as we go along. Our purpose here is not to fuel debate but to help you understand where your Evangelical friends and family are coming from so that you can have better conversations with them, and perhaps even be able to offer them a bit of our faith in a way they can understand.

A common question from Evangelicals is why do we think we need prophets? Aren’t they easily identified as false prophets? And to be honest, when I was investigating the church this was the hardest issue for me to grapple with. The idea of having prophets made literally no sense to me. These days I can see it how other Latter-day Saints see it – it’s a blessing and a gift – but back then I felt suspicious. So why is it so hard for Evangelicals to understand the need for modern prophets? I think there’s two reasons and we’ll talk about both of them.

First, Evangelicals are suspicious of the idea because they have a belief that Jesus is the last prophet – and to call anyone who comes after him a prophet is to be disrespectful to Christ. Where does this belief come from? Let’s look at Hebrews 1:1-2 “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.” I know, to your Latter-day Saint ears there is no problem with that verse. You don’t hear it how they hear it. For them that verse sounds more like, “but in these last days we will only hear from Jesus.” As with most scripture quagmires, a careful reading of the text helps us out a bit. All they hear is, “Jesus was the final prophet, no more prophets will come.” But that’s not what the text says, and it’s not what the New Testament shows.

“In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets, at many times and in various ways” – We have no disagreement with Evangelicals there. The problem comes here, “but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things.” In that they hear that Jesus is the last and greatest prophet, that him being the “heir of all things” means that no other “heirs” are needed. The problem here, of course, is that we’re talking about prophecy in a few different ways. When we say that we have a living prophet on the earth today we are not saying that the prophet is greater than Jesus. The Old Testament prophets pointed to a future day when God would save his people. Then Jesus came. Now modern prophets still point to Jesus. Evangelicals are confusing the role of Jesus as prophet with the role of all the Old Testament and modern day prophets. It’s a bit nonsensical since they don’t literally think Daniel or Habakkuk are in competition with Jesus. But they feel very sensitive to the idea of upstaging Jesus. One way to talk about this with them is to talk about what a modern prophet does – points us to Christ over and over.

And then the second issue comes up. Evangelicals wonder why they would need someone to, “point to Jesus” when they already have a few reliable sources of doing that. They see the New Testament as pointing to Jesus (and we certainly wouldn’t disagree with them there); they see the Holy Spirit testifying to them of Jesus (again, no disagreement, we believe the Holy Ghost does that too); and they rely heavily on the concept of the, “priesthood of all believers” meaning that they themselves contain all the needed gifts to hear from God, no “mediator” needed. We’ll talk much more about the priesthood of all believers and what that means when we get to that section of scripture but for now we’ll just say that Evangelicals basically believe that no leader can hear from God any better than they can. Their own pastors teach them, but if the individual doesn’t like what is being taught then they move to another church where they like the teaching better.

Latter-day Saints may find it odd to say it this way, but there is a sense in which Evangelicals believe that by doing this they are emulating, as closely as possible, the New Testament church. They would say they’re just trying to boil down to the essence of the gospel and follow that as much as they can. And it might sound odd to you, but underneath that is a desire for Restoration.

They can easily look around and see that the Evangelical world is in trouble in some very real ways. And they long for God to reach down and set things straight. Sound familiar? What a fascinating opening to talk about what it means that we have a restored church. It might surprise you, Latter-day Saint to learn that many, maybe even most, Evangelical churches sometimes talk about how they’re really just trying to live in a way that contextualizes the New Testament for today’s world. They think they’re living a kind of restoration. I want to talk a little more about that in way you might be somewhat familiar with.

This comes from the work of Dr. RoseAnn Benson. She previously had been in the Ancient Scripture department at BYU and now teaches at Southern Illinois University. Her book is Alexander Campbell and Joseph Smith: 19th-Century Restorationists and it’s worth reading. Let me explain what she says and then you’ll see how it relates to Evangelicals. My apologies to Dr. Benson for this simplistic summary. Her work is layered and deep and beautiful and I cringe at the way I’m about to summarize it for you, but summarize it I will.

The year is 1830 and Parley P. Prat (PPP) has been corresponding with his friend Sydney Rigdon. You know from church history that Rigdon is a Campbellite preacher at this time. PPP and other missionaries convert him and about 100 others including 5th President of our church Lorenzo Snow and his sister Eliza R. Snow. This is the basic church history information that you probably already know. What you might not know is that the Campbellite movement considered themselves a Restorationist movement. They thought they were doing the work of bringing the restoration, but they were going about it with an entirely different strategy. The Campbellites believed at that time that in order to restore the Lord’s true church they needed to pare down the essence of the gospel and remove everything that wasn’t essential.They wanted to strip away everything that was not the very basics. They wanted to clear things to the side that didn’t support the goal of restoring the the very essence of the gospel. They were trying to take the very heart of what the Bible teaches and bring it into their day in a way that would get rid of all the errors that had crept into the church over the decades. You can kind of see the logic in what they’re doing.

What happens when PPP and Sydney Rigdon meet in person is that PPP is able to agree with him about the need for a restoration – but that Joseph Smith was teaching the restoration doesn’t come from paring everything down. Joseph doesn’t want to take everything away that isn’t the rock-bottom essentials. Joseph wants to restore everything. Every, everything. He didn’t want to push anything to the side – he wanted to open everything up. To restore it all. Once Rigdon, and 100 others including the Snow family, hear this they understand. They already believed a restoration was necessary – but now they understood it wasn’t going to come through removing parts of what God had established, it was going to come through restoring everything.

Back to our Evangelical friends.

They already know things need to be restored. This is where the mental health therapist comes out in me. If they don’t trust you, or you don’t have enough relationship with you, they are not going to feel safe admitting that any kind of restoration is needed. They will feel defensive and not open up. That’s okay, it just means you need to earn more relationship collateral with them. But if they trust you enough to admit that there can be some issues with their church from time to time, you can probably have a pretty cool conversation about what restoration would look like – is it a paring down of everything so that an individual person sitting alone with their Bible is enough? Or is it a restoration of everything – so that the individual can certainly sit alone with their Bible, but they are also guided by a Prophet from time to time to keep them headed in the right direction?

Now, I told you I would tell you how I gained a testimony of having a Prophet and here it is.

Three and a half years ago I was in the middle of taking lessons from the missionaries. (If you haven’t heard my conversion story it’s a fun one and I’ll put a link to it in the description below where you can listen to it on the FAIR website. But, warning, it has some difficult themes in it and probably isn’t great to listen to around small kids – teens and up would be fine.) From Anglican Minister to Relief Society Sister – Interview with Jennifer Roach – FAIR (fairlatterdaysaints.org) And honestly I was struggling with the idea of having a Prophet. I’ve seen the worst of what can happen in churches when people in power take advantage of that power (listen to my story if you want to know more about that) and I was skeptical that a man with that much power could be trusted.

One day the missionaries say, “The Prophet is coming to Seattle and we have tickets for you.” At the time I didn’t know that this was an unusual thing. Maybe the Prophet just drops by from time to time. But it was a very special event and it was held at Safeco Field, the baseball stadium. It was a beautiful summer evening and 50,000 people showed up to see Russel M. Nelson. And he was great, just like you’d imagine. But it wasn’t his talk or anything in the evening’s program that made me change my mind. What helped me was that when I arrived about half an hour before the event was to begin and sat with friends from my ward. While we were waiting everyone around us was talking about “their prophet” – usually the one who had been leading the church when they were young, and what it meant to them to have a leader like that. To be totally honest I think my own skeptical nature on this topic would have kept me from trusting a man I didn’t know and will never meet. But I saw what having a Prophet did in the lives of my friends and how much goodness it brought to them. And I was converted to the idea that very night – not by President Nelson’s words, though they were great, but by the testimonies of my friends.

I hope these words have given you some thoughts about how to talk with your Evangelical friends about the idea of Prophets. If you have a question an Evangelical friend has asked you that you’d like to get some insight on please email me at jroach@fairlatterdaysaints.org. I got an email this week from some Sister Missionaries in the Houston, Texas mission so shout-out to Sister Cox and her companions. I’ll be answering their question in an upcoming episode. And I look forward to seeing you all next time.

More Come, Follow Me resources here.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – Matthew 6–7 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Evangelical Questions: Why You So Judgy?by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC

Luke 6:37 Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

Welcome back to Come Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions. My name is Jennifer Roach and today we’re going to talk about worthiness. As you know we’re going through the Come Follow Me readings and addressing common questions that Evangelicals ask about our faith as we go along. Our purpose here is not to fuel debate but to help you understand where your Evangelical friends and family are coming from so that you can have better conversations with them, and perhaps even be able to offer them a bit of our faith in a way they can understand.

A common question from Evangelicals is why our church spends so much time and energy, “being judgy” – meaning, why do we care about worthiness? Why do we say our Bishops are, “Judges in Israel.” Can’t we just follow Jesus’ words and refrain from all the judgment?

This is a huge issue, and there is not enough time in a video like this to parse through all of it, so I’m just going to cover the parts the average Evangelical would be worried about. And they are worried about it. If you remember a couple videos back we talked about the history of the Evangelical movement and how they can be considered “Double Protestants” because they come from a tradition that protested against the Catholic Church, and then they did it again and protested against their own Protestant churches. And that same dynamic is going to come into play here, especially as it comes to them being Protestants who have moved away from the Catholic Church.

So, an Evangelical’s understanding of what is happening in a Catholic Church is that the priest sets himself up as God and directly forgives sins, or refuses to forgive them, and that people have no direct access to God. Now, that is not what is happening in a Catholic Church – all of you who have a Catholic background can take a deep breath, I know that is not what is happening in a Catholic Church, but that’s what Evangelicals (largely) think is happening. And in reaction to that they have a very high value on the idea that only God can judge and no other human ever has to be involved in the process at all. It’s actually a really unfortunate over-reaction to their misunderstanding because what happens is that the individual is left utterly alone to learn how to repent and change and grow. There is no communal support for how to repent. They’ve created that culture for what they think is a good reason – a really important reason – which is that they see themselves as the ones who take down barriers between people and Christ.

How Does This Work

So you, Latter-day Saint, you know how this works in our church. Let me try to explain how this works in Evangelical churches. You remember from our previous videos that Evangelical churches place a really high value on the conversion experience or, “saying the sinner’s prayer.” Not all Protestant churches function this way, but at least historically in Evangelical churches the entire point of everything is to get people to say the sinner’s prayer….and what happens next varies greatly, depending on the particular church. Some churches are content to pretty much stop there – oh they certainly want people to keep attending, and keep learning about God, but not much more is going to be expected of them. They’ve already done the thing – they said the prayer. One hugely popular Evangelical author says it’s like going around the bases in baseball, once you’ve gotten to home plate you’re done and now your main job is to cheer on the other members of your team so that they can get to home plate too. Sure, you probably need to learn and grow a bit, and that includes confession of sin, but that’s a private thing that you do alone on purpose. No one else is to be involved because that would be putting a barrier between you and God. They don’t even really have a conceptualization of getting help in the repentance process because if a person asked for such help they would be told to go pray in private, confess their sins, and move on. The best case scenario is that this is a system which fosters self-reliance and forces a person to build up their own relationship with God – and the worst case scenario is that it leaves people without much help or hope on difficult issues when they know what they should be doing but can’t quite bring themselves to do it.

So, when your Evangelical friends or family members learn that we require adults and teenagers to sit for worthiness interviews, or that we sometimes say bishops are to function as a, “judge in Israel,” their defenses go up pretty high. They’re worried that we’re doing unnecessary gate-keeping and leaving people separated from God unnecessarily. Interestingly enough we both have the same worry about each other – we worry a bit about them abandoning people to have to handle every act of repentance entirely alone; and they worry that we are causing people to feel abandoned by God because we’re putting up barriers for them to repent.

Common Ground

But at the end of the day, we both want the same thing – for people to repent from their sins and grow in holiness. And still it seems kind of hard for many Latter-day Saints to explain why we do what we do. I don’t have the definitive answer on that, but I do have some thoughts about why what we’re doing is worthwhile and how you might be able to talk about it with your Evangelical friends in a way they can understand, and might even learn from.

Maybe you’ve had this experience, I certainly have….if the topic of worthiness interviews comes up, your Evangelical friend is going to look at you like you are a crazy person for voluntarily submitting to that. They’re going to think you are handing over your autonomy and will probably quote Jesus’ words to you about, “judge not lest ye be judged.” But what is Jesus actually saying there?

In my day-job I’m a mental health therapist and this question comes up all the time. A client will be participating in a certain activity, or spending time with a certain person and the activity or person turns out to not be very good for them. They leave that person’s presence feeling more anxious, or they have some other bad consequence from spending their time that way. If I, as their therapist, suggest that they might need to reconsider who they spend their time with I am often met with the objection, “Well, I can’t judge them.” But, I don’t even know what that means, to be honest. When I go to the grocery store and want to buy a nice piece of salmon I have some choices to make. I can buy the piece that looks like it came off the boat that morning, or I can buy the piece that looks like it’s been sitting in the case for 5 weeks. Buying the fresh fish has one set of consequences, and buying the weeks old piece of fish has a different set of consequences. I get to choose which consequences I’d like. These days I know exactly how to go to the store and notice the signs of freshness in a fish, but I didn’t always. Someone had to point them out to me so that today I can properly judge which piece of fish is going to give me the consequences I want. Am I judging the fish? Yes. But what I’m really judging is the consequences of my own actions. The topics that come up in a worthiness interview are kind of the same thing. Let me use an old example to explain.

As you know, the worthiness interview questions have changed over time. A previous version of the questions asked members if they had, “stolen irrigation water from their neighbor.” I grew up in an agricultural area where irrigation water was, and still is, fiercely debated. Stealing water that does not belong to you is going to have bad consequences for you (you will be used to a certain amount of water for your crops, and when it becomes restricted after you get caught the crops you planted with that extra water will die); it’s bad for your neighbor (their crops will die), and it’s bad for the entire ecosystem (I don’t have time to explain that piece, just trust me). So if we’re looking at a behavior called, “stealing irrigation water” we can demonstrate how it will have negative effects on the individual and community. It will be negative in the same way that eating a bad piece of fish from the store will be bad. In our modern worthiness interview when you are asked, “Do you live the law of chastity?” is that an improper use of judgment, the kind Jesus was talking about? Or is that designed to help people consider the consequences of their actions and decide if those actions are going to have good or bad consequences for them and their neighbors? I think most members would say that this is intended as – and functions as – a question about considering consequences. Infidelity is an act that is not between two people in private, that’s an act that impacts everyone they love and have influence over. And those consequences – the natural consequences of infidelity – are far more devastating than eating a piece of bad fish.

Despite the fact that your Evangelical friends or family members largely are left to confess sin in private they could probably see the benefit of worthiness conversations when we think about them this way. The word, “judgment” has a bad reputation these days, and probably for some good reasons, but we’re left without a better word to explain what we’re after in those interviews. In this topic my mind often goes to the youth. Youth in Evangelical churches are going to be expected to sustain some form of chastity (for the most part) but without a vehicle to talk about that and potentially get help repenting over that, it’s an incredible burden to place on them and ask them to manage it alone. In this sense the very concept of a worthiness interview is similar to teaching someone how to choose good fish at the market. It’s not the kind of judgment that tells the person, “you’re a bad person,” it’s the kind of judgment that helps them discern which outcomes they would like to have the best chance at getting.

I hope this episode helps you think through how to talk about these things with your Evangelical friends and family members. The unique gift that our church has in this realm is that we provide a private place for every member to have a private chat with their local leader to think through these things, and that’s not just limited to a worthiness interview, but includes going to your bishop when an issue comes up where you can’t figure out how to repent on your own. If you’ve grown up in the church you might not realize how rare it is to have that option. There may be a few exceptions but for the most part Evangelicals don’t have that option – and at the larger churches their local pastor won’t even know their name, nevermind how they or their family are doing managing the challenges of life.

Join us next week as we take up another Evangelical question. If you have a specific question you’d like to see answered shoot me an email at jroach@fairlatterdaysaints.org See you next time.

More Come, Follow Me resources here.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – Matthew 5; Luke 6 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Evangelical Questions: What Must I Do To Be Saved?by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC

John 3:16-18 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”

Welcome back to Come Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions. My name is Jennifer Roach and today we’re going to talk about what it means to be saved. As you know we’re going through the Come Follow Me readings and addressing common questions that Evangelicals ask about our faith as we go along. Our purpose here is not to fuel debate but to help you understand where your Evangelical friends and family are coming from so that you can have better conversations with them, and perhaps even be able to offer them a bit of our faith in a way they can understand.

Well, if there ever was a topic where Latter-day Saints and Evangelicals get confused over language it’s this one…What is salvation? Our agenda for today is this: First we’ll talk about how Evangelicals understand salvation and why they think the way they do, next we’ll answer their questions hopefully in a way they can hear, and then we’ll talk about the unique contributions our faith makes to this part of the conversation.

What Does it Mean to be Saved?

In our church when we talk about life after death we have a conceptualization that pretty much everybody is “saved.” We get anxious about what exactly that will look like, and especially anxious over what the relationships will be there, but the actual question of salvation isn’t really all that interesting to us. But it is huge to Evangelicals and I want to help you understand why. First I’m going to talk about Evangelicals broadly, and then about the two subsets of Evangeliclas who view these issues slightly differently.

First, in general Evangelicals believe that after this life is over each person will face judgment where there really is only one question God asks, “What did you believe about my son, Jesus Christ?” Those who can answer that question by saying they believe Jesus is Lord receive a reward of eternal happiness in Heaven, and those who either can’t say that Jesus is Lord, or who have never heard of Jesus are condemned to eternal suffering in Hell. While historically Catholics have believed that there is some wiggle room with their conceptualization of Purgatory, Evangelicals believe it is a one-time judgment that can never be changed, even if the reason for the person’s lack of belief is that they lived in a time and place where no one had heard of Jesus.

And if you remember from an earlier video you know that Evangelicals as we know them today are really a post-WW2 invention. One of the original goals of the Evangelical movement was to take down all barriers that churches had put up for people coming to Christ. And as their name – Evangelical – implies they are very interested in sharing the message of salvation with everyone. But they had a problem which was churches who put up, in their opinion, too many barriers to faith. And by this they meant requiring people to be baptized. Now, many Evangelical churches still practice baptism, it has not gone away. Instead what has happened is that they’ve changed the process from, as the New Testament puts it, “Believe and be baptized” to “Believe, say the sinner’s prayer, and later show evidence that you have done these things already through your act of baptism.” Baptism itself is not efficacious, it’s the sinner’s prayer that actually does the heavy lifting, and the baptism is for show. So for them, to be saved means that you pray a prayer of repentance, inviting Jesus “into your heart,” and then you are saved. When judgment day arrives for you the issue will be already settled since you have made some declaration that Jesus is Lord and will be placed in Heaven. That’s what salvation is for them in a general sense.

Two subsets

I don’t want to get too far off track here but there are two important distinctions to talk about here. “Evangelical” is a broad term. It’s not a denomination. It’s a descriptor that applies to many different types of churches. You can be a Baptist, and be an Evangelical. You can be a non-denominational church and be an Evangelical. And there is another descriptor that it’s important to talk about here: Calvinist. Evangelicals come in 3 varieties: Calvinists, Non-Calvinists, and Blind-To-Theology. The Bling-to-Theology category simply means this: members at a specific church are not taught using theological terms or categories. This is your, “We just love talking about Jesus” kind of church. Now, the leadership of that church, and the denomination they belong to (if they belong to one) absolutely has a stance as Calvinist or Non-Calvinist, but the pew-sitting people in those churches couldn’t tell you who Calvin was or how he is influencing their lives if you paid them. Their leaders simply side-step the issue by using other language to talk about the same things. So, really, we only have 2 categories.

100 years ago it would be easy to spot a Cavlinist church because they were mostly called either “Presbyterian” or “Reformed.” That hasn’t been the case for a long time. The hipster church on the corner that is called something like, “Engage! Church” could be Calvinist, or they could be Non-Calvinist, you’d have to dig to find out. So what is a Calvinist anyway and why is it important?

John Calvin was born during the Renaissance in France. He’s educated at the University of Paris but right after his University studies he breaks away from the Catholic Church and becomes a Protestant (French Protestants are called Huguenots) but eventually he has to flee to Switzerland because there is a great deal of violence against Protestants in France during that era. Calvin was trained as a lawyer, but he becomes a theologian and you can see the lawyer in him when you read his theology. And Calvin’s biggest theological contribution is the idea that because God is so Supreme, so sufficient, so all-knowing, he already knows who will and won’t be saved (at this time in history that’s the “believe and be baptized” version of being saved, not the “pray the sinner’s prayer version.) And in fact, this knowledge in God is so certain it must only be because he chose who would be saved and who wouldn’t. And, even further, it is entirely possible for a person to want to be saved, but if God has decided they will not be saved, there is no hope for them. The opposite is true too – if God has decided you are to be saved, that will be “irresistible” to you in a way that requires no agency from you. Today, there are various versions of Calvinism, some softer than others, but the basic idea is the same: God chooses who will be saved and who won’t. A person can’t really know for sure that they’re saved until the judgment.

Calvinism still has a huge influence on Christianity today, especially in America. Roughly 60% of Evangelical churches believe some form of Calvinism, and this is part of what fuels the grace-vs-works debate. But it’s not a clear-cut distinction for which Evangelical church follows it and which ones don’t. The opposite position, Armeniniasm believes every person has the possibility of being saved and that the church should work hard to reach as many people as possible. But most churches have some mix in them. I grew up in an Evangelical church where we were jokingly told, “You should spend your waking hours as an Armeniest (meaning you should work hard to spread the gospel) but you sleep like a Calvinist (meaning you should leave it all in God’s hands and be content with whatever he decides.)”

You can see, in these two subsets there are two very different views on what it means to be saved. In one version God pre-decides it for a person, and no agency of theirs is required. In the other version the person has to use their will to decide to follow God, and that creates salvation for them. (I know this doesn’t make any sense, I didn’t make the rules, I’m just telling you.)

So, you can see, even within Evangelicalism there is disagreement about what it means regarding how to get saved. But they all agree on the fact that not being saved means eternity in Hell. How will that time be spent? Opinions vary from, “eternal conscious torment” to “obliteration,” and obliteration is about the best you can hope for. About 15 years ago there was a movement in the Evangelical world to reconsider what Hell is, who goes there, and how that time will be spent, and the “obliteration” option largely became more popular because of that movement. Which means that in their view, if we’re considering a person who has never heard of Jesus Christ, the very best thing we can hope happens after they die is that they simply no longer exist. The alternative is that they are consciously tormented forever.

Talking About Salvation

Normally in these videos I’ve tried to explain the Evangelical position in a way that hopefully makes you say, “yeah, I can see where they’re coming from even if I disagree.” But I gotta be honest, it’s really hard to do that here. The best I can do is to point out to you that their belief system (whether they’re Calvinists or not) is highly self-reinforcing. When I was an Evangelical I completely bought into this system because of the ways it’s self-reinforcing. There is the threat of eternal damnation hanging in the balance after all. But I’ll tell you how it started to crack for me.

I grew up in a family where my mom took us to church and my dad only attended if us kids were having some kind of special event (a special choir performance, etc.) I was taught as a girl that someone like my dad would go immediately to Hell if he died in his unbelief. They softened that for people like me by saying, “life is long and you have no idea when someone’s heart might turn to God.” But it turned out that my dad’s life was not long. He died in a car crash at 44 years old. I was 12, which doesn’t sound very old, but I was a weird kid and interested in theology straight out of the womb. So I had to figure out how to understand that my church said my father was going to be consciously tormented forever without letting it break my faith. And in my little 12-year-old mind I kept a secret thought, “I think my church is wrong about that.” It would take me decades to gain enough theological sophistication to think all the way through that, of course, but that’s where it started. And I can tell you exactly where I was standing when I had it (12th and M street, Modesto CA), because it shook my world. The fruition of that thought wouldn’t come for decades, but I don’t know that I would be here today without it.

I tell you all of that to say this: There are Evangelicals out there who question this system they’re in, even if it is very quietly. And frankly, our church’s conceptualization of the afterlife is far kinder, far more in line with the character of God. In this series we’re talking about the gifts our church has to offer to the larger Christian world, and this is certainly one of those areas. When you talk with Evangelicals about, “what it means to be saved” you will have to fight past a lot of anxiety about the threat of Hell, and worries about getting things wrong, and an entire self-reinforcing system. But you have something to offer here that your friends or family members might end up wanting.

More Come, Follow Me resources here.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – John 2–4 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Evangelical Questions: Wait. You Don’t Believe in the Trinity?by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC

Mark 1:10-11 “And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him: And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Welcome back to Come Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions. I’m Jennifer Roach and today we’re looking at a popular question you might get from your Evangelical friends or family members: Why don’t you believe in the Trinity? As you know we’re following the Come Follow Me readings in the New Testament this year and this week’s reading brings up the question in Mark 1:11 because we have Jesus being baptized, the voice of God calling down from Heaven, and the Spirit appearing in the form of a dove. So it’s understandable that our friends get confused on this issue. Here we are reading Mark 1, but denying the Trinity. What gives?

Understanding the Question

As always we are first going to try to understand where an Evangelical is coming from with this question. It comes up a lot, and it certainly is a big deal to them and I want to help you understand why so you can see where we have commonality, and where we can offer a unique gift to the rest of Christianity with our perspective.

So, why is the Trinity such a big deal? But the word “trinity” is not found in the Bible, nor are the Greek or Hebrew equivalents. Most Latter-day Saints have some knowledge that this idea came from the church councils that formed the creeds, and that’s a good start. But instead of looking at this history of how the Trinity developed, I want to look at the modern understanding of it by today’s Evangelicals. (We will talk about Creeds in a later episode, but that needs a full episode all to itself.) At the heart of it, their concerns are about getting the nature of God correct. That’s a commendable thing. On that note, we want the same thing that they do.

It’s a really important question and Evangelicals will often think of this in terms of the nature of God being a foundational piece that will throw everything else off if it is gotten wrong. I attended an Evangelical Divinity School for my Masters in Divinity and one our professors was found of saying, “Every conversation is about the nature of God – it just looks like it’s about finance or fashion or pizza from the outside.” And if you’re not a person who lives in your head, maybe that’s taking it too far, but there is some truth to it. So we give them respect for caring about who God is and what He’s like. And if you have Evangelical friends who are willing to talk with you about the nature of God, well you are very lucky – what better conversation is there to have?

Today’s Evangelical Belief in the Trinity

Ironically, Evangelicals often don’t understand this issue any better than Latter-day Saints do. In 2018 two Christian ministries – Ligonier Ministries which focuses on doctrinal competence and LifeWay Publishers which is the publishing arm of the Southern Baptist Convention – did a survey of Evangelicals to assess their understanding of the Trinity. What they did was ask participants to affirm certain statements about the Trinity, but the trick was that each statement was an official heresy, not a true belief about the Trinity. On average they affirmed 3 out of 8 heretical statements, earning them a failing 62.5%.

Although to be completely fair, in the past many Evangelicals would have used a handful of popular analogies to describe the nature of the Trinity such as, “It’s like water, steam, ice – all three are made of the same stuff.” Or, “It’s like an actor who wears three different masks.” Evangelicals themselves have mostly debunked these and gotten away from their usage, which is a good thing. Each of those analogies really better represents a rejected heresy about the Trinity than the actual concept itself. You’ll certainly still hear these analogies, but far less than in decades past. However the thinking behind them persists, as evidenced by the previously mentioned survey.

And in more thoughtful corners of the Evangelical world they’ve made a move to talking about the mystery of the Trinity, and shying away from the specifics of it. Instead of hearing, “The Trinity is like a three-leaf clover,” you are far more likely to hear, “The Trinity is a great mystery where the members of the Trinity are in perfect communion with each other because they are made from the same substance as each other, and yet they have full independence to act as themselves without that ever disrupting the unity of the group.” And I’ll be honest, when I was an Evangelical the appeal to mystery worked for me because it appeals to the Trinity as a community of whose love overflows outward to humanity. And here’s where it gets really interesting for Latter-day Saints.

Jürgen Moltmann

You may have never heard of Jürgen Moltmann, and your Evangelical friends or family members probably have never heard of him either – but their pastors absolutely have, the academics who write thoughtful books for them have, and the professors who teach in Divinity Schools absolutely have. Why is Moltmann important?

Moltmann was born in 1926 in Hamburg, Germany. As of this writing he is still alive at 96 years old. You can guess by his birth year and home country that he has saw the horrors of World War 2 and the rise of authoritarianism. And it led him to think about the problems that happen in Christianity when we have a “hyper sovereign” view of God in the Trinity. That sentence alone has way too much to unpack for a video like this so let’s just leave it at saying he started to see the holes in the 3-in1-1-in-3 model of the Trinity. Moltmann develops an idea about the Trinity that he calls, “The Social Trinity,” which basically means he sees the Trinity as a cooperation or society of Divine persons, each separate from each other, but united to their core in purpose and will. Starting to sound familiar?

Before you get too excited, don’t go out and sit by your mailbox waiting for an invitation for Moltmann’s baptism into our church. Ultimately what Moltmann does with that idea of the Trinity is to demonstrate the dangers of forcing unity without free will under a supreme dictator. He was born in Germany in 1926 afterall. However, what Moltmann has done is introduce the idea of a Social Trinity that sounds very similar to our concept of the Godhead. They are not identical, and if we had more time I could show you the layers of difference, but for now it is interesting to note that the conversation around the Trinity is changing. No longer will you only hear, “The Trinity is like an egg made of a yoke, the white and the shell.” The influence of Moltmann has filtered into many corners of the Evangelical world and they are having better conversations about the Trinity because of him. And it’s not just him, the theologians who come after him (and are teaching today’s pastors) like Miroslav Volf, a Croatian theologian who writes about the intersection of theology and public policy. Volf is extremely influential on pastors who have been trained in the last 20 years. Will the average pew-sitting person know his name? Probably not. But their pastor does and has likely been influenced by his ideas about the Social Trinity.

So What?

I tell you all of this about Moltmann and Volf to say that things are changing in the Evangelical conversation about the Trinity. And while they themselves are still trying to reign in heresies about the Trinity, the conversation is also opening up. Your Evangelical friend or family member is very likely to at least be introduced to the idea of the Trinity as a community of Divine beings of love whose goodness flows outward to humanity. And that’s a conversation that would be very interesting to have.

Matter Matters

The most unique contribution that our faith makes to the conversation about the nature of God is that God the Father has a body. You may have heard that statement so many times in your life that it has no meaning to you and it’s hard for you to understand the implications of God being only a Spirit. Let me draw out some meaning for you.

In the traditional conception of God the Father he is seen as a spirit who has no body. Jesus gets a human body for a time while he lives on Earth, but that is God’s only experience of what it’s like to inhabit matter. And when God is only Spirit it is easy to only relate to him in our hearts and minds, not our bodies. This is the heresy of Gnosticism where it becomes really important to think the right things with your mind, but not very important to do the right things with your body. As long as you have correct beliefs, well you can do whatever you want with your body. The Spiritual matters, the physical doesn’t. Latter-day Saint beliefs turn that on its head in a profound way when we say that God the Father has a physical body. Other corners of Christianity hint at this in various ways by saying that God inhabits the Eucharist (either symbolically as Protestants say, or literally as Catholics say) or other symbols of faith. But Latter-day Saints are not saying God symbolically inhabits matter, we are saying that He is made of matter. So if God the Father is made of matter, then simply giving intellectual assent to concepts about faith can never be enough. Our beliefs matter, but our physical acts matter too. We’ll revisit this idea in a future video when we talk about the tension between works (things you do in the physical world) and grace (which exists in the spiritual or intellectual world alone).

In Conclusion

My sense is that historically conversations between Latter-day Saints and Evangelicals has been rough when it comes to talking about the nature of God. But never before has such a good foundation been laid in Evangelicalism itself to talk about the concept of the Godhead and how we see that working. You might be very surprised to find yourself on a similar page as an Evangelical friend on this topic, and even more surprised that our unique contribution of God the Father inhabiting physical matter is intriguing and helpful.

More Come, Follow Me resources here.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – Matthew 3; Mark 1; Luke 3 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Evangelical Questions: Why did Joseph Smith change the meaning to some verses in the Bible?by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC

This week we come to a very important verse in scripture. John 1:1 traditionally translated, “In the beginning was the word.” You’ll find it that way in almost every translation. It’s often the first verse beginning Greek students learn, “Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος” and straight away they are introduced to the complexities of translating. The text literally says, “In the beginning was the logos.” We look at that verse now, with the benefit of centuries of translation on our side and know “logos” means Jesus in some sense. Translators, theologians and scholars have been settled on this for a very long time. So it’s a fair question to ask, “Why did Joseph Smith step out of the established translation on this verse?” Now, your Evangelical friends or family members may not be able to point to this specific verse and see the differences, but if you’re in conversation with them about the New Testament the issue of Joseph’s variations in translation are going to come up eventually. Let’s look at how Joseph translated the same verse:

John 1:1 In the beginning was the gospel preached through the Son. And the gospel was the word, and the word was with the Son, and the Son was with God, and the Son was of God. (JST)

There’s a lot going on here and we’re going to break it down into pieces. First we’ll talk about what your Evangelical friends think when they hear that different translation and why they hear it that way. And then we’ll talk about what Joseph is doing in this translation and how it opens up meaning even your Evangelical friends might appreciate.

First, what do Evangelicals hear when they hear that kind of translation?

There are many verses in the Bible that have translation variations and most Evangelicals are completely comfortable with this. They understand that the many different translations of the Bible are trying to do different things. For example, they understand that a translation like The Message (which isn’t actually a translation, it’s a paraphrase) is trying to do something radically different than a translation like the English Standard Version (ESV). The Message is attempting to put the Bible’s message into fresh contemporary language so that the modern reader can hear it and understand it in their own context. The language is meant to sound good on your ears. Meanwhile the ESV is trying to give as close to a word-for-word translation as possible even if it has to mean sacrificing the lyrical sound of a passage. So when they hear a different translation they’re not reacting to the fact that differences have been brought in. They’re used to that.

The thing that is bothersome for them is that they doubt Joseph’s abilities as a translator and they use his “wrong” translation of John 1:1 as proof that if he couldn’t even translate the Bible correctly, what chance did he have of translating the Golden Plates correctly?

The Golden Plates and the Bible

One of the things your Evangelical friend might be wondering about is how you can trust the Book of Mormon to be true when we have no access to the Golden Plates to check Joseph’s translation work? The interesting assumption behind that question is that we have originals of the Bible to check against. Many people (Evangelicals and others) have either seen pictures of old manuscripts, or perhaps they’ve seen one in person such as the Codex Sinaiticus which is on public display at the British Library in London. Because these manuscripts are very old many people assume they are the actual documents that the original writers literally wrote. Sinaiticus is considered the oldest complete manuscript – but even it is only dated back to the 4th-century. It’s not like we can do a direct comparison to the Biblical text either. The originals simply do not exist. Now, there is a science called “textual criticism” which identifies and tracks the variations in the text. This process is very good at identifying exactly where changes happened, which manuscripts got copied with which changes and more. But, it’s not 100% accurate, and has been wrong in the past. So we’re still in a situation where the translation of the Bible and the translation of the Book of Mormon are in pretty similar boats.

Still, Evangelicals feel nervous about a novel translation of John 1:1 (or any of Josephs’s other novel translations) because no other translations are in agreement with what he’s doing. They hear it as a subtle way to smuggle “incorrect meaning” into the scriptures. But is that what’s happening here?

What Does Joseph See in John 1:1?

So, if you remember, here is what Joseph is doing in the very first part of the verse, instead of, “In the beginning was the word,” or ““Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος,” we get, “In the beginning was the gospel preached through the Son.” Joseph is swapping out, “the word” for, “the gospel preached through the Son.” And the question becomes, what is he doing here and why?

What is “Logos”?

Most Latter-day Saints are not particularly interested in philosophy, and for understandable reasons. But in order to get at some important content here I want to glance in the direction of philosophy for just a moment because it is the best way to understand what this “logos” actually means.

Logos is a huge concept in Greek philosophy. It doesn’t have an exact translation in English. You have probably been taught, “it means Jesus” and that’s true insofar as the concept points to Jesus, but the word itself doesn’t mean, “Jesus.” The word means something close to, “the metaphysics that are universal law.” One Greek philosopher, Heraclitus said, “the world is animated and kept in order by fire, and this fire is the Logos.” In his example it is the thing that makes everything else work. Plato and Aristotle understood logos as something like, “the very principles of logic.” The Stoic philosophers said logos was the vitalizing force guiding the universe. Jumping forward many centuries we see the philosopher Hegel saying that logos is the “absolute concept” of the universe.

So we have the literal Greek text saying, “in the beginning was the logos and the logos was with God and the logos was God.” Our English translations almost universally translate “logos” as “word” and what they’re trying to do there is say something like, “In the beginning the ‘logic that makes all logic make sense” was with God…” Or, “In the beginning the, ‘story that ties together all the stories’ was with God.” Or even, “In the beginning the “thing that makes everything work” was with God.” But what we humans do is simplify things. We no longer hear, “in the beginning was the word” and understand it to mean all of these things, we just hear, “the word” and plug in, “Jesus.” Which isn’t untrue necessarily, but it certainly misses a lot of meaning.

So when Joseph translates, “In the beginning was the gospel preached through the Son,” he is not mistranslating, he is bringing in a layer of meaning that is largely lost to the modern reader. I read this as Joseph saying, “In the beginning God’s plan to animate this whole world was the Gospel, and it was Jesus who was going to carry that Gospel out.” Instead of Greek philosophy’s, “The universe is animated through fire.” We get, “The world is animated through the Gospel plan.” And now all of a sudden it has a whole new depth of meaning and the question of, “Why did Joseph change the Bible when no one else translates it that way?” has a far easier answer.

Insofar as it is Translated Correctly

You might be tempted to say that John 1:1 clearly is a spot of the Bible that has not been translated correctly, that Joseph got it right and everyone else got it wrong. This is tricky ground and I want to explain why.

Technically, “in the beginning was the word” is a correct translation in that it is a literal translation of the Greek sentence that is on the page. The translation is fine. What we see happening in Joseph’s translation is that he is opening up a new layer of meaning in an artistic way that is not identical to the literal translation. Your Evangelical friends might object to this by saying that it is taking too many liberties and that translation should be as close to a word-for-word translation as possible. However, at the same time, Evangelicals love The Message version of the Bible which renders John 1:1 like this, “The Word was first, the Word present to God, God present to the Word. The Word was God.” Now, that is not what is on the page in Greek. It is a translation which is bringing out some nuance that is not there in the traditional translation. An interesting thing for Evangelicals to grapple with is, “Why is it okay for The Message to bring out a layer of meaning, but it’s not okay for Joseph Smith to do so?”

Translations

This also brings up the issue of various Bible translations. Our leaders have said that we are to use the King James version in public worship, and for some very good reasons. But your Evangelical friends might think you crazy for going along with it because the language is sometimes hard to understand. On the other side, sometimes Latter-day Saints are skeptical of the variety of translations. Although today we’ve seen that John 1:1 gets translated the same way almost across the board, that isn’t true for many verses and there can be wildly different translations. Latter-day Saints can have the same worry about non-KJV translations that Evangelicals have about the Joseph Smith translation – that they’re bringing in corrupted meaning or have been mistranslated. Let me give you a brief run-down on other translations that might be helpful to you to add alongside your KJV translations.

As we’ve already alluded to in today there are a few different philosophies behind Bible translations, as well as a few different categories of source material. We’ll talk about source material first. Remember, we don’t have any originals of the Bible. We have manuscripts and fragments. Between the time of Christ and the invention of the printing press we have almost 6,000 manuscripts and fragments of the New Testament. Most of them are fragments, some fragments are as small as a business card, others are almost complete books, and no two are identical. So Bible translators have to make some choices about which manuscripts and fragments they are going to use as source material to translate from. You can read in the preface of each Bible about which manuscripts are their source material; different versions use different source material for different reasons. That’s an interesting thing to know, but unless you are an academic it’s not going to be super helpful to you. What is helpful is that translator’s philosophy, something they will also tell you about in the preface. There are 3 basic philosophies. 1)Word-for-word 2) Thought-for-thought 3) Paraphrase into modern language.

First, you should know that the word-for-word translations are not actually translating word-for-word. No such thing is possible. The Hebrew of the Old Testament lacks a grammatical structure that English speakers rely on. In English (and any other modern language) we can break down a sentence into its parts of speech and understand how each one functions. Hebrew doesn’t let you do that, the structure is just not there so the translators have to introduce it into the English version – if they didn’t the whole thing would be unintelligible to you. It’s true to a lesser degree for Greek as well. So what the word-for-word translators are doing is trying to get as close to that as possible – even when they have to sacrifice readability to do so. Translations that fall into this category include the English Standard Version, the New American Standard Bible and the Revised Standard Version.

In contrast the thought-for-thought translators are trying to take a thought from the source material and stay true to that thought as they bring it into English. They’re less concerned about staying as close to the words as possible and more concerned with actually getting the meaning across. These translations sound better to our ears and are generally more understandable, but they sacrifice staying close to the source material. Translations that fall in this category are the New International Version or the New American Bible, among others.

The final category of translation are Bibles that are not actually considered real translations because the source material was not the Greek and Hebrew from an ancient manuscript. Their source material is a Bible previously translated into English. They take the English sentence and make it sound modern or fresh. These are called paraphrases and while they’re not a great choice for serious study, they can be a good choice for devotional reading. The Message and The Living Bible, as well as others, fall in this category.

Conclusion

When the issue of translations comes up with your Evangelical friends or family it can feel overwhelming and you might feel hesitant to talk about it for fear of lack of knowledge. But as you can see in John 1:1, Joseph Smith was brining out meaning in the text the same way other Bible translators do today. And your friends outside of our church might even enjoy hearing about what Joseph was doing in that text.

More Come, Follow Me resources here.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – John 1 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Evangelical Questions: Why are temples still needed?by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC

Luke 2:22, 27

And when the days of her (Mary’s) purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him (baby Jesus) to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord…And he (Simeon) came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law.

Again we will be looking at a section of scripture in the Come Follow Me readings that corresponds to a common question Evangelicals have about our faith. Last time we talked about how an Evangelical’s value of showing loyalty to Christ makes them suspicious of some of our claims. This week we’re going to talk about the temple – why Evangelicals are skeptical of the need of a temple, why they think that way, and some of the ways you can have better conversations with them that lead to a natural but confident sharing of your testimony.

What Do Evangelicals Understand About Temples?

Many Evangelicals actually have a keen interest in learning about the temple as it is portrayed in the Old Testament. They understand much of the symbolism and value what God was trying to teach through those symbols. They also have a knowledge of how the temple functioned in the New Testament and what role it plays in the story of Jesus. You might find your Evangelical friends or family an interesting source of conversation about the temple as it is talked about in the Bible. Another area of commonality with them is that they believe the temple will be restored in Jerusalem at some future point which is related to the End Times. All of these are great jumping off places for a conversation about temples.

Where Temples Get Uncomfortable for Evangelicals

Despite our commonalities in talking about temples in the Bible, Evangelicals would start to get nervous when we talk about modern-day temples. Here is an example: when I was a girl I lived in California not far from the Oakland Temple. If you’ve ever seen the Oakland Temple you know it sits high up on a hill overlooking the entire Bay Area of San Francisco. It’s illuminated at night and very hard to miss. We were taught by our leaders that we should avert our eyes away from the temple and not even look at it – despite it being the brightest thing on the hill – because, “strange and evil things happen inside of those temples.” Clearly this was a misguided statement, but it represents the kind of fear Evangelicals have when it comes to our temples. But when you sit down to have a conversation with them about the temple it often boils down to one real question: Didn’t Jesus do away with the temple?

Did Jesus do away with temples?

I’m going to try to explain what most Evangelicals would say about why temples are no longer needed – and why they say it. If you remember back to our first video in this series, one of the dynamics at play here is that they are trying very hard to show proper loyalty and respect to Jesus Christ. Assuming they have some other motive is going to make a conversation like this harder, not easier. So, assuming their good motives we look at why talk about temples makes them so nervous.

First, you have to understand that Evangelicals prioritize the work and words of Jesus. Despite the numerous times in the Old Testament that the temple is talked about in ways that they can learn from, the ultimate temple story is when the temple veil rips in half during the crucifixion. Matthew 27:51, “At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split.” The temple veil referred to here is of course the veil that separates the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple. In Old Testament days the Holy of Holies was only entered 1 time per year and only by a very special priest and there were very strict rules around this. Normal people certainly didn’t have access to the Holy of Holies at any point during their lives. Evangelicals interpret this verse as if it’s saying that the entire temple is unneeded. They would say something like, “If the veil is ripped, then there is no need to protect the Holy of Holies, anyone can have the special direct access to God that was allowed in that place.” While we would disagree with that interpretation there is something to admire in it. Evangelicals are trying to make it so that every person has as much access to God as they want, and all it takes is a turn of the heart to be in full communion with God. They would say that because of Jesus’ sacrifice we humans no longer need anyone to help us connect with God. And in theory, we wouldn’t disagree with that, right? We too believe that every human can choose to pray inside the quietness of their own mind and that God will listen.

The differences come when Evangelicals start to make practical applications of this theology. Because the temple veil was ripped in two, there is now no barrier between us and God. and therefore it is not necessary to go to a temple to feel God’s presence, we can access it anytime from anywhere through the Spirit. In their view temples are unneeded simply because no physical space can cause a person to have, or not have, the Spirit. Again, in theory we wouldn’t disagree, but they use this to say that therefore temples are not needed. They see us as putting up a barrier to people who want to be closer to God – when Jesus’ work on the cross took that barrier down. Their hearts are certainly in the right place.

Temple Worship in the New Testament

Even though there is a certain logic to this claim, and a good motive behind it, it doesn’t really pan out . If the New Testament ended immediately after Jesus’ resurrection, they might have a more convincing claim. However, we have a lot of information about what a life of faith looked like in the post-resurrection world. And that information includes temple worship. Let me show you what I mean.

In Acts 22 we get a fascinating story from the Apostle Paul. First he retells the details of his conversion (we converts love to do this!) and after he’s done he goes on to tell a less well-known story. He tells of visiting the temple in Jerusalem and says that while he was praying in the temple he was, as the King James version says, in a trance. What exactly does that mean? We don’t totally know but Paul tells us that God told him to leave Jerusalem because the people there were not going to receive what he had to say, and that he should go preach to the Gentiles.

For most Latter-day Saints there is nothing at all odd about a story where someone goes to the temple and God communicates to them. If you don’t have a story like that of your own, you certainly know someone who does. Saying, “It’s easier to hear God speak in the temple sometimes,” would not be a controversial statement for a Latter-day Saint to make. But that statement is hard for Evangelicals because they hear us talk about temples and think we’re trying to make it harder to hear God, not easier. At this point in the conversation your Evangelical friend or family member might ask, “Well, then why are there so many rules about who can go in the temple and who can’t? Don’t you want everyone to hear from God?” Yes, we do want everyone to hear from God, and we believe that living the kind of life that makes you temple worthy gives you the very best chance at hearing from him. And that having a physical place to go where it’s quiet and everyone is focused on God also gives you a better chance. It’s not that we want to keep people out per se, it’s that we want to help people construct lives where they regularly hear from God. The requirements for temple entry are an aid toward being able to hear from God, not a deterrent from it. Can God speak to a person anywhere? Of course. He spoke to Saul, before he became Paul, out on the side of the road. But that same Paul also recognized the value of going to the temple where he could pray and hear from God. It’s taken us to this point to make the connection, but the reality here is Evangelicals and Latter-day Saints all desperately want the same thing – a connection with the Divine. We have some disagreements on how to best facilitate such a connection, but the desire is the same. They’re worried that we’re trying to keep people away from God, but it’s an unfounded fear.

Selective Reading

One of the things you might be starting to notice, even here in Video #2, is that many of the questions that come up for Evangelicals about our faith are born out of focusing on a different set of Bible verses than we would focus on. Set aside the fact that we have additional scriptures that they don’t have, even if we’re just looking at the Biblical text you can see that we Latter-day Saints focus on different texts, and different details in the text. And for many of the issues we’ll cover in this series one doesn’t even have to look beyond the Biblical text to have a good conversation about our difference. How can this be? If Evangelicals are sincere seekers of God, how is it that we see things so differently, even when we’re just looking at the Bible? Yes, modern revelation is part of it. We have information they don’t have. But perhaps there is something else going on too. The Bible is a really big book, with a lot of details that are odd to our ears. And most people condense the stories down into memorable parts, they attach a spiritual lesson to it, and sort of put it in the “done” column. They stop thinking about what a passage could possibly mean because they think they have it figured out. It’s not just Evangelicals that do this – all humans do this when trying to understand large amounts of information, we have to develop a system of shorthand in order to manage it all. We all do some degree of selective reading. And it really can take an act of humility to take a text and look at it again with fresh eyes.

When I was an Evangelical I never would have picked up the detail about Paul having a vision/trance in the temple. It’s not that I disbelieved it, I just wouldn’t have noticed it because it didn’t fit into the other bits of knowledge I was already trying to build on. I had no real place to put that information because my preconceived idea was already that temples weren’t important. As members of the church sometimes I think we shy away from a very careful reading of the Bible, not out of laziness or disinterest, but because we already have a feast of scripture that is far more explicit about these things in our modern-day scriptures. Understandable enough. But after listening to all of this you can see how having a conversation with a friend who is not of our faith about the Bible actually can lead you to some parts of scripture that perhaps they overlooked – not in a fighting or contentious kind of way, but in a way that reads closely and might see how the pieces are put together differently. I hope that as you are going through the New Testament this year you are doing a close and careful reading of the text – not just assuming that you already know what it says, but with a mind open to the Spirit to see the important details. You might be surprised at how much they bolster your faith and your confidence in talking about your testimony.

Join us next week as we look at another question that comes up in the readings. If you have a specific question that you are hoping will get addressed please contact FAIR directly or email me at jroach@fairlatterdaysaints.org

More Come, Follow Me resources here.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – Matthew 2; Luke 2 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Evangelical Questions: Is Jesus God?by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC

Matthew 1:21

21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

Introduction

So, right off the bat we have an interesting point of conversation that could come up with your Evangelical friends: Who do you believe Jesus is?

This is a really important question in the Evangelical world and a lot hinges on this for them. They’re generally taught, “Get this answer wrong, and you get everything wrong.” And there is a lot to respect in their thinking here. If Jesus were just another good teacher, or just trying to help people understand the mortality of being kind to each other, then we miss a lot of what’s happening in this part of God’s plan.

And one of the things you’re going to see come up in this series over and over is that sometimes we use the same words to describe different things. Evangelicals are aware of this too and they’re nervous that they’re going to almost get tricked into believing something about Jesus that turns out not to be true. One of their greatest desires and values is to show loyalty and respect to Jesus Christ. So they might approach a conversation with you about Jesus nervously. And to be honest, that’s an admirable character trait – this is one of the ways they show their faithfulness to Christ. So in a conversation with an Evangelical friend about Christ they’re going to feel really protective of him. Also admirable.

Is Jesus a Child of God?

The thing that makes talking about Jesus with an Evangelical difficult is that they think they know what members of the church REALLY think about Jesus, and their defense mechanisms naturally kick in – they feel a lot of loyalty to Christ. Here’s some examples of things I was taught as an Evangelical, and things I used to actually think…

That Jesus is a literal Spirit Child of a Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother.

If you’re a member of the church, that probably doesn’t sound very odd in your ears. “Of course Jesus is a Spirit Child of God – we all are!” Let me tell you how Evangelicals hear that:

“To say Jesus is a literal spirit child of God is to say that he is less than God, he was created at a point in time and therefore is not eternal. He can never be really considered God.”

Now, as members of the church that probably sounds odd to you and you might be asking, “Don’t Evangelicals say that Jesus is the Son of God?” Yes, they do. But they mean something different by it and when we say that he is a spirit child born of Heavenly Father they get uncomfortable because somehow that diminishes him. Remember, they’re not necessarily trying to fight against Truth, when they say that, they’re trying to be loyal to Jesus and they feel protective of his place. Its the “literal” child of God that makes them nervous. This is probably very confusing to you because in our church we belive EVERYONE is a literal spirit child of God, including Jesus. Let’s explore that…

Evangelicals do believe in being a child of God, but let me tell you what they mean by it….

To the evangelical God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit exist as a special species of beings called God (singular) and no one else will ever join that species. Angels and demons (to the degree that they believe in them) are a separate species. They have no information on how that species began or if any more beings can be added to it. They just know it is a different species from God, and from humans. Humans are a third species. New humans are created at the moment of their conception and at that moment God creates a new spirit to put into them. Even though humans must collaborate with God in the creation of babies, all humans are a species all unto themselves with a substance entirely different from what either God or angels are made from. A human has about as much chance to become an angel as a dog does to become a cat. And in their thinking, the idea that a human could transcend their species to become like God is impossible.

What Species is Jesus? What Species are you?

So when an Evangelical says, “I am a child of God” – and they do say that – what do they mean? HOW are they children of God if they are an entirely different species? Isn’t that like saying a kitten is a puppy? Here is what they mean:

I’ll quote the NIV for clarity…

Gal 4:4-5

4 But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.

Now, what they’re saying that verse says – that we are some other species and God adopts us into his family as there would be no other way for us to be considered his family – is not true. If you read the entire context of that paragraph of scripture you see it is talking about an underage heir who must live under some restrictions – and then when the time comes that heir becomes the master and functions as such. This is not a paragraph about cross-species adoption. But they hear that word “adoption” and combine it with their preconceived idea that God is a different species than us, so that when they say, “I am a child of God” they mean, “I was not God’s child, but He has graciously adopted me into His family, even though I don’t deserve the title.”

So, back to our original question, “I thought you didn’t believe Jesus is God?” you can now see what they mean by that. They mean: Because you say Jesus was born as a spirit child of God He can’t be equal to God but is somehow adopted in like we humans are.”

The question has been overwhelmingly answered right on the Church’s website. We believe in the Jesus of the Bible, just like our EV friends and neighbors do. We believe Jesus is the only begotten son of God, born in the flesh and lived among us, He suffered, died, was burried, and rose again. This article from the Church details it much more specifically. What Latter-day Saints Believe About Jesus Christ (churchofjesuschrist.org)

Differences

However, let’s not collapse all our differences. There are things we believe about Jesus that are different from Evangelicals. Because their view of Jesus is shaped through the Creeds, and ours is not, we see some things differently.

You can confidently say, “Yes, we believe these same things about Jesus, but here are the areas where we slightly differ…” And from my perspective, as a former Evangelical, this is one of the best spots for inspired conversation. So what are the actual differences?

God Revealed

In our church we believe that God continues to reveal himself, even now in our day. This can make Evangeliclas a little nervous because they are used to being taught that matters about God have been settled, and they can find those settled answers in the Bible and in the Creeds. They believe they’ve captured the right answers and now have them corralled into a fenced yard and if they keep those answers in, and all other answers out, they will be safe. It’s an understandable desire. This is where I was when I was first learning about the church. The idea that God could reveal more information about himself felt like a trick and my loyalty reflex kicked in. But as I came to understand that the new information God had revealed about himself was good and helpful, I began to trust it more.

When Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ visit Joseph Smith for the First Vision we see Joseph learning some things. It takes him a bit to put the pieces together, but once he does he comes to understand that Heavenly Father is material and all that implies – and what it implies is very good, more on that in another video.

The Evangelicals aren’t rejecting new information because they have particularly hard hearts or are not open to God. They reject this because they’re skeptical – they’ve been taught to be skeptical – out of loyalty. But when you can show a Evangelical friend that God revealed really means something good, they might get curious.

Jesus in the Book of Mormon

Before I read the Book of Mormon for the first time I really didn’t know what it was about. I knew the cultural references to it, and understood the basics of the story of Joseph and the gold plates. But I actually thought, as embarrassing as this is to admit, that it was about the early Utah period. So it will come as no surprise to you that I didn’t have any idea how much of Jesus was in the Book of Mormon. One of my earliest reactions was being surprised by how much knowledge they have. Part of me was skeptical that this was a heavily constructed history but I decided to judge the content of the book on its truths, leaving aside the questions about where it came from at first. When Jesus is mentioned in the Book of Mormon I decided that I would ask myself if what was being taught was true or not. And it didn’t take me very long to feel comfortable with the truths I found.

I say all of that to say this: When you’re talking with an Evangelical friend about our beliefs about Jesus don’t be too alarmed when they’re skeptical of how the Book of Mormon came to be. They don’t have to have a firm testimony of that before they can gain truth from it. And my experience with Evangelicals is that they welcome truth when they find it – as long as they can get over their skepticism. If you’re talking with your EV friend and they’re skeptical of how the Book of Mormon came to be, that’s okay. Talking about Jesus as revealed in the Book of Mormon might be a more faith-producing place to start anyway.

Conclusion

So, if the question is, “I thought you didn’t believe Jesus is God,” you can confidently assure your friend that yes, we believe Jesus is God and affirm what the New Testament teaches us about Him. You and your friend are on the same page there. And, as the Spirit leads, you might be able to tell them something good about the additional revelation we have received.

More Come, Follow Me resources here.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – Matthew 1; Luke 1 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Christmas Message, Christmas Prophets, Christmas Joyby David W. Smith

Jerusalem, 600 BC

The year is approximately 600 BC. The place is Jerusalem. It has been about 20 years since a major religious reform has changed how people worshiped. The prophet Jeremiah has been warning the people of Jerusalem that they need to repent or else watch as their city is destroyed and they are taken into captivity. Many other prophets echo his message. Now, after preaching for over 20 years, he is in prison.

In this tumultuous time, a man sees an amazing vision. He sees a great person come down out of heaven, shining more brightly than the sun. He sees twelve others follow him, shining brighter than the stars. The great person comes to him, gives him a book, and asks him to read. He then goes out to share with the people of Jerusalem what he saw and heard. He joins the other prophets in warning the people of their coming doom. He adds a message of hope: because of what he saw and read, he knows that a Messiah will come and redeem the world.

The people of Jerusalem are so upset at this message that they try to kill him. But through the Lord’s mercies, he escapes into the wilderness with his family.[1]

Visions in the Wilderness

While in the wilderness, he shares more with his family about this great message of joy. He shares a vision he had about a tree with fruit that “was desirable to make one happy.” He ate this fruit and was filled “with exceedingly great joy” (1 Nephi 8:10, 12). After sharing this dream, he teaches more about the Messiah who will come. He says that in 600 years this Messiah will come among the Jews and be the Savior of the world. “He also spake concerning the prophets, how a great number had testified of these things, concerning this Messiah, of whom he had spoken, or this Redeemer of the world. Wherefore, all mankind were in a lost and in a fallen state, and ever would be save they should rely on this Redeemer” (1 Nephi 10:4). He teaches that this Messiah will be slain by the Jews and then will rise again.

One of this man’s sons wants to know more, so the son diligently seeks for revelation from God. The Lord blesses the son with a vision, guided by an angel. In this vision he sees the tree his father saw and the fruit his father ate. He also sees his old home, Jerusalem. He sees other cities, including Nazareth, a city north of Jerusalem. “In the city of Nazareth I beheld a virgin, and she was exceedingly fair and white. . . . And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a child in her arms. And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father” (1 Nephi 11:13, 20–21).

At this point—as this young man is seeing this special child in the arms of his mother—the angel asks, “Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw?” The young man responds, “Yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things. And [the angel] spake unto me, saying: Yea, and the most joyous to the soul” (1 Nephi 11:22–23).

The young man then sees this child become a man who goes about ministering and healing, with twelve others following him. The young man sees the man taken, judged, and slain for the sins of the world. After that, he sees people fighting against the twelve who were with the Messiah. He sees these people fall, and the angel warns: “Thus shall be the destruction of all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, that shall fight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb” (1 Nephi 11:34–36).

Glad Tidings of Great Joy

This young man and his family continued their journey in the wilderness. Eventually they came to the seashore, built a boat, and sailed across the sea to a new land. And the young man continued to teach the message of the Messiah using scripture and his own visions. He “did read unto [his people] that which was written by the prophet Isaiah” in order to “more fully persuade them to believe in the Lord their Redeemer.” He did this “that ye may have hope as well as your brethren from whom ye have been broken off” (1 Nephi 19:23–24). One of Isaiah’s prophesies was of the joy to come through the publishing of this message: “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation” (Isaiah 52:7).

Centuries after this young man, another prophet heard these good tidings from an angel and was told to share these tidings with the people. Said the angel:

Behold, I am come to declare unto you the glad tidings of great joy. For the Lord . . . hath sent me to declare unto thee that thou mayest rejoice; and that thou mayest declare unto thy people, that they may also be filled with joy. For behold, the time cometh, and is not far distant, that with power, the Lord Omnipotent who reigneth . . . shall come down from heaven among the children of men . . . And he shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and his mother shall be called Mary. And lo, he cometh unto his own, that salvation might come unto the children of men even through faith on his name. (Mosiah 3:3–9)

The birth of Jesus Christ fulfilled this prophecy. The night Jesus was born, there were shepherds “keeping watch over their flock over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them . . . And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:8–11).

This was the message of the prophets from the beginning. Starting with Adam and Eve, “Old Testament patriarchs, prophets, poets, and people looked forward to better days, filled with hope for renewal and deliverance by the Messiah. . . . Through it all, prophets reminded them that a Messiah, a Deliverer would come ‘to proclaim liberty to the captives’ (Isaiah 61:1).”[2] As Isaiah prophesied, this Messiah would “comfort all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning” (Isaiah 61:2–3).

The Horn of Salvation

Others also prophesied of the Messiah. While speaking of Zion, the Psalmist prophesied, “Her saints shall shout aloud for joy. There will I make the horn of David to bud: I have ordained a lamp for mine anointed” (Psalm 132:16–17). The birth of Jesus Christ fulfilled this prophecy. Zacharias, a priest in Jerusalem, announced just before the Savior’s birth: “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, and hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; as he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began” (Luke 1:68–70; cf. 71–79). Simeon, a holy man in Jerusalem, saw the child Jesus and declared, “Mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people” (Luke 2:30–31; cf. 25–33). Anna, a prophetess, came to where Simeon was and “gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem” (Luke 2:38; cf. 36–38).

These prophecies and others let people know of redemption through the Messiah. This message was shared by prophets, and joy came to those who listened to their message. After one prophet testified of this message, someone who heard “had infused such joy into his soul” that he was overcome and became unconscious. When he regained consciousness, he stood and declared, “Blessed be the name of God . . . [for] behold, I have seen my Redeemer; and he shall come forth, and be born of a woman, and he shall redeem all mankind who believe on his name” (Alma 19:6, 12–13).

Another person was so wicked that an angel came to him to call him to repentance. After being overcome and being unconscious for days, he said, “I remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world. Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me . . . And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold” (Alma 36:17–20). This person then went on to share these glad tidings.

The Testimony of Apostles

At this Christmas season, and as we conclude our study of the Old Testament for this year’s Come, Follow Me curriculum, let us reflect on the message of the Old Testament: that God will deliver His people through His Messiah, born of Mary, and that God “declared unto prophets, by his own mouth, that Christ should come.” They received this message “that they may bear testimony of him. And by so doing, the Lord God prepareth the way that [all people] may have faith in Christ” and be saved (Moroni 7:23–34). The Christmas message (which is the glad tidings) came from Christmas prophets to help people have Christmas joy.

The Prophet Joseph Smith explained, “The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ.”[3] Paul taught that the Saints “are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, [with] Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone” (Ephesians 2:20), as Isaiah prophesied: “Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded” (1 Peter 2:6, quoting Isaiah 28:16).

Let us listen to the words of the prophets and receive the glad tidings of great joy. We will then be the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy: “It shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation” (Isaiah 25:9).

Returning to our introductory story, the young man saw the Messiah’s birth and understood the joy that comes through the salvation He offers. The twelve apostles who were with the Messiah brought that message to the world. All who embrace their message embrace joy both now and after this life, having everlasting salvation, as proclaimed by God’s living Apostles:

“Jesus Christ has once again called Apostles and has given them priesthood authority. He invites all of us to come unto Him and His Church, to receive the Holy Ghost, the ordinances of salvation, and to gain enduring joy.”[4]

“We bear testimony, as His duly ordained Apostles—that Jesus is the Living Christ, the immortal Son of God. He is the great King Immanuel, who stands today on the right hand of His Father. He is the light, the life, and the hope of the world. His way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come. God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son.”[5]

More Come, Follow Me resources here.

[1] See 1 Nephi chapters 1 and 2.

[2] “December 19–25: Christmas: ‘We Have Waited for Him, and He Will Save Us,’” in Come, Follow Me—For Individuals and Families: Old Testament 2022.

[3] “Chapter 3: Jesus Christ, the Divine Redeemer of the World,” Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith.

[4] “The Restoration of the Fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ: A Bicentennial Proclamation to the World,” Gospel Library.

[5] “The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles,” Gospel Library.

David W. Smith has volunteered with FAIR since August 2019. He has had an article published in BYU Studies, and he presented at the Joseph Smith Papers Conference in 2019. He has a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and a master’s degree in public administration, both from Brigham Young University.

The post Come, Follow Me Week 52 – Christmas appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Malachi and Turning the Hearts of the Children to Their Fathersby Craig Foster

While the Book of Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament, it is certainly not the least in terms of the eternal teachings within the book. The name Malachi means “My Messenger” and the Malachi certainly fulfilled the purpose of his name in his prophetic calling as he discussed the end-time which is currently being fulfilled.[1]

Malachi is filled with passages regarding pure and righteous offerings, repentance, and preparing for the Second Coming. But by far, the most important teaching contained within this concluding Old Testament book is the fourth and final chapter in which the reader is warned, “the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.”[2] Root refers to our ancestry while branch refers to posterity.

In other words, as Elder Jeffrey R. Holland explained, without proper eternal links, “no family ties would exist in the eternities, and indeed the family of man would have been left in eternity with ‘neither root [ancestors] nor branch [descendants].’”[3] All would be destroyed, leaving those who have experienced mortality without not only ancestors and heritage, but also posterity and name. Holland continued, “Inasmuch as such a sealed, united, celestially saved family of God is the ultimate purpose of mortality, any failure here would have been a curse indeed, rendering the entire plan of salvation ‘utterly wasted.’”

But when the reader is left wondering if all is for naught, comes the most powerful and beautiful promise of Malachi. In the final two verses:

5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord:

6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.[4]

When the Angel Moroni visited Joseph Smith, he quoted Malachi with a slight but significant variation:

Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.

And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers. If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming.[5]

The Prophet Joseph Smith explained, “Now, the word turn here should be translated bind, or seal.”[6] Thankfully, the sealing powers were restored on the 3rd day of April, 1836 by the visitation of the prophet Elijah to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland Temple. President Russell M. Nelson explained, “The earth was created, and this Church was restored so that families could be formed, sealed, and exalted eternally.”[7]

What is bound on earth can and will be bound in heaven when performed by priesthood power in temples of the Lord. In an epistle from Joseph Smith giving further directions on baptism for the dead, he stated, “It may seem to be a very bold doctrine that we talk of—a power which records or binds on earth and binds in heaven.”[8] Relationships no doubt created in the premortal existence and continued in mortality will also continue in our post-mortal existence.

These eternal bonds are generational and multidimensional “for we without [our deceased loved ones] cannot be made perfect; neither can they without us be made perfect.”[9] President Joseph Fielding Smith taught, “What was the promise made to the fathers that was to be fulfilled in the latter days by the turning of the hearts of the children to their fathers? It was the promise of the Lord made through Enoch, Isaiah, and the prophets, to the nations of the earth, that the time should come when the dead should be redeemed.”[10]

As we seek after our dead and perform the necessary saving ordinances, we are blessed. As Elder Gerrit W. Gong explained, “Connecting with our ancestors can change our lives in surprising ways. From their trials and accomplishments, we gain faith and strength. From their love and sacrifices, we learn to forgive and move forward. Our children become resilient. We gain protection and power. Ties with ancestors increase family closeness, gratitude, miracles. Such ties can bring help from the other side of the veil.”[11]

Truly, as we turn our hearts to our ancestors by searching after our deceased ancestors and performing the saving ordinances in temples of the Lord, we will feel the Spirit of Elijah which is the Holy Ghost and His guiding us as we participate in family history and temple work. Everyday, millions, and soon billions, on both sides of the veil benefit from Elijah’s restoring the sealing powers as prophesized in the Book of Malachi.

More Come, Follow Me resources here.

The author would like to thank Suzanne L. Foster and David S. Young.

[1] See “Malachi” at https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/come-follow-me-for-individuals-and-families-old-testament-2022/51?lang=eng.

[2] Malachi 4:1.

[3] Jeffrey R. Holland, Christ and the New Covenant: The Messianic Message of the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1997), 297–98.

[4] Malachi 4:5-6.

[5] Joseph Smith—History 1:38-39.

[6] Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith (Salt Lake City, Utah: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2007), 472.

[7] Russell M. Nelson, “Celestial Marriage,” October General Conference, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2008/10/celestial-marriage?lang=eng.

[8] Doctrine and Covenants 128:9.

[9] Ibid.

[10] Bruce R. McConkie, comp., Doctrines of Salvation, 3 vols. (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1954–56), 2:154.

[11] Gerrit W. Gong, “We Each Have a Story,” April 2022 General Conference, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2022/04/26gong?lang=eng.

Craig L. Foster earned a MA and MLIS at Brigham Young University. He is also an accredited genealogist and worked as a research consultant at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City for over thirty years before retiring in December 2021. He has published multiple books and articles about different aspects of Mormon history, including co-editing the Persistence of Polygamy series with Newell G. Bringhurst and co-authored American Polygamy: A History of Fundamentalist Mormon Faith with Marianne T. Watson. Craig is also on the editorial board of the John Whitmer Historical Association Journal.

The post Come, Follow Me Week 51 – Malachi appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

*by Daniel Ortner*

There are many powerful prophecies of the events leading up to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. But as someone who comes from a Jewish background one prophecy stands out as particularly vivid and poignant, and that is that one day the people of Israel who did not recognize Jesus as their Messiah and Lord will come to recognize him.

Zechariah describes the moment when the Jewish people will look upon their crucified Lord:

“And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.” (Zechariah 13:6)

In the Doctrine and Covenants 45 the Lord elaborated upon this vision and left no doubt of its fulfilment.

“And then shall the Jews look upon me and say: What are these wounds in thine hands and in thy feet?

Then shall they know that I am the Lord; for I will say unto them: These wounds are the wounds with which I was wounded in the house of my friends. I am he who was lifted up. I am Jesus that was crucified. I am the Son of God.”

And then shall they weep because of their iniquities; then shall they lament because they persecuted their king.” (D&C 45:51-53).

My heart is filed with eager anticipation for this day when a people that has spent millennia longing for their Messiah will finally recognize him. In that day, I imagine him welcoming then to come and see and come and feel just as he invited the Nephites to do in 3 Nephi 11. I imagine the tears that will be shed both of sorrow and of happiness.

Although this prophesied day has been delayed for thousands of years, we have the sure testimony of the prophet Zechariah and the Lord himself that all these things will be fulfilled.

As one who received a witness of Jesus Christ as my Savior, I long for the day when by Jewish brothers and sisters will come to recognize Christ and receive him as their Lord and Savior. What a glorious day that will be.

More Come, Follow Me resources here.

Daniel Ortner is a public interest lawyer who focuses on the First Amendment. He joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as an undergraduate from a Jewish background.

The post Come, Follow Me Week 50 – Haggai; Zechariah 1–3; 7–14 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Habakkuk – For our dayby Jennifer Roach, LMHC

Habakkuk is the book you never knew you needed.

The problem of evil is a question every generation must grapple with. If God exists, why does he allow school children to be killed in a shooting? If God is good, how can he let people suffer as they do? If God cares about his children, how can poverty, disease, and violence rampage us as they do?

Habakkuk grappled with this question too. In his day the question was, “If God loves us, why do the Babylonians terrorize us?” I offer the following reading of Habakkuk – for his day, and for our day – as an answer to the problem of evil.

| For Our Day – The Complaint | King James – The Complaint | | I wake up early and read the papers. Another shooting. No, two more. Violence all around.I pray and tell God about the violence and wonder why he does not save us from it. | Verse 2. How long, Lord, must I call for help,but you do not listen?Or cry out to you, “Violence!”but you do not save? | | And not just in the news. Family members doing wrong to each other. Destruction of faith and love. We’re swimming in conflict. It’s everywhere. | 3. Why do you make me look at injustice?Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?Destruction and violence are before me;there is strife, and conflict abounds. | | The laws don’t help. The legal system doesn’t either. We all see how much is going wrong in the world, but no one can do anything. It feels like wickedness is winning. | 4. Therefore the law is paralyzed,and justice never prevails.The wicked hem in the righteous,so that justice is perverted. | | The Lord’s Response | The Lord’s Response | | Oh, you’ve noticed the violence.Well, watch this, you wouldn’t believe it, even if you were told.I let violence happen. You cry, “How can God let this happen?”There are dreaded people who are intent on violence.They’ll amaze you with how violent they are.They care nothing about you or me, they only care about the damage they can do.I let violence exist in your world.And you cannot understand why. | 5 – 11. “Look at the nations and watch—and be utterly amazed.For I am going to do something in your daysthat you would not believe,even if you were told.6 I am raising up the Babylonians,that ruthless and impetuous people…7 They are a feared and dreaded people;they are a law to themselves…9 they all come intent on violence….11 Then they sweep past like the wind and go on—guilty people, whose own strength is their god.” | | The 2nd Complaint | The 2nd Complaint | | God, I don’t understand. You are an eternal and holy God.I know that your eyes are too pure to even look at this level of evil.I know that you can’t tolerate wrongdoing.So, I’m very confused, why do you let all this violence happen?Your children suffer.Why do you let the wicked get away with this?I will wait for your answer | 12 – 13. Lord, are you not from everlasting?My God, my Holy One, you will never die.You, Lord, have appointed them to execute judgment;you, my Rock, have ordained them to punish.13 Your eyes are too pure to look on evil;you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.Why then do you tolerate the treacherous?Why are you silent while the wickedswallow up those more righteous than themselves? | | The Lord’s 2nd ResponseChapter 2 | The Lord’s 2nd ResponseChapter 2 | | You are only seeing part of the picture. Violence only seems to be prevailing.These violent men are never satisfied by the evil they do – they always want more.That’s why it keeps happening.They can’t get enough – in fact it is impossible for them to ever get enough.There is no end to their stealing.They can’t steal enough.There is no end to their plundering.They can’t plunder enough.There is no end to shedding blood.They can’t get enough blood.They indulge in too much vanity.They love the shedding of blood.The thirst of violence is never satisfied.You wake up and see that another act of violence has been done and ask me, “Why is this happening? And “When will this end?”You can not understand how strongly violence hungers for more.But the Lord is in his Holy Temple. | Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time… 6 Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long?….9 Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil!…12 Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity! 13 Behold, is it not of the Lord of hosts that the people shall labour in the very fire, and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity? 14 For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea….17 For the violence of Lebanon shall cover thee, and the spoil of beasts, which made them afraid, because of men’s blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.20 But the Lord is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him. | | Habakkuk’s Prayer for TodayChapter 3 | Habakkuk’s PrayerChapter 3 | | The Lord does not give Habakkuk an explanation of the problem of evil.He could have.In fact, Habakkuk is just like us – he asked for the explanation. “Why do you make me look at suffering?”But God knew that the explanation would not satisfy Habakkuk. Just like it would not satisfy us.God could have explained all the theology behind evil. He could have explained why evil always thirsts for more and is never satisfied.But he knew that answer would not satisfy us.Instead, God give Habakkuk a vision of Himself, in all this glory. And he asks Habakkuk to be satisfied with that answer.The point being that evil and violence are never satisfied. So no explanation of them could ever really satisfy either.So God reminds Habakkuk who He really is. That he rules the universe. And he asks Habakkuk to allow this vision of Him to suffice. He asks Habakkuk to not be like evil – something that is never satisfied – and to accept the answer he has been given God. | 2 O Lord, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid…3 God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise. 4 And his brightness was as the light; he had horns coming out of his hand: and there was the hiding of his power. 5 Before him went the pestilence, and burning coals went forth at his feet….7 I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction: and the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble. 8 Was the Lord displeased against the rivers?…Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers….10 The mountains saw thee, and they trembled: the overflowing of the water passed by: the deep uttered his voice, and lifted up his hands on high. 11 The sun and moon stood still in their habitation: at the light of thine arrows they went, and at the shining of thy glittering spear….13 Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, even for salvation with thine anointed; thou woundedst the head out of the house of the wicked, by discovering the foundation unto the neck. 18 Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.19 The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments. |

More Come, Follow Me resources here.

The post Come, Follow Me Week 49 – Nahum; Habakkuk; Zephaniah appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

A Gourd, a Worm, and an East Wind: Discovering God’s Extensions of Love in the Book of Jonahby Matt Crawford

Jonah called Gath-hepher home—a town which was west of the present-day Sea of Galilee (see 2 Kings 14:25). When the Lord called Jonah on a mission from his comfortable home to the Assyrian city of Nineveh,[1] he did not hesitate to act. Jonah immediately “rose up to flee unto Tarshish” (Jonah 1:3).[2]

Jonah may have run away from the mission call to Nineveh because one of Israel’s enemies, the Assyrians, lived there. The Assyrians were known to regularly torture and kill their captives, and then gruesomely desecrate their bodies.[3] While we do not know if Jonah was afraid of physical pain, we do know that he hated Assyrians and was afraid that they would repent and receive God’s mercy if he fulfilled his mission (see Jonah 4:2).

Rejecting God’s call, Jonah “paid the fare” (Jonah 1:3) for passage on a ship to Tarshish. One commentator notes that Jonah probably paid a considerable sum of money because the journey to Tarshish could take up to one year—“evidently because of the need to restock provisions frequently at ports along the way, wait for favorable winds, and trade the cargo.”[4] At one point Jonah slept soundly below deck while the ship’s crew thrashed through a storm (see Jonah 1:5). The storm was so brutal that the sailors expected the ship to sink, unless they prayed to their gods and tossed trade goods overboard to lighten the load (see Jonah 1:5). When the shipmaster found Jonah asleep, the captain woke him up and asked him to pray to God (see Jonah 1:6). When prayer did not lessen the intensity of the storm, the crew cast lots.

Proverbs 16:33 declares that “the lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof [the outcome] is of the Lord” (see also Proverbs 18:18). Casting lots was a trusted source of divine intervention during Old Testament times because it allowed the Lord to guide who was chosen—He could order the pieces so that a certain person was picked. Pieces of rock or wood were placed in a container, and, either by rolling all the pieces out of the container or inviting each participant to take a piece out of the container, led to the Lord’s decision (see Joshua 21:4–8; Nehemiah 10:34; 1 Nephi 3:11). In more recent times we might liken lot casting to drawing straws—whoever draws the shortest is the chosen one.[5]

When the sailors aboard the ship cast lots, “the lot fell upon Jonah” (Jonah 1:7). Despite his efforts to run from God’s call, the Lord is not giving up on the reluctant prophet. God continues to reach out toward Jonah through a storm and the lot. Jolted, Jonah confessed to the sailors that the storm was because he ran from God. Surprised, the crew questioned: “Why hast thou done this?” (Jonah 1:9). The sailors asked what could be done to still the storm. Fully realizing that his poor decision to run from the Lord was now affecting others, Jonah came to the following conclusion: “Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you” (Jonah 1:12). The sailors initially refused to comply with his wish. Instead, they “rowed hard to bring [the ship] to the land,” but in the end, “they could not” (Jonah 1:13). Thus, the men “took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging” (Jonah 1:15).

When Jonah hit the water, he recalled, “billows and . . . waves passed over me. The weeds were wrapped about mine head [and] I went down to the bottoms” of the sea (Jonah 2:5–6). Fearing that this was the end, Jonah’s “soul fainted” but then he “remembered the Lord” through prayer (Jonah 2:7). It appears that the prayer brought the great fish—potentially some type of whale—and it swallowed the prophet. The scriptures reveal that this was no ordinary experience: “The Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah” (Jonah 1:17; emphasis added). To prepare this great fish for Jonah, the Lord knew when the great fish needed to be born, He knew the great fish’s habits, He knew that the great fish had to be in the vicinity when the men threw Jonah overboard, and He needed a creature big enough to complete the job. Such preparation for one frightened missionary begs the question, If the Lord will prepare a great fish, a game of lots, a storm, or a mission call for a rebellious disciple, what will He do for each of us?

After Jonah is swallowed by the great fish he continued to pray: “Out of the belly of hell cried I” (Jonah 2:2). Like Jonah, we may at times be headed in the wrong direction, but change is possible. The book of Jonah is an extremely detailed case of the Lord’s multiple maneuverings to save a single soul. Jonah acknowledged his own “lying vanities,” his selfishness, and “vowed” to be more faithful to the Lord’s will (Jonah 2:8–9). After three days and nights “the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land” (Jonah 2:10).[6] Once free from the fish “the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go unto Nineveh. . . . So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh” (Jonah 3:1–3).

The prophet promptly enters the city and prophecies that in forty days “Nineveh shall be overthrown” (Jonah 3:4). The inhabitants of the city, including the king, listened to Jonah’s teachings and began to repent. The people fasted, wore sackcloth as a demonstration to God that they were humbly pleading for forgiveness, and the king issued a decree which encouraged the entire populace to repent (see Jonah 3:5–9). The measures proved successful because “God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way and repented; and God turned away the evil that he had said he would bring upon them” (JST Jonah 3:10).[7]

We expect Jonah to be doing back flips of joy, but the final chapter begins: “But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry” (Jonah 4:1). What displeased him? How can he be angry? Jonah prayed while upset and explained his reason: “When I was yet in my country . . . I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness” (Jonah 4:2). In other words: “Lord, when I was at home I knew of Thy goodness and patience toward even the most despicable of people. That is why I headed toward Tarshish and not Nineveh. I did not want Thee to forgive and bless the inhabitants of Nineveh.” Jonah vehemently hated the Ninevites—they were not part of covenant Israel and what is more they were Israel’s sworn enemies. Jonah did not want them to change and be blessed, he wanted them to sin and suffer. Jonah then concluded his prayer by asking the Lord to “take . . . my life from me; . . . for it is better for me to die than to live” (Jonah 4:3).

After Jonah’s audacious reply, the Lord, once again, shows Jonah mercy and patience—mercy and patience the Lord just demonstrated toward those of Nineveh, but which Jonah spurned. The Lord utters the simple question, “Doest thou well to be angry?” (Jonah 4:4). There is no harsh rebuke, no flash of lightning which sizzles Jonah’s flesh, no thunder from heaven to scare Jonah into a feeling of gratitude, but a simple question which may, if the prophet allows, work on his heart.

After the Lord asks Jonah if his anger is justifiable, the prophet refuses to respond. Was Jonah stung by the question or pierced by the Lord’s keen insight? The question seemed to infuriate Jonah so much that he gives the Lord the silent treatment. Like a teenager mad at his parents, or a husband after a tiff with his wife, Jonah turns and walks away from the situation, refusing to respond.

Jonah exited the city proper and headed east (see Jonah 4:5). Then he probably scaled part of the hills located in that direction and waited and watched Nineveh.[8] Jonah seems unconvinced that the repentant state of the people of Nineveh is permanent. He is waiting, hoping, for the city to “be overthrown” after “forty days” as he originally prophesied (Jonah 3:4). While he waited, he built himself a booth or hut to provide shade—perhaps fashioned of overlaid sticks and branches, as was done for a feast required by the Law of Moses (see Leviticus 23:42; Nehemiah 8:14–15). The booth or hut evidently provided some shade, but it was probably hastily constructed from errant sticks from the vicinity. If so, Jonah’s comfort level and shade was minimal—sunshine would have streamed through the sticks. Whatever its construction, the booth was probably intended to be a physical, non-verbal sign that the Lord was wrong, and Jonah was right. Jonah’s thoughts may have ventured into this line of reasoning: If I wait here long enough the Lord will see Nineveh destroyed. Despite the almost worthless hut and Jonah’s constant moodiness the Lord provided a miracle.

While the booth provided a minimal amount of shade from the blazing sun, the “Lord God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd” (Jonah 4:6). We do not know the specific type of plant[9] which grew overnight to such a mass that it shaded Jonah (see Jonah 4:10). Yet, as was the case with the call, the storm, the game of lots, and the great fish, this “gourd” was “prepared” for Jonah (Jonah 4:6). The Lord knew that Jonah would go up on the hill and pout, and so the seed of this plant was in the right place at the right time to provide physical comfort for the prophet. God really does know our moods and routines. Despite Jonah’s gladness for the shade—the only positive emotion Jonah shows in this book—the shadow would not last.

As was the case with the storm, the lot, the great fish, and the gourd, the Lord had “prepared” other things for Jonah (Jonah 4:7). A worm “smote the gourd that it withered” a day after its astonishing growth, and a “vehement east wind” probably knocked over the booth[10] and the “the sun [once again] beat upon [Jonah’s] head” (Jonah 4:7–8). While the “vehement east wind” seems to indicate the Lord’s displeasure with Jonah’s behavior,[11] God still does not give up on this angry, uncomfortable child. Ultimately, the quick growing leafy plant served as tangible evidence of the Lord’s mercy—His constant readiness to forgive Nineveh and Jonah—while the equally fast demise of the gourd and the blasts of hot air presented proofs that without God’s goodness ruin follows.

To underscore these eternal truths, the Lord pointed out the folly of Jonah’s anger toward the inhabitants of Nineveh by asking, “Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd?” The prophet retorted, “I do well to be angry” (Jonah 4:9). Patiently, the Lord connected the dots for Jonah: “Thou has had pity on the gourd…should not I spare Nineveh, that great city…?” (Jonah 4:10–11). In other words, “Your appreciation and love for the gourd is but a shadow of the care and love I have for you and the Assyrians of Nineveh.”

In short, every person is valuable to God. He simply will not give up or stop trying to save His children. From a city of Assyrians to a frustrated, bitter servant sitting next to a withered gourd, God cares for, watches over, and strives to bring everyone back home to heaven.

More Come, Follow Me resources here.

[1] Nineveh was probably located in modern-day Iraq Pictoral Bible Dictionary, ed., Merrill C. Tenney (Nashville, Tennessee: The Soutwestern Company, 1976), s.v. “Nineveh.”

[2] It is likely that Tarshish was located in modern Spain and known for its successful trade industry (see Ezekiel 27:12); Pictoral Bible Dictionary, s.v. “Tarshish.”

[3] Erika Belibtreu, “Grisly Assyrian Record of Torture and Death,” Biblical Archaeology Review, 17 no. 1 (1991): 51–61, 75.

[4] Uriel Simon, The JPS Bible Commentary: Jonah (Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society, 1999), 6.

[5] For more information regarding casting lots see Joh. Lindblom Lund “Lot-Casting in the Old Testament,” Vestus Testamentum 12, facs. 2 (April 1962): 164–178.

[6] Where the great fish “vomited out” Jonah is a matter of debate. One tradition holds that the great fish deposited Jonah to a spot south of Jaffa—the port city where Jonah boarded the ship days earlier (see Jonathan Riley-Smith, The Atlas of the Crusades [New York: Facts on File, 1990], 43; see also John MacArthur, The MacArthur Bible Commenatry [Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, 2005], 1011). Others suggest that the fish put Jonah in ancient Alexandretta—now İskenderun in modern-day Turkey (see The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, ed. George Arthur Buttrick, 5 vols. [Nashville, Tennessee: Abingdon, 1962–1976] s.v. “Jonah, Book of,” 2:965). The ancient historian Josephus reported that Jonah was disgorged on the shore of the Euxine or Black Sea (see Josephus: Complete Works [Grand Rapids, Michigan: Kregel Publications, 1960], 208).

[7] One commentator notes that the Hebrew text implies that the Assyrians only ritually repented. That is, they repented the only way that they knew how: through sackcloth and fasting. “Ritual response and ethical tidying up are precisely what one would expect from pagan Assyrians—and from every indication, they are still just that, despite the fact that they have taken a step in the right direction.” John H. Walton, “The Object Lesson of Jonah 4:5–7 and the Purpose of the Book of Jonah,” Bulletin for Biblical Research 2 (1992): 53–54.

[8] See The Jewish Encyclopedia, ed., Ididore Singer, 12 vols. (New York: Funk and Wagnalls Company, 1901–1906), s.v. “Nineveh,” 12:311.

[9] The most likely was a type of giant castor bean or oil plant. Jules Janick and Harry S. Paris, “Jonah and the ‘Gourd,’ at Nineveh: Consequences of a Classic Mistranslation,” 349–357; paper presented at North Carolina State University’s Cucurbitaceae Conference September 17–21, 2006. See also Encyclopaedia Judaica, eds. Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik, 2nd ed., 22 vols. (Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2007), s.v. “Castor-Oil Plant,” 4:516.

[10] See Jack M. Sasson, Jonah: A New Translation with Introduction, Commentary, and Interpretation, The Anchor Bible (New York: Doubleday, 1990), 304.

[11] Alonzo L. Gaskill, The Lost Language of Symbolism: An Essential Guide for Recognizing and Interpreting Symbols of the Gospel (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2003), 153–154.

Matt Crawford is a husband, father, teacher, and writer. He resides with his family in Layton, Utah.

The post Come, Follow Me Week 48 – Jonah; Micah appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Amos and Prophets*by Daniel Ortner*

Amos is considered one of the “minor” prophets. But Amos 3:7 is a verse that is one of the more frequently cited in General Conference. According to the BYU Scripture Citation Index, it has been cited around 109 times. That’s more than any single psalm in the book of Psalms (not more than the whole book of Psalms). More than whole books of the Old Testament such as Judges, Ruth, and Esther. More than a lot of well known verses in the New Testament or Book of Mormon. And even about as frequently as 1 Nephi 3:7. It is a pretty big deal. Ultimately the popularity of this verse says a lot about our devotion to following the Lord’s prophet and apostles.

The context of Amos can enrich our appreciation for the Lord’s guarantee that “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.” (Amos 3:7). In the first verse of the book, we read that his prophecy was received “two years before the earthquake.” (Amos 1:1). Scholars believe that this quake took place in around 750 B.C. and measured around an 8.2 on the richter scale, which is more intense than the great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906.

Amos’s words are filled with warnings of this massive destruction that the Lord would bring to Israel and to the neighboring nations, including allusions to quaking and shaking that seem eerily prophetic (Amos 9:1). Through his servant, God offers a desperate plea for repentance. But unfortunately we know that the people did not repent and that by the time these words were compiled into a book the warnings of Amos were fulfilled. God of course does not reveal every single tragedy or disaster to his prophets with this degree of specificity. Natural disasters, war, and disease occur without warning. And it isn’t clear whether Amos knew exactly what would happen and when it would occur. But if we listen to the words of our prophet and apostles, we will be prepared for the disasters that come our way and we will be able to stand firm.

Those principles apply with full force in our day. I absolutely adored a recent devotional at BYU-Hawaii by Sister Sheri Dew entitled “Prophets Can See Around Corners.” Her talk was a powerful declaration of how God speaks to his Prophets and Apostles to help warn us of danger.

Sister Dew pointed to countless examples of where prophetic inspiration was ultimately prophetic such as the effort to bring smartphones to missionaries which was executed just in time for the COVID-19 Pandemic or her decision to follow President Hinckley’s advice to get out of debt shortly before the 2008 financial crisis. The point isn’t that President Nelson or President Hinckley knew precisely about the COVID-19 pandemic or about the 2008 financial crisis anymore than that Amos necessarily knew the exact date and time of the earthquake that was coming. But God spoke through his servant and revealed what was around the corner. Those who followed their advice were blessed with protection and preparation. Those who didn’t were left unprepared and suffered the negative consequences.

As Sister Dew explained: “Prophets see things we cannot see because the Lord does ‘nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.’ This is why prophets make us smarter than any other leaders or influencers on earth. Prophets help us see dangers we cannot yet see and opportunities we can’t even imagine.”

Many of us have friends or family members who have expressed their concern that as Latter-day Saints we put too much trust in the prophet and apostles and that we are going to be led astray. But as Sister Dew explained, it is ultimately not President Nelson at the head of the Church but Jesus Christ who speaks through his servants the prophets and apostles:

Brothers and sisters, the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, acting unitedly, will never send the Church in the wrong direction. And here is why: Because even THE prophet is not the head of this Church. Jesus Christ is, and He is perfect. Prophets take their instructions from Him who knows all, sees all, and understands all things. . . .

In this Church, we are never dependent solely upon mortal men, as inspired as they may be. When we follow the prophet, we are actually following and placing our trust in Jesus Christ. For He has promised that His words will all be fulfilled, ‘whether by [His] own voice or by the voice of [His] servants, it is the same.’

It is vital that each of us have an abiding testimony that we are being led by a living prophet and apostles. Our spiritual safety desperately depends on it.

Sister dew discussed several powerful principles that can help us gain confidence in the teachings of the prophets:

First, we can trust that prophets do not have their own personal agenda. Instead, “[t]heir agenda is the Lord’s. And yet, too often we listen to them last.”

Second, we can trust that prophets will teach divine truth even when it is unpopular:

Apostles are under divine mandate to teach truth, even when truth is unpopular. They are pressured to change the Lord’s doctrine to make it more palatable, but the doctrine doesn’t belong to them and is not theirs to change. They’re accused of being out of touch, but I know of no group who is more in touch with the realities and complexities of life.

I promise you that no leaders on earth are more honest with you than prophets are. And no leaders care more about you and your future.

Third, we can pay close attention to the powerful spirit that testifies to us when a prophet speaks:

The Holy Ghost is eager to bear witness of prophets, seers, and revelators and the priesthood keys they hold. It is the presence of the keys we feel so profoundly when a prophet enters the room. But you don’t have to be in the presence of a prophet to gain a spiritual witness of his divine mantle.

If you want to know if fifteen prophets walk the earth today, pray to know. Ask humbly and sincerely, and the Holy Ghost will bear witness to you. I promise you that.

Prophets, seers, and revelators are, very simply, one of God’s greatest gifts to His children.

Fourth, we can try to implement the principles that the Prophet teaches us. We can take it seriously and experience the positive dividends of following his counsel.

Fifth, we need not be surprised if prophets and apostles are unpopular or rejected: “When prophets refuse to embrace the disintegration of morals championed by a rabidly secular society, that does not mean prophets are wrong. Sustaining prophets in today’s world takes faith—but not faith in them, faith in Jesus Christ, who called them.”

We likewise must not “be deceived by activists who believe their passion for a cause gives them permission to censure prophets. Don’t turn your back on those who have all priesthood keys and who can help you see around corners.”

Finally, we must let prophetic teachings be our spiritual anchor. If we do so the promises are powerful and profound:

Your greatest spiritual safety will come by following the prophet. My dear friends, there may be times when you find yourself wrestling with teachings from prophets. But this isn’t rocket science. I can promise you two things: First, you will question your testimony all your life if you do two things: break your covenants and turn your back on prophets. But the reverse is also true: You will enjoy a growing testimony all of your life if you keep your covenants and follow the prophet. That is a promise.

I personally have a strong testimony that we are led by a living Prophet and that God reveals to President Nelson and other Apostles everything that is needed for our spiritual peace and safety in these latter-days. Nothing is being withheld that is needful for us to be able to stay faithful on the covenant path. I have tragically seen too many people I care about wander off that path by first beginning to question and turn their back on prophets and then eventually beginning to break their covenants. I hope that Amos’s prophetic promise and Sheri Dew’s inspired words will help us recommit to following the Lord’s anointed as they help to illuminate the way back to the Savior.

More Come, Follow Me resources here.

Daniel Ortner is a public interest lawyer who focuses on the First Amendment. He joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as an undergraduate from a Jewish background.

The post Come, Follow Me Week 47 – Amos; Obadiah appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Why is Obedience Greater than Sacrifice? Meditations on Hosea 6:6 by Benjamin Pacini My children know that the rule on Sunday is that they can only watch “church videos.” They’ve gotten to know them so well that when I began playing one of my favorites, it was two seconds in before my son shouted from […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 44 – Hosea 1–6; 10–14; Joel (additional post) appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

His Love for Us Is Constant by Anna Buis Despite our best efforts, we will inevitably fall short because we are human. This human experience teaches us that we need the Savior and His atoning sacrifice. His invitation to us is always to return to Him; His love for us is constant. Hosea 14:4 says, […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 44 – Hosea 1–6; 10–14; Joel appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Keep the Commandments of God Regardless of the Consequences by Maddie Barzee “Keep on the covenant path” was President Russell M. Nelson’s first message to the Church after he was sustained as the prophet, and it has been his continued anthem ever since.1 In the short term, it may feel difficult to fully obey the […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 43 – Daniel 1–6 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

True Prophets Call Us to Repentance by Daniel Ortner Ezekiel’s Prophetic Call to Cry Repentance Chapters 1 and 2 of the Book of Ezekiel feature Ezekiel’s prophetic call. Just like the prophet Isaiah and Ezekiel’s contemporaries Isaiah and Jeremiah, Ezekiel is called as part of a vision where he sees the throne of God and […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 42 – Ezekiel 1–3; 33–34; 36–37; 47 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Are There Some Things That Can’t Be Cured? by Jennifer Roach, LMHC Jeremiah, true to his nickname of “The Weeping Prophet,” wants to talk to us about some hard things this week. And it’s a little uncomfortable. In my day-job as a mental health therapist I sit with people in pain every week. They’re tired […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 41 – Jeremiah 30–33; 36; Lamentations 1; 3 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

by Christopher D. Cunningham The motivational speaker Wayne Dwyer popularized a story about two babies in a mother’s womb. While chatting, one asked the other if they believed in life after birth. The second one said they did, and they were likely preparing for something greater later on. But the first didn’t agree, it seemed […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 40 – Jeremiah 1–3; 7; 16–18; 20 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Isaiah and Approaching God on the Day of Atonement By Kerry Muhlestein This week is the celebration of Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement. It takes place from sundown on Tuesday, October 4th, until sundown on Wednesday, October 5th. It is the holiest celebration in all the festivals the Lord commanded Israel to observe. […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 39 – Isaiah 58-66 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Poetic Parallelism and seeing some missed meanings in Isaiah By Kerry Muhlestein For this week’s readings, there are two reasons we should understand Isaiah’s use of parallelism, especially its most complex form: the chiasmus. Therefore, in this week’s essay I will share an excerpt about parallelism from my commentary Learning to Love Isaiah, then highlight […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 38 – Isaiah 50–57 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Comfort Ye My People: The Crucial Historical Background to Understanding Isaiah 40 By Kerry Muhlestein It is understandable that the Come Follow Me curriculum does not have us read Isaiah 36-39. That covers material which we already covered in 2 Kings 18-19. Yet we cannot understand what is going on in many of the earlier […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 37 – Isaiah 40–49 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Isaiah’s ability to speak to many time periods at once By Kerry Muhlestein I have found that one of the great keys to understanding Isaiah is to see how his writings apply to more than one time period. By that I mean that the same verse or set of verses are intended to be fulfilled […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 37 – Isaiah 13–14; 24–30; 35 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

A time to study Isaiah by Kerry Muhlestein It seems to me that this year, as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have fervently embraced the Come Follow Me program, we have come to learn from and love the Old Testament more than ever before. I have high hopes we will […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 36 – Isaiah 1–12 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Proverbs Primer by Matt Christiansen Imagine an encounter with Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos. After introductions and pleasantries, the discussion turns more substantive, and he asks about your big picture dreams and aspirations. You seize the opportunity and lay out a detailed blueprint for the most productive, impactful, and meaningful life you can imagine. He listens […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 35 – Proverbs 1–4; 15–16; 22; 31; Ecclesiastes 1–3; 11–12 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

The Hymns of the Temple Part 2 by Matthew L. Bowen Praise is a dominant word in the latter third of the Psalter. The imperative plural Hebrew verbal expression hallelujah (halĕlû-yāh), “praise ye the Lord,” marks the beginning and ending of many of these temple hymns. In ancient Judah, ascending into the temple to praise […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 34 – Psalms 102–103; 110; 116–119; 127–128; 135–139; 146–150 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

The Hymns of the Temple Part 1 by Matthew L. Bowen The Psalms, originally written in Hebrew poetry,[1] were the hymns of the ancient Jerusalem temple.[2] Everything in them should be read and reflected upon with that in mind. Additionally, as Latter-day Saints, we are obligated to consider how these texts, within their temple and […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 33 – Psalms 49–51; 61–66; 69–72; 77–78; 85–86 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

by Carl Trueman If there is one question that seems to drive so much of modern life it is that of happiness. What is it? How does one attain it? And perhaps more deeply, how does one know when one has attained it? And it is therefore perhaps fitting that the Psalter, the great hymn […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 32 – Psalms 1–2; 8; 19–33; 40; 46 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Lessons Learned from the Book of Job by Louis Herrey ”No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted… All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 31 – Job 1–3; 12–14; 19; 21–24; 38–40; 42 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

by K.T. Martin The Book of Esther is one of the most politically intriguing books found within the Old Testament. The story includes a king who banishes his wife and marries a new woman who is secretly a Jew. The king has an advisor who has a hatred for the Jewish people and wants them […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 30 – Esther appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

by Braeden Dyer [Courtesy of Wilford Woodruff Papers] Since beginning my work for the Wilford Woodruff Papers Project, one aspect of Wilford’s life which has struck me, and made me ponder, has been the opposition which he faced. He faced immense physical and social opposition—just one account of which we see in this excerpt from his […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 29 – Ezra 1; 3-7; Nehemiah 2; 4-6; 8 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

by Shauna Horne [Courtesy of Wilford Woodruff Papers] Wilford Woodruff said, “Brethren and sisters, let us read the revelations of God for ourselves, and when we read them, let us believe them, and try to live in such a way that we may be ready for whatever dispensation the Lord may have in store for […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 28 – 2 Kings 17-25 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

What Should We Make of the Story of Elisha and the Bears and What Is the Significance of the Unusual Symbolism in Elisha’s Healings? by Jeffrey M. Bradshaw (Originally published August 8, 2018 and August 10, 2018) Question: One of the most disturbing and incomprehensible accounts in the Old Testament concerns Elisha and the bears […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 27 – 2 Kings 2–7 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

by Matt Crawford The widow of Zarephath is one of my favorite stories from the Old Testament. Perhaps the greatest reason that this story resonates with me is because the widow is an outsider. She is not a member of the house of Israel—a fact the Savior confirms (see Luke 4:24–30)—and she meets Elijah at […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 27 – 1 Kings 17–19 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

2 Samuel 11: A Presbyterian Reflection by Carl Trueman The events described in 2 Samuel 11 are pivotal to the reign of David. His adultery with Bathsheba and his murder of her husband, Uriah, will have consequences far beyond the royal household and the rest of his reign will be marked by political turmoil driven […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 26 – 2 Samuel 5-7; 11-12; 1 Kings 3; 8; 11 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

The Asked King and the Beloved King-to-be: Saul, David, and Ancient Israel’s Rejection of the Lord’s Kingship by Matthew L. Bowen The names of ancient Israel’s first two major[1] royal figures, Saul and David, have clear, distinctive meanings. Saul (šāʾûl) means ‘asked’ and David (dāwid or dāwîd) means ‘beloved.’ The Deuteronomistic editor and narrator[2] of […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 25 – 1 Samuel 8–10; 13; 15–18 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

by BJ Spurlock When reading the scriptures, especially as one reads through the Old Testament, it is always helpful to ask the following questions: Where is Jesus Christ in the text? Where do we see gospel doctrines & principles that Jesus Christ taught? Where do we see gospel doctrines & principles that living Prophets […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 24 – Ruth; 1 Samuel 1–3 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Seek the Lord Jesus Christ By Elder Kim B. Clark (An address given at the 2020 FAIR Conference) I am grateful for the opportunity to speak to you today. I am not only grateful to be with you, but I am grateful for all of you who seek to help people strengthen, or recover, or […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 23 – Judges 2–4; 6–8; 13–16 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Trying to Serve the Lord Without Offending the Devil By Nick Galieti (Originally published on February 11, 2015 as part of our “Rise Up” podcast for youth) When it comes to living our lives, we have a lot of choices placed before us. We have our choice of schools to attend after high school, or even […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 22 – Joshua 1–8; 23–24 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

“Beware Lest Thou Forget the Lord” by Dr. Jan J. Martin Deuteronomy. It is the last book of the Jewish “Torah.” The word Deuteronomy itself may be enough to intimidate all but the most determined and dedicated students of the scriptures. In Hebrew, “eleh ha-devarim,” means “these are the words.”[1] In ancient Greek, “Deuteronómion” means […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 21 – Deuteronomy 6-8; 15; 18; 29-30; 34 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Rejecting the Living Prophets by Following Future Prophets by J. Max Wilson (Adapted from his post at Sixteen Small Stones) One of the key doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is that we have living prophets and apostles today who are authorized by God to receive revelations for the Church and […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 20 – Numbers 11-14; 20-24 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

“Have You Been Saved By Grace?” How Do We Respond? by Brad Wilcox (This is from a presentation given at the 2018 FAIR Conference) Grace, like many English words has multiple meanings. It can mean elegance and beauty. It can mean kindness and courtesy. It can be a title, ‘Your Grace.’ It can be a salutation, […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 19 – Exodus 35–40; Leviticus 1; 16; 19 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Exodus, The Law of Moses, Covenants, and the Temple by Ben Spackman (This originally appeared on Ben Spackman’s blog) Now that we’re getting into the desert Exodus narrative, we’re going to encounter what scholars call “legal sections” of scripture, that is, the details of the Law of Moses. I’m not interested in these so much […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 18 – Exodus 24; 31-34 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Becoming Free by Amber Rothamer I’ve always treasured the account of Israel’s miraculous exodus out of bondage in Egypt and the recorded events and miracles that followed. It is a portion of ancient history that has always fascinated and humbled me. There are numerous parallels between this account and that of the one found in […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 17 – Exodus 18-20 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

by Scott Gordon This week, with Easter, we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Currently, 63% of Americans identify as Christian. This is down from 75% just 10 years ago. Those who are religiously unaffiliated, sometimes referred to as “nones,” has risen to almost 30% of the US population. This is […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 16 – Easter appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

“Even as Moses Did”: The Use of the Exodus Narrative in Mosiah 11-18 by Sara Riley (This is from a presentation given at the 2018 FAIR Conference) In this presentation I hope to answer the following questions: How is the Exodus narrative used in Mosiah, both structurally and thematically? And by that I mean, how […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 15 – Exodus 14–17 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Recognizing and Remembering God’s Hand in Our Lives By K.T. Martin This week as we study Exodus 7-13, we get to read through an exciting part of the Old Testament where God shows forth his power to liberate and protect His people. A number of important gospel truths can be pulled from those pages that […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 14 – Exodus 7-13 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

A Burning Bush and a Pillar of Light: God Remembers His Children by Ugo A. Perego Many years ago, when I was a young student at Brigham Young University, I had the unique opportunity to register for and attend the Summer Semester at the BYU Jerusalem Center. To this day, it has been one of […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 13 – Exodus 1-6 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Amber Rothamer is FAIR’s Project Manager. She will be hosting a new podcast series called “Faithfully Informed.” In this first episode, she interviews Kerry Muhlestein on his new book, Learning to Love Isaiah: A Guide and Commentary. Autographed copies of Learning to Love Isaiah: A Guide and Commentary are available from the FAIR Bookstore. Kerry […]

The post Faithfully Informed Podcast #1 – Kerry Muhlestein on “Learning to Love Isaiah” appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

God Meant It Unto Good by Jennifer Roach Forgiveness is a strange business. I started out in life believing that forgiveness couldn’t come until I had an emotional experience of releasing the harm someone did to me. If I didn’t feel it, it wasn’t real. Later I figured out that I could forgive someone intellectually […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 12 – Genesis 42–50 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

“The Lord Was with Joseph”: A Scriptural Case Study in Why the Lord Allows Bad Things to Happen to Good People by Matthew L. Bowen Bad things happen to good people, of course. What’s more, sometimes terrible things happen to the best people even when they are striving with the utmost diligence to do what […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 11 – Genesis 37–41 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Becoming Israel: Learning How to Prevail with God Through Covenants By Steve Densley The stories we find in Genesis 28-33 are rich with covenant imagery, from Isaac’s blessing that Jacob would receive the promises of the Abrahamic covenant in the first verses of chapter 28, to Jacob’s building of an altar in the last verse […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 10 – Genesis 28–33 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Worldview Apologetics: Revealing the Waters in Which We Swim by Jeffrey Thayne (This is from a presentation given at the 2021 FAIR Conference) Introduction Let’s imagine two roommates, James and Greg, who both attend BYU. They live under the same roof, they are both practicing Latter-day Saints, and they both claim to believe in the […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 9 – Genesis 24–27 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Polygamy as an Abrahamic Sacrifice by V.H. Cassler (From a presentation originally titled “A Reconciliation of Polygamy,” given at the 2011 FAIR Conference; edited here for clarity and length) Today we are going to talk about polygamy but probably in a different way than you have heard about it before. That is, we are going […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 8 – Genesis 18–23 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Abraham 1:1–19 God will bless me for my faith and righteous desires. by Jennifer Roach In my day job I’m a mental health therapist. My specialty is helping people recover from trauma. I sit with the loveliest people who’ve been through the very worst things. Abuse, neglect, betrayal, horrific accidents, loss that would make your […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 7 – Genesis 12–17; Abraham 1–2 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

The Abrahamic Covenant, Its Influence on Scriptures, and What that Has to Do with Us by Kerry Muhlestein, author of God Will Prevail: Ancient Covenants, Modern Blessings, and the Gathering of Israel The Abrahamic covenant is a central theme of the Old Testament, and really of all scripture. Every prophetic writer, whether in the Old […]

The post Come, Follow Me Thoughts to Keep in Mind – The Covenant appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

[Reprinted with permission from The Interpreter Foundation] by Taylor Halverson “Noah built an ark; and…the Lord smiled upon it.” (Moses 7:43) Introduction The great cataclysmic[1] flood wherein “Noah…prepared an ark to the saving of his house” is one of the most well known stories in the Judeo-Christian world. It is story that most of us can remember […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 6 – Genesis 6–11; Moses 8 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

This podcast series features past FAIR Conference presentations. This presentation is from our 2021 conference held in August. If you would like to watch all the presentations from the conference, you can still purchase the video streaming. Jeff Bradshaw, Since Hugh Nibley: Remarkable New Findings on Enoch and the Gathering of Zion Jeff’s books are for […]

The post FAIR Conference Podcast #76 – Jeff Bradshaw, “Since Hugh Nibley: Remarkable New Findings on Enoch and the Gathering of Zion” appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Faith and Evidence in the Witness of Ancient Texts for the Book of Moses Enoch Story by Jeffrey M. Bradshaw When I first saw the photo that accompanied the New Year’s message and invitation for 2022 from President Nelson,[3] I could not help but think of the following verses from the Joseph Smith Translation of […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 5 – Moses 7 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Taught in All the Ways of God: Teaching as the Theme of Moses 6 by Matthew L. Bowen Moses 5 records that an angel taught Adam and Eve the meaning of the sacrifices God had commanded them to make upon their departure from Eden (see Moses 5:5-12). Adam and Eve, in turn, taught their sons […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 4 – Genesis 5; Moses 6 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

The Two Trees by V.H. Cassler (This is from a presentation given at the 2010 FAIR Conference) The Restored Gospel teaches me that the term “God” means an exalted woman and an exalted man married in the new and everlasting covenant (and we also get that from D&C 132). We are taught that there is […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 3 – Genesis 3–4; Moses 4–5 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

God Sanctified and Blessed the Sabbath Day by Jennifer Roach Genesis 2:2-3: 2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 2 – Genesis 1–2; Moses 2–3; Abraham 4–5 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

How did we get the books of Moses and Abraham? The Come, Follow Me manual poses this question and gives links to articles on the Church’s website about the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible and the Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham. For further information, the following resources are available from FAIR […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 1 – Moses 1; Abraham 3 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

The Proclamation Is a Light Against Sophistry by Cassandra Hedelius In September 1995, President Hinckley used a big word. “With so much of sophistry that is passed off as truth, with so much of deception concerning standards and values, with so much of allurement and enticement to take on the slow stain of the world, […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 51 – The Family: A Proclamation to the World appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

We Believe All that God Has Revealed by Cassandra Hedelius On social media and other discussions, it’s very common for LGBT activists/allies to invoke the ninth Article of Faith. They take for granted that the church’s teachings on marriage and sexuality are wrong, and assert that God will soon change them. After all, “we believe […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 50 – Articles of Faith and Official Declarations 1 & 2 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Heirs of the Celestial Kingdom of God by David W. Smith Many people today misunderstand the nature and blessings of God’s love. “God loves me just as I am, so I don’t need to change,” they might say, or “Because God loves me, He will accept me as I am into heaven.” To use a […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 49 – Doctrine and Covenants 137-138 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

By René Krywult This week’s Come, Follow Me lesson starts with the following words: The afternoon of June 27, 1844, found Joseph and Hyrum Smith in jail once again, accompanied by John Taylor and Willard Richards. They believed they were innocent of any crime, but they submitted to arrest, hoping to prevent violence against the Saints […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 48 – Doctrine and Covenants 135-136 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

Religious Freedom for All by Louis Herrey As I read Doctrine and Covenants 134 today I was reminded of a Swedish debate article I encountered back in 2012. It was written by Björn Ulvaeus, band member of the pop group Abba. On a personal note, I have greatly admired Ulvaeus’ talents throughout the years, especially […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 47 – Doctrine and Covenants 133-134 appeared first on FAIR.

View Details

What Do We Do with Section 132? By Brian C. Hales Doctrine and Covenants section 132 is undoubtedly the most controversial of all of Joseph Smith’s revelations because it mentions the practice of plural marriage. Ironically, it is also one of the least discussed of all of Joseph’s official teachings for the same reason. The […]

The post Come, Follow Me Week 46 – Doctrine and Covenants 129-132 (additional post) appeared first on FAIR.

Come Follow Me Archives - FAIR: Recent Episodes

FAIR