Brother Dunford: Recent Episodes
Bryce Dunford
Brother Bryce Dunford is an Institute instructor for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This podcast contains the audio versions of the classes he is currently teaching (each season is a separate class) and is mainly intended for Institute students ages 18-30. Please register for one of these classes at: http://BrotherDunford.org.
We often pray for pain to be removed from our lives. But what if it were? The miracle of allowing us to choose for ourselves requires opposition in all things.
Sometimes Heavenly Fathers does not answer our prayer because He has something much better for us in the future.
While faith can CAUSE some miracles to happen, miracles cannot interfere with Heavenly Father's divine purposes in our lives.
We need not be fooled by the imitation happiness of pride. The Book of Mormon provides some wonderful antedotes.
One of the most misunderstood principles of the gospel is repentance. We often mistake the lower level of "church" repentance for the higher level of daily repentance.
Continuing our discussion of the miracle of divine guidance, we look at some of the rules of revelation.
Like the Lamanties, the Nephties were also fooled by an imitation happiness that once again fools many today: the addictive belief that I am better than you. This is a major message of the Book of Mormon. Do not foolishly turn away from God because He blesses you.
We can claim great blessings, including justification of sin, it we exercize faith. But how do we do so?
One of the greatest miracles that happens on a daily basis is the miracle of being divinely driected. We can recieve revelation from on high.
The Lamanties were fooled by an imitation happiness that also fools many today: the always saw their pain as being someone else's fault. The mist that blinded their eyes was their hatred for and anger towards the Nephites.
One of the conditions of justification is that we endure to the end. Jesus come to Earth to show us how to do that.
When we think of miracles, we often think of temporal miracles such as healings. We ought not forget the greatest miracle of all: our redemption.
Story #2 is the story of the Book of Mormon. First let's look for the tree; the manifestation of God's love to the Nephites and Lamanites.
The Savior is willing to apply this infinite payment to justice in our behalf, but we must qualify. His gospel contains the conditions of His justification.
What is today is not the day of deliverance? What does the Savior offer when the burden is not going to be taken away any time soon: miralces of strength or endurance.
We turn now to Nephi's version of the tree of life. Instead of seeing the symbolic version, Nephi is told 3 stories and asked to find each element in that story. The first is the story of the New Testament. New Testament blindness is when we reject Christ because He is not the Messiah we wanted Him to be.
The Savior suffered the totality of the human experience. Every infinite pain, affliction, sickness. Every one of them, to an infinite level. He knows how to succor us, how to save us, and how to judge us.
When we seek a miracle of rescue or deliverance, we need to take a step into the river and trust the miracle will come as I move forward. But I should also remember that He often asks us to row as long as we have strength. But recue us He will.
There are 8 words used to describe the tree of life and its fruit. Each one is given with a superlative. As is: "most sweet, above all that I ever before tasted." Why so much emphasis? And what does Lehi's dream reveal is the protection that comes when we truly believe that the greatest joy in our life comes from the love of God.
After taking a look at why WE need this fallen, mortal world, we now look at what it cost Him to provide it. The Savior's atonement "answered the ends of the law."
Like the feeding of the 5,000, we often seek miracles of increase. Whether we seek to multiply OUR ability to do His work, or to increase what we receive from Him, the ask is often the same: "What have ye?"
Lehi saw four distinct groups of people in his dream of the tree of life. They reveal some vital lessons about getting to and staying at the tree.
We need this mortal life, but it comes at a tremendous cost. The Atonement of Christ is what it cost the Father to grant us this mortal life and probaionary state.
One of the prophesied signs of the latter-days in the belief "that miracles are done away." (Moroni 8:26). But "it is by faith that miracles are wrought." (Moroni 7:37). The miracles of Jesus stand as a testimony that He will do miracles in our lives if we allow Him to. This class is a deep dive into some of those miracles and how they "are wrought."
While it is essential to MAKE the right covenants, the true power comes from KEEPING that covenant.
One of the doctrines taught in both scripture and in the temple is that this life was intended from the very beginning to be a probtionary state.
The water that is often found in front of the temple is a symbol, given to Ezekiel, of the healing power of the temple.
When Adam and Eve transgressed, they wanted to hide from God. They made aprons of fig leaves to cover themselve. We do the same. We must learn to REMOVE our fig leaves and REPLACE them with coats of skins.
The symbol of the compass is an entriguing one. They are used to draw circles. Understanding that symbolism helps clarify our covenants.
We are connected to God through a spiritual navel. How much flows through that navel is up to us.
Isaiah describes Christ as a nail in a sure place. Understanding that symbolism will help us keep sacred covenants with Him.
The Savior has declared that those who appointed to be the greatest are also the least and servant of all.
Our journey through mortality includes traveling through the telestial and terrestrial worlds. To enter the celestial world, we must let go of all things telestial and terrestrial. In the temple, we find help to leave the terrestrial world and enter the celestial. The symbol of the square exemplifies our need for Christ and temple covenants.
Turning to the family of the covenant and the list of 9 principles upon which successful families and marriages are build, in this episodes we look and how faith affects family.
Inappropriate dating is when your actions do not match that is appropriate for the level. Inappropriate dating often results in missed opportunities or uncomfortable encounters.
Jesus does more than simply declare "who" is our neighbor. Jesus taught "how" to love our neighbor at the celestial level.
We have the perfect example to follow when it comes to parenting: our Heavenly Parents.
Pitfall #3 is when we let our hearts jump to marriage before we know if we are a match.
Jesus knows the name of the beggar; all get the glory they choose; and testimony does not come from miraculous experiences.
A few temple connections will help us better understand the covenants of the temple, in general, and the initiatory ordanances sepecifically.
While Heavenly Father is the father of our spirits, Jesus is the father of our salvation. We have a parental relationship with Him.
In order to provide the probationary state we spoke of in the previous class, the Savior paid an infinite debt to justice to free us from our debt.
One of the very best ways to improve our family realtionships here on earth is to improve our raltionship with Heavenly Father.
Pitfall #2 is when you do not understand nor take full advantage of relationship dating. We are looking for a match; which is the absence of deal-breakers.
If today is your "fair" day and someone else's "mercy" day, rejoice! Your mercy day is coming.
Heavenly Father has granted this life on earth as a probationary state. We are not expected to be perfect. Why do we expect ourselves to be?
We each belong to 3 families: The Family of God the Father; the Family of Christ; and our earthly families. To make the third one eternal, we must fully embrace the first two.
Pitfall #1 is the tendancy to jump right to relationship dating. It is often awkward and uncomfortable. There is a better way: Friendship Dating.
The Savior reveals, in the parable of the Wheat and the Tares His major concern for those who live in the latter-days. We have been given the solution
Our journey through mortality includes traveling through the telestial and terrestrial worlds. To enter the celestial world, we must let go of all things telestial and terrestrial. In the temple, we find help to leave the terrestrial world and enter the celestial.
To illustrate why we should study the names and titles of Christ, we look at the title: Nail in the Sure Place.
The Gospel is the "deal" that the Savior offers us in order to have His suffering pay our debt to justice. Enduring to the end is a vital aspect of that deal.
Why was a suffering Savior necessary for our Salvation? What did Christ really do to save us?
In this episode, we continuing our discussion on the Savior's judgment and then discuss final judgment and the Savior's deal.
When Christ was abondoned by His Father and infinitely alone, He saw each of us. WE got Him through His pain, now HE gets us through ours. We are eternally connected to him.
Learning to judge like He does, also allows us to understand how He will judge us in our final judgement.
With His perfect knowledge, Christ knows when our suffering is needed for our growth and when it is not.
Christ knows all things. He knows the whole human experience as well as each human being.
Have you ever received a prompting and then the next day doubted it? Do you sometimes think that Christ blesses others, but not you? Knowing that Christ does not change his mind, or take blessings back, or have favorites, is vital to our faith.
It is easy to love Christ and be afraid of Him at the same time. He knows all that we have done. Yet, Jesus does not throw stones. Any interaction we might have with Him, would never include shame or comdemnation.
Family is central to our Heavenly Father. To be the most successful in our earthly families, we must follow this pattern and keep family central in our lives.
A few temple connections will help us better understand the covenants of the temple, in general, and the initiatory ordanances sepecifically.
One of the defining aspects of the character of Christ is that He is "slow to anger and long-suffering, and of a forgiving disposition, and does forgive iniquity, transgression, and sin."
We each belong to 3 families: The Family of God the Father; the Family of Christ; and our earthly families. To make the third one eternal, we must fully embrace the first two.
Our journey through mortality includes traveling through the telestial and terrestrial worlds. To enter the celestial world, we must let go of all things telestial and terrestrial. In the temple, we find help to leave the terrestrial world and enter the celestial.
As we begin our study of the characher of Christ, we start with grand reality that He is the great I AM.
Temple attendance brings tremendous blessings into our lives. In this episode we name a few.
There are two requirement to make our earthly families eternal. Often, we emphasize the wrong one.
In this episode we examine the outer law of consecration, the United Order in order to correct some misunderstandings of the coming law.
To understand why we build temple, we need to look at our progression through the Telestial world, into the Terrestrial, and then into the Celestial.
Continuing our discussion of the celestial attitudes about consecration, we examine 2 more.
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we do not believe that equality means sameness. We believe that men and women are equal, but the same. In this episode, we examine the divine role of womanhood.
While the Book of Mormom is the greatest tool of missionary work, It would simple not work to send everyone a copy. In this episode, we discuss why that is and how to overcome that obstacle.
In order to obey the outward Law of Consecration, we must first have celestial attitudes about consecration. In this episode, we examine 3.
In order to be equal partners with your spouse, you must choose an equal partner. In this episode, we examine a common mistake we often make while dating and why we should consider looking outside our comfort zone.
The Lord taught a pattern of marriage in the symbolism of Eve being taken from Adam's rib.
The Lord revealed, in the Book of Mormon, what all members need to understand about missionary work: The Ammon approach vs. the Aaron approach.
How is the temple Law of Chastity different that the chapel Law of Chastity. In the class we explore the whole union required of the temple covenant.
Successful marriages and families are built upon principles of the Gospel. In this episode we discuss the balance between work and rest.
On April 3, 1836, Elias appreared in the Kirtland Temple and restored the covenant and dispenstation of Abraham. In this class we explore the implications of that event.
Jesus presented His gospel to the Nephite. It is simple. We need to be careful to not make it more complicated than it is.
Successful marriages and families are built upon principles of the Gospel. In this episode we discuss respect, love, and compassion.
All that God does is Gold. However, He hands His gospel over to humans who mix in some clay. Everything in the church today is a mixture of gold and clay. We must not reject the gold, because there is clay.
Inherent in keeping the Law of the Gospel is a committment to know what is and what is not the gospel. Too many are walking away due to things that are not the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Here we look at the Gold and the Clay Principle.
Successful marriages and families are built upon principles of the Gospel. In this episode we discuss Forgiveness. We can either forgo a $18,000 debt owed to us and be free of a $25 billion debt that we owe, or we can insist on being paid the $18K but then be required to pay our $25B.
Find the Book of Mormon come forth and the priesthood restored, we now turn our attention to the restoration of the Church. To help understand the need for a church, we examine the roll it has and will play in the building of Zion.
If the chief task of leaving the Terrestrial World is to let go of our pride, we must come to more fully understand what is pride and how do we let go of it. Enter the Book of Mormon.
The Chapel Law of Sacrifice is to let go of all things telestrial. In the temple, we are asked to then take a step beyond and let go of all things terrestrial. Cheif among those is our pride.
Successful marriages and families are built upon principles of the Gospel. In this episode we discuss Prayer and Repentance.
The priesthood we exercise in the church is hierarchical. We must all (males and females) underestand that hierarchy to claim our blessings in the priesthood.
If the temple version of the Law of Obedience is to desire to obey, how can we grow that desire. The answer is in Alma 32.
Successful marriages and families are built upon principles of the Gospel. In this episode we discuss Faith.
The priesthood we exercise in the home is similar but different than the priesthood we exercise in the church. It is critical to understand the difference.
When we understand what Satan was trying to accomplish in the Garden of Eden and why Heavenly Father stopped him, we can see the importance of granting ourselves a probationary state.
Family is central to our Heavenly Father. To be the most successful in our earthly families, we must follow this pattern and keep family central in our lives.
After the First Vision, the next foundation of the Restoration was the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. In this class, we example the book's role in the Restoration.
We first promise to obey the Law of Obedience at baptism. How, then, is the temple version of the Law of Obedience different?
To be better parents and spouses here on earth, we need to be better children of Heavenly Parents. We all love Heavenly Father, but at the same time are terrified of Him. Letting Him in will change our lives and our earthly families.
As an example to what the Restoration has contributed to our knowledge of God, We turn to Lectures on Faith, as taught in the School of the Prophets in Kirtland, Ohio.
We each belong to 3 families: The Family of God the Father; the Family of Christ; and our earthly families. To make the third one eternal, we must fully embrace the first two.
Truth was restored in the order of it's importance. The greatest truth of the Restoration is the truth restored first: the nature and identity of God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.
Our journey through mortality includes traveling through the telestial and terrestrial worlds. To enter the celestial world, we must let go of all things telestial and terrestrial. In the temple, we find help to leave the terrestrial world and enter the celestial.
Messages to our minds convey direction and information. Understanding the many ways Heaven communicates with our minds is vital to being directed from on high.
Revelation occures FAR MORE that we acknowledge. Understanding that He is WITH me always and recognizing how He manifests Himself to my heart when He is with me opens the door to more revelation.
When young Joseph Smith found himself amidst a war of word and tumult of opinions, the answer from Heavenly Father was to Hear His Son. In our modern world, with so many angry voices yeeling at us, the solution is still the same. Hear Him! and not them.
Heavenly Father will help you find an eternal companion, but we must understand some of the rules of revelation the apply to dating.
Pitfall #10. Like the one who only received one talent, our human nature often causes us to be so afraid of failure that we do not try. This, the Lord rebuked in the parable. He wants a people that would rather fail than not try.
Pitfall #9; Part B is staying in a relationship with deal-breakers and hoping change will occure and not recognizing that change is not occuring and will likely result in a broken relationship. In this class we talk about how to recognize then change is and is not occuring.
Pitfall #9; Part A is not allowing others to repent or change; expecting them to be perfect. That is hypocritical since none of us will offer our spouse a perfect partner. We must grant each other and ourselves a probationary state.
Pitfall #7 is not jumping in when you should (preference on the deal-breaker list) and pitfall #8 is not jumping out when you should (deal-breaker on the preference list).
Pitfall #6 is not considering that perhaps your best partner is someone who sees what you do not.
Pitfall #5 is not knowing the difference between 'Being in Love' (the thrill) and love (the choice, the committment).
Pitfall #4 is when you are dating at one level (ie. on a date with a 1), but your focus and purpose is at another level (ie. you're looking for a match). In this class, we look at appropriate dating at levels 4, 5, and 6.
Pitfall #4 is when you are dating at one level (ie. on a date with a 1), but your focus and purpose is at another level (ie. you're looking for a match).
Pitfall #3 is when we let our hearts jump to marriage before we know if we are a match.
Pitfall #2 is when you do not understand not take full advantage of relationship dating. We are looking for a match; which is the absence of deal-breakers.
Pitfall #1 is the tendancy to jump right to relationship dating. It is often awkward and uncomfortable. There is a better way: Friendship Dating.
The Devil has a secret, which he tells to those who follow him. They form secret combinations. Modern-day secret combinations are much more advanced. The Book of Helaman teaches how to succeed when we face secret combinations
The prosperity of the Book of Helaman and its subsequent pride are patterns of our day. We must learn the shortcut.
The Book of Helman predicts that the wars of our day will be wars of the heart. We cannot use the sword. Only the Gospel of Christ will work.
The coming of Christ in the Book of Mormon is a pattern of His Second Coming in our day. Therefore, the days BEFORE His coming in 3 Nephi are a pattern of the days BEFORE his Second Coming. The Book of Helaman is a guide to succeed in our day.
Within the story of the war chapters, there is a smaller story which seems to illustrate the very point these war chapters are trying to proclaim. The preservation of the strippling warriors is a prophecy of the preservation of the righteous in the war against Satan. We must be modern-day strippling warriors.
After Captain Moroni's preparations, the Nephites were prepared for the Lamanites and had all power over them. The war should have ended after one battle. However, the Nephites opened the front door and let them in by making two mistakes. Many, today, make the same mistakes and let the enemy in.
The great war in the Book of Mormon is a pattern of the war that began in pre-mortal life. These chapters are our instruction manual to end the spiritual war in our day. Amalickiah is a type of Satan and reveals Lucifer's strategy.
Four Anti-Christs in the Book of Mormon teach us how to combat the influence of modern-day Anti-Christs.
We now turn to Topic #2: The Book of Mormon Was Written For Our Day. The Book of Mormon warns that one of our greatest challenges in the latter days is avoiding Noah Blindness. The book of Mosiah provides solutions.
Our connection to heaven is drastically affected by our relationships with others. Sometimes we allow poisonous tares into our lives. Other times we keep benefitial wheat out of our lives.
Much of fear of God stems from an incorrect understanding of His judgement. God does not throw stones.
We are led by Seers, who see the danger while it is a far off. While they are not perfect, they do see what we do not. Our spiritual survival depends on heeding their warnings.
Like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, we all need to take off the fig leaves we use to cover our sins and put on the coats of skins that the Father offers us. Also, when we take upon us a name, we accept an new identity and a new way of living.
To claim the blessing and power of the Atonement of Christ, we must have hope. Growth comes line upon line through a process called Grace for Grace.
The soul of man is body and spirit connected (D&C 88:15). Revelation from God is affected by how we take care of our bodies.
Christ came to know the totality of the human experience in Gethsemane. He also knows each of us perfectly. That allows Him to tailor our individual mortal experiences to what we each need for salvation.
Pres. Nelson warned that too many men and women in the Church do not understand nor claim their priviledges of the pristhood. We explore the difference between hierarchical and patriarchal priesthood as well as the difference between authority and power.
Like the Israelites at Passover, we need to mark ourselves with the Savior's atonement in order to receive His blessings. In our day, the world is also seeking to place their mark on us.
Our Savior experienced the totality of mortal exisitence and knows each of us perfectly. That allows Him to tailor the mortal experiences we each need.
To better understand which part is ours and which part is God's in the difference circumstances of our lives, we discuss some of the rules that govern revelation.
Too many people do not reach out to Christ because they lack hope. We explore what hope is and how it works in our lives.
Second, in order of restoration, was the restoration of lost truth. We must not make "more of less" of the truth.
Connecting several dots, we can better understand the purpose of being washed in the temple.
Our Savior answered the ends of the law in order to reclaim us from the demands of justice. We explore what He accomplished in answering the law and what He can then do in our lives.
The Lord gives specific direction to our minds in many different ways. Learning to recognize different ways of communication will increase our confidence in ourselves and the frequency of revelation.
Faith requires a correct understanding of God's character, attributes, and perfections. List first among His character is that He is The Greatest of All, even greater than all my challenges.
Truths were restored in the order of their importance. The greatest of all truths that have been resotred, and the foundation of the Restoration, is the knowledge of the true nature and identity of God the Father, and His Son Jesus Christ.
Chapel ordinances help us overcome telestial habits and become more terrestrial. Temple ordinances help us move from terrestrial to celstial.
The Book of Mormon has a dilemma. Each of us is part of the solution. Accept the invitation the book extends to overcome the dilemma.
God not only speaks specifically to our minds, but also gives general impressions to our hearts. Recognizing when He is with us will increase our confidence in our connection to Him and will invite further connection.
We live in a day very similar to the Prophet Joseph Smith, in which there is a "war or words" and a "tumult of opinion." The solution is still the same: Hear Him! and not the crowd.