These chapters are about Samuel the Lamanite posting to his wall (I know, bad joke, but some of us can relate to the stones and arrows). Samuel’s wall top preaching alternates between predictions of destruction, contrasting the Lamanite reaction to the truth, and prophesying concerning the coming of Christ. This lesson and discussion will focus… Continue Reading
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Pretty much everyone is depressed in these chapters. The prophet Nephi and editor Mormon both complain about human nature and the state of wickedness of the people at this time. This is where the Lamanites become more righteous than the Nephites. Highlights will include Lessons from Lamanite and Nephite reactions to the Gadianton Robbers Book… Continue Reading
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Even with the impending ministry of Christ among the Nephites, Mormon sees this section as the beginning of the end (Hel. 2:13). Helaman is a dark book with powerful highlights. This is a bad time to be a chief judge, and a bad time for the Nephites. The Nephites expand their territory, but wars divide… Continue Reading
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The Book of Alma concludes with a bang as we read of wars of multiple fronts and severe internal turmoil and dissent. We can learn a great deal from the behavior of Moroni, Helaman, and their armies. And of course we can’t forget the 2000 stripling warriors and their mothers! There are several embedded letters… Continue Reading
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With this lesson we march into the “War chapters” of Alma. Sometimes it seems readers of the Book of Mormon don’t know quite what to do with these twenty odd chapters, but there are many important lessons and intriguing details we can glean. Reading: Alma 43-52 Highlights of this lesson include: Important themes about motivation… Continue Reading
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This core episode puts the provocative idea of God losing godhood in the context of the Plan of Happiness and its opposite, the Plan of Damnation. Reading: Alma 39-42 You can access my Lesson Notes here.
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These chapters are chock full of doctrinal substance touching upon the “Great Plan of Happiness”. We will explore: Resurrection and Spirit World Justice and mercy Role of this life The nature of God, including the unusual and compelling idea of a “limited God”. Reading: Alma 39-42 Look forward to an engaging discussion with Jennifer, Stefanie, Keith and Dan. You can… Continue Reading
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In this bonus episode, I describe my process of preparing for the podcast and reading the scriptures, as well as make recommendations for scripture reading in general. I discuss literary, personal, intertextual, and historical approaches, and send scripture reading down the rabbit hole. The takeaway is that we can both find personal scripture that nourishes and… Continue Reading
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Alma’s intimate words to his sons model a way to use honest sharing about the past to better the present and future. This core episode covers Alma’s path to peace, the principle that we cannot feel greater joy than we have experienced pain, the underappreciated figure of Shiblon, and finally, challenge to the unhealthy idea… Continue Reading
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This lesson and the next provide a precious and intimate window in the family life of Alma, one of the great Book of Mormon prophets. These chapters fit into the genre of “Testament”, which records the wisdom and blessings imparted by the patriarch of a family (unfortunately, we don’t have any records of a matriarch… Continue Reading
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