These chapters of the Book of Mormon contain some of the most moving and tender moments in all of scripture. Jesus heals the sick, one by one. The crowd weeps with joy. Jesus blesses little children and the scene becomes ineffable. Angels minister to the children and Jesus weeps. All take the sacrament and Jesus… Continue Reading
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The beginning of 3 Nephi overflows with intense extremes as it describes the decades leading up to the appearance of Jesus to the Lehites. The sign of Jesus’ birth is given; people believe then disbelieve. A protracted war with the Gadianton robbers forces the people to prepare and unite. Society is rebuilt and then collapses.… Continue Reading
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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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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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“All Things Denote There Is a God” One of the problems with our beliefs is that they are obvious–to us. The familiar is so self-evident that often we can’t even imagine how anyone could believe anything different. Further, even if “all things denote there is a God”, we as humans are not equipped to understand… Continue Reading
