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The Church Newsroom has responded with a commentary about “American Primeval,” a Netflix mini series that violently dramatizes the clash between Natives, pioneers, Mormon soldiers, and the US government in 1857. The mini series is rated TV-MA for mature audiences, with strong language, explicit sexual content, and graphic violence. The following is the commentary on The post Church Newsroom Commentary on TV Mini Series “American Primeval” first appeared on LDS365: Resources from the Church & Latter-day Saints worldwide.

These important skills will help teens and young adults prepare emotionally to serve.

This counsel ignited Sierra’s conversion to Christ, ultimately preparing her to be among the 1st female military chaplains endorsed by the Church.

Elder Michael T. Ringwood believes focusing on personal development can be a “first-class cause.”

We are pleased to introduce a new podcast series that will be hosted by Ryan Sorensen. In this first episode, he talks with Brent Schmidt about “Uncovering the Truth About Grace.” Brent J. Schmidt earned degrees in history and classics from the University of Utah and a Ph.D. in classics from the University of Colorado-Boulder. The post The Cause for Christ Episode 1: “Uncovering the Truth About Grace” by Ryan Sorensen ft. Brent Schmidt appeared first on FAIR.

Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde, the Episcopal Bishop of Washington DC has received a lot of attention for her remarks earlier this week at a prayer breakfast attended by the new occupant of the White House, which also drew a demand for her to apologize. The controversy raises a number of questions, I think, especially if you think she should not have made them. I had a lot of questions when I imagined if an LDS Stake President or Area Authority (or maybe even General Authority) had been asked to speak at such an event. What would or should he say? For what it’s worth, President Peter K. Christensen of the Washington D.C. Temple apparently WAS at the event and participated by reading one of the prepared prayers—so he did not have the opportunity to give his own remarks. For context, here is the portion of Bishop Budde’s remarks that have been quoted in the media and seem to have drawn the controversy. In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country. We’re scared now. The people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings, who labor in poultry farms and

Do your children find the language of the ten commandments difficult to understand? If so, you may find the Ten Commandments for Children to be a useful resource to explain the ten commandments in everyday language. Download the Ten Commandments for Children for free. God gave us the ten commandments because He loves us.   The post Ten Commandments For Children first appeared on LDS365: Resources from the Church & Latter-day Saints worldwide.

“[God] has promised that we can turn to Him for help and guidance anytime.”

The psalmists wrote about their true, raw feelings. And in Psalm 73, they demonstrate how to reach out to and trust in God.

The woman known as Julian of Norwich was a mystic and a visionary who offered a theology that was focused on God’s love. She is a somewhat obscure figure, but one who is worth learning about. To that end, Fiona Givens discussed Julian of Norwich in a recent post at the Latter-day Saint history blog From the Desk. What follows here is a copost to the full interview. Who was Julian of Norwich? Fiona Givens offered some insights into this remarkable woman’s life: Both her given name and her surname have been lost to time. She acquired the forename Julian because that was the name of the small Benedictine church to which she was attached. Her surname, Norwich, is the name of the city in Norfolk located in the region of East Anglia where she resided her entire life. Hence, she is known as Julian of Norwich. Based on her writings it is believed that she was born in the year 1342 or 1343. … If the speculated date of Julian’s birth (circa 1343) is correct, she would have been a child of five or six years old at the onset of the first wave of the pandemic [the Black Death]. In

As you study the Doctrine and Covenants in Come, Follow Me this year, you can deepen your understanding by exploring the stories and viewing photos of places where sacred events occurred. This is one in a series of articles about key Church history sites. The Joseph Smith Birthplace, located in Sharon, Vermont, is a historic The post A Visitor’s Guide to Church History Sites in Vermont: Joseph Smith Birthplace first appeared on LDS365: Resources from the Church & Latter-day Saints worldwide.

Read 15 promises President Nelson had made about regular temple attendance.

Shannon Foster of The Red Headed Hostess shares her five principles for having natural and normal gospel conversations.

Tickets are required for admission to sessions of general conference in the Conference Center. Music and the Spoken Word is part of the Sunday morning session, and tickets are required. United States and Canada Members of the Church who live in the United States and Canada should contact their ward or branch leaders to inquire about The post Tickets for LDS General Conference April 2025 first appeared on LDS365: Resources from the Church & Latter-day Saints worldwide.

David Miscavige, the leader of Scientology Is it ever okay to criticize a faith? One can think of extreme situations that we can all agree on. The Aum Shinrikyo New Religious Movement (like most religion scholars, I bristle at the use of the term “cult,” since it disparages religions just for being small and new, when older, more established faiths can be just as demanding, particular, or dangerous) released sarin gas in the Tokyo subway in 1995, killing 13 commuters, and probably assassinated a lawyer who was working on a case against them. Perhaps most famously Jim Jones led virtually his entire People’s Temple movement to suicide. There are religions that are, fundamentally, bad.  But even then there are nuances and complexities. For example, the Aum Shinrikyo has since rebranded and distanced themselves from the attacks (and their founder has been executed). If I knew a member of Aleph (the new name of the group) who had renounced violence, would I still consider her religion evil? I don’t know if I have a fully fleshed out schema that incorporates every possibility, but in thinking through this and similar issues (for example, Scientology) I’ve come up with some guiding principles that

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A verse from the Book of Mormon shows how hopeful this phrase truly is.

Here are some of the invitations Pres. Nelson has extended over the last seven years.

3-star record hints is FamilySearch’s system to provide hints to more experienced researchers and genealogists. What Are Hints, and Why All the Stars? A hint is a possible match between a historical record and someone in the Family Tree—such as one of your ancestors. It is an invitation from FamilySearch to evaluate the information and The post FamilySearch 3-Star Record Hints for Experienced Researchers first appeared on LDS365: Resources from the Church & Latter-day Saints worldwide.

Continuing my reviews of the Themes in the Doctrine and Covenants series by Maxwell Institute, we come to the one on Revelation by Janiece Johnson. Of all the books in the series that I’ve read so far, this one is the one that leans the most heavily into the devotional and practical side of the series. To be clear, that is not a bad thing—it still contains great analysis and discussion of the scriptures in the Doctrine and Covenants and the context of the Restoration, but is primarily focused on discussion around how to receive revelation. She even addresses things like times of silence, when revelation does not seem forthcoming, something that seems all too common but often unacknowledged. The book is built around the premise that revelation is an important part of godly living, but it takes work and practice to learn how to receive it in its varied forms. Johnson draws on some of Terryl L. Givens’s work on what exactly revelation is and how it differs among Latter-day Saints compared to Protestant Christian praxis (i.e., in By the Hand of Mormon), with a particular emphasis on Martin Luther’s initial revelatory experiences and later imposition of theological limits

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What is Required of Us by Autumn Dickson Like last week, I’d like to dive into Joseph’s story and find parallels to our own stories. We were not given the responsibility to restore the church in the last days, but we do have responsibilities given to us by the Lord. Every single one of us will hold callings, The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 2; Joseph Smith—History 1:27–65 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

How do ideas spread? If the truth has been lost, what is the best way for it to become known again? It is one thing to give Joseph Smith the First Vision and quite another for that vision to spread among large numbers of God’s children—and I suspect that how the spread of new religious knowledge happens is heavily dependent on the technology and culture available. What worked in Joseph Smith’s day likely wouldn’t work today — and given the history of the Church, its amazing that it worked then! While my historical framing might suggest that these are academic questions, this lesson does suggest some answers to the question of how the gospel was spread. Its four sections show that not only was the spread dependent on a figure like Joseph Smith, it also needed a work like the Book of Mormon to attract attention and focus. In addition, the spread of the gospel required converts’ trust in God and the service of members (who became missionaries) with all their heart, might, mind and strength. In a very real sense, the spread of the gospel depended on finding converts who trusted in God, and who were then willing to

Members of the Relief Society, young women turning 18 in 2025, and adult female friends of the Church are invited to participate in a devotional and local testimony meeting on Sunday evening, March 16, 2025, to commemorate the purpose and founding of the Relief Society. Women are invited to gather locally to watch a 40-minute The post Worldwide Devotional March 16, 2025, Commemorating Founding of Relief Society first appeared on LDS365: Resources from the Church & Latter-day Saints worldwide.

Have you ever considered that books, especially sacred scriptures, are the most enduring “handheld devices” in history? Elder Quentin L. Cook, in his General Conference address Sacred Scriptures—the Foundations of Faith, highlights the eternal significance of sacred scriptures like the Bible and the Book of Mormon in providing divine guidance, comfort, and doctrinal clarity. He The post Sacred Scriptures: The Original Handheld Device of Faith and Guidance appeared first on FAIR.

It’s an old adage in Latter-day Saint circles that the Relief Society is the “oldest women’s organization in the world.” To be fair, I searched around briefly and could not find any current Church reference to it being the oldest, just “one of the oldest,” although I did find some speculation that it was the oldest. Still, I informally hear the unqualified bit about them being the “oldest,” so I thought some mythbusting was in order. First, the Ladies’ Association of Philadelphia was founded in 1780 to help the Revolutionary War effort. Interestingly, their fundraised funds went to Continental Army uniforms in the same way that the early Relief Society was organized to help clothe temple workers. (Also, sidebar, there is no Wikipedia article on them; given how much money Wikipedia pours into representation you’d think that there would be). Second the Société de Charité Maternelle was a charitable organization founded in 1788 that was founded, run by, and staffed by women in order to help provide aid to impoverished women of infants. (Also, another fun parallel, in the same way that Joseph Smith assigned his wife to lead the Relief Society, Napoleon assigned his wife to lead the Maternal Society). Finally,

My big project for the year associated with Come, Follow Me is working on an annotated Doctrine and Covenants and closely related content. For this part of the project, I am going through the assigned reading each week and comparing every major edition of the text that I can find (including those available through the Joseph Smith Papers Project) to note differences, and making remarks about scholarship that I’ve read or intertextuality with other scriptures. With this week focusing on the first part of Joseph Smith—History, it’s been interesting to see the text develop over the years. Here are a few highlights: The 1902 Documentary History of the Church Most changes in the section of Joseph Smith—History we are studying this week have been pretty minor. E.g., capitalization, punctuation, grammatical choices over word tense and transitions, etc. There were a few notable words that changed as well. For example, in verse 8, when Joseph Smith says “though my feelings were deep and often poignant,” versions prior to the twentieth century used the word “pungent” instead of “poignant,” and in verses 22 and 23 when Joseph Smith talks about “a bitter persecution” and “bitter persecution and reviling,” earlier manuscripts used “hot” or

The Church has released a series of videos providing insights from general conference. The “Divine Insights From Living Prophets and Apostles” videos provide perspectives on how we can live the gospel of Jesus Christ, care for one another, and invite others to come unto Him. Below are three of the 12 videos in this series The post Video Series “Divine Insights From Living Prophets and Apostles” first appeared on LDS365: Resources from the Church & Latter-day Saints worldwide.

This is where it all started. A curious teenage boy, a few big questions, and a quiet grove of trees. We’ve just started studying the Doctrine and Covenants in Cone…

With American Primeval, Netflix has once again put Mormonism in its sights as the subject in a drama, this time including the Mountain Meadows Massacre (the latest in a long line of portrayals of that event). While that event casts a long shadow over nineteenth century Mormonism’s experience in the western United States, there are a lot of more interesting events and figures that could be discussed. For example, in a recent interview at the Latter-day Saint history blog From the Desk, Todd Compton discussed the legendary explorer and Native American missionary Jacob Hamblin. What follows here is a copost to the full interview, highlighting a couple aspects of what Compton shared. Who Was Jacob Hamblin? Who was Jacob Hamblin, and why are his adventures so noteworthy? Todd Compton offered some insight into those questions: Jacob Hamblin was widely known as a Latter-day Saint missionary to Indians in southern Utah (mostly the Paiutes) and Arizona (mostly the Hopis and Navajos). He was also an explorer, mainly because he and his companions were sent to visit the Hopi Indians, in modern Arizona, south of the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River, in 1858. Traveling from Santa Clara (near St. George) to

As you study the Doctrine and Covenants in Come, Follow Me this year, you can deepen your understanding by exploring the stories and viewing photos of places where sacred events occurred. This is the fist in a series of articles about key Church history sites. Many of the events fundamental to the organization of The The post A Visitor’s Guide to Church History Sites in New York and Pennsylvania first appeared on LDS365: Resources from the Church & Latter-day Saints worldwide.

“I sup[pose] I am not all[ow]d to go into investing[atio]n but what is cont[aine]d in the Bible & I think is so many wise men who wo[ul]d put me to death for treason,” Joseph Smith declared in the King Follett Sermon.[1] Smith then went onto make a claim about the first phrase in Genesis, a claim that Lance Owen noted was in line with the Zohar’s (a Kabbalistic text) reading of Genesis 1:1. Owens also noted that a Nauvoo tutor of JS, Alexander Neibaur, showed knowledge of Kabbalah.[2] I note in my dissertation, that the reading JS and the Zohar gave of Gen. 1:1 was in line with Plato’s creation story, the Timaeus, as is Abraham chapter 3. Kabbalah was Jewish Neoplatonism.[3] Joseph Smith referenced a lot of Plato and Platonic ideas throughout his theology and likely drew on such ideas in the KFD. (See this video for a BRIEF discussion of Platonic ideas available to the Smiths early on. He asks me some questions at the beginning and I get to the presentation a little before minute 23. So the presentation is shorter than the video). The point I want to make here, is that in this statement, JS

If your New Year’s resolutions involve budgeting money more carefully, download a free copy of the book Talk About Saving Money: How to Save on Food, Utilities, Car Expenses, Mortgage, and Health Care. In this 50-page book, you’ll find tips on the following: Food: How to buy quantities of food and other necessities when they The post Free Copy of the Book “Talk About Saving Money” first appeared on LDS365: Resources from the Church & Latter-day Saints worldwide.

Joe Rogan is one of the top if not the top podcaster in the world today. He commands a huge audience. In the same way that being on Johnny Carson back in the day could make a career, so too is a spot on Rogan considered a golden ticket, especially in the comedy world.  He also likes to talk about us. Like many people, he thinks we’re the nicest people in the world but our beliefs are super dumb and weird. Like with many religions he tends to garble his facts. I was particularly amused when, when interviewing  Ben Shapiro, he appeared to be oblivious to the fact that Jews do not worship Jesus, but more often than not his missteps have a kernel of truth around a warped interpretation. He had an interview where Whitney Cummings seemed completely oblivious to the difference between the FLDS and LDS, and was wondering why Salt Lake City wasn’t getting raided to rescue all the girls. In a recent episode with Mel Gibson Rogan said that Pope Benedict XVI was moving a priest around who abused deaf kids, when that’s not what happened (although Pope Benedict XVI may have been involved in an

Joseph Smith’s childhood; the First Vision; Moroni, & the gold plates (Joseph Smith—History) 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 The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Joseph Smith—History – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

Seven new study plans are now available on the Gospel Library app. Three of the plans help you study the Doctrine and Covenants as part of 2025’s Come, Follow Me family, Church, and seminary readings. The study plans can help you follow along with the scripture readings throughout the year. Four additional study plans highlight volumes The post 2025 “Come, Follow Me” Study Plans in the Gospel Library App first appeared on LDS365: Resources from the Church & Latter-day Saints worldwide.

Turn to God by Autumn Dickson For this week, we read the account of the First Vision of Joseph Smith. It is nearly impossible to overestimate the gravity of this event in the backdrop of the history of mankind, and we have it readily available to read and learn about it. When we read about The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Joseph Smith—History 1:1–26 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

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by Ron C. Rhodes Critics of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints aggressively publish negative information about the Church in large volumes.  This article explores the facts to determine if the critics of our faith are coming from a place of honesty and integrity, without disparaging individuals.  The goal of the paper is The post The Credibility of Modern Critics appeared first on FAIR.

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Introduction; reception, editing & publication of Joseph Smith’s revelations (D&C Section 1) 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 The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 1 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

He Cannot Allow Sin by Autumn Dickson By the time Doctrine and Covenants 1 was written, Joseph had already written 60 revelations. In my mind, I imagine Joseph receiving communication from the Lord and writing it down so that he could try and follow and teach it. As time went on and more and more The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

How often do we feel “forgotten” in a world that measures our value by appearance, status, or wealth? Or perhaps we know someone who, despite their faith and goodness, remains unseen and unrecognized. In his General Conference address, The Wind Did Never Cease to Blow, Elder Aroldo B. Cavalcante reminds us of our divine mandate The post Be the Wind: Supporting Others on the Covenant Path appeared first on FAIR.

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by Matthew Sailors Introduction Church history provides many cautionary tales of people who apostatized for various reasons. Today in the Church, the adversary is stirring up apostate movements similar to their historical predecessors, threatening the spiritual lives of some Church members.  Yet God has not left us defenseless against the adversary’s counterfeits, such as the The post Apostate Patterns Show Our Need for Prophetic Proclamations appeared first on FAIR.

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Joseph Trusted by Autumn Dickson This week, we are studying the bicentennial proclamation called, “The Restoration.” It has been approximately 200 years since the beginning of what we call the Restoration in which the Lord once again actively taught His gospel to a prophet on the earth. With the clarified doctrine came the priesthood authority The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – The Restoration of the Fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ appeared first on FAIR.

What does it mean to belong to “His Church”? For many, the concept of belonging to an organized religion feels restrictive or even antiquated. Yet, Elder Dale G. Renlund’s talk, This is My Gospel – This is My Church sheds light on why The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is essential to God’s The post The Power of Gospel and Church Together: Understanding God’s Design for Our Transformation appeared first on FAIR.

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Are we truly ready for the Savior’s return? President Russell M. Nelson’s recent General Conference talk, The Lord Jesus Christ Will Come Again, challenges us to examine our discipleship and deepen our spiritual preparation. As the world grows more complex and faith questions arise, President Nelson offers guidance for navigating today’s uncertainties with hope and The post Preparing for the Second Coming: Insights on Faith, Hope, and Temple Worship appeared first on FAIR.

As He Is by Autumn Dickson The message I want to share about Christ today is a message I have taught indirectly through other topics for some time. It is a message that has changed my relationship with Him, and therefore, it is a message that has changed my life into a joyful and hopeful The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Christmas – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

Belief to Knowledge by Autumn Dickson This week, we are left with the final testimony given in The Book of Mormon. Moroni testifies of The Book of Mormon, spiritual gifts, and Christ’s ability to perfect us. Moroni also speaks about revelation. He talks about how to know whether The Book of Mormon is true (as The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Moroni 10 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

What happens when you feel your mistakes are beyond repair? Sister Kristin M. Yee’s powerful message offers hope and guidance for those questioning their worthiness and potential for redemption. She shares personal experiences that illustrate how Christ’s love can help us overcome our struggles and find joy in the healing process. For those facing doubts The post The Gift of Redemption: Embracing Christ’s Power to Heal and Restore appeared first on FAIR.

Additional teachings of Mormon; Moroni’s final witness (Moroni 7–10) 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. The scripture passages covered in his lessons don’t conform exactly to the Come, Follow Me reading schedule, so they The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Moroni 7–10 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

May Christ Lift Thee by Autumn Dickson I had an experience right before I went on my mission. An article had come out about Texas making abortion more legal and accessible. I want to be very clear here in the beginning that this post is not about abortion itself. This is the story I’m choosing to The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Moroni 7–9 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

Can faith and trust in God’s guidance coexist with personal doubts? Elder David P. Homer’s recent General Conference address, “Trusting Our Father,” explores a fundamental question: How can we fully trust God’s will, even when it challenges our own understanding? Drawing on historical and scriptural examples, Elder Homer emphasizes that God’s boundaries are eternal and The post Trusting God’s Boundaries: Faithfully Navigating Modern Challenges appeared first on FAIR.

Moroni and Loneliness by Autumn Dickson Moroni understood the concept of loneliness. Even before all of his people were wiped out, Moroni practiced his beliefs on his own except for his father. He likely found himself surrounded by his peers, unable to connect with them because of gaping differences in beliefs, desires, and values. People The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Moroni 1–6 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

by Lyndie Jackson The “Asking Big Questions” series is made in cooperation with the Wilford Woodruff Papers Project. With conflicting voices coming at us from all sides, we can find comfort knowing that we have the gift of the Holy Ghost to guide us. As we partake of the sacrament each week, we are promised that The post Asking Big Questions: How Can I Know if I’m Being Guided by the Holy Ghost? appeared first on FAIR.

Valuable Weakness by Autumn Dickson For the chapters this week, we go back and forth a bit between Moroni speaking directly and his abridgment of the Jaredite record. Whenever Moroni is directly speaking (and this is true of the chapters that we read in Mormon as well), we find that Moroni is really concerned about The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Ether 12–15 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

What does it mean to align our will with God’s? Elder Ulisses Soares’s recent General Conference address, “Aligning Our Will with His,” offers profound insights into the nature of discipleship, obedience, and the eternal rewards of yielding to God’s will. For many members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—and those curious about The post Aligning Our Will with His: Finding Purpose and Peace through Submission to God appeared first on FAIR.

A Tiny Hinge by Autumn Dickson In the chapters of Ether this week, we watch kingdoms rise and fall with few details. There were plenty of general patterns of righteousness and wickedness, and we likely missed a great many details in the abridged version. On the flip side, there were certain stories that Moroni chose The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Ether 6–11 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

What happens when prosperity becomes a pitfall? Can the blessings of wealth and comfort inadvertently lead us away from God? In his powerful address, “In the Space of Not Many Years”, Elder David A. Bednar shares insights from the Book of Mormon, emphasizing how even a blessed and righteous people can fall if they become The post Faithful Foundations: Avoiding Spiritual Blindness in Times of Prosperity appeared first on FAIR.

The rise & fall of the Jaredites (Ether 1–3, 6–11, 13–15) 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, The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Ether 1–3, 6–11, 13–15 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

Faith-Building Experiences by Autumn Dickson We have now moved into the book of Ether. Though the people described in the book of Ether occurred before the rest of The Book of Mormon, this record was inserted towards the end of The Book of Mormon. Moroni was the one who worked to add these plates to The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Ether 1–5 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

How can we find answers to spiritual questions in a world full of doubt and uncertainty? For many, questions about the gospel, Church history, and personal faith can be complex and emotionally charged. Sister Tracy Y. Browning’s talk, “Seeking Answers to Spiritual Questions,” offers profound insights into navigating spiritual curiosity with patience, trust, and a The post Seeking Divine Guidance: Finding Answers to Spiritual Questions in an Age of Doubt appeared first on FAIR.

In this special episode, Sarah Allen and Zachary Wright host a panel discussion on the question “Are Prophets Infallible?” Panel participants: Don Bradley: https://gregkofford.com/collections/don-bradley Ben Spackman: https://benspackman.com/ J. Max Wilson: https://www.sixteensmallstones.org/ The post Me, My Shelf, & I – Are Prophets Infallible? appeared first on FAIR.

Moroni’s commentary on the Jaredites & the Nephites (Mormon 8–9, Ether 4–5 & 12, Moroni 1–6) 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 The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Mormon 8–9, Ether 4–5 & 12, Moroni 1–6 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

Trusting the True God by Autumn Dickson In the chapters for this week, Mormon writes his last testimony before Moroni takes the record and begins some of his first writings. Moroni is alone. His people have been wiped out. His father was killed. He has no friends. Even before everyone was wiped out, he was The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Mormon 7–9 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

What might we each consider as “weapons of rebellion” in our own lives? Elder D. Todd Christofferson’s talk, “Burying Our Weapons of Rebellion,” invites each of us to lay aside any resistance we feel toward God’s will. Rebellion, whether active or passive, can manifest in ways we might not immediately recognize (see Rebellion, Rebel). For The post Turning Our Hearts Toward God: Burying Our Weapons of Rebellion appeared first on FAIR.

A few weeks ago, FAIR held a virtual conference focusing on church history. Because “Saints, Volume 4: Sounded in Every Ear, 1955–2020” was about to be published, we invited Matt McBride to give a presentation on it as the keynote speaker. On October 29, a press conference was held at the Church History Library to The post Saints Volume 4 is now available appeared first on FAIR.

by Michelle Pack The “Asking Big Questions” series is made in cooperation with the Wilford Woodruff Papers Project. Time is at a premium these days. Between school, homework, sports, jobs, and so much more, it seems like there isn’t extra time to do something like family history work. But what if doing family history work were The post Asking Big Questions: Why Should I Do Family History? appeared first on FAIR.

In a world where “happiness” often seems fleeting, Elder Patrick Kearon’s talk “Welcome to the Church of Joy” offers a profound answer to one of life’s biggest questions: How can we find lasting joy? His talk addresses foundational gospel principles like the Plan of Salvation, agency, and the essential nature of organized worship as pathways The post Choosing Joy in a Troubled World: The Power of Worship and Christ-Centered Living appeared first on FAIR.

Irreplaceable to Him by Autumn Dickson When I read Mormon, I feel as though I’m reading his journal. He had been commanded by Ammaron to find the records that had been hidden and add his own observations. These sacred writings were always meant to come to us, the House of Israel in the latter days, The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Mormon 1–6 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

Mormon led his people; the end of Nephite civilization (4 Nephi, Mormon 1–7) 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 The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 4 Nephi, Mormon 1–7 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

A Utopian Society by Autumn Dickson Fourth Nephi describes a people who were all converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ together. It talks about what their lives looked like and how they felt. Fourth Nephi also describes how everyone was wicked again within three hundred years. Fourth Nephi describes exactly why the Lord has The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 3 Nephi 27–4 Nephi – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

“Why are Latter-day Saints so different?” This is a question many young members of the Church find themselves facing. In a world that values conformity, living differently can feel daunting, even isolating. In his talk, “O Youth of the Noble Birthright”,  Brother Brad Wilcox speaks to the youth of the Church, reminding them of their The post Living as Children of the Covenant: Understanding Our Birthright and Responsibility appeared first on FAIR.

Keeping a Sacred Record by Autumn Dickson Christ continues His teaching and prophesying amongst this portion of the House of Israel. He teaches about the sacrament, keeping records, and the last days. He teaches them to study and appreciate the words of Isaiah. There is a lot of content here. At one point in time, The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 3 Nephi 20–26 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

In a world that seems to thrive on contention and division, it’s natural to wonder: How can I hold onto light in the midst of it all? Elder Ronald A. Rasband’s talk, “Behold I Am the Light Which Ye Shall Hold Up,” invites us to do just that—find, hold, and share the light of the The post Holding Up the Light of Christ: Sustaining Leaders and Each Other appeared first on FAIR.

FAIR is having a free virtual conference this weekend entitled “Understanding and Defending the History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” Friday evening, the keynote speaker will be Matthew McBride talking about Saints, Vol. 4 (which is coming out later this month). Saturday there will be other speakers talking on church history The post FAIR 2024 Virtual Conference is streaming free this weekend (Oct. 11-12) appeared first on FAIR.

Jesus Christ’s ministry among the people of Nephi, part 2 (3 Nephi 19–30) 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 The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 3 Nephi 19–30 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

Experiencing Christ by Autumn Dickson I want to highlight the timeline of events in chapter 17. Jesus has just spent a ton of time with these people. He has come to them in glory, not as the mighty but humble mortal who lived in Jerusalem. He has taught them and blessed them, and He recognizes The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 3 Nephi 17–19 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

2024 April General Conference, Sunday Morning Session The Powerful, Virtuous Cycle of the Doctrine of Christ  Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles As we approach General Conference, we are invited to move closer to the Savior and build spiritual momentum, as Elder Renlund described in his talk, “The Powerful, Virtuous The post Consider Conference: Preparing for General Conference appeared first on FAIR.

Be Perfect by 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 The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 3 Nephi 12–16 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

Six Days in August is a new film from The Interpreter Foundation about the succession crisis of 1844. The film will officially open in theaters on the Thursday following General Conference, which is 10 October. If you haven’t already watched the trailer, it’s up at https://witnessesfilm.com/. In anticipation of the theatrical release, there will be a The post Release events for “Six Days in August” appeared first on FAIR.

The Interpreter Foundation is holding their 2024 Temple on Mount Zion Conference this coming Saturday, September 28, 2024. More details here. The post 2024 Temple on Mount Zion Conference appeared first on FAIR.

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 The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 3 Nephi 8–18 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

2024 April General Conference, Sunday Afternoon Session Opposition in All Things Elder Mathias Held of the Seventy Summary To be able to exercise our agency, we need to have opposing options to consider. Gospel Doctrine & Principles taught The Plan of Salvation, The Atonement of Jesus Christ, Commandments, Jesus Christ, Agency, faith in Jesus Christ The post Consider Conference: “Opposition in All Things” appeared first on FAIR.

Upcoming BYU New Testament Conference Free to AttendPost contributed by Scripture CentralApril 27, 2024Google Plus One Pinterest Tweet Widget Facebook Like Share on Facebook This year’s BYU New Testament Commentary Conference will be held Friday, May 10, in the Reynolds Auditorium of the Harold B. Lee Library and will be divided into a morning and afternoon session. The conference is free and open to the public and sponsored by the BYU New Testament Commentary group, BYU Studies, and Scripture Central. The conference’s schedule is as follows. A PDF of the program can be downloaded here.   9:00 a.m. – Welcome and Acknowledgements Morning Session 9:10 a.m. – Keynote Address – “Joseph Smith as a Disciple” by Richard E. Turley, Jr. 9:40 a.m. – “Discipleship: The Outward Expression of the Life-changing Event for Paul and Alma” by Richard Draper 10:20 a.m. – Break 10:35 a.m. – “‘The Marks of the Lord Jesus’: The Radically Different Discipleship of Paul and Moroni” by Tom R. Roberts 11:20 a.m. – “The Effects of Consecrated Discipleship on Two Continents: Evidence from Acts and 4th Nephi” by Andrew Skinner 11:55 a.m. – Lunch break. Food courts and buffets are available at the Wilkinson Center. Books for sale at the BYU Studies office, 1063 JFSB. Afternoon Session 1:00 p.m. – “The Old Testament as a Springboard to Greater Faith” by Avram R. Shannon 1:45 p.m. – “Exaltation and Marriage in the Epistle to the Ephesians” by S. Kent Brown 2:30 p.m. – “Excurses: A Deep Dive into Scripture Study” by Brent J. Schmidt 3:10 p.m. – Break 3:25 p.m. – “Introductory Volume Leads to Christ through Sacred Texts” by Joshua M. Matson 4:10 p.m. – “One in Thy Hand: The New Testament and Book of Mormon as Handbooks of Church Administration and Discipleship” by John W. Welch   According to their website, the goal of the BYU New Testament Commentary project is for a group of Latter-day Saint scholars “to produce a multi-volume commentary on the New Testament with a new rendition of the Greek texts of the New Testament books. Planned to take several years to complete, this multi-volume series will combine the best of ancient linguistic and historical scholarship with Latter-day Saint doctrinal perspectives.” Eight volumes of the work, focused respectively on the books of Mark, Luke, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Ephesians, Hebrews, and Revelation, plus a new introductory volume on essential tools for understanding the New Testament, have already been published. See https://www.byunewtestamentcommentary.com for more information.   Subscribe Get the latest updates on Book of Mormon topics and research for free       Which lists would you like emails from?   Daily Email   Weekly Email     Signing up for both the Daily and Weekly email lists is not recommended, as you will receive duplicate emails. We respect your email privacy    

Scripture Central and FIRM Foundation Explore Evidence of Phoenician Connections to the New WorldPost contributed by Scripture CentralApril 23, 2024Google Plus One Pinterest Tweet Widget Facebook Like Share on Facebook Saturday evening, April 20, 2024, Richard Ferguson accepted the gracious invitation to speak alongside Rod Meldrum at the FIRM Foundation conference. Both agreed that the most important purpose of the Book of Mormon is to bring people to Jesus Christ, and the volume’s role as a witness to His divinity.  Both discussed how contention over geographic models is not only unproductive, but destructive in furthering the Restoration’s progress. They agreed that faithful people can have different interpretations of early church leader statements and of scientific evidence.  Rod and Richard discussed what specific areas the two groups have in common, namely:  The Book of Mormon is real history. Old World connections, such as Lehi’s travel along identifiable points of the spice trails through Arabia before reaching Oman to build a ship in a place called Bountiful. Hebraisms and other clear indications of the book having been written by ancient scribal prophets. Transoceanic voyages. Potential Phoenician contact to help Mulek arrive to the new world. Seed of Lehi over North and South America. Prophecies and promises in the Book of Mormon are true. In an effort to collaborate in these areas of common agreement, Scripture Central agreed to work with FIRM Foundation to publish findings regarding the potential Mulekite and Phoenician connections, by exploring evidence for transoceanic voyages and contact prior to Columbus. Though other strictly potential avenues for collaboration were discussed on stage, Mr. Ferguson also affirmed that for now, Scripture Central will concentrate only on areas of agreement. Future events may present opportunities for expanding cooperation.  Rod and Richard also stressed the importance that all believing members of the church should avoid contention or judging the characters of various writers or speakers, and communicate respectfully, reasonably, and cordially. They should refrain from using any pejorative or derogatory language.  “We hope this will be the beginning of a new era of mutual respect, regardless of opinions as to where the Book of Mormon events occurred. We believe that this joint research can lead to further opportunities for collaboration. In the meantime, Scripture Central will continue its mission to illuminate and defend divine truth, its central mission,” said Richard Ferguson, Volunteer Executive Director, Scripture Central.  Subscribe Get the latest updates on Book of Mormon topics and research for free       Which lists would you like emails from?   Daily Email   Weekly Email     Signing up for both the Daily and Weekly email lists is not recommended, as you will receive duplicate emails. We respect your email privacy    

Joseph Smith Wives: The End of Polygamy (Part 3)Post contributed by Scripture CentralMarch 22, 2024Google Plus One Pinterest Tweet Widget Facebook Like Share on Facebook https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amQpLer7it4 The following content is a transcript from Tyler Griffin and Anthony Sweat’s ‘Come Follow Me’ discussion on ‘The End of Polygamy.’ To watch the full video, click here.  If you stop and think about it for a moment, what an amazing thing that there are times in your life where, if you think about this you’ll probably be able to identify a few of them, where God has asked you to open your hands and let go of something that you were really comfortable with or you had gotten used to or you were in a comfort zone and he sometimes will ask you to let go of that thing. In this case, it was plural marriage, or, Joseph Smith polygamy, for these people. But you’ll notice he doesn’t ever leave people empty-handed. He replaces it with something even better.  When we’re willing to trust him and believe that He knows what He’s doing, to use some of the ideas that Isaiah teaches in Isaiah chapter 40 where he’s trying to reason with these people who are having a really hard time trusting God and believing that He’s going to fulfill all these promises that He’s made, Isaiah goes into this mode where he’s asking them questions, where he says things like, “Who has measured the Heavens with a measuring rod? Who’s held all of the waters of the earth in the hollows of His hand? Who’s held all of the lands and the nations of the earth in balance? Who can counsel God?” He’s giving us this idea that we need to be meek and recognize God knows what He’s doing. In 2 Nephi 27, midway through the very last paragraph, I just look back to kind of what we were saying about his focus. He says, “ The Lord had decreed the establishment of Zion, He has decreed the finishing of this temple, he had decreed that salvation of living and dead should be given in these valleys, in the mountains and Almighty God decreed the devil should not afford it.” If you can understand that, that is the key to it. That shows his motivation right there for ending plural marriage, including Joseph Smith wives. That’s beautiful. Now I said ending but maybe it’s important to note that 1890 did not end up leading to the end of plural marriage. It opened the door for the ending of plural marriage. You know, I heard a colleague of mine one time say that the starting of plural marriage, we like to think of plural marriages starting and stopping like a kitchen faucet like turned on turned off, and he said the starting of plural marriage it’s more like one of those big fire hydrants or dam wells where it was really difficult and really slow and the ending of plural marriage, turning that thing off was really difficult and really slow.  The Second Manifesto  So in 1904, the church gives what has come to be known as the Second Manifesto. And what’s going on in between here is that Wilford Woodruff says “We intend to submit to the laws of the land.” We’re not going to teach the practice of plural marriage anymore, but we send people to Canada and Mexico and many plural marriages still take place in the Church, sometimes without Wilford Woodruff’s knowledge. So it just kind of continues as a whole and two things lead up to a second manifesto. One of them is that B.H. Roberts is elected to Congress and he has three wives and he is not allowed to take his side. He will not let him sit in Congress. He’s like, “Nope he’s a polygamist.” And then in 1903 Reed Smoot, who’s monogamous and has one wife. Oh, sorry, to add some context, in 1896 Utah becomes a state. We get statehood and we’re able to send people to Congress and the senate but they won’t let Reed Smoot take his seat. Back in the senate, they’re like, “We need to investigate this man and we need to make sure that he is loyal and that the Latter-Day Saints are loyal because we have heard too many rumors that they’re continuing to do a polygamy.” So there’s going to be these hearings. They’ll call President Joseph F. Smith. Wilford Woodruff has now died. Joseph F. Smith is the prophet; they call him to testify for the Senate. They make him lay open things about the temple endowment. There’s a lot of difficulties, but at the end of the day, after the Reed Smoot hearings, they number one, they allow Reed Smoot to take his seat. One of the classic lines from his hearing is one of the senators says, “I would rather a polygamist who doesn’t polygamy than a monogamous who doesn’t monogamy,” kind of as a jab, like, “Hey, he might belong to a church that had polygamy, but he’s a better, more moral man than a bunch of you other senators who I know are not loyal to your wives.” So Reed Smoot’s actually able to take his seat and does great work, changing the reputation of the church in Washington. But one of the results is Joseph F. Smith comes home and says, “We’re drawing the line honestly on plural marriage,” and he issues what’s called the Second Manifesto, which in essence says anybody who enters into a new plural marriage, excluding Joseph Smith wives which happened before, from here forward will be excommunicated from the church, and there were many who did that, yeah. And one of the difficulties was we even lose some of our apostles, in particular, John W. Taylor, will be excommunicated from the church after the Second Manifesto because he refused to agree that plural marriage should be relinquished. So you would think, “Okay, now we’re done, that’s the end, right?” Wrong, this is where you get some splinter groups and some break-off groups. It’s the point of departure for them where they say, “You know what? Joseph was a prophet, Brother Brigham was a prophet, John Taylor was a prophet, but Wilford Woodruff got it wrong, and now Joseph Smith, he’s got it wrong.” So they break off. There are different splinter groups to begin here. This really starts the core of what is known today as FLDS or fundamentalists, and fundamentalist means they believe in, as it was called, the principle. They called polygamy the principle, and they think it is fundamental to this. They think it’s the end-all, be-all. So what happens is you get these different groups breaking off, some bigger than others and more influential than others, but they keep declaring to the world that they are what used to be called Mormons, that they’re members of this Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or other break-off groups. And so there’s this association of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with these groups; you’re guilty by association at that point. So, and there’s even—I should add, even during this time period we’ve gone through this, to this back to the slow turn off, we still have some people who, they’re still not up to speed, and they’re like, “What? There was dirt?” And we even have on record Joseph F. Smith and others saying, writing stake presidents or bishops, saying, “Is anybody doing new plural marriages in your area?” They’re still trying to figure it out even after this, to put it into it. And then it gets so— it gets so contentious and such a big deal that we get what is called the Final Manifesto in 1933, clear down the road here in 1933. And this Final Manifesto, it’s kind of a game-changer because it becomes church policy that you don’t even talk about it, talk about, you don’t research polygamy or Joseph Smith wives, you don’t speak in your meetings, you don’t write in your journals about it. It’s kind of, become this taboo topic. It was Heber J. Grant who became the prophet in 1918, and I would say Heber J. Grant actually went on a proactive opposition against polygamy, even though, ironically, he was a polygamist and had three wives, but by the time he became church president, he was only one of his wives was living, and he really wants to see these put into place. So he proactively goes against, “Let’s not even talk about or teach about it because that will—let’s distance ourselves.” Yeah, we need to distance ourselves from some of these fundamentalist groups that have broken off, which one of the consequences of this policy is that people born, you know, in the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, my parents, my parents, they never heard about polygamy other than they knew that they’re in some cases their grandpa or their even their dad or mom was raised in a polygamous home, curriculum, and it was never taught. This manifesto was so important that it’s a 16-page document, they had it read in every ward and you had to sign it, I mean. And then they really want to distance the church from this, and so you won’t see polygamy talked about in our church curriculum, so we get a generation from the ’40s, ’50s, ’60s, ’70s who weren’t raised hearing polygamy talked about very much, which is the time that my parents came to be and then they give birth and so we don’t hear it talk about much and then in the 1990s, the internet starts to open up to popular mainstream and suddenly people are talking about it and so we’re going back and reading history saying, “Wait a minute, so we’re kind of the generation right now, um, that didn’t hear much about polygamy and now it’s everywhere again being talked about.” So if it kind of feels like there’s so much being said about it, it might be able to tie back to the final manifesto of it trying to be a little bit distanced from fundamentalist groups, which is so interesting because now, uh, our generations today, alive, people alive today, it can become a trial of faith for us in a different way than it was a trial of faith for the people from the 1840s through the 1890s who were asked to live it and then a different trail of faith for those who were asked to turn it off, to stop it, and then a different trial of faith—how will we talk about that, how have we talked about it and how do we teach about this? Well, it’s now a trial of our faith today to wrestle with it and grapple with it and say, “Hmm, what was really going on and how much of it was God’s will, how much of it was people just doing what they thought? Can I—can I just share one story with this?” Because at the heart of it, for every listener out there, the ultimate fundamental question is, do I believe that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and that God invested him with the keys to govern the kingdom with prophetic authority and that those have been passed down and do I believe that God is guiding that head of the church in with continuing revelation? That is really the heart of it. That’s it because the story—real quick story. I one time had a chance—I was with a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy, and there was a group of Muslim religious educators. They came; they wanted to learn how Latter-day Saints taught their youth, especially regarding Joseph Smith polygamy. So I was fortunate enough—this member of the Seventy and these Muslim religious educators with their translators—they came and watched me teach in your seminary class. Yeah, this is back in my seminary days. When we got done, we had a question-answer session, and one of the men raised their hand and said, “Is polygamy allowed in your church because in Islam the Prophet Muhammad says it is?” And I said I turned to the general authority like, “You’re the member of the Seventy; you answer that question.” And he turned back to me; he goes, “Go right ahead.” And I said something like, as best I can remember my words, I said something like, “You know it’s interesting to say that our Prophet Joseph Smith, our founding prophet, our Muhammad in his way received a revelation allowing a man to have more than one wife.” And then I said, “But then the U.S. government passed a bunch of laws that made it illegal, and so we quit practicing plural marriage.” And right when I said that the general authority stepped in, and he said, “Actually, that’s not correct.” He said, “Our Prophet Joseph Smith received a revelation allowing a man to have more than one wife, and our Prophet Wilford Woodruff received a revelation that that practice should cease.” And he said, “Our church functions on revelation from God.” And it was a great corrective for me to reorient what it was all about. That’s powerful for me. That’s the essence of Official Declaration 1 and Official Declaration 2. Do I feel like I’m smarter than God’s prophets? Do I feel like I know more, that I’m more connected with God than they are? I love, again back to Isaiah when he gives that statement that you’ll find at the very, very end of Second Nephi chapter 7, where Jacob is speaking to the people and he’s quoting Isaiah 50. Listen to this: “Behold, all ye that kindle fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks: walk in the light of your fire and in the sparks which ye have kindled. We can come up with all the rationale, all the reasoning, all of the excuses for why we think it was done the way it was done why it was wrong, or why it was right. We can kindle our own fire and walk by the light of our own sparks.” But he says, “This shall ye have of mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow.” That’s Isaiah speaking very plainly, saying you can walk by your own light, or you can turn to the light. One of the ways that we love in the church is trusting that God is guiding our prophet today for what we need, just like He guided Wilford Woodruff for what he needed, and Joseph Smith for what he needed regarding Joseph Smith polygamy, and Heber J. Grant for what he needed at that time. It’s a beautiful principle.  Subscribe Get the latest updates on Book of Mormon topics and research for free       Which lists would you like emails from?   Daily Email   Weekly Email     Signing up for both the Daily and Weekly email lists is not recommended, as you will receive duplicate emails. We respect your email privacy    

Joseph Smith Wives: The End of Polygamy (Part 2)Post contributed by Scripture CentralMarch 20, 2024Google Plus One Pinterest Tweet Widget Facebook Like Share on Facebook https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amQpLer7it4 The following content is a transcript from Tyler Griffin and Anthony Sweat’s ‘Come Follow Me’ discussion on ‘The End of Polygamy.’ To watch the full video, click here.  It was in 1890 October when the manifesto was presented to the church and accepted. That’s important to say by the way after the manifesto, and we need to read what he says, and we will, but it’s important to know that in October of 1890, at that General Conference, the manifesto was presented to the body of the church and was sustained unanimously. Although some did abstain from voting, the report in the Deseret News, anyway, was that it was unanimous. So after that now you have some aftermath that’s going to take place. And not everybody was cheering when they heard this news.  There were a lot of people who have sacrificed their lives, their good name, their fortune for plural marriage, and the families that were now existing, including Joseph Smith wives. And that is a big problem too because remember the moment we say we’re going to submit to the laws, the big question that comes up is what about our existing families? Does that mean that husbands who have two wives or three wives that they’re going to choose to only stay with one and abandon the other two women? Where, you know, Zina Huntington Young says the hearts of many were tried with this announcement and there were a lot of unresolved and kind of nebulous questions in the air.  After it was announced this is a difficult time and there were still some people trying to perform marriages. When Wilford Woodruff found out that one had been performed in the endowment house, what did he do? He tears down the endowment house but what’s hard is that some people, in that context too, they were wondering now is this just Wilford Woodruff appeasing the government?  It’s important to know that in the mid 1880s, we send people proactively up to Canada and down to Mexico to go practice plural marriage because we’re like okay, if in America we’re having issues maybe we can send people to these other countries. So even after it’s announced there’s some people that are wondering “Are we just saying and appeasing this?” “Do we really mean that we’re going to stop this?” “What about existing families?” And Wilford Woodruff says, “I did not say that you should abandon your families,” Correct? “Husbands, you have no right to abandon your wives and children.” And so many people continue to live in plural marriages as well so we’ve painted the picture hopefully with some of the historical and cultural and political landscape that’s surrounding this manifesto in 1890. Now let’s actually read some of the the parts of the actual declaration. And it’s important too, as we read both Official Declaration One and Two, these are declarations that a revelation has been received. These aren’t the revelations themselves, which maybe if the revelation was written down word for word we would have had them or that the church would have had them incorporated into sections of the Doctrine and Covenants if it was a “Thus saith the Lord” kind of thing. This is a declaration that these key revelations were received as a whole and some explanations around them. So they introduced these press dispatches in the first paragraph, having been sent for political purposes from Salt Lake City which have been widely published, to the effect that the Utah commission, in their recent report to the secretary of the interior, allege that plural marriages are still being solemnized and that 40 or more such marriages have been contracted in Utah since last June or during the past year.  He goes on to say in the second paragraph, “I therefore, as President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, do hereby, in the most solemn manner, declare that these charges are false. We’re not teaching polygamy or plural marriage nor permitting any person to enter into its practice and I deny that either 40, or any other number of plural marriages, have happened during that time period been solemnized in our temple wherein another place in the territory.” I’m just going to jump down to the paragraph where he says, “Inasmuch as laws have been enacted by Congress forbidding plural marriages, which laws have been pronounced constitutional by the court of last resort,” that’s the Supreme Court that we kind of talked about, “I hereby declare my intention to submit to those laws and use my influence with members of the Church over which I preside to have them do likewise.” That’s really the crux of it is “We fought this. You said it’s constitutional. The Lord has revealed to me that we should stop teaching this practice. I intend to use my influence to have the Church submit to this going forward.”  Now as you jump down below there’s the statement from President Lorenzo Snow to get the sustaining vote to make this official. And then underneath that you get these excerpts from three addresses by President Wilford Woodruff regarding polygamy, or, Joseph Smith polygamy. These six terms are excellent. These are amazing and that first paragraph there, the first line of the first paragraph is a fairly common phrase that we use in the Church, attributed to Wilford Woodruff, where he says, “the Lord will never permit me or any other man who stands as president of this Church to lead you astray.” It is not in the program, it is not in the mind of God.  And by the way, Wilford Woodruff isn’t the first person I’ve ever found as I’ve researched and looked at this. Brigham Young says that “the Lord will not permit the president of the Church to lead the Church astray” and it’s been reiterated by many people, many church leaders. Even as recently as Elder Ballard has said, “The Lord won’t allow the leaders of the Church to lead you astray.” Now one of the things that I think is important here is to understand what that means or could mean, anyway. The word astray some people interpret as saying the Lord won’t permit his leaders of the Church to ever make any mistakes. Now, while that is fine to make that interpretation, I personally don’t think that’s accurate.  The restoration of the Gospel kicks off with a prophet losing 116 pages of sacred scripture after all. The Lord allows us, as we learn and grow, and leaders, local stake and even general leaders, to make mistakes. That’s different than leading astray. And maybe one analogy that I like to give is that we all as parents make mistakes and we sit down and try to lead our families as best as possible. And we pray and we seek for revelation and we get revelation and we get inspiration to guide our families, but it doesn’t mean that we don’t make mistakes in implementing it or in figuring it out along the way. And if I brought in my children and lined them up and said, “Do your mom and dad ever make mistakes leading your family as parents?” They would have to fill up another hour’s worth of this show documenting how many mistakes we make as parents in our weakness. But if you asked our children, “Do your mom and dad lead your family astray?” Now that’s a whole nother question altogether. And the promise is that the prophets will not lead us astray from the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the covenants and ordinances thereof. That’s how I interpret this. It’s beautiful. It’s that idea that when you look at repentance the way that President Russell M. Nelson talked about it in General Conference a few years ago, using the Greek word “metanoia”, it’s to change. I think that we can look at that word and that idea of repentance not in this, “I’ve committed this serious sin,” it’s just “sometimes we need to change”. Sometimes we need to shift the way we’re looking or re-tune our ears or shift our heart, turn our heart, or adjust something. That’s repentance! And I don’t just repent individually, my wife and I repent collectively in our home. And our family repents. We change, we adjust, we make improvements over time, and we seek God’s will throughout that process. Well the church collectively, under President Nelson’s definition, repenting doesn’t mean that they committed a serious sin or doesn’t mean they led the church astray, it’s just that we’re making a change. We’re getting more in line now with what is needed based on what God is giving us. And there’s power in sticking with God’s prophets, seers, and revelators, who are watchmen on the tower. They have a more elevated view than I have. And by the way, if you look at the beacon of what the Church is aimed towards, there’s something in the center goal’s eye. It obviously is the Savior, but it’s in connection to the Savior through the ordinances of the temple through the ordinances of the gospel and the ordinances of the temple. And so when the prophets say we won’t lead you astray, they’re saying we will always teach you the Gospel of Jesus Christ and administer the ordinances of salvation and exaltation and we won’t lead you astray from that. And the very fact that Wilford Woodruff is saying, “Lord, do you want us to keep practicing plural marriage or do you want us to lose the ability to perform the ordinances of salvation and exaltation” shows him keeping the church in line with God’s will. This is an example of keeping the Church on the path of the ordinances, outside of Joseph Smith wives. Now in the second excerpt that’s given at this Stake Conference, he asks them, because there are a lot of people who are like, “We’ve mentioned they’re wrestling with this.” They’re trying to figure out if this really is from God and he says, “In order to answer that question you need to step back and answer a different question,” which is really the crux of the matter that was facing him as the prophet at the time, which was “Should we allow the First Presidency, Quorum of the Twelve, and all the leaders to be imprisoned? Should we lose all of the assets of the Church including the temples? Should we break up all these families because the men are in prison, or should we let go of plural marriage?” That’s the question he’s asking them to answer and it’s fascinating to me that previous to 1890, I could be wrong but I don’t know of any records of any sealings of children to parents taking place in the temples. And then it’s a few years after the manifesto where we get to retain our temples, hold on to them and we get to move forward in not having the First Presidency arrested and the Quorum of the Twelve and all these men put in prison. Then the revelation comes in the St George temple to start sealing children to parents.  Some people might not be aware that prior to this time, during the time of Joseph Smith polygamy, and you’ll see the connection here in a second, that we weren’t sealing children to parents and children to their parents. We were not sealing vertically, we were often sealing horizontally or dynastically. Sometimes they called it the Law of Adoption and people would be sealed up to prominent church leaders’ families. And in 1894, I believe is the year, just a few years after the manifesto, is when we get to retain the temples. This revelation comes where the Lord tells Wilford Woodruff, “You seal parents to children and make the chain vertical,” which has been the direction we’ve gone ever since. What a blessing for countless people on both sides of the veil.  Subscribe Get the latest updates on Book of Mormon topics and research for free       Which lists would you like emails from?   Daily Email   Weekly Email     Signing up for both the Daily and Weekly email lists is not recommended, as you will receive duplicate emails. We respect your email privacy    

Joseph Smith Wives: The End of Polygamy (Part 1)Post contributed by Scripture CentralMarch 18, 2024Google Plus One Pinterest Tweet Widget Facebook Like Share on Facebook https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amQpLer7it4 The following content is a transcript from Tyler Griffin and Anthony Sweat’s ‘Come Follow Me’ discussion on ‘The End of Polygamy.’ To watch the full video, click here. It is important for us to keep in mind that the article of faith number nine says that we don’t just believe in the many revelations that have been given or that were currently being given to the prophet in 1842 but many great and important things would be revealed in future times as the need arises. I think it’s important right out of the chute before we jump into the actual Official Declaration 1 to set the stage historically and culturally or the need for what they called the manifesto this ending of plural marriage and any ties to Joseph Smith wives. Because a lot is going on in the United States and there are two things that are really in the crosshairs of those lawmakers back east. They call them the twin relics of barbarism. And the twin twin relics of barbarism are slavery and polygamy.  It’s at the 1856 Republican National Convention that the republican party, in essence, says, “We’re going to take these two things on so a lot of people don’t realize that the ending of polygamy is actually very tied to the ending of slavery and the Civil War.” They’re very connected. And the Civil War because of the ending of slavery once this one ending of slavery in the Civil War when that was settled in the mid-1860s then they start to shift their attention to say, “let’s end the other relic of the barbarism of polygamy in America.” So in the 1870s and 80s a lot of attention shifted in particular out west to the Latter-day Saints. We’re practicing it on our own in Utah territory not in a territory we weren’t. We were not going to be a state until 1896 we were a federal territory which means we were not allowed to pick our own leaders they were appointed by the the federal government back in Washington DC.  Plural Marriage and Governing Laws  It’s important to note that the first time that polygamy was publicly announced for everyone to hear was in a church conference on the 29th of August 1852 in Salt Lake. So, in 1852, now 10 years later, on the 8th of July 1862, Justin Morrill of Vermont introduced a bill into Congress called the Moral Act. This was the first bill that goes after polygamy, and people may not recognize this but Abraham Lincoln was the president who signed that bill into law. And you know the the moral anti-bigamy act as it’s known really didn’t have any teeth behind it. Let’s also say first it’s important to recognize too that Latter-day Saints didn’t invent plural marriage. There’s been research done by American history scholars who have shown that there were a bunch of different groups that were practicing plural marriage. Native American African-Americans even some Catholic. And so this isn’t just aiming at the Latter-day Saints but we are the most prominent group and the most vocal about it and we’re out west on our own you have to you have to recognize that this time in American history too. They’re trying to colonize when I say they I mean Easterners, particularly Washington DC politicians. They want to they want to westernize the west and they kind of feel like particularly those lottery Saints out west. There’s a lot of mixing of church and state. They’re out there on their own we’re not sure they’re loyal to the federal government. We’re not sure where they stand we got to reign them in and get them under control and so these bills start to pass partly because of all these tensions but they can’t really do anything about it originally because it’s a civil war you can pass laws but if you don’t enforce them the laws mean almost nothing.  So the penalty under the moral act was a $500 fine and imprisonment for a term of five years. But with the civil war taking place back east and no federal officials to enforce it either they’re not that the law is not being enforced.  Joseph Smith Wives: The Edmunds-Tucker Act So then you get the Edmunds Bill in 1882 so this is 20 years after the Moral Bill. There were a handful of bills in between that tried to give the federal government. The way the Columns Bill in 1870. They’re all those who are trying to say okay we passed this law how do we help the federal government enforce it then it really kicked in with the Edmunds Act.  Five years later 1887 Congress passed the Edmunds-Tucker Act. It disincorporated the church. It dissolved the perpetual immigration fund gave all of the property of the church to the government for the benefit of the common schools in Utah and took away the right of Utah women to vote there.  One of the things you have to understand is the Edmunds Tucker Act goes after the church specifically it’s not just a general anti-polygamy bill they are going after that bill after The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints it seizes any assets over $50,000. It also does not allow immigrants to come to America who are Latter-day Saints. So process that we won’t let you become a citizen of this country if you’re a Latter-day saint in other words we can’t gather to Zion now. So Zion and gathering have now stopped because of this bill they’re going to seize control of our temples they also have taken away women a lot like we are the leaders along with Wyoming and the suffrage act of giving women the right to vote and the Edmunds-Tucker act revokes that right to vote it makes people it required any juror voter or official to swear an anti-polygamy oath.  So not even if you were practicing polygamy but if you even stated that you believed that in it or that it should be legal you were not allowed to act in those civil. I mean there are so many things after thing after thing they could seize any asset from the church that they didn’t feel was necessary for a religious purpose they have jailed polygamists for up to five years.  Just to cut to the chase it wreaks havoc on the church in terms of our temples we’re going to lose our temples our ability to bind families together we are going to lose our ability to create Zion and gather people to Zion we’re going to lose all of our church leadership in prison the first presidency, all the leaders, and that’s really what Wilford Woodruff is dealing with as a whole.  At the end of the day the question is well what would you do and ultimately the question that Wilford Woodruff is saying is what is essential to our church is polygamy our core essential doctrine is it in our articles of faith. Even the very fact that Wilford Woodruff would be willing to take this question to the Lord saying, “Can we get rid of plural marriage?” shows that it should not and was not the defining doctrine of the church even though they fought so stridently for it.  What Wilford Woodruff is taking to the Lord, in essence, is what’s more important temple mothers and fathers in their homes to gather and build Zion and to allow the leaders of the church to continue to operate or to keep practicing polygamy that was his question so those 1880s those were rough years here in Utah and in parts of Arizona parts of Idaho rough years where there’s lots of persecution coming against these folks. These federal I mean I would invite everybody at home to make sure you read Saints Volume 2 you know these chapters and then like the late 20s early 30s chapters of Saints Volume 2 where you can get the detailed wonderfully written stories of women and men going into hiding women being forced to testify against their own husbands’ people having to take assumed names.    You know, sons and daughters, not knowing who their actual father was for fear of their dad being imprisoned. It was just… it was a terrible time. John Taylor, by the way, as president of the church, had to go into hiding. He gave his last public address in the Salt Lake Tabernacle. As federal officials are waiting to arrest him after the address, and the church blocks their guards and everything, and they usher him out the back, and he’s never seen in public again, dies in hiding. And Wilford says he died because of the pressures of polygamy persecution. It’s a very trying time for them. So before we get to Wilford Woodruff and the actual declaration, it’s really important, back to the Article of Faith number 12 that we said we’d touch on, about honoring and obeying and sustaining the law. Our church deliberately went against the law at this time. You know, there is a revelation in the Missouri period where the Lord says, ‘When it comes concerning the laws of the land, I will that you obey whatsoever I say unto you.’ So it’s not quite as black and white as we want to make it sometimes, and the church felt that these laws that were being passed were unjust. Now, while we were engaged in civil disobedience—protecting people’s identity and putting people into hiding and things like that—to practice plural marriage, the church also did, though, take the legal route. If we feel that laws are unjust, then we have recourse, particularly within the United States of America, in a democracy, to try to get laws changed. So the church did appeal the law, and it went all the way to the Supreme Court. In 1890, the Supreme Court upheld the Edmunds-Tucker Act, and that was the final blow. That’s what kind of makes us go, ‘We’ve pursued every avenue we can. I mean, what do we do?’ So, Tony had already mentioned this earlier, this idea of the government has made it very clear: they will confiscate all of the possessions of the church, including the temples. We will lose our ability to do any temple work, including the work of Joseph Smith wives ordinances. So you can picture the prophet of God, Wilford Woodruff, with the weight of this situation on his shoulders, in that mantle that he’s carrying, as he goes to God to say, ‘What would thou have us do?’ If God tells us that we need to keep performing plural marriages, you know that he and the other leaders are going to defend that to their death, regardless of the cost. They were willing to do whatever God wanted them to do. But I love the fact that he turns to, to He who stands at the head of this work, to ask Him what He would have us do. And it was on the night of September 23rd, 1890, when he received this revelation from the Lord that the church should cease the practice of plural marriage. So the next day, after he’s received this revelation, he puts a handwritten copy down in front of some of the general authorities. But this one’s a little different because he’s doing this a little differently. It’s important to know that Wilford Woodruff is counseling with his counselors, but this is not a unanimous decision originally. This is a revelation that he receives, and he comes to Wilford Woodruff. He says the Lord made it plain that it was perfectly clear that this was the right thing. But some of the apostles find out about Wilford Woodruff’s statement, like ‘I’m going to the Lord; He has made it manifest to me that we will submit to the laws of the country.’ Some of the apostles find out about it by reading a newspaper while they’re getting ready to get on a train. Yeah, it’s like, what? So they will all convene, and he will lay it before them, but there’s a difficulty. I mean, this is, uh, this is right off the church’s essay, the ending of plural marriage. They say the members of the Quorum of the Twelve varied in their reactions to the manifesto. Franklin D. Richards was sure it was the work of the Lord. Francis M. Lyman said that he had endorsed the manifesto fully when he first heard it, but not all the Twelve accepted the document immediately. John W. Taylor, who is President John Taylor’s son (remember President John Taylor went to his deathbed defending plural marriage, saying ‘we will not relinquish this’), John W. Taylor said he did not, quote, ‘not yet feel quite right about it,’ end of quote. John Henry Smith candidly admitted that the manifesto had disturbed his feelings very much and that he was, quote, ‘still somewhat at sea about it.’ Within a week, however, all members of the Twelve voted to sustain the manifesto. That’s on the church’s essay. Now some people have said things like, ‘Well, this isn’t really a revelation; he’s just responding to political pressure.’ What would you say to that? I would say all revelation is a response to the cultural conditions and needs of God’s people. All revelation is, you could read the Doctrine and Covenants as a whole, and nearly every one of those revelations is a response to temporal, mortal, and cultural conditions of the time. That’s an interesting point, Tony. Think about Exodus: the people were in bondage, and God comes, inserts Himself into history, and provides revelation to change a situation that was oppressive, that could only really be fixed with God intervening. And God basically said to the Saints through Wilford Woodruff, ‘It is not my will for you to go into bondage to the United States because of this one practice.’ And so, we see that God will provide revelation as needed to His people. We should expect God to participate in our lives. Before we go on with what Taylor just said, if we didn’t think God was responding by giving revelation based on cultural conditions, then we would have no Word of Wisdom. Because without conspiring with men in the Latter days, the Lord doesn’t need to give a revelation called the ‘Word of Wisdom.’ If we didn’t think the Lord gave revelation responding to cultural conditions, we wouldn’t have all these wonderful teachings helping us to combat pornography. For example, if pornography didn’t exist, the Lord wouldn’t give these revelations regarding it. All revelation is a response to the needs, conditions, and culture that His children find themselves in. I love how we sing ‘We thank thee, oh God, for a prophet, to guide us in these latter days.’ It’s not we don’t thank Him for being a prophet to guide us through the ancient days and the time of Joseph Smith polygamy, because those aren’t our days. So, it’s beautiful that Wilford Woodruff is living in his culture, his environment, his political climate of that day, and making decisions that are necessary for the church to be able to move forward and for the kingdom of God to roll forth. And that’s always the question of what’s needed within that time and that setting, in that context, to keep the kingdom moving forward. That was his question at the time. 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Church of Jesus Christ Purchases Kirtland Temple, Other Church History PropertiesPost contributed by Scripture CentralMarch 7, 2024Google Plus One Pinterest Tweet Widget Facebook Like Share on Facebook According to a press release published by Church Newsroom March 5, The responsibility and ownership for the Kirtland Temple, several historic buildings in Nauvoo, and various manuscripts and artifacts officially transferred from Community of Christ to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for an agreed-upon amount. Together, we share an interest in and reverence for these historic sites and items and are committed to preserving them for future generations. Discussions leading to this landmark agreement commenced in June 2021. “This exchange of assets is significant for our church,” said Stephen M. Veazey, president of Community of Christ. “Through funding from increased endowments, Community of Christ will have greater capacity to pursue our mission priorities around the world, including continuing to fulfill the divinely envisioned purposes for our Temple in Independence, Missouri.” “We are deeply honored to assume the stewardship of these sacred places, documents, and artifacts,” said Russell M. Nelson, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “We thank our friends at Community of Christ for their great care and cooperation in preserving these historical treasures thus far. We are committed to doing the same.” The Kirtland Temple will remain an historic building. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints plans to reopen it March 25, 2024, for public tours at no charge. Likewise, in Nauvoo, the Smith Family Homestead, the Mansion House and the Red Brick Store will also reopen on March 25, 2024, for year-round public tours at no charge. More details about the transaction, assets, and the other items included in the agreement will be forthcoming. You can read the full press release here. Key Points of Interest about the Kirtland Temple The Kirtland Temple is the first temple built under priesthood authority in this dispensation The saints made significant sacrifices of resources, labor, and time to build the temple Close to 1,000 people attended the dedication of the temple 27 March 1836, and many reported seeing angels, speaking in tongues, and other heavenly manifestations Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith, Jr. and Oliver Cowdery in the temple 3 April 1836. Moses, Elias, and Elijah also appeared that day to restore priesthood keys Unlike later temples, the Kirtland Temple was a multi-use building: It served as a church, community gathering place, and school Some washings and anointings were performed in the temple, but the temple endowment had not yet been revealed and was not administered in the Kirtland Temple To learn more about the Kirtland Temple, visit this page from Doctrine and Covenants Central. To learn more about the Joseph Smith Homestead, Red Brick Store, and Nauvoo Mansion, visit this page from Doctrine and Covenants Central. Video Resources Additional Resources Church Newsroom, “Frequently Asked Questions Clarify the Transfer of Sacred Sites and Historic Documents” Joseph Smith Papers, Kirtland, City of Revelation: A Joseph Smith Papers Podcast Church of Jesus Christ, Gospel Topics Essay, “Kirtland Temple” Book of Mormon Central, “Why Is the “Pentecostal” Season in Kirtland Believable? (Doctrine and Covenants 110:1),” KnoWhy 619 (October 5, 2021). M. Russell Ballard, “What Came from Kirtland,” BYU Speeches, 1994. Truman G. Madsen, “Joseph Smith Lecture 5: Joseph Smith and the Kirtland Temple,” BYU Speeches, 1978. Robison, Elwin C.. The First Mormon Temple: Design, Construction, and Historic Context of the Kirtland Temple. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 1997. Harper, Steven C.. ““A Pentecost and Endowment Indeed”: Six Eyewitness Accounts of the Kirtland Temple Experience.” In Opening the Heavens: Accounts of Divine Manifestation, 1820-1844, edited by John W. Welch, 351-393. 2nd ed. Provo, UT/Salt Lake City: Brigham Young University Press/Deseret Book, 2017. Ricks, Stephen D. “The Appearance of Elijah and Moses in the Kirtland Temple and the Jewish Passover.” BYU Studies Quarterly 23, no. 4 (1983): 483-486.   Subscribe Get the latest updates on Book of Mormon topics and research for free       Which lists would you like emails from?   Daily Email   Weekly Email     Signing up for both the Daily and Weekly email lists is not recommended, as you will receive duplicate emails. We respect your email privacy    

Dive Into Scriptural Evidences in A Marvelous Work, Episode 2Post contributed by Scripture CentralFebruary 29, 2024Google Plus One Pinterest Tweet Widget Facebook Like Share on Facebook Episode 2 of A Marvelous Work is now streaming! Our latest episode of A Marvelous Work features Scott Christopher as he visits a Jewish rabbi and a Latter-day Saint scholar to discuss Hebrew language patterns in The Book of Mormon, visits olive groves to learn from a farmer about tending and growing olive trees, and sees an old friend from his mission in Spain to hear her story of conversion to The Book of Mormon and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As you join us, you’ll experience testimonies of the impact The Book of Mormon and its stories and language can have, as well as learn about features we find in The Book of Mormon that are particular to Hebrew literature. Learn more about A Marvelous Work Subscribe Get the latest updates on Book of Mormon topics and research for free       Which lists would you like emails from?   Daily Email   Weekly Email     Signing up for both the Daily and Weekly email lists is not recommended, as you will receive duplicate emails. We respect your email privacy    

Your New Go-To Show to Watch on Sundays: Millennium TimesPost contributed by Scripture CentralFebruary 19, 2024Google Plus One Pinterest Tweet Widget Facebook Like Share on Facebook Reintroduce the tradition to your family of gathering around the television every Sunday or on family night for entertaining and inspiring programming. Scripture Central is pleased to release Millennium Times, a twice-monthly series of entertaining and inspiring content designed to help families prepare for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Each 30-minute show features a faith-promoting mini-documentary, an inspiring interview with people making a difference, and an educational scholarly-baaed evidence of our faith. The show is rounded out by Signs of the Times—where people worldwide face fear with faith and good works. Hosted by our engaging luminaries Yahosh Bonner and Ali Durham, Millennium Times offers something for every member of the family. Learn more about Millennium Times Subscribe Get the latest updates on Book of Mormon topics and research for free       Which lists would you like emails from?   Daily Email   Weekly Email     Signing up for both the Daily and Weekly email lists is not recommended, as you will receive duplicate emails. We respect your email privacy     TagsVideosMillennium TimesInspiration

Scripture Central Expands its International Horizons for 2024: Introducing French, Mandarin, and Urdu ProgramsPost contributed by Scripture CentralJanuary 19, 2024Google Plus One Pinterest Tweet Widget Facebook Like Share on Facebook We at Scripture Central are thrilled to announce a groundbreaking milestone in our mission to make the sacred scriptures accessible, comprehensible, and defensible to people worldwide. Our commitment to providing valuable resources and fostering a deeper understanding of scripture has led us to begin producing content in three new languages for 2024: French, Mandarin, and Urdu. This expansion marks a significant step forward for our platform, which has been flourishing with English, Spanish, and Portuguese programs.  This content will be published each week and will correspond with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’s Come, Follow Me program. Leading our new language programs are highly qualified individuals, each bringing a wealth of expertise and passion to their roles. All of them are seasoned Gospel teachers with years of experience teaching the words of the scriptures. Christian Euvrard (France) is leading the French initiative. Felipe and Petra Chou (Hawaii) are leading Mandarin efforts. Patras Bukhari (Pakistan/California) is leading the Urdu initiative. These leaders are dedicated to ensuring that the teachings stay in line with prophetic guidance and help to build and defend faith. Our hope is that through these new programs, we will be able to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with a wider audience who desires to engage with sacred texts on a profound level. The addition of French, Mandarin, and Urdu expands our global reach and reinforces our commitment to reaching all of God’s children.  To access the new programs and explore the wealth of content available, visit our YouTube channels: English: https://www.youtube.com/@scripturecentralofficial Spanish: https://www.youtube.com/@CentraldelasEscrituras Portuguese: https://www.youtube.com/@centraldasescrituras French: https://www.youtube.com/@AuCentredesEcritures Mandarin: https://www.youtube.com/@ScriptureCentralMandarin Urdu: https://www.youtube.com/@ScriptureCentralUrdu We invite you to join us on this exciting journey of discovery as we continue to break down language barriers and make scripture accessible to people all around the world. If you want to join us in our efforts to share the Gospel to all the world, please click here to join the cause and/or donate. Subscribe Get the latest updates on Book of Mormon topics and research for free       Which lists would you like emails from?   Daily Email   Weekly Email     Signing up for both the Daily and Weekly email lists is not recommended, as you will receive duplicate emails. We respect your email privacy     TagsVideoScripture CentralBook of Mormon

Jack and Lynne Strike the Perfect Balance with Book of Mormon MattersPost contributed by Chris HeimerdingerJanuary 17, 2024Google Plus One Pinterest Tweet Widget Facebook Like Share on Facebook Amid the weekly spectrum of talented and charismatic online Come, Follow Me presenters—including others right here at Scripture Central—Book of Mormon Matters with John (Jack) W. Welch and Lynne Hilton Wilson strikes, for me, the perfect balance of accessible scholarship and heartwarming testimony. Not too dry, but also not too reliant on personality. This is not to say that Dr. Welch and Dr. Wilson lack charisma in the slightest. The chemistry between these two PhDs is vibrant yet accentuated with that gritty, hands-on experience that only a genuine frontline scholar can provide, one who has paid their disciplinary dues, expertly culling original sources to uncover (and sometimes unearth!) hidden insights. Yes, they’ll reference the work of other scholars, but Jack and Lynne carry that magical trump card to reference their own research and experiences in the trenches of discovery. Statements describing Book of Mormon Matters suggest Jack and Lynne provide a deep dive into the scriptures that may limit its appeal to everyday audiences. I respectfully disagree. This combination of personalities–Dr. Welch’s encyclopedic braintrust and Dr. Wilson’s infectious enthusiasm–captivated my attention. As I’ve done with some engaging series on Netflix, I found myself binge-watching the first several episodes. I think of myself as a pretty tough customer. My career as an author of Latter-day Saint fiction has immersed me in countless books and articles on Church history and ancient culture. Sometimes it’s hard to surprise me with info I haven’t, in some form, already heard. Yet Jack and Lynne unfolded new surprises by the minute. I found myself frequently clicking back to earlier places in the timeline to re-hear the information. Who knew, for example, that Dr. Welch was instrumental in prompting a search that uncovered Joseph Smith’s original 1829 copyright application for the Book of Mormon in the archives of the Library of Congress? Who knew the “master chess game” (Lynne’s words) that unfolded resulting in the unlikely meeting of Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith? Recent articles I’d read emphasizing a seer stone in the translation process left me a bit foggy as to what part the Urim and Thummin had played. As Jack and Lynne made clear, the Urim and Thummin was the primary instrument of translation after Oliver Cowdery’s arrival. Maybe it’s of no real consequence, but I enjoyed learning that our current Book of Mormon text relied on this sacred ancient artifact rather than some other device. In the second episode I was floored by Jack and Lynne’s discussion of the slaying of Laban. Examining verses from Exodus 21, Dr. Welch revealed the singular exception in Mosiac law that I’d never before heard justifying Nephi’s actions. Since coming into the Church forty years ago, I’ve watched as folks picked apart and overanalyzed this incident ad nauseam. Never has it been so satisfactorily settled in my mind as it was by Dr. Welch’s explanation.  What undergirds Book of Mormon Matters more than any other factor is the faith and humility of both presenters. Let’s face it: these are not traits one generally expects from seasoned academics, who tend to perch themselves above such trivial and “common” matters as religion.  “Details matter,” Dr. Welch declares in episode 2. “Background matters. The record is true.” This really penetrated my heart. It rekindled in me that kernel of excitement that has always defined my experience as a member of The Church of Jesus of Latter-day Saints. I’m tempted to quote the professor’s almost childlike closing testimony, but I’ll leave that for the audience to relish in real time.  My heartfelt thanks to Jack and Lynne for bringing us Book of Mormon Matters. The time, energy, and sacrifice it takes to deliver such high-quality content on a weekly basis is no small thing. May others join me in offering them not only our gratitude but also our prayers of support to sustain them throughout the coming year. Book of Mormon Matters is a weekly publication from Scripture Central. For more information, and to view the videos, check out our playlist on YouTube or visit the series’ homepage. Subscribe Get the latest updates on Book of Mormon topics and research for free       Which lists would you like emails from?   Daily Email   Weekly Email     Signing up for both the Daily and Weekly email lists is not recommended, as you will receive duplicate emails. We respect your email privacy     TagsCome Follow MeVideoReviewBook of Mormon

The curriculum for gospel study this year is the Doctrine and Covenants. It is impossible to study the Doctrine and Covenants without studying church history. That can be problematic for some people who take issue with some things that happened in the past. If history is studied correctly, it can be a great learning tool.

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