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Challenges like depression can make it difficult to feel joy, but Elder Uchtdorf shared some comforting (and easy!) suggestions.

I recently worked on reviewing the addresses of Elder David A. Bednar to put together a David A. Bednar quotes page over at From the Desk. As I worked on it, I noticed some interesting patterns and other observations that I thought I would share. These include a standardized structure he seems to follow, some core concepts that he reiterates over and over, and his sources. Structural Patterns Elder Bednar seems to have created a ritualized format that he uses in creating his general conference talks. If I had to summarize the basic idea, I would put it as follows: Another pattern to his talks is that he seems to gather together a lot of major ideas in his BYU Speeches first (which are generally longer than his general conference addresses), and then pulls them into his general conference talks, though usually in an altered way. For example, his 2001 address “In the Strength of the Lord” (given while he was still president of BYU-I) contains a lot of his core doctrinal emphasis around the enabling power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. This later resurfaced in his general conference addresses in October 2004 (his first), October 2007, October 2012, April 2015, and October 2016. His 2009 address at BYU-I entitled “Things as They Really Are” resurface in his April 2013 and October 2019 general conference addresses. His April 2022 general conference address makes more sense when read after his 2007…Read more →

The question the Spirit whispered to my heart is changing my approach to daily devotion.

Derek Ryan is frequently asked about his faith in the locker room. He knows of no other Latter-day Saints in the NHL as long as he has played.

My own research played a role in the atheist conversion I described in previous posts. Like I said, I believe I’ve been able to track down the sources of all Mormon ideas from books to Joseph Smith, which, like I said, was something I’ve been generally okay with. Again, this was a gradual process for me that I felt I could make spiritual sense of, and concluded that any means that God used for the Restoration was okay with me. Yet every now and again I’d stop and notice how far I’d drifted from orthodoxy. I recently did a podcast where I described it as occasionally feeling like this Naked Gun clip: with so much on his mind while he wandered around, Frank finally said to himself, “and where the hell was I?” Those brushes with atheism I described in those posts were two such incidents. I was concerned about other things, but noting that I’d put together what looked to me like something of a naturalistic explanation added to my unmoored feeling. I’d applied similar scholarly views to other scripture well as I would dabble a bit in biblical studies. At some point, I’ll post on something of a construct I put together for myself of embracing scholarship on these scriptural issues, and believing that God can work through these human means. But ultimately not feeling like I need to embrace all historical scriptural claims. Again, I would generally…Read more →

When Ashley Hatch invited her professional soccer team to a temple open house, she didn’t realize until later how much the experience touched one of her teammates.

Our challenge today is not a lack of access, but a lack of attention.

Registration is now open for the North Star Conference to be held at the Sheraton in Salt Lake City, June 20-22, 2024. The North Star Conference is the premier conference exploring the LGBT/SSA experience within the context of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Keynote speakers: Adam Thomas Anderegg, Dallyn Bayles, Kurt Francom, and Wendy Ulrich. The post North Star LDS Conference 2024: Understanding Same-Sex Attraction & Gender Identity first appeared on LDS365: Resources from the Church & Latter-day Saints worldwide.

Maybe in the biggest moments of our lives, we see a clear path to the Savior. But the real battle is won in the daily challenges of life.

If you are looking for a simple, meaningful gift to celebrate all the important women in your life, here are some of our favorite ideas.

The Church has published the following updated scripture editions: Indonesian triple combination and Book of Mormon. Printed editions are now available through local distribution centers and online at store.ChurchofJesusChrist.org. Members are not expected to obtain new scriptures as a result of this updated edition. Bulgarian triple combination and Book of Mormon. The electronic versions are The post Updated Editions of Scriptures Published in Indonesian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, and Swahili first appeared on LDS365: Resources from the Church & Latter-day Saints worldwide.

There are few issues in the Church as touchy as modesty. Every society has their lines for what is considered in poor taste on the revealing side or conversely too demure in the other direction, while the Church is consistently a few clicks to one direction on that continuum, making this one of those issues that puts us at slight tension with the background environment, even though the tension here is minor compared to, say, our exotic family forms of yore. A common response about our slightly more restrictive norms is to smirk about the difference between the Church and broader society. “Oh, those silly uptight conservatives.”  Ironically, this attitude is a mirror image of the conservatives that think that modesty lines are eternally drawn by God across time and space. However, in this case instead of acknowledging, respecting and contextualizing cultural differences like one would if they were, say, in an Amish community or a Muslim holy site, the sort of chiding about Latter-day Saint differences (typically by members themselves) ironically kind of presupposes that the metaphysical ideal written in the sky for the balance between too little and too much modesty happens to be right where 2024 America is. “Appropriateness” is by definition relative. Virtually all non-hunter gatherer cultures would find somebody walking down the street completely naked a little jarring (even if legal), and unless you’re fine with that then you too have your lines in the sand,…Read more →

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    

“La Ofrenda” is a sacrament hymn written by José V. Estrada G. It is possible that it was based on “Venid Hermanos En La Fe” by Edmund Richardson or drew inspiration from similar places. It is one of the hymns that was only published in the 1912 edition of the Mexican mission hymnals. Note: This is a part of an ongoing series, the Mexico Mission Hymns Project.  La Ofrenda José V. Estrada G. Latter-day Saint Psalmody no. 223 (“Jesus, mighty King of Zion”) 8.7.8.7 first beat Since this text was only published in one edition of the hymnal, there are no variations in text. Table 1. Translation of “La Ofrenda.” 1912 Spanish English Prose English Poetic Hasta el altar si llegasCon contrito corazón,A dejar allí ofrenda,En el ara de tu Dios; If you come to the altarWith a contrite heart,To leave an offering there,On the altar of your God; If to Yahweh’s altar you comeWith a contrite heart and core,To go leave an off’ring thereon,On the altar of our Lord; Y si vas arrepentido,Mas aún sin el perdón,Por ofensa inferida,Hacia tu hermano fiel: And if you go repentant,But even without forgiveness,For inferred offense,Towards your faithful brother: If you go repentant thereto,But have not forgiveness gainedFrom a colleague in the faith whoHas been by your actions pained: Pues, no pongas la ofrenda,En altar sagrado tal;Hasta ver si te perdone,El que ofendido fué. Well, do not put the offering,On such a sacred altar;Until…Read more →

“When the Lord knows He can trust you, He both opens doors for you, and He helps you open doors.”

After a long battle with cancer, Melissa Wei-Tsing Inouye recently passed away. We share this excerpt from her recent book as a tribute to her incredible life of scholarship and discipleship, for which we will be forever grateful.

Participate in the 10 Million Names Project, a collaboration with American Ancestors, FamilySearch, and others to compile pre-1870 documents and recover the identities of 10 million individuals of African descent who were enslaved in America between 1500 and 1865. Learn more at 10millionnames.org.     The post 10 Million Names Project first appeared on LDS365: Resources from the Church & Latter-day Saints worldwide.

King Benjamin’s temple sermon (Mosiah 2–6) 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 Come, Follow Me reading schedule, so they will be shared The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Mosiah 1–3; Mosiah 4–6 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

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Download the free guide The Porn Circuit: Understand Your Brain and Break Porn Habits in 90 Days. For more information about how pornography and other Internet dangers impact your brain, your relationships, and your family, check out other free e-books from Covenant Eyes, a Christian-based program that combines filtering with a system of accountability to help your family stay The post Understand Your Brain and Break Pornography Habits first appeared on LDS365: Resources from the Church & Latter-day Saints worldwide.

2024 April General Conference, Saturday Morning Session Put Ye On the Lord Jesus Christ Sister J. Anette Dennis First Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency Main Points Through honoring our covenants, we enable God to pour out the multitude of promised blessings associated with those covenants.  As we choose to draw nearer to Him The post Consider Conference: Put Ye On the Lord Jesus Christ appeared first on FAIR.

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One of the more interesting finds among the dead sea scrolls is a text that was written onto copper rather than papyrus of animal skin. It’s a unique find, and has become an area of interest for the noted scholar George J. Brooke, who recently spoke with the Latter-day Saint history blog From the Desk about the copper scrolls. What follows here is a co-post to the full interview, covering some of what these copper scrolls are. To start, George J. Brooke explained what the copper scrolls are: The Copper Scroll is made from three sheets of 99% pure copper (30 x 83 cms; 29 x 72 cms; 29 x 79 cms) that were originally riveted together to form a single scroll. Each sheet contains four columns of engraved script. When put in the cave in antiquity the scroll was in two parts, one roll containing two sheets and the other just one. The two rolls were discovered by archaeologists in Cave 3 in the foothills near Qumran on the north-west shore of the Dead Sea in March 1952. The twelve columns of writing list at least 60 locations with descriptions of what was buried at each place. Its permanent home since 1967 has been in Amman, Jordan. The copper scrolls are a record of buried treasures that was stored near Qumran. Dr. Brooke also added some explanations about how the copper scrolls differed from other Dead Sea Scrolls: In…Read more →

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The Lord Supports Me by Autumn Dickson Maybe this week’s message was meant for me. I definitely needed to hear it. I feel like every time I’ve sat down to write a message, I’ve been hitting my head against a wall. I had all these goals about getting ahead and being on top of things, The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Mosiah 1–3 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

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Fun LDS Games for Sundays by CodePro Studios is a way for your family to learn about the gospel. These games are great for personal study, family home evening, seminary, institute, missionary preparation, or church lessons. Here are some of the features of this free game: Try over 1,000 quiz questions about the Book of The post Fun LDS Games for Sundays first appeared on LDS365: Resources from the Church & Latter-day Saints worldwide.

  Stephen Cranney and Josh Coates This is one of a series of posts discussing results from a recent survey of current and former Latter-day Saints conducted by the BH Roberts Foundation. The technical details are in the full methodology report here. How often do members pray? This is one of those standard questions that are in most religion surveys and many generalist surveys. Still, the problem with virtually all such surveys is that the Latter-day Saint sample is too small to derive reliable estimates from. However, the Cooperative Election Study is one of the few surveys that has both a prayer question, an affiliation question, and a large enough sample overall that even the Latter-day Saint subset is pretty big (relatively speaking, N=706). This sample was used in this piece for the Deseret News on how people who don’t go to Church much also don’t pray much.  By comparing our results with the CES’ we can be even more sure of our estimates since it’s essentially a “in the mouths of two or three surveys” situation. So what do the numbers say?  First, the questions are worded somewhat differently, and this can be important:  CES: People practice their religion in different ways. Outside of attending religious services, how often do you pray? 2023CFLDS: About how often do you pray alone?  Also, as seen below, the response options are different, and some of the categories that sort of fit together…Read more →

Stay informed about the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Access an up-to-date organizational chart reflecting recent changes in leadership.

“Venid Hermanos En La Fe” is another example of the prolific hymn writer Edmund Richardson. It bears some notable resemblances to “La Ofrenda,” another sacrament hymn written by José V. Estrada G., though the Richardson text was written first. Note: This is a part of an ongoing series, the Mexico Mission Hymns Project.  Venid Hermanos En La Fe Edmund Richardson Songs of Zion, No. 10 (Again We Meet Around the Board) LM (8.8.8.8), second syllable Hymn Text: Table 1. Variations in text of “Venid Hermanos En La Fe” over the course of Church publications. 1907 1912 ¡Venid hermanos en la fé!La Santa Cena comunión;Tal cual mandó el Sumo Rey,Aguarda daros bendición. ¡Venid hermanos en la fe!La Santa Cena communion,Tal cual mandó el Sumo Rey,Aguarda daros bendición. Venid contritos al altar,Ahogando odios con amor;Sed limpios antes de tomar,Con corazones sin rancor. Venid contritos al altar,Borrando odios con amor;Sed limpios antes de tomar,Con corazones sin rancor. Tomad con reverente féLas muestras de la redención;Rogando que Dios os déCual dais á otros; el perdón. Tomad con reverente feLas muestras de la redención,Rogando que Jesús os déCual dais á otros; el perdón. La paz será el galardón,Con suma gracia celestial;Dad loóres al autor del dónDe santo privilegio tal. La paz será el galardón,Con suma gracia celestial;Dad honra al Autor del donDe santo privilegio tal. Table 2. English translation of “Venid Hermanos En La Fe.” Spanish 1912 English Prose English Poetic ¡Venid hermanos en la fe!La Santa…Read more →

The Church provides a “Songs of Devotion” music collection with recordings of sacred music in a variety of musical styles for everyday listening. Different musical styles resonate with different individuals, and this collection will grow over time to include many contemporary and traditional styles. Some English songs will eventually be adapted for use in other The post Latter-day Saint Songs of Devotion for Everyday Listening first appeared on LDS365: Resources from the Church & Latter-day Saints worldwide.

The temple recommend questions #13 and #14 and the statement on wearing the temple garment have been updated to help leaders and members better understand the importance of wearing the temple garment as instructed in the initiatory ordinances. The purpose of the updates is to emphasize that the garment of the holy priesthood is a The post Church Updates Temple Recommend Interview Questions and Statement on Wearing the Temple Garment first appeared on LDS365: Resources from the Church & Latter-day Saints worldwide.

Enos’s wrestle with God; Nephite spiritual decline; Mosiah led righteous Nephites to Zarahemla (Enos, Jarom, Omni, Words of Mormon, Mosiah 1) by Mike Parker (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 The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Enos–Words of Mormon – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

Have you ever wondered where to begin with emergency preparation? A 72-hour kit is a great place to start! You can tailor the contents to your situation and the amount of space you have for storage. The first 72 hours after an emergency or disaster are the most important hours to prepare for. Keeping an The post What To Include In a 72-Hour Emergency Kit first appeared on LDS365: Resources from the Church & Latter-day Saints worldwide.

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Anecdotally, a common recurring dream among members (and a lot of ex-members) is the classic “return-to-the-mission,” where somebody is called to be a missionary again in middle age.  Dream interpretation can be irresistible to conjecture about, but any particular interpretation is ultimately non-falsifiable. While it makes sense that that particular dream is manifesting some Freudian, deep-seated anxiety our current psychometric tools are way too blunt to test anything. It’s so widespread I suspect the return-to-the-mission dream means something psychologically, but I don’t know what.   In my own version, the primary feeling is one of inconvenience and anxiety. I’m in the middle of life and I’m told I have to drop everything to go back to my old field of Eastern Spain. While in my non-dream, real world mission I did in fact serve the full 24 months (not that I would be ashamed if I didn’t), in the dream the rationale is often so that I can finish a complete 2 year term that I terminated early, and I’m thrown back into the field with a bunch of 19-year olds for a few transfers. Another feeling is one of moroseness; I was super excited to leave the mission and move on with the next steps in life, and returning to the field felt like a step backward.  Makes me think about what it would be like if it was like the old days and I was companions with Bob from…Read more →

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As mentioned previously, Edmund Richardson seems to have had a particular interest in linking indigenous Mexican peoples to the Book of Mormon narrative and “La Voz de Jesucristo” is the third example of this. For some relevant historical analysis, see the following posts: Note: This is a part of an ongoing series, the Mexico Mission Hymns Project.  “La Voz de Jesucristo”Edmund RichardsonOh Stop and Tell Me Red Man7.6.7.6 D Hymn Text: Table 1. Variations in text of “La Voz de Jesucristo” over the course of Church Publications. 1907 1912 La voz de JesucristoSe oye otra vez,Llamando á los justosDe nuevo á las mies;Diciendo, ya es tiempoDe recoger mi grey;Los de la alianzaHan de saber mi ley La voz de JesucristoSe oye otra vez,Llamando á los justosDe nuevo á las miesDiciendo, ya es tiempoDe recoger mi grey;Y los de la alianzaHan de saber mi ley. Hay gentes entre ellosQue aman la virtud;Hay tribus que ignoranQue yo les doy salud.Entre ellos, es precisoMi ley aclarar;Sus errores descubrirles,Mi nombre publicar. Hay gentes entre ellosQue aman la virtud;Hay tribus que ignoranQue yo les doy salud.A ellos, es precisoMis leyes aclarar,Sus faltas descubrirles,Mi nombre publicar. Sabéis, mis siervos fielesEl plan de redención;Dad á los LamanitasLa misma bendición.Yo tocaré sus mentesQue vean otra vez;Mis promesas á sus padresAhora cumpliréis. Sabéis, mis siervos fieles,El plan de redención;Dad á los LamanitasLa misma bendición;Yo tocaré sus mentesQue vean otra vez,Mis promesas á sus padres,Ahora cumpliréis. Table 2. Translation of the text of…Read more →

Young adults of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are invited to grow closer to Jesus Christ by attending the worldwide devotional for young adults on May 5, 2024, in the Americas, and May 12 in other areas. Elder Carlos A. Godoy of the Seventy and his wife, Monica, will share messages specifically for The post Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults with Elder and Sister Carlos A. Godoy May 5, 2024 first appeared on LDS365: Resources from the Church & Latter-day Saints worldwide.

Enos is Changed by Prayer by Autumn Dickson When I was younger, I remember reading the exchange between Enos and the Lord and finding some of the comments kinda interesting. Enos prays for forgiveness and for his people, and it’s beautiful, but the prayer doesn’t end there. As part of his exchange with the Lord, The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Enos–Words of Mormon – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

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2024 April General Conference, Sunday Afternoon Session Rejoice in the Gift of Priesthood Keys President Russell M. Nelson President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Main Points Priesthood keys govern how the priesthood of God may be used to bring about the Lord’s purposes and bless all who accept the restored gospel.  The post Consider Conference: Rejoice in the Gift of Priesthood Keys appeared first on FAIR.

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In part one, I talked about coming to the conclusion of deciding to both be an atheist and also remain as bishop a year or so into my time as bishop. Part of the conundrum that I was working through was how I felt about my spiritual experiences. I mentioned in my last post that I was not feeling very content with where those experiences seemed to have led me. Furthermore, my PhD education had introduced me to some basics of cognitive science as my adviser had shifted her focus to that field. I talked about this in these posts at JI from a few years back, but had felt strongly prompted to work with Ann Taves, whose work had been in religious history, but was then shifting to cognitive science and its uses in studying religion. Again, I’d felt very prompted to work with her but kind of wanted to do more standard religious history and I had no training at all in this brain science stuff. I also happen to be friends with guys who studied that approach with Ann. One quite close friend liked the approach a lot and was quite an avowed atheist. Conversations were not religious contests, but he enjoyed talking about these things and I picked up some pieces of that he saw as the claims of cognitive scientists: humans have no free will, we are very complicated machines that respond to input the…Read more →

Scott and Angelle Anderson, who created The Family History Guide have created a Come Follow Me Companion for Family History. It includes questions and family activities for each week’s Come, Follow Me reading assignment. These family history activities can enrich your home-centered gospel study, while aiding your family in reaping the benefits and blessings of The post Come Follow Me Companion: Family History Activities first appeared on LDS365: Resources from the Church & Latter-day Saints worldwide.

The scriptures have much they can teach us about the meaning and importance of temples. A growing body of research is showing that the Book of Mormon contains temple themes. Andrew Miller, who has recently published a paper on this topic, joins us to discuss some of these themes and how they can make our The post Cornerstone: A FAIR Temple Preparation Podcast – Episode 7: Temple Themes in the Book of Mormon with Andrew Miller appeared first on FAIR.

The Allegory of the Olive Tree; Jacob contended with Sherem (Jacob 4–7) 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 reading The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Jacob 5–7 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

Servants in the Vineyard by Autumn Dickson There are a ton of resources out there regarding the Allegory of the Olive Tree found in Jacob 5. You can find information about olive trees and why they’re such a fantastic symbol. You can find timelines for the gathering and scattering of Israel that very closely follow the The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Jacob 5–7 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

by Shauna Horne The “Asking Big Questions” series is made in cooperation with the Wilford Woodruff Papers Project. General conference is a time for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to hear from the beloved prophet and apostles. Conference weekend is always spiritually uplifting, but preparing beforehand is essential if we want The post Asking Big Questions: How Can I Prepare for General Conference? appeared first on FAIR.

Jacob’s temple sermon (Jacob 1–3) by Mike Parker (Mike Parker is a long-time FAIR member who has graciously allowed us to use materials he originally prepared for the Hurricane Utah Adult Religion Class. The scripture passages covered in his lessons don’t conform exactly to the Come, Follow Me reading schedule, so they will be shared here The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Jacob 1–4 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

In this episode, Zach, Sarah, and Jennifer discuss the mechanics and methods of the translation process. Throughout this 6 part series, Me, My Shelf, & I will tackle and refute claims about the seer stones head-on using facts from the historical narrative. Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (2:58) The Mechanics of Translation (4:24) Curtains (8:12) Methods of The post Me, My Shelf, & I – Episode 4 – Seer Stones: How did Joseph use the Seer Stone? appeared first on FAIR.

Love and Great Anxiety by Autumn Dickson I think one of the defining characteristics of Jacob is his desire to do right by his people. When you go through his writings, it’s very clear that he thinks of them often and wants to steer them in the right way. It is this characteristic that I The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Jacob 1–4 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

2023 October General Conference, Sunday Afternoon Session Jesus Christ is the Treasure Elder Dale G. Renlund, Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles Main Points Taking for granted or undervaluing what is nearby is “looking beyond the mark” Jesus Christ is our mark; we have to take care not to look beyond him. The blessings The post Consider Conference: Jesus Christ is the Treasure appeared first on FAIR.

Last week, the Church History Department published online the missionary journals from two of the very first single sister missionaries ever to be called. The two women, Eliza Chipman and Josephine Booth, served in Scotland as companions 125 years ago. Being able to contrast the two journals gives a fuller picture of the lives they The post Mission Journals from Early “Lady Missionaries” Now Available from Church Historian’s Press appeared first on FAIR.

2023 October General Conference, Sunday Morning Session Our Constant Companion President Henry B. Eyring, Second Counselor in the First Presidency Main Points President Eyring offers a brief letter to his posterity in hopes it will help them when he is no longer with them. This talk is meant to share with them (and us) what The post Consider Conference: Our Constant Companion appeared first on FAIR.

How to Find Peace by Autumn Dickson There is a verse in the bible that is probably one of the most quoted and appreciated verses of all time. Christ shared it the night of the Passover amidst instituting the sacrament, teaching and prophesying, and washing the feet of His disciples. He spoke peace to His The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Easter – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

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    

In this episode, Jennifer, Sarah, and Zach take us through the history of folk magic through post-biblical times. Throughout this 6 part series, Me, My Shelf, & I will tackle and refute claims about the seer stones head-on using facts from the historical narrative. Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (03:40) The fall of Rome and why it The post Me, My Shelf, & I – Episode 3 – Seer Stones: Post-Biblical Folk Magic appeared first on FAIR.

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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2023 October General Conference, Sunday Morning Session The Prodigal and the Road That Leads Home Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles Main Points The parable of the man and his two sons is (like all of the Savior’s parables) a parable for our time – it is about you and The post Consider Conference: The Prodigal and the Road That Leads Home appeared first on FAIR.

A Strait Path by Autumn Dickson The end of 2 Nephi is fantastic. As I read it, I pictured Nephi summarizing everything towards the end of his life. He had kept a record and taught many lessons and told stories from his life, but in 2 Nephi 31, Nephi wanted to make sure that the The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 2 Nephi 31–33 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

On this episode, Brian Hales joins us to discuss the history and significance of the crowning ordinance of the temple.   Brian C. Hales is the author or co-author of several books dealing with Joseph Smith and plural marriage, and runs the website JosephSmithsPolygamy.org. He is also the author of several articles dealing with the The post Cornerstone: A FAIR Temple Preparation Podcast – Episode 6: Temple Sealings with Brian Hales appeared first on FAIR.

Nephi’s prophecies of the Book of Mormon; “the doctrine of Christ” (2 Nephi 28–33) by Mike Parker (Mike Parker is a long-time FAIR member who has graciously allowed us to use materials he originally prepared for the Hurricane Utah Adult Religion Class. The scripture passages covered in his lessons don’t conform exactly to the Come, Follow The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 2 Nephi 28–33 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

2023 October General Conference, Sunday Morning Session Be Peaceable Followers of Christ Elder Quentin L. Cook, Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles Main Points Trials and death are things all of us face in mortality. We are blessed with agency Peaceable followers of Christ remember that mortality is like the second act in a The post Consider Conference: Be Peaceable Followers of Christ appeared first on FAIR.

Mixing Doubt with Anger by Autumn Dickson One of the topics given as a suggestion in the Come Follow Me manual for this week is to study Satan’s tactics. This has actually already been a topic on my mind for a while. There is one tactic in particular that I’ve come to recognize over the The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 2 Nephi 26–30 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

This podcast series features past FAIR Conference presentations. This presentation is from our 2022 conference. Kerry Muhlestein, Keys to Understanding Isaiah Kerry has several books available from the FAIR Bookstore. Kerry received his B.S. from BYU in Psychology with a Hebrew minor. He received an M.A. in Ancient Near Eastern Studies from BYU and his The post FAIR Conference Podcast #82 – Kerry Muhlestein, “Keys to Understanding Isaiah” appeared first on FAIR.

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    

By David W. Smith On March 5, 2024, Community of Christ and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints jointly announced that, after years of discussion, Community of Christ had sold to the Church of Jesus Christ the iconic Kirtland Temple, several historic sites in Nauvoo, and many historical documents and artifacts. This announcement The post Rejoicing and Mourning: Context for Selling the Kirtland Temple appeared first on FAIR.

In this episode, Sarah, Jennifer, and Zach go through ancient uses of seer stones and other objects seen as sacred. In this 6 part series, Me, My Shelf, & I will tackle and refute these claims head-on using facts from the historical narrative. Saints Unscripted Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpYrul0eRjs Allen Hansen’s Research: https://independent.academia.edu/HansenAllen Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (03:30) The post Me, My Shelf, & I – Episode 2 – Seer Stones: Ancient Use appeared first on FAIR.

2023 October General Conference, Sunday Afternoon Session Love is Spoken Here Elder Gerrit W. Gong Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles Main Points Elder Gong explores the expression of love through warmth and reverence, sacrifice and service, and covenant belonging. Service allows us to both give love and feel the love of the Savior. The post Consider Conference: Love is Spoken Here appeared first on FAIR.

Keeping the Law of Moses by Autumn Dickson I have been waiting for the verses I want to talk about today. I have held them in my mind for a couple years, waiting for the opportunity to write this post. And as I have written it, I have found myself truly humbled as I realized The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 2 Nephi 20–25 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

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    

by Maddie Christensen The “Asking Big Questions” series is made in cooperation with the Wilford Woodruff Papers Project. Sometimes paying a full tithe is overwhelming. With so many expenses mounting and the cost of living ever increasing, it can be daunting to give up 10% of our income. Even though we know that tithing is a The post Asking Big Questions: Why Should I Pay Tithing? appeared first on FAIR.

Nephi’s quotations & commentary on the prophecies of Isaiah (2 Nephi 11–27) by Mike Parker (Mike Parker is a long-time FAIR member who has graciously allowed us to use materials he originally prepared for the Hurricane Utah Adult Religion Class. The scripture passages covered in his lessons don’t conform exactly to the Come, Follow Me reading The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 2 Nephi 11–27 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

2023 October General Conference, Saturday Evening Session Brothers and Sisters in Christ Elder Ulisses Soares Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles Main Points Prejudiced thoughts and actions have no place in the community of Saints The diversity created by God among his children provides opportunities to value and be blessed by each other in The post Consider Conference: Brothers and Sisters in Christ appeared first on FAIR.

The Context of Eternity by Autumn Dickson One of the topics that gets covered this week is the Millennium. Life in the Millennium is going to be a little bit different than we are experiencing now. Nephi quotes the following verse about what life will be like: 2 Nephi 12:4 And he shall judge among The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 2 Nephi 11–19 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

by Lyndie Jackson The “Asking Big Questions” series is made in cooperation with the Wilford Woodruff Papers Project. Isaiah foresaw a time when good would be called evil and evil would be called good (Isaiah 5:20). We live in the time he saw—a time when noisy opinions conflict with what we know to be true. Most The post Asking Big Questions: How Do I Help Those Going through a Faith Crisis While Staying Strong in My Testimony? appeared first on FAIR.

Jacob’s teachings about the Messiah & the gathering of Israel (2 Nephi 6–10) by Mike Parker (Mike Parker is a long-time FAIR member who has graciously allowed us to use materials he originally prepared for the Hurricane Utah Adult Religion Class.) Class Notes Additional Reading Taylor Halverson, “‘O How Great the Goodness of Our God’: 2 The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 2 Nephi 6–10 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

In this episode, Zach, Sarah, and Jennifer go through an overview of the most common criticisms of Joseph Smith’s Seer Stones from all sides. They introduce direct claims from faithful members who dispute the use of Seer Stones as well as critics who attempt to use the seer stones to explain away the Book of The post Me, My Shelf, & I – Episode 1 – Seer Stones: Questions & Criticisms appeared first on FAIR.

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

2023 October General Conference, Saturday Afternoon Session How Great Will be Your Joy Elder Ronald A. Rasband, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles Main Points The gathering of Israel is what President Russell M. Nelson calls “the most important thing taking place on earth today. Nothing else compares in magnitude, nothing else compares in The post Consider Conference: How Great Will be Your Joy appeared first on FAIR.

Reproach and Revilings of Men by Autumn Dickson There are many things to fear in this world. Our own prophecies of the state of the world before the Second Coming are not for the faint of heart. Jacob knew this, and he chose to teach his people that they were of the house of Israel and The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 2 Nephi 6–10 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

by Lyndie Jackson The “Asking Big Questions” series is made in cooperation with the Wilford Woodruff Papers Project. Conflicts and differing opinions surround us in this world. All voices—good and bad—are amplified through social and mass media. Thankfully, the Lord has given us a voice that we can and should listen to above all others: the The post Asking Big Questions: Why Do We Need a Living Prophet? appeared first on FAIR.

2023 October General Conference, Saturday Afternoon Session Promptings of the Spirit Elder Gary E. Stevenson, Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles Main Points All gifts, whether spiritual or temporal in nature, require a lifetime of hard work, study and practice to refine. We can take actions that will increase our opportunity and ability to The post Consider Conference: Promptings of the Spirit appeared first on FAIR.

Nephi’s Psalm by Autumn Dickson Nephi’s psalm is a classic, and there are a great many things we can learn from it. Rather than focusing on any specific phrases or words, I want to look at the message as a whole. I believe there is something we can learn as we follow Nephi through his The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 2 Nephi 3–5 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

by Maddie Christensen The “Asking Big Questions” series is made in cooperation with the Wilford Woodruff Papers Project. In a world full of natural disasters, instability, wars, and conflicts, many people wonder why terrible things continue to happen. It feels like we are constantly being bombarded with bad news, heartache, and grief. Through our time here The post Asking Big Questions: Why do bad things happen to good people? appeared first on FAIR.

by Vickey Taylor (This was originally presented at the 2009 FAIR Conference. It’s being reprinted here to go along with this week’s Come, Follow Me lesson.) The Book of Mormon begins in a manner that I love. Nephi—a child who never misplaced his faith in God and in Christ—summarizes that he was well educated [because The post The Sariah Dilemma: Finding Increased Faith When Our Children Misplace Their Own appeared first on FAIR.

Lehi’s farewell address; Nephites & Lamanites separate (2 Nephi 1–5) by Mike Parker (Mike Parker is a long-time FAIR member who has graciously allowed us to use materials he originally prepared for the Hurricane Utah Adult Religion Class. The scripture passages covered in his lessons don’t conform exactly to the Come, Follow Me reading schedule, so The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 2 Nephi 1–2 & 2 Nephi 3–5 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

2023 October General Conference, Saturday Afternoon Session Tithing: Opening the Windows of Heaven Elder Neil L. Andersen, Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles Main Points The Lord promises to “open the windows of heaven” to bless us when we are honest in our tithes. The tithes do not belong to the leaders of the The post Consider Conference: Tithing: Opening the Windows of Heaven appeared first on FAIR.

Choosing Liberty and Eternal Life by Autumn Dickson In the chapters for this week, we find Lehi’s family in the promised land and Lehi is dying. He knows he is dying and decides to share some last messages with his family. He pleads with Laman and Lemuel to get it together, blesses his grandchildren to be The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 2 Nephi 1–2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

The journeys to Bountiful & the promised land (1 Nephi 16–22) 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 – 1 Nephi 16–22 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

2023 October General Conference, Saturday Morning Session Kingdoms of Glory President Dallin H. Oaks, First Counselor in the First Presidency Main Points Our church is different from other Christian churches because we have the fullness of the doctrine of Jesus Christ. The kingdom of glory we desire to inherit is manifested through our choices. The The post Consider Conference: Kingdoms of Glory appeared first on FAIR.

The Second Spindle by Autumn Dickson I learned something this week about the Liahona that kinda blew my mind. I want to share what I learned, and then let’s take some principles from it. In a Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, Robert L. Bunker describes an engineering phenomenon that I was completely unaware of. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 1 Nephi 16–22 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

2023 October General Conference, Saturday Morning Session The Sealing Power D. Todd Christofferson, Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles Main Points The gathering of Israel is how the covenant promises given to Abraham are realized. The gathering of Israel is the most important thing taking place on earth today. The sealing power isn’t just The post Consider Conference: The Sealing Power appeared first on FAIR.

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

New Scripture Learning Resources from Taylor Halverson, Tyler Griffin, and Scripture CentralPost contributed by Scripture CentralJanuary 15, 2024Google Plus One Pinterest Tweet Widget Facebook Like Share on Facebook Taylor Halverson and Tyler Griffin, longtime hosts on the Scripture Central YouTube channel, are beginning new projects. For the last four years, with the help of their friends at Scripture Central, Taylor and Tyler shared insight and inspiration in their video series “Come Follow Me Insights with Taylor and Tyler,” working their way through all the standard works of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. During that time they touched thousands of lives. Three new projects this year will build on that four-year legacy: (1) Scripture Study Insights with Tyler Griffin, and (2) Scripture Insights with Taylor Halverson and Mike Harris, and (3) Book of Mormon Insights with Taylor and Tyler. Scripture Study Insights with Tyler Griffin This year Tyler Griffin will continue sharing principles and practices for how to get more out of our scripture study in a 30-minute format published by Scripture Central. Join us as Tyler introduces a wide variety of study tools and approaches, modeling them with examples from the weekly “Come, Follow Me” reading assignment. Tyler Griffin’s new video series presents a thematic, thought-provoking, and easily digestible approach to studying the Book of Mormon in 2024. Watch Tyler Griffin’s Scripture Study Insights Scripture Insights with Taylor Halverson and Mike Harris Taylor Halverson has launched a new YouTube channel called Scripture Insights meant to complement the work at Scripture Central. He is joined by friend and scripture scholar Mike Harris, a longtime gospel educator. Each week Taylor and Mike will utilize their years of insight and gospel teaching experience to illuminate the Book of Mormon chapter by chapter. Their warm camaraderie makes for an uplifting and engaging 40-minute virtual study each week! Watch Taylor Halverson’s Scripture Insights Taylor and Tyler’s Past Videos If you loved joining Taylor and Tyler every week for their “Come, Follow Me” insights over the last four years, all their past videos will continue to be available on the Scripture Central YouTube channel. Additionally, we have re-edited all their Book of Mormon study videos from 2020 and will be posting these re-edited videos during the corresponding weeks of “Come, Follow Me” study throughout 2024. You can find these edited segments on the Scripture Central YouTube channel under the title “Book of Mormon Insights with Taylor and Tyler.” Watch Taylor and Tyler’s CFM Insights Revisited Well Wishes in the New Year All of these are wonderful scripture study series for your 2024 “Come, Follow Me” study, and we heartily encourage you to watch them! We are deeply grateful for the four years that Taylor and Tyler volunteered with us, donating their invaluable time and wisdom. We wish Taylor and Mike all the best in their new endeavor, and we hope you subscribe to their new channel! We’d like to express appreciation to the incredible, talented employees and volunteers at Scripture Central who have made these resources available. Finally, we’d like to thank you for your participation, warm encouragement, and support for these educators and their work to enhance your gospel and scripture study. 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 MeBook of MormonTaylor and Tyler

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