I chat with a lot of missionaries, and have heard this question repeatedly recently. I also heard a lesson from a recent RM who expressed puzzlement as a sidebar to his lesson. So, let’s talk about Jesus-as-the-Father.
Category: Book of Mormon
Tales from the Archives: Joseph Fielding Smith, Utah Geology, and Premises
President Joseph Fielding Smith took his understanding of geology and cosmology from his readings of scripture. One of his central premises was that scripture consisted of divinely-revealed facts of religion but also science and history; and therefore, scripture— as he interpreted it— should take precedence over limited and flawed human theorizing, i.e. modern science.
On two occasions, Smith commented on the mountains of Utah, and these illustrate his premises.
Come Follow Me: Mormon 1-9
I’ll be posting the final Book of Mormon lessons soon, along with some pre-D&C posts and my “What to Read for D&C.”
With Mormon, we finally arrive in “the present,” that is, Mormon’s present. He’s no longer working from records that were ancient to him. Remember, the time difference between Mormon and the visit of Jesus is roughly the same time difference between us and Columbus; but in Mormon he’s now working from his own life’s experience, his own memories and thoughts. This is now a primary source, unfiltered through anyone else (well, except translation through Joseph Smith, however that worked.)
You can’t read the beginning of the end of the Book of Mormon without thinking of President Kimball’s stark call against modern idolatry which included this observation— “We are a warlike people, easily distracted from our assignment of preparing for the coming of the Lord.” Continue reading
Come Follow Me: 4 Nephi
Why is 4th Nephi so short? Two interrelated ideas, I think. Continue reading
Come Follow Me (Brief): 3Ne 22-26
First, D&C is coming. I still haven’t decided how to approach it for the blog, but I will be posting a suggested reading list in another week or two. My 2016 list is here, and there are some things to update. So stay tuned.
Rough notes on 3Ne 16, 20-30
I updated this from an isolated cabin in Wisconsin, while working on my final dissertation proposal draft (post-defense), our upcoming BYU Studies special issue, and some other projects. And then, working on that other stuff, I forgot to actually hit “update.” Re: these other projects, I’ll post some updates on all this soon. Continue reading
Come Follow Me:3 Nephi 11-15
Today we enter into a very interesting section of the Book of Mormon. Like the Isaiah chapters, it closely parallels a section of the Bible. Like the Isaiah chapters, there are some subtle differences. 3Ne 12-15 parallels the Sermon on the Mount, from Matthew 5-7. It’s been lined up so that if you want to compare verses (and you should!), take the Book of Mormon chapter number and subtract 7 to get the right verse in Matthew, e.g. 3 Nephi 12:48 ≈ Matthew 5:48.
Let’s compare those. Continue reading
Come Follow Me: Helaman 13-16
(I’m under a number of serious deadlines right now, and haven’t had time to update this much.) Today we get to meet Samuel, who prophecies of, well, 3 Nephi, basically.
Thought question: What does it mean that the Lamanite prophet Samuel has a name from the Hebrew scriptures? What does it say, potentially, about his parents, upbringing, etc.?
Come Follow Me: Helaman 6-12
My notes on these chapters of Helaman. Continue reading
Come Follow Me: Helaman 1-5, History, and Causality
Today’s text includes a good bit of carry-over from the war chapters, while adding political intrigue and plots. Continue reading
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