#Latter-day Saint scripture study

[mindfulldsliving]

CFM - January 6-9: Understanding Doctrine and Covenants Section 1

This week’s focus is on the January 5–12 Come, Follow Me study of Doctrine and Covenants Section 1, also known as the Lord’s preface to His revelations. It emphasizes the themes of divine authority, repentance, and the Restoration. Key takeaways include: The Lord’s Voice: Why this section serves as the preface to modern-day revelation and its relevance for our time. Repentance and Obedience:…

[voiceforjesus]

[heathersdesk]

Confession Time:

I don't like Come Follow Me and never have. And I haven't been able to articulate why until I tried to buckle down and start with the Book of Mormon this year.

The first paragraph of the first section for 1 Nephi 1-5 ends with this sentence:

"Overall, there is power in this imperfect family’s examples of faith."

I was rocked by that a little bit the first time I read it.

I thought to myself, "Wow. Are we really going to confront the hero worship and unhealthy worldviews our community has internalized about this book because of the way the negative behaviors of the characters are never challenged or confronted for what they are? That many of the details are included because they're cautionary tales about what NOT to do, but you'd never know that based on how the material is presented and talked about by our people at large because the conversation is driven by the needless compulsion to focus on the same tired perspectives of faith promotion that the subjects sometimes don't deserve?"

*reads the section, which is full of the same "I will go and do" about Nephi that they always do, without once confronting the conflicts, doubts, and struggles of anyone but Nephi in any serious way, some of which are exacerbated (if not cause) by Nephi being insufferable and self-righteous to everyone around him*

Nephi is an unreliable narrator, y'all. You're not supposed to believe everything he says, thinks, and does. Especially when he's younger. His view of the people around him and their motivations lack depth because he was totally unconcerned with their feelings and struggles. He was bad at helping and honoring people in their darkest moments, having nothing better to offer them for support than glib and shallow assertions that they would be struggling less if they were more like him. An attitude he learned from his father's blatant and unapologetic favoritism.

Nephi is not an example of what to do when there is conflict in your family. And it takes him until "O wretched man that I am" to realize he's not the most important man in every room. His disrespect for other people in his leadership is the reason they want nothing to do with him, and it takes him a lifetime of chasing people away from God to realize he's not as good of a person as he thinks he is. He has failed people from his need to be seen as being better than he is, better than everyone else is at loving God and knowing what that means. And this becomes a cultural artifact, a baked-in foregone conclusion in the minds of his people that ends up shaping their self-perceptions until it destroys them. His personal failures, viewed for their long-term ramifications and consequences, is part of what this book is supposed to be about.

But sure. Let's do "I will go and do" again, without pondering in any serious way if Nephi's interpretation of his interaction with the Holy Ghost might be lacking in credibility because the alternative is to say something closer to "We really botched this job and killing Laban was not a forgone conclusion or a necessary evil that I can acquit myself of because God said it was okay."

Maybe we don't have to believe that. Maybe we can examine how our culture in the modern church has perpetuated this same logical fallacy with vigilante violence, justified by appeals to this exact story.

Point being, never read the story of Nephi without keeping it firmly fixed in your mind that he's going to regret and repent of most of this later. That cross reference to 2 Nephi 4 is probably the most important thing you can have in your margins every time he says or does something totally uncalled for. 🖖

[pressforwardsaints]

Scripture Study with a Living Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ

[jeandejard3n]

The Chosen One

[secret-sageent]

Scripture Study Notes💛

2/13 - 2 Nephi 8-9 + D&C 11:15-26

- The Lord has jobs for each of us that only we can do

- The Earth and all things within, including the trials of our day, are temporary. However, God is eternal and loving

- The Lord can work miracles to save us, so we do not need to fear the reproach and reviling of men. He has a plan

- The Lord wants to help me, but He cannot if I am not open to accepting His help

- If not for Christ’s atoning sacrifice for us, we would have become like Satan

- “when they are learned they think they are wise” HEY WAIT SIMON PETER SAYS SOMETHING LIKE THIS TO JUDAS IN THE CHOSEN-

- The Lord’s plan for us is greater than we can comprehend. Thus, we must be patient when things to not go as we wish, because His timing is more important than our own

- I cannot share the gospel without obtaining a knowledge of it myself first

- I only need to come unto Him earnestly to receive His power

[ck-overanalyzes-scriptures]

July 22-July 28 Scripture Study Thoughts

(Studying Topical Guide: Jesus Christ, Mission of)

Colossians 1:16-17. All things were created by Jehovah. Verse 16 specifically lists thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers, which I thought was interesting, as these seem to be man-made constructs. This consideration led to the following thought: It was His mission to create all things and He still causes all things to be. Anything we have is actually His. We may think we have dominion, but its just on loan from Him, so we should take care how we manage and rule over it.

Colossians 1:18-19. It was Jesus's mission to be the first to be resurrected - reborn - from the dead, thus He is the firstborn. Others will come in the first resurrection and be firstborn but He is the first of the first born, showing us the way. It is His mission to lead and rule over the Church. It is His mission to have all fulness.

An adjacently related thought that came to me: I think it's often framed as being part of the first resurrection is a reward for righteousness, which means coming forth in other resurrections is a punishment. I do think the first resurrection is a reward, but the other resurrections being delayed is an act of mercy, not punishment. The first resurrection will take place at the beginning of the Millennium while the others will be at the end. That gives those that didn't qualify for the first resurrection one thousand extra years to repent, change their ways, accept Christ, and have their work done. God will give us every possible chance to change and be with Him.

John 6:37-40. Verse 37 starts with "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me." This phrasing can make it sound like predestination - like the Father has already designated specific people that will be saved while others will not be. That is not supported by our doctrine. Perhaps it could be phrased as "The Father gives Me all those that come to Me." I rephrase it to propose that it may not be that specific people have already been chosen, but that the Father has told Jesus to keep all that sincerely come to Him. That there's not already a set group of "these are Jesus's," but that we become part of the group that belongs to Jesus based on our actions and coming to Him.

John 12:23-28. "Now my soul has become troubled. But what should I do about it? Pray and say 'Father, save Me from this hour?' This hour is the very reason I came! So instead I pray 'Father, glorify Your name.'" Jesus was scared when He faced having to perform the atonement. But he knew it was His very purpose. When the time came, He did ask the Father to let the cup pass from Him (Matthew 26:39), but only if it was the Father's will, only if there was another way. And there wasn't. So He submitted, despite the pain and the fear, focusing on the joy that would result from it (Hebrews 12:2). We may be scared when we face hardship. We may ask the Father to let it pass from us. But if that is not His will, let us submit faithfully, instead praying for strength to do His will and focusing on the joy we will one day have by doing so.

[mindfulldsliving]

Joseph Smith Greater Than Isaiah or Moses? An LDS Perspective on Prophets and Doctrine

The claim that Latter-day Saints see Joseph Smith as greater than Isaiah or Moses is both provocative and misleading. Critics often present this statement as evidence of misplaced devotion, framing it as a rejection of Biblical authority. But anyone familiar with Latter-day Saint teachings knows that such a comparison misrepresents their view of prophets. Honestly. Do you really believe Smith is…

[voiceforjesus]

[heathersdesk]

Holy Week: The Cleansing of the Temple

I have seen multiple people on Instagram talking about Jesus cleansing the temple in the final week of his ministry and misinterpreting the motive Jesus had for doing it. So let's talk about the details we can glean from Scripture to better understanding this story.

The temple complex had merchants who would sell animals to people they could use for sacrifices. The law of Moses in Leviticus 5 (see also Leviticus 14-15) talks about how the sin offering involves sacrificing a lamb or a kid goat. In the case of extreme poverty, two doves were the acceptable alternatives. These offerings would be bled on the Temple altar and burned.

And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves. —Matt 21:13

The act of selling these animals was not the problem. It was a necessary part of the temple functioning, especially as people traveled from far distances to participate in temple worship.

The problem that caused Jesus to walk through the stalls turning over tables brandishing a whip was price gouging. Theft, of both money and access to God.

Everything that happened in the temple complex was under the direction of the high priest, the most important figure in Judaism at the time. The animals provided would've been inspected and assured that they would meet the requirements of the law. In a world where various monies were in use, weighed with scales to meet the established exchange rates, nothing would've prevented the high priest from requiring bribes from the privilege of operating in the temple market. Nothing would've prevented the scales from being turned against those who price gouged the public to provide for those bribes, as well as to line their own pockets. All of this happened at the expense of the people who were required by divine law to make these sacrifices to achieve forgiveness of their sins.

Throughout the New Testament, Jesus repeatedly demonstrates his disdain for the senior-most leadership of Judaism in his day. He had condemned the love of money and status over people so many times. He had disrupted ceremonies and insulted the priests to their faces. He had criticized their poor understanding of the law and their duties to others in their community. He had called them hypocrites, a den of vipers, vessels that were clean on the outside but filthy within, whited sepulchres full of dead men's bones, predators akin to wolves in sheep's clothing, and unprofitable servants. And here, he engages in his most pointed and unapologetic criticism yet for those in power:

And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves. —Matt 21:13

The agitation of Jesus Christ culminated in this exact moment, where he struck back against the Establishment not only in thought, but in their pocketbooks. In the destruction of the temple market, he restored access to the ordinances for all by front the animals to those who were present. He liberated the money to the oppressed in society by flinging it outside the reach of those who had taken it from them. He upturned the power structure and social order which placed the high priest as a wealthy superior over, rather than a humble servant to, the Jewish community.

Make no mistake: Jesus was a Jew. He loved his community and his faith. He loved God. He respected the law, which called his people to be the best versions of themselves to serve God. But this love didn't stop him from publicly criticizing and condemning moral failure in the leadership around him. Love does not enable abuse. And it was abuse that allowed Jewish leadership at the time to limit access to the most important, the most sacred ordinances in Judaism only to those who were willing and able to pay enough money.

What do we learn from Jesus from the destruction of the temple market?

That some evil forces in society cannot be reformed. Reasoning with abusers in ways they don't have to acknowledge, that doesn't cost them anything, isn't a solution for the powerless. That people are more important than money and the economy. That there is restorative justice waiting for the oppressed, in the form of destruction for their oppressors. And when this happens, a greater increase of faith, healing, and power from heaven will follow.

And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them. Matt. 21:14

This Easter season, this is the hope and prayer for many: that God will remember those who have been shut out of their communities because of the exorbitant prices set by their leadership for their participation. That God will restore access to the holiness and forgiveness that has been stolen from them. That there is still a Savior, a Deliverer from the greed and pride that drives this world. And most of all, that there is healing and rest for those who have been exploited against their will, that all that has been stolen will be restored to them one day.

[heathersdesk]

Because when God said "It is not good that the man should be alone," they didn't carry that declaration through to its logical conclusion.

God did not declare the creation of humanity good, as was declared with everything else on earth, until Adam was no longer alone.

They don't consider forced celibacy for queer people a rejection of God and scripture, the denial of human nature as it was divinely created in the beginning. And they should. Because if we're going to talk about the eternal nature of humans that should govern all relationships here on earth, removing isolation should take a higher priority than matching genitalia together.

Our species needs gender complements to reproduce, which is crucial to the species' survival. That is true. But it was the elimination of loneliness that spiritually completed Adam and Eve.

So to prescribe celibacy to anyone as a solution to homosexuality is a contradiction and an absurdity that shouldn't be attributed to God. It's the faulty logic of the barely literate and the Biblically unsound. They imagine a meanness and favoritism in God for themselves that doesn't exist.

why are people all like "plan of happiness" and "men are that they might have joy" and "god wants us to be happy" until its about queer people and then suddenly "its not about being happy"

[pressforwardsaints]

Emma Hale Smith; the sacrament; authority in the Church (D&C sections 25, 27–28)

[jeandejard3n]

The Chosen One

[mindfulldsliving]

Analyzing Michelle Grim's Accusations Against Joseph Smith

Critics of Joseph Smith often bring up his involvement with polygamy, sometimes framing it as evidence of moral failure. Michelle Grim has recently raised concerns about Smith’s character and actions, aiming to challenge his divine calling. These claims deserve a thoughtful and respectful analysis, especially as they involve foundational aspects of Church history and doctrine. In this post, I’ll…

[voiceforjesus]

[heathersdesk]

*taps mic*

There is no aspect of the restored gospel you cannot teach from Ephesians. It's the Swiss Army knife of Christianity. There were very few problems I couldn't address with it as a missionary.

But the way I would show up and tackle any poll to the ground for Romans 8. Every time I hear anyone quote it in a talk, I'm spiritually flicking a Bic in the back of the room and waving it through the air, with a single tear running down my face.

Now I'm curious. Which books of the Bible do y'all love with a particular fondness?

I would do a books of the bible poll bracket except there's no point it would be between Psalms and John.