There is no blessing in the scriptures that was intended for one person alone. Every blessing is available to every person through the righteous application of the principles behind the blessing. The first step is always identifying the blessing. The second step is identifying the doctrine and principles that bring about the blessing. The third […]
Continue reading
No one goes through life unscathed. Everyone experiences various forms of trial. The great test is how we react to those experiences. Do we view them through the eye of faith, understanding that a just and merciful God has provided an opportunity for us to grow, or do we let that trial break us and […]
Continue reading
I recently stumbled upon a verse of scripture that set me to thinking about the nature of a righteous person obtaining promises from the Lord. A covenant is a two-way promise between individuals such as a legal contract, or between God and man. Today, we typically look at covenants with a pretty narrow view like […]
Continue reading
Have you ever thought about how to save the meaning of a word or a name next to all the instances of that word or name? Here’s a few ways I do it depending on the circumstances. Being able to look up words in Webster’s 1828 dictionary or Strong’s Hebrew/Greek Concordance on the Blue Letter […]
Continue reading
Patterns in Scripture Last week while reading my scriptures I came across this verse in the Doctrine and Covenants where the Lord says he gives us patterns to follow in order that we may not be deceived. D&C 52:14. And again, I will give unto you a pattern in all things, that ye may not […]
Continue reading
Please watch this great presentation by Dr. James Faulconer on how to get more out of the scriptures. Bio: James E. Faulconer is a Latter-day Saint philosopher and senior research fellow at the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship. Faulconer received his B.A. in English from BYU. He then received master’s and Ph.D. degrees […]
Continue reading
Do you have a photographic memory? Maybe a stellar “mind palace” that you store everything in? Probably not. So how do you store all the cool things you learn about the scriptures? There’s no way you can record all your insights in the margins of paper scriptures. Some people use a separate paper journal or […]
Continue reading
In the scriptures there are many titles for Jesus Christ. Among those are 3 terms used in a legal setting, advocate, mediator, and judge. Each of these has a topical guide entry which contains scriptures about how Christ acts in that role. Being that these are legal terms, is implies there must also be a […]
Continue reading
A couple weeks ago while preparing for the webinar deep dive into Mosiah 3:8, the verse ends with this declaration of Christ: “…and his mother shall be called Mary.” What was surprising to me was learning that her name means rebellious. Why on earth would her name have that meaning and why was it such […]
Continue reading
On Sunday April 18th, 2021, we sat down for an interview with with author and former Dean of Religious Studies at BYU, Dr. Brent Top. Dr. Top has graciously accepted an invitation to talk about studying the scriptures and doing research, critical for an author such as Brent who has authored, co-authored, or contributed to […]
Continue reading