Latter-day Saint FAIR-Cast podcast

9:58

Deep Water: Lessons from Joseph Smith and a Croatian Free Diver by Autumn Dickson Context for this week: Joseph Smith and his companions were freed from prison by sympathizing guards during a transfer. Though they returned to their families, persecution rendered it necessary for Joseph to go into hiding. Some of what we read this week came through letters that Joseph had dictated with the will of the Lord. In Section 127, there is a verse written by Joseph Smith that speaks of his ability to handle stressful situations. After repeatedly being placed in difficult circumstances, his ability to handle it grew tremendously. Doctrine and Covenants 127:2 And as for the perils which I am called to pass through, they seem but a small thing to me…deep water is what I am wont to swim in. It all has become a second nature to me; and I feel, like Paul, to glory in tribulation; for to this day has the God of my fathers delivered me out of them all, and will deliver me from henceforth; for behold, and lo, I shall triumph over all my enemies, for the Lord God hath spoken it. Deep water is what I am wont to swim in. I feel like coming across this message was rather timely for me. At the time that I’m writing this post, I just read about a Croatian freediver named Vitomir Maričić. Maričić just set the world record for holding your breath, a whopping 29 minutes and 3 seconds. He beat the last world record by almost five minutes. I researched what Maričić had to do in order to become this incredible freediver who could handle this kind of extreme duress. He obviously engaged in cardiovascular training, but it was not sufficient for this kind of world record. He also engaged in specifically training his diaphragm to take much slower, longer breaths. He stretched and performed breathing exercises in order to increase lung capacity. He worked with carbon dioxide tables in which he would hold his breath for a set amount of time and gradually decrease his rest intervals; for example, he would hold his breath for two minutes at a time while taking breaks that gradually shortened in between each two-minute period. He did the opposite with oxygen tables where the rest intervals were fixed, and the amount of time he would hold his breath would increase. He would walk while holding his breath to put extra stress on the body to acclimate. He literally worked to condition his spleen to release an increased number of oxygen-rich red blood cells. He also worked mentally. At a certain point in holding your breath, your diaphragm starts to contract as a defense mechanism for the lack of oxygen. At about 20 minutes, Maričić felt these contractions but held the mental resolve to continue. In order to prepare for the dive, he breathed pure oxygen for ten minutes. This can also cause problems, and he had to consciously work on building up his endurance for pure oxygen. One of the main principles Maričić took advantage of was progressive overload where you continuously increase the stress you’re under to increase the amount of pressure you can handle. He did this under proper safety protocols and teams who could take care of him if something went dramatically wrong. Deep water is what I am wont to swim in. Deep water is what Joseph Smith was accustomed to swimming in. It is one of our goals of mortality: to learn how to swim in deep water. Why does it matter if we can swim in deep water? Because that’s where Heavenly Father lives His life, in the deep end. He is fully engaged, completely immersed, surrounded by difficult circumstances that He doesn’t shy away from. Because of His willingness to enter into this state, He finds its opposite side of the coin: deep joy, contentment, and satisfaction in an eternal existence that has the potential to hold a lot of emptiness. If we want to find that same kind of existence, an existence where we find meaning and purpose and joy in a never-ending lifetime, we have to be prepared to swim in deep water. You can’t get involved in loving imperfect others without consequent pain, but you can’t completely avoid relationships if you want joy. They come together. Somehow, we have to develop the kind of fortitude where we can find joy while buried in deep water. Eternal life is not actually about waiting to get pulled out of the water; it’s about finding the resilience to be okay in the thick of it. That’s difficult to find when the Lord allows us to perpetually stay in the shallow end. There have been times in my life where I have found myself in the deep end, and I did not improve in my ability to find peace or joy. There have been times when I have simply panicked the entire time. Yet, there are other times when I have been able to school myself into being okay while being placed in a situation that’s uncomfortable. Just like with Maričić, there are many methods that we can utilize to purposefully maximize our training rather than floundering and screaming the whole time and missing the entire point of the exercise. Let’s talk about one method today. I taught swimming lessons growing up, and I’m not too shabby at it. As I taught my oldest daughter to swim, I would take her out into the deep end while holding her. I would count to 3 and dip her all the way under the water. I wasn’t holding her under. We were literally just dipping under and out. I made her do it 3 times every time we swam (which was nearly every day), and then she could be done and do whatever she wanted in the shallow end. For the first week, she screamed bloody murder at me every time. I think I made the lifeguards rather uncomfortable. I definitely made the other patrons uncomfortable. But I knew that my daughter could do this, and I also knew that she would be a very happy person once she learned that going under the water wasn’t going to kill her. The true turning point in this practice was when I asked a friend to take a video of her going underwater. She still screamed, but then I showed her the video. I made a big deal about the fact that she was so cool for being able to do that. I showed her what she was capable of. She literally never screamed again. She didn’t love it immediately, but she didn’t scream anymore. And then she did grow into what I knew she could be. She did grow into someone who had more opportunities for joy. I can’t keep the girl above the water anymore. Her siblings have followed right in after her, and no one is stressed or screaming about it except for me trying to keep an eye on three of my five young children, trying to determine who has been underwater too long. One of the methods for taking full advantage of mortality is realizing who we are meant to be like. When you can catch a glimpse of what you’re meant to be, it makes the water worth it. And when something is worth it, it changes the game. It changes you. It is much harder to handle training and coaching when you don’t realize that there is a purpose in it. I testify that you can swim in deep water. I testify that it’s worth training. I also testify that like Maričić, you have an extremely talented team that knows the progressive overload you need and can handle. There are angels standing around you to guide you. And, of course, you have the ultimate Lifeguard. The only thing that matters in that water is that you grow. He doesn’t care if you make mistakes. In the end, it won’t matter what happened to you because He can heal it. You just have to grow, and He will be there to fix everything. Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR’s 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 125–128 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR .…

Latter-day Saint FAIR-Cast

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Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 124 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson 7:57

for 4 dage siden7:57

7:57

Choosing Faith Through Failure: God’s Timetable for Zion by Autumn Dickson Because of an extermination order, the Saints were driven out of Missouri and into Nauvoo. In Doctrine and Covenants 124, the Lord excuses His people from building the temple in Missouri after they had been driven out. Doctrine and Covenants 124:49 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that when I give a commandment to any of the sons of men to do a work unto my name, and those sons of men go with all their might and with all they have to perform that work, and cease not their diligence, and their enemies come upon them and hinder them from performing that work, behold, it behooveth me to require that work no more at the hands of those sons of men, but to accept of their offerings. The Saints were driven out and persecuted. They had been commanded to build Zion, and they had been commanded to build a temple, and it didn’t happen. The Lord explains Himself by saying that if people work really hard to do what they were commanded and they are stopped by enemies, He accepts their offering and doesn’t require it anymore. Some might see this as rather convenient for Joseph when his prophecy didn’t work out, but what do you see? What we choose to see is important because perspective is a choice. There are so many ways to look at any given scenario. Do we choose faith? We can choose to look at what happened in Missouri, and say, “The Lord must not be in this. He commanded something, and it didn’t work out.” Didn’t Nephi say that if the Lord commands something, He will make it happen? Don’t we teach that all of the time? Absolutely, we teach that. I reaffirm that. I also reaffirm that what the Lord declares can take a long time to come to pass. Let’s look at a couple of other scenarios. First, there is the mortal ministry of Christ. Many of the Jews rejected Christ because they were looking for a different kind of savior. They wanted someone to come and throw the yoke of the Romans off their backs. They interpreted the scriptures incorrectly and because of that, they missed out on some of the greatest miracles that ever took place. They didn’t see. Their perspective was wrong. Second, there is the death of Christ. The apostles were quite forlorn after Christ was crucified, and they were all immensely surprised to find Him alive again. One of them refused to believe that Christ had risen again until he personally saw Christ. Do we abandon our faith when things don’t look how we thought they were supposed to look? Let’s look at some other examples. One of the Old Testament stories that strikes me as important is that of Daniel and his friends. Babylon besieged and conquered the kingdom of Judah. As part of the conquest, they took the sons of Jewish nobility and put them into the Babylonian court to train and assimilate them. Daniel and his friends refused the food from the king’s table because it had not been prepared according to the Law of Moses. Daniel and his friends believed it would be a sin to eat it. Think about that for a moment. Biblical scholars believe that these boys ranged from age 14-18. Their home had just been conquered. They had lost against a wicked, secular kingdom. It would have been easy for Daniel to think, “Is God really on our side? Do I really want to make the Babylonian king mad? He beat us. Why would I believe that we have the true God? Why would I keep following the religious laws of my defeated nation when it puts my friends and me in danger?” But that is not the perspective that Daniel chose. Despite evidence that pointed to the contrary, David chose to believe. Despite religious beliefs that the Jews were chosen by an all-powerful God and still getting conquered, David chose to believe. Despite the fact that conquering nations paid homage to their gods in response to winning wars, David did not see His God as less powerful. He kept obeying. Perspective is a choice. Some may see a God who abandoned His people or was never there. Some may see the effects of a frenzied mind. Some may see a fallen prophet or a charlatan. I see a God who is actually rather unconcerned with a location. Everyone is so caught up in wanting to know where Zion is or move there immediately, and Heavenly Father is like, “Okay. I see the future. I know where it is, but you’re missing the most important part…” I see a God who knows what mortality is actually for, and He delivers on His promises of growth and deliverance. I see a God who makes and keeps promises but also doesn’t have a pocket watch because time is only measured unto man. Sure, the Saints were driven out, and they didn’t build a temple. It took Nephi a couple of tries to get the plates. Let’s do this on God’s timetable, not our’s. We will build Zion, and we will build a temple there. Just because it hasn’t happened yet doesn’t mean it’s not going to. It doesn’t prove anything. I testify of a Lord who was very aware of His Saints. I testify that He was powerful enough to win Zion over immediately and kick out all of their enemies, but I also testify that He has reasons for what He does. I testify that He has a plan and a timetable, and I testify that it is the best that we could ask for. I testify that trusting Him and choosing a perspective of faith brings blessings and hope and peace. Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR’s 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 124 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR .…

Latter-day Saint FAIR-Cast

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Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 124–128 – Mike Parker 46:01

for 5 dage siden46:01

46:01

Establishment of Nauvoo; Baptism for the Dead & the Endowment 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 where they fit best.) Class Notes Additional Reading T. Edgar Lyon, “ Doctrinal Development of the Church During the Nauvoo Sojourn, 1839–1846 ,” BYU Studies 15, no. 4 (Summer 1975): 435–46. Lyon gives a brief overview of the new doctrines and interpretations Joseph Smith introduced in Nauvoo concerning the Godhead, the priesthood, the temple, and salvation. Minutes of the Female Relief Society of Nauvoo, 17 March 1842 . The Relief Society’s minutes record the counsel given by the Prophet Joseph Smith and by Society President Emma Smith on the date of its founding and the discussion over its name and goals. FAIR has information on the Kinderhook Plates with links to several other resources. The Nauvoo Temple: A Joseph Smith Papers Podcast is an eight-part documentary miniseries that e xplores the history and legacy of the temple that Latter-day Saints constructed in Nauvoo, Illinois, in the 1840s. The episodes consider what the Nauvoo Temple meant to the men and women who constructed it and the role in played in their religious devotion and worship. Series host Spencer W. McBride interviewed historians and Church leaders for this podcast. Mike Parker is a business and marketing analyst with over twenty years’ experience in the financial services and cellular telephone industries. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Management Information Systems from Dixie State University (now Utah Tech University) of St George, Utah. He also has eight years’ experience in corporate training and currently teaches an adult religion class in southern Utah. Mike and his wife, Denise, have three children. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 124–128 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR .…

Latter-day Saint FAIR-Cast

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Classic FAIR – Why Did Joseph Smith Practice Polygamy? – Brian Hales, 2010 48:18

for 6 dage siden48:18

48:18

“Controversies in Joseph Smith’s Polygamy: New Evidences and New Observations Indicate Fawn Brodie Should Have Done More Research” by Brian C. Hales at the 2010 FAIR Conference Why did Joseph Smith practice plural marriage? There are three different places we could go for answers. We can go to the naturalists —like Fawn Brodie—and the cynics, which are kind of in the same group. We can go to Latter-day Saint apologists , who gave us their own set of reasons. And then we can go to Joseph Smith himself. I’d like to look at these three sources. The first source is the naturalist —and what I mean by that is somebody who is sure God’s not involved. Okay? It’s all natural processes—hormones, libido, job one—and sex. That’s what’s driving polygamy. That’s their answer. And Fawn Brodie kind of codified this idea in her 1945 biography , which unfortunately is still probably the most influential book ever written on Joseph Smith. Brodie totally botched the treatment of his sexuality in polygamy. She didn’t even want to get it right—that’s my frustration. The purest naturalistic view is found in George D. Smith’s 2008 novel , which he called “ Nauvoo Polygamy: … but we called it celestial marriage. ” I doubt there will ever be a purer naturalistic view written of Joseph the man. CONTINUED HERE The post Classic FAIR – Why Did Joseph Smith Practice Polygamy? – Brian Hales, 2010 appeared first on FAIR .…

Latter-day Saint FAIR-Cast

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Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 124 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson 10:52

for 7 dage siden10:52

10:52

An Unchanging God, Individualized Grace by Autumn Dickson In August of 1840, Joseph Smith delivered a sermon that introduced the concept of baptisms for the dead. People rejoiced and began being baptized for their kindred dead shortly thereafter. The Mississippi River was often the choice of setting for these sacred ordinances. In January of 1841, Joseph Smith received Doctrine and Covenants 124 along with this instruction. Doctrine and Covenants 124:31 But I command you, all ye my saints, to build a house unto me; and I grant unto you a sufficient time to build a house unto me; and during this time your baptisms shall be acceptable unto me. The Lord commanded the Saints to build a temple again, and He told them that He would give them sufficient time to do so. Until then, He would accept their baptisms for the dead that occurred in the river. We’ve talked about the fact that the Lord tailors His commandments for His people. For example, He made the Word of Wisdom advice before He ever made it a commandment or requirement for the temple. In this case, He allowed the Saints to give their best effort in preparing the temple but allowed them to still offer salvation to their loved ones in the meantime. The willingness exhibited by the Lord to work with us is always a gift. And yet, in other examples, He seems unrelenting in what He demands of His Saints. For example, some of the trials the Saints went through leading up to Nauvoo are difficult to read about, let alone endure. He required a beautiful, massive temple from people who were poverty-stricken and inexperienced. He sent fathers out on missions while their families struggled at home. At times, He stands ready to accept their best efforts. At other times, they are chastised for not fulfilling commandments to the letter. Some may see this as variability in personality. Some may see an arbitrary God who demands or allows depending on His mood. I see a God who eternally loves us and makes decisions based on His purposes for us: to turn us into little versions of Him so that we can enjoy what He enjoys. This is why He can simultaneously overthrow moneychangers in a temple but speak gently to an adulterer. It’s why He can strike Uzziah but forgive a Canaanite prostitute named Rahab. These decisions aren’t based on His ever-changing moods. They’re based on individuals who actually need wildly different things. And even within those individuals, their needs are going to vary from day to day. There is a philosophy adopted by humans that we need to treat all of our children the same. I understand that consistency is vital to a child, but maybe we’re being consistent in the wrong things. I have tried to approach parenting a little differently. Rather than being consistent across the board with each child, trying to remember how I handled any given situation so that I can do the same thing for a sibling, I am consistent in my love for each child. And because I am consistent in my love for each child, my reactions and decisions are going to vary by child. At any given moment, does my child need me to meet them where they’re at or hold to a high standard? What is going to help them progress depending on how they slept, whether they’re hungry, whether they’re stressed from sitting at school all day? Do they need connection and mercy or connection and discipline? Which will help them see reality more accurately and help them acquire correct attitudes towards that reality? I am not Heavenly Mother (or Father) and so unfortunately (or fortunately) for my children, sometimes my decisions ARE based off of my mood and limited capacities for wisdom and patience as much as I try to center them on each individual child. But not so with the Lord. He stands ready with infinite wisdom and patience in guiding us along. If He seems impatient or demanding, perhaps it is us who need to reframe our perspective. He is not annoyed with us; He isn’t ready to wash His hands of us (even when we wash our hands of Him). Rather, He is making individualized decisions about what to require and how to meet us where we’re at. He is parenting and coaching and coaxing in the most divine way possible. If He seems cross or unrelenting, it is likely because He knows that pushing us to a higher standard is what we need. It’s going to require more of our souls. It’s going to push us to the point where we need Him; or more accurately, it will push us to the point where we recognize how much we need Him. If He is gentle and accepting, it is likely because that is the approach that is going to help us progress faster in that moment. The Saints had just experienced some intense devastation. They had been harmed cruelly. They had sacrificed so much. That sacrifice and difficulty wasn’t necessarily over, but Nauvoo became a period of rest for the Saints. The Lord knows what He’s doing. He knows that difficulty is why we came here; He knows the divine purpose of opposition. And yet, He’s also wise enough to know that we’re not ready for constant opposition. Moments of quiet and peace can balance all of that out and help bring out the best in us. So here we see the Lord meeting His Saints where they’re at. He rejoices in the excitement of their hearts to perform this work. He loves their eagerness to provide saving ordinances for their kindred dead. That doesn’t mean He let go of the standard; baptisms for the dead belong to the temple. But He was also willing to give them stepping stones towards that standard. He is not a changing Lord, making decisions based on whether He slept good last night or whether He’s hungry. He is a perfect Lord who knows whether His Saints need a stepping stone or chastisement. I testify of a Lord who loves us and makes decisions based on each individual. I testify that even in the most tragic circumstances, He is there ready to carry us and give us the hope we need to be resilient. I testify of a Lord who loves us enough to whip us into shape or meet us where we’re at, depending on what is going to help us progress into our best selves. He is infinitely good, wise, and patient, but He is not afraid to push us. I love Him, and I’m grateful for how He has pushed me. Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR’s 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 124 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR .…

Latter-day Saint FAIR-Cast

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Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 121–123 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson 10:50

for 12 dage siden10:50

10:50

There is Love in the Lack that God Gives by Autumn Dickson In my last message, I shared some of the words of Joseph Smith when he spoke to the Lord. Those words have been canonized as part of Section 121. For this message, I want to share something similar from the same time period though it’s not canonized. Like the prayer of Joseph Smith, I hope that these words can become our words. Emma Smith was amongst the Saints who were driven out of Missouri at gunpoint. She left behind what she owned and took her children into a frozen wilderness. Not only did she leave behind her possessions, but she was leaving behind her husband who was stuck inside of Liberty Jail. She wrote about this in a letter to her husband, but here is the portion that I hope to emulate in my own life. Was it not for conscious innocence, and the direct interposition of divine mercy, I am very sure I never should have been able to have endured the scenes of suffering that I have passed through … ; but I still live and am yet willing to suffer more if it is the will of kind Heaven that I should for your sake. What Emma went through would not be described as divine mercy by most, and yet, she found the hand of the Lord. She saw the Lord and His goodness and mercy (just as Joseph did), and because of what she saw in faith, she was “yet willing to suffer more if it is the will of kind Heaven…” That is a powerful point to reach. To look at the Lord in any situation and say, I will take whatever You choose to hand out, good or bad. To accept your cross, pick it up, and start following with a childlike trust that He has your best interest at heart. There are many little lessons that lead us to this point. There are many trust-falls that lead to the kind of relationship where you’re willing to accept what the Lord sends your way. There are a lot of principles and truths that we can internalize in order to reach this powerful point in our relationship with God. Let’s talk about one truth that we can internalize that will shift how we look at our lives. As I sat in Relief Society this weekend, the Spirit whispered to me, “There is love in the lack that God gives to you.” We love to testify of tender mercies and divine “coincidences.” We rejoice when someone knocks on our door at the right time. We celebrate the moments when everything comes together for our good. In so many instances, these are the circumstances that build the foundation of our trust in God. It is because of these small moments that we look up and say, “I know He loves me and takes care of me.” What if we could recognize the hand of God in everything? Whenever Conner and I struggled to make things come together, my mom loved to tell me that the Lord would take care of us. She’s absolutely right and yet one time, I responded with, “Like He took care of the Willie and Martin handcart companies?” I was being facetious rather than bitter, but there’s still a lesson there. The Lord did take care of the Willie and Martin handcart companies, and I’m not just talking about the moment they were rescued or the moment they stepped through the veil into spirit paradise. It is easy to associate comfort, intervention, and safety with the Lord’s love; it is powerful to associate discomfort, silence, and perceived danger with the Lord’s love. We needed and wanted mortality with all of its pitfalls. And yet, when the Lord delivers on His promise of growth, we suddenly start to question whether He’s even there. There is no other way for Him to deliver on that promise! Imagine for a moment that He sent us down here and didn’t allow bad things to happen, or maybe He just didn’t let super bad things happen. Being annoyed doesn’t call upon the depths of our soul. It doesn’t prepare us to step into His shoes and perform the work that He performs. Sure, the Lord lives in heaven and experiences all of those positively associated emotions, but He also has to stand back and watch the tragedies unfold on earth. If we can’t hang, we don’t get to step into His shoes. He is giving us exactly what He asked for. He is giving us depth of life. The depth of your sorrow can unlock the height of your joy. They are inseparable sides of the same coin. Life changes when we see the Lord’s hand in the tragedy and not just in the rescue. It changes even more when we see His hand in the tragedy before we reach the happy ending. When your spouse loses their job, when you’re lonely, when your family member or friend gets sick, when you lose your favorite pet, when you lose your health. How would these experiences change if you knew that the Lord had His hand in it and that He had your best interest at heart? What if He could show you the ending? And by the ending, I mean, what if He could show you how powerful you become as a result of the tragedy? What if He showed you the end result, your glory, as well as what He went through to make sure you wouldn’t walk the path alone? Would it change your fear? Would it change your bitterness or devastation? How would your life change if you saw His love immediately as tragedy strikes? How would your life change if you could see His love in the lack that He gives to you?” It enabled Emma to carry more than most. The perspective of “His love in the tragedy” carried her. That doesn’t mean that Emma never suffered again. Her faith didn’t immunize her against mental, emotional, and physical suffering. In her letter to her husband, she also references deep pain. Our trust in God’s love, whether in the rescuing or the tragedy, doesn’t take away the suffering. Life isn’t about escaping pain; eternal life isn’t about escaping pain. Which is why I ask again: How would your experience change if you knew He had a hand in it and that He had your best interest at heart? How do you describe the change that comes from knowing heaven is right on the other side of the veil? I’ve shared this analogy before, and I share it again. It’s like being homeless, hungry, and exposed to the elements but knowing that everything you could possibly dream of awaits you in a couple of days. It doesn’t erase what you’re immediately feeling. You still feel the hunger, the weather, the lack of a bed. And yet, it does change how you feel about what you’re experiencing. I testify that every decision the Lord is making to manipulate the details around you is in your favor even when it doesn’t feel like it. I testify that there is love in the lack that He chooses to give just as there was love in the suffering that ultimately rescues us. I testify that trusting Him through everything changes you for the better, and it brings the hope He promises. Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR’s 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 121–123 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR .…

Latter-day Saint FAIR-Cast

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Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 121–123 – Mike Parker 48:48

for 14 dage siden48:48

48:48

The “Mormon War” of 1838; Joseph Smith’s letter from Liberty Jail 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 where they fit best.) Class Notes Additional Reading FAIR has an article on The Danites with links to several other resources. R. Scott Lloyd, “ Hawn’s Mill Massacre: ‘New Insights and Interpretations’ ,” Church News , 9 November 2013. Recent research indicates that the name of the Mormon settlement was spelled Hawn’s Mill, rather than Haun’s , and that the Saints there were not aware of Joseph Smith’s counsel to move closer to Far West to avoid violence. Transcript and photograph of Governor Lilburn W. Boggs’ “Extermination Order,” Missouri Executive Order 44, issued 27 October 1838. Emma Smith’s letter to Joseph Smith, Jr. in Liberty Jail, 7 March 1839 . In her letter, Emma updated her incarcerated husband on her status and the the welfare of their children: “Was it not for conscious innocence, and the direct interposition of divine mercy, I am very sure I never should have been able to have endured the scenes of suffering that I have passed through…but I still live and am yet willing to suffer more if it is the will of kind Heaven, that I should for your sake.” Sections 121, 122, and 123 of the Doctrine and Covenants are extracts from a letter written by Joseph Smith and other Church leaders from Liberty Jail on 20 and (c.) 22 March 1839. Images of the original letter, along with an uncorrected transcript, are available on the Joseph Smith Papers website: Part 1 (20 March 1839) ; Part 2 (ca. 22 March 1839) . Kent P. Jackson and Robert D. Hunt, “ Reprove , Betimes , and Sharpness in the Vocabulary of Joseph Smith ,” The Religious Educator 6, no. 2 (2005): 97–104. Jackson and Hunt explain what these words meant in 1839 and the context in which they were used in D&C 121:43. Mike Parker is a business and marketing analyst with over twenty years’ experience in the financial services and cellular telephone industries. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Management Information Systems from Dixie State University (now Utah Tech University) of St George, Utah. He also has eight years’ experience in corporate training and currently teaches an adult religion class in southern Utah. Mike and his wife, Denise, have three children. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 121–123 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR .…

Latter-day Saint FAIR-Cast

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Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 121–123 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson 11:55

for 15 dage siden11:55

11:55

Three Truths to Transform Your Prayers by Autumn Dickson Context. Joseph stayed in a frigid prison with some of his companions for four months. It was one of the coldest winters on record in Missouri. They didn’t have sufficient clothing to keep them warm; the food was scarce and rotten. On at least four occasions, the food was poisoned. They couldn’t stand up straight because the prison was too short. There was no trial because of insufficient evidence, and witnesses were intimidated from testifying on behalf of Joseph and his companions. This suffering was compounded by what was happening to their loved ones. They were separated from family and friends who were also suffering tremendously. Joseph’s band of followers had been expelled from Missouri through an extermination order and found themselves camped on the side of a river in winter time. As the men froze in the horrible prison, their people froze on the banks of a river. Joseph and his friends listened to their captors tell stories of the assault and murder of their friends and family back in Missouri, specifically the recounting of Haun’s Mill. Dark times. I have experienced some level of darkness and even if mine is comparatively lesser to Joseph and the Saints, I still believe that what we read in these sections can uplift us, carry us, and help us see more clearly. There are three principles that we’re going to talk about in relation to prayer that have the power to bring light back into our life. Doctrine and Covenants 121 is a revelation that occurred during this time period, and it is unique in the sense that it is one of very few sections that include words spoken by man and not just the voice of the Lord. I want to talk about the specific verses coming from Joseph’s own voice. Though it was Joseph speaking and not the Lord, we can learn something profound. If you want a good example of how to pray in faith, look no further than Joseph in Liberty Jail. Instead of reading consecutive verses, I’m going to read phrases from different verses to emphasize my point. Here are some of the words we read from Joseph. Doctrine and Covenants 121:1-6 O God, where art thou? How long shall thy…pure eye, behold the wrongs of thy people…? O Lord God Almighty, maker of heaven, earth, and seas, and of all things that in them are…Remember thy suffering saints, O our God; and thy servants will rejoice in thy name forever. Are we able to rejoice in the Lord under all circumstances? Even in the midst of tragedy, do we acknowledge His presence, purity, and power? In the midst of despair, are we able to still recognize ourselves as His? Let’s talk about three ways Joseph shows his faith. First, Joseph acknowledges Him. Perhaps we have not received manifestations to the extent that Joseph did, but we have had manifestations. Though the Lord wasn’t providing solutions or softening hearts or providing ways of escape, Joseph reached for the Lord. Second, he acknowledges the perfect characteristics of God. Despite the less than perfect circumstances, despite the seemingly juxtaposed concepts of God’s goodness and God’s willingness to allow the current despair, Joseph calls His Lord good. Third, Joseph acknowledges the sacred relationship between him and his God. It’s easy to be tempted to believe that God is angry or disappointed with us when things get sticky. If I had been in Joseph’s circumstances, I surely would have felt like I had done something wrong. I would have assumed that if I had been better or wiser or more righteous, I could have circumvented this terrible halt in the Lord’s plans. Not Joseph. More than once, Joseph describes the Saints with adjectives that imply ownership. Joseph and the other Saints belong to Christ. At least within this prayer, Joseph doesn’t waver in that. Joseph’s prayer is filled with faith. It is fascinating to me how each of these three principles of faith are almost like stepping stones in our progression of faith that eventually becomes powerful enough to move mountains. As we apply that faith in prayer, we find the salvation we’re looking for. Here are the three principles of faith put into concise terms. 1) I believe that God is there. 2) I believe that God is good and powerful. 3) I belive that I am God’s child, and He loves me. After it became a habit to write my prayers, I found myself inadvertently going through these three principles when I found myself in trouble. I didn’t even realize I was doing it (thank you Spirit) until the Lord guided me to write this. As I acknowledge the pattern this Lord has helped me establish, I realize that it has changed the course of my prayers, and therefore, my life. If you are in a place of darkness, there is a lot of benefit in taking your troubles to the Lord. I’m sure there were plenty of times when Joseph talked to the Lord about all the things that he and the Saints were experiencing. I have found a lot of goodness in this strategy, and I employ it often. And yet, some of my most powerful prayers have not come when I’ve poured out my heart about what’s going on and pleaded for some specific form of deliverance. My most powerful prayers are those drenched in those three principles of faith: I believe God is there, I believe He is good and powerful, and I believe that I am a child of God and He loves me. When I take the time to acknowledge those three beliefs (in the same way that Joseph did), I find myself healing and comforted before I’ve ever gotten direction or deliverance. My problems and danger feel much smaller, the rewards greater. It makes everything I’m going through more manageable because I have remembered to compare it against some of the most powerful facts in existence. My problems don’t stand a chance against that. I think it’s important to acknowledge that Joseph wasn’t immediately delivered from his prison after showing faith. Faith can move mountains, but the most important thing that faith can do is change us in the face of those mountains. Being changed at the end of this mortal experience is infinitely more important than being delivered from a jail cell. There’s no comparison. I testify of God. I testify that He is there, that He is powerful and good, and I testify that He loves you because you are His child. I testify that those facts are true, and yet, they don’t hold much power in our life if we don’t believe them. God cannot prove Himself, His goodness, His power, or His love any more than He already is. We have to be the ones who change if we want to find those pieces of salvation He keeps handing out. Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR’s 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 121–123 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR .…

Latter-day Saint FAIR-Cast

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Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 115–120 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson 14:50

for 19 dage siden14:50

14:50

Rejoicing During Failing by Autumn Dickson We are in an interesting section of church history here. This portion of history is often very difficult for some people because it calls Joseph’s prophetic calling into question…again. While the Saints were living in Kirtland, Ohio, Joseph encouraged the Saints to invest in the Kirtland Safety Society. The Kirtland Safety Society was meant to be a bank, but the state of Ohio rejected the Saints charter to form one. Instead, they utilized a loophole and made it a joint-stock company. You don’t really have to understand economics or legalities to understand that it failed. Many people lost a lot, and when we consider the fact that there are many people who don’t have a lot already, it can be easy to wonder how Joseph got it so wrong. Why didn’t the Lord help the Saints with this? Or, at the very least, why didn’t the Lord warn Joseph against forming the Kirtland Safety Society? People listened to him because he’s the prophet, and they got burned. In fact, this is one of the reasons many Saints (including members of the twelve apostles) apostasized. Interestingly enough, very shortly after the Saints fled Kirtland, Joseph was praying about the church’s difficult financial situation. Here is one of the verses in the revelations he received. Doctrine and Covenants 119:1, 4 1 Verily, thus saith the Lord, I require all their surplus property to be put into the hands of the bishop of my church in Zion, 4 And after that, those who have thus been tithed shall pay one-tenth of all their interest annually; and this shall be a standing law unto them forever, for my holy priesthood, saith the Lord. So the Kirtland Safety Society failed, and then Joseph received a revelation that the Saints needed to give more. Again. If this is the Lord’s church, why isn’t He enabling them to do what they need to do? LIke build Zion? Or build temples? If He has all of these expensive things that He desires of His Saints, why does He keep taking away? Or, at the very least, why is He allowing it all to be taken away? I’ve got a theory. My theory calls upon a story found in the New Testament, specifically in John 6. Christ feeds the 5,000 with a couple loaves of bread and fish. In modern times, we revere this beautiful miracle and use it to teach all sorts of lessons, but the story gets even more interesting. The people did not take all of the spiritual lessons that we often pull from it. Instead, they try to force Christ to be their king. He departs, and they find Him again, presumably to look for more free bread. I presume this because they don’t really like it when He refuses to make more bread. Many disciples leave and walk no more with Him. Despite the gigantic miracle that did take place, we find a bunch of murmuring people who start to get mad at Christ. The second that Christ takes away the free bread, the people essentially start saying, “Who is this guy? He is just the son of Joseph and Mary.” The parallels with the people who apostasized during this period in church history is astounding. Anyway. Christ had to take away the bread in order to provide an opportunity for people to follow after Him for spiritual reasons. Otherwise, they would have followed Him for eternity continually receiving the bread but never actually finding the joy that was meant to be theirs. They never would have found it. They were too distracted by bread. The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. We rejoice in Him when He gives, and we rejoice in Him when He takes away. Otherwise, it’s not really the kind of faith that brings salvation. If we want salvation from our faith, it has to be a specific kind of faith. Let me show you the differences. It cannot be faith that says, “I trust that God can give me everything I want.” It has to be faith that says, “I trust God no matter where He takes me.” It is only this kind of faith that moves the mountains within us. It is only this faith that brings salvation in the truest sense. Let’s bring this back to the Kirtland Safety Society. It would have been very easy for Heavenly Father to build up the city and the bank and the temple all by Himself. He built the earth; I’m pretty sure construction is not the problem here. I’m sure He could have enabled the Kirtland Safety Society to succeed wonderfully. But He didn’t, and it shook the faith of many. This is not the first time that Christ has “taken away,” and it’s not the first time that people abandoned ship because of it. It’s not the first time that people turned their backs on all of the other miracles that were performed. It’s not the first time people were too distracted by earthly problems to miss the eternal, spiritual lessons that had far more significance. Let’s take this a step farther. The Lord took away, and then He called upon the people to give even more after they had just fled their homes in Kirtland. In our day, I have seen many people call for an end to tithing, at least for the poor. For a church that is worth a lot of money, it really makes them upset that it would require the sacrifice of the widow who only has a mite to give. I understand where they’re coming from. Imagine a billionaire asking the poor for donations. It would spark outrage. But, like the disciples of old who walked no more with Christ, they are missing the entire point. Christ is the ultimate billionaire. Trillionaire. Yeah, it goes beyond that but I don’t know the label for someone who has infinite funds. He could end world hunger and physical suffering. He could stop all of it, but then we would be so distracted that we would never learn the weightier matters. I don’t care what you say; bread can’t bring true happiness. Bread will one day be a part of our eternal reward. If you live righteously, all of your needs will be provided for. I’m pretty sure that even if you live wickedly, all of your needs get provided for in the other kingdoms. However, none of that will amount to the joy and peace and salvation that is meant to be yours if you do not learn the weightier matters. Our God is wise and knows that taking away is essential to learning the weightier matters. He takes away, and He asks for sacrifice because only complete and utter faith in Him will bring salvation and all of its associated positive emotions. Christ doesn’t need your tithing. You need your tithing. In Doctrine and Covenants 119:6, the Lord says that if His people do not follow the law of tithing, “…it shall not be a land of Zion unto (them).” I want to give an analogy to take this further. Let’s say I build a house for my kids. It has absolutely everything they need, and I give it to them for free. It’s a gift. However, I can’t force my kids to enjoy the house. I can’t force them to live together in harmony and work together and love each other. I can’t force the house to be heavenly. They have to do that with their actions and more importantly, their attitudes. It doesn’t matter how much I gift them heaven if they’re not living in a heavenly manner so that it brings all the joy that the gift was meant to bring. In that sense, I am offering them a gift of “Zion” in which they can have everything they need and where they can experience all the joy that comes with living in harmony and love with others. Unfortunately (or fortunately?), I cannot truly force Zion’s joy upon them. I can tell them how to experience it by forgiving and loving and taking care of what they’ve been given, but if they choose to ignore my laws, then it will not be Zion to them. It doesn’t matter how much I provide and offer the gift. It will not be Zion to them if they are not living Zion-like lives. If my children continue to ignore my laws to the extent that they’re miserable, then perhaps the most merciful and loving thing I can do is to kick them out of the house so that they can learn to appreciate what they were given. Perhaps that sounds dismissive, unmerciful, or uncaring, but it also holds a grain of truth. We can’t experience Zion unless we are changed to appreciate it. No matter how long you stay in the land of Zion, you will be miserable until you are changed. Sometimes the only way to change is when He takes it away or when He asks us to sacrifice it. Maybe you don’t believe me, but believe Christ. He knew He had to take away the bread FOR THE BENEFIT of His disciples so long ago. They chose to leave anyway, but they would have refused the eternal blessings anyway because they would have been distracted by a piece of bread. I testify that following the Lord no matter where He leads is the most incredible journey you can take. I testify that if you want joy, you trust the Lord. I testify that you need tithing, not the Lord. I testify that the weightier matters will bring you more than a piece of bread. Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR’s 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 115–120 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR .…

Latter-day Saint FAIR-Cast

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Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 115–120 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson 12:48

for 22 dage siden12:48

12:48

When You Covet What You Have by Autumn Dickson The Saints began to flee Kirtland in January 1838 because of religious persecution and mounting debts. A majority of them went to Far West, Missouri. When July came around, Newel K. Whitney and William Marks were still in Kirtland. They had originally been left behind to settle affairs, but they had remained there longer than necessary because they were attached to their property and didn’t want to liquidate it too quickly. Honestly, no judgment. It would be hard to flee. It would be hard to just close the door on something you had worked so hard for. It would be hard to turn off the lights for the last time and know you would likely never see the place again. It’s difficult to close a chapter even when you have confidence in a well-laid plan for the next chapter, which Whitney and Marks didn’t necessarily have. And yet, here is what the Lord counseled them. Doctrine and Covenants 117:4 Let them repent of all their sins, and of all their covetous desires, before me, saith the Lord; for what is property unto me? saith the Lord. According to the “Guide to the Scriptures,” part of the definition for “covet,” is to “have an excessive desire towards.” Our desires for our own things can be excessive. We are not always accustomed to speaking of coveting something that already belongs to us. Usually when we speak about coveting, we’re talking about wanting something that someone else has. And yet, the Lord is speaking to these men about their own property. You can covet your own property. I think it’s important that the definition includes the word “excessive.” We do not need to banish any desire we have for things. We can want a house, good food, clothing, and objects that make our life nicer or easier. We just need to keep our desires from becoming excessive. I believe that excessively desiring our own property can look like a couple of different things. I want to talk about two different scenarios of coveting your own property as well as ways that we can overcome that coveting. I’ve watched people be perfectly content with what they have until after they started earning more and having more. I’ve watched them start to covet what they already have only after they were given more. This is a legitimate pattern. Despite the fact that we usually speak of coveting something that someone else has, I’ve found that the most common form of coveting is when you have an excessive desire for your own stuff. We see it all the time in The Book of Mormon with the pride cycle. The people start out humble and poor and taking care of each other. It’s only after they start having nice things that they truly get caught up in the things of the world. So how do we keep ourselves grounded? How do we not get caught up in owning things in this scenario? It can feel tricky since the Lord doesn’t begrudge us laboring to increase what we have. There isn’t anything wrong with an appropriate desire for things. Those desires just can’t be excessive. How do we keep our desires balanced? I’m sure there are plenty of ways that we can keep our desires for our own things at appropriate levels: humility, gratitude, giving, recognition of stewardship. However, I want to talk about one specific way we can keep ourselves from coveting our own property when we find ourselves with more than what’s normal. We keep ourselves grounded by accurately placing our desires alongside our desire for eternal things. When we have an accurate view of eternity and what that entails, it becomes much easier to see the actual worth of our property. So what is this accurate view of eternity? The accurate view is that the Lord is building a mansion for you. You are meant to be a king or queen. It is your divine birthright to walk on streets of gold and have everything you need. It is also part of your birthright to grow into a glorious being capable of eternal happiness. Walking on streets of gold can only bring so much happiness. When you find yourself in the eternities, you’re not going to be able to derive any little bursts of happiness from having more than those around you because they will also be walking on gold. When you’re in the eternities, walking on gold will be nice to the extent that you have what you need. However, you will very quickly start to realize that there is only so much joy you can derive from gold. The accurate view of eternity is that you will have all you need and want; however, if you don’t also have the weightier matters, you’re going to be miserable and empty. So we keep ourselves grounded by balancing our desires for our own stuff with our desires for what truly brings happiness. When you’re feeling a little miserable or empty, it can be tempting to want to go buy something to fill that little void. Rather, if we can remember to invest in relationships and serving and turning outwards when we’re seeking happiness, we’re going to find it. You cannot find deep, lasting happiness in stuff in this life or the next. It is only when your stuff is a part of something more important and enduring, that you can derive all the joy and peace that was meant to be your’s. There is another way that we can covet our own property, and I think this particular scenario is closer to what William Marks and Newel K. Whitney were experiencing. We have observed a pattern of how becoming richer can actually make you more susceptible to coveting your own property. Despite this being a regular pattern, I believe it’s just as possible to covet your own things when you don’t have as much. Perhaps you’re not looking around and yearning for what everyone else has, but perhaps you’re plagued by fear of losing what little you do have. And isn’t that the very definition of sin? Wickedness never was happiness. Being plagued by fear of losing what you have is not happiness which is why it can also be classified as sin. We have already established that getting richer doesn’t inoculate you from coveting your own property. The only way we can truly rid ourselves of the weight of envying our own property is by changing our hearts. The only way to experience true happiness, and not Satan’s counterfeit, is by changing our hearts to trust Him and desire righteousness. You don’t have to wait until you have more stuff to find the peace you’re looking for. You don’t have to wait until your pantry is full to trust that the Lord is taking care of you. In fact, you may not find peace or trust even after you have everything you wished for. We are seeking joy and peace. That doesn’t come from our stuff. It cannot come from our stuff! Property is incapable of providing it. Joy and peace only come from following the pattern of living laid down by our Savior. Just as the Lord instructs in Doctrine and Covenants 117, we have to repent of our covetous desires. We have to change our heart to desire the best things and to trust Him enough to find peace in a world that is filled with turmoil. I testify of a Lord who loves us. I testify that it is not difficult for Him to give you everything you could possibly desire and want. Property is nothing to Him because there is no end to His property. He’s trying to teach us that. We don’t want to be afraid of what we won’t have tomorrow but that doesn’t come from having enough. Even if you become the richest person in the world, you can still lose everything. There is no security but in the Lord. I testify that if you want joy and peace, you have to follow after the Lord. Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR’s 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 115–120 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR .…

Latter-day Saint FAIR-Cast

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Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 111–114 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson 11:42

for 25 dage siden11:42

11:42

Mistakes Were Part of the Plan by Autumn Dickson The church is running into some issues. They have incurred heavy debts, and leaders are growing increasingly worried. There was a member, Brother Burgess, who spoke of a widow who had left behind a lot of money hiding in her cellar. Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, Sidney Rigdon, and Oliver Cowdery travelled to Salem, Massachusetts to attempt to find this treasure. It was never found. It’s important to note that this account was written 53 years later by a former church member. We may not have every detail correct, but here is a verse from that stay in Salem that may be referring to this experience. Doctrine and Covenants 111:1 I, the Lord your God, am not displeased with your coming this journey, notwithstanding your follies. The Lord isn’t mad that they went to Salem despite their follies. A folly is an error in judgment, a mistake. The Lord is not afraid of us making mistakes. He warns against sin making us unhappy, but an error in judgment does not need to tear us down. Joseph and his companions had sought means to relieve the debts of the church. How could the Lord be upset with that? They were proactive and sought to do all within their power to fix the problems they were facing. This is actually really important to understand; it’s very important to internalize. The Lord isn’t angry when we make mistakes. We came to earth so that we could eventually become like Jesus Christ. We did not come to earth to never make mistakes. It may sound like the same thing sometimes, but it’s not. I’m going to ask some questions now that I’m desperately hoping do not come off sounding sacrilegious. There are many definitions of some of the words I’m about to use, and I’m asking questions so we can better understand the scriptures. What do the scriptures mean when they say that Christ is perfect? Did it mean that He never fell down when He was learning to walk? Did it mean that He never found Himself with setbacks on a journey because of unforeseen circumstances? Or did it mean that He handled unforeseen circumstances with absolute faith? Is that partially why people in Nazareth rejected Him? Is it because they had seen Him grow up and make mistakes (not sin! mistakes!)? This is the gospel according to Autumn, but I’m not sure that’s what the scriptures meant when they described Christ as perfect. I believe He faced a lot of the same trials we did in mortality. He had the same veil placed over his eyes and had to learn who He was. He faced situations where He didn’t know the outcome or the most effective decision, and maybe He didn’t even know the perfect thing to say. We know that scriptures taught that the Savior increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. How can you increase beyond the traditional definition of perfection? When the scriptures say that Christ was perfect, I believe it means that He never sinned. Sin is not the same thing as a mistake. I believe that when He faced two roads that He could travel, He didn’t always know which one to take. Instead, He moved forward with faith and listened to see if His Father would correct Him. I believe that when He faced setbacks, He never faltered in that faith and devotion. I believe that when He faced people who had experienced tremendous grief, He wasn’t necessarily given perfect words (because I believe there are situations in which there are no perfect words) but His words were filled with power because of His perfect love. When the scriptures ask us to be perfect, I believe the scriptures are asking us to become devoted to the Savior. We become so devoted that our hearts become perfectly filled with faith in the Savior and perfectly turned outwards towards others. Does that mean we will never face a situation where we don’t immediately know what we’re supposed to do? No. Does that mean we’ll never face obstacles because we’re simply going to know everything to say ahead of time? Does it mean that we’re going to be proactive in making decisions that we completely circumvent every setback as we’re going about the work of the Lord? I don’t think so. I could be wrong for sure. But I believe perfection, as described by the scriptures, is a state of heart in which we are wholly turned towards the Lord and then towards others. I don’t think it extends to omnipotence until the next life. If we become paralyzed with fear of mistakes, we prevent ourselves from acquiring growth. Growth is essential to the entire purpose of the Plan of Salvation. So there you go. We didn’t come to earth to avoid mistakes. We came to earth to become like Jesus Christ. And honestly, I believe this extends towards sin. This is the part where we obviously differ from Christ. We’re going to sin and make mistakes. And though the Lord was talking about the debts the church had incurred in Kirtland, the Lord loves to have layers of meaning in His words. Here is another verse from the same section. Doctrine and Covenants 111:5 Concern not yourselves about your debts, for I will give you power to pay them. Christ is not concerned with our debts. He already paid them. He knows the price because it was paid a long time ago. He isn’t concerned. He had enough to cover it. He is wholly focused on your growth. If Heavenly Father was wholly focused on avoiding sin, He never would have sent us here to earth at all because it was impossible to come to earth without sinning and making mistakes. This doesn’t mean that we run around excusing ourselves and doing whatever we want because Christ paid the debt and Heavenly Father is wholly focused on our growth. He is not concerned when we have flaws we’re trying to overcome, and He is not concerned with our follies. He is concerned when we’re refusing to grow and receive the joy that comes with following after Him. If you are actively repenting, if you are trying to orient your heart towards the Savior, if you are trying to turn your heart outward towards your fellow man, then rejoice. The Savior isn’t mad at your mistakes. Rejoice; don’t be concerned about your debts. They are taken care of. I testify of a Savior who is perfect. I testify that He was wholly devoted to His Father and rejoiced in His Father because of His faith. I testify that He rejoices in your repentance and growth to the extent that He is not angry, nor concerned. I testify that He loves you perfectly even though He knows you exactly as you are; you don’t have to be afraid of your flaws or lack of wisdom about how to handle every circumstance in your life because He already knows and He loves you anyway. Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR’s 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 111–114 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR .…

Latter-day Saint FAIR-Cast

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Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 111–112, 114–115, 117–120 – Mike Parker 43:08

for 26 dage siden43:08

43:08

End of the Kirtland period; revelations in Missouri, 1838 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 where they fit best.) Class Notes Additional Reading BMC Team, “ Why Was Martin Harris Cut Off from the Church? ”, Book of Mormon Central , 1 June 2021. This brief article explains why Martin Harris, one of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon, was excommunicated from the Church in late 1837 during a period of mass apostasy. Stephen C. Harper, “ The Tithing of My People ,” Church History: Revelations in Context , last modified 13 January 2016. Harper, a historian for the Church History Department, explains how the Saints in Missouri understood how to calculate “one-tenth of all their interest annually” as tithing. ( D&C 119:4 ) Dennis B. Horne, “ Reexamining Lorenzo Snow’s 1899 Tithing Revelation ,” Mormon Historical Studies – Fall 2013, Vol. 14, No. 2 . President Lorenzo Snow did not prophesy an end to the southern Utah drought at the time he received his famous tithing revelation in St. George in 1899 (as portrayed in the church-produced movie “ The Windows of Heaven ”). The tithing manifestation was indeed true and real, but President Snow’s son LeRoi C. later created an accompanying fiction of a prophecy that if the locals paid their full tithing it would yet rain that very season and save their livestock and crops. President Snow uttered no such prophecy and there was no end to the drought for two years. Elder Boyd K. Packer, “ The Least of These ,” General Conference, October 2004. “I remember my servant Oliver Granger; behold, verily I say unto him that his name shall be had in sacred remembrance from generation to generation, forever and ever, saith the Lord.” ( D&C 117:12 ) Elizabeth Kuehn, “ Finances and Faith in the Kirtland Crisis of 1837 ,” 2017 FAIR Conference. Mike Parker is a business and marketing analyst with over twenty years’ experience in the financial services and cellular telephone industries. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Management Information Systems from Dixie State University (now Utah Tech University) of St George, Utah. He also has eight years’ experience in corporate training and currently teaches an adult religion class in southern Utah. Mike and his wife, Denise, have three children. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 111–112, 114–115, 117–120 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR .…

Latter-day Saint FAIR-Cast

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Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 111–114 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson 10:55

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The Power of Conversion: Healing Through Christ by Autumn Dickson Thomas B. Marsh was frustrated with Joseph Smith for calling two of the apostles on missions without consulting him. He received a revelation that helped him repent and gave him spiritual counsel. Within the counsel he receives, there are two phrases that are found next to each other which take on profound meaning when you observe them together. Doctrine and Covenants 112:13 And after their temptations, and much tribulation, behold, I, the Lord, will feel after them, and if they harden not their hearts, and stiffen not their necks against me, they shall be converted, and I will heal them. The Lord is talking to Marsh about the apostles. The Lord told Marsh to correct them and be an example to them before sharing this verse where He promises to reach out to them. The phrases that are interesting when placed together are, “…they shall be converted, and I will heal them.” There are a couple of definitions of the word convert that are relevant. The first one is, “change in form, character, or function.” The second definition is to, “change one’s religious faith or other beliefs.” Let’s talk about both definitions and how they lead to healing. I’m actually going to talk about the second definition first. To change one’s religious faith or other beliefs. This is an interesting one. We’re obviously not talking about converting to a different religion, but even within our own church, we need to be evolving our own beliefs as we learn more about the gospel. Let me give an example. It’s a long one, but sharing all of the details helps me teach the principle. Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve actually had multiple friends come to me with marital problems and I shared a piece of advice that I had received. Love your spouse when you don’t feel loved. Interestingly enough, this is good advice no matter what kind of marriage you find yourself in. Even more interestingly, this is good advice for any relationship you’re in. I can imagine that this might cause some outrage, especially for people who have escaped abusive relationships, but let me explain further. God loves us infinitely more than anyone else. His love leads Him to act mercifully, to make sacrifices on our behalf, to continually turn towards us even when we’ve rejected Him. God’s love has also led Him to reject us, to put up boundaries, to separate us from Himself and others. Love is a feeling, not a specific action. When I originally shared this advice with my friends, some of them struggled with it. They felt that they had already sacrificed enough, and they weren’t seeing enough sacrifice on the part of their spouses. AND THIS IS PRECISELY WHAT I’M TRYING TO TEACH. They struggled with the advice because they had inaccurate ideas of what love means and what it looks like. When I explained to them that my definition of love was a feeling that could lead to several different appropriate actions, that softened the blow a bit. When we talk about converting in relation to the gospel, we’re talking about changing aspects of our faith and beliefs. I’m not talking about getting baptized in a different church; I’m talking about true, internal change within our hearts as we receive new perspectives and interpretations of doctrine. The more we convert, the more we heal. Let’s look at our example of love again. I also gave this piece of advice to a friend whose significant other broke up with them in a hurtful way. I told my friend to love her, truly love her enough that you wanted what was best for her. I told him that if he wanted to heal from getting hurt in this manner, his best strategy was to love her. Love didn’t mean following her around. He had to change his belief of what love was and looked like, and if he chose to allow a more accurate definition of love to take hold in his heart, he was going to find healing. As we convert closer and closer to the gospel, we are going to naturally find healing. Even as members of Christ’s church on the earth, we still have some inaccurate ideas surrounding gospel principles that we’re going to weed out as we grow older. When we learn that forgiveness can look like complete mercy and letting go of past grievances as well as loving someone from a healthy distance, we can find healing. When we learn that serving can bring about resentment if we’re not throwing our heart into the mix, we can soften our own hearts and find healing. When we learn that humility doesn’t mean squashing ourselves and the spiritual gifts we’ve been given, we start to step into our divine destinies, and we find healing. There are so many different aspects of faith that need to evolve as we learn more about the gospel. Following gospel principles inaccurately can make things more difficult, but if we convert our faith as we learn a more accurate perspective on these same principles, we will find the healing that Christ has talked about. The first definition that I mentioned was to “change in form, character, or function.” I’m not going to elaborate too much on this because it’s simply another way of saying what has already been said. We change . Not only do we change our functions (i.e. the outward actions of the gospel), but we change in character. If you can utilize the actions to actually change your character, you find the salvation that Christ promised. I testify that following Christ accurately is what brings about the true blessings of the gospel. I testify that we do need to convert as we learn more and more and more about what Christ meant when He gave certain commandments. I also testify that when we allow our faith to convert and transform, we will find the healing that He promised us. Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR’s 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 111–114 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR .…

Latter-day Saint FAIR-Cast

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Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 109-110 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson 12:04

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Building the Kingdom in Diapers and Day Jobs by Autumn Dickson The Saints have built the Kirtland temple. This week we read about the dedication event, including the revealed prayer from the Lord, and we read about the Lord restoring priesthood keys within the temple. Here is one of the verses from the prayer that was revealed to Joseph Smith. Doctrine and Covenants 109:9 That your incomings may be in the name of the Lord, that your outgoings may be in the name of the Lord, that all your salutations may be in the name of the Lord, with uplifted hand unto the Most High– This verse is talking about temple worship. When you come into the temple, your heart should be turned towards the Lord. When you leave the temple, that state of heart should follow you into the world. During temple worship, all of your salutations (or, in other words, your interpersonal communications) should reflect the Lord and His holiness. There is a lot of power in focusing on Christ in the temple. Temple worship reflects the antiquity of the gospel, and it can feel very different than how we normally worship. When we use every part of the temple to reflect on Christ and look at every symbol through a lens of Christ, the worship experience becomes more meaningful. However, I want to take this beyond the walls of the temple. When I was a teenager, I remember attending EFY camps, fireside, Sunday youth classes, and all sorts of youth activities. Oftentimes, we would be invited to spend more time with the Savior. Being the perfectionist that I was, I often took this goal beyond what my leaders had likely intended. I would make goals about reading my scriptures, praying, and doing other spiritual activities that went beyond the bounds of what was balanced or even appropriate. As an adult, I recall the Spirit whispering a very important truth to me. Spending time with the Savior is not just about going and doing traditionally spiritual things; it’s also about inviting the Savior into the rest of your life. Our incomings, outgoings, and salutations can be in the name of the Lord regardless of whether they are directly about the Lord. Rather than constantly immersing myself in scripture study, I can take my learning to a new level as I bring Christ into the rest of my life. This has many outcomes, but let’s talk about a couple of them. The first effect is that it transforms my life. I can listen to secular music, read my favorite romance novels, go out to dinner with my husband, and hang out with my girl friends with the Savior as my companion. I remember driving to go buy a dress for a Christmas party. The sun was shining, and my Apple Playlist was giving me all of the best songs. The Spirit whispered to me that I should remember Christ, and I did. I thanked Him for moments like that, and it made it all the sweeter. I knew He was happy for me and that He was enjoying my happiness and gratitude. Eternal life isn’t all work. I don’t know what the Savior does for fun, but I believe that fun is an important part of a healthy and balanced spiritual life. The Savior wants to be included in those moments too. As a stay-at-home mom, my life can also get a bit repetitive meeting the needs of my kids. Helping the kids with their tasks that I’m trying to teach, making bottles, changing diapers, wiping the counter, picking up things so that I don’t trip over it, and refereeing can take its toll sometimes. The daily tasks can feel so mundane sometimes until you place them in the context of eternity. But then I bring the Savior into it. Eternity isn’t about learning some huge new lesson every few weeks. It’s not about giant, transformational experiences. It’s about daily habits that make us who we are. When I invite the Savior to walk with me in my experience, it reminds me that I’m building discipleship into the rapidly developing brains of my children. Showing up for them over and over and over and over and over sets the stage for them to understand their Savior. He gives power and purpose to the mundane parts of my life. And though I speak of my personal experience as a stay-at-home mom, these principles extend beyond that. You can find power and purpose in the mundane parts of your life. So we’re working on letting our incomings, outgoings, and salutations be in the name of the Lord. The first effect is that it transforms our lives. It makes sweet moments sweeter. It fills the mundane parts of life with purpose. And I didn’t talk about it, but it also soothes the hard moments. The second effect is that it makes your work more powerful. When you do something in the name of the Lord, it adds power. Acting in His name means that we are standing in for Him as if He were here. We are His representative. We are doing what He would do in our situation. Christ left His carpentry job to be a full-time missionary for 3 years, but that’s not our mission. He made premortal promises, and He fulfilled them. We also made premortal promises, but ours are not the same as His. You don’t abandon your day job. You transform your day job. It’s “Bring the Savior to work day.” This has a couple of outcomes. It quickens your ability to do your job. I watch my husband receive revelation all the time in his engineering designs. I pray all the time for his inspiration. The Saints were building the Kirtland temple, and I’m sure they learned a lot of spiritual lessons. They also developed some major construction skills. Maybe that doesn’t seem like an important skill until you realize that the Lord is preparing us to create like He did. Invite Him to join you, and do all things in His name. It can add purpose, and it can make you more capable. When you do your day job in the name of the Lord, you also find ways to build the kingdom in creative ways. Sometimes we think building the kingdom means we go to church and do our calling, but building the kingdom can happen everywhere around you. Can you imagine how quickly our ability to build the kingdom would collapse if all the farmers left their jobs to be full-time missionaries? Jobs that are not traditionally thought of as spiritual can be done in the name of the Lord, and they can help build the kingdom. Let all your salutations, incomings, and outgoings be done in the name of the Lord. That doesn’t mean you immediately need to preach to your coworker. It can also mean finding purpose, power, and fulfillment in the work that you are a part of. It doesn’t mean abandoning your day job to knock doors; it means bringing the Savior with you everywhere you go. I testify that doing so transforms your life and your work. The Savior is the best companion on this unofficial mission we’ve been called to do. He knows the importance of daily tasks and can help us remember how our small contributions matter. He knows how to have fun. He finds great joy in your joy. He can expand your capacities and help you creatively utilize them for good. Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR’s 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 109-110 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR .…

Latter-day Saint FAIR-Cast

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Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 109-110 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson 9:18

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Your Body as a Temple: Surprising Lessons from the Kirtland Temple by Autumn Dickson We have been asked to liken the scriptures unto ourselves. Oftentimes, I look at this from the perspective of studying the people who lived at the time of the revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants. As I study the events surrounding the revelations, I am able to learn so much more about what the Lord is trying to teach. I am able to relate, if not in situation than in feeling, to these Saints and the Lord’s words answer me just as it answered them. Though I often go through this process in relation to people, there is another way to liken the scriptures to us this week. The Lord declares that our body is a temple. When He declares this, He implies many things. Our bodies are tabernacles through which we experience mortal life and the (hopefully) resulting spiritual growth. Our bodies can house the Spirit. We treat our bodies as a gift from the Lord. What can we learn from Section 110 that teaches us even more about our bodies that were given to us by the Lord? I want to pull out a couple of phrases and ideas. The first idea is that the Kirtland temple was unique amongst temples in this dispensation. Traditionally, a temple in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a place where we go to receive further instruction and power by entering into covenants with the Lord. Interestingly enough, temples looked very different before the Lord came to fulfill His mortal ministry. Even in this dispensation, we have the Kirtland Temple. Within the Kirtland Temple, there was no baptismal font or rooms for sealings. There was no endowment. It looked like a church. There was a place for the congregants to sit, worship, learn, and sing. There was a pulpit. This uniqueness holds many implications for our own bodies. The first implication I can think of is the progression of the gospel, or the idea of a living church. We believe that the church does change. The doctrine doesn’t change, but we grow closer and closer and closer to the truth. The Kirtland Temple was not completely ready to start performing additional ordinances en masse. Neither were the people ready en masse to receive that ordinance. It was a step in the right direction as the Lord continued to give further light and knowledge. We grow and progress and sacrifice and learn before we also receive further ordinances. There were also three keys that were restored in the Kirtland temple. Moses came and gave the keys of the gathering of Israel. Elias came with the gospel of Abraham, and Elijah came to restore the sealing power. A grand majority of us will never hold those keys, male and female alike. However, those keys unlocked power for everyone there. One of those purposes of the Kirtland Temple was to create a place and a people who were prepared to receive these keys, and it worked. The Saints sacrificed and toiled, and it prepared their hearts to utilize the power that was unlocked from those keys. And so we work and sacrifice and prepare ourselves to receive the power of those keys to the same extent that the Saints felt the power of those keys. Priesthood keys unlock power. The Lord wants these restored keys to unlock power in each of our lives. He wants us to experience the power of the Gathering of Israel. He wants us to understand what it means to be part of the family of Abraham. He wants us to be sealed together as part of His eternal family. There are more phrases and implications, but I want to discuss one more verse. Doctrine and Covenants 110:7 For behold, I have accepted this house, and my name shall be here; and I will manifest myself to my people in mercy in this house. In verse 7, the Lord accepts His house and places His name upon it. He also promises to manifest Himself there. We looked to eventually be accepted of the Lord as we build and refine ourselves. We carry His name upon us. And then there is also the matter of the manifestation of the Lord. The Lord visited the Kirtland temple as a fulfilment of the promise He made that He would enter into His house if the Saints would allow no unclean thing to enter therein. I believe the Lord is willing to reveal as much as we are willing to bear, including the manifestation of Himself, and so we utilize His atonement to be cleansed and we work on ourselves to be prepared to hold that responsibility. I believe this has another implication. The Lord will manifest Himself to His people. Sometimes a manifestation of the Lord is not always the act of standing in His presence. Honestly, looking at a sunset is a manifestation of Him if we’re looking through spiritual eyes. I believe that we can manifest the Savior to others. He can visit His people through us as we work to lift where we stand. When I strengthen my husband, kiss my children, and love my friends, they are receiving miniscule doses of the Savior. We can be walking temples that house the Spirit and bring the Savior closer to everyone on this earth. I testify that there are many reasons that the Lord described our bodies as temples. I testify that one of those reasons is because we can parallel temples in many regards. We can look to temples to better understand what the Lord has in store for us. We can look to temples to better understand what the Lord expects of us. I testify that He can sanctify our sacrifices and efforts and make us clean as we work to become a type of the House of the Lord. Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR’s 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 109-110 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR .…

Latter-day Saint FAIR-Cast

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Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 106-108 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson 18:42

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Priesthood Privilege by Autumn Dickson Disclaimer. I want to talk about the priesthood this week, but the more I dive into it, the more I realize that I know hardly anything about it. There is so much; it’s rather overwhelming. I have done my research. I have tried very hard to understand, but it’s also important to note that I’m imperfect. If I have made any mistakes about principles surrounding the priesthood or even policies, I apologize. Please feel free to correct; I’d much rather learn truth in comparison to standing in ignorance. Another disclaimer. Elder Neil L. Anderson teaches, “There is an important principle that governs the doctrine of the Church. The doctrine is taught by all 15 members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve. It is not hidden in an obscure paragraph of one talk. True principles are taught frequently and by many.” There are quotes that I’m sharing today that are doctrine, taught over and over through inspired church leaders. I also want to declare that I am sharing personal interpretations, as well as ideas that have not been taught frequently or been canonized. Why do I share them if they are not official doctrine? I share them for a lot of reasons. They inspire questions, revelation, and for me, they inspire wonder. How much do we not know yet? It’s mind boggling and beautiful. I don’t think there’s anything objectively wrong with exploring doctrine and learning and wondering and asking questions and forming theories as long as we keep a healthy understanding that the Lord reveals official doctrine through a prophet to the whole church. So without further ado. Section 107 helps to explain the idea of different aspects of the priesthood. One of the clarifications we receive about the priesthood is as follows: Doctrine and Covenants 107:18, 5 (why yes, I’m sharing them out of order) 18 The power and authority of the higher, or Melchizedek Priesthood, is to hold the keys of all the spiritual blessings of the church- 5 All other authorities or offices in the church are appendages to this priesthood (Melchizedek Priesthood). Before I continue on, I want to give a quick tangent here that will help me clarify what I’m talking about as I go through my post. The Melchizedek Priesthood is the power we’ve been given on earth from God. It holds all the spiritual blessings of the church. There are many powers we have not been given in the church. God’s power extends far beyond what we currently have the ability to utilize. In other words, there is Melchizedek Priesthood and then there is priesthood. But for this post, I may use Melchizedek Priesthood and the general term “priesthood” interchangeably. This is not because they are synonymous; it is because it’s much shorter to just say priesthood. So, when I use the word Melchizedek Priesthood or just the general term priesthood, I am referring to the power that is currently given to the church to bring about the salvation of mankind on the earth. Phew. Lot’s of groundwork today. Back to the verses. The Melchizedek Priesthood is the power and authority of God given to us today; all of the other permissions and powers we structurally recognize in the church have grown out of that one priesthood. If you continue reading on in Section 107, we learn that even the Aaronic priesthood is an appendage to the Melchizedek Priesthood. The Melchizedek Priesthood stands independent of all these other offices and authorities. In the institute manual, we read a quote by Joseph Fielding Smith that teaches this. “There is no office growing out of this priesthood that is or can be greater than the priesthood itself. It is from the priesthood that the office derives its authority and power. No office gives authority to the priesthood. No office adds to the power of the priesthood. But all offices in the Church derive their power, their virtue, their authority from the priesthood.” This is actually a critical understanding. The Melchizedek Priesthood is the power and authority of God. Here is another quote from Joseph F. Smith; “Priesthood is the power of God, delegated to man (as in mankind, humanity), to act in the earth for the salvation of the human family.” That’s it. It’s the power of God given so that we can help people return home to Him. We often limit the Melchizedek Priesthood to the specific offices of Elder, High Priest, Patriarch, Seventy, and Apostle. Those are offices within the Melchizedek Priesthood, but if the verse we read earlier is correct, then those offices are literally just appendages. The Melchizedek Priesthood is actually so much more. All of the other stuff we read in relation to the priesthood (performing ordinances, men getting ordained to the priesthood, etc.) are actually just appendages. They utilize priesthood, but they are not THE priesthood. Here is my perspective on what that actually means. Once again, gospel according to Autumn. The Melchizedek Power is just a fancy way of saying that God is supplying the power behind our actions in order to bring His children home. This is doctrine. So much of what we interpret as the Melchizedek Power is actually just policy. For example, when a boy turns 12, he gets ordained as a deacon. When he is 14, he becomes a teacher. When he is 16, he becomes a priest (This is why it was able to change! Boys went from passing the sacrament when they turn 12 to passing the sacrament at the beginning of the year in which they turn 12). This list goes on and on. All of this structure is actually just policy that is meant to help us along. It is a structure that the Lord has put into place. Think of it like a calling. The actual priesthood acts independently of the calling. You don’t need callings for the Melchizedek Priesthood to exist. Rather, the Lord organizes everything so that it’s easier to come back home to Him. The priesthood structure that was given by the Lord (from deacon to prophet) were all put in place to help us, but are they necessary? That’s an extremely complicated question. It’s like asking whether a prophet is necessary. In an ideal world where we were all tremendously righteous, no, a prophet would not be necessary. We could all be prophets unto ourselves. Unfortunately, most of us need more of a support system than pure intelligence coming into our minds through the power of the Spirit. In that manner, YES, we need a prophet. It’s the same with the priesthood organization. If we were all righteous enough, I wonder if we would still be operating on the patriarchal form of priesthood in Abraham’s day where the dad was the presiding officer and took care of his family. There wasn’t a more complicated structure than that. The point I’m trying to make boils down to this: the Melchizedek Priesthood is the power of God, and it extends far beyond the priesthood structure that God put into place. The structure is helpful, and because of that, it’s necessary. However, the priesthood structure is not the priesthood. So I’ve made my point. Why the heck does it matter? BECAUSE IT PUSHES US TO LIVE UP TO OUR PRIESTHOOD PRIVILEGES. Example. I was reading a message delivered by Wendy Ulrich, a member of the Relief Society Advisory Council Member. She said this. “…when women give birth within the new and everlasting covenant, they are in essence performing for themselves for their child that sealing function that cannot otherwise be done except by a sealer in the temple.” Um. What?! I love being a mother. I appreciate pregnancy (as much as I hate being pregnant), childbirth, all of it. I have a deep reverence for the female body I’ve been given, and I am in awe that God has trusted me with this divine calling that embodies all the most important aspects of my Heavenly Mother. In a world that increasingly diminishes and detests motherhood, I declare that I am utilizing the most powerful force in existence: the Melchizedek Priesthood. The childbirth process that I participate in seals my child in the new and everlasting covenant by the power of God, by His Melchizedek Priesthood. Let’s extend this further. Let me bring two ideas together. Idea 1. I’m repeating a quote from earlier. Joseph F. Smith said, “Priesthood is the power of God, delegated to man (as in mankind, humanity), to act in the earth for the salvation of the human family.” Idea 2. Childbirth somehow creates a soul. We know that a woman’s body creates a physical vessel, a body. But somewhere in that process, a spirit is placed into that body. Creating physical vessels for the spirit children of our Heavenly Parents is absolutely essential for the salvation of the human family. Does that mean pregnancy and childbirth (independent of the sealing power) are also acting by the Melchizedek Priesthood? Honestly, I’m not sure. There are so many things that have not been revealed to us. We don’t know when the spirit enters the body. We don’t know how that process occurs. But this I do know. When a man baptizes his child, it is said that he is acting with the priesthood to further their salvation even though it’s not really the man’s power. He is merely the vessel in which God is furthering the salvation of that child. Is it really so different from bringing a child into the world? I didn’t design this body to do this miraculous process. I don’t even have to think about it. Like a man who baptizes his child, I am merely the vessel in which this sacred process is occurring. Once again, I don’t know for sure. All of that was just a long-winded way of saying something I do know. The Melchizedek Priesthood is available for all of us to utilize. The very power that shaped the universe is the same power that God extends to you regardless of whether you’re a deacon, bishop, prophet, or mother. It’s not about being a leader in a priesthood structure. It’s about serving. And as we serve in the way that Christ served, we change the world. I testify that God’s power is available to all who are willing to follow Him and try to serve His children. I testify that women can hold as much power as any man. I testify that the power God is willing to extend to any person is proportionate to how willing we are to follow the Lord. That is the only qualifier for how much priesthood power we are capable of wielding. Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR’s 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 106-108 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR .…

Latter-day Saint FAIR-Cast

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Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 106-108 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson 15:43

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What are Priesthood Keys? by Autumn Dickson The Lord restored the priesthood to mankind some time ago, and yet, He did not reveal the structure in which He wanted everything to be organized. There were many who had received callings and knew their responsibilities, but putting it together in a structural whole would serve to provide organization so that the Lord’s house could be a house of order. One of the organizational tools for the Lord’s priesthood is that of keys. Doctrine and Covenants 107:8-9 8 The Melchizedek Priesthood holds the right of presidency, and has power and authority over all the offices in the church in all ages of the world, to administer in spiritual things. 9 The Presidency of the High Priesthood, after the order of Melchizedek, have a right to officiate in all the offices in the church. These verses are talking about rights. Verse 8 explains that the Melchizedek Priesthood holds the right of presidency, and the Presidency of the High Priesthood (or in our day, the First Presidency) has a right to officiate in any capacity in the church. Here is a quote that connects the idea of rights to keys. Joseph Fielding Smith taught, “While all men hold the priesthood who are ordained to any office, yet there are special, or directing, authorities, bestowed upon those who are called to preside. These authorities are called keys.” I’m going to zoom out a bit so that we can attempt to understand different aspects of the priesthood and organize it all. First, we have the priesthood . The priesthood, in its simplest definition, is the power of God. It is the power by which He created. It is the power by which rules. Second, there is the Melchizedek Priesthood. As stated in my previous video from this week, the Melchizedek Priesthood stands independent of any office or calling. In its simplest definition, it is the power of God that is given to man to further the work of salvation on the earth. In other words, it’s a portion of the priesthood power that is held by our Heavenly Father. He only gave us a portion of the power that we needed for this life. Third, there is the Aaronic Priesthood. This is actually not a separate priesthood from the Melchizedek Priesthood. It is an appendage of the Melchizedek Priesthood. It was another way of organizing the priesthood and delegating responsibilities. Fourth, there are priesthood ordinations and offices. When men come of age, they are ordained to the priesthood and progress through priesthood offices. Different priesthood offices delegate different priesthood responsibilities. Quick tangent. Only men are ordained to the priesthood, but women can utilize the priesthood without being ordained. The Lord has still not answered why He has chosen this path or whether it’s doctrine or policy. There are plenty of theories, but the Lord has not chosen to explain it. And the last thing I want to talk about today: priesthood keys. Priesthood keys take priesthood offices just a tiny step further. Priesthood keys are the right to govern. You can hold a priesthood office without holding any keys. You can hold the office of Elder or High Priest but not have any keys with which to direct the work. You simply have responsibilities to function underneath those keys. The church website teaches us which offices and leaders hold keys. Members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles hold all the keys necessary for governing the Church. Only the President of the Church has the right to exercise all of those keys. He delegates these keys to others who preside in the Church—temple presidents, mission presidents, stake presidents, district presidents, bishops, branch presidents, and quorum presidents, including deacons and teachers quorum presidents. Oftentimes these keys are to overlook specific responsibilities and geographical jurisdictions. They eventually trace back to the prophet, and ultimately, to the Savior, Himself. When I think of keys, I think of unlocking rooms. Let’s pretend that God’s various works (including those not directly associated with the earth) are a giant castle. Different rooms hold different responsibilities and powers that the Lord governs. The Lord has given a grouping of rooms to the President of the Church on earth, or the prophet. When the Lord gave the prophet the keys, a couple of things happened. He gave the prophet a stewardship. The prophet is now in charge of making sure that what occurs in those rooms are in alignment with what the Lord would have occurring in those rooms. But as the church grew bigger, it became very difficult for one prophet to oversee so many rooms and consequent responsibilities so he started delegating keys. The prophet can still access any of these rooms and perform responsibilities associated with those rooms, but he often chooses, delegates, and allows other leaders to perform their responsibilities without too much interference. A mission president is over a room of missionaries found within a geographical area. If a mission president is called over the Salt Lake City North mission, he has no jurisdiction over any other missionaries than the one in his mission. He also doesn’t hold authority over the members. His specific room is for the missionaries. The same idea goes to temple presidents, stake presidents, bishops, and quorum leaders. Eventually these men get released from their callings and they hand their keys back to be given to a new leader. As I said previously, the person who holds the key for a specific room is in charge of making sure that everything that occurs in that room aligns with the Lord. Are ordinances being performed correctly? Is the doctrine kept pure from apostasy? Keeping a massive, worldwide church on track is no easy task. Keys help to make sure that the Lord’s church is the same everywhere. It is also important to note that you don’t need keys to help push the work further along. Though a leader is chosen to hold the keys, all of us have access to God’s priesthood power to make a difference. We can’t get caught up in the idea of leadership. Christ’s example of leadership should give us a real taste of what it means to govern. You don’t have to be a leader to access power or even change the world. Interestingly enough, I don’t know if priesthood keys are doctrine or policy. If anyone does know, please feel free to comment. I don’t know if keys exist independently or if the Lord created the priesthood organizational system, and the keys were part of the system that He created. I don’t know if keys were just meant to help create a house of order or if they belong to the category of doctrine in which they don’t really get changed. This post definitely was definitely more informational than some of my other posts, but being able to zoom out and understand some of the basic organizations of God’s priesthood has also helped me better understand my own priesthood responsibilities. It helps me understand the access I have to priesthood power, not just in the form of receiving blessings but also the power I am capable of wielding to further the work of salvation. There is beauty in the fact that the Lord knows what He’s doing. There is beauty in knowing that there is truth, and I can trust that truth to remain pure no matter where I go and attend church services. The Lord has achieved an incredible amount of unity and continuity in a worldwide church that many world leaders only dream of. As we come closer and closer to a knowledge of Christ’s character, we receive more and more salvation. We experience more happiness. That’s why the keys are so essential. It keeps our knowledge of Christ accurate and enables us to remain close to Him through the ordinances that He put forth. I am grateful for a Lord who is wise enough to set up His church as He did. I’m grateful that despite all the imperfections of mankind, He has done a phenomenal job of keeping His truths and ordinances pure so that we can draw as close to Him as possible. I testify that the priesthood is ultimately His to delegate, and that He offers His power to anyone who is worthy and willing. I also testify that He set up a priesthood organization in which He delegated certain responsibilities to push us to become better and keep things as close to the truth as humanly possible. Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR’s 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 106-108 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR .…

Latter-day Saint FAIR-Cast

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Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 102-105 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson 6:57

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Prevail Against Mine Enemies by Autumn Dickson The Saints were driven from their homes and living as refugees in Clay County, Missouri. Joseph Smith and other church leaders received letters with news regarding what had happened. Besides the letters, Joseph also received a revelation from the Lord with this declaration: Doctrine and Covenants 103:6 Behold they shall, for I have decreed it, begin to prevail against mine enemies from this very hour. The Lord declares that the Saints will begin to succeed over His enemies immediately. This likely brought great hope to those who were worried about the redemption of what was meant to be Zion. As Joseph and other leaders gathered Zion’s camp to go and win back the Saints’ lands, I’m sure they were full of faith that the Lord would help them restore the Saints back to their homes. Unfortunately (or fortunately?), Zion’s camp was disbanded. The Saints lived in Clay County and then Caldwell County before being ultimately expelled approximately five years later. They never made it back to their homes in Jackson County where Zion was supposed to be. Some would argue that they did not succeed against their enemies. Then again, perhaps they were succeeding against the Lord’s enemies. And who is truly the Lord’s enemy? Satan. It brings to mind different stories from the scriptures. The Lord commanded Nephi to go and get the brass plates. It took multiple tries before Nephi succeeded against Laban, but what did Nephi learn as he “failed” first? The growth that Nephi received must have been a true victory for the Lord. The Lord commanded Moses to go and save the Israelites. Plague after plague seemed to fail in softening Pharaoh’s heart. What did the Israelites learn in the meantime as things actually grew progressively harder for them at first? What did they learn as they looked back upon the fact that things were difficult before they were free? And then of course, the most important battle that ever occurred. Christ suffered in Gethsemane, and no mortal man watched. He was taken by soldiers, tortured, and then killed. Not exactly a resounding victory to anyone objectively looking from the outside. He rose three days later, and yet, that was only part of the victory. The victory was found in His resurrection, but the victory was also found within His pain and death. Interestingly enough, the Jews were looking for a Savior to free them from the Romans, and so they completely missed the mark of what would be the most important victory in their unending lives. What does victory look like to the Lord? His ways are not our ways, and so we can assume that the Saints were likely mistaken when He declared that they would prevail over their enemies and they got excited that they would be restored to their homes in Jackson County. Some of my most important victories have occurred in what would objectively be seen as losing a battle by the world. There was a time when my husband’s chosen career path was being taken away from him by lies. I remember watching it all unfolding, and I remember retiring to my room and praying. I told the Lord I knew how powerful He was. We were scrambling to find alternate solutions to keep things on track, but nothing was looking super promising. I pleaded with the Lord to stop the man who was lying and to stop the men who were acting because of those lies. I told the Lord that I knew He was more powerful and could open a door that we didn’t know about and stop everything in its tracks. I knew it would be easy for Him to save us. I also distinctly remember the Spirit whispering that I should stop praying for that. At that moment, I knew we would “lose.” Of course, those moments of loss marked the beginning of much more important victories in our lives. The Lord has been merciful in helping me see that our loss led to my husband being placed on a path that would ultimately lead him towards fulfilling the promises he made before he came here. That loss made him grow. It made me grow. Despite all worldly signs pointing to the opposite, I count it as a great victory. As those Saints struggled along the banks of the river, as they fought persecution for years to come, as they found themselves ultimately driven out, and as they were pushed thousands of miles west, they were finding a victory much more important than land. Within these darkest moments, the Lord was winning His most important victories. I testify of a Lord who knows what He is talking about and fulfills all His words. I testify that Zion will be redeemed one day, and that the Saints will return there. I also testify that the Lord was beginning His victory against His enemies in the moment He declared so. I testify that He is mighty to save, and I testify that He utilizes our dark moments as part of that victory. Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR’s 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 102-105 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR .…

Latter-day Saint FAIR-Cast

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Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 102-105 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson 10:30

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Did the Lord Fail? by Autumn Dickson To give a bit of content for what we’re reading about this week, the Saints have been driven from their homes in Missouri, and Joseph Smith received a revelation that talked about gathering a group of Saints to go and win back their homes. After marching towards Jackson County, the camp was actually disbanded. Doctrine and Covenants 105:13 Therefore it is expedient in me that mine elders should wait for a little season, for the redemption of Zion. The Lord called off what the Saints believed to be the original purpose of the Zion’s camp: redeeming the Saints’ lands in Missouri. Here is a bit of what the Lord said about His true purpose. Doctrine and Covenants 105:19 …and it is expedient in me that they should be brought thus far for a trial of their faith. There are two ways that the Saints could have their faith built during this experience. The first way is how to stick around when the going gets tough. Being a part of Zion’s Camp was not an easy thing. It was hot and muggy. Food and water could be scarce. There was disease, and members of Zion’s camp even died of cholera on this expedition that did not provide the results that many Saints looked for. One of the characteristics the Lord is trying to instill and test us in is the idea that we will follow Him. Truly follow Him, not just rewards. In the New Testament, many followers left when they realized that He wasn’t going to keep miraculously giving out bread. Interestingly enough, the bread was a distraction from the most important, life-changing aspects of following Christ. They couldn’t see the miracle of who Christ was because they were too distracted by their want of bread. Never mind that Christ had performed an incredible miracle and dispersed an immense amount of food. The people in the New Testament were too distracted by the fact that their bread stopped to remember that He had done something powerful in their lives. They were too distraught by the lack of bread to stick around and wonder if there was something more powerful at work. The Lord doesn’t want obedient dogs. He didn’t keep giving out bread just to keep people coming back. He wants the loyalty and love of His people through anything. He doesn’t want to give us a treat every time we show up. He wants us to truly follow Him through thick and thin. He wants us to trust Him when the treat doesn’t immediately appear. He wants us to choose to love Him and follow Him through difficulty just as He followed us through difficulty. The only way that He can instill and test this aspect of faith is to allow us to face incredible obstacles and choose Him. Trials can try the faith. When you’re trying to fulfill the Lord’s commands and there are obstacles, it can lead you to wonder whether you’re truly fulfilling the Lord’s commands. Understanding the purpose of mortal life can help us understand the irreplaceable effect of trials. The Lord needed to try us or we would never be able to grow into what we needed to become. Trials are not just a punishment; trials are also to help the righteous grow. We cannot afford to see them as proof that the Lord is not with us otherwise it completely prevents us from accessing a level of growth that is completely necessary. But this experience wasn’t just about trials. There was a second way that this experience could make or break the faith of the Saints. This faith-shaking experience was not just about a difficult trip; it was about the fact that the trip seemed unsuccessful. This could easily call Joseph’s prophetic call into question, and it did. This experience caused many to wonder, and yet, it did the exact opposite for others. In the Come Follow Me manual we read, “Faithful members of Zion’s Camp, many of whom later became leaders of the Church, testified that the experience deepened their faith in God’s power, in Joseph Smith’s divine call, and in Zion—not just Zion the place but Zion the people of God.” It deepened their faith in God’s power and Joseph Smith’s divine calling as prophet. From the world’s perspective, this is ridiculous. Why would you believe more in the God that is being preached to you when He couldn’t deliver on His promises? Why would you believe more in Joseph’s calling at the end of this? The idea that the Lord was trying to create a Zion-like people may feel like a thinly-veiled excuse for bailing after the governor rescinded his promise to send a militia to aid the Saints. Why on earth should we believe and continue to follow? Exploring this concept is important because there are plenty of aspects in the church that don’t make sense from a worldly perspective. There are revelations that seem like sad excuses. For example, the Lord rescinded His command for polygamy when the United States threatened to take away everything that was beloved by the church and Saints. If the Lord is so powerful and if He is truly leading His Saints along through a prophet, why did He bail on Zion’s Camp? Why did He continue to enforce polygamy until the going got too tough? When it comes to the gospel, it is IMPOSSIBLE to make things make sense from a worldly perspective. Faith precedes understanding. It is impossible to convince someone of Joseph’s prophetic call. If you try to explain that the Lord was trying to build a Zion-people rather than being concerned about the land, they will laugh in your face. When it comes to the gospel, your testimony cannot form from the idea that it has to make sense before you choose to believe. Sooner or later, you are going to come across something that doesn’t come together in your mind. You are going to come across principles, policies, or history that feel like they create cognitive dissonance in your mind. It would seem like the Lord would try to avoid these faith-shaking experiences altogether. He’s trying to build our faith. Why would He allow it to be shaken after this manner? Interestingly enough, the only way to build a truly strong faith is to let it be shaken. Faith is not knowing everything. Faith is choosing to trust when we don’t know. The Lord wants to take our testimony from, “I know the Lord leads His church today because He made this miracle happen,” to, “I know the Lord leads His church today, and I will follow Him through hell if He calls me to do so.” When we can unlock that second level of faith, we become powerful disciples. We find a new level of salvation when we find that trust and relinquish our need to control and understand everything. How do we make that jump in faith? How did the members of the Zion’s Camp come out of this experience with stronger faith rather than weaker faith? I’m sure there are many answers, but I can only truly share my own. I talk to God, and He answers. For me, that is the single largest portion of my testimony. I have had experiences where I have looked back in awe at how the Lord made everything come together for me. I was amazed when I saw how He manipulated details from the years before to help everything stitch together and help me come out on top. Those are faith-building experiences. They helped me grow in my faith. But they no longer define my faith. I am immensely grateful for those experiences. I cannot begin to describe how grateful I am to look back and see how the Lord saved me because He has indeed saved me. I am grateful, but they do not define my faith. My faith has shifted. I talk to Him on a regular basis, and He answers, and I will not deny it. When things don’t go as planned, when I feel confused, when something new comes along that makes me wonder if I’m on the right track, I talk to Him and He answers. Regardless of whether He chooses to give me a new perspective or help me understand something, I have talked with Him enough that I trust Him. He is my Friend. He has shown me His power enough, and I will follow Him. I have had enough experiences with Him to hold on, and I am happier since I have let go and chosen to trust Him through anything. I testify that when you choose to keep at it and continue to follow this path that has been presented to you, you will find the same results. In fact, you will be grateful that He allowed you the experience of questioning and finding Him again and again. Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR’s 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 102-105 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR .…

Latter-day Saint FAIR-Cast

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Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 98-101 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson 6:58

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To Become Like Him by Autumn Dickson We read about many stories in the scriptures where someone is a type of Christ. We seek to be a type of Christ. We seek to pattern our lives after Him. There is a verse in Doctrine and Covenants that puts forth a similar idea. Doctrine and Covenants 101:4 Therefore, they must needs be chastened and tried, even as Abraham, who was commanded to offer up his only son. In the story of Abraham and Isaac, Isaac is a type of Christ who was willing to follow his father’s will. And though we often speak of people being a type of Christ, it’s interesting to me how Abraham was able to be a type of Heavenly Father. He was willing to sacrifice his son if that’s what was required. The Saints in Missouri at this time were driven out of their homes and were camped out on the river in the cold. Approximately 200 of their homes had been burned down, and many had lost all. They had not been asked to sacrifice their son, but they had been asked to sacrifice something they had longed for – a safe home. Why would the Lord ask His people to sacrifice these things? Why would He ask Abraham to sacrifice his son? Why would He allow the Saints to be tried in this manner? As the Saints continue to flee persecution in this time period, many will lose more than homes. Why does the Lord take away so much and ask us to love Him anyway? Let’s explore it. We are meant to be more than a type of Christ. We are meant to be more than a type of Heavenly Father. We are meant to become like Them. We are meant to inherit what They have. We are meant to inherit Their characteristics, who They are. Our Heavenly Parents cannot allow us to inherit all that They have without us being prepared to act responsibly. The Lord allowed the Saints to be expelled from Missouri because they were not spiritually prepared to build up Zion, and they would not become spiritually prepared by remaining there. Zion would have been forever lost if the Lord allowed anyone to live there just as heaven would be lost if He was not willing to make the necessary judgment calls. In order to preserve Zion, in order to preserve heaven, the Savior had to be willing to make the difficult decision. Why does He ask us to sacrifice so much? Because we have to be like Him; we have to be prepared to make difficult decisions. We have to be tried to the extent that we are willing to sacrifice as Abraham was willing to sacrifice. If we are not prepared to live like Him and if He chose to allow us to inherit all that He has anyway, we would destroy heaven when we couldn’t make the difficult decisions that He has to make. When we have to watch our own children experiencing mortality, will we be strong enough to allow them to struggle and strive in order to become all they’re capable of becoming? Will we love them enough to let them suffer if it is the only means by which they can eventually reach a full happiness? If not, the Lord has to be willing to withhold some of His blessings in the next life. He has to be willing to sacrifice all that He had in mind for us if we are not prepared to receive it. Despite His willingness to make those decisions, make no mistake; it was difficult for the Lord to watch His Saints on the bank of that river. It hurts Him to watch us suffer. Doctrine and Covenants 101:9 Verily I say unto you, notwithstanding their sins, my bowels are filled with compassion towards them. I will not utterly cast them off; and in the day of wrath I will remember my mercy. He loves us. He, more than anyone, loves us. And this is precisely why He requires so much sacrifice of us. Going back to the original verse in this post, we read that the Saints have to be chastened and tried even as Abraham. The word “chasten” means to correct or to discipline. We’ve heard that definition many times. I was interested to learn that “chasten” also means to “have a restraining or moderating effect on.” It implies the idea of subduing intense feelings. This definition makes a lot of sense when I think of Heavenly Father having to sacrifice His Beloved Son. He had to subdue His intense love for His Son on behalf of the rest of us; there was no other way. And then He also needed to not hate the rest of mankind for requiring such a sacrifice. That’s what we have to become. We have to be willing to sacrifice and continue to love those around us because that’s what our Heavenly Father is. That’s what our Savior is. It is the only kind of Being that can truly live an eternally joyful life. To recap, our Heavenly Father loves us dearly. We are His children. He was willing to sacrifice His Son on our behalf, and He was willing to love the rest of mankind that required that sacrifice. It was the only way He could save us. He was willing to watch His Saints sit on the river banks in the dead of winter for their own behalf. It was the only way He could save us. He had to subdue His intense feelings of love in order to help us reach the greatest good. More accurately, He had to subdue the intense desire to shield us because He loves us. If we want to receive all that He has, we have to hold those same characteristics. The only way we can gain those kinds of characteristics is in real-life practice. And so the Lord allows us to be chastened and tried even as Abraham, and we get to see whether we’re willing to endure chastening and still love Him afterwards. We cannot learn the importance of these lessons unless we live them. I testify of a Lord and Savior who loves us so much that He is willing to subdue His strong inclinations to protect us in order to help us become all that we are capable of becoming. I testify that all that we suffer can one day contribute to the glory He intends to give. I testify that loving Him for what He gives and loving Him for what He chooses to take away can bring the greatest peace, happiness, and joy. Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR’s 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 98-101 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR .…

Latter-day Saint FAIR-Cast

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Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 98–99, 102, 106, 108, 134 – Mike Parker 44:37

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The Lord’s people & secular governments 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 where they fit best.) Class Notes Additional Reading In March 1907, the First Presidency issued a proclamation affirming that the Church is politically neutral, and that the state should not control the church, neither should the church control the state: “ An Address: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to the World ,”, Improvement Era 10, no. 5 (May 1907): 492–93. Today’s First Presidency has continued to reaffirm this policy; see “ Political Neutrality ,” Newsroom of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . Spencer W. Kimball, “ The False Gods We Worship ,” Ensign , June 1976, 3–6. President Kimball’s First Presidency message, criticizing militarism among Latter-day Saints, was published one month before the commemoration of the United States bicentennial. Rodney Stark, “ The Rise of Christianity: A Sociologist Reconsiders History ,” PBS Frontline: From Jesus to Christ , April 1998. Stark, a world-renowned sociologist of religion, argues that what made early Christianity unique—and one reason why it prospered and became a world religion—was because it “taught that mercy is one of the primary virtues—that a merciful God requires humans to be merciful.” Mike Parker is a business and marketing analyst with over twenty years’ experience in the financial services and cellular telephone industries. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Management Information Systems from Dixie State University (now Utah Tech University) of St George, Utah. He also has eight years’ experience in corporate training and currently teaches an adult religion class in southern Utah. Mike and his wife, Denise, have three children. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 98–99, 102, 106, 108, 134 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR .…

Latter-day Saint FAIR-Cast

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Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 98-101 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson 8:20

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In Peace and Trouble by Autumn Dickson The Saints in Missouri were experiencing tremendous persecution at this time. The leaders of the mob wanted the Saints to promise that they would leave Missouri by spring, and they wanted the Saints to promise it within 15 minutes of demanding that they do so. The situation was tricky. The Lord had commanded them to build up Zion, but the opportunity to do so was being taken forcefully out of their hands. How would you have responded? You’ve been commanded to build up Zion, but you’re still finding yourself under the influence of evil men. The Lord is all-powerful and able to defend you against all your enemies, but He’s been pretty quiet. When the leaders didn’t immediately promise that they would leave, the violence escalated. Property was destroyed. People were attacked. The leaders finally relented and promised to leave. I’m not sure how many of us have been threatened with bodily harm if we do not relent following the commandments, but the Lord often allows obstacles to arise to oppose us as we try to follow His commandments. So what do you do? The Lord recommends this course of action. Doctrine and Covenants 98:1-2 1 Verily I say unto you my friends, fear not, let your hearts be comforted; yea, rejoice evermore, and in everything give thanks; 2 Waiting patiently on the Lord, for your prayers have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, and are recorded with this seal and testament—the Lord hath sworn and decreed that they shall be granted. Fear not. Be comforted. Rejoice. Give thanks. Wait on the Lord. Let’s talk about the first three together. Fear not; be comforted; rejoice. Whenever I’ve felt commanded by the Lord to do something and it’s not working out, my main fear has become that I’m not doing enough to follow through on the Lord’s commands. I think of Nephi. If the Lord commands it, then it’s going to happen. So am I not being faithful enough? I worry that the Lord is upset with me or that I’m not being good enough. Since then, I have learned that if I am putting forth an honest effort, I don’t need to be afraid of the Lord being angry. Nephi didn’t obtain the brass plates the first time despite his tremendous faith. The Lord wasn’t punishing him; He wasn’t upset with Nephi. Sometimes, the Lord simply doesn’t allow us to succeed the first time despite His ability to help us succeed the first time. It’s not because our faith is insufficient to bring the miracle immediately; it’s because true faith is acquired and shown when we keep at it after it didn’t work out the first time. We do not have to be afraid that the Lord isn’t powerful enough to follow through. We do not have to be afraid we’re innately insufficient to fulfill what He has asked. We do not have to be afraid when it doesn’t work out how we were expecting. We do not have to be afraid that the Lord is angry with us because it doesn’t feel like it’s immediately coming together. We can choose to trust the Lord so completely that we feel comforted and rejoice in His yet-to-be-fulfilled promises. If He promised it, it’s happening even if it takes a little while. So fear not. Be comforted. Rejoice. His next piece of advice is to give thanks. Interestingly enough, giving thanks is one practical way to help ourselves get to the point where we can set aside our fears, allow ourselves to be comforted, and rejoice. “Giving thanks” isn’t an “end;” it’s a journey that takes us to our desired end: peace and joy in Christ. We thank Him for the times He has shown up before. We thank Him that nothing in this life can take away our happy ending. We thank Him that despite our own imperfections, He is mighty to save. As we reflect and find gratitude for Him and His choices, we find that comfort and joy. And as we rejoice, we show up diligently doing our best and wait on Him to come and do His own work on His own timetable. Waiting on Him is His last piece of advice. If you were a leader in Missouri at this time, the right course of action is to wait on the Lord. We read about stories in the scriptures where the Lord fights all the battles for His people. We read about stories where the Lord commands His people to flee. We read about stories where He allows them to be attacked regardless of whether they were being righteous because sometimes He simply allows His children to be tried. We might not be sure which scenario the Lord is going for, and so we wait on Him to answer and do the best we can in the meantime because He doesn’t always answer immediately even when the situation feels dire. We choose to trust the Lord in times of plenty and in times of scarcity. We rejoice in His wisdom in what He allows to come to pass, and we wait for all He’s promised. I testify of a Lord who is all-powerful to save, but I also testify of a Lord who doesn’t step in to stop every tragedy. I testify of a Lord who has a plan even if He doesn’t reveal it immediately. I testify of a Lord who we can trust in, and I testify that if we trust in Him, we will find comfort and peace even when the situation is trying to pummel us with the opposite. We can set aside our fears, allow ourselves to be comforted, give thanks for however He chooses to let things play out, and we wait. Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR’s 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 98-101 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR .…

Latter-day Saint FAIR-Cast

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Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 94-97 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson 9:49

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Unclean by Autumn Dickson The Lord is giving instructions about things He wants built in Kirtland, Ohio. The verses I’m about to share describe a building that was meant to be a meeting place for the First Presidency to carry out their work, but it was never built. The Lord gave some pretty specific instructions for its construction; these instructions were both spiritual and temporal. Here are some of His spiritual instructions for the building. Doctrine and Covenants 94:8-9 8 And ye shall not suffer any unclean thing to come in unto it; and my glory shall be there, and my presence shall be there. 9 But if there shall come into it any unclean thing, my glory shall not be there; and my presence shall not come into it. The Lord is very clear here. In fact, He is doubly clear. If it is kept clean, He will be there. If it is not, He won’t be. We live in a world that despises being called unclean. It flip flops between playing a victim and being enraged that we would dare to label it. We are the bad ones for using the word unclean. And yet, here is the Lord, Himself, using it. He’s not necessarily pronouncing eternal judgment, but neither is He afraid to call it what it is. There is power in being able to label something as unclean as long as we don’t let Satan push us to use it in a damaging way. When the Lord describes something as unclean, it’s for two reasons that boil down to one reason. The two reasons are: He is trying to keep you safe, and He wants to make you the best person you can be. Both of those reasons boil down to one: He loves you. Let’s look at this idea of uncleanliness through the lens of those two motivations of the Lord: keeping you safe and helping you be the best you can be. The first lens is keeping you safe. One of the examples that the world truly hates is the Law of Chastity. I view teaching the Law of Chastity in the same way I teach my kids about safety regarding the street. I teach my kids how to utilize a street correctly. I teach them when it’s safe to cross the street. I teach them to look around and make a judgment call about whether it’s safe to cross the street. I teach them that crossing the street is an important part of life (okay, I don’t really teach that but I plan on teaching the Law of Chastity equivalent). I teach them all the important aspects of crossing the street, and I teach them that there are appropriate times to cross the street. But you better believe that I’m also teaching them about how incredibly dangerous it can be to cross the street if you do it unwisely. I don’t hesitate to tell my kids that they can get hit by a car. I don’t hesitate to tell my kids that even if they’re big enough to look across the street, their baby sister is not. I am unafraid of teaching my kids the consequences of ignoring danger. Everyone can understand this when it comes to crossing the street. For some reason, the world has a difficult time understanding this in terms of the Law of Chastity. You can teach a child that intimacy is good in the right circumstances, and you can teach them that their divine identities rejoice in the righteous use of sexuality. In fact, you should teach them this. There doesn’t need to be any shame. Interestingly enough, you can simultaneously teach them that using it inappropriately can cause a lot of harm. You can teach them that breaking the Law of Chastity is unclean. Or, in other gospel words, it can bring a mess into their lives that the Savior can heal and put back together after a lot of work. The Lord uses the label unclean so that we know to stay away from it. It’s to keep us safe. But uncleanliness isn’t just about the Law of Chastity. There are many thoughts, feelings, and actions that can be unclean. We can also view the term “unclean” by looking at it through the lens of the Lord trying to make us a better person. When I first read this verse, I had a slightly inaccurate picture come to my imagination. I pictured the Savior wanting to walk into the building that was meant to be kept clean before realizing that there was someone or something inside of it that was unclean. I pictured Him not turning His back in a rage, but in frustration that He couldn’t come in because His glory would burn whatever was unclean. Obviously, there are some serious logistical flaws with that imagination, but it also holds a tiny portion of truth. Our Heavenly Father and Savior will not allow uncleanliness into their kingdom because it would be devoured in the fire in which they dwell. Oftentimes, Satan tries to use this concept to influence us to despair and give up, but what if we flip that on its head? Instead, we can realize that the whole point of coming here was to become like our Heavenly Father and Savior. We came here to internalize the fact that we are meant to be glorious; our countenances are meant to grow into the countenance of our Savior. We are meant to become so incredible that our countenances are like lightning, that we dwell in that same burning fire that He does. All of the things that the Savior deems “unclean” are actually beneath us. Like our Savior, we don’t deign to utilize things that cause harm. And when we are imperfect (because we’re not like the Savior yet), He cleanses us. That was always the plan. The term “unclean” was utilized to warn us that something could harm us and make a mess in our lives (such as in the street example); it was also utilized to warn us that something was beneath what we were meant to become. Satan likes to twist it. Satan is the one trying to tie the term “unclean” to your identity when you make mistakes, and then he likes to point at the Church and blame them for making you despair. Satan is the one who likes to bring a mess into your lives and whisper to you that the only reason you feel unhappy is because the Church shames you. When used correctly, “unclean” is a warning from a loving Savior. It was never meant to describe your identity! Why on earth would the Savior go through what He went through if He believed you were just innately unclean? Satan is the one who whispers it when in actuality, the opposite is true. “Unclean” was meant to help you keep your divine identity and make you realize that you deserve so much more. I testify of a Savior who loves us enough to warn us. I testify that the word “unclean” can seem so harsh, but it can also be descriptive and teach us something valuable, namely the fact that the Savior can cleanse us and make us whole. I truly testify of that; we can rejoice because the Savior can cleanse us and make us whole. Because of Him, we can eventually reach the point where we internalize that all of that unhappiness is beneath us and no longer allow it to bring us down. Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR’s 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 94-97 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR .…

Latter-day Saint FAIR-Cast

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Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 2, 94–97, 109–110 – Mike Parker 36:10

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The Kirtland Temple 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 where they fit best.) Class Notes Additional Reading Elwin C. Robison, The First Mormon Temple: Design, Construction, and Historic Context of the Kirtland Temple (Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 1997). For this book, Robison thoroughly investigated the temple architecture and structure, integrating that information with historic photographs and documents. “ The Father and the Son: A Doctrinal Exposition by The First Presidency and The Twelve ,” Improvement Era 19, no. 10 (August 1916): 934–42. This official declaration firmly rooted the identification of Jehovah, the God of the Old Testament, with Jesus Christ. Prior to this, the name-title Jehovah was used by Latter-day Saints to indicate either the Father or the Son (as seen in section 109 ). These two articles explore the identity of the figure of Elias who appeared in the Kirtland Temple on 3 April 1836 ( D&C 110:12 ): Kevin Barney, “ Who was the Elias of D&C 110? ,” By Common Consent , 2 March 2006; Samuel Brown, “ The Prophet Elias Puzzle ,” Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 39, no. 3 (Fall 2006): 1–17. Trever Anderson, “ Doctrine and Covenants Section 110: From Vision to Canonization ,” master’s thesis, Brigham Young University, July 2010. Anderson explores how the account of the appearances of Christ, Moses, Elias, and Elijah was recorded, taught, and eventually canonized in the Doctrine and Covenants. Mike Parker is a business and marketing analyst with over twenty years’ experience in the financial services and cellular telephone industries. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Management Information Systems from Dixie State University (now Utah Tech University) of St George, Utah. He also has eight years’ experience in corporate training and currently teaches an adult religion class in southern Utah. Mike and his wife, Denise, have three children. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 2, 94–97, 109–110 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR .…

Latter-day Saint FAIR-Cast

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Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 94-97 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson 7:37

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Building the Temple by Autumn Dickson One of the most impressive accomplishments made by the early Saints of this dispensation was to build the Kirtland temple. Many Saints didn’t have much to begin with, and many of them abandoned what they had in order to gather in Kirtland, Ohio. Brigham Young recorded that some of the workers didn’t have shoes. But the temple was a requirement of the Lord, and He strongly reiterated His command to build one. Doctrine and Covenants 97:10 Verily I say unto you, that it is my will that a house should be built unto me in the land of Zion, like unto the pattern which I have given you. The Lord wanted His house built, and He wanted it according to His own plans. In the book Saints, we learn that, “Lucy Mack Smith remembered a council meeting in which it was decided that a frame building would be too expensive; a log house was proposed instead. Joseph Smith reminded them ‘that they were not making a house for themselves or any other man but a house for God.’ He said, “And shall we, brethren, build a house for Our God of logs? No, brethren, I have a better plan than that. I have the plan of the house of the Lord given by himself.” Sometimes the Lord gives us a task, and we want to use logs. It’s practical to use logs. It’s cheaper. You can do basically the same thing with logs. If you use logs, then you can use other resources for other important tasks. And yet, sometimes the Lord asks for stone anyway. Why does the Lord require stone? Judging from what we know about Him, I wouldn’t say it’s because He’s got an ego and refuses to take less. It’s not because He wants us to spend as much as we can on Him. Honestly, it’s not really about Him. My mother always taught me that serving someone helps you love them. The world often thinks that love stems from someone treating you right and saying all the perfect things, but it’s not true. That can help the process, but real, lasting love comes when you choose to serve someone else before yourself. We see this process occur constantly with mothers and children. When the Saints left Kirtland, they were devastated to lose their temple so quickly after dedicating it. Some might argue that it was cruel for the Lord to ask for those sacrifices when He knew that they would be driven out shortly after. Some might question Joseph’s connection to heaven; how come he didn’t know they would lose the temple? Why would he waste so many resources when they could have saved and built a temple in a more permanent home? But it’s not really about the building! Imagine for a moment that the Lord told the Saints that they could build a log cabin instead of the mighty temple that they built. I understand that I’m making assumptions here, but I’m also making assumptions off of normal human nature. If the Saints had built their temple from logs, I imagine the Saints looking back in devastation over their homes rather than the temple as they were driven out. I’m sure many Saints mourned their homes AND the stone temple, but if the temple had been constructed of logs, I imagine very few of them would have missed it in the same manner. Why do I make these assumptions? Because we see it all the time in our day. I am grateful for the temple, but I don’t think I appreciate it on the same level as someone who has saved and worked and waited for the opportunity to travel hundreds of miles in order to go and take out their endowment and be sealed to their families. It is actually more difficult for me to prepare my heart for the temple in comparison to someone who has had to work so hard for it. Ironic, right? The Saints mourned the temple they had worked so hard for because the Saints loved the temple and what it gave them. The Saints appreciated what they were given there because they dedicated so much to it. It was difficult to leave it behind, but that’s precisely the type of heart the Lord was looking to nurture. Though they mourned that magnificent building they had sacrificed for, the Lord rejoiced over how their hearts had turned towards what He was offering them. He rejoiced that requiring stone gave them the opportunity to give over their hearts bit by bit. It enabled the process by which they could more fully appreciate the ordinances therein. The Lord wants us to love Him more than anything else. He wants us to love Him more than anything earthly and sometimes developing that kind of love requires an opportunity for us to choose Him over earthly things. What do we really prioritize? What do we really value? You can’t truly know until it’s asked of you. And if it frustrates you that the Lord would ask you to sacrifice, then you probably love what you’re sacrificing more than you love the Lord. Hence, He asks us to sacrifice. He wants our hearts. The Lord can endow us with power in a log cabin, but preparing our hearts to love and receive and honor requires more. He can’t force us to love Him. He has to give us opportunities to build that love and then hope we take advantage of it. I testify of a loving and wise Heavenly Father. I testify that He does ask for sacrifice, not because He can’t provide enough resources and make the process easy but because it’s difficult to hand over our hearts when we don’t have to lose anything for it. He gave us agency, and He refuses to take it away. So instead of taking away our agency and forcing us to “love” Him, He provides us with opportunities to decide whether we’re going to choose Him. I testify that choosing Him is worth it. I’ve never had to sacrifice much to attend the temple, but I have had to sacrifice things I love to put Him first. It has been worth it every time. Even when those sacrifices didn’t seem to amount to anything, they pushed my heart towards the Lord and that’s the most important thing. I’m so grateful He gives me opportunities to choose Him and love Him. I rejoice in it. Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR’s 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 94-97 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR .…

Latter-day Saint FAIR-Cast

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FAIR Conference Podcast #84 – Ahmad S. Corbitt, “Prophets of the Past, Faithfulness in the Present” 45:17

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This podcast series features past FAIR Conference presentations. This presentation is from our 2024 conference. If you would like to watch all the presentations from our 2025 conference held last month, you can still purchase the video streaming . This audio podcast version has been made available for convenient listening. If you would like to watch or read the full presentation, it is available here . Elder Ahmad S. Corbitt was sustained as a General Authority Seventy in April 2023. A former mission president, public affairs director, and trial attorney, he holds a law degree from Rutgers. Currently, he serves the Church with extensive experience in leadership, communication, and global outreach. The post FAIR Conference Podcast #84 – Ahmad S. Corbitt, “Prophets of the Past, Faithfulness in the Present” appeared first on FAIR .…

Latter-day Saint FAIR-Cast

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Classic FAIR – “What I Learned about Life, the Church, and the Cosmos from Hugh Nibley” – Boyd Petersen, 2005 53:01

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“What I Learned about Life, the Church, and the Cosmos from Hugh Nibley” by Boyd Petersen at the 2005 FAIR Conference February 24, 2005 was one of those beautiful false-spring days when we all leave our coats at home and venture out in shirt sleeves, despite the fact that we all know that winter will have one final gasp before yielding to spring. The snow had all melted from the valley floor, but the mountains were covered with a brilliant white snow pack that contrasted sharply against the deep blue sky. The temperatures were making their first climb into the seventies, and everyone wanted to be outside. My students and I were all restless as I plodded through another lecture on formatting research papers. Between classes, I stopped by my office to check my e-mail when I got a call from my wife. “He’s gone,” she practically whispered. I immediately knew. Hugh Nibley was no longer with us. We believe that, like the rest of us, Hugh had simply longed to be outside, to leave the hospital bed that had been his home for almost two years and enjoy the beautiful day. CONTINUED HERE The post Classic FAIR – “What I Learned about Life, the Church, and the Cosmos from Hugh Nibley” – Boyd Petersen, 2005 appeared first on FAIR .…

Latter-day Saint FAIR-Cast

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Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 93 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson 7:17

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Glory of God by Autumn Dickson Section 93 is full of truth that revolves around how eternity works. It speaks of light, knowledge, and application. It speaks of our eternal nature. Here is one important, eternal principle. Doctrine and Covenants 93:36 The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth. Here is a quote from Joseph Smith that is enlightening. He taught: God has created man with a mind capable of instruction, and a faculty which may be enlarged in proportion to the heed and diligence given to the light communicated from heaven to the intellect; and that the nearer man approaches perfection, the clearer are his views, and the greater his enjoyments, till he has overcome the evils of his life and lost every desire for sin… When I was on my mission, I taught a lot of Chinese students who had come to the United States for an education. Many of these students had backgrounds in Buddhism, and I learned a bit about their beliefs as I worked with them. Forgive me if I get a bit of their beliefs wrong, but I’m going to try and describe a bit of their understanding. Buddhists believe that suffering is something that occurs because of our nature here on earth. They believe that suffering can be ended, and that you overcome suffering by letting go of attachments and cravings for things that are not permanent (we would probably say eternal). Eventually you reach a state called enlightenment where I would repeat what Joseph Smith described. You receive truth, approach perfection, your views become clearer, and your enjoyments grow deeper until you overcome all the evils that are holding you back. I grew to love many of their perspectives and found that they held a lot of truth. The gospel according to Autumn believes that they once received truth but apostasized just like many of the Western religions; they just went in the opposite directions. Where many Western religions left behind the idea of personal progress in exchange for faith-only based salvation, Buddhism went to the other side of the spectrum. You grow and grow and receive more and more joy, but they lost the incredible aspects of Christ and His grace. There is truth there, just not all of it. And though they lost that essential portion of salvation, I believe that they hold perspectives that can add to our understanding of the truth. Part of salvation is receiving light, growing, overcoming natural tendencies and cravings, and eventually arriving at a state where you can enjoy all the eternities have to offer. I know of many people who have walked further in their path of enlightenment, and they truly enjoy much. Section 93 speaks of truth, and one of the truths that can add to our understanding of this section is that wickedness never was happiness. There is innate suffering with clinging to things that are not eternal. When we can school our thoughts, desires, and loves to cling to the things of eternity, we let go of the wickedness that binds our soul to unhappiness. Christ can cleanse us and keep us in the Celestial Kingdom all He wants. However, if we continue to cling to unhappiness we cannot partake in the fullness of salvation because salvation is the epitome of deepest joy. How can you experience the deepest joy if you still love unhappiness? So we work and overcome and walk towards enlightenment, or more accurately, towards exaltation where we are in a state where we can actually receive a fullness of joy. All the while, Christ keeps us continually clean until that beautiful day that He no longer has to. We rejoice and worship Him for making our journey mean something, for paying the price so that all the suffering we caused others can be made up, for paying the price so that we can be cleansed and cleansed so we can stand in the presence of our beloved Father. We rejoice and get to enjoy being around Him. The Institute Manual shares a quote from President Joseph F. Smith. He teaches, “…Intelligence is the glory of God; and no man can be saved in ignorance.” You can’t be saved in ignorance because salvation is not just about cleanliness and innocence. You can’t be saved in ignorance because you can’t fully enjoy all there is to enjoy without intelligence, and salvation is the epitome of joy. We believe in receiving light and truth. We believe in overcoming the natural man so that we no longer cling to unhappiness. We believe in Christ’s atonement that saves. We believe in a fullness of joy, a fullness of salvation. I testify of a Savior who has so much more to give. I testify that He yearns to give it as soon as we are ready to receive it. I testify that His salvation includes His cleansing and healing; I also testify that His salvation includes His knowledge and power and glory that we can progress towards. Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR’s 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 93 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR .…

Latter-day Saint FAIR-Cast

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Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 93 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson 7:10

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A Type of Christ by Autumn Dickson Doctrine and Covenants 93 teaches us about the character of God and our Savior who came to the earth. Here is just a little of what is taught to us. Doctrine and Covenants 93:12 And I, John, saw that he received not of the fulness at the first, but received grace for grace; There is a quote in the Institute Manual that provides some more clarification. President Lorenzo Snow taught: When Jesus lay in the manger, a helpless infant, He knew not that He was the Son of God, and that formerly He created the earth. When the edict of Herod was issued, He knew nothing of it; He had not power to save Himself; and [Joseph and Mary] had to take Him and [flee] into Egypt to preserve Him from the effects of that edict. … He grew up to manhood, and during His progress it was revealed unto Him who He was, and for what purpose He was in the world. The glory and power He possessed before He came into the world was made known unto Him. When we place this side by side with a quote from the Come Follow Me manual, we learn an important truth. We learn from Joseph Smith that, “If men do not comprehend the character of God, they do not comprehend themselves.” We came here to become like Christ. Ideally, people would be able to look back at our lives and see a type of Christ. There are so many things that we could talk about in the scripture and quotes I just shared. We could talk about what perfection actually looks like. Christ has always been perfect, and He still had to grow and learn who He was. We could talk about who our Savior wants us to become and what He wants to share with us. Many people believe exaltation is blasphemous; I say that I worship God all the more because He wants to give me so much more than I deserve. There is so much we could talk about. I want to talk about the fact that Christ had to learn who He was. He grew from grace to grace. In the manger, He was as unaware as the rest of us and had to progress. Part of that progression included learning about why He came to earth. I want to talk about the fact that understanding this portion of His character can help us understand ourselves. This is yet another way that we can mimic Christ. You have to learn who you are. You came here to learn and grow and become, but you were also given responsibilities. They are not as magnificent as the Savior, but they do typify Him. They are still important. There are many whose gut reaction is to say, “Oh no…I’m not important. I’m not anything special. I was not special before I came here. I’m not good enough to contribute.” Imagine the power that Satan would have gained if he could have convinced Christ that humility meant giving up His identity. Imagine, for a moment, the power that Satan does hold because He has convinced us that humility means allowing him to tell us that we have nothing to contribute. It is a powerful day when you’re able to cast off the idea that you have to make yourself small. It is a powerful day when you decide that through the power of Christ, you can do anything He needs you to do. It is a powerful day when you learn that accomplishing grand and important things does not always look grand and important. It is a powerful day when you simply accept what the Lord wants you to do without allowing Satan to whisper that you’re incapable or that your role isn’t particularly paramount. When I think of my most important calling, I think of being a mother. I am a mother to my own children, but I have been a mother to many before that and I will mother many who come after. Being a mother is part of accepting my divine identity to nurture God’s children and help them know who they are. It is not glamorous or loud. The world will often laugh at it or outright scorn it. But I am powerful. I know who I am even if the world rejects me like they rejected Christ. No, I do not innately hold the power that He held, but I have all the power I need because He carries me and enables me. I can do all things through Christ. “All things” does not necessarily mean that I will move a mountain. Likely, it means that I will do something far more important. It means that I will powerfully love those around me. Christ came here without any idea of who He really was. He did not know He was a God at first. He did not know that He could wipe out Herod or the Romans or the evil Jews if necessary. And when He did learn it, He did something more powerful. He loved and made Himself a servant. And by doing so, He stepped into His identity and changed the world. We can be a type of Christ and follow after Him. I testify that Christ wants you to be His joint heir. That doesn’t mean simply receiving a mansion. It means so much more. He wants US to become so much more, and that blessing is readily available to us regardless of where we were born or how much we were born with. Even the least of us can be incredibly powerful with nothing but our faith in Christ. He can make us mighty to save with His power. We can let Him lead us to our roles in life, and we can trust that those roles can change the world as He did. We can also remember that changing the world as He did will look like Him, quietly serving and lifting where we stand. Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR’s 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 93 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR .…

Latter-day Saint FAIR-Cast

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Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 89-92 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson 8:25

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