Gospel Doctrine OT c44: Ezekiel, Where the Water Flows

Gospel Doctrine OT 44-Where the Water Flows

Ezekiel had a vision of the temple in Jerusalem

Show a map, indicate Jerusalem, Dead Sea and Judean Wilderness. Temple faces East.

Judean Wilderness is a barren desert, and the Dead Sea is too salty to sustain animal life.

Ezekiel 47: 1, 6-12

What did Ezekiel see coming from the east doors of the temple?

Water. What do we know about water? What about trees?

John the Beloved had a similar vision of the throne of God – Rev 22:1-3

The Water:

What is the water of life? John 4:10-14

In Ezekiel’s vision -

What happens to everything the water touches?

How is that like the influence of Jesus Christ / Temple in our lives?

How does the water of life that is available in the temple heal and give life to marriages? Families? Our ancestors? The Church?

What flows from the temple that gives spiritual life and healing? (truth, wisdom, revelation, covenants, perspective, peace)

The Trees  - Rev 22:2, Eze 47:12. Other references to trees. 1N8:10-11; 1N11:25

How does the love of God heal and give life?

What are the life-giving effects of temple participation?

Ezekiel 47:2-5

What happened to the depth of the water? What truth do these verses suggest about the temple?

What might being ‘ankle deep’ in the influence of Jesus Christ represent?

How would that be different from being ‘knee deep’ or ‘immersed’ in the influence of Jesus Christ?

How could these blessings affect your life?

How would they impact the Church?

Howard W. Hunter said:

“I invite the Latter-day Saints to look to the temple of the Lord as the great symbol of your membership. It is the deepest desire of my heart to have every member of the Church worthy to enter the temple. It would please the Lord if every adult member would be worthy of-and carry-a current temple recommend. The things that we must do and not do to be worthy of a temple recommend are the very things that ensure we will be happy as individuals and as families” (Conf Rep, Oct 1994)

Pres. Monson said:

“My brothers and sisters, temples are more than stone and mortar. They are filled with faith and fasting. They are built of trials and testimonies. They are sanctified by sacrifice and service.”

10:45

CLIP11:00“Why are so many willing to give so much in order to receive the blessings of the temple? Those who understand the eternal blessings which come from the temple know that no sacrifice is too great, no price too heavy, no struggle too difficult in order to receive those blessings. There are never too many miles to travel, too many obstacles to overcome, or too much discomfort to endure. They understand that the saving ordinances received in the temple that permit us to someday return to our Heavenly Father I an eternal family relationship and to be endowed with blessings and power from on high are worth every sacrifice and every effort.”

“If you have been to the temple for yourselves and if you live within relatively close proximity to a temple, your sacrifice could be setting aside the time in your busy lives to visit the temple regularly. … If you have not yet been to the temple or if you have been but currently do not qualify for a recommend, there is no more important goal for you to work toward than being worthy to go to the temple. Your sacrifice may be bringing your life into compliance with what is required to receive a recommend, perhaps by forsaking long-held habits which disqualify you. It may be having the faith and the discipline to pay your tithing. Whatever it is, qualify to enter the temple of God. Secure a temple recommend and regard it as a precious possession, for such it is.”

“Until you have entered the house of the Lord and have received all the blessings which await you there, you have not obtained everything the Church has to offer. The all-important and crowning blessings of membership in the Church are those blessings which we receive in the temples of God.

• Polish rocks
• Irrigate crops
• Change the face of the land
• Create a pathway
• Provide means for speedy transportation
• Cleanse
• Provide meat (fish) and vegetation for nutrition
• Soothe with sound
• Deposit fertile soil in a new place
• Quench thirst
• Provide shade trees and fruit trees
• The water in a river remains pure because it is constantly flowing

·         The surface of the Dead Sea is over 1,300 feet below sea level. The very bottom of the sea, in the deepest part, is over 2,300 feet below sea level. The Dead Sea has some of the most saline water on earth; as much as 35% of the water is dissolved salts! That's almost six times as salty as the ocean! The Dead Sea is completely landlocked and it gets saltier with increasing depth. Near the bottom of the Dead Sea the salt concentrations are so saturated that salt crystals precipitate out of the water and settle to the sea floor. The surface, fed by the River Jordan, is the least saline. Down to about 130 feet (40 meters), the seawater comprises about 300 grams of salt per kilogram of seawater. That's about ten times the salinity of the oceans. Below 300 feet, though, the sea has 332 grams of salt per kilogram of seawater and is saturated, which means the water can't contain any more dissolved salts.

·       

  There are no fish or any kind of swimming, squirming creatures living in or near the water. There are, however, several types of bacteria and one type of algea that have adapted to harsh life in the waters of the Dead Sea. What you'll see on the shores of the Sea is white, crystals of salt covering everything. And this is no ordinary table salt, either. The salts found in the Dead Sea are mineral salts, just like you find in the oceans of the world, only in extreme concentrations. The water in the Dead Sea is deadly to most living things. Fish accidentally swimming into the waters from one of the several freshwater streams that feed the Sea are killed instantly, their bodies quickly coated with a preserving layer of salt crystals and then tossed onto shore by the wind and waves

Gospel Doctrine OT c42: Jeremiah- in their hearts

Gospel Doctrine OT – c42 Jeremiah-In Their Hearts

Last Sunday, we finished our lesson talking about the living waters. Jer 2:13. We try to put living water in broken cisterns. What does that mean?

To summarize, Marion D. Hanks said this:

“Material objectives consume too much of our attention. The struggle for what we need or for more than we need exhausts our time and energy. We pursue pleasure or entertainment, or become overinvolved in associations or civic matters. Of course, people need recreation, need to be achieving, need to contribute; but if these come at the cost of friendship with Christ, the price is much too high.

“For my people have committed two evils,’ saith the Lord to Israel; ‘they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

“The substitutions we fashion to take the place of God in our lives truly hold no water. To the measure we thus refuse the ‘living water,’ we miss the joy we could have” (Gen Conf April 1972)

The living waters, the words of God, are what sustained Jeremiah. From the very beginning:

Jer 1:9 Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.

Jer 15:16 Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts.

This reminds me of what Nephi said is 2 Nephi.

2N32:3 Wherefore, I say unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.

Jer 20:9 But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones

?? What do we do with the words of Christ? How do we feast on them? How do we make them a part of us?

Elder Wirthlin said: “Drink deeply of living water.

“The abundant life is a spiritual life. Too many sit at the banquet table of the gospel of Jesus Christ and merely nibble at the feast placed before them. They go through the motions – attending their meetings perhaps, glancing at scriptures, repeating familiar prayers – but their hearts are far away. If they are honest, they would admit to being more interested in the latest neighborhood rumors, stock market trends, and their favorite TV shows than they are in the supernal wonders and sweet ministerings of the Holy Spirit.

“Do you wish to partake of this living water and experience that divine well springing up within you to everlasting life?

“Then be not afraid. Believe with all your hearts. Develop an unshakable faith in the Son of God. Let your hearts reach out in earnest prayer. Fill your minds with knowledge of Him. Forsake your weaknesses. Walk in holiness and harmony with the commandments. Drink deeply of the living water of the gospel of Jesus Christ.” (Gen Conf 2006, “The Abundant Life” Joseph B. Wirthlin)

Jeremiah talks about the children of Israel and their exodus from Egypt. Lots of prophets mention it. ?Why? Because it is one of the most miraculous, grand-scale events ever!

The children of Israel relied on Moses to receive revelation for them during their sojourn in the wilderness. ?What great longing did Moses express in Numbers 11:29?

He wanted the people to learn God’s law and learn to listen to the Spirit for themselves.

Speaking of our day, Jeremiah said: READ Jer 31:33-34 “I will put my law in their inward parts and write it in their hearts”

Just like what happened to Jeremiah. Eat the words, feast on their words, write them in your heart so they burn in your bones.

We’ve already talked a little bit about how to do that. The manual asks this interesting question: ? How is our behavior affected when we have God’s law written in our hearts?

READ Jer 29:12-14

(Could one behavior that changes be the desire to share the gospel?)

  

The manual starts with an interesting question.

“If you could have witnessed or participated in any story or event in the Old Testament, which one would you choose? Why? What is happening in the Church today that might be comparable to some of the events you have chosen?

? What gives me the permission to say the exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt is one of the greatest miracles of all time?

Many generations later, Jeremiah saw visions of a latter-day event that the Lord said would be as great as the Exodus. READ Jer 16:14-16

What is he talking about?

Why do you think these events are as great as the Exodus?

Elder LeGrand Richards said that the fishers and hunters described in the Jer 16:16 are missionaries of the Church. What are the comparisons there?

“Where do you find those fishers and hunters that we read about in this great prophecy of Jeremiah? They are these 14,000 missionaries of this church.” (Conf Rep. Apr. 1971)

Now we have 88,000 missionaries.

Gospel Doctrine OT c41: Jeremiah Pillar

Gospel Doctrine OT c41 Jeremiah Pillar

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Start with some Book of Mormon scriptures –

Mormon 2:15, Mormon 6:17-19

Jeremiah, like Mormon, was called to labor among a people for whom there was no hope because they refused to repent, and ‘the day of grace was passed with them, both temporally and spiritually.’  Jeremiah also mourned and lamented his people’s wickedness.

Read Lamentations 1:1-3, Lamentations 2:1-3, 11

Who is Jeremiah?  Jeremiah, a Levite, came from Anathoth, a town of priests that lay a few miles northeast of Jerusalem in the tribal territory of Benjamin. He labored in his prophetic calling during the reign of at least four kings of Judah: Josiah, Jehoahas, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah. He began his labors as a youth in approximately 627 B.C. and was the leading prophet in Jerusalem, serving with Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Lehi, and others. Since Lehi and Nephi refer to Jeremiah’s prophecies, it is safe to assume that some of them were recorded on the brass plates.

The kings in Jeremiah’s time were wicked. There was idolatry, hill-worship, and heathen religious practices. Children were sacrificed to Baal-Moloch. The corruption of the nation’s religious worship was accompanied by all manner of immorality and unrighteousness. Jeremiah was surrounded on all sides by almost total apostasy.

Jeremiah was severely persecuted. He was beaten, put in stocks, mocked and rejected, his written words were burned and he was commanded to write them again, put in prison, cast into a dungeon and starved.

It was Jeremiah’s responsibility to prophesy and then live through the fall of Judah to Babylon.

Jeremiah was called to be preach repentance when he was young. Read about his calling.

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Jer 1:4-5  Jeremiah was foreordained to this calling. The institute manual says:

‘A prophet does not select where and when he serves. God chooses when and to whom a prophet is sent. One may be an Enoch and build Zion, or a David O. McKay and preside over the Church in times of peace and prosperity. Another may be a Mormon or a Jeremiah and try in vain to save rebellious and backsliding people. Each has his calling. Each has his time. Each has his lesson for you to learn.

The Prophet Joseph Smith said, “Every man who has a calling to minister to the inhabitants of the world was ordained to that very purpose in the Grand Council of heaven before this world was” (History of the Church 6:364).

?? What does Jeremiah’s call teach us about the doctrine of foreordination? What do you understand about foreordination? How does it benefit us to know about the principle of foreordination?

Foreordination (Meeting the Challenges of Today, Oct. 10, 1978, Neal A. Maxwell, BYU Speeches/Devotional)

“When in situations of stress we wonder if there is any more in us to give, we can be comforted to know that God, who knows our capacity perfectly, placed us here to succeed. No one was foreordained to fail or to be wicked. When we have been weighed and found wanting, let us remember that we were measured before and we were found equal to our tasks; and, therefore, let us continue, but with a more determined discipleship. When we feel overwhelmed, let us recall the assurance that God will not over program us; he will not press upon us more than we can bear (D&C 50:40).”

“Yet, though foreordination is a difficult doctrine, it has been given to us by the living God, through living prophets, for a purpose. It can actually increase our understanding of how crucial this mortal estate is and it can encourage us in further good works. This precious doctrine can also help us to go the second mile...” (Neal A. Maxwell)

Jeremiah responded to the call: Jer 1:6-9. What happens here? Jeremiah feels unqualified. Who else has responded this way? Moses, Abraham, Joseph Smith. Many were called when they were young.

?? What reassurance did the Lord give Jeremiah? How have you been reassured by the Lord?

What was Jeremiah instructed to do? Read Jer 1:9-10

He was called o root, out, pull down, destroy, and throw down. He was also told to build and to plant. ??What is the relation between those things and how do you see that or incorporate that in your own life?

Read Jer 2:13 – Watch Eyring video

?? How do these two relate?

 What two evils did the Lord say his people had committed?

They have forsaken me the fountain of living waters. What is the living water?

Read the scripture again. What does that mean?

?? How do we sometimes create ‘broken cisterns’ that cannot hold the Savior’s living water? What are the crack?

Maybe we want the living water and go to gather it. We are doing the right things, going to church, going through the motions. But our cistern is broken.

MATERIAL OBJECTS

Marion D. Hanks said:

“Material objectives consume too much of our attention. The struggle for what we need or for more than we need exhausts our time and energy. We pursue pleasure or entertainment, or become overinvolved in associations or civic matters. Of course, people need recreation, need to be achieving, need to contribute; but if these come at the cost of friendship with Christ, the price is much too high.

“For my people have committed two evils,’ saith the Lord to Israel; ‘they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

“The substitutions we fashion to take the place of God in our lives truly hold no water. To the measure we thus refuse the ‘living water,’ we miss the joy we could have” (Gen Conf April 1972)

CHOOSING THE LIVING WATER

Elder Wirthlin said: “Drink deeply of living water.

“The abundant life is a spiritual life. Too many sit at the banquet table of the gospel of Jesus Christ and merely nibble at the feast placed before them. They go through the motions – attending their meetings perhaps, glancing at scriptures, repeating familiar prayers – but their hearts are far away. If they are honest, they would admit to being more interested in the latest neighborhood rumors, stock market trends, and their favorite TV shows than they are in the supernal wonders and sweet ministerings of the Holy Spirit.

“Do you wish to partake of this living water and experience that divine well springing up within you to everlasting life?

“Then be not afraid. Believe with all your hearts. Develop an unshakable faith in the Son of God. Let your hearts reach out in earnest prayer. Fill your minds with knowledge of Him. Forsake your weaknesses. Walk in holiness and harmony with the commandments. Drink deeply of the living water of the gospel of Jesus Christ.” (Gen Conf 2006, “The Abundant Life” Joseph B. Wirthlin)

The living waters, the words of God, are what sustained Jeremiah. From the very beginning:

Jer 1:9 Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.

Jer 15:16 Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts.

This reminds me of what Nephi said is 2 Nephi.

2N32:3 Wherefore, I say unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.

Jer 20:9 But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones

?? What do we do with the words of Christ? How do we feast on them? How do we make them a part of us?

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The Potter – Jer 18:1-10           

Professional prophets there were aplenty.  (Institute Manual) Says Dr. H.L. Willett:

“He was surrounded by plenty of prophets, but they were the smooth, easy-going, popular, professional preachers whose words awakened no conscience, and who assured the people that the nation was safe in the protecting care of God. This was a true message in Isaiah’s day, but that time was long since past, and Jerusalem was destined for captivity. Thus Jeremiah was doomed to preach an unwelcome message, while the false prophets persuade the people that he was unpatriotic, uninspired, and pessimistic. (14:13, 14).” (Sidney B. Sperry, The Voice of Israel’s Prophets, p. 153).

President Kimball (“The False Gods We Worship”)

“Sadly, however we find that to be shown the way is not necessarily to walk in it, and many have not been able to continue in faith. These have submitted themselves in one degree or another to the enticings of Satan and his servants and joined with those of ‘the world’ in lives of ever-deepening idolatry.

“I use the word idolatry intentionally. As I study ancient scripture, I am more and more convinced that there is significance in the fact that the commandment ‘Thou shalt have no other gods before me’ is the first of the Ten Commandments.”

“Few men have ever knowingly and deliberately chosen to reject God and his blessings. Rather, we learn from the scriptures that because the exercise of faith has always appeared to be more difficult than relying on things more immediately at hand, carnal man has tended to transfer his trust in God to material things. Therefore, in all ages when men have fallen under the power of Satan and lost the faith, they have put in its place a hope in the ‘arm of flesh’ and in ‘gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know’ (Dan 5:23) – that is, in idols. This I find to be a dominant theme in the Old Testament. Whatever thing a man sets his heart and his trust in most is his god; and if his god doesn’t also happen to be the true and living God of Israel, that man is laboring in idolatry.”

“…And so it often seems to be with people, having such a firm grasp on things of the world- that which is telestial – that no amount of urging and no degree of emergency can persuade them to let go in favor of that which is celestial. Satan gets them in his grip easily. If we insist on spending all our time and resources building up for ourselves a worldly kingdom, that is exactly what we will inherit.

“In spite of our delight in defining ourselves as modern, and our tendency to think we possess a sophistication that no people in the past ever had – in spite of these things, we are, on the whole, an idolatrous people – a condition most repugnant to the Lord.” (Pres. Spencer W. Kimball, “The False Gods We Worship,” Ensign, June 1976)

MORE QUOTES:

Two evils

In Jeremiah 2:13, what two evils did the Lord say his people had committed? (They had forsaken him, the fountain of living waters. And they had made for themselves broken cisterns that could not hold the Lord’s living water, meaning they had sought fulfillment and security in worldly things.) Why would people with these characteristics have difficulty accepting the words of Jeremiah? Why would they be unable to respond to adversity as Jeremiah did? How do we sometimes create “broken cisterns” that cannot hold the Savior’s living water?

Elder Marion D. Hanks said:

“Material objectives consume too much of our attention. The struggle for what we need or for more than we need exhausts our time and energy. We pursue pleasure or entertainment, or become overinvolved in associations or civic matters. Of course, people need recreation, need to be achieving, need to contribute; but if these come at the cost of friendship with Christ, the price is much too high.

“‘For my people have committed two evils,’ said the Lord to Israel; ‘they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.’ (Jer. 2:13.)

“The substitutions we fashion to take the place of God in our lives truly hold no water. To the measure we thus refuse the ‘living water,’ we miss the joy we could have” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1972, 127; or Ensign, July 1972, 105).

Jer 1:9 Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in they mouth.

Jer 15:16 Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and they word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts.

2N32:3 Wherefore, I say unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.

Jer 20:9 But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones

What do we do with the words of Christ? How do we feast on them? How do we make them a part of us?

The Potter Jer 18: 1-10

Gospel Doctrine OT c39: How Beautiful the Feet- Isaiah 50-53

Gospel Doctrine OT c39 How Beautiful Feet – Isaiah 50-53
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What are things you cannot wait to hear about?
            -sister in the hospital giving birth
            -volleyball tryouts
            -election results
            -mission call
            -Santa Claus

How do you hear about these things?
            -text
            -internet/ facebook/ email
            -newspaper/ snailmail
            -pony express
            -public proclamation/ verbal

-personal messenger, someone would run back and forth carrying messages. They’d better have good feet.

Today we read in Isaiah about beautiful feet that carry a message.
Isaiah 52:7  “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!

Now read the reaction to the message they bring.
Isaiah 52:9  “Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem.”

So what is the message that bring joy so great it makes you want to burst forth in song? Using only verse 7 and 9, what is the message?
            -Thy God reigneth
            -God hath redeemed Israel
            -peace, salvation and comfort

What does that message mean to you?

Show video (until 2:11.) Pay close attention to the words on the screen.

Isaiah talks about this message in more depth in Isaiah 53. It is the life and mission of Jesus Christ.
Abinadi, the Book of Mormon prophet, also recites Isaiah 53 in its entirety in Mosiah 14, then expounds on it in Mosiah 15. It’s a beautiful chapter.

Isaiah 53:2-4 and Alma 7:11-13
Why/How can Christ understand our sorrow and grief? Will someone explain to me exactly how that happened? Prove it.
It’s a pretty incomprehensible, unfathomable, we just can’t really understand it concept.

Elder Merrill J. Bateman touchingly describes this “carrying of sorrows”:

For many years I thought of the Savior’s experience in the garden and on the cross as places where a large mass of sin was heaped upon Him. Through the words of Alma, Abinadi, Isaiah, and other prophets, however, my view has changed. Instead of an impersonal mass of sin, there was a long line of people, as Jesus felt “our infirmities”  “(bore) our griefs, … carried our sorrows … (and) was bruised for our iniquities” … He learned about your weaknesses and mine. He experienced your pains and sufferings. He experienced mine. I testify that He knows us. He understands the way in which we deal with temptations. He knows our weaknesses. But more than that, more than just knowing us, He knows how to help us if we come to Him in faith. [ “A Pattern for All,” Ensign, Nov. 2005, 74.]

Let’s change the question just a little. How have you sensed or felt that he understands your sorrow and grief?

Isaiah 53:5-7 and Mosiah 15:5-7

What can we learn about the Savior through these verses?
Make a chart on chalk board:
            Savior                                      Us
            Wounded (Isa)                                    for our transgression
            Bruised                                    for our iniquity           
            With his stripes                       we are healed
            Suffereth to be (Mos)
                        Tempted
                        Mocked
                        Scourged
                        Cast out
                        Disowned
            Worked miracles
            Led as a sheep before             All we like sheep (Isav6)
                        bef shearer (Mosv6)                have gone astray
            Will swallowed by Father
                                    (Mosv7)

A few questions:
How have we sometimes ‘gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way’? How can the Savior’s example help us submit to Heavenly Father’s will? We cannot expect to go through this life and not get beat up. Miracles can happen when we are submissive to our Father and allow our will to be swallowed up in His.

Isaiah 53:10  “Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.”

What does it mean that it please the Lord to bruise Christ?

Institute manual says, “Obsiously God was not pleased with the way Jesus was treated, but He was pleased with His Son’s ‘offering for sin.’ The Atonement met the strictest demands of God’s innate justice and made forgiveness and mercy possible on certain terms.

Elder Melvin J. Ballard explained why it pleased God not to interfere: “In that hour I think I can see our dear Father behind the veil looking upon these dying struggles until even he could not endure it any longer; and, like the mother who bids farewell to her dying child, has to be taken out of the room, so as not to look upon the last struggles, so he bowed his head, and hid in some part of his universe, his great heart almost breaking for the love that he had for his Son. Oh, in that moment when he might have saved his Son, I think him and praise him that he did not fail us, for he had not only the love of his Son I mind, but he also had love for us. I rejoice that he did not interfere, and that his love for us made it possible for him to endure to look upon the sufferings of his Son and give him finally to us, our Savior and our Redeemer. Without him, without his sacrifice, we would have remained, and we would never have come glorified into his presence. And so this is what it cost, in part, for our Father in Heaven to give the gift of his Son unto men.” (Bryant S. Hinckley, Sermons and Missionary Services of Melvin Joseph Ballard, pp. 154-55.)

John 3:16-17  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Isaiah 53:10 says Christ shall see his seed. Who are his seed? Abinadi tells us in Mosiah 15:10-12
We are his seed.

In the next few verses we are back to publishing peace!
Mosiah 15:13-17
The word “publishing” is an interesting word in this day and age. We publish all kinds of things. When I finish writing a blog post, I click the “publish” button. We publish blogs, articles, comments, status update, apps and all sorts of things. What are we publishing? Are we publishing peace and bringing good tidings?

End with this testimony:
Mosiah 15:17-19
“And again, how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those who shall hereafter publish peace, yea, from this time henceforth and forever!
“And behold, I say unto you, this is not all. For O how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that is the founder of peace, yea, even the Lord, who has redeemed his people; yea, him who has granted salvation unto his people;
“For were it not for the redemption which he hath made for his people, which was prepared from the foundation of the world, I say unto were it not for this, all mankind must have perished.”



Home Reading: “The Atonement: Our Greatest Hope”, James E. Faust, Gen. Conf. Oct.2001

Gospel Doctrine OT c37: Isaiah 22-30

Gospel Doctrine OT c37 Isaiah 22-30

Maybe invite class members to answer the question:  Has anyone done anything really wonderful for you? Have you thought, “Wow, that’s Wonderful!”

READ Isaiah 25:1 “O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.”

Today we are studying Isaiah (somewhere between 22-30). Isaiah and other prophets like him used a lot of imagery and symbolism. One of the reasons they used these things to teach is because it allowed them to reveal and to conceal the truth about the Lord and His gospel. 

Gerald N. Lund offers some ideas to help understand the symbolism.

1. Look beyond the symbol for its intended meaning.

2. Look for the interpretation of the symbol in the scriptures themselves.

3. Look for Christ in the symbols and imagery of the scriptures.

4. Let the nature of the object used (its characteristics) contribute to understanding its spiritual meaning.

5. Seek the reality behind the symbol.

With those ideas in mind, let’s READ Isaiah 25:4 “For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.”

Also READ Isaiah 32:1-2 “Behold a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.”

??What images did you find in those verses?

            Strength to poor and needy                   Refuge from the storm

            Shadow from the heat                             River in a dry place

            Shadow of rock in a weary land

??What do those images teach about how the Savior helps us when we face such challenges?

These images teach us that the Lord will never leave us. He will always be there to help us. We need to never leave Him. ??How do we not leave Him?? We build on His foundation.

Let’s talk about foundations.

READ Isaiah 24:17-20  That is the state of the world. ??Any observations you’d like to share about these verses and the world we live in? So we can build on the world’s foundation, which a lot of people do OR…

READ Isaiah 28:16 “Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a stried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation.”

??How is Jesus Christ our ‘sure foundation’? READ Helaman 5:12  “And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.”

This brings to mind the primary song and parable from Matthew 7:24-27 - The wise man and the foolish man. I had an experience that changed the way I feel about this parable. I used to think it meant strong people build on rocks and foolish people build on the sand. End of story. I was talking with a friend whose son had died at a young age. It was a hard time for the whole family and their testimonies were definitely tried beyond their breaking point. The rains and floods came and beat upon their house. She admitted that some of her testimony washed away. She wasn’t foolish, she was strong. She told me her testimony was smaller now but what she had was strong and deep.

This changed my perception of the parable of the wise and foolish man. The tricky thing is that we are, at the same time, often wise and foolish. Not wise all the time, not foolish all the time. We are somewhere in the middle. We are learning and growing. We have to start building our testimonies somewhere, somehow. Sometimes we build with sand and soil and that’s enough to stand on for a while. Then trials and adversity come and our foundation gets shaken up and the sand washes away, revealing what is left of our sure foundation. Then we continue to build on that until the next trial comes, to show us where we are weak and where the sand has washed away. It’s a process. A beautiful, strengthening process

??What can we do to build on a strong foundation? What does the Lord promise if we build on this foundation? READ D&C 50:44 “Wherefore, I am in your midst, and I am the good shepherd, and the stone of Israel. He that buildeth upon this rock shall never fall.”

READ Isaiah 30:19-21  “For the people shall swell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee.  And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see they teachers:  And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.”

??What stands out to you in those verses?

*He will answer thee

*Why do we need bread and water? What do they do for us? Give us life, help us grow, fulfillment, enjoyment. Can adversity and affliction do the same thing?

*Thine eyes shall see, thine ears shall hear THE WORD. We need to keep our spiritual eyes and ears open. How do we do that? We hear “the word.” Read the scriptures.

*This is the way, WALK ye in it. No matter how hard the Lord’s road is, it is the Lord’s way. We have to “walk.” Not be wheeled along or stall out.

READ Alma 37:37 “Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day.”

This is the best testimony I can think of to close with:

“I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me,

Confused at the grace that so fully he proffers me.

I tremble to know that for me he was crucified,

That for me a sinner, he suffered, he bled and died.

Oh, it is wonderful that he should care for me

Enough to die for me!

Oh, it is wonderful, wonderful to me!”

Book Review: The Secret Keeper

I just finished reading Kate Morton’s “the Secret Keeper.” It’s long and fat and I read it in 3 days so I could go to bookclub and not have the ending spoiled.

This is the second Kate Morton book I’ve read (the Forgotten Garden was the first) and it did not disappoint. In fact, it was fantastic. One of the things I love about Morton’s writing is that she places you so firmly in the setting, which is important because the two books I’ve read jump around quite a bit both in time and place.

“The Secret Keeper,” set in England, is about a daughter, her mother, a shared traumatic experience and the search for a long held secret. Laurel returns home in 2011 to Greenacre, together with her siblings, to be with her mother in her final days. Being home brings back all sorts of memories for Laurel and soon she has more questions than answers. That starts her on a massive search for answers that takes us back in time to 1941 and 1961 (or thereabouts).

The trip through time is historically interesting and Morton does a wonderful job of staying true to history and making it come alive so much that you feel you are there. When she whisks you off to another time and place, you are loath to leave where you came from until she wraps you up in the new setting. But it’s not abrupt. It’s skillfully and gently done. The skill of writing it takes to do that is beyond me. It’s amazing.

The characters are well drawn, the setting is tangible, the prose is inspiring. My only problem was that I wanted the answers as much as Laurel and a few times I just wanted less fluff and more answers. But that’s her style and it sure is beautiful writing. One of my favorite parts of this novel is that the characters, the main protagonists, the hero/heroines have faults. So though you love them, you also want to shake them by the shoulder and beg them to be stronger or more patient or more kind.

My favorite character was Jimmy, the love interest in 1941. So loyal and principled. He was a photographer and took photos of the fall-out from the London Blitz. About one of the pictures of a newly orphaned, young girl, the book reads: “Small individual tragedies like this little girl’s were nothing to the larger scale of the war; she and her tap shoes could be swept as easily as dust beneath history’s carpet. That photograph was real, though; it captured its moment and preserved it for the future like an insect in amber. It reminded Jimmy why what he did, recording the truth of the war, was important.”

One of the themes of the novel is that we often don’t know the story, the history, of the people we love, our families and in particular to this book, our mothers. Laurel didn’t know her mother’s past. Dolly didn’t know the past of the woman who employed her. The book gives us insight into the past of all the main characters and guess what? The past becomes super important and fascinating.

So it got me thinking about my mom and sure, I know a few stories here and there but what about the meat? Do I know enough? Do my kids know enough? After reading this book, I am so motivated to know my own mother’s past and learn from her personal history, because it’s important.

I must confess, my admiration for this book was greatly increased when Morton referenced the Tardis from Doctor Who. How can you go wrong with a book that sweeps generations and mentions the Tardis? So read “The Secret Keeper”! Then go read “The Forgotten Garden.” You will be transported to amazing times and places and you won’t regret it.

Book Review: Wonder

The last book was Wonder. Late again to the party. This book has been around for a while. So I have a 6^th grade son and, boy, does this author get the 5^th/6^th grade social scene. I loved how the story was told. With each new point of view going back in time just a little and then propelling the story further on. Genius. Each voice was clear and dead on as far as I’m concerned, for the age group.

As a parent, I appreciated the role and characterization of the parents. They were supportive and real. They struggled just as much as any other character in the story and parents reading the book could relate. Humor was a great part of the story as well, especially from Auggie (who probably got it from his Dad). My son liked it a lot and quoted it around the house for a few days.

I am glad Auggie had friends. Sometimes in real life, that doesn’t happen, so I felt like the story was a little sugar coated but I’m glad it was, especially for this age group. I think they need an example of the correct way to deal with difficult situations, which is one of the purposes of literature. I hope there are kids like that in my son’s school, who will stand up for the underdog. I would like to hope my son would stand up, or sit down at lunch, with the “Auggies” in his school.

Like “Fault in Our Stars” I felt like this book did a great job of voicing and describing the pre-adolescent and adolescent life. I really think everyone should read this book. If I had to pick one of the three in this post to recommend, it would be an easy choice. Wonder, for sure.

Book Review: The Fault in Our Stars

Ok, the next book I read was Fault In Our Stars. I know, I’m a little late to the party on this one. I wanted to see it with my teenage daughter and I just have a hard time seeing a movie based on a book without reading it first. And then, while I was reading it, she went and saw it anyway without me. Wahwah. Let me preface this by saying I’m not a romance reader (or writer, I’m a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad romance writer). So why am I rewriting Cinderella? I don’t know. Let’s just say it may not be that romantic.

I thought Fault In Our Stars was a good book but I’m not in love with it like others are. I felt like some language and some of the sexual content was more than I would have liked for my slightly sheltered, Mormon daughter (jr. high age). But she read it and watched it and we talked about it and all is well in Zion.

I really enjoyed the friendship between the main characters and others. Gus and Hazel were quite mature. Maybe that comes with dealing with life and death situations as part of your normal routine. I wonder if teens got that depth. As an adult I really enjoyed it. It made me think more deeply about life, death, relationships and where I place my priorities.

I really appreciate when things don’t play out perfectly. Life isn’t perfect and often disappoints. So I liked how the highly esteemed author turns out to be a jerk, even to the end. And Gus’s other girlfriend had a downer attitude. That’s real life. So I enjoyed the book but I didn’t love it like so many others did. Maybe because of life experiences.

So this got me thinking. I didn’t absolutely love it but I’m quite sure that if I were to get together with others and discuss it, I would find more to like about the book. SO, is part of my love of some books related to the discussion and sharing of feelings I have with others? Books are powerful alone, but they are also powerful when shared through thought and discussion.

Anyway, I do have to say though, I don’t recommend reading this book if you are in the middle of being called back for further diagnosis of an abnormal mammogram and contemplating your own diagnosis. That was a little unsettling but everything turned out fine and I’m ok and the book was great. I really liked it and felt philosophical and hip while reading it.

Book Review: Cinder

I just finished a reading splurge. I read three great books, all very different in my opinion. Well, two of them are a little similar and the third is very different from the others but not better, so we’ll start with that one.

Cinder, as you might guess from the title, is a retelling of Cinderella. This caught my eye because, hello, I’m in the middle of writing a retelling of Cinderella. This story is fun because it is set in the future in a very techno-savy, robotic society. It even involves a race of beings from the moon. The main character is a strong and intelligent woman but still the oppressed underdog, at the mercy of her stepmother. The prince is endearing and sympathetic. A very likable character. And the peripheral characters are mostly well done. There was heartache and humor. The romance was sweet.

The problem is the whole time I’m reading, I’m thinking, if you break this down to a rough outline, it’s very similar to my story. I know, I know, they’re both Cinderella, so of course they are going to be similar. But even still, some of the things I changed, she changed too. Not to give too much away, but the family situation is similar. The way Cinder, (my character, Dru) is looked down upon and why, is similar. Their insecurity stems from the same place. But the thing is, this other author’s setting is so unique, set in the future with all the techno stuff. Mine is set in same old, same old fairytale land. And I’m struggling right now with how to make my story unique and stronger. How can I make Dru stand out? How can I make the juxtaposition more dangerous or weighty (what’s the word?) between good and evil, natural impulse and expectation, dark magic and good intentions. And if I’m not seeing similarities with Cinder, I’m seeing them with the movie Ever After. They were the furthest thing from my mind when I wrote my version. I didn’t even know about Cinder, but now I just feel like mine is a cheap imitation. I don’t know. I’m still trying to figure it out.

Anyway, Cinder was a great read. It really ends on the edge of a cliff. Not really an ending at all, just a beginning for more to come. So I read the preview chapter of the next book, Scarlet, which I assume is Red Riding Hood, which coincidentally, I also have a rough draft of. But it didn’t really hook me from the get go. Maybe I’ll get to it eventually but I’m in no rush.

Gospel Doctrine OT c34: Hosea

Gospel Doctrine OT c34 – Hosea

What are the following an example of?

It’s been a hard day’s night and I’ve been working like a dog (Beattles)

And I’m hungry like a wolf (Duran Duran)

Ogres are like onions. (Shrek)

Life is like a box of chocolates. (Forrest Gump)

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? (Shakespeare)

O, my luve’s like a red, red rose. (Robert Burns)

Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. (Isaiah 1:18)

How oft have I gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings. (3 Nephi 10:4)

What is a similie? A simile is a figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid. (OxfordDictionary)

??Why does the Lord use similes and metaphors? The manual says comparing a complicated or unfamiliar idea with one that is simpler or more familiar makes it (1.) more understandable to the people who are being taught. Comparisons also help (2.) provide a lot of detail in just a few words.

Hosea used similitudes in his record in the bible.

History: “Hosea lived during one of the most prosperous eras of ancient Israel’s history and was a contemporary of the prophet Amos. But as his book reveals, his society was deeply marred by depravity and evil. His written record exhibits an extraordinary measure of tenderness and compassion which is combined with a stern resolve against wickedness and, particularly corruption in high places.”  (S. Kent Brown)

Hosea uses a similitude we see frequently in the scriptures, which is marriage; the Lord as the bridegroom or husband and his covenant people as the bride or wife.

From the manual: “Using the similitude of a faithful husband and an adulterous wife, Hosea describes the relationship between the Lord and Israel.”

Read Hosea 1:2-3 

FIRST: What does comparing our relationship with the Lord- to marriage, teach us about the level of commitment and devotion the Lord expects from us?

If we are instructed to liken the scriptures to ourselves, the Lord is the husband which makes us a wife of whoredoms. It feels uncomfortable to place us there but we must continue with the similitude or comparison. To get rid of the “w” word, we need to know what it is.

?? Reading v.2 again, what is a great whoredom committed? “departing from the Lord.”

?? What things may divert us from our dedication to following the Savior?

?? What else did the ‘wife’ do in chapter 2?

Read Hosea 2:5.

?? How do we give credit to false gods for the blessings we receive?

Hosea 2: 8,13  “For she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for Baal.” “And I will visit upon her the days of Baalim, wherein she burned incense to them, and she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and she went after her lovers, and forgat me, saith the Lord.”

What is the Lord’s response to the behavior of the ‘wife’?

Read Hosea 2:6-7

“After later abandoning Hosea, Gomer recognized her mistakes and wanted to return; but by then – one must infer – she had become a slave. The Lord directed Hosea to buy her back, a course which he pursued willingly, for he still loved her despite all. The prophet next disciplined Gomer by severely restricting her movements and associations with others before restoring her fully to her former status.” (S. Kent Brown)

Read Hosea 2:14-16

Bring her to the wilderness

Speak comfortably with her

Valley of Achor (Trouble) for a door of hope

As in the days of her youth

Though shalt call me Ishi (husband)

And shalt call me no more Baali (master)

??What does it mean to you that you as the ‘wife’ will call the Lord no more ‘master’ but will call him ‘husband’?

VIDEO

“Genuine repentance changes entirely our relationship with the Savior. We are no longer slaves to the merciless mastery of Justice; we are married to the mercies of God.” (Breck England, Meridian Magazine)

“Just as the landfill requires dedicated work and attention, laboriously applying layer after layer of fill to reclaim the low-lying ground, our lives also require the same vigilance, continually applying layer after layer of the healing gift of repentance.” (Elder Shayne M. Bowen, Gen. Conf. Oct 2006)

“The Atonement of Jesus Christ is available to each of us. His Atonement is infinite. It applies toe veryone, even you. It can clean, reclaim, and sanctify even you. That is what infinite means—total, complete, all, forever. President Boyd K. Packer has taught: ‘There is no habit, no addiction, no rebellion, no transgression, no apostasy, no crime exempted from the promise of complete forgiveness. That is the promise of the atonement of Christ’ (‘The Brilliant Morning of Forgiveness,’ Ensign, Nov. 1995)” (Elder Shayne M. Bowen, Gen. Conf. Oct 2006)

Hosea 13:910; Hosea 14:4 Ultimately God loves us!

Just like the harlot wife thinks all her blessings come from her lovers. Hosea 2:8-13

Another similitude – Hosea 11:1, 3-4  As a father to a child. But they knew not that I healed them.

Hosea 13:5-6  According to their pasture, so were they filled. They have forgotten me.

“On such a view, this sorrowful episode deepened Hosea’s appreciation for the Lord’s frustration at Israel’s infidelity and apostasy, thus fashioning the prophet into an apt spokesman for the messages of divine disappointment and stern warning. In addition, this representation of Hosea’s marital troubles fits a wider pattern perceptible in the Lord’s dealings with his agents: he leads them through experiences that make them effective messengers for their time and place.” (S. Kent Brown)

“The Hebrew text of Hosea’s book unfortunately, is very corrupted, making some passages difficult to grasp. Even so, it is certain that the key for comprehending all of Hosea’s words lies in chapters 1 through 3, the report of his marriage to a harlot.” (S, Kent Brown)

** S. Kent Brown, “Studies in Scripture – vol. 4 1Kings to Malachi,” edited by Kent P. Jackson

EXTRA QUOTES:

“The joyful news for anyone who desires to be rid of the consequences of poor choices is that the Lord sees weaknesses differently than He does rebellion. Whereas the Lord warns that unrepented rebellion will bring punishment, when the Lord speaks of weaknesses, it is always with mercy.”

(Elder Richard G. Scott, Gen. Conf. Oct 2013)

“Throughout your life there may be times when you have gone places you never should have gone and done things you never should have don.e If you will turn away from sin, you will be able one day to know the peace that comes from following the pathway of complete repentance.

“No matter what our transgressions have been, no matter how much our actions may have hurt others, that guilt can all be wiped out. To me, perhaps the most beautiful phrase in all scripture is when the Lord said, ‘Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more’ (D&C 58:42).

“That is the promise of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Atonement: to take anyone who comes, anyone who will join, and put them through an experience so that at the end of their life, they can go through the veil having repented of their sins and having been washed clean through the blood of Christ (see Revelation 1:5).”

(Pres. Boyd K. Packer, Gen Conf. Oct 2012)