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Faithful Study Resources for Come, Follow Me

Trevor Holyoak

How One Woman’s Scholarship Helps Us Better Understand Church History

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by LaJean Purcell Carruth

The following is from LaJean Purcell Carruth’s presentation at BYU Education Week 2022 as part of the series presented on what can be learned from the Wilford Woodruff Papers.

Introduction

When I was eleven years old, I was bored one Sunday afternoon and found in my parents’ basement an old Improvement Era open to an article on the Deseret Alphabet.1 I was instantly, completely, absolutely hooked. I taught myself the Deseret Alphabet and decreed that I would be a Deseret transcriber when I grew up. Little did I know where that early passion would lead. [Read more…] about How One Woman’s Scholarship Helps Us Better Understand Church History

Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – Galatians

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Evangelical Questions: Another Gospel

by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC

Welcome back to Come Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions. My name is Jennifer Roach and today we’re going to talk about the phrase, “another gospel”. As you know we’re going through the Come Follow Me readings and addressing common questions that Evangelicals ask about our faith as we go along. Our purpose here is not to fuel debate but to help you understand where your Evangelical friends and family are coming from so that you can have better conversations with them, and perhaps even be able to offer them a bit of our faith in a way they can understand. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – Galatians

Join us this weekend for a FREE virtual Book of Mormon conference with keynote speaker Richard Bushman

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Join us this weekend in celebrating the 200th anniversary of Moroni first appearing to Joseph Smith! We will be pleased to hear a presentation from our keynote speaker, Richard Bushman, on the evening of September 22 at 7:00 PM MDT, followed by a day of presentations on September 23. The entire event will be streamed free of charge on our YouTube channel. More information is available here.

Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – 2 Corinthians 8–13

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Evangelical Questions: Why do you believe in Levels of Heaven?

by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC

Welcome back to Come Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions. My name is Jennifer Roach and today we’re going to talk about the 3 kingdoms of Heaven. As you know we’re going through the Come Follow Me readings and addressing common questions that Evangelicals ask about our faith as we go along. Our purpose here is not to fuel debate but to help you understand where your Evangelical friends and family are coming from so that you can have better conversations with them, and perhaps even be able to offer them a bit of our faith in a way they can understand.

Quick announcement for you first: This coming weekend, Friday Sept 22 – Saturday Sept 23 is an online only conference put on by FAIR and the focus is evidence for the Book of Mormon. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – 2 Corinthians 8–13

By Study and Faith – Episode 7: Confidence and Bias

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by Zachary Wright

Introduction

Imagine for yourself, for a moment, that a critic of the church stumbles across some quotes about the Adam-God theory.  “Brigham Young taught this, and seeing as he was a prophet, this must be what Mormons believe!” they reason to themselves.  They post these quotes on social media, proclaiming that “Mormons believe that Adam was God the Father!  Your leaders taught it, it’s what you profess to believe!”  However, what this critic did not know is that as early as 1897, we have records of church leaders stating that Brigham “no doubt expressed his personal opinion or views upon the subject,” supporting the idea that members of the church are under no obligation to support the notion that Adam was God the Father (1).  The critic doesn’t retreat from their position though, doubling down on how members of the church believe it.  At the end of the day, their bias led them to an incorrect conclusion about what members of the church believe. [Read more…] about By Study and Faith – Episode 7: Confidence and Bias

Sacrifice and Obedience: Lessons from Zion’s Camp

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by Matthew C. Godfrey

One of the seminal events of Wilford Woodruff’s life was his participation in the Camp of Israel (later known as Zion’s Camp) expedition in 1834. Wilford was recruited to participate in the camp after he had been a member of the Church for only a few weeks. The camp was the first time he got to meet individuals such as Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and Heber C. Kimball, and it taught him several lessons. Wilford transmitted these lessons to the Saints throughout his life, and they are teachings that can benefit Church members today as well.

Zion’s Camp Overview [Read more…] about Sacrifice and Obedience: Lessons from Zion’s Camp

Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – 2 Corinthians 1–7

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Evangelical Questions: Obedient in Everything

by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC

Welcome back to Come Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions. My name is Jennifer Roach and today we’re going to talk about obedience. As you know we’re going through the Come Follow Me readings and addressing common questions that Evangelicals ask about our faith as we go along. Our purpose here is not to fuel debate but to help you understand where your Evangelical friends and family are coming from so that you can have better conversations with them, and perhaps even be able to offer them a bit of our faith in a way they can understand. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – 2 Corinthians 1–7

Asking Big Questions: How Can I Develop a Stronger Personal Relationship with Jesus Christ?

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By Lyndie Jackson

The “Asking Big Questions” series is made in cooperation with the Wilford Woodruff Papers Project.

While it is relatively easy to stay in contact and communicate with people across the globe, creating and maintaining deep personal relationships takes time and effort. Similarly, the Savior is always close to us, waiting for us with open arms, but it takes more than checking in now and then to develop a deep personal relationship with Him.

Why We Need a Personal Relationship with Christ

Wilford Woodruff urged, “I would here exhort all the Latter day Saints who hear me this day to study well the position you are in, and search your hearts and see if we are in the favour of the Lord our God, and then let us increase continually in faith, in hope, in righteousness, and in every virtuous principle . . . in order to prove us as the friends of God.”1

Speaking of being the friends of God, Elder James E. Faust (1920–2007) said, “Having such a relationship can unchain the divinity within us, and nothing can make a greater difference in our lives as we come to know and understand our divine relationship with God.”2

By drawing closer to Christ, we can unlock our divinity, reach our potential, and be strengthened to become as God is.

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Asking Big Questions: How Can I Recognize the Spirit?

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By Maddie Christensen

The “Asking Big Questions” series is made in cooperation with the Wilford Woodruff Papers Project.

In today’s tumultuous world it can be difficult to make decisions and know what is right. As Latter-day Saints, we have the gift of the Holy Ghost to help us. Through the Holy Ghost, we can know the truth of all things (Moroni 10:5).

Wilford Woodruff was a great example of recognizing spiritual promptings and acting on them. He once shared:

While on my way east I put my carriage into the yard of one of the brethren in Indiana, and Brother Orson Hyde set his wagon by the side of mine, and not more than two feet from it.

Dominicus Carter, of Provo, and my wife and four children were with me. My wife, one child and I went to bed in the carriage, the rest sleeping in the house.

I had been in bed but a short time when a voice said to me: “Get up, and move your carriage.” It was not thunder, lightning or an earthquake, but the still, small voice of the Spirit of God the Holy Ghost.

I told my wife I must get up and move my carriage. She asked: “What for?” I told her I did not know, only the Spirit told me to do it.

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Join us September 22-23 for a FREE virtual Book of Mormon conference with keynote speaker Richard Bushman

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Please join us for this event commemorating the day in 1827 when the prophet Joseph Smith received the gold plates from Moroni from which the Book of Mormon was translated. We will be pleased to hear a presentation from our keynote speaker, Richard Bushman, on the evening of September 22 at 7:00 PM MDT, followed by a day of presentations on September 23. The entire event will be streamed free of charge on our YouTube channel. More information is available here.