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Bible

Come, Follow Me Week 47 – Amos; Obadiah

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Amos and Prophets

by Daniel Ortner

Amos is considered one of the “minor” prophets. But Amos 3:7 is a verse that is one of the more frequently cited in General Conference. According to the BYU Scripture Citation Index, it has been cited around 109 times. That’s more than any single psalm in the book of Psalms (not more than the whole book of Psalms). More than whole books of the Old Testament such as Judges, Ruth, and Esther. More than a lot of well known verses in the New Testament or Book of Mormon. And even about as frequently as 1 Nephi 3:7. It is a pretty big deal. Ultimately the popularity of this verse says a lot about our devotion to following the Lord’s prophet and apostles. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 47 – Amos; Obadiah

Come, Follow Me Week 46 – Hosea 1–6; 10–14; Joel (additional post)

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Why is Obedience Greater than Sacrifice?

Meditations on Hosea 6:6

by Benjamin Pacini

My children know that the rule on Sunday is that they can only watch “church videos.” They’ve gotten to know them so well that when I began playing one of my favorites, it was two seconds in before my son shouted from the other room “that’s ‘Music of the Gospel’–I love that one!”  [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 46 – Hosea 1–6; 10–14; Joel (additional post)

Come, Follow Me Week 46 – Hosea 1–6; 10–14; Joel

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His Love for Us Is Constant

by Anna Buis

Despite our best efforts, we will inevitably fall short because we are human. This human experience teaches us that we need the Savior and His atoning sacrifice. His invitation to us is always to return to Him; His love for us is constant. Hosea 14:4 says, “I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from Israel.” We can find comfort in Christ taking action to forgive, heal, and love us individually.

In a journal entry dated April 7, 1844, Wilford Woodruff recorded Sidney Rigdon’s sermon: [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 46 – Hosea 1–6; 10–14; Joel

Come, Follow Me Week 44 – Ezekiel 1–3; 33–34; 36–37; 47

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True Prophets Call Us to Repentance

by Daniel Ortner

Ezekiel’s Prophetic Call to Cry Repentance

Chapters 1 and 2 of the Book of Ezekiel feature Ezekiel’s prophetic call. Just like the prophet Isaiah and Ezekiel’s contemporaries Isaiah and Jeremiah, Ezekiel is called as part of a vision where he sees the throne of God and feels the overwhelming presence of God. From each of these calls we can learn something significant about the role of a Prophet. For instance, from Jeremiah we learned a few weeks ago how God knew Jeremiah before he was born and foreordained him to be a prophet. But from Ezekiel we learn about a prophet’s mission to people to repentance whether or not that message is popular. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 44 – Ezekiel 1–3; 33–34; 36–37; 47

Come, Follow Me Week 43 – Jeremiah 30–33; 36; Lamentations 1; 3

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Are There Some Things That Can’t Be Cured?

by Jennifer Roach, LMHC

Jeremiah, true to his nickname of “The Weeping Prophet,” wants to talk to us about some hard things this week. And it’s a little uncomfortable.

In my day-job as a mental health therapist I sit with people in pain every week. They’re tired of their pain and therapy is a great place to start. And as a society we’ve done better in recent years at giving people the message that sometimes really bad things happen to them that are not their fault. And it’s true. But both modern-therapy, and the prophet Jeremiah, know that we can’t stop there. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 43 – Jeremiah 30–33; 36; Lamentations 1; 3

Come, Follow Me Week 42 – Jeremiah 1–3; 7; 16–18; 20

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by Christopher D. Cunningham

The motivational speaker Wayne Dwyer popularized a story about two babies in a mother’s womb.

While chatting, one asked the other if they believed in life after birth.

The second one said they did, and they were likely preparing for something greater later on.

But the first didn’t agree, it seemed like nonsense. What would that life look like?

The second suggested that perhaps they would eat with their mouths and walk with their feet. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 42 – Jeremiah 1–3; 7; 16–18; 20

Come, Follow Me Week 41 – Isaiah 58-66

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Isaiah and  Approaching God on the Day of Atonement

By Kerry Muhlestein

This week is the celebration of Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement. It takes place from sundown on Tuesday, October 4th, until sundown on Wednesday, October 5th. It is the holiest celebration in all the festivals the Lord commanded Israel to observe. You can read about it in Leviticus 16. This is the day where sacrifices were made to cleanse the tabernacle, everything in it, and all of Israel. One goat was sacrificed, and another had the sins of Israel symbolically transferred to it, and then that (scape)goat was driven into the wilderness. After these rituals and more, the high priest, representing all of Israel, could enter into the Holy of Holies and symbolically be reunited with the presence of God. This once-a-year ritual was the most significant event in the year. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 41 – Isaiah 58-66

Come, Follow Me Week 40 – Isaiah 50–57

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Poetic Parallelism and seeing some missed meanings in Isaiah

By Kerry Muhlestein

For this week’s readings, there are two reasons we should understand Isaiah’s use of parallelism, especially its most complex form: the chiasmus. Therefore, in this week’s essay I will share an excerpt about parallelism from my commentary Learning to Love Isaiah, then highlight something about a large and hitherto unpublished chiasmus, and then share an excerpt about a small chiasmus and an important meaning behind the verses in which it is found. These verses are oft quoted, but sometimes we miss an important element of their meaning. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 40 – Isaiah 50–57

FAIR’s Countdown to Conference – 5 Days!

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General Conference is coming up in 5 days! It will be held October 1-2, and will have morning and afternoon sessions on Saturday and Sunday, along with an evening session for everyone on Saturday. More information is available here.

In preparation, we are doing a daily countdown with posts from different people explaining how they feel about General Conference, how they prepare, tips for getting the most out of it, how to deal with associated social media posts, etc.

The Watchmen on the Tower

by Daniel Ortner

Isaiah sets up a really powerful contrast between the wicked rulers of his day, and the rulers that will lead the people of God in the latter days.

In Isaiah 56 he tears into those who are supposed to be watchmen on the tower: [Read more…] about FAIR’s Countdown to Conference – 5 Days!

Come, Follow Me Week 39 – Isaiah 40–49

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Comfort Ye My People: The Crucial Historical Background to Understanding Isaiah 40

By Kerry Muhlestein

It is understandable that the Come Follow Me curriculum does not have us read Isaiah 36-39. That covers material which we already covered in 2 Kings 18-19. Yet we cannot understand what is going on in many of the earlier Isaiah chapters, and certainly not in the chapters just after this block, if we don’t remind ourselves of the events that are described in Isaiah 36-39. While I go more into depth on these things in both my podcast, The Scriptures Are Real,  and in my commentary, Learning to Love Isaiah, here we will give brief excerpts from that commentary that hopefully will help the reader gain a better understanding of the first few chapters of the reading. After these excerpts, I will also note another literary structure that begins at chapter 40 which is very helpful in understanding the next 17 chapters of Isaiah. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 39 – Isaiah 40–49