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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 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

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

Come, Follow Me Week 38 – Isaiah 13–14; 24–30; 35

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Isaiah’s ability to speak to many time periods at once

By Kerry Muhlestein

I have found that one of the great keys to understanding Isaiah is to see how his writings apply to more than one time period. By that I mean that the same verse or set of verses are intended to be fulfilled in more than one time era. I believe that often Isaiah was inspired to write in a way which allowed his writings to be fulfilled in ways and times even he did not foresee. In my own experience, when I can see the original context and fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecies, I am better able to apply it to myself, and I draw more power from it. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 38 – Isaiah 13–14; 24–30; 35

Come, Follow Me Week 37 – Isaiah 1–12

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A time to study Isaiah

by Kerry Muhlestein

It seems to me that this year, as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have fervently embraced the Come Follow Me program, we have come to learn from and love the Old Testament more than ever before. I have high hopes we will have that same experience with Isaiah. Many have loved Isaiah for a long time. Many have struggled with Isaiah despite wrestling with his writings for years. Many find some things they love and yet feel that overall Isaiah is confusing. With the spiritual scriptural momentum we are carrying with us, and with all of the resources that are being made available, wherever each person is in their ability to learn from Isaiah, we can all come out of the next five weeks of Isaiah study with an even greater love for and understanding of Isaiah. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 37 – Isaiah 1–12

Come, Follow Me Week 36 – Proverbs 1–4; 15–16; 22; 31; Ecclesiastes 1–3; 11–12

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Proverbs Primer

by Matt Christiansen

Imagine an encounter with Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos.  After introductions and pleasantries, the discussion turns more substantive, and he asks about your big picture dreams and aspirations. You seize the opportunity and lay out a detailed blueprint for the most productive, impactful, and meaningful life you can imagine. He listens intently, occasionally asking questions to clarify vagaries, and even offers bits of advice.

Your allotted time is spent (apparently, he’s a busy man), but before leaving he reaches into his suitcoat, pulls out a checkbook, and then proceeds to date and sign a personal check. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 36 – Proverbs 1–4; 15–16; 22; 31; Ecclesiastes 1–3; 11–12

Come, Follow Me Week 35 – Psalms 102–103; 110; 116–119; 127–128; 135–139; 146–150

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The Hymns of the Temple

Part 2

by Matthew L. Bowen

Praise is a dominant word in the latter third of the Psalter. The imperative plural Hebrew verbal expression hallelujah (halĕlû-yāh), “praise ye the Lord,” marks the beginning and ending of many of these temple hymns. In ancient Judah, ascending into the temple to praise Jehovah was a fundamental religious obligation. The gospel writer Luke notes that after the Ascension, Jesus’s earliest disciples “were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God” (Luke 24:53). The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ had given the disciples a sense of how the temple pointed to his incarnation and his unique role in saving Israel and all humanity (compare, for example, Mark 14:58; John 1:14; 2:19). [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 35 – Psalms 102–103; 110; 116–119; 127–128; 135–139; 146–150