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Come, Follow Me Week 36 – 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 36 – Isaiah 1–12

Come, Follow Me Week 35 – 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 35 – Proverbs 1–4; 15–16; 22; 31; Ecclesiastes 1–3; 11–12

Come, Follow Me Week 34 – 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 34 – Psalms 102–103; 110; 116–119; 127–128; 135–139; 146–150

Come, Follow Me Week 33 – Psalms 49–51; 61–66; 69–72; 77–78; 85–86

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The Hymns of the Temple

Part 1

by Matthew L. Bowen

The Psalms, originally written in Hebrew poetry,[1] were the hymns of the ancient Jerusalem temple.[2] Everything in them should be read and reflected upon with that in mind. Additionally, as Latter-day Saints, we are obligated to consider how these texts, within their temple and covenant context, can better connect us to the atonement of Jesus Christ in our time, just as they connected ancient Israelites and Judahites to Jehovah. The Psalms have much to teach us about the nature of God’s redemption and the role of the temple in that redemption.

Psalm 49 – The Price of Redemption, Christ’s Infinite Atonement, and the Temple

In Psalm 49, the futility and folly of earthly riches is expressed in terms of the value of God’s redemption. A key “atonement” term in Psalm 49 is the Hebrew pādâ and its nominal (noun) cognate pidyôn, “ransom” or “redemption”: [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 33 – Psalms 49–51; 61–66; 69–72; 77–78; 85–86

Come, Follow Me Week 31 – Job 1–3; 12–14; 19; 21–24; 38–40; 42

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Lessons Learned from the Book of Job

by Louis Herrey

”No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted… All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God.” (Orson F. Whitney, in Kimball, Faith Precedes the Miracle, p. 98.)

Introduction

The book of Job is part of the so called ’wisdom literature’ of the Bible. The text is composed in beautiful Near Eastern prose, and is a tale of a man who has a dramatic encounter with God’s justice, to say the least. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 31 – Job 1–3; 12–14; 19; 21–24; 38–40; 42

“Bamboozled by the ‘CES Letter'” by Michael R. Ash now available on audiobook!

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We are pleased to announce that Michael R. Ash’s book, Bamboozled by the “CES Letter”, is now available in audiobook format from Audible and iTunes!

We’d especially like to thank Derrick Duncan for volunteering his time and talent to narrate it.

The e-book version is still available from the FAIR Bookstore and Amazon.

Come, Follow Me Week 25 – 1 Samuel 8–10; 13; 15–18

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The Asked King and the Beloved King-to-be: Saul, David, and Ancient Israel’s Rejection of the Lord’s Kingship

by Matthew L. Bowen

The names of ancient Israel’s first two major[1] royal figures, Saul and David, have clear, distinctive meanings. Saul (šāʾûl) means ‘asked’ and David (dāwid or dāwîd) means ‘beloved.’ The Deuteronomistic editor and narrator[2] of the Book of Samuel used the meaning of these names to help tell the story of Israel’s formal rejection of the Lord’s kingship and the eventual rise of the Davidic dynasty in Judah. The meanings of their respective names figure not only into why each man became king, but also why their kingships ran aground and, in their respective ways, failed.

Israel “Asks” for a King (1 Samuel 8) [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 25 – 1 Samuel 8–10; 13; 15–18

Come, Follow Me Week 23 – Judges 2–4; 6–8; 13–16

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Seek the Lord Jesus Christ

By Elder Kim B. Clark

(An address given at the 2020 FAIR Conference)


I am grateful for the opportunity to speak to you today. I am not only grateful to be with you, but I am grateful for all of you who seek to help people strengthen, or recover, or restore, or establish faith in Jesus Christ, and His marvelous work in our day. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 23 – Judges 2–4; 6–8; 13–16

Come, Follow Me Week 22 – Joshua 1–8; 23–24

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Trying to Serve the Lord Without Offending the Devil

By Nick Galieti

(Originally published on February 11, 2015 as part of our “Rise Up” podcast for youth)

When it comes to living our lives, we have a lot of choices placed before us. We have our choice of schools to attend after high school, or even a choice of career path. Spiritually speaking, we have a choice to make. When viewing the world around him, even Joshua in the Old Testament dealt with this same question. In Joshua 24:14-15 he was speaking prior to his death and reflecting on the different choices that he made in his life when he recorded this often quoted passage: [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 22 – Joshua 1–8; 23–24

Come, Follow Me Week 18 – Exodus 24; 31-34

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Exodus, The Law of Moses, Covenants, and the Temple

by Ben Spackman

(This originally appeared on Ben Spackman’s blog)

Now that we’re getting into the desert Exodus narrative, we’re going to encounter what scholars call “legal sections” of scripture, that is, the details of the Law of Moses. I’m not interested in these so much as I am in the way the Israelites entered into the law, by covenant. So, let’s talk about these a bit more from an ancient Near Eastern perspective

The desert

Parts of a Covenant

Although there are differences, a covenant is functionally very similar to a contract or treaty. Among the ancient Israelites and their neighbors, the covenant pattern had several parts, though not every part was expressed in every covenant, nor was the order of these elements rigidly fixed. Understanding this pattern can help us understand the scriptures and the temple ordinances. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 18 – Exodus 24; 31-34