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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about parallelism from my commentary Learning to Love Isaiah, then highlight something about a large and hitherto unpublished chiasmus, and then share an excerpt about a small chiasmus and an important meaning behind the verses in which it is found.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 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 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

Come, Follow Me Week 33 – Psalms 1–2; 8; 19–33; 40; 46

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by Carl Trueman

If there is one question that seems to drive so much of modern life it is that of happiness.  What is it?  How does one attain it?  And perhaps more deeply, how does one know when one has attained it?  And it is therefore perhaps fitting that the Psalter, the great hymn book of the soul, begins with a description of what it is that characterized the ‘happy man’.

Readers of the English translation might be surprised by this, for many such translate the first line as ‘Blessed is the man’ not ‘Happy is the man.’  The reason is that the Hebrew word means both things in English.  In fact, we might say that not just the word but the concept of blessedness is the same as that of happiness in the Psalmists mind.  We live in a world where happiness is typically regarded as a psychological state.  The Psalmist’s world is one where happiness is being blessed by God. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 33 – Psalms 1–2; 8; 19–33; 40; 46

Reflections on Abuse, Reporting, and the Church

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by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC

08/09/2022 Update:

Late last night the AP released video of Bishop Herrod, in his own voice, saying that the helpline told him he was not allowed to call, his hands were tied. He then goes on to say that he passed this information along to the next bishop. This is a helpful piece of information to have as previously it was unclear what he was told. It helps explain why the bishops did what they did. But I also think it’s fair to point out that this 9 min video is intended to give an emotional punch. Every visual image, piece of music, and word spoken is carefully chosen to drive home the same emotional point.  It’s actually rather well done if that is the goal. But they certainly are not going to include any information that takes away from their point, including things the bishop may have said that show a wider view of what happened. We get one short quote from him and nothing else. It is also fair to mention that an Arizona Grand Jury took up this question last year in case GJ21-0072.  They asked, “Did the bishops do anything legally wrong?” and while their conclusions are secret, we can observe that as of today the bishops have not been charged with any crime.

Also, by way of further correction it should be noted that no states have a law that makes reporting illegal, even by clergy.

Original Post:

Earlier this week, the Associated Press (AP) released an article telling the story of abuse that two young girls suffered, and the role that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints played in that story.  I’m a licensed mental health therapist and an abuse survivor. I spend hours every week working with traumatized clients who have also been through abuse. This story is not like my story, nor is it like most of my clients’ stories. It is the most horrific story of abuse I’ve ever heard. In addition to reading the AP article, I spent hours reading the court documents online. I figured that if I’m going to be reacting to this story, I needed to hear the whole thing. I won’t lay out the details here, and I do not recommend that most people go read the court documents, not if you value your sleep anyway.

For members of the church, part of what makes this story so awful is that the conclusions the reporter came to don’t show the whole picture. You know this intuitively, even if you can’t articulate what all of those nuances and differences are. But despite the problems with this article (and there are problems) it is worth reading. My own personal opinion is that every leader in our church could benefit from reading that story – not because he gets it 100% right, but because he is offering us an outsider’s view on a very tricky area. There are two extreme responses to this article that can easily be found online.  One is “circle the wagons” to protect the Church’s reputation. The other is to concede without critique the conclusion that the Church helps abusers continue abuse. Both are unhelpful. Instead, I am suggesting a humble reading of this article from an outsider’s perspective to see what can be learned or viewed in a new way. This reporter (Rezendes) has a long history of solid reporting on sexual abuse issues.  He is portrayed in the movie Spotlight about how he helped break the story of abuse in the Catholic Church while he was working for the Boston Globe. He’s not a random, unknown person sitting behind a keyboard somewhere making things up. We would be wise to listen and learn. So, what can be learned? [Read more…] about Reflections on Abuse, Reporting, and the Church

Come, Follow Me Week 32 – 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 32 – Job 1–3; 12–14; 19; 21–24; 38–40; 42

Come, Follow Me Week 31 – Esther

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by K.T. Martin

The Book of Esther is one of the most politically intriguing books found within the Old Testament. The story includes a king who banishes his wife and marries a new woman who is secretly a Jew. The king has an advisor who has a hatred for the Jewish people and wants them destroyed; that advisor intends to manipulate the king to accomplish this goal. However, the king’s new wife uses her royal status to save the Jews, at risk of her own life.

That’s a lot going on.

With all of that political intrigue, what’s more interesting is how the Lord sets up a woman to be in the right place at the right time to preserve His chosen people. No nefarious plot by an evil man is a match for God’s great ability to see beforehand and place his servants in the position where they can do the most good. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 31 – Esther

Come, Follow Me Week 27 – 1 Kings 17–19

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by Matt Crawford

The widow of Zarephath is one of my favorite stories from the Old Testament. Perhaps the greatest reason that this story resonates with me is because the widow is an outsider. She is not a member of the house of Israel—a fact the Savior confirms (see Luke 4:24–30)—and she meets Elijah at the gate of the city. That is, she is physically on the outskirts of this village where she lives. At least symbolically, the location of the widow’s initial contact with Elijah infers that she is marginalized. Yet her belonging came as she did one thing: she obeyed a prophet. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 27 – 1 Kings 17–19