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Come, Follow Me Week 19 – Exodus 35–40; Leviticus 1; 16; 19

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“Have You Been Saved By Grace?” How Do We Respond?

by Brad Wilcox

(This is from a presentation given at the 2018 FAIR Conference)

Grace, like many English words has multiple meanings. It can mean elegance and beauty. It can mean kindness and courtesy. It can be a title, ‘Your Grace.’ It can be a salutation, “Grace be unto you,” like we read in the in the New Testament, and it can also be a prayer–we’re saying grace. With so many different meanings, no wonder there’s confusion. If we go back to the Hebrew word that was translated as grace, then the word means favor or goodwill given with compassion. No wonder Christians grabbed that word to describe God’s favor, God’s goodwill given with God’s compassion. But Latter-day Saints understand that grace is not just a description of God’s attributes. It is how he engages with us as we strive to attain those very attributes. Listen to what President Dieter F. Uchtdorf has said: [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 19 – Exodus 35–40; Leviticus 1; 16; 19

Under the Banner of Heaven: Fact vs Fiction

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Under the Banner of Heaven movie posterFriends,

Today a new television series has been released titled Under the Banner of Heaven. It is based on a best-selling book by that same name, published in 2003, written by Jon Krakauer.

The book, and now the television series, talks about the 1984 horrific murders of Brenda Lafferty, and her 15-month-old daughter Erica, by Dan and Ron Lafferty in American Fork Utah. The theme of Jon Krakauer’s book is that Dan and Ron’s religious upbringing in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the underlying cause for what they did. Krakauer, an atheist, believes that since bad things are sometimes done in the name of religion, religion breeds violence.

This series will likely lead to questions from your friends and family members. We’ve created a page of resources. Here are a few things to be aware of: [Read more…] about Under the Banner of Heaven: Fact vs Fiction

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

Come, Follow Me Week 17 – Exodus 18-20

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Becoming Free

by Amber Rothamer

I’ve always treasured the account of Israel’s miraculous exodus out of bondage in Egypt and the recorded events and miracles that followed. It is a portion of ancient history that has always fascinated and humbled me. There are numerous parallels between this account and that of the one found in the New Testament when the God of Israel, Jesus Christ himself came down to yet again save His covenant people. 

Moses, the prophet, from one perspective can be viewed as an example of the forthcoming Messiah, in that he rescued the people of Israel from bondage. This great nation was held captive for so long that it took great faith, miracles, and earnest obedience on the part of the people of Israel before they found themselves completely free from their bonds. Likewise how often do we, as God’s latter-day covenant people find ourselves in bonds too strong to break? Bonds that cannot be broken except through our own personal duty to God. It is through diligent obedience to His commandments and covenants, and faith in His mercy and redeeming love; such efforts on our part produce the miracles that set us free. And still, after all that God the Father, and Jesus Christ do for us, their work of love is never done. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 17 – Exodus 18-20

“Under the Banner of Heaven” Redux

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(Updated 4/28/2022 – Please see our new post at https://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/blog/2022/04/28/under-the-banner-of-heaven-fact-vs-fiction)

“Under the Banner of Heaven” is not only a slap in the face of modern Latter-day Saints but also a misrepresentation of religion in general. – Robert L. Millet

This book is not history, and Krakauer is no historian. He is a storyteller who cuts corners to make the story sound good. – Mike Otterson

Although the book may appeal to gullible persons who rise to such bait like trout to a fly hook, serious readers who want to understand Latter-day Saints and their history need not waste their time on it. – Richard E. Turley Jr.

[H]is obvious biases against both religion in general and the Church of Jesus Christ in particular have made the book nothing more than a flawed, sensationalistic work… – Craig L. Foster 

A book called Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer was published in 2003. It has now been made into a miniseries that will be available for streaming from Hulu later this month. Here are some resources available regarding the claims made in the book:

The Deseret News now has an article on the series:

Have a question? Contact us here.

Come Listen to a Prophet’s Voice

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by Robert Hill

Every six months, dating back to 1840, Latter-day Saints gather as a worldwide congregation to worship, sing and learn at the feet of leaders we consider living prophets. It’s a wonderful time full of the Spirit of God. But recently, I can’t help feeling I miss the way General Conference used to be. I don’t mean the recent changes in whether we get a male priesthood session or the socially-distanced broadcasts necessitated by the pandemic. I mean the feeling of sitting down for it. It wasn’t so very long ago that I looked forward with unalloyed eagerness to gathering with family and food for a joyful weekend of spiritual edification. [Read more…] about Come Listen to a Prophet’s Voice

The Motte, the Bailey, and the Gospel of Instagram

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The world is full of delightful people pursuing delightful accomplishments, and the gospel promotes love, hope, and unity. How blessed the day when we’ll be able to think only of lovely and praiseworthy things! Unfortunately, scripture’s plain warnings about sin and wickedness are still relevant, and we can’t just ignore them no matter how hard the Adversary argues “I am no devil, for there is none.”  

Scriptures warn followers of Christ that evil uses good to deceive us. A devil who only ever said “come be evil!” wouldn’t get far. A devil who makes a persuasive case that evil is actually good is far more dangerous. Even when we know the difference between eternal truth and the philosophies of men, a dash of flattery, a threat to our social status, an accusation that we’re harming others can persuade us to reevaluate.  What used to seem clear-cut can become murky when the lines are deliberately blurred.  [Read more…] about The Motte, the Bailey, and the Gospel of Instagram

Come, Follow Me Week 13 – Exodus 1-6

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A Burning Bush and a Pillar of Light: God Remembers His Children

by Ugo A. Perego

Many years ago, when I was a young student at Brigham Young University, I had the unique opportunity to register for and attend the Summer Semester at the BYU Jerusalem Center. To this day, it has been one of the best and most intriguing experiences in my life and I still dream about being able to go back there some future day. Besides the incredible instructors that were able to open my eyes and my heart to the world of the Old and New Testaments and an atmosphere of learning that has been hard to match elsewhere, one of the highlights of being in the Holy Land to study the Bible were the many trips we were able to make to the various places mentioned in the scriptures. It was as if time and space disappeared, and I was catapulted right in to the pages of the biblical accounts. One such trip was at Mount Sinai. When we arrived, we were told that we were going to sleep only a couple of hours and then we were to climb the mountain so that we would be on the top of it shortly before sunrise. It was a spectacular sight and truly a sacred moment as I pondered the meaning of that place in the history of humankind. However, that was just half of the Sinai experience. From there, we walked down the other side of the mountain to the Monastery of Saint Catherine, a UNESCO World Heritage Site sacred to Muslims, Jews, and Christians alike. In the court of the monastery, a small plant had a sign with “The Burning Bush” written in reminiscence of Moses’ calling to prophethood somewhere not far from where I was standing. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 13 – Exodus 1-6

Come, Follow Me Week 10 – Genesis 28–33

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Becoming Israel: Learning How to Prevail with God Through Covenants

By Steve Densley

The stories we find in Genesis 28-33 are rich with covenant imagery, from Isaac’s blessing that Jacob would receive the promises of the Abrahamic covenant in the first verses of chapter 28, to Jacob’s building of an altar in the last verse of chapter 33. In between, we find the dramatic stories of Jacob’s vision of the ladder to heaven and Jacob’s wrestle with God, both episodes that remind us of the temple. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 10 – Genesis 28–33

Come, Follow Me Thoughts to Keep in Mind – The Covenant

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The Abrahamic Covenant, Its Influence on Scriptures, and What that Has to Do with Us

by Kerry Muhlestein, author of God Will Prevail: Ancient Covenants, Modern Blessings, and the Gathering of Israel

The Abrahamic covenant is a central theme of the Old Testament, and really of all scripture. Every prophetic writer, whether in the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Pearl of Great Price, the Book of Mormon, or the Doctrine and Covenants, assumes that you know and understand the Abrahamic covenant, and writes based on that assumption. As a result, when we are not familiar with this covenant, there are a number of things in every book of scripture that we miss. We lose some of the message and the rich power in the scriptures without even realizing it. Studying the Old Testament is an excellent time to rectify this situation. This year we are afforded the opportunity to read about the establishment of the covenant and to study some of the places where it is most fully explained. This will allow us to start to understand the covenant the way President Nelson has been asking us to. President Nelson certainly realizes the significance of the covenant, and has been energetically teaching about it throughout his apostolic career, and has even asked us to study the blessings promised to Israel in the covenant.[1] There is no better time than this Come Follow Me year to come to more fully share President Nelson’s desires for us to better recognize, understand, and appreciate what it means to be heirs to the Abrahamic covenant. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Thoughts to Keep in Mind – The Covenant