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Come, Follow Me Week 50 – Haggai; Zechariah 1–3; 7–14

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by Daniel Ortner

There are many powerful prophecies of the events leading up to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. But as someone who comes from a Jewish background one prophecy stands out as particularly vivid and poignant, and that is that one day the people of Israel who did not recognize Jesus as their Messiah and Lord will come to recognize him.

Zechariah describes the moment when the Jewish people will look upon their crucified Lord: [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 50 – Haggai; Zechariah 1–3; 7–14

Come, Follow Me Week 49 – Nahum; Habakkuk; Zephaniah

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Habakkuk – For our day

by Jennifer Roach, LMHC

Habakkuk is the book you never knew you needed.

The problem of evil is a question every generation must grapple with.  If God exists, why does he allow school children to be killed in a shooting? If God is good, how can he let people suffer as they do? If God cares about his children, how can poverty, disease, and violence rampage us as they do?

Habakkuk grappled with this question too. In his day the question was, “If God loves us, why do the Babylonians terrorize us?”  I offer the following reading of Habakkuk – for his day, and for our day – as an answer to the problem of evil. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 49 – Nahum; Habakkuk; Zephaniah

Wind & Trees: Remaining Steadfast and Immovable in the Storms of Life

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by Amber Johnson

When I returned from my mission in late 2015, all eight of my siblings, as well as the strong majority of my friends and co-workers, were active members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Over the past seven years, more than forty of my friends and family have left the Church – some very visibly, others more quietly, but nearly all without any intention to return.  [Read more…] about Wind & Trees: Remaining Steadfast and Immovable in the Storms of Life

Come, Follow Me Week 48 – Jonah; Micah

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A Gourd, a Worm, and an East Wind: Discovering God’s Extensions of Love in the Book of Jonah

by Matt Crawford

Jonah called Gath-hepher home—a town which was west of the present-day Sea of Galilee (see 2 Kings 14:25). When the Lord called Jonah on a mission from his comfortable home to the Assyrian city of Nineveh,[1] he did not hesitate to act. Jonah immediately “rose up to flee unto Tarshish” (Jonah 1:3).[2] [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 48 – Jonah; Micah

President Joseph F. Smith Explains What “Mormonism” Really Is

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(submitted by Dennis B. Horne)

Editorial Note: In the below article, President Smith defines the label “Mormonism” very much as President Russell M. Nelson has. These prophets are one in their views on this matter. President Smith also expounds in some detail on many facets of church practice and doctrine, including the future. Most of the material is as true and relevant today as it was a hundred and twenty years ago—there is great consistency in church teachings and practice. One effect of his message is to make one proud to be a faithful member of the Restored Church of Jesus Christ. The original article is titled, The “Mormonism” of Today: [Read more…] about President Joseph F. Smith Explains What “Mormonism” Really Is

Book Review: Into the Headwinds: Why Belief Has Always Been Hard―and Still Is

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Thank Goodness for Headwinds

by Meagan Kohler

Available from the FAIR Bookstore

Do you believe in God? How do you know?

In their new book, Into the Headwinds: Why Belief Has Always Been Hard―and Still Is (Eerdman’s Publishing), Terryl and Nathaniel Givens recount a story about a friend who was sincerely convinced the Second Coming would take place within twenty years. Yet, why was he actively contributing to a retirement fund that would not be accessible until some twenty years after he believed the world, as we know it, would end? The Givenses make a strong case for an unsettling possibility: many of us sincerely profess beliefs we don’t actually hold, and we can’t recognize the hollowness of those beliefs until they cost us something. [Read more…] about Book Review: Into the Headwinds: Why Belief Has Always Been Hard―and Still Is

Examining the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Statement on the US Congress “Respect For Marriage” Act

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On November 15, 2022, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a statement on the Church Newsroom regarding its official position regarding the US Congress “Respect for Marriage Act” (RFMA).

To provide some context for this statement: [Read more…] about Examining the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Statement on the US Congress “Respect For Marriage” Act

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