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Reverence

Numberless

Awe inspires humility. It can also build faith. God showed Abraham, Moses, Lehi, and Nephi the vastness of His creations and emphasized to Abraham and Nephi the enormity of their own posterity. This awareness can empower us to trust Him and do our work with greater confidence.

Divine Nature

“I Am a Child of God”

Identity confers confidence and purpose. Moses declared his identity as a child of God. Mormon identified himself as a disciple of Christ. And Jesus taught the Nephites that they were “children of the covenant.” We can draw strength from our connection with God, in spite of our weaknesses and shortcomings.

Scripture

Four Foundational Strategies

Book of Mormon authors modeled four strategies which can enhance our study of the Old Testament: (1) search for precious things in plain sight, (2) prioritize holistic over selective reading, (3) synthesize themes across the books, and (4) find Christ in the writings of all the prophets.

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COME, FOLLOW ME

  • Moses 1; Abraham 3: “This Is My Work and My Glory” (January 5-11)

    “Jehovah Creates the Earth” by Walter Rane

    About 2,000 years before the birth of Jesus Christ, the prophet Abraham saw God. (See Genesis 17:1, Abraham 3:11.) Several hundred years later, Moses also spoke with God “face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend” (Exodus 33:11, Moses 1:2, 31).

    Through revelation, Joseph Smith learned more about what these two prophets saw and learned as they stood in the presence of God. Both prophets saw the vastness of God’s creations (Abraham 3:12, Moses 1:33). Both learned that God created the earth specifically for our benefit (Abraham 3:24-25, Moses 1:39). And in both cases, the context they received from these visions helped them better understand their purpose and role within God’s plan for His children (Abraham 3:22-23, Moses 1:6, 12-13).

    Genesis centers on the life of Abraham, and Exodus through Deuteronomy recount the ministry of Moses. Therefore, these two visions can serve as foundational anchors for studying the Torah.

    Here is a brief outline of each of these visions:

    Moses 1

    1. Initial encounter with God (v. 1-11)
      • Setting: Moses is caught up to a mountain where he sees God face to face (v. 1-2)
      • Introduction: God identifies Himself as Endless and addresses Moses as His son (v. 3-6)
      • Vision: Moses sees the entire earth and its inhabitants (v. 7-8)
      • Glory Withdrawn: God leaves Moses alone, and he falls to the earth (v. 9-11)
    2. Confrontation with Satan (v. 12-23)
      • Satan demands that Moses worship him, and Moses refuses (v. 12-15)
      • Moses commands Satan to depart three times; Satan leaves (v. 16-23)
    3. Second encounter with God (v. 24-42)
      • Call: God calls Moses to deliver His people from bondage (v. 24-26)
      • Vision: Moses sees every particle of the earth and its inhabitants (v. 27-29)
      • The How of Creation: God created worlds without number by His Only Begotten (v. 30-35)
      • The Why of Creation: God’s work is our exaltation (v. 36-40)
      • Moses is commanded to record the vision (v. 41-42)

    Abraham 3

    1. A hierarchy of celestial bodies (v. 1-15)
      • Abraham sees stars, including the star closest to God (v. 1-4)
      • Stars and planets can be categorized by their speed and light (v. 5-10)
      • God shows Abraham innumerable stars, comparing them with Abraham’s posterity (v. 11-15)
    2. A hierarchy of spirits (v. 16-21)
      • The principle: Comparison implies hierarchy. (v. 16-17)
      • Some spirits are more intelligent than others; God is the most intelligent. (v. 18-21)
    3. The Council in Heaven (v. 22-28)
      • God stood among spirits and chose some, including Abraham, to be rulers (v. 22-23)
      • The earth, our “second estate,” is a proving ground (v. 24-26)
      • The Son of Man is chosen instead of a second volunteer, who rebels. (v. 27-28)

    Here are a few blog posts inspired by passages from these visions:

FEATURED POSTS

  • A Hundredth Part: Mormon’s Editorial Decisions

    A Hundredth Part: Mormon’s Editorial Decisions

    Book of Mormon authors made it clear how much they were leaving out as they wrote this “abridgment” of their history. Here’s a diagram showing how many words are dedicated to each of the 103 decades in the book.

  • Jesus Christ’s Sermon at the Temple in Bountiful – 3 Nephi 12-16, 20-22

    Jesus Christ’s Sermon at the Temple in Bountiful – 3 Nephi 12-16, 20-22

    Following His death and resurrection, Jesus Christ visited a group of people in the Americas. He taught them principles to help them deepen their discipleship, and He expanded their perspective by teaching them about God’s global, multigenerational work.

  • Names and Titles of Jesus Christ

    Names and Titles of Jesus Christ

    In March, 2019, I studied 20 different names or titles of Jesus Christ which appear in the Book of Mormon. I was particularly interested in the way each name was used, both in the Book of Mormon and in the Bible.