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Revelation

Chariots of Fire

In two stories from Elisha’s life, chariots of fire are present, representing God’s power. In both cases, the issue wasn’t their presence but the ability of people to perceive them. We are surrounded by divine power, and as we overcome our blindness with God’s help, we can receive that power and light more fully.

Obedience

Windows in Heaven

God’s ability to bless us is unlimited. Our ability to receive those blessings is often the limiting factor. Elisha instructed three kings to dig ditches and a widow to pour oil into as many vessels as she could find. These small acts of obedience didn’t create the blessings, but they created room to receive them.

Obedience

Small Things and Great

Naaman wanted to be healed but envisioned it as a dramatic event. His servants had to help him humble himself and take the simple steps Elisha prescribed. Alma explained that God works through small means. He can make great things happen when we do very small things in obedience to Him.

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COME, FOLLOW ME

  • He Trusted in the Lord God of Israel

    The Flight of the Prisoners, by Jacques Joseph Tissot

    “In the ninth year of Hoshea,” writes the author of 2 Kings, “the king of Assyria … carried Israel away into Assyria.” Then, in an extended editorial note similar to Helaman 12, the author explains what led to this tragedy.

    For so it was, that the children of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, which had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods,
    And walked in the statutes of the heathen, whom the Lord cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they had made.

    2 Kings 17:7-8

    The chapter goes on to list their escalating infractions, including rejecting prophets whom the Lord sent to get them back on track. A particularly insightful part of this analysis is the observation that the children of Israel “followed vanity, and became vain” (2 Kings 17:15). What you do and what you think about determine what you become.

    The lament is sincere but analytical in tone. Here’s what happened, and here’s what caused it. A more heartfelt editorial note by a prophet who experienced firsthand a similar tragedy appears in Mormon 6. After describing the destruction of his people, he writes:

    My soul was rent with anguish, because of the slain of my people, and I cried:
    O ye fair ones, how could ye have departed from the ways of the Lord! O ye fair ones, how could ye have rejected that Jesus, who stood with open arms to receive you!
    Behold, if ye had not done this, ye would not have fallen. But behold, ye are fallen, and I mourn your loss.

    Mormon 6:16-18

    Yet even as the northern kingdom of Israel collapsed, two righteous kings in the southern kingdom of Judah brought their people closer to God. Hezekiah’s reforms prompted the Lord to miraculously deliver the kingdom from the invading Assyrian army. Josiah later renewed that faithfulness for another generation. Their faithful leadership stands in marked contrast with the corrupt leadership that led to Israel’s defeat.

    This week, as we study 2 Kings 14-25, let’s join Mormon and the author of 2 Kings in recognizing how rejecting God leads to tragedy. Let’s mourn the losses and suffering of the children of Israel even as we acknowledge the role of our own agency in receiving God’s blessings and protection.

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.