Moses says we only get about 70-80 years: "The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away" (Psalm 90:10). Obviously, plenty of people live past 80, into their nineties and even beyond. Moses himself... Continue Reading →
Roots Deeply Planted
How did Esther find the strength to risk her life on behalf of her people? She found it partly by broadening her perspective, remembering that God had given her specific missions to perform. Mordecai reminded her that she was in a unique position to help: "Who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as... Continue Reading →
“Behold the Seer”
MUSTAFA: Do you know what you would like this evening, sir?EGO: Yes, I think I do.... You know what I'm craving? A little perspective.Ratatouille (2007), screenplay by Brad Bird There was a lot to be unhappy about in the time of Enoch. Just six generations after the Fall of Adam and Eve, people had largely... Continue Reading →
Pyrrhic Victories
On the first day of an economics class that I took as an undergraduate at Brigham Young University, the professor, James Kearl, conducted a dollar auction, which is a game designed by Yale economist Martin Shubik. In the game, the auctioneer offers a dollar for sale at a starting bid of 5¢. The catch is... Continue Reading →
The Jaredite Generations
Thirty generations in fifteen chapters: in the Book of Ether, Moroni provides a sweeping history of the rise and fall of a civilization. At first glance, the book appears to be the story of the Jaredite people from the perspective of their kings. But upon closer consideration, it becomes clear that the narrative follows a... Continue Reading →
Supposing by Their Numbers to Overpower Teancum- Alma 52:21-24
21 And it came to pass that Moroni, having no hopes of meeting them upon fair grounds, therefore, he resolved upon a plan that he might decoy the Lamanites out of their strongholds. 22 Therefore he caused that Teancum should take a small number of men and march down near the seashore; and Moroni and... Continue Reading →
They Knew Not the Dealings of That God Who Had Created Them – 1 Nephi 2:11-12
11 Now this he spake because of the stiffneckedness of Laman and Lemuel; for behold they did murmur in many things against their father, because he was a visionary man, and had led them out of the land of Jerusalem, to leave the land of their inheritance, and their gold, and their silver, and their... Continue Reading →
Lessons from Lehi
As I've studied the words of Lehi over the past week, the following themes have emerged for me: Perspective In Lehi's final messages to his sons, he tries to help them place their daily decisions in context and see the big picture. For example: He encourages Joseph to remember both his ancestors and his descendants... Continue Reading →
Shake Off the Awful Chains with Which Ye Are Bound – 2 Nephi 1:13
13 O that ye would awake; awake from a deep sleep, yea, even from the sleep of hell, and shake off the awful chains by which ye are bound, which are the chains which bind the children of men, that they are carried away captive down to the eternal gulf of misery and woe. (2... Continue Reading →
We Are Not Cast Off – 2 Nephi 10:20-22
20 And now, my beloved brethren, seeing that our merciful God has given us so great knowledge concerning these things, let us remember him, and lay aside our sins, and not hang down our heads, for we are not cast off; nevertheless, we have been driven out of the land of our inheritance; but we... Continue Reading →
Book of Mormon Study Notes 