We all interact with unreliable people. We are disappointed at times when someone fails to follow through on something they have agreed to do. If we're honest with ourselves, we can't be too hard on them, because we aren't perfectly reliable ourselves. We're all imperfect, falling short even when we do the best we can.... Continue Reading →
“I Shall Be Healed”
As Jesus approached a paralyzed man lying near the pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem, He asked an unusual question: "Wilt thou be made whole?" (John 5:6). The answer seems obvious. People with physical ailments gathered at that pool specifically because they believed in its healing powers. But Jesus wanted to gauge the man's willingness and... Continue Reading →
“A Sign Between Me and You”
One way God communicates with us is through signs. We may not see Him, but we recognize things that happen as evidence that He is mindful of us. On some occasions, those signs have been dramatic and unmistakeable, such as the plagues in Egypt (Exodus 7-12), or the signs of the Savior's birth and death... Continue Reading →
Nurture
The word "nurture" appears twice in the scriptures: once in the New Testament and once in the Book of Mormon. The apostle Paul wrote: Ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.Ephesians 6:4 And the prophet Enos used the same phrase to describe his own upbringing: Behold, it... Continue Reading →
“Any of Them”
In his dedicatory prayer for the ancient temple in Jerusalem, Solomon raised a series of hypothetical situations, asking God for specific blessings in each of them. Here is one of those situations: When thy people Israel be smitten down before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee, and shall turn again to thee, and confess thy name, and... Continue Reading →
Hidden Treasures
On February 27, 1833, the Lord promised that those who obey His commandments will "find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures" (Doctrine and Covenants 89:19). A week and a half later, He instructed Joseph Smith not to produce a translation of the Apocrypha. Joseph had been studying the King James Version of... Continue Reading →
Promises to Covenant Israel
Nephi told us that God "loveth those who will have him to be their God." As an example, "he loved our fathers, and he covenanted with them, yea, even Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and he remembered the covenants which he had made" (1 Nephi 17:40). In August of 1830, Joseph Smith received a revelation in... Continue Reading →
“The People That Walked in Darkness” – 2 Nephi 19:2
Even when we are surrounded by darkness, we can be filled with light. The ancient prophet Micah wrote, "Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me" (Micah 7:8). And King David affirmed, "The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness" (Psalm 18:28). Isaiah prophesied that the coming... Continue Reading →
“That He May Prophesy” – Moroni 10:13
"Before it came to pass, I showed them thee."Isaiah 48:3 One of the gifts Moroni identified that a person can receive by the Spirit of God is "that he may prophesy concerning all things" (Moroni 10:13). (See also 1 Corinthians 12:10, Doctrine & Covenants 46:22, Articles of Faith 1:7.) The Guide to the Scriptures defines... Continue Reading →
“Save It Be for the Sins of the World” – 3 Nephi 28:9
The Savior made an incredible set of promises to the three disciples who wanted to remain on earth until His Second Coming. He told them that they would never taste of death. He promised that they would not feel pain. He even told them that they would not feel sorrow "save it be for the... Continue Reading →
Book of Mormon Study Notes 