When Jacob and his family fled from the home of his father-in-law, Laban pursued him. They met in a mountainous region, and after a difficult conversation, they were reconciled. Together, they built a stone pillar to memorialize their healed relationship. Laban suggested they call the pillar Jegar-sahadutha (יְגַר שׂהֲדוּתָא), "the heap of the testimony," but... Continue Reading →
The Book of Psalms and the Book of Mormon
The brass plates which Lehi and his family carried from Jerusalem contained a lot of content which overlaps with the Old Testament. Nephi describes three categories of writings, which correspond with three of the four groupings of books in the Old Testament: "The five books of Moses" - The Law (Genesis through Deuteronomy)"A record of... Continue Reading →
The Lord Is My Light
Based on: Psalm 27 Core message: Some hymns represent a personal testimony, even though we sing them as a group. "The Lord is my light," not "The Lord is the light." Related Book of Mormon passage: 2 Nephi 22:2
“I Will Heal Thee”
Hezekiah was very ill. The prophet, Isaiah, visited him and told him that he would not recover. He was going to die. But Hezekiah wasn't willing to accept that answer. Laying on his bed, he turned toward the wall and offered the following heartfelt prayer: "I beseech thee, O Lord, remember now how I have walked... 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 →
The Sons of Jacob
Jacob had twelve sons. Each of them was unique, with his own strengths and weaknesses. In the Genesis narrative, as each son is born, we learn not only their name but also the significance of the name to Rachel or Leah (Genesis 29:32-35, Genesis 30:1-24, Genesis 35:18). Some of these boys were their literal children,... Continue Reading →
The Living Christ and the Book of Mormon
The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles is a proclamation published by leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on 1 January 2000. The document speaks of the Savior's mission before birth, during His mortal ministry, and after His death and resurrection, including in our day. It also testifies that He... Continue Reading →
The Healer
During the Savior's mortal ministry, He was known as a miraculous healer. And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus’ feet; and he healed them:Matthew 15:30 Jesus also healed unseen wounds. To the man who was paralyzed, He first said,... Continue Reading →
Brokenhearted
The Greek word syntetrimmenous (συντετριμμένους) means crushed, shattered, or broken into tiny pieces. So when the Savior read Isaiah's prophecy, declaring that God had sent Him to "heal the brokenhearted" (iasasthai tous syntetrimmenous ten kardian) (Luke 4:18, see also Isaiah 61:1), he wasn't talking about a small injury or a minor bruise. He was talking... Continue Reading →
Oblations
In ancient Israel, an essential element of worship was giving gifts to God. Worshippers would bring animals or grain to the temple—the very best they had—to offer as a sacrifice. The King James Version of the Bible most frequently refers to these gifts as "offerings," but it sometimes calls them "oblations." An oblation is a... Continue Reading →
Book of Mormon Study Notes 