The Valley of Decision

When Ahab, king of Israel, asked Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, to join him in battle against the Syrians, Jehoshaphat responded with solidarity: "I am as thou art, my people as thy people, my horses as thy horses" (1 Kings 22:4, see also 2 Chronicles 18:3). However, Jehoshaphat insisted on consulting with a prophet first. Ahab... Continue Reading →

Cast Thy Bread Upon the Waters

The writer of Ecclesiastes teaches us an important principle through a vivid metaphor: Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days. Ecclesiastes 11:1 I don't have a lot of experience throwing bread into water (other than feeding ducks) but this metaphor rings true to me. There is something uncontrollable about water,... Continue Reading →

Grace for Grace

Near the beginning of the Gospel of John, there is an unusual statement which describes how we receive the power of God: And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.John 1:16 The Greek word rendered "for" in that passage—anti (ἀντί)—actually means "in place of" or "in exchange for." What does it... Continue Reading →

Restoration of All Things

Malachi prophesied that Elijah the prophet would return to the earth "before the great and dreadful day of the Lord" and that he would "turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers" (Malachi 4:5-6). Peter, James, and John apparently had that prophecy in mind when... Continue Reading →

Do Justly, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly

In the last general conference, Elder Dale G. Renlund encouraged us to follow this counsel from the prophet Micah in order to understand what more we can do to draw closer to God: What doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?Micah 6:8 Alma gave a similar admonition to his... Continue Reading →

Restored

Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would come to fix broken things and to give people things they had lost: The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the... Continue Reading →

Justice and Mercy

God is both just and merciful. Multiple Book of Mormon prophets testify of this, including Lehi (2 Nephi 2:12), Nephi (2 Nephi 11:5), Jacob (Jacob 4:10), King Benjamin (Mosiah 5:15), Alma (Alma 42:15), and Mormon (3 Nephi 26:5, Mormon 6:22). We ought to be just and merciful as well: See that you are merciful unto... Continue Reading →

What Does the Book of Mormon Affirm?

This is the second in a series of posts answering a set of questions recommended by President Russell M. Nelson. In yesterday's post, I discussed what the Book of Mormon is. Today, I will discuss what the Book of Mormon affirms. The Book of Mormon affirms many truths. As I've pondered this question today, I've... Continue Reading →

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