On Mount Sinai, the Lord directed Moses to request an offering from the people. He made it clear that He cared about not only what they gave, but also how they gave: Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my... Continue Reading →
A Prophet
When God called Moses, He didn't say, "I will make you a prophet." Instead, He described the work He needed Moses to do: tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go, and tell the children of Israel that God had sent him to lead them out of Egypt. (See Exodus 3.) He said, "I will be... Continue Reading →
Cleave
After creating Adam and Eve, God established the institution of marriage with these words: Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.Genesis 2:24, Moses 3:24, Abraham 5:18 "Cleave" is an unusual word; it has two nearly opposite meanings, depending on the context: To split or sever something: "The mount of... Continue Reading →
Glory
Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory.Psalm 24:9-10 What is glory? The word appears 225 times in the King James Version of the Old Testament,... Continue Reading →
We Believe All Things
A person who has charity, according to the apostle Paul, "believeth all things" (1 Corinthians 13:7). Mormon made the same assertion in a sermon on faith, hope, and charity. (See Moroni 7:45.) And Joseph Smith included the statement in one of the Articles of Faith of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: "We... Continue Reading →
Peacemakers
Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God" (Matthew 5:9, 3 Nephi 12:9). And the apostle Paul made this plea in his epistle to the Romans: "If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men" (Romans 12:18). The prophet Mormon applied that teaching to... Continue Reading →
Angels
An angel is a messenger. The Greek word aggelos (ἄγγελος) is probably derived from the verb agó (ἄγω) which means "to bring," so an angel is someone who brings a message from God. Near the beginning of the Book of Mormon, Nephi sees an expansive vision narrated by an angel. (See 1 Nephi 11-14.) Jacob... Continue Reading →
We Need Our Ancestors—and They Need Us
The word "fathers" appears 182 times in the Book of Mormon, usually meaning "ancestors." For example: On the title page, we read that one of the purposes of the book is "to show unto the remnant of the House of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers."Lehi was delighted to find... Continue Reading →
A Pure People
John wrote that we can become like God. "When he shall appear, we shall be like him," he wrote, "for we shall see him as he is." Then, he added, "[Everyone] that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure" (1 John 3:2-3). Mormon described a similar future state for those... Continue Reading →
Every Word
As the children of Israel prepared to enter the promised land, Moses asked them to consider some of the lessons of their sojourn in the wilderness. One of those lessons came from the food they ate: manna, which mysteriously appeared every morning except the sabbath in sufficient portions to provide them with physical nourishment. (See... Continue Reading →
Book of Mormon Study Notes 