Jesus "taught...as one having authority." What does that mean? His study of the scriptures had brought Him close to God, and His power as a teacher came from that closeness. Ammon and his brothers also "taught with power and authority" as did Abinadi.
How Did Jesus Fulfill the Law?
Jesus fulfilled the law in three ways: (1) by completing His mission, rendering the religious observances of the law of Moses obsolete, (2) by fulfilling scriptural prophecies, and (3) by clarifying the meaning and purpose of God's commandments.
“Lest Thou Dash Thy Foot”
A promise of protection is not a license to do stupid things. When Satan urged Jesus to leap from the temple, he was asking Him to focus on the wrong thing: the promise of safety instead of the work He had been sent to do.
Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness
To ancient Israel, the Lord declared, "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour" (Exodus 20:16, Deuteronomy 5:20, Mosiah 13:23). He subsequently elaborated on this commandment: You must not pass along false rumors. You must not cooperate with evil people by lying on the witness stand.You must not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you are... Continue Reading →
Thou Shalt Not Covet
The first nine commandments are all about our behavior, but the tenth commandment is about our desires. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.Exodus 20:17, Mosiah 13:24 The word "covet" can mean simply to... Continue Reading →
Performances and Ordinances
Even before rescuing the children of Israel from bondage, the Lord prescribed for them formal actions they should take each year to commemorate their deliverance. They should select a lamb, not just any lamb, but an unblemished male lamb in its first year. They should roast it with fire (not boil it) and eat it... Continue Reading →
Moses
When Pharaoh's daughter discovered a Hebrew baby floating in a small basket in the river, she decided to adopt him. The writer of Genesis explains that she named him Moses, or Mosheh (משֶׁה) because she "drew him out of the water" (Exodus 2:10). The Hebrew word mashah (מָשָׁה) means "to draw out" or "to pull... Continue Reading →
The Sanctity of Life
A disciple of Jesus Christ has a reverence and respect for living things. "Thou shalt not kill," God commanded on Mount Sinai (Exodus 20:13, Deuteronomy 5:17, Mosiah 13:21). And Jesus extended that commandment to less violent offenses: don't get angry; don't say unkind things. (See Matthew 5:21, 3 Nephi 12:21.) When we recognize that all... Continue Reading →
“Their Bounds Are Set”
Freedom to choose is not the same thing as unlimited power. That seems pretty obvious, but in our pursuit of freedom, we sometimes fail to acknowledge our constraints. And when other people are misbehaving, we may forget that they, too, operate within constraints, seen or unseen. Job pointed out that the ultimate constraint on every... Continue Reading →
Duty
In the poem "The Theologian's Tale; the Legend Beautiful," Henry Wadsworth Longfellow relates a story of a monk who experiences a supernal vision in which he sees the Savior. During this experience, he hears the poor outside the gate of the convent, and he wonders whether he dares to leave the divine presence in order... Continue Reading →
Book of Mormon Study Notes 