Maxwell Institute Podcast

It’s Christmas! This may feel like an awkward lesson to have in the discussion of the Old Testament, it’s at least how I felt. But in considering the topic more deeply, I can’t think of a better way to prepare for celebrating the Savior’s birth. We’ve spent the year reading the scriptures that He read and recognizing the ways that ancient Israel expected a Savior to redeem them. We discuss the Old Testament in light of the Promised Lamb of God in this episode of “Abide: A Maxwell Institute Podcast.” The post Abide: Christmas appeared first on Neal A. Maxwell Institute | BYU.

Finding Christ in the Covenant Path offers a fresh but faithful focus on the journey of covenants and discipleship through the double lens of ancient words and medieval images. The first part of the book helps us see Christ’s identity as our Redeemer by exploring the ancient words that connect covenants, redemption, worship, the presence of the Lord, and sitting down enthroned in God’s presence as his children and heirs. The second part of the book reveals Christ as our ransom by exploring medieval images, particularly the image of Christ. With personal anecdotes, historical background, and scriptural analysis, this section uses devotional images and late medieval practices of contemplation as a strategy to come unto Christ. By using medieval images as a counterpoint to Restoration practices and ordinances, we can more fully appreciate the gift of God’s Son and see that gift with fresh eyes. The post Maxwell Institute Podcast #156: Finding Christ in the Covenant Path, with Jennifer C. Lane appeared first on Neal A. Maxwell Institute | BYU.

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In 2007, the Museum at Eldridge Street opened at the site of a restored nineteenth-century synagogue originally built by some of the first Eastern European Jewish immigrants in New York City. Visitors to the museum are invited to stand along indentations on the floor where footprints of congregants past have worn down the soft pinewood. Here, many feel a palpable connection to the history surrounding them. Beyond the Synagogue argues that nostalgic activities such as visiting the Museum at Eldridge Street or eating traditional Jewish foods should be understood as American Jewish religious practices. In making the case that these practices are not just cultural, but are actually religious, Rachel B. Gross asserts if one looked outside of traditional institutions and practices, such as attendance at synagogue or membership in Jewish Community Centers, they would see that the embrace of nostalgia provides evidence of an alternative, under-appreciated way of being Jewish and of maintaining Jewish continuity. Tracing American Jews’ involvement in a broad array of ostensibly nonreligious activities, including conducting Jewish genealogical research, visiting Jewish historic sites, purchasing books and toys that teach Jewish nostalgia to children, and seeking out traditional Jewish foods, Gross argues that these practices illuminate how many American Jews are finding and making meaning within American Judaism today. The post Maxwell Institute Podcast #155: Nostalgia as Jewish Religious Practice, with Rachel B. Gross appeared first on Neal A. Maxwell Institute | BYU.

One of the most interesting days of my life took place a few years ago when I co-conducted a tour of the Jordan River Temple in Utah for non-Latter-day Saint specialists in American religion. As we walked from room to room, my co-tour guide, my second mission president, did his best to anticipate questions that my scholarly friends may have had. He did a great job! The most interesting part of the tour, though, came well after we left the temple’s doorways. My friend Bob asked “what does the temple DO for Latter-day Saints?” I answered about eternal kinship networks, the binding of families, and more. No, he said, pointedly, what does the temple DO for individuals like you? That questions took me back–as you can tell, I still reflect on it several years later. I think, if I were to think of how to describe what the temple does in the lives of everyday Latter-day Saints is flourishing. The flourishing of relationships, of personal peace and reflection, of revelatory capacity, and of my faith in Jesus Christ. As we discuss Haggai and Zechariah today, let’s keep that question in mind: what does the gospel DO for Latter-day Saints? Why are we so anxious to build temples and invite all we can to participate in their sacred rituals and spiritual splendor? The post Abide: Haggai and Zechariah appeared first on Neal A. Maxwell Institute | BYU.

In Adam S. Miller’s lecture, “The Necessity of God: First person, Present Tense, Imperative Mood” Miller talks about Tim Farnsworth, a man who cannot stop walking from the fictional book The Unnamed. Miller said that everyone has different crosses to bear, and although we cannot change them, like Farnsworth cannot stop walking, we have to learn how to love and accept these challenges in order to connect to God. Link to view the Annual Lecture here: https://youtu.be/N1L_ctSw2pk The post Maxwell Institute Podcast #154: The Necessity of God, with Adam S. Miller (2022 Neal A. Maxwell Lecture) appeared first on Neal A. Maxwell Institute | BYU.

The Book of Mormon Art Catalog seeks to provide unprecedented access to visual imagery inspired by the Book of Mormon through a comprehensive, open access, and searchable digital database. In this role, the Book of Mormon Art Catalog supports research and education, aids scholarly and artistic work, promotes a greater knowledge of artists worldwide, provides a study and devotional resource for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other interested individuals, and creates opportunities for increased understanding and collaboration. You can view Jenny’s lecture introducing the catalog on the Maxwell Institute’s YouTube channel HERE: https://youtu.be/c1m_JnFrGXo The post Maxwell Institute Podcast #153: The Book of Mormon Art Catalog with Jennifer Champoux appeared first on Neal A. Maxwell Institute | BYU.

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One of my favorite sermons in the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is a sermon delivered by President Hugh B. Brown at BYU. It’s entitled God is the Gardner; I’m confident that many of you have heard this before. But I love the part at the end where, when dealing with a massive professional disappointment, that Brother Brown says that, he takes his fist and he shakes it at heaven, and he says why would you do this to me, God? I’ve done all that I know how to uphold the standards of the Church, and yet you’ve cut me down. He then remembers that he had said something very similar to a currant bush, and he recognized the lesson that God would do as he saw fit for his best growth. And then repeated part of the hymn “It may not be on the mountain height, or over the stormy sea. It may not be at the battle’s front, my Lord will have need of me. But if by a still small voice he calls, to paths that I do not know, I’ll answer dear Lord with my hand in thine, I’ll go where you want me to go.” Now this may be a funny hymn and a funny story to remember when we’re going to be discussing Jonah today, perhaps the most famous character to shirk what the Lord asked him to do. But I was struck by it in thinking about the ways that I would like to think I am like Elder Brown in this situation, but that often, I actually end up acting like Jonah. In this episode of Abide: A Maxwell Institute Podcast, we’ll discuss what it means to answer the Lord’s call and also different ways of approaching scripture in our personal study. The post Abide: Jonah and Micah appeared first on Neal A. Maxwell Institute | BYU.

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