Maxwell Institute Podcast

How do we learn from failure? Especially the end of an organization as large as a kingdom? What if two kingdoms fall? Today, as we look at the end of both Kingdoms of Israel, I hope that we can explore what it means to understand a people’s historical failures and recognize that modern people are just as capable of failing, despite being God’s chosen peoples, as ancient peoples. How do we avoid the hubris of declaring ourselves indestructible? How do we embrace the humility needed to rely on God and trust His word? We discuss that and much more in today’s episode of “Abide: A Maxwell Institute Podcast.” The post Abide: 2 Kings 17-25 appeared first on Neal A. Maxwell Institute | BYU.

Elijah and Elisha are well-known to Latter-day Saints. The prophecy that Elijah would return was foretold in each of the four books of the Latter-day Saint canon. Indeed, Elijah visited the Prophet Joseph Smith and his counselor, Sidney Rigdon, in the Kirtland Temple, restoring the keys of the sealing power to the earth. Elisha may be less known, but his miracles are seen as some of the most didactic of any performed by prophets after Moses in the Old Testament. What can we learn from these prophets and their ministries? We’ll discuss that and more on today’ episode of “Abide: A Maxwell Institute Podcast.” The post Abide: 2 Kings 2-7 appeared first on Neal A. Maxwell Institute | BYU.

Solomon’s reign was glorious, but what he gained in wealth, wives and infrastructure he lost in spiritual standing. He had not been faithful to the God of Israel. Instead, he adopted a cosmopolitanism that accommodated the religious preferences of his wives. However, God kept faith with David and Solomon, and the kingdom was split in two, with the ten northern tribes, the new Kingdom of Israel, being led by Solomon’s servant Jeroboam, and the southern Kingdom of Judah being led by Solomon’s son, Rehoboam. The post Abide: 1 Kings 17-19 appeared first on Neal A. Maxwell Institute | BYU.

The post Abide: 2 Samuel 5-7; 11-12; 1 Kings 3; 8; 11 appeared first on Neal A. Maxwell Institute | BYU.

Spiritual experiences are famously transformative. They sometimes inspire dramatic effects of conversion and healing, of vision and new life direction. But even in their more quotidian forms they expand our cognitive and emotional capacities, help cultivate virtues, and intensify our feelings of closeness to God, others, and things we deem ultimate. For Matthew Wickman, spiritual experience makes us feel more deeply alive. And literature functions as a special medium for capturing the nuances of spiritual experiences, helping us reflect more deeply on them and become more receptive to them. In Wickman’s experience, which he reflects on in his new book from the Maxwell Institute’s Living Faith Series, LIFE TO THE WHOLE BEING: THE SPIRITUAL MEMOIR OF A LITERATURE PROFESSOR, literature has also helped him negotiate the complex relationship between spirituality, faith, and organized religion. He discusses all this by way of deeply personal experiences, theological reflection, and discussion of literary texts by Virginia Woolf, Denise Levertov, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Christian Wiman, and more. Due to unforeseen circumstances, you cannot currently hear this episode on our website. You can listen on YouTube, at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5phuSEN0Hw The post Maxwell Podcast Episode #144: A Spiritual Life in Literature, with Matthew Wickman appeared first on Neal A. Maxwell Institute | BYU.

In Mosiah 29, Mosiah says that “if it were possible that you could have bjust men to be your kings, who would establish the claws of God, and judge this people according to his commandments, yea, if ye could have men for your kings who would do even as my father dBenjamin did for this people—I say unto you, if this could always be the case then it would be expedient that ye should always have kings to rule over you.” However, commandment-keeping kings aren’t always available or a possibility. So, as we go through several chapters in 1 Samuel, what can we learn about Kingship? Both their preparations and their reign? We’ll discuss that and much more in this episode of “Abide: A Maxwell Institute Podcast.” The post Abide: 1 Samuel 8-10; 13; 15-18 appeared first on Neal A. Maxwell Institute | BYU.

The Old Testament names more women, and has more books named for women, than any of the other texts in the Latter-day Saint canon. They fulfill their roles as disciples, family members, and in following their personal integrity with living up to their commitment within community relationships. How do they fulfill those roles? And how can Latter-day Saint better fulfill these roles by following these disciples’ examples? We’ll discuss that, and much more, on today’s episode of “Abide: A Maxwell Institute Podcast.” The post Abide: Ruth; 1 Samuel 1-3 appeared first on Neal A. Maxwell Institute | BYU.

There’s a difficulty in reading the scriptures. I’m not referring to words on the page. I’m also not referring to the habit of scripture reading, though that could certainly apply, too. No, I’m referring to making the scriptures, whose figures and narratives are familiar to many Latter-day Saints, new and refreshing and insightful. In today’s episode of “Abide: A Maxwell Institute Podcast,” we discuss two figures, and use the tools of academic research to better understand what their stories might mean and our disciples’ hearts to find out what their stories might mean for us. The post Abide: Judges 2-4; 6-8; 13-16 appeared first on Neal A. Maxwell Institute | BYU.

“This Church will stand, because it is upon a firm basis. … The Lord has shown it to us by the revealing principle of the Holy Spirit of light.” Lorenzo Snow, April 1900 That quotes embodies much of what is going on in the third volume of SAINTS, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ ongoing history being produced by the Church Historical Department. In it, we find Latter-day Saint Christians confronting new information, ideas, and grappling with changes required of the Saints as they entered the twentieth century and globalized throughout the early twentieth century. We learn about the end of sanctioned plural marriages and how African American converts lived with racism in their local congregations. We’ll also learn about how Saints around the world embraced the challenges brought on by Revolution, Depression and world wars, and came out as stronger Saints with vibrant testimonies of the restored gospel. In today’s episode, we speak with two of the writers and editors of the Saints project, Lisa Olsen Tait and Scott Hales, about how and why the Saints project as created, resources available to deepen Latter-day Saints’ understandings of the past through approved resources, and much, much more. The post Maxwell Institute Podcast #143: Saints in a Modernizing World, with Lisa Olsen Tait and Scott Hales appeared first on Neal A. Maxwell Institute | BYU.

Scholars spend entire careers debating texts, their origins, their impact, and the most valuable contributions they make to broader understanding. At the Maxwell Institute, we participate in these debates, but recognize that a text’s value cannot be narrowed down to observable fact–the long-lasting test of scripture is how it shapes the readers’ or hearers’ faith. In today’s episode of “Abide: A Maxwell Institute Podcast,” we discuss the book of Joshua, exploring the meanings of the Promised Land, archaeological possibilities and limits, and early Christians understanding of Joshua as a type of Christ. The post Abide: Joshua 1-8; 23-24 appeared first on Neal A. Maxwell Institute | BYU.