In this engaging discussion, Stephen Smoot, a doctoral candidate in Semitic languages, Dr. Ben Spackman, an expert in American religious history, and Travis Anderson, a missionary assistant, delve into the intricate differences in biblical interpretation between Latter-day Saints and Evangelicals. They tackle topics like Sola Scriptura, ongoing revelation, and proof texting, all while sharing personal anecdotes and humorous insights. The panel emphasizes the importance of context in understanding scripture and encourages constructive dialogue across faith traditions.

The doctrine of agency; the Lamanite Mission (D&C sections 29–34) by Mike Parker (Mike Parker is a long-time FAIR member who has graciously allowed us to use materials he originally prepared for the Hurricane Utah Adult Religion Class. The scripture passages covered in his lessons don’t conform exactly to the Come, Follow Me reading schedule, so they will be shared here where they fit best.) Class Notes Additional Reading The Autobiography of Parley Parker Pratt (Chicago: Law, King & Law, 1888). Read Parley’s account of his early life, conversion to the restored gospel, and service as a missionary and apostle. Who Are the Lamanites? Scripture Central KnoWhy #486 Native Americans and the Lamanites Latter-day Saint leaders have expressed a variety of opinions regarding whether or not all Amerindians are literal descendants of Lehi. Population genetics indicate that Lehi can likely be counted among the ancestors of all native Americans—a position that the Church has reinforced by changing the 1981 Book of Mormon introduction from “principal ancestors” to “among the ancestors.”     Mike Parker is a business and marketing analyst with over twenty years’ experience in the financial services and cellular telephone industries. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Management Information Systems from Dixie State University (now Utah Tech University) of St George, Utah. He also has eight years’ experience in corporate training and currently teaches an adult religion class in southern Utah. Mike and his wife, Denise, have three children. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 29-34 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

I Am In Your Midst by Autumn Dickson There is a lot of doctrine covered in Doctrine and Covenants 29. I absolutely love it. It ranges from the Millennium to agency and all over the board. There are so many things that caught my attention that are meaningful to me but alas, let’s talk about just one of the principles. Before I jump into the verse, I want to give some background to explain why it caught my attention. I remember going to this HUGE regional youth conference as a senior in high school. It included a big cultural celebration, and we rented out a big stadium to perform in. There was dancing and singing. It was all a ton of fun. I also remember a little rumor going around about the prophet coming because it was such a huge conference, and I remember lots of people whispering excitedly about it. I’m not sure if the prophet had ever planned on coming or if someone had just gotten a little ahead of themselves and it got spread around as a rumor. If I am remembering correctly, I feel like it was a real possibility; I feel like we were waiting to get word on whether he would actually be able to make it, but I could be wrong. It’s been over a decade since that time and I’ve had five kids so pardon my memory. I do remember that people started praying for him to show up, and I remember whispering excitedly about how cool it would be if he did. I also remember the moment we learned that he wasn’t going to be coming and the general feeling of disappointment that followed. Now, I had the unique opportunity of welcoming the youth to the conference and giving the opening prayer for the conference, and I was told about this unique opportunity right before actually doing the welcoming. I didn’t know what to say, but I did know that everyone was feeling pretty disappointed that President Monson wasn’t going to make it. Luckily, the Spirit stepped in and helped me know what to say; I also learned something pretty significant from this little experience. I acknowledged the disappointment that we all felt over the prophet not being able to come, and then the Spirit helped me testify that even though he couldn’t make it, the Savior would be there to watch us perform and be with us. The following verse reminded me of this experience. Doctrine and Covenants 29:5 Lift up your hearts and be glad, for I am in your midst, and am your advocate with the Father; and it is his good will to give you the kingdom. Doctrine and Covenants 29 was given in the company of six other elders. It wasn’t some huge conference, but the Savior told these men that He was in their midst. The Savior claims to be with His saints frequently throughout the Doctrine and Covenants. Do we believe that or do we mentally skip over phrases like that because they feel trite? When He claims to be in our midst, what does that mean to us? Excitement over the prophet I want to momentarily jump back to the excitement that all of us felt over the prospect of the prophet visiting our gigantic youth conference. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with wanting to meet the prophet and wanting to be around him. There is a reason we love our prophet. In so many ways, it’s not really about President Hinckley or Monson or Nelson. It’s about what they represent. They represent the fact that the heavens are opened again, the priesthood power to perform binding ordinances are on the earth, and the Lord is directing His church. We love our prophet because of the symbol that he is to our faith. We get excited about General Conference and the revelation we’re going to receive. When my companion and I walked out of the MTC cafeteria, we saw Elder Holland and literally froze in our tracks. He shook our hands before rushing on to get to his next appointment, and we were so excited about it. If I saw President Nelson tomorrow, I would be super excited even as an adult. And yet, when the Savior claims to be in the presence of His Saints, what does that mean to us? I think the main reason it’s easier to get excited about shaking the hand of a prophet vs. picturing the Savior near us is the difficulty level. It requires far more effort to get to the point where you truly believe He is with you. And once you reach that point, it still takes effort to feel Him and hear Him and engage yourself in speaking to Him. But oh my goodness…it’s so worth it. The primary answers So how do we bring Him into our midst? How do we trust Him when He says that He is already there? How do we start to take advantage of the fact that the Savior really is here with us? Honestly, I think the most powerful tools we have are the basic tools He gave us. We do the primary answers of praying, reading your scriptures, and going to church. We often talk about how it can be hard to make sure you’re reading your scriptures and praying. We talk about how it’s hard to develop those habits, and I’ve heard it expressed that we should stop putting so much pressure on people who are already feeling a ton of pressure to accomplish everything. I agree that pressure is often unhelpful, but I don’t think I agree with the sentiment that we should stop striving for daily habits. They are simply too valuable. Sometimes I shy away from pushing those habits because I know that those kinds of things are easy for me. I’m good at habits. I love reading and writing. I grew up in a family where those habits were emphasized. One of my biggest time consumers other than my kids (i.e. blog, podcast, YouTube) is literally pushing me to seek Him out on a daily basis. It occasionally feels insensitive for me to advocate for it when it’s not as easy for other people. But I can’t not testify of these things. They hold too much power. I know exactly what you get when you invite the Savior into your midst regularly with scripture study and prayer. Because it’s not going to be enough to just do them. Eventually, we have to get to the point where we’re doing it in a manner that effectively fulfills our purpose – being with the Savior. It’s not about reading for long enough or praying for long enough; it’s about whether you truly communed with Him. Communing with Him can be even harder than crossing these small things off of a checklist. It’s harder to spiritually strive for those things. It’s harder to constantly re-engage when it feels like the whole world is trying to distract you from it. It’s harder to keep spiritually engaging when you feel like you’re not getting much in return, but if you do the primary answers while neglecting their purpose, then you’re much less likely to find the rewards and you will most definitely find yourself prioritizing them less and less. He can tell us that He’s in our midst all He wants. He can sit with us while we take the sacrament. He can place His hand on our shoulder in our darkest moments. He can enjoy the simple moments in life right alongside us, but it won’t matter if we don’t believe it. Utilizing the primary answers to practice communing with Him enables us to believe Him when He says He’s in our midst. And when you believe that you have the Savior with you, it changes everything. I remember a time on my mission when things felt incredibly heavy. My companion was in the shower so I had some very rare alone time. I sat in the dark living room of our apartment, prayed, and I felt Him with me. He didn’t try to “fix” things. I didn’t get any answers. He wasn’t telling me to have more faith. He mourned with me. I think about getting caught up in the daily stresses of my life. I wonder about where my family is going to end up, how to protect my kids from the scary influences in the world, the list goes on and on and on. But (almost) every day, I sit down and I type out a prayer and when I do it right, I remember how the Savior and His promises touch everything I write down. I’m worried about where we’re going to end up? When I picture Him with me, it’s much easier to remember that it doesn’t really matter. I have a beautiful, perfect, eternal home where I can stay forever. I’m worried about my kids? He can guide me to protect them and heal them. He can remind me to be grateful when they’re challenged because it’s so healthy to be challenged. He knows where they’re at and how to help them. Investing in primary answers, to the extent that you open your eyes to how the Savior is in your midst, will remove so many mental obstacles from your path. It will lift you. It will help you feel legitimately grateful for where you’re at in life. It will help you feel secure when the world is scary. It will empower you to accomplish so much more. Truly investing in primary answers with purpose brings the Savior into your midst, and that changes everything. I testify of a Savior who wants to be with you. He wants to lift you. He wants you to feel powerful enough to overcome obstacles. He wants to help you believe in yourself when the obstacle feels too big. I testify of a Savior who gave us very simple tools to open our eyes so that we can see Him with us.   Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR’s 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 29 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

Emma Hale Smith; the sacrament; authority in the Church (D&C sections 25, 27–28) by Mike Parker (Mike Parker is a long-time FAIR member who has graciously allowed us to use materials he originally prepared for the Hurricane Utah Adult Religion Class. The scripture passages covered in his lessons don’t conform exactly to the Come, Follow Me reading schedule, so they will be shared here where they fit best.) Class Notes Additional Reading Digital photographs of Emma Smith’s 1835 hymnbook, available online at the Joseph Smith Papers website. In early 1879, Emma was interviewed by her son, Joseph Smith III, who asked her questions about the Prophet Joseph, the translation of the Book of Mormon, and other events in the restoration of the gospel. Her responses were published as “Last Testimony of Sister Emma,” The Saints’ Herald 26, no. 19 (1 October 1879): 289–90. Although Emma denied that the Prophet Joseph ever practiced plural marriage (which he, in fact, did), her eyewitness testimony is otherwise invaluable and inspiring. Background on Emma’s second husband, Lewis Bidamon, may be found in Valeen Tippetts Avery and Linda King Newell, “Lewis C. Bidamon, Stepchild of Mormondom,” BYU Studies 19, no. 3 (Spring 1979): 375–88.     Mike Parker is a business and marketing analyst with over twenty years’ experience in the financial services and cellular telephone industries. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Management Information Systems from Dixie State University (now Utah Tech University) of St George, Utah. He also has eight years’ experience in corporate training and currently teaches an adult religion class in southern Utah. Mike and his wife, Denise, have three children. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 25, 27–28 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

God Chose a Prophet by Autumn Dickson We are currently still in the very early days of the church where the Lord is revealing line upon line. Satan is actively working against God’s plan, and he often tries to mimic God to lead people astray. He loves to tell half-truths that seem logical upon first examination. One of the historical accounts we can read about this week includes supposed revelations that were being received by Hiram Page. Hiram claimed to be receiving revelation for the church on various topics, and many saints believed him. This was not the first time that priesthood organization needed to be clarified. Oliver Cowdery had once commanded Joseph to change some wording in a revelation because he believed it was in error. I find it especially interesting that when Joseph was seeking revelation on how to handle the issues with Hiram Page, the Lord responded by sending Oliver to Hiram to work it out. Here is how the Lord clarified His priesthood organization in regards to Hiram Page. Doctrine and Covenants 28:2 But, behold, verily, verily, I say unto thee, no one shall be appointed to receive commandments and revelations in this church excepting my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., for he receiveth them even as Moses. In other words, the Lord very purposefully works through His prophet to guide His church. Only one man can receive revelation for the entire church at any given time. A bishop can receive revelation for the entire ward. A stake president can receive revelation for the entire stake. A Relief Society president can receive revelation for the women in her ward. Youth leaders, temple presidents, mission presidents, fathers, and mothers all have spiritual jurisdictions. A lot of people struggle with the idea of one prophet receiving revelation for the entire church, and I’m sure the reasons for this struggle are numerous. However, I believe there are a couple of main ones we can talk about. And though we are covering specific reasons, I believe the principles can be applied to various circumstances and struggles. Power and manipulation I think one of the reasons that people struggle with this idea of a prophet is because they’ve seen positions of authority get abused throughout history. It happens politically. It happens in the home. It happens in religious organizations. It even happens in our own church often enough. I’m not specifically talking about the prophet, just leadership in general. We are imperfect people, and we’ve all abused our power to one extent or another. Viewing it from a perspective of someone who is struggling to believe in a prophet adds additional insight. They see a man who has the power to make any decisions he wants with few consequences. This isn’t a democracy or republic. There is little room for redress when there are perceived wrongs because we believe that the prophet is receiving revelation from the Lord, and so disagreeing with the prophet feels complicated. I think it’s important to view it from the standpoint of someone who believes differently than you, but I also believe it’s vital to view it from the standpoint of belief as well. There are a couple of principles that can be supremely comforting when you really, truly, deeply believe that the Savior chose to work through a prophet. Principle One: The Lord had to choose a system of governance Principle one. The Lord has to work within the framework of an imperfect world. If the world was perfect, systems of governance wouldn’t matter as much. In fact, if the world was perfect and we were all perfect, we wouldn’t need leaders at all. But alas, the Lord just has us and so He has to make decisions about how He’s going to handle that. The Lord’s purpose was to create a system that would allow His gospel to more fully thrive. He needed the doctrine to stay pure because an accurate knowledge of the character of God and a framework for how to get back to Him is crucial. He needed to be able to send the gospel to all corners of the earth and make sure that the same truth was being taught everywhere. He chose a prophet and a church with which to do it. Once again, some people struggle with it because there is ample opportunity for spiritual abuse. But let’s explore His alternative option. Imagine, just for a moment, what things would look like if anyone could receive revelation for the entire church at any time. Imagine what it would look like if anyone could come up to you and tell you that they received revelation that you should do something specific. That sounds infinitely more terrifying in my mind. There may be opportunities for spiritual abuse with one leader, but there are far more opportunities for abuse when anyone can come along and hurt anyone by claiming divine revelation. One mean-spirited person could cause far more heartache in countless lives in comparison to imperfect but well-meaning men. There would be infinitely more opportunities for manipulation and religious abuse. The Lord was wise in His choice of a prophet as a system of governance, but it doesn’t stop there! The Lord didn’t just say, “Well, all we have is imperfection so good luck!” There are more principles. Principle Two: Promises The Lord has given promises regarding His prophet. The foremost promise is that He won’t allow the prophet to lead the church astray. This can be minimally comforting when you think about the fact that this promise came from one of the men who had the power to lead the church astray, but once again, let’s put this in a lens of belief. You can receive revelation. You can’t receive revelation for anyone; you have a spiritual jurisdiction as well. But you can receive revelation! Pray about it! Pray and ask the Lord if He called a prophet, and then actually give Him a chance to answer by showing a little faith. Tell the Lord to help you find the answer, to change you so that you’re prepared to receive it. Once you have the assurance that He has called a prophet, it changes how you look at everything else. When we receive a testimony of that promise (He won’t let the prophet lead the church astray), we can look at things through a lens of faith and that is incredibly powerful. It won’t make sense to the rest of the world that doesn’t hold that same testimony, but that doesn’t really matter. You’ll know the truth, and you’ll know you can trust the Lord, His choices, and His timing. When things come along that don’t make sense, you don’t have to question everything you believe. You can ask the Lord. You can say to yourself, “I know God is good. I know He loves me. I know – insert testimony here-. I don’t know how it all fits together, but I trust that He does.” Principle three: The Atonement of Jesus Christ Now, prophets are imperfect men. That means there has been hurt. That means they don’t do everything perfectly. How does that make sense? If they make mistakes, how can they not lead the church astray? How can both things be true? Honestly, I think people take that promise too intensely. That promise doesn’t mean that a prophet will never make a mistake. It means that the Lord can course-correct. He can teach and lead and guide. This is a living church, and the restoration is ongoing. It means we’re headed in the right direction even if we don’t have it all figured out yet. If that doesn’t sound good enough, then look at your own life. You’re imperfect, but there is a lot of power in walking towards the right direction. The Lord isn’t trying to make you perfect yet. If His main purpose was to have you perfectly avoid sin, then He wouldn’t send trials or anything that could derail you. Rather, His purpose is your growth which means He’s not as concerned about errors and missteps as some of us are. He just wants to push us in the right direction and gain the growth and wisdom we need. If we keep heading in the right direction, eventually the missteps and errors stop anyway. I believe it’s the same idea but on a grand scale in the church and the prophet. Unfortunately, some missteps can cause pain and confusion. The Lord needed to allow us to be imperfect for so many good reasons, but He didn’t say, “Sorry. They’re imperfect. Tough luck.” That’s why God sent more than a prophet. He sent His Son. Every injustice you suffer will be made up. Every injustice you watch someone else suffer will be made up. It will be more than made up because a Savior chose to come to earth and suffer and die for us. He’s got this. It’s going to work out. But none of this really matters unless you believe it. It can be the truth, but it won’t bless you unless you know it’s the truth. So ask the Lord. I’m grateful for a Savior who chooses to be involved in our affairs on the earth. I’m grateful for a Savior who has shown me time and again that I matter to Him, who has shown me that I can trust Him until I reach the point where I’m ready to receive all truth.     Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR’s 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 27–28 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

Require Not Miracles by Autumn Dickson The Doctrine and Covenants differs from other books of scripture in the sense that the Lord is often responding to individual people. This can lead to some of the sections seeming disjointed as the Lord covers multiple feelings and circumstances that any given individual may be experiencing. In other books of scriptures, we get stories or sermons that were all meant to go together. In the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord is simply talking to the people receiving the revelation (most often through the prophet Joseph Smith), and it’s like a letter. He’s going to respond to many different circumstances. In Doctrine and Covenants 24, the Lord is talking to various men about earthly responsibilities and testifying of the gospel. Here is one of the things the Lord decides to include as He is talking to His children. Doctrine and Covenants 24:13-14 13 Require not miracles, except I shall command you, except casting out devils, healing the sick, and against poisonous serpents, and against deadly poisons; 14 And these things ye shall not do, except it be required of you by them who desire it, that the scriptures might be fulfilled; for ye shall do according to that which is written. I want to tie a couple phrases together in order to more directly teach what I want to talk about today. “Require not miracles except I shall command you….except it be required of you by them who desire it…” So if the Lord is directly speaking to His children, what can we imply from what He chose to say in these particular verses? I can’t know for sure, but I imagine that some of these new members had wanted to perform miracles like the ones they read about in the bible. They believed that they had just found the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Wouldn’t that mean the same miracles should follow? Perhaps some attempted these miracles, or perhaps it was just something that had been pondered. Either way, the Lord teaches them that they shouldn’t just go around trying to perform miracles. They can perform those miracles if they’ve been commanded by the Lord or if it has been sought by those who need the miracle. This is an interesting concept when you combine it with the fact that the Lord didn’t go about broadcasting His miraculous abilities. He often solicited the healed to stay quiet about what had occurred. Perhaps there were appropriate times in which He offered to intervene, but if I’m not mistaken, all the very direct miracles that we read about in the New Testament were brought about because someone came to the Lord to ask Him for the miracle. Why does the Lord work after this manner and why does He ask His disciples to work this way? They are commanded to perform miracles when commanded by God or when asked by the people who need it. Performing a miracle because God asked you to do it is fairly straightforward, and so I want to focus on the fact that the Lord asked them to only perform miracles when they’ve been asked. Though I’m sure there are many reasons, there is one main reason that I’d like to cover today. Alma and preaching the gospel This idea of running around and advertising miracles reminds me of another passage of scripture in The Book of Mormon. I want to talk about this passage, and then I want to bring it back around to the idea of advertising and performing miracles everywhere. In Alma 29, Alma is wishing that he could preach the gospel to every corner of the earth. He wishes he could be an angel and shake the earth with his testimony regarding the Savior. His desire was to preach across the world in a way that enabled everyone to hear it. I remember thinking that this was a pretty good wish. To me, it seems like a good reflection on his heart. But, later on in the chapter, Alma says he is sinning in his wish. Why? Sin is anything that’s going to bring us further from eternal life. Even when we have good intentions and pure hearts, there are certain things that can take eternal life away from us. Alma is correct in trusting the Lord with the calling the Lord chooses to give him in life. Even with good hearts and intentions, obedience and trust in the Lord is essential. There are appropriate times to solicit the Lord for more responsibilities, blessings, or other things, but it’s important to trust what He chooses to give. Now let’s take that a step further and explore Alma’s desire to preach the gospel. Why might this take people farther away from eternal life rather than closer? When we really ponder Alma’s desire a little further, we can see the wisdom of the Lord in not expanding Alma’s calling to earth-shattering, angelic missionary that reaches across the earth. Simply put, eternal life doesn’t really work like that. If Alma were to receive his wish, it would have foiled the Plan of Salvation. The gospel may have been preached to every creature, and many might have even accepted it. But WHY would they have chosen to accept it? Because the WHY is key. Choosing to follow the tenants of the gospel is not the same as reaping the rewards of the gospel. I would know. I chose to follow the gospel for a long time before actually reaping the rewards. The true reward of living the gospel is eternal life, and what is eternal life? What is it really? Eternal life is living like God. It’s choosing to be good because you have changed to be innately good. God doesn’t choose to be righteous and perfect because He wants to avoid some eternal punishment. He chooses to be righteous and perfect because He is love. If the gospel was suddenly preached on a miraculous, earth-shattering loudspeaker, it would very quickly transfer a large portion of people into the category of, “I’m following the gospel because I want to avoid hell.” It would rob them of the opportunity to work through belief, to work on drawing closer to the Lord continually, on turning to Him when you’re worried about being deceived. As we take advantage of questions and worries by turning to the Lord, we reap the benefits of a divine relationship with Him. Those benefits (change, love, trust) are what eternal life feel like. Avoiding hell is not eternal life. Avoiding hell can only bring so much happiness. If we want to experience the happiness and joy that God has in store, we have to go beyond just trying to avoid hell. So we’ve explored it. The Lord is incredibly wise when He doesn’t throw away the belief stage, and Alma was wise when he trusted that the Lord knew what He was doing. Taking it back to miracles Let’s bring it back to the original command to perform miracles when asked by the person who needs the miracle. Wanting to go around and perform miracles everywhere likely sprang from a good place. That desire to heal and prevent disaster came from a good heart, but what did we learn from Alma’s example? Even with good hearts and good intentions, there are things that can still take us away from eternal life. It’s important to trust the Lord. The Lord is wise, and He knows that it’s often important for someone to ask for a miracle before receiving it. Why is it wise to require this? Simply put, eternal life doesn’t really work like that. The Lord’s purpose is to help us grow to be like Him. He wants us to change so that we can reap the rewards that He reaps. He wants us to feel what He feels. If His disciples were to go around performing miracles right and left, what would be the result? One result is the same result that we explored with Alma wanting to preach the gospel over a loudspeaker. It removes that aspect of faith and belief that drive us towards developing that relationship with Christ and finding the rewards therein. It removes the growth that comes with having to repeatedly turn towards Him. Another result is that sometimes the Lord chooses not to remove obstacles. Removing every obstacle would completely foil the Plan of Salvation. We came down here to grow. How would that be possible without obstacles? And the last reason I’d like to cover here is the fact that there is something so powerful in having to ask first. When we look at it from an earthly perspective, requiring someone to ask for what they need before you’re willing to give it seems petty and ridiculous. However, we know the Lord isn’t petty and ridiculous. We know that everything He does is for us, so why does He choose to do it that way? I think it’s important to note that He doesn’t always do it this way. He often provides miracles and takes care of us without our knowledge. Someday, when we get to the other side, we’re going to realize just how much He interfered on our behalf. However, sometimes He does require us to ask. So why? Why does He do that? Part of His goal of helping us reach eternal life is to nurture a relationship with us. When He requires us to ask, He is more fully guaranteeing our ability to recognize His hand in our life. Recognizing Him is pretty crucial to developing a relationship with Him. If our needs were simply just getting fulfilled right and left before we even consciously recognized the need, we would likely never even realize He was behind it. On an earthly level with my own children, I find it extremely important to teach my children that their clean laundry doesn’t miraculously show up. The food doesn’t just find itself cooked. The money doesn’t just show up in the bank account. They don’t drive themselves to their various activities. I want them to recognize that my husband and I show up for them. And yes, because we’re imperfect people with issues, part of that is because we want validation. But the other part (the part that reflects our Heavenly Parents) is because we know that recognition and gratitude on their part will actually be a blessing in and of itself. Recognizing that they have parents who show up, feeling gratitude for those parents, and developing that relationship with parents is going to enrich their lives tremendously. God can’t show up and teach us that directly because once again, it would rob us of that faith and belief factor that’s so crucial to the Plan of Salvation. So rather, He often requires us to ask first so that we can start to recognize that He’s the one answering. There is wisdom in His commandment to wait for someone to ask before giving a miracle. I believe in a wise and powerful Savior. I believe that everything He does is for us. All of His motivation boils down to His love for us. I believe that it is important to explore things we don’t understand in the gospel through the lens of that love if we want to understand why He does what He does. He is trying to give us so much more than we can comprehend.     Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR’s 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 23–26 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

The establishment of the Church of Christ (D&C sections 20–24, 26) by Mike Parker (Mike Parker is a long-time FAIR member who has graciously allowed us to use materials he originally prepared for the Hurricane Utah Adult Religion Class. The scripture passages covered in his lessons don’t conform exactly to the Come, Follow Me reading schedule, so they will be shared here where they fit best.) Class Notes Additional Reading Scott H. Faulring, “An Examination of the 1829 ‘Articles of the Church of Christ’ in Relation to Section 20 of the Doctrine and Covenants,” BYU Studies 43, no. 4 (2004): 57–91. William G. Hartley, “From Men to Boys: LDS Aaronic Priesthood Offices, 1829–1996,” Journal of Mormon History 22, no. 1 (Spring 1996): 78–134.     Mike Parker is a business and marketing analyst with over twenty years’ experience in the financial services and cellular telephone industries. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Management Information Systems from Dixie State University (now Utah Tech University) of St George, Utah. He also has eight years’ experience in corporate training and currently teaches an adult religion class in southern Utah. Mike and his wife, Denise, have three children. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 20–24, 26 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

Nuances of Baptism by Autumn Dickson Let’s talk about historical context again quickly so that we can have a reference for what we read this week. Chronologically, Section 21 came before Section 20. Section 21 came on the day the church was organized, and it talks a lot about how Joseph was called as a prophet and the importance of listening to the prophets. Section 20 came in between the day that the church was organized and its first conference held in June. Section 20 had a lot of administrative tasks explained as well as core doctrines that are found in The Book of Mormon. Section 22 came last as people were wondering whether they needed to get rebaptized. There is actually quite a bit given to us on the subject of baptism this week. One section describes the mode and manner of baptism, and another section describes the need to be baptized with proper authority. Let’s talk about some of the things we can learn about baptism from the revelations we’re covering this week. He follows us The first detail I want to talk about comes as the Lord describes how we are to be baptized. Doctrine and Covenants 20:72-74 72 Baptism is to be administered in the following manner unto all those who repent— 73 The person who is called of God and has authority from Jesus Christ to baptize, shall go down into the water with the person who has presented himself or herself for baptism, and shall say, calling him or her by name: Having been commissioned of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. 74 Then shall he immerse him or her in the water, and come forth again out of the water. We know that baptism holds a lot of symbolism. We’re dressed in white. We go down into the water and come back out, symbolizing the death of our old life and becoming new again. It also symbolizes Christ dying and being resurrected. There was one piece of symbolism that I did not previously recognize that was pointed out quite clearly in the previous verses. The person who is called of God and has authority from Jesus Christ to baptize, shall go down into the water with the person who has presented himself or herself for baptism… In order to understand the symbolism, we have to understand the “characters” participating in the baptism. We are representing ourselves (or those who have passed on and cannot do the work themselves), but we are not the only one present in our baptism. There is also a priesthood holder that follows us in. This priesthood holder is authorized by Jesus Christ to use His authority to bind us to the Savior so that the Savior can legally (in an eternal sense) bind us to Him in a manner that produces salvation. One might even argue that the priesthood holder is a representation of Christ, Himself. Christ follows us into the water as we choose to make a covenant with Him, as we walk towards the death of our old life. If we were to picture the Savior, with the wounds of His sacrifice still on His resurrected body, walking into the water with us, how would our baptism feel different? It may be a priesthood holder actually standing in the water, but the only reason the priesthood holder is there is because he is holding Christ’s authority to baptize. It’s really Christ who is utilizing power to bind us to Him in a covenant that saves us. The priesthood holder is nothing more than a vessel. There are a couple of ways this might change how we feel about our baptism. The first one that comes to my mind is that He is teaching us what the rest of our lives are going to look like because we chose to enter into a covenant relationship with Him. Following us into the water and binding us to Him according to our willingness is a foreshadowing of what our lives can look like. If we keep our willingness to follow Him and allow Him near us, we don’t have to do anything alone anymore. Christ’s approach to our growth and development is two-pronged. It is wise in the sense that He allows us to suffer, struggle, and figure it out. This is really difficult for many people to swallow, especially when you consider the depths of injustice and despair in the world. But that’s why the second prong of His approach is so important. The Savior is not asking us to do anything that He has not done Himself. He was already perfect, and so He didn’t need these experiences to figure out how to live happily in an eternal setting. With His sacrifice, He chose to step into that water to feel it firsthand. And then He chooses to be with us as we struggle through those same experiences in our own life. I am quite adamant in my parenting approach to let my kids struggle through things. I think it’s so critical to their growth. It’s absolutely essential to their becoming a well-adjusted adult. Sometimes this makes my kids feel unsupported and unloved, but that’s far from the case. I do it because I love them. This is the same with the Savior. He sent us here because He loves us. Our struggle is evidence of His love, not the other way around. But He takes it beyond wisdom. His approach is not, “Go get in those baptismal waters and put yourself under and come back up.” His approach is, “I will follow you where you have to go to get where you need to be.” He follows us into the water and brings us closer to Him. He is willing to follow us the rest of our lives through every “water” we have to walk through. We have to believe that He’s walking with us and mourning with us, or His sacrifice won’t have much effect. Even though He follows us, it won’t bring much comfort unless we believe it and allow that belief to fill us with the relief He is offering. Dead works The next detail about baptism that I want to talk about is found in Section 22. The Saints had not yet grasped the idea of proper authority and so the idea of getting rebaptized confused them. This is how the Lord explained it. Doctrine and Covenants 22:2 Wherefore, although a man should be baptized an hundred times it availeth him nothing, for you cannot enter in at the strait gate by the law of Moses, neither by your dead works. I understand the need for proper authority, but this verse originally confused me. In my mind, the Lord was telling His people to not trust in dead works. The Israelites used to believe that following the Law of Moses would save them. They didn’t realize that the Law of Moses was supposed to bring them closer to the Savior who would save them. This also makes sense to me. The part that confused me was the fact that baptism can be considered one of our “works.” He commanded the Israelites to keep the Law of Moses, and He commanded us to be baptized by proper authority. The difference (and the detail I want to expound on) is that one work is “dead” and one work is not. Performing the work of baptism is different from other commandments (not all commandments, but some of them). It is an essential ordinance. The Savior is the one who saves us, but it is baptism that pulls us into a covenant relationship with Him so that He can save us. This is also why the Lord commands us to perform vicarious ordinances for those who weren’t baptized. Everybody needs to have the work done. We don’t go out and mow a neighbor’s lawn vicariously for someone else. We don’t follow the Word of Wisdom or pay tithing on behalf of those who didn’t do it in their own lives. There are commandments that are given to us to bring us closer to the Savior so He can save us. Going out and mowing a lawn can help us understand sacrifice and charity. Following the Word of Wisdom can help us have healthy bodies and keep our minds clear and free. Paying tithing allows us to learn how to trust in the Lord. All of these things help us get closer to Christ who will save us, but they are dead in and of themselves. Baptism obviously brings us closer to the Lord and helps us understand Him, but baptism does more than that. It binds us to Him using His own power and authority. Regular men on earth do not have the power to seal in heaven. They can baptize you with their religious degree or their certifications from their churches, but power given from regular old human to regular old human is not sufficient to bind in heaven. Only the Savior can give that kind of power. In this manner, when we die, that baptism has the ability to follow us into heaven where the Savior still holds power. It keeps us bound to Him on both sides of the veil because the Savior holds enough power to accomplish that, and He lends that power to us. It’s still His power. Baptism (and other covenant-entering ordinances) are essential. They are literally binding us to the Savior. That’s why the Lord treats that commandment differently than other dead, Law-of-Moses type commandments. This also enlightens us as to why we should never tear down baptisms that are done without proper authority. I once heard a missionary describe someone’s baptism into another church as an abomination. It went over well (*sarcasm*). The Lord did describe these works as dead because they were done without proper authority. However, He also described the Law of Moses (the one that He specifically gave to His people) as dead. He’s not saying that it’s worthless. He gave the Law of Moses so that the Israelites could draw closer to Him and become ready to receive Him. Baptism into other Christian churches holds that same ability. They can (and often do) bring people closer to Christ and help them become ready to receive Him more fully. There’s no reason to ever tear down someone’s decision to try and draw closer to Christ. I testify of a Heavenly Father who set up a perfect Plan of Salvation. I testify that His words are so consistent. I have often run into ideas, stories, and words that I did not originally understand. There have been times when I have found myself confused about details or things that didn’t seem congruent with what I understood of a loving Heavenly Father. I have also learned that as I choose to be patient, new understanding comes to my mind and clarifies what I didn’t yet know. The more I study the gospel, in all of its rich details, the more I understand the character of my Heavenly Father and Savior.     Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR’s 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 20–22 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

Truths About Eternal Punishment by Autumn Dickson My message this week is given through a couple of verses in Section 19, but it’s also given through a couple of quotes that are found in the institute manual. These quotes expand our understanding of the verses found in this week’s section. The Savior has said a lot of things throughout the scriptures and to His prophets. Only when we take them all in holistically do we find the true nature of His character and gospel. Here is one instance in which He chooses to clarify some of His other words that were given to imperfect vessels for different purposes. He is describing hell and damnation. Doctrine and Covenants 19:6-7, 10-12 6 Nevertheless, it is not written that there shall be no end to this torment, but it is written endless torment. 7 Again, it is written eternal damnation; wherefore it is more express than other scriptures, that it might work upon the hearts of the children of men, altogether for my name’s glory. 10 For, behold, the mystery of godliness, how great is it! For, behold, I am endless, and the punishment which is given from my hand is endless punishment, for Endless is my name. Wherefore— 11 Eternal punishment is God’s punishment. 12 Endless punishment is God’s punishment. It seems to indicate here that God isn’t planning on banishing anyone to hell forever. When He says eternal or endless, He is merely naming Himself as the deliverer of these punishments. In verse seven, it sounds like He’s explaining His use of passionate language; He wants it to work in our hearts. In this same section, He warns Martin that the pain of not repenting will be exquisite. He wants us to avoid that and so He uses inflammatory language to work in our hearts. However, this is an instance where He is clarifying what He means. “Endless” might not mean exactly what we think. Here is the related quote in the institute manual; it’s long but worthwhile. Elder James E. Talmage taught, “To hell there is an exit as well as an entrance. Hell is no place to which a vindictive judge sends prisoners to suffer and to be punished principally for his glory; but it is a place prepared for the teaching, the disciplining of those who failed to learn here upon the earth what they should have learned. True, we read of everlasting punishment, unending suffering, eternal damnation. That is a direful expression; but in his mercy the Lord has made plain what those words mean. ‘Eternal punishment,’ he says, is God’s punishment, for he is eternal; and that condition or state or possibility will ever exist for the sinner who deserves and really needs such condemnation; but this does not mean that the individual sufferer or sinner is to be eternally and everlastingly made to endure and suffer. No man will be kept in hell longer than is necessary to bring him to a fitness for something better.” I love this quote. It makes perfect sense to me, and it fits in perfectly with the character of the God that I know and worship. Punishment that never ends (even after it has changed the sinner) seems incongruent to me. I feel like everything God uses is to help us progress and hell is no different. It’s not really about punishing us because we disobeyed Him and He’s offended. He is trying to teach us, and sometimes we’re stubborn and will only learn the hard way. I would be remiss if I didn’t pause here and say that there are definitely quotes given by general authorities out there that would negate this idea, the idea that there is progression after Judgment Day. The truth about progression after this life isn’t entirely clear because the Lord hasn’t chosen to make it completely clear. However, I want to talk about the gospel for a while under this kind of context, vague as it may be. I’m not perfect. I won’t express my thoughts perfectly, and heaven knows I’ve probably got some of my understanding wrong. Luckily, the Spirit is there to help us discern truth and learn. I believe that exploring these principles, even before we have a perfect knowledge, can be useful as long as we remember we haven’t been given definitives. Let’s talk about progression I think sometimes we picture progression towards salvation as this linear path. We start at the baptismal gate, and then the path includes ordinances, covenants, and keeping the commandments. Then, at the end of it all, Heavenly Father pats us on the head and bestows salvation. There is merit to this rendering of the path of salvation. I have recently started to look at it a little differently. Rather than picturing a linear path, I have begun picturing all the aspects of salvation in a circle. Here is the picture in my mind:   A couple things to note. All of the sections represent an aspect of salvation; this is obviously not a comprehensive list. It’s more just to give you an idea of what I’m picturing. The sections are colored to different degrees because at different points in our lives, we are building these kinds of salvation in our lives. At any given point, we are experiencing varying degrees of salvation and damnation, heaven and hell. Note that some of the sections aren’t colored at all because there are some aspects of salvation that we will only experience on the other side. If you look at the sections, you’ll note that these are all characteristics of the Savior. He is obviously experiencing full salvation. In my mind, repentance has expanded beyond paying for what you did wrong. Anytime we progress within any of these sections, we are repenting. Repenting is about overcoming sin, not just saying sorry but also about reaching a sense of peace within yourself. It’s about healing so that we can feel okay in difficult circumstances like the Savior feels. It’s about learning to be happy in the realities that exist around you. If you think about it, the realities that exist around our Savior and Heavenly Father are not completely different from our’s. They know what it is to be mocked, ignored, and hated. They know what it means to be patient when someone doesn’t deserve it. They know what it is to find joy in fulfilling relationships. They have mastered this whole reality thing, and They know how to glean every possible ounce of joy from it. They’re not trying to teach us that someday all of those circumstances are going to disappear. They’re trying to change us so that we can be happy in the midst of these realities. This model makes sense for different reasons than the linear path makes sense. For one, it has helped me understand why some people feel happier after they leave the church. You can be in the church and not find freedom from sin or fulfilling relationships; we see this happen all the time. Satan loves to skew the gospel so that we’re working hard but not reaping the benefits. When someone leaves the church, maybe they shed the weight of the guilt they weren’t supposed to be carrying anyway. In this specific aspect (namely freedom from sin), they have become more like the Savior and so they’re going to experience that particular benefit. Yes, I believe we have a responsibility to keep to our covenants, and I believe that covenants are crucial to our eternal lives. Please don’t misunderstand me. What I’m trying to express is that it’s very possible to live our covenants wrong, to live them in a manner where we’re denying ourselves salvation. So let’s talk about true progress and finding true salvation. Finding true salvation (finding the true blessings of the gospel) comes from our hearts changing. That’s why the Lord judges us by our hearts. It is only as our hearts change that we can find these feelings that are available in eternity. As we live honestly, we find peace. As we trust and accept the Savior, we taste freedom. The list goes on and on when you explore these different aspects of salvation. Elder Oaks taught it this way, “Many Bible and modern scriptures speak of a final judgment at which all persons will be rewarded according to their deeds or works or the desires of their hearts. But other scriptures enlarge upon this by referring to our being judged by the condition we have achieved… The Final Judgment is not just an evaluation of a sum total of good and evil acts––what we have done. It is an acknowledgment of the final effect of our acts and thoughts––what we have become. It is not enough for anyone just to go through the motions. The commandments, ordinances, and covenants of the gospel are not a list of deposits required to be made in some heavenly account. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a plan that shows us how to become what our Heavenly Father desires us to become.” The commandments So if the final test is who we’ve become, where do the commandments truly fit? The commandments are the vehicles by which we grow in these sections. For example, we’re commanded to forgive. There are a lot of people who think that they feel better if they hold a grudge and that they have a right to hold a grudge. Maybe they do have a right. However, the grudge is only hurting them. Coddling that hurt and nourishing that anger only takes away from their own peace and salvation. The Savior doesn’t even have to “punish” us when we refuse to forgive. We’re punishing ourselves. It is the same for each of the commandments. They are tools that we utilize to grow in the feeling of salvation. Hopefully, we eventually realize that we’re experiencing crappy consequences from nursing grudges and we wake up and change. The commandments are vehicles for change. If they’re not allowing you to change and find salvation in greater measure, then you’re living them the way that Satan would have you live them. We can also utilize the tools incorrectly. For example, you can hold the commandments over your head and beat yourself up with them. This greatly diminishes your feelings of freedom from sin, and it therefore diminishes the level of heaven that you’re experiencing. Don’t use your tools incorrectly; don’t use them as Satan would have you use them. You’ll build the wrong project entirely, and you won’t find salvation. Rather, focus on developing your relationship with Christ (that was an important section I should have included) and use the commandments to pull you into the peace that He experiences. One of the commandments includes trusting Him and His ability to save. Make sure you’re utilizing that tool as well. Back into the context of eternal punishment Let’s talk about this perspective of progression in the context of what we were discussing from Section 19. Have you ever met someone who didn’t know how to be happy? Maybe they kept getting married and divorced over and over again because they didn’t know that real love looks like choosing the same person through difficulty and boredom. They oftentimes found themselves confused as to why they couldn’t find real love and why it always seems to fizzle out. As another example, maybe it’s a person that just kept pushing others in damaging ways because they believed that eventually everyone abandons them; maybe they didn’t realize that it was their damaging choices that led to these abandonments. These are varying hells. These are all aspects of hell that people have to work through in order to find heaven within themselves. These are big examples of hell, but there are smaller examples too. Heavenly Father allows the consequences, the eternal punishment, His punishment, so that we stop acting in ways that bring hell into our lives. When we shed some of those damaging behaviors, we naturally find a little more salvation in our lives. Let’s explore a different example, this time in the context of the next life. You know that doctrine about ministering angels? If you don’t choose to be sealed, then you’re going to end up being a ministering angel to someone who did choose to get sealed. At first glance, this sounds like some bizarre form of unending slavery. This is incongruent with the God that I know. Rather, I believe it looks a little more like this: If you choose not to be sealed (and vehemently stand by that choice) then you get assigned a family. You’re not a slave. You don’t have to help. However, as “time” moves on throughout eternity, you realize you’re completely without purpose. There is no reason to live forever. It’s monotonous and downright awful. Slowly, you take advantage of the opportunity to serve a family. You start to learn that happiness in eternity requires losing yourself in the service of other spirits who are starting their journey of progression. Some would describe this role of ministering servant as a form of damnation. I would agree with this assessment. You’re damned (stopped up) from experiencing a full measure of joy because you chose against a sealing that offered purpose in an endless existence. You’re trying to hold onto this false view that happiness means focusing on yourself and not adding extra “burdens” like posterity. Hopefully, you wake up one morning in the midst of your eternity and realize, “Hey, I feel a lot happier and more fulfilled when I go and help take care of others.” Hopefully, you shed the sinful notion and step more fully into salvation. It could be easy to view this title of ministering servant as a punishment in the form of slavery. It could be easy to believe that God was mad that you didn’t choose what He wanted so He made you a servant. In truth, He offered you an opportunity to learn salvation. And if we take those verses in Section 19 and that Talmage quote at face value, then maybe you get to progress beyond this as soon as you figure it out. Maybe there is an exit to this damnation, to this hell. There are so many ways that this principle can be expressed. Heavenly Father utilizes the consequences we impose on ourselves to teach us. Hopefully (and I believe there is), there is an exit to these damnations and eternal consequences as soon as our eyes open to reality and we adjust our lives accordingly. I’m not 100% sure what eternity looks like. I do know a couple of things though. I know that the God that I worship is fair and continually turned towards saving His children. I know that we are already in the midst of eternity. You don’t die, get to the other side, and all of a sudden, Voila! Eternity! You’re already living in eternity. You’re already choosing varying degrees of damnation and salvation. I testify of a Heavenly Father who teaches us what eternity looks like, and I testify that He knows what He’s doing. It’s wise to follow Him. And then, of course, I testify of a Savior who paid for the whole experience.     Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR’s 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 19 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

Christ Will Lead You by Autumn Dickson As we prepare for this week, understanding the context for what we’re reading can help us understand what the Lord is saying and why He is saying it. It becomes a conversation with God rather than commandments and doctrines loosely tied together without much rhyme or reason. It also helps us connect to those who were receiving these revelations so that we can receive those same messages more effectively. One of the background pieces for this week is the fact that Joseph and his associates are looking to officially create the church. A prophet has been called, and the Lord has revealed more of His word, but there is no organization to help keep doctrines correct and believers supported. A church creates a home to carry the gospel, and Joseph and Oliver wanted to do it correctly. The Lord encouraged them to study The Book of Mormon and what it taught about having a church. The portion of this section that I want to focus on today revolves more closely around a few specific verses that have helped me in my relationship with Jesus Christ. It starts with some of the words He shared with Oliver specifically. Doctrine and Covenants 18:2-3 2 Behold, I have manifested unto you, by my Spirit in many instances, that the things which you have written are true; wherefore you know that they are true. 3 And if you know that they are true, behold, I give unto you a commandment, that you rely upon the things which are written; Here, the Lord is tenderly reminding Oliver that he has been given knowledge of the truth through the Spirit. He is encouraging Oliver to trust that. As I’ve been pondering some of these early supporters, specifically Oliver Cowdery and Martin Harris, I’ve been thinking about just how difficult it would have been to lean into the restoration. Joseph’s story was quite miraculous, and it already had plenty of opposition. I don’t know if I would have been brave enough to place my weight on it or to even give it a chance to be true. I likely would have scoffed if someone told me they had plates but couldn’t show them to anyone. Apparently, that was the case for many of the early believers as well. There are many times where the Lord encourages Oliver and specifically tells him that he has received revelation. As I read these sentiments from the Lord, I see that Oliver was exercising faith and getting involved, but that it was also likely difficult for him when he wondered if he was being deceived. I’m sure these moments of extra encouragement from the Lord were helpful. I think of Martin. I feel like there were a couple of times in Martin’s history where he seems to be saying, “Okay. This is it. I know now. I know it’s true.” For example, I think of how Martin was given the privilege of seeing the plates. He cried out, “Tis enough! Tis enough! Mine eyes have beheld! Mine eyes have beheld!” This is completely my own opinion, but I feel like Martin was looking for this ultimate moment where he would no longer have to fight off doubts. He wanted to have this experience that he couldn’t question, almost as if he didn’t want to have to exercise faith anymore. I don’t blame him. I don’t think he was necessarily opposed to faith; he just wanted to feel secure that he’s moving in the right direction (especially since it was so new and small and different). I think each of us know how these men feel. I don’t know that I would have called Oliver and Martin faithless for needing encouragement or wanting security in their belief. Rather, I would describe them as people who wanted to avoid being deceived. This is actually a wonderful trait to have. We should all seek to avoid deception, but it’s a fine line to walk. We’re trying to allow enough room for faith that the Lord can help it grow, but we’re trying to avoid being led down paths that will take us away from Him. But the very basis of faith means we don’t know if we’re on the right path. We don’t want to open ourselves up if we’re on the wrong path, but we also don’t want to close ourselves off if we did happen to pick the right one. As you can see, it can feel messy. The Lord is in a tricky position here. He has to require faith. Faith is the only avenue by which He is able to help us grow into exaltation. Acting by faith was necessary, but the Lord knew that the other side of this coin meant that there would be some fear and missteps. Sure, perhaps your path feels good, but is it truly the only true and right path? Tricky, tricky. Context of the church This paradox is even more interesting in the context of the church where we’re taught that we have the correct path. In many other denominations, it’s much more acceptable to sway between preachers and differing interpretations of the bible. If you decide to be Methodist after growing up in a non-denominational home, you likely won’t get as much kickback from home. You also probably won’t feel a ton of fear that you’re moving in the wrong direction because a portion of your beliefs rests in the fact that you’re saved so long as you believe in Christ. The stakes rise in a church that claims to be Christ’s true church on the earth. This can create more fear which is hugely counterproductive to faith, and that fear often gets multiplied when outside pressure argues that you’re no longer following the true Christ. So how do we cope? How do we face the mounting pressure with faith? How do we reconcile unknowns when the church is teaching us that we need to follow the correct truth but we have to coexist with the fact that faith is required? How do we seek to follow the correct truth and be content with faith at the same time? I’ll give you my favorite answer. Develop a relationship with Jesus Christ. Let’s go back to what we were talking about in the beginning. Oliver and Joseph were trying to form a church. They had already been given a lot of doctrine, and a prophet had been called, but the Lord wanted to organize a church. Why? The church was always meant to support the gospel; it’s not the gospel. Don’t get me wrong; the church is very important. However, it is the gospel and proper authority that are necessary for salvation. Perhaps separating the two may seem nuanced and silly, but Satan loves to distract us from the gospel by using the church. He wants us so caught up in the commandments that we forget the commandments were meant to bring us to Christ and his gospel. Christ gets cut from the equation, and we end up dissatisfied and fearful. We wonder if we’re in the right church. We wonder if all of the extra stuff we follow is necessary or superfluous. We wonder if we’re on the right path. This is actually just another manifestation of hyperfocusing on the church rather than allowing the church to bring us to Christ. Let’s step away from the church aspect of it and look specifically at Christ. Let’s temporarily step away from the question of whether we’re in the right church and on the right path. Who is Christ? He is the source of our salvation. That doesn’t just mean He lets us into heaven. It means that drawing closer to Christ naturally brings us into a state of salvation. We experience aspects of salvation regardless of whether we’ve been freed from mortal constraints yet. Perhaps our church is His church on the earth, but let’s not explore that specific concept too closely as of yet. What else do we know of Christ? We know He is perfectly fair and loving. We know that He seeks our salvation. We know He is immensely powerful, that He knows us so well, and that wants to help us come home. If we truly believe these things about Christ, the fear dissipates. If you get to know Christ as He is, you know that He can lead you along. You feel that He won’t abandon you for missteps. You can feel that He is not the type of Being to cast you off in impatience. He stands ready to walk you through nuanced lessons that clarify truths about Him. As you draw closer to Him, you feel salvation more and more in your life. Now let’s bring in this portion about church. Everything we find in church was simply meant to facilitate that relationship. The Word of Wisdom keeps us free from potential addictions that make it really, really hard to hear Him. Going to the temple, taking the sacrament, all of these things were meant to point us to Christ where we find freedom from hell and its associated aspects of fear. We wonder and worry whether we’re in the right place. We stress about our salvation. These feelings often come from focusing on church as our salvation rather than as a facilitator of a relationship with Jesus Christ who is the true author of salvation. You find heaven with Jesus Christ because He is heavenly to be around. If He was truly the type of Being to cast off spirits into eternal fiery pits because they were born into circumstances that kept them from the truth, then I’m not so sure I would feel heaven around Him. I’d probably just be afraid of Him. Which is ironic. Because fear is associated with hell. Back to our previous context… Let’s put it back into the context of Oliver and Martin. They were afraid of being deceived. Awesome. We don’t want to be deceived. But place that fear in the context of Christ. If those men had understood and trusted in the Lord as He is, they would have known that God doesn’t just say He is loving. He doesn’t just profess to be fair and to seek our salvation. He actually does so. They didn’t have to be scared if their hearts were truly seeking Him without guile; He has the power and desire to lead us. If they had truly misstepped by following Joseph, they merely needed to cling to Him and He would have led them along where they were supposed to go. I believe in a Savior who actually saves. I believe that He seeks us out and leads us along. I believe that as we seek Him back, He can usher us in the right direction and we don’t have to live in fear of missteps. I also believe that as we cling to Christ, we are drawn towards this church. If we are utilizing the church to get closer to Christ and to feel Him, we will find Him. The Book of Mormon has brought me closer to Christ. My temple covenants have brought me closer to Christ. Priesthood blessings, listening to prophets, and all sorts of church-specific things have brought me closer to Christ. And it is in Christ that I have found Someone who knows me perfectly. He knows how I want to do the right thing and follow Him. He knows my desire to be obedient to what He wants, and I know He doesn’t want to cast me off when I don’t have everything right. Rather, I trust Him to keep leading me. If He is as perfect and fair and loving as He says He is, He’s not going to abandon me. I seek Him, and He will lead me. Thus far, I have felt that I’m headed in the right path and I trust Him to help me continue on towards Him. I personally testify that this is Christ’s church. As I have leaned closer to Christ, I have felt drawn closer to the covenants I’ve made here. I have come to deeply appreciate all the support systems He has given me to remain close to Him. I have found answers that make sense, and I have found assurance when I don’t understand. I have found so many aspects of salvation today; I don’t have to wait to experience that goodness.     Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR’s 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 18 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.