Latter-day Saint FAIR-Cast

Autumn Dickson, guest on the podcast, discusses chapters from the Book of Mormon. Topics include choosing liberty and eternal life, the role of grace and works, developing qualities like humility and charity, establishing a relationship with God, and the importance of trust and belief in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

The journeys to Bountiful & the promised land (1 Nephi 16–22) 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 Calvin D. Tolman, “Liahona: ‘Prepared of the Lord, a Compass,’” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 51 (2022): 211–52. Tolman reviews the various English interpretations of the term Liahona. He proposes that the translation of Liahona is “a vessel prepared of the Lord” and the interpretation is “a compass prepared of the Lord” (Alma 37:38). “Book of Mormon Evidence: Nahom,” Evidence Central, 9 March 2021. This page summarizes the current state of research regarding “the place which was called Nahom” (1 Nephi 16:34), where Ishmael₁ died. The location of this place in the Arabian desert is a “bullseye” for Latter-day Saint claims that the Book of Mormon is a historical work. On the recent archaeological discoveries in the Arabian Peninsula that validate the historicity story in 1 Nephi, see the articles in Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 15, no. 2 (2006) and also Book of Mormon Central’s KnoWhy #259, “Has the Location of Nephi’s Bountiful Been Discovered?” Additional Videos Portions of this lesson include segments from Journey of Faith, a 2005 documentary by the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies at Brigham Young University. This documentary provides insights from Latter-day Saint and non-Latter-day Saint scholars into the route of Lehi₁’s journey through Arabia, including likely locations for Nahom, where Ishmael₁ died, and Bountiful₁, where Nephi₁ built the ship that took his family to the promised land. Purchase Journey of Faith on DVD. Read the companion book to the video. In this follow-up to Journey of Faith, Latter-day Saint scholars delve into Mormon₂’s description of the Nephites’ land of promise and the religious history, culture, and traditions of its people. Purchase Journey of Faith: The New World on DVD. How difficult would it be to make a functional bow and arrow using only primitive tools and materials on hand, as described in 1 Nephi 16:23? This Australian blogger did it with only a stone hatchet, a stone chisel, and stone blades and fire sticks. How much better would Nephi₁’s bow and arrow have been, considering that he almost certainly had more advanced tools? The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 1 Nephi 16–22 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

The Second Spindle by Autumn Dickson I learned something this week about the Liahona that kinda blew my mind. I want to share what I learned, and then let’s take some principles from it. In a Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, Robert L. Bunker describes an engineering phenomenon that I was completely unaware of. He talks about a concept that was invented by man in the 1940’s known as fault tolerant systems. Essentially, you build a computer that does the same processing twice (or more sometimes). If the processing comes back the same, then the computer can continue on because it is “correct.” If the processing comes back different, then something failed and the computer can know about it. Thus, it is fault tolerant. The computer can detect if it’s having its own issues. Maybe I’m way behind on figuring this out, but the Lord built a fault tolerant system in the Liahona. It didn’t even register in my mind that the Liahona had two spindles until I was an adult. Even then, I couldn’t figure out why it had two spindles until I googled it and found this article from Robert L. Bunker. This verse is not in this week’s reading, but it does give us insight into the Liahona which we’re studying this week. Alma 37:40 And it did work for them according to their faith in God; therefore, if they had faith to believe that God could cause that those spindles should point the way they should go, behold, it was done; therefore they had this miracle, and also many other miracles wrought by the power of God, day by day. Spindles. Plural. Both were pointing. If the Liahona only had one spindle, how was Lehi’s family supposed to know whether it was “working?” They could have waned in their faith and diligence, but the one arrow was still going to be pointing somewhere. There was no way they could have known that it was pointing “wrong.” Maybe this is completely obvious to anyone with any kind of predilection for engineering, but this totally blew my mind. First of all, the idea that Joseph Smith, with all three years of his formal schooling, could have come up with that would have been impressive to say the least. This kind of fault finding system wasn’t formally invented until the 1940’s, but Joseph kinda just threw it out there while interpreting The Book of Mormon in three months. If it hadn’t been in there, I’m sure I could have found the faith to just assume the Lord had a way of letting the family know, but I still think it’s super cool that it was included. Anyway, I obviously do not claim to have figured this out on my own, as made apparent by surprise. However, I do want to try and take this a step further. It makes sense that the Lord would provide a way for the family to know if their Liahona was in working order; He was planning on using it as a tool to teach them about faith, diligence, and being led along. He didn’t just give it to them, and they were done. The Lord is purposeful and wanted them to practice living the gospel principles in a continuous manner. Though the second arrow has very obvious implications for Lehi’s family, I believe there are spiritual implications for us. After all, The Book of Mormon was written for our day so that we could learn about the Lord’s dealings with His children. So what do we learn from this fault tolerant, second spindle? The words of the prophets One of the fail-safe systems the Lord has provided are dual pathways for revelation. Like much of the world, we believe that the Lord can speak to us directly. This pathway of revelation is critical to our exaltation. It requires us to stretch and reach and dig for ourselves. When we have to seek out personal revelation, we are able to gain that personal relationship with Christ which is ultimately what saves and exalts us. It also allows us to be guided in our personal lives so that the prophet doesn’t have to tell me whether studying elementary education in college is a good idea. Personal revelation is crucial. The world is also a great example of what happens when you don’t have that second pathway; President Oaks has coined this pathway the “priesthood line.” The priesthood line is how we received the scriptures in the past, and it’s how we receive His guidance today. As a missionary, I remember coming across a group of Christians who had a table up on campus. They were of all different Christian faiths, working together to spread the word. It was admirable. We tried talking to them, but they quickly denounced us as non-Christians. When I pointed out that they weren’t completely similar in their own beliefs of Christ, they quickly responded that they were similar in all of the important things. I found this extremely fascinating since some of them believed that baptism was essential to salvation and some of them did not believe this. You would think that this particular aspect would be classified as “important” since it was determining credentials for salvation, but I digress. Even within the same denomination, you can wander from congregation to congregation and find different beliefs. This second spindle, this priesthood line, helps us know what the doctrine is. Yes, we do have random quotes from random priesthood leaders that are questionable, but true, canonized doctrine is repeated again and again and again and again. It is not hidden; we know what we believe. These two lines of communication help with the concept of fault tolerance. Personal revelation Now the fail safe of a priesthood line can be very helpful in finding out the doctrine of the kingdom. The personal line is still necessary; there are some revelations that only come from the Lord, and we all still have to receive our witness. However, the priesthood line can take us pretty far in establishing the stage. But what about the personal decisions for which there is no doctrine? There is no “right” answer for what people should choose as careers. There isn’t any kind of doctrine about where we should live or how many kids we should have or who we should marry. There are guiding principles, but guiding principles aren’t always enough. I can be righteous as an accountant or as a fashion designer, but is there a specific direction I need to take? Maybe there isn’t a specific direction, but if there is, I definitely want to know about it. So what are the fail safes for personal decisions? The priesthood line and personal line can help us with doctrine, but is there a fault tolerant system for our personal decisions? How do we know we’re on the right path if there is a “right” path for us to take? There are plenty of times when there isn’t necessarily a “right” option and we’ll be fine either way, but I’ve also lived long enough and been guided often enough to know He has specific instructions sometimes. What is my second spindle? I kinda have two answers for this. First, the Lord helped me understand a simple way to practice receiving revelation. I practiced it with the FSY kids I taught last summer. At FSY, we were given this incredible opportunity where the Lord wanted to speak to us and guide us and teach us. Not to mention, they were all given a journal to carry around anyway. That week, I challenged the kids to write down everything that even barely registered as a potential prompting. I told them that if a thought popped into their heads, they should write it down. They didn’t necessarily need to question whether it was a prompting. They should simply write it down. Was everything they wrote down going to be revelation? No. Would writing everything down help them establish the pattern? Absolutely. If you want to understand whether the Lord is speaking to you, you need a second spindle with which to compare it. Writing down everything could help you start to puzzle out those feelings very consciously and start to recognize the pattern of the Lord’s voice in your own life. Second answer. I can’t tell you what your second spindle looks like; it may take time to determine that. However, I can testify of a second spindle. If we learn nothing else from this fault tolerant system of the Lord, learn this: the Lord is capable of helping you know so have faith. When you have a big decision to make and you’re worried out of your mind about whether you’re doing the right thing in your life or whether you’re doing the right thing for your family, set your worry aside and trust the Lord’s ability to speak to you in a way that you can understand. If you don’t feel His voice, don’t fret. If you are regularly turning to Him, He will make His will clear to you if there is a will. Perhaps He will simply close a door that you were planning on taking, or He will open a different one. Perhaps He will guide your desires without you even knowing it, or perhaps you will get a big “warning” feeling that only goes away when you turn around. No matter how He chooses to answer you in any given circumstance, have faith and rejoice that the Lord has a second spindle that works very well. You can trust it. And if all else absolutely fails, I testify of a third spindle. It’s called the atonement of Jesus Christ, and it makes up for mistakes. It turns all bad into good for those who are trying their hardest to follow the Lord. When I was getting ready to marry Conner and I desperately wanted an answer, I finally gave up and said, “If everything goes wrong and we get divorced and things go totally crazy, the Lord can’t be mad at me because I couldn’t have possibly tried harder to follow Him.” I don’t recommend getting married that way, and I have also learned a lot about marriage since then, but the key is this: you cannot truly fail when you remain close to the Lord. In the end, He can turn everything into a triumph. That third spindle is not fault safe; it is fault proof. It does not fail when we turn it on. I testify of a Savior who revealed The Book of Mormon to Joseph Smith. I testify that He included the coolest, smallest details that can give us so much insight. I testify that He saw all ahead of time and created systems with which to protect us (but not at the expense of our growth), and I testify that He did that because He loves 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. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 1 Nephi 16–22 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

Hell was Prepared by Autumn Dickson When I was younger, I remember being a bit troubled by the judgment and justice of God towards those who choose to do what’s wrong. If He really loved us, I couldn’t imagine Him wanting to be separated from any of us for eternity. It didn’t make sense to my young mind. As I’ve grown older and observed the world a bit more, it has come to make more sense. Though I know that I can’t make any final judgments of people and I know that I don’t fully understand the circumstances of others, I can still see enough of the world to understand that people choose their outcomes. And despite all efforts to help people make choices that lead to good outcomes, some people still want to choose things that don’t bring anything worthwhile into their lives. Why would He send His children away from Himself? I had an experience with a friend a few summers ago where she expressed some of the same sentiments that I had felt when I was growing up. She was a mother of two, a boy and a girl. She told me she didn’t understand how we could believe in a God who was willing to send some of His children to a place like hell. We all make mistakes, we’re all imperfect. She couldn’t possibly grasp the idea of sending one of her children to hell because they weren’t perfect. I had this entire response built up in my mind, but luckily the Spirit caught my attention before I could give her that response. I simply asked her, “If your son assaulted your daughter and didn’t change and continued to belittle her, would you force her to spend eternity with him? That wouldn’t be heaven for her.” She didn’t have much of a response, but the Spirit will do that to you. The Spirit did it to me too in that same moment; I had never looked at it in some real terms because I had never been forced to. I have never yet had to question how I would respond if one of my children was making destructive choices that severely influenced the happiness of my other children. It was at that moment that I understood Heavenly Father just a little bit better. As much as it would make my heart ache forever, I would hope to be wise enough to not sacrifice the happiness of all my other children. If that child changed and chose better, then I would rejoice and cry and throw my arms around them and welcome them home. But if they continued to choose what they wanted at the expense of others, they would have to leave my home. An understanding of hell The simple fact of the matter is, there are those who will continue to choose to harm others despite any attempt we might make to help them be happier. We see this so clearly with Laman and Lemuel! Once again, I can’t make any final judgments; I hope they finally figured it out, but they were given every advantage, but they did not want it. Their father taught them how to reach the Lord, but they would not inquire of Him. They saw an angel rebuke them, but that didn’t stop them from hurting Nephi again and again and again. Happiness and salvation were handed to them over and over and over, but they did not want it. I don’t know why, but some people choose what they want to choose despite all evidence to the contrary. The Lord understood this, and He taught it to Nephi. 1 Nephi 15:33-35: 33 Wherefore, if they should die in their wickedness they must be cast off also, as to the things which are spiritual, which are pertaining to righteousness; wherefore, they must be brought to stand before God, to be judged of their works; and if their works have been filthiness they must needs be filthy; and if they be filthy it must needs be that they cannot dwell in the kingdom of God; if so, the kingdom of God must be filthy also. 34 But behold, I say unto you, the kingdom of God is not filthy, and there cannot any unclean thing enter into the kingdom of God; wherefore there must needs be a place of filthiness prepared for that which is filthy. 35 And there is a place prepared, yea, even that awful hell of which I have spoken, and the devil is the preparator of it; wherefore the final state of the souls of men is to dwell in the kingdom of God, or to be cast out because of that justice of which I have spoken. There is a place prepared for those who would continue to harm others and rob them of the heaven that our Father wants for them. Much of the world believes that this place is scary; we have a different theory. One of the keys to understanding God is to understand hell. Hell is a word that can mean a couple of different things to us, but let’s discuss it in this context. One version of hell includes a place called “outer darkness.” There is not much known about this place other than the idea that most of us aren’t even capable of going there. You have to know Christ perfectly and then reject Him. That’s one version, but it’s not super applicable so let’s move on. Another concept of hell is associated with the three different kingdoms of glory. The concept of hell can expand to mean any place where we are not directly living with God (basically anything lower than the Celestial kingdom). Hell is like a lake of fire and brimstone, not a literal lake of fire and brimstone. The pain of being separated from Heavenly Father is the fire, the brimstone, the hell. Interestingly enough, sometimes salvation is even expanded to represent anyone found in the three kingdoms. We know that even the lesser two kingdoms are more glorious than what we have on earth. They are beautiful places and Heavenly Father’s children who go there will receive resurrected bodies. In this sense, everyone in one of the three kingdoms of glory experiences salvation to an extent. In a sense, the lesser kingdoms are places of heaven and hell, and that completely matches up with what I understand of a loving Father. Even as an imperfect parent, I can understand the logic behind this plan of Heavenly Father. I may not be able to have all of my children with me, but I still love them. I still want them to be as comfortable as I can make them for eternity so I will prepare a place for them. It will be a wonderful place, but unfortunately, because of their choices, they will still experience aspects of hell. There is nothing I can do about that except rob them of their ability to choose, and even then, they will still not experience happiness; they will still not feel the full extent of heaven because it will be forced upon them. So I leave them to experience hell to the extent they choose. They will be separated from a loving parent, their siblings, and they will be surrounded by others who make the same kind of choices. I would grieve knowing that some of my children are continuing to hurt each other and that they are separated from me, but I would find peace in the fact that I had done everything I could for them. Everything that could have possibly been done to help them was done. I love the Plan of Salvation because it makes perfect sense to me. Nothing is arbitrary. I look at the plan, and I see the love of Heavenly Father. If no one had ever told me that God loved me, but they showed me this plan, I wouldn’t have to be told of His love. You can see it in the decisions He has made regarding His children. I testify of a Heavenly Father who truly loves His children. I testify that He gave us children so that we could better comprehend His choices surrounding us. I testify that He did everything He possibly could to give them everything He has. He sacrificed His perfect Son, gave them the ability to choose happiness, and made up for all of the bad that would occur. I testify of the Savior’s atonement that can make up for all the wrong that happens to us. I testify that what will truly matter at Judgment Day is whether we will be a harmful influence in the Celestial Kingdom because the Savior paid for the mistakes we would make while figuring it all out.   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. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 1 Nephi 11–15 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

Lehi’s dream; Nephi’s apocalypse (1 Nephi 8, 10–15) 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. This week’s lesson covers both this week’s and next week’s Come, Follow Me reading.) Class Notes Additional Reading “Components of Lehi’s Vision of the Tree of Life,” a chart of the setting, people, and action/outcome in 1 Nephi 8. Extracted from Charles Swift, “Lehi’s Vision of the Tree of Life: Understanding the Dream as Visionary Literature,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 14, no. 2 (2005): 60. Daniel C. Peterson, “Nephi and His Asherah,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 9, no. 2 (2000): 16–25, 80–81. Nephi₁’s vision of “a virgin, most beautiful and fair above all other virgins” who was “the mother of God, after the manner of the flesh” (1 Nephi 11:15, 18; 1830 edition) is connected to Lehi₁’s vision of a “a tree, whose fruit was desirable to make one happy” (1 Nephi 8:10). Dr. Peterson’s article shows how they’re both connected to ancient Israelite belief in the female divinity Asherah, whose representation was a tree. Stephen E. Robinson, “Nephi’s ‘Great and Abominable Church’,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 7, no. 1 (1998): 32–39, 70. In this article, Professor Robinson draws a clear distinction between a specific “great and abominable church” described in 1 Nephi 13, and a general “great and abominable church,” representing any and all wicked organizations, in 1 Nephi 14. (A shortened version of Robinson’s article was published in the January 1988 Ensign, 34–39.) Taylor Halverson, “1 Nephi 12–14: Nephi’s Grand Vision,” The Interpreter Foundation, 30 January 2016. What is apocalyptic literature, and how does Nephi’s vision in 1 Nephi 11–14 fit into apocalyptic writings of the Ancient Near East? Book of Mormon Central explains in KnoWhy #471, “Why Can Nephi’s Vision Be Called an Apocalypse?” Why does Nephi₁’s vision use the symbol of the tree of life to represent the virgin Mary in 1 Nephi 11:12–23? Book of Mormon Central explains in KnoWhy #13, “What Does the Virgin Mary Have to Do with the Tree of Life?”    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 – 1 Nephi 6–10 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

Autumn Dickson, a writer and religious scholar, discusses the feelings of shame associated with partaking of the fruit of the tree of life. She explores the concepts of guilt and shame in relation to worthiness, emphasizing personal growth and progression. The podcast also delves into the connection between the atonement of Jesus Christ and judgment day, and how a new approach to the gospel can transform our lives. Lastly, it explores living the gospel, overcoming shame, and accepting the love and forgiveness of the Savior.

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 Neal Rappleye, “Learning Nephi’s Language: Creating a Context for 1 Nephi 1:2,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 16 (2015): 151–59. Rappleye explains how Nephi₁’s record could have been written in Hebrew language using Egyptian script, and he gives examples of ancient Israelite documents that did exactly that. Book of Mormon Central team, “When Did Lehi Leave Jerusalem? (KnoWhy #475),” Book of Mormon Central, last modified 11 October 2018. Lehi₁’s ministry began “in the commencement of the first year of the reign of Zedekiah.” (1 Nephi 1:4) Scholars have variously dated his departure from Jerusalem between 605 and 588 ʙ.ᴄ. Read about the arguments for early, middle, and late dates. Research and Perspectives, “Nephi and the Exodus,” Ensign, April 1987, 64–65. Latter-day Saint scholars have identified numerous parallels and motifs that show how Nephi₁ used the story of Moses and the Exodus as a type for his family’s own journey into the wilderness. S. Kent Brown, “The Hunt for the Valley of Lemuel,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 16, no. 1 (2007): 64–73. Professor Brown explains how Wadi Tayyib al-Ism, the best candidate for Lehi’s valley of Lemuel, was discovered. David Rolph Seely, “Lehi’s Altar and Sacrifice in the Wilderness,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 10, no. 1 (2001): 62–69, 80. Professor Seely explores why it was important for Lehi₁ to travel “three days in the wilderness” before making an offering to the Lord (1 Nephi 2:6–7), and how Lehi₁ could have made such a sacrifice, even though he wasn’t a Temple priest or Levite. John W. Welch, “Legal Perspectives on the Slaying of Laban,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 1, no. 1 (1992): 119–41. Welch argues that Nephi₁ was legally within his rights to slay Laban, according to the moral and legal code at the time. When Lehi₁ and his family left Jerusalem, they came to the Red Sea and then traveled south for three days until they reached a river valley, which Lehi named after his sons Laman₁ and Lemuel. An excellent candidate for this valley has been discovered in Saudi Arabia; Book of Mormon Central discusses this in KnoWhy #286.   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 – 1 Nephi 1–5 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

Goodly Parents by Autumn Dickson When we read the first seven chapters of The Book of Mormon, we find a great many patterns for how the Lord works with His children. We find patterns of revelation, agency, perfect timing, and the nature of personal progression and testimony. One of the patterns we also find is that of righteous parenting. One of the first things declared in The Book of Mormon is: 1 Nephi 1:1 I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father… Over and over and over again we see how Lehi and Sariah followed patterns of righteous parenting. Before you non-parents wonder if this message has relevance to you, I promise you that it does. Studying the patterns of Lehi and Sariah can teach us about how to become better parents, but it can also teach us a couple of other things such as how the Lord deals with His children so we can recognize why He is making specific decisions when we wonder what the heck He must be thinking. It can also teach us about the dual, and sometimes conflicting, principles of loving another person but simultaneously appreciating agency and feeling peace despite worries over their destructive choices. I will be referencing “parenting,” but this is not just about parenting. It’s about how the Lord works with us and how we work with others. Personally seeking the Lord One of the first things discussed in the righteous pattern of Lehi’s parenting is the way that Lehi personally sought out the Lord on His own. In verse 5, we see that Lehi went and prayed with all of his heart to the Lord. In return, Lehi receives a vision; this vision discusses a lot of things, but one of the things it talks about includes the abominations and impending destruction of Jerusalem at the time. These could not have been easy things to watch. The destruction of Jerusalem at the time of Zedekiah was ugly and brutal, and yet, Lehi came out of that vision in this manner: 1 Nephi 1:15 …his soul did rejoice, and his whole heart was filled, because of the things which he had seen, yea, which the Lord had shown unto him. There are a couple of things we can learn from Lehi’s experience. First, Lehi was led because he was actively praying. Interestingly enough, Lehi wasn’t even praying about anything specific in regards to his family. He was praying to the Lord with his whole heart on behalf of his people. My key concept here is this: Turn regularly to the Lord, and He will lead along in the specifics on how to protect your family. You may not even originally recognize how the Lord is leading you along. After Lehi finds out Jerusalem is going to get destroyed, the Lord doesn’t say anything about leaving. It isn’t until Lehi is about to be killed before he receives the life-saving, miraculous gift of being driven from the lands of their fathers. From the outside, it might not look like Lehi was being led along, but we have hindsight which means we see the miracle in all of it. I attribute this incredible miracle to the fact that Lehi was turning regularly to the Lord. And there is an implied principle that comes with this previous principle. If we’re turning to the Lord, we will be guided. This means we don’t have to live in fear. In the world we live in, it would be incredibly easy to let our desire to protect our children overwhelm us to the extent that we actually harm them. I want to protect my children from danger, but I can’t really…not unless I want to take them away from everything, and that’s not healthy for them either. We do the best we can to provide gospel principles, healthy homes, and reasonable boundaries, but we have to turn to the Lord and ask Him to guide us and our feelings when it comes to specific events that could hurt them. Only He can really protect them and lead them along the path that will protect them but still allow for growth. There is a third principle for parents here. No matter how much we follow the Lord, our children still have agency. We want them to choose the right, but we can’t force them to. It’s not possible. Not even the Lord does that. It can be extremely difficult to watch loved ones make destructive choices. Lehi knows this firsthand. My children are young yet, but I’ve had other loved ones go down paths that would hurt them. Lehi prayed on behalf of his people with his whole heart. He loved the people who were going to try and kill him, or at least he loved the other people who were indulging in choices that would lead to their destruction and exile. Where did Lehi find comfort? When Lehi turned to the Lord, he saw what would happen to his beloved people. I can’t imagine that was the source of his comfort. Lehi rejoices in His Redeemer. When all else is failing, there is comfort in the Redeemer. When there is no happy ending currently in sight because loved ones are choosing unhappiness, there is still a source of peace that we can cling to. Sending his sons into difficult circumstances Lehi sent his sons to go back to the volatile Jerusalem twice, and Sariah was not happy about it. Honestly, I can’t imagine that I would have been happy about it. If there was a time that I was going to doubt the visions of my husband, this would probably be that moment. I probably would have sought the Lord and asked if I could go instead. I was a mother, a parent. It was my responsibility to protect them, not send them to get slaughtered which is precisely what almost happened. By parenting standards today, this is terrible”parenting. I mean…some of the stuff I get side eye for nowadays is nothing compared to what Lehi was doing. And yet, Lehi was doing exactly the right thing by following the Lord. As far as we know, he didn’t even question it. The Lord wanted the sons to go, not Lehi, and that was good enough for Lehi. And look what it brought to his sons! Laman and Lemuel were going to use their agency how they wanted to, but I can’t get over the experiences that Nephi had. This was an early, soul-stretching, pivotal experience in his testimony. I think about all the things I learn while reading about his experience. Just think about what he learned living them, and it was all because Lehi was brave enough to follow the Lord and let it happen. This doesn’t even cover the fact that Nephi brought Zoram back with him. When we send our kids out into the world, it may feel like we’re sending them straight into Babylon, the place we often feel a desperate need to avoid at all costs. There will be appropriate times to leave Babylon, and there will be appropriate times to be in the world but not of it. Trust and follow the Lord to lead you and your family along about which path you’re supposed to be taking at any given time. Have enough faith, like Lehi, to follow that path. And also, don’t feel like you failed if some of your children still utilized their agency in a way that you wish they hadn’t. Heavenly Father is a perfect parent, and He lost a third part of His children before we even made it to earth. Just do your best to follow Him, and the Lord won’t let you fail. Your children may still choose wrong, but it won’t be because you failed them. He loved their mother One of the most critical things that can occur in a family is for a father to love the mother; it’s not the only critical thing, but it is what I’m going to talk about in this section. And though I’m talking about Lehi loving Sariah, these are still principles that apply to anyone who has the opportunity to love someone else. Let’s consider the circumstances of Lehi for a second. Lehi is a visionary man. Because of these gifts and because he loved others enough to try and serve them with those gifts, Lehi was almost killed. He abandoned his home, led his family to the wilderness, and was constantly receiving criticism from his sons. After receiving another vision and sending his sons out to Jerusalem, he got criticism from his wife. And honestly, I wonder if this was one of the hardest ones for Lehi to face. It can be particularly stinging when a spouse isn’t supporting you, especially when you have devoted your life and sacrificed everything to try and uplift your family. Sariah mocked him as a visionary man and mourned the loss of their sons. This could have been the straw that broke the camel’s back. Lehi could have easily felt justified in calling her out. He could have responded with the same scorn. He could have yelled at her and told her that he had lost everything too. He could have told her that he was trying to do what was best for their family by following the Lord, and he could have iterated that he didn’t appreciate her undermining him in this. Rather, he loved her. He bore testimony to her. He took her biting words and sent them back in a loving manner. He didn’t have to do this. He could have felt as though he was in the right, and he could have gloated when their sons returned. But I wonder how his compassion affected her testimony in ways that the miraculous return of her sons could not. Lehi was an incredible example of the Lord. He loved her at her worst. And because of his example, Sariah was one step closer to understanding the Lord. When difficult things came along in the future, she could trust that the Lord was making His choices because of His love for her not in spite of it. When Sariah faltered again (just like we all do), she could trust that He would lead her along through the rough patches despite the fact that she might not have deserved it. I am so excited to be in The Book of Mormon this year. I testify of a Savior who loved people everywhere and led along one of the tribes of Israel to the Americas. I testify of a Savior who prepared the way perfectly for all of us, but also for each of us. Everything I’ve studied over the past few years and everything we get to study this year shows example after example after example of His awareness, power, and love.   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. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 1 Nephi 1–5 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

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) Class Notes Recommended books: Hardy, Grant, ed., The Annotated Book of Mormon. New York: Oxford University Press, 2023.  Skousen, Royal, ed. The Book of Mormon: The Earliest Text. 2nd ed. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2022. Parry, Donald W. Poetic Parallelisms in the Book of Mormon: The Complete Text Reformatted. Provo, UT: The Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship at Brigham Young University, 2007. Sources of the Plates of Mormon – Mormon and the other writers and editors of the Nephite records drew from many different source materials. This diagram depicts all known sources of the material that was abridged into the plates of Mormon and published as The Book of Mormon in 1830:   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 – Introductory Pages of the Book of Mormon – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

What is Scripture? by Autumn Dickson The title page of The Book of Mormon has me pondering about a couple of things that have actually been on my mind over the past year as I read the New Testament – namely, what really is scripture? Why do certain things get counted as scripture? What does it mean to be a writer of scripture? As you read various books in the New Testament, you find that some of these men might not have even known they were writing what would be classified as scripture one day. We have the four gospels which are retellings of the life of Christ, replete with testimonies of who He is, but then we also have letters written by missionary-apostles. Lastly, we have a vision written by one of the apostles. In the same breath, we find the Doctrine and Covenants. These were a collection of blessings, visions, and dictations of the voice of God from a prophet. Apparently, the word “scripture” can be used to connote many different types of writing though I would still argue that there are a couple of criteria. The biggest criteria is that scripture is the “word of God.” How that chooses to manifest seems to include a wide array of options, but it all comes back to the idea that writing scripture is writing the word of God. Let’s also look at this concept of “scripture” in the context of the title page of The Book of Mormon. There are a couple of phrases found on the title page that originally caught my attention. Mormon is teaching us that The Book of Mormon is a record “Written by way of commandment, and also by the spirit of prophecy and of revelation.” I do not believe this to be an exhaustive list of criteria required for canonized scripture, but I do believe it can give us a glimpse of what the Lord views as scripture as well as giving us ideas of personal application. Revelation Though it is listed last, I want to start with it first so that I can describe why you can find personal relevance in this message. Scripture is written by way of revelation. This is obvious and makes sense. If the Lord had left us alone here on earth, revealing nothing, we could have likely found a wide range of things to worship. We could have pondered and thought and believed and worked and formed theories and acted, but none of them would have likely been accurate. Writings about the true nature of God and His plan for His children had to be revealed to us, and we see that in any of the canonized books of scripture we read. He has to speak to us, and it gets written down. Scripture is the revealed word of God. All of the men who wrote the books of scripture had the Savior revealed to them by some measure of His power. But as I ponder this idea of revelation as well as the general concept of “word of God,” I also realize that we, as individuals, have the gift of revelation that enables us to receive the word of God directly. The Lord can reveal the mysteries of His kingdom to us, just as He did with other servants. That being said, that doesn’t make generalized scripture a free-for-all. Though we can all receive revelation, we also have limited jurisdiction with our revelation. I can receive revelation for my family and me and the actions we need to take in our own lives. I can receive revelation for myself about the mysteries of the kingdom, but I cannot receive an answer about where my friend should move or whether my brother should take a specific job he’s been offered. If I have a dear friend who is struggling with a question in the gospel, I may feel inspired to say something, but it has to be revealed to them in some manner by the Spirit. In the end, the true revelation will go to the person who has the right jurisdiction to receive such revelation. I believe it is the same with scripture. There have been countless times where I have felt the Lord speaking to me (cough cough word of God) as I’ve written in my journal. He has revealed new perspectives, specific life directions, and even knowledge I had never noticed. Does that mean my journal is scripture? Maybe for me. It’s the word of God directly to me. Like scripture, I can go back and read through old entries and feel the spirit anew. I make new connections about things I have written in the past while I was feeling inspired. On that same note, I feel as though I’ve caught a glimpse of what some of these scripture writers might have felt. The men who were commissioned to write scripture did have jurisdiction to write revelation for the entire church. They were apostles and prophets. The Lord had given them the authority to lead the church, and therefore, the word of God that they were receiving could come to us with authority. And even though some of these men were likely far more righteous than I am, they were still imperfect. There have also been times that I have gone back in my journal entries and found imperfect understandings, incomplete thoughts, or just the smallest fledglings of new knowledge. I think of Paul. If you read his epistles in chronological order, you see him grow in his own understanding of the Savior! His sermons describing grace become more eloquent and complete. Much of the world believes scripture to be final, infallible; there is nothing left to say. This is extremely limiting to a God who has never ceased wanting to speak to us. This is extremely limiting to a God who is trying to teach us more about who He is and His plan for us, but we’re not ready to receive everything immediately. That doesn’t even begin to touch the idea that our language isn’t even perfect enough to describe what heaven can reveal; don’t we want to get better and better at expressing it? What if Paul stopped progressing after writing his final letter before his death? That was it. There was nothing else to learn or be said. What if we had only been given the first letter written by Paul? Having an understanding that scripture is the inspired writings of holy (imperfect) men means that the Lord can continue to reveal His will to us! Scripture is the revealed word of God given to men, and it has not ceased. By way of commandment According to the title page of The Book of Mormon, this record was also written by way of commandment. The men who kept the records of the Nephites (as well as the men who abridged those records) were doing so because they were commanded. To be totally honest, I don’t have a ton of commentary on this particular principle other than this: we have been commanded to keep a journal (even though we don’t always like to think about it), and I don’t think it’s because the Lord wants our posterity to hear all about our crush in the seventh grade. I think the Lord knows the power that can come from writing while being guided by the Spirit, and He wants us to find that power. Perhaps you have a hard time writing; try recording your thoughts. Most of us have phones with voice memo capabilities. I don’t believe it’s the writing so much as the expansion of inspired promptings. If you come across a thought in scripture or a feeling about a question you’ve been asking for a while, pause long enough to speak or write about it for a little bit. I can promise you from personal experience that the Lord has more to tell you if you’ll pause to hear it. The word of God continues on, and the commandment to write it down (or record it some manner) only furthers that process. Spirit of prophecy This section is like the commandment section; I don’t necessarily have a ton of commentary, but I still think it’s worth being brought to attention specifically. The spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus Christ; the testimony of Christ enables the writing of scripture. Once again, we do not have authority to write scripture for the entire church, but we do have a testimony of Christ, and it can lead us to write the word of God for our own lives as well as our circles of revelatory jurisdiction. I should also mention that my most powerful moments of writing what the Lord is trying to tell me often comes when I write about Christ. It’s not easy to just sit down and start writing about Christ spontaneously, at least not for me. Rather, I usually write about what’s going on in my life, I get it all out there on paper, and then I start to write it again with the perspective of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I reconsider what’s going on in my life through the lens of His promises, love, and power. These are definitely the times when I feel like He is revealing the most to me. Interpretation by the gift of God The Book of Mormon was written in reformed Egyptian, and it came to us by “the gift and power of God unto the interpretation thereof.” This is honestly a pretty significant claim that we lean on in the church. We testify that Joseph Smith, a simple farm boy, was able to translate this book in record timing through the power of God. Perhaps we do not need to “translate” the word of God into our language, but there is personal and general relevance in this message. Whenever we seek to read the word of God, it needs to be interpreted by His power to the best of our ability. This has two implications. It means having a healthy understanding of our own imperfection and a willingness to be corrected as we mature in the gospel, but it also means pushing a significant portion of our energy towards having a communion experience with God as we read His word. If we want to get the most out of it and truly hear His word for us, it will require hearing from Him again. It is not enough to simply just read what’s already been written. God has not stopped giving His word, and this extends to the circumstances of reading what’s been written. When we read, He has more to say about His own mysteries as well as direct relevance to our own lives. Seeking that interpretation brings more of His word directly to you; it brings more “scripture.” I testify of a Savior who is not finished speaking with His people and leading them. I testify that He continues to reveal His word, both on a church wide scale and an individual level. I testify that we can receive and write the word of God for our own lives and our own posterity. I testify of that because I feel and experience it all the time. It is through this process of recording (not just writing) His word that I have been able to experience the gospel in a way that has brought so many of the promises that have been made by the Savior. And if there are faults, they are the mistakes of men. They are the frailties and mortal limitations of men who are trying to receive something heavenly into broken vessels. I testify that even some of these mistakes can be turned for our benefit because they push us to seek His word for ourselves. If we knew the word was completely written and perfect, we would not have to struggle to receive it for ourselves and develop the relationship with the Savior that He desires. I am so grateful for a Savior who continues to reveal His word because there is no way we can catch it all the first time.   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. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Introductory Pages of the Book of Mormon – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.