When he grew old, the Old Testament prophet Samuel appointed his sons to be judges over Israel. Unfortunately, they “turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgement” (1 Samuel 8:3). Weary of corrupt government, the elders of Israel came to Samuel and asked him to appoint a king to rule over them. (1 … Read more
At the end of the Sunday Morning session of the April 2023 General Conference, LDS Church President Russell M. Nelson expressed concern about the loss of civility and decency in the world. Civility and decency seem to have disappeared during this era of polarization and passionate disagreements. Vulgarity, faultfinding, and evil speaking of others are … Read more
In the Sermon on the Mount, immediately after Jesus tells His followers to lay up treasures in heaven, not Earth, and says “Ye cannot serve God AND mammon,” He told his followers to stop worrying about food and clothing. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or … Read more
The Beatitudes are the eight blessings pronounced by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. Each one begins with the words “Blessed are…” If you count Matthew 5:11 separately, there are nine beatitudes, but most commentators consider verse eleven to be an extension of verse 10. Definition of “Blessed” Among other definitions, the Oxford dictionary … Read more
In the Old Testament we learn that Moses married a black woman. Some traditions teach that this woman was Zipporah, the woman Moses met and married in Exodus 2:15-22. The Bible records that Zippporah was from Midian, which is east of the present-day Gulf of Aquaba (northeast Red Sea). Moses’ black wife was from Cush, … Read more
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16 In the middle 1970s, I was an LDS missionary in the southern United States – the Bible Belt. Everywhere we went, we saw the phrase, “John 3:16.” It … Read more
Sunday school lessons on the final chapters of Genesis typically discuss the story of Joseph and his brothers and then skip ahead to the blessings Jacob (Israel) gives to his sons before his death. Perhaps more pertinent to our time is the story that often gets passed over — the story of the increasingly severe … Read more
Now thou art commanded, this do ye; take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come.Also regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours. Genesis 45:19-20 In the Book of Genesis, Joseph, who had … Read more