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Nephi and His Brothers
I had this discussion over a campfire with BrianJ last fall and he has been threatening me to post it ever since. Since we’re in the beginning of the Book of Mormon it seems to be an appropriate time....
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Sanctified by the law.
I read a scripture for the first time the other night. It made me stop to rethink my gospel framework. I recommend reviewing more than just this verse to appreciate more of the context, but this is...
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The Alma Syndrome
I grew up listening to my uncles and father sing “Oh That I Were an Angel” and grew to love that verse at the beginning of Alma 29. I was disappointed when I finally read beyond the first two verses...
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Book of Mormon Lesson 31 (Alma 43-52)
I will be absent from primary to substitute for Gospel Doctrine today. I have no real sense of what the gosepl doctrine class is like in my ward since I have been in primary since moving here. As...
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Book of Mormon Lesson 33 (Helaman 1-5)
I was asked last night to teach tomorrow. Here’s a few thoughts. The lesson manual suggests going over the hymn “How Firm a Foundation”. It then suggests that this lesson will contrast those who...
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Book of Mormon Lesson #35 (Helaman 13-16)
We went over Samuel the Lamanite this week. There is a lot in it that was surprisingly complex, or at least surprisingly different, and I found myself struggling with the answer of “why” (i.e. why was...
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The Name By Which We are Called
During the days of darkness on the American continent, Christ speaks to the people at two different times. During the second recorded address to the people, Christ gives the often discussed plea of...
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Book of Mormon Sunday School Lesson 45 “Never Has Man Believed in Me As Thou...
I don’t have much to add to what has already been posted. Here are the notes from JimF. Here is a nice discussion on prayer from JanetLisonbee. Two points that I am struck by in this lesson: The...
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Book of Mormon Sunday School Lesson 46: “By Faith All Things Are Fulfilled”...
Here is the link to Jim F’s notes, which focuses on Ether chapter 12 and the discussion on faith. The lesson covers many generations of history which is a continual cycle of wickedness, secret...
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Aaronic Priesthood Lesson 4: Gathering Fast Offerings
I am now teaching Aaronic Priesthood lessons, kind of. For the time being I teach the deacons, but we haven’t had any deacons present for a few weeks. I was looking at this lesson and wasn’t sure how...
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Aaronic Priesthood Lesson 33: Scripture Study
I am now teaching the priests in the Aaronic Priesthood in our ward. I was just looking through our next lesson on Scripture Study and made my (often token effort) perusal of the manual. The...
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Sacrament symbol: The Bread
Today in priests quorum I taught about the sacrament. While talking about the symbolism of the bread, we read the following passage from 1 Corinthians 11 23 For I have received of the Lord that which...
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RS/MP Lesson #3: “Jesus Christ, Our Chosen Leader and Savior” (Gospel...
My reaction when reading this lesson for the first time was “why?” Why do we use this material to introduce Jesus Christ? Why is it important for us to know these things about Christ? Do I view the...
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RS/MP Lesson 9: “Prophets of God” (Gospel Princples Manual)
Quick comment on the organization of these lessons. We have just learned about the Holy Ghost and prayer in the last two lessons, will learn about prophets this week, and scriptures next week. This...
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RS/MP Lesson 13: “The Priesthood” (Gospel Principles Manual)
This lesson provides a transition from discussing the basis of the plan of salvation to how the plan is fulfilled in our lives. We will discuss the priesthood this week and the organization of the...
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RS/MP Lesson 14: “Priesthood Organization” (Gospel Principles Manual)
This lesson is particularly long and it would be difficult to adequately address all aspects of this lesson in the short time that is usually available for a priesthood or relief society lesson. While...
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Gospel scholarship
I have the opportunity to give an Enrichment lesson on gospel scholarship. I thought I would pose a couple questions to people who are definitely more experienced than I in this subject. What is...
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RS/MP Lesson 20: “Baptism”
Why must we be baptized? We Must Be Baptized for the Remission of Our Sins There are ample scripture references which discuss baptism for the remission of sins, but what does this actually mean? Is...
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RS/MP Lesson 22: “The Gifts of the Spirit” (Gospel Principles Manual)
This lesson refers primarily to D&C 46 which discusses many of the same gifts as in 1 Cor. 12 and Moroni 10. D&C 46 deals in general with principles related to governing and conducting...
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The End Of All Scripture Study
The other night I struggled through a portion of Paul’s writings and was feeling a bit smug that I had successfully made sense of what he was trying to say. Later, as I was mentally patting myself on...
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Lehi’s Dream, Variation 3
1 Nephi contains three different versions of Lehi’s vision of the tree of life. The first is Lehi’s vision as he relates it to his family (1 Nephi 8). The second is Nephi’s expanded version...
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The Missing Rs of Repentance
Throughout my life, repentance has been taught many times by the 4 Rs: recognition, remorse, restitution, and resolve. I was always pleased with myself for learning them quickly and being able to...
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The Individuals of Zion
I’ve recently heard a few comments regarding how the gospel is so focused on the individual. I wonder just how much focus is really on the individual, as opposed to a focus beyond the individual,...
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Restitution: A Lesson From the Anti-Nephi-Lehies
When I hear the word restitution, images come to mind of listing all my sins and coming up with ways to pay each and every person I have offended, and to pay back with interest. Until this is...
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