Making the Scriptures Come Alive

Recently in my study of the Book of Mormon I read Alma chapter 30. In this chapter, Alma, the high priest of the Nephites, faces off against Korihor, an influential anti-Christ. This time in my reading through of the Book of Mormon I have been reading it out loud. It was quite engaging reading the different parts of the chapter. I started to kind of take on the mannerisms I thought Alma and Korihor might have. I thought, "more people should do this kind of thing because it's so much fun."

Then I remembered that there is a study suggestion in Preach My Gospel very similar to what I had been doing. In the back of Chapter 5 there is an activity that says to read Alma 11-14 with one companion acting as Alma/Amulek, and the other companion as the detractors. "Why can't this apply to more scripture passages?" I thought.

It is somewhat difficult to find sections of dialogue that will be engaging for people to read, since most of scripture is either narrative history or a single person preaching. But there are some accounts of conversations, and in some cases confrontations, that we can reference. For today, I have chosen to select one from each of the Book of Mormon, Pearl of Great Price, and the New Testament.

Alma vs Korihor (Alma 30)
Moses' Vision (Moses 1)
Jesus vs Pharisees (Matt. 22)

My hope is that these will provide an exciting way to study the scriptures with friends and family. I have a few more that I would like to create in the future, but I am open to suggestions. Please send me a message/comment if these are helpful and if you would like a specific story formatted in this way. Enjoy!

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Jesus Approves the Words of Isaiah

Earlier this year, I did some comparisons of chapters in the Book of Mormon which include quotations from Old Testament prophets (links below). It is interesting to see what the slight differences are between what we have in the King James Version of the Bible vs what the Nephites had in the brass plates . Christ with Three Nephite Disciples, by Gary L. Kapp The reading for the Come, Follow Me curriculum this last week covered 3 Nephi chapters 20-26 . These chapters contain commentary from the Savior on the words of Micah and Isaiah, as well as direct quotations from Isaiah and Malachi. Chapters 20 and 21 are (I think) the most interesting, as the quotations are interspersed with explanation from Jesus as to how the prophecies refer to the gathering of Israel in the last days. The other three chapters are nearly quoted verbatim, though I include them here for completions sake. Here are the links to the comparison pages for each the chapters in 3 Nephi 20-25....

Lighting the World

It is an interesting phenomenon that, with few exceptions, people are nicer around Christmas time. I believe it is because of the abundance of the Light of Christ that is spread by those who are true believers in Him. Recently, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has begun a Christmas initiative called Light the World . In addition to the many wonderful ways that they have suggested how we can be a light to others, I would like to make a few remarks on the subject. This phrase "Light the World" comes from a couple of passages in the New Testament. Jesus, immediately after his encounter with the Pharisees and the adulterous woman, and likely addressing those willing to stay and listen to him, said, " I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life " ( John 8:12 . See also D&C 10:70 and 11:28 ). Of all the things to say to a captive audience, waiting to see how the Savio...

General Conference Review - April 2018

This general conference has been an interesting one, to be sure. If any of you missed it, you can find the talks here ; I would encourage you to study them. The things that were taught will certainly provide me with plenty of topics to write about in the coming weeks. This time I will highlight the three major announcements made, and also summarize the words and admonitions of each of the prophets and apostles. Saturday night Pres. Nelson announced in the priesthood session that the elder's quorum and high priest's groups in each ward will be reorganized into a single elders quorum. This is to enable greater ministering efforts and streamline the bishop's ability to delegate responsibilities in the ward. Along with this came the announcement that the only coordination meetings in wards will be with the ward council; Priesthood Executive Committee meetings will no longer take place. This leads very well into the second announcement about ministering....

Gospel Cogitations

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