Book of Mormon

December 30-January 5
I was reading a very short notice this past week in a local newspaper that was just over 300 words long.  This is not a well-known national periodical, in fact, it’s quite obscure—but the notice I read is probably the most important thing ever published in the news.  The paper was The Wayne Sentinel and the date was Friday, March 26, 1830.  This was the first announcement that The Book of Mormon was now available to the world.

Come Follow Me BofM Podcast 1, “Another Testament of Jesus Christ” -- Introductory Pages

January 6-12
We all know the 1st book of Nephi so well, you may wonder if there is still more to learn. Welcome to the inexhaustible Book of Mormon that always surprises us with its spiritual richness and historical authenticity. You may know these stories, but we are about to enter a treasure room.

Come Follow Me BofM Podcast 2, “I Will Go and Do” -- 1 Nephi 1-7

January 13-19
I remember once being so tired as we made our way out of a remote area of the Sinai Desert in Egypt.  It was night and we wanted to drive all the way back to Cairo but we were just too exhausted from having hiked Mt. Sinai at 2:00 o’clock that morning.  We pulled over to rest.  We got off the main road and pulled up onto a small hill.  We watched from our perch, as an occasional car would go by.  And then it happened.  We watched as a dark mist or fog rolled in like a slow-motion wave of the sea.  We were both wide awake now—the mist completely obscured our view of the road below us—we could no longer see headlights or anything.  It was almost an inky black. This was the mist of darkness Lehi had talked about!

Come Follow Me BofM Podcast 3, “Come and Partake of the Fruit” -- 1 Nephi 8-10

January 20-26
After Lehi had his dream of the tree of life, his sons had some choices, and, based on those, in the next few hours had radically different experiences. Laman and Lemuel went to their tent and fought about the meaning of the dream, and Nephi was swept up to a mountain and given a vision. What Laman and Lemuel missed out on in insisting on their war of words!

Come Follow Me BofM Podcast 4, “Armed with Righteousness and the Power of God” -- 1 Nephi 11-15

January 27-February 2
A theme is so prevalent throughout scripture, and especially in the Book of Mormon, that you would think we would never miss it, and yet we do. What is that elusive theme? We’ll tell you in this episode.

Come Follow Me BofM Podcast 5, “I Will Prepare the Way Before You” -- 1 Nephi 16-22

February 3-9
How can Lehi who has suffered so much in the wilderness journey, including the murderous rejection of his own sons, Laman and Lemuel, possibly write that man is that he might have joy? Does he know something that we sometimes forget? We’ll find out as we study together.

Come Follow Me BofM Podcast 6, “We Lived after the Manner of Happiness” -- 2 Nephi 1-5

February 10-16
Do you know how many times the word “plan” shows up in the Book of Mormon? 66 times! How about in the Old Testament—only three times, and none of these is talking about the plan of salvation. The New Testament has no mention of “plan” at all.

Come Follow Me BofM Podcast 7, “O How Great the Plan of Our God” -- 2 Nephi 6-10

February 17-23
There was a story told of a man in war and in the heat of the battle he was shot in the chest. By a miracle he was spared being killed. As he was taken back to the safety of the nearby camp, he was examined and he had a small copy of the Book of Mormon he had been carrying in his uniform. They opened the book and the bullet had penetrated only into about the middle of 2 Nephi—right in the heart of the Isaiah chapters. It was said that even a speeding bullet couldn’t get through Isaiah—well, let’s try to prove that wrong today. Let’s have some fun studying these seemingly difficult chapters together!

Come Follow Me BofM Podcast 8, “We Rejoice in Christ” -- 2 Nephi 11-25

February 24-March 2
Nephi, of course is heartbroken because he has seen in revelation the destruction of his people. He says, “O the pain, and the anguish of my soul for the loss of the slain of my people” (2 Nephi 26:7). He says it consumes him. But he is given a promise of comfort. What is it? We’ll talk about it in this episode.

Come Follow Me BofM Podcast 9, “A Marvelous Work and a Wonder” -- 2 Nephi 26-30

March 2-8
Any returned missionary will recognize the chapters we are studying this week.  We used many of these verses when it came time to challenge a serious investigator to make the commitment to be baptized.  In all our readings and studies of 2 Nephi 31-33, have we possibly missed some critical teachings for our own spiritual progress?  Let’s study together and see what we can find out.

Come Follow Me BofM Podcast 10, “This is the Way” -- 2 Nephi 31-33

March 9-15
When Jacob speaks at the temple in the book named after him, it is with both anxiety and boldness, setting an example for all us who have to teach the people we love in this difficult world. It is not a time to shy away from the truth.

Come Follow Me BofM Podcast 11, “Be Reconciled unto God through the Atonement” -- Jacob 1-4

March 16-22
One of my favorite olive trees in the entire world is inside the walls of the BYU Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies in Jerusalem.  I remember Truman Madsen telling us all about how it was long-lined from a helicopter all the way from the Galilee to the center.  They were concerned about the shock of its journey, but they promptly planted it.  And then it died…at least they thought it did.  We’ll tell you all about it.

Come Follow Me BofM Podcast 12, “The Lord Labors with Us” -- Jacob 5-7

March 23-29
I remember, following Enos’s example, of going to the woods to pray in my life, in fact, more than once. Then, I recently was talking about Enos with a friend, and he said he, too, had gone to the woods to pray. I know, Scot, that you took Enos’s example, but went to a mountain. I don’t think the location matters because it can be right in our own bedroom, but there is something magnificent to learn about prayer from Enos in his book.

Come Follow Me BofM Podcast 13, “He Works in Me to do His Will” -- Enos-Words of Mormon

March 30-April 12
I love the season of spring.  I love the newness of life.  I love the crocus, daffodils and tulips just popping through the winter-hardened earth.  I love the buds that magically appear on all the trees.  I especially love the redbuds and the dogwoods that were the first to show in my home-state of Missouri on our forested farm.  Most of all, though, I love the fact that “all things are created and made to bear record of [Jesus Christ]…things which are on the earth, and things which are in the earth, and things which are under the earth, both above and beneath: all things bear record of [Him].” (See Moses 6:63) What an exciting thing to talk about this week: the newness of life that comes and the celebration of Easter—the atoning sacrifice, death and resurrection of our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

Come Follow Me BofM Podcast 14, “He Shall Rise with Healing in His Wings” -- Easter

April 13-19
Elder Neal A. Maxwell called the chapters we are studying in this episode the “Manual of Discipleship”. Since Mormon could include only the hundredth part of the records he had available to him, this may be the reason he zeroed right in on King Benjamin’s address and gave us so much of it. He knew we in the latter days would want to learn discipleship too.

Come Follow Me BofM Podcast 15, “Filled with Love Towards God and All Men” -- Mosiah 1-3

April 20-26
Over our years of studies of the first 6 chapters of Mosiah we have all come to love King Benjamin and his marvelous teachings.  We have the whole thing in our minds, don’t we?  The aged King Benjamin; the anointing of his son Mosiah to be the new king; the innumerable hosts of tents surrounding the temple and families in breathless attention to their servant King.  We have the setting down pat, but what about the setting in our hearts—if King Benjamin were to send a text message to all of us, desiring to know if WE believed the words which he has spoken to US, what would be our answer?  And what would be our proof?

Come Follow Me BofM Podcast 16, “A Mighty Change” -- Mosiah 4-6

April 27-May 3
Elder Richard G. Scott said, “Help from the Lord always follows eternal law. The better you understand that law, the easier it is to receive His help.” The chapters that we are studying in this podcast demonstrate just that.

Come Follow Me BofM Podcast 17, “In the Strength of the Lord” -- Mosiah 7-10

May 4-10
There are many times in our lives when we just have to stand up for the truth and, sometimes we stand alone. Has that ever happened in your life?  Has it happened in the lives of your ancestors or the lives of your children?  President Nelson said recently: “Why do we need such resilient faith? Because difficult days are ahead. Rarely in the future will it be easy or popular to be a faithful Latter-day Saint. Each of us will be tested.” This week’s material is a great lesson on boldness, standing up for the truth and being faithful when it is not too popular.

Come Follow Me BofM Podcast 18, “A Light … That Can Never Be Darkened” -- Mosiah 11-17

May 11-17
I have often wondered what was on Abinadi’s mind as the fire that would engulf and kill him burned hotter and hotter.  Did he wonder if he’d been a good missionary, because after all, there wasn’t a rush of converts from King Noah’s court.

Come Follow Me BofM Podcast 19, “We Have Entered into a Covenant with Him” -- Mosiah 18-24

May 18-24
When I was growing up and first learning about the story of Alma the Younger’s conversion in the Book of Mormon, I always pictured him as a rebellious teenager who hung out with the four sons of Mosiah and together, the five of them wreaked havoc on the Church.  If you look closely at the record and put the facts together, you come to know something altogether different.

Book of Mormon

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