Welcome back to another week at He Is Our Story.  I approach each episode of this podcast trying to answer two questions, “what does this scripture have to do with me, today, in my actual life and what does this scripture teach me about JesusChrist?

This week we're sitting in proverbs. This book of wisdom literature that if full of phrases that have become commonplace!  Even people who don’t readthe bible will know some of the proverbs! “Pride goeth before the fall”, “Spare the rod, spoil the child”, “A softanswer turns away wrath”, “As a man thinketh, so is he”.    

 In light of our new Sunday schedule,I have decided to focus on one proverb today! I won’t be doing this every week-but maybe this will help some of you Sunday School teachers out there who are now tasked with the job of picking one, maybe two, truths and making that the focus of your Sunday discussions! 

The Proverb I have chosen to focus on is 31. This proverb will also be familiar to many.  “Who can find avirtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies.”

If you've ever heard the phrase "Eshet Chayil," this is where thatcomes from.  Eshet Chayil is Hebrew, andit's usually translated as "virtuous woman" or "woman of noblecharacter." But those English words don't quite carry the full weight of the original Hebrew word. Chayil is a word used elsewhere in scripturefor warriors, for strength, for capability and valor. This isn't a passage about a soft or passive ideal of womanhood — it's a description of a woman of strength. Someone capable, someone formidable, someone whose life producesreal, tangible good in the world around her.

For centuries Jewish fathers have sung these very verses over their daughters, and husbands have sung them over their wives — not as a checklist to measure up to, but as a blessing. As a way of saying, "This is what I see in you."  It is usually sung on Fridaynights at the start of the Shabbat or Sabbath meal. 

So today, we're not going to read Proverbs 31 as a to-do list that makes us feel like we are falling short.  We are goingto approach these treasured words as a process of becoming.  Central to this process is our Savior, Jesus Christ.In verse 21 of the proverb we read, “She is not afraid of the snow-for her household: for all her household is clothed with scarlet.”  Snow here is referring to storms-and why isthis woman not afraid of the storms of life? Because her family is clothed in scarlet-in other words, her family is clothed in the blood of the lamb- the blood which points us toward the atonement of Jesus Christ. This woman derivesher strength and trust in the Savior-and that trust in Him gives her the courage to face the storms of life without fear!  

Now, alongside Proverbs 31, I want to bring in another verse that is one of those oh so familiar proverb sayings— Proverbs 22:6: "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it."

This verse can get treated almost like a formula. Do the right things as a parent, and you are guaranteed the desired outcome! But real life is messierthan that. Many of us know — maybe some of you listening today know personally— what it's like to have done your best, poured in everything you had, and still watch a child walk a different path than the one you hoped for.

So today, along with looking at what it means to be a woman of valor, we're also going to sit honestly with this question: what does it mean to continue to trust this proverb when the outcome doesn't look like what we expected? How canwe read this verse without feeling the guilt that can accompany unmet expectations in parenthood?

I've invited two women to join me for this conversation.  They come with real perspectives, real stories, real experience, and you are going to love learning from them!

Priesthood blessings aren't something youth have to wait for. Every one of God's children, right now, can receive ordinances and make covenants with Him because the priesthood was restored. And when a young person receives an assignment or a calling from someone with real authority, they can act in the name of God in that moment, right now, thisweek.

That's the FSY chapter 9 material in a nutshell: accepting callings and serving faithfully, sustaining those God has called — which means far more than raising a hand in class, it means actuallysupporting and helping — and fulfilling assignments from leaders and class presidencies as real, authorized work, not just busywork.

Ask your class: what's an assignment or calling you have right now — however small it feels — that you could start seeing differently, as something authorized by God rather than just a task on a list? How can acting in that calling or assignment help those around you to see Jesus Christ more clearly?

This is our last week in Psalms. And it’s gonna be a good one!  In the CFM manual for this week, it teaches us that the traditional Jewish name for the book of Psalms is Tehillim, a Hebrew word that means praises.  It’s related to the exclamation Hallelujah! And then the manual states, if you had to pick one word to sum up Psalms, praise would be a good choice! And praise would be a really good choice!  But if I had to pick one word to sum up the Psalms for me it would be “lovingkindness”.  Which translated into Hebrew would be Hesed!  And I am sure that does not come as a surprise to you!  But the Savior’s mercy, His covenantal love for us is written all over the pages of the Psalms!  Last week welearned that “He is nigh unto those who come unto Him with a broken heart and a contrite spirit.”  He comes to us in ourbrokenness and heals us.  He gives us a brand new heart, and that experience leaves us so completely changed that wecannot help but sing praises to Him!  So, yes praise is a wonderful word to describe Psalms—but the reason the Psalmist wants to praise the Lord is because of the Lord’s great Hesed!  In Psalms 103:2-5, 11 we read, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.  Who forgiveth allthine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases, Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like theeagle’s.  For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.”

Our focus this week is going to be on what we can learn from the Psalms about temple worship. Psalms 120-134 are known as the songs of degrees, or ascent.  In an essay entitled “Singing of God’s Love”, written by Kevin Tolley, he teaches us that “In ancient times the people of Israel would travel to the temple at Jerusalem to worship the Lord during annual festivals.  As they traveled they sang. Some of the songs they sang are recorded in Psalms 120-134. These Psalms reminded the people of God’s grace, mercy, provision, protection, and salvation, and prepared their minds and hearts for their experience at the temple.” 

Learning how ancient Israel prepared for temple worship can be beneficial to us as we consider our modern day temple attendance and the effort we put into preparing for a meaningful experience as we worship there.

My finite mind cannot fathom how Jesus Christ did what He did. How He atoned for the whole of humanity, yet did it for each of us individually, one by one. As I have tried to understand that concept more, I have begun to notice this same pattern repeated throughout the gospel. One of the first places I noticed it was in the vision statement issued by the Utah Area Presidency. It says we are to search out and rescue the one, while faithfully ministering to the ninety and nine. This is how Christ ministered. And this should be how we minister and how we gather Israel. Our aim is to gather everyone, and we do that one by one. I have also noticed it in the way we partake of the sacrament ordinance-the ordinance that points us to the Savior’s atonement. The bread and water are offered to all—yet the emblems are partaken of individually. And, in fact this is true of all priesthood ordinances. They are offered to everyone-on either side of the veil, but they must be performed individually-one by one! Remember back in October 2024 general conference. President Nelson urged us to do something weekly for the rest of our lives. He said, “I urge you to devote time each week—for the rest of your life—to increase your understanding of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.”Can the Psalms be a tool to help us understand more about the infinite reach and scope of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and yet also help us feel the personal, individual effect His atonement can have on each one of us? I believe they can.

Welcome to a special FSY edition of He is Our Story.  In a little under two weeks, we are going to be changing our Sunday schedule so that we will be meeting as Young Women classes and Aaronic Priesthood quorums every week!  I hope you are as excited about this as I am!  This is going to be a really goodthing!  I am sure you have some concerns and questions-that comes with all change! I have two goals for this video!  #1 is to help you feel prepared for the change! Hopefully I can answer some of your questions or at least point you toa place where you can get some answers, as well as give you some ideas about how to prepare for these Sunday discussions. My second goal is to get you excited for this change!  Elder Renlund said, “Consistency deepens conversion and shapesdiscipleship over time.”  The fact that you are going to get to meet with these youth every week is going to besuch a blessing! 

The purpose for both the Aaronic Priesthoodquorums and YW classes is the same! To help youth make and keep sacred covenants and deepen their conversion to Jesus Christ and His gospel. Meeting weekly and worshipping and learning together on Sunday’s is going to help us fulfillthat purpose individually with each class member, as well as collectively with our entire class. Remember!  We don’tteach “lessons”!  We teach individuals! Each individual in our class should be our focus!  Get excited!  This is going to be so much fun!

As of last week, we have hit the poetry section ofthe Old Testament. We learn from the CFM manual that, "The Books of Job, Psalms and Proverbs are almost entirely poetry, as are parts of the prophetic books like Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Amos."

In the Bible Dictionary entry for Psalms we read, "Out of a total of 283 direct citations from the Old Testament in the New Testament, 116 have been counted from this onebook" — meaning Psalms. Psalms is the most quoted by the Savior during His mortal ministry. On the "Follow Him" podcast they gave an interesting reason the Savior quoted Psalms so much.  And that reason is because those are the verses of scripture people living anciently would have been familiar with. Remember, everyone didn't havetheir own personalized set of scriptures like we do today. And because many of the Psalms were set to music, these would have been the verses that were easiest for the people to remember and memorize. There's something aboutsetting words to music that helps our mind recall those words easily.   When ancient Israel sang these words in thetemple, they weren't just reciting truth — they were putting truth into a form that could be easily remembered.   Tobring comfort when they were grieving, give them courage when they were going into battle, to be sung by a mother to her child who didn't yet understand the words, but would still feel the peace those words offered

Join me this week as I sit down with a dear friend to talk about the book of Job. Ken Gibby walks us through his battle with depression and anxiety. He shares personal stories that will help all of us, wether we are suffering from mental illness ourselves, or loving someone through this savage disease. This honest and frank conversation not only helps us understand the suffering of Job better, but helps us understand God's answer to Job. What if the series of questions God asks Job are not meant to teach Job about all that he is not? What if these questions are designed to remind Job not only of who God is, but of who Job is as well? #lds #comefollowme #job #oldtestament #scripturestudy

Where some books in the Old Testament are more difficult to understand-Esther comes to us like an old familiar friend!  We know her story.  But sometimes we approach the familiar with less inquisitiveness-so we don’t want to let how well we know this story keep us from seeking to come away from our study having learned more about our Savior.

Have you ever had a time in your life when you felt like God was not a part of your story? Not because you didn’t want Him to be-you were seeking Him, but you were just having a hard time seeing His hand in your life. What do we do in those moments? 

This week we are studying the book of Esther.  Esther is the only book in the bible thatdoes not mention God by name.  But just because His name is not mentioned does not mean He is not there! We just have to look a little bit harder.  And maybe that is like us when we are having difficulty feeling that God is with us-it just might require that we look a bit harder. Remember that scene in the Lion King? Where Rafiki tells Simba to lookinto the water and he will be able to see his father.  When Simba looks, he sees himself and tellsRafiki, that’s not my father, that is just my reflection.  Then Rafiki tells him-Look harder! 

Remember the prophet Elisha back in 2 Kings.  The king of Syria sent horses and chariots, agreat host, and encompassed the city of Dothan, where Elisha lived.  And in the morning when Elisha’s servant looked out at the huge army surrounding them, he said to Elisha, “My master,what shall we do?”  And Elisha answered him, “Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.  And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and behold,the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.” The horsesand chariots sent by the Lord were there all along.  The young man just needed to look a littleharder before he could see them!

Some scholars suggest that the fact that God is not mentioned in the book of Esther is intentional.  That, in fact, by leaving God out of the story we are forced to recognize that we do not always see what God is doing in our lives.  Instead of seeing God we see coincidence! The bible dictionary says about the book of Esther, “The book contains no direct reference to God, but He is everywhere taken for granted, asthe book infers a providential destiny.”

Joseph Smith saw God the Father and our Savior,Jesus Christ in the sacred grove, and still during a particularly hard momentin Liberty Jail, he cried out, “O God, where art thou? And where is thepavilion that covereth thy hiding place? Joseph’s question might even be harderfor us to understand-because Joseph knew God was there; he just wanted Him tostop hiding? Why would a loving God hide Himself from us? Especially in ourmost desperate moments?

Elder Holland answers this question like this, “Faithmeans trusting God in good times and bad, even if that includes some sufferinguntil we see the hand of the Lord revealed in our behalf.”

Today we are going to see where we can find God inEsther’s story-and I believe as we practice seeing Him in her story—we willbecome better at recognizing Him in our story-even on the days He may be hardto see!

#lds #comefollowme #oldtestament #esther #fsy #heisourstory #scripturestudy

Have you ever built anything?  My husband is a marvelous and talented craftsman.  There is evidence of hishandiwork all over our home!  He knowshow to build things!  I, on the otherhand, am more of a creator than a builder! I love to look at a space and dream up the possibilities!  To imagine what something can become!  But lately I have taken up quilting. Which in a sense is building! I am building blankets! I am a blanket builder!  It is thrilling for me to look at piles of beautiful material-imagining what they can become when I cut them and sew themback together in a pattern. 

To build requires work.  When Darren builds something he uses saws and nails and plans.  When I build something(like a quilt) I use pins and needles and a pattern. 

What is required when we work to build the kingdomof God?  Do we all go about this type ofwork in the same way?  What tools areavailable to us in this work?  These arejust some of the questions we are going to explore in today's episode!

Welcome, my friends, to another week at He Is OurStory.  I am so glad you are choosing tospend some of your time learning more about your Savior through the study of His word.  Last week I mentioned thatopening up my scriptures feels like opening up a treasure box, and I am never quite sure what I am going to find.  So,I sort of giggled when I read a quote that I have never heard before by Elder Neal A. Maxwell.  It was in the CFMmanual for this week.  He said, “The scriptures offer us so manydoctrinal diamonds.  And when the lightof the Spirit plays upon their several facets, they sparkle with celestial sense and illuminate the path we are to follow.”

I love the thought of looking for “DoctrinalDiamonds” in the word of God.  Dependingon what is happening in our lives we can see the scriptures differently-the Spirit shines on certain phrases, stories or words in one way for me and another way for you.    Elder Holland said, “After an encounter with the living Son of the living God, nothing is ever again to be as it was before.”  Opening our scriptures isopening ourselves up to having an experience with our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.  The question we aregoing to explore today is are we experiencing Them there?  Are we coming away from our scripture study changed because of the experience we are having with our Savior?