Jennifer Roach Lees holds a Master in Divinity as well as a Masters in Counseling Psychology. She is a licensed mental health therapist and lives in Utah.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Moses 7 – Jennifer Roach Lees appeared first on FAIR.

by Autumn Dickson

Moses 7 is powerful. There is so much. I have so many thoughts, but let’s keep it to a few. One of those thoughts came to me while reading this verse.

Moses 7:43 Wherefore Enoch saw that Noah built an ark; and that the Lord smiled upon it, and held it in his own hand; but upon the residue of the wicked the floods came and swallowed them up.

Noah and his family were surrounded by wickedness and danger. They built an ark, and the Lord protected them. The rest of the people were wiped out by the flood.

I want to draw your attention to two details. Noah built an ark, and the Lord held it in His hand. There is a type in this. Let’s talk about one of my favorite subjects: grace and works. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is frequently attacked for not being Christian because we believe that we will be judged by our works and desires and not just by whether we believe in the right Jesus. Other Christians believe that it’s just about accepting the Savior, not following Him. They believe that you don’t have to do anything. Some believe that if you try to do anything, you’re only taking away from His glory (or so I’ve been told by some of my friends; I recognize that there are nuanced beliefs within the Christian faith in general). I know others believe that it’s all about belief and works simply follow belief, but the works are just not necessary.

It is extremely important to note that Latter-day Saints believe 100% in grace. We believe that works are necessary, but works don’t save us. Christ saves us. Works are necessary, but they perform a different function, not saving

As I read the bible, over and over and over and over and over I get the message that the Lord does require works even if it’s not ultimately the works that do the saving. There are places in the bible that more directly teach this concept, namely in the letters of Paul, but there is also story after story after story that teaches this principle. Noah and the ark is just one of these stories. Noah and the ark can teach us about how Christ does the saving, and it teaches us about why the Lord requires works and will judge us by our works.

What do we learn from Noah’s story? How does Noah’s story teach us about grace and works? Let’s talk about it.

First of all, let’s look at it before Noah even builds the ark. The Lord saved Noah and his family because they were righteous. There is a type in this. Noah and his family weren’t perfect, but they were righteous. And even though they loved God, it didn’t save them. It just meant that God saved them. Would God have saved them if they hadn’t built the ark? My personal opinion is no. Why would He command Noah to build an ark if He didn’t actually care whether Noah built it?

Let’s look more specifically at Noah and the ark and not everyone who died in the flood. Our verse teaches us that the Lord held Noah’s ark in His hand. That’s the grace right there. The Lord protected Noah. The Lord saved Noah. The verse could have said, “Noah obeyed God and built the ark, and it saved him.” But that’s not what it said because that’s not what Latter-day Saints believe. In fact, it doesn’t even specifically say that God looked upon Noah, smiled at him, and saved him. It very specifically says that God looked at “it,” as in, the ark. God looked at the works of Noah. The works didn’t save Noah, but God looked at the works, judged them as good and smiled at them, and saved Noah.

If God is the one who saved Noah, then why did He have him build an ark? Why perform works?

That’s the million dollar question for Latter-day Saints. We believe that we are saved by grace, 100%. So why build an ark? Why do we believe in doing our best and performing works if the ark doesn’t do the saving?

It’s because God has to judge. He has to judge who will destroy heaven and who will be able to appreciate heaven and preserve it. He could have saved all the wicked by smiling at them and holding them in his hand, but the wicked would have destroyed heaven. They would have made it as miserable as they were making the earth with their violence and idolatry. They wouldn’t have been able to enjoy heaven because of their choices, because of their works. Beyond that, they would have ruined heaven.

Our works don’t save us, but God judges us by our works and saves us accordingly. That’s what Noah’s story is teaching us. The works don’t save us; they just allow us to appreciate heaven and preserve it. They determine whether God steps in with the atonement of Jesus Christ, saves us, and brings us back into our heavenly home.

So do Latter-day Saints believe that we are saved by works? No. We believe we are judged by them, but we believe that Christ does the saving with His atonement.

I think parents of addicts understand this more than most. If you have a child who is extremely addicted to dangerous drugs, you don’t keep bringing them back into your home just because they love you. They would destroy your home and any heavenly feelings that reside there. Even if you have the power to keep taking care of everything despite their addiction, I would hope that you wouldn’t bring them back in to destroy everything (unless God says differently, listen to Him for specifics). If you do choose to bring them back in, then it’s not home anymore. It’s not heaven so no one really got saved anyway.

So you make a judgment call. You pray your guts out for the child. You love the child, but you separate the child because of their works. You judge their works and preserve the home. If they repent and truly change, then they get to come back home. Not because of their works. Quitting drugs doesn’t pay for the house; it just makes it so that you trust them enough to bring them home.

I think it’s important to also note that not everyone’s ark looks the same. That’s one of the beautiful things about the atonement of Jesus Christ. It removed the absolute justice that kept us from heaven. It enabled Christ to be the judge and save who He decides to save. Some of us will build an ark. Some of us will look at the barren desert before us and be lucky to build a canoe, but you know what? The Lord judges perfectly. He looks at your entire situation and what you have, and He judges perfectly.

I testify that the Lord saves us with His grace. I testify that your ark is not enough to save you. I testify that even though your ark can’t save you, it builds you and God judges you by your circumstances and your ark and determines whether you’re going to contribute to our heavenly home. I testify that the relationship of works and grace is taught all throughout the bible.

Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR’s 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Moses 7 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

by Autumn Dickson

I’ve given this message before, and I’ll probably give this message again someday. This message has been repeated so frequently throughout scripture so I figure it’s not the end of the world if I repeat it too. It is something that has been taught by modern day prophets. It has changed my life profoundly.

If someone were just beginning their family, what advice would you give them? What would you focus on? If you could give them advice that they were supposed to read over and over and over throughout their lives, what would you emphasize? If you were trying to teach a group of people how to build a society, which principles do you think would be some of the most valuable to learn?

Over the past couple weeks, we have been reading about the beginning of one of God’s projects. It includes the building of a world. It includes the building of God’s family, and the building of a new society upon the earth. There was a father and mother and a whole lineage of people. I have so many questions about how some of these things came to pass. How did they build their society? How did it change? Did they even consider the idea that they were setting up the foundation of a society?

I’m not sure.

But out of every message that the Lord could have sent us, one of the messages that He gave us was this.

Moses 6:5 And a book of remembrance was kept, in the which was recorded, in the language of Adam, for it was given unto as many as called upon God to write by the spirit of inspiration;

A book of remembrance was kept. It was given unto as many as called upon God to write by the spirit of inspiration. Was this one of the pieces of advice you would have chosen to give to this new society you were directing? Because it was one of the pieces of advice that God thought was important.

Do you call upon God? If you do, here is the bible teaching us that you’ve been called upon to write by the spirit of inspiration.

Please stay with me for a moment if you don’t feel like you’re ready for this message. If you hate writing and reading, if it’s not something that you particularly enjoy, stick with me. A book of remembrance doesn’t have to look like what you’re picturing.

I almost feel bad sharing this message because writing is something that comes naturally to me. Even if I wouldn’t classify myself as overly talented, I love writing. I’ve written regularly in a journal since I was 14 years old (and boy do I wish I could burn those journals).

My journals were not always written according to inspiration. For a lot of my life, my journals were where I angrily wrote about my angel parents that I didn’t appreciate, about boys, about friendships at a time in my life when I didn’t know how to be a good friend. It wasn’t until later that my journals became filled with true, uplifting purpose.

Writing in a journal has blessed my life. I have gone back to read what I used to care about. I have been able to observe the growth I had and watch how the Lord guided my life, page by page. It’s actually pretty fun. Not to mention, I record all the absolutely ridiculous things my children say and that is one of the best blessings of my life.

But the commandment we find in this verse is not necessarily what you think. It’s not about writing what you did every day or even every month; I love writing, and I think that would bore me to death. My life isn’t exciting enough for that.

We need to rethink what it means to keep a journal. When God gives a commandment, it’s to draw us closer to Him so let’s look at our book of remembrance through that lens. And as a matter of fact, let’s look at another phrase from the verse that we read from Moses.

Write by the spirit of inspiration. If that sounds intimidating, let me try and ease your worries. Let’s look at what it means to receive inspiration.

Inspiration is when God gives you thoughts and feelings to propel you in a specific direction. He gives it to you.

When someone gives something to you, are you the one who is supposed to be stressing about how the gift makes its way into your lap? No! That’s not your job. You just have to make yourself available to receive it.

Hence the writing. Make yourself available and trust the Lord to give you what you need. He knows how to give.

I have one practical piece of advice for starting your book of remembrance. It’s just one piece of advice to start things out so that God could push you in the correct direction that will fit your personality and circumstances.

Open a journal when you’re praying, open a note on your phone, or open your computer to type. Just open it and make it available once a day for one week. When you’re praying. That’s my tip.

You don’t have to write your prayers like I do. I just do that because it helps me focus when the last seven years of my life have been interrupted approximately every three minutes. Don’t do it before bed; I never write my prayers before bed because I’m not in the proper mindset to write by inspiration. I’m too tired. The Spirit can whisper through a lot of things but apparently not my exhaustion (or maybe I’m just bad at listening through my exhaustion?). It doesn’t have to be a long prayer. It doesn’t have to be an impressive prayer. Open it, and simply start talking. He may not say anything immediately because He usually only talks when He needs to. You may start to feel like you should pick up your pen. Trust the feeling and do it. Even if you don’t know what you’re going to write, just start and open yourself up and He will speak.

It’s remarkable. You will feel so close to God.

Just as the verse taught, if you have called upon the name of God, you have been called to write by inspiration. He wants to talk to you too.

I testify that God loves you and knows how to give you inspiration. I testify that it’s not your job to figure out how to receive a gift; it’s just your job to try and make yourself available to receive it. I testify that writing by the inspiration of God will change your life as it has changed mine.

Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR’s 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Genesis 5; Moses 6 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

Jennifer Roach Lees holds a Master in Divinity as well as a Masters in Counseling Psychology. She is a licensed mental health therapist and lives in Utah.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Genesis 5; Moses 6 – Jennifer Roach Lees appeared first on FAIR.

by Autumn Dickson

For this week, we get to read more about Adam and Eve and their posterity. While reading about this posterity, we find a really beautiful summary of how to live. It is so simple and yet so profound.

Moses 6:3 And God revealed himself unto Seth, and he rebelled not, but offered an acceptable sacrifice, like unto his brother Abel. And to him also was born a son, and he called his name Enos.

I want to take it one phrase at a time. God revealed Himself to Seth. Seth didn’t rebel. Seth offered an acceptable sacrifice like his brother did. Though this is about the personal life of Seth, there is a pattern that all of us can follow.

First, God revealed Himself.

It is not enough to try and interpret the bible perfectly. You can’t. It’s not possible for man to interpret it correctly even if it had been translated perfectly. God has to reveal Himself and the truth concerning why we are here and how we get back. You can’t go to school and have other people teach you about God because they have studied a ton. No matter how hard you think or how long you ponder, it is insufficient unless God chooses to reveal Himself.

He does this through a variety of ways. He reveals Himself through His prophets. He teaches us as we’re reading the bible. He teaches us as we listen to other people, but we have to remember that He is the one who gives us the information.

Then comes the next part. We decide what to do with it. Seth rebelled not.

Honestly, it reminds me of something that I read about the Tower of Babel. One of the reasons that God was so frustrated with the people in relation to the Tower of Babel was because He had told them how to reach Him. These people were descendants of Noah’s sons after the flood. Noah walked with God, and so it’s easy to assume that these descendants had been given a knowledge of how to form a relationship with God.

We do not know exactly what this looked like. We know that after Moses, there were more extensive ordinances contained in the Law of Moses that helped the people reach for God. In our day, we likewise make covenants and perform ordinances in order to reach Him and develop a relationship with Him.

I’m not sure what it looked like in Noah’s day, but these people had a prophet and it was likely that they had oral traditions to lead them along.

Unfortunately, they rebelled. They didn’t want to reach God in that way. They wanted to do it how they wanted to do it, and they ended up with chaos and confusion.

Through modern-day prophets, God has revealed how we can draw closer to Him. These avenues are not exclusive; they’re available to everyone who wants them. Some have had incredible experiences with the gospel but have chosen to only accept some avenues of closeness. Some believe they don’t need these extra things in order to draw closer to Christ rather than gratefully receiving any options He gives us to think of Him and follow Him.

I think of Cain and Abel. Cain was mad that God didn’t accept his crops even though God had asked him for a lamb originally. Cain only wanted to give what Cain wanted to give. And when God didn’t accept it, he was angry. Interestingly enough, God didn’t ask for a lamb for fun. It was very specific and meant to help Cain understand Christ. Cain missed the memo.

If you’ve had good experiences with the gospel, I can promise that accepting all of the gospel will only bring more goodness. Don’t rebel against it. Give it a chance, soften your own heart and see if God doesn’t bless you.

Then there is the last portion of this pattern that we’ll talk about today.

Seth offered an acceptable sacrifice like his brother. I love this part. We can offer acceptable sacrifices like our Brother.

There is much to be said of sacrifice, but I want to focus on one specific principle here.

The Lord asks for specific sacrifices. There are general ways that we draw closer to Christ through ordinances and covenants, but there will also be very personalized sacrifices that the Lord asks us to make. Christ had a very tailored sacrifice to give. It was perfectly picked just for Him.

There are very tailored sacrifices we will be asked to make. They are tailored in two ways: how we can give and how they can bless us.

Some of them are because God gave us gifts and expects us to use them to bless others. In ancient times, the oldest brothers received an extra portion in order to take care of the mother and sisters. Each of us have received some kind of specific extra portion, spiritual gifts that are not given to everyone. We are expected to take care of those who don’t have what we have. It is completely fair for Heavenly Father to ask us to give when He has given us more precisely for that purpose.

We have also been given a responsibility to make specific sacrifices because of how they will bless us. They will mold us to be more like the Savior in the exact ways that we need. Just like the lamb wasn’t random, our sacrifices don’t need to feel random. They can refine us.

I got pregnant 3 months after having a baby. My fifth child was born when my oldest was just six years old. I despise being pregnant. I’m grateful for it. My children are my greatest blessing, but I can’t begin to describe just how much I lose myself when I’m pregnant. Conner was out on the east coast every other week for work. I was overwhelmed and sick. My body was destroyed, and I still had a tiny baby that needed me so much. I had three other kids who also needed me, and I still felt the Lord telling me that I needed to keep sharing my testimony of Christ.

There were a million lessons learned through this specific trial given to me. The Lord needed me to change in specific ways in order to step into the life I wanted for myself and my family. I let go and let my kids step up in ways that were powerful for them, a beautiful blessing that I would have never voluntarily given over. I miraculously finished my work and still got a desperately needed nap almost every day. Both of these specific lessons have set me up in exactly what I want for my life. Most importantly, I learned that God really is on my side.

When I first found out I was pregnant again, I felt utterly betrayed. Believe it or not, we had taken some pretty intense measures to prevent pregnancy. This wasn’t a mistake on our part. It was a definitive choice for the Lord. I had told Him that I wanted to wait a bit. There have been numerous times in my life that the Lord has chosen different for me than I chose for myself. I grumbled and fought it just like anyone else. Getting pregnant again and losing myself for 18 months instead of 9 months felt like more than I could bear. For the first time, I felt truly betrayed by God. I felt like He had completely ignored everything I had wanted for myself. I felt like He had ignored what I needed, that He didn’t care what I needed. He was going to choose what He was going to choose. I knew logically that wasn’t the case. I had experiences with God and knew He loved me, and maybe that’s why it had been so painful. I had trusted Him, and this felt too far.

It took some time, but I learned the tailored lesson He sent me. I turned my heart around and accepted the sacrifice that had been asked of me and just like with any sacrifice, it was for me. He was trying to bless me, and He did. I thought I trusted Him before. It multiplied after this last baby. The Lord tailors our sacrifices for us, and in the end, we make them acceptable by putting our heart into it.

I testify that the patterns of the Lord are simple. I testify that He can guide our individual details in the midst of those grand patterns. I testify of a Lord who made an ultimate sacrifice and set an example for how we can draw closer to God. I testify that the scriptures can teach us of these patterns, and if we choose to accept them, He blesses us more than we can imagine.

Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR’s 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Genesis 5; Moses 6 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

by Autumn Dickson

We are learning all about how man came to be on the earth. The Lord is setting the stage for us to understand the context in which we were placed on the earth. Part of that context is understanding the Fall and everything associated with it. Here are a couple of verses that help us understand what we’re trying to emulate in the midst of this fallen world.

Moses 4:1-2

1 And I, the Lord God, spake unto Moses, saying: That Satan, whom thou hast commanded in the name of mine Only Begotten, is the same which was from the beginning, and he came before me, saying—Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor.

2 But, behold, my Beloved Son, which was my Beloved and Chosen from the beginning, said unto me—Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever.

The Lord is telling Moses, “You were just tempted by this Satan guy, and you commanded him to leave in the name of Jesus Christ. Before the world was created, Satan wanted to redeem everyone, take away their agency, and keep all the glory. Christ came prepared to do My will and offered the glory back to Me.”

As a church, we talk a lot about following the will of the Father; this is a frequent discussion. We have also discussed how Satan wanted to take all the glory, and how Christ rightly placed the glory with the Father. Much of this life is a lesson in those two aspects: bending our will to match our Heavenly Father’s will as well as recognizing that the glory belongs to Him.

I want to focus on that second lesson: recognizing that the glory belongs to Him.

Glory is an interesting one because everyone likes to get credit for how they contribute. Christ gets credit for His role in the Father’s plan even if Christ is offering all of the glory back to His Father. Our prophet is just a man trying to follow the Lord, and yet, we honor him for the sacrifices he makes in order for us to hear the will of the Lord. I honor my parents for the continuous, ongoing sacrifices they make to bring me closer to Christ.

Hopefully, there is credit given when someone makes a sacrifice for you to draw closer to your heavenly home. This is a righteous principle.

And yet, Christ told the Father, “…the glory be Thine forever.” I think everyone knew Christ would be honored for what He did, and it is righteous to honor Him for what He did. He could have stopped at, “Thy will be done,” and left it at that. We all knew He deserved to be worshipped for what He was sacrificing, but He chose to keep speaking. He ended it with, “The glory be Thine forever.”

I’m sure Christ was aware that He would be loved and worshipped for it, but Christ was also aware of an important, adjacent principle. Seeking glory sucks the happiness out of life, and the entire reason He made the sacrifice was on behalf of our happiness. Setting the example for us to willingly hand over the glory whenever we follow the will of the Father was setting us up for success; it was setting us up to find happiness and joy more readily.

This wasn’t humble brag. It wasn’t lip service. Christ wasn’t saying, “I’ll go make this sacrifice and tell everyone that the glory is Thine because everybody knows I’m going to be worshipped for it anyway.” No. In His heart, Christ was saying, “If no one ever knew what I did, I would still choose to do it. If no one ever had an inkling of the sacrifice I was going to make, I would choose it if it means they can be happy.”

I’m sure when the prophet steps up, he knows that there are those who will respect him for his position. He knows that there will be honor for it. We don’t have to pretend there is not. It is righteous to love those who teach you about Christ. However, it can’t be about seeking honor or glory.

If you choose to step up and help with the Lord’s work, and if you do it with the right heart, you end up feeling grateful. You feel floored that the Lord let you come along anyway. Despite mistakes, lack of wisdom, and natural-man-tendencies, He let you be a part of it. When you’re participating in His work with the right heart, you’re filled with gratitude.

If you do not currently feel that way but want to feel that way, there is hope. If you find yourself with creeping feelings of vanity, if you find that you enjoy the praise of others a little too much, if you find this burning secret desire to make your sacrifices known, AND if you simultaneously don’t want those feelings, fear not. I’ve been there, and they don’t have to tear you up.

I battle those feelings often enough. I have always found guilty pleasure in people thinking I’m wonderful and smart and wise. Because of that weakness, I tried running anything that would tempt me. I didn’t want to experience that spike of happiness when someone told me that I was amazing. I didn’t want to be crushed when someone corrected me. I didn’t want my pride, and so I didn’t want to face my pride. I wanted to bury it.

And sometimes, the right choice is to bury it. Sometimes it’s better to run in the opposite direction.

However, I have learned that sometimes the right choice is to face it and keep practicing day after day after day after day after day.

When it comes to serving in the Lord’s kingdom and not seeking personal glory, there really isn’t another way. We are all asked to serve in one form or another. It is a responsibility to serve, which means you have to face the idea that someone is going to thank you for your service, and you’re going to have to face the weakness that isn’t gone yet.

So what do you do? Let’s discuss a general principle and then a couple of more practical tips.

General principle: You practice day after day after day after day after until you become. We battle our desires for glory until our desires no longer automatically jump towards glory. You school them. You become someone who knows better. That’s really what life is. You come down here and continually fight sin and weakness and consciously take hold of the direction of your growth. This is the overarching principle.

Here are some practical tips to help you fight that weakness when you’re presented with it:

It is easier to fill your life with good than it is to push out bad. Replace your pride with something that is more lasting, more important, more filled with joy. When I’m struggling to fight off desires for glory and it’s interfering in my ability to build the kingdom, I pray for a couple of things.

To see things clearly. I pray to help me see things as they really are. If I can see reality, then I don’t have to fight off feelings that I’m amazing and doing it all on my own. He helps me see the truth of how He’s holding me up. Beware of this one in high pressure environments; He is willing to teach you and let you flop on your own.

Gratitude. Rather than praying for gratitude (though that’s an option too), I just start being grateful within a prayer. When I start having those intrusive thoughts that say, “You’re the best. You help everyone. You’re so amazing. Everyone is lucky to have you,” I replace them with, “You are so lucky that Heavenly Father is taking you along for the ride. You are so blessed to be around these people who are carrying things you don’t understand. You are fortunate to be able to learn from them and be with them.” Oftentimes, when I start praying and focusing on gratitude, my feelings follow and the desire for glory gets silenced. It can’t stand up to that.

Charity. I mentioned earlier that Christ probably knew being honored was a part of making the sacrifice. It would be almost silly to pretend that’s not the case. Rather, the key here is that Christ wasn’t seeking glory. He would have done it without the glory because He just loved us so much. When I’m feeling prideful or wanting glory, I pray for charity to replace it. Loving others and wanting what’s best for them fills you. Trying to get enough validation and appreciation is like trying to fill a cup that has no bottom. Filling yourself with love for others pushes that cup aside completely and you find yourself overfilling.

I testify that our Savior is the ultimate example. He is the ultimate example in laying aside His own will, but He’s also the ultimate example in being so filled with love that glory seems silly. It’s not about the glory. He wants our love for sure; that brings Him joy. He knows how to live an eternal life that allows happiness rather than emptiness, and He set the example of filling yourself with love rather than glory in order to find that happiness.

Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR’s 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Genesis 3–4; Moses 4–5 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

Jennifer Roach Lees holds a Master in Divinity as well as a Masters in Counseling Psychology. She is a licensed mental health therapist and lives in Utah.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Genesis 3–4; Moses 4–5 – Jennifer Roach Lees appeared first on FAIR.

by Autumn Dickson

This week we get to read about how Adam and Eve made their way out of the garden and into the world that we know today. There are principles here that can change how you see your own efforts to follow Christ. Some of the principles we read about this week have the power to bring you out of perfectionism and into true salvation because they are not the same thing.

Background on the verse we’re about to read: Moses is learning about Satan because Satan had recently come to him to tempt him. The Lord starts to teach Moses about the man who was trying to get Moses to worship him, specifically about Satan’s role in the beginning of the Plan of Salvation.

Moses 4:6 And Satan put it into the heart of the serpent, (for he had drawn away many after him,) and he sought also to beguile Eve, for he knew not the mind of God, wherefore he sought to destroy the world.

Satan wanted to tempt Eve in order to destroy the world. He wanted to destroy the plan of God because he was mad. Despite his original pleadings to come down and save everyone and bring them all home, now Satan threw away his supposed love for us and merely sought to destroy what God was planning. He was a fraud; he never loved us. He just wanted glory and honor.

There is beautiful irony here. Satan would have destroyed God’s plan if he had left Adam and Eve alone, but he knew not the mind of God. He didn’t know that tempting Eve and convincing her to sin was part of the plan.

One more time. He didn’t know that tempting Eve and convincing her to sin was part of the plan.

I want to switch up the verse just a little bit. I’m going to put in my name. You put in your’s.

Moses 4:6 And Satan put it into the heart of the serpent, (for he had drawn away many after him,) and he sought also to beguile Autumn, for he knew not the mind of God, wherefore he sought to destroy the world.

Satan tempts me because even though he already lost his chance to destroy the plan with Adam and Eve and then again with Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, he wants to destroy the effects of the plan in my life.

There is beautiful irony here. Sin was part of the plan, and not just as some unfortunate byproduct of a fallen world. It was one of the most powerful tools utilized to save Adam and Eve. Let me explain myself.

Let’s pretend for a moment that Satan predicted the mind of God and left Adam and Eve alone. We would have remained in the exact state where we were. Adam and Eve would have remained innocent in the garden, and we would have stayed in our heavenly home with God. God’s plan would have been thwarted. No sin would have occurred, but no true happiness would have occurred either.

Sin was part of the plan, and not just as some byproduct of a fallen world. Sinning teaches us powerful lessons.

Now we have to be careful with this principle and have the right attitude towards it. I don’t teach this principle so that someone feels like they can go try cocaine in order to learn that it’s bad. That’s ridiculous. I’m not even teaching that it’s okay to lie or cheat so that you can learn your lessons. I’m not teaching that it’s okay to go sin as long as your purpose is an education.

I am trying to break apart the ridiculous arguments of perfectionism.

We came here to grow and become. Our purpose in life should not be to stand frozen and still so that we don’t do anything wrong. Our methods should not include berating ourselves into perfection. We were meant to come down here and return to live with God, prepared to live His life and participate in His work. How do we get from Point A to Point B?

There are a lot of ways we acquire that growth. One of those ways is sinning. I have learned so much from reflecting on the times that I screwed up. This doesn’t give us license to go out and sin on purpose for the supposed goal of learning because that doesn’t get you to Point B. If you’re using “learning” as an excuse to sin, you’re not returning to God, prepared to live His life and participate in His work.

Rather, this gives you license to look at your sins the way Adam and Eve came to look at their sins. Here is another verse from this week.

Adam and Eve sinned. They disobeyed God and were driven out of the garden. They toiled, suffered, had children, and offered sacrifices to God. One day, an angel came to them and taught them about Christ. The angel told them that they could be redeemed after they sinned and return to live with God again.

Moses 5:10-11

10 And in that day Adam blessed God and was filled, and began to prophesy concerning all the families of the earth, saying: Blessed be the name of God, for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God.

11 And Eve, his wife, heard all these things and was glad, saying: Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient.

They rejoiced. Because of his transgression, Adam’s eyes were opened. He got to experience joy because he had transgressed and he still had an opportunity to return to live with God whom he knew personally and loved. Eve rejoiced that she learned the difference between good and evil as well as the joy of Christ paying for them to come home.

We don’t look at a choice ahead of us and disobey God in the name of learning good from evil. However, we do have permission to look back at our transgressions through the lens of a testimony of Christ. We rejoice that He took our sins and turned them into powerful stepping stones that brought us closer to Christ.

Honestly, it makes me think of the Come Back podcast. Some of the stories we hear about on that podcast are so incredibly powerful. People learned from their mistakes and found rejoicing in Christ. We can find that too. We don’t have to let our sins weigh us down unto death. We can rejoice in Christ’s ability to save us from our sins and utilize our sins to help us become prepared to live God’s life and participate in His work.

When we beat ourselves up with perfectionism over our mistakes, it’s only because we don’t yet know the mind of God.

Satan wants you to believe that your sins and transgressions are the end of the story, that he’s destroyed you. He has since learned that his desire to thwart God’s plan ironically fell apart because of his own participation in that plan, but if he can keep you from understanding that, then he can win a couple of battles even if he can’t win the war.

He doesn’t want you to know the mind of God which is offering you joy, peace, and salvation. Thwart Satan. Let go of everything that keeps you from the feelings associated with salvation, namely shame and guilt that has been blown out of proportion and continues to hold you down. Rejoice! Gain a testimony of Christ like Adam and Eve did.

I testify that God didn’t fear Adam and Eve’s transgressions. He knew it would happen. He planned on it. It needed to happen. I testify that God isn’t afraid of your sins; why would He be? They’re already paid for and taken care of. Sometimes the only thing holding us back from salvation is our own inability to know the mind of God and let go of the sins that were already paid for. I testify of Christ’s saving power, and I testify that gaining a true testimony of that power can light up your life like you’ve never experienced.

Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR’s 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Genesis 3–4; Moses 4–5 – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

Jennifer is joined in this episode by Ben Spackman to talk about Genesis chapters 1 and 2.

Ben Spackman is a historian and scholar whose work spans Semitic languages, biblical studies, the history of science, and the history of Christianity—particularly the Reformation and modern American religion. He completed doctoral coursework in Comparative Semitics at the University of Chicago before earning his Ph.D. in American Religious History from Claremont Graduate University.

Jennifer Roach Lees holds a Master in Divinity as well as a Masters in Counseling Psychology. She is a licensed mental health therapist and lives in Utah.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Genesis 1–2; Moses 2–3; Abraham 4–5 – Jennifer Roach Lees appeared first on FAIR.

by Autumn Dickson

The world is so confused. The more I learn about the gospel and the more I observe the world, the more I’m amazed at how lost the world is. The world is constantly seeking happiness, but it still seems so elusive.

I testify that there is joy to be found, and it is found in following the patterns of the Lord.

Moses 3:18 And I, the Lord God, said unto mine Only Begotten, that it was not good that the man should be alone; wherefore, I will make an help meet for him.

And the Lord created Eve for Adam. They were married for eternity. They went through the “dating” stage where everything was perfect, and they also crossed over into the mortal, fallen world where they had a lot to learn and figure out. They had to toil and sacrifice together. They worshipped together.

This is one of the ultimate patterns of the Lord.

The ideal is marriage. It is not good for man or woman to be alone. That is the truth. God declared it Himself in the beginning. We were not meant to be alone.

Let’s talk about a couple of ways that our world is fallen and tries to take this away from us.

We live in a fallen world, full of hurt and selfishness and abuse and apathy and neglect. Somewhere inside, we know that we were meant to have true joy and so in a confused attempt to achieve this joy, we walk away from difficult and painful things. We shy away and assert that we’re happier on our own.

And honestly, that is probably true in specific circumstances. Perhaps a person who has been abused for years in a scary marriage has finally found peace in the quiet that has been left behind after that marriage has fallen apart. Perhaps this person has found themselves again and likes who they are. Of course they are happier than they were in a toxic relationship.

But ultimate joy is found in following the pattern of the Lord and no matter what you’ve been through, the Lord stands ready to walk that hard path back towards healing and peace so that you’re prepared to find joy on the other end.

We live in a fallen world where many find themselves without a partner through no fault of their own. We live in a fallen world where many long for this pattern but it hasn’t come to them yet.

Just because the Lord has an ideal and you haven’t received that blessing yet does not immediately equate with being unloved or being unworthy. It does not mean that your life has to be void of joy or meaning. When I say that marriage is the ideal, I’m not simultaneously testifying that being alone means worthless. It’s not worthless. The Lord can take any journey on any path and turn it into powerful, meaningful, joy-filled growth opportunities.

We teach that marriage is ideal, not because we want to rub salt in the wounds of those who find that truth painful but because we want to testify of what the Lord wants them to have.

He wants you to find what Adam and Eve found. He wants you to find what it means to labor alongside an eternal partner. He wants you to find what He has found with your Heavenly Mother. That blessing is there. He can see it.

We live in a fallen world where the ideal is far away from many. Even if you’re not abused, there are many who worship without a spouse who has stepped away. There are many who long for an eternal sealing, a full bench during sacrament meeting, someone to engage in the deepest parts of life with. There are many who have been victims of infidelity, and there are many who are the ones who engaged in the infidelity and also feel far away from the ideal.

I testify that the truth is this: It is not good for man or woman to be alone.

I also testify of another truth. Christ can take you exactly where you’re at, no matter how far away you feel from the ideal. I testify that Christ knows how you feel. I testify that He stands ready to walk the path before you with you.

In The Book of Mormon, we learn about the strait and narrow path to walk towards the love of God. It is not “straight.” It is “strait,” meaning “narrow.” I understand that this partially refers to the covenant path, but I also believe there is another layer of meaning.

When we picture the traditional life in church, we see finishing high school, going to college, serving a mission, coming home, getting married, finishing college, and having kids (sometimes with varying order). That’s the path. It’s straight. We can see it. We know how it’s supposedly meant to happen.

But God set us up for a fallen world, and that means that there isn’t a “straight” path. There are only “strait” paths. There is a path for you to walk, and along that path, there are pieces of salvation that you will be picking up. A spouse, selflessness, compassion, knowledge. God can see your strait path, and Christ stands ready to walk it with you. The ideal is available to you even if it’s not the path you would have chosen for yourself. Trust me; the path that God chooses is so much better even if it feels painful right now.

I testify that the ideal is to not be alone. The world will tell you that you’re better off alone or that you don’t need a relationship, and they’re right but only to an extent. You can be happy on your own. However, the ideal, the most amount of joy available, comes from being in a relationship centered on Christ. God declared this truth, Himself. Sometimes this truth feels unbearably painful because it feels withheld or tangled up with trauma, but it is still the truth. Luckily, I can simultaneously testify that if we cling to the Savior, He can help us find that ideal and He can help us be able to find joy in the strait path that eventually leads to the ideal. You can find joy now in less than ideal circumstances if you include Christ, and you will also eventually find the ultimate joy if you continue to hold to Christ.

Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR’s 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Genesis 1–2; Moses 2–3; Abraham 4–5 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.