New Testament: articles and tips | 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 – 2 Samuel 11–12; 1 Kings 3; 6–9; 11 – Jennifer Roach Lees 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.

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by Autumn Dickson

Noah’s ark is one of the most classic bible stories. Even when you’re not Christian, many people are aware of the story and what it means. I read these verses in the last post for this week, and I’m going to read them again with a new angle.

Genesis 7:19-20, 23

19 And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered.

20 Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.

23 And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.

The Lord destroyed everything. Oftentimes, this is rightfully seen as an act of justice. According to the Come Follow Me manual, the flood was also an act of mercy. I love that justice and mercy often come together, and I want to expand upon that.

Here is a quote from the Come Follow Me manual. Elder Neal A. Maxwell taught, “corruption had reached an agency-destroying point that spirits could not, in justice, be sent here.” During Noah’s time, the world had become so dark and devastating that bringing new children into the world would have been wrong.

When you study child abuse and neglect, this makes complete sense. There comes a point when you are so traumatized that trauma is all you can offer others. And if there are no healthy adults to save the children, then society will just get darker and darker until it destroys itself anyway.

Perhaps God destroyed the evil, but they would have destroyed themselves anyway. Because of His decisions, He was also able to save many of the spirits that would have gone down and been destroyed alongside the rest.

Now this was an extremely large scale event, but that’s what makes it such an easy example to observe. Here is another scriptural example on a slightly smaller scale.

In The Book of Mormon, Nephi is teaching his brothers and trying to get them to repent, but they hate the things of God. Here is a verse that shows some of Nephi’s pleadings.

1 Nephi 17:45 Ye are swift to do iniquity but slow to remember the Lord your God. Ye have seen an angel, and he spake unto you; yea, ye have heard his voice from time to time; and he hath spoken unto you in a still small voice, but ye were past feeling, that ye could not feel his words; wherefore, he has spoken unto you like unto the voice of thunder, which did cause the earth to shake as if it were to divide asunder.

The Lord had to be severe to reach them. We see this over and over and over again throughout scripture. Paul the apostle, Alma the Younger, the Israelites all throughout the Old Testament. You will see this theme all throughout Come Follow Me this year. The Lord is willing to do what’s necessary in order to reach us, but there is an important, adjacent understanding that goes hand in hand with this.

Jeffrey R. Holland taught, “Justice is not the work of an offended tyrant. It is the loving labor of a Father who is trying to get His children safely home.”

I LOVE this quote. He is not an offended tyrant. God is a loving Father, and He is wise enough to know how to reach His children. He’s not trying to punish us into submission. He’s trying to get through to us.

In 1 Peter, we learn that Christ went and preached to those in prison, specifically to the disobedient from the times of Noah. I wonder if they were finally ready to listen. I wonder if the flood and spirit prison reached them so that they were ready to live their life in a manner that brought happiness. I wonder if they are friends with Noah now. If they have repented, then I know this. They are grateful for the Lord and His wisdom in raining down justice and reaching them.

All of God’s decisions are based on love for His children, the seemingly severe and the softly spoken answer. He chooses the option that will most powerfully reach us. We’ve seen this on a large scale like with Noah and the flood, we’ve seen it on a smaller scale with Laman and Lemual. What does it mean for your own life?

We have to be careful not to take this principle beyond its proper bounds. The principle is this: God will use tragedy to reach us if it’s necessary because He loves us. The principle is not this: If you’re experiencing something tragic, it is because God is using tragedy to punish you or because you really need to repent. Tragedy does not equate to wickedness, but it can be a tool that God uses sometimes. It just depends.

I testify that all of God’s decisions are based on love. I testify that suffering in mortal life is not the worst thing that can happen to a person. I testify that death is not the worst thing that can happen to a person. I testify that God is wise enough to do what it takes to reach us, and I testify that He sent His Son to wash us, heal us, and suffer with us so that He could succor us when we’re prepared to accept that loving kindness. I testify that God uses justice to be merciful in our lives.

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 6–11; Moses 8 – Part 2 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

Jennifer Roach and Sarah Allen host this discussion. Guests are Allen Hansen, Ben Spackman, and David Harper.

Note: After this was recorded, the Church gave new guidance on additional Bible translations besides the KJV, which allows their use in Church settings and personal study.

The post Me, My Shelf, & I – How to read the Bible and love it appeared first on FAIR.

by Autumn Dickson

I opened up the New Testament this week to study the birth of Christ. I ended up down a bit of a rabbit hole, and I’m going to take you to part of it with me. My rabbit hole took me all over the place, but I’m going to try and simplify it into some basic ideas. It’s going to be very technical at first and there are some nice enough implications, but then I want to more broadly apply it to the rest of us.

The thing that really got me started down this rabbit hole is the fact that the very first verses we read in the New Testament are the lineage of Joseph. Funny enough, I had never noticed it consciously before because I usually just skip over that part. As I thought about it a bit further, I realized that it was odd. Why are we sharing Joseph’s lineage when Jesus isn’t of that lineage? Wouldn’t it be more effective and helpful to share Mary’s lineage (Yes, I know that wasn’t the tradition then; it just seems like it would make more sense considering the fact that she’s his biological mother).

I then learned that many biblical scholars believe that we do have Christ’s lineage through Mary. In Luke’s account, we receive another account of lineage. This listed lineage lists Joseph, but scholars believe that it’s Mary’s line anyway. It just mentioned Joseph because of social norms. There are some other theories surrounding Luke’s account of lineage, but the most widespread theory is that it really is Mary’s line. We’re going to go with that theory for all intents and purposes in this particular post.

Why is lineage important? Well, it’s important for a few reasons. We’ll talk about its significance in the life of Christ, and then we’ll talk about its significance in our own lives.

It had been prophesied that Christ would come off of the Davidic line. Beyond that, He wasn’t going to be just some random descendant but heir to the throne (if the Romans hadn’t been in charge at the time). Christ’s lineage through Mary and Joseph was really important for this particular prophecy.

Christ comes off of the Davidic line biologically through Mary. This biological portion of being from the Davidic line is important for obvious reasons. However, Joseph’s line is important too. Through Joseph, Christ is able to be known as an heir to the throne of David because that kind of thing always legally passed through males.

I spent some time learning about Jewish customs and laws surrounding adoption, and I’ll give you a couple of short facts. There wasn’t much of a legal proceeding with official records and paperwork when it came to adoption. Rather, if a man stepped up to the role of father in a child’s life, that child was legally adopted. If the father treated the child as his own, then the child held claim to everything that the other children held claim to. Inheritances, the family name, all of it. This was actually really important in a society where it mattered who your family was. Christ was of the Davidic line in all the ways that mattered.

And this is absolutely amazing. It’s cool to think about how God orchestrated every single detail to come together for Christ to fulfill prophecy. It’s amazing. Even with His human side coming through His mother, He was still legally adopted and considered an heir through Joseph’s line.

But I actually want to take this further to allusions surrounding our own heritage, inheritances, and legality in terms of God’s family.

Like Christ, there are two parts that play into our inheritance. Biologically (not sure if that’s the right word but we’re going to run with it because I don’t have a better word), we are spirit sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. Because of our divine parentage, we were always meant to inherit a throne. It’s within our “blood,” so to speak.

But there’s another portion of this.

Through divine authority known as the priesthood, we are “legally” adopted into the family of God. There are three parts to this next thing I was to talk about. Christ could have stepped into His kingship if the Jews had been RIGHTEOUS enough to hold on to their kingdom. Joseph SACRIFICED and LEGALLY ADOPTED Christ and because of that, Christ would have been able to step into His kingship. If Israel had been righteous, Christ would have been king.

If we are RIGHTEOUS and lay claim upon Christ’s power to LEGALLY ADOPT us into the House of Israel, the because of Christ’s SACRIFICE, we are to be divine heirs.

As another detail in inheritance that is rich in meaning, primogeniture (firstborn son’s claim to the throne over other children) was overwhelmingly common but not the absolute rule. Through wickedness or directly through the decisions of God, the older could be deemed unfit to inherit such power.

Heavenly Father truly is the Master. All of the details are laid out so beautifully. There are a million parallels in the gospel that add layer upon rich layer to our understanding.

I testify that God is in the details. The more I learn about the gospel, the more I am filled with a sense of awe at all of His orchestration. I testify that we come from a divine family, and I testify that Christ made a sacrifice and gave us the power we needed to adopt us into His family as well. All of these combine to an astounding truth; we have been set up to be heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ, to inherit a divine throne. There is so much we were born into. God has so much in store for us.

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.

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by Autumn Dickson

Christ is the center figure in history. He was the promised Messiah who saved and changed the world. He brings light into the world. He created the world.

But a long time ago, He was just a baby that was born in a small town to a couple who had just begun their life together. Despite all that it cost them, they welcomed Christ into this world.

This week is Christmas, and as such, we focus on Christ. I would also like to draw our attention to those who welcomed Him into the world. I want to talk about Mary and Joseph who welcomed Him into their family and watched over Him when He was vulnerable. Maybe we can learn what it truly means to invite Christ into our lives.

Inviting Christ into their home was not easy. Right from the beginning, the couple faced difficulty and potential ridicule. Mary could have been in a lot of danger for being pregnant without being married, and Joseph, her betrothed, was likely very confused when she came to tell him about what was happening.

Instead of being able to rest and bring him into the world at home, Mary and Joseph travelled to Bethlehem. It was a small town six miles away from Jerusalem, and it was packed because people had travelled there as part of the census.

He was potentially born in a stable, and most people know that story. Other biblical scholars suggest that the birth story may have played out differently. From a different translation, it is possible that Christ was born amongst the animals on the first floor of a family home that Mary and Joseph were staying at. Regardless, it wasn’t a comfortable birth, and I can’t imagine that she was comfortable while travelling right before giving birth.

I had the tremendously unique experience of going to Bethlehem and Jerusalem while pregnant. I testify that it’s not comfortable, and I had a car and an air-conditioned room to sleep in.

Shortly after the birth, Mary and Joseph had to flee to Egypt to protect their Son. Instead of going home, they spent anywhere from several months to two years in Egypt amongst people who were very different from the Jews. They were separated from family and friends with very little ability to communicate with them. Joseph wasn’t practicing his work where he had been previously, and Mary was on her own as a first time mother in an unprecedented situation of raising the Son of God.

The Bible gives us very little after that. There were the wise men. Christ grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. Christ turns water to wine for Mary at a wedding. Somewhere along the line, Mary lost Joseph despite Christ’s power.

And then, of course, Mary also had to lose her Son. We don’t know how much she knew about what was happening on that cross. She had pondered in her heart, and the angel had warned her that her heart would be pierced with sorrow as a result of bringing Christ into the world, but did she understand what was going on? Or, like the apostles, was she confused at what happened? Did she feel dreadfully alone with Joseph gone and now her oldest Son as well?

When we speak of inviting Christ into our lives, we often speak of rejoicing and peace and miracles. These are very real factors that Mary and Joseph both experienced as part of having the Messiah be born into their home. I have found immense amounts of joy since I have accepted Christ as my Savior and leaned into His promises. They are real and true.

There is also difficulty that comes with inviting Christ into our lives. There was very real difficulty that came into the life of Mary and Joseph as a direct result of welcoming Christ into their home. There will be difficulty in your life that comes as a direct result of inviting Christ into your heart and home. It will be different from the kind of difficulty experienced by Mary and Joseph, but it will be difficult nonetheless.

It can be difficult to invite Christ into your home when it brings uncertainty, rocks the boat, or brings potential whispers and judgment. It can be difficult when we’re asked to jump into the dark and trust when we’re called to go somewhere, and we don’t know how it will work out. It can be difficult when the responsibilities we’ve been given take us away from our families. It can be difficult when the powerful God that you love doesn’t give you a miracle to save your family member. It can feel lonely and even devastating.

There comes a point where you get to decide if it’s worth inviting Him in.

If an angel appeared to you and warned you about the sorrow that would pierce your heart as a result of inviting Christ into your life, how would you respond?

He follows us into our darkest moments. Will we follow Him when things get dark? Will we follow Him when the bread stops? Will we follow Him when we don’t feel that gigantic hug from behind when we’re praying and asking for help? Will we follow Him when we have to face our own cross? Will we resent Him if He doesn’t answer how we want Him to answer us? Will we curse His name when He takes away instead of giving?

Would we invite Him into our hearts and homes again, knowing what we know?

Why would you invite Him in again?

I love to testify of how Christ shows up for us. I want to take this moment to testify of a grand opportunity to show up and give our loyalty to Him no matter where He chooses to take us. It can be difficult to follow Christ when it feels like He asks too much. It can be difficult to follow Christ when He requires not just our obedience and time, but our whole souls.

I testify that He is worth our loyalty. He has earned our undying loyalty, and we will never truly be let down if we’re willing to give it to Him. I testify that offering our whole souls, just as He offered His own, is liberating and beautiful. He will never let us down even when we have to follow Him through difficulty and darkness. We can hold to Him and His promises.

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 – Christmas – Part 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

by Mike Parker

(Mike Parker is a long-time FAIR member who has graciously allowed us to use materials he originally prepared for the Hurricane Utah Adult Religion Class. The scripture passages covered in his lessons don’t conform exactly to the Come, Follow Me reading schedule, so they will be shared here where they fit best.)

Class Notes

Additional Reading and Videos

Joseph Smith, Journal, 21 January 1836 (pp. 136–37); recorded by Warren Parrish. Read the original entry in Joseph’s journal that was canonized in 1976 and became Doctrine and Covenants Section 137 in 1981.

Joseph F. Smith, “Status of Children in the Resurrection,” Improvement Era 21, no. 7 (May 1918): 567–74. In this address given in the Salt Lake Temple—given only eight months before his vision that is now section 138—President Smith taught about the status of the spirits of children who die and how they will be resurrected.

George S. Tate, “‘The Great World of the Spirits of the Dead’: Death, the Great War, and the 1918 Influenza Pandemic as Context for Doctrine and Covenants 138,” BYU Studies 46, no. 1 (2007): 4–40. Tate gives the historical background and context in which Joseph F. Smith received his vision of the redemption of the dead.

Mary Jane Woodger, “From Obscurity to Scripture: Joseph F. Smith’s Vision of the Redemption of the Dead,” in You Shall Have My Word: Exploring the Text of the Doctrine and Covenants, ed. Scott C. Esplin, Richard O. Cowan, and Rachel Cope (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center at Brigham Young University / Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2012), 234–54.

Mike Parker is a business and marketing analyst with over twenty years’ experience in the financial services and cellular telephone industries. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Management Information Systems from Dixie State University (now Utah Tech University) of St George, Utah. He also has eight years’ experience in corporate training and currently teaches an adult religion class in southern Utah. Mike and his wife, Denise, have three children.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 137–138 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

by Mike Parker

(Mike Parker is a long-time FAIR member who has graciously allowed us to use materials he originally prepared for the Hurricane Utah Adult Religion Class. The scripture passages covered in his lessons don’t conform exactly to the Come, Follow Me reading schedule, so they will be shared here where they fit best.)

Class Notes

Additional Reading

This week’s lesson notes include a comparison of the sources used to compile section 130. (See notes, pp. 15–32.)

Joseph Smith’s teachings about the Holy Ghost in D&C 130:22 were emended in 1854 under the direction of Brigham Young. For an explanation of what happened and why, see Ronald E. Bartholomew, “The Textual Development of D&C 130:22 and the Embodiment of the Holy Ghost,” BYU Studies Quarterly 52, no. 3 (2013): 4–24.

Stan Larson, “The King Follett Discourse: A Newly Amalgamated Text,” BYU Studies 18, no. 2 (Winter 1978): 193–208. Joseph’s 7 April 1844 sermon, delivered at the funeral of his friend, Elder King Follett, is arguably the most important of his published discourses. In it, Joseph explained his understanding of the nature of God, including the doctrine that God the Father is an exalted Man who once had a mortal existence. Four different individuals took notes during Joseph’s sermon. Their accounts were synthesized into a single text in 1855 by Church scribe Jonathan Grimshaw; Grimshaw’s version was published by B. H. Roberts in his seven-volume History of the Church (6:302–17) and in many other Church publications. Stan Larson’s 1978 amalgamated text attempted to remove Grimshaw’s textual emendations and provide proper weight and balance to the various accounts.

On 16 June 1844, only eleven days before his death, Joseph gave his “Sermon in the Grove” that expanded on the nature of God and other ideas he had presented in the King Follett Discourse. The most complete account of his sermon was made by Thomas Bullock; you can read his handwritten notes on the website of the Joseph Smith Papers or a parallel comparison of his and two other accounts on the archived website of the Book of Abraham Project.

Mike Parker is a business and marketing analyst with over twenty years’ experience in the financial services and cellular telephone industries. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Management Information Systems from Dixie State University (now Utah Tech University) of St George, Utah. He also has eight years’ experience in corporate training and currently teaches an adult religion class in southern Utah. Mike and his wife, Denise, have three children.

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by Autumn Dickson

In case it was ever in question, we believe in exaltation. As I worked on this post, I felt like I was addressing a non-member even though it’s usually members who look up Come Follow Me posts. In the end, I decided to keep it that way. Even if non-members don’t look up this content, we can learn how to potentially respond to those who question our beliefs.

So let’s talk about exaltation.

Exaltation is one of the topics that is covered in our readings this week, but what does that really mean? What does it mean to inherit exaltation? Let’s look at what the Lord says.

Doctrine and Covenants 132:20 Then shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them.

The Lord defines (to an extent) what it means to be exalted. He describes His righteous children as capable of becoming gods (note the “g” and not the “G”) because they have no end. They shall be from everlasting to everlasting, but they also “continue.” They become above all things, and all things are subject to them. They have all power and angels are subject to them.

In other sections in Doctrine and Covenants, exaltation is described as “made equal with the Lamb of God” and “receive of the Father’s fulness.”

There are also references to this idea in the bible. Romans 8 teaches that we are children of God, and because of that, we can be heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ. We can all be glorified together. In Revelation 3, the Lord talks about how He will allow us to sit on His throne with Him. In Psalm 82:6, it describes us, as His children, as gods with a little “g” just as it does in Doctrine and Covenants.

There are a few reasons that people believe this doctrine is blasphemous. I actually believe that exaltation is the antithesis of blasphemy, and I want to explain why. First, I’ll explain it from the perspective of God looking down. Then, I want to turn our perspective from the child looking up.

First, let’s talk about blasphemy from the perspective of God.

I can only think of two reasons why exaltation would not be real. The first possible reason is that God is incapable of doing so. Maybe He can’t lift us up that high. Maybe He can only lift us as high as heaven but no further.

When I’ve had conversations with friends over this, I always hear them say, “Oh no. I’m way down here, and God is just so high. I can’t ever be on His level.”

Well duh. We also can’t earn heaven because it’s just so high, and we’re down here. And yet, He toiled and sacrificed and paid the price to lift us above where we are. Why can He only lift us so high? I think He lifts us to where He is despite our lack of earning it.

I don’t think exaltation is blasphemous. I think it’s blasphemous to suggest that God is incapable of lifting us to where He is.

I think most Christians would agree with that statement. God can do anything. He already sent His Son to die for us so that we could be lifted higher than we were, so the only other reason is that He chooses not to do so.

Can anyone think of a reason why God would not want to lift us to His level?

Let’s view this from a parent-child relationship, the parent-child relationship that God set up here on earth. On purpose. Intentionally.

Why would a parent keep their child down below them?

Usually, the answer is narcissism.

Narcissism often springs from deep insecurity, and it often translates as a person trying to keep themselves above everyone else. They want everyone to essentially worship them because they’re trying to fill that scary, deep void of insecurity. I know a few parents who are narcissistic. I know parents who have purposely tried to keep their kids down so that they could feel better about themselves. They have days where they’re lifting the child and then bragging to friends about it because it makes them look good, but they also have days where they’re undermining the child because they can’t bear the idea that the child will become independent and powerful and joyful and not need them. They do what they can to keep the child on a lower level because their ego can’t handle it. Sometimes this looks like constant criticism, mocking, or belittling. Sometimes it includes more nefarious plots, but it all boils down to this idea that they want the child on a lower level.

I know non-narcissistic parents who are the exact opposite. They look at their child and want that child to grow and become more than they ever did. They know that the child could potentially become very powerful, and they want that for the child.

I believe that’s how God loves us. I believe that He saw our potential and invested in it. I believe He loves me more than I love my kids, and I want my kids to be so much better than I was. We can’t be better than God because He is perfect, but if He loves me so much more, than why would He want anything less for me?

I don’t think exaltation is blasphemous. I think suggesting that God wants to keep us down is blasphemous.

Maybe someone else can come up with a logical reason as to why our growth is capped, but I can’t think of any reason that would not be blasphemous in and of itself.

Now let’s view this from the perspective of the child.

Another line of reasoning that I run into with the doctrine of exaltation is the idea that putting us on the same level as God diminishes Him somehow. Once again, only a narcissist sees it that way. God saving me and glorifying me and lifting me does not diminish Him.

IT DOES THE OPPOSITE.

Blasphemy is often associated with the idea that the human is mocking God.

I’m not mocking God with exaltation; I love Him more because of exaltation.

Swinging back around to the narcissistic parents and the non-narcissistic parents. Think about the children who grow up in those kinds of homes.

Which child adores their parents more? Which child loves and honors and follows their parents more? Which child is more likely to worship their parent?

The child who lives in the home with parents who love them and want to lift them as high as they are capable of reaching. I ADORE God because of exaltation. I don’t earn it. I worship Him for making sacrifice after sacrifice to make it possible. I worship Him for offering something that is priceless beyond my imagination. I worship Him for offering it when I don’t deserve it.

You don’t have to agree with the doctrine of exaltation. Perhaps you have a logical reason as to why the Lord would cap that growth. Perhaps you don’t, and that’s okay too. Heaven knows I don’t have logical reasons for everything that I believe in (though I’m trying awfully hard to get there). What I’m merely trying to suggest in this post is that our belief in exaltation doesn’t automatically equate to blasphemy.

I testify of a God who adores us. I testify that He is capable of lifting us and that He desires to do so. I testify that lifting me is possible because of the sacrifice of His Son, and I testify that lifting me doesn’t diminish His glory. It adds to it because it makes me worship Him all the more. I am grateful God calls me His child and set up parental relationships on earth so that I could observe that pattern and learn from it.

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.

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by Autumn Dickson

Because of an extermination order, the Saints were driven out of Missouri and into Nauvoo. In Doctrine and Covenants 124, the Lord excuses His people from building the temple in Missouri after they had been driven out.

Doctrine and Covenants 124:49 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that when I give a commandment to any of the sons of men to do a work unto my name, and those sons of men go with all their might and with all they have to perform that work, and cease not their diligence, and their enemies come upon them and hinder them from performing that work, behold, it behooveth me to require that work no more at the hands of those sons of men, but to accept of their offerings.

The Saints were driven out and persecuted. They had been commanded to build Zion, and they had been commanded to build a temple, and it didn’t happen. The Lord explains Himself by saying that if people work really hard to do what they were commanded and they are stopped by enemies, He accepts their offering and doesn’t require it anymore.

Some might see this as rather convenient for Joseph when his prophecy didn’t work out, but what do you see?

What we choose to see is important because perspective is a choice. There are so many ways to look at any given scenario. Do we choose faith?

We can choose to look at what happened in Missouri, and say, “The Lord must not be in this. He commanded something, and it didn’t work out.” Didn’t Nephi say that if the Lord commands something, He will make it happen? Don’t we teach that all of the time?

Absolutely, we teach that. I reaffirm that. I also reaffirm that what the Lord declares can take a long time to come to pass. Let’s look at a couple of other scenarios.

First, there is the mortal ministry of Christ. Many of the Jews rejected Christ because they were looking for a different kind of savior. They wanted someone to come and throw the yoke of the Romans off their backs. They interpreted the scriptures incorrectly and because of that, they missed out on some of the greatest miracles that ever took place. They didn’t see. Their perspective was wrong.

Second, there is the death of Christ. The apostles were quite forlorn after Christ was crucified, and they were all immensely surprised to find Him alive again. One of them refused to believe that Christ had risen again until he personally saw Christ. Do we abandon our faith when things don’t look how we thought they were supposed to look?

Let’s look at some other examples.

One of the Old Testament stories that strikes me as important is that of Daniel and his friends. Babylon besieged and conquered the kingdom of Judah. As part of the conquest, they took the sons of Jewish nobility and put them into the Babylonian court to train and assimilate them. Daniel and his friends refused the food from the king’s table because it had not been prepared according to the Law of Moses. Daniel and his friends believed it would be a sin to eat it.

Think about that for a moment. Biblical scholars believe that these boys ranged from age 14-18. Their home had just been conquered. They had lost against a wicked, secular kingdom. It would have been easy for Daniel to think, “Is God really on our side? Do I really want to make the Babylonian king mad? He beat us. Why would I believe that we have the true God? Why would I keep following the religious laws of my defeated nation when it puts my friends and me in danger?”

But that is not the perspective that Daniel chose. Despite evidence that pointed to the contrary, David chose to believe. Despite religious beliefs that the Jews were chosen by an all-powerful God and still getting conquered, David chose to believe. Despite the fact that conquering nations paid homage to their gods in response to winning wars, David did not see His God as less powerful. He kept obeying.

Perspective is a choice.

Some may see a God who abandoned His people or was never there. Some may see the effects of a frenzied mind. Some may see a fallen prophet or a charlatan.

I see a God who is actually rather unconcerned with a location. Everyone is so caught up in wanting to know where Zion is or move there immediately, and Heavenly Father is like, “Okay. I see the future. I know where it is, but you’re missing the most important part…” I see a God who knows what mortality is actually for, and He delivers on His promises of growth and deliverance. I see a God who makes and keeps promises but also doesn’t have a pocket watch because time is only measured unto man. Sure, the Saints were driven out, and they didn’t build a temple. It took Nephi a couple of tries to get the plates. Let’s do this on God’s timetable, not our’s. We will build Zion, and we will build a temple there. Just because it hasn’t happened yet doesn’t mean it’s not going to. It doesn’t prove anything.

I testify of a Lord who was very aware of His Saints. I testify that He was powerful enough to win Zion over immediately and kick out all of their enemies, but I also testify that He has reasons for what He does. I testify that He has a plan and a timetable, and I testify that it is the best that we could ask for. I testify that trusting Him and choosing a perspective of faith brings blessings and hope and peace.

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.

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