Talking Scripture

Show Notes

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Timestamps:

00:26 – Different approaches to reading the flood account.

03:50 – The flood can symbolize a second creation of the earth.

05:59 – A strange passage in Genesis 6.1-4. This text introduces concepts like Watchers, Giants, and a conflict between Enoch and the forces of darkness. It can be read as a polemic against Babylonian religious and political views.

18:32 – Mount Sinai and Mount Hermon as headquarters of the opposing forces of good and evil.

25:09 – Jesus addresses his disciples in Caesarea Philippi, at the foot of Mount Hermon in Matthew 16.13-19.

32:08 – The harsh reality of the portrayal of destruction throughout the scriptures. The Book of Mormon provides a pattern for how to live in peace.

39:14 – The people of Noah’s day were swept off because the earth was corrupt and filled with violence.

43:42 – The Lord sent a prophet and gave them 120 years to change. The people were warned before they were destroyed.

48:34 – Noah’s Ark can be a symbol of the temple.

57:31 – A pattern of how to follow a prophet. It takes patience and faith to follow prophets in a day of peace.

1:02:01 – The bow in the cloud is a token of the covenant in Genesis 9.12-13. When we look up at the rainbow we are remembering the promise of God to bring Enoch and Zion to earth.

1:06:47 – Ways to read the curse Noah gives Canaan in Genesis 9.20-27.

1:12:43 – The Table of Nations in Genesis 10. The dividing of the land and the languages. The Tower of Babel as a polemic against the beliefs of the Babylonians.

1:17:19 – Our connection to Abraham and his covenant. God has promised to preserve us just as he preserved Noah.

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The post Ep 139 | Genesis 6-11; Moses 8, Come Follow Me (January 30-February 6) appeared first on LDS Scripture Teachings.

Show Notes

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Timestamps:

00:43 – Moses 7 reveals the true character of God. He is an eternal being who weeps for his children.

09:17 – Moses 7.38 – “a prison have I prepared for them.” There is an exit from hell as explained in D&C 19.

15:04 – Terryl and Fiona Givens share their view on “The God Who Weeps.”

22:31 – The teaching that “The Son of Man” will come down to earth, be lifted upon the cross, resurrected, and take up the saints to be crowned (Moses 7.53-56) is rejected by those that edited the Old Testament. Enoch, Lehi, and Nephi teach the message of the Messiah.

27:57 – Enoch literature is apocalyptic and was shunned by the Christians of the 4th century AD, which caused it to be rejected from the Christian canon.

31:07 – Enoch literature is a backdrop to many ideas in the Bible regarding the origin of evil.

49:12 – There is great wickedness upon the earth.

57:43 – Defining what Zion means. Enoch and his people established Zion and were taken up to God.

1:06:28 – In the last days, we are to gather again into a holy city called Zion and the city of Enoch will return.

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The post Ep 138 | Moses 7, Come Follow Me (January 24-30) appeared first on LDS Scripture Teachings.

Show Notes

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Timestamps:

00:30 – An overview of these chapters.

01:25 – The long lives of the Patriarchs may not have been literal. The Sumerian King List can help give context to their ages.

11:35 – A brief overview of Enoch literature. The name Mahijah in Moses 6.40 was also found on second century fragments discovered at Qumran in 1948.

19:22 – Scriptures are a book of remembrance.

21:25 – Seers see things we cannot see.

32:46 – Enoch’s prophetic call is consistent with the six elements of the narrative call pattern.

35:53 – The Plan of Salvation as taught by Adam and Enoch is the same message the Savior taught. The Atoning Messiah is central to the plan, but was removed from the Old Testament.

50:31 – Another way of understanding “children conceived in sin” in Moses 6.55. This text can be connected to the Fallen Angels or the Watchers in 1 Enoch.

55:54 – Children of Christ versus Children of Satan as portrayed in Alma 5 and its connection to Moses 6.55.

57:25 – “Man of Holiness” in Moses 6.57 can be describing God as a man of the temple or the husband of the divine woman.

1:00:03 – An invitation to find Jesus everywhere.

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The post Ep 137 | Genesis 5; Moses 6, Come Follow Me (January 17-23) appeared first on LDS Scripture Teachings.

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Timestamps:

00:35 – Heavenly Father’s plan in the premortal council required Jesus to be the Savior. The Savior sought only the glory of the Father.

09:15 – The Serpent (Satan) comes to Eve. The serpent was subtle, a word with many meanings. 2 Nephi 2 helps to explain how agency works and what is required for it to be operative.

16:40 – Adam and Eve were commanded to not eat the fruit and to also multiply and replenish the earth. A discussion on these potentially conflicting commands.

23:24 – Another view on the divine commandments given to Adam and Eve.

29:03 – Eve’s temptation and the Fall. Understanding Lehi’s discourse on the Fall helps us see how it was a blessing to all mankind.

34:10 – Reading Genesis 3 through the lens of the temple and Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount will help us see layers of meaning.

48:21 – The curse given to the serpent as an allusion to the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

50:45 – The curse given to Eve relates to sorrow in conception. Other ways to interpret “He shall rule over thee.” The curse given to Adam.

1:02:05 – Moses 4 introduces the two first laws of heaven: obedience and sacrifice.

1:07:01 – Moses 5 illustrates how Cain made choices that led him down the path to perdition.

1:13:16 – The Mahan principle is converting life into property.

1:19:02 – The Lord invited Cain to think about his choices. One lesson from this story for parents is “Don’t freak out!”

1:23:09 – Hidden meaning in the names of Cain and Abel. Their story can be read as a rivalry between two priesthoods.

1:28:00 – Through the Book of Mormon we see that the curse and the mark that was put on Cain can be understood as an absence of the Light of Christ or a dark countenance.

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The post Ep 136 | Genesis 3-4; Moses 4-5, Come Follow Me (January 10-16) appeared first on LDS Scripture Teachings.

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Timestamps:

00:55 – An overview of the The Old Testament.

04:27 – Bryce breaks down the Old Testament into nine time periods.

09:41 – Canonization and the creation of the Greek Septuagint. The authors of the New Testament quoted the Greek version of the Old Testament. The version that Jesus used is unknown.

13:01 – The Old Testament is not one book written by a single author. It is an anthology of books written over centuries by individuals. Later authors sometimes rejected and edited earlier authors. Remnants remain that multiple Gods participated in the creation. The first word in Genesis invites us to consider the Grand Pre-mortal Council.

20:04 – Genesis addresses why the world was created, not how. The purpose of the earth is to create eternal families.

33:18 – Ancient cultures shared the creation story at their temples during the New Year. The time-honored principle of marriage and family are connected to the purposes of creation.

36:23 – Chaos played a role in the formation of the earth. God transformed unorganized matter into something beautiful. The cosmology of the Bible invites modern readers to think about scripture differently.

41:38 – The temple takes us to the creation and the creation takes us to the temple because both take us back to God.

48:48 – Moses 2 and 3 can be read as a single account. This is contrasted with the documentary hypothesis, where scholars believe Genesis 1 and 2 come from two different sources because of differences in the text.

54:46 – Seven eternal lessons in the creation account invite us to find success during our time on earth. Finding balance between work and rest.

1:00:52 – Seek spiritual things first, then temporal.

1:02:13 – Cherubim and a flaming sword foiled Satan’s plan and preserved the space between the trees. God protected our probationary estate. God knew from the very beginning that we would sin and need time to repent.

1:13:41 – Satan’s Plan B is to get us to take away our own or someone else’s probationary state. Toxic perfectionism is addressed. Continual progression is what matters to God.

1:17:29 – The river flowing out of Eden as a symbol for the division found in mortality. We must find ways to be unified.

1:23:37 – Instead of focusing on what we might be missing, our focus should be on all we are blessed to have.

1:30:31 – Pardes is an acronym to describe the ways of reading scripture: Peshat, remez, derash, and sod. The plain reading (peshat), allegorical or hidden reading (remez), the moral or imperative sense or application (derash), and the mystical, esoteric, or temple reading (sod).

1:32:21 – The rib in Genesis 2.22 symbolizes partnership in marriage.

1:40:53 – “Helper” or ʿēzer as found in Genesis 2.18 has often been misread and used to subjugate women. The term translated as “help meet” actually denotes the kind of powerful help that God gives. Eve’s position next to Adam places both in a setting as having dominion over the whole earth. Eve is called “Zoe” in the LXX, the mother of all the living ones. There is no kingdom without Eve.

1:49:38 – Fig leaves can represent covering our sins with bigger and bigger lies.

1:55:24 – Garments are a piece of the temple that we wear to remind us of our connection to the Savior’s atonement.

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The post Ep 135 | Genesis 1-2; Moses 2-3; Abraham 4-5, Come Follow Me (January 3-9) appeared first on LDS Scripture Teachings.

Show Notes

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Timestamps:

00:26 – The book of Moses is the JST of Genesis. Moses 1 is the missing preface to the Old Testament. The word translation has multiple meanings.

06:25 – We are God’s children, beings with infinite worth and potential.

09:42 – The Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew and many words can have various interpretations.

13:13 – Divine investiture of authority allows the Son to have the power to speak as if he is the Father.

19:19 – The creation story is not about how. It’s about why. Man is nothing and yet God wants to give us everything He has.

22:39 – The historical timeframe of Moses 1.

25:34 – Satan’s name only appears in the Bible 13 times. His presence in the Book of Moses is significant.

29:21 – The difference between the glory of God and the glory of the world.

35:17 – We can cast out Satan and control darkness by inviting light.

37:53 – Moses 1 ends with the command to show the words only to those that believe. Levels of exoteric and esoteric doctrine is contained in scriptural texts.

41:22 – The book of Abraham originated with Egyptian papyri that Joseph Smith translated. Fire destroyed most of the original scrolls and only small fragments remain. These fragments, called JSP I-XI, contain burial texts called The Book of Breathings.

47:25 – The relationship between the remaining fragments and the text of the Book of Abraham is not fully understood.

49:59 – Some counter-arguments to criticisms of the Book of Abraham include the missing text theory, the catalyst theory, and the Jewish redaction theory.

57:03 – The JSP I-XI fragments date to the 2nd century BCE, not 1900 BCE when Abraham lived. The rolls were likely copies of copies.

1:02:49 – In the Book of Abraham, the greatness of the Messiah is found in the symbolism of the cosmos and stars.

1:12:20 – Abraham learns about the pre-earth life.

1:13:38 – Joseph’s introduction to the Hebrew language likely influenced some of the words found in Abraham.

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The post Ep 134 | Moses 1; Abraham 3, Come Follow Me (December 27-January 2) appeared first on LDS Scripture Teachings.

Show Notes Enroll in Institute Timestamps: 00:26 – Proclamations are major declarations from prophets, seers, and revelators. This proclamation states that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children. 05:38 – There are three parts: prophetic declarations, prophetic warnings, and prophetic counsel. Prophetic

The post Ep 133 | The Family: A Proclamation to the World, Come Follow Me (December 13-19) appeared first on LDS Scripture Teachings.

Show Notes Enroll in Institute Timestamps: 00:26 – Overview. 01:16 – The 9th Article of Faith explains that the restoration is ongoing. 04:09 – President Woodruff issued Official Declaration 1 in 1890. This Manifesto led to the end of the practice of plural marriage. 09:05 – Elder Bruce C. Hafen

The post Ep 132 | The Articles of Faith & Official Declarations 1 & 2, Come Follow Me (December 6-12) appeared first on LDS Scripture Teachings.

Show Notes Enroll in Institute Timestamps: 00:32 – The doctrine of salvation for the dead is revealed in Section 137. 01:44 – Divine curiosity is a catalyst for revelation. 07:37 – Joseph marvels at how Alvin obtained Celestial glory without being baptized. He learns that all who have died without

The post Ep 131 | D&C 137-138, Come Follow Me (November 29-December 5) appeared first on LDS Scripture Teachings.

Show Notes Enroll in Institute Timestamps: 00:31 – A historical overview of these sections. 01:36 – D&C 136 details the will of the Lord as the Saints move west. Winter Quarters was a place to prepare for the final trek to the Great Basin. 04:30 – D&C 136 reads differently

The post Ep 130 | D&C 135-136, Come Follow Me (November 22-28) appeared first on LDS Scripture Teachings.