Teens Read The Book

The Gospel According to St. John

Welcome to this episode of Teens Read the Book, where teenage voices read sacred scripture for you. My name is Sydney and I am your host today, coming to you from Utah. In this episode, teenagers from around the United States will be reading you the Gospel of John in the New Testament.

John was one of the original twelve apostles of Jesus Christ. Along with Peter and James, John was part of the Savior’s inner circle and witnessed some of the most sacred moments of His ministry, including Jesus’s Transfiguration and his agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. John described himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved,” emphasizing his close and personal relationship with the Savior.

While Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called the synoptic gospels because they tell the story of Jesus’s life in similar ways, John’s gospel is different: John doesn’t focus so much on recounting all the events in Jesus’s life. Rather, he highlights those events and teachings that emphasize who Jesus is: the eternal Son of God, the Light of the world, and the source of life and truth. For example, he begins is gospel not with Christ’s birth, but with a powerful declaration of Christ’s divine nature: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

John is the only writer who records some of the Savior’s most well-known teachings and miracles, including his turning water into wine, healing the man born blind, raising Lazarus from the dead, and many of Christ’s final teachings to His disciples at the Last Supper. It was John who captured and preserved some of Christ’s most profound declarations, including “I am the bread of life,” “I am the good shepherd,” and “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

Near the end of his gospel, John openly states his purpose: “These are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” His testimony invites all of us to not only learn about Jesus Christ, but to come to know and love Him as our Savior.

We hope you enjoy the Gospel According to St. John!

Episode 4: The Gospel According to St. Luke
 
Welcome to this episode of Teens Read the Book, where teenage voices read sacred scripture for you. I’m today’s host, Anna, coming to you from the beautiful state of Idaho. In this episode, 24 readers from England, France, and different parts of the U.S. will bring you the Gospel According to St. Luke in the New Testament.

Known as the “beloved physician” (Colossians 4:14), Luke was not one of the original twelve disciples. Yet he still became one of the Lord’s most important messengers by writing his Gospel, and the Acts of the Apostles. He was a missionary companion of Paul who probably joined the church after Christ’s Resurrection and Ascension. Because he never claimed to have observed Christ’s life first-hand, Luke was one who, like ourselves, had to gain his understanding from others who were “eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word” (Luke 1:2).

The Gospel of Luke is the last of the synoptic gospels, after Matthew and Mark. Some of the most beautiful details we have about the Lord’s life are recorded only by Luke, including Gabriel’s visits to Zacharias and Mary in Chapter 1, the visit of the shepherds in Luke 2, Jesus at the temple at age 12, Jesus sweating blood in the Garden of Gethsemane, his discussion with the thief on the cross, and his eating fish and honey after His resurrection. In these accounts by Luke, you’ll find a careful storyteller who meticulously recounts Christ’s ministry in faith-building ways. Luke shows us a Christ who is compassionate to the downtrodden, kind to the outcast, and inclusive of women. We see a Savior who offers hope and redemption to all of us.

Join us as we journey through the Gospel According to St. Luke – timeless words that have inspired and uplifted believers for thousands of years.

Episode 3: Mark 

Welcome to this episode of Teens Read the Book, where we feature teenaged voices reading the text of sacred scripture. My name is Mark and I am your host today, coming to you from Freedom, Wisconsin. In this episode, we bring you the Gospel According to St. Mark in the New Testament, presented by 16 readers ages 12 to 19 years old. 

 According to early Christian sources, Mark was not among the original disciples of Jesus Christ, but was a convert who later became an assistant to the Apostle Peter. Mark probably wrote his Gospel based on what he learned from Peter. About 90% of what is in the Gospel of Mark is also found in the other synoptic gospels of Matthew and Luke, and there is some thought that Matthew and Luke may even have referred to Mark when they wrote their own gospels. 

 As you listen, you’ll find that Mark’s gospel moves quickly, covering the whole of the Savior’s ministry in just 16 chapters. One third of the gospel of Mark focuses on the last week of the Savior’s life. Mark describes the Lord as the Son of God living and acting among men, and he tends to highlight the strong effect Jesus’s words and actions had on bystanders and disciples. Hopefully his words will also have a powerful effect on all of us as we listen together to the Gospel of Mark. 

Welcome to this episode of Teens Read the Book, where we feature the voices of teenagers reading sacred scripture. My name is Eve and I am your host today, coming to you from Houston, Texas. Today, we bring you the Gospel according to St. Matthew in the New Testament, presented by 28 teen readers from various locations around the world.

Included as the first book in the modern Bible’s New Testament, Matthew’s Gospel is loved and revered by Christians around the world for the account it gives of the life, ministry and teachings of Jesus Christ. Matthew, known as Levi before his conversion to Christ, was also one of Christ’s original twelve apostles. His gospel, along with that from Mark and Luke, are called the synoptic gospels because they summarize the life and teachings of Jesus Christ in a somewhat similar way.

Matthew tells the story of Jesus of Nazareth, the long-expected Messiah who brought the kingdom of God to earth. As a Jew himself, Matthew’s main intent seems to be to persuade the Jews that Jesus is the Messiah of whom the prophets of the Old Testament spoke. To do this, he shows how Jesus fulfilled specific Old Testament prophecies, and he speaks repeatedly of Jesus as the Son of David, highlighting His royal lineage. 

Matthew’s account of our Lord’s ministry has been loved and celebrated by Christians all over the world. His words are life-changing because they testify of Jesus Christ. His account is the word of God.

We hope you enjoy the Gospel According to St. Matthew, read for you today by teens from the state of California all the way to Cheshire, England. Thank you for listening!

Hello, my name is Hyrum and I am with Teens Read the Book coming to you today from Cheshire, England. We are a group of teenagers who love the word of God and consider it a privilege to share it with you. Today and in the episodes that follow, we will bring you audio recordings of the entire New Testament, which you can hear at www.teensreadthebook.com or at Teens Read the Book on all major podcast and listening platforms.

The Bible is a collection of religious writings considered sacred by Christians and others around the world. It is an anthology, or compilation of scriptural texts originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek that came to be standardized about 1,500 years ago. The Christian Bible is the best-selling book of all time, with between five and seven billion copies printed to date according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

To our knowledge, this will be the first time the Bible has been published in podcast format, in English, read entirely by teens, one chapter each, from different parts of the world. We will be reading you the King James Version, also known as the Authorized Version of the Bible. It was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611 by sponsorship of King James the sixth of Scotland who later became James the first, King of England. The King James Version has been described as one of the most important books in English culture and a driving force in the shaping of the English-speaking world. Our interest in it, however, is in its value as a religious text. To us, the Bible is the word of God, given to bless the lives of His children and the church on the earth.

The New Testament is a record of the life, teachings, and mission of the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. In the first century after His death and resurrection, faith-promoting writings were circulated among early members of Christ’s church. Conscious of the importance of covenant theology in Jewish religious and cultural thought, these early Christians eventually came to refer to these new holy writings as the "New Testament". The word testament might also be translated as covenant; so the New Testament could also be called a new covenant which God had offered to His people through His son Jesus Christ. This set these New Testament writings apart from older scripture, including the Septuagint, which came to be known as the "Old Testament".

So the New Testament contains covenants, teachings and doctrines given by the Lord and His Apostles during and after Christ’s mortal ministry. It teaches God’s children how to return and live in His presence.

We will present the New Testament in 20 episodes, from the Gospel of Matthew to the Book of Revelation. The text we will read is from the King James Version, with chapter headings as published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In these recordings, you will hear some of the most powerful theology and persuasive teachings known to man. The Bible is God's word, loved by billions of Christians across the world. We hope these recordings will strengthen your faith in Jesus Christ and in the new covenant God has offered to His children here on earth.

Welcome to our podcast, Teens Read the Book, where we feature teenagers reading the Book of Mormon.

Our project website is www.teensreadthebook.com. The church's official Book of Mormon text is available here: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm?lang=eng, and you can listen to the church's official audio version of the book at that same link. 

If you have any comments on this project or want to send a compliment to any of our readers, email us at [email protected]. 

Thank you.

3:09 Moroni 1 Ethan
4:18 Moroni 2 Tomas
5:20 Moroni 3 Charlie
6:02 Moroni 4 Vivian
7:01 Moroni 5 Tyler
7:45 Moroni 6 Efren
10:00 Moroni 7 Asher
21:26 Moroni 8 Emily
27:31 Moroni 9 Stephen
34:17 Moroni 10 Henkka

Welcome to our podcast, Teens Read the Book, where we feature teenagers reading the Book of Mormon.

Our project website is www.teensreadthebook.com. The church's official Book of Mormon text is available here: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm?lang=eng, and you can listen to the church's official audio version of the book at that same link. 

If you have any comments on this project or want to send a compliment to any of our readers, email us at [email protected]. 

Thank you.

1:29 Ether 1 Oliver
6:05 Ether 2 Brooke
14:06 Ether 3 Nat
20:18 Ether 4 Sophie
26:07 Ether 5 Reynolds
27:42 Ether 6 Orihah
33:19 Ether 7 Keira
39:08 Ether 8 Luis
47:29 Ether 9 Tavo
55:29 Ether 10 Eden
1:04:17 Ether 11 Grant
1:10:54 Ether 12 Kate
1:20:17 Ether 13 Olivia
1:27:47 Ether 14 Nathan
1:34:19 Ether 15 Joe

Welcome to our podcast, Teens Read the Book, where we feature teenagers reading the Book of Mormon.

Our project website is www.teensreadthebook.com. The church's official Book of Mormon text is available here: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm?lang=eng, and you can listen to the church's official audio version of the book at that same link. 

If you have any comments on this project or want to send a compliment to any of our readers, email us at [email protected]. 

Thank you.

1:48 4 Nephi 1 Miles
12:09 Mormon 1 Grace
16:41 Mormon 2 Easton
24:12 Mormon 3 Talan
32:21 Mormon 4 Noah
37:23 Mormon 5 Lily
47:51 Mormon 6 David
57:55 Mormon 7 Miles
1:00:29 Mormon 8 Mackenzie
1:13:43 Mormon 9 Ryan

Welcome to our podcast, Teens Read the Book, where we feature teenagers reading the Book of Mormon.

Our project website is www.teensreadthebook.com. The church's official Book of Mormon text is available here: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm?lang=eng, and you can listen to the church's official audio version of the book at that same link. 

If you have any comments on this project or want to send a compliment to any of our readers, email us at [email protected]. 

Thank you.

2:43 3 Nephi Header David
2:43 3 Nephi 1 Abella
12:38 3 Nephi 2 Holden
17:24 3 Nephi 3 James
28:27 3 Nephi 4 Rebecca
36:33 3 Nephi 5 Jenna
41:42 3 Nephi6 Lia 
47:49 3 Nephi 7 Russell 
55:56 3 Nephi 8 Rebekah
1:00:50 3 Nephi 9 Lochlan
1:07:14 3 Nephi 10 Jayce
1:11:09 3 Nephi 11 Spencer 
1:19:36 3 Nephi 12 Connor
1:25:53 3 Nephi 13 Etienne
1:33:46 3 Nephi 14 Allison
1:37:56 3 Nephi 15 Spencer
1:43:12 3 Nephi 16 Owen
1:49:34 3 Nephi 17 Mollie 
1:54:37 3 Nephi 18 Ben
2:01:46 3 Nephi 19 Bennett
2:08:42 3 Nephi 20 Thomas
2:21:47 3 Nephi 21 Marian
2:28:04 3 Nephi 22 Olivia
2:34:09 3 Nephi 23 Jose
2:37:23 3 Nephi 24 Sophie
2:41:17 3 Nephi 25 Sam
2:42:33 3 Nephi 26 Ethan
2:49:24 3 Nephi 27 Hulett
2:56:57 3 Nephi 28 David
3:04:17 3 Nephi 29 Ben
3:07:19 3 Nephi 30 Barsam

Welcome to our podcast, Teens Read the Book, where we feature teenagers reading the Book of Mormon.

Our project website is www.teensreadthebook.com. The church's official Book of Mormon text is available here: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm?lang=eng, and you can listen to the church's official audio version of the book at that same link. 

If you have any comments on this project or want to send a compliment to any of our readers, email us at [email protected]. 

Thank you.

1:25 Helaman 1 Cody
10:06 Helaman 2 Nya
13:35 Helaman 3 Anna
22:23 Helaman 4 Paige
27:41 Helaman 5 Savannah
40:17 Helaman 6 Hyrum
50:55 Helaman 7 Sophie
58:07 Helaman 8 Davis
1:04:40 Helaman9 Hudson
1:13:45 Helaman 10 Carter
1:18:07 Helaman 11 Issac
1:26:50 Helaman 12 Ian
1:32:12 Helaman 13 Nathan
1:42:50 Helaman 14 Lucy
1:49:15 Helaman 15 Jeremy
1:53:39 Helaman 16 Cannon