Latter-day Peace Studies presents: Come, Follow Me

Episode 228: Moroni 10

Ben Petersen — Tue, 17 Dec 2024 12:00:00 +0000

Website: https://www.latterdaypeacestudies.org/

Latter-day Peace Studies Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaypeacestudy

Latter-day Nonviolence, Pacifism, and Peace Studies Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/854473174913930/

Episode 227: Moroni 7-9

Ben Petersen — Tue, 10 Dec 2024 21:58:58 +0000

Website: https://www.latterdaypeacestudies.org/

Latter-day Peace Studies Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaypeacestudy

Latter-day Nonviolence, Pacifism, and Peace Studies Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/854473174913930/

Episode 226: Moroni 1-6

Ben Petersen — Tue, 03 Dec 2024 12:00:00 +0000

Website: https://www.latterdaypeacestudies.org/

Latter-day Peace Studies Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaypeacestudy

Latter-day Nonviolence, Pacifism, and Peace Studies Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/854473174913930/

Episode 225: Ether 12-15

Ben Petersen — Tue, 26 Nov 2024 18:06:21 +0000

Website: https://www.latterdaypeacestudies.org/

Latter-day Peace Studies Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaypeacestudy

Latter-day Nonviolence, Pacifism, and Peace Studies Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/854473174913930/

Episode 224: Ether 6-11

Ben Petersen — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 23:19:34 +0000

Website: https://www.latterdaypeacestudies.org/

Latter-day Peace Studies Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaypeacestudy

Latter-day Nonviolence, Pacifism, and Peace Studies Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/854473174913930/

Episode 223: Ether 1-5

Ben Petersen — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 22:01:14 +0000

Website: https://www.latterdaypeacestudies.org/

Latter-day Peace Studies Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaypeacestudy

Latter-day Nonviolence, Pacifism, and Peace Studies Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/854473174913930/

Episode 222: Mormon 7-9

Ben Petersen — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 16:13:40 +0000

Website: https://www.latterdaypeacestudies.org/

Latter-day Peace Studies Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaypeacestudy

Latter-day Nonviolence, Pacifism, and Peace Studies Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/854473174913930/

Episode 221: Mormon 1-6

Ben Petersen — Thu, 31 Oct 2024 21:58:50 +0000

Website: https://www.latterdaypeacestudies.org/ Latter-day Peace Studies Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaypeacestudy Latter-day Nonviolence, Pacifism, and Peace Studies Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/854473174913930/

Episode 220: 3 Nephi 27 - 4 Nephi

Ben Petersen — Mon, 28 Oct 2024 22:20:49 +0000

Website: https://www.latterdaypeacestudies.org/

Latter-day Peace Studies Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaypeacestudy

Latter-day Nonviolence, Pacifism, and Peace Studies Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/854473174913930/

Episode 219: 3 Nephi 20-26

Ben Petersen — Sun, 20 Oct 2024 04:36:50 +0000

Website: https://www.latterdaypeacestudies.org/

Latter-day Peace Studies Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaypeacestudy

Latter-day Nonviolence, Pacifism, and Peace Studies Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/854473174913930/

Episode 218: 3 Nephi 17-19

Ben Petersen — Tue, 15 Oct 2024 20:09:51 +0000

Website: https://www.latterdaypeacestudies.org/

Latter-day Peace Studies Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaypeacestudy

Latter-day Nonviolence, Pacifism, and Peace Studies Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/854473174913930/

Episode 217: 3 Nephi 12-16

Ben Petersen — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 11:00:00 +0000

Website: https://www.latterdaypeacestudies.org/

Latter-day Peace Studies Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaypeacestudy

Latter-day Nonviolence, Pacifism, and Peace Studies Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/854473174913930/

Episode 216: 3 Nephi 8-11

Ben Petersen — Wed, 25 Sep 2024 12:00:00 +0000

Website: https://www.latterdaypeacestudies.org/

Latter-day Peace Studies Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaypeacestudy

Latter-day Nonviolence, Pacifism, and Peace Studies Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/854473174913930/

Episode 215: 3 Nephi 1-7

Ben Petersen — Tue, 17 Sep 2024 12:00:00 +0000

Website: https://www.latterdaypeacestudies.org/

Latter-day Peace Studies Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaypeacestudy

Latter-day Nonviolence, Pacifism, and Peace Studies Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/854473174913930/

Episode 214: Helaman 13-16

Ben Petersen — Tue, 10 Sep 2024 11:00:00 +0000

Website: https://www.latterdaypeacestudies.org/

Latter-day Peace Studies Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaypeacestudy

Latter-day Nonviolence, Pacifism, and Peace Studies Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/854473174913930/

Episode 213: Helaman 7-12

Ben Petersen — Tue, 03 Sep 2024 11:06:00 +0000

Website: https://www.latterdaypeacestudies.org/

Latter-day Peace Studies Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaypeacestudy

Latter-day Nonviolence, Pacifism, and Peace Studies Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/854473174913930/

Episode 212: Helaman 1-6

Ben Petersen — Wed, 28 Aug 2024 11:00:00 +0000

Website: https://www.latterdaypeacestudies.org/

Latter-day Peace Studies Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaypeacestudy

Latter-day Nonviolence, Pacifism, and Peace Studies Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/854473174913930/

Episode 211: Alma 53-63

Ben Petersen — Tue, 20 Aug 2024 11:00:00 +0000

Website: https://www.latterdaypeacestudies.org/

Latter-day Peace Studies Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaypeacestudy

Latter-day Nonviolence, Pacifism, and Peace Studies Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/854473174913930/

Episode 210: Alma 43-52

Ben Petersen — Tue, 13 Aug 2024 11:00:00 +0000

Website: https://www.latterdaypeacestudies.org/

Latter-day Peace Studies Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaypeacestudy

Latter-day Nonviolence, Pacifism, and Peace Studies Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/854473174913930/

Episode 209: Alma 39-42

Ben Petersen — Tue, 06 Aug 2024 16:41:40 +0000

Website: https://www.latterdaypeacestudies.org/

Latter-day Peace Studies Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaypeacestudy

Latter-day Nonviolence, Pacifism, and Peace Studies Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/854473174913930/

Episode 208: Alma 36-38

Ben Petersen — Wed, 31 Jul 2024 11:00:00 +0000

Website: https://www.latterdaypeacestudies.org/

Latter-day Peace Studies Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaypeacestudy

Latter-day Nonviolence, Pacifism, and Peace Studies Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/854473174913930/

Episode 207: Alma 32-35

Ben Petersen — Wed, 24 Jul 2024 11:00:00 +0000

Website: https://www.latterdaypeacestudies.org/

Latter-day Peace Studies Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaypeacestudy

Latter-day Nonviolence, Pacifism, and Peace Studies Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/854473174913930/

Episode 206: Alma 30-31

Ben Petersen — Tue, 16 Jul 2024 11:00:00 +0000

Website: https://www.latterdaypeacestudies.org/

Latter-day Peace Studies Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaypeacestudy

Latter-day Nonviolence, Pacifism, and Peace Studies Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/854473174913930/

Episode 205: Alma 23-29

Ben Petersen — Wed, 10 Jul 2024 20:05:59 +0000

Website: https://www.latterdaypeacestudies.org/

Latter-day Peace Studies Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaypeacestudy

Latter-day Nonviolence, Pacifism, and Peace Studies Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/854473174913930/

Episode 204: Alma 17–22

Ben Petersen — Tue, 02 Jul 2024 11:00:00 +0000

Website: https://www.latterdaypeacestudies.org/

Latter-day Peace Studies Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaypeacestudy

Latter-day Nonviolence, Pacifism, and Peace Studies Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/854473174913930/

Episode 203: Alma 13–16

Ben Petersen — Tue, 25 Jun 2024 11:00:00 +0000

Website: https://www.latterdaypeacestudies.org/

Latter-day Peace Studies Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaypeacestudy

Latter-day Nonviolence, Pacifism, and Peace Studies Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/854473174913930/

Episode 202: Alma 8–12

Ben Petersen — Tue, 18 Jun 2024 11:00:00 +0000

Website: https://www.latterdaypeacestudies.org/

Latter-day Peace Studies Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaypeacestudy

Latter-day Nonviolence, Pacifism, and Peace Studies Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/854473174913930/

Episode 201: Alma 5-7

Ben Petersen — Tue, 11 Jun 2024 11:00:00 +0000

Website: https://www.latterdaypeacestudies.org/

Latter-day Peace Studies Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaypeacestudy

Latter-day Nonviolence, Pacifism, and Peace Studies Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/854473174913930/

Episode 200: Mosiah 29–Alma 4

Ben Petersen — Tue, 04 Jun 2024 20:15:37 +0000

Website: https://www.latterdaypeacestudies.org/

Latter-day Peace Studies Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaypeacestudy

Latter-day Nonviolence, Pacifism, and Peace Studies Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/854473174913930/

Episode 199: Mosiah 25-28

Ben Petersen — Tue, 28 May 2024 20:19:18 +0000

Website: https://www.latterdaypeacestudies.org/

Latter-day Peace Studies Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaypeacestudy

Latter-day Nonviolence, Pacifism, and Peace Studies Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/854473174913930/

Episode 198: Mosiah 18-24

Ben Petersen — Tue, 21 May 2024 11:00:00 +0000

Website: https://www.latterdaypeacestudies.org/

Latter-day Peace Studies Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaypeacestudy

Latter-day Nonviolence, Pacifism, and Peace Studies Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/854473174913930/

Episode 197: Mosiah 11-17

Ben Petersen — Tue, 14 May 2024 13:12:09 +0000

Website: https://www.latterdaypeacestudies.org/

Latter-day Peace Studies Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaypeacestudy

Latter-day Nonviolence, Pacifism, and Peace Studies Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/854473174913930/

Episode 196: Mosiah 7-10

Ben Petersen — Tue, 07 May 2024 11:00:00 +0000

Website: https://www.latterdaypeacestudies.org/

Latter-day Peace Studies Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaypeacestudy

Latter-day Nonviolence, Pacifism, and Peace Studies Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/854473174913930/

Episode 195: Mosiah 4-6

Ben Petersen — Tue, 30 Apr 2024 11:00:00 +0000

Website: https://www.latterdaypeacestudies.org/

Latter-day Peace Studies Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaypeacestudy

Latter-day Nonviolence, Pacifism, and Peace Studies Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/854473174913930/

Episode 194: Mosiah 1-3

Ben Petersen — Tue, 23 Apr 2024 15:10:35 +0000

Website: https://www.latterdaypeacestudies.org/

Latter-day Peace Studies Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaypeacestudy

Latter-day Nonviolence, Pacifism, and Peace Studies Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/854473174913930/

Episode 193: Enos, Jarom, Omni, Words of Mormon

Ben Petersen — Tue, 16 Apr 2024 11:00:00 +0000

Website: https://www.latterdaypeacestudies.org/

Latter-day Peace Studies Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaypeacestudy

Latter-day Nonviolence, Pacifism, and Peace Studies Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/854473174913930/

Episode 192: Jacob 5-7

Ben Petersen — Tue, 09 Apr 2024 11:00:00 +0000

Website: https://www.latterdaypeacestudies.org/

Latter-day Peace Studies Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaypeacestudy

Latter-day Nonviolence, Pacifism, and Peace Studies Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/854473174913930/

Episode 191: Jacob 1-4

Ben Petersen — Tue, 02 Apr 2024 11:00:00 +0000

Website: https://www.latterdaypeacestudies.org/

Latter-day Peace Studies Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaypeacestudy

Latter-day Nonviolence, Pacifism, and Peace Studies Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/854473174913930/

Episode 190: 2 Nephi 31-33

Ben Petersen — Tue, 19 Mar 2024 11:00:00 +0000

2 Nephi 31-33

Website: https://www.latterdaypeacestudies.org/

Latter-day Peace Studies Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaypeacestudy

Latter-day Nonviolence, Pacifism, and Peace Studies Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/854473174913930/

Episode 189: 2 Nephi 26-30

Ben Petersen — Tue, 12 Mar 2024 11:00:00 +0000

2 Nephi 26-30

Website: https://www.latterdaypeacestudies.org/

Latter-day Peace Studies Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaypeacestudy

Latter-day Nonviolence, Pacifism, and Peace Studies Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/854473174913930/

Episode 188: 2 Nephi 20-25

Ben Petersen — Tue, 05 Mar 2024 12:00:00 +0000

2 Nephi 20-25

Website: https://www.latterdaypeacestudies.org/

Latter-day Peace Studies Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaypeacestudy

Latter-day Nonviolence, Pacifism, and Peace Studies Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/854473174913930/

Episode 187: 2 Nephi 11–19

Ben Petersen — Tue, 27 Feb 2024 12:00:00 +0000

2 Nephi 11–19

Website: https://www.latterdaypeacestudies.org/

Latter-day Peace Studies Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaypeacestudy

Latter-day Nonviolence, Pacifism, and Peace Studies Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/854473174913930/

Episode 186: 2 Nephi 6-10

Ben Petersen — Tue, 20 Feb 2024 13:00:00 +0000

2 Nephi 6-10

Website: https://www.latterdaypeacestudies.org/

Latter-day Peace Studies Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaypeacestudy

Latter-day Nonviolence, Pacifism, and Peace Studies Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/854473174913930/

Episode 185: 2 Nephi 3-5

Ben Petersen — Tue, 13 Feb 2024 12:00:00 +0000

2 Nephi 3-5

Website: https://www.latterdaypeacestudies.org/

Latter-day Peace Studies Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaypeacestudy

Latter-day Nonviolence, Pacifism, and Peace Studies Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/854473174913930/

Episode 184: 2 Nephi 1-2

Ben Petersen — Tue, 06 Feb 2024 12:00:00 +0000

2 Nephi 1-2

Website: https://www.latterdaypeacestudies.org/

Latter-day Peace Studies Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaypeacestudy

Latter-day Nonviolence, Pacifism, and Peace Studies Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/854473174913930/

Episode 183: 1 Nephi 16–22

Ben Petersen — Tue, 30 Jan 2024 12:00:00 +0000

1 Nephi 16–22

Website: https://www.latterdaypeacestudies.org/

Latter-day Peace Studies Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaypeacestudy

Latter-day Nonviolence, Pacifism, and Peace Studies Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/854473174913930/

Episode 182: 1 Nephi 11-15

Ben Petersen — Tue, 23 Jan 2024 12:00:00 +0000

1 Nephi 11-15

Website: https://www.latterdaypeacestudies.org/

Latter-day Peace Studies Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaypeacestudy

Latter-day Nonviolence, Pacifism, and Peace Studies Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/854473174913930/

Episode 181: 1 Nephi 6-10

Ben Petersen — Tue, 16 Jan 2024 12:00:00 +0000

Episode 180: 1 Nephi 1-5

Ben Petersen — Tue, 09 Jan 2024 12:00:00 +0000

1 Nephi 1-5

Website: https://www.latterdaypeacestudies.org/

Latter-day Peace Studies Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaypeacestudy

Latter-day Nonviolence, Pacifism, and Peace Studies Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/854473174913930/

Episode 179: Introductory Pages of the Book of Mormon

Ben Petersen — Tue, 02 Jan 2024 12:00:00 +0000

Introductory Pages of the Book of Mormon

Episode 178: 2024 CFM Introduction

Ben Petersen — Tue, 26 Dec 2023 12:00:00 +0000

Introduction to the Come Follow, Me curriculum for 2024. Dan and Marianne will be co-hosting this year, covering the Book of Mormon.

BONUS Episode: What's Next for LDPS

Ben Petersen — Thu, 21 Dec 2023 12:00:00 +0000

Ben and Christopher are joined by Riley Risto, co-host of Latter-day Contemplation, and Marianne and Dan, the next co-hosts of Latter-day Peace Studies Presents: Come, Follow Me. Forgive the poor audio quality of this episode. We had some technical difficulties and were pressed for time to publish it.

Episode 177: Revelation

Ben Petersen — Wed, 06 Dec 2023 12:00:00 +0000

Revelation

Episode 176: 1-3 John; Jude

Ben Petersen — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 12:00:00 +0000

1-3 John; Jude

Episode 175: 1 and 2 Peter

Ben Petersen — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 12:00:00 +0000

1 and 2 Peter

Episode 174: James

Ben Petersen — Tue, 14 Nov 2023 12:00:00 +0000

James

Episode 173: Hebrews 7-13

Ben Petersen — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 12:00:00 +0000

Hebrews 7-13

Episode 172: Hebrews 1-6

Ben Petersen — Tue, 31 Oct 2023 11:00:00 +0000

Hebrews 1-6

Episode 171: Timothy; Titus; Philemon

Ben Petersen — Tue, 24 Oct 2023 11:00:00 +0000

1 and 2 Timothy; Titus; Philemon

Episode 170: 1 and 2 Thessalonians

Ben Petersen — Tue, 17 Oct 2023 11:00:00 +0000

1 and 2 Thessalonians

Episode 169: Philippians; Colossians

Ben Petersen — Tue, 10 Oct 2023 11:00:00 +0000

Philippians; Colossians

Episode 168: Ephesians

Ben Petersen — Tue, 03 Oct 2023 11:00:00 +0000

Ephesians

Episode 167: Galatians

Ben Petersen — Tue, 26 Sep 2023 11:00:00 +0000

Galatians

Episode 166: 2 Corinthians 8-13

Ben Petersen — Tue, 19 Sep 2023 11:00:00 +0000

2 Corinthians 8-13

Episode 165: 2 Corinthians 1-7

Ben Petersen — Tue, 12 Sep 2023 11:00:00 +0000

2 Corinthians 1-7

Episode 164: 1 Corinthians 14-16

Ben Petersen — Tue, 05 Sep 2023 11:00:00 +0000

1 Corinthians 14-16

Episode 163: 1 Corinthians 8-13

Ben Petersen — Tue, 29 Aug 2023 11:00:00 +0000

1 Corinthians 8-13

Episode 162: 1 Corinthians 1-7

Ben Petersen — Tue, 22 Aug 2023 11:00:00 +0000

1 Corinthians 1-7

Episode 161: Romans 7-16

Ben Petersen — Tue, 15 Aug 2023 11:00:00 +0000

Romans 7-16

Episode 160: Romans 1-6

Ben Petersen — Tue, 08 Aug 2023 11:00:00 +0000

Romans 1-6

Episode 159: Acts 22-28

Ben Petersen — Tue, 01 Aug 2023 11:00:00 +0000

Acts 22-28

Episode 158: Acts 16-21

Ben Petersen — Tue, 25 Jul 2023 11:00:00 +0000

Acts 16-21

Episode 157: Acts 10-15

Ben Petersen — Tue, 18 Jul 2023 11:00:00 +0000

Acts 10-15

Episode 156: Acts 6-9

Ben Petersen — Tue, 11 Jul 2023 11:00:00 +0000

Acts 6-9

Episode 155: Acts 1-5

Ben Petersen — Tue, 04 Jul 2023 11:00:00 +0000

Acts 1-5

Episode 154: Matthew 28; Mark 16; Luke 24; John 20-21

Ben Petersen — Tue, 27 Jun 2023 11:00:00 +0000

Matthew 28; Mark 16; Luke 24; John 20-21

Episode 153: Matthew 27: Mark 15; Luke 23; John 19

Ben Petersen — Tue, 20 Jun 2023 11:00:00 +0000

Matthew 27: Mark 15; Luke 23; John 19

Episode 152: Luke 22; John 18

Ben Petersen — Tue, 13 Jun 2023 11:00:00 +0000

Luke 22; John 18

Episode 151: John 14-17

Ben Petersen — Tue, 06 Jun 2023 11:00:00 +0000

John 14-17

Episode 150: Matthew 26; Mark 14; John 13

Ben Petersen — Tue, 30 May 2023 11:00:00 +0000

Matthew 26; Mark 14; John 13

Episode 149: Matthew 24-25; Mark 12-13; Luke 21

Ben Petersen — Tue, 23 May 2023 11:00:00 +0000

Matthew 24-25; Mark 12-13; Luke 21

Episode 148: Matthew 21-23; Mark 11; Luke 19-20; John 12

Ben Petersen — Tue, 16 May 2023 11:00:00 +0000

Matthew 21-23; Mark 11; Luke 19-20; John 12

Episode 147: Matthew 19-20; Mark 10; Luke 18

Ben Petersen — Tue, 09 May 2023 11:00:00 +0000

Matthew 19-20; Mark 10; Luke 18

Episode 146: Luke 12-17; John 11

Ben Petersen — Tue, 02 May 2023 11:00:00 +0000

Luke 12-17; John 11

Episode 145: John 7-10

Ben Petersen — Tue, 25 Apr 2023 11:00:00 +0000

John 7-10

Episode 144: Matthew 18; Luke 10

Ben Petersen — Tue, 18 Apr 2023 20:04:06 +0000

Matthew 18; Luke 10

Episode 143: Matthew 15-17; Mark 7-9

Ben Petersen — Tue, 11 Apr 2023 11:14:00 +0000

Matthew 15-17; Mark 7-9

Episode 142: Matthew 14; Mark 6; John 5-6

Ben Petersen — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 11:00:00 +0000

Matthew 14; Mark 6; John 5-6

Episode 141: Matthew 13; Luke 8, 13

Ben Petersen — Tue, 21 Mar 2023 11:11:00 +0000

Matthew 13; Luke 8, 13

Episode 140: Matthew 11-12; Luke 11

Ben Petersen — Thu, 16 Mar 2023 23:00:00 +0000

Matthew 11-12; Luke 11

Episode 139: Matthew 9-10; Mark 5; Luke 9

Ben Petersen — Tue, 07 Mar 2023 12:00:00 +0000

Matthew 9-10; Mark 5; Luke 9

Episode 138: Matthew 8; Mark 2-4; Luke 7

Ben Petersen — Tue, 28 Feb 2023 12:00:00 +0000

Matthew 8; Mark 2-4; Luke 7

Episode 137: Matthew 6-7

Ben Petersen — Tue, 21 Feb 2023 04:09:00 +0000

Matthew 6-7

Episode 136: Matthew 5; Luke 6

Ben Petersen — Tue, 14 Feb 2023 06:24:38 +0000

Matthew 5; Luke 6

Episode 135: John 2-4

Ben Petersen — Tue, 07 Feb 2023 04:02:00 +0000

John 2-4

Episode 134: Matthew 4; Luke 4-5

Ben Petersen — Wed, 01 Feb 2023 04:00:00 +0000

Matthew 4; Luke 4-5

Episode 133: Matthew 3, Mark 1, Luke 3

Ben Petersen — Tue, 24 Jan 2023 08:44:58 +0000

Matthew 3, Mark 1, Luke 3

Episode 132: John 1

Ben Petersen — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 04:00:00 +0000

John 1

Episode 131: Matthew 2 and Luke 2

Ben Petersen — Tue, 10 Jan 2023 04:00:00 +0000

Matthew 2 and Luke 2

Episode 130: Matthew 1 and Luke 1

Ben Petersen — Tue, 03 Jan 2023 07:20:07 +0000

Matthew 1 and Luke 1

Episode 129: Intro to the New Testament

Ben Petersen — Tue, 20 Dec 2022 09:33:57 +0000

An Introduction to the New Testament: Context, Text, and Meaning with Dr. David Peck

Episode 128: Malachi

Ben Petersen — Thu, 15 Dec 2022 10:14:30 +0000

Malachi

Episode 127: Haggai and Zechariah

Ben Petersen — Tue, 06 Dec 2022 07:05:46 +0000

Haggai and Zechariah

Episode 126: Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah

Ben Petersen — Mon, 28 Nov 2022 09:53:10 +0000

Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah

Episode 125: Jonah and Micah

Ben Petersen — Mon, 21 Nov 2022 20:54:04 +0000

Jonah and Micah

Episode 124: Amos and Obadiah

Ben Petersen — Tue, 15 Nov 2022 07:42:32 +0000

Amos and Obadiah

Episode 123: Hosea and Joel

Ben Petersen — Tue, 08 Nov 2022 14:53:10 +0000

Hosea and Joel

Episode 122: Daniel

Ben Petersen — Wed, 02 Nov 2022 11:37:55 +0000

Daniel

Episode 121: Ezekiel

Ben Petersen — Mon, 24 Oct 2022 17:48:06 +0000

Ezekiel

Episode 120: Jeremiah 30-52, Lamentations

Ben Petersen — Tue, 18 Oct 2022 15:43:14 +0000

Jeremiah 30-52, Lamentations

Episode 119: Jeremiah 1-29

Ben Petersen — Mon, 10 Oct 2022 14:18:04 +0000

Jeremiah 1-29

Episode 118: Isaiah 50-66

Ben Petersen — Mon, 26 Sep 2022 09:03:07 +0000

Isaiah 50-66

Episode 117: Isaiah 13-49

Ben Petersen — Wed, 21 Sep 2022 06:56:00 +0000

Isaiah 13-49

Episode 116: Isaiah 1-12

Ben Petersen — Sat, 10 Sep 2022 06:45:41 +0000

Isaiah 1-12

Episode 115: Song of Solomon

Ben Petersen — Tue, 06 Sep 2022 11:33:00 +0000

Bonus Episode: Song of Songs (Song of Solomon)

Episode 114: Proverbs and Ecclesiastes

Ben Petersen — Sat, 27 Aug 2022 18:05:07 +0000

Proverbs and Ecclesiastes

Episode 113: Psalms Part 2

Ben Petersen — Tue, 23 Aug 2022 18:48:22 +0000

The Book of Psalms: Part 2

Episode 112: Intro to Psalms

Ben Petersen — Tue, 09 Aug 2022 13:34:43 +0000

Intro to Psalms

Episode 111: Job

Ben Petersen — Mon, 01 Aug 2022 10:43:00 +0000

Job: The poem about human suffering

Episode 110: Esther

Ben Petersen — Mon, 25 Jul 2022 10:11:00 +0000

The Book of Esther

Episode 109: Ezra-Nehemiah

Ben Petersen — Mon, 18 Jul 2022 19:35:16 +0000

Ezra-Nehemiah: The Remnant Returns

Episode 108: 2 Kings 17-25

Ben Petersen — Mon, 11 Jul 2022 13:28:40 +0000

2 Kings 17-25 Prelude to Exile

Episode 107: 2 Kings 1-16

Ben Petersen — Sun, 03 Jul 2022 21:16:55 +0000

2 Kings 1-16 Elisha

Episode 106: 1 Kings 12-22

Ben Petersen — Mon, 27 Jun 2022 09:40:04 +0000

1 Kings 12-22 Elijah

Episode 105: 2 Samuel, 1 Kings 1-11

Ben Petersen — Tue, 21 Jun 2022 07:23:22 +0000

Ben flies solo in this episode on 2 Samuel and 1 Kings. The reign of David and Solomon are the golden age of Israelite history. Despite civil wars and brutal rebellions, the monarchy persists and grows in its prestige and splendor. David’s sins bring great tragedy and sorrow, but seem to have some profound and timeless lessons. Solomon fulfills his father’s promise to build the temple and the project takes on cosmic themes that remind us of the creation in Genesis.

Episode 104: 1 Samuel

Ben Petersen — Mon, 13 Jun 2022 18:20:34 +0000

Ben and Christopher continue with a discussion of the first book of Samuel. The various sources that make up the book portray multiple perspectives on monarchy and the kingship. Saul is anointed as the first king of Israel. His military success initially endears him to the people, but his disobedience causes him to lose favor with Samuel and God. David is anointed to succeed Saul and the narrative recounts stories of his bravery, piety, and military prowess. The story of David and Goliath is the unmistakable source of literary allusion in Nephi’s account of slaying Laban in the Book of Mormon. What might this say about Nephi’s intent, message, inspiration, and actual experience?

Episode 103: Ruth

Ben Petersen — Mon, 06 Jun 2022 05:16:56 +0000

The book of Ruth is a love story about a particular kind of love. Hesed is often translated as loving kindness, but it is also loyalty, grace, and courage. It is the kind of love that characterizes the covenant relationship of God with the people or of a man and his wife. Ruth exemplifies hesed in her relationships with Naomi and with Boaz, counting her a worthy ancestor to the Davidic line despite being a foreigner. Hannah pours out her soul to God and is filled. The life of Samuel prepares him for the unique role he will play in transitioning Israel from being ruled by judges to being ruled by kings.

Episode 102: Judges

Ben Petersen — Sat, 04 Jun 2022 14:59:10 +0000

The book of Judges traces a pseudo-history of the Israelites after the conquest of Joshua. Israelite judges are more often legendary military heroes than arbitrators of justice. The people follow a cycle of obedience, success, idolatry, bondage, and deliverance. The message is that while God will always deliver his people, the cycle of disorder and bondage can only be broken by a centralized monarchy. “There was no king in Israel” foreshadows the arrival of an anointed king and also evokes a Christological hermeneutic. The symbolism of trees returns in the account of the prophetess Deborah, the calling of Gideon, and the fable of the trees in search of a king. The stage is set for the book of Samuel and the creation of the Israelite monarchy.

Episode 101: Joshua

Ben Petersen — Fri, 27 May 2022 20:08:29 +0000

The Book of Joshua recounts the Israelites’ story of their conquest of Canaan. The Israelites are tasked with creating a sacred space for God’s presence. Ben and Christopher discuss the perennial question of Divine Genocide as presented in the text. How does the rhetoric of the text match up with actual known history? If the Israelites didn’t actually kill the Canaanites en masse, then why does the text say they did? What does the Book of Joshua have to say to modern peace-loving Christians?

Episode 100: Deuteronomy

Ben Petersen — Thu, 19 May 2022 17:51:47 +0000

Deuteronomy, Devarim, Words. Moses’ words recall his uneasy relationship with speech all the way back to his conversation with God at the burning bush. Moses recounts Israelite history from the Exodus on, continually reiterating that he will not cross into the promised land with his people. This melancholy reminiscing of Moses is likely a product of later editors who crafted this text to fit their contemporary religious reforms around the 7th Century BC. God is more narrowly defined and religious practice is centralized under the authority of the temple priests. This context provides interesting possibilities for the narrative of Lehi and his family in the Book of Mormon. To what degree might Lehi’s persecution be for what are deemed by the Deuteronomistic reformers to be unorthodox beliefs and religious practices? How might Nephi’s vision of the Tree of Life relate to the Divine Feminine that is so systematically subverted in Deuteronomy? This final book of the Torah calls for interpretation as much as it is itself a complex work of reinterpretation and reform of the Israelite tradition.

Episode 99: Numbers

Ben Petersen — Tue, 10 May 2022 17:33:53 +0000

Numbers, Bamidbar, In the Wilderness. The children of Israel journey in the wilderness, encountering death, failure, rebellion, and hope. In this largely imagined past there are profound ties to psychological and philosophical questions. Moses struggles with his responsibility as leader and prophet while the people murmur. The threat and reality of divine violence are ever-present, even when God’s mercy and love shine through the cracks. The staff of Moses has been a consistent symbol of divine authority and force, but does God have a new way to offer Moses that involves persuasion and gentleness through speech? The Brazen Serpent is raised in the wilderness, offering to heal all who look and typifying the persona of Christ. How are we to perceive divine violence in scripture, even when it is explicitly justified in the text?

Episode 98: Exodus 35-40; Leviticus 1-27

Ben Petersen — Sun, 08 May 2022 11:45:55 +0000

Can we properly understand the Old Testament if we skip reading some of its chapters? In this longer-than-usual episode, Ben and Christopher tackle Exodus 35-40 and the entire book of Leviticus. This intimidating section of scripture was difficult to approach, but with some help from the great Rob Bell, much of the seemingly irrelevant and bizarre has taken on relevance and profound meaning. In this Priestly manual, the sons of Aaron are invited to participate in the tending of the sacred space created in the Tabernacle as part of a new creation extending beyond it. Israel is called to be this new creation because the LORD has delivered them from slavery in Egypt. Their new system and society respond to the injustices of their captivity, establishing the weekly, seventh-year, and 50th-year (Jubilee) Sabbaths as signs of Israel’s covenant relationship with the LORD. All of this in about an hour and a half. As a bonus, Ben and Christopher spend about half an hour more responding to the above question, first raised by Christopher’s daughter (though already on Christopher and Ben’s minds) by delving deeper into what scripture is, and what to do with it in our own covenant relationship with the LORD.

Episode 97: Exodus 21-34

Ben Petersen — Fri, 29 Apr 2022 13:11:15 +0000

Ben and Christopher discuss the laws put forth in the Book of the Covenant. These laws have an Ancient Near Eastern context mirrored in contemporary legal codes in the same context. The general exceptions are in how they treat the disadvantaged of society. Nephi’s killing of Laban finds its justification in these verses. The LORD gives instruction on how to construct the tabernacle, being a representation of the cosmos in creation and Eden. Moses wins an argument with God after the people worship before a golden calf. What are we to understand about God and His relationship with the people from this event?

Episode 96: Exodus 18-20

Ben Petersen — Sat, 16 Apr 2022 18:09:33 +0000

Moses and the Children of Israel have been delivered from slavery and brought out of Egypt by the power of the LORD. As Moses struggles to bring the people into a relationship with the LORD, he receives wise counsel from his father-in-law Jethro: By creating a bureaucracy, Moses might better govern the people. While this counsel is timely and practical, it also leads to the loss of a deeper experience and relationship Moses was modeling. The Messianic type here is reminiscent of the ministry of Jesus. What moments with God do we lose out on in our daily quests for efficiency? As Moses ascends Mount Sinai, the people are invited to follow him, but they are fearful of the presence of the LORD. They content themselves with second-hand expressions of the divine experience. Do we? The Ten Commandments provide a model for how we might approach scripture avoiding common pitfalls in our approach to interpreting it.

Episodes 94 & 95: Exodus 7-13; 14-17

Ben Petersen — Fri, 01 Apr 2022 15:51:04 +0000

Ben and Christopher combine two weeks’ readings into one podcast on the core of the Exodus narrative. The LORD afflicts Egypt with 10 plagues before Pharaoh agrees to let the Israelites go. The God of the Hebrews triumphs over all others and displays his matchless power in their deliverance. The narrative is summarized and repeated in the poetic verse of chapter 15, which is likely a much earlier source of the story that could be attributed to Miriam as a prophet. The LORD continues to deliver his people in the wilderness from thirst, hunger, and enemies.

Episode 93: Exodus 1-6

Ben Petersen — Fri, 25 Mar 2022 16:16:53 +0000

In this episode, we begin the Book of Exodus. God begins to fulfill the promises made to the patriarchs when he raises up Moses to lead his people out of bondage in Egypt, and while they won’t make it to the promised land until the Book of Joshua, Exodus provides the foundational story of the creation of the nation of Israel.

The Book of Exodus can be divided into three parts: First, we witness the power of the Lord as he extends his arm against Pharaoh, sending the ten plagues and finally parting the Sea of Reeds, which swallows up Pharoah and his army, letting Moses and the Israelites escape into the wilderness. In the second part, Moses will ascend Mount Sinai and receive the law (Torah). The final section of the book is devoted to the construction and description of the tabernacle, or the portable temple the Israelites will carry with them over the next 38 years they spend in the desert.

A three-part division is also seen in the Sinai episode where the people are gathered at the bottom, the elders are part way up, and Moses is on top speaking with God. We see a similar tripartite division in the third section’s description of the tabernacle with its courtyard, Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies.

Later mystics and teachers would use these three-fold divisions to describe the soul’s journey to God, labeling the stages with terms such as ‘purification,’ contemplation,’ and ‘union’.

After giving a brief overview of Exodus, we discuss some of the main themes of the book as a whole, and briefly touch on their importance for Israelite religion, later scripture and theology, mysticism, and world literature.

This week’s reading, chapters 1-6, gives us the background to the story of Moses, with his people enslaved and him in Pharaoh’s court. His life takes a drastic turn when he kills a man and has to flee to the desert where he marries Zipporah and lives with his father-in-law, Jethro, as a lowly shepherd. God speaks to him from a bush that burns without being consumed and calls him to lead his people out of Egypt so they can serve Him instead of Pharaoh. God overcomes all of Moses’ objections, reveals to him the name by which He will henceforth be known, and Moses makes his first attempt to convince Pharaoh, which fails miserably and makes the situation even worse for the Israelites. As promised in the podcast, here is a link to an article describing the connection between the Feast of Trumpets and the giving of the gold plates to Joseph Smith.

Episode 92: Genesis 42-50

Ben Petersen — Fri, 18 Mar 2022 14:34:47 +0000

The story of Joseph in Egypt is found in texts outside the Bible. Not only do we see it woven deeply into the Book of Mormon narrative, but the account in the Qur’an adds fascinating details. Comparing and contrasting these narratives, Ben and Christopher develop the central point of the story: forgiveness. Despite all that has happened to him, Joseph finally sees God’s influence in bringing about the salvation of his family from famine. Even if not every single thing that happens to Joseph is specifically orchestrated by God, Joseph’s willingness to forgive his brothers is ultimately the mechanism by which God works the miracle of reuniting and saving his family from destruction, keeping his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Episode 91: Genesis 34-41

Ben Petersen — Sat, 12 Mar 2022 17:14:10 +0000

This week the Come Follow Me curriculum omits a few chapters in Genesis. Ben and Christopher discuss these anyway since they touch on important themes. Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah in turn all make choices that put their legitimacy as heirs in question. Jacob returns to Bethel to establish a mode akin to temple worship. Isaac dies, and the presence of both Esau and Jacob hints at final reconciliation between the brothers. Joseph’s story begins, interrupted by the narrative of Judah’s impropriety. This contrasts with Joseph’s character and legitimacy as the heir of the birthright of Israel. Joseph is sold into Egypt and the Lord is with him through it all. Joseph’s story is a fundamental narrative underpinning the story of the Nephites in the Book of Mormon and the development of the Latter-day Saint ethos.

Episode 90: Gen 28 - 33

Ben Petersen — Sun, 06 Mar 2022 15:44:30 +0000

The story of Jacob repeats previous themes from the stories of Abraham and Isaac. How does Jacob view his relationship with God and others and how do these relationships affect each other? Why might Jacob struggle to forgive and what other things does Jacob struggle with before and after being named Israel (one who struggles/strives/perseveres with God)? Jacob often fears the outcomes of situations that work themselves out. Does Jacob learn to trust God?

Episode 89: Gen 24 - 27

Ben Petersen — Fri, 25 Feb 2022 19:38:41 +0000

As Abraham’s heir, Isaac models the same values of peacemaking and hospitality as his father. Rebekah is an example of these values and is sought as a wife for Isaac. Previous themes of Genesis re-emerge in these chapters. Jacob receives the birthright even though he is the younger son. Jacob and Esau echo the story of Cain and Abel.

Episode 88: Gen 18 - 23

Ben Petersen — Wed, 23 Feb 2022 19:10:34 +0000

The story of Abraham continues with the narrative of Lot and the destruction of Sodom. The ambiguity of the characters and conversations makes interpreting events difficult. Abraham models appropriate hospitality while Lot imitates it. Ben offers a potential historical reading of the Sodom account that might help explain the strange sequence of events. What was the explicit sin of Sodom as opposed to the traditional view? Did God really command Abraham to sacrifice his son? Christopher brings in additional versions of the story from other traditions. Studying these additional versions and the story of Abraham in The Pearl of Great Price opens up a new interpretation. Might we be reading both too much and too little into this story?

Episode 87: Gen 12-17; Abr 1 - 2

Ben Petersen — Tue, 08 Feb 2022 19:44:35 +0000

The Biblical narrative of Abraham follows a chiasmic structure common to ancient Hebrew literature. Events proceed to a climax and then repeat in reverse order. The Book of Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price offers some enriching perspective to the overall story and highlights the key concept of Priesthood as a recurring theme and mode. Abraham is not only blessed, but is given the responsibility to bless all of humanity. The climax of the narrative centers on an unlikely person and offers profound insight into the character of God and his mercy. What is Abraham learning about God and what is significant about his literal and spiritual journey?

Episode 86: Gen 6-11; Moses 8

Ben Petersen — Tue, 08 Feb 2022 19:41:39 +0000

Readers of the Bible have wrestled with the narrative of the flood for centuries. How do we approach a text that portrays a God who does such things? What deeper understanding can we see in the symbolism of the story that doesn't require us to view God as vengeful and angry? In attempting to answer this question, a pattern of order, disorder, non-order, and reorder emerges. How does the text of the narratives of Noah and the Tower of Babel reveal an evolving understanding of God and humanity's relationship with the Divine?

Episode 85: Moses 7

Ben Petersen — Thu, 03 Feb 2022 02:12:38 +0000

Ben is joined by guest Dan Meehan in a discussion of Moses 7, the second half of the canonized “Book of Enoch”. In his vision of the divine, Enoch sees a God who expresses emotion and feels sorrow. Enoch experiences the vastness of eternity and comes to know the bitterness of hell, as well as a fullness of joy. This chapter touches on some difficult themes that are often related to racism in scripture. What might these verses have meant to the early Saints and what can they mean to us today? Zion is taken up in process of time and Dan proposes an alternate interpretation of this concept that fits well with the common scriptural narratives of testimony and non-violence.

Episode 84: Genesis 5, Moses 6

Ben Petersen — Wed, 02 Feb 2022 16:07:00 +0000

Christopher and Ben return to the previous week’s reading to touch on some themes from the Garden of Eden: trees, cherubim, and the flaming sword. The genealogy put forward in Genesis 5 presents more questions than answers about ante-diluvian longevity. The Book of Enoch as recorded in our canonized Book of Moses is but one of many Books of Enoch that have come to light over the centuries. The narratives and themes it presents are both unique to the Latter-day Saint tradition and similar to other apocryphal texts. What pearls of meaning do we find in the story of Enoch, his travels, his calling as a prophet, and his sermon on the baptism of “Adam”? Once again, we are invited to consider ourselves as Adam and Eve.

Episode 83: Genesis 3-4 and Moses 4-5

Ben Petersen — Fri, 14 Jan 2022 19:40:34 +0000

In approaching Genesis 3-4 and Moses 4-5, Ben and Christopher continue their discussion of these creation and fall accounts as temple texts. We are to consider ourselves as Adam and Eve, recognizing our life in their experience in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve are created as ontological equals, as priest and priestess in the presence of God. What is a serpent doing in the Garden and why do our narratives equate the serpent with Satan? What can we learn from the differences between how Adam and Eve converse with God versus how Cain converses with God?

Episode 82: Genesis 1-2; Moses 2-3; Abraham 4-5

Ben Petersen — Wed, 05 Jan 2022 18:30:57 +0000

The Latter-day Saint tradition has canonized five different creation accounts. Despite intriguing differences, each of them can function liturgically—as does the temple account in temple worship. Christopher and Ben discuss all four creation accounts as descriptions of the dedication of the cosmos to God’s purposes rather than accounts of material origins. The teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith and the manner of dedicating a temple in antiquity fit well with this understanding of creation accounts. In discussing these creation accounts, Ben and Christopher lay a foundation for a discussion of humanity’s place in the cosmos and God’s purposes for humanity in the next episode.

Episode 81: Moses 1; Abraham 3

Ben Petersen — Mon, 03 Jan 2022 15:24:28 +0000

Moses 1 and Abraham 3 both give accounts of an experience of God and of God’s creation. Each is a prologue to a corresponding creation account. In this episode, Ben and Christopher raise and answer questions about God’s purposes in creation and how and where humanity finds its place in the cosmos. Moses’ encounter with Satan opens up a discussion about our own psychological experiences. Ben and Christopher lay the foundation in this episode for a discussion of the purpose of the four differing creation accounts in LDS scripture in the next episode.

Episode 80: Introduction to the Old Testament

Ben Petersen — Wed, 29 Dec 2021 20:01:32 +0000

Ben and Christopher begin this year’s LDPS Presents: Come, Follow Me podcast on the Old Testament by introducing themselves and their background for Old Testament studies. They cover where they’re coming from, how they’ll be approaching the Old Testament, and where they’re going with their approach. This wide-ranging discussion deals with many of the questions on the minds of Latter-day Saints approaching the Old Testament such as: What is the Bible, or even scripture, in general, and the Old Testament in particular, and what do we do with them? How does revelation work? Who were the authors and what are the genres of the books that make up the library we call “the Bible” and what was the context and purpose of those authors in writing the texts? Who later chose which books would be included in the Bible and which would be excluded and why? What role did manuscripts and translation play in this process of canonization and continue to play in ongoing reading and interpretation of the Bible? What are apocryphal and pseudepigraphical texts and what do we do with them? What assumptions are made by ancient interpreters of the Bible that were carried forward in Christian history and are still with us today in the Church? How will Christopher and Ben read and interpret the Old Testament applying nonviolent hermeneutics to deal with “the angry violent God of the Old Testament”? How does Ancient-Near-Eastern thought differ from modern Western thought and what does that mean for reading and interpreting the Bible? What are the major themes of the Bible? And finally, what do we do with modern critical Biblical scholarship in faithfully reading the Bible?

This is an unusually long episode for LDPS Presents: Come, Follow Me, but it is well worth the listen in coming to terms with the Old Testament before jumping into the reading.

Intro/Outro: Sweeper by Blue Dot Sessions

Episode 79: D&C 137 - 138

Ben Petersen — Wed, 01 Dec 2021 21:45:18 +0000

Ben and Shiloh close out this year’s discussion on the Doctrine and Covenants and Church history with guest co-host Christopher Hurtado. It is evident in many places throughout Joseph Smith’s life just how much of an impact the death of his older brother, Alvin, had on the way that Joseph saw the world. Section 137 gives us a lot of things to think about concerning how Joseph saw and experienced what he called were his “visions”. In this section, while in vision, Joseph sees the great things and the great people in the celestial realm, and he even sees his parents there. It is interesting that his parents are still alive on earth while Joseph is having this vision of the celestial kingdom. Yet, it is not even the fact that he sees his parents in this glorious realm prior to their death that seems out of place for Joseph, but it is upon seeing Alvin in the celestial world (without having been baptized on earth) that seems to stop Joseph in his tracks mid-vision. What can this tell us about Joseph and his understanding of family, earth, and heaven? What Section 137 opens the door of understanding to, Section 138 elaborates upon gives greater awareness to what happens beyond the grave. As we close out our discussions on the Doctrine and Covenants, everyone reflects on their favorite episode, moment, or learning experience throughout the last year, and they have some exciting announcements for next year’s Come, Follow Me episodes for Old Testament!

Episode 78: D&C 135-136

Ben Petersen — Tue, 23 Nov 2021 23:01:53 +0000

Shiloh and Ben discuss some historical context and the memorial passage from John Taylor dedicated to Joseph Smith after his death in Carthage, IL. How we remember and memorialize those who have come before us are powerful tools in how we frame current identities, and how we remember and memorialize Joseph Smith still speaks to the strong identity that Latter-day Saints have to the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There is an interesting shift between Joseph and Brigham between Sections 135 and 136, and in 136 we see Brigham taking practical advice and standards that the Saints should keep and observe along the long journey westward and adding a sacred modality and meaning to these standards. This says much in how we, today, add meaning to our own observances and in we choose to have gratitude in seeing God in the little and big things in our lives.

Episode 77: D&C 133-134

Ben Petersen — Wed, 17 Nov 2021 00:22:04 +0000

Ben and Shiloh discuss the many repeating themes found in Section 133 from the beginning of the D&C, and they muse over how Section 133 is an interesting original bookend following Section 132. This is as if to show that Section 133 is how things start, and Section 132 is how things ended in Joseph’s experience as the leader of the Church. The “declaration of belief” concerning government found in Section 135 has an interesting historical context to the Saints when it was first written and voted on by the Saints while Joseph was away. It shows a very interesting window into the beliefs of the early Saints concerning how they saw themselves as Americans in not only belief and socio-political identity but as the literal embodiment of the virtues portrayed in American Republicanism.

Episode 76: D&C 129-132

Ben Petersen — Mon, 15 Nov 2021 22:27:42 +0000

Shiloh and Ben discuss the instructions given from Joseph Smith to the Church concerning how to deal with angels, the physical nature of God, the state of the earth during the millennium, and other end-of-days prophecies. The “revelation” on polygamy pertaining to the new and everlasting covenant, written by Joseph directly to Emma, merits a bit of historical context. Polygamy is never an easy discussion, and there is still currently a lot of pain and trauma silently endured by Church members concerning these narratives and doctrines. The Church still believes in and continues to practice polygamy today. As one church leader once told Shiloh: “The church still believes in and practices polygamy, but they just practice it one wife at a time”. These doctrines, beliefs, and practices still impact Church members’ identities and views of eternity today, and not always in positive ways.

Episode 75: D&C 125-128

Ben Petersen — Tue, 02 Nov 2021 15:17:57 +0000

Ben and Shiloh talk about the letters from Joseph Smith to the Church while he was in hiding concerning the new and unique doctrine of baptism for the dead. These letters show an increasing complexity in Joseph’s understanding of the “Mormon Cosmology” and in how the Plan of Salvation operates. By the time these letters were written in 1842, Joseph had already started secretly engaging in the practice of plural marriage (showing that he had been thinking of the eternal nature of men and women and of humanity’s eternal relationships) and had participated in the rites of the newly established Freemasonry lodge in Nauvoo (which added a new layer of symbolism, rite, and ritual than was ever presented to him before). Additionally, the pain and trauma of losing his brother Alvin had strongly impacted Joseph throughout his entire life. Before Joseph was able to obtain the gold plates, Alvin died rather suddenly prior to choosing to be baptized into any local church. At his funeral, William Smith (Alvin’s and Joseph’s brother) wrote that the Presbyterian minister who presided over the funeral had “intimated very strongly that he [Alvin] had gone to hell, for Alvin was not a church member”. Years later, after the Kirtland Temple dedication, Joseph received a vision wherein he saw Alvin in the Celestial kingdom, and Joseph wondered how Alvin could be in heaven given that he had never been baptized. Joseph was instructed in the vision that those who had died without hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ would have the opportunity of hearing it in the next life. As Joseph would later contemplate over certain passages in the Bible (as shown in Section 128), he mused that “the baptism for the dead” was a “subject [that] seems to occupy my mind, and press itself upon my feelings the strongest.” This is interesting wording and a unique and rare insight into how Joseph received his own divine inspiration. Certainly, we can see that Joseph had used the love and memory of his brother as a mode to find further insight from the divine.

Episode 74: D&C 124

Ben Petersen — Mon, 25 Oct 2021 13:47:52 +0000

Shiloh and guest co-host Christopher Hurtado talk about the early Saints’ consistent divine call to create sacred space. Whether in Kirtland, Jackson County, Caldwell County, Daviess County, or Nauvoo, the Saints are instructed to construct a temple in order to perform sacred ordinances or to have revealed sacred things. When, in the New Testament, the Jews asked for a sign of authority for Jesus Christ’s actions in driving out the money changers of the temple, he answered by saying “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The people, thinking he was talking about the physical temple of stone, did not understand that “he spake of the temple of his body” (John 2:13-22). The temple is symbolic of each of us individually and of our own sacred journey. Each act in the sacred temple drama is our own story. By commanding an outward and physical edifice to perform sacred rites, rituals, and ordinances, God is presenting an outward observation of our own inward sacred, divine adventure. But what is the “sacred” and how is it created? Is it an objective thing in and of itself (sui generis) that we can step into and out of by our choices (sui generis)? Is it something that we create, experience, and deem as sacred? Perhaps it is a combination of these two things? But what would that even mean or even look like?

Episode 73: D&C 121-123

Ben Petersen — Mon, 18 Oct 2021 10:23:40 +0000

Ben and Shiloh are excited to talk about D&C 121, and they find that there are always new rich and beneficial conversations about the scriptures whenever we approach them with excitement. This week’s readings come from the time when Joseph and his companions were in Liberty Jail. Liberty Jail becomes a pivotal moment in Joseph’s life as he is not really the same person who comes out of that experience as he was when he went into it. In these particular sections we can see, hear, and feel Joseph’s trauma, and we can see that God is responding to and comforting Joseph in specific ways that are unique to his own fears, pain, and worldview. By seeing D&C 121 as God’s comforting Joseph’s particular fears and concerns in a language and way that Joseph comprehends, we can more clearly make sense as to the stark transitions that this section makes from a seemingly wrathful, vengeful, and spiteful God that doesn’t seem to necessarily follow through on his wrath to a comforting God that speaks of his own cosmic power and authority in terms of persuasion, long-suffering, gentleness, meekness, love, kindness, and pure knowledge that are all without compulsory means. What do we as a community actually know about the priesthood? We have all had many lessons about the differences between the power and authority of the priesthood, supporting the priesthood, and the administration of the rites/ordinances of the priesthood, but D&C 121 offers a very unique moment in discussing the meta-narrative and principle of God’s priesthood.

Episode 72: D&C 115-120

Ben Petersen — Tue, 12 Oct 2021 09:35:18 +0000

Shiloh and Ben discuss some history of the early Saints’ early persecution that is not often talked about in Sunday school. These sections comprise the period in Missouri after the Saints left Kirtland in 1837 until the Missouri “Extermination Order” in October 1838. While the relationship between the early Saints and the Missourians was not perfect in 1838 it was functional and, some historians argue, had begun to heal and mend since the Jackson County expulsion in 1834 and the Clay County expulsion in 1836. However, relationships between the Saints and their Missouri neighbors took a radical downturn in the summer and fall of 1838 leading to Governor Boggs’ famous Executive Order 44 (the “Extermination Order”) that forced Mormon settlers out of Missouri in late October of 1838. While the legality and judiciousness of this Order was in question even in Boggs’ day among many Missourians it was not signed and administered in a vacuum. While the mass expulsion of an entire community—depriving them of their legally protected natural rights—is unjustifiable, there were many actions performed by the Saints (and the Danite vigilante group) that gave many substantive reasons for the Missourians’ and the Governor’s legitimate concern about the growing population of Mormon settlers in the region.

Episode 71: D&C 111-114 (Updated)

Ben Petersen — Thu, 07 Oct 2021 09:01:16 +0000

**Update** This is the updated episode. We apologize that the previous Episode 71 somehow accidentally cut off approx. 10 minutes early.

Ben is joined again by Christopher Hurtado in a discussion about D&C Sections 111-114. The Saints are anxious about their future and ability to establish the Church according to the revelations. The Lord tells them that they need not be concerned with outcomes. He will take care of their debts and the destiny of Zion. They are invited to simply labor with Him. They are to take of their cross and feed His sheep. As we take upon ourselves the name of Christ, the scriptures about Christ become scriptures about us. The priesthood is the power of God to redeem Zion through gentleness, meekness, and love, without compulsion. How does God offer us power versus how the world offers power?

Episode 70: D&C 109-110

Ben Petersen — Wed, 29 Sep 2021 17:34:36 +0000

Ben is joined by Christopher Hurtado for a discussion about the Kirtland Temple dedication. How did the early Saints view the temple and what does the Lord invite us to by way of the symbolism of the temple itself? Does God need a building or is the structure a mode by which we manifest our intention as a people? Prayer is often perceived as a way to inform or persuade God, but if God’s knowledge and will are perfect, prayer can only be a mode of changing us and our perceptions to align with God’s. How does Joseph Smith’s dedicatory prayer show us a pattern of worship and prayer? What can contradictions and inconsistencies teach us about the purpose of prayer? What is the veil that covers our minds and how are we to understand the purpose of the appearance of Jesus and other prophets in the Kirtland temple?

Episode 69: D&C 106-108

Ben Petersen — Tue, 21 Sep 2021 12:55:03 +0000

Shiloh is joined with guest co-host Christopher Hurtado to discuss modality in terms of the priesthood. Modes are, in a sense, stories that we believe in as real and that we pour our intentionality into to produce experiences. By “story” it is not necessarily to say a “fiction,” but it is a narrative that frames our belief(s) and that we combine with our faith unto action. When we say something as simple as “I am going to go pray to God,” we often do not take into account the richness and complexities of the assumed stories and expectations that go into that short phrase. In that statement is the assumption of what we construct as the “I” (the thinking, acting, believing, and producing thing that is conscious and aware), the assertion that the “I” has intentionality and that that intentionality and hope matters, that there is a “God” (and all of the beliefs, assumptions, expectations, experiences, and thoughts of what that entails), that we are in an important relationship to this “God,” and that this “God” is of a type of entity, being, or thing that cares or is in response to our own intentionality and purpose to have a conversation. Just the simple concept of “prayer” is a rich story full of narratives, experiences, assumptions, and expectations. So, what of “priesthood”? Modality is not the only way to think of priesthood, but it certainly opens a new discussion than what we typically have in recognizing the richness of that conversation and of the sometimes unexamined assumptions and beliefs that we have concerning this part of our religious experience.

Episode 68: D&C 102 - 105

Ben Petersen — Tue, 14 Sep 2021 08:55:44 +0000

Ben and Shiloh discuss some of the history and context of Zion’s Camp. These were unprecedented times for the early Saints, and there was a lot of uncertainty about the problems in Missouri. Were they to abandon Jackson County entirely? But what of the prophecies of the New Jerusalem there? How would they get their property back? Would they have to fight? Would the law support them? The Missouri governor, Governor Dunklin, was somewhat sympathetic to the Saints and had made certain promises to help them regain their land, but these promises ultimately failed. There was a lot of violent rhetoric and metaphor used by the Saints and church leaders right up to the point of actually committing violence. Their confusion in what the Lord wanted from them is understandable. The Lord commanded that “the redemption of Zion must needs come by power” (D&C 103:15), but the Lord stops short at defining what kind of “power” he means. Was it the power of the sword? Of the law? Of… what? To add to the seeming confusion, the Lord states that his “presence” would be with the Saints “in avenging me of mine enemies” (D&C 103:26), but the Lord stops short at defining what “avenging me of mine enemies” entails. And then something interesting happens: the violent rhetoric turns to divine commands to “sue for peace, not only to the people that have smitten you, but also to all people” (D&C 105:38). How are we to make sense of all of this? Is it possible that the Lord never intended violence at all and that something else entirely was going on? How does the Lord avenge himself of his enemies?

Episode 67: D&C 98 - 101

Ben Petersen — Tue, 07 Sep 2021 08:43:12 +0000

Shiloh and Ben open up about their experiences in studying the Constitution as BYU students and their journey into peace studies. Section 98 is a type of bridge in their life between the Lord’s justification of his people to follow the principles in the Constitution that protects the rights and freedoms of all people and the Lord’s command to “renounce war and proclaim peace.” How often do we really “renounce war,” and does it mean to “proclaim peace.” How often do we unwittingly assume that “peace” is what naturally follows when everyone finally agrees with us? How often do we think that “peace” is what Jesus Christ brings when he returns to violently kill all of the violently evil on the earth? Are there no tools that God has given us to preach and establish peace during times of contention and warfare? Are we to only “renounce war and proclaim peace” in times of “peace”? What does it mean and what would it look like to “renounce war and proclaim peace” during wartime, and how popular would that be? There are always justifications for war. There are always reasons that we can deem the justice and rightness of our particular cause. War is rarely lacking for initial supporters. What answers, if anything, can the Sermon on the Mount provide us to answer these questions?

Episode 66: D&C 94-97

Ben Petersen — Mon, 30 Aug 2021 10:08:05 +0000

Ben and Shiloh discuss the concepts of “unclean” and “chasten.” Are these concepts to be taken as metaphysical reality, or are they epistemic ideas that help us break through the layers of perception of the false self? The gospel of Jesus Christ provides many modalities of experiencing God, and in the restored gospel narrative, such as in Section 89 with the Word of Wisdom, we have a front seat view in learning how many of these modes are created. As we pour our intentionality into these modes, we awaken and are made aware of the reality of God that is always already existent around us at all times. God’s work leaves nothing to waste, and all of His creation is reincorporated back and into His purposes.

Episode 65: D&C 93

Ben Petersen — Wed, 25 Aug 2021 09:05:34 +0000

Shiloh and Ben discuss topics of truth, grace, light, intelligence, God’s nature, knowledge, agency, glory, the spirit, Satan’s nature, the true/false self, obedience, and family obligations. There is a lot to unpack in Section 93’s few pages. In our religious observances, it is common to ponder over the question of God’s existence. It would seem that the most powerful experience we could have in this life would be to actually see and physically converse with God face-to-face. But is this really so? Consider the many theophanies documented in the scriptures. The rapturous and celestial event fades away and the person is left again to its own devices, weaknesses, and reality. While the memory of the event may remain, the day-to-day struggles impact the same after as before the divine manifestation. Individual nature is not forever changed by these angelic or divine manifestations. So, is seeing the face of God really such a long-lasting and transformative experience? What types of experiences are long-lasting and transformative? The 6th Beatitude tells us that the pure in heart will see the face of God, yet there are still Beatitudes beyond God’s appearance to experience. Are there possibly metaphorical ways that we can experience and see the face of God that is more transformative than a direct heavenly visitation?

Episode 64: D&C 89 - 92

Ben Petersen — Tue, 17 Aug 2021 19:14:02 +0000

Ben and Shiloh talk about the Word of Wisdom and in how we create our modes of worship. The Word of Wisdom is a fascinating conversation, but it is often criticized because of its seeming inconsistencies. The Word of Wisdom has evolved and has been through various revisions, interpretations, and levels of enforcement, and this has sometimes caused a lack of belief in its importance or its power. However, when we understand the Word of Wisdom by means of creating religious modality, we can also create space for historical changes and nuance while also strengthening our choice to adhere to the Word of Wisdom. Any seeming incongruity or inconsistency in our modes of worship need not necessarily derail or detract us from finding deep meaning and purpose in those modes that we experience God through.

Episode 63: D&C 88

Ben Petersen — Wed, 11 Aug 2021 15:34:53 +0000

Shiloh and Ben talk about the law and light of Christ. We often think of “law” as a list of rules and standards, but does D&C 88 offer us a new insight into the nature of God’s law that isn’t commonly addressed? In what possible ways does understanding that the “light of Christ”—which is in and through all things”—is the law by which all things are governed” change the way that we view the law? Here in D&C 88 we also have a rather rare short description of the nature of God that describes God’s omniscience, omnipresence, and a type of panentheism that we don’t commonly equate to an embodied God. Is it possible that the parable in D&C 88 also offers a glimpse into a universalist understanding of God where the various “degrees of light” often metaphysically equated to the three degrees of glory has more to do with our perception of those glories than of the metaphysical nature of those glories?

Episode 62: D&C 85-87

Ben Petersen — Tue, 03 Aug 2021 13:35:48 +0000

Ben and Shiloh discuss the parable of the wheat and the tares as found in Matthew 13 and D&C 86. A common interpretation of this parable is that the “wheat” and the “tares” are people, and in this interpretation, we typically include ourselves as wheat and those who we disagree with or who are not living our standards as tares. However, is this really the point of the parable? How often do our interpretations and assumptions of scripture serve to unnecessarily “otherize” us from our brothers and sisters? What if the point of this parable was not to “otherize” but to show how God leads, guides, and builds each of his children with compassion, patience, and watchful care? How can we learn from this parable of the universal and unconditional love of God that leads his children out of sin not through guilt, shame, or punishment but through charity, reconciliation, and unity? What would that even look like?

Episode 61: D&C 84

Ben Petersen — Mon, 26 Jul 2021 12:40:35 +0000

Shiloh and Ben talk about the many ascension themes on priesthood found in Section 84 and compare these themes to Section 76. Whether discussing priesthood, the kingdoms of glory, the Beatitudes, or temple ordinances, the theme of ascension plays a prominent and central role in scripture and in our religious experiences. But what is this “ascension” talking about? Is it only or mostly metaphysical? That certainly seems to be the way that we discuss these themes when they appear. However, what could be gained and seen if we look at these themes in terms of epistemology? What if, metaphysically speaking, we were always already worthy and that repentance and our construct of “worthiness” was a matter of our perception and worldview? What if our construct and idea of “sin” was far more epistemic than metaphysic? What would that look like? Would it necessarily tail-spin our theology into hopeless relativity or “eat drink and be merry” hedonism? Does the way we perceive reality have more to do with our behavior than what reality is itself?

Episode 60: D&C 81-83

Ben Petersen — Mon, 19 Jul 2021 08:25:36 +0000

Ben and Shiloh talk about the love, mercy, and compassion of God in our weakness. How often do we find ourselves believing that disappointment, pain, struggle, or sadness are because of our sin and wickedness and that if we were just more righteous then we would be happy, joyful, and always feel like rejoicing? How often in our weakness, self-accusation, and trauma do we imagine a God that is various shades of disappointed in us or that is disinterested in our pain and struggles because we deserve the consequences for our actions? What if pain, struggling, sadness, etc., were not merely the consequences of sin and wickedness, and what if the idea of a disappointed and apathetic God was not God’s nature at all? What would change in our behavior if we knew that we were always already completely, fully, and unconditionally loved by God and that what was needed was merely for us to recognize, believe, and experience this love uniquely in our own lives? What if we don’t have to bind God down to bless us, but what if God is naturally and hyper-actively vigilant in creating that which is good in our lives at all times and places? What if we didn’t have to use covenants to hold God’s feet to the fire to bless us in ways that God wouldn’t bless us otherwise, but what if covenants were merely modalities (read: ways and means) by which we can overcome our own fear, distrust, and unbelief in God’s already hyper-active work in our own lives?

Episode 59 - D&C 77-80

Ben Petersen — Tue, 13 Jul 2021 11:48:20 +0000

Shiloh and Ben discuss revelation. What is it? How did Joseph report receiving it? What is it like in our own lives? How we view revelation also influences how we view and experience the scriptures. It has been said that the scriptures are always true, and sometimes the scriptures are even historical. What does this mean? Is the truthfulness of scripture primarily held in their historical literalness, or is there a way to view scripture that makes them even more true for reasons beyond whether the stories literally happened as they are told? How scripture is made is a history in itself as we learn discussing the history of the “United Order/Firm.”

Episode 58: D&C 76

Ben Petersen — Wed, 07 Jul 2021 15:36:37 +0000

Ben and Christopher undertake a discussion of section 76, known as “The Vision”. The content and implications of this section can be intimidating. D&C 76 delves into the narrative of life after death and the concept of the degrees of glory. They discuss various ways we can understand and contextualize this doctrine. Is this a strictly metaphysical reality that we will experience after death? Or is there something to be said for an eternal-now epistemic experience as it relates to varying degrees of glory? What does this vision tell us about the nature of salvation and our destiny as children of a supremely loving God?

Episode 57: D&C 71-75

Ben Petersen — Wed, 30 Jun 2021 09:17:37 +0000

Shiloh and Ben open up a discussion about the scriptural-based idea of “shame” and what it means to “speak our trauma.” The Lord commands the early Saints to “confound your enemies” privately and publicly, and through our faithfulness our enemies’ shame will be demonstrated and “made manifest” (D&C 71:7). There are many things to unpack from this verse alone in how the Lord posits “enemies” and “shame,” but is this verse as simple as it sounds? There are many assumptions that we make in our interpretations that are unwittingly culturally informed. Through modern scholarship, we can see another way that we do this in how we approach the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible. Was Joseph’s “translation” an actual translation? Did Joseph borrow from modern sources? Was it a combination of both?

Episode 56: D&C 67-70

Ben Petersen — Wed, 23 Jun 2021 08:09:40 +0000

Ben and Shiloh discuss how God pours through the pages of modern revelation even while sometimes awkwardly through the voice of those who receive and dictate the revelation. During this time in Church history, Joseph Smith and others had been compiling the revelations together to print them in the Book of Commandments. As the time approached to write the preface for the Book of Commandments, there was some disagreement among the early leaders of the Church as to who should write it. A few brethren did not like the language Joseph used. These brethren were then challenged to write a preface and revelation of their own that they thought surpassed Joseph. It didn’t go well, and Joseph’s preface stood (see our first podcast of the year—Episode 32—for more insights into the subtle intricacies of Section 1: The Preface and in what it means for the Book of Commandments). While much of Joseph’s own vernacular, idioms, and popular phrases entered into much of the early revelations, and while we see much in the Doctrine and Covenants (as well as scripture in general) of how the Lord spoke directly to the needs of the early Saints in their own time and understanding (which is quite different than our own), it is up to us to glean and interpret what God’s meaning is for us today through these scriptures by the companionship and voice of the Holy Spirit.

Episode 55: D&C 64-66

Ben Petersen — Wed, 16 Jun 2021 16:50:03 +0000

Shiloh and Ben have a discussion concerning the assumptions underlying the principle of forgiveness. What is forgiveness? What assumptions does the false-self make that forgiveness releases us from in manifesting and recognizing the true-self? At least in part, forgiveness is the giving over and releasing of the feelings of anger, resentment, or judgment caused by trauma that we perceive has been inflicted upon us by another. But what does this say to God’s forgiveness? Do we inflict trauma upon God? Or is God’s forgiveness something else entirely? If it is something else entirely, then is there something for us to learn and to expand in how we perceive and utilize forgiveness in our own lives? We often think that we have offended God and that God forgives us for this offense, but to think that God is offended in the same way that we are and forgives for the same reasons that we do causes many complications. Yet, underlying the way we generally speak of God is an implicit perception of an angry, wrathful, and vengeful God that comes against us for our sins, and that we satiate God’s wrath and destruction (e.g., “the burning” as talked about in D&C 64:24) through our obedience that qualifies us for His love. Is this really, however, the best way to understand these scriptures? Is this really what God is trying to communicate with these verses?

Episode 54: D&C 63

Ben Petersen — Thu, 10 Jun 2021 11:38:41 +0000

Ben and Shiloh open up a discussion on Section 63. The early Saints “in these infant days of the Church” sought for the word and direction of God for every particular thing. They sought for temporal answers for how to build Zion and the Lord responds with spiritual direction.

Episode 53: D&C 60 - 62

Ben Petersen — Tue, 01 Jun 2021 06:23:47 +0000

Shiloh joins with guest co-host Christopher Hurtado to discuss and question the nature of God. Is God as wrathful, vengeful, and angry as the scriptures say that God is? Why is God angry with and ready to destroy people in one area for one type of sin but seemingly more lax or merciful with others committing far more grievous errors? We know that we are only responsible for the truth and commandments that we know, but does this really explain the complexities of a God that is still so seemingly inconsistent? Is there room in these scriptures for us to learn to see God differently? Is there enough space for us to consider that perhaps God’s wrath, vengeance, and anger have more to do with our own perception(s) about God than it actually has to do with God’s true and eternal nature? Is God as transactional and as quid pro quo as scripture often makes God seem, or is God’s transactional nature more about a projection of the way that we already view ourselves? What do our views of God tell us about ourselves? Rather than seeing and experiencing a purely transactional God, what if we see and experience a universally transformational and unconditionally loving God that is not wrathful, vengeful, and angry in the way that we generally attribute to God in scripture, then what does that say about how we also are learning to see ourselves?

Episode 52: D&C 58 - 59

Ben Petersen — Wed, 26 May 2021 09:30:31 +0000

Guest co-host Christopher Hurtado fills in for Ben and talks with Shiloh about meaning and identity. It is prior to and through suffering and sacrifice narratives—”For after much tribulation”—that we create meaning of traumatic experiences that form the strongest aspects of our identities. In August of 1831, the early Saints were still learning what their new identity was and what it means to belong to “Church of Christ” (the formal name of the church that we know today—the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—wasn’t revealed until 1838). God reveals the first foundational principles of the Saints’ relationship with secular government, and it varies from known axioms of political philosophy. From D&C 58 we learn that the Saints were to be “subject to the powers that be” not out of any civic obligation or matter social utility but because God had commanded. This conversation has an old and deep intellectual history in Augustine’s City of God and City of Man distinctions that would later be addressed by Aquinas and Luther/Calvin. What does it mean that “God is offended”? Can God really be “offended” as we experience offense? Elder Bednar has said that being offended is a choice, so does God choose to be offended or is there something of about D&C 59:21 that calls for greater clarification?

Episode 51: D&C 51 - 57

Ben Petersen — Tue, 18 May 2021 13:17:40 +0000

Christopher Hurtado joins Ben again this time in a discussion of D&C sections 51-57. The Saints of New York were commanded to move to Ohio and settle on the land of Leman Copley. Leman promised to consecrate the land to the church but later returned to the Shakers and revoked his promise. The Saints were commanded to leave rather than contend for the land. What identities of ours are tied to membership in the church? How do those identities affect our relationships with others? How does this relate to the principle of consecration as the early saints experienced it versus how we may experience it now? What role do ordinances play in our religious experience? How can we develop individually and uniquely in our relationship with God while maintaining the order of the collective modes provided by the church? When the Lord commands the Saints to go to Missouri and settle on the border, what might this mean for the cause of Zion and the purpose of the restoration?

Episode 50: D&C 49-50

Ben Petersen — Fri, 14 May 2021 05:52:41 +0000

Guest co-host Christopher Hurtado joins Ben in a discussion of D&C Sections 49 and 50. Ben and Christopher discuss how our view of the Doctrine and Covenants as scripture can be informed by historical context and why it is helpful to do so. Leman Copley left the “United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing”, otherwise known as the Shakers, to join with the Saints. What was it about the beliefs of the Shakers that warranted a special revelation? What is the role of marriage in our faith and how does our conception of Adam and Eve inform our overall view of our relationship with God? Christopher comments on the eating of meat and how we might view equality as God intends us to. We can look to other religious traditions for truth. How might new “scripture” come about and how can we be open to receive it? The preaching of the gospel can only be done when accompanied by the Spirit of Truth, otherwise it is not of God.

Episode 49: D&C 46-48

Ben Petersen — Wed, 05 May 2021 07:13:04 +0000

Shiloh and Ben continue their discussion on how these new revelations in the early days of the Church established the new Latter-day Saint identity. These revelations gave function and form to the lived religious experience of these early Saints who lived on the frontier. Whereas the Saints could already find passages of scripture concerning the gifts of the Spirit in the Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12, the Lord brings these back to the minds and memories of the Saints. At least in part, the Saints are reminded of these gifts to focus their minds and hearts onto God. They are reminded to not seek for signs (because there is nothing transformational about a sign), but to “always remember, and always retain in your minds what those gifts are, that re given unto the church” (D&C 46:10). The “restoration” of the gospel is also a “repentance” process insomuch that God is restoring–as he has always done–the knowledge of himself. God consistently asks us to see him differently, to see ourselves differently, and to see each other the way that he sees us. To train the mind and heart away from the things of the world (where our ideas of God are typically created) and onto the things of God (that run counter the worldly ideas of God), he pleads with us ask of him and talk with him liberally, to walk in holiness of heart, to walk uprightly, to consider our salvation, and to give thanks (D&C 46:7). In short, God asks us to focus on the good for our own sake, and he has provided us many means to do this thing for our own benefit and joy.

Episode 48: D&C 45

Ben Petersen — Wed, 28 Apr 2021 09:38:34 +0000

Ben and Shiloh talk about the goodness and universal love of God. Although we often read and think that Christ is our advocate “to” the Father (as if the Father is the punisher and is either undecided or his hands are tied against us, and Christ is trying to change his mind), the scriptures are consistent that Christ is our advocate “with” the Father. Satan (meaning “adversary” and “accuser” — as if in a type of courtroom setting as the prosecuting attorney) stands against us to tell us that we are unworthy, unclean, and unforgiven from our sins. The choice is ours to whom we look to, listen to, and believe: Christ (and the Father) or Satan. If reasoning is what we need, Christ promises us that he will reason with us. Christ will manifest himself coming “in the clouds of heaven,” and he will come “clothed with power and great glory.” How many times have we, like the ancient Israelites and the Jaredites, followed the promptings from a God into the “wilderness” of our lives that we didn’t fully understand, comprehend, or grasp (like trying to mold or form a cloud)? When we think of God coming in his “glory,” do we think in terms of how it is described in Alma: “full of grace, equity, and truth, full of patience, mercy, and long-suffering, quick to hear the cries of his people, and to answer their prayers” (Alma 9:26)?

Episode 47: D&C 41-44

Ben Petersen — Mon, 19 Apr 2021 12:47:36 +0000

Shiloh and Ben talk about the growing pains of the early Church. Imagine while you’re reading the D&C through this time that the revelations you’re reading are all that these men knew about what this new church is, how it is organized, what its purposes are, and what its goals are. We often forget to contextualize these early church leaders in their proper space of experience. We have the vantage point of knowing when, where, and how their story unfolded, but as they were living these moments they lived having hope for a future that was completely undefined. The “restoration” was completely undefined, and even Joseph was consistently learning, step-by-step, what that meant. Once the Saints were in Ohio by the first of 1831, there appeared moments where new regulations needed to be set. In Section 42, we can gain some understanding of what pressures Joseph was up against against as commandments to not kill, steal, lie, or commit adultery were repeated twice. In all of their doings, they were all learning to see God in a new and wondrous way from what they had ever known, and we continually see how “restoration” and “repentance” are so closely related and often synonymous with each other.

Episode 46: D&C 37 - 40

Ben Petersen — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 06:12:19 +0000

Ben and Shiloh discuss the context of the early Saints being called to “the Ohio” in December of 1830. Barely 9 months old, the Lord commanded Joseph and the fledgling church to leave its home in New York and relocate to Kirtland. With so many farms going on the market and so quickly, the members knew that they would take severe losses on their farms — which many did. Some refused to go. Yet the Lord promised those who went that a “land of promise” had been “prepared” for them where “I hold forth and deign to give unto you greater riches, even a land of promise, a land flowing with milk and honey…” (D&C 38:18). In retrospect, “greater riches” and “a land flowing with milk and honey” likely had at least a double meaning to the mind of the Lord than what the Saints imagined. But why not just spell it out plainly for the Saints? Was it their own unfaithfulness that failed to produce the “riches” or the flowing “milk and honey”? The Lord knew the beginning from the end, so how does this language convince them and give them the fortitude to act and have faith? The text helps us resolve some of these questions and causes us to ask others in this week’s episode.

Episode 45: D&C 30-36

Ben Petersen — Wed, 07 Apr 2021 11:58:39 +0000

Shiloh and Ben discuss these revelations given to specific men in the first year of the Church’s existence in the latter-days. There are noticeable patterns in each revelation that we can use to understand a general sense and sentiment that these men were having at this time. Many of these men are called on missions to “the Lamanites” (the Native Americans in Missouri), to bring them the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and the message of the Book of Mormon. The Lord consistently says that “the field is white already to harvest,” thus showing that God had already been engaged in His own work–tilling, fertilizing, planting, irrigating, etc.–the fields long, long before these men were invited to join in the harvest. We are invited to join the Lord in His own work.

Episode 44: D&C 29

Ben Petersen — Wed, 24 Mar 2021 09:29:25 +0000

Ben and Shiloh explore the theme the millenarianism in the early church. Apocalyptic language and literature are highly symbolic and rarely, if ever, to be taken literally. Prior to the imagery of apocalypticism, the Lord gracious informs us that He is our “advocate with the Father” (D&C 29:5, emphasis added), thereby informing us their common intentions, goals, and purpose for our benefit. Jesus Christ will come in his “power and great glory,” and we pause to reflect again on Alma 9:24 that offers evidence to what that “glory” entails: grace, equity, truth, patience, mercy, long-suffering, and quick to hear the cries of his people. Are the images of destruction really as we have deemed? Or is there room for us to see God and His purposes differently (i.e., repent) in the last days? Maybe God is eventually as violent as we have always thought He is… But, then again… Maybe not.

Episode 43: D&C 27-28

Ben Petersen — Tue, 16 Mar 2021 10:20:25 +0000

Shiloh and Ben talk about the early days just after the Church was organized. There were many new nuances and things to consider in building the Church and moving it forward, and with each new experience there were new inquiries asked of God in how to deal with these things. It is of interest that God tells us that it is not important what we use for the sacrament, only so long as we “do it with an eye single to [His] glory — remembering unto the Father my body which was laid down for you, and my blood which was shed for the remission of your sins” (D&C 27:2). However, then the Lord spends the next two verses talking about what kind of wine to use and not use for the sacrament. Could it be that there is something more to this story? Could there be another meaning that the Lord is communicating? Is there a comparison to be made here to Christ’s New Testament command to not put “new wine” into “old bottles”? The restored gospel of Christ is about bringing new experiences to an old world. How are we experiencing the restored gospel of peace in our own lives today?

Episode 42: D&C 23-26

Ben Petersen — Tue, 09 Mar 2021 12:20:19 +0000

Ben and Shiloh discuss multiple sections that were given soon after the organization of the Church in 1830. There is a strong emphasis that the Lord gives throughout the Doctrine and Covenants that this is His work and that He invites us to be involved in His work. There is another prevalent theme throughout the text of Joseph and his companions seeking assurance of their place and good standing before God, and the reassurance is always forthcoming. It is like that for all of us at many times in our own lives. We seek divine assurance that our path, our pain, and our joy are seen by the God that gave us life. There are many times that this assurance seems delayed or withheld, but God is always there — even and especially when we feel alone or abandoned. This is not always easy to reason or conceive how a loving God would allow us to feel alone when He is right there with us, but there is a certain beauty in our learning process. The Lord is always there supporting us through all things.

Episode 41: D&C 20 - 22

Ben Petersen — Tue, 02 Mar 2021 09:55:18 +0000

Shiloh and Ben talk about the “Articles and Covenants” of Section 20. The Church was finally established, and the first 6 members had joined. While many structural changes within D&C 20 remain today, there were many structural changes to the Church in the ensuing years. Between the years of 1830 – 1838, the name of the Church changed several times (at least 6). The final name (as it appears in D&C 115:4) — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — was revealed by the Lord in April, 1838. President Nelson has recently stated that the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ is an ongoing endeavor, and there will yet be many changes. While “there is a God in heaven, who is infinite and eternal, from everlasting to everlasting the same unchangeable God” (D&C 20:17), He does speak to us in our “weakness, after the manner of [our] language” (D&C 1:24). Over time, our ideas also evolve, and we gain more light, knowledge, and truth as time progresses. Through D&C 20’s use of “justification,” “sanctification,” and “grace,” we are able to have a more comprehensive understanding of God’s eternal nature.

Episode 40: D&C 18-19

Ben Petersen — Tue, 23 Feb 2021 11:15:08 +0000

Ben and Shiloh talk about the revelations given to Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer in Section 18 and to Martin Harris in Section 19. The tones are very different in each of these sections, and it is of interest to pay attention to these shifts in how the Lord is speaking to them. Repentance is a primary theme of the Restoration. We tend to talk about repentance as a process of how to obtain divine forgiveness after committing sin, but is there more to it than that? Is God simply telling the world that it is sinful and that people need to obtain divine forgiveness? While this narrative is undoubtedly a part of that, there is a lot to repentance that we miss that limits us from seeing the joyous magnitude of the Restoration really was and still is. Repentance, in the LDS Bible Dictionary, is primarily defined as “a change of mind, a fresh view about God, about oneself, and about the world.” The message of repentance throughout the D&C and the Restoration narratives has far more to do with learning to see God, ourselves, and the world differently and with a fresh few and a change of mind than anything else. God is revealing Himself in new and wondrous ways, and He is inviting us to experience that new way of being with us.

Episode 39: D&C 14 - 17

Ben Petersen — Tue, 16 Feb 2021 09:31:38 +0000

Shiloh and Ben discuss the Sections in D&C that are directed towards the Whitmers. These Sections, while short, hold a key to understanding the power of asking questions. The questions we ask are highly indicative of the understanding that we possess of how and what we perceive we need. The Lord speaks to us in our language and understanding, and He also answers our questions accordingly. He reveals unto us “line upon line, and precept upon precept,” and we receive that in which are willing and capable of receiving. Notice the different questions that the Whitmers ask and the different answers that they receive. One asks to know his “individual duty,” while the others asked “to know that which would be of the most worth.” In both answers, the Lord is kind, patient, loving, compassionate, and full of grace. What sometimes looks like “template revelations” (i.e., seemingly copy-and-paste revelations) really speaks to the general understanding of these men in their socio-religious environments in their relationship to God. What message did God see that this generation needed to know about the restoration of the gospel to give these similar revelations? Sometimes we assume too much of what these men and women possibly understood individual and as a whole, but if we slow down to reflect on why each verse was given we are not only able to see these men and women more clearly and humbly but the love and grace of God also stand out in the forefront of each revelation.

Episode 38: D&C 12-13; JS-H 1:66-75

Ben Petersen — Tue, 09 Feb 2021 11:41:45 +0000

Ben and Shiloh open up an anticipated discussion of John the Baptist’s appearance to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. As Moroni’s thematic message to Joseph set the narrative and stage for what the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (as was discussed in Episode 34), John the Baptist was the forerunner of Jesus Christ who prepared the minds and hearts of the people to receive him. John the Baptist’s message, especially as contained in Luke 3, is often underutilized in understanding the radical shift the people required to recognizing the true Messiah. Until this time, the people had been expecting a violent, militaristic, and forceful leader to deliver them from their physical captors — the Romans — and to lead them to prosperity and prominence as a great national leader as a new King David. The Messiah that the Jews found in Jesus Christ was nothing at all like what their society anticipated, and the Messiah who will come again will not be anything at all like our own society anticipates. Christ’s forerunner has returned, and it is important for us to begin to ponder what this means. Oliver Cowdery, it very much seems, was able to taste the essence of what this means as expressed by his written testimony at the end of Joseph Smith – History.

Episode 37: D&C 10 - 11

Ben Petersen — Tue, 02 Feb 2021 07:44:00 +0000

Shiloh and Ben open up a discussion to consider God’s perennial nature and work. This discussion starts in an unlikely place by talking about the archetype of Satan. Section 10 contains more references to “Satan” than almost any other, and there is a lot to learn about ourselves through this archetypal recognition. Whereas Christ is our anointed advocate with the Father, Satan is “The Accuser” that interacts with and justifies the perceived existence of the “false self.” In these verses we see a beautiful revelation of God helping us identify and deal with the accusing voice within each of us that we feed, nurture, and cherish. It is this accusing voice that most commonly motivates our feeling to justify our opinions, put others in their place, and tells us that our worthiness/unworthiness has any conditional power over God’s love, compassion, and grace. Consider the point of view of Joseph Smith’s persecutors and those who had taken the 116-page manuscript. Surely they believed and felt their actions were motivated from a sense of justice in ridding the world of a charlatan, a fraud, a cheater, and a liar, and certainly they saw no problems in entrapping Joseph in his seeming dishonesty. Today, our society and culture completely accepts the same use and tactic of Joseph’s old persecutors in justifying lying-to-a-liar in our own “justice system” to catch supposed cheats, fraudsters, and criminals in the act. The Accuser teaches us to “Deceive and lie in wait to catch, that ye may destroy [evil from among you],” and that “it is no sin to lie that they may catch a man in a lie, that they may destroy him” (D&C 10:25). But our advocate with the Father has a different message. He tells us that the Accuser–the very founding and archetypal voice of civilization itself– cannot destroy or thwart His work (D&C 10:43), that He comes with good news “that there may not be so much contention” (D&C 10:63), that He is sent to gather in to protect (D&C 10:65), and that anyone who is willing to come and see Him differently than all the world has argued Him to be is already His church (D&C 10:67).

Episode 36: D&C 6-9

Ben Petersen — Mon, 25 Jan 2021 14:56:10 +0000

Ben and Shiloh review the sections that speak primarily to and about Oliver Cowdery. Oliver has a rich history before and after coming into the LDS narrative as a scribe to Joseph in penning the Book of Mormon. In these sections we find an incredibly supportive, compassionate, and encouraging God that is patient, merciful, and forgiving. God speaks to His children not just through their own language but according to the context of their cultural, religious, and personal understandings. Both Joseph and Oliver were (or had been) engrossed in what we would see today as a “magical” worldview of experiencing God where imbuing random objects with divine power (e.g., stones, handkerchiefs, walking sticks, etc.) were not abnormal. Whereas Joseph had found a rock while digging a well that he used as a “seer stone” to assist in translation of the Book of Mormon, Oliver had had previous successful experiences before meeting Joseph in dousing (i.e., “witching”) with a stick. God does not reject these abilities and worldviews that were commonly understood and known to Joseph and Oliver, but, rather, He incorporates their worldview and focuses their own interests and talents on His own purposes. How does God do the same for us today? God encourages Oliver’s endeavors and gives him what was originally called the “gift of the rod” (as written in the 1833 Book of Commandments) but that was later recorded in subsequent publications of Section 8 as the “gift of Aaron” after 1835. God also blesses Oliver with many revelatory moments, and we learn much of how to recognize God’s love and promptings for our lives through Oliver’s experiences.

Episode 35: D&C 3-5

Ben Petersen — Mon, 18 Jan 2021 10:29:31 +0000

Shiloh and Ben open up a discussion about Martin Harris and the lost 116 pages of the Book of Mormon. There is so much to grasp of the grace and mercy of God throughout these three sections of scripture, and we often sidestep these conversations because they threaten the worldview of our ego-based false selves. Scripture is a beautiful thing, for it is the record of when mankind and God touch. Within the scriptural record we see God pouring through cracks of men’s foibles to reveal Himself again and again between the erroneous narratives of the false self. On each page of scripture we find both a documented account of the true and false selves in how they relate to and see God. Sections 3-5 reveal much of this tug-of-war between the true and false selves in how they see God. Once we begin to recognize the tension expressed in scripture between what God is revealing of what we really are (as created in God’s image) and what the world is propagating us to believe of what really are (as created “after the image of [our] own god” (D&C 1:16)), the depths of Joseph’s and Martin’s darkness at the loss of the 116 pages and of God’s reassuring grace and mercy begin to take on completely new meanings.

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Podcast edited by Kyle Swingle and Catherine Hamilton.

Episode 34: D&C 2; Joseph Smith - History 1:27-65

Ben Petersen — Tue, 12 Jan 2021 13:03:17 +0000

Ben and Shiloh talk about the entrance of “the mentor” in Joseph Smith’s journey through the angelic messenger Moroni. Last week was Joseph’s “call to adventure,” and the entrance of Joseph’s mentor sets both the theme and the stage for the entire restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the modern world. In our telling of this story we typically focus on three points: (1) Moroni’s multiple appearances to Joseph on the night of September 21, 1823, and one appearance the next day, (2) that Moroni said Joseph’s name would be for good and bad among all nations, and (3) that Joseph was shown in vision where the plates were buried upon the Hill Cumorah. What we commonly neglect is the main body of Moroni’s actual message to Joseph in quoting from four distinct passages of scripture and of what those scriptures are and mean. It is through these scriptures where Moroni reveals the power and need for the restoration. Through Malachi we discover that the power and authority of God are coming to heal the family of God on earth; through Isaiah we gain confidence that Zion will be established where violence will cease to exist and where all nature will be redeemed; Acts informs us that a new Moses is coming in Jesus Christ who will bring His doctrine (which doctrine is the Sermon on the Mount); and Joel’s prophecy makes us aware that signs and wonders will happen beyond our comprehension, yet we have no reason to fear for the Lord will deliver all who call upon His name. Truly, these are grand purposes and a glorious theme for the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ!

Episode 33: Joseph Smith History 1:1-26

Ben Petersen — Tue, 05 Jan 2021 10:46:38 +0000

Shiloh and Ben open up a discussion about Joseph Smith’s First Vision and his “call to adventure.” Joseph lived in a day when there were arguments abounding over what was true and correct doctrine. People of all faiths around him seemed to exhibit “great love” and “zeal” at “the time of their conversion.” But whatever form or façade of conversion and love that existed soon digressed, and it became evident to Joseph that God is not discovered through argument and scriptural apologetics. Joseph had no context for how to gain more light and truth, but he realized that “the teachers of religion of the different sects understood the same passages of scripture so differently as to destroy all confidence in settling the question by an appeal to the Bible” (JS-H 1:12). The Spirit worked within Joseph, and Joseph experienced a type of contemplative lectio divina with God (i.e., “Never did any passage of scripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did at this time to mine. It seemed to enter with great force into every feeling of my heart. I reflected on it again and again.”). The First Vision was more than the imparting of truth through argument, reason, rational, and an appeal to the text. Through the First Vision account we begin to see what God truly has in store for us: To know truth by experience with Him. Whereas the world clamors to define and defend God through whatever perceived and appropriate methods of belief, argument, and dogma, the First Vision teaches us that truth is far, far more powerful and known through divine experience. As Joseph states, “For I had seen a vision; I knew it, and I knew that God knew it, and I could not deny it” (JS-H 1:25).

Episode 32: Doctrine and Covenants 1

Ben Petersen — Mon, 28 Dec 2020 11:33:28 +0000

Ben and Shiloh are excited to get back into the Come, Follow Me discussion as the new year rolls around in talking about Church history and the Doctrine and Covenants. Whereas the Book of Mormon was written as a basic chronological narrative, the revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants are not written and compiled in narrative form. This requires a separate historical conversation to contextualize each Section of the Doctrine and Covenants to really help us understand what is meant and being revealed to the early Saints in their time and place. As a Church, we have a fascinating and exciting opportunity every four years to study — in a modern context — how the Lord brings about a religious movement. We get to see and become a part of the birth of a restored religion. In no small part, we get to see how it is that we record the history of our modern progenitors and how that impacts our daily identities. How we tell the stories of the restored gospel follows the same patterns of the greatest epics of human literature, as we engage and find identity in our own “Hero’s Journey.” Section 1 — as the Lord’s 1831 preface to the Doctrine and Covenants — is a magnificent evidence of the Doctrine and Covenants’ divine authenticity, as it follows the same ancient patterns of Middle Eastern covenant/treaty making as written in 1831 that were not discovered by scholars of the Middle East until the 1950s. Through the next year, we will begin to see how much of Joseph’s personality and fingerprint made it onto the revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants (e.g., Section 67), as this will lead us into a broader discussion as to how the Lord reveals His will through His prophets. The Lord speaks to us in our language, our learning, and our weaknesses, and the Lord realizes that “every man walketh in his own way, and after the image of his own god.” Yet, even then, the Lord still comes to us and helps us repent in learning to see Him, ourselves, and each other differently.

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Show Notes:

Discovering the Old Testament Podcast, by Dr. Sheldon Greaves: Episode 8 — Abraham’s Covenant.

Episode 31: Moroni 10

Ben Petersen — Tue, 15 Dec 2020 09:50:04 +0000

Shiloh and Ben discuss Moroni 10 and finalize this year’s narrative in talking about the Book of Mormon. It is of interest that it seems that Moroni wants us to come with a heart of mercy to praying over the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. Why would this be important to Moroni? At least in part is appears that Moroni is helping us to have a certain experience with the divine and that he is using us coming to God to pray over the truthfulness of the record as the catalyst to that experience. There are many things to say about the gifts of the spirit and of God, and Moroni repeats the need for faith, hope, and charity. We get a little window to see into Moroni’s life and what he finds valuable through his repeated emphasis on seeking for and witnessing miracles. Moroni’s final message and plea is really the overall theme and purpose of the Book of Mormon: “Come unto Christ, and be perfected in Him.”

Episode 30: Moroni 7 - 9

Ben Petersen — Wed, 09 Dec 2020 14:22:48 +0000

Ben and Shiloh discuss Mormon's recorded sermon and his two epistles to Moroni. Throughout chapter 7, Mormon consistently uses Beatitude language in addressing the "peaceable followers of Christ." Faith, hope, and charity are invoked, as the Beatitudes also follow this same pattern. Chapter 8's discussion of child baptism almost seems a little out of place and strange to include at the very end of the Book of Mormon, but there is a lot of contextual evidence where this message fits in neatly and beautifully with the Book of Mormon narrative. Chapter 9 is an incredibly sad tale of how the Nephites and Lamanites treated each other, and we are left to wonder why Mormon would write about it to Moroni and why Moroni, in turn, would include it in the text. Why describe the scene of horror so intimately and vividly? These and many other questions are addressed in this week's episode. We look forward to your own thoughts as you listen.

Episode 29: Moroni 1 - 6

Ben Petersen — Tue, 01 Dec 2020 11:44:48 +0000

Shiloh and guest co-host Christopher Hurtado talk about Moroni's final last words. Moroni bids us "farewell" a few times, as each time he believes will be his last. There is much to consider concerning Moroni. The text offers us quite a bit of his personality and of his possible insecurities and obvious strengths. The Lord lightly chastises and liberates Moroni in Ether 12 from his worry and concern, as we see a change happen in Moroni's final message. Considering Moroni's plight and situation, having seen the ultimate destruction of his people, it is not an uncommon question to ask of ourselves what we would have included as our final witness of Jesus Christ had we seen and experienced the same thing. What did Moroni deem the most worthy messages in his final farewell? His reliance and testimony of Christ, the importance of the Holy Ghost, his love and appreciation for the Lord's servants and their calling, his focus on the promises and blessings of the sacrament, and of his focus on the association of the Saints. There is a certain level of sorrow and a greater level of appreciation that we can extend to Moroni who found importance in writing down certain aspects of the Gospel that he found important but that he would never get to experience again.