Name: Richard Bushman on the Difficult Parts of Joseph Smiths History @fairldsorg
Uploaded: 2026-09-25T08:17:00-05:00
Duration: 8 min 17 s
Description: Richard Bushman on the Difficult Parts of Joseph Smiths History

Richard Bushman on the Difficult Parts of Joseph Smiths History

FAIR 2026-09-25 | Richard Bushman on the Difficult Parts of Joseph Smiths History

Responding to Sexual Abuse Cases in the Mormon Church

FAIR - Faithful Answers, Informed Response 2024-06-26 | “Responding to Sexual Abuse Cases in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” [Rispondere ai casi di abusi sessuali ne La Chiesa di Gesù Cristo dei Santi degli Ultimi Giorni] by Jennifer Roach Lees, given at "FAIR Ritorna a Roma," part of the 2024 Europe FAIR Conference series.
fairlatterdaysaints.org/conference/ls-2024_europe/ls-2024_roma

Donate to FAIR: http://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/donate

Who is FAIR? - Trevor Holyoak

FAIR - Faithful Answers, Informed Response 2024-06-25 | There is so much information readily available for us to consume every day. Are we making sure it's correct information from good, responsible resources? Many aspects of gospel doctrine and church history are
taken out of context or shared incorrectly or with ill intentions. Unfortunately, individuals either don't know where to go for trustworthy answers that can give them all the resources, facts, and context they are missing or they don't question what they find online. Due to some of these factors, many testimonies are shaken and many choose to leave the church over them.
FAIR's mission is to help defend the gospel of Jesus Christ and His church as well as being available to provide faithful answers to your faithful questions!

Check out our website for more answers and info:
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Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Alma 13–16 – Autumn Dickson

FAIR - Faithful Answers, Informed Response 2024-06-24 | Foreordained

by Autumn Dickson

As we begin the chapters for this week, we find Alma preaching to the people regarding a variety of topics. One of these topics is how high priests are foreordained and sent to the earth to fulfill special callings.

Alma 13:3-4

3 And this is the manner after which they were ordained—being called and prepared from the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works; in the first place being left to choose good or evil; therefore they having chosen good, and exercising exceedingly great faith, are called with a holy calling, yea, with that holy calling which was prepared with, and according to, a preparatory redemption for such.

4 And thus they have been called to this holy calling on account of their faith, while others would reject the Spirit of God on account of the hardness of their hearts and blindness of their minds, while, if it had not been for this they might have had as great privilege as their brethren.

According to these verses, people are foreordained according to their faith and good works before they came here. Men and women were chosen and prepared to do specific things in their lives as dictated by their actions in the premortal existence. I think of all the men and women who are leading the church and building the kingdom in significant ways.

And I also thought about the fact that there are many of us who aren’t chosen as general church leaders. I think about those of us who have quieter callings. What does that say about us? I used to think it meant that I simply wasn’t good enough, that I hadn’t been strong enough to choose or that I didn’t have it within me to be one of these foreordained.

Interestingly enough, the second verse teaches us exactly what keeps someone from having the same great privileges as their brethren, namely a hard heart and blind mind. Let’s talk about those two things in the context of being foreordained.

A blind mind

What does a blind mind look like in the context of foreordination? When I think of blind, I obviously think of someone who can’t see. So we’re talking about not seeing this concept of foreordination clearly. I’m sure there are a million ways this can manifest, but there is one that I’m thinking of specifically and would like to talk about.

My husband, Conner, is the one who helped me see in relation to foreordination. I don’t think he ever meant to. I don’t think we’ve ever had a conversation about the doctrine of foreordination. However, observing him has brought about a dramatic shift in how I view callings in life.

Conner is not what I thought I would marry. I knew that I wanted to marry someone spiritual, but my view on what it meant to be “spiritual” was very narrow. I was naive, and I thought that being spiritual included long patterns of praying, reading scriptures, and pondering. Interestingly enough, these are all things I’m relatively good at. My sometimes-neurotic personality means that my family reads the scriptures, prays, and goes to church very regularly. Conner and I go to the temple. We have family home evening with all the prayers and songs, and all of the lists get checked off. In my young and limited world view, I believed that this list checking signaled spirituality, and I believed that these were habits that could be easy to anyone who simply chose to prioritize them.

Then I got to know Conner. He was chaotic and impulsive. If he’s holding still during a church meeting, it’s because I’m tickling his back or hand. He hardly remembers to eat, let alone daily worshiping tasks.

But the more I got to know Conner, the more I heard the Spirit whispering to me that there was something more to him that I couldn’t quite grasp. The Spirit would give me these moments where I could see him as the Lord saw him. I couldn’t describe it but I could feel that Lord was molding Conner into something specific, something very different than what I had pictured. And though I couldn’t reconcile it with my view of what spirituality was supposed to look like, I continued the relationship.

Now please don’t get me wrong. I obviously whole-heartedly believe in regular worshiping activities. I do believe we need to do everything to prioritize them because the Lord asked us to. But I also know now that all of these daily tasks don’t always completely equate with goodness and spirituality, and I know there are far more measures of spirituality to take into consideration. I also know that just because these tasks come easily to my personality, they aren’t easy for everyone. I have also learned that the Lord needed different personalities with different strengths and weaknesses in order to build His kingdom to the fullest extent.

And that is precisely what I mean by blindness of mind. For so long, I would read those verses and picture somber people who fit into this very specific archetype, and this extremely narro...

Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Alma 13–16 – Foreordained – Autumn Dickson

FAIR - Faithful Answers, Informed Response 2024-06-24 | "Foreordained" by Autumn Dickson
fairlatterdaysaints.org/blog/2024/06/24/come-follow-me-with-fair-alma-13-16-autumn-dickson
Donate to FAIR: http://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/donate

How has FAIR helped you?

FAIR - Faithful Answers, Informed Response 2024-06-23 | Did you know FAIR has a Facebook group specifically for missionaries? If you or a member, friend, investigator, etc ever have any questions and need more information, this group can help you out!
Join the group here:
FAIR Latter-day Saints for Missionaries
https://m.facebook.com/groups/1131899544004599/?ref=share&mibextid=NoJtEM

Donate to FAIR: http://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/donate

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COME FOLLOW ME MINUTE June 17-23 #comefollowmebookofmormon #comefollowmeforfamilies

FAIR - Faithful Answers, Informed Response 2024-06-21 | More at fairlatterdaysaints.org/blog/2024/06/15/come-follow-me-with-fair-alma-8-12-autumn-dickson

Donate to FAIR: http://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/donate

Who is FAIR? - Sarah Allen

FAIR - Faithful Answers, Informed Response 2024-06-20 | Did you know FAIR Latter-day Saints is a non-profit organization with a mission to defend the gospel of Jesus Christ and His church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as well as to answer faithful gospel questions?
We run off of donations as well as volunteers. Our volunteers typically have their own lives and do FAIR on the side. Our FAIR volunteers are students, parents, teachers, scholars, etc with jobs, callings, extracurriculars, outside commitments, and families, just like you!
With all of that in mind, we are always on the lookout for more volunteers to help us with our content, projects, research, and answering questions on our "FAIR list" that we have via email. If this sounds like something you might be interested in feel free to fill out our application! You can find the application on our website at FAIRlatterdaysaints.org under the "Get Involved" tab (also found in our bio/linktree)
fairlatterdaysaints.org/get-involved
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Marvin Perkins Explains Curses

FAIR - Faithful Answers, Informed Response 2024-06-17 | Full video: youtu.be/TLi8PBIb8us?si=9ldYXFGyPC-HSQCS

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COME FOLLOW ME MINUTE June 10-16 #comefollowmebookofmormon #comefollowmeforfamilies

FAIR - Faithful Answers, Informed Response 2024-06-15 | More at fairlatterdaysaints.org/blog/2024/05/25/come-follow-me-with-fair-mosiah-25-28-autumn-dickson

Donate to FAIR: http://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/donate

Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Alma 8–12 – Revelation for Alma – Autumn Dickson

FAIR - Faithful Answers, Informed Response 2024-06-15 | "Revelation for Alma" by Autumn Dickson
fairlatterdaysaints.org/blog/2024/06/15/come-follow-me-with-fair-alma-8-12-autumn-dickson
Donate to FAIR: http://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/donate

Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Alma 8–12 – Autumn Dickson

FAIR - Faithful Answers, Informed Response 2024-06-15 | Revelation for Alma

by Autumn Dickson

In the chapters for this week, we read about Alma and Amulek attempting to convert the hard-hearted people of Ammonihah. In the beginning, we observe Alma as he originally goes into the city to preach to the people. They spit on him and revile him, and he leaves the city with much sorrow. As he is journeying, an angel comes and uplifts him and shares this message.

Alma 8:16 And behold, I am sent to command thee that thou return to the city of Ammonihah, and preach again unto the people of the city; yea, preach unto them. Yea, say unto them, except they repent the Lord God will destroy them.

Alma takes this message and hurries right back to the city to try again.

Now why was this the order of things? Why did Alma leave and come back? The angel could have easily delivered his message before Alma left, comforting him and encouraging him to continue on his work. Is there a reason for it or is it simply a detail of how the story unfolded that doesn’t matter?

Maybe it didn’t really matter, and that’s totally fine. Maybe Amulek needed an extra day of heart-preparation before he was ready for the angel to come and talk to him and prepare him to receive Alma. Maybe Alma needed some time to grieve before the angel came in and encouraged him. And once again, maybe it didn’t really matter.

There isn’t really an answer, so why is it important? I believe it’s important because despite whether there’s a reason for this turn of events or not, it can teach us about the process of revelation in our own lives. It can help us have the faith we need to do two things: grow in the way the Lord would have us grow and trust that revelation will come as needed.

Understanding the purposes of the Lord

I believe that in order to understand why and how revelation comes to us, we have to understand the reasoning of the Lord. What is He truly trying to accomplish with us? I think sometimes it’s easy to believe that the Lord is just trying to keep us on a perfect path with as little interference as possible, and even if we don’t believe that consciously, we often act like that’s His entire purpose. Surely, He wants us to follow Him, but His true purpose isn’t avoiding missteps; His true purpose is our growth, and that is essential to understand (even in the context of revelation).

For example, we often become paralyzed as we’re trying to make decisions about what to do in our lives because we don’t want to misstep. We really, really, really want to do what the Lord would have us do and so we wait and wait and wait for an answer that may never come rather than acting. I don’t believe the desire to do what the Lord wants us to do is bad (obviously), but I do believe that the fear that sometimes accompanies missteps stems from incomplete understanding about the purposes of revelation.

So what is the Lord’s true purpose for us? To put it in incredibly simple terms, He wants us to be like Him. He wants us to make purposeful decisions based on wisdom like He does. He wants us to create the kind of life we desire. He wants us to create goodness without someone pulling us along to do so.

What does this mean for revelation? Everything. It explains why the Lord answers in specific ways.

For example, let’s look at a college student who is trying to choose a major. If you were in the Lord’s shoes, and you wanted this student to become brave and bold in their decisions, how would you respond to them? Would you simply give them the answer whenever they asked for it? Surely, they could potentially avoid some mistakes and anxiety, but what are you truly wanting for them?

There are appropriate times that the Lord gives us an answer directly and quickly. Sometimes He allows us to sink deeper into our faith so we’re prepared to receive more important answers. Sometimes, He is totally silent. Sometimes, He answers and turns us around after we’ve started acting. All of these responses are crafted carefully so that we can be given the tailor-made opportunities to step into His shoes and become like Him.

In the context of Alma

Let’s look at it in the context of Alma. Now one of the difficulties in the scriptures is the fact that they were abridged. We don’t necessarily have the entire story. We might be missing some details about how Alma decided to leave Ammonihah, but let’s just take the story at face value.

Alma was doing the Lord’s work, but we don’t see Alma on his knees for any length of time praying for an answer about whether he should leave Ammonihah and move on to another city that would be more prepared for the work. All we see is that Alma recognized that the people had hard hearts, and he made an extremely logical decision to go find someone who was prepared for the word of God. In missionary work, this is actually tremendously important. Dropping unprepared people in faith is critical because it shows the Lord that we believe in His ability to lead us to...

Who is FAIR? - Jared Mabey

FAIR - Faithful Answers, Informed Response 2024-06-15 | FAIR stands for Faithful Answers, Informed Response. We are a nonprofit organization that exists to defend the church, doctrine, and gospel of Jesus Christ found within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We answer many questions and criticisms out there and hope to help strengthen testimonies and bring a greater understanding of the gospel and history around the church. Did you know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints finds us to be an 'independent and trusted resource' for information? 📖
Have a question? Visit FAIRlatterdaysaints.org to find more information.
Still can't find an answer? Send your question to our volunteers and scholars and they can help you out!
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Why do we stop short of saying, Women hold the priesthood?

FAIR - Faithful Answers, Informed Response 2024-06-13 | Women in the Church - "Restoring a Kingdom of Priests and Priestesses" with Lynne Wilson
Watch the full presentation at youtube.com/watch?v=L1FsAAoZBJA
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Who is FAIR? - Jacob Crapo

FAIR - Faithful Answers, Informed Response 2024-06-12 | Jacob Crapo is the host of Cornerstone: A FAIR Temple Preparation Podcast:
fairlatterdaysaints.org/blog/category/podcast/cornerstone-a-fair-temple-preparation-podcast

Who is FAIR? 🤔
There is a lot of misinformation out there in the world. 🌎 Unfortunately, many people will believe opinions and half-truths online and on social media before they go to the facts and actual research to make a final conclusion that can affect their testimony. This unfortunately can create confusion, frustration, sadness, etc. Thankfully, the answers provided by FAIR in response to questions and criticisms are backed by lots of research by scholars and volunteers who have invested many long hours into research and learning, for your benefit!
Have a question? Visit FAIRlatterdaysaints.org to find more information.
Still can't find an answer? Send your question to our volunteers and scholars and they can help you out! Send questions here: fairlatterdaysaints.org/contact
Donate to FAIR: http://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/donate
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Me, My Shelf, & I – Episode 8 – Seer Stones w/ Dr. Gerrit Dirkmaat (Full Interview)

FAIR - Faithful Answers, Informed Response 2024-06-11 | Gerrit Dirkmaat was featured in episode 5 (fairlatterdaysaints.org/blog/2024/04/30/me-my-shelf-i-episode-5-seer-stones-did-the-church-lie) . This is the full interview. Check out Dr. Dirkmaat’s podcast with Prof. Richard LeDuc: standardoftruth.com

Gerrit Dirkmaat is an associate professor of Church history and doctrine at Brigham Young University. He received his PhD from the University of Colorado in 2010, where he studied nineteenth-century American expansionism and foreign relations. He worked as a historian and writer for the Church History Department from 2010 to 2014 with the Joseph Smith Papers Project. He is the coauthor, along with Michael Hubbard MacKay, of the award-winning book From Darkness unto Light: Joseph Smith’s Translation and Publication of the Book of Mormon, published by the BYU Religious Studies Center and Deseret Book in 2015. In 2023, they published another book on the topic: Let’s Talk About the Translation of the Book of Mormon. In addition to books, Gerrit is also the author of dozens of academic articles. He currently serves as the editor of the academic journal Latter-day Saint Historical Studies published by the Ensign Peak Foundation. Since 2021 he has hosted and produced a weekly Church history podcast: Standard of Truth. It examines Church history questions and sources. He and his wife, Angela, have four children.

(fairlatterdaysaints.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/me-1.png)

Sarah Allen is a senior researcher with FAIR, and the 2022 recipient of the John Taylor: Defender of the Faith Award. By profession, she works in mortgage compliance and is a freelance copyeditor. An avid reader, she loves studying the Gospel and the history of the restored Church. After watching some of her friends lose their testimonies, she became interested in helping others through their faith crises. That’s when she began sharing what she’d learned through her studies. She is a co-moderator the LDS subreddit on Reddit and the author of a multi-part series rebutting the CES Letter. She’s grateful to those at FAIR who have given her the opportunity to share her testimony with a wider audience.

The post Me, My Shelf, & I – Episode 8 – Seer Stones w/ Dr. Gerrit Dirkmaat (Full Interview) (fairlatterdaysaints.org/blog/2024/06/11/me-my-shelf-i-episode-8-seer-stones-w-dr-gerrit-dirkmaat-full-interview) appeared first on FAIR (fairlatterdaysaints.org) .

Me, My Shelf, & I - Seer Stones w/ Dr. Gerrit Dirkmaat | S1E8 (Full Interview)

FAIR - Faithful Answers, Informed Response 2024-06-11 | Check out Dr. Dirkmaat’s podcast with Prof. Richard LeDuc: standardoftruth.com

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The ministry of Alma & Amulek

FAIR - Faithful Answers, Informed Response 2024-06-10 | Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Alma 5–7; Alma 8–12; Alma 13–16
"The ministry of Alma & Amulek (Alma 5–16)" by Mike Parker
Audio and notes available at fairlatterdaysaints.org/blog/2024/06/10/come-follow-me-with-fair-alma-5-7-alma-8-12-alma-13-16-mike-parker
More of Mike Parker's videos can be seen at youtube.com/@HurricaneAdultReligion
Donate to FAIR: http://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/donate

Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Alma 5–7; Alma 8–12; Alma 13–16 – Mike Parker

FAIR - Faithful Answers, Informed Response 2024-06-10 | The ministry of Alma & Amulek

(Alma 5–16)

by Mike Parker

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

Class Notes (drive.google.com/file/d/1FmtJUqDqkFDzCeFMLK75zcGgEksT5wZM/view)

Handout (drive.google.com/file/d/1AXJZKYmjw-5HsDkY4ySmAbL2wDpqPzUS/view)

Additional Reading

•

Robert A. Rees, “Alma the Younger’s Seminal Sermon at Zarahemla (https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1016&context=mi) ,” in Bountiful Harvest: Essays in Honor of S. Kent Brown, ed. Andrew C. Skinner, D. Morgan Davis, and Carl Griffin (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2011), 329–43.

•

Why does Alma 7:10 (churchofjesuschrist.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/7.10#9) say Jesus was born “at Jerusalem” when the Bible says he was born in Bethlehem? Robert F. Smith answers this question in “The Land of Jerusalem: The Place of Jesus’ Birth (archive.bookofmormoncentral.org/node/195) ,” in Reexploring the Book of Mormon, ed. John W. Welch (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book / Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1992), 170–72.

•

Thomas A. Wayment, “The Hebrew Text of Alma 7:11 (https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1393&context=jbms) ,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 14, no. 1 (2005): 98–103. Wayment argues that the translation of Isaiah 53:4 (churchofjesuschrist.org/scriptures/ot/isa/53.4#3) in Alma 7:11 (churchofjesuschrist.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/7.11#10) is closer to the Hebrew text than the English translation in the King James Bible is.

•

BYU professor John W. Welch explains the Nephite system of weights and measures in Alma 11:3–19 (churchofjesuschrist.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/11.3-19#2) in “Weighing and Measuring in the Worlds of the Book of Mormon (https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1220&context=jbms) ,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 8, no. 2 (1999): 36–45, 86. (See also Robert F. Smith’s “Table of Relative Values (https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1221&context=jbms) ” in the same issue.)

•

Alma₂ forbade Amulek from using the power of God to save the believers in Ammonihah from being killed (Alma 14:11 (churchofjesuschrist.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/14.11#10) ). Why does God permit evil to take place in the world? Elder Spencer W. Kimball gave some ideas in his article “Tragedy or Destiny (archive.org/details/improvementera6903unse/page/178) ,” Improvement Era 69, no. 3 (March 1966): 178–80, 210–12, 214, 216–17.

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

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Alma 5–7; Alma 8–12; Alma 13–16 – Mike Parker (fairlatterdaysaints.org/blog/2024/06/10/come-follow-me-with-fair-alma-5-7-alma-8-12-alma-13-16-mike-parker) appeared first on FAIR (fairlatterdaysaints.org) .

Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Alma 5–7 – The Change of Heart – Autumn Dickson

FAIR - Faithful Answers, Informed Response 2024-06-09 | "The Change of Heart" by Autumn Dickson
fairlatterdaysaints.org/blog/2024/06/09/come-follow-me-with-fair-alma-5-7-autumn-dickson
Donate to FAIR: http://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/donate

Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Alma 5–7 – Autumn Dickson

FAIR - Faithful Answers, Informed Response 2024-06-09 | The Change of Heart

by Autumn Dickson

In the chapters for this week, we find various sermons and experiences from Alma as he is traveling from city to city to try and build up the church. In one of the areas, Zarahemla, he found some issues within the church that were plaguing the Saints and taking them away from the Lord.

This is another one of those chapters growing up that troubled me and made me worry about my salvation. As I read verses about being stripped of pride and envy (particularly difficult as an insecure teenager), or when I read verses about walking blameless before God, I was convinced I didn’t stand a chance.

I never think it’s a bad idea to consider the state of your soul and talk to the Lord about it, but it has to be done right. There have been plenty of times that I’ve examined the apparently black state of my soul growing up and thinking that there was no way I’d ever be good enough to live with God again. This wasn’t uplifting or helpful. It didn’t make me a better person. It just made me focus more on myself. I was doing plenty of good things, but those good things weren’t changing me. Which is rather unfortunate and ironic when you think about the fact that change is literally the entire point of this earthly exercise.

A mighty change of heart absolutely includes a desire to do what’s right, to follow the Lord, and serve those around us. However, a mighty change of heart includes much more than that. There is a process to follow that I believe often gets pushed out of order to our own detriment.

Let’s observe exactly what Alma is teaching here, and I think we’ll find how to have our hearts changed in a way that is uplifting and joyful. Understanding exactly what Alma is teaching about being prepared to meet God can help us to accomplish more good works than we otherwise would be able to, and it can also help us go about this process in a way that fills our souls rather than leaving us empty.

How does the change of heart occur?

Alma is addressing the Saints in Zarahemla when he starts talking about remembering the captivity of their fathers. He talks about them being encircled by the bands of death and chains of hell. An everlasting destruction awaited them. Were they destroyed? No. Their restraints were loosed. Alma then asks:

Alma 5:10 And now I ask of you on what conditions are they saved? Yea, what grounds had they to hope for salvation? What is the cause of their being loosed from the bands of death, yea, and also the chains of hell?

That’s what we’re trying to find out here, right? We’ve all found ourselves encircled with bands that we can’t break ourselves. We’ve all sinned. So how did our fathers escape? Because if we can figure out how they escaped, we can know how to escape ourselves. Luckily, Alma describes it clearly.

And if I had been able to observe the answer as a teenager, it would have surprised me.

Alma 5:12 And according to his faith there was a mighty change wrought in his heart. Behold I say unto you that this is all true.

What saved them? It wasn’t an incessant, bullheaded attempt to do everything right. It was faith! It’s so funny because I was absolutely surrounded by Texas Christians growing up who were of the opinion that “works” were completely unnecessary. You were only saved by believing in Christ. We believe in works, and there is a place for works, and we will talk about works. But maybe they were onto something. I feel like we have a culture in the church that talks about our belief in grace and faith as they are related to salvation, but we also inwardly scoff a little. We’re afraid to lean on grace and faith to the extent that we relinquish responsibility for our actions to our detriment. I feel like we profess the idea of grace and faith, and yet oftentimes, our beliefs about our own worthiness and the extent to which we beat ourselves up does not reflect this belief in the Savior’s ability to redeem.

And yet, here we have Alma, teaching that it was faith that freed them from their bonds.

So let’s cover grace and works again. Where does faith come in and what’s the point of works? How do the two relate together? I’ve only talked about it a million times, but that’s because the relationship between the two is complex. There are a lot of ways to teach it and better understand it. There are layers to it, so we’re going to add another layer here that can hopefully add to what we’ve already studied about grace and works.

Works-first method

Perhaps we don’t mean to, but I believe we often follow a “works first” method and we believe that the faith (and all the feelings associated with salvation) just kinda descends later. I tried that for a long time, and it never descended. I think sometimes we believe that if we’re following the commandments and standards, those good feelings of freedom and peace and salvation are simply going to show up. Not so.

Here is a disclaimer before I start elaborating...

Mike Ash Tackles DNA Issues

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Mike Ash Explains the Scientific Method

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How Can I Know If Ive Been Forgiven?

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Matt Roper Debunks Barley Anachromism

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Dan Peterson Tackles Claims That Joseph Had Other Materials

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Ralph Hancock on Courage

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FAIR Latter-day Saints - Conference English

FAIR - Faithful Answers, Informed Response 2024-06-01 | Strengthen faith through critical thinking and reliable sources

Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Mosiah 29–Alma 4 – Autumn Dickson

FAIR - Faithful Answers, Informed Response 2024-06-01 | Mosiah and Amlici

by Autumn Dickson

Within the chapters this week, we see two contrasted examples of men who are types of the Savior and Satan. It’s remarkable that these two examples were so closely put together within these chapters, and it’s very easy to observe the Plan of Salvation on a minute scale because of it.

King Mosiah

First, we have King Mosiah. He is obviously the representation of the Savior. He had all of this power bestowed on him, true power that was valid and recognized among the people. Here are two verses that very clearly put forth the Savior’s stance during the war in heaven as we were trying to decide how to proceed with the rest of our very long lives.

Mosiah was king over the Nephites and decided to form a new government. The people would elect judges and acknowledge laws and all live according to those laws. This is what King Mosiah had to say about it.

Mosiah 29:31-32

31 For behold I say unto you, the sins of many people have been caused by the iniquities of their kings; therefore their iniquities are answered upon the heads of their kings.

32 And now I desire that this inequality should be no more in this land, especially among this my people; but I desire that this land be a land of liberty, and every man may enjoy his rights and privileges alike, so long as the Lord sees fit that we may live and inherit the land, yea, even as long as any of our posterity remains upon the face of the land.

The second verse is very easy to find the parallel. Our Savior wanted us to have our freedom to choose. He wanted us to have the right to design our own eternal lives, to build what we wanted our eternal futures to look like. He was wise enough to understand that this was the only way we could truly be happy, to have the freedom to choose happiness. You can’t force someone into happiness even if you can force them to make choices that were meant to bring happiness.

The first verse that I included was also important because it describes the other side of the coin of freedom. King Mosiah teaches his people that sin can be caused by kings which equates to that sin falling upon the heads of the kings rather than on the heads of the people. Responsibility is as crucial to our happiness as freedom. We need the opportunity to take control of our own futures because it is only in the building of those futures that we find true happiness.

Let me give an example. I dated Conner for a year and a half before we got married, and I prayed and prayed and prayed and prayed and prayed for an answer about whether to marry him. I know that some people do receive answers when they pray about that kind of thing which is awesome, but I had a slightly different experience. Heavenly Father never truly answered me, and as I’ve made my way through marriage, I learned why.

I chose Conner on my own. I had known him for a very long time. We had seen the worst of each other if I’m being perfectly honest, but we had also seen plenty of good. After we got married, I don’t feel like I was completely caught off guard by choices he made because I knew what I had married.

There was beauty in this. I had desperately craved that validation from Heavenly Father, and I think Heavenly Father is wise in whether He chooses to bestow that validation or not because we’re all learning different lessons at different times in our lives. But for me, at this time in my life, He knew that I needed to make my own choice.

I needed to make my own choice so that when hard things came up in my marriage (which they inevitably always do), I couldn’t shake my fists at the heavens and ask why Heavenly Father had put me here. I had to look at myself, take responsibility for the choice I had made, and decide what I was going to do with those hard things. That doesn’t mean I leave Heavenly Father out of the equation, to the contrary. I ask Heavenly Father for help all the time. The difference is that I decide to make my marriage what I want my marriage to be. When something difficult comes along, I don’t throw up my hands and say, “Well this is where Heavenly Father put me so I guess I just have to deal.” I decide how I’m going to change, how I’m going to approach Conner, and a million other little choices. I’m very blessed to have a husband who makes these same choices.

The Lord let me own my marriage, and because He let me own it, I’ve been able to create something beautiful with my own choices and His help. It’s been an exhilarating and fulfilling process that has brought me far more happiness than I thought possible. It has brought me far more happiness in comparison to hoping that happiness would just fall on me; happiness simply doesn’t happen that way. We need freedom and responsibility to own our lives and build what we want.

Sometimes Heavnely Father gives us an answer, and that’s comforting and wonderful and definitely has its purposes in our life that can teach us important lessons. Someti...

Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Mosiah 29–Alma 4 – Mosiah and Amlici – Autumn Dickson

FAIR - Faithful Answers, Informed Response 2024-06-01 | "Mosiah and Amlici" by Autumn Dickson
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FAIR Latter-day Saints - Conferenza Italiano

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COME FOLLOW ME MINUTE May 27 June 2 #comefollowmebookofmormon #comefollowmeforfamilies

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Matt Roper on B H Roberts

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Arabia and the Book of Mormon

FAIR - Faithful Answers, Informed Response 2024-05-29 | "Arabia and the Book of Mormon" by S. Kent Brown at the 2001 FAIR Conference
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Me, My Shelf, & I – Episode 7 – Seer Stones w/ Allen Hansen (Full Interview)

FAIR - Faithful Answers, Informed Response 2024-05-28 | Allen Hansen was featured in episode 2 (fairlatterdaysaints.org/blog/2024/03/05/me-my-shelf-i-episode-2-seer-stones-ancient-use) . This is the full interview.

Check out Allen’s other work: https://independent.academia.edu/HansenAllen

(fairlatterdaysaints.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/me-1.png)

Sarah Allen is a senior researcher with FAIR, and the 2022 recipient of the John Taylor: Defender of the Faith Award. By profession, she works in mortgage compliance and is a freelance copyeditor. An avid reader, she loves studying the Gospel and the history of the restored Church. After watching some of her friends lose their testimonies, she became interested in helping others through their faith crises. That’s when she began sharing what she’d learned through her studies. She is a co-moderator of the LDS subreddit on Reddit and the author of a multi-part series rebutting the CES Letter. She’s grateful to those at FAIR who have given her the opportunity to share her testimony with a wider audience.

The post Me, My Shelf, & I – Episode 7 – Seer Stones w/ Allen Hansen (Full Interview) (fairlatterdaysaints.org/blog/2024/05/28/me-my-shelf-i-episode-7-seer-stones-w-allen-hansen-full-interview) appeared first on FAIR (fairlatterdaysaints.org) .

Me, My Shelf, & I - Seer Stones w/ Allen Hansen | S1E7 (Full Interview)

FAIR - Faithful Answers, Informed Response 2024-05-28 | Check out Allen Hansen’s other work: https://independent.academia.edu/HansenAllen

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Conversion of Alma & the sons of Mosiah; commencement of reign of the judges; Nehor & the Amlicites

FAIR - Faithful Answers, Informed Response 2024-05-27 | Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Mosiah 25–28; Mosiah 29–Alma 4
"Conversion of Alma & the sons of Mosiah; commencement of the reign of the judges; Nehor & the Amlicites (Mosiah 26–Alma 4)" by Mike Parker
Audio and notes available at fairlatterdaysaints.org/blog/2024/05/27/come-follow-me-with-fair-mosiah-25-28-mosiah-29-alma-4-mike-parker
More of Mike Parker's videos can be seen at youtube.com/@HurricaneAdultReligion
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Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Mosiah 25–28; Mosiah 29–Alma 4 – Mike Parker

FAIR - Faithful Answers, Informed Response 2024-05-27 | Conversion of Alma & the sons of Mosiah; commencement of the reign of the judges; Nehor & the Amlicites

(Mosiah 26–Alma 4)

by Mike Parker

(Mike Parker is a long-time FAIR member who has graciously allowed us to use materials he originally prepared for the Hurricane Utah Adult Religion Class (huarc.org) . The scripture passages covered in his lessons don’t conform exactly to the Come, Follow Me reading schedule, so they will be shared here where they fit best. This post will cover the weeks of May 27–June 2 and June 3–9.)

Class Notes (drive.google.com/file/d/10nxgpQmkVFe65HwPTf8uCapy9g0EUGHx/view)

Additional Reading

•

Elder John K. Carmack, “When Our Children Go Astray (churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1997/02/when-our-children-go-astray) ,” Ensign, February 1997, pp. 7–13.

•

“How Were Judges Elected in the Book of Mormon? (KnoWhy #107) (knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/how-were-judges-elected-in-the-book-of-mormon) ,” Book of Mormon Central, 25 May 2016.

•

Matthew Roper, “For What Crime Was Nehor Executed? (http://etherscave.blogspot.com/2016/01/for-what-crime-was-nehor-executed.html) ,” Ether’s Cave (blog), 29 January 2016.

•

J. Christopher Conkling, “Alma’s Enemies: The Case of the Lamanites, Amlicites, and Mysterious Amalekites (https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1395&context=jbms) ,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 14, no. 1 (2005): 108–17. Conkling argues that the Amlicites of Alma 2 (churchofjesuschrist.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/2) –3 (churchofjesuschrist.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/3) were the same group as the Amalekites who appeared suddenly, without explanation, in Alma 21 (churchofjesuschrist.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/21) , and that Oliver Cowdery simply used a different spelling of the same word dictated by Joseph Smith.

•

Benjamin McMurtry, “The Amlicites and Amalekites: Are They the Same People? (journal.interpreterfoundation.org/the-amlicites-and-amalekites-are-they-the-same-people) ,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 25 (2017): 269–81. McMurtry disagrees with Conkling and argues that that the Amlicites and Amalekites were, indeed, two separate groups.

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

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Mosiah 25–28; Mosiah 29–Alma 4 – Mike Parker (fairlatterdaysaints.org/blog/2024/05/27/come-follow-me-with-fair-mosiah-25-28-mosiah-29-alma-4-mike-parker) appeared first on FAIR (fairlatterdaysaints.org) .

Matt Roper Debunks Labans Sword Claim

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Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Mosiah 25-28 – Belief Comes First – Autumn Dickson

FAIR - Faithful Answers, Informed Response 2024-05-25 | "Belief Comes First" by Autumn Dickson
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Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Mosiah 25–28 – Autumn Dickson

FAIR - Faithful Answers, Informed Response 2024-05-25 | Belief Comes First

by Autumn Dickson

In the chapters this week in Mosiah, we learn about the rising generation who did not believe in the word of God. They had not been around in the time of King Benjamin, and so they didn’t have the same experiences as their parents. There is one verse in there that really has me pondering some of the ways I have framed the gospel in my mind.

Mosiah 26:3 And now because of their unbelief they could not understand the word of God; and their hearts were hardened.

They couldn’t understand the word of God because they didn’t believe, not the other way around. As I’ve tried to engage with some of my loved ones and strangers over the church, I have held onto the belief that if I could simply help them understand, they would believe. Apparently this is a fallacy. If you want to understand God and His plan and His choices amongst the children of men, belief actually comes first.

As I look back on my own life, I realize that this is exactly how things work. When I have reached any new understanding of gospel doctrine, belief preceded it.

Being aware of the fact that belief precedes understanding can help us know how to approach the gospel personally and with others.

Reasoning has a place

We live in a world of sophistry, both in temporal and spiritual matters. In temporal matters, it can make sense to engage. I actually read an entire book once about the fact that America was built on argumentation and that effective argumentation can actually bring us closer to our goals. If we can avoid turning those who disagree with us into enemies, disagreement is beautiful because it gives us opportunities to engage, listen, and evolve.

When it comes to spiritual matters, reasoning, disagreements, and discussion absolutely have their place. I work with FAIR, and a huge basis for their work is apologetics. For a long time, their entire purpose was to respectfully argue against critics and help people see a wider perspective. They’ve helped so many people better understand issues and history. We absolutely should discuss, explore, and question. The more I engage with doctrine, the more it has made sense to me and strengthened my testimony.

But in the end, belief has to come first. Understanding will come. But belief is a precursor to that understanding.

Belief first

I know that the idea of “believing first” is ridiculous to some, but let’s talk about what I actually mean when I say that belief needs to come first. I don’t mean, “Ignore the things you don’t understand and may even feel harmful. Just believe because I’m telling you that it’s good for you.” This is not what I mean by belief. In order to understand what I mean when I say “belief first,” you have to understand the transition I went through in my own faith.

When I have run into things that don’t make sense or when I run into things in the church that even seem hurtful, I have approached those uncomfortable feelings in a myriad of ways. If I’m being totally honest, when I was growing up, I simply didn’t approach them at all. I just pushed them to the back of my mind and forced myself to “have faith.” In case you were wondering, this wasn’t exactly effective. Sure, I held on for a while, but looking back, I can see that this approach couldn’t have lasted.

After my period of ignoring things I didn’t understand, I tried to hold onto testimony moments. This meant that I held onto moments where I had felt something beyond myself. These were good stepping stones that pushed me in the right direction, but they were ultimately insufficient in the long term. There were too many questions about whether I was feeling good old-fashioned nostalgia or truly feeling something that was given to me by my Heavenly Father.

And though holding onto testimony moments would have been ultimately insufficient for my personal testimony, this process allowed me to build the foundation for what has really helped me develop a resilience against Satan fighting me with things that I don’t understand or don’t have answers to.

Just over four years ago, I started the blog, and that’s when things really changed. I consistently speak with my Heavenly Father, and He responds. Now when I run into things I don’t understand, they can still bother me. However, I simultaneously can’t deny what’s right in front of me. I speak with God, and He answers back. That is as real to me as the things I don’t understand. Why place the reality of my concerns over the reality of my relationship with God? He has helped me find peace, helped me to understand, and proved His trustworthiness to me a million times over. I trust Him. I believe Him. Utilizing testimony moments to help build the foundation for this relationship was a big step, but I ultimately had to bring my relationship into the present. I had to talk to Him consistently in order to achieve this feeling of belief.

A concrete example

I have been married for seven years....

God speaks to us in ways that we understand within our own culture

FAIR - Faithful Answers, Informed Response 2024-05-24 | Episode 6 of Me, My Shelf, & I is out now! "Seer Stones: Why Aren't They Used Today?" hosted by Jennifer (Roach) Lee.
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Come, Follow Me Minute - May 20–26 #comefollowme #comefollowme2024 #comefollowmebookofmormon

FAIR - Faithful Answers, Informed Response 2024-05-23 | More at fairlatterdaysaints.org/blog/2024/05/18/come-follow-me-with-fair-mosiah-18-24-autumn-dickson

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Latter-day Saints & Politics

FAIR - Faithful Answers, Informed Response 2024-05-22 | “The Restored Gospel and the New Liberalism: The Inescapability of Political Apologetics” by Ralph Hancock at the 2023 FAIR Conference

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Ammon’s expedition; Limhi & Alma’s escape to Zarahemla (Mosiah 7–8, 18–25)

FAIR - Faithful Answers, Informed Response 2024-05-20 | Come, Follow Me with FAIR: The Book of Mormon - Mosiah 18–24
"Ammon’s expedition; Limhi & Alma’s escape to Zarahemla (Mosiah 7–8, 18–25)" by Mike Parker
Audio and notes available at fairlatterdaysaints.org/blog/2024/05/20/come-follow-me-with-fair-mosiah-18-24-mike-parker
More of Mike Parker's videos can be seen at youtube.com/@HurricaneAdultReligion
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Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Mosiah 18–24 – Mike Parker

FAIR - Faithful Answers, Informed Response 2024-05-20 | Ammon’s expedition; Limhi & Alma’s escape to Zarahemla

(Mosiah 7–8, 18–25)

by Mike Parker

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

Class Notes (drive.google.com/file/d/1pzdlD5ASGwrR0bVyPH6l_FpPpByq3_9h/view)

Additional Reading

BYU professor Daniel C. Peterson examines the baptism of Alma₁ in these two articles:

•

“Priesthood in Mosiah (https://rsc.byu.edu/book-mormon-mosiah-salvation-only-through-christ/priesthood-mosiah) ,” in The Book of Mormon: Mosiah, Salvation Only Through Christ, eds. Monte S. Nyman and Charles D. Tate (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center at Brigham Young University, 1991), 187–210.

•

“Authority in the Book of Mosiah (http://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1661&context=msr) ,” FARMS Review 18, no. 1 (2006): 149–85.

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

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Mosiah 18–24 – Mike Parker (fairlatterdaysaints.org/blog/2024/05/20/come-follow-me-with-fair-mosiah-18-24-mike-parker) appeared first on FAIR (fairlatterdaysaints.org) .

Who is FAIR? Scott Gordon explains origin and purpose

FAIR - Faithful Answers, Informed Response 2024-05-19 | Who is FAIR? 🤔
Have you ever wondered how FAIR started?
Have you ever wondered if there are answers to your gospel questions/doubts/concerns/etc?
Our faithful volunteers can help answer your questions and share resources to help strengthen your testimony. Get study resources and answers to your gospel questions at FAIRlatterdaysaints.org.
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Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Mosiah 18–24 – They Were Just Dancing – Autumn Dickson

FAIR - Faithful Answers, Informed Response 2024-05-19 | "They Were Just Dancing" by Autumn Dickson
Audio and text versions at fairlatterdaysaints.org/blog/2024/05/18/come-follow-me-with-fair-mosiah-18-24-autumn-dickson
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Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Mosiah 18–24 – Autumn Dickson

FAIR - Faithful Answers, Informed Response 2024-05-19 | They Were Just Dancing

by Autumn Dickson

This post will probably not be a popular one, at least in terms of the world, but it’s definitely an important one.

One of the stories we read about this week is painful and tragic.

Mosiah 20:1 Now there was a place in Shemlon where the daughters of the Lamanites did gather themselves together to sing, and to dance, and to make themselves merry.

While these daughters were dancing and enjoying themselves, the wicked priests of King Noah abducted 24 of them and married them. This actually snowballs into a battle where a lot of people die because the Lamanites blame Limhi’s people for taking their daughters.

Now, we have no idea what the scriptures mean by singing, dancing, and making merry. I had dance parties with my girlfriends all the time when I was young. We know that when Laman and Lemuel were making merry, they were sinning, but we don’t know if that’s actually what they were trying to imply right here. I’m not going to assume that these girls were doing anything wrong, but I’m still going to use the story to teach a principle.

Perhaps some would argue with me that everything worked out because the daughters end up defending their abductor-husbands later on, but I just don’t buy it. I’ve seen my fair share of abused women defend their abuser. These priests couldn’t go back to their wives so they kidnap women and marry them instead. These priests had spent their time with other women while they were previously married, and they had also abandoned those poor wives! Something tells me they didn’t change just because they got married again. We also know they haven’t changed because when they’re given a bit of power, they use it to abuse other innocent people as well (cough cough Alma). I don’t think these girls were okay.

Which leads me to what I want to teach today.

The Lord gave us standards to protect us, not to blame victims, but to protect us. Read it again. I want to teach both of those principles today.

Not to blame victims

I feel like I should start with the “blame victims” portion of the principle so we can appreciate the second portion of the principle as well.

The standards weren’t given to punish the victims. The girls were out dancing and making merry, but even if the scriptures were purposefully implying that these girls were sinning, could we accurately blame them for what happened to them afterwards? No. Even if their actions enabled wicked men to take advantage of them, the blame lies with the wicked men.

I remember a time when I was growing up and getting ready for a youth conference dance. I was getting ready at my friend’s house, and we went all out for fun. Dance party, face masks, snacks, everything. Getting ready for the youth conference dance was going to be just as fun as the actual dance.

But we were also taking pictures. Even though we weren’t quite ready yet (i.e. not modest). There was nothing crazy, but they weren’t great either. They weren’t meant to be anything. If you’re judging us by intent, the pictures were 100% innocent. We were playing and getting ready and taking pictures. There was nothing else there.

My mom found the pictures and was understandably upset. She was worried that one of my friends wouldn’t think about it and post some of them online. I learned an intense lesson that day about protecting myself.

Here was the reality of the situation: We didn’t sin. I mean, taking the pictures was probably a mistake but we weren’t actively rebelling or sinning. We were young girls getting ready to go to a dance. Heavenly Father was proud of us for going to youth conference and loving it.

Here’s the other half of the reality. I could have had a friend post some of those pictures online without thinking about it. And those pictures could have been downloaded by someone gross. And as innocent as we were, it could have hurt us. As innocent as we were, it could have hurt us.

I was not a bad person. I was a good, innocent person who loved playing and dancing with her friends and going to youth conference. But the rest of the world is not so innocent or good. Heavenly Father is more aware of this than anyone, and that’s why He gave us standards.

I didn’t need to be blamed if those pictures had been used against me. And yet, despite the fact that I am not responsible for the wicked actions of another person, I am overwhelmingly grateful that my mother taught me a hard lesson about protecting myself that day.

Things as they are

I’m going to use a more extreme example, but I’m actually not going to apologize for it as I often do. The world can hem and haw and complain, but the reality is this: I had too many friends from high school for which this was a reality. I have too many friends who didn’t know what happened to them the night before. I have too many friends who wish they could take back actions or words that occurred because their inhibitions were dulled by alcohol....

Why arent seer stones used by our church leaders today?

FAIR - Faithful Answers, Informed Response 2024-05-17 | "Why would God all of a sudden use something entirely out of our culture to communicate with us?" 🤔🤔

Episode 6 of Me, My Shelf, & I is out now! "Seer Stones: Why Aren't They Used Today?" hosted by Jennifer (Roach) Lee.

fairlatterdaysaints.org/blog/category/podcast/me-my-shelf-i

Come, Follow Me Minute - May 13–19 #comefollowme #comefollowme2024 #comefollowmebookofmormon

FAIR - Faithful Answers, Informed Response 2024-05-16 | More at fairlatterdaysaints.org/blog/2024/05/11/come-follow-me-with-fair-mosiah-11-17-autumn-dickson

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