One woman shares what she learned about fasting after a heartbreaking loss.
3 Min Read
Isaiah 58 contains the Lord’s Law of the Fast. We are given instructions of what to do and what not to do when fasting, and although our modern fasts look different than they did in Isaiah’s time, the council remains the same. Fast with intention, without fanfare, and to help those in need. When our fasts look like this we can use the time to draw closer to Christ instead of just going hungry.
If you were tasked with convincing someone of Jesus Christ for the first time, what scripture would you go to? That is a missionary’s call every day, and it was Nephi’s mission in 1 Nephi 19. And the book he turned to was Isaiah. We will learn this week in Isaiah 50-57 how Isaiah’s words persuade of Christ and the comfort that can bring Zion.
Isaiah has a reputation for being complicated to understand, but there is a beautifully simple message in this week’s scripture block. It gets better! For anyone going through trials or hard times, Isaiah 40-49 was written for you. Comfort ye, because through God’s power, anything is possible.
One thing that the Lord asks prophets to do is to warn the people about the consequences of sin. Yet another thing that the Lord asks prophets to do is to encourage the people about the good consequences of turning to Him. The bible is filled with warnings and it is also filled with hope. This week’s study of Isaiah 13–35 contains such messages including the greatest hope of all in Isaiah 33:22 “He will save us!”
The prophet Isaiah is one of the most quoted across all of scripture, including by the Savior Himself. We are called to delight in Isaiah's words and liken them to ourselves. But before we can apply them, we need to understand them. We have called in the experts to bring their academic insight to the words of the poetic prophet.
Trust God, to be wise is better than wealth, a virtuous woman is greater than rubies; these are timeless words that have been studied for ages. Proverbs and Ecclesiastes are full of sage council and quippy messages, but there is a rich tradition behind the wisdom that can be better understood with an understanding of the language and customs of the time. Let’s all aim for greater wisdom in this study of the Old Testament’s wisdom literature.
This is our last week of Come, Follow Me study of the book of Psalms. The traditional Jewish name for this book is Tehillim, a Hebrew word that means praises. And that word is related to our modern exclamation of praise, “hallelujah” which means praise Jehovah or praise the Lord. Remembering that expression seems like a good way to round out this book full of songs and praise.
Interacting with music, poetry, and scriptures can bring up deeply personal feelings. And the writers of the Psalms shared deeply in their writing. In our study of Psalms 49-86 we are going to look for the personal connection in the writing. And how that will help us set our hope in God.
This is an insight we simply don’t get with the English version of the story.
2 Min Read
“The more we know these prophecies, the more we can step forward with courage and strength and do hard things and help gather Israel.”
1 Min Read
There is a word that comes up in the Psalms that is designed to make you stop and reflect. It is saleh and, while it could mean a musical rest in these early hymns, it can also just mean to rest. Take a moment, slow down in your scripture study and in your day, and rest in the Lord. The Come, Follow Me schedule gives us three weeks to study the Psalms and our emphasis this week in Psalm 1-46 is to saleh.
Life lessons from the Book of Job. Before studying this book of poetry that may be the oldest book written in the bible, it’s important to know a few things. We’re not sure who wrote it, we don’t exactly know what Job’s name means, and there’s no way to verify if the events in it even happened. So, what can 42 chapters, 1,070 verses and 10,102 words teach us about Jesus Christ? Now we begin our week-long study of Job and discuss life lessons that are contained in what we believe to be an inspired and poetic book.
Esther was a woman of great faith who was an example of the believers. Although the Lord’s name is not explicitly in the pages of her book, His influence and mercy is evident. She was ready to testify when the moment arose, and that is a takeaway we can all bring with us from her story.
In a 1997 regional conference, President Hinckley said “It isn’t as bad as you sometimes think it is. It all works out.” That is the message of this week’s discussion of Ezra and Nehemiah. As bad as things were for the Israelites, things worked out with God’s help and with God’s help things will work out for us too.
In your desperate moment of need who do you turn to? And what has worked? Today’s discussion talks about the desperate moments during the time of kings in the Old Testament books of Chronicles. We’ll find some remarkable stories about what works and some unexpected ways the people received help from the Lord.
Who could use some good advice? 2 Kings 16–25 has advice from the Lord to the Southern Kingdom of Israel. And the good news for us is that praying, going to the temple, seeking counsel from the prophet, and more advice found in these chapters are timeless wisdoms. Whatever you are going through we can find solace in the words of the scriptures.