Have you ever heard someone use the phrase “the apple of my eye”? Did you (or they) know they were quoting the prophet Zechariah? We may be approaching the end of our Old Testament study for the year, but we still have a lot to learn. The books of Haggai and Zechariah are full of wisdom regarding temples, repentance, and the sweet reminder that God’s children are always the apple of His eye. These two prophets taught their people the same truth we like to say at the end of every podcast episode: you are God’s favorite.

Do you ever get to 2 Nephi 12, see “compare to Isaiah 2” in the heading and just want to skip past the next few chapters? You’re not alone, in fact, it’s no secret that the Isaiah chapters in the Book of Mormon are difficult to understand—if you don’t know what this Old Testament prophet is really talking about. That's why in this week’s Sunday on Monday study group, we are going to dig into 2 Nephi 11–25 to discover the important messages Isaiah wants to share with us in the latter days.

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What is your approach to a new year? Are you a “new year, new you” kind of person, or do you usually find yourself in survival mode, just trying to keep things together? Either way, we’ve been there. But what if we tweaked that New Year’s mantra and said, “new year, knew you”? What if this year we all focused on learning just how well God knows us? A goal like that has the potential for lasting change in everyone’s lives. So on this week’s episode, we’ll study the first chapter of Matthew and Luke and learn that God knows us so well that He even sent the Savior to “guide our feet into the way of peace” (Luke 1:79)—and we think that is a path we all want to walk in 2023.

Hundreds of thousands have been touched by the mission experiences of John Groberg, but have they heard it straight from the source? Listen to John and his wife, Jean, open up about their real-life love story and lessons they learned in Tonga that inspired the beloved The Other Side of Heaven movies.

“There comes to us from the voice of the Book echoes as from some word that we have heard long since and have well understood; they are the whisperings to us of familiar truths. We recognize them, for they are attested by the reasoning of the mind and the sanction of the spirit within us. They tell us that the end of life is that we shall be born again (Mos. 27:25), redeemed and become the sons and daughters of God; that there is no happiness in sin, and that obedience is the way to joy (Alma 41:10; 2 Nephi 2:25). It teaches that an element of faith is a recognition of God's superior knowledge (Mos. 4:6 12), and how that faith is nurtured and grows in the heart of man (Alma 26:22); and how it may become so powerful that nothing can be held from it (3 Nephi 7:18; Ether 12:19). That spiritual gifts to man cease only because of his wickedness (Mormon 1:14), and that God to be unchangeable must be a God of miracles (Mormon 9:19). It gives full light on the comprehensiveness of the plans of the Almighty (2 Nephi 27:7 10), and shows that all men have been alike to him from the beginning of creation, and that his atonement applied as well before as subsequent to his coming in the flesh (Mos. 3:13). That baptism, necessary now, was always necessary (2 Nephi 31:9; Mos. 2:22; 3 Nephi 11:38 39). That the mission of all prophets has been to testify of the Christ (Jacob 7:11). It teaches that purity of heart alone gives access to God (Jacob 3:1). And with unanswerable authority is given again, by the Lord himself, the essence of his Gospel” (3 Nephi 27:13 16) (John A. Widtsoe and Franklin S. Harris, Jr., Seven Claims of the Book of Mormon, pp.167,168).

Do you know what your first spoken word was? How about the first spoken word of a child in your life? Whatever it was, there’s something powerful and exciting about those earliest moments when we first learned to communicate. This week as we study John, Chapter 1, we’re going to learn about the importance of a word. And not just any word—the Word. So let’s accept this invitation from the Savior to come and see the power of that Word and begin to understand Him in a whole new light.

Three powerful words make up the theme youth will learn about next year.

Image from lds.org.

Twenty-six years ago, in what Matt Nerdin terms "a moment of self-doubt and frustration," he ran away from the Provo Missionary Training Center in the early hours of the morning. After reaching the freeway, Nerdin had one "scary, prayer-filled" hitchhiking encounter before receiving a lift from a young Latter-day Saint father.

The prophet Amos’s name has a Hebrew translation that we find fascinating; Amos means being burdened or troubled. At first that seems like an odd name for a prophet, but when you consider the weighty responsibilities God’s chosen servants carry, the name makes sense. In this week’s study of Amos and Obadiah, we’ll learn about the vital role of prophets and why they are asked to carry such a heavy burden. We will also find the comforting reassurance that the Lord “will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.”