The following transcript is intended to aid in your study. However, while we try to go through the transcript, our transcripts are primarily computer-generated and often contain errors. Please forgive the transcripts’ imperfections.

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Segment 1

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The Come, Follow Me intro for this week's study perfectly sets the stage for what's going on. The house of Israel is in total disarray. The kingdom had been divided with 10 tribes forming in the northern kingdom of Israel and two tribes forming in the southern kingdom of Judah. But worse than their separation from each other was both kingdoms' separation from their covenants, and wicked kings leading the people away from the Lord, and many people wavered in their faith.

This week's discussion of 1 Kings chapters 12 through 13 and 17 through 20 will teach us what the Lord did for the people, and truthfully, what He's doing for us today as we feel like we are living in disarray ourselves. Welcome to the Sunday on Monday Study Group, a Deseret Bookshelf Plus original, brought to you by LDS Living, where we take the Come, Follow Me lesson for the week and we really dig into the scriptures together.

I'm your host, Tammy Uzelac Hall. If you're new to our study group, please follow the link in our description that will explain how you can best use this podcast to enhance your Come, Follow Me study, just like my longtime listening friend Caitlin Brady from Bakersfield, California. Caitlin, I love meeting you.

Another awesome thing about our study group, and my favorite thing, is each week we're joined by two of my friends, so it's always a little bit different, and today is different. These are new timer, newcomers, newbies. They've never been on, but they've been listening for a long time. I am so excited to introduce you to Angie Godfrey and Colette Egbert.

Hello, ladies. Hello. Hello, Tammy. Woo-hoo. Uh, okay, how do you guys know each other? Well, Gus showed up at my house just one day in January of 1980, and she never left. I've been harassing her ever since. Um, they are the sweetest sisters you've ever seen. Complete opposite. How much do I love? One's brunette, one's a redhead.

Both gorgeous. Uh, who's older? Oh I love that you asked that question I don't love that you asked that. I am the youngest. I, I am the youngest sister, and I, Ange still gets to be the youngest sister most of the time. Listen, we have four sisters and two brothers, and I'm not gonna lie, when you see our family picture, first of all, you don't know who the in-laws are and who the siblings are.

That's how much we don't look alike. Wow. It's true. And when you look at just the sibling picture, you're like, "I don't know what the age order is." And like you ask people who don't know us, and it's different every single time. You ask nieces and nephews. Really. Which blows my mind. They're still like, "Wait, I thought she's older than you?"

That's Ange? I'm like, "Am I Ange?" She's the youngest. It's 'cause I'm not married and don't have kids, and so. You have no wrinkles or gray hair. Sure. You jerk. Well, listen, dye is my friend. Oh, my goodness, this is so fun. And also the fun thing is where are you two from? Newdale, Idaho. Yes. It is a booming town of- 300 and- 354?

Yeah, I think- Has that changed? 78 maybe? I think there was a baby born last week, so it could be 75, 275. What? Yeah. That is teeny tiny. So tiny. And what do each one of you do up in Idaho? Tell us your career. Well, I am a nurse practitioner. I work at a urgent, a pediatric urgent care. But, um, I've been a nurse for, man, knocking on 25 years.

Hm. That door, which blows my mind. So I worked as a registered nurse for about 15, 16 years and then, oh, decided it would be a great idea with four kids and a job to go back to, go back to school. And, and now that's what I'm doing. So now I, um, I've always worked mostly with kids, and so I really like the urgent care of kids.

Um, so that's what I do as my Day job. My paying day job That is so cool. Yeah, yeah, g- exactly. And what about you, Ange? I'm a professional ball juggler fairy godmother. That- Like, that's my official title, Tam, is Fairy Godmother. Oh, of course. Yeah. Yeah. Of- and you're so good at it. So I moved home during COVID, like the middle of COVID, and I was working for WGU at the time, and this kid that I grew up with decided that I needed to come and work with him, and work for him, and hold his life together.

So he owns like 10 companies. He's a serial entrepreneur. Mm-hmm. And he gets super excited about all of the things he wants to do, and then he maybe kind of forgets all of the rest of them. And so- ... I just keep the balls in the air and make sure that nothing gets forgotten. And so, like, it runs the gamut.

Some days I'm a construction manager, sometimes I'm an event manager, sometimes I'm the HR queen. Like- Wow ... serious- you name it, I do it. Oh my gosh. Wow, that's a big job. Yeah. Very cool. In fact, Angie, I don't even know how I r- I don't ever remember not knowing you. Like, how did we even meet? I feel like I've known you my whole entire life.

Yeah. I was thinking about it the other day. I'm like, "I don't remember when I met Tammy." Like, I- No ... don't remember when. But it has to be within the last 25-ish years, 'cause that's how long I've known Laurel. Yeah. That's how we know each other. I know. And here we are, and we're friends. But I love that we can't even remember.

We've just, we've just always been friends. That's just how it always is. So. Well, and I just love that Angie reaches out to me, and she'll s- send me cute messages about the podcast and different things. And, and she texted me a couple of months ago and said, "Hey, you're gonna be in my sister's stake up in Idaho.

You're speaking." And so I was like, "Oh, please tell her to come say hi," which I'm sure she regrets now, because then Colette did come up and say hi, and it was so fun to meet her. And then a couple of days later I was thinking, and then, like the Spirit works, they, they just said, "Invite Angie and Colette to be on the podcast."

So here we are. Here we are. Here we are. But we're still friends, right, Colette? We are. We're still friends. And Angie, I should say. Tam, we will always be friends. Always and forever. Always. Well, I didn't give you an easy assignment because First Kings, these are some pretty crazy chapters. This is some, this is meat, the meat of the gospel right here.

We get to talk about so many cool things. So how you feeling about it? You ready to do this? It, it's been so interesting. When I saw the assignment, I'm like, "Okay, what's in First Kings again?" Mm-hmm. But there are some really awesome stories, and like you said, like how this really, like the meat of it, how this really is- gonna be applicable to us- Yeah

and how can we liken these scriptures to us, you know? It's just like, it seems like that Bible, and even maybe the, the middle of the Bible is just like so scary a little bit. Like, who dives- Yes ... into that, you know? But this has been, it's been great. I mean, if nothing else, if I hold the, it against you about being here right now doing this discussion, what I've been able to study and learn has been awesome.

So- Ah ... thank you for that. You're welcome. That's so cool, 'cause it is fun. We're in the history. We're in the thick of the history of the Bible, and then once we get past the history, then you're just all the prophets who are talking to the people at this history time. So that's something to keep in mind.

Once you get past 2 Chronicles, and then you get into Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Psalm, all of those, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, these are the prophets who are speaking to the people at the historical time we're studying right now, so that's kind of fun. Okay, so everyone grab your scriptures and something to mark.

Oh, no, so before we even get into this, oh my gosh, look at me, I'm so excited already I'm talking about it. If you wanna see my guests and read their bios, they're gonna be in our show notes, which are found at ldsliving.com/sundayonmonday. So you're gonna wanna go check them out and grab your scriptures and something to mark them with, and let's dive into 1 Kings 12 through 13 and 17 through 20.

So first things first, ladies, before we even dive into it, I wanna know, what did the Holy Ghost teach you as you were preparing for this discussion? Well, I found it interesting. There's been a lot kinda going on, I mean, literally since you asked us to do this. I feel like I've Been in a little bit of a high emotional state with some- Washing machine.

Oh yeah, back and forth, back and forth. Um, but I guess what it, for me, what it came down to as we went through everything over and over and I had to do a bit of studying, is that it's my choice. We choose and we commit. As far as, like, what scripture really came to me with that, um, in 1 Kings 18:21. And first of all, I have been using

I love that they came out with, you know, use these other Bible translations. Mm-hmm. It's helped me a ton. Because while I have a master's degree, I would say when I'm reading the Bible, I prefer a sixth grade level reading- Yes ... for the Bible. I'm with you. Yep. So I have really utilized that all this year. So 1 Kings 18:21, the NIV version, and I like it 'cause there's just one word in there that was different for me that has really kinda made it stick with me.

But he says, "Elijah went before the Lord and said, 'How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him.'" And I believe in the King James Version it says, "How long will you halt between two opinions?" Um, but that word waver, I'm like, how often am I- Hmm ... wash machine. Maybe wishy-washy, but just, like, wavering.

You know? Where, where's my commitment? And, and so through all of this, through every section of this, it's like choose and commit. You know? Whether it's how I fulfill my calling or if I'm gonna fulfill a calling, my faith, my obedience, my trials, like, how I really deal with these hard times. Like, choose and commit.

You've done it, keep doing it. Wow. That is so cool. I love that the Spirit taught you that. I'm writing that down. What a great reminder. Thank you, Colette. Mm. So good. All right, Ange. So I have been pondering this for, like ... Like, I really wanted to know what the Spirit taught me. And, and I think the thing that just came back over and over and over again was that the famine always ends, and so does the drought, and the rain will always come regardless of how long it takes for it.

And so the ... 18:45 says, "And it came to pass in the meanwhile that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain." And even when we're standing in the middle of a dust field storm and there's not a drop of rain in sight, I think believing that there will be rain is- Mm ... like, there

It'll come. And that's where the faith comes in

Ange, that is so cool. The rain does come. There will be rain. I want that in vinyl lettering. Right? Because we always apply the rain to Noah's Ark. Like, God- Mm-hmm ... God said he'd do what he would do. But in this context, which we're gonna get to that story today, little spoiler alert everyone, it's such a good story.

But I love that one you said, "There will be rain." Oh, good stuff you two. I love that. I love that we're already feeling the spirit. Just a good, joyful, happy, faith-filled feeling is what we're feeling, and we've only been in this 20 minutes. So thank you. Okay. So they have shared this, and like we said, we're in the history of the Old Testament, and we started at the very beginning by saying the house of Israel, it is in disarray.

The kingdoms have split. We have the northern kingdom, which is Israel. We have the southern kingdom of Judah, and we have two leaders in each kingdom. So who are these leaders, and what are they gonna teach us about these people being in disarray? We will find out in the next segment

Segment 2

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Let's do a little reminder here. Let's catch us up to speed of where we are in this storyline. So here's what we know. David couldn't build the temple because of unrighteousness, so then his son Solomon came along. He built the temple and dedicated it, which we've talked about. The dedication is in 1 Kings chapter 8.

And then turn to 1 Kings chapter 11 because, oh, Solomon, not so good now, right? A little bit naughty. And you can just even read the section heading. It's gonna tell you about him. But mostly chapter 11 verse 6. Will you read that, Ange? "And Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord and went not fully after the Lord, as did David his father."

Okay. So now we need a new leader because David dies, Solomon's about to die. Who's gonna be our new leadership? We've got two leaders that are mentioned here in 1 Kings chapter 11 and in chapter 12. So let's go to verse 26. One of the first leaders that's going to come into play is in 1 Kings chapter 11 verse 26.

Highlight the name Jeroboam And this Jeroboam, according to verse 28, was a mighty man of valor. And Solomon, seeing the young man that he was industrious, made him ruler over all the charge of the house of Joseph. So he wasn't a son of Solomon. In verse 26 it tells us Jeroboam is the son of a widow woman who was Solomon's servant.

So we've got this little guy here. And we have this, uh, really cool story in verse 29. Underline the prophet Ahijah, the Shilonite. So this is a real prophet, and this prophet comes to Jeroboam, and he's going to give this really cool prophecy. He takes these 10 pieces of a garment, and this is in the story 29 and 30.

He takes this new garment, rips them up into 10 pieces, and then verse 31 he says to Jeroboam, "Take the 10 pieces for thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel." Highlight that. Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel. Anytime you see that wording in scripture, this is called prophetic speech pattern. And so this is where it's a prophecy.

This prophet is prophesying. He's a good prophet. He says, "For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, 'Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hands of Solomon, and will give 10 tribes to thee.'" So there's a little prophecy, a little foreshadowing that Jeroboam is going to be the leader of the 10 tribes who will eventually get taken into captivity.

And then we have to have another leader. There's gonna be some conflict. So go to 1 Kings 11, and we are in verse 40 is the verse we wanna read. And will you read that for us please, Colette? Sure. Verse 40 of 11. "Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam, and Jeroboam arose and fled into Egypt unto Shishak, king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon."

Okay, so- What? He was just, like, crowning? I know. He was so good, and then Jeroboam he actually rebels against Solomon in verse 26. He lifted up a hand against the king. And so Solomon realizes this guy's no good because Jeroboam was so good and Solomon wasn't good. So he's gonna kill Jeroboam, so Jeroboam's gonna flee to Egypt.

He flees to Egypt, and then now we have verses 41 through 43. Angie, read those for us. Okay. "And the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon? And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was 40 years. And Solomon slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David his father, and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead."

Now highlight Rehoboam. So here's the other leader, Rehoboam. Okay, that's who we get to talk about. Now, just as a little side note, for anyone who's new who didn't get to hear this discussion we had four years ago of the Old Testament, I'm gonna highly recommend, 10 out of 10, check out season three, episode 29 When we talk about 2 Kings chapter 17 because we draw

I actually explain to you in the podcast, we draw a map. It's one of my favorite things I own. Do you remember this, Ange? Yes, 'cause I just listened to it again the other day. It's the best. This map helped me understand the, uh, the Assyrian captivity, the Babylonian captivity, who's running, who's in charge, who the king is, and how it all works.

So every time I get to the Old Testament, I pull that map out so we understand, okay, so here's what we've got. We have Israel. We've got the Northern Kingdom and the Southern Kingdom, and Jeroboam's in the Northern Kingdom with the 10 tribes. Rehoboam's in the Southern Kingdom with two tribes, the kingdom of Judah and the kingdom of Benjamin.

So Rehoboam is in charge. He took o- after his father Solomon, but now the story goes. We have a problem, and my question to my guests was in 1 Kings chapter 12, I wanted you to come prepared to talk to me about what is going on with King Rehoboam. Like, this guy, honestly. So here's the problem they have.

Let's go to 1 Kings chapter 12, and we're just gonna read together verses one through five so we can see what the problem is. We'll each take a verse. Colette, will you start, and then Angie, and then me? Yes. Verse one. "And Rehoboam went to Shechem; for all Israel were to come to Shechem to make him king."

"And it came to pass that Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was yet in Egypt, heard of it, for he was fled from the presence of Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt." "That they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came, and spake unto Rehoboam, saying ..." "Thy father made our yoke grievous.

Now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee." "And he said unto them, Depart yet for three days, and come again to me. And the people departed." Simple ask. That's just the people's request. Can you just be a little kinder than your dad was?

Help us out. Not huge, just be a little nicer. Yeah, exactly. So he's like- Those taxes that he gave those poor people. Like, I thought- Yeah ... our taxes, right? So he's like, "Come back in three days. Let me think about it." So in your scriptures, you wanna bracket off verses six through seven because six through seven is the old men's counsel.

So he goes to the old men of the city and talks to them and says, "What do you think I should do?" Then bracket off verses eight through 11 because then he goes to the young men of the city and says, "What do you think I should do?" Now, the thing that the old men ... What did the old men tell Rehoboam to do?

Sum that up. To, to serve the people. Yeah. Be a servant to the people, lessen the load, and they will be your people forever. 'Cause old people are wise. Yeah. We really are, aren't we? Yeah, that's exactly it. Like, just be kind, be nice, serve the people. He didn't like that, so he went to the young men, and what did the young men say, Colette?

Oh, man. As young people might, "Tax 'em more. Hurt 'em more." Mm-hmm. "Put more on 'em. Don't go light. Don't go easy on 'em. Show 'em who's boss." Yeah. Yes, exactly. Mm-hmm. Okay, let's find out what he did. So here we go, verses 12 through 15, and we're just gonna read 13 and 14. Will you read that for us, Angie? "And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the old men's counsel that they gave him, and spake to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, 'My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke.

My father also chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.'" There it i- Ugh, does that sound so terrible. And I love 15. "So the king didn't hearken to the people." Well, I guess, yeah, you're right, he didn't. Awful, awful, awful. Okay. Now, I... Here's the interesting thing. I would not have chosen this to discuss, but it's in the Come, Follow Me manual, which so surprised me, 'cause I re- Here's what I do every time I prepare.

I read the whole scripture block, and then I follow the Spirit. Like, okay, what should we talk about? What's gonna be important? How can it apply to our lives? And when I saw in the Come, Follow Me manual it wanted to focus on this, I was like, "Really? Huh. Okay." So here it is. H- here, how are we gonna liken this unto ourselves?

What is going on that we can apply to our life? 'Cause none of us are kings, but what's going on here? Well, you think about him, Rehoboam, and you're like, "Oh my gosh, he blew it." Like, he was told what to do, how the people would serve him forever, yet he went with the, the young crowd and, and what he wanted to hear maybe, and, and he lost everything, right?

Yeah. And I'm like, "What an idiot." But then I think, how often are we like Which, what answer do I want? Who do I need to keep asking until I kinda get the answer that I want? Oh. Yeah. All the time. The, so Rehoboam, like his leadership was totally driven by ego and insecurity and image. Like, I wanna look powerful in front of the people, which is like so completely opposite of Christ and how he would lead the people.

Mm-hmm. And, and 'cause his, his power is, is rooted in, in humility and in service and in love. And, and Rehoboam just ... Because he listened to his buddies and they're just like, "You have the power." It's like they watched He-Man their whole lives or something. Yes. And it, here's interesting in verse 19, "Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day."

There's the split. This is what we've got right here. And so Jeroboam's gonna come back into the picture in verse 20, and Jeroboam then will rule the northern kingdom. Rehoboam will rule the southern kingdom, and this is where we get this split. All because this king was like, "Yeah, I'm not, I'm gonna do it the way my young people are telling me."

It doesn't even make sense. You would wanna be liked as a king. Isn't that, that's what kinda blows my mind. There was no part of that. He was completely convinced. And it reminds me, I just had this thought. It actually reminds me of President Ezra Taft Benson's talk on pride. Hm. If you go read that classic talk that he gave, he starts listing all the different things that are prideful, and the one that got me, and I remember the first time I read it and then I taught it in seminary and I studied it.

He says generation gaps is a form of pride. Mm-hmm. And this might be the best example of generation gaps. Like, he went to the old people first, but then he's like, "Nah, you don't know what you're talking about." Goes to the young people, and I like how you said, Colette, he's gonna keep going until he gets the advice he wants to hear versus the advice he needs to hear.

I think that's a generation gap, isn't it? Like, you old people don't know what you're talking about. Yes, and, and it goes both ways. Like- Right? Tell me. Talk to me. Well, so just that old people don't think that kids know what they're talking about. Oh. And kids don't think that adults know what they're talking about.

And so, like, it is, it's the pride. Like when you said it, pride is a generation gap. Like, absolutely. Mm-hmm. And that's what separates and that's what ... So you don't listen to each other, and you're not seeking to understand each other 'cause Yeah Oh, I like that. And I feel like never have we as a society ever been more generation gapped than we are now because of technology.

Yes. I mean, I can't even barely do technology. I don't even know what it'll be like when I'm 80 and I'm asking the younger kids to help me, and then they're making fun of me 'cause I don't figure it out. And sometimes I even do that to my parents. Sorry, Mom and Dad. But sometimes I'll call my parents and say, "Okay, listen, here's the new thing you need to be aware of."

They probably already are. I'm just assuming they're not. I don't know. There's just all these... Yes, it's everywhere. This is a good- Now I'm finally understanding why we need to discuss this. Yes. It's all the things. And I just had this, like, I've done that. Like, I have helped my mom on her phone and then turn around and come to work and have to call the social media guy 'cause I'm like, "Dude, I don't know how to do this.

Can you- ... just, just do it 'cause I don't understand it and I don't want to." Wow. And I like how you said it divides us, 'cause that is exactly what happened. It divided an entire kingdom. That's how serious it was. So awesome. Thank you, both of you, so much. That was so good. Okay, so now what we're gonna do is with this map then, we're gonna focus our whole discussion today on the Northern Kingdom.

That's where our whole storyline will be. The people were hoping for a good king, and Rehoboam wasn't gonna be doing it. He wouldn't even listen to the people. And even though the scriptures tell us that Jeroboam was a mighty man of valor, he didn't turn out so good. And so the people need help. And so we need a prophet.

We're gonna find out who that is in the next segment

Segment 3

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All right, so the people need help, that northern kingdom. Here's an interesting fact about this kingdom actually. The northern kingdom of Israel, they will have a total of, like, 20 kings. They're all gonna be bad. Spoiler alert, not one will walk after the ways of the Lord. So this prophet has his work cut out for him.

When we think about how prophets speak to us, at least there's good people, right? At least that he knows he's got some ears who will listen. So let's turn to 1 Kings 17:1 and find out the name of the prophet that the Lord sent these people to help them. Here we go. Chapter 17, verse one. And will you read that for us, Colette?

Yes "And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, 'As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.'" Ooh, okay, there it is again. "As the Lord God of Israel liveth," there's prophetic speech. Mm-hmm. He's about to prophesy there's going to not be any dew or rain all these years.

So the prophet is Elijah, highlight his name. So we're just gonna talk about some fun facts about Elijah, the prophet, and we're each gonna take a turn reading them. I'll start. The first thing about Elijah is you want to know his name is theophoric. That's a really fancy, intelligent way of saying it's a name that incorporates or is derived from the name of deity, literally meaning it's bearing or carrying a god.

That's what theophoric means, bearing or carrying a god. So in the name Elijah, El means God, and jah is a yah sound, which is Yahweh or Jehovah. So his name literally means Jehovah is my God. There we go. That's his name. Okay, fun fact number two. He was of the inhabitants of Gilead, the wild and beautiful hill country east of Jordan.

And I'm not gonna lie, I've always wanted to go there. Sounds nice. Wild and beautiful. Wild and beautiful. Yeah. That's kinda you. That describes you, Angie, actually. Just a little bit. Mm-hmm. I love how just a little bit. Ah. Okay, nothing is known of his parentage. There you go. Then we know that the Northern Kingdom was the scene of his work at a time when owing to the influence of Ahab and Jezebel, boy those two were naughty, they loved each other, but Jezebel was mean, the people had almost entirely forsaken the worship of Jehovah, and they had become worshipers of the Phoenician god, Baal, who is so evil and so awful that, do a little dive on that.

That worship is mind-blowing. But that's the reality is all of his work is gonna take place in the Northern Kingdom, and all he's trying to do is get the people to believe in Jesus. That's all he wants is Jesus. You'd think it'd be easy enough, but- Right ... you've got a lot of, a lot of influence trying to, trying to work against that.

Yeah. And Malachi foresaw his return. "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the day, the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord." Among the Jews, he is still an invited guest at the Passover, for whom a vacant seat is reserved and the door is opened Oh, you know a little bit about that, Colette All thanks to you.

You th- you- Well ... more fully educated me on that. You attended a dinner. We did a big gigantic Passover dinner for all of the youth in your stake. That was so fun. It was so- Didn't you love it when, when every kid stood to welcome Elijah in? Wasn't that awesome? Yeah. It was so great. I- I, I- I love it ... I'm not even in Young Women's or Young Men's, and I knew you were coming, and I knew it was about Easter and the Passover, and so I invited myself to that- Yay

and that's why I was there in the first place. Um, so it was great. Ah. So they ... I love that moment when they all stood, and here's the really cool thing. Elijah did appear again in the company of Moses and others on April 3rd, 1836 in Kirtland Ohio Temple, and he confirmed the keys upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery of the Melchizedek Priesthood.

So I love that. The Jews are awaiting his return, and we have f- our revelation has fulfilled that in section 110. Okay, what else do we know about him? Well, and that is when Elijah held the sealing power of the Melchizedek Priesthood that he- Right back. Yes. S- and he appeared on the Mount of Transfiguration in company with Moses, who was also translated, and conferred the keys of the priesthood on Peter, James, and John.

Awesome. And then the really cool thing that we can ascribe to Elijah, who then gives this to Elisha, is he had a mantle. So let's talk about what a mantle is. Before we do, this is kind of fun. I ask my guests to bring me their favorite blanket or cloak or coat. What'd you guys... Did you guys bring one? Yes.

What do you got? I brought my coat. It's this brown furry coat, and I've had it for many, many years. But it is my favorite coat- ... for two reasons. It's, like, windproof. So if you live in Idaho, it- that is clutch, right? It keeps me so warm. The other thing is its description when I bought it is a casual hiking jacket.

This is no casual hiking jacket. It's like an even... We laugh about that every single time. But it is truly one of my- ... favorite coats, mostly 'cause it always brings us a smile to all of us 'cause we're like- Always ... "Oh, you've come in your casual hiking jacket." That's "Great." And it's furry. Oh, I love that so much.

Yeah, it's like this... Yeah, well, I don't know. Only in Idaho. It's kind of like the minky blankets on the outside. Yeah. Okay. Only, like, this dark brown. And, 'cause I brought my favorite blanket, which is like a minky blanket. And- Yes ... I don't know why my dog thinks that this is his. Whenever I lay on it... See, he's coming right now.

He just comes and- He knows ... he'll lay on it with me. And- Oh ... sometimes he doesn't wanna be by me unless I have that on. And then as soon as I lift up that blanket, he is right there. Okay. This is so perfect because we're gonna take this idea of a cloak or a coat and apply it to mantle. And Colette, you couldn't have been more inspired to pick what you brought because let's read.

We're gonna go into 1 Kings 19:19. We're gonna mark that word mantle, and I wanna show you something really cool about it, and then we're gonna talk about what that means, a mantle. 'Cause our prophet today just recently spoke about a mantle to the students at BYU. So go to 1 Kings 19:19. And in this verse, it's talking about Elijah.

It says, "He departed thence, and found Elisha, the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with 12 yoke of oxen before him, and he with the 12th. And Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him." Now let's go to 2 Kings 1:8. This is the cross-reference we wanna put next to 1 Kings 19:19 'cause there's sort of a mistranslation that might lead us into an idea of what this mantle was.

So when you get there, will you read that for us, Angie? "And they answered him, 'He was an hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins.' And he said, 'It is Elijah the Tishbite.'" Okay, now here's ... This is so cool. It could mean Elijah is hairy, or it's actually a mistranslation. What it should say is, "He was a man with a hairy garment."

Ah. So- That makes it so much better because I'm like- That totally different. They're gonna tell how hairy he is, but they're not gonna tell anything about his parents? I mean- Yeah. Yeah, I know, right? I'm following that back there. So right there, scholars b- believe that the hairy garment was the mantle that he wore, the cloak that he wore, which would make more sense if it was of an animal sacrifice and he wore this hairy cloak.

Okay, so knowing that it's physically something, when we talk about a mantle in the scriptures, it is physically a mantle that is put on. And so Elijah wore this mantle. Now we don't really know what it looked like, but a, accord- again, according to 2 Kings 1:8, it might be that it was very hairy. Now in our terms today, we speak of a mantle, which is the authority of a prophet, and it's what he receives when he's ordained or set apart.

So that's how we often think of with this mantle. Now in February of this year, 2026, President Dallin H. Oaks spoke to BYU students in a devotional, and he spoke about the mantle. So let's read this quote. This is pretty awesome. Colette, can you read this quote for us? Yes. Frequent references to the mantle of the office settling on me have suggested that I begin with some observations on the significance of that term.

The word mantle is used in the Bible to describe the cloak of the prophet Elijah that descended on Elisha as a symbol of the passage of prophetic authority. The term mantle came into the restored church's history in many reports in the meeting in Nauvoo on who would succeed the murdered Joseph Smith.

Many who were present recorded their experience, experience of the mantle of Joseph settling on Brigham Young. Those experiences took many forms. Some had visual experiences, some heard Joseph's voice, and many had a feeling as each of us receives revelation differently. When Russell M. Nelson was called as our prophet, I had a similar experience.

I had sat beside this apostle in the meetings of the Quorum of the Twelve for 34 years, but when the mantle of the prophet settled upon President Nelson, I felt that his prophetic gifts were magnified. We all have witnessed his profound leadership. Upon President Nelson's death, I experienced another meaning of the mantle.

To observers, it symbolizes a transfer of priesthood authority. To the person who receives that authority, it is very different and very real. Within a few minutes after learning of our president's death, I felt the heaviness of responsibility settle upon me, along with important impressions of what I was required to do now.

Oh. And I know it's totally different, but yet a little bit the same. Like when I in the past have served as Relief Society president- Mm-hmm ... I remember being set apart, and as a missionary actually, and feeling a little bit of that, of that weight of that mantle. And I'm not gonna lie, I'm, I mostly noticed it when I was released and it went away, and then I was like, "Oh, I can breathe."

Mm-hmm. And, um, that just... I can't imagine. I mean, that was for, you know, however many women were in my wards. Yeah. And then President Oaks for the whole of the whole world Like that's, that's a heaviness. I've actually noticed, so one of our brothers was just made bishop, and I noticed like a difference like almost immediately- Yeah.

Wow ... in his, in his whole everything, like his demeanor, his personality. Like he's, he's different. Now, I love that you've shared that, 'cause that's the application there. Because we read this and we look for it in a prophet, but I agree with you. I think there is some truth, because it says, he says right here, "It symbolizes a transfer of priesthood authority."

That happened with your brother. That happens when we're set apart to serve missions. I believe that when you're put in as Relief Society president. In fact, this is a cool thing. In Hebrew, the word mantle is adaret, and it means a cloak, a mantle, splendor, or glory. And the way you described your brother, a new splendor or a new glory, I think that is true of missionaries, too.

And just a fun note, my mission president, every time we got together for district meetings and, and zone meetings, he would al- we had to read Lock Your Hearts every- Oh, sweet ... single week.

Yes. Apparently that was an issue in that mission. You... Yeah, right? Like this is not the time to find a boyfriend or a girlfriend. Just serve the Lord. And my mission president used to always say, "You're not that good-looking. None of you are. It's your mantle. So just serve the Lord and get home." And I just love that, 'cause I'm like, "Oh, okay, yeah."

He just was so funny. But there is something glorious, there's some splendor attached to this idea of a mantle, and I just love that idea that the transfer of priesthood authority contains splendor and glory. And so we have this story of Elijah. This is where we first read about the mantle, and then he'll give it to Elisha, which we'll get into later.

But very cool, and thank you for applying it to your brother. That's a great story. Yeah. Great example. Okay, so now that we know this awesome story, Elijah the prophet who has the mantle, in the next story we are gonna talk about one of the first miracles he performs, going back to his prophecy that there will be no rain.

We'll talk about that next.

Segment 4

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Let's turn to 1 Kings chapter 17, and let's talk about Elijah, the Tishbite, who's probably wearing a casual hiking jacket. How much do I love that? Absolutely. He's wearing the mantle. He prophesies, and we've already marked this, so let's just be a reminder, "As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall be no dew or rain these years, but according to my word."

Okay, no dew or rain, and then we get to get into one of the best Old Testament stories. All right, ladies, are you ready to tell this story? Here we go. So he's hiding. The Lord tells him to hide himself, so he does. And he's hiding himself by the brook Cherish. And then verse four says, "It shall be that thou shalt drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee."

Love that. So he goes and does exactly what the Lord says to him. There's no food, there's no rain, there's nothing for them to drink. Life is hard for them. And then we get into this awesome story, and it starts right here in verse eight. "And the word of the Lord came unto him saying..." Colette, read verse nine for us.

1 Kings 17:9. "Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sus- to sustain thee." Perfect. Okay, ladies, tell me the story about the widow of Zarephath. What's going on here? I love this story. I love- Tell me why, Ang. I love that she's... Well, she's a widow, and the Lord has told her that there's someone coming that she's gonna take care of, 'cause He's just told us that He commanded, that He's commanded her.

Mm-hmm. And I, I love her faith. I love that, like, when he first gets there he's like, "Hey, can you give me a little glass of water?" And, and she's like, "Yeah, no problem. I thought you were gonna ask for so much more." "I'll absolutely do that." He's like, "Oh, and while you're at it, can you give me a little cake?"

Mm-hmm. "Make me a little bread." What does he say? Cake or bread? Depends on your translation version. I do like the idea of cake. I always liked cake. Mm-hmm. It says, "As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not cake but a handful of meal in a barrel and a little oil in a cruise. And I'm gonna get some sticks, and I'm gonna make dinner for myself and my son, and then we're gonna curl up together and we're gonna die.

And, and that's how we've got it planned." And, and how he's like, "You know what? If you get mine first, you're gonna be okay." Yeah. Which, which still had to have taken tremendous faith, right? As I was thinking about this, and, and it does say there that he has, he has commanded this widow woman, but I kinda had two scenarios in my mind.

Yeah, tell me. Like, like let's say, let's say she did know he was coming, right? And every day it's still a drought. There becomes less and less meal and less and less oil available, and she's like, "Is he coming or not? I'm gonna keep using this, but there's, there's becoming less and less," right? Mm-hmm. Oh, I like that.

And so then, you know, so she's... But she's like, "Okay, am I gonna do this?" And so she's almost, like, being tested every single day, like- Uh, am I still gonna give it to him at this point? Would she do that? Am I still gonna give him at this point? Like, and so she has to keep thinking that. So that's impressive that even though, like she has to continue to pre- prayer herself and realize things are getting really bad.

So even if he does come, like I said I would do this, but I, what if I don't have enough when he comes? Am I still gonna do this? Wow. Right? That is so cool because now I'm considering if she did know and she was preparing for him to come and she'd been waiting a long time, what if they had gone several days without eating?

'Cause how did she get to the point where she's like, "We're gonna eat it and then tomorrow we're..." Like, "We're gonna eat it and then we're gonna die." Yeah. I mean- Had she gone up? That's ex- I've never been that, like- Crazy. What if she had already gone a few days thinking- Yeah, like- ... she was gonna save this for him.

She'd been rationing. When is... What? Yes. How destitute must she have been to get to the point where she's like, "We're gonna die tomorrow." I've never known that type of hunger. Right. Yeah. But like, it's like we're, we're only eating once every four days. Yes. And so tomorrow is, like this is the fourth day, so we're gonna eat, and then it's gonna be gone.

Yep. And then, and that, then it's- Oh, yeah And she's like, "And you want me to make it for you?" Yeah. "You want this last cake that I have." Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And- Whoa ... and you want it and not my, not my child. Right? Like as a mom- Yeah ... I'm just like, what? I don't even know you. Okay, you're a prophet, but still, I don't know you personally.

You are not my child who I love with everything and I'm gonna give you the last meal? I mean, it comes with this promised blessing which obviously shows her faith. But that's where this other scenario ... Okay, she knew that he was gonna come so she's prepared and she's, you know, like mentally every day saying, "Okay, I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna do this."

But let's say she didn't really know. He kinda surprised her with it, right? She's, she's at the gate of the city and he comes to her and he's like, "Oh, hey you, I, I need a drink of water." And she's like, "Well, it's a drought, but okay, I'll give you a drink of water." "While you're at it, bring me some bread." But she knows, "Well, I'm about to fix my last meal."

Mm-hmm. Yet she still does it, and those actions of hers, like instinctively she did it, right? She still obeyed. Mm-hmm. She was still faithful. So even though, let's say, again, let's say she didn't realize that this was gonna happen, her faith shows that she's acted in that way before. Um- It- she didn't have to redecide.

She didn't have to redecide that she was gonna follow the commandment. She went and did. Yeah. Choose and commit. Yeah. Choose and commit. There it is. Coming full circle back to that. That is awesome. Okay, so now I'm thinking on a whole new plane, 'cause I'm thinking, 'cause I said I've never been that hungry for food.

But spiritually speaking, now it's a game changer. 'Cause like have I ever been spiritually to the point where I'm like, "I could just die tomorrow. Like I'm so tired of hanging on." I have chosen, I have committed, but Angie, you ... I wish everyone could see Angie's face when you did that, when she's about to pour the oil or she's about to reach in for the, the flour, and she's questioning like, "Is this real?"

I think we've all been there where we just go, "Wow, I mean, I'm really hoping this is gonna sustain me," and you reach into that pot and y- you feel the flour, right? Isn't, don't we all have moments like that spiritually speaking? Yes. Absolutely. I think, I think we have more than we, we realize. As I've been pondering about this the past couple weeks, like far more than I realized, I've gone to reach for what I felt like was my last drops of oil and my last grains of meal.

Like I thought sh- And it was there And, and it was a great dinner.

That's what I do when I wanna not cry, make a joke. But, um- Sure. I'm the same way. But I'm feeling the Spirit so strong right now, 'cause as you're saying this, Angie, I believe you. Like, you're testifying of something really profound right now. Yeah. And it's, like, I think so often... I mean, I can think of all kinds of times.

Like, I think the first six months of my mission was the longest 10 years of my life. For sure. Like, every day I just thought, even now, I mean, I've been home for decades. Even now, I remember those first six months and how every single day I just, I just wanted help. I just needed help. I wanted a companion who had been out more than eight weeks longer than me.

Mm-hmm. And I didn't get one. I didn't get one for seven months. Hmm. And it was, it was hard every day. And it wasn't just 'cause we were both new, but it was just hard every single day

But he always managed to fill me up. We got up every single morning What a great life application, that choosing to commit. You, we choose and we commit, and then we grab that barrel of oil and just go, "Well, here we go. I hope there's oil in there." And there always is when we choose and commit to Christ.

Yeah. There's always enough flour, always enough oil. Mm-hmm. Wow, that's cool. Thank you to both of you. What a great moment of testifying of the truth of that. Okay, so that's the widow of Zarephath. That's that story. You guys, we still have more stories, though. So here's what we're gonna do. In the next segment, we're gonna look at some of the choices the Israelites made.

Did they choose and commit, or was Elijah called to help them examine their poor choices? We'll do that next

Segment 5

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Now, one of the things that I think is remarkable about this story of Elijah is you immediately get into this first miracle where there is a famine, there's no water, there's no food. Somewhere on your page where this miracle just happened, the widow of Zarephath, you wanna put the cross-reference of Luke 4:25-26 because the Savior will reference this miracle- Mm-hmm

and he'll tell us it lasted three years and six months. Three years and six months of no food and no water. That's how bad it was. When we talk about destitute, that is destitute. So the famine's happening, and I love how the storyline tells us, "Here's what Elijah did for a woman who was able to choose and commit."

And then you get into 1 Kings chapter 18, and now we're gonna find out about a people who couldn't choose and commit, and what happened to them. I think there's purpose in the way this story is set up so that we can see that there is hope if we will choose and commit, but look what happens if you don't.

So in 1 Kings chapter 18, here's where the story takes place. We've got this man by the name of Ahab, and Ahab is married to Jezebel, and Jezebel wants all of the prophets dead. And there's a man in verse three, and his name is Obadiah. Mark his name in 1 Kings 18:3 And it tells us that Obadiah feared the Lord greatly.

Now, this is not Obadiah the prophet that we'll read about later on in the prophets of the Old Testament. It's just another man named Obadiah. He's a governor over all the things, and he is very important because where it says he feared the Lord greatly, what he ends up doing is when Jezebel wants to kill all the prophets in verse four, Obadiah's going to hide the prophets in caves by 50s, and he's going to feed them bread and water.

Okay, so Obadiah then meets a man by the name of Elijah, the prophet, but look what he says about him. So let's go down to verse seven and eight, and Angie, can you read those two verses for us? "And as Obadiah was in the way, behold, Elijah met him: and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said, Art thou my lord Elijah?

And he answered, I am: go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here." Now, do you see how it says, "Tell thy lord," in small caps? Mm-hmm. When you see that in small caps, it doesn't mean Lord Jehovah, it means the Lord Ahab. So that's, the small caps is just the way of saying the king or whoever he's in ch- he's working for.

Okay, so here's what you wanna know with this story then going in, because what the people are doing, and what's about to happen is the Israelites, they may have felt like they had good reasons to worship this false god, Baal. And again, it is awful, awful that they worship him. So in verse 15, Elijah says, "As the Lord of hosts liveth," there it is again, he's about to prophesy, "before whom I stand, I will surely show myself unto him today," saying to Obadiah, "I'm gonna show myself to Ahab, the man you're in charge of, and there's something that's about to happen."

And verse 18, "I have not troubled Israel; but thou and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim." This is this false god that they are worshiping. And worshiping Baal was socially accepted, and it was promoted by the king and queen. So now we have this story where Elijah comes up and he says, "Let's see which god is stronger."

It's the best challenge of challenges. This is what we're doing here. If you won't choose and commit, let me help you. So he says, "Gather your prophets," in verse 19. "Gather the prophets of Baal," there's 450 of them, "and you're going to meet me, and we're going to have sort of a face-off." And then we have verse 21.

Read that for us, Colette, 'cause it's your verse, and read the version that you have, 'cause it's so good. 1 Kings 18:21. Now, this is the NIV version, again because that word- Mm-hmm ... that really just hits home for me. "Elijah went before the people and said, 'How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him.

But if Baal is God, follow him.' But the people said nothing." Okay. So I've asked these two women to tell us this best challenge of all challenges. Angie, hit it. Your verse is 22 through 30, and then Colette, you get to tell us what happens in 31 through 40. What's going on? Okay. First of all, I love Elijah. So he's like, "Listen up, everybody."

He's so tongue in cheek, isn't he? Right. Oh. He's a little cheeky. First part especially- Yes ... this first section. Yeah. We'll- And listen, and I'm not just saying that. Don Perry, who teaches Jesus Christ in scripture on YouTube literally says Elijah is a little bit cheeky. So we all ... We can be in good knowing that we're not reading into anything.

He really is. Okay, hit it. He really is so good. This is cheeky. I love him because I also am cheeky. Many, many times I've gotten in trouble. Okay. So Elijah says, "Listen, y- you have your 450 priests, and then there's me. So we have our bullocks, and we're gonna cut them up and put them on the wood, and we're gonna

To build the fires and have it all ready. Do everything but set the fire. And then you're going to call upon your gods, upon Baal, right?" Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. "And I will call upon the name of my Lord, the Lord of Israel, of the, the Jehovah. And the God that answers is the real God, the one that, that does the fire."

And so, um, they ... The, the prophets get it ready. He lets them pick first even, so they've got all the good stuff, and they get it all ready. I'm imagining them putting all the wood in order. Like, did they do a teepee type of wood formation? Did they do a log cabin form? Like, yeah, what are we talking here?

'Cause they wanna make sure that whatever happens, the fire is really going to happen under this cut up bull, right? So we have two fires here that haven't been yet- lit yet, but all the wood's ready to go. Yeah. So this is in the morning, and he lets them go first, and they cry to Baal all morning long. And then it comes to be noon, and still nothing.

And then at noon they're still carrying on. And this is ... Love this. First of all, then they get on the altar and they start to jump up and down. Really? You want him to start on fire but you're gonna jump up and down on it like you want him to burn you too? Yeah. Like this was not your smartest move. And then in verse 27 he mocks them.

Mm-hmm. And, and he's like, "Listen- If he is God, maybe, maybe he's, maybe his neighbor dropped by and they're talking Right Or maybe he's stuck in the bathroom, or maybe he has gone on a little trip, or maybe he's taking a nap. Like- Yeah ... maybe you should be a little louder because he's taking a nap and he can't hear what you're saying.

And so- He's so cheeky right there I love it. Like he's, he's busy. He's making a sandwich and he just doesn't have time for you. And, and I love it. And so they cry louder and then they start to cut themselves which- Mm-hmm ... and, and with knives and, and all this stuff. And then noon passes, and then before you know it, it's evening and he still hasn't answered.

And then he just, he's like, "Now listen, you guys have had all day long. Now it's my go." Okay. Hit it, Colette All right. So, uh, you know, that makes sense of why, 'cause Eli- Elijah now is going to rebuild the altar, which makes sense 'cause maybe they just wrecked it with all their jumping around. But- Mm-hmm ... so he takes 12 stones, and the 12 is significant.

They, they represent the 12 tribes of Israel. So he takes these 12 stones to rebuild the altar. He builds it up, and then he digs this trench around the altar. He places the wood on the altar, then he puts the burnt sacrifice on there, and then he says, "Bring me four barrels of water. I'm gonna make ... I'm gonna give you guys all, like, all the head start you need.

I'm gonna make everything in your favor. Take those four barrels and dump water all over it." So they do that, then they do it again. Then they do it again. So 12 barrels of water are dumped over the sacrifice, the wood, the stone, so much f- so that the trench fills up with water. Um, and then at that point, so now we're at the evening, like Ang said.

It's time for the evening sacrifice, and Elijah calls to the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, which I thought was interesting 'cause we're always Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But he, he must wanna make a point, right? That- Ooh, I love that ... God is this God of Israel going on. So verse 36, it says, "Let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel.

Hear me, O Lord. Hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their hearts back again." So he wants to make it very clear who, who is doing this. Mm-hmm. This is the God of Israel. Not Baal. Not all their other gods that they're worshiping. I mean, they've got representations from all sorts of things with the wood and the meat and the, and the- Water

lightning that's supposed to come, and the water and everything, right? They've just got, they've got so many different gods going on that they're used to, and he's saying, "No, there's one." Mm-hmm. And he's gonna, he's gonna show you what happens. And then, man, he lights it up. The fire ... "Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering."

It didn't just consume the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, the dust, the water. The water was licked up. There was nothing left in the trench. Mm-hmm. It took it all. "And when the people saw this, they fell on their faces, saying, 'The Lord, He is the God.'" Yeah. LORD. All capital Lords. He is the God Yes. Oh, I love that.

And then we have verse 41. So Elijah says to Ahab, "Get thee up, eat and drink, for there is a sound of abundance of rain." And it just goes back to what you had talked about, Angie, with this idea of rain. There will be rain. There absolutely will be rain. Tell me more about that when it comes to this idea of rain in these verses 41 through 46.

He says to his servant, uh, "Go, go look and see if there's any clouds." And he comes back and he's like, "There's, there's not any." He's like ... So he prays again and he's like, "Well, go up and is there anything now?" And he does this seven times. Yes. And then finally on the seventh time, the servant comes back, he's like, "I see a little cloud just out over the sea, and it looks like a man's hand."

Wow. And then that is when Elijah says, "Go up, tell Ahab and tell him to prepare his chariots and get down off this mountain because if he doesn't, the rain's gonna stop him." And then my favorite part, "And it came to pass in the meanwhile that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain."

Why do you love that so much? Well, I, I, like Elisha, have prayed for things over and over and over and over. Mm. I think, and not just like Elisha, I am certain all of us do this, right? 'Cause nobody's life turns out the way they think it's going to. Mm-hmm. Or the way they envisioned or the way that they want it to.

Like, it just doesn't. Everybody has those secret inside things that they are praying for all the time. And, and I mean, I've done that, and it's taken- It's taken a long time to get answers, right? Mm-hmm. It could be weeks, it could be months, it could be years. In my case, I'm headed on five decades. Like, just waiting.

And, and, and then it rained. Like, it happened, and that's, that's kinda... Like, it'll happen. And that, for me, so many people, I just laugh. People'll be like, "I'm so... It's so great that you still come to church and you're single." I'm like- ... "Where else would I be on Sunday? Of course I'm coming." And, or some mom will come up to me and she's like, this actually happened, bless her little heart.

But she came up to me and she said, "My daughter is almost 30 and she's not married, and she feels like, because in her patriarchal blessing it tells her she's gonna get married and have children, that she has made a mistake and that she has messed up her whole, her whole life." Mm-hmm. Right? She somehow messed up and she doesn't get this promise.

And I'm like, "First of all, no." Yeah. "Second of all, Heavenly Father, when He makes a promise, He keeps the promise." Now, part of having faith is faith in His timing, and while I don't always agree with His timing, down the road I agree with it. Mm-hmm. Oh, right, He knows. But He makes the promise, so you have to live so that He has to keep the promise.

Amen. And 'cause my patriarchal blessing says that I will provide mortal tabernacles for some of my brother and sister spirits. Guess what, folks? That ship has sailed. But I believe in a God who keeps His promises. And I don't know how He's gonna do it, but I don't have to know. He's the one who has to figure out how to keep that promise because He's the one who made it.

And I'll tell you what, I'm living my life so that however He does it, please bless it's not as Sariah and I have a baby when I'm 100. Mm-hmm. But, like, He's gonna keep it. I have zero doubt about that. And- Yeah ... and, you know, it doesn't mean that days are easy. For sure not, right? As I'm still hanging on.

Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. But, but He sends little clouds every once in a while that remind me that the rain is coming.

Oh. And he's done that in all kinds of things for my whole life. And sometimes, sometimes rain comes in great big drops, and sometimes it's sleet, and sometimes it's just that you walked outside and you can see there was a drop or two on the sidewalk, and you're like, "Oh, look at that, it rained." Yeah. I like that.

I, I literally thought of that today 'cause we've been talking about this rain thing, right? And it's the middle of May here in South Deseret, and it's like 85 degrees. That is- Not very- ... super common. It's hot. It's dry. We had a terrible winter. We don't have water. And I keep thinking, we need rain. Like, literally we need rain.

And- Every Sunday, prayers ... prayers. Prayers for rain- Mm-hmm ... all in church. And today the clouds came in, and I thought, "I'll take a few drops of rain." Mm-hmm. Even a few drops. Like, the clouds are shading and I'm thinking it's so hot. I will take those few drops of rain. And, and thinking on this as it's been in my mind, I think I look back and I see those blessings as we speak of rain, and it's been a deluge, right?

It's ... There's- Yeah ... it's pouring, right? But in the midst of the drought, it's like sometimes we only see a few drops here and there. Like, it doesn't feel like we're getting the rain- Mm-hmm ... but we are. Especially when we look back, we're like, "Oh, the rain was there." I have so loved everything the two of you have said.

It seems like this has been the theme of our whole discussion today, and I would never have anticipated this, this concept of we need to choose and we need to commit. And then you perfectly wrap this up, Angie, by saying, "God makes the promise, then we have to live for the promise so that He can keep His promise."

Again, that's that choose and commit part. And by believing that He will, and that He will send rain, that rain will come in all its various forms. And here's the really fascinating thing about this story. While it is such a fun story, and Elijah is so cheeky, the thing I love is that he's just trying to get them to choose and commit.

Like, you have to believe in this God. Here's the fascinating thing. This god, Baal, that they had believed in and worshiped, he was the god of storms and rain And he could not Yeah, he couldn't He could not make it happen. He could not get them out of this drought for three and a half years until finally Elijah comes and says, "Let me show you who will."

And so you get this brief little glimmer of hope when the verse 39, "The Lord, he is the God. The Lord, he is the God." Like they do believe him, and then they don't. And so that is what has been the cycle of all of our lives. Like just choose and commit so that there is an abundance of rain, as verse 41 says.

So thank you. You, both, what both of you shared was so beautiful and so perfect and so timely. So that was awesome. Great discussion. Okay, so we have that whole thing, and then we have chapter 19. And if you just look at the section heading, oh, Jezebel. She seeks the life of Elijah, and he is sad. So in the next segment, we're gonna find out where he goes to wallow in his sadness

Segment 6

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We're in 1 Kings chapter 19. We're going to read verses four through eight because I said that Elijah's gonna wallow in his depression and sadness. He really is. He's going to go and be sad about this because Jezebel wants him dead. And maybe he's tired. We just had this big miracle. He's probably tired of people not listening to him.

He just wants them to commit, to choose and commit as we've been saying this whole entire time. So I love these verses because verses four through eight has been a meme going on lately on- online which makes me laugh. Here's the story. We each are gonna take a verse. We'll start with Angie, and then we'll go Colette, and then me.

Verses four through eight. "But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a juniper tree. And he requested for himself that he might die and said, 'It is enough. Now, O Lord, take away my life for I am not better than my fathers.'" Can you ... You just feel it, don't you?

Enough. Like I'm done. I'm done. Yeah. Okay. "And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, an angel touched him and he said unto him, 'Arise and eat.' And he looked, and behold, there was a cake baking on the coals and a cruise of water at his head. And he did eat and drink and laid him down again." And the meme is, sometimes all you need is just a little nap and some cake.

I love that. That's great. When you're really sad. Yeah. He keeps, he keeps getting cake. Yeah, he keeps getting the cake. Right? He's doing great. I don't know that I would want the raven cake, but the rest of the cake. Sure. Okay, verse seven, Ang. Okay, seven. "And the angel of the Lord came again the second time and touched him and said, 'Arise and eat because the journey is too great for thee.'"

And he arose and did eat and drink and went into the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb, the mount of God. Okay, so then he's gonna go into a cave in verse nine. He came thither into a cave and he lodged there. And he's going to hang out in this cave to spare his life because Jezebel wants him dead.

And as he's doing that, he feels this prompting. I love verses 10 and 11 'cause Elijah's saying, "I have been very jealous," or zealous is what the word in Hebrew means, "for the Lord God of hosts for the children of Israel have forsaken my covenant, thrown down mine altars, and slain the prophets with the sword.

And I, even I only am left, and they seek my life to take it away." And the Lord said, "Go forth and stand upon the mount before the Lord." So he comes out of the cave. And as he comes out of the cave, the verse goes, "And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains and brake it in pieces, the rocks before the Lord.

But the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire a still small voice. And it was so when Elijah heard it that he wrapped his face with his mantle." There's a first time we ever hear still small voice as describing what the Spirit is and how the Lord speaks to every single one of us.

So there's this really great quote. It's from Elder Hales, his April 2003 general conference talk called Faith Through Tribulation Brings Peace and Joy. And I wanted us to read this part of the talk because he mentions Elijah and he mentions this experience in the cave. We are living through turbulent times.

A great storm of evil has come upon the earth. The winds of wickedness howl about us. The waves of war beat against our ship. As Paul wrote to Timothy, "In the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof."

It is true that ominous clouds gather around us, but just as the Savior words brought peace to the apostles in the boat, they bring peace to us today. "And when ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars, be ye not troubled, for such things must needs be. But the end shall not be yet." If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear.

To Elijah, Jehovah said, "Go forth, stand upon the mount before the Lord." Elijah obeyed, and after a storm of wind and earthquakes and fire, he was finally visited with a still, small voice. To Elijah, who had hid himself inside a cave, the Lord asked, "What doest thou here, Elijah?" And Elijah answered, "Because the children of Israel have forsaken thy commandment, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword, I, even I alone, am left."

And they shall seek my life to take it away. But the Lord had important work for Elijah to do and therefore said unto him, "Go, return on thy way." So Elijah went. We too must come forth from our secure caves, for we have important work to do. Through the still small voice of His Spirit, the Lord will protect us, help us, and guide us.

So here's my question for you. We've been talking about the northern kingdom this whole time and about how wicked the people are, and I, I love how it began. We live in turbulent times, and we do. We live in our own northern kingdom right now. So my question is: how can coming out of our secure caves make a difference in our kingdom?

What does that look like? Oh. I, I've... As I was reading this, I really liked this thought, and, and I read more of Elder Hales' talk on this. But when the Lord speaks to him, he says, "What, what doest thou here, Elijah?" Like, I put my name in there, and I have to ask myself, "What doest thou here, Colette?" Like- Ooh, I like that

what are, what are you here to do, right? You have an important work to do. I have an important work to do. Am I just hiding in my secure cave? Because I can't stay there. I have to get out. I have to... There's, there's an important work to do, and it's not an easy work. And I took it as, well, what am I here to do?

What, what am I- Mm-hmm ... doing here? And, and I think of my family and he says, "The living prophets have counseled us time and time again to put our lives in order, to eliminate debt, to get food storage, to pay our tithing, to obtain appropriate education, to live the commandments," right? So for me, coming out of my secure cave is doing those things.

It's a do as I do, not do as I say. Mm-hmm. But I have to do with action. They have to see that, right? And he talks about that. Our, our, our families, my family needs to see me continuing to pray, to study the scriptures, to s- do come follow me, to have family councils, to serve faithfully in my church callings, to attend the temple, to be obedient to my covenants.

That is me coming out of my secure cave. That is what my family needs me to s- needs to see me doing. And then if they see that, he says, "When they see our steadfastness in keeping the commandments, their fears will subside, and their confidence in the Lord will increase." And that right there is what I need to know that they're doing...

That's why I do all these things every day. I love Jesus, I love our Heavenly Father, and I want my kids' confidence in them to be, to be in them, to grow and to strengthen. And I know that they, I mean, they have so many things they can look to. The influencers, right? Mm-hmm. All the social media things that they have to look for, look to as, as being the standard to live up to, which is unfortunate.

But I want them to look to me and what I'm doing. And, and it is a, a heavy burden to carry or a, a, a, a heavy mantle sometimes, I feel like. But, but that is how I come out of my secure cave. That's what I have to do for my family so that they can have the confidence in the Lord, and so that it will increase- Yeah

and they will stay the path. Oh, I like that so much, Colette. I like how you said, "Come out of my secure cave and just put on a nice walking jacket," right? Yeah. Yeah. A casual hiking jacket. A casual hiking jacket, exactly. On the way out of the cave. Yeah. Mm-hmm. I was thinking about Elijah and what he was doing in the cave.

And I mean, he'd eaten, and then he went 40 days and 40 nights, which could be actual or figurative- Mm-hmm ... right? Could have- Yep ... just learned the lesson. And then to have, have him say, "So what are you gonna do?" And when he goes out and it wasn't in the wind and it wasn't in the earthquake, 'cause he had just called on all of these things and it wasn't in the fire, it made me like think about the same as, as Gus, like what am I d- what am I doing?

Mm. Like it is different for every single one of us, but it's coming out of our comfort zone. It's not just sitting back and letting things happen. It's coming out and listening to the still small voice so that you know where you can help, you know where you can be. Mm. You know how to testify. You know what your mission is, what your objective is.

I went to, um, I was sitting in a talk once and they were talking about your circle of influence. Mm. And I kind of sat and thought and I'm like, "Well, what is my circle of influence?" 'Cause it, they were talking to all the, the moms and stuff and I'm like, "Well, my circle of influence is all my nieces and nephews."

But at the time I lived in Salt Lake and they all lived in Idaho. So I'm like- ... that's not gonna work. And then as I'm thinking that I just had this little thought in the back of my mind, you're gonna need to get ready to move home. Hmm. And I was like, "There is not a chance I'm going back to Idaho. If I go to Idaho I am never getting married."

Like there's just not people. And I just had that thought and I told some of my girlfriends about it and it was about seven years later that I moved home. Hmm. And I knew, I'd like, I was prepared all along that way. I knew why I was moving back to Idaho and I knew it was because I needed to spend time with my nieces and nephews, and I knew it was because they would need me to help them to recognize the still small voice, and that it wasn't in all of the big things.

And, and sometimes it's uncomfortable for all of us, but, but I think just knowing. And I'm not gonna lie, I often hide in my cave downstairs in my basement. Literally a cave. But when I come out I always feel happier. Yeah. Such great thoughts. You know, as you were saying that, Angie, it led me to this thought because e- everything you shared is so powerful and true.

And, and I went back to this concept where he's so sad and depressed. Like he's just performed a miracle for the Lord. He's preaching to a people who won't listen. Now he's hiding for his life 'cause he's going to die. Of course he's sad. He's depressed. He's hungry. The Lord provides. All of this hard, hard, hard, hard, hard, and then the Lord speaks to him and says, "Well, what are you gonna do here?"

Like isn't that fascinating that the Lord isn't like, "Let me give you a blessing. Let me tell you what to do." He's like, "I'm gonna ask you what you're doing here then. And what, what's your purpose? What's your point?" I almost wonder if that's at that point where the Lord's saying, "All right. Are you gonna choose to commit right now?

'Cause if you are, there's some pretty amazing things I can do for you." Are you gonna keep- "And I'm gonna help you feel this... Yeah, I'm gonna help you keep going. You've got this." But I do, I love how we're coming back to that concept because everything good in our lives comes because we've chosen and committed to Jesus Christ.

At least for me, I believe that. Everything good in my life, right? Yeah. It doesn't mean it's gonna be easy. And that we're- No ... all the time, right? No. Like I, I wanna hide in my cave. I wanna eat cake. I wanna take naps. And you can. Go ahead. And then you have to answer, "Okay, now what are you gonna do?" Yeah.

Mm-hmm. Oh, well I guess I'm gonna reach into the pot and hope there's flour. Guess I'm going to church. Yes. You know? Maybe there's gonna be a- I'll go to the temple ... hole there. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah. So many good things. And that as much as we want to rest, that's the thing when you were talking, Tam, that I h- that I felt like he's gone through all this, and he was like, "So what are you gonna do?"

Like- Mm-hmm ... like there, there's not a rest. Yeah. It's just, there's just not. And, and as much as we want to take that little break, and I'll confess there's been times I've taken that little break, right? Mm-hmm. And those even more sad and more miserable and more lonely and terrible days than when I'm- Mm

out doing something, right? Yep. Like they're j- they're the worst. Yeah. And they just... But when I'll get up and I'll go and I'll serve, and I choose that and commit to it, right? Mm-hmm. That just way happier. And the hard was easier. Oh, I like that ... wasn't it Sister Johnson when she's like, "You can do hard with Jesus or you can do hard without Jesus."

And that's kind of been my theme lately. Yeah. I think that's the theme of, of 1 Kings 19, Angie. I love that. 'Cause when I look at Elijah saying, "It is enough," that's kind of our way of saying, "I'm done. Like, I've had it. Come on. H- how much harder does this have to get?" And then you're like, "Well, choose a- choose and commit.

What are you gonna do?" 'Cause it's way easier with Jesus. You gotta do it anyway. Yeah. Oh. 'Cause Tam- Wow, that was good ... at times when you're like, "Okay, I'm done." Yeah. It does- It is enough I've done good things. I've paid my dues. Yeah. Uh-huh. Oh, that's good. You're right. Like, you think, "I'm taking a break." And, and any time I've done that, you're right, it's like I don't feel any better.

I need to forgive myself and go to work. I need to go serve somebody. Yeah. Because then you see their situation and you're like, "Ooh, you're right. I'm gonna take my problems because you're messy." Yeah. "And I know how to do it messy." Yeah. Totally. Yep. That's such a great question. So what are you doing here?

I love the Lord. So what are you doing here, Elijah? That is when your name is transformed from- To Gus. That's right. Gus. That's right. That's it. See, in each one of those trials- Ah ... they make you bigger and they make you better. You handle it a little bit better. Amen. Oh, ladies, this is it. That's the end.

We're done. You did it. That was so good. I loved lesson after lesson. I can't get over how much I learned from this. Okay, so gather your thoughts and just share what is the eternal truth you learned. What is something you learned from our discussion today or a note that you took or anything? And I got a lotta notes, so I got stuff.

I will go first, 'cause I, I want... I don't want anyone to take mine. Colette, it was we choose and we commit. Like, that just kept coming back over and over and over again. And then Angie, you wrapped it up so good when you said, "God makes the promise, so we have to live for the promise so that He has to keep the promise."

Um, and again, there will be rain. I want that in vinyl lettering. Boy, it was such good lesson. Over and over again, we kept coming back to those main things Well, you said you wanted to go first, so I couldn't take it, and but you said three things. And, and mine was- Yeah ... I, I mean, so many things. This was so great.

This is why I was excited. The exciting part about this was what I was able to learn, and just, like, the discussion. To have, to have this kind of dis- discussion and just to learn things like this, I just love that so much. But I love that there will be rain. Like, I agree. Mm-hmm. I want it on some vinyl. I, I need to put it on a, you know, however it's gonna be, on a screensaver or whatever.

But- ... there will be rain. In the midst of the drought, look for the rain. One drop at a time sometimes- Mm-hmm ... but you always look back and it's, and the, and the rain is there. So the other one I love that you said just right here at the end, a- and it's so true. You can do hard with Jesus. You can do hard without Jesus.

Why would you pick to do it without Him? Yeah. Yeah. And- 'Cause the children of Israel, they kept picking Baal, and it didn't work. Yeah. They, that wavering, man, they, they still, they still- The- The very God that should've given them rain couldn't give them rain. Yeah. There's the lesson. Yeah. Ugh. They, they still wavered.

Yeah. They- Mm-hmm ... saw the miracle. They saw the, the everything, the c- consumption of the- ... sacrifice, the wood, the altar, the water, everything. And yet- And the worst part is, is it's not just they. Is that it's also me. Yes. That's it. Yeah. And I still see those, and we're still like- So dumb ... "Well, I don't know."

Yeah. Why do we do such things? I don't know. Mine was something Tam said that just came ... Pride is a generation, generation gap. Like, that's, the generation gaps come because of pride. Mm. And I like to think I'm humble, but it's not. And I don't know more because I'm older, but I don't know less because I'm older.

I just know different I like that And the pride, right? I gotta work on my pride. Dang it. How long will I waver between being prideful and humble? What? That was good too. It comes as a sign. It is. It's... Yeah, you're good. You're good. Okay, so what are you gonna do with... Yeah, then the Lord says, "Now, all right, what are you doing here?

You gonna fix that? Good luck. Let me know how that goes, Angie, 'cause that's a tough one." Yes. You're humble. Give me a break. Oh. Oh, ladies, I sure love you. This was such a fun discussion. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thanks, Tam. Thank you. Thanks for asking this. Okay. Well, that was such a great discussion.

Boy, I love those women. So good. So good. I wanna know what eternal truth did you guys learn? What is your takeaway from this discussion? Go join our group on Facebook or follow us on Instagram and share what you have learned. We usually post a question from this discussion, so comment on the post that relates to this lesson and share your thoughts.

You can get to both our Facebook and Instagram by going to the show notes for this episode at ldsliving.com/sundayonmonday, and go there anyway because it's where we're gonna have links to all the references as well as a transcript of this whole discussion. So go check it out. The Sunday on Monday Study Group is a Deseret Bookshelf Plus original brought to you by LDS Living.

It is written and hosted by me, Tammy Uzelac Hall, and today our awesome study group participants were Angie Godfrey and Colette Egbert. And you can find more information about my friends at ldsliving.com/sundayonmonday. Our podcast is produced by Cole Wissinger and me. It is edited and mixed by Cole Wissinger, and our executive producer is Erin Hallstrom.

Thanks for being here. We'll see you next week, and please remember that you really are God's favorite.