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Segment 1
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This week, we get to study a curious book in the Old Testament where God is never even mentioned, not even once. In fact, no one really knows who wrote the book, and some people claim it's a work of just historical fiction. So why in the world is it in the Bible? What could it possibly teach us? Well, the Book of Esther has many lessons to teach us, and this week's guests have come prepared to share with us the lessons they learned.
And while God isn't named directly, we are going to see proof that God's activity is everywhere in this book. 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. Now, if you're new to our study group, follow the link in our description, and it's going to explain how you can best use this podcast to enhance your Come, Follow Me study, just like my longtime listening friend, Rosie Richens. Rosie, I loved meeting you, and thank you for being a service leader at BYU Women's Conference.
We really needed you. Now, the best thing about this study group is each week we're joined by two of my friends, so it's always a little bit different. And today we have two women who I am thrilled to introduce you to because these are my women in all things Hebrew. It's so much fun. We have Sharon Staples.
Hi, Sharon. Hi, Tammy. We love Sharon. Good to be with you. Shalom, everyone. Shalom. And Sharon, I'll let you introduce our next guest. Who is she? Rebecca Miller. She's my teacher. And that's, that's a fun thing to say. She has been teaching, um, a beginning Hebrew class to any students who are interested, and she has continued with it once that one class was over.
She just kept going and going and going because of her love of the language and her wanting to spread the gospel to everyone possible. She is a very, very good teacher, and I'm glad I came across her in my life. Yes. 10 out of 10, highly recommend. Boy, Sharon, what we wouldn't have done to have found her about 11 years ago, huh?
Oh, my gosh. We'd be so far ahead. Oh, you guys are so kind. My goodness, you're making my heart happy. Oh, it, it is a great class. So for those of you out there listening, if you've been like, "I've wanted to take Hebrew," and you haven't had time, here's another chance. Here's another opportunity, because Rebecca is a great teacher.
Rebecca, tell us a little bit about your class, so, and how can people find out information? Oh, well, you know what? I absolutely just love sharing the gospel through Hebrew and sharing about Jesus Christ. So if you are interested, I'm doing these small group, um, classes over Zoom. It's for anyone, beginners and intermediate, w- whoever you are.
So reach out to me. I could probably put my details in, you know, the show notes or something like that. Mm-hmm. But we do, like, month to month. Um, it's just awesome. Once a week. Super chill. It's fun. It's really fun. And you want that pace as a beginning Hebrew student. You want it to be chill, not fast-paced, no pressure.
So it's ... Oh, it's awesome. Sharon, what's been your favorite thing about the class? I guess it's that, that Rebecca explains it in language and in such a way that I can understand it, and she doesn't, y- she doesn't stuff it down my throat. She says what it is, and then she says what she said it was, and then she said, so you get, you get- Mm-hmm
the repetition, but you get clarity. And given my age, and I'm dyslexic, that is so helpful for her to say, "Okay, this is what we talked about. Remember we did this. Don't forget this." A- and she just k- keeps repeating and, not constantly repeating, but reinforces a teaching principle, and that's very helpful for me, 'cause I need that reinforcement.
So that's, I think that's the best part. And then, um, the vignettes at the end of the class of a testimony building scripture- Mm-hmm ... a testimony building insight, uh, something that I did not know about Hebrew and the Bible. So you not only learn the language, you learn how that language brings forth- The gospel, the savior, the heavenly Father, the Holy Spirit.
So those two things, uh, the clarity and, um, the vignettes at the close of the class. Well, that's a testimony right there if you're not taking Hebrew. Sharon, I love that you said, "And at your age," because I have a lot of people that say, "I'd love to take Hebrew, but I'm just too old now," and, or, "I just retired.
Now I don't... It's just I'm beyond my time." And I'm like, "Let me tell you a little story about Sharon Staples." 'Cause we started Hebrew- Don't tell them my story. Well, you started taking Hebrew when you were s- I think 70. Is that right? 75. 75, yeah. Mm-hmm. We, and we do it for a while. So you're never too old, people.
Just do it. It's so fun. And Sharon, I had no idea you were dyslexic. You're one of the best students we have. Oh, no. I mean, your insights are so powerful, and you, you grasp things so well. You're very kind. You're very kind. But I, I, I'm a, I'm a f- three or four time learner, so it takes me three or four times to actually get it, and thanks to you, when you say, "Don't forget this, and remember this," then I say, "Aha, that's what I needed to hear."
So I just have to double down, double dip, double everything in order to get it. Well, Sharon, I'm so glad. I'm so glad that that's been helpful for you 'cause I'm sure some people are like, "Man, she just keeps repeating it over and over." But- Oh, no, no ... I find the same way. I have to hear it- Mm-hmm ... so many times before I start to learn it, so.
Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. Very cool. Well, we will for sure put a link to your class in our show notes. So make sure you guys go check it out, and if you wanna know more about my guest Rebecca, and Sharon of course, go check out their bios, which are in our show notes, and you can find those at ldsliving.com/sundayonmonday.
So grab your scriptures and something to mark them with, and we are gonna dig into the Book of Esther. So I am not going to ask the traditional question that I always do in the first segment, which is what did the Holy Ghost teach you as you prepared? Because that's the overarching question we have for this entire episode.
I ask my guests to come prepared with two things that the Holy Ghost taught them when they were preparing for this discussion, and we're gonna share those throughout this discussion today. I- 'cause here's the deal, and Sharon inspired this whole layout of this episode because Sharon is the gospel doctrine teacher in my ward.
And Sharon, we have this new plan where we're gonna teach every Sunday for Sunday school. Will you just share with us what you said that you taught me about how you're gonna do this 20 minute, like how you think it's gonna be successful? Yes. Um, whether it will be or not, I don't know. But the, the, the vision came to me that We really will only have about 20 minutes.
By the time we have an opening prayer and a closing prayer, which will take the five minutes of the 25. And so I warned my class, and I've, I've warned them for the last two lessons that I've taught, they need to come prepared to share what the Holy Ghost taught them or what they learned or what, what they had confirmed to them or something new that they didn't know or a prompting that they should do something outside, whatever, whatever, because we don't have time to dawdle.
Yeah. We, we, we are going to try to instill in each one of us the significance of our relationship with the Savior, and we have 20 minutes to do that. And so I've encouraged them and pleaded and prodded and begged and said, "Please read the scriptures. Come prepared to share your insights with each other."
C- And I, I never lecture. You don't lecture. You don't... I don't tell stories, and we won't have time for commercials. Commercials are telling about a trip I took when I was five, and I learned da, da, da, da. Or another commercial is, "When I was doing this, this happened." And, you know, it's just, it's all about the Savior.
Mm-hmm. It's not about me. It's not about my trip. It's not about my family. It's not about... And I, you know, I try to have them know that, that they, they're there to strengthen one another's testimony of the Savior and to try to live more like Him. And so I-- that's just what I prompted them to do is d- you know, forget yourself.
No commercials. No, you know, no, you know, when I was a certain... So just, you know, and, and come prepared with at least two insights. Mm-hmm. I come with at least two insights that I had That I'll share to kind of prompt them and, you know, say that, for instance, y- this told ... You know, I, I heard this- Mm-hmm ... or I said that.
So it's just putting the responsibility more on them and less on me. It's not the pitcher and the cup. It's all the pitchers in the class. Mm. Yeah. Well, and if we're doing the Come Follow Me program, it's not even more work that you're gonna have to do. You're just still doing what you've always been doing.
Right. And now we just have to make it in 20 minutes, which is so doable. And so that's what we're gonna show you today. So I feel like for the past seven years, the podcast has been, we have a segment showing you that you really can teach MEAP in 15 minutes. It can totally be done. And so now, starting today, you have four weeks until the new program starts, 'cause it's the very first week of August.
Four weeks, in September is when we're gonna start this new 20-minute learning module. And so this is gonna be a fun way just to kind of show you how it could be done using the Book of Esther, which is a little tricky, 'cause I said it doesn't even mention God one time, which is so fascinating. So that's even a bigger ask, is what did the Holy Ghost teach you when it doesn't even talk about God?
Isn't that fun? So we're gonna do that. I'm gonna start out with the first thing the Holy Ghost taught me when I was studying the Book of Esther. And then after that, we're gonna go Sharon, and then Rebecca, then Sharon, then Rebecca, then me, and that is how we're gonna do this, and it's gonna be so much fun.
So first things first, let's get into the Book of Esther, and we are gonna go into Esther chapter 1, verse 1. And we have this king, and his name is King Ahasuerus. And he had this big, gigantic party. Huge. He wanted to show everybody throughout the lands just how awesome and fancy he was, and verse four tells us how long this party lasted.
It says it was 104 score days at the very end of verse four. That's 180 days, or six months. Six-month party. And these people are having a great time. In fact, look at verse seven. The very end of verse seven, what did they have in abundance? Wine. They had a lot of drink. Oh, a lot of wine. A lot of drink.
Exactly. That's sort of setting up what's gonna happen that stood out to me. So there is so much wine. In fact, look at the very end of verse eight. There's so much wine, and what was the other thing people are allowed to do at this party? Anything that was their pleasure. I mean, anything they wanted, right?
Like, just- Yeah, how do you interpret that, Rebecca? Oh, y- your mind could kinda go wild with that, right? Like, I, it's not, it's not a good... it's probably not a good wholesome party going on. Right. It's so dangerous to me when I look at that. Wow, okay. So this is 180-day party of royal wine in abundance, and everyone doing whatever was their pleasure.
And then we're introduced into verse nine. "Also Vashti the queen," highlight her name in your scriptures, Vashti the queen. So she also had a feast, and it was for the women in the royal house which belonged to the King Ahasuerus. So she got to have her own separate party. It wasn't tradition that women and men would party together, so there's a little bit of safety there, hopefully, you would think.
So the women are having their own party, and when they're having their own party, look at verse 10, "On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded," now that's an interesting word right there. He commanded the men, all of the people that worked for him, and then verse 11.
Sharon, can you read verse 11 for us? "To bring Vashti the queen before the king with the crown royal, to show the people and the princes her beauty, for she was fair to look on." Now, just as a woman in that situation, what are you thinking with this command from the king? Male chauvinist. Yeah right. Yeah.
She's an object. Yeah. Y- mm-hmm. And he wants her to parade before all of these- Mm-hmm ... men who've been doing everything according to their pleasure, drinking royal wine in abundance for 180 days. And so Rebecca, will you read her answer in verse 12? Yep. "But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king's command by his chamberlains.
Therefore was the king very wroth, and his anger burned in him." Okay. So right there, let's underline what she did. She refused to come at the king's command. Right there, just tell me what you think. The fact that she turned down the king's command, what do you think might happen to her, just by the laws at the time?
Well, she'll be dismantled. I mean- Mm-hmm. Very good ... and she'll probably be th- just thrown out. Um, well, obviously she will no longer be the queen. Mm-hmm. But she may be thrown to the dogs, as they say. She will have no recourse for her life. You're absolutely right. Death could have been on the line for her as well.
Mm-hmm. She knew all of this going into this decision. This didn't come lightly. She didn't just say, you know, off the cuff, "I'm not going." I would imagine this came with a lot of thought, knowing what would happen to her if she said no. And everything you said, Sharon, was right. Sure, her crown was stripped from her because the king was like, "Well, what do I do?
She won't come." And, and he went to the, his people that he talks to and he says to all the other princes in the land, "What do I do?" And they're like, "Well, you take her crown away, 'cause if she gets away with this, then all of our wives are gonna think they can get away with this, and we can't have that." And we just love that the king's like, "Yeah, yeah, that's a good idea.
Okay, yeah. Yeah, I'll take her crown away." So he does that. He absolutely dismantles her, takes away her crown. She gets kicked out, and then the king realizes, "Oh, I need a new queen." And then that's where we get into chapter two and we have this, I call it the, you know, the Esther beauty pageant. But we're gonna stop right here in the story because I think, and I am guilty of this, often I have overlooked the story of Queen Vashti and the lessons that we can learn from her.
And this is a quote from Camille Franc Olson that she writes in her book, Women of the Old Testament, and I loved her insight into Queen Vashti. And Sharon, can you read this for us? "Easily celebrated as a woman's woman, Vashti defiantly stood up for her rights, but at what cost? She was stripped of her royal rank for her haughty example, deposed as queen, and possibly even executed for her bold refusal to obey the king's command.
Could Vashti have found a better way to avoid compliance with her husband's inappropriate demands and at the same time retain her position of rectitude and royalty? Was Vashti's approach the best choice to preserve her principles, or was she too rash? Where Vashti was assertive and confrontational, Esther was passive and malleable.
Vashti was defiantly unbending to demands that violated her sense of right and wrong." And I, I thought that was so cool, the idea of us focusing a little bit on Vashti. And I want to ask this from the two of you then. Knowing what we know about Vashti right there, what are the life lessons that we could use to teach our young women?
Why would Vashti be a heroine to our young women today? Oh, that's such a good question because, like you said, I mean, she, this didn't come lightly for her. Like, for her to refuse the king, she knew the rules of the- Mm-hmm ... royal court. She knew what she was saying no to. I mean, when the king commanded, you'd know everyone obeyed.
I mean- Yeah ... the, the amount of courage it took for her to be valiant and virtuous in the face of true life-changing ridicule, possible death, outcast. I mean, none of us really have to face that severity, right, when we say no- Yeah ... to something. But we look at that and we say, "Okay, if someone can be that courageous in a situation like that, hmm, maybe I can say no to, you know, what the world's telling me I should wear- Yeah
or do or act or speak or..." You know what I mean? Mm-hmm. Yeah. Ooh, I like that, Rebecca. Yeah. I think for me- I'm assuming that she did not act out of character, that she had a character of self-confidence, who she is, how she wanted to be represented. And so it wasn't just a, a burst of anger or, "I'll show him," it was, "This is who I am."
Mm-hmm. This... And so if I were teaching with the young women, I would say, "When do you think Vashti started preparing for this incident?" Oh, I like that. She just didn't up, you know, blurt out something. She knows who she is. She knows her values. She knows what she's willing to do and not willing to do beforehand.
Mm-hmm. And so I thought, that's, that pretty impressive that, that a, a young woman early in her life would start setting righteous standards for herself. She- Boy ... she was afraid of being nude in front of those drunken men. Mm-hmm. Afraid of showing her body, which she probably liked her body and didn't want on to thr- you know, cast her food before dogs.
So I would encourage our young women, start preparing now for that big event or- Yeah ... several big events or many big events as the Lord brings this dispensation to a close. Start early. Start now. Don't think you're gonna do it on the spur of the moment when something confronts you about your value system.
Have it ingrained in yourself always. Wow, I really like that insight, too, Sharon, that this wasn't new for her. She probably always was this as a young girl, was taught this way. That's neat to think her parents could have taught her to be this bold and brave. Right. So very cool. I also agree with both of you in that teaching our young women, also teaching them that this is something the church supports.
We want our young women to be strong and confident and educated and, and starting at a very young age to know who they are so that they can have the character when they're older to become a Queen Vashti, and our church has taught this. I love this talk from President Nelson called A Plea to My Sisters, October 2015, and in it, he actually quotes President Kimball and President Packer and what they have to say about, what they have to say about women in the church.
So Sharon, will you read this quote from President Nelson? And then Rebecca, will you please read what President Packer also says in this same talk from President Nelson? We'll start with you, Sharon. "We, your brethren, need your strength, your conversion, your conviction, your ability to lead, your wisdom, and your voices.
The kingdom of God is not and cannot be complete without women who make sacred covenants and then keep them, women who can speak with the power and authority of God." President Packer declared, "We need women who are organized and women who can organize. We need women with executive ability who can plan and direct and administer.
Women who can teach. Women who can speak out. We need women with the gift of discernment who can view the trends in the world and detect those that, however popular, are shallow or dangerous." Thank you. Okay, tell me what stood out to you when you read that. Is there a specific quality that you're like, "Okay, yeah, that's co- yeah, that's cool"?
Yeah, the, the whole thing. Yeah, right. Right. Uh, can I be that woman? I want to be that woman. I, I thought, I'm like, "Okay, um, we came and we are born for such a time as this," just like Esther was, just like Vashti, y- you know, was. We can ask the Lord to help us be these women. Mm-hmm. We can pray for these things.
Maybe we don't feel like we have the ability, which we do. We each can be these type of women, and I'm like, "You know what? I can ask specifically for this, to be that type of woman, that I can maybe be more organized. Maybe I could be more courageous in speaking out and not be so fearful," right, of what the world- Yeah
say or think. Ooh, that's good. For me, it was the women want to be all these things, and they believe President Nelson and President Packard, but where and how do you learn to have executive ability? Mm-hmm. Where do you learn to plan? Where do you learn to direct and administer? Where do you learn to teach?
Where do you learn to speak? You respond to the bishop when he says, "I would like you to give an opening prayer in sacrament meeting." Mm-hmm. You respond to the bishop when he says, "I would like you to teach this class." You respond to the bishop when he says, "We need to have you speak," da, da, da, da. So it's all well and good to hear that, and, and like Rebecca said, I want to be that woman too, but I can't just sit back and say, "Oh, I want to be that woman."
I have to get in and say, "I need to learn to be that woman." Mm-hmm. And so I think as sisters, we need to realize that that takes effort. It's not just, it's not just b- blessed upon our heads. W- we have to put forth the effort to be, to have those abilities, to plan, to teach, to direct, and y- the only way you're gonna be able to do that is practice, practice, practice.
Sharon, you're so right. I love that you said that because the Lord is going to give us these opportunities to develop these gifts. Right. Yeah. But we have to say yes. Mm-hmm. We have to say, "Okay, I'm gonna do it, Lord," right? Like, we'll have the opportunities. We have to, you know, we have to have the action.
Wow, that is awesome. Oh, thank you to both of you. I wrote down, "To act and pray. Effort and prayer equals Vashti." And it just makes me think, like, what did the Lord prepare her since a youn- Could he have? We don't know. Absolutely possibly, but to become that kind of woman who boldly stands up in the face of evil- And says no, knowing what would happen to her and the possibility, that is the greatest example of us to be like Vashti.
So I just wrote, "Pray to be like Vashti, and pray for opportunities to grow and learn and become like her." So thank you, women. That's it. That's the end of our discussion right there on what I learned from the Book of Esther, and we only discussed one woman. How cool is that? So in the next segment, Sharon's gonna share with us one of the things that she learned when she was preparing for this lesson.
We'll do that next.
Segment 2
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All right, Sharon, here we go. Share one of the things you learned from the Book of Esther. Just one? One right here, and then we'll do one later and yeah. Okay. Yeah. Um, I think I tuned in to your paying attention to Vashti. When I read this story several times and I thought about her, I thought about the prodigal son and how we paid attention to the son who ran away with the inheritance and came back, and not the son who stayed home and was diligent.
And I thought, "I need to pay attention to all the players." Mm. Who ... What influence would I have from King Ahasuerus? What influence would I have from eventually Mordecai or Haman or all those we get into? And it pricked my mind to say, "Don't narrow your focus when there are so many players." You know, it's the 99 and one.
Pay attention to the 99. Think of the whole scenario, not just Esther, and not just the main players, the king and ... So I was impressed what you said about her because those were the conclusions I came to as well of her stamina and, and who she was as a person. So it, it, it pricked my mind and said, "Now, you know, when you read the next story, pay attention to all of them."
Pay attention to all of the players, 'cause it took all of the players- Mm-hmm ... in this story of Esther to make it the story that it is. Right. So let's do this, Sharon. Let's go into the Book of Esther and let's have all of us pick one of the players and view it through what you just said, Sharon, the lens of we wouldn't have the story of Esther if it weren't for this specific player.
Mm-hmm. What can that person then... I love the way you framed that, 'cause I've never once gone back and thought, "Okay, what role did Hegai..." I've never fo- really foc- I have his name highlighted, but- Mm-hmm ... now it makes me think differently. Or the name of her father in verse 15. That might give us some insight in Hebrew.
I'm gonna let Rebecca maybe look at that. What his name in Hebrew means and how that might affect the type of woman that Esther became. So find something right now. Everyone just find one person that might change the way you view Esther based on their role in the story. And we would do this in class.
This is so cool. So Avihail, that's the name of Esther's father. Oh, this is so good. Okay. So this, his name is really interesting, and it really tells probably a lot about who he was. I mean, we see who Esther turned out to be and, and, and how she was raised. But Avihail, okay, that's how, how you'd say it in English, means my father is strength, or father of might or strength.
This is the Hebrew word. He has the Hebrew word, word Avihail, which is one of my very favorite Hebrew words- Right ... in his name, which means all of those: strength, virtue, might, greatness, courage, capacity, all of that. My father is strength. My father is virtue. My father is might and courage. Um, and I think this really is talking about God's power.
His, I mean, that was his name, so if he had any type of character connected to his name, you know that he probably instilled that into his daughter for however long they were with their daughter. We know that she was orphaned, but beautiful. Mm-hmm. Just beautiful. Especially when you consider, like we said at the beginning, there's no mention of God in the story of Esther.
Mm. Not one mention of Jehovah or anything until you look at the name, boop, right there. My father is strength. And I think you're right. I think it's talking about God and that connection she had to Him and her ability to do all that she did because of maybe how she was raised, or maybe being reminded of who the big picture, who has raised her.
Yeah, absolutely. Oh, that's good. I love the Hebrew. It's so good. Me too. Do you have one, Sharon? I do, and it's a little odd, but I think it, well, it struck me. This is chapter 1, verse 13 and 14. "Then the king said to the wise men, which knew the times-" For so was the king's manner toward all that knew law and judgment, and the next unto him was, and then they name all these princes, and then they go on to say what they advised him to do.
He was listening to the wrong people. I mean, he- Ooh ... he, he got advice from men who feared for their own manhood. He got advice from men who were afraid that women would take over. He got advice from... Well, ill- he got ill advice, I think. But those men convinced him So they were his source, whereas we know that Esther has another source.
We'll get to that. But they were his source of what to do- Mm-hmm ... to whom, to whom he looked for guidance. So I said to myself, "Pay attention to your friends. Pay attention to people who are going to advise you and give you counsel." And I thought, listening to the prophet, listening to the prophets, seers, and revelators, go to them instead of my next-door neighbor.
Mm-hmm. I mean, it just makes sense that if you're going to get advice and counsel, you ought to be able to discern the value system of those people who are giving that counsel. And if you can discern that, then you're probably in good condition to choose or not choose. So I thought those guys turned him away from, even though he was angry, they turned him away from the queen.
They turned him, w- which e- eventually was a good thing for Esther, but I mean, i- in the long run, he got, I think, bad advice, and it's because he chose the wrong people from whom to get that advice. Wow. That's a great lesson. It, it reminds me of, like, Abinadi in front of King Noah. Yeah. Um, remember where, like, when King Noah was like, "You know, maybe I should release you."
And then all of his, all of his wicked priests were like, "No way," you know? "Get rid of him." And then- Well, and I think of Eve. Mm. When she asked, "Is there no other way?" Who did she ask? She asked Satan. Oh, interesting. Yeah. She asked the wrong one. We do it all the time. The king asked the wrong princes.
Absolutely. Ooh, that's a good one. I like that, Sharon. Then I would say mine are, in verse 21, Bigthan and Teresh, because it's just a little sub-story. It's only three verses long, and here are these two men, Bigthan and Teresh, who are now ha- they're devising that they're gonna kill the king. And so Mordecai overhears it- And he actually goes and tells Esther, the queen, and Esther certified with the king of what Mordecai had said.
And so Bigthan and Teresh are killed. They're hung on a tree. And then it says, "And it's written in the Book of Chronicles before the king." And I love that part of the story because you, you almost sometimes forget that part, and you skip over it 'cause you just want to get into the Esther and how Haman's gonna kill the people.
But I love their play because their story's written in the Book of Chronicles, and then when you go to Esther and you read in the chapter of chapter six when the king couldn't sleep at night, so he said, "Bring me the Book of Chronicles," which I always love. Scriptures will put you to sleep. So he's like, "I'll read the Book of Chronicles while I can't sleep."
And he reads this story in verse two. It is found written that Mordecai told Bigthan and Teresh what had happened. And chapter six might be one of my favorite stories to retell when I ever get to speak to s- I, sometimes I love to go use this at girls camps because in that storyline is where the king, Haman comes in the next day, and Haman's planning to kill all of the Jews, and before he can do that, the king says, "You know, I read about this person who I think that we need to give honor to.
And w- have we done anything for this person? Have we given him any per- " And I love in verse six, "What shall be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honor?" And then you almost have a parentheses. Now Haman thought in his heart, to whom would the king delight to honor more than myself? And so Haman plays into the hand of the king by saying, "Oh, I absolutely agree."
And then in verse eight, "Let royal apparel be put on him. Let him ride your horse throughout the town. Let a royal crown be put upon his head. That's what we should do for this person that you want to honor." And then the king says, "Great. Make haste," in verse 10. It's Mordecai. And Haman's jaw just drops 'cause he knows who Mordecai is.
It's the guy that he wants-- He's, Mordecai's the whole reason Haman wants to kill the Jews. And so it's just sort of a great moment where it just kind of, y- they stick it to Haman, and he's so devastated, and then Mordecai gets this parade for him. And that kind of then plays into the storyline of then Esther freeing the Jews.
I just, I love it. And, and it's just kind of this moment where Haman goes, "Ugh." You know, like, what's that saying? Pride followeth before, pride goeth before the fall. Yeah. I'm gonna put that at the top of chapter six. Pride cometh before the fall because that's exactly what happened to Haman. So I do love Bigthan and Teresh, their little sub story.
Well, that was fun, Sharon. Thanks for challenging us to look for names in the story and really focus on how it helped Esther to get where Esther needed to be. Nice. Good job. Okay, in the next segment, Rebecca, you get to teach us what you learned.
Segment 3
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All right, Rebecca, here we go. Tell us what the Holy Ghost taught you. Okay. So the first thing that the Holy Ghost taught me was your mission matters. Oh, I like that. Okay. So here it is. So I was 18, just graduated from high school. It was the summer before I went off to college. I went off to BYU Hawaii for a semester.
So much fun, but it was the summer before that, okay? And- Okay ... I was 18, and there was a girls camp going on, and this lady in my ward comes up to me and is like, "Hey, our theme for girls camp is all about for such a time as this." Okay, it's the story of Esther. And she says, "Would you come up and dress up like Esther and come and tell your story as if you were Esther?"
Oh, wow. And I was like, "Okay. This is awesome. This is fun." I did a little bit of theater and, you know, in my younger years. And so my mom, like, made this elaborate dress, right? This elaborate Persian dress. And I had a, you know, like the- What? ... the headpiece and the crown and the jewelry. And so I'm, I'm... I go up to this girls camp.
I mean, I have these ridiculous shoes that should not be in a girls camp, right? I mean, it's, we're roughing it up there. But, um, the last night I came up, it was during their testimony meeting, and I was all dressed up like Esther. And none of the girls knew this. And all of a sudden I, like, come out, and they're all, you know, around the fire.
And I'm in this elaborate Esther dress, and everyone's like, "What is that?" And I come and I present myself as if I was Esther. And I, and I, I tell my story to these girls. Ah. You know, 12 to 18, these girls, as if I was Esther. And it was a remarkable experience because I was able to share with them not only just, you know, the story of Esther, but her role in doing a miracle and, and how the Lord used her to bless- His covenant people.
I mean, to literally save a nation. Mm-hmm. And her story was forever told. And I then just help them remember that each of them had specific missions to do, that each of them, that we are all Esthers. Like, all of us are born for a specific time to do a specific work. We've been given gifts and talents and abilities that the Lord has blessed us our unique abilities with to help prepare the world for the second coming.
And I, and I had that experience to do that. And ever since that day, I've just felt this ca- like, this closeness to Esther. That I was, you know, for an evening, was able to pretend that I was her, right? And to share my story as if I was her. And it helped me to just, like, connect with her and her strength and her courage- Mm-hmm
to do really hard things in the midst of, like, all opposition, right? So that, that was, that's what it is. And so we're gonna look at Esther 4:14, and we're gonna look at some Hebrew here, okay? Yay. What I love about the Hebrew, I- the one thing that I loved when I studied this was it, when I started to look at the Hebrew, it changed the story.
Mm-hmm. It was like, oh, whoa. This is not, um, told in the English translation. There is something so rich and beautiful here. Um, and so I'm just gonna share just one little Hebrew word here, and we're gonna look at the verse, okay? Cool. So Esther 4:14. Tammy or Sharon- Yeah ... do one of you want to read that verse?
Oh yeah, I'll read it. "For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place. But thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed. And who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" Oh, I can't wait.
Teach me the Hebrew. Oh, it's so good. Now everyone knows this verse. Okay, now Mordecai is talking to Esther. This is right before, like, he's saying, "Look, you're, perhaps you have come right here to do this specific thing to save our people. You have the capacity and the way to go talk to the king," okay? So this is before she goes to the king, and he's telling her this, okay?
We all know this. Okay, here it is. So the word that is used to say, "Whether thou art come to the kingdom," okay, come to the kingdom. So that word, I looked here, and the word is nagah. Okay? Mm-hmm. Nagah. Now, nagah does not mean to come, okay? You know what it means? This is really interesting, okay? Nagah means to s- to touch or strike.
To have a forceful impact on something. That's what nagah means. Hmm. Now, with that specific translation, let me read to you what this is actually saying. "And who knoweth whether thou art caused to strike and touch with impact the kingdom for such a time as this?" Wow. That is awesome. Right? I love it. Right?
Ah. That changes it so much. Mm-hmm. And I thought there's a reason that was used. This word has force and impact, and the ability to make a change that's remembered, and she did. I mean, we talk about her thousands and thousands of years later. Her story is known. And, um, I just thought, "Okay, we each- Mm-hmm
have come to the earth to make an impact on, on... in the simple ways." Now, we don't, we don't... We may not all be like Esters and save nations, right? I- impact nations. Some of us might, okay? But most of the time it's how we're impacting our, our family, our children- Mm-hmm ... our neighbors, our friends, our ward members.
It's like these small little impacts that we're doing that make ripples, that make changes. And there was this devotional by President Nelson back in 2016. He gave this devotional at BYU Hawaii, and I remember, like, watching the live version. It was so beautiful. But he says something so powerful. I wanted to read it.
He says, "You are a chosen generation, foreordained by God to do a remarkable work, to help prepare the people of this world for the Second Coming. You are living in the 11th hour. The Lord has declared that this is the last time he will call laborers into his vineyard to gather the elect from the four corners of the earth, and you were sent to participate in this gathering."
And he, you know, we know that he said the gathering is the most important work taking place- Mm-hmm ... today. And then he says this, and this is really interesting because this is the key. This is the key. "Therefore, my first recommendation is to learn for yourself who you really are. Ask your Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus Christ how He feels about you and your mission here on Earth.
If you ask with real intent, over time the Spirit will whisper the life-changing truth to you. Record these impressions, review them often, and follow through with exactness." And then he gives this promise, and this is so good. "I promise that when you begin to catch even a glimpse of how your Heavenly Father sees you and what He is counting on you to do for Him, your life will never be the same."
Wow. And I just loved that because when I read that verse, I thought about that. I thought about- Yeah ... we each have a mission here to do. To prepare for Jesus' coming. That's why we're here. I mean, that's literally why we're here, to help prepare that world- Yeah ... in these small and, and simple ways that we make these lasting impacts.
We touch- We touch the world ... the world. We touch the world, and Esther did that. That's cool. That is so neat. Yeah. Yeah. So cool. And- Yeah ... and that quote you shared, when you finished it, in my mind I'm like, "That is Naga right there." Yeah. That's what that is. Yeah. In, in the po- most perfect Hebrew word. Will you spell that Hebrew word for our listeners so they can write it next to that word?
Yeah, so- Um ... uh, like in English? Like- Yeah, give us the English ... so N-A-G-A, like Naga. Naga. Like, that's- Perfect ... spell it, yeah. Wow. And there's an, there's a separate word for come, just so you're all wondering. Yeah. Like, how to say come here or whatever. So the fact that they use that, I love your new translation, so very cool.
Rebecca, thank you for teaching us that. Oh, yes, it's wonderful. Wow, that completely changes the whole meaning of what Mordecai said to Esther. Thank you. Love it. Thank you. Okay, so in the next segment then, Sharon's gonna share the next thing she learned.
Segment 4
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Okay, Sharon, share with us the second thing that you learned from Book of Esther The love that Esther had for her people. Mm. Now, several years ago, I was watching podcasts, and there's a f- was a famous, he's passed on now, Rabbi Mark Golub, and he's very, anyways, well-known in the rabbi circle. And he once explained, he said, "You know, Jews do not talk about their, what they believe as a faith.
They don't call it a Jewish faith, and they don't call it a religion. They don't call it a Jewish religion. They call it a family of believers in the law." Oh, I love that. He said, "We are a family," and he didn't say nation, he didn't say people. He said, "We are a family who adhere to, who covenant to obey the Torah, the law."
So he said, "You seldom hear a rabbi or a, a member, a Jew talk about their faith. It's, it's not a faith. You don't want to talk about their religion. It's not a religion. We are a family of believers- Esther was part of that family, and she was a believer without mentioning God, without mentioning the Holy Spirit or any...
She, she didn't have to mention deity because she was reared in a family that adhered to the law, the Torah. And so her love of her relationship with her Jewish family may have given her the courage to go to the king when she wasn't summoned. So I, I thought, you know, she's a true believer. She really is Mm-hmm She, she has adhered to and willing to sacrifice for her family, her family of Jews So I was overcome with the magnitude of love.
You know, g- greater love hath no man than he will give his life for his brother. You know that, you know, we know that scripture. But she was willing to give her life for her Jewish family. Hmm. Hold on, Erin. You know, Sharon, that's really so beautiful. Mm-hmm. Because in the scripture, in the verse, I was just remembering this, it says that when she says, "And if I perish, I perish."
Mm-hmm. The word is not really if, it's when. Hmm. She said, "When I perish, I perish." Yeah. I mean, it was more of, like, she kind of like, like what you said, like she was literally, she was ready to give her life. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Wow. It, it just, it kind of changes it a little bit. Also, probably- Yeah ... her love for Mordecai.
Obedience, that was the other thing what came to my mind, is she's so obedient to Mordecai, but she's obedient to her, her covenants with God regarding her family And I thought, would I be willing to sacrifice my life for my ward members if I knew that I could possibly be killed or whatever, and my family would be even more dispersed than it is now, my ward members?
And I'd like to think I would. I mean, I, I would hope that I would be brave enough to do that. Is my commitment strong enough to the gospel and those who have taught me the gospel, my neighbors, my friends, my ward member? Is my love for them strong enough, and their belief system, mostly their belief system, to possibly sacrifice my life?
And so I had to bring it down to my here and now, not Esther and her people, but me and my ward members. Yeah. Is my testimony strong enough to save them? Sharon, you taught me so much. My mind is swirling because you started out by saying a family of believers in the law, and I thought about the Jewish people in general, and belief in a god is just, it's, it's just common knowledge.
It's implied. Exactly. And so then I go back to this story of Esther where you can't find His name anywhere, but you just gave all the examples of it doesn't have to be, 'cause it's just implied in her actions. Yeah. Because you said she was obedient, she was brave, she was willing to put her life on the line because of her covenants.
Then I added, she told them to fast, fast three days- Yeah ... and three nights. Like, who do they- Right ... who are they fasting for? She didn't just say, "Go without food." It's implied. They, the Jewish people know what a fast is, and they know who they're fasting to. And so that was so cool for me, Sharon, when you taught that.
That's what I want for me. I want deity to just be implied in who I am. I don't have to convince anybody. Like right at the beginning of the summer, there was this whole thing going on with the United States government not recognizing us as Christians, and that really struck me because you would think it would be implied just in the name of our church.
Mm-hmm. And it's not. And then I thought, is it implied with me? I hope it is. I hope when people meet me and know me, I don't have to convince them that I'm Christian, that they know I believe in Jesus Christ and love him because of all these different things. So thank you for teaching me that, Sharon. That was so profound for me.
I learned it from somebody else, so I pass it on. Family of believers in the law, that deity was just implied. This is good. Look what this could be for Sunday school. This is so cool. Okay, we have Rebecca's next and then me. Two more things that we've learned from the Book of Esther, so we'll do Rebecca next.
Segment 5
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Okay, Rebecca, you're up. Tell us what's the other thing you learned from the book? I mean, we all learned so much, but I made them only choose two. So hit it, Rebecca. What'd you learn from the Book of Esther? Okay. Well, this is so fantastic because, Sharon, you just created this beautiful segue about, of what I wanted to talk about.
About who she was spoke of Christ, even if the word says me- Right. Mm-hmm ... right? Mm-hmm. And I, and okay, here's some more Hebrew, and you're gonna love this. Yes. It's going to just... It's so, so good. Okay, here's, here it is. So here's the second truth, okay? You are a covenant child of God. Okay, there's a second truth, and then I'm gonna build this up.
Here we go. So we're gonna talk about two words, and you all are really, really familiar, and probably most of your audience are super familiar with the first one, and the first one is hesed, right? Hesed, okay? And President Nelson, of course, talked all about that. This is what he said: "Hesed is a special kind of love and mercy that God feels for and extends to those who have made a covenant with him."
Okay, this is covenant connection, covenant love. "Because of God's covenantal faithfulness, he never tires in his efforts to help us, and we never exhaust his merciful patience with us." I mean, beautiful, beautiful what this Hebrew word means, and people are f- feel pretty familiar. Okay, the second word, okay, is nasa.
Nasa, like N-A-S-A, nasa. And this means to lift or carry, okay? To lift or carry. Okay, so those are the two words I'm gonna, we're gonna look at really quick. But before we jump into Esther, I wanted to show you a specific example of the word nasa. We're gonna connect Esther to covenants and see that she is a covenant child, and she lived them.
Oh, that's cool. Okay? Okay, so the Third Commandment. We all know the Ten Commandments. The Third Commandment is, "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain." Oh, that means don't swear, right? Don't, like, use his name, uh, you know, in, in a disrespectful way, right? But it's so much more than that because the Hebrew doesn't say to take the name of God in vain.
The Hebrew actually uses this word that I just said, nasa. Now, if anyone wrote down the word nasa and what it means, it means to lift or carry. So the f- the Third Commandment that God is saying is Thou shalt not lift or carry the name of the Lord in a vain, empty, false, or meaningless way. That's the other meaning of the word shavah, vanity, okay, in vainness.
And when we get baptized, we make a covenant that we take our, the name of the Lord upon us, and so we're carrying His name. And we think about missionaries, right? Missionaries actually have a name tag on that has Jesus' name on, and they're carrying it around them every day. But all of us really are. When we've made a covenant with God, we are now carrying His name.
We're lifting His name up and saying, "I am Christian. I believe in Jesus Christ." And we're supposed to do that with all of our heart, not with emptiness, not with vanity, not with like, um, you know, n- no meaning. And we're supposed to lift and carry that up. Okay, that's the commandment there, and it has a, a direct tie to the covenant 'cause when we make a covenant, that's what we're doing.
We're lifting and carrying who He is. Mm. So that's Nasah. Go ahead. Now, here's the great thing. Now we're gonna jump into Esther, and we're gonna go to Esther chapter 2, verse 9. And the English translation is quite different than what the Hebrew is saying. Um, and this is really, really fascinating, and when I saw this, it just, it blew my mind.
I'm so excited to share it. And then we're gonna go to 2:17 now. Let me set this up. Esther has been taken into the royal palace, and she is with Hegai, right? And he's in charge of her and stuff. And the scripture says, and we won't read the whole thing, okay, but you can look on verse 9. It said that the maiden pleased him.
Okay, Esther pleased him, and she obtained kindness of him. That's what it says in verse, in verse nine. And then he, like, gave her all these things 'cause he just really, really l- adored and loved her, okay? As, as he's getting her ready to meet the king, you know, a year later. Mm-hmm. I think they had to be in the, in the purification house, right, for a year.
So here's the thing, though. So it says, "And she obtained kindness of him." You can underline that, okay? Underline it, mark it, and then you're gonna, like, in your margins, if you like to write in your margins, this is what you're gonna do, because it's, it's a little bit different. And here it is, okay? The young woman was pleasing in his eyes.
This is what the Hebrew says. And Esther, or she, okay, and she nasah hesed before him. Wow. She nasah hesed before him. So let's put that into English. If you wrote those two words down that we looked, that we looked at. She lifted and carried covenantal love that she h- had made with the savior before him.
Uh, let me jump again to verse 17, okay? 'Cause it's the same thing. She's now being presented to the king, okay? That night with the king, one night with the king. And in verse 17, "The king loved Esther above all the women and she obtained grace and favor in his sight." That's what it says. Underline that again.
W- This is gonna be the exact same thing that's going on. She obtained grace and favor in his sight. This is what the Hebrew actually says. "And the king loved, the king loved Esther more than all the women and she nasah hesed before him." Wow. The same exact thing she did to Hegai. She nasah hesed before him, which means she lifted and carried covenantal connection before the king.
In other words- Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven. That's exactly what she was doing. She was lifting the light of Jesus Christ made possible through her covenant connection, her hesed. And we know that she was a covenant-connecting daughter.
And she showed them who she was. And sh- and they said, "Y- you're different. You're different than all the other women." And she was. She was a peculiar people just like we're a peculiar people. Wow. This is, this is amazing. We see that she actually became who she was because of her covenants that she had made and kept with Jesus Christ.
It's right there. It is right there in the text that of, of her covenant connection that she had made with God. Oh, so neat. My mind is blown that, that it's hesed. 'Cause there's other words for mercy and kindness that could've been used- Yep ... in Hebrew. Yep. Holy moly, I can't believe hesed's been there this whole time.
Yeah, it is. It's so neat. I mean, how does that change it? I mean, that's com- uh, how does that- Oh ... change it for you? I mean- Completely changes the whole dialogue. And that it uses the word nasa, which also has, has a, a covenant connection in the commandments. Mm-hmm. Like, to lift and carry something, right? Yeah.
That we're showing. This, this shows us who Esther really was. Yeah. Mm-hmm. And, and the fact that it's hesed, 'cause it's a reciprocal, steadfast love, but you wouldn't have that towards Hegai, the keeper of the, the women. I mean, he was nice to Esther, for sure. Yeah. And you could easily say, well, she was probably just reciprocating his kindness.
But again, it would've been a different word. Mm-hmm. Hesed is a covenantal word. Yeah, I think Esther specifically is using this to demonstrate who she was. She knew she was a child of God, a child of the covenant, a disciple of Christ, and she lived it She was a female Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego right there.
Yes. Oh, my word, yes 'Cause she's living under the keeper of Haggai for a year of purification. Oh, there's so much implied in there. That is so cool. It, it is, it's so fantastic. There, there's a quote, and I don't know the... I don't think this, the author is, is, is known, but I, I think it's pretty familiar. It says, "Live in such a way that those who know you but don't know Christ will want to know Christ because they know you."
Mm-hmm. That's who Esther was. Absolutely. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, that's so cool. How am I gonna get this into a 20-minute Sunday school class? How am I gonna get... how am I gonna be able to convey your conviction of the Hebrew language and how you've brought it out to us today? It's just amazing.
I, uh, just, there's just not enough time. There's so much to know and so much to do, and you- you've helped so much in just a, a seven or eight-minute segment, Rebecca, because you know so much and you're willing to share. I, it's amazing what you just taught us. Yeah. Just amazing. Thanks, Sharon. Thank you. It- well, God is great.
Like, his words are so powerful. That's what I love. Come and learn Hebrew. If you wanna learn- ... like, really, you know, like- That's right there. That's our testimony ... right? Like, it's incredible. Yeah, that's right. I'll second that, for sure. Yeah. Amen. Yeah. Oh, but how cool, 'cause we just modeled how to do that, so now everybody listening, you take it and now go teach.
That's what's so cool. Right. Right. Uh-huh. Sharon, you can do it. You absolutely can. Yeah, right. I've seen you teach. Been writing- Oh, I know. Seriously ... writing down as fast as I can and still can't get it all down. Oh, that's so cool. Oh my gosh, Rebecca, thank you for teaching us that. Yes, that's wonderful. You know, and I just wanna end that we can be like Esther.
Yeah. Like, we can, we can also nasah hesed before the world. We can lift up Jesus Christ's light and his strength and his peace through our covenants to the world for the world to see. I read this quote by our past prophet, and it was so powerful. I wanted to, to just end with this. He said, "My plea to you this morning is to find rest from the intensity, uncertainty, and anguish of this world by overcoming the world through your covenants with God."
Esther was in... I mean, she had trials. I mean, her life story is quite the experience, intensity, and danger and trial and heartache and all the things, and she overcame all of that because of her covenant connection with God. And then he says, "As I have stated before, the gathering of Israel is the most important work taking place on earth today."
"One crucial element of this gathering is preparing a people who are able, ready, and worthy to receive the Lord when he comes again. A people who have already chosen Jesus Christ over this fallen world. A people who rejoice in their agency to live the higher, holier laws of Jesus Christ." That's who Esther was.
And then he says this: "I call upon you, my dear brothers and sisters, to become this righteous people. Cherish and honor your covenants above all other commitments. As you let God prevail in your life, I promise you greater peace, joy, confidence, and rest." And I just wanna testify that that is true, that our covenants are going to bind us to Jesus Christ and prepare us to be the type of people prepared to meet him at his coming, because Jesus is coming again.
Wow. So we're gonna see him. And as we see these beautiful examples of all these men and women, these righteous men and women in the scriptures, it helps us to remember who we are, who we can become, so we can be prepared to, to do our missions here on Earth and see him at his coming. Jesus Christ is coming and, and we need to be the, the people prepared to meet him.
Wow. I say that in the name of Jesus Christ. I will amen that. Amen. And amen. Wow. Thank you, Rebecca. We, uh, we have to get busy. Yeah. We have to get very busy and get pr- more prepared than we are now before he comes. Mm. Absolutely. So speaking of his second coming then, we're gonna talk about that in the next segment, and we're gonna connect that to Esther.
We'll do that next.
Segment 6
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Last thing, let's connect the name Esther to the second coming of Jesus Christ, or actually we're gonna connect Esther's name to the Savior. This is so fun. So go back to the very beginning where it says the Book of Esther, and let's just talk about what her name means. There's a couple of really cool things.
So it says the Book of Esther, but that's not actually her given name. You want to know what her given name is, and that is found in Esther, and it's in chapter two, verse seven. And will you read that for us, Rebecca? Yep. "And he brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle's daughter; for she had neither father nor mother.
And the maid was fair and beautiful, whom Mordecai, when her father and mother were dead, took for his own daughter." So her first given name is Hadassah. That's her Jewish name, and Hadassah in Hebrew means myrtle. And I think this is pretty cool because myrtle is a very strong plant that can grow in the worst conditions.
This is neat, 'cause then her name's Esther, and it, but her given name is Hadassah. I think that's kinda cool. Like, she can really grow in the worst conditions. It's almost telling us a little bit about who she is as a little girl, and it's gonna be the worst 'cause her mom and dad are gonna be gone and she's gonna be raised by her uncle.
No, thank you. And so that is gonna be crazy for her. So there's her name in Hebrew, Hadassah. That's her Jewish name. But Esther is her, believed to be her Persian name. And so underneath where it says the Book of Esther, you can put Hadassah, myrtle, and then next to Esther put an equals sign because the Persian name Esther means star And throughout the scriptures, it's another moniker for Jesus Christ.
He is the day star rising, according to President Holland. You can look up so many very cool connections to a star and the Savior. And so I love that Esther is a type of Christ. Throughout this story, she redeems her people. She teaches her people how to worship. I love the idea that deity is implied in all of her actions.
Wouldn't that, that, that absolutely is true of Jesus Christ. And so the fact that Esther is a type of Christ is so powerful to me in not only her actions, but also in her name. And she really is the star of the Old Testament for me. Like, I love that idea. Like, she's the star. Let's read this fun quote.
This is from Camille Frank Olsen, and here's what she has to say also about Esther. And Sharon, can you read that for us, please? "Even if the Book of Esther is a work of historical fiction, as many claim, it underscores how Esther and her exiled people specifically, and anyone who feels marginalized or powerless in society generally, can significantly influence the world for good.
Using one's talents, wisdom, and divine inspiration, any woman or man can bring change by enlightening those who hold power and have the authority to make better laws." Thank you. That is a type of Christ. And then lastly, will you read this quote, Rebecca? And this comes from the Old Testament student manual from a long time ago when I was teaching seminary, and I've had it in my scriptures for 20-plus years.
And it, n- it's not attributed to anyone. It's just whoever was writing the manual wrote this and it's just brilliantly written. Go ahead, Rebecca. Mm. "It may be that your calling is not to save a nation or even to lead one, but one thing is certain, you are here now not by chance but by design. If you will, you have a role to play in building the kingdom that will eventually produce Zion and prepare for the second coming of Christ."
And Rebecca, you've said that consistently throughout this episode- Yes ... that He is coming and that He needs us to be ready. He needs us to be modern-day Esthers. He needs us to be examples of Him. And so I just ask you to think about this, and I would ask this to my class, especially if I was teaching youth, is I would say, "Okay, think throughout your life or think through your patriarchal blessing.
What is a way that the Lord is using you to prepare for His second coming?" And this doesn't need to come off as feeling like, oh, I'm bragging, because my example is I never thought in a million years I'd be a teacher. That was not my plan. I was gonna be a nurse. I was a CNA. That put me through high school, paid for college.
I just could not get into a nursing school to save my life. Mm. And so I just decided, well, I'll just get a dumb degree. I don't know what I'm gonna do with my life. And then I had a bishop in a singles ward say, "You should be a seminary teacher." That I- was the most ridiculous thing, 'cause I said I didn't like seminary when I was in it-
'cause I had to do early morning in Missouri. And he just looked at me and he's like, "Well, I work for the church education system and they're looking for female teachers and I think you'd be good." So I just took the classes, and the next thing I know, I became a seminary teacher. And I didn't even know I had the gift and ability to teach until I, going back to what we said, till I put forth the effort to try it and see if that's something that the Lord could use.
And so that's one of the ways that I think the Lord has used me to help prepare for the second coming, is just saying, "Okay, Heavenly Father, I don't know what I'm gonna do with my life. I have a degree in sociology. Help a sister out." And then He's like, "Great. You're not gonna be a nurse. You're gonna be a seminary teacher."
So that is one of the ways I think the Lord has helped me help for the second coming. What about you two? Is there anything specific? That's so funny, Tammy, because I got my degree in dental hygiene. That's hilarious. I'm a dental hygienist. And now I teach Biblical Hebrew. It's like that doesn't e- Right?
nothing to do with it, right? Like, the- Wow ... it's... what's amazing to me is that the Lord can literally use anyone. Mm-hmm. All He needs is a willing heart. That's so true. Yeah. Right? Like, I am nobody. I really am nobody. I- Yeah. But the Lord's like, "Okay, you're willing? Oh, I can, I can, I can do something with you."
Right. The Lord's hands are beautiful potter's hands to create something great. Like, if you think you don't have gifts and talents, you don't... If you think you can't do anything, you can, and all it takes is you to go to the Lord and say, "I'm willing." Mm-hmm. "Show me. Take me. Take me on the journey. Help me become the person that I, I, I know you see in me."
Here am I, send me ... miracles. Yes, absolutely. Oh, Rebecca, that's so cool. I love we have a similar story. The Lord really will use anybody. Yeah. Mm-hmm. I'm... Yeah, case in point. Oh, wait. Is the Bible the big book or the little book? Book of Mormon? I'm not sure. Where is that book again? Yeah, I didn't know anything about scriptures.
Oh, wow. Tammy, what about you? How has the Lord used you? Uh, well, I think, and just being steadfast- Mm ... enduring to the end, not giving up, doing what you're asked to do, follow the course, help to build the kingdom, help to gather Israel, just l- listen to where he wants me to go and what he wants me to do, and do my best.
And, and, um- Yeah ... I, I, I just think that if I'm on the wrong path, I believe he would let me know. I really believe that- Mm-hmm ... what's best for me is what I'm currently doing. And if that has to change, then he'll let me know, and I'll just need to be sensitive to the promptings of the Spirit, and that try to align my will with His will.
Mm-hmm. And then, like Rebecca said, I'm nothing. I'm just me. I'm just this female person. And many... And I think about how many trillions of people, trillions just on this earth- And we all think he knows our name. We all think he knows us. He al- we all think he knows what we're gonna do. He, he knows what's good for us.
And I think, "How can he do that? There are, there are trillions. I mean, there are trillions." Yeah. How, how, h- I'm just a speck on the wall. I'm just a fly print. But, but life has shown over these many years that, that I'm significant in small ways, and it takes trillions of people in small ways to bring about his goals for us.
Wow. So I just, um, I have to consider myself one of the trillions, but I am one. I am one of the trillions. I'm not on the outside. I'm not on the other side. I'm, I'm one of the trillions. And I think just e- enduring to the end, not m- not, not making waves, um, not doing anything that would detract someone else- Mm-hmm
from the path. I think- Yeah ... if we could all do that, my gosh, we'd, we'd be prepared. Well, and I... Here's the, my favorite thing that both of you have said, 'cause I'm going back to the story of Esther. You beautifully echoed Esther's words, 'cause Esther definitely was one who said, "Who am I?" Yeah. Like, "I'm not anybody that can make a difference."
That was her whole point. Mm-hmm. "I can't just go in to the king." And, and she did. Her one little action made a difference for an entire nation. And again, but it goes back to her humility. "I'm nobody. I'm just a speck on the wall. I can't make a difference." Mm-hmm. And so I love that, that God really will use anyone who's willing, whatever it looks like for you, 'cause it's different for everybody.
So again, going back to how we started, pray. Pray for him to use you. Pray for h- him to help you become the kind of person he needs you to be to make a difference in the world, to testify of him, to carry him, I love that idea, to lift and carry him and his covenant to other people, however that looks for you, 'cause it's different for everyone.
But I think everybody has the ability to be an Esther. We all have the ability to be a star and to testify for him. A- and it never stops. Never. You keep... You don't retire at 62 or 65- ... or 75. Yeah. You're never, never retired- Yeah ... from that. I mean, to people who live to be their 90s or in their 100s, they're still trying- Yeah
to, to be who he would want them to be and to fulfill the measure of their creation. So I think that's what many of us are trying to do, just fulfill the measure of my creation, and... But know what that cre- know what that is. I mean, you have to know what that is before you can- Mm-hmm ... fulfill it, which means staying close to the Spirit and the power of discernment and, and asking- And I've loved that about you, Sharon, 'cause when I asked how is the Lord using you, in my mind I already answered that question and I was thinking it's- the Lord g- the Lord uses Sharon's time, and Sharon lets the Lord use her time.
Because I never knew you younger. I didn't know all of your accomplishments and your accolades and your degrees, but I've been able to watch you, and you've been an example to me of how you use your time when you retire. 'Cause you really, you have not stopped. You go to the temple. You take callings. My goodness, my favorite is when you got called as Relief Society president.
How old were you? I don't know, 70. She was, and she said, "I don't want this calling." Yeah, I didn't. Just so we're clear. I didn't. And she nailed it. She did such a great job. But you've just, you've never said no. You've never stopped. And so God uses your time. He knows how to use Sharon's time, and he's used it well.
I think that's true for all of us. That's a great example for me. No. Mm-hmm. I think it's true for all of us. Look- Appreciate it ... look what the two of you have done. I mean, d- you know, for accolades. Oh. But you're just doing what you believe the Lord would have you do, and it's that simple. You know- Right
you're not striving to be president of the church. You're not striving to be the first prophetess in this day and age. You're not striving to ... you know. You're just doing what the Lord would have you do, and it's that simple. It, it really is. Yeah. So ask. Get on your knees tonight and ask, "Where are you gonna use me, Lord?"
Yeah. And he will direct you. So- Right ... thank you, ladies. Okay, so gather your ... We're done. Gather your thoughts, and just share with me one quick little takeaway. What's something you learned today from our discussion that you'll remember or you want to reteach if you get to teach this? 'Cause I got a whole page of notes.
Sharon, I loved it when you taught us family of believers in the law, and my mind just went into this idea that deity was implied in all the ways that we saw God in this story because they were a family of believers in the law. That was so good. And then of course, Rebecca, holy cow, loved the Hebrew. I loved it when you taught us hesed and nasa.
But I also, when you went into ... I mean, you taught us so much. You taught us her dad's name. I have so many great notes, so. But of course, then ... No, actually I change it. When you taught us the word come. When you taught us naga, to touch or to strike, to have a forceful impact. That's the goal of all of us, to have a forceful impact.
So that's it. Thank you. Yeah, that was so good. I loved so many things. Okay, I have so many notes, but I'm gonna just share one. I loved that you talked about the meaning of the name Esther meaning star. Oh, that's good. That she was a type of Christ. Mm-hmm. I mean, she saved a people- Christ saves us. And she, a star, a light, right?
And that we saw who she was. She literally, she lifted her light for others to see. Really, it, it was beautiful, and I love that you talked about that. And I loved that Sharon said, "Pay attention to all the people in the story," even the smaller- Right ... like, when we looked at, like, the, just the small, simple stories of these people, it just, like, reminded me that each of us matter.
Like, every story- Mm-hmm ... is important because it all is a whole, one great whole. Like, we all are connected, and each of us play a role in everything. So I loved that. Oh, I like that. Oh, each of us matter. That was a good one, Sharon. Yeah. I learned that it's important to learn. I, I have learned so much today from your contributions, Rebecca, and from yours, Tammy, that I didn't know.
And so in reading Esther, I thought, "There's so much in this little story that I don't know about." But now it has been broadened and enlightened and enhanced, and it has strengthened my testimony of covenants, love, sacrifice, obedience, so much in this teeny-tiny little story, whether it's true or not, like you quoted earlier, in that I should not shut my mind once I think I've learned something.
Uh, y- uh, I've gotta... I'm gonna go back and I'm gonna reread this story today again and look at... And I've taken notes and plug in your notes, Rebecca, and plug in your notes, Tammy, to learn at a deeper level, a more covenanted, connected level of, of learning. Uh, and so with that comes preparedness. So interacting with the two of you today is helping me to be prepared for whatever comes next, and that is so strengthening.
So it's like we were talking about the young women, tell them to prepare who they are before the actual event happens. Well, that's what I'm doing, and that's what you're doing, is we are preparing now. And the more we learn, the stronger our conviction will be, and we will be able to help others because our conviction is strong.
We are the brick wall. Mm-hmm. We're not the flappy tent. We are the brick wall- ... that they can rely on us because we have a firm foundation. I, I, I just, just wanna keep learning more and more and more and more because you've taught me the significance of learning and delving into principles, covenants, ordinances, um, never stops.
And I'm grateful. I'm very grateful. Thank you. Wow. Thank you. Thank you, both of you. What a great discussion. Esther, such a simple little book and story, or is it? 'Cause we learned so much. So thank you, ladies. We're done. Wow. That's the end of our episode. Yay. Wow. That was fantastic. Thank you both- Thank you
of you for taking the time today. I really appreciate it. That was powerful. That was so good. Yeah. Okay, you're done. Tammy, thank you. Thank you- Oh ... for inviting. And Sharon, thank you. Like- Thank you ... it's just been a treat. It's just been- Yeah, me too ... beautiful. And I get, I get to hear more from you. That's g- Yeah
that's another treat. We'll obviously get to start up again. It's gonna be fun. Yeah, come August. Yeah. Thanks. Yay. Thank you, everyone. What eternal truth did you learn? Oh, my goodness, you... I'm dying to know what everyone's learned about Esther. That was such an incredible discussion. So go join our group on Facebook and follow us on Instagram, and share what you have learned.
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. It's where we're gonna have links to all the references, a transcript of this whole discussion, and we are also gonna have links to the Hebrew class.
So go check it out. The Sunday on Monday Study Group is a Deseret Bookshelf Plus original, brought to you by LDS Living. It's written and hosted by me, Tammy Uzelac Hall. And today, our perfect study group participants were Sharon Staples and Rebecca Miller. 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, you little stars. And please remember that you are God's favorite.