Old Testament

INTRODUCTION: Throughout history the people of God have suffered from bad memories. Our recollection of the most amazing blessings will disappear from our memories if we are not attentive. Moses had seen this reality in his people a lot of times. They had memory spans roughly equivalent to a box of corn flakes. Miracles and divine demonstrations were forgotten more quickly than the IRS’s phone number. Much of Deuteronomy was given and written to help the covenant people remember the important things.

INTRODUCTION: I am going to include an article written by Elder McConkie here as an introduction. I recommend that you read it along with these materials. It is wonderful. Some of the concepts will be repeated in the lesson I have written, but the “second witness” will be

INTRODUCTION: If you have the time and the inclination, review the following scriptures: Ex. 14:1-4; 16:2,3; 17:1-4; Num. 11:4-6, 18-20; 14:1-4; 20:3-5; 21:5. In each of these verses Israel longs for the good things of Egypt, for an opportunity to return her slime pits. You with young children might have experienced something like this. I know I made life miserable for my parents on a couple of occasions when they took me to visit distant relatives and I did not want to go. My constant complaining and incessant review of the things I was missing at home must have filled them with indignation. The Lord seems to have had some of those same feelings about the children of Israel during their backward-looking journey to the Promised Land.

INTRODUCTION: We came here with divine potential, and in many cases—perhaps all cases—divine power.

INTRODUCTION: I almost always commence teaching the Old Testament in the same way. I bring in a box of odds and ends and place them on my desk. I ask for two volunteers, and when they come to the front, I show them the box, tell them they have two minutes, and sit down. The responses vary. Nearly all ask what they are supposed to do. I never respond. Some then stand and wait, others begin to remove items from the box and make an attempt to build something—anything—with the materials that are there.

One of the most difficult but important things we can do as Mormons who are alerted to the complexities of cultural differences and sacred writings is to learn how to share in church settings insights we’ve gleaned from our studies. We have a dual challenge: (1) to try to be as faithful as possible to the scriptural text and the context in which it was written and the people who lived in those places and times, while (2) still honoring in some way the Christian and LDS overlays that have become deeply ingrained in ours and others’ faith journeys and worldviews—framings and understandings that can only generally handle grafting in a few new pieces at a time.