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(00:00) An overview of these chapters.
(02:05) Abraham’s prophetic call and the symbolism of the mighty tree with sacred associations.
(13:26) “Is anything too hard for the Lord?”
(14:00) Hebrew word play with laugh, rejoice, and Isaac’s name. Doubts and hopes are tied together in this story.
(16:36) Abraham bargains with the Lord for Sodom and Gomorrah to be saved because he knows the mercy of God.
(23:25) The story of Sodom and Gomorrah also portrays God’s justice.
(24:34) Lot makes efforts to save his family from destruction in Genesis 19.
(29:33) Lot pitching his tent toward Sodom cost him his family.
(33:41) The troubling narrative of Lot’s two daughters and the cave in Genesis 19.30-38.
(38:22) Beauty for ashes in Isaiah 61.3. Through tragic experiences, beauty can come to pass. Your origin story is not who you are.
(41:48) Genesis 20 is a triplet of the same story. This chapter introduces the Elohist’s narrative, a source text most likely related to Lehi’s Brass Plates text.
(43:04) The long-promised day finally comes and Isaac is born. We should trust and have faith in promises that take time to be fulfilled. The Song of Sarah.
(44:57) Hagar and Ishmael are cast out of Abraham’s household and they wander in the wilderness. Their water runs out and God shows her a well of water. God helps us, but also wants us to do all we can.
(55:22) Complexities, gaps, and anachronisms in Genesis 21. A covenant, a sacred well, and a tree at Beer-sheba are illustrations of temple imagery, connecting the Patriarchs to figures of the temple and visionary experiences.
(58:41) The burial of Sarah in Genesis 23. Different ways to read Abraham’s “mourning” and “weeping” for Sarah.
(1:03:00) The Lord asks Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac upon Mount Moriah, the foundation stone, Jerusalem’s most sacred ground.
(1:06:47) We are here to be tested. We will have trials of faith equal to Abraham’s.
(1:11:05) Isaac is an excellent type of Jesus Christ. Elder Melvin J. Ballard shares his feelings regarding Heavenly Father sacrificing his Son.

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The post Ep 360 | Genesis 18-23, Come Follow Me 2026 (February 23-March 1) appeared first on LDS Scripture Teachings.

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(00:00) The blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant include preservation, protection, priesthood, power, a place, and posterity.
(09:20) The responsibility of the Abrahamic Covenant is to make Christ’s name known to the world and help all to obtain priesthood and temple blessings.
(19:29) The Lord places Abraham and his posterity, Israel, in the center of the world. Our challenge is to influence the world without being influenced by the world.
(29:51) Abraham and Sarah experience “The Hero’s Journey.” Sarah’s combat with Pharaoh is similar to Eve’s battle with the serpent.
(39:01) Abraham grants the superior land to Lot. We should be generous with others as was Abraham.
(40:32) Anachronisms in Genesis 14 are clues as to when it was written.
(43:20) Melchizedek has largely been removed from the Hebrew Bible, but was on the Brass Plates. Melchizedek is a type of Jesus Christ.
(49:57) Abraham and Sarah both gave God the benefit of the doubt in regard to his promise of having seed. Like them, we should do all we can to ensure the Lord’s promises are fulfilled.
(52:49) The ritual cutting of sacrificial animals in Genesis 15 relates to ancient covenant making.
(57:53) Abraham’s visionary experience included both light and darkness.
(1:01:04) The Lord tells Sarai to choose Hagar to bring forth Ishmael. The word used for bringing forth children relates to the idea of “building.”
(1:05:40) Circumcision is a token or sign of the covenant given to Abraham.
(1:07:04) How El Shaddai (the Almighty God) can be read as a representation of our Divine Mother in Heaven, with blessings connected to children and life. The historical evolution of Israel’s view of the nature of God.

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The post Ep 359 | Genesis 12-17; Abraham 1-2, Come Follow Me 2026 (February 16-22) appeared first on LDS Scripture Teachings.

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(00:00) Different approaches to reading the flood account.
(03:47) The flood can symbolize a second creation of the earth.
(05:55) A strange passage in Genesis 6.1-4. This text introduces concepts like Watchers, Giants, and a conflict between Enoch and the forces of darkness. It can be read as a polemic against Babylonian religious and political views.
(18:26) Mount Sinai and Mount Hermon as headquarters of the opposing forces of good and evil.
(25:01) Jesus addresses his disciples in Caesarea Philippi, at the foot of Mount Hermon in Matthew 16.13-19.
(32:00) The harsh reality of the portrayal of destruction throughout the scriptures. The Book of Mormon provides a pattern for how to live in peace.
(39:05) The people of Noah’s day were swept off because the earth was corrupt and filled with violence.
(43:33) The Lord sent a prophet and gave them 120 years to change. The people were warned before they were destroyed.
(48:22) Noah’s Ark can be a symbol of the temple.
(57:19) A pattern of how to follow a prophet. It takes patience and faith to follow prophets in a day of peace.
(1:01:48) The bow in the cloud is a token of the covenant in Genesis 9.12-13. When we look up at the rainbow we are remembering the promise of God to bring Enoch and Zion to earth.
(1:06:35) Ways to read the curse Noah gives Canaan in Genesis 9.20-27.
(1:12:27) The Table of Nations in Genesis 10. The dividing of the land and the languages. The Tower of Babel as a polemic against the beliefs of the Babylonians.
(1:17:01) Our connection to Abraham and his covenant. God has promised to preserve us just as he preserved Noah.

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The post Ep 358 | Genesis 6-11; Moses 8, Come Follow Me 2026 (February 9-15) appeared first on LDS Scripture Teachings.

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(00:00) Moses 7 reveals the true character of God. He is an eternal being who weeps for His children.
(09:06) The law must be administered. Moses 7.38 – “a prison have I prepared for them.” There is an exit from hell as explained in D&C 19.
(14:51) Terryl and Fiona Givens share their view on “The God Who Weeps.”
(22:19) The teaching that “The Son of Man” will come down to earth, be lifted upon the cross, resurrected, and take up the saints to be crowned (Moses 7.53-56) is rejected by those that edited the Old Testament. Enoch, Lehi, and Nephi teach the message of the Messiah.
(27:40) Enoch literature is apocalyptic and was not included in the Christian canon.
(30:49) Many ideas in the Bible are influenced by the writings of Enoch.
(48:30) There is great wickedness upon the earth. Boyd K. Packer discussed how the youth of our day face greater challenges than those of his generation.
(57:24) Defining what Zion means. Enoch and his people established Zion and were taken up to God.
(1:06:04) In the last days, we are to gather again into a holy city called Zion and the city of Enoch will return.

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The post Ep 357 | Moses 7, Come Follow Me 2026 (February 2-8) appeared first on LDS Scripture Teachings.

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(00:00) The book of the generations of Adam. Another way to view the long lives of the early Patriarchs. The Sumerian King List may help give context to their ages.
(11:38) A brief overview of Enoch literature. The name Mahijah in Moses 6.40 was also found on second century fragments discovered at Qumran in 1948.
(19:13) Scriptures are a book of remembrance.
(21:15) Seers see things we cannot see.
(31:54) The call narrative. Enoch’s prophetic call is consistent with elements of the narrative call pattern.
(34:44) The Plan of Salvation as taught by Adam and Enoch is the same message the Savior taught. The Atoning Messiah is central to the plan, but was removed from the Old Testament.
(49:26) Another way of understanding “children conceived in sin” in Moses 6.55. This text can be connected to the Fallen Angels or the Watchers in 1 Enoch.
(54:50) Children of Christ versus Children of Satan as portrayed in Alma 5 and its connection to Moses 6.55.
(56:19) “Man of Holiness” in Moses 6.57 can be describing God as a man of the temple or the husband of the divine woman.
(58:55) An invitation to find Jesus everywhere.

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The post Ep 356 | Genesis 5; Moses 6, Come Follow Me 2026 (January 26-February 1) appeared first on LDS Scripture Teachings.

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(00:00) Heavenly Father’s plan in the premortal council and Jesus’ role as Savior. The Savior sought only the glory of the Father.
(06:15) The Serpent (Satan) comes to Eve. The serpent was subtle, a word with many meanings. 2 Nephi 2 explains how agency works its requirements.
(13:40) Adam and Eve were commanded to not eat the fruit and to also multiply and replenish the earth. A discussion on these potentially conflicting commands.
(20:23) Another view on the divine commandments given to Adam and Eve.
(26:01) Eve’s temptation and the Fall. Understanding Lehi’s discourse on the Fall helps us see how it was a blessing to all mankind.
(31:07) Reading Genesis 3 through the lens of the temple and Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount will help us see layers of meaning.
(45:16) The curse given to the serpent as an allusion to the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
(47:39) The curse given to Eve relates to sorrow in conception. Other ways to interpret “He shall rule over thee.” The curse given to Adam.
(58:54) Moses 4 introduces the two first laws of heaven: obedience and sacrifice.
(1:03:52) Moses 5 shows how Cain’s choices led him down a dark path.
(1:10:07) The Mahan principle is converting life into property.
(1:15:50) The Lord invited Cain to think about his choices. One lesson from this story for parents is “Don’t freak out!”
(1:19:54) Hidden meaning in the names of Cain and Abel. Their story can be read as a rivalry between two priesthoods.
(1:24:23) The Book of Mormon helps us see that the curse and mark put on Cain was an absence of the Light of Christ or a dark countenance.

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The post Ep 355 | Genesis 3-4; Moses 4-5, Come Follow Me 2026 (January 19-25) appeared first on LDS Scripture Teachings.

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(00:00) The book of Moses is the JST of Genesis. The word translation has multiple meanings.
Moses 1 is the missing preface to the Old Testament which reveals three important truths.
(07:03) We are God’s children, and have infinite worth and potential.
(08:45) The name of God. The Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew and many words can have various interpretations.
(12:06) Divine investiture of authority allows the Son to have the power to speak as if he is the Father.
(18:11) The creation story is not about how. It’s about why. Man is nothing and yet God wants to give us everything He has.
(21:18) The historical timeframe of Moses 1.
(23:54) Satan’s name only appears in the Bible 13 times. His presence in the Book of Moses is significant.
(27:43) The difference between the glory of God and the glory of the world.
(33:50) We can cast out Satan and control darkness by inviting light.
(35:39) Moses 1 ends with the command to show the words only to those that believe. Levels of exoteric and esoteric are in scriptural texts.
(39:44) The book of Abraham originated with Egyptian papyri that Joseph Smith translated. Fire destroyed most of the original scrolls and only small fragments remain. These fragments, called JSP I-XI, contain burial texts called The Book of Breathings.
(45:36) The relationship between the remaining fragments and the text of the Book of Abraham is not fully understood.
(47:28) Some counter-arguments to criticisms of the Book of Abraham include the missing text theory, the catalyst theory, and the Jewish redaction theory.
(55:23) The JSP I-XI fragments date to the 2nd century BC, not 1900 BC when Abraham lived. The rolls were likely copies of copies.
(1:01:08) In the Book of Abraham, the greatness of the Messiah is found in the symbolism of the cosmos and stars.
(1:10:37) Abraham learns about the pre-earth life.
(1:11:54) Joseph’s introduction to the Hebrew language likely influenced some of the words found in Abraham.

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The post Ep 353 | Moses 1; Abraham 3, Come Follow Me 2026 (January 5-11) appeared first on LDS Scripture Teachings.