The demands of justice The atonement of Jesus Christ: his suffering, death on the cross, and resurrection made it possible for all mankind to be resurrected and forgiven of their sins.  Occasionally I am asked why Jesus had to die.  A student recently asked why Jesus could not just forgiveContinue Reading

I must say that I love the Old Testament.  There are just so many stories that relate to our lives.  The story of Elijah and his contest with the priests of Baal is a dramatic example of the power of the Lord over all the earth.  He is the supremeContinue Reading

1 Kings 11-14 tell the story of the division of the Kingdom of Israel.  We spent a few minutes setting up the circumstances surrounding the division of the kingdom as outlined in 1 Kings 11-12.  After establishing the narrative where Jeroboam decides to set up false worship in the northernContinue Reading

The narrative of David’s downfall in 2 Samuel 11 is given with such detail and in such a matter of fact manner that it is impossible to miss the point.  David made a series of decisions that brought him and those around him misery.  There were several switchpoints in thisContinue Reading

Ruth is a great book for teenagers.  So many of them can relate to a person who has had so many difficulties.  We began the study of the  book of Ruth by writing on the white board all of the characters from chapter 1 – Elimelech, Naomi, Mahlon, Ruth, Chilion,Continue Reading

Deuteronomy 7 discusses the importance of making the right decisions with respect to marriage.  From the text we read: Neither shalt thou make amarriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son.  For they will aturn away thyContinue Reading

Numbers chapter 9 illustrates how the Lord instructed Israel when they were to move the camp.  “So it was alway: the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night.” (Numbers 9:16) As long as the cloud rested upon the tabernacle, Israel stayed where they were campedContinue Reading

Today we examined how Moses and Aaron react to the Israelites’ desire to engage in idolatrous practices.  Aaron and Moses both respond in divergent ways – looking into their responses brought home a message to the youth in seminary. First, we took a look at Aaron’s response, which was somewhatContinue Reading

Today in class we discussed how the Tabernacle the Lord instructed Moses to build is a type or shadow of our journey back to our Heavenly Father’s presence.  Everything the Lord instructed Moses with regards to the Tabernacle pointed to the Savior, His Atonement, and our relationship to Him. TheContinue Reading