Nephi’s prophecies of the Book of Mormon; “the doctrine of Christ” (2 Nephi 28–33) by Mike Parker (Mike Parker is a long-time FAIR member who has graciously allowed us to use materials he originally prepared for the Hurricane Utah Adult Religion Class . The scripture passages covered in his lessons don’t conform exactly to the Come, Follow Me reading schedule, so they will be shared here where they fit best. This week’s lesson includes information that goes with the Come, Follow Me reading sched...
Mar 11, 2024•34 min
Mixing Doubt with Anger by Autumn Dickson One of the topics given as a suggestion in the Come Follow Me manual for this week is to study Satan’s tactics. This has actually already been a topic on my mind for a while. There is one tactic in particular that I’ve come to recognize over the past few months, and so I feel like the Lord has prepared me to learn about this before He even gave me the verse. Here it is. 2 Nephi 28:20 For behold, at that day shall he rage in the hearts of the children of ...
Mar 10, 2024•14 min
This podcast series features past FAIR Conference presentations. This presentation is from our 2022 conference. Kerry Muhlestein, Keys to Understanding Isaiah Kerry has several books available from the FAIR Bookstore . Kerry received his B.S. from BYU in Psychology with a Hebrew minor. He received an M.A. in Ancient Near Eastern Studies from BYU and his Ph.D. from UCLA in Egyptology, where in his final year he was named the UCLA Affiliates Graduate Student of the Year. His first full time appoin...
Mar 08, 2024•51 min
In this episode, Sarah, Jennifer, and Zach go through ancient uses of seer stones and other objects seen as sacred. In this 6 part series, Me, My Shelf, & I will tackle and refute these claims head-on using facts from the historical narrative. Saints Unscripted Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpYrul0eRjs Allen Hansen’s Research: https://independent.academia.edu/HansenAllen Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (03:30) The questions (07:37) Examples from the Scriptures (15:24) Interview wit...
Mar 05, 2024•45 min
Keeping the Law of Moses by Autumn Dickson I have been waiting for the verses I want to talk about today. I have held them in my mind for a couple years, waiting for the opportunity to write this post. And as I have written it, I have found myself truly humbled as I realized this message extended beyond what I previously thought and hit me directly where I needed it. Before I delve into these verses, I want to call to your attention the character and circumstances of Nephi. Nephi was a friend of...
Mar 02, 2024•18 min
Nephi’s quotations & commentary on the prophecies of Isaiah (2 Nephi 11–27) by Mike Parker (Mike Parker is a long-time FAIR member who has graciously allowed us to use materials he originally prepared for the Hurricane Utah Adult Religion Class . The scripture passages covered in his lessons don’t conform exactly to the Come, Follow Me reading schedule, so they will be shared here where they fit best. This week’s lesson includes information that goes with the Come, Follow Me reading schedule...
Feb 26, 2024•36 min
The Context of Eternity by Autumn Dickson One of the topics that gets covered this week is the Millennium. Life in the Millennium is going to be a little bit different than we are experiencing now. Nephi quotes the following verse about what life will be like: 2 Nephi 12:4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plow-shares, and their spears into pruning-hooks—nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn...
Feb 24, 2024•15 min
Jacob’s teachings about the Messiah & the gathering of Israel (2 Nephi 6–10) by Mike Parker (Mike Parker is a long-time FAIR member who has graciously allowed us to use materials he originally prepared for the Hurricane Utah Adult Religion Class .) Class Notes Additional Reading Taylor Halverson, “ ‘O How Great the Goodness of Our God’: 2 Nephi 6–10 ,” Interpreter Foundation, 5 July 2013. John S. Thompson argues that Jacob₂’s sermon was given in connection with the Nephite observance of the ...
Feb 21, 2024•35 min
In this episode, Zach, Sarah, and Jennifer go through an overview of the most common criticisms of Joseph Smith’s Seer Stones from all sides. They introduce direct claims from faithful members who dispute the use of Seer Stones as well as critics who attempt to use the seer stones to explain away the Book of Mormon. In this 6 part series, Me, My Shelf, & I will tackle and refute these claims head-on using facts from the historical narrative. Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (02:23) Are Seer ...
Feb 20, 2024•31 min
Reproach and Revilings of Men by Autumn Dickson There are many things to fear in this world. Our own prophecies of the state of the world before the Second Coming are not for the faint of heart. Jacob knew this, and he chose to teach his people that they were of the house of Israel and would not be forsaken by the Lord. Those who trust in the Lord feel reason to rejoice. Jacob was pleading with them to trust their God so that they could feel this. There is one very specific fear that Jacob addre...
Feb 17, 2024•21 min
Nephi’s Psalm by Autumn Dickson Nephi’s psalm is a classic, and there are a great many things we can learn from it. Rather than focusing on any specific phrases or words, I want to look at the message as a whole. I believe there is something we can learn as we follow Nephi through his transitions. All throughout the chapters we have read thus far, Nephi has given us examples of his righteousness. He turned to the Lord for his own testimony, faithfully followed his father out of his home, valiant...
Feb 10, 2024•15 min
Lehi’s farewell address; Nephites & Lamanites separate (2 Nephi 1–5) by Mike Parker (Mike Parker is a long-time FAIR member who has graciously allowed us to use materials he originally prepared for the Hurricane Utah Adult Religion Class . The scripture passages covered in his lessons don’t conform exactly to the Come, Follow Me reading schedule, so they will be shared here where they fit best. This week’s lesson covers both this week’s and next week’s Come, Follow Me reading.) Class Notes A...
Feb 05, 2024•44 min
Choosing Liberty and Eternal Life by Autumn Dickson In the chapters for this week, we find Lehi’s family in the promised land and Lehi is dying. He knows he is dying and decides to share some last messages with his family. He pleads with Laman and Lemuel to get it together, blesses his grandchildren to be protected from bad influences, encourages the others to do what’s right, and prophesies of future events. He also shares essential doctrines. One of these doctrines is a huge focus in the Come ...
Feb 04, 2024•17 min
The journeys to Bountiful & the promised land (1 Nephi 16–22) by Mike Parker (Mike Parker is a long-time FAIR member who has graciously allowed us to use materials he originally prepared for the Hurricane Utah Adult Religion Class . The scripture passages covered in his lessons don’t conform exactly to the Come, Follow Me reading schedule, so they will be shared here where they fit best.) Class Notes Additional Reading Calvin D. Tolman, “ Liahona: ‘Prepared of the Lord, a Compass ,’” Interpr...
Jan 29, 2024•27 min
The Second Spindle by Autumn Dickson I learned something this week about the Liahona that kinda blew my mind. I want to share what I learned, and then let’s take some principles from it. In a Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, Robert L. Bunker describes an engineering phenomenon that I was completely unaware of . He talks about a concept that was invented by man in the 1940’s known as fault tolerant systems. Essentially, you build a computer that does the same processing twice (or more sometimes...
Jan 27, 2024•21 min
Hell was Prepared by Autumn Dickson When I was younger, I remember being a bit troubled by the judgment and justice of God towards those who choose to do what’s wrong. If He really loved us, I couldn’t imagine Him wanting to be separated from any of us for eternity. It didn’t make sense to my young mind. As I’ve grown older and observed the world a bit more, it has come to make more sense. Though I know that I can’t make any final judgments of people and I know that I don’t fully understand the ...
Jan 20, 2024•18 min
Lehi’s dream; Nephi’s apocalypse (1 Nephi 8, 10–15) by Mike Parker (Mike Parker is a long-time FAIR member who has graciously allowed us to use materials he originally prepared for the Hurricane Utah Adult Religion Class . The scripture passages covered in his lessons don’t conform exactly to the Come, Follow Me reading schedule, so they will be shared here where they fit best. This week’s lesson covers both this week’s and next week’s Come, Follow Me reading.) Class Notes Additional Reading “ C...
Jan 18, 2024•39 min
What does it mean to be worthy? by Autumn Dickson As I was reading through Lehi’s vision this week, I was struck by a verse that I have thought about plenty before. For context, we see large groups of people moving towards the fruit of the tree which represents the love of God. There are lots of things occurring, but here’s just one: 1 Nephi 8:25 And after they had partaken of the fruit of the tree they did cast their eyes about as if they were ashamed. As we continue on reading, we learn that t...
Jan 16, 2024•21 min
by Mike Parker (Mike Parker is a long-time FAIR member who has graciously allowed us to use materials he originally prepared for the Hurricane Utah Adult Religion Class . The scripture passages covered in his lessons don’t conform exactly to the Come, Follow Me reading schedule, so they will be shared here where they fit best.) Class Notes Additional Reading Neal Rappleye, “ Learning Nephi’s Language: Creating a Context for 1 Nephi 1:2 ,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scho...
Jan 09, 2024•22 min
Goodly Parents by Autumn Dickson When we read the first seven chapters of The Book of Mormon, we find a great many patterns for how the Lord works with His children. We find patterns of revelation, agency, perfect timing, and the nature of personal progression and testimony. One of the patterns we also find is that of righteous parenting. One of the first things declared in The Book of Mormon is: 1 Nephi 1:1 I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the...
Jan 08, 2024•24 min
by Mike Parker (Mike Parker is a long-time FAIR member who has graciously allowed us to use materials he originally prepared for the Hurricane Utah Adult Religion Class ) Class Notes Recommended books: Hardy, Grant, ed., The Annotated Book of Mormon . New York: Oxford University Press, 2023. Skousen, Royal, ed. The Book of Mormon: The Earliest Text . 2nd ed. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2022. Parry, Donald W. Poetic Parallelisms in the Book of Mormon: The Complete Text Reformatted . Pro...
Jan 04, 2024•28 min
What is Scripture? by Autumn Dickson The title page of The Book of Mormon has me pondering about a couple of things that have actually been on my mind over the past year as I read the New Testament – namely, what really is scripture? Why do certain things get counted as scripture? What does it mean to be a writer of scripture? As you read various books in the New Testament, you find that some of these men might not have even known they were writing what would be classified as scripture one day. ...
Jan 03, 2024•28 min
by Zachary Wright As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we often run into people who criticize us for our beliefs. I served my mission in a place where the Church was often criticized by General Christians who wanted me to abandon my faith and accept what they believed to be “the true Jesus”. While they may seem confusing at first, it’s a common phenomenon for many Christians to believe that we, as members of the church, aren’t true Christians, and that we consequently, ...
Dec 21, 2023•1 hr 6 min
Evangelical Questions: The Book of Revelation by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC Oh my goodness, we have made it to Week 50. And we’re almost done with this project. The whole goal this year has been to give you a peek into how your Evangelical friends and family see things differently – and how we can approach conversation a little bit differently with them and perhaps have more success sharing the goodness of our faith with them. And it’s been an amazing year for me – I’ve clarified some of my own ...
Dec 11, 2023•23 min
Evangelical Questions: Do You Have the Holy Ghost? by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC Hi friends, and welcome back to Come Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions. If you wondered if you missed last week’s episode, it wasn’t you, it was me. And sometimes life is like that. Several of you reached out with kind notes asking if I was okay and I’m grateful for your caring. And here we are, back on track now. As you know we’re going through the Come Follow Me readings and addressi...
Dec 04, 2023•21 min
Evangelical Questions: Priesthood of all Believers by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC Welcome back to Come Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions. My name is Jennifer Roach and today we’re going to talk about priesthood of all believers. As you know we’re going through the Come Follow Me readings and addressing common questions that Evangelicals ask about our faith as we go along. Our purpose here is not to fuel debate but to help you understand where your Evangelical friend...
Nov 20, 2023•27 min
Evangelical Questions: Perfection? by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC Welcome back to Come Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions. My name is Jennifer Roach and today we’re going to talk about perfection. As you know we’re going through the Come Follow Me readings and addressing common questions that Evangelicals ask about our faith as we go along. Our purpose here is not to fuel debate but to help you understand where your Evangelical friends and family are coming from so t...
Nov 13, 2023•26 min
by Zachary Wright Introduction For today’s introduction, I’d like to share a story from my own faith journey with you. In High School, I found myself in a dispute with a classmate who consistently challenged my faith. He didn’t believe in God, and he was very argumentative and combative regarding why he was right. I found myself thrown into a loop…it had been the first time I was forced to really consider my faith. I had deeply spiritual experiences, but those didn’t seem to answer his questions...
Nov 07, 2023•26 min
Evangelical Questions: Isn’t Jesus the Only Melchizedek Priesthood Holder? by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC Welcome back to Come Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions. My name is Jennifer Roach and today we’re going to talk about part 2 of 3 on priesthood. There is so much to say on this and we’re going to get right to it. But I want to point out one thing… Sometimes, at least in people I know, Latter-day Saints seem a little unsure of their overall Bible knowledge. And i...
Nov 06, 2023•19 min
Evangelical Questions: Ordain Every Man in the Church? by Jennifer Roach, MDiv, LMHC Welcome back to Come Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions. My name is Jennifer Roach and today we’re going to talk about why in the world ALL men in the church can be ordained as a priest, not just a few. As you know, we’re going through the Come Follow Me readings and addressing common questions that Evangelicals ask about our faith as we go along. Our purpose here is not to fuel deb...
Oct 30, 2023•9 min
