As Abraham’s heir, Isaac models the same values of peacemaking and hospitality as his father. Rebekah is an example of these values and is sought as a wife for Isaac. Previous themes of Genesis re-emerge in these chapters. Jacob receives the birthright even though he is the younger son. Jacob and Esau echo the story of Cain and Abel.
Ben and Shiloh discuss the parable of the wheat and the tares as found in Matthew 13 and D&C 86. A common interpretation of this parable is that the “wheat” and the “tares” are people, and in this interpretation, we typically include ourselves as wheat and those who we disagree with or who are not living our standards as tares. However, is this really the point of the parable? How often do our interpretations and assumptions of scripture serve to unnecessarily “otherize” us from our brothers and sisters? What if the point of this parable was not to “otherize” but to show how God leads, guides, and builds each of his children with compassion, patience, and watchful care? How can we learn from this parable of the universal and unconditional love of God that leads his children out of sin not through guilt, shame, or punishment but through charity, reconciliation, and unity? What would that even look like? ...
Shiloh is joined with guest co-host Christopher Hurtado to discuss modality in terms of the priesthood. Modes are, in a sense, stories that we believe in as real and that we pour our intentionality into to produce experiences. By “story” it is not necessarily to say a “fiction,” but it is a narrative that frames our belief(s) and that we combine with our faith unto action. When we say something as simple as “I am going to go pray to God,” we often do not take into account the richness and complexities of the assumed stories and expectations that go into that short phrase. In that statement is the assumption of what we construct as the “I” (the thinking, acting, believing, and producing thing that is conscious and aware), the assertion that the “I” has intentionality and that that intentionality and hope matters, that there is a “God” (and all of the beliefs, assumptions, expectations, experiences, and thoughts of what that entails), that we are in an important relationship to this “God,” and that this “God” is of a type of entity, being, or thing that cares or is in response to our own intentionality and purpose to have a conversation. Just the simple concept of “prayer” is a rich story full of narratives, experiences, assumptions, and expectations. So, what of “priesthood”? Modality is not the only way to think of priesthood, but it certainly opens a new discussion than what we typically have in recognizing the richness of that conversation and of the sometimes unexamined assumptions and beliefs that we have concerning this part of our religious experience. ...
Christopher Hurtado joins Ben again this time in a discussion of D&C sections 51-57. The Saints of New York were commanded to move to Ohio and settle on the land of Leman Copley. Leman promised to consecrate the land to the church but later returned to the Shakers and revoked his promise. The Saints were commanded to leave rather than contend for the land. What identities of ours are tied to membership in the church? How do those identities affect our relationships with others? How does this relate to the principle of consecration as the early saints experienced it versus how we may experience it now? What role do ordinances play in our religious experience? How can we develop individually and uniquely in our relationship with God while maintaining the order of the collective modes provided by the church? When the Lord commands the Saints to go to Missouri and settle on the border, what might this mean for the cause of Zion and the purpose of the restoration? ...
