Moses and the Children of Israel have been delivered from slavery and brought out of Egypt by the power of the LORD. As Moses struggles to bring the people into a relationship with the LORD, he receives wise counsel from his father-in-law Jethro: By creating a bureaucracy, Moses might better govern the people. While this counsel is timely and practical, it also leads to the loss of a deeper experience and relationship Moses was modeling. The Messianic type here is reminiscent of the ministry of Jesus. What moments with God do we lose out on in our daily quests for efficiency? As Moses ascends Mount Sinai, the people are invited to follow him, but they are fearful of the presence of the LORD. They content themselves with second-hand expressions of the divine experience. Do we? The Ten Commandments provide a model for how we might approach scripture avoiding common pitfalls in our approach to interpreting it.
In this episode, we begin the Book of Exodus. God begins to fulfill the promises made to the patriarchs when he raises up Moses to lead his people out of bondage in Egypt, and while they won’t make it to the promised land until the Book of Joshua, Exodus provides the foundational story of the creation of the nation of Israel. The Book of Exodus can be divided into three parts: First, we witness the power of the Lord as he extends his arm against Pharaoh, sending the ten plagues and finally parting the Sea of Reeds, which swallows up Pharoah and his army, letting Moses and the Israelites escape into the wilderness. In the second part, Moses will ascend Mount Sinai and receive the law (Torah). The final section of the book is devoted to the construction and description of the tabernacle, or the portable temple the Israelites will carry with them over the next 38 years they spend in the desert. A three-part division is also seen in the Sinai episode where the people are gathered at the bottom, the elders are part way up, and Moses is on top speaking with God. We see a similar tripartite division in the third section’s description of the tabernacle with its courtyard, Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies. Later mystics and teachers would use these three-fold divisions to describe the soul’s journey to God, labeling the stages with terms such as ‘purification,’ contemplation,’ and ‘union’. After giving a brief overview of Exodus, we discuss some of the main themes of the book as a whole, and briefly touch on their importance for Israelite religion, later scripture and theology, mysticism, and world ...
Ben and Shiloh conclude talking about the Jaredite nation, as they spend time discussing several topics concerning faith, belief, charity, and reconciliation. Moroni, who is abridging the Jaredite text, laments that he was not powerful in writing like unto the brother of Jared, and he worries that the Gentiles (i.e., us) will not receive or believe his record because of his weakness in writing. Moroni's interpretation of the Lord's words on charity worry him that the Gentiles will not have sufficient charity. The Lord's response to both of Moroni's concerns demonstrate the kindness, love, and compassion that the Lord has with all of his children. The Lord reproves Moroni in such a way that lifts not only Moroni's burden but the burden of the modern-day Gentiles. Fools may mock, yes, until they empty and enter into the Divine existential conversation of the Beatitudes where they will be comforted and inherit the earth. We often read of and see God's "wrath" in terms of our natural man's perception of physical destruction, yet we see throughout the Jaredite narrative the same merciful and self-sacrificial God revealing himself as he did to the Jews and the Nephites. It is the natural man's willful perception to see an angry, violent, and vengeful God, yet Jesus Christ continues to reveal himself as the advocate with the Father, the Healer, and Divine archetype of He who mourns with those that mourn. ...
**Update** This is the updated episode. We apologize that the previous Episode 71 somehow accidentally cut off approx. 10 minutes early. Ben is joined again by Christopher Hurtado in a discussion about D&C Sections 111-114. The Saints are anxious about their future and ability to establish the Church according to the revelations. The Lord tells them that they need not be concerned with outcomes. He will take care of their debts and the destiny of Zion. They are invited to simply labor with Him. They are to take of their cross and feed His sheep. As we take upon ourselves the name of Christ, the scriptures about Christ become scriptures about us. The priesthood is the power of God to redeem Zion through gentleness, meekness, and love, without compulsion. How does God offer us power versus how the world offers power? ...
