Ben and Christopher combine two weeks’ readings into one podcast on the core of the Exodus narrative. The LORD afflicts Egypt with 10 plagues before Pharaoh agrees to let the Israelites go. The God of the Hebrews triumphs over all others and displays his matchless power in their deliverance. The narrative is summarized and repeated in the poetic verse of chapter 15, which is likely a much earlier source of the story that could be attributed to Miriam as a prophet. The LORD continues to deliver his people in the wilderness from thirst, hunger, and enemies.
Ben and Shiloh open up an anticipated discussion of John the Baptist’s appearance to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. As Moroni’s thematic message to Joseph set the narrative and stage for what the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (as was discussed in Episode 34), John the Baptist was the forerunner of Jesus Christ who prepared the minds and hearts of the people to receive him. John the Baptist’s message, especially as contained in Luke 3, is often underutilized in understanding the radical shift the people required to recognizing the true Messiah. Until this time, the people had been expecting a violent, militaristic, and forceful leader to deliver them from their physical captors — the Romans — and to lead them to prosperity and prominence as a great national leader as a new King David. The Messiah that the Jews found in Jesus Christ was nothing at all like what their society anticipated, and the Messiah who will come again will not be anything at all like our own society anticipates. Christ’s forerunner has returned, and it is important for us to begin to ponder what this means. Oliver Cowdery, it very much seems, was able to taste the essence of what this means as expressed by his written testimony at the end of Joseph Smith – History. ...
Shiloh and Ben discuss these revelations given to specific men in the first year of the Church’s existence in the latter-days. There are noticeable patterns in each revelation that we can use to understand a general sense and sentiment that these men were having at this time. Many of these men are called on missions to “the Lamanites” (the Native Americans in Missouri), to bring them the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and the message of the Book of Mormon. The Lord consistently says that “the field is white already to harvest,” thus showing that God had already been engaged in His own work–tilling, fertilizing, planting, irrigating, etc.–the fields long, long before these men were invited to join in the harvest. We are invited to join the Lord in His own work. ...
Ben and Shiloh continue their talk about the Zoramites, as they explore the concept and principle of faith in Christ. What is the relationship of faith and hope, and how do we regain our hope if we feel that we've lost it? They explore ideas pertaining to experiencing God and of how to develop a relationship with the Spirit. Amulek warns that "this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God," and Shiloh and Ben discuss various transactional and transformational ways of interpreting the meaning of this passage of scripture and how that impacts how we see God, ourselves, and each other. ...
