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April 2020

4 Fascinating Insights about Seers, Seer Stones, and Interpreters

The Nephite Interpreters by Anthony Sweat
Submitted by Jasmin Gimenez on April 30, 2020.
In Mosiah 8, Limhi inquired of Ammon 1 who could translate the 24 Jaredite plates. What results is a lengthy explanation about what a seer is and how they operate with revelatory devices I can assuredly tell thee, O king, of a man that can translate the records; for he has wherewith that he can look, and translate all records that are of ancient date; and it is a gift from God. And the things are...

Make Your Sabbath Come, Follow Me Lessons Easy During Quarantine

Taylor Halverson and Tyler Griffin teaching in their video series Come, Follow Me Insights
Submitted by Zander Sturgill on April 25, 2020.
The coronavirus has forced the closure of church buildings and gatherings, causing many to practice Church at home. Having a productive Sunday School lesson at home can be tough. It’s hard to focus and prepare a well-crafted lesson that brings the Spirit and insights into our lives. Book of Mormon Central has teamed up with Brigham Young University Professors Taylor Halverson and Tyler Griffin,...

Learn about the Best First Vision Insights in a FREE New E-Book

Cover of the new Pearl of Great Price Central ebook, Insights into Joseph Smith's First Vision
Submitted by Scripture Central on April 23, 2020.
Slightly modified from the foreword to Insights into Joseph Smith’s First Vision Joseph Smith’s First Vision of God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ occupies a foundationally important position in the lives and faith of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Successive generations of latter-day prophets and apostles have testified of the consummate significance...

The Book of Mormon Insight into The Church’s New Symbol

Image of The Church's new symbol. Photo of poppy field by corina ardeleanu via Unsplash.
Submitted by Kirk Magleby on April 16, 2020.
Cross-posted from Book of Mormon Resources . We are all indebted to mesoamericanist and BYU faculty member Mark Alan Wright for this remarkable insight. He published it in his 2014 Axes Mundi article in Interpreter and shared it with those of us on his 2015 tour of Guatemala. Mark Wright with Tikal Temple I in Background. Photo by Kirk Magleby. Why Did the Savior Emphasize His...

Reading Plans on ScripturePlus Released for Easter

Screenshot of The Events of Holy Week Reading Plan by ScripturePlus.
Submitted by Scripture Central on April 11, 2020.
Reading Plans in ScripturePlus were released today on iOS (Android to follow soon), in time for Holy Week and Good Friday. Reading Plans have been a long anticipated feature in ScripturePlus, that will allow students of the scriptures to engage with the Holy Word of God in new ways. Reading Plans are structured, step-by-step guides to scripture study. These plans are split up into easy-to-digest...

Easter Reflections Day 5: Ultimately Who Killed Jesus?

Image by Thomas B. via Pixabay.
Submitted by Jack Welch on April 10, 2020.
Enjoy images of the Holy Land as you visualize Jesus Christ's last hours with the following slideshow of photos by John W. Welch The Power of Apostolic Eyewitness Testimony We now turn to the often-asked question: Who killed Jesus? The answer is not simple, and we can now better appreciate that lots of people were involved in all of this, each in their various way. To answer this question, we...

Easter Reflections Day 4: Why Was Jesus Put to Death?

Behold the Man! by Mihály Munkácsy, 1896.
Submitted by Jack Welch on April 9, 2020.
For reflection especially on the day remembered among Christians as “Maundy Thursday,” the day of the Last Supper and when Jesus was arrested, I invite you to consider some of the perspectives that Latter-day Saint insights add to our understanding of the complex question: Why was Jesus killed? The Need for Humility Latter-day Saints in particular, but all people as well, know the importance of...

Easter Reflections Day 3: Why Was Jesus Accused of Being a Malefactor or "Kakopoios"?

The raising of a sick man with a wand in a stained-glass window in Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Photo by John W. Welch.
Submitted by Jack Welch on April 8, 2020.
People have long wondered, What happened to Jesus after he was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane? What kinds of procedures followed, before Caiaphas, members of the Sanhedrin, Pilate, and even Herod Antipas? Were these procedures property conducted under either Jewish or Roman law? And of what could Jesus, an innocent man, be accused and convicted? Was he put to death by Romans under Roman law...

Easter Reflections Day 2: “By What Authority?”

The Father’s Two Sons, by Jorge Cocco Santangelo. Used by permission of John W. and Jeannie Welch.
Submitted by Jack Welch on April 7, 2020.
None of the actions taken against Jesus by the Chief Priests during his final week would have come as any surprise to Jesus. He knew the hearts, the desires, and the intentions of all the actors in this eternal drama. He had heard their questions and arguments many times before. Reentering Jerusalem on Monday morning, the day after his Triumphal entry, Jesus made a beeline directly to the temple...

Easter Reflections Day 1: A Week of Completions

The Raising of Lazarus, Nativity of Christ Church, Arbanassi, Bulgaria (photograph by John W. Welch, © 2019; used with permission of the Regional Museum of History of Veliko Tarnovo)*
Submitted by Jack Welch on April 6, 2020.
The last week of Jesus’s mortal life was a time filled with completions. As His time drew near, He knew that many parts of His mission needed to be drawn fully to conclusion. And by the time that week ended, He had in fact finished all that He had been sent to do and all that was necessary to allow the eternal plan of His Father to succeed. Prophecies needed to be fulfilled. The week began with...

Twenty Insights and Evidences on Joseph Smith and the First Vision

Depiction of Joseph Smith’s First Vision in stained glass by Tom Holdman in the Palmyra New York Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Submitted by Scripture Central on April 3, 2020.
To participate in the bicentennial commemoration of the Restoration, to heighten appreciation for Joseph Smith’s First Vision, and to help better inform Latter-day Saints of the founding event of their history, earlier this year Book of Mormon Central (BMC) began publishing a series of short online articles offering insights into the First Vision. These “Joseph Smith–History Insights” have...

Celebrating the Restoration Day 5: The Book of Mormon as the Handbook of Church Administration

Replica of an 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon. Photo by Jasmin Gimenez Rappleye.
Submitted by Jack Welch on April 3, 2020.
On the final day of this week, I hope you will take a few minutes to appreciate the array of administrative patterns and guidelines found in the Book of Mormon. While this sacred record contains lots of inspiring doctrines, faithful histories, genuine spiritual experiences, and elegant expressions of profound truths, the Book of Mormon also contains a surprisingly vast array of instructions for...

Celebrating the Restoration Day 4: Timing the Translation of the Book of Mormon

Peter Whitmer cabin in Fayette, New York. Photo by runt35 via Wikimedia Commons.
Submitted by Jack Welch on April 2, 2020.
For a further analysis of the question, how long it took for Joseph to translate the Book of Mormon, see my recent article, “ Timing the Translation of the Book of Mormon: ‘Days [and Hours] Never to Be Forgotten ,’” BYU Studies Quarterly 57 no. 4 (2018): 10–50. Amazingly, the translation of the Book of Mormon as we now have it took less than 65 actual days of translating. That is a lot...

Celebrating the Restoration Day 3: Differences and Similarities in the First Vision Accounts

Image from Ask of God: Joseph Smith's First Vision. Image via ChurchofJesusChrist.org
Submitted by Jack Welch on April 1, 2020.
The article for today goes farther than any other publication in analyzing the elements mentioned by Joseph Smith in his accounts of his First Vision. The chapter below builds on an article published in 1970 by Professor James B. Allen in the official Church magazine, The Improvement Era. This chapter discusses in detail how the differences in these accounts can be understood. A first...