Blogging Through the Book of Mormon

Mark tells us that Jesus and his disciples were surrounded by a multitude of people “so that they could not so much as eat bread,” indicating that it was a large and eager crowd of people there to see Jesus. Speaking of an unknown person, Mark continues, “and when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself.” Matthew tells us that the man who was brought to Jesus was “one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb.” I’ve never really understood this because why did satanic possession happen so much in ancient times and not so much anymore? I have always thought that perhaps this was a way to explain severe mental illness in a time where they didn’t have explanations for that. I’ve read a lot about it, and discussed it with people, and it does still happen today, just seemingly less frequently and in different ways. We are told that this man who was considered possessed had friends, so...

Jesus speaks for a while after the disciples of John leave, and then he is invited to dinner at the house of Simon, a Pharisee. Before we get into what happens there, we need some background information to understand the customs of the time. Ancient Palestine was and is a dry, dusty, hot, windy place. In Jesus’ time people walked everywhere, they didn’t have cars, maybe horses and chariots, but the people were still exposed to the element for the entire time that they were outside. Given that climate, Jesus and his followers would have walked to Simon’s house for dinner and arrived dusty, especially in the feet, because most people wore sandals. Many cultures greet others by kissing on the cheek, and ancient Israelwas no different. To show up as a guest and not be received with the standard greeting of a kiss, would not have been life altering, but demonstrates disrespect. Because the guests typically showed up a little dingy, the host would provide a c...

Jesus speaks for a while after the disciples of John leave, and then he is invited to dinner at the house of Simon, a Pharisee. Before we get into what happens there, we need some background information to understand the customs of the time. Ancient Palestine was and is a dry, dusty, hot, windy place. In Jesus’ time people walked everywhere, they didn’t have cars, maybe horses and chariots, but the people were still exposed to the element for the entire time that they were outside. Given that climate, Jesus and his followers would have walked to Simon’s house for dinner and arrived dusty, especially in the feet, because most people wore sandals. Many cultures greet others by kissing on the cheek, and ancient Israelwas no different. To show up as a guest and not be received with the standard greeting of a kiss, would not have been life altering, but demonstrates disrespect. Because the guests typically showed up a little dingy, the host would provide a c...

After speaking on the greatness of John the Baptist, Jesus turns his attention to cities and uses comparisons that were outrageous to the more “religious” listeners, i.e. the Pharisees. Matthew tells us, “then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done; because they repented not.” We have to remember that at this point in time the Jews regarded themselves to be God’s chosen people. While this is true at the time, the culture took this to mean that they were superior to all others simply by birth right alone. This meant that they took themselves to be the most righteous by nature, the most loved, and therefore stood in judgment of everyone else, all the gentiles. To hear the Jewish people be compared to gentiles was unacceptable, but to be told that those gentiles surpassed them in righteousness and favor with God was blasphemy. The cities he talked about have seen his most “mighty works” but they did not embrace h...

The people who surrounded Jesus might have been surprised by the questions ask by John the Baptist’s disciples, as surely many of them began as disciples John. They might have asked themselves if John had begun to doubt Jesus, and if John had begun to doubt, then maybe they should reconsider as well. For whatever reason, because he perceived their thoughts, because he recognized how it might have sounded to the rest of the crowd, or just because he loved and respected John so much, Jesus takes a second to reflect on John and his strength. What I find interesting is that John’s questions didn’t cast any doubt on himself as unauthentic, but possibly only making some question Jesus. Jesus didn’t respond by talking about how amazing he himself is, he answered their question by performing miracles and by praising John in from of others. There was no self aggrandizement, there was no lecture, or accusations of doubt, there was only the power of God and uplifting of an...

Jesus healing the widow’s son was just as big of a deal during His time as it was when Elijah and Elisha did it hundreds of years before, people talked about it and the story spread like wild fire all throughout the land. So much so that even John the Baptist heard about it while he was in prison. If we remember, John the Baptist was arrested and put into prison shortly after baptizing Jesus. He was put there by order of Herod Anitpus who “had imprisoned him through a reluctant yielding to the importunities of Herodias, whom Herod claimed as a wife under cover of an illegal marriage.” Herodias was still legally married to Herod’s brother Phillip, and John decried the relationship saying, “It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother’s wife.” Herod liked John, visiting him in the prison, talking with him and taking his advice on many occasions. But Herod caved to Herodias and had John arrested and imprisoned, where John surely heard about Jesus...

After healing the centurion’s servant the day before, Jesus, his disciples and many others went to the city of Nain. As this group approached the city gates, “behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her.” Let’s stop and consider why this information is important. This is more than an account of a woman who was sad over the loss of her only son, implying that she had several daughters to care for her. We have to remember that in this society, women left their family home when married and became a part of their husband’s family, meaning that these implied daughters would have either already or will shortly leave the mother to join their husband’s family, leaving the mother to fend for herself. However, with a son, his wife will join the family and help care for her as she grows older and her son will be responsible for supporting them both. Basically, this was ...

I can’t believe that we’re done with the Sermon on the Mount, I really enjoyed it, and thought that it was quite profitable. After He finished speaking to the people, Jesus “came down from the mountain… and, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, ‘Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.’” I think it’s interesting that this leper didn’t beg Jesus to heal him, he basically asked to be healed if it was the will of God. He was willing to suffer with his disease further if that was what God wanted him to do. Jesus answers, “I will, be thou clean,” and reaches out his hand and heals the man immediately. Jesus tells the man to not say anything to anyone, “but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.” As we discussed before, we know that leprosy isn’t as contagious as movies might make it appear, and we also know that many ...

Jesus continues, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.”  This can be confusing because it implies that we are going to be the ones begging Jesus to let us into heaven, saying that we’ll change our ways but just want to be with him. Brad Wilcox makes an excellent point in his devotional entitled, “His Grace is Sufficient,” saying, “The older I get, and the more I understand this wonderful plan of redemption, the more I realize that in the final judgment it will not be the unrepentant sinner begging Jesus, ‘Let me stay.’ No, he will probably be saying, ‘Get me out of here!’ Knowing Christ’s character, I believe that if anyone is going to be begging on that occasion, it would probably be Jesus begging the unrepentant sinner, ‘Please, choose to stay. Please, use my atonement- not just to be cleansed but...

The Savior makes a statement that has always been difficult for me to understand. He says, “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.” Pigs were/are considered filthy animals in Judaism, so comparing people to swine would probably be most derogatory and offensive. It bothered me that the Savior inferred that those who didn’t receive the gospel were filthy animals. This is where Hugh Nibley came in and settled this for me. While teaching about Jesus’ visit to the Americas and expounding on this verse in its 3rd Nephi equivalent, HN explains, “What about these people who won’t accept the gospel? This is not running down dogs or swine. The word he uses is conariun, which means ‘pet doggy.’ You don’t give all the good on the table to your pet dog. For one thing it would make the little puppy sick. It’s no...

Chapter 7 quotes Jesus as saying, “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.” This has always been a profound principle for me, both because I am very judgmental, and also because I am very hostile toward anyone who makes any judgment about me. Whenever there is the opportunity for someone to criticize me, I always say, “you don’t know me,” but in a very aggressive manner. And it’s true, they don’t know me, they don’t know who I am inside, they don’t know my hopes or dreams or struggles or my deepest heart felt desires. Even those who I consider close to me, I would say to them, “you don’t know me,” if they were becoming critical of me. And that’s the point, isn’t it? That we don’t really know each other so intimately that our judgments would be just or sufficient.   While reading ...

Verses 25 and on seem to be directed specifically to the apostles, when Jesus says, “Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?” As a message to the would-be apostles, this is very valuable information for their future missionary service after Jesus’ death. It also is similar to the command given to early missionaries to take “neither purse nor script.” The IM says, “The Greek phrase translated ‘take no thought’… means to not be overly anxious or worried. Although the Joseph Smith Translation of these verses and the version in 3 Nephi 13:25-34 indicate that these teachings are directed specifically to the Apostles, they are applicable to each of us. The Lord is teaching all of us that we are not to let worldly concerns cause us to lose trust in our Father in Heaven or become...

Jesus continues emphasizing the importance of the spiritual by saying, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth… But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven… For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Treasures on earth goes along with fasting for recognition or praying gratitude for being better than someone else. I was listening to the recent general conference talks last week and one of the things that I heard, that of course I can’t find right now, was basically how the love of wealth is like an agitated sea, there is no peace in it. The more money you seek, the more difficult it is to find peace, which is interesting because as people we all recognize that we are all going to die at some point, and we all know of people who spent their lives grabbing for money and power, and then when they died, they left all of it behind to cause problems for their families. Looking at it from an eternal perspective, money in this world yiel...