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[00:00:00] INSIGHTS INTRODUCTION

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Welcome back to you guys. This is week 17 of Creative. Come follow me for the New Testament and this week we're back in the Gospel of John. So I hope you got yourselves ready. We're gonna go from John seven to John 10. This is, you know that AP level of study that is all about why it's worth it to believe, why I stay.

That's what I feel like John is trying to teach me, and he's gonna do it in a bunch of different ways. I really feel like one of the messages that you're gonna see this week is about bridging the gap between what you believe and what is true. There's a verse we studied earlier in the New Testament that talks about how the Savior didn't come to bring peace, but a sword.

Remember how I told you I had to sort of wrestle with that first? Cause it doesn't sound like the Prince of peace to bring a sword, but I think. That's what happens when truth is put on the table. It divides. He's gonna be in Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles and then for a winter feast as well. All throughout this week's study and in Jerusalem, his word divides.

It divides scribes in the Pharisees from those who are willing to be his disciples. [00:01:00] It divides the wicked from the righteous. It divides people who believed something about themselves and now have to choose to believe something entirely different. It it divides even within people's hearts. You can see truth dividing and I think the challenge is, can you bridge the gap?

A lot of what he's gonna teach is the difference between what you believe and what is true. He is constantly trying to help people not be disillusioned by the fact that the Messiah they were planning for and expecting is different than the Messiah that is in front of them. But as soon as they will like grab hold of that truth, they can progress.

And as long as they hold onto these old traditions, they're gonna struggle. So you see him continually trying to bridge that gap. They're also gonna see some really. Epic courage moments. I don't know how better to define them, but I think anytime you choose to step into that unknown, to be willing to be vulnerable and to believe despite the lack of evidence in front of you, you have to take a stance of courage.

And you're [00:02:00] gonna see it with people like Nicodemus who chooses to stand up to the St Heed. You're gonna see it with the woman taking an adultery who chooses to believe that the words of the savior can be true. And I think you even see it with the blind man who has to stand up and testify of what he knows so far.

Even though it's an incomplete testimony of the savior, he stands up to a lot of opposition and he stands boldly despite not knowing all things. And I just think all those stories together make for this power-packed week of study. So grab your scriptures, grab your notes, you guys, let's get started.

[00:02:43] JOHN 7

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Most of these chapters are gonna happen during the Feast of Tabernacles. So if you remember from our Old Testament study, there's three big feasts that you're, the Jews are directed to celebrate This one is the one that happens in the fall. So it's supposed to be to celebrate a bounties harvest and to show gratitude.

And it is a party. It is, you know, [00:03:00] this's, the one where you build a tent essentially outside out of bows and you watch, there's an episode of the Chosen All About this. But they are designed to help you remember to cast your mind back and to remember the children of Israel and how they dwelt in tents for so long and were provided for by the Lord.

And so it's supposed to be this sweet memory making. Party, and this party is the backdrop of Jesus' teachings. And what I love about the way the Savior teaches is he chooses to take symbols in that feast and apply them to himself, which is I'm sure the purpose of the whole feast to begin with. I think it's to help them draw their mind back to how the goodness of God.

So he's gonna try and help them connect those dots. When you see, you know, like in the Feast of Tabernacles, they like these giant menorahs. They're like 75 feet tall. They're in the court of the women, and he'll talk about being the light of the world near those candlesticks. There's another ceremony that happens where every day a priest would go and he would carry a golden pitcher of water up the stairs towards the temple and then pour it on the altar and it would drip [00:04:00] down.

He's gonna, when that kind of ceremony's happening, he's gonna talk about being the living water. So he's gonna use all these joyful family-centered events to draw people's eyes to him. It just doesn't always create belief. It creates commotion. In fact, all over the place in my margins this week, I've highlighted some places where you can see people wrestling with things.

The first one happens in these first few verses. This is when he's back at home in Galilee and his brothers seem to be wrestling with his. Divineness. I, I don't, we don't have a lot of backstory here. We know his brothers eventually all believe in him, but at this point in time they don't. And you can see it.

They talk about him as his brothern. And in the, if you look in the chapter heading, you can see that in more detail, but it talks about how they're inviting him to go to the feast. They want him to go to Jerusalem and kind of show off his abilities. And then you see him five for neither did his brothern believe in him.

It almost seems like they're hoping that he will go there in order to finally put this idea to rest. [00:05:00] You know, like they just want him to get over it. I, I'm not sure, but I can't imagine how hard this must have been for Mary. It, it's one of the reasons I wonder if she was asked to hold all things in her heart that maybe she isn't allowed to tell people what she knows about him.

I, I don't know. But that there is this divide in her family of believers and not believers, and she herself is a believer and. Her children aren't, I think a lot of us can relate to that struggle, and I just, my heart just went out to her for that. It must be so hard to navigate these waters. And she, she keeps trying.

But you see that he sends his brothers onto the feast in Jerusalem and then later he chooses to go. I don't know if the reason there's a delay is because he's hoping to not cast a shadow on them. Like maybe he wants them to not be seen with him so that they don't get all the trouble that he's gonna get, but he's not hiding himself.

In fact, you'll see when he goes in Jerusalem, he parks himself right at the temple to start teaching. So that's in like four 13 and 14 that he goes to the midst of the temple [00:06:00] and he starts to teach and then people start to wrestle. So where the brothers were wrestling, because they've grown up with him and they know him and they don't quite believe other people are wrestling because he speaks like someone who knows what he's talking about, but has no schooling, no rabbinical study behind him, and they're struggling with it.

In fact, I found myself wondering if. He's in the exact same spot he was when he was 12. I wonder if the people who are sitting there are the exact same men who were there when he was 12. You know, if they've seen this Galilean minister just grow up in grace and in wisdom and they're still baffled about how he can teach the way he teaches, cuz that's what it says in 15.

And the Jews marveled saying How no, if this man letters having never learned. And then Jesus answers them. So he tells them, it's not me, it doesn't come from me. My doctrine is not mine, but his that said me, if any man will do his will, he shall know the doctrine, whether it be of God, whether I speak of myself.

I love that invitation. It's basically saying experiment. Put it to the [00:07:00] test. This doesn't have to be a mystery to you. You can know the things that I know if you will go and you will do the will of God. It's this active gospel and I love that reminder. In fact, it reminds me of that conference talk from Elder Cook where he, he was asked, I think by President Packer to.

Stand up and speak multiple times to, he was President Packer, had taught him what he needed to do and he'd instructed him. And then he said, okay, now go and do it. You know, and he had to get up over and over again. I think that's the same message, like, you can't know that the Holy Ghost is real. Put it to the test, speak three times in one night and you'll know.

So I love that. That's the Savior's message as well. Another thing that they wrestle with is their love of Moses and the law of Moses and how they don't, they haven't quite seen that he is the fulfillment of that. Like he's tried to teach them. And so they're wrestling with that like around 19, did not Moses give you the law and yet none of you keep it the law?

Why do you go about to kill me? The Savior's saying like, you claim to love the love Moses, but a Cardinal commandment, you know, one of the 10 is Thou [00:08:00] Shall Not Kill, and that's on the minds of the Pharisees. So he's, he's trying to draw attention to that disparity. When you go a little bit further, he talks about how they're struggling with his healing on the Sabbath.

There's several miracles that have happened on the Sabbath, like the Withered Hand and the Pool of Bethesda, and there'll be another one today with the Blind Man. And there are people that. It to me, it almost seems like they have a blind spot for the Sabbath. You know, like if you've ever been in your car and you think you know all the perimeter around you, you're pretty certain that you know what's going on on the freeway.

And then you go to like shift lanes and you get honked at, cuz it's, you miss something entirely. Something as big as a car you missed entirely because of your blind spot. And I feel like they have a blind spot when it comes to the Sabbath. It causes them not to see miracles and so he's trying to help them understand it.

And the way he does is he talks about circumcision. He basically says you allow circumcision to happen on the Sabbath, which means there's a wounding that takes place and probably also abandoning and a trying to [00:09:00] remedy the damage that has to take place on the Sabbath and how can you allow that to happen.

But you're troubled with something where I make someone whole on the Sabbath. He's trying to show them like, this is what you believe, this is what is true. I'm the bridge. Come to what is true and they just don't. They don't quite get there. But what I love about the savior is it doesn't cause him to retreat.

In fact, if you look in 26 it says, but low, he speaks boldly and they say nothing on Tim. So these are people who are wrestling with what the savior is demonstrating. He's standing up to scribes and Pharisees. He's standing up to the scribes and the lawyers that are on the steps of the temple and he is bold.

And so people are struggling with how could a man be so bold? How could he be so confident in his doctrine? And then you get the savior's answer in 28, then cry Jesus in the temple. So loudly, boldly declaring, he taught them saying, you both know me and you know, once I am and I am not come of myself, but he that sent me is [00:10:00] true, whom you know.

But I know him for I am from him and he have sent me, the savior has a clear purpose and a clear direction, and a crystal clear understanding of who he is and who sent him. And so he has no fear. He'll speak boldly. He'll cry it out in the temple, even though I'm sure this brought on all kinds of anger and tension.

He, he came to bring a sword because he needs to divide what is true from what people have believed and he won't hold back. Then you look in 31, you can see another one of the wrestles that happens and many of the people believed on him and said, when Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these, which this man had done.

You know, like they're on the sidelines watching these miracles and they think, could it get any better than this? Like he is healing the blind, he's making the lame to walk, he's raising people from the. It can't get higher than that, and they're wrestling. You know, they, they don't know what to believe.

And I, what I love is, I [00:11:00] think the savior is happy as long as they are engaged in this wrestle. As long as they don't retreat like the Pharisees do and get comfortable back in their blind spots, he continues to teach them. He'll demonstrate things, he'll say things. He is actively engaged in this process with them, and that's what you see when you go a little bit further.

He teaches in 33. Then Jesus said unto them, yet, a little while I am with you, and then I go onto him that sent me, you shall seek me and you shall not find me. And where I am, th you cannot come. What I love about this message is he's basically trying to make sure they don't have false hope. He wants them to know who he is and the work he was sent to do.

He doesn. He, he doesn't want them to suffer with disillusionment. He wants them to know what is true and what is real so that when six months from now when Passover comes, it won't be as jarring, kind of like we talked about last week. I think he is someone who teaches truth, even if that truth will divide and will cause some to turn away, he will always teach truth and he'll teach it transparently.

And [00:12:00] you see that demonstrated here. It's just beautiful. And then when you, you can see in verse 37 that on the very last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, this is when Jesus teaches about being the living water. And that's powerful because of the visual, right? Like we talked about before, that they've been, every day there has been a priest who's been filling up this golden picture at the pool of Salloum and taking it all the way up the steps to the temple, and then they pour it on the altar and it trickles back down and it's all supposed to.

To bring to mind those prophecies of the Old Testament, specifically the one in Ezekiel that we all loved studying last year, about how the waters will come forth from under the door of the temple and they will spread. Do you remember how they heal everything in their path? And we did a couple object lessons on this, but it gets so broad and so deep that men can't cross over it.

That beautiful promise about the ceiling powers, that's what this ceremony is teaching about. And I love that the savior takes that opportunity to teach about living water. So he tells them, if you're thirsty, cuz on this last day of the feast, they don't pour the water. It's supposed to [00:13:00] be indicative of like the need for God to be the water in their lives.

And so they don't pour water that day. And that's the day he says, if you're thirsty, come to me. And then in 38 he that believeth on me as the scripture has said out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. That's the. You will change. I think this is another area people are gonna have to wrestle with.

There are a lot in this time who believe that when the Savior comes, he will take care of them. Manna will fall from heaven, water will gush from Iraq and they will be taken care of. And the Savior's gospel is proactive. It is. It demands change out of you will flow living waters. And they teach you how in 39, this is when you learn a little bit more about the Holy Ghost.

So I put some talks in the notes, but I really loved one that talked about how the living waters is the gospel of Jesus Christ and the way we access it is through the Holy Ghost. And for whatever reason these verses kind of don't clarify, but the Holy Ghost is limited in some sense when the Savior is on the earth.

And then it will be opened up wider [00:14:00] later at like the day of Pentecost. But we don't know the details. I lived in the Institute manual. Nobody seems to know exactly what this means, but he has tried to teach. What they need. I think the Holy Ghost is still actively teaching people. It's just limited in some way in this capacity, but it's he's, he's trying to teach them that in order for you to bridge that gap between what you believed and what is true, you're gonna need the Holy Ghost to help you.

So he is trying to prime them and get them ready for that. And then you see another area where people are wrestling in 41, they say to themselves like, can Christ come out of Galilee? You know, can Nathan Good come out of Nazareth? The same kind of idea, mostly because I think most don't know his history.

They don't know that he actually came from Bethlehem, that he was born in Bethlehem and fulfill that prophecy. All these Jews study these prophecies. They know that the Christ will be born in Bethlehem, but they don't maybe know that about him. So they're trying to grapple. That understanding that they had in their head about who he is and where he is from with what is true.

Another one comes in 46, says they sent officers, the Pharisees send people to go and collect [00:15:00] Jesus cuz he's causing this division and people are starting to believe and that's freaking out the Pharisees. So you see in 46 the officers, so in 45 then came the officers to the chief priest and Pharisees and they said unto them, why have you not brought him?

Like, they don't understand why the guards are empty handed. And the officers answered, never has man speak like this man. I imagine the guards who take care of the Pharisees, maybe even guard over the Sanhedrin, have heard some remarkable teachers so that they hear this man and say, no one has spoken like him, means they're wrestling too.

They, they don't understand how he can speak the way he does to the point that it seems like they walk away without apprehending him. That's a pretty big statement. It's a pretty big. Jump for them and they hold onto that. And then in 48, have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed on him, but this people who know us, not the law are cursed.

So they're kind of saying like, all these followers, they just don't know well enough. And this is when you see Nicodemus step into his courage. So in 50, Nicodemus [00:16:00] sayeth unto them, he that came to Jesus by night being one of them. Remember that story of Nicodemus coming to the savior, asking him about baptism in the gate?

You remember all of that where he talks about you can't enter the womb more than once. That piece, that's the Nicodemus we're talking about. And he says, death, our law judge any man before it hear him and know what he do with this may not seem like a big, courageous stance, but he is essentially standing between the Pharisees who are so angry and so ready.

I mean, they're, they have murder plots on, on the way in their minds and he Nicodemus positions himself between them and the Xavier. And that's a pretty big, bold place to stand. And he does it in a way that is. Diffusing. What I love about this is he doesn't necessarily stand and say, I believe we don't know where Nicodemus heart is.

Exactly. What he does is he chooses to resolve conflict. I think he is kind of what President Nelson's been trying to teach us. He is someone who diffuses conflict in this moment by talking about the [00:17:00] law, because the law is something we can stand on. It is something you can rest on. He knows they love the law.

They preach the law. So if he uses that in this moment to defend the savior, he creates space for peace. And I think that kind of choice is courageous in its own way and I love that he is the one who does it here.

[00:17:25] JOHN 8

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When you begin in chapter eight, the savior is still at the temple and he is teaching a group of people, and then the Pharisees swoop in and set a woman right in the center of all of this teaching. In fact, I feel like maybe they hope this would be a moment of entrapment, you know, not just with the doctrine that they're gonna force him to explain, but also just this moment, the Saviors at the temple and he's teaching a group of people, which means if they can get 'em to stumble in any way, or to speak against the Romans, or to speak against the law of Moses, then all those people who are listening, whether they're believers or they're on the fence, if they're [00:18:00] saying listening to the savior, chances are they're somewhere on that continuum.

And I feel like the Pharisees are choosing this moment cuz they think he will stumble and then all those believers will topple any belief they have building in their heart will, will crumble. And I just. Think there is a certain sinisterness to that plot. What I love. It doesn't work. In fact, the opposite happens by the end.

There are more who believe. And what happens in the middle is truth. Truth is taught and truth is demonstrated in this beautiful, compassionate story of the woman taking an adultery. In fact, reading this story reminded me of a press conference I saw with Elder Bednar, where it is been a while since I watched it.

But a, a woman in this press conference where a whole bunch of big newsletters, outlets are there asking questions asked a very pointed question. Why aren't there women in the apostleship and will there ever be? And his answer, like, I found myself when I heard that question my heart started about, because I was like, oh, why are you asking him that in this giant room full of all these, like, it could [00:19:00] be misinterpreted.

He, you know, like, why, why are you picking this moment? And maybe her, her intentions were to make him look foolish or maybe her intentions were earnest. I don't really know, but I love that. In that moment, elder Bedard chose to just teach truth. And because he taught truth in that moment, it actually reinforced the gospel message.

So what he said essentially was, we are a restored gospel of Jesus Christ. The primitive church that existed with Jesus exists today on the earth because we pattern ourselves after him. So since his apostles were male at that time, they will be male in our time until it is revealed otherwise. And it was such.

Clear, sharp answer that there wasn't any need for follow up. And I felt like what his answer did is it actually reinforced our doctrine that we be, we are based on the doctrine of the church of Jesus Christ, of the primitive church. And it, you know, like it reinforced all of that and caused my heart to believe even more.

And that's what I think happens in this story. It made me feel like I shouldn't be afraid of these moments. I shouldn't be [00:20:00] afraid of moments where I am, where people are combating against me if I choose to follow the steps the Savior did. So here's a few things you're gonna see that he does in this moment of tension.

First he chooses to be patient. So I'm, I know you guys all know the story, but they wanna know what say is that? Are you gonna follow the love of Moses? Are you gonna follow the love of Romans? What are you gonna do? And he stoops down. This isn't. But Jesus stoop down and with his finger wrote on the ground as though he heard them not, I thought this was a really interesting strategy.

I think he probably is doing this for a few reasons. First, I think gives him chance for the Holy Ghost to teach him or to speak to him or give him words. You know, the promise is that you'll have words when you need them. So it could be one of those moments, or it simply could be the Savior is choosing to take home court advantage.

Meaning like he is not gonna react to their barbs and their jostling. He is gonna choose when he speaks. And there is something about that self-mastery, that composure that [00:21:00] I think we're trying to emulate. I think it's what our prophet keeps teaching us about resolving conflicts and you know, finding rest to that point of like, I am in control here and I choose when I speak.

So even though they're pestering him, he writes on the ground and then after a while he's ready. So in seven, so when they continued asking him, he lifted himself up and said unto them, he let is without sin among you. Let him first cast a stone at her. It is this slice of truth that changes hearts in this moment.

I don't know why in this moment these, I assume their Pharisees drop their stones because in so many other places, they see and hear truth and they dig their heels in and hold to their beliefs. But for some reason in this moment, the Holy Ghost seems to get through in nine, it says, and they, which hurt it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest even until the last, and Jesus was left alone and the woman standing in the midst.

I think it reminded me that as I'm talking to those who are, [00:22:00] who it seems are combative against my faith or even against me personally, I need to leave space for the Holy Ghost to teach sometimes, especially when I'm panicked and trying to defend myself, I talk too much and I don't leave enough space for the Holy Ghost to reaffirm a testimony that I've said, you know, instead, I try to swoop in and add more details or add more.

Evidence. And I think the savior's example of choosing to give space for the Holy Ghost to confirm something changes. These men who came with stones and anger dropped those stones and they walk away and it's, there's a great talk, I think it's from Elder Reland where he talks about being a stone catcher instead of a throw stone thrower.

There's not enough just to not throw stones, but we need to find ways to catch the stones that people are hurling at others. And I think the savior is essentially doing that. He's saying to all these men, you've got beams in your eyes that are blocking all sight. Fix your beams before you worry about beams or moats in anyone's eyes, especially this woman [00:23:00] here.

And so then he talks directly to her. After all these accusers have gone in this moment of dignity, you know, he's cleared the space of all the accusers and given this woman some space to catch her breath and to have some dignity. And he addresses her woman. Where are those nine accusers? Have no man condemn the.

And she said, no, man Lord. And Jesus said, under neither do I condemn the go and sin no more. That's dignity. He's not condoning the sin. He's not even forgiving the sin at this point in time. She's gonna need to go through the repentance process just like all of us would. But he is granting her space. It actually reminds me of the way the Book of Mormon speaks about this.

I think it's in, where is it? Second E five. I think it's in second. E five four. It's in the notes. But the um, when he's describing the fall and he talks about how after the fall, after this transgression occurred, that God gave them space to repent. That this mortal life is a time to have space to change.

And I feel like that's what he's giving to her, where the Pharisees wanted to create an immediate consequence for her wrong [00:24:00] choices. The Savior says, I'm giving you space. Go and send no more. In fact, if you go on the notes, you can learn. There's a talk from Sister Dennis and another one from Sister Wright that I just love.

I think they're both from two conferences ago, but. She, they talk about how he is in this moment, giving her a chance to heal. Sister Wright said it beautifully. She said You could basically her, I'm not quoting, but she basically said, you could say, go and sin no more, and also say, go forth and heal. He is this great physician and when his love and his compassion touches her heart, she chooses to change.

In fact, that Joseph Smith translation affirms that says that she went her way and did sin no more, and she lived the rest of her life as a devout follower and believer. And I just, that's the gospel of Jesus Christ, that all people can, when they have this moment of tension and division, can choose to believe and choose to act and choose to belong.

That's a, a huge promise that the gospel offers. And then the Savior takes it a little further when he teaches about light. So you go a little bit further in 12 and it says, I [00:25:00] am the light. What I think is really interesting about this phrase is the sense that comes before it says, then speak Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world.

He the follows me, shall not walk in darkness, but you'll have the light of life. I found myself wondering like, who's the them? You know, like I don't know if before it made it sound like just Jesus and the woman are there together, cuz everybody else has left. But then I thought maybe it's that initial batch of people who were listening to the Savior's sermon and who watched all this play out and that's who he's teaching.

I am the light and the life of the world. That change you just saw in this woman's eyes when she grasped onto the hope to believe that she could change. That is me, and I am available to all of you. I am the light of the world that that's huge promise. And I just think that that community feel, if those, if those people who are listening to the sermon are still there when all this happens, the fact that he gives her dignity among them is kind of the same way he gave the woman with the issue of blood.

You know, like he didn't just let her, you know, shrink away. He drew attention to her and said she is [00:26:00] clean. I think it's that same kind of idea where he's trying to create community in all these believers. So that moment that the Pharisees thought would be. Destructive to faith actually builds faith and he just continues to build on it.

And when you go a little bit further in like 14 and 15, you can see him talk to his accusers and talk about who he is. Why I lied about this. If you 14 it says, for I know once I came and whether I go, but you cannot tell once I come and whether I go, he's basically saying he knows his divine nature and his eternal destiny and then he talks about his judgment and his right to judge and 16.

And yet if I judge my judgment is true for I am not alone. To me these verses, they sound like Moses, you know, like when he knows who he is and he's not afraid of the adversary. I think it's what Elder Bennett talks about at conference that your patriarchal blessing can basically be this. It is your way to know who you are and who's you are and where you can go and how to get there.

You know, it's this, this certainty that comes with knowing truth. So you see that demonstrated in these verses, [00:27:00] and then when you go all the way to the end, you can see that many believe because he testifies so clearly about who he is. You see, I am many times in these verses, and then at the end, as he faked these words, many believed on him.

That's in verse 30. That's the impacts of teaching truth. Many believe. One of the things that impresses me about the Savior's teaching is when people start to believe he doesn't soften. You know, for me, for example, when I'm trying to teach them about what I believe I am, when I can see them starting to be like, oh, okay, that makes sense.

I would never like throw out a church history factor, you know, something that would jostle him. I would like coddle them and try and soften them while I'm in this teaching phase. The savior doesn't do that, I think because there isn't time. I don't know. I don't know his reasons, but he's got six more months here and he wants change.

And these are people who. Could change if they would just let go of what is old. And so you hear 'em saying that in 31. Then Jesus said to those Jews, which believed on him, if you continue in [00:28:00] my word, then you're my disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. He's implying that they don't currently know the truth, that they're in bondage a spiritual bondage of sorts because they don't have what is true.

And these are people who love the word and have studied the scripture and you know, all the scrolls. And he's saying there's more, there's so much more. What I love about that phrase, the truth shall make you free is I think it's the same thing we see in the Book of Mormon. I've just been reading at the very tail end of the Book of Mormon, after the Savior comes in fourth nephi.

When you hear about that Zion like society, what I love about this, it almost sounded like the millennium to me. You know, like they all get along. There is this peace and beauty and thriving industry and all this goodness that happened. It's in like fourth nephi one it says, and all are made free and all are partakers of the heavenly gift.

What is really fascinating to me about this period of true freedom that is happens in the Book of Mormon is it's not like the millennium where Satan is bound it, it means they chose this, they're [00:29:00] partakers of the heavenly gift. They, they partake of the gift of the atonement of Jesus Christ. All the time.

They are people who choose to repent daily. And when you're in that posture, when you're like, what can I do better today? How can I help my neighbor better tomorrow? When you're in that posture that creates a Zion society, there's no room for Satan to take hold of any hearts cuz your heart is soul full, full of this desire to be light and the savior because you have the truth of knowing who he is, what he sounds like, what he feels like, what he looks like.

You have that solid understanding and it feeds this freedom. It's a freedom of joy, like where you can feel peace and rest and joy because everybody's in this together. I just think if there's any point in time, if you ask me at point in time when I wish I could live that, that's the one. I just think it's remarkable and I think that's what he wants for these Jews.

He wants 'em to have that, that kind of freedom and they can't. I can't quite grasp it. In fact, they don't even think they've ever been in bondage. If you live in [00:30:00] 33, it says we were never in bondage to Eddie Min, which I can't imagine is physical cuz they've been in bondage to many different groups from the Old Testament to even the New Testament when they're in bondage to the Romans.

So I think they mean spiritual bondage that they've never been. I think most of Jews here thought they had a like a fast pass. You know, like at Disneyland, I think they think because they're the children of Abraham, they get this fast pass to the kingdom of God and the savior's trying to help 'em understand that that doesn't exist.

In fact, I love the way he describes it in 39. It says, you say that Abraham is your father, but Jesus said unto them, if you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham. I mean, think about Abraham, what does he do? In fact, if you look in the footnotes, it links you to the Abrahamic covenant it Abraham is one who was not afraid to sacrifice in order to lay hold of the blessings that God promised him.

But he wasn't gonna be able to get those blessings of posterity and land and you know, these big promises of priesthood without the sacrifice of living a life that is. Patterned the way God asked him to live. He understood that. And if the Jews [00:31:00] understood that, they would, they would change. So if you wanna be Abraham's heirs, you need to act like Abraham did and put everything on the altar in the hopes of choosing God first.

I, I think there's weight to those verses. You go a little bit further and they throw all these barbs at the savior trying to ignite passions in him. But he is God's self mastery down. He is under control and he doesn't take the bait. And then he tries to teach them about the love of God, that if they love God the way they say they do, then they will love him cuz he is sent from God.

They, he wants them to make this connection, but they just can't get there. In fact, in 43 he says, why do you not understand my speech even because you cannot hear my word. In fact, Joseph Smith alters that to me. You cannot bear my word. I feel like what this is saying is like they won't give place, you know, in Alma 32 where it talks about the seed that you have to scoop some of that dirt out and get rid of what was old so that you have space for what needs to grow and they.

They can't let go of that soil and we all get there. You know, like we have [00:32:00] these moments where you know the Lord wants you to change in some significant way and he's asking you to give place and you're like, this soil is comfortable. In fact, even when you think about planting a seed in soil like that, seeds are hard and cold and it takes time for them to soften and sprout.

And I just think oftentimes when there is a change required, we bristle cuz we know it's this uncomfortable process and that's where they are and they. Won't give place. And so they can't hear him. It's almost as if they have their fingers in their ears. They, they cannot understand. They can't bear his word cuz they won't give it place.

So he talks to 'em about it in 45. And because I tell you the truth, you believe me, not he, that is of God, heareth God's words. This in 47 Neith. Therefore hear them not because you're not of God. It sounds harsh, but it's the truth, right? There is no neutral. Either you are gathering or you are scattering.

Either you are a believer in coming towards Christ or you are turning away from him. There is no middle, there is no neutral. And so he's trying to [00:33:00] help them understand that, that they need to make a choice and it needs to be now. So when you go a little bit further, you can see in 51, barely, rarely, I say to you, if a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.

That's the promise that they're setting. If we choose not to give place, just the small amount of soil give me place. If we let that seed plant and grow, the promise is that you'll have this huge tree of everlasting life at your fingertips. You know, over the course of time, as you cultivate that seed and nourish the plant, you will have everlasting fruit.

And doesn't it seem like such a massive pot kind of bargain that we so often are like, Nope, I'm gonna keep my soil. I know you want me to change, but I don't like hard seeds and I don't like cold seeds and I don't wanna change, so I'm gonna hold on to my soil. And you give up this giant tree of everlasting life.

And I just think he's trying so hard to get through and they just don't get it. In fact, they ask about [00:34:00] Abraham again cuz they wonder. Who he thinks he is. Basically, you know, they're, they're, they're wrestling with this, but they keep coming at it from their blind spot. And so he talks about Abraham. Jesus answered in 54.

If I honor myself, my honor is nothing. It is my father that honored me of whom you say that he is your God in 55, yet you have not known him, but I know him. I can't imagine the, the spiritual weight that sits in a room when the savior himself is testifying of how he knows his father. You know, there must be a, you know, like a whoosh that happens in the room at that time.

And then he talks about Abraham, the same message we hear in the book of Mormon, your father Abraham in 56 rejoiced to see my day. He saw it and was glad. We see that in, I think it's in Heliman. You know, when the prophet Nephi. Right after the garden thing, you know, it's, he's about to uncover that murder mystery and all that stuff.

He talks about how Abraham saw the savior and how so many other prophets have seen the savior and this promise, like he's, he's trying to help him understand the same way the savior is, that [00:35:00] I know Abraham, I was there for all of this, and they just can't see it. But then he makes this big, bold declaration.

In fact, I think from about 53 to 59, it almost mirrors what you see with the woman at the will. You know, remember when she came to him and she's like, do you think you're greater than our father Jacob? It's the same sort of tone they have. Like, do you think you're greater than Abraham? And he's like, I know.

I know Jacob and I know Abraham, and I am, that's his big sentence in 58. And Jesus sent it to them. Barely. Barely. I sang to you before Abraham was, I am. And you can see in the footnotes, this is a. Quote of, I am the God of the Old Testament. I am the great Jehovah. I am the God of Abraham and the God of Jacob and the God of Isaac.

I am. And what is so startling to me is the contrast between the exact same type of statement that he said to the woman on the well, woman at the well. And these Pharisees, it divides the woman at the well, rushes to her village, rejoicing and converts a whole village. Basically, these men pick up [00:36:00] stones and they seek to murder the source of this right light of truth.

And it is just this stark, stark contrast. So he passes by just like we've seen several times in Nazareth and in other places. It is not his hour. So he is not afraid, but he passes by all of their stones and finds a.

[00:36:27] JOHN 9

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Sometimes I wonder if chapter nine is actually a bit of a good Samaritan story because at at the very beginning in verse one, it shows that as he was on his way to somewhere else, the savior stops to help a man that was blind. In fact, the fact that in 59 it says that he escaped from the people who were throwing stones and passed them by, and then in verse one of nine it says, and Jesus passed by and he saw a man, man, which was blind from Earth.

I wonder sometimes if this is on his escape from the Pharisees, that he stops and is like tries heal. Doesn't that just sound like the character of the Savior, this good Samaritan who would never pass by someone who needs him And so [00:37:00] it, he creates this. Teaching moment in this healing, the disciples ask him in two, his disciples asked him saying mastery, who did Sid, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?

This tells me that they must be learning about the plan of salvation to some degree. I can't remember which prophet I read this from. This is not my original thought, but it's in the notes. Basically, he's saying that in order for them to believe that this man would be dealing with a consequence, like being born blind, means they must assume that there's something that came before some wrong choice, some something that made God unhappy to give him this malady, and you have to love the savior's response.

He says, neither had this man sinned nor his parents, but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. I don't think it's that God caused this blindness so that this one miracle moment could happen. I think this is more the same way it applies to us. You know, I don't think God causes all of our adversities.

What I think he does is says, I can work with that. I can make all things work together for your good. This struggle that this man has been weighed down under for his whole life can be an [00:38:00] opportunity to teach not just the apostles, but also all the Pharisees who are going to see this miracle play out.

So he does. He grants him this gift of sight. He puts clay on his eyes, he anoint his eyes and then tells him to go wash in the pool of solo. You can go in the notes. There's some really cool links back to Isaiah, those verses that we studied together about the waters that go softly, that this is the, that same.

So the pool of silo is this holding place for the gushing waters that come out of the GI home spring. These living waters, same place that the Feast of the Tabernacles pitcher goes into, it's this holy water and he directs him to go there and wash. And he comes away seeing, that's what you see at the end of seven.

And what's interesting to me is what happens next? So when he goes home, his neighbors don't quite recognize him, you know, cuz he's been blind his whole life. So it says the neighbors there for and they, which before had seen him that he was blind, said, is this not he that sat and begged. And then in nine some said this is he another said he is like him, but he said, I am he.

I actually really love these two [00:39:00] verses for repentance. Because I think this happens sometimes with our limited sight, someone who has had a mighty change of heart. We tend to see them how they were before. You know? Have you ever seen an ward or something where a missionary will come home who maybe had a rough teenage pa, you know, patch and then comes home on fire with the gospel and people still want to call him the person that he was when he was 16?

You know, I just think we have to fight against that tendency in us. What I love is that he, the blind man seems to be really clear on who he is. I bet in this moment he's never felt closer to who he really is the same way the missionary that comes home on fire has never felt closer to who he really is, and he just wants to set that old him aside.

You know, like he, I think there's some similarities there, but of course these neighbors who are confused then turn to the Pharisees and say that there was this healing happened on the Sabbath and the Pharisees have a blind spot about the Sabbath, so they. Jump all over this. You remember, momentum is [00:40:00] building for people to believe in Jesus and they are constantly trying to neutralize that threat.

And so they do that by bringing this guy in for questioning. So he has to come in and answer and they'll ask him the same question multiple times. How were you healed? How did this happen? And he doesn't know exactly, he just says, somebody touched my eyes and now I can see. And they don't believe him. So they bring in his parents and his parents because they're afraid of, the Jews are like, he's old, he can talk for himself, which tells you something about the culture of the day.

In fact, I think it's kind of similar to the culture of our day because I feel like that oftentimes, like on social media, you get kind of scared to stand up for what you believe. Cuz there is this cancel culture that we live in where it's like, if you don't believe what the common group believes, then you get canceled.

So I, I find myself wanting to be like this blind man and to push back against, That pressure cuz that's what he does. He basically says strongly in 25. So they say, basically give God the praise. It must have been God that [00:41:00] did this. It can't be that. It can't be that man who is a sinner in 24. And he answered in 25 and said, whether he be a sinner or no, I know not one thing.

I know that. Whereas I was blind. Now I see it's this strong statement of what he knows for certain. He doesn't pretend to know how it happened or even why he was chosen or how this all will play out in the future. He just knows in this moment where I was blind now I see. And that certainty that he has allows him to push back against all of this adversity.

I just think there's power in that holding the ground you've already won. You know, he doesn't know everything. He doesn't understand everything. But he will hold this ground even when they continued fresh him. So when you flip the page, you see it keeps going. So they ask him again. In fact, by 28 they revile him.

It says in 28. Then they reviled him and said, thou aren't his disciple, but we are Moses' disciple. And I really like this. Especially when you kind of dovetail in what we learned from [00:42:00] the Sermon on the Mount where he said, blessed are those men. When men shall revile you and persecute you, th these are those moments.

You're gonna get backlash. You're gonna get the cancel culture pushing down on you. Stand strong. I think that's the invitation we got from conference. It is stand strong in your belief. Be kind and compassionate and understanding and build bridges where you can, but don't retreat from what you know where you are blind now you see, you have to.

Shout that from the rooftops at times, I think, and that's what's happening here. In fact, he can see the, the cracks in the Pharisees logic cuz he starts to talk about them. Like, how could a good miracle come from an evil source? He, he asked them like, he can see that they're struggling. So in 32, since the world began, was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind?

He's like, have you ever heard of a greater miracle than this? Has any other prophet in our Old Testament done this work and they're struggling? You know, the Pharisees are scrambling cuz they can't defend. And then at 33, if this [00:43:00] man were not of God, he could do nothing. You can see this man's testimony increasing.

In fact, I think it's every time he chooses to take, take a stand on what he does know that his testimony grows. We know that from the prophets, right? That when we choose to stand and testify, even amidst opposition, our testimony within us grows. And you can see that happening. For this man, it's like invigorating to watch it.

So basically he testifies to them and their response is to cast him out. It's 1 34. They're angry. They cast him out. To be cast out in Jewish society means you can't go to the synagogues, you can't be cleansed. You can't have even a society among others. This is perhaps a worse fate socially than the blindness was physically, but I think this man would still choose it.

I, you know, just from my own experience, I think he's saying I'd rather be on the margins of my society and be with truth than hold tight to what I used to be. That's not me anymore. And I think we have to feel like that when we become a new creature. You know, I think we have to say, I'd [00:44:00] rather be alone with God than over where I was before.

And so he stands. The best part of this story to me is what happens. So in 35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out. And when he had found him he said unto him, thus thou believe on the son of God. And 36 he answered and said, who is he Lord, that I might believe on him? And then 37. And Jesus said unto him, thou has both seen him and it is he that talk us with me.

And in 38 he said, Lord, I believe any worshiped him. The very fact that he seeks out the one. I remember last week when we studied the parable of this lost sheep in the 99, and they were talking about believers and those who are little in their belief that's what this man is. You know, he's someone who is just beginning to understand and so the Savior seeks him out even though there's so much opposition for him.

He sees him get cast out. He sees him get persecuted for his sake. And so he will come to him. He finds him and he brings him home. It is this, I can almost visualize the sheep on the shoulders of the shepherd as he [00:45:00] brings this man who, who used to have no sight and now can see he brings him safely home.

That is an incredible piece of this story.

[00:45:16] JOHN 10

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While you have that great visual in your head of the Good Shepherd, now you wanna roll right into John chapter 10 cuz that's where he teaches about being the Good Shepherd. I learned a few things when we went to Israel about shepherding in this particular area. You know, I think of shepherding and I think like the movie Babe, but in Israel it's a little bit different.

They don't stay in an enclosure. They go there for safety and for respite at times. But then most of the time they're migrating around to get, you know, in the right seasons, the right places for good ground and for good, you know, eating. So it's this a different sort of mentality and I think it really helps me understand our gospel today cuz I feel like this is what that fold of God is supposed to feel like this you.

You will have places where you get to come and you get to [00:46:00] gather, for me a big representation of this fold of God, this enclosure. Safety in respite is the temple. Another one is just our award and even my home to some degree. I think what the gospel provides are these places of refuge, and that's what I think he's trying to describe with this shelter because what he says in verse one is that there are some who are trying to climb over the edges.

Basically. They want the blessings of being part of his flock without any of the sacrifice. They don't wanna have to come in through the door. They wanna just be able to climb in, and he calls them robbers and thieves. It's the same thing you hear in the Book of Mormon with Koho. He's trying to teach people that they don't need to sacrifice.

The Lord doesn't need all that sacrifice. You can have all the blessings without any of the struggle. You know, you can reap the blessings of the covenant without actually having to live your covenants. It is a very Satan like stance. In fact, I think it's the same echo we hear from the adversary himself at the beginning in the grand council, where he was like, there's no need for a sacrifice if there's no sin.

It's a shortcut that the [00:47:00] savior will never. He combats. So you see him talk about what it means, so he says, To him, the porter open it and the sheep hear his voice and he call this his sheep by the name and e lead them out. They are going in and out just like those shepherds in Israel that they're giving their flock a chance for refuge when at night or when there are wolves nearby.

But then they also take them out to places where they can find pasture. So he's gonna lead them both ways. And then he says, I'm for when he put us forth his own sheep, he go with before them. And the sheep follow him for they know his voice and a stranger they will not follow, but will flee from him for the know not voice of strangers.

That's what happens when you honor covenants. I feel like you come to hear his voice and know it, and I feel like you recognize the false voices of others much quicker. The same way Moses recognized that Satan was Satan because he had seen God. And so he had no trouble saying like, I, I'm not gonna worship you.

I feel like that's, that's the same promise that comes when you are a covenant keeping member of his fold. You know his [00:48:00] voice and you don't have to be afraid of anybody else who comes by. So then he talks about being the door. In seven, then Jesus said unto them, again, very rarely I say unto to you, I am the door of the sheep.

Jesus is the gatekeeper. He is the, the, the access point in that gate of baptism is the only way into this covenant path. It doesn't end there, but it is the entry point. And he employs no servant there. In fact, when we were in Israel, I, we heard a, I wanna say it was a shepherd or maybe who was just talking about shepherds, but he said one of the things they do is they stand at the gate and they watch for wounds.

I, I heard this in a conference talk recently too, but that they will stand at the gate and let all the sheep come in so they can watch for any that are limping or that have wounds that they need to bandage. And I think that's the same thing that happens with the savior when we come into his fold and we take refuge in these places of community, like the temple or even our wards and stakes, or even our home to some degree.

I think there are these, they are these sheep folds that we get to have the blessings of [00:49:00] because we choose to make sacrifices and to live a covenant life. That's what he's trying to offer. And so he talks about the goodness of it. In fact, I really love how it's phrased in nine, I Am the Door. By me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved and he shall go in and out and find pasture.

Sometimes I think we describe covenant keeping as like being hemmed in. You know, it's this like you're, you are sort of confined over here. That's not the gospel he's saying. When you are of me, you can trust that when I give you pasture, when I take you to these other places you can trust, there's peace in this promise.

You can go in and out because you know I will always lead you to good pasture. So you'll see him promise all those things when you go a little bit further. My favorite is in 10 says the thief come, if not, but for to steal and to kill and to destroy. I am come that I might have life. That they might have life and that they might have it more abundant.

That's the promise of covenant living, that you will have a good life and it will be abundant. Doesn't mean you'll be free from trial and [00:50:00] struggle. In fact, I think trials and struggles help us get this abundant life, but it is a promise of abundance that we have at our fingertips. But there's no, there's no way to access that abundance without following his covenant path.

It's this, I really feel like the, the parable of the good shepherd that he throws out here is a parable that teaches us about the temple and the worth of making covenants and creating a connection with God. We'll talk about the object lessons too, but I love seeing the Good Shepherd as a temple narrative.

When you a little bit further, he talks about what he will give as our shepherd. The shepherd will give his life for the sheep at 11. And then he talks about others. So he talks about these hirings people who are hired to help with the sheep and the difference between those who own the sheep like this, the shepherd, the good shepherd and those who are hired.

Now, the difference is when moles come, they'll scatter. Well, this reminds me is I've had lots of conversations with my kids about this. You know, cuz they'll have a teacher or somebody else, like at, in their high school or something that maybe leads them down a different road than [00:51:00] I would've led them on.

And the conversation we've had multiple times is that those teachers as, as much as they like you right now, they won't stay with you. You know, they're not gonna care about you in college. They're not gonna care about you later. Like they, they don't love you the way I love you. I am, I want a future for you that is brighter long term.

So I'm directing you this way. And I feel like that's these hirings, it's not that they have a malicious intent for the sheep, it's just that they aren't committed. You know, they don't have that covenant committed relationship that. The savior does. And so he warns against the higher lengths that they will flee in times of trouble, but that he will not.

So he says, I'm 14, I am the good shepherd and know my sheep, and I am known of my sheep. And in 15, as a father know it's me. Even so I know the father and I lay down my life for the sheep. That's his promise that when you, when you are a covenant keeping member of his fold, you have access to the gift of the atonement of Jesus Christ where he laid down his life so that you could have access to that abundant life.

That's a pretty incredible [00:52:00] promise. And when you go a little further, he talks about the other sheep he has and how there will be one fold and one shepherd. You can go in the notes and learn a lot more about these verses, but I love that understanding that his goal is to bring everybody in. It's not to create this little Zion society in the middle of nowhere and nobody gets to access it.

It's almost like the gates are always open. There is only one gate, but it is always open. And if you choose to abide by his covenants and do what he's asking, you have access and you have entrance, and there will be one fold and one shepherd. In verses 17 and 18, he teaches that he will lay down his life for the sheep and that no man will take it from him.

His life is gonna be offered voluntarily as a sacrifice. He is the Lamb of God and no one will take it. So it says in 17, because I lay down my life that I might take it again. No man, take it that from me, but I lay it down of myself and I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my father, he's planting seeds, right?

That later when they see the Romans put him on a cross and when they see him [00:53:00] struggle on that cross and die, that they can rest on these promises that he was not killed by the Romans. He gave his life. He offered himself as this sacrifice. But that kind of, Creates division. You can see it play out in the verses in 19.

There's division, therefore again among the Jews for these sayings. And some seem as a devil in 20 and say, others say in 21, these are not the words of him that had the devil. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind? It reminds me of, I think it was Lawrence Corbridge who was talking about the Book of Mormon, and I think he was quoting his father, but he basically talked about like a, A devil never could have written this, a book like this.

So it creates affirmation that the Book of Mormon is true cuz words of such goodness and light and lift could not come from an evil source. And you can see the savior kind of alluding to that as well, but they still doubt. So three months later, so this is now into the winter season, in verse 22, they come and they say, why do you make us doubt if that'll be the Christ?

Tell us plainly in 24 and then 25, Jesus responds and he [00:54:00] answered them and said, I told you, you believe not the works that I do in my father's name, they bear witness of me. But you believe me not cuz you are not my sheep. I think that's one of the incredible promises of being. A covenant member of his fold is that you recognize his voice and you hear it.

Cuz if you're not, then you might miss it. Like these who are hearing his words and seeing his miracles and they can't wrap their heads around it, they can't understand it without, without that covenant relationship, they, they don't have that connection and the gift of the Holy Ghost that comes with it.

So they're struggling to understand. And so he tries to teach them that in 28, and I give onto them eternal life and they shall never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My father, which gave them me, is greater than all. And no man is able to pluck them out of my father's hand. Those people who are in his fold and in that safe, spiritual, safe haven, um, they can never be removed from anyone.

And so he's trying to entice them to just engage. And when you turn the page, you see where that goes. Essentially in 32, they pick up [00:55:00] stones, they feel dissonance, you know, they're disillusioned a little bit from what they used to believe. And there's this dissonance and they. Lean into fear rather than looking forward in faith.

And we can see where that plays out. That means you pick up a stone cuz you can't handle the disconnect. It's hard to be in that spot. And so he asked them like, why are you trying to stone me? What works? Have I done that merit stoning? And they essentially say, because you being a man make us thyself a God.

And then he replies back with scripture and Jesus answered them and said, is it not written in your law? I said, you are God's. They somehow believe that they are the children of the Father, but they don't seem to believe that they can grow up to be like the Father. So you can see him trying to like broaden their perspective that there's a plan of salvation here that is bigger than what you learned in the law of Moses.

There is so much more to gain. In fact, by 37 and 38, he kind of puts it on the line and he says it's time to experiment. So in 30. If I do not the works of my father, believe me not. But if I [00:56:00] do, th though you believe, not believe not me, believe the works that you may know and believe that the Father is in me and I in him.

I think he's essentially saying the same thing Alma said. He's saying like, you can experiment on this word. You don't have to wonder, you don't have to take my word for it. You can know for yourself. You just have to believe enough to give place. You have to be willing to make a sacrifice so that you can come in through this gate and choose to be a member of the fold of God.

And when you do, then you'll see the works will be evident too. And you'll see clearly whether they do or not. Uh, chapter ends with a, with a lack of understanding, they struggle. And so he has to leave. He ends up going down to Jordan. So it's interesting cause he goes to the place where he was baptized. I wonder sometimes if this is almost like a bookend, you know, he goes back to the place where his public ministry began and he teaches there.

I don't know if he needs. Rejuvenation there, but sometimes I have found, for me to go back to a place when I did believe is really comforting when my belief is [00:57:00] struggling. I don't think the savior is lacking any belief at this point in time, but I do like the understanding that when we are struggling with our faith, we should turn back to when we did believe.

Elder Elin has a great talk all about this, that lest we forget, I think is what it's called, but he teaches the same principle, same thing you see in Doctrine Covenant six, where it's he's struggling for revelation. The answer he gets is to cast his mind back on what he already knows. I think there's some peace in this going back to the beginning before he makes his way to the very end.

[00:57:36] CREATIVE PREVIEW

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Welcome back you guys. This is the creative side of week 17. Now this is the preview, so I'm gonna walk you through the three object lessons so that those of you who are watching on YouTube or maybe listening in the free podcast and get a feel for what we do here at Creative Comal Michael, with all three of these object lessons, is that you can make these stories more memorable and meaningful, and we try to do that in simple ways.

So let me walk you through some of the things you have in store this week. First off, you're gonna [00:58:00] need some raw eggs, which automatically you should be excited to see what comes next. This is actually gonna teach the doctrine about the savior who laid down his life. It wasn't taken from him, he voluntarily offered it.

And we're gonna put that to the test with what I'm calling the Unbreakable Egg Challenge. And I'll explain in just a minute. The second one is trying to teach about the story of the blind men. So you know when the disciples come to the savior and they say, who sinned? Is it this man or his parents that he's born blind?

And the savior answers that neither of. It is that the works of God will be made manifest in him. I love that principle for adversities that hit in our life. So I wanted some way to demonstrate that for my kids. So this is, there's a principle associated with this one, but essentially you're going to make ink appear rather than disappearing ink.

This is appearing ink. So you'll have a message written on these cards that will appear when you put it in water, and I will teach you how it is a magical moment that will help your kids love that story even more. Okay, the third one, this is Temple Prep Week on the chart. So my goal here is to give you some tools that will help you teach key principles about the temple, but [00:59:00] also I really wanted to help you teach all the other parts of the Good Shepherd.

When you read that in John, there are so many angles you know about the savior being the good Shepherd about how they, he names his sheep and he knows them about how he is the. You could use this same printable to teach a whole bunch of different areas about the Good Shepherd. I just wanted to give you some way to pull it off.

So for this one, we are basically making a sheep fold, kinda like they talked about in the verses. So the printable gives you this little enclosure and some information on how to pull this off. But you're basically going to create little sheep out of cotton balls and black craft magnets. I just grab the tiniest ones.

They're, they come in like a 50 pack at Walmart, um, and you're gonna make little sheep, and then you mount it onto a cereal box so that you can put your hand inside with another magnet and move the sheep around. So your kids are gonna be able to take the sheep that are on the outside and bring them in to this safe fold of the enclosure, and you'll be able to talk about the gospel all at the same time.

So if you have those supplies on hand, then I think you're good to go. All right, you guys, let's get started.[01:00:00]

[01:00:01] WRAP UP

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Thanks for being here, you guys. It's been a really delightful week of study. I hope you thoroughly enjoy it yourself. It, it's intense. John is always a little. Intense, but it is worth every minute you can give it.

So enjoy your study. If you need a little extra help or you have questions, you're welcome to join me on the live. That's Monday morning at 10:00 AM Mountain Time. I'm usually on there for 40 minutes to an hour or so, and I'm there to give you some tidbits of things I forgot to say in the videos and then also answer any questions and walk through the object lesson.

So if you want more information about how to pull off these object lessons and you're not in the full course, try the live. It's there live. And then also it stays on my feed for about a week or so. If you have questions and you're in the course, you're welcome to leave me a question on the discussion boards or just reply to the weekly emails.

But otherwise, I hope you enjoy it. And for those of you who are listening on the podcast or on YouTube, uh, thank you for being here. I hope it inspires you to get into your scriptures and then find creative ways to teach them whether or not you do anything like the ones I've played out. I hope you'll find creative ways to make these [01:01:00] beautiful, scriptural concepts meaningful and memorable and simple so that your kids will remember them for much, much longer.

All right, you guys, enjoy your week and I'll see you on Monday.