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[00:00:00] INSIGHTS INTRODUCTION
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Hey everybody. Welcome back. This is week 18 of Creative. Come Follow me for the New Testaments. And this week we are mostly in the Book of Luke, which I love. Remember Luke is the one that has a lot of emphasis on. Those who are on the margins. You know, you get more stories from women, you get more stories about how the savior takes care of all who are hurt and kind of on the perimeter of society.
And you're gonna see a lot of that today. You're also gonna see how the savior loves. In fact, there's a, a message from last year's conference, so April of 2022. This is when Elder Reland spoke on the young woman's theme. And I actually thought his last couple lines really encapsulated what you're gonna study in this week's lesson.
This is what he said. He's talking about inviting us. He's talking about inviting us to center our lives on Jesus Christ. And then he says this, Our Heavenly Father wants you to become his heir and receive all that he has. [00:01:00] He cannot offer you more. He cannot promise you more. He loves you more than you know and wants you to be happy in this life and in the life to come.
I feel like that's the message of this week's study. You're gonna see it in a few different places. You know, we have the incredible Luke 15, which is all the stories of the lost, you know, the lost sheep and the lost coin, and the Prodigal son. And you're gonna see him reach out to those who are struggling, who seek healing.
You're gonna see him reach out to his apostles and try and elevate their discipleship higher. You're gonna see a lot about stewardship and how he encourages everyone to take care of whatever the Lord has blessed them with in this life and, and do their best with it so that they can prepare for the next one.
And then you see him guide people on how to grow their faith. In these really remarkable, simple ways. Probably the pinnacle moment of growing faith is when you get to see the raising of Lazarus. So you see Mary and Martha and all the apostles and all the onlookers have [00:02:00] this incredible opportunity to leapfrog their faith to a whole nother level because of this incredible miracle.
And all of that happens in a few chapters in Luke and then one chapter in John. And I promise you're gonna love it. So grab your scriptures, grab your notes. Let's get started
[00:02:22] LUKE 12
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where we kick off in 12. You see the savior talking to the Pharisees a couple weeks ago in the live, I mentioned how I see the Pharisees as people who are wearing a version of like spiritual spanks. You know, that like suck it in clothing that tries to make you look two sides and smaller than you are.
Those are not comfortable. And what the problem that you have is when you're so focused on. Putting forth an image to others that isn't real, then I feel like you stop paying attention to what is real and you stop trying to fix what needs fixing. And sometimes I think that's what is happening to the Pharisees.
Like they are spending so much [00:03:00] time and energy to put on a show that they have no time and energy left to actually fix what needs to be fixed. And you can see the savior continually reaching out. And I don't think he's trying to catch them or trap them despite the fact that they're constantly trying to catch and trap him.
I think he's trying to say like, get all that off. Like you are exhausted. Set down all the weights of hypocrisy and come and enjoy my gospel where it's vulnerable and real and imperfect. And you. Progress. So that's what you're gonna see in the first few verses. He says, beware the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy, where there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed.
You can't hide your real self from him. In fact, that's gonna be the theme of this whole chapter. Neither hid that shall not be known, therefore, whatsoever you have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light. He's just kind of saying like, this is a gospel of transparency. You can't hide your heart from me, so change your heart.
Like, come closer to me and let me help you, let [00:04:00] me heal you. He's just pleading with them to understand, and then he talks about some interesting guidance. So he's gonna talk to his apostles for a little bit, kind of like we've said in the past. This starts to sound like their MTC kind of experience where he's guiding them on, don't worry so much about what you're gonna say.
Don't worry so much about how you're going to eat. Just trust that you're gonna be cared for. The reason I like that theme throughout here is I think he's trying to help us understand that the way to. Find comfort. Real comfort is to put our trust in God. And here's why I take that spin. First off, I really love his attitude in all of these verses.
It reminds me a lot of what we heard in conference from Elder Bragg about poise. Do you remember that talk? I just thought it was so different than most conference talks. I didn't, I I've read it a couple times now just to reflect back on it. And I think what you're seeing in this chapter is poise. The savior is choosing to [00:05:00] elevate instead of fall to the level of everyone else, and he just keeps inviting everyone to follow him.
So you see how he guides them. If you look in the verses, you can see one of the, my favorite points is in nine. So if you look in the j s t of verse nine, the verse itself says, but he, that denies me, before men shall be denied before the angels of God. Which is powerful. But when you go on the J S T, it says that they were kind of back biting against him.
I don't know if this is his apostles or if these are just his students in some other capacity, but they have been speaking ill of him publicly and now they're afraid, you know, cuz he just said everything's known. In fact, everything's gonna be known. So all of these little secret conversations you've had when I'm not here, those are all gonna come out.
And now they're worried because they're worried they won't be able to be forgiven. And in this moment of Christ-like poise, he doesn't dwell on it. He pivots them to the real doctrine. So this is when he talks about the Holy Ghost. So he says, and whosoever shall speak a word against the son of men. It shall be forgiven him.
But unto him, that [00:06:00] Blas myth against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven. He's not gonna take those wounds and hold onto grudges. He just simply pivots and says, all that can be forgiven. Here's where you need to be really careful. And then he does something really similar as you go a little bit further down.
So there's a man who comes and he has some sort of squabble with his brother over his inheritance. So it's on 13, and one of the companies said unto him, master speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me. So this personal conflict that he comes to the savior to resolve and instead of getting into the weeds with him, or instead of getting into the nitpicky details of this inheritance, the savior essentially answers the question the man should have asked.
So this is when he elevates again. He has that poised to know what to say and how to say it. So instead of getting into the details of how to judge, he goes in 15 and he says, and he said unto them, take heed and beware of covetousness. For a man's life consisted not in the abundance of things which he possesses.
It reminds me of that great quote from Joseph Smith where he says, [00:07:00] you know, I teach men the doctrines and then they, what do they manage themselves? Govern themselves, I think is how he says it. It's the same kind of thing he, he's gonna elevate, he's gonna teach doctrines so that this man won't come to him a hundred other times about whatever squabble he's dealing with, with a neighbor or a friend he know now knows the doctrine behind all these policies and he can govern himself.
I think that's poise. I think his ability to take these everyday menial problems and elevate them is a powerful example to me. And then he gives you a parable. So as you go in like 17, He talks about a parable of a man who happens to have this abundant harvest, and in this abundance, instead of sharing it or passing it on to others, he builds bigger barns.
In fact, it says he tears down his existing barns and builds bigger ones, and then he talks about that you can't take it with you. So if you look in the verses, it says in 20, but God said unto him, thou fool this night, thy soul shall be required of the, and then who sh [00:08:00] Then who shall those things be, which thou has provided.
So is he that layeth up treasure for himself and is not rich towards God. I don't think it's that it's wrong to have an abundance. I think the key issue is, one, there's no mention of gratitude. He doesn't show gratitude for this abundance, almost like he thinks he did it himself. And then two, he has excess and he doesn't share it.
I mean, that's the nature of the gospel. It's what consecration is all about, that we will take what we need and that we will share of our excess. To me, I think. Maybe this comes from reading a little bit further in the chapter, but I really think the issue I have when I get in this mentality of hoarding things to myself and being nervous, I don't mean things necessarily.
It's usually my time or my energy when I start to hoard it to myself, I think it's usually a lack of faith. I think whenever we build bigger barns, either physically or spiritually, what we're saying is, I'm not sure God's gonna provide for me tomorrow. I've got this [00:09:00] great abundance that I don't, I didn't earn and I don't deserve, but I am worried it won't come again tomorrow.
So I get that way with my energy and my time all the time, or I start to kind of think, I mean, I have time tomorrow. I've got time this time, and so this is what I'm gonna do with my time. And what he's asking me to do is to trust that. I'll be taken care of. My needs will be met. That's why I think this fits beautifully in with what he was teaching his apostles about.
Just go out and teach. Don't worry about what you're gonna eat. Don't worry about which house you're gonna sleep in. Just trust that the Lord provides. And so then he gives you those beautiful verses about the lilies of the field and that God is constantly taking care of all of his creations. In fact, I loved it when you think about that.
Um, conference talk from elder Stanfield, that's what he was talking about, combine and how his dad was, you know, harvesting grain and the sun was worried cuz he saw so much grain that fell into the field. And yes, his dad and his dad was like, this is the best machine can do. And then he watched later in the season when the birds came and ate all the grain that was left [00:10:00] over and he was like, God perfected it.
I just, I think that's what he's asking us to do, is to trust that there is this, Beauty and harmony in what God does and you'll be taken care of. So you don't need to build bigger barns and you don't need to acquire things you need to give abundantly. And then watch. Watch the fruits roll in. That's the promise.
So when you flip the page, you see that reinforced. So he talks about not having a doubtful mind. I like this one cuz I think what I tend to doubt is that there will be blessings down the road or that there will be open space or time down the road. I doubt those things. And he's saying, don't have a doubtful mind, don't, don't question trust.
And then you go a little further in 30 for all these things. Do the nations of the world seek after me, your father, Noah, that you have need of these things. He is aware of you and of your needs and he will provide. It might not be in the way you anticipated, but he will provide. That's his promise if you're doing his work.
So he says, tells you in 31, [00:11:00] but rather seek the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you. It's that visual of get what you need first. Love God first, and then he'll help you love everyone else. Obey the commandments first and you'll see an abundance. We see that echoed in the Book of Mormon several times.
The visual that helps me is I think about a grocery store. So you know, you go into a grocery store, the very first thing you encounter is not groceries. The first thing you encounter is a grocery cart because they know that for you to really enjoy the grocery store and get the abundance that you want and came for, you need something to carry it all.
And that's what I feel like the Kingdom of God is. He's saying, in fact, if you look in the J S T, this one says that you seek to build or bring forth the kingdom of God. That's what he's asking you. He's like, put your efforts and your energies and your time into. Into my work. And if you do that, it's like getting this shopping cart where then you can go throughout your life and you can gather what you need and you'll have an abundance.
That's the promise. But you can't hold it all. [00:12:00] If you don't stop by that shopping cart area first. You need to do his work first and trust that by doing it, it opens up an opportunity to hold onto all the other things you need. I just love that promise. And then in 34, for there where your treasure is, there, will your heart be awesome?
I think you could say the same thing for your energy, your time, your money, where your treasure is, that's where your energy goes, where your treasure is, that's where your time goes. If you're spending a lot of time in other areas that are not growing the kingdom of God, then he's asking you to pivot, to change, to tweak things a little bit so that you can be more in line with what he put you here to do.
So that's what he guides you on. I think one of the big reasons he wants us not to treasure things on earth, but instead treasure things in heaven is because that means you'll be watching. I think if we're too busy building bigger barns and accumulating more things, we get so [00:13:00] fixated on those that we.
We aren't watching for his coming. And that's what he talks about in the last 20 verses or so. So he talks, he uses an example of when the Lord of, you know, the house is gone, some of the servants stay busy at work and some coast, and he talks about that in relation to the second coming, that there will be, you're not gonna know when the Lord's gonna come back.
In fact, that's how he says it in verse 40. Be therefore ready. Also for the son of man, come at an hour when you think not. Dr. Covenant says the same thing that no man know it the hour, so you're not gonna know. In fact, I was talking to my ysa about this, we were talking about the second coming and how much mourning we think will have, and it was interesting to look at the book, book of Mormon as a guide.
I, I don't think it means they're the same, but I thought it was an interesting. Perspective to consider the Book of Mormon. You know, when they hear that the savior is coming, even though a lot of prophets had prophesied about the savior coming. It wasn't until five years before that Samuel, the layman, I came and said things pretty clearly to watch for that sign.
And then it really wasn't until like the night [00:14:00] before when everyone was gonna get executed, basically that Nephi got direction that the savior was indeed coming the next day. I mean, like that, that's when the sign would be given and they would know for a certainty that's. One day, not even a full day's notice.
So I just think when he says be watchful, I don't think it's just cuz he wants you to be like, have your eyes on the horizon when he is coming. I think it's cuz he wants you to be ready when he comes. When the Xavier comes again, we have a work to do, like there are things to get done and he needs disciples who are agile and strong and ready and so we can't be scrambling at the last minute the same way he describes these servants in the household that they have their certain stewardships and he, he doesn't really say like where they are in the household importance.
He just says, those who are working I know already and those who have been coasting aren't. And, and I just think it's this very clear guidance to [00:15:00] get ready. In fact, I love the way Moroni talks about it. This in Morona 96 where he basically says, let us labor diligently because it's going to give us two blessings.
One we'll be sure to be watching for when he comes in. And two, we will grow in the process. When you're laboring diligently, then you are getting stronger and you never have the risk of being caught doing something you weren't supposed to be doing. So it's this bell blessing that he's hoping we will just grab hold of.
At the very end of this chapter, he talks about how his gospel will bring division. We talked about that a little last week. You're gonna see it in a few places this week that his gospel will divide, where families aren't united in their following of Christ, it's gonna cause division. And just like we talked about earlier in the chapter, he's constantly reminding people that to follow his gospel, there is sacrifice involved.
And sometimes that sacrifice is relationships. And he's, he's pretty transparent about it. He, he basically is promising us that if we will put the relationship with God [00:16:00] first, then God will help every other relationship. It doesn't mean all relationships will be smooth, it means they will be. That you will stay connected and that I think is worth much, much more because if you, you stay connected to God, then the blessings can extend to the rest of your family.
And so he's warning people not to, not to cut ties with the divine, but rather if necessary cut ties with those who are here in order to preserve that relationship. So we're gonna need a little more guidance as we go a little further, but there is a taste of that at the end of 12.
[00:16:42] LUKE 13
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You guys, when I got to Luke 13 this week, I'm like, This is really familiar. In fact, it was so funny cuz I bought, you know, new scriptures. I have my wide margin Courtney Casper scriptures. And when I got to Luke 13, everything was already marked and written. I'm like, wait. So it took me a second to [00:17:00] realize we've actually taught Luke 13 before.
So if you go back to Luke 12, we actually covered Luke 13 and since there are so many chapters covered this week, I'm actually not gonna do it again. But I do give you a link in the notes if you wanna go back and read through those notes. This is where you're gonna see things like, um, he teaches about the baron fig tree talking about Israel and how he's been trying for three years to get fruit to grow and it's just baron.
Uh, this is also when he heals the woman that's bent over. Do you remember that like moment where. He calls her to him and I was saying like, I can't even visualize what that looks like. I don't know if she even could walk and if this was like a walk on water kind of moment for this woman. It's beautiful.
So if you haven't studied thir, Luke 13, go and study it. Probably my favorite part of loot 13 is what you see at the very end. This is when you see the savior weep for Jerusalem. This is when he's kind of, you know, we picture it like sitting on a hillside overlooking the city and he just weeps. You can see in the Joseph Mist translation because [00:18:00] they wouldn't come to him, you know, he has been trying to care and cultivate this vineyard.
He has been doing everything he can to keep this, you know, this ax from hitting the children of Israel and they will not come. And so he talks about how often would I have gathered you as a hen gather with through chickens. You know, it's just this. Almost, you know, maternal image of someone who loves these heirs and wants to bring them to a full inheritance and they simply won't come.
So he weeps on the hillside as he overlooks them. That's what you're gonna see in 13. I just don't have time to go into all of it this week, but you can find it in the podcast. The videos or in the notes of week 12
[00:18:47] LUKE 14
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where we start in 14, you see the Pharisees setting a trap, kind of similar to what we saw with the woman taking an adultery. Uh, a Pharisee invites the savior over for dinner. I maybe this is a good guy. I, I don't know. It just seems [00:19:00] like they're setting him up to fail cuz it talks about how he's there on the Sabbath and they watch him.
That's at the end of verse one. They watched him. I just think they're hoping. To catch it. It actually reminds me a lot of those who are leaving the faith or who have left the faith and are continually watching, you know they are, they can't set it aside. And so they're hoping for someone to stumble over their words or they're hoping for some posts that they can exploit or you know, there's just, they're watching and what they end up watching is a miracle in front of their eyes.
So there's a man with dropsy, which is just a disease that means you're retaining a lot of water. So if you've seen a woman who's super pregnant and has like gigantic ankles, like that's dropsy, but all over their whole body from what I understand and is incredibly uncomfortable, and then they ask him the savior, is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?
Almost like setting this trap, you can see them like pulling back this mouse trap, hoping that the savior will cruise across it. And what you have to love about the savior is he doesn't play their [00:20:00] games. So look at four, and they held their peace and he took him and healed him and let him go. I don't exactly know how this plays out, but what I love about that particular verse is I feel like what he does is he shelters that man from being their display.
You know, when they say that he took him, in my mind, I picture him, I don't know if it's taking him to a corner or if he's actually taking them out of this house and out of this place where that he can. Breathe, you know, and where the savior can heal him and talk to him and let him go. He's not gonna let this man be this pawn in this moment.
He's gonna, he's going to give him dignity like he always does. And so he takes him, he heals them, and he lets him go. And then he comes back and talks to the Pharisees about their hearts. This is where you get the, you know, ox and the Meyer phrase is where it comes from. Cuz he essentially says, if you have an ox that fell into a Meyer, if you had someone that one of your livestock that was injured, you would help them.
Please take that same compassion and apply it to [00:21:00] your fellow men. That's the spirit of the Sabbath and you've missed it. And they just, Don't quite catch it. So he teaches them the parable of the rooms. Actually, one of the things I love about 14 is that there are two party parables back to back, and I'm a bit of a party planner, so I love these ones.
This first one is about rooms. So he is teaching the Pharisees and I think everybody, he's saying, when you come to a party, you don't take the best seat in the house. What you should do, whether you are the best person at the party or not, is take the lowest one. When you choose to take the lowest one, then you can be invited up and it elevates the whole room.
Everybody gets to be higher up when, when you choose to go down low. That's what he's been demonstrating in his entire public ministry. You know, he sits among sinners, he goes to places other people won't go. He, he calls tax collectors to be his apostles. You know, he's constantly saying, I'll take the lowest room because there's a promise that you will.
You will be [00:22:00] brought higher. Do you remember a few weeks ago when we talked about the arcade and that he was urging people to stop playing for tickets and play for something that lasts? You know, he doesn't want you to just seek what you can get in this life. And that's, I think what he's trying to warn them about.
So he says, an 11 far, however, exalted himself shall be aas. And he, that humble himself shall be exalted. And then he said, then he said also to him that bait him when thou make us to dinner or a supper call not thy friends or their brother, and neither th kinsman nor thy rich neighbors, unless they also bid the again and a recompensed be made.
The, but when thou make us a feast, call the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind, and then a 14. And thou shall be blessed for they cannot recompense the, for thou shall be recompensed at the resurrection of the just. He's saying if you take tickets in this life, if you play a game to get the dump tickets and the stupid prize in the glass case, you've got your reward.
Dig deeper. You know, these Pharisees have a tendency to. Trust in that automatic birth that they get to [00:23:00] be in the kingdom of Heaven. So when they come to this, You know, spiritual party, they plant themselves in the top room and he's saying to them like, oh no, you're here to serve that Abraham, Abraham covenant that you cherish.
That's all about putting yourself in the bottom room and serving everyone else, elevating everyone else. And so he pulls at them to understand it with this parable, and then you go a little bit further. You see a warning parable about a party. So this one's often called like the Great Supper. This is when the Lord has, you know, prepared a great feast and it almost makes it seem like everybody's RSVPed already because if you look in the verses in 16, it says, and then he sent a said unto them, a certain man made a great supper and bathed many, and sent a servant at suppertime to say to them that we're forbidden.
Come for all things are now ready. I'm a little sensitive to the, because honestly, you guys, I've done so many parties. The hardest part of all party planning for me is the R S V P phase. I hate it so much [00:24:00] because here's what happens. My whole heart goes into planning a party, like when I do a Halloween party and it's this gigantic scavenger hunt with, you know, clues and my whole goal with that is not to look cool.
In fact, a lot of it is anonymous and nobody even knows it's me hosting. My whole goal is just to get people together because I've seen everywhere we've lived. When I do things like that, the ward gets closer, friendships get made, and I'm not trying to aggrandize my own efforts here. I, it's not like this is the only reason that happens.
I've just seen beautiful friendships come from those parties. I've seen such cool things happen because people get together in a weird, fun, creative way. What is so hard is when I put out those invitations, cuz I'm ready, like I'll do all the work, I'll spend all the money, I'll do everything to get this feast ready so that people can come and then.
You wait and then people don't rsvp and you are like, what? You know, cuz it's so hard to put your whole heart out there and all this time and all this effort [00:25:00] and people are just like, nah. Yeah, but I think I might have a practice for my daughter's recital that day so I just can't make it. Or, or they don't respond at all.
And that's sort of what happens in this parable. So the servant goes out to tell all those who were invited, okay, it's time to come to the feast that you said you were gonna come to. And then they make excuses over and over again, different excuses. Oh, I've bought a piece of ground. Oh I've got a yo of oxen.
Oh, I got married. Oh, like all these different excuses come and so they don't come to the feast. What's really powerful to me is what this lord of the party does next. Instead of shutting down the way I was, he says, okay, we, we have all this ready. Remember, it's the idea of like not building a bigger barn.
He's like, I've got all this ready. Who else can we invite? So then he goes out and he invites the lame and the mame and the like the those who are on the margins. And he says, come in and com feast. And then there's still room left over. So then in 23, the Lord said unto the servant, go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in that my house may [00:26:00] be filled.
He is not worried about impressing people and he's not worried about having a. You know, a certain type of party. What he's trying to do is let people feast. That's all he wants. He wants people to feast, and those who made excuses lost their chance, and I think this is what he's trying to teach to the Pharisees, but also to every one of his disciples.
Like you have all as children of Abraham, been invited to this feast where you're supposed to come and fill up so that then you can take this gospel out to all the world and this priesthood that you get to carry, that it will bless the lives of everyone around you. You are supposed to come to this feast and you're making all kinds of excuses, and so then the gospel's gonna roll beyond.
It's gonna go to the Gentiles, it's gonna go to everyone else who will now do this mighty work. I actually think it's a really, really important metaphor for all callings because I think God's work will still roll forward. It may go clun if you don't show up for your calling, but his work will [00:27:00] continue and this gospel will grow.
What's sad is you miss out on the feast. For me, the reason I think this happens is cuz you just aren't hungry or you don't think you are. The reason you make an excuse and you don't go to the feast is cuz you don't feel that hungry. It's kinda like when my kids come home and they like eat four bowls of cereal after school and then when it comes to dinnertime where they could actually get something that would fuel them and help them, like make it on their fifth grade the next day or whatever, they're full and so they're not hungry and so they miss out on the feast and I think that's the warning for us too.
I feel like this with my temple attendant sometimes. It's like he's prepared this feast and all I have to do is drive the five minutes to get there and I. Don't, you know, I, I have all kinds of reasons. Like, oh, I bought an ox, or I got a field, or, I, I have good excuses, but he's like, Maria, there's a feast and I actually need you to be hungry for it so that you can do the work that really matters.
Come to the feast, stop making excuses. And I did. The more I read it, the more I was [00:28:00] like, oh, this is about me. So hopefully you'll get that feel as well. It'll, it'll drive you to do a little bit better in your discipleship. In fact, speaking of discipleship, that's where he goes next. So at the end, he talks about the cost of discipleship, and you can go into the parable.
He talks a little bit more about how none of you go into any project without counting the cost. So I think the example he gives, like if you were gonna build a tower, you'd go carefully and you'd make sure you have enough money and that you have the supplies you need to build a tower. He wants us to have that same approach when it comes to discipleship.
He wants us to be all in. In fact, one of my favorite parts is again, in A J S T. So if you look on the J s T of 27 B, this is where he talks about what it means to be a disciple. He talks about how anybody who's gonna come to me is gonna need to carry their cross and be a disciple. But the J s T says, therefore, settle this in your hearts that you will do the things which I shall teach and command you.
It's that settle in your heart piece that I really loved. That's his invitation, like settle in your hearts that when he invites you to a feast, you will come and you will come hungry. In fact, there's a B Y U [00:29:00] devotional that talked about this, and she talked about how not just to come and come hungry, but also to come with a positive attitude of like, I'm gonna come expecting to be filled.
I'm gonna come expecting that whatever I thought was good enough that I was getting in my mortal world is nowhere near the kind of feast I get when I come to his table. It's that kind of disciple that I wanna be somebody who settles in my heart that I'm, I'm coming to the feast and I'm coming hungry and I'm coming ready so that I can do whatever he needs me to do next.
[00:29:37] LUKE 15
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Guys, if you had to make one chapter to study this week, cause you're short on time, make it Luke 15. This is where you're gonna see the three parables, the parable lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal sun backed back. It's just rich with imagery and the doctrine is so good like the, you just don't wanna miss Luke 15.
It starts in an interesting place though when you go in verse one, you see that they drew near on Tim, all the Republicans [00:30:00] and the sinners fought to hear him. I actually love just that one verse because basically what that means is they feel safe around him the way he teaches and his Christ-like poise that we talked about actually draws people in his way of elevating without pushing anyone down, draws even those who are on the margins and who have been cast out of every other society towards him.
And that is, that is something. Magical, you know, that he can, he can accomplish that on its own is pretty remarkable. Sadly, that same magnetism also draws in opponents. So you can see in two, the Pharisees describes murmured saying, this man receives sinners, Edith with them. Sometimes I wonder if they said that really loudly or pointedly hoping to push down.
These would be believers and I sometimes wonder if the parables that come after this are this balm. You know, like you could see the savior almost hoping to put [00:31:00] all their worries to rest. Like, because the whole point of all these parables, we learned this in conference from Elda, is it's simply to teach about the worth of souls that, that each one of them is worth.
An infinite amount to the Lord. And so he will make an infinite sacrifice to find them and to bring them home. And you can get into the notes and learn more about each one individually. There's differences and similarities. So for example, there's differences in the numbers, right? In the first one, it's one compared to 90 and nine, and in the second, the lost coin, it's one lost coin compared to nine others.
When you go into the two sons, it's, you know, one and one. So you can see some differences in the numbers, but you also see some beautiful similarities. For example, I really think in each of these stories, there is a, a moment of rejoicing despite the circumstances. I wish I knew how to articulate this well, but when I picture the savior picking up the lost sheep, you know, I, I.[00:32:00]
I don't picture a big, fluffy, pretty sheep. I picture something that's been lost in the wilderness. That's what you see when you go on the verses. So it says what, man? This is in verse four. What man of you having a hundred sheep if you lose one of them, does not leave the 90 and nine in the wilderness and go after that, which is lost until he finds it.
In fact, if you look at the J S T, it teaches that it's actually he goes into the wilderness to find the lost one and that the others presumably are in a safe place. But he goes and he seeks out the lost one. And if there's a sheep that has wandered all the way into the wilderness, it's not gonna be fluffy, it's not gonna be white.
It's probably gonna be a. Thin, it's probably gonna be scared. It's probably gonna be wounded in some way, or at least filthy, you know, like that's, that's what happens when a sheep wanders and I, the, the image of him putting that kind of sheep on his shoulders and carrying it home actually mirrors for me what the prodigal son story shows.
You know, when this boy finally comes home, he's probably thin, you know, there's been a famine in the land. He's probably dirty. [00:33:00] He's probably hungry. He's sad cuz he knows he's disappointed, his dad. And he is, that's the kind of. Visual. You want a picture? When you see this father put the robe and the ring and the shoes on his son, it is that broken, sad sheep poop is finally coming home.
And I just think that's the message he's trying to send to these sinners and publics. Like, I don't care what you've been through and I don't care how you got here. I will put you on my shoulders, I will give you the robe and I will bring you home. Just come with me. I wish I could go through every single verse and we, we don't, it would take too long.
But let me show you a few things I think you don't wanna miss. Um, I do really love the doctrine that's in here about a sinner repenting and the joy that comes from it. It can get a little tricky to understand it, and this is just my take on it. Um, but it's hard because basically what happens is the savior says there's more joy in heaven among the angels when a sinner repents than when the 90 and nine [00:34:00] sheep that.
Didn't need repentance, stayed on the path. And that can be kinda hard to read cuz we all have that older brother prodigal vibe in us. But I, here's what I think is beautiful about it. Um, I think essentially what he's saying is when you use the atonement of Jesus Christ, there is joy. Yeah, we saw that with Lehigh.
When you look at the tree of life, it represents the love of God and the fruit of the love of God is the atonement of Jesus Christ. When we partake of the atonement of Jesus Christ, there is joy, not just in us, but in all the people who love us. You know, cuz we, there are wounds that happen when we sin or when we depart from the covenant path, or even just when we separate from God in some way.
So the, that separation, when it gets filled, You know, I almost picture it like if you've ever refinished a table, I had to refinish this table that's out in our living room years ago. And there were some places, this was a super old table. We inherited it from Jason's parents, and there were some places that had big gouges and some just light scratches.
So I had to take that putty, you know, and fill [00:35:00] in all those spots, and some places took a lot more putty than others, but the end result was everything looked the same. You know, he had this beautiful, glossy surface all around. I actually think that's what's happening when repentance happens, when we partake of the fruit of the atonement of Jesus Christ and take it into ourselves.
We are filling those gouges and there is joy whenever that is used in us and in our ancestors, and in anybody else who's vested in our success. I just think that's what that phrase means. It it, there is joy. You know, I've said that quote from Elder Maxwell so many times to you guys, but. I love the one where he talks about the cavity, that suffering carbs into our hearts will one day be the receptacle of joy.
I think that's the message there is joy. Whenever we finally feel full and the deeper those wounds, the more joy is needed to, to fill them. So, so I don't think we have to stress too much about those verses when you go into the Prodigal son story, we're gonna go a little slower through those, but he [00:36:00] talks about his two sons.
So this begins around 11 and you, you see the son interacting with his father and he basically says he wants his inheritance. So if you look at the verse, it says, father, give me the portion of goods that fall with to me. And he divided unto them his living. A couple things are interesting to me about this verse.
First, I think that. Verb choice is really interesting. The inheritance that fall lith to him, I think this son is sort of used to getting things that just fall to him. You know, he's entitled, he feels entitled to this inheritance and he wants it now. And it's really powerful to me that the father chooses to give it to him.
In go in the notes, there's some great quotes about this. Um, I'm sure he tried lots of other things to convince his son to stay. I'm sure he tried to teach him about industry and how to earn his own living if he would just stay and learn the workings of this farm. And I'm sure he tried and ultimately he had to make a choice to let him go.
So he does probably sell off some of his land [00:37:00] and lets his son take his inheritance and go knowing where that road leads, but knowing that as his father, he can't. Chase after him. You know, the same way Lehigh couldn't chase after his son's in that dream, he stays by the tree and he keeps demonstrating what it's like to partake of the fruit.
And then he watches and he hopes there's a beautiful conference talk from Elder Nielsen a couple years ago. It's in the notes. I, I pulled out a few different pieces of it cuz he talks about this where he had a sister who left for a season and how they had to let her go. And, um, that's different than losing a sheep or a coin when it's a person and they want to go, you have to let them go.
Trusting that you will continually be praying for them, watching for them, and waiting for their return, ready to run, I think was his phrase. Um, some other things you'll see in the verses. Uh, I really love what happens with the famine because I think the father's probably praying for his son all the time.
Right. Just like all of us would. I think it's what you see with Alma that he prayed for his son, that [00:38:00] they would, you know, Alma, the younger would. Changed. And in this situation, a mighty famine comes. This isn't an answer to this father's prayer per se. Right? It, it doesn't solve his problem. It doesn't make his son come home now, but the famine comes and it does make his son pivot.
It changes his son's trajectory. That's what I meant when I was talking about that Gumble machine image, right? I told you like when I think about a prayer, if I say a prayer for one of my kids, I actually think it's like having a gumball released outta that machine and it slowly working its way to me. I think when this famine hits, it's kinda like seeing that gumball halfway down because things are gonna change for this boy all of a sudden what he hoped would happen and the friends he thought he had disappear and he's left alone.
So if you see he's struggling, he's trying to work, he goes in the fields and he tries to earn a living and he can't, and he's hungry and he gets this visual in his mind of. His father's house. It's really similar to Alma, the younger who in that moment of distress catches a glimpse of his [00:39:00] father's teaching.
You know, like when I picture Alma, the younger, I don't picture him sitting on the front row of his dad's lectures. You know, I, I'm sure he was in the back. I'm sure he was annoyed that he was there. I'm sure he was saying little snotty things to his friends. Like I just don't think he was listening to his dad.
But the spirit brought that back so that in that pivotal moment, Alma, the younger could remember his father's words about the savior and catch hold. And that's what you see happen here. He remembers his father's compassion towards the servant and his mind catches hold of that thought. And so he has this idea, maybe he can go back.
It, he, maybe he can go back and just be one of his father's servants. So he makes a plan and he is gonna, he almost is practicing his speech as he walks, cuz he is talking about what he is gonna say to his dad that he doesn't need to be his son anymore. He just wants to be a servant. And then you just, I mean, you really can't elaborate on these verses cuz they're so beautifully written.
Um, so this is what happens. He arose, so after he comes to himself, that's this understanding of like, I'm gonna find myself and I'm gonna bring myself [00:40:00] back home. He arose in 20 and he came to his father, but when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.
And the son, son said unto him, father, I have sinned against heaven and in sight and I'm no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, bring forth the best robe and put him, put it on him and put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet. The father's response, I think, is supposed to evoke.
Heart. You know, like think of all the people who are listening to the Savior's words, who feel so estranged. And there probably is a big gap between them and where they wanna be. And what he is saying is like, as soon as you turn towards God, as soon as you begin to come to yourself, God will run and close that gap.
I know the abyss between you and God looks enormous. Trust that as soon as you turn towards him, [00:41:00] he will run to meet you. There will be work to do. There's gonna be work for the sun to do, but there is, that gap will be crossed and you will be embraced. I just can only imagine what this must have felt like to those who were listening.
I just think it's, you know, the spirit is just so full in those stories of compassion. It teaches you something about how your father and heaven feels about you and how he aches to have you home. I just think it's. Gorgeous the way it's written. Then you a little bit further and you see what happens to the other son.
So they're celebrating because the son comes home, so they kill the fatted calf and they all celebrate. And the son, other son, the older son is out in the fields. Don't he kinda love that he's out in the fields, you know, it implies the kind of son he is, that he is just this hard worker. He's probably had to do double the work ever since his brother left, he has been loyal and diligent and he hears the celebrating and he doesn't know what's happening.
And so he asked the servants, and the servants tell him, your brother is home and he is safe [00:42:00] and sound. And then in 28 and he was angry and would not go in, therefore came his father out and intrigued him. I love both those parts. I think this is so human right, that he is angry. He has been loyal and I think what's important to understand is like this son would've had the exact same ta, some same opportunities for temptation that his little brother had.
You know, he, he had to deal with those same. Temptations and he chose not to give in. He chose not to turn to an adulterous lifestyle or to waste inheritance, or he chose to stay and to work. And so he's angry and I love the way his father responds. His father comes out to him in the midst of all this party and he's probably grabbed a whole bunch of people.
He goes out to his son in the field and he finds him because both of these sons, in one way or another are lost. I think they both represent what happens anytime there is sin. It separates you from God. So with the younger brother, his [00:43:00] choices separated him from God. With the older brother, it's his pride and his entitlement that is getting in the way.
And so the father closes the gap and he speaks to him. I just love what he says. So it says, he talks, the older brother talks about how you didn't give me anything to celebrate. Like you're giving this younger brother. Why? Why are you doing this? And then 30. But as soon as this thy son was come, which had devoured, thy living with harks, thou has killed him for the house, killed for him.
The fatted cat. I love that he says thy son, cuz this happens all the time. Whenever someone is misbehaving in our family. Even like when our grandson is over, I'll be like, Hey Jason, your grandson is dirty. Can you chase dive? Hey Jason, your son just wrecked the card. Do you wanna talk to him? It's this, you know, like this is your child, not mine.
And you can see that happening with this brother. He's like, your son did all these things and then you get the father's response. And he said unto him, son, thou ever with me And all that I have [00:44:00] is th it was me that we should make Mary and be glad for this type brother was dead and is alive again and was lost and is found.
It's that phrase, um, th are ever with me, that I think is where the power is. I think what the father understands that the son doesn't is that the real inheritance is not in property, and it is not in wealth. The real inheritance is that he will be like his dad. He has been close to his dad all these years.
He's stayed diligent with his covenants and the commandments, so he's going to be a different kind of person. His younger brother, even though he's back home, can't make up that distance yet. It's gonna take time for him to get back what is lost. And the older brother, because of his loyalty and diligence, he will be like the father, and that is the real inheritance.
It is spiritually our inheritance that as we choose to stay close to God, whether we've wandered off the path and come [00:45:00] back, or we have been on it diligently and then just. Ache. Uh, when we choose to stay close to God, we change and we inherit, and there is rejoicing that happens. I, I know it's everybody's got their own personal stories that you could relate to this one, but I love the understanding that his son that was lost probably wasn't lost from the day he took the inheritance and left town.
I think this father's probably been aching for his son since his teen years. When he started to watch him wander, you know, he's been trying to pull him back for probably a decade or two, hoping that something would happen that would bring him really home. And now his son is a home, but not just a home.
He is repentant, you know, he is. Sorrowing, he is in this state of contrition that he is home to me. He is like this, you know, lump of clay that is ready now to be molded by this dad who can't wait to [00:46:00] help him change. And, and that is one of the most beautiful promises in all of scripture. So you can see why I love Luke 15.
[00:46:14] LUKE 16
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I don't know if it's because I love Luke 15 so much that Luke 16 was hard, but when I first got into Luke 16, I was like, wait, what this, there's a parable. It's called the parable of the unjust steward, which is essentially there's a rich man who takes an accounting of a situation and he threatens to fire the steward cuz he is mismanaged funds.
And so the steward goes out and collects debts from all the people, but instead of collecting the full debt, he negotiates with people and gets a portion of the debt paid off and then promises them that they will be able to like, Coast. If they'll stay friends with him, they can, they can get away with this and it's hard to understand who is represented here.
The best help I found was actually in an enzyme article. I linked to it several times in the notes. I, once I read his analysis of it, I think he was one of the [00:47:00] 70. He, it opened up understanding for me on this one. Basically the messages, since we don't have time to go into all the verses, I thought the messages that he pulled out were really valuable.
He talked about how. In this parable, you need to understand that the word Lord isn't necessarily representing the Lord. So in lots of other parables, when they say the Lord of the vineyard or something like that, it represents God or it represents Jesus Christ. And in this one, this is just a story of a rich man.
And so you need to disassociate those two things. He also talks about how when that rich man commends the steward for doing this negotiation, he's, you wanna pay attention to what he commends him for. That's, I think, where the meat of the parable is. So a few things he pulled out, he talks about how you need to use your resources carefully.
That's a, that's something the Lord encourages us to do, that we need to be self-sufficient and we need to use our resources carefully. And another one he talks about is that you, there is value in making friends righteously with those who have power. I thought this was, was really interesting to read. He talked about how [00:48:00] there is benefit.
You never wanna compromise your connection to God and you never wanna make any compromises. But there is value in making friends and people with. With people in high places, which is really interesting when you think about things like conference, right? We were just talking about in conference, how, I can't remember, I think it was Elder Raz Band where he talked about all the work that had been done in Ghana, and then he mentioned that the king of Ghana was actually in the audience and called them your majesty.
Like I think that's what this is. They're not compromising any commandments. You're not in any way, you know, losing sight of your purpose, but there is wisdom in making alliances with people who are empowered righteously. So I think there's some actually cool guidance for that, and we see a lot of precedent with that, with the general authorities.
So there's some of that in this parable. And then another one is he talked about how those who manage their, their finances well, their, their stewardship, well probably also can manage their spiritual stewardship well too. So that oftentimes those things are taught together. We are taught to be [00:49:00] self-sufficient, to take care of what we've been given, cuz that sort of lends itself to a healthier spiritual life as well.
So that's some of the things you can get out of that parable. But you can go in the notes and go a little bit deeper if you'd like. When you go a little further, you see a second story about another rich man and a beggar. This beggar's name is Lazarus. So basically what happens is there's a rich man who.
Has a very comfortable life. They talk about how he's dressed in purple ropes and now he has this, you know, he's always full. And how there's a beggar outside his gate who hopes for the crumbs of his table. The rich man isn't named Lazarus, the beggar is named, and then they both die. So in the verses they're both taken up.
And Lazarus, the beggar is taken into Abraham's bosom, which is just another phrase for spirit paradise. And the rich man is taken down to spirit prison. And in this situation, he like pleads with Abraham saying, please let Lazarus come and just like drip some water on my mouth. I just, you know, need help from him.
And there is this gulf. Here's what's [00:50:00] interesting to me. A couple things. First, I think it's interesting how. You see how people handle their stewardship. This rich man was given a very abundant stewardship and instead of sharing it or opening the gate for people like Lazarus, he maybe let the crumbs fall out here and there, but didn't open up.
And so I think it's the same thing we talked about before with the arcade. Basically, this rich man has taken his tickets. He got, he got what he ordered in life, and Lazarus, on the other hand, used his stewardship, well, I had to kind of dig for this one, but when you think about it, he was a beggar and he sat at the gate hoping for the crumbs.
It helped me to think about all the other alternatives he could have taken, you know, as a beggar. He could have stolen, he could have hurt people. He could have done a lot of things. I mean, you look at his life, like it says, he laid outside the gate and he was full of sores, and the dogs came over and licked his sores.
Like this is a miserable plot of the vineyard that he's been planted in. [00:51:00] And he chooses to. At least be honest. I I, you know, you don't know much about his story, but the very fact that he's taken to Spirit Paradise tells you that he did the best he could with his hard lot in life, and that allows him to head up to Spirit Paradise.
And I just think it's this warning. To all of us. You know, that parable of the slope that we talked about that we're supposed to pay attention to the gifts we've been given and the shoulders that we are standing on, you know, the, the vineyards that we are harvesting that we did not plant. I, I think it's a, a warning about that, but it's the gulf that I think is, I.
Intriguing. So that's where you seem 26. And besides all this, between you, us and you, there is a great gulf fixed so that they, which would pass from hence to you cannot, neither can they pass to us. That would come from it from vis. So he's saying between spirit prison and spirit paradise, there is this gulf and we can't cross even if we wanted to and you can't get to us.
And what's really powerful about that is the savior, when he is, when he's [00:52:00] crucified and resurrected, he becomes this bridge. We read about that in the doctrine covenants, right? Where people in spirit paradise can now minister and take care of and teach those in spirit prison and that he becomes the bridge.
But at this point in time, in Luke 16, there is this great gulf that can't be passed over.
[00:52:25] LUKE 17
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I read a talk from Howard W Hunter where he pointed out the big reasons people choose to do good and that they're almost this continuum. They start with fear and then it shifts to duty and then it shifts to love. And that's actually what I think you see in this chapter cuz he is encouraging the disciples who want to increase their faith to.
Shift out of duty mode and into love mode where they are motivated out of the love for the savior now because it's what they were supposed to do. That's how you increase your faith. So at the beginning you're gonna see 'em talk about stumbling. We've covered that. It's the millstones, like if you cause someone [00:53:00] to stumble or cause someone to their faith to diminish, you've got some heavy consequences coming your way.
But it's this increase of faith that I wanna focus on. So if you look in five, they, they say to him, these apostles Lord increase our faith. So this is when he talks to 'em about duty and he gives him a parable. That sort of is what he's saying is like there is a man who hires servants to come and do work in his house and then when he comes home and sees the servants doing that work, he's not gonna praise them cuz that's what he hired them to do.
The money is the payment for them doing the work. And it reminds me a little bit of like. My kids when they complain about never getting allowance, we've never given our kids allowance. There's always money jobs if you wanna do money jobs, but I don't pay you to do like your regular jobs. Cause I feel like that's the cost of living in my house.
And it's kind of the same thing here. He's like, you are gonna have to take it to the next level. If you wanna increase your faith. You can't just do your duty. It needs to be driven from a deeper motive. This is where that motivation of love needs to come in. And I think the way he demonstrates this [00:54:00] story is by the miracle of the 10 lepers, which is also in this chapter.
Because when you go in verse 12, it says, and he entered into a certain village and they met him, 10 men that were lepers, which stood a far off. And they lifted up their voices and said to Jesus, master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, go show yourselves unto the priests. And they came to pass that as they went, they were cleansed.
I love that piece of the story. I think it was Michelle Craig who talked about this in her conference talk, but this idea of like, it's almost the same thing you see with the Jordan River. Like they had to step into the Jordan River before it would part it is this, you've gotta choose to believe that this can happen and then on your way it happens.
What's interesting is only one of them turns around. It almost sounds like he turned around in the middle of the moment. You know, cuz it says, and one of them when he saw he was healed, turned back and with a loud voice, glorified God and fell down on his face at his feet and giving him thanks. And he was a Samaritan and Jesus answering said, we're not their 10 cleanse, but where are the nine?
And there [00:55:00] are not found that return to give glory to God. Save this stranger. And he said unto him, arise, go thy way. Faith whole. I actually think this is, A demonstration of doing something out of love and not out of duty. This leper who chooses to come back, he doesn't just say thank you. He doesn't just turn around and shout it back.
He comes and he falls at the Savior's feet and shows a love, a love for this person who has healed him. I think it's actually a demonstration of what the Savior was talking about. What I love is the piece that you get when you add in what the Book of Mormon teaches us. So if you look in 10 verse 10 of Luke 17, you can see that he talks about being unprofitable servants, and he's trying to teach these apostles that if you just do your duty, you're actually not a profitable servant.
In fact, you can never be a profitable servant because the promise that you learned from in the Book of Warman, from King Benjamin is that. You always get rewarded back. I was reading a quote from Elder Maxwell and he basically said like, for every ounce of obedience you offer, you get a [00:56:00] bushel of blessings back.
You can never be in, you know, like the Lord will never be in debt to you because he can't wait to bless you. And I think that's what you see with the leper. So he actually is healed of his disease. But then after he comes back and shows this outpouring of love, not just duty but love, then the savior gives him even more and he's made whole nine lepers.
Were cleansed 10. There's only one of the 10 that is made whole. I just think, I don't even know what that means. If this means he's forgiven of sins, if it means he I, I don't know, and it doesn't matter. What I do know is it's more than just being cleanse of leprosy. It is a completeness that is, An outpouring of blessings.
Yeah, he will be an unprofitable servant cuz even though he tried to love and show compassion to the savior for this gift, he got a whole bunch more in return. And that's always the arithmetic when it comes to dealing with the Lord. When you go a little bit further, you see some guidance about the second coming.
So again, sort of like what we talked about [00:57:00] before, he gives some warnings that the second coming is in process because he is here. You can go in the Joseph's translation and see a little more about that. He also warns about how it's not gonna look like what they anticipated. When the Xavier comes. It's not gonna be this political upheaval that everyone.
Thought would happen, it's gonna look different and they need to keep their eyes open. Remember he's talking mostly to his apostle. So this is kind of targeted teaching and I love what he says about lightning. So it says in 24, for as the lightning that light us out under one part under heaven, shy us out to the other part under heaven.
So shall be the son of man in this day. He's gonna come in one place, but it will light up everywhere. You know when even in a big storm and you see this bolt of lightning and it flashes through the whole sky. That's a piece of that is like what we'll see in the second coming when he comes, it will, you know, I've wondered that, you know, like it talks about him touching his foot on the mount of olive of a sudden.
I'm like, how will we know? Clear over here. And I, I think the lightning is a really good visual for it. Um, when you go a little bit further, he talks about what has to come [00:58:00] first. Sometimes I wonder how he always knows that. Even when he's in Jerusalem that he's not gonna be able to be killed because you know, I think a big piece of it is because the atonement hasn't happened.
He can't be killed before this suffering phase occurs. And that's what he talks about in 25. But first, but first must he suffer many things and be rejected of this generation. So he is tying the atonement of Jesus Christ and putting it in the middle between where they are now. Then there's the atonement, and then the second coming can come way down the road, but you need this piece first.
So he talks about that and then he talks about how lot's wife, he basically references Noah's day and Lots day, these two destruction times, and talks about how people. Didn't see and didn't listen and that, that will happen at the second coming, that there, there will be abundant signs and prophets and warnings and people will disregard and then he warns about remembering lot's wife who turned back.
This was interesting to me after we'd studied the Old Testament, cuz I loved studying about lot's. Wife I thought was, [00:59:00] what was hard about her situation is a lot of her family didn't leave the city. And so you could see where she was conflicted and she'd want to go back. In fact, elder Holland has a great talk all about this story.
He talks about how she longed to go back to lifestyle, not just to go back to the city. She, she turned back and so he warns about that. I think it ties into what we learned about the cost of discipleship, where he was asking us to be all in, like, just settle your hearts and choose to be all in because you don't wanna be like lot's wife where you are caught in the middle of decision, you'll, you'll frantically struggle and he wants you to be.
Fully invested and fully focused, and you can't have it both ways. Can't serve two masters.
[00:59:49] JOHN 11
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Okay. In addition to Luke 15, you also really shouldn't skip John 11. This is the story of Lazarus being raised from the dead. It's this pivotal miracle on the [01:00:00] way to Jerusalem. You know, like as a savior is inching towards that Passover time. There is this miracle that will be undeniable like many people will see it.
It will be an incredible feat that has never been accomplished like it is here, and it is something that will. Cause a lot of belief and cause a lot of people to turn violently against him. So let's see how it plays out. First, you know, you're back in Bethany. So what's interesting about Bethany is this is where Mary and Martha and Lazarus live.
So these are siblings and they all live in Martha's house. Again, I don't know if that means she's a widow or what her situation is, but they all live together in Martha's house and this is the place where Jesus and his disciples have found respite in the past and Lazarus is sick. So Lazarus is the brother, and as Jesus is away, Mary and Martha write to Jesus to say, our brother, who you love is sick.
I just love that little edition. I just think they're, they're trying to hint, you know, I, I think they understand that he's busy and they don't wanna interrupt him, and they don't even [01:01:00] wanna stop him. I actually wonder if they're thinking of things like the Centurion servant, you know, how Jesus healed from a distance in that case, and because they know that about the Savior, I think it must have made it so much harder.
That Lazarus didn't, didn't get well. I just say this from my own personal experience, like it, it's so hard when you know someone could heal or you know, the savior could grant you a blessing and he doesn't, and you don't know why. And I just, so my heart goes out to these women, um, because I know Jesus loves them.
In fact, it's what you see in five that I think is interesting. It says, now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. All three of these people had reason to doubt that the savior truly loved them because he didn't solve their problem. And the very fact that they still are loyal to him is a really powerful witness to me.
I think it says where their hearts are, he loves them, but the [01:02:00] Savior's way of showing love is not the world's way. His thoughts are not our thoughts. So he sees this opportunity to. Do something that will last. This is a miracle that will last. I mean, it is still this pivotal point in the entire Bible. It is something that will last.
And so rather than just healing Lazarus of his sickness, he chooses to delay so that he can create a miracle that will. Send ripples throughout the centuries, that's what you see play out. So he tells his apostles who see the letter come that Lazarus is sleeping and they're gonna go to him. They don't understand what that means.
And so he ends up clarifying in verse 14, and Jesus said unto, unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. And I'm glad for your sakes that I was not there to the intent that you may believe, nevertheless, let us go to him. I think that phrase, I'm glad that I wasn't there, it actually reminded me of, uh, president Nelson.
Do you remember when he was talking about if he'd had the keys of resurrection, he would've been tempted to bring his daughter and his first [01:03:00] wife back because it was so hard to lose them. I just think there's a piece of that here. He's like, if I had been there, my compassion would've over fought. I don't know if that's what he means, but I just think he's, he's finding a way to make all things work together for their good.
And so he's saying, I, I can make something of this and it. It will change your hearts. You were asking me for increased faith. Come and see what will happen in Bethany. So they go and they go to the sister's house, but before they get there, there's this really pivotal moment with Thomas. So this is around verse 16.
So they know Bethany is really close to Jerusalem. Like you can walk there in what, 10 minutes or something? We did it when we did that tour, and it's really close, which means he's in really great danger if he goes to Bethany. He's been kind of in the outlying areas for a while because there are so many people who want him dead.
So to go to Bethany is I. Dangerous. In addition to the fact that it's close to Jerusalem, it's also very public. You know, funerals were public. You carried the body through the streets. People came from all [01:04:00] over to mourn. There's professional mourners calling attention to the house, like to go There is a very public display.
And so they're worried for his safety and you have to love what Thomas is. So this is in 16 Thomas, which is called Dimus unto his fellow disciples, said, let us also go that we may die with him. I think that's remarkable. You know, we think about Thomas as doubting Thomas, but he is, he is steady in this moment and he will die with the savior if needed.
So, I know Didis usually means twin or something, but I like to think of Thomas's. He, there's two sides to every coin, you know, he is, he's just like me. Like I have great moments and I have failures, and I love that we, we can remember him for both. Uh, I think it, it's powerful to remember him for both. You see that with Martha too.
She's gonna have her. Epic moment of testifying after the, the time in Bethany before where she was serving and encumbered much. So when you go, when the savior is coming, she rushes out to him to meet him and makes these three testimonies, um, and they [01:05:00] increase in power. So the first one she says, if thou had been here, my brother had not died.
You can read that to be like her complaining to the savior or even, you know, mourning to the savior. You also can read it like she knows that he had the power to do it. He just chose not to, and she's still there standing next to him. When Jason was first diagnosed, um, our old bishop Jason was called as Bishop just a few months before his diagnosis, and the one who'd just been released sent us this talk from Elder Bednar.
I'm sure you've read it, but it's about a young couple who has cancer, that the husband has cancer, and they talk about having the faith not to be healed. And, um, the, the hard that that requires to have, to pray with that kind of faith. It, it took time to get there. Um, but I think that's what's happening here.
Like she is someone who will testify of the savior, that he could have raised her brother if, if he had deemed it right, he just didn't. And that's okay. Like I don't think she's comfortable [01:06:00] in this moment, but I think she's settled because I think a long time ago she settled her heart about the savior and she knows who he is.
You know that cuz she continues on and she says in 22. But I know that even now whatsoever that will ask of God, God will give it the, and Jesus said unto thy brother shall rise again. And she says, I know he'll rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Like in this moment, she is basically saying, I know you had power to do it.
I know if you asked God the Father right now for permission to do it, you could do it. And the very fact that he doesn't turn and say, I'm gonna do it right now, and she still stands by him. I just think that tells you bolt loads about Martha's heart. She is settled. She is someone I admire. In fact, her third testimony is I think the most powerful of all.
Jesus said under I am the resurrection and the life he that believed in me. Though he were dead, yet he shall live and whosoever liveth and believe it in me shall never die. Believe us thou this and this is Martha's moment. Lord, I believe thou art the Christ, the son of God, which should come [01:07:00] into the world.
This God who didn't answer her prayer and who didn't heal him from a distance and who didn't raise him, and she doesn't know if that will happen anytime soon. She chooses to stand near him and say, yay Lord, I know thou art Christ. I mean, that is a, when you are in that much pain, if she is a widow and Lazarus is her brother, that's possibly her provider, it's her connection to hope in her society.
And Jesus could have healed him and he didn't. And that she can stand there and testify about him, I just think is remarkable. I think that's really hard. From my own personal experience, it's really hard and she, she's just strong. In fact, when I love as what happens in 28 and when she had so said, she went her way and called Mary that phrase, um, When I was struggling before and I read Hannah's story, so she's one who's hoping for this blessing of having a son, and she goes to [01:08:00] the temple and she prays to have a son.
And remember the priest comes and he tells her that she will indeed have a son. Sh. It's the same phrase as use. She went her way and was no more sad as what it says in Hannah's story. That scripture changed my heart towards cancer. Like I decided I could choose to rest on promises and be no more sad.
And I think that's what Martha is choosing. She's gonna rest on this promise and know that if her brother comes today or in the resurrection of the just, which is who knows how long down the road that she can rest on that promise and go her way and be no more sad. I just love Martha, like I just love her.
Mary does something really similar, so when Mary hears that the Savior's coming, she leaves those who are there to comfort her and she goes to the savior for. Morning. This is what's different about Mary's story. So if you go around 32, she says the same phrase, Lord, if thou had spin here, my brother had not died when Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also [01:09:00] weeping, which came with her.
He groaned in his spirit and he was troubled. He asks where they lay the body and then he weeps I, I think it's so poignant to see how he deals with these different sisters. They're different hearts, they're different testimonies. They're both different disciples of Christ and he deals with them differently.
You know, Mary is mourning and so he chooses to mourn with those that mourn. He stays in this moment, even though he knows he is gonna raise Lazarus and he. Mourns with her. He weeps for her that she is aching like this, that she's been in pain for days and he couldn't help her. He weeps in this moment. I think that's the big difference, right?
I actually circled the two. So in 31 it says there were those who are in her house to comfort her. And then in 33 and 35, you see how the savior mourns with those that mourns his. He's not comforting. He's there to grieve with her. The other thing I think is beautiful about this is Mary doesn't make any big statements about him being resurrected or this ending, and I [01:10:00] think the savior that he sits and weeps with her in this moment, his beautiful, because sometimes I think we're so quick when somebody passes away or when there is really intense pain to try to comfort and say things like, but it's all gonna be okay because of the resurrection, or It's all gonna be fine because we believe in heaven.
Like I. It is, all those things are gonna be fine, but you'll have to feel fine in those moments. You can feel ache and pain and still believe in eternal families. You can feel grief and loss and fall apart a little bit and still have a testimony. I think Mary demonstrates that for me, and I think the very fact that the savior chooses to weep with her in that moment instead of placating her or giving her these platitudes of it's all gonna get better.
I, I just, for me, there's so much to learn from the way the savior comforts, comforts Martha and comforts Mary in their own individual ways all before he actually really brings the miracle. It's [01:11:00] just incredible. So then he. They go to the place where Lazarus is laid behind a stone and he directs them to move the stone away.
I love this cuz of what we just learned in conference. I can't remember, it's in the notes, but remember how it wasn't like I think the Sunday session and he talked about how the Lord will ask us to do as much as we can do. So things like moving the stone away or the grave clothes being pulled away from Lazarus.
Those are things that we can do and he will step in and do the things that only he can do and only he can raise Lazarus from the dead. So there's this moment where Martha's worried cuz her brother's body has been there for four days and therefore is probably decomposing a little bit and will smell and she's worried.
And so he says to her in 40 said, I not that that was, if that was believed, I should see the glory of God. What I love about this verse, you guys is, I don't know where he said this. It's not in the previous verses. I mean maybe you could, I. Turn some of those to be similar to that. But I actually wonder if this is the message you tried to share with her when she was in the kitchen, when he [01:12:00] said to her, you are encumbered much.
You need to choose that good part. What if this is the lesson he was teaching her? What if that when she sat down the dishes and the dinner and she came and sat his feet, he was teaching her, I promise you're gonna see the glory of God, but in a hard moment. I need you to trust me. Like, because she chose to sit down, all that was encumbering her.
She could learn this lesson and then he could re write back so that she could feel settled in this hard, hard moment when this stone gets rolled away. So he thanks his father in heaven, even though the miracle hasn't happened yet. The stone is moved and there's no Lazarus yet. And then he calls him forth.
So this is in 43. And when he had thus spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus come forth, and he was dead. Came forth bound hand and foot with grave close and his face was bound and about with a napkin. And Jesus said unto him, lose him and let him go. I, I wish I had a lot more [01:13:00] time. There's a b y devotional that I read about the, this visual of the grave clothes.
That this is a beautiful metaphor for the atonement. That the savior will do what he can do to heal and to make whole what once was dead. And our job as a community of believers is to pull off the grave clothes of those who have changed, to let them shed their old lives and to let things lie. You know, like to free people of their troubles and their worries and their inadequacies and.
And comfort. I just think there's some beautiful parallels in here and so many believe cuz many see this miracle. And interestingly, when you get to the very end of this chapter, you see many believe in the, what is it? Verse 45 and then 47. And many intensified their hatred towards him. In fact, they, they get even self-righteous.
So you can see that Caiaphas, who is the high priest, so someone who works in the temple, he's the very peak [01:14:00] of all those who are working in this holy place. They choose to have the savior executed. In fact, they, they combine together to figure out how they're gonna execute him because of what they're afraid of feeling him, 48, if we let him, thus alone, all men will believe on him.
They've seen this miracle and it can't be denied. And the Romans shall come and take away both our place and our nation. That's their fear. They're afraid of losing power. And so they. Plot to execute the son of God. Um, it's just hard to wrap your head around it. Uh, but that's what they do. In fact, if you look in 53 from that day, fourth, they took counsel together for, to put him to death.
It sounds like the Book of Mormon to me, like I'm writing the end of Ether where they're talking about the secret combinations and how that destroyed a whole civilization. And you can see that they're heading right down this road. And then when you get a little bit further, you see that the Passover is coming close and they're starting to wonder if the savior will come.
And it just makes your heart ache a little bit. Like you can [01:15:00] see the incoming and it's coming all too fast. Um, and I imagine that's happening for the savior too, where he sees the incoming and he's desperately trying to teach. I think he, he still has his poise. I'm sure he's always controlled, but he must have felt that urgency to connect and to help people see what is right in front of their eyes.
And we're gonna get a whole bunch more of that next week in our study.
[01:15:32] CREATIVE PREVIEW
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You guys ready for the fun part of week 18? Okay. Here comes the creative side. My goal here, as always, is just to give you some ideas for object lessons that you could do to help your kids or your classes connect with these chapters. I mean, between like Luke 15 and John 11 and a whole bunch of other places, there are a lot of directions you could go.
So this is just to give you an idea. I'm gonna give you a quick preview of each of the object lessons, and then for those of who are in the full course, just stick around and I'll [01:16:00] walk you through each one individually and then give you the printables and the notes and all the stuff to help you pull them off.
But let me walk you through the three ideas first. So since this week, there's so much emphasis on. Appreciating the blessings God has given you and also not getting too attached to them in this life. He focuses the disciples attention on seeking treasures in heaven rather than those things that they can acquire on earth and why that's valuable.
So I thought it would be fun to make a treasure chest that's designed for heavenly treasures. So I created a printable that is just this cute little treasure chest that has the verses on it, but then also inside is room for. Gems. So in the printable, there's some gems you can print out and mark up with what heavenly treasures actually are with your class.
You also could turn this into kind of like a prize box. You know, you can put gold coins in it or something delicious in it, and teach your kids about what heavenly treasures are. Since it's testimony week on the chart. My hope is that with this week you'll take some time to also do just a mini [01:17:00] testimony meeting with your family or your class and help them realize how much their testimony is growing, especially about things like spiritual treasures.
So we'll get into that in just a minute. The second one, there's really nothing to hold up it this week, is Luke 15, which is all the parables of lost things. So I decided we needed to have a hide and go seek. Weak. But the goal here is that you will play a few different variations of hide and seek and then use that as a platform to talk about how the Lord seeks after those who are lost.
The same way we wouldn't stop a game in the middle and stop looking for people who are hidden in our house. The savior will not stop until he seeks out and finds all who are lost. And there's some really cool ways to tie that together and some fun variations on hide and seek that you probably have never tried before.
So I'll walk you through some of those here in just a minute. The third one is our most adventurous of the three. This one involves some fire. So I know there is a bunch of you in the course who are like my kids and love fire object lesson. So this one will not disappoint. This is to talk about [01:18:00] miracles.
I love the miracle of the raising of Lazarus. I really wanted to put a big spotlight on that for my kids cuz it's such an epic moment in, in so many disciples, testimonies. So I thought it would be fun to talk about an amazing unmatched feet. So we're gonna pull off a. Our own crazy event by making a balloon suck into a bottle really, really fast.
And I'm gonna teach you how to do it. So for this one, you simply need a bottle. We used a water bottle like this. You just wanna try and find one that has a narrower neck than the opening is. So if it has a big wide opening, it's not nearly as dramatic and cool. So try and find something that has a more narrow neck.
If you have a glass bottle like a milk bottle, that would work really well too, but either glass or metal is probably your best bet. And then you're gonna need a few water balloons. Ideally kind of small, these are just party balloons that I've only put a little bit of water in. I usually, I started off with like a golf ball size and then made a few larger ones as well.
You'll see those in the videos, but you just want a variety of relatively small water balloons. Then you need [01:19:00] some scrap paper. We used our kids' homework sheets and a lighter to light your fire, and I will show you what to do with it in just a second. You guys, I really love fire weeks, not just because they're really fun for my family, but also because I think it's really fun to watch your families do them.
The fire ones, you guys just tend to post a lot more, so you'll usually tag me in them and I get to watch throughout the week as you attempt these object lessons. So if that happens, tag me. I would love to see it. I'd love to repost it. It's really kind of the highlight of my week when I see these things actually tested out in your kitchen.
So put 'em to the test.
[01:19:35] WRAP UP
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Uh, speaking of Instagram, if you wanna join me, I do a live. Monday morning at 10:00 AM to kind of talk through the insights and then walk you through the object lessons quickly so that you can ask me questions. If you have any clarifications or questions, that's a good spot to catch me.
You also are welcome to just message me on the course if you're in the full course, or you can shoot me an email anytime. The other thing I would tell you is if you're hoping to share this course with somebody, um, you're welcome [01:20:00] to direct them to YouTube or direct them to the podcast. There's free options on both those places so at least they can get a feel for my teaching style and get an idea of what we do here in this course.
But I'm really grateful for those of you who have shared it, who've reviewed it and who do what you can to pass it on. So thank you so much for that. And you guys, I really hope you enjoy week 18. I I, there's a lot of beautiful verses to study and there's a lot of fun to be had. So enjoy this week and then come back next week cuz there's more good creative coming in week 19.