Hey everyone, welcome back.

This is week 46 of Creative Come Follow Me for the New Testament, and

this week we get to head into James.

In fact, we'll cover the whole book in one week.

It's only five chapters long and it's a really Lovely

departure from where we've been.

We've read a lot of Paul and Hebrews, which sounds a lot like Paul, and

now you get a whole different flavor.

So, James is not written by at least most scholars.

Don't believe it's from the member of the First Presidency, James,

because he's martyred really quickly after the Savior's death.

Um, this is likely the half brother of Jesus himself.

So this is someone who knows the Savior intimately and has his own take on things.

I honestly feel like it's a lot like Proverbs in that so many of the verses

You could tuck inside a fortune cookie and it would make this beautiful, helpful

verse, just isolated all on its own.

But I think what's important to understand about James is

all this wisdom is hard won.

This is, if this is all coming from one man, this is a lot of guidance

given from a lifetime of experience.

So it helps, I think, to understand the heart of James.

And we don't have a lot of context about his life story.

We just know a few key things.

For example, we do know that after the Savior's death, the Savior visits James.

In his resurrected form, he visits James.

I don't know the context of that visit.

I don't know anything about it other than it occurred.

But it does help me understand a little bit about their connection.

I just think, as someone, we know from from earlier studies in the New Testament,

that the brothers, the half brothers of the Savior did not always follow him.

In fact, to some degree, it sounds like they didn't until

his death or right after.

And so, it's, you wonder sometimes if, if there's a lot of feelings of

lost time, you know, where you wish you could do things differently.

And I wonder that sometimes with James.

Again, I, this is just conjecture on my part, but I think it helps me.

See these verses differently to think about who he is now, because after

the Savior has ascended, James becomes a stalwart leader in the church.

He's over one of the hardest zones.

He covers Jerusalem, which is a very delicate balance of keeping relations open

with the Jews and building this new faith.

And that's a tough spot to be in.

And we've read a little bit about him in that role throughout.

you know, the second half of the New Testament.

So you kind of want to keep that in mind.

The other thing that's helpful is to think about what he had to lead through.

So in Jerusalem, there's revolts that are happening against the Romans.

There are, there's a lot of tumult and frustration.

You're going to get a feel for that in the verses this week.

You also know that there's some sort of famine happening, because remember we

talked about Paul gathering funds from outlying areas to send back to Jerusalem.

A lot of people think that that's because of the famine that occurred

there, that they were trying to bring funds in to help the saints.

What I think is powerful about that from James's perspective is Not all the

saints contribute, you know, some of them don't choose to offer goods and help and

finances and he has to grapple with that.

These people who are believers, but choose not to help those in desperate need in

his area and you can see Some of that life experience coloring the verses now

where he's trying to help us Establish our faith by our works where Paul had such

a strong emphasis on faith and salvation coming through this faithful You know

stance James offers that Harmony to that point, where he says, you also need works.

In fact, you, in fact, you evidence your faith by your works.

Please give and donate and see these people as the dignified sons

and daughters of God that they are.

I feel like when you get a, when you keep that picture of James in mind, his words

take on a new richness and more detail.

I stopped seeing them like fortune cookies that I might stick up on my fridge

and see them as this beautiful flow of somebody who knew the Savior intimately.

who knows what it's like to keep him close.

That when we live the gospel and we choose to act as he

did, we keep the Savior close.

And I think that's his invitation.

I think you're going to love it.

Oftentimes we study James 1, but there's beauty from James 1 all the way

through James 5, and it's just rich.

So grab your scriptures, grab your notes.

It's time to get started.

If James, as the half brother of the Savior, ever had Sorrow that he wasn't

a more diligent follower or that he wasn't a believer from the get go

and stayed steady I don't know again.

We don't know if he's what his story is But if you ever had those

aches of ah, I could go back.

I wish I could I think the very fact that the Holy Ghost prompts James to

write these words that will become this Turning point in the restoration and

change the whole scope of the world is a beautiful kindness Right, that he gets

to be the one that writes these, whether he was, you know, close with Jesus

Christ during his mortal ministry or not.

I think the fact that James, someone who's very close to the Savior, gets

to write these words is powerful.

It's not just James 1.

5 that I love.

I actually think this whole chapter is sort of guidance for Joseph's life.

I wonder sometimes.

Because James 1.

5, where he learns that he can ask of God, and it leads him to

what occurs in the Sacred Grove.

If I, if he goes back to this verse often, you know, don't you think he would?

I would.

Or I even have that sometimes, you know, in my current day, key

scriptures that have really made a turning point for me in my life,

oftentimes I go back and read those.

What's beautiful about that is you also read the ones all around it, because

you just happen to be on the page.

And I think the verses all around James 1.

5 are cushions for Joseph Smith.

Things that he could go back to and gain strength from and get comforted

because his task is a weighty one.

And so I think you get a feel for that in these first few verses.

For example, in two, it says, My brethren, count it all joy when

you fall into diverse temptations.

The JSD changes that to afflictions.

When you run into all kinds of odd, hard struggles, count it all joy.

And then four tells you why.

But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect

and entire, wanting nothing.

From the get go, this teaches Joseph Smith that this is gonna be a rocky road.

You know, it's gonna be hard, he's gonna be...

You know, that rough stone rolling, that idea of chipping off all those corners

and helping him become smooth and strong.

I think the very fact that he learns that in the verses right

before what he reads that leads him to the grove is powerful to me.

It's this understanding of, I see exactly who you are, 14 year old Joseph, and

we've got a great work ahead of us.

Come with me and let me help you.

It's this, um, trusting in the process kind of feel.

And I just love that phrasing.

There's a great conference talk all about this, but this idea of like,

let patience have her perfect work.

It's gonna take some time and just stay with me, stay the course, and trust

that all this hard stuff has a purpose.

I don't, I don't think it's...

I think Joseph learns right out of the gate that God doesn't cause those

hard things to happen, but he can take all those hard things and make

them work together for Joseph's good.

I love that that's the, almost the preface to what you get to when you get to five.

Because five is that power packed verse.

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and

upbraideth not, and it shall be given him.

There's so much.

You could break down this verse for a long time.

But here's a few key things that I love about it.

First, I like the reminder that it's about seeking wisdom.

Sometimes, I think, I get trapped in the idea of thinking that

God doesn't answer my prayers.

I feel like oftentimes it's because I'm not asking for

wisdom, I'm asking for stuff.

Or I'm asking for assistance of a very specific kind,

instead of asking for wisdom.

I was just reading, um, it was a CES devotional, if I remember right.

And he was speaking about a girl named Celeste, who learned to pray differently.

You can go in the notes and learn more about this, but he talked about how,

I think it was Elder Clark, and he talked about how she had learned to pray

about what she hoped for, and then to say, but if not, then grant me this.

So he was talking about how she has a baby that doesn't sleep through the

night, and so she was always tired, and she was just praying that her

baby would sleep through the night.

But then she would add, But if not, then please give me the patience

I need to be kind tomorrow.

I just think that's the kind of prayer he hopes that we will.

offer because it's a it's turning our will over to his it's no longer like

Rallying for him to give me the blessings.

I think I need instead It's saying like here's what I hope and if that

can't be the case Here's what I hope you'll do for me and my character.

What you what can you do to change me?

and I just think there's That's wisdom, right?

I think that's what he promises he will always answer.

He doesn't always give me the blessings I want or even the answers I want.

What he promises is he can give me wisdom from whatever comes next.

So if any of you lack wisdom, ask him God and he'll give it liberally.

That's the second part I love.

First, that you can ask God is a big audacious claim, especially to

someone like Joseph Smith, right?

Who had A very certain upgreen, even though all the, you know, the

religious sects of his day had very defined ideas about what God was and

his anger and his hostility towards, you know, disobedient children.

So, where Joseph, we know, we know from his accounts that he came fearing

a little bit because he was not perfect and he had some sins to...

You know, that we're weighing him down at 14 and that he could ask God with

confidence and hope is a beautiful thing.

That he could trust that then God would give him back liberally is also beautiful.

I don't think this just means an abundance or a lot of answer or even a fast answer.

To me, liberally means you'll get answer that you don't understand yet.

I, I've learned to appreciate that I actually get a lot more answers

to my prayers than I think I do in time, you know, over time, I can

look back on previous prayers and be like, Oh, he did answer that.

Oftentimes, I just don't get it in the moment.

Or I get information that I'm not sure what to do with, you

know, I'll get revelation that I don't know how to sort out yet.

And it's not until I get more wisdom than it starts to make sense.

That's what I think it means for me when he gives liberally, it means I'm not just

going to give you what you think you need.

Okay.

I'm going to give you more and let you wrestle with it and try to

understand it and grow in the process.

That's his liberal offering of wisdom that he gives.

Also that he won't upbraid.

This is, you won't be scolded.

The very fact that you come here hoping for help, I will extend my love to you.

I feel like we heard this over and over again in conference.

Come to him no matter what your circumstances are no matter how far you

feel and trust that he will encircle you He will find a way to bring you home and

then I love how it ends that it shall be given him But I also love that you

have to keep reading into six to get the full thought it says but let him ask in

faith Nothing wavering wavering free that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven

with the wind and tossed It's this nothing wavering part of Joseph Smith's story that

I think I love the most because I just think It must have been so hard, right?

Like he gets, he reads this verse, he gets an idea of what it might mean.

It, you know, bounces around in his brain for a while.

He studies it again and again, and he thinks, okay, I'm going

to go and make the attempt.

So he goes into the woods and the first thing that happens, or very

quickly, is is darkness creeps in, and he feels an oppressive darkness that

he's never ever experienced before.

And if it were me in that scenario, and I'd made this gamble that I wasn't

sure was going to work, and I was testing out Revelation, and I feel

all this darkness, I would retreat.

You know, I would think, wow, I was dumb to even think that

could work in the first place.

I would run out of those woods and never come back.

Joseph doesn't.

He kneels down and he stays.

I just think it's those moments when you say, I'm here.

I, I am staying until I know more.

It's the same stance I think Enos took after all those hours of prayer,

or Jacob when he wrestles for that blessing in the Old Testament.

I just think it's this stance of like, you know, I know you answer prayers.

I felt it with the Spirit when I read that verse.

I'm here and I'm staying.

And it's those moments when you don't waver that I think the

Lord blesses you with wisdom.

He gives you this.

outpouring of connection, because it says I'm in a relationship the same way when

our mortal relationships with our spouses or our kids or our friends get hard and

you get the stance of, I don't care how hard this is, I'm in this, I am staying,

we are connected and I am staying.

I just think there's something about that, that opens up the heart and it

does for Joseph and I just love it.

I think that's why James warns so much about being a double minded man.

You see that in 8.

A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

I think he's basically saying like you can't serve two masters.

I wonder again if this is somewhat based on James's life experience.

There may have been a time in his teenage years or 20s or something where he was

trying to be in both camps to support his brother to some degree and also to Be

accepted culturally in his neighborhood and I wonder if he was Struggling, and

at some point he had to make the call, and I think what he has found by his

evidence of his life is that there is stability when you make the right call.

That you just can't keep one foot in Babylon and one in Zion.

We're going to talk about this in the object lessons too, but I

just think James life experience must have led him to this wisdom.

I don't think it was just, you know, handed to him.

It's kind of beautiful to start imagining where that might have come from.

Then he warns about...

Temptation.

This is around verse 12.

What I like about this guidance is, I wonder sometimes as a young 14 year

old boy, especially the time between when he has the first vision and when

he receives the plates and all that time, if he felt guilty for temptation,

that he was tempted to do things, that he made mistakes now and then,

if he'd had this glorious vision, then why should temptation ever hit him?

And I just think this is a sweet reminder here.

That temptation is not an indicator that God has pulled away from you.

Temptation is just part of this mortal experience.

Savior experienced it.

Adam and Eve experienced it.

All kinds of people throughout history, every one of them has

experienced temptation and it's not an indication of the Lord not loving you.

It's, it's an invitation to act on your agency and choose him.

So I like that Joseph gets that guidance tucked around that key verse in 5.

Um, I also love the descriptive phrase he uses in 17 says every good gift and

every perfect gift is from above cometh down from the father of lights with whom

there is no variable this either shadow of turning i don't know what the premise

was when james wrote this what he's basing that on but isn't that such a beautiful

descriptive way to describe the Father.

He's the Father of lights.

It's almost like what you read in the end of the Book of Mormon with Moroni

when he talks about God being the source of all good things, that all good

things come from God and you can rest on that and that there's no variableness.

I just think that must have brought such comfort to Joseph as he was wading

through trying to understand All the revelation that would come his way,

the bits and pieces of revelation that he had to kind of figure out how

they fit together and move forward.

I just think all of that would have been comforting to Joseph.

I also love the guidance in 19 where he warns him to be swift to hear,

slow to speak, and slow to wrath.

Don't you think that's guidance that Joseph took throughout his lifetime?

I think every story you hear about Joseph is like that.

Someone who was quick to hear the word of the Lord, quick to hear Even

complaints and worries of people around him, and who responded in kindness,

who was soft to speak, and slow to judge, and incredibly slow to wrath.

Despite the fact that so many people betrayed him who were close, he...

Extended friendship and fellowship and forgiveness.

He is someone who was, who clearly took James wisdom to heart.

I also love the phrase in 21.

It says, Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity and

the naughtiness and receive with meekness the engrafted word,

which is able to save your soul.

I don't know why I love this phrase so much, you guys, but the idea

of an engrafted word, meaning like I've I've cut away some part of me.

I've taken out some piece that is a fallen man piece of me, and I've allowed the word

to be grafted in, you know, almost like a skin graft or a gardening graft where

you, you get this whole new part of the tree that flourishes because you allowed

something so good to be tethered to you.

And I just think that's what covenants are all about, right?

It's our, it's our chance to let the goodness of God be grafted

into us in this mortal world.

And the visual of it just.

Stuck with me.

I loved it.

Also in 22, this is gonna be a common theme you'll see throughout this week.

It says, but be doers of the word and not hearers only deceiving your own selves.

This I wonder if it comes from James's life experience where there's all these

people who claim to be Christian, right?

And who are a Christian who've been baptized members of the church, but

when it comes to helping in the famine situation they withhold and he's basically

saying like This, this is Christianity.

This is what this work is all about.

Remember, he's someone who knew the Savior intimately from his childhood.

So he saw the Savior live the gospel.

He saw the Savior take care of the sick and the wounded

and the poor and the needy.

And he's like, this is his work.

Let me teach you more about it.

Which is why I love what you find in 27.

Pure religion and undefiled before God the Father is this, to visit the fatherless

and the widows in their affliction and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

I think it's a lot like what we heard from Elder Arden at conference.

Do you guys remember this conference talk where he said, I'm going to

take you on a trip to Africa, and you're not going to see zebras, and

you're not going to see lions, but let me show you what you do see.

And then he proceeded to talk us through...

What they saw.

I think it was with sister Johnson.

Um, I think they were going there together with their spouses to offer help and make

alliances with other humanitarian groups.

And he talks about the ache that he felt, you know, for kids who

aren't in school and for mothers carrying water all day long.

Like he just, he's like, this is the gospel.

This is what we do.

And I even liked.

You know, his plea almost to be a Good Samaritan.

It was, I really liked his point where he talked about that the Good Samaritan made

an alliance with the innkeeper of sorts.

He paid the dues and asked the innkeeper to take care of things and

basically said that's what the church does when it reaches out and works

with other organizations, Catholic organizations and you know, UNICEF type

organizations, that it is doing its best to find ways to make alliances

to help as many people as possible.

I think that's what James is calling them to do, too.

He's just saying, seek out those who are wounded.

Seek out those who need help, and offer what you can.

To me, this is James saying, I know the Savior.

I know this is what He would have done.

When we choose to do it now, it's almost like He's back among us.

We need to take care of our poor.

Do you remember that part of the Book of Mormon when Alma and Amulek are teaching

among the Zoramites, and they have been pushed out of synagogues, and we had that

episode with the Rameumpton, and you can hear the guidance that those two give to

the wealthy who have been the oppressors, and then the guidance that they give

in an extended version to those who've been oppressed and giving them dignity

and telling them how they can grow their faith and they don't need a synagogue

and they certainly don't need that false tower in order to come closer to God.

That's kind of how I see chapter two because he has guidance to both groups.

Remember James is somebody who had to work with both groups all the time.

He would be someone who's always giving guidance on how to get along and how to

how to see each other in the proper light.

So that's chapter two.

First, he gives guidance about not respecting persons.

My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord

of glory, with respect of persons.

What I think is interesting is if you go on the JST of this verse, he basically

says you cannot have the faith of Jesus Christ and be a respecter of persons.

Because as soon as you start to Treat people differently, um, you're

treating God lower, you know, as soon as I start to take the children of

God Um, and potential heirs of God and I start to put them into classes

or groups then I am off track, right?

I thought was fascinating about this and this again, it's just my interpretation,

but you guys remember how Earlier in the New Testament, in the Gospels, we were

studying about the situation that happens with the Savior, where his mother and, it

says, his brethren are outside the gate.

I think he's in there teaching, and the person comes to Jesus and says, Your mom

and brothers are outside, and Jesus says, Behold my mother and my brethren, and

he gestures at the people he's teaching.

And I just remember thinking, You know, out.

I don't need, it's never out, right?

Nothing the Savior does is, is negative, but I found myself wondering, like,

how did that feel to his brothers or to his mother that basically what he's

saying is, I can't value you over All of these people, all of you are elevated.

He was not degrading his mother and his brothers.

What he was doing is taking the crowd that he was teaching and

elevating them to that level.

Saying, I love you as intensely as I love my own family.

That's how I see you.

And I just wonder.

If that was the phase where James was not an avid believer in the Savior's plan,

how that would have stung, you know, I, I just, you can see where James has

learned a lot of things the hard way, and that gives him beautiful texture

to his character and to the wisdom that you're going to get in chapter two,

because he warns, he's, I think he's come full circle and he's like, I get

it now, I can't, I can't be kind to people that can give me wealth and power

and then treat other people horribly.

In fact, what my.

Brother Jesus taught is that we have to be no respecter of persons.

In fact, what you learn in the Sermon on the Mount is that the Savior says, it's

the meek that will inherit the earth.

And that's kind of what James teaches into.

He says, basically, don't, don't be respecters of people and then remember.

what the Savior said.

Hearken, my beloved brethren.

This is in verse five.

Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith and

heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?

But ye despise the poor.

Do not rich men oppress you and draw you before the judgment seats?

Do not they blaspheme a worthy name by which ye are called?

If ye fulfill the royal law, this is the verse eight, according to the scripture,

thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

Ye do well.

He is echoing the words of the Savior saying he sees all of you as dignified.

He elevates all of you to the same status because you, the worth of souls is great.

There's no categories.

There's no cliques.

There's no division.

It's the worth of souls is great.

And James gets that and he wants the people that he's teaching to get that too.

I just think it's powerful.

When you flip the page, you see that same guidance, not respecting persons

and then about not respecting certain parts of The gospel over others.

I thought this was kind of fascinating.

So this is in verse 10 for whosoever shall keep the whole law and yet offend

in one point, he's guilty of all.

That sounds pretty harsh, right?

None of us keep the whole law perfectly, and it's possible this is referring to

the law of Moses, but I really think this is a has broader application

for us, where basically he's saying, like, kind of like what we heard

in conference, that no unclean, no unclean thing can dwell with God.

And so all of us have to be reconciled.

We're all beggars in this process and we all make mistakes and we

all need to, you know, use the gift of grace that the Savior offers.

But he's saying that you can't pick and choose.

I can't, you know, have my favorite discipleship pieces and

then Hold off on these over here.

There's no a la carte version of the gospel and that's what James is

trying to help them understand I don't think it's so much that he's trying

to draw hard lines as he is trying to say Don't be a double minded man.

As soon as you start to want to cherry pick the gospel parts

that you want to keep, you weaken your ability to feel the Spirit.

Because the Spirit comes as a gift of our obedience to the laws.

So when we shortcut those or cherry pick what we like, we limit our

ability and we offend the Spirit.

That's what I think he's warning about.

You can't progress and be on that trajectory.

So he wants you to be all in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And then in 14, he talks about faith and works.

So, What doth it profit my brethren, though a man say he

have faith, and have not works?

Can faith save him?

If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you

say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled, notwithstanding ye

give them not these things which are needful to the body, what doth it profit?

Again, this I think comes from his experience as a bishop of sorts in

Jerusalem, where he's like, your faith and your prayers for the people, It's

wonderful, it's just not always enough.

The same way sometimes we're asked to contribute, or we're encouraged

to offer fast offerings, because you're supposed to give of your

abundance, you're supposed to share wholeheartedly with those who have less.

And he's just pleading with them, like, your faith will

be evidenced by your works.

Show what you believe in the way you interact with your fellow men.

And so he says in 17, Even so, faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works.

Show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show you thee my faith by my works.

I think that's the invitation.

It helps, I think, to think back on the Savior's ministry himself, where he

didn't just speak about faith and belief.

A lot of his guidance was about doing things.

You know, being baptized, for example, or keeping his commandments

as a way to show our love for him.

There were things we were supposed to do.

He often admonished us to take care of the widows and to, you know,

to extend compassion and love.

If you look at the Sermon on the Mount, it's a lot of

things you're supposed to do.

And I, so I think you want to keep that in mind that it's, um, it's a balance.

What I think is powerful to me is I don't know that faith and

works are ever in perfect balance, you know, like a scale for me.

I think it's just more of a harmony, you know, there are times when my faith is

high, and the amount of time or effort I can put towards works is smaller.

But as long as I'm playing both those notes together,

I still can find a harmony.

The same thing happens in reverse sometimes.

Sometimes callings are intense, and so my works are high, and my time

spent in the scriptures or time, you know, studying or in thoughtful prayer

gets condensed a little bit, because I'm spending so much time over here.

And I don't think you're ever supposed to...

swing too far one way or the other, but I think as long

as you're playing both notes.

There is a harmony and there will be balance and I just think that's faith

and works to me They work in tandem, but not necessarily in equal doses So you a

little further you give us some guidance about people who lived by faith and who

evidenced their heart by their works people like Abraham and Rahab Abraham in

the fact that he came before the law of Moses and Rahab being a non israelite who

saved You know, the Israelites, he, she, she extended herself and then was granted

blessings by God because of her efforts.

These are works that she did, not just beliefs.

She didn't even have those beliefs.

She wasn't from among their group.

So those are powerful examples that he offers to help people understand.

And then there's that final warning in 26.

For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

To me, this is almost like being damned up.

It's, your faith can only take you so far if it's not rooted in action.

There comes a point, in fact there's a great talk, I think it's from Elder

Christofferson, there's a really beautiful one from Elder Bednar and

I think the other one's from Elder Christofferson, they're in the notes,

but he talks about this idea of faith being a principle of power.

I put this in the object lesson notes as well, but this idea of Being able

to move mountains with faith, that we begin with belief, and then we act on

those beliefs, and we grow in faith.

And then there gets to be a level of faith that's about power, and being

able to change things around you, and tap into something stronger.

That's what I think James is trying to get us towards.

He's saying, where you are is a good beginning.

The way you can grow and advance is to start acting the way the Savior did.

Give as he gave, love as he loved, and you'll see this increase of power.

It's one thing to talk about faith and works, it's another

thing when you get really specific and have to put it to the test.

I feel like that's what chapter 3 is, you guys.

It's kind of the same challenge President Nelson's been giving us lately.

It's all about, it's one thing to believe that it's, we should be kind

and Christian and take care of each other, it's a whole nother thing

when we use our words to bring people together, to set down contention, to

set down racism and prejudice, and all the ways that we can use our words

to divide up the children of God.

And instead, use our words to bring people close, to create this

oneness that he wants in his fold.

And that's what you see from James in chapter three.

So he warns about bridling your passions, but then narrows it

really quickly to the word.

So he says, Behold, we put bits in horses mouths, that they may obey us,

and we turn about their whole body.

And then in four, Behold, also the ships, which though they be so great,

are driven of fierce winds, yet they are turned about with a very small helm,

with us whoever the governor listed.

Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things.

Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth.

This is his warning.

He's like, what?

It's a small part of the body relative to everything else, but wow, it has power.

And I think all of us have been on either side of that power, right?

We've seen how our words can cause so much more damage than

we ever thought they would.

And we've been.

Probably the victims of other people's words and choices and

we felt the pain that comes.

I thought what's interesting is I happen to be in the Book of Mormon

studying how generations pass on pain and how the hatred and the

prejudice against each other they these traditions of the fathers gets

passed from one generation to another.

And I found myself thinking that all those are based in words.

They're all words that we can carry forward.

And I think the reason President Nelson has made such a push for this lately is

because we're cutting ourselves short of We're not living up to our privileges.

I think that's what James says too, because basically he guides us to,

in verse 9, he talks about seeing others in the similitude of God.

Since all of these people, no matter how they act or how they behave in

public or what they say about us, they are children of God and they are

made in his image and therefore They deserve a certain degree of respect.

Like, we need to not be a respecter of persons.

I think that's really hard.

It's a lot easier to believe those things than it is to actually do them.

But that's his invitation.

What's powerful to me about the James version, and I think this is something

we've almost heard from President Nelson as well, is when you choose to use your

words in anger or hostility or contention, you limit your ability significantly to

speak with power and authority of God.

That's the risk.

It's that you can't serve two masters, and when as soon as I give thought

to one and give voice to one, then my voice isn't being used for good.

So that's what he warns about, like in 11.

Doth the fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?

Can the fig tree, my brother, and bear olive berries?

Either a vine figs, so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.

This is guidance I think Joseph Smith understood and

used throughout his lifetime.

He spoke favorably of people who Would have been so hard to love.

He just is this incredible example to me.

I, like, told you guys this before, but I really love, I read a talk from Wendy

Ulrich once, who said, basically, in her mind, she says, What's the most positive

explanation I can give for this behavior?

And that's her way of, like, thinking positively about others.

Because it helps you understand that even if they're awful to you, or their

struggle, or the things they do are so off putting to you, to think about what

might be the reason behind their choices.

Was helpful to her, whether it was true or not, but to think about their

day being hard or their upbringing being rough or whatever it was.

If it helped her to be kind, then she would use that as her foundation.

I just think that's what President Nelson's asking us to do.

Basically, what I think is.

It's not about being nice.

What President Nelson has asked us to do is not so much about being

kind, although there's a part of it that is rooted in kindness.

I think the bigger thing is, as soon as you shut off that spigot of

negative in your mind, especially what comes out of your mouth, if you

shut that down, you open up a gateway for the spirit to pour out good.

That's what we want.

It's, it opens up a floodgate of what we need in order for this world to change.

When I stop speaking negatively, I open up opportunities to speak in his way.

And if a lot of us speak in his way, the world can change

and the world needs to change.

So I just feel like it's this framework shift.

It's not so much about.

Niceness.

It's about choosing to be empowered with the Spirit of God.

When I choose to speak kindly about people, as kindly as I can, to their

face or behind their back, I change my ability to speak in His name.

I empower, I gain power by being obedient to those words.

And I cut through confusion.

So that's what he promises in 16.

For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.

But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable and gentle,

easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, without

hypocrisy, and the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.

I just think this is President Nelson's invitation, both from his

peacemakers needed talk all the way through this conference talk.

I just think it's, he's inviting us to set down contention, set down the

traditions of the fathers, if that's where we learn them and Step into this

invitation to find peace and to make peace and that's powerful invitation

James is a leader in Jerusalem at a time where there's a lot of political

turmoil that you've got uprisings that are happening because of problems with

land and wages you've got people fighting against the Roman Army these little

pockets of uprisings and most of them don't go well things just get bloody and

ugly and I feel like What James is trying to help them see is God can't be on your

side if your motives are not honorable.

War is something, when it comes from lust rather than from, you know, a

desire for liberty and a desire to uphold the commandments of God, you can't

get the strength of God on your side.

We see that over and over again in the Book of Mormon, where there are those

who rely on the help of the Lord and can conquer in battle, and those who

rely on their own strength and fall.

And you hear those warnings in the first half of, or the first

few verses of chapter four.

He, he warns them not to ask amiss.

I really like this given what we see even just in Joseph's own life, right?

Where we have that incident with 116 pages and because he asked amiss, he doesn't

get the blessings that he hoped for, that things don't go as smoothly as he wanted.

And I think that's, One of those moments where Joseph learns, you know, he learns

from mistakes that he will not deviate, and he will not pressure the Lord.

He will, he will do what is asked.

So I think you see some of that guidance in James's words.

You also can see guidance about not loving the world.

So if you look in verse 4, he warns that you can't have the

friendship of the world, because if you do, you're enmity with God.

This is a...

A harsh phrase, 'cause God loves the world.

You know, he gave his life for the world.

But I think this is where the footnotes really help.

'cause basically he's guiding you against worldliness, not the world itself.

He's saying worldliness, the ways of the world, the sins of the world,

the even fallen man condition.

If you lean towards that.

You lean away from God.

There's just no neutral.

It's one or the other and then he tells you why it's worth

it And how you can do it.

So that's in six, but he giveth more grace wherefore he saith God resisted

the proud But giveth grace unto the humble submit yourselves therefore to

God resist the devil and he will flee from you Okay, you guys I just love this

verse I especially love it when you pair it with the verse that comes ahead of it.

I think this is Basically, what we see in Moses, right?

This is him saying, the closer you come to God, the more you know him,

the more you know his attributes and his character and how much he loves

you and the plan he has placed for you.

Like, the more you know that, the less appealing anything that the

devil throws at you could possibly be.

He's just saying, like, that you don't have to be in a...

In a posture of defense, oftentimes I think with the adversary, I

feel like I'm, I'm on the defense.

I'm waiting till something awful happens and then I'm

trying to push back against it.

And what James is trying to teach us is he's saying, actively grow your faith in

God, come to know him better and brighter, and then you'll see the enemy far off.

You won't have to wait until he's up close or causing troubles with your kids.

You'll see it coming closer as it makes its way towards you.

Increase your faith in God.

And that I love.

What he promises is as you try to draw close to God, he'll draw close to you too.

That's an eight.

Draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you.

Cleanse your hands, ye sinners, and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep.

Let your laughter return to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.

Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

To me, this is his invitation to Set aside the world.

It's that moment of the prodigal story.

When he sees the true nature of his supposed friends in this big city and

starts to realize how much he misses home, you know, like that ache he

feels for his dad and his leadership and his safety, and, you know, he.

He wants to set all this down and he wants to come home.

What I really liked about Elder Uchtdorf's talk is how he started

to play out things that may have been going through that boy's mind.

You know, when he's with the pigs and he's at his lowest, he starts

to play out things like, Yeah, but what will the neighbors think?

They warned me that, you know, or they might, they might mess with me because

I, So cocky about this before or he starts to play out all the things that

may have gone through his mind But when that boy chooses to get up out of that

pigsty and walk towards home I think power starts to flow back into his life.

I talked to my YSAs about this we were talking about the pride cycle and we

used the prodigal son as a story of the pride cycle and This idea of as soon

as you make that stance Life actually gets a little bit easier, you know, I

think as soon as you make that stand of I don't want this life anymore, then

all of a sudden, the great and spacious building jeers just don't sound as loud.

You just don't care, you know, like you're ready to kind of shut all that

down and be a new version of yourself.

And in my perspective, I think life gets.

lighter.

Like you don't worry so much about the perspectives of others.

You don't worry about the rumors and the thoughts.

Like you come closer to God and you feel His arms wrap around you

and you, you don't worry so much.

That's what He's promising, that He will lift you up.

Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and He shall lift you up.

Every time, no matter how far you've fallen, the promise is he can help

you stand up and come to the dignity that you deserve, you know, that you

can live up to those privileges he's granted you and be that sun and air

that he always intended you to be.

I just love that phrasing.

Right after it, he gives some guidance about Judgment.

I think this is a really interesting pairing.

We actually see it in the story of the prodigal son as well, at least

in Elder Uchtdorf's rendition of it, because I feel like his guidance to

the brother and to the neighbors who might gossip about him and all the

other people who have an opinion on this kid's history is, you're not the judge.

You don't get to be, you don't get to determine this boy's worth.

That's Christ's job.

And I just think that's, something we all have to remember, you know,

I just think it's, it's good sound.

Guidance to trust that he is the judge and that we don't need to correct

people and we don't need to, you know, help them along their repentance path

as much as we need to just love them and be among that team that has the

robe and the ring and the fatted calf and saying I'm so glad you're here.

Let's, let's go.

Let's do what we can to to keep this trajectory going.

Um, and then I love the phrasing in 14 says, whereas, you know, what shall be

on the morrow meaning like, nobody knows what's coming for what is your life.

It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and

then vanishes away for that.

You ought to say is this, if the Lord will, we shall live and do this or that.

I think we heard this from.

A prophet and a couple of apostles in the last conference, this idea of like,

this is a very short window of time in the eternal scheme of things, but what a

significant short window of time it is.

You know, when we talked about that talk, I think it was Elder Anderson,

where he spoke about the Olympians who train for four years and then

have those milliseconds to perform.

That's the idea of, of James.

I think he's trying to say like, this life is so small and so short.

What is it for?

Like, I think it's a question we're all supposed to ask ourselves over

and over again, for what is your life?

It is even a vapor that appeareth for a little time and then vanishes away.

This mortal life is so small.

The reason I think that's comforting is all of us wrestle

and grapple with weaknesses.

I got some that I just can't shake.

You know, I'm not sure I can.

I haven't yet.

I just think they're, it's so frustrating to me sometimes where I'm like, Oh, I

can't, I can't get rid of that habit or that tendency or that weakness in me.

And he's saying, like, all this is just short.

Just keep trying, Maria.

Like, I just think that's his imitations.

Like, I know weakness.

I work with weakness all the time.

I am merciful with weakness.

Rebellion is different.

If I'm rebelling against a light that I have.

That's different.

And that's what you see in 17.

Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

He's saying if you deliberately choose it, if you deliberately choose

to give in to those weaknesses, there's accountability there.

If it's just a weakness, and you are constantly coming to me every day to

say, I would like to not be like this.

I would like to have this fixed.

I would like to come closer.

Then he can give you the tools and, and the grace you need to overcome it.

I just think it's a comforting promise.

I wonder if James was around when the Savior spoke to the rich young

ruler and invited him to just give up all of his things, you know,

so that he could follow the Savior closely and lead a different life.

Because you almost feel like James is in a similar spot where he's been

urging these people to set down.

The greed and the lust that is driving them to take advantage of the poor and to,

you know, create corruption and problems.

And he's saying, like, set all that down.

I know where that road goes.

The same way I think the Savior knew exactly what would happen to

that rich young ruler's life if he chose to hold on to his things.

It ends with empty hands.

In fact, the way James describes it is he says, You'll have empty hands with

rust on them because your gold and your silver has become corrupted, and that's

all you'll have left to show for it.

I just thought that was such a powerful visual.

So it says, go to the rich men, weep and howl for your miseries

that shall come upon you.

Your gold and your silver is cankered and the rest of them

shall be a witness against you.

You shall eat your flesh as it were fire.

You'll have heaped treasure together for the last days.

Behold the hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields,

which is of you kept back by fraud.

Cry it.

Meaning those they're taking advantage of in this lifetime.

They're, you know, they're almost taking money out of their pockets by not

paying them the wages that they're due.

Those.

Will cry against them at the last day.

I thought this was empowering teaching.

It sounded a lot to me like, do you remember that talk?

I think it was two conferences ago from Elder Kieran and how he talked about abuse

and that victims of abuse He reminded them profoundly strongly about God's

love for them and how things aren't their fault and all those things and then he

spoke very Exactly to the abusers and he basically said forgiveness is possible.

Please understand the forgiveness is for all people.

If you choose not to, here are the consequences.

And he spoke very clearly to the victims of abuse and said.

The Lord will take this.

You know, it's not so much that this is all going to get glossed over and fine.

He was saying, the Lord has some heavy consequences for

those who choose not to heed.

And he spoke about millstones and sinkings.

And I think that's what James is trying to say to these people.

He's like, you don't understand this road that you're taking.

Not only will you...

have, you know, the rust of your greed on your hands, but you'll hear

the cries of all those you hurt.

Not just the fathers who don't have their wages, but, you know, the hungry children

who don't have what they deserve, and the, like, generations of time that get

damaged because of one person's greed.

That's what he warns about in five.

And then I think he shifts tone, and he speaks to the victims.

He speaks to those who have been taken advantage of, and

gives them some guidance.

So, he says in 7, Be patient, therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord.

Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and

hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and the latter rain.

He's saying, I think, to me, this is the Savior saying, I see you.

All of you who are victims of the greed of men or the lusts of men,

I see you and I'm, I'm watching.

I've got you.

You know, in eight, be also patient.

Establish your hearts for the coming of the Lord Drothnei.

Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest you be condemned.

Behold, the judge standeth before the door.

To me this is very similar to what we heard from Sister Yi a couple conferences

ago where she said she doesn't want to have a warring heart and so she

had to sort of set down her tension.

She talked about how she didn't always feel safe in her home with her dad and

she talked about working through that relationship and that there was an intense

emotional charge to that and she said she had to kind of give her warring heart

over to the Lord and say, I trust you as the judge that you will sort this out.

I just thought that was empowering.

It's a way to kind of move forward despite the fact that you can't control

all the circumstances around you.

And then he reminds them where happiness comes from.

Behold, we count them happy which endure.

He, he, he compares it to the patience of Job.

He says, you have heard the patience of Job and have seen the end of the Lord.

And that Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy.

To me, this is James saying.

Never forget that the Lord understands, you know, he died an ignominious death.

He is someone who was spit on and mocked and people had

false accusations against him.

People were hostile to him.

People who once were kind turned on him.

Like I just think he's trying to cast their minds back and

saying this is, this is your God.

He knows what this feels like.

He knows your pain and he will.

Help you.

He's the only one that can help you never forget the kind

of man He was as he was here.

It's powerful.

And then he says don't swear by anything else.

Like you don't need to make oaths by Things, you know, in heaven or on earth.

All you need to do is live up to your word.

Even if you're in that position of being a victim or being someone who's

been taken advantage of or stolen from or whatever your circumstances are.

He's saying you have power to some degree in that you get to control your integrity.

You get to control what you say and how you interact with those around you.

Hold tight to that.

Hold tight to what you can control what happens within.

And then he gives guidance to pray.

What I think is interesting is he has some words for all different types of people.

Those who are doing well, those who are struggling, those who

are sinful, those who aren't.

He has guidance for all of them.

Is any among you afflicted?

Let him pray.

Is any merry?

Let him sing psalms.

is any sick among you, let him call for the elders of the church and let

them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.

And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise

him up, and if he has committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

To me, this is James reinforcing the understanding that even though

the Savior is not walking among them as he once did, his works are here.

His power, his priesthood is here, and the help they need is here.

I just wonder if that would have been...

I don't know, comforting to James.

I'm sure he missed him intensely in a way that no one else could, you know,

or a few others could, that he wishes he could be the one here performing miracles.

And I think this understanding of All of his promise and all of his power and all

of his offerings that he gave when he was here, they remain in his apostles.

You still have access to help and healing, you still have access to

words that can bring you joy, no matter what your circumstances are.

You still have access to forgiveness of sins, as you did when he was here.

I just think, he's trying to say, he's still here.

You don't need to be afraid.

And then 16, he encourages them to come together.

Confess your faults one to another and pray one for

another that you may be healed.

The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Isn't that a great phrase?

He's just saying like, lean on each other, let your hearts be knit, help each other

as much as you can, strengthen each other, and realize that your prayers do much.

I just think sometimes we Let go of this or I forget it that my prayer

my small little prayer can do a great deal of good If I if I channel

it according to God's will right?

That's his promise and then he compares it to Elijah so he's talking about how

Elijah stopped up the heavens and he says basically he wasn't perfect He

was a man of passions just like you are which I love because we studied

Elijah last year and you saw some of his passions, you know when he's gotten that

that contest with the priests of Baal and it almost seems like I hate to say

showing off, but you know what I mean?

Like he, he sets the stage so that a lot of people see the miracle, and you can

see how he's got personality and passions and probably weaknesses like every

other person that's walked the earth.

And he basically says, If he had the power to stop up the heavens,

if he had the power to control and to help a people, you can too.

That same power is available on the earth today.

We need to tap into it.

And then in 20, Let him know that he which converteth the sinner from the

error of his way shall save a soul from death and shall hide a multitude of sins.

This to me is the exact same thing we read in DNC 18 where he says, you

know, the worth of souls and he talks about how if you bring just one soul

unto me, how great will be your joy.

I think that's what James understands.

He's like, all of us are on this continuum.

I don't know where your testimony is versus mine, but as we work together

and we lift each other up, we help each other see the goodness of God and

tap into the grace of Jesus Christ, we find a way to rise up together.

And when we do that, we both feel joy.

That's his promise.

I really like those last two verses focus on what you can do.

I wonder sometimes, like we mentioned at the beginning, I just think James

must have wrestled a little bit with wishing he had spent more time, you

know, wishing he had listened closer.

And even if he was pretty diligent his whole life, I imagine anyone that knew

the Savior in his mortal life wished they would have listened closer or taken better

notes or, you know, I just can't imagine that anyone ever felt settled that way.

What I love about his invitation here at the end is he's basically saying, I

think his way to find peace about the fact that he can't change that past.

He can't change his relationship at this point in a, you know, substantive way.

He can't create new memories.

What he can do is bring others to Christ.

He can say, let me teach you about who my brother was.

Let me tell you about his ministry and his work.

Let me tell you what he hopes for you and how you can avoid these pitfalls.

Let me bring more hearts.

to him.

And in that process, he feels peace.

I think that's what he means when he says it hides a multitude of sins.

It's not so much that things get covered up as it's healing.

Remember how we've talked about several times when I picture that covering,

I picture almost like a bandage.

It's something that covers and keeps things clean until the wound is healed.

And I feel like this version of missionary work where you're, you're,

you're doing what you can to Strengthen others and to bring others close

is a way to heal your own heart.

I think we see it in Alma the Younger, see it in Saul and Paul,

you see it in James as well.

It's not a beautiful thing for someone who is so close to the Savior to teach us.

You guys, welcome back.

This is the creative side of week 46.

There are a hundred different directions you could go this week since there's so

many beautiful little nuggets of wisdom in these five chapters, but I decided

to just zero in on three in the hopes to just inspire some creative teaching

for you, whether you do these object lessons or something else entirely.

I just hope this.

Catches a spark in you that you'll find some fun way to create memories for your

kids as you get into these verses But let me walk you through the three that

I have in mind I'll take you through the supplies list and then for those of

you in the full course You'll just keep watching and I'll walk you through each

one Individually as well as give you the notes and the printables so that you can

pull these off in your classes and in your kitchens Or wherever wherever you do

them this week Okay, first and foremost, I think you can't teach James without

putting a big, warm spotlight on James 1.

What I really like about that verse, especially when it comes to teenagers,

is I think it's a beautiful framework for how revelation works, especially

revelation for young people that Joseph Smith has this process.

Oftentimes we think about the first vision and we think about that moment

when the light descends, but I think there's a lot of revelatory buildup for

Joseph and that's what I want to focus on.

Both I want to focus on the buildup and those big aha moments that he

receives and there's a really cool way to do that So for us, we're going

to make these scratch off bookmarks.

They've got a photo of the sacred grove of sorts and Direction about the

verse and then there's a process that we get to to see this in its fullness

and that involves a scratch off.

So similar to a scratch off card or like scratch art.

If your kids have ever done that, we're going to create this in scratch

off form so that your kids can learn the process of revelation for this.

You just need the printable.

I designed it narrowly so that you could use packing tape to

protect the surface a little bit.

So if you have packing tape on hand, that's great.

If you have a laminator, this is even easier, but I wanted to give you an option

in case you didn't have that tool on hand.

And then you also just need a little bit of black acrylic paint.

The cheapest you can find is fine.

It doesn't need to be fancy about a dollar for this and a little bit

of dish soap and you'll be all set.

Okay.

Second one.

We're going to talk about a double minded man being unstable.

It was the unstable part that really caught my ear as I was studying.

I just think that's his warning, right?

We have to, we can't serve two masters.

When you try to straddle between The world and God's laws and his plans for you,

you end up in a point where you can't progress anymore and there's a really,

really cool, simple way to teach it.

I wish I could take full credit for it, but I found an idea online from

another, a pastor in another church, and I just thought it was brilliant.

All you need for this one, you guys are two ladders.

If you are in a situation where you, it's too cumbersome to bring in two ladders.

You could also use a flight of stairs in your house or maybe in the church going up

to the stage or something, and one ladder.

You can pull off something sort of similar, but anyway, two letters

is all you need for that one.

The third one, we're going to talk about being a doer of the word.

We've approached this a few different ways this year, and that's on purpose.

I think those really critical principles, it's good to teach in a bunch of

different varieties so that your kids see all the facets to these directions.

And this is a big one.

This idea of not just believing in the gospel, but being willing to act.

James is someone who was big on action.

Because he saw the needs of his people, especially those who were

destitute in Jerusalem who needed help.

And he saw believers turn their backs on them and he wanted to help them see that

that's not the way the Savior did things.

The Savior helped and he healed and he reached out and he, that's

the kind of guidance he would give.

So he was trying to encourage the saints in his day to do the same.

I think for us, it's also pivotal because it has such far reaching application.

There are many times when it's easier to say what I believe than it is to do it.

So I wanted to help my kids understand a simple approach to it.

For this one, all you need are sticks of gum.

Yes, like this kind.

We used extra gum just because I happened to have some on hand.

I designed the printable around extra gum, but my understanding is most

sticks of gum are about the same size, so you don't have to stress too much.

The printable will give you...

whole bunch of arrows.

You're going to make eight arrows that look like this.

You actually can do this without the gum and just, you know, cut out the

arrows and that will work just the same.

I just liked that the gum gave it a little bit of weight and made

the things easier to move around.

So you're going to make these little gum wrappers and turn them into arrows.

And then you're going to give your kids a challenge to multiply these arrows.

They're going to take arrows from that are four arrows in their hand

into five arrows on the table, or eight arrows in their hand and turn

them into 11 arrows on the table.

And I will show you how.

It's a really cool way to help your kids understand the connection between,

it's one thing just to think something, or to hear someone else say it.

It's a whole nother thing to put it into action yourself.

Okay, that's it.

That's it for your supplies list.

Gather that stuff and keep watching and we'll get into all the details.

Thanks for being here, you guys.

That's it for week 46.

So hopefully you have a lot of options at your fingertips to help

you both study these verses and also apply them in everyday life.

I promise it'll be worth your time.

There was so much more in these five chapters of James than I would

have ever given them credit for.

I think it'll be worth every minute you can give it.

So open up the notes, get into your scriptures, and see what

the Spirit has in store for you.

I promise it's worth it.

If you need extra help, you're always welcome to join me on Instagram.

Monday morning, 10 a.

m.

I do a live.

That's Mountain Time.

I'll pop on for, usually it ends up being about an hour, where

we cover some insights and chat through the object lessons.

It's a good place to ask me questions or clarifications on things.

Um, so if you need it there.

Come join me.

If you can't catch it live, you're welcome to watch it in my feed

any time for that following week.

Um, or just ask me questions in other places.

You can ask me questions on YouTube in the comment thread or on the discussion boards

of the course, uh, wherever you need me.

Leave me a message and I'll get back to it as quick as I can.

But otherwise, I hope you really enjoy this little stint in James.

It's short, condensed, but loaded with beautiful little nuggets of wisdom.

I just think you're gonna love it.

So give it a chance.

All right, I think that's it for this week, you guys.

I'll see you on Monday.