Explore every episode of the podcast He Is Our Story

We get to spend 5 glorious weeks with this one ofa kind prophet!  If you do not approach Isaiahwith this kind of enthusiasm—well I hope some of my excitement rubs off on you!If you like poetry you are going to love Isaiah.  If you like puzzles-you’re going to love Isaiah!  If history is your thing-Isaiah is yourguy!  If you like reading about war, thesecond coming, the millennium, the temple, the gathering of Israel-then you aregoing to love Isaiah!  But if none ofthose things really interest you-that is ok because even if you only approachscripture study with one goal-to strengthen your relationship with JesusChrist-then you are going to feel right at home in Isaiah! Isaiah was a prophetblessed in equal measure with the gifts of prophecy and the b pen of a masterwordsmith.  He gave us words like thisabout our Savior.  “He is despised andrejected of men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Surely he hathborne our griefs and carried our sorrows. He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities;the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed.”  If you are in a chapter of your story whereyou are seeking peace or healing, restoration or hope, joy or confidence, thebook of Isaiah was written to help us find all those things, and so muchmore. 

President Oaks has said, “We are not accustomed to speakingof women having the authority of the priesthood in their Church callings, butwhat other authority can it be? When women -young or old- is set apart topreach the gospel as a full-time missionary, she is given priesthood authorityto perform a priesthood function.  Thesame is true when a woman is set apart to function Iwas in training a couple of years ago by the general YW presidency and theytaught us that one of our main jobs is to prepare the youth we serve for theirnext priesthood ordinance.  And Ithought, Ok.  That makes sense we arepreparing them for the temple.  And thenthey taught us that for most of us the next priesthood ordinance we willparticipate in for ourselves is the ordinance of the sacrament. Do the youth weserve understand how the power of Godliness is manifest in the ordinance of thesacrament? Do the Young Men who officiate in the ordinance and the YW whoparticipate in the ordinance understand what priesthood keys unlock for all ofus during the sacrament?

It is so important for us all to understand the truth that is stated in theGeneral Handbook- Each ordinance allows individuals toreceive rich spiritual blessings.—it is not only those whoofficiate in the ordinances that receive blessings-it is every individual whoparticipates in the ordinance! As an officer or teacher in a Churchorganization under the direction of own who holds the keys of thepriesthood.  Whoever functions in anoffice or calling received from one who holds priesthood keys exercise priesthoodauthority in performing her or his assigned duties.”

Your class may think it is fun to answer somequestions like this: “Is it ncorrect to thank the “priesthood” for passing the sacrament after the YM haveparticipated in that ordinance?   President Oaks has said, “Men are not thepriesthood.”  “Priesthood is not something we are-It is God’s power that He authorizes His servants to us for the benefit of others.”   Those ym areholders of the Aaronic priesthood but theya re not the priesthood.(BarbaraMorgan Gardner)

“If a deacons quorum president and a Builders of Truth president are in a planningmeeting, with just their presidency members, who presides?”   The deacon’s quorumpresident does have keys of presidency-but those only apply to those in thedeacon’s quorum.  He has no presiding authority over the Builders of Truth class. The Builders of Truth classpresident has just as much stewardship over her class as the Deacon’s quorumpresident has over his quorum.  No oneperson is presiding at the meeting.  Theyshould discuss it and decide who will conduct that meeting. 

Welcome back to another week at He Is Our Story.  I approach each episode of this podcast trying to answer two questions, “what does this scripture have to do with me, today, in my actual life and what does this scripture teach me about JesusChrist?

This week we're sitting in proverbs. This book of wisdom literature that if full of phrases that have become commonplace!  Even people who don’t readthe bible will know some of the proverbs! “Pride goeth before the fall”, “Spare the rod, spoil the child”, “A softanswer turns away wrath”, “As a man thinketh, so is he”.    

 In light of our new Sunday schedule,I have decided to focus on one proverb today! I won’t be doing this every week-but maybe this will help some of you Sunday School teachers out there who are now tasked with the job of picking one, maybe two, truths and making that the focus of your Sunday discussions! 

The Proverb I have chosen to focus on is 31. This proverb will also be familiar to many.  “Who can find avirtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies.”

If you've ever heard the phrase "Eshet Chayil," this is where thatcomes from.  Eshet Chayil is Hebrew, andit's usually translated as "virtuous woman" or "woman of noblecharacter." But those English words don't quite carry the full weight of the original Hebrew word. Chayil is a word used elsewhere in scripturefor warriors, for strength, for capability and valor. This isn't a passage about a soft or passive ideal of womanhood — it's a description of a woman of strength. Someone capable, someone formidable, someone whose life producesreal, tangible good in the world around her.

For centuries Jewish fathers have sung these very verses over their daughters, and husbands have sung them over their wives — not as a checklist to measure up to, but as a blessing. As a way of saying, "This is what I see in you."  It is usually sung on Fridaynights at the start of the Shabbat or Sabbath meal. 

So today, we're not going to read Proverbs 31 as a to-do list that makes us feel like we are falling short.  We are goingto approach these treasured words as a process of becoming.  Central to this process is our Savior, Jesus Christ.In verse 21 of the proverb we read, “She is not afraid of the snow-for her household: for all her household is clothed with scarlet.”  Snow here is referring to storms-and why isthis woman not afraid of the storms of life? Because her family is clothed in scarlet-in other words, her family is clothed in the blood of the lamb- the blood which points us toward the atonement of Jesus Christ. This woman derivesher strength and trust in the Savior-and that trust in Him gives her the courage to face the storms of life without fear!  

Now, alongside Proverbs 31, I want to bring in another verse that is one of those oh so familiar proverb sayings— Proverbs 22:6: "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it."

This verse can get treated almost like a formula. Do the right things as a parent, and you are guaranteed the desired outcome! But real life is messierthan that. Many of us know — maybe some of you listening today know personally— what it's like to have done your best, poured in everything you had, and still watch a child walk a different path than the one you hoped for.

So today, along with looking at what it means to be a woman of valor, we're also going to sit honestly with this question: what does it mean to continue to trust this proverb when the outcome doesn't look like what we expected? How canwe read this verse without feeling the guilt that can accompany unmet expectations in parenthood?

I've invited two women to join me for this conversation.  They come with real perspectives, real stories, real experience, and you are going to love learning from them!

Priesthood blessings aren't something youth have to wait for. Every one of God's children, right now, can receive ordinances and make covenants with Him because the priesthood was restored. And when a young person receives an assignment or a calling from someone with real authority, they can act in the name of God in that moment, right now, thisweek.

That's the FSY chapter 9 material in a nutshell: accepting callings and serving faithfully, sustaining those God has called — which means far more than raising a hand in class, it means actuallysupporting and helping — and fulfilling assignments from leaders and class presidencies as real, authorized work, not just busywork.

Ask your class: what's an assignment or calling you have right now — however small it feels — that you could start seeing differently, as something authorized by God rather than just a task on a list? How can acting in that calling or assignment help those around you to see Jesus Christ more clearly?

This is our last week in Psalms. And it’s gonna be a good one!  In the CFM manual for this week, it teaches us that the traditional Jewish name for the book of Psalms is Tehillim, a Hebrew word that means praises.  It’s related to the exclamation Hallelujah! And then the manual states, if you had to pick one word to sum up Psalms, praise would be a good choice! And praise would be a really good choice!  But if I had to pick one word to sum up the Psalms for me it would be “lovingkindness”.  Which translated into Hebrew would be Hesed!  And I am sure that does not come as a surprise to you!  But the Savior’s mercy, His covenantal love for us is written all over the pages of the Psalms!  Last week welearned that “He is nigh unto those who come unto Him with a broken heart and a contrite spirit.”  He comes to us in ourbrokenness and heals us.  He gives us a brand new heart, and that experience leaves us so completely changed that wecannot help but sing praises to Him!  So, yes praise is a wonderful word to describe Psalms—but the reason the Psalmist wants to praise the Lord is because of the Lord’s great Hesed!  In Psalms 103:2-5, 11 we read, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.  Who forgiveth allthine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases, Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like theeagle’s.  For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.”

Our focus this week is going to be on what we can learn from the Psalms about temple worship. Psalms 120-134 are known as the songs of degrees, or ascent.  In an essay entitled “Singing of God’s Love”, written by Kevin Tolley, he teaches us that “In ancient times the people of Israel would travel to the temple at Jerusalem to worship the Lord during annual festivals.  As they traveled they sang. Some of the songs they sang are recorded in Psalms 120-134. These Psalms reminded the people of God’s grace, mercy, provision, protection, and salvation, and prepared their minds and hearts for their experience at the temple.” 

Learning how ancient Israel prepared for temple worship can be beneficial to us as we consider our modern day temple attendance and the effort we put into preparing for a meaningful experience as we worship there.

My finite mind cannot fathom how Jesus Christ did what He did. How He atoned for the whole of humanity, yet did it for each of us individually, one by one. As I have tried to understand that concept more, I have begun to notice this same pattern repeated throughout the gospel. One of the first places I noticed it was in the vision statement issued by the Utah Area Presidency. It says we are to search out and rescue the one, while faithfully ministering to the ninety and nine. This is how Christ ministered. And this should be how we minister and how we gather Israel. Our aim is to gather everyone, and we do that one by one. I have also noticed it in the way we partake of the sacrament ordinance-the ordinance that points us to the Savior’s atonement. The bread and water are offered to all—yet the emblems are partaken of individually. And, in fact this is true of all priesthood ordinances. They are offered to everyone-on either side of the veil, but they must be performed individually-one by one! Remember back in October 2024 general conference. President Nelson urged us to do something weekly for the rest of our lives. He said, “I urge you to devote time each week—for the rest of your life—to increase your understanding of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.”Can the Psalms be a tool to help us understand more about the infinite reach and scope of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and yet also help us feel the personal, individual effect His atonement can have on each one of us? I believe they can.

Welcome to a special FSY edition of He is Our Story.  In a little under two weeks, we are going to be changing our Sunday schedule so that we will be meeting as Young Women classes and Aaronic Priesthood quorums every week!  I hope you are as excited about this as I am!  This is going to be a really goodthing!  I am sure you have some concerns and questions-that comes with all change! I have two goals for this video!  #1 is to help you feel prepared for the change! Hopefully I can answer some of your questions or at least point you toa place where you can get some answers, as well as give you some ideas about how to prepare for these Sunday discussions. My second goal is to get you excited for this change!  Elder Renlund said, “Consistency deepens conversion and shapesdiscipleship over time.”  The fact that you are going to get to meet with these youth every week is going to besuch a blessing! 

The purpose for both the Aaronic Priesthoodquorums and YW classes is the same! To help youth make and keep sacred covenants and deepen their conversion to Jesus Christ and His gospel. Meeting weekly and worshipping and learning together on Sunday’s is going to help us fulfillthat purpose individually with each class member, as well as collectively with our entire class. Remember!  We don’tteach “lessons”!  We teach individuals! Each individual in our class should be our focus!  Get excited!  This is going to be so much fun!

As of last week, we have hit the poetry section ofthe Old Testament. We learn from the CFM manual that, "The Books of Job, Psalms and Proverbs are almost entirely poetry, as are parts of the prophetic books like Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Amos."

In the Bible Dictionary entry for Psalms we read, "Out of a total of 283 direct citations from the Old Testament in the New Testament, 116 have been counted from this onebook" — meaning Psalms. Psalms is the most quoted by the Savior during His mortal ministry. On the "Follow Him" podcast they gave an interesting reason the Savior quoted Psalms so much.  And that reason is because those are the verses of scripture people living anciently would have been familiar with. Remember, everyone didn't havetheir own personalized set of scriptures like we do today. And because many of the Psalms were set to music, these would have been the verses that were easiest for the people to remember and memorize. There's something aboutsetting words to music that helps our mind recall those words easily.   When ancient Israel sang these words in thetemple, they weren't just reciting truth — they were putting truth into a form that could be easily remembered.   Tobring comfort when they were grieving, give them courage when they were going into battle, to be sung by a mother to her child who didn't yet understand the words, but would still feel the peace those words offered

Join me this week as I sit down with a dear friend to talk about the book of Job. Ken Gibby walks us through his battle with depression and anxiety. He shares personal stories that will help all of us, wether we are suffering from mental illness ourselves, or loving someone through this savage disease. This honest and frank conversation not only helps us understand the suffering of Job better, but helps us understand God's answer to Job. What if the series of questions God asks Job are not meant to teach Job about all that he is not? What if these questions are designed to remind Job not only of who God is, but of who Job is as well? #lds #comefollowme #job #oldtestament #scripturestudy

Where some books in the Old Testament are more difficult to understand-Esther comes to us like an old familiar friend!  We know her story.  But sometimes we approach the familiar with less inquisitiveness-so we don’t want to let how well we know this story keep us from seeking to come away from our study having learned more about our Savior.

Have you ever had a time in your life when you felt like God was not a part of your story? Not because you didn’t want Him to be-you were seeking Him, but you were just having a hard time seeing His hand in your life. What do we do in those moments? 

This week we are studying the book of Esther.  Esther is the only book in the bible thatdoes not mention God by name.  But just because His name is not mentioned does not mean He is not there! We just have to look a little bit harder.  And maybe that is like us when we are having difficulty feeling that God is with us-it just might require that we look a bit harder. Remember that scene in the Lion King? Where Rafiki tells Simba to lookinto the water and he will be able to see his father.  When Simba looks, he sees himself and tellsRafiki, that’s not my father, that is just my reflection.  Then Rafiki tells him-Look harder! 

Remember the prophet Elisha back in 2 Kings.  The king of Syria sent horses and chariots, agreat host, and encompassed the city of Dothan, where Elisha lived.  And in the morning when Elisha’s servant looked out at the huge army surrounding them, he said to Elisha, “My master,what shall we do?”  And Elisha answered him, “Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.  And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and behold,the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.” The horsesand chariots sent by the Lord were there all along.  The young man just needed to look a littleharder before he could see them!

Some scholars suggest that the fact that God is not mentioned in the book of Esther is intentional.  That, in fact, by leaving God out of the story we are forced to recognize that we do not always see what God is doing in our lives.  Instead of seeing God we see coincidence! The bible dictionary says about the book of Esther, “The book contains no direct reference to God, but He is everywhere taken for granted, asthe book infers a providential destiny.”

Joseph Smith saw God the Father and our Savior,Jesus Christ in the sacred grove, and still during a particularly hard momentin Liberty Jail, he cried out, “O God, where art thou? And where is thepavilion that covereth thy hiding place? Joseph’s question might even be harderfor us to understand-because Joseph knew God was there; he just wanted Him tostop hiding? Why would a loving God hide Himself from us? Especially in ourmost desperate moments?

Elder Holland answers this question like this, “Faithmeans trusting God in good times and bad, even if that includes some sufferinguntil we see the hand of the Lord revealed in our behalf.”

Today we are going to see where we can find God inEsther’s story-and I believe as we practice seeing Him in her story—we willbecome better at recognizing Him in our story-even on the days He may be hardto see!

#lds #comefollowme #oldtestament #esther #fsy #heisourstory #scripturestudy

Have you ever built anything?  My husband is a marvelous and talented craftsman.  There is evidence of hishandiwork all over our home!  He knowshow to build things!  I, on the otherhand, am more of a creator than a builder! I love to look at a space and dream up the possibilities!  To imagine what something can become!  But lately I have taken up quilting. Which in a sense is building! I am building blankets! I am a blanket builder!  It is thrilling for me to look at piles of beautiful material-imagining what they can become when I cut them and sew themback together in a pattern. 

To build requires work.  When Darren builds something he uses saws and nails and plans.  When I build something(like a quilt) I use pins and needles and a pattern. 

What is required when we work to build the kingdomof God?  Do we all go about this type ofwork in the same way?  What tools areavailable to us in this work?  These arejust some of the questions we are going to explore in today's episode!

Welcome, my friends, to another week at He Is OurStory.  I am so glad you are choosing tospend some of your time learning more about your Savior through the study of His word.  Last week I mentioned thatopening up my scriptures feels like opening up a treasure box, and I am never quite sure what I am going to find.  So,I sort of giggled when I read a quote that I have never heard before by Elder Neal A. Maxwell.  It was in the CFMmanual for this week.  He said, “The scriptures offer us so manydoctrinal diamonds.  And when the lightof the Spirit plays upon their several facets, they sparkle with celestial sense and illuminate the path we are to follow.”

I love the thought of looking for “DoctrinalDiamonds” in the word of God.  Dependingon what is happening in our lives we can see the scriptures differently-the Spirit shines on certain phrases, stories or words in one way for me and another way for you.    Elder Holland said, “After an encounter with the living Son of the living God, nothing is ever again to be as it was before.”  Opening our scriptures isopening ourselves up to having an experience with our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.  The question we aregoing to explore today is are we experiencing Them there?  Are we coming away from our scripture study changed because of the experience we are having with our Savior?

Welcome my friends to another week at He is Our Story. I am so happy you have chosen to join with us this week.  I think I have studied more for this weekthan I have for any other week of He is Our Story.  This week is so vitally important formultiple reasons, and I had a hard time choosing where to focus our attention. 

 We had a lot of reading this week.  2 Kings16-25. And it is not super easy reading! At some points while I was reading this—I shouted out loud-my husband can verify that—I don’t understand what is going on! It’s a lot of history. It’s Assyria and Egypt and Israel and Judah. It’s a lot of names.  The names of the Kings of all these places and the cities in all those countries. It’s a lotof back and forth between the two kingdoms of Israel.  The southern kingdom of Judah and thenorthern kingdom of Israel.   At onepoint I was like—are they worshipping Jehovah or are they worshipping idols?  What is going on?  And to complicate matters a bit more there isanother account of this same time period in 2 Chronicles chapters 29-36.  So, if you want the full picture of what isgoing on it is helpful to read that!

 So, today we are going to take things slow, and we are going to focus on answering 3 questions.  Why was the House of Israelscattered? How will the House of Israel be gathered? And maybe the most important question we will answer today is Why should we care about the scattering and gathering of Israel?

It’s time to open up your scriptures and get ready to get excited about what the Lord has in store for His kingdom, and more importantly the role we can play in helping Him do His work.

Welcome, my friends to another episode of He isour Story.  This week we are moving into2 kings.  We are saying good bye toElijah and beginning to follow Elisha in his ministry.   I found an article this past week, written byMark A. Matthews.  He is an instructorwith the seminary and Institute program of the church. I attended a classtaught by him last year and he is a phenomenal teacher.  The title of the article intrigued me- “Howcan we tell if we are really following Jesus Christ today?

I want you to think about how you would answerthat question.  Hit pause if you needto-but I want you to come up with an answer!

President Nelson said, “one of the easiest ways toidentify a true follower of Jesus Christ, is how compassionately that persontreats other people.”  But he isreferring to looking at someone else and being able to determine if they are adisciple of Christ.  The question BrotherMatthews asked was how can we tell if we are following Christ today? How can weevaluate our own life and measure our discipleship? 

In the article written by Brother Matthews, hebegins by admitting that whenever he reads the New Testament, he always putshimself into the narrative and wonders how he would have reacted to theteachings of the Savior.  I have wonderedthe same thing. You probably have too. Would I have been like Peter, James and John and left everything behindwhen I heard the Savior’s invitation to “Come follow me”?  Would I have been like Martha who recognizedthat time with Jesus was more important than any chore?  Would I have chosen to sit at his feet andlearn the better part? Would I have been like the Samaritan woman who met astranger at a well and after a conversation with Him, ran to bring others tohear His words that filled her like living water?

Brother Matthews writes, “I have learned that this is not a question weneed to wonder about. The answer is simple. The Lord has revealed that thesimplest way to measure how well we follow Jesus Christ today is by how well wefollow His living prophets.”

Friends, it is time to open upyour scriptures-we are going to explore this topic of following prophets today.And we are going to do it with the help of Elisha, an Old Testament prophetwhose life and example is a remarkable typifying of Jesus Christ.

Welcome my friends to another week at He is our Story.  I am particularly excited about this week’sepisode. I hope the stories we study today will bring as much strength to yourlife as they have to been over the past few days! 

  Think about the last time your whole family gathered around the dinner table. Picture the faces, the laughter, the shared memories. Now, imagine a line being drawn rightdown the middle of that table. On one side, are those who share your deepestcore beliefs, while on the other side, are those who you love fiercely, but whohave chosen to walk a completely different path.

 The complexities that accompany a shift like that can besome of the heaviest burdens a Latter-day Saint family can carry. It’s the acheof strained relationships, broken hearts and broken traditions.  It’s the prayer we whisper to heaven-Howdid we get here, and how do we stay together when we no longer pray, believe,or worship together?

 If your home or your heart feels divided today becauseloved ones have stepped away from the faith, you are not alone. And not surprisingly,this same story is told in the pages of the Old Testament.

 At first glance, the breaking up of the tribes of Israelcould be a history lesson about political rebellion—the tragic moment thetwelve tribes of Israel fractured into two separate kingdoms. But if we lookcloser, we see this is so much more than that.  This is family history.  Our family history.  This is the story of a covenant familysplitting apart.

 As in all things we can find guidance by looking to the Lords’prophet. And this week we’re going to look at the prophet Elijah. He walkedright into the middle of this deep spiritual divide. From his life, we are going to extract some really practical strategies on how to survive the drought of a home that feels divided,  how tolisten for the still, small voice when disagreements arise, and how to trust God with the people we love most.

 So, grab your scriptures. Let’s talk about howto find peace, assurance and unwavering hope even when our story includesdivision.

The reading this week reminded me of that famous opening line from Charles Dicken’s a tale of two cities- “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times!” We begin with David. Where last week we focused on the David that said things like “the battle is the Lords”, and “Let no man’s heart fail because of him”, this week we see what can happen to the best of men or women when their focus drifts from submitting to the will of the one and only true and living God, to submitting to the appetites of the natural man. One sin leads to another sin to cover up the first sin and pretty soon David finds himself in the “worst of times”.And yet, the Lord is really good at making beauty from ashes. And from David and Bethsheba’s union comes Solomon, the one God has chosen to build His house. No more traveling tabernacle! A real, settled and established temple. A magnificent House of the Lord. A great reason for the house of Israel to rejoice! The Best of Times! #comefollowme #heisourstory #lds #scripturestudy #oldtestament

Why do we get scared when things do not go the way we anticipated or when life begins   to looktoo hard or the trial too long or the relationship too complicated?  What prevents us from turning our story overto God?  Sister Camille Johnson proposed an answer to this question;

“Perhaps it is because the natural manor woman in us is resistant to turning things completely overto the Lord and trusting Him entirely.Maybe that is why we choose to stick with the narrative we have written for ourselves, a comfortable version of our story unedited by the Master Author. We don’t want to ask a question and get an answer that doesn’t fit neatly into thestory we are writing for ourselves.”

I don’t know what kind of daydreamsDavid had during all those long days tending sheep-but I am fairly certain fighting a giant of a warrior, becoming an outcast while hiding for his life, and becoming King of Israel was not the story he was writing for himself. 

President Ezra Taft Benson said, “"Men and women who turntheir lives over to God will discover that He can make a lot more out of their lives than they can. He will deepen their joys, expand their vision, quicken their intellect, strengthen their muscles, lift their spirits, multiply their blessings, increase their opportunities, comfort their souls, raise up friends,and pour out peace."

We see each of those promises fulfilled in thelife of David-and that should give us great hope that we can see each of those promises fulfilled in our lives as well. 

So, if the key to letting God be the author of ourstory is turning our lives over to him, then it seems appropriate that we should spend some time learning what turning our lives over to Him looks like in a life.  Are there lessons we canlearn from David?  Is there a pattern wecan follow? Are there steps we can take? 

This week we are studying Samuel as Israel’s prophet and Saul as Israel’s first King. We are going to look at some of their best days and some of their worst days! And I want you to keep Rosie's words in your mind.Let’s be completely honest for a minute: if you are sitting in a season right now where you feel like life is completely "cooking" you, it can feel incredibly lonely. Maybe you've been taken down by a sudden financial strain, maybe you are quietly battling with mental health, or maybe you’re experiencing the heavy grief that comes from watching someone you love make choices that break your heart. You might feel like you are pinned to the mat, wondering how a "best day" could slip away so fast. Or maybe it has been so long since you had a best day you are forgetting what a best day feels like! When we look at Samuel’s worst days—from being rejected by the people he served to crying all night over Saul's choices—we see our own struggles reflected. But when we slow down and look closer at Samuel’s experiences we see the real truth: Samuel's story didn't belong to the people who rejected him, and it didn't belong to Saul's failures. His story belonged to the Lord.And your story belongs to Him, too.

  I can see myself, really see myself in Naomi’sstory.   I know what it is like to feelso bitter you feel like a different person-a shadow of your former self.—I knowwhat it is like to feel like Naomi must have felt when she told Ruth to “Go andglean”, to be willing to have just enough faith to act on a prompting—(read theOld Testament)even though you are filled with doubts.  I know what it is like to begin to see theLord’s loving kindness, His Hesed, again. To have my eyes opened to theblessings around me, even if those blessings might not look the way I hadhoped.  I know what it is like to beginto understand God’s individual plan for me, to begin to see how He is workingin my waiting-to begin to understand how He is working in me-proving me-makingme strong enough to bear the burden, all the while showing me that He is mystrength.  My story does not have a tidyending like Ruth and Naomi’s…. yet.  Mystory is still being written-and the more I come to rely on the author of mystory, the more I trust Him.  He knows myultimate desire is to be with Him again-and He knows how to work in me todevelop the characteristics and attributes that will create an individual thatis more like Him. And every day I am so grateful He continues to work with me,in my weakness and imperfection-He still shows me His covenant love for me—HisHesed.

In his conference talk , "Follow the Prophet, he Knows the Way, Elder Michael John U. Teh says, “When my parents joined theChurch, little did they know that they were embracing yet another set of values and traditions-even the gospel culture, based on the plan of salvation, God’s commandments, and the words of the living prophets.  Over time, as our family strived to fully embrace the gospel, my parents discovered that some of our well-loved traditions were not consistent with gospel culture.  It became apparent to them that they neededto make a choice.”

When I think of gospel culture, I generally thinkabout things like green jello and carrots, funeral potatoes, or family pictures in BYU shirts (my family is guilty of that one).  I had never thought about a gospel culture based on the plan of salvation, God’s commandments, and the words of livingprophets.  An example of this could be not drinking coffee due to our observance of the Word of Wisdom or not shopping on Sunday due to how we feel about observing the Sabbath day. 

The definition of culture is: The shared way of life of a groupof people. It encompasses the collective beliefs, values, customs, behaviors, arts, and knowledge that are learned, shared, and passed down from generation to generation.

As the children of Israel enter the promised land, they are going to encounter some different cultures.  The people that already inhabit the land have a very different belief system.  Theirvalues and behaviors are distinct and, at times, contrary to the commandments of God.  The Israelites will need to makea choice. I can hear Joshua’s words echoing in their ears, “Choose you this day whom ye will serve.”   Will they keeptheir covenant and adhere to the commandments of Jehovah, or will they follow the enticing culture of the world around them and eventually choose to break their covenant with God? This is the same choice each of us must make every day—Willwe follow our Savior, or will we follow the world?

We live in a day full of all different kinds of “blast zones”. There is no shortage of people willing to share with you their opinions about what is or is not “safe.” However, there is only one person on earth right now who has been given the power and authority to point out all the various “blast zones” of our day—and point us in the direction of safety. His name is Dallin H. Oaks. This week we are studying the Book of Joshua. This is a new beginning for the Israelites. A new land, a new set of miracles, a new leader and prophet. We just sustained a new prophet a little over a month and a half ago, and as we study Israel’s new prophet today, we are also going to study some of the words and teachings of our new prophet. We are going to focus on some of the “blast zones” he has warned us about in our day.

We read about wilderness times often in scripture.We have been following Moses and the ancient Israelites and their journey inthe wilderness.   The Book of Mormon prophet Lehi and his familyspent some considerable time in the wilderness. The saints of the early restoration did their fair share of traveling inthe wilderness, even Jesus Christ had His time in the wilderness.  The wilderness symbolically represents aplace of testing, preparation and refinement. The wilderness also happens to be where God manifests Himself to Hischildren.  One of my favorite quotesabout the early saints coming across the plains is from Francis Webster a memberof the Martin Handcart Company. 

“We suffered beyond anything you can imagine,and many died of exposure and starvation, but did you ever hear a survivor ofthat company utter a word of criticism? Not one of that company everapostatized or left the Church because every one of us came through with theabsolute knowledge that God lives, for we became acquainted with Him in ourextremities.  The price we paid to becomeacquainted with God was a privilege to pay, and I am thankful that I wasprivileged to come in the Martin handcart company.”

What price are we willing to pay to become acquaintedwith God? 

How will we let the wilderness times in our lives shape ourstories? For us the wilderness might not look like an extended period of time travelingin a desert or across the plains.  For us,it may be that feeling we get at 2:00 AM when the house is quiet and ourworries are loud.  Maybe our wildernessis the exhausting cycle of a job that feels empty, or without a lot of future.  Maybe it's the silence of a house that usedto be full, or the noise of doubts that are wearing you down. If you feel likeyou’re wandering in the wilderness, I want you to hear this clearly: You arein very good company.

God didn't lead Moses or the Pioneers into the desert tolose them; He led them there because that is where they would find Him.  He led them there so that the only voice theycould hear would be His.  The wildernessbecame the best place to forge a covenant relationship with them. 

The book of Numbers teaches us about theimportance of our focus-and the consequences that come when our focus shiftssolely to our trials instead of staying where it should be, which is, ofcourse, on God!

In Hebrew the title for Numbers is Bamidbar-whichmeans “in the wilderness”.  We all havewilderness times.  In reality most ofmortality is lived in the wilderness.  Weget some reprieve when we visit holy places like the temple or the mountains,or even when we experience holy times making memories with our family andfriends.  But our day to day lives aremostly lived in the wilderness-which is why our focus becomes critical.