Holy Week - Easter

Holy Week

Quotes from Kerry Muhlestein are from his recent booklet, The Easter Connection.

"If what I had learned about the Abrahamic Covenant being centered on a relationship with God was correct, then I should be able to see relationship reflected in the Easter story. I suspected this was true, but was astonished at how thoroughly the notion of relationship with God was interwoven in the doctrine and narrative of Christ’s sufferings." Kerry Muhlestein

Readings - Relationship Between God the Father and God the Son

John 12:26-28, John 12:44-50, John 13:20, John 14:1-2, John 14:6-14, 16, 20-21, 23-24, 26, 28, 31

“We are deeply relational beings, designed for love and connection with God and with one another. Though our families fill a sacred role in the development and experience of this love, this is not where such love begins and ends. . . . we have been called into relationships with our eternal family—God’s family, which we are all a part of—so we might experience the Lord’s covenant healing, belonging, and redemption together in Him.”

Jenet Jacob Erickson - relationships - “Designed for Covenant Relationships” - BYU Devotional - November 8, 2022 - https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/jenet-erickson/designed-for-covenant-relationships/

"All sin is, in some form, a rejection of this relationship with God. It is no wonder that sin hurts. Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee, a teacher of Islamic Sufism, powerfully describes: “If we follow the path of any pain, any psychological wounding, it will lead us to this one primal pain: the pain of separation.” Sins committed against us, as well as sins that we commit, are a separation from the truth of our divine being."  Jenet Jacob Erickson

https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/jenet-erickson/designed-for-covenant-relationships/

"Brigham Young taught that when Christ suffered in Gethsemane, the Father withdrew His spirit and cast a veil upon Him (Journal of Discourses, 3:206.) — veil of separation. This suggests that as part of suffering for our sins, Christ experienced one of the major consequences of sin in the form of separation from the Father. If we put this all together, this picture develops: Christ carried this most crushing of all burdens alone. Soul-shattering anguish, terror, sorrow, and loneliness were enough to kill Christ’s physical body, but He voluntarily stayed alive so that He could continue to feel overwhelmingly painful anguish."

Kerry Muhlestein

"When we sin, we are causing our own suffering. And Christ in his infinite love that fully infiltrates our identity has agreed that he will always love us no matter how painful it might be. The worse we are as people, the more noxious it is to love us, true. But Christ won’t stop loving us, no matter what."  Sam Brown, "The Atonement of Love," Wayfare Magazine.

https://www.wayfaremagazine.org/p/the-atonement-of-love?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=737063&post_id=142892619&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=false&r=zmt49&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

Reading - The Intercessory Prayer - John 17

Reading - Luke 22:34, 54-62

President Spencer W. Kimball - "Peter, My Brother"

"Remember that Peter never denied the divinity of Christ. He only denied his association or acquaintance with the Christ, which is quite a different matter.

What would have been the result had he admitted his connection? Would he have lived to preside over the church? 

If Peter was cowardly, how brave he became in so short a time. If he was weak and vacillating, how strong and positive he became in weeks and months. If he was unkind, how tender and sympathetic he became almost immediately. Responsibility as a refiner and a purger usually takes time.

Could it have been confusion and frustration that caused Peter’s denial? Could there still have been some lack of understanding concerning the total unfolding of the plan? Being a leader, Peter was a special target of the adversary. As the Lord said,

Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:

But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not. (Luke 22:31–32)

Peter was under fire; all the hosts of hell were against him. The die had been cast for the Savior’s Crucifixion. If Satan could destroy Simon now, what a victory he would score. Here was the greatest of all living men. Lucifer wanted to confuse him, frustrate him, limit his prestige, and totally destroy him. However, this was not to be, for he was chosen for and ordained to a high purpose in heaven, as was Abraham.

I do not pretend to know what Peter’s mental reactions were nor what compelled him to say what he did that terrible night. But in light of his proven bravery, courage, great devotion, and limitless love for the Master, could we not give him the benefit of the doubt and at least forgive him as his Savior seems to have done so fully? Almost immediately Christ elevated him to the highest position in his church and endowed him with the complete keys of that kingdom.

Simon Barjona did not have long to consider the matter or change his decisions, for he now heard the cock crow twice and was reminded of Christ’s prediction. He was humbled to the dust. Hearing the bird’s announcement of the dawn reminded him not only that he had denied the Lord but also that all the Lord had said would be fulfilled, even to the Crucifixion. He went out and wept bitterly. Were his tears for personal repentance only, or were they mingled with sorrowful tears in realization of the fate of his Lord and Master and his own great loss?"

https://rsc.byu.edu/ministry-peter-chief-apostle/appendix-peter-my-brother

“Peter always wanted to be with Christ—consider the following hostile environment: If known that Peter was a close confederate of Christ’s, he may have been forced to leave. I think it is quite likely that Peter’s motivation in denying he was one of Christ’s followers was his desperate desire to stay near Christ. In my opinion, the most likely explanation is that fear of separation led to Peter’s denial of his Master.” Kerry Muhlestein

The Holy Ghost

"That is the role of the Holy Ghost, to undo some of the relationship rupture we have all experienced, to begin to bridge the fissure. This happens because the Holy Spirit, who is fully unified with the Father and the Son, can enter our very souls and create a union between us and the entire Godhead. This union is the first stage of overcoming our separation and thus brings about a measure of healing. Enjoying the companionship of the Holy Ghost is the way we orphans become begotten children who are not fully cut off from our parents."

Kerry Muhlestein

The Holy Ghost

John 14:18 “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you."

To get the full impact of that promise, I’d like to read it a couple more times, shortening

the sentence by one word each time. And if you are in any kind of pain – physical,

mental, spiritual or all of the above – I’d like you to imagine that Christ is here in this meeting

with us, that He is the One teaching us, and that He is looking right at you as He says:

I will not leave you comfortless.

I will not leave you.

I will not leave.

I will not.

Lecia Crider, Hermosa Vista Stake Adult Meeting, February 2018

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

“Now I speak very carefully, even reverently, of what may have been the most difficult moment in all of this solitary journey to Atonement. I speak of those final moments for which Jesus must have been prepared intellectually and physically but which He may not have fully anticipated emotionally and spiritually—that concluding descent into the paralyzing despair of divine withdrawal when He cries in ultimate loneliness, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

The loss of mortal support He had anticipated, but apparently He had not comprehended this.

For His Atonement to be infinite and eternal, He had to feel what it was like to die not only physically but spiritually, to sense what it was like to have the divine Spirit withdraw, leaving one feeling totally, abjectly, hopelessly alone."

"None Were With Him," April 2009 

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2009/04/none-were-with-him?lang=eng

Veil of the Temple

"At about the time Christ was suffering alone and finishing His work, the veil of the temple tore in two. The symbolism of this must not be overlooked. In some ways, the veil represented Christ Himself. It is fitting that as His body was breaking, so did one of the things that symbolized our Savior. . . . It stood for that which separates us from God. The veil was covered by cherubim, evoking the cherubim that were placed before the tree of life in order to effect separation between mankind and God. Those cherubim were designed to enforce the schism between us and our Father until the way was made for us to reenter His presence successfully. It is poignant to realize that even as Christ was making that reunion possible, the symbols of our separation was torn asunder.  In His greatest suffering, He had made it possible for us to overcome our greatest wound. God’s presence could be ours once again, our rupture made whole, our unending injury healed."

Kerry Muhlestein

“Every relationship is to bring us to Christ.” Melissa Dalton Bradford 

Easter

"It would be three days before Christ Himself was able to come into the presence of His Father Again. He would first organize the preaching of the gospel in the spirit world. He would then take up His body again, but now in a glorified, resurrected state. On that first Easter, He would allow Mary Magdalene to witness the reality of that Resurrection. Finally, after all that, He could ascend to regain the full union with His Father, for which He yearned. This was Easter for Christ. Having come to His Father again, he paved the path for us to do the same. His rebirth, celebrated on Easter, m marked the ability for all of us to have a rebirth—a new life as a new being that was capable of full communion and union with God. That is true Easter!" Kerry Muhlestein

2 Nephi 31-33

FEASTING UPON THE WORDS OF CHRIST

What makes us different from most other Christians in the way we read and use the Bible and other scriptures, are not the ultimate source of knowledge, but what precedes the ultimate source. The ultimate knowledge comes by revelation.

The idea that scripture reading can lead to inspiration and revelation opens the door to the truth that a scripture is not limited to what it meant when it was written, but may also include what that scripture means to a reader today. Even more, scripture reading may also lead to current revelation on whatever else the Lord wishes to communicate to the reader at that time. We do not overstate the point when we say that the scriptures can be a Urim & Thummim to assist each of us to receive personal revelation.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks, January 1985

PRESSING FORWARD WITH A STEADFASTNESS IN CHRIST

Steadfast may be a less familiar word today, but we know steady. To be steadfast is to be fixed and solid, stable and not shifting (Colossians 1:23). To be immovable but also abounding (1 Corinthians 15:58) — not just defensive, holding fast against the tides, but also active, advancing, on the offensive. “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it” (Colossians 4:2).

Every word from God is gold — and how much more so when he adds an oath, as in Psalm 110:4: “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind . . .” This, says Hebrews, we have “as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul.” Bet your life on this anchor. It will not move. 

The virtue of steadfastness presupposes waves, big and small — trials, conflicts, difficulties, pressures that would move the ship, and even send her out to sea, were it not for the steadfast anchor, holding the vessel firmly in place. Peter, Paul, and James mention the waves that threaten to carry us away: “our sufferings” (Romans 5:3), “trials of various kinds” (James 1:2) , “the corruption that is in the world” (2 Peter 1:4). Steadfastness isn’t a virtue that shines in comfort but in conflict — under trial (James 1:12), in persecutions, afflictions, and sufferings (2 Thessalonians 1:4; 2 Timothy 3:10–11).

Such an unshakable, reliable, firm guarantee — such an anchor for the soul — will make us more steadfast in time. The steadfastness of Christ makes us want to be more steadfast. To not be flighty, fickle, impulsive, and momentary in our love for what matters most, but settled and stable, fixed and firm. There is an order. His steadfastness comes first, then ours. We can become steadfast because he is steadfast. 

The steadfastness of Christ — rugged, firm, solid, unshakable — comes with great joy, as Paul prays for the Colossians, “for all endurance and patience with joy” (Colossians 1:11). “We rejoice in our sufferings,” he says, “knowing that suffering produces endurance” (Romans 5:3). Knowing that testing produces steadfastness, we “count it all joy” even as we meet with various trials (James 1:1–3).

David Mathis Modal Executive Editor, https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/the-stability-of-our-times

ANTIFRAGILE

Some things benefit from shocks; they thrive and grow when exposed to volatility, randomness, disorder, and stressors and love adventure, risk, and uncertainty. Yet in spite of the phenomenon, there is no word for the exact opposite of fragile. Let us call it antifragile Antifragility is beyond resilience or robustness. The resilient resists shocks and stays the same; the antifragile gets better and better. 

Crucially, if antifragility is the property of all those natural and complex systems that have survived, depriving these systems of volatility, randomness, and stressors will harm them. They will weaken, die or blow up. We have been fragilizing the economy, our health, political life, education, almost everything…by suppressing randomness and volatility. Just as spending a month in bed leads to muscle atrophy, complex systems are weakened, even killed when deprived of stressors

Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Antifragile: Things that Gain from Disorder, pg. 3, 5 

2 Nephi 26 - 30

Secret Combinations

Throughout the Book of Mormon, the phrase “secret combinations” is used to describe the evil activities of secret, oath-bound societies like the Gadianton robbers. As Ray Hillam described, “secret combinations have existed since the days of Cain (Moses 5:51). Satan is their author (2 Nephi 26:22), power and gain are their motives (Ether 8:15, 25), and conspiracy is their method of operation (Helaman 6:22–24).” In Helaman 2:13, Mormon indicated that the rise of secret combinations “did prove the overthrow, yea, almost the entire destruction of the people of Nephi.” 

Some have argued, though, that the secret societies in the Book of Mormon are merely fictional and were inspired by a well-known fraternity called Freemasons (or Masons). As Daniel Peterson explained, “It has long been contended by critics of the Book of Mormon that its ‘Gadianton robbers’ are merely nineteenth-century Freemasons, transparently disguised.” As evidence of this claim, its supporters have pointed to a number of similarities between both groups, one of which being that “secret combinations” was used almost exclusively as a negative term for Freemasons around 1829.

At least, this seemed like a potentially valid assumption, until online databases made it possible to search through a much larger number of 19th century documents. In 2014, Gregory Smith found conclusive evidence from a variety of sources that “before, during, and after Joseph Smith’s translation of the Book of Mormon, secret combinations was a general term in the United States for any clandestine group or plot, especially one in the political realm.” It wasn’t at all the exclusive code name for Freemasons that some critics of the Book of Mormon had long maintained.

https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/knowhy/why-does-the-book-of-mormon-use-the-phrase-secret-combinations

For more information about the Freemasons, Mormon Temples and Freemasonry by Scott Gordon

Jacob makes it clear that the author of these covert organizations is none other than the devil:

“[The] devil . . . stirreth up the children of men unto secret combinations of murder and all manner of secret works of darkness” (2 Nephi 9:9). Nephi, in nearly identical terms, writes, “There are also secret combinations, even as in times of old, according to the combinations of the devil, for he is the founder of all these things; yea, the founder of murder, and works of darkness” (2 Nephi 26:22). Not to be left out, Isaiah describes those who “seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? And who knoweth us?” (2 Nephi 27:27; cf. Isaiah 29:15).                    Kimberly Matheson Berkey - Reading Nephi Reading Isaiah: 2 Nephi 26-27

God’s Covenant with Lehi or the Lehitic Covenant 

1. A promised land is given to the children of Lehi (2 Nephi 1:5). 

2. Prosperity in the land is predicated on obedience to the commandments (Jarom 1:9). 

3. Lehi’s seed will never perish (2 Nephi 25:21). 

4. A record will bring Lehi’s seed to a knowledge of their covenant (Enos 1:13, 16; Ether 4:17).

Nephi, Mormon, and Moroni, having seen the destruction caused by secret combinations and having their hopes dashed by these covert organizations, wrote their records to warn the future generation about the danger secret combinations pose to the fulfillment of the covenant. Standing on the edge of the temporal chasm that separated them from those future Gentiles who housed the hope of the Lehitic covenant, these ancient authors could do

nothing more nor less than speak from the dust, alerting future readers to the marvelous gifts they offered: a record, a warning, and a covenant.

Kimberly Matheson Berkey, Reading Nephi Reading Isaiah: 2 Nephi 26-27

A Sealed Book - Seals - Seals of Authority
Anciently,  why  would  a  scribe  have  a  seal?  When  a  scribe  wrote  an  official  document 
(such as a legal contract, a divorce decree, or a promissory note), the scribe would bind 
the written record, tie it up, put a lump of clay or wax on the knot, and imprint his seal 
in  the  clay  or  wax  to  indicate  that the  record  was  an  official,  formal,  correct  document. 
This is how official transactions were conducted in ancient times. Notice that in 2 Nephi 
27, Nephi knows that there will be a record. It will be witnessed by three witnesses, and 
it  will  be  sealed,  meaning  that  the  record  will  not  just  be  closed  up,  but  that  it  will  be 
preserved with seals of authority. Sealing important documents that directly affected the 
life of an individual was part of Nephi’s world. We can learn something from the fact 
that the record of the Nephites was witnessed and sealed. It is important to ascertain the 
attestation and testimony of those who influence us in making decisions that affect our 
eternal life. 
Welch, John W.. "2 Nephi 26-30." In John W. Welch Notes, 207-225. Springville, UT: Book of Mormon Central, 2020.

Witnesses

2 Nephi 27:13 “save it be a few according to the will of God” - “The word few traditionally means 8—it’s in 1 Peter 3:19-20 - Christ preaching to those spirits - a few meaning 8—takes on this connotation of 8 witnesses. Jack Welch. Book of Mormon Central.

2 Nephi 27:22, 23 This is exactly the situation with Christ's resurrection. Early Christians are going around saying, this guy rose from the dead. They're like, really? Where's the evidence? Well, some people saw the body. It's exactly our situation with the plates. We have 12 men who saw the plates, Joseph plus three witnesses, plus eight witnesses, 12, and a woman named Mary, exactly the situation from the New Testament. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. It's the exact same situation. So, God seems to be rebooting Christianity through the plates. Just as there's an empty tomb, there's an empty box at Cumorah, and you have to take these witnesses' words, and then go read the book and see what happens. Then the first thing that he said at the beginning of 23 is he wanted to show that he's a God of miracles.

Joseph Spencer - Follow Him - https://followhim.co/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/BM-11-Dr.-Joseph-Spencer-followHIM-Podcast-SHOW-NOTESv2.pdf

Mary Whitmer as a Witness of the Book of Mormon

“Mary Whitmer and Moroni” by Robert T. Pack

Ways of the Devil - 2 Nephi 28:3-30

Nephi’s interactions with Isaiah model an important aspect of what it means to read scripture. For Nephi, to read scripture is to take up the text as a text and then rework it so that it reflects current understanding and vision as revealed through the spirit of prophecy. Reading scripture then becomes active rather than passive as each reader takes up the burden of his or her own prophetic responsibility.

Joseph Spencer

Reading Nephi Reading Isaiah: 2 Nephi 26-27

Lynne Wilson - Satan/Serpent/Lucifer mentioned 25 times in the KJV Old Testament and Satan/Devil/Serpent/Adversary/Lucifer named 121 times in the Book of Mormon which gives us a clearer picture of Satan, our enemy - Nephi teaches the ways of the devil 

2 Nephi 28:3-30 Jack Welch calls Nephi’s Explanation of the Ways of the Devil (40 ways in how the Devil will try to get at the people in the latter days - 

Welch got the idea to make a list from C. S. Lewis’s Screwtape Letters - 

2 Nephi 28:3–30

Embedded in Nephi’s prophecy in 2 Nephi 28 are many phrases

that describe the conduct of those who follow the devil. These

sins, Nephi states, will pervade much of society in the latter days.

Today they can be found well disguised as the philosophies and

tendencies listed in this chart. Such conditions are symptomatic of

society’s passive acceptance of “false and vain and foolish doc-

trines” (2 Nephi 28:9) that can lead people away from God. 

Knowing how the devil works and being able to see his tactics in

operation in the ideologies of the world around us help prevent

us from being taken captive by Satan, who leads people “carefully

down to hell” (2 Nephi 28:21). https://archive.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/2-nephi-26-30

For Jack Welch's list of "The Ways of the Devil," click on this link and go to page 12 of the pdf (page 218 on the actual document). 

Links to items mentioned in class discussion: 

Elder Gong's message on Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Mormon Temples and Freemasonry by Scott Gordon

Detroit Piston's Jaden Ivey's Witness of Jesus Christ at 1:42 mark

Mary Whitmer as a Witness of the Book of Mormon

2 Nephi 20-25

For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.

2 Nephi 25:23

DOCTRINE OF GRACE

Why is the doctrine of grace so foreign to us?

Why are there so many different interpretations among us about grace? What is so confusing about grace?

Why is it easy for Latter-day Saints to recite from memory and explain the doctrine in the epistle of James, Faith without works is dead, but difficult to proclaim Paul’s writing in his epistle to the Ephesians, For by grace are ye saved through faith; ... Not of work, lest any man should boast?

What Is so Amazing about Grace?, Camille Fronk Olson, November 10, 2009, https://speeches.byuh.edu/ joseph-smith-lecture/what-is-so-amazing-about-grace

2 NEPHI 20: 3-4

Judah has relied on Assyria for help. Israel has relied on Syria. Neither have turned to God, but instead they trust in the powers and ideas of the world. As a result, when the world (embodied by Assyria in this case) turns against them, Judah will have nowhere to hide and no other source of help. That worldly glory they thought they could trust in will be nothing, and having abandoned God, they will not find help from Him. Instead, their destruction would be so great that as they fall in battle, they will fall even under those who are already slain or those who are being taking prisoner.

Kerry Muhlestien, PhD. Learning to Love Isaiah, pg. 91

2 NEPHI 20: 22

The last part of this verse could be translated literally as “consumption is decided, overflowing with righteousness,” which seems to convey the sense that God has decreed a destruction that overflows with a righteous judgment but also overflows in such a way that it creates the conditions where righteousness will flourish.

Kerry Muhlestien, PhD. Learning to Love Isaiah, pg. 97

PURPOSE OF THE BOOK OF MORMON

The Book of Mormon exposes the enemies of Christ. It confounds false doctrines and lays down contention. It fortifies the humble followers of Christ against the evil designs, strategies, and doctrines of the devil in our day. The type of apostates in the Book of Mormon are similar to the type we have today. God, with his infinite foreknowledge, so molded the Book of Mormon that we might see the error and know how to combat false educational, political, religious, and philosophical concepts of our time.

President Ezra Taft Benson, Ensign, Jan. 1988, 3.

READ 25:23-30

Does Nephi give you any hints about what “all we can do” means? 

Does he give you reason to believe that we are saved by grace?

DOCTRINE OF GRACE

Recognizing our overwhelming need for the Savior, does anything remain for us to do? Prophets in every era are direct and unequivocal in their reminders that we have a role. Remember the essence of grace reflects not only a gift given, but a gift humbly received. Choosing to accept His grace is at the heart of all we can do. In all His magnanimous offering, the Lord will not force us to accept Him or His enabling power. For there is a God, and he hath created all things, ... both things to act and things to be acted upon" (2 Nephi 2:14). We are not mindless robots killing time until someone programs us to conform to Christ's law. We are more than empty vessels waiting to be filled. We are free to choose to come to Christ. Our role is therefore neither a passive one nor independent of Christ's enabling power. The grace of Jesus Christ actually enables us to do and become all that the Lord envisions for us.

What Is so Amazing about Grace?, Camille Fronk Olson, November 10, 2009, https://speeches.byuh.edu/ joseph-smith-lecture/what-is-so-amazing-about-grace

MORE ON GRACE

Bruce C Hafen. The Savior's gift of grace to us is not limited in time after all we can do. We may receive his grace before, during, and after the time when we expend our own efforts.

Robert Millet. Mercy is not getting what we deserve; grace is getting what we don't deserve.

Brad Wilcox. Christ could change us with the wave of a hand, but he knows that strength too easily achieved is not valued or enduring.

D Todd Christofferson. MPS 2013. After here does not refer to sequence or chronology. It means beyond or above. The Lord will provide all that is needed beyond our capacity to accomplish in repenting and becoming reconciled to God. His aid is not reserved or delayed until the end but is constantly with us in the journey. 

D. Todd Christofferson I am under no illusion that this can be achieved by our own efforts alone without His very substantial and constant help. “We know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.” And we do not need to achieve some minimum level of capacity or goodness before God will help—divine aid can be ours every hour of every day, no matter where we are in the path of obedience. But I know that beyond desiring His help, we must exert ourselves, repent, and choose God for Him to be able to act in our lives consistent with justice and moral agency. My plea is simply to take responsibility and go to work so that there is something for God to help us with.